Month: June 2021

As the kids say these days, something shifted when SZA unleashed CTRL back in 2017. The adored album was originally scheduled to be released in late 15, but the songstress’ perfectionism kept her working on it until the very last minute–her label TDE eventually took away her hard drive in Spring of 2017 to get the ball rolling on the rollout. 

As history tells it, the album turned into an instant classic. Widely recognized by critics and audiences as a powerful body of work from the Jersey native, it earned a spot on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Lyrically, the album explores SZA’s personal experience with themes like desire, competition, jealousy, low self-esteem, and more. Adored by fans for its vulnerability, SZA recently took to Twitter to admit even she has shed a few tears to her own music. 

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for NARAS

The songstress took to Twitter on Tuesday to reveal she got a little emotional while rehearsing the fan-favorite CTRL cut “20 Something.” “Jus tried to get through 20 something at rehearsal n burst into tears LMAOOO what ? Is wrong w me ?” tweeted the “Good Days” singer. 

She went on to further explain the song reminds her of her grandmother–who made several appearances scattered throughout CTRL before passing away in 2019, and other people she’s lost along the way. “20 something makes me think of my granny . N everyone else I’ve lost . What a ride.” 

SZA has previously been vocal about how deeply her grandmother’s passing wounded her. She’s currently readying the release of CTRL‘s follow-up due sometime this year. 

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Wiz Khalifa must be shooting a music video or filming some special content. The Pittsburgh native recently posted up on Instagram looking much different than usual, getting a lace-front beard fitted to his face and showing off an afro in a series of new pictures and videos on his story.

The stoner rapper has been around for over a decade. We all know and love the iconic superstar, who recently completed an appearance on The Masked Singer. One of the most recognizable celebrities, Wiz has kept mostly the same look throughout his late twenties and early thirties. On Wednesday, he decided to switch things up though, debuting a new look with the help of his glam squad.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Showing off his lace-front full beard, which makes him look a little like his close collaborator Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa completed his look with an afro wig, a wide-brimmed hat, some aviator shades, and what appears to be a red leather top. What do you think he’s working on?

It’s been an eventful few months for Wiz, who has been running some business plays on the low. Back in April, he extended his deal for Khalifa Kush before officially announcing that he was getting involved in the world of MMA. 

Check out his new look below.

Yo Gotti has been making major moves all year with his CMG label, developing the careers of MoneyBagg Yo, 42 Dugg, EST Gee, and a few others. He has been a leading force in the game as a rap mogul, finding some gems on the route to having one of the most powerful labels in hip-hop. On Wednesday, the 40-year-old legend announced a huge new move for CMG, partnering with Interscope.

“Teams Win championships, Unity Creates Value, Determination turns into POWER,” wrote Yo Gotti in the announcement post. “New Deal, New Money, New Opportunities #CMGRecords The Brand Dat Build Brands.”

The CMG x Interscope partnership has already yielded tremendous success for Yo Gotti’s team of artists. MoneyBagg Yo earned his first-ever #1 album off the strength of the deal and 42 Dugg debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 with his project Free Dem Boyz, which is his highest debut on the chart. 

“With 25 years under his belt as a successful artist, label head, manager and entrepreneur, Yo Gotti has built an impressive legacy in hip hop and remains one of the most exciting voices in music,” said Interscope Geffen A&M chairman John Janick. “We look forward to working closely with Gotti’s team to continue to build upon CMG’s incredible run in our business.”

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for John Janick, Steve Berman, Nicole Wyskoarko and the entire Interscope team and their track record of success,” added Yo Gotti about the deal. “We share the same vision about winning – we want to break barriers, disrupt the industry and develop the next generation of superstars. I’m thrilled to partner with them as I continue focusing on CMG’s expansion.”

Congratulations to Yo Gotti and the entire CMG team!

This Friday’s release slate just got a little more interesting. In addition to Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s long-awaited collab project The Voice Of The Heroes finally dropping in a matter of days, Lloyd Banks’ COTI is also set to drop this week, and just in case some fans thought Friday wasn’t stacked enough, Compton’s own Roddy Ricch has now surprised fans by confirming that he also has new music on the way.

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

After previously announcing a single in a since-deleted post on Twitter, Roddy Rich’s latest Instagram post has confirmed the imminent release of music and quickly caught the Hip-Hop community’s attention. In a new set of photos, the Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial artist is seen posing in front of a Because The Internet-esque backdrop while wearing an all-black Afrocentric garb. The last photo in the Compton rapper’s latest post is the cover art for a new song titled “Late At Night.” 

Coinciding with the minimal nature of the moon-centric cover art, Roddy Ricch tags Mustard in the post and captions it by writing, “6/4 freaky friday [dark moon emoji].” Check out Roddy Ricch’s new post below. Are you looking forward to listening to “Late At Night” this Friday?

According to reports, DaBaby was allegedly detained at South Beach in Miami on Monday (May 31) after he and several others were involved in a shooting. The street shootout left two people injured, with one in critical condition. Miami Beach Police spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez adds that the individual in critical condition remains in the hospital. 

Sources confirmed the rapper and a few members of his crew were detained following the incident, but the “Rockstar” artist was allegedly eventually released from police custody after being questioned. Now, mugshot photos have been released for two other individuals involved in the shooting.

