We’ve been waiting for Mill to come home and today we may get our wish.
Fox 29 in Philly reports:
“Rapper Meek Mill will be released from prison early today, according to FOX 29’s Steve Keeley and Dave Schratwieser.
Mill whose real name is Robert Williams was sentenced to three to six months in prison for probation violation in July. That same month, a judge denied his request for early parole.
The incarceration has also delayed his sophomore album, Dreams Worth More Than Money.
FOX 29’s Dave Schratwieser reports the rapper must do community service and treatment. He will also not be allowed to travel outside of Philadelphia.”
We hope this is the real thing, a lot of times we get false hope…
After serving five months at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia, PA, Meek Mill has been released. Due to violating his probation, he was was sentenced to serve three to six months in prison back in July. Reporter Steve Keely broke the news via Twitter.
Philly musician Meek Mill getting early Christmas gift today from judge..released more than a month early @fox29philly
The Philly native was put on probation after being arrested on gun charges back in 2008 and serving eight months in jail. His probation was revoked after he failed to get permission to book concerts out-of-town, did not provide his probation officer with a working phone number, posted a photo where he could be seen holding a gun on Instagram and put derogatory posts about his probation officer and prosecutor on Twitter.
Bill Cosby has reportedly resigned from Temple University’s board of trustees due to the controversy surrounding rape allegations from over a dozen women. Cosby had been a member of the board since 1982.
“I have always been proud of my association with Temple University,” the comedian said in a school statement. “I have always wanted to do what would be in the best interests of the university and its students.”
An online petition had already been circulating around the university and had gained 1,000 signatures.
President of the Temple’s student body Raymond Smeriglio said that the accusations brought against Cosby “got to the point where the reputation of the institution started to get dragged down with (them).”
Cosby, 77, attended Temple University from 1961-62 on a track and field scholarship. After leaving early to pursue his comedy career, he returned a decade later to earn his bachelor’s degree.
Amid all the controversy surrounding the favorable TV dad, singer Jill Scott recently came to his defense. Scott, who was awarded an honorary degree from Temple earlier this year, took to her Twitter to stand up for Cosby.
“It’s hearsay in a court of law. Tis all. Trust. If this is true, he’ll face his due just like everyone,” she said in one tweet. She then posted another tweet saying, “I’m respecting a man who has done more for the image of Brown people that almost anyone EVER. From Fat Albert to the Huxtables.”
While the Philly songstress is standing by Cosby, many others have stepped away from him. His othr alma mater, UMass-Amherst, recently asked him to step down as a honorary co-chairman of their fundraising committee. The Berklee College of Music will also no longer give out a scholarship in Cosby’s name.
Uh Oh….Could we be seeing the end of Cash Money as we once knew it? I hope not! I mean, they employ a lot of people over there. But recent reports are suggesting there are money problems. The Jasmine Brand has the scoop on it.
The negative press surrounding Birdman’s (real name Bryan Williams) financial’s continue. The 45-year-old founder of Cash Money Records, has been hit with another lien over his Miami condo and the condo association is accusing him of bouncing checks.
According to the court documents, on November 18th, The Ivy Condo Association filed a lien against Birdman claiming he has failed to pay the fees associated with the Miami pad. They say he has failed to pay them 15 months of maintenance fees for a total of $9K+, along with paying fees late for six months. They also claim to even have received a bounced check by Birdman.
The grand total on the lien — including their legal fees — is $12,447.28. The lien will continue to grow with interest.
In the grand scheme of things, $12K would seem like nothing to someone who is estimated to be worth close to $100 mill — but the music producer was allegedly was also recently hit with another lien by Zankey Construction Company over work they claim was done on the mega-mansion he is currently in the midst of remodeling. [FYI: Birdman purchased the 9-bedroom, 17-bath mansion with 25 foot ceilings and features a below ground pool, outdoor pool with cabana, a movie theater, gym, spa and even a in-house massage room back in 2012.]
Amateur skydivers begin their introduction into the action sport by engaging in a “tandem jump.” The process includes two people being connected by a harness as they hurl toward the Earth. Through training and experience the newcomer is eventually molded into a veteran able to handle jumping from an airplane on their own.
