Rapper/actor Joey Bada$$ is opening up about the impact he hopes to make with his new mentorship program, along with his new university residency. Launched in 2023, ImpactMENtorship helps men of color across America to reach the success they desire by giving them access to mentors in every area, from art to culinary, fashion, film and television, music, sports, and beyond.
“We are underrepresented in a lot of these industries,” Joey Bada$$ told Blavity in an interview. “So, you know, I feel like one of the main initiatives or main objectives of the program is to create more space for us to feel confident and to feel as if we belong. … To essentially give that next generation the confidence to show up as strongly and as proudly as they need to.”
December 12, 2024, the program partnered with Tres Generaciones Tequila to host the inaugural ImpactMENtorship dinner that celebrated founder Joey Bada$$ and the nonprofit’s first year, which included 25 mentors and saw roughly 3,800 applicants. During the dinner he shouted out his mentor Sophia Chang, his parents, and chef Tatiana’s Executive Chef, Kwame Onwuachi, before delivering a speech about the program and his reasons for finding it.
Impact MENtorship will continue next year, with its 2025 cohort underway. While elevating others, Joey continues to work on his legacy. The artist was recently announced as the newest Artist Scholar in Residence at the Gordon Institute at Teachers College Columbia University.
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