Month: August 2021

Boosie Badazz has been in cahoots with Instagram, and Facebook at large, over the past year and some change. The rapper’s often-times explicit Instagram Live sessions have produced some incredibly viral moments that were certainly NSFW. However, it helped many get through the early part of the pandemic, whether through his unfiltered commentary or the inappropriate acts 

The rapper was booted off of the platform, and continuous policy infractions have left him without an official account. He has a few burner accounts, though they keep getting taken down once Instagram realizes that it’s Boosie. Most recently, the rapper took aim at the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri who publicly addressed Boosie’s ban.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images 

Unfortunately, it seems that even without publicizing any debauchery on the platform, he’s been removed, once again. The rapper took to Twitter where he put Mosseri on blast. “They took my IG AGAIN SMH AINT EVEN DO SHIT SPam,” Boosie wrote before tagging the head of IG directly. @mosseri HES A BITCH.”

During an appearance on the Breakfast Club, Charlamagne Tha God asked Mosseri directly the reasoning behind Boosie’s ban. “You’ve gotta draw the line somewhere,” Mosseri said. “It’s a nudity policy. We try to be clear. You can appeal but if you have too many strikes, something will happen.”

Check out Boosie’s tweet below. 

Diddy says that he is starting a new “all R&B label” because he feels that the genre has been abandoned despite its importance to “our African American culture.” The rap legend discussed his idea in a new cover story for Vanity Fair.

“I’m coming back into music, you know?” the rapper began. “Yeah, all R&B label, because I feel like R&B was abandoned and it’s a part of our African American culture.”

Rich Fury / Getty Images

He continued to explain that he wants it to feel like more of a partnership than him simply signing artists: “And I’m not signing any artists. Because if you know better, you do better. I’m doing 50–50 partnerships with pure transparency. That’s the thing. [The new label is so that] we can own the genre; we don’t own hip-hop right now. We have a chance to—and I’m going to make sure that—we own R&B.”

Diddy also discussed his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, saying that there was “no trolling involved” when he uploaded a throwback picture of them shortly after Lopez broke things off with Alex Rodriguez.

Diddy’s next project, Off The Grid Vol. 1, is due out September 24th.

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Yung Miami recently went on Instagram Live to talk to her fans, and during the live stream, she went on a short rant about why she sometimes doesn’t like talking to her fans. She claimed that they’re always trying to find “something,” while putting a hilarious extra emphasis on the “thing” in something. 

“I don’t like talking cuz y’all always tryna find some-thing,” the City Girls rapper said. “Y’all always tryna find some-thing! Some-thing, very much some-thing! Y’all always tryna find something to talk about.”

It turns out that Monica was a fan of the rant because the Miss Thang artist reenacted Yung Miami’s IG Live rant in one of her recent TikTok videos. 

In the video, Monica performs the Yung Miami audio word for word with facial expressions that even capture Yung Miami’s demeanor. The hilarious TikTok eventually made its way to the City Girls rapper, who posted the clip to her Instagram along with the caption, “man I be saying a whole bunch of nothing.”

Keeping her lighthearted trolling going, Monica commented under Yung Miami’s post saying, “Nah You said some !!! Cause it’s really always SOME-THING [laughing emoji] [laughing emoji] @yungmiami305.”

Check out the video below. Do you understand where Yung Miami was coming from in her “some-thing” rant? Or are you more entertained by Monica’s TikTok reenactment?

Nas has officially unveiled the tracklist to his upcoming album King’s Disease II, due out for release this coming Friday, August 6th. Executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy, who worked closely on the original King’s Disease, the project features a decent number of guest appearances from Ms. Lauryn Hill, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YG, Blxst, Charlie Wilson, Hit-Boy, EPMD, and — in a surprising turn, Eminem.

The moment the tracklist dropped, many were immediately drawn to the intriguingly titled “EPMD 2,” featuring the legendary lineup of EPMD and Eminem. While a gathering of hip-hop OGs is always an exciting prospect, the song also happens to mark the first time Eminem and Nas have rapped on the same track together. 

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Though it will be the first time they’ve traded bars on wax, it’s not the first time they have worked together. Eminem previously produced “The Cross” on Nas’ God’s Son album, and Nas previously explained that wanted Em to appear on a remix to his Life Is Good track “Daughters.” Unfortunately, Em has felt he had said enough on the topic and kindly declined the opportunity.

