WU-Tang Clan member RZA used the Hip-Hop Chess Federation as a means of giving back and his generosity was extended to the St. Louis region.
Last month he came to St. Louis to bestow what is described as a “very big” donation to facilitate a program that will teach the game to youth offenders who reside in juvenile detention.
The goal is to bring “Chess and Life Strategies” to St. Louis at-risk youth in the area.
According to Eurweb.com, Rza, who is a chess lover, believes that it was chess and an appreciation for literature and reading that turned him around from the violent street life. By it being a big help to him, he’s hoping to help change lives with the method he put to use.
In early October, RZA spoke to more than 400 high school students in the St. Louis area and even played some chess with the area’s incarcerated youth before donating to the HHCF.
“It’s a game of chess in one sense, but in another it’s a study of life. We in the Hip-Hop Chess Federation are striving to bring awareness to American’s, to Black youth, but to the whole of American youth,” Rza said, according to Eurweb.com. “That chess study, along with martial arts, along with music- is the best way to help develop your mind and body and protect you from pitfalls in life that will surely come at you.”
Information from Eurweb.com contributed to this report.
