Prince was legendary for representing Minneapolis, Minnesota. Even though he blew up around the world, the artist refused to move his Paisley Park compound out of the city.
His simple presence in Minneapolis helped with the development of the night life, as well as a music industry scene that still vibrant to this day.
Check out some images of fans celebrating in morning Prince’s passing.
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death yesterday on April 21, 2016
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death today (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death today (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death yesterday on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death yesterday on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death yesterday on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
Fans pay tribute to Prince outside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota, following his sudden death on (21April16)
Featuring: Atmosphere
Where: Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States
When: 21 Apr 2016
Credit: Patrick E. Frost/WENN.com
(AllHipHop News) Yesterday Bryson Tiller and creators of his project TrapSoul rejoiced as the project reached RIAA Certified Gold status.
The Kentucky bred R&B singer took to social media to share the achievement with fans and followers.
“my first plaque! gold album and a platinum single. thanks to everyone who made it possible!” Bryson said in the caption of his Instagram post (see below)
To date the project has received over 700 million streams, sold 7 million singles and sold 500,000 official albums according to the image on Bryson Tiller’s Instagram page.
In addition to the Instagram post, producers Fayo and Chill released an exclusive behind the scenes clip of the making of the track, “For However Long.”
The track is the fourth song on TrapSoul, and the making of the video is available exclusively via AllHipHop below.
According to management, Fayo and Chill have recently produced for Eric Bellinger, Raven Justice, Elijah Blake with Rick Ross/Game, Liane V, KR, and currently have TV placements all over major networks like HBO, MTV, ESPN, Discovery and more.
Tonight (April 22) Bryson Tiller hits the stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall for what is likely to be a sold out show as tickets are reaching as high at $275 on StubHub.
(AllHipHop News) Music mogul Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid is still in disbelief at the “very mysterious” death of his friend Prince, because he was always “super healthy”.
The superstar passed away at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota on Thursday morning (April 21), a week after he had been briefly hospitalized for what his representatives insisted was just a nasty bout of the flu.
His death sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment industry, prompting an outpouring of tributes from friends and fans alike, and now Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid has offered up his thoughts on the tragedy.
The producer, who has worked with Prince in the past, told U.S. breakfast show Today: “I’m still in shock. I spent the day yesterday just listening to Prince, and for whatever reason, it sounded even better. What a great guy.”
Praising his musical talent, Reid added, “I’ve always said it (that Prince is the greatest musician), I believe it. The greatest at everything: playing, writing, composing, fashion. Everything. The masculinity of Teddy Pendergrass but he could take your girl while wearing high heels!”
However, the label executive admitted he was uncomfortable commenting on reports suggesting Prince had suffered an alleged drug overdose last week (April 15), when the pilot of his private jet had to make an emergency landing in Illinois while en route from Atlanta, Georgia to Minnesota, so the superstar could seek medical attention at a nearby hospital.
“The thing that really bothers me about it (his death) is the Prince I know, he was super healthy, vegan, wasn’t an abuser of drugs, wasn’t an abuser of alcohol,” Reid explained. “He lived right and he was clean. He looked young and looked really healthy and vibrant, so the whole thing is just very mysterious to me.”
An autopsy to determine Prince’s cause of death is underway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4-NnUcXTX4&sns=em
Meanwhile, Prince’s Purple Rain film writer/director and one-time manager, Albert Magnoli, has also shared his grief over the sad loss.
“We shared tremendous times together during and after the making of Purple Rain,” he continued. “I know his fans are devastated. I know his music meant so very much to so many people. He was a good man, complicated and diligent, and like men of his caliber (sic), he always demanded from himself and others the very best.”
Concluding the note with a heartfelt message, he wrote, “Travel well, friend, wherever your next journey takes you.”
Purple Rain became a cult hit upon its release in 1984, grossing more than $80 million at the global box office and earning Prince an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
(AllHipHop News) This year award-winning DJ, producer, digital media pioneer and entrepreneur DJ Skee has returned to Fuse with an all-new season on an all-new set.
