DimeMag

Flavor Flav Fought The Powers That Be By Gifting Jordan Chiles With An Iced Out Bronze Clock Necklace After Medal Stripping

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Flavor Flav City of Hope's 2023 Music, Film & Entertainment Industry Spirit of Life Gala
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The 2024 Paris Olympics are officially over. Still, the worldwide celebration is far from done. But there’s one last minute decision that has dampened those Olympic parties—Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal stripping.

But thanks to Flavor Flav, Chiles has something special to add to her jewelry collection. Yesterday (August 12), the hip-hop legend made good on his promise to replace the medal she was stripped of with a bronze necklace in hopes to cheer her up. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Flavor Flav confirmed that Chiles’ iced out bronze clock necklace was now a permanent fixture for Chiles’ possession only.

“USA gonna Fight the Powers that be,” he wrote. “In the meantime between time, imma always a man of my word, Jordan Chiles.”

X (Twitter)

Users online quickly began to praise Flavor Flav over his swift actions. Others pointed out that this wasn’t the first time Flavor Flav stepped in to show his support for a Team USA Olympian.

Back on August 1, thrower Veronica Fraley expressed how her financial strain was impacting her mental health ahead of the games. After Flavor Flav caught wind of it, he offered and then paid for Fraley’s rent.

Flavor Flav will go down in hip-hop history as one of the greatest hype man ever. But is a cheerleader for many other causes.

Ella Mai And Jayson Tatum Seemingly Revealed Their Child’s Birth In A Truly Olympic Fashion

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If privacy was a person, it would undoubtably be Ella Mai. Since 2023, the “Not Another Love Song” singer quietly slipped out of the public eye. Following the deluxe edition release of her album, Heart On My Sleeve and wrapping up its supporting tour, Ella Mai even took a hiatus from social media.

But she reappeared all smiles and pregnant at the 2024 NBA Finals championship to celebrate her partner’s, Jayson Tatum, victory. Yesterday (August 10), the couple seemingly revealed their child’s birth at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Although Ella Mai nor Jayson Tatum have shared any family photos online, fans immediately began to congratulate the couple once behind-the-scenes clips of the Team USA family photoshoot were posted to X (formerly Twitter).

In the video (seen here), Tatum and his family gather to commemorate the men’s Olympic basketball team’s gold medal victory. As the visual progresses, Tatum is joined by Ella Mai and an infant child, all seemingly dressed in matching Team USA gear. This marks Ella Mai’s first child. For Jayson Tatum, this is his second. Tatum has a son, Jayson Jr, more affectionately known as Deuce, from a previous relationship.

For a while, fans wondered about the couple’s status, as they weren’t spotted out together. But it is safe to assume that they are still indeed boo’d up.

Stephen Curry Says He Is ‘A Big Drake Guy,’ Despite Him Falling Out Of Favor With The Public

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In hip-hop, Drake appears to be public enemy number one. Thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping diss track, “Not Like Us,” the Toronto native fell out of favor with hip-hop lovers around the world.

Even public displays of support from Lil Wayne and Lil Yachty, could win Drake over cool points. However, despite it all, future NBA Hall of Famer, Stephen Curry, hasn’t turned his back on his friend. In fact, according to him, he is “a big Drake guy.”

In an interview with GQ, Stephen Curry showed his love for the “Family Matters” rapper.

After being asked about his thoughts on the vicious Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef, Curry made it clear as to which side he stands on.

“I’m a big Drake guy,” he said. “I’ve been for a long time.”

Curry went on to seemingly agree with the public’s declaration that Kendrick Lamar took home the victory in their beef. Still, that hasn’t swayed Curry’s support in any way.

“I think obviously you know what it is for the rap industry to have that,” he said. “But I still rock with Drake. Absolutely. Absolutely.”

As transplant representative for the West Coast, maybe Stephen Curry can encourage the rest of California to ease up on Drake.

Flau’jae Joins Forces With BIA And Lakeyah On Culture Jam’s ‘Can’t Get Enough’

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana has become one of the hotbeds for the explosion of popularity in women’s basketball, as the LSU Tigers became a national powerhouse, led by stars Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson. Part of what made that LSU squad stand out wasn’t just their dominance on the floor, but the larger than life personalities of their top stars, who have ascended to superstardom on and off the court.

Reese has taken her talents to the WNBA, where she’s taken the league by storm as a rookie, setting a WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles and continuing her on-court rivalry with former Iowa and current Indiana Fever star rookie Caitlin Clark at the pro level. Off the court, Reese has dipped a toe into the worlds of music and fashion, and she’s become hip-hop’s favorite WNBA rookie.

