D’Angelo’s ‘Verzuz’ Was Supposed To Be Against Maxwell And Take Place On Valentine’s Day

It’s been more than a month since the last Verzuz battle, one that took place between Keyshia Cole and Ashanti. While the platform made its return on Saturday night, the rules were a little bit different this time around. Rather than a matchup between two artists, legendary R&B singer D’Angelo took the stage for what became more of a livestream concert. It wasn’t an entirely solo affair, however, as the singer promised the appearance of some “friends” which turned out to be HER, Method Man, and Redman. While the show was definitely an enjoyable one, it wasn’t the plan from the start.

Once D’Angelo’s Verzuz concluded, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland hopped on Instagram Live to recap the event and it was here that Swizz revealed the battle was supposed to be D’Angelo against Maxwell and take place on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, the plans fell through.

“That didn’t work out…the fact that D’Angelo was still ready to go…and motivated, we had to celebrate him…no matter who was on stage with him,” Swizz said. “We had to celebrate that king because, as you can see, those songs that he played tonight, man, that’s real music and this is celebrational stage…and we couldn’t play around with him. We had to let him get his garden because he showed up and showed out.”

You can watch Swizz’s comments above.

Tank Reflects On His Regrets On “Can’t Let It Show”

Tank’s longevity in the r&b and the acting world has been something to behold, and over the years, he has continued to release new music that fits that grown person’s r&b aesthetic. When you’re older, you have a lot more wisdom to share when it comes to relationships, and that is exactly what he delivered his fans with his latest track called “Can’t Let It Show.”

This track is packed with emotion as it is a piano ballad that features Tank delivering some reflective lyrics about love, heartbreak, and what it means to be a good partner. Tank looks at things from the perspective of the woman he has disappointed, and how her tears are eating him up inside. It’s definitely a somber note but it makes for a great song that forces you to grapple with your own experiences.

Quotable Lyrics:

How did I lose you? (How did I lose you?)
How did I blow that? How can we go back?
Why did I not choose you? Ooh-ooh
Instead of a good time, I wasted your good time

Georgia Teacher Suggests To Students Breonna Taylor Caused Her Own Death

The high-profile police shooting of Breonna Taylor last March was one of the main instances of police brutality that helped ignite the series of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests that took place in the earlier part of quarantine. Shot and killed while sleeping in the bed of her Louisville apartment, widespread criticism of the ethics involved in the case continues to ring high. That being considered, a Georgia high school teacher is fighting to keep her job after she suggested that Breonna caused her own death by hanging around the wrong people.

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Susan McCoy, a forensic science teacher at Pebblebook High School in Cobb County, GA, told her students in a Zoom lecture,  “I’m sorry she was killed, but you know, when you hang out with people with guns and shooting, you’re likely to get caught in the crossfire.”

McCoy at one point said, “What’s her name — Breonna something,” and brought up false allegations against Breonna’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, adding she was, “hanging out with the guy who was wanted on charges … and he fired at them, and they fired back.”


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As many people familiar with the case know, Walker was not the person who was wanted on charges when cops broke into he and Breonna’s home. Walker says cops never identified themselves and he fired a shot in self-defense before police returned the fire, striking and killing Breonna. 

McCoy has since issued an apology for the statements, saying, “I want to apologize sincerely publicly for things I said today in my class that had to do with something that I was very ignorant about. I’m just heartbroken that I said something so rude and disrespectful.”

She continued, “I should never have talked about something that I didn’t understand and I truly, truly apologize and ask for forgiveness and hope that someday I can have that trust back with my students that I know that I lost.”

School officials have yet to disclose if McCoy will face any disciplinary atcions for making the inconsiderate remarks to the high schoolers. 

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Shordie Shordie & Murda Beatz Get To The Point On “Moral To The Story”

Murda Beatz has made a strong case as to why he’s still one of the best in the game right now. He’s established himself as a hit-making behemoth behind some of the biggest records from Drake, French Montana, Migos, and plenty of others. However, he’s also continued to keep his ear to the streets for what’s new. This week, he teamed up with Baltimore rapper Shordie Shordie for the release of their long-awaited collaborative project, Memory Lane.

The project has 12-songs in total but it’s “Moral Of The Story” that remains one of the hardest tracks on the project. Murda Beatz cooks up a R&B-infused beat that perfectly meshes with Shordie Shordie’s rap-song flow as he seemingly interpolates “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean on the hook.

