Jermaine Dupri’s father Michael Mauldin sued Bow Wow and the Black Promoters Collective for trademark infringement, among other complaints. According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, the lawsuit said Bow Wow and the promoters never received permission to use Mauldin’s trademarked name “Scream Tour” for a new tour launched in 2023.
Mauldin began using the “Scream Tour” name for live events in 2001. He recruited Bow Wow for the inaugural Scream Tour and subsequent tours. The lawsuit contended Bow Wow was “unquestionably familiar” with the Scream Tour trademark “given [his] close relationship as a client of Mr. Mauldin.”
The Black Promoters Collective and Gary Guidry’s G Squared Productions allegedly tried to trademark “Scream Tour” after promoting the Millenium Tour, which featured Bow Wow and others. Mauldin accused the promoters of doing so despite their familiarity with his brand and warnings about trademark infringement.
“Upon Mauldin Brand’s discovery of Defendants’ use of the Infringing Marks, Mauldin Brand sent some or all of the Defendants a cease and desist letter regarding their use of the Infringing Marks,” the lawsuit noted. “Despite receiving notice and having prior notice, Defendants chose to continue using the Infringing Marks and pursuing the U.S. trademark applications for the Infringing Marks.”
Bow Wow acquired an ownership stake in the Black Promoters Collective’s Scream Tour in 2023. Mauldin claimed this unauthorized Scream Tour caused problems when he tried to relaunch his Scream Tour.
“In May 2023, shortly after the United States government lifted its COVID-19 travel restrictions, Mauldin Brand hired a tour router and discussed plans for the next SCREAM TOUR™ live music performance events and tour with several entertainment and production companies,” Mauldin’s lawyer explained. “However, the Infringing Goods and Services being offered by the Defendants have sowed consumer confusion in the music industry and have disrupted Mauldin Brand’s plans for the next SCREAM TOUR™ live music performance events and tour.”
Mauldin asked a Georgia court to stop Bow Wow and the promoters from using the “Scream Tour” name. Mauldin insisted they would “cause irreparable harm, damage and injury” to his brand if the court did not intervene.
“Defendants’ unauthorized use of marks confusingly similar to the SCREAM TOUR™ Trademark has injured Mauldin Brand’s interests and will continue to do so unless immediately enjoined,” he argued. “Specifically, Defendants have damaged and threaten to damage Mauldin Brand’s rights and valuable goodwill in the SCREAM TOUR™ Trademark, and has injured and threatens to injure Mauldin Brand’s right to use and license the SCREAM TOUR™ Trademark as the exclusive indicia of origin of Mauldin Brand’s goods and services.”
Mauldin sought damages and an injunction against the defendants. He requested a trial by jury to settle the matter.
YNW Melly appeared in a Florida court for a status hearing on Wednesday (September 27). Judge John Murphy said the court still intends to begin jury selection for the rapper’s retrial on October 9, but the judge will consider the defense’s motion to dismiss the double murder case.
As AllHipHop previously reported, YNW Melly’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss his murder case due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Judge Murphy wanted to give prosecutors time to respond to the accusations.
If the motion is denied, jury selection will start as planned in October. YNW Melly’s attorney Stuart Adelstein said it will likely take weeks to seat a jury.
“We’ll be lucky to pick a jury before Thanksgiving,” Adelstein told Judge Murphy at Wednesday’s hearing.
This past summer, YNW Melly was tried for the 2018 murders of YNW Juvy and YNW Sakchaser. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Judge Murphy declared a mistrial in July.
Prosecutors quickly announced their intentions to retry YNW Melly, whose real name is Jamell Demons. The defense hoped to avoid a retrial, filing a motion for dismissal on Tuesday (September 26).
Defense attorneys accused the prosecution of withholding evidence concerning Detective Mark Moretti, the lead investigator in YNW Melly’s case. The lawyers believed the prosecution shelved an internal affairs investigation and a possible criminal investigation against Moretti to protect him as a witness in the first trial.
“The unfortunate stark reality is that the State intentionally withheld this information that would impeach Detective Moretti in order to gain a tactical advantage and to violate Mr. Demons’ due process rights as guaranteed by both the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the parallel provisions of the Florida Constitution,” defense lawyers contended.
YNW Melly remains in jail. He maintains his innocence in the murder case.
Geechi Gotti is battle rap’s real “Algorithm Boul”—despite what others say. He proved that with his lightning round against Eazy the Block Captain at the “I Do What I Want” event on Saturday (September 16) in Philadelphia. The Compton native said he was dressed in his traditional Cali garb: navy blue Dickies, a matching shiesty and some blue and gray Gucci sneaks.
“I kept it hood and classy,” he said on his recent “Eazy Come Eazy Go” episode of his No Studio’n podcast.
Geechi Gotti also talked about what happens when he gets to the venue. First, he tells a hilarious story about parking around the spot and having to pay a local to keep an eye on his car.
