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First Lady Michelle Obama is gearing up to release a Hip-Hop album. That is not a misprint. Although Mrs. Obama won’t be dropping any verses, she has collected a handful of rap vets and younger acts for the record as part of her “Let’s Move” anti-child obesity campaign.

Back in June, Mrs. Obama was featured in the video “Everybody,” featuring Doug E. Fresh, Jordin Sparks and TV personality Dr. Oz. Last Monday (August 5), it was announced that the single will be followed up by an album, Songs For A Healthier America, in partnership with the nonprofit Partnership For A Healthier America and New York-based group, Hip Hop Public Health.

The 19-track album will also feature DMC of Run DMC fame, New York Knicks star Iman Shumpert, Matisyahu, Naledge, Ashanti and others. The aim of Songs For A Healthier America is to present the album with tips and instructions on exercise, healthier eating and living an active lifestyle.

According to an ambitious plan, 10 of the 19 songs will be made into music videos, which will be distributed among 40 schools in New York before expanding into Washington, Philadelphia and San Antonio. Hip Hop Public Health founder Olajide Williams, a neurologist, has been working to connect the culture with teaching young people about health since 2005.

“We also started looking at the communities with obesity in New York, and a lot of these communities just happened to be poor communities, and happened to be African-American, Hispanic, Latino. We needed to develop an interventionary tool for the community,” said Williams to US News. “Hip-hop was born as a platform to bring our interventions to the youth.”

Songs For A Healthier America will be released September 30.

Check out the tracklisting on the next page.

Photo: Let’s Move

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