Peep the song below.

Quotable Lyrics
Steady calling her baby, but she ain’t no baby,
Act like it, I’m getting you diapers
Get to acting and bragging but you won’t go nowhere,
You just wanna be on my line
Told her hold up, I’m losing my line

Ben Simmons Shocks Fans With Deep Three-Point Shot

Throughout the early stages of his career, Ben Simmons has been roasted for his lack of shooting ability. As a point guard, it is expected that you are able to make shots from all ranges. However, Simmons has broken that mold as he is a player who mostly gets his points in and around the paint. Whenever he attempts a three-point shot, it becomes a big event and whenever he makes one, well, you can just imagine what the fan reactions are.

On Saturday night, Simmons and the 76ers lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime, although during the extra frame, Simmons was able to knock back a lengthy three-point shot that immediately stopped the Cavs in their tracks. In fact, this was only the fourth made three-pointer of Simmons’ career.

Over the last few years, Simmons has made a real effort to improve his deep-range shooting and get it to a point where he can confidently take these shots. Critics have noted that the Sixers would be real contenders if Simmons developed a jump shot, and little by little, it seems like he is doing just that.

You can check out what fans had to say about the shot, below.

Ben Simmons

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Ant Clemons Drops Anniversary Edition Of “Happy 2 Be Here”

Ant Clemons is arguably one of the most sought-after songwriters right now. He first burst out on the scene with the release of Kanye West’s ye. It was his contributions to “All Mine” propelled him towards stardom even further. He’s continued to work for ‘Ye and other major artists but he’s establishing himself as an artist in his own right. The release of 2020’s HAPPY 2 BE HERE cemented his vocal talents and penmanship in the music industry.

It’s officially been one years since Ant released that project. This weekend, he commemorated the anniversary by re-releasing the project with an additional single, expanding the tracklist to 9 songs with the addition of “June 1st.”

Check the expanded version of Ant Clemons’ 2020 project below and sound off in the comments with your thoughts. 

DaBaby Gets Snitched On For Seemingly No Good Reason

When you’re famous, there are always going to be people who want to bring you down, even if they don’t know you personally. Weirdos exist all over the globe and it’s a fact of life that many in the public eye have had to unjustly deal with. Rapper DaBaby knows this fact all too well as he has certainly dealt with some odd situations in the past. With this experience in mind, DaBaby was able to remain cool, calm, and collected this past weekend, as a random man began to snitch on him, despite doing nothing but driving his car.

In the clip below, DaBaby can be seen in his car where he is listening to music. Eventually, he begins to film a random man who is filming him from the sidewalk. The man eventually walks up the street to a police car. DaBaby comments on how he believes the man is the police, and as he drives by the man and the cop car, the man continues to film with his phone.

Many fans were confused by the whole ordeal as it is still ambiguous as to what the man was filming for. While it could have been a fan trying to get a glimpse of the artist, it’s clear that the inclusion of the cops means something mildly nefarious was going on. Either way, DaBaby didn’t seem too worried about it all, and he eventually drove away unscathed.

Hopefully, stuff like this begins to subside as quarantine boredom eventually fades away. Needless to say, we’re glad DaBaby is okay and nothing came of it.

DaBaby

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Nick Jonas Gave Debut Performances Of ‘Spaceman’ And ‘This Is Heaven’ On ‘Saturday Night Live’

It’s been nearly five years since the pop world received an album from Nick Jonas. His last effort was 2016’s Last Year Was Complicated and since then, the singer has been fairly busy thanks to his role as a coach on The Voice and the reunion of Jonas Brothers with siblings Joe and Kevin. Now, Nick is getting back to his solo career, a return that began with the release of “Spaceman” this past Friday. Just days later, he brought his talents back to the Saturday Night Live stage to perform the single for the first time and to debut a new track as well.

Serving as host and musical guest for the SNL episode, Nick began the night by performing “Spaceman.” He performed the track while rocking a thin astronaut-like jumpsuit, ideal for the out-of-this-world feeling he details on the song. Later in the show, he returned to debut a brand new single, “This Is Heaven.” This track is much livelier than the aforementioned single and found Nick getting lost in the groove of the uplifting song to end the night

Both songs will appear on his upcoming album, Spaceman, which is set for a release on March 12. During a recent interview on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music show, Nick spoke about the meaning behind the album’s title. “The key for me was trying to find a way to give this idea a persona, give it a name,” he said in regards to his 2016 album, Last Year Was Complicated. “So ‘Spaceman’ kind of came into my mind as I was thinking, ‘What’s the one thing that all of us have felt during this time? Completely disconnected from the world.’ We’ve gotten so accustomed to looking at a screen instead of human interaction and I think the thing that keeps us all encouraged and hopeful is the idea of knowing that there will be a tomorrow when this is our reality.”