Every Friday, DJ Skee will interview celebrity guests, host live music performances, and present segments providing insider access into the trends and trendsetters of tomorrow.
Previous guests have included: French Montana, Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, Action Bronson, Machine Gun Kelly, Floyd Mayweather Jr., O.T. Genasis, Tech N9ne, The Game, Steve Aoki, Omarion, Ty Dolla $ign, Murs, and more.
For this week’s episode on SKEE TV, Dame Dash sits down with DJ Skee on the white couch, while Madeintyo, Domo and Joywave tear up the SKEE concert stage.
Also this week, DJ Skee paints with A$AP Ferg, shops for vinyl at the World Famous V.I.P. Records, gets spiritual with Marley Natural and goes backstage with Tinashe.
Ahead of this Friday’s episode AllHipHop received an exclusive clip from Skee himself to hype the show and ASAP Ferg’s album which is now available online via most digital streaming platforms.
Check it out the AllHipHop exclusive below that features A$AP Ferg talking about his passion for art.
SKEE TV offers an exclusive glimpse into the world of cultural tastemakers at the intersection of music, sports, fashion, tech and style.
The Breakfast Club experienced their shortest interview ever when Birdman threw a temper tantrum this morning and turned into our favorite internet meme. Birdman had some choice words for The Breakfast Club as he continued to ask them to put respect on his name when they talk about him or when his name is brought up! 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg seem to rock with his actions as Snoop posted,
“Nuff.Respect.Family. Check a n*gga on sight. G style. @Birdman5Star.”
50 Cent posted on Instagram saying,
“LMAO Baby on his gansta sh*t. When these two fell out, I told everybody stay away from that. They got to much history. They gonna work it out.”
How do you feel about Birdman’s behavior today? We are disappointed that he didn’t stay; it could’ve been a great interview!
Hits Daily Double is predicting a pretty big week for Drake’s ‘Views From The 6’ first week sales!
“The new Drake set, Views From the Six, is due the following week, with a million in his first week a possibility,” they say.
Although Drake does have a huge fan base, do you think he will do numbers like this or more like 800K and below? Well, the buildup for ‘Views’ has been bigger and more extended than for any previous Drake release, and there may be enough momentum behind the record. Drake said in October,
“I ask myself, why does Adele’s album go diamond, and how do I do that?”
Well he will probably break some records with streams. What are your thoughts?
You know Drake loves his girls with some strippers and reality stars somewhere in the mix. The reality stars always end up “singing”, telling all of their business, but they do give him rave reviews LOL. Former Love & Hip Hop cast member Jhonni Blaze sat down with DJ Vlad to reveal that Deb Antney helped fix the situation between her and Drake. In a previous interview Jhonni said,
“He met me in the club, we hung out. We messed physically. On my behalf I should’ve used protection. I’m not pregnant.”
Jhonni says she doesn’t talk to Drake but she knows that they are good and all is forgiven. Drake how could you?! Not Drizzy?! Drake was out her smashing the heaux raw. LOL. Well it’s good to see all is well between them and that Jhonni is in a good place as she pursues a musical career.
In a time when Hip Hop is lacking in female emcees, Azealia Banks chooses to be a professional troll. Where’s the music Azealia?! It seems like the girl is so miserable. It seems like everyone has their own fan base that is ready for petty social media trolling when something goes down, but by now everyone should know not to mess with Beyonce’s Beyhive, Rihanna’s navy, and Nicki Minaj’s Barbz. Banks recently tweeted,
“The “queen” is about to treat us to some more of her terrible acting. LOL. I love it.”
The Beyhive felt that the remarks were directed toward Beyonce with her upcoming HBO special, and they decided to drag her to hell and back. Some wondered if she could’ve been referring to Nicki Minaj as ‘Barbershop The Next Cut’ will hit theaters soon. Nicki isn’t often referred to as the rap Queen [Lil’ Kim] but some may argue for obvious reasons that she has been the Queen for the last few years. Who do you think Azealia was referring to?
