Rihanna has named Beyoncé her dream runway model for the next Savage X Fenty show.
While speaking to E! News for an interview, the musician and lingerie designer looked back on the latest fashion show she held for her brand Savage X Fenty, and laid out her dreams for the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LkGbGf4KwM
The “Umbrella” singer is no stranger to enlisting the help of A-list celebrities for her fashion shows.
Over the years, stars including Cindy Crawford, Gigi Hadid, Johnny Depp, Irina Shayk, Cara Delevingne, Taraji P Henson, Joan Smalls, Bella Poarch, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Simu Liu have modeled Rihanna’s lingerie designs on the runway.
Her latest 2022 fashion show premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 9th.
When asked whom she would love on the catwalk for Savage X Fenty next, the 34-year-old responded, “Beyoncé.”
She added, “I mean, Beyoncé got body. That would just trump everything for me.”
Rihanna, who welcomed her first child in May, is working on a maternity line in addition to her regular Savage X Fenty lingerie line.
Kanye West and Donald Trump have both been welcomed back to Twitter by new owner/CEO Elon Musk. Ye made his triumphant return on Sunday (November 20) with a simple tweet that read, “Testing, testing. Seeing if my Twitter is unblocked.”
Of course, loyal Ye fans flocked to his post and he quickly racked up over 300,000 likes. Evidently, some people were thrilled to see he’s resurfaced considering the challenging few weeks he’s endured. West has suffered numerous consequences over his antisemitic comments—from losing his billionaire status to being dropped from Adidas. Meanwhile, he remains defiant, giving multiple interviews about the controversy, although he did apologize for his inflammatory remarks about George Floyd.
As for Kanye West’s close, personal friend Donald Trump, his account was reinstated on Saturday (November 19). Musk decided to run a poll on Twitter, asking people if they wanted him back. With over 50 percent in favor, Musk tweeted Trump would be allow to use the platform again.
“The people have spoken,” he tweeted. “Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Latin for “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Trump, who recently announced his intention to run in the 2024 presidential election, was banned from Twitter following the Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021. West also plans to run again, as evidenced by the “2024” hat he wore on Drink Champs. Conspiracy theorists believe West only made the antisemitic comments in an effort to win over a portion of Trump’s followers. Whatever the case, he and Trump’s presence on Twitter is about as polarizing as it gets.
50 Cent will battle a MedSpa owner in court unless the two can reach a settlement in the coming months.
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, 50 Cent’s lawsuit against MedSpa owner Angela Kogan will head to trial in July. The 47-year-old rapper sued Kogan for allegedly implying he received penis enlargement surgery.
A Florida judge scheduled the trial for July 3, 2023. 50 Cent and Kogan must participate in mediation, which needs to be completed by March 23, 2023.
“The appearance of counsel and each party or representatives of each party with full authority to enter into a full and complete compromise and settlement is mandatory,” Judge Robert Scola informed 50 Cent and Kogan. “If insurance is involved, an adjuster with authority up to the policy limits or the most recent demand, whichever is lower, must attend. All proceedings of the mediation will be confidential and privileged.”
He added, “If mediation is not conducted, the case may be stricken from the trial calendar, and other sanctions may be imposed.”
50 Cent claimed he suffered public embarrassment from an implication he went to Kogan’s Perfection Plastic Surgery and MedSpa for penile enhancement. Kogan denied any wrongdoing, noting she never suggested the G-Unit boss underwent surgery.
Kogan criticized 50 Cent for pursuing legal action against her. She assumed his real gripe was with The Shade Room, which ran a story about penis enlargement.
The MedSpa owner was interviewed for the article, which featured a photo of her posing with 50 Cent. The Shade Room added an eggplant emoji to the picture for a social media post.
Kogan said 50 Cent received MedSpa services from her in exchange for the photo. The deal allowed her to share the image on social media.
50 Cent believed Kogan was to blame for any insinuation about him getting penis enlargement surgery. Kogan wanted the lawsuit dismissed.
