A year ago, Sir Robert “Logic” Hall II announced he was retiring from making music. 2020’s No Pressure was supposed to be his final album. 2017’s Everybody was also marketed as Logic’s possible swan song.
However, Logic has been releasing a lot of new music over the last few months. In particular, the 31-year-old entertainer partnered with production wizard Madlib for “Mars Only Pt. 3” in April and “Raddest Dad” in May.
“Raddest Dad” included a hidden outro where Logic explained why he returned to the rap game. He said, “I think what I realized was that I don’t like the industry. So I think I want to retire from the industry. That’s why I wanna do this music for free.”
The tandem now known as MadGic is back again with the new track “Mafia Music.” Logic dropped the song on Monday night via the BobbysWorld YouTube channel.
According to Logic, he and Madlib put together the entire MadGic effort in one session. “Mafia Music” opens with the DMV representative saying, “We did like this whole album in a f###### night, dawg. That’s what’s crazy. Whole album in a night bruh.”
Madlib’s career discography contains numerous joint projects and albums fully produced by the California native. He garnered widespread critical acclaim for his series on collaborations with Freddie Gibbs. Madlib has also worked extensively with MF DOOM, J Dilla, M.E.D, Blu, Talib Kweli, and more.
From editing video to creating animations, refining photography, and creating world-class designs for anywhere — the number of ways one can utilize the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite seems endless. Considering the breadth of knowledge and insights one needs to take full advantage of software like Premiere and After Effects among many others, it’s no wonder the 2021 Complete All-in-One Adobe Creative Cloud Suite Certification Course Bundle is valued at $2,400.
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Enhancing your skills in any one of the Adobe Suite programs can lead to a number of social and professional possibilities. Photoshop can open up your photography prospects, while InDesign can lead to website design work, and editing skills in Premiere can help your film production and YouTube work.
Apparently, it has been a rough few days for Coi Leray. She did pick up a Best Female Hip Hop Artist nomination for the 2021 BET Awards, but that recognition was met with some criticism. Then a viral video featuring Leray led to more online judgment.
Even though Coi Leray’s “No More Parties” peaked in the Top 40 of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart and was certified Platinum, she is still an up-and-comer. The general public’s unfamiliarity with the 24-year-old rapper became clear over the weekend.
Footage of Coi Leray performing in front of a seemingly unenthused crowd spread across the internet. Some social media commenters used the video to make fun of the EC2 mixtape creator.
“Feel like y’all tryna kill me,” tweeted Leray on May 30. “The love [used] to outweigh the hate but now the hate [outweighs] the love and it’s [slowly] destroying me.”
While Coi Leray was being ridiculed by some Twitter users, other recording artists showed their support to her by offering positive feedback. For example, Nicki Minaj posted a tweet in response to the negative reactions Leray was receiving.
“Don’t do that. Chin up. Always remember this, when black [people] not [f######] [with] you #TheyWillBoo. Those [people] were on their feet. That means they may not have known the song, but they were interested in getting to know more— so they were observing u. Charge it to the game & move on 🎀,” tweeted Minaj.
Don’t do that. Chin up. Always remember this, when black ppl not fkn w|you #TheyWillBoo. Those ppl were on their feet. That means they may not have known the song, but they were interested in getting to know more— so they were observing u. Charge it to the game & move on 🎀 https://t.co/X0LAFnhPRG
The Hip Hop veteran’s “black people” comment was met with backlash. Some people felt that part of Nicki Minaj’s tweet was purposely anti-Black and ultimately irrelevant to the conversation about Coi Leray’s performance. Particularly, because there seemed to be white attendees at the concert as well.
Nicki Minaj’s fans defended the Queens, New York native by focusing on her intent was to encourage Coi Leray. The Barbz also pointed out the tweet was contrary to the narrative that Minaj tends to feud with other female rappers like Lil Kim, Remy Ma, and Cardi B.
Despite the controversy, Coi Leray was appreciative of Nicki Minaj’s words. She tweeted, “Thank you so much for this. This means everything and more to me. Wow. I’m speechless. You just gave me so much more hope. Thank you again Crossed🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻💓💓💓💓💓.”
Thank you so much for this. This means everything and more to me. Wow. I’m speechless. You just gave me so much more hope. Thank you again 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼💓💓💓💓💓 https://t.co/Zj8GQOiFdG
The Voice of the Heros album is set to drop this Friday, June 4. Lil Baby and Lil Durk provided a preview of their joint project by presenting an official music video for the title track.
“Missed out on my kids’ life for a year, and I gotta accept it. Certain days n##### never came to my shows, and I felt neglected,” raps Lil Durk in the opening bars of “Voice of the Heroes.”
Lil Baby later adds, “I just told Durk we rich forever, if we play it right just keep on being the voice, I be the hero and everything I got is a profit, started with zero.
Lil Baby later confirmed he was teaming with the Chicago-bred rhymer for a full-length release. The Atlanta representative declared, “It’s gonna be one of the craziest albums to ever come out.”
This year has already seen Lil Durk recruit Lil Baby for the “Finesse Out the Gang” single. They also linked up for “Every Chance I Get” which lives on DJ Khaled’s #1 album Khaled Khaled.
Jay-Z’s mom begged the rapper not to release his deeply personal 4:44 track “Smile,” in which he talked about her sexuality.
The rap mogul admitted Gloria Carter initially balked at the track and urged her son not to go public with her deep dark secret.
