As previously reported, two people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Slim 400 in Inglewood, California in December and now the mugshots of both suspects have been released.
Michael Lanell Terry, 33, of Los Angeles, and Tamra Lynn Bell, 42, of Inglewood were both taken into custody at the Inglewood City Jail and booked on murder charges on June 9. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Offices filed criminal charges against the pair, which includes a murder charge against Terry. His bail was set at $3,025,000. Bell was charged with being an accessory to the murder after the fact and her bail was set at $1 million.
Vincent Cohran, known as rapper Slim 400, was shot and killed while exiting his car in the 8600 block of South 7th Avenue in the city of Inglewood shortly before 8 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2021, according to the report from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office.
According to several confirmed reports, DJ 50 Grand, the man who produced and put the “Microphone Murderers” demo tape from Biggie Smalls in the hands of Mister Cee, has passed away. 50 Grand, whose given name is Kevin Griffin, was 55 years old.
Griffin first learned of a 15 year old emcee that lived nearby in his Bedford-Stuyvesant and eventually connected with the young wordsmith through a mutual friend who used to sell drugs with the late Christopher Wallace in 1991. it didn’t take long before Biggie was in 50’s basement on Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street recording what would become the launching pad to the career of the game’s most revered emcee in its history.
Griffin managed to get the tape into the hands of DJ Mister Cee, Big Daddy Kane’s DJ, who slipped the tape to Matteo “Matty C” Capoluongo, who ran the “Unsigned Hype” column in The Source Magazine. The feature article caught the attention of a young exec at Uptown Records by the name of Sean “Puffy” Combs and the rest is history.
50’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood showed out for the legendary neighborhood DJ, coming out in droves to the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Monroe Street to show their respects to their fallen legend. Salute to 50 Grand and condolences to his family and friends.
Undoubtedly, Big Pun was one of the most lyrically feared emcees to ever touch the mic. His mentor, Fat Joe, talked about Big Punisher with Angie Martinez the week of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in an interview, reminiscing about how hard it was to get certain rappers to jump on a track with the late Terror Squad lieutenant.
Back in 1998, Joe Crack dropped “John Blaze”, which featured some of the illest lyricist in the game at that time, including Jadakiss, Raekwon The Chef and Nas. “In the most respectful way it’s kinda like I set up Nas on that record,” Joe remembered. “Because Pun really wanted to get on a record with Nas…Nas did the record one million percent but there was artists, not Nas, but there was artists that was really scared to jump on records with Pun. So we almost had to like gas guys like, ‘Yo it’s my record’ and then throw Pun on it. The story is you know he waited for Cannabis about 30 to 100 sessions and he never walked in the door to do the song with Pun.”
Watch the entire interview with Angie Martinez below.
On this day in Hip Hop history, Dallas-bred West Coast rapper The D.O.C. was born.Known for his work with N.W.A. and as a huge influence to the G-Funk era as a writer for a number of artists, The D.O.C. is one of the West Coast’s unsung heroes.
Before embarking on a solo career, The D.O.C. was a member of the Texas trio The Fila Fresh Crew consisting of The D.O.C. (then known as Doc-T), Fresh K, and Dr. Rock. The group got their break appearing on NWA’s N.W.A. and the Posse compilation album. Following the album’s success, the group was able to sign a deal with Macola Records and release three studio albums before disbanding in 1988. Shortly after the split, Eazy-E recruited The D.O.C. to work with him on his solo project Eazy-Duz-It on the track “Nobody Move.”
In 1989, The D.O.C. released his debut solo album No One Can Do It Better which spent 2 weeks in the Top 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and claimed the top spot on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart. Following his freshman success, West Coast rappers began to reach out to The D.O.C. to work with him on their own projects.
The D.O.C. has made appearances on Dr. Dre’sThe Chronic, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, and N.W.A.’s 100 Miles and Runnin’ and Niggaz4life. He has also released two addition studio albums Helter Skelter and Deuce which have both appeared on the Billboard 200 chart. It is reported that The D.O.C. is currently working on a fourth and final album with Dr. Dre titled Voices through Hot Vessels who’s released date is still to be determined.
