Month: September 2021

A day ago, The Wendy Williams Show official Instagram page posted that host Wendy Williams would return to her customary purple chair on October 4 to kick off the daytime talk show’s 13th season. 

This announcement came as a bit of a surprise, as Williams has been dealing with a myriad of problems and had previously moved Season 13’s start date to address “ongoing health issues.”

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It turns out the sentiment of surprise was warranted. 

Taking to Instagram to announce that Williams would not be back on October 4 the @wendyshow Instagram account informed followers that the “How You Doin’?” host would actually return on October 18, as she is still dealing with other, “ongoing medical issues.”

According to her show’s Instagram post, Williams, who was vocal about not taking the COVID-19 vaccine, has reportedly recovered from her breakthrough COVID case, but still has to address other areas before returning to TV.

The post does not acknowledge what those other issues are but just a couple of weeks ago, Williams was reportedly hospitalized and undergoing voluntary psychiatric evaluations. The talk show host has publicly described her battles with addiction and alcoholism and it is believed that, according to an insider’s report to The Sun that, “Wendy drinks every day,” and is “in need of serious help.” 

Whether or not Williams is actually back in her host chair on October 18 is to be seen but from the multiple delays to reports of a seemingly-dire situation, it will be interesting to see what happens from here on out. Williams is one of the most polarizing personalities in television and is always stirring the pot somehow and the longer her absence goes, the more people are going to try to get to the bottom of what is actually going on. 

What do you think of The Wendy Williams Show being delayed again? Let us know in the comments. 

21 Savage is currently preoccupied rocking the stage as an integral part of J. Cole’s ongoing The Off-Season tour, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking toward the future.

Though his latest release — the Metro Boomin-assisted Savage Mode 2 — was released relatively recently, Savage appears to be putting the pieces together for his next project. Taking to Twitter to gauge fan responses, Savage inquires as to whether the masses want to see him pursue one of three options: a) trap, b) r&b, and c) in my feelings.

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At the time of this writing, the results seem to favor “trap” by a staggering 60.5 percent. R&B received little to no support with 17 percent, while the mysterious “in my feelings” currently holds down second place with 22 percent.

It’s interesting, however, to note how 21 continues to show interest in exploring rhythm and blues. It’s not entirely rare to see the Atlanta rapper sharing a clip of himself singing his heart out, and while his voice isn’t entirely top tier material, there’s a raw honesty and vulnerability that’s downright endearing; think OT Genasis’ “Never Knew.” 

Of course, the old idiom of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” tends to hold true for a reason, and it’s clear that the fans aren’t quite fed up of 21’s trap music yet — even if the rapper is feeling the slightest temptation to get his own 808s & Heartbreaks off his chest. Should you be interested in weighing in on 21’s question, check out his poll below.

Do you think the game could benefit from a 21 Savage r&b album? 

Last weekend, Kelly Price was reported missing, and fans of the “Heartbreak Hotel,” “As We Lay,” and “Friend of Mine” singer immediately hit social media to spread awareness about the news in an attempt to help locate Kelly Price. Fortunately, Kelly Price’s legal team swiftly confirmed that the Grammy-nominated artist was safe and sound, and the reason for her absence on social media was due to her recovering from an intense battle with COVID-19.

Despite the statement shared on Price’s Instagram, her family wasn’t fully convinced because they hadn’t heard from Kelly directly. Thus to quell any troubling rumors, Kelly Price made a public appearance during an interview with TMZ, during which she confirmed once and for all that she was not missing.

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Kelly Price has since informed her fans that she is “going back into solace and silence,” and according to TMZ, her legal team has ensured that the acclaimed singer is no longer listed as a missing person with authorities. 

After performing the mandatory welfare and safety check, Kelly Price has officially been removed from the National Crime Information Center’s National Missing Persons Registry.

If you haven’t already seen it, watch Kelly Price‘s emotional interview with TMZ below, and you can also read more about her COVID-19 struggles here.

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When James Gandolfini tragically passed away in 2013, the world mourned the loss of an incredible actor and arguably the greatest television character of all time, Tony Soprano. 

