Shyne is busy promoting his new Hulu documentary, and ruffled a lot of feathers in the process by talking about the 1999 club shooting involving him and Diddy that landed him in jail for almost nine years. For those unaware, the former rapper and politician claims that he was a scapegoat in that case, with shooting victim Natania Reuben also pointing the blame at Sean Combs. This didn’t sit well with some folks in the media, namely Funk Flex. He claimed that the Belizean artist and public official lied about the whole thing, and then the former Bad Boy signee downplayed these comments by telling TMZ that the legendary DJ had bad-mouthed legends like Jay-Z and 2Pac, so he isn’t taking him seriously.
“Now, Shyne, I see you being careful with your words, too,” Funk Flex said on-air about the Diddy allegations, responding directly to the Leader of the Opposition in Belize during his Saturday night (November 16) program on Hot 97. “You’re tippy-toeing ’cause you don’t want me full blast on your face. […] Listen. You should get a bag of money for a bag of lies. I’m okay with that, bro. I’ma tell you, Shyne – punk. That’s what you are. You’re a punk.”
All in all, this situation became too vague and contentious for anyone to make a solid judgement call, especially since a conviction already emerged. But regardless of Funk Flex’s retorts, Shyne firmly stands by his side of the 1999 Diddy club shooting story. Some of his most recent claims include the allegation that he never received any sort of money or compensation for allegedly becoming “the fall guy” in that trial. Take these narratives with a grain of salt, as the Bad Boy mogul denied these accusations.
“Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow’s [Shyne’s] allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to ‘take the fall’ or ‘sacrificed’ him by directing witnesses to testify against him,” Diddy’s representative stated to TMZ Hip Hop. Will we ever get an answer to these questions and find out what’s really going on? Probably not. After all, there are more pressing matters…
Offset and Lil Baby reportedly didn’t intend to diss one another with their recent posts on their respective Instagram Stories. On late Friday night, Baby posted a selfie with the caption: “F*ck you 2x.” Two hours later, Offset posted a selfie of himself flipping off the camera with the caption: “Do sum.” Seeing as the two haven’t always been on the best of terms, fans quickly assumed they were dissing each other.
“I thought lil baby and offset was gon stop the beef but I see not,” one user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote in response to the posts on Saturday. Another asked: “Why offset & lil baby beefin?” with several laughing emojis. Rumors of an alleged rift between Baby and the members of the Migos have circulated for years at this point.
Back in 2022, Baby shot down having any issues with the group. “Hell nah!” he said of the idea during an interview with Posted on the Corner. “I don’t even want to comment on that type of stuff. I feel like when I comment on something, it makes it bigger. First of all, I really don’t see sh*t on the internet. People send me sh*t and I be wanting to comment, but then I feel like that’s just gonna make it even more… But they know I ain’t got nothing going on with them.”
Offset Didn’t Intend To Diss Lil Baby
Check out Offset and Lil Baby’s recent posts on Instagram below. They come after Offset made headlines in Paris for allegedly getting into a brawl with French rapper Gazo and his crew. Be on the lookout for further updates on the rappers on HotNewHipHop.
Sources who spoke to Akademiks TV can confirm Offset is not dissing Lil Baby in his story pic.twitter.com/gGv5r3PtCB
Jake Paul called out Conor McGregor on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday morning, after defeating the legendary boxer Mike Tyson on Friday night. In doing so, he offered to fight him in MMA with no weight class. “Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs,” he wrote. “That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t.”
The post has been causing a stir on social media. In response, one fan joked: “You’re gonna pull out when you realize Conor is under 45 years old.” Another wrote: “Connor McGregor is done with fighting unfortunately. He took the money and he ran. Why don’t you fight an ACTIVE boxer around your age and height/weight? Oh, you did. It was Tommy Fury and he beat you.”
