(AllHipHop News) Back in 1992, filmmaker Bernard Rose introduced a new slasher film character called Candyman. Oscar-winner Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) has taken on the task of producing a fresh version of the classic horror flick.
The new Candyman stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo. This time the movie was directed by Nia DaCosta (Top Boy) who is also credited as a screenwriter along with Peele and Win Rosenfeld.
A description for DaCosta’s Candyman reads:
For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.
With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifyingly viral wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.
Candyman is scheduled to hit North American theaters on June 12 via Universal Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, and Monkeypaw Productions in association with BRON Creative. David Kern, Aaron L. Gilbert, and Jason Cloth serve as executive producers. The film is based on the Candyman motion picture written by Bernard Rose and “The Forbidden” short story by Clive Barker.
(AllHipHop News) The failed romantic relationship between Angela Simmons and Romeo Miller is playing out on the current season of Growing Up Hip Hop. Viewers will get to see what happens when Rev Run’s daughter and Master P’s son cross paths at Egypt Criss’ engagement party.
“I’m not approaching Romeo, and I didn’t do nothing wrong to him. Whether he talks to me right now or doesn’t, that’s on you,” says Simmons during her on-camera interview.
The scene is filled with an overwhelming level of awkwardness as Simmons, Miller, and other cast members recognize the two estranged friends are clearly avoiding each other. Romeo eventually walks over to talk to Angela’s sister, Vanessa Simmons, which causes an even more uncomfortable vibe in the venue.
Growing Up Hip Hop airs Thursdays at 9 pm ET on WE tv. Tonight’s “New Chapters” episode will also cover Rev Run feeling blindsided by his son JoJo getting cold feet before his wedding as well as Egypt’s fiancé Sammattick exposing a secret that nobody saw coming.
(AllHipHop News) Adam Aminé Daniel was set up to be one of the next big Hip Hop stars when he was chosen for the 2017 XXL Freshman Class. After dropping the Good for You album in 2017 and theOnePointFive mixtape in 2018, Aminé was relatively quiet in 2019.
The 25-year-old rapper is now back with “Shimmy.” Aminé premiered the new single on Apple Music, and he spoke to Lowkey on the streaming platform about another body of work potentially arriving soon.
“I definitely, definitely, definitely have a project coming. That’s a fact. That’s the most information I can give,” offered Aminé. “I feel like I’m here to stay now. I feel like I paid my dues. I’m still gonna pay my dues for the rest of my life. I’m not trying to shy away from being humble in any way. I think that’s super important. But on a fun tip, I do believe I’m in my bag.”
Lowkey also asked the Portland native about Tory Lanez’s comments from November 2019 where the Canadian said he felt like rap is in a horrible place at the moment. Aminé responded by name-dropping a squad of lyricists from Buffalo, a veteran from Long Island, and a crossover megastar from the Bronx.
“I really f*ck with Tory. I like his music a lot. But I kind of disagree. I think Hip Hop is in a really cool place right now,” Aminé told Lowkey. “Like Griselda and Roc Marciano are taking over, and it’s like dope to see that because you don’t get to see that happen a lot.”
The “Caroline” hitmaker added, “Fans and the general public are getting smarter. They’re just out here, honestly, open to all kinds of genres. Like a kid could be listening to Griselda and then Cardi [B] in the same playlist… I think Hip Hop is in a good place. That’s my opinion. I listen to all these guys.”
(AllHipHop News) R&B singer-songwriter Solana “SZA” Rowe and Pop icon Justin Timberlake currently have the #1 song on the US iTunes chart. “The Other Side” is also one of the top trending music videos on YouTube.
It appears SZA and JT have a potential smash hit on their hands. The track was written by Timberlake, Rowe, Ludwig Göransson, Max Martin, and Sarah Aarons specifically for Trolls World Tour (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
“I was so thrilled to be invited to participate in this project with Justin,” says SZA. “The creative process of working with him and the team was filled with such excitement. It’s an energy you can feel in both the song and music video. I can’t wait for people to check it out.”
Besides voicing a character named Branch in DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour, Timberlake is also executive producing the soundtrack alongside Göransson. The album will also feature contributions from Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Anderson .Paak, Anna Kendrick, George Clinton, and more.
