According to several news reports, Florida rapper Rod Wave was arrested and taken into custody based on a warrant from Osceola County on charges of “battery by strangulation”.
Wave, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, was detained yesterday (May 2) by St. Petersburg Police and the entire ordeal with the cops was captured on video, which has circulated on the internet. Wave can be heard saying, “This is lame, this is why I don’t even come here,” before the end of the video.
The arrest record states that Wave is currently awaiting trial, but it does not indicate whether he’s still in custody.
TheSource.com will update this story as more details develop.
The pandemic hit at an unfortunate time for the Compton leg of the Black Ink Crew franchise. As viewers were able to get introduced to the cast of Compcon artists, a halt in production, and the entire world, delayed more of the stories the shop led by iamCompton.
Now, Black Ink Crew: Compton is back in season two, allowing us to learn more about the hottest Black artists on the nation’s west coast. iamCompton led that group to Atlanta to take on their counterparts from the Chicago and New York Shops.
While on hand in Atlanta, iamCompton spoke with The SOURCE about owning the first tattoo shop in Compton, gearing up for the “Battle of the Tattoo Titans,” and more.
As a fan of Black Ink, I feel like the pandemic screwed me over. Just as we got introduced to you all, the story got cut short. How was it being a shop owner and continuing business right after the initial stages of opening the shop and then the pandemic?
Honestly, it was a struggle as a first-time shop owner. Trying to do something in Compton, being the first tattoo shop ever in Compton. It was a lot of pressure on me. And then when the pandemic hit, it was like, oh man, I got this far and now I got to somehow keep it above water. I just took it one day at a time and thank God that I’m here now.
Do you feel there is a never-ending set of roadblocks and challenges?
Oh for sure. Obstacles come left and right through life it’s it is a rollercoaster, but I’ll never stop. Might ease out for a while but that’s, that’s part of life going through those hurdles.
What have you learned about yourself as a person, but also a business owner, and then a tattoo artist?
Don’t take nothing personal. It’s just business. Don’t mix emotions with business.
When you got here to Atlanta and saw the setup for the competition. How did you feel?
That was exciting. I was like, oh, hold up. We important [laughs]. Y’all took the time out to do something for us. You get kind of numb when you been working for a long time and tattooing a lot of people or to see somebody spend $1,500 on a pair of shoes or $5,000 on a bag, but they didn’t want to pay for $500 tattoo at the most. It throws you off and you feel like you are not doing enough and it’s a difficult job. Now, everything changed and now people appreciate it a little more for art. And even the things like the NFTs and stuff, the artists being more appreciated, more valuable. And that’s what I felt walking out like, oh, y’all value us. So it was excitement, a good feeling.
When you first heard about this battle and everything coming together for it, placing you in the same arena with the other two shops and on this grand stage, what was your initial thoughts?
I thought it was dope. I thought it was a great idea. I’ve been waiting to be a part of something cool like that. I didn’t know what it was, but that was it. You can take this all over the world and have fun with it. It’s the culture and it’s a part of my brand. I done dreamed about this environment, not knowing it, you know what I’m saying? I can do what I love.
This is a family environment, but at the same time, there’s a level of competitiveness that comes into it. How did you prepare yourself and your team for this?
I think they got a lot of competitive nature. I wasn’t concerned about them competing, but as far as coming and being prepared and having everything you need on a spot and then like do this right now and figure it out. You got this amount of time with the pressure for cameras and, and stuff like that. It’s difficult. But we deal with that anyway. So I think it’s dope. It’s all fun. It’s all up. At the same time, you can display your talent. They get to show their skills under pressure and see what obstacles they overcome at the end of the day. We all get a chance to use the platform to show people what we do.
Reflecting back on season one, was there a big lesson you would take a way from it?
I think I would have did the tattoo shop thing a couple of years before the show. It’s still cool that I did it the way I did it. Cause I showed the process of starting and building it from scratch. You got to see the struggles and then there you gonna be at two years from now.
You’re competing against Ryan and Ceasar. You are a boss in your own right. How do you feel coming into it? Do you look at yourself as the underdog or the upstart that is taking on the guys who have had more TV time?
Honestly, when I played football I learned to focus on your assignment and what you are supposed to do. Now me, one on one, I play receiver I’m on that island. It’s a DB trying to stop me. I’m not even worried about you. I’m calm. I know my assignment. I know what I need to do. As long as I can get to the zone, I’m good. Take your time. Be patient, keep calm. Do the assignment, get in the zone. Once you in that zone, your talent going to speak. Your art is going to speak. And this is what we do.
