Wu-Tang Clan 1-Of-1 Album Forfeited By Martin Shkreli Sold By U.S. Government

Wu-Tang Clan made history with the release of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin — a one-of-one album that’s considered the most expensive album ever sold. It ultimately landed in the lands of pharmabro Martin Shkreli who ended up trading barbs with Ghostface Killah on social media over the acquisition. However, once Shkreli got bagged by the feds on fraud charges, the album was seized by the U.S. government.


Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Today, the feds announced that that the album had finally been purchased, though confidentially agreements prohibit the identity of the buyer from being revealed. Additionally, the price paid for the album hasn’t been made public, either.

“Through the diligent and persistent efforts of this Office and its law enforcement partners, Shkreli has been held accountable and paid the price for lying and stealing from investors to enrich himself,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis said in a press release Tuesday. “With today’s sale of this one-of-a-kind album, his payment of the forfeiture is now complete.”

The album was among the assets seized after Shkreli was convicted of securities fraud. The money made from the sale of the album will go towards a multi-million dollar judgment ordered against Shkreli.

So far, we haven’t heard from any member of the Wu-Tang Clan about the sale of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin but we’ll keep you posted on any updates.

Lil Nas X’s Dad Slams DaBaby’s Homophobic Rolling Loud Comments: ‘Bruh Sit Down’

As more fans, supporters, and peers of DaBaby weigh in on the homophobic comments he made during his Rolling Loud set, a new voice has joined the conversation to admonish the North Carolina rapper for his words: that of Lil Nas X‘s father Robert Stafford, who posted his response on Instagram. As Lil Nas X is one of the more prominent queer artists in entertainment today, it seems Mr. Stafford won’t remain silent on an issue that so closely pertains to his son.

Posting a photo of DaBaby posing with Lil Nas X at an awards show, he captioned the photo, “Bruh sit down you had your time.” Indeed, DaBaby has been one of the most popular and bestselling rappers of the last two and a half years, so his platform is massive — and that’s why the way he chose to use it was so irresponsible.

While DaBaby later defended himself on Instagram, saying, “What me and my fans do at the live show don’t concern you n****s on the internet,” the problem is that you can’t just say, “What I do for the live show is for the audience at the live show.” For one thing, the show was live-streamed across the internet for the world to see, and for another, DaBaby clearly doesn’t seem to be considering the effect that his words can have, whether intended and unintended.

When he says “Fellas, if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot,” that’s anti-gay rhetoric that has been used to justify committing horrible acts of violence against queer people. When he says “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks,” that further stigmatizes people who are living with STDs while also spreading misinformation that can put people at risk.

And when he tries to defend himself by saying “the fans at the show were okay with it,” he betrays a critical lack of understanding of cause and effect, makes unwarranted assumptions about who is in the crowd and how they feel about what he said, and discounts the feelings of anyone who tuned into the live-stream only to hear themselves denigrated by his attempt to hype the crowd.

Maybe someone close to him can pull him aside and explain all this, but from what we’ve seen that won’t happen. That’s a shame because it shouldn’t be on “n****s on the internet” with famous gay sons to teach a grown man how to behave with some basic human decency.

Biz Markie Pops Up On Multiple ‘Billboard’ Charts As Fans Revisit His Music After His Death

About ten days ago, rapper Biz Markie passed away at 57 years old. Although he hadn’t released a new album since 2003’s Weekend Warrior, Markie remained a beloved pop culture figure over the past few decades. After his passing, as tends to happen with deceased musicians, fans started revisiting his music, which led to some new Billboard chart appearances for Markie.

The rapper made his debut on the Comedy Albums chart this week with his 1994 compilation album Biz’s Baddest Beats, which is No. 2 on the chart dated July 31, behind Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs). Additionally, his iconic single “Just A Friend” (which appears on Biz’s Baddest Beats but was originally included on the 1989 album The Biz Never Sleeps) has re-entered this week’s Digital Song Sales chart at No. 18. That’s thanks to 5,000 song downloads, which is an increase of 2,991 percent from the previous week.

Markie representative Jenni Izumi previously confirmed his passing, saying, “It is with profound sadness that we announce, this evening, with his wife Tara by his side, hip hop pioneer Biz Markie peacefully passed away. We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time. Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years. He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter. We respectfully request privacy for his family as they mourn their loved one.”

Watch Markie’s video for “Just A Friend” below.

