(AllHipHop News) Last month Common joined Eminem and members of Three 6 Mafia as the only rappers to ever win an Academy Award. The actor/Hip Hop star visited The Breakfast Club to talk about his “Best Original Song” Oscar win for “Glory.”
“We were feeling confident, but until they say your name you just don’t know. They were talking about some of the other nominees, and its different people voting,” said Com. “I ain’t going to lie. I was nervous, but I was still like, ‘Okay man, we can do this.'”
Besides making history with the track from Selma, Common also blew up social media on Oscar night for what seemed like a snub towards Oprah Winfrey. Common appeared to avoid the Oprah’s high-five as he walked to the stage to accept his award.
“I thought she was giving a high-five to John [Legend], so I was saving myself. I didn’t want to get caught out there,” said Com laughing. “That’s my girl. She’s cool.”
Another female celebrity’s association with Common’s victory made waves as well. A photo posted by former girlfriend Serena Williams with Com’s newly won Academy Award had some thinking the two were back together. Common was asked about his current relationship with the tennis champion.
“That’s my girl. I give her love all the time. I saw her at the party, and I’m going to give her that respect. She can hold the Oscar,” said Common.
The Chicago native also discussed wanting to work with Jay Z, his history with Empire‘s Taraji P. Henson, possibly playing The Green Lantern, future projects, wanting to win the EGOT, and more.
(AllHipHop News) French Montana is one of the over two dozen people that contributed to the creation of Kanye West’s latest single “All Day.” The Bronx native is credited as a producer for the track along with Kanye, Diddy, Mike Dean, Travis Scott, Velous, and others. French spoke with Power 106 about his recent collaboration with Ye.
“We were in the studio just working, and I was going through a bunch of stuff on my computer. He heard that joint, and we did it right there on the spot – the hook and everything,” explained Montana. “Shout out to Velous. He’s the one that actually put the whole beat together.”
(AllHipHop News) Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man and RZA had different opinions on the group’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album. RZA wants to make the project exclusive, auction it off to the highest bidder, and keep it from commercial use for 88 years. Meth has expressed he thought waiting nearly nine decades for the public to hear the music was “stupid.”
During a sit down with Hot 97’s Ebro In The Morning, Meth spoke about his issues with the roll out of Upon A Time and his lack of involvement with the project.
“I was misinformed first of all. Even though I still think 88 years is a little ludicrous, but that’s not for me to say. I don’t like [the album’s producer] Cilvaringz by the way,” said Meth. “For me to get that information second-hand from somebody interviewing me, I thought was insulting, because it’s always going to be room for misinterpretation.”
Method Man claims he found out about the 88 years stipulation during an interview with XXL. He later criticized the publication and its online news editor Miranda Johnson.
Meth continued denouncing XXL during his Hot 97 interview. He called the site “tacky” and “tasteless” for posting his quote about the Wu album without publishing the entire interview. However, Method did take responsibility for not communicating with RZA.
“My only fault in this was speaking before I spoke to my brother,” Meth added. “His fault in this was not speaking to me at all about what was going on with that album. So if a question like this was posed, I would know how to handle it.”
The Tical rapper later stated that he is very protective of Wu-Tang and does not like to see any gimmicks or negative press associated with the crew. He called out Cilvaringz to address the situation.
“I can say whatever I want to say about RZA, but I don’t like other people doing it… I read some of the comments, and it’s like [Cilvaringz] you better step up and take the blame for that,” said Method Man. “It’s not RZA’s fault. I’m putting that out there right now. I don’t think RZA even knew about that 88 years until later on, and he climbed on board with it.”
(AllHipHop News) Apparently, California emcee Game is in the mood to publicly chastise a few people. After first calling 40 Glocc a snitch, the “Hate It Or Love It” performer also had words for this week Safaree Samuels (aka S.B.).
While speaking with DJ Kayslay’s Street Sweeper Radio show, Game took time to send a message to Nicki Minaj’s ex-boyfriend who was recently videotaped being confronted by several men in Brooklyn.