But he won her over and was impressed when she presented him with a poem she wrote that he included on the recording.
“It changed the dynamic of our relationship,” Jay-Z said during an appearance on “The Shop: Uninterrupted.” “When she first heard that song she got super defensive…
“I was in L.A. and she flew out to L.A. and then she left and was like, ‘No’. We talked through it. And then when she flew back to L.A. she had written a poem. She wrote that on the plane. It came with the American Airlines note pad… I was like, ‘You got bars, ma!'”
During the barbershop-style chat with LeBron James and Bad Bunny, Jay-Z also opened up about his deeply personal last album, 4:44, revealing he still can’t listen to it in its entirety.
“It’s a lot, but it had to be done,” the rapper explained. “It was… an evolution of all the things that I’d been through… It was important to write… To be vulnerable in that space after you’ve done all this work… I had so many super gangsta rappers tell me, ‘Thank you for that!’ They would tell me on the side, ‘You saved my relationship’.”
Jay also revealed he knew his career had changed his life forever when friends told him he wouldn’t be able to return home, while he was back on the streets with them.
The rapper was visiting his neighborhood after the release of his second album when it suddenly dawned on him how his life was about to spin.
“The whole world changed around me,” the “99 Problems” rapper said. “They (friends) said, ‘You can’t go back home!’ You know when I heard that? I was home. I had a bullet-proof vest and a Rollie (Rolex watch) on. It was real. That wasn’t, like, a photoshoot. I had that on all day… I was in a real war and I had an album out.”
Rapper Klass Murda is prominent for his creative anecdotes in his raps and for adding a flare of trapping to his drill sound.
The upstate New York artist has gathered mainstream traction through his connections and good character with a slight remembrance of the late Biggie, boasting his lavish lifestyle that does not go unnoticed.
Known for pushing for greatness on every record, Klass Murda drops his newest project aptly titled Motivated.
During the pandemic, he was motivated by his peers such as Casanova who first introduced him to the industry and garnered a co-sign.
Thanks to the help of Breadgang, aka Moneybaggyo’s label, Klass was able to get a rare feature from Pooh Shiesty on “Legendary.”
Captain Michael Johnson from the HPD made statements about the Sunday arrest and shared that Freeman will be charged with murder for the death of a man named Randall Strong, Jr.
After investigating the shooting that occurred on the 200 block of Binford Dr just after 4:30 p.m. on May 29, the Major Crimes Unit determined that Freeman and Strong had beef.
What was also revealed is that there were no official requests made through the city or the police department of the Huntsville Housing Authority to obtain a permit to film in the project development.
Lil Loaded is dead. The young rapper, who is only 20 years old, somehow passed away suddenly. Now, right now the details are scant and we are all trying to figure out what exactly happened in this tragic case. Honestly, based on the music he made, I thought he was murdered. The kid’s name was Dashawn Maurice Robertson, from Dallas and was accused of shooting his friend dead last year.
As you know, rumors have started already.
The word on the streets is that Lil Loaded’s girlfriend broke his heart by cheating on him. But, I was looking at his newest vid called “Emotional Killer” and it gives some clues on what’s going on here. I know Art and Real Life are close relatives. But, he reported recently found out she cheated, talked to his mom and then took his life after speaking to her. I wonder what that convo was like.
ANYWAY….
DAMN. I wasn’t a fan or nothing, but this is sad.
On a side note, Turn Me Up Josh is also dead. The Houston producer has worked with Lil Durk and Lil Baby.
Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty went viral over the weekend after allegedly getting 40 racks jacked from him at the Miami strip club, Kings of Diamond.
A video started to circulate on various social media platforms showing him performing at a concert, commotion, a security detail, and then the artist looking disheveled with someone exclaiming, “They hit him for his money. They done attacked Pooh Shiesty. They jacked Pooh Shiesty! They took his money.”
The taunting continued, “They done jacked his b#### ass in this b####.”
“Ooo… look at him running.”
Pooh Shiesty took to his Instastory to set the records straight. He posted, “FALSE ALLEGATIONS NOTHING NEVER BEEN TOOK FROM ME.”
Some other videos, in the midst of helter-skelter, note that there was a shooting inside of the establishment and mentions that someone allegedly was shot and killed.
The 2021 BET Awards have nominated Pooh Shiesty Best New Artist and while he may be #1 with a bullet on Urban Mainstream radio, his popularity may be linked to more than the music.
Naomi Osaka has broken her silence after receiving a $15,000 fine for refusing to take part in 2021 French Open press events.
The Japanese tennis ace cited mental health concerns as the reasoning behind her decision, which saw tournament organizers at Roland Garros slap her with the fine and warn higher fees, plus a possible suspension, could be issued.
But Naomi, who dates rap star Cordae, is standing her ground, taking to Twitter after her winning match against Romanian star Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday (May 30) to hit out at the “lack of understanding” from organizers.
She penned: “Anger is a lack of understanding. change makes people uncomfortable.”
Announcing her decision not to engage with press, Naomi said in a statement last week: “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one.
“We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.”
And in an email to organizers she insisted her actions are “100 per cent nothing against the French Open or even the press members themselves.”
This stance is against the system requiring athletes to be forced to do press on occasions when they are suffering from mental health,” she added.
“I believe it is archaic and in need of reform. After this tournament I want to work with the Tours and the governing bodies to figure out how we best compromise to change the system.”