“We walk to the stage—ask anybody that’s in the building—I’ve been on stage like 15 minutes,” he said. “‘m just waiting. I’m like, ‘Man where the f##k are they at?’”
He says he gets mic’d up but couldn’t locate Remy Ma or Eazy. He said he was waiting 15-30 minutes before they came in.
“We sitting there. We waiting. We waiting. Next thing you know … man this that’s how … I seen it … like this … why I felt the fix was in. Man, it was like the lights went out. There’s like a spotlight,” he vividly described. “I see like aura sprinkles … all kinds of s##t.”
He continued, “Then you hear like, ‘I’m conceited, I got a reason,’” he sings, imitating Remy’s 2006 hit song “Conceited (There’s Something About Remy).”
“Her and Eazy come in doing the bop,” he recalled. “They come in like this (doing the Diddy Bop dance).” Then they started doing the “Lean Back.”
“I’m like ‘What the f##k,’” Gotti said as his co-hosts crack up at his colorful recollection of the night.
He laughed as he tells the story, saying, “All this is happening. Lights, camera, action—they both hitting their moves at the same time. Their entourage behind them doing like this (he waves his hands, still bopping). They got choreographed moves and s##t.”
The Riot owner said he couldn’t believe whathe was seeing. According to the West Coast rapper, by the time Remy and Eazy got to the stage, everything seemed normal and it was as if he was the only one that saw the event transpire like that—and he probably was.
“When the lights went out, all the people in the building couldn’t see this. Only me,” he explained. “I was the only one that could see this. It was like they blinded everyone so that I am the only one that could see. When the lights come on, they are on stage normal.”
While Gotti’s recollection might be a lot of hype, what was true is that his third round has been the talk of the town and introduced him to millions who would’ve never known his name. Outlets like Hot 97, Revolt and MTV have covered his round— with some radio stations playing it in full during their rap programming.
Chrome 23 released the video and within 24 hours, it was viewed by 541,000 people, with almost 10,000 people arguing in the comments on who won— overwhelmingly they gave the battle to Geechie Gotti.
YNW Melly filed a motion to prevent any mention or testimony suggesting that Melly owed fellow artist YNW SakChaser money in his upcoming second murder trial.
According to documents obtained by AllHipHop.com, the State is planning to present witnesses who will claim that there was an agreement between the rising rapper and YNW SakChaser “to share or split all of the money that Mr. Melly made through his musical pursuits.”
Melly’s lawyer claims that the State never offered a motive for why their client would want his friends dead in the first trial. Daniel Aaronson said that the State’s potential argument about a financial dispute between Melly and SakChaser is baseless and should not be admitted as evidence in the upcoming trial, scheduled for October 9.
The motion further elaborates that unless there’s concrete evidence, such as a “signed contract or agreement; a verbal acknowledgment by YNW Melly that he owed that money to YNW SakChaser, any reference to it would be “pure hearsay and conjecture.”
“The nature of the testimony referenced above would be brought in so that the State could argue there was motive, i.e. [YNW Melly] did not want to pay [YNW Sakchaser] the money. Before the State contends during opening statement that it will show this evidence, the Court needs to rule on the admissibility of this argument,” Aaronson explained.
The rapper has been in custody since 2019.
He stands accused of the murder of his friends, YNW Juvy and YNW SakChaser, in 2018. His trial started in June of 2023. Jurors could not reach a unanimous decision after several weeks of testimony, and as a result, Judge John Murphy declared a mistrial in July.
The artist’s legal team recently approached a Florida judge requesting to release him from jail as he awaits a retrial. This move was influenced by the judge’s earlier decision to grant a bond to YNW Bortlen, Melly’s co-defendant in the case.
YNW Bortlen believed to have assisted YNW Melly in staging a drive-by shooting to mask the murders, will be tried separately. Both YNW Melly and YNW Bortlen have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Life has changed swiftly for the Brooklyn rapper Lola Brooke over the past year. In 2022, the pint-size diva was just talking to AllHipHop.com about growing up in the County of Kings and wanting to put on for her city.
Lola Brooke has evidently made her borough proud, endearing herself to millions and earning the respect of other Brooklyn rappers such as Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, MC Lyte and even battle rap queen Babs Bunny.
Now, she’s getting some love back. Outside of the massive crowd eruption that breaks out every time she hits the stage, she’s been gifted a true monument of her success.
Amazon Music has made her its 2023 Breakthrough Artist, which comes a mural in her hometown.
Lola Brooke posted her first time going to see the wall on her Instagram for her fans. The caption read, “Thank You @amazonmusic for my mural in Brooklyn, NY ! BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST 2023. I love it here #UhUhUhUhhhh.”
When she saw it, she squealed with joy and said it was bigger than her voice. Amazon Music jumped the comment section, writing, “Our queen #uhuhuhuh.”
