The Rae Sremmurd siblings lost their stepfather, Floyd Sullivan Jr., in 2020. Michael was indicted for felony first-degree murder. He is currently incarcerated in the Lee County Mississippi Detention Center.
Swae Lee did speak about Floyd’s death and Michael’s legal troubles on his new Swae Meets World docuseries on Snapchat. The “Sunflower” hitmaker also visited his stepfather’s gravesite in the Magnolia State.
TMZ published a clip from Swae Meets World where Swae Lee and his mom spoke to Michael while he was still behind bars. In the 66-second video, Bernadette Walker gave Michael the chance to tell his side of the story.
“I was hearing voices. I thought dad was trying to make me kill myself. My stomach was hurting. I couldn’t eat really. Different stuff like that and that was it,” Michael explained to his brother and mother.
The Swae Meets World scene opens with Swae Lee telling Michael he wishes he was out of jail. At one point, the 27-year-old musician said, “Keep your head clear, Mike… We ain’t forgot about you. Keep your head up.”
Yesterday, people around the world were on the edge of their seats awaiting the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. A Minnesota jury found the former Minneapolis police officer guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
While many people in America expressed relief that Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, another African-American citizen being killed by a police officer became national news.
Ma’Khia Bryant lost her life in Columbus, Ohio on the same day the Chauvin verdict was announced. Body camera footage of the incident was released on Tuesday which showed an officer shooting the 16-year-old girl.
According to reports, Bryant was armed with a knife but she was using the weapon to defend herself against a group that was trying to attack her. There are conflicting reports about whether she was the person that called 911. The teenager was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
“It’s a tragic day in the city of Columbus. It’s a horrible, heartbreaking situation,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “Sharing the body-worn camera footage – while incomplete – was critical. We will share more footage as it becomes available.
Ma’Khia Bryant’s death quickly went viral on social media. Her name became the top trending topic on Twitter as users across the globe shared their thoughts on her being gunned down by a Columbus officer.
R&B singer Kehlani took to Twitter to blast the entire institution of policing in the United States. The 25-year-old It Was Good Until It Wasn’t album creator called for the elimination of law enforcement.
Kehlani tweeted:
ACAB
ABOLISH THE F###### POLICE.
the same day we “celebrate” a verdict for another loss that should’ve never happened, a Black child is murdered.
ABOLISHMENT IS THE ONLY ANSWER.
[five broken heart emojis] #MAKHIABRYANT
She later added:
def not here to police the optimism or the celebration/relief George Floyd’s family gets to experience today. but just always in the headspace of it never had to happen. & praying it never happens again.
Blackout! collaborators and Hip Hop legends Redman and Method Man took part in a Verzuz yesterday (March 21). The “How High 4/20 Special” included cameos by RZA, Keith Murray, Inspectah Deck, and more.
Following the event, Reggie “Redman” Noble dropped a brand new music video for his “80 Barz” single. The track, presented via RIV MUSIC, is a precursor to the highly anticipated Muddy Waters 2 album.
“Collaborating with RIV MUSIC doesn’t feel like a partnership. It’s definitely a family at this point,” said Redman. “I can appreciate that they understand Hip Hop, the authenticity of it, quality control, and most importantly that they are fans of it.”
He continued, “They know their stuff and it felt right jumping back with not just this track that I’ve briefly been sitting on, but Muddy Waters 2 as well.”
The original Muddy Waters came out in 1996 and included guest appearances by Method Man, Erick Sermon, Keith Murray, K-Solo, and others. Redman’s third studio LP is certified Gold.
His discography also contains 1992’s Whut? Thee Album, 1994’s Dare Iz a Darkside, 1998’s Doc’s da Name 2000, and additional bodies of work. His eighth and most recent album, Mudface, was released in 2015.
The Notorious B.I.G. may have left us 24 years ago, still, the business around his gifts remains very much alive and well.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Christopher Wallace Estate has just signed a management deal with WME’s Legends group. The talent agency will be working principally with Ms. Voletta Wallace, the mother of the Bad Boy rapper.
Ms. Wallace will need additional support as Biggie projects are still in high demand— and fans still want to see new and interesting assets created with unreleased content.
People also want to see old content repurposed and reintroduced to the world.
Examples of this stayed-interest are the 2021 releases of the documentary “Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell” featuring his mom, his friends, and colleagues and the scripted Brad Furman’s film, “City of Lies,” starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker and produced by Voletta Wallace & B.I.G’s former manager Wayne Barrow.
THR also states, “The management deal with the songwriter, singer and record producer’s estate builds on WME’s existing roster of marquee estates, which includes those for Andy Kaufman, Eartha Kitt, Peter Tosh, the CBGB brand and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation.”
With over 30 million albums sold, including 28 million RIAA-certified posthumously sold and 5 billion music streams worldwide, they will surely have their hands full.
Biggie was callously murdered in Los Angeles, outside of a party, in 1997. The unsolved murder has been a dark spot over the LAPD for its lack of professionalism and tack, and Hip-Hop culture— as we lost one of the greatest emcees to ever rock the mic.
Ms. Wallace is 68-years-old and loves country music, so support with The Estate will be appreciated.
The music out there today is too good to continue using sub-optimal headphones, especially those with tangling wires and poor Bluetooth capabilities. When quality is affordable, you may as well treat yourself and your ears.
Unbelievable, studio-quality listening is finally accessible with the discounted Raycon E50 Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds, available now for nearly half off the regular sales price. Built for dreamers and underdogs, these affordable headphones are optimal for taking on the go and lasting a long time.
Free of wires, the E50s deliver 25 hours of true wireless audio and noise cancellation. Built to fit comfortably and securely in the ears of listeners, these sleek pieces of modern technology are also available in a wide variety of colors. This deal also includes a rechargeable case so that the earphones can last throughout a given day.
In addition to the long run-time, the Raycons also feature passive noise cancellation, water-and-sweat resistant exteriors, and soft silicone gel tips that are so comfortable, users forget they’re wearing them.
The lightweight, two-ounce build makes carrying them simple and easy. Each pair comes with a Bluetooth range of up to ten meters and a fast-charging time of only about one hour. Purchases also include six pairs of silicone gel tips, a charging cable cord, a charging capsule, and a user guide.
Earning 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, the Raycon E50 Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds are trusted and proven, which is a welcome relief among a wealth of Bluetooth buds on the market today. Considering the studio-quality listening, light-weight build, and comfortable fit — the fact that these incredible wireless earbuds are available for nearly half off right now is exciting.
