Music’s Wyclef Jean, Kenny Latimore, Doug E. Fresh and Biz Markie are lending their time to help whip the African-American community into shape. The artists have signed on to help promote the "50 Million Pound Challenge," a health initiative launched by Dr. Ian Smith of BET’s Meet the Faith and VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club.

The campaign aims to help the African-American community take control of its health by getting fit and losing the excess weight that threatens almost 50% of all Americans, especially African-Americans. In an interview with Essence magazine, Dr. Smith said he was inspired to develop the challenge as a way to make weight-loss and healthy living fun. “I wanted to create something that would be less about individual effort and more about our coming together as a community,” he said.

Sponsored by State Farm Insurance Co., the "50 Million Pound Challenge" embarked on a 14-city tour to help spread its message and promote the initiative’s website, which offers free online weight-loss support. At each of the tour’s stops, attendees can enjoy live entertainment and free health screenings.

“No matter who you are or where you come from, we all need to take time to take care of our health,” Wyclef said in a statement. “Life is too short and there’s too much music and good times to enjoy. The Challenge is giving us a great opportunity to look out for our health and look out for each other. It’s helping us make choices we know we need to make. We all have the power to lead healthier, longer lives. Let’s not waste a moment. We owe it to our loved ones. We owe to ourselves. If we pull together, we can make a tremendous difference.”

Since launching April 7, the Challenge has signed up over 55,000 participants. Free challenge kits that include a CD and brochure containing food and health advice from Dr. Ian and a free pedometer are available at participating State Farm offices across the country.

The tour’s stops include Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Miami, Memphis, Cleveland, Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Oakland and New Orleans. For more information, visit The 50 Million Pound Challenge.