Travis Scott is celebrated for his compelling creativity and his magnetic appeal. The heartbreaking events from the 2021 Astroworld Festival are haunting. A new Hulu documentary, Astroworld: Concert from Hell attempted to explorethe tragedy. Due to public outcry –magnified by concerned Twitter users — Hulu has yanked the documentary.
By, undertaking this albatross, Hulu had to get it right. It has to understand and appreciate the burden of delivering an unbiased account. The Astroworld Festival has been transformed into hallowed ground. A dire combination of unforeseen factors resulted in 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
So, will this insight help the collective cope? Will this help to reignite interest into La Flame’s artistic integrity? Understanding, a catalyst to forgiveness, may be delivered through the lens of this documentary. As of now, Hulu has reconsidered and has shelved the documentary.
If the motivations are pure, then after watching Astroworld: Concert from Hell, perhaps some much needed healing may have commenced. What then happens if Hulu is only looking to capitalize off destruction? What, if any, lasting ramifications will this have on to Travis Scott?
Twitter is not playing with Hulu. What’s that, are those pearls being clutched? A’hem, about those calculated –er — motivations… Somewhere a money machine is very sad.
Their passionate write up contained the following:
Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime. But it turned into a tragic nightmare. A minute-by-minute look at what happened in the crowd, the young victims who were killed, and what happens next.
Vaseline was slathered all over its virtual face. Check out Twitter’s reaction. It. Is.Not.Playing.With.Hulu.
With all due respect, great documentaries document stories as they play out, and sometimes bring truth and justice where it was missing before.
Whether Hulu lives up to that standard is another question.
Earlier this year, Clifford “T.I.” Harris blasted Atlanta-area politician Felicia Moore on social media. The Hustle Gang leader shared a news article with his Instagram followers that reported Moore’s attempt to tighten restrictions on local recording studios.
“Excuse me Mrs @feliciamooreatl but… Our Culture Runs This Town Ma’am!!” wrote T.I. on IG. “These studios (and the creatives that work in em) have laid [the] foundation and paved ways to create opportunities for this city like nothing else could.”
He added, “Yeah we might get loud, no we not perfect, but we’ve contributed to this city’s culture & economic growth, consistently… for decades!!! Our contributions to the communities here in this city have gone overlooked far too long.”
Felicia Moore ended up running for mayor in Atlanta in 2021, but the President of the Atlanta City Council lost to City Councilmember Andre Dickens in a run-off election on November 30. Moore is now partially blaming T.I. and Isaac Hayes III for her defeat.
“They lied then, saying I wanted to close all recording studios,” Felicia Moore told TMZ about T.I. and Hayes. “The legislation would have never closed anything. It would only be for new ones.”
Moore added, “T.I. put out a very salacious lie, just point-blank lie and misinformation, saying I wanted to close strip clubs. I never even discussed strip clubs since the general election… They put that out there, and because they have a large following, it went viral, and it took a while for people to start to get the message I never wanted to close that.”
Two days ago, T.I. posted a screenshot of a headline that read, “Woman Running For Atlanta Mayor Promises To CLOSE ALL STRIP CLUBS!!!” His caption for the Instagram post read, “Respectfully of course. GO VOTE TOMORROW‼️ @andre4atlanta #byefelicia 👋🏽.”
Leonardo DiCaprio is a big Wu-Tang Clan fan and wanted to use his production company to create a biopic about them, according to Raekwon. However, RZA had other ideas for the project and shut the plans down.
Rolling Stone recently published an excerpt from Raekwon’s memoir “From Staircase To Stage: The Story Of Raekwon And Wu-Tang Clan.” In it, the New York native recalls being inspired by the success of N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton.” He wanted to make a similar movie for Wu-Tang Clan while RZA wanted a scripted series.
“I was against the deal because I didn’t like the terms, the money, any of it.,” Raekwon said of RZA’s plan for a Wu-Tang series. “I kept telling RZA to look at Straight Outta Compton, which made $200 million dollars worldwide and was the highest-grossing movie by a black director in history. It made no sense to me to sell our story for a TV series where nobody would walk away with real money. Everybody except RZA, that is, because he was getting more on the deal — as an executive producer, writer, creator, composer, and I’m sure a few other ways we’ll never know about.”
Leonardo DiCaprio Wanted To Make A Wu-Tang Clan Movie
Raekwon eventually met up with Leonardo DiCaprio through mutual friend Q-Tip to discuss the Hollywood star backing a movie based on the group.
“We started talking about the possibility of a Wu-Tang movie and I told Leo I’d love to see him play a role in it, anything he wanted to do. He talked about his production company and all the directors he thought might do a great job — and these were big names and people he’d worked with.”
