'We Are the World': The remake backlash

Jay-Z is dissing the remake of the classic '80s charity anthem as an artistic disaster — even as it's raising money for Haiti

"We Are the World 25" — a worthy successor to the 1985 original?
(Image credit: We Are The World Foundation)

Calculated to raise money for earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the new star-powered remake of 1985's "We Are the World" has topped the iTunes charts, but is far from universally loved. The loudest nay-sayer, Jay-Z, slams the inventive, hip-hop influenced effort for compromising the integrity of the original Ethiopian-relief anthem penned by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie — which Jay-Z ranks alongside "Thriller" as an "untouchable" song. Is this a ridiculous argument when Haitians desperately need all fund-raising efforts? (Watch a report about whether it's worth rebuilding Haiti)

It's hard to argue with success: "We tend to agree" with Jay-Z up to a point, say the editors of PopEater. Yes, the artists should have recorded an original song, but this "genuinely well-intentioned project" is a "monetary success" and right now, Haiti needs money more than it needs defensible music. Besides, we've never heard "anything as moving as Haitian native Wyclef Jean singing 'We Are the World' in Creole."

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