Ludacris is using his financial resources for good. The rapper has donated $10,000 to Jay’Aina “Jay Jay” Patton and her father Antoine, the creators of Photo Patch, an app designed to keep incarcerated parents in touch with their children.
The multi-hyphenate surprised the Pattons during their appearance on The Ellen Show on Wednesday (Oct. 13). He shared his admiration for their purpose-driven endeavor before bestowing them with a check, much to the father-and-daughter duo’s delight.
“I love what you guys are doing,” Luda acknowledged. “[I] absolutely love what you’re doing. I have family members that are incarcerated and all they ever ask for is pictures. You guys are connecting the world. I have my own foundation that helps facilitate dreams for young ladies like yourself. I came here personally because I want to donate $10,000 to what you’re doing.”
Ellen Degeneres and The Ellen Show also matched Luda’s gesture with a $10,000 donation of their own, giving the Pattons a $20,000 total to put towards building their Photo Patch app.
Borne out of Jay Jay and Antoine’s experiences during Antione’s own incarceration, the goal of Photo Patch is to help fill that void for families, as well as encourage more young women of color to get into tech and explore the field as a possible profession.
“Right now, I’m on a mission to help 10,000 girls of color get into the world of tech and start their career path,” Jay Jay explained. “Just for me, there’s not much representation of people who look like me in the world of tech and I know other little girls want to get into this world. They don’t see that they can do it.” She also revealed her own plans to use her platform to enact change, adding, “I want to be that guide and help them do it — and just start them off with their career. I actually have a scholarship fund as well that we’re raising awareness for to help these women and girls start their career and just let them know that they can do it.”
In addition to his work as a philanthropist, Luda has been busy creating content for the youth, as his new animated series Karma’s World is now available to stream on Netflix.
Luda voices “Dad” with other character voiceovers by Tiffany Haddish, Danielle Brooks, Jordan Fisher, Dawnn Lewis, and Dascha Polanco. Universal Music Group also released an accompanying soundtrack to the series, which features original music from Luda as well as the other castmates.
The Atlanta rap legend recently joined forces with Snow Tha Product and producer Drumma Boy on the boardsman’s new song, “I Said What I Said,” which you can stream here.