Rap megastars Kanye West and Drake teamed up for an Amazon-backed concert for jailed Chicago gang founder Larry Hoover last Thursday, with proceeds from ticket sales reportedly being donated to various criminal justice reform groups.
West, now known officially as just “Ye,” and Drake have a longstanding feud, but the two stars put their beef aside for one night to benefit Hoover’s cause for a concert that Ye called “God’s plan.” Hoover, a former Chicago gang leader, is currently in a maximum-security jail in Colorado serving six life sentences for murder, extortion, and other gang-related activities.
The concert, sponsored by Amazon (and aired live on Amazon Prime), came on the heels of a video that Ye posted asking Drake to join him for a benefit concert for Hoover’s legal cause. It was announced that profits from the show were being donated to Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, Hustle 2.0, and Uptown People’s Law Center.
Kanye West & Drake teamed up for the #FreeLarryHooverConcert last night where West also decided to make another public plea to get back together with estranged wife #KimKardashian pic.twitter.com/MsdKZDf0lv
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) December 10, 2021
There is also a line of #FreeLarrryHoover merchandise being sold on Amazon that was created for the show, and advertised as “engineered by Balenciaga.” According to GQ, the merch was designed by Balenciaga designer Demna.
However, despite that the concert was supposed to benefit the various woke law centers, the profits of the merchandise sales won’t be going to any charity, according to GQ reporter Eileen Cartter.
a scoop for today: a rep confirmed none of the proceeds from the Ye x Drake x Demna x Amazon Fashion merch for last night's Larry Hoover benefit concert will go to criminal justice orgs https://t.co/9WSTe1e8D1
— eileen (@eileencartter) December 10, 2021
The concert may have been a hit with fans but federal law enforcement officials are shocked that the two stars would put their names on the line for Hoover’s benefit. One official called Hoover “the worst of the worst” and others have privately expressed their surprise that anyone would consider Hoover a person worth lending assistance, TMZ reported.
Kanye West, though, has been pushing for Hoover for years. Back in 2018 Ye even tried to convince President Donald Trump to pardon the convicted Gangster Disciples leader and free him from jail.
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