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Two hip-hop artists who have broken ground in the music industry are separately finding ways to give back to younger generations by helping them excel academically.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion recently launched a “Don’t Stop” campaign for women of color to pursue higher education by awarding a couple of $10,000 scholarships. The fund is named after her newest single featuring Young Thug.
The 25-year-old rapper announced on Twitter that the scholarships will be offered to two female students pursuing an associate, bachelor or postgraduate degree in any field. The initiative is in partnership with Rap Rotation, Amazon’s Music’s flagship global hip-hop brand.
Along with creating top-charting hits, the rapper is a health care administration major at Texas Southern University, an HBCU.
Rapper 21 Savage is also ensuring students have the tools and resources through his new scholarship fund.
The fund is part of an initiative called 21’s Bank Account Financial Literacy Campaign. It aims to provide 100 high school students with $1,000 scholarships after they complete an online money management program. The program features six courses that cover the fundamentals of budgeting, building credit and banking.
“I’m happy to team up with Chime to make this year’s Bank Account Campaign bigger than ever with a new national financial literacy and scholarship program,” 21 Savage said in a statement, according to News One. “I’ve been an advocate for financial literacy because I believe it can help free youth to focus on the more important things in life.”
In the past, 21 Savage has given back to students in Atlanta by providing them with career opportunities and access to money management workshops. During the pandemic, he hosted a school drive where he distributed laptops, backpacks, face masks and other supplies to families.
They are following in the footsteps of many entertainers who have given back to students. Beyoncé and Jay-Z offered over $1 million worth of scholarship funds in 2018. Rapper Nicki Minaj also awarded 37 fans with paying off their entire college tuition or student loans in 2017.