Lil Baby is helping students at his former high school afford higher education. On Wednesday (March 4), the Atlanta native made a surprise visit to Booker T. Washington High School where he announced the “My Turn” Scholarship fund along with dropping off a $150,000 check.
The funds will be disbursed to a select number of students who show excellence and leadership both in and out of the classroom, reports WSB-TV. One of the scholarship recipients is a high school senior who will be attending Dartmouth College in the fall.
The scholarship, which is named after Baby’s new album, was launched in conjunction with Amazon Music’s Rap Rotation, Quality Control Music, Wolfpack Global and Motown Records.
The Grammy-nominated rapper, whose birth name is Dominique Jones, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and embarked on a “crazy journey” that ultimately allowed him to pay it forward.
“Just to be able to come back on a positive note and actually touch this ground again and see some of these faces again..I can’t even explain it,” the Grammy nominated rapper told Billboard. “I was once in a state where I knew for sure I wasn’t ever coming back here. To be able to come back and be something, and perform for children, that means everything to me.
“A majority of the students in these neighborhoods, when they have good grades most of them don’t have support,” he continued. “They don’t have a family who can afford to [send them] to a good college or the college they want to go to.”
Baby hopes to make annual donations to the scholarship fund.