On this day in Hip-Hop history, Death Row Records in conglomeration with Interscope Records released the soundtrack to the popular film, Above the Rim. Winning the 1995 Source Award for Soundtrack of the Year, this album featured so many hits that it could have stood alone from the movie as a compilation album.
Acting as executive producers of the project, Suge Knight and Dr. Dre curated one of the most popular movie soundtracks of all time. This album featured work from artists 2Pac, Warren G, SWV, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, The Lady of Rage, and more. Due to the popularity of the artists and the success of the movie, the soundtrack sold 2,000,000 copies in the year of its release and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Although it fell short on the mainstream chart, the album was able to grab hold of that #1 spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Here are some videos from the famed soundtrack to help jog your memory of its greatness.
Former Bad Boy bodyguard Gene Deal spoke to The Art Of Dialogue about the shooting in Club NY in 1999 which landed Bay Boy Records signee in prison for a decade and did not pull any punches when saying Diddy snitched on Shyne to save himself.
Deal insinuated that Diddy separated himself from Shyne, whose name is Jamal Barrow, while others made statements against the Biggie soundalike, forcing Shyne into a solitary corner. “They came to Shyne, and they asked Shyne for 20 racks ’cause they had somebody that was gonna make sure all of them got off ’cause they was not going to agree to none of them charges, and they was on the jury stand,” Deal says. “Shyne may not admit to it, but he knows that to be true. So now, the reason they got off was people was coming to Bad Boy security and said that they were there.”
Deal spoke about the never-before-mentioned snitches on Diddy’s side who were going to assist in throwing Shyne under the bus, saying, “He was like, ‘You supposed to be my brother, and you got people testifying against me?’ Those people were testifying, they were brought to Puff first, saying what they saw against Shyne, what they saw Shyne do. The D.A. didn’t even know those people existed,” said Deal.
Earlier this month, TV mogul Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson seemed very incensed with his situation with the STARZ network and threatened to pull his top-rated Power Universe series from the network if they didn’t give his show some priority because of its high ratings. This weekend, Fif shared a TikTok on IG showing a committed fan mad about the show’s slow roll out.
The video post’s caption read, “I have 4 more episodes of FORCE, then I don’t have anything airing on STARZ for six months so y’all know the vibes.” The man in the video shouted, “What you mean no shows for six months!?” 50 added, “FORCE is the highest rated premier of any show on the network. when they take too long to green light it, it pushes the production time line back. after tonight’s episode there are 3 left, April 10 it’s a wrap. Then 6 months till i have anything new.”
The issues with STARZ hit the surface at the beginning of the month, saying “They suck, my deal is up and I’m out.”. He added, “Hold my calls i’m traveling,” he wrote alongside a photo of a couple of suitcases. “Getting the fvck away from STARZ. @bransoncognac @lecheminduroi. Anil get your fvcking bag’s in the car now, we are out of here, take that fvcking sign off the door no more G-unit film and television over here.”
According to several confirmed reports, up and coming Miami rapper aby Cino was shot and killed i a drive-by ambush just moments after walking out of jail. He was 20 years old.
Cino, whose real name is Timothy Starks, was released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Centre last week after being arrested for a gun charge(March 16). The Miami Herald reported that Starks was picked up from jail and not long after, shooters in another vehicle pumped at least 40 shots into the vehicle Starks was driving. Starks suffered several gunshot wounds, including one to the head.
20-year-old Dante Collins was in the car with Starks, but survived the shooting and was released from the hospital with minor injuries.
Detectives from the Miami-Dade police department told the Herald that “a dark-coloured vehicle was seen fleeing the area at a high rate of speed”.
Detectives are also trying to figure out if the murder was connected to “a series of public ambushes in recent months believed connected to Miami street gangs.”
On this day in Hip-Hop history, super producer and generational sound shaper DJ Premier was born in 1966. As a producer, DJ Premier has worked with Big L, Big Daddy Kane, Bun B, Common, D’Angelo, Dr. Dre, The Game, Joey Bada$$, KRS-One, Ludacris, Mos Def, Nas, Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B.I.G, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Immortal Technique and Busta Rhymes. As a founding member of Gang Starr, Premier along with emcee Guru helped get the New York boom-bap movement get national acclaim and rise to be the standard of Hip Hop throughout the 90s.
Known for his smooth soul samples and steady drums, DJ Premier either worked with or influenced a majority of the more prominent and most respected names in Hip Hop. As Gang Starr, DJ Premier and Guru put out six studio albums; No More Mr. Nice Guy, Step in Arena, Daily Operation, Hard to Earn, Moment of Truth, and The Ownerz. Although the group never got any official critical acclaim or win any music awards, their influence can be heard almost anywhere Hip Hop is found.
DJ Premier is responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed tracks throughout Hip-Hop history. In honor of his born day, below are some of his most popular songs that helped to define his career as a beatmaker.
Gang Starr – Mass Appeal
Notorious B.I.G. – Kick in the Door
Nas – Nas Is Like
Big L – Platinum Plus
KRS- One – MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know
From everyone at The Source Magazine, Happy Born Day DJ Premier. Thank you for all that you’ve done for this culture that we all love.
According to several reports, the mother of Young Thug’s children, LaKevia Jackson, was shot and killed at the Metro Fun Center in the SWAT(Southwest Atlanta) section of the city.
