Rap star Wiz Khalifa caused quite a stir in Pittsburgh this morning when he showed up unannounced at his alma mater. Khalifa surprised hundreds of students gathered in an auditorium at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill district when he showed up to donate hundreds of book-bags to his old school. Hip Hop Wired report that Khalifa has always celebrated his school. Wiz’s 2012 mix-tape, Taylor Allderdice, is a clear and obvious nod to the school.
According to WTAE, Khalifa stopped by his old school to honor students who have the opportunity to earn college scholarships, thanks to good grades and attendance. Khalifa delivered some 1,700 book-bags, worth a cool $45,000. Khalifa said he was proud to be able to help out kids from his old school.
“It feels awesome to be back at Allderdice. I love my school. I love Pittsburgh. I love being able to spread some positivity and give kids some hope.
I just wanted to tell them to be themselves. Let them know they’re doing the right thing with their lives right now by going to school and dreaming big and just trying to figure it all out.”
School Principal Melissa Freiz praised the “See You Again” singer’s generosity in visiting the school, saying that it was a “huge” day.
“It means [Khalifa] hasn’t forgotten where he’s come from, and so for us being able to share this moment with our students, it’s a really big deal.”
WPXI report that Khalifa spoke to students in the building he once attended classes in, telling them that “hard work and persistence pays off in the end.”
Clearly students at Khalifa’s old school were delighted to meet their famous alumnus, especially as Khalifa took time to pose for selfies with the students.
https://instagram.com/p/7qGdg4Hdu5/?taken-by=mistercap
Senior student Dominick Openko said “I just met Wiz Khalifa, and when I woke up this morning, I did not expect this to happen.” Another student, Ronald Brown, even had the chance to rap with Khalifa. Afterwards, Brown said that meeting Khalifa was “one of the best moments of my life.”
“I love that [Khalifa] came back to show his support for the Promise-ready kids, make us want to do better in school, you know, get those grades and be something.”
Khalifa’s visit to Taylor Allderdice High School portrays a rare positive story in the rap world, a genre of music that is all too often associated with gun and gang violence.
[Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images]
