Kanye West is reportedly expanding his empire, opening a prep school in Simi Valley, California. The focus is said to be creating a high school prep team that can compete with heavy hitters Sierra Canyon Trailblazers.
Kanye’s association with Adidas is well established and the brand will sponsor the DONDA Academy team, set to be led by Jalen Hooks. The 6’7” junior from Indiana has offers from Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, and more.
“It’s just one of those things you can’t pass up,” Hooks said to the Indianapolis Star. “It was more of a family decision, too. All of us just felt like it was a chance to reach my full potential and grow and get ready for the college level.”
Kanye West's Donda Academy drawing top talent to California. 🏀
Hooks will be joined at DONDA academy by five-star junior Robert Dillingham of North Carolina with Jahki Howard from Georgia and Zion Cruz of New Jersey named as possible recruits.
Currently, the team has no head coach but Yeezy is said to be personally reaching out to prospective players.
Referring to Kanye, one player said to Yahoo Sports, “It’s crazy that he reached out but he’s building a good team with players that I want to play with and it’s out in LA in a good market so it’s something me and my family have to think about.”
Rumors are flying about a possible Sierra Canyon and Donda Academy game going down at the Staples Centre in February. The game could see the likes of LeBron James’ son, Bronny and Amari Baliey take on team DONDA.
Kanye is also merging his new enterprise with an existing one, debuting a new YZY basketball sneaker.
In a widely shared clip Chappelle says of the backlash DaBaby received, “A lot of the LGBTQ community doesn’t know about DaBaby’s history. He once shot a n-gga and killed him in Walmart,” he told the audience, referring to the 2018 incident where DaBaby shot and killed a man in a North Carolina Walmart. It was ruled self-defense and DaBaby was cleared.
“Oh this is true, Google it,” he said. “Nothing bad happened to his career. Do you see where I’m going with this? In our country, you can shoot and kill a n-gga, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings.”
Many have come out to respond to the comedian and one such commenter was the original internet troll, 50 Cent. Impressed by Chappelle’s take on the situation Fiddy took to his Instagram to share a clip from the show and his thoughts:
“Dave Chappelle is a funny mother f##### that was flawless. Hip hop loves things that are damaged, that’s the beauty of the culture. @dababy is on a new path music has changed everything. LOL.”
DaBaby responded and denied all the claims saying someone must have faked the messages and that it doesn’t even sound like him. “I don’t want no trouble bout no n#### wife. I wouldn’t slide in a single woman DMs talking like that. That’s too loose.
Halloween is about to get scarier, as costume companies are hocking a domestic terrorist outfit for October 31st.
For a small fee, anyone can dress up as “Karen” for the holiday and further traumatize Black and Brown people while they are trick or treating.
It won’t be the ghost and goblins that will scare you out of your candy corn.
This year, by far, the most terrifying costume is made up of a blonde bouffant wig and sunglasses ala a suburban white woman who uses her abusive euro-feminine wilds to lock people of color up.
It is manufactured by the American fancy dress company, Spirit.
On Twitter, one woman captioned, “and the scariest costume goes to…”
Some have taken offense to the term and costume, questioning why people would want to dress up like the derogatory term to label white women.
In the comments, one person shared, “And just like that, the word ‘Karen’ has lost all contextual weight and importance. It’s just now a silly quip and I don’t like how they’re profiting from the very real issue of racism.”
“This is exactly why we need to stop making jokes out of racism. The Karen thing was never funny to begin with,” another said.
The term “Karen” can be found in various online dictionaries as an “obnoxious, angry, entitled and often racist middle-aged white woman” who stereotypically wears “blonde bob, asking to speak to managers and often an anti-vaxxer.”
Some white women with the name Karen, just want their names back. Check out the many women born with the name “Karen that have gone to the media to ask the public to simply stop calling her.
What do you think?
Do you think the “Karen” phenom is starting to go overboard?
J. Cole will perform at an invite-only concert as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series.
The exclusive event is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on October 23. The small, intimate performance will happen at a secret venue, which SiriusXM describes as “iconic.”
“From some of our earliest touring dates to our Dollar & A Dream shows, Cole built the core of his fan base in smaller more intimate venues and to be able to do that in L.A., for SiriusXM, and in front of some of his biggest fans is something that we are really excited about,” Dreamville president Ibrahim Hamad said in a statement.
Eligible SiriusXM subscribers have a chance to win tickets and a trip to L.A. to see the special J. Cole concert. One winner will receive a round-trip for two to Los Angeles, transportation, a two-night hotel stay and two tickets to see J. Cole.
Fans unable to attend will be able to hear J. Cole’s performance on SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation. His set will premiere on October 26 at 6 p.m. Eastern with several rebroadcasts planned for that week.
J. Cole will perform at the Small Stage Series gig just a few days after headlining a concert at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The Dreamville co-founder is currently in the midst of his Off-Season Tour, which features 21 Savage as a supporting act.
Enter to win tickets to J. Cole’s Small Stage Series event here.
Kanye West can add a diamond certification to his list of achievements.
