Month: September 2021

Nicki Minaj’s loyal legion of fans is currently celebrating her son’s first birthday. It’s crazy to think that a year has already gone by, but Nicki’s baby boy, who is affectionately nicknamed Papa Bear, is officially one year old.

Papa Bear Petty was born on September 30, 2020, and while the world still doesn’t know his full name, we’ve seen plenty of photos of the little one in the last few months. Nicki has been updating her page with all kinds of family photos, sharing shots of Papa Bear with Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, and other celebrities. As he grows up, Nicki’s fanbase has fallen in love with the tot, celebrating his first birthday today by getting his nickname trending on Twitter.

Right now, “Papa Bear” is a worldwide trend on the platform, with thousands of Barbz sending their love to Nicki, her son, and their family. Many are also looking back on Nicki’s stunning maternity photos, as well as Papa Bear’s first designer-clad pics in Fendi. 

It feels inevitable that, once they’re awake and ready to get the day started, Nicki and Kenneth Petty will surely be sharing pictures of their baby boy as he grows a year older. For right now though, Nicki is busy throwing playful shade at her Young Money peers — Drake, Lil Wayne, and Mack Maine — for seemingly forgetting to invite her to a reunion party.

Happy birthday, Papa Bear!

Sauce Walka is quietly one of the game’s secret weapons, especially when it comes to lyricism. Case in point, his song “Ghetto Gospel” was enough to land a spot on JAY-Z’s TIDAL playlist — and Hov is one of the best rappers of all time.

Suffice it to say, fans of Sauce Walka already know what the rapper brings to the table — and that’s a group that includes Busta Rhymes and his sons. Their admiration of Sauce’s craft ultimately led Busta to reach out and arrange a collaboration, which sparked an emotional moment of humbling reflection from the Houston rapper.

“When one of your Top 5 gives you a verse because you are Top 5 in the eyes of his children‼️” captions Busta. “To know Bus & his sons feel my BARS have the power to heal, teach, bring joy and change lives really moved my heart like i never expected.”

“@bustarhymes Thank you for assuring me my lyrics and legacy are amongst the gods an I’m holding the culture touch properly,” he continues. “To battle u in the booth was HONOR higher then all King @daringer_ ima make [the world] feel u…Ni**a writing this shit crying again @bustarhymes thank u Gangsta real life.”

If it wasn’t enough that Sauce Walka and Busta Rhymes would be linking on wax, the fact that Daringer is providing the beat all but ensures that we’ll be getting some raw hip-hop — if that wasn’t already expected given the emcees involved. Lest we forget that Sauce Walka is an excellent lyricist in his own right, and while his prolific work ethic may overwhelm casual listeners, those who have taken the plunge can attest to his depth and versatility.

Check out Sauce Walka’s post below, and look for his Daringer-produced Busta Rhymes collab to land in the near future. 

Since spending the first 11 years of his career in Oklahoma City and establishing himself as one of the most explosive and dominant point guards in NBA history, Russell Westbrook has bounced around a little bit. Not quite like an aging vet trying to hold on for a couple years but more like a triple-double machine looking for the best place to fulflil his insatiable desire to win basketball games. 

Jumping from OKC to Houston to play with fellow superstar and former Thunder teammate, James Harden, the Brodie had success with the Rockets but with tension between The Beard and the front office, it was clear the team was on the cusp of a rebuild and Westbrook was traded to Washington.

In one season playing alongside All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal, Westbrook returned to form, averaging a triple double (22.2 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 11.7 apg) for an unimaginable fourth time but the Wizards were bounced in the first round and the point guard was faced with another opportunity to change teams.

Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Making it clear that Westbrook never formally requested a trade, Wizards’ general manager Tommy Shepard said it was the Lakers or bust for Russ. 

“Russell actually never asked to move on,” Sheppard told NBC Sports Washington. “He just said, ‘If I can get to the Lakers, that’d be something I would love to do.” 

Westbrook grew up in Los Angeles and with LeBron James and Anthony Davis looking for help after a disappointing 2020-2021 season following their NBA Finals championship, a trade to the Lakers made perfect sense. 

Shepard took Westbrook’s wishes into account but asked about another move that would also send Westbrook home. 

“What about the Clippers?,” Shepard said he asked Westbrook, to which the 2017 NBA MVP answered with a resounding “Hell no.”

Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

Despite Russ’ desire to get home to LA, it was the Lakers or nothing. Reportedly telling Shepard that it was either the Lakers or returning to the Wizards, Westbrook made it very clear he had no interest in playing with Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. Assuming that’s because Paul George signed a huge deal to stay in OKC with Westbrook and then turned face and left for LA (to play with Kawhi, who had previously sabotaged Westbrook), it makes sense why Russ has a little bad blood and it will make sense when he goes as hard as possible every time he lines up across from the Clippers in the Staples Center this season. 

