(AllHipHop News) The Queen Bey once again shut down the world with the release of a new album. Beyoncé premiered her latest work, Lemonade, in a stunning one hour film on HBO which became the #1 trending topic on social media for hours.
Along with the visuals debuting on Saturday, the album became available for streaming on Tidal the same night, and fans can now purchase Beyoncé’s Lemonade LP on iTunes. The project features appearances by Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, Jack White, and James Blake. The film is also included in the iTunes version.
While Lemonade is listed in Apple’s iTunes store, listeners should not expect to be able to stream the project on Apple Music. According to reports, Bey’s 6th studio LP will only be offered for streaming via Tidal. The Houston bred superstar is a part owner of the entertainment company along with her husband Jay Z.
Purchase Lemonade on iTunes and stream the album on Tidal.
(AllHipHop News) Prince is the king of the Billboard 200 this week. The late icon sits in both the #1 and #2 positions on the album chart. The Very Best of Prince lands in the top spot while the Purple Rain soundtrack is right behind in second place.
According to Billboard, The Very Best of Prince earned 179,000 equivalent album units, a rise of more than 10,000% from the previous week. Purple Rain gained more than a 3,000% increase with 69,000 units.
In addition, Prince’s The Hits/The B-Sides comes in at #6 with 41,000 units. Five other LPs charted as well. The Purple One’s entire catalog sold 256,000 copies over the week. That is an increase of 5,298%. The previous week saw about 5,000 copies sold.
The Very Best of Prince is now Prince’s 5th #1 album. His previous chart-toppers were Purple Rain in 1984, Around The World In A Day in 1985, the Batman soundtrack in 1989, and 3121 in 2006.
(AllHipHop News) It’s officially Drizzy season. Drake jumped on Twitter this morning to announce two big events are coming this summer. The Toronto rapper is heading on a North American tour with his What A Time To Be Alive collaborator Future starting in July, and his seventh annual OVO Fest will begin later that month.
The “Summer Sixteen Tour” kicks off in Austin, Texas on July 20. It raps up in Vancouver, Canada on September 17. Drake and Future will be joined by OVO Sound artists Roy Woods and DVSN. The OVO Fest is scheduled for July 29, July 31, and August 1. The line-up will include Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa.
(AllHipHop News) With Drake’s Views From The 6 album set to arrive later this week, the OVO Sound crew is likely in a celebratory mood. However, one former member of the label is speaking out against Drake and his team.
Atlanta based performer ILoveMakonnen posted a video to the internet where he makes fun of the cover art for Drake’s third LP Nothing Was The Same. In another clip, the “Tuesday” singer also claimed he was dropped from OVO because he lost weight.
“Why you leave OVO? Cause I was underweight now. When I was overweight, they was f-cking with me,” Makonnen says into the camera. “That’s what OVO stands for – overweight only.”
(AllHipHop News) The world of music suffered another loss tonight (April 24) with the death of musician Billy Paul from pancreatic cancer.
Billy Paul’s #1 hit song “Me and Mrs. Jones” was released in 1972 on the album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul.
While he never had a single a huge as “Me and Mrs. Jones,” Billy Paul, 80, leaves behind an influential body of work that includes the albums Ebony Woman, War of The Gods and others.
Billy Paul’s music has been sampled by a variety of Hip-Hop artists including Rick Ross and Game, Gangstarr, J. Dilla, Young Jeezy, Ludacris and Wu-Tang Clan to name a few.
The Grammy Award winning singer recorded for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records. The legendary producers discussed Billy Paul’s legacy in a statement to AllHipHop.com:
“We are very saddened to learn of the sudden death of our good friend and Philadelphia International Records recording artist Billy Paul. From the time we saw Billy performing live, and then signing him to our PIR/TSOP label, we immediately realized that we had discovered and launched one the most unique voices in the music industry. Billy’s voice combined both Jazz, R&B and Soul vocals, making him one the great artists to come out of Philly and to be celebrated worldwide. Our proudest moment with Billy was the recording of the salacious smash ‘Me and Mrs. Jones.’ In our view, it is one of the greatest love songs ever recorded. Billy was one of the first artists to help launch the PIR/TSOP brand, and he will forever have a special place in music history.”
On Friday, the world will be listening to Drake’s highly anticipated album Views From The 6. To get fans more excited for the project, the Toronto rap star posted the official album cover for Views on Twitter. From first glance, the album looks like a closeup of CN Tower, the city’s most recognized landmark. But, if you look a bitter closer, Drake is sitting on top of the building. It’s very obvious that the cover is a dedication to his city.
