Last week on TikTok, a video caught traction featuring a TikTok curator, Nicolas Nuvan, and a random passerby he selected to interview on the street in New Orleans. At first glance, it seems relatively ordinary. Once this older woman replied that her favorite song to listen to is “Butterfly Effect” by Travis Scott, it seemed a little odd. Nicolas had some more questions for her, which she nonchalantly shrugged off.
Nicolas Nuvan posted the video, just like any other of the over 760 he has already. Except for this time, Nicolas received a comment from one of his followers that informed him who the mystery woman from the New Orleans video was: Wanda Webster, the mother of Travis Scott.
It made a lot more sense as to why “Butterfly Effect” was her favorite song after that comment. It also made it clear just how much of a winner this video format is. It’s founded upon Nicolas’ genuine interest in people and love for music. It seems like a no-brainer to expect Nicolas to keep up the current momentum he has. In the past month alone, he’s posted close to 200 videos.
In this new age of technology and music, a simple fan-made video could be the difference between a record-breaking or not. Nicolas has proven to be a valuable resource for the artists who are put on by his interview subjects, and the best part is it’s an indirect aid. He’s somewhat functioning as a mirror in the world of music and TikTok, showing the world what’s being listened to nowadays, in all of its vastness.
That was the exact reason that Nicolas Nuvan found himself in New Orleans in the first place; he was on tour asking people in every corner of the U.S. about their favorite music and artists. He’s generating some of the most telling music data in existence while giving artists huge digital pushes at random (based on his interview subjects’ answers).
Nicolas is one of many TikTok curators that have found a significant place in the modern music environment, but he’s a one-of-a-kind creator.
Immediately after releasing his joint project with Maino, “The Lobby Boyz,” Jim Jones is preparing to drop a Spanglish project, blending his Black and Puerto Rican heritage.
The Harlem native and worldwide ambassador is sharing how easy it is for him to floss on people in any language. Already knew he spoke English, Broken English, Harlem-ese, and now he wants you to get into this new bilingual flow.
He took to social media to share with fans a snippet of one of the songs on the new project.
Capo wrote on his Instagram, “Spanish album loadin “broken Spanglish” #VLLrecords vamplife Latin rec @hightoleranceusa.”
Dripped in a white teen and a coffin-crafted iced medallion, he flows in and out of two tongues with ease.
No one should be shocked. Back in December of 2021, Jones told AllHipHop.com that he was preparing to drop a total of six projects in 2022, making it a big year for the rapper/ mogul.
Mr. “Hi Hater” and one of the founding members of the Diplomats had beef, but eventually squashed it when they realized it was not as serious as they once thought.
“We had a Mexican standoff,” Maino recalled as the show hosts broke into fits of laughter. “I was on the escalator going up, Lenox Mall. Jim Jones had to have 30 n##### with him. I had my brother 80 with me, it was like four or five of us. I’m going up, and I see these n##### going down, and they see me and I start counting and I’m like ‘Damn, that’s a lot of n#####.’ So I got to the top of the escalator, something say turn around and them n##### coming back up.”
Jim Jones added, “80 and Sheek, Sheek is my OG, similar to how [Maino] and 80 move. But they knew each other very tight from being in the street. So at that point, they kind of intervened. They was saying what they was saying and it was just somehow me and him walked by ourselves to Bloomingdale’s.”
Now the two have celebrated with a summer banger, which is the perfect setup for Jones’ “Broken Spanglish,” which is coming soon.
“Broken Spanglish” will be the third release this year for the rapper. Before “The Lobby Boyz,” debuted, he dropped “Gangsta Grillz: We Set the Trends.”
Pudge Capone’s musical journey is certainly a lesson in perseverance and resiliency.
At one point, the Lebanon, Pennsylvania native was sitting behind bars, contemplating whether he was wasting his talent. That moment of clarity led to him honing his craft and focusing all of his energy on launching his career upon release.
For nearly 4 years since he has been a full-time artist, Pudge Capone has collaborated with the likes of Fatboy SSE and amassed well over 100K streams on Apple Music alone. This is all the more remarkable considering his limited number of musical releases. Often splitting his time between Pennsylvania and New York City, Washington Heights specifically, Pudge has built a strong network of creatives to collaborate with from both states that help bring his art to life.
Now ready to take the leap and take his career to greater heights, Pudge Capone has unveiled his first official project in the form of the 4-track EP, ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears.’