You can watch the performances above.

Spaceman is out 3/12 via Island. Pre-order it here.

Deb Antney Recounts Gucci Mane Robbing $5K From French Montana

Deb Antney has played a massive role in Atlanta’s rise in hip-hop. So, you can only imagine that she has many stories to tell, even beyond the ones that she’s already told. Of course, she’s Waka’s mom so there are more than a few anecdotes that she can divulge on her son but she’s also the woman who provided big breaks to some of our most adored artists such as Gucci Mane. You can only imagine that managing Gucci Mane before he cleaned up must’ve been a handful, especially since he was apparently still robbing a few rappers.


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During a recent visit to the Drink Champs podcast, Deb divulged one on a particular story involving Gucci Mane and French Montana. The friction between the two artists has made headlines in the past but perhaps, not this angle of it. Deb explained that French’s attempt to break out in Atlanta didn’t necessarily work out for him, especially in his dealings with Gucci. “Gucci didn’t do French. Waka did. Gucci didn’t like French,” she explained. “The first time [French] went into the studio to do a song with him, he paid Gucci $5,000 to get on the feature. And he was just sitting in the studio and Gucci was gone out the backdoor. Gucci just took the money and left.”

Ultimately, Deb had to pay out of her own pocket to smooth things over with French before handing him over to Waka. 

Earlier in the interview, Deb Antney also spoke on her time working with Nicki Minaj. This was at the early parts of Nicki’s career when she was just beginning to buzz and apparently, Safaree was in the picture, just not publicly. “I never knew her and Safaree was going together,” she explained. “I thought Safaree was a gay guy that she hung out with.” It was largely because Nicki didn’t make any indication that the two of them were together, even when she would ask for two rooms when she would have bookings. “The two rooms wasn’t for him because she would get dressed in the other room.”


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Antney said that she only found out after an explosive argument between the couple. Apparently, Safaree took Nicki’s car and the rapper demanded that Deb do something about it. However, Safaree finally called her up and explained their situation. Deb explained that even though their relationship was kept under wraps, Safaree still put everything behind Nicki’s success. “He put his career back for her. He told me that day they put everything into her,” she added.

Deb Antney appeared on the Drink Champs podcast along with the rest of the case of FX’s Hip-Hop Uncovered. Check out the full episode of Drink Champs below. 

New Mexico Looks To Possibly Legalize Marijuana After Bill Passes House

States all across America have recently been revisiting their marijuana laws, moving forward with rigorous cannabis reform policies. With many states recognizing and attempting to mend the harm prosecution of the psychoactive plant has done to Black and brown communities all across neighborhoods in America as well as its medical benefits as arguments for moving forward with legalization, it seems like its every day a new state is amending its previous marijuana policies.

The latest state to join this growing list is New Mexico, where lawmakers in New Mexico’s House have just passed House Bill 12, which would legalize the use and sale of cannabis in the state. It passed the House Friday night (February 26) in a 39-31 vote, and it will now head to Senate for further deliberation. 

Detailed in the proposed bill, the Cannabis Regulation Act legalizes and regulates the use, production, and sale of cannabis and paraphernalia for adults 21 years and older. The bill would also impose an 8% excise tax on all cannabis sales. 

According to a press release from state House Democrats, early financial projections indicate that recreational cannabis sales in NM could top as much as $318 million in the first year alone, creating over 11,000 new jobs for their economy. Estimated tax revenue is estimated to be about $28.6 million in the first year, and eventually stabilize at $50 million annually. 

“The first goal when legalizing cannabis, I believe, is to put the illicit market out of business,” said Republican House member Pirtle, whose bill would create a cannabis control commission with participation from law enforcement and stamp out illicit markets with relatively low taxes. 

“We 100% protect our employers’ right to a zero-tolerance, drug-free workplace,” Pirtle said. The bill must pass the Senate now, then be approved by Governor Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (D) before it becomes law. 

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