An inquest into the death of U.K. music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards has confirmed that the star died from cardiac arrhythmia after taking recreational drugs.
Today’s inquest (Jun. 7) at West London Coroner’s Court heard that Jamal Edwards died on February 20 after suffering a heart attack at his mother’s home.
His beloved mother, actress, and T.V. presenter Brenda Edwards confirmed the news in a heartfelt letter shared on Twitter.
“I have sadly learned that the cause of Jamal’s devastating passing was due to cardiac arrhythmia caused by having taken recreational drugs and I wanted to address this to everyone who loved, admired, and respected my son.
She added that despite remaining “in a state of shock,” it was important for her to address. “As no mother or any loved one should have to go through what Jamal’s sister, Tanisha, and I have been through since he passed.”
Jamal Edwards “Had The World At His Fingertips”
Brenda continued: “Jamal had the world at his fingertips – a zest for life and he was unwittingly taken away far too soon. Yet we have to come to terms with what has happened, and Jamal is proof that this can happen to anyone.”
Brenda also noted, “These types of substances are extremely unpredictable.” She hopes that the news of Jamal Edwards’s cause of death will encourage others to think wisely when faced in similar situations in the future.”
She went on, “His passing has shown that any one bad decision on any one occasion can lead to devastating consequences.”
Brenda then explained: “It’s so important that we help drive more conversation about the unpredictability of recreational drugs and the impact they can have. How it takes just one bad decision to destroy lives. I would do anything to have my son back but that is not possible so if I can help save one life, then we will have achieved something.”
Brenda concluded her post by sharing that she had recently launched the Jamal Edwards Self Belief Trust. “The Trust is in place to help provide a sense of community for young people,” she said. “Through that we will continue to preserve Jamal’s incredible legacy by continuing the positive change he had on the lives of so many.”
21 Savage said he’s happy to play mediator and try to squash any beef between his friends, but he is not intervening in the Lil Durk and NBA YoungBoy feud.
The Atlanta-based rapper was one of the many artists NBA YoungBoy took aim at on his “I Hate YoungBoy” single earlier this year. YoungBoy also came for Lil Durk and his loved ones, mentioning his finance India Royale as well as his father. The song was reportedly in response to Durkio’s “AHHH HA” which is said to be a shot at the Louisiana rapper. He also name-checks the late King Von, Gucci Mane, Lil Baby, and the 4PF crew.
The subject of rap beef came up during a recent episode of the My Expert Opinion podcast that featured 21 Savage as a guest. Host Math Hoffa asked how he manages to be friends with people who are beefing with each other.
“I’ma try and squash it first,” 21 Savage explained during the clip. “I’ma try and figure out a way to get rid of the problem. ’Cause I ain’t no fake n####.”
However, he responded differently when the conversation turned to Lil Durk and NBA YoungBoy. According to 21 Savage, there’s no point in getting involved.
“Certain s### you don’t try,” he explained. “Type of s### you just know. Like, ain’t no trying.” Check out their conversation below.
Lil Durk and NBA YoungBoy have a longstanding beef that intensified after the death of King Von in November 2020. An associate of YB’s artist Quando Rondo is said to be the alleged killer.
Ray J is using his platform to celebrate the LGBT community during Pride Month and called on his fellow straight males to do the same.
He took to Instagram to share an inclusive message “showing nothing but love” to the gay community.
“A lot of n-ggas that’s straight they don’t be trying to shout out to the gay community,” Ray J declared on IG Live on Monday (Jun. 6). “All my gay n-ggas over here are like ‘wait,’ so I gotta do it because I wanna make sure n-ggas know I’m showing nothing but love.”
He continued, “Listen, I just wanna say that it’s gay pride month. Shout out to all my gay n#####. Shout out to everybody in the LGBT community. I told my n##### that there need to be more straight n##### giving love to the gay n##### and I hate using the N-word but look it’s serious tho.
Ray J said straight men need to show more love to the community, rather than merely being tolerant.
“Like I got a lot of gay friends and I got a lot of real n-ggas that’s gay and we make a lot of money together,” he said. “But it ain’t just about the money. It’s just n-ggas is cool and that whether you’re a gay female or a gay dude or you a straight dude whatever it don’t matter. But there need to be more straight n-ggas showing love to the community.”
The R&B singer-turned entrepreneur then shouted out the “Glam Squad,” before offering himself as a Pride Month sponsor. However, Ray J may have to rethink the “Ray Pride” re-brand idea. Check out the video below.
Love Keyyz is a Cincinnati native, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, pianist, and model. Love Keyyz grew up in the inner city, constantly facing adversity, but her drive, motivation, and hard work towards a vision that only she could see made her stand out. Love Keyyz got her musical pseudonym by taking her nickname, “Keyyz,” – based on her actual name – and adding to it. “I’m a lover girl, and I write about love all the time.” Love Keyyz’s continued, “I’d always end everything with ‘Love, Keyyz,’ so people started to assume my name was Love Keyyz.” In 2010, she began making YouTube videos that showcased her personality and raw singing talent.
