(AllHipHop News) The love is definitely in the air as Webbie has congratulated his fellow labelmate on his prison release. Today (March 7th), Webbie addressed Boosie’s recent release from prison.
Speaking with TMZ, Webbie spoke on his conversations he had with Boosie while he was incarcerated and attributed his release to a higher power:
I told Boo that God has a plan. He got my brother free.
According to the article, Webbie says that him and Boosie will be working on new music together again. The pair released two joint albums in 2003, Ghetto Stories and Gangsta Musik.
Check out one of Webbie and Boosie’s last music videos together before Boosie’s 2009 incarceration for their collaboration “Independent”:
(AllHipHop News) The highly anticipated Jimi Hendrix biopic Jimi: All Is By My Side has many fans waiting to see Andre 3000’s portrayal of the legendary guitarist. People can now catch a sneak peek of the OutKast emcee as Jimi. Two short clips from the movie have made their way to the net.
All Is By My Side was written and directed by Oscar winner John Ridley (Red Tails, 12 Years a Slave) and also stars Hayley Atwell, Imogen Poots, Ruth Negga, and Adrian Lester. The film is set to debut Wednesday, March 12th at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
(AllHipHop News) The epic battle between Jay Z and Nas will undoubtedly go down in Hip Hop history as one the culture’s greatest lyrical rivalries. While most fans know about the classic diss tracks “Takeover” and “Ether,” many may not be aware the entire situation was sparked by Jay’s right-hand man Memphis Bleek.
Bleek spoke with VladTV about the Jay-Nas battle. According to the Brooklyn rapper, he mistakenly took lines from Nas as shots at him, and his decision to respond caused everything to explode after that.
“I started that drama. I felt like I got my big homie in some s**t,” says Bleek. “Nas had did a freestyle on the [DJ] Clue tape, and my homie hit me like, ‘Yo, Nas getting at you on this joint.'”
That perceived diss led to his own song “Mind Right” going at Nas. The Queensbridge emcee then responded with another freestyle calling out the entire Roc-A-Fella crew which brought Jay into the fray.
While Bleek accepts the blame for launching the feud on wax, he believes Jay’s “Takeover” was a better record than “Ether.” When Vlad points out that he and Schoolboy Q have publicly stated they enjoyed “Takeover” more than “Ether,” Bleek agrees.
“Anybody that listens to facts would. ‘Ether’… I’m not going to say it was a bad record. It was dope, but all that s**t was just fake s**t,” states Bleek. “He didn’t say no facts in that song. That’s why I can’t hold it up there against ‘Takeover.’ ‘Takeover’ was factual.”
The longtime Jay Z associate does acknowledge his opinion on the matter is biased.
“You think you’re going to really get me to be like Nas killed my big homie. I don’t give a f**k if he did. You ain’t never going to hear that from my mouth,” adds Bleek.
Ever since I saw Miki Howard on “Unsung,” I knew there was something going on with her. She apparently had sex with Michael Jackson back in the day and now says her son B. Howard is that “Billie Jean” kid. She apparently is ready to take her claims legal with “iron clad” evidence that MJ is the pops. Sadly, MJ is dead and gone. He’s just moon walking from the grave, because not only is this guy claiming to be his son, he’s an MJ knock off too. Peep the video.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
(AllHipHop News) HBO recently announced the mixtape Catch the Throne inspired by the hit show Game of Thrones will be released. The first two tracks from the project by Wale and Big Boi have made their way to the internet.
Wale’s contribution to the 10-track free mixtape is called “King Slayer.” The song borrows its title from the nickname of one the show’s main characters – Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). It also incorporates the Game of Thrones opening theme song.
Big Boi covers “Mother of Dragons” aka Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). The OutKast member name drops several other characters from the show including Jon Snow, the Lannisters, and the White Walkers.
Catch the Throne’s tracklist is below. You can stream the entire mixtape on soundcloud.
1. Big Boi – “Mother of Dragons”
2. Magazeen – “Iron Throne”
3. Bodega Bamz – “Win or Die”
4. Kilo Kish – “Magical Reality”
5. Daddy Yankee – “Born to Rule”
6. Dominik Omega – “Arya’s Prayer”
7. Snow – “Fire”
8. Dee Goodz – “The Parallel”
9. Common – “Interlude/The Ladder”
10. Wale – “King Slayer”
Listen to Wale’s “King Slayer” and Big Boi’s “Mother of Dragons.”
(AllHipHop News) Lil Boosie is free, and the first song featuring the Louisiana rapper since leaving prison is now online. “Same Game” also features TD Mr. Fox 5 and Mandigo. The track will appear on 3rdy Baby & Muzik Fene’s upcoming mixtape Leak Squad.
