Kanye and Drake go big: How to watch their ‘Free Larry Hoover’ concert in L.A.

Ye and Drake are squashing their beef and getting into business with Amazon.

The rappers, who are joining forces for tonight’s “Free Larry Hoover” concert benefiting prison and sentencing reform, will have their performances streamed live on Amazon Music and Prime Video and in select Imax theaters. And it’s free too.

The concert is the former Kanye West’s first headlining stadium show in five years and will feature the “God’s Plan” singer and rapper as his special guest.

Ye last performed live during his abruptly canceled Saint Pablo tour amid a whirlwind of mental-health issues for the Grammy-winning artist. It’s also Drake’s first live performance since the fatal Astroworld festival in Houston last month.

Tonight’s concert takes place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It will stream live worldwide on Prime Video at 8 p.m. Pacific, as well as on the Amazon Music app and the Amazon Music Twitch channel.

Music

Kanye West and Drake were sworn enemies. Then J. Prince stepped in

The Houston rap mogul brokered a peace between Ye and Drake, who will perform together Thursday at the L.A. Coliseum in a benefit to free Larry Hoover.

Dec. 9, 2021

Select Imax theaters across the U.S. — including Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre — will also livestream the event as a one-night-only Imax Live event, with tickets available for purchase by location on the Imax website.

“We’re extremely proud to be working with Kanye and Drake on this historic concert in support of a cause they are both so passionate about, and to collaborate across Amazon for this epic entertainment event,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, in a statement.

The concert is a charity event for Hoover, a co-founder of Chicago’s Gangster Disciples street gang, who is serving six life sentences for murder, conspiracy, extortion and money laundering, among other charges when he was convicted in 1997.

Hoover, whose influence has been compared to that of infamous mobster Al Capone, has renounced his association with the street gang and had his case taken up by Ye, who asked former President Donald Trump to grant him clemency during a 2018 meeting.

More recently, the Chi-town rapper featured Hoover’s son Larry Hoover Jr. on his “Donda” album and chatted with him during a November Drink Champs interview. Ye also suggested that he might “put to rest” his protracted feud with Drake, whose “Certified Lover Boy” album was released on the heels of Ye dropping “Donda” over the summer.

The rappers’ relationship soured gradually after plans to release a joint album never came to fruition. The peers have competed for more than a decade, trading barbs in interviews and in their music as Drake’s star rose.

The two stepped on each other’s release dates and put out diss tracks about the other. Their feud came to a fever pitch when Drake’s beef with fellow rapper Pusha T ignited in 2018 and Drake accused Ye of leaking info to Pusha about his then-secret child. Ye has accused Drake of playing “industry games.”

“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 Aside and Come Together,” Ye said in a statement when the concert was announced.

“Bringing These Two Great Artists Together for the Culture and the Cause of Prison Reform Has Been an Honor,” added Rap-A-Lot CEO J. Prince, the veteran promoter and Houston rap impresario who’s credited with brokering peace between Ye and Drake. “Through My Work with Larry Hoover and His Family, I’ve Really Had My Eyes Opened to the Plight Of Incarcerated People in This Country, and I Hope Fans of Ye and Drake Will Take the Time to Do the Same.”

Larry Hoover Jr. said in the statement: “With Ye, Drake, and J Prince United to Advocate For My Father’s Release, We Can Take Our Plea For Redemption Worldwide And Show That We Are Truly Stronger Together On Behalf Of Any and Everyone with a Love One Wrongly Or Unjustly Incarcerated…. Free My Father!”

The concert, produced by Donda Touring, ITC Entertainment and PHNTM, is expected to bring in more than 70,000 attendees to the L.A. landmark, making it the Coliseum’s first full-capacity stadium concert in more than a year.

It is also dedicated to supporting legal reform and community advocates such as Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, Hustle 2.0 and Uptown People’s Law Center.