As Love Keyyz started gaining traction from the videos, she started writing her own music in 2012 and taught herself how to play the piano. In 2018, the songstress moved to L.A. True to her name, Love Keyyz’s discography consists of plenty of love songs. Shortly after her move to L.A., in 2019, Love Keyyz released her most notable project, “Naked.” The EP, “Naked,” was executively produced and written entirely by Love Keyyz, and garnered a lot of attention. “Naked” peaked at #59 on Apple Music’s R&B Top 200 – a feat she accomplished with no marketing and no record label. Being in Los Angeles encouraged her to be a better musician, so she enrolled in music school later that year; recently graduating with 4 certificates and 2 degrees in music. Studying with two of L.A.’s finest private instructors helped her cultivate her already tremendous sound, and with those skills, Love Keyyz created her newly released, critically acclaimed album, “I Could Be Dreaming.”
“I Could Be Dreaming” is a Soulful R&B Journey
“I Could Be Dreaming” starts off with the dreamy “Never Thought” and ends with the confident, aggressive “P.A.N.” Love Keyyz utilizes her strong singing prowess to tell a beautiful love story that turns out to not be so blissful. “I Could Be Dreaming” is based on Love Keyyz’s recent relationship. The contrast between the records makes “I Could Be Dreaming” feel like a double album. “It’s sort of a Side A/Side B project. Heaven and hell, so to speak,” Love Keyyz states. “I Could Be Dreaming” begins with songs about what real love feels like – that true, strong, seemingly unbreakable love. But, then [the album] descends into the pain that derived from the relationship, and later ends with her healing process and growth. Love Keyyz states: “Love comes with a risk. We don’t always get our fairytale, and that’s okay. But, love is so amazing. Love is why life is worth living.”
“I Could Be Dreaming” was written entirely by Love Keyyz, which allowed her to be transparent, and keep the album real and emotion-driven. Not only did she write the album, but she had a hand in the production of the album as well. She based her writing ideas around chord progressions that she composed on the piano. Love Keyyz enlisted her favorite and über-talented pianists Antoine Franklin and Jordan Jackson to add musical elements to the jams. Wasay Waqar produced two tracks and mixed/mastered the entire album.
“I Could Be Dreaming” is an album void of skips, each song is masterful. The album has something for everyone. “I Could Be Dreaming” delivers upbeat 90s nostalgia, Pop vibes, catchy hooks, and so much more. It is a diverse R&B/Soul album that is full of sounds that demonstrates Love Keyyz’s skill set. Love Keyyz plans to really bring the story to life with visuals on the way. The first music video was “P.A.N.” She is also planning a mini-tour starting this summer. So, while fans wait for what’s to come, revel in the non-stop playing of Love Keyyz’s incredible album, “I Could Be Dreaming.”
Superstar in the making Harvey Brittain delivers his newest single, “Honest”. Harvey is a young multi-instrumentalist and singer from England, and his talent has taken him all over the world. With new music coming soon and an already extensive performance portfolio, Harvey Brittain is on his way to the top.
Born in England, Harvey Brittain is the son of British TV star Andrew Brittain, known for television hits like “World In Action” and “Stars In Their Eyes”. At the age of sixteen, Harvey got his start performing at a music festival in Preston, England, his hometown.
The ball hasn’t stopped rolling since and has even taken Harvey Brittain international. His new single “Honest”, created by himself alongside American DJ & producer H4RRIS, is a showcase of the artistic skill that has made Harvey a budding star. Harvey Brittain currently splits his time between the US and the UK and has promised his fans to release new music soon.
Peep “Honest” on Spotify below and follow Harvey Brittain on Instagram!
The Roots co-founder was on hand during Thursday’s official unveiling ceremony and reflected upon the significance of the artwork. As a child, Black Thought used to tag local buildings with Graffiti and would even be arrested for it.
Black Thought: “This Is Huge”
“This is huge for me,” Black Thought explained to local news outlet The Philly Voice. “To go from scaling buildings to get a little bit of rep and tag my name somewhere that may never be seen, to having my face plastered on the side of this four-story building. It’s pretty amazing. That’s the stuff of legends. This reward overshadows every recognition that I’ve ever received.”
Black Thought was arrested for his Graffiti art at just 12 years old and received a sentence of long hours of “scrub time.” He was tasked with removing Graffiti in local areas as part of a local government initiative to replace street art with more conventional pieces. He now sits on the board of the Mural Arts Project that worked on the Anti-Graffiti project back in the 1980s.
“The beauty of it all was that I began to work with the Anti-Graffiti Network in Philly, and that’s when I first connected with [Mural Arts Executive Director] Jane Golden,” Black Thought continued. “Every time I get to work with Jane, it represents a full-circle moment for me.”
“I didn’t know (Black Thought) when we were doing the Anti-Graffiti Network,” Golden admitted to The Philly Voice. “I mean, I had a vague idea that he was with us, but we work with so many thousands of young people. Then when we unveiled The Roots mural (in South Philadelphia), he looked at me and said, ‘We know each other.’”
