Rapper Kanye West reportedly has his sights set on the beauty care business. According to reports, records has filed trademark requests for the DONDA brand, which will include makeup perfumes and lotions. The line is named after Kanye’s mom, who passed away in November of 2007 after undergoing a tummy tuck and breast reduction procedure.
Grammy Award-winning recording artist/producer Terrace Martin will be honored by the Los Angeles City Council this Friday (February 24). The City Council will award Martin with the highest honor, which is an Official City Resolution. Terrace is being honored praised his achievements, which include producing influential records for artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder and others. He even scored a Grammy nod for his 2016 release Velvet Portraits. The award ceremony will take place at 10:00 AM sharp at Los Angeles City Hall.
VH1 will kick off a new season of the game show “VH1 Hip-Hop Squares” next month. The network will devote two episodes per night during “VH1 Hip-Hop Squares Week,” which will feature top artists like Teyana Taylor, Amber Rose, Fat Joe, Nelly, Cedric the Entertainer and others. The new reboot of the program is being produced by Ice Cube and Cube Vision Productions in association with Jessie Collins Entertainment, as well as Jeff Kwatinetz’ company The Firm. “VH1 Hip-Hop Square” will air starting on March 13 at 10:00 PM EST.
(AllHipHop News) Rapper Rick Ross has been announced as the host for the upcoming “2017 MTV Woodies.”
Rick Ross will host the 13th annual event, which will air live from Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival.
The one-hour telecast will acknowledge the best emerging acts during the festival.
“I’m excited to attend SXSW this year,” Rozay said in a statement. “The biggest boss is hosting the Woodies and my album [Rather You Than Me] drops March 17. MTV, get ready.”
More musicians are scheduled to be announced over the coming weeks.
The 13th annual “MTV Woodies,” will air LIVE on Thursday, March 16 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT from Austin, Texas during South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW).
(AllHipHop News) Brooklyn rapper Fabolous is the latest artist to land his own flavor of Rap Snacks potato chips.
Fab’s own distinctive new flavoring is called “New York Deli Cheddar,” and features Fabolous himself, on the new packaging.
Fab’s “New York Deli Cheddar” is the second in the company’s new 2017 relaunch.
Earlier this month, the Rap Snacks enjoyed viral success when Migos made a video and song for their “Sour Cream With a Dab of Ranch” line of chips with the company.
Fabulous’s Rap Snack will be available in more than 40 markets including major ones like New York, Boston, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Florida.
(AllHipHop Rumors) Depending on how you look at it, Migos are winning!
They gained a No.1 single with “Bad & Boujee” and a No.1 album with ‘Culture’, thanks to an honorable Golden Globes mention by Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino.
The guys have had pop up dates, show and parties, during every major event weekend, and now I’m sure their male fans love them even more as the #BadAndBoujee challenge has women getting damn near naked in hopes to be able to attend a Migos concert in their city. Issa mess!
The contest switched gears from women putting their best selfies online to them bearing all of their best ASSets for the world to see.
I’m not sure if this was just a hashtag for women to have an excuse to thirst trap and “prove” that they are indeed “Bad & Boujee”, or if this is something Migos is actually backing.
Well Migos fans you can catch your favorite group at CIAA, and on the Nobody Safe tour along with Future, Tory Lanez, and Kodak Black. Check out some of the thirst traps set below.
(AllHipHop News) Pregnant singer Beyonce on Thursday pulled out of performing at California’s Coachella music festival in April, citing doctor’s orders.
The “Formation” singer, 35, who is expecting twins, will however headline the event in 2018, organizers said in a statement.
“Following the advice of her doctors to keep a less rigorous schedule in the coming months, Beyonce has made the decision to forgo performing at the 2017 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival,” the statement from festival organizer Golden Voice and Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment said.
“However, Goldenvoice and Parkwood are pleased to confirm that she will be a headliner at the 2018 festival. Thank you for your understanding.”
Beyonce was due to headline the annual festival in the Southern California desert on April 15 and April 22. It was not clear who would replace her.
