MAXIM Casino Royale Experience Lights Up Big Game Weekend with Star-Studded Affair

50 Cent (credit PATRICK GRAY KabikPhotoGroup.com)

The MAXIM Casino Royale Experience stole the spotlight during Big Game weekend, hosting a star-studded soirée that left attendees in awe. Celebrities from various fields, including athletes, actors, musicians, reality stars, and models, converged at the event, making it the most sought-after gathering of the weekend.

Among the notable guests were power couple Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, music icons Chris Brown and T-Pain, and acclaimed actress Gabrielle Union. The red carpet, hosted by Justina Valentine of MTV’s “Wild ‘n Out,” welcomed a lineup of luminaries, including NFL legends Rob Gronkowski and Terrell Owens, along with Super Bowl champions and rising stars of the game.

Entertainment reached new heights with electrifying performances from GRAMMY Award-winning hip-hop artist 21 Savage, rap legend 50 Cent, and EDM favorites like Elderbrook and DJ Shift. The night even saw retired footballer Le’Veon Bell taking the stage for a surprise performance, adding to the excitement.

The event also attracted a slew of other prominent figures, such as Super Bowl champions Victor Cruz and Darrelle Revis, NBA veteran Rudy Gay, and UFC’s Chuck Liddell, among others. With a mix of music, entertainment, and star power, the MAXIM Casino Royale Experience undoubtedly became the highlight of Big Game weekend, leaving guests with unforgettable memories.

The post MAXIM Casino Royale Experience Lights Up Big Game Weekend with Star-Studded Affair first appeared on The Source.

The post MAXIM Casino Royale Experience Lights Up Big Game Weekend with Star-Studded Affair appeared first on The Source.

Rappers Who Own Their Masters

One of the greatest business moves artists and rappers can make is owning their masters. This means they control where their music is licensed (in TV, film, and advertisements) and, as a result, reap the financial rewards. Record labels began taking ownership of artist’s masters in the 1950s. During the “golden age of vinyl,” they cornered the market. And yet, to this day, “…a label is still contractually owning the voices of people who spent their whole lives honing their craft and becoming great writers, vocalists, and superstars, ” said Chance the Rapper in an interview with Success. Many of today’s rappers were inspired by trailblazing artists like Ray Charles and Prince, who took control of their legacies by regaining their masters. Here’s a list of rappers who have been wise enough to gain ownership of their masters. 

21 Savage

In January 2017, fresh off the enormous success of his EP Savage Mode, 21 leveraged a deal with Epic Records.  He has a 70/30 split with the label. “I make more money off my album sales than I do off touring. For a lot of rappers, most of their money comes from touring,” he admitted on the podcast A Million Dollaz Worth of Game.  

The American Dream rapper says that his masters serve as generational wealth for his family. However, if the bag is long enough, he has no problem with handing them over. “But…if a m-thaf-cka come and say, ‘Aye…I got a billion for your masters,’ that m-thaf-cka’s gone,” he added.

Kanye West

“My children gonna own my masters…not your children, my children”. 

Kanye West is currently without a record label or a music publisher but has made one thing clear: he has no intention of selling his catalog. Just last year, West acquired his masters from the 2013 Yeezy album up to the present. Def Jam owns the copyright to his recordings up to sometime in the mid-2010s and distributed subsequent releases up to last year’s Donda album. But his actual deal with the label ended in 2021. Sony Publishing will continue to administer his work (such as Vultures ) per the terms of the deal for an unspecified time.

Billboard estimated the songs generate $13.25 million in publishing royalties annually. Sources said West earns $5 million from his share, valuing the catalog at roughly $175 million. In an effort to give artists the same autonomy, Kanye also tweeted in Sept 2020 that he would be giving all of his G.O.O.D. Music artists back the 50 percent share of their masters. He also proposed an eight-point plan that would revolutionize the music industry. Artists and rappers would receive master ownership, short-term deals, an 80/20 split of royalty payments in the artist’s favor, and transparency.

Jay-Z

Media mogul Jay-Z demanded control of his Def Jam masters when he became president of the label in 2004. The rapper’s masters would later revert back to him in 2014, with his publishing rights returned to him around the same time in a separate deal with EMI. As of 2021, his music catalog was worth $95 million. In an interview last year with CBS Morning’s with Gayle King, he revealed that he’s not interested in selling his musical repertoire. “I want my kids to see my work and if they decide to sell it, then it’s up to them.”

Chance The Rapper

Chance The Rapper has mentioned many times the huge impact owning his masters has made on his career. In 2016, Chance declined a record deal with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music, opting to stay independent. It paid off because he owns all his recording rights, publishing, and distribution. The rapper, who has a 50/50 royalty split, continues to influence rappers and emphasize being in control of one’s career. In 2022, he even helped iconic singer Anita Baker regain control of her master recordings after she asked fans to stop streaming her music.

