DJ Envy’s former business partner, Cesar Pina, and his legal woes continue. Last December, the embattled entrepreneur and his wife, Jennifer Pina, were ordered to produce several documents for the court, which they evidently failed to do. Now, in docs obtained by AllHipHop, the Pinas are facing a possible arrest. According to the docs, Mark Politan—identified as Chapter 11 Trustee (the “Trustee”) for Whairhouse Real Estate Investments, LLC—wants the Pinas arrested.
“On February 6, 2024, the Trustee filed a letter on the docket respectfully requesting that the Order Authorizing the United States Marshall to Arrest Cesar Pina and Jennifer Iturralde Pina and Deliver the Pinas to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, Newark Vicinage, at 50 Walnut Street, Newark, New Jersey be entered (the ‘Order for Arrest’),” the docs read. “Please be advised that the attached Order for Arrest will be entered today, February 8, 2024 unless there is a response to the request by the end of today.”
Considering February 8 has come and gone, it’s likely they’ll be in custody soon. While the judge has yet to officially sign off on the arrest warrant, Pina could be in custody as early as next week.
Federal authorities arrested Pina and charged him with allegedly defrauding dozens of real estate investors late last year. Pina defended Envy in October 2023 not long after his arrest, saying he had nothing to do with the alleged real estate scam and is only being targeted because he’s the more famous of the two.
“DJ Envy was never in the room with me,” Pina told his Instagram followers. “DJ Envy has nothing to do with any of these 20 lawsuits of these people who are suing me. It f###### sucks, bro.”
Pina also said people are “being coerced to sue people affiliated with me just because they are a bigger name. That’s the situation that breaks my heart. In all these lawsuits, these 20 lawsuits, DJ Envy was never in the room with me.”
He did, however, deny DJ Envy was a victim, saying, “I understand his attorney, his defense to DJ Envy is a victim. That’s the dumbest s### I ever heard in my life. Me and him were partners in the real estate seminars. We are partners in a couple of real estate transactions. That’s it. He’s not a victim. He was my partner. He was an investor.”
Nelly and Ashanti just gave us yet another reason to be nominated for rap’s favorite couple. On Saturday (February 10), Nelly revealed to his fans on Instagram during a live stream that he lost one of his front teeth in Las Vegas during the pre-Super Bowl events. Within moments of creating the Instagram Live, Nelly invited Ashanti into the chat, who stole the show with her laugh.
According to Ashanti, this wasn’t the first time Nelly knocked that exact same tooth out either. She said, “Where is it? I found it for you when we was in Miami,” to which Nelly replied, “Man, f### all that that muthaf###a gone.”
As the conversation pressed on, Ashanti appeared to try her best to assist Nelly but only further forced him into distress.
”Where are the spares?” she said with a laugh, to which Nelly snapped back, “Ain’t no f##king spares man. What are you talking about? F##k wrong with you.”
The pair started going back and forth for a while about whether Nelly has spare teeth, with the Country Grammar rapper calling Ashanti a “peanut head” and more.
Watch the clip above for to see the full exchange.
The Sugarhill Gang‘s “Rapper’s Delight” is one of the most iconic Hip-Hop songs of all time. Flashback to August 1979 when The Sugarhill Gang created “Rapper’s Delight,” the first rap song to introduce Hip-Hop to a wider audience—and one of the longest.
The song clocks in at almost 15 minutes, equipped with a “Good Times” by Chic guitar sample that would go on to become a rap staple. Forty-five years later, the group—Wonder Mike, Master Gee, Hen Dogg and DJ T-Dynasty—continues to tour the record to this day. The four artists recently crushed their performance, “Live At The Print Shop,” billed as a celebration of the group’s legacy. The Sugarhill Gang delivered a standout performance and later sat down for an interview that took fans on a trip down memory lane.
AllHipHop spoke with Hen Dogg, Wonder Mike, Dynasty and Master Gee via Zoom to discuss what Hip-Hop means to them and why Master Gee never watched their documentary, I Want My Name Back.
AllHipHop: What does Hip-Hop mean to you?
Wonder Mike: It means a lot because the entire group, planet, world is influenced now by Hip-Hop. Through commercials, through when newscasters sign off. It’s everywhere. It’s crazy!
Hen Dogg: To piggyback off what Mike said, Hip-Hop to me is worldwide. We just celebrated50 years of Hip-Hop. Who would’ve thought over 50 years ago that it’d be one of the biggest genres in the world? Record labels didn’t want to even believe in it before “Rapper’s Delight” first came out. They thought it was a fad, something people were doing in the streets. Here today, gone tomorrow type thing.