The R&B singer performed at the Grammy ceremony on Feb. 12, where she proudly displayed a large baby bump and took home two awards.
Beyonce and her rapper husband Jay Z, who have a five year-old daughter Blue Ivy, have not said when the twins are due.
(AllHipHop News) Fetty Wap was sued by a plastic surgeon for causing an estimated $50,000 in damage to his Puerto Rican mansion.
Dr. Michael Jones rented his exclusive $2.1 million mansion to the rapper and his entourage in July last year.
However, when Fetty, real name Willie Maxwell II, left the property, Jones discovered bed linen missing, and joints and “stripper lingerie” strewn around the house.
There was also holes in the walls and damage to the mansion’s numerous golf carts.
The mansion was to be the site of Jones and his wife Cathleen’s reality show “We Are the Joneses,” but production on the BET program was put back weeks as repairs were carried out.
While Fetty’s insurance paid for $40,000 of the damage, Jones sued the musician for the remaining money needed to complete repairs.
(AllHipHop News) Amber Rose has gone from working in a strip club to owning one.
Amber, who is had whirlwind relationships with Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa, with whom she shares an 3-year-old son named Sebastian, just bought the most popular strip club in Los Angeles.
According to Amber, she is the new owner of the Ace of Diamonds.
Over the years, rappers like Lil Wayne, Meek Mill and numerous others have tricked off hundreds of thousands of dollars inside of the popular nightclub.
(AllHipHop Editorial) “Only rapper to rewrite history without a pen…” – Jay Z
It is safe to say that super producer, Rick Rubin, is not an easy person to impress. As one of the co-founders of Hip-Hop’s blueprint label, Def Jam, along with being a renown melodic “weirdo,” Rubin has more than likely experienced almost everything music has to offer. Yet in 2003, at the height of his Jordan-esque “retirement” God MC, J-Hova, left the legendary producer in a state of utter bewilderment. As documented in the film Fade to Black, Jay-Z had a studio session with Rubin where he completed close to 8 songs, one being the smash single, 99 Problems. Yet, it wasn’t the sheer volume of tracks that Jay-Z created or his lyricism and flow that amazed him. No, Rick Rubin was left in shock by the unique way Jigga composed his songs.
“Just listen to the way he writes,” Rubin marveled to Beastie Boy and fellow producer, Mike D. “I’ve never seen anything like it. He doesn’t write anything down. He just kind of sits there listens to the track, and writes a verse.”
Rubin however, isn’t the only one amazed by this “Rain Man” approach to music making. Over the course of his career, Jay-Z’s style of writing has grown like an episodic myth surrounding his lengthy tenure. It became one of the catalysts to his iconic feud with Nas being as the last verse Jigga physically wrote was for “Can I Live,” after Esco passed on the feature (the first of many dubs). It has also propelled the height of his stardom. From the years 1996 to 2003, Jay-Z released an album a year in addition to numerous featured verses and singles. He attributes this high turnaround rate to his process of music memorization. This consistent pressure allowed Hov to increase his success by constantly being relevant.
The idolization of Jay-Z’s writing style in combination with his success resulted in multiple acts wanting to tap into this well of intelligence, hoping to garner the same results. At the peak of his career, Jay-Z was not only a premiere artist, he was also a highly sought after ghostwriter. He penned songs for multiple rappers such as Lil Kim and Dr. Dre. In addition to this, Jigga influenced a generation of emerging artist, leading them to attempt to mimic his craftsmanship. This, however, only solidified the anomaly that is “Jigga.” Often, when these artists tried to duplicate his process of songwriting it was not been met with positive reactions. A concept Jay-Z himself spoke on when he jokingly stated that he’s “inspired a generation of bad writers.”
The partnership between his rare talent and commercial success has been noticed on a global scale. Because of this, Jay-Z became the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This was not only a feat for Jigga (who was chosen over the superstar acts like Madonna and George Michael) it was an incredible victory for Hip-Hop. With his induction, the Jay-Z solidified to the world the young art form of rapping is a credible medium of songwriting. Also, this recognition furthered the oral legend of Jay-Z’s “writing” skills, moving it from a strictly Hip-Hop tale to a folklore that expands across genres.
