I think that musicians are privileged in that they have a platform from which to speak and that is a very powerful tool to affect change. As the saying goes 'with great power comes great responsibility', and I believe that in this day and age it is important to use that platform for positive change in the world.
Simplistically I believe that music with a positive message and feeling cannot help but have a positive impact. I think that Freshlyground has managed to build a global community of people who live for a more positive society. I think we have done this through our music and more specifically through the messages in our music, the most important of which is a message of love - for one's self and those around you.
Freshlyground is actively involved with the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, we contribute a percentage of our monthly earnings in order to pay the salaries of their HIV/AIDS Counsellors, as well as hosting fundraisers for the foundation. We have also contributed towards building a youth center for them in a township in Cape Town. South Africa is at the epicenter of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, with a reported 6,4 million people infected, almost 10% of which are youth. This pandemic is having a radical trickle-down effect on the youth, decimating the education system with many children being forced to drop out of school to head households or take care of family members. In a country that is already struggling under the burden of the inequalities of the past, this has to be unacceptable - especially to those of us who have a voice and a platform to speak. With music and the power of the stage and live performance we have been given an opportunity to 'hijack' for a moment the minds and hearts of our audience and spread positive messages - that we hope they will leave our shows with and pass on to those around them - growing an army and a community to fight the inequalities in this world.