Hip Hop Lifestyle News | Culture Trends

Angie Martinez, Fat Joe Team Up With PepsiCo + Gamesa For $100K Scholarship Program

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Angie Martinez and Fat Joe exercise their philanthropic efforts.

The two NYC natives have joined together with Pepsi Stronger Together and Gamesa to launch a $100,000 nationwide scholarship program. The initiative will support Music and Arts Education for underserved youth.

“Any time we can create a path to help students and kids find their way, I’m always down to do so,” says Martinez.

The program launched on June 12 in conjunction with the annual Puerto Rican Day parade. Both Angie Martinez and Fat Joe were deemed the Padrino (Godfather) and Madrina (Godmother) of the annual parade.

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“As an entertainer with a public platform, I take my responsibility to blaze a trail for the future very seriously,” said the Bronx native. “It’s important that we empower our youth – especially from underserved communities – so they have the confidence and foundation to reach their full potential.”

Through this program, PepsiCo’s community investment and the PepsiCo Foundation will continue their commitment to provide more than 4,000 community college scholarships to support Black and Hispanic students pursuing 2-year and 4-year degrees. Since 2020, the scholarship program has been expanded to 20 U.S. cities, and the Foundation has awarded nearly 1,800 in scholarships.

High school seniors in the US can apply at PepsiStrongerTogether.com until September 20, 2022. The scholarship recipients will be announced at  iHeartRadio’s Fiesta Latina concert in Miami will be later this year.

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Mass Appeal & Live Nation Urban Announces “Hip Hop 50 Live”

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Today, entertainment company Mass Appeal announces its joining forces with Live Nation Urban to produce live event programming in celebration of Hip Hop’s 50th birthday.

Over the next few years, Hip Hop 50 Live will bring fans experiences that touch on all facets of the globally recognized culture. From Park Jams to Festival stages this partnership will create moments that will bring together the voices that turned this genre into a way of life. 

Starting this summer, these events will kick off at parks across the country to take it back to the essence with a multi-sensory experience consisting of; live DJ sessions, interactive experiences, pop-up merch, educational activations and amazing food & drink. These Park Jams will be followed by a dynamic series of events focused around Hip Hop History Month in November.  In addition to these events, Mass Appeal and Live Nation Urban are teaming up to create original content, product collaborations, Web3 launches and more to celebrate #HipHop50. Fans can expect additional announcements in the coming months for the 2022 events calendar and the plans for 2023 and beyond. 

“We are thrilled to partner with the world’s leading live entertainment company to bring fans one-of-a-kind experiences in celebration of Hip Hop’s 50th birthday. We are planning to celebrate all facets of the culture and globe via this dynamic partnership” says Peter Bittenbender, Mass Appeal CEO. 

Brandon Pankey,  Vice President of Business Development and Operations for Live Nation Urban, said “ Live Nation Urban was founded to REDEFINE culture. To celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop with Nas, Peter and the Mass Appeal team is absolutely the type of partnership that our company is excited to form to continue to tell the stories about our culture globally.”

The partnership is the latest announcement surrounding Mass Appeal’s #HipHop50 initiative – a massive cross-platform campaign aimed at celebrating Hip Hop’s momentous anniversary in the most authentic and globally impactful way possible. Mass Appeal kicked off its #HipHop50 premium content partnership with Paramount & Showtime and to date has aired the following documentaries, such as: YOU’RE WATCHING VIDEO MUSIC BOX,  RICKY POWELL: THE INDIVIDUALIST and CYPRESS HILL: INSANE IN THE BRAIN.

To further celebrate Hip Hop’s longevity, Mass Appeal also announced Hip Hop 50 The Soundtrack. Teaming up with some of the industry’s most highly regarded producers including DJ Premier, Swizz Beatz, Mustard, The-Dream, Mike Will Made It, No I.D, Hit-Boy, Take A Daytrip and Tainy, Mass Appeal will drop The Soundtrack in a series of 10 EPs of all newly released music that will bring together these creative minds who are defining the landscape of music and culture in celebration of 50 years of Hip Hop. Fans can stay tuned for the first EP in the Summer of 2022. Last year, Mass Appeal also launched its Spotify Original podcast – The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop – hosted by Grammy Award-winning artist Nas and radio personality Minya “Miss Info” Oh and featuring lively conversations with a plethora of guests ranging from iconic rappers, producers, to today’s popular artists. A portion of all #HipHop50 proceeds will be donated to the various charitable organizations, including, the Universal Hip Hop Museum set to open its doors in 2024. 

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DDG Set To Fight PNB Rock In Celebrity Boxing Match

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More celebrity boxing is coming this summer with the announcement Thursday evening (June 16) of popular recording artist and recurring celebrity boxer DDG (“Moonwalking in Calabasas”) set to return to the ring to face off against chart-topping Atlantic Records recording artist and first-time celebrity boxer PnB Rock (“Selfish”) on July 30 in Los Angeles, California at Crypto.com Arena and Pay-Per-View.