Nile Rodgers, a Chic guitarist and past inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, spoke to this expansion when he praised Hova, saying he “changes the way we listen to music.”
This, of all Jay-Z’s accomplishments, is one that holds an emphasized amount of importance. With no pen, S. Carter ironically wrote Rap into a space that allowed it to shifted the entire world’s musical ear.
(AllHipHop News) Rapper, actor and TV presenter Nick Cannon has become a father for the third time.
Mariah Carey’s ex-husband welcomed a son named Golden ‘Sagon’ Cannon with his ex-girlfriend Brittany Bell, and took to Instagram to announce the tot’s arrival to fans.
“No matter how hard the world may hit you, God always reminds us of our purpose! #TrueHappiness Welcome to Earth Son! Golden ‘Sagon’ Cannon 2/21/17 #Awakened”.
Little Golden joins half-siblings Moroccan and Monroe, the five-year-old fraternal twins Nick shares with Mariah.
Bell, a former Miss Arizona, was first rumored to have fallen pregnant with Nick’s child in early November, and the star subsequently confirmed the news in a candid radio chat with New York’s The Breakfast Club crew.
“I’ve got a baby on the way… absolutely,” he revealed, before joking, “God said be fruitful and multiply. I’m doing the Lord’s work… Everybody get a baby! I’m passing them out.”
Nick is believed to have enjoyed a brief romance with Bell earlier in the year, before parting ways just before the pregnancy news emerged.
The 36-year-old will have plenty of spare time to spend with the newborn as Golden’s birth comes days after he declared he was quitting his role as host of U.S. reality show “America’s Got Talent,” a job he’s held for the past eight seasons.
He reportedly fell out with network executives at NBC after making negative remarks about the organization during a recent stand-up comedy routine.
(AllHipHop Rumors) Uh oh! It looks like Tity Boi needs to hire some people that will keep things clean and in order at his new restaurant, ‘Escobar Restaurant & Tapas’.
The restaurant opened back in December 2016, and has reportedly already failed its first health inspection.
According to Fox News, 2 Chainz’s restaurant received a score of 59 from the Georgia Department of Public Health. As you know, anything below 69 is a failing score.
According to the report, the inspecition officials noted expired milk and raw hamburgers were stored above collard greens.
They also reported that they noticed red and black mold like substances in an ice machine.
Word on the curb is that the individual they spoke with at the restaurant had no knowledge on several foodborne illness risk factors. Fail!
Will you be eating there? I’m sure 2 Chainz will pull it together, prior to this inspection, his restaurant had reportedly scored a 99. Will people give it a chance now though?
(AllHipHop News) Comedian Jay Pharoah sat down with AllHipHop.com to talk about his various work in the entertainment field.
As a big fan of the culture, the former Saturday Night Live cast member had a lot to say about Hip Hop.
The conversation included Pharoah sharing his thoughts on a popular trend in rap music at the moment.
“People are starting to get sick of that mumble rap stuff. It’s about to be a big flip over in Hip Hop where people are actually listening to words and messages again,” said Jay. “It was all fun and games when Obama was in office, but now that he’s out, it’s like, ‘I ain’t trying to have bullsh-t in every category. There needs to be some type of stability here.”
Pharoah has released his own music including 2014’s The Resurrection mixtape.
(AllHipHop News) Imprisoned rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight appeared in a courtroom yesterday (February 22), to protest the conditions he is being jailed under.
Suge once again complained to a judge that the extreme circumstances surrounding his incarceration are hindering his ability to defend himself against murder charges.
The Death Row Records co-founder insists that “child murderers” and “cop killers” at the same correctional institution were being treated like kings.
Meanwhile, Suge said that he lacks the adequate resources and access to defend himself against the charges, relating to a deadly incident involving his nemesis and former partner, Dr. Dre.
Suge ran the men over during an argument in the parking lot of a hamburger restaurant in Los Angeles, during a taping for a commercial for the movie “Straight Outta Compton.”