Though RZA agreed to meet the bigwigs over at Dicaprio’s company, Raekwon believed he was going through the motions, never intending to accept. After three meetings, he and RZA argued when it became clear he had no intention of taking Leo’s Wu-Tang movie offer.
“’You son of a b####,” I thought to myself. “You had something in your pocket the whole time and knew you’d never close this f###### deal.”
The Wu-Tang legend added,” You didn’t think I could put something together that was better than what you got. You ain’t about us. You about you, m###########.”
Finally he said, “I kept my cool and didn’t spaz out on him, but in my heart I knew more than ever that his relationships in Hollywood mattered more to him than his relationship with us. He was burying a dream deal over pride.”
Belcalis “Cardi B” Almánzar continues to expand her growing business empire. The Grammy-winning rapper partnered with Starco Brands to present a vodka-infused whipped cream brand called Whipshots.
“At Starco Brands we pride ourselves on only commercializing products and technologies that are truly behavior changing,” says Ross Sklar, CEO of Starco Brands.
Sklar adds, “Whipshotsis one of the most innovative products to ever hit the spirits vertical. This combines delectable flavors, cutting-edge creative direction and a world-class celebrity and influencer strategy. We are honored and thrilled to be shaking up the spirits world and cannot wait for everyone to experience this party in a can.”
The official Whip Drop release program includes a daily drop of 500 cans exclusively on whipshots.com. According to Cardi B, the first-day offering of Whipshots already sold out in under five minutes after the product was made available.
“Whipshots is over the top, sexy and unique – kind of like me. It’s going to be a party in every can,” explains Cardi B. “No matter where you are, you can party like Cardi, and I’m so excited to finally be able to share this one-of-a-kind product with all of you.”
Soooo whip shots sold out in less then five minutes!!! Deum ain’t know y’all was into liquor like that. Check back daily for a different flavor the entire month of December !
“Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime,” reads the synopsis on Hulu. “But it turned into a tragic nightmare. A minute-by-minute look at what happened in the crowd, the young victims who were killed, and what happens next.”
The backlash was swift and users on Twitter immediately began pointing out the obvious.
Hulu making a documentary about Astroworld is in poor taste all around.
People are still burying their loved ones. The legal cases haven’t even started.
Great documentaries are done when all the facts are laid out. Not enough time has passed to fully discuss this.
The Astroworld: Concert from Hell doc on Hulu puts blame on concert goers ‘not caring’-no type of structural analysis & they didnt interview the RN who said medics there were undertrained, under staffed & HPD was useless. S### seemed directed by Live Nation/Travis Scott himself😩
Filming a series about #ASTROWORLD in the midst of tragedy is wildly insensitive. Families are still mourning, festival-goers are still traumatized, and some victims haven't even been laid to rest yet. ABC and HULU saw their trauma as a cash grab. Cold world.🤦🏾♂️
Recently, on Nov. 30, around 11P, C.S.T., a brazen shooting took place at the Tulsa International Airport. Joseph Watson, Jr., has been identified as the culprit. A TIA officer — who was wearing a bulletproof vest — was shot in the chest.
The calculated shooting stems from a domestic dispute. Last week, during a Thanksgiving celebration, it is alleged that Watson threatened to kill his wife. He accused her of cheating. So, he left the Houston-based get-together.
Before returning to Tulsa, from Houston, TX, Watson’s wife would proactively contact local authorities. After, touching down in the Town, a TIA officer escorted her from the airport’s arrivals section. She anticipated an uneventful departure. That did not happen.
Outside, lying in wait, she spotted her husband. Watson, sprung into action. He would draw-down. His wife managed to escape the wild shots. The former felon discharged one of his three guns.
Luckily, she was not hit. Officers gave chase. Watson quickly scurried away into a parking garage . While in the garage several more shots were exchanged. In total, 11 people were on the scene. Of these, only two individuals were directly injured by bullets.
The gun-totting Watson was hit. No, it is not life-threatening. He sustained a gun-shot wound to the ankle. It appears Watson’s aim was more accurate. A well-positioned bulletproof vest may have saved a TIA officer’s life. Watson, would later be hospitalized. Pending, his release from the hospital, the cowboy will be booked for his bad behavior.
He is facing a litany of charges. Since, the shooting transpired outside of the actual airport, none of them will be federal. How were these officers able to peacefully diffuse and disarm Watson? So many people, like Terrence Crutcher, have been killed while following police instructions. Something is different.
For more information on the incident check out Fox 23’s report.
Tupac memorabilia is highly sought after among artifacts from music history following the rapper’s untimely death on 13 September 1996.