“It has been such a fun process writing and executive producing for this project,” states Timberlake. “Being able to bring together different creatives from various disciplines and genres has been the most rewarding part.”
He continues, “Creating something that serves the movie while still being able to exist apart from it has been a fun challenge that was made even more exciting by working with the other amazing artists that helped us put this together.”
Trolls World Tour (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) will be available on March 13 via RCA Records. The Trolls World Tour motion picture is scheduled to hit North American theaters on April 17.
(AllHipHop News) Torrence “Boosie Badazz” Hatch Jr. was one of the most vocal complainers aboutDwyane Wade’s decision to support his 12-year-old child’s gender transition. The Baton Rouge-raised rapper claimed Wade went “too f*cking far” and begged the NBA great not to “cut his d*ck off.”
The backlash to Boosie’s comments about Zaya Wade came almost instantly. Critics called the 37-year-old recording artist transphobic and accused him of perpetuating hatred toward a minor.
Baller Alert caught up with Boosie to get his thoughts on the negative reactions to his previous statements. Apparently, Hatch’s own parent had something to say about his recent actions on Instagram.
“That’s just how I felt. People gotta understand it’s how I feel,” said Boosie. “Even my mama got on my ass yesterday. My mama called me early in the morning and got on my ass, talking about, ‘Stay off social media! That’s their family. You stay out people’s business!'”
He added, “I was just speaking how I felt. Everybody got their own opinions in life. Everyone feels a certain type of way about certain things. I just sometimes be the one to talk about it. When the kids involved, it’s tender to my heart.”
When asked if it ever okay to tell someone else how to parent their child, Boosie responded, “Not really, but when I feel you wrong, you wrong. People have told me how to parent my children when I was wrong.”
The “Wipe Me Down” rhymer also addressed his call for a boycott of Planet Fitness after he accused a particular location in Georgia of barring him from entering. Boosie suggested his opinion about the Wade family was the reason he was kicked out of the gym.
“I feel like they’re gaining up on me now. I should’ve shut my ass up,” stated Boosie about the Planet Fitness situation. A company spokesperson told People, “Planet Fitness does not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. In this instance, a guest was asked to leave after refusing to comply with gym policies and harassing club staff.”
(AllHipHop News) Team Roc, the philanthropic arm of Roc Nation, is continuing its legal fight against the poor prison conditions in Mississippi. Hip Hop recording artists Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Mario “Yo Gotti” Mims are again backing a second civil lawsuit against the MS Department of Corrections.
Jay-Z, Yo Gotti, and Team ROC are seeking a court order that forces the MSDOC to immediately address the deadly situation at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. The plaintiffs are also calling on officials to develop a plan that will eliminate the health and safety risks within 90 days.
The lawsuit includes over 150 inmates giving firsthand accounts on their deplorable circumstances in the Mississippi prison system. There have been complaints of lack of clean water, adequate food, electricity, heat, access to healthcare, and clothing.
Some of the accounts from inmates include:
“Many times, the food is adulterated with rat feces, cockroaches, rocks, bird droppings, and other foreign matter.”
“The toilets routinely back up and flood the prison cells, which allows f#### matter, urine, and water to cover the floors and drain out into the housing unit’s common space…the portable water system at Parchman is contaminated with human feces, presumably from the sewer system.”
“Prisoner-on-prisoner violence is rampant, and, at times, is facilitated by corrupt guards seeking to curry favor with inmates. Plaintiffs have witnessed instances where guards have provided cell keys to inmates so they could assault, and sometimes kill, other inmates.”
“Many inmates, including Plaintiffs, are in dire need of medical care for cancer, lupus, serious heart defects, Rheumatoid Arthritis, deteriorating joints and muscles, swollen prostate glands, and open, festering wounds.”
“[Inmates] insert their own catheters, treat their own stab wounds, vomit up blood, teeter on the verge of diabetic comas, and suffer through seizures without medical care. Even a broken neck can go without treatment at Parchman, with the inmate being left to suffer through his injury while sleeping on exposed, steel bedsprings with no mattress.”
“So bad is the medical care at Parchman that inmates have resorted to lighting fires in conditions of total confinement, where escape from smoke and flames is impossible, simply to draw attention to emergent medical issues occurring in the housing units.”
