(AllHipHop News) Da Brat has been commanded to pay $6.4 million to a women she hit with a rum bottle in an Atlanta club owned by Jermaine Dupri.
In 2007, the rapper struck a former cheerleader and waitress, Shayla Stevens, in the head and subsequently served almost three years in jail for the violent crime.
Stevens waged a war in civil court and the judge sided with her.
Da Brat, real name Shawntae Harris, Harris, was ordered to pay Stevens $3.7 million in compensatory damages and also an additional $2.7 million in punitive damages.
Da Brat’s lawyer disagreed with the verdict.
“I’m baffled,” Attorney B.J. Bernstein told the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “She owned up to what happened when it happened and was punished.”
Stevens argued that the attack caused her lifelong injuries to her brain.
Da Brat may appeal the decision.
She is presently still on probation as punishment for the attack.
(AlHipHop News) Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have seemingly become a couple bullseyes for racists now and a new exploit supports the notion.
A man ran up on Kim dressed as Kanye West in black face during a ball dance in Austria.
Kim was paid $500,000 to act as the date of Richard Lugner, a business man who paid for her to attend the Vienna Annual Opera Ball.
When the man harassed Kim, she left the venue when she still had an hour and a half to stay, per her contract with Lugner. The business man later conducted an interview where he said that “Kim its annoying me.”
While Kim was taking pictures with Lugner, the man in black face showed up and impersonated Kanye West. Another, separate racist man asked her to dance and she rejected the idea stating she could not dance very well, according to a TMZ report.
After declining, the other man reportedly asked could she would dance if the orchestra played “N***ers in Vienna,” and obvious play on Kanye West’s Jay Z helmed hit “N***as in Paris.” Kim completely abandoned the effort at that time. Also, Kim says that Lugner tried to get her alone and acted too aggressive.
The whole incident is reportedly caught on tape by Kim’s reality show shooters.
Damn. This week has been just about all relationships and stuff. I dunno why, but that’s just the way it is. So, earlier today, I was looking into seeing what was going on with Drake and if Zoe had anything to say about this Rihanna stuff. Well, check it. It seems like Zoe got crazy, sloppy drunk and Drake dumped her on the spot. I guess Lenny couldn’t say anything about that, huh? This apparently all went down on New Year’s Eve down in MIA, yo. I heard Zoe is about drunk in hate right about now.
Everybody is trying to be like TMZ now. Peep it though. She says she and Drake are just friends.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
(AllHipHop News) The trustee overseeing the Death Row Records and Suge Knight bankruptcy case say they should not have to pay Dr. Dre any money. According to Radar Online, the trustee is asking a judge to throw out Dre’s $3 million lawsuit filed against his former label.
Dre sued for back payments from mechanical royalties, artist-producer royalties, and digital sales. He is seeking bonus pay for album sales as well.
The Death Row trustee’s motion argues that Dre already tried to collect the money and lost, and that decision is not subject to appeal. The court documents also state that the two-year statute of limitation has passed since the defendants claim they have not distributed any of the producer’s music since 2009.
The motion requests Dre’s suit be dismissed without compensation.
(AllHipHop News) Noted Hip Hop producer Pete Rock is celebrating Black History Month by releasing the “Roy Ayers Tribute Mix.” In honor of the legendary Jazz musician, Rock mixes nearly 40-minutes of tracks featuring samples from the Ayers catalogue.
The Pete Rock and Roy Ayers connection began several years ago. The two previously toured Europe together in 2011 after meeting at a New York City show that was also dedicated to the Vibrations creator.
It was during that trek overseas that the “Roy Ayers & Pete Rock” t-shirt emerged. The exclusive tee designed by 503 Collective is now available here.
(AllHipHop Features) At one point in the 2000’s Tom Anderson was one of the most popular people on the planet. As the co-founder of Myspace.com (along with Chris DeWolfe), Tom had over 100 million “friends” on the then dominant social networking website.
That early success of Myspace led to it being purchased by media giant News Corp for a reported $580 million in 2005, but the initial hype would not last forever. Eventually, Myspace was overtaken in daily users by other social media sites, and the company suffered a rapid decline in popularity.
Like in the Spider-Man comic book, the struggles revealed in Peter Parker’s origin story are just the set-up for the superhero to discover his true greatness. Myspace has survived its “Uncle Ben murder” and is once again carving out a fresh lane in the world of media and entertainment. It is now a new decade, and there is now a new Myspace.
