Students inundated with college expenses might need to look no further than rapper Nicki Minaj, who has offered to help college students with their student loans.
Last week on Twitter, Minaj invited students to show her their straight-A report cards.
Show me straight A's that I can verify w/ur school and I'll pay it. Who wants to join THAT contest?!?!??♀️ Dead serious. Shld I set it up? https://t.co/czH715u64a
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) May 7, 2017
In exchange, she gave many of them tuition money or paid of their debt. And last weekend, the rapper shared an Instagram post, listing payments she doled out since the tweet. Minaj also announced that she will be starting a charity to further help students with their finances “very soon.”
Devonte Portis is a sophomore majoring in Public Relations at Ohio University. He is one of the students who made the list, along with his best friend Christina Holland.
“So coincidental! A blessing,” Portis said. “She has since then paid our debts off. It took less than a week to get it all taken care of and I’m registered to go back this summer.”
Portis added that he’s “thankful” to be a fan of an artist that “genuinely” and “authentically” cares about her fans.
“Nicki has always pushed us to further our education and to be assertive and go after what we want,” Portis said. “I look forward to continuing my education at OU and will forever be grateful for her making it possible.”
Minaj is one of several generous musicians who have recently made headlines for prioritizing a college education for their fans. For example, last month, Beyoncé announced that she will fund four college scholarships for “young women who are unafraid to think outside the box and are bold, creative, conscious and confident.”
May 7th, Minaj logged onto her Twitter account to pick a winner for a different contest altogether. It was a promotion for her latest music video, “Regret In Your Tears.” But when a fan asked if Minaj would instead pay for his college tuition, the rapper agreed.
As it turns out, Minaj offered to not only help this student but also extended the offer to others who needed help with college debt.
“Show me straight A’s that I can verify w/ur school and I’ll pay it. Who wants to join THAT contest?!?! Dead serious. Shld I set it up?” she tweeted.
Minaj’s has paid more than $18,000 to at least eight students who needed help with loans repayments. She also helped some students with other expenses, such as meal plans and books.
“This makes me so happy. [A few from the other day] I’ll do another impromptu payment spree in a month or 2 but pls know that I’m launching my official charity for Student Loans/Tuition Payments VERY SOON! You’ll be able to officially sign up! I’ll keep you posted!” Minaj wrote on Saturday.
Learn more about Nicki Minaj’s generous offer here:
Sources:
CNN
Washington Post
Twitter