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Today In Hip Hop History: The Source Magazine Remembers the Legacy of Big Pun 23 Years Later

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On this date in 2000, the Hip Hop community was both shocked and saddened by the untimely death of lyrical giant Christopher “Big Pun” Rios. As the premiere artist for Fat Joe’s Terror Squad, Pun became the first Latino Hip Hop artist to go platinum and discovered TS’ First Lady, Remy Ma.

Pun is regarded as one of the game’s best lyricists to ever do it, or as he is aptly described, one of the best “dead or alive”. His only two full-length releases, Capital Punishment and Yeeahhh Baby, are considered classic albums among true Hip Hop aficionados and continue to get radio play on his smash singles “I’m Not A Player” and the posthumous “It’s So Hard”.

Rest In Peace to Pun and sincere condolences to the Rios family from the entire Mind Squad.

#RIPBIGPUN

The post Today In Hip Hop History: The Source Magazine Remembers the Legacy of Big Pun 23 Years Later appeared first on The Source.

Black Colorado Ranchers Arrested After Domestic Terrorism From Locals

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Black Colorado farmers Courtney and Nicole Mallery were arrested after making complaints about harassment on he and his wife’s farm. A case involving racial tensions between a Black family and their predominantly white neighbors has escalated to multiple restraining orders and now felony arrests.

Courtney and Nicole relocated to Colorado after a hurricane displaced them. Part of the mission of his farm, Freedom Acres Ranch, is the education of inner city youth and underserved communities about where food comes from to encourage everyone to grow their own foods and pursue careers in agriculture.

On Monday, Courtney and Nicole Mallery were arrested on felony warrants and were each booked by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. The Mallerys were each expected to face two felony charges of stalking, according to online court records.For the past two years, the Mallerys have complained people have targeted their farm through acts of vandalism and animal mutilation of their livestock.

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In a statement sent to 9NEWS in December, the Mallerys outlined allegations against an El Paso County deputy, claiming he was instigating attacks.

“Unfortunately, there are still corrupt police and racist people out there who are trying to block minority farmers from using their agricultural land because of their race. In Colorado Springs, the Mallery’s are the most recent victims of this blatant racism and vitriol,” the statement from the Mallerys said.

The Mallery’s told Ark republic, “Once or twice a week, strange white people drive slowly by their ranch, stop and take pictures or video, and sometimes brandish guns at them. The couple is frequently followed; especially while they are in town. As a result, they rarely travel and are mindful at what time. Clearly, they are unwanted. Even the post office workers ask us why we’re here,” says Courtney. A regular phrase told to Courtney is that “he has a lot of the balls” to purchase land in the mostly white community.

“What puts me on edge is that everyone knows us and how we look, but we don’t know them,” Courtney tells Ark Republic.

This is just some of the reports of terror the Houston transplant says his family has experienced since the purchase of a 1,000 acre ranch in El Paso County Colorado in August 2020. Courtney Mallery alleges he and his wife have been the target of local whites who want them off of their land.

“It’s like I’m being tormented for doing God’s work,” says Mallery who is exhausted because his family has not slept for months from keeping night watches.

The sheriff’s county released a statement, “The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office vehemently denies these allegations.”

CLICK HERE to see the arrest video.

The post Black Colorado Ranchers Arrested After Domestic Terrorism From Locals appeared first on The Source.

Rapper Xzibit’s Ex-Wife Demands Monthly Child Support Be Increased To $14,000

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Last year, rapper Xzibit was ordered to pay his estranged wife $2,239 a month in child support and $3,702 a month in alimony

Now his ex-wife is demanding more and has branded Xzibit a deadbeat dad…

Radar Online reports:

According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Krista has demanded her $6k a month in support be increased to around $14k.

In the filing, Krista said she has had to borrow funds from family and friends to support her and their 12-year-old son Gatlyn.