Paul also trolled McGregor shortly after the fight while speaking with reporters for a post-fight news conference. As caught by MMA Junkie, Paul said: “It’s funny to say, ‘Conor McGregor is scared of Jake Paul and will never box him,’ but it’s the f*cking truth. And look at him go toe to toe with Nate Diaz, who was easy work for me. It was like a Monday sparring session to beat Nate Diaz’s ass. He doesn’t ever want this smoke with me. It won’t ever happen.”
Jake Paul Calls Out Conor McGregor
As for his fight with Tyson, Paul won by unanimous decision after a one-sided match. Tyson, who is 58 years old, held up for all eight rounds against the 27-year-old social media star, but failed to land nearly as many punches as Paul. Check out Jake Paul’s message for Conor McGregor below.
Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs. That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t
Cardi B was one of many superstars who endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in her bid for president of the United States. While she wasn’t successful, losing to convicted Republican candidate Donald Trump last week, celebrities still stand by the candidate and defend their stance against those who doubt their earnestness. For example, conservative commentator Candace Owens recently asked the Bronx femcee via Twitter whether or not the Harris campaign paid her to speak at a rally shortly before election day. She had a fiery statement for Owens in response, making it clear that she doesn’t need a big bag in order to talk politics and advocate for the important issues she finds most relevant.
“I didn’t get paid a dollar and that’s on my three!!” Cardi B responded to Candace Owens on the social media platform. “I actually came out of pocket for glam and travel because it’s somewhere I wanted to be.. Like please girl you know damn well I’ll argue you down about politics FOR FREE.” Of course, this isn’t the first clash between these two women in the political space, and we’re sure it won’t be the last.
Elsewhere, though, Cardi B dealt with plenty of other social media narratives recently, including fans’ incessant demands for her long-awaited sophomore album. It seems like her recent Grammy nomination plus some other career developments inspired her to put her foot on the gas a little more. With new teases, hints, song snippets, and vague announcements, it seems like we’re in the “Maybe it’s happening!” phase of this cyclical rollout. Hopefully someone breaks the wheel and drops the project already, although we’re sure that a few other big things would have to line up to pave the way for it.
Sadly, some of these narratives – whether Cardi B’s strong political stances fueled them or not – hit too close to home for her. Fans (or haters, rather) posted Photoshopped images of her daughter with Offset, who recently joined the family as their third child. The couple isn’t exactly on good terms right now, but they presented a united front against this personal attack. Hopefully politics don’t result in more oversteps like these and social media users know their place.
Shyne is hard at work promoting his upcoming Hulu documentary, which releases on Monday (November 18), and is dragging Diddythrough the mud while doing so. The former Bad Boy artist and rapper – plus politician – had a lot of interviews recently, such as with Stephen A. Smith and with Good Morning America, in which he talks about how Sean Combs allegedly made him a scapegoat in a 1999 club shooting case. Now, according to TMZ, the Bad Boy mogul has reportedly responded to these allegations via a statement from a legal representative that the outlet reportedly obtained. It slams the accusations that the Belizean multi-hyphenate was a “sacrificial lamb” in a “demonic” scheme.
“Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow’s [Shyne’s] allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to ‘take the fall‘ or ‘sacrificed’ him by directing witnesses to testify against him,” Diddy’s representative reportedly relayed to TMZ Hip Hop. “These claims are unequivocally false. Mr. Combs was acquitted of all charges related to the 1999 Club New York incident and has consistently maintained his innocence. He cannot accept or condone any characterization of his actions as ‘demonic’ or ‘malicious.’ Mr. Combs appreciates the path Mr. Barrow has pursued and wishes him continued success. It is unfortunate that Mr. Barrow has chosen to revisit these allegations. Mr. Combs trusts that responsible journalism will weigh both the established legal outcomes and Mr. Combs’ positive, longstanding support for those he has worked with.”
However, not everyone believes Shyne’s theory that Diddy set him up as a fall guy in that 1999 shooting case. For example, Funk Flex blasted him for running with this accusation, alleging that he’s totally misrepresenting the situation for his personal gain.