Created by Roberto Lugo in collaboration with Black Thought, the mural is deeply personal to the Hip-Hop legend. The vase framing his head symbolizes royalty, while the Arabic lettering on the vase spells out the names of his children. Additionally, the mural’s vivid colors signify the imagery Lugo saw growing up in the city. He hopes his art will inspire local children to pursue the creative arts.
Rob Kardashian has returned to court, claiming that Blac Chyna attempted to back out of the agreement following their revenge p### dispute. However, the model and reality T.V. star said her ex-boyfriend is the one violating the agreement.
According to TMZ, Rob’s legal team filed new docs in court on Monday (Jun. 6), claiming Blac Chyna agreed to drop her lawsuit against him on one condition – he helps get her out of a separate suit filed by Chyna’s ex. The ex alleges both Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian outed him as gay and therefore exposed him to public threats.
Rob says while he agreed last month to get her dropped from that case, and she would drop the revenge p### lawsuit, Chyna is now refusing to go along with it. He claims she is trying to take the matter to trial despite their agreement.
Nonetheless, Rob Kardashian asked the judge to enforce their contract, though a trial is scheduled to begin next week. He is also seeking an emergency hearing to address the issue before then.
Blac Chyna Says Rob Kardashian Is Violating The Law
However, Blac Chyna’s lawyer claims, “Under California law, settlement discussions are confidential. Rob Kardashian has violated California law by revealing alleged details of ongoing settlement discussions.”
She added that Chyna is permitted “to disclose that settlement discussions regarding her revenge p### case” are ongoing. “When and if a confidential settlement is reached on this case, Chyna will alert the court first and then the media.”
Steve Harvey has dished on his daughter Lori Harvey’s split from Michael B. Jordan.
After rumors began to circulate that the model and actor had parted ways over the weekend, the TV host addressed the breakup during a new episode of “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” on Monday.
“I feel fine. I’m fine… ain’t changed my life, I still gotta go to work… I still gotta take care of my family,” he commented. “I’m Team Lori, 1,000 percent. She’s my daughter. I love her, I support her.”
Steve went on to note that it is “hard” for young couples to form a successful relationship while in the spotlight.
But he is certain Lori Harvey and Michael B. Jordan will remain friends.
“Look, as long as everybody can walk away in peace, be friends I guess. I ain’t heard nobody say they busted no windows or nothing. As long as you don’t put your hands on my daughter, I don’t give a damn what you do. He’s still a cool guy… from what I know. It’s a breakup. I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine. People break up all the time,” the 65-year-old continued.
Yet, Steve also jokingly referenced his personal life, including his marriage and two divorces.
“I just wish I could have broke up without the cost factor! I got to start learning from my children, get out early! I waited way too late,” he laughed.
Lori Harvey and Michael B. Jordan started dating in November 2020.
Young Thug’s former fiancée provided an update on his wellbeing as he sits in jail.
Jerrika Karlae discussed Young Thug’s state of mind in an interview with The Progress Report Podcast. According to her, he’s maintained a positive outlook despite the pending RICO case against him.
“He’s doing good actually,” she said, noting she spoke with Young Thug. “And he’s in great spirits. I feel like this is just a moment for him to learn a lot of lessons. And honestly, he was giving me advice on how to– he was like, ‘Keep your head in the game. Wake up every day and put a smile on your face. And be thankful. And we good.’ He’s like, ‘I love my fans.’ Stuff like that.”
Karlae continued, “I see the growth. I see his faith. I really, really do. That’s what a lot of people don’t know. Bro, that man really know the Bible inside and out. Nobody would know that about him because ain’t nobody talk about that. People come around him, they don’t see how he talk about God. They don’t talk about that. They talk about everything else.”
But Karlae did acknowledge how much Lil Keed’s death hurt Young Thug. Lil Keed passed away just days after Young Thug’s arrest.
“He was very, very sad,” Karlae said. “He was tore up about Keed.”
A judge denied bond to Young Thug on June 2. The YSL Records founder will remain in custody until his trial, which is scheduled to begin in January 2023.
KETU (@Ketuikediuba) has finally released his debut EP, Ano-Ele. The smooth operator is ready to establish himself as a new voice in the industry. His sound is reminiscent of Sampha, Frank Ocean, and GIVĒON. Every record sounds like he put everything he could into it. The Nigerian singer/songwriter only needed 15 minutes to capture the essence of his latest project. Tracks like “Supernova” & “2020” tell a story of heartbreak and fear. For most, love is a scary topic, and anyone who has loved someone will feel these lyrics in their heart.
KETU battles with his feelings on each of the five spacey tracks. Ano-Ele’s acapella lyrics could stand alone as a book of poetry. There is not one wasted line on the new EP. His singles, “Sky’s Falling/From The Start” & “Rain On Me,” undoubtedly highlight the highly soothing listening experience.