Boosie also tweeted out a short Instagram vid of him recording in the studio. The message in the tweet and the caption on his manager’s IG page stated, “#TD2CH What’s understood, don’t need to be said… We comin.”
(AllHipHop News) Compton rapper YG is heading out on the 31-stop My Krazy Life tour. The shows are in support of YG’s upcoming album My Krazy Life executive produced by Jeezy. The tour will also feature California-based producer DJ Mustard.
Fans also get the chance to win a limited edition autographed My Krazy Life album canvas. To enter the contest, concert goers need to upload a copy of a pre-order receipt to their social platforms using the hashtag #MyKrazyLife or e-mail it to yg***********@***il.com.
Limited VIP meet and greet packages are also available. They include a meet and greet, an autographed copy of My Krazy Life, official Bompton merchandise and more. For more details visit www.future-beat.com.
My Krazy Life the album is scheduled for release on March 18th. Guest appearances include DJ Mustard, Jeezy, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and more. The single “My N***a” (aka “My Hitta”) has already sold over a million copies.
“It’s the world. My music is L.A.,” states YG. “I’m blessed, shout out to all my fans who copped the record and helped get it to platinum! We got many more to come!”
Boosie season is in effect. With Lil Boosie finally getting released from prison on Wednesday night, we can be sure to hear a lot more from the Louisiana rapper. After seeing footage of Boosie freestylin’ on his way home from prison, we now have a track that’s surfaced onto the net from Boosie titled “Same Game”, featuring TD Mr. Fox 5 and Mandigo. This will live on 3rdy Baby & Muzik Fene upcoming mixtape Leak Squad. Listen and download the new track below.
Knockout Nation sits down with Ron Killings, aka WWE Superstar R-Truth, to discuss how he got started in the wrestling business, his take on Blacks in wrestling and some of his favorite hip-hop peeps.
An old Polaroid of R-Truth, his fresh haircut and Eazy E.
Knockout Nation: How’d you get started in Pro Wrestling?
R-Truth: I got started by a guy named Jack Crockett. I was trying to get into the music business and he saw more than just music in me. He thought I could make a good wrestler. I was just at the point in my life where I was just pretty much ready to change the way I was living and pretty much change the direction my life was going in. I was ready for someone to put me under they wing and let me fly.
Knockout Nation: How long did it take you from beginning your training to having your first match?
R-Truth: I think I trained for six months before I had my first match. That’s not the average, some have their first match sooner, some later than that time. Each individual has their own determination of when they’re ready to get in that ring.
Knockout Nation: Being a lifelong wrestling fan, was there any particular move you saw growing up as a kid that when you started training you said “Show me how to do THAT!”
R-Truth: I was ready to to learn every aspect of doing professional wrestling. I had seen it all my life and now I was ready to just do it. And every move you see I wanted to learn how to do.
Knockout Nation: For us wrestling fans, we see it as sports entertainment. But it’s not all fun and games. For example, when you take a bump on that mat and fall down on it, it hurts. Tell how hard is it to take a bump and what does it feel like?
R-Truth: It’s like being in a car wreck when you have that first impact. As a matter of fact, when I first started training, just taking a bump, you have to learn that. There was times where you had to take 15 in a row. There were times that after I was done training I would get nosebleeds and headaches. Getting up, taking it and again, over and over again, you have to build up a tolerance to take that type of impact constantly.
R-Truth back in the day with Erick Sermon.
Knockout Nation: Now you’re not a small cat, you’re pretty swole. Does having the muscle mass that you possess help with taking that impact?
R-Truth: Shoot, not at all! (Laughing) Only thing having that extra muscle does is give you that extra bit of look good.
Knockout Nation: You grow up in what was once a wrestling hotbed, the Carolinas, where they had Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotion NWA territory. Growing up, what wrestlers were you influenced by?
R-Truth: Man, I was a huge fan Nikita Koloff, Magnum TA, and especially, Ricky Steamboat, he’s one of my favorites. Ricky Steamboat had the best arm drag in the business. He was like a maestro in the ring. His whole aspect of ring awareness and psychology, he just made it look very easy.
Knockout Nation: Besides coming out rapping your entrance music in the WWE, you have a strong passion for Hip-Hop. How did you keep your passion and continue pursing rapping despite starting a wrestling career?
R-Truth: I had a love for both. I was into music prior to wrestling. Crockett told me that since I rap, write and produce it, I should just come down to the ring to. I’ve been doing this since day one. I feel like it sets the pace and the tone. I feel music is a great way to introduce yourself to the people.
