Class Act Award: Will.I.Am

Today I feel like being positive.  I spend a lot of time pointing out negative things in politics and people, and it begins to wear on a person after a while.  So today, I’m going to focus on something positive – rap. 

No, not really.  I’m talking about a rapper:  Will.I.Am.  Over the last couple of years, it seems that every time I hear about him, it is because he has done or said something good.  Before writing this, I decided to look a little deeper into the Black Eyed Peas front man to see if my initial impression was correct.  With a little searching, this is what I found:

Will.I.Am gave almost $800,000 to The Prince’s Trust, a foundation that helps disadvantaged youth in the UK. 

Will.I.Am and Prince Charles

Will.I.Am paid more than $350,000 to help two families who were facing foreclosure pay off their homes.
I think the thing I love most in this video is Will.I.Am's face during the announcement.  This isn't a man who is basking in the glory of what he is doing.  It almost looks like he would rather not have the attention at all.  He's doing it because he actually wants to do the right thing for these people.

Will.I.Am started the I.Am Home Fund to help people who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure – with his own money.

I found very little that could be considered negative about him.  The only real criticism I found was that some people were upset that he tweeted while carrying the Olympic torch.  If that’s the worst thing anyone can say about a guy who has helped countless people with his own money then I would have to say he’s a great person.  He seems to be a generous guy who has fun with the opportunities that fame and fortune has brought him.  You can see this in his appearance on the Graham Norton Show (incidentally, Miriam Margolyes is now one of my favorite people ever...she cracked me up).

With the kind of money musicians make and the environment in which they live, it would be very easy to get caught up in trouble and set a bad example.  The fact that Will.I.Am lives in that world, but is able to set such a great example for his fans deserves a round of applause. 

In stark contrast to the Douchebag Businessman Award that I handed out recently, Will.I.Am has inspired me to create a new award:

So congratulations to Will.I.Am - the inspiration for, and first recipient of, the Class Act Award.

Check out Will.I.Am's new song This Is Love featuring Eva Simons:

You can purchase This Is Love on iTunes by clicking here.