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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Labels And Artists Lending A Hand To Those Affected By Natural Disasters

People wait in line for gas in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.
Joe Raedle
/
Getty Images
People wait in line for gas in Aibonito, Puerto Rico.

UpdatedOct. 24, 4:41 a.m. with additional events and donation campaigns.

In late August, Hurricane Harvey dropped nearly fifty inches of rainon Houston and a broad swath of Texas. Between then and now, two more hurricanes have hit Florida, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands.

A week after Harvey made landfall, Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean before making landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm, flooding parts of Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, and destroying 25 percent of homes in the Florida Keys.

As Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were still recovering from Irma, Hurricane Maria, a category four hurricane, made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, leaving the entire island without electricity and 70 percent of the island without water. Entire villages have been destroyed, and a majority of homes on the island have lost their roofs.

In addition, Mexico has been hit by three separate and devastating earthquakes this month — on Sept. 8, 19, and the 23. The quakes haveleft over 200 dead and many more stranded. Video footage captured by cellphones in Mexico City, Oaxaca and surrounding areas shows buildings crumbling to the ground.

To help with relief efforts in these affected areas, artists and music labels have been announcing donations, releasing music to raise funds, and participating in benefit shows. We've compiled a list of the ways musicians and record labels have been pledging their support and how you can help out, below.

Labels and artists donating proceeds

  • Los Angeles label Soulection has released Unite, a compilation album with selections from Sango, producer Monte Booker, ESTA. and more. All proceeds from the album, which they'll be raising for the next two weeks, will go toward hurricane and earthquake relief.
  • Activist and musician Taina Asili has released ¡Viva Puerto Rico!, a compilation benefit album with contributions from big Latinx artists: Hurray For The Riff Raff, Downtown Boys, Lila Downs and more. All proceeds will go toward MariaFund.org, an organization that supports rebuilding and relief efforts in Puerto Rico.
  • Montreal DJs and founding members of the Lagom collective softcoresoft and anabasine have curated Power Puerto Rico, an album available for purchase through . All proceeds from the album, which includes tracks from dozens of electronic artists, will go towards The Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund, a grassroots rebuilding and recovery organization.
  • English producer and artist Forest Swords has released "Congregate" and "Free," two previously unreleased singles from his latest album Compassion.Proceeds from both tracks will go towards ongoing and future aid work in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Mexico.
  • New York City-based DJ and producer Nickodemus put together Love for PR, a benefit compilation album, which is available for purchase through Bandcamp. Proceeds from the album will go towards recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
  • Lin-Manuel Miranda released"Almost Like Praying," a song that features an all-star cast of Latinx artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, and more. Proceeds from the track will go towards hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
  • J Balvin and Beyoncé have released a "Mi Gente" remix. Proceeds from the track will go towards hurricane relief.
  • Princess Nokia has started a GoFundMe for those who have been affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. According to the page, she will be organizing multiple relief trips to the country to bring clean water, food, medical supplies, and more.
  • Jay-Z'sRoc Nation is auctioning off four signed Made In America Festival camouflage jackets; all the proceeds from the auction will be sent to support victims of Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria.
  • Mondragón, a band from Mexico City, will gift a vinyl copy of their album, Presentimiento,to those who donate a minimum of 500 pesos to a relief organization.
  • Umor Rex, a label based in Mexico City, is pledging to donate 100 percent of their back catalog Bandcamp sales to the Mexican Red Cross from now until Oct 15.
  • Bruce Springsteen released a special edition live recording album, with all proceeds benefiting MusiCares Hurricane Relief fund, which will aid those affected by the hurricanes in Houston and Florida.
  • Dead Sea Records, an indie record label, is releasing Music 4 Mexico Earthquake Relief Compilation albums, which you can purchase for $15 or more. Three volumes have already been released, with a fourth one coming.
  • Residuels, a punk band from Philadelphia, released "Hurricane" on Bandcamp. All proceeds from the track downloads will go directly toward the Red Cross.
  • U2's The Edge announced that he'll be raising money to help musicians that have lost their instruments from Hurricane Harvey. He created , a site where you can donate to help replace the instruments lost from musicians and schools.
  • Benefit concerts

  • The Northumberland Hispanic Cultural Club in Baltimore, Md. will be hosting Noche Latina-Viva Mexico this weekend. The cultural festival will raise funds for the victims of the Mexico earthquakes. Half of the proceeds will go toward the Red Cross to support relief and rebuilding efforts.
  • Amplifica Mexico benefit concert will take place Nov. 1 at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City and feature the alternative rock band Zoé, Café Tacvba and Molotov. All proceeds will go toward the victims of the Mexico earthquakes.
  • Phi Phi Ohara, a star from RuPaul's Drag Race, is hosting a drag benefit show to raise money for Puerto Rico. The show, which will be held Nov. 6 in Minneapolis, Minn, will feature a "super star cast of drag queens," including fellow Drag Race contestants Chad Michaels, and Madame LaQueer. You can donate to the show here.
  • Vecinos, a series of pop-up showcases in multiple cities, will be raising donations for those affected by the earthquakes in Mexico and Hurricane Maria. Showcases will take place in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, New York, Mexico City, and will also be streaming on Facebook Live.
  • Finally, musicians have also been making direct donations to help relief efforts. Daddy Yankee has donated $1 million to aid Puerto Rico. Jennifer Lopez donated $1 million to aid Puerto Rico; Maná, a rock band from Guadalajara, donated $3.5 million pesos (about $200,000) to benefit the victims of Mexico's earthquakes; Lin-Manuel Miranda has been raising funds for the Hispanic Federation through Twitter, and other acts, Lila Downs, Natalia Lafourcade, Ximena Sariñana, Los Tigres Del Norte, Alondra de la Parra, and ¡Aparato! have also given to earthquake relief in Mexico; Carpark Records, the label representing Toro Y Moi and Beach House, donated all of their Bandcamp proceeds on Aug. 31 to the Red Cross to assist those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Lady Gaga, who has previously donated $1 million in aid to recovering communities in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, is now supporting Save the Children's Journey of Hope program — a program that provides support for the mental health needs of the children affected in these communities.

    If you would like to donate to relief efforts, here's how you can help thoseaffected by:HarveyandIrma, and those inPuerto Rico, the Caribbean and Mexico.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Steffanee Wang