On Monday (Jan. 25), Michael Tanner Phillips was shot and killed in his Jonesboro, GA home. In the past, the late Phillips formerly worked as one of Future’s bodyguards. In the midst of their investigation, area detectives are interested in speaking with anyone in Michael’s circle of friends, family, and associates who may have useful information.
Concerned authorities will have to look further than Future. The Purple Reign purveyor is completely devastated about Phillips’ untimely passing, but he doesn’t have any helpful information for the cops, this according to TMZ. Sources have gone on to claim that Future flatly refuses to have any interaction with the cops.
Authorities are still working to build a case and arouse a murder suspect. The police do not have any suspects in custody as of press time but have several leads. A rep from the “Honest” rapper’s camp insists that back in 2011 Future and Phillips ended their professional relationship, this reported by XXL.
Ricco Barrino took a short hiatus from the music industry, but the High Point, North Carolina native returned in 2015 with a major hit. The singer-songwriter is one of the contributors, along with T.I. and Young Dolph, to Colonel Loud’s Top 10 R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay smash “California.”
In addition, Barrino’s affiliation with Tip extends to being a member of the Atlanta rapper’s Grand Hustle Records roster where Ricco added vocals to T.I.’s “P### Star,” Young Dro’s “Hood Gospel,” and B.o.B’s “5th Dimension.” His résumé also includes writing credits for Young Jeezy, R. Kelly, and his sister American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino.
The nephew of the 1960’s soul group The Barrino Brothers is also a solo artist in his own right. Besides teaming with some of the top talent in the business, Barrino has released his own mixtapes Twenty 12 Play and Musical Evolution. Up next is his single “Come To The Money,” another collaboration with Colonel Loud.
AllHipHop.com connected with Ricco Barrino to take part in the “My Five Firsts” series. This exclusive interview consists of the “Bubble Gum” vocalist sharing his experiences on performing with Fantasia, meeting T.I., hitting the strip club, and hearing a couple of classic R&B albums for the first time.
Long before American Idol, we were already making people feel good in local churches. So as we got older, we found ourselves in clubs and local coffee houses making people stand on tables and chairs by making people listen to our vocals. It was always an adrenaline rush.
First Time Meeting T.I.
It was a surreal feeling. I had contemplated and calculated that day for so long that it felt like we had been brothers in another life. We immediately got to work, and he trusted my opinions which kept me motivated. I owe a lot to him for believing in me since day one. From the first phone call to now, he has never changed. Salute Tip.
First Time Going To A Strip Club
I was in Atlanta, Georgia, and the strip club was Jazzy T’s. I remember like it was 5 minutes ago. They were playing an Eminem song. Although I am a fan of Eminem, I am not a fan of all of his work.
That night the DJ played his new single and I remember watching this girl in front of me who was built like a female Belgian horse dance for me slowly. Man, I could have gave her my wallet that night. [laughs]
Long story short, I couldn’t get the song out of my head. That night inspired me to write my first regional hit single “Bubble Gum” which caught the attention of Atlantic records and [Grand Hustle co-founder] Jason Geter. I knew I wanted that same feeling and understood the power of the strip club in reference to breaking new music. God Bless Jazzy T’s!
First Time Hearing The Beat For “California”
For me, the beat felt the same, because I grew up around that type of sound. I’m all the time finding myself living out déjà vu moments, moments from my childhood days. So to hear the beat, it’s almost as if I was a part of the composers’ mission to reinvent a classic that never died, it only grew.
First Time Hearing R. Kelly’s 12 Play and Jodeci’s Forever My Lady
R.Kelly’s 12 Play – for me it gave me a feeling of freedom to speak passionately about things that men didn’t say on records. I found the passion to be able to say what I wanted and make my own Zane book off of the stamp R. Kelly put on wax.
Jodeci’s Forever My Lady – with Jodeci it was total excitement, because what people didn’t know was that they are my first cousins. So once I heard them hop on the record [“Treat Them Like They Want to Be Treated”] with Father MC, after hearing them come out of church it made me want to hear more. I was so amped up I must have requested it 1500 times. Then the DJ played it about 1500 times till I didn’t want to hear it anymore. That’s when I knew it was a hit song.
(AllHipHop News) Kevin Gates has become known for making questionable statements. Now the Louisiana rapper is jumping on Stacey Dash’s controversial bandwagon involving her call to abolish BET and Black History Month.
“I agree with her,” Gates told DJ SussOne. “It’s only two types of people: real people and fake people. It’s no such thing as color in my realm.”