Chillin with Kid from Kid N Play.
Knockout Nation: Do you feel you’ve converted hip-hop purists into respecting you rapping ability?
R-Truth: I’ve definitely done that. You have to acknowledge “Ok, he’s on beat. Well damn, the guys is rapping pretty good. He’s not cheap.” There’s no gimmick where you see they had to put my music together.
Knockout Nation: Do you have a preference of being a heel or baby and as an African-American do you feel pressure to perform as a babyface to show a strong positive image of a black man?
R-Truth: I don’t worry about that but do understand that line of thinking. But people forget what they’re watching. We’re the biggest entertainment company in the world. And I can entertain somebody as bad guy or a good guy. If I’m a bad guy and I can make you that mad to where you want to create controversy about the fact a African-American man is playing the bad guy, I’m doing my job. As a good guy, I’m doing the same thing vice versa. I think it’s all on the individual to be their own maestro and shine within their character. Yeah, and there’s this stigma that all Blacks are supposed to be the bad guy, that’s not true. My first time debuting in the WWE, I was the good guy. Anyone complaining can join the haterade crowd.
Knockout Nation: Speaking of your in ring persona, one aspect of your character that’s been received very well by the masses is the creation of lil’ Jimmy. Where did that get the inspiration to create him?
R-Truth: That was just something I decided to call all the John Cena fans. That was all of them that wanted to go and live the straight and narrow. Those are who I consider the little Jimmy’s to me.
Knockout Nation: If you gave lil’ Jimmy a physical representation would he be: JJ from Good Times, Arnold from Diff’rent Strokes, Webster, Rudy from The Cosby Show, or Jordan from the Bernie Mac Show?
R-Truth: I’m going to say he looks like Jordan from Bernie Mac with a lil bit of JJ’s attitude from Good Times.
Knockout Nation: If you were asked to drop a hot 16 for your favorite artist who would it be?
R-Truth: How much time you got? Wayne, T.I., Wiz Khalifia, just met him. Lil boosie, Trick Daddy, Mystikal. I could go on and on.
R-Truth and Wiz Khalifa at a recent taping of WWE Monday Night Raw.
Knockout Nation: If you could do a cameo on your personal favorite rap song, what song would it be?
(AllHipHop News) Today (March 6th), T.I. releases his delayed documentary which chronicles his life and hardships, entitled Beyond The Trail.
The hour long documentary, shot by T.I.’s personal videographer/photographer Brandon “BI” Robinson contains never before seen footage of T.I. as it was originally scheduled to be released in 2011.
Check out the full T.I. documentary Beyond The Trail below:
There’s another Nikki and her name’s not Minaj. Nikki Lynette has been quietly cranking out soulful, rock-inflected jams for years. The young Chicagoan’s decidedly counter culture mantra is wholly different than the images of Chi Town that populate the news.
Well, Nikki is back and she’s got a powerful soul ballad ironically called “Disappear.”
(AllHipHop News) Jail seems to have been a great place for Boosie to hit the gym and the pen. Today (March 6th) Boosie releases the first picture and freestyle since his release from prison yesterday (March 5th).
Last night, Boosie completed his prison sentence for possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm with a controlled dangerous substance. Later that night, Boosie wasted no time to talk to his fans and sent a tweet from his personal Twitter seemingly referencing his song “Touch Down To Cause Hell”:
Boosie released his first form of original music since his release in a video recorded freestyle while in a car. Entitled “The Ride Home (Freestyle), Boosie makes references of still being a “shooter”, but acknowledges that he has to be smarter:
Still a shooter, still moving, but I got my mind right/now I’m way richer/what that mean?/I’m way bigger.
Check out both parts of Boosie’s “The Ride Home (Freestyle)”:
(AllHipHop News) Raekwon, expresses continued support for the embattled Bronx bomber, Alex Rodriguez.Recently, the once-celebrated home-run king was accosted by Chelsea Handler.
The “Chelsea Lately” star readily shared her scathing opinion of Rodriguez. She thinks he’s “a buffoon,” “a pile of sh*t,” and “hates the way he carries himself.”
The suspended slugger has been vehemently attacked for alleged use of performance-enhancing-drugs. Although plagued with controversy, Rodriguez has garnered support from his loyal supporters.
In an exclusive statement, Raekwon Expresses Support to Alex Rodriguez
“They’re trying to make him feel like he’s a bad guy. He’s proven himself to be legitimate. The Yanks are the Yanks. They’re like us [the Wu-Tang Clan]. You’re going to have stuff that happens in a team. At the end of the day. That don’t mean you still don’t love the players still, you know what I mean. You still love them, but at t the end of the day, even with everything that Alex Rodriguez is going through.”
