Flo Rida says that he is excited to do more philanthropic work with the $82.6 million Celsius energy drink money he was awarded. The “My House” rapper was awarded the sum on Jan. 18.
According to TMZ, the rapper — whose legal name is Tramar Lacel Dillard — said he didn’t need more money due to his successful music career. Dillard added he was excited to do more philanthropic work with his charity Big Dreams For Kids and his Florida Youth Football League.
The outlet asked him if he would retire because of the award, and Dillard replied that he could’ve retired before if he’d wanted to. He also said he was excited to invest in kids and their futures.
“Before this, just with my music alone, it was just like… I could retire. But now at this point, man, I’m more so happy about the philanthropic things I could do,” he said. “I have my Big Dreams for Kids charity. I have my youth football league. I have over 10,000 kids.”
Dillard added that he recently flew some players from his Florida Youth Football League out to California to train with Snoop Dogg, who also coaches a youth football league. A documentary about the league called “Coach Snoop” airs on Netflix.
“Those are the things I’m excited about,” he added, noting that he wanted to open doors for other people. “Just investing in the kids … when you invest in the future, you can’t even imagine what the future will be like.”
Dillard went on the say that professionals who came to his neighborhood when he was a kid changed his life. “When I was a kid, different professionals came to my projects, fortunately, and they just gave a word. Those words helped change my life and gave me hope. So, that’s my investment, the kids.”
Dillard won the $82.6 million award after he sued the energy drink company. The rapper was a brand ambassador from 2014 to 2018 for Celsius and testified that they owed him $30K for breaching of contract. He also testified that the company’s profits increased partly due to his song “My House.”
“Basically, I helped birth this company,” he said. “And all we were looking for was some trustworthy people who acted as if they were family. And then when it comes down to the success of today, they just forgot about me.”
The “Good Feeling” rapper appears to be spreading love to his friends as well. Dillard shared a video on Instagram last week of rapper Flavor Flav receiving a custom SA necklace from Dillard. He captioned the post, “@strongarmprince & I had to gift @flavorflavofficial his very own custom one of one SA piece, all emeralds done by @pristine_jewelers Thank you Flav for all the love, advice, and loyalty over the years.”
Flavor Flav thanked Dillard for the gift. “Yeahhhhh boyyyyyyyyyyy,” he said. “I had to put the clock to the back for a minute…. Wow! I feel like a strong arm. Yo Flo. Yo Freezy. Thank you all, man. I’ve been wanting this for a long time. God is good.”
