The Black Heart Foundation launched the campaign at the beginning of July in response to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. They intended to raise £500,000 from public donations. This money will be used to support twice as many young people through its Black Heart Scholarship Programme, raising the number of scholars from 100 to 200. Thanks to Stormzy’s support, the Black Heart Foundation say they’ve “smashed through”  their fundraising target with a total of £1.45 million, including match funding. This will enable the charity to fund an additional 50 scholars.

Ric Lewis, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Black Heart Foundation, said: “We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity. Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society.”

“I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible. I know there are others who still want to help us hit our original £500,000 crowdfunding target on Just Giving and so we are issuing one final invitation to everyone to get involved, give whatever they can, and be the change we want to see in our world.”

The donation is a grant to be put towards any educational activity, not just university degrees. Current recipients of the scholarship are being supported through undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, but also qualifications ranging from iGCSEs to pilot training. With the scholarship, they don’t have to worry about their financial situations at the same time. Anyone from an under-sourced and under-represented background is eligible to apply for the grant.

A spokesperson for the #Merky Foundation said: “The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our £10 million-pound pledge, announced earlier this year. Their ‘Each Day. Every Day’ campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our £500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young person’s life.”

The grime star initially declared his plan to donate half his net worth to organisations actively fighting racial inequality, in June of this year. This followed the global Black Lives Matter protests that were sparked by the death of George Floyd. He also established the ‘Stormzy scholarships’, to financially support two Black students through Cambridge every year.

Pinnock, second from the left, is the only Black member of Little Mix

The star has been opening up about her struggles with discrimination and prejudice amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and suggested that her experience in Little Mix has been different to those of her bandmates because of the colour of her skin. The singer admits that, as the only Black member of the band, she sometimes feels ‘invisible’ in her own group, and senses that she is the least preferred among Little Mix fans, confessing that she feels this especially strongly when touring predominantly white countries. 

Despite her early experiences of racism, Pinnock says she was taken aback by the extent of this disparity, telling Channel 4 ‘I just wish that I knew more… that I was more educated on this and I knew that, yeah, your race will hold you back a bit. I just wish I knew so I could prepare myself’. Pinnock recalls that in 2011, after Little Mix’s X Factor win, choreographer Frank Gatson told her ‘You are the Black girl, you have to work ten times harder’. At first confused by his words, the singer says that this advice from Gatson, who is also Black, ‘made sense’ later in her career. Pinnock indeed feels greater pressure to work harder to satisfy fans and impress critics, observing that ‘Talent alone isn’t enough’ for Black artists to be successful, and that ‘Our reality is no matter how far you think you’ve come, racism exists’.

The Little Mix star is not the only Black musician calling out racism in the industry. Fellow X Factor winner Alexandra Burke also recalls having to put in additional effort to please white audiences, revealing that she was even asked to bleach her skin to appear ‘whiter’, and told not to style her hair in braids or an afro, because ‘You have to have hair… that appeals to white people’. Another Black X Factor contestant, Misha B, also recently expressed her feelings of being ‘devalued’ by the music industry, and said X Factor producers created an unfair ‘angry Black girl narrative’ during her time on the show.

As previously reported, Pinnock will be fronting a TV documentary about racism and colourism in the UK. Leigh-Anne: Colourism & Race will be broadcast on BBC Three, where last year Pinnock’s bandmate Jesy Nelson spoke out against cyberbullying, but no air date has yet been confirmed.

‘Libation‘ is a politically charged track. A stripped back instrumental echoes the Afro sound of Fuse’s hits, but deliberately omits the horns that characterise his traditionally upbeat sound. Lyrically, Fuse addresses issues such as the slave trade. ‘You stole my pride when you took my name//but you can never out my flame‘ the artist defies, with passion.

Fuse took to social media to outline the track’s political nuances. ‘Let’s use this as an opportunity to open up debate and create real change‘, he captioned his YouTube video, ‘do your own research and educate yourself as quickly as possible…people are dying everyday of racism so time is not a luxury‘. It is a powerful statement from Fuse ODG, who has pioneered a commercial wave of Afro-beats throughout his career.

