Protection, Pride, Black Joy: A Movement 30 Years in the Making

 

For decades, HIV prevention has lived in clinics, pamphlets, and quiet conversations, but rarely in the places where culture actually moves. For Black communities, particularly Black Women and Black MSM, prevention has too often been framed clinically and ignored culture. Care for The Culture was created to change that, and we did so with our anthem, “So We PrEP”.

 

For Gilead Sciences, Care for The Culture is a long-term commitment to meeting prevention where culture lives. “So We PrEP” served as the platform's cultural centerpiece, reimagining a beloved ‘90s classic through the lens of joy, agency, and protection. The anthem gives permission to talk openly about PrEP, a breakthrough medication that helps prevent HIV, as a way to care for yourself and your people, and to see HIV prevention as a part of normal life. 

 

At the center of “So We PrEP” is T-Boz, an icon whose voice has carried urgent messages of agency, honesty, and safe sex at a time when few artists claimed to be so bold. Her return in “So We PrEP” picks up where “Creep” left off— she doesn't introduce the convo about HIV prevention, she continues it while bridging generations and reminding us that protection, pleasure, and self respect have always been intertwined in Black culture. Transforming a public health message into a cultural moment.

 

The response validated our approach. “So We PrEP” has generated over 1.3 million YouTube views, over 180M impressions, and thousands of social conversations within its first two weeks, and earned coverage across major culture, health, and music outlets, extending its reach beyond paid media. Most importantly, it opened conversations that too often go unspoken in our community.

 

This anthem proves that when prevention moves at the speed of culture, it more than informs, it resonates.