Now, it’s world culture. Everybody. Hip-Hop is everywhere, all over the world. I believe that the martians are dancing to Hip-Hop, listening to Hip-Hop. It’s a way for people to express themselves. Whatever they’re going through in life, whatever they’re dealing with, now they can put it in their music. Let their feelings be heard. Because everybody’s not politicians, where they can go out and speak and know exactly what to say. But put a mic in front of them, it’s different story.
T-Dynasty: You get their version of what they see out here in the streets or what they’ve taken from it. It’s a beautiful thing. Mike made a joke first, he’s like “paper!” [laughs] But music and Hip-Hop have allowed myself and Hen to travel the world. Kids from different backgrounds, from the city to get out and see things. People who probably would never have left the project or left the street corners have gotten chances to do things.
If you go as far as today’s concerned, it’s a little different than back in the day when you needed a brick and mortar. Today, a kid can sit in his bedroom with a laptop and create hit records. You sit around and watch videos on 9th Wonder. 9th Wonder with a little laptop was killing people. With one laptop, no stuff hooked up but Fruity Loops. Just telling the world Hip-Hop. The man is now very comfortable, so Hip-Hop means a whole lot to us. There’s no end to it, this continues to evolve and hopefully we’ll be right here with it.
Best memory from recording “Rapper’s Delight”?
Wonder Mike: When we recorded the song, there’s a group called Positive Force. They had the record “We Got The Funk,” out of Philly. They laid down the track in one day. In eight hours, me and Hank went to the movies and saw something. When we came back, they were finishing up the music. It wasn’t like you play four bars over the bassline, then you’re punching in and sliding in wherever you want. No, he played that baseline for more than more than half an hour. Because “Rapper’s Delight” is 15 minutes. They stop start, stop start.
When we went in here I’m on the left, Hank’s in the middle and Master Gee’s on the right. I started the song out. He told me before we recorded the record, “Wonder Mike, I want you to start the record off.” Probably because I have an Americana voice or whatever. I wrote something for the record. I didn’t want to jump in willy nilly.
That’s why “Rapper’s Delight” has an intro. “Now, what you hear is not a test,” I got that from the Outer Limits. “I’m rapping to the beat/And me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet/Wait, who is this?/I am Wonder Mike and I’d like to say hello! I included the whole world, even purple people!
It jumped off. Guy said he was sure it was going to be a big hit in Newark, Jersey, and Connecticut. I said this is going around the world, because it’s a good record. It’s a catchy record. It’s 15 minutes long. I don’t know which DJs will play it or not, but all the words are recitable. Because everybody says them to this day. I went from dire straits and having no paper or even a residence, to playing for royalty in England three months later.
[Master Gee enters the Zoom]
Last year was the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. I personally think Hip-Hop should be celebrated every day every year. Do you feel like last year gave you guys the flowers you deserve?
Master Gee: [laughs]
Hen Dogg: Kinda, sorta.Absolutely. It was a celebration for everybody to celebrate Hip-Hop, so it was a good thing. I do realize it was some shows out there we should have been on, then it was some shows we were on. But other than that, it still was great.
Master Gee: I’ma say this, I don’t really feel like we need a year of anything to celebrate who we are. Because the fans in every part of the world celebrate us. Every time, everything we do, we’ve always been the people’s champ. I’ma keep on singing that song. All of a sudden, they want to celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop, that’s cool. That’s fine.
But our real flowers are every time we hit a stage, or every time somebody samples one of the songs. Every time somebody acknowledges Wonder Mike. Every time somebody sees Hen Dogg in a clothing store. Every time somebody knows that Dynasty is part of Sugarhill gang. Every time somebody says big shout out to Hank. To me, those are the real flowers. Whether we do something in celebration that somebody decided that they wanted to do something or not, to me doesn’t really represent — 45 years of something that most people can’t even get five years. Beatles five, Journey was 10. We’re going on our 45th year.
Hen Dogg: 45th year, exactly. Without a doubt. Well said.
How did you feel watching back the documentary, I Want My Name Back?
Master Gee: I never saw it. Never watched it. I don’t watch the stuff we do. I’ve seen pieces because it was in my face, but as far as to watch it from beginning to end, I’ve never done that.
Hen Dogg: I don’t think I never watched it from beginning to end. I’ve seen pieces and parts of it.
Wonder Mike: I liked it. I dug it.
Hen Dogg: It was what we were dealing with at the time. It was what we were going through as a group at the time. Things are much different now.
