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Today In Hip Hop History: dead prez Dropped Their Debut Album ‘Let’s Get Free’ 23 Years Ago

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On this date at the turn of the millennium, Brooklyn-based revolutionary duo dead prez released their conceptually advanced Let’s Get Free LP on Loud Records.

Founded in the late 90s by Brand Nubian member Lord Jamar, stic and M1 changed the perception of conscious rap, touching on pragmatic socio-political issues in their content without sacrificing the lyrical prowess of genuine emcees. With production exclusively by Lord Jamar and stic, Let’s Get Free gives an unprecedented viewpoint of the Black experience in modern times with a twist of revolutionary get back. Tracks like “They Schools”, “Psychology” and “Behind Enemy Lines” address the social ills of today, while songs like “Mind Sex”, “Be Healthy” and “Discipline” use pragmatic approaches in an attempt to curb common negative connotations in the hood.

Both commercially and critically successful, Let’s Get Free is a two decade old reminder of the innate purpose of Hip shop culture; to enlighten, empower and uplift. Salute to stic, M-1 and the rest of the RBG crew for giving us such an important part of Hip Hop history!

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[WATCH] Actress Meagan Good ‘I Am Ready For Kids’

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Actress Meagan Good has been in a press run for her new show Harlem and she recently shared that she’s ready to settle down and have children.

The 41-year-old beauty said she put off having children in her 20s and 30s to focus on her acting career. Meagan revealed she’s ready to have kids whether she’s married or not. She admitted she previously considered having a baby when she was married to preacher DeVon Franklin. They previously discussed their journey with freezing her eggs and shared how her outlook on motherhood had changed. “When you say you’re not sure you want to be a mom, people look at you like you’re a bad person,” said the director and actress to Romper. “As if something’s wrong with you. But I was never really that girl who said, “I can’t wait to get married,” “I can’t wait to be a mother.” I just was very much a tomboy, and I started my career so young that I’d always been very business-oriented.”

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Unfortunately their divorce was finalized in June 2022 after 10 years of marriage.

“I’m in a place where I know that I want to be a mother — married or not. Whatever happens in this next season in the act of life,” she said.

Meagan said she previously put off having kids because she wasn’t ready. She dismissed remarks by her friends, asking why she didn’t have DeVon’s child.

While many gave their opinion on social media, women like Janet Jackson and Naomi Campbell prove that women can continue having children into their 50’s.Good luck Meagan, prayers to you!
Watch the video below.

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[WATCH] Wendy Williams Ex-Husband Loses Battle For Alimony

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Following the fight of her life last year, former daytime talk show legend Wendy Williams was sued by her ex-husband Kevin Hunter who wanted more of his ex-wife’s money. Hunter filed a lawsuit demanding Wendy continue paying alimony despite her being unemployed and not in 100% control of her hard earned funds.

After obtaining new legal counsel to go after Wendy’s money, the judge just ruled in Wendy’s favor.

The Sun reports:

Wendy Williams’ divorce judge has shut down her ex Kevin Hunter’s demand for the host to continue making alimony payments.

According to court documents exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun, the judge claimed Wendy’s financial guardian will not have to resume cutting his alimony checks.

The judge found that Kevin’s request was “not emergent” and ordered his “application to be dismissed without prejudice.”

The judge also denied Kevin’s request for attorney fees to be paid by Wendy.

Kevin’s fight for Wendy’s payments is not completely over, however.

The judge said while they don’t consider his demand for alimony payments an emergency, he can still take his case to mediation.

“The parties are to participate in binding arbitration,” the judge said.

“The issues surrounding the severance payments, and the QDRO [Qualified Domestic Relations Order] are disputed and therefore need to be mediated.”

Do you think Hunter deserves more alimony?

The post [WATCH] Wendy Williams Ex-Husband Loses Battle For Alimony appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] Pretty Ricky’s Baby Blue Receives Early Prison Release, Changes Name To “Bigg Money Blue”

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News reports have confirmed that Baby Blue from the millennial R&B group Pretty Ricky was granted an early release today (February 7) after spending exactly one year behind bars for fraud charges in connection to an alleged Payment Protection Program (PPP) scam.

Blue, whose given name is Diamond Smith, was sentenced to 20 months for his role in a $24 million dollar Payment Protection Program, but Blue told The Shade Room that his reduced time was granted under the First Step Act, which was enacted by Donald Trump in 2018. The Pretty Ricky singer also said that he is officially changing his name to “Bigg Money Blue” and that he has new music and a book on the way. 

The post [WATCH] Pretty Ricky’s Baby Blue Receives Early Prison Release, Changes Name To “Bigg Money Blue” appeared first on The Source.

Boom Pacino, Director Of ‘Respect Life’, Web Series Dead At 35

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According to several confirmed reports, Boom Pacino, the director and star of the Brooklyn-based web series Respect Life, has died. Pacino was 35 years old.

His cause of death has not been confirmed.

Fans have flocked to the internet to pay their condolences. There has been concern among Respect Life fans for several years about Boom Pacino’s wellbeing. This was as new episodes of Respect Life stopped shortly after they became popular. Pacino returned with new episodes of Respect Life in November 2018. Since then, he has been largely AWOL online.

Respect Life is a gritty drama set in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, in which P played lead character and also wrote and directed all of the material. 

His mixtapes and albums have also made him well-known enough to perform with many great rappers, including Rakim and Gucci Mane.

Salute to this legend and condolences to his family.

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[WATCH] Grandmaster Flash Releases Part 2 of his New Vignette Series

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Fresh off his 2023 GRAMMY awards performance, Grandmaster Flash talks the history of Jay-Z, the proficiency of Eminem and his discovery of Drake in Part 2 of his 10-part vignette series. Click below to watch now!

