After Dropping $75,000, Drake’s Philly Studio Finally Gets Rolling

Written By Cyrus Langhorne

Nearly two years after rap star Drake donated thousands of dollars toward a recording studio for a Philadelphia high school, the long-ended search to find a music teacher to run it has concluded.

Drake
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According to reports, a part-time teacher will take the reigns at Philly’s Strawberry Mansion High School.

Although the studio was finished last summer, Principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman said budget problems and the school’s reputation for violence made it hard to find an instructor. At long last, part-time music teacher Ben Diamond arrived in early February. “We thought we were going to be ready to go in September. They’ve been dying to get in” to the studio, Wayman said of the students. (The Grio)

Check out what Drake said about the big $75,000 donation on the next page…

The Toronto native revealed his big $75,000 donation to Philly students in December 2013.

It’s maybe not what Philly’s Strawberry Mansion High School needs most, but it’s still a whole lot. And it’s what rapper Drake is giving. In a segment that aired on ABC News Wednesday, Drake visited the North Philly public high school to announce that he’s going to build a recording studio at the chronically underresourced school. “This about you,” the rapper told the screaming students. “This about your principal. This about your future. I love you. I care about you. I want to see you succeed.” (Color Lines)

In an ABC News segment, the rap star previously explained what inspired the unexpected decision.

“I caught this piece that Diane did and I was like by the end of it I was so heavily affected that at the end I started questioning like major aspects of my life. It just really changed a lot about me.” (ABC News)

The school has reportedly received donations and seen achievement amongst its students since recent news coverage.

It changed a lot of people. Now, Strawberry Mansion High School represents hope – not only to its students, but to the community. This year, 55 of this year’s senior students were accepted to college, twice the number of acceptances from last year. And when ABC News reported in the spring that some of those students wouldn’t be heading to school this fall because they could not pay their deposits, kind-hearted viewers stepped in and helped out. According to ABC, donations received after the first broadcast helped to provide 13 college scholarships, as well as paying for school uniforms, textbooks, notebooks and calculators (click here for more information on making a tax-deductible donation). (Forbes)

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Written by Cyrus Langhorne

SOHH.com Writer. You're likely to find me covering hip-hop news and music releases. Netflix is still my go-to before Disney Plus.

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