Additionally, the conditions inside Parchman have been documented on video by people living in the facility. On February 26, Roc Nation released an 18-minute Parchman Prison Public Service Announcement with footage from inside the penitentiary.
Since December 2019, at least nine inmate deaths have occurred at Parchman as a result of suicides, homicides, and miscellaneous cases. There have been at least eighteen deaths throughout the Mississippi prison system over that time.
(AllHipHop News) After a clip of Usher performing his upcoming new song “Confession Part III” went viral, the Internet was quick to pounce on the running rumors that the singer is living with herpes. Usher’s longtime musical partner Jermaine Dupri stepped up to quell the gossip.
“I see y’all trippin… CONFESSIONS PART 3 is from a females perspective,” tweeted Dupri. “The song is about a girl cheatin’ on him and gettin’ pregnant by another man. She is then being stuck with the decision to keep or abort it. Now that he knows, Should he stay or Leave???”
I see y’all trippin… CONFESSIONS PART 3 is from a females perspective
The song is about a girl cheatin’ on him and gettin’ pregnant by another man. She is then being stuck with the decision to keep or abort it. Now that he knows, Should he stay or Leave ???
The latest edition of Usher’s “Confessions” includes him singing, “Remember that time I was sitting up sick, couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night? You said, ‘Bae, let me take you to the ER.’ I said, ‘Nah, Imma be alright.’ Well, the next day I found out from f*cking around that the sickness I had was life. And I was fixed with the decision to keep it, knowing I had to get rid of it, rid of it, live with it.”
Many social media users suspected those lyrics were being presented from Usher’s point of view and assumed it was confirmation that he had an incurable sexually transmitted disease. The 41-year-old star is likely to go into more detail about the song’s story on a new full-length project. JD and Ush have reportedly been working on a sequel to 2004’s Diamond-certified Confessions album.
(AllHipHop News) Super Tuesday of the 2020 Democratic Primary is scheduled for March 3. California is one of the states that is giving its citizens the chance to vote for a presidential candidate on that date.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is currently leading the polls in CA (27.5%). However, Sanders is still bringing in some heavy Hip Hop backup for support in Los Angeles this weekend.
On Thursday night, the Sanders campaign announced an LA rally featuring Public Enemy. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees will also be joined at the event by comedian Sarah Silverman and actor Dick Van D###.
“Lemme say this to those reading this… having been to 115 countries this planet is on a spin cycle. Rinsed. These political hogwashes are no longer a USA discussion – it’s a 2020 Earthizen one,” tweeted PE frontman Chuck D.
He also added, “I don’t expect anything… however I do know that this administration now is fit to kill something. Even if you clear to see things… your social surroundings will have civil cataracts.”
Public Enemy is one of many rap acts to endorse Senator Sanders for President of the United States. Killer Mike, Cardi B, T.I., Bun B, Vic Mensa, Lil Yachty, and Noname have endorsed the self-described Democratic Socialist.
Sanders has already won 2020 primaries in New Hampshire and Nevada. His LA rally will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center with doors opening at 3 pm.
I believe in reparations and a lotta issues none of these folks see-as you know Rosa. But lemme say this to those reading this..having been to 115 countries this planet is on a spin cycle. Rinsed. These political hogwashes are no longer a USA discussion-it’s a 2020 Earthizen one- https://t.co/lZexMlUkyl
Jazzz I don’t expect anything…. however I do know that this administration now is fit to kill something. Even if you clear to see things …..your social surroundings will have civil cataracts https://t.co/J8t2jzG9Bo
(AllHipHop News) West Coast rapper YG just launched a brand new joint venture with Epic Records to distribute his record label, 4HUNNID.
Under the new deal, Epic Records will release, distribute, and market all of the new music by 4HUNNID with the goal of transforming the label into the new epic-center of West Coast rap.
“Me and my team have been doing innovative, legendary stuff for years—helping keep the West Coast alive. Now, Epic comes through at the best possible time with a platform for our expansion,” YG said. “I’m proud of this opportunity and will make the most of it.”
The first artist under the deal to be marketed will be female Compton hip-hop artist Day Sulan who was featured on the track “Her Story,” from YG’s 2019 record 4Real 4Real.
“We at Epic are delighted by this joint venture with YG and his forward-thinking 4HUNNID brand,” said Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone, who greenlighted the deal.
