Foundation Tune: TOK’s Guardian Angel Program

Words by Eddie STATS Houghton, photo by Martei Korley

Though ghetto musicians have a longstanding tradition of giving back to the communities they come from, lately the bar for philanthropy has been raised by Caribbean artists like Wyclef–who made headline news with his strides  into the non-profit arena through Yele Haiti even as the for-profit model of the music biz was shrinking rapidly. The latest example of this undeniably positive trend is the Guardian Angel Foundation, initiated by Craigy T of dancehall dude-group TOK. The foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and funds in the war against hypertension, a condition the artist has struggled with (successfully) himself. Not surprisingly, the Guardian Angels’ first angle of attack on the disease is musical–Craigy and crew enlisted a who’s-who of conscious male singers from Tarrus Riley to Voicemail to put together a dancehall version of “Lean On Me.” Stay tuned as more info is forthcoming…

·