(AllHipHop News) As the world continues to recover after yesterday’s bombshell news that iconic musician Prince passed away, fans naturally have been searching for ways to listen to the legendary artist.
But while millions of people use Spotify and Apple Music for streaming, Prince was a pioneer in music publishing rights and technology for musicians and pulled his music from Spotify and other streaming services in July of 2015, only leaving TIDAL with rights to the music, this according to Forbes.
“Prince’s publisher has asked all streaming services to remove his catalog. We have cooperated with the request, and hope to bring his music back as soon as possible,” said Spotify from Prince’s Spotify page back in July of 2015.
Currently Spotify fans have access to only one song called, “Stare” which now has 5,278,826 plays at the time of print.
Pandora, Apple Music, Vevo, Rhapsody, Rdio also do not have Prince’s music via their streaming services, although Prince’s music is available for purchase on iTunes where it is currently front and center at the top of iTunes.
According to Forbes, TIDAL offers over 75 % of revenue to artists while Apple Music offers 71.5 % and Spotify 70 %.
“We made money [online] before piracy was real crazy. Nobody’s making money now except phone companies, Apple and Google I’m supposed to go to the White House to talk about copyright protection. It’s like the gold rush out there. Or a carjacking. There’s no boundaries. I’ve been in meetings and they’ll tell you, Prince, you don’t understand, it’s dog-eat-dog out there. So I’ll just hold off on recording,” Prince told the Guardian in 2011.
“I personally can’t stand digital music,” he added during the 2011 interview with the Guardian. “You’re getting sound in bits. It affects a different place in your brain. When you play it back, you can’t feel anything. We’re analogue people, not digital.”
“During the 90s he waged war against his record label, Warner Bros, changed his name to an unpronounced symbol, and pronounced himself a slave to the system.”
Examining Prince’s catalog, Prince’s first 6 albums were released on Warner, after which his next 10 albums were released on Warner Bros. / Paisley Park, or Paisley Park exclusively.
“[Prince] was the first artist to release a whole album online via his own self-financed record label, and has continued to seek out new ways to release and promote his music, even go so far as to give it away for free. His fight for artists’ rights has shown future generation that they don’t have to adhere to anyone else’s rules and shown how one man can stay relevant for more than 30 years on the strength of a passion to challenge the status quo and change the way things are done.”
While we don’t know exactly what Prince would have wanted, Variety noted that Prince Tweeted his “Purple Pick of the Week” on Tidal in one of his last Tweets and last year Prince released the HITNRUN album series exclusively on Tidal which includes nearly 300 songs.
Yesterday within hours of the breaking news Jay Z’s Tidal Tweeted, “A genius, innovator, creator, family member, Prince will be truly missed. http://tidal.com/prince”
Since the tributary Tweet, AppleInsider.com has since regarded the Tweet as an opportunity to capitalize off of Prince’s catalog, despite the fact that Apple Company accounts also took the time to honor Prince.
(AllHipHop News) This week (April 20) members of Tyga’s Last King’s movement hosted a small private BBQ to honor their late friend and bodyguard Punch.
According to Tyga’s DJ, DJ $B, the late Arlester ‘Punch’ Henderson was laid to rest on April 20th in a private ceremony with friends and family
“I got some bad news in late March and we had just got to Dubai,” a saddened DJ $B told AllHipHop. “Unfortunately he was unable to travel because he was on probation, but every time we moved out and around LA he was always there.”
After the funeral DJ $B and other members of the Last King’s crew gathered together for a 4/20 BBQ to honor their friend and in some cases family member.
In addition to food and drinks the guys had plenty of Cali smoke to go around.
“I had just done a album release party for my project ‘Proud’ and he was there telling everyone to come through and he was promoting the event like it was his own,” $B recalled of Punch’s giving nature.
