A Black man in Elizabeth, NJ is screaming foul following an incident in which he was denied service at Playa Bowls, an all-natural food store based in the Garden State, after he was already compensated by the store’s owner due to bad service during his last visit and now the man is seeking to file a discrimination lawsuit against the company.
Jason Cleare says that on April 10, he returned to the Elizabeth Playa Bowls store with his child following an incident where the store’s owner had to compensate Mr. Cleare for the store employees’ bad service a month prior. As he proceeded to make his order, one of the employees said that he was banned from the store and consulted with a manager via phone, who confirmed that he was banned from the store.
“The manager yelled over the phone that if I didn’t leave the store, she was going to call the police,” Mr. Cleare said. ” I called their bluff and told them to call the cops. I sat there and waited, but, of course, the police never came. What were they going to tell them? This guy came back that we had to give points for terrible customer service? “
When they realized that he wasn’t leaving the store and was waiting for the police to come, the same employee who claimed that he was banned from the store came back and offered to take his order.
“I wasn’t going to give them any of my money after they threatened to call the cops on me,” he said. “I knew as soon as the cops didn’t come, I was gonna sue them.”
Mr. Cleare says that he is filing a racial discrimination lawsuit against the company because he believes that the alleged ban and threatening of the cops was solely based on the fact that he is Black. He’s seeking punitive damage for the discriminatory treatment in hopes that the all-natural food store doesn’t conduct that type of behavior in the mostly Black Elizabeth neighborhood going forward.
“When you hit them where it hurts, they learn that they can’t treat people however they want and know that some people will hold them accountable for their actions.”
Playa Bowls has yet to respond to the allegations.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibit featuring a celebration of Basquiat’s life will open this April,The NYC Landmark Starrett-Lehigh Building will be featuring over 200 never before and rarely seen paintings, drawing, ephemera and artifacts.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure is a deeply personal exhibition created by the Basquiat family, with the exhibition designed by acclaimed architect Sir David Adjaye OBE ~ the architect for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C. and the Studio Museum in Harlem to name just a few.
“We wanted to bring his work and personality forward, in a way only his family can, for people to immerse themselves in. We want this to be an experiential and multi-dimensional celebration of Jean-Michel’s life.”…. – Lisane Basquiat
The exhibition will be divided into seven themes ~ An Introduction (1960) ~ Kings County ~ World Famous ~ Ideal ~ 57 Great Jones Street Studio ~ Art Gallery ~ Place Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“Jean-Michel stands at the forefront of a legacy of really strong people who are committed to showing up in the world in a specific way. And that runs through our bloodline. Now our children know what can happen when you live your truth, when you stand up for what’s right for you and exert work ethic, passion & commitment to why you believe you’re here. Partly because of this blueprint, every one of our children lives in authenticity of who they are, in their own different ways,” Lisane says.
“It was important to have a show that all people want to experience. We want them to see Jean-Michel in themselves, an artist that looks like them. We want it to be completely accessible for those who have felt intimidated in the past by going to a museum,” Jeanine explains. Lisane adds: “I want people to walk away with inspiration, hope & confidence in themselves to do the same thing with whatever it is for them – whether it’s painting, music or being an accountant. To live their lives with that same commitment, dedication and grit.”
Back in 2017, Masego and FKJ began a jam session that resulted in the production of the now certified platinum record, “Tadow.” The record helped the “Trap House Jazz” pioneer gain widespread attention. It followed by the release of his debut studio album Lady Lady.
To celebrate “Tadow’s” 5th anniversary, the Virginia artist teamed up with Toronto artist Voidz, in addition to Quincy Jones-backed platform OneOf.
“I’m very proud of what it has become. Any way to take the narrative and move the way that I want to. I wanted to represent, art, cultural exchange and lab musicians so this is a cool art piece for that representation.”
Voidz has collaborated with both Drake and Belgian artist Stromae.
“Tadow” presents a number of different instrumental elements that bring the record to life. Those sonic elements are visually represented within this new NFT. There are 4 tiers of the piece that vary in rarity – green, gold, platinum and diamond. The platinum tier includes a remix contest in which fans have access to WAV files of sounds hear in the NFT.
