NAIROBI, Feb 9, 2012 (AFP) - U.S. rap star 50 Cent visited orphaned schoolchildren in Kenya's biggest slum Thursday, a day after touring camps in impoverished and war-torn Somalia.

"To meet those kids was so inspiring, they have nothing, yet they are so positive and optimistic," the rapper whose real name is Curtis Jackson, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the UN World Food Program.

"I want to do my part so they get food and an education. I hope more people will join me to help end this devastating situation," he said.

The heavily tattooed rapper, known for his explicit and often violent lyrics in albums such as "The Massacre," said he was moved by seeing the impact of decades of war and hunger when he visited camps in anarchic southern Somalia on Wednesday.

"What I am seeing is devastating — these women and children have risked everything to come to this Somalia camp, just to get food," he said. "They need our help."

The rapper made the visit with the WFP aid agency to see the impact of last year's crippling drought in the Horn of Africa region, after he donated money from the sales of a drink he owns.

50 Cent's 2003 debut album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin," sold 12 million copies.