Big Boi Is Giving A 5-Year Old Victim Of Gun Violence A Life-Changing Gift (Video)

Outside of his career as a prodigious solo rapper and one-half of the incomparable Outkast, Atlanta, Georgia’s Big Boi has been involved in the professional breeding of dogs for many years. Focusing primarily on American Bully breeds, the man born Andre Patton is the owner of Pitfall Kennels where he breeds and raises dogs in his hometown. Now, the MC has bridged his influence as an artist, experience working with dogs, and devotion to humanitarian efforts by gifting a victim of gun violence in Atlanta with a service dog.

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As seen at Complex, Abriya Ellison is a five-year-old girl who was left paralyzed when an unknown gunman’s bullet struck her as she played. Forced to live her life in a wheelchair, her paralysis affects her from the waist down, making walking about the world an impossibility. Her story reached Big Boi’s radar, thanks to a local-news report. That television station, WSB-TV, was contacted by the rapper and his brother, who wanted to help the little girl by providing her with a four-legged friend and service animal.

Abrya named her new puppy, King, and he will assist her in daily activities as she tackles the difficulties with which she has been tragically forced to live. Sadly, Ellison’s story is not an outlier. As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, gun violence is a major concern in the ATL and statewide. According to data analyzed in the newspaper’s report, “Georgia recorded 498 deaths from firearms-related homicides in 2015 — more than all but four other states. Adjusted for population, Georgia’s rate of 4.9 deaths per 100,000 residents ranked 13th.”

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In related news, Big Boi announced the first leg (or “sack”) of tours attached to his recent BOOMIVERSE LP:

9/2 — Chicago, IL @ North Coast Music Festival
9/9 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
9/10 – Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
9/11 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Filmore Silver Spring
9/12 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
9/14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls
9/16 – New York, NY @ The Meadows Music & Arts Festival
9/17 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
9/18 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
9/19 – Cincinnati, OH @ Madison Theater
9/21 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater
9/22 – Columbus, OH @ Park Street Saloon
9/23 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
9/24 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works