Drake

In 2021, Drake received the largest deal in music history from Republic Records and Universal. The $400 million deal included recordings, publishing, merchandise, and visual media projects. Prior to the Scorpion rapper’s historic deal, Michael Jackson held the top spot as having the largest deal in music history. According to reports, $250 million went to his estate in 2010 from Sony Music.

LL Cool J

An OG in the game, LL Cool J has owned his masters for over 20 years. The Queens native has full authority over all 13 of his studio albums on Def Jam. In an interview with Million Dollaz Worth of Game, he revealed that being sampled by rappers like Rick Ross and The Notorious B.I.G. proves his legacy is cemented.

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Who Is Adin Ross, The Streamer 21 Savage Has Beef With?

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If you follow any hip-hop accounts on Twitter/I’m-Never-Calling-It-“X,” you’ve may have seen a new name pop up in relation to a bunch of popular rappers today. Adin Ross, a streaming star on the platform Kick, has been embroiled in minor scandals involving rappers like 21 Savage and Playboi Carti — particularly ones involving money. So, who is Adin Ross and what’s the deal with rap beef?

Like Kai Cenat, Ross is a streaming personality who has become extremely popular with high-profile rappers — mostly because he’s popular with the audience demographics the most high-profile rappers need to reach to stay high-profile. Unlike his streaming brethren, however, he got his start on Twitch, playing games like NBA 2K, which led to him rubbing shoulders with real-life NBA prospect Bronny James and his NBA All-Star dad.

Naturally, once that happened, he gained followers by the thousands, despite sometimes expressing some questionable views and allegiances. He was eventually banned from Twitch due to hate speech for using slurs, then switched to Kick, where his live chat is reportedly “flooded with racist and antisemitic messages by viewers.”

Ross was confronted by 21 Savage during a recent livestream in which the pair played cards and Ross accused Savage of cheating. The bet purportedly won Savage $250,000 as the rapper was allegedly able to identify face cards thanks to markings on the backs. There was some speculation on social media that the entire incident was faked for attention — entirely possible, given the folks involved — but there were plenty who were A-OK with Savage finessing the streamer, who’s garnered a reputation for platforming hateful figures.

Burna Boy’s Grammy Performance Of ‘Sittin’ On Top Of The World’ With Brandy Continued His Role As Afrobeats Ambassador

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Late last year, Uproxx called Burna Boy the perfect ambassador for Afrobeats to the rest of the world, especially the United States, after his sold-out arena tour stop in Los Angeles. Tonight, he continued in that role with a medly performance of his songs, “On Form” and “Sittin On Top Of The World” on the 2024 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Burna was joined in the latter by Brandy, whose song was sampled her 1998 hit “Top Of The World,” and 21 Savage, who performed a laid-back verse in the vein of Mase, who was featured on the original.

The performance — and Burna’s four nominations this year — proved why Burna has held the role since Afrobeats’ breakout stateside, as his magnetism emanted off the stage. Burna’s been one of the genre’s biggest artists for the past seven years after singing to Atlantic Records in the US in 2017 and releasing a string of critically-acclaimed, fan-favorite albums, which includes African Giant, Twice As Tall, Love, Damini, and 2023’s I Told Them….

The latter garnered Burna his four nominations this year: Best Global Music Album; Best African Music Performance for “City Boys”; Best Global Music Performance for “Alone”; and Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Sittin’ On Top Of The World.” Going into tonight’s ceremony Burna held one previous win for Twice As Tall , which took home Best Global Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021.

Watch Burna Boy’s performance above and check out Uproxx’s full 2024 Grammy Awards coverage here.

Burna Boy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Did 21 Savage Respond To Adin Ross?

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21 Savage is a lot of things, and according to him, cheating isn’t one of them. The “Call Me Revenge” rapper is known for placing a few friendly wagers on things he enjoys doing, including video games, sports, and card games. 21 Savage recently won a whooping $300,000 from streamer Kai Cenat after “spanking him” at Madden.

While hanging out with YouTuber Adin Ross to promote his latest album, American Dream, 21 Savage put his luck to the test. During the broadcast, the two decided to play a card game. The two put a $400,000 pot on the line to take things up a notch. 21 Savage appeared to be the winner yet again. But before coughing up the dough, Ross noticed something was off with the cards used. Ross’ viewers began to call 21 Savage for cheating, which he echoed on a phone call with Kai Cenat.

Did 21 Savage Respond To Adin Ross?

After gaining wind of Ross’ remarks, a user online alleged that Savage took to his Instagram Stories to deny Adin Ross’ claim with a heated message.

“Lame ass n****s scratching cards and blaming it on me,” read the alleged post. “That f*ck n**** Adin tryna call me a scammer. Let that Jew know that he’s blackballed from all of the rap game.”

