Music

Nearly 200 music legends join forces for 'We Are Not Afraid' charity

by Richard Howard

From Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” to USA for Africa’s “We Are the World,” All-Star Charity singles were as much a part of the 1980s as neon Spandex and cheesy synths. Regardless of what you thought of the songs themselves, there’s no argument that they did the job, each raising tens of millions of dollars for their respective causes. The We Are Not Afraid campaign, which aims to raise funds for the refugee crisis and victims of religious and political violence, wisely decided to take a page from that book and has enlisted a bevy of stars to help publicize their cause.

Younger millennials have already had the chance to see a room full of their favourites stars surrounding a couple mics and belting out a carefully crafted tear-jerker like their parents through the Live Aid and Band Aid reboots (it’s just not the same without the teased hair, though), but this one takes a slightly different route.

The music video consists of pictures of the artists simply holding up “Not Afraid” signs interspersed with relevant quotes, and is set to Nigerian singer Majek Fashek’s song “We Are Not Afraid.” At the same time, that allows for a lot more star power, and nearly 200 legends including Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, Peter Gabriel, Brian Wilson, Sting, Iggy Pop, Buddy and Elvis Costello have thrown their support behind the campaign, which benefits the Human Rights Watch (HRW) and International Rescue Committee (IRC)