A fan replied to them, “@amazonmusic Brooklyn’s queen too make way queen Lola has arrived New York hottest artist right now song is on fire from queens to Brooklyn.”
Now she joins the ranks of other Brooklyn rap legends like Biggie, Big Daddy Kane and Pop Smoke with her own dedicated art. The mural is located at 111 N. 12 Street in Brooklyn.
A total of 15 to 20 teens were reportedly arrested on Tuesday (September 25) after a judge dismissed a murder charge leveled against the ex-Philadelphia police officer who fatally shot a 27-year-old motorist. The former cop, Mark Dial, shot the Hispanic man through a rolled-up window.
Per WHYY, Dial shot and killed Eddie Irizarry during a traffic stop in Kensington on August 14. Body camera footage revealed the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) fatally shot Irizarry within five seconds of arriving at the scene, contradicting initial police statements.
Police claimed Irizarry had a knife near his right leg and posed a potential threat to their colleague. However, video evidence disproved the initial assertion that he had lunged at them. Judge Wendy Pew dismissed all charges against Dial after his attorneys argued he acted in self-defense.
Following this decision, hundreds participated in a peaceful protest on the streets but later that night, chaos erupted. The Philadelphia Police Department said around 8 p.m. ET, a group of people tore up Center City and looted stores like Foot Locker, Lululemon and the Apple store. Nearly two dozen teens were arrested in addition to at least one adult. Officers confiscated two firearms during the melee.
Police described the looting at the Chestnut Street Foot Locker as a “coordinated attack” by a “group of males dressed in black attire and wearing masks.”
The police arrested people who robbed the Foot Locker and Lululemon but haven’t found the people who got away with robbing the Walnut Street Apple store. They were able to get away with stealing multiple tablets and phones according to the police.
“We are actively investigating these incidents and working diligently to identify and apprehend those responsible for these unlawful acts,” the Philadelphia Police Department said in the press release.
Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford made clear at a press conference that the looting and the protest were not connected, no matter what people suggest.
“What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation and make an attempt to destroy our city,” he said.
Kanye West and Dr. Dre’s collaborative album, Jesus Is King II, leaked on Tuesday (September 26), giving fans an early listen to some of the embattled artist’s latest music. But Fredwreck, who rose to prominence as a producer for Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle Records, apparently thinks the leak was 100 percent intentional. Hours after the project started making the rounds online, the 51-year-old beatsmith shared a post on Twitter that read, “Kanye is a 5150 psychotic double crossing leaking b####!” He added a pill emoji as if to suggest West either needs to be medicated or is on drugs.
Someone added in the comment section: “AND GETTING WORSE. He is the Plague Lil bro. He impossible to work with. And will Switch out in heartbeat.” Others were wondering if Fredwreck’s account had been hacked but as of Wednesday morning (September 27), the tweet remains.
Kanye is a 5150 psychotic double crossing leaking b####! 💊
If Fredwreck truly does feel this way, it’s not that surprising. Kanye West has been ruffling feathers for years. More recently, West was labeled an anti-Semite for comments he made both on social media and during an interview with InfoWars host Alex Jones. He also sat down for an interview with Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes last December in which he continued to share his offensive opinions, including his belief that Jewish people should forgive Adolf Hitler.
“Jewish people can’t tell me who I can love and who I can’t love,” ‘Ye said. “You can’t say, you can’t force your pain on everyone else. Jewish people, forgive Hitler today. Let it go.”
Less than a week prior, West declared he “liked Hitler” during his InfoWars appearance. West’s conversation with McInnes featured numerous anti-Semitic comments, gripes about pornography and bizarre conspiracy theories. More recently, he’s been parading his new wife Bianca Censori around Italy nearly naked, which has garnered international scrutiny.
Blac Youngsta recently found himself the butt of online jokes. The Memphis-raised rapper’s slip-up during GloRilla’s concert set even drew the attention of 50 Cent.
While performing with GloRilla in Florida, Blac Youngsta fell in front of a live audience. He immediately tried to play off the stumble by rolling around on the stage but continued to rap the words to the song.
50 Cent, an A-lister known to troll on social media, saw Blac Youngsta’s mishap at the show. Instead of joining in on the jokes by other internet users, the G-Unit founder praised the Heavy Camp recording artist.
“Now this is what I call showmanship,” he wrote. “@blacyoungsta stayed in performance mode and kept the show rocking. LOL.”
Over the past five years, Blac Youngsta has become an established rapper with successful singles such as “Booty” and “Hip Hopper” featuring Lil Yachty. Both of those tracks earned gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Blac Youngsta also released his Blac Sheep 2 project on August 29. Previously, the Yo Gotti protégé made it onto the Billboard 200 chart with 2018’s 223, 2018’s F### Everybody 2, 2019’s Church on Sunday, 2020’s F### Everybody 3 and 2020’s Code Red with Moneybagg Yo.