Items from his life and career continue to come up for sale with the latest piece coming from Tupac’s bodyguard and friend, Frank Alexander, who was with Pac on the night he was killed. Before his death, Alexander owned an old hard drive of unpublished content including songs, previously unseen footage, and even legal documents.
The auction is being handled by Gotta Have Rock and Roll who say the 83GB hard drive will unearth new insights into the life of Tupac Shakur.
“Some of the highlights on the hard drive include a 35 second clip from a never released song — which is incredibly rare in Tupac’s recording history,” reads the description on the hard drive. “The photos and videos bring you right into Tupac’s life in the mid to late ’90s and are some of the most intimate media that exists of him.”
A snippet of the song was obtained by TMZ and is a never-before-heard version of “Letz Get It On (Ready 2 Rumble).”
Among the photos featured in the lot are shots of Tupac with Mike Tyson and music industry moguls and artists. They include the late Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell, Suge Knight, and R&B group Jodeci.
The collection went up for sale Wednesday (Dec. 1) with bidding set to end Friday, December 10. Fans wishing to own this Tupac collection should expect to dish out big bucks. Bids start at $10,000 though the item is expected to fetch anywhere between $600,000 and $1.2 million.
Van Lathan and Kanye West created one of the most unforgettable events in pop culture after their exchange in the TMZ offices went viral. Kanye said “slavery was a choice,” Van responded with some choice words, and the internet did what the internet does.
In a recent interview with VladTv, Van Lathan addressed Ye’s controversial opinions and outrage-inducing remarks, saying Kanye isn’t about “free speech” at all.
When Vlad pointed to some of Yeezy’s more controversial outbursts, particularly his infamous “Drink Champ” statements, Van brushed them off. Though he called Kanye a “transcendent talent” and a “visionary creator” he asked, “is it worth digging through the s### to get to the jewels?”
“Some things have to do with the perception he has of himself,” he noted. “There are some things that have to do with how people treat him.” He referred to Kanye’s “Drink Champ” rants about his peers and Kanye’s need to be accepted as “great.”
Though he gave Kanye credit for his ability to “kick down the door” he remains troubled by Yeezy’s take on free speech.
“Kanye talks about free speech, right? He talks about the fact that he should be able to say whatever he wants to say, and that’s true,” said Lathan. “But he doesn’t seem to like other people’s free speech very much… Kanye doesn’t want free speech. What he actually wants is white speech.” According to Van Lathan, “white speech” is “saying whatever you want to say and there being absolutely zero repercussions for you saying it.”
He added, “That is how white people used to run America and talk to Black people in the days of old.”
Van Lathan Addresses That “Slavery Was A Choice” Comment
In another clip, Van reflected on that moment in the TMZ newsroom when Kanye made his remarks about slavery being “a choice.”
“He had said all kinds of crazy things up to that point…well, not crazy. Whatever you believe. His ideas or whatever. I think slavery being a choice is f###### crazy and disrespectful, but he had said all kinds of things and I was like, whatever. He asked. He asked my opinion, he asked the whole room. That was a challenge to me.”
Though he understood the point he added, “You can’t have them be your example of weakness because to me, they’re an example of strength.”
Meanwhile, Lathan used Kim Kardashian’s blossoming romance with Pete Davidson as an excuse to have a little dig at Kanye. He shared a picture of Kanye West, Timothée Chalamet, Pete Davidson, and Kid Cudi taken at Cudi’s birthday dinner back in 2019.
“Just remember, one man’s Turkey sandwich is the next man’s Turkey dinner,” he joked in the caption.
Wack took to Instagram to air his frustrations after Jackie, as she was affectionately known, was shot and killed in a home invasion early Wednesday (Dec. 1).
“No explanation or No excuses,” Wack 100 wrote in the caption. “She’s your mother, your aunt, your grandmother the family’s friend She didn’t deserve this. A lot of robberies & home invasions going down. DO WE DEFUND THE POLICE NOW? Naw laws need to change mandatory 25 yrs for a home invasion and the right to murder the ones found in your home or trying to gain entry. Eliminate the call the police or if there fleeing the home part of the law!”
He added, “This needs to be addressed. Streets & Prisons need to punish anybody that hits those jails. Needs to be a paperwork check upon entry …. Don’t WAIT UNTIL IT HAPPENS TO ONE OF YOURS.”
Meanwhile, Tyler Perry shared his condolences to the Avant family and assured support and resources are being galvanized to find those responsible.
“My heart breaks for Clarence and Nicole and all the Avant family,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “This world can be so cruel and cold!! I have no idea what kind of sub-human could shoot an 81 year old woman, and in her own home. But you can rest assured that every available resource will be used to find whoever is responsible for this awful nightmare. This is tremendously sad.”
