The yet untitled album is to be released around the launch of the life size Nina Simone statue in Tryon on Feb. 21, 2010, Nina&39;s birthday. Organizers say this will be a special period for the aligning of the heritage of two great African American and African Jamaican icons, with February being celebrated globally as Bob Marley Month and Black History Month as well as Reggae Month in Jamaica.

The album will include performances by several pop and reggae female artists, including Lisa &39;Simone&39; Kelly, Nina&39;s daughter and executor to her estate, who also recently released her own critically acclaimed tribute album to her mother, &39;Simone on Simone.&39; The collaboration will also continue to infuse several live event projects being planned for April and September 2010 and coordinated projects in Ghana, Africa.

Zenos Frudakis&squo;s full-size-model for the Nina Simone sculpture will be on display in Tryon on Sunday, Oct. 11 in the Nina Simone Plaza (54 South Trade Street) from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

This creative and philanthropic partnership is in keeping with the Ghetto Youth&39;s Foundation&39;s mission to improve the lives of disadvantaged and minority youths both here and abroad by educating and assisting this population with the ultimate goal to reduce poverty, social, family disorder and alienation that this group feels on a daily basis. The musical and civil rights heritage of Nina Simone and the Nina Simone Project has been recognized as an effective partnership in its dedication to educational scholarship, musical preservation and community development.

For more information, visit ghettoyouths.com, ninasimoneproject.org and theninasimonefoundation.org.