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Beyoncé

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Beyoncé's BeyGOOD Foundation Announces $6M COVID-19 Relief Efforts

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The artist’s BeyGOOD foundation is working to provide resources and mental health services with UCLA and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Onaje McDowelle
GRAMMYs
Apr 23, 2020 - 12:42 pm

Beyoncé is stepping in to help support COVID-19 relief efforts by providing medical resources and increased access to mental health services in the country’s hardest hit areas. The 24-time GRAMMY winner's BeyGOOD foundation has announced a largescale plan of support to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic with the help of local organizations and non-profits.

In a statement on her website, the foundation wrote, "Communities of color are suffering by epic proportions due to COVID-19. Many families live in underserved areas with homes that make it harder to practice social distancing."

"Communities were already lacking funds for education, health and housing are now faced with alarming infection rates and fatalities. And these communities lack access to testing and equitable healthcare."

Considering these issues, the artist’s BeyGOOD foundation will support organizations working on-the-ground towards coronavirus relief initiatives, including providing necessities like food, water, cleaning supplies, medicines, face masks and personal hygiene products to some of the country’s hardest hit areas. Amongst the organizations involved are Matthew 25, No Kid Hungry, United Memorial Medical Center,  World Central Kitchen and others.

In addition to supporting community-based organizations, BeyGOOD is collaborating alongside Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey’s Start Small Fund to donate $6M to mental health and wellness services in Houston, New York, Detroit and New Orleans through partnerships with UCLA and the National Alliance in Mental Illness. Dorsey’s Start Small fund put forth $1B to COVID-19 relief funds last month.

Closing out the statement, they wrote "These are unprecedented times and it will take our collective effort to make a difference."

You can find out more information about Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD foundation and see the statement at their website.

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Beyoncé at 2020 BET Awards

Beyoncé at 2020 BET Awards

Photo: BET Awards 2020/Getty Images

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Watch Beyoncé Dedicate BET 2020 Humanitarian Award To Those "Marching & Fighting For Change"

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Michelle Obama presented the honor to her friend, saying, "You inspire me, you inspire all of us"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 29, 2020 - 1:33 pm

Yesterday, June 28, Beyoncé joined the virtual presentation of the 2020 BET Awards, to accept the Humanitarian Award and offer a powerful speech. The seven-and-a-half-minute segment, which you can view in full below, also included former First Lady Michelle Obama, who presented the award and a video detailing the many philanthropic initiatives the honoree has led with her BeyGOOD Foundation and more.

According to Pitchfork, Chance the Rapper, Nipsey Hussle, John Legend and Quincy Jones have been past recipients of the Humanitarian Award.

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"She's always turning up, looking out and making us a little bit better, a little more fierce and she's doing it all while staying devoted to her children and the loved ones she holds dear," Obama said. "You inspire me, you inspire all of us."

Obama's speech was followed by the video detailing the extensive work Queen Bey has done giving back in her hometown of Houston and beyond. Beyoncé and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, through their nonprofits, collectively donated $6 million to various orgs fighting COVID-19 and supporting mental health, both focused on communities of color. BeyGood's coronavirus work helped open a wing at Houston Memorial Hospital, as well as offer mobile testing and food supplies. It also supported the National Alliance On Mental Health for their on the ground work supporting communities of color in New York, New Orleans, Houston and Detroit.

In the video, we heard from Tina Knowles-Lawson, Treyvon Martin's mother, the director of BeyGOOD, Homecoming Scholarship recipients and others. The scholarships are given to Black students in the U.S., especially those going to HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities). In partnership Global Citizen and Tyler Perry, BeyGOOD has also launched fellowship programs in Africa to support young people there.

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Beyoncé was up next, looking stunning with natural makeup, a diamond choker and strapless black dress. She used her speech to celebrate those taking action in protests around the country, encouraging everyone to not give up and to please vote.

"I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers out there, all of sisters out there, inspiring me, marching and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard and you're proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain. Now we have one more thing we need to do to walk in our true power, and that is to vote. I'm encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system.

We have to continue to do this together, continue to fight for each other and lift each other up, because there are people banking on us staying at home during local elections and primaries happening in states across the country. We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does. So please continue to be the change you want to see."

Beyoncé: Justice For Breonna Taylor Would Demonstrate The Value Of A Black Woman's Life

Her poignant words were followed by the trailer for her upcoming Disney+ film, Black Is King, featuring music from her 2019 Lion King: The Gift album. During the show, the "Formation" singer also earned the BET Her Award for "Brown Skin Girl," a track featuring daughter Blue Ivy Carter, Wizkid and Saint Jhn from the The Gift album.

The broadcast was filled with other powerful moments, including Public Enemy opening the show with a 2020 update on their still pertinent 1989 classic "Fight The Power," with support from Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody, YG and more. Another moving performance critiquing police brutality came from DaBaby and Roddy Ricch rapping "Rockstar," with DaBaby beginning the set on the ground as a white man dressed as a police officer kneeled on his neck, evoking the brutal killing of George Floyd by Derek Chuavin.

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Alicia Keys delivered the first-ever live performance of her touching new track "Perfect Way To Die," Jennifer Hudson brought chills with Nina Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted & Black" and Anderson .Paak and Jay Rock delivering "Lockdown," among other epic musical moments. Watch more via BET's YouTube here.

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GRAMMYs

Beyoncé

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Beyoncé: Justice For Breonna Taylor Would Demonstrate The Value Of A Black Woman's Life

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In an open letter, the global pop star lists the ways political justice can be made for the 26-year-old essential worker killed by police in March
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jun 15, 2020 - 5:32 pm

In an open letter, Beyoncé has listed three ways that can lead to justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman killed by police in March. Doing so, she writes, would "demonstrate the value of a Black woman's life." 