Pop music has something about its rhythm and pattern that can make anyone sing and dance. The genre was started by a breed of fearless musicians across the US and UK in the 1950s and had never failed to entertain listeners. Pop music has evolved a lot during the past decade with the advent of modern technology. Needless to say, a fresh crop of pop artists deserves a bow for reviving this genre. Rising pop star Sacha Sernets is among them. The 26-year-old is taking pop culture by storm in Nashville. He shot to fame on social media during 2019 and has since gathered a crazy fan following for his unconventional blend of pop music.
Born and brought up in a middle-class family in Nashville, Sacha never had big dreams about his future. He definitely wanted to improve his family’s financial situation but thought about taking an unusual path to do so. Growing up, he found his passion in music when he started learning guitar as a hobby. Gifted with a naturally strong and euphonious voice, it wasn’t difficult for him to find a job as a voice-over artist. He started working as an animation voice actor soon after graduation.
Sacha found financial stability with the job, but it wasn’t something that was fulfilling. He sometimes felt stuck without knowing where to move next. It was during this time that he was spotted by a famous director while recording in the studio. Recognizing his talent, Sacha was offered an audition for the music label Virgin Records. Unfortunately, Sacha failed to make a lasting impression as his craft was still unpolished compared to others at the audition. The initial loss did come as a blow to him, but it helped him realize his purpose in life. He had found a career that was fulfilling.
To make up for the initial loss, Sacha quit his job and started taking music lessons. He always knew he was inclined to pop music, and that was where his forte lay. Within a few months, Sacha was able to hone his craft and compose music independently. As he tried to penetrate the industry, Sacha understood how important an audience is to an artist, especially a newbie. Sacha took to social media to find his audience and launched his music channel “Sound Box” in 2018. In March 2018, Sacha released his debut single “Lonely Night,” which went viral almost overnight.
“Lonely Night” officially launched him as a rising music sensation on the internet with over 5 million views in just 2 months. It was only the beginning for Sacha, who rolled out another 5 back-to-back hit singles in 2018. With his crazy popularity and unconventional take on pop music, Sacha became a sought-after artist at concerts and live shows. He even performed at popular music festivals like Nashville Sunday Nights, Music in the Vines, and Pitchfork Music Festival.
As his career started scaling up as a live performer, Sacha experienced a huge setback during the onset of the pandemic. As all his live concerts were postponed indefinitely, Sacha was jobless for several months. However, he overcame this dark phase in this career by making a comeback on social media. Now he is an even bigger star on YouTube and Spotify with millions of followers from all over the globe.
Sacha wants to be a role model for budding artists who are hesitant to navigate the industry because of its challenges. He wants them to know that the industry has a place for every original talent ready to work hard. He is a shining example who moved from being stuck to becoming unstoppable.
Multiple HIV/AIDS organizations say DaBaby hasn’t engaged with them since initial meetings about his controversial remarks at Rolling Loud Miami 2021.
A report by the Daily Beast revealed DaBaby hasn’t donated or even spoken to three organizations he met with in wake of the controversy. The Black AIDS Institute, Positive Women’s Network and the Normal Anomaly Initiative all confirmed his lack of interaction.
Pavni Guharoy, a communications consultant for the Black AIDS Institute, said her organization had a “productive” meeting with DaBaby in August. But the nonprofit never heard from the Interscope Records artist again after that conversation.
“Since then, we have not received any outreach, partnership or funding from DaBaby,” Guharoy told the Daily Beast. “The onus is now on him, if he chooses to, to convert his misinformation into allyship by supporting the work of the Black AIDS Institute and other people of color-led HIV organizations.”
Ian L. Haddock, founder and executive director of The Normal Anomaly Initiative, had a similar experience.
“Though we felt the conversation was extremely powerful a couple months ago, we haven’t heard anything back as an organization since our conversation,” Haddock said.
DaBaby faced backlash from brands and fellow celebrities after making homophobic remarks at Rolling Loud Miami in July.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up,” he said at the event.
Reuben Deleon, aka RBN, aka DJ Deleon, is a well-known musician in the US. RBN created a reputation for himself in the music industry thanks to his outstanding singing talent and hard work. The DJ artist has a devoted following who eagerly anticipates his new releases.
RBN also has a Spotify channel called ‘DJ Deleon,’ where you can listen to his versions of songs like Counting Stars, Lean On, All About That Bass, and others. He intends to release an album in the near future and hopes to share more music in the following months. The artist has worked really hard to ensure that his work is recognized.
When asked what inspired him to pursue a career as a singer-musician, RBN says, “Since I was a child, music has played an important role in my life. Backstreet Boys, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Nirvana, and other boy bands influenced me as a kid. Michael Jackson’s work is also one of my favorites. Looking at these artists, I’ve always wished to be like them in some manner. That’s when I realized, I had a passion for music and began to teach myself to sing and play various instruments.”
