The number of rappers fatally shot or stabbed last year was unprecedented, and the trend has only continued in 2022.
Month: July 2022
Rolling Loud Organizers Deny Travis Scott Is Banned From The Festival’s Miami Venue
When Kanye West pulled out of his headlining spot at Rolling Loud — his second such major festival cancellation this year — fans hoped that his replacement would be longtime Rolling Loud mainstay, Travis Scott. Instead, Kid Cudi was announced as West’s replacement, prompting some fans to speculate that Travis was blacklisted after the deaths at Astroworld. It didn’t help that co-founder Tariq Cherif responded to a fan’s comment on Instagram that the “venue won’t allow Travis because of Astroworld deaths.”
However, Rolling Loud’s organizers have made it clear through statements given to Rolling Stone that Travis was not banned from Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. Instead, they say the logistics of pulling together a Travis headlining set at the eleventh hour were just too difficult to make happen. According to a spokesperson, “We reached out to Travis to headline Rolling Loud, but it couldn’t work in such a short time. This had nothing to do with any restrictions from the hosting venue Hard Rock Stadium.”
It certainly doesn’t appear that the Houston rapper has had any troubles getting booked after taking a six-month hiatus from performing. He was also billed as a headliner of Day N Vegas — although that festival was canceled due to logistical issues — and he’s due to headline Primavera Sound in Sao Paulo despite the hundreds of lawsuits currently underway against Travis and Roc Nation. His first concert back at London’s O2 Academy also reportedly sold out so quickly that a second date was added, so it doesn’t appear venues are any warier about him than they were before.
As for Rolling Loud, Kid Cudi is headlining, so there isn’t that much difference, right?
A Trespasser Claiming To Be Drake’s Son Was Reportedly Arrested At The Rapper’s Los Angeles Mansion
There’s been a bit of an uptick in fans intruding on the privacy of artists by trespassing on their properties. It was just a few months ago that DaBaby shot a man for invading his North Carolina home and the rapper was able to avoid charges in that case. More recently, Taylor Swift had a man show up uninvited at her Manhattan home, but luckily they did not get in contact with the singer and were later arrested. The latest example now involves Drake thanks to an incident that occurred at his $70 million Los Angeles mansion last week.
According to TMZ, police officers were called to Drake’s mansion on July 15 after one of the property’s employees saw someone near the rapper’s pool house. The individual ended up being a 23-year-old man, and when the LAPD arrived on the scene, they quickly questioned him. The man claimed that Drake was his father and that he was just waiting for the rapper to come home.
The father-son claim is of course false, being that Drake’s actual son, Adonis, is 19 years younger than the trespasser. Additionally, 35-year-old Drake probably didn’t father a child 23 years ago, when he was 12. With that being said, the LAPD officers were not sold on the 23-year-old’s story, and as a result, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
Thankfully, Drake was not home at the time of the incident.
Lizzo Says Her Playful (And Sometimes Sexual) Chats With Rihanna Have Halted Since She Became ‘Mommihana’
Lizzo is far from coy about her sexual liberation. A track called “I Love You B*tch,” from her latest album, Special, is evidence of this, as she tells her best friend, “I want to text you these fire nudies.” While she didn’t specify the nature of her conversations with her peers in the music industry, she admits that she and Rihanna occasionally DM from time to time.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen (per Yahoo), a fan called in and asked if they could ever expect a collaboration with Rihanna.
Lizzo then asked the fan, “Okay, did the army send you? Rihanna was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be a Lizzbian for a day.’” (“Lizzbian” is the stan name for fans of Lizzo.)
The “About Damn Time” singer continued, saying that the two will playfully flirt with each other, and occasionally talk about sex.
“We don’t talk about sex a lot, but we’re just always giving it to each other,” Lizzo said. “We don’t talk about work, it’s all play with me. But not since she’s been, you know, mommy. ‘Mommihanna.’ So congratulations to her and ASAP Rocky.”
Additionally, Cohen asked Lizzo about other celebrities who have slid into her DMs. She didn’t call anyone out by name, but she implied that several big names have tried to shoot their shots.
“You know, they’ll always be like, ‘Man, you playin’.’ ‘Hey, what’s up, Lizzo?’ Like, I always see that, and I see their name. I’ll be like, ‘Not today,’” Lizzo says.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A Man Died At The Weeknd’s Philadelphia Concert After A Big Fall
On July 14, The Weeknd kicked off his After Hours Til Dawn tour at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. There was a heartwarming story from that show, as The Weeknd flew out a young fan, who was seen heartbroken outside of The Weeknd’s canceled Toronto concert.
However, the Philadelphia concert also had some tragedy: CBS3 Philly reports a 32-year-old man, who a friend identified to the station as Hugo Sanchez, died at the show. Officials say just before 11 p.m., Sanchez was sitting on an escalator rail and fell about 40 feet. He was rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after midnight. Per officials, the incident appears to have been an accident but an investigation is ongoing.
According to a previous CBS3 report, the station reached out to promoter Live Nation for a statement but had yet to hear back, while Lincoln Financial Field representatives declined to comment out of respect for Zanchez’s family.
The Weeknd has yet to offer a public statement about the incident. After the show, though, he did share a gallery of photos from it on Instagram and write, “Philadelphia … we finally did it. thank you for helping me ring in the tour. last night was emotional for all of us. i could feel every single one of you. next stop NEW YORK !”