“Yesterday was the funeral so we just all decided to link up and celebrate his life. He would have been happy that we were all there celebrating his life and eating, having a good time. He was all about having a good time. I know now he’s in a place where he can’t be harmed and he’s watching over us.”
After an accident on Los Angeles’ I-10 freeway, Henderson reportedly got out of the car to check on the other drivers and was struck by a passing vehicle.
“It’s just crazy to have talked with him on Saturday and Sunday and then by Tuesday while we are in Dubai, he passed away. It really shows that you have to live life to fullest, even though it sounds cliché. You just never know when you are going to get that call to come home,” $B said.
“Punch” was only 29 years old and died assisting others according to reports.
In addition to the BBQ, fans were treated to special discount pricing on select items throughout the store including clothing and other merchandise.
Look out soon for more information on DJ $B’s upcoming work and a look inside the Last Kings clothing store for their Spring and Summer collections.
(AllHipHop News) Who didn’t see this coming? Birdman’s under 2 minute interview with The Breakfast Club has become a trending topic on the internet today. The brief sit down inspired photoshoppers to take aim at the “What Happened To That Boy” performer for his unexpected reaction and instant classic quotes (“Put some respect on my name.”/”Y’all finished or y’all done?”).
Of course, the Cash Money Records CEO got hit with the popular “Crying Jordan,” “Swaggy P???,” and “Fresh Prince – Why Don’t He Love Me?” pics. The Internet had more jokes for Baby as well.
(AllHipHop News) The condolences from celebrities for the legendary entertainer Prince have been rolling in ever since the announcement of his passing on Thursday. Frank Ocean was one of the musicians to offer his thoughts about the late Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee. The channel ORANGE album creator eulogized Prince in a Tumblr post.
While admitting he never met Prince, Ocean stated the “Purple Rain” singer influenced him musically and in other ways. In particular, Ocean praised Prince for playing a part in giving him the courage to embrace his sexuality. He also acknowledged the pop culture icon for taking a stand against the corporate music structure for the betterment of artists’ rights.
Ocean wrote in part:
He was a straight Black man who played his first televised set in bikini bottoms and knee high heeled boots, epic. He made me feel more comfortable with how I identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from and irreverence for obviously archaic ideas like gender conformity etc. He moved me to be more daring and intuitive with my own work by his demonstration – his denial of the prevailing model… His fight for his intellectual property – ‘slave’ written across the forehead, name changed to a symbol… an all out rebellion against exploitation. A vanguard and genius by every metric I know of who affected many in a way that will outrun oblivion for a long while. I’m proud to be a Prince fan(stan) for life.
(AllHipHop Features) The stars of Fox’s#### series Empire have once again lent their voices to an upcoming album centered around the smash hit. Empire: Original Soundtrack, Season 2 Volume 2 – set to arrive in stores on April 29 – includes appearances by Serayah (Tiana Brown), Bre-Z (Freda Gatz), Jussie Smollett (Jamal Lyon), and Bryshere “Yazz” Gray (Hakeem Lyon).
While he appears on several songs with his castmates, Yazz also has the solo single “Got That Work.” The 22-year-old Philadelphia native lets it be known he is more than ready to sit at the top of the Empire pyramid. Yazz uses the record to rap about his prowess over an uptempo track produced by the legendary Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley and Mark Murrille.
AllHipHop.com has the official premiere of Yazz’s “Got That Work.” In an exclusive interview, the rapper-actor also shares his thoughts about the song, working on Empire, and more.
“Got That Work” definitely connects to Hakeem’s storyline on Empire. What does the song represent for you?
It’s just about talking about what’s going on in Hakeem’s life. I put that into the lyrics and made sure that it was authentic to what was going on with Empire.
What was the creative process like for making this single?
It was great. It’s grueling hours filming Empire. When you’re on the biggest television show in the world, you have a lot of lines to do. It’s 12 hours [on set], then I’m straight to the studio. Timbaland and Murrille had been working all day by the time I get to the studio. Then we get it in.
You have a few songs on the soundtrack with Jussie. At this point, what is that chemistry like now when you record together?