“The entirety of [50 Cent’s] complaint crumbles under the truth of the matter,” her attorneys argued. “[His] embarrassment as the butt of social media jokes is one thing, but to weaponize such embarrassment for the purpose of seeking equitable and/or monetary damages from Defendants borders on abuse of process.”
Lil Durk affiliate Lamron Quan and fellow aspiring rapper KD reportedly shot and killed each other during an argument over the weekend. The incident took place in Fargo, North Dakota around 3 a.m. local time on Saturday (November 19).
According to Valley News, Fargo Police responded to a call for shots fired in the 1000 block of 15th St. N. Police say when officers got to the area, they found two decedents, both with gunshot wounds. They were later identified as Kierre “KD” Davies and Jaquan “Lamron Quan” Gatewood.
“I talked to him last night, just a couple of hours before everything happened,” KD’s childhood friend Saanjai Lobley said. “I’m just trying to figure out and we’re trying to figure out what’s going on, what happened.”
Lil Durk affiliate “Lamron Quan” & KD both killed each other in North Dakota this morning after an argument pic.twitter.com/BwOAip4oBA
Cousin Doneisa Wilson added, “I broke down and I got on my knees and I prayed and I kept praying that it wasn’t him and I kept calling his phone and he wasn’t answering and it broke my heart.”
Anyone with information is being asked to contact the Fargo Police Department. Police add this is an active criminal investigation and no further details will be released at this time.
Trey Songz has found himself in legal hot water again after a woman accused him of committing a brutal attack in an NYC bowling alley bathroom last month.
The unidentified woman claims the singer punched her repeatedly and pulled her hair during the attack. According to TMZ, NYPD sources say the alleged victim made the claims in a police report filed in late October. She also alleges she was taken to hospital where cops witnessed her visible minor injuries.
Authorities have not confirmed a possible motive for the alleged attack or the circumstances surrounding it. However, the woman is reportedly an employee of the bowling alley who recognized Trey Songz. She later identified him by name to the police following the alleged attack.
Police confirmed they opened an investigation into the alleged attack, while his attorney claimed Trey Song is the victim of another shakedown.
Trey Songz has faced several accusations of sexual impropriety from multiple women. One sued him for rape, but the lawsuit was dismissed after the statute of limitations ran out. Former UNLV basketball player Dylan Gonzalez is among the women who publicly accused the Virginia native of sexual misconduct. The singer denies the accusations.
Mitchell Schuster, Trey’s legal rep, told TMZ that Trey Song is cooperating with the investigation and expects to be vindicated.
“A source close to the investigation informs us that TS has been cooperative with authorities and expects that when all the evidence is reviewed, he will be exonerated.”
He called the claims another attempt to “blame the celebrity with hopes of getting fame or riches.”
Run The Jewels unveiled a sneak peek of their upcoming sneaker collaboration with Nike SB. On Saturday (November 19), Killer Mike and El-P shared a full-length mirror selfie of them rocking a pair of the Dunk High collabs—one with yellow laces, the other with pink. They wrote in the caption, “The rumors were true.”
Killer Mike tweeted a close-up video of the sneakers in another Twitter post that announced the drop date of April 20, 2023. The shoe features a two-tone upper black and pink upper, with jewel-styled Swooshes and yellow shoelaces in an effort to mimic the Run The Jewels logo.
“Dropping on my Born Day #420 The @runjewels X @nikesb Collab! S/O #JewelRunners Wit’e! Wait till we tell the story of how it all came to be!”
Killer Mike, El-P and Trackstar The DJ were seen wearing the shoes during a recent performance in Mexico City. The group is currently touting their new release, RTJ CU4TRO, a remix album created with Latin artists Akapellah, Baco Exu Do Blues, the Mexican Institute of Sound, Sarah La Morena, Trooko and more. Check it out below.
Lizzo has sent a fan a gorgeous gown following a viral TikTok request.
Last month, writer Aurielle Marie posted a video to the platform begging the “Juice” hitmaker to let her borrow the red tulle Giambattista Valli gown she wore to the 2022 Emmy Awards in September.