“YG perfectly represents the new face of hip-hop music: versatile, creative, multifaceted, and steeped in history but versed in current trends. This marks an exciting addition to our roster and offerings,” Sylvia Rhone continued.
(AllHipHop Rumors) According to Harlem rapper Sheck Wes, Golden State Warriors basketball player Klay Thompson rubbed him the wrong way during their first encounter.
Wes went to Twitter to vent about a situation that happened in his younger years during All Star in NYC. According to the rapper, when he went to ask Thompson for an autograph the NBA player pushed him.
If you’re unfamiliar with basketball players, you should know that Klay has been an active player since 2011. He is a three time NBA champion with the Warriors and a five time NBA all-star.
Sheck vows to never turn down a fan who asks for a picture.
FunFact :When i was younger Klay Thompson pushed me when i asked for autograph during ALL STAR in NYC , and i had hate for him after , so today i decline no one when they ask for a photo,
(AllHipHop News) Chris Brown’s children have given 50 Cent baby fever.
The “In Da Club” hitmaker is already a dad to two sons, but after setting sight on R&B singer Chris Brown’s kids, five-year-old daughter Royalty and newborn son Aeko, he wants to add a girl to his brood.
50 reposted a side-by-side image of Brown’s offspring on his Instagram page and shared his desire to expand his family.
“Look at this,” he wrote, alongside a heart-eyes emoji. “i think i need me a girl then i’m done CB @chrisbrownofficial (sic)”.
Meanwhile, 50, who is dating fitness instructor and aspiring lawyer Cuban Link, real name Jamira Heines, confesses he loves the female attention he receives when he’s hanging out with his seven-year-old son Sire.
“I just run around with him,” 50 shared on U.S. talk show “Strahan, Sara & Keke.” “When I do have him I just go out, I’ve been making up stuff to do.
“I tell him, ‘Look, now this is the deal: you get me girls and I get you whatever else that you want!'”
The rap superstar, 44, shares Sire with his ex-girlfriend, model Daphne Joy. He is also father to 23-year-old Marquise, from whom he is estranged.
According to terms of the settlement, DaBaby and South Coast Music Group will retain the rights to exploit Guaracho’s image in the video for “Vibez,” which has racked up almost 50 million views on Youtube.
One of the conditions to the settlement is the entry of an order confirming the settlement, acknowledging the Plaintiffs possess all of the Defendant’s rights with respect to the Video.”
(AllHipHop News) Tyler Perry’s family members are demanding answers after the actor and director’s nephew committed suicide behind bars.
Officials at a prison facility near St. Helena Parish in Louisiana insist 26-year-old Gavin Porter hanged himself in his cell on Tuesday night (25Feb20).
But Perry’s sister, who is the dead man’s mom, isn’t convinced he took his own life.
Sources said Porter was placed in solitary confinement after fighting with another inmate over the weekend.
Gavin was arrested for shooting and killing his biological father in 2016.
He pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years.
(AllHipHop News) Post Malone paid tribute to his late pal Mac Miller by wearing a custom T-shirt honoring the star to one of his recent gigs.
The singer was performing Monday at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Mac’s hometown – where he wore the white T-shirt which reads “RIP Mac Miller” with airbrush lettering and a number of blue and pink roses.
Post originally started wearing the shirt shortly after Miller died from an accidental drug overdose, aged 26, back in 2018, when he paid a similar tribute during a show in California.
The pair were close friends, and were due to collaborate on an album together before Mac Miller’s unexpected death on September 7th.
“So we got together. And then (producer) Frank Dukes has worked on a bunch of my records, but we had never met, so he came through too. And then (musician) Thundercat appeared and we all started jamming,” Post Malone told Rolling Stone.
Miller’s latest posthumous release, Circles, was released last month.
(AllHipHop Features) The RZA, the leader of the seminal rap collective Wu-Tang Clan, has evolved at such a rapid rate over his lifetime, to call him a super-human would be an understatement. However, the producer, director, writer, rapper has not been selfish with his gifts or knowledge.