Meanwhile, that’s not the only claim that got Shyne in hot water recently, as some folks raised their eyebrows at his sincere congratulations to Donald Trump for winning the election for president of the United States. Considering how controversial of a figure Trump is, a lot of folks think that he should stay focused on Diddy, instead. But the Belizean artist and politician’s former boss isn’t having any of it.
Carmelo Anthony has called out Drake for his behavior during the Toronto Raptors game against the Sacramento Kings, during which he dissed DeMar DeRozan on the broadcast. “If you ever put up a DeRozan banner, I’ll go up there and take it down myself,” Drake said during the game. Anthony discussed the comments on the latest episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, alongside Rudy Gay.
“I think Drake was hurt a little bit because of the relationship he built with DeMar in Toronto,” Melo said, as caught by Billboard. “Representing the 6, Raptors — you know that was a lot of connection with those two. He’s a Raptor for life from a basketball standpoint. Yes, that jersey should be going up.” Gay then chimed in to label the move from Drake “wack.”
Drake Attends Toronto Raptors Game Against The Sacramento Kings
“Drake did a lot when he said I’ma go up there and take it down. That part is a lot,” Anthony continued, while also admitting that he understood why Drake was upset. “Those are shots. You my man, we in the crib, we hanging, we building the 6 up. From that standpoint, that would f–k me up too.” Melo and Gay both agreed that Drake and DeRozan should’ve handled the beef privately.
Carmelo Anthony & Rudy Gay Weigh In
Drake has been upset with DeRozan since the former Raptors star appeared at Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out in Los Angeles, earlier this year. He also made a cameo in the music video for “Not Like Us,” on which Lamar dissed Drake amid their ongoing feud. At the Kings-Raptors game, Drake labeled DeRozan a “goof.” Check out Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay’s full discussion about Drake and DeMar DeRozan below.
Jeffery Williams and Sergio Kitchens quickly became one of the hottest rap duos not just out of Atlanta, but across the whole genre in the late 2010s. As Young Thug and Gunna, respectively, they cranked out hit after hit, with the former’s influence on the latter and their personal friendship resulting in undeniable chemistry. Despite a lot of legal roadblocks, challenges, and conflicts, the main public narrative maintained an air of support and brotherhood between them. So why do folks think – or perhaps know – that the “Hot” collaborators are now beefing with each other?
As you may imagine, the YSL RICO case threw a huge wrench into their relationship, especially following Gunna’s plea deal almost two years ago. Snitching narratives ensued, defenses emerged, and Young Thug was all quiet about the whole ordeal… Until now, allegedly. With all this in mind, we’re here to break down the history of their bond, their eventual success as label-bound collaborators, and their actions and developments during and after their stints in the YSL RICO trial that caused such public disarray with fans. While their relationship is still up in the air without a full-blown (and not deleted) statement from both sides, things don’t look too promising for any advocates for their unity. How did this happen?
Gunna first met in Young Thug in 2015 through mutual friend and community leader Keith “King” Troup. Wunna went to Thugger’s “With That” music video shoot for his Barter 6project in the south side of Atlanta in 2015, and from there, they formed a close friendship that eventually evolved into a collaborative relationship. Troup sadly passed away in December 2015, something that the “Sold Out Dates” rapper says strengthened his familial bond with his “Halftime” mentor.
August 26, 2016: Young Thug Introduces Gunna To The World
On August 26, 2016, Young Thug released his beloved mixtape JEFFERY, which featured superstar rappers like Travis Scott, Gucci Mane, and more. But this also became Gunna’s first introduction to a massive audience following an earlier mixtape under a different artist name from 2013. He appeared on the track “Floyd Mayweather” alongside La Flame and Guwop.