Gandolfini’s Soprano, the star and anchor of HBO’s The Sopranos, combined ruthlessness, shrewdness and fearfulness into one character and captivated viewers across the country for seasons at a time. Unfortunately, because of the most-insane cliff hanger series’ finale of all time, we never found out what happened to Tony Soprano. Some believe he went about his business, some believe that last glance towards that restaurant door was the end of the television mob boss. 

Either way, it has never been revealed what happened to Tony following the series finale but Sopranos fans have been happy to learn that we will learn about Tony before The Sopranos, and another Gandolfini will be responsible for telling the story. 

In the upcoming film, The Many Saints of Newark, billed as a sort-of prequel to the hallowed Sopranos franchise, Michael Gandolfini, James’ 22-year-old son is set to play a young Tony Soprano. 

Just days before the film’s release on October 1, the newest face of The Soprano legacy stopped by The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about stepping into his father’s role and how growing up around the original show helped him prepare to be Tony. 

Calling it “surreal” to play “one of the greatest characters,” Gandolfini acknowledged some initial hesitation to accept the role and his desire not to be overshadowed by his father’s performance as the OG Tony Soprano. 

“I thought, not only because I want to be my own actor (and) my own person, but also I had never seen the show so I didn’t even know what Tony was,” the young actor told Fallon. “The show was like a jungle gym to me … That’s sort of what I knew. I had grown up on the set but set to me was, you know, being in my dad’s trailer. And Tony Soprano was no more than, like, my dad eating a sandwich in a robe.”

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However, after dissecting the character, Gandolfini said he accepted the role, watched the entire Sopranos series from front to back and in just one day, will transform into a version of Tony Soprano we’ve never seen before. 

The Many Saints of Newark, releasing in theaters and on HBO Max, is set in the 60s and 70s and will presumably paint the picture of how Soprano secured his spot atop HBO’s fictional version of New Jersey’s Italian mafia. 

Check out The Many Saints of Newark when it drops tomorrow and let us know what you’re expecting from Michael Gandolfini in the comments.

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Rick Ross has long declared himself to be hip-hop’s biggest boss, and with many now having seen his monthly income, the title is unlikely to be disputed. Now, the MMG head honcho is set to unleash another album into the world, with Meek Mill’s Expensive Pain officially due out for release tomorrow, October 1st.

With the album merely one day out from shipping, Rozay took a moment to promote Meek’s upcoming body of work on his Instagram page. “Lil bro @meekmill New Album “Expensive Pain” drop 10/1,” he captions, alongside the album’s artwork. Some might be surprised to see the label loyalty, given that Akademiks previously sparked a rumor that the MMG camp was suffering from inner turmoil and animosity.

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While the “beef” narrative is purely speculative, it goes without saying that one does not become hip-hop’s biggest boss without a healthy dose of pragmatism. Regardless of what might be going on internally over at MMG, Rozay clearly understands the value of — at least presenting — a united front. Alas, he doesn’t appear to be spitting any bars on Expensive Pain, as his verse on Championships highlight “What’s Free” was a strong offering from the Wingstop entrepreneur.

It’s entirely possible that Meek Mill is eying a future away from MMG, as the ambitious rapper surely has his sights set on becoming a large-scale boss in his own right. For the time being, however, Renzel is keeping things entirely professional, and we’ll have to wait and see how the inevitable album listening party plays out.

Check out Rozay’s Expensive Pain shout out right here, and sound off in the comments if you’ll be showing Meek some day one support when he drops at midnight. 

R. Kelly is losing his special privileges in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was previously presented with a key to the city. The very same official that bestowed him with the honor, Denise Marcelle, has announced that she is rescinding his key to the city following his guilty conviction in a sex trafficking and racketeering trial.

Marcelle presented R. Kelly with a key to the city of Baton Rouge in February 2013, but she allegedly regrets honoring the disgraced singer, reversing the formality years later. Kelly will be stripped of the honor, but Marcelle won’t be taking back the key or plaque that was presented to him. 

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At the time that Kelly was presented with the honor, there were allegations against him. However, Marcelle says that she didn’t do her proper homework on Kelly, telling TMZ that she was simply aware that he was acquitted in 2008. Marcelle is presently part of the Louisiana House of Representatives, but she still has the power to rescind Kelly’s key in Baton Rouge since she was the one who presented it.