“Anybody see that n***a Safaree get ran off 43rd?” Game asked the hosts. The Documentary 2 album creator expressed he had met Safaree before and felt he was a stand-up person but took issue with S.B. not fighting in that situation.
Game added, “Tell that n***a to go back over there and shoot his f**king video and f**k a n***a up.”
Mama Tina Knowles does not play about hers. Knowles was out dining with Beyonce and Blue Ivy in Santa Monica and according to reports, paparazzi tried to photograph/film Blue enjoying her meal. Tina seemed like she was ready to snap, but she still got the photographer together by remaining classy. He almost brought the Houston out of her. The paps have no boundaries SMH. Check out their exchange below.
Tina: You know that’s not cool. It’s illegal. You can’t film a baby.
Paparazzi: Ma’am, I’m just out here taking pictures.
Tina: Okay, well, can you not take a picture of a child?
Paparazzi: Well, I mean you’re famous…
Tina: Okay, but you can’t— How would you like for somebody to take a picture of your baby?
Paparazzi: If I was a famous, huge multimillionaire—
Tina: No, you wouldn’t care. That’s a baby. That’s a baby. Have some class about you. Have a little
class and a little consideration.
(AllHipHop News) There were a few high-profile women attached to the late Tupac Shakur during his life. One of the most famous being pop superstar Madonna. There had always been speculation the two musical icons had dated, and Madonna confirmed the rumors on The Howard Stern Show.
During the interview, Stern asked the Material Girl if she had issues with late night television show host David Letterman. Madonna’s answer included a reference to her relationship with Pac.
“One time I was mad at [Letterman] when I said the f-word a lot, but the rest of the time was good,” stated Madonna. “I was in a weird mood that day. I was dating Tupac Shakur at the time, and he had got me all riled up about life in general. So when I went on the show I was feeling very gangster.”
Is Kim Kardashian jacking people’s style these days? Singer Jelena Karleusa posted a side by side picture of her and Kim Kardashian wearing almost the same outfit with their blonde hair pulled back. Her caption read:
“Will the real slim shady please stand up! Ps (I am on the left).
Oop Kim K better pay homage according to Karleusa lol. We know this wouldn’t be the first time Kim K jacked something from someone else!
Wu-Tang Clan member Masta Killa is headed overseas this week for the B&E Invitational freeski competition. Audio company Boombotix is hosting the event’s Halftime Show featuring a performance from Killa. The entire B&E will stream live this Friday from Les Arcs, France.
This is not the first time Boombotix has partnered with the Wu. The iconic Hip Hop group reunited in 2014 for their sixth studio album A Better Tomorrow, and 3000 limited edition portable Boombotix speakers came pre-loaded with the project.
AllHipHop.com spoke with Masta Killa about becoming part of this year’s B&E Invitational. In part one of an exclusive interview, the Brooklyn born emcee also discussed Wu-Tang Clan’s reunion LP A Better Tomorrow, the secretive one-of-a-kind Once Upon A Time In Shaolin compilation, and his next solo project.
How did your performance at this year’s B&E Invitational come together?
There was this Olympic skier [Henrik Harlaut] who was a fan of Wu-Tang. He was at a ski event, and he mentioned, “Wu-Tang is for the children.” Then I had the opportunity to meet with him.
It was mind-blowing to meet with someone in that sport. You meet basketball players, football players, baseball players, and boxers all day, but an Olympic skier – that was another thing for me. To be a part of his movement was a blessing and an honor. That’s how it all came about.
You’re set to perform new songs at the event. Does that mean you have another album on the way?
Yeah, I do. Right now I’m in the process of putting out Loyalty Is Royalty. That’s a project that I’ve had for a little while. This is a project I think the Hip Hop community can appreciate. Timing is everything when you deliver something, and I think right now the climate in Hip Hop will make it a well appreciated piece of art.
Boombotix Wu-Tang Clan Unit
The last Wu-Tang album, A Better Tomorrow, was released in collaboration with Boombotix. Your B&E Invitational event is being hosted by the company. Will your next album be released in a special Boombotix edition like the Wu album?
