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Blueface has been teasing his professional fighting debut for over a year, showing off his hands in the gym as he trains for the boxing ring. He must have watched rapper DDG get a win in his first fight because Blueface has mustered up enough confidence to take his talents to the ring, announcing that he has officially scheduled his first-ever fight for next month.

Posting a video of himself working out with a trainer, Blueface said that he’ll be making his in-ring debut on July 23. 

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“July 23rd my first professional fight,” wrote the rapper before stating that he’s going to win regardless of who his opponent will be. “He’s going to bed it don’t even matter who it is it’s a extra 25k knock out bonus ona line.”

Clearly, Blueface will be aiming at his opponent’s head in an effort to claim the $25,000 knockout bonus. DDG is seemingly rooting for his “Moonwalkin in Calabasas” collaborator, writing in the comments, “BlueFloyd MayBleedEm.”

From the looks of his video, do you think he’s strong enough to win in the boxing ring? Who do you want him to face off against? 

In other Blueface-related news, the rapper recently opened up a soul food restaurant in Los Angeles. Learn more about that here.

During his campaign for the Oval Office, President Joe Biden promised to reassess current drug laws that have historically disproportionately impacted the Black community if he was elected. Making true of those promises, a bill to decriminalize marijuana nationally was re-introduced to Congress in May. 

Another testament to the shifting attitudes towards drug policies in the county, the Biden administration endorsed a bill on Tuesday (June 22) that would effectively end sentencing disparities for crack versus powder cocaine offenses. A complete shift from Biden’s previous stance on drug use and efforts to pass legislation that implemented the rules to begin with, the EQUAL Act was endorsed by acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Regina LaBelle during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. 

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The previous sentencing disparity, which has come to be known as the “100 to 1 rule,” had disproportionately impacted the Black community. It enforced a five-year minimum sentence for tracking in 500 grams of cocaine powder, or just five grams of crack. 

There are notably no chemical differences between powder cocaine and crack cocaine, despite what the sentencing disparity approach would make you believe. The 100 to 1 law was altered in 2020, although only to the lower and still harmful disparity of 18 to 1. 

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Trick Daddy doesn’t think he said anything out of pocket when he dissed Beyoncé and JAY-Z during a Clubhouse panel this week. The rapper told hundreds of people that he doesn’t think Beyoncé can sing, also disrespecting JAY-Z by saying that he’s not the best rapper. As a result, the Beyhive has been swarming Trick Daddy on social media, ganging up on the 46-year-old rapper and demanding an apology. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they’ll be getting anything of the sort because on his radio show this morning, the Florida rapper doubled down on his statement, telling listeners that he meant what he said and that he doesn’t think it was wrong to come at the Carters.

He said that during the same conversation, the panel spoke about ways to make their respective cities and communities better places, but he’s not surprised that the Beyoncé and JAY-Z slander got picked up by the media. “What I said was I don’t think Beyoncé can sing and Beyoncé is to R&B what JAY-Z is to the state of hip-hop in New York at the time when JAY-Z considered himself as the king of hip-hop,” said Trick Daddy. “Which is my opinion. And opinions are like buttholes: without ’em, you’d be full of doodoo.”

He continued to explain himself, telling his fans that he was simply stating his “unpopular opinion.” “That’s my opinion. I’ve said many times on the radio that they’re wonderful businesspeople. Jigga made a lot of money, he got a whole lotta money. But did I say anything disrespectful? No. Did I call them out they names? No, I didn’t,” said Trick. “But before I said that, because a lot of females love Beyoncé, I said she’s the lady Jesus Christ to them, which is not a bad thing. Actually, that’s a compliment ’cause Jesus Christ was a powerful and lovable person. But if you got a problem with speaking your own mind, I apologize.”

Do you think Trick Daddy said anything wrong? Trina, his close affiliate, showed love to Beyoncé and JAY-Z this morning on social media. Read about that here.

Chloe Bailey of Beyoncé-signed duo Chloe x Halle recently paid tribute to the late songstress Nina Simone with a silky cover of her classic, “Feeling Good.” Reactions to the cover were polarized, although the granddaughter of the acclaimed songstress RéAnna Simone Kelly took to Twitter to jump to her defense, praising the songstress for the performance. 

