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A Judge Has Blocked The NFT Of Jay-Z’s ‘Reasonable Doubt’ Album

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The controversial NFT based on Jay-Z’s debut album Reasonable Doubt has been blocked by a judge as the lawsuit against Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash continues. According to The Hollywood Reporter, U.S. District Court Judge John Cronan granted a temporary restraining order to Roc-A-Fella after the label sued Dash on June 18 over his alleged attempt to sell virtual ownership of the career-launching record.

Dash said that he wasn’t trying to sell the rights to the album, but his partner in the endeavor, SuperFarm, announced the NFT auction “of Damon‘s ownership of the copyright to Jay-Z’s first album Reasonable Doubt. This marks a new milestone in the history of NFT’s, entitling the new owner to future revenue generated by the unique asset.” The auction, which was set for June 23-25, was canceled after the label sent a warning letter to SuperFarm, but the label pursued additional legal action against Dash out of concern he’d attempt another sale on his own. Dash says he was trying to sell his Roc-A-Fella stake, not the rights to Reasonable Doubt.

U.S. District Court Judge John Cronan sided with the label during a hearing this morning, noting Roc-A-Fella owns the copyright to the album. The lawsuit will continue, but the sale will not — for the time being. Incidentally, it was a dispute over the publishing rights to Reasonable Doubt that ultimately caused Dash’s initial split with Jay-Z when Dash refused to sell Jay the album masters after the latter was offered a role as president of the parent label Island Def Jam. Jay offered to turn down the role in exchange for the masters, but ultimately took the role and kept the rest of his catalog after Dame’s refusal, causing a rift that led to the demise of Roc-A-Fella at the height of its success.

Reasonable Doubt is also at the center of another lawsuit; Jay-Z is suing the photographer who shot the cover for the album over control of his images.

Michael Jackson Asked To Be Part Of ‘Hunchback Of Notre Dame,” But Disney Declined

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Disney is well-known for its critically acclaimed animated films. To this day, The Hunchback of Notre Dame stands as one of the most unique and unforgettable animated movies they’ve debuted to date. The company relied solely on its vision for the film, one that could have included Michael Jackson’s participation had they approved it. 

The film, based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, was released at the height of Disney’s “Renaissance” period, marking a departure from the Princess archetype films produced by the company. In a new oral history of the film by SlashFilm, the directors, animators, actors, and other filmmakers discuss the making of the film, revealing that Disney had rejected Michael Jackson’s proposal for involvement in the film. 


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Composer Alan Menken revealed in the film that Jackson had displayed a strong interest in the film. Films like Aladdin had experienced chart success for its score with pop star covers of their songs, and Jackson wanted to do the same with Hunchback. 

“I get a call out of nowhere from Michael’s assistant, when Michael was at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York,” Menken told SlashFilm. “He had to [deal with] allegations about inappropriate behavior with underage kids, and the breakup with Lisa Marie Presley. He’s looking to change the subject. And he obviously loves Disney so much. So I mentioned Hunchback. He said he’d love to come to my studio, watch the movie, and talk about it. So we got in touch with Disney Animation. They said, ‘Meet with him! If he likes it…well, see what he says.'”

 
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Menken showed Jackson three songs, “Out There,” “God Help the Outcasts,” and “Someday.” Menken then went on to run it by Disney, who allegedly told him “‘Uh, we’ll get back to you about that.'”

He continued, “finally, predictably, the word came back, ‘Disney doesn’t want to do this with Michael Jackson.’ I go, ‘OK, could someone tell him this?’ You can hear a pin drop, no response, and nobody did [tell him]. It fell to my late manager, Scott Shukat, to tell Michael or Michael’s attorney. In retrospect, it was the right decision. [But] Quasimodo is a character… if you look at his relationships with his family and his father, I would think there’s a lot of identification there.” Check out the full oral history here. 

Jackson has apparently always been a huge fan of Hunchback of Notre Dame, expressing interest in playing Quasimodo in a possible remake of the 1939 film adaption before the Disney animated version materialized. Neither Disney nor Jackson’s estate have commented on the newly surfaced details. 

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French Montana Checks Kim K, La La + More W/ Soulja Boy

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New York rapper French Montana is making huge anthems with Soulja Boy. The hip-hop star has pulled through with the ultimate teaser into a “Make It Clap” remix packed with epic lyrics referencing everyone from NBA stars to reality TV heavyweight Kim Kardashian and La La Anthony. French Montana Checks Kim K + La La […]

The post French Montana Checks Kim K, La La + More W/ Soulja Boy appeared first on SOHH.com.

Wale Announces “Folarin 2” Album & Says He’s “One Of The Greatest Of All Time”

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Nearly ten years ago, Wale released his eighth mixtape Folarin with features from Nipsey Hussle, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Jhené Aiko, and more. This summer, he plans on officially following up the project with the sequel, announcing that his new album Folarin 2 will be out in the coming months.