The project finds Pudge sharing his journey with raw emotion that resonates with listeners. He also released the first official visual from the project with the TH Media-directed clip for “Keep Fighting.”
Pudge expounds on not getting the recognition he deserves on the song and persevering nonetheless. Watch the video below, follow him on Instagram at @PudgeCapone and be sure to stream the EP “Blood, Sweat & Tears” currently available on all digital streaming platforms.
Madonna would like to collaborate with the “brilliant” Kendrick Lamar on a song.
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Wednesday night, the superstar noted that her new compilation album, Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, features guest appearances from Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, and Nile Rodgers.
When host Jimmy asked whether there were any artists she would like to work with in the future, Madonna didn’t hesitate to name the “Humble” hitmaker.
“I mean, there’s one artist that I worship more than anything in life and I would love to collaborate with him – that’s Kendrick Lamar,” she smiled.
Madonna went on to describe Kendrick’s fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, as “history-making” and “mind-bogglingly brilliant.”
Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones will be released on August 19th.
Tiffany Haddish once rejected a $10 million offer for an endorsement post on social media.
In an interview for the September 2022 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, the “Girls Trip” actress revealed that she is very careful about the projects and companies she aligns herself with.
“I’ve turned down, s###, I’ve turned down $10 million just to do a post because it didn’t represent my brand,” she said. “I turned down $10 million because my soul is worth more than that to me. My spirit, my integrity, how I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror every day… I’d rather be flat broke than get money to do something that makes me feel like s###.”
Tiffany takes a similar approach to her acting career and only takes on roles that have a great cast and crew.
“What I’ve noticed lately, though, is that casting has been coming to me first. So I’ve learned how to fight better too. Because it’s a battle getting the people that you want, because everybody still looks at you as talent, when they fail to realize I’ve produced things, got nominated for awards, won trophies,” the 42-year-old continued. “I kind of know what I’m doing. Give me an opportunity to make you richer, sir. I might not know how to keep a man, but I know how to make some money.”
Megan Thee Stallion discussed her Future-assisted single “Pressurelicious” during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation.
The 300 Entertainment artist explained why she wanted to work with Future on the song, which appears on her new albumTraumazine. Megan Thee Stallion saw the collaboration as a way to troll guys who love Future’s “toxic” persona.
“I just feel like all the boys be talking s### about being toxic,” she told SiriusXM’s Swaggy Sie. “And I mean, y’all ain’t the only ones that come with pressure, us too. So, the hot girls have to show, whatever the boys call themselves, we had to show them what was up.”
Megan Thee Stallion laughed about men championing toxic behavior, particularly on social media.
“There ain’t even no substance to it, y’all just toxic,” she said. “It just be like, ‘Yeah, we up kings.’ And we be like, ‘What y’all do?’ And it’s always something stupid. So, I’m like, ‘Come get y’all leader on the song. See how y’all like that.’”
Megan Thee Stallion’s Traumazine album is available now on DSPs and her website. The project includes guest appearances by Latto, Rico Nasty, Lil Keke, Big Pokey, Sauce Walka, Key Glock, Pooh Shiesty, Jhené Aiko, Lucky Daye and Dua Lipa.
A new type of singer/producer from Miami, FL has been trending consistently online. John Michael Veiga, better known as JPOPD1 has a strong supporter network both domestically and internationally. He started making music in the year 2007 and has been consistent in his efforts to gain mainstream recognition ever since he decided he wanted to make music and its business his career.
JPOPD1 is more than just a musician, he is a world-renowned music producer, artist, audio engineer, award-winning songwriter, Best selling author, Publicist, and businessman. JPOPD1 posts snippets to his social media pages and his fans show support continually, allowing him to grow a strong fan base almost instantly.
JPOPD1 has released a lot of music throughout the year, such singles including, “Alone”, “Slugs”, & his most recent chart-topping and steadily growing record geared towards woman empowerment “Satisfaction”.
JPOPD1 has been going viral and the hype is real. His fans have changed their profile pictures to his cover art in anticipation, and some have devoted their entire bios on social media to JPOPD1. This is the beginning of something long-lasting and amazing we believe, keep your eyes and ears peeled for what’s in store.
Singer, actor, mogul, reality star, influencer, and now podcaster?
One of the most entertaining individuals in the world said he is about to do a podcast, stating that the new greys in his Caesar haircut are a signal for him to get focused.