The word ‘Libation‘ relates to a drink poured as an offer to a deity. Therefore, there song’s imagery is innately religious.  The lyric video which accompanies the single adheres to this principle. The background displays a picture of White Jesus, and as the song progresses the painting burns in an open fire. It ties in with the overall meaning of the song, which aims to galvanise people into crumbling the systematic racism that riddles the Western world.

Fuse ODG’s ‘Libation’ is more of a political statement than a single. The bare Afro-beat instrumental foils a war-cry, aimed at racist oppressive structures. Find attached below a clip of the singer educating on the White Jesus imagery that is included in the music video.

View this post on Instagram

but I am Anti ‘White’ Jesus…my reasoning in the video…watch and let’s do the below coz it’s Action time.. This is For the real ones Only….. This weekend is Emancipation weekend. Marking the Emancipation Act of 1st August 1834. This makes the abolishing of slavery but we are still yet to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery till this day! We need to come together on this issue Spiritually & Mentally. TODAY…I will post a new video of the ‘white Jesus’ burning with a brand new track called “Libation” The song is a prayer and a meditation on freedom that came to me directly from the most high earlier this year before the death of George Floyd. It has given me strength during these difficult times and I hope it can do the same for you! All you need to do is repost the video on your stories. Add your countries Flag so we can stand in solidarity Globally and @ the following: @franciscus (The Pope) @justinwelby (Most Senior Bishop in the Church of England) @thechurchofengland Let’s use this as an opportunity to open up a debate and create real change. I mean real change. Let’s goo Let me see a for the truth Gang Love Always Fuse ODG #NowhiteJesus #KnowJesus #TINA

A post shared by Fuse ODG (@fuseodg) on Aug 2, 2020 at 12:53am PDT

Stormzy decided to help the local charity because he believes the work that they are doing within his local community is ‘remarkable‘. He explained that he wanted to take part because helping ‘Good Guys‘ was ‘way more giving and way more thoughtful‘ than what he would normally spend his day doing. Therefore, the rapper believed ‘he should take a little bit of time‘ to help out. Ishae, Stormzy’s young fan, was selected for the experience because of the recent positive behaviour he displayed at school. He arrived home to find the Glastonbury headliner standing in his hallway, and his reaction was one of total adulation.

Imagine coming home from school to find Stormzy decorating your bedroom. That’s what happened to 15-year-old Ishae. pic.twitter.com/sXQDICH4Sq

— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) July 9, 2020

The charity decorates the bedrooms of minors in need, free of charge. Cyle Carth, the organisation’s founder, expressed his delight at how the project had gone. He claimed that he was ‘very happy’ and that the day ‘could not have gone any better‘. Carth labelled Stormzy as a ‘role model’ for young children, adding that he would like to ‘hire‘ the rapper because ‘he could reach all the top spots‘.

Stormzy’s charitable contributions have been well-documented over the last few weeks. He donated £10 million, almost a staggering half of his net worth, to the Black Lives Matter movement last month. He used the press opportunity today to comment on the movement. ‘One thing I really want the movement to do is show what it means to be black‘, Stormzy explained. ‘If we were not oppressed, we would not be shouting‘, he continued, ‘this is real life and this has been our reality for hundreds, thousands of years‘. Stormzy has transgressed his music, and has morphed into a powerful political symbol. He has continually fought in the battle against oppression, and used his 2019 Glastonbury headline slot to take an official stance against the current Conservative government.

The BBC led this story with ‘Stormzy: One of The Good Guys‘, a headline which goes beyond the simple play on the charity’s name. Stormzy is a thunderous role model for young people everywhere. He is an artist, at the peak of popularity, intent on giving back and instigating social change. A true national icon, as Ishae would agree.

