Mos Def made the trek to Louisiana in support of Jena 6 yesterday, the group of six African-American young men charged with attempted murder of a white student that had been taunting them with racial slurs and supported his white friends when they hung three nooses from the “white tree” in the school yard, a tree under which only white students sat.

The iconic rapper led a rally in which thousands of other people came from far and wide to participate. He is asking other influential African-Americans to join with him in showing support for Jena 6, including the likes of Will Smith, Kanye West, Jay-Z and 50 Cent.

According to a statement from his publicist, Mos Def is “asking African Americans of influence and concerned parties to join him in the fight against racial inequality and show solidarity for these young people, who are being treated very harshly by the law. The prosecution of these young men symbolizes a terrible miscarriage of justice, by punishing students opposing segregation in their schools and disregarding the threatening acts of others who advocate it.”

If more hip-hop icons could join Mos Def in this effort to see justice done, maybe they can teach up-and-coming hip-hop hopefuls to take out their grills, take off their diamond chains, leave their trophy whores and stand for something actually worth rapping about.