It’s always fun. That’s like my brother. When we record it’s always fun and energetic. And we order a lot of food. [laughs]
Speaking of the brotherly camaraderie between you guys, it seems like the whole cast has a lot of fun off-screen as well. There seems to be ongoing pranks.
We always play pranks on each other. Like when Malik Yoba was on set, he would change the ChapStick in the bags. One time I had his ChapStick. I was like, “Yo, what are you doing? I was about to put that on my lips.” We spend so much time on set together. It’s a lot of waiting, so we try to make the best of our time and have fun.
How has your life changed from a year ago when you first started on the show?
I went from sitting on my mama’s stoop to living in L.A. Everything changed for the better. I was working at Pizza Hut with $20 in my pocket. There was nobody I could get in the studio with, because I didn’t have the money to pay for the producers. All that’s changed now.
Hakeem has been going through a lot in the last couple of episodes. At the same time, it feels like he’s matured a lot since the first season.
It’s a growing process, and I feel like I’m growing with the character. This is my first acting role, so I’m also growing up while he’s growing up on Empire. It’s great because it’s making me learn a lot. It’s really making me a better actor.
Can we expect any solo projects from you in the near future?
Yes, but as a true businessman, you don’t lay all of your goodies out in one pot. I’m just taking my time and enjoying my blessings. I’m putting together quality work, not quantity. I want to put together quality.
Pre-order Empire: Original Soundtrack, Season 2 Volume 2 on iTunes and Google Play.
Check out the album’s cover art and tracklist below.
1) Freedom (feat. Jussie Smollett)
2). Crown (feat. Jamila Velazquez, Raquel Castro, Yani Marin)
3) Look But Don’t Touch (feat. Serayah)
4) Good People (feat. Jussie Smollett, Yazz)
5) Like My Daddy (feat. Jussie Smollett)
6) Shine On Me (feat. Jussie Smollett, Bre-Z)
7) All Nite (feat. Yazz, Serayah, Jamila Velazquez)
8) Body Speak (feat. Serayah)
9) Last Night (feat. Jussie Smollett, Bre-Z)
10) Get It Started (feat. Jussie Smollett, Kelli Wakili)
11) Got That Work (feat. Yazz)
12) Good Enough (Negrito Remix feat. Jussie Smollett)
13) Chasing The Sky (feat. Terrence Howard, Jussie Smollett, Yazz)
14) No Competition (feat. Yazz, Serayah, Jussie Smollett)
15) Hemingway (feat. Jussie Smollett)
16) My Own Thang (feat. Jussie Smollett, Bre-Z)
17) Turn Around (feat. Bre-Z)
18) Fabulous (feat. DMK)
19) Never Let It Die (feat. Jussie Smollett, Yazz)
20) All Nite (Yo Gotti Remix) (feat. Yazz, Yo Gotti, Serayah and Jamila Velazquez)
(AllHipHop News) Which famous Pablo was Kanye West referencing in the title of his seventh studio album? Ye took time to explain the meaning behind The Life Of Pablo during a visit to Khloe Kardashian’s Kocktails With Khloe talk show.
“Which Pablo? Pablo Picasso, Pablo Escobar of course, Apostle Paul. [Paul] was the strongest influencer of Christianity, Pablo Escobar was the biggest mover of product, and Pablo Picasso was the biggest mover of art. And that mix between message, art, and product is The Life Of Pablo,” stated Kanye.
TLOP has become one of the most talked about projects of 2016 so far. The album’s unorthodox roll-out has been both praised and criticized.
Initially, Kanye insisted The Life Of Pablo would never be for sale and only available for streaming on Tidal. After a month, the LP became available on other platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify.
(AllHipHop News)The Breakfast Club just experienced their shortest celebrity interview ever. The Power 105 morning crew was scheduled to speak with Cash Money Records co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams, but the New Orleans native quickly walked out of the studio after having some choice words for Charlamagne Tha God.
