waka flocka flame
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Donald Trump is on the campaign trail and praised Lil Pump as one of his few boosters from the rap world during a recent rally.
On Wednesday (November 8), former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Hialeah, Florida. He did so instead of being present for another Republican presidential debate taking place in Miami. At one point in this speech, Trump took the time to show love to Lil Pump, who was in the audience of 5,200.
“He’s one of the few — rapper Lil Pump,” Trump said to the crowd. At that point, Lil Pump stood up and saluted the gathered audience as he sported the red “Make America Great Again” hat and a t-shirt boasting the former president’s mug shot from his ongoing New York civil fraud case with the slogan “Wanted: For President 2024.” The moment of recognition for Lil Pump was huge, as the “Gucci Gang” rapper has backed him from the beginning.
Trump does have burgeoning support among rappers who’ve been more vocal within the past couple of months about their love for the former commander-in-chief. Recently, Waka Flocka Flame wrote a post on X, formerly Twitter that said “TRUMP 2024.” The post led to a lot of buzz, as the “No Hands” rapper had previously been very opposed to Trump in the past. But a humanitarian award that he received from the Trump administration for his philanthropic efforts may have caused him to shift his perspective.
Kodak Black remains one of Donald Trump’s biggest fans, as he received a last-minute pardon from Trump in 2021 from continuing to serve time on a weapons charge. He reiterated his support and even expressed willingness to lend the former billionaire some money while appearing on a recent episode of the Drink Champs podcast. That appearance also led to friction between himself and Ray J, which Kodak addressed in a spirited Instagram Live session, at one point threatening to beat the singer up.
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Source: @WakaFlocka / Twitter
Waka Flocka Flame has publicly declared his support for Donald Trump, reversing a past course of criticizing him frequently.
On Monday (October 16), fans of Waka Flocka Flame were surprised at his post on X, formerly Twitter which simply said in all capital letters “TRUMP2024.”
He’d follow that up by sharing a photo of him standing next to the twice-impeached former president in front of the presidential seal. It’s not clear when the photo was taken, or if it is simply a photo manufactured through Photoshop.
The former 1017 Brick Squad member would then issue a post stating that he wouldn’t discuss his change of heart. “I’m an not a politician and i don’t wanna talk politics… i only answer to the people that made me and that’s my FANS aka THE PEOPLE… i love y’all with every bone in my body man Squaddd,” he wrote.
The about-face is surprising to many, as Waka Flocka Flame was once one of the more vocally opposed to Trump, once writing “F–k Donald J. Trump” in a post back in 2015 as the businessman-turned-politician began his campaign for president. In a subsequent interview with Sirius XM he added, “I’m not voting for Donald Trump because he’s for money. In a time like this, we need somebody that’s for the people, and Trump is definitely not for the people.”
But it seems that there is a distinct point where the “Hard In Da Paint” rapper shifted his attitude towards Trump. In 2021, he was recognized by the Trump administration for his humanitarian work with Daughter of Destiny, a Chicago-based non-profit organization helping women in need find healthcare, employment, food, and housing.
Waka Flocka Flame posted his thanks accompanied by a clip of Daughter of Destiny CEO Pastor Apostle Dr. Bridget Outlaw presenting him with the award and the medal. “I just want to thank President Trump for recognizing me,” he said at the time. “I wanna thank Bridget and just everyone who love me with enough love back and do everything that I’ve wanted to do that was generous.”
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Waka Flocka Flame opens up about the shooting death of TakeOff as well as his thoughts on YSL in an interview with Shannon Sharpe.
The veteran rapper sat down as a guest on the latest episode of the Club Shay Shay podcast hosted by the former National Football League Hall of Famer and spoke about his career and success. The conversation soon turned to the allegations of Gunna accepting a plea deal to be released from jail in relation to the case of racketeering brought against Young Thug and his YSL crew.
“We see Gunna is gonna get released, he pled to racketeering, gang charges. People say he snitched,” Sharpe began. That led Waka to shrug his shoulders and respond, “I don’t know.” Sharpe said, “but you know the feds” to which the Flockaveli rapper said, “I know of ’em.” He continued to talk about Young Thug and Gunna: “God bless their situation, man. I hope they learn from it. I hope they’ll be bigger and better people for it.”
The talk soon pivoted at the 35-minute mark to Sharpe asking Waka Flocka Flame about the rise in rap-related murders within the past few years. He mentioned several artists before mentioning Takeoff, the beloved member of the Migos group who was shot and killed outside of a bowling alley in downtown Houston, Texas last November.
“I can’t tell you why, and I never want to speak on nobody’s death, but I could tell you this: when God blesses you, you have to change your ways, you have to evolve — you have to,” Flocka stated. “I could just say wrong place, wrong time for these guys.”
Sharpe swiftly responded, “So, in other words, once you ascend to a certain level, you gotta leave that alone,” referencing the argument over the dice game Quavo was involved in which led to the shooting that claimed Takeoff’s life. “Oh yeah, I don’t roll dice,” Waka stated. “With all respect, why would I roll dice with somebody that ain’t in my tax bracket? It’s liable that some shit could happen.”
Check out the entire interview below.
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