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It seems Akon is taking notes from Tyrese’s playbook. Back in December, we reported on Tyrese running into a bit of trouble after his SUV was stolen right out of his driveway. He reportedly left the key FOB inside, making it easy for thieves to just drive the Range Rover off of the actor’s property. The vehicle was quickly found and Tyrese shared on social media that he planned on bailing the car thieves out of jail because they were just trying to make money.

Last week, Akon fell victim to vehicle theft, as well, while he was reportedly at a gas station. He left his car running and according to reports, someone hopped in and took off. 

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Much like Tyrese’s case, Akon’s Range Rover was quickly located, and on Monday (May 31), The Shade Room reported that they spoke with a “source” close to Akon who confirmed that the mogul didn’t plan on pressing charges. “That was him before he was blessed with this success so he understands the struggle,” the source reportedly stated.

“He doesn’t plan to press charges so he hopes they take that as a second chance to focus on a more positive approach to getting out the hood and make use of the time they have out of jail to better their lives.” Would you press charges if someone took off with your car?

Listen to Akon’s 911 call below.

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In the sports world, the news of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open has consumed headlines. The 23-year-old tennis star is sitting at the top of her career as one of the greatest players in the world, but last week, she announced she would be stepping back from doing interviews with the tennis media because she wanted to protect her mental health. The French Open fined her $15K for not adhering to the rules—a fine that Osaka publicly stated she quickly paid—but following the controversy, the sports icon decided to withdraw from the competition altogether because her health is more important to her than a trophy.

While some tennis stars disapprove of Cordae’s girlfriend’s decision, overall, people have applauded the young star, especially during a time when there have been multiple reports of celebrities passing away from suicide and overdoses. However, Piers Morgan took this opportunity to target Osaka and he attacked her in an op-ed piece.

“*NEW COLUMN* Narcissistic Naomi’s cynical exploitation of mental health to silence the media is right from the Meghan & Harry playbook of wanting their press cake and eating it,” Morgan tweeted, once again mentioning Meghan Markle, a woman who he has been accused of harassing for years after she never contacted him following their meet-up for drinks. According to Morgan, Markle visited London, they went out for a drink, and she met Prince Harry later on that evening.

People quickly clapped back at Morgan and accuses him of being vile, racist, and obsessed. The public pointed out that his behavior is why Osaka withdrew in the first place, but he said she only backed out because she faced backlash for criticizing the media. “This criticism is damaging to my mental health. Delete,” he tweeted to a Twitter user.

Check it out below.

It’s been over four years since Kendrick Lamar released his last album, DAMN. which further earned him acclaim and commercial success that very few rappers before have accomplished. However, Kendrick’s one artist that doesn’t rush his projects which is probably why he hardly disappoints. People are growing impatient, though. A new album from the rapper was slated for 2020 but the pandemic pushed back those plans. 

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It seems that Kendrick Lamar could be arriving in the near future, according to The Game. The Doctor’s Advocate MC, who apparently is no longer retired, took to social media where he praised J. Cole’s new album The Off-Season before tipping his hat off to Kendrick Lamar. The Game revealed that he had recently chopped it up with Top Dawg who offered an ambiguous update on when we could expect new music from K. Dot.

“I talked to Top Dawg. You know, he told me Kendrick ’bout to hit n***as with some shit real soon and shit. So, you know, who knows how real soon that it but if Kendrick is working, that shit is always major,” The Game said. “That’s my lil n***a. Love that n***a to death,” he said, adding that he’s very inspired by artists like Cole, as well as Kendrick.

Hopefully, we’ll actually be receiving a new album from Kendrick Lamar in the weeks ahead. Peep the video below. 

We all remember Terry Crews in the film White Chicks as he famously sang Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” but a recent sample of the song on Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace and FastMoney Goon’s collaboration caused a stir. The group of artists released “Who I Smoke,” and because the track boasted violent lyrics, people condemed the rappers for chopping and screwing the Pop classic. 

After receiving criticism from “A Thousand Miles” puritists, Vanessa Carlton hopped online to let folks know that she approves of the sample.

“To the white folks that have expressed anger/shock over my approval of A Thousand Miles’ usage in the Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Yungeen Ace, & FastMoney Goon song Who I Smoke, I invite you to ask yourself why you feel this way & then read this,” Carlton tweeted alongside a link to an article titled, “Share Cropping Blackness: White Supremacy and the Hyper-Consumption of Black Popular Culture.”

She added another thought as she shared a clip of a famous scene from a Quentin Tarantino favorite. “Popular songs accompanied by white violence or tales of white violence aren’t questioned. It’s considered visceral or cinematic,” she said. “Here we have Stuck in the Middle of you playing while a guy gets his ear cut off. Reservoir Dogs.”

She corrected herself after mistaking the title: “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealer’s Wheel. People applauded Carlton’s support of the track, especially following Mariah Carey’s disapporval of YTK’s “Let It Off,” a snog that sampled the singer’s classic hit, “Shake It Off.” 

