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J. Cole Has Reportedly Completed His Basketball Contract And Will Return To The US

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J. Cole — who got to live his dream of professionally playing basketball, if only for a little while — has reportedly completed the terms of his contract with the BAL’s Rwanda Patriots, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears, who reported the news on Twitter. “Source confirms rapper J. Cole of the Rwanda Patriots BBC has completed his contractual obligation to the Basketball Africa League and has departed from Rwanda due to a ‘family obligation,’” he wrote. “J. Cole had five points, three assists, and five rebounds in three games.”

It was Spears who initially announced the surprise signing ahead of the release of Cole’s new album The Off-Season, revealing that the rapper had agreed to a contract for three-to-six games in the newly formed international league. Cole’s manager and business partner Ib Hamad later noted that the timing was purely coincidental due to both the album release and the start of the Basketball Africa League being pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cole’s contract was likely scheduled to last at least the duration of the group stage play, with the additional three games taking place during the tournament contingent on his performance.

Not everyone appreciated having the rap star around, however. Terrell Stoglin, the leading scorer for Morocco’s AS Salé, called Cole’s opportunity “disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their whole lives for this” and felt “he took someone’s job that deserves it.” Although Rick Ross came to Cole’s defense, it appears to be a moot point now; Cole’s basketball career is, for the moment, over.

Run The Jewels, The Strokes, Phoebe Bridgers, And More Headline Shaky Knees’ 2021 Festival

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Shaky Knees festival is eying a massive return for their 2021 festival. Marking its seventh year, the festival has officially unveiled their 2021 lineup with Stevie Nicks, Run The Jewels, The Strokes, and Phoebe Bridgers leading the bill.

Shaky Knees’ 2021 festival takes place in Atlanta, GA’s Central Park. While it usually kicks off in May, organizers have pushed the date back to the weekend of October 22 through 24. Along with headliners Stevie Nicks, Run The Jewels, Phoebe Bridgers, and The Strokes, Shaky Knees has booked over 60 bands. The lineup includes Alice Cooper, St. Vincent, Modest Mouse, Portugal. The Man, Mac Demarco, Dermot Kennedy, Dominic Fike, Royal Blood, The Hives, Arlo Parks, Ty Segall & Freedom Band, Jay Electronia, White Reaper, Noga Erez, Cults, Peach Tree Rascals, Frankie And The Witch Fingers, Idles, Lunar Vacation, Cloud Nothings, Neal Francis, Liza Anne, Orville Peck, All Them Witches, Tennis, Black Midi, Bartees Strange, The Aubreys, and more.

In a statement about the festival’s return, founder Tim Sweetwood said: “We are really happy to be able to deliver Shaky Knees this October with a lineup that truly has something for everyone. We look forward to getting back into Central Park with our amazing Shaky family of fans and hear some incredible live music together.”

See Shaky Knees’ full lineup below.

Shaky Knees Festival

Tickets for Shaky Knees festival are on sale 5/26 at 1 pm EST. Get them here.

G Herbo Pleas ‘Not Guilty’ To Charges Of Lying To A Federal Agent In His Identity Theft Case

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According to MassLive — an offshoot of Springfield, Massachusetts-based newspaper The Republican — Chicago rapper G Herbo pled “not guilty” to charges of lying to federal agents about his alleged involvement in identity fraud. Herbo appeared in Springfield court via Zoom from his home in Los Angeles to enter his plea in the new case, which resulted from his allegedly telling a federal agent he had no relationship with a defendant in the original case.

Prosecutors maintained that Herbo and the other defendant, Chicago promoter Antonio Strong, actually did have a relationship that saw Strong giving Herbo “valuable goods,” including “private jet charters, luxury accommodations, and exotic car rentals.” Of course, the problem is that those luxuries were supposedly purchased with the ill-gotten gains from an identity fraud scam involving the two men and four others, for which they were indicted in December. However, the additional charges were tacked on more recently; federal prosecutors filed the new charges earlier this month, claiming Herb (Herbert Wright III) “knowingly and willfully made the following materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.”

