(AllHipHop News) Kodak Black scored a legal victory in court today after a judge tossed three very serious felony charges against the rap star.

In January, police stormed Kodak’s Broward, Florida house and charged the rapper with two counts of possession of weapon or ammunition by a felon, grand theft of a firearm and child neglect.

He was also charged with possession of more than 90 grams of marijuana and two counts of probation violation.

Kodak’s lawyer Bradford Cohen has revealed a judge has dismissed a possession of a weapon or ammunition by a delinquent charge, a charge of grand theft of a firearm, and one count of child neglect.

The rapper’s lawyers argued that guns and drugs that were depicted in an Instagram post which led to a raid on his house a week later, were fake.

Kodak’s lawyers told a judge rappers “often produce music videos and other promotional videos, as is customary in the industry, using fake firearms and narcotics.”

Kodak, born Dieuson Octave, is still facing some serious charges, including possession of more than 90 grams of marijuana and two counts of probation violation.

(AllHipHop News) Will Smith and his son Jaden are expanding their eco-friendly water venture by introducing a new flavored beverage to the product line.

The stars founded the JUST water company in 2015 with spring water bottled in paper-based cartons in a bid to help reduce the amount of plastic waste across the globe.

Now company officials are preparing to add JUST Infused to their offerings, featuring three organic, unsweetened water flavors in Apple Cinnamon, Tangerine, and Lemon.

“JUST is about upending bottled water, both in packaging and sourcing. We’ve created a product sourced according to an innovative, ethical system and bottled it in a carton made from 82 per cent renewable resources rather than plastic,” Ira Laufer, CEO of JUST, explained to bevnet.com. “JUST Infused gives us the opportunity to continue that mission in a broader and more flavourful way.”

Musician/actor Jaden Smith, 19, notes the new beverages are just the start for the company, which he was inspired to create after noticing how littered the Pacific Ocean was with plastic trash as a kid.

Jaden also hopes to one day churn out pieces of furniture made from the sustainable material he uses for JUST products and he is already using the idea to encourage other youths to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

“I go to schools and I bring them tables… that are made out of plant-based plastics, and I deliver to them to inspire them to read and I also talk to them about how it’s so important to learn about trash and learn about recycling,” he told breakfast show Today. “I just like to go to schools, give back, talk to kids about creativity, fashion, and sustainability.”

(AllHipHop News) Chance The Rapper will be honored with special prizes at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March.

The hip-hop star has been named as the recipient of the Innovator Award in recognition of his “groundbreaking accomplishments in the music industry and his unsurpassable contributions to social causes,” with his charitable enterprises including his non-profit organization SocialWorks.

Rockers Bon Jovi will receive the Icon Award “for their global impact on pop culture, longevity, and continued relevance as a touring and radio force with a loyal fan base worldwide,” according to the announcement.

The last honoree is “Havana” singer Camila, who will be presented with the inaugural Fangirls Award, which celebrates a female artist who pushes boundaries and inspires fans around the globe.

Camila was previously announced as a performer alongside Cardi B, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, and Charlie Puth.

The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, hosted by Hailey Baldwin and DJ Khaled, will take place at The Forum in Inglewood, California on March 11.

(AllHipHop News) Music producer Quincy Jones has apologized for shooting his mouth off about Michael Jackson and the Beatles in recent interviews, revealing his comments led to a family intervention.

The legend stunned music fans when he took aim at the King of Pop in GQ and Vulture articles, suggesting he stole Donna Summer’s “State of Independence” for Billie Jean, and attacked the Beatles for being subpar musicians.The defiant hitmaker hasn’t taken back anything he said but suggests he should have kept some of his comments to himself, stating his interviews left members of his family concerned.

Quincy reveals his six daughters pulled him aside for a surprise “family intervention” due to some “silly things” he said, but the sober star insists he wasn’t drunk, as has been suggested when he lashed out at his former music collaborators.

The legendary producer called The Beatles “no-playing motherf##kers” and Paul McCartney “the worst bass player I ever heard.”

He also suggested comedian Richard Pryor had been intimate with Marlon Brando, a claim that upset both Brando’s son and Pryor’s daughter.

Both lashed out at Jones, while Michael Jackson’s father Joe insisted the 84-year-old should have “known better” than to attack the Thriller hitmaker’s songwriting credentials.

Jones also claimed he dated President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, when she was 24 and he was 72, and criticized Taylor Swift and U2’s music.

