Chance the Rapper showed up to a room full of legends and matched the energy entirely.
On Tuesday night at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, Chance performed “I Was a Rock” , his tribute to Muhammad Ali , at the Gordon Parks Foundation Annual Awards dinner, and he didn’t come alone. Anthony Morgan’s Inspirational Choir of Harlem backed him up, and at some point during the performance, audio from a 1977 Ali interview played over the room, Ali’s own voice describing his vision for giving back. It was, by all accounts, a lot.
This wasn’t Chance’s first time pulling out this particular song for Ali , he originally performed it at the 2016 ESPYs as a dedication to the boxing icon and civil rights legend. Coming back to it nearly a decade later, in a room built around honoring that exact kind of truth-telling legacy, lands differently. Chance told Billboard ahead of the event that being recognized in a space honoring both Parks and Ali felt humbling, and that the tribute was really about showing gratitude to everything Ali’s spirit represented. That’s not press release language , that’s a guy who clearly thought about what night this was before walking onstage.
The gala itself was marking the Foundation’s 20th anniversary, celebrating Gordon Parks , the photographer, filmmaker, and composer who spent decades visually narrating the Black American experience before his death in 2006. The room reflected that weight. Colin Kaepernick was a presenter. Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz co-chaired the evening. Jalen Hurts was there. John Legend was among the honorees, with Pharrell doing the presenting honors, which honestly feels like correct casting.
Keys, after receiving an original Parks portrait, said onstage that he was a Renaissance Man , no starts, no stops, just endless beginnings. Legend, accepting his award, said something that’ll actually stay with you: that Gordon Parks understood seeing clearly was necessary for justice, and that this award felt less like recognition and more like a challenge to get to work.
The Foundation raised $3 million through the night’s dinner and auction.
A room full of people who could’ve been anywhere else on a Tuesday in May , and they all showed up for this. That means something.
Gordon Parks spent his whole career making sure people couldn’t look away. Seems like that’s still working.
Source: Original Article