For just $64.99, you can take your listening game to a whole new level. Down from a regular sales price of $119, this special on the Raycon E50 Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds is super attractive.
Raycon E50 Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds – $64.99
Method Man and Redman, arguably one of the best duos in rap music history, are set to “celebrate” each other on Tuesday, April 20th in a Verzuz competition.
Appropriately dropping on 4/20, the day internationally recognized as Weed Day, this legacy act is known for getting baked and is probably the best match to curate.
Both Red (Reggie Noble) and Meth (Clifford Smith) have been partners in crime on songs, in life, and on film — and in all of those mediums themes about their love for cannabis are prominent.
In the 2001 film, “How High,” the two play college students going to college, but instead of trying to ace their classes, they smoked themselves silly.
It will be interesting to see how they are sized up in this competition.
Redman has eight studio albums and three collaborative albums. He also can pull stuff from his five mixtapes and numerous features on top-name rappers like Tupac Shakur, LL Cool J, De La Soul, Obie Trice, and the Wu-Tang Clan. The Jersey native can also tap into that EPMD and Hit Squad bag too.
Now Meth’s numbers can’t be sneezed at either. He has six studio albums, four collaborative albums and has appeared on a whopping 116 features. While most of those features probably are Killer Bees on the swarm … he can boast heavy names like DMX, Ashanti, Teyana Taylor,
ASAP Mobb, Limp Bizkit, D’Angelo, Ill Will, Cortez, Math Hoffa and more. He has the ill GRAMMY award for “I’ll Be There for You/ You’re All I Need” with Mary J. Blige (real stunt hardware).
The promotional video is hilarious. It shows them working out in a gym getting ready … Method is showcasing his muscles and Red is clearly not as athletic as his boy. Fans may giggle as they hear them yell, “VERZUZZZZZ!”
No worries … we yelling too!
You can check it out on Instagram and Triller at 8 pm EST on How High Day. Get your tray ready.
It has taken almost a year and the collapse of a nation, but on Tuesday, April 20 around 5:05 pm EST, a jury has convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges related to the murder of George Floyd.
Now the man that took the life of Floyd, the rapper known as “Big Floyd,” will possibly serve up to 75 years in prison. He received a guilty verdict on the following charges: second-degree, third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter. He is the first police officer to be convicted of killing a Black person in the state of Minnesota.The jury deliberated for about 11 hours before coming to this decision.But let’s do the numbers …
It took less than 5 minutes to read the decision and less than 5 minutes for the court to revoke his bail and less than that to whisk him out of the courtroom and off to jail.
This was shorter than the almost 10 minutes that Chauvin left his knee on the neck of the 46-year-old Black man killed last year on Memorial weekend.The Hip-Hop community has also started responding:Young Miami tweeted, “YESSSSSSS!! God is good!! #GeorgeFloyd”
YESSSSSSS!! God is good!!! 🥳🥳🥳❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ #GeorgeFloyd
Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Lawson, also posted on IG.“Justice is served! All three counts!!! Praise the Lord!!! Just the Beginning!!! If bad Police faced jail for killing unarmed people , or breaking the law and abusing people they would not do these things. I am not saying under any circumstance that there are not police officers that really try to protect and serve . And I must say that the police that told the truth in this trial and did not protect Derick Chauvin . I commend them and pray that it is the beginning of change.”
Big U is the definition of the “big homie in the hood,” someone you not only want in your corner, but someone you need in your corner.
Standing tall at 6 feet and 5 inches, real name Eugene Henley is a legend his own right, a community activist, philanthropist, and a music industry executive with his own label, Uneek Music.
When artists come to Los Angeles and need some security, Big U is who they are calling. Hailing from South Central Los Angeles, Big U can be viewed as the voice of the streets, pushing black men to be great and achieve their fullest potential.
One artist’s career he played a major role in is the late, great Nipsey Hussle. Big U helped Nip cultivate his All Money In brand beyond just the city, – he helped the rapper reach the masses on a global scale.
Most recently, Big U executive produced FX’s “Hip Hop Uncovered: The Untold Story of Rap’s Most Notorious King Makers,” just one of the many documentaries he has his hands in. When it comes to hip-hop as a whole, you simply can’t have a conversation about the game changers of the genre without including Big U.
AllHipHop: How are you enjoying these interviews? I know you’ve done a lot of press.
Big U: I could pass the interviews. I thought I was going to be writing and creating shows, then the other part is you gotta get the show sold and promoted. Best believe on my next one, I won’t be starring in it.
AllHipHop: Are there questions that you do hate?
Big U: Nothing that hasn’t been already covered in the documentary because I want people to go see the documentary. If I don’t like it, I’ma tell you to go to the documentary. [laughs]
AllHipHop: How’s it feel to be the Executive Producer of FX’s Hip Hop Uncovered?
Big U: We’re #1 in documentaries, we are the s###. It’s like putting out your first project and it going Diamond, but this is not my first project. I did 6 documentaries but the biggest documentary I did before this one was Jam Master Jay’s 2 TURNTABLES AND A MICROPHONE.
AllHipHop: How was that experience?
Big U: You know what’s crazy about it? We did Jam Master Jay’s documentary and we interviewed the guy who’s now in jail for [the murder]. He’s in the documentary talking like it was normal, you would’ve never known. It’s a big back story to Jam Master Jay’s death. It’s like everything else: drugs, money, all that s###.
AllHipHop: Favorite part from producing Hip Hop Uncovered?
Big U: To me, it’s exciting because it’s the first time people really get to see what I do. What I’ve been doing for the last 15 years: producing films, writing, people finally get to see. You know how you do something and nobody knows what you do? They think I’ve been doing other stuff. I haven’t been in music for a long time, I’ve really been writing and doing movies. My biggest project before now was a movie I wrote with Steven Seagal called Force of Execution, it was Danny Trejo, Steven Segal, Ving Rhames. That’s my biggest budget at that time, that was $7 million. Then we did this one so you move up and up and higher and higher. I acted in that movie too.
AllHipHop: How was acting?
Big U: It was fun, my first time acting in a major role. I’ve always done small parts, but I acted in that movie. I got paid for acting in it. I got paid for writing it, co-writing it, re-writing it. It was my first time getting robbed too. If you look at the movie Force of Execution, you’ll see I acted in it. I wrote the story, Ving Rhames was really a story of Big U coming from prison. I made sure I didn’t die in it. You’re gonna see I got no credit in it, they don’t even name my name for acting.
