Month: June 2021

There has been much debated about Beyoncé and her talents in recent days. It all came to a head after Trick Daddy was heard on Clubhouse criticizing the award-winning singer, saying that she isn’t a good singer. Soon to follow would come a few lancing words about Jay-Z, and after the BeyHive wreaked havoc on his social media pages, Trick Daddy returned, multiple times, to double down on his sentiments.

Aside from the tens of thousands of fans who stormed the internet in defensive of Beyoncé, the Destiny’s Child icon’s mother, Tina Lawson, also wanted to do her bit to prove that Bey is, indeed, the talent that the world believes she is.

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The video Ms. Tina shared is of DJ Swivel, Beyoncé’s engineer, as he shares raw footage of the singer displaying vocals that even he was amazed by. “The guitar solo which she mimicks with her voice which I’ve never heard before but let’s see if we can pull it up,” Swivel said in the clip. Beyoncé is then heard singing a portion of “I Care,” a single from her 2011 No. 1 album, 4.

In the caption to the video, Lawson couldn’t contain her pride. “I have always been in awe when she does this . She does it with other instruments as well!!!!” she wrote. Check out the clip below.

It’s unknown which rapper’s lyrics are the most quoted on social media in captions and messages, but if we were to take a poll, Drake would arguably be in the top ten. The OVO mogul’s relatable bars have been used far and wide, especially those pertaining to romance and relationships, and Sean Kingston has recently given some insight as to why people seem to connect with Drizzy’s lyrics.

According to the singer, Drake pulls from real life. “That’s why Drake is Drake because when he’s having conversations, the conversations he’s having, he’s putting them in songs,” Kingston told HipHopDX. “That’s why they can be Instagram captions. Yo, I’ve never seen nothing like it. The dude will be in the studio with girls…the dude is a G.O.A.T.”

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Kingston then shared a story about being in the studio with Drake and witnessing it all go down firsthand. “Drake was in the room, you know, he’s got girls around him and the guy is basically having conversations with girls and he’s just going back to the booth and doing his thing,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Yo, this n*gga’s a genius,’ because he’s saying sh*t that n*ggas are scared to say and he’s winning with it.”

“Because n*ggas feel like, ‘Oh, that’s probably too soft.’ But the girls are like, ‘Oh my god, he touched-melted my heart with that sh*t.’ Check out Kingston talking about Drake’s methods below.

It’s been one helluva weekend for Tyler, The Creator. Not only is he poised to have another No. 1 album with Call Me If You Get Lost, but he took to the BET Awards stage for the first time. The rapper gave an incredible performance of “Lumberjack” that is still being talked about among fans, but it seems that Tyler doesn’t believe that it is being appreciated to the extent to which it deserves.

Tyler was recently on Livestream where he was sharing music with viewers and he took a moment to speak about his BET Awards performance being undervalued.

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He played a beat and praised himself for being “so f*cking good” before adding a few thoughts. “I know y’all saw my performance last night. It was really good and it sucks, like, I’m like damn, am I at a point where like, will it still get posted on all the ill outlets? Not that it overly matters, but like, that performance was so good and I still can’t get something that good still posted on these outlets.”

“It’s like, f*ck dude. Like, f*ck! Whatever.” Instead of continuing to worry about it, Tyler just cranked up his music that much louder. Check out the clip below, along with a video of Tyler, The Creator’s 2021 BET Awards performance.

His legal team is doing their best to make sure that he stays out of prison, and now there is more information being shared about NBA YoungBoy’s case. The rapper was arrested back in March in Los Angeles and he’s remained incarcerated after reportedly being denied bail. YoungBoy has been tacked with federal charges related to firearm possession but his team is calling foul on evidence submitted.

There have been many speculative reports about YoungBoy’s case in recent months, and Radar Online reported on Monday (June 28) that the rapper’s legal team claims that authorities “improperly obtained a search warrant.”

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According to the outlet, YoungBoy wants evidence located during the search tossed, noting that the charges arose from his September 2020 arrest. It was then that YoungBoy was in Baton Rouge reportedly shooting a video when a “concerned citizen” called the authorities. Police reportedly located several firearms and arrested 17 people, but the rapper’s attorney stated that the weapons weren’t found on YoungBoy but on the people he was with at the time.

Court documents reportedly state that YoungBoy’s team also question if a “concerned citizen” even called the cops because, they say, YoungBoy and his crew weren’t shooting a video. The rapper reportedly says he had a cameraman shooting B-roll footage in front of his grandfather’s house when police arrived.

