Hip-hop heavyweights will (remotely) come together Thursday (April 23) for a coronavirus relief benefit concert to help out the heavily impacted state where the genre was born.
The Universal Hip Hop Museum (UHHM) curated the event that media outlet Mass Appeal will present this evening from 6 to 9 p.m. ET. Nas, Ice-T, Wu-Tang Clan, Chuck D of Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, De La Soul, Kurtis Blow and more rap royalty are slated to perform at the live stream show hosted by Video Music Box host and co-creator Ralph McDaniels. The three-hour charity concert will be streamed on Mass Appeal’s YouTube channel and simulcasted on UHHM’s Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
“New York has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state is suffering. Many front line healthcare workers are making heroic sacrifices to care for patients infected by the coronavirus. African Americans and economically challenged communities have been disproportionately affected,” UHHM said on their official website’s event page. “During times of crisis, the Hip Hop community has come together to help mend the broken and uplift the downtrodden. HIP HOP LOVES NY is our way of showing support and thanks.”
During the show, fans can pledge donations directly on YouTube or by texting 646-992-8446. All proceeds will go to SOMOS Community Care, a network of nearly 2,500 health care providers for Medicaid members in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn, and The Bronx Community Relief Effort, which began in the wake of COVID-19 and aims to raise $10 million to support on-the-ground operations specifically for the Bronx community.
In a local interview ahead of the event, McDaniels mentioned “quite a few of the artists, especially some of the older artists, have been impacted directly” from coronavirus, from virus-related deaths of local, legendary DJs to its disproportionate impact on the larger black community.
Watch “Hip Hop Loves NY” below beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