However, that wasn’t enough to stop officials taking aim at the star in a since-deleted tweet, sharing a post on Saturday with four photos of other players meeting with reporters at the tournament.
In the caption, they penned: “They understood the assignment.”
Naomi‘s next match during the French Open will take place on Wednesday against Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan.
Fetty Wap seems to be a good guy. From what I understand, he did a solid to a young hairdresser that did his hair recently. As you know fatty gets extensions to give him some really nice locs I am that has been his trademark for quite some time.
There is not a whole lot to see here, but I think it is cool that homeboy still in the community and helping people out. I will say I wish you would wear a eyepatch over his eyes, but that’s none of my business. Shout out to him! And the queen who did his hair.
Lizzo has admitted working out is crucial to maintaining her mental health.
The pop star has developed an enthusiasm for exercising and keeping fit because she recognizes that it boosts her mental wellbeing.
The “Truth Hurts” hitmaker – who has become a high-profile advocate for body positivity over recent years – explained on Instagram: “Working out, I realized, is more for my mental health.
“When I wasn’t working out I was getting so sad and crying. I was like, ‘Why am I crying? What’s wrong with me?’
“Then I realized, after two weeks of working out, that I don’t have those emotional outbursts anymore, I think I let it all out when I sweat.”
Despite this, Lizzo recently confessed to feeling like a “burden on everyone”.
Sharing a heartfelt video on TikTok, the singer admitted to going through “that part of sadness” that’s left her feeling “annoying” to others and as though “nobody cares” about her.
Lizzo was seen in tears as she said: “You know that part of sadness where you feel like a burden on everyone and annoying and nobody cares about you? Can we get rid of that part? It’s like, yo, I’m already sad. Could it add insult to injury that I have no one to talk to about it?”
And Lizzo told fans her struggles have left her feeling isolated.
She said: “I don’t want to feel this way anymore. I want to feel like I do have someone to talk to, people do care about me. I have love. I’m not alone. That’s what I want to feel, but I don’t feel like that.”
T.I. is not playing with his accusers. I know a lot of people may think he did some wrong with all these accusations against him. However, the Atlanta mogul is not letting up in his stance that he is completely innocent on all the charges levied against him and his wife tiny. But he is now taking his views public, in both social media and music.
In the latest development, Sabrina Peterson has said that she would accept an apology from the trap king. In an unexpected turn of events, albeit humorously, T.I. responded with a meme that said it all.
If for some reason you didn’t get it, know that T.I. is basically saying that he is not apologizing to Sabrina Peterson. This woman is the number one reason why there have been dozens of accusations against T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris, going from sexual assault, rape, drugging infractions and more. In an interview she suggested she would just drop it all if the power couple apologized publicly. Previously, she had accuse T.I. of putting a gun to her head in front of her kids, some thing T.I. has denied. Honestly, this is kind of ridiculous, but it seems like maybe the case against T.I. is losing a little steam. Last time I checked, an apology was just a bunch of words, it wasn’t money or justice. Also, if T.I. is actually innocent the way he claims, there is no reason for him to apologize. That would only suggest strongly that he was guilty, which he maintains steadfastly that he is not. Even if he did apologize to Sabrina, that would open the floodgates of speculation to his innocence or guilt in all the other cases. It could be a legal nightmare, either way. But the use of social media is getting more and more interesting.
50 Cent has no problem with ex-girlfriend Vivica A. Fox calling him the love of her life, insisting he was smitten with the actress while they were dating.
The “Kill Bill” star recently called the rapper a true soulmate, calling him “the love of my life” and 50 took note, telling Kris Kaylin he’ll always be fond of the actress.
“I’m never bothered by when she says that,” he said. “At the time that we actually connected with each other, we were unconscious of everything else.”
“It got so uncomfortable with everybody else – when you get pushed and pulled in different directions without it even being her decision,” 50 explains. “Her publicist would say, ‘Do this’. This person (said) ‘Do this’. And then you go, ‘All right, this is not the right thing’.”
Fox shares his sentiment – she told said that if she had the chance for a do-over, she would keep their relationship private.
A new podcast called “The Dossier” is centered around a conspiracy to cover up the murder of the rapper, Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls.
“The Dossier” is produced by investigative journalist/filmmaker, Don Sikorski, who explained how he came across explosive, unredacted documents as he looked into Biggie Smalls’ murder.
“Phil was an FBI agent who had worked out of the LA field division. I realized that he had investigated what at the time was called a public corruption case, looking into whether LAPD officers were involved in the murder of Biggie,” Don Sikorski explained to AllHipHop.com. “At the time that I found out that Phil had done this, he was still inside the FBI. So knowing anything about the FBI, you know, FBI agents will not talk. They will not talk to the media, they will not talk to civilians they won’t talk to anybody. It just so happened though that Phil was retiring, and he said “you know what, I’ll sit down with you and, and I’ll talk to you.”
In late 2018, Sikorski came into possession of unreleased documents that were submitted as evidence during a civil lawsuit Biggie’s mother Voletta Wallace brought against the LAPD. B.I.G.’s mom and her lawyer Perry Sanders believed that rogue LA cops from the infamous Rampart Division took part in orchestrating the hit against the rapper on March 9th, 1997.
Biggie Smalls was infamously shot and killed in front of dozens of witnesses, who had attended the Soul Train Awards at The Petersen Automotive Museum. His murder remains unsolved.