On Friday, Aug. 12, he took to Instagram and captioned a video, “I need a podcast or a morning show!! I got grey hairs now so I’m focused! I’m ready to settle down and work from one space station!”
“One big Office with everything in it!! Starting with a podcast! — would y’all watch it?? You can say no I won’t be hurt — I’m lit 4ever so I think it will be fun!! Talk to me – Podcast buyers hit me I’m in Atlanta,” he said.
As he peers into his cell phone video (and after he complains about his nappy chest hair), he says announces his new move.
Almost on que, emergency vehicle sirens start to ring out and Ray J says, “That’s right, ring the f###ing alarm!”
The alarm is to attract as he put is “Big Podcast Buyers.”
He said he wanted to get the podcast deal “like today.”
According to Ray J, there were 2 or 3 people he wanted to link with, selling himself by saying, “All I know how to do is bring the numbers and bring the entertainment.”
One of those podcast buyers was Charlamagne the God, who told him to holler at him about his network.
After rapper-turned-actor Will Smith disrupted Will Packer’s big night as the first Black to producer the 2022 Academy Awards, the entertainment heavyweight is sending positive vibes to the Fresh Prince.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Packer says he saw Smith’s apology video to Chris Rock and his family for smacking him during the live broadcast of this year’s Oscars, the Hollywood Reporter reveals.
“I love the fact that he’s being so transparent about his process,” Packer said. “Clearly, he is going through his own personal rehabilitation.”
As reported by AllHipHop.com, since the incident, Smith has been working on healing himself from the still-existing scars he bravely and generously detailed in his memoir, “Will.” In the video, he is talking about the work that he did and how embarrassed by himself he has been. Even talks about how he has battled the tsunami of rejection, rebuke, and disappointment he felt from others.
The West Philadelphia hero said, “Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down. So, it hurts. It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me. I’m a human and I made a mistake, and I’m trying not to think of myself as a p############.”
Packer believed his apology was sincere and wanted the best for the blockbuster star.
“I’m pulling for him to continue his own process, but I think this is for him. He needs to do it,” the “Ready for Love” producer said.
There were so many historic moments for Black people at this year’s Oscars and Packer hopes the slap is not all people remember.
“People always talk about that [slap], but I hope that over time people will realize it was an energetic, diverse, history-making Oscars ceremony,” he remarked “A lot of energy went into it. I’m very prideful of it.”
He also regrets some decisions he made during the Oscars.
Considering what could have been better, he thoughtfully stated, “I think what many of us were hoping is that he would go on that stage and make it better. It couldn’t be made right in that moment, because of what happened.”
“But I think we were hoping that he would stand on that stage and say, ‘What just happened minutes ago was absolutely and completely wrong,’” Packer lamented. “Chris Rock, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.’ That’s what I was hoping for. I felt like he was going to win, and I was hoping that if he stayed, he [would say] that.”
Disgraced former U.S. president Donald Trump has ditched his band of corporate lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani who is in a world of trouble himself and is reaching out to a new team for legal representation.
According to 11 Alive, Mr. 45 has hired Drew Findling to represent him as he defends himself against his alleged acts of treason and abuse of executive power during Georgia’s 2020 election.
Findling is known in the Hip-Hop world as the attorney for rappers like Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Migos, and Waka Flocka Flame. So powerful is the attorney, Offset told the New York Times in 2018 that he was the “biggest lawyer in the game.”
The Findling Law Firm confirmed on Thursday that he and two other lawyers, Jennifer Little and Dwight Thomas will serve the former president as he navigates a probe by Fulton County regarding his participation in getting Georgia’s 2020 election results thrown out.
District Attorney Fani Willis is leading the investigation, the same DA that is leading the prosecution in the Young Thug and Gunna Rico trial.
The statement from the lawyer’s firm said it was “committed to fighting this misuse of the law and taxpayer resources.”
Adding “The team is confident that there have been no violations of Georgia law.”
This is a turn from a post he made in 2018 regarding the then-president.
“The racist architect of fraudulent Trump University criticizing Lebron, the founder of a free school for children…. POTUS pathetic once again!,” he tweeted.
The racist architect of fraudulent Trump University criticizing Lebron, the founder of a free school for children…. POTUS pathetic once again!
What’s not pathetic is that check he will receive for repping Donald Trump.
Guiliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham have also been tapped to testify about their and Trump’s scheme to ruin steal votes and shift them to his side in one of his failed, desperate attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Kathy Hilton blames her ‘awful’ vision for confusing Lizzo with Gabourey Sidibe
Kathy Hilton has blamed her “awful” eyesight for mistaking Lizzo for Gabourey Sidibe during a TV game.