Fans shouldn’t be surprised if they hear one of these five records sampled on one of their favorite rapper’s upcoming albums. KETU’s eye for design can be attributed to his work as a digital illustrator with multiple Fortune 500 companies like The NFL, Netflix, etc. There is no limit to where his artistry can go.
KETU has found a new haven in LA. The HE(A)RD/Guin Records artist is in a great position. The summer will be fruitful; with his team credited for multiple records on Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, the sky is the limit. KETU’s signature sound will lead him to become one of the most sought-after voices in the industry. Ano-Ele will be regarded highly in his discography. Stream his latest visual for “Sky’s Falling” and stream his new EP, Ano-Ele, on the DSP of your choice today! – Sky’s Falling Visual:
Benny the Butcher transforms Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together” into “Welcome to the States,” a song about the May 14 shooting in Buffalo.
The Griselda rapper uses The Alchemist-produced beat to reflect on the tragedy in his hometown. The music video notes the abundance of mass shootings in America before Benny the Butcher begins his verse.
“Welcome to the states, where we dying over our skin color and race/Ideologies formed off hate, now the grocery stores ain’t safe/They shoot us unarmed but they took in Payton [Gendron] without a scrape/I guess, great/A life saved but it’s never this color face,” Benny the Butcher raps.
He adds, “Lately, I’ve been traveling abroad as an entertainer/And frankly, it made me look at my country a little bit stranger/Mass shooting in my city eight minutes from where my block at/Saw innocent people shot at a supermarket I shop at.”
Benny the Butcher’s video encourages viewers to support the Buffalo Survivors Fund. The National Compassion Fund and Tops Friendly Market created the fundraiser to help the families of victims and others affected by the deadly shooting.
Payton Gendron was indicted on murder, hate crime and domestic terrorism charges for the Buffalo mass shooting. The 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 10 Black people at a Tops grocery. Three other victims were wounded in the attack.
Watch Benny the Butcher’s “Welcome to the States” below.
From a young age, Katttbk has been in love with music. Over the years, she explored the art of music and grew her passion. And last year, she had the courage to take her music online so she can share her passion with others. Growing a Childhood Passion “Since I was little I loved music. My dad used to play violin and I loved it, it always filled me up with joy! When I was five or six years old, that’s when I started to explore singing. Since then I was always intrigued by music and that is where my passion started to grow,” Katttbk shared.
Although she enjoys it, Katttbk never had plans to put out her music. But this changed when she was nine years old. “I wanted to put my music out there because I figured out I loved musical theatre. That is when I fell in love with performing. I officially started putting myself out online in mid-November 2019. This is where my music career started turning around,” Katttbk said. By working with music at a very young age, Katttbk believes she has a great understanding of music and this has helped her with singing and understanding the craft on a different level. She now has a clear view of her goals and what she wants to do as if it’s second nature to her.
“I want to share my story and get people to connect with my music and hear a story they can connect with and not just think it’s just another song,” Katttbk said. Although Katttbk has decided to put her music out, she had to face setbacks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It pushed my brand and my new music seven months back. The first music album was supposed to be recorded in March, but it was pushed away due to COVID delays,” the artist said. Katttbk’s team also had problems creating a music brand and taking it online.
They had a rough process to get her music and brand known online. But despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, Katttbk managed to connect more with others. She now finds comfort in surrounding herself with positive people who support her, and help her grow as an artist.
Chief Keef partnered with RBC Records and BMG Rights Management to start a new label.
The Chicago native launched 43B as a subsidiary of RBC, continuing a working relationship that began in 2014. Chief Keef signed Atlanta-based rapper Lil Gnar to be 43B’s first artist.
“43B has been a passion project of mine for over a year and I’m ready to give artists that are changing the game a label where they can really succeed,” Chief Keef said. “I’ve been independent for almost 10 years, so I want to pass on my knowledge of the industry to artists who are shifting the culture so they can make it to the top.”
According to 43B’s head of A&R and marketing Sophie Kautz, BMG helped build an in-house team over the past two years. Chief Keef’s label will provide distribution and marketing services to artists and producers.
“I’m incredibly excited about the formation of 43B,” his manager Peeda Pan said. “This partnership with BMG offers us the opportunity to bring the dynamic and forward-thinking ideas on ownership and individuality that Chef Keef has championed throughout his career into the infrastructure of our new venture. We’re thrilled to give the most innovative artists of the next generation the platform and resources to thrive in this industry.”
Chief Keef previously worked with his artist Lil Gnar on a song titled “New Bugatti.”
Baby Gas is proud as f### to be Mexican, and he injects his Latin roots and culture into all his endeavors. Hailing from the streets of East Oakland and describing himself as “the most ghettoest vato,” the West Coast rapper creates heartfelt music inspired directly by the struggle and the come-up — proving you don’t have to be a product of your environment as long as you work hard, stay passionate, and never give up.
He states, “I see all the people who always keep it consistent, those are the people I end up seeing years later have some type of elevation. I’m just a Mexican who’s been working twice as hard out here, you know we gotta put in that work.”