Suge claims he has not been allowed to see his attorneys on the weekend, like other inmates. He has not been able to see any of his family members of the past two years.
Prosecutors have argued that the extreme security is in place to ensure the safety of the entire prison.
Suge is due back in court on March 27 for another pretrial hearing.
(AllHipHop News) Sean Kingston is speaking out on the alleged violent incident in Las Vegas involving the Atlanta rap group Migos.
The singer shared his side of the story with 8 News Now.
“You can see my face. There was no beat down. It was none of that. It was a jump, but it wasn’t a jump,” stated Kingston.
According to Kingston, nine people – including members of the Migos – approached him and three other people after leaving the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
“We went out there thinking we were going to have a conversation,” Kingston added. “They FaceTimed me, ‘Yo, come outside let’s talk like men. I miss you. Let’s chalk it up.'”
He continued, “As soon as I went outside it was no talking. They just started jumping on me and throwing punches. I didn’t have a chance to put my set up. I didn’t have a chance to do nothing.”
Kingston claimed he does not know the actual reason Migos’ entourage supposedly attacked him, but he mentioned his association with Soulja Boy.
“I’m hearing different stories,” added the “Beat It” performer. “I’m hearing it has something to do with Soulja Boy. He was at my house. I said something in a video they didn’t like.”
Soulja Boy and Quavo of the Migos were involved in a public feud.
Kingston’s friend Moses “Bo-Jack” Johnson reportedly fired at least one shot into the air in order to get the attackers to stop the assault.
(AllHipHop Features) Following the release of several projects – including 2015’s Broad Shoulders – Taylor Bennett is back with a 9-track EP. Restoration Of An American Idol arrives after Bennett spent the last few years building his fan base by dropping music, performing at festivals, and annihilating freestyles on Sway In The Morning.
Many listeners discovered the native Chicagoan as Chance The Rapper’s little brother, but Taylor believes he has effectively emerged from the shadow of his Grammy-winning sibling. In a way, Restoration Of An American Idol is the personification of his celebratory mood for being a performer that believes he is currently creating at his own high level.
As an independent artist, Bennett has found ways to share his talent with the masses without major label help. The 21-year-old neophyte connected with the distribution/publishing company TuneCore, and he is also a “Tidal Rising” artist.
His association with the Jay Z-led streaming service could materialize into more entertainment opportunities, similar to what other Tidal-supported emerging acts like Lil Yachty, Dave East, Desiigner, Sir the Baptist, Levi Carter, and BZZY have experienced.
Outside of the music, Bennett also made headlines earlier this year when the rapper-singer revealed he was bisexual. Taylor received support from many of his peers and fans. Chance even tweeted, “He’s got God and me behind him, he cannot fail he cannot fall,” not long after his brother’s announcement on social media.
During an interview with AllHipHop.com, the “New York Nights” rhymer expressed he was not ready to publicly discuss his decision about coming out. However, Taylor did give insight into his latest body of work as well as his effort to assist homeless youth in his hometown through the Sleep In initiative.
Just from listening to your music and watching your interviews, you usually come off as having this upbeat, positive attitude. Where does having that constant positive outlook come from?
I think it’s having a close relationship with God. I think it’s about waking up and knowing that every day is a new opportunity. I think it’s about being able to look forward to going to sleep. [laughs] Then waking up the next day knowing that nothing’s impossible. Every day brings new opportunities.
For certain artists, there’s not always going to be a record deal. There’s not always going to be your favorite artists hitting you up. Sometimes it’ll just be a free hour at the studio or coming up with a good lyric. It can be just as simple as getting a new pair of shoes. You gotta enjoy the little things because that’s what’s most important.
You have a big thing coming this week. Your new EP is dropping. Restoration Of An American Idol – that’s a pretty self-assured title. What’s the message that you’re trying to convey?
Restoration is to bring back, to restore. But it can also be looked at to bring back the heir to a throne. When I say, “Restoration Of An American Idol” – with this album and title, I think it’s my best work yet. I also think it’s my most honest work yet.