In a recent move, he has partnered with Tazo Tea to produce a unique event to help people tap into their hidden strengths, block bad energy, achieve their goals and more. This February, The RZA will guide a group at Camp TAZO right in the rap god’s hometown of Staten Island, NYC. Attendees will explore their mental, brew up some Zen tea and delve into “new levels of knowledge.” Opening creative powers await stands before a select group of individuals.
Here are the streaming links to the Guided Explorations By RZA:
AllHipHop’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur talks to the transcendent legend about getting unstuck and reaching one’s highest self. AllHipHop: Rza, it’s good to talk to you. I last saw you at the Wu-Tang American Saga premiere night. So it was good seeing you in the flesh at that point. I am doing a 21-day meditation series with Deepak Chopra and your partnership with Tazo reminded me of that and then it started to get into music and then I was like, “Oh okay this is a little bit different.” Can you talk just exactly what is this that you’re doing?
RZA: Yeah, let me break it down to you into two phases. We’re doing what we call a guided exploration. We’re taking five different positions such as, verbalization, right? Walking, power posing, journaling, and noting, right?Those five different things, we’re using to unlock the creative potential inside of people that’s attending this camp, but also we’re going to have a second phase which will happen on February 26th where we’re going to release the guided explorations on Spotify so we can listen to them. And we’re going to title them so like, for instance, one is called, “Kill the Noise.” That’s going to help listeners how to survive and thrive in the face of distraction.
Another one is called “Stand Your Flame.” “Stand your flame” is going to help listeners rediscover what was their early influence, what started their fire, and what sparked them and how they could, fan that fire, and make it continue to blaze.
AllHipHop: Okay.
RZA: And then we got one that’s more like, “If Not You, Then Who?” Right? That’s like “why not be the best you can be?” “Why not the most productive self?” Right? “Why let somebody else be great and you not watch yourself be great?” Then we got one called “Bite or Barking.” Right? So bite or barking, I mean that’s self-explanatory, right? But we’re trying to do, use that as a title because we want to guide our listeners to like set your goal. And then put action to follow that goal.
AllHipHop: Copy.
RZA: And the last one we call “Making Moves.” You got people making moves in Hip-Hop, but making moves is also using movement mediation. We’re taking the listener through a walk that they should go through. You’re walking to your bodega, you’re walking to the store, what do you see, yo? You know what I’m saying? Like think about a guy like Jimmy Buffett (who wrote the song) “you like Pina Colada?” That song, that simple song is describing a moment right? So our main goal is to unlock your creative potential.
But, since we’re dealing with Zen (also the flavor of RZA’s favorite Tazo Tea), there are so many other potentials that should be unlocked while going through this exploration with us.
AllHipHop: How important is it to bring this to your home of Staten Island?
RZA: We’re taking it back to Staten Island, because that’s the foundation for where I discovered Zen. I discovered meditation. The first time I started meditating, I was in my grandmother’s garage. It was a garage slash basement. But underneath everybody upstairs, doing what they’re doing, the crowded house. It probably, it was like 19 people living in that house, bro.
AllHipHop: Yeah, right, right.
RZA: So, everybody upstairs fighting for the TV or whatever they going for. I would go down there, and I would sit still and meditate, or try to do some Kung Fu stances, or maybe curl some barbells, whatever. You know what I mean? So, that was a foundation, and also what I kind of decided and figured out that, what to do with the Wu-Tang and come with that five-year plan. I basically walked through my community and walked from one project to the other, then walked up to New Brighton, walked to my school, and it’s like a path that I would walk many times in my life. And I still do that walk. Like I walk, I didn’t walk it last time, but when I did W-Tang: An American Saga, I took Chris Robinson with me. And we just drove the van through that same walk. I actually, I told him to pull over one minute. I need the two blocks in, you know what I mean?
AllHipHop: Absolutely.
RZA: Because Staten Island means a lot in my developing stages of creativity and success. And it’s the home of Wu-Tang Clan. Even though some of us migrated from Brooklyn and some of us came from Brooklyn to that Temple. Staten Island is that foundation.
AllHipHop: Was there any time in your life, when you would say you lost your focus, or when you fell out of Zen?
RZA: Yeah. Of course, of course. For me, I think in the year 2000, when my mother passed away. It kind, of you know. Yeah you can’t really… that’s something you can’t really describe to people until somebody else feel it then they understand. Because that’s something you understand through experience. But what I can say is that yeah, it took a few years for me to snap back into it. If you noticed, if you’ll notice, I mean you can notice this from my output. I went from there. I ended up in California, Hollywood. And had to regurgitate my energy on the other side of the country, you know in reality.