RéAnna Simone Kelly later took to Twitter once again to air out some family drama, name-dropping current Vice President Kamala Harris as a main player in the situation. Simone’s granddaughter accused Harris of “taking away” the iconic singer’s estate and handing it over “to white people,” which left her so poor she considered “stripping to pay my bills.” 

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“Nina’s granddaughter here,” ReAnna Simone Kelly wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “My family doesn’t run her estate anymore. It was taken away from us [and] given to white people. Our family name was DRAGGED in the media. We get NO royalties, nothing. Wanna hold someone accountable? Ask Kamala Harris why she came for my family.”

“Our family name was DRAGGED in the media. We get NO royalties, nothing,” said the 22-year-old of an intense 2013 legal battle over Nina’s estate handling while Harris was serving as attorney general of California. “Wanna hold someone accountable? Ask Kamala Harris why she came for my family,” added Simone Kelly in the lengthy thread. 

She continued, “Ask her why she separated my family. Ask her why my grandmothers estate is in SHAMBLES now. Ask her why we as her family no longer own the rights to anything. Ask her why she bullied my mother in court and my mom almost killed herself from the depression.” She also revealed her mother, Lisa Simone, was put under a “gag order,” leaving their family “separated” from the songstress’ legacy. 

The rant was over her family losing a legal battle against then-attorney general Kamala Harris with the singer’s daughter Lisa Simone Kelly after she was accused of “breaching her fiduciary duty.” Simone Kelly was then ordered to relinquish her rights to her mother’s work as well as the title of estate administrator. She later took to Instagram to support her daughter, praising her for “coming out blazing.”

Kamala Harris has yet to release a statement regarding the situation.  

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Carl Nassib made history this past week by coming out as the NFL’s first active openly gay player during the final weeks of Pride Month. However, according to NFL veteran Warren Moon, Nassib is one of many present and past gay NFL players– though they were too nervous to make it public.

Moon, who began his career in the NFL in 1984 with the Houston Oilers, praised Nassib in a series of tweets last night while also discussing the increasing diversity and acceptance found in the NFL community today.

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“We live in a different time now where diversity is much more accepted. Cheers Carl, and I hope this lets other athletes know, its OK to say who you are,” Moon wrote. Moon went on to commend past teammates who weren’t able to come out as Nassib has: “I played with several guys who never were comfortable enough to go public. They were great teammates, & obviously very talented.” 

Surprisingly, Moon clarifies that teammates were never an obstacle in safely coming out– “as long as they helped us win and were great teammates- their sexual preference was never a issue”– placing more blame on franchises and fans for lack of acceptance.

Nassib’s Instagram video announcement yesterday was met with considerable encouragement and support. However, Moon’s tweets have been subject to a series of more mixed reactions. Multiple commenters criticized moon for his deduction of homosexuality to a “sexual preference”– “Your support is great, yet its important to understand this is not about “sexual preference” but about who people are,” a Twitter user wrote. Other users joined in on the support but look forward to a future that doesn’t require large publicized announcements in order to come out.

Are you excited for a more accepting NFL? Check out the tweets and some reactions below:

Coi Leray has established herself as one of hip-hop’s most popular new artists, having recently secured a position on the XXL Freshman Class of 2021. Though some haven’t quite gotten on board with the distinctive melodist, many have become endeared to Leray’s personality and unique voice, to the point where her breakout single “No More Parties” has already gone platinum.

Now, Leray continues to keep the momentum going, carrying on her tradition of connecting with rappers for her upcoming single “At The Top.” Having recently linked with Pooh Shiesty on “Big PURR,” EarthGang on “Options Remix,” and Dave East on an unreleased track, Leray has officially teamed up with Kodak Black and Mustard for her next big release. 

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This Friday, June 25th, the unexpected trio will be dropping off “At The Top,” a single presumably set to appear on Leray’s upcoming album. It should be interesting to hear how the pair play off of one another, as Kodak has typically shied away from the mainstream sound since his release from prison. Perhaps Leray will be the catalyst for his return to the charts, a place with which she’s becoming increasingly familiar.

Look for “At The Top” to land at the end of the week, and sound off if you’re excited to see what Coi Leray, Kodak Black, and DJ Mustard have concocted.