I think that’s what Hip Hop is all about. It’s about being yourself. It’s about being different. It’s about not worrying about if everybody accepts you for who you are or what you believe in. I think it’s also about having what’s called the “it” factor. Some people have “it” and some people don’t.
I think that as an artist you have to be willing to stand on your own two, be honest and say, “This is who I am. This is my place in the musical world, and I’m not afraid to claim my title of who I am.” I also like to think this is my breakout album.
You say you feel like this is your breakout album. There’s a line where you say, “I had to show I’m not lil bro.” Do you feel this is like your Janet Jackson’s Control, where you’re putting a stamp on, “I’m Taylor Bennett, my own respected creative force”?
I think I’m at that height now from all the past work that I did. I think that line was actually referencing all the past work I’ve done already to get out of the shadow.
Growing up, everybody thought I wanted to rap because I was Chance’s little brother. But after the Broad Shoulders album, the Broad Shoulders short film, selling out venues from New York to Chicago, the “10 Fingers of Death” [freestyle], and all these things – I think I had to go through all of that to really get fans, not just people that wanted to hear me because I’m Chance’s brother or have people think, “He raps because he’s Chance’s brother.”
That’s why I’m so happy about this album because I think it’s so good. People can actually, for the first time, listen to it with a clean slate. Just looking at a clean slate and saying, “This is Taylor Bennett. This is what he’s about. This is his project.” That’s also why I think this will be my breakout project.
You have a record with you, Chance, and Jeremih on the EP. Were you guys in the studio together when you recorded that track?
Actually, Mike Will Made It produced that beat. It’s a song that Chance was supposed to put on a Mike Will Made It album around the time of Acid Rap. It’s one of my favorite songs.
When I got sick in New York, I had a blood clot. I felt so sick. That was the only song I could really think of. I called him like, “Yo, you gotta let me have this song.” He let me have it. That’s how it came together. We’ve worked through it all together since then, but that’s where it came from.
You’re also doing some work in Chicago with the “Sleep In” project.
Yeah, we’re working with La Casa Norte which is a shelter in Chicago. Homeless youth is a really big problem. When people think about homelessness, they don’t think about kids. Usually, they think about adults.
But in fact, homelessness with kids is a huge epidemic, especially in Chicago. So I’ve been doing a lot of work to try to bring the city together and to make something happen. Like I said, there are not a lot of people that are aware of it.
The thing about being homeless doesn’t mean that you don’t have a place to stay one day or the next day. It means you don’t have a stable place to go. So you could be sleeping at your aunt’s house or your friend’s house. That’s still homeless. That could even resort to sleeping on trains.
Growing up in the inner-city, I had a lot of friends that never really had a stable place to live. So that’s an initiative we’re trying to put into action right now.
Taylor Bennett’s Restoration Of An American Idol is scheduled for release on February 24.
Bennett will be appearing at the Restoration Of An American Idol release party scheduled for February 24th at Chicago’s JBTV Studios.
The “Sleep In Chicago” charity event is scheduled for February 24 – February 25 at the Second Presbyterian Church. For more information visit sleepinchicago.org.
Follow Taylor Bennett on Twitter @ and Instagram @taylorbennett.
Check out the tracklist for Restoration Of An American Idol below.
Soon after Bankroll was killed, his childhood friend and fellow rapper No Plug confessed to the murder.
The disturbance that led to Bankroll Fresh’s death began with an argument in the studio, which intensified into a brawl between Bankroll and No Plug.
According to No Plug, he left the studio and only went back to search for a few cell phones he had misplaced during the tussle.
When he returned to the studio, he was greeted by Bankroll Fresh, who was allegedly wielding brandishing AK-47, resulting in gunplay, and ultimately, Bankroll’s death.
“Just because Homicide interviews you and lets you go don’t mean it’s over. They just ain’t got enough information. It’s an open investigation,” Marvin Powers told AllHipHop.com.
Take a look take a look at the shocking video below:
(AllHipHop Rumors) Uh oh! It looks like Tity Boi needs to hire some people that will keep things clean and in order at his new restaurant, ‘Escobar Restaurant & Tapas’.