Aside from music, The D.O.C. can be recognized from his song appearances in the popular video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Tony Hawk Underground 2, Madden 2005, and NBA Live 2005, his guest spot in the film “We From Dallas”, or his past relationship with neo-soul songstress Erykah Badu. The two share a daughter named Puma who was born July 5th, 2004.
Regardless of how you may know or have heard of The D.O.C. , his influence on West Coast Hip Hip culture is one that would have definitely been missed. From everyone here at the Source Magazine, Happy Birthday D.O.C. may you see many more years of success.
According to a confirmed report, Sony Music will release MJ the Musical – Original Broadway Cast Recording on Friday, July 15.
Heralded as “a riveting adrenaline rush of a show!” by Peter Marks in The Washington Post, MJ the Musical opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on February 1, 2022 to rave reviews from both critics and audiences. “MJ delivers the thrills!” exclaimed Jesse Green at The New York Times.
Similar reactions are in to the first snippet from the cast recording of “Billie Jean” that was shared on May 19 by The New York Times and has created overwhelming anticipation for the release of the album.
MJ the Musical – Original Broadway Cast Recording was recorded at Power Station at BerkleeNYC. The album was produced by David Holcenberg and Jason Michael Webb and co-produced by Derik Lee; Lia Vollack, John Branca, and John McClain served as executive producers.
MJ is currently in the running for ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Myles Frost), Best Book of a Musical (Lynn Nottage), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Derek McLane and Peter Nigrini), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Paul Tazewell), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Gareth Owen), Best Direction of a Musical (Christopher Wheeldon), Best Choreography (Christopher Wheeldon)andBest Orchestrations (Jason Michael Webb and David Holcenberg). The 2022 Tony Awards will air live coast-to-coast from the legendary Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 12.
Several news outlets have confirmed that Quavo’s wish to see Jack Harlow play opposite of him in the White Men Can’t Jump reboot looks like it’s coming through. Jack wil be filling the shoes of Woody Harrelson by playing the role of Billy Hoyle, while Sinqua Walls will be slotted into Wesley Snipes’ Sidney Deane role. Harlow admitted during an interview at the Met Gala that he’s never seen the original White Men Can’t Jump before auditioning for his role.
“Can I be honest? Harlow said.“I was obviously familiar with it, it’s an iconic title and I’ve seen the movie poster, but I didn’t watch it until I got offered the role. I see why it’s a classic.”
Several accredited reports have confirmed the sad news that model Pasha Bleasdell has died at the age of 38. The news was originally given by Bleasdell’s longtime friend Director X, who told the tragic news via Instagram on Wednesday.
“We lost a friend yesterday,” X wrote on his IG page. “Pasha Bleasdell passed away from a brain tumor June 4th 2022 11:59pm. If you made videos in 2000’s or were around to watch them you know Pasha. We met her doing background work on the set of Donnell Jones’ ‘Where I Want To Be’ [and] from there we put her in the mix. It was a wild ride from then on.”
Screen Shot 2022 06 10 at 1.57.38 AM
“I’ve put her in a million videos and spent just as much time hanging out. She was always genuine and cool. Never brought drama to set of life,” X added. “You never know when the last time you speak to some one will be the last time you speak. I hold on to my memories of you with love. Rest in Power Pasha January 24th 1984 – June 4th 2022.”
Bleasdell’s credits in some the early 2000s’ most integral music videos such as Sean Paul’s “Gimme The Light”, 50’s “P.I.M.P.” and Nelly’s “Hot In Here”.
On this day in Hip Hop history, LL Cool J released his third studio LP Walking with a Panther on Def Jam Recordings in 1989.
Peaking at #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart and #6 on the Billboard 200, this album continued LL’s streak of commercially successful albums as well as served as one of Hip Hop’s early crossover projects.
During that era, Def Jam was working to bring Hip Hop to the forefront of the mainstream, and this album was geared to reinvent LL Cool J’s sound while retaining its Hip Hop integrity. Although it may have been publicly successful at achieving its goal, some critics have said this project may have brought LL’s street credibility into question.