Fans will also have the opportunity to win signed instruments, a custom NFT created by Voidz, tickets to upcoming shows and the RIAA Certified Platinum record for “Tadow.”
“I think this is the first NFT to create a digestible visual language of the music making process,” said Masego. “I hope it inspires more musicians to explore ways to translate that process for fans and collectors.”
According to several confirmed reports from within the graffiti community, graffiti icon Alfredo “PerOne” Oyague has passed away. He was 55 years old.
PER ONE FX, one of NYC’s most revered innovators of style from the 80s, was a member of the world renowned Bronx-based TATS CRU before forming the FX Crew, which include prominent graff artists such as KING BEE UW, COPE2 KD, NOMAD and T-KID just to name a few.
Oyague was a pillar of graffiti culture and around the world and will be greatly missed, yet supremely remembered. RIP PER ONE FX
DDG and Halle Bailey have been romantically linked for quite some time now, but the two put a bow and ribbon on speculations Sunday.
The Little Mermaid actress graced both the Oscars red carpet, alongside her older sister Chloe and the Oscar stage as she presented the Academy Award for best-animated feature, on her 22nd birthday. Chloe took to Instagram to wish her sister happy birthday before they hit the red carpet for a sisterly slay.
“happy birthday to my best friend!!!! my baby sis!!! i love you to the moon and back. you are strong, brilliant, effortlessly graceful and i am SO PROUD OF YOU,” captioned Chloe.
The “Do It” songstress received love from her “Moonwalking in Calabasas” boo, DDG as well. He took to Instagram to show off some candid moments from their relationship that included a kiss on the cheek, a couple’s selfie, a mirror flick and a gifting of a name-plated necklace.
“Happy Birthday to the beautifulest, the flyest, the sweetest love you forever.”
Dr. Mutulu Shakur is battling stage 3 bone marrow cancer from prison. Shakur, the Black liberation icon and stepfather of late Hip-Hop legend Tupac Shakur, has been behind bars for three decades, despite being able to be released in 2016. An update to his official Instagram account, provide his most recent health and legal statuses:
First, we thank everyone for the outpouring of support for Dr. Shakur as he continues to battle stage 3 bone marrow cancer from prison. He did have a stem cell transplant, but then experienced an early relapse necessitating a new and highly dangerous chemotherapy that still only delays the cancer’s progress. Leaving him in prison while the chemotherapy suppresses his immune system places his life in further jeopardy — Dr. Shakur’s immediate compassionate release is the only humane response.
Despite all this, in January 2022, he was denied compassionate release for the third time by the Central office of the Federal Bureau of Prison! He is currently recovering from his third infection with COVID-19, and consequent COVID pneumonia.
Earlier this month, Dr. Shakur won a significant legal victory. For years, he has been litigating a habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court of California, challenging the U.S Parole Commission’s 2016 decision denying him mandatory parole. In denying parole, the Parole Commission relied on a disciplinary ticket Dr. Shakur received for making a telephone call to an approved phone number, where a professor put him on speakerphone to talk to her class. The court found that Dr. Shakur’s conduct had not violated the regulation and ruled that it was a due process violation for the Parole Commission to rely on this incident in its decision to deny parole. The court ordered that he receive the “good time” lost for this incident (27 days) and ordered a new mandatory parole hearing where the Parole Commission cannot consider this incident.
Family and Friends of Mutulu Shakur and the legal team continue to double down on our efforts. If you are in contact with any members of Congress who may be willing to support Dr. Shakur’s release, reach out to us at [email protected] so that we can connect. We are asking that everyone continue to sign and share the online petition to help us reach 75,000 signatures.
The link to reach the petition is available here. You can see the full statement here.
The return of SxSw, might have taken place during the Spring, but on March 18th, in Austin, Texas it was Holiday season! The legendary Hip Hop DJ helped to capture the essence of what SxSw music festival in Austin is all about with his Hollipalooza stage powered by Kim SoMajor, The Umbrella Firm and The Source Magazine.