“Law enforcement responded in overwhelming numbers in the form of police cars and officers, in such manner that was certain to create fear in these young black men and turmoil for the neighborhood where none existed prior to police display of force,” the rapper’s attorney reportedly said. “No probable cause or reasonable suspicion existed for most, if not all, of those arrested. Law enforcement disregarded their rights as they searched, seized, questioned, and trampled upon their liberty seeking a ‘crime’ to charge Kentrell Gaulden.”

Youngboy’s lawyer also reportedly wrote in documents that the rapper wasn’t read his Miranda rights and accuse law enforcement of lying in reports. His attorney also wants the B-roll footage suppressed as it allegedly shows YoungBoy holding the very guns he’s charged with in his case. “This footage captures Mr. Gaulden’s private life in a very intimate way that would only be viewed by law enforcement if they had an embedded undercover agent within his closest inner circle.”

“The sheer volume of private information collected by law enforcement is particularly concerning as it is believed that the seizure of this equipment has placed law enforcement into possession of footage documenting Mr. Gaulden’s most private moments for the past year.”

A judge hasn’t ruled on these latest allegations, but YoungBoy reportedly continues to petition for bond.

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She’s been flexing in her 50s and Toni Braxton isn’t letting up. The summer months are upon us and as temperatures continue to rise, we’re seeing increasing amounts of social media posts of people showing off their beach, or poolside, bodies. Toni Braxton isn’t shy when it comes to letting the world take an up-close and personal look at her curves, and the award-winning singer returned to Instagram with a few more posts that got a few of her fans hot under the collar.

In a clip posted to her Instagram profile, Braxton rocked a red bikini as she was seen exiting her pool. “Monday splash,” she added to the caption.

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In her Stories, she included another similar image of herself relaxing in her two-piece and it didn’t take long for fans to fire off tens of thousands of reactions. Recently, there has been a call from Braxton’s fans for the music legend to appear onVerzuz with Mary J. Blige, but Verzuz quickly refuted rumors that this matchup was on their schedule.

Blige later told The Breakfast Club that she wasn’t sure what a Verzuz appearance could do for her at this point, mentioning that she’s not particularly worried about adding her name to the list of performers. It’s unfortunate for those that wanted to see these two ladies together on stage, but we’re sure Verzuz will pull whatever strings needed.

Check out Toni Braxton’s sexy swimsuit photos below.

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Fans love it when celebrities share stories of their wild nights, and while Faizon Love didn’t give up too much information on a party that got frisky, he did talk about locking lips with Gabrielle Union. The comedic actor was on Livestream with former NBA star Kwame Brown and the two men were just sharing a few laughs along with just as many stories when Love revealed his tale of partying with Union.

“Watch this, Gabrielle Union and I had a nice kiss in a club,” the actor said with a smile. Brown told him he needed to watch out because Dwyane Wade would come after him. “He know!” said Faizon.

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Faizon insisted that he’s cool with Union and explained that when the incident allegedly took place, he was with the actress and Vince Carter. “Ask Vince Carter about that night! Ask him ’bout that night!” said Faizon. “Everybody know about the infamous Faizon-Gabby tongue down.” The comedian clarified that Union wasn’t with Wade, but seemed to suggest that she was hanging out with or dating Carter at the time.

“She was dating me that night,” he joked. “She was with Vince, they were going out or something. I don’t know, we was gettin’ drunk and it was an infamous night. Gabby my n*gga, too, so… That’s the only girl really in Hollywood. Most actresses are weird, you know what I’m sayin’? They weird as f*ck. I like regular-ass chicks.”

Check out the clip of Faizon Love and Kwame Brown chopping it up below.

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They were kids back in the 1990s when they both starred on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and would later join together for that infamous Madonna kiss on stage at the 2003 MTV VMAs. Both Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears would become Pop icons in their own rights, and after Spears’s recent impassioned testimony at her conservatorship hearing went viral, Aguilera has come forward with an open letter of support for her longtime friend.

“These past few days I’ve been thinking about Britney and everything she is going through,” wrote Aguilera. “It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish.”

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“To be silenced, ignored, bullied or denied support by those ‘close’ to you is the most depleting, devastating and demeaning thing imaginable,” the singer added. “The harmful mental and emotional damage this can take on the human spirit is nothing to be taken lightly. Every woman must have the right to her own body, her own reproductive system, her own privacy, her own space, her own healing and her own happiness.”