AllHipHop: You mentioned power posing, is that, I read about this in magazine or something, is that when you physically pose, like say a superhero, something that? Is that what you mean?
RZA: I mean, you know, it’s whatever for you, right? In Shaolin Kung Fu, they what you call the 18 Luohan’s. These 8 Luohan’s are different poses that are different stances. Of course in yoga you have varies stances, front dog. Face the moon, or you know, all these different stances. So those are all power poses. But yeah, whatever pose that you can put yourself into that builds up your chi and your energy.
So me, you know I’m a student, I’m more of a simple horse stance – that is good for me. Maybe cat stance is good for me. You know what I mean? It’s simple things like that. You see me in some of my pictures.
AllHipHop: Yeah I know. Yeah I took a picture with you at the premiere night, and yeah I also interviewed Shyheim, the Rugged Child the other day. I saw a picture of you and him, and you have a very powerful pose in that picture as well. So I think I know exactly what you mean. Now hidden powers, I find that to be interesting and I think a lot of people don’t realize that they have any powers at all. Obviously, music is one of your powers, but have you found any hidden ones, that you didn’t know about?
RZA: Power comes in so many forms So, even the voice of power, right? You think about some of the great orators. Like think about, let’s go totally negative: think about the power of Hitler’s voice to move a nation of people to follow evil. That’s still power, right?
AllHipHop: Absolutely.
RZA: Think about the power of Martin Luther King’s voice that moved a nation of people to strive towards positivity. But at the end of the day though, think about Bruce Lee who weighed 130 pounds at most, maybe 120. But at the end of the day knocking people 8-feet away from a one-inch punch right? So, the power we saying hidden is only hidden because…it’s hiding in plain sight.
AllHipHop: Affirmative.
RZA: Most people don’t realize how much they got in them. I know how much power I got in me because I know for an actual fact in every atom there’s power. In my stomach, I got enough, I got acid strong enough that could burn through wood, maybe even metal. So it’s like your body is nothing but moving power. Your heart is probably one of the best engines ever created. It’s pumping blood through about 66,000 miles of blood vessels. 66K at the average pulse of 70 times a minute, yo. Your blood is just running through like it ain’t nothing.
AllHipHop: That’s crazy.
RZA: So power is all in us, and my theory, and I don’t think it’s a far-fetched theory, I’m quite sure some other scientist wrote it in some form in a different description but I think your whole body is a nuclear reactor, bro. You know what I mean?
AllHipHop: Yeah.
RZA: Now, when you’re aware of that, how do you use that energy? So it radiates things. You know ice radiates cold, fire radiates heat, what do you radiate? And you got to kind of protect that so, when we go through these explorations with the people in the camp and as well as those who are listening to the audio version of it, we tap into these things, and we’re going to tap into them, and hopefully, it will just make, the person realize their potential and get over the stagnation that’s blocking them right?
It’s like fine-tuning the radio station. You go to fine-tune it. Remember back in the day you had to like turn that knob to get that signal. But the signal was always there, you just wasn’t tuned into it.
AllHipHop: Absolutely. People are flooded with distractions. In fact, the reason why we didn’t get on this call as quickly as we usually would’ve because I have a feature on my phone, I turn it off all calls that I don’t know and robo calls. Or they go straight to voicemail. I’m like, I got to focus it’s driving me nuts. `So I think the phone is probably an obvious one but distractions are pretty present, notifications, I mean Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, I mean everything is pulling you from things that might be goals or dreams even. Do you have any, special recommendations?
RZA: Yeah well we talk about distractions but the best analogy we give for that, is look at the sun. This entire solar system is pulling, right? Pulling at the sun, comets, asteroids, planets all in motion all around us, but the sun appears to sit still. And does all its function in the midst of all this chaos. So, that was one of the things I said about Wu-Tang in the beginning. I said Wu-Tang has organized confusion.
AllHipHop: Right.