“The Hollipalooza event was everything you could ask for,” said the Atlanta artist Atmore VI, who debuted an unreleased song he has featuring Bad Bunny called “Passport.” Atmore VI shared, “Hot artists from the past, present, and future all showing love and performing some great music.”
Hollipalooza not only provided the entertainment with big named artists like Trae The Truth, Sally Sossa, Domani, K Shiday, Rob49 and Beat King, it also gave independent artists a time to shine.
“I don’t think they understand,” said Holiday as he introduced his special guest. “I brought some very important people here.”
Along with himself, The Source, and other media outlets in the building, Kim SoMajor and Holiday also brought out Josh “J1” Raiford to help new artist set up their own unique stations as a way to reach those larger audiences. Raiford is the VP of music programming at Pandora.
Attendees felt that the Hollipalooza stage powered by Kim SoMajor and The Umbrella Firm was a great opportunity for them to grow as an artist.
“My Hollipalooza experience was mad lit and definitely one to remember,” said the Georgia native Big Legend who performed” Money Habits.”
He continued to speak on how he took advantage of the mass amount of people present for the event, “I networked with a lot of artists and industry executives, along with making a lot of new fans.”
Rising artist out of South Memphis, Tripstar, loved the enthusiasm of the attendees. Being the next big thing out of Memphis, Trip wanted to know how others felt about his music and said he received a great response.
“I really like how everybody was very supportive and had great energy in the crowd,” said Tripstar, the latest signee to Moneybagg Yo.
Currently, Tripstar’s “Favorite App” song featuring Lil Migo is running on all music platforms.
PGF Shawt, another artist from Atlanta, said The Source was his favorite magazine growing up and loved the fact that he got a chance to perform with them in the building.
“Just being able to be a part of The Source is big,” said Shawt. “It’s a pleasure and honor truly appreciated. Right now, fans can check out PGF Shawt’s new single “Confessions” on all music platforms.
A lot of the performing acts recognized the prominence of DJ Holiday and they all felt honored for the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of him on a big stage.
Atmore VI added, “DJ Holiday is an OG we all grew up listening to, and his down-to-earth demeanor shows you he really does this for the love.”
The Hip Hop duo from St. Petersburg, Florida, Yo Simi, and Dredlock Esoc second that thought when it comes to the persona of DJ Holiday.
“DJ Holiday was a solid dude I got a chance to meet him at the show and after I performed, we chopped it up,” said Dredloc Esco, half of the duo who performed “Vegas.”
FeVaOG also loved the fact that DJ Holiday was down to earth.
“DJ Holiday showed me love and was laid back, so I look forward to working with him,” said the Jersey artist who got the crowd lit with his hit “Casamigos”.
Hollipalooza wasn’t your basic open mic showcase. Along with great networking, The Umbrella Firm offered a single record distribution deal via Beatroot Music to one of the nights top performers. Congratulations are in order to PGF Shawt who won the distribution deal.
Woodrow, CEO of The Umbrella Firm, shared that Shawt’s performance stood out as the “total package.” He said, “Shawt showed he has great music with substance and flow patterns which is rare. Artists usually are one or the other. He’s invested in his career and he has a track record of already having collaborations with other artists and uploading to major platforms.”
“Overall, he has a heavy promotional campaign so he came correct and participated while other artists were performing. That showed humility but he was one of the most dominant independents we had. Looking forward to working with him,” Woodrow shared.
The event also featured a live activation with Atlanta’s own Scotty Atl. Scotty ATL showed some major fan appreciation. Being the new King of Grillz, Scotty gifted out two 6-piece grills to the audience, just for attending the Hollipalooza event. Scotty’s grill company, Grillz By Scotty, provided the grills exclusively done onsite.
“We just wanted to show love, said Scotty ATL, who didn’t perform but brought his artist Just Call Me Veto to the music event.
Under the Cool Club label, Just Call Me Veto introduced himself with his new single “One Of Them Ones.” This was his first Austin performance and the New Orleans-born, but Atlanta-raised artist didn’t take it lightly.
“This is major,” said Veto. “In 2014 I was just walking around. I always wanted to do a show here and now I had three. Shout out to DJ Holiday, Scotty, Kim SoMajor, and The Source. This is major.”