AllHipHop: Why?
Big U: You know how they say in this business you gotta get f##### first before you get…? Well, that was my first time getting beat up.
AllHipHop: You said that budget was $7 million, what was the budget for Hip Hop Uncovered?
Big U: $1.5 million per episode, but you don’t get paid off of documentaries. See on documentaries, you don’t make money. People think I made a lot of money or we make a lot of money off documentaries. A documentary, you’re paying a tree. You don’t pay the trees when you tell a story on trees. You do a documentary on animals, lions, nature, the animal kingdom, you don’t pay them. As executive producer, you get paid for the story and the creation, but we don’t make money off of it. Had it been a television series like a Snowfall with acting, then we would’ve got money. We would’ve got paid for it, but you don’t get paid in telling your story in a documentary form.
AllHipHop: What are your thoughts on Snowfall?
Big U: I haven’t really watched it. I been there with my son watching it. I’ve watched parts where everybody says the guy with the Jheri curl looks like I used to look, but I haven’t watched the story. I don’t like watching stories and then writing because I don’t want to take no part of that person’s story and it melts into my writing.
AllHipHop: I interviewed Freeway Rick Ross and he said Snowfall stole his story. What are your thoughts?
Big U: I heard bro say that, s### I’m riding with bro. Bro said they stole his story, they stole his story.
AllHipHop: How important is loyalty?
Big U: Very important. In today’s time, it’s a loss. You got so many people rapping about going for self and you gotta get it on your own, what is and what ain’t.
AllHipHop: Nipsey’s 2-year death anniversary just passed, how were you feeling?
Big U: For me personally, I spent time with my kids. I had mixed emotions, people were celebrating and we not supposed to be celebrating. In my mind, I wanted to spend time with family. That’s just me, but I felt like people were looking at it like a celebration. It’s not a celebration.
AllHipHop: I think it’s people trying to turn a negative into a positive and celebrating his legacy.
Big U: We’re supposed to be celebrating the life. I ain’t trying to have nothing with nobody. Nip was big on family. If anything, he’d have been with his kids, with his son and daughter.
AllHipHop: What did you see in Nip that other people didn’t have?
Big U: I seen greatness, to be honest. You know how somebody can walk in a room and you know they’re different? The swag’s different. The mentality, the hustle was different. You could see it. You didn’t really have to have a long conversation with him to overstand, it’s something. You may not be able to put your hand on it, but you could feel. He just felt different. I seen him out of all the artists I was looking at. You go and look at the next step like alright, now you have a conversation. Now, you listen to the music. You gotta remember, I was 40 years old when I met Nip. I got out, I was 37. To me, he wasn’t much older than my oldest son. My oldest son was in high school, Nip was just out of high school. Nip would’ve been 18, 19? My oldest son was 15, 2 or 3 years apart.
AllHipHop: What role did you play in Nipsey’s career?
Big U: They gotta go see the documentary. It’s in the documentary, it tells the whole story in Hip Hop Uncovered. Put it like this, I had a great deal of influence on the making of the music, building the early relationships, and he was great at the music. He did his part, he made the music. I had the connections and the relationships ‘cause I’m older and I’ve been in it. Together, we made a great team. When he got ready to push the project with Atlantic, that’s the reason why he called me and said “unc, we ready to go. We ready to push the project.”
You know where you are but you’re getting ready to go to that next level. He’d been putting mixtapes out, he shouted me out on all his music. Every album he dropped, he shouted me out, ‘cause you gon’ always love somebody who helped you get your dream. We never not talked. He was proud of what I was doing. People don’t realize if I hadn’t ever done Hip Hop Uncovered, I could still be considered successful in what I do. I do music, I do concerts, I think I’ve been hurt more by COVID than anybody.
AllHipHop: Really?
Big U: Hell yeah, I make a lot of money every year doing shows. My relationship with most artists in hip-hop is because I book them for shows, I’ll get them great numbers. I’m really that person who can really get most artists the bag. I specialize in getting them the bag. Most ones who know me, know unc gon’ get the bag. Unc gon’ make sure we get the cash, unc gon’ get that cash for us.
AllHipHop: Most memorable Nipsey Hussle show?
Big U: His first show when we’re on the road with Game. We did the LAX Tour, we damn near had to push him on stage. [laughs] He said “g###### unc, that’s a lot of people out there.” Turned out to be a lot of fun, but that’s the most memorable one.
AllHipHop: How was it opening for the Game?
Big U: We did the whole tour man, I got the whole tour on tape. We did 51 cities. He had to get them cobwebs out. Me, him, Kendrick Lamar were in the back talking to Game, that’s when I first met Kendrick Lamar. At the time, he was K. Dot. Jay Rock and Top Dawg, I already knew Top. We did that whole tour in a mobile home, we did it in a van. The greatness of the Hussle came out on that tour. What’s so funny, it was right when Facebook was coming out. You could go Live with Facebook cameras on the phone. You had to get the camera, you could hook the camera up to go live. That’s how we’re building his followers up. That’s how we knew if his fanbase was going.
We’d go city to city, and each city he’d pick up more people. When we first started in some cities, they used to have Nip way up in the front. We’d open up when it’s only 10 people in the audience. I swear to God by the time we got to our fifth city, they had moved Nip up. His show was so good, they moved us from being the first opener all the way to him opening up right before Game. This is how good he was. As we continued to go farther and farther, we were advancing radio. They’re calling us to see if Game wasn’t gonna come, they wanted Nip to come. That was the LAX tour, it showed where he was and where he was finna be.
AllHipHop: What’s your favorite Nipsey Hussle song & why?
Big U: S###, all the ones that say my name. All the ones that talk about Big U, orBig Draws. [laughs] How you pick one? If someone asked me who’s my favorite Laker of all-time: it’s between Shaq, Kobe, Magic, or Kareem. Kobe only gets a little bit more because Kobe’s gone. I’ve been knowing Shaq, I got a relationship with Shaq.
AllHipHop: What does it mean to be an OG? How are you so connected?
Big U: It’s about being honest, being fair. Years and years of showing your trust in other people and knowing that no matter what young people know, they can trust your words. Knowing that you deliver when you say you gon’ deliver. That’s the most important thing. Especially in longevity, in having a long career, staying healthy and upright. I get b####### just like everybody else gets b#######, I just try to deal with it differently. I’ve learned how to let a lot of stuff go in the last couple of months. The last 3 years, I’ve learned out how to turn off and block people. Oh, you’re blocked.
AllHipHop: Who are the young artists you’re connected with?
