Lil Durk is giving back to his home city of Chicago. The rapper has launched the Durk Banks Scholarship Fund in collaboration with Howard University, Amazon Music’s Rotation and his Neighborhood Heroes foundation.
“Change the narrative,” Lil Durk told Billboard. “It’s stuff we never got a chance to do, or somebody never did for us. A lot of people don’t do it as far as the music era that we’re in. In my age range, it’s more toward, ‘Let’s go feed them turkeys; let’s go feed them meals.’ My team came together, where we turned it up a notch. I wanted to come up with something that was different and impactful.”
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Two students from Chicago were awarded $50,000 to fund their freshman tuition at Howard University. Lil Durk also donated $250,000 to the HBCU’s Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence Grant, which will go to Chicago-bred students to help them finish their studies.
“For me to boost them up and get them to the next level, it was like a no-brainer,” the rapper added. “And this scholarship was a super-no-brainer for me. For me and my team, having my own scholarship is like a Grammy.”
The recipients were presented the scholarship Friday during Howard University’s Springfest 2023. Lil Durk, who was performing as a headliner, brought the students up on stage to congratulate them.
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Lil Durk’s Neighborhood Heroes Foundation said its goal is to ultimately put $10 million into the Durk Banks Scholarship fund.
Online, one of the recipients celebrated the news.
“I received the GRACE Grant my last two years at Howard, and it was a BLESSING!” she wrote.
I received the GRACE Grant my last two years at Howard and it was a BLESSING! https://t.co/9P0XSU03Sw
— ki. (@keptlikeki) October 13, 2021
Lil Durk also spent $100,000 on an all-expenses-paid trip for 20 high schoolers to visit Howard University last week, reported Billboard. They stayed on campus and were paired with a Howard student mentor.
The rapper recently decided to pursue his studies. He is currently studying to get his G.E.D.
“In my mind, it’s like keeping going on the knowledge,” he told Billboard. “I wanna be super-smart and on point with everything from technology, music, streaming and any subject.”
Lil Durk expressed the importance of doing his part and giving back to his community.
“We always see it on T.V. or on the internet, ‘Oh, he gave out a scholarship,’ but at the time, I didn’t understand. Now it’s gonna be bigger than life when we do it,” he said.