(AllHipHop News) It looks like Music Television is about to start focusing on music again. MTV announced new programming for its fall line-up, and a trio of shows will have a music component.
The network is set to air a Hip Hop competition show. MTV.com describes the series:
Television producer Mark Burnett, the mastermind behind juggernaut reality-contest shows The Voice, Survivor, and Celebrity Apprentice, will executive produce a new hip-hop music competition series. The end game? Getting tomorrow’s top talent in front of the industry’s top dogs — and then getting them signed and into the recording studio.
The cable channel is also bringing back a classic. MTV Unplugged is set to return. The acoustic performance show will take elements of the original which debuted in 1989, but it has also been modernized to reflect the media landscape of the 2010’s.
Wonderland is another program about to hit TV later this year. Both musicians and comedians will perform from a site in Los Angeles. Comedy Central is working in conjunction with MTV for the series.
(AllHipHop News) Over the last four decades, countless Hip Hop artists have tapped into the talent of the incomparable musical icon Prince Rogers Nelson for their own work. The funky, soulful, and vibrant compositions created by Prince served as ideal soundscapes for rappers to spit their lyrics over.
It seems as if everyone from Ultramagnetic MCs (“Poppa Large”) to Nicki Minaj (“Blow Ya Mind”) borrowed musical elements from The Purple One. In celebration of the legendary life of the late Grammy and Oscar winner, AllHipHop.com takes a look back at 10 well known rap songs that sampled Prince’s unforgettable work.
As season 2 of the Fox series “Empire” is set for 18 episodes, the stopwatch is starting to tic down in regards to this season’s unique brand of high class, high style, All Hip Hop infused crazy. However, given the tendency of “Empire” to always go out with at least one, if not two balls to the wall cliffhangers, hints at some serious game changing ruin were set into motion Wednesday with the airing of episode 14, aptly titled “Time Shall Unfold.” Here is our quick and dirty rundown of the best of the most potentially damaging future wtf! moments in that episode. spoiler alert
Rhonda (Kaitlin Doubleday) and Andre (Trai Byers) ‘crack the code’ with Anika Calhoun’s (Grace Gealey) pregnancy and conveniently become Anika’s human shields by breaking the news to the whole Lyon family. When Andre comes to Anika’s home in the morning hours to try to win back Rhonda, Anika ends up retching in the bathroom and admits to them both that she is suffering from morning sickness and that Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) is the father. In a classic pimp move, Anika manipulates Andre and Rhonda to set up a Lyon family meeting where Anika tells everyone about her pregnancy and announces that the only thing that she wants, as the mother of the next Lyon, is an uncontested place back within the Lyon clan.
Lucious (Terrence Howard) deftly unseats Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) as the CEO of Empire, clearing a path towards regaining the throne for himself. In a series of underhanded moves that include using muscle to sabotage Empire’s Anthony and Cleopatra clothing line, turning Andre against Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and his brothers, planting drugs on trucks carrying Empire concert equipment, and humiliating Hakeem in front of a meeting for Empire’s investors, Lucious manages to get Hakeem voted out by the board members as Empire’s CEO.
Lucious’ mother appears to be alive and well of body, if not the mind. As part and parcel of Lucious convincing Andre to give him the insider information needed to embarrass and unseat Hakeem as CEO, Lucious promises Andre at his own mother’s grave site that he will be more forthcoming to Andre about her life, as well as and her struggles with mental illness. However, when Lucious’ bag man Thirsty Rawlings (Andre Royo) is then seen to be making regular visits to an old folks home to attend to an older woman(Leslie Uggams) who is very much alive but still singing all those sad songs that young Leah Walker (Kelly Rowland) sang to young Dwight Walker all those years ago… well, let’s just say Lucious is going to have a lot of explaining to do when the dark truth of yet another huge lie about his childhood gets pulled kicking and screaming into the light.
(AllHipHop News) As news continues to emerge on the untimely passing of iconic singer Prince, details are emerging from TMZ that speculate his cause of death was related to opiate usage.