In “The Dossier” Don Sikorski argues that there is enough evidence for the FBI to file federal charges against ex-LAPD cops Nino Durden, Rafael Perez, David Mack, and an associated named Amir Muhammad.
VIDEO: EX-FBI AGENT PHIL CARSON ON BIGGIE INVESTIGATION
During his first video interview, Agent Phil Carson explains in detail how he came to be in charge of the investigation into Biggie’s murder.
AllHipHop had the chance to sit down with Don Sikorski and Phil Carson, in a 2-hour interview that will be rolled out over the next month. Phil Carson is a Seattle native, who attended the University of Washington, where he majored in business finance.
According to Phil Carson, he grew weary of Seattle’s weather and packed up for Southern California, where he worked as a financial analyst for a few years.
Carson said he eventually applied to work for the FBI in 1997. He went through rigorous physical training and was eventually accepted and assigned to a unit that was tasked with investigating prison, and public corruption cases.
Phil Carson’s experience with corruption cases led him to an assignment with the FBI’s RAMfit Squad.
The unit was formed after LAPD officer Rafael Perez admitted dozens of cops within the Rampart Division were violating the civil rights of citizens by planting evidence, robbing banks, assaulting, and sometimes, murdering people.
“When they brought him in when they finally to get him to talk, they gave him the deal of the century,” Agent Carson said of the origin of his investigation into Biggie’s murder.
“There was no state or Federal case on Rampart. Rampart was just another division with an LAPD. Rafael Perez got busted ordering out cocaine from an evidence locker in the LAPD,” Former FBI Agent Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com.
The scandal started to unfold on November 6, 1997, when LAPD officer David Mack robbed a Bank of America branch with two accomplices who have never been caught. Mack was arrested one month later, in December of 1997, for his role in the robbery, which netted him and his cronies $722,000
Mack was arrested in December of 1997, and eventually convicted of bank robbery charges. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released on May 14, 2010.
But the Rampart Scandal really exploded on March 27, 1998.
That is when LAPD officer and Rampart/CRASH Unit member and David Mack’s old partner Rafael Perez, was nabbed for stealing six kilos of cocaine out of an evidence locker that belonged to a controversial ex-officer named Frank Lyga.
Agent Carson believes Rafael Perez may have been motivated to steal the drugs after Officer Lyga shot and killed another LAPD cop named Kevin Gaines, during a road rage incident in 1997. Officer Gaines, who was supposedly connected to the Bloods, moonlighted as security for Marion “Suge” Knight and Death Row Records.
Kevin Gaines was supposedly the connect for other crooked LAPD police officers to get jobs working for Death Row. Those cops included Nino Durden, Rafael Perez, and David Mack.
Rafael Perez eventually took a plea deal for stealing the cocaine from Frank Lyga’s locker. He dimed out other police officers and was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing the cocaine.
“When they gave him that deal, they had no idea what he was going to tell them. They thought maybe that he was going to tell him about just some other bad stuff that he’d been involved with and some of the cocaine, that he’d been stealing out in locker. Well, he throws out a bombshell about Rampart, and about all these corrupt police officers and all the bad stuff they were doing,” Former FBI Agent Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com.
Frank Lyga was not charged over the shooting, but the LAPD shelled out $250,000 to settle the incident with Kevin Gaines’ family. Lyga was eventually relieved from the LAPD in 2014 for making racist comments about the shooting during a talk with a class at the LAPD Academy.
Nino Durdan pleaded guilty to shooting one unarmed gang member and framing another. He served five years in prison for his crimes.
THE RAMPART SCANDAL EXPLODES
The ensuing scandal surrounding Rafael Perez’s admissions became known as the Rampart Scandal, one of the biggest police corruption cases in history.
“Planting evidence, shooting unarmed people ripping off drug traffickers…once that happened, it no longer became an LAPD Internal Affairs investigation on Rafael Perez, now you’re talking about Civil Rights violation. Shooting unarmed people and all sorts of stuff.” – Former FBI Agent Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com.
Agent Carson’s investigation into Perez with the RAMfit unit resulted in 70 police officers being implicated, with 24 being charged for a litany of crimes, including planting evidence, beating suspects, dealing drugs, attempted murder, and murder.
In the end, only four officers were convicted: Officer Paul Harper, Officer Brian Liddy, Officer Michael Buchanan and Sergeant Edward Ortiz. Although nearly every accused cop in the scandal walked away without being charged, the scandal cost the City of Los Angeles over $125 million to settle dozens of civil suits over the police misconduct.
The stolen money from David Mack’s bank heist was never recovered and some have claimed the money was used to pay for B.I.G.’s contract killing just six months earlier.
THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.’s ASSASSINATION
Phil Carson said he opened another, separate corruption investigation into Biggie Small’s murder in the early part of 2000, after watching an unnamed documentary on the rap star’s murder. Carson was amazed to learn the very same subjects he had spent years investigating could have conspired together in yet another, high-profile crime.
“People were coming up with their own theories of who might have committed the murder. And that’s when I started thinking like ‘No. I kind of know what’s going on here,” Former FBI Agent Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com.
“That’s when I wrote up the long communication to my boss. It must have been eight or 10 pages long. I was involved with the Rampart case and I had knowledge of David Mack’s bank robbery case. I was able to put it all together saying no ‘there’s, a pattern here, and it’s not a good pattern. It involves corrupt LAPD officers and the same names are coming up. And so that’s when I sat down with my bosses.