In addition, Krista accused Xzibit of refusing to pay for the parties’ health insurance premiums over the last few months and said he also stopped paying the full amount of the minor child’s tuition.

Krista accused Xzibit of not even seeing their son since October 2022. “I believe the last time he actually saw Gatlyn was around [Xzibit’s] own birthday in September 2022. Gatlyn called [Xzibit] on Christmas and [Xzibit] refused to answer or call him back. Our son is devastated,” Krista wrote in court documents.

“Meanwhile, we see on [Xzibit’s] social media posts that he is frequently on tour in exotic countries like Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Australia, and New Zealand, only in the last few months,” Krista wrote.

She accused him of continuing to live and publicly flaunt the lifestyle of a rich and famous rap artist with a thriving cannabis business,” all while not making all the required payments for their kid’s schooling.

The post Rapper Xzibit’s Ex-Wife Demands Monthly Child Support Be Increased To $14,000 appeared first on The Source.

Beyonce Fans Crash Etsy Store That Created Disco Ball Cowboy Hat

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A woman on Etsy created Beyoncé’s “disco ball cowboy hat” which she wore in the photo for the announcement of her Renaissance World Tour. Abby Misbin, a designer, reportedly had to extend her processing time due to a flood of orders from BEYHive members. Beyoncé’s stylist reportedly messaged Abby on her Trending by Abby Etsy page in June to ask about ordering a hat for the pop star.

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According to Abby, the stylist (B. Åkerlund) needed the hat finished in five days. Abby got to work encasing a cowboy hat in 10,000–15,000 mirrored tiles. She ended up charging Beyoncé $215 for the hat.

“I’m so happy so many of you want a hat and am making them as fast as I can!,” Abby wrote on Instagram. “I’ll be updating my Etsy inventory sometime in the next few days, (favorite the listing to get notified!) as well as changing the production time (2-3 months) to keep up with demand! Each hat takes a long time to perfect and I’d never want to compromise the quality! All customers deserve Beyoncè quality!”

With Bey’s world tour coming this Summer, Abby will definitely be making lots of disco ball hats.

In case you missed it, check out the full list of Renaissance World Tour dates and how to cop tickets HERE.

The post Beyonce Fans Crash Etsy Store That Created Disco Ball Cowboy Hat appeared first on The Source.

‘Supersonic’ Group J.J. Fad Calls Out Grammy’s For Not Including Or Inviting Them

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The 65th Annual Grammy Awards was held at the Crypto.com Arena Los Angeles and some notables were left off the invitation list. This year’s ceremony dedicated a tribute to Hip-Hop in honor of its 50th anniversary executive produced by Questlove. The list of veteran artists that hit the stage showed the stages of hip hop. De La Soul, Run-DMC, Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and more. But one groundbreaking trio is speaking up about not being included or invited.
Ruthless Records’ first ladies—MC JB, Sassy C and Baby D—shared an Instagram post calling out The Recording Academy for not including them in any fashion.  Back in 1989, J.J. Fad became the first female rap group to be nominated for a Grammy at a time when the rap categories were brand new.

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Nominated for Best Rap Performance category for their smash hit “Supersonic,” J.J. Fad decided to go, even though their peers were boycotting the awards at the time. They lost the win to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for ‘Parents Just Don’t Understand’.

The group shared on social media:

“So when the @recordingacademy Grammy’s first introduced the rap category in 1988, we were the first to be nominated in that category,” they wrote. “Now there’s a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop at the Grammy’s and we aren’t invited?? Make it make sense!!”

They told AllHipHop.com:

“We just want the same respect as all of our other Hip-Hop brothers and sisters that made a difference in Hip-Hop,” she contends. “We attended the Grammys when we were nominated along with Kool Moe Dee who should also be there representing Hip-Hop. We hate to sound whiny and we aren’t hating on anyone, we just want to be there with our Hip-Hop brothers and sisters and be honored for our contribution to Hip-Hop as well.”

CLICK HERE to see J.J. Fad’s post.