However, 21 Savage’s manager, Justin “Meezy” Williams, quickly refute the counterfeit post. “Bruh, if y’all believe that fake ass post, y’all crazy,” he wrote. “Who the f*ck says, ‘blackballed from the rap game.’ LMFAO, the internet goes for anything.”

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It appears the two have made up. Yesterday (February 3), Ross took to his channel to update his followers, sharing that 21 Savage invited him to join him for another broadcast. View the full clip below.

DJ Akademiks Addresses Adin Ross & 21 Savage Scam Allegations

Folks recently raised their eyebrows at 21 Savage and his team mistakenly scamming Adin Ross during his gambling stream by using marked cards. DJ Akademiks chimed in on the matter during a recent session. “I did talk to Adin today,” he began. “I’ma be honest with you, that n***a sound like his puppy died. I think there’s a different layer to it. Do I believe that 21 Savage went to go finesse him? No. Do I believe that maybe one of 21 Savage’s mans did finesse him or tried to with some cards? Yes. Do I believe that 21 Savage had zero idea until afterwards? Nah. I think he probably, like, his mans was, like, ‘Alright, this is a lick.’ You feel me? In reality, and I told [Adin] this, maybe I’m naive too, right? I don’t think that would’ve happened to Kai [or] me.

“I think it’s ’cause you’re Adin, I don’t think that anybody would jeopardize having a relationship with, say, Kai, doing that,” Ak continued about Adin Ross. “Adin did tell me that, and by the way, he told me as well that 21 was gonna send him money. Which he probably did, he probably did send him, like, a quarter million dollars. But also, I think he feels a little salty about it. If this wasn’t on stream and if his audience never really bucked up, like, ‘No, you got cheated,’ and somebody else had shown him, he felt he would’ve really lost a lot of money and nobody would’ve cared. That, he feels kind of played for. He told me that Drake called him, and he said, ‘Bro, what was that s**t on stream? What’s up with that?’ And he was just like, ‘No idea, I’m kind of confused.’

Read More: 21 Savage Helped Akademiks & Meek Mill End Their Beef

DJ Akademiks Speaks On Adin Ross & 21 Savage Situation

“I don’t know, it was kind of a bad look for everybody involved, you know what I mean?” he elaborated. “Now, granted, I don’t think this was for content. I do believe Adin Ross, because I know a n***a like Adin, he will definitely pay you. But also, if you lost, he would expect it to be paid. Truthfully, if [21 Savage] was on that type of time, he could’ve done that to me previously. He’s never been any type of shady with me, I’m being very, very honest. Sometimes, n***as be like, ‘Bro, I ain’t gonna lie, we was gonna finesse that white boy.’ So I’m not saying that’s not a possibility. But the person who I know him as, he don’t do that. But once they see you’re the bag, they’ll do content with you, but they’re not giving you the respect they give Kai.

“Kai didn’t want to be his homeboy,” Akademiks concluded. “‘Yo, Kai my n***a.’ They’re not trying to be your n***a. And I’m not talking about 21 or anybody, I’m just telling you what it is. I’m not trying to justify it, I’m trying to explain. 21 won money from Kai, right? I don’t think that was cheating, I think he just won it. And also, I’m trying to tell [Adin], like, just to be honest. Bro, it’s ’cause you’re white, my n***a. Like, I know you and Kai are on the same [streamer] level. But n***as don’t look at you like they’re trying to be your n***a, my n***a. You’re a white dude who they’re like, ‘I’ma go on your platform, get some clout, n***a. I wouldn’t finesse my own.’” For more on DJ Akademiks, 21 Savage, and Adin Ross, stay logged into HNHH.

Read More: Adin Ross & Soulja Boy Trolled By Twerking Prankster On OmeTV: Watch

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50 Cent Picks Which 21 Savage Track He Thinks Is The Best Song Out Right Now

50 Cent is no stranger to sharing his opinions on the biggest rap songs of the moment. Whether he’s a big fan or a bit of a skeptic he will let fans know. Most recently, he took to Instagram to talk about 21 Savage. He shared a video of Savage discussing 50 and his music during a recent appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay show. Savage discussed 50 being shot during a conversation about his own shooting incident which included a harrowing play by play of the dramatic event.

50 Cent also told fans which of 21 Savage’s new songs he’s bumping. He shared a screenshot of his new album american dream and in the caption he explained what his standout song is. “He got the hardest sh!t out right now Track 5 Sneaky 🤦‍♂️🤨stop playing for 🥷🏾start booming sh!t” his caption reads. In the comments, Savage himself shows up to drop a saluting emoji. Numerous fans also hyped up both the song “Sneaky” and vintage 50 songs that sounds similar to it. Check out the full post and all the fan responses to it below.

Read More: What Is 50 Cent’s Best-Selling Album?

