newhiphopnews

Amid the ongoing controversy due to his homophobic remarks at Rolling Loud Miami this past weekend, DaBaby has issued yet another apology—sort of. It has been a stressful week for DaBaby’s team as they attempt to reel in the scandal that has continued to unfold, and the support the North Carolina rapper has received from his fellow rappers hasn’t been much help.

DaBaby’s comments while on stage were enough to invoke the public’s ire, but it was his follow-up explanation that sent people over the edge. He stated that his gay fans don’t have HIV/AIDS because, as he suggested, they aren’t “junkies.” He told critics to keep the same energy when headlines included cases of racism or brutality, but people didn’t accept his correlation. 

Jamie McCarthy / Staff / Getty Images

Several artists and organizations have used this opportunity to speak out about homophobia, in and outside of the Hip Hop community, and GLADD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation organization, shared a statement given via their associate director of communities of color, DaShawn Usher.

“The rhetoric that DaBaby used is inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful to the LGBTQ community and the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV,” Usher tweeted. “It is critical that DaBaby and his fans learn that people living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives and cannot transmit HIV.”

“While DaBaby has made haphazard attempts to ‘apologize,’ actions need to be taken for full accountability,” Usher continued. “It further confirms what @GLADD reported last year in the State of HIV Stigma Study that stigma and misinformation around HIV is widespread, and there is much work to be done to educate the public, including entertainers.”

Meanwhile, Dababy released the music video for his new single “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give,” and at the end of the visual, he included a message. In rainbow-colored font, it reads, “Don’t Fight Hate With Hate,” and the rapper added, “My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you.”

Check it out below.

As Megan Thee Stallion reveals that her Revlon collaboration has sold out, the shooting she was involved in one year ago has once again reared its controversial head. DaBaby’s scandal has caused several artists to speak up on his behalf, including the likes of Boosie Badazz, T.I., and Tory Lanez. The latter didn’t specifically cite DaBaby in his tweets, but social media users believed he was speaking about his “SKAT” collaborator.

“When did rap get so politically correct that u can’t speak your mind and have an opinion,” tweeted the Toronto star. “Why the f*ck was rap started ?… for us to speak our mind …. rappers will not always be right, and u don’t have to agree . But they have a right to speak their mind.”

A Twitter user responded by asking, “Since when can rappers shoot girls on the feet?” Lanez had some time today, so he retweeted the message and added, “Since when have u had ACTUAL evidence that I did that ??? I’ll wait.” The exchange was reposted by The Neighborhood Talk and someone tagged Kelsey Nicole, Megan’s ex-best friend, who was reportedly there when the rapper was shot.

Kelsey hasn’t shared her side of the story and has not named Lanez as the shooter, but she has faced accusations that she was paid to keep quiet. Kelsey has denied those allegations and it didn’t seem that she was happy to be included in this conversation, either.

“Y’all annoying , stop tagging me,” she replied. “Cuz if I get to going off it’s gonna be a problem.” This only further enticed people to agitate her because they believe she holds the key to finding out what happened that evening. The case against Lanez is ongoing. Check it all out below.

Safaree, as a reality star on Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta,is no stranger to social media heat; he’s often the center of an online controversy or a joke, but the latest attack on his character has elicited a direct video response.

The backlash initially began on Monday (July 26), when the recent episode of L&HHA displayed some of Safaree’s most shocking antics yet — even topping the time he and his now ex-wife Erica Mena faked a divorce before actually getting divorced.

The scene in question takes place between in Safaree’s studio while Safaree and Erica’s baby girl, Safire plays on the floor. Everything seems ordinary until Safire slips and a guitar falls on top of her, causing panic from Erica and a good laugh from Safaree.

Safaree quickly came to his own defense as fans of the show clawed at his character. As we initially reported, the rapper commented on a re-share of the clip stating, “Damnn the voice over for this scene almost made it seem real,” with laughing emojis.

Despite his attempt to salvage his behavior in the scene, fans still spewed hate at Safaree for his apparant lack of concern for his child. The star first turned to his music in an attempt to turn the situation around, with the timely release of his new single “LIAR,” where he calls out Erica Mena and his haters for vilifying him. 