Big U: OSBS, Krita Cali, and Watts Up Micky are some of the kids I’m messing with. I’m looking to do some stuff with more artists. I got a distribution company I’m starting, Uneek Distribution. You don’t have to actually sign to us, it’s a distribution company. It’s a platform for people to get music out like Distrokid, EMPIRE, that form. I’m starting my own podcast.
AllHipHop: I was going to ask about that, what’s your podcast about?
Big U: Really, I want to do interviews how you’re doing. I want to do interviews where people can feel comfortable. They can walk away and feel great about it, get their point across. I’m not highlighting no negativity, ‘cause I know how it feels to be ridiculed and be bullied by b###### that won’t even show they face. When I say b######, I’m not talking about a woman. Talking about b#### men.
AllHipHop: How do you feel about Quando Rondo saying he didn’t hit you for protection?
Big U: That’s my guy, I f### with Quando. He can say what he wants to say, that’s my kid. I’m talking to him. I’m gonna interview him for my show. I talk to him. I don’t think he was saying he didn’t need no protection because s###, sometimes I need protection.
AllHipHop: How’d it feel to John Singleton to base Doughboy’s story from Boyz In The Hood on you?
Big U: He didn’t base it on me. His whole story’s on my neighborhood, we grew up right there. If you tell a story in the 60’s and use all the characters and likenesses of the 60’s, any of my homeboys can say that. At that time, everything John Singleton had done was around the 60’s. All the movies involved Crenshaw High School, our neighborhood, all my homeboys can say that.
AllHipHop: What’s the reality of coming up in the Rollin 60’s?
Big U: We grew up as hoodsters. You from LA, you know our demonstration. We the Crips. We try to set up businesses, corporations, we doing business. We think on a different level. Not to say other people don’t, but the vast majority of us are pushed to do different things a different way. We set the trend. We’ve always done business, built property. We give back to our community. We set the scale high.
AllHipHop: What other documentaries are you working on?
Big U: I got 2 of ‘em. I got one about my homeboys who did the most bank robberies in the history of America. They both did 27 and 25 years, they’re home. I’m doing a documentary on them and a series. I’m doing another documentary on some of my older homeboys who came home. It’s on people who did prison time: how their lives are affected now, how the system was set in place. We’re doing a documentary and a series on the Crips, we happened to produce it and create it. That one’s going to be big. The one of the Crips and the bank robbers are 2 unique stories.
AllHipHop: Biggest lesson you learned behind bars?
Big U: Patience. Time. If I didn’t learn nothing else, I learned how to wait. When someone disrespect me, I learned how to wait. I swear to God I learned time and patience. If I didn’t learn nothing else, I learned how to wait. Took me 10 years. Believe me, I know how to wait.
Rapper Pusha T was worried about a massive stone mural crushing him to death as he joined Kayne West onstage for his headlining performance at the 2011 Coachella festival.
Kanye had insisted on having the giant piece of art, resembling the Altar of Zeus at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, hang high above the stage as part of his elaborate set design at the California music event.
And it was all Pusha could think about as he prepared to perform alongside his pal.
Reflecting on the groundbreaking performance, which was staged a decade ago on Saturday (April 17th), Pusha told Complex.com, “Whatever that structure was, it was so massive. I was like, ‘I hope this doesn’t fall on me.’ These were all my thoughts.”
Thankfully, all went smoothly and the 90-minute set was hailed a great success, marking a key turning point in the “Stronger” hitmaker’s career.
“It was my first time seeing a stage performance and (Kanye) putting it on like this,” Pusha recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. This is a huge deal.’ Watching him be obsessed… It was like, it couldn’t go any other way for him.”
Talib Kweli is back, with a new album and a new book “Vibrate Higher: A Rap Story.”
The rapper has partnered with legendary producer Diamond on a new effort called Gotham, which is currently on all streaming services.
The Brooklyn Bomber talks to Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur about everything that is currently going on in his life, the new book, new music as well as everything from social media drama to Black Lives money Matters to Jay-Z.
A relatively new podcaster, Talib also discusses his experience interviewing DMX, which is now heralded as the seminal interview with the late icon.
Hip-Hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is reportedly helping to cover the funeral costs for his one-time protege Black Rob following the rapper’s death on Saturday (April 17th).
At the time, Bad Boy Records boss Diddy came under fire from fans online for failing to come to Black Rob’s aid, but now, Diddy is stepping up to ensure his old pal, who had suffered a series of strokes in recent years, receives a proper farewell.
Meanwhile, Black Rob’s longtime friend and fellow former Bad Boy Records labelmate, Mark Curry, told Rolling Stone the late rapper had spoken to Diddy on the eve of his passing to clear the air over their undisclosed past differences.
Mark Curry recalled, “Before Rob passed, he said, ‘One thing I was going to do before I leave this earth is make sure we all speak to each other again.’ It’s always great to see when people are growing and learning to forgive.”
Curry, who was with Rob when he died, also revealed he had passed away from a cardiac arrest caused by a rare kidney disease.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0cQxjHFu1/
On Sunday, Diddy paid tribute to Rob in a post on Instagram.
“Rest in power King!” he captioned a photo of the tragic star.
“As I listen to your records today there’s one thing that they all have in common! You have made millions of people all over the world feel good and dance! You are one of a kind! GOD BLESS! Love. You will be truly missed!!!!”
Juaquin “Waka Flocka Flame” Malphurs has been a longtime supporter of Donald Trump. It appears the former President of the United States is a fan of the recording artist/reality television star as well.
Waka revealed he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. According to TMZ, the certificate was signed by Trump as recognition for Waka’s philanthropic volunteer work with Chicago’s Daughter of Destiny non-profit organization.
“I gotta thank my pastor/big sister Apostle Dr. Bridget C. Outlaw for teaching and guiding me on this journey God got us on. I’m just honored [folded hands emoji]. S/O to my president!!!” wrote Waka on Instagram.
The 34-year-old Atlanta resident posted a photo of himself on IG holding a framed document. He was also wearing a medal around his neck with an inscription that read, “The President’s Volunteer Service Award.”
In response to Trump’s comments, Waka referred to the real estate mogul as a “pathetic man.’ The Flockaveli album creator went on to tweet, “My ancestor was illegal and brought by force I’m just watching modern-day slavery. Why not take a f###### stand? #WFF… Take off the blindfold people and step up. #MinoritiesMatter.”
