Lil Baby made sure George Floyd’s 7-year-old daughter Gianna had the best birthday celebration possible by throwing her a party along with NBA star Stephen Jackson.
It’s the first birthday she’s spending without her father, who died May 25 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. His death sparked worldwide Black Lives Matter protests for racial justice.
Forbes reports that Floyd’s longtime friend Jackson began planning the birthday celebration in July with other good friends of the Floyd family and Atlanta restaurant owners Ericka and William Platt. “I think I adopted another child, God put me into this position,” Jackson told Forbes. “I’m going to do the best that I can.”
So Jackson’s kids, along with the children of rappers Lil Baby and Future and of Rayshard Brooks, who was fatally shot by police this summer, attended the socially distant L.O.L Surprise! dolls-themed birthday bash at Atlanta’s Pink Hotel on Wednesday night. Lil Baby reportedly funded the entire party, where the little girls enjoyed candy, manicures and pedicures and other sweet treats, according to his Instagram Story.
“This is a very difficult time for my daughter, so we’re very grateful that our extended family is creating such a special experience for Gianna on her first birthday without her father,” Gianna’s mother, Roxie Washington, told Forbes.
Lil Baby’s 2020 protest anthem “The Bigger Picture,” which he released in the wake of Floyd’s death, earned him two Grammy nominations for best rap song and best rap performance. It remains the Atlanta rapper’s highest-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 after it debuted at No. 3 in June. The music video captures Lil Baby and his entourage attending a George Floyd protest in his ATL hometown.
See videos from Gianna’s birthday party on Lil Baby’s IG Story here and on Jackson’s Instagram here.
