(AllHipHop News) The reality show battle between former best friends Stevie J and Benzino apparently got so bad that VH1 had to fire Zino from Love & Hip Hop Atlanta. At least that is the story Stevie J told TMZ. The music producer claims the network had to let Benzino go because he threatened to harm Stevie, co-star Joseline Hernandez, producers, and staffers.
“He said flat out he was going to kill us,” Stevie told the website.
It was announced that Benzino and his fiancee’ Althea Eaton were issued pink slips last month. The co-founder of The Source stated at the time he felt the show’s production team was merely taking the side of Stevie and Joseline. Benzino doubled down on that speculation with TMZ.
“Stevie J is a habitual liar and VH1 has never given me a reason for being fired,” Benzino stated. “They wanted to keep the crackhead w####.”
Both couples were involved in huge a melee during the taping of the reunion show earlier this year. The fight was partially sparked because Benzino and Althea made references to Stevie and Joseline being on drugs. Their ongoing feud was a main storyline during season three of the series.
Here is the first leak Freestylin Under Oath from the Slaughterhouse emcee KXNG CROOKED’s (formerly Crooked I) upcoming mixtape experience titled “Sex, Money and Hip-Hop” that is being released through SMH Records on December 16th.
Chox-Mak & DJ YRS Jerzy release their latest release off off their “7 Day Experiment” music series titled “Thursday”. Like most people feel on a Thursday they are only one more day from the weekend. “Thursday” is more of a calm laid back type of record that people will catch on to. It’s not to much or too little.
Murda Mook and Dame Dash are calling out Drake on his challenge towards Mook to a battle. Mook sets the bar 15 million and Dame asks Floyd Mayweather to promote the battle!
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On Friday Nov 21. 2014, AllHipHop.com will feature and exclusive new freestyle from Mook’s from Nicki Minaj’s “Only” song featuring Drake, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown. Full interview with Mook and the song will be out tomorrow so you can get the entire story but, check out the snippet here:
(AllHipHop News) Nicki Minaj has become one of the most polarizing figures in pop culture. The Young Money rapper’s dedicated fan base of Barbz will ride hard for Nicki, but at the same time there are just as many critics that have plenty to say about her skills as a rapper, blatant sexual content, and use of historic imagery. It was two Minaj songs released in 2014 that gained significant negative attention – “Anaconda” and “Lookin Ass N***ga.”
Some listeners trashed the single “Anaconda” for what they felt were elementary lyrics, while others took issue with Minaj’s decision to flaunt her semi-nude body on the cover art and in the video. AllHipHop.com owner Chuck Creekmur even published an open letter about the cover directed at Nicki for Madamenoire.
“Lookin Ass N***a” caught heat for what some saw as an unreasonable attack on men. Nicki’s was also criticized for artwork she promoted with the song that featured a famous photo of Malcolm X.
In an interview with Complex, The Pinkprint album creator discussed her work, the public response to the music, and how she handled the backlash.
On what she wanted to accomplish with “Anaconda”:
I wanted to create a song that embraced curvy women. I wanted to be sexual but be playful with it. And I wanted it to be so melodic that even if you don’t understand English you could still go along with the melody and you would have no idea about all the raunchy s### I’m saying—I get a kick out of that. It was simple to write. I just created the melody and then I let the words happen. I started laughing when I said, “Boy toy named Troy.” [Laughs.] That whole song, I was just being dumb. It was a joke. My biggest thing was seeing how my girlfriends Sherika and Thembi were going to react. If they don’t like a song, they’ll be like, “No.” As soon as they walked in the studio, we were laughing and having fun. I thought, if we’re doing this, then everybody is going to have fun with it.
On Creekmur’s letter:
“Shut your stupid ass up. Bye, dad.” I laughed at it. But I also didn’t even know that that was happening.
On blogs writing about her:
I’m not on blogs, so I didn’t know. People see me retweet stuff and they think I’m some Internet person but I’m not. A lot of times, with the controversy surrounding “Lookin’ Ass,” for example, I didn’t know anything about it until it was so late it would’ve been crazy for me to address it. Every now and then, people in my circle will say, “Did you know blah blah blah?” People on my team know I don’t want to hear any drama. I don’t want any negativity. I don’t want to hear what’s on the blog. I don’t care.
(AllHipHop News) The Billboard 200 chart has served as the official authority for the weekly album rankings in the United States since 1956. In 1991, the magazine began listing the top-selling LPs in the nation based off Nielsen SoundScan sales numbers. The New York Times reports Billboard and Soundscan will start adding streaming numbers to the total album sales as well.
The significant public shift away from purchasing albums to streaming played a role in the decision to alter the way the album chart is calculated. Every 1,500 streams on services like Spotify, Beats Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, and Google Play will now equal 1 album sale. The rankings on the Billboard 200 will also include “track equivalent albums” meaning 10 downloads of individual tracks will add up to one album.