In a statement released via Twitter on Thursday, the music mogul, who turns 85 next month, appears to regret his “wordvomit” writing: “I am sorry to anyone whom my words offended, and I am especially sorry to my friends who are still here with me and those who aren’t.”

He adds, “I am an imperfect human & I’m not afraid to say it. And I’m sorry & I’m not afraid to say it… I have LEARNED MY LESSON. Let me tell you, I’m so grateful for my daughters because they aren’t scared to stand up to their daddy.”

(AllHipHop News) Sean Kingston must pay $301,500 to jewelry company bosses at Aqua Master after he failed to appear in court following a dispute over stolen items.

A judge ruled that the “Beautiful Girls” hitmaker is responsible for the cost of nine pieces, including two diamond necklaces and two watches after he was sued by executives at the New York-based brand for failing to pay for them.

The suit was filed in 2016 after the star collected the items, promising his business manager would pay for them, but the balance was reportedly never settled.

While two checks were apparently sent to the jewelry company, they are said to have bounced. Aqua Master also accused Kingston of flaunting the bling on his Instagram page.

(AllHipHop News) Rappers Big Boi and Andre 3000 have reignited fans’ hopes for a new Outkast album after reuniting for a rare public appearance in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this week.

The stars attended a private screening of the USA network’s new true crime drama series, “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.,” and they were all smiles as they posed for a snap at the event.

Big Boi later shared the photo on his Instagram account, and poked fun at his longtime collaborator for his lack of social media presence, writing, “#UnsolvedUSA wit #NoIG3000.’

The public reunion emerged five months after Andre 3000 admitted he has lost “the pulse” for contemporary hip-hop.

“I don’t have the pulse anymore. Rhythms change every generation. The intensity and the drums change. And I’m not on the pulse,” the Hey Ya! hitmaker told GQ magazine last year. “I can’t pretend. It’s kinda like watching your uncle dance.”

However, Big Boi is refusing to give up hope of the Grammy-winning pair hitting the studio again, insisting fans should give Andre all the time he needs.

“I’ve always said, whenever ‘Dre is ready, I’m always ready,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Right now, he’s focusing on different things, and we respect that as a brotherhood. We text each other every other day. That’s my brother. We’ve done everything there is to do in music. We won the highest prize, we sold the most records. We started when we were 17 years old – let the man breathe a little bit.”

Outkast’s last album of new material was Idlewild, which was released in 2006.

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(AllHipHop News) Singer-songwriter Janelle Monáe is ready to return with her next project. The topic of Dirty Computer came up during Monáe’s interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe.

“This is an extremely vulnerable album and it took me a while to make it because I’m a self editor. I self edit myself a lot. I’m like, ‘I don’t want to talk about this, I don’t want to talk about that.’ I had to kind of have people at Wondaland [Records] on my team to hold me accountable to it,” expressed the Atlantic Records signee.

Lowe then asked Monáe if she is nervous about how the public will react to the LP. The “Make Me Feel” vocalist gave a candid response.

“I’m going to be 100 percent honest, I’m scared. I’m actually terrified. It’s such an honest body of work and I don’t know how people are going to react to it,” Janelle expressed. “Just the thought of it is kind of freaking me out a little bit, but I feel like it’s something that I need to do. It’s something that I always knew I needed to do and it’s going to happen. The album is going to happen, it’s coming. You know all I can say is at least I’ve been very honest. That’s all I can really do as an artist.”

Dirty Computer is Janelle Monáe’s first full length since the critically acclaimed The Electric Lady was released in 2013. She spent the last few years starring in the award-winning movies Moonlight and Hidden Figures.

(AllHipHop News) Remeesha Alesia Blount was arrested on Monday for charges connected to a woman being shot and bullets being fired at a car occupied by three other women. A News & Observer article claims the incident took place outside a bar in Raleigh, North Carolina.

According to reports, Blount is the younger sister of New York-based rapper Remy Ma. The “Shether” spitter has not publicly addressed the situation.

Blount was apprehended at an apartment complex a few miles away from the End Zone Bar & Lounge. She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, assault with the weapon with intent to kill, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and discharging a firearm in the city.

The vehicle attempting to escape the gunfire hit the woman who had been shot. As of Tuesday, police have not revealed a possible motive for last Friday’s shooting.

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(AllHipHop News) With all the overwhelming praise for Black Panther, one of the legitimate criticisms about the film is the post-credit scene. Some moviegoers felt T’Challa’s visit to the United Nations could have just been part of the main story.

