We are days away from Kanye West and Drake hitting the stage and performing together at the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert in the name of Larry Hoover, cofounder of Chicago’s infamous Gangster Disciples gang. However, the former gang leader’s son, Larry Hoover Jr., said his father has expressed some concern about the event.
In a video interview with The Drea O Show, which premiered on YouTube on Tuesday (Dec. 7), Hoover Jr. revealed that his father is apprehensive about the benefit concert.
“Yeah, he’s aware of it [the concert], and he has to be concerned because he doesn’t know how it may affect him,” he explained. “He’s concerned that it may affect him negatively because it’s showing his influence, but his influence is positive.”
“Him being an influential person, it just won’t just disappear,” Hoover Jr. continued. “He can’t make that disappear. But he can make it disappear the fact that he can show that he would never use his influence negatively.”
The 70-year-old cofounder of the Chicago gang—established in the 1970s—was convicted of murder in 1973, and is currently serving multiple life sentences at ADX Florence prison in Colorado. During his incarceration, Hoover has renounced gang activity and has tried to rebrand the GD moniker with a positive name, “Growth & Development.” Last summer, a federal judge denied a sentencing break to Hoover under the First Step Act.
Kanye recently featured Larry Hoover Jr. on his Donda album. On tracks “Jesus Lord” and “Jesus Lord, Pt. 2,” Hoover Jr. addresses the issues involving his father’s incarceration and judicial flaws in the U.S. criminal justice system.
The Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert will take place at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Thursday (Dec. 9). The event will help raise awareness of Larry Hoover’s plight and mobilize efforts to free him from prison.
Ye and Drizzy’s performances will be live streamed on Amazon Prime Video and in select IMAX theaters across North America.
Watch Larry Hoover Jr. talk about the upcoming Kanye West and Drake concert below. Fast-forward to the 6-minute mark to hear him explain why his father is concerned about the event.
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