Russell “Block” Spencer has deep-rooted connections in the music industry, spanning from the Dirty South to the West Coast to NYC. This industry veteran’s extensive career includes stints with 2Pac and the Outlawz, Suave House, Noontime Music, Sho-nuff Records, and Bad Boy South.
A decade ago, Spencer launched his own venture, Block Entertainment, and he’s now in the process of rejuvenating his label with a fresh vision – “Rebuilding Hip-Hop Block By Block.” This motto also serves as the title of an upcoming musical project from his company, which is home to artists like Gorilla Zoe, Kris Kelli, 48 Slim, Retro Tha Kid, and more.
Block is on a mission to reshape the landscape of Hip Hop culture, with a particular focus on nurturing the next generation of emerging talents. With a track record that includes helping kickstart the careers of artists such as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Yung Joc, and Ciara, Spencer possesses the insider knowledge required to identify future industry stars.
Spencer himself reflects on his journey, saying, “Noontime taught me how to craft a record, Suave House taught me how to nurture an artist, and Pac taught me the importance of relentless dedication to the grind.”
AllHipHop.com delved deeper into Russell “Block” Spencer’s insights, discussing his company’s new social media campaign, upcoming projects, collaborations with a renowned actor-turned-singer, his role in shaping the next generation of music industry leaders, and much more.
AllHipHop: First of all, tell people a little bit about yourself and how you came to this place today.
Big Block: Initially, I was… You know, I did a bid, and I… because I was raised in Atlanta, back and forth to LA, Watts, and I’ve always had an idea and a concept to do a rap group called Boyz N Da Hood.
And that’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to get out. You know what I’m saying? I get into the hustle and then do that group, and I was just going to retire. But coming through the music business, through Tupac and the Outlawz, to running Suave House, to running Noontime, which was a big production company. And then creating Sho’Nuff Records, me and Jazze Pha, which we founded Ciara and Jody Breeze. And I ended up signing Jeezy with Boyz N Da Hood, and then Jody, Big Gee, Big Duke with Boyz N Da Hood. And Jacquees, Gorilla Zoe, Yung Joc.
AllHipHop: It makes sense now, because when Boyz N Da Hood came out, I was like, Boyz N Da Hood? It’s Atlanta, why are they calling themselves that? It didn’t make sense at the time, but you had-
Big Block: Yeah. My pops would watch… Since I went back and forth, so I got that culture in me too. You know what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: Now how did that go? Because at that time, to give people perspective, Jeezy was probably the hottest in the streets, so to speak.
I mean, as far as we were concerned, from the outside. And then he’s also got this situation with Def Jam and Diddy. Diddy’s in the mix, at that time. And that deal was with Bad Boy.
AllHipHop: But how did you get Jeezy to even do this project?
Big Block: Well, I managed Jazze Pha, so Noonie had the record business side, I had the street side.
So every time Jazze would do some records for the street, they call me. So Meech called me and said, “Hey, I got an artist that I want Jazze Pha to produce.” So when he pulled up, I was working on Boyz N Da Hood. And at that time, me and Trick Daddy was doing it. Yeah, yeah. Trick Daddy initially was one of the guys that I partnered with to do Boyz N Da Hood. Because at first, it was going to be like, a supergroup. It was going to be Trick Daddy, Sean Paul from Youngbloodz, T.I. and Jody.
AllHipHop: Wow.
Big Block: But I was like, that’s a supergroup. People going to come back and say, “Oh, anybody could have done that,” so I said, “No. Let’s do some raw cats.” So when Jeezy pulled up and I asked him then, like, do you want to be part of the group, he said yeah.
So it went from there. Because at that time, a lot of people weren’t dealing with the real street music in Atlanta. Radio wasn’t playing nobody, all that. So I was in with Puff, and that’s how that went.
AllHipHop: How did you get down with Puff? Because that was kind of odd too. For me at least.
Big Block: Well, coming through the whole Pac and Outlawz situation… because I was family with Pac and them family. I was family.
AllHipHop: We’re going to get there. We’re going to get there.
Big Block: Yeah. Because a lot of people like to ride the name and drop the name, but I was strictly family with Pac and I was just a person that was just there and I did what I had to do. But Kim Porter, she… When I met Kim, and Kim… Kim used to come around Kim heard the songs, and she gave it to Puff.
AllHipHop: Oh, okay.
Big Block: And then Puff was like, “Man, let’s go.” But Dr. Dre was on it, and I was going to take it to Dre at first, but Puff didn’t have nothing. And I just felt like that’s better for me.
AllHipHop: Yeah. I like how you’re casually throwing names out there, like Dr. Dre. You know what I mean?
Big Block: Just the truth.
AllHipHop: Definitely. So Boyz N Da Hood, it kind of fizzled quick. Why did that happen? Is it because Jeezy left or is it because-
Big Block: Well, see, a lot of people think Jeezy left. Jeezy didn’t leave. It was like, when I did the deal, it was supposed to been like Menudo, like when one make it, then I bring another one.
