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Macy Gray 

Photo: David Corio/Redferns via Getty Images 

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Macy Gray Launches MYGOOD.ORG To Support Families Affected By Police Brutality

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The organization plans to help out with logistical costs, including hospital, funeral and legal expenses. It will also prioritize helping families with their mental health
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Aug 5, 2020 - 5:43 pm

Soulful R&B singer Macy Gray is lending a hand to people who've been affected by police brutality.

Gray has launched MyGood.org, a non-profit that will provide emotional and financial assistance to families who have lost a loved one at the hands of police. The organization plans to help out with logistical costs, including hospital, funeral and legal expenses. It will also prioritize helping families with their mental health. Gray wants to specifically have a big focus on mental health as she has seen her own aunt and uncle struggle mentally, emotionally and financially with the death of their son after a bar fight more than four years ago. MyGood.org will put the families in touch with support groups to help them cope with their loss. 

"It’s impossible to ignore the fact that there are thousands of families in our country who are grieving from unaccountable deaths due to police brutality. We are here to identify those families and help them with grief counseling, legal and financial assistance," Gray said in a statement. "I’ve spoken with a list of mothers who have lost their children in this unthinkable manner and they need help. Everyone grieves in different ways but the common thread is their question of how do they continue on—they need support and this is what we’re here to do."

According to the Washington Post, police have shot and killed 976 people in the past year. The numbers show Black people are killed at a higher rate than white people. 

The new organization will also aim to bring more awareness to the issue by giving the families a platform to speak on their experiences. 

"It’s exciting to see people demanding that the police system be changed; and pressuring judges and juries to hold the officers who commit murders accountable. In reality, the police have been around since the 18th century and it will be a while before they flip. MyGood.org is here to help accelerate that process on behalf of those moms - and have their backs in the meantime," Gray said. 

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GRAMMYs

Alicia Keys

Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

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Alicia Keys Pens Touching Poem To Her Son

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Keys' poem may resonate with parents raising Black children in the U.S.
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jun 4, 2020 - 5:11 pm

Alicia Keys has written a poem for her youngest son, Genesis, that honors him and highlights what she hopes for his future as the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer pressed his knee into his neck, continues to create conversations around race relations in the U.S.

"My beautiful baby boy ⁣/ So curious and pure ⁣/Yet SO clear about what you don’t want ," she wrote. " I hope that inner strength and fire/ Never extinguishes⁣/ And you never feel the sway to fit in⁣/ Or be silenced⁣."

The "Underdog" singer ended the poem, posted on Instagram on Wednesday, June 3, with #Blacklivesmatter and guided her followers to a resource link on how to stay involved. 

Data shows Black Americans are two-and-a-half times more likely than white people to be shot and killed by police. Keys' poem touches on a strong sentiment that many parents raising Black children may relate to. 

Clint Smith writes about the experience Black parents face for the Atlantic. "Our children have raised the stakes of this fight, while also shifting the calculus of how we move within it. It is one thing to be concerned for my own well-being, to navigate the country as a black man and to encounter its risks," he writes. "It is another thing to be raising two black children and to consider both the dangers for yourself and the dangers that lie ahead for them."

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GRAMMYs

Snoop Dogg 

Photo: John Parra/Getty Images for Bud Light

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Snoop Dogg, Rare Essence To Release New Track “Hit The Floor”

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The band, who has been representing D.C. for more than four decades, will premiere the song and music video at a virtual concert in celebration of their 45th anniversary
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 15, 2020 - 2:13 pm

Snoop Dogg and Washington D.C. go-go band Rare Essence are getting together for the love of funk. “Hit The Floor” is the first-time collab between the band famous for the funk-rooted D.C. genre and the artist known for his own love of funk.

"Hit The Floor" and its accompanying music video will premiere during an hour-long virtual show on Sept. 19 at 10 p.m. EST/ 7 p.m. PST where Rare Essence will perform and celebrate their 45th anniversary. For now, take a sneak peek at GRAMMY.com's exclusive footage of the music video collaboration.

In the footage, Snoop talks working together with the band who has represented their hometown for over four decades. "This is a great record. It feels good," he says. The multi-faced artist also shared some love for Rare Essence and the go-go genre. 

"They've been doing this since Jaws was a goldfish," he says. "They're one of the greatest to ever do it."

