Next time you're about to get romantic with your lover you can reach for your 'Jimmie Hatz'. Seriously, forget Trojans and Shiek.. There is now a brand of condoms being specifically marketed to the Hip Hop community called 'Jimmie Hatz'. For those who are scratching their heads, 'Jimmy' was the Hip Hop term given to the male organ and popularized by artists like the Jungle Brothers when they did their classic song 'Jimbrowski'. 'Hats' have always been a slang term for condoms. De La Soul and KRS-One with his landmark song Jimmy made the phrase Jimmie Hats a household phrase. It's about time someone actually marketed a useful product around this Hip Hop slogan.

Harry Terrel who is the CEO of Common Ground USA which produces the Jimmie Hatz condoms told Launch.com that he wanted to raise AIDs awareness and help decrease the infection rate among cats who are a part of the Hip Hop community. Currently the highest rate of HIV infection is among cats in the hood who are part of the Hip Hop generation.

I recall speaking to Washington, DC based rapper Jahi who has developed a classroom curriculum and currently runs an outreach AIDs awareness program about the high rate of AIDs and HIV in our community. Jahi noted that in some neighborhoods he has done testing and discovered half the young cats who have come through are infected. Many upon discovering they are infected have adapted attitudes ranging from callousness to outright dismal and non concern. Some of this is to shield one from the shock. But a lot of it comes from ignorance and the mix messages we collectively send to younger people. On one hand we warn people about the dangers of having sex, but then everything we promote from TV talk shows to soap operas that revolve around sex. The words protection rarely enter the conversation.

For more info on Jahi peep his website at http://www.jahiphop.com. Also he gets major props for his participation at National HIV Testing Day at Howard University. The event was hosted by BET, WPGC and the Dept of Health. Also Jimmie Hatz is seeking rappers to donate safe sex songs. Unfortunately I could not find their website under Common Ground USA or Jimmie Hatz.. so I will have to lace y'all up after that info is made known.