Aurielle insisted she had nothing to wear to the Out magazine’s upcoming Out100 Gala and was considering staying home.
“I know you know how it feels to be the biggest b**ch in a room, and all of the scrutiny and hyper-visibility that comes along with that because I’ve watched you talk about it,” she said. “I know you a girl for the girls, and I’m a girl and a girl, and I just need to know. I gotta ask. Can I please, please, please wear your dress from the 2022 Emmys?”
The clip quickly went viral, racking up over 500,000 views.
Aurielle returned to TikTok to share that Lizzo had sent her a dress similar to the one she sported at the Emmys – a dark red Dauxilly gown with a layered tulle skirt that she chose for the 2019 American Music Awards.
“I might’ve gotten a few tears on your dress @lizzo, my bad babe!” the 28-year-old wrote in the caption. “Words don’t suffice, and thank you isn’t enough. But THANK YOU! I’m speechless. Y’all! A b**ch is certified LIZZO SIZED!!!!!! And LOOK AT THIS GOWN! @out Magazine here i come (sic)!”
T.I. appeared to take a jab at YouTuber Charleston White last week as part of his verse on Jucee Froot’s latest single, “Step.” White and the Hustle Gang boss engaged in a contentious e-battle in October, with the dogmatic online personality saying he was going to “Trayvon Martin” Tip’s 18-year-old son at one point. A heated war of words ensued, so T.I. took his grievances to wax.
“Boy, I will drop you from a place so far from grace,” he raps on the song. “White folks will doubt you/Hey what a day/My son respond to what a f### n***a say /I end up on the internet, going back and forth with a jay/You’s a neva was, suck-a-dick-to-get-a-dub n-gga.”
White clearly heard the verse and decided to fire back with a short “diss track” (if it even qualifies) aimed at the Atlanta rapper. Clocking in a just over a minute, the track is essentially a compilation of several audio clips of White’s old T.I. commentary set to a beat. As for the video, it’s a low budget affair and shows White just dancing in front of a green screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn6Pu1KATv4
T.I. spoke to AllHipHop about the entire Charleston White saga as it was unfolding. He explained why he initially responded on his social media platforms with so much vitriol—and it really didn’t have much to do with White.
“I was just in a real dark place—and not at all because of the words of a buffoon,” he said. “Not because of that. It was the silence of the community that really hurt my feelings. For a couple reasons, one, I’m a grown man. I’m a big boy. Whatever somebody says about me, whatever happens to me is fair game. God has blessed me to be able to deal with anything that come my way.
“But it kinda just brought back all of the hurt that came with the first situation when social media was used to attack my family. Not just me. Not just T.I. But to attack my family, and it was weaponized against me for political interests.”
Shaun King and Deon Taylor were two people who ultimately did stand up for T.I. As King wrote in an Instagram post at the time: “ Some cowardly man called himself making public death threats against TI’s teenage son, King. He started targeting King and somebody else’s son for clout. I won’t even repeat the vile and violent words this shameful man put out there.”
Lette Weaver is a name you want to know. The multi-talented Houston-based artist is known for her tight lyrical flow, organic beats, and addictive melodies that she brings into the world of contemporary hip hop.
Unbound by stereotypical genre conventions, Lette is a multi-dimensional musician fascinated by the interplay between rhyme and song. Her tracks are characterized by her one-of-a-kind voice and honest storytelling, leaving listeners with something unparalleled by anything they’ve heard before.
Lette gathers inspiration from a wide range of sources – family, friends, and some of the musical greats. Lauryn Hill is among the artists Lette admires most, along with Kevin Gates, MO3, Erykah Badu, and Outkast. It’s clear from listening to Lette’s tracks that she has woven her style from a love not only of rap and hip hop, but also of the soul, R&B, and the genuine well of her own creativity.
Writing rhymes about her first-hand experiences and coming up with melodies that capture potent feelings are the core elements of Lette’s musical process. She ultimately wants her fans to not only hear her music but to feel it as well.