The reinvented Myspace is being built around the financial and creative backing of superstar Justin Timberlake and Tim & Chris Vanderhook of Specific Media. While the site was originally equipped ten years ago as a social center for young adults, Myspace now focuses on promoting musical content with an emphasis on building the profile of up-and-coming acts.
“Our purpose is to foster discovery, through exposure, promotions, events, content, videos – but those things are just the vehicles in our eyes; they’re the means, not the end. They’re channels that facilitate discovery,” says Neda Azarfar, Myspace’s Vice President of Communications. “In turn, our audience is eclectic, comprised of musicians, designers, music lovers, photographers, fans, writers – people who, at their core, are interested not only in music but also in music culture and in leading a creative lifestyle.”
Rap veterans have not been left out. Yo Gotti provided an exclusive backstage look into his world, and Pusha T’s debut solo album My Name Is My Namepremiered on the site. Run The Jewels’ (Killer Mike and El-P) videos for “36” Chain” and “Get It” were also filmed and produced in conjunction with Myspace.
“Myspace is involved in all aspects of producing and promoting videos, just as we did with the Run The Jewel’s ‘Get It’ video which was part of the ‘Music Video Collaborations With Artists We Like’ program,” explains Azarfar. “The program was designed to bring emerging artists together with noted directors to produce music videos, led creatively by the artists themselves. Each of the videos premieres exclusively on Myspace and receives promotion across the platform through a combination of email, social, and editorial integration.”
The “New Myspace” essentially started its official relaunch with a $20 million ad campaign in 2013. The advertising onslaught included broadcast, radio, and digital spots. It was highlighted by a 90-second commercial featuring cameos by Pharrell Williams, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, Chance The Rapper, Hit-Boy, Iggy Azalea, and Ciara. According to Azarfar, the “Welcome to the Neighborhood” campaign helped bring a significant numbers of eyes and ears back to Myspace.
“The response to the campaign was really positive. Myspace’s audience grew 50% immediately after launch (and has continued to grow steadily since then) and the number of artists who joined went up over 300%,” Azarfar states. “But beyond the big growth numbers, the launch campaign was really an important moment for Myspace because so many of the people we strive to support came together in support of what we’re building and the spots reflected that.”
That new audience is not only exposed to the works of buzzing musicians. Film fans are also able to discover interesting movie related content on the site. For example, Myspace recently posted an engaging tongue-in-cheek “Couples Therapy” interview with Michael B. Jordan, Zac Efron, and Miles Teller from the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment.
Hip Hop movie buffs got a real treat when Myspace ran an extensive piece titled “Oral History: Tupac, Fist Fights and the Making of Juice” in January. The in-depth article coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the urban drama starring Omar Epps and Tupac Shukar. Epps along with other cast and crew members like costars Khalil Kain and Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins, director Ernest Dickerson, and co-writer Gerard Brown provided behind-the-scenes insights into Juice.
Rare Photo Of “Juice” Cast Featured On Myspace
Even with the current connections to high-profile emerging musicians and Q&A’s with Hollywood stars, Myspace is still not the juggernaut it was during the George Bush-era, but as it continues its rebuilding process, the site’s position in the media marketplace steadily increases.
Think about Peter Parker shortly after his Uncle Ben was murdered by a thief. He already possessed his superhuman abilities from the radioactive spider bite, but he still had not harnessed them into the crime fighter known as Spider-Man. Parker was not taking down Doctor Octopus or the Green Goblin yet, but he could definitely sense that he was no longer the insecure nerd that got bullied in school by the jocks. It was only a matter of time before Peter Parker fully transformed into your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
That is the crossroads Myspace now finds itself. It is still staring up at its biggest competitors, but it is starting to break through the congested web-based media landscape. The company believes by striving to achieve its mission of providing exposure to the people, ideas, and things that often do not receive the attention they deserve, the platform will soon be scaling the highest skyscrapers in the near future.
“In 2014, we’ll build out our content offering and continue to produce original content such as ONETWOWATCH and 5 Minutes To The Stage, as well as Sad Girls Guide, and Bun B’s Hip-Hop Illustrations,” Azarfar says. “We are continuing our efforts to highlight up-and-coming talent through programs such as Music Videos with Artists We Like and Tour POV’s. We’re really looking forward to what’s to come in 2014!”
(AllHipHop News) Didn’t get to see Kanye West on his Yeezus tour? No problem, the eccentric genius is planning on releasing tour footage as a movie in theaters.
Today (February 27th) Kanye West unexpectedly dropped the trailer for his upcoming Hype Williams-directed tour movie based on the Yeezus tour. The film is reportedly set to debut in theaters, but no date has been specified as of yet.
