Ed Sheeran says his “permission” to use his vocals in the 40th-anniversary mix of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? was not given to the organisers.The Suffolk singer, 33, maintains he would have “respectfully” declined to appear in the new version of the charity song, and referenced another post criticising foreign aid in Africa.
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00:00Yes, I don't know if you've heard, but Uncle Bob has decided to release another version of Band-Aid.
00:06I know it's Christmas and I'm pissed because I thought he learned his lesson the last time.
00:11Today marks 10 year anniversary since I said no to being a part of Band-Aid.
00:16Because Band-Aid and initiatives like it over the past 40 years has cost the African continent trillions in lost revenue.
00:25From stifling economic growth, investment, tourism and more dangerously, destroying our collective dignity.
00:36And what's worse is that the BBC are even doing a whole documentary to celebrate it.
00:41Now in hindsight, I'm so glad that I said no to being a part of Band-Aid.
00:47Because I remember when they first launched the campaign, the first thing that they showed was a dead body of an African on national primetime TV.
00:55And I'm talking X-Factor.
00:57I know they might have gained the public sympathy and people might have donated their two pound a month.
01:03And they'd probably feel sorry for the continent and people in Africa, but they would never go there.
01:08They would never invest in the continent, miss an opportunity to truly uplift and support the continent.
01:15I've been doing my bit over the years, standing on business and narrating our own stories.
01:20Realigning how the world sees Africans and how Africans feel about themselves.
01:25Because it's very important that we take back our own narrative.
01:28Now these charities won't tell you this, but as you know, Band-Aid raised money for the Ebola crisis.
01:33But did you know that the Ebola crisis was actually solved by an African from Congo called Dr. Jean-Jacques Mwembe.
01:42He wasn't even credited until 2019. His story was swept under the carpet.
01:47And that's why it's imperative that we tell our own story.
01:50And we've been doing that through an educational app that we've built called Sonar.
01:55It teaches African languages and it teaches black history.
01:58Again, it's imperative that as Africans, we take back control of our narrative and our story.
02:06Now, I don't know if you've heard, but I launched the Year of Return with the Ghana government in 2019.
02:12It's an initiative that dispelled aid and encouraged trade by enabling people to be able to come and experience Ghana firsthand.
02:22But before the Year of Return in 2019, Ghana was giving out 45,000 visas.
02:28After the Year of Return, or during the Year of Return, they gave out 750,000 visas, generating 1.9 billion for the Ghana economy.
02:39And the biggest flow of funds going into the continent has not come from any charity, hasn't come from Band-Aid, nor any form of foreign aid.
02:48It's actually come from Africans in the diaspora.
02:52And I love that African-owned companies like Pay Angel are facilitating this vital flow of funds back into the continent.
03:01Do they know it's Christmas?