On the Enduring Rodriguez Legacy
“At the end of the day, they still respect him. I think that’s the most important thing. Just maintaining that integrity and respect for your family based on that. If you didn’t do something, or you feel a certain way, you stand behind it. You know, that doesn’t take away from you as an athlete. You’re still a great athlete. You’re always going to hear crazy accusations. As a family and as a man, you have to go through that and stand tall.”
(AllHipHop Alternatives) R&B is one of America’s great musical genres. As the music born from jazz and blues artists like T-Bone Walker, Roy Brown, Paul Williams, and many others continues to expand to the four corners of the globe, R&B’s vibe evolves with each generation.
Rhythm & Blues has gone from the early invention of Rock & Roll in post-WWII times, the 1960’s soul of Stax and Motown Records, late 20th century New Jack Swing, and now apparently back to its rock roots. Thanks it part to the 5-piece band known as Bad Rabbits.
Bad Rabbits refer to their music as “futuristic R&B and post-rock.” It is that eclectic sound that made their debut album American Love a favorite of critics and led to appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, TheLate Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and The Arsenio Hall Show.
American Love Cover Art
The collective is made up of performers with varied cultural backgrounds. Fredua “Dua” Boakye (vocals), Sheel Davé (drums), and Santiago Araujo (guitar) are all first generation Americans whose respective families represents India, Liberia, Ghana, Italy, and Argentina. Salim Akram (guitar) and Graham Masser (bass) round out the band prepping to drop their sophomore LP this summer.
Grammy-winning songwriter/producer James Fauntleroy (Kanye West, Drake, Justin Timberlake) is contributing to the project. Bad Rabbits are now signed to Fauntleroy’s Not For Hire label. The group has also announced they are being managed by Steel Wool Entertainment’s Kevin Morrow.
Recording music is a vital part of an act’s exposure to a larger audience, but it is the live experience that forms an essential bond between a band and its fanbase. Bad Rabbits 2014 tour schedule will place the Boston-based crew in venues throughout the U.S. and Great Britain. The trek includes a set during SXSW later this month and a stop at the Roots Picnic in May. They will also appear on the Warped Tour this summer.
As Dua, Sheel, Santiago, Graham, and Salim share their R&B/Rock hybrid across continents, the band’s only goal is to present a sound that is authentic to who they are as artists.
“We’re just doing what comes naturally,” stated Sheel. “It isn’t about trying to be something we’re not. It’s about just going with the flow ultimately. We’re not forcing anything.”
State’s Attorney Angela Corey is having a very bad year.
Her office has flubbed two high-profile murder trials and now the state’s attorney announced they aim to increase Alexander’s sentence to 60 years if they win a conviction at her second trial. In her original trial, Alexander was convicted on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but in the judge decided she should serve the three counts concurrently, meaning she would be in prison for only 20 years instead of 60 years.
There are three high-profile cases in the state of Florida where a legal firearm was discharged by someone who later claimed self defense. Two of those cases, George Zimmerman and Michael Dunn, who both shot and killed unarmed black teens, resulted in acquittals on murder charges. The third is the case of Marissa Alexander, who is awaiting a retrial now with the new threat of 60 years hanging over her head.
Alexander fired a warning shot during a dispute with her estranged husband, Rico Gray, who she says threatened to kill her that day. Alexander was not permitted to use the Florida’s now infamous “Stand Your Ground” defense, and she was originally convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison under a Florida mandatory minimum sentencing statute. The jury in her original trial deliberated for 12 minutes before coming back with a conviction, but, after an appeal, Alexander was granted a retrial because of flawed jury instructions.
On the heels of the Michael Dunn verdict, which in many ways reopened the fresh wounds people of color felt after the Zimmerman acquittal, the reaction has been swift and passionate. It seems outside of the realm of what is fair and just to even consider charging Alexander with a crime that would lead to a lifetime behind bars. Even though Alexander’s warning shot didn’t hit anyone at all, to Assistant State’s Attorney Richard Mantei, this is simply Florida following sentencing laws. And the court that will hear Alexander’s retrial has ruled that if a defendant is convicted on multiple counts, then they must serve their sentences consecutively.
But to Alexander’s supporters who have followed all of the high-profile cases prosecuted by Corey’s office that have made national news, Corey appears to have a vendetta against Alexander. While Corey’s office is arguing that they are following state precedent, it’s also true that prosecutors have a huge amount of discretion and power. If Corey wanted to, she could easily conclude that three years behind bars for defending yourself from your abuser is enough and send Alexander home after this ugly ordeal and grave injustice.