The G.O.O.D. Music founder’s 2007 single “Stronger” has been certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. It is the first diamond-selling release of Kanye West’s career.
Def Jam Recordings announced the certification on Monday, congratulating Kanye West on his latest honor in a Twitter post.
“Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’ is now @RIAA certified DIAMOND!” the label wrote. “Congratulations to Yeezy and the entire team.”
Diamond certification is given to releases with 10 million or more units sold in the United States. Fewer than 70 singles have done so since the RIAA expanded its gold and platinum program to include the diamond award in 1999.
Multiple Eminem singles, Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” and Drake’s “God’s Plan” are among the Hip Hop songs that have been certified diamond by the RIAA. Eminem, 2Pac, Lauryn Hill, Outkast, the Beastie Boys, Nelly, The Notorious B.I.G. and MC Hammer have all earned the certification for albums.
Kanye West’s “Stronger” dropped in 2007 as a single for his third studio album, Graduation. The track samples Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”
“Stronger” won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2008. It spent 27 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 1 in September 2007.
NLE Choppa has spoken out against COVID-19 vaccinations in a show of support for NBA star Kyrie Irving.
In a string of Twitter posts, NLE Choppa criticized vaccine mandates on Wednesday. The 18-year-old rapper began by tweeting “Stand on it king @KyrieIrving” before elaborating on his stance.
“F### all jobs, schools, and sport teams who are forcing people to take vaccines,” he wrote. “When will we realize we are the need, without us there’s no them. I don’t mind people taking the vaccine but for the people who refuses to take it how is it right for them to be jobless ‼️”
F### all jobs, schools, and sport teams who are forcing people to take vaccines. When will we realize we are the need without us there’s no them. I don’t mind people taking the vaccine but for the people who refuses to take it how is it right for them to be jobless ‼️
NLE Choppa said he had no issue with anyone taking the COVID-19 vaccine, but he made it clear he was an anti-vaxxer. In a subsequent tweet, he declared he’d stop making music if he had to get the vaccine.
“I’ll be damn if I had to take a vaccine to make music on god y’all wouldn’t hear another song from me,” he tweeted.
I’ll be damn if I had to take a vaccine to make music on god y’all wouldn’t hear another song from me
NLE Choppa’s backing of Kyrie Irving comes at a time when it’s unclear if the Brooklyn Nets guard will play in the 2021-2022 NBA season. The NBA isn’t forcing its players to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but mandates in some cities will prevent unvaccinated players from entering their home arenas.
New York City’s COVID-19 guidelines have essentially made vaccination a requirement for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks. Each team’s roster must have at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to play in home games or practice at their team facilities.
The NBA has a vaccination rate of 95 percent, yet unvaccinated players have become a logistics and PR nightmare for the league. Although Kyrie Irving hasn’t publicly revealed his vaccination status, he remains away from his team due to the COVID-19 policy in New York.
Oscar Award-winning rapper Common has recently hooked up some Stateville Correctional Center inmates with a new recording studio.
The “Glory” chart-topper’s goal is to provide those doing time with a new skill set that can be used on the outside, in areas that are of interest to them.
According to CBS2 the state-of-the-art recording studio has mixing boards, musical instruments, microphones, and sound panels for the inmates to rock out on.
“The gentlemen who are incarcerated deserve access to better things in life so that’s why I fight for my city,” Common shared. “And that’s why my heart is always with Chicago.”
“Being from Chicago is one of the greatest gifts and assets to me in my career and my life,” the Windy City native continued.
Common, whose real name is Rashid Lynn, was inspired to donate the equipment (and fund a 12-week-course on how to operate a studio through his nonprofit Imagine Justice), after speaking to a friend of the family named Ari Williams.
It was the attorney’s brainchild to help some of the men that she has worked with in the past.
She said, “I know music brings us all together. I want them to be OK. I want them to do something they’ve love to do. And I know many of them are rappers. They love to rap and they love to sing.”
“This brings so much hope for them and inspiration for them. Them to know people actually care about them, that can change them as well,” Williams said.
But this not just going to benefit them while they are incarcerated or when they get out. It will also help them get out sooner.
Alyssa Williams, who works for the Department of Corrections, says, “Every day they’re in this program they’ll earn a day credit off of their sentence, as long as the statute allows for that.”
Pharrell is pulling his Something in the Water Festival from Virginia Beach in response to the city’s handling of his cousin’s death.
Last week, Virginia Beach officials found out Pharrell wasn’t going to bring the festival back to his hometown in 2022. After city leaders begged him to reconsider, the Neptunes producer explained his decision in a letter to City Manager Patrick Duhaney.
“When we did the festival, it was to ease racial tension, to unify the region, bring about economic development opportunities and broaden the horizons of the local business community,” Pharrell wrote. “We achieved those things! I wish the same energy I’ve felt from Virginia Beach leadership upon losing the festival would have been similarly channeled following the loss of my relative’s life.”
Pharrell’s cousin Donovan Lynch was shot and killed by a Virginia Beach police officer in March. Lynch’s death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner, but no criminal charges have been filed against the officer.
