Tag Archives: Chicago

How Drake, TI and Reginae Carter Made Us Ugly Cry

Allergies. Yup, that’s why my eyes are glistening. Damn pollen.

Okay, fine. You caught me. It’s not flora triggering my tear ducts–Drake fulfilling a fan’s wish to meet him is definitely doing the trick.

How could it not?

The jury’s still out on Kiki’s affections for him, but Sofia Sanchez is definitely feeling Drake after the “God’s Plan” rapper surprised the 11-year-old heart condition patient with a hospital visit on Monday.

Drake dropped by Lurie children’s hospital in Chi-Town, a week after Sofia–who is battling cardiomyopathy and seeking a heart transplant–took the “In Your Feelings” challenge, asking him to visit.

This is by far the cutest plug ever with Sofia rocking Scorpion cap. For those living under a rock it’s the title of Drake’s latest album.

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😍💙😍

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Long live the king of the South, especially if he continues to be this generous.

Rapper TI donated a year’s worth of lunch money to University High School sophomore Danielle Aiken, after learning on Twitter the Florida teen was denied lunch for being 15 cents short.

Like, really? The lunch lady aka Nazi couldn’t let the girl slide this once.

Thankfully TI took to Twitter to not only rant about it, but be the solution.

Danielle confirmed receiving TI’s blessing to WKMG. And revealed he wasn’t the only one offering to pay her lunch tab.

Prompting her to launch a GoFundMe account for students struggling to pay for school lunch.

Great way to pay it forward, sis.

Just like our girl, Reginae Carter and boo YFN Lucci is doing for Atlanta kiddies.

The power couple hosted a Back to School Field Day event in Atlanta’s Grant Park Recreation Center where they handed out backpacks full of school supplies.

And of course played games. Reginae and family took part in potato sack races, three legged races. In addition to face painting and bracelet making. To top it off there were food and ice cream trucks.

Sounds like a fun-filled day.

May your weekend be in the same vein.

Chance the Rapper Came Through for Chi-Town Foundation | Deon Cole Surprises Shoppers

Blinkers, we are wrapping up this first week of 2018 (happy feel good Friday!!) with some charming stories out of Chi-Town.

Chance–you’ll likely spot him at a Chicago school board meeting and city council hearing–the Rapper issa legit real life Robin Hood for the windy city, y’all.

Black Celebrity Giving reports Chance the Rapper dropped by a local party for inner city kids from Gyrls in the H.O.O.D Foundation in Chicago, when founder Chez Smith asked him to come through.

The “Down Wit That” rapper did just that by showing some love to the kiddies and supporting the foundation’s aim of empowering young girls to be responsible women.

Chance the Mayor has a nice ring to it. You know, if the hip hop career doesn’t pan out.

“Black-ish” star Deon Cole can be his deputy mayor.

Last month the Christmas spirit guided the comedian to two Chicago Jewel-Osco grocery stores where he picked up shoppers tabs.

30 shoppers to be exact.

Deon’s rep told Chicago Tribune that it was a spontaneous decision. Deon picked random shoppers to give holiday cheer.

Deon bring that cheer to Charlotte. I shop at Family Lion, jus sayin’.

TGIF! Colin Kaepernick Continues Giving Tour |Obama Donates $2M to Chi-Town Jobs Program

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Happy Cinco De Mayo, Blinkers!

It couldn’t come at a better time…because it’s feel good Friday, y’all.

So grab that Corona with lime–dont forget the tacos–settle in and let’s recap some of the good things that went down this week.

Starting with our favorite quarterback Colin Kaepernick, sans a team. (Insert rant: will somebody pick this dude up already?)

Colin’s giving tour landed in front of the New York State Parole Board on Sunday, where the former 49er handed out custom suits to recently released prisoners looking for jobs.

Colin’s doing the damn thing when it comes to helping out in the community. Keep up the goodworks, CK.

Now for some Obama news that doesn’t involve “health” or “care” ’cause ain’t nothing feel good about that ish.

Anyway, Barack and Michelle Obama announced making a $2 million donation to create 800 summer jobs in Chicago on Wednesday.

“One of the things that we’ll be starting this year is Michelle and I are personally going to donate $2 million to our summer jobs programs here in the community,” he said at the South Shore Cultural Center. “[It’s] so that right away young people can get to work and we can start providing opportunities to all of them.”

So take that, all you salty Democrats (**cough Bernie Sanders cough**) who chastised Obama for filling his pockets with Wall Street dollars. A cash grab former presidents have done for decades, mind you. At least Obama is doing it to help out his adopted city. To prevent more violence from coming out of Chiraq.

One Summer Chicago will be hosting summer jobs for the teens.

Cheers to more people like Obama.

Best Week Ever! Beyonce Is Giving Us ‘Lemonade’ Scholarships | Barack Obama Comes Home

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Barack.Obama.Is.Back. Now if that wasn’t enough to make your week a little better. Hell, it’s Barry, a lot better than nothing else will.

Nope I’m lying. Cause hold up! King Bey is giving us some more ‘Lemonade’ news.

