Toyota put the spotlight on emerging soul/folk artist Victory Boyd and Grammy-nominated R&B singer Ledisi with a night of acoustic performances. Students from the Harlem School Of The Arts opened the night playing a set of contemporary hip-hop and R&B songs.
Boyd is a Michigan native who signed to Roc Nation after being discovered in Central Park. She spoke on the importance of the event,
“It’s so important for an artist like myself to be exposed to influencers and industry peers,†says Boyd. “It’s great that Toyota sees the significance of putting a spotlight on emerging artists by giving us a platform to share our music.â€
Ledisi performed from her catalog including “All The Way” which is nominated for a Best Traditional R&B Performance Grammy.
Chef Danielle Saunders the “hip-hop chef” set the table and visual artist Max Sansing made a Toyota-inspired piece that has a behind the scenes video on the carmaker’s Facebook page.
Bevy Smith was the host and CNN political commentator Angela Rye, #MeToo Founder Tarana Burke and singer and actor Titus Burgess were in the audience.
Toyota representative Mia Phillips expressed the company’s commitment to supporting new talent and the brand also made a $10,000 donation to the Harlem School Of The Arts.
