As June reaches its halfway mark, there are numerous noteworthy events that have happened in Hip-Hop history.
From artists being born (Tupac Shakur, Kendrick Lamar) to memorable albums (Thank Me Later), and controversial moments (“Cop Killer”), they all changed the course of rap music and culture.
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 this week from years past. Check it out!
If you’re having trouble viewing this Stackerdecks post: Click Here
(AllHipHop News) The reign of Views continues. Drake‘s 4th studio album once again sits atop the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Toronto representative’s latest collection has ruled over the tally for six straight weeks.
Views earned another 135,000 equivalent album units. Drake managed to collect 32,000 actual album sales with 81,000 streaming equivalent album units and 22,000 track equivalent album units.
If Drake is able to hold the pole position on next week’s chart, the YMCMB star will become the first male artist since Eminem to have an album rule the Billboard 200 for seven weeks.
Em’s Recovery held the top spot for seven nonconsecutive weeks in 2010. Adele‘s 25 spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks at #1 in 2015 and 2016.
Beyoncé’s Lemonade rose up to the #2 spot. Queen Bey’s 5th LP totaled 69,000 units (48,000 album sales).
Veteran rapper Ras Kass assumes the persona of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs on a new promo video titled “rApple.” The quick little piece is meant to promote the upcoming video for Ras’ new song “Downward Spiral” featuring Bumpy Knuckles and Onyx.
“Downward Spiral” is the first official release off Ras Kass’ new album Intellectual Property/#SOI2, which is due out soon. The video for “Downward Spiral” is due out next week.
(AllHipHop News) You never thought that Hip Hop would take it this far. Hamilton dominated the 2016 Tony Awards.
Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s Hip Hop musical won 11 Tonys. That total puts the Broadway instant classic one shy of the all-time record of 12 held by The Producers.
Among its 11 wins, Hamilton picked up trophies for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction, and Best Choreography. The production’s performers won big as well.
Leslie Odom Jr. (Best Lead Actor), Daveed Diggs (Best Featured Actor), and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Best Featured Actress) each won Tonys. With Cynthia Erivo winning Best Lead Actress for The Color Purple, this year marked the first time all four awards in the musical acting categories went to people of color.
For the first time in #TonyAwards history, all four musical acting awards have gone to people of color.
(AllHipHop News) Tyler the Creator premiered some new music at his GOLF Fashion show over the weekend.
The founder of Odd Future opened his show at MADE LA fashion show, by performing a song that addressed his recent banning from Australia.
According to Pitchfork the unreleased song, titled “EGO,” not only references the the 2015 banning, but also called the Australian government for using his old rhymes as a reason why he shouldn’t be able to return to the country.
The rhymes from “EGO” reads:
“They said some old lines was offensive/I was young I can’t apologize for that s###/They took my fiction literature for literal/I ain’t no m###########’ criminal.”
Tyler’s verse states that he’s not as bad as his previous music proclaims him to be, and uses Donald Trump as the punchline to prove it.
Although the song’s message caught the attention of many, Tyler has no plan on officially releasing “EGO.”
Yesterday, the Los Angeles rapper told fans on Twitter that it was only for the show and just a throwaway.
During the Golf Fashion Show, Tyler also announced that he would be releasing a new collaboration with Adidas.
To celebrate his 19th birthday, rising Florida rapper Kodak Black released his latest project Lil Big Pac.
The 13-track project features appearances from Gucci Mane and Lil Boosie, with production credits from the Honorable C- Note.
The track featuring Gucci, “Vibin In This Bih,” was trending over the weekend, acquiring more than 90,000 streams in a day.
Kodak Black has been on the rise over the last couple of years. Along with the success of his single “SKRT SKRT,” the young Florida rapper has also had his music played on Drake’s popular radio show, OVO Sound Radio.
The Hip-Hop World Responds To The Pulse Nightclub Shooting In Orlando
Earlier this morning (June 12), the world stood still after news surfaced that 50 people were murdered and another 53 injured during a mass-shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Numerous artists have sent their condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
As details continue to be released about suspect, Omar Mateen and his motive behind the shooting, the situation has has started to stir up some debate on homophobia, Islamophobia, and gun control.