The stages of becoming an expert skydiver are comparable to the career stages of Trademark Da Skydiver. The New Orleans native started his process in the entertainment business as a co-founder of the Hip Hop collective known as Jet Life, but he has since set out on his own individual path as an artist.
Trademark’s discography features numerous songs with longtime friends and fellow Jets Curren$y and Young Roddy. He also established his own musical followers through solo projects like the Roasted EP, the Flamingo Barnes mixtape, and the Super Villain album series. Trademark is once again returning to his “Super Villain” personality for his latest commercial project.
Over 14 tracks, the comic book alter ego reintroduces fans to the character first presented on Super Villain: Issue #1. Even though Trademark may be officially skydiving solo these days, he still brings along Jet Life affiliates Roddy, Smoke DZA, Fiend, and Street Wiz for Return Of The Super Villain.
AllHipHop.com spoke with Trademark Da Skydiver to pick his brain on The Return, the split from Jet Life, and more.
“Return Of The Super Villain” Cover Art
Why did you decide to revisit the super villain theme for this album?
For a couple of reasons. The fans been missing that particular sound. I was under contract to do four Super Villain tapes, so this is the last one that I’ll be doing. I just wanted to take it back to that old feel. Let people know it’s not just one lane that I can get into. I can do two lanes and do good in both of them.
Do you feel like there’s a difference between Trademark the artist, the Super Villain character, and Flamingo Barnes?
Definitely, I would say that it’s really the particular style that makes them different. They have their own style, their own set up that they usually f**k with. I even speak about them in third person like they’re other people. They all bring different s**t to the table.
Outside of gangsters, most rappers don’t usually associate themselves with the “bad guy”. Why did you first embrace that persona?
I wasn’t necessarily trying to be like, “Here I am. I’m the bad guy.” I’ve been f**king with music so long, and so many people told me, “You’re not going to make it with that sound coming out of New Orleans. You’re not going to be able to do this, do that.” So it just made me take on this persona of the super villain against hate. Not on no crazy or joking s**t. That’s just how I felt at the time, so I just ran with it.
This album is being distributed through iHipHop. Your other projects have been as well. Are you still officially connected with Jet Life?
No, that’s still fam. But as far as business and my career – that’s all me.
Now Flying Solo: Trademark With Jet Life’s Curren$y + Young Roddy
Have you found it to be difficult to establish your own brand away from Jet Life?
Absolutely, because that’s how I came into the game. It’s like a Converse [trying to switch] over to Nike type of thing. It’s going to be hard to establish that brand. But once it’s established, once people realize you can still produce the same sound and put out quality music, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue. People are still in shock behind the whole thing.
You have your own fan base that follows you and that’s looking for your music in particular. How have the fans reacted to that?
It hasn’t been a negative reaction. It’s been more of a “What happened? What’s going on? Why?” What people don’t understand is that people split up and do their own s**t and it don’t necessarily be behind no crazy s**t. It wasn’t an argument. It was what it was. It was just time for me to move on and establish my own s**t. I got homies that rap. I got homies that make beats. I know homies that shoot videos. It’s this big pool of opportunities, so why not go out there and try and make my own s**t?
I’m glad you said there’s no beef, because a lot of times the audience will say, “He’s not in business with them anymore that means there had to be some type of falling out.” I also noticed you still have a lot of the Jet Life family featured on your album.
For sure, that’s fam. It’s deeper than music. It’s way deeper than music. We started that s**t before music. It’s all good. At the end of the day, it’s always going to be fam. But business and fam don’t always mix. I’m not even saying that in a bad way. It’s hard to separate the two, because it’s going to be personal when you’re dealing with your n***as you’ve been knowing half your life. So in order to keep the peace, in order for there not be no beef and to keep s**t moving, sometimes you got to back out of s**t and go do your own thing.
You seem to be a low-key artist. You don’t tweet a lot. You don’t do a lot of interviews. Is that by artistic design or is that an extension of your own personality?
It’s really an extension of my own personality. I’m a laid back, cool dude. I don’t be on no extra s**t. I just be chilling. If somebody hits me up to do an interview I don’t say, “Nah, I don’t do interviews.” I don’t be on no s**t like that. Basically, I f**k with who f**ks with me. I’m not no attention w#### type n***a. I’m low-key in the cut. I’m a “speak when I’m spoken to” type n***a. That’s just who I am. I’m comfortable with that.