And then the person that make it can come back and just help the next dude I bring in. That’s what happened. Jeezy was on the side for two deals. Two albums. It was supposed to be the first album and then the album at the end of… If I do 10 albums, and then everybody come back and do the album.
AllHipHop: Right.
Big Block: So Jeezy was on the side, really, for one album. Yeah. So he didn’t leave. But what happened, him and Jody Breeze, they didn’t get along.
AllHipHop: Okay. Got you.
Big Block: I wish now, I would have just told both of them just go do a one in the back, get that s### over with. You’re f###### up my money.
AllHipHop: Jody Breeze was a star at that time too, like-
Big Block: Man, man, Jody still the star.
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Big Block: Hey, man, I got Jody too now.
AllHipHop: Yeah?
Big Block: I said, “We’ll be back.” Yeah.
AllHipHop: Okay. Yeah. I liked him a lot. I liked him a lot.
Big Block: Yeah, Jody the man.
AllHipHop: So talk about your relationship with the Shakur family and Tupac and things like that, because that’s something I really didn’t know at first.
Big Block: Yeah. I mean, that’s how I got in the music business. I was introduced to Pac through his sister. I had a great relationship with his sister, and then I was just around. And I was just blessed enough to be around the family to see things and… You know what I’m saying? Like go in the studio and just see things, and kind of learn the business.
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Big Block: Just sit aside.
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Big Block: And then I ended up meeting Tony Draper. One love to Greg Street, because Greg Street got some…And then Draper put me in position and that’s when I signed Ross. I took Rick Ross over there to Draper, and then once-
AllHipHop: You had the jersey Ross, with the jerseys on and all.
Big Block: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, you know I had Ross when he was Teflon Don. Yeah. So when Draper walked away from the game, then me and Greg Street took him to Ted down at Slip-N-Slide, and then Ted took him to Jay.
AllHipHop: Got you.
Big Block: Yeah, well that s### took us 10 years. From ’96 to ’05, ’06.
AllHipHop: Yeah. People don’t know that. That-
Big Block: Yeah, this s### take time, man.
AllHipHop: Yeah. Definitely do. Did you learn anything from Tupac? Did he-
Big Block: Man, you know what I learned, man? Stay in the studio and work, man. End up setting yourself. You know what I’m saying? Everything spiritual, man.
The fallout from a controversial segment on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta continues. Erica Mena had a lot to say about the show presenting a panel discussion on colorism and racism.
Mena faced significant backlash for calling Spice a “f###ing blue monkey” during one scene, which is considered a racist/colorist slur against Black people. Love & Hip Hop later fired Mena.
“I deeply regret my insensitive comment and want to humbly apologize to anybody I hurt or offended by my thoughtlessness,” Mena said after losing her job. “My choice of words was wrong, and I take full responsibility for what I said.”
She also offered, “As a woman of color and the mother of two Black children, I want to make it clear that my use of that word was not in any way racially driven.”
Love & Hip Hop and the Color of Change racial justice organization presented a program titled Love & Hip Hop Atlanta: Racism, Colorism, and the Uncomfortable Truth, which debuted on September 26. Love & Hip Hop alumni Spice, Yandy Smith, Yung Joc, Scrappy, Rasheeda and others appeared on the special.
In response to the announcement of Racism, Colorism, and the Uncomfortable Truth, Erica Mena shared a lengthy message on Instagram. She commented under the Love & Hip Hop/Color of Change post about the nearly one-hour roundtable discussion.
Mena wrote:
“I think it’s absolutely fair that I speak under this post. Especially because I was indeed filming nonstop for seven months after the actual incident between me and that other individual happened. The network chose to still film with me nonstop which is why I was used as the base storyline for the whole second half of this actual season. They had this footage for months. They chose to [edit] it how they wanted and aired it. It’s only now they are desperate trying to save face and using me to so. If I’m being used to set an example why was I not [a part] of this ’round table’ discussion? Why are they so desperate to film nonstop right now to make up for everything I shot that they can’t use now? Desperate to save face but true and only reason a statement was even made by the network was because [of] the backlash. Not because they truly believed what I said was a racial slur.
“The fact that they’re now making a mockery of the situation by using individuals who have indeed said things just as bad. Messy Yandy herself in 2015 at Hot 97 on air called me “an ass monkey“ – to try and save face for this network’s sponsors is pathetic. If you really wanted to save face why not have the two women who are just as wrong in that scene have this conversation since now this network feels it needs to be had. I gave this franchise 13 plus years and now they need to save face so they are gonna wear my name out on this to make up for their f### up. The sad truth in all of this – this franchise has always depicted us as zoo animals anyway. Sending so much love to my supporters. I love y’all.”