From there, Lette’s writing practice deepened personally and spiritually. As she grew as a person and artist, Lette felt hungry for a community to share her experiences with. She turned to social media, particularly TikTok, knowing she needed to find a way to get her music into the world.
Lette Weaver has released seven singles, including her latest release, “Patio”. This song is a unique piece of art with something special in the production sense. While many styles are used, the song still feels natural and spontaneous. All the elements appear effortlessly in sync. Contemporary rap and old-school hip-hop vibes combine to create a truly unique-of-a-kind sound.
The patio has enabled the music industry to see the lyrical prowess Lette has in her cavalry. The track engages the audience while maintaining a one-of-a-kind vibe missing in contemporary music. The lyrics used in the song are close to the artist’s life, which creates a positive and healthy relationship between the audience and Lette.
In 2023, Lette Weaver plans to release her debut EP “Hi, Nice To Meet You” on all major streaming platforms. Fans can find Lette’s music streaming on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and YouTube. You can also follow Lette Weaver on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @lettemebang.
Seleah Simone had always been industry adjacent. She always knew someone who knew someone- who would get her into A list events and parties. She obtained a bachelors in television and radio from Brooklyn College. Yet, despite networking and sending out resumes for over 4 years, she couldn’t land a job in the media.
She was smart, charismatic and even over qualified. None of this would help her land the job of her dreams as a red carpet host. It wouldn’t be until her best friend made an introduction to one of the owners of Allhiphop.com in 2015 that things would change.
Seleah knew this could be the chance she needed to finally get her foot in the door. Once on the phone with The contact, she immediately began to pitch him the idea of having a red carpet host represent the company at major events. “You guys are missing out on valuable content! This could take your company to the next level!”
The owner was very much intrigued. He wanted to give her a shot. She knew the MTV music awards was coming up and was hoping to get on the carpet. The owner agreed to apply on her behalf. One month later- Seleah was on her first red carpet.
From that experience, Seleah knew that she had to sharpen her skill of pitching. This would be the only way she would continue to land jobs in the industry. In fact- this is how she landed her gig as a producer at TMZ.
For journalists like Seleah – she suggests going to the direct source, pitching yourself and letting know why you would be a good asset to the company. See her pointers below:
Have a linkedin account. LinkeIn will notify you throughout the application process. Once you submit an application, you will receive an email or alert telling you if the application was viewed, opened and or downloaded. This gives some relief during this already sometimes stressful process.
After submitting an application- try to find a contact for the hiring manager. If you have a premium linkedin account- you can send a message directly to them. You may also come across an email from a quick google search. Send a 3-4 sentence MAX message with your resume attached and links to your work. Let them know you just submitted an application via linkedin and that you’ve also sent links to your work.
BE ON YOUR A GAME. Make sure everything is aligned on your side. Your resume looks great, all your socials are professional looking with nothing that would prohibit you from getting the job.
For more information- follow Seleah at @seleahsimone
Another company has severed times with producer-turned-rapper-turned-fashion designer Kanye West.
GAP, Adidas, Balenciaga, Vogue, his lawyers, friends, and so many more parted ways with the Def Jam artist, making his net worth drop from $6.6 billion in June to $500 million in a matter of months.
Now, one more partnership has said adios to the troubled Grammy Award-winner. Kano Computing, the company that helped the rapper develop the Stem Player debuted with the release of the artist’s “Donda” album. The Stem Player allowed listeners to customize songs— as well as listen to exclusive tracks.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Alex Klein, CEO, and co-founder of Kano, said the company decided to split because of the antisemitic language he has been spewing over the last two months.
After that, both Twitter and Instagram locked him out of his accounts. Klein, who is half Jewish, said. “[West] tried to call me racist when I gently told him that attacking a whole race of people wasn’t good for him or Stem.”
“I asked Kanye not to take the path he’s on. We’ve told him that we’re unable to work together while he’s putting out racial conspiracy theories. There’s no deal in place.”
The rapper wanted to purchase Kano but was declined because Ye wanted to exclude certain musical artists.
Klein said, “Unfortunately, Kanye didn’t want to allow other musical artists onto the platform. This was a disagreement that we had trouble resolving.”