I was going to ask if you feel comfortable in that space. Because it seems like in today’s Hip Hop world if you’re not going at somebody on Twitter, dropping a diss track, or actively seeking that type of attention, a lot of the public doesn’t really pay attention. But from what you’re saying that’s not your interest.
That’s not my interest. My interest is to entertain people who f**k with my brand, f**k with what I’m doing, and to keep that rolling. I’m not trying to pull no gimmicks or other s**t like that. Karma is a b***h. What goes around, comes around. I’d rather be a working artist able to put out mixtapes on iTunes and make a couple grand right quick… go on the road and make a couple grand right quick. I rather be able to do that and keep my integrity, keep who I am intact, then to have to do all this make-believe, fantasy s**t. I ain’t really with that.
It’s funny you say that, because everybody who meets me says, “I would have never thought you were this laid back, this down to earth.” In my mind I’m no different than the next man. I just have a different skill set. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to be the best that we can be and get as much as we can while we’re on this Earth. I’m no different than the next man. I don’t look down on nobody, and I don’t necessarily look up to nobody either.
What do you enjoy most about being a recording artist?
The freedom honestly. The freedom to be able to create and make a living off of this. That’s what I love the most about it. Also, touching the fans, because when you go out on the road you get to see the fans’ reactions face-to-face. They’re howling at you and wanting you to sign autographs. That’s what keeps me going. The fans definitely keep me going.
Yesterday (Dec. 1) Janay Rice sat down with Matt Lauer on the Today show and spoke about what her life has been like since the infamous elevator footage of her and her now-husband Ray Rice was released. Today (Dec.2), Ray Rice told his side of the story.
He talked about the press conference that he and his wife did after the first video was released and said it didn’t go well and he didn’t apologize to Janay because they were nervous and still “under legal situations” so they couldn’t say much.
“I made a horrendous mistake not apologizing to my wife,” said ex-Ravens star. “We were given what to speak about. It wasn’t truly coming from us, if you can understand, but I made that clear in my last time I was able to speak that my wife is an angel. She can do no wrong. I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Ray Rice was reinstated back into the NFL last week and is now eligible to be picked up by a new team. Rice says that he is hoping that a new team can look past this incident and look at the way he handled the situation.
“They would have to be willing to, you know, look deeper into who I am and realize that me and my wife had one bad night, and I took full responsibility for it. One thing about my punishment and everything going along with anything that happened is that I’ve accepted it. I went fully forward with it. I never complained, or I never did anything like that. I took full responsibility for everything that I did, and the only thing I can hope for and wish for is a second chance.”
Janay Rice’s dad, Joe Palmer, also sat down and spoke to Lauer and discussed his reaction to see his daughter assaulted and dragged by her then-fiancee.
“I was ready to come down and speak to him man to man and find out what was going on. I had to sit back and relax because as soon as you make a hasty decision it always ends up a bad decision.”
Coley unleashes the video for his second single “Alley Oop” featuring Bun B off his upcoming album. Want to learn more about Coley? Check out our Q&A with him below.
Name:
Coley
Where are you from?
Philly
What inspires you to make music?
Truth. When I look deep inside about why I give everything in my being to this crazy ass path, it’s because I hope to wake people up to enjoy the ride, not take themselves too seriously and take risks. We only got one movie. My music is the soundtrack to my adventures and views. That voice is worth giving everything. It’s either that or I have a chronic talking problem that only music can cure.
Who are your musical influences?
Jay Z. Bob Marley. David Lee Roth. Beastie Boys. Animal mating calls.
What is your mission in Hip Hop?
To poke fun at society, I’m a satirist in some ways. I plan to play the game as a conscious capitalist while mocking the fact that I’m doing it. If this was about making money, I woulda stayed on Wall Street. It ain’t about broads, been scoopin those since kindergarten. Do my fair share on those fronts but everyone who knows me knows I only care about speaking my mind. I got some s### I just gotta say.
What makes you different than other artists?