On March 13, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, an EMT, was shot to death in Louisville, Ky. after cops crashed into her apartment with a no-knock warrant. The controversial search warrant allows police to enter a premise without giving warning or reasoning and so three officers raided the apartment without notice a little after midnight. According to reports, the police came to the apartment in connection with an investigation of two men they believe were selling drugs. Police believed one of the men had received packages at Taylor's apartment. Taylor died during a confrontation between her boyfriend and the police that night. 

The letter to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, published on her website, states criminally charging the three officers executing the warrant would be the first step towards justice. She adds that transparency in the investigation and prosecution of the officers, as well as an investigation into the response of the Louisville Metro Police Department in relation to the death of Taylor and the practices that have led to the deaths of unarmed Black people were also important steps to take in the process.

Taylor's death, which has increasingly gained attention since George Floyd's death, brought the Louisville Metro Council to unanimously pass the ban of no-knock warrants. The law was named in honor of Taylor. But Beyoncé believes more can be done and urged the Attorney General to criminally charge the officers, who are currently on administrative reassignment pending investigation, the Louisville Courier Journal reports. 

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Beyond urging for justice, Beyoncé's letter touched on a greater issue: the importance of the black women's lives taken by police. "Your office has both the power and the responsibility to bring Justice to Breonna Taylor, and demonstrate the value of a Black woman's life," she writes. 

Many argue the stories of Black women killed by police don't get enough attention, in the media and in politics. The #SayHerName campaign was created in late 2014 to bring more attention to Black women's deaths at the hands of police. As Brittney Cooper writes for Time, "Black women are rarely the first thought in our outrage over police shootings ... We keep missing the intersection of race and gender when it comes to Black women."

Read the full letter here. 

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Beyoncé headlines Glastonbury 2011

Beyoncé headlines Glastonbury 2011

Photo: Samir Hussein/Getty Images

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BBC To Air Classic Glastonbury Sets From Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Adele, David Bowie, Jay-Z And More In June 2020

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Airing June 25-29, the expansive programming slate celebrates what would have been the festival's 50th anniversary this year
John Ochoa
GRAMMYs
May 27, 2020 - 4:53 pm

U.K. broadcaster BBC has announced it will air an expansive slate of classic Glastonbury performances next month in celebration of what would have been the festival's 50th anniversary. Airing June 25-29, the weekend the festival was supposed to take place before it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, the multi-day broadcast will feature performances from David Bowie, who's 2000 headlining set will air in full for the first time ever, as well as full headlining performances from GRAMMY winners Beyoncé, Adele, Jay-Z and Coldplay, The Guardian reports.

Other performances confirmed to air include sets from Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Amy Winehouse, The Rolling Stones, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, R.E.M., Arctic Monkeys and many more. 

The broadcast will air in the U.K. on BBC Two and BBC Four as well as on a new pop-up channel on BBC iPlayer, the latter of which will feature more than 60 sets, according to BBC.

The broadcast block will also feature The Best Of BBC Music Introducing At Glastonbury, a specially commissioned film chronicling the rise of several major stars who played the festival's new music stage earlier in their careers like Sheeran, George Ezra, NAO and Celeste, according to The Guardian. BBC will also air Glastonbury, the 2006 documentary and concert film. 

As well, national and local BBC radio stations and the BBC Sounds app will air and feature archived performances and new interviews.

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"I'm looking forward to a weekend of reflecting on the history of our festival and going back to some classic performances from David Bowie, Adele, REM, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Billie Eilish and lots more," Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis told The Guardian. "Me and my dad will definitely be watching." 

Originally set to take place June 24–28 at Worthy Farm, Somerset, U.K., Glastonbury 2020 was to feature headliners and major artists like Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Diana Ross, among many other acts.

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GRAMMYs

Pitchfork Fest 2014

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Pitchfork Fest 2020 Has Been Canceled Due To COVID-19 Concerns

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The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Run The Jewels, Waxahatchee, Thundercat, Tierra Whack and more were scheduled to perform at Chicago's Union Park in July
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 6, 2020 - 3:08 pm

Pitchfork Fest was set to celebrate its milestone 15th anniversary this year. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Pitchfork Fest 2020 has been canceled.

The Chicago festival, organized by the digital music publication and scheduled to run July 17–19, said it was "heartbroken" as it broke the news to festivalgoers in a statement on Tuesday, May 6. Pitchfork said the fest would come back in 2021 if the circumstances are right. 

"It can be pretty daunting to think about the future of live music right now, but know that we are fully committed to bringing Pitchfork Music Festival back in 2021, if the public health situation allows for it," organizers said. 

The 2020 festival rendition was set to feature Run The Jewels and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as headliners. Big Thief, Thundercat, Tierra Whack, Caroline Polachek, Waxahatchee, Danny Brown, Maxo Kream, Kim Gordon, Angel Olsen and Yaeji were among other performers set to take the stage at Union Park.  

The festival organized kick-off parties on Feb. 19 and 20 in celebration of its 15 years running. 

Last year, Pitchfork Fest's executive director Adam Krefman spoke to the Recording Academy ahead of the 2019 festival about how it stands out from the rest, its diversity inclusion in its lineup, how much it values being a festival monetarily accessible to fans and how it likes to highlight Chicago's culture. 

"We like to support our own and people are kind of self-made here. And so, that part is just important as the annual celebration of Chicago music and art and culture," Krefman said.

The festival reiterated in their statement that this was not the end for them and that in the meantime, they would continue to support artists in other ways.

"We’re not going anywhere—stay tuned, stay positive, and see you soon," the statement ended. 

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