Legendary comedian Dave Chapelle helped introduce Rick James to a new generation of music lovers when he famously played a fictionalized version of the 1980s-era singer on the sketch comedy series Chappelle’s Show.
“I’m Rick James, b####” became one of the most popular catchphrases from Dave Chappelle’s classic “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories” skits which included a cameo by James. An upcoming Showtime documentary is looking to further solidified the legacy of the Buffalo-born star.
B######’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James is scheduled to premiere next month. A new trailer – featuring appearances by Hip Hop stars such as Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, and Roxanne Shanté – was released this week.
Mass Appeal’s Sacha Jenkins directed B######’. The doc is said to be an intimate look at James’ dramatic rise and fall as an icon of Rock, Funk, and R&B.
Viewers will get to see rare footage of the “Super Freak” performer’s live shows, never-before-seen home videos, and interviews. Plus, other legendary artists, collaborators, and friends provide commentary.
Throughout his career, Rick James released numerous studio albums like 1978’s Come Get It!, 1981’s Street Songs, and 1983’s Cold Blooded. He won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1991 for his songwriting credits on M.C. Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This.”
Rick James passed away in 2004 at the age of 56. B######’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James will air on the Showtime network beginning Friday, September 3 at 9 pm ET/PT.
With the launch of the new aaliyahiscoming.com website and verified @blackgroundrecords2.0 Instagram account, many fans of the late R&B singer Aaliyah believed more of her music could finally make it to streaming sites in the near future.
Apparently, in response to the growing rumors about the One In A Million album creator’s discography, the official Aaliyah social media accounts posted the following statement:
Protecting Aaliyah’s legacy is, and will always be, our focus. For 20 years we have battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish. We have always been confused as to why there is such a tenacity in causing more pain alongside what we already have to cope with for the rest of our lives. Now, in this 20th year, this unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah’s music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate compels our hearts to express a word – forgiveness. Although we will continue to defend ourselves and her legacy lawfully and justly, we want to preempt the inevitable attacks on our character by all the individuals who have emerged from the shadows to leech off of Aaliyah’s life’s work. Ultimately, we desire closure and a modicum of peace so we can facilitate the growth of the Aaliyah Memorial Fund and other creative projects that embody Aaliyah’s true essence, which is to inspire strength and positivity for people of all creeds, races and cultures around the world.
The Estate of Aaliyah Haughton via @aaliyah Instagram
In January, the Aaliyah Estate also responded to speculation that her full musical catalog was close to being uploaded to streamers such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Tidal.
“While we share your sentiments and desire to have Aaliyah’s music released, we must acknowledge that these matters are not within our control and, unfortunately, take time. Our inability to share Aaliyah’s music and artistry with the world has been as difficult for us as it has been for all of you. Our priority has always been and will continue to be Aaliyah’s music,” read the January 2020 message from the Estate of Aaliyah Haughton.
The beginning does not look like the present for Mississippi-based, lyrical hip hop artist $tackz. In an interview, he explained how he got into music at the age of 10 expressing, “my younger brother CJ got me started. He actually made me record my first song in the closet at home.” His brother has continued to play a role in his music even if the location and methods have changed. $tackz holds that the most challenging thing he has had to overcome in his life and the most difficult subject he has written about is “seeing my brother fight epilepsy.” Family, including his brother and five kids, are $tackz’s biggest inspirations for his music.
Now, years removed from the closet studio, $tackz, though independent, works with many names in the industry such as Billboard top 10 producer DJ XO. $tackz recently dropped the anticipated music video for his single “Pop My Sh*t” with the producer on YouTube and is also set to release a full project titled “The Come Up 2.” It will drop October 5th and feature artists like Enzo Mcfly and Kirko Bangz.
$tackz embodies a real, authentic, and lyrical style that he hopes fans connect with and gives them a feeling they remember. He has sacrificed much on his journey so far and he hopes the investments on his career will continue to pay off as he takes the next steps.
Rapper Fetty Wap broke down in tears on social media on Tuesday (August 3) after fans helped honor his four-year-old daughter Lauren Maxwell.
The star, real name Willie Junior Maxwell, shared a series of emotional videos to Instagram Live asking his more than 6.8 million followers on the platform to leave butterflies in the comments section, explaining his girl loved the creatures.
“Shorty (My daughter) loved butterflies…and if y’all could do that, it’d mean a lot to me,” he wrote.