Hip hop’s first dude pimp. One and only Coley baby. Check my s### and it’s self explanatory. I do dunk flips playa.
What inspired this song/video?
The bro code. There is a way to conduct yourself in the game that keeps it real with your own interests while also helping your bros get what they want. When it comes to business and women you gotta follow the code. When I oop you a biz opp or tee up a jammy, I know you’ll dunk it correctly and vice versa. Nash economics = those who play together, win together. It’s the hustlers’ anthem and to have the OG hustler Bun B cosign the record was a blessing. It was incredible working with him.
What other projects are you working on?
I have 2 albums in the can, one mastered to be released soon and the other in the mixing phase. Have 3 more music videos in the can and shooting more monthly. We start dropping ish regularly starting with “Alley Oop” featuring Bun B. I also own my label Revel Music Group and fund everything myself. We signed our first artist to Sony and are vertically integrated with publishing and concert divisions and an in-house production team. It’s a 100 hour week hustle running everything but I’ve built a dream team, and we plan to body s### step by step.
What’s next for you as an artist?
Keep growing and making crazier s###.
What still surprises you about Hip Hop?
It’s rise in cultural stature. Hip hop went from a fun activity in the basement to a billionaire dollar market with visionary artists that are today’s pop stars. Rappers are involved in political campaigns and have a huge social effect. It’s awesome. At its core it’s poetry and a gift with words. That’s why I’ve loved it since a kid, and I hope my voice can add a new perspective to the mix.
Dream Collaborators
Jay Z. Kanye. Nicki Minaj. Rage Against the Machine. Red Hot Chili Peppers.
(AllHipHop News) When St. Louis Rams players Jared Cook, Kenny Britt, Stedman Bailey, Chris Givens, and Tavon Austin showed support for the people protesting Darren Wilson not being held accountable for the death of Michael Brown, the St. Louis Police Officers Association issued a statement demanding the players be “disciplined and for the Rams and the NFL to deliver a very public apology.”
Both the team and the league decided not to discipline the players, but the Rams organization and the NFL issued responses to the SLPOA’s requests, neither of which included an apology.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar sent a letter to his officers claiming Rams Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Demoff offered an apology for the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture at the Rams-Raiders game on Sunday. The letter was published in the St. Louis Dispatch. It read:
Members of the Department,
I received a very nice call this morning from Mr. Kevin Demoff of the St. Louis Rams who wanted to take the opportunity to apologize to our department on behalf of the Rams for the “Hands Up” gesture that some players took the field with yesterday.
Mr. Demoff clearly regretted that any members of the Ram’s [sic] organization would act in a way that minimized the outstanding work that police officers and departments carry out each and every day. My impression of the call was that it was heartfelt and I assured him that I would share it with my staff.
Thank you for your hard work, … one night to go. Stay safe.
Belmar
ESPN’s Nick Wagoner later reported on Twitter that he spoke to Demoff, and the Rams executive denied offering an apology to Belmar for the player’s actions.
"At no time in any of the conversations did I apologize for the actions of our players." — Kevin Demoff to me just a moment ago.
The St. Louis County PD then posted their own tweet addressing Wagoner’s report. The message featured a defintion of the word “apology” and a quote from Demoff.
Apology: "expression of regret for not being able to do something"
@kdemoff: "I regretted any offense their officers may have taken."
Rams coach Jeff Fisher spoke about his player’s participating in the “Hands Up” protest before the game. Fisher expressed his belief that Cook, Britt, Bailey, Givens, and Austin were protected by the 1st Amendment.
“As far as the choice that the players made, no, they were exercising their right to free speech,” said Fisher. “They will not be disciplined by the club nor will they be disciplined by the National Football League.”
(AllHipHop News) Music fans have not been able to hear Lauryn Hill’s voice on a new album for over a decade, but film fans will get to hear the “Killing Me Softly” performer narrate the new documentary Concerning Violence.
The archive film centers on native Africans’ fight against colonialism in the 1960s and 1970s. It includes excerpts from Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. The 1961 book presented analysis of the psychology of colonized people and offered explanation for the decolonization political movement’s need to use force against their oppressors. The first chapter of The Wretched of the Earth is titled “Concerning Violence.”
