While Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ pardon has yet to become official, there’s no stopping President Donald Trump as he continues to hand out immunity to countless high-profile figures. Despite their prior convictions, people like reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley have seen their federal prison sentences cut short due to the US president’s intervention. Larry Hoover, a Chicago gang founder, recently joined the list, among others, as Trump commuted his six life sentences.

On Wednesday, May 28, President Trump issued 17 pardons and nine commutations. Larry Hoover, the notorious Chicago gangster, was part of the latter round. The 74-year-old co-founder of the gang Gangster Disciples (alongside David Barksdale) received six federal life sentences in 1998 for continuing to run the gang from prison. He was even given a 200-year sentence in Illinois for the 1973 murder of William ‘Pooky’ Young. Prosecutors also alleged that his business empire built from the ground up on an illegal foundation brought in $100 million annually, with the earnings attributed to the sale of heroin, cocaine, crack and other drugs, per the New York Post.

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As per NBC News, the Chicago street gang co-founder was called the “chairman of the board” and “the king” of the gang, in addition to being declared “one of the most notorious criminals in Illinois history.”

Although Hoover’s federal sentence has been reduced, his state murder conviction cannot be pardoned. As reported by the Mirror US, online records suggest that he will not be eligible for parole until October 2062. Larry Hoover will be moved from his federal prison compound in Florence, Colorado, to Dixon Correctional Centre in western Illinois.

Rappers Kanye West and Drake advocated for

Despite rap wars keeping many contemporaries divided, Kanye West and Drake stood united in their “Free Hoover” stance as they hosted a benefit concert in Los Angeles to back the effort in December 2021. Both rappers have pushed for Hoover’s freedom, arguing that he had changed.

Ye even featured a recorded message from Hoover’s on, Larry Hoover Jr, in his track “Jesus Lord” off the “Donda” album. The convicted gangster’s son is heard saying, “Free my father, Mr Larry Hoover Sr.”

West has especially advocated for Larry’s pardon for years on end. Back in 2018, Kanye urged Trump at a meeting in the Oval Office during his first term. “The reason why they imprisoned him is because he started doing positive for the community,” he told the POTUS, according to NBC News. “He started showing that he actually had power, that he wasn’t just one of a monolithic voice, but he could wrap people around.”

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Ye went on to say, “So there’s theories that there’s infinite amounts of universe and there’s alternate universe. So it’s very important for me to get Hoover out, because in an alternate universe, I am him. And I have to go and get him free because he was doing positive inside of Chicago.”

Kanye West and Drake gain come together to celebrate Larry Hoover’s reduced sentence

Despite Hoover’s 200-year sentence still being in place, Kanye West celebrated what he had been advocating for all these years. “WORDS CAN’T EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR OUR DEVOTED ENDURING PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP FOR FREEING LARRY HOOVER,” Ye said in a post. He also directed the gratitude towards the Canadian “Hotline Bling” rapper: “Thank you Drake for helping to bring Larry Hoover home.”

Larry Hoover Jr has since thanked Kanye. In an interview with TMZ he credited West, saying, ““He had a very big part, he started it all off, he put us on a platform. He took us to the White House on his platform when he didn’t have to do that.”