Without taking help from any big music producers or anyone around, Reuben Deleon taught himself how to excel in singing, playing instruments, and DJing. Many young dreamers look up to him and wish to be multi-talented. RBN has a sizable fan base on social media, particularly Instagram. He has a following of over 618k folks who love his work, journey, and optimistic attitude. DJ Deleon’s Instagram feed is full of motivational posts encouraging people to pursue their hearts and goals and change their lives forever. The artist also hopes to impact people’s lives through his music.
Rihanna is everything. The hometown hero’s actions consistently become legendary. A diligent work-ethic is rewarding Rih-Rih with a ubiquitous presence. So, what’s next for the billionaireboss? Well, according to Romeo Miller, it is in fact, motherhood!
Today (Dec. 1), while serving as one of this hosts of The Mix, Rome, succinctly confirmed Rihanna’s alleged pregnancy. The Gen-Z, mixed genre talk show, which airs on Fox Soul, pours out all the tea. So, when the topic of the Caribbean Queen’s alleged pregnancy arose, Romeo couldn’t wait to add his insight.
The conversation commences with” “You know, it’s interesting — talking about Rihanna — I was reading something today. You can’t, you know, believe everything you read. But, people are saying that she’s pregnant right now. To which Romeo replies, “Believe it; congrats, Rih’.”
As a brand, and as a man, Romeo Miller can stand on his integrity. Keep in mind, that in addition, to being a host, he too, is a producer for the show. So, this in conjunction with a myriad of other “circumstantial evidence” is adding to the notion that the Princess of R&B may be pregnant.
Neither, Rihanna nor her partner, A$AP Rocky, have yet to confirm any of this conjecture. If, in-fact it’s true, a very warm congratulations goes out to the pair!
Kanye West’s alleged handiwork from high school has become a viral sensation on TikTok.
A TikTok user named Abby Richardson uploaded a video featuring a NSFW message allegedly written by Kanye West in high school. Richardson’s father Brian went to school with Yeezy, who apparently wrote a very blunt remark to her dad in an old yearbook.
“You better get some p#### this summer,” Ye allegedly wrote in Brian Richardson’s yearbook.
Abby Richardson’s video opened with photo of her father featuring the caption “pov your dads bestfriend in high school was kanye west.” Ye’s multi-platinum selling single “All of the Lights” played throughout the video.
Richardson then showed off the yearbook to prove her dad and Ye went to the same school. She capped off the clip by flipping to the page with the explicit comment.
Kanye West attended Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, which is a suburb of Chicago. He graduated in 1995.
Two decades after it was purportedly written, Kanye West’s yearbook one-liner helped Richardson go viral on TikTok. Her video has racked up 2 million views on the platform as of Wednesday (December 1).
Ye hasn’t confirmed if penned the yearbook message. Richardson’s video claims it’s “no joke ask [her] grandparents.”
Growing up in Long Island, New York Jarred always felt a calling towards music in his heart. Jarred attended college in Massachusetts and put together quite an impressive resume having accomplished a bachelor’s degree in science, a master’s in business administration, a doctorate in pharmacy, and furthermore a specialized post-doctoral fellowship. Although he accomplished so much in school, he knew intuitively that this wasn’t going to bring him happiness and decided to fulfill his burning desire to become a musical entrepreneur.
Jarred set a definite goal for himself of helping as many artists flourish in the music industry as he could. With a keen ear for talent, Jarred began to seek out the best artist in his area. News began to spread like wildfire as Jarred started to catapult artist careers into the stratosphere. Fast forward a few years ahead and today Jarred J. Rosenberg is a social media specialist and music manager who focuses on developing artists, their image, and persona.
Jarred has never put out a project himself but that is about to change as he gears up to release his first-ever album that he executive produced titled “Vaulted”. The release date to this project is not yet finalized but Jared has confirmed that it will be released towards the end of 2021. “I called it “Vaulted” because it is music, I’ve worked on with artists that they never chose to release for one reason or another. It was forgotten about, essentially locked away in a vault until now. I believe these songs deserve to be heard and I decided to leverage my platform to make that happen.” This highly anticipated album has the industry buzzing and is a thrilling time for Jarred as he endeavors into another aspect of his career. Be sure to be on the lookout for “Vaulted” as it is sure to be full of hits for all genres of ears to enjoy.
Follow Jarred Rosenberg on the following platforms:
Drake had another dominant year of generating streams on Spotify.
Spotify unveiled its 2021 Wrapped lists on Tuesday, revealing Drake was the year’s most-streamed artist in the U.S. The music superstar also locked down a spot in Spotify’s Top 5 list for global streams.
