Ye

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 Drops The Deluxe Version Of ‘Donda’ With Five New Songs Including ‘Life Of The Party’ With Andre 3000

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For a little over a week, Ye has been teasing the release of a deluxe version for his tenth album, Donda. He recently spoke about it during an appearance on the Drink Champs podcast, and while exact details behind the deluxe were not revealed, but luckily for those who were excited to press play on the updated album, it’s finally here. On Sunday evening, Ye released the deluxe version of Donda complete with five new songs that extends the already-lengthy album to a total of 32 songs.

The new additions include the previously-leaked “Life Of The Party” with Andre 3000, which features a new verse from Ye. The track also features audio from a beloved video featuring the late DMX which sees him comforting his daughter while they ride a rollercoaster together. Ye also added sequels to “Remote Control,” which features Kid Cudi in addition to Young Thug, and “Keep My Spirit Alive,” which brings in KayCyy to join Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn. The last two additions to the deluxe version of Donda are “Never Abandon Your Family” and “Up From The Ashes.”

The new release comes after a number of Ye clones were spotted in New York City. The clones mimicked Ye’s Donda-era look by rocking black pants, black bomber jackets, a black baseball cap, and a beige prosthetic mask.

Donda (Deluxe) is out now via GOOD Music/Def Jam. Get it here.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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.

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.

Larry Hoover Jr. Calls On Drake And Ye To End Their Feud To Push For His Father’s Release

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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.

Yeezy Pays $1 Million To Settle Its Lawsuit For Shipping Delays

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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.

J Prince Somehow Convinced Ye To Post A Video Asking Drake To Settle Their Beef With A Benefit Performance In LA

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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.

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.

Ye Dedicates His Latest Sunday Service Concert To The Victims Of The 2021 Astroworld Festival

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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.”

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.

Hit-Boy Claims Ye Tried To Blackball Him From The Music Industry After They Had A Fallout

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It’s been years since Ye and producer Hit-Boy have worked together, and it’s all because the two had a falling out some years back. Hit-Boy previously spoke about the separation, saying it occurred after Ye found out he was working with Beyonce. During a recent interview on the Rory & Mal podcast, Hit-Boy further discussed the incident and how it almost affected his career. “I thugged through a lot of f*cked up sh*t, falling out with Kanye f*cked me up for a minute bro,” Hit-Boy said. “I was damn n****, am I still gonna be able to do this sh*t?”

He continued, “Just being a thousand, it’s n****s that done came to me that was like Ye said to this n****, ‘Don’t use Hit-Boy on your album.’ Like I really lived through that, n****. How many motherf*ckers could get through Kanye tryna derail their sh*t bro? So now you see why I’m at the Nas party like, “N**** I did a harder album than for Nas than you did, that’s just real.”

The Nas party that Hit-Boy is referring to is the album release celebration the two artists had for King’s Disease II, the Nas album that Hit-Boy executive produced. It was there that Hit-Boy said to the audience, “It’s not a hundred n****s producing the beat. It’s not a hundred n****s writing the rhymes, n****. It’s two n****s in the studio. I hear this shit right now, homie. It’s going down. King’s Disease II. Stream that sh*t, buy that sh*t.”

He added, “There don’t be n****s in the studio. It’s just me and bro. Do y’all hear this sh*t? It’s just me and this n**** in the studio. He’s barred up, I’m making beats. No hoopla. We not on f*ckin’ Twitter botherin’ y’all. We not on IG Live putting a weird-ass stream up, n****. We doin’ this sh*t for real though, n****! Stop playin’!”