While the pandemic may have slowed things down for most independent artists, with no revenue or income from performing shows, Babygas thrived as an entrepreneur, starting his own tequila line called El Jefe Tequila and his own cannabis line called Baby Gas. On the music tip, he recently unleashed his critically-acclaimed project titled Street Vendor, spearheaded by lead single “Dos Colombianas” tapping big Dominican artist Jaudy and Raka Dun from Los Rakas.
AllHipHop: How you been? We survived the pandemic!
Baby Gas: Yeah we did. We hustlers, the pandemic was actually a rise for us. Our merch skyrocketed during the pandemic. We’re blessed to be one of those companies that did good rather than the opposite. Music was on hold but as an entrepreneur and having these different businesses, for sure we ate!
AllHipHop: Talk about having your own tequila brand.
Baby Gas: The tequila is called El Jefe Tequila, for the people who saw the bottle in their neighborhood liquor store. We got 3 flavors which are Blanco, Reposado and Anejo. It’s been going good, we come with that flavor. I know there’s a lot of tequila out there. Over the last few months, we had a lot of controversy with some of the tequila being put out there, but definitely we worked really hard to get this taste down. We’re competing with some of the big boys out there, that’s one of the things I’ve been noticing in the tequila industry. A lot of the famous tequila we grew up drinking, people are now cutting that s### off because they’re realizing that they’re not even Mexican-owned.
AllHipHop: What does it mean to make tequila that’s true to your Mexican culture?
Baby Gas: Nobody knows tequila better than Mexicans right? It’s part of our culture as far as what we drink. It’s very important not only how it tastes, but as a brand you’re always giving back. It’s not always with the Latinos, it happens with the black culture, Asian culture. A lot of these big companies make millions of dollars off of our people and never give back in no type of way. They don’t do any yearly givebacks, don’t make donations, none of that. It’s coming down to a thing where people are benefiting off of our culture and not even giving back. Even aside from giving back, you’re not even weighing in when our people have certain problems that we need the voices for.
AllHipHop: Talk about your weed strain as well.
Baby Gas: I’m not gonna show the nugs yet because we didn’t release it yet, but it’s the Baby Gas. It’s cultivated by Rio Vista Farms. It’s been a long time coming. I felt the pressure, the name speaks for itself. Everybody says “Man, you better come with that gas! Your name’s Baby Gas!” So the pressure was on. We did a lot of taste testing, tried a lot of different crosses. We finally came to what we’re putting out. July 9th, it will be available at all farm locations first.
AllHipHop: How long was the process in launching your own weed strain?
Baby Gas: It’s been a long time coming. We had to press that line, it came to a point where we stopped speaking about our moves. Usually, we anticipate the moves months ahead of time. Now, look this is what it is. It’s been happening behind-the-scenes. You guys didn’t know it was coming, but it’s here now. Anybody out there, if you’re not seeing it at your local dispensary, make sure you’re constantly tapping in for it. Make sure my people over here hear you want it in your city, we’ll get it in there. Rio Vista Farms, Coco Farms, DelRay Farms, Valley Farms, V-Town Farms, those are all the places it will be first. We’ll start expanding from there.
AllHipHop: How much are you smoking in a day?
Baby Gas: I’m lighting up right now! Really, it depends on what I’m doing. If I’m working, I’m not smoking as much. When you travel, you’re on flights, you’re on the road, you got back to back interviews, that weed will put you the f### out. No disrespect to anybody else, but I be strictly off of weed. I don’t be off no upper, being able to smoke back to back blunts. I’m barely working on a few hours of energy. If I’m out the house chillin’, I’m doing back to back woods. I can smoke a zip in a day for sure, but it doesn’t happen everyday. I don’t even get a full day to myself everyday, so that’s once in a blue moon.
AllHipHop: How would you say cannabis improves your life?
Baby Gas: It makes me slow down for a second. When you’re on the road, there’s a million things going on around you. A million people calling you. When I smoke a blunt, it makes me slow down a bit. I realize “alright, be cool. Pace yourself, you ain’t gotta rush.” My whole career I’ve been so big on being punctual, I still have that trait now. I stretch myself trying to make sure that I’m on the dot.
AllHipHop: That’s a really good attribute to have!
Baby Gas: A lot of people get bigger in the industry, they get comfortable with coming late because they feel like you need them there. When you’re first starting off, you don’t have that privilege though. Most of the time, same thing with shows and interviews, if you’re not on time nobody’s waiting for you. Those were one of the traits that stuck with me. I be stressing one time, I be on my whole team about it.
AllHipHop: “Dos Colombianas” out now. How did this record come about?
Baby Gas: We got Jaudy on there, a huge Domincan artist. Anybody that’s familiar with the DR music scene, he’s very big out there right now. Real influential in that area. Raka Dun from Los Rakas, they’re originally from Oakland but they’re also from Panama. They’re Panamanian, they got Panama on lock. What I did was really the Spanglish. Last time we saw each other, we had Ghetto Vato on and cracking. Ghetto Vato was an introduction to the world where we’re talking about me being the only Mexican in an all black neighborhood.