It just keeps getting worse, and his money is getting funny. Earlier this week, it was reported that Kanye had to stop working on his $57 million home because he had to figure out his finances.
Millions of fans are disappointed after finding out that the Chris Brown tribute to Michael Jackson, scheduled for this weekend’s American Music Awards has been scrapped.
While no reason has been provided for the last-minute change, Breezy is not about to leave his fans hanging. He gave his fans a peek at what he had planned for them on his Instagram.
On Saturday, Nov. 19, the artist (and Michael Jackson fan himself) posted a video of him performing. The caption was simple and something many are saying to themselves, “U SERIOUS?”
In recognition of MJJ’s 40th Anniversary of the “Thiller” album, Chris’s planned included “Beat It,” “Wanna Be Starting Something,” “Billie Jean,” and the album’s title track.
People hopped int the comments basically saying shame on the AMAs and celebrating Chris’ commitment to the art.
Singer Sammie said, “Nahhhh this is crazy. This man’s the goat 🐐. Let Him perform. 💙🫶🏾. This was rehearsal 🔥. I’m speechless.”
Tina Davis said, “Always a great entertainer, especially at the award shows and tour dates. This has got to stop! Let this black man live!!! It’s their loss, CB! You always outshine every performer on these award shows… It would have truly been the one of the ONLY reasons for many of us to watch the AMAs!!! THEY MISSED AN EPIC MOMENT! 🙏🏾🔥🚀”
Affion Crockett said it best, “BRUHHHHH 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👑👑👑👑👑.”
Anyone familiar with Griselda is likely aware of Eastside Flip, a lovable Buffalo amputee who may or may not have a healthy appetite for crack (hey, no judgement). Flip recently appeared on the cover of Westside Gunn’s final installment of the Hitler Wears Hermes series, 10. Decked out in an orange Buffalo State sweatshirt and expensive jewelry with a lighter in hand, he’s posted up at a local convenience store looking like he’s ready to fight someone. And that could very well be the case.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkG5ySINRYs/
Speaking to AllHipHop,Westside Gunn laughed as he recalled taking Eastside Flip to Miami for Art Basal last year and the ensuing chaos that unfolded as a result.
“That’s Eastside Flip,” he explained of the album cover. “He’s been on a lot of my projects as skits. He’s my guy. He’s just the neighborhood fiend, a bit of a crackhead, but he’s a cool dude. I took him down to Miami Art Basal last year. He got arrested and everything. He hit a cop. He’s crazy. I’m actually going to see him today. He’s crazy as f### though. We shooting a video today and he’s just a loose cannon. Everybody in my whole city knows Flip.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkHvwF_Iq0g/
When asked if Flip knew about the album cover, Gunn replied, “Of course. He love it! Flip is crazy. I’m gonna be with him in a couple hours. He gonna be in the video.”
Westside Gunn was back in Buffalo getting ready to shoot a video for “Super Kick Party,” which will evidently feature an appearance from the inimitable Flip. It follows the double dose of “Mac Don’t Stop” and “Nigos Louis,” which both arrived November 16. The Griselda powerhouse is staying busy, of course, and has another project in the works called Michelle, named after his late Aunt Chelle who passed away in November 2021.
“I’m working on Michelle and the Stove Gods Cook Project, plus me and Boldy [James] about to cook up something up,” he said. “I like to curate things. I’m ready to curate a new Boldy album. I’m ready to curate a new Jay Worthy album for the West Coast. The West Coast has always been a heavy influence as well—N.W.A, Too $hort, all of that. We came from that era. I feel Jay Worthy is one of those guys who can have that run. Us getting together, is gonna be crazy. I wanna do that for the culture. Of course, me, Benny and Conway are coming. We’re coming in 2023. That’s for sure.”
Big Sean got a new name … Fans can now call him Big Poppa (sorry, Christopher, someone needs to hold your nickname)!
R&B singer Jhené Aiko and rapper Big Sean have given birth to their first child and took to social media.