Earlier today, President Barack Obama delivered an address to the nation and addressed the issue of guns in his speech.
“Today marks the most deadly shooting in American history. The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle,” President Obama said. “This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub. And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.”
Vic Mensa posted about the hate crime with a more political twist, which ended up bringing a lot of controversy in the process.
Mensa believes Donald Trump is one of the core reasons why there’s so much outward hate in the country now.
Ladies if you ever wanted to have a threesome with B.o.B, it’s time to shoot your shot in his DM NOW!. B.O.B. apparently has been sliding in girls DMs trying to recruit them for threesomes. It really goes down in the DMs. Apparently B.o.B. slid in one girl’s DM and she declined. She also shared the screenshots with her brother who happens to be a DJ. The brother then put B.o.B on blast saying what Bobby Ray was doing was some f-ck n-gga sh-t. The DJ also took a shot at B.o.B. by saying he hasn’t had a hit since 2010. Apparently getting “put on blast” actually backfired as other women slid in B.o.B.’s DMs. I mean…… anywhere is fair game to recruit for a threesome right? LOL.
(AllHipHop News) More than 50 people are dead and 53 people have been injured in a rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Police say suspect Omar Mateen used an AR-15, a handgun and two suspicious devices to slaughter 50 people and injured 53 more during the shooting, which was also a hostage situation.
Over 300 people were inside of the Pulse nightclub for a Latin-themed party when Mateen stormed the club around 2:00 am, and began firing at the ceiling and then into the crowd.
According to reports last month, Omar Mateen was very upset after seeing two gay men kiss in front of his three-year old son in downtown Miami.
Omar Mateen’s father said his son was also incensed after Mateen and his young son witnessed men kissing in a bathroom in the city as well.
“We are dealing with something we never imagined. Since the last update, we have gotten better access to the building, cleared the building,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.
“It is with great sadness I share that we have 50 casualties, in addition to the shooter,” Mayor Dyer said. “Because of the scale I have called Governor Scott to request a state of emergency and we are issuing a state of emergency in the City. This allows us to bring additions resources to support our efforts.”
Pulse shooting: In hail of gunfire in which suspect was killed, OPD officer was hit. Kevlar helmet saved his life. pic.twitter.com/MAb0jGi7r4
(AllHipHop News) Rapper T.I. started off his weekend in Las Vegas on a positive note, during a celebration of Drai’s Beachclub·Nightclub’s second anniversary.
The Atlanta rapper paid a visit to a nine-year-old Make-A-Wish Foundation recipient named Mark.
The youngster, who is a fan of T.I., suffers from a congenital heart condition. His only wish was to meet his favorite rapper.
The rap star met granted that wish when he met with Mark, and his family at the ritzy GIADA at The Cromwell restaurant inside of Caesars Palace.
Together, they discussed their passion for sports, music and life, while and bonding over lunch.
Check out some images:
Photos: Courtesy of Drai’s/Mike Kirschbaum/Tony Tran Photography
(AllHipHop News) The battle between Kanye West and his former bodyguard continues to rage on.
The rapper’s former bodyguard Steve Stanulis, aka “Savage Steve, has a new web series that was created in conjunction with FunnyorDie.com.
Stanulis has his own channel on the website and has plans to create a three-part reenactment of his encounters with Kanye, whom he claims has turned into a spoiled celebrity.
The first clip on Stanulis’ channel was uploaded earlier in the week and is slick remake of Kanye’s infamous encounter with a bodyguard who was blocking the paparazzi’s shots of the Chicago emcee.
The new video is Steve Stanulis’ latest attack on Yeezy since being fired as the rapper’s security guard after the Met Gala.
Stanulis maintains that Kanye fired him simply for speaking to Kim Kardashian West in the hallway of the Waldorf Astoria.
Despite Kanye’s threats of a $30 million lawsuit, Stanulis continues to put Kanye on blast in the media, claiming he has wild temper tantrums and refuses to push his own buttons in elevators.
Steve Stanulis will continue to spill details about Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s shenanigans in his skits on FunnyorDie.com.
Stanulis is a former NYPD officer who once guarded the bodies of celebrities like Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and others.