I haven’t decided that yet. I don’t really mix the creativity with the politics of how I might do it. Right now I’m just in the creative state of it.
Can you talk about some of the producers and artists that you’ve worked with that may make the final project?
So far, you’ll hear Wu-Tang Clan features, of course. I don’t think anyone has heard me and Redman on something. You might have heard Meth and Red, but I don’t know if anyone’s heard me and Red. You got Prodigy from Mobb Deep. Like I said, it’s still in the creative state.
How was that experience reconnecting for A Better Tomorrow, the first Wu project in seven years?
Very interesting [laughs]. I think everyone, in their hearts, wanted to come together and actually make something happen. I think we all had different views on what that should have been. I love A Better Tomorrow, but I think if we were all more in sync it could have been much more as far as the participation on the project.
I know RZA had been working on it for a while. He said in an interview that tracks were being emailed back and forth, but he didn’t like doing it that way. So he was trying to get everyone in the studio, but the logistics of it became difficult. Do think that was part of the chemistry issue?
That definitely plays part in the chemistry of how it’s being brought together. You might have a producer that might feel how s**t should be, then you might have someone filming a movie where in his mind frame he’s handling his business. Those little things and those little tweaks sometimes are the difference.
What are your thoughts on the other Wu-Tang project Once Upon A Time In Shaolin?
I can tell you I know I’m on at least four songs on that particular project. I haven’t actually heard the whole project, nor have I heard the completion of the songs I’m on [laughs]. I can tell you the songs that I am on – from what I heard – I was loving everything I was hearing production wise and the subjects that we were told to write about.
That’s how that project came to me. I was sent four tracks. For each track, I was given a direction. “I need two 8s. On this one I need one 16. On this one I need four 4 bars. I need this done by a certain amount of time.” That’s how I got the instruction for that project. At that time, I didn’t know this was what it would become. That’s what was asked of me, so that’s what I did. I haven’t heard anything since that time.
“The Wu: Once Upon A Time In Shaolin” Packaging
So when you were contacted to contribute to those particular tracks you weren’t told what project they were going to be on?
No, it wasn’t told to me it was going to be called Upon A Time In Shaolin. It was just, “I’m stopping to do this mix project with a few collaborations from the brothers.” Sometimes things come together the most peculiar ways. But once you get something together and see what you’ve got, it might become a Once Upon A Time.
Method Man said he wasn’t a fan of the idea of Once Upon A Time being held back for commercial use for 88 years. Then RZA explained why he did that. What are your thoughts on the fact most of the world probably won’t be able to hear it?
I think the only way to establish value in something is for it to be exclusive. That’s the whole point that I gathered for that particular piece of art. Music is also art, but it’s been devalued because of how it’s looked at now in the industry.
Unless you’re positioned a certain way, you’re art’s value – for everything that you pour into to make what you make – is not the real value. The compensation artists now receive for their art is basically nothing.
So the only way to establish that value is to be exclusive with something. If I’m not going to be exclusive with it, then what’s going to make this piece of art any different than any other album that you can go buy?
No one could see why we signed as a group but not sign everybody [as solo artists]. We still had our individual freedom to make other deals, but people didn’t get that at the time. Sometimes you have to stand for something and let it grow to be what it will be, and then maybe people can gravitate to it better when they see the light of it.
Do you think there is a way for the industry to recreate itself in order for artists to make money off their art?
Of course, for every lock there’s a key. It can definitely be restructured. Like I said, sometimes you have to show something and then maybe the world can gravitate to an idea to make it better. Sometimes you have to be the first to do it and shine that type of light. Hopefully, this could be something good – not just for Wu-Tang – but the music industry in itself. We have to start thinking of better ways all around the board.
