Matt Damon’s Recent Rap Debut Was for Charity, Not a Career Pivot: ‘Kendrick Has Nothing to Worry About’
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Matt Damon is stepping into the studio and behind the mic for… a rap track?
That’s the premise for a new clip for Water.org, helping to promote the charity’s new “Get Blue” initiative. In a clip posted to Instagram earlier this month, Damon debuts his rap alter ego, “The Nomad,” to riff on the “constant struggle” to get water into the homes of those who need it most. The actor-turned-aspiring musician seeks advice from Hit-Boy, the Grammy-winning producer, who questions whether rapping is really the right move for Damon’s altruistic intentions.
“Isn’t ‘Nomad’ just ‘Damon’ spelled backwards?” Hit-Boy asks, to the chagrin of the embarrassed actor.
In person, Damon is anything but embarrassed to promote the Get Blue campaign, no matter what it takes.
“We’re always looking for ways to cut through all the noise, and sometimes, humor is a shortcut to get people’s attention,” he tells Billboard. “We’ll try anything, you know?”
Damon hasn’t had to rap in his career to date, though he notes that, “I sang in The Talented Mr. Ripley a long time ago and uh, I sung in Eurotrip.”
And while his kids are musically-inclined — “Taylor [Swift] is a huge influence in our house,” he says. “We know that catalog pretty well” — don’t expect to see Damon debuting any official musical endeavors anytime soon. “Obviously, Kendrick has nothing to worry about. I’m not gonna become a rapper,” Damon says. “I don’t think that would go well.”
For now, Damon’s rap attempt will just live on social media, with the actor also using his studio time in the clip to tell Hit-Boy about the millions of people around the world who still lack access to clean water. With the Get Blue campaign, Water.org is partnering with brands like Gap, Starbucks and Amazon, to launch products that give back. For every purchase of a Get Blue product on the Gap site, on Amazon’s Get Blue storefront (official page coming in July), or a purchase of two specialty drinks on Starbucks (the Iced Blue Coconut Matcha and the Blue Coconut Refresher), the brands will make a donation to Water.org.
The Gap collection includes blue-colored hoodies, T-shirts, baseball caps and accessories in unisex styles and sizing.
Amazon makes it even easier, with a dedicated Get Blue playlist for inspiration and a host of REDISCOVER playlists on Amazon Music, bringing back popular artists and songs in one place. Amazon says it will donate $1 to Water.org every time someone plays a participating artist’s REDISCOVER playlist. The exact list of artists will be announced in July.
An even easier way to make a difference: customers with an Alexa-enabled device can say, “Alexa, donate to Get Blue” and Amazon will contribute $5 on their behalf.
While much movement has been made to increase access to water and improve safe drinking conditions around the world, Damon notes that more than two billion people still lack access to safe water — that’s one in four people globally.
“It’s so hard for us to relate to growing up here,” Damon says. “You’re only a few steps away from a clean drink of water, whereas if you think about AIDS or cancer or things like that, usually there’s an emotional connection for somebody. You’re never very many degrees removed from somebody who’s struggling with that, whether it’s a family member or a friend.”
“What this [campaign] does,” he explains, “is it raises the awareness, and then hopefully, we can start this larger cultural conversation, and it’ll stay at the front of people’s minds.”
The Get Blue campaign continues the work that Gary White has been doing for decades, as the CEO and co-founder of Water.org. The charity works with local partners on the ground to offer small, affordable loans so families can get the pipes, pumps, or plumbing they need to serve safe drinking water at home. Education is also an important of their advocacy, with White noting that many young children in developing countries can’t attend school, because they are in charge of water collection for their families.
“So many people around the world, when they wake up tonight, they don’t know where they’re going to get their water, and they have to spend time and sometimes money just to get it,” White tells Billboard. “And with Water.org, we’ve pioneered some really innovative ways to kind of close that gap,” he says, noting the organization’s work in everything from building wells to facilitating clean sanitation.
“But what we also realize is we need to bring in a wider audience,” White adds. “It’s critically important that we have these partners who have a platform, who have a voice, who know how to connect through cool shirts or music, because that’s where people live.”
White’s goal for the campaign and for his organization: “We’ve reached over 90 million people with our water programs and I think in the next four years, we can reach another 100 million.”
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Whether you’re ordering a fancy “blue” Starbucks drink or picking up a T-shirt at Gap, Damon says the Get Blue campaign makes it easier than ever to make a difference.
“When I was growing up, on our refrigerator, my mother had this quote from Gandhi, and it said, ‘No matter how insignificant what you do may seem, it is most important that you do it,’” he says. “And I’ve always thought about that. I think the problems of the world can feel overwhelming,” he continues, “but if everybody does their part, what you’re doing is not insignificant, because you’re going to save somebody’s life. You’re going to completely change the outcome of their life. And there’s nothing insignificant about that.”