“You have to have enough information to open up what’s called a preliminary investigation. So it’s not a full field case yet. Well, I was able to dig up enough information with the knowledge I had from these other cases, to where when I went in and I presented this to my bosses, it wasn’t a preliminary investigation. It was a full field investigation case number, title, everything, and I started running with the ball then,” Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com.
Phil Carson retired from the FBI in 2017, after almost two decades of service to the bureau.
WHY IS PHIL CARSON SPEAKING ABOUT BIGGIE’S MURDER NOW?
Agent Carson Phil Carson said he hopes his decision to speak on the record about how powerful LAPD officers and their cronies obstructed his investigation, will put a fresh set of eyes on the case and eventually lead to charges for the rapper’s murder.
Agent Carson reveals the evidence he gathered and how he came to the conclusion that cops with the Los Angeles Police Department conspired to murder The Notorious B.I.G.
During the Q&A, Phil Carson also explains how he was prevented from testifying against the LAPD’s top brass during the controversial civil trial over Biggie’s death, out of fear that a $500 million judgment in favor of the rap star’s estate would bankrupt the city.
Former agent Phil Carson and Don Sikorski said at least four sitting police chiefs, including Willie Williams, Bernard Parks, William Bratton, Charles L. Beck, and current chief Michel Moore, who is dealing with a new corruption scandal of his own, are aware that LAPD cops were involved in Biggie’s murder.
B.I.G’s mom’s civil suit was dismissed without prejudice, thanks in part to trial errors, statements by former Police Chief Bernard Parks, and the fact that Pac’s bodyguard/informant Kevin Hackie recanted earlier statements he made implicating David Mack in the murder.
During the first trial, a “gang expert” named Sheriff’s Detective Timothy Brennan testified that Biggie’s was killed in a dispute with The Southside Crips, who were allegedly providing security for the rap star.
DID THE SOUTHSIDE CRIPS KILL BIGGIE?
Agent Carson and Don Sikorski also layout facts to dispute former LAPD officer Greg Kading’s assertion that Wardell “Poochie” Fouse and the Southside Crips were involved with Biggie’s murder in his book 2011 “Murder Rap.”
Instead, both men believe the investigative work of former LAPD officer Russell Poole – who also investigated the murder as an officer on the force – was right the whole time. This theory was advanced based off of Poole’s interviews in Randall Sullivan’s 2002 book “LAbyrinth.”
Poole also came to the conclusion that Perez, Mack, and Knight worked together to kill Biggie.
“When Biggie is killed a guy by the name of Russ Poole of LAPD’s Robbery/Homicide division gets the case,” Don Sikorski told AllHipHop.com. “He tries to solve the case, and at every turn, is sort of shut down by LAPD. He is pushed out of LAPD he sort of is blackballed out of the LAPD…and that is the first instance of this case where you started to see weird things happening, where he wanted to investigate different things. He wanted to run ballistics on a car that possibly, was at the murder scene in the LAPD told them not to.”
Neither Mack and Amir Muhammad have ever faced criminal charges. At one point, Amir Muhammad was ready to take a lie detector test to prove his innocence and he publicly denied being involved in the shooting.
Agent Carson maintains he saw photos of Amir Muhammad near Biggie and other members of the Bad Boy entourage in front of The Petersen Museum on March 9th, 1997, during his investigation.
Phil Carson also explains how he was prevented from testifying against the LAPD during the controversial civil trial over Biggie’s death, which helped torpedo the case in 2005 and 2007.
Agent Phil Carson also crystallizes how a murder led police officers David Mack and Rafael Perez to become so close, how they ended up moonlighting as security for Death Row Records, and the crooked cops plot to kill the Notorious B.I.G.
The unsolved murder of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G” Wallace on March 9th, 1997 continues to frustrate fans and most investigators to this very day. However, there are some FBI agents and LAPD officers who have seen the proof related to B.I.G.’s murder firsthand.
FBI Agent Phil Carson dropped a bombshell revelation on the shooter’s alleged target, which was thought to be Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Until now, the most outspoken of these investigators has been deceased former LAPD detectives Russell Poole and Greg Kading. Russell Poole and Greg Kading came to very different conclusions.
In his book “LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records’ Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal,” Russell Poole laid out evidence that rogue LAPD cops Rafael Perez and David Mack arranged the murder along with an alleged hitman named Amir Muhammad.
Court doc from B.I.G. Civil’s Suit claiming David Mack was paid $25,000 to orchestrate the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.
Greg Kading on the other hand, maintains B.I.G. was killed by members of the South Side Crips, over an unpaid debt in his book “Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations by the Detective Who Solved Both Cases.”
B.I.G. only released one album while he was alive, Ready To Die. His follow-up, Life After Death was released on March 25th, 1997, 16 days after the revered rap star was gunned down.
Will the assassins ever be brought to justice? Retired FBI agent Phil Carson believes so. Carson was the lead FBI agent designated to examine the murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
Carson supervised the team investigating B.I.G’s death. Carson was the man who interrogated dozens of witnesses as well as possible suspects.
Christle, who was part of the LAPD team that reviewed the B.I.G. investigative files also claimed that information she prepared regarding the rapper’s murder mysteriously disappeared and was never forwarded to the rapper’s family as ordered by the courts.
Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com that Michael Berkow contrived to impede his investigation with the help of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chuck Philips, who was supposedly using the Los Angeles Times as a vehicle to expose informants, spread disinformation, and ruin the investigation – as well as Carson’s reputation.
