Queen Latifah's Stress Reliever Also Helps Kids in Need
The life of a Grammy-nominated artist, award-winning actress, singer, songwriter, and producer may seem charmed, but it’s also a little hectic. When some people are stressed, they might pick up yoga, or begin to cook, or maybe even meditate. But when you’re Queen Latifah and you’re stressed out after a long day on the set of your latest hit movie, you bang those frustrations out on a drum set.
At VH1’s Save the Music event, Queen Latifah was honored for her contributions to music as well as her commitment to providing music education opportunities to students in low-income communities. Latifah, who grew up in a poor neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, believes that music and the arts were her ticket out of poverty and wants to make sure that kids from her neighborhood have that opportunity too. That’s why every time she buys a drum set during a movie, she also donates that set to a local high-need school in a low-income community.
Historically, when budgets are tight, school administrators prioritize math and reading over programs in the arts. “To strip schools of music and art is like to strip your own soul”, Latifah said. “So many people find their way to who they want to be and what they want to be in life through music and art… so when you take that from children, you’re taking a piece of what they’re supposed to be. You’re taking a piece of their dreams.”
At Monday’s event, the VH1 Save the Music Foundation celebrated 20 years of providing funding to help jumpstart music programs underfunded school districts. Since its start, the foundation has given over 2,000 schools the tools they need to re-instate their music programs – from providing musical instruments to music teacher development programs and their impact has been huge. In 2017 alone, DJ Khaled’s ‘Get Schooled: Khaled Keys campaign’ reached over one million young people with tools for success in the music industry.
So the next time you’re stressed consider being like Queen Latifah and helping someone in need. Who knows, community service may be just the cure.