You art ranges from tattooing to music. Where do you draw the inspiration for your music?
I’m speaking on situations that I’m been through. I seen my life flash before my eyes and I’ve been robbed and woke up to some gun in my face. I done seen life from a different perspective. So all of this is fun. I just take it one day at a time.
On this day in 1993, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan began their reign as one of the most powerful and influential rap groups in history by releasing their debut single, “Protect Ya Neck.” With this track, Wu-Tang took the rap game by storm with a style unheard and an attitude unseen. “Protect Ya Neck” set a tone in Hip Hop that shifted the genre toward a more hardcore, rugged sound.
Originally recorded in a different order with a completely different beat, group member RZA took the liberty to reconstruct the song in post-production to the goliath that we all know and love. According to him, all he needed was the vocals of the group. The original beat used was just a placeholder used to get the verses. RZA’s unique style also incorporated the kung-fu film dialogue and fought scenes throughout the track. This unique style of production became a trend for Wu-Tang Clan.
To clarify any confusion about who is who on the song, the order of verses is as follows: Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Method Man, U-God, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, RZA, & GZA. The single was first released independently through Wu-Tang Records and had “After the Laughter Comes Tears” as the B-side. Loud Records later re-released it with “Method Man” as the B-side. It sold 10,000 copies.
Future, multi-platinum artist, philanthropist, executive, fashion connoisseur, who is fresh off being the credited Executive Producer on Ye’s (f.k.a. Kanye West) DONDA 2 that dropped in , has come together again with Ye to release a collaborative merchandise collection celebrating his new album I NEVER LIKED YOU, available now until Thursday 5/5 at midnight exclusively on ineverlikedyou.shop
The collaboration, which is designed by Ye’s legendary creative collective DONDA, features imagery of Future and type treatments inspired by the album title as well as the single “Keep It Burnin”. The range features a long sleeve tee, hoodies, hats, socks, a face mask similar to what Ye is seen wearing in the video, and a take on the instantly iconic eye mask look from the I NEVER LIKED YOU cover.
Prices range from: $22-$142.
The collection further cements the creative pairing, directly supporting the collaboration on the song and video for “KEEP IT BURNIN” featured on Future’s new album I NEVER LIKED YOU.
The video, directed by Rick Nyce, is the first video released from the album, and showcases Future and Ye trading bars in the YEEZY offices on the high energy song from their recent sessions together.
The album is on track for a #1 Billboard debut and is tracking to post the largest 1st week debut of 2022.
Queen Latifah is holding down her hometown of Newark, New Jersey. The Hollywood icon has broke ground on land to build affordable housing for Newark residents.
The development is early, and Queen Latifah reflects on the current scenes. “I’m a little bit emotional that we got walls up, we got windows,” Latifah said to NorthJersey.com.
Latifah led the groundbreaking event as a co-president of BlueSugar Corp. and Life Assets Development, and GonSosa Development. Latifah began investing in properties in 2006, leading to the announcement of a development project in 2016. Through the process, Queen Latifah could sidestep obstacles and begin to build.
RISE Living groundbreaking ceremony today. Can’t wait for the world to see the completion of the journey. https://t.co/BGMcjsa8IT
“It took a while, but we stayed with it and it changed and it morphed, and we stayed with what we needed to do, and the timing is right right now for this place to rise,” Latifah said.
The project is titled RISE Living. RISE is an acronym for “Rita is Still Everything,” a nod to her mother, a former schoolteacher in Newark.
“I grew up around here playing in West Side Park, a block away,” Latifah reminisced. “My grandfather’s hardware store was blocks from here. I drove past this block. I saw what was needed on this block, houses that weren’t lived in. Some were really dilapidated, and so I thought, ‘Why not here?’”
NJ.com notes Newark’s immense need for new housing, citing that 60% of Newark renters are cost-burdened. An affordable rental unit in Newark is targeted at $763 a month.
Apparently, Lil Uzi Vert wanted all the smoke with ASAP Bari, as a viral video shows the Philly rapper pulling up on the ASAP Mob member at NYC swank hotspot Lucien.
The video shows Bari and a crew of people standing up in the restaurant, while Bari is yelling at someone, who is presumably Uzi Vert.
“What is you doin’?!” yells Bari, while the person off-camera is then heard telling Bari, “Shut up, b*tch.”
