Murda Beatz made a Fortnite fortune, then gave it to Toronto’s ‘Hip-Hop Dad’

It’s been a pretty busy few days from Canadian hip-hop producer Murda Beatz.

On Tuesday, he competed in the first Fortnite Pro Am in Los Angeles, finishing 11th with his partner, Valkyrae and winning $20,000 for charity. Last night, he dropped a new track, “Bigger > You” from 2 Chainz featuring Drake and Quavo. On Friday, he was in Councillor Norm Kelly’s office in Toronto City Hall presenting an oversized cheque to donate his game winnings to First Book Canada, an organization that helps lower-income students receive books and school supplies, a campaign (also supported by Xpand Laces) for which Kelly has been enlisting celebrities.

Born Shane Lindstrom in Fort Erie, Ont., Murda is one of the most in-demand hip-hop producers, working with Migos, Gucci Mane, French Montana and many more. He has produced for pop stars like Zayn Malik, and created the beat for Drake’s recent hit “Nice For What.”

He’s not alone as a big Fortnite fan, but the event impressed him — “It was actually crazy, I had no idea it was going to be as big as that,” he said Friday.

Asked why he wanted to donate the money to Kelly, he said simply, “It’s because he’s the Hip Hop Dad. I was talking to Norm a couple of weeks ago, about how I could help the youth of Toronto, and just how to motivate youth and impact youth culture. He put me on to this charity and when he said that the proceeds go toward helping kids … I just feel like there needs to be more role models in Canada. I don’t feel like there’s enough.

“Obviously, there is Drake, but in the urban community, there’s not as many trying to step up and be at the forefront of inspiring the future to a positive direction, so I feel like I need to be there that.”

Kelly has enlisted several celebrities to the campaign, such as Ellen DeGeneres, James van Riemsdyk and Dalton Pompey.

“I have a teaching background, and there is a lot of literature that connects reading with academic success,” said Kelly, as to why he chose First Book Canada. “The ability to put books in the hand of children who might not have them, as he or she moves through the schooling system is very important, so I was delighted that Murda chose this charity to contribute his winnings to.”