In Pharrell’s letter, he expressed frustration over the city’s response to his cousin’s death. He accused Virginia Beach leadership of having “toxic energy.”
“I love my city, but for far too long it has been run by and with toxic energy,” he wrote. “The toxic energy that changed the narrative several times around the homicide of my cousin, Donovan Lynch, a citizen of Virginia, is the same toxic energy that changed the narrative around the mass murder and senseless loss of life at Building Number 2.”
According to Virginia Beach, the Something in the Water Festival had a total economic impact of $24.11 million. Pharrell hasn’t decided if the event will return at all, but it will never come back to his hometown unless the city rectifies its problems.
“I sang about a room without a roof, but I am tired of kindly and politely being shown the door,” Pharrell wrote. “Until the gatekeepers and the powers-that-be consider the citizens and the consumer base, and no longer view the idea of human rights for all as a controversial idea… I don’t have any problems with the city, but I realize the city hasn’t valued my proposed solutions, either.”
Pharrell hosted the inaugural – and so far, only – Something in the Water Festival in 2019. Planned events in 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nowadays in the music industry, it’s all about standing out. And what better way to stand out then with a fire grill? Insert Zero Below Grillz the California-based company that is quickly establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with in the jewelry and grillz world.
Coming into fruition four years ago, their high-quality mouth candy has been seen on everyone from Jesse Williams and Duane Henry to Dylan Sprayberry and Isaiah Rashad. It was even worn on the small screen by the stars of the hit TV series Blindspotting: Rafael Casal, Jasmine Cephas-Jones and Jaylen Barron.
Rapper and entrepreneur Jayellz is the brainchild behind Zero Below Grillz and he built the company from just $800 in his savings account.
In describing himself, Jayellz states, “ I describe myself more as an entrepreneur, hustler, and great musician, without tooting my horn too much.”
Jayellz is a true testimony of someone who built something from the ground up, it was after he lost his job working inside a DHL warehouse when he decided to go for it — injecting nothing short of hard work, dedication, and passion into his endeavors.
To date, Jayellz was the first person from the Inland Empire to do jewelry and make music, serving over 1000 customers to date.
And if there’s one thing the company stands on, it’s “loving the culture.”
AllHipHop: What was a young Jayellz like growing up in Ontario?
Jayellz: I was bad, I was really bad. I got into a lot of trouble when I was a kid, but all that trouble that I got into taught me about how to maneuver through life. I’ve been selling a whole bunch of stuff since I was 10, 11, 12 years old. That started with candy bars to shoes, whatever I could find. I worked at a shoe store where I learned how to talk to people and learned different human natures.
AllHipHop: Was music always in the picture?
Jayellz: Yes 100%, my older brother inspired me to really get in the game. He was outside with his homeboys smoking when he wasn’t supposed to. They were all outside freestyling and I was listening through the door. It sparked my interest and that’s been forever, at least 10 to 12 years.
AllHipHop: Who were you listening to that made you want to do music?
Jayellz: The College Dropout by Kanye West, Juelz Santana. Damn, Mos Def, Erykah Badu. I was banging on their mixtapes and albums, it inspired me to do my own s###. When I see y’all, when I get up there, I’ma pay y’all back for that.
AllHipHop: When did you first get the idea for Zero Below Grillz?
Jayellz: I was working at a warehouse around that time. I went out of state, met some people, and pretty much paid for their information. I ended up coming back home and getting fired, I only had $800 to my name. It was that fight or flight type s###. What are you gonna do? When I came back home before I had everything established with Zero Below — my connections, learning how to make something and whatnot — I was on Instagram going crazy. “As soon as we get back home, we going up. We’re really about to kill the game!” Even before I had anything set in stone.
I had a foot into it but then I came back and really got into it. It was more seeing it before it was happening. When I brought it back to Cali, we went all the way in with it 100%. I said “I’m not about to go back to what I was doing before or get into more trouble, I gotta figure something out.” I learned everything I knew in the past about selling anything or talking to people, and applied it to the grillz and the game. I treated it like my child. I don’t do anything wild with the business, everything is straightforward. If you do good business, you’ll get good results. You’ll get good feedback and continuous customers.
AllHipHop: How did you know you could create a lane with Zero Below Grillz?
Jayellz: I’ve been in hip-hop culture forever, grillz ain’t nothing new. It was a East Coast Southern thing, they popularized it, then Texas did and down South. I have people from the Midwest and people from the South also, so that has always been [in my life]. Back to the crib to where my parents are from, my family had gold. When I acquired it, I said “I’m bringing it back to Cali because Cali always has a way of putting its own twist on it.” I saw that lack of it, but people still liked it. On the West Coast. it wasn’t really predominant. Except in the Bay Area, in the Bay Area everybody wears grillz. The girls, they be having 20-piece solid gold grillz. Everybody wears them. I brought it back to Cali and knew it had to work.
AllHipHop: What sets your grillz apart from others?