“I said I wasn’t getting back in the ring unless it was another artist,” tweets DDG on Twitter with a promotional flyer featuring PnB Rock and himself. “LETS GET IT!!! Get tickets now.”

MORE: DDG Returns With New Single “Storyteller,” Reveals US and Europe Tour Dates

Brought to you by Social Golves Entertainment and Bash Boxing, the two hip-hop stars will join as co-headliners of the upcoming boxing match between Los Angeles recording artist Blueface and NBA champ-turned-podcaster Nick “Swaggy P” Young. Bout against PnB Rock marks DDG second celebrity boxing match with a decisive win against YouTuber Nate Wyatt in June 2021 at Battle of the Platforms in Miami.

In his fight against PnB Rock, DDG hopes to inspire the end of senseless gun violence in today’s hip-hop that has taken the lives of so many prominent hip-hop stars in recent years. He encourages other artists to join celebrity boxing and settle their differences with their fists, instead of resorting to gun violence.

In a follow-up tweet, DDG tweets with money bag emojis: “This shit more than a boxing match, it’s a movement! Rappers put the GUNS down & put on the Gloves. Ni**as out here killing for free when u can just punch it out for a BAG.”

MORE: PnB Rock Shares ‘2 Get You Thru The Rain’ Ep Feat. Young Thug and More

PnB Rock has yet to comment on the upcoming bout at press time.

DDG is scheduled to perform headlining shows in Chicago, Atlanta and New York City leading up to the fight with more show announcements on the way.

In related news, DDG and popular recording artist Toosii agreed to a boxing match last summer after the two exchanged words over DDG’s ex-girlfriend Rubi Rose. More as the story develops.

Tickets for DDG vs. PnB Rock are available now at AXS.

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Sony Music Set To Release “MJ the Musical – Original Broadway Cast Recording” On July 15

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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.

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Eric Whitehead Turns Passion into Profit with PTG 365

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Turning passion into profit is a keen expertise of luxury car sales entrepreneur Eric Whitehead. The Brooklyn-born, Queens-raised native, discovered his love for car and planes at an early age. His interest in the auto industry was later nurtured by his uncle at the age of 16.

“Growing up in Queens, everyone had cars and I always wanted the best cars even though my family couldn’t afford them,” said Whitehead.

Whitehead exercised his visionary attributes by seeing beyond his environment, despite the general disbelief that one could create generational wealth running a luxury car dealership.

After making his first six figures, while in his teens, he made the decision to double down on his skills. Whitehead began researching the chairmans of his favorite auto companies and how they were able to accumulate wealth.

After years of running his first company, Quality 365, he changed the name to PTG 365 (Price Too Good 365 days a year), with the understanding that most people are enamored with the right price.

He later tapped his two childhood friends to become his business partners and the trio hit the ground running from there.

“Prior to social media marketing, we hired our own street team, went to clubs, made sure our ads were in newspapers and at radio stations,” he says. “We were everywhere.”

After seeing successful in the Tri-State area, they expanded the business to Rhode Island, Florida and the West Coast.

While business was going as planned, Eric Whitehead hit a bump in a road with his two childhood friends in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. With locations in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami, Whitehead made the executive decision to close all three locations.

He also noticed large amounts of money missing from their accounts, so he began to question how the funds were being depleted.

“For a while I was in the denial because they were my childhood friends and although they were stealing, we were winning,” said the NYC native.

Whitehead not only confronted his business partners, but restructured PTG 365 to have success without turmoil. He was able to re-work business relationships that were not working in the past due to the personalities of his two former business partners.

Despite the split from his two business partners, PTG 365 continued to scale. As an NYC native, Whitehead understands the importance of philanthropy.

PTG 365 served as a conduit for single mothers to buy reliable and affordable vehicle by applying rebates to use as down payments. The program was established by Whitehead and his two former business partners.

PTG 365 continues to serve as a go-to luxury car dealership with Eric Whitehead at the helm of the company’s success.

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Kendra Robinson on the Importance of Intention as a Wife and Career Woman

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Kendra Robinson epitomizes intention and balance.

When one is in one’s home-buying journey, seeing Kendra Robinson signifies a completion of the process. Robinson is a seasoned real estate and criminal defense attorney, who’s resume speaks for itself.

“I grew attached to real estate because houses and titles just seemed to nicer than people in some cases.”

She speaks to the challenges she’s faced, while attaining success within her respective industry.

“Sometimes they throw around the ‘angry Black woman’ stereotype or call me difficult when I fervently advocate for my client,” says Robinson. “I’m not angry at all. What I’m trying to show them is what the law says and how my case fits into that.”

Kendra Robinson is boundless and vows to not allow anyone to marginalize her work.