To promote “LIAR,” and get some things off his chest, Safaree shared a rant on Tuesday with his new track playing in the background (of course). In the video, the artist starts by thanking his mother for making him the way he is — “there’s some people out there who wouldn’t be able to handle the backlash I get. They’d be somewhere off the deep-end. But I’m so glad that I don’t give a sh*t what none of y’all think, and it just makes me feel good… I appreciate y’all being so invested too,” he states.

The video wasn’t received well after being reposted by TheShadeRoom and Safaree was yet again clowned.

Check out Safaree’s video below. 

[via] 

We first received news about this biopic back in February 2020 and now the trailer for King Richard has arrived. Venus and Serena Williams have been tennis superstars for most of their lives, and while the California sisters have shared the story of their rise in sports for decades, we’re now set to receive a film that centers around their father, Richard Williams. 

Will Smith portrays the dedicated father in the movie as Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton star as Venus and Serena, respectively. King Richard will reportedly highlight the family’s humble beginnings in Compton, California as the journey into the sisters becoming two of the most recognized names in tennis.

Ken Levine / Staff / Getty Images

Smith shared the trailer to his Instagram page and was thankful to the Williams family for allowing him to share their story cinematically. “One of the greatest honors as an actor is to be able to celebrate someone’s legacy while they’re still here creating it,” wrote the actor. “I’ve gotten to do it a few times in my career playing @ceoofhappyness and @muhammadali, and every time it’s a fulfilling and expansive experience beyond compare.”

“Thank You Venus, Serena, Isha, Lyndrea, Yetunde, Oracene and Richard for letting us share your story with the World!” King Richard will be released in theaters on November 19 and HBO Max subscribers will be able to view the film on the platform for the first 31 days following its release. Check out the trailer below.

Vaccination numbers are high but not everyone has been sold on the idea of getting jabbed. Though the vaccine has been deemed safe by medical professionals, there’s still a growing concern over its long-term effects by many people. Unfortunately, even the hesitancy of receiving the vaccine might not be enough for a few employers who will require their employees to return to work fully vaccinated.

 Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Per TMZ, three of the biggest tech giants are aiming to have all of their employees’ double dosed up before getting back into the swing of being in office. Facebook, Google, and Netflix are now enforcing a rule that all of their employees must have received the COVID-19 vaccine. For Netflix, this also means that actors on their shows must be protected from COVID-19 in order to return to set.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is reported to have sent a letter to employees saying that they’ve postponed the full office return to October 18th in the wake of the Delta variant. However, there was another part of the email that read that Google would only let employees who were inoculated actually work from the office. There’s a possibility they can work from home part-time, though that wasn’t addressed in the email.

Facebook is also taking a similar route for their American offices. However, they did address that there would be some wiggle room for those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons.

Netflix, too, will make enforcements towards having vaccinated employees work on the sets. The streaming company reportedly told their in-house production teams who work closely with actors and their teams that they would require full inoculation. 

[Via]

It was a frightening scene at a Southern California movie theater yesterday (July 27) after a gunman opened fire. Details regarding the incident are scarce, but it has been reported that an arrest has been made. At The Crossings mall in Corona, California, six tickets were purchased for a showing of The Forever Purge. TikTok star Anthony Barajas, who boasts nearly 1 million followers on the platform, was reportedly with Rylee Goodrich when someone came inside the theater, shot them both, and fled the scene.

It is unclear if there was anyone else inside of that particular theater at the time and investigators are questioning patrons who may have been in neighboring theaters. Barajas and Goodrich were reportedly discovered by an employee who came to check on the theater after the movie ended.

Sadly, 18-year-old Rylee was killed in the shooting while the 19-year-old internet star is currently being cared for round the clock as he remains on life support. Police later arrested 20-year-old Joseph Jimenez, and while it is unknown how police were able to track down the suspect, it is reported that Jimenez has been booked on “suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and robbery.” His bond has been set at $2 million and the attack was reportedly unprovoked.

Investigators continue to search for a motive, but right now they state that there doesn’t seem to be one.

[via][via]