Month: June 2021

Rick Ross is known as one of hip-hop’s biggest moguls. The Florida-bred rapper boasts a healthy slew of investments, including his most prominent venture as a franchise owner of multiple Wingstop locations throughout the country. He’s also the CEO of his very own label Maybach Music Group (MMG), which is home to artists such as Wale, Meek Mill, Omarion, and more. 

Elsewhere for Ross, he’s been busy assisting with the launch of Wingstop’s new online-only shop Thighstop, which saw the introduction of chicken thighs to the restaurant’s standard menu to help deal with the chicken wing shortage. In a recent interview, the MMG head honcho touched on exactly what type of wealth he’s working with. 

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“It’s people that question me every day. ‘Rozay you got 100 cars?’ Yeah I do. And I got 400 acres, yeah I do. But guess what? Somebody just paid me $225,000 to put five of the cars in the front of something just to take some pictures for two hours,” he explained on the I Am Athlete podcast. 

“So an asset, or a liability making you money,” chimed in one of the hosts. “Oh it’s most definitely…if I’m moving with it, I’mma try my best to get the most out of it. Why not, you know what I’m saying?” answered the label executive. 

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It seems like he’s making a pretty healthy return on his 100 car investment, which could easily be a multi-million dollar collection. Either way, it seems sustainable for the label boss. 

June has been a rough month for Safaree, considering his divorce from Erica Mena in the midst of her pregnancy with his child. Still, it’s not looking up as concern and criticism from fans continue regarding his new skin bleaching venture, which became a topic of conversation yesterday after he posted a picture on Instagram. The picture, which almost looks airbrushed or edited, was laughed at and attacked by fans who were confused about his appearance. Apparently, via an exchange in the comments with TV personality Don Benjamin, is a result of the skin bleaching process.

“Lmaoo someone used too much smooth filter,” one Instagram user commented under the picture, which was reposted all over the internet for its surprising appearance. The exchange with Benjamin started when the personality commented “What in the edit?”, to which Safaree responded “Started my bleach process bro.” Safaree had announced the move last week in a tweet that read “Starting my skin bleaching process today… it’s time for change.”

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Fans have scrutinized the 39-year-old celebrity for the move which some see as lucrative and solely for attention. Many have connected this stunt with others, like faking his divorce numerous times, as a pattern of attention-seeking moves. 

Recently, Moniece Slaughter of Love & Hip Hop was criticized for allegedly skin bleaching. She denied the allegations, stating: “I have ZERO desire to be white. NONE.”

Do you think this is a good move for Safaree? Let us know and check out the post below: 

Following the terrifying news of the partial building collapse near Miami on Thursday, tragedy has also struck in another region of the United States. Early Saturday morning, a hot air balloon ride in New Mexico sadly turned into a fatal accident. According to TMZ, the gondola that was carrying riders through the sky in Albuquerque suddenly detached from the ballon, causing all five of the riders to plummet to the ground. At this time four of the victims in the accident have been pronounced dead, and one is reportedly critically injured. 

As seen above, people in Albuquerque were able to capture the horrifying incident on video. The video starts after the tragic moment when the riders’ gondola snapped and rapidly descended, so throughout the video, all you can see is the deflated balloon slowly floating down.

According to TMZ, local authorities have said that the basket crashed into some power lines and subsequently sent the carrier up in flames. The unbelievable accident also reportedly caused an electrical outage in the area.

See a different angle of the tragic air balloon accident below, and stay tuned for possible updates.

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Fans of the Air Jordan 4 have been receiving a ton of great new colorways over the last couple of years. This was especially true back in 2019 as the Jordan 4 was celebrating its 30th anniversary. The milestone came with a plethora of retros and new colorways that had sneakerheads rushing to their wallets on a weekly basis. Beyond 2019, the Air Jordan 4 has maintained its impressive run and throughout the next few months, we are poised to see some phenomenal colorways make their way to the market.

Thanks to the Instagram sneaker account @zsneakerheadz, we now have a fresh look at a brand new Air Jordan 4 that is supposed to be released in 2022. This shoe is called “Infrared” and it has a very unique aesthetic. As you can see, the base of the shoe is mostly dark grey all while the toe box and outsole are light grey. We have some red on the lace holders, as well as the Jumpman logo, which helps give the shoe a unique pop of color. Overall, this is a creative colorway that is sure to impress fans.

The rumored release date for these has been set for February 5th of next year, although this is subject to change. Let us know what you think of the new colorway, in the comments below.

Another day, another segment from DJ Vlad’s latest interview with Boosie Badazz. The 32nd part of Boosie’s sensational interview — which has been slowly trickling out on YouTube since May — has officially been released, and during the new four-minute clip, Boosie and Vlad turn their attentions to Saweetie, specifically in regards to her controversial comments about having a threesome with Quavo and another man. Many Hip-Hop fans have theorized that those comments, which Saweetie said during an interview with her ex-boyfriend Justin Combs, was likely what led to Saweetie and Quavo’s split, and Boosie definitely appears to agree.

For reference, check out the post below, which features both Saweetie’s now-infamous interview on Respectfully Justin and Migos’ response to the rumors that they jumped Laboy following Quavo and Saweetie’s breakup.

It doesn’t take long after DJ Vlad brings the situation up for Boosie to give his honest opinion of Saweetie’s comments, and according to him, the “My Type” rapper was extremely disrespectful during her interview with Justin Combs and Justin Laboy.

