President Obama had some of Hip-Hop’s elite in the White House on Friday. According to TIME magazine Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, J. Cole, and Chance The Rapper were among the many in attendance for a criminal justice reform meeting Friday.
The meeting was a part of President Obama’s My Brothers Keeper Initiative, a program designed to “address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.”
TIME reports that Nicki Minaj, Chance the Rapper, Alicia Keys, Wale, J. Cole, and Ludacris were among those in attendance. An official tells the magazine that they were invited due to their own community work. Common and DJ Khaled are said to have also been in attendance.
Per TIME:
“Through their own nonprofit work or artistic commitment, many of these artists have found ways to engage on the issues of criminal justice reform and empowering disadvantaged young people across the country,” an official says.
Ludacris has given back via his Ludacris Foundation since 2001 and hosts an annual celebrity basketball game to raise money for charity. J. Cole’s Dreamville Foundation hosts “Back To School” drives and holds book clubs for young men. Chance The Rapper recently started a “Teens In The Park” festival to curtail violence in Chicago.
Criminal Justice Reform has been in President Obama’s crosshairs throughout his second-term. He has granted clemency to 248 federal inmates who he felt were harshly sentenced as a result of the “War On Drugs.” He made history in 2015 when he became the first United States president to ever visit a federal prison. The U.S. Federal prison system has been in existence since 1895.
Photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
