On Saturday, March 6, rapper Jack Harlow and hip hop artist Quavo faced off against rappers 2 Chainz and Lil Baby in a two-on-two game of basketball. First team to 21 wins. The prize? A literal duffle-bag full of cash, a cool half a million dollars.
The contest was the Bleacher Report’s Open Run 2-on-2 competition, kicking off the NBA All-Star Weekend. Harlow and Quavo beat 2 Chainz and Lil Baby handily, with a final score of 21 to 7. The Bleacher Report tweeted a photo of Harlow hugging an open duffle bag, visibly full of hundred dollar bills, under the caption “@QuavoStuntin and @jackharlow are ready to spend this $500k”
Harlow immediately tweeted back with his plans.
“I”ll be donating $500k to Kentucky State University and Simmons College of Kentucky.” The tweet ended in four violet hearts.
Harlow was born and raised on a farm in Louisville, Kentucky, which is where Simmons College is. By the morning of Sunday, March 7, both historically black colleges had been informed of the unrestricted donations, $250,000 each.
“Donations like this are very vital to institutions like Simmons College of Kentucky,” said Krystal Goodner Spratt, Director of Communications at Simmons. “For other institutions, it might seem like it’s a drop in the bucket, but, for us, it is truly a lifeline.”
“Insignificant attention, so far, has been given to the role and the history of HBCUs, creating the Black middle class and workforce of Kentucky,” said Dr. M.C. Brown, president of Kentucky State University. “So, I hope this donation will spark future conversations to make sure we keep continuing to provide the workers to keep Kentucky strong.”
Harlow describes his career as a white rapper as being “the guest inside a house of a culture that isn’t mine.” These generous donations make plain the debt he feels he owes his hosts in that house.
Image: Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com