Kanye West for some time now has been pushing a new term for the “Black Card.” On his “College Dropout” album Kanye raps in “Last Call:”
I went to the malls and I balled too hard
‘Oh my god, is that a black card?’
I turned around and replied, why yes but I prefer the term
“African American Express”
In his “Good Life” music video pictured left, Kanye shows his “African American Express” Red Card. The American Express Red is an American Express Card offered by American Express UK as part of the RED initiative that was started by Bono (U2) and Bobby Shriver (DATA) to raise money for the Global Fund. Money spent on the card helps the global fund by sending 1% of purchases to the RED Global Fund.
The Global Fund (first created in 2002) is setup to help fight AIDS, TB (Tuberculosis), and Malaria. The rich can help even more with the Red Card, as when annual spend passes £5000 the fund percentage is increased to 1.25%.
Kanye isn’t the only rapper to help the RED initiative, Timbaland feat Keri Hilson on his second album “Timbaland Presents Shock Value.” Timbaland raps in “The Way I Are:”
“I ain’t got no Visa
I ain’t got no Red American Express
We can’t go nowhere exotic
It don’t matter ’cause I’m the one that love you best
Talk to me girl”
Unfortunately unless you’re in the UK, you’ll have to stick with the Black Card for now.
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