Giving Compass' Take:

• Nicki Minaj is paying for a select few college students' tuition fees as part of an initiative called Student of the Game. 

• How does celebrity action raise awareness around an issue? How can funders work toward a saleable solution to college affordability?

• Read about the other celebrities using their platforms to advance philanthropy.

One of the world’s best-selling music artists is making her fans’ academic dreams come true.

Nicki Minaj, the award-winning MC known for her rapid-fire flow and quirky alter egos, announced Friday that she will pay the full college tuition or remaining student loans for 37 of her fans via her new scholarship fund called Student of the Game, Billboard reports.

The “Chun-Li” rapper’s new initiative began to emerge in 2017, when a fan asked if the artist would cover her college tuition. Not long after, Minaj posted a handful of students’ names with a total of their loans, school expenses, and summer classes she spontaneously paid off via her Instagram, according to Billboard.

The rapper then announced in the caption that she would be launching an official scholarship fund for future submissions. The Student of the Game charity launched this spring.

But the scholarship fund isn’t Minaj’s first dance with philanthropy. In the past, the rapper also partnered with a nonprofit through her pastor, Lydia Sloley, to provide water wells, sewing machines, and a computer center to an Indian village.

Read the full article about Student of the Game by Joanna Prisco at Global Citizen.