She dropped the news on Instagram, ten days after the little boy was born. The caption was simple but said, “✨11/08/22✨💙Noah Hasani💙 after 24 hours of labor, a total lunar eclipse, and while it was pouring rain… he came 🥹 my baby Yoda, my Sani 💙.”
The songbird posted a picture of her in the hospital gown strapped up with her mask. Though she said the labor took an entire day, she did not look weary, but glowing as many new moms do.
In one of the pictures, the Detroit native was sitting right next to her, beaming with pride.
Sean also posted on social media. The new father wrote, “After 24 hours of Labor, A Lunar Eclipse, with rain from the beginning of labor til he was born, he’s here safe and sound. Happy, Healthy and everything we could ever ask for and more. Any and everything for you Son. 💙Noah💙 11/8/22.”
Peezy’s ex-manager, Chelsea Donini, is suing the rapper in U.S. District Court.
According to documents obtained by AllHipHop, Donini—former director of marketing and product manager at EMPIRE—”seeks redress for Defendant Peezy’s multiple contractual breaches, tortious interference, defamation, and emotional distress.”
Her attorneys, Robert Meloni and Thomas P. McCaffrey, claim she’s “fighting for her professional life” after Peezy allegedly “began his campaign to destroy it in order to avoid his contractual commitments.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClACZkkvnRe/?hl=en
Donini, a Rutgers University graduate, says the trouble began after the Team Eastside member and alleged 6 Mile Chedda Grove gang affiliate was sentenced to 18 months in prison on federal charges of racketeering and conspiracy.
During that time, Donini provided valuable advice as she worked to keep his rap career alive. Shortly before he was released from prison in February 2021, Donini says they entered into a professional agreement but around June 2022, he “inexplicably and without any basis or warning” breached their management agreement.
Simultaneously, she claims Peezy went on a “vindictive scorched earth campaign” to destroy her reputation at EMPIRE, including calling her a “dumb ass manager” on Instagram.
Furthermore, Donini alleges he also encouraged his fans and others to “further spread the lies and contacted Plaintiff’s other artists under her management in an attempt to destroy Plaintiff’s business relationships with them,” while attempting to ruin her EMPIRE relationships.
As part of Peezy’s “trash talking” campaign, he rapped about Donini allegedly stealing money from his “marketing budget” in the video for “Nipsey Blue,” rapping, “Brought you in my personal space around my kids what you do take advantage of me while I’m in the can.”
Donini is seeking damages of at least $81 million.
But as more information is being revealed the lawyers are attempting to make the case that authorities are blowing his charges out of proportion.
Lawyer Lisa Rasmussen, who is representing the rapper along with attorneys Kristina Wildeveld and Caitlyn McAmis, said,
“From first glance, it appears that the charges are overcharged.”
The attorney also declined to elaborate on why she believes the Cash Money West artist is being overcharged and what the charges she objects to are. Lastly, she instructed her client to not talk to the press about the case.
There is an alleged video of the shooting circulating. The lawyer has declined to give her opinions on it, saying she has not received a copy of the footage in discovery.
However, she does believe the evidence, once it comes out, will show her client’s charges have been inflated.
“The other thing I’d like to say is that we’re really looking forward to litigating this matter in court on behalf of our client and we think that when all of the evidence comes out in court, it will be apparent that the way he’s charged is not necessarily consistent with what appears to have actually happened,” Rasmussen remarked.
Los Angeles Music Producer, Matthew Skwaruzynski , also known as Maskibeats or Maski has been making moves in 2022. Born with a musical background, Maskibeats started playing violin in elementary school and picked up guitar and piano in middle school. He was first introduced to music production when his close friend Justin, first purchased an Akai MPC Studio in 2013 and they started making beats together on it.
After that day Maski instantly saw the potential and purchased his own MPC Studio and started mastering his craft. Since then, Maskibeats has made thousands of beats in many genres, specializing in hard-hitting Hip-Hop and Trap beats. Maski has worked with many independent artists and multiple major artists which include Kirko Bangz, Dizzy Wright, Kap G, Cashgang , Shawdi P, and Yung Lan.