While appearing on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star participated in a round of a game called Will Kathy Know Them? where she was shown a photo of a celebrity and asked to identify them.
After the show aired, Kathy was the target of backlash on Twitter for mixing up the two Black women.
The 63-year-old explained the reason behind her confusion in two Instagram comments underneath posts about the awkward incident on the Queens of Bravo Instagram account.
“My vision is awful, the screen was so far away that I couldn’t even recognize Justin Timberlake or Melissa Etheridge,” she wrote, referencing the other stars she failed to identify in the game.
In the second comment, which was similar, Kathy insisted, “The screen was so far away and my vision is terrible. If you recall, I couldn’t even make out who Justin Timberlake or Melissa Etheridge was (face palm and crying emojis).”
Future just bought a new house (or got the equivalent from a new business transaction with The Meg). We all know Future is always hot, no matter what. But, so is Megan Thee Stallion. But, she really wanted him on her album so you know what they had to do. Ask. And he said he wanted $250K for him to be a part of Megan’s new album. She is really trying to avoid that sophomore slump, eh?
In a new chat with the LA Leakers, she explains how it all happened.
Megan basically stated that she wanted to ensure that Future didn’t leave Miami on a Sunday before recording this verse for “Pressurelicious.” Soooooo, instead of DM’ing him and getting a weird reply, she got her manager to ask “how much?” And it came back $250k. She didn’t flinch. Somebody called somebody called somebody and they got that bread to Future. The rapper then gave her a number of versions of the song. They chopped up and pieced it together for the version that is now on the album.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChLf0wvD_vg/
By the way, Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion’s latest is now out. The album has a lot of other people on it. It has 18 songs that feature the likes of Dua Lipa, Latto, Jhené Aiko, Pooh Shiesty, Rico Nasty, Key Glock and others. I cannot wait to dig into this one.
I am not feeling this trend, but I am also not feeling all that is going in in Hip-Hop. Nevertheless, the Young Thug and Gunna RICO stuff is spreading to Philly. The DA name checked several rap collectives that they are going to target. I would think they would arrest them first, but they are telling first.
Philly is crazier than all other cites with the violence, believe it or not.
The district attorney of Philadelphia said he’s about to hit up Zoo Gang, YBC, 0-4, PNB and others because of the 1,400+ shootings in the city this year along. There have been 400 deaths in the area too, which is causing the clamp down.
I never heard of the guys they are targeting, but they are all very young looking. This ain’t the AR-AB set. These are new dudes!
You may remember Zoo Gang reportedly “banned” Meek Mill from Philly after Meek called for peace. They tried to press him in a way that would cause for him to claim “Zoo” as his set. Meek had evolved past that and was seeking to stave off more death. Welp! We know all this death and chaos is not sustainable. IT WILL have to end at a point and when the cops and the feds say it’s over, it’s OVER.
Irv Gotti’s ranting about Ashanti put Ja Rule in an awkward spot.
Ja Rule addressed the issues between his friends in an Instagram post on Thursday (August 11). The veteran rapper took issue with the way Irv Gotti talked about Ashanti on the Drink Champs podcast, but he made it clear he intends to stay out of the feud.
“Brotherly love,” Ja Rule wrote. “The last few days have been very turbulent for me but it’s time to land the plane… I love my sis I love my bro but I DO NOT condone or agree with the behavior nor the way Gotti handled things on drink champs I hope y’all understand how uncomfortable this is for me being in the middle of something I wish to not be… going forward all I ask is to be left out of this please and thank you!!! Sincerely Switzerland Bennett…”
Irv Gotti set off a firestorm by airing out his relationship with Ashanti on Drink Champs. Ja Rule also appeared on the episode, which saw Irv Gotti repeatedly putting Ashanti on blast.
Fat Joe called Irv Gotti a “sucker” in response and criticized Ja Rule for not properly defending Ashanti. Ja Rule claimed Fat Joe was mistaken in a comment on Instagram.
“STOP saying I didn’t defend sis and all women when I clearly told Gotti stop calling Ashanti/women the B word same way I told Joe at Verzuz,” he wrote. “Watch the interview before you talk s### … NOW LEAVE ME TF OUT THESE GROWN FOLKS BUSINESS.”
Check out the infamous Drink Champs episode below.
