On Sunday, June 28th, over 50 artists and tens of thousands of fans came together for Justice Comes Alive, a one-day, virtual festival harnessing the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. The donation-based streaming event generated $55,000 and counting in funds for the participating artists, who remain out of work as the pandemic continues, as well as a number of social justice-oriented causes via PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund.
The 12-hour live-stream marathon featured new contributions by an array of amazing artists from around the world, including The OG’s, Beyoncé‘s former all-female backing band, comprised of bassist Divinity Roxx, saxophonists Tia Fuller and Katty Rodriguez, drummer and JCA co-host Nikki Glaspie, percussionist Marice Chapa, and guitarist Kat Dyson. The group was originally hand-picked by Beyoncé for her 2007 world tour under the name, The Suga Mamas, but the group has since scattered around the U.S. to pursue their own musical careers either as solo artists or with other ensembles. The recently reunited to release a new single, “Higher”, and came together remotely for a special “live” rendition at Justice Comes Alive.
From the not-so-busy streets of Times Square in New York City to the isolating walls of a practice studio, it didn’t quite matter where each member of the group was coming from in the video. The only thing that mattered here was that The OG’s have not lost any of their collective magic that made them the hottest touring band in pop music once upon a time.
Relive The OG’s reunion with their performance of “Higher” as seen during Justice Comes Alive below.
The OG’s – “Higher” – Justice Comes Alive
[Video: Live For Live Music]
Presented by Live For Live Music in partnership with PLUS1 and Nugs.TV, Justice Comes Alive was conceived as a way to harness the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality. All funds raised from Justice Comes Alive will be split evenly between the artists on the bill and the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund, which was developed to address and continue the fight against anti-Black racism and violence in the U.S. Directly supporting organizations like Equal Justice Initiative, Impact Justice, and The Bail Project, the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund focuses on empowering Black communities, movement building, keeping people out of the criminal justice system while dismantling it more broadly, and a collective, international narrative change toward the equitable treatment of Black people. 30% of the PLUS1 for Black Lives Fund is also committed to small grants for Black and Indigenous-led grassroots efforts combating racism. For more information on Justice Comes Alive, head here.