Flau’jae, meanwhile, will be returning to LSU this fall but has also seen her star continue to grow this summer, as she dropped her debut rap album, Best of Both Worlds, in late June — with some features from star artists like Lil Wayne. She performed at the ESPYs and was all over WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, which included dropping a new track “Can’t Get Enough” with Culture Jam alongside BIA and Lakeyah. The music video for the song released on Wednesday, showing the artists making a road trip from L.A. to Phoenix for WNBA All-Star, and the song will be the official track for the WNBA on ESPN.

“Being part of ‘Can’t Get Enough’ with BIA and Lakeyah has been amazing,” Johnson said in a release. “This track is all about celebrating the strength and power of women in sports and music. It’s an honor to work with Culture Jam, the WNBA, and ESPN to bring this anthem to life. We’re bringing the energy, the passion, and the love for the game.”

DeMar DeRozan Says Drake’s ‘Still My Man’ After He Appeared In The ‘Not Like Us’ Video

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DeMar DeRozan has found himself in the middle of one of rap’s biggest feuds in recent months. DeRozan received a shout-out from Kendrick Lamar in his track “Not Like Us,” then appeared on stage at The Pop Out before a cameo in the music video for the song. Considering it came out as part of Lamar’s feud with Drake, there were plenty of question that came up about DeRozan’s relationship with the Toronto rapper, as the pair grew close during his tenure with the Raptors.

While DeRozan already revealed that he’s had a lengthy relationship with Lamar and considers him “basically family,” the newest member of the Sacramento Kings made clear that he still views Drake as “my man” in an interview with Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

“Drake’s still my man, still my man, none of it changed,” DeRozan told Anderson. “It’s so easy to get overlooked and look at it for what it looks like, but at the end of the day it’s music, entertainment. Two of the biggest rappers in the world went at it from a competitive standpoint and they battled it out. That’s what you want to see as a fan: Kobe (Bryant) playing (Michael) Jordan 1-on-1 and see who wins, see the trash talking, and whoever wins out of that, you’re still going to have the debate, so that’s all that is.”

After spending the last three years as a member of the Chicago Bulls, DeRozan joined the Kings as part of a sign-and-trade this offseason. To make the deal happen, Sacramento gave the 6-time All-Star a 3-year deal worth $70 million.

Angel Reese Is Nicki Minaj Fans’ Latest Target After Supposedly ‘Disrespecting’ Her On TikTok

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Angel Reese has become hip-hop’s favorite basketball player over the past few months, drawing Latto to sit courtside at one of her games and appearing onstage with Megan Thee Stallion during her Chicago tour stop.

But fans of one rapper have seemingly turned on the record-breaking WNBA star after she supposedly “disrespected” Nicki Minaj in a video on TikTok. The Barbz are now attempting to undercut the All-Star, digging up more examples of perceived anti-Minaj sentiment. So, what’s got the notoriously prickly fanbase riled this time?

In the TikTok video, Reese and some friends are seen lounging in the entrance hall of a mansion listening to the remix of Sexyy Red’s breakout single “Pound Town.” Reese appears for a few seconds to lip-sync to the lyrics and lightly twerk, but slides out of the frame as Minaj’s verse starts. This was, in the view of some Barbz, a sign that Reese does not mess with the Queens rapper, and the green light to dig up as much dirt as they could find.

It didn’t take long for them to find a video of Reese answering an interview question about who she’d want to perform if she hosted SNL in which she names Cardi B, GloRilla, Latto, and Megan Thee Stallion. The Barbz noted that she did NOT say Nicki Minaj — because nobody is allowed to have their own opinions, I guess — and that everybody she DID name has been targeted by Minaj (conveniently ignoring the common denominator here).

Of course, cooler heads have pointed out how much Barbz appear to be overreacting.

The NBA’s 76ers, Hawks, Knicks, And More Were Sued For Using Music From Hometown Artists Like Meek Mill, Migos, Jay-Z, And Cardi B

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Basketball and hip-hop have been connected since the beginning. Rappers hoop. Hoopers rap. And the NBA, the first major business in basketball, uses its connections to hometown rappers to help promote both its brand and the sport.

However, a new interest has stepped in to stop the NBA from doing just that. According to Billboard, multiple NBA teams were recently sued by Kobalt and other music rights management companies over using songs from the likes of Cardi B, Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Migos, and more on social media to promote hometown teams like the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Atlanta Hawks on social media.