Street Vendor is now me getting more into the Spanglish. We want to dip and dab in the Spanish community. In order to do that, we want to do it correctly. Do it with people that are currently taking s### over in that lane. That came about from working on the project, linked up with a few dope people and we put something together. We all flew out to New York. I thought it was only right to do it out there considering it’s very influential with the Dominicans, Panomanias, Pueto Ricans, people that run the Latin game right now. We flew out there to make that happen. We went to the Bronx, right in the projects and shot the video. It was a movie. People are loving it right now, it’s doing some numbers.
AllHipHop: Why did you call the project Street Vendor?
Baby Gas: I called it Street Vendor to kill two birds with one stone. I was talking about my people out there that are grinding in the streets, whether they’re Latinos serving corn, shaved ice, or fruit. We went to New York and the street vendors out there were the ones on the corner serving Halal food, which weren’t Mexicans. It spoke to anybody out there trying to make a living selling anything on the corner, whether it was food or little things they handmade. Then it goes back to the streets. N*ggas on the block selling dope or whatever your upbringing was, that’s a type of street vendor too. We speaking for everybody in general here.
AllHipHop: Talk about the controversy around the title.
Baby Gas: People are focused on what’s going on right now with the street vendors. We see a lot of the hate crimes happening with the Asian and Latino community. People getting harassed, people getting robbed. A lot of the controversy and backlash came from people feeling like I’m amplifying and benefiting off the situation going on. That comes from people that barely know me, barely started following me. I did a podcast out of Kentucky, they’ve been following me for some time. They said “Look, we looked at your music videos from 7 and 8 years ago. You had street vendors in the music videos then too!” People on the internet talk about what they first see without doing their homework, that’s the reason why those types of things don’t bother me.
You as an individual, you know what you do for the community. You know how long you’ve been trying to push for our people. It happens you guys are now being familiar with street vendor situation because now it’s televised. Now, it’s all over Instagram. We were doing s### for the street vendors when we were still on Facebook. People weren’t so quick to pull out their phones and do the whole newscast s###. When you’re one of the first or early ones to do certain things, that’s what comes with it. You gotta take that backlash. We’ve been taking that backlash as Latin artists for some time now. We’re in the rap game, we happen to be Latino. When we first came along, there weren’t these Mexican artists signed to Atlantic Records and all these big companies. We took the early hits. We took all people looking at us like, “What’s the Mexicans doing here?” People knew us for rapping on some gang, cholo s###.
Then the Latino community started expanding. You got Mexicans in Texas going crazy, Mexicans in OKC going crazy. Now it’s not just Cali, not just one sound. Now, we’re versatile like the rest of them. Now there’s more Mexicans on the frontlines, more Mexicans on all these channels, winning awards, touching numbers, WorldStarHiphop, all that. Now they’re getting familiar with our people, now less and less people will have to deal with the “oh this is a black people’s game.” Because that’s how it is, we’re the early ones that had to deal with s### like that. We respect the culture though. Down the line, it’s the small-minded people. Anybody that really does their homework open-minded, they take their hat off to what we do.
AllHipHop: What songs mean the most to you and why?
Baby Gas: Off the new album, I’m a definitely say “Cicatriz” which stands for “scars.” It’s a song I had made when my grandmother recently passed away a couple months back. We were at EMPIRE studios, one of those types of songs that made me touch subjects that I was kind of keeping to myself for a good little minute. So that’s definitely one of the ones on there. Really the project and being able to progress. People constantly tell us, “Damn I ain’t seen you in a few years, and in a few years you doing some s### bro.” It’s a good thing because you know how it is, you deal with rappers everyday. You might interview a rapper today, then next year he fell off. There’s certain things we do to consistently be on the frontline. Not ever moving backwards, but forward. Royce [manager] always says slow motion is better than no motion, so we getting there.
AllHipHop: How old are your kids now?
Baby Gas: Man, s###. 11, 9, 7, 4, and 2. I got my hands full over here. I got a little baby daycare going on over here.
AllHipHop: How’s fatherhood? How do you balance it all?
Baby Gas: Fatherhood is the drive. When I first really started trying to figure out how to balance my career and fatherhood, we’re talking about an upcoming career! N*ggas didn’t already had a fat ass check just to sit on they ass. It’s about really consistently staying in the game, consistently dropping, consistently working. And at the same time, consistently being in your kids’ life. It’s the drive. My kids are all old enough to know wassup. They might not see me for 2 to 3 weeks, but when I come back I come back. I’m a big ass kid, not even gonna lie. When I play with my kids, I play with them forreal. If I take them to amusement parks or parks, I don’t just drive them there. I don’t just pay for the s###, I’m participating with them. They know when I’m there, I’m fully there. That really kind of levels it out for me.
