February 21, 2001 12:35

AND THE CROWD SAY BO! ELECTAS

LA's glitterati gear up for the Grammys, and stars are honoured for raising awareness among young American voters...

SANTANA, MARY J BLIGE and the REV JESSE JACKSON were all honoured in LA last night (February 20) during the annual ROCK THE VOTE fund-raiser, at which MOBY made an impassioned plea for more young voters, NME.COM can reveal.

The Foo Fighters, Jill Scott and Black Eyed Peas also performed at the event, held in the House Of Blues and viewed by many as a curtain-raiser to tonight's (February 21) Grammy Awards.

Santana was honoured with the 2001 Patrick Lippert Award for his long-time support in the fight for the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as his work with the Milagro Foundation, which he co-founded in 1998 with his wife, Deborah. The Milagro Foundation provides support for organisations working to enable vulnerable communities to succeed, and supports educational efforts aimed at creating healthy, literate and culturally enriched lives for at-risk children.

Santana said: "It's wonderful to be here tonight, we are all committed to spreading a spiritual virus, this is the real deal."

Meanwhile, Mary J Blige was honoured for her countless hours of community activism with organisations such as the Partnership For A Drug-Free America, the Million Family March, the Christopher Wallace Foundation, the United Nations, Special Olympics, and the MAC AIDS Foundation, among others.

On accepting the award she said, "Tonight's award means so much to me, not for myself, but because I know that this is a campaign that relies on everyone doing what they can. The most important thing is to vote. The work I do is to raise awareness of the importance of every vote in every state. Florida has shown us that."

Veteran black leader Jackson was hailed as the "great unifier, the man in America who truly rocked the vote!" He called for "young America" not to let "November discourage them, it must encourage them. We should challenge the lives before us. When young America comes alive, you can transform the country."

Moby joined the chorus of stars stating the case for America's youth to become more politicised "despite the fact that we are ruled by a half-wit president who is not legally elected!"

To read more of Moby's exclusive comments, click here...