Regardless of critical opinion, the appeal of this album outshines anything negative that could be said about it. The most impressive and respectable feat of this project is LL’s introduction as a self-produced MC. Throughout Walking with a Panther he proved that not only was he capable of knocking out hit after hit but was also a proficient beat maker. The original production team used to create the majority of LL’s better-known songs prior to this album, L.A. Posse, decided to part ways with Def Jam following a contractual disagreement. This altercation left only one member of the team, Dwanye Simon, left to work with LL Cool J in producing the entirety of the LP.
This project also toted some of LL Cool J’s biggest hit singles including: “Going Back to Cali” and “Jingling Baby.” Both of these singles are hallmarks of LL Cool J’s career and in their own way describe his career as a whole. LL’s appeal was from the beginning catered toward the female demographic while still retaining his “cool guy” demeanor in a way that it wasn’t awkward for males to also be in huge support of his music and style. Much like a proto-Drake, LL Cool J through this album was able to deliver enough to keep the streets happy all while maintaining the attention of his female fan base.
Singer and actor Rotimi has been known as a jack of all trades. Having been successful in every project he touches, whether on the mic or behind the camera, the creative is known to put his all into everything he does, hence the name of his debut album All Or Nothing. Rotimi has shifted gears towards his entrepreneurial pursuits to curate skin essentials to protect and restore natural glow with the launch of his unisex skin care line, FAVR.
To celebrate the launch, Rotimi traveled to the Dead Sea, one of the main inspirations in the development of the line, where the product is also enriched with minerals from the illustrious sea of salt itself. Rotimi also went live to announce the launch to the world. FAVR is available now for purchase online.
“I wanted to progress to a new level and share with the world something that means so much to me. As many know I take pride in my health and daily routines and traveling on the road as much as I’m blessed to do, my skin takes a huge hit with climate changes. I took a hands-on active role turning a sketch comedy joke with Mr. Buttascotch and his notorious face mask, to creating a product line solely focused on the nourishment of the skin and face. I’m excited to share that with everyone, especially the products roots to the Dead Sea, and help with rejuvenating a natural glow for people.”
Screen Shot 2022 06 09 at 3.51.58 PM
Developed in partnership with Cre8or Global, an innovative industry leader in developing beauty, health and wellness brands for talent and their communities of supporters who have often been overlooked in this space, it was Rotimi’s goal for the line to cater to individuals with various skin tones who may struggle finding a product that was made for them. FAVR embodies everything the singer stands for and is made special for the individual who exudes an inner confidence that pours through to the outer body with pride in health and wellness and grooming habits. It is a line built to protect and restore skin with products including Charcoal Skin Cleanser, Moisturizing Balm, Exfoliating Rub, Dead Sea Mineral Mask, and an Anti-Fatigue Eye Cream. FAVR products start at $19.00, bundle deals range from $34.00 to $116.00
Comedian Bill Cosby, is currently in court fighting a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually assaulting Judy Huth when she was 15-years-old.
A witness for Judy may have ruined her case by claiming she was playing Donkey Kong at the Playboy mansion. She claims while Judy was being assaulted by Bill Cosby in The Playboy Mansion she was playing the popular game even though it didn’t come out until six years after the alleged assault.
A friend of Bill Cosby’s accuser Judy Huth took the stand and got annihilated by the 84-year-old comedian’s attorney. He accused her of not telling the truth about playing Donkey Kong during the alleged assault that reportedly took place at the Playboy Mansion in 1975.
Donna Samuelson, who claimed she was with Huth and Cosby at the mansion when the alleged incident happened, testified in the trial on Monday. She told police that she was playing the video game in a room that was attached to an adjacent bedroom where Huth said the alleged assault went down.
But, according to Cosby’s lawyer, Samuelson’s Donkey Kong defense is not applicable.
“You testified multiple times that you were playing Donkey Kong,” Jennifer Bonjean stated to Samuelson, referencing a 2014 police interview and a later deposition. However, the video game wasn’t released until 1981 — six years after the alleged assault reportedly went down.
“If I did I did,” Huth’s buddy responded on the stand. “I understand it wasn’t around yet.” Samuelson then claimed, “I got the name wrong. I just kept saying that because it was a game. It could have been Atari.”