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Beyonce announced Formation college scholarships–in honor of the one-year anniversary of ‘Lemonade’ album release–to young women “who are unafraid to think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious and confident.”

The Formation scholars are incoming, current or graduate students in the 2017/2018 academic year. They will major in creative arts, music, literature or African-American studies.

These future Nikki Giovanni’s and Lauryn Hills will be roaming the halls of either Berklee College of Music, Howard University, Parsons School of Design or Spelman College–schools that are participants in the Formation scholarship. Check out the schools’ websites for deadline.

Awww, Beyonce. No one loves us like you do.

Now, back to Barack. This is not a drill folks. No drive-by coffee run in Midtown Manhattan. Or a lunch date with Bono. This is Barack’s official comeback to his hometown of Chi-Town.

The official jump off was on Monday when he held a town hall meeting with youth leaders at the University of Chicago  Where he reflected on his presidency.

He had me at:

Check out the full Q&A below.

Barack followed that up with a more formal speech at a Chicago club on Wednesday.

Barack is officially back, guys. And it’ll cost ya $400 G’ s to get him.

44 ain’t cheap, y’all.

NBA Star Kyrie Irving Gives Second Chance to Sick NJ Boy | Chance the Rapper Inspires Investment in Chi-Town

Kyrie Irving has more than his NBA teammates backs. The Cleveland Cavalier also takes care of those reppin’ his junior high school alma mater—The Patrick School.

Upon learning 12-year-old Spencer Joyner was missing school due to a rare brain disorder—where spinal fluid leaks into his skull and cause excruciating headaches–Irving paid for his entire $11,000 tuition bill and medical bills.

The New Jersey native has been back in school for a month and still thriving from the boost Irving gave him.

“I would thank him for all the things that he’s done, paying for my tuition, paying for my medical bills,” Spencer said.

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Irving isn’t the only superstar to open his wallet and hope to make a difference. As you all know Chance the Rapper has been laying down a lotsa stacks to improve Chi-town public schools. This weekend he let his friends in on the act.

Like Seattle Seahawks player Michael Bennett, who vowed to donate his endorsements to the effort.

I was inspired by Chance The Rapper to ‘think bigger’ when he pledged one million dollars to Chicago kids and their school system. So, I’ll be joining him by investing in the future of our youth.

Chance even influenced the Chicago Bulls head office to write a $1 million check to the cause. Chance was even there to watch the check being presented to the schools.

The Chicago Tribune reports 12 Chi-Town schools will receive an extra $10,000 as a result.

At the announcement, Chance said “It is my job, just as who I am, to bring light and attention to public school funding, broken formulas and especially how it affects my hometown … where there’s 90 percent minority students.”

Chance the Rapper Chicago’s Mayor.

Chance The Rapper Donates $1 Million to Chicago Public Schools

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Aside from making good music, Chance The Rapper is always looking to help his city of Chicago in any way he can. In his boldest move yet, Chance announced that he is donating $1 million to Chicago Public Schools during a press conference at Westcott Elementary School earlier today (see the full video below). “This check that I donated is a call to action,” Chance says. “I’m challenging major companies and corporations in Chicago and across the country to donate and take action.”

The news arrives after his meeting with Illinois governor Bruce Rauner last week, where they talked about public education and more.

Finally, some good news for Chi Town.

Written by Joe Walker OnSmash.com

Chance the Rapper Performs Concert, Leads March to Polls

 

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“My name is Chance the Rapper. I’m from Chicago, Illinois. I’m here to make sure you all stay woke and vote,” said the omnipresent Chicago rapper from the stage of a concert and voting drive Monday at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park.

The show was announced on Friday as a rooftop concert at the Virgin Hotel with his new non-profit SocialWorks, and featuring local artists, in a youth voting drive effort.

By Monday, the day of the show, the rooftop at the Virgin was traded for the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park to accomodate the thousands who RSVP’d on Facebook, retweeted to get the word out on Twitter, and the friends and family they brought with the them.

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Around two hours into the event Chance the Rapper took the stage. “I got my city doin’ front-flips!” He exclaimed, as the opening of his “Angels” was instantly taken over by the crowd.

He told the crowd he wanted them, the collective “us,” to show people that Chicago’s youth want to make their voices heard, finishing his set with “No Problem” and “Blessings (Reprise)” before he thanked everyone for being part of the event.

Earlier in the afternoon’s mini-festival, after a set to warm-up the early crowd from DJ OddCouple, Chicago’s Eryn Allen Kane performed a short set featuring her own track “Honey,” as well as a showstopping cover of “Shout” and The Jacksons’ “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”

Chicago rockers Twin Peaks hit the stage next with a set that included “Boomers,” (in which bassist Jack Dolan threw in a colorful lyric about Donald Trump).

“Go out and vote tonight or tomorrow! Go out and vote, it counts!” Twin Peaks guitarist/vocalist Cadien Lake James implored before leaving the stage.

Taylor Bennett, Chance the Rapper’s brother, took the stage later, continuing the event’s theme, saying, “We’re here to vote tonight, Chicago!”