Drake came in ahead of Taylor Swift for the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the U.S. Kanye West, the late Juice WRLD and Bad Bunny rounded out the Top 5.
Globally, Drake had the fourth most streams of any artist. Bad Bunny claimed the top spot after receiving over 9.1 billion streams worldwide.
Taylor Swift and BTS were the other artists ahead of Drake on the global list. Justin Bieber was behind the OVO co-founder at No. 5.
In terms of individual tracks, Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” was No. 2 on the list for most-streamed songs globally. Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license,” which was also No. 1 for U.S. streams, beat him out for the top spot.
Although Drake didn’t have any songs crack the Top 5, The Kid LAROI’s single “STAY” featuring Justin Bieber was No. 3 in Spotify’s global streams. DaBaby also found a spot at No. 5 thanks to his guest appearance on Dua Lipa’s “Levitating.”
View the full list of Spotify’s top artists, songs, albums and podcasts here.
Holiday diners at one of Brooklyn’s coolest restaurants were rushed out of the seats so that rappers Cardi B and Offset and their party could chow down. But was it a problem?
Page Six reports that on Saturday night, the Brooklyn Chop House, a hot spot owned by Hip-Hop influencer Don Pooh responsible for raptress Foxy Brown, was popping.
Despite the new Omicron variant floating in the air, people were out dining and this restaurant was blessed to have not one seat in the joint open.
All of a sudden, word came to the hosting staff that the Bronx superstar and her Migos husband wanted to bring a group of friends in for dinner. Instead of turning away the uber fly dinner party, the hosts asked one group already seated to hurry themselves up to give room for the couple and their friends.
They even threw in some extras to sweeten the deal.
Someone there said, “[The other patrons], were on dessert, so [the restaurant] brought them over bottles of Cristal and free desserts to get them to vacate the area for Cardi.”
The guests didn’t mind. The news outlet reports that “They happily obliged once they got the bottles of Cristal.”
Hip-Hop royalty, Cardi and Offset, only waiting for about 15 minutes for a space to be secured for them.
Reports further share that they dropped about $1000 on the dinner and an additional $1000 on the tip.
One person shared, “There was a line out the door when they arrived and left. [Cardi] was very gracious, and really nice. She was very friendly to everyone. Everyone loved it.”
Seems like no harm no foul by the extra special treatment. In the end, everyone walked away happy.
A Virginia Beach officer has avoided criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Pharrell’s cousin Donovon Lynch.
Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle announced a special grand jury declined to indict Solomon D. Simmons for Lynch’s death on Tuesday. The grand jury ruled the shooting of Pharrell’s cousin was justifiable self-defense.
“Our decision was based on careful consideration of the evidence, testimony, and the law, including, but not limited to, footage from over 100 hours of body cameras, surveillance videos, photographs, witnesses and forensic evidence,” the grand jury explained in its report. “We find there is no probable cause to believe that Officer Simmons unlawfully shot and killed Mr. Lynch as he acted in justifiable self-defense of himself and others.”
Lynch, a 25-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by Officer Simmons in March.
Simmons, who is also Black, fired multiple shots at Pharrell’s cousin while responding to shootings at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Another person was left dead and eight others were wounded in two unrelated incidents.
“There were numerous people in that parking lot when Officer Simmons saw Mr. Lynch starting to come up with the firearm,” Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle said. “So, it is not only just whether the weapon was pointed at Officer Simmons. It was also – are the people in the parking lot at risk?”
Lynch’s family called for a federal investigation into his death.
“This is not over,” Lynch’s father Wayne said after the grand jury’s ruling. “It’s just begun.”
In October, Pharrell pulled his Something in the Water Festival from Virginia Beach over the city’s handling of his cousin’s death. He criticized “the toxic energy that changed the narrative several times” about Lynch’s homicide in a letter to City Manager Patrick Duhaney.
It’s crazy to think how far the cannabis industry has come, from locking people up in jail for marijuana use to legalizing it in damn near every state in the country.
GUMBO Brands, is a new black-owned cannabis company who’s here to change the narrative completely.
GUMBO was created and founded by Bronx native Karim Butler, who got his start working with Dipset. The world-class cannabis cultivator is not only here to keep you lit, but leverage entrepreneurship and support racial justice outcomes and inclusion — especially with legalization having passed in New York.
GUMBO has seen organic support from all your favorite rappers, from 42 Dugg and Takeoff to Dave East and Lil Meech.
Introduced via a two-day, interactive pop-up experience during Rolling Loud in New York City, the name GUMBO hails from the fact that there’s a melting pot of high-quality items you can choose from when it comes to flower, merch, and everything in between.