Master Gee: Personally, I didn’t want to do a documentary to begin anyway.
Wonder Mike: If you’re a sports writer and you cover a football team that sucks, that’s what you’re going to write. “They suck. They’re not good, get off the field.” 10 years later, they’re winning multiple Super Bowls. It’s what you’re covering at the time.
Gee, why didn’t you want to be a part of it?
Master Gee: I’m not a public person. Personally what we were going through, to me was not was not the world’s business.
You don’t see it as celebrating you?
Master Gee: No. I didn’t want everybody knowing that that was the reality of what we were dealing with. I really didn’t want that. I was talked into that. I’m a team player, so everybody wanted to do it. But I did it begrudgingly throughout the whole thing. Also, that was a time when I had first come back into the group. I had been away from everybody and the world for 20 something years. I was really private at that point.
Hen Dogg: Mmhmm.
Anything else you guys are excited for?
All: Yes!
Master Gee: We have so many powerful, wonderful, phenomenal situations. New albums. We got Master Gee’s Theater on Sirius XM. We got opportunities to do film projects. So many day to day opportunities all over the country and the world to be able to be in front of our fans. We got an opportunity to talk to you. That’s what I’m excited about.
Hen Dogg: Music, new tours. We’re very excited about that.
Teyana Taylor had to fight to be taken seriously as an actress before her breakthrough performance in “A Thousand and One.”
Before her critically acclaimed performance in the 2023 drama, the singer felt she wasn’t allowed to show off her acting range.
“I was getting approached for roles that were either funny or I was just the hot chick. And I didn’t want to be the hot chick. I wanted people to take me seriously,” she told W Magazine.
Teyana Taylor, who previously appeared in light-hearted films such as “Coming 2 America” and Madea’s Big Happy Family, added, “Acting was always in the back of my mind. I had done small stuff, but it wasn’t anything that I felt really showed my range. ‘A Thousand and One’ is my breakout, take-me-serious, I’m-here-and-I’m-here-to-stay type of role.”
In “A Thousand and One,” Teyana Taylor plays Inez de la Paz, who kidnaps her son from the foster care system after being released from Rikers Island prison.
The singer has been critically acclaimed for her role, winning Best Breakthrough Performance at the National Board of Review Awards.
Elsewhere in the interview, Teyana explained that she crafted her music videos to showcase what she could do as an actress.
“Coming into the music industry, they kind of make you have to choose, and I didn’t want to be stuck in one box,” she said. “So I started to put my acting chops into my music videos. I also direct my own music videos, so I would make sure all of them had a narrative.”
Teyana has also directed music videos for Sean “Diddy” Combs, Macy Gray, Schoolboy Q and others.
She is filming Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest project alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Regina Hall.
Doja Cat has been denied a permanent restraining order against her brother. The 28-year-old rapper has been denied a permanent restraining order against her older brother, who allegedly stole from her and physically abused her.
The allegations were made by Doja Cat’s mother, Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer. Deborah has also claimed that her son had been physically abusive toward her “several times” and made her feel “unsafe.”
Deborah previously had a restraining order against Raman, but it recently expired. She has since been granted a new restraining order, which will last for five years. Meanwhile, Doja, real name Amala Dlamini, has been refused a restraining order against Raman, who allegedly destroyed her property, stole from her and physically and verbally abused her.
Deborah claimed that her son had previously knocked out the singer’s teeth, among other allegations. “Raman has destroyed and stolen property,” the original filing read. “Raman has verbally assaulted (Doja) in a very degrading and demeaning (manner). Raman has made her feel unsafe and traumatized.”
Deborah also previously claimed that her son’s actions have caused her to feel “constant anxiety and fear.”
Kanye West‘s album rollouts are traditionally a mess; that should come as no surprise. On Friday (February 9), Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne went nuclear after they caught wind Vultures Vol. 1 contained an uncleared sample of the Black Sabbath single “Iron Man.” The sample was audible at the 1:45 mark of leaked audio of the track and video of the song from Thursday’s (February 8) listening event in Chicago. As the Osbournes raged, Vultures eventually made its way to iTunes and Amazon but not Spotify.
Saturday afternoon (February 10), the album disappeared from digital streaming platforms altogether before re-appearing later in the day. It’s also now available on Spotify. While nothing has been confirmed, the unauthorized samples of both Black Sabbath and Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” could be the culprit.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3JL6yUPi_u/?hl=en
West has been swept up in a storm of controversy since making numerous antisemitic remarks. As Ozzy tweeted, “Kanye West asked permission to sample a section of a 1983 live performance of ‘Iron Man’ from the Us Festival without vocals & was refused permission because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many. He went ahead and used the sample anyway at his album listening party last night. I want no association with this man!”
