“Empire State of Mind” powerhouse duo Alicia Keys and Jay-Z, along with seasoned soul artist Sade will be at the helm of this year’s Black Ball NY charity event to raise funds for the Keep A Child Alive (KCA) Foundation of which Keys is a co-founder. The event, which is on its seventh year, will be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC on September 30.
KCA is a non-profit organization responsible for delivering health care services to more than 250,000 families from underdeveloped and AIDS-prevalent countries such as India, Rwanda, Uganda and other African nations. Since its conception in 2003, it has raised more than $10 million through its annual charity event and also through the help of some big-name benefactors like Mary J. Blige, Halle Berry, Virgin CEO and owner Richard Branson, and former President Bill Clinton.
In May, KCA also organized a same benefit but this time, in London – the Black Ball London benefit – where British rock act Kasabian and Bryan Ferry graced the stage in front of a crowd of about a thousand. This year’s Black Ball NY is also expected to accommodate about a thousand guests similar to last year’s benefit which was also held at the Hammerstein Ballroom and with Keys, Padma Lakshmi and supermodel Iman hosting the event while Chris Martin, John Mayer, Keys and Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour performed.
While it is confirmed that Jay-Z and Sade will be performing along with Keys, the very pregnant and newly-wed R&B chart topper and philanthropist hinted in a statement that there might be more performers added to the line-up, “There are more surprises coming up! Stay tuned!”.
