Month: June 2021

Soulja Boy and Bow Wow’s Verzuz battle finally went down on Saturday. It was a celebration of two icons of the mid-2000s who provided anthems after anthems. The event was so monumental that Drake even said he would’ve pulled up if Soulja Boy hit him up. However, the show almost didn’t go down, according to newly released footage. A new clip surfaced shortly after the event of Soulja Boy nearly calling it quits moments before Verzuz went live because his crew wasn’t allowed inside of the venue.

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“I’ll leave this shit right now. There won’t be no live. There won’t be no Verzuz,” Soulja Boy mumbled before directly approaching a staff member who suggested that his crew would have to wait until doors open to enter the building. “Listen, listen, I don’t know who you could tell but if they don’t let my artists in, I’m ’bout to leave right now and there won’t be no live or no event.”

It seems that the leverage worked as one member of the staff asked whether they had any wristbands to gain access to the backstage area. “I don’t know what they got but y’all finna let ’em in,” he continued. A woman then told Soulja Boy that they would have to go to the front to which he responded, “Nah, they going to the back to the dressing room with me. These ain’t no fans. These my artists. Yuh, so open this fuckin’ gate.”

After gaining entry, Soulja Boy’s heard arguing with someone before he abruptly stated, “I’m leavin’! I’m gone!” 

Clearly, things ended up working with Soulja Boy and the SODMG crew as the rapper and Bow Wow successfully went hit-for-hit on Saturday evening. 

Who do you think won Saturday night’s Verzuz? Let us know in the comment section below. 

The BET Awards took place last night with music’s brightest stars touching the stage. Tyler, The Creator and City Girls touched the BET Award stage for the first time in their careers while Migos took the stage alongside Cardi B who revealed that she and Offset are expecting baby #2. Overall, there were solid performances but perhaps, not everyone felt that their performances were up to par.

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DaBaby hit the stage last night where he performed his recently released record, “Ball If I Want To.” He delivered an incredibly theatric, and partially chaotic, performance with a slew of dancers. Unfortunately, his vocals seemed to be off-time which seemed to be a result of the live mix. The backing track was louder than his vocals at times. 

A new video emerged revealing DaBaby’s immediate reaction after coming off the stage for the performance. Drenched in sweat, the rapper quickly asked where he could find the audio engineer. “Where audio buddy at?” DaBaby asked once he got off stage. “Where audio buddy? N***a, I couldn’t hear nothing the whole time… I don’t know how. I told them that before we started.”

DaBaby was nominated seven times at this year’s BET Awards including four nods within the Best Collaboration category. Surprisingly, he left empty-handed but there’s always next year.

Check out the clip of DaBaby below. 

Weeks ago, Iggy Azalea debuted a stunning all-red look on Instagram, and it’s safe to say that it wasn’t Whole Lotta Red-related. In a recent post to Instagram, the In My Defense femcee revealed that she had landed the cover of Harpers Bazaar Vietnam, and the red-hot look was merely a part of her steamy photoshoot for the magazine. 

Throughout several pictures, you can see Iggy embracing what she describes as “Jessica rabbit” aesthetic, as she rocks a form-fitting red dress, a sweeping black dress, and a striking zebra print top. Check out her gorgeous, all-red look for the cover of Harpers Bazaar Vietnam below.

According to That Grape Juice, Iggy got extremely candid during her cover story for Harpers Bazaar Vietnam, reportedly telling the magazine, “I’m so excited for what’s happening this year! I put in all the groundwork during the pandemic last year and made use of my time at home. Now in 2021, everything is finally ready to share with the world. I have an album on the way, my fragrance Devil’s Advocate is out, a US tour is happening and tons more… I am busier than I have been in years…”

As previously reported, Iggy Azalea has already confirmed that her forthcoming album will finally release in August, with her imminent single “I Am The Stripclub” set to stoke excitement for the project when it arrives this Friday. Now with the reveal that she will be touring, it’s evident that the mother of one has even bigger plans for this year than fans previously imagined.

Are you looking forward to everything that Iggy Azalea has in store for 2021?

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Ever since the Philadelphia 76ers lost in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, there have been questions surrounding the team and whether or not Ben Simmons is the star of the future. He was pegged to be the next LeBron James although, without a jump shot or any range whatsoever, Simmons has proven to be an ineffective player in the postseason. This has led to rumors that Simmons could be traded, and as you can imagine, there are a multitude of teams out there who are looking to make it happen.

According to Minnesota sports network Skor North, sources close to the Minnesota Timberwolves are saying that they “badly” want to get Ben Simmons the roster and that they believe he is the piece that could get them back into the postseason, once and for all.

Of course, the Timberwolves have a work-in-progress roster that features the talents of Karl-Anthony Towns, and D’Angelo Russell. It’s hard to imagine the T-Wolves creating a suitable package for Simmons, although with his trade value plummeting due to poor playoff performances, perhaps Minny can pull it off.

Even if it isn’t Minnesota who gets Simmons, there is no doubt that we are about be in for a very interesting NBA offseason.

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The United States raised the federal minimum age to purchase tobacco and nicotine products from 18 to 21 back in 2019, in part due to the increased use of nicotine and vaping products in young people. Critics of vaping nicotine products have long advocated that the flavored tobacco product flavors were directly marketed towards young people. 

In different states across the country, flavored nicotine products have been banned for the same reason. Earlier this year, the FDA even moved to ban cigarettes and flavored cigars altogether. The tobacco industry suffered another crushing blow on Monday (June 28) after JUUL lost a settlement to North Carolina that accused them of marketing its product to minors, forcing the company to cough up $40 million.

