‘Chris was a go-getter, the ultimate non-stopping machine,’ Dave Lighty tells ‘Sway in the Morning,’ discussing family’s investigation. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Chris Lighty Photo: Joe Kohen/ WireImage
Actor Kal Penn’s puff, puff, passin’ some accolades to his boy Barack. Better known as the irresponsible stoner in the Harold & Kumar movie series, Kal repped for POTUS during last night’s DNC opening. Yahoo News caught up with Penn inside the Time Warner Cable Arena after his convention speech and asked about his thoughts on Obama’s sticky icky policy record. Of course, Penn is an actor and not a marijuana policy activist. But after his appearance in the campaign video, we had to ask. “I feel like I get this question because of the nature of the movies I’m in, and I know that you wouldn’t ask Anthony Hopkins whether he eats people in real life after ‘Silence of the Lambs,’” Penn said. “So I’m just going to call you out on that.” Fair enough (although appearing in an Obama video as a stoner makes it fair game.) “But,” he went on to say, “I think that the president’s been pretty consistent with that. He’s not in favor of legalization, we should be open about something like that. But what the president has done is take a really smart look at the Department of Justice and said, given the fact that the federal government has limited resources, we should be allocating them toward violent criminals and not towards nonviolent criminals. We can see that not just in things like mary but in things like immigration reform where he’s going after and deporting violent criminals and making sure that if you’re a DREAM Act eligible student that you know that you can apply for your deferred status. Wherever the federal government has an appropriate role, I think the president’s been very consistent in that. That’s something that I think folks should know.” While the Justice Department has made small changes to its drug law enforcement approach, civil libertarians have taken Obama’s administration to task for continuing federal prosecution of sticky icky dispensaries that operate legally under state laws. In 2004, then-Illinois state Sen. Obama called the “war on drugs” an “utter failure” and called for herb to be decriminalized, but he has tread carefully on the issue during his presidency. When asked if he thought federal policies on green were appropriate, Penn said he didn’t know. “I’m not an herb expert,” he said. “That’s a weird question.” No coincidence that Kal didn’t bring up Barack’s drug policy record during his speech…but we all know he’d like that isht legalized. Source Images via Youtube/Twitter
Tearful testimonies were in full force earlier today when iconic Hip Hop figures and artists all came out to give credit and pay their last respect . A constellation of stars — many of them wearing pins emblazoned with Lighty’s face — crowded a Manhattan funeral home to pay their respects. Sean Diddy Combs, Fat Joe, Rev. Run, Missy Elliott, Michael Bivens, Wyclef Jean, Ed Lover — each stopped by the open casket where Lighty was laid out in a black suit. The mourners also included rappers Lighty had worked with like 50 Cent, singers like Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill, celebrities like Gayle King and Nick Cannon, and other rap moguls like Andre Harrell, Lyor Cohen and Mona Scott-Young. Rapper Busta Rhymes capped his tribute to his longtime friend with a rap. “You were the light in a lot of lives,” Busta declared at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel. “It ain’t no coincidence that your last name was Lighty.” Russell Simmons credited Lighty with helping “create a cultural revolution” and rapper Q-Tip called him “an honorable man.” “He grew up to be in so many ways a true leader in our hip hop world,” rapper LL Cool J said. “We didn’t thank him enough. I know I didn’t.” Lighty’s 17-year-old daughter Tiffany sobbed through the ceremony. Her sister, Deja, said she wasn’t surprised by the turnout. “I know my dad was a popular guy,” the 16-year-old said. Lighty, 44, the founder and chief of Violator Management, killed himself last month after a heated argument with his estranged wife Veronica outside their Riverdale townhouse, police said. R.I.P. Chris. We thank you for all the work you did and good music you gave us. Source Images via Twitter