Waka Flocka Flame to Promote Non-Violence in Chicago
Atlanta's Waka Flocka Flame is scheduled to promote non-violence in Chicago. The former Gucci Mane affiliate, who said he will rep Brick Squad for life, will give a concert in the city from where the newest 1017 rapper, Chief Keef, hails; and where record-breaking, headline-making violence has been on the upswing.
Former gangbanger Wallace Gator Bradley and his United In Peace, Inc. is organizing the event. "To G-d be the glory for touching Waka's heart," Bradley said in a statement released to BET.com.
Apparently, for the past few months, Bradley has had to reschedule and change venues multiple times for the concert. Though the final venue was undisclosed as of press time, Bradley revealed that the event will take place the first week of June and that the ultimate goal is a mini-tour of four Chicago high schools, Chicago State University and an elementary school in Riverdale, Illinois.
There was no mention of precisely what caused the scheduling conflicts, but Chicago's most prominent raptivist, Rhymefest, may have hinted at it. He took to a blog last year calling out Chief Keef, Rick Ross and Waka Flocka, specifically, for the role their public persona plays in hood-plaguing violence.
In March, Keef's image being used in another anti-violence campaign also sparked controversy.
None of this deterred Waka, however. “Senseless acts of violence is happening all over the world," he said. "Chicago is the first, but not the last for me.”
Previously, Flame has promoted non-violence as a spokesperson for PETA. His work with that organization also made headlines, when he, like other famed PETA spokespeople, appeared naked on a campaign poster.
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(Photo: Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)