What do you think of Russ shooting down a potential Clippers trade? Let us know in the comments. 

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Since the NBA’s slate of media days got underway a couple of days ago, the narrative surrounding the league and the COVID-19 vaccine has turned into a complete rollercoaster.

Golden State Warriors’ forward Andrew Wiggins applied for a religious exemption to avoid the vaccine but was denied, the aunt of Brooklyn Nets’ guard Kyrie Irving said the superstar scorer was going to flat-out refuse the vaccine and both Bradley Beal and Michael Porter Jr. have made it clear they are unvaccinated and uncomfortable taking the vaccine, despite both players previously contracting the virus. 

Wiggins, Irving, Beal and Porter Jr. are all high-profile players and their refusal of the vaccine has blown a situation in which the NBA is, in fact, 90% vaccinted according to NBAPA president C.J. McCollum, out of proportion but has driven conversation nonetheless. 

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

While Beal and Porter Jr., however, will not be faced with maximum resistance for being unvaccinated, Wiggins and Irving are in a different boat. Because San Francisco and New York City have both implemented vaccine mandates for individuals wanting to participate in indoor activities, both players would be forced to miss every home game until they get the shot.

And according to recent reports, the NBA has no plans to pay unvaccinated players for the games they miss due to vaccine mandates. This means that, if players like Wiggins and Irving don’t change their minds, they will forfeit at least 41 games worth of pay due to not being able to play inside in San Francisco and Brooklyn. Both players are on large contracts and would miss out on a ton of of money — $15.8 million for Wiggins and $17.5 million for Irving. 

Al Bello/Getty Images

Based on how both Wiggins and Irving have talked about the vaccine, it doesn’t seem likely that either player will have a change of heart but the most effective way to change anybody’s mind is to attach dollars signs and with these reports, it’s clear the NBA isn’t pulling any punches in their quest for 100% vaccination rates. 

What do you think of Wiggins and Irving potentially losing out on millions of dollars? Let us know in the comments. 

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The Masked Singer is one of the most unpredictable reality competition shows on television right now. Celebrities wear gigantic, eccentric costumes and perform, with a panel of judges, and the audience at home, all guessing who might be behind the mask. Following Toni Braxton’s disappointing elimination on last week’s show, another celeb has been unmasked, with fans surprised to see rapper Tyga behind the Dalmatian costume.

The California-born rapper performed “Beautiful” by Pharrell and Snoop Dogg, and none of the judges thought that he was behind the costume. Even Robin Thicke, who has collaborated with Tyga in the past, didn’t recognize his voice. Among the clues that were given, a gym rack was shown (for Tyga’s hit song “Rack City”), a cat represented the artist’s stage name, and the “Scream” painting was a hint at Tyga’s role in Scream. 

The judges believed that it was a rapper behind the mask, but they thought that it could have been Nelly. Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger both guessed him, whereas Jenny McCarthy thought it was Steve Harvey, and Ken Jeong said the Dalmatian was Reggie Bush. When Tyga revealed his identity, he became the first person eliminated from Group B. He told Nick Cannon after he was eliminated that he was inspired by Lil Wayne, who appeared on the last season of the show, to compete.

Unfortunately, he didn’t end up winning, but he did a pretty good job. Check out his performance below.

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Several weeks after the release of both Kanye West’s Donda and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, the debate over which artist delivered a better album rages on. According to Charlamagne Tha God, it shouldn’t really matter because artists such as Tyler, The Creator and J. Cole dropped significantly better albums, but despite the Breakfast Club host’s hot take, fans are keeping the Drake and Kanye West beef alive.

Apparently, the Dallas Mavericks basketball team is as well. In a new video posted to the team’s official TikTok, several Mavs players reveal who they would choose between Kanye and Drake, and surprisingly, Drake came out with a unanimous victory.

Unfortunately, Dallas’ star player, Luka Dončić, wasn’t around to submit his vote in the Donda vs. Certified Lover Boy debate, but 10 people from the Mavs, which mainly included new faces with a sprinkle of notable players like Kristaps Porziņģis and Jalen Brunson.

One by one, the players offered up their pick between Ye and Drizzy, and some also provided an explanation for their choice. Newly signed rookie Eugene Omoruyi chalked it up to hometown loyalty, saying “Drake because I’m from Toronto. Drake for sure.” Perhaps the person with the strangest reasoning, however, was new head coach Jason Kidd, who said, “Kanye versus Drake? I’m going Drake because he’s lightskin.”

Check out the full TikTok below and let us know if you think the Dallas Mavericks players’ musical opinions should be taken seriously or with a grain of salt.

@dallasmavs

OVO Mavericks? 🦉 ##mffl##certifiedloverboy

♬ original sound – Dallas Mavericks