Kanye West Invites Drake to Squash Beef in Attempt to Free Larry Hoover
Could the Kanye West and Drake beef finally be coming to an end in an attempt to free Larry Hoover?
Today (Nov. 8), Rap-A-Lot CEO J Prince posted a video to his Instagram and Twitter accounts that features himself with Kanye reading a pre-written message from his phone. "This is Ye and J Prince," Kanye begins. "I'm making this video to address the ongoing back and forth between myself and Drake. Both me and Drake have taken shots at each other and it's time to put it to rest."
He continues, "I'm asking Drake on Dec. 7 to join me on stage as a special guest to share the two biggest albums of the year, live in Los Angeles, with the ultimate purpose 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."
J Prince ends the video with simply saying, "Beautiful."
Prince also captioned the video on Instagram with an extensive passage. "I met with @kanyewest last night in Htown at the Rothko Chapel," he wrote. "It wasn’t in my plans to meet him there but I must say I’m glad I didn’t allow a worship place for God to detour our meeting. There will come a time in life where we all should embrace the movement thinking, over the moment thinking. Moment thinking gets us stuck in the cycle of confusion, revenge, killings and things of darkness that take you to a place worse than slavery. Movement thinkers dream of a better tomorrow, a bigger picture, longevity choices and humbling themselves to forgive. They don’t allow fear and pride to stunt their growth, and they're always looking for the good in every situation and that’s where the leaders are separated from the followers."
"So I met with Ye to pass on the message from my brother Larry Hoover who said he would like to see peace between the two of them," he continued. "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. I’m looking forward to all of us working together in unison to elevate our communities around the world."
Larry Hoover is a 70-year-old cofounder of Chicago's infamous Gangster Disciples gang in the 1970s. He was convicted of murder in 1973, and is serving a life sentence. Hoover has been accused of still operating the gang from inside prison and he was found guilty of drug conspiracy, extortion and continuing to engage in a criminal enterprise in 1997. As a result, Hoover was sentenced to additional multiple life sentences. He's since renounced gang activity and has tried to rebrand the GD name as meaning "Growth & Development."
This past summer, a federal judge denied a sentencing break to Larry Hoover under the First Step Act.
Kanye recently featured Hoover's son, Larry Hoover Jr., on the Donda tracks “Jesus Lord” and “Jesus Lord, Pt. 2.” On the songs, Hoover Jr. discusses the impact of his father's incarceration and flaws in the U.S. criminal justice system.
This isn't the first time J Prince has been involved in discussions between Kanye and Drake regarding Larry Hoover. In October, Prince posted a photo to Instagram of himself standing alongside Kanye, Hoover's wife, Winndye Jenkins, and Hoover's son, Larry Hoover Jr. In the caption, Prince wrote, "IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN YOU PLAN TO FAIL. Good plans in the making to free our brother Larry Hoover with the support of @champagnepapi and @kanyewest."
You can watch the video of Kanye West and J Prince in full below.