In 2019 he created his team #maskigang which is a team of over 60 rappers and singers that all use his beats for their own projects and for his team albums and ciphers. Maskigang 9 is set to release on December 1st. Maskigang albums 1-8 and the Maskigang Cyphers can be listened to on all major streaming platforms now. Maskibeats is hosting its first private team concert in Los Angeles on January 6, 2022.
Mary J. Blige will release her debut children’s book “Mary Can!” in 2023.
The singer announced via Instagram that she was set to release her first children’s picture book on March 28th next year. HarperCollins is publishing the illustrated story titled “Mary Can!.”
The Grammy and Emmy award-winning entertainer penned the book, while Ashleigh Corrin illustrated it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_PvE4JhJb/?hl=en
Captioning a photo of the book’s cover art, Mary wrote, “‘Mary Can!’ is an inspirational and motivating story about a young girl who proves that anyone can make their dreams come true if they just believe in themselves. It’s such a personal story for me, based off my own experiences as a child and even as an adult.”
Blige continued to say,” I was so used to people telling me ‘no’ and that I ‘couldn’t’ which only motivated me more. My hope with this book is that it instils in kids from an early age that they can do anything they aspire to do.”
She added, “There are no limits to what they can accomplish!”
The singer reiterated her reasoning behind the book in an interview with People, saying she wants “kids to know that there are no limits to what they can accomplish” and “my nieces and nephews to feel they can achieve anything they imagine.”
Mary concluded, “Growing up, I was constantly told that my dreams were too big, too bold, and too far out of reach. I think we need to reinforce that nothing is impossible.”
Yelawolf was eating breakfast with his manager in a West Hollywood hotel on an uncharacteristically rainy Monday morning as he waited for Shooter Jennings. Relatively tall, covered in tattoos and wearing adidas x Balenciaga socks with a Harley Davidson cut, he was hard to miss; he just looked famous. Once Jennings arrived, they complemented each other like Tango complements Cash. Country yet rocking Patrick Ewing’s Death Row sneakers, Jenning’s breadth of Hip Hop knowledge rivals anyone who was born in the 1980s. Coupled with his country royalty roots (his father is the late Waylon Jennings), Jennings was born for this.
As Yelawolf’s collaborative partner, he’s helped bring out the Alabama native’s inner rock star. Of course, it had always been there. Yelawolf had a fruitful run with Eminem’s Shady Records between 2011 and 2019 but never fully embraced his singing chops like he does on Sometimes Y. Released in March via Slumerican, Yelawolf’s label, the duo’s debut is a bona fide rock album bursting with Jenning’s production genius and Yelawolf’s soaring, emotive lyrics.
“I’m proud of it,” Jennings said behind his sunglasses. “We got a lot of cool responses.” Yelawolf added, “That’s kind of his thing, to keep his finger on the pulse of reactions. I was stoked about this streams, but I’m not in tune with critics. The shows have been bananas. I always wait for that. The shows have been crazy.”
Jennings and Wolf debuted their first live show at The Rainbow in Los Angeles right around the time the album dropped. They never imagined just nine months later they’d be playing a sold-out show at The Ryman Auditorium, one of Nashville’s most iconic venues. Needless to say, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.
“A lot of people I really respect have all come forward to tell me it’s they favorite album of the year or best rock record,” Jennings said. “That definitely makes me feel great about it.”
Of course, there will always be those fans who question Yelawolf hopping from Hip Hop to country rock, but anyone familiar with his catalog will recognize he’s been singing all along.
“They’re never going to be satisfied, man,” Wolf said. “It doesn’t matter if it was another rap album, they’re not going to be happy because it wasn’t like the last one. There’s a certain kind of fan, they get stuck on a certain sound and that’s all they want. Some Hip Hop fans are not rock-and-roll fans. I am, but some of them are not. Vice versa. Some rock fans are not Hip Hop fans.”
But at the core of both is the spirit of rebellion, and both Jennings and Yelawolf embody it and understand it.