Wale has been promoting his brand new single “Angles” with Chris Brown, dropping the music video today and reminding people on social media that he’s one of the greatest ever. His consistency is astounding and he remains one of the strongest wordsmiths in the game. On Tuesday, he announced his upcoming album release with a loud statement, telling the world that he’s sick of being underlooked.


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“I understand you may feel how you feel for whatever soembody [sic] told you … but I just wanna reiterate that I’m one of the greatest of all time,” wrote Wale on Twitter. “Catalog. Consistency. Influence. Longevity. DMV. With that said #Folarin2 this summer.”

Wale has never lacked confidence. Over the years, he’s spoken out on a few separate occasions to challenge the world’s view of him, arguing that he deserves to be mentioned with the greats. He’s giving himself another chance to convince the critics this summer, so maybe the narrative will turn around soon. 

Are you excited for more new music from Wale?

Jay-Z & Roc-A-Fella Claim Legal Win In Dame Dash Lawsuit: Report

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Dame Dash and Jay-Z’s relationship has been non-existent in the past decade but whatever issues they’ve had with each other have been exasperated further. Reports claimed that Dame Dash was attempting to sell Reasonable Doubt as an NFT which the Roc-A-Fella co-founder deemed untrue. He said that he was trying to sell his stake in the company. 


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Jay and Roc-A-Fella have taken a brief win in their case against Dame Dash. According to TMZ, a judge has ruled that Dame Dash is prohibited from moving forward with the sale of Reasonable Doubt as an NFT. Any of the auctions planned has also been barred, per the judge’s ruling. It’s a temporary prohibition on the NFT sale of Hov’s debut album and Dash likely won’t be going down without a fight. However, the judge said Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella’s arguments were “deemed credible and correct.”

Alex Spiro, the attorney representing Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella, accused Dash of trying to make quick bank off of the rising NFT trend. A lawsuit was filed to prevent the rights of Reasonable Doubt from being sold and demanded that any NFT’s that were created were turned over.


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Dash previously stated that Jay-Z attempted to purchase his third of the company’s share for “a price I deemed unacceptable.”

“When another black man calls another black man a thief, just to make him look bad, and so that they can devalue an asset that that other man owns, just because he won’t sell it to him at a low price — I don’t think the culture needs that,” Dash told Rolling Stone. “I just think it’s disappointing to also have a white lawyer calling me a thief on Juneteenth. It’s very representative of what they do to someone when they try to make a good guy look like a bad guy, just because he’s doing good business.”


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Tyler, The Creator Shoots His Shot On New Single “WUSYANAME”

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Tyler, The Creator’s new album Call Me If You Get Lost really feels like it will sound nothing like the prolific rapper’s previous work, which has gotten fans extremely excited for the project’s release this week. After a series of mysterious video teasers, the California-based recording artist released the album’s first single “LUMBERJACK,” which introduced a strong mixtape vibe from the former Odd Future representative, going back to his more aggressive rapping days. On his latest release, titled “WUSYANAME,” Tyler takes a lighter approach, but the mixtape influence is still apparent with DJ Drama’s screams echoing in the introduction.

Sharing the music video on Tuesday, Tyler, The Creator officially dropped the second single from Call Me If You Get Lost. The love song sees Tyler pulling up to a patisserie outside of Los Angeles, stumbling across a woman that he just needs to know. He shoots his shot for the duration of the two-minute record, giving the unnamed woman compliments and swooning over her as they walk up to the bakery’s counter. 

Tyler, The Creator’s new album releases on Friday. Listen to his new single “WUSYANAME” below and let us know what you think.

Quotable Lyrics:

If you got a man, you should cut him off
Get your passport ’cause we runnin’ off
We can sit and talk
You can tell me everything’s that’s on your chest, baby, get it off
You are my type, you a bright light
I’m like a moth, this is not a game

Wale Debuts The Visual For His Latest Single “Angles” With Chris Brown

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Wale unleashed his latest offering “Angles” on Friday (June 18). The Chris Brown-featured track samples Diddy and Usher’s early 00s hit “I Need A Girl Pt.2,” and arrives nearly five months after his last single “Good Vibes (Za).” Produced by Hitmaka and OG Parker, the song has received positive reviews from listeners thus far. 

The D.C. native shared a snippet of the forthcoming visual with fans on Twitter on Monday (June 22), teasing the video with his longtime collaborator Chris Breezy. In the video, the duo kick it on a mansion somewhere in the Hollywood Hills, capturing the essence of LA as they enjoy the presence of beautiful women. 

Notably, Wale has not delivered much solo material this year aside from the occasional loosie. The DMV rapper welcomed a slew of singles last year as well as his Imperfect Storm EP. This year, he’s connected with the likes of Pacman da Gunman on “One Piece” and with EarthGang and XXL Freshman Coi Leray for the “Options” remix. 

As for Chris, he’s appeared on a couple of features including Yung Bleu’s “Baddest” with 2Chainz and OG Parker’s debut “Rain Down” with Latto, PnB Rock, and Layton Greene. Check out the brand new “Angles” visual above and let us know what you think down below. 

Blueface Announces His First Professional Fight

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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.