Jayellz: There’s no special gold or diamond. Of course, there’s higher quality gold and higher quality diamonds that everybody can acquire. What makes us so special is that we pay very close attention to detail when we’re making these things. You can have something that’s rushed and looks absolutely not it, or you can shop with us. We’re not going to make you wait too long, we’ll give exactly what you need. It’ll be perfect. We also design stuff. If big artists come to me like “this is my budget, I want to do X,Y, Z for my album cover. Can you design something?” They’ll put it in our hands. Not only do we make the jewelry, we know what’ll look cool too. We’re fly. It’s me and about six of my other people that I’ve taught the game and put on, they’re all under the umbrella of Zero Below. We’re all young and cool.
AllHipHop: How does it feel to be the first person from the Inland Empire to do jewelry and make music?
Jayellz: It’s tight. People from the IE… IE’s been a little brother for a little while. We have a lot of people who have been coming out of the Inland Empire, whether it’s on a smaller platform or the background area, or the bigger cast. Hitboy just dropped an album with Nas, and he’s from where I’m from. We were just at the Big Sean, Lil Durk, and Hitboy video shoot.
AllHipHop: How was that?
Jayellz: It was amazing, you’ll see me in there. That one’s good.
AllHipHop: Who were the first artists to first support the brand?
Jayellz: We’ve worked with Lucky Daye, Jesse Williams, and Duane Henry. It was more artists coming up at the time like the Pure Luxury and Tobi Lou. We did more people that were on TV also. Jaylen Barron was a very early supporter too. We’ve done a lot of people, the list goes on.
AllHipHop: How much of a role does TikTok play in the brand?
Jayellz: It plays a major role. Initially when we’d started it, we were completely new to TikTok. We were one of the first people to make a grill, put it on TikTok, and it started getting millions of views. Two million views, crazy numbers like that. It’s very effective, I stand behind it. TikTok is the wave. Me personally, I probably won’t be on there doing dances but I’ll definitely be uploading content. It’s a quick, easy way to interact with people. It’s definitely played a big part in new customers, out-of-state customers, and international sales.
AllHipHop: Talk about your love for the culture. How did your hard work pay off to build the Zero Below Grillz brand into what it is today?
Jayellz: As far as the culture, I was making music before I was making jewelry. I’m watching MTV, I’m on YouTube looking at all the Swishahouse. I’m looking at Paul Wall, Lil Keke, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, all of Swishahouse. Man, I gotta get my car candy painted. I gotta put spokes that poke out so I could really swang. I was really intrigued by that whole culture, the style and colors, then the flashiness of it. It was a flashiness, but at the same time it was a subtleness.
How I wear my jewelry, I do that in the same way. It’s on me, but that’s not the first thing I’m going to present myself with. That’d always intrigue me, just looking at that culture. I always pay respects to it, it’s nothing new. It’s been jewelers before me who really paved the way for us to even do this right now. I pay respects to them, you know how that goes. It’s been an honor to be able to produce these things and the culture accepts us. Why people shop with us and continue to shop with us is because we are them. When they come and talk, I’m talking to them like how I talk to my homeboys. Of course in a business aspect, but I’m talking to you as a friend. I understand and you can keep it a buck with me at all times.
AllHipHop: What are you working on music-wise? I know you took a break in the last few years.
Jayellz: It was a break in a sense of consistency. I was still writing music, but I wasn’t really putting too much out. Prior to the jewelry, I was throwing local shows for people under Bread N Butta, including myself. We’d be doing these music shows every month or month and a half. As far as the music, I just dropped a project called Telephone Man, it’s on all platforms. That’s in rotation right now, we’ve been doing videos for that.
I’m working on something new. I took a break for those couple of years to solidify Zero Below Grillz so that I could have the funding under me to do what I want to do. The majority of the time with independent artists, you want to consistently put stuff out but it gets hard when you don’t have the funding to do it. I took that approach, so now I have a little bit of dirt under my feet and I’m about to start kicking people in the head again.
AllHipHop: You performed with everyone from Curren$y to Nipsey Hussle, what was that whole experience like?
Jayellz: All active, it was dope. The big stage is of course different from the smaller ones. It was all unreal. I love being up there, I can’t wait to get back to performing on stages like that. It’s unreal when you’re good at something, then people respond to it more than what you expected them to. It makes you feel like “alright okay, I’m really right.” Even though you already knew you’re nice with it. Those experiences are crazy, very blurry but very present at the same time. I absolutely love performing, I can’t wait to be doing it again. They’re all cool people too.
AllHipHop: Any goals with the music?
Jayellz: Yeah, for sure. Probably at least 7 to 10 hit singles, then y’all can leave me alone so I can live my life and do my businesses. I’ma do a couple projects that are timeless, then I’ma call it a day. We’ll put that money into doing something else. I’m always going to be doing music in the background, if that’s writing for someone else or managing someone and bringing them up. I’m going to run the game for 5 to 10 years, then let y’all have it. Let that be that.
AllHipHop: What’re you most excited for this year?
Jayellz: I don’t know, it’s been a weird year hasn’t it? I’m excited to take stuff day by day. We pray for this stuff, we manifest it. When stuff happens we’re appreciative of it, but it’s another day in the life. I’m excited to continue what I’ve been doing.