Given the popularity of the original movie “The Conjuring” a return to this cinematic territory in “The Conjuring 2” was a task that took some special preparation for actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively,
“The Conjuring 2” is based on the lives of real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, also played very well the first time around by Wilson and Farmiga respectively,
Farmiga in particular, needed to convey the brunt of the difficult real life events that were weighing down Lorraine Warren at that point in her life.
“We pick up where she’s frazzled and she’s weary,” said Vera Farmiga, giving the quick lowdown on Lorraine’s mental space post Harrisville, Rhode Island.
The subject matter of “The Conjuring,” as well as the events surrounding Ed and Lorraine’s 1976 case involving The Amityville Horror, which is not mentioned directly in “The Conjuring 2,” nevertheless makes it’s presence known.
“She’s had this vision of Ed, and I think she’s caught between that rock and a hard place knowing that this is what she’s meant to do and not necessarily wanting to do it,” stated Farmiga on where the sequel begins.
“This comes at a time where one of their trickiest cases is presented to them, which is Enfield,” Farmiga added.
Indeed, in a refreshing scare twist, this sequel wisely takes the isolation of the desolate farm that was the horror ‘ground zero’ of the first movie and completely turns it on it’s head.
This is accomplished by focusing on a case that the Warrens took in 1977, involving the haunting of single parent family living in a bustling Enfield, North London council (aka public) housing development.
While the change in locale for the franchise was a welcome challenge, stepping back into Lorraine Warren’s skin took some doing for both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
“The first thing we did the closer we got to production given our schedules, together we went to Lorraine’s house and we broke bread with her,” said Farmiga. “It’s just, it immediately gets you into the spirit. You’re there with her.”
Nevertheless, in keeping with the saying, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” Farmiga was still on the fence when it comes to the paranormal, poltergeists and phenomena not traditionally of this plane.
“I have no concrete beliefs [about the paranormal, poltergeists, phenomena.] I’m really flexible and open to other people’s openness about it and experience,” Farmiga revealed.
“I have never been hounded by a poltergeist. I’ve never been destroyed. But I love listening to other people’s testimony and potentially having access to part of the brain that I don’t have access to,” said Farmiga.
Well hooray for being able to conceive of something beyond your own tangible experience!
Don’t we all know more than a few people who could take a page from this book? I think we do.
“The Conjuring 2” starring Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O’Connor, and Madison Wolfe opened on June 10.
One thing a grieving widow doesn’t want to deal with is accusations that she set up her late husband. In the land of social media everyone has an opinion, claims to know everything, and people often state unconfirmed claims as facts. Someone has accused Chinx wife, Janelli Pickens @TheRealNelli_ , of having him set up because she couldn’t handle all of his cheating, and because he allegedly wanted to run off and start a family with his new baby mama. Ouch! Of course Janelli clapped back and denied all claims.
(AllHipHop News) In 2016, P. Diddy put his 2-Bedroom Apartment home at Imperial Park in Manhattan up for sale for $8.5 million, and failed to sell it at the estimated price.
Now, the rap mogul is once again putting it back on the market for a lower price. According to Observer, Diddy, formally known as Sean Combs, is selling the sixty-sixth floor pad for $6.5 million, and the spot is ready-to-move in.
Although his home hasn’t had any buyers (yet), Diddy will still make a profit when it is finally sold, according to the report.
When Diddy first bought the home in 2005, the price for it was originally around $4 million. The pad has a “eat-in chef’s, heated wood floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows.
The mogul, who owns Bad Boy Entertainment, the Sean John clothing line and Ciroc vodka, is also still trying to sell his seven-bedroom, 10 bathroom, Alpine, New Jersey mansion, which is being offered for $7,998,888.
Diddy is attempting to ditch the properties, after buying a $40 million mansion in Los Angeles in 2014. His residence includes eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a 35-seat theater, a massage room and even a beauty salon.
(AllHipHop News) Angela Simmons surprised the internet in late May, when she confirmed rumors swirling that she was having a child.
Yesterday, the reality star of Run’s House and “Growing Up Hip-Hop,” took to Instagram to announce that the expected child will be a baby boy.
Simmons, daughter of Joseph “Reve Run” Simmons of Run-DMC and neice of Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, posted a picture of the sonogram on the photo platform.
The good news comes on the heels of another big announcement: Simmons’ engagement to Sutton Tennyson.