West and Williams have worked together in the past as Williams has directed West’s music videos for “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”, “Gold Digger”, “Cold” and “Stronger”.
Check out the trailer for Kanye West’s Yeezus tour movie directed by Hype Williams here.
For the 6th consecutive year, AllHipHop.com will be producing a concert at SXSW. The AllHipHop.com Official SXSW Stage 2014 ideally dubbed “Mob Madness,” is set to be the biggest Hip-Hop stage at SXSW. For the epic AllHipHop “Mob Madness” Show we have the following headliners:
A$AP Mob including ASAP Nast, A$AP Ant, A$AP Twelvy, A$AP Ferg and A$AP Rocky also the legendaryMobb Deep, Rocko, Rich Homie Quan, Kidd Kidd, Young Scooter and more!
AllHipHop SXSW Stage 2014 Promo Video:
AllHipHop has always been a leader in presenting epic stages at SXSW. For 2012, Cashmere Agency and AllhipHop.com brought you Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, and a number of surprise guest like Curren$y, Wiz Khalifah and ASAP Rocky (see our 2012 SXSW stage headlined by Snoop Dogg). For 2013, AllHipHop brought Mystical, Taylor Gang , Yo Gotti and a surprise performance from Akon (see last year’s show with Yo Gotti and Mystikal). This year, we look to have the biggest show we ever produced at SXSW!
All official SXSW badge-holders are invited to the AllHipHop Stage at 8PM-2AM on Saturday, March 15th 2014 at 1100 Warehouse located at 1100 5th St, Austin, TX.
DAMN. That Karrueche chick was there for Chris Brown when he was all down and out. The cases and the rehab. But her loyalty was all for nought if the rumors are correct. It seems like Chris is back to obsessing over Rihanna. I’m sure the rumors of her and Drake don’t help anything. Needless to say KT was not the one and seems to have bounced on Breezy. Rhymes With Snitch say they have even stopped following each other on all social media outlets. You KNOW that means its a WRAP! But why is Drake messing with RiRi the real deal for the renewed thrist for Rihanna? Sees so.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
Cap 1 hasn’t been shy about dropping new music since his Cavier Dreams mixtape was released back in January. After hitting us with the remix to Jhene Aiko’s “The Worst” a few weeks back, the Chicago spitta returns with another new joint for fans titled “BabySitter”, featuring his ace OJ Da Juiceman. Track produced by Big Hurt and will live on his upcoming DJ E.Sudd and DJ Victoriouz-hosted mixtape, ClockWerk, which will be arriving soon. Track can also be found on the Street Execs Streetz Service Pack 3. Listen/download the collab below. Thoughts?
WE$$IDE’S “DEEP END” off THE GENOCIDE mixtape Debuted on power 106 with DJ Reflex and DJ Carisma as the Young California pick of the week..He has since linked up with Executive Producer DJ Necterr to help give the song its national buzz it deserves.
(AllHipHop News) The reason there will never be anything truly perfect is because there will always be someone to find a flaw in the most beautiful art. Today (February 27th), Pharrell addressed the recent criticism over his upcoming album G I R L not having any Black women on the cover.
During his interview on The Breakfast Club, Pharrell says he he was disappointed in the backlash due to the fact that his mother, a Black woman runs a part of his business and his wife, Helen Lasichanh, is also Black. While using the chorus to the song “Mona Lisa” from his new album, Pharrell explained why it is ridiculous to interpret his album cover as racist:
The one thing I was trying to help change is this crazy statuesque standard of you have to white, fair and thin to be beautiful. You know my next single goes ‘Not even Marilyn Monroe, Cleoprtra, see. Not even Joan of Arc, that don’t mean nothing to me. I just want a different girl. ‘
“Mona Lisa” is set to be Pharrell’s next single, according to the singer. Pharrell also revealed that he 12 Years A Slave dark skinned actress Lupita Nyong’o that “her skin was flawless” at an Oscar’s luncheon.
Check out a preview of Pharrell’s The Breakfast Club interview below:
“On my temporary interest, omitting commitment/I swear this visionary sh*t is preventing the vision”
A little over a month and a half since releasing his self-produced debut album Dancing With The Devil , Alexander Dreamer returns with “For The Record”. The somber beat with wispy guitar strings, pulsating bass and sedative drumline is a perfect backdrop for Dreamer to keep all of his life on the record for this introspective track.
Cultivating a signature sound of simplistic-soul, 9th Wonder is one of Hop’s studied preservationists. Reared in the Douthit household where faith was revered, family was cherished, and work was championed, 9th’s character was fortified. An insatiable love for the arts ignited as his depth of talent flourished.
