Hurricane Katrina has devastated all of us. Very few people have been left unscathed, even celebrities. BV caught up with Mississippi son, rapper David Banner, rap mogul Master P who helped put New Orleans on the hip-hop map and Sheila E., a legendary drummer with deep roots in the Big Easy. Each of them was kind enough to tell BV about their own devastating experiences with Katrina. We encourage you to help in any way you can, whether it's through any of these entertainers' personal efforts, or through other charitable efforts.

DAVID BANNER

Heal the Hood, your foundation, is at the forefront of hip-hop's response to the Katrina disaster. When did you decide that you had to do something?

I just saw that I as a rap artist, a so-called gangsta rapper, can react quicker than our government. The day I heard about it I sent my tour bus full of water and supplies to a stadium where people were being evacuated to. I switched up concerts and got people on the phone and people rallied up in a day's time. If I have the power to bring together Cumulus, Radio One, Infinity and Clear Channel, and we can organize a relief fund within two or three days and our government can't get down there to our people, that's bulls**t.

In you opinion, what has the media left out of the extensive coverage they've given Katrina thus far?

A sense of urgency, there's no sense of urgency. When 9/11 happened, people acted like the end of the world was coming. This is not two buildings. This is cities and towns devastated, dead bodies floating in the water, kids dying. I honestly feel like if CNN would have shown more white people on the television dying, I think the United States government would have acted a lot quicker.

The same states that sealed Bush's victory are the same states that need him now. And as far as the media is concerned . . . I'm watching how they're trying to portray black people in general as being savages, but you gon' let them sit in water for four or five days -- no food, no security, no nothing -- and people wonder why people were shooting at them damn helicopters? It's because black people saw helicopters going back and forth with no f**king people on it. You imagine that you sitting up and you waiting on relief and you see helicopters going back and forth, but it ain't no people in it, ain't no food coming out of it. And then you look at who Bush decided to allow to do the rebuilding in New Orleans -- Haliburton -- that's the vice-president's company. Come on dude, what's that? Not only are you gon' not send relief, but now you're going to allow your people to profit off our pain? And in Mississippi, it's even worse. Due to the fact that Mississippi, the Gulf of Mississippi, is not getting no coverage for the most part means there's no message of urgency. That's not right.

What did you think of Kanye's comments about Bush?

It's self-explanatory. I've been screaming that for four or five years.

Have you been overwhelmed by the numbers of people, especially your peers, who've wanted to step-up and help?

That's why I say it's a blessing in disguise. It's brought so many people together that have never worked together before. I was just really touched by the fact that people trust me the way that they do and threw this responsibility in my lap with the Heal the Hood situation. I had so many rappers say, 'We don't trust our leaders. In times past, they have let us down. They have not done the things that they suppose to do. We gon' send you the clothes.' T.I. said, 'When we raise this money, we gon' send it to you Banner.' When I came up with the idea for the concert, it was initially a one-time thing and I was going to disburse the money, but people was like 'Naw, you got to take this responsibility because we trust you,' and it's a big responsibility. I thank God for believing in me enough to make it happen, but what I want to tell people is I need help. I need ideas. I need people to constantly stay in contact.

MASTER P

How has your family been affected?

I got most of my immediate family up out of there. I found my father the other day. We looking for my wife's father and her sister [they have since been found]. It's been a nightmare taking people from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, from Baton Rouge to Lafayette to Houston and then to California. So, most of our people, we got them in Houston and California now.

How has getting assistance been for your family?

I started this thing called Team Rescue and our website is www.teamrescueone.com and also our number is 1-888-886-7377. I have built a foundation and put a couple of million dollars into it for housing and assistance. And also, my wife is doing a foundation for women because there is a lot of stuff that women in the shelters need. Romeo is taking care of the kids. We're also doing tours, educational stuff, finding schools, 'cause it's gon' to be a big rebuilding process. Team Rescue is a way to give our people a piece of mind because a lot of these programs are not going to reach these families until two or three months from now. Most of our people down there aren't educated to fill out forms for assistance. We on the front lines, we out there with the people, we out there making a change. We also have donation stations. It's a lot of people out there walking around with no shoes on, no clothes. [We're] also setting people up mentally, counseling [them] to move on.

So it's not just my family. I'm from New Orleans, this is something that I have to do. Everybody else is not going to understand where we at and by me being in a better position, I feel this is my duty to make sure that I give to my people.

I know that this is not the time for blame, but how do you feel about the government's response?

I think it took longer than it should, but thank God that the government did get there. I know a lot of people angry with Bush, saying that he could have did this. I don't know what the situation is. My whole thing right now is I know my people need help. A lot of people looting and we showing a whole 'nother side, [but] we also missing the point that a lot of people out there were saving people's lives. I sent helicopters out there. I sent boats. We saved at least 150 peoples lives out there. We put people on buses shipping them back out there. I got a lot of people that I know actually jumped in the water, carrying old people, carrying handicapped people -- we need to pay more attention to that. A lot of people sacrificed, sacrificed with the little food they had that they shared with other people. We just stereotyping, showing the negative side. To me this thing is about survival. The people that survived they need a second chance at life. We need to rebuild together. It's not a joking matter. It's not something we can just overlook. This is gonna affect the whole country.

SHEILA E.

I saw you on Entertainment Tonight. Like a lot of people, I didn't know that you had family from New Orleans. Has your family been from there for a long time?

Yeah, my mom, all her brothers and sisters and her mom and dad and my grandparents, everybody was born there in New Orleans. My mom is Creole.

Is your family okay? Were they able to evacuate?

We have over a hundred relatives there in New Orleans, so it's hard to find that many people in the first place. We have found or located about half of them right now. That's a lot because, at first, last week, we hadn't heard from anyone. We are finding them, so that's a blessing. A lot of them are relocated in different areas. Some went to Baton Rouge. Some went to Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Jersey, um, a couple have come here (California) and I know a majority of them want to come here I know that we're expecting a couple of relatives this weekend . . . so we're anxious to see them.

I'm sure you are like the rest of us. It's just unbelievable.

Yes, it's heartbreaking. It really is. I mean all of my family, everyone lost their home. You are talking about over a hundred people, so where are they going to go? And I'm not just saying just my family, it's just everyone there. They lost their homes. They have nothing. Some of them are trying to get here but they can't because some of them can't get on the plane because they don't have ID. It's all of the little things that we take for granted. They need a license to get a car so we have family members going to pick them up. On the other side, my dad's family in Dallas has opened their home for some of my cousins on my mom's side . . . finding schools for kids and, you know, money. I really don't understand why it took so long for something to happen. That's what's heartbreaking.

What is your take on the governmental reaction?

I'm very disappointed in how the government responded. It would be different if we didn't know that it was coming. We're watching this storm headed for New Orleans for a week, so why couldn't they have set up rescue units or whatever we had to do around the surrounding area outside of New Orleans to be prepared for this Category 5 hurricane? We knew it was going to be bad. We knew it was going to hit land. Why couldn't we just for the sake of having a B plan set things up for the people? It's a shame what's happened. We really need to pray for all these people and really try to help them rebuild their lives.