The first man charged in the Miami shooting was DaBaby’s artist Wisdom, while the second man charged has been identified as Christopher Urena. Both were involved in the Memorial Day shooting outside of Prime 112 in Miami Beach leaving two individuals injured. 

Urena has been charged with attempted murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault, in addition to charges of grand theft and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. According to a police report regarding the incident, Urena is accused of shooting an individual in the back. The report furthers the person is still in the hospital and is paralyzed. 

Previous reports named Wisdom, a rapper and member of DaBaby’s entourage, as another person facing charges for the shootout. He was detained for attempted murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a firearm in connection with the shooting. Police add that Wisdom was part of the group of men that got into a verbal argument with the victims.

Authorities further add that Wisdom shot one of the victims in the leg as they attempted to flee. As for Urena, TMZ reports that he was seen shooting one of the victims in the back. DaBaby seems to not be facing any charges in connection with the case.

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On Monday morning, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka officially withdrew from The French Open after receiving a fine and risk of expulsion from the tournament. She was fined for not wanting to do press conferences as she says it affects her mental health greatly. In her statement, she explained that she didn’t want to be a distraction to the tournament and felt that withdrawing was the best choice to prevent that.

Many people came out in support of Osaka as mental health is rarely discussed in sports. Although unusual, her move to withdraw will only help open doors for future athletes to prioritize mental health. One of the thousands who came out in support of her is conservative author and activist Candance Owens.

Owens took to twitter to write, “Naomi Osaka made the right decision. Mental illness is serious, and it is always an act of courage to step away to deal with personal issues. Emphasis on the word personal…The concept here is simple. I have people in my family who struggle with alcoholism. They do not demand that every venue and person in the world, therefore, stop drinking and selling alcohol.”

This type of statement is nothing new from Owens. She’ll often insert herself in the news, by stating if she supports what’s happening or not, and then adding an inflammatory opinion about today’s society that is sure to cause chaos. If you were to scroll through her replies, you would already see the arguments bubbling. Some supported her “personal struggles are not universal” comment, and others told her to shut up, simply put.

Nonetheless, it’s odd for Owens to suddenly come out in support of Osaka because, as some users have pointed out, Owens called her “annoying” and told her to “quit tennis” just days prior. Thus, some are questioning if this statement of support is genuine or if she’s trying to get some attention to promote her book and show.

Check out Candace’s last internet feud here. 

Juvenile’s 400 Degreez is an undeniable classic, easily one of the greatest albums to emerge from the Cash Money movement. Produced in its entirety by Mannie Fresh, the album featured hit singles like “Back That Azz Up” and “Ha” among other deeper cuts. It also features a remix of “Ha” with JAY-Z, who at the time was in the midst of delivering his own classic album Vol 2…Hard Knock Life. 

In a recent interview with DJ Vlad, Juve opened up about his reaction to hearing JAY-Z hop on his track, sharing the interesting backstory of how it all came together. Off the top, Vlad notes how “Ha” was an absolute game-changer. “You ain’t lyin,” notes Juve. “But the record that really started to make my album take off with record sales, and you probably wouldn’t believe it, was ‘Follow Me Now.’ ‘Ha’ came out, that was the first release. The album sales weren’t doing too great when ‘Ha’ came out.”

Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

Despite the lackluster album sales, JAY-Z had been working on the remix on his own volition. “So when JAY-Z sent the remix to us, it was kind of unexpected. We didn’t know he was going to do that anyway. He did it on his own. So the idea came to go back and put the JAY-Z song on the remix. Cause JAY-Z wasn’t on the album originally. We gon’ put the JAY-Z song on the album, and I recorded ‘Follow Me Now’ — not knowing that it was a Carlos Santana sample, and not knowing it was already big before I said anything on it. It blew up.”

Eventually, the team realized that the project’s future ultimately centered around “Back That Azz Up,” which was already gaining steam in the clubs. Check out Juve’s reflection on the “Ha Remix” and revisit the classic tune below. 

LISTEN: Juvenile ft. JAY-Z – Ha Remix

Bam Margera was fired from Jackass 4 at the beginning of the year and ever since then, director Jeff Tremaine says that he has been receiving disturbing text messages from the actor/stuntman. The longtime collaborators have been at odds this year since Margera’s firing, which allegedly happened after the actor broke the clause of his contract. It has escalated so severely that their issues were brought to court. A restraining order has been granted, which means that Margera legally needs to stay 100 yards away from Tremaine, his wife, and his kids. He will also be forced to stop sending threatening text messages.

As reported by TMZ, Bam Margera has been sending threatening messages to Jeff Tremaine for much of this year. The texts were included in legal documents, including death threats against the director and his children.

 
Francois Durand/Getty Images — Bam Margera, Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine attend the premiere for ‘Jackass 3D’

“Look at your children and grab your pocket book and write a check, if you are greedy, and cheap, look at your children again,” allegedly wrote Margera in the messages. “If you don‘t sign the paper, look at you children. Sign your stupid Fucking contract before your (sic) not safe anywhere.”

Tremaine says that the contract Margera is referring to was written by the actor himself. “You are the fucking reason I am batshit crazy,” said Margera in the texts. “Sign the fucking contract or your life will change.”

Take a look at all of the messages in the link below. Hopefully, Bam gets the help he needs. He appears to be in crisis mode and needs professional guidance.

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