Do you think the group should have been invited?

The post ‘Supersonic’ Group J.J. Fad Calls Out Grammy’s For Not Including Or Inviting Them appeared first on The Source.

Robert Glasper Wins Fifth Grammy Award For Best R&B Album

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Multi-Grammy-winning pianist and producer Robert Glapser has received his 5th Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for Black Radio III. Glasper’s contribution to music and culture spans over two decades with Grammy nominations and wins for a multitude of his projects including the history changing 2013 win for Best R&B Album for Black Radio, 2015 win for Best Traditional R&B Performance for Jesus Children, 2017 win for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media for Miles Ahead, and 2021 taking home a win for his hit-single “Better Than I Imagined” in the Best R&B Song category. Glasper has formed an exceptional legacy that permeates throughout contemporary art and advocacy. 

Black Radio III features both new and old Black Radio family such as H.E.R, Ty Dolla $ign, Common, Yebba, Meshell Ndgeocello, Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid, Big K.R.I.T. , and more. Glasper’s body of work is a masterclass in hip-hop, R&B and jazz fusion that sonically has influenced the next decade to come. This further proves Glasper to be one of the most respected collaborators of his generation, now with 12 nominations in total and 5 wins. 

The Grammy Award winning Black Radio III celebrates Black joy, love and resilience and features the Grammy-winning single “Better Than I Imagined” with H.E.R and Meshell Ndgeocello. Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid and Big K.R.I.T. unify in “Black Superhero,” a track that lifts up real-life Black heroes, while Lalah Hathaway and Common put a fresh spin on  “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” a nod to the Tears For Fears classic. Glasper also creates space on this album for songs like Q-Tip and Esperanza Spalding’s versatile and driving “While We Speak” and “Over”, Yebba’s sweet-winded plea to a fleeting love. Black Radio III’s guests also include Jennifer Hudson, Ty Dolla $ign, Ant Clemons, India.Arie, Musiq Soulchild, PJ Morton and more. Since announcing the album in early 2022, Glasper has joined Trevor Noah for an interview and performance of “Heaven’s Here” with Ant Clemons on The Daily Show and was backed by The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a special MLK Day performance of “In Tune” and “Black Superhero” featuring Rapsody, DJ Jazzy Jeff, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Amir Sulaiman. 

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Funkmaster Flex Apologizes TO RZA For Hot 97’s Wu Tang Clan Beef

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Several reports have confirmed that Funk Flex has issued a public apology to the RZA on behalf of Hot 97 for their longstanding beef with the Wu Tang Clan.

Flex took to IG not long after being named the station Creative Program Director, posting a pic of him and The Abbott, captioning,

“I WANNA TAKE THIS TIME TO APOLOGIZE TO THE @RZA AND THE ENTIRE @WUTANGCLAN !!! ALMOST 25YRS AGO THE GROUP, ME AND HOT97 HAD A DISAGREEMENT THAT TO ME NEVER GOT PUT TO BED AND I APOLOGIZE!” Flex wrote.

“LOOKING BACK AT THIS 20 SUMTHIN YEARS LATER.. WE GONNA MAKE UP FOR THE TIME WE MISSED…”, he continued. “THE WORLDS GREATEST RAP GROUP AND THE WORLDS GREATEST RADIO STATIONS ARE GOING TO COME TOGETHER BRING U SOMETHING AMAZING!”

Flex hinted at a collabo between him and the Wu in the future, with every member of the Clan tagged in the photo. RZA responded with the Wu hand signal while Raekwon replied, “Nothing but love Blackman ! And that’s Reciprical !!!!!”

The rift came in 1997 when the Wu felt they were forced to fly back to NYC to perform for Summer Jam for free after they were booked to headline the event at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey.

Inspectah Deck recalled the beginning of the beef on the 2019 Wu Tang Clan: Of Mice And Men, where he explained, “The deal was, as far as I remember, you gotta come back and do this Hot 97 Summer Jam or we’re not gonna play any more of your records on your station.”