A few weeks later, Waka called the media’s coverage of Election Night 2020 “disgusting.” At the time, Biden had a substantial lead over Trump in the Electoral College race. The former VP eventually defeated Trump 306 to 232 in electoral votes by picking up the typically Republican-leaning states of Arizona and Georgia.
Trump still refuses to acknowledge Biden as the legitimate president based on unfounded conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines and global communist plots. Numerous state and federal judges have rejected those claims. Team Trump lost over 60 nationwide lawsuits. Trump’s fraudulent Stop The Steal campaign ignited the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol which led to five deaths.
Following Earl Simmons’s passing on April 9, this week saw a resurgence on the Billboard charts for the legendary rapper better known as DMX. For example, The Best Of DMX compilation skyrocketed to #2 on the Billboard 200 album rankings.
The late New York emcee’s music experienced significant gains on the Hot 100 singles chart as well. Three DMX tracks made it onto the latest list of most popular songs in the country – “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” (#16), “Party Up (Up In Here)” (#40), and “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” (#46).
1998’s “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” is now the highest-charting single of DMX’s career. Previously, he peaked at #17 as a feature on The Lox’s “Money, Power & Respect” with Lil Kim. That star-studded collaboration also came out in 1998.
While DMX never reached the Top 10 of the Hot 100, he did achieve considerable success on the Billboard 200 chart throughout his musical run. Seven of Dark Man X’s projects broke into that tally’s Top 10, and five albums reached #1.
DMX’s debut studio LP, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, opened at #1 in 1998 with 251,000 first-week copies sold. Seven months later, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood also launched at #1 with 670,000 first-week units. 1998’s …And Then There Was X, 2001’s The Great Depression, and 2003’s Grand Champ were chart-toppers too.
It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot is now certified 4x-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood is certified 3x-Platinum. …And Then There Was X is certified 5x-Platinum. The Great Depression and Grand Champ are both certified Platinum.
“Get at Me Dog” featuring Sheek Louch off It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot earned Gold certification from the RIAA. The Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood single “Slippin'” is also certified Gold. “Money, Power & Respect” also collected a Gold plaque.
Festival season has returned. After the touring and concert industry essentially had to completely shut down for most of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks like promoters are ready to revive the live music experience.
One of the biggest brands in the business just announced a stacked lineup for a three-day showcase this summer. Rolling Loud Miami 2021 will be held July 23-25 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The upcoming Rolling Loud will be the first in Miami since 2019. Three major stars were tapped to headline the event. Attendees will get to see the festival close out with A$AP Rocky on July 23, Travis Scott on July 24, and Post Malone on July 25.
This year’s flyer (see below) also features Lil Baby, 21 Savage, DaBaby, Young Thug, Kodak Black, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Durk, Tyga, Swae Lee, Gunna, Playboi Carti, Roddy Ricch, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay, Pooh Shiesty, Polo G, City Girls, Mulatto, Coi Leray, SAINt JHN, Toosii, 42 Dugg, Sheff G, Rubi Rose, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, T-Pain, Curren$y, Fetty Wap, Wale, and more.
Rolling Loud Miami 2020 was postponed due to the coronavirus crisis. Organizers will honor all 2020 passes and will grant refunds to ticket-holders who are no longer able to attend. Limited tickets for the 2021 festival will be available for sale at 12 pm ET on April 23.
A statement from Rolling Loud reads:
Thank you all for your patience. We kept the faith as long as we could for the May dates, but ultimately we still face challenges that prevent us from gathering together at Rolling Loud Miami in early May.
With that being said, we are excited to announce that Rolling Loud will now take place on July 23-25, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens!
We want to extend a massive thank you to all of our ragers who have held onto their tickets. Those who can’t make the new dates will have the opportunity to obtain a refund. Information on how to obtain a refund will be sent out to ticket holders later this month. We are also working on sweetening the deal for those of you who choose to keep your tickets in addition to the rage pack you already earned from the last reschedule.
For those of you who made hotel and/or travel reservations in May, we hear your travel concerns and realize that this is not an ideal situation. Thankfully, many major airlines are not currently charging change fees, and most Miami hotels have policies in place that allow for refunds.
We can’t wait to reunite together in the pits we’ve all grown to love (and miss) so much. Many of you, like us, have been looking forward to Rolling Loud for months now. And although we may need to wait a little bit longer—trust that this comeback and reunion will be even stronger. Whether you’re a Rolling Loud veteran or a first-timer, you are about to be a part of history. Lineup, show details, on-sale, and more information coming soon, so stay tuned!
Taurus “Polo G” Bartlett currently has the most popular song in America. The Chicago-raised rhymer’s “Rapstar” opened at #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, knocking Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” from the top spot.
“Rapstar” is Polo G’s second Top 10 song and first Hot 100 chart-topper. He previously peaked at #10 in July 2020 as a guest on Juice Wrld and Marshmello’s “Hate the Other Side” along with The Kid Laroi.
In 2019, Polo G and Lil Tjay scored a Top 20 hit when “Pop Out” climbed all the way to #11. That was Polo’s previous best showing as a lead artist. The Goat album creator now has 20 career entries on the hot 100.
“Rapstar” quickly became a streaming juggernaut. The track earned the highest number of debut-week streams of 2021 for a male artist and the second-highest number of debut-week streams of 2020 for any artist behind Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License.”
Polo’s latest’s single racked up 54 million streams in the United States. The song still remains at #1 on both the Spotify Daily U.S. Top 200 and the Apple Music Top 100: USA charts. The Arrad-directed music video amassed more than 28 million views.
With 53.6 million U.S. streams, @Polo_Capalot's "Rapstar" logs the third-biggest one-week streaming total for a song this year.@Olivia_Rodrigo's "Drivers License" earned 76.1 million in its first week, and then 59.7 million in its second week.
Unsurprisingly, Polo was excited about learning that “Rapstar” landed at #1 on the Hot 100 chart. The Columbia recording artist celebrated the accomplishment with his fans on social media. He tweeted, “#1 song on the Billboard Charts. Thank u God & everybody supportin’ me. This s### don’t even feel real.”
The 2020 XXL Freshman Class member also posted on Instagram:
It’s Crazy I really Manifested this s###. I got a long list of goals imma b scratchin off just this year alone…Only 52 ppl ever debuted @ #1 on the billboard hot 100 & I’m part of that group U can’t tell me I ain’t chosen I done really beat the odds fr From A Place where n##### like me b the 1st to die who woulda thought I’ll go #1….thank y’all Mann. I can’t stress that enough Ik I work hard asf & y’all work just as hard supporting me We gone keep goin up fr REAL #rapstar Album comin sooooonnnnnnn #Halloffame
Polo G is expected to drop his third official studio LP, tentatively titled Hall of Fame, later this year. He originally broke out with 2019’s Platinum-certified Die a Legend. That project was followed by 2020’s Platinum-certified The Goat.