October 14, 2016: Drip Season & YSL Records Launch
The official connections for these next two events are a bit confusing, but here’s what we can gather. On October 14, 2016, Gunna released his debut mixtape under this artist name, Drip Season, and featured Young Thug on the track “Cop Me A Foreign.” This mixtape was released under YSL Records, which Thugger would officially announce as his new record label just a few weeks later on November 15. Furthermore, this social media announcement explained it as an imprint of 300 Entertainment. While it seems odd to have a project come out under a label that its founder announced weeks later, we presume that they still had some paperwork to sort out concerning these official launches that wouldn’t have impacted Drip Season‘s release.
February 2017: Wunna Is Officially YSL
We told you this timeline is a tad confusing, didn’t we? Around February 2017, Young Thug and YSL Records officially announced that they signed Gunna to the imprint. Looking back, it’s unclear whether or not this was already public knowledge given Drip Season and the JEFFERY feature, but regardless, this is when things were set in stone for good. Also, the details of this record deal and how they relate to his subsequent release schedule are unclear when it comes to financial agreements, rights, number and nature of releases, etc. Nevertheless, the College Park native went into full gear with various albums and mixtapes under the label, including Drip Season 2 that year, Drip Harder with Lil Baby in 2018, 2020’s WUNNA, and 2022’s DS4EVER. And of course, Thug’s featured on all of them.
This is when the tale of Young Thug and Gunna takes a turn for the worse. On May 9, 2022, federal authorities indicted them along with 26 other YSL affiliates in a sprawling RICO case alleging various furtherances of criminal activity. Police arrested Thugger that same day, who faced the brunt of the charges as the purported leader of the supposed “gang.” On the other hand, Wunna turned himself in to authorities two days later on May 11. He faced a single count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The court denied both of them bond on several occasions as the rap world reacted to this shocking and stake-heavy move by prosecutors.
December 14, 2022: Gunna Takes A Plea Deal
Then, Gunna’s career took its most significant turn since its inception. On December 14, 2022, he took an Alford plea deal in the Young Thug and YSL RICO trial, which means that he pleaded guilty to his count of conspiracy to violate the RICO act while maintaining his claim of innocence. Authorities released him from prison the very same day. The Drip Or Drown spitter then put out a statement denying any sort of testimony, cooperation, interview, or other processes that would make him a “snitch,” as allegations about that behavior quickly emerged from the hip-hop world and beyond.
However, court footage shows that Gunna answered “Yes” to a couple of key questions while accepting his plea deal in the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. He affirmed that YSL is both a record label and allegedly a gang, that he had knowledge of crimes allegedly committed by its affiliates, that guns and drugs found by police during a search on a car that he was in along with Young Thug were not his, that YSL is allegedly a gang that must end, and that he furthered the alleged crimes of the collective through his music.
June 16, 2023: Wunna Drops, And Young Thug Follows
About six months after Gunna’s plea deal, he dropped his comeback album a Gift & a Curse via YSL Records with no features on June 16, 2024. The album continues to speak on the YSL RICO case and against allegedly false snitching allegations, which some rappers like Lil Durk and Lil Baby seemingly espoused through subliminal lyrics. That’s in addition to the broader conversation labeling him as a “snitch.” The LP was a commercial success and held hit singles like “fukumean.” A week later on June 23, Young Thug dropped an album of his own, BUSINESS IN BUSINESS, while still in jail on RICO charges.
It’s important to note that neither Gunna nor Young Thug featured on each other’s projects from this year. In addition, while Thugger remained silent on his relationship with Wunna, his “DOLLAZ ON MY HEAD” collaborator has remained publicly supportive of Thug and YSL ever since his plea deal. This came amid unconfirmed and seemingly misguided rumors that Wunna wanted to leave YSL Records, plus the discussion around the snitching allegations that the hip-hop community and beyond engaged in.
