Jay Z, Beyonce bail out Baltimore rioters

 

Jay Z and Beyonce

Rap star Jay Z has quietly sent thousands of dollars to help bail out protesters from Baltimore’s jail system, a writer who worked with him on his 2010 memoir said.

Dream Hampton, who helped Jay Z author “Decoded,” revealed the rapper’s cash infusions via Twitter. The messages were shortly after deleted but not before the hip-hop magazine Complex picked them up and reported them, Agence France-Presse said.

Among the tweets: “When we needed money for bail for Baltimore protesters, I … hit Jay up, as I had for Ferguson [and he] wired tens of thousands [of dollars].”

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She also tweeted Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce, sent a “huge check” to support the “Black Lives Matter” movement that surged through America after the Ferguson police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Baltimore was the site of much violence after protesters took to the streets to denounce the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died a few days after being taken into police custody. Six officers have been charged for the incident.

Hampton explained in a written message she deleted the tweets because she thought Jay Z “would be pissed to see I was offering evidence” of his cash donations. The tweets, however, seemed defensive in tone and aimed at explaining to critics that Jay Z and Beyonce, who are worth an estimated $1 billion, were indeed helping the black community.

AFP reported actor Harry Belafonte had previously criticized modern-day stars for turning “their back on social responsibility,” naming Jay Z and Beyonce specifically.

Jay Z, Beyonce bail out Baltimore rioters
Cheryl Chumley
Mon, 18 May 2015 10:43:31 GMT