Check out the music video for “Who I Smoke” below.

Everyone wants a piece of Jake Paul these days and it seems like former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley has locked in the opportunity to step into the ring with the YouTuber-turned-pro boxer. Per The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, Woodley and Paul have agreed to a deal for a boxing match. News of the match-up comes after it was revealed that Paul locked in a multi-fight deal with ShowTime. This Friday, Woodley and Paul will face off in Miami to begin building anticipation around the fight ahead of Logan Paul vs. Floyd Mayweather on Sunday. 

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Tyron Woodley has been particularly vocal about fighting Paul over the past few months. Woodley, who holds a 19-7-1 record, said that Paul is a “culture vulture,” demanding that the YouTuber steps into the ring with him. “He keeps calling out everybody but me. I’m the one with the real smoke with you,” he told TMZ. “I’m in, and I can actually find him. People that keep talking about fighting him, they’re not even in position to fight him. I can actually fight him. I can fight him tomorrow if I want to.”

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Finally, Woodley will be able to square up against Jake Paul who recently earned a 3-0 win streak after his fight against Ben Askren in April.

Who’s your money on? Sound off in the comments. 

Anytime Jay-Z pops out for some sort of interview, there’s always a gem to takeaway. His appearance on LeBron James’ The Shop had the rapper opening up about everything from learning how to swim to his relationship with DMX. Though it’s been a few years since Jay released his last album 4:44, he touched on the importance of the album, especially to other rappers who’ve faced similar issues in their personal lives.

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“To be vulnerable in that space, after you’ve done all this work — and you don’t have to. Your ego will tell you, I don’t gotta do that,” he said. “But then, you know, no one else heals. So many super gangster rappers comin’ up to me like, ‘Yo, thank you for that.’ You know, they could tell me on the side, ‘Yo, you saved my relationship.'”

On a personal level, Jay-Z explained that the album played a role in the shift of their relationship. He said that when he first played “Smile” for his mother, who ended up on the song, she got “super defensive.”

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“What happened, I was in L.A.. She flew out to L.A. then she left and was like, ‘No.’ We talked through it and then, when she flew back to L.A., she had written a poem. She wrote that on the plane. It came with the American Airlines, like a little notepad. I was like, ‘You got bars, ma.’ Gloria got bars.”

Peep the clip below. 

We recently caught up with Fredo Bang for the latest edition of Rise & Grind where he shared a hilarious anecdote about the first time he ever met Kanye West. It was YNW Melly who brought Fredo to a session after revealing that Kanye West was actually in tune with his music.

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“I was calling him to congratulate [YNW Melly] for working with Kanye he like, ‘Yeah, I just talked to Kanye about the s***. He messing with the music.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah?’,” Fredo said. 

He went on to meet Kanye West but what happened afterward was an incredibly awkward encounter that left Fredo Bang confused to this day. “So, I see Kanye, I’m walking up in Hit Factory and you know me, I ain’t really no type of person to get fanned out, but this is Kanye. I walk up to Kanye to shake his hand and Kanye tell me, ‘Congratulations.’ I’m like, ‘For what?’ And he never said what,” Bang recounted. “So, I stopped shaking his hand and then I reached back out to shake his hand again, just on some in the moment type sh**, ‘cause I’m not even thinking.”

“He never told me why he congratulated me,” he continued. “I was very shaken by that. I ain’t know whether to be happy or sad or something [laughs].”

Check out Fredo Bang’s full Rise & Grind interview. 

T.I. and Tiny are currently facing several allegations — including claims of sexual assault and drugging — spearheaded by former friend of the couple Sabrina Peterson. Though the number of women has risen since the initial accusation surfaced, Tip and Tiny have remained adamant in their denial of every allegation leveled against them.

T.I. actually addressed the situation in a recent song “What It’s Come To,” accusing Peterson of attempting extortion and doubling down on his unwavering stance. Last week, Peterson actually claimed she would drop her lawsuit against the Harris couple provided they issued a public apology. “Tell the truth about me, tell the truth about what you did to me, and apologize. I’m gone,” she stated. “I don’t want one dime. And here’s the other stipulation: Do it within seven days.”

Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Earlier today, Tip remained defiant and laughed at the prospect of acquiescing to Peterson’s request. “An Apology????” he captions, alongside a picture of him guffawing at Diddy’s party. “Drako voice #WhatItsComeTo.” Hardly substantiation but telling nonetheless. Enough that Peterson opted to issue a response to his response, warning that “pride comes before the fall.”

On her own IG page, Peterson shared a “Narcissist checklist,” implying that T.I. meets each one of the fourteen criteria. Emphasizing that he’s the target of her post is an attached picture of T.I. hanging out with R.Kelly, the implication speaking for itself.

With T.I unwilling to budge in his position of innocence and Peterson determined to make him, at the very least, apologize for his alleged wrongdoings, it’s uncertain as to how this one will play out. We will keep you posted on developments surrounding Peterson’s ongoing legal battle with the Harrises as the situation unfolds.