Drake is offering bail assistance to protesters who have been arrested while demanding justice for George Floyd. The Dark Lane Demo Tapes rapper hopped on Instagram on Monday (June 1) to reveal that he’s donated $100,000 to the National Bail Out Fund.
The hefty donation arrives after songwriter Mustafa the Poet challenged both Drizzy and The Weeknd to match his own donations but “add 3 zeroes.”
“My Toronto Kings [Drake] [The Weeknd],” Mustafa wrote on Instagram. “Swipe up & match my donation but add 3 zeros! Let’s help reunite black families.”
Drake replied to the request on his Instagram Story writing, “[Mustafa the Poet] say less” along with a screen shot of his $100,000 donation. The Weeknd also answered the call, donating $100,000 the the National Bail Out Fund, $200,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network and $200,000 to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights campaign, which is also providing legal assistance to protesters who have been arrested.
In honor of Floyd, Drake also previously posted the poem “Affirmation” on Instagram, which was written by civil rights activist Assata Shakur and included in her 1987 autobiography.
Floyd was killed on May 25 after Minneapolis ex-cop Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes. On Monday (June 1), an independent autopsy report revealed that Floyd died due to the “sustained pressure” on his neck and asphyxiation, contrary to the autopsy results from the The Hennepin County Medical Examiner.
Floyd’s family’s attorney Benjamin Crump announced that his cause of death was a “homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain.”
“Sustained pressure on the right side of Mr. Floyd’s carotid artery impeded blood flow to the brain, and weight on his back impeded his ability to breathe,” he continued. “The independent examiners found that weight on the back, handcuffs and positioning were contributory factors because they impaired the ability of Mr. Floyd’s diaphragm to function.”