JT remains at the top of her game, as her Billboard Hot 100 single “OKAY” is now RIAA-certified gold. Following her headlining City Cinderella Tour, JT (Quality Control Music/Motown) received a gold plaque for “OKAY” in Los Angeles from Quality Control’s Pierre “P” Thomas and Kevin “Coach K” Lee. JT’s unrelenting work ethic has paid off this year, as many publications lauded the Miami superstar for her project City Cinderella.
Essence glorified the project in their review, saying: “The City Cinderella soundscape is contemporary and nostalgic, blending classic Miami influences with modern forces,” while Billboard noted City Cinderella is an impressive manifesto for the next stage of JT’s career. Chart-wise, City Cinderella enjoyed a splashy debut, entering at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums and debuting at No. 5 on the Top R&B / Hip-Hop charts.
Just when you thought Jonathan Majors’ career was down for the count, his highly anticipated bodybuilding film Magazine Dreams is now set to hit theaters after all.
The movie will see a release in early 2025, following a delay due to Majors’ legal challenges and subsequent conviction.
That aside, Magazine Dreams has found a home. Briarcliff Entertainment has secured the domestic distribution rights, with CEO Tom Ortenberg confirming the news in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.
“Magazine Dreams is a visceral experience that challenges the perceptions of ambition and identity,” Ortenberg stated. “Jonathan Majors’ transcendent performance as Killian Maddox will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most compelling and transformative roles in recent cinema history.”
ICYMI about the film, also stars Haley Bennett, follows Majors as an amateur bodybuilder and was initially acquired by Searchlight after receiving strong praise at the Sundance Film Festival. It was originally scheduled for release in December, but Disney pulled it from their lineup as Majors faced legal trouble.
Majors was a rising Hollywood star. He was known for his roles in Creed III, Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the Disney+ series Loki. He was convicted in December on one count of reckless assault in the 3rd degree and a harassment violation, following a domestic dispute with his former girlfriend, Grace Jabari. As you know, he avoided jail time, Majors was required to complete a 52-week in-person domestic violence prevention program. He was acquitted of other charges, including aggravated harassment.
When it comes to Briarcliff Entertainment’s acquisition of Magazine Dreams, it signals a new chapter for the film after its initial delay and ambiguity whether it would ever see the light of day.
Get this, interestingly Ortenberg’s company is also handling The Apprentice, a film about former President Donald Trump’s real estate ventures in the 1980s, starring Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, and Maria Bakalova.
As for Majors’ future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is over by all reporting. He was previously slated to reprise his role as Kang the Conqueror in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, but Marvel announced in July that Kang Dynasty would be replaced by Avengers: Doomsday, marking the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU.
In a big win for debtors of student loans, a federal judge has ruled that the Biden Harris administration can move forward with its new student loan forgiveness plan. This is huge. This decision could provide relief to millions of borrowers in a time where people could use some extra bucks for everyday needs.
Okay so, U.S. District Judge Randal Hall, appointed by former President George W. Bush, allowed a temporary restraining order against the plan to expire on Wednesday, delivering a legal victory for President Joe Biden just weeks before the November election.
The scope of the plan is projected to benefit up to three-quarters of federal student loan holders when combined with previous debt relief efforts, according to estimates from the Center for American Progress.
Get this, the long awaited ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by seven Republican-led states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio—that argued the U.S. Department of Education’s debt cancellation initiative is unlawful. However, Judge Hall found that Georgia lacked the legal standing to challenge the plan, meaning the state could not serve as the venue for the case. Hall ordered the case to be transferred to Missouri, as the states claimed the plan would most impact Mohela, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.
Following the ruling, the GOP-led states asked a federal judge in Missouri to block the plan. Why? Of course their job is to obstruct anything that can help Americans, not govern this country, especially while their embattled leader, 34-time felon, Donald Trump vies to return to the White House.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education expressed its satisfaction with Judge Hall’s ruling, stating that Georgia had “no legal basis” for the lawsuit, but criticized ongoing efforts by Republican officials to halt the debt relief program.
“The fact remains that this lawsuit reflects an ongoing effort by Republican elected officials who want to prevent millions of their own constituents from getting breathing room on their student loans,” a Department spokesperson said. “We will not stop fighting to fix the broken student loan system and provide support and relief to borrowers across the country.”
Just to shine a light on who qualifies, Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan targets four groups of borrowers: those who owe more than they initially borrowed, people who have been repaying their loans for decades, students from schools with low financial value, and borrowers who qualify for existing loan forgiveness programs but have not yet applied.