May 10, 2024: One Of Wun
Amid Young Thug’s trial in the YSL RICO case, Gunna dropped yet another album on May 10, 2024. One Of Wun featured artists like Offset and Roddy Ricch, and some fans speculated that some of its lyrics responded to rappers calling him a “snitch.” The new record was released via YSL Records once more.
As if the little text under an album on Spotify wasn’t enough, Gunna clarified his presence on Young Thug’s YSL Records via a video interview with the streaming platform’s RapCaviar playlist division, published on June 24, 2024 amid his tour. “I’m still signed to YSL,” he shared outside of his mother’s house. “I’m still providing. We’re still pushing. No paperwork has been changed, you know what I’m saying? So it’s like, whatever’s been getting and how we’ve been pushing this s**t, it’s still going.”
Via an Instagram Story post on August 4, 2024, YSL cofounder YSL Mondo retracted his previous claims that Gunna was a “snitch.” This was the latest defense of Wunna against the snitching allegations in his direction by key collective members before Young Thug’s release. For example, Thug’s father Jeffery Williams Sr. publicly expressed his support for him on multiple occasions, even popping out for one of his concerts and asking other rappers to stop speaking about him and the snitching allegations.
As a Halloween treat, fans learned that they might finally find an answer to the Young Thug and Gunna rumors. On October 31, 2024, Thugger entered a plea deal in the YSL RICO case that resulted in his freedom that very same day, with 15 years of probation to follow. As part of his release conditions, he and his lawyer Brian Steel asked if he could maintain his working relationships with Wunna and with Thug’s biological brother Unfoonk, who was also a codefendant in the YSL RICO case. This was because one of the probation guidelines barred contact with YSL affiliates, but Judge Paige Reese Whitaker approved both exceptions. In the “bread & butter” artist’s case, it was due to his contractual obligation to YSL Records.
November 9, 2024: Thugger Fans The Flames Of The Feud
Finally, we arrive at our current juncture and the most solid piece of “evidence” supporting Young Thug and Gunna’s beef. On November 9, 2024, the former tweeted and then quickly deleted the following message toward the latter: “Stop acting like we friends on the internet, I don’t know u my guy.” This followed some other curious social media messages from Thugger about collaborating with Lil Baby (a previous supposed Wunna critic) to “drop one on these rats.” Given the deletion of the tweet and its emergence so soon after his release from prison, many fans speculated that someone hacked his Twitter account to cause false division.
No matter whether Young Thug intended to publish this tweet shading Gunna or not, the message seems to have stuck. Wunna’s brother reportedly responded to this deleted tweet with the following message: “Trust and believe the feeling is mutual [blue P emoji].” Until we get a clear and direct statement from both rappers, it seems like this iconic rap camaraderie is over… For now.
Justin Combs has responded to the viral video of Meek Mill remarking “No Diddy” in a comment on a post of the clip from DJ Akademiks. “This is real life,” Meek says in the clip. “No Diddy gang. Meek Milly in real life. Don’t ever disrespect me.” In response, the Bad Boy mogul’s son wrote “Smh” with a face-palm emoji.
When DJ Akademiks shared Justin’s comment on Instagram, fans had mixed responses to his defense of his father. “His kids need to understand their pops is hot and nobody trying to get jammed up with him. I’m sure puff has done the same to other celebs throughout the years,” one user wrote. Another added: “The loyalty of all Diddy’s kids is admirable and very sad. I really hope they can have some peace in this.”
Meek Mill isn’t the first artist that Justin and the rest of Diddy’s sons have stood up to for disrespecting their father. Justin, Christian, and Quincy all made headlines, last month, for allegedly nearly getting in a physical altercation with Ray J after a Halloween party. The kids were upset with comments Ray had made to the media about the allegations surrounding their father. Diddy is currently behind bars at a jail in Brooklyn while awaiting trial in his case regarding charges of alleged sex trafficking and racketeering. He’s already pleaded not guilty and has denied all of the allegations.