After fans responded with hundreds of butterfly emojis, the singer choked up at the outpouring of support.
“Man, thank y’all. That’s love. I appreciate ya’ll, for real. Damn. She’d be happy as hell,” he shared.
After two years of hiatus, Fernando Triff comes back to the music scene. Joining forces with West Coast rapper Rarri, well known for his previous work with famous acts like Lil Xan, Soulja Boy, and 6ix9ine.
The record called “Homie” also has the teamwork with DMV’s upcoming talented Fat Ju, now hotter than lava since he started being managed by 1111CR3W. The song “Homie” achieved the top of Hot 50, All genres, and Hip-hop/Rap on Submit hub, which is one of the prime music platforms in the music industry with more than 653,932 users, in just a few hours after it was upload to the site.
The release has a very polished rap sound combined with an outstanding production. Coming across with an intense flow; The backdrop has a cinematic vibe with really tight vocals, which is absolutely a vibe, according to music experts.
Sean “Love” Combs is planning to launch an all-R&B label.
The rap mogul, formerly known as Diddy, announced the news in his Vanity Fair September issue cover story, revealing, “I’m coming back to music.
“I feel like R&B was abandoned and it’s a part of our African American culture,” the Bad Boy Records founder said.
And I’m not signing any artists. Because if you know better, you do better. I’m doing 50-50 partnerships with pure transparency. That’s the thing. [The new label is so that] we can own the genre; we don’t own hip-hop right now. We have a chance to—and I’m going to make sure that—we own R&B.”
The news comes months after Combs published an open letter to “corporate America,” accusing U.S. corporations of exploiting black culture without fair compensation.
He received some backlash from people who criticized his own business practices.
“I can’t get caught up in that,” he told Vanity Fair. “I know where my heart is at.”
One of Dr. Dre’s daughters has come forth with a deep dark family secret: she and her children are homeless in California, living with friends and in her car. Despite COVID-19 running rampant in the Golden State and her dad being one of the richest men in the country, she has had to resort to taking odd jobs just to eat.
According to an interview that Latanya Young (his oldest daughter) had with the Daily Mail, her father has not supported her or her four kids since early 2020 (even as he is breaking off his ex-wife Nicole Young $300,000 a month and at one point was dissing out close to $2 million a month).
She stated, “My kids are staying with friends — they are not living in the car, it’s just me.”
Young is 37 and is his daughter from a previous relationship with a woman named Lisa Johnson. The Aftermath founder left her mom when she was five years old and alleged that over the last 18 years he has not made an effort to see her.
LaTanya Young, Dr. Dre’s Daughter (Social Media)
Despite them not seeing each other in two decades, Dre has given her money in the past. Young says that he stopped sending her money in January 2020. Typically, she would have asked his people for the things that she and his grandchildren needed, and they would help her out on his behalf. However, that is no more, she says.
“His lawyer has said that my dad doesn’t want to help me because I’ve spoken about him in the press,” she shared. “I feel like I’m damned if I do, I’m damned if I don’t. I’m just trying to communicate with him and see if he wants to talk to his grandkids.”
To make it worse, she is currently staying in a rented truck and doesn’t have dependable employment.
“The car is a pretty penny. It’s an SUV that costs $2,300 for three weeks and I only paid for one week,” she said.
“I’m taking odd jobs just to make it now — I got paid $15 an hour as an assembler at the warehouse,” she continued. “I’m trying to keep my head above water. I’ve been in debt for a while.”
“It’s embarrassing because people are looking at me wondering: Why? What Nicole has got is what my mom should have got.”
Veteran rapper Pepa from the legendary group Salt N’ Pepa is getting sued by one of her nonessential surgical doctors. Reports have recently emerged, stating that the “Push It” artist owes over $1/2 million in unpaid plastic surgery work.
According to Radar Online, Dr. David Sayah from the notable Beverly Hills business, The Sayah Institute, wants his money for re-shaping, sculpting, and fixing her botched body. He has even filed a lien in the amount of $676,765 against a lawsuit she has currently fighting with the ride-sharing supergiant, Uber.
The lien will allow Sayah to get his money from Pepa (or somebody) provided she receives a judgment from Uber for a car crash she was in while riding one of their vehicles.
While breaking down all that goes into having a mid-six-figure bill with his establishment he listed that he worked to remove injections and implants that other doctors put into her body.
Now, this lien may not go so easy.
