Master P has reacted to the recent truck attack on Bourbon Street, sending a message of hope to his hometown of New Orleans.
In the early morning of January 1 – during New Year’s Day celebrations – a man drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd of bystanders on the famous street in the french Quarter, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 30.
The street re-opened on January 2 with the new safety measures in place. In a video uploaded to Master P’s Instagram page, the rap mogul – who is the ambassador of entertainment for New Orleans – can be seen walking down Bourbon Street with Mayor Cantrell, showing that it is now safe to return to the area.
“We out here, standing up for our people out here on Bourbon Street. New Orleans: we gon’ bounce back and there’s nothing but love out here,” he said. “Bourbon Street is opening back up and the love that’s out here is incredible. This evil attack that happened: it can’t stop what God’s plan is because God gon’ make something even bigger.”
Master P was also interviewed on Bourbon Street and commented further on “the spirit” of New Orleans Bourbon Street (via NBC).
“The resilience is gonna bring us back and the love is gon’ be here, and we gon’ go on,” he began. “I feel like the spirit of Bourbon Street never changes, and we’re praying for the ones that lost their lives and their families. We know this is a town that we’re going to continue to celebrate.”
In response to the attack, Bourbon Street was immediately closed down for a day. The Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome was delayed by a day to January 2 and 100 military personnel were deployed to ensure the safety of residents and visitors attending the rescheduled event.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell addressed the situation in a conference, confessing that there were security lapses and intended to fix them before this February’s NFL Super Bowl LIX.
The FBI and other authorities recently declared the New Year’s Day tragedy as an act of terrorism after discovering videos of the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, pledging his allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS) prior to the attack. They also stated that they believe he worked alone.
The city of New Orleans will play host to this year’s Super Bowl, which will happen on February 9. Kendrick Lamar will be headlining the halftime show – sparking controversy in the hip-hop world as Master P, Nicki Minaj and more criticised the fact Lil Wayne wasn’t chosen to headline in his hometown.