From hustling in the streets to the music industry to now cannabis, Butler is someone who obtained success from putting the work in. In addition, he’s also a proud father of 4 who’s currently working on his first ever audiobook about motivation and self-worth.
AllHipHop: Can you describe GUMBO for those who don’t know?
Karim Butler: GUMBO is a black-owned cannabis brand, which I own. We’re expanding and extending our portfolio with merch and building everything. We’re showing people that not only are we the #1 and most consistent in the flower, but the brand itself reached another pinnacle as far as the culture and hip-hop. GUMBO is a pot full of love. It’s culture, it’s Hip Hop. It’s everything. It’s the youth. We’re transforming them. We’re getting them off this lean and opioids, giving them some good pot! We don’t want them to be leaned up, perked up, drinking fentanyl and poppin’ pills. We want to lean them towards health, we’re more towards the flower. We’re using it as a tool to save the community and the young black race.
AllHipHop: What was a young Karim Butler like coming out of the Bronx?
Karim Butler: Coming out of the South Bronx, migrated to Harlem, I always had that drive. I always had the entrepreneurial spirit in me. I’m the type of person that they’ll say I’ll sell water to a whale. I have the hustle spirit. Anything I did or I wanted to do as a child coming up: if I sold socks, I’d make sure I sell one million pairs of socks a day. I was the best at whatever I did. I was also co-partner with the alkaline company many years back. We presented alkaline water to many communities in the world.
Me coming up out the South Bronx, my grandparents were vendors. They started the 125th St. Association where people were able to come outside and sell merchandise everyday. I’ve always had that spirit in me of selling t-shirts and things of that nature. I’d go screenprint t-shirts and resell them. I’d go downtown and print a bunch of them, maybe 20 to 30 dozen, then come back and sell them for $10 apiece. I’ve always had that niche in me to make money and to show people how to legalize things, and do things in another manner where you don’t have to do things illegal.
AllHipHop: When did you get the nickname, Hustle Man?
Karim Butler: It was around 2000, 145th and Broadway. I was outside selling CDs, DVDs. Coogi’s, Prada, Fendi, whatever was hot, I would sell it. I’d go downtown to Canal Street, come back uptown. I’d sell people fake Coogi’s and Iceberg’s. I paid $50 for hats and sweaters, I’d turn around and sell it for $500 for the set, because the stores had them for $1000 for a sweater. Everybody knew they were knockoff, but guess what? They were getting them from me. They were getting them at a discounted rate and they loved it.
AllHipHop: Talk about the role you played in the formation of Dipset.
Karim Butler: Oh man, a major role. Cam’ron is a great friend of mine, so is Juelz and Jim. That’s an imperative role, we could be here for hours with that. Manage, market, promote. I did a lot of things with the Diplomats to raise their career at the time and the hype. At the time I was on 145th and Broadway, I was selling CDs at a rapid rate. That was the mixtape era. At the time Cam’ron, I and DJ Kay Slay did a mixtape called The Diplomats. That was the pinnacle for rap right there at that era, for The Diplomats. I played a very blunt instrument in the whole Diplomatic movement. Luca Brasi! I was in every song. Luca! Taliban. That was me. Luca, 145th and Broadway.
AllHipHop: How important was mixtape discovery?
Karim Butler: The mixtape discovery and impact, it got them a record label deal. We were selling more mixtapes than people were selling records at the time.
AllHipHop: Moving into the medicinal space, what’s the reality in launching your own cannabis company?
Karim Butler: The reality is you have a young black man from the South Bronx that hustled his whole life, busted his ass selling t-shirts, mixtapes, fake Iceberg’s and Coogi’s, that now owns an empire that’s legit and legal with GUMBO Brand. We grossed $250K the first pop-up we’ve ever had. It was a great success. It was at The Ainsworth downtown, 26th St. Takeoff, Lil Meech, Dave East, Bobby Shmurda, Jim Jones, 42 Dugg, a lot of people came out and supported the event. Not only that, it was such a success for me because I legitimized my company with my merchandise. Now you can get a GUMBO lighter, you can get a GUMBO hoodie or mask off the website.
Www.GumboBrands.com. It’s history.
That’s the reality of it all: your dreams can become reality. Anything that you think becomes true. I thought about something that would be lucrative like this, and I brought it into fruition. It’s here now. We’re building a brand, expanding our portfolio and keeping it organic. GUMBO is one of the best marijuana brands because we’re more in tune with the culture. I’ve lived the life of the streets. I come from these places so I see the impact it has on my community, the difference, the motivation and inspiration that I have for others. I can go into my DMs right now and read 50 different DMs about how people are saying how inspirational and motivational I am — and I’ve never even met these people. I feel better knowing I’m a black entrepreneur and a businessman that became a mogul for these people to realize that anything they want to do can become a reality.
