Kanye had time last Thursday. The Chicago rapper decided to reveal to the public that he owes Beanie Siegel for coming up with the “Yeezy” nickname. Kanye Needs To Cut Beanie A Check During an appearance in his hometown of Philadelphia over the weekend, Siegel revealed that Kanye has promised him a $50 million check […]
In a recent interview with TMZ, Larry Hoover Jr., son of Gangsta Disciples gang founder Larry Hoover, called on Drake and Ye to finally end their longstanding feud and come together in the efforts to free his father, who has since become an advocate for community organizing and prison reform.
Hoover Jr., who appeared on Ye’s latest album, Donda, called Drake a “leader” and said, “leaders make decisions that people follow. This would be big. 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.”
The sentiment was echoed in a recent statement given by Ye himself, apparently at the behest of Drake’s mentor J Prince, requesting the Canadian rapper to join him onstage to play their 2021 albums at a benefit concert for the effort to secure Hoover’s release.
Hoover Jr. spoke on the idea in his interview, saying, “The concert thing, you know, we still working on that. [J. Prince] is dealing with Drake and speaking with him directly so he would have to pass the information on for that, as far as him coming all the way in. But hopefully, in a few days, it’s looking good and it’s looking like he should be moving forward to maybe take part in this whole thing.”
The elder Hoover is serving a life sentence (actually, six of them, which is really just stupid and a prime example of why prison reform is so needed) for a list of charges including conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and murder for his connection to Chicago’s Gangsta Disciples gang.
At least eight people died at the Houston music festival on Friday. The sold-out, two-day event in NRG Park had an estimated 50,000 people in attendance. Kanye dedicated his Sunday Service to the victims of Travis Scott’s deadly Astroworld Festival and Roddy Rich gives back. Ye And Roddy Give Back To Astroworld Tragedy Victims Kanye […]
Ye is ready to put his beef with Drake behind him. On Monday, J Prince shared a video to social media in which Kanye reads a statement addressing his beef with Drake. Kanye Seeks To End Beef In the video, Kanye is seen in Rothco Chapel in Houston flanked by hip-hop legend and icon J. […]
Ye’s business portfolio is nearly $1 million lighter after paying to settle a California lawsuit against his clothing company, Yeezy. Last month, the Alameda, Los Angeles, Napa, and Sonoma county district attorneys filed a suit alleging the company had violated a state law holding companies liable for the timely shipping of products purchased online. In California, items bought online must be shipped within 30 days, or customers must be notified of delays and given options like refunds and according to the DAs, the Yeezy brand had failed to do this in numerous cases.
According to Billboard, Yeezy agreed to pay $950,000 to settle the lawsuit, including $800,000 in civil penalties to the district attorneys offices, $50,000 in restitution to a state consumer protection fund, and $100,000 in investigative costs.
Ye himself, meanwhile, has been taking a lot of flak over the past several weeks for a number of other unusual activities. During a recent interview with the Drink Champs podcast, he lashed out at his former G.O.O.D. Music artists Big Sean and John Legend for refusing to support his presidential bid, claimed that he still supports Donald Trump, and received criticism from producers Just Blaze and Hit-Boy over comments he made in the interview and allegedly trying to have Hit-Boy blackballed in the industry. Most recently, though, he encountered Houston hip-hop godfather J Prince, who apparently coerced him into making a statement requesting an end to his feud with Drake.
After several years of back-and-forth between the two collaborators turned rivals, the feud between Drake and Ye may soon come to an end, apparently thanks to Houston hip-hop impresario J Prince. Prince posted a video on Instagram of himself and Ye at Rothko Chapel in Houston in which Kanye reads a prepared statement on his phone requesting for Drake to join him onstage in Los Angeles at a benefit show advocating for the release of Chicago gang founder Larry Hoover.
“I’m making this video to address the ongoing back-and-forth between myself and Drake,” Kanye explains. “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. 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.”
According to Prince’s caption, he didn’t “plan” to meet Kanye at Rothko Chapel but did so at the behest of Hoover, who apparently wanted to see the two rappers bury the hatchet. Prince wrote, “Ye received this well and said thanks because he never had anyone that sat him down and explained things to him the way I did,” noting that he is “looking forward to all of us working together in unison to elevate our communities around the world.” Hoover was the co-founder of the Chicago Gangster Disciples gang and was sentenced in 1997 to a seriously unrealistic 150–200 years in prison for a laundry list of charges including drug conspiracy, extortion, and murder. He has since reportedly turned over a new leaf, advocating community charity and criminal justice reform.
As of press time, there has not been a response from Drake, but fans on social media have already begun speculating about the possibility of an end to the feud, as well as wondering how much J Prince’s menacing reputation factored into Ye’s low-key demeanor in the video compared to his most recent boisterous appearance on Drink Champs.
J. Prince snatched this man up omg https://t.co/GYTu31dpiq
— 500
(@Kameron_Hay) November 8, 2021
J. Prince goons behind the camera https://t.co/7LET2QtV6t pic.twitter.com/QMHgilWfH5
— Ahmed
(@big_business_) November 9, 2021
This a hostage video https://t.co/IGq614AZNb
— mr_blah_blah__ (@mr_blah_blah__) November 9, 2021
He reading off that phone like how when your mom make you apologize to your teacher for acting up in class https://t.co/5nIzq5svjw
— Travonne Edwards (Blk Tray) (@Travonne) November 9, 2021
Kanye worth $9B (according to him) and he look like a scared kid next to J. Prince
I’m worth a bag of funyuns, cheap liquor in the “dollar bottles” at the ABC Store, and one reggie edible…yeah, I’m scared too https://t.co/GDANjoauMW
— Resist the devil, you guys (@KingBaakir) November 9, 2021
LMAO. J Prince shut all that down. Kanye back in line. pic.twitter.com/zysa554FIL
— Wells P (@Wells_P) November 8, 2021
Kanye barely looked at the camera while J Prince was standing there.
— Ahmed
In any event, we’ll see if Drake plays ball and what ultimately comes of it. Worst case, Ye and Drake will put their petty disagreements to rest — even if one of them had to be forced into it by one of the most fearsome figures in rap history.
Despite starting the weekend with controversy, thanks to his interview on Drink Champs, Ye is ending the weekend on a peaceful note. At this weekend’s Sunday Service concert, which was livestreamed on Triller, Revolt, and YouTube, the rapper announced that he was dedicating it to the victims of Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival. The announcement was made moments before it kicked off at 4 pm EST and as viewers waited for the livestream to begin, a message read, “Sunday Service dedicated to the loved ones of Astroworld.”
JUST IN: Kanye West is live streaming a Sunday Service event in honor of those who passed at Travis Scott’s Astrofest
pic.twitter.com/HGI5IKpMo6
— RapTV (@raptvcom) November 7, 2021
The Sunday Service concert marks Ye’s second such event in as many weekends, having gone more than 18 months without holding one. Last week’s edition featured an appearance from Justin Bieber, Roddy Ricch, and Marilyn Manson, who faces multiple sexual and emotional abuse allegations. There, tracks from Ye’s tenth Donda, including “Come To Life,” “Hurricane,” and “Pure Souls,” were performed, while Bieber and Manson each led prayers during the service.
Ye recently delivered an unfiltered interview on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s podcast Drink Champs. During the sit-down, which was released on Thursday night, Ye said the “worst thing I’ve ever done” was sign Big Sean and he doubled down on his support for Donald Trump. He also accused producer Just Blaze of stealing his production style, a claim that Jay-Z later pushed back on.
Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