Pepa has previously sued Sayah. Back in 2019, after her visit with him, she took him to court for alleged negligence.
During the Uber car crash, the biopolymer material in her butt and hips were pushed out of whack. He was supposed to have fixed everything but according to Pep … didn’t. She claims that he made the implants worse and convinced her to get smaller ones, that he would put in.
Big Sean has credited regular chiropractor appointments for making him “two inches” taller.
In a video posted to his Instagram Story, Sean asked his pal Ronnie, who stands at 5 foot 10 inches, to stand next to him – and shows in a mirror that he’s taller than his friend.
“How da f### I grow 2 inches?” he wrote on the video. “Chiropractor for a year straight twice a week, that’s how. Straight spine that’s how.”
The “My Last” star added that while people “try to hate on” him by claiming he’s 5 foot six, he’s grown “like a couple of inches” in the past 12 months.
Sean has previously claimed he’s 5 foot eight inches tall.
Born and raised in Tampa, Florida is rising hip hop artist Jamal Wade who is ready to take his career up a notch in the second half of 2021. Having spent the last year locked in and fully focused on his craft, Jamal Wade is bringing a sound to the game unlike any we’ve ever heard before. Not to mention, he recently dropped a new music video for fan-favorite “Janga.”
The “Janga” music video begins with anticipation as Jamal Wade is coming to town, and the women are loving it. Jamal then enters the scene with a certain swagger that can only be matched by very few individuals. As Jamal hits the track, the scenes in the video show off his wealth and the ability he has to captivate women’s attention. The bright colors and back and forth dynamic of the clips make for a visually pleasing video that everyone can enjoy.
As of July 30th, 2021, the “Janga (Official Music Video) is available on Jamal Wade’s YouTube channel and the people are loving it thus far. It has taken his aesthetic up another level as fans get to see and experience how he carries himself within the video. Be sure to check out the video and stay connected with Jamal Wade so you aren’t late to the next release.
Rihanna just made one of her wild thoughts into a reality, following behind her über rich mentor JAY-Z. The Bajan beauty quietly became a billionaire right under the world’s nose, making her the wealthiest female musician to ever walk the earth.
She is also the second richest female in entertainment in the world, taking a shadow only to Oprah Winfrey.
According to Forbes magazine, she has amassed $1.7 billion in total assets and her company Fenty Beauty cosmetics makes up maybe $1.4 billion of her enterprise. The publication even assesses $270 million from lingerie company Savage X Fenty, her music, acting, and other investments.
At 33 years old, the “Umbrella” singer continues to redefine herself and stretch limitations that were put on her since she was a teenager debuting on the Billboard charts.
People wanted to say she was just a singer, she started acting. People wanted to pigeon-hole her as a pretty face she started her businesses.
Outside of the real estate and low-level businesses that she has, she launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 in partnership with LVMH, the luxury goods company that owns both Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy.
What made it blow was that the foundation featured 40 different shades to match women of every race and skin tone. Even now, many of the popular shades are sold out. Recently the company launched lotions and various skincare products, that are as popular as the make-up.
Billionaire or not, fans want music from Rihanna. 250 million records later, her upcoming project is called R9, and word on the street is that it will be dropping this year.
DaBaby’s woes continue as his recent controversial comments are being cited as one of the reasons radio station KS 107.5 has canceled their Summer Jam concert.
Back in June, KS 107.5 announced that DaBaby would be the headliner for their Summer Jam concert. Also billed to appear were artists including Saweetie and Jack Harlow.
The Colorado radio station took to Instagram last night to announce, “In light of various factors, including DaBaby’s recent comments, along with our concert partners, we have chosen to cancel this year’s Summer Jam. We look forward to working on Summer Jam Lineups for years to come with our love of music and each other. Tickets will be refunded from your point of purchase.”
DaBaby has had a string of cancellations following homophobic remarks made at Rolling Loud Festival last month.
DaBaby has had a string of cancellations following homophobic remarks made at Rolling Loud Festival last month.
The organizers of iHeartRadio and Austin City Limits festivals released separate statements revealing that the 29-year-old rapper would not be performing at their events.
The Lollapalooza festival removed DaBaby from the lineup at the last minute as did the Parklife Festival where he was originally supposed to be one of the main acts.The Governor’s Ball Festival in New York and the NightNDay Festival in Las Vegas removed the artist from headline appearances in September.
