One Year Later David Banner Remembers Hurricane Katrina by Davey D A year ago when Hurricane Katrina hit the shores of Louisiana and Mississippi, causing widespread destruction and death, our beloved media focused on the heroic efforts of popular icons like singer Harry Connick Jr, actors John Travolta and Sean Penn and talk show host Oprah. There were lots of people who were both grateful and awestruck o see such figures roll up their sleeves and chip in. Unfortunately two important stories weren’t given much shine. First, most of us are unaware that the eye of the storm actually hit Mississippi and not New Orleans. What caused all the death and mayhem in the Crescent City was the inexcusable slow response by FEMA and the Federal Government and the levees braking resulting in 80% of the city being flooded. In neighboring Mississippi, much of its shore line was completely washed away. Damn near the entire state at point or another was plunged into darkness and the poorest state in the union was severely damaged. But because Mississippi isn’t a major media draw like New Orleans, we didn’t focus in on what went down when Katrina hit. The other important story we overlooked was the heroic efforts of rapper David Banner, who last August was perched on taking his career into superstardom. He had a number one song out called ‘Play’ and his new album ‘Certified’ was dropping with lots of anticipation. Banner had already started touring to support his efforts when Katrina hit. He immediately turned around his tour bus and used them to deliver water and other supplies that he paid for out of his own pocket to hoods far and near throughout Mississippi. He later put together a huge urban relief concert called ‘Heal the Hood’ in Atlanta and got rival radio stations to come together to support the cause. He took advantage of all the TV appearances his record label set up for him including visits to BET’s Rap City and MTV’s TRL and bypassed promoting his album, but instead focused on the plight of poor Black people in his home state. According to Banner relief efforts for Katrina all but consumed him to the point that he nearly snapped and had to disappear for several months to re-center himself and reconnect with God. He said he came back a changed man who learned some very hard lessons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We sat down with Banner the other day in LA as he filled us in on what he went through. His highlights and disappointments and the unanswered questions he had. We talked about the love he has for artists like Nelly, Yong Jeezy, Lil Jon, Jim Jones and T.I who all came to his aid and chipped in tremendously behind the scenes. He talked about how Young Jeezy got upset when Banner shared with the public his generous donations. He talked about how Nelly and his family helped pull his spirits up and get his Heal the Hood Foundation in proper order, because in spite of all his relief efforts, Uncle Sam still found time to come visit Banner and try and jam him up for helping out his community. We talked with Banner about leadership and the lack of it in many places. We talked to him about his future plans and why he is seriously heeding the advice of Jim Jones who sat him down and told him the best way someone in his position could be most effective. Peep out this interview as we take a look back to the day and the days that followed after Hurricane Katrina hit. Less