UnitedMasters Announce Jadakiss To Headline “Earn Your Masters” Event At SXSW

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UnitedMastersAlly, and Earn Your Leisure have come together to create the Earn Your Masters (EYM) for SXSW (South By Southwest) in Austin, Texas on March 17th. The event will fuel financial literacy in educating the next generation of creators and people who are traditionally underserved by financial institutions. To activate this mission, UnitedMasters and Earn Your Leisure will provide a unique experience for attendees combining education, music, and entertainment. EYM is a content and pop-up experience that will focus on art, finance, and the opportunities they create for young musicians and creators. 

Spokespersons of the event include: Rashad BilalCo-Founder of Earn Your LeisureTroy MillingsCo-Founder of Earn Your LeisureErica HughesMulticultural Marketing Director at Ally, and Chaucer BarnesChief Marketing Officer at UnitedMasters, Inc. The talent includes headliner Jadakiss; along with emerging acts: Liana Banks, $hyfromdrate, BigXthaPlug, and the TBD open call winner! The daytime programming from 2pm to 5:50pm that will give guests access to free group mentoring sessions from industry experts on the most important topics for artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs in art and music – leading to nighttime performances that start at 6:30pm and finish out at 10pm.The day before this all-day conference and show, Intuit will also present “The Break Through” featuring LaRussell. 

UnitedMasters is a digital music distribution and artist services company founded in 2017 by Steve Stoute. The company provides independent artists with tools and resources to distribute their music to major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, as well as access to data analytics and marketing support. Through the United Masters platform, artists can maintain full ownership of their music and earn a higher percentage of revenue from streams and sales. UM also provides opportunities for artists to collaborate with major brands and gain exposure through partnerships. 

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[WATCH] Two Men Almost Fight Outside Courtroom After Troy Ave’s Testimony In Taxstone Trial

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The courtroom in 100 Centre Street was extremely tense yesterday(March 14) after Troy Ave testified against Taxstone for the shooting death of Troy Ave’s bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter at Irving Plaza in 2016.

Reporters were speaking to Brooklyn rapper Manolo Rose about what happened that fateful night at Irving Plaza when Rose stated that Troy Ave was lying on the stand. While Manolo was speaking about the incident. two men began yelling at one another, which almost became physical. Court officers step in between the two parties to keep the confrontation from escalating.

See the video of the incident below.

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The Source Magazine Remembers Nate Dogg 12 Years Later

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Sending a 21 gun soldier salute Rest In Peace one of Hip Hop’s favorite crooners

There were many who tried, but nobody put R&B into Hip Hop the way it was supposed to sound better than the late, great Nate Dogg of the legendary Dogg Pound. The Source Magazine would like to send him a posthumous shout in recognition of his contributions to the game.

Besides his obvious links to Snoop Dogg and the original Death Row Family, Nathaniel Hale, born on this date in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1969, Nate appeared alongside several iconic artists in the game including 2Pac, 50 Cent, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z. The world lost a talented singer, actor and musician when Nate succumbed to multiple strokes on March 15, 2011. He was 41 years old.

Condolences go out to Warren G, Dr. Dre, Snoop and the entire 213 on the day an entire community lost a Hip Hop legend.

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Hurricane Chris Acquitted in Second-Degree Murder Case

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Three years ago Shreveport rapper Hurricane Chris was arrested on murder charges after he killed a man who he claimed was trying to take his car at a gas station.
Chris states his actions were in self-defense, however, according to The Shreveport Times, security cameras show a different result.

“Investigators were able to secure video footage of the incident that detectives believe showed that Dooley did not act in self-defense,” authorities said in a news release.

Now he has been acquitted in the murder.

KSLA reports:

A Caddo District Court jury has acquitted 34-year-old rapper Christopher Dooley, aka Hurricane Chris.

The five-man, seven-woman panel found the Shreveport native not guilty of second-degree murder and possession of stolen things.

Dooley had been on trial for more than a week in connection with the shooting death of 32-year-old Danzeria Farris Jr. The latter died after having been shot multiple times June 19, 2020, at a gas station at Hearne Avenue at Hollywood Avenue in Shreveport.