Sharon later added, “We are considering legal action. Ozzy has not spoken to Kanye but our team have spoken with theirs.” She also told TMZ, “Kanye f##### with the wrong Jew this time“ and insisted West is a “disrespectful antisemite” who “represents hate.”
In retaliation, West posted a picture of the Osbournes on his Instagram with them dressed up as West and Bianca Censori for Halloween. Suggesting Ozzy is actually a fan of his, West wrote, “He obviously has a celebrity handler who’s on his account.”
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, Jennifer Crumbley has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the school shooting her son carried out.
Crumbley’s son Ethan, who was 15 at the time, fatally shot four students at an Oxford, Michigan high school in 2021 using a weapon reportedly given to him his parents. According to court proceedings, Crumbley was also the last person seen with the weapon immediately before the shooting incident occurred.
BREAKING: Jennifer Crumbley has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the first parent in America be charged and tried in a mass school shooting. https://t.co/fG7GI34PsEpic.twitter.com/UodoFkJ6tw
The base of the prosecution’s argument was rooted in the theory that Crumbley was “grossly negligent” and responsible for the deaths of the students because she gave a gun to Ethan—despite warning signs he needed mental health treatment.
While Crumbley, who faces up to 15 years in prison, will stand her sentencing hearing on April 9, her husband, James Crumbley, won’t stand on those same charges until early March. Last December, Ethan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree premeditated murder and terrorism causing death.
Watch the report below for details of the historic case below.
Jennifer Crumbley is the first parent in the U.S. to go on trial for a mass school shooting committed by her son. She's accused of failing to get him proper mental health treatment despite warning signs and for purchasing the gun he used in the shooting, @Elaine_Quijano reports. pic.twitter.com/Fen8qW5itK
Kim Kardashian and Odell Beckham Jr. are “getting serious” about each other. The couple have been navigating their relationship carefully because “Odell’s personality is much more private,” a source told US Weekly.
Odell, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens, is “low-key, while Kim’s more accustomed to the limelight,” according to the source. However, the pair are “trying to figure out the next steps” to make their pairing work.
Kim Kardashian, 43, and the NFL star, 31, were first linked in September, with friends confirming they’d been “hanging out casually.” They were spotted together at a party in November before they were both seen at Jay-Z’s pre-Grammys party last Friday in matching all-black attire.
It’s unclear if the couple left the party together.
Odell split from his previous girlfriend, Lauren Wood, at the beginning of 2023. Kim Kardashian hasn’t been publicly linked with anyone since splitting with Pete Davidson in August 2022.
50 Cent is confident his team will prevail over Lil Wayne’s squad later this month during the NBA All-Star Celebrity game. On Wednesday (February 7), the G-Unit Brands mastermind expressed his excitement for his role as assistant coach at the upcoming All-Star game on February 17—at Lil Wayne’s expense.
”All star game I’m coaching, you know my team is gonna win,” Fifty tweeted. “@LilTunechi is probably gonna get high and not show up ! LOL gunitbrands.com.”
While Lil Wayne will be paired with WNBA champion Aja Wilson on the coaching staff for and analyst Stephen A. Smith, Fifty will join forces with NFL legends Shannon Sharpe and Peyton Manning. Jennifer Hudson, SiR, Anuel AA and Kai Cenat are among the notable names hooping in the celebrity game.
For details on all of the All-Star game event, visit the official NBA website here.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2024 nominees on Saturday (February 10) and two legendary Hip-Hop acts are on the list—A Tribe Called Quest and Eric B. & Rakim. Others on the ballot include Sade, Sinéad O’Connor, Peter Frampton, Jane’s Addiction, Foreigner, Mary J. Blige, Cher, Kool & the Gang, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band and Mariah Carey.
As explained in a press release, the inductees will be announced at the end of April, while the ceremony will be held in Cleveland—the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—in November.
In an interview with AllHipHop, Eric B. talked about the duo’s second nomination, saying, “Maybe it’ll happen this time. I feel great about it. Let me tell you, anytime anybody nominates you or thinks about you, you should feel great. I think it’s a long time coming. We’re all righteous guys and girls, so it’s on God’s time, not our time. I’d be just as appreciative if I won it the first time, so it’s great.”
When asked if he thought the Rock Hall was doing a good job of including Hip-Hop, he replied, “Everybody can poke holes at somebody else’s operation, and I would never do that. They have their own process. I would never throw rocks at the Hall. This is their institution, they built it, so they do it their way and I respect the process.”
