MusiCares® Brings Humans of Hip Hop Initiative to Chicago With Supporting Partner Vivid Seats and Guest Panel Including Common and Lupe Fiasco

The Music Charity Hosted Its Fourth in a Series of Collaborative Activations in Hip-Hop’s Key Cities

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MusiCares^®, the leading music charity and safety net supporting the health and well-being of music professionals, held its fourth activation of the groundbreaking Humans of Hip Hop initiative in Chicago. This ongoing program aims to empower and support hip-hop artists by addressing critical issues and tailoring MusiCares’ programming to the unique needs of the community.

This recent installment of the Humans of Hip Hop initiative took place on April 22, 2024, at Vivid Seats’ Chicago headquarters. Building upon the success of previous co-creations, the event featured a dynamic panel discussion titled "Generation Next: Amplifying Chicago’s New Creatives of Hip Hop,” aiming to ignite and empower the vibrant youth of Chicago's hip-hop community, paving the way for their journey toward creative excellence.

Panel speakers included those shaping the cultural landscape of Chicago — Christopher Crater representing the Obama Foundation, acclaimed producer Chris Classick, as well as renowned hip-hop artists Common and Lupe Fiasco. Their respective contributions to their hometown and the music industry underscore the significance of their participation in the Humans of Hip Hop initiative.

The panel discussion explored the evolution of Chicago’s hip-hop community and its unique needs, providing a platform for young creatives in the genre to share their experiences and perspectives. In addition to the panel discussion, MusiCares offered hearing health moldings.

"At Vivid Seats we understand how shared experiences connect people and strengthen communities, especially through the power of live music. And as a longstanding supporter of MusiCares, we have seen just how critical their work is to support the humans behind that music,” said Stan Chia, CEO of Vivid Seats. “For over two decades we have been based in Chicago, a city where we got our start and where we have grown into an industry leader. We are proud to give back, invest in, and show up for our communities, and to help bring important initiatives like Humans of Hip Hop to our vibrant city of Chicago."

"We are excited to continue the Humans of Hip Hop initiative in Chicago at Vivid Seats’ headquarters," said Laura Segura, Executive Director of MusiCares. "This event furthers our ongoing commitment to supporting the pioneers and next generation through open and ongoing dialogues. We aim to foster a culture of responsive support and provide abundant resources for the hip-hop community."

Humans of Hip Hop would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors including Vivid Seats, Supporting Partner and Amazon Music, H3 Contributor. Each sponsor is critical to providing support for future programming, production and community relations.

Images from the event can be found here — Courtesy of the Recording Academy® / Photo by Daniel Boczarski for Getty Images © 2024.

ABOUT MUSICARES

MusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy^® in 1989 as a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts. For more information please visit: www.musicares.org.

ABOUT VIVID SEATS

Founded in 2001, Vivid Seats is a leading online ticket marketplace committed to becoming the ultimate partner for connecting fans to the live events, artists and teams they love. Based on the belief that everyone should “Experience It Live,” the Chicago-based company provides exceptional value by providing one of the widest selections of events and tickets in North America and an industry-leading Vivid Seats Rewards program where all fans earn on every purchase. Vivid Seats has been chosen as the official ticketing partner by some of the biggest brands in the entertainment industry including ESPN, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Clippers. Vivid Seats also owns Vivid Picks, a daily fantasy sports app. Through its proprietary software and unique technology, Vivid Seats drives the consumer and business ecosystem for live event ticketing and enables the power of shared experiences to unite people. Vivid Seats has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Companies for Customer Service in ticketing. Fans who want to have the best live experiences can start by downloading the Vivid Seats mobile app, going to vividseats.com, or calling 866.848.8499.