That talent manifests as his fingerprints continue to shape the genre and the classroom. He’s served at North Carolina Central University as an Artist-In-Residence, the celebrated Duke University as co-teacher of “Sampling Soul,” and at the esteemed Harvard University as a Hip-Hop fellow in the Hip Hop Archive.
The wizard-behind-the-boards easily imposed his will on some the genres most celebrated albums. Possessing the self-discipline to thrive in the entertainment industry, to impact the future in the classroom, and to love his home-based legacy, his enduring actions constitute why he’s become the world’s latest wonder:
AllHipHop: There’s almost 24 hours in a day. Given that you’re a family man, a Producer, a Record Exec., an Educator, a DJ, and an MC; how are you learning to better balance your time; in what ways does delegating your different professional obligations help with sustaining your personal responsibilities?
9th Wonder: Well, the wonderful thing about all the jobs that I hold—they’re all under the umbrella of music. If I was a plumber, an electrician, a banker—you know, it wouldn’t make sense—but I can keep all mu focus on music and dealing with musical things, you know what I mean. Even my children are so in love with music. When it comes to my family I can still keep a piece of my musical-self. You know, that’s how I keep focus. I don’t have vices; I don’t smoke and I don’t drink. I don’t have a lot of things that take my mind off what I need to be thinking about. So, that’s how I balance it all.
Recently music celebrated with awarding its Grammy awards. According to 9th Wonder, within the last three years, what was the last Hip-hop album that possessed both the production and lyrical content to earn a classic title; what’s your favorite track from the album?
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City! There’s a lot of joints that I like. I like “Compton” that Just Blaze did. Man, I like “B####, Don’t Kill My Vibe.” There’s a lot of joints that I like on there. I like the single, “Swimming Pools.” I like “Sing About Me.” Kendrick is very sincere when it comes to his song-making. He put together a concept album. In this day-in-time concept albums are few-and-far-between. You know, young kids don’t know anything about concept albums. He put together a concept Rap album that you listen to all the way through. So, I’m proud of Kendrick.
You’re quoted as saying, “Educating the youth on where Hip-Hop comes from and the history of it, using the records we use, gives Hip-Hop a longer life. I decided to become an advocate of that.” To date, what aspect of Hip-Hop has become the most important to you?
Now, to me, the most important aspect of Hip-Hop is the preservation of it—the institutionalization of it. Getting it into different universities to make sure it’s being studied from now on. That’s the most important thing to me. You know, I’ve done beats, I’ve rhymed a little—I’ve worked with rappers, I’ve worked with Jay[Z]—I’ve done that.
Now, how can I extend Hip-Hop to have a longer shelf-life? And how can I make sure that we are the ones that’s teaching the culture correctly. So, when it comes to Hip-Hop that’s my biggest project. Right now, at this moment, I want to make sure that it’s studied the right way and taught by the right people.
From your creative efforts what bottom-line-truth do you hope resonates with others?
Just how to be an inspiration—how to be inspired and how to inspire people. Inspiration, it’s a chain reaction. It’s a chain event—something that’s been happening for centuries. It’s been passed down from person, to person, to person—everybody has an inspiration. Whether it be your mom or your dad, whether it be your homies on the block—you always have somebody you look to as a mentor—or somebody that you look to who gears you in a certain direction.
And that’s what I get a lot from people is that I’m somebody’s inspiration. But DJ Premier is also mine, Pete Rock is also mine, the Beatminerz is also my inspiration. My mother is my inspiration, my brother is my inspiration, my kids are my inspiration; so, it’s like you have to take all that inspiration and energy and pass it on to the next person. That’s just how the universe works. It just works like that.
Until the next time, what would you like to share with your supporters?
Support the musicians. Support the people that you wake up listening to every morning and listen to every night. You know, they’re a big part of your life. They always say, the saying goes, “without music would we know each other?”
So, support people who help you know other people. They help create memories for you. Support those people; those are the people who help drive your emotions. When it comes to just feeling good, they help drive everything. If you’re at a cookout, or a party, of if someone is getting married, or whatever—music is always there!
(AllHipHop News) Pharrell currently has the #1 song in the country and is four days away from releasing what should be his first Billboard 100 #1 album and was ready to quit 8 years ago. In a recent interview, Pharrell explains how he was unhappy with his debut album, how he instantly knew the title for G I R L and more.