Meanwhile, Herbo is set to go to court on the original charges of identity theft in August. He pled “not guilty” to those in December after turning himself in, and before addressing the charges on his recent single “Statement.”

SZA Defends TDE’s Punch After Calling Out Her Label: “He Really Fights For Me”

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SZA has a long history of being displeased with her record label, often using her social media platforms to call out the behind-the-scenes drama. After her hit record “Good Days” fell out of the Billboard Hot 100’s top ten, the singer took to the comments section to air out her issues once again.

“I hate my label. So much,” she wrote on a fan’s Instagram page. As people generally do, fans began to speculate that SZA was angry with Punch and Top Dawg Entertainment. However, as she clarified this morning, her message was not aimed at Punch in the slightest.


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“Punch is my manager (not a machine or a label),” she wrote on Twitter. “Also been like my stage dad the last 10 yrs. Be nice to him pls [pleading face emoji]. He really fights for me. Not angry w him. Or anybody really. Jus my own choices.”

She took the next few moments to respond to fans, replying to one person who asked for the official release of her highly-anticipated single “Shirt.” “Lmao now THAT. Needs to happen. also isn’t on [Punch],” said SZA. 

She also said that moving forward, she will be clearer when making these kinds of posts about her label. When someone asked if Punch manipulates or threatens her, she fervently defended the music executive. “Lmao no y’all just always assume he’s the man behind the curtain I gotta start saying ‘but not punch n nem,'” explained the singer.

Check out all of her tweets below.

New Grammy Rules & Guidelines Revealed By Recording Academy

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Following the removal of “secret voting committees,” The Recording Academy has officially unveiled and implemented the new rules and guidelines for the Grammy Awards. As per a report from Business Wire, the majority will be effective immediately, which means they’ll have an impact on next year’s ceremony taking place in January of 2022. It should be noted that one of the rules impacting album eligibility will only go into effect in 2023.

Among the rules that are to be implemented moving forward — the Best Dance Recording category has been changed to Best Dance/Electronic Recording, which ultimately widens the scope of possible inclusion. The Album Of The Year award amendments now ensures that in order to be considered, a project must include 75% worth of “newly recorded material,” though the window extends to a generous five years. In addition, all credited artists and contributors on a given album will now be eligible to be included as nominees. 

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Adjustments for eligibility pertaining to film music categories were also made, which allows film soundtrack composers to decide whether to go for the Grammy when the soundtrack releases or actively waiting until the film comes out. 

Speaking on the changes, Harvey Mason jr., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, had this to say:

Our peer-driven awards process is all about engagement, and nothing is more invigorating than seeing our members take part in submitting proposals to move the Academy forward. We’re proud to work alongside today’s music creators to ensure their vision for the music industry is reflected in all that we do, and to continue our commitment to transparency by making these updates readily available to anyone that wishes to submit their art for Grammy recognition.”

It is unclear as to whether or not these adjustments and alterations will be enough to lull The Weeknd back into the fold, as the Canadian superstar appears unwavering in his conviction to boycott the Grammy Awards moving forward. Only time will tell as to whether his absence can make a difference. 

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North West Puts Kim Kardashian On Blast While She Promotes Olivia Rodrigo’s New Album

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Kids are some of the most brutally honest people on this earth, and Kim Kardashian recently learned that the hard way. 

In honor of the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour, several celebrities — including Joe Jonas, Nick Platter, and Kim Kardashian — received care packages that included Sour Patch Kids, sweethearts, composition books, and other cutesy merchandise decorated to coincide with the album artwork for Sour. Naturally, Kim Kardashian took to Instagram to share her excitement about receiving hers, but her and Kanye West’s eldest child North West hilariously called her out mid-video.

“How cute is Olivia Rodrigo, you guys?” Kim Kardashian said in the now-deleted video posted to her Instagram story. “I can’t wait for her album. You guys know I love ‘drivers license.'”

Before she could fully break into describing the special care package sent by Olivia Rodrigo’s team, North West calls cap on her mother, and viewers can hear her saying, “You never listen to it.”