While you were upset that you couldn’t DM your shorty on The ‘Gram, guess which multi-billionaire tech tycoon dropped a spot on the richest CEOs in the World List to number 5?
If you guessed the Facebook kid, you would be correct.
Exactly how much money do you think Mark Zuckerberg lost during this week’s outage? Word on the street says that he lost a high 10-digits when Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp went down on Monday, October 4.
According to Bloomberg.com, the genius millennial personally lost between $6 and $7 billion during the blackout. The corporation’s stock plummeted leaving his net worth dwindling down to a “measly” $121.6 billion.
Now, he is behind Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who is currently valued at $124 billion (who also is the lowest on the Forbes 400 Top Richest list in 30 years because of his recent divorce). Above both Mark ad Bill are Bernard Arnault $153.3 billion, Jeff Bezos $185.7 billion, and Elon Musk, who sits on the top with $210.6 billion.
This also comes as a Facebook whistleblower brings more bad news to The Zuckster’s door. Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who worked on civic integrity issues at the company, shared with Congress all the ways that Facebook/ Instagram knew the dangerous effects they have on children — teen girls in particular — and did nothing.
She said, “I am here today because I believe that Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy,” she began her remarks before the federal body. “The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won’t solve this crisis without your help.”
“When we realized tobacco companies were hiding the harms it caused, the government took action. When we figured out cars were safer with seat belts, the government took action. And today, the government is taking action against companies that hid evidence on opioids. I implore you to do the same here,” she continued.
This did not sit well with many in the legislature.
Mark Zuckerberg sits on his sailboat while kids are harmed by his product and Facebook profits. ⁰ I think enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/O3Cvj2HnOX
Zuckerberg, who has to not only feel that ding in his pocket but in his heart, said, that her testimony created a “false picture of the company.”
He added in a written statement, “We’re committed to doing the best work we can, but at some level, the right body to assess tradeoffs between social equities is our democratically elected Congress.”
For many people, music is just a fun hobby. They’ll listen to motivational songs while running on a treadmill, pump up soothing country music while traveling across the country, and dance to passionate hip hop at a nightclub. There are only a select few individuals out there who view music as a beautiful way to express themselves. For them, music opens up a portal to an entirely new universe. It is their safe space and heaven on earth. One such person weaving magical symphonies with his pen is music composer, songwriter, and producer Kitt Wakeley.
On July 3rd, 1979, Wakeley was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but grew up in Holdenville, Oklahoma. By the time he turned 8, he was adopted by two angelic souls Jack and Linda Wakeley. From an early age, Wakeley found solace in music. It provided him a medium to channel his deepest thoughts and find out what he truly wanted from his life. Wakeley started with trumpet but later transitioned to keyboards as he grew older.
Throughout his academic journey at high school, Wakeley played in several bands and further developed his interest in a wide range of music genres. After finishing high school, he was offered several music scholarships at prestigious music schools. Instead of enrolling in music school, Wakeley decided to attend college at East Central University, obtaining a bachelor’s in Pre-Law and Sociology. Later on, he also enrolled in the University of Oklahoma and earned a Master’s in Public Administration. Though Wakeley had adopted a starkly different academic path, his heart was still in music. During college, he honed his skills in writing, producing, and recording music. His most notable musical venture was Mydion, a progressive rock band in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In 1998, Wakeley entered the professional business world and started Medicorp with his partner John P. Jiles. His company specialized in Medicare Billing, Consulting, and Cost Reporting services. Medicorp later transformed into an umbrella company, Valir Health, which has operated more than 40 business ventures. The ventures include nursing facilities, home health, hospice, durable medical equipment, urgent care, outpatient physical clinics, rehabilitation facilities, drug abuse correction centers, and real estate.
A Music Maestro in the MakingAs his entrepreneurial ventures began to prosper, Wakeley had the opportunity to step away and finally focus on his passion full time. He released his first solo album under the pseudo-name of AudioKaoz, called “Cinematic Chaos.” His debut work was a hybrid of rock and Electronic Dance Music and cemented the spirit of his subsequent albums. This project granted Wakeley the honor to become a member of the National Academy of Recordings and Sciences (NARAS) and Grammy Voter.
After establishing his credibility in the music industry, Wakeley released his second album, called “Midnight in Macedonia. This time, he was confident to use his real name. His second album was even a bigger hit than his previous one and marked his entry into the Orchestral Rock genre, a hybrid of orchestra, piano, rock, and EDM. Recorded in 2015 in the dreamy landscapes of Macedonia, this ground-breaking project included several notable musicians, including Kenny Aronoff, Daniel Uribe, Tre Nagella, and Kevin Lively.
Wakeley’s masterpiece became part of the first round of Grammy ballots in four different categories. The nominations included “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album,” “Best Arrangement Instrumental Acapella” Best Instrumental Composition,” and “Best Rock Performance.”Wakeley’s third solo studio release was “Symphony of Sinners and Saints.” This project was carried out at the esteemed Abbey Road Studios, London, and collaborated with the Royal Philharmonic and London Voices.
Cliff Masterson was the conductor for the philharmonic during the recording. The album also featured famous guitarists, including Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, Neil Taylor, Daniel Uribe, and Paige Harwell. Rounding out the lineup was Ryan Miller on bass guitar and Brent Berry on drums. Once again, Tre Nagella’s talent was used in the co-production and mixing of the project while Kevin Lively mastered the album.
Wakeley’s musical magic continues to inspire aspiring musicians worldwide. His journey tells them that there is no shortcut to success. If they want to make a name for themselves in the music industry, they must work hard and diversify their portfolio.
R. Kelly could spend his remaining days behind bars. A federal jury in New York convicted the “Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)” performer of racketeering, bribery, sexual exploitation of a child, forced labor, and sex trafficking.
The singer/songwriter born Robert Sylvester Kelly faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison. Kelly was also charged with federal crimes in Illinois as well as state crimes in Illinois and Minnesota.
The Domenick Nati Show caught up with “All Gold Everything” rapper Trinidad James for an interview. That discussion included James responding to a question about R. Kelly possibly being sent to prison for the rest of his life.
“With those types of situations, the details are always left up to the media – the actual real details,” answered James. “[R. Kelly’s] still denying it, but then the court, and obviously everyone on social media, is obviously saying that he’s wrong.”
The co-host of the Full Size Run digital show continued, “When you got one man versus the world – I’ve been in that position before – it’s almost humanly impossible to prove your point.”
Prosecutors & Filmmakers Laid Out A Case Against R. Kelly
R. Kelly was found guilty of being the leader of a criminal enterprise that took part in the coercion and interstate transportation of women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity. Over 40 government witnesses testified against Kelly, including more than 10 victims.
Besides testimony, the prosecution also presented text messages, video and audio recordings, photographs, phone and travel records, and DNA evidence. R. Kelly was convicted of all counts by the federal jury in Brooklyn following the six-week trial.
Many of the decades-old sexual misconduct accusations against R. Kelly were also documented in Lifetime’s six-part Surviving R. Kelly docuseries. The Peabody Award-winning program exposed the wider public to R. Kelly’s history of alleged sexual abuse dating back to his illegal marriage in 1994 to a then-15-year-old Aaliyah when Kelly was 27 years old.
Chuck D, Syleena Johnson & Akon Also Shared Their Thoughts On R. Kelly’s Conviction
In July 2019, R. Kelly was arrested on federal child pornography and obstruction charges. Two of Kelly’s former employees, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, were also indicted in that case. The government claims R. Kelly engaged in sex acts with multiple victims while they were all under the age of 18 and created numerous explicit videos with those minors in the late 1990s.
Producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison. R. Kelly is presumed innocent until a jury of his peers finds him guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Entertainer/entrepreneurWilliam“Ray J” Norwood is dealing with a serious health situation at the moment. Reports began circulating on Tuesday claiming Ray Jwas in a Miami medical facility, and the Love & Hip Hop cast member confirmed his hospitalization on Instagram.
Hollywood Unlocked broke the news that Ray J was battling pneumonia. According to the celebrity blog, the “Sexy Can I” singer did not have anyone with him during his time in the hospital.
“I been in here all by myself for a week,” Ray J is quoted saying. “No family members came to see me not even my wife.”
Ray J married fellow Love & Hip Hop alum Princess Love in 2016. They had two children together before divorce papers were filed twice in 2020.
Not long after Hollywood Unlocked posted about his pneumonia diagnosis on Instagram, Ray J left two comments on the outlet’s IG page. Apparently, his loved ones have had access to him since being admitted to the hospital.
“God is good 👍🏼- Family with me – just can’t be [in] here too much sickness,” wrote Ray J. He added, “I can’t have visitors because they isolated [their] room – been on my with my family [every day] all day.”
COVID-19 protocols seemingly prevented Ray J’s family members from being in the hospital room with him. Ray J’s estranged wife Princess Love nor his older sister Brandy have commented on his condition, as of press time.
It appears the #MuteRKelly campaign is not over. After Robert “R.” Kelly was convicted of sex trafficking in federal court, Google-owned YouTube removed two channels connected to the Grammy-winning singer.
According to Bloomberg, YouTube suspended RKellyTV and RKellyVevo. However, R. Kelly’s music catalog is still available for streaming on YouTube Music.
When a YouTube user attempts to watch RKellyTV content, a message reads, “This account has been terminated for a violation of YouTube’s Terms of Service.”
“Ultimately we are taking this action to protect our users similar to other platforms,” read part of a memo written by Nicole Alston, YouTube’s Vice-President of legal.
In addition, a YouTube spokesperson acknowledged, “We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to R. Kelly in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines.”
The #MuteRKelly movement attempted to pressure record companies and streaming services to stop supporting R. Kelly because of decades-long sexual misconduct accusations.
2019’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary catapulted the sexual abuse conversation surrounding Kelly into the mainstream which led to numerous law enforcement investigations.
Federal Jury Convicts R. Kelly Of Sex-Related Crimes
On September 27, a Brooklyn jury found R. Kelly guilty of racketeering, bribery, sexual exploitation of a child, forced labor, and sex trafficking. The self-described Pied Piper of R&B is facing a minimum of 10 years in federal prison.
