Eschewing the stereotypes that neither hip-hop nor Facebook can amount to much good, Minneapolis rapper Unicus of the group Kanser has hastily assembled the Twin Cities' first major benefit concert for his native Haiti, and he has the ubiquitous social-networking website largely to thank for it.

The event, dubbed Hip-Hop for Haiti, is set for Tuesday at the Nomad World Pub in the West Bank area of Minneapolis, 501 Cedar Av. S. Performers already confirmed include Desdamona, Illuminous 3, DJ Snuggles, Ernie Rhodes, More Than Lights, Aquafresh, Young E and many more.

"I just posted a note on Facebook about wanting to do a show, and the response was immediate and very positive," said Unicus, whose real name is Harry Philibert.

Philibert emigrated to the United States with his family in 1985 and still has relatives in Haiti, whom he believes are all alive but obviously in great need following the earthquake that leveled the island nation Tuesday. Putting together next week's concert, he said, "was the obvious thing to do."

"I'm a performer, and this is the best thing I can do to help from thousands of miles away," said Philibert, whose group with fellow rapper Big Zach (Zach Combs) has been a mainstay in the local hip-hop scene for nearly a decade.

A pay-what-you-can donation will be requested at the door for Tuesday's event in lieu of a cover charge. The money will likely be split between hip-hop star Wyclef Jean's organization Yéle Haiti and Atlanta-based relief outfit CARE.

At least one more Twin Cities musical benefit has been lined up for Haitian relief: The Open Sing of Mozart's "Requiem" -- open to musicians of all ages -- will take place Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. at Church of the Epiphany, 4900 Nathan Lane in Plymouth. Tickets are $10 and will also benefit CARE.