Aguilera admitted that she isn’t privy to private knowledge regarding Spears’s case and is making her judgments based on the information that has been provided publicly. “The conviction and desperation of this plea for freedom leads me to believe that this person I once knew has been living without compassion or decency from those in control.”

Read through Aguilera’s open letter in full below.

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Too often, we hear about rappers who are at odds. The art of “beefing” with another artist lyrically is a staple in Hip Hop culture, but fans have witnessed the spirit of competitive lyricism turning into street fights, and many rappers have lost their lives as a result. In recent years, there has been a movement to give artists their flowers while they’re still here, and an old clip of Redman praising Royce Da 5’9″ has been resurfaced by the Detroit emcee.

Back in 2016, Royce dropped his album Layers, and months later, Redman posted a clip to Instagram of himself in the car, jamming to one of the record’s tracks, “Flesh.” Redman was obviously impressed with Royce’s skills and recently, Royce reposted the years-old clip along with a lengthy inspirational caption about life coming full circle.

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“The more you achieve, the more you’ll realize how much sum’n like this means to you,” wrote Royce. “I studied Redman like religion just so I could be reciprocal if I should ever one day have a chance to be… I needed this to be his reaction to me because this was always my reaction to him… We all experience our own subjective versions of perceived success but what are the people who cheer for us, celebrating?”

He added that even if he somehow lost his memory and mental faculties, he couldn’t forget this moment. “I’m in a seat in the culture that I took from people who wouldn’t let me sit down and I got everything on everything I love out the Mud… In closing… Let my journey be a guide for those who weren’t quite prepared when opportunity first presented itself but can’t wait for the second things come full circle.”

Rea through his caption in full below.

The Verzuz between Soulja Boy and Bow Wow went off without a hitch, and it has been praised among Hip Hop fans as one of the most entertaining thus far, but it almost didn’t go down so smoothly. We watched as the matchup between the longtime friends finally took place on a Los Angeles stage, and while there were plenty of epic moments that occurred on camera, there was a bit of a snag prior to the show when Soulja got into an argument with security.

He was able to straighten things out and has continued his viral sensation status even after the show’s end, but his ex-girlfriend, Nia Riley, commented that she did her best to avoid any mentions of the rapper.

Riley recently came forward with allegations against Soulja Boy, accusing him of causing her miscarriage and of domestic violence. The daughter of music icon Teddy Riley has been ridiculed over her accusations by many of Soulja’s fans, and she responded to a few Twitter users in recent days regarding his Verzuz appearance.

Madame Noire reports that Riley retweeted a message that stated, “Sending love to the women who are watching literally thousands of people praising their abusers.” Riley reportedly replied, “The gift of acceptance is real. s/o to big man upstairs.” She also told a Twitter user, “I stayed off the net most of the day. I’m not irrational [about] the situation but people who know me know, and if they entertained that s*** on my line [scissor emoji].”

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The previous beef between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj seems like old news, but there are still moments when their fanbases blow life into the embers of controversy. Years ago, the ladies participated in a fight that went down in Hip Hop and fashion history, but they’ve both seemed to have moved forward from the animosity, at least publicly. 

Internet personality and Love & Hip Hop star Jessie Woo was sharing a few thoughts recently and revived the drama by saying that she was “spilling tea” regarding an alleged interaction she had years ago. “I met someone that was on Cardi’s team back in 2017 and they literally told me, this is something that was told to me, that yeah like, ‘Putting Cardi out, our goal was to knock Nicki out.'”

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“That was the first time I heard that topic. Then, not too long later, the whole Nicki and Cardi thing happened,” Woo continued, referencing the infamous fight between the ladies and their teams at New York Fashion Week back in 2018. “I remember just thinking to myself, yo, so-and-so told me this is what they were trying to do.”

Jessie Woo went on to speak about women in the industry going at it, and after Hollywood Unlocked shared the clip, Cardi B jumped in the comments to defend her name, team, and career.  “The lies !!! I hate that I gotta address sh*t that is so irrelevant,” said the rapper. “Jessie woo is the same person that I got on my dm askin me advise because she sign to my old record label and she felt like my old manager played her.”

“If anybody ever told you that about another woman then why would you go and sign with them as well ?” Cardi asked. “No matter how stressful my 3 years of litigation when with my old managers was I know he will never say that since he a Queens nikka and the last thing in our head was another woman when we was just trying to make it which we did .And yes I got the dms !”

Check out the clip of Woo’s video, as well as Cardi’s response, below.