We are trying to figure out who is cornier… Safaree or the 15 guys that ran up on him? Allegedly a crew of 15 guys ran up on Safaree Samuels in Flatbush, NY and didn’t let him in the neighborhood. Supposedly, there’s a long time beef that pre-dates Nicki Minaj. Several videos went up on social media and Meek Mill is said to have “liked” one of them. It’s pretty pathetic that 15 guys would have to approach one guy and based on the nonsense they are talking in the videos… about nothing. We aren’t sure if Safaree was scared or just entertained by these idiots. Check out the videos below.
Two Ferguson police officers were shot last night (Mar.11) shortly after midnight as demonstrators gathered outside of the Ferguson Police Department after police chief Thomas Jackson announced that he would be resigning from the force, Yahoo reports.
According to the St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar, a 32-year-old officer from Webster Groves was shot in the face while a 41-year-old officer from St. Louis County was shot in the shoulder. They were both conscious when taken to the hospital. Belmar says he does not know who the shooter could be.
“I saw the officer go down and the other police officers drew their guns while other officers dragged the injured officer away,” said 20-year-old Marciay Pitchford, who was outside of the department with protestors. “All of a sudden everybody started running or dropping to the ground.”
Jackson, whose resignation will take effect on Mar. 19th, is the sixth employee to be fired or to resign after Darren Wilson was not charged with civil rights charges regarding the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown. In a report done by the Justice Department, it was also found that there was racial discrimination within the Ferguson police force.
Jackson served as the city’s police chief for five years.
Jay Z’s $56. 2 million bid to buy a Swedish streaming company, Aspiro, has been accepted. His bid was almost blocked by minority shareholders who were not sure of Hova’s intentions.
“We as a board tried to be as transparent as possible towards minority shareholders so that they could make the best possible assessment of the bid,” wrote Fredrik Bjorland, head of the independent bid committee in charge of reviewing the offer before it was accepted, to the website E24.
Aspiro is the parent company of two streaming services WiMP and TIDAL. There was speculation that his may not have gotten accepted because shareholders felt that his offer did not “sufficiently value” its long-term potential.
Parker Rice has broken his silence about the viral video of him leading a racist chant with his fellow Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat brothers. In the video, Rice and others are chanting “There will never be a n—-r in S-A-E. You can’t hang them from a tree but they’ll never sign with me.” In an apology statement sent to to Dallas Morning News Rice says that the whole ordeal was “fueled by alcohol.”
I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same. On Monday, I withdrew from the university, and sadly, at this moment our family is not able to be in our home because of threatening calls as well as frightening talk on social media.
I know everyone wants to know why or how this happened. I admit it likely was fueled by alcohol consumed at the house before the bus trip, but that’s not an excuse. Yes, the song was taught to us, but that too doesn’t work as an explanation. It’s more important to acknowledge what I did and what I didn’t do. I didn’t say no, and I clearly dismissed an important value I learned at my beloved high school, Dallas Jesuit. We were taught to be ‘Men for Others.’ I failed in that regard, and in those moments, I also completely ignored the core values and ethics I learned from my parents and others.
At this point, all I can do is be thoughtful and prayerful about my next steps, but I am also concerned about the fraternity friends still on campus. Apparently, they are feeling unsafe and some have been harassed by others. Hopefully, the university will protect them.
For me, this is a devastating lesson and I am seeking guidance on how I can learn from this and make sure it never happens again. My goal for the long-term is to be a man who has the heart and the courage to reject racism wherever I see or experience it in the future.
Thank you for your consideration of my deepest apologies for what I did.
Since the emergence of the video, Waka Flocka Flame has cancelled an upcoming performance at the fraternity’s event at the University of Oklahoma, where the video was recorded. The organization’s headquarters has said that they are “disgusted” with those members and the chapter has been suspended at that school.
Along with having a new album on the way, Rihanna also has a documentary about her career in the works, according to Deadline.
Director Peter Berg has just launched his own production company, Film 45, and the Rihanna documentary will be one of the first projects released. The production, which Berg will direct, will be modeled after Don’t Look Back, the documentary that gave fans a look into Bob Dylan’s life.
