Joey Bada$$ isn’t just talking the talk with his mentorship program; he’s curating an organization committed to the well-being of young men who see themselves through the name he’s made for himself as an actor, musician and overall creative human being.
Launched in 2023, ImpactMENtorship allows men of color across America to reach the pinnacles of success they desire by giving them access to mentors in every sector, from art to culinary, fashion, film and television, music, sports, and beyond.
“We are underrepresented in a lot of these industries,” he told Blavity in a recent interview. “So, you know, I feel like one of the main initiatives or main objectives of the program is to create more space for us to feel confident and to feel as if we belong. … To essentially give that next generation the confidence to show up as strongly and as proudly as they need to.”
Regarding generational wealth and legacy building, Joey was fortunate to have two parents to pour into him from an early age, fostering his creativity and serving as his first mentors, ensuring he had the tools and resources to become the successful man he is today.
“It’s a process of exchanging information,” he said of mentoring the youth. “And a lot of men of color, unfortunately, don’t have access … to these resources. … The next best thing is mentorship…is connection with people in these places and spaces who have accessed these what seems like restricted areas. You know what I mean?”
Recently, the program partnered with Tres Generaciones Tequila to host the inaugural ImpactMENtorship dinner, celebrating founder Joey Bada$$ and the nonprofit’s groundbreaking first year, which included 25 mentors and saw roughly 3,800 applicants.
Tres Generaciones understands firsthand that success is directly connected to embracing the journey, not the destination. Moreover, its story is rooted in three generations of dons who defied the odds to establish one of tequila’s most iconic brands.
“Just look at the name of the brand, Tres Generaciones, which is three generations, you know what I mean? So just off that ideology alone, we align because this is generational work that we are doing, like my hope is for the mentorship program to last for years and years, even while my whole life expands, and even beyond that,” he said. “I want to be able to look back 20, 30 years from now and know that we were able to affect the next generation of pioneers and creators, and to know that they were touched by this program, or to know that they received mentorship that they needed to give them the confidence to advance through their respective pathways.”
The Power Book III: Raising Kanan star hopes to inspire people to better themselves, and the ImpactMENtorship program is just one layer of that.
“The best-case scenario is that I can be used as a source of inspiration or a reference point for people, or a launchpad for people to, you know, challenge themselves further or to create greater or get access to the resources that they need,” Joey Bada$$ concluded.