According to the entertainment news site he was found in an elevator where there were unsuccessful attempts to provide Prince with CPR.
While the flu was immediately speculated as the cause of death, TMZ obtained photos of Prince leaving a Walgreens pharmacy near his Minnesota home Wednesday around 7pm leading many to speculate that he knew his death was on the horizon.
Several other gossip sites have speculated that he was facing an undisclosed terminal disease.
It is said that Prince had begun work on a memoir that was approximately 50 pages long.
Sources close to Prince also confirmed that he had recently canceled several shows in Atlanta due to sickness.
Google has since changed their logo to Prince’s signature color of purple and the NBA on TNT has decked out their set in purple to honor Prince, playing his music at commercial breaks.
President Barak Obama even took time to honor the Hall of Fame singer and icon (see below).
AR-AB Is Pushing Away The Beef And Is Focused On Making Strides Though Music And Community Organizations For The Youth
(AllHipHop News) The Hip-Hop world and streets often meet at a crossroads that makes it difficult to decipher what’s real street drama and what’s just Hip-Hop-WWF rumors and talk.
On the contrary, when it comes to controversial Philly rapper AR-AB everyone knows the deal.
AR-AB is embedded in the streets and after earning a rowdy reputation and prison time for various offenses, he’s proven to be prime example of living that fine line between the streets and gangsta rap music.
In spite of that fact and AR-AB’s gorilla-sized reputation on the underground Philly rap scene, AB gained mainstream notoriety for mention on Drake’s song “Back to Back.”
But despite that popular mention, AB says that he “doesn’t have a relationship with Drake.”
“There are guys that are from the streets, but I am the streets” – AR-AB
The new info on Drake comes on the heels of AB stating that he wants no part in his beef with Meek Mill.
AB also had a recent convo with fellow Philly rapper Cassidy where AB and the “I’m a Hustla” rapper hashed out any “negative feelings.”
“I’m at a stage of my life when I don’t want no negative energy, where if I got any issues or anyone has any negative feelings, I want to get to the bottom of it and talk to them. I talked to Cassidy and we got to the bottom of a lot of our issues,” AR-AB said.
Instead AB is choosing to focus on shows and his upcoming projects with bigger and bigger acts, not ruling out the possibility of working with Drake someday.
“I’ve been doing a whole bunch of shows, I’m booked every weekend right now. I’ve been kind of busy doing that and I’m working on Who Harder than Me 4. I’m gearing up for this song with Kevin Gates, we are working out a video date and everything right now,” AR-AB explained.
The peaceful, work-driven message is a far cry from the previously released Meek Mill disses, but don’t think that AR-AB has turned his back on the streets at all.
AR-AB has big plans for an upcoming release with Kevin Gates and found a connection with Gates as the two have both taken steps to helping out youth juvenile detention centers.
“When I came home from prison, I was talking to my manager and my manager had a plug with him, basically he was what I was listening to. They got us on the phone together and he was going around speaking to the local youth, like at detention centers and thats what I’m doing so we stayed on the phone DMing and texting each other. I didn’t even know he was going to be down at SXSW and we ended up doing this track,” AB explained of his Kevin Gates song.
When asked about his connection to the streets and why he has become so popular amongst Philly rap fans, AR-AB said that people still think that he may “still rob them.”
“A lot of guys talk about it, a lot of guys seen stuff, but they ain’t never involved with it. I actually – and its on my record – I’m a guy you could write a movie on. There are guys that are from the streets, but I am the streets,” AB proclaimed.
“I give you that in my music and on my upcoming tape. This is what I was doing man. I’m one of the biggest rappers in Philly and I still walk in the club and you would think I walk in the club and nggas might think they might rob me. I walk in the club and nggas think I might still rob them, even though I’m the big rapper. That’s how it is now man because before rap – I was an animal” a contrite AR-AB added.
Look out for AR-AB’s song with Kevin Gates in the coming week as AllHipHop will be exclusively releasing the new track at the top of next month.