Views From The 6 will be releasing this Friday, April 29th. The album will be Drake’s first album released since Nothing Was The Same in 2013. Future has recently hinted that he may possibly be on Views as well. So much to be excited for.
Drake and Future has been a dynamic duo in the rap game, and with Drake’s next album releasing this Friday, the two have possibly collaborated again. Future has tweeted that he might be on Drake’s fourth album Views From The 6. The Atlanta rapper didn’t release any official details, but tweeted that his Future Bandz Gang have linked up with OVO once again.
(AllHipHop News) Ice Cube delivered his promise of a full N.W.A. reunion during his second-weekend set at the Coachella festival in California on Saturday night.
The rapper was joined onstage by DJ Yella and MC Ren for the second week in a row, but this time the trio was joined by Dr. Dre, N.W.A.’s prolific producerand co-founder.
Together, the reunited quartet performed Dre’s solo hit Still D.R.E. before covering Dre and Tupac Shakur’s California Love.
Ice Cube’s Saturday night set was also graced with the presence of The Game and Kendrick Lamar, who inducted N.W.A. into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this month.
Cube teased fans with the promise of a reunion back in January, when he said he was going to try to “bring the members of N.W.A. together… to give everybody a little history lesson on Ice Cube and
N.W.A., Westside Connection, everything I’ve been doing over the years.”
Last weekend, Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson, Jr, who portrayed his father in the Straight Outta Compton biopic, also joined his dad onstage, alongside Common and Snoop Dogg.
The reunions continued with Guns N’ Roses second Saturday night headlining set at the festival, as the band’s classic line-up performed a 25-song hits set with tracks including Out Ta Get Me, Used to Love Her, November Rain, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, and Welcome to the Jungle.
Other highlights from Saturday’s Coachella included Disclosure’s Prince tribute – a sample of Purple Rain – and Run the Jewels’ star-studded afternoon set, which featured guests like drummer Travis Barker, DJ Shadow, newlywed guitarist Gary Clark, Jr., and Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach De La Rocha.
Check out footage of Dr. Dre and then take a peek at Ice Cube’s first set.
There has been several artists that have had incredible performances on Saturday Night Live, but very few could match up to Prince’s level. Instead of booking an artist to perform through comedy skits this weekend, SNL dedicated last night’s episode to the singer. Jimmy Fallon started the show off with an emotional speech about Prince’s impact on music and SNL. It also featured past performances from his early years to the show’s 40th anniversary after party, as well as clips of comedian Fred Amison playing as Prince in the comedy sketch “The Prince Show.”
Hip Hop was the center of attention at the first ever National Cannibus Festival in Washington, DC. Legendary rap group De La Soul was the headline for the event, and performed a plethora of singles from their catalogue, including some new music from their upcoming project that’s dropping in August. Plug One (also known as Posdnuos) rapped his verse from De La’s new single “Train Wreck” for the first time ever during the performance.
To end their performance, and close the festival, De La Soul went back to perform their biggest hits including “Me Myself, and I,” “Rock Co.Kane Flow,” and the classic single which features ATCQ, Queen Latifah, and the Jungle Brothers as super collective, Native Tongues. Although the festival focused mainly on pushing marijuana policy through several panels, vendors, and products, their performance managed to bring together everyone to for a trip back to the old days of Hip Hop. Check out pictures of their performance below.
(AllHipHop News) Brooklyn rapper Ronald “Ra Diggs” Herron is so dangerous, that a judge has sent him to the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
Ra Diggs was convicted and given three life sentences in June of 2014 for his role in three separate murders in New York.
Authorities maintain the rapper, who once recorded records with artists like Uncle Murda and Murda Team as well as Waka Flocka, was still issuing orders from his prison cell.
Officials insist that Ra Diggs was the head of a Blood set in New York and has continued to call shots and intimidate witnesses.
Ra Diggs has so much control of his Blood gang from prison that he had to be shipped off to Florence ADX, where he will be in total isolation almost 24-hours a day since he’s been labeled as deadly as a terrorist.
In a lengthy Facebook post in 2014, Ra Diggs wrote about the charges and his prison sentence.