In between, prosecutors called nine witnesses while the defense presented two, including Hurricane Chris himself.

The ‘A Bay Bay’ rapper was exonerated on all charges.

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Is MF DOOM’s Eldest Son The True Heir To The Metalface Legacy?

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After a recent social media post by the son of the late MF DOOM, the question has been raised as to who inherits the legacy of the infamous Metalface mask?

Daniel Dumile Jr., who holds the namesake of his father who is best known as the Madvillian MF DOOM, posted a picture of a handwritten letter that is allegedly penned by the late rapper/artist that states that his son shall inherit all of his “possessions, assets and interests” when he passes away. Unfortunately, DOOM died on Halloween 2020, but his death wasn’t announced until exactly two months later on New Year’s Eve, with his wife and record label making the delayed announcement.

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With the fact that DOOM did not have a will and this letter was never officially notarized, it leaves room for doubt in the court of public opinion to the validity of the letter as well as possible misappropriation of the assets of one of Hip Hop’s most intriguing figures. Graff artist KEO XMEN was the unofficial point person for the continuum of the popular DDOM throwie, but Dumile Jr. contends that KEO’s rendition of the DOOM is merely a carbon copy of the original.

Daniel, a visual artist, is slated to create a memorial project in the name of his father this upcoming year, but the decision as to who will ultimately be left to inherit and control the legacy of the world famous metal mask.

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Happy 80th Birthday To NYC Graffiti Documentarian Martha Cooper!

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Born on this date in 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland, famed photojournalist Martha Cooper took her photography skills as a staff photog for The New York Post and became one of the most celebrated documentarians of Hip Hop’s most unrecognized subculture.

Cooper began her career as a photographer working as an intern for National Geographic in the 60s, which parlayed her into position as a staff photographer for The Post in the 1970s. One day on her way home from work at The Post, she began taking pics of the children in her neighborhood. This is when she met HE3, who explained to Cooper the importance and artistic aspect of graffiti. Cooper instantly became intrigued by graffiti and by 1984, put together a book of photographs illustrating the graffiti subculture called Subway Art, which is now recognized as the bible of graffiti and street art.

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Copper later put out another book in 2004 entitled Hip Hop Files: Photographs 1979-1984 From Here To Fame and later had a documentary produced about her life called Martha: A Picture Story in 2019.

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Happy 80th birthday to Martha and salute to her for all of her groundbreaking accomplishments that help to spread the culture of graffiti around the world.

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Troy Ave Testifies In Taxstone’s Murder Trial

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Several news reports have confirmed that Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave testified in incarcerated podcaster Taxstone’s murder trial, giving his testimony of what happened between the two Hip Hop personalities on that fateful night in 2016 following the shooting death of Troy Ave’s bodyguard.

Troy Ave, real name Roland Collins, told jurors on Monday that he would rather “die fighting” as his justification for fighting Taxstone, whose real name is  Daryl Campbell,According to this after being shot backstage at Irving Plaza.

“If it’s fight or flight I’m always going to fight because at that point you could die,” Collins said. “It looks like if you see people wrestle in high school wrestling — that type of position.” 

“When the shot goes off I see the light from the spark and I hear the shot,” he testified. “This is all happening fast. I get up and start fighting Taxstone, trying to take him, grab the gun, and another shot goes off. I put my leg up to kind of block the shot from hitting me in the face or chest.”

According to his testimony, Campbell then shot him in the legs. “I got up,” Collins said. “I’d rather die fighting. People die from leg shots. I’d rather die fighting than laying on the ground. I got up immediately.” As he described the chaotic scene, Collins said he saw his friend and bodyguard Ronald “Banga” McPhatter was laying on the floor face down. “I rolled his body over and I’m like, ‘Banga, get up. Come on.’ I’m smacking him, like, ‘C’mon bro. Get up,’” Collins testified. “And his eyes were rolling to the back of his head. His shirt was red so I could tell he got shot.”

Taxstone is currently on trial on murder, attempted murder, assault and weapons possession charges. He faces at least 20 years behind bars if convicted of these charges. TheSource.com will update this story as details develop.

