South Auckland artist donates song proceeds to local charity

A singer-songwriter from Māngere has raised $1000 to support South Auckland community food share, Buttabean Motivation (BBM).

When Soul Brown (Fiji, Sāmoa) released his festive single, ‘Merry Christmas Everybody, Everywhere’, his intention was always to give back to his community.

The track had a $1 download fee from the streaming service Bandcamp and proceeds went directly to Buttabean Motivation (BBM) Food Bank.

In a social media post, Soul Brown expressed heartfelt gratitude to all who supported his cause.

“I want to start 2025 with gratitude and say a huge heartfelt THANK YOU to everybody who supported our latest song by downloading and donating so that we could support the uso @daveletele_ and BBM and the wonderful work that they do.”

Soul Brown made $500 via song downloads, so he matched the funds and contributed $500 more.

“I want to thank BBM for the hard work they do to support our communities and our families that need it most and the shining example of service and community.

“It is inspiring to see and has influenced our mantra for 2025 that I put to you too - ‘if not you, then who’.”

The track has a Pacific flair with an upbeat, reggae-style rhythm, ukelele strumming, thuddy bass, and layered harmonies.

Watch Soul Brown's full interview below.

Before the song’s release, Soul Brown spoke to Latu Fonua on 531pi’s Pacific Days about his inspiration for writing a Christmas song.

“With this song, we wanted to include all the good vibes, all the family and food. That’s literally in the song and that might be different for you, but ‘round here it’s family and food.”

Soul Brown spoke about his love for those festive season favourites and the oddity of singing about Christmas time in the Northern Hemisphere.

“All those favourites, they talk about snow and other sorts of things that don’t really happen around here. So I’ve always wanted to write a song that tells it like it is from our side of the world.”

Listen to Soul Brown’s ‘Merry Christmas Everybody, Everywhere’ here.