Black Panther director/screenwriter Ryan Coogler revealed he had a different idea for the movie’s conclusion. During an appearance on The Empire Film Podcast, the record-breaking filmmaker discussed that U.N. sequence.

“It was [almost the ending]. We played with a lot of different ways to end it. We went back and forth about the U.N., and we had a version where it was the U.N. before the scenes in Oakland at the end. But we really kind of settled on, ‘How do we want the movie to end?'” said Coogler. “And it came back to that symmetry. It came back to the most moving version of it. That’s what we were asking ourselves, ‘Who’s more moved emotionally, that kid or the people sitting in the U.N.? Who is that a bigger deal to for T’Challa to walk in, who’s more connected to him?'”

That idea of impactful childhood memories played a role in settling on the version that made it to theaters. The 31-year-old former USC School of Cinematic Arts student incorporated that meaningful experience into the final frames of the Marvel blockbuster.

“As a kid growing up, when you see somebody who looks like an older version of you doing something awesome, it’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s kind of like what that moment is,” explained Coogler. “We kind of went with the less distilled emotion, and the U.N. [scene] makes sense afterwards for where Wakanda could be going in the future of this universe.”

https://soundcloud.com/empiremagazine/black-panther-spoiler-special-ryan-coogler-nate-moore

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(AllHipHop News) A few weeks ago, Bruno Mars sent out a series of tweets calling on the NFL to book Atlanta Hip Hop acts for the Super Bowl LIII halftime show. One of those rap stars from the Georgia city is backing up Bruno’s suggestion.

Ludacris was a guest on The Breakfast Club this week. The radio program’s hosts asked the Fear Factor star about ATL artists taking on the mid-game entertainment during 2019’s SB53 in his hometown.

“I had to look at the history of the people that performed at the Super Bowl. I can’t recall there being a rapper that headlined. There may have been a rapper that [was] featured,” said Luda. “Whoever’s making those decisions, I feel like their thoughts are, ‘We can’t trust these n-ggas because this is live television and we don’t know what they’re going to say.'”

He continued, “But I’m here to let you know, if you give me that opportunity, I promise not to do anything ludicrous, for lack of a better word.”

Throughout Super Bowl history, rappers like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Diddy, Nelly, CeeLo Green, and Nicki Minaj have been part of the spectacle as guests of respective headliners. There were rumors that Jay-Z declined the chance to lead the halftime show for Super Bowl LII, which was eventually tackled by his “Holy Grail” collaborator Justin Timberlake.

Back in 2015, OutKast member Big Boi admitted the Grammy-winning group did turn down the chance to perform at a Super Bowl. Kast was among the acts that Mars suggested as next year’s potential halftime performers, along with T.I., Gucci Mane, Lil Jon, Jeezy, and Jermaine Dupri.

Ludacris agreed that Big Boi and André 3000 should be considered for the huge pop culture moment at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He also advocated for R&B superstar Usher to handle the slot.

“Whoever makes those decisions, we need to hold them accountable. We need to holla at them, make sure we understand who those people are,” offered the “Stand Up” hitmaker.

Currently, Super Bowl halftime performers are selected by the NFL and its corporate sponsor Pepsi. Recent headliners have included Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Katy Perry, Coldplay, and Lady Gaga.

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(AllHipHop News) Birdman has been making the media rounds to promote his Apple Music documentary Before Anythang: The Cash Money Story. While speaking with Billboard, the label head claimed Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V album will be released in the coming months.

“You will get it this year,” insisted Birdman. “Me and Wayne will be aight. I’ma make that work. That’s my son and I love him, and we’ll make it happen.”

During a sit down with Rap-Up, the New Orleans native reinforced his intention to drop Wayne’s long-delayed musical project in 2018. The LP has been in limbo for over five years as a contractual disagreement between Birdman and Weezy has played out in public and in the courts.

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(AllHipHop News) Chicago rapper Towkio was hellbent on being able to say he was the first rapper to go into space. It seems the WWW. album creator pulled it off.

Yesterday, Towkio posted several clips on Twitter which appear to show him documenting his ascension into the sky and then his 100,000 feet fall back to Earth inside a capsule. A full recap video is expected to be released in the near future.

The “Symphony” rhymer announced he would be listening to the WWW. project during his return to the ground. Towkio got public support from his SaveMoney ally Chance The Rapper who tweeted, “THATS MY MUTHAF-CKIN BLOODA.”