#1 song On the billboard Charts🌟🌟🌟🙇🏾Thank u God💯& Everybody Supportin me This s### don’t even Feel real
News broke overnight that late NBA icon Kobe Bryant’s name and likeness will no longer be associated with the Nike corporation. His widow, Vanessa Bryant, and the Kobe Bryant estate decided not to renew the partnership.
According to ESPN, the estate was frustrated with Nike over the limited availability of Kobe products during his retirement and after his January 2020 death as well as the lack of availability of shoes in kids’ sizes.
The Kobe Bryant estate could possibly sign a deal with another brand. Apparently, the estate owns the rights to the “Mamba” logo and the 5-time NBA champion’s signature.
Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram to address the latest development. She posted:
Kobe’s Nike contract expired on 4/13/21. Kobe and Nike have made some of the most beautiful basketball shoes of all time, worn and adored by fans and athletes in all sports across the globe. It seems fitting that more NBA players wear my husband’s product than any other signature shoe. My hope will always be to allow Kobe’s fans to get and wear his products. I will continue to fight for that. Kobe’s products sell out in seconds. That says everything. I was hoping to forge a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband’s legacy. We will always do everything we can to honor Kobe and Gigi’s legacies. That will never change.
ESPN’s Nick DePaula also reported Nike’s contract extension offer was viewed as not in line with other “lifetime” agreements like the ones signed by Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. He was 41 years old. Eight other people also lost their lives in that accident in Calabasas, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Alyssa Altobelli, 14, John Altobelli, 56, Keri Altobelli, 46, Payton Chester, 13, Sarah Chester, 45, Christina Maurer, 38, and Ara Zobayan, 50 were the other individuals who lost their lives that day.
First of all, I wanna say I am very happy that Lil Durk did not have an incident at a concert where a gun was fired in the midst of a crowd. That is great news for the culture, because you already know they want something like that to happen. Second of all, I’m extremely happy that this guys finally hitting his stride. It is certainly a long time coming. With that, the fans are talking.
A number of people have been complaining that they spent a ton of money for tickets and didn’t get accommodated accordingly. Specifically one person said that they paid $700 for a front row ticket and it was so disorganized that they didn’t get their proper placement. They are saying that even though there wasn’t a violent incident, there could have been very easily been one. Security was sus. They said that they were letting people in without tickets, didn’t check bags and really didn’t pat people down. On top of that, which I did not know, it was like thousands and thousands of people out there. There were apparently numerous technical difficulties as well including microphones and an overabundance of people on stage. At times, the DJ would just play the songs in the crowd with sing-along. Those that were considered VIPs did not get those spots and that security was so light that it was quite scary.
Some people allegedly were trampled when those fake shots let off in the concert of thousands. But the main thing that people are saying is that they paid somewhere between $200 and $700 and did not get what they were asking for. They are saying that they paid for essentially nothing and some of them on a refund from Lil Durk. I know we like to celebrate when something insane does not happen but we have to normalize dope stuff happening.
In Monday’s version of “Well it was dope when I first said it …” Philly Rapper Warchyld is splattered across the news for driving his promotional vehicle near West 16th street, in the Chelsea area of Manhattan on Saturday.
He was in the city to celebrate a listening party for his new music that was scheduled for Friday, April 16th in Times Square. This invitation-only was hosted by The Breakfast Club’s DJ Envy and deejayed by DJ Garcia Garçon.
His Instagram says that the event was even sponsored by Spotify.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNsNyHEnyYk/
Nothing weird about that … And it seemed like the emcee’s weekend was going to be lit. But after his army green Hummer— the SUV he was rocking for the weekend— was spotted by locals, things went south.
They were alarmed and called the cops on him because it looked more like a tank as it had a rifle molded on the top. The souped-up ride looked less like a marketing stunt and more like a weapon of war.
But no jail time for the 41-year-old.Christopher Stoney, Warchyld, told the authorities that the gun on top of his jeep was actually an air rifle used to spit out promotional tee-shirts.
They still took it down and gave him a violation for unlawful possession of an air rifle.
Days later, the rapper turned the lemons into lemonade. He is posting New York clips on his social media.
An associate of disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly has recently admitted to one count of arson, after setting ablaze Azriel Clary’s car.
Clary is R. Kelly’s former girlfriend, and witness in one of the artist’s many cases.
Michael Williams agreed to a plea deal in a Brooklyn federal court on Monday, April 19th, in effort to duck other charges related to “Mr. I Believe I Can Fly.”
The Feds were trying to hit him with a witness tampering charge, which would have landed him in jail for a really long time.
With this deal, he will at the max serve a little under six years (60 to 71 months).
His attorney Todd Spodek believed, “The plea agreement is fair in that the witness tampering charge as it relates to R. Kelly will be dismissed at sentencing.”
Court records show that only a couple of hours before the fire, Williams searched for the witness’ Florida address. Boom — well that’s how the “cookies” crumble (especially when you don’t erase them).
The car exploded after being set on fire, Clary’s complaint alleges. It also stated that she came out to come outside and to see “an individual fleeing from the scene whose arm appeared to be lit on fire.”
Local fire investigators discovered an accelerant near the property. In addition to his digital records, which showed that he also googled “How do fertilizer bombs work?,” “witness intimidation,” and “case law for tampering with a witness,” the defendant’s car was caught on the toll plaza cameras going to Florida from Georgia and coming back (right afterward).
Yeah … I am thinking the same dang on thing. #BigDummy.
Two other of Kelly’s peeps have also been locked up for trying to intimidate Clary, a key witness in the accused pedophile’s case, Donnell Russell and Richard Arline, Jr.
Records show that Arline has already pleaded guilty three months ago, February.It seems that Kelly, once a bright star, is a toxic bowl of wackness that has everyone next to him in trouble.
He has a ton of cases coming up. He is waiting to go to trial in Brooklyn and Chicago. The laundry list of charges is as follows: sex trafficking, racketeering, coercion, child pornography, and destroying evidence.
With Dancehall and Afrobeats taking over the world, we have to give our flowers to Ice Prince.
