Trump changed his mind after Snoop praised his efforts on social justice.

Former president Donald Trump has had a strange relationship with rappers. He’s received criticism from countless rappers for his conservative policies but there are a few prominent voices who seem to have his back. Kanye West famously wore one of Trump’s MAGA hats and even met with him in the White House. Lil Pump has appeared alongside Trump at numerous events though the former president notoriously mis-identified him as “Lil Pimp.” Most recently Benny The Butcher expressed admiration for Trump and after a sea of backlash decided not to address political matters publicly anymore.

One particularly interesting case is that of Kodak Black. The rapper had a long history of legal troubles and actually found his relief in Donald Trump. During his presidency he granted Kodak a pardon leading to his release from prison. Subsequent legal troubles may lead to Kodak serving that sentence after all, but he was thankful for Trump’s support. Another rap-adjacent figure who received a pardon is Death Row co-founder Harry-O who spent decades behind bars. But his pardon was almost not granted in the first place because of Snoop Dogg’s past comments about Donald Trump.

Snoop Dogg’s Trump Criticism Almost Ended Harry-O’s Pardon Bid

A new story from Rolling Stone shed some light on how the situation unfolded. Snoop was reportedly working behind the scenes in late 2021 in an effort to get Harry-O freed. Trump aides pointed out multiple times that Snoop had criticized the former president during his administration and suggested removing Harry’s name from consideration as a sort of punishment.

Allegedly, the only reason Trump ultimately went through with the pardon was a different more recent comment from Snoop. They reportedly were sent a video of Snoop praising the president’s efforts at social justice reform that ultimately changed his mind on the pardon. Harry was ultimately released right at the end of Trump’s presidency in January of 2021.