The Governor’s Ball Festival in New York and the NightNDay Festival in Las Vegas removed the artist from headline appearances in September.
He was also axed from The Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta and from the Austin City Limits Festival due to take place in October.
DaBaby issued a second apology via Instagram this week after his first was deemed insincere.
“Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes,” DaBaby said. “As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me— knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance— has been challenging. I appreciate the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received.”
DaBaby concluded “I want to apologize to the LGBT+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I knew education on this is important. Love to all. God bless,”
“New York City is the Mecca of Hip-Hop!” Jada Kiss, the MVP of last night’s Verzuz competition, drilled that into the heads of the millions who tuned into Triller/ Instagram to witness The Lox go head to head with Harlem’s own Dipset crew, who performed live on Tuesday, August 3 at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The contest was refreshing, as the culture suspended the “celebration” rhetoric that has been used around these events and fully embraced the concept that there was going to be a loser at the end of the night. And there was … The Diplomats just wasn’t any match for Jada Kiss and his Warlock brothers.
In attendance were rap music and basketball’s elite: Fat Joe, Fabolous, Lil Cease, A$AP Ferg, Conway, Maino, Mysonne, Carmelo Anthony, Al Harrington, Chi Ali, and more.
But … that’s racing ahead. This epic night deserves the sim-simmer treatment as it may have single-handedly reminded rap music lovers what “real rap music” really is. #FightMe
jadakiss went through two different #verzuz and ran each one, solo and with a crew. it's proper time we rewrite the books on how gotdamn special he is at this rapping/performing/entertainment thing.
After the last couple of months of Lil Boosie getting kicked off of Instagram, DaBaby masturbating to a weave (while he spins in the air) during his BET Awards performance and his Rolling Loud debacle, Torey Lanez stealing bars from the Philly ole head Cassidy and Saweetie getting a McDonald’s deal cause she has followers, people have started to look at rap music as a joke. More about confluxsh*t than lyricism, originality, and creativity. Once Swizz Beatz and Timbaland announced this battle, the culture’s purist and boom-bap elite felt heard and validated.
This was gonna be the clash of the Hip-Hop titans that fans have had wet dreams about (Go ahead and say a nasty Dame Dash ‘pause’ right there).
Bad Boy Records’ first rap group, The Lox were signed to the label in 1997. The squad consists of Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch, and from the lot of them they have had four studio albums including Money, Power & Respect (1998), We Are the Streets (2000), Filthy America… It’s Beautiful (2016) and Living Off Xperience (2020). The Dipset came through the powerful Roc-A-Fella/ Def Jam brand and were rock stars from the start. Unlike The Lox, who debuted in the shadow of the Notorious B.I.G., Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, and Freekey Zeky were their own crew.
Sure they were signed to Jay-Z and Dame Dash at the height of The Roc, but their mixtape fame on the street verified them as a solid entity — separate from any other Olympic-sized emcee. The Lox had to get their reps fighting a ghost for respect.
In the end, the crews earned the right to pair off. But from the on-set, only one group understood or respected what was at stake on that TrillerVerse platform.
Promo for the battle was intense. Experts at trolling and clowning people, The ‘Set won early hype and with their strong corporate and individual catalogs that include two Diplomatic Immunity albums (1&2), Diplomatic Ties, about eight mixtapes, Cam’s seven studio projects, nine mixtapes, two collaboratives albums, Jim Jones’ seven solo joints (two collabs), and Juelz’s two albums — people just thought they were gonna smoke their opps.
After all, The Lox in 2021 are considered “Old School.” And since The Dip set still gives young hustler dude energy, almost all have had some sort of reality show presence and have mastered social media to get money — Cam has like a hood Viagra called “Pink Power Horse” — the kids know them.
But two hours later than expected, on a hot Tuesday night in August, those D Block dudes were there at Madison Square Garden to remind E-VER-Y-BODY exactly why Kiss is top five dead or alive, Styles P (despite all the green juice he drinks and the weights he lifts) is nothing to be played with and Sheek is as fire as he was when he auditioned for Puff over the phone.
TrillerVerse started the event with a few actual fights, which included Michael “Bounty” Hunter knocking his opponent out in the ring. However, if there was a true champ of this night, that man had no gloves on. Jada Kiss (as he said) had New York Hip-Hop on his back and basically bodied the whole Dipset crew.
