Celebrities who give back in a big way are not normally the focal point of the conversation; oftentimes, high-profile stars from the world of hip-hop and otherwise prefer that way as well, to fly under the radar instead of being in the spotlight for this kind of act. However, Us Weekly recently decided to give some of these folks their due, publishing a list of the year's most charitable celebs and several of rap and R&B's finest were named as part of this special group.
Chicago's favorite son, Chance the Rapper, topped this year's list, dethroning Beyoncé as the most charitable celeb from 2016. He was followed closely by former (at least for now) NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and pop star Ariana Grande, the latter of whom helped out the Manchester bombing victims in a big way after the attack.
Rihanna ranked fourth on this year's list, whose Diamond Ball event raised over $800,000 for charity. Beyoncé continued to put her name out there as well, coming in fifth, while Houston Texans star J.J. Watt, Kesha, actress Yara Shahidi, Zendaya and reality star Bethany Frankel rounded out the Top Ten. Nicki Minaj, the much-loved rapper who has a new studio album in the works, fell just short of that threshold, coming in at No. 11.
Chance's contributions at the top of this list should be of particular note. He co-founded SocialWorks, an organization whose mission is to empower youth and has helped raise more than $2 million for several Chicago Public Schools in the process. He also debuted his New Chance Arts & Literature Fund, which supports arts being taught more in public schools.