FBI Agent Phil Carson Confirms Crooked Cops Were Involved In Biggie’s Murder
Agent Carson describes how the Los Angeles Times was used by journalist Chuck Philips to ruin the investigation. Read on and watch agent Carson explain the investigation, and the conspiracy in his own words.
AllHipHop: A few years ago,I was out in front of The Peterson. Any direction you move in a vehicle, there are many traffic lights. It seems that the likelihood of somebody getting away or speeding away by car after something of that magnitude would be very unlikely. With David Mack, the bank robbery took place seven to eight months after B.I.G. was gunned down. The bank robbery occurred in August of 1997. And B.I.G. was killed on March 9th of 1997. Do you think David Mack was that brazen after committing such a high profile murder? We know that he did the bank robbery because he was convicted for it and served 14 years. But does that lend proof to have dangerous he was?
Phil Carson: He’s ruthless man. What did he get nailed for a while at Rampart? Nothing. The bank robbery, we know for a fact, there were other people involved in that bank robbery. That guy kept his mouth quiet. He never cooperated. He never admitted it. And he went to trial. And he did his 14 years in federal prison. And they never found the money. That tells you the mental makeup of that guy. So he’s capable of anything.
AllHipHop: In terms of coordinating the B.I.G. murder, I want to focus on discounting some of the information that’s been put out. I know you guys talk about this in The Dossier, specifically about The Los Angeles Times and Chuck Philips.
Don Sikorski: My answer to this is a simple common-sense thing. If his theory was true, If I’m the LAPD, I would make a press conference tomorrow. Bring Greg Kading in there, and say Wardell “Poochie” Fouse killed Biggie. He’s our guy even though he’s dead. We are closing this case, and all of their problems would go away.
Now, what has transpired in the time since this murder? Every chance that LAPD, the city of Los Angeles, and anyone that has any information in regards to the murder of Biggie has tried to obstruct information, evidence in anything else that exists. If that was what happened, why wouldn’t the LAPD just say that’s what happened? Why wouldn’t they hold a press conference and yell this at the top of their lungs? It would solve every problem, it would end this conversation. They have not done that, because they know that’s not the truth.
AllHipHop: Phil, in terms of evidence pointing to that, you said you spoke to a number of people. Who were some of the people that you interviewed and what kind of information did they give you that you had to sort through regarding this theory?
Phil Carson: I can’t name specific people because I think that there’s probably a chance that they’re going to reopen this case. And I don’t want to step on anybody’s feet or anything like that.
KADING
“But what I can tell you is Greg Kading, he’s just wrong. I’ll cut right to the chase. His theory is wrong, period.” Former FBI agent Phil Carson – lead investigator in the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.
When I was doing my case, I cannot tell you how many times that I reached out to LAPD to be part of an operation, to be part of some interviews. One of the things that I continually had to do at the direction of my bosses was I had to brief the higher-ups at LAPD. So even when they said they didn’t want to be part of something, I still had to tell them that was going on. And every single time that this happened, that information would get leaked. Look, everybody wants that question answered. Was LAPD involved in this murder? Everybody wants to know that.
We all want to know who pulled the trigger. I get that. But everybody wants to know, was LAPD involved in orchestrating this murder?
Now, if you want that monkey off your back and your LAPD, then why not be part of something? If you think Greg Kading’s theory is true, then make it public and get everybody off your back and make this whole thing go away, that the theory of LAPD being involved is is incorrect. The bottom line is they’re not doing that. And the reason is that they know Greg Kading’s theory is not correct. Period.
Don Sikorski: If you look at this case, there have been around six detectives that have looked at this case. I’m going to give you a list. Russell Poole is one of them. And if you go back and look at Russell Poole’s history within the LAPD his record is spotless. He is brought into LAPD robbery-homicide, which is the most anointed division of the LAPD, it is where the best of the best go when they are the greatest of the greatest in solving murders.
The second person that investigated this murder, and came to the conclusion that the LAPD was involved is a man by the name of Sergio Robledo. Not too many people know this name, but Sergio Robledo was the head of South Bureau Homicide within the LAPD during the late 80s and early 90s when they had close to 3,000 murders. Sergio Robledo is hired by Miss Wallace during the civil trial to go in and investigate this murder again. At the time he was retired. If you talk to people inside the LAPD, they have nothing but glowing things to say [about Sergio Robledo.] This is not a man who retired under controversy. I mean, he’s a pristine detective. I’m going to add Phil Carson as number three. Phil, how many years were you at the FBI, 18 years?
Phil Carson: Just over 20.
Don Sikorski: So 20 years at the FBI. An honest federal agent. You can look at the commendations he received, you can look at his accolades. These are three investigators, their track records are unimpeachable. Now, the other detective that investigated this is Greg Kading. If you look into his background he has a lot of conflicts of interest in terms of what happened to him inside the LAPD.
If Poochie had done it, let’s just say. How would he have even managed to get away from the murder scene in such a trafficked area of people after such a high profile event? Maybe you can speak to this, Phil. I know you said you can’t name witnesses and things of that nature. But, Biggie’s bodyguard, Big Gene Deal, has gone on record and identified Amir Muhammad as the person that he saw, pulling up to Biggie. In your investigation, was there any type of vehicle confirmed to have been involved in this murder? And what are your thoughts on Gene Deal?