Watch the preview above to go behind the scenes with Snoop and Rare Essence and hear more on what Snoop thinks of the D.C. music genre. Visit the Rare Essence site here to get your ticket to the 45th anniversary performance. 

24kGoldn's 2020 Midas Touch

GRAMMYs

Billie Eilish

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation

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Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, DJ Khaled & More Team Up With Global Citizen & HeadCount To Encourage Fans To Vote

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Several big-name pop stars are teaming up with two entities trying to get thousands registered to vote
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 8, 2020 - 1:13 pm

Global Citizen, a movement seeking to end extreme poverty by 2030, and HeadCount, a voter registration non-profit, are teaming up to get Americans registered to vote for the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 3. To do so, they are tapping in some major names in hopes they can help thousands of voters register. 

Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Nicky Jam, DJ Khaled are some of the big names joining the non-partisan Just Vote campaign targeting young voters, according to Rolling Stone. The campaign is offering eligible voters who check their status or who register experiences, memorabilia and performances donated by participating artists. 

City Girls, Julianne Hough, FINNEAS, Quavo and Usher are among other artists supporting the voter registration drive. Rolling Stone reports that people who check their registration status may be up for “a virtual dance lesson with Usher and his choreographer, a never-before-seen performance from Nicky Jam, a happy hour meet and greet with Quavo, or a virtual get together with DJ Khaled." A Taylor Swift signed guitar, and merch from FINNEAS as well as Eilish, who began partnering with HeadCount in June 2019, are also up to giveaway.

Global Citizen and HeadCount hope to register 50,000 voters before the November election, a statement said. 

How Music Is Helping The NBA's Top Lyricists Rebound In Orlando "Bubble," At-Home Quarantines & Beyond

GRAMMYs

Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

 
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The Recording Academy Establishes Black Music Collective

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The newly launched collective comprises a group of prominent Black music creators and professionals who share the common goal of amplifying Black voices within the Recording Academy and the wider music community
Recording Academy
Sep 3, 2020 - 6:30 am

The Recording Academy has today (Sept. 3) announced the creation of its Black Music Collective (BMC), a group of prominent Black music creators and professionals who share the common goal of amplifying Black voices within the Academy and the wider music community.

As part of the Recording Academy's commitment to evolving hand-in-hand with its membership, BMC will serve as a space for members to speak openly about new and emerging opportunities in Black music across all genres and identify ways to drive more representation.

The launch of BMC follows the Recording Academy's recent partnership with Color Of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization, in July, which set forth to create a Black music advisory group. The BMC fulfills this promise and is bringing together creators and business leaders to create a pipeline of future industry trailblazers. Leaders will meet regularly and initiate programs that will encourage participation and accelerate Black membership in the Recording Academy.

Jeffrey Harleston, Jimmy Jam, Quincy Jones, Debra Lee, John Legend, and Sylvia Rhone will serve as honorary chairs of the BMC. A distinguished leadership committee will be confirmed in the coming weeks and will work in sync with the honorary chairs to propel the collective's mission. Recording Academy Trustee Riggs Morales and Washington, D.C., Chapter Executive Director Jeriel Johnson will lead the initiative internally. 

"The Black Music Collective is necessary to help drive the Recording Academy into a new era. Creating an open space for Black music creators can only benefit our membership as a whole," Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, said. "Through the past few months, I've been personally invested in propelling this collective along with Chapter leadership within the Academy. Together, we will elevate Black music creators within our organization and the industry at large." 

"As Black music continues to drive culture, it is essential we grow and maintain representation within the Academy and the music industry," Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the Recording Academy, said. "We're thrilled to help develop the leaders of tomorrow with impactful educational and experiential programs that we will announce in coming weeks."

In March 2018, the Recording Academy established a third-party task force to examine issues of diversity and inclusion within the Academy and the broader music community. The Academy has since taken action on the Task Force's initial assessment and recommendations and has made additional strides to facilitate a culture of belonging while recognizing the need to focus on underrepresented communities. Recent initiatives include the hiring of a Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, a $1 million donation to Color Of Change, alignment with #TheShowMustBePaused movement created by Jamila Thomas (Atlantic Records) and Brianna Agyemang (Platoon), and the development of an industry Inclusion Rider and Toolkit to be released later this year.

Stay up to date on the Recording Academy's progress, future announcements and recent initiatives on diversity and inclusion.

Recording Academy Invites & Celebrates Its 2020 New Member Class

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