Month: June 2022

While fans wait for any hint of news regarding new music from Frank Ocean, the beloved singer is spending his time pursuing other artistic ventures. Last year, Ocean launched a luxury company called Homer, and this year, it’s rumored he’ll be writing and directing his first film for A24.

Frank Ocean has worked with A24 more than a few times in the past. Most recently, Ocean wrote the foreword for Barry Jenkins’ A24 screenplay Moonlight which went on to win Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars. Additionally, Ocean provided music for the 2019 film Waves, directed by Trey Shelts under A24 management. Outside of his work with A24, though, Ocean’s talents were first put on display when he wrote and directed his 2016 visual album Endless.

According to DiscussingFilm, the Blonde singer will be working with 2AM, a production company based out of the United Kingdom. The movie is said to be referred to internally as Philly, although there is no real title yet, nor release date at this time. According to sources, Ocean is looking at New Mexico for the shooting location, with a goal to begin shooting in the Fall and wrap up by 2023.

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A24 has a history of working with artists. In 2021, the entertainment company signed Travis Scott’s record label Cactus Jack. The deal is set to include a film that will revolve around the release of Scott’s next album, Utopia. According to one of Scott’s representatives the film and album will be released together. 

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Despite being one of the most prolific and influential artists of our time, Future never had a #1 hit record until 2021. Thanks to Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, Future’s contributions to “WAY 2 SEXY” officially earned him his first chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100. Mind you, it’s kind of shocking considering how many timeless records Future’s released throughout his career.

He earned his second #1 single earlier this year following the release of I Never Liked You. Once again, Future and Drake proved that they work magic with the Tems-assisted, “Wait For You.” However, the song was actually Kanye West’s before it landed in Future’s lap, according to ATL Jacob. In an interview with B High Atl, the producer revealed that Kanye West took a keen liking to the beat but never ended up finishing the record.

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“What’s crazy is before ‘WAIT FOR U’ came out, that was one of [Kanye’s] favorite songs,” Jacob said. “He was like, ‘Man, this record crazy!’ So we was trying some stuff on it but you know, we just ain’t get to the point where we actually finished ‘WAIT FOR U.’”

Interestingly enough, ATL Jacob knew that the song was going to be a hit for Future, though the Dungeon Family alumnus practically skipped it every time they were in the studio together. It was only until they were at Drake’s house recently that Future expressed his love for that beat.

“We were talking the other day when we were at Drake’s house, and he said he skipped it because he knew it was one of his favorites. He said he listened to that beat every day for a month straight … and he knew what he was going to do to it,” he continued. “A long time went by like, six or seven months. So I was like, let me try the beat with another artist, since he ain’t like it. Then he called me and said, ‘Hey, don’t ever get this beat out to nobody else. I got a crazy song on it.’” 

Check the interview below.  

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Teyana Taylor is mourning the loss of her brother, Fleeroy PC Mason. The R&B singer shared the news of his passing on Instagram on June 1st in a heartbreaking tribute. The KTSE singer shared several photos of herself and Mason over the years, including some throwbacks from their childhood and her come-up in the industry.

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“I’ve been trying to process all of this,” she wrote. “I can’t, I am broken. A piece of me is gone that I will never get back in the flesh. I am not okay.”

At this point, Mason’s cause of death still hasn’t been publicly revealed. According to The Sun, Mason, 31, was hospitalized in September 2021 as he was battling cancer and went through several surgeries since then. He was open about his cancer diagnosis throughout the past few months. “This morning I woke up so swollen that I don’t even have a belly button. Count y’all blessings. The body’s capable of some crazy things,” he wrote in a Facebook post weeks before he passed.

Fleeroy had been mourning the loss of his father, who died in 2021, sharing numerous social media tributes on Facebook.

Fleeroy PC Mason is Teyana Taylor’s brother from her father’s previous marriage, though they were evidently shared an incredibly close bond.

We’re keeping Teyana Taylor and her family in our prayers during this difficult time. 

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Joe Budden has been very adamant and open about his frequenting of strip clubs. The former rapper and current podcast host talks about strip club culture quite often, and there is no doubt that he knows quite a bit about what’s happening at these establishments, especially in New York City where he currently spends most of his time. 

Recently, Budden took to his Instagram story where he brought some awareness to a problem that has been brewing amongst New York strip clubs. As you will see in the story down below, Budden believes there is a lack of diversity as very few black women are being hired. He notes that all of the strippers look the same and while he has nothing against these women, he would like to see more black women represented at the club.

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Brooklyn Chop House Times Square

“NY strip clubs, not only are you not hiring Black women, but you’re purposely hiring the SAME exact girl.. Your promoter having a type is gonna lose y’all money this Summer.  this is disgusting (not the girls, the optics),” Budden explained.

Image via Instagram

It is very clear that Budden is passionate about this issue, however, it remains to be seen whether or not this passion will lead to any real change. Either way, Budden has now made many aware of this problem, which is something that could very well lead to a change in tune, in the near future.