US pop star Madonna and rapper Gucci Mane have raised $5.5 million from ticket sales and live auction to be channeled towards Malawians who have been affected by weeks of floods.The funds were raised during an event dubbed A Night to Benefit Malawi and UNICEF held in New York.
Many Malawians are familiar with Madonna but do not know Gucci Mane. Radric Davis (born February 12, 1980), better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House, followed by Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon, and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released.
The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted was released in 2010, and is his highest charting album so far. Gucci Mane has released many other mixtapes and independent albums as well. On May 21, 2013, he released his eighth studio album Trap House III. His ninth studio album The State vs. Radric Davis II: The Caged Bird Sings was released on December 25, 2013. He also is the founder and CEO of 1017 Brick Squad Records
According to a statement from Raising Malawi on Friday, the proceeds will be split equally between the US Fund for UNICEF and Madonna’s organisation Raising Malawi.
“After passing through the red carpet, guests entered the cocktail area to view the photographs of Kristen Ashburn, a documentary photographer, whose work has taken her to southern Africa to capture the impact of AIDS in the region,” it said.
Guests at the sold-out event included musicians Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, rap mogul Sean Combs, actor Tom Cruise, musicians Nelly Furtado, Keri Hilson and Gwen Stefani, Donald and Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump and music producer Pharrel Williams.
They entered a Gucci-inspired amphitheater dinner room for a dinner catered by Olivier Cheng.
They were welcomed to their seats by African drummers and a live performance by the African Children’s Choir, it said.
Raising Malawi has been dedicated to bringing an end to the extreme poverty and hardship endured by the country’s 1 million orphans, over half of whom have been orphaned by AIDS.