XXXTentacion murder suspect Robert Allen accepted a plea deal in hopes of avoiding a life sentence.
According to NBC Miami, Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. He was one of the four men charged in the murder of XXXTentacion.
“Robert Allen … entered a guilty plea,” his attorney Jim Lewis said. “He pled to a lesser included offense of second-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.”
As part of the plea deal, Allen agreed to testify against his co-defendants Dedrick Williams, Michael Boatwright and Trayvon Newsome. Allen’s lawyer claimed his client was less involved in XXXTentacion’s death than the other alleged killers.
“Mr. Allen’s role in this, it was much less than the other three,” Lewis said. “More of an accessory after the fact than really part of the planning. Certainly, he never got out of the car, never had a gun, never shot anybody.”
Allen is scheduled to be sentenced on February 23. Broward Circuit Judge Michael Usan will handle the sentencing.
XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed in his home state of Florida in June 2018. He was 20.
Look At Me, a documentary about XXXTentacion’s life and career, premiered on Hulu in May.
R. Kelly’s fiancée and alleged victim Joycelyn Savage revealed she’s pregnant in her new book titled Love and Joy of Robert.
Savage said she learned about her pregnancy after R. Kelly sent her an engagement ring. Her tell-all book includes a photo of her sonogram.
“Months later, I began expecting severe morning sickness and was unsure what was wrong with my body,” she wrote. “I thought I had contracted COVID-19, but the most amazing news of all was that I was expecting. It was a happy day but an incomplete time in my life. Today I am grateful to God for giving me the most precious gift. Robert is extremely excited about the news that I am having a baby and feels sad that Robert will not be able to be here with us.”
Earlier this year, Savage disclosed her engagement to R. Kelly in a letter to a judge. She pleaded for a lenient sentence, but the disgraced singer was 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking.
Savage’s Love and Joy of Robert is on sale now on Amazon. She plans to release a second book in 2023.
“Hopefully this answers everyone’s questions and concerns,” Savage wrote in her first book’s description.
R. Kelly is currently awaiting another trial for federal charges in Chicago. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday (August 15).
We live in a really big world. There are more famous people than ever before, and we’re segmented incredibly. So I don’t even fault Kathy Hilton for not knowing who Lizzo is. The problem is she blurted out something so ridiculous that people are now calling her racist and fat-a-phobic. Yes, in 2022, fatphobia is a thing!
Here’s how it all went down last night the 63 year old housewife of Beverly Hills was live on TV. And they were playing a game with Andy Cohen called “Will Kathy Know Them?” and Kathy didn’t know anybody. By the way, this woman is 63. She didn’t know who The Rock or Justin Timberlake where. But when it got to Lizzo, things got tricky. She thought she knew who Lizzo was. “I feel like I do…Precious?” Hilton blurted out. Everybody laughs.
Well, Ms. Hilton thought Lizzo was Gabourey Sidibe, who played the character Precious in the 2009 Oscar-winning drama of the same name. Welp! Lizzo and Gabby look nothing alike. Then, they tried to clean it up. There is a model named Precious Lee that does bear a bit of resemblance to Lizzo, but sexier. “She is precious, though. Lizzo is precious,” one of them said. But this was live TV.
Now, I am obsessed with Precious Lee.
But, I digress. Hilton didn’t help herself “That’s what I call her,” Hilton continued. “Her nickname is Precious, to me.” Well, Twitter went in! E! host Nina Parker said, “Black women are not here to be the butt of your jokes.” Damn!
Black women are not here to be the butt of your jokes. TF is this??? https://t.co/y92UynTdkF
Well, this story has a happy ending of sorts. Lizzo is not mad. Gabourey Sidibe has not commented, but it happy with her white boo. And, Mrs. Hilton is so old, she was able to blame her poor eyesight. She also reportedly feels terrible about it all. Good God bless them all!
On another note, I just found out that Lizzo got engaged! She ain’t thinking about this!
Indira Paganotto’s music career is an interesting combination of early, instant success, followed by years of hard work, resulting in her current position as a rising star of techno. As a teenager, she fell in love with DJ culture, moved to Madrid with 200 Euros in her pocket, and within a week scored herself a residency at the respected Star Dust club.
But that was nine years ago, and she hasn’t exactly had a meteoric rise to success since. Rather, she’s been toiling at the DJ coalface, working her warm-up sets, learning about production, building her own studio, and progressing through various sonic versions of her sound.