Justin Combs Responds To Meek Mill
As for Meek Mill, he’s dealt with constant trolling over his friendship with Diddy ever since Lil Rod filed his lawsuit earlier this year. The filing led to rumors that Meek and Diddy had engaged in a sexual relationship, but Meek denied the allegations time and time again. Check out Justin Combs’ response to Meek Mill below.
Megan Thee Stallion and Winnie Harlow’s reported argument at Michael Rubin’s Fourth of July party allegedly centered around Tory Lanez, according to Loren Lorosa. She claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that the disagreement had to do with something Harlow had previously posted online about the rapper. Jason Lee was the first to break the news of the fight, doing so on his podcast. “Everybody keeps asking me to release the tea on Megan that I said I was going to release… she got in a fight with Winnie Harlow at Michael rubin’s party,” Lee said on his show. “I don’t have all the full details yet and I’m waiting on the video but I’ve texted Megan and Winnie so there you go.”
As for additional details, Lorosa explained: “This all started Because Winnie is Canadian she posted something about Tory Lanez on social in the midst of the Meg x Tory shooting trial stuff .. which Meg allegedly took issue with.” She added that Harlow didn’t intend for the post to come off as being against Megan, and once it did, she deleted it. Lorosa added that Harlow attempted to apologize to Megan, but she left her on read.
Megan Thee Stallion Attends Michael Rubin’s Super Bowl Party
Lorosa added that once the party came, “Meg and Winnie allegedly get into a verbal Altercation, I’m told Meg allegedly approached Winnie about the post but tons of people there broke it up BEFORE an actual fight could really happened. .. my person who was there alleges.. Meg was going off & yelling at Winnie ‘I should beat your ass.’”
Loren Lorosa Reports On Megan Thee Stallion & Winnie Harlow
Lanez allegedly shot Megan back in 2020 and is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him on three felony charges in regard to the incident. Check out Lorosa’s report about Megan Thee Stallion and Winnie Harlow below.
@theonlyjasonlee recently broke the news that Winnie Harlow & Meg Thee Stallion got into a fight at Mike Rubin’s all white party .. I have more details on why.. I’m told ..
– Allegedly .. this all started Because Winnie is Canadian she posted something about Tory Lanez on social… pic.twitter.com/X0XArmuJ9y
Wack 100 has some scathing words for YSL Woody, and they are pretty derogatory. A clip from No Jumper is starting to gain some traction on X (Twitter) of the talent manager alleging that the controversial Young Thug affiliate is gay. The reason for this bold claim is that these two have been going back and forth online. They have been trading shots, with Wack mostly doing most of the talking. He’s been labeling him a rat and a snitch and being extremely critical of his behavior during the trial. There isn’t a whole lot online about their beef from publications, but things definitely appear to be really testy.
This snippet from Wack and Adam22’s sit-down is proof, and as we said, the former is not holding back. “We have a gentleman right here with no mustache and no hair on his face,” he begins. “He has bare lips, okay. So, the people I know in the gay community, right, they’re very fond of bare lips and bare face. This is just what they say.”
Wack keeps piling on, adding, “Then, I’m listening to like the dialect. It’s like kinda ‘I’m gonna talk black right now.’” He then proceeds to do an impression of how Woody talks and it’s clearly in a demeaning tone. After that, 100 says that he just doesn’t come across as a “manly brother”, he’s “feminine,” and also “precious.” At the time of writing, not much is known about what led to Blueface’s rep to speak out in such bad taste.
Overall, the internet was taking YSL Woody’s side in this beef. “Time for him to grow up bro,” one X user writes with a screenshot of Wack’s age. “This n**** always claiming somebody gay, then claiming he’s got the tape…” another adds. “The projection is strong with this one,” someone else replies. It will surely be interesting to see what this all leads to, especially given how much crap Woody has taken over the last several months. If you want to see some videos documenting Woody and Wack’s hatred for one another, check the videos below.