Rapper Lil Baby wants to do more for his community and recently took to his social media page to let folks know that his recent donations of shoes to families in his old neighborhood this week was just the beginning.
On Friday, June 18, the “We Paid” emcee was recorded, leaving a local Footlocker with several bags of shoes to give to residents in his hometown neighborhood in southwest Atlanta. It came after he revealed on his Instagram Story that he was going to “save my community, I promise.” “This n-gga @lilbaby done bought all the shoes,” someone wrote over a video of the rapper shopping captured by blog site The Shade Room.
The clip went viral almost instantly. However, the emcee, whose real name is Dominique Armani Jones, later returned to his social media platform to clarify that more needs to be done to properly assist those in his hometown in a Instagram Story post. He added that the gesture was something he felt needed to be addressed at the moment due to the lack of footwear he observed.
“Buying shoes ain’t what I mean by saving [the] community or giving back!! That was some sh-t I did cause I seen a lot of them had on flip flops,” he wrote. “When I say save community I mean centers, programs, jobs. You can’t imagine the the sh-t I don’t post…”
Many applauded the rapper for his efforts, including one Twitter user who wrote, “I rather see this than donating to a Corp charity.”
Another person commented, “Him doing his do diligence for his community is really beginning to rub off on me. I love that for him. His character speaks volumes at this point. I lOVE THAT FOR HIM.”
The Grammy-nominated rapper is steadily becoming known for his philanthropic efforts just as much for his music. In March 2020, the “Yes, Indeed” rapper donated 150,000 to his former high school, Booker T. Washington, for the “My Turn” scholarship fund, named after his album that was released the month before.
While talking to Billboard about the program, the rapper said, “From the time I left here to now, I’ve had a crazy journey, Just to be able to come back on a positive note and actually touch this ground again and see some of these faces again … I can’t even explain it.
He added, “I was once in a state where I knew for sure I wasn’t ever coming back here. To be able to come, give back and be something and perform for children, that means everything to me.”
