British-Ghanaian rapper Stormzy, along with US acts including Clairo, Faye Webster, and Omar Apollo, has been confirmed for a benefit concert on 4 January in support of humanitarian initiatives in Sudan and Gaza.
The gig, dubbed Artists for Aid, is the brainchild of Sudanese-Canadian singer and poet Mustafa Ahmed, and is scheduled to take place at the Newark Symphony Hall in New Jersey.
Proceeds from the concert will go to Human Concern International (HCI), a Canada-based not-for-profit relief organisation with over 40 years of experience operating in more than 40 countries and raising more than $300 million.
Since April, Sudan has been grappling with an escalating humanitarian crisis, intensified by violent clashes, leading to the displacement of over 3 million people. Conflict has also persisted between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups, primarily in and around the Gaza Strip, since 7 October.
Other programmed artists for the show are 6LACK (US), Charlotte Day Wilson (Canada), Daniel Caesar (Canada), Mohammed El Kurd (Palestine), Nick Hakim (US), and 070 Shake (US).
“We worked tirelessly to bring this to you, but our fatigue is not even a splinter of what we’ll be singing for,” Ahmed said. “In the last few years, I visited both my homeland, Sudan, and Palestine. My visit to both had a principal intention, to connect with artist communities, with young organisers – for parallels of sorrow and hope and faith. The violence in both nations seized the dream. Here it is revived for me in some way. The intention remains, on this evening we give our voices to make room for theirs.”
“We are excited to be the charity partner for this event and will make sure your support is delivered to the people of Gaza and Sudan,” HCI said, noting that donations will be split 50/50 between Sudan and Gaza. “He [Ahmed] is currently on his way to Egypt to prepare the aid entering Gaza and our team is excited to put your donations to use both in Gaza and Sudan.”
“I want to thank each artist performing from the deepest part of me, for your time and effort,” Ahmed noted. “None of you hesitated when asked. We’ll remember.”
In a related initiative, South Sudanese DJ and producer Skin On Skin announced that his Stay on Sight autumn tour, concluding in Paris, France last month, would support the ongoing crisis in Sudan.
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