As we enter the third full week since an earthquake devastated Haiti, relief efforts here in the U.S. that initially surged at an amazing pace have slowed down a bit as life returns back to normal. It was encouraging to see Seattle musicians throw benefit shows galore during the first week and a half, and nobody was more excited to see that than Haitian-American rapper Sol. The local MC also knew that he wanted to put together an event to benefit the country where his mother was born and raised (although she now lives in the U.S.), but wanted to make sure everything was done properly.
On Thursday, February 4th, artists from the Seattle hip-hop community are coming together to create an all-ages night of music and fundraising at Neumos for the non-profit Doctors Without Borders efforts in Haiti. Common Market, the Physics, Sol, and Dyno Jamz are all performing and fellow local Haitian rapper Khingz is hosting the event. Even though Sol has been working around the clock lately, he took a few minutes earlier this morning to chat about how the event came together and what this process has been like for him.
First off. Just to check in, what part of Haiti is your family in and did you suffer any losses in your family due to the earthquake?
Thank you for you concern. I have family in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Jérémie, and in the village of Abricot. A very large family, all over. As far as my immediate family goes everyone is safe, but both my cousin and my mother’s cousin lost their homes to the earthquake. However, as is true for many folks we are still getting word of family friends and distant family who did not survive.
Were you concerned about how fast some of the benefit shows got put together right after the earthquake and where the money ended up?
I try not to get caught up thinking about what other people are doing. Any money that actually gets to Haiti I hope does more good than harm. But their is a great importance in making sure things are done the right way. I worked carefully and closely both with Neumos and the other performers to make sure that this show will be a great night for live music and raising money. I have also done my research on the best place to put the money.
You’ve decided to donate your money to Doctor’s Without Borders. Why not the Red Cross or Yele (Wyclef’s organization) like so many other people are doing?
I chose to go through Doctors Without Borders because of what they are doing, not what the other NGOs and governmental orgs are not doing. Read more…
