Kanye West, President Trump to have lunch at the White House

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Kanye West heads to the White House to meet Trump

Rapper to discuss Chicago violence with the president. What impact will the meeting have?

President Donald Trump and rapper Kanye West are having lunch Thursday.

Trump called West a longtime friend on "Fox and Friends" Thursday morning saying, "He's a different kind of guy and that's OK with me."

Topics of discussion "will include manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders previously said in a statement. West grew up in Chicago and named his youngest daughter for his hometown.

Also attending is former NFL great Jim Brown, a civil rights leader who has met with Trump previously.

Variety reported that Kid Rock will also be present at a signing ceremony of the Music Modernization Act, a bill which reforms music licensing and royalty payments.

Trump recently tweeted praise for West, who closed a "Saturday Night Live" show wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and delivering an unscripted pro-Trump message after the credits rolled.

West is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who pushed Trump to grant a pardon for a drug offender this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.