Ye

The Ye Clones Reappeared In LA, Possibly For A Music Video

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The infamous Kanye West — aka Ye — doubles that took over New York to promote the deluxe release of the rapper’s new album Donda reappeared recently, this time taking over LA venue Soho Warehouse as captured by a bystander who caught them on camera. In the video below, you can see dozens of Kanyes, dressed once again in the unusual mask he wore while promoting the original Donda in New York earlier this year, mostly just milling about with massive headphones on and gathering around what appears to be a parking or concession booth in the lot outside.

The person filming is apparently unnerved by the sight and posits that there is a music video shoot happening nearby. It wouldn’t be all that unusual for Ye to shoot a guerilla-style music video in LA, or for that music video to prominently feature copies of the principal artist (Eminem famously utilized dozens of lookalikes in the video and performances for his 2000 single “The Real Slim Shady”). It’s clearly unsettling for those encountering the clones without warning, but since Kanye’s whole schtick these days seems to be trying to unsettle people, it’s right in line with what we’ve seen from him over the past few months.

Ye’s Sunday Service Choir Covers A Drake Hit In The Wake Of Their Recent Treaty

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During the most recent edition of Ye’s Sunday Service, his Sunday Service Choir introduced an unusual new selection to its repertoire: Drake’s 2018 no. 1 hit, “God’s Plan.” While the choir has played numerous contemporary classics over the course of the past few years, this one was different in that Kanye and Drake had been feuding for nearly the entirety of the choir’s existence. Although the origins of the feud remain unclear to this day, the performance of the new song was made possible by the recent ceasefire the two stars called at the behest of J. Prince and Larry Hoover Jr.

In fact, Ye was apparently so amped about their reconciliation, the choir not only opened Sunday Service with “God’s Plan,” but also reprised it after several Donda songs, according to HipHopDX. The performance may well have constituted a preview of Drake and Ye’s upcoming concert to benefit the elder Larry Hoover’s efforts to have his life prison sentence commuted, which the pair officially announced yesterday as well.

The concert is set for December 9 at the Los Angeles Coliseum and will see the two rappers join each other on stage for the first time in nearly a decade. The architect behind both the concert and the truce was apparently Houston impresario (and rumored threatening figure) J. Prince, who first posted alongside Kanye imploring Drake to bury the hatchet before the two rappers were seen together with Prince in a photo suggesting they’d done just that.

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 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.