On the other end of the conversation, actress Gabrielle Union was not feeling Dash’s comments about ending African-American centered award shows like the BET Awards and the NAACP Image Awards. The Associated Press spoke with Union about the topic.
“Who’s that? Who’s Stacey Dash? Is she like related to Dame Dash? Was she on Roc-A-Fella?” joked Union. “I heard of a crazy lady once, maybe last week, but I don’t know what her name is.”
The Being Mary Jane star added, “It’s like why there’s a need for [Nate Parker’s Nat Turner biopic] Birth Of A Nation, the Country Music Awards, and the ALMA Awards. If you don’t see yourself reflected in mainstream awards, you tend to create your own… the more we focus on inclusion and a true representation of this country, I think that crazy lady will have less to say.”
(AllHipHop News) While the Drake/Meek Mill feud dominated the headlines for 2015, it may have been forgotten that the OVO leader also had issues with fellow YMCMB representative Tyga last year as well. It appears the beef between Drizzy and T-Raww has been settled.
According to Tyga, Kanye West brokered a sit down with him and Drake. The Rawwest N*gga Alive mixtape creator says the two rap stars are now on good terms after communicating with each other.
Tyga told Real 92.3, “If somebody’s not taking anything away from you – it’s not affecting your family or taking away from your money – then you should never have a problem with somebody. As a man, you should always be able to talk to somebody and be level-headed.”
"He put us in a room together when he was doing his fashion show… We have each other a hug and just chopped it up" #RealAfterPartyTyga
(AllHipHop News) More members of the Hip Hop community are stepping up to help the residents of Flint, Michigan. The city has been suffering through lead contamination in its water supply for years. Detroit native Big Sean recently donated $10,000 to the #HealFintKids fundraiser, and now fellow Roc Nation affiliate DJ Mustard is set to match Sean’s contribution.
“As a father of two kids, the tragedy in Flint, Michigan hit home for me,” says DJ Mustard. “Shout out to Big Sean for starting this viral campaign. I hope my donation can encourage others to step up for an important cause.”
Mustard is partnering with The Sean Anderson Foundation which benefits the Community Foundation of Greater Flint Michigan’s “Flint Child Health & Development Fund.” The fund was set up by CFGF and its partners to ensure the long-term health of Flint families affected by the 2014-2016 water crisis.
To donate to the #HealFintKids fundraiser visit crowdrise.com.
(AllHipHop News) This may go down as the strangest and most unexpected rap beef in Hip Hop history: Atlanta rhymer B.o.B versus astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. It all started when B.o.B went on a Twitter rant about the Earth actually being flat. Tyson responded to the No Genre label head, and then B.o.B dropped a track called “Flatline” which included a jab at the 57-year-old StarTalk host.
Neil deGrasse Tyson decided to answer back. He recruited a rapper named Tyson to pen some bars directed at Bobby Ray. The JusListen Entertainment artist’s diss song “Flat To Fact” borrows the beat and flow from Drake’s “Back To Back” as the spitter calls out B.o.B for promoting the idea that the world is not round.
Young Thug made headlines today, so it wouldn’t be right in this day and age if he didn’t release a new song as a hot side to that main course. This track was inspired by Lil Boosie’s bout with cancer and it’s in support of Boosie’s fight with the disease. The disease gets a big F-you for the track title and features Quavo from the Migos. Slime Season 3 is expected to be released on February 5th. “F*ck Cancer”!
Navy folks…get ready. Rihanna is supposedly coming this week! You know, I gotta admit, I really like me some RiRi. And I am thinking that she is going to snap sometime this week. She has been teasing the album for months. And now it is HERE…supposedly. Folks in the game are saying it may come before Friday, the new release day for albums. There is also a supposed new song with Drake coming this week to make the album more commercially buoyant.
(AllHipHop News) Kanye West once again changed the name of his upcoming seventh studio album. The G.O.O.D. Music founder announced the LP is now called Waves.
The media and fans instantly offered their thoughts on the switch on social media. Even some other Hip Hop figures weighed in on Ye’s decision to drop Swish for Waves.
Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins made light of the fact he released a project titled Wave[s] in 2015. Pittsburgh rhymer Wiz Khalifa and Heir Waves project creator Chase N Cashe pointed out that Harlem’s Max B is known for the wavy movement.
Kxng Crooked and Statik Selektah are scheduled to release their joint effort Statik KXNG later this year. The duo joked about possibly changing the album’s title to Swaves. Statik also mentioned Max B in one of his tweets.