The visual opens with light blue text atop a black background, which rapidly names the cities that hosted Black Lives Matter protests. It builds up to reveal the powerful W.E.B DuBois’ quote; ‘A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect’. The video slaloms to the beat for the remainder of the six minute audio. It cuts between clips of the recent Black Lives Matter protests and icons from previous Civil Rights movements, such as Martin Luther King and Angela Davis. Poignant quotes are continually interlaced, resulting in a powerful clip which pays tribute to the ongoing battle against inequality and prejudice.

Rose Rogue is the headline single which previews the upcoming Blue Note collection. It is a cover of St. Germain’s classic jazz release, of the same name. Smith revamps the beat and adds her own distinctive vocals to create a rich, modern, re-imagining of the 20-year old track. The tune gives fans a sample of what to expect from Blue Note Re:Imagined, which was announced on the 10th June.

View this post on Instagram

To all my fans, I love you all and I hope you love me, my family, my ancestors, where I come from and what has shaped me. I want to write a song about what’s happening and been happening because that’s how I communicate with you, but I can’t. It’s not me saying I don’t want to address what’s going on, I’m actually lost for words, I feel I don’t have any new vocabulary. I know how I feel though, angry, upset and confused that my people continue to suffer and fight for equality in societies built on oppression and have been suffering and fighting for so long. At times ‘Blue Lights’ is one of the last songs in my set. A song that I didn’t want to be relevant today, a song that was written before me, for me, a song that will be written today and next week. A song about the injustice and killing of black lives. If you’ve done nothing wrong blue lights should just pass you by? Sounds so naive. J Song by @leah.musicuk Pages from James Baldwin – The Fire Next Time

A post shared by jmoney (@jorjasmith_) on Jun 1, 2020 at 5:03am PDT

Blue Note is a historic American Jazz record label that is currently owned by Universal Records. The announcement outlined that ‘classic Blue Note tracks‘ are to be ‘reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents today’. The label hope that the body of work represents a ‘bridge between the past and future‘. Jorja Smith is the perfect act to headline the label’s renaissance having earned acclaim from both sides of the Atlantic for her soulful vocal range. Her popularity was emphasised by her 2019 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

The touching visuals to Rose Rouge compliment the track’s smooth sound to create an expressive package, filled with political sensibility and artistic talent. The upcoming Blue Note collection aims to connect the past and future of the Jazz label. It is the same bridge that Smith treads in the visual, which links the talisman’s of the Civil Rights movement and the modern Black Lives Matter protests. The result is a six minute clip which simultaneously pays tribute to the strides that the movement has taken in the last few weeks, whilst galvanises for the continuing fight against inequality.

“Please give what you can”, the singer has urged his fans in a tweet announcing the return of the show. He introduced the show in a short video by wishing fans a Happy Pride Month, before he revealed some of the special guests. Paris Hilton and Black Lives Matter activist Kenidra R. Woods will both be guests on the show.

The 22-year old teased that there would be a “special announcement” at the end of the show, leaving fans speculating about the meaning of it. But Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison, hasn’t stopped there. A day later, he tweeted: “mental announcement on yb show … ya fookin ready?”

“I know the past couple of months have been very scary and weird”, he said in the trailer. But Yungblud wouldn’t be Yungblud if he’d let the fear win. So, as usual, he’s made statement: “So I would like to take this opportunity to say fuck racism, fuck homophobia, as always fuck the coronavirus, and fuck Mr Donald Trump. I’ll see you Thursday.”

The last episode of “The Yungblud Show” was released back in April, with guests like Machine Gun Kelly (who’s collaborated with Yungblud on their hit “I Think I’m OKAY”), Travis Barker from Blink-182 and Kelly Osbourne.

While fans had to wait two months for a new episode of “The Yungblud Show”, Yungblud has still managed to keep his fans entertained during lockdown by creating a web-series called “Stay Home With: YUNGBLUD” which aired a new episode every Monday for four weeks, starting on April 27.

While the singer was documenting his LA lockdown-life with his friends in the “Stay Home With: YUNGBLUD” -series, he’s now back to talking about more serious topics. Head over to Yungbluds Youtube channel tomorrow at 5pm to watch the new episode of “The Yungblud Show”.

