Ludacris

Hip-hop rap star Ludacris was so moved by the enthusiastic reception he received during a 2003 visit to Africa that he has determined to help the continent combat poverty.

The One Minute Man star was astounded inhabitants in South Africa's Soweto area were familiar with his music -- and shocked by the adverse conditions they face.

"Their projects compared to ours. It looked like a damn tent set up in the middle of a dirt road no bigger than my arm's reach. Thousands of them, in Soweto," Ludacris said.

"I was there for a week, last year in December. They were singing Stand Up. It was amazing enough that I went to a whole other continent, 16 hours away and they''re singing my song. Crazy."

As for his charity, the Ludacris Foundation, he said, "The motivation comes from how you feel good when you do good. It's that feeling and knowing that what you do is the right thing.

"Like when somebody gave you something when you were a kid, and how good you felt. Knowing that I can do that and make people feel that way, that's the motivation."

Source