Kim immediately chuckles at North’s interruption, and then she calls on her son Saint West to back her up and refute North’s claims.

“Yes I do. I listen to it all the time. Stop North,” Kim replies. “Saint, don’t we listen to it in the car all the time? Yes. Can you say that louder for the people to hear? Don’t I listen to it all the time, Saint?”

Eventually, Saint replies with an unconvincing “Yes,” but North’s shocking interruption appears to have shocked Kim just as much as it shocked viewers. From the look of it, North is definitely growing up to be just as outspoken as her father. Check out The Shade Room‘s screengrab of Kim Kardashian’s post below.

J. Cole Leaves BAL Rwanda Team Due To “Family Obligation”

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J. Cole has officially left the Rwanda Patriots basketball club, citing “family obligations.” The news was announced on Wednesday after it was revealed that the rapper/professional baller had fulfilled his contractual obligation to the team after playing in three games.

The North Carolina native’s overseas stint in Africa brought tons of media attention to the Basketball Africa League, with social media going crazy every time the rapper hit the court. His highlights have been the subject of a media circus, and so have his not-so-shiny moments on the floor. J. Cole finished his contract with five points, three assists, and five rebounds.

His career with the Rwanda Patriots wrapped up with the rapper providing all kinds of new equipment to the team’s staff and players in a moment of generosity that was captured by the cameras. The “family obligation” that Cole left the team for has not been revealed but it can’t have been easy for the superstar to be away from his kids for the last few weeks.

Do you think J. Cole will continue his basketball career elsewhere? Has he earned a role in the NBA or the G-League next year?

Cole is fresh off the release of his latest studio album The Off-Season, which is the current #1 album in the United States. The album moved 282,000 copies in its first week out, making for one of the strongest debuts of the entire year.

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Logan Paul Calls Floyd Mayweather “Pipsqueak” While Bashing His Sparring

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Logan Paul continues to throw shots at boxing legend Floyd Mayweather just eleven days before their anticipated June 6th fight. In a short Instagram video posted Tuesday night, the YouTuber-turned-boxer poked fun at a picture Mayweather posted Tuesday afternoon. The post in question saw Mayweather showing blood on his gloves as he practices for next week’s event. Paul, who lost his only professional fight to YouTuber KSI, continues to equate himself with the undefeated Mayweather. While laughing in the video clip (below), he trolls:

“Floyd Mayweather is so excited that he made someone bleed in sparring, he posted the same picture from the same day. Ohhh, he’s so excited. Ay champ, you’re not the only person who makes people bleed in sparring. Besides your sparring partners are human blood sprinklers bro. Who you sparring bro, you sparring trash. You pipsqueak. June 6th gunna be the worst day of your life bro, literally I’m gunna make this shit so hard for you.”

These comments come after a long month of heckling at the hands of Logan and his brother Jake, as they employ their signature brand of trolling leading up to the fight. Earlier this month, at a press conference advertising the event, Jake Paul spurred a viral meme by grabbing Mayweather’s hat and running off with it, leaving Jake with a black eye.

floyd mayweather versus logan paul

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Mayweather has a history of not taking these jokes lightly. The famed boxer even threatened to kill Jake during the “Gotcha Hat” incident, apparently prompting the brothers to hire a 24/7 security team. Mayweather is set to fight the younger Paul brother this year as well, although a date has not been set. Jake himself is coming off of a knockout win against MMA fighter Ben Askren in April, though his actions have since banned him from attending the June 6th event. 

The trolling is sure to continue until the event next Sunday. Will you be tuning in?

Check out Logan Paul’s video and Mayweather’s original post which sparked the call-out, below.

Nicki Minaj: 5 Outdoor Flexes From Everyone’s Fave Barbie

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The weather’s only getting hotter and with new music out right now, rap star Nicki Minaj is keeping things sizzling. The hip-hop star has started up a new challenge for her diehard Barbies and we can’t help but imagine a Woman Crush Wednesday without a little Queen ting. Sticking with the theme of hotness and […]

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