Berg says the rock doc will give viewers an “unfiltered look into Rihanna’s life and how she’s ascended to become a global icon.” He also said that the feature will be “much more a character study than a music film.”
Berg also gave RiRi her first role in the big screen in the 2012 film Battleship.
As a reward for winning Get Schooled’s National Attendance Challenge by raising their attendance by 10 percent, Maritime High School in Baltimore, MD got to have TDE’s ScHoolboy Q as a principal for a day.
During his visit, he played basketball with the students as well as spending time with the students in the classroom. The “Gangsta in Designer” also sat down with Porkchop from the radio station 92 Q for a chat where he encouraged the students to work hard, talked about his days as a student athlete and the importance of teamwork.
Take a look through the pics from his visit below.
There has always been speculation there were fake aspects in the story lines when it comes to Mona Scott-Young’s Love & Hip Hop empire. Joseline Hernandez has just confirmed that.
In a deposition regarding the lawsuit brought against her by former cast mate Althea Heart, the “Puerto Rican princess” was asked if the show was scripted and she spilled the beans.
“With reality TV, it’s called reality, but it’s a lot of acting,” she revealed in a video. “I say that because a lot of the girls that’s on the show, they act. So, it’s a lot of acting in a reality TV show.”
When asked about the authenticity of who is she is on the show, she said that “reality TV show showcases a lot of who we are not.”
The hacktivist group Anonymous are not fans of Kanye West and they have decided to tell him about himself.
In a video a little over seven minutes, a man in a Guy Fawkes mask rips Kanye West to shreds. He deems Ye’ a spoiled little brat and condemns him for marrying Kim Kardashian, someone who he says claim to fame is based off of sex. He continues by saying that by being with her, Kanye sends the wrong message to young girls, which is that it’s okay to use your body to rise to stardom.
“What a great idea to teach your daughter,” the anonymous man says.
While referring to Kim’s Paper Magazine nude photo spread the man got personal and mentioned his deceased mother.
“Your mother would have loved it,” he said sarcastically.”I’m sure she would have jumped right in the picture for her own close-up.”
The anonymous rep went on to tell Yeezus that even though he thinks he is a visionary and highly influential, he is far from that.
“Your blind sight will never allow you to see how empty your accomplishments really are to the future of our species,” he said about Yeezy’s career. “You’re just a new slave that the industry uses to help keep the population in a cycle of stupidity.”
Yesterday in the city of brotherly love Philadelphia, recording artist WarChyld graced the stage at one of the city’s legendary parties, #TheBounce. A crowd of 700 fans packed into the Barbary nightclub to watch WarChyld premier his new single, “Shaky”.
The Philly emcee delivered a riveting performance and had the crowd on their feet. Make sure to check out WarChyld on social media on Twitter and Instagram.
In a generation where the term “out with old, in with the new” is highly misunderstood, it seems these days its more of the opposite. Chicago native Chi City takes full advantage with the release of his latest single “thug.life”. The record mimics a style originated from the group Bone thugs n Harmony, in which Chi City delivers a track that could possibly be labeled as an original piece of art. The Tom Davids produced track carries a flow & delivery that packs so much raw energy, you’ll find it very hard to only play this record once. With out a doubt this is one for all fans of Hip Hop. You can expect a new EP from Chi City this summer titled “8”.
Hailing from Westampton, NJ by way of Lagos City, Nigeria, DanO has carved out his own niche in today’s cookie cutter rap scene. Armed with a spit fire flow, matched with technical precision that would make Marshall Mathers blush, the self proclaimed “Kid from the Motherland” oozes pure lyricism that is simply undeniable. With that, DanO shows no signs of slowing down as he is set to release his forthcoming album, “Verses & Hooks 3.” For his first offering from the project, he unveils “Million First Week,” which features OVO Sound artist/producer Mike Zombie, the man behind Drake’s “Started From The Bottom” and DJ Khaled’s “They Don’t Love You No More”. On the song, the duo trade bars aspiring for the commercial success that their talent can bring forth, all laid out over an anthemic backdrop courtesy of producer Cash Jordan.