With his passionate performance and beads of sweat dripping from his brow, he grabs that mic and rapped like he was possessed by the Ghosts of his deceased mentors Biggie Smalls and DMX. But he was not alone, as a unit, both Sheek and P complemented their brother. Unlike any other Verzuz battle, this was a classic NYC rap concert. They clearly practiced and had a strategy.
Whereas the Dipset appeared comfortable, maybe too comfortable, with their overwhelming popularity, their lavish expression of cool, and their hits … hits that were also lyrical, revolutionary in context (as they brought levels to rap music that had never been expressed to the culture outside of Harlem) and hood authentic. Leaning too much of their drip, their language, and rapping over the recorded tracks simply proved to be a disadvantage.
The audience respected their contribution but recognized the energy presented by The Lox.
Let’s look at the strategies that each group took (and what served them or took away from performance):
• The Lox were prompt on the stage, and the Dipset were fashionably rock star late.
• The Lox decided to perform live with their deejay and the Dipset performed over a track. Jada Kiss kept saying that they were “gipping” the audience and that they were “lip-syncing.”
• The Lox decided to perform two minutes of one full song, and the Dipset did two-minute compilations, hoping to overwhelm their opponents with multiple freestyles and mixtape classics.
• The Lox focused on their individual catalogs, features, and mixtape hits and the Dipset played songs that really spoke to the hood — dropping their biggest hits in the end.
• The Dipset came dressed to the nines and out swagged The Lox (at one point Jim Jones put on an additional gold chain in the middle of the performance).
• The Dipset dominated the stage, but The Lox met their aggression with real talk.
• The Lox spoke directly to the crowd with one clear theme, “This is New York, and we are repping real New York lyricism,” pointing out that Cam their leader lives in Miami and no longer has the smell of New York air on him.
“CAM YOU LIVE IN MIAMI” and then proceeds to drop “F### You” as the first record? Wasn’t even my battle and i got shook! #Verzuzpic.twitter.com/6NKlgzqjZY
• Cam tried to highlight that The Dipset was actually from New York City and that those guys, The Lox, are from Yonkers — the suburbs. He did this when claiming his crew was really the home team, so by right they should not go first.
• The Lox kept talking to Cam to get his guys in check, clearly pointing out their leader.
• While this was not a strategy, Dipset kept moving crazy while The Lox were performing. Sometimes, that works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Evidently Jim Jones fell off the stage last night during #VERZUZ.
So who’s gonna make the “Fallin” remix parody of “Ballin” that we all need? 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/EoifjxQ4ZW
Hold on a second… Jim Jones fell off the stage last night? Straight walked into air like Wile E. Coyote off a cliff? This is getting worse by the minute. #VERZUZpic.twitter.com/07qYeDB9b1
• Juelz kept bringing up that Jada Kiss is carrying The Lox.
• Cam kept highlighting that The Lox were playing a lot of their features because they didn’t have their own hits. He kept calling them, “Side B**ches” and “Peas and Gravy.”
• Styles P shouted out Harlem influencers and rappers associated with The Dipset, Max B, Shotty, and Mel Matrix, that are locked up before dropping Akon’s “I’m Locked Up.” By the way, this is another song (as per Cam) that they were featured on.
• Jim Jones corrected Jada Kiss for saying the wrong names… “It’s 9 Tre Billy Badass till I die. Shout out Melly Matrix, 9 Tre Billy. I’m a certified mothaflucking gangsta.”
• Cam said that they use a lot of their mixtape songs because they didn’t have hits, that’s when they hit them with “All About The Benjamins.” Jada Kiss said that they know about “These n*ggas don’t know what Grammys look like … they know what GRAMs look like.”
• After rapping to “Oh Boy” and “We Gonna Get It On Tonight” Juelz said that The Lox didn’t like girls, which is why they didn’t have songs for the ladies. However, The Lox did have songs that moved the ladies like “Ride or Die. B**hes,” the remixes of Mariah Carey’s “Honey,” Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny From The Block” and Mary J. Blige’s “Family Affair.”
• Jada Kiss killed them with two classic freestyles and when Cam tried to do the same in Madison Square Garden, he got booed.
For two hours, the two groups brought the energy like they were trying to take each other’s heads off. But what was also beautiful is that they clearly knew and loved each other’s music. They also seemed to be real friends, dapping each other up between jabbing each other with slick talk. They also sang each other’s hits.