Birmingham born metal legends Black Sabbath have taken their stance in the fight against injustice and equality by releasing an exclusive t-shirt, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, in which all proceeds will be going straight to Black Lives Matter.  

The attention-grabbing t-shirts can be pre-ordered right now and will be sold at $25 each. They can be ordered from anywhere in the world, with orders being shipped out from the band’s official website from mid-July. The artwork takes inspiration from Black Sabbath’s third notorious album ‘Master of Reality’, which was released in 1971. Black Sabbath have tastefully transformed their artwork to read the powerful message Black Lives Matter in solidarity with the movement.

View this post on Instagram

#BlackLivesMatter 100% of the proceeds to @BlkLivesMatter https://blacksabbathapparelshop.com/

A post shared by Black Sabbath (@blacksabbath) on Jun 16, 2020 at 9:24am PDT

The inspiration for this one of a kind piece of merch was taken from none other than Rage Against The Machine’s founding member, Tom Morello, who was wearing the Tshirt with his mother in an Instagram post a week before.

View this post on Instagram

My 96 yr old mom has been a tireless advocate for Black Lives her whole life. From being a foreign student advisor at the Univ. of Illinois, to teaching in Kenya and supporting the anti-colonial movement there, to teaching African Studies and bringing a radical perspective to a white conservative high school for 30 yrs, to being a member of the Illinois Urban League and campaigning for civil rights, to helping homeless African American men get their GED at the Salvation Army, to telling anybody who came at our family with any racist garbage to go straight to hell, to arming me with pride & confidence, to being a lifelong proponent of racial justice and ruthless critic of racist police. Proud to stand with her today, as always, in solidarity in the fight for a more just and humane country & planet. (Photo by Rhoads Morello)

A post shared by Tom Morello (@tommorello) on Jun 7, 2020 at 5:58pm PDT

This is not the first time Black Sabbath have come forward in support of charitable and progressive causes. The band have come together recently when guitarist Tony Iommi raised over 19,000 euros in an auction to support the United Kingdom’s National Health Services during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler have also spoken out against animal abuse and have openly supported organisations like PETA.

Black Sabbath are not the first to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, they are amongst a long list of many other artists and bands who have released merchandise with all proceeds being donated to the organisation following the death of George Floyd. The Story So Far, Fall Out Boy, Machine Gun Kelly, Knocked Loose, Dying Wish and Beartooth are just some of the famous who are actively donating to related Black Lives Matter charities. 

Pre Order your Black Sabbath t-shirt right here.

Check out Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave, from Masters of Reality.

The pop star is the latest voice from the music scene that uses her voice in the wake of racial awareness around the world, following the death of George Floyd. She published a 15-minute video, recalling her past experiences with racism, including racist micro-aggressions and the demise of her very own mother.

Naming the video “Speak Up – Speak Out“, the singer wrote, “I felt it was time to speak up… This is a scary moment for me. I didn’t always want to speak up.. but it is the right thing to do. So, here’s my truth, the positive and the emotional.”

In the video, Burke described the industry as a “funny little place.” “The music industry is such a funny little place. I love singing, I love what I do, but if it wasn’t for the love that I have for music, I definitely wouldn’t be in this industry.”

She also gave out the experience after her victory from the extremely popular show The X Factor. “A few reasons are, when I first won The X Factor at 19, I got told: ‘Right, because you’re black, you are gonna have to work ten times harder than a white artist because of the colour of your skin’.”

“‘You can’t have braids, you can’t have an afro, you can’t have anything that, basically, is my identity. You have to have hair, for example, that appeals to white people, so white people can understand you better.’ I mean, I was only 19 years old. There’s only so much you can understand at 19 when your life is completely changed overnight,” Burke added.

Elsewhere in the video, the “Hallelujah” hitmaker also mentioned how she was suggested to bleach her skin so that she could look whiter. Watch the emotional video below.