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Bandman Kevon Wants A Refund From Gunna For $250K Feature

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We haven’t heard much from Gunna these days, but he may be lying low. In December, Gunna was the first YSL co-defendant to be released from jail after accepting a plea deal. Seven others would follow suit, and since then, Gunna has faced “snitch” accusations. He and his lawyers have denied cooperating with the authorities, but the very allegation casts a dark shadow.

The controversy has reached Bandman Kevo, who is demanding his money back for a feature from Gunna. He took to Twitter to voice his frustrations. “I paid gunna last year for a feature 250k,” Kevo wrote. “And months later he got a caught case which put my feature and everything else got put on hold , just for him to get released and snitch.”

Read More: YSL Co-Founder Mondo Claims D.A. Fani Willis Used To Be His Lawyer

“I can’t do a song with dude I need my bread back asap,” Kevo also shared. “And if they cap im going big lawsuit.” This may seem like an innocuous tweet, but Kevo’s sentiments may be felt by others in the industry. Although there isn’t proof that Gunna snitched, artists have seemingly been distancing themselves from the “Pushin P” hitmaker. Fans have noticed that rappers have unfollowed Gunna on social media, while others have condemned his plea deal in interviews.

Meanwhile, Young Thug and over a dozen co-defendants face RICO charges that could lock many of them up for life. It has been maintained that YSL is a record label and not a criminal organization, but prosecutors are committed to convincing a jury otherwise. Upon his release, Gunna shared a statement saying he took an Alford plea in his best interest.

Read More: YSL Mondo Details Lil Wayne Allegedly Disrespecting Young Thug & Calls Out Gunna

“My focus of YSL was entertainment – rap artists who wrote and performed music that exaggerated and ‘glorified’ urban life in the Black community,” he said at the time. “While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way.”

Despite the statement, he still faces scandal. Gunna has also advocated for Young Thug’s release.

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Rapper Leshaun Finds Peace After The Music Industry In New Tiny Home

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Brooklyn-born rapper Leshaun who once toured with LL Cool J and performed on the triple platinum single “Doin’ it,” has found a peace of mind away from the music industry. After purchasing a 2700-square ft house to help her daughter she decided the space was too big once her daughter moved out. Now she’s found a simpler way of living but she kept it glamourous downsizing to her new way of living.

The femcee is now a Tiny House builder & lives in one that she designed to fit her personal taste. 
She just expanded her tiny living with her newest RV renovation, which is (a little) bigger and more glamorous than her last one. She lives in this tiny home full time and calls the space “Dream.” Leshaun wowed fans with her last tiny home creation about her toy hauler conversion which received 1.4 million views. While she received tons of love following her video of course social media came with their negative comments as well. 

Watch her tour her new Tiny Home and hear her response to critics.

Check out Leshaun’s first tiny home ‘Jewel’.

Check out her DIY Tiny Home modeling tips on her YouTube own page.

Check out her classic vocals on LL Cool J’s hit single ‘Doing it’.

Check out Leshaun back in the day.

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Today In Hip Hop History: The Sugar Hill Gang Released Their Self Titled Debut LP 43 Years Ago

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This particular passage takes us on a journey all the way back to February 7, 1980, when The Sugarhill Gang, comprised of Michael “Wonder Mike” Wright, Guy “Master Gee” O’Brien, and the late Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson – all of whom hailing from Englewood, New Jersey – dropped their self-titled debut album, Sugarhill Gang, which is widely regarded as the very first full-length Hip Hop album to ever be released.

Distributed via Sugar Hill Records – founded by husband and wife Joe and Sylvia Robinson along with Milton Malden – and at 39:17 in length, the project featured six records, including “Rapper’s Delight.” Ranked No. 251 on Rolling Stone Magazine‘s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list, while not exactly the first track to feature rapping – Fatback Band‘s “King Tim III (Personality Jock),” released six months prior, is actually credited for such – “Rapper’s Delight” is however typically considered to be the first song that popularized Hip Hop, and was also the first to become a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

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Happy Heavenly Birthday J Dilla!

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On this day in Hip Hop history we recognize and remember the birth of one of the most prolific producers in the game. James Yancey, better know as J Dilla, was born today [February 7] in 1974.

J Dilla was the first born of four children to a Detroit family rooted in creativity. His mother was an opera singer and his father a jazz bassist. According to his mother, Dilla could “match pitch perfect harmony” at two months old. Dilla started collecting vinyls at the young age of two and would spend a lot of his free time spinning records at the park. It can be said that J Dilla’s “career” began after he transferred high schools from Davis Aerospace Technical High School to Detroit Pershing High School. At Detroit Pershing, he met fellow members of Slum Village, T3 and Baatin. During the rest of his teenage years, Dilla spent the majority of his time alone in his basement perfecting his craft.

In 1992, J Dilla met experienced Detroit musician Amp Fiddler who let Dilla use his MPC for the first time. In 1995, J Dilla and MC Phat Kat formed the first rap group from Detroit to get signed to a major label, 1st Down. The record deal with Payday Records ended after one single when the label folded.

In 1996, Dilla officially formed Slum Village with his longtime friends T3 and Baatin and recorded their debut, Fan-Tas-Tic Volume 1. The album, released in 1997, gained a lot of support from Hip Hop fans everywhere and the attention of Q-Tip, who was quick to call the group a successor of A Tribe Called Quest.

Throughout the 90s, J Dilla was known as a huge prospect in Hip Hop. He gained the public’s attention with his singles and remixes of records by Janet Jackson, Pharcyde, De La Soul and Busta Rhymes. Although Dilla rose to stardom with these remixes, he was rarely given singular credit. Instead the production team of The Ummah, a collective including Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, and Raphael Saadiq, often received the credit.

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