Hailing from Nigeria and putting on for his country at all given moments, the superstar recording artist first exploded onto the scene a decade ago with his timeless smash “Oleku,” currently one of Nigeria’s most remixed songs of all-time.
Speaking on his name, he states, “Because I’m cool like that baby. [laughs] I come from a city called Jos, it’s the coldest place in Nigeria. I used to wear a lot of Ruff Ryder dog tags when I was young, that had all the ice on it. They started calling me ‘Ice’ and it stuck.”
Beyond his endless accolades, which include one BET Award, one Ghana Music Award, three The Headies Awards, two Nigeria Entertainment Awards and two Channel O Music Video Awards, it’s Prince’s feel-good sound and vibrations that resonate with audiences all around the world.
Serving as one of the first rappers from Africa to start poppin’ in the US, the artist, whose real name is Panshak Zamani, has worked with everyone from French Montana to Jeremih to Wale — well before the Afrobeats wave started – and, more recently, Major Lazer.
Fast forward to this year, Prince is celebrating a new deal with 300 Entertainment, which just released his new single and visual called “Kolo.”
Ice Prince: My music. I make Afrobeats, hip-hop music. That’s literally the music we make out here in Nigeria. Afrobeats is a mixture of pure African melodies, African instrumentation, African stories. Afrobeats is the greatest genre in the world right now. It’s what everybody’s listening to, and I make the hip-hop version of that. That’s what I do.
AllHipHop: Growing up, did you ever think you’d be where you are now?
Ice Prince: Definitely not, man. I had dreams to be like the musicians I watched on TV and saw around me, but I didn’t think I was going to have my own songs being played on radio, TV, in the club, or me being booked to perform. I didn’t see that coming.
AllHipHop: What were your dreams?
Ice Prince: I had so many dreams as a kid. At some point, I wanted to be a doctor. One time, I wanted to be a soldier. One time, I wanted to be a pilot. My dreams kept changing every two years as a kid, but music found me around the age of 14 and I stuck to it.
AllHipHop: Biggest influences coming up?
Ice Prince: First of all from overseas, I was a big fan of Tupac. I was always listening and playing Tupac, even before my adolescence. I was always a fan of Jay-Z, Nas, DMX, that type of raw energy on the music. Locally, I used to follow musicians like Bright Chimezie, who’s a legend. Absolute African legend. Musicians like Brenda Fassie from South Africa, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Fela Kuti, I grew up on that music as well. All the people in my family, I grew up on a lot of good music.
AllHipHop: Bring us back to when you made “Oleku,” one of Nigeria’s most remixed songs of all time.
Ice Prince: Man, it was one of those songs we did in a rush. Real story, that record was made in under 30 minutes. Didn’t think it was going to come out to be what it was, but God put his hand on our record. It made me into an artist, turned me into a real artist. I could perform, I could do stuff. Shout out to Jesse Abaga for producing the song, shout out to Brymo on the hook. We made magic with that one. We didn’t think it’d be like that, but it turned out to be really, really amazing.
AllHipHop: How does it feel to celebrate the song’s 10th anniversary? Along with your debut album, Everybody Loves Ice Prince.
Ice Prince: Yup, it’s 10 years into my first album Everybody Loves Ice Prince. 10 years later, I still feel very loved. I still feel very accepted, very respected, very cared for. All these people out here putting all these comments, they keep me alive. They keep me going, they keep me motivated. I feel blessed and honored to be able to make music that’ll speak to people. I just dropped a new song called “Kolo,” and my people are loving it. That’s one of the best feelings ever.
AllHipHop: What does “Kolo” translate to?
Ice Prince: Okay so “Kolo” is broken English for insane or mad. It’s a song that talks about love, being crazy about it, being insane about a girl. You know how love drives people crazy? That’s the premise of the song and what it was talking about.
AllHipHop: Who or what inspired this record?
Ice Prince: Someone in real life did inspire that record. Shout out to Oxlade on the hook, shout out to Egar Boi, the producer behind it. People put in an amazing idea for the beat and for the song itself, and we wanted to talk about real life situations. From the hook, Oxlade was telling me about a girl that he was crazy about during the pandemic. She drove him nuts. Funny enough, we shared the same story. I had a personal experience like that, too. In this song, I wanted to tell this girl how much I could go for her, how much I could do for her, or how crazy she made me feel. I’m blushing talking about this because it’s a real-life story, so permit me to put my shades back on. [laughs]
AllHipHop: Does she know it’s about her?
Ice Prince: I’m sure she does. She’s actually fighting me right now, she’s not talking to me. She’s mad at me for some reason. The fights don’t stop. [laughs]
AllHipHop: You shot the video in an indoor studio in Lagos, Nigeria. Best memory from the shoot?
Ice Prince: The set where me and Oxlade are performing with the models by the plain white background. I really had fun performing with Oxlade because Oxlade is always quick to tell me how much of a fan he is to my music. He’s somebody who really loves my music, and I’m a huge fan of his music. He’s told me stories about how he used to perform “Oleku” at social nights when he’s in high school. Being on set with somebody who’s younger than me and has learned one or two things from me, having him perform and give me some energy on set was my fondest memory from that video shoot. Shout out to UAX Productions, the guy behind the video and the images. It was very easy, one of the easiest video shoots I’ve ever had in my career. It was nice working with them.
AllHipHop: How does it feel being one of the first rappers from Africa to start poppin’ in the States?
Ice Prince: I have to laugh at that because I don’t even know what “poppin’ is. I take that as a compliment, right? It feels good to be given the opportunities I’ve been given in my lifetime, to have won certain accolades. I had the chance to win the BET Awards for Best International Act, a momentous time in my career. To work with some people that I really admire or respect their music, from French Montana to Wale to Krept & Konan to Wizkid to Burna Boy, everybody else I did music with all around the world. It feels great to be able to do my part and make people happy with the music.
One of my favorite collaborations recently was with Major Lazer on “Particula.” Bringing my culture with their culture, with South African culture, everything we put together in that record was such a moment for all of us. It’s something I’m going to cherish for life. Whoever it is I have a chance to make magic with and give the people good vibes, it’s always history for me. It feels good, I feel blessed.
AllHipHop: Talk about working with all these artists, from French Montana to Jeremih to Major Lazer.