“When you say that you disrespect him,” Boosie states. “You disrespect him in a whole ‘nother way, Vlad. You disrespect him in a whole ‘nother way when you say, ‘Another man,’ while your ex is right there — You’ve been triple crossed, bro.”

“You went on this show with your ex, a show that you know what gets talked about,” Boosie continues on later in the interview, criticizing Saweetie’s choice to even appear on Respectfully Justin. “It’s not a f*cking Days of our Lives. This is a show that talks about relationship things. You know you’re gonna be under fire, the questions you’re going to be asked. [So] no, you don’t direspect. You don’t do that.”

Listen to everything Boosie Badazz has on the matter by watching the latest clip from his interview with DJ Vlad below.

The opioid crisis in the United States has created a dire situation in many different regions across the country. Areas like Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York have been particularly hit by the epidemic, which has almost normalized the appearance of needles in the streets as substance-dependent individuals look to get their fix elsewhere. 

The situation has become so dire that Johnson & Johnson has agreed to a $230 million settlement with New York that will bar the company from promoting opioids, and cease the distribution of the drugs within the nation. The settlement arrives after years of lawsuits by different states, cities, and countries against Big Pharma companies over the opioid crisis, which has killed nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. in the last few decades. 

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New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office revealed in a statement on Saturday (June 26) that the agreement bans J & J from promoting opioids through any means and prohibits lobbying these products at the federal, local, or state levels. Furthermore, as part of the settlement, the company will resolve opioid-related claims and allocate payments over the course of nine years.

They may also be required to pay an additional $30 million more in the first year if the state executive chamber signs new legislation creating an opioid settlement fund. Johnson & Johnson has notably not marketed opioids in the country since 2015 and eventually discontinued business in 2020. 

Governments across the country have been arguing for years that Big Pharma companies over-prescribed the drugs, which caused people to become addicted and forced them to abuse other illegal forms of opioids to satisfy their fix. The companies have held that they distributed the necessary amount of products. 

“The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities across New York state and the rest of the nation, leaving millions still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids,” James said in a statement.  “Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they’re committing to leaving the opioid business — not only in New York, but across the entire country,” she added. “Opioids will no longer be manufactured or sold in the United States by J&J.”

In a statement Saturday, Johnson & Johnson said the settlement “is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the company” and is “consistent with the terms of the previously announced $5 billion all-in settlement agreement in principle for the resolution of opioid lawsuits and claims by states, cities, counties and tribal governments.”

Comparatively, the conglomerate is worth around $435 billion. 

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Trevor Lawrence was the first overall pick in the NFL Draft and Jacksonville Jaguars fans are very excited to see what he’s able to do in the league. On Day 1 of the NFL season, Lawrence is expected to be the starter although as it stands, head coach Urban Meyer has yet to make a concrete decision. Simply put, Meyer wants to make sure that Lawrence has progressed enough before throwing him into a situation that he may or may not be ready for.

Recently, Meyer admitted that as of today, Lawrence is not ready to be the starter Week 1. Of course, Meyer noted that this is normal and that Lawrence is performing above expectations right now. There is still a lot of time before the season, and there is a lot of optimism surrounding the QB.

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“He’s not ready yet, but he doesn’t have to be ready yet,” Meyer said per reporter Mackenzie Salmon. “We got a long training camp coming up. He’s probably advanced maybe a little quicker than we would’ve thought, so which was a positive. One thing that we worked on — when we made a decision that Trevor was going to be our No. 1 pick, we went from the evaluation stage to the preparation stage. And that means that I want to see — I can’t remember the exact date, but we started installing the playbook with him well before the draft. So you can see the retention, he’s got a really good work ethic and he’s progressed very well.”

Lawrence is expected to be the franchise QB of the future and if he has himself an impressive rookie campaign, Jaguars fans will have a lot to be excited about for years to come.

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An overjoyed Ne-Yo and Crystal Smith welcomed their new daughter, Isabelle Rose Smith, on Instagram yesterday. The announcement featured a picture of the couple at the hospital smiling cheek to cheek while holding the newborn Isabella. This is the couple’s third child together- Isabelle joins 3-year-old Roman and 5-year-old Shaffer, as well as Ne-Yo’s two other children with ex Monyetta Shaw.

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The heartwarming caption reads: “ISABELLA ROSE SMITH! God said don’t make plans honey! She came 4 weeks early but right on time for mommy! Born at 11:11 am ( lucky lil lady) 5 lbs 7 oz of perfection. My world is finally complete.” Family, friends, and fans filled the comment section with congratulations- even Shaw, Ne-Yo’s ex, congratulated them. 

Ne-Yo announced that Crystal was pregnant in February with an endearing Instagram post captioned “Overjoyed to announce…the family is expanding…,” adding that it may be his last with the hashtag “5thandFinal”.

The couple was set to get divorced late last year, but eventually settled their issues. The couple cited quarantine as a saving grace for their relationship. During an episode on The Talk, the singer admitted: “Before the quarantine happened, we were definitely talking divorce, and the quarantine kind of forced us to sit still, block out the noise from the world, you know the world can get very, very loud, and we tend to let the world’s opinion mean more in certain situations than it should.” 

Though the singer had filed the divorce papers, they were quickly rescinded.

Congratulations Ne-Yo and Crystal! Check out the announcement below.