Tennessee State Police have confirmed that James Lee Baker aka “BlocBoy JB”JB has been arrested on gun and drug charges after officers found him asleep behind the wheel.
According to local news reports, the Tennessee Highway Patrol found the Memphis rapper early Tuesday morning (October 1) unconscious in his car with his foot on the brake and a gun in his lap. When the rapper’s Mazda was stopped, he allegedly was found with marijuana after officers searched the car.
The Memphis native was charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana and several other charges such as driving with a revoked license and obstructing a highway.
Baker was booked into Shelby County Jail on a $7,500 bond and has had his driver’s license revoked.
Reports have confirmed that basketball legend Michael Jordan is suing NASCAR and it’s CEO Jim France, calling them “monopolistic bullies.”
Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a lawsuit in a federal court in North Carolina yesterday(October 2) after the two teams say they refused to sign updated pacts with NASCAR over “unfair terms.”
Both teams demanded more when it came to extending their charter agreements beyond 2024, but neither MASCAR or France was willing to negotiate their share of the revenue. Both teams claim the org. pressured them into agreeing to a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer that if they did not agree to, they could risk losing their charters in the future.
Both teams filed a suit and an injunction that would allow them to compete in the 2025 season without releasing their antitrust claims by putting pen to France’s paper.
Both teams said that they wanted to stifle France’s and NASCAR’s “unlawful monopoly power.”
“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans,” Jordan said of the lawsuit in a statement, “but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”
Jordan’s 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin said, “When I look around, I see that the best and most competitive sports in the world understand that when teams thrive, fans benefit, and that everyone who invests in making the sport a success should share fairly in that success. With the right changes, we can certainly make that a reality in racing.”
Born on this date in 1971 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, Black Thought, the lead emcee of the legendary Hip Hop band The Roots, has created his key to success with simply one word; longevity.
Thought has always been regarded as one of the most lyrical post-Golden Era emcees, yet received very little recognition for his prowess outside of his work with the entire Roots band, which is now a staple of ‘The Tonight Show.’ This summer’s Streams Of Thought: Vol. 1 just further proves his “staying power” in any circles where rhymes are being spit.
Growing up in a Nation Of Islam household, Trotter’s family life was very cultured, leading him to seek knowledge among the Five Percent Nation in high school. There is where he met The Roots’ co-founder Amhir Thompson, whom they originally named the group The Square Roots.
Throughout the two-decade span of his illustrious career since The Roots debut in 1993, Thought has earned a Grammy win, appeared in two blockbuster films(Bamboozled, Brooklyn Babylon), and appeared on several groundbreaking albums.
On this day, The Source Magazine would like to salute Mr. Trotter on his Birthday, wishing him an enjoyable day and many more to come!
Kim’s Lost Words, an alleged memoir of the late Kim Porter highlighting her relationship with Diddy, was pulled from Amazon after her children stated that the contents were fabricated.
According to the New York Post, the book was stated to have discovered messages from Porter, citing abuse from Combs in their relationship that spanned from 1994 to 2007. The book became a bestseller on Amazon before it was pulled.
“We were made aware of a dispute regarding this title and have notified the publisher,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “The book is not currently available for sale in our store.”
The couple’s children, Christian, 26, and twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila, 17, stated in a statement that the book was “simply untrue.”
“Claims that our mom wrote a book are simply untrue. She did not. And anyone claiming to have a manuscript is mispresenting themselves,” the statement reads.
Last week, R&B singer and songwriter Al B. Sure spoke out against the controversial book claiming to be the late Kim Porter’s memoir, slamming it as “calculated fiction” and “fabricated BS.” Now, the “Nite and Day” singer has taken legal action, sending a cease-and-desist letter to both the book’s publisher and Amazon.
According to Page Six, Al B. Sure, born Albert Joseph Brown III, is attempting to block the sale of the self-published book titled Kim’s Lost Words. The book, allegedly written under the pseudonym “Jamal T. Millwood” — which conspiracy theorists have speculated could be an alias for the late rapper Tupac Shakur — was published by Todd Christopher Guzze and quickly became a best-seller on Amazon.
The cease-and-desist, issued by Sure’s attorney Robert J. Hantman, claims the book falsely portrays Brown in a defamatory light, particularly accusing him of engaging in sexual relations with Kim Porter and her ex, Sean “Diddy” Combs. In the letter, Al B. Sure demands that the book’s sale be halted, and that Guzze, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos issue a public apology.
The letter also warns, “Should you fail to comply with these demands within ten days, we will have no alternative but to pursue all legal remedies available, including filing a lawsuit for defamation.” Sure expressed his disgust, calling the allegations “the most disgusting, heinous lie I have ever heard of in my life.”