50 Cent Cosigns 21 Savage’s “Sneaky”

21 Savage’s new album american dream has been the biggest release of 2024 so far. The record has already spent its first two weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and is fighting with Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time for its third week. The album has outpaced other big releases from artists like Kid Cudi and Kali Uchis so far this year.

50 Cent is now dealing with the fallout from an incident that happened last year. Viral video of him getting frustrated and throwing a microphone into the crowd during a show. Earlier this month news broke that he was being sued over the incident. What do you think of 50 Cent calling “sneaky” the hardest song out right now? Is it your favorite track from the new 21 Savage album american dream? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: 50 Cent Claims To Still “Run New York,” Celebrates 50 Cent Day

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Who Is Featured On Usher’s ‘Coming Home’ Album Tracklist?

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Usher has some pretty big times ahead: He’s performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show on February 11, and on the Friday before that, he’s dropping a new album, Coming Home. While it remains to be seen if anybody will join him on stage at the big game (Taylor Swift almost certainly won’t), we do know who’s going to be on the album.

Today (January 31), Usher revealed the tracklist for Coming Home, as well as the artists he collaborated with for the project.

Who Is Featured On Usher’s Coming Home Album Tracklist?

The 20-song tracklist features collaborations with Burna Boy, Summer Walker, 21 Savage, Latto, The Dream, HER, Pheelz, and BTS’ Jung Kook. Perhaps one or more of them will turn up for the Super Bowl?

Usher’s Coming Home Album Tracklist

1. “Coming Home” with Burna Boy
2. “Good Good” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage
3. “A-Town Girl” with Latto
4. “Cold Blooded” with The Dream
5. “Kissing Strangers”
6. “Keep On Dancin’”
7. “Risk It All” with H.E.R.
8. “Bop”
9. “Stone Kold Freak”
10. “Ruin” with Pheelz
11. “BIG”
12. “On The Side”
13. “I Am The Party”
14. “I Love U”
15. “Please U”
16. “Luckiest Man”
17. “Margiela”
18. “Room In A Room”
19. “One Of Them Ones”
20. “Standing Next To You (Remix)” with Jung Kook

Coming Home is out 2/9 via Mega/Gamma. Find more information here.

Usher Dropped The Tracklist For His Album ‘Coming Home’ And It Features 21 Savage, Jung Kook, And More

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Usher unveiled the tracklist for his upcoming album, Coming Home — and fans are extremely excited. Spanning 20 songs, Usher will also be collaborating with a ton of artists. Burna Boy will help open the record as a feature on the title track, and then, Summer Walker and 21 Savage will follow it up on “Good Good.”

It also is a great day for BTS fans, as Jung Kook will appear on Usher’s remix of “Standing Next To You” — the final track of the album.

Fans will get to hear Usher’s album just two days before he takes the stage of Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium to deliver his Super Bowl Halftime Show — making it genius timing to prepare the release. And hey, maybe even some of these artists could join him there, who knows.

Usher’s Coming Home Album Tracklist

1. “Coming Home” with Burna Boy
2. “Good Good” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage
3. “A-Town Girl” with Latto
4. “Cold Blooded” with The Dream
5. “Kissing Strangers”
6. “Keep On Dancin’”
7. “Risk It All” with H.E.R.
8. “Bop”
9. “Stone Kold Freak”
10. “Ruin” with Pheelz
11. “BIG”
12. “On The Side”
13. “I Am The Party”
14. “I Love U”
15. “Please U”
16. “Luckiest Man”
17. “Margiela”
18. “Room In A Room”
19. “One Of Them Ones”
20. “Standing Next To You (Remix)” with Jung Kook

Coming Home is out 2/9 via Mega/Gamma. Find more information here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kai Cenat Pranked 21 Savage With A Couple Of Snakes During The Streamer’s Hilarious Livestream

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Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial has forced Georgia authority to rummage through the “Slime Sh*t” rapper’s past lyrics with a fine-tooth comb. Several of hip-hop’s head honchos have spoken out against the demonization of rap as an art form. Others like Fat Joe have even taken it as far as to claim that most rappers are embellishing or flat-out lying in their songs.

On January 29, during Kai Cenat’s Twitch livestream, 21 Savage showed that there’s undoubtedly some truth to those statements. In 21 Savage’s music, he’s a gritty Atlanta good ready for anything. But when the “N.H.I.E.” rapper was face-to-face with a few snakes, 21 Savage hilariously changed his tough guy tune. Following a game of “What’s In The Box,” Cenat decided to take things up a notch, bringing out a pair of snakes. This immediately sent 21 Savage running for the hills as the streamer’s live chat flooded the comment section with laughing emojis.

But 21 Savage got his revenge before the stream ended when the duo sat down for a game of Madden. After making a friendly wager of $300,000, 21 Savage came out victorious, which sent the otherwise sweet-hearted Cenat into a spiral.

Watch both clips below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.