The 2024 ceremony will once again stream live on Disney+ with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day. The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony streamed live on Disney+ for the first time ever; the special on ABC reached more than 13 million viewers across linear and streaming, and ABC’s New Year’s Day telecast was the No. 1 entertainment choice among Adults 18-49.
To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Ten of the 15 nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Carey, Cher, Foreigner, Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Kravitz, Oasis, O’Connor, Osbourne and Sade.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have teamed up once again—this time, for a commercial. The roughly two-minute clip dropped on Saturday (February 10), which finds the D-O-Double-G and Beats By Dre mastermind touting their new beverage brand, the appropriately named Gin & Juice. The alcoholic concoction was made famous in 1993 by Snoop’s Dr. Dre-produced single of the same name.
Although the song isn’t featured in the commercial, it does have strong Quentin Tarantino vibes. Dressed in formal black suits, the two Hip-Hop greats sit in a car discussing what they’re about to do. Snoop, who is somewhat in the dark, grills Dre about their outfits before they go to the trunk of the car, put on some gloves and pull out a shovel like they’re about to bury a body.
After the job is done, Dre says, “I could use a f###### drink,” to which Snoop replies, “Here you go n####.” Dre then cracks open a can of Gin & Juice and Snoop lights up a blunt, but their moment of peace is quickly interrupted.
Dr. Dre, who rarely tweets anything from his account, shared the clip with the caption, “Back At It!!!”
Snoop Dogg currently has several business ventures with fellow rappers/producers, although one is causing him some legal trouble. Earlier this week, Snoop and Master P hired attorney Ben Crump to sue Walmart and Post Foods for “deceptive trade practices,” which allegedly undermined their Snoop Cereal brand.
“To expand their reach, Snoop Dogg and Master P approached major brands to engage in a partnership and promotion agreement to distribute Snoop Cereal with national retailers,” Crump said. “However, despite one company agreeing to the agreement, it allegedly sabotaged the success of Snoop Cereal by preventing it from reaching consumers through deceptive practices.”
Snoop Dogg and Master P’s Broadus Foods partnered with Post Foods in 2023, but the duo claimed Post Foods curtailed sales of the cereal.
“Post Foods allegedly used deceptive practices to sabotage the success of Snoop Cereal, such as intentionally holding boxes of Snoop Cereal in the stockrooms of Walmart stores, marked with ‘no location’ coding, preventing them from being placed on store shelves,” Crump wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Snoop Dogg and Master P’s Broadus Foods created Snoop Cereal in 2022.
Jurors in the trial of two men charged with killing Young Dolph will come from outside of Memphis due to intense media coverage of the fatal shooting in Dolph’s hometown According to the Independent, Judge Jennifer J. Mitchell made the ruling on Friday (February 9), deciding a change of venue motion, filed by Justin Johnson’s lawyer, made sense. Johnson’s attorney argued that his client can’t get a fair trial before Memphis jurors due to the intense media attention and “public visceral outrage” over the murder.
“This court is wary that jurors from Shelby County will not be able to lay aside their opinions or impressions and render a verdict based upon the evidence presented,” Mitchell.
A jury will be be brought to Memphis from outside of Shelby County for the June 3 trial of Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. Both men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in the November 2021 daytime ambush of Young Dolph, who was buying cookies at a Madeka’s Cookies at the time of the shooting.
Johnson’s lawyer, Luke Evans, aruged Young Dolph’s case has received “relentless” attention from news outlets and on social media. He pointed out some commenters have called for Johnson to be “lynched or killed” in prison in an attempt to seek vengeance—not justice.
Evans insisted it would be dangerous for the trial’s integrity if a jury from the Memphis area were recruited and the court shouldn’t “play chicken” with Johnson’s rights in the murder of rapper who was so beloved in the city.
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman suggested questionnaires should be sent to a potential jury pool of 150 to 200 people in Shelby County to gauge the effect of news coverage and social media commentary. The judge would then question the remaining members of the jury pool about the media coverage.
Mitchell said the process could delay the trial, which already was pushed back from March 11. Meanwhile, Hagerman said the change of venue wouldn’t pose an obstacle for prosecutors. The court will decide which county the jurors will come from at a later date.
“We can get this jury from wherever,” Hagerman said. “We’re going to try this case, and we’re going to see this thing until the end.”
Kid Cudi has Hit-Boy nearly as excited as he is for his upcoming animated series role.