While everybody is carving out that bust for Kiss for the #VERZUZ hall of fame, y’all gotta go ahead and get Breyon Prescott one too. My man has the best life pic.twitter.com/hyBe0EEKyY
Lawd have mercy! Once my wife opened her eyes this morning, at 5:30am, the second thing I said to her, even more emphatically than when I said “good morning” was “Jadakiss is a problem!” I’m a DIPSET fan. My homeboy’s can attest to that. And leading into yesterday’s VERZUZ match between them and THE LOX, I believed that they would prevail. But lawd have mercy. I witnessed a slaughter, a landslide victory. All night the scale only tilted one way. And that was in the direction of Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss (a-HA!). For anyone keeping score: Yonkers 1, Harlem 0 or The LOX 1 and Dipset 0, or Jadakiss 2 and his VERZUZ opps 0.
Man, I’m so elated! Last night’s VERZUZ embodied everything that is Hip-Hop. It was loud. It was braggadocious. The LOX were lyrical. It was flashy. It was competitive. It was respectfully disrespectful, at times. And it was a clear and concise winner. That crown and trophy goes to Jadakiss aka The Transmission and his band of brothers from Yonkers, Living Off Xperience. They did their thing!
I texted Brother Chuck Creekmur well after midnight to briefly recap what I witnessed. It was as if I was in a fog. I needed some clarity. This wasn’t supposed to go like it did. This VERZUZ wasn’t supposed to be so unevenly matched. Jadakiss wasn’t supposed to be the coolest, most confident, slickest, wittiest, funniest, entertaining figure of the night. Not with Cam on stage with him, I initially thought. In my recollection, Cam’s public persona is usually all of those things that I referenced Jada as being last night. And in hindsight, I believe that’s what made me sway to the side of Dipset. I thought that their showmanship would lead them to a very close victory over The LOX. But once Jada snatched that from Cam beginning with, “You live in Miami, drop that sh#t Tech” and they commenced to perform F#ck You, it was a wrap!
I told shorty this morning, they were hit with all headshots. It was that violent. The Lox were not playing with them at all. They did not let their feet off the gas for a moment. Now, I should’ve known that they weren’t going to be playing by the way Styles P was trading jabs with Jim Jones on social media leading up to the official battle. Great marketing and promotions by both gentlemen. They both did a tremendous job selling the matchup to the public. But again, I should’ve realized how serious it was when one was laughing at his opponents drip and the other was chastising his brother’s intellectual competence. Styles said he was petty, but gotdamn Ghost. I think every other rap group in the industry has been forewarned that they do not want a problem with Styles P on social media or in a booth or a makeshift rap battle ring in MSG. People are calling it the “Massacre At MSG!” Have y’all seen the meme with Jada in a New York Knicks Melo jersey with his stats: 62 points, 23-35 field goals and 13 rebounds? Hilarious! This was a Top 5 performances in the history of Madison Square Garden!
As I wrap up my personal documented account of what happened at The Lox Verzuz battle with Dipset, let us revisit some clear takeaways. Some do’s and don’ts moving forward for any participants in a future rap Verzuz :
Let’s talk about what not to do first because they’re just so obvious and easy to discuss.
Don’t:
Don’t enter a battle discombobulated and thrown off.
Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. Know your opponent and choose the correct apparatus to fight with.
Don’t bring the non-verbal hype man. Leave him at home. He serves no purpose for this type of competition.
Don’t try to relive the time by dressing in the attire from two decades ago.
Don’t do anything that could potentially get you booed by the crowd, i.e “freestyle” acapella.
Do:
Do be prepared for verbal combat and showmanship. Rehearse.
Do know the words to your songs so you don’t have to lip sync the entire show.
Do have stage presence.
Do have a plan and stick to it.
And please, please, please recruit Jada if you’re going for the win!
This editorial was originally titled “Lawd Have Mercy,” but changed by the editors. And it was written by Cornell Dews.
R&B/Pop songstress Normani scored another Top 20 hit with “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B. The collaboration peaked at #14 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.
“Wild Side” is an Aaliyah-inspired track where Normani sings about wanting a lover to take her for a ride. Then Cardi B’s verse gets even more explicit as the Bronx rapper shares that she can “suck a watermelon through a straw.”
Apple Music’s Ebro Darden spoke to Normani about her latest single. The Atlanta-born vocalist was asked about playing “Wild Side” for her father Derrick Hamilton.
