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Brooklyn Nets’ big man LaMarcus Aldridge has officially announced his retirement from the National Basketball Association, citing a heart problem that recently affected him during a game.

Aldridge made the extremely difficult decision to stop playing basketball at a professional level just weeks after signing a new deal with the Brooklyn Nets. He claims that, during one of his recent games, he felt an irregularity in his heartbeat. After the game, the team had him checked out by doctors and, although he’s feeling better now, the irregularity has forced Aldridge to focus on his health and his family.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

“Today, I write this letter with a heavy heart,” started the 35-year-old hoops star, who played much of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs. “My last game, I played while dealing with an irregular heartbeat. Later on that night, my rhythm got even worse which really worried me even more. […] Though I’m better now, what I felt with my heart that night was still one of the scariest things I’ve experienced. With that being said, I made the difficult decision to retire from the NBA.”

LaMarcus Aldridge has been one of the most impactful big men of his generation. His shooting skills and mid-range expertise always made him a threat on the offensive end. He enjoyed a prolific career in basketball. We’re wishing him the best in retirement.

Read his full letter below. 

Bad Boy Records is easily one of hip-hop’s most legendary dynasties, having forged hip-hop immortality with the tireless Diddy at the helm. As it happens, one of their defining singles happens to be Black Rob’s “Woah,” which originally released on February 15th, 2000.

Unfortunately, during these past few years, Rob has been plagued by recurring medical issues, including several strokes. Many fans expressed concern upon seeing an alarming video update from Rob himself, in which he also claimed to be in the midst of a perilous housing situation. Producer Mike Zombie and former Bad Boy rapper Mark Curry proceeded to launch a GoFundMe campaign to assist Rob in getting back on his feet, and Curry has been providing fans with frequent updates on Rob’s health, previously revealing that his friend has been undergoing dialysis. 

Black Rob & Diddy in 2005. Theo Wargo/WireImage/Getty Images

In his most recent update, Curry implored people to reach out, directly calling on his former label boss Diddy to step up and help. “We don’t have to live on this Earth mad at each other, can’t reach out,” he begins. “Rob is here and a lot of people want to know how he’s doing. But these are the same people — they don’t reach out to me. Reach out to me! I don’t hate you, I don’t dislike you.”

“Puffy, we need your help. And you are reaching out, and you’re trying to help. We not going to say he’s not — Puffy is really trying to help. But call, reach out, have someone call,” he continues. “There’s a lot of things you need to know, brother.” It should be noted that the specifics surrounding Diddy’s intentions to help have yet to be revealed. 

As of this moment, Black Rob’s GoFundMe page has raised over twenty-four thousand dollars, with eight-hundred-and-ninety-five donors. Should you be interested in contributing to the cause, consider checking out the “Help Black Rob” campaign right here.  

Travis Scott is building quite an impressive roster of artists on his label Cactus Jack Records. The 28-year-old rapper has reached superstar heights in his career and he’s using his platform to help elevate other artists that he believes in. In recent years, we’ve seen Travis work wonders with Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, and others. It looks like Atlanta newcomer SoFaygo is the latest to get the rapper’s co-sign, reportedly signing a deal with Cactus Jack this week.

With his recent success as a rising artist in hip-hop, “Knock Knock” hitmaker SoFaygo looks to make a major impact with his reported signing to Cactus Jack Records. In addition to the artists listed above, Faygo joins Luxury Tax, WondaGurl, and Chase B on the roster. 

The youngster has been attracting all kinds of attention on his way to rap stardom, building a fanbase of over 220,000 followers on Instagram. His biggest song, “Knock Knock,” was produced by Lil Tecca and boasts over 23 million plays on Spotify. Faygo has drawn comparisons to fellow rappers Playboi Carti, Lil Keed, and others, so if you’re a fan of them, you’ll want to check out this rising artist before he blows up more.

Do you think SoFaygo is a good match for Cactus Jack Records? What do you predict for Faygo this year?

As the world awaits SZA’s highly anticipated and long-awaited sophomore album, the TDE singer-songwriter has taken a moment to sit back and reflect on her accomplishments. In a photo dump-meets-self appreciation post, SZA has shared a slew of stunning photos as well as several reposts from Chart Data that reveal impressive statistics about her music.

Over the course of ten slides, the “Hit Different” artist shows off a new green hairstyle as well as a bevy of her latest streaming and chart statistics. In the caption, she writes, “Quick dump thanking God . All things are possible .”