Following the release of December 2023’s trilogy film Sonic The Hedgehog 3, a new trailer for the upcoming Paramount + series Knuckles starring Cudi, Idris Elba and Adam Pally began circulating on Thursday (February 8). In the two-minute plus preview of the show, Cudi’s character is revealed as Knuckles’ sworn enemy and comes to blows with the superhero in attempt to capture him. Cudi gushed about his upcoming role on Twitter (X) in a tweet while hyping up the scheduled premiere date.
“Knuckles and I square up APRIL 26th!!! Lock in!!! #KNUCKLES @SonicMovie ADAM PALLY AND IDRIS KILL THIS!! Cant wait for u all to see the madness [peace sign emoji] @adampally @idriselba @paramountplus,” Cudi tweeted.
The April 26 streaming release of Knuckles is being touted as a six-episode premiere event. Kid Cudi previously wrote and released his single “Stars In The Sky” to coincide with the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 sequel film in 2022. In a sense, his participation in the Knuckles series is somewhat of a natural progression.
Usher revealed that his kids gave him notes before his Super Bowl halftime performance.
During an appearance on an episode of The Talk, the 45-year-old R&B icon said that his children have been giving him notes to help him prepare for his performance in Las Vegas on Sunday.
In the episode, Usher was asked if his children – sons Usher Raymond, 16, Naviyd, 15, and Sire, two, and daughter Sovereign, three – would appear on stage during his halftime show.
“They will be around,” he replied. “Maybe for [the] tour, but no, I’ve been receiving tons of notes from Naviyd,” the Usher shared. “Usher, he gave me a couple of notes. He gave me a few songs he felt like I should definitely cut, songs I should keep.”
Usher then joked that, unlike his sons, his daughter was too busy to have any input into the setlist.
“Sovereign? She actually was too busy shooting videos, you know what I mean?” the performer quipped, referring to his latest music video featuring the three-year-old. “She’s a superstar now.”
Usher shares Naviyd and Usher with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, while he has Sovereign and Sire with his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea.
The musician was announced as the Super Bowl halftime act in September last year.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” he said in a statement. “I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame unveiled its list of 2024 nominees on Saturday (February 10)—and Eric B. & Rakim are among the elite 15 artists The storied Hip-Hop duo—comprised of Eric “Eric B.” Barrier and William “Rakim” Griffin—has released four studio albums, including their platinum-selling debut, Paid In Full. Released in 1987, the project spawned the classics “Eric B. Is President,” “I Ain’t No Joke,” “I Know You Got Soul” and, of course, the title track.
Lyrically, Rakim has been exalted to the “God MC” and cited by numerous rappers as their biggest influence. His simple rhyming style paired with tongue-twisting metaphors puts him in rap’s upper echelon of MCs. On the production side, Eric B. has solidified his reputation as one of the culture’s innovators, known for his heavy sampling and astute ear.
In an interview with AllHipHop, Eric B. talked about their second Rock Hall nomination, the secret to their longevity and that time his father whipped out a .38 Special to scare them into taking their career seriously.
AllHipHop: Congratulations on the nomination.
Eric B: Maybe it’ll happen this time.
AllHipHop:I know! I was gonna say, this is the second time. So how are you feeling this year?
Eric B: I feel great about it. Let me tell you, anytime anybody nominates you or thinks about you, you should feel great.
AllHipHop:So just the nomination itself is a big honor for you.
Eric B: Exactly. It is.
AllHipHop:Let’s say you do get inducted, what would that mean to you?
Eric B: I think it’s a long time coming. We’re all righteous guys and girls, so it’s on God’s time, not our time. I’d be just as appreciative if I won it the first time, so it’s great.
AllHipHop: Do you think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is doing a good job of including hip hop, or do you think they could do more?
Eric B: Everybody can poke holes at somebody else’s operation, and I would never do that. They have their own process. I would never throw rocks at the Hall. This is their institution, they built it, so they do it their way and respect the process.
AllHipHop:You always come across as very respectful. What do you think is the secret to your longevity? Because a lot of Hip-Hop artists these days, it’s kind of like a revolving door. And here you guys are, it’s almost 40 years later.
Eric B: Because you know what? You know why we did it? We did it because it felt good. We didn’t get in this business to be stars. We got in this business to get out of the streets of New York and make our parents proud of us.
AllHipHop: Do you still have your parents?
Eric B: My father died in 2003, but my mother’s still alive.
AllHipHop: Did you call your mom right away with the news?
