A post shared by IM BACK AND THEY MAD (@6ix9ine) on May 9, 2020 at 9:55am PDT

In February 2019, Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced to two years in prison as part of a deal he worked out on racketeering, weapons, and drugs charges. At the time, he was still on probation stemming from a 2015 charge of (what amounted to) sexual assault of a 13-year-old. Part of 69’s 2019 deal involved 69 testifying against gang members, and he happily snitched on everybody he had ever met or heard of. He only had to serve about 14 months in prison before being released last month because of the pandemic. That’s when he posted the Instagram above, flaunting his stacks of cash and his apparent distrust of banks. So… he decided to give some of that money away. Only one charity rejected his donation:

Tekashi 6ix9ine looks to be doing well financially since his release from prison and apparently wants to share the wealth. The rapper, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, reportedly attempted to make a $200,000 donation to the No Kid Hungry organization. But the charity rejected it.

“We are grateful for Mr. Hernandez’s generous offer to donate to No Kid Hungry but we have informed his representatives that we have declined this donation,” the organization said in a statement sent to CNN. “As a child-focused campaign, it is our policy to decline funding from donors whose activities do not align with our mission and values.”

[From CNN]

I understand why a political campaign, political figure or humanitarian figure might refuse a donation from someone like 69 – they truly don’t want the optics of it, they don’t want the association at all. But a charity? I don’t know. There was a backlash against No Kid Hungry for this (which is also stupid). And now an LA-based charity is stepping up to accept 69’s donation:

One group’s $200,000 trash is another’s treasure … Tekashi 6ix9ine’s rejected funds are exactly what an L.A. nonprofit — that also helps kids — needs to survive. We broke the story … the “GOOBA” rapper was set to donate $200k this week to No Kid Hungry, which helps feed families that can’t afford to feed themselves. However, the charity turned down 6ix9ine’s donation.

Enter Keith Johnson, Executive Director of Kooking 4 Kids, who tells TMZ … if the rapper’s looking to do a good deed and help eliminate hunger, his past deeds shouldn’t matter. The Kooking 4 Kids boss says … “If there is an individual that wants to help address hunger in Los Angeles, we welcome it. How that person wants to live their life is for them to decide.”

Keith says his nonprofit often holds BBQ fundraisers, and he doesn’t go digging into the personal lives of people who are there to support the cause. He does add that every organization has the right to determine from whom it will accept funds — but donations are vital to his organization to survive, so he’s not picky. Johnson says K4K travels to 4 different parts of L.A. weekly and serves about 1,600-1,800 free meals to children and parents every day … and they always run out. He tells us, even before the pandemic, the org was stretched thin because L.A. County has some of the highest child hunger numbers … and it can always use more funding.

[From TMZ]

What do you think? I’m having a bunch of arguments with myself over this. For one, 69 is a predator and a felon and I completely understand why charities would be wary, especially if the charity involves KIDS. But I also think… charitable donations are charitable donations, and if the money feeds thousands of kids, all the better. Turn those felonious lemons into charitable lemonade. I don’t know. I understand both sides here.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Instagram.