As Al B. Sure seeks to clear his name, the saga surrounding Kim’s Lost Words continues to draw attention.
History was made as Haute Living honored the legendary Wu-Tang Clan at WAKUDA in The Palazzo at The Venetian Las Vegas. The iconic rap group, which kicked off their first-ever hip-hop residency at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas earlier this year, continues to leave an indelible mark on music history.
To commemorate the occasion, artist Johnathan Schultz presented Wu-Tang Clan with a custom painting titled “Legacy In Gold,” featuring a vinyl filled with 23k gold and a crystal-encrusted Wu-Tang logo at its center. The group was chauffeured in style all evening by Burks Luxury Chauffeur, further elevating the celebration of their lasting legacy in hip-hop.
Here’s some news in the world of iconic adaptation from the culture. John Boyega and Danielle Deadwyler are set to lead the biopic Otis & Zelma, which will portray the life of soul legend Otis Redding and his wife, Zelma. The project, directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples and written by Donnetta Lavinia Grays, was first reported by Variety. The film is being produced by Fifth Season, Homegrown Pictures, and Kinfolk Management + Media, and is fully supported by Zelma Redding and the Otis Redding estate.
Here’s the story that they will tell. The film will reportedly focus on the couple’s love story, which spanned just 10 years before Redding’s tragic death in a plane crash in 1967, at the age of 26. According to an early synopsis, the film “celebrates the 10 short years Otis and Zelma had together, and their eternal love story after his passing.” It also emphasizes Zelma’s efforts over the past 56 years to preserve her husband’s musical legacy, which she continues to uphold.
If you’re not well versed, Redding’s career left a lasting impact on music, earning him two Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Black Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. His legacy will be further honored with a posthumous induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 4. Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies, stated, “The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is honored to dedicate a star to the legendary Otis Redding, whose music continues to inspire generations.” The ceremony will include speeches by Killer Mike, with Jimmy Jam serving as emcee, and Redding’s daughter, Karla Redding, accepting the star on his behalf.
Get this, in an interview last year with BMI, Zelma Redding reflected on the importance of preserving Otis’ legacy: “He left so much special music for everybody. But I really have to commend my family and myself to continue this legacy because you cannot have a legacy if you don’t work it. We have everything we need for Otis Redding and that’s why we work so hard to preserve and protect his legacy. We wouldn’t know any way to do it without it.”
Today, Black Star announces the physical release of their 2022 sophomore album No Fear of Time, available on vinyl and CD for the first time ever, November 22nd via Rhymesayers Entertainment. Pre-order available at blackstarkeepshining.com.
“The initial release of this album in itself was an artistic statement,” stated Rhymesayers CEO Siddiq Sayers. “To be bold enough to bring this highly anticipated album to fans in a non-traditional way that centers the art and artist first is exactly what artistic independence is about. That spirit is at the core of what we’ve done at Rhymesayers for close to 30 years, and we’re proud to bring this album from a group so important to the culture into the world in the physical form.”
No Fear of Time finally reunites one of the greatest hip-hop duos of all-time nearly a quarter century after their debut. Group members yasiin bey and Talib Kweli, both enormously influential hip hop artists in their own right, first joined forces as Black Star to deliver their iconic 1998 breakout, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, which quickly became one of hip-hop’s most revered works and launched both already-rising stars into the stratosphere.
After years spent nurturing their respective solo careers, the duo returned with the Madlib-produced No Fear of Time in 2022, recorded guerrilla-style around the globe in hotels and in dressing rooms at Dave Chappelle’s shows over the course of four years and released exclusively via the podcast platform Luminary. Luminary is also the home of The Midnight Miracle podcast, which the duo hosted with Chappelle. An official video was produced for album highlight “So Be It,” which the duo also performed during their SNL debut, as well as a lyric video for “o.G.”
The album will be available on single-LP vinyl, CD, and cassette, along with a limited deluxe double-LP that includes both the main version and the instrumentals, each pressed on 180-gram vinyl in unique color treatments blending opaque white and opaque gold with translucent black ice and a metallic star effect. This deluxe vinyl edition is limited to 2000 units and features a foil stamped and numbered matte gatefold jacket, two full-color printed record sleeves, an 8-page matte lyric booklet, and an exclusive silver foil laminated heavyweight insert. Additionally, 300 units of the deluxe vinyl will be available as a premium bundle, which will include everything in the deluxe 2xLP vinyl package, with insert hand-signed by all three artists – yasiin bey, Talib Kweli and Madlib – along with a No Fear of Time t-shirt and a pair of Black Star slipmats.
