Nile Rodgers Unveils “The Creatives” on Saturday Night Live

The Michael Holman-directed Art Ad features the Rodgers & LE SSERAFIM hit song “Unforgiven”

February 5, 2024February 5, 2024 Ron Hart 0 Comments ” Chic, Jean-Michel Basquiat, LE SSERAFIM, Michael Holman, Nile Rodgers, Saturday Night Live, The Creatives, We Are Family Foundation

Iconic guitarist, producer and philanthropist Nile Rodgers has collaborated with acclaimed filmmaker and Jean-Michel Basquiat associate Michael Holman to announce “The Creatives” in a new 30-second Art Ad, which aired on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

The ad incorporates footage from Holman’s expansive Super 8 film archives chronicling the New York City art movement of the 1970s and ‘80s as a launchpad to showcase the 25 individuals Rodgers has handpicked for this project. The soundtrack for the ad comes courtesy of the hit song “Unforgiven” by Rodgers and K-Pop stars LE SSERAFIM.

VIDEO: LE SSERAFIM feat. Nile Rodgers “Unforgiven”

“The Creatives” are a part of Rodgers’ organization, the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), and their new Youth To The Front Fund (YTTFF) frontliners. They are committed to fighting systemic racism, inequality and injustice using their creative talents and expressions. Representing 26 countries on five continents and nine states in the United States, using their voice and the power of art to address systemic injustice and shift narratives in local and global communities.

“Art and activism have always gone hand in hand,” Rodgers said in a press release. “Art is our universal language. Artists and creatives are the truth-tellers, witnesses of culture and the voices of humanity who expose and push societies forward. That’s activism at its best. Our new class of Frontliners are The Creatives of our time who are fighting racism, inequality and injustice through their artistic lens creating necessary change locally and globally. As a former Black Panther and an artist and activist myself, I am honored to be in the company of this next generation of truth-tellers.”

“Unlike the usual TV advertisement, my ‘Art Ads’ are created to inspire, delight and feed the soul,” adds Holman, an impresario of the early hip-hop movement as well. “And therefore, I am honored to collaborate on an Art Ad with Nile Rodgers for We Are Family Foundation’s ‘The Creatives,’ that supports the power of creativity in the hands of young people, worldwide.”

The 2024 class of the “The Creatives” include: Amanda Kamanda (Uganda, United Kingdom), Atang Arnold (Botswana), Beats By Girlz Türkiye (Turkey), Charliese West (USA/Louisiana), Dena Igusti (Indonesia, USA/New York), Electrazie Rajab (Malawi), If You’re Feelin’ Civic (Guatemala, Mexico, USA/Arizona), Keith Dang (Vietnam, Canada), Kukily Colectivo (Argentina, Brazil), Laura Devia Lopez (Colombia, Cuba), Heartland Arts KC (USA/Missouri), Miles Iton (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, USA/Colorado), Minor Act (Cambodia), Musila Munuve (Kenya, USA/Texas), Nguyễn Vu Nhu Quỳnh (Vietnam), Other Village People (South Africa), Petok Productions (United Kingdom, Cyprus) queerbeat (India), Renata do Canto dos Santos, (Brasília & Bahia regions, Brazil), Squidpunk! (USA/California, Liberia, Jamaica), The Witnesses’ Literary Journal (South Africa, Zambia, Lebanon), Unapologetic Magazine (Ireland), Yetunde Sapp (USA/New York), Young Poets Workshops (USA/Washington), Zavia Jenkins (USA/Florida).

For over a decade, the WAFF has led the charge in identifying, amplifying and supporting the actions and voices of youth leaders who are actively and positively addressing the number of challenges young people face all over the world. The Youth To The Front Fund extends that support to youth activists under 30 and youth-led organizations in the trenches fighting systemic racism, inequality and injustice wherever it exists.

Through the generosity of such partners as the EXCELerate Foundation, Sony Music, the Walton Family Foundation and the Warner Music Social Justice Fund / Blavatnik Family Foundation, “The Creatives” are using their collective voice and the power of artistic expression to ensure such inalienable rights as educational equality, freedom of speech for all and social justice for culturally endangered global citizens.

For more information visit the We Are Family Foundation here. You can watch the 30-second Art Ad honoring “The Creatives” below.