ดูโพสต์นี้บน Instagram

I felt it was time to speak up… This is a scary moment for me. I didn’t always want to speak up.. but it is the right thing to do. So, here’s my truth, the positive and the emotional. Side note: When I talk about ‘not seeing colour’ I’m not referring to the idea of being blind to skin colour, I’m talking about the notion within the music industry and institutionally that whiter is better. Why does an industry that should be focused on vocal ability spend so much time dictating an artists worth on their colour?

โพสต์ที่แชร์โดย Alexandra Burke (@alexandraburke) เมื่อ มิ.ย. 19, 2020 เวลา 4:22pm PDT

Burke’s last album was 2018’s ‘The Truth Is‘, her first release under a new record deal with Universal Music Group’s Decca Records. The album spawned one single “Shadow” and was charted at number 16.

Now, London rapper Little Simz has spoken up about the treatment of racial equality in the music industry, stating that there’s “a lot more that can be done.”

Talking to NME, the 26-year-old said: “There’s a lot more that can be done, but I think it’s a wider conversation to be had, to be honest. It’s probably one that us Black artists also need to have amongst ourselves, about how we can support each other internally.”

She mentions that one of the issues seems to be that the music industry only seems to allow one black female to succeed at a time. “It’s bullshit, but of course they’re going to keep pushing that narrative until we say, ‘Nah, we’re all going to exist here, and you just have to accept that’”, the rapper said.

Rapsody, Tierra Whack and Little Simz would like to say hi https://t.co/Ek8nGw9mVJ

— black hippy (@SwaziiKunene) June 18, 2020

She explained that somehow the whole world is expecting Black people to “have all the answers”, meanwhile she’s still out there “trying to educate myself” and learning.

What is important? “Conversations are important and people being honest about not knowing shit”, that’s what is important according to Little Simz. “You haven’t got to act like you have all the answers.”

The music industry might need to do some changes regarding the racial equality, but it seems like Little Simz is one of the few black women that the music industry wants to do well. During lockdown, she released her new EP “Drop 6” and she just renewed a worldwide partnership with AWAL (Artists Without A Label). Her latest album “GREY Area” was released on her own label, Age 101, via AWAL.  

The Icelandic legend’s nine albums are now uploaded for fans to enjoy on Bandcamp. They can also buy physical copies, including vinyl, CD, and cassette.

The discography features Björk’s numerous iconic records like 1993’s ‘Debut‘, 1995’s ‘Post‘ and 2001’s ‘Vespertine‘. Her latest LP ‘Utopia‘ released back in 2017 is also available on the platform.

“Today, Bandcamp is thrilled to announce the arrival of Björk’s complete studio discography, with proceeds from all sales being donated by Björk and One Little Independent to Black Lives Matter UK from today until the end of Bandcamp’s NAACP fundraiser tomorrow,” announced Bandcamp on its official site.

This charity is a perfect event held by Bandcamp, which commemorate Juneteenth—aka June 18—the day that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Bandcamp will donate the entire share to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Back in May, the “It’s Oh So Quiet” hitmaker announced the postponement of her 2020 orchestral concerts to 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak. She took to her Instagram, giving out the sad news to her fans:

“And as clearly as India can see the Himalayas, I announce that my concerts in the summer have been moved back a year. I hope you understand and looking forward to seeing you reborn,” said the singer.

ดูโพสต์นี้บน Instagram

dearestest of concert lovers here i am , in iceland , all safe from them viruses but unable to travel to you this summer i hope sincerely you are safe too i look around and this corona has strangely given each of us tasks some to stay still some more , centre ourselves better some to focus on family , some to become better chefs or cleaners and the collective earth to pollute less need less moveless and as clearly as india can see the himalayas i announce that my concerts in the summer have been moved back a year i hope you understand and looking forward to seeing you reborn warmth björk

โพสต์ที่แชร์โดย Björk (@bjork) เมื่อ พ.ค. 22, 2020 เวลา 4:55am PDT

Unfortunately, the UK did not appear in the dates for Björk’s upcoming shows. However, the rescheduled dates comprise five shows in total, with two back-to-back shows in Paris.