Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats adopt!

In a recent interview with VladTV.com, seasoned Hip-Hop producer Swizz Beatz revealed that he and wife Alicia Keys adopted Soweto, a village inside the city of Johannesburg, South Africa that houses an estimated 65% of the city’s residents.

“We went there...just to film the process of a particular lady and her daughter. She's a beautiful lady with a beautiful spirit. She's HIV positive. We were filming the before-and-after effect of taking [certain] medications,” he explained.

Swizz also admitted that initially he traveled there in support of Keys’ far-reaching humanitarian efforts. But after speaking with the locals he realized the problems in the village were more severe than he anticipated, prompting the couple to take action.

“I'm just sitting there, kicking it, talking to the locals. Mind you, they have no water, they have no heat, they have no electricity, [and] they have tin houses. So I'm speaking to this one guy...and he was like, ‘This is beautiful what [you're doing], but we have no water, we have no this, we have no that. We have no tools. How can we help better ourselves?’” said Beatz.

Since the encounter, the couple set up a meeting with the local government, which granted them approval to purchase containers, ultimately allowing residents access to heat and hot water. They have also started an education program for the men in Soweto in hopes that it will help them get jobs and build their village. Of the Soweto people, Beatz added, “Instead of being mad, disgruntled, ignorant [about their economic disadvantages], their vibe was like, super-Zen.”

- By Kiki Louya