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Today in Hip Hop History: Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo Dropped Their Debut LP ‘Road to the Riches’ 34 Years Ago

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On this day in 1989, Corona, Queens rap and street legend Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo released their first album on the quintessential yet now-defunct Hip-Hop label Cold Chillin’ Records.

As esteemed members of the world-famous, Queens-based Juice Crew, G. Rap and Polo dropped this project as one of the first full-length albums from the crew, only to succeed Big Daddy Kane’s Long Live The Kane and Biz Markie’s Goin’ Off albums. The Marley Marl-produced album is one of NYC’s crime rhyme holy grails, with tracks like “Road To The Riches” as a theme song for late 80s hustlers, but most of the album showcased G. Rap’s uncanny rapping ability. Tracks like “Men At Work,” “Poison,” and their premiere track “It’s A Demo” were proof three decades ago that G’s style would be pioneering in the rap game.

Salute to G. Rap, Polo, Marley, Fly Ty, and the rest of the Juice Crew and Cold Chillin’ staff for this important piece of Hip Hop history!

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Today in Hip-Hop History: 2Pac Dropped His Third LP ‘Me Against The World’ 28 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip-Hop History, the late Tupac Shakur released his third studio LP, Me Against the World. This album came at one of the most pivotal times in ‘Pac’s life and career. Recorded shortly after his near-fatal assassination attempt in New York and released while he was in prison, this album marked a change in 2Pac as an artist and a man.

This album was nothing like the music that gave him his “thug life” gangster image and street credentials. The subject matter and tone of this project were a lot more serious and introspective than anything he had previously released. Much less high energy than the tracks from his previous album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…, this album showed genuine reflection on his life and career path as an artist along with shining light on some of his personal struggles with paranoia and self-loathing.

The realism of this album brought a ridiculous amount of commercial success. Debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album has been certified double platinum selling over 3.5 million copies in the United States alone. Along with being #1 in the US, the album also ranked #23 in Germany and #20 in Sweden. In the year after its release, the album received the Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap Album. The project was Tupac’s most positively reviewed album and has been called the magnum opus of his career.

The singles from the project “Dear Mama,” “So Many Tears” and “Temptations” all made appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Dear Mama” peaked at #9, “So Many Tears” hit #44 and “Temptations” claimed the#68 spot.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: 2Pac Dropped His Third LP ‘Me Against The World’ 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] NYC Call To Action Rally For Teen With Autism Beaten On Subway

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Shocking video of teens attacking a 15-year-old in an uptown train station has spurred an NYPD hate crime investigation.

A group yelled anti-Black slurs before brutally attacking the boy in the Manhattan subway station on Friday afternoon, police said on Monday as video of the incident circulated on social media.
Video shows a black teen attempting to board the train while a young woman in a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt forcefully pulls the teen off an A train. A large group of teens surround the teen  screaming repeatedly, “Get off” and “Ni***r Alert!!”

]The group passes at least 20 other kids and 10 adults standing on the uptown platform, video shows.

The teen tries to get back on the train, but the girl drags him off again, another teen throws a punch and then the group tackles him, the video shows.

“Fight back” someone screams in the video.

The teen tries to defend himself as he’s thrown on a bench and his glasses are knocked from his face, the video shows.

The 15-year-old’s lip was cut and, according to police, his attackers broke his glasses.

Uptown’s 34th Precinct released photos on Monday afternoon of three suspects wanted in connection to the attack.

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Comedian/Activist Rosemary Serevino is holding a ‘Call To Action’ outside of the 181st A train station where the incident occured.  “It is sad to see all these things happening to our youth.” She wrote on her Instagram page. “I don’t know all the facts but what is clear is the youth is screaming for help. We need to listen to them and do something. The city is lacking so many programs.” Severino told PIX News 11. “We’re not for bullying.”

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Comedian/Activist Rosemary Serevino

March 14th at 2pm 181st A Train station.

Say no to racism and bullying.

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March 14th Rally against racism and bullying

Watch the boy’s mother below.

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