Ludacris teaching kids about pandemic, racism through music
The rapper and actor said kids just want to "lead with love."
Ludacris is using the power of music for positive change through his new initiative, Kid Nation, which uses music videos "made for kids by kids" to educate children about current events.
"Kids are so innocent. They're so honest. And I feel like we need to be able to talk to our children about the things that are going on today," he told ABC News. "So I wanted to help."
The award-winning rapper and actor said the messages in the music videos are meant to be told through children's eyes. So far, the website, expected to launch later this summer, will have two videos: "Get Along," which is about racial inequality and promotes leading with love, and "Stay Clean," which encourages kids to wash their hands amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"[Kids] just want everyone to get along. They just wanna lead with love, and I think that's what's important. They can teach us so much more sometimes than we can teach them," Ludacris said. "As adults, somewhere along the way we tend to forget that, and I want to present this because it's so pure."
The musician hasn't released a studio album in five years, but is set to star alongside Terry Crews in the film "John Henry" later this year and the COVID-delayed "F9: The Fast Saga" -- his sixth appearance in the series -- in 2021.
Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, was recently seen protesting for racial and social justice in his hometown of Atlanta, as well as at a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed by police, one of whom knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes. He said he attended the memorial to learn more about Floyd and his role creating change.
"I wanted to pay my respects. I want to listen to his family and get to know more about him as an individual, and I obviously just wanted to see how I could learn more about fighting this fight of racial injustice apart from what I'm already doing," he said.
He said he wants to make a positive impact so that future generations don't have to experience the same issues.
"It's all about love. Hate may win some battles, but love always wins in the end, and I am 100% on a mission to do everything I can to make people smile, to make people learn, so that our kids don't have to go through what we're going through right now," he said.
