Drake collaborator and OVO producer Noah “40” Shebib reacts to the gun violence in his city and decides to make a difference.
Noah made a name for himself arguably helping to define Drake’s Billboard-topping sound. However, after recent events in the press, the Nice For What producer and Canadian celebrity wants to do more. As the recent beef with Pusha T reminded people, 40 lives with multiple sclerosis (MS) and routinely raises money for the platform since he was diagnosed at 22. He is now adding another cause to his activist mission. As a native resident of Toronto, the recent gun violence has hit him to the core and caused him to spring into action.
— Noah Shebib (@OVO40) July 7, 2018
In a two page, open letter 40 describes how it is his mission as something who benefitted from this city to use his platform to create a positive change. 40 is a native resident who has lost many close friends to local gun violence, so it a situation that hits close to home literally. The Thank Me Later producer goes on to say he weary of media coverage recently. Shifting all the blame solely towards gun violence toward gang-related activity. That the only way to solve this decaying problem is the increase in police activity.
In 40’s passionate letter he tells a story we Americans know all too well. The over-policing of the Black and Hispanic communities is very concerning. It never ends with intended results. The surge of media headlines circling the unarmed deaths of Black and Latino men lately have left minority communities less than confident of law enforcement.
He announced in his letter that over the last two year he and other invested and qualified individuals have begun working towards a sustainable end to this violence that plagues Toronto. A violence that many similar cities in the Western Hemisphere deal with to tragic ends on a daily basis. Taking a proactive approach to finding the peace. Although secretive in his overall plan, he is announcing his plans to help in an impactful way.
40 isn’t the only musician who is fighting the good fight. Justin Tranter Grammy-nominated writer of the song “Issues,” sung and co-written by Julia Michaels is also using his celebrity to help. A songwriter and activist as noted on his Instagram page are lending his voice in San Diego. The goal? To raise money or gun violence prevention.
Justin will be at the Music Box on Thursday, July 12th, performing to dually support an end to gun violence and kick off Pride weekend in San Diego. Musician’s lending their voice and the power of their platform is necessary for the impact of this movement. Not tied down by political ties they can quickly rally local communities to act. Cheers to Noah “40” Shebib and Justin Tranter for being active in helping to keep the peace.