“I won’t be boxed in, I’m a lawyer, but I like trap music,” she says.

As an attorney who operates under her two black-owned firms; Sanders, Robinson & Scott (SRS) and Kendra Robinson & Associates, Kendra Robinson’s is adamant about educating and pouring into her community in order to for them to afford similar opportunities.

As a newly-wed, Robinson speaks to the importance of time and intention.

Yung Joc and Kendra tied the knot back in November 2021. Celebrity guests included their Love & Hip-Hop co-stars, Erica Mena, Safaree, Momma Dee, Sierra Gates, and Spice, as well as Kirk and Rasheeda Frost and Yandy and Mendeecees.

As a wife, double-practicing attorney, and reality TV personality Kendra Robinson is meticulous about how she spends her time.

“I’ve purposely got Jasiel (Yung Joc) onto a particular schedule so we can do what we have to do in our careers, but still have our time” she says.

“I thought law school gave me the ability to adapt and perform, but reality TV has taught me to not only have self-control, but to digest my emotions.”

According to Kendra, viewers can look forward to the authenticity of the newly-wedded Robinsons on the forthcoming season of Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta.

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AfroBeat Artist Omah Lay’s Private Listening Session “Boy Alone”

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Warner Records held a listening session for Nigerian Singer Omah Lay’s upcoming album Boy Alone inside Invite Only studios. SiriusXM host Gray Rizzy interviewed Omah onsite and during the Q&A he spoke about his musical journey, accomplishments, and collaborations with artists such as WizKid and Justin Bieber. In a surprise move, Omah teased the audience with a snippet of his next single, slated to release on June 24th. 

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Many familiar faces were among the crowd, including DaUnion DJs DJ Pinnacle & DJ Will, DJ MadOut, and Bryana Shaw. The special listening event was sponsored by beloved cognac brand Hennessy and catered by Caribbean American food favorite, Will & Daughters restaurant. The scene was casually cool with a great display of dunks located by the bar and guests playing the basketball hoop arcade. Omah was spotted mingling with the crowd, vibing and socializing as a way to connect before hitting the road for his upcoming tour.

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Lil Xan Cancels Headlining Tour At Last Minute, Opening Act Irate

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It was all good just a week ago.

While it looked like popular recording artist Lil Xan‘s career was on the rise with the announcement of a new headlining tour early last month. It appears the “Betrayal” rapper has called off the tour at the last minute, leaving the openers enraged for the late notification and airing out this displacement on social media.

MORE: Lil Xan Releases a Health Update and Announces New Tour Dates

Dropout Kings’ Adam Ramey, the opening act on Lil Xan’s upcoming tour, wrote on Instagram the following statement about Lil Xan’s immediate departure from his headlining tour with Born Dead clothing:

“Due to @xanxiety dropping off the Born Dead Tour, tonight’s show in Tampa, FL at Brass Mug is canceled. We were told tomorrow’s show in Jacksonville is canceled, as well. We are trying to save any show we can and perform for you all! Straight up fuck Lil Xan 100% I don’t even care. Dude is a total piece of shit for doing this to all the artists and staff involved in this. Decided to do this to everyone after everyone already left for tour, then doesn’t even show up to his set for so what fest. We’re still reaching out to every promoter on the remaining shows. Fuck it we’ll make it a headliner. The show must go on. Please bear with us during this. We’ll make it worth it.”

Following Dropout Kings hurling a series of disses Lil Xan’s way on social media, Xan released an Instagram post on Tuesday afternoon that shed some light on his last-minute departure from the tour that included him insulting his former opening act. “I dropped off the tour because your management and booking agents were taking advantage of me. Your team dropped the ball. Your team did not have any accommodations or travel or anything a tour should. U just wanted to promote ur homies under my name and we tried to work it out but your team is obviously new at this. If you guys were smart you wouldn’t do burn bridges like that and act like you guys had the tour even planned right but have fun on your fuck lil xan tour.”

“S/o @dropoutkingsaz have a great “fuck lil xan tour,” Xan captioned. “I know you guys are new to this and I’m pretty sure you should talk with your booking agent Ashley on how bad she fucked the tour up for me and my team! But have fun on the tour fellaz my next tour is for my fans only not yours 🤍 wanna give them better openers and more Xanarchy  @dropoutkingsaz. On top of that, I just got out of rehab 2/3 months ago and wanna stay focused on my sobriety and a tour might damage that! but no yall team didn’t care as long as they made their money.”

MORE: Rarri Drops Major Track In Collab With Lil Xan Entitled “OMG It’s Rarri”

He continued with a follow-up Instagram post: “Dam man I can never get a break it’s always an L for xan when I say this had nothing to do with bad ticket sales, I was even surprised how good they were selling for only having one album out ever but everyone doesn’t know how fucked of a deal it was for me? They were tryna use my name to increase their agency’s artist career, I’ve been taken advantage of before and