FBI Agent Phil Carson Says He Has Seen Evidence Of Biggie’s Killers In Front Of The Peterson Museum Before He Was Killed
Phil Carson: Numerous witnesses have all stated that it was a black Chevy SS Impala. David Mack owned a 1995 Black Chevy SS Impala. So that’s one connection. Getting back to Big Gene.
When they first went and talked to him, they’re throwing out multiple six-packs. If I had a six-pack and I wanted to see if any of these six people were involved, the way that you put a six-pack together is you make all six people look pretty much alike. You don’t have like a 6’5 five black guy next to a 5’6 guy and then in the third picture, you have a 6-foot Asian guy that has a beard and a mustache.
When we put six-packs together, we get photos from the DMV to where you’ve got six people that all look very alike. So if somebody is going to pick out somebody in a six-pack and is like, that’s the person that did whatever crime? That means they had a good look at the person. And they’re pretty sure about it. So they show him several six-packs.
Sketch of B.I.G’s murder
Big Gene instantly picks the person out circles it, signs it dates it. By the way, other people gave a description of the shooter exactly of the person Big Gene picks out in the six-pack. Everybody says what the shooter was wearing, what they look like, what their hairline looked like, body size, and everything like that. So it’s not just Big Gene. Then they show a picture of Big Gene, standing outside next to Puffy’s car. And he goes, “Yeah, that’s the guy. That’s the guy that I just circled.”
AllHipHop: So you mean to tell me that there’s photographic evidence that the FBI has of Amir Muhammad, who is accused of being the bow-tied triggerman outside and near Puffy?
Phil Carson: Let’s just say the LAPD had that in their file. And then there were certain things that were made part of the FBI file, but at first, they would not let me or the people that I was working the case with, take any photos, make a copy of a photo, or make copies of any other photographs that were part of that case file.
AllHipHop: You saw the actual footage of Amir Muhammad lurking around The Petersen?
Phil Carson: Yes.
AllHipHop: That’s Incredible.
Don Sikorski: I just want to bring up one thing that Phil mentioned about the car. This black SS Impala that David Mack or owned. He robs the bank and Russell Poole wanted to run forensics on the car. He wanted to run financial records on David Mack. He is shut down by the LAPD. What would be the reason that a car fitting the description that he owns, is sitting in his garage, and Russell Poole is not allowed to run any forensics on the car? Secondarily, inside of his home, they find Gecko ammunition, the same ammunition that was used to kill Biggie that’s only available in two places: in New Jersey and Corona, California, where ironically enough, Amir Muhammed does some mortgage transactions. Why wasn’t Russell Poole allowed to run ballistics? Why wasn’t Russell Poole allowed to run forensics on this Impala? I don’t know if you can discuss it. Phil, I think you asked them if you could run forensics, and I think you also were shut down, correct?
Phil Carson: Common-sense says, Yeah. I think any parent would do whatever is necessary to protect their child. And unfortunately, once his daughter became a grown female, she could choose who she wanted to hang out with, and the things she wanted to do. And I think more so as probably a father than the Police Chief. That part, I don’t think you can blame anybody for that. Anybody’s going to do whatever they can to protect their child. At the same time…you’re covering stuff up. Or you’re involved in a cover-up, that’s involving police officers that work for your department.
Don Sikorski: And Grouchy Greg to further that, just so we’re clear, there is a photograph. And in that photograph is Chief Parks’ daughter Michelle Parks, with Rafael Perez and David Mack in Blood attire. That photograph has been seen and has been recorded in a deposition by LAPD detective Wayne Coffee. Two people have seen this photograph and gone on official court records to state that she was in a photograph with Mack and with Perez.
AllHipHop: Phil, how do you think Suge Knight was involved in this? Do you feel that it was a simple hit that he paid for because he had the LA cops on his watch? Does it end up being that simple of a theory?
Phil Carson: Yeah, it does. The bottom line is Tupac was his cash cow. Suge he had a lot of very successful artists that were very profitable for him. But Tupac was his cash cow. And when Tupac got taken out, If you ever talk with that guy [Suge] or see or talk to people that dealt with him on a day to day basis? You talk about a guy that was just feeling like the world was his oyster. I mean he was arrogant. He felt like he ruled the world. He ruled it with an iron fist. And when he lost his cash cow, it does come down to a simple fact of “okay, I’m gonna, I’m gonna ruin it [for everybody].”
This whole East Coast/West Coast feud? It’s true. I mean, that was real.
Biggie was not the intended target of this. It was Puffy. And Suge wanted Puffy out of the equation.
Tupac
Puffy was seeing his celebrity, his wealth, and his business at Bad Boy Entertainment skyrocketing. And Suge was doing the same thing. Death Row Records was taking off like a rocket ship. Well, try to take out the other side, and you get the whole pie to yourself.
I know people beat this theory to death. People say that some of the things Russ Poole was looking at, “that’s all just a bunch of b#######.” It’s not b#######. It’s not. Russ Poole knew what he was doing and was on the right track. I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve seen all the information. I’ve seen both sides of the story. I’ve seen cases that also involve these officers in other areas. Russ Poole was doing the right thing, period.
Phil Carson: You’d have to talk to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Detectives that were involved in investigating that case. But if you do talk to them, they will tell you that yes, Orlando Anderson did commit that murder.