RZA: Because it’s definitely confusion, but it’s in an organized [manner] it has a parameter. So, go back to our body – your body is the same. All these things that we just finished talking about. These blood vessels and your intestines being three times the height of your body, but yet it just sits right there in the middle. You know what I mean? Just flapped on top of each other. Your hair is growing all over you, but it’s organized. But under the microscope, some of that s### looks confusing.
In our exploration, we say that we’re not saying you’re going to be able to get rid of the distractions. We’re just saying you got to learn how to use them. If you go back to my music, bro, you hear all types of f*cking sounds popping in my sh*t.
It’s a part on [Wu-Tang’s] “Bring The Ruckus,” right? If you ever hear the Wu-Tang song, Bring the Ruckus right? There’s a part of song, at the end of the song, there’s a part that goes after we do all the rapping where it goes [makes repeated horn sound] that little horn break.
AllHipHop: Of course.
RZA: What happened was I was trying to sample something and the CD start skipping. So I sampled the skipping of CD and used it for a horn break.
AllHipHop: Wow. I love that break too by the way. It gets me hype.
RZA: Exactly. That’s the point I’m making.
AllHipHop: The visuals in the Tazo ad for the campaign and the camp are interesting. Are you evolving into a Guru of sorts, or are you already there?
RZA: I think the visuals actually tie into how I’ve been walking with many characters over the course of my career, from The RZA, to Bobby Digital. But the Wu called me The Abbot (head of a monastery, typically Buddism). And I am actually in real life. Right? Because it’s all real life. But many people that don’t, can’t discern what’s real, what’s music, what’s film, they see me doing Kung Fu movies now. Maybe they don’t know if I’m acting or what, how serious I am. But in real life, bro, I’ve been taken all the way to Shaolin Temples in China. And I’ve been ordained a 35th generation Shaolin Monk. So I’m an official monk. I can actually teach it. You know what I mean?
(AllHipHop News) Snoop Dogg was only trying to “protect” Kobe Bryant’s family when he viciously lashed out at U.S. newswoman Gayle King online for revisiting the tragic sportsman’s 2003 sex assault controversy in a TV interview.
The rap veteran was one of the first celebrities to blast King for bringing up the late basketball icon’s rape case during an early February chat with Bryant’s friend and fellow athlete Lisa Leslie.
Calling Oprah Winfrey’s best friend a “funky dog head b##ch” in an Instagram video, Snoop raged, “How dare you try to tarnish my motherf##king homeboy’s reputation…? Respect the family and back off, b##ch, before we come get you.
Snoop has since opened up about the social media scandal in an appearance on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Facebook Watch series, “Red Table Talk”, claiming he really didn’t mean any harm by calling out King.
“I wanted to make sure what I said was said the right way and I wanted to make sure that the message was across. That we love Kobe and be respectful of Vanessa and those kids.
“That’s what the whole intent was, to protect that woman and them babies over there, because she’s still grieving. And let’s give them that respect.”
A public memorial for the Los Angeles Lakers legend and aspiring basketball star Gianna was held at the team’s home venue, the Staples Center, on Monday.
(AllHipHop News) G-Eazy and Jamie Foxx thrilled fans at Los Angeles club Delilah when they each took the stage and delivered impromptu performances.
The Oscar-winning actor, 52, grabbed a microphone during the venue’s stage, adlibbing and singing along to songs the DJ played.
Following his pal’s turn onstage, rapper G-Eazy, 30, followed the Collateral star’s lead and also gave a spur-of-the-moment performance.
“It was all unplanned,” an insider told the publication.
The venue is a favorite of stars including Drake, Kendall Jenner, Usher and Post Malone, and will officially open its Wynn Las Vegas location on May 13th.
(AllHipHop News) Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has made a rare statement amid accusations that he staged a hate crime, admitting it’s “fight or die at this point.”
The actor/singer stands accused of making a series of false reports to the Chicago Police Department in Illinois last January when he claimed to have been the victim of a vicious hate crime attack in the city.
Asked for his opinions on the American justice system, Smollett referred the question to his lawyer, who said they are hopeful the “system will eventually work.”
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Jussie Smollett added. “It’s fight or die at this point.”
TMZ then asked Smollett if he still claims to be innocent, to which the screen star angrily hit back: “I don’t claim to be innocent, I am innocent.”
Jussie Smollett is due back in court on March 18th.
If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison, mandatory community service, and a $25,000 fine.
