Bill Cosby will host an awards gala honoring hip-hop moguls Sean “Diddy” Combs next week.
On March 7, The Jackie Robinson Foundation will be holding The Robie Awards, and along with Combs will honor Ingrid Saunders Jones, Rev. Calvin Butts III and Joseph Perella for embodying “the humanitarian ideals of Jackie Robinson.”
The dinner will also raise money for the non-profit foundation, which is one of the premiere education and development programs, offering four-year college scholarships, grants, mentoring and other educational services.
In addition to Diddy and the honorees, Phat Farm head Russell Simmons will be in attendance to present the distinguished awards.
Ironically, two attendees, Cosby and Butts where at one point seen as two of hip-hops biggest detractors. In 1993, Butts famously went on an anti-gangster rap tirade and went as far as to use a steamroller to mash dozens of rap CDs during a demonstration.
In 2004, Cosby was criticized by many in the hip-hop genre for being anti rap generation after some disparaging comments he made about black parents.
He later dropped the hip-hop album Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency, to prove that he has no quarrels with the hip-hop community.
The Jackie Robinson Foundation was established in 1973 by legendary, precedent setting baseball player Jackie Robinson.
The 2011 Robie Awards take place on March 7, at the posh Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, from 6-9PM.
