Just a month after President Barack Obama proclaimed Kendrick Lamar’s “How Much a Dollar Cost” his favorite song of 2015, the platinum-selling rapper had a chance to meet face-to-face with his number one Fan-In-Chief.
A PSA video released Monday that promotes the “Pay it Forward” mentorship program shows photos of the two talking and embracing in the Oval Office.
“I look where I’m at today and realize that most of my success is owed to the mentors that was in my life,” Lamar narrates over black-and-white video of him and a young boy playing basketball. “I sat down with President Barack Obama and shared the same views — topics concerning the inner cities, the problems, the solutions and further more embracing the youth — both being aware that mentoring saves lives.”
The end of video, released by Lamar’s label, Top Dawg Entertainment, urged viewers to become mentors and to support “My Brother’s Keeper,” the President’s initiative that aims to create opportunities for young men of color.
“It’s only right that I mentor a younger person with the same wisdom that was given to me,” Lamar said. “If it helps the next kid become a better person in life, I will forever be aware of my influence and pay it forward.”
According to the White House, “My Brother’s Keeper” is focused on six major “milestones,” including making sure students have a healthy start to their day, learn to read by 8 years old, and graduate high school ready for college.
“We know young black men are twice as likely as young white men to be ‘disconnected’ … we’ve got to reconnect them,” Obama said when launching the initiative in 2014. “We’ve got to give more of these young men access to mentors. We’ve got to continue to encourage responsible fatherhood. We’ve got to provide more pathways to apply to college or find a job. We can keep them from falling through the cracks.”
In an interview with Buzzfeed, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett shed some light on the White House meeting between the Grammy-nominated artist and the President.
Lamar was “a little nervous — bless his heart, he’s really a very nice young man and the President said, ‘Can you believe that we’re both sitting in this Oval Office?'”
