While promoting his latest album “I Decided” on “The Daily Show,” rapper Big Sean revealed that he has donated a whopping $100,000 to help assist the people of Flint, Michigan.
Since 2014, the residents of the beleaguered city have gone without clean drinking water due to a contaminated water supply. Countless donations have poured in and government assistance has been made available, but the environmental crisis has yet to be resolved.
“I just know it’s not even close to being over,” the rapper tells host Trevor Noah Tuesday, Jan. 24. “In that situation, I feel like, it’s not a natural disaster. It’s something that should’ve been prevented and could’ve been prevented, so it’s just disgusting to think about the damages that these families and even kids have to go through with the lead poisoning.”
The crisis hits home for Big Sean because his mother has had to deal with lead poisoning in the past. Big Sean said that she managed to overcome it “through holistic care and homeopathic remedies.”
His mother has been instrumental in running the Michigan native’s Sean Anderson Foundation and he credits her passion for inspiring his philanthropic works.
They both decided to raise funds on their own to help out Flint’s children “to seek the proper care” for those suffering from lead poisoning. Big Sean also dedicated his single “Bigger Than Me” to the victims of Flint. The song features the local group, Flint Chosen Choir.
“Once you hear it, you’ll see why I wanted them to be on [‘Bigger Than Me’],” he says, of the new track. “But I was just happy to have Flint be a part of my album in that way, as well.”
Big Sean’s foundation helps youths in Detroit and Baltimore learn about possible career paths in the music industry through a program called Mogul Prep. In addition, his foundation has a partnership with Project Knapsack that has given an estimated 5,000 Detroit students school supplies. The partnership also has connected students with pen pals in Soweto, South Africa.
“I Decided” will be available to purchase Feb. 3.
