Month: August 2021

Timbs were in full effect as two of Hip Hop’s most prolific collectives came together for a monumental Verzuz. The series hails itself as a “celebration of the culture” as it has eased its way out of the “battle” label, but The LOX and Dipset made sure that it was known that this Verzuz was a certified match. The two groups met at the Hulu Theater where they were introduced by a famed ring announcer Michael Buffer and made grand entrances much like those of WWE stars. 

Both Dipset and The LOX have been trolling each other in the weeks leading up to the Verzuz, so fans were ready to lace up their Timbs for an epic moment for the culture. From the offset, these two collectives—who made sure to repeat throughout the Verzuz that they were good friends—were going at it. They were throwing playful disses that may have rubbed a few the wrong way, but overall, once the ball got rolling, the hits didn’t stop.

Jadakiss was a standout, undeniably, and Hip Hop fans took to social media by the thousands to bestow him the MVP of the Verzuz. The LOX didn’t let up track after track, and Dipset made sure to answer each push of pressure with bars that made Harlem proud. There was a brief moment when viewers were nervous that the Verzuz was going to be shut down because there were too many people from each collective’s entourages on stage. The performing space was shrinking and there were fears that the stage wouldn’t be able to hold the weight of the dozens of guests.

Meanwhile, fans were excited to hear some of their favorite tracks. The LOX brought us “Ryde or Die B*tch,” “I Get High,” “24 Hours to Live,” “Good Times,” the remix to Mariah Carey’s “Honey,” and a tribute to the late great New York icon, DMX. Dipset came through with “Killa Cam,” “We Fly High,” “Oh Boy,” “Hey Ma,” “Certified Gangstas,” and “I Really Mean It.”

For those that missed it, Verzuz should be uploading the show in its entirety soon. Check out a few reactions, memes, and notes from The LOX and Dipset’s Verzuz below. For those of you who caught the performance, let us know your favorite moments and who you think stole the show.

It is unclear the depth of DaBaby’s involvement with KS 107.5’s concert was, but the station has taken to social media to share that his recent controversy contributed to their decision to cancel their event. We’re all well aware by now of DaBaby facing continuing consequences for his homophobic remarks in recent days, from his Rolling Loud Miami concert to his social media responses to the scandal.

Yesterday (August 2), DaBaby issued a more formal apology, however, he was since dropped from at least four festivals. Back in June, it was announced that he would headline KS 107.5’s Summer Jam concert that included artists like Jack Harlow and Saweetie, but the Colorado radio station announced this evening that they have made the decision to dissolve the event.

Rich Fury / Staff / Getty Images

“In light of various factors, including DaBaby’s recent comments, along with our concert partners, we have chosen to cancel this year’s Summer Jam,” the station shared to their Instagram. “We look forward to working on Summer Jam Lineups for years to come with our love of music and each other. Tickets will be refunded from your point of purchase.”

Why the concert couldn’t move forward without DaBaby or replaced him with another artist could be because of several factors, but this is just another blow for the North Carolina artist. Check out the post below.

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It was about a month ago that Lil Baby was enjoying the Parisian sites with James Harden by his side, but suddenly, news broke that the rapper had been arrested. It was revealed that he was detained on a marijuana charge, but fans were thrilled when it was shared that he was released within a day. While visiting Icebox, Lil Baby spoke about his recent run-in with Parisian officials and explained a bit of what it was like behind bars in France. 

“I know what happened now that I done thought about it. I got locked up like, Thursday night and I had a show Saturday,” he added. “I’m like, if I don’t get out Friday, I’m gonna get out Monday. I ain’t tryin’ to miss my show on Saturday.”

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Baby was cutting it close and things were tense because people weren’t expecting the show to actually go down after news of his arrest went viral.

“I’m talking, the whole world’s texting, DMing me,” said Lil Baby. “I know y’all see me going to jail, they like, ‘You good?’ Like nah n*gga, I’m not good! I went to jail a lot of times, right? But they speak English.” The rapper said he felt like a kid and thought he was about to spend months in jail because he wasn’t in his home country.

Lil Baby added that he was “moving for two days” traveling from one side of the world to the other, and while he was locked up, he was given “a bowl of rice with milk.” Although he said he was “starving,” he politely declined. Watch the videos of his Icebox adventure below.

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When things go sideways online after a public figure says something controversial on their social media pages, many return to say that their accounts have been compromised. Such is the case with Blac Chyna who recently caused a stir after tweets from her Twitter account stated that the father of her child, rapper Tyga, “love Trans.” 

People accused the model mogul of “outing” her ex and told her that the tweets were more harmful to the trans community than helpful, and after spending a day being tagged in harsh social media posts, Chyna’s representative reportedly told The Shade Room that her account was hacked.