For some Hip-Hop fans, Eminem is one of the greatest rappers of all time. However, California native Symba has made a bold declaration about the Detroit-bred MC.
Symba recently joined “The Great Debate” panel at the Revolt World Festival in Atlanta. Fellow rappers Trina and Tierra Whack as well as Hip-Hop journalists Rob Markman and Brian “B. Dot” Miller also took part in the conversation.
At one point, “The Great Debate” discussion turned to Eminem’s ability as a writer and his legacy in Hip-Hop history. Symba didn’t hold back in sharing his opinions on the 15x-Grammy Award winner.
“I respect Eminem on a level as a man, but as a rapper, I feel like I can name five better rappers,” Symba said. After Tierra Whack asked if he was better than The Marshall Mathers LP album creator, Symba replied, “Yes.”
As members of the audience heckled Symba, the “Hell Of A Feeling” performer stated, “Anybody can rhyme words, what are you saying?” He then added, “The girl [in the crowd] that’s yelling, rap me an Eminem verse…she got quiet.”
Symba may not view Eminem as one of the all-time Top 5 rappers, but he’s shown respect to Em’s mentor. Last year, the West Coast lyricist talked about learning from production legend Dr. Dre.
“I went over there and then I had played [“Never End Up Broke, Pt. 2″] for him,” Symba said in an interview with Apple Music 1. “And you know Dre, he just got that ear.”
The Atlantic Records signee added, “He starts tweaking things and [suggests], ‘You should do this. You should say it like this. Turn this. Make this verse better. Do this.’ So I went back in on the song, dialed up, and made it a little better.”
Eminem has worked extensively with Dr. Dre throughout his career. The two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers collaborated on tracks such as “Guilty Conscience,”“Forget About Dre” and “I Need A Doctor”. They both won an Emmy Award for 2022’s Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
Rap Sh!t Season 2: The Mixtape hosts Sexyy Red’s “No Panties” single. Produced by Breed, the track continues the St. Louis-raised rapper’s run of sexually explicit musical content.
“I’m happy that I got to work on ‘No Panties’ for Rap Sh!t,” Sexyy Red said. “It’s just me having fun on the beat and talking my s###. It’s just like the show: the rap girls running this s###.”
Sexyy Red broke out earlier this year thanks to “Pound Town” with Tay Keith. Rap superstar Nicki Minaj hopped on a remix titled “Pound Town 2” in May. Red scored another hit with “SkeeYee” off her Hood Hottest Princess mixtape.
The forthcoming Rap Sh!t soundtrack will feature the program’s lead stars, Aida Osman (Shawna Clark) and KaMillion (Mia Knight). Rico Nasty, Kaliii, Maiya The Don, Enchanting and Cam & China also contributed to the project.
Rap Sh!t Season 2: The Mixtape is scheduled to arrive on Friday (November 3). Issa Rae’s Miami-set television series returns to the HBO Max streaming service on November 9. Season 1 launched in July 2022.
Social media personality Bobbi Althoff sat down with Hip-Hop artist Offset. A clip from the upcoming The Really Good Podcast episode spread across the internet this week.
“I honestly don’t know how this came about, I’m not gonna lie to you,” Bobbi Althoff told Offset. “My team could have reached out to yours. I don’t want to make you look bad.”
The Georgia-raised rapper eventually fired back, “I had to go on TikTok, I couldn’t even Google you. I had to TikTok search. I couldn’t Google you. Google’s not there yet. You’re not there yet. But you’ll be there.”
Some social media users expressed frustration with Bobbi Althoff getting the opportunity to interview several rap stars. Previously, the TikTok content creator spoke with Drake, Lil Yachty, Tyga, and Armani White.
Sports journalist Jemele Hill is also among the people who take issue with Althoff interviewing prominent Hip-Hop figures like Offset. Earlier this week, the former ESPN contributor voiced her concerns on the X platform.
“I don’t find these types of interviews particularly enjoyable or interesting. Instead it just sadly points out how real Hip-Hop journalism has been practically erased,” posted Jemele Hill.
She continued, “Some of the media teams behind these artists aren’t interested in them sitting down with credible people who know how to tell stories and do quality interviews. Then they wonder why an artist’s real story goes untold, neglected or that artist is misunderstood.”
I don’t find these types of interviews particularly enjoyable or interesting. Instead it just sadly points out how real hip hop journalism has been practically erased. Some of the media teams behind these artists aren’t interested in them sitting down with credible people who… https://t.co/l1jaaWjj7R
50 Cent is so “powerful and strong” that a co-star ended up with a disclosed finger after one of Fiddy’s stunts went awry during filming for The Expendables 4.
The movie’s stunt coordinator, Alan Ng, opened up about the multihyphenate rapper, actor and TV executive during a recent interview, revealing that Fiddy was a natural.
“50 Cent is very powerful and strong so that made it very easy to work with him,’ Ng told Pop Culture.