AllHipHop: Talk about the New Balance x GUMBO collaboration.
Karim Butler: We had a New Balance collaboration, we grossed $250K with the merch pop-up. It was a two-day event at Ainsworth, it was amazing. It was way bigger than I could ever fathom to imagine. Not only was support given, but I saw people I’ve never met or known that were supporting me. They’re like “yo, this is crazy! I love the t-shirt, I love the mask.” It was a great experience and feeling for me to see people really enjoy it, other than the flower which is the merchandise. I got a real kick out of it to see people go crazy over the sneakers when they saw them. Dave East, Takeoff. If you pull up the video, you could see the reactions when people had when they saw the sneaker. Then I had a varsity jacket that dropped with it. It was tremendous support, it was amazing. It was a great turnout.
AllHipHop: How do you use your music expertise to now put it into the cannabis world?
Karim Butler: Everyone that I know from entertainers and famous people, we have these relationships. I make it conducive for everybody. Everybody loves to smoke. I did a collaboration with Dave East and called it Mafia GUMBO. This was before he did the EastCo GUMBO. That inspired him to do his strand, so now he has a strand with Cookies. It’s more each one each one. It’s more for building others and helping them with what they’re doing.
With the relationships with artists, everyone loves to smoke. Everyone loves GUMBO. GUMBO is the #1 weed right now. First you had the Haze, then the Zaza, the Exotics, now it’s GUMBO. I’m making it where they do GUMBO songs. We did a collab with Fabolous it’s called “Family GUMBO.” He has a song called “Going Dumbo for the GUMBO,” he has a video and everything. Those are the things I do with my artist friends. We do a lot of collabs and build each other. GUMBO is hot right now, we make the artists relevant as well. It’s GUMBO, we put it together. Make it good for the soul, make it good for everybody. For the culture.
AllHipHop: Is it named after gumbo, like the food?
Karim Butler: No, it was a mix up of a whole bunch of good diff things in one pot. That’s where the Gumbo came from.
AllHipHop: Would you ever go back to the music industry?
Karim Butler: No, because it’s fake. It’s fabricated. It’s all lies, it’s made up. The life they’re talking about, I’m living it. They’re talking about it, getting paid. That’s not fair to people like me. It’s fake. It’s animated, it’s fabricated. For me, I wasn’t a rapper. I was around Lil Wayne, I saw his success boom, when he started dealing with me. Cam’ron, Jim Jones, I’ve had people’s sucess within the industry. The things that you have to go through, I wouldn’t want to be a part of that. It’s just too much.
AllHipHop: What’re you most excited for next?
Karim Butler: The collabs that Marvin and I are doing. Everyday is a different venture.
Alexis Major: The future in terms of getting into the cultivation farming a space, getting into medical space to serve medical patients. We’re planning on launching GUMBO RX to serve medical patients the goodness of GUMBO, and more collaborations. We’re working on a collaboration with Vlone, looking at doing an Art Basel pop-up in Miami, and a whole bunch of things we can’t talk about yet. [laughs]
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let the people know?
Karim Butler: I love y’all, appreciate y’all, Without y’all, there’s no me. There’s no us.
Xzibit may be a legend in the rap game, but he plans on bringing that same energy and passion into the cannabis industry.
The Detroit native is best known for his hard-hitting rhymes, standout raspy voice, and undeniable flow, tackling the rap game before becoming the host of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.”
However, it was not long before he turned his entrepreneurial spirit into his own cannabis company called Napalm Brands.
Xzibit has teamed up with West Coast cannabis brand Wonderbrett to launch five new strains of Napalm Grenades: Peach OZ (hybrid), Pink Picasso (hybrid), Graphs of Wrath (hybrid), Pineapple OG (Indica), and Orange Sunset (Indica).
“I’ve known Brett for quite some time. I knew him before he was Wonderbrett. It was really dope to be able to see how we’ve come into cannabis in different places, but somehow we’re able to collaborate down the line,” Xzibit told AllHipHop.com. “We have a lot of respect for each other, so we came and did our first grenade with Wonderbrett. Our first one we ever put out was with Wonderbrett. This is our second collaboration. It’s just a testament that we doing good stuff.”
These are 7 grams of premium indoor Wonderbrett flower infused with one gram of live resin diamonds. Their goal is to redefine the cannabis industry, one category at a time.
“We picked them out together, and we got a nice blend of what we wanted. We wanted some hybrid, some indicas, a nice, heavy stone. It smokes like a cigar, and it’s really heavy. It’s dope,” Xzibit said.
Wonderbrett Co-Founder Brett Feldman can be seen by X’s side in the promo video. Take a look:
