Snoop Dogg is thrilled his enduring friendship with unlikely pal Martha Stewart shows “love is love.”
The hip-hop icon has opened up on the special bond he shares with his former “Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party” co-host and he thinks the two can teach the whole world a valuable lesson about unity and acceptance.
He told Extra: “Me and her together, it’s always beautiful, we always enjoy each other’s company. It just shows the world that love is love!
“If you get a chance to sit around somebody, talk to them, understand them, you can become friends with them no matter what color they are, where they come from, how old they are, race, background, religion.
“And that’s what we doing, we break all the stereotypes when we’re together.. We make the world feel like it’s OK.”
He added: “It’s more personal now. I think in the beginning, it was business. I think we seen a great business opportunity, and shooting on set, we loved it each other.
“And then it was opportunities that came up. I would do a commercial and I’m like, ‘Yeah, you wanna do one?’ ‘Yeah!’ ‘OK, let’s do this!’
“And she would bring me opportunities, I would bring her opportunities. And then it became, ‘I don’t wanna do it unless Martha in’, and then she would say, ‘I don’t wanna do it unless Snoop in!'”
The pair is now set to reunite for new Peacock series “Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween.”
“We did a little thing we got where we got some people that’s baking. Me and Marth, we’re the judges – we taste the food, we judge it, we say what they do,” Snoop explained.
“I’m back from the dead! I had COVID. I had motherf**king COVID. G########,” he said at the opening night of musician Robert Glasper’s residency at the legendary jazz spot.
According to one attendee, even Glasper had no idea the two comedians would be there.
“They just showed up unannounced, and introduced him,” the insider told Page Six.
“It wasn’t quite as hard as being black, but it was close… That’s why everyone’s trying to avoid it man,” Chris Rock quipped.
The source shared, “Everyone was cracking up watching them.”
Chris then revealed, “I think I got it on this Civil Rights movie,” most likely referring to upcoming biopic “Rustin,” starring Colman Domingo as gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, a close friend and ally of Martin Luther King Jr.
“That’s a noble way to get COVID,” Dave added.
The star-studded crowd included actors Jeffrey Wright and Hill Harper and rapper Talib Kweli.
After the show, Rock and Chappelle met up with Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, and “Saturday Night Live” star Michael Che, to celebrate Kweli’s birthday, as well as Dave’s new Netflix special, according to the outlet.
“Birthday party was magical… legendary night… thank you,” Kweli wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday, (October 6), posting snaps from the event.
One of the greatest debut studio LPs in Hip Hop history is now officially Gold. The RIAA certified Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor with the plaque on October 1, 2021.
Food & Liquor originally came out in September 2006. Its 2012 sequel, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, also earned Gold certification this month.
“Double Trouble. 😊🙏🏽,” tweeted Lupe Fiasco in response to Food & Liquor and Food & Liquor II going Gold. The Chicago-raised wordsmith also posted, “The Cool should be platinum soon. 🙏🏽.”
Lupe Fiasco’s sophomore album, The Cool, dropped in 2007 before it reached Gold status the next year. He followed that body of work with 2011’s Lasers which is currently certified Gold as well.
Several singles by Lupe Fiasco have also obtained certifications from the RIAA. The Lasers track “The Show Goes On” is 3x-Platinum. “Superstar” with Matthew Santos off The Cool and “Battle Scars” with Guy Sebastian off Food & Liquor II are both Platinum.
“No blackball is stronger than good music with substance, bulletproof fans, and devotion to the craft. Just takes longer. Marathons always do. #TheMarathonContinues,” tweeted Lupe Fiasco.
In 2019, Lupe Fiasco celebrated the commercial, critical, and cultural impact of Food & Liquor during a live performance at Red Bull Music Festival Chicago.
Fiasco’s sister and poet Ayesha Jaco as well as photographer Chuck Anderson spoke to AllHipHop.com about that special night in the rapper’s hometown and their respective contributions to the classic album.
No blackball is stronger than good music with substance, bullet proof fans and devotion to the craft. Just takes longer. Marathons always do. #TheMarathonContinues
Last July, Harlem emcee Dave East and Brooklyn producer Harry Fraud teamed up for the Hoffa collaborative album. The official music video for the Hoffa track “Just Another Rapper” arrived on October 6.
Fellow Hip Hop artists Fabolous, Maino, and Nelly make cameos in the “Just Another Rapper” visual. Dave East also tapped iconic Harlem-based fashion designer Dapper Dan to make an appearance.
“Shouts to the legend Dapper Dan for everything, he brought this video to life and I’m thankful for his continued friendship. I had to have my brothers Fab, Nelly, and Maino pull up too,” says Dave East.
The 33-year-old New Yorker continues, “I’ve been working with Grizz Lee, the director of ‘Just Another Rapper,’ for damn near a decade. We always cook up something special! And salute Harry Fraud for producing a masterpiece with Hoffa!”
Dave East and Harry Fraud’s Hoffa features G Herbo, Benny The Butcher, Jim Jones, French Montana, Curren$y, and more. Hoffa landed after East dropped Survival in 2019, Karma 3 in 2020, and Pablo & Blanco with Millyz in 2021.
Previously, Harry Fraud joined forces with Curren$y for projects such as Cigarette Boats, The OutRunners, and The Director’s Cut. This year also saw Fraud linked with Jim Jones for The Fraud Department, Benny The Butcher for The Plugs I Met 2, and Dark Lo for Borrowed Time.
Besides releasing videos associated with 2021’s Hoffa, Dave East is starring in season two of the Hulu drama Wu-Tang: An American Saga. The rapper/actor born David Brewster Jr. plays Wu-Tang legend Method Man on the RZA-created biographical series.
William “Ray J” Norwood is currently fighting a pneumonia diagnosis as well as family trouble. According to multiple reports, the hospitalized entertainment industry veteran is seeking to end his union with Princess Love.
An article on TMZ claims Ray J filed divorce papers in L.A. County Superior Court on Wednesday. The latest development in the couple’s relationship came around the same time Ray J was complaining that he was left alone in a medical facility.
“I been in here all by myself for a week,” Ray J told Hollywood Unlocked. “No family members came to see me not even my wife.”
The Everything You Want album creator went on to later add, “God is good 👍🏼- Family with me – just can’t be [in] here too much sickness.”
This is the third time Ray J and Princess Love moved toward getting divorced. Princess tried to end the marriage in May 2020 before the two realityshow stars reconciled in July.
Then Ray J filed for divorce from Princess Love in September 2020. He dismissed the legal request five months later. They first tied the knot in 2016 and now have two children – 1-year-old Epik and 3-year-old Melody.
Ray J recently caused a stir among celebrity watchers when he added “separated and single” to his Instagram page bio. The 40-year-old artist and his presently estranged spouse have appeared together on television programs such as Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, VH1 Couples Retreat, and The Conversation.
Chauncey “Hit-Boy” Hollis continues to establish himself as one of the most successful production minds in Hip Hop history. This week, Hit-Boy added another accolade to his long list of accomplishments.
Hit-Boy won his second consecutive Producer Of The Year trophy at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards. The California-bred beat maker competed against DJ Khaled, Metro Boomin, Mustard, The Alchemist, and Tyler, The Creator for the honor.
“Producer of the year 2 years in a row @BET this [is] my 4th Producer Of The Year award overall and all I keep thinking about is elevating my craft. You can do it too,” tweeted Hit-Boy on Wednesday afternoon.
Producer of the year 2 years in a row @BET this my 4th producer of the year award overall and all I keep thinking about is elevating my craft. You can do it too pic.twitter.com/jJ91iW0hYE
Over the last two years, Hit-Boy worked with artists such as Jay Electronica, Big Sean, Benny The Butcher, and Polo G. The Roc Nation managed entertainer earned significant praise for his production on Nas’s King’s Disease in 2020 and King’s Disease II in 2021.
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) March 14, 2021
2021 saw Hit-Boy win Outstanding Producer Of The Year at the NAACP Image Awards as well. Plus, Hit-Boy took on the role of executive producer for the critically-acclaimed Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album.
Hit-Boy’s catalog also consists of his own solo projects like 2017’s HITstory and 2020’s The Chauncey Hollis Project. Other rap acts collaborated with Hit-Boy for joint efforts like Courtesy of Half-A-Mil with Dom Kennedy and Family Not a Group with SOB X RBE.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé surprised Londoners by making an unannounced appearance at the premiere of Black Western, “The Harder They Fall.”
Bey took to her Instagram to share a series of photos of her and hubby Jay-Z loved up in the car on the way to the event and the red carpet. The superstar singer looked stunning in a full-length black velvet strapless gown, honey-colored tousled curls tumbling down her shoulders, her husband in a classic back tuxedo by her side.
“The Harder They Fall” stars Idris Elba and Regina King and tells the story of real-life figures from American History, including Black cowboys.
Speaking at the premiere at the “BFI London Film Festival” yesterday (October 6) Jay-Z, the movie’s producer, spoke about the need to “see us represented.”
“It is almost odd, people think that it’s like a caricature, that they are playing roles, but they’re not playing roles.
“These names like Stagecoach Mary, all the actors in this, they really existed in this time, so just see us represented and see that we have voices.”
British actor Idris Elba expressed similar sentiments. He explained to the PA news agency: “It’s really interesting that these characters really existed one time. No one ever knows about them.
“Any western fan would be like ‘Really? I never heard of Rufus Buck’ but he was a real guy so it’s very special.”
Legendary comedian Dave Chappelle returned this week with his latest Netflix comedy special. Once again, Chappelle’s The Closer caused a lot of commotion over jokes he made about the LGBTQ community on the show.
The National Black Justice Coalition is one of the LGBTQ organizations that took issue with what Dave Chappelle had to say in his stand-up routine. According to Deadline, the NBJC is calling on Netflix to remove TheCloser from its platform.
David Johns, the Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, stated:
It is deeply disappointing that Netflix allowed Dave Chappelle’s lazy and hostile transphobia and homophobia to air on its platform. With 2021 on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States — the majority of whom are Black transgender people — Netflix should know better. Perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence. Netflix should immediately pull The Closer from its platform and directly apologize to the transgender community. Make no mistake: Black LGBTQ+ and same gender people exist – and have always existed. The fight against oppression is not a zero sum game, and the pervasiveness of white supremacy in the United States is not an excuse for homophobia or transphobia.
The National Black Justice Coalition’s Executive Director David Johns
Dave Chappelle shared his comedic thoughts about the LGBTQ community throughout TheCloser. The 48-year-old Washington, DC native even referred to himself as a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) which is often considered a term to describe anti-trans activists.
TheCloser also included Dave Chappelle discussing his late friend Daphne Dorman. The transgender comedian apparently took her own life after dealing with online criticism for backing Chappelle against previous accusations he was transphobic.
Chappelle ended The Closer by telling the LGBTQ community, “I am not telling another joke about you until we are both sure that we are laughing together… All I ask from your community – with all humility – will you please stop punching down on my people?”
Never one to hold back on his opinion, Boosie discussed the support he received from his peers at the premiere of his film “My Struggle.” The film premiered last month in Atlanta, the day before 50 Cent’s star-studded “BMF” premiere, also in Atlanta. This caused a discussion as to whether Boosie got the love he deserved.
“Nobody came out to support the way they should,” He explained to “VladTV”. “I ain’t going to just say Atlanta. People think I was trying to go against 50 [Cent]. F### no. Hell no. That’s why I did it a day earlier. I’m a marketing genius. Come on, bro. I went a day before 50.”
“I reached out to a lot of people, but it didn’t disturb me at all, really, because I felt so much love in there,” he went on.
“The love was crazy so it didn’t disturb. Duval did open my eyes,” Boosie said of the comedian, who spoke out about rappers who didn’t show Boosie the same love they gave 50.
After attending the premiere Duval took to his Instagram to share his thoughts.
“Every celeb you can think of was at ‘BMF’ premiere,” Duval wrote after attending Boosie’s event. “But at @hesbackagain2021 premiere, I only saw @qcmceo_p @troublemmb and @iamdesibanks. All I’m saying is we gotta support the streets the same way we support the mainstream stuff. Especially in the south. Cuz they really don’t f### wit us they just deal wit us. #staywoke.”
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.
