Chance the Rapper has a new occupation, a Lyft driver. The Grammy Award winning rapper went undercover for the ride sharing service for some fun and to promote a greater cause. A handful of unsuspecting passengers are driven around Chicago by “John,” where music, love, and a rap debate comes up during their trips. Wearing sunglasses and a beanie, Chance/”John” also takes the time to inform the riders that his charity The New Chance Fund (along with the help of SocialWorks), is using the Round Up and Donate feature in the Lyft app to support Chicago Public Schools.

To donate to The New Chance Fund, just opt in to Round Up & Donate by tapping ‘Donate’ in the menu of your Lyft app. Select The New Chance Fund here. Watch it all below.

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This week’s episode of Open Late with Peter Rosenberg is dedicated entirely to Mac Miller, who tragically died last Friday (September 7) from a suspected overdose. Rosenberg sits down with Smoke DZA, Eric and Jeff Rosenthal (aka ItsTheReal) and Craig Jenkins, who penned an excellent profile on Mac that was published shortly before his passing, to share their favorite memories of the beloved rapper.

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The music industry is reeling over the sudden death of Mac Miller, who passed away late last week due to a reported drug overdose. The Pittsburgh rapper’s passing is a crushing blow to the hip-hop community, as hundreds of artists continue to mourn the loss of a positive person and one of today’s major stars. J. Cole recently paid respect to the 26-year-old in a series of tweets, even offering up his own personal time to other artists going through struggles who needs someone to speak to.

During his own “KOD” tour over the weekend, Cole World broke down in tears speaking on the struggles people go through and trying to find a way to cope. The emotional moment lead into J. Cole dedicating the song “Love Yourz” to Mac Miller. Watch it below.

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Vic Mensa hit the pavement in his hometown of Chicago over the weekend, pulling up in trucks filled with sneakers to give away to kids and families. The artist/activist and his SaveMoneySaveLife foundation gave away 10,000 pairs of shoes and gave out free haircuts in the West Englewood neighborhood located in the Chicago’s South Side on Sunday (Aug. 26). The ‘Anti-Bait’ truck event was in response to a Chicago police sting earlier this month that made headlines. The sting was uncovered after video surfaced online of police-sponsored ‘bait trucks,’ filled with sneakers that were used to lure potential shoe thieves. The sting was spearheaded by a local railroad company, who have since apologized after three people were charged (prosecutors later dropped the charges) during the sting.

The Roc Nation MC was present handing out brand new sneakers from brands like Puma, Adidas, Nike and Converse, donated to the foundation from places all over the world including Germany, China and Australia. Athletes and musicians, who asked to remain anonymous, also donated to the great cause.

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YG’s third studio album, Stay Dangerous, is set to arrive this Friday (Aug. 3). With a busy schedule promoting the project, the Compton rapper took some time off to give back to the community. YG donated $150,000 on Wednesday (Aug. 2) to startup company GirlCodeLA. The donation will help young female coders looking to get a start in the competitive field. “Gender bias plays a role in the amount of exposure students receive in regards to technology and coding,” said YG in a statement to Billboard.

“This leads to influence future decisions within their field, creating smaller opportunities for diversity. With my donation, I hope they’ll be able to expand their reach of future female coders and programmers. I want to make sure I’m doing my part, I got a daughter and I respect the G Code.” Along with the generous dontation, YG spent time speaking with young coders during a mentoring session, hadning out free Beats By Dre headphones. Those looking to support can make donations here.

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They say the truth will set you free and for Corey “C-Murder” Miller (the younger brother of Master P) hopefully, that reigns true following a huge break in his highly publicized murder case that left 16-year-old Steven Thomas dead. Kenneth Jordan, the lead eye-witness, has recently admitted to lying about Miller’s involvement in an affidavit filed with the 24th Judicial Court.

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Over the weekend, Steve Harvey hosted a mentoring program for at-risk youth outside of Atlanta with the help of Jeezy. The event took place at The Rock Ranch and was orchestrated through the decorated comedian’s ‘Harvey Foundation’ in association with Snowman’s ‘Street Dreams’ Foundation.

Check out some photos from the outreach occasion below and watch a video recap here.

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A day after performing a thrilling sold-out show at Madison Square Garden as a part of TDE’s “The Championship” tour, Kendrick Lamar attended a luncheon at Columbia University on Wednesday (May 30) to accept his Pulitzer Prize. While the event honored the winners of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize, Lamar was the clear star of the day, as many attendees stopped to take selfies and congratulate the Grammy Award-winning artist. “It’s an honor,” said Lamar, who kept his acceptance speech short. “Been writing my whole life, so to get this type of recognition is beautiful.”

The Pulitzer board announced Kendrick Lamar as a winner of the the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music for last year’s DAMN. album. The board previously called the project a “virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African American life.”

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Young Dolph inadvertently made headlines this week, after two baristas were fired at a campus coffee shop at Duke University for playing rap music. Last Friday (May 4), Duke University VP of Student Affairs Larry Moneta walked into the Joe Van Gogh shop and was offended as he heard Young Dolph’s “Get Paid” played on the speakers. Played from a Spotify playlist, Moneta was offended by the song’s lyrics and started to verbally harass Britni Brown, one of the baristas. Kevin Simmons was the other barista that witnessed the encounter, and soon after the two were terminated after Moneta contacted Duke Dining Services executive director Robert Coffey.

The incident made headlines all week, and caught Young Dolph’s attention. On Friday afternoon (May 11), the Memphis rapper took to the stage at Day 1 of the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami. Along with flying both Brown and Simmons in town for the event, he spoke on the incident and brought the two students on stage before handing them $20,000.

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Janelle Monáe’s new album Dirty Computer arrives later this evening at the stroke of midnight. The artist, actress and activist has been busy over the last 48 hours, making stops at various radio stations on a promo run. The Kansas City-native recently sat down with Rolling Stone, where she opened up about her sexuality and the new album.

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