WASHINGTON - The rap group Public Enemy brought a message of hope and hard work at a free concert in the District Wednesday night.

Public Enemy, known for raising awareness for political and social causes, took on youth homelessness at a live show at the G.W. Lisner Auditorium. Chuck D, Flavor Flav and the rest of the group held the concert to benefit The Sasha Bruce House, a homeless youth shelter.

The rap icons had Thanksgiving dinner at the shelter, then boarded a flatbed truck and performed a free show for people on the street before taking off to the concert at Lisner.

Hip hop pioneer Flava Flav and Chuck D. offered words of encouragement and inspiration to the youth at the shelter. Flava Flav said they should keep going to school because they alone will create their destiny.

"We set our own course and as long as we go down the right course, then we're gonna end up with the right results," Flava Flav said.

Youth say they left feeling encouraged to rise above their circumstance.

The benefit concert is expected to have raised tens of thousands of dollars.

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