Canadian rapper and singer Tory Lanez has helped entertain many during COVID-19 with his popular “Quarantine Radio” show on IG Live. Lanez is now helping people who’ve been affected by the virus in another way, and he’s partnered with one of the world’s biggest companies to do it.
Lanez teamed with Amazon Music and The Dream Center, a charitable organization based in Los Angeles to create a relief fund. The fund is a collaboration between the organization and Lanez’ The Dream City Project, which he launched with his father in 2012 to provide mentorship to young people. The new initiative is called the Tory Lanez Dream City Fund.
The money will be used to provide meals and diapers to underserved families in Los Angeles and other communities around the nation, and Lanez is getting things started by footing the bill for 50,000 diapers. Amazon Music has said it will match that number.
Lanez spoke about his plans during an online interview with CNN’s HLN on Monday, May 4. He shared that assisting with COVID-19 relief efforts is something that he thought of when he was creating promotional wear for his show.
“When my album was coming out, I had made a bunch of shirts that had ‘Quarantine Radio’ merch on them and stuff like that, and I promised myself that I’d give a percentage of those proceeds to any COVID-19 relief fund,” he explained.
Lanez said that he remains cognizant of his pre-fame days when it comes to paying it forward, and it’s something he encourages others in his position to do.
“It’s very important for any artist to give back because at some point you were regular, too,” he told CNN. “At some point, you were a regular person just like everyone else. I always tell artists people feel exactly how you [felt] when you were in that place.”
Since it began in March, “Quarantine Radio” has been a standout among the many celebrities who’ve created their own online shows.
Lanez has hasdcelebrity guest appearances, held talent contests and has created a lot of online buzz following the streaming of episodes.
Drake was a guest on his show in March, and according to Revolt he and Lanez broke an IG Live record when more than 310,000 viewers joined.
Other famous folk who’ve started their own shows since COVID-19 began include La La Anthony. In April, she launched her own Facebook Watch series called “Reclaim Your Life” that caters to women.
Dwyane Wade recently started his own IG Live show called “The Wine Down,” where he recently had Common on as a guest.
