How Lil Durk brought 20 Pittsburgh Public Schools students on stage to perform with him and gave each $100

Twenty students from Pittsburgh’s Faison and Westinghouse academies got the opportunity to perform on stage with rapper Lil Durk on Saturday. The Chicago rapper was in town to support “It’s All A Blur” tourmates Drake and J. Cole, who stopped in Pittsburgh for two nights.

The children joined the rapper on stage at PPG Paints Arena to perform his single “All My Life.” Last week, Dr. Kimberly Price, the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Coordinator of Performing Arts, received an unexpected email that set off this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Dr. Price told CBS, “The two schools brought 20 students from different age groups. From high school, sixth and fifth grades. Teachers gave up their weekends to be there for the kids. To have a team that came together like they did from our communications department to our teachers who gave up half of a day on a Saturday, people want our kids to do well, and our kids do.”

Following their performance, Dr. Price remarked that Lil Durk got along well with the children. She recalled, “He was so gracious with the kids. I wish you could have seen it. He was giving kids high fives, [and] fist bumps. Originally, with the pictures, he stood to the side so the kids could get the spotlight they deserved.”

Finally, Lil Durk and his fellow star musicians presented each pupil who sang a $100 bill. They were overjoyed.

“Our kids were like, they were so excited, they were crying. It was a moment I will not forget to see the kids do so well and be treated so well by an artist; they won’t forget it either.”

According to HiphopDX, Lil Durk, also known as the “Neighborhood Hero,” has already garnered recognition for having a meeting with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to discuss ways to better the lives of children in the city.

Last year, he and Amazon Music established a scholarship fund to assist students in attending college. The first two recipients of the initiative were given scholarships to Howard University.

Lil Durk also gave a $250,000 donation to the GRACE Grant at Howard University, which was established to support students in need of financial aid for tuition.