Faithless Frontman Maxi Jazz Condems Hip Hop's Diamond Greed

JAZZ JOINS WEST IN CONDEMNING DIAMOND GREED: FAITHLESS frontman MAXI JAZZ has joined KANYE WEST in condemning hip-hop's "bling" culture and is urging rappers to shun expensive jewellery in an effort to stamp out the conflict diamond trade which is responsible for mass murder, rape and child slavery. The INSOMNIA hitmaker is appalled that the western world's appetite fuels the criminal culture surrounding diamonds and implores the world's governments to take action. Jazz writes in British newspaper The Independent, "There are exceptions. Kanye West may be categorised as being part of bling culture, but he is not your average hustla. "His campaign to abolish the illicit diamond trade is refreshing, especially given the fact that the majority of his peers are laden with rocks. "So while unimaginable misery is being endured by millions of Africans, and three million people have been murdered in Congo over the last five years, we in the West who needlessly fuel this carnage, care only about the bling aspect." And he suggests GEORGE W BUSH's administration is aware the conflict diamond trade funds much of terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda's activities: "I read a quote from the US General Accounting Office from November 2003, that Al-Qaeda used diamonds to 'earn money, move money and store money'."