Chance The Rapper’s initiative to give back to his city of Chicago happens to be inspired by the King of Pop.
In an interview with Forbes, the artist shared how the late Michael Jackson provided a blueprint with his musical and charitable efforts. During his lifetime, Jackson assisted 39 organizations, giving him the title of the “Most Charities Supported by a Pop Star” in the 2000 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. While Jackson’s name has been embroiled in scandals, Chano pointed to Jackson as philanthropic inspiration.
“The greatest of all time, highest I think maybe for overall celebrities, but most philanthropic musician is Michael Joseph Jackson,” Chance said. “I think he donated over $600 million to charities and more afterward. Obviously, in his music it was extremely provocative, gets the people going. The only person I can really think of off the top when I think of charity that’s a musician is Michael Jackson. That’s how I’ve always thought about it cause most of the people that I grew up listening to were hip-hop artists and I don’t really remember there being a lot of…Ye (Kanye West) gave back to the people, but it was in a very different way. It was always through his music. I can’t really think of anybody else.”
Chano recently took part in WE Day, an annual charity event where young people volunteer for their favorite organizations and celebrate with some of the biggest names in music and entertainment. In 2018, WE Day welcomed acts like Jennifer Aniston, Martin Sheen and Selena Gomez with a performance by The Chainsmokers.
When it comes to Chance’s charitable endeavors, the world has been treated to watching his philanthropic evolution. In 2016, Chance co-created the nonprofit, SocialWorks, based in Chicago that aims to create beneficial after school programs for the city’s youth. The focus of SocialWorks is to empower the youth and provide them with access to a promising future. In addition to his work with his nonprofit, Chance is known for having donated millions of dollars to public schools in Chicago.
Read the interview in full here.