“I definitely want to be involved with as much stuff as I can,” says the Atlanta native. “I feel like this is going to be good for my city and my fans.”
“I feel like we can beat them because No. 1, I can run and I can ball,” the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets fan explains. “Quaway can ball, but they don’t have height. Quavo is kinda long but he’s not as long as 2 Chainz, [who is 6"5'].”
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“To me, Black excellence means beating the odds doing the unordinary and doing what they said we couldn’t do,” the star tells PEOPLE. “If you’re out in the world and you’re living and you’re doing everything that a Black person, Black culture or Black people are supposedly not supposed to do, I feel that is Black excellence — doing everything they don’t want us to do.”
The “Freestyle” musician also shares what Black History Month means to him, telling PEOPLE, “I think Black History Month is important. Our history is important and this is the month when they’re going to shed a little bit more light. I love it.”
He continues, “But I would like for it to be every month, Black History Month, because people need to [be informed, which] changes your outlook. If you change your outlook, you change the future.”
For the dad of two who will be releasing new music in the coming weeks, supporting historically Black colleges and universities is just one of the causes dear to his heart. “I have a soft spot for kids,” Jones says. “I love kids because I understand that kids are the future.”
2 Chainz and Quavo.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Bennett Spector, Senior Vice President of Programming at theBleacher Reportdetails the significance of the celebrity ball game and its charitable component.
“Every decision for this event, from the talent, to the format, to the soundtrack was made through the lens of cultural relevance,” says Spector. “We know it was critical to partner with artists who could cut through to create a transcendent moment.”
As for giving back to the Black community, Spector tells PEOPLE, “Contributing to HBCUs represents a long-overdue investment in the Black community. Empowering students at historically Black colleges will help build a foundation for the future leaders in our society.”
source: people.com