The experienced director and stunt coordinator explained how he played to the G-unit founder’s strengths to prepare him for his role in the action movie, which features some of the genre’s mainstays, including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture.
Ng recalled filming a stunt with 50 Cent, which resulted in an injured castmate.
“50 Cent is very powerful and strong, so he like a tank,” NG shared. “He was actually so strong that in one of the scenes, he was supposed to barge into a stunt performer and his strength resulted in the guy going flying and dislocated his finger.”
Thankfully, 50 Cent didn’t do too much damage. “The guy and his finger are ok now of course,” NG said.
Check out 50 Cent in action in The Expendables 4 trailer below.
The Hip-Hop mogul proved he can troll himself, sharing the movie poster earlier this year.
“WTF did we run out of money? Why my head look like it ain’t connected to my body,” he penned alongside the image back in March. “I bet they are gonna make [Sylvester Stallone] look great. SMH.”
Chrisean Rock is threatening to take legal action and press charges against Blueface after he posted a photo of their newborn son’s genitals on social media.
The “Thotiana” hitmaker shared the image on social media earlier this week after accusing the reality TV starlet of missing appointments for their baby’s hernia surgery.
On Tuesday (September 26), Chrisean Rock addressed the incident during an Instagram Live and revealed she plans to press charges.
“Y’all right. This is what I get,” Rock stated. “Because I gave a n###a the benefit of the doubt to be a dad, to also just expose his son for pleasure. What do you think people gon’ do with that picture?…It’s our son, but you treating it like it’s my son. If it was your son, I wouldn’t think you would post your son penis like that. Then you think it ain’t gon’ get serious. Bro, you’re going to go to jail.”
She continued: “And I’m pressing charges. Yea, I’m doing all that, bro. I don’t need no money, no child support, but I’m pressing charges. You wanna play this police game, OK.”
Chrisean Rock reveals she’s now pressing charges on Blueface for sharing explicit pictures of their son. pic.twitter.com/A5aopnLlH9
Although Blueface initially said he shared the image and exposed his son’s medical issue to trigger Chrisean Rock into taking action, Blueface changed his tune the following day amid social media backlash. He deleted many of his posts and claimed somebody hacked his account.
“My phone was stolen yesterday I just got a new one guys,” he claimed on Tuesday. “Im back my twitter was hacked.”
Drake brought out Bow Wow for the second night of his It’s All A Blur tour stops in Atlanta on Tuesday night (September 26). Bow Wow joined forces with the OVO founder at the State Farm Arena much to the crowd’s surprise.
Drake has frequently shown love to Bow Wow for paving the way. “When you were younger, you wanted to be as big as Bow Wow was,” he told Nardwuar in 2016. “All the girls wanted Bow Wow.”
The “Rich Flex” hitmaker also paid tribute to Bow Wow when celebrating a historic Billboard Hot 100 treble back in 2021. He took to Instagram with a video of him and the Fast and the Furious star toasting his win.
“I didn’t know how else to bring in 1, 2, 3. I had to link with Wizzle,” he said. “Everybody wants to have drinks and everybody wants to celebrate and turn up, I just had to see Wizzle. I had to see Wizzle in person.”
Drake credited Bow Wow for opening doors for him while quoting lyrics from his 2001 hit “Thank You.” “If it wasn’t for you, there wouldn’t be no me,” Drake declared. “That’s why I’ma rock with y’all forever more. I appreciate y’all.”
A day before walking out with Drake, Bow Wow took to Instagram to call out an unnamed detractor he claimed has always been jealous of him.
“Ayo bro u a clown!” he penned on Monday (September 25). “Don’t come to my city and DM my DJ asking him what’s crackn in the city! You hit me! Now I know where we stand. You always been jealous of me.”
Chloe Bailey has revealed her celebrity crush but refuses to shoot her shot in case she blocks her blessings.
The R&B songstress opened up about a man she’s had her eye on for “years,” during an upcoming interview on Apple Music’s “The Dotty Show.”
“I’ll say it. Michael B. Jordan,” Chloe admitted in a snippet shared earlier this week. “That’s my celebrity crush. I’ve been said that in interviews even like years ago.” However, when asked if she’s told the Creed star how she feels, Chloe confirmed that she has no intention of doing so.
“No. I don’t shoot my shot,” she added. When quizzed over her decision, Chloe Bailey said she was worried she might block her blessings and refused to reach out to him.
“God will bring my blessings to me when they’re supposed to be here. When we try to force it, we could block other blessings.”
As for what it is about Michael B. Jordan she likes so much, Chloe didn’t say but instead began blushing and exploded in a fit of giggles. “That’s crazy,” the host declared. Check out the clip below.
While some fans on social media urged Chloe Bailey to reach out to her crush, others claimed she would be breaking girl code as she’s friends with Michael B. Jordan’s ex, Lori Harvey.
