Just last year, the world lost it when Jennifer Lopez pole danced to the song “Criminal” in Hustlers, in part because J-Lo, and in part because “Criminal” had never been licensed for TV or film. Now all you have to do to get a Fiona Apple song in your TV show or movie is open your purse. The Fetch the Bolt Cutters singer-songwriter pledges to donate all the royalties from “Shameika” and “Heavy Balloon” to Harlem Children’s Zone and Seeding Sovereignty, respectfully. “I will still give each organization I mentioned here fifty-thousand dollars, if no one ends up requesting use of these songs, but I will be able to give a lot more, if I can earn some of that Hollywood cash, so here’s hoping, here’s trying, and that’s that, I guess!” Apple wrote on a piece of paper photographed, then posted on her friend Zelda Hallman’s Instagram, along with handwritten pledge announcements. HCZ offers kids individualized educational support, while the Indigenous womxn-led Seeding Sovereignty works towards dismantling colonial institutions and replacing them with indigenous practices.
A Fiona Apple song that also benefits marginalized communities? Seems like a no-brainer. Put it in your dramas, your comedies, your tragedies, your coming-of-age stories — whatever you got, it probably could use a “Shameika” musical cue.
