Singer Fuse ODG has released an “alternative” charity song to Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? after criticising the original for having potentially damaging effects on Africa.
The single titled We Know It’s Christmas (Band Aid Reply) was released by the British-Ghanaian singer on Tuesday, in what he described as “not just a song” but a “statement”.
Writing about his new song in The Guardian, the singer said he is “offering an Afrobeats alternative to Band Aid” as a “celebration of progress and a step toward reclaiming our narratives”.
He said the Afrobeats genre has in the past helped to unite Africans globally and “foster pride in our heritage”.
“We’re no longer waiting for charity; we’re building our own futures. This is about empowerment, pride, and showing the world that Africa’s story is far more than poverty and aid,” he wrote on YouTube.
The rapper said all the funds from the single will go to the New Africa Growth and Relief Fund, which he has launched to help build a “financial safety net” for the continent.
It comes after pop star Ed Sheeran said he was not asked permission for his vocals to be used in Band Aid 40, and would have “respectfully declined” if he had been asked, referencing a post by Fuse ODG, for updating his view on the matter.
Fuse ODG said a decade earlier he had refused to take part in the 2014 revamp of the 1984 project as he feels that while it helps get “sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment”.
He said his “mission” is now to “reclaim the narrative, empowering Africans to tell their own stories, redefine their identity, and position Africa as a thriving hub for investment and tourism”.
The singer acknowledged that while the public’s generosity in reaction to the original single – which was launched by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to help charities working with starving children in Ethiopia – was “genuine” and addressed “a specific humanitarian crisis”, the way it depicted Africa “did more long-term harm than good”.
Artists who took part in the original Band Aid in 1984. Pic: PA
The re-recording of the song in 2014. Pic: PA
He claims the song “inadvertently contributed to a broader identity crisis for Africans, portraying the entire continent as one monolithic, war-torn, starving place”.
Band Aid 40 was released last month to mark the song’s 40th anniversary. It is a remix which blends the voices of artists who have featured on previous editions including Harry Styles, George Michael and Bono.
Reacting to recent criticism of the hit, Geldof said earlier this week that none of the arguments put forward by critics like Fuse ODG and Sheeran would “get any oxygen if Band Aid didn’t come out”.
“Sentiment changes, opinions change, theory changes over 40 years, and that’s correct. You can’t stay stuck,” he said while appearing on ITV show Lorraine.
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“You’ve got to find different ways of combating these issues and different ways of talking about them and what we’re celebrating here, and none of these arguments will get any oxygen if Band Aid didn’t come out. That’s part of all this.
“So Ed says, ‘This is the way I feel now’. And I’ve put in the call – he’s a really lovely man, he’s an intelligent guy, he’s a major artist and we’ll have a chat and we’ll either agree or disagree but we’ll talk about it.
“But the debate must be made, and it means that we can argue our point of view even more strongly. So that’s where I’m at with this.”