Simmons also announced her engagement with the Atlanta resident in April.
When it comes to horror, few movie genres are more specific when determining what is a hit versus a flop.
Either the movie gives good scare or it doesn’t.
There really isn’t much more deep, or critical thought going into it from the point of view of the studio and the moviegoers they are looking to ensnare, as their ready made core audience.
However, when it comes to the outsized success of “The Conjuring” and the success of “The Conjuring 2,” which stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
The movie is on pace to rake in $40 million during the opening weekend of June 10.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprised their roles as the real life poltergeist fighting duo of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Patrick Wilson at “The Conjuring 2” Los Angeles Premiere Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com
Wilson, despite having been involved in relatively few horror movies before or since, noticed a marked change in the typical audience response.
“How often do you have a film or really anything that is critically and commercially successful? I mean, how often does that happen in your career? Almost never, “said Wilson in awed but humble respect for the unexpected magic that was the reception for “The Conjuring.”
In trying to quantify the unique response for the first movie, Wilson had this to say:
“For me, I think those fans that came up to me and I’m sure came up to Vera as well after the first one and said, ‘you know, I don’t even like horror movies, but I love ‘The Conjuring.’ That to me says so much about a film reaching a much broader audience instead of your typical whatever it is 18 to 35 year old male. And I love that.”
When pressed further for the reason that fans flocked to see “The Conjuring 2” in the manner that they did with it’s predecessor, Wilson responded with a nod to the Horror genre’s cinematic heyday.
“When you think about what sort of defined our youth – ‘The Shining’or ‘Poltergeist’ or ‘The Exorcist,’ those movies from the seventies or eighties usually are a much broader scope. It’s about a family in trouble, about a mom and a dad, about a son, because that’s actually what people care about. It’s nice to be scared but you have to care about these people. That’s what separated the film from just a typical horror movie.”
Model Ashley Graham is known for her beautiful face as well as her voluptuous body! However, the very married model is making headlines for a different reason now as she was spotted on a dinner date with rapper French Montana! According to TMZ Ashley was spotted with French in New York leaving Phillippe Chow on a secret “platonic” dinner date. TMZ wasn’t successful with getting any details out of them as the two played it coy! How does French get the chicks that he gets? We need answers!
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2016 Swim Beach Fan Festival
Ashley Graham on Miami Beach
(AllHipHop News) Earlier this week, Steph Curry’s latest sneaker, the Curry 2 Lows by Under Armour, were completely roasted by the Internet.
Some users showed their dismay for the sneaker via Twitter, with some going as far as saying the sneaker looked like they would be sold in the clearance section at Marshalls or KMart.
The criticism of the show reached such an epic level that it soon became a question for the Golden State Warriors Point Guard, following his victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers last night (June 10).
During the Post-Game press conference, Steph was asked about the recent release of the Curry 2 Lows, and Steph responded to the criticism with ease.
“If I had them in the road bag I definitely would have worn them to show how fire they are,” Curry said with a chuckle. “I love the nicknames though that they’ve come out with, but I like them.”
Although Steph still supports his Curry 2 Lows, the internet continue to bag on the sneakers following Golden State’s victory, this time targeting the Cavs. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t very pretty.
The Golden State Warriors recent victory against the Cavs widen the teams’ lead to 3-1 in the NBA Finals. Game 5 takes place this Monday (June 13).
Bonnaroo is currently underway, and while there’s already a lineup of artists including Post Malone, Bryson Tiller, and Big Grams, Chance the Rapper is now showing up to the festival. There’s been a number of clips showing The Coloring Book rapper randomly appearing at sets to perform with some of the artists on the roster.
The rapper was spotted performing “No Problem” with J. Cole and Bryson Tiller.
Platinum-certified Houston hip-hop heavyweight Kirko Bangz has signed to 300 Entertainment as part of the label’s new strategic partnership with Unauthorized Entertainment/LMG Music Group.
The rapper is managed by D Wil, who handles the careers of T-Wayne and Chedda Da Connect.
Now that he’s on 300 Entertainment, Kirko Bangz joins a roster of artists which includes Fetty Wap, Young Thug, Migos and more.
Kirko just released a new single titled “I Just Got Paid” featuring E-40 & TK Kravitz.