In an interesting twist, Bailey made headlines for her steamy sex scene in Amazon Prime Video’s series Swarm earlier this year with Harvey’s current boyfriend, Damson Idris.
Nick Cannon believes he wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Mariah Carey.
The Masked Singer host credits his ex-wife with saving his life after he received his “life-changing” Lupus diagnosis.
During a recent appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast, he recalled how Carey raised the alarm after he passed out one day after returning home for a jog and how “perfect” she was during his time in hospital.
“Mariah came in and found me,” Nick Cannon explained. “And they rushed me to the ER in Aspen.” Medics initially believed he could have been suffering from altitude sickness and later considered a kidney stone might be the cause. However, they diagnosed him with Lupus once they realized his immune system was attacking his kidneys.
“I had caught it early enough to where my kidneys didn’t completely fail,” Cannon shared. “Then they found out the reason why is that my immune system was attacking my kidneys.”
The father of 12, who shares twins Moroccan and Monroe with Mariah Carey, paid tribute to the superstar songstress for saving his life.
Nick Cannon Says Mariah Carey Was His Rock
“[Mariah] was my rock man,” Cannon continued. “She went hard. I’ll be honest, probably wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for how hard she went with the doctors with me, my stubbornness. She was the perfect helpmate, the perfect matriarch, the perfect mom, the perfect wife in those scenarios.”
However, he believes that while the situation brought them closer, it also strained their relationship.
“Because granted, she’s who she is in dealing with all the pressures of being Mariah Carey, but then being loving enough to take on all of my stuff,” he added. “And it probably took a toll on us just because of the person I was in my head and the struggles that I was dealing with. So it probably took a toll on our relationship, but it definitely brought us closer together.”
J. Cole received permission to share a letter written by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who asked the New York Jets for an opportunity to join the team’s practice squad. Kaepernick reached out to the Jets after star quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury.
“I asked Colin @kaepernick7 if I could share this letter with the world,” J. Cole wrote on Instagram. “He was reluctant. My argument was that I believe the people and all organizations should know the truth about how hard he works and how much he still wants to play. And always has. In the end, he agreed to let me.”
J. Cole added, “I wish the @nyjets organization luck. My boy @bas is a big ass fan so I saw the heartbreak of every Jets fan when Arod went down @richeisen Everyone from players, to coaches, to execs are feeling the pressure I’m sure. I hope y’all can turn it around, and I hope there’s a spot out there for my boy Kap. PEACE.”
Kaepernick pitched himself to the Jets as a “risk-free contingency plan” at quarterback. Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016. He was seemingly blackballed for protesting racial injustice by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem at NFL games.
J. Cole has been an avid supporter of Kaepernick since the kneeling protest. J. Cole wore a Kaepernick jersey for a 2016 performance after the former San Francisco 49ers player faced backlash for the protest.
Ice Cube has announced a new solo album called Man Down. Speaking to Chuck D’sRAPstation, the rap juggernaut revealed he’s only two weeks away from finishing the project. It would mark his first full-length solo release since 2018’s Everythang’s Corrupt. As he explained, “I’m working on an album that hopefully I can finish in next couple of weeks and schedule to put it out and yeah, I’m digging what I’m doing. The name of the record is called Man Down and, you know, it’s a pretty good record. It like it. It’s dope.”
Cube is getting ready to perform with Ja Rule and Ashanti in his hometown of Los Angeles on Friday (September 29) as part of KDAY’s 40th anniversary celebration. Cube tweeted about it on Monday night (September 25), writing, “Ya homeboy is coming home in only 4 days. Roll through and rock with me, Ja Rule and Ashanti.” He also included a link to further tour dates, which includes a show with Tha Dogg Pound, DJ Quik, Suga Free, Rodney O and Joe Cooley the following day in Stockton.
In addition to albums with N.W.A, Ice Cube has released 10 solo efforts throughout the course of his career, including 1990’s Amerikkka’s Most Wanted and 1992’s The Predator. Even with all of his success, he remains down-to-earth and grateful for a career that’s given him so much.
“It’s a blessing, really,” he said. “For one, I made a promise to myself when I got in this business that I wouldn’t let it change who I am as a person, so I was always willing to let the chips fall where they may and and not worry about ‘I can’t do this or my career will be over’ or ‘if I do this, will this happen?’ When you broke when you’re starting off, going back to being broke is not an issue. That’s not motivation, like ‘I’m going to be broke again, let me bow down to this b#######.’ No.”
Ice Cube, Too $hort, Snoop Dogg and E-40, collectively known as Mount Westmore, released their debut album, Snoop Cube 40 $hort, last December. Originally titled Bad MFs, the project produced singles like “Big Subwoofer” and “Too Big” featuring P-Lo. It peaked at No. 188 on the Billboard 200—not that they care about chart positions at this point in the careers. The project was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic and is clearly a passion project by four certified OGs with nothing to prove.