“Album sales have become a smaller and smaller part of the industry,” said Nielson senior analyst David Bakula. “To just look at album sales and say this is how we measure success is really leaving out that half of the business that is coming from streams and song sales.”
The same way CDs overtook vinyls/cassettes and then digital downloads overtook CDs, the marketplace is changing once again. According to Nielson, streaming grew by 42% in the first half of this year, and album sales dropped by 15%.
There was major media attention placed on the fact that until Taylor Swift’s 1989 broke the 1.2 million units mark in October, no other album sold over 1 million copies in 2014. Ironically, Swift also recently pulled all of her albums from Spotify.
So far it has been a down year for Hip Hop album sales. While Schoolboy Q, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, and Lecrae have all landed in the top spot on the album chart, zero rap LPs have reached platinum status.
The new Billboard 200 album chart will be published online on December 4.
Well, this was a startling rumor when I woke up. Migos was rumored to be slain at a gas station in Atlanta. This isn’t true. Seems like the boy Quavo Of Migos has some bad omen surrounding him, but he responded “The only resting I’m doing is in my mansion.” I think that pretty much says it all. However, peep the video below if you want to see more tweets and malarkey.
DJ Hustle caught up with Meagan Good on the Purple Carpet, at a 18th Birthday Bash for Recording Artist, Lanye of R&B/Pop Group “Phenix Rose”. Meagan has been producing & directing. Meagan is set to co direct her first film with Tamara Bass.
Tyga decided to skip out on a club appearance in West Hollywood a few days ago, when the club decided to obey the law and not let his 17-year-old girlfriend friend Kylie Jenner in.
TMZ reports:
“Sources at Greystone Manor tell TMZ … Tyga begged and pleaded with promoters to get 17-year-old Kylie admitted — calling several times throughout the day. We’re told he even pushed his arrival time to 1:30 AM while trying to negotiate Kylie’s entry.
When the club wouldn’t budge — y’know, because of the law and stuff — he bailed.
We’re told Tyga pulling out p##### off sponsor, Ciroc, in a big way. The club is trying to reschedule, but since the 21-and-over rule isn’t changing … seems pretty hopeless.”
That’s what happens when your girl ain’t hit puberty yet…
While in Dallas, the Born Sinner emcee noticed a tweet from a fan named Dalia asking to see him while he was in town. Cole saw it and decided to respond, requesting her address. To Dalia’s surprise, he showed up to her door with his new album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, in tow for her and her family to preview. Power 106’s Rikki Martinez was with J. Cole during this experience and documented it via Twitter and Instagram. Check out the moments below.
Send me DM with your address I’ll come play u the album. @DaliaDk “@JColeNC: Dallas we hereeeeee” we gotta see you tonight ???
Erica Mena and Shad Moss’ engagement shocked many and garnered mixed reactions. Naysayers took to Twitter and voiced their opinion but celebs kept quite, until now. Comedian Tony Rock decided to poke fun at the couple after tweeting about BET’s 106 & Park being cancelled. After calling Mena a “full blown w####,” the artist formerly known as Bow Wow caught wind of what was said and suggested the two have a face-to-face meeting. Peep the exchange below.
106 and Park cancelled. Is the Bow Wow/Erica Mena wedding still on?
Some albums are just classics that live on forever as staples in their genre. One such album has to be the legendary TLC’s CrazySexyCool. The album laced with sexy and sultry ballads and even some up-tempo flava is still regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. CrazySexyCool, written and produced by the likes of Babyface, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, and more displayed a relatable identity for fans as Left Eye represented the Crazy, Chilli the Sexy, and T-Boz the Cool. As the multi-diamond album turns 20, it’s only right to reflect on the Atlanta trio’s successful sophomore project.
The album peaked at three on the Billboard 200 chart and spent over two years on the Billboard album charts. The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA making TLC the first girl group in history to be awarded diamond status. To date, CrazySexyCool has sold over 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by an American girl group, and the second best selling album worldwide behind the Spices Girls’ Spice. All four singles from the album reached the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100, two of them reaching number one.
The lead single “Creep” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, and was one of the biggest singles of 1995, coming in at number three in Billboard Year End Hot 100 Singles of 1995. It also reached number one on the Hot R&B and Hip Hop Songs Chart. The third single, “Waterfalls”, became TLC’s most successful song, spending seven weeks at number one. It was also the second-biggest single of 1995 according to Billboard, giving TLC two songs in the Top 3 of the 1995 Billboard Year-End chart.
“Waterfalls,” stands as one of the greatest songs of all time as TLC used R&B soul, Hip-Hop, and an enormous music video budget to bring light to societal issues like HIV/AIDS, and the country’s issue with inner-city drug problems. The album also won two of the six Grammy Awards it was nominated for at the 1996 Grammy Awards. This classic album was undeniably a smooth, seductive collection of contemporary soul. The album is timeless.