UPDATE:
Max B became a trending topic on Twitter as Kanye West returned to the social media platform to show respect to him. Wiz Khalifa and Chase N Cashe posted tweets acknowledging Kanye paying homage to Max B. The tweets from all three have been added to the gallery below.
(AllHipHop News) Never one to be outside of the press, Kanye West has gotten another one for fans. He has changed the title of his album to Waves.
The looming opus has taken several different monikers since Yeezy began the trek. First it was So Help Me Good and before that, Swish. And those are just the titles the eager public knows about.
Kanye also updated his previous assertion that this album would be the “best album go all time.”
The rapper said, “This is not album of the year. This is album of the life.”
We’ll soon see.
Swish was expected on February 11, 2016. Right now, Waves is expected on the same day.
When you think about it, it should really p### you off:
We, the hip-hop community at large have been sold a massive lie. Whether we are Generation X members who can remember a time where Run-DMC, NWA & MC Lyte ruled the airwaves, or Millennials who don’t understand why Meek Mill can’t win one beef, the lie is the same – We’ve been told to go to school, get a job and everything will randomly work out.
While I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any far stretch of the imagination, I know that there is a plan in place for each of us. We’ve been conditioned for wage slavery. Think about it for a moment:
From the time you were little, you were going to daycare or something like that while your parents went off to work. You might as well have been working too. You were stuck in a place for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week
As you got older, you did this all throughout your “educational career”. You also had to conform to what someone else deemed appropriate for you to wear, say and do for 40 hours a week, with very little personal fulfillment. You’re told that if you continue to work hard, it will get greater later. And so you do just that, all the while, pushing through the week just to see Friday so you can get a welcome break from homework.
Then there’s college and graduate school. The illusion of more “control” is given to you because you can choose your schedule. Truth is that they (The University system) will even make a class that you need unavailable for a semester so they can get a 5th or 6th year of tuition out of you. Not all of us are destined to be doctors, lawyers and accountants so the odds of landing a good job are slim and none. In America, over 10 percent of unemployed Americans have graduate degrees and have to tend bar or drive uber to make ends meet.
And don’t even get me started on the student loan debt that’s crippling most of us with a few letters behind our name. It’s kind of hard to pay for an education that doesn’t live up to the promise of paying for itself in the form of gainful employment. You see, we’ve been taught to work hard to climb the “corporate ladder”, but are never shown how to build the buildings upon which the corporate ladder leans. This is where I come in.
My name is David Anderson and while I’m a proud graduate of Temple University, I know that there is more out there for us than a “good job”. We’ve been wage slaves for far too long, when we should be the masters of our own destiny.
As a speaker, sales trainer and business coach, I’ve generated millions of dollars in revenue for businesses like NutriSystem, iHeart Media and several small and medium sized businesses run by entrepreneurs who understand the importance of self reliance.
We’re the people who changed the world with something that was supposed to be a “fad”. Hip-Hop permeates every facet of life, from the boardroom to the bedroom due in no small part to our passion and creativity. It’s time to apply that creativity into something that will generate wealth for ourselves and our children’s children.
I don’t care if you make soap in your kitchen or make beats on a keyboard you bought from a pawn shop, every week, I’m going to give you actionable information so that you can stop job hunting and start wealth building.
Now is the time! Look at how many folks are making their own business out of thin air! With things like shopify and etsy, there’s no excuse anymore to live an average life! I’m excited to coach you virtually through these articles and hope that you’re inspired to take a leap of faith and bet on your talents and abilities with a smart plan of action in place.
Now, let’s get to work.
David Anderson is a Business and Sales Coach, Motivational Speaker and the Author of the #1 Best Selling Sales Skills Book on the planet, “Pitch Close Upsell Repeat”, http://amzn.to/1TyHGs4 which broke records, making him the first Black Business Coach to be #1 and in the top 10 in 3 different business categories at the same time. You can follow him on Twitter @MyInnerBrand or email at [email protected]
Martin Shkreli and Ghostface Killah are beefing and it is Ghost’s turn…and then Shkreli’s turn.
Earlier today, the pair swung digital jabs at each other after Ghostface demanded Shkreli release the Wu Tang album Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, which the pharmaceutical mogul purchased for $2 million.
Ghost laughed at “Pharm Bro,” who appeared in court today on allegation of financial improprieties around two companies he presided over.
