Chicago natives Derrick Rose and Chance the Rapper have met only one time despite their deep roots in the Windy City. In their brief meeting, not many words were shared but that has not stopped Rose from being publicly appreciative of the work and money Chance has put into the city. In a recent news conference Chance stated that he will be donating $1 million to the Chicago school system directly to the arts and after-school program.
According to the New York Daily News, Derrick Rose had high praise for the artist.
“It’s always great to hear, especially with someone that’s in his position, coming from Chicago and knowing what’s going on internally and (being someone) that’s willing to do something about it,”
“It’s always great to hear when somebody steps up and takes the challenge.”
“It’s huge,” Rose said. “We’re bringing awareness to it. That’s something that gets overlooked. You look at the school system being shut down in Chicago, the amount of schools that’s being overlooked. And I think it’s because it’s public schools. Kids are having to bus from different neighborhoods to other schools. And you talk about gangs, that’s another thing in Chicago where it’s a problem. It’s a problem. And when them kids get bussed, they have nobody to protect them at the school or before school. And that’s something that they have to deal with.
Chicago currently spends less than the average city in the United States per student despite being one of the larger cities in the country. It is nice to see Derrick Rose speaking positively about the city of Chicago following their breakup. It is even nicer to see people giving back to the cities where they call home. You can watch the entire press conference of Chance the Rapper here on Periscope.