The documentary’s director Göran Olsson spoke with Dazed about his Concerning Violence film. He revealed how Ms. Hill became part of the project.
Olsson said:
I knew through mutual friends that she was a huge reader of Fanon, so I wrote a paper letter and manuscript with images while she was in prison for tax problems. She replied immediately and said it’s too strange, I’m here in prison and I’m reading that book now. So she said, I will not only do the voice-over, I will also do the music. She wasn’t released until late October, so we didn’t have the time for her to make music, but she was released from prison on Friday, on Monday morning she was in the studio making the recording for the narration.
There’s nothing like real R&B!! Meet new R&B sensation Témi (Pronounced TayMe.) With his smooth appeal and powerful vocals he is ready to wow the world with a combination of passion and love. He brings the old school sound with a new age feel, exactly what the genre needs. Témi hit the scene in 2014 solo with his hit single, “Brick By Brick.” Now it’s time to set the summer heat in overdrive with his next track called, “Fire.”
Born in Nigeria, raised in Toronto this international superstar has now brought his talents to Atlanta, Georgia. Témi, formerly was a part of DTP’s group Untitl3d. Signed to DTP he and the group continued their goals for about 4 years when Témi realized he wanted to part ways and follow his solo career as he had originally started.
Témi is on a mission of falling in love with music all over again and taking you on a musical roller coaster from where it and he started. Témi wants to share his story and walk you through yours. Check out his single, “Fire” below.
(AllHipHop News) If you missed out on the chance to see Kanye West’s epic “Yeezus Tour” or if you want to simply relive the event, a Yeezy fan has spliced together footage from numerous tour dates for YouTube film of the concert.
John Colandra (aka jediswag on the kanyetothe forum) spent seven months putting the movie together, and the result is a 2-hour visual recap of Kanye and opener Kendrick Lamar’s performances during the trek.
Compiling footage from almost every stop on the Yeezus tour to make one cohesive film. Using professional and guerrilla style footage. The film flows beautifully and not a single major aspect of the Yeezus tour goes unnoticed. Detail was crucial and over seven months of work went into this project.
Ye is planing to release an official “Yeezus Tour” concert movie directed by Hype Williams. He unveiled a trailer for the project in February.
(AllHipHop News) Atlanta rapper Killer Mike has become one of the most outspoken voices in Hip Hop. His commentary on the situation in Ferguson, Missouri and the militarization of police forces is one of the few observations being presented by a high-profile rap star.
Mike is now publicly addressing the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal cases. The Run The Jewels member wrote an op-ed for USA Today laying out his position on why Hip Hop should not be seen as a threat by the courts.
The article focuses on the Elonis v. U.S case that is being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. In 2010, Anthony Elonis was arrested for posting violent lyrics to Facebook directed at his estranged wife. Despite arguing the words were all fiction, a jury convicted Elonis of communicating threats. He was sentenced to 44 months in prison.
In response to the Elonis case and others in recent years Mike wrote in part:
No other fictional form — musical, literary or cinematic — is used this way in the courts, a concerning double standard that research suggests is rooted, at least in part, in stereotypes about the people of color primarily associated with rap music, as well as the misconception that hip-hop and the artists behind it are dangerous.
In fact, the history of hip-hop tells a very different story. In its formative years, for example, it was explicitly conceived by many as an alternative to the violent gang culture that consumed cities like New York. Since then, it has offered countless young men and women opportunities to escape the poverty and violence in America’s urban centers. As rapper Ice T once put it, “If I hadn’t had a chance to rap, I’d either be dead or in jail.”
Mike closes the piece by referring to the murder of Jordan Davis who was killed for playing his music too loud and Michael Brown’s death being associated with his love of rap music. In Mike’s opinion, these incidents of unarmed Black teens being killed at the hands of white men are more closely related to the issues of inequality, police brutality and racial discrimination than Hip Hop culture. He writes:
These problems are the “true threats” facing America today, not hip-hop. Let’s hope the justices on the Supreme Court understand that, too.
In January, another Southern emcee spoke about the criminal justice system presenting rap lyrics as evidence. Bun B of UGK appeared on MSNBC’s NewsNation with Tamron Hall to express his concern with the legal trend.