“Today’s guilty verdict forever brands R. Kelly as a predator, who used his fame and fortune to prey on the young, the vulnerable, and the voiceless for his own sexual gratification,” stated Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Kasulis continued, “A predator who used his inner circle to ensnare underage teenage girls, and young women and men, for decades, in a sordid web of sex abuse, exploitation, and degradation.”
The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois also obtained an indictment against R. Kelly for federal child pornography and obstruction charges. Additionally, the 54-year-old Chicago native was charged with state crimes in Illinois and Minnesota.
While R. Kelly maintains his innocence in each of those cases, there are rumors suggesting he is considering working with federal prosecutors in order to secure a reduced sentence. WGCI-FM claims Kelly could reveal other celebrities that allegedly engaged in sex acts with minors.
Drake and Chris Brown are being hauled into court by a singer and producer who are claiming the pair stole their song!
The song in question is “No Guidance,” Breezy’s 2019 hit which featured Drake. The lawsuit was filed by singer Brandon Cooper and producer Timothy Valentine, who go by the stage names Mr. Cooper and Drum’n Skillz respectively. They claim the superstar artists ripped off their work on a track they made titled “I Love Your Dress.”
Cooper and Valentine point to the sequence of lyrics “She got it; she got it,” repeated 16 times on their song while “No Guidance” has the lyrics “You got it, girl; you got it” repeated at least 11 times.
The singer and producer claim that even an untrained ear can hear the similarities between the two tracks. They further accuse Drake and Chris Brown of extreme pettiness, using the lyric “flew the coop,” to taunt Cooper. They say the line is a play on his nickname, “Coop.”
We’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out. Have a listen to the tracks below in full.
The 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards aired on Tuesday, October 5 from Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Missouri-bred rapper Cornell “Nelly” Haynes Jr. was the recipient of the “I Am Hip Hop” Award at the ceremony.
“I am honored to receive this award and humbled to be in such great company of past artists who have received this award,” said Nelly prior to the show.
He continued, “I have been blessed to work with some incredible people in my career, making 22 years go by in the blink of an eye. This award isn’t just about Nelly; it is about my fans, BET, and the people that continue to support me and allow me to do what I love to do.”
Nelly also performed at this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards which were filmed on October 1. The 46-year-old rhymer ran through a medley of his biggest hits like “Hot in Herre,” “Dilemma,” and “Country Grammar.” Plus, Jermaine Dupri, Paul Wall, and City Spud joined Nelly on stage.
Beginning with his 2000 debut studio LP Country Grammar, Nelly earned three No. 1 albums and six Top 10 albums. The St. Lunatics leader has four No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 chart as well.
Billboard magazine ranked Nelly as the #3 Top Artist of the 2000s decade. According to the RIAA, Nelly sold 22 million album units throughout his career with Country Grammar being certified Diamond (10 million units).
Two Hip Hop queens were the big winners at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards. New York City’s Cardi B and Houston’s Megan Thee Stallion won the most trophies.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion both won three awards. Their global megasmash “WAP” was named Song Of The Year, Best Hip Hop Video, and Best Collaboration.
“Thank you so much BET! Shouts out to @theestallion, we had a great year and it’s gonna be even better next year!” tweeted Cardi B on Tuesday night. Megan The Stallion quote-tweeted Cardi and added, “Thank you BET and thank you for having me 💙💙💙 can’t wait to do it again 😛.”
Tyler, The Creator took home two wins for Hip Hop Album Of The Year (Call Me If You Get Lost) and Best Live Performer. He was also presented the special “Rock The Bells Cultural Influence Award” by LL Cool J.
Hip Hop icon Jay-Z was a double winner. The Roc Nation boss won Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse and Impact Track for his Nipsey Hussle collaboration “What It Feels Like.” Roc Nation recording artist J. Cole was crowned Lyricist Of The Year.
Lil Baby won Hip Hop Artist Of The Year, Lil Baby & Lil Durk won Best Duo/Group, Yung Bleu won Best New Hip Hop Artist, Saweetie won Hustler of the Year, and Missy Elliott won Video Director Of The Year.
BET bestowed “Hot in Herre” hitmaker Nelly with the I Am Hip-Hop Award. Nelly also performed a medley of his biggest hits along with So So Def founder Jermaine Dupri, Texas rapper Paul Wall, and St. Lunatics member City Spud.
Young Thug, Gunna, Bia, Lil Jon, Baby Keem, Latto, Tobe Nwigwe, and Isaiah Rashad were among the performers for the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards. 85 South podcasters Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly, and Chico Bean served as hosts.
During a recent interview on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, the Philly rapper revealed to hosts Gillie Da King and Wallo where his “zero tolerance” approach comes from.
“That s*** is fentanyl. If you take percs right now, you an a*******. You can die off of just trying to get high, kill half your brain cells in your mind just by trying to get high. Nine times out of 10, when you get a Percocet off the street, it’s probably gonna be a hit-up Perc. They got tests on the Instagram. We ain’t trying to do all that to get high, man.”
