Month: June 2021

On Friday (June 26), hundreds and thousands of people across the United States and the world tuned in to Derek Chauvin’s sentencing. The former Minneapolis cop who is responsible for the death of George Floyd, which was one of the titular cases of racialized police violence that sparked mass protests across the country, received a 22 1/2 sentence after being found guilty on all three charges. 

Reactions to his sentence were polarized. While some applauded prosecutors for making sure justice was secured for George Floyd, others criticized the brief 22-year sentence Chauvin received for murder. One such critic is Boosie Badazz, who took to Twitter to make it clear he did not agree with Chauvin’s sentencing. 

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET

“22 YEARS WTF HE WILL BE HOME [IN] 5-7 YEARS GOOD BEHAVIOR !!” penned Boosie on Friday shortly after the conclusion of the sentencing hearing. “F*CK THAT JUDGE HE SAID F*CK GEORGE FLOYD WITH THAT SENTENCING. F*CK THE JUSTICE SYSTEM !! THAT RACIST B*TCH [IN] HIS CELL SMILING RIGHT NOW #hopefully a inmate will…” 

He continued in subsequent tweets, “[IN] DID YALL SEE CHAVELIN UGLY ASS MOMA UP THERE #b*tch GO HOME!! IT’S YO FAULT TOO HE CAME OUT YOU P*SSY. I KNOW YALL SAW THAT FAKE ASS ACTING ROLE SHE PUT UP THERE #BoldandtheBeautiful MOMA U DID YO THANG #uglyassb*tch #f*ckyoson.”

Elsewhere, Beyoncé and Solange Knowles mother Tina Knowles-Lawson spoke out about her disappointment with the amount of jail time given to Derek Chauvin during Friday’s sentencing hearing. “Very Disappointing!!” wrote the 67-year-old fashion designer on Instagram.

“My Godson was sentenced to 20 years for 2 ounces of marijuana he has been In Jail for 11 years. This man convicted of three charges He Murdered This man on TV before the world. And will only serve 15 ! The system has to change!” she finished. 

What’s your take? 

One of the most prestigious sporting events of the year is the Tour De France. The entire event takes place over 21 days and it sees some of the best cyclists in the world take part in a test of endurance that comes with a massive prize for the winner. Winning the Tour De France is no small task and there are many things that can go wrong along the way.

Today marked the very first day of the Tour De France and with COVID cases on the decline, the route was packed with fans who were on each side of the road. Unfortunately, one fan got a little too overzealous and ended up on the course as they looked to show off their sign for some air time. As you can imagine, this didn’t go over well for the fan, or the riders for that matter, as there was a huge pile-up as a direct result of the fan’s actions. It was one of the biggest crashes in Tour De France history and many fans are livid at what went down.

Numerous Tour De France favorites were involved in the crash and some cyclists even had their bikes busted up. Any cyclist who was following the initial crash ended up as part of the pile-up and it remains to be seen whether or not some of these guys can grind their way back near the top of the leaderboard.

While the first day has been eventful, it’s getting publicity for all of the wrong reasons.

Julien Goldstein/Getty Images

As a star who has lived her entire life as a celebrity, Willow is known for many things, from simply being Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s daughter to her work as a co-host on Red Table Talk, but it would be criminal to look past Willow’s musical efforts. Since her debut album ARDIPITHECUS in 2015, Willow has been growing as a singer and songwriter over projects like The 1st and WILLOW, and most recently, the young artist treated fans with the pop-punk tinged single “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l.” 

Now, following the arrival of “LIPSTICK” on Friday, Willow has finally revealed more information about her highly anticipated fourth studio album. Titled lately I feel EVERYTHING, Willow’s previously teased pop-punk and rock-focused album will arrive on Friday, July 16. Check out the album’s cover art below.

According to Complex, Willow is looking to explore a new sonic territory that’s inspired by artists such as My Chemical Romance and Paramore, and her highly anticipated collaboration with Avril Lavigne will also appear on the album. In a statement, she reveals, “I just wanted to let loose with this album. I wanted to have fun and be young and not be so existential and worrying all the time. I thought this was a really dope outlet for a new energy I wanted to bring to my music.”

Willow’s forthcoming album lately I feel EVERYTHING is set to hit streaming services in a matter of weeks, but in the meantime, you can check out her latest single “LIPSTICK” below.

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More than five years have passed since the world lost the beloved music legend Prince, and to this day, his legacy lives on through new posthumous music, tribute performances, and unbelievable stories told by celebrities like Dave Chappelle. Now, it appears that Prince has once again made headlines after a rare copy of his handwritten lyrics were auctioned off at an insane price.

According to TMZ, Prince’s handwritten lyrics to “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was recently covered by H.E.R. at the Emmys In Memoriam ceremony last fall, hit the auction block at Boston-based RR Auction. One person walked away with some pretty amazing music memorabilia, and another walked away with nearly $151,000.

George De Sota/Liaison/Getty Images

After paying $150,986 for the sheet of notebook paper adorned with Prince’s cursive handwriting and the white console marking tape he used to use to attach his lyrics to his mic while recording, the fan who was able to secure the rare artifact also reportedly received a letter of provenance from Prince’s former assistant, Therese Stoulil. According to TMZ, Stoulil explained how she originally came to possess Prince’s handwritten lyrics to “Nothing Compares 2 U,” saying, “There was a knock on my door, and I looked out the bedroom window and saw a black BMW in my driveway and immediately recognized it as Duane’s, Prince’s half-brother.”

“I went downstairs opened the door, and he only said ‘this is from Prince’ then he got in his car and left,” Stoulil continued. “Once I realized what Duane delivered, I was both stunned and humbled.”

The song was originally written and recorded for Prince’s 80s outfit The Family, but it actually received global acclaim after Sinead O’Connor famously covered it 1990. 

Listen to Prince’s original studio version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was surprisingly just released in 2018, below.

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LaMelo Ball had himself a monstrous rookie season with the Charlotte Hornets that had many fans excited for the future of the franchise. Ball was easily one of the most exciting point guards in the league and every single night, he came through with a highlight reel pass. His efforts were good enough to win him the Rookie of the Year trophy and heading into next season, Ball is expected to elevate his game and become one of the best young players in the NBA.

As for his father LaVar, well, he is extremely excited about his son’s accomplishment. LaVar has always been boastful about his kids, and after this Rookie of the Year award, you can be sure that LaVar is looking to cash in. Recently, the Ball family patriarch took to the Big Baller Brand Instagram account where he unveiled a brand new commemorative hat for LaMelo’s ROTY award. As you can see, the hat says “I Told You So” and even has the ROTY acronym on the side.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

“That’s right, I don’t even got to say nothing,” LaVar said. “It went down the way I said it was going to go down.” The hats are now being sold for a limited time on the Big Baller Brand website, and we’re sure there are plenty of LaMelo fans who are ready and willing to cop.

Needless to say, it’s a good time to be LaVar Ball right now.