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The settlement, which was announced by North Carolina attorney general Josh Stein, is the first one reached by the company with a state government. A trial was set to start in July, but the terms of the deal include restrictions on sales of products that appeal to minors and also requires Juul to produce reports yearly confirming their compliance. 

Stein explained in a press conference he began going after Juul after “hearing from friends about the devastation that this product had visited on kids’ lives – addiction, depression, bad grades, switching schools, medical treatment and more”.

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“Juul sparked and spread a disease, the disease of nicotine addiction. They did it to teenagers across North Carolina and this country simply to make money,” Stein said. “Their greed is not only reprehensible, it is unlawful.” The documents obtained by the state during its investigation of the company will be made available to the public in July 2022. The money from the settlement will be used to conduct further research on the harmful effects of youth vaping. 

As part of the settlement, Juul will not be required to admit any wrongdoing. “We look forward to working with attorney general Stein and other manufacturers on the development of potential industrywide marketing practices based on science and evidence,” a Juul spokesperson said. “In addition, we support the attorney general’s desire to deploy funds to generate appropriate science to support North Carolina’s public health interventions to reduce underage use.”

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While they’ve reached a settlement in this case, the company is still facing more than 2,000 lawsuits over its e-cigarette marketing. There’s no word yet on how they plan to handle the others. 

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H.E.R. was one of the many artists who made huge appearances at the 21st BET Awards this past Sunday, and in addition to killing the red carpet with an eye-catching, transparent pair of pants, the rising R&B star also performed the Back of My Mind album intro “We Made It” and took home the award for “Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.” Apparently, the highly decorated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist did it all while celebrating her birthday, and on Monday, H.E.R. kept the celebration going by announcing the second year of her curated music festival.

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Following its impressive launch in 2019, Lights On Festival is finally making its return this year after sitting out 2020 due to the pandemic. This year, the festival s expanding to a two-day format, and artists such as H.E.R., Erykah Badu, Bryson Tiller, Ty Dolla $ign, and Ari Lennox will be leading the R&B festivities this time around.

In addition to the aforementioned artists, other R&B stars who have been tapped for the festival include Arin Ray, Blxst, Brianna Castro, Foushee, Keyshia Cole, Kiana Lede, Lorea, Lucky Daye, Maeta, Masego, Maxx Moore, Sabrina, Tiana Major9, Tone Stith, and VanJess. Check out the poster for the festival below.

With such a stacked line-up, H.E.R.’s upcoming festival will definitely be a treat for R&B fans. The 2021 Lights On Festival returns to Concord, California for its second year on September 18th and September 19th, and general admission tickets are already on sale.

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The last full-length project we heard from Travis Scott was 2018’s ASTROWORLD. Since then, the Houston native has been focused on expanding his business portfolio. As one of the most profitable artists in hip-hop, scoring brand deals seem to come easy for the “Highest In The Room” artist.  

He’s collaborated with McDonald’s, Nike, and more. He even debuted his own line of tequila seltzers dubbed CACTI. Most recently, he partnered up with Dior to debut a new menswear collection that pays homage to the late Canarsie-bred rapper Pop Smoke. In a new interview with WWD, the multi-talented artist revealed a few more details about what to expect on his forthcoming release Utopia. 

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In the interview, Travis touched on how the visuals of the fashion show were inspired by working on the long-awaited follow-up of his chart-topping project ASTROWORLD. “I’m in this new album mode where it’s like psychedelic rock,” Scott told WWD. “So even just like the field of cactuses and mushrooms, you might get tripped out.”

Elsewhere, the Grammy-nominated hitmaker spoke on his upcoming Astroworld festival set to take place in Houston this November. “We’re back on the streets. I think that’s just one of the craziest things. This is gonna be super dope,” he promised. “I’m really putting a lot into the stage this year. I’m putting a lot into the surrounding, so you’re going to see a lot of different things, a lot of new experiences at this festival.”

Travis notably previewed a brief teaser of his upcoming collaboration with Westside Gunn during the show. The track, tentatively titled “How Wonderful,” includes a more somber rhythm than Travis fans are used to. “Baby girl think she in Honolu’ (Wonderful)/ Don’t you know you in the I-5 loop?/ How many chickens fit in the coop? (How wonderful, wonderful)/ Wonderful, she don’t wanna leave/ She jump up, bounce back like trampoline,” spits the Houston native on the track.

Westside Gunn then comes in, “ayo, whip the cocaine to the pop ups/ You was on the porch, I was locked up (I was locked up, ah)/ Two-tone Maybach truck with the Maxwells/ Think a n*gga shot somethin’.”

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What are your thoughts on Travis’ “psychedelic rock” inspired sound? Let us know down in the comments. 

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After an ugly public feud with his former co-star, which included threats of leaving the Fast and Furious franchise, Tyrese and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have turned a new page. 

Tyrese sat down with Tiffany Haddish on the Ellen Degeneres Show to spill about the just-released Fast & Furious 9. His former costar came up in the conversation, and in the process, Tyrese revealed that the two have more than just a simple truce going on. 

The two have apparently stayed in close contact since December 2020, when they first convened for a four-hour conversation, and resolved their issues. Nonetheless, it seems like their relationship has progressed even further, returning to bromance territory. The actor spoke on his rekindled friendship with Dwayne, saying, “we’ve been on the phone every other day. We reconnected in a real way. I think we’re both better men on the other side of all that stuff that went down.”

He added, “We’re about 20 phone calls in and we’re in competition right now on who can leave the longest voice note.”

The Rock recently confirmed that the spinoff film that started all the drama — Hobbs and Shaw  — will be receiving a sequel. 

Check out the clip with Tyrese and Tiffany Haddish below.

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