My mom told me at a very early age in my fatherhood: “Even if you go a certain time without seeing your kids, your kids know your love for them. So don’t feel like because you’re gone for a month, you’re gonna come back and your son’s gonna feel some type of way.” Where kids feel some type of way is broken promises, you can’t make a promise to a kid and not keep it. You know how it is, we were all kids one time. If moms said we’re going to the mall today, we stressing moms out all day. If pops says he’s coming for you, you’re looking out the window everyday like “when pop’s getting here?” The main thing as a father you should never do: making promises you can’t keep. I’d rather hit my kids with a “maybe.” That way when they ask me, remember I said maybe. I ain’t say we going fasho. Because once you say fasho, you’ll start becoming a bullshiter in your kids’ eyes. You don’t want that. If you want anybody’s trust, you at least gotta have your kids’.
AllHipHop: What upcoming project or collabs can we expect?
Baby Gas: We got the deluxe version of Street Vendor coming out, adding about 6 extra songs. I didn’t publicize who I got on there, but I did publicize one of them. I did a remix to “Smoking Gas” on the project, I got Cash Kidd on there out of Detroit. That’s gonna be a banger, Oakland to Detroit is always gonna be a good combination. The people definitely gonna love that one. I’m doing 6 bangers and keeping it consistent. With this album, people should be expecting a video to almost every song, because of how long I was working.
I was working on an album for about 7 months. I worked on it for so long that when I put all the songs together, people couldn’t pick. I literally spoke to different radio people, different DJs, and the list that they send us always comes back different. At the end of the day, every song on the album needs its little time to shine. We doing 2 weeks to a month per single. We gonna keep shooting it out. We’ll put out another project hopefully by the end of the year, kick the new quarter off with some new s###. Besides that, we working. We see you working. I see the Shirely’s Temple, I see it all. Especially for the women out there, women are starting to pop up heavy in the game. Y’all doing y’all thing! Much needed and appreciated too.
In an interview with Page Six, Judge Mathis spoke about the smudge on the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony where the blockbuster star violated Chris Rock.
As reported by AllHipHop.com, Will Smith smacked Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldhead. The aftermath severed Smith’s relationship, not only with the Brooklyn funny man but with the Academy.
“I think anytime you commit an assault, you commit a crime. And committing an assault, no matter how embarrassing or humiliating, does not legitimize an assault,” said the 62-year-old host of “The Judge Mathis” show.
Judge Mathis also said he understood where Smith was coming from, referring to the reason behind the confrontation. Judge Mathis has been married for 30-plus years to his wife Linda and is the father of four adult children, Jade, Camara, Greg Jr., and Amir.
Judge Mathis said he also would have responded but kept it “professional.”
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However, I would have yelled from my seat,” Mathis said. “I gotta tell ya, I would’ve been a little disruptive. I would say, ‘Watch out, bro! Don’t talk about my wife again, Chris.’ I might have done that or be more diplomatic. I would speak with Chris backstage and let him know that he insulted my wife and that he owes my wife an apology. That’s the professional Greg Mathis.”
But he also added, “If someone smacks me, I can’t walk around Detroit. I would have to do something…before they slap, those guys they crack a joke … but with me, if they smack me, it is another level. I would check him in some form or fashion.”
The never-boring judge who “knows a crackhead when I see one” has a new reality show called “Mathis Family Matters” premiering on E! June 19th at 9:30 pm.
Rapper and bereaved father Master P gave an emotional tribute to his late daughter Tytyana Miller during his first performance since her death last month.
Master P was a headliner at the Funk Fest on Friday (June 3rd) at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, Florida.
The three-day concert featured Mary J Blige, Anthony Hamilton, Jazmine Sullivan, Raheem DeVaughn, Trina, and the No Limit Reunion with Mia X, Silkk The Shocker, Mystikal and others.
During his set, the Hip-Hop mogul paid tribute to Tytyana’s life, bringing those in the crowd to a silent stop and causing an onset of tears.
The rapper started off by informing the audience of how he has been doing since her transition, saying, “I love my daughter. Man, I miss her.”
The classic No Limit tank was later replaced by a picture of his daughter in white with butterflies around her face.
Video credit: Chinedu Ernesto
“I always was her parachute, but now she my parachute up in the sky looking over me,” he continued. “We ain’t going grieve no more. We gonna celebrate because now I’m gonna be able to take care of millions of kids and save millions of lives,” Master P said.
“I’m gonna get out here and play my part. I know that God put me in this world for a passion and a purpose,” he declared to the crowd before saying, “mental illness and substance abuse are serious things.”
At the concert, the ultimate No Limit Soldier invited everyone to sing what he said was her theme song, “You Are Not Alone,” by Michael Jackson.
Master P then performed a tribute to others that had passed away, including his artist Soulja Slim, Nipsey Hussle, Tupac, Bushwick Bill, Pimp C, Mac Dre, The Notorious B.I.G., DJ Screw, and many more.
Drill rapper Gino Mondana, an artist down with Fivio Foreign, was arrested for a series of crimes last week.
New York Police Department detectives have brought in the entertainer on attempted murder charges connected to an April fender-bender where he shot a man in the leg after a brief conflict in the South Bronx.
