Rap Gives Back

Rappers are often criticized for living affluent lifestyles, but check out how these down-to-earth lyricists are giving back to their local communities.

Chance the Rapper

This 79th street native gives back to Chi Town through the charity he started: SocialWorks Chicago. His organization raised $2.2 million in just six months to support art, music, and theater programs in Chicago public schools. The charity targets schools that have experienced a decrease in their 5-year graduation rate. 20 public schools have been selected to receive $100,000 each for three years of programming. Chance, who was notoriously bad at academics but always musically talented, is providing countless opportunities for students with strengths in the arts. One school is using the funding to build a dance studio, another is updating its band equipment, and other schools plan to start script writing or media broadcasting classes.

Lil Chano also served as the grand marshal for Chicago's famous Bud Billiken parade this August. Through SocialWorks Chicago, he passed out 30,000 backpacks full of school supplies to students lining the streets of the parade. If this wasn't a big enough surprise, Chance then tweeted the locations where fans could claim free tickets to his upcoming concert at the Auditorium Theatre.

A$AP Rocky

This Fashion Killa started the Always Strive and Prosper Foundation. Even though A$AP Rocky's newest album features the jam "L$D," this organization seeks to raise awareness about drug abuse, prevent it, and reduce the impact of addiction in communities.

His philanthropy isn't new though--back in 2013 he performed at The Other Ball that Mark Ronson hosted, an annual London event that raises money for at risk children in India and Africa. Other performers included The Black Keys, Nate Reuss from Fun., Miguel, and "Stay" singer Mikky Ekko. This spring, A$AP played a charity benefit concert in London with Skepta to raise money for the homelessness charity organization, Shelter.

Lil Wayne

While most know Young Money spent time in jail, few know that he hands out about 1,000 turkeys to families in his hometown of New Orleans every Thanksgiving, and has been doing this for over two decades. In 2015 he really gave back during the holidays, donating outfits from his TRUKFIT clothing line to over 500 students in Haiti.

When Hurricane Katrina destroyed Lil Wayne's childhood park in 2005, he donated $250,000 to rebuild the park and the local community center.

Eminem

This secret philanthropist donated over $200,000 to Wolverine Human Services through the Marshall Mathers Foundation to purchase holiday presents for more than 1,200 needy children during a two-year span. After two years, at the request of Wolverine Human Services, the "Lose Yourself" rapper finally agreed to let the organization reveal his identity. Since his anonymity has been dissolved, he has been campaigning for the charity on social media.