Don Sikorski: For me, I’ve interviewed Suge. For my first documentary, I was able to interview him. And then when we did “Who Shot Biggie and Tupac” for Fox, I orchestrated Ice-T and Soledad O’Brien being able to interview him. I will put this out there and I think that one day this story will be told. But there is a story to be told about the Compton Police Department and Reggie Wright Jr. and Reggie Wright Sr.
AllHipHop: What did you think about both of them being indicted on cocaine trafficking charges?
Don Sikorski: That has been going on in Compton with those two since day one. And so for them to just get caught now is not surprising. What is funny about it is, if you read that indictment and read the amount of drugs, the type of drugs, what was involved in it? And then if you listen to his public comments: “Oh yeah, I just got caught with some marijuana,” it’s a joke. I can’t sit here and give you anything outside of that. At some point, somebody will tell that story, which I think will connect the dots in a lot of ways.
Phil Carson: I just have to be careful on what I say. Based on the information that people told me and from a lot of people that were present at The Petersen, it’s been widespread that he [Amir Muhammad] was the triggerman. And just through a lot of investigation, and things that we did at the FBI… I just want to be careful talking about it.
But I guess what I can say is, it’s not like I just woke up one day and said, “Okay, I want this person to be found guilty of this murder. So now, I’m going to do everything I can to try to prove that that person was was the shooter, or that these people were involved.” I’m open to anything and everything. I’m one of those people where I always let the evidence speak for itself. The way that the LAPD and the LA Times and the LA’s DA’s office made it personal against me where they were just trying to ruin me, ruin my career, and ruin this case? It’s like, “guys be mad at the evidence. The evidence is what you guys are concerned about, whether it’s me, or whether it’s the 10-year-old boy that lives next door to me, if he’s the one that hand delivers the evidence, it’s the evidence that you’re concerned about.” And so the way that they were trying to shut all that down and cover all that up, was shutting me down or shutting Russ Poole down. They really made it personal.
Phil Carson: My thing, Grouchy Greg is, when you’re working high profile cases, you’re gonna run into people that just don’t want to talk to you, because they don’t want to get caught up in it. They don’t want a targeted period to be put on their back, or they just want to keep to their own business. And that happens, and I get that. But to go to the lengths that they did [LAPD] when they knew who we believed the shooter was, and where the evidence was pointing?
Which gets back to your question about Amir Muhammad. It’s like, what why would you disclose all this information? Why would somebody like Chuck Philips disclose in an article the name of an FBI source? Or disclose the investigative things that I’m doing to potentially prove who committed this crime or who didn’t commit the crime? Why would somebody throw all that stuff out in an article and ruin it and shut it down?
If somebody says, “Okay, this police officer that you’re alleging was involved, or this person was the alleged shooter, well, we don’t think it’s right.” Well, then great, be part of the investigation, because I’m going to let the evidence speak for itself. If the evidence says that Amir Muhammad was not the shooter, great. That’s awesome. Okay, he wasn’t the shooter, then. That’s fine.
But why are you guys spending all this time and energy and resources and lies covering that up? If there’s nothing to cover up, you don’t cover it up!
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San Antonio Texas band Cadillac Muzik dedicates their latest project to their late great legendary eastside uncle Charles “Black Beamus” Williams. “This project was created in the Psychedelic Soulful Funky spirit of our uncle. We named it O.G. Style to express our form of originality and authenticity.
Where we come from, the term OG wasn’t just given to anyone. You had to have earned & obtained an extreme amount of wisdom & knowledge during your course of life. An OG in our eyes was someone who was incredibly exceptional, authentic, & old-school. Uncle Charles was the pure epitome of the term OG. He lives through us.”
-CaddyMack Moses
Black Beamus moved to San Antonio from Lubbock and was widely respected all throughout the Denver Heights neighborhood. This was solely because of his style, charisma, and unique way of doing things. He was considered a bona fide hood-genius and a jack of many trades. He was a Vietnam war veteran, ex-pimp, shadetree mechanic, inventor, and a fashion designer and stylist.
He created so many styles and ideas that only his neighborhood respected him for, because back in that time many blacks from the south were robbed of their ideas. This was due to a lack of economical power & business in our urban areas. In some cases wealthier blacks would even still concepts from their own people for personal financial gain. He got the name “Black Beamus” because he had very silky dark skin that would beam whenever he walked into a room. It was also his pimp name back in the 60s and 70s. He was of pure African-Native descent.
Uncle Charles changed his life to do good things and give back to his community going into the 90s. He became a staple and pioneer on the eastside streets of San Antonio. He was known for taking scrap-junk and turning it into pieces of art that would then increase in value.
He would make his own clothes, styles, & even dress in his own form of fashion. He owned over 50 cars that he would work on until they were in excellent condition. He would name his Cadillacs and even give them their own personalities. He would ride through the city listening to old-school music by Sly Stone, Funkadelic, James Brown, & The Temptations. Nothing but Soul, Funk, & Gospel. He was certified OG.
Twitter really has given us some gems over the years. It is a place where celebrities often Tweet things without a filter. Yes, they may get deleted a day later once their management has given them a stern telling off, but we all know that nothing is ever really deleted online.
But have you ever wondered what your favorite celebrity put out on Twitter for the first time? What was their first message? The first message is always the most important, right? So, you would think that celebrities and people in the public eye would have carefully crafted their first-ever messages, but this does not appear to be the case in a lot of instances!
With that in mind, we have sourced the first Tweets from a collection of famous celebs! Read on to find out more.