“You have no idea. I was so terrified to play this song for my dad. Terrified. Oh my goodness, avoiding it,” Normani told Ebro Darden. “He kept asking to hear the record because everyone else heard it but he didn’t hear it. And my dad is my biggest fan.”
Normani continued, “He works nightshifts. He hustles for his family and so to get through the night sometimes he listens to all my records and he was dying to listen to this one. I was just like, ‘Dad, um… I’ll play it for you later.’ Eventually, my mom ended up playing it for him and he was like, ’That s### is hard.’ He’s like, ‘That s### is fire.’ He tells me all the time, every single day, I kid you not, he’s like, ‘Are you ready to take over the world? He loves the song.”
According to Cardi B, it was Normani’s representatives that requested that the Invasion of Privacy creator make her bars sexual. Cardi tweeted, “Sooo like I did a verse and Normani team said they wanted nastier, sooo I was like alright… your wish is my command.”
“Wild Side” also caught a lot of people’s attention because of its Tanu Muino-directed, Sean Bankhead-choreographed music video as well as its “One In A Million” interpolation. Barry Hankerson, the uncle of the late Aaliyah, addressed the comparisons between “Wild Side” and “One In A Million.”
“I will not stand in the way of something that brings to light the incredible staying power of Aaliyah. So in that light, wishing Normani well with the song and overall career. God bless. I think Aaliyah would be pleased,” said Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson.
21 Savage (born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) once again assisted in giving back to his local community in the Atlanta area for the sixth annual “Issa Back 2 School Drive.”
The Grammy-winning rap star and his Leading By Example Foundation partnered with Chime, Juma.org, Amazon Music, Reebok, Momma Flystyle, Dekalb County, and Cosmopolitan Night Club for the charity event.
21 Savage was in attendance for the August 1 “Issa Back 2 School Drive” in Decatur which followed COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Students and families were able to pick up school supplies including backpacks, notebooks, and headphones as well as uniforms and shoes.
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“Issa Back 2 School Drive” also offered BBQ, cotton candy, popcorn, Twice as Nice Italian ice, two bounce houses, and an inflatable basketball goal.
In addition, attendees were presented financial literacy information as part of 21 Savage’s national Bank Account campaign which was originally launched in 2018 with the educational nonprofit organization Get Schooled.
The I Am > I Was album creator also donated $25,000 to the City of Atlanta’s #ATLStrong COVID-19 relief fund established by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago, Jonathan “DaBaby” Kirk was still defiant against people expressing outrage over his homophobic statements at the 2021 Rolling Loud Miami festival.
This week, DaBaby was forced to give a second apology after his first mea culpa was followed by days of the North Carolina rapper suggesting he could never be “canceled” by the general public.
“These n##### really think they gone influence people to stop f##### [with] the INFLUENCE.😂They go crazy bout what I say not yall. 😂I got da influence AND the nuts n####. Yall n##### cheerleaders,” posted DaBaby on July 29 in response to Questlove’s criticism.
By August 2, DaBaby was back on Instagram to share, “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”
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That additional admission of wrongdoing did not stop numerous festivals – such as AMusic Midtown, Austin City Limits, and the iHeart Radio Music Festival – from dropping DaBaby from their respective lineups.
One day before the second apology was issued, the Chicago-based Lollapalooza festival also announced DaBaby was being removed from the event located in the city’s Grant Park.
“Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight,” tweeted the verified Lollapalooza Twitter account on August 1.
Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight. Young Thug will now perform at 9:00pm on the Bud Light Seltzer Stage, and G Herbo will perform at 4:00pm on the T-Mobile Stage. pic.twitter.com/Mx4UiAi4FW
There are now more behind-the-scenes details about Lollapalooza’s decision to not allow DaBaby to perform at the show. Billboard reports:
Just days after making homophobic comments at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami on July 25, representatives for rapper DaBaby reached out to the promoters of seven fall festivals that had booked the Charlotte, N.C., rapper and assured them an apology would be forthcoming. DaBaby was planning to tape a short video that would be played before he took the stage at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Sunday, Aug. 1, in which he would deliver a heartfelt apology to the LGBTQ+ community for his distasteful remarks during his set in Miami the previous weekend.
Billboard
Apparently, the alleged agreed-upon apology video by DaBaby was never sent to Lollapalooza organizers which is what caused the event’s planners to make the final determination that his set would be called off.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of [those] deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up,” DaBaby told the Rolling Loud Miami crowd on July 25.