Green hair pictures aside, SZA‘s latest photo dump definitely proves that she has plenty of accomplishments to celebrate at the moment. For starters, her debut album CTRL has now spent 200 weeks straight on the Billboard 200, meaning that it’s nearing a full four years straight on the top albums chart. The singer-songwriter‘s recent singles “Good Days” and “Kiss Me More,” which she shares with Doja Cat, have also plenty of incredible statistics backing them as well.

According to Chart Data, “Good Days” is the second most-streamed song of 2021, and “Kiss Me More” has earned the biggest streaming debut for an all-female collaboration on Spotify this year and reached #5 on the global Spotify chart with 3.443 million streams. With such impressive numbers for her sophomore album’s single “Good Days,” hopefully this means that SZA’s as-of-yet untitled follow-up to CTRL will arrive sooner than later. 

Congratulations to SZA on all of her accomplishments!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the mob that raided the Capitol on January 6, 2021 is lucky that they didn’t actually run into her because, in her words, she’s a “street fighter” and she would have fought back.

While she’s not best known for her fighting skills, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims that she would have been ready to brawl against the group of Trump supporters who rushed the Capitol earlier this year. She told USA Today that she’s pretty proficient with her hands, warding off any potential threats in the future.

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

“That’s what they were setting out to do,” said Pelosi about the mob breaking in to assassinate her. She says that if her security hadn’t evacuated her in time, she might not have been so lucky to still be alive. “Well, I’m pretty tough. I’m a street fighter. They would have had a battle on their hands,” she added. 

She also joked that she would have used her four-inch stiletto heels as a weapon if she needed to.

Pelosi is presently serving as the fifty-second Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She was re-elected to her fourth term at the beginning of this year.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Read her full statement at the link below. Do you think that she could have taken the mob?

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It’s long been concluded that Dr. Dre, the brilliant producer and overall musical visionary that is he, does not write his own bars. Having previously rapped verses written by Jay-Z (who wrote “Still D.R.E” in its entirety), Eminem, Royce Da 5’9″, and presumably more, many have opted to believe that Dre simply outsources the writing process on a consistent basis. Though seldom held to the same scrutiny as other ghostwriter-using rappers, Dre has been left out of many “best rapper” conversations as a direct result.

Yet as KXNG Crooked tells it, the truth of the situation might not be so clear-cut. In fact, Crook actually witnessed Dr. Dre writing and reciting his own bars. The conversation kicked off during a discussion on Dre’s 2001, which evolved into a discourse on Dre’s penmanship history. After one user mentioned that Eminem wrote bars for Dre in the past, Crook noted that while true, Dre doesn’t always sit out the writing process. 

Image via Artist  

“Dre writes too but yea he has writers I mean Em has written him some fire,” states Crook. When asked for direct examples, Crook looked to their latest session in the studio. “Last time I was in the lab with him he wrote his own verse,” remarked the heavyweight lyricist. “Different cadences, punchlines etc..” 

For those who can appreciate the craft on a deeper level, it may very well be interesting to deep dive into some of Dre’s recent verses in an attempt to glean distinct patterns. Perhaps a good starting point is one of Dre and Crook’s recent, albeit unreleased collaborations. In it, the Doc spits scathing bars aimed at his ex-wife Nicole Young, a topic that would certainly benefit from his own first-hand account. 

It’s not entirely surprising that Dre writes some of his own verses, given the extent of his experience in the rap game. Perhaps this development will lead to a new perspective on Dre’s rapping, though it remains uncertain how much writing he’s done. Let the deep dives begin. 

If there’s an artist that you need to keep a lookout for in 2021, it’s Pooh Shiesty. Over the last few months, Gucci Mane’s protégé has truly been making a name for himself with the unyielding success of his breakout single “Back in Blood” as well as his debut mixtape Shiesty Season. Add in an onslaught of fiery features with artists such as Coi Leray and Big Scarr, and it’s obvious that Pooh Shiesty is making the right moves.

Earlier this month, the 1017 artist even earned the first platinum plaque of his career thanks to the success of “Back in Blood.” The single was officially certified platinum at the tail-end of March, but it finally arrived while Shiesty was recording a new music video with his mentor Gucci Mane.

Roughly a week after getting his platinum plaque, Pooh Shiesty has no plans on stopping, and he still continues to push “Back in Blood” whenever he gets the chance. His latest move is one of the biggest career moves that he has made yet, as the 1017 artist has officially made his television debut by appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Naturally, Pooh Shiesty took the opportunity to perform “Back in Blood,” and he also brought out “The Voice” himself, Lil Durk. Interestingly, their menacing Jimmy Fallon performance marks the first time that they’ve both officially performed the track together, making Pooh Shiesty’s TV debut even more special.

Watch Pooh Shiesty and Lil Durk knock out their performance of “Back in Blood” below.