Gino Mondana was in a car accident with a 22-year-old man on Southern Blvd. near Leggett Ave. around 4:30 a.m. on Fri. April 1st.
The 31-year-old rapper and the victim exchanged information with each other, but the rapper wanted to go around the insurance company and give the victim money to pay for the repairs out of pocket, the Daily News reports.
Records say he told the victim, “I have the money, let me go inside to get it.”
The victim agreed. Mondana allegedly left to get the money but returned with a firearm and “fired multiple shots in the (other driver’s) direction,” hitting him in his left leg.
The younger man was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries. The rapper took off — and was on the run from officers for the last two months.
Officials nabbed the suspect on Thursday, June 2nd, at the Newark International Airport. Members of the NYPD boarded his United Airlines flight before it was about to take off and arrested Mondana, born Tray Stroman, the Daily News reports.
Now, the “Top Ten” rapper is in custody in New Jersey and will be extradited to New York for an arraignment on the charges mentioned above and more. Two of the other counts are weapons possession and menacing.
Gino Mondana gained popularity as a member of Fivio Foreign’s entourage.
Police have linked him to the G Stone Crips street gang, which allegedly boasts other rappers like Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel as members.
The G Stone Crips are predominately a Brooklyn-based street gang. Stroman signed with Foreign Side Records and once alleged he was the younger rapper of the “Spicy” chart-topper.
A woman has accused Bill Cosby of forcibly kissing her when she was a teenager.
Kimberly Burr testified before a court that the actor took her into a movie set trailer, grabbed her by the arms to prevent her from moving, and kissed her back in 1975.
Burr’s first-time public testimony was part of a lawsuit launched by Judy Huth, who alleges Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was 16 – also in 1975.
Cosby was not present in court for the testimony. Burr is not a part of the lawsuit.
“I was struggling to get away. It was very shocking,” she alleged.
Burr also testified that Cosby invited her, her mother, and other family and friends to act as extras on the film “Let’s Do It Again” after meeting them previously at a tennis tournament.
She alleged that Cosby invited her into his trailer alone to help him straighten a bow tie he would wear for a scene when on the set.
“He immediately grabbed me,” she claimed. “He started kissing me, all over my face, tongue down my throat.”
Burr did not immediately tell anyone about the alleged incident because her movie set experience “was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
She added, “I didn’t want to ruin everything for everyone.”
A spokesperson for Cosby, 84, rejected Burr’s testimony.
“These are just allegations made up to support Judy Huth, whose claims are not factual at all,” they said, according to The New York Times.
In recent years, Cosby has been the subject of numerous sexual assault allegations and, in 2018, was convicted of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand.
Non-profit social justice organization Equal Justice Now (EJN), will present the 2nd Annual Attorney Benjamin Crump Equal Justice Now Awards on Friday, June 10 in Los Angeles.
The event, named for renowned civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, takes place at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Emmy Award-winning TV personality and activist Loni Love will host on the night.
Equal Justice Now’s signature event honors the impact of trailblazers from filmmaking and government to community and social philanthropy.
Father and son, award-winning filmmaker Mario Van Peebles and the late pioneering filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles are among the honorees recognized for advancing social causes and giving back to their communities.
Tony Smith, Co-Founder of Equal Justice Now, says: “We are thrilled to bring back the Benjamin Crump Equal Justice Now Awards after two years of COVID delays. Our celebration allows EJN to honor the notable luminaries who champion the causes which form the foundation of EJN’s mission. The night will be an opportunity to celebrate current achievements and keep the focus on the critical work that remains undone.”
Others to be awarded on the night include former U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson; Los Angeles Lakers Vice President Kiesha Nix; social influencer/brand visionary Charlie Rocket; CNN commentator/attorney Bakari Sellers; rapper/entrepreneur Stix; Los Angeles City Councilmember Gilbert Cedillo; journalist Roland Martin; and U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty.
Tony Smith and Bill Shields founded EJN, a non-partisan, non-profit social justice organization. EJN advocates for victims of the criminal justice system, while addressing systemic racism, voting rights, and reformation in the justice system, among other social issues.
The popular HBO series Euphoria won multiple trophies at this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards. The teen drama was one of the big winners on Sunday night.
Euphoria took home Best Show, Best Fight (Cassie vs. Maddy), and Here For The Hookup. The program’s lead actress Zendaya won Best Performance in a Show for her portrayal of Rue Bennett.
Spider-Man: No Way Home, which also stars Zendaya, won Best Movie at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. The superhero motion picture’s actor, Tom Holland, took home Best Performance in a Movie.
Jennifer Lopez’s “On My Way (Marry Me)” triumphed in the Best Song category. The record appears in the romantic dramedy Marry Me. Lopez also received the Generation Award.
Other 2022 MTV Movie & TV Award winners include RuPaul’s Drag Race for Best Competition Series, Selling Sunset for Best Docu-Reality Show, and Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U for Best Music Documentary.