He denied being involved in any of the felonies he was convicted of and accused overzealous prosecutors of using his rap lyrics against him:
The great strides I have made professionally in the music industry has been overshadowed by the mud slinging & the vast attempts by the government officials to hang unanswered crimes on my rising star,” Ra Diggs wrote. “Although these are not victimless crimes, & my sincerest sympathy & condolence is offered to anyone who has been affected or lose someone as a result of these atrocious allegations, I am not personally responsible for any of these accusations. I use rap as a vehicle to tell stories that depict my environment, express & vent about past experiences, & to explore dreams & fantasies of grandeur. But somehow the lyrics I have spent countless painstaking hours writing & recording to make a living, & escape a life of crime & recidivism are being utilized to demonize & create a fictitious event of crime & terror in a community neglected by the assistance of local law enforcement for decades.
(AllHipHop News) Prince’s remains have been cremated and his family and friends attended a private ceremony on Saturday to pay their respects to the late pop superstar at the studio complex where he died in a suburb of Minneapolis, a Prince spokeswoman said.
Among those seen entering the Paisley Park Studios complex, where Prince lived in Chanhassen, Minnesota, were his sister, Tyka Nelson, musician and former collaborator Sheila E., his former bass player Larry Graham and model Damaris Lewis.
The service came two days after Prince, whose hits included “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry,” was found dead in an elevator at the complex at age 57. His death shocked millions of fans around the world and prompted glowing tributes from fellow musicians and public figures, including President Barack Obama.
“Prince was celebrated by a small group of his most beloved: family, friends and his musicians, in a private, beautiful ceremony to say a loving goodbye,” Prince publicist Anna Meacham.
Meacham said Prince’s remains have been cremated and their final resting place will remain private. Plans are under way for a musical celebration of Prince, with details to be announced later, she said.
On Saturday, Graham stood at a gate of Paisley Park Studios and thanked some of the hundreds of fans gathered on the lawn outside to show their admiration of Prince, a seven-time Grammy winner whose music blended rock, funk, R&B, jazz and disco.
“Prince made us all better musicians and spiritually is the most important thing, but as musician he pushed us and he made us better and we listened deeply,” Graham told the fans.
Participants in the ceremony handed some fans outside gift boxes that contained items such as Prince-themed apparel and a compact disc of music.
An autopsy on Prince was conducted on Friday and authorities are investigating his death.
Police said on Friday no signs of suicide or obvious trauma were found in Prince’s death. The local medical examiner’s office said it could take weeks before autopsy and toxicology results reveal how the groundbreaking performer died.
Prince had been on a U.S. tour as recently as last week.
But he was briefly hospitalized a week ago, suffering from what his representative told celebrity news website TMZ was the flu, after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois.
Loretta Thomas, 45, (L) and Deshone, 50, listen to a Prince song at a vigil to celebrate the life and music of Prince in Los Angeles. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Kenneth Beavers, 49, displays a Prince tattoo at a vigil to celebrate the life and music of Prince in Los Angeles. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
A couple watches on as fans gather at Harlem’s Apollo Theater to celebrate the life of Prince in the Manhattan. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Director Spike Lee dances at a street party he hosted called “PRINCE We Love You Shockadelica Joint” to celebrate the life and music of Prince in Brooklyn. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
A man writes on a makeshift memorial as fans gather at Harlem’s Apollo Theater to celebrate the life of Prince in Manhattan. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
(Reporting by Jane Ross, writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Andrew Hay)
(AllHipHop News) Beyoncé released the visuals from her new video album Lemonade Saturday night (April 23) on HBO.
The series of videos and songs were statements on the status of her relationship with her husband Jay Z and her father, Mathew Knowles.
Visually, the videos were also a tribute to African-American women, featuring the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, amongst others.
The Lemonade album features Kendrick Lamar, Diplo, The Weeknd, Jack White, with poetry interspersed spoken by Beyoncé, but written by Somali-British poet Warsan Shire.
The visuals feature a number of models Zendaya and Serena Williams, who does some twerking in a scene, even though fashion in most of the videos evoke the 1800’s.
The Internet is going wild with speculation that the songs like “Don’t Hurt Yourself” and “Pray You Catch Me” are about her husband, music mogul/rapper Jay Z.
She even tosses her wedding ring at the camera in one scene.
But, Jay Z is featured prominently in the videos cuddling with Bey and playing with their daughter Blu Ivy in the video for “Sandcastles.”
Beyoncé made a statement on a strained relationship with her father, on the song “Daddy Lessons” which could easily cross over into a country hit.
Beyoncé dropped her surprise sixth album that during the HBO special last night.
As the saying goes, “You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” Here is a look at notable events that took place in Hip-Hop this week from years past.
