In a surprising move by Elon Musk, all celebrities, including those with established followings, have had their verified check marks removed, and now the only way to get verified is to pay for it. This has sparked a larger conversation about the role of influencers in society and whether the era of the social media […]
The post Is The Influencer Era Over? Verified Check Marks Are “Lame” Now appeared first on SOHH.com.
Twitter’s future looks grim after Elon Musk took over the platform. He’s implemented changes that have impacted the Twitter community at large. The check mark became a point of contention as Twitter implements its new Blue subscription. Already, they’ve removed the New York Times’ checkmark for refusing to pay for the service, among other news outlets. However, members of the hip-hop community have also expressed their frustrations, including The Game and Akon, who later claimed he was hacked.
“Back in the day, Twitter was begging musicians to stay on cause they didn’t have traffic. They came up with a verification process to protect accounts from fakes ones, now @elonmusk is taking that away and forcing us to pay,” a since-deleted tweet from Akon’s account read. “FYI, I ain’t paying shit for something we helped build.” The “Lonely” artist later claimed he had been hacked. “This tweet didn’t come from me. Whom ever hacked my account, Please keep your personal opinions away from my profile respectfully,” he wrote.
The Game feels similar to Akon when it comes to the subscription service on Twitter. He didn’t take his frustrations out on Elon Musk, specifically, but rather on those who choose to pay monthly to keep their checkmark. As Instagram unrolls Meta Verified, which similarly provides users with a verification checkmark for a monthly fee, the Compton rapper explained why he doesn’t respect it. “If you bought your verification & I know you personally… delete my #. It tells me everything I need to know about you,” he wrote. In a subsequent post, he elaborated further writing, “You a broke cheater, we not the same.”
Elon Musk introduced Twitter Blue as a way to monetize the platform following his $44B acquisition. However, the decision’s been under scrutiny as the verified check mark helped users decipher real accounts from fake ones. Over the weekend, LeBron James said that he wouldn’t pay a fee to keep his blue checkmark on his account. “Welp guess my blue 
will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5,” he tweeted.
Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, and Akon have found themselves in hot water after being charged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for promoting illegal cryptocurrency offerings. However, this isn’t just another case of famous faces getting caught up in financial fraud. What Happened? Akon, Soulja Boy, and Lil Yachty are among the […]
The post Akon, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty & More Charged for Promoting Illegal Cryptocurrency Offerings appeared first on SOHH.com.
After only just emerging back into the public eye as the spokesperson for Pepsi’s questionable concoction of milk and cola with the questionable nickname “Pilk,” Lindsay Lohan is in hot water with the SEC over pitching crypto without disclosing that she was paid for the endorsements. She’s also not alone. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lohan, Jake Paul, Kendra Lust, Soulja Boy, Ne-Yo, Lil Yachty, Akon, and Austin Mahone are all being charged in connection with their endorsements for TRON founder Justin Sun’s crypto companies.
“As alleged in the complaint, Sun and others used an age-old playbook to mislead and harm investors by first offering securities without complying with registration and disclosure requirements and then manipulating the market for those very securities,” said director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Gurbir S. Grewal. “At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation. This is the very conduct that the federal securities laws were designed to protect against regardless of the labels Sun and others used.”
The celebrities charged, except Soulja Boy and Mahone, have agreed to pay $400,000 and effectively plead no contest to avoid admitting wrongdoing. This isn’t legal advice, but they should all probably fire whoever gave them the legal advice that it’s cool to do paid crypto promotion without telling people (and the SEC) that you got paid.
These cases are different than other celebrity-endorsed-crypto cases in the recent past, including the FTX investors suing their celebrity endorsers for allegedly making crypto investments seem safer than they are. For now, most involved in this crypto flim-flam can chug a warm glass of pilk and be glad it’s all over.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
Akon’s artist Costa Titch, who was a South African rapper signed to Konvict Kulture, died while performing in South Africa at a music festival on March 11. Akon released a statement on his death. South African rapper Costa Titch, whose real name was Constantinos Tsobanoglou, died after collapsing on stage at the Ultra South Africa music […]
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South African rapper Costa Titch has died after collapsing during the Ultra Music Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to HipHopDX, Titch was inside the Nasrec Expo Centre when he fell during a song’s performance. He was helped to his feet by background dancers, only to fall again. He was carried off the stage, dying after the performance.
Costa Titch’s family issued a statement online:
“Death has tragically knocked at our door. Robbing us of our beloved son, brother and grandson, Constantinos Tsobanoglou (28), who South Africa had come to love and idolize under his stage name ‘Costa Titch.’ It is with deep pain that we find ourselves having to acknowledge his passing at this time.
We are thankful for the emergency responders and all those present in his last hours on this earth. As a family we are faced with a difficult time as we try to make sense of what has befallen us and ask that we be afforded the time and space to gather ourselves.
The Tsobanoglou family thanks you for the love and support you have given to our son and may you continue to uplift him even in spirit. Please keep us in your prayers and uplifted in the Lord.”
Costa Titch was signed to Akon’s Konvict Kulture label. Akon would also issue a statement online.
“Costa Titch was more than just an artist. He was a brilliant superstar and hardworking man with a kind heart which endeared him to all around him.
I remember when Babs played me his record for the first time. I was convinced that he was going to make an impact in this world. Costa Titch had a vision that I knew for sure would take over the music industry globally and was on his way to doing just that when god’s plan intervened. It’s been a sad day but what makes me feel better is that I know he died doing what he loved doing the most in this world. God bless you COSTA!!!!!The entire team at Konvict Kulture have lost a brother and an important member of the family. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”
The post Akon’s Artist Costa Titch Dies After Collapsing on Stage During South African Festival appeared first on The Source.
It seems like every star in music has their own music festival these days. J. Cole’s got Dreamville, Tyler The Creator’s got Flog Gnaw, and Usher has taken over the Lovers And Friends Fest. Well, another contender has thrown their name in the ring, and like Usher, he’s a millennial favorite who’s named his event after one of his biggest hits and stocked its lineup with a bunch of his contemporaries.
Nelly‘s Hot In Herre festival is aimed for June 24 at Toronto’s Downsview Park with a lineup consisting of millennial favorites like Akon, Chingy, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, and T.I. Not bad for a one-day festival that isn’t in any of the booked artists’ usual stomping grounds. You’d think it’d be in St. Louis, right?
In the press release, Nelly sort of explains the location. “Toronto is one of my favorite cities to perform in, and the fact that I get to come back and bring all the people that came up with me in the industry means everything,” he says. “We have a lot of surprises in store for you, Toronto, and the Hot in Herre team can’t wait for this summer.”
General admission tickets are already online starting at $170. You can find more information on the official website.
| (@costatitch)