In 2021, she launched her new vinyl/digital label – Phase Insane – with a collaboration EP with Unkle Fon, the Wolf Land EP, the vinyl of which dropped was a huge splash in the music world. A deep-rooted style of storytelling lies at the heart of Paganotto’s music. Fans of late discography, seem to have picked up on hints of this through a pattern of lyrics that allude to realism. From conveying a plethora of complex emotions to simply talking about the things listeners go through every day, Indira Paganotto’s music has proven there is always a better way to say it all.
Indira Paganotto’s imprint on the industry can be seen through the hugely positive response of her latest project has enjoyed ever since the soundtrack was released. Whatever it is that the celebrated musician is doing, it has been creating waves in the music industry – and it is the better for it.
Music and mental health go hand in hand, and more than ever is the cross-section of both a necessary space. While in the past, it may have seemed like mental health wasn’t the easiest topic to touch on within the music industry, artists from all over the world are standing up and coming together to break the negative stigma and raise awareness — a gamechanger when one has the platform to do so.
Insert Luna Clipse, a rapper who’s here to raise the bar and tell his story.
In describing himself, Luna states, “I was born in the Twin Towers prison for the criminally insane, where I lost my sane identity to be resurrected as Luna. That’s the alter ego that I took on when I go to rap battles. I basically turned the lunacy that I was discovering and discriminated against into a weapon in verbal combat.”
Now, he teamed up with 15x Grammy-nominated producer Jerry Wonda for his newest album titled Lunacy. Wonda has worked with everyone from The Fugees and Mary J. Blige to John Legend and Beyonce, and has always had an affinity for mental health.
When the two actually linked in the studio, the synergy was immediately apparent. Wonda was able to help Luna express himself musically while leveraging his “inner lunatic” into a positive phenomenon.
AllHipHop spoke with Luna Clipse and Jerry Wonda virtually to discuss their love for hip-hop, creative process in the studio, mental health, and more.
AllHipHop: Talk about your love for hip-hop and the culture.
Luna: What I love about hip-hop is it was born out of the voice of the voiceless – that was the spirit of it. I just did a track with Dead Prez and Bizarre from D-12. These are guys that I love, because they have that spirit that represents the voice of the voiceless.
When I was in the mental institution, my brother gave me his iPod and I was listening to Devil’s Night. They were rapping about the devil, hell, mental illness, all the stuff I was going through. My man Marco Polo, who I used to rap with was like that too – he rapped about anti-establishment, anti-Illuminati type s###. He hooked me up with Cannabis and Bizzare from D-12 and Sticman from Dead Prez to start doing tracks with them.
AllHipHop: Was Bizarre in person or was that sent?
Luna: No, he got me on the phone with Bizarre, then Bizarre sent his verse – same thing with stic.man, a song called “Scalped Eagle,” on a Havoc beat that sounded to me like Native American Spirits and reminded me of The Shining at the White House, where Jack Nicholson was really the president and his kid was the president’s kid.
AllHipHop: Talk about your creative process and how you work in the studio. Are there certain things you need to record? What’s your environment?
Luna: Well I’m always writing in and out of the studio, but Jerry’s got this energy when he creates in the studio that makes tracks come together in a perfect way. He’s like an alchemist. Can you believe he actually designs his own candles?
AllHipHop: I love candles!
Luna: His daughter just read me my tarot, stuff that I’m into. The spiritual stuff. He has an atmosphere of energy that creates the space for the completion of ideas that I start out of the studio.
When Jerry told me his hero was Quincy Jones, I watched the documentary on Quincy Jones because I was curious. I saw MJ on Broadway, and “Thriller” was the thing that made Michael Jackson blow up. It reminded me of our Joker. People will find out about him soon.
Jerry Wonda: MJ on Broadway was the best show I’ve seen. And I love Broadway, it was my first since the pandemic. The music, the script, the talent – they were all so good. And the room, even the people that came for the show. It was so much fun.
When I met Luna, I got connected to him through his writing and I loved his story. He writes so much and when he writes a song, he basically writes it like a movie. As a producer, I say “okay now this is how our chorus is going to be. Instead of doing 72 bars, let’s do 30, 32 bars. Then 48 bars.” I put some structure to it, and turned his writing and expression into songs.
Luna’s not Luna without his light source. He brings these huge lights to the studio and sits in front of them to meditate before we cut vocals and create. The music basically comes from the air, it’s a vibe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVGVTZ7OHn0
AllHipHop: What was the first song you guys did and what was the energy?