Rick Ross Has 100 Cars But No Driver’s License

Move over Olivia Rodrigo – Miami rapper Rick Ross is still trying to get his driver’s license. He went to social media with a video airing out his frustrations with the folks down at the DMV. Rick Ross Wants His License The Maybach Music Group boss went on Instagram with a hilarious video. He revealed he […]

Sada Baby Blames XXL For Getting His Instagram Disabled

Sada Baby’s Instagram account has been disabled and the Detroit rapper has an idea who might be responsible.

According to Sada, XXL and his “opps” are to blame because they’ve allegedly been reporting all of his posts.

Sada Baby has his fair share of well-documented beef with contemporaries from his city, but the roping in of XXL into the mix is an interesting choice. Speculation points toward the assumption that the opp in question is 2021 XXL Freshman Class alum 42 Dugg, but any further information on the claim ends there.

It’s likely that Sada Baby could have also attracted the ire of other disgruntled users on the app as the quick-witted rapper has never shied away from going head-to-head with complete strangers on the internet. Case in point: the Twitter feed where his thoughts now live almost exclusively.

“I’m never arguing with [Sada Baby],” reads a retweet on Sada’s page. “you will not win he say shit you would never even think to say.”

Speaking with Flaunt Magazine most recently, the rapper offering justification for his outspoken demeanor, alluding to dissatisfaction with playing nice.

“Yeah, you know I don’t like people at all. When you first get into this shit, they tell you to put a smile on and be cool,” he said. “You gotta be fake, that’s what they tell you. I‘ll never do it. It’s either I like you or I don’t. It’s not even so much as a like thing, it’s respect. If I respect you, I respect you. If I think you a bitch, soft as hell, there’s that.

Boosie Badazz Responds To Head Of Instagram Explaining Why He’s Banned

Boosie Badazz is still banned from Instagram and on Tuesday morning, the head of the platform, Adam Mosseri, stopped by The Breakfast Club to speak about his banishment. According to Mosseri, Boosie was suspended because he violated the platform’s nudity guidelines, but he’s calling cap on that story. 

Boosie has officially responded to Adam Mosseri and he’s urging the head of Instagram to “tell the truth” about his suspension. The rapper says he’s being kept away from the outlet because of racism.


Prince Williams/Getty Images

“How the hell my Instagram was took cause of nudity? It was took cause of fucking racism,” angrily said Boosie in a new video. “The girl who I posted on my piano, she had emojis over everything. You took my Instagram and you took her Instagram. You gave her her Instagram back in 3-4 days but you took my Instagram. Tell the truth. Tell Charlamagne Tha God the truth. That’s the fucking truth. The girl I posted on my piano, she had emojis over all her body parts, you took both of our Instagrams, you gave her her Instagram back, you never gave me mine back.”

Boosie has found a few loopholes around the ban, returning under different usernames, but he’s had bad luck with those, getting suspended on those too. He uploaded a second video to get more off his chest.


Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

“Adam Mosseri, can you give me my page back,” he politely asked. “Y’all gave her her page back, can you give me my page back? Before that, my page was never taken away from me. You done gave everybody they page back, give me another chance. Give me my official Boosie page back with my 10.5 million followers so I can help feed my family some more. Do y’all think about the hurt that you cause people’s families when y’all take they page? And you give somebody else’s page who don’t have no followers back. You should give me my page back. The community wants to see me, man. Just like y’all wanna see all the people y’all love, the community wanna see me, man.”

Do you think Boosie will get his page back with his passionate plea?

Fans Compare Halle Bailey To Solange After She Fiercely Defends Her Sister Chloe From An Online Troll

It’s natural that sister act Chloe X Halle draws comparisons to Beyonce since they’re signed to the pop queen’s management company Parkwood Entertainment. However, today, they’re drawing a different sort of comparison after younger sister Halle Bailey fiercely defended her older sister Chloe from a Twitter troll’s criticism, reminding fans of Beyonce’s own younger sister Solange’s staunch support of Beyonce.

Paying a backhanded compliment to the elder Bailey sister, the Twitter comment read, “I feel like Chloe Bailey is cute but y’all be overhyping shawty.” When Halle caught wind of the offending tweet, she responded sweetly, “Girl, let’s not start. Be blessed!! God loves you too!!!” And although the words — and the accompanying collection of angelic and shushing emojis — came across as “nice,” the Little Mermais star thinly veiled the implied threat behind them: Don’t start none, won’t be none. The offending tweet was apparently deleted and the original poster locked their account.