“We’re ’80s babies, one,” Yelawolf said. “When Anthrax and Public Enemy were doing records together or Aerosmith and Run-DMC, my mom’s long term boyfriend was on the Walk This Way Tour, and it was never like, ‘Hey this is Hip Hop.’ To me, it wasn’t introduced. I didn’t understand it as a genre until I was 14, 15 years old. It was always coming in through one speaker. If it was Beastie Boys or Fleetwood Mac, it was just music at that point. As you get older, you start to learn genres and what they truly are, but I think the energy has always been the same.”
Yelawolf credits André 3000 as being one of his creative muses, which makes sense when considering his chameleon-like ability to make all kinds of music.
“The most influential artist to me was André 3000 and the freedom he exhibited,” Wolf explained. “If I could just find his brand—not his sound, his freedom. You see him extending into funk, soul, rock-and-roll and all those things and doing it with no apologies. I thought, ‘Man, if I could find that.’ I appreciate so much s### and also practice it. There had to be a way for me to get that out. I can’t share all of those creative ideas through one genre. I can’t do it.”
He added, “We didn’t know what we were going to make. That’s another important point to make. When we got together, we just said, ‘Let’s do whatever the f### happens. Just let it happen.’ Nothing was planned.”
The result was the 10 tracks that wound up on Sometimes Y— and it’s about as indie as it gets.
“We did it so independent and so gorilla,” Yelawolf explained. Me and my manager just put up billboards and wheat pastes all over the world and bought spaces with QR codes, and then we promoted through our own social medias. We put our own independent push toward it. Shooter and I wanted to be choosy on how we presented our brand and our rock-and-roll because we’re snobs about it. We’re very protective of it and wanted to present it in the right way, so we were just smart about where we put our album and who we shared it with initially. It sets a tone for how it was going to be perceived.
“Don’t get me wrong, labels have some powers. There’s a lot of potential for an artist, but there’s a great potential to get suffocated by the company itself. It’s like you can’t see the forest for the trees type of deal. When you have such a small team, it’s very clear what needs to be done and there’s no one to answer to, you just do it your f###### self.”
MSNBC‘s Hip Hop-quoting anchor, Ari Melber, got a big look this year when JAY-Z turned his 11-minute dissection of the “GOD DID” verse into an official track on TIDAL called “HOV DID.” Now, Dave East has immortalized Melber in a track, as well. On Friday (November 18), the Harlem spitter dropped his new DJ Drama Gangsta Grillz collaboration, Book of David, which features the song “Eyes Can See” with Buda & Grandz. East raps in one of his verse, “On MSNBC, I got Ari with me/They book me to come out, I never party for free.”
Melber, who’s interviewed East multiple times for The Beatwith Ari Melber, was blown away by the mention and understandably relieved it wasn’t a diss.
“The best bars are facts and Dave is correct—we keep having him on MSNBC as a dope guest,” Melber tells AllHipHop. “One time he even brought his parents. It was generations of Easts and we had a blast.
“I’m thrilled to be referenced on wax—and thankful it wasn’t a diss track because I wouldn’t have the capacity to respond to that [laughs].”
Melber has a proven track record of paying homage to some of Hip Hop’s most revered artists—from Mobb Deep to Biggie. JAY-Z, in particular, was unexpectedly receptive to Melber’s brilliant on-air breakdown of the aforementioned “GOD DID” verse. Bar by bar, Melber effortlessly articulated HOV’s musings on the American drug war, corruption, discrimination, business and perseverance.
It caught the attention of Roc Nation affiliate LeBron James tweeted the clip of Melber’s detailed explanation of JAY-Z’s contribution to the DJ Khaled track and wrote: “Listen! Then listen again to make sure you got the point. HOV DID!!!!!! And so did the reporter! [GOAT] TALK.”
JAY-Z responded just hours later, firing off a rare tweet that read: “My only goal is to make the real ‘ones’ feel seen, forgive me that’s my passion talking … haa.”
Revisit it below.
My only goal is to make the real “ones” feel seen , forgive me that’s my passion talking ….. haa . https://t.co/yRzFlyie3f