Jerry Wonda: I’m going to let Luna answer that, go ahead.
Luna: “Lunacy” was the first one we did and it was about losing your mind. Before that, I had never done songs. I just did battle raps. Jerry taught me about song structure and writing. I gave him way too much at first. [laughs]
Jerry Wonda: He gave me the chorus that was two pages long, I’m like whoa okay. What’re going to do here? [laughs]
Luna: That’s right, the chorus ended up leading the song. Because at the end of this amazing chorus — the chorus was “I thought I saw a silver lining. Is this heaven or is this hell I’m fighting? Lights go down, lights too bright, it’s frightening. Am I just losing my mind?”
So the first verse, every couple of bars was a different variation of “am I losing my mind?” But the second verse is telling the world that they’re crazy. You gotta be crazy to do this, to do that. By the end of the song, you’re like “am I losing my mind? Or is the world losing its mind?”
Jerry Wonda: And that was the hook. The album is all about having melodic hooks on the records. All the songs are melodic with meaning. It’s very special to me.
AllHipHop: Why did you name the album Lunacy?
Luna: It’s because everyone’s losing their mind now, not just us. We’re all on the same sinking boat. [laughs] It was an EP, but now it’s like11 songs.
AllHipHop: How important is mental health for you?
Jerry Wonda: It’s everything to a person. Your mental health is so important. As a Governor for the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy and Co Chair of the P&E Wing and owning a recording studio, Platinum Sounds, I work with a lot of people daily – engineers, vocalists, musicians – I see so many people, artists come to the studio that really suffer. One of the things that I put in my goals in life is how do I help musicians? How do I help music creators?
Even you, me, all of us: we get to a place here some days we wake up and we feel sad or we cry. Sometimes you don’t even know why. It’s all mental health, we just don’t talk about it. For me, mental health is everything. I’m also sitting on a board for Backline. Backline’s mission is to help musicians who are on tour that suffer, they are the ones that don’t even go home or sometimes see their families. Some days they wake up and they don’t even know where they are.
AllHipHop: Luna, talk about how you balance your mental disorder.
Luna: Well, I picked up a ton of habits along the way out of necessity. Because 1 in 4 people with bipolar disorder commitS suicide, so it’s the desperation that drives you to pick up things. I do cold showers, I do fasting. I do transcendental meditation. I used to be on too many meds, so I took a lot of time to strip down meds to the bare minimum.
Mushrooms helped me a lot at some point. I also run an hour and a half daily. You evolve over time in your mind and your body because you have to do these things.
AllHipHop: Anything else you guys want to let us know?
Jerry Wonda: We should know the album’s coming out October 14th. We decided to drop it around that time because of Mental Health Awareness Day..
Luna: And it’s the Joker’s month. [laughs]
Jerry Wonda: We want to help raise awareness on mental health and tell LUNA’s account of his Lunacy story. This project is water for the body, it’s food for us. It’s dessert. [laughs] It’s lunch, dinner for people.
During his promotional run for DC League of Super-Pets, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson namedropped Megan Thee Stallion. The Rock’s comment generated headlines in the Hip Hop world.
“Megan Thee Stallion,” replied The Rock when asked what celebrity he would like to be a pet for. When asked why Meg, the former WWE wrestler said, “We don’t have to talk about that.”
SiriusXM Hits 1’s Morning Mash Up spoke to Megan Thee Stallion to promote her new Traumazine album. The interview included Meg responding to The Rock’s shoutout.
“That’s kind of like legendary. I’m kind of epic,” said Megan Thee Stallion. “I used to watch wrestling all the time and being from Houston and watching The Rock and how famous he is, how much of a megastar he is, and he wanna be my pet. Like period. We made it. We might be a little famous.”
While Meg seemed excited by The Rock’s tongue-in-cheek confession, the “Sweetest Pie” rapper’s boyfriend responded in a different way. New York-based emcee Pardison Fontaine ended up walking back his original tweets.
“All our dogs [are] named after #s… Just teach ya wife how to use seasoning… You’ll be iight… Moana is the s### tho,” posted Pardison Fontaine in response to The Rock.
The Under8ed album creator also added, “The comment started all our dogs #s and ended with Moana is my s### 🗿. I deleted it (yesterday)… [because] it seems like [people] took it wrong… thought maybe my joke was in poor taste 😂.”
