(Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Lil Nas X is using his platform in his newest music video of “Industry Baby” to team up with The Bail Project, a non-profit organization that pays bail for people in need.
The new video, which features Lil Nas X playing multiple characters and being sentenced to jail in connection with a Nike lawsuit, offers fans a chance to donate to The Bail Project. Since its release last month, more than $45,000 has been raised for the project.
“I know the pain that incarceration brings to a family,” Lil Nas X said in his statement on YouTube, “and I know the disproportionate impact that cash bail has on Black Americans. There are so many stories that call on us to take action, and I invite you to join me in this important civil right issue.”
Around 74% of people in jails haven’t been convicted of a crime and the average bail bond amount for a felony is $10,000, an amount many families, particularly in communities of color, just can’t afford to pay, according to CBS News.
“Music is the way I fight for liberation. But true freedom requires change in how the criminal justice system works, starting with cash bail,” Lil Nas X said in his statement on YouTube.