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(AllHipHop News) Afrika Bambaataa addressed sexual abuse allegations made against him for the first time in public during an interview on “The Ed Lover show with Monie Love.”
During the interview, Afrika Bambaataa doubled down on his view that the allegations stem from a larger conspiracy formed against him.
“This is false allegations that’s being put against me and a lot of lies. And it could me today and you tomorrow,” Afrika Bambaataa told Ed Lover. “I completely deny all type of allegations that’s being put against your brother, Afrika Bambaataa.”
Bambaataa has claimed he never met Ronald Savage, the Bronx politician who originally made the explosive claims in a 2014 book titled “Impulse, Urges and Fantasy’s.”
Ronald Savage, 50, reiterated the charges against Afrika Bambaataa on Shot 97, the radio show helmed by personality Troi “Star” Torain, who is now calling for Bam’s arrest.
Since then, several other men have come out with similar claims of abuse against Bambaataa and Star says there’s at least seven men in total that claim they’ve been abused by the rap legend.
And the original accuser, Ronald Savage, isn’t backing down from his claims.
Savage even welcomed the defamation lawsuit Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation claimed they would file over the allegations.
“If Bambaataa says he doesn’t know me, tell him to take a lie detector test,” Savage told The New York Daily News. “Ask him if he knew me or if abused me and other underage boys. I’ll take one, too, and we’ll see who is telling truth.”
While Afrika Bambaataa cannot be prosecuted for the claims due to New York laws, Ronald Savage’s lawyer Luis Sepulveda also urged the Zulu Nation to file to the lawsuit, since it would force Afrika Bambaataa to testify under oath.
“We welcome the opportunity to have (Bambaataa) speak under oath at a deposition,” Sepulveda said. “We welcome the opportunity to present evidence to him. My client’s allegations are true.”
And even if they don’t, Afrika Bambaataa and The Zulu Nation may be facing a defamation lawsuit of their own, thanks to the comments members have made about Ronald Savage in interviews and press releases.
(AllHipHop News) Officials in Henry County, Georgia are upset with rapper Yo Gotti, over his new video “Law” featuring E-40.
County officials are not happy with the contents of the hit song, and said Yo Gotti was never given official permission to shoot the video inside of the courthouse.
The video shoot was facilitated by local Councilwoman Sandra Vincent, but she claimed she never saw the script for the video, which is taken from Yo Gotti’s new album The Art of Hustle.
“Clearly, it does not represent the standards of what’s Henry County,” County Manager Lyndon Bonner said.
Now, officials and Henry, county are setting up a formal process for those who wish to film content inside of the courthouse.
It’s not the first time a rapper has p##### off authorities in Georgia in official government institutions without permission.
Into 2004, rapper T.I. embarrassed officials in Fulton, County when he shot a video inside of the jail when he was serving time for a probation violation.
As expected, both Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (44-0, 38KOs) and McWilliams Arroyo (16-2, 14KOs), in keeping with their extremely focused and taciturn personas, easily made weight on April 22, 2016 for their highly anticipated battle tonight at The Forum in Inglewood, California, set to be televised live on HBO Championship Boxing beginning at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT as the co-featured fight on the Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) vs. Dominic Wade (18-0, 12KOs) Middleweight Championship fight.
Ranked as Ring Magazine and ESPN’s pound for pound top ranked fighter since the retirement of Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs) from the sport, Gonzalez is the heavy favorite to win tonight against Arroyo, whose biggest claim to fame to date is a split decision loss to IBF World flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng (17-0, 5KOs) in 2014.
In a symbiotic working relationship that has been highly beneficial to both fighters, Gonzalez and Golovkin have fought together on co-featured HBO bouts for their last three fights, including tonight’s battle.
See more pictures from the weigh in here:
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and McWilliams Arroyo in Los Angeles, CA on April 22, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez with WBC belt in Los Angeles, CA on April 22, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
McWilliams Arroyo waiting to weigh in on April 22, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
In what K2 Promotion’s CEO Tom Loeffler has described as a “commitment” to bringing the fans something new, two female bouts will be presented as part of the untelevised undercard of Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) vs. Dominic Wade (18-0, 12KOs), and co feature Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (44-0, 38KOs) vs. McWilliams Arroyo (16-2, 14KOs), scheduled for tonight, April 23, 2016 from The Forum in Inglewood, CA and aired live on HBO Boxing beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. ET.