Multiple lawsuits were filed, but all contain language to the following effect: “Defendants are acutely aware of the protections that the copyright laws of the United States afford. [The team] utilizes the full extent of legal protections available for its own intellectual property while simultaneously knowingly and willfully infringing on the intellectual property rights of the plaintiffs.”

Publishing groups that also filed lawsuits include Artist Publishing Group, Notting Hill Music, and Prescription Songs, filing against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Sacramento Kings, and the San Antonio Spurs.

While social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok offer blanket licenses to use music (remember when Universal withdrew its entire catalog from TikTok?), those songs aren’t supposed to be used for commercial purposes by brands. Brands are supposed to purchase separate synch licenses, the same way they would for television ads (think of popular songs in movie trailers; a license must be purchased for that specific usage). This could see the end of teams using music from hometown rappers on social media in the future — or it could mean a new revenue stream for artists (or, at least, the companies that own their publishing rights).

Steph Curry And LeBron James Playfully Discuss Whether Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Is Played Out

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LeBron James rapped Kendrick Lamar’s verse from Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” during the Los Angeles Lakers’ pregame warmups on March 31. Three months and three Drake diss tracks later, James is still Team Kendrick.

On Wednesday, July 17, Lamar’s “Not Like Us” played while James and Steph Curry warmed up before USA Basketball’s exhibition game against Serbia ahead of this month’s 2024 Paris Olympics. In a video circulated by Complex on X (formerly Twitter), Curry can be seen expressing semi-joking, semi-serious annoyance to hear Lamar’s ubiquitous Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper yet again. “It’s not the only song in America,” Curry said, smiling and laughing. James shrugged and appeared to say, “As much as I love it, we’ve got to get something else.”

Lamar would probably love to release another Drake diss track. The only surer bet than USA Basketball winning Olympic gold might be Lamar having several Drake diss tracks in the vault, ready for deployment at any given moment. But for now, “Not Like Us” is the soundtrack to Lamar’s victory lap.

Curry and James are far from the first athletes to weigh in, as DeMar DeRozan appeared in the “Not Like Us” video, and Serena Williams incorporated the song into her ESPYs opening monologue. The longevity of “Not Like Us” has been pretty incredible, but it seems at least some players are a bit tired of hearing it in every arena.

DeMar DeRozan Still Loves Drake But Explained That Kendrick Lamar Is ‘Basically Family’

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DeMar DeRozan has suddenly found himself in the middle of rap’s most high-profile feud. After spending years as a member of the Toronto Raptors and forming a relationship with Drake, DeRozan appeared at Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out concert, then went on stage during as Lamar performed the song “Not Like Us,” and then appeared in the music video for the track.

It led to some questions about whose side he is on here, and fortunately, DeRozan got asked about the whole ordeal by Sean Cunningham of KTXL in Sacramento. Basically, DeRozan still has love for Drake, but his relationship with Lamar goes back a very long time, to the point that he considers him “basically family.”

“I mean, love Drake, love Drake, you always could play him,” DeRozan said when asked if they can keep playing Drake at Sacramento Kings games. “Kendrick’s been a friend of mine, family, damn near family for a long time, for a while. We from the same city, grew up damn near in the same neighborhood. So, it’s always been, it hasn’t always been publicized, but that’s basically family.”

DeRozan, of course, is the newest member of the Kings roster after joining the team thanks to a sign-and-trade. Whether Drake or Kendrick attend any Kings games because of this remains to be seen.

DeMar DeRozan Got Welcomed By Kings Fans In Sacramento While ‘Not Like Us’ Played

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The NBA is heading to Las Vegas for Summer League later this week, but before that, a few teams are participating in the California Classic Summer League in San Francisco and Sacramento. On Saturday night, a collection of Sacramento Kings players took on the Chinese National Team at Golden 1 Center, and at one point, the latest addition to the team’s roster showed up.

The Kings pulled off a sign-and-trade earlier in the evening to acquire DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls — the San Antonio Spurs were also involved in the deal. It had previously been reported that DeRozan was in town to meet with Sacramento’s decision makers, and ultimately, an arrangement got sorted out to bring DeRozan in as a running mate for De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. And as an added bonus, because there were a ton of Kings fans in the arena to watch the team, DeRozan got to show up to a hero’s welcome, all while the Kendrick Lamar track “Not Like Us” played.

DeRozan joined Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who presumably spent a ton of time talking to him throughout the day. And of course, the soundtrack couldn’t have been much better, as DeRozan appeared in the music video that Lamar dropped earlier this week and joined him on stage as he performed the song at The Pop Out last month.