Flavor Flav has partnered with GoFundMe to create a fundraiser focused on helping black families who have been displaced by the LA wildfires.
READ MORE: LA music community tell us about “tragic” impact of wildfires: “This will be felt for years”
Since the devastating wildfires began on January 7, over 180,000 residents of Los Angeles were forced to evacuate their homes. To date, 27 confirmed deaths have been reported, with over 20 people reported missing.
Yesterday (January 21), the legendary rapper took to his official social media accounts to share a video of him announcing the partnership. Flav revealed that he teamed up with both GoFundMe and the Black Music Action Coalition as a way to collect donations for displaced black households who were affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Pasadena/Altadena area.
“This is Flavor Flav in the building,” he said in the video. “It’s been inspiring to me, seeing a lot people coming together right now, lifting each other’s spirits.”
He continued: “There’s not enough being done for the Black families and the communities. Come on, y’all. Let’s make L.A. strong, baby. Let’s help those in need.”
The caption of the post read: “Not enough is being done for the black families and community in the aftermath of the California fires. I’ve partnered up with GoFundMe and the Black Music Action Coalition to create ONE main GoFundMe campaign to immediately help those in need. I urge not only black artists and musicians and creators, but EVERYONE to come together and continue to help those in still in desperate need.”
The GoFundMe page has a goal of $100K and at the time of writing, it has hit over $36,000 in donations. According to the caption shared on the GoFundMe page, the contributions will be dispersed across more than 700 families listed in a consolidated list titled Displaced Black Families GoFundMe Directory.
In other news, Jheńe Aiko recently sponsored free massages for firefighters who worked on the frontlines while dealing with the Los Angeles wildfires.
Many musicians have stepped up to help out the affected communities in the aftermath of the fires. Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD foundation have donated $2.5million to help to relief efforts for the Los Angeles wildfires. Paris Hilton also launched a fund for families displaced by the fires, pledging $100,000 and promised to match up to $100,000 in donations. Dave Grohl also spent his birthday making meals for families that had been effected.
Wildfires in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles (CREDIT: Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
American-Mexican band Fuerza Regida have rented out an entire hotel for a week to shelter 50 families fleeing the wildfires.
Charli XCX called for brands gifting her clothes to “give [them] to people who really truly need it.” She then shared details of a clothing drive organised by stylist Lana Jay Lackey, urging others to join her in donating.
Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and more have reacted to the “heart-wrenching” devastation caused by the wildfires, sharing resource links for those in need of help.
Members of the LA music community have also spoken to NME about being hit hard, with a number of venues, studios and artists being affected by the blaze.
Additionally, musicians including Billie Eilish, Stevie Nicks, Olivia Rodrigo, Green Day, No Doubt and more have been announced to perform at the upcoming FireAid benefit concert on January 30.
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