The biggest and brightest of the African music world got together—while staying apart—on Saturday, and naturally, the African Giant was there. Taking his rightful place alongside the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and Lizzo, Burna Boy performed “African Giant” and “Hallelujah” for the One World: Together at Home concert Saturday from a comfortable looking chair in Lagos, Nigeria. Down in South Africa, Black Coffee remotely performed “Drive” with the British singer Delilah Montagu.
Burna Boy is embedded above and here's Black Coffee:
In an eight-hour stream on the internet and a two-hour televised event in America, the One World: Together at Home concert brought together a bunch of people who didn't have anything better to do, and raised $127 million to battle coronavirus. Kicked off and curated by Lady Gaga singing the old standard “Smile,” the show was an opportunity to look into these people's houses—or onto Elton John's basketball court—hear an older Taylor Swift song gain new resonance, and, thankfully, hear Beyonce take all the air out of the idea that coronavirus is a great leveler.
“Black Americans disproportionately belong to these essential parts of the workforce that do not have the luxury of working from home," Beyonce said. "African-American communities at large have been severely affected in this crisis. Those with pre-existing conditions are at an even higher risk. This virus is killing black people at an alarmingly high rate here in America."
The concert has been released as a monstrous four-hour album, available to stream, with proceeds supporting the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization.