“They didn’t play our records for like the next 10 years,” said Deck, noting that other radio stations followed suit. “Us not being involved while they playing the Biggie shit, they playing Nas shit, everybody that was rocking with us at the time. That affected our sales, that affected our touring, that affected everything. That affected our presence.”

Hot 97 and the Wu eventually made peace, with the Clan performing at Summer Jam in 2013.

The post Funkmaster Flex Apologizes TO RZA For Hot 97’s Wu Tang Clan Beef appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] DMX’s Daughter To Release Docuseries On Drug Addiction Awareness And Fentanyl

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According to reports, Sonovah Hillman Jr., the daughter of late rap legend DMX, is slated to drop a four-part docu-series to bring awareness to drug addiction and the deadly substance fentanyl, which has caused countless overdose deaths in the U.S. over the past decade.

The video used to promote Hillman’s series on GoFundMe was rooted in a 10-week D.A.R.E. program, where she discussed the people in her family that she lost due to addiction, saying, “I lost my aunt and uncle to a fentanyl overdose and my dad to drug addiction. Fentanyl is affecting every gender, race, class, and age group.”

In another part of the video, the 10-year-old Hillman explained why she chose to share her experiences with other children, saying, “I wanted to talk to other kids whose parents had died from an overdose or are still currently using,” said Hillman. She went on to say, “I came up with the idea to do a four-part docuseries on fentanyl and drug addiction. I wanted to talk to people about their experience, trauma, feelings and come up with a solution to healing.”

The post [WATCH] DMX’s Daughter To Release Docuseries On Drug Addiction Awareness And Fentanyl appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: 50 Cent’s Debut LP ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ Turns 20 Years Old!

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On this date in 2003, 50 Cent released his second and most critically acclaimed album to date Get Rich Or Die Tryin on Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.

After his street-certified buzz from his Guess Who’s Back mixtape, a meeting with Eminem eventually turned into a million-dollar deal on Dr. Dre and Em’s Shady/Aftermath imprint. With the album executive produced by Dre and Fif, this project became probably the most anticipated release of any debut Hip-Hop album of the new millennium.

Debuting at the pole position on Billboard 200, GRODT sold almost 900K units its first week and is now certified 6x platinum. The commercial success of the album in terms of radio and video plays as well the movie that launched starring 50 Cent with the same title helped earn the album a Grammy nod in 2004.

Some of the album’s forerunning singles include the ever-popular “In Da Club,” “21 Questions” featuring the late Nate Dogg, and “P.I.M.P.,” which became an international hit.

Salute to 50, Dre, Em, and the entire G-Unit for this timeless piece of Hip-Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: 50 Cent’s Debut LP ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ Turns 20 Years Old! appeared first on The Source.

The Source Magazine Remembers Trayvon Martin On What Would’ve Been His 28th Birthday

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Today marks what would be the 28th birthday of a young man by the name of Trayvon Martin, that not only in the United States but the rest of the world came to know because he chose to defend himself against his assailant George Zimmerman and his life was taken as a result.

George Zimmerman claimed that he saw Trayvon leaving a store and that he looked suspicious, so he decided to follow him. After following him, a physical altercation transpired between the two of them and an unarmed Trayvon took a bullet to his chest and died on the scene. Trayvon died two weeks after his 17th birthday on February 26, 2012. As for Zimmerman, he received was a jury acquittal for second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in July 2013.

Trayvon didn’t get the chance to tell his parents goodbye, attend prom, or pretty much any of the things that are enjoyed by teenagers. His parents Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin have to live with the burden that their child did not receive any justice for what happened to him.

Almost nine years after his untimely death, Trayvon Martin’s legacy in the fight for human and civil rights for Black people in America is everlasting. His name still stands among the victims of gun violence by rogue police officers and overzealous citizens that came after him such as Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless others.

Happy Birthday King! (RIP)

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