What a week: July 11, 2015 – July 17, 2015 could go down as one of the wildest weeks in Hip Hop history. Headlines ranged from rappers losing their lives to a 9-figure mogul filing for bankruptcy to reports a label head conspired to kill his own artist.
AllHipHop.com curated a timeline of the monumental turn of events that took place over the last seven days. Check out the huge Hip Hop news stories that broke during that period below.
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July 11, 2015
The saying goes, “all is fair in love and war.” A jury disagreed with that adage when it came to 50 Cent’s decision to use a sex tape of Lastonia Leviston during his beef with Rick Ross. Leviston was awarded $5 million plus additional punitive damages after winning her mental and emotional distress lawsuit against the Queens native.
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July 11, 2015
The violence in Chicago has consumed way too many lives. One of the latest young people to fall victim to the bloodshed is 22-year-old Glo Gang rapper Marvin “Capo” Carr. The close associate of Chief Keef was gunned down on a South Side street. The incident also caused the death of 1-year-old Dillan Harri.
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July 11, 2015
Hip Hop also lost rapper Hussein Fatal. The Outlawz member (born Bruce Edward Washington) died from a car accident in Gainesville, Georgia. The woman driving the vehicle was arrested for DUI and vehicular homicide. Hussein appeared on 2Pac’s classic 1996 album All Eyez on Me.
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July 12, 2015
And yet another Hip Hop figure lost his life over the past week. Joe Robinson, Jr. of the legendary Sugar Hill Records died from complications from an undisclosed form of cancer. Sugar Hill Records was responsible for the release of The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” – a track that’s considered to be rap music’s first commercial hit record.
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July 12, 2015
Action Bronson has faced comparisons to Ghostface Killah his entire career. Even the Wu-Tang Clan representative admitted mistaking Bronson for himself. But when AB took a slight shot at Ghostface on ESPN’s SportsNation, many Hip Hop heads were offended on Ghost’s behalf. Bronson later clarified Ghostface is his idol, and he was influenced by the man also known as Tony Starks.
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July 13, 2015
Last week Meek Mill had issues with Joe Budden. This week the MMG star aimed at an even higher target – billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump. The real estate magnate declared he would kick escaped drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s ass. Meek then warned Trump not to rumble with the head of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel organized crime syndicate. Trump eventually informed the FBI he was supposedly being threatened by El Chapo. Guess Meek was right.
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July 13, 2015
They were once “father & son.” Now Lil Wayne and Birdman are no longer looking like family. Wayne’s demand to be let go from Cash Money Records led to months of back-and-forth in the media. The situation came to a head when Birdman (or someone in his camp) launched a drink at Weezy while he was performing at Liv nightclub. But that was only the beginning of multiple negative headlines featuring the former partners. [see below]
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July 13, 2015
With an estimated net worth of $155 million, 50 Cent is one of the richest men in Hip Hop history. That’s why it came as a huge surprise for many people when it was revealed 5-0 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But don’t feel too bad for the G-Unit boss just yet. As bankruptcy attorney Mark Markus points out, filing for Chapter 11 does not mean 50 is broke.
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July 13, 2015
Any true Hip Hop fan knows the story of Nas and Carmen Bryan. The mother of Esco’s daughter Destiny was caught up in the Nas-Jay Z feud, and she later released a tell-all book about her affairs with the NYC Hip Hop kings. Fast forward to July 2015, and word on the street is Carmen’s struggling after those child support checks stopped coming.
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July 13, 2015
You probably have not truly made it as a superstar entertainer until someone files a major lawsuit against you. Welcome to the club Kendrick. The TDE rapper was hit with a suit from Giordano Cipriani. The photographer claims K. Dot used his photo in the artwork for “The Blacker The Berry” without permission. Cipriani wants $100K for every time the image was used.
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July 14, 2015
For the most part Atlanta rappers have avoided publicly beefing among themselves. That definitely changed when OG Maco called out Future in a tweet. The 2015 XXL Freshman wrote his ATL peer “destroyed countless lives by making it cool to be a drug addict.” Of course, Future fired back saying Maco needs to start rapping bible verses. The two apparently settled their differences after conversing.
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July 15, 2015
It’s not quite clear why Chris Brown’s home seems to be so easy to enter without his consent. A naked woman broke into his place in May, and an even more serious incident happened a few days ago. CB’s residence was ransacked by armed men, and his aunt was forced into a closet at gunpoint. His daughter’s mother is reportedly using the home invasion as a reason to keep 1-year-old Royalty from living with her father.
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July 15, 2015
Young Thug’s 2015 has been on a downward spiral. His project Barter 6 flopped in sales, only pushing 19,000 equivalent album units in its opening week. That fail may be seen as minuscule now considering the Atlanta rhymer was arrested for making terrorist threats on Wednesday. Thug was also hit with drug and weapons violations charges the next day.
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July 16, 2015
Thugger’s rough week was not over. He and Cash Money Records boss Birdman are accused of being involved in a conspiracy to shoot rival Lil Wayne. The “Glory” performer’s tour bus was hit with bullets in May, and an indictment suggests Thugger and Birdman were somehow involved in the shooting allegedly carried out by Thug’s road manager Jimmy Winfrey. Neither Thug nor Birdman have been charged for the Atlanta shooting.
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July 16, 2015
With most of the drama of Birdman vs Lil Wayne taking place in the streets, the CMR head turned to the court for his next battle with Weezy. Birdman and Cash Money Records have filed a lawsuit against the Jay Z fronted Tidal streaming service. CMR maintains Tidal had no legal right to debut Wayne’s latest project FWA. The suit argues Tidal pulled “a desperate and illegal attempt to save their struggling streaming service.”
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June 17, 2015
Suge Knight has been locked in jail since his arrest for murder earlier this year. A judge originally set his bail at $25 million. It was later reduced to $10 million, but Suge’s lawyer is still trying to get it lowered further. Attorney Thomas Mesereau is expected to ask for another reduction today. Mesereau is also planning to request the 50-year-old Death Row Records founder be moved to another facility, because Suge could be battling a brain tumor.