LaKevia’s mother Sherina spoke to Atlanta CBS affiliate WDRW and said that LaKevia was at the bowling alley celebrating a friend’s birthday party. An argument started over a bowling ball, which resulted in LaKevia being shot while leaving the establishment.
Sherina Jackson stated, “I didn’t know that was going to be the last time I talked to my baby. I could hear her over the phone crying and screaming then her best friend said she’s not breathing! I lost my baby all over a bowling ball.”
Atlanta PD has not released the identity of the suspect, but they believe they are close to an arrest based on surveillance and testimonies from eyewitnesses.
The West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center in Memphis has released the autopsy report of Young Dolph. According to Fox 13 Memphis, Dolph suffered 22 gunshot wounds.
According to the report, wounds both entered and exited the body. Dolph was shot in multiple places, including the forehead, face, back, arms, chest, chin, neck, shoulder, and more.
Dolph, born Adolph Thorton Jr., was killed on Nov. 17, 2021 outside of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies. Justin Johnson, aka Straight Drop, and Cornelius Smith have been charged in the case. A warrant is currently active for Shundale Barnett for his place in the connection. Devin Burns and Joshua Taylor have been named as persons of interest.
Young Dolph’s memorial at Makeda’s Cookies is scheduled to be taken down. In response, people have gathered asking for the memorial to remain untouched. Dolph was killed at the location in November 2021.
The owner of Makeda’s, Pamela Hill, reversed course on reopening the business, stating that she did not feel safe in doing so. According to ABC24-Memphis, the building’s owner then decided it was time to take down the memorial.
“I understand you have to lease it out and run a business,” community activist Frank Gotti said. “I understand it. It’s his building and nobody can argue with him on that. I appreciate him for keeping it up this long.”
Members of Paper Route Empire are planning to honor Dolph with a new memorial in Castalia Heights.
Previously, one of the men in charge of caring for the dead Memphis rapper Young Dolph’s memorial site was killed in Memphis.
Friends of Jeremiah Taylor are shocked by the needless death of the young guy who took on the task of keeping Young Dolph’s memorial in front of Makeda’s Cookies, the location of Dolph’s murder on November 17, clean and presentable.
“Jeremiah was a great person,” said Gotti. “He was so creative. He was so on point. He was helpful, he would help anybody.”
Taylor’s body was found on Getwell Road in Memphis and police are looking for answers.
Taylor spoke to ABC News affiliate in Memphis ABC 24 about caretaking for the memorial, saying, “I want people around the world to know we care about Dolph. The love he had with people. A lot of people are realizing and now seeing the person that he always was. Taking care of his community, being a philanthropist, and really promoting financial independence. [It’s] a moral that he taught.”
31 years ago, Eazy muthaf**kin’ E made his debut on the White House lawn.
While other rappers of the time were totally against President George Bush and his staunch law and order policies, Eazy-E, along with his manager Jerry Heller, spent $1250 a plate to attend the Republicans Inner Circle dinner.
This private, members-only dinner may have cost Eazy a whopping $2500 for two plates, but that type of publicity couldn’t be bought. Speculation has it that Eazy and Jerry’s attendance at the White House during the Bush administration kept the FBI off of N.W.A’s backs after the controversy over their “Fuck The Police” single.
After letting it loose on Diddy on his latest track “Oracle 2: The Liberation Of Mason Betha”, Ma$e took to Instagram Live yesterday(March 17) to discuss why he made the diss record aimed at Diddy, his integrity and the way he treated former Bad Boy artists.
The former Bad Boy said he made that song to empower those scared to speak up against the Bad Boy founder, saying, “When I see the hurt and the pains of other people on Bad Boy that motivates me to say something so I don’t be deemed as a person who just made a bunch of money and turned a blind eye. I’m not gonna be like the rest of the people around Puff that don’t tell him he’s wrong. I’m not gonna be like the yes men around him that seem him ruining people’s lives and never tell him he’s wrong.”
Ma$e seemed to have sided with the former contestants of Making The Band, who have been very critical of Diddy as of late, with one former contestant saying that Diddy’s dealings with him almost made him commit suicide.
Diddy reponded the controversy on his Instagram Stories, writing, “STOP ALL YOUR CRYING, BITCHING & MOANING. HUSTLE HARDER OR GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY. – LOVE.”
According to several confirmed reports, the Russian model who went missing after a video of her criticizing Putin went viral, has been found dead a year after her disappearance.
Gretta Vedler put out a video criticizing the Russian leader, saying, “Given the fact that Putin went through a lot of humiliation in [his] childhood, he could not stand up for himself due to his [slight] physical form, it is not surprising that he left after law school and joined the KGB,” Vedler said. “Such people are timid and fearful from childhood, afraid of noise and darkness, strangers, so traits such as caution, restraint, and lack of communication are developed early in their character.”
One month after posting the video, Vedler was never seen again. A year later, her death has been confirmed, but reports say that her death and the video she released are unrelated. According to reports, shortly after the video was made, Vedler was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend Dimitry Korovin.
The 23-year-old killer slept with Vedler’s corpse in a hotel for three days while posting on her social media to not alarm people of her disappearance. Afterward, Korovin stuffed Vedler’s severed body parts into a suitcase and drove 300 miles away from the crime scene to the Lipetsk region of Russia, where he discarded her body.
It was the missing person’s report Korovin asked to file that eventually led to his arrest. Details of Korovin’s arrest are few, but TheSource.com will update the story as details develop.
