Former First Lady Michelle Obama paid tribute to Chance the Rapper, who she has known since he was a "wee baby rapper", at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night (25Jun17).
Chance, real name Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, accepted the 2017 BET Humanitarian Award, which he received for “positively impacting both local and national communities”.
The 24-year-old, the youngest recipient of the award, has donated $1 million (£800,000) to Chicago Public Schools, organised voter drives and campaigns for the city's homeless people, and raised $2 million (£1.6 million) through his Social Works charitable organisation.
Michelle paid tribute to his philanthropic efforts telling the BET audience via video: “We are so incredibly proud of you, Chance.
“We have known Chance and his family since he was a wee little baby rapper and it has been a thrill watching him come into his own in so many ways.”
The Cocoa Butter Kisses rapper’s father, Ken Williams-Bennett, was an aide to former Chicago mayor Harold Washington and worked for then-Senator Barack Obama.
"Chance is showing our young people that they matter. Chance you are an outstanding role model, and an inspiration to people who care about our next generation... I can think of no better legacy to leave,” she continued.
The father-of-one looked tearful when the show camera’s panned to him before he took to the stage for his acceptance speech in which he shared his love for black people and highlighted some of the biggest problems facing U.S. society including police brutality, education and the government’s apathy to taking action on these issues.