The banter instantly set fans buzzing, shooting “Halle” onto Twitter’s trending topics, and prompting fans to recall the bond between the Knowles sisters and Solange’s method of defending her sister. Of course, in that instance, rather than exchanging words with the offending party, Solange resolved to speak with her hands, resulting in the infamous elevator confrontation with Jay-Z and a half-dozen bars on the next three projects from Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Check out more responses from fans below.

https://twitter.com/joshuachenault1/status/1420071907165102080?s=20

Hulu’s Lollapalooza Livestream Will Feature Foo Fighters, Tyler The Creator, Post Malone, And More

Earlier in the month, Lollapalooza and Hulu announced that they had officially partnered to allow subscribers to watch the upcoming four-day festival from the comfort of their own homes at no additional cost. Now, according to Hulu’s website, we can confirm that the livestream schedule includes headliners Foo Fighters, Tyler the Creator, Post Malone, Journey, Modest Mouse, Young Thug, Band of Horses, Jimmy Eat World, Black Pumas, The Front Bottoms, White Reaper, and more.

Lollapalooza will kick off July 29 and running to August 1 in Chicago’s Grant Park. The livestream will begin at 11 am PT and come to an end at 8 pm PT each day. Upon announcing the festival’s return this spring, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, “In alignment with our public health guidance, the world class festival returns to the city later this summer. However, full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test will be required to enjoy the festivities.” Lightfoot also announced that all festivalgoers will be required to be vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID test in the last 24 hours in order to attend.

In a statement given to Billboard, sponsorship director of Lollapalooza festival promoter C3 Presents Courtney Trucksess expressed their excitement about the livestream partnership: “We are thrilled to be partnering for the first time with Hulu for this year’s livestream and are excited that the Lollapalooza fans who cannot be with us in Chicago have such a great platform to experience the show.” Check out the full schedule below (all times are in CT).

Thursday, July 29

1:10 p.m. – Aly & AJ
1:30 p.m. – Ant Clemons
1:55 p.m. – MAX
3:20 p.m. – Dombresky
4:00 p.m. – Dayglow
5:10 p.m. – Black Pumas
6:20 p.m. – Jimmy Eat World
8:30 p.m. – Steve Aoki

Friday, July 30

1:30 p.m. – Tai Verdes
2:05 p.m. – Tobi Lou
4:05 p.m. – Emotional Oranges
4:40 p.m. – Riot Ten
6:15 p.m. – White Reaper
7:25 p.m. – Jauz
8:00 p.m. – Jack Harlow
9:05 – Tyler The Creator

Saturday, July 31

1:10 p.m. – Cannons
1:50 p.m. – Hinds
4:00 p.m. – Vintage Culture
5:00 p.m. – Young The Giant
8:00 p.m. – Oliver Heldens
8:30 p.m. – Journey
9:20 p.m. – Post Malone

Sunday, August 1

1:10 p.m. – Sir Chloe
1:30 p.m. – Flipp Dinero
3:30 p.m. – Dr. Fresch
4:05 p.m. – Young Thug
5:10 p.m. – The Front Bottoms
6:10 p.m. – Modest Mouse
7:15 p.m. – Band Of Horses
8:20 p.m. – Foo Fighters

Get more info about the upcoming Hulu livestream here.

Rick Ross Is Only Just Now Getting His Driver’s License, Despite Owning ‘100 Cars’

In June, Rick Ross boasted that he flies commercial and cuts his own grass to save money, but he must have been spending a lot of those savings on Uber and Lyft rides because today, he revealed that he’s only just now getting around to applying for a driver’s license. In a video posted to his social media, he self-deprecatingly told his followers that he owns “100 cars and don’t have a driver’s license.” He also joked about being an organ donor, saying, “Don’t let me die just to take my good heart.”

Meanwhile, the home where Ross mows his own lawn is reportedly set to be featured on the upcoming reboot of MTV’s Cribs alongside other celebrities’ homes like Big Sean’s, Martha Stewart’s, Nick Young’s, and Tinashe’s after being used as the set for the palace in Coming 2 America. In May, it was also highlighted during a police chase when a suspect supposedly crashed his truck in front of the property, leading to an extensive search of the grounds for a gun police say he had.

Ross himself has been working on new music as well, contributing guest verses to projects from the likes of Joyner Lucas and Conway The Machine, as well as teasing a joint project with Drake.