There was a ton of fresh faces in the building for Hollipalooza. Check out a list of some of the new faces of Hip Hop to keep on your radar.
The music documentary captures the hugely kinetic Hyphy movement and brings the sights and sounds of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most influential musical movement of the past 30 years to life on the screen.
This music documentary feature traces Hyphy’s genesis on Bay Area streets and examines its influence with interviews from legendary figures such as Keak da Sneak and Mistah FAB to modern-day artists such as Kamaiyah, Rafael Casal, P-Lo, and G-Eazy who grew up during the movement and were deeply influenced by it.Historical context is provided by columnists and academics such as Pendarvis Harshaw and Dr. Andrea L.S. Moore.
“Hyphy had a massive influence on me as a teenager,” says Laurence Madrigal, director of WE WERE HYPHY. “I grew up in Antioch and Hyphy was everywhere. It was on the streets, in our cars, in the clothes we wore, and in the way we spoke. I’ve always wanted to share my love of Hyphy with the world and this film is a love song to the era!”
The film is a beautifully shot, heartbreakingly sweet story detailing the highs and lows of the Hyphy movement from its inauspicious start which saw a plethora of Bay Area artists crafting and selling CDs from the trunk of their cars to an unwaveringly loyal fanbase who supported the artists and partied with a hedonistic abandon at side shows. It is a love song to all those who were brought together by the sounds of the Hyphy era. The goal of the documentary is to give the audience a look into Hyphy and experience it from two perspectives – through the eyes of the artists who created the iconic sound – and through the Bay Areans who grew up listening to the music, speaking the language, rocking the fashion, swangin’ the cars, and most importantly of all, getting hyphy.
“While Hyphy had a massively formative influence on the kids growing up during the era,” says Laurence, “I think there’s a wonderful universality to the film. Everyone feels that the music they listened to as teenagers was uniquely special. And it really is. It doesn’t matter if you grew up listening to punk, or hip-hop, or classical music, the love you had for the music and the love you had for the friends you shared it with stays with you forever. And it’s this beautiful, almost lonesome nostalgia, that we tried to capture with the film. It’s a deeply personal film for me and my sincere hope is that the film captures the essence of Hyphy and does justice to the artists of the time and, most importantly of all, to the fans who shared in the experience!”
LeBron James and Drake are two of the most blessed celebrities in their respective industry- and recently they teamed up to share their blessings with one deserving family in a big way.
Drake shared a video on Instagram in which he invited a Toronto-area teen named Michael, who plays basketball for the Royal Crown Academic School in Toronto as well as his mom and his coach to dinner at Toronto’s Harbour 60 restaurant, the same place where his 2011 “Headlines” video was filmed.
He starts out by plugging Stake, James’ crypto gambling platform, as well as Lobos tequila. The clip shows a cutaway video of Drake winning big while playing roulette on Stake, then saying that he believes in transferring similar blessings to others.
Drake then tells Michael, his mom, and his coach how proud he is of their hard work before giving Michael and his mom $100,000 cash as well as giving both Michael and his coach new shoes.
In addition to the gift for Michael and his family, Drake also made a donation to James’ I Promise School.
Karlae carries the title of YSL First Lady title high with her latest release “Did That.”
The track samples Mase’s hit song, “Feel So Good,” taken from Kool & The Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging.” As one of the heirs of Bad Boy Records, King Combs even makes a cameo in the video as well.
Karlae is fresh off the heels of last month’s release, “Blind.” The Lil Yachty assisted single displays Karlae’s versatility as she sings the hook and raps over Murda Inc sampled “Down 4 U.”
The video shows Karlae as a school girl, while Yachty plays her classmate and love interest.
The ATL-based artist first stepped onto the scene with a cameo on the YSL compilation, Slime Language. It was followed by the Young Thug and Gunna assisted single, “Jimmy Choo.” Last year the label released its sequel to the compilation, Slime Language 2, where Karlae shined on both “I Like” with Coi Leray and “Trance” with Yung Bleu.
Karlae’s previous works puts the momentum in her favor for what’s to come on her forthcoming EP, Enter.
love you forever.”
(@HalleLegion) 
