https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUkllTZDW0
Lil Yachty, his footwear partner Reebok, and Foot Locker teamed up for the latter’s Week Of Greatness to make a positive difference in the lives of the less-fortunate by donating a local Foot Locker store’s entire stock of Reebok sneakers to Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.
Rather than simply using the Week Of Greatness campaign to promote the newest shoe releases, Foot Locker partnered with athletes and entertainers to commit to Acts Of Greatness, like Lil Yachty’s donation, to benefit charitable causes around the world.
Foot Locker also worked with rappers like Big Sean and Vince Staples and athletes Anthony Davis, James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Kyrie Irving to donate kicks from Nike, Puma, and Converse to Puerto Rico, as well as donating more than $1,000,000 towards humanitarian relief efforts.
Yachty’s own philanthropy makes him a perfect partner for Foot Locker’s charitable initiatives. He explained that the partnership was a natural fit, as he has also been working with local Atlanta outreach program Our House, a homelessness outreach charity that focuses on children and families.
“My grandmother grew up in outreach,” Yachty shared. “This is not even the only program that I’m giving back in. Me and my label have been giving back just because I’ve been blessed and fortunate enough to do it.”
He notes that this made the Foot Locker donation a no-brainer.
“I have a partnership with Reebok,” he explained. “So it only made sense to have Reebok and Foot Locker do something with the week of greatness and something positive with our house in Atlanta. Since I’m from Atlanta I wanted to do something to impact the areas I grew up in.”
He credits his generosity to his grandmother and the humility instilled in him through watching her growing up.
“My grandmother has been working in the church my whole life,” he said, which led to the mentality of “just staying humble. Just understanding what I have and what I was blessed to get. How fortunate it is to live the life that I live. I know if I can do certain other things, then I can definitely do something like this without a thought about it.”
The self-professed “King Of The Youth” actually takes that moniker seriously, as he deliberately looks to set an example for his fans.
“That’s been my motto from the jump,” he said. “Just trying to push positivity. You can definitely see it starting to spread in hip-hop, where more and more artists are starting to become more and more positive and promote positivity.”
Of course, he’ll continue to do that through his music in 2018, with a follow-up to his Lil Boat mixtape and a joint tape with fellow teenage rabble-rouser Lil Pump on the way, but his giving spirit won’t be changing anytime soon. “I’m always donating when I can,” he promises, “because I’m so fortunate to be able to.”