Eric B: My mother is funny. If she doesn’t recognize the number, my mother won’t answer the phone. I’m like, “Mom, are you kidding me?” So, sometimes my phone doesn’t register on 5G and she will not answer the phone. She’s one of those people. I said, “Mom, were you a secret agent in your life before or something? CIA?” She does not answer the phone if she doesn’t know the number. I don’t care how many times you call, she will not pick up the phone.
AllHipHop: So you had to call her a couple times?
Eric B: Yes, and she has not answered the phone yet, and she’ll tell me, “I can’t be talking to just anybody on the phone.” Oh, OK Mom.
AllHipHop: She sounds awesome. Where does she live now?
Eric B: She lives in a place called Ruleville, Mississippi. If you go past the traffic light, you went past her house.
AllHipHop: So she’s far away from all the glamour and the glitz of New York.
Eric B: She lived in New York for years and decided to move back home to Mississippi. She’s a retired as a school teacher and decided to move on to Mississippi.
AllHipHop: What do you think your dad would say if he was here right now and heard the news that his son is being nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
Eric B: I don’t think it would even register for him. He didn’t care about anything. He’d probably tell me, get in there and wash the dishes [laughs].
AllHipHop: Did he understand what you were doing in Hip-Hop culture when you were blowing up in the ’80s?
Eric B: Absolutely. He is probably the person that’s single-handedly responsible for turning us around, because when we first started doing it, everything was a joke. He was the one who really put his foot down and—I’ll never forget it. It was like yesterday—he said, “You guys are treating this like you’re selling nickel bags in the park, like y’all hustling. He said, “This is a million dollar operation and you guys are about to blow everything.” He said, “I don’t understand you guys. Look at our neighbors. My neighbors go to work in the dark and they come home and it’s dark. You guys just played a local roller skating rink and made $50,000. That’s more than my neighbors make in a year. You did that in 40 minutes and you guys are messing up this whole operation.”
He said, “Matter of fact, when you talk to people, tell them that you don’t have a father and you don’t know me.” We were going on tour. It was us, Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe D, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. It was a bunch of us going on tour and we were going out the door. We were on our way to Hampton, Virginia and my father had everybody in the house. So he cussed us out for about an hour. Then he goes upstairs and gets his gun and comes downstairs and says, “All you stupid motherf###ers, get the f### out my house.” And he slammed the door. He said, “You guys are messing up a great opportunity just doing stupid stuff.” From then on, we treated it as a business. So he was right.
AllHipHop: So he gave you a big old reality check?
Eric B: Oh no, he took his gun out. He kept a.38. He went upstairs and got it and he said, “All you motherf###ers get the f### out.” He said, “The first person that makes a funny move I’m shooting you in the crack of your a##.”
AllHipHop: Did jaws drop?
Eric B: The funny thing about it is everybody and all my friends know that my father is serious, and if you came past the house, you’d have thought that we were coming out of a bank robbery or something. He said, “I’m telling you, the first person go in their pocket and act like they got something, I’m shooting you in the crack of your a##. And he was just adamant. He was on fire about it. Because he said we didn’t take it seriously. We didn’t take anything that we were doing seriously. And he was really p##### off about it.”
AllHipHop: Wow. So that changed your whole perspective on how you were going to move forward.
Eric B: Yes. And I treated it like a business ever since. I never, you know, if we didn’t get to accolades, but we did, we were still happy about it because we were still able to feed our family.
AllHipHop: What year was that?
Eric B: When he did that? That was ’87. I’ll never forget it.
Flavor Flav has revealed what he discussed with Taylor Swift during their encounter at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
The Public Enemy star, a self-confessed Swiftie, has opened up about their conversation at the annual music awards show on Sunday. At the NFL Honors event in Las Vegas, he told reporters he finally “got to get some Taylor time.”
“The discussion (at the event) was about me congratulating her on all her success. And me being a big fan of hers, a big supporter of hers,” Flavor Flav said on the red carpet.
“Having her acknowledge that her fan base, Swifties, gave me a name, ‘King Swiftie,'” he added. “I said, ‘You know they call me King Swiftie?’
She said, ‘I know!’ Yo, when I heard her say that, that was huge for me.”
Flavor Flav, 64, first met Taylor Swift at the iHeartRadio Awards in March 2023. He subsequently attended two of her shows in Detroit and Los Angeles in the summer and went to the premiere of her concert film, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” in October.
Brandy Haze clearly knows relationships. Her new song, “Circles,” is an emotionally complex track that delves deep into the nuances of romance. Haze’s ability to articulate the the depth of love, along with production by Txri Redd & Yahwah, evidently creates an experience for listeners. Her looming album, Sad Girl SZN, comes out later this month. The opus is set to be the sountrack for modern-day women and of of the complexities that goe with them. Check out the visuals for Circles.
Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday 2 Tour” begins March 1 at the Oakland Arena in California. The Hip-Hop superstar will have R&B veteran Monica as a special guest for the upcoming shows.
Monica announced her involvement with the “Pink Friday 2 Tour” during an interview on The Jennifer Hudson Show. Nicki Minaj then confirmed the news with a social media post.
“I’ve said many times, this woman has been one of my biggest inspirations since I was in Junior H.S.,” Minaj wrote on Instagram. “The iconic, trendsetting, Miss Thang herself – hits on hits on hits.”
The Pink Friday 2 album creator continued, “QUEEN @monicadenise will be one of the incredible artists accompanying me on the US dates of the #PinkFriday2 #GagCity Tour.”
Nicki Minaj recruited Monica for the Pink Friday 2 bonus track “Love Me Enough” which also features R&B singer Keyshia Cole. The studio LP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 228,000 first-week units.
Monica scored a No. 1 placement on the Billboard 200 with 2003’s After the Storm album. In addition, the Atlanta-bred vocalist has three chart-toppers on the Billboard Hot 100, including “The Boy Is Mine” duet with Brandy.
Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday 2 Tour” runs through May 13 in Oklahoma City. The Trinidadian-born recording artist will travel to additional cities such as Las Vegas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Toronto, Chicago, and Houston.
Atlanta, GA – After months of anticipation, hip-hop artist Rueben Wood has finally released his highly awaited album “5 AM On Peachtree”. The album, which features 17 tracks, is now available on all major streaming platforms.
Wood, known for his unique blend of soulful lyrics and catchy beats, has been teasing the release of this album for quite some time. Fans have been eagerly waiting for this project, which is said to be his most personal and introspective work yet.
The album’s title, “5 AM On Peachtree”, is a nod to Wood’s collegtown of Atlanta, Georgia. The city’s iconic street, Peachtree, has been a source of inspiration for the artist throughout his career. In this album, Wood takes listeners on a journey through the ups and downs of his life, with each track representing a different chapter.
Wood’s passion for music and dedication to his craft is evident in every song on the album. From the soulful ballad “Broken Dreams” to the upbeat and energetic “Peachtree Nights”, “5 AM On Peachtree” showcases Wood’s versatility as an artist.
With this album, Rueben Wood has once again proven himself as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Fans and critics alike are already praising the album, with many calling it his best work yet. “5 AM On Peachtree” is a must-listen for any hip-hop fan and is sure to be on repeat for months to come.
The album features Hip Hop greats and other artist such as Jadakiss, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, Snoop Dogg, Mozzy, Curren$y, Juicy J, YBN Nahmir, Cam’ron, Juvenile, Benny The Butcher, Dizzy Wright, Capodonna, Hollywood 40, MSB Boog, LucyGotFans, JP Da Prince, and Moni Meechi.
For more information on Rueben Wood and his latest album “5 AM On Peachtree”, visit his website or follow him on social media. Don’t miss out on this highly anticipated release and be sure to add “5 AM On Peachtree” to your playlist today.
Ozzy Osbourne condemned Kanye West for sampling the Black Sabbath single “Iron Man” without permission on Friday (February 9). Osbourne said he rejected West’s request to sample a live performance of the song. Osbourne was outraged after finding out Ye used the sample anyway at the Vultures listening experience in Chicago.
“@KAYNEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF ‘IRON MAN’ FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY,” Ozzy wrote on Instagram. “HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!”
West and Ty Dolla $ign didn’t drop their Vultures album on Friday (February 9), adding to Ye’s string of missed release dates over the years. The controversial rapper/producer’s album releases have become crapshoots, often leaving fans empty-handed due to unforeseen delays.
Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures release date already changed several times in recent months. The two finally settled on February 9 for the first volume of the album. A second volume was due out on March 8 with a third arriving on April 5. Those plans appear to be in flux, to say the least.
Osbourne’s condemnation of West was a stark contrast to the singer’s praise of T-Pain, who covered Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” on 2023’s On Top of the Covers album.
T-Pain performed his version of “War Pigs” at The Sun Rose in West Hollywood last year. A video of the live performance caught the attention of Osbourne in January.
“This is the best cover of ‘War Pigs’ ever,” Ozzy wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
T-Pain thanked Ozzy Osbourne and said the rocker’s endorsement was “the greatest form of validation.”