“If someone chooses to incriminate themselves that’s their own thing,” said Bun. “Once we open this door to start just going through everyone’s rap lyrics to try to find crime in there, I think that’s where we have the problem.”
(AllHipHop News) On his 2007 song, 50 Cent told the world “I Get Money.” According to reports, the Queens native is no longer able to get any money from his personal bank account. TMZ reports 50’s legal battle with Sleek Audio has resulted in the headphone company going after the rapper’s finances.
Sleek sued 50 for stealing their design and using it for the SMS Audio brand. The case went into arbitration in Florida where Sleek won a judgement against 50 for $16,181,578. A Palm Beach County Circuit judge later agreed with the decision and raised the amount owed to $17,247,426 including interest and legal fees.
The Jasmine Brand reports Sleek then filed documents in New York Court in order to seize 50’s property in that state. 50 has gone back to court to prevent creditors from seizing his assets and property, but he reportedly only has access to his business accounts at the moment.
50’s lawyer tells TMZ the Sleek judgement is being appealed and that his assets are “appropriately protected.” The G-Unit leader earned approximately $8 million from June 2013 to June 2014.
Manny Pacquiao has started to use social media to call our Floyd Mayweather and he’s quite good at it.
The Filipino pugilist took it to Floyd over the weekend on Instagram, calling the undefeated champ #TheBestExcuses. The hashtag is a play on Floyd’s own TBE, which stands for “The Best Ever.”
Previously, Pac Man had said that #FloydRhymesWithAvoid, which definitely isn’t a great hashtag. Nevertheless, he clearly stated his case by telling Floyd, “Stop throwing punches on Instagram and let’s get in the ring!”
After a lopsided win over Chris Algieri Saturday, Pacquiao took his case to the world.
“The people deserve that fight. The fans deserve that fight. It’s time to make that fight happen. It’s been a long time. I want that fight. They’re always denying the fight. I think the fight has to happen.”
Las Vegas artist Hack The Mack releases another single off of his upcoming project “1800 Pay Hack” entitled Lil George produced by Toxsikk of (KWG). In this track Hack The Mack tells a story which breaks down past history leading up to his current journey paying homage to his Father, Peers and family.
With a new album in the works, New Jersey emcee Nucci Reyo just had his new Epik The Dawn-produced single make its radio debut over the weekend courtesy of Power 105’s DJ Envy. Maintaining a positive and constructive outlook, “Jesus Piece” sheds light on some of the stereotypical characterizations associated with rap music, while further proving that it’s not always about material possessions. Nucci Reyo’s upcoming LP Bridging The Gap is coming soon.
Over the weekend 16 of the best B-boys in the world came together to compete in the Red Bull BC One World Finals, as dancers battled each other in an intense competition held in Paris.
After multiple rounds of one-on-one battles it was finally Menno of the Netherlands that claimed the crown, taking the throne as the new Red Bull BC One World Champion; his fourth time competing and first championship win.
With over 50 countries represented, the U.S. was repped by current National Champion Victor Montalvo (Orlando,) 2013 National Champion Gravity (Brooklyn) and Wild Card contestant Thesis (Tucson.) U.S. judges included Luigi and Ken Swift.
Swift explains their decision:
“If you master your style you can win. It’s not about old and new styles, it’s about mastering your movement, and that’s what Menno did in the end. Menno is an evolved B-Boy. He’s done his homework and his research. He knows this art form. He’s been paying his dues for a while, and I think he deserves this win.”
Creativity and originality ruled the night, as the best B-Boys in the game took the stage to showcase their individual skill and performance style in front of the sold-out crowd inside France’s La Grande Halle de La Villette.
“I travel the floor with unpredictable movements. I try to misguide people. I try to trick people with creativity. And I try to fish from different waters than other B-Boys,” explains the newly crowned Menno.
Menno Performing
Red Bull BC One World Champion Menno
U.S. B-Boy Victor Montalvo
Winner Menno
Results:
Finals: Taisuke vs Menno (Winner)
Semi Finals: Menno vs Alkolil & Cheerito vs Taisuke
The next Red Bull BC One World Finals will take place in Italy (2015.) For additional information follow @redbullone
