Devine Carama raps in downtown Lexington, Kentucky for charity; Photo: Lexington Herald-Leader
Lexington, Kentucky-based lyricist, educator and philanthropist, Devine Carama, rapped for 24 hours to help raise funds for his non-profit organization Believing in Forever.
Carama, a fixture in the Lexington arts scene has been an active member in the city for many years. According to NBC 18 Lexington, last year alone Carama “collected 1,500 new coats for children in central and Eastern Kentucky. This year, he received 3,000 requests.”
“This year is our fourth annual A Coat to Keep the Cold Away youth coat drive,” Carama told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “We went from 96 coats year one, to 500 coats year two, then we started doing brand new coats year three and we went up to 1,500 last year. This year we have almost 3,000 requests. So far we have 800 coats purchased towards those 3,000 so we got a long way to go, which brings us to today.”
With demand being so high Carama decided that he would rap for 24 hours (every hour, on the hour) without a coat outside the courthouse in downtown Lexington on the corner of Limestone and Main streets. In one video he could be heard delivering a blistering flow, rapping:
Because this is Kentucky, and I’m rather unique
A little passive when I speak, but with the ax is a beast
And I stand 6’2 with a massive physique
Master ruler at the school I used to battle rap in the street
According to weather.com Lexington will see a high of 51 degrees with a low of 31 degrees, in other words cold. For Carama, however, it’s not enough to deter him from helping those in need. His actions embody the holiday spirit, and if you’re not in the area and would like to make a donation or found out how you can help you can do so here.
Local hip-hop artist @DevineCarama is performing downtown every hour for the next 24 hrs to raise awareness for the 4th annual Coat to Keep the Cold Away coat drive! They have 3,000 requests to fill in just two weeks @LEX18News pic.twitter.com/5jCg3ehXlH
— Tiffany Jackson (@TiffanyLEX18) November 21, 2017