On October 11, 2012 noted producer Salaam Remi will be honoured alongside rapper Nas (Nasir Jones) and veteran entertainer Tony Bennett at the Amy Winehouse Inspiration Awards and Gala at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria.
The producer, who has Bajan roots, will receive the award, given to those whose work helped “inspire greatness in others.” Remi introduced fellow honoree Nas to Winehouse back in 2004 and helped produce a cut they did together, “Like Smoke” featured on her posthumus Lioness: Hidden Treasures album. Another collaboration, “Cherry Wine,” appears on Nas’s most recent record, Life Is Good. Nas and Winehouse also share the same birthday, September, 14. It is said that her 2006 song “Me & Mr. Jones” was inspired by Nas.
Tony Bennett also collaborated on her “Body & Soul” with Winehouse on his album Duets II and donated a portion of proceeds to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
“Amy was an amazing talent and a special artist,” said Nas. “She was like a little sister to me. I’m happy to be involved with a foundation that not only keeps her memory alive but helps support those things she cared most about – kids and music.”
The event is being put on by the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which launched its U.S. branch back in April. While the foundation has already raised a million pounds for children’s hospices in the U.K., its goal Stateside is to support music therapy and after-school programs for disadvantaged children, like those in districts in New Orleans still struggling from the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.
“We feel that if you put a musical instrument in somebody’s hand, they’re never going to put a gun in their hands,” said Amy’s father, Mitch Winehouse, at the launch.
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