The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer is currently facing life in prison for his crimes, and he will be sentenced next year. We will continue to keep you updated as more information is released.

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Come on, now… you can’t have a Young Money reunion without The Queen! 

This week, Drake, Lil Wayne, Mack Maine, and a bunch of other Young Money-affiliated artists and executives met up for Lil Wayne’s thirty-ninth birthday, celebrating together and remembering all of the good times they had back in the day. They shared pictures all over social media, but one very notable person was missing from the shots: Nicki Minaj. The superstar rapper seemingly wasn’t invited to the get-together, prompting her to playfully throw some shade on Instagram.

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“I had so much fun,” she joked, getting petty with her comment on Mack Maine’s photo. 

“Lawwwdddd,” responded Mack Maine, adding three shocked emojis. “Don’t do it like that Nicketo!!! This shit was so last minute. We could run it back deaux it wasn’t complete without you [crying face emoji] [broken heart emoji].”

It was last-minute, but they sure had enough time to invite about a dozen people to the party. Nicki isn’t the only person that’s petty that she didn’t get an invite though. Reginae Carter, Lil Wayne’s daughter, empathized with the rapper on Instagram.

“They always do that shitttttt,” she complained. “They did it to me last time sis it’s okay!”

Check out Nicki’s comment below, as well as some photos from the Young Money reunion underneath.

When Lil Wayne enlisted Drake and Nicki Minaj to be the faces of Young Money back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, nobody expected that Wayne, already one of the biggest rappers in the game, would be responsible for giving us two more. 

But that’s exactly what happened. Drake and Nicki took off and, along with their respective fanbases, have been dominating the charts and conversation ever since. 

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Never shy to pay their respects to the man to put them on, however, both rappers have always given Lil Wayne all the flowers he deserves and a couple nights ago, at Weezy’s 39th birthday party, Drake gave a toast to Tha Carter rapper and ensured him that he would do anything for the YMCMB head honcho. 

And in an Instagram post commemorating the night, the Toronto rapper made one thing very clear — it’s Young Money until the very end. 

Flicking up with Wayne, Young Money president Mack Maine, Gudda Gudda and the rest of their YM crew, Drake came with the all-caps caption, “YM FOREVER AND EVER.”

Although it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen Wayne, Drake, Nicki or anyone else rocking the block-letter YMCMB hoodies around or heard anybody repping the collective super hard in their music, there has been a steady flow of subtle nods to the Cash Money Records sub-label. From linking up on Weezy’s radio show, to Drizzy popping into Minaj’s IG Lives, to this summer’s “Seeing Green,” their first collective track in a minute that saw all three working in harmony like they were running the triangle offense. 

There’s obviously the hope that, like with their Drake vs. Lil Wayne tour back in 2014, that at least a couple of YM artists could link back up for some sort of project in the future but, with Drake and Minaj achieving superstar status and building lives and careers of their own, it would be easier said than done. 

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We’ll keep our fingers crossed for a Young Money collective project but, in the meantime, let us know what you think of Drizzy’s birthday pic for Wayne and drop your favorite YM collab track in the comments. 

We’re just one day away from the release of Meek Mill’s new studio album, titled Expensive Pain. The Philadelphia rapper has taken over multiple markets in the country, commissioning billboards with his cover artwork, reminding people that it’s his season. As we patiently wait for the clock to strike midnight, Meek has officially unveiled the album’s tracklist, sharing a hand-written note on Instagram Stories with all of the songs and their titles, as well as the featured artists.

The album is set to include seventeen songs, and it will feature guests including Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, A$AP Ferg, MoneyBagg Yo, and more. Other features include Kehlani, Brent Faiyaz, Vory, and more.

On the picture of the paper, Meek also wrote in some manifestations, writing “triple plat” on one side and seemingly speaking that into existence. He also showed love to some of hip-hop’s fallen angels in recent years, Nipsey Hussle and Lil Snupe, writing their names beside the title of his song “Angels.” And in the top left corner, Meek continued one of the major themes in his artistic career, writing, “Dreams become reality.”

Check out the tracklist below and let us know if you plan on streaming Expensive Pain upon its release tonight.

Image via Instagram Stories