He continued, “Ladies, if your p#### smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking a n####’s d### in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”
DaBaby’s Rolling Loud Miami comments were met with widespread condemnation from LGBTQ+ organizations and HIV/AIDS organizations as well as celebrities like Dua Lipa, Elton John, and Madonna.
However, DaBaby did receive support from fellow southern rappers T.I. and Boosie Badazz who both chose to back the 29-year-old Interscope recording artist while also slamming openly gay musician Lil Nas X.
Many Hip Hop devotees from Atlanta view André 3000 as one of his generation’s best rappers from the city. Lil Baby is often named as one of the top Atlanta-based rappers to emerge over the last five years.
Apparently, fans of the OutKast member and fans of the Quality Control Music signee could see a collaboration from the two southerners in the near future.
Lil Baby spoke with Billboard about a potential musical partnership involving André 3000.
“I talked to somebody who be talking to him, and he’s on it right now. We’re in third-party communications,” said Lil Baby about possibly creating a song with the legendary emcee also known as Three Stacks.
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While it has been 15 years since OutKast released their last studio LP Idlewild, André 3000 has worked with various artists over that time period.
He appeared on tracks with John Legend, Beyoncé, Young Jeezy, T.I., Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Solange, Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak, and others.
“I’m in a whole different headspace than I was at with My Turn — I’m going to be at a different level every time I drop because I’m at different levels in life,” Lil Baby told Billboard.
Earlier this week, Tyga’s name became a trending topic on social media after the mother of his child supposedly sent out some provocative tweets. Blac Chyna is now claiming the incident was a result of a hacker.
“Tyga loves Trans, me 2💋. Tell the truth @Tyga !!!!!” read a tweet from the @BLACCHYNA Twitter account. The page also posted, “Tell the truth @Tyga!!!!!”
The now-deleted tweet alleged that Tyga was romantically attracted to transgender women. This was not the first time the California-based rapper was accused of dating members of the LGBTQ community.
However, Blac Chyna insists she was not the person who sent out the tweet directed at her ex-boyfriend. The Shade Room shared a statement from a representative of The Real Blac Chyna reality show star.
“Unfortunately, Blac Chyna’s Twitter account was hacked yesterday as she would not purposely speak negatively about Tyga online,” stated the 33-year-old socialite’s rep.
In addition, the @BLACCHYNA Twitter account also suggested the tweets about Tyga and transgender women did not actually come from Black Chyna. On Tuesday afternoon, she tweeted, “Got my page back.”
In 2016, transgender model Mia Isabella said she was once in a relationship with Tyga. She revealed alleged screenshots of sexual text messages between herself and the “Rack City” rhymer.
Mia Isabella also accused Tyga’s team of trying to extort her in order to keep silent about the situation. The pornographic actress stated, “Your bisexuality for women and Trans women is highly common in heterosexual men. Own your s### so nobody can ever use it against you again.”
DaBaby’s apology must have rang hollow to promoters, who continued to drop the rap star from high profile performances.
Earlier today (August 3), the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia pulled the rapper from the lineup.
He was also axed from the Austin City Limits Festival, which is taking place in October of 2021.
The ball started rolling over the weekend, when organizers for Lollapalooza canceled DaBaby’s performance the same day he was supposed to take the stage on Sunday (August 1) and abruptly replaced him with Young Thug and G Herbo.
The following day, on Monday, organizers for the Governor’s Ball Festival in New York, and the NightNDay Festival in Las Vegas canceled headlining slots featuring the rapper for shows in September.
The cancellations forced DaBaby to issue a second apology, for making homophobic remarks about gay men, as well as people with HIV/AIDS during his high energy set at Rolling Loud in Miami on July 25.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of [those] deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks…“Ladies, if your p#### smell like water, put your cellphone light in the air. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking d##k in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up,” the rapper said during his performance.
He was instantly condemned for the statements. Madonna, Elton John, Dua Lipa, Anita, Questlove and other s took the rap star to task for making the comments.
DaBaby. Issued one apology shortly after the controversy started brewing, but many felt it was half-assed attempt to quell the situation.
The Charlotte, North Carolina rapper issued a second apology which seemed much more heartfelt and believable.
“Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes,” DaBaby said. “As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me— knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance— has been challenging. I appreciate the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received.”
