Meek Mill has won multiple awards in his career, including Top Rap Album at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards and Best Mixtape at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, but his latest trophy carries extra special significance.
The Philly rapper has been honored with a prestigious Nelson Mandela Foundation “Changemaker” Humanitarian Award, becoming the first rapper in history to do so.
Meek announced his unprecedented achievement on Thursday (August 12) with an Instagram post showing off the latest addition to his mantlepiece.
“Blessings..,” he wrote as the caption. “I got ‘the Nelson Mandela humanitarian award’ Thankyou Rip to the great Nelson Mandela. ‘I ain’t grow up playing ball I had a smith & western* because where I’m from it’s very hard to turn 27’ #survivors.”
Slim Thug, DC Young Fly, Miami Heat player P.J. Tucker, record executive Steven Victor and former NBA champion Stephen Jackson were among those who offered their congratulations to Meek in the comments.
Since his release from prison in 2018, Meek Mill has been a leading advocate in the fight for criminal justice reform.
In 2019, he partnered with JAY-Z and billionaire sports mogul Michael Rubin, among other activists and philanthropists, to establish REFORM Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to “transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing.”
REFORM Alliance has scored several victories in its fight for prison reform. In October, they helped pass the AB 1950 bill in California, which limits the probation periods of criminals. They’ve been instrumental in getting similar probation bills passed in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan and Mississippi.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the organization donated over 6 million masks to inmates, healthcare workers and correctional officers in prisons and jails across the country.
Meek Mill also founded the Dream Chasers Foundation, through which he’s helped residents of his hometown of Philadelphia by donating $30,000’s worth of Christmas gifts to struggling families and 6,000 backpacks to local students.
For being a Rat Based Rapper. Nelson Mandela would turn over in his grave at Squeaky Meek. The only reason he wanted reform was cuz he was scared to death of getting locked up for good due to probation violation which he actually did tho. At least, Nelson Mandela took his like a G.
Mandela Ain’t Took It Like A G, I’m From South Aah(Africa) He Sold The People To The WHITEMAN, Get Your Shit Straight Before You Throw Shade On Anyone
How can they throw dirt on the name of the great Nelson Mandela like that?! King Tekashi did more for humanity with his public trial than Weak Mill did his whole career! SMH
You Know What’s Funny? Mandela Is Only Great To Yall Cause The Media Told Y’all So, Come To South Africa & See That Stupid Great Y’all Talkin’ Bout.
Here come the habitual losers in the comments with their pessimistic outlooks on the matter
Yup. You were speaking about yourself again. Right on time. Keep projecting. LOL
Congratulations
This is sad. Meek violated probation and posted it himself on social media. He then cried about racism etc. Nelson was actually jailed for doing absolutely nothing in an actually racist country and system. Just ridiculous.
Something about this doesn’t seem right