September 02, 2005

Jay-Z, Diddy, Others Reach Out To Disaster Victims With Benefits, Donations

By Gil Kaufman (MTV.com)

Recalling the response to December's devastating Asian tsunami, celebrities across the country pledged to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on Wednesday. From fundraising concerts and charity downloads to expressions of sympathy, the response was swift and across the board.

In addition to a September 10 benefit concert featuring Usher, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, Rob Thomas, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, David Banner, Gretchen Wilson, John Mellencamp, Ludacris and Alicia Keys to be broadcast by MTV, VH1 and CMT, NBC has announced plans for A Concert for Hurricane Relief.

The hour-long, live, primetime benefit will air on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC on September 2 at 8 p.m. (ET), according to a press release from the network. The show will feature a roster of artists with ties to the affected areas, including Louisiana natives Tim McGraw, Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. It will be hosted by Today co-anchor Matt Lauer and include appearances from Leonardo DiCaprio and other celebrities.

BET is working on a telethon that will take place on September 9 at 7:30 p.m. (ET) that will feature Russell Simmons, Master P and Marsalis. ABC, CBS and FOX are putting together their own televised event for early next week, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Diddy and Jay-Z reached directly into their pockets to help the victims. On Thursday afternoon (September 1), the duo announced they are combining checkbooks to donate $1 million dollars to the American Red Cross.

"These are our people," Diddy said. "We can't stand around waiting for these people to be taken care of -- we have to take care of them ourselves. I urge all our fellow artists and Americans to answer the call. These are communities that I know, communities that have always supported me. Now it's my turn to support them."

"This event has devastated hundreds of thousands of people," Jay-Z said. "We, as African-American men and leaders of our community, felt it was a necessity to join forces and help. Diddy and I are committed to supporting our people in whichever way we can."

Master P -- a New Orleans native -- along with son Romeo and wife Sonya, has formed a charity called Team Rescue to help gather food, clothing and funds.

"My family has set out to save and rebuild our neighborhoods and help our inner-city brothers and sisters who have lost everything in this disaster," said P, according to a story in USA Today. The rapper's spokesperson told the paper that his parents and a number of relatives had all lost their homes in the hurricane.

The Dave Matthews Band has announced plans to add a benefit show (taking place on September 12) to its three-night stand at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver, according to the group's publicist. Tickets for the benefit will go on sale next week.

Bowling for Soup played a special benefit concert at Bossier City's Rockin' Rodeo dance club near Shreveport, Louisiana, on Monday as the first hints of the extent of the hurricane's damage were being revealed. Hundreds of fans got in free with a donation to hurricane-relief efforts, bringing everything from bottled water to canned foods, pet food and deodorant, according to a group spokesperson.

"The most important thing about tonight is the donations," said bassist Erik Chandler in a statement. "We just want to do everything we can to help the victims of the hurricane, and getting all these people together, donating things that these people need, it just makes you feel good."

On the show Rock Star: INXS Wednesday night, bandleader Tim Farriss praised New Orleans and said INXS had made an undisclosed donation to the Red Cross to help victims of the disaster.

Download site Napster also weighed in, with a "Download to Donate" program in which it pledged 100 percent of the profits from a custom compilation of songs to the American Red Cross. Among the songs on the compilation are tracks by Elton John ("Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"), Sade ("By Your Side"), Louis Armstrong ("When the Saints Go Marching In"), Bill Withers ("Lean On Me"), Harry Connick, Jr. ("Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans"), Aretha Franklin ("Bridge Over Troubled Water"), and Fats Domino ("Walking to New Orleans").

Actor Morgan Freeman announced an auction to benefit the victims, which will begin Friday and run through September 16 on the Charity Folks Web site (charityfolks.com). It includes VIP tickets to the Fashion Rocks show (which features performances by David Bowie, Destiny's Child, Duran Duran, Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys) and a chance to attend the premiere of Freeman's upcoming movie, An Unfinished Life, which stars Jennifer Lopez and Robert Redford. Other items up for auction include vacation packages and tickets to tapings of That '70s Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association will add celebrity appeals for help for the disaster survivors this year, in addition to a $1 million donation from MDA to help the victims. Musicians, comedians and actors will appear during the first four and last four hours of the 21-and-a-half hour broadcast, which begins Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

"While the needs of 'my kids' are with us all year round, Hurricane Katrina is a national disaster on a scale that's difficult to comprehend," Lewis said in a statement. "We simply couldn't ignore the need to help. We already have the infrastructure in place.

The organizers of the annual Voodoo Music Experience, scheduled for October 29 and 30 in New Orleans, offered their thoughts and prayers to the people of New Orleans, which has hosted the show for the past six years. They are awaiting word from city and state officials before announcing the fate of the concert, which is slated to feature the Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Queens of the Stone Age, Billy Idol, My Chemical Romance, Louis XIV, Cake and Joss Stone.

Finally, Britney Spears, a native of Kentwood, Louisiana, posted a message on her Web site, offering her thoughts and prayers to those affected by the storm in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. "All of my family members there are safe and thank you to all my fans for your concern," the singer wrote.