{"id":7710,"date":"2014-11-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/the-man\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:35:03","slug":"the-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/the-man\/","title":{"rendered":"The Man"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2014\/11\/aloe-blacc-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2014\/11\/aloe-blacc-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2014\/11\/aloe-blacc-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2014\/11\/aloe-blacc-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"photo of man in suit\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Singer-songwriter and musician Aloe Blacc \u201901 aims to create positive social change, including working to eradicate food deserts. (Photo by Reid Rolls.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=social-impact\">Social Impact<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>The Man<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A musical star with a social conscience, alumnus Aloe Blacc is determined to use his celebrity and creative talents to inspire positive change.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Susan Bell<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">November 4, 2014<\/span>\n      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class=\"Body1stparagraph-NationalNEW\">Before he was global Top 40 sensation and socially conscious singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc, he was Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III, a linguistics and psychology major at USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Even then, Blacc was determined to use his talents for positive social change. Although he considered music a hobby and his future to lie in business or academe, he occasionally allowed himself to daydream about how winning fame as a performer could help him fast-forward his philanthropic goals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cWhen I was in school I was influenced by the civic leadership I saw demonstrated by USC professors and programs,\u201d Blacc said. \u201cI always thought, if I get the chance I\u2019d really like to use my celebrity and social capital to create change, whether through standing for international peace, furthering medical research or reducing poverty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cNow I\u2019m fortunate enough to be in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Born in Laguna Hills, California, to Panamanian parents, Blacc described his childhood as \u201ca simple suburban upbringing in a quiet town.\u201d However, it was far from dull. His parents spoke Spanish and their home was filled with aromas from his mother\u2019s Caribbean cooking and exotic sounds \u2014 salsa, merengue, calypso \u2014 from his father\u2019s stereo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Blacc began writing hip-hop lyrics at age 9, and took up the trumpet. In high school, he played in the orchestra and marching band. He also started making hip-hop music, teaming with producer Aleksander Manfredi, better known as Exile, and forming Emanon, a mainstay duo of the underground rap movement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">At USC, Blacc, a Renaissance and Trustee Scholar who described himself as \u201cvery studious,\u201d didn\u2019t promote his music, except for one campus talent show he entered at the urging of friends. He won with a cheeky song titled \u201cI Love USC,\u201d which became a tailgate hit. Upon graduating in 2001, he landed a corporate job but was laid off, allowing him to concentrate on music.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">By the mid-2000s, despite Emanon\u2019s success, the bravado and machismo of rap no longer felt comfortable and Blacc \u201cdecided to focus on affecting emotions, rather than projecting my own.\u201d In 2006, he signed to Stones Throw Records and released his debut solo album, <em>Shine Through<\/em>, followed by 2010\u2019s <em>Good Things<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">His big break came the same year when the song \u201cI Need a Dollar\u201d was chosen as the theme for HBO\u2019s <em>How to Make It in America<\/em>. The song sold two million copies worldwide, while<em> Good Things <\/em>went gold in France, Germany and the U.K.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">In 2012, he signed with XIX \/ Interscope Records. That was followed by hits \u201cThe Man\u201d and in 2013, \u201cWake Me Up,\u201d\u00a0 which topped the charts in 103 countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Undiminished by fame, Blacc\u2019s sensibility led him to work with anti-poverty organization Global Citizen and create songs with strong social messages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cIn the past I\u2019ve written very specific lyrics about certain issues, but those don\u2019t tend to be the most popular songs,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Instead, Blacc began creating thoughtfully crafted videos for songs such as \u201cWake Me Up,\u201d in which he teamed with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network to speak out in favor of immigration reform, and \u201cLove Is the Answer,\u201d which challenges suspensions for \u201cwillful defiance\u201d in California schools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cI like to use my videos in conjunction with a social message or nonprofit organization, so my music stands for something more than just another pop song,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cThe idea is to take a cue from Bob Marley or Marvin Gaye. A song like Marley\u2019s \u2018One Love\u2019does more than any protest song I could write.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">His advice to USC students? Blacc chooses his words carefully.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cEnjoy your passion for art and use your educational experience to inform it and help you find perspective. Find a way to communicate compassion, whether that\u2019s by creating social programs or through community involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">To help develop careers of artist-activists, Blacc recently launched his company Artivist Entertainment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cI believe our most important challenge is fair distribution of resources, so everyone has basic, sustainable levels of healthcare, education and nutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Blacc believes that food deserts \u2014 an area where affordable and nutritious food is inaccessible, particularly for those without a car \u2014 can be eradicated. Food can be cultivated in these areas if people come together, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">\u201cMy goal is to work with communities to transform food deserts into food oases. I hope to inspire change the way Sean Penn is doing for Haiti, or Don Cheadle and George Clooney are doing for Darfur.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Body-NationalNEW\">Aloe Blacc?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you can tell everybody. He\u2019s The Man.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"auto\">We recently caught up with Blacc to see what he&#8217;s been up to. Since this story was published in 2014:<\/h2>\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li value=\"1\">Blacc earned his first Grammy nomination in 2015 for his album <em>Life Your Spirit<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li value=\"2\">In 2020, he competed on Fox\u2019s <em>The Masked Singer<\/em>, finishing second place.<\/li>\n<li value=\"3\">He released the album\u00a0<em>Stand Together<\/em>\u00a0in 2025. Each of the 12 tracks is paired with a nonprofit organization. He\u2019s performed songs from\u00a0<em>Stand Together<\/em>\u00a0on Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live! and launched an international tour.<\/li>\n<li value=\"3\">He&#8217;s founded a biotech company developing therapeutic treatments for diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A musical star with a social conscience, alumnus Aloe Blacc is determined to use his celebrity and creative talents to inspire positive change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":970,"featured_media":28271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,24],"tags":[264,627,109],"class_list":["post-7710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-social-impact","tag-alumni","tag-social-impact","tag-usc-dornsife-magazine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - 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