Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Ralo has been behind bars for over a year on firearm, money laundering, and drug charges, something that will change very soon. Moreover, he took to Instagram to announce that he will be leaving jail in about two weeks, most likely to a halfway house to complete the other requirements of his eight-year sentence without serving the full time in prison. While this is good news, the rapper's post was still pained. That's because he reflected on his friendship with fallen rapper Marlo, sharing pictures and videos together. Furthermore, it demonstrates that these situations are not as mentally black-and-white as we may assume for those who face these circumstances.
"Assalamualaikum," Ralo began his message. "Marlo told me not to worry. He was going to be the first person at the gate waiting on me when this s**t over. My release is in two weeks. I know life goes on, but this s**t ain't da same as when we was passing this money around. We was all happy and helping each other. Nowadays, people doing they best to kick others down so they can stand above them. But the only way thats going to happen is if im in my grave with Marlo. I aint going for none strange... #MDC4L #ImHim #KingAkh #FreeRalo #LongLiveMarlo."
Unfortunately for Ralo, not even his time in the pen could stop others from kicking him down. For example, he faced a lot of snitching accusations from other hip-hop figures while he was in prison, allegations that he denied various times. That's definitely a common aspect of criminal cases in the genre, which are often hard to separate from the topics that these artists tackle in their work. Overall, this sadly won't be the last case of this conflict we see, but hopefully people always prioritize freedom and accountability over clout or posturing.
Meanwhile, we're sure that the 1017 Records signee is looking forward to enjoying his life outside of the slammer. Whether that's family time, being with friends, further building up his music career, or any other endeavor, he definitely deserves that peace. We'll see if any other developments emerge from here until the scheduled release. With that in mind, check back in with HNHH for the latest news and updates on Ralo.
Share
Advertisement
The surviving members of Canadian progressive rock outfit Rush have reflected on their final tour, sharing their regrets that the tour didn’t extend to the likes of the U.K. and Europe.
Close to ten years on from their final run of shows, Rush bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson spoke to Classic Rock magazine about the group’s last gigs, apologizing to the British and European fans who didn’t get a chance to see them perform live.
“I’d pushed really hard to get more gigs so that we could do those extra shows and I was unsuccessful,” Lee said of the band’s R40 Live Tour. “I really felt like I let our British and European fans down. It felt to me incorrect that we didn’t do it, but Neil [Peart] was adamant that he would only do thirty shows and that was it.
“That to him was a huge compromise because he didn’t want to do any shows. He didn’t want to do one show.”
Rush’s R40 Live Tour kicked off in Tulsa, OK in May 2015, and featured a total of 35 shows across the U.S. and the band’s native Canada, ending in August of that year. Ultimately, while Rush’s dedicated fanbase called out for more dates to be added, these would become the final performances from the veteran band. Despite releasing their final album, Clockwork Angels, in 2012, Rush’s dissolution wasn’t confirmed until the death of longtime drummer Neil Peart in January 2020.
While Lee would detail the band’s final tour in his 2023 memoir, My Effin’ Life, he admitted to being very cautious in regard to how he discussing Peart’s death, but strived to be as candid as he could so as to give Rush’s audience the closure they wanted about the band’s end.
“I just kind of felt I owed an explanation to them, the audience,” Lee explained. “It’s part of why I went into the detail I did about Neil’s passing in the book, was to let fans in on what went down. That it wasn’t a straight line.
“This is how complicated the whole world of Rush became since August 1 of 2015 until January 7th of 2020 when Neil passed. Those were very unusual, complicated, emotional times. Fans invested their whole being into our band and I thought they deserved a somewhat straight answer about what happened and how their favourite band came to end.”
Lifeson also expressed his disappointment about Rush being unable to tour some of their favourite markets as part of their final run, noting that while Peart’s scheduling demands and health issues made further shows impossible, an additional “dozen or so” dates may have made the surviving members “a bit more accepting”.
“There was a point where I think Neil was open to maybe extending the run and adding in a few more shows, but then he got this painful infection in one of his feet,” Lifeson added. “I mean, he could barely walk to the stage at one point. They got him a golf cart to drive him to the stage. And he played a three-hour show, at the intensity he played every single show.
“That was amazing, but I think that was the point where he decided that the tour was only going to go on until that final show in LA.”
Having formed in Toronto in 1968 by Lee, Lifeson, and original members John Rutsey and Jeff Jones, Rush began to find widespread fame throughout the ’70s, with Peart replacing Rutsey following the recording of their 1974 self-titled debut.
While much of Rush’s touring was confined to the U.S. and Canada, the U.K. was their next most popular market, with European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands following behind. Curiously, Rush rarely ventured beyond these territories, with countries such as Australia never hosting the band on their shores.
Share
Advertisement
