Kanye West

Ye And Drake Officially Announce Their Benefit Concert In Support Of Larry Hoover’s Freedom

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Ye and Drake are finally on good terms again, after three years of beefing. The rappers wasted no time reuniting, announcing a benefit concert for the freedom of imprisoned Chicago gang founder Larry Hoover. It all started with Ye extending an olive branch to Drake, with help from J Prince, to end their beef in order to hold the concert. Now, an official venue and date for the show have been revealed and it’s not too far from today.

On December 9, Drake and Ye will take over the Los Angeles Coliseum for the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concer, with the two headlining. Ye made the announcement with a flyer shared on his Instagram page.

Larry Hoover Jr. has also shown support for the end of Drake and Ye’s beef. “This would be big,” he said in an interview with TMZ before the two rappers reconciled. “This is like Michael Jackson and Prince, the one we never seen. It’s gon’ be a ripple effect. We need togetherness and peace in this hip-hop community. We need togetherness and peace in our communities all throughout the United States. Be the leader and show, lead by example.”

You can view the flyer for the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert above.

Drake And Ye Have Reconciled According To A Picture They Took Together With J Prince

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After more than three years, it seems like Drake and Ye have ended their beef thanks to some help from J Prince. Ye posted a picture of himself, Drake, and J Prince after the trio met at Drake’s house. Drake also posted a video of himself and Ye turning up together at a party that featured an appearance from Dave Chappelle, who was also seen in the video. The rappers have J Prince to thank, as the Rap-A-Lot record label founder was set on bringing them back together so as to use their star power for a better cause.

It all started when Ye and J Prince met at the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Their discussion eventually led to the idea of Ye and Drake ending their beef so that both rappers could hold a benefit show advocating for the release of Chicago gang founder Larry Hoover. Ye initiated the reconciliation with a lengthy message he shared on Instagram. “I’m making this video to address the ongoing back-and-forth between myself and Drake,” he said. “Both me and Drake have taken shots at each other and it’s time to put it to rest. I’m asking Drake on December 7 to join me as a special guest to share the two biggest albums of the year live in Los Angeles with the ultimate purpose being to free Larry Hoover.”

Ye added, “I believe this event will not only bring awareness to our cause but prove to people everywhere how much more we can accomplish when we lay our pride to the side and come together.”

After the rappers spent years trading shots in their music and over social media, it’s good to see them on good terms. Now, all we can do is wait for more information on the December 7 benefit concert in Los Angeles.

The Owner Of Ye’s Bear Costume From ‘The College Dropout’ Might Sell It For $1 Million

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In addition to the school theme, each of Ye’s first three albums had another thing in common: Each one had a bear mascot somewhere on its cover. There was even a plan to create a line of the bear costumes for people, but that never came to fruition. After 2007’s Graduation, Ye would let go of the bear theme for future projects that include Yeezus, and his most recent album Donda. During a recent interview with Fake Shore Drive‘s Andrew Barber, Eric Arginsky, who worked with Ye’s team on the failed bear line, revealed he still owns a version of the costume that he’ll consider selling.

Arginsky, who shared images of the costume with Barber, revealed that the costume has spent the better part of 20 years sitting in a closet. “My mom wants it out of her house soon,” he said. Barber then asked if he’d consider selling it, and Arginsky said he would. “I love business and opportunity so the best thing that could ever happen is someone from Ye’s camp sees this video and reaches out to you to bring this opportunity back and then you and I are producing bears tomorrow,” Arginsky noted. “That’s what I’m really hoping for. I know that the percentages are very slim on that one. But yeah, I would say at this point I’m really open to anything.” Barber then asked if $1 million would be a fair buying price and Arginsky replied, “Personally, I would say yes.”

You can watch the full interview between Barber and Arginsky in the video above.

Ye Clones Take Over New York City Ahead Of The Deluxe Release Of ‘Donda’

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It’s almost three months since Ye released his tenth album Donda. The project came out more than a year after the rapper first announced it, and it was also preceded by a trio of listening sessions that took place in stadiums in Chicago and Atlanta. A deluxe reissue of the album is on the way, which he revealed during an appearance on the podcast Drink Champs earlier this week. That led to quite the odd occurrence in New York City over the weekend.

Clones of Ye were seen walking around New York City, dressed in black pants, black bomber jackets, and black baseball caps — a look that Ye has been wearing publicly throughout the album’s rollout. The clones were also seen wearing a beige prosthetic mask, just like the one he wore last month during a meeting with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. The mob of clones seems to tie in with the promotion of Donda as someone spotted a billboard that reads “Kanye West Presents Donda Deluxe.”

This all comes after J. Prince somehow convinced Ye to set aside his longstanding beef with Drake. If Drake accepts the olive branch, the two rappers will collaborate for a benefit concert that advocates for the release of Chicago gang founder Larry Hoover.

Kanye vs Jay-Z: Is Copying OK In Hip-Hop?

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Kanye West told Drink Champs that fellow Blueprint producer was a “copycat” for submitting production for the album that sounded like his own. JAY-Z responded and gave Just Blaze a pass. Who’s right? Hova Feedback During the Drink Champs interview, Kanye talked about production credits on Jay-Z’s classic Blueprint album, calling production collaborator Just Blaze […]

After Ye’s Infamous Taylor Swift VMAs Moment, He Did An ‘Exile’ To Japan Because ‘America Hated’ Him

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It goes without saying, but Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Taylor Swift have had a famously contentious relationship since the infamous stage-crashing incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Now, Ye has revealed that the situation really impacted him, so much so that during the aftermath, he fled to Japan.

The second part of Ye’s recent Drink Champs interview is out now, and in it, he revealed (as Pitchfork notes) that after the VMAs, he “did a personal exile” with Virgil Abloh in Japan because “all of America hated” him. He also said, “Everyone was like, ‘You wrong for this one, you won’t win this,’ by telling me, ‘You shouldn’t have ran on stage, you were rude,’ God forbid.”

He also addressed the VMAs in the previously released first part of the interview, saying, “I was actually talked in to going to the awards show. At that time, it was [my manager] Don C.’s job to talk me into stuff. They find new people whose job would be to talk me into doing something that I don’t want to do — influencers, people around you. So that night, I said, ‘Man, I’m not going to this awards show. I’m not sitting through this no more.’ And the very first award, they sit me in the front row. You got [Beyoncé’s] ‘Single Ladies’ video… this is one of the best videos in history. So it’s not that it’s just for her when the artist does something that’s that compelling and incredible. We got to respect it.”

Watch the new Drink Champs episode below.