RAP impresario Russell Simmons, who helped bring the world LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Phat Farm clothing and the HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam,” is trying to make the hip-hop community a political force in Washington .

Simmons’ just-announced Hip-Hop Summit Action Network will have offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

“The hip-hop community has been incredibly receptive to our attempt to organize and mobilize their efforts toward making young people’s concerns a priority in Washington and in the U.S. government in general,” Simmons said in a statement.

“We’re very excited, and we are sure their input will help to shape a better America.”

The network is an outgrowth of the Hip-Hop Summit that Simmons hosted in Midtown last month, where artists and record label executives convened to discuss problems facing rap music – and ways to police themselves so the government won’t start to.

To that end, the New York-based network will fund candidates who take a strong stance on freedom of speech.

Other initiatives include parental advisory labeling for CDs and industry adoption of mentoring programs.

The celebrity-filled board of directors includes Simmons, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Minister Benjamin (Chavis) Muhammad, Source founder David Mays and several record execs.