Two decades later CrazySexyCool remains just as relevant, even bringing in a new generation of fans with the VH1 produced Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story biopic.
To celebrate 20 years of CrazySexyCool, AllHipHop caught up with TLC’s Chilli to discuss the making of the album, its impact, TLC’s legacy and more!
AHH: We are celebrating the CrazySexyCool album’s 20th anniversary. Talk about the making of that album; I know there were some big name producers involved such as Babyface, Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri and more.
Chilli: We used the same producers that we always worked with. We worked with Dallas, Babyface, and Jermaine on the first and second album the only thing we had new was Organized Noize. Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest did the interludes. People don’t do interludes anymore and I don’t know why they don’t; they are so fun. It was a really fun album to make. This is a time where we weren’t always in the studio together; sometimes we went in one by one because everyone was so busy. I spent so much time recording with Babyface and it was a great album to make.
AHH: The album went Diamond, and TLC was the first group to achieve that success, talk about that feeling.
Chilli: It’s very exciting; it was a dream come true. It’s hard to reach a lot of people especially that amount of people. We love the fact that people love us because we are being who we are. We aren’t acting. We are very serious about the messages we put out. The girl power thing is really who we are. I think fans loved that we are so relatable; we are like your girlfriends or your sisters. When people can relate they understand and connect better.
AHH: Every single reached the top 100 Billboard Countdown, and the album has been referred to on many lists as one of the greatest albums of all time. Does it feel surreal now? Did it feel surreal back then?
Chilli: Back then It was times when it didn’t seem real, but we came out during a time when people really bought albums; it was no downloading. The competition was steep. We never looked at girl groups as competition; we looked at Boyz II Men and Jodeci. We wanted to hit numbers like M.C. Hammer because he was selling like crazy. The fact that we were able to compete with those guys is when we really got excited.
AHH: The lead single was “Creep”. Was that a unanimous decision to make it the lead single?
Chilli: A lot of times when you have your main producer that takes lead in your project they usually have the first single. But we loved all of our singles so we didn’t care what was released first. It was one of those albums where we liked every song. With CrazySexyCool the stars were really aligned for us because that was really a great album.
AHH: People always say they miss the 90s and the era that was CrazySexyCool. When I think of this album I think of smooth seductive vocals, contemporary soul, great songs, voluptuous beats, great song writing…. how would you define the album and the era?
Chilli: I would define it like the title; our personalities…. the music…. that whole era for us was Crazy Sexy Cool Period.
AHH: What do you miss about 90s R&B?
Chilli: We were more than R&B we were Hip-Hop and Pop as well. As far as R&B is concerned now I feel what’s missing is the lyrical content. You have people that are singing but its missing the lyrical content and the stories. When I think of Jodeci’s albums like Forever My Lady we don’t have records like that anymore. And Boyz II Men songs like “End of the Road” or “Bended Knee” like really; songs that people want to hear at their wedding. Songs that could be you and your boo’s record. Now you’re just talking about beating it up. What the hell are you supposed to be beating up? I know you are not talking about my v##### because now you aren’t going to get it (chuckles). There’s no more fore-play, no more courting, no dating. It’s straight to the bed.
AHH: How did R&B go from “I’ll Make Love To You” to pull your panties to the side?
Chilli: It’s okay with some songs like that but not when superstars make songs like that all the time when they have the power and ability to do more. It’s disappointing especially from seasoned artists or a whole album. It’s not cool; it’s no more variety. It was so much variety in the ’90s.
AHH: “Waterfalls” was the most successful track to date from the album. Everyone remembers where they were when the video came out. The video, the message, The Grammy nominations, TLC winning two of those Grammy nominations. How did it feel from having the vision of the record and the video to it coming to fruition and the success that followed?
Chilli: Left Eye was up there all the time so we made her go sell it to them with what we wanted it to look like and what we thought it would cost. Radio wasn’t jumping on the record they didn’t know what we were talking about. The video brought it to life. Videos then told the story. Radio was still on “Creep” because they had seen the video. Once we teamed up with F. Gary Gray to bring our vision to life, it was over at that point. The rest was history.
AHH: What is a crazy behind the scenes moment from the CrazySexyCool album?
Chilli: The infamous Vibe Cover. Vibe set us up but we totally fell for the ookie doke . Lisa had burned the house and everything and at the video shoot we would take whatever a stylist would bring rip it up and make it a TLC outfit. There were police uniforms and firemen suits. When I saw the firemen suits I was the one like we have to wear these. I wasn’t thinking about what had just happened and the fact that my sister is on probation and if she does anything wrong she can go to jail. They weren’t thinking either they were like yeah this is dope . And I’m sure Vibe was like we are going to have the cover of life. It was so innocent we just saw fashion and the picture they chose with Lisa with her lip to the side like “and what” and a nonchalant attitude of the situation. When it came out the judge called immediately. We got in a little bit of trouble (chuckles) but it’s water under the bridge. We weren’t trying to be some smart a#### and not take the situation seriously, but that’s what it appeared to be (from the shoot).