Uzi Vert needs to tread lightly as he is already on probation for assaulting ex-girlfriend Brittany Byrd and SAINt JHn and pulling a gun on them in Los Angeles. Uzi was ordered to participate in a program for mental health and substance abuse issues and has also been placed on a ten-year criminal protective order.
Following A$AP Rocky’s publicized arrest upon his arrival from Barbados, a police raid of Rocky’s Hollywood home unveils multiple illegal weapons, further complicating his 2021 shooting case.
A TMZ report confirms that authorities are running ballistic tests on the weapons found in his home to see if one of the guns discovered was used in the shooting. The will also be researching the history of all of the weapons seized in the raid to see if they have been registered or stolen.
Rocky was taken into custody last week upon his arrival to LAX on a private jet from Barbados with Rihanna. Rocky was surprised at the arrest, which allowed investigators to conduct a raid of his home without him or his team having a chance to remove any evidence they may need to make the charges stick.
TheSource.com will update this story as details develop.
There is no question that drill music, particularly from New York and Chicago, has become the most dangerous and death-laden genre in the music industry. Barely a month ago, NYC Mayor Eric Adams declared war against the violence plaguing the new gangsta rap sub-genre by launching “Operation Drilly,” which led to the arrest of 20 alleged gang members by studying their music videos. Now, the feds have dropped an indictment on a crew called Bamalife out of East New York, Brooklyn, who they believe plotted to kill drill rapper Envy Caine for the past six years.
“As alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendants wreaked havoc in East New York and nearby neighborhoods, with innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire as members of Bamalife carried out senseless violence directed against rival gangs,” said the United States Attorney Breon Peace. “This Office, together with our law enforcement partners, are working tirelessly to protect our communities by dismantling criminal enterprises that are engines of a broad range of crimes, taking the violent gang members off the street, and stopping the cycle of gun-related violence.”
It is believed that the foiled murder attempt on Caine’s life stems from the bloody beef between his crew, Weezgang, and Bamalife. The beef allegedly started in 2016 from an attempt on Envy Caine’s life, which resulted in his girlfriend getting shot in the incident. Law enforcement used music videos and social media to discover Caine was Bamalife’s target.
When Caine’s GF was shot, Bamalife member Ronnie Warren was shot in the foot and claimed Envy Caine was the one who shot him. After the shooting, Bamalife member Andrew “Drewski” Simpson posted a Facebook video threatening to kill Caine’s girlfriend. Three men, including Simpson, were named in the feds’ indictment.
As of now, Darius “Blizz Meecho” Sutton, Andrew “Drewski” Simpson, Trava “Stoney” Selby, and Corey “Moncler Mellz” Williams have all been charged in the indictment mentioned above. Envy Caine is also awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possessing a 12-gauge shotgun as a felon.
If there was a poll, most people would say that Tekashi 6ix9ine is the most hated rapper in Hip Hop and it was proven last night when the Brooklyn rapper was sucker punched by by a 69 hater as he was leaving a Miami hot spot.
Tekashi did a walk through and performed one song from behind the DJ booth before leaving the Pilos Tacos Tequilla Garden in Miami. As his security made a clearance for the former Bloods-affiliated rapper, someone who apparently didn’t like the performance, took a swing at 6ix9ine, which connected to the back of his shoulder. Tekashi seemed unfazed by the attack and was even seen signing autographs outside of the club.
As for the Tekashi hater, he took off after taking his swing and hasn’t been heard from since.
Pusha T appeared on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation to promote his latest project It’s Almost Dry: Pharrell vs.Ye.
During his conversation with SiriusXM’s Swaggy Sie, Pusha T discussed why he believes Jay-Z is the best rapper and more.
“Hov, to me… he’s the best rapper, like just period. So when I reach out to him about a record, I feel like he sort of knows that, like, you know I’m not reaching out to him about no bullshit… I must really think that this is like, a joint… something that’s gonna add to the great legacy that he has.”
He continued, “I’ll basically just write the verse, lay the hook down, I do everything and just send it to him with a space open… He’ll hit back, and this particular time he was like, ‘Man, what you want me to say to this man? You going crazy!’ And I was like, ‘Man, just, you know, turn it up like…’ I only send records to him when I feel like there’s more needed to the record and there’s nothing else I can really say to it. Where he’s made it in his career and in his life he can always add an uptick to the record. I can’t say what he says.”