On July 25th, 2006, Pharrell released his solo debut In My Mind and sold 143,000 copies the first week, over 100,000 copies less than The Neptunes’ 1st week sales for 2003 Clones album. In his interview with GQ, Pharrell says In My Mind had no purpose and he ultimately did not like the finished product:
Talking about the money I was making and the by-products of living that lifestyle. What was good about that? What’d you get out of it? There was no purpose. I was so under the wrong impression at that time.
Afterwards, Pharrell revealed that in retrospect he was unhappy during that time period and decided “the solo-artist path was not for me.” Pharrell later admits that his intentional reclusion from the solo spotlight was meant as training to understand how to make music with purpose:
So when I write a song on In My Mind called ‘How Does It Feel?’ ”—that’s the one that goesSee me on the TV, the cuties they wanna f###—“man, what was I talking about? That wasn’t joy. That was just bragging. I wanted to be like Jay. I wanted to be like Puff. Those are their paths. I got my own path. But I didn’t know what my path was. I knew that I was meant to do something different. I knew that I needed to inject purpose in my music. And I thought that was my path. I didn’t realize that like, from ’08 up until now was like, training. Like, keep putting purpose in everything you do. Don’t worry about it; just put purpose in there.
The interviewer reveals that back in late January, Pharrell was discussing a potential horse-themed song he produced for Usher while on the phone with the singer. Apparently, Usher was set to shoot a video for the Pharrell-produced song and wanted to debut it at the start of the Chinese New Year, which this year is “Year of The Horse”. Pharrell compares Ginuwine’s classic 1996 song “Pony” with Usher’s as-of-yet unheard horse-inspired song:
Now, that was Ginuwine. We’re talking about you, and bringing you to the rodeo world with a record that gives you the license to do that.
Pharrell later says ““I f*cking held a lamb in a Robin Thicke video and people were into it” in order to convince Usher to not worry about when he will release his song and video.
(AllHipHop News) When you are the most successful artist on the Billboard charts in the past four years, you need to innovate. Rihanna will attempt this as her upcoming release will be a concept album based on an animated film she is starring in.
The film, Home, is sci-fi animated film from DreamWorks based on Adam Rex’s 2007 children’s book The True Meaning of Smekday. In a conference call on Tuesday (February 25th), DreamWorksAnimation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg announced Rihanna’s new album will be based on the movie about an alien invasion and a love connection between Tucci(Rihanna) and an alien:
In addition to her starring role, Rihanna will record the score for the movie and release an original concept album with songs from the film
The film will also star Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin. This will be Rihanna’s first acting role since her appearance in This Is The End in 2013 and will mark her debut as a voice actor for an animated character. This album will also mark her fifth consecutive album release since 2009.
I don’t know what is up with rappers these days! The Game and Kanye are supposed to be cool. They have worked together in the past and all that good stuff. AND YET, that has not stopped Jayceon from opening his mouth about something that probably shouldn’t be talked about – that is if you care. But, I’m thinking Game don’t. In a recent interview with The BBC, the Compton rapper suggested that he and Kimmie K did something at McDonalds.
Here’s what he said as he denounced that he and Khloe were an item:
‘Those are just rumours,’ he told DJ Charlie Sloth on BBC Radio1Extra. ‘It’s funny man cos me and Khloe we’re cool. People don’t know, but I’ve been knowing Khloe for 12 years – you know what I’m saying? I went and dated Kim for a while. A little short while. Me and Khloe are cool.’
Past romance: The Game, pictured leaving the the BBC Radio One studios on Tuesday, said he once dated Kim Kardashian but denied romancing Khloe
‘You done a thing with Kim?’ asked Sloth.
‘A little bit. A long time ago,’ replied the 34-year-old hip hop star, real name Jayceon Terrell Taylor.
‘Adult wrestling or adult cuddles?’ Sloth persisted.
‘You know what it was. We went to McDonalds twice,’ said The Game. ‘Pulled up in a drive thru.’
When quizzed whether the romance took place before Kim’s infamous relationship with Ray-J, The Game claimed not to remember and seemed keen to distance himself from his dating past.
HMMMMMMMM…Honestly, with Kim’s track record of brothers, I wouldn’t doubt Game wasn’t appealing when he was “hot” in the streets. I’m thinking they did some “making out” and Game kept it open so that he’s not a true slime ball. So, I’m wondering if Kanye will rant about The Game like he rants about journalists, bloggers, paparazzi, Sway, Charlamagne, fashion, and midgets?
We’ll see.“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
Diddy reminds us that he’s the major shot-caller and with this Ross assisted track, it’s not hard to deny he’s a boss. You’re a lil n*gga, Gary Coleman, LOL!