Undefeated East Los Angeles born and bred prospect Seniesa “Superbad” Estrada (5-0, 1KO) will be fighting veteran fighter Selene Lopez (3-4-3, 1 KO) of Los Mochis, Mexico in a 6 round flyweight battle. The newly white blond Estrada was as affable as ever at the final press conference for the HBO Championship Boxing event, asking the crowd if they were ready for “the big drama show,” and thanking K2 Promotions for allowing her to fight once again at The Forum in what has been a “sixteen year journey” for the 23 year old female prospect.
In what Loeffler termed as a sure fire fan friendly “barn burner,” former WBO World Female Flyweight champion Kenia Enriquez (51-1, 7KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico will face off against world ranked contender Amaris “Diamond Girl” Quintana (9-2, 1KO) in an 8 round junior lightweight battle.
See their respective weigh in photos here:
Amaris “Diamond Girl” Quintana and Kenia Enriquez in Los Angeles, CA April 22, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.Selene Lopez and Seniesa “Superbad” Estrada, Los Angeles April 22, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.Amaris “Diamond Girl” Quintana and Kenia Enriquez in Los Angeles, CA April 22, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
As Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) and Dominic Wade (18-0, 12KOs) went through fight week in preparation for their battle tomorrow, April 23, 2016 at The Forum, in Inglewood, CA, set to be broadcast live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT, a familiar theme of opportunity raised it’s head. It is no secret that Golovkin wanted to get first crack at superstar Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) after Alvarez beat Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33KOs) to win the WBC World Middleweight Title. However as the politics of the sport will go, Canelo and his promoter Golden Boy Promotions, headed by Oscar De La Hoya, decided to take on England’s Amir Khan (31-3, 19KOs) instead as their next big battle, scheduled to happen a mere two weekends from now on May 7, 2016, Cinco De Maio weekend.
While Amir Khan is a very dangerous opponent, there are known vulnerabilities to exploit. Khan’s less than rock solid chin has been a factor in past fights, and the move up in weight for Khan should be another advantage for Canelo. Considering these factors, Khan was likely the better bet on paper when compared to the unknown threat that Golovkin’s vaunted KO abilities pose that have yet to be tested against cream of the crop bankable A list opponents like Canelo, Miguel Cotto or the recently retired Floyd Mayweather (49-0, 26KOs). So once again, Golovkin is left a bit out in the cold, fighting someone who is undefeated but still less than substantive when it comes to that highly definable real deal versus real deal fight fever that turns it’s participants into undisputedly iconic material.
Rather than bemoan their situation too much, team Gennady, while pointing out that Wade is their mandatory to keep a hold of GGG’s impressive coterie of belts, namely the WBA Super World Middleweight Title, the IBF World Middleweight Title, the interim WBC World Middleweight Title and the International Boxing Organization World Middleweight Title, chose to see the irony of the situation by drawing similarities between Wade now and Gennady Golovkin in 2011 when he got the career boost of fighting Kassim Ouma (28-9-1, 17KOs) for the WBA World Middelweight title : “Dominic is in the same place where Gennady was five, six years ago,” said Golovkin’s longtime K2 promoter, Tom Loeffler, adding, “If he had the opportunity to fight one of the top fighters and show that he was the best in the division, that’s all that he was hoping for.”
Hopefully Dominic does prove to be worthy or at least competitive against Golovkin, as this is rhetoric that we have heard from team GGG before – specifically when it came to GGG’s fight against the then undefeated Willie Monroe Jr. (19-2, 6KOs), which also took place at The Forum. However, if tomorrow night does prove to be another unmitigated blow out for Golovkin, at the very least it should be another hole in any argument that the winner of Canelo vs. Khan would attempt to cobble together in order to further delay the “Good Boy” from Kazakhstan finally participating in his true big drama show.
See pictures from both the final press conference and the weigh in here:
Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Dominic Wade at final press conference in Los Angeles on April 20, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Dominic Wade at final press conference in Los Angeles on April 20, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
Trainer Abel Sanchez and fighter Gennady “GGG” Golovkin making weight in Los Angeles on April 22, 2016. Photo credit Kylie Krabbe Whyufight.
Tampa, Florida bred and Los Angeles residing artist Broderick Batts deftly blends genres of Hip-Hop and Soul music that he’s been difficult to label thus far. Batts shifts gears from brashly Southern cooked rap vocals to harmonized vocals with a Caribbean influence.
On the infectious and tropically tinged “Kate Moss 1989,” Batts shows he’s not afraid to experiment. With the premiere of his latest track “SheDGAF,” Young and Reckless brought him to our attention, now he’s on yours. check it out below:
