On Tuesday (June 22) and in less than 11 minutes, the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole showed mercy to the rapper, who has been incarcerated for 20+ years for a crime that he claims he did not commit.

Back in 2000, Mac Phipps was arrested over an altercation with a man named Barron Victor Jr., after a performance dubbed the World War Party, at Club Mercedes in Baton Rouge. Mac, who was the feature at the show, began fighting with another man when Victor attempted to intervene.

Prosecutors claimed Mac pulled a handgun and shot Victor at close range. Victor died at Slidell Memorial Hospital. Mac was apprehended a few hours later at his Baton Rouge residence.

Mac was eventually convicted of the manslaughter of the 19-year-old. although he maintained his innocence.

In 2016, a videotaped confession surfaced that featured a security guard at the club admitting to the Victor killing. This bouncer was never charged or convicted.

Angelique Phipps, the wife of Mac Phipps, says that “Today marks the end of a long fight for justice.”

“Today we are looking towards a brighter future for our family. We are grateful to all of those who have never wavered in their support of Mac’s innocence,” Angelique Phipps said.

Mac Phipps served 21 years of a 30-year sentence and has maintained his innocence the whole time. This was also his first-time offense.

Ms. Bonnie Jackson, a member of the board, noted that they previously recommended “clemency” and “commutation” of his sentence. The Louisiana governor granted the request on March 29th.

This directly led to Mac standing before her and two other members of the three-member team on the parole-granting board.

They unanimously voted for his freedom.

RiRi has already found success with a string of endorsement deals including previous collaborations with MAC Cosmetics, British streetwear brand River Island, a perfume collection and a line of Armani jeans she helped design.

Other artists that have previously endorsed Puma include Keri Hilson and Meek Mills.

Greenridge, who resides in Harlem, NY was at a recent May 7th Rihanna concert at the Barclays Center and claims a M.A.C. representative applied a sample of Rihanna’s lipstick on her lips at a pop-up shop outside the concert. According to the suit, the MAC representative used “unsanitary” methods when applying the makeup:

“(MAC) didn’t use a fresh or new lipstick tube, but rather one that had been used for other patrons,”

Greenridge told the Daily News that she suffered loss of wages, “mental anguish and emotional distress” due to the ordeal.

Rihanna signed a deal to release her own cosmetic line through M.A.C. in 2007.

[ALSO READ: Pharrell Williams Is Joining Rihanna-Produced Reality TV Show]

Credited with having created the iPhone, iPad, iTunes, personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and digital animation products, Jobs is widely regarded as the face of Apple computers.

In 1976, he started Apple in his home with Steve Wozniak, and the company evolved into one of the most profitable in the world over the last decade. With the introduction of the iMac OS X and creation of Pixar Films, along with revolutionizing the way consumers purchase music online, Jobs will be remembered as one of the greatest technological innovators of our time.

Hip-Hop artists have already taken to Twitter to recognize the loss of such an influential mind:

“Damn that’s crazy.. R.I.P Steve Jobs,” Pill of Maybach Music Tweeted.

“RIP STEVE JOBS ..ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MEN TO LIVE THIS EARTH,” Play-N-Skillz Tweeted.

Young Money’s Nicki Minaj even had kind words for the Apple innovator and tech icon:
“An innovator. Contributed so much to this generation & beyond. RIP Steve Jobs,” the Young Money artist Tweeted.