Imeh Akpanudosen / Contributor / Getty Images

“Unfortunately, Blac Chyna’s Twitter account was hacked yesterday as she would not purposely speak negatively about Tyga online,” the rep reportedly stated before apologizing for the remarks. Tyga has not come forward to address the allegations regarding his sexual preferences nor has he publicly acknowledged Chyna’s Twitter controversy.

Years ago, Tyga was accused of sending compromising photos of himself to a transgender model. Recently, Sada Baby called out Tyga over rumors of his alleged interactions with transwomen as well, but that went ignored by the California rapper.

Diversifying one’s portfolio is the norm among artists and athletes as many invest in businesses or launch their own companies, but Snoop Dogg believes the sports isn’t as inclusive as it could be. The Rap mogul sat down with The New York Times and discussed his business moves from cannabis to food companies to liquor brands, and he spoke openly about athletes investing in star-ups, as well.

“Right, because they understand that they got to get it,” said Snoop. “I mean, you would think that those businesspeople up top would say: ‘You know what? It’s time to change the world. We’ve got to stop treating Black people like they’re less. They’re always the ones who do the hard work, the groundwork, but we never cut them in.'”

Harry How / Staff / Getty Images

Snoop them questioned why in the NFL, a league where the majority of players are Black, doesn’t have a team with a Black owner. “That’s just racist. Period, point-blank,” said Snoop. “We need to own an NFL team. We got one half-owner in the NBA, Michael Jordan. But the whole league is 90 percent Black. So we still the slaves and they still the masters.”

Jordan is the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, and while there are other Black members in organizations, they don’t hold the same power. “That’s why in the music game, we took the initiative to say, [expletive] that. We’re the masters, and we own our masters. We’re going to negotiate with you the way we think it should be. We changed that industry years ago, with our mentality of having our own labels.”

Do you think it’s racist that there should be more owners of teams in the NBA and NFL who are Black?

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His meteoric rise in recent years has made Lil Durk and his OTF clique leading forces in the Rap industry, but with great power comes great responsibility—or so the saying goes. Between boasting about his romance with longtime girlfriend India Royale and touring the world as a No. 1-selling artist, Lil Durk has repeatedly suffered losses of loved ones.

There has been a call from Hip Hop artists to celebrate those you love while they’re still here, and the sentiment has been widely accepted, especially during a time where we’ve grieved the deaths of artists who have passed away from overdoses, illnesses, and gun violence.

“Why every time somebody die they love you but when you here they don’t care …… love me now not later [smiling with tear emoji],” Durk tweeted this evening (August 3). “Von left us Dthang left us and I was lost.” His messages seemed to have stopped there and fans have responded that the rapper must have been having a difficult moment as he relived some harrowing moments.

Both King Von, Durk’s protegé, and DThang, the rapper’s brother, lost their lives to gun violence. Von was outside of an Atlanta hookah lounge in November 2020 when he reportedly got into a scuffle with Quando Rondo’s entourage, resulting in a shooting that took the lives of three people. Months ago, DThang, real name Dontay Banks, was murdered when gunfire rang out while he was outside of a nightclub.

Check out his tweets below.

Twitter

As critics like Piers Morgan used their platforms to condemn Simone Biles for opting out of four Olympic events, it was recently revealed that the champion’s aunt died while she was in Tokyo. Biles has been at the top of her game for years and was a frontrunner for the Tokyo Olympics, so it came as a shock when she decided not to compete in several finals for mental health reasons.

Millions of Americans took to social media to vocalize their support through the difficult time, and while most didn’t understand the reasoning why Biles pulled back, her coach recently gave insight. Biles jumped back into the competition for the beam final where she earned the U.S. a bronze medal.

“We’ve had a lot of tears combined because as much as we’re happy for Team USA, in the back, it was a little heartbreaking to know that she could’ve been out there and she could’ve, hopefully, earned some medals as well,” Biles’ coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi said. “But, she was the best cheerleader. She wanted to be here, she wasn’t forced. That was her own will to be here and she was really proud of all of them.”

Biles revealed that during the Olympics, she learned that her aunt had “unexpectedly passed” away. Landi said she asked Biles “what do you need,” and the award-winning gymnast requested “some time.” This came after Biles complained of feeling the “twisties,” a condition that causes disorientation for gymnasts in mid-air. It can cause great injury as athletes with “twisties” often don’t know where they are during flips, resulting in dangerous landings.

“I don’t think I would have had the guts to say I’m not okay,” said Landi. “I think I would have probably just crashed somewhere, and probably injured myself. I think for me, she’s the first one at a meet at the biggest stage, to say ‘I’m not okay.’ A lot of people don’t understand it, but we do.”

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