Ice Prince: It’s a moment in my life that I’ll never forget. When I did that record with French at the time, it wasn’t a regular thing to see an African artist collaborate with an American artist of that caliber. It did open a few doors for me, and for my people as well. The record we made got played by major radio stations across the world. It’s always been easy, out of mutual respect. I remember French literally booked a studio for me. He took me to Manhattan in New York to record at Daddy’s House. He made sure he took care of the session, took care of me. He wasn’t doing it for no reason but love, and I truly cherish that. Jeremih, everybody I’ve worked with has purely been off good vibes. Off good relationships, and that’s really amazing. That’s what I love and cherish the most.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio?
Ice Prince: “Gimme the lighter! Gimme the push!” I’m singing you a song, you can decode that song to know one of the things I need in the studio. It’s called “Gimme Dat” featuring Burna Boy, Yung L and Olamide, I need to put you on that ASAP. I definitely need me water. I drink water like a fish. All the time, I’m drinking water. I need me some co-writers. I do like to record with other co-writers. I don’t like to make a record all by myself, my own intuition, my own feelings. I always like to have people to suggest “do this that way, do that this way.” Usually I have co-writers with me in the studio.
AllHipHop: How was linking with Tekno on “Make Up Your Mind”?
Ice Prince: Ah Tekno, that’s my guy. Tekno’s my friend. Over the years, we’ve always made music together. Like you said, “Oleku” is one of the most remixed songs from this side of the world ever. Of all the remixes I heard back in the day, Tekno’s remix was the only one I put a verse on. I recorded a remix and ever since then, me and Tekno have made other projects or other songs for ourselves and for other people over the years. It’s always amazing to link up with Tekno. He loves me so much, he always calls me “CEO.” Even though I hate that name, it’s out of love and respect. I love him so much too, man. Me and Tekno have so much music, we can put out a joint project if we wanted to. There’s a lot more coming between me and Tekno for sure. Amazing, amazing, amazing human being.
AllHipHop: How’d you find your way to 300? You’re one of the first African artists to sign to the label.
Ice Prince: Man, it feels so good to be part of that 300 family. I feel very blessed to be on that platform, to be recognized, to be managed, and taken care of by that platform. I got introduced to 300 by a publicist of mine called Rickie Davies, who I’ve been working with from the very beginning of my career. From “Oleku.” She hit me up and said, “Yo Ice, I have this on my table. I think you’re the right guy for it.” I thought I was the right guy for it, too.
The intro was done, I flew out to New York. I met Kevin Liles, I met Lyor Cohen, the bosses. I met everybody at the label, they took me in as a family. They didn’t take me in as an African artist coming out here, no it’s a family formally out there. So far, so good. We have an album coming out very soon, my first studio album. Hopefully the world gets to understand what Ice has been up to.
Ice Prince
AllHipHop: What can we expect from your forthcoming album?
Ice Prince: Man, expect fire. Expect Ice. That’s what the album is called, Fire and Ice. If you know me as an artist very well, I’ve dropped three albums so far in my career. This fourth one promises to be better than every other thing I’ve ever released so far. That’s what I can promise you. I don’t want to promise you what features or producers are on there, but trust me when I say I’m about to drop the best piece of music I’ve ever dropped ever in my life. I promise to make my fans proud, everybody proud. I promise to make you proud.
AllHipHop: What features can we expect?
Ice Prince: I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag. [laughs] I might get in trouble if I tell you that, but yes there’s a few international features on it. So far, it’s not too out of my territory or my environment. You know how when you’re recording an album, you have to submit a whole lot of songs? I don’t know what songs are going to be on the album yet, but wait for it. It’s going to be explosive, I promise you that.
AllHipHop: Someone said “Ice Prince: best rapper and fashion guy ever.” Talk about your fashion and drip.
Ice Prince: My fashion is J-Town. It’s Jos, the city I come from. It’s the city I grew up in, that’s how I grew up dressing. It’s not like I intentionally created my style honestly. It’s not like I sat down and figured out what I want to look like as a fashionista. How I dress is how I’ve always dressed growing up in J-Town, in Jos. It’s the coldest city in Nigeria, so I grew up with a lot of varsity jackets. I grew up with a lot of fur, a lot of thick stuff, and I’m still like that until today.
AllHipHop: What are your glasses?
Ice Prince: My glasses are Fendi. I’m not trying to do an ad for them right now until they pay me the guap!
AllHipHop: Why’s this your first album in 5 years?
Ice Prince: Because I’ve been trying to put it together right. I’m not the type of artist who rushes anything I do at all. I like to take my time to deliver quality. I wouldn’t call myself a perfectionist, but I’m not in a hurry to throw out whatever or follow a trend. I hardly follow things that are trending, I hardly try to be a trending artist. I want to make music that can stand the test of time. Sometimes it takes quality time to create quality results, so I’ve been taking my time. Shout out to 300 for linking me up at the right time, now I can proudly tell you we’re ready. We’re good to go.
AllHipHop: Goals for yourself as an artist at this point of your career?
Ice Prince: Man, goals don’t stop. They’re getting bigger everyday. Immediately right now, my biggest goal is to give my fans an album that’s undoubtedly classic. That’s my #1 goal right now: to give my people a classic album, that you can play 100, 200, 300, 400, 1000 years from now and it still sounds good.
AllHipHop: Most excited for this year since the world’s opening back up?
Ice Prince: Yo man, my schedule’s filling up crazy. My schedule’s getting busier by the day, I’m excited about that. I’m starting to make some good money again. [laughs] My manager showed me my itinerary, I see that I’m in another city almost every other week and that’s wassup. Finally, we can take this music directly to the people, to perform these songs again to the people directly. I’m very much excited about that. I came back from Abuja over the weekend. I’m going to be in Jos for another show. I’m going to be in Calabar on Sunday for another show. We’re going to be on the road, thank God this pandemic is finished. I’m tired.
AllHipHop: What do you miss most about the stage?
Ice Prince: I miss the people, that’s what I miss the most about performing. Releasing a new song, going out there and having people sing along to it, that’s my joy as an artist. To see my music makes you happy, that happiness on people’s faces is what I love most about performing live.
AllHipHop: Anything else you’d like to let us know?
Ice Prince: I’m sending love and life your way, wherever you are. Big love from Ice Prince. Shout out to you @shirju, shout out to AllHipHop.com. Shout out to all the people pushing our cultures forward, the African story. Let me tell you, the African story is truly, truly an amazing story. Truly, truly a great story. We always talk about how Black Lives Matter or how Black people have made a huge impact around the world… I come from one of the Blackest places in the world. Africa is the raw material of this talent. I’m happy that right now the world is starting to see it, at least through our music. We hope that the world gives this ear to us because we have so much to deliver. I’m so proud of my people, where we are and where we’re going.
