Rani G. Whitfield, M.D. – Signature

Also known as “Tha Hip Hop Doc” or “H2D,” Dr. Rani Whitfield is a board-certified Family Practice and Sports Medicine physician who uses hip-hop media to deliver health messages to youth across the country. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, has his Certificate of Added Certification in Sports Medicine, is a member of Mayor Kip Holden’s HIV/AIDS Task Force and sits on the Louisiana Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He is also a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association Go Red/Wear Red Campaign and the American Stroke Association’s Power to End Stroke campaign.

“What motivates me is my 5-year-old daughter,” Whitfield says. “To be a parent, to be responsible for someone else, makes me take my health more seriously.”

Whitfield may work hard, but he also plays hard. He won the 2010 Dancing with Big Buddy event, modeled after Dancing with the Stars, in May 2010. He plays bass, sings and raps in his band U4ria, which played its premiere “Live After Five” event in April. In addition, Whitfield has put out two full music CDs and four health-related comic books.

“I’m trying to reach subsets of people who aren’t healthy,” Whitfield says. “I don’t just use hip-hop. I speak to the elderly, women’s groups, etc. I try to reach everyone.”

That “everyone” includes those shunned by society, even convicted criminals. “I’ve touched every gangster on the street—by being their physician in prison.”

No matter what he’s working on, Whitfield’s true passion always comes through: “When you see me, I want you to see health. That’s what I’m all about. The biggest investment you can make is in yourself.”

Read more at h2doc.com and legionofhealth.com.