This past Thursday (August 12), Meek Mill became the first rapper to receive the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award, an honor provided by the invite-only entity PTTOW! (Plan to Take on the World) for Meek’s work via REFORM Alliance. It all went down during the organization’s #PhoenixRising event, which also saw appearances from Patti Labelle, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and more. As previously reported by REVOLT, the Philly star took to social media to express his profound gratitude:
“Blessings… I got the Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award. Thank you … Rip to the great Nelson Mandela, ‘I ain’t grow up playing ball I had a Smith & [Wesson] because where I’m from it’s very hard to turn 27’ #survivors.”
Earlier today (August 13), Meek decided to formally celebrate by liberating a “Mandela Freestyle,” which sees him rapping about his own legal woes and dedication to criminal justice reform in America:
“Niggas pleadin’, they got no money for lawyers, to even feed ‘em, nobody left to raise our sons and our daughters, so they repeat us, reapin’, innocent for twenty-eight years, ‘cause mamas’ grievin’, only goals’ to make it back home while she’s still breathin’, can you believe it, in the land of the free I’m fightin’ for freedom?”
For those not familiar, the aforementioned REFORM Alliance — co-founded by Michael Rubin, JAY-Z, Michael Novogratz, Clara Wu Tsai, and Daniel Loeb — has been pretty successful with securing notable legal victories since its creation a couple of years prior. This includes Virginia’s HB 2038, which focuses probation violation rulings, Mississippi’s SB 2795, which expands parole eligibility for those incarcerated, and Georgia’s SB 105, which is centered around ending probationary periods early for those with no arrests after a certain time period. Those interested in checking out more of REFORM’s accomplishments can visit the official website.
Enjoy Meek’s “Mandela Freestyle” visual below.