“It’s so important for you to make your voice heard,” he added. “Us as the youth, as the youth of Chicago, are all gonna march to the polls together and vote!”

Chicago’s Malcolm London followed Bennett.

“We all know racism is alive, right?” he asked. “But you know what? So are we!”

But the big reason the crowd turned out was Chance the Rapper, who emphasized Tuesday’s election as one of the most important of our lifetime, the 23 year-old stood on stage simply as an American with a passion for doing his part.

“Thank you to all the people who want to be a part of how democracy works and want to make their voices heard,” he said.

“You’ve got the spirit. If you wake up in the morning and feel like you’re just one person … man, you’re so much more than that!”

With that, Chance, along with organizers from Black Youth Project 100, led the thousands of concertgoers on a march to the polls.

Story originally reported by Chicago Tribune (Jessi Roti)

Kanye’s Got Coins! Yeezy Donates Record Amount to Donda’s House

kanyewinkIn case you thought Kanye spent all his money on those fog machines and sparklers, think again.

The rapper/doctor dropped off a $133,000 check to the Donda’s House foundation–a non-profit he created to honor his late mom Professor Donda West–this week.

It’s a record amount for the Chicago org that empowers kids to pursue a career in the arts. Let the Yesus church say amen!

Kanye West took a portion from his earnings at the Louis Vuitton Foundation concert shows and donated it to Donda’s House. Awww… it’s like he combined two of his favorite things–fashion and his mama–to make a difference.

The Creative Director of Donda’s House, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, had this to say about the contribution to their coffers.

I really cannot thank Kanye enough for this incredible contribution. His leadership has enabled Donda’s House to grow quickly and impact the lives of over 160 of Chicago’s young people already in short history. This is a great honor and a true tribute to his mother’s legacy, who did so much for young artists.

Why do we hate him again? Someone remind me.

Magic Johnson Gives $10 Million to Chiraq Youth

Magic "Earvin" Johnson is giving this much money to Chicago youth. Image Courtesy: Twitter

Magic “Earvin” Johnson is giving this much money to Chicago youth.
Image Courtesy: Twitter

Never one to turn a blind eye to a worthy cause. Magic worked his by opening his wallet and pulling out a whopping $10 milly to get at risk Chiraq youth summer work.

Through the Hall-of-Famer’s City Youth Empowerment org, he’s agreed to gift the windy city the massive check to widen the scope of the “One Summer Chicago Plus” and offering 5,000 jobs to kids vulnerable to committing crime.

The two-year program is for 16-to-19 year old’s that are or have been in the juvie system or missed more than six weeks of school. Eligible youth will be placed in a 25-hour a week summer job, become a mentee and enter “cognitive behavioral therapy and social skills building.”

The cause sparked Magic’s interest when studies showed that disadvantaged youth’s chances of committing crime were cut in half when they were in the program. Even 16 months after the two-month jobs ended the statistics remained the same.

Magic told The Sun Times this about his generosity:

Providing disadvantaged kids with alternatives is a step in the right direction toward helping them reach their full potential and curb violence in our neighborhoods.

The paper reports that 1,000 teens were hired and counseled last year. Thanks to Magic it will be 2,000 this year and 3,000 next year.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel thanked Johnson for filling the void the federal govt left–they withdrew from funding summer jobs for youth–with his donation to the city.

“Through this generous grant, more youth will stay safe, active and engaged this summer while getting the skills and on-the-job training necessary for a bright future,” the mayor was quoted as saying.

Anything we can do to turn Chiraq back to Chicago is a plus in my book.

Ludacris and Chance the Rapper Make Surprise Visit to Chicago School

Chance giving out laptops at the #getconnected event at Chicago's Alcott Prep. Ludacris looks on.

Chance giving out laptops at the #getconnected event at Chicago’s Alcott Prep. Ludacris looks on.

Luda and Chance the Rapper rewarded Chicago’s Alcott high school with brand new laptops for participating in the #getschooled Internet essential project. The goal is to rev students up to use the Web proactively–not just for Instagram and Snapchat–to prepare for college.

Alcott ranked second in the project’s success rate of using the Internet to help pave a career path. So, Chi town native Chance made a surprise appearance and brought along a famous friend…LLLOOOUUUDDDAAA.

Once the excitement died down, somewhat. Ludacris gave the teens these wise words of advice:

Life is all about competition. If I made my dreams come true you can make your dreams come true.”

Chance the rapper’s sage words were more to the point, this is what he told the young’uns.

If you are an aspiring artist, use the internet to promote your work.

Luda helped pass out laptops donated by Comcast Illinois. Followed by meeting all the teens requests to take selfies with him and Chance.

Saaayyyy Chheeesssee Ludacris taking a group selfie at #getconnected event held at Chicago's Alcott Prep.

Saaayyyy Chheeesssee Ludacris taking a group selfie at #getconnected event held at Chicago’s Alcott Prep.

But not before Luda took a group shot.

No doubt Luda and Chance made these kids week.