Meek attributed his decision in part to the surge in Fentanyl use, the deadly opioid linked to the death of celebrities including Mac Miller, Lil Peep, and most recently, Michael K. Williams. Speaking of his struggles with addiction the “Dreams & Nightmares” rapper continued.
“I ain’t no get-high n****. I did percs before in my life, got addicted and I been on percs before fentanyl came out, but still it was, like, an always-open door. If I wanted to do it, I’d just do it on my own. Now that s*** is a zero tolerance,” he said. “I don’t give a f*** about getting high, I’m not gonna risk my life to get high. You can die. You can have a bad Perc f*** your head up.”
Meek explained that now “The most I’ma do is smoke some weed and sip some liquor,” and that “I’m half-way slow when I get on the weed, but I rap good.”
“It unlocked the real art side of me, really new flows, new melodies, being more vulnerable, more personal,” he said. “I think the people going to be able to identify when they hear this album. I got a lot of energy but I’m not screaming on a lot of records. You can hear me more clear because I’m expressing myself.”
Watch the official “Expensive Pain” video and listen to the project below.
Singer-songwriter Syleena Johnson shared her thoughts on R. Kelly recently, suggesting that he shouldn’t be in jail. She voiced the controversial opinion on a recent appearance of “Cocktails With Queens” which drew some backlash on Twitter.
The show’s hosts Claudia Jordan, LisaRaye McCoy, Vivica A. Fox, and Syleena Johnson spoke on recent reports that R. Kelly was trying to bargain with prosecutors for a reduced sentence by giving up the names of other celebrities who have preyed on children.
Guest Syleena Johnson shared her thoughts on the disgraced singer, “I’m not gonna cry. I think he has really been misjudged here. I don’t think he needs to be in jail. I think he needs to be in an insane asylum. Real talk.”
“Don’t get it twisted,” she continued. “I think he needs to be in a straitjacket. I think some of the behavior that has been going down has been erratic, and I think that a lot of Black men in jail have been misjudged.”
After suggesting R. Kelly is one of the over-represented mentally ill Black men in prison she went on, “This dude needs real help. He needs to be in an insane asylum. Insane asylum! Real talk. On meds, drugged to the point where – constant therapy – it’s too much. It’s too much.”
The “Baby I’m So Confused” singer suggested that R. Kelly was said to be bipolar and not taking his medication. Host LisaRaye McCoy challenged her on this saying medication was not the issue at hand but the Syleena was undeterred.
“I just think he needs to be in an insane asylum because he’s crazy…I think he has mental illness. I think he’s a narcissist, I think he has mental illness. You’re very narcissistic if all this time you had this information on other people that were hurting people, and then it wasn’t until you found out you got in trouble, that now it’s pertinent.”
“That also means you didn’t ever think you were guilty of anything. You never thought you were gonna get caught. That’s crazy.”
See some of the Tweets in response to Syleena Johnson’s comments below.
Claudia Jordan asked Lisa Raye if she still considers R. Kelly her friend and her response was, “he didn’t do it to me.” Is that what it takes for her to support his victims and let go of that awful ass man? Then there’s Syleena Johnson…just cancel the whole show.
Syleena Johnson really fixed her mouth to defend Robert K. to say he’s been misjudged, and needs to be in an insane asylum vs jail. GWORL, whet? ATP investigate all artist he worked with defending him saying stupid s### like this. Idgaf how much he put you on. He’s a pedophile!
@Syleena_Johnson I like you your music and all. But I feel you was wrong for saying that s### about #RKelly that's what is wrong with us black people we will tear each other down. You could've kept that in private especially after you work with him back in the day. Wrong PERIODT
N.O.R.E and DJ EFN’s “Drink Champs” podcast has played host to some of the most legendary Hip-Hop artists in the game. It looked as though they were about to score the most sought-after sitdown in the culture after N.O.R.E appeared to announce that Drake would appear on the show.
Last month, the “Banned From TV” rapper took to his Instagram account to share a video of him and Drizzy. In it, he appears to confirm that Drake would be on the podcast.
“C’mon Drake,” he said in the clip. “Tomorrow — Monday, Drake is on Drink Champs.”
However, it turns out that N.O.R.E was just trying to speak it into existence and Drake has no plans to appear on the show as of now. Speaking to “Hip-Hop DX” the Queens native explained, “Nah, we ain’t get Drake, that was all a rumor. We were really just listening to Drake’s music and my man in the background said, ‘Drake’s on Drink Champs! And we just said, ‘Drink Champs!’
However, all is not lost and N.O.R.E hasn’t given up hope of getting a tell-all interview with Champagne Papi. “But hey, he’s still in Miami. We’re still stalkin’ him,” he said. “We don’t mind being told no. But you never know. We’re actually in Hawaii just listening to his music and randomly, someone posted it. I ran with the story because positive energy creates positive energy.”
Meanwhile Drake has been keeping busy with fatherhood, amongst other things. The OVO boss shared some videos of him and son Adonis playing basketball.