AHH: Is there anything you would like to leave with your fans?
Chilli: I just really want to thank them for just loving TLC and embracing the outside of the box way we think and how we do everything. They were riding with us the whole time. Most are grown now and have kids and have introduced our music to their kids and that means the world to me. We always stuck together. We are real sisters that love each other, but we never abandoned each other and our fans never abandoned us.
The homeless woman who was arrested after leaving her two children in a car while she went on a job interview gained the sympathy of thousands with her story. Now that sympathy has turned to outrage.
After Shanesha Taylor’s struggle and teary-eyed mugshot gained national attention, over $114,000 was raised from donations of 4,000 people though the online fundraising site, YouCaring.com. The Arizona mother was charged with felony abuse and was mandated by a judge to put $40,000 in a trust fund for her children to avoid jail time. Now that she has missed the deadline to do so, her charges have been reinstated and what she has done with the money has been revealed.
Taylor, 43, has reportedly been spending $4,000 a month on frivolous things, including funding her children’s father’s rap album, according to Reverend Jarrett Maupin, a former supporter of Taylor’s,
“The money is gone by all accounts,” Maupin told FOX. “It’s been spent on designer clothes, family outings in and out of this city and reports that $6,000 spent on studio time for her baby daddy’s rap album.”
Taylor told ABC that anything Maupin says about her is libel and slander and that these allegations are untrue; however, if they are untrue it’s unclear where the donated funds went. Taylor is now using social media to gain donations again while she remains unemployed. Her lawyers have quit and she is due back in court in December.
As the rape allegations against Bill Cosby continue to pile up, many of his deals are falling through. Streaming service Netflix has decided to postpone premiering Bill Cosby 77, a stand-up comedy special that was taped on Cosby’s 77th birthday where he joked about relationships, marriage and children. NBC has taken more drastic measures and reportedly pulled the plug on the production of a family sitcom that Cosby was set to star in. Also, TV Land will discontinue airing reruns of the beloved The Cosby Show immediately for an indefinite time, according a network representative. An appearance onThe Late Show With David Letterman has been cancelled as well.
Meanwhile, Raven-Symoné has denied allegations that her TV grandfather ever violated her. She took to her Instagram to dispel rumors.
“I was NOT taking advantage of by Mr. Cosby when I was on the Cosby Show!” said the child star. “I was practically a baby on that show and this is truly a disgusting rumor that I want no part of! Everyone on that show treated me with nothing but kindness. Now keep me out of this!”
This morning (Nov. 20), audio was released of an interview with the Associated Press where Cosby denied to comment on these accusations saying, “We don’t answer that.” He also asked if his on-camera refusal to comment would not be used. “And I would appreciate it if it was scuttled,” he said.
Fifteen women, including supermodel Janice Dickinson, have come forward so far alleging that Bill Cosby has raped them after giving them a spiked drink or a pill.
David Cash continues to provide new music as we follow him on the path to the release of his upcoming project California C.A.S.H. Having already delivered on singles featuring Young Thug, Eric Bellinger, and Jay 305 respectively, the Nu West rep returns for the second week in a row with a solo effort. Coming from the West Coast, Cash knows a thing or two about gangs, especially the Crips and Bloods, but “Blu N Red” is able to blur colors as blue and red make purple on the heavy hitting track. This song will not be featured on David’s upcoming project.
California C.A.S.H. will include appearances from the likes of Metro Boomin, Jay 305, Eric Bellinger, Young Thug, Scotty ATL, Alley Boy, and more.
Spark & Neech reconnect w/new found hit maker Ghost Buster (producer of recently released “Tryna Get It”) on the spaced-out, low sub driven “My Brother’s Keeper.”
Cali native Dex RiffRaff McGriff is back with the first single off of his latest album titled Bronto. Laced with a special guest appearance from Mark Ford, P.E. (Phantom Enigma) displays their tight lyrical dynamics over a clean boom bap beat that was produced by Dex himself.
Fresh of her appearance on Snopp Dogg’s GGN Show, RavenFelix follows up the success of her recent releases “Like That” and Problem collabo “Bad Lil Bish” from her Valifornia mixtape with “Til Was Pass Out.” The 19 year old L.A/San Fernando Valley natives buzz continues to grow louder as she gears up for her follow up project. Produced byDante Bowden & Tekneek.
Gearing up for the Jan 22nd release of “Midnight Strangers” A.ware of Mach Five will be dropping a few records to give us a feel of what to expect from the new journey. “Mood” is the first!