Now, however, the time has come for the lyricists to link up, with EPMD on board for good measure. Is it safe to assume we’ll see some production from Erick Sermon, who recently laced beats for Shady affiliates KXNG Crooked and Conway The Machine? 

With King’s Disease II due out in a matter of days, it won’t be long before we hear Eminem and Nas’ first rapped collaboration come to fruition. With excitement abuzz for the track and album alike, check out some of the most hyped reactions for “EPMD 2” that Twitter has to offer. Are you excited to see how Eminem and Nas sound together after all these years? 

New York Attorney General Letitia James says that the office’s investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo has found the Democratic Gov. to have sexually harassed multiple women. The victims include members of his own staff, other state employees including a State Trooper, and members of the public.

“These interviews and pieces of evidence revealed a deeply disturbing yet clear picture: Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees in violation of federal and state laws,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Monica Schipper / Getty Images

In conducting the investigation, the team spoke to 179 individuals and reviewed 74,000 pieces of evidence. James says that all 11 women were found to be credible and that their allegations were corroborated to varying degrees. They used witnesses and contemporaneous text messages to do so.

The report adds that Cuomo’s conduct was “unlawful” but says they were unable to reach a conclusion on “whether the conduct amounts to or should be the subject of criminal prosecution.”

The New York Governor was questioned by the office for over 11 hours in July.

Check out Attorney General Letitia James’s press conference below.

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As the Delta COVID-19 variant continues to pose a massive threat to our progress against the pandemic, measures for the unvaccinated continue to grow in quantity and severity. Whether it’s a fine for unvaccinated NFL players or an extended mask mandate, those who refuse the vaccine are continually faced with more challenges in order to live their “normal lives,” as it were.

This reached a head today when New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced what may be the most strict regulation against the unvaccinated America has seen so far. In a policy rolling out in the next two weeks, New York City restaurants, gyms, and indoor entertainment venues will require proof of vaccination at entry– those who have none to present, will be refused entry. 

In the press conference, De Blasio had this to say about the new policy: “If you’re unvaccinated, unfortunately, you will not be able to participate in many things… If you want to participate in our society fully, you’ve got to get vaccinated.” The city will begin enforcing the new rule on September 13th.

Other states have employed incentive programs to push citizens to get vaccinated, like cash prizes and free food, though none yet have gone as far as New York City seems to be doing. France recently enforced similar protocol, which requires proof of vaccine or a recent negative COVID-19 test at indoor social events. 

New Yorkers and other commentators rushed to Twitter to give mixed opinions on the policy. One Brooklyn resident wrote: “NEW: If you want to go to the gym or to a restaurant in New York City, you have to show proof of vaccination. THIS IS HUGE,” while a critic spoke on the racist implications of the policy because of different vaccination rates by race: “Mayor de Blasio is announcing that 69% of Blacks, 58% of Latinos, and the majority of Bronx residents are ineligible to eat in a restaurant or go to a gym.”

Check out some responses below. Do you think this is a good move?

Simone Biles’ performance at the 2021 Olympics, marred by mental health issues and personal struggles, has served a much larger purpose than her impressive athleticism. While her hands aren’t full of medals, Biles can be confident that she inspired a generation by putting her humanity on display. However, the break that Biles did take, which caused her to miss four Olympic finals, seemed to have cleared her mind enough for this morning’s balance beam event. Falling just short behind two Chinese contestants, Biles placed third and earned herself a Bronze medal– her seventh Olympic medal in her career. 

“This one is definitely sweeter,” Simone Biles said about the bronze medal, a mark of her perseverance against adversity. Other Bronze medals in her career have come with disappointment and shame, though this one means a lot more. 

Simone Biles competes in the Women’s Balance Beam Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – Jamie Squire/Getty Images

“We’re not just entertainment, we’re humans,” Biles told IOC President Thomas Bach in a tearful interview Tuesday, “And there are things going on behind the scenes that we’re also trying to juggle with as well, on top of sports.” She concluded this thought with: “My mental and physical health is better than any medal.”

This was a cornerstone of Biles’ message throughout the past week. Many have blasted the gymnast for putting her own needs over the athletic reputation of America, while others see Biles’ decision as an important step in normalizing mental health issues. 

Fans flocked to Twitter to support Biles for her victory. One user wrote: “Simone Biles does a double pike dismount, which she hasn’t done in approximately 9 years! What a wonderful performance!”

Check out the interview and some clips below.