Troy Ave is using his current legal woes to help others stay out of trouble.
On Friday, Troy Ave was invited to Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he offered some motivational words to 20 high school students. Troy was invited by Christopher Emdin, a professor in science education at the university, who named the rapper as a national spokesman for his Hip Hop Education program.
Troy faces attempted murder and weapons possession charges following a shooting that took place at Irving Plaza back in May, which left his close friend and bodyguard, Ronald McPhatter, dead.
Emdin admits that many people will question him as to why he would invite a man facing multiple felony charges to give a motivational speech. However, he explained that he wanted to show his students the potential for redemption, “Troy Ave has a certain charm that a lot of the people I work with just don’t get to hear. Young people of color don’t really get second chances, so if I can be part of that process, and help him motivate others in return, I’m going to do that.”
During his speech, Troy Ave encouraged students to make the right choices in life and to chase their dreams. At one point, the “Doo Doo” rapper showed off his ankle bracelet, stating, “This comes from choices, choices I had to make at the time. It was either fight for my life or fight for my freedom. Now I gotta fight to clear my name.”
He went on to say, “The same hustle that I applied first on the streets and then to rap, that can apply to anything. Anything you want in life is within reach if you apply that hustle.”
Troy is currently free on $500,000 bail.
Check out the flyer below.
https://instagram.com/p/BNzG3PRhvkp/?taken-by=troyave