“This is the man that wanna be beefing,” Ghost says in the video. “The Michael Jackson-nose-kid… C’mon bruh, you don’t want to do it. I’ll break your heart in four days. We can play if you wanna play. We can get it in. I’m just laughing off the dude’s face. C’mon, man. Look at that smile,” said in an interview by TMZ.
Shkreli returned fire on Twitter.
“Don’t cry, Ghost. All rap careers come to an eventual end. Long time coming, motherf**ker.”
(AllHipHop News) Earlier today (Jan. 26), the highly revered and often critcized R&B icon, R. Kelly, gave an unprecedented interview. In it, the Chicago native opened up about a series of subjects. With undaunted candor the Grammy award-winning entertainer spoke about how his “depth of struggle” was reflected through his gift of music.
Everything from singing in the shower, to sex, to receiving life-changing encouragement from a former teacher was discussed in this GQ exclusive. One of the more penetrating and insightful anecdotes came when the legendary performer discussed his relationship with his mother.
“All I ever wanted to do was music. Since I was 8 years old I could remember having a dream ,” offered the living legend. “My past shaped and molded me into who I am today,” he matter-of-factly stated. Kelly went on to credit being “thankful” for his past and being blessed that God brought him from it.
When speaking about the close bond shared with his mom R. Kelly poignantly expressed his adoration for her. “In a son-mother way, I had a serious crush on my mom. She could sing her butt off.” The global superstar soon declared, “I looked up and down to her…And I even ask her to marry me one day.” He then added, “I was 9. She said, ‘No,’ and I understood,’ he joked.
Skip to the 25 minute-mark to get all the details on the sweet proposal.
Legendary NYC crew, D.I.T.C. drops a new track featuring AG, OC and Fat Joe for the track “Diggin Number” which is produced by J Clyde. Furthermore, look out for the upcoming D.I.T.C. Studios compilation and new music dropping on a weekly basis. Looking forward to hearing more from these legends and its dope to get a rare Fat Joe verse.
With the recent announcement of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s final fight being his April 9th battle against Timothy Bradley Jr. at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada, Bradley talks directly to AHH’s Kylie Krabbe at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA about his plans in the ring.
(AllHipHop News) Earlier today (Jan. 26), a lawsuit involving Jay Z and Parlux Fragrances surfaced. The perfume company alleges that Hov’s breach of contract eventually lead to the manufacturer to seek an $18 million judgement, this according to TMZ. Back in 2013, Parlux contends that it secured a licensing deal with Jay Z to launch the fragrance, Gold Jay Z.
Both his name and his image were supposed to be used to help brand the product. With that in mind, Parlux purports that additional future scents were supposed to follow the first one. According to the perfume company, Mr. Carter neglected to uphold his contractual obligations.
Parlux claims that Jay Z refused to show up at different scheduled appearances at Good Morning America and Macy’s. Regarding the project, the iconic MC and entrepreneur also stands accused of neglecting to use his social media to help publicize the product.
Given Jay Z’s earned respect, Parlux banked on hauling in about $50 million in a two year span. The disappointed has professed that it has yet to turn a profit. To add insult to injury, it also stated that stores are returning its unsold inventory. Parlux Frangrances actually claims that it has actually been hemorrhaging money.
Manny Pacquiao talks briefly after his Los Angeles Press Conference and suggests that their is a very slight possibility that after his third boxing battle on April 9th with Timothy Bradley, he might forgo retirement and continue on as an active fighter.
Boxing star Manny Pacquiao announces his final retirement fight against Timothy Bradley Jr. scheduled for April 9, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on HBO Pay Per View.
The Game announced that he has partnered with Avita Water to help the tragedy in Flint, Michigan. The Game joined forces with The Robin Hood Project to donate $1 million to those in need. Game donated —$500,000 directly from his own bank account. Game cited his compassion for others and the fact that his sister lives in the area for some of the reasons he decided to help those in need. Game also plans to donate the proceeds from his tour to help Flint residents obtain clean water. The Game went on to call out other celebrities for not donating “enough,” and challenged them to match his $1 million dollar donation. While many applauded Game’s actions, his sister wasn’t as pleased. Apparently Game’s sister @b.f.l.y took to Instagram to express her frustration with her brother as she posted,
“What kinda brother don’t call u on your birthday???? The kind that don’t know his other sister don’t live in Flint, Michigan… she lives in Lansing…. Ha Ha… THE bomedy.”
We don’t know what’s going on between the two of them, but hey, sometimes your own family can be just as bad as the folks on the outside. Whatever family issues they have going on, we hope they work it out.