Issa Rae On Which Artists Helped Write Songs For “Rap Sh!t”
Issa Rae says that she was able to collaborate with her “favorite rap artists” for her new HBO series, Rap Sh!t, and revealed some of the names that helped write songs for the show. Rae discussed her newest project during a recent appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.
“We were able to have a traditional writers room, which was really funny, brilliant writers. Some of them were from Miami. And then, just to be able to have authentic rap– like the music has to be good, they actually have to be good rappers, we got to employ some of my favorite rap artists,” Rae said, citing PineappleCITI, Ncognita, and Dreezy.
Paras Griffin / Getty Images
In addition to working with artists on the lyrics, Rae also tapped the City Girls’ JT and Yung Miami to serve as executive producers, as well as Devonte Hynes, also known as Blood Orange, to work as the show’s music composer. The series stars Aida Osman and KaMillion as two aspiring female rappers.
The first two episodes of Rap Sh!t will be arriving on HBO on July 21. In total, the show’s first season will be comprised of eight episodes. HBO shared the latest trailer for the series, earlier this month.
Check out Rae’s appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers below.
[Via]
Lloyd Banks Speaks on Current Relationship with 50 Cent
Lloyd Banks recently addressed his relationship with 50 Cent in an interview with GQ.
The status of their relationship seemed uncertain after the G-Unit founder referred to Bank’s lack of evolution and called him “lazy” in his 2020 book, Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter. Given 50’s history, anything he has said publicly about someone, there is a good chance he has told them in private as well.
Despite 50’s accountability comment about Lloyd Banks, the two are “brothers.”
“It’s the same. We’re brothers,” Banks told GQ when asked about his relationship with 50 Cent. “We came into this together—we’re never all going to be doing the same thing at the same time at this point in our careers. You know what I mean? The last conversation I had with 50 was basically him telling me to get whatever I left out there. Because some hiatuses were planned and some weren’t.”
Banks also expressed his gratitude towards 50 Cent and G-Unit’s heyday.
We did something special that will never be done again,” said the “Power Steering” rapper. “Honestly, there are more positive moments than anything else.
Banks added that he can’t “cry about spilled milk.” As a result, he must take the initiative to make things happen. It is evident that Banks lives by these words with the release of his latest project.
The Course of The Inevitable 2 is a sequel to his previous 2021 release. The album features Jadakiss, Dave East Benny The Butcher, Conway the Machine and more.
The post Lloyd Banks Speaks on Current Relationship with 50 Cent appeared first on The Source.
Rolling Loud Co-Founder Retracts Statements About Travis Scott
Rolling Loud Miami virtually became a bust this year after Yeezy dropped out of his slot as headliner for his July 22nd show, only to be replaced by Kid Cudi.
“We were looking forward to Ye headlining Rolling Loud Miami 2022,” Rolling Loud said in a statement. “We spent months working with him and his team on the performance. Unfortunately, Ye has decided that he will no longer be performing.”
Fans took to social media to criticize the festival, specifically the co-founders, who they feel deceived them into believing Kanye West was headlining. Co-founder .Tariq Cherif was a target of the lion’s share of the comments, to which he replied, “Tried to convince Ye to stay on the lineup but he wasn’t having it.”
Some wondered why Cudi was selected instead of Travis Scott, but Cherif blamed the Hard Rock Stadium venue for not allowing him to perform following the 10 deaths at his Astroworld Festival last November.
“Venue won’t allow Travis because of Astroworld deaths,” he continued.
With the backlash getting worse. Cherif, is now backpedaling on his original statements on why Scott wasn’t Ye’s fill in.
According to TMZ, Cherif says Rolling Loud did, in fact, reach out to Travis Scott’s team about filling in for Yeezy, but the short time constraints made the turnaround nearly impossible to pull off for Scott’s desired intricate stage design.
Rolling Loud Miami kicks off at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday (July 22).
The post Rolling Loud Co-Founder Retracts Statements About Travis Scott appeared first on The Source.
Today In Hip Hop History: MC Eiht Dropped His Debut Album ‘We Come Strapped’ 28 Years Ago
On this day in Hip Hop history, West Coast legend MC Eiht released his debut LP, We Come Strapped. Featuring his group Compton’s Most Wanted, this gangsta rap classic is one of California’s pre-G Funk hits. Riding the popularity that came from his breakthrough single “Straight Up Menace” featured in the film Menace II Society, this album took the rap game by storm creating a new star on the West Coast.
Coming off group success, MC Eiht was no rookie and knew exactly what putting out a good album entailed. We Come Strapped followed a simple yet effective formula resulting in its success. This project is straight and to the point; no drawn out skits, no filler, and no big name features. Aside from a cameo from Spice-1, Redman, and his fellow Compton’s Most Wanted members, the album is entirely MC Eiht spiting cold gangsta rhymes over DJ Slip’s jazzy, keyboard heavy production.
Commercially the project was quite a success, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart. The album was certified gold shortly after its release and continues to sell copies today. This album serves as MC Eiht’s most successful project to date.
The post Today In Hip Hop History: MC Eiht Dropped His Debut Album ‘We Come Strapped’ 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.
Travis Scott Releases Air Jordan ‘Reverse Mocha’ Collab With Help From MLB Legend & ‘Euphoria’ Star
La Flame’s latest Jordan sneaker is finally here.