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Holy Calamavote Concert To Urge Music Fans To Vote

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Eric Andre, Cochemea Gastelum and DJ Cutmaster Swiff will be among the guests at this voter registration concert
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Oct 15, 2020 - 1:39 pm

Holy Calamavote, a collaboration between Run the Jewels, Adult Swim and Ben & Jerry's, is a special midnight concert performance on Oct. 17 aiming to get viewers to vote on Nov. 3. 

Run The Jewels will perform their latest album RTJ4 in full on Adult Swim's YouTube page. The duo will feature special guests including comedian Eric Andre, Pharrell, 2 Chainz, Greg Nice, DJ Cutmaster Swiff, Gangsta Boo, and Cochemea Gastelum.

As Rolling Stone reports, El-P and Killer Mike, Run the Jewels’ said they are "proud to be a part of this initiative to encourage and enable voting and can’t wait to finally perform our album RTJ4 ... This will be fun."

Throughout the show, viewers will be encouraged to vote, a Ben & Jerry's statement said. The ice cream brand is asking fans to pledge to vote on their website. Watch the concert below at midnight PST/EST Saturday, Oct. 17. 

"A Vote Is A Voice. A Voice Is Power:" Sony Music Launches New Artist-Supported Voting Campaign

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Billie Eilish

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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. 

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Michelle Obama 

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2020 Roots Picnic: Michelle Obama To Make Appearance At Virtual Music Fest & Voter Registration Drive

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The music fest featuring H.E.R., SZA, Musiq Soulchild, Roddy Ricch and more will also serve as a voter registration drive with Obama's When We All Vote
GRAMMYs
Jun 16, 2020 - 3:36 pm

Former First Lady Michelle Obama is teaming up with the 13th Annual Roots Picnic music festival to get people registered to vote.

The Philadelphia festival was originally set to take place at the Mann at Fairmount Park on May 30. But due to COVID-19 restrictions, it will now be a virtual fest on June 27. The music lineup includes H.E.R., SZA, Musiq Soulchild, Roddy Ricch, Snoh Aalegra, Kirk Franklin and Da Baby. The digital fest will also be a voter registration drive with Obama's When We All Vote. 

Questlove and Black Thought will co-host the event that will also feature appearances from Obama, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kerry Washington and others. 

RSVP for the event at WeAll.Vote/RootsPicnic

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Recording Academy - Black Music Collective
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The Recording Academy Reveals Leadership Council For Newly Launched Black Music Collective

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The distinguished leadership committee will work with honorary chairs to elevate Black music creators and professionals
Recording Academy
Oct 22, 2020 - 6:30 am

The Recording Academy's newly launched 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, has announced a distinguished leadership council. The leadership committee is dedicated to progressing the Recording Academy's mission to achieve equitable representation across its membership and the music industry.

The collective will serve as a space for members to speak openly about new and emerging opportunities in Black music alongside an inspiring group of groundbreaking Black music creators and business leaders. Leadership has already begun creating and identifying programming that will encourage the acceleration of Black membership within the Academy.

Members of the leadership council will join Honorary Chairs Jeffrey Harleston, Jimmy Jam, Quincy Jones, Debra Lee, John Legend and Sylvia Rhone to work hand in hand to elevate the mission of the collective. Recording Academy Trustee Riggs Morales serves as the BMC Chair and Washington, D.C., Chapter Executive Director Jeriel Johnson is the Executive Sponsor. 

The Black Music Collective's Distinguished Leadership Committee includes the following accomplished music professionals:

"Our time is now and I'm so excited to add my voice in whatever way I can to honor those who came before me, those who worked building the foundation in this important work in music," H.E.R. said. "Initiatives like this help give a voice to young and emerging artists who dream of an even bigger future. We're all in this together."

"This is a new era of change for the Recording Academy and we are honored to have these leading artists, executives, producers and engineers who are all at the top of their fields join us for such an important moment in our world, our nation and our industry," Harvey Mason jr., chair and interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy, said. "Black music is part of the fabric of our industry and it is so reassuring to stand with these leaders to create momentum, bring change and amplify Black voices."

"We're energized by our partnership with such an esteemed group of Black music leaders who share our mission to foster and accelerate Black representation, equity and inclusion throughout the music industry," Valeisha Butterfield Jones, chief diversity & inclusion officer of the Recording Academy, said. "We've doubled down on our partnership with these leaders and are committed to the work ahead."

Stay up to date on the BMC's progress here. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Watch The Recording Academy's Inspiring "Change Music" Summit In Full

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"A Vote Is A Voice. A Voice Is Power:" Sony Music Launches New Artist-Supported Voting Campaign

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The initiative features Sony musicians encouraging eligible U.S. voters to make their voice heard in the 2020 Presidential Election
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 13, 2020 - 1:38 pm

Today, Oct. 13, 20 days until the 2020 Presidential Election, Sony Music launched the "Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote" bipartisan voting initiative to encourage civic participation. Until Nov. 3, the campaign will roll out a series of short films and PSAs in English and Spanish featuring artists from their star-studded roster.

"A vote is a voice. A voice is power. A voice not spoken cannot be heard," the artists say collectively in the clip, featuring P!NK, Shakira, DJ Khaled, Pharrell Williams, Vic Mensa, Chole X Halle, Meghan Trainor, Jennifer Hudson, Camila Cabello, G-Eazy, will.i.am and others.

Read: Rhyme & Punishment: How NPR's "Louder Than A Riot" Podcast Traces The Interconnected Rise Of Hip-Hop And Mass Incarceration

Mensa also shared his motivation for voting in a new Pitchfork feature that also included words from David Byrne of Talking Heads, Billie Eilish, Margo Price, Chuck D of Public Enemy and 28 other artists.

"[Activist/scholar] Angela Davis stated that this election is less about putting a candidate in the White House who shares our ideals or can be trusted to lead us in the right direction, because that individual doesn't exist. Our motive here must be to elect the ticket with which we have the most potential to pressure an anti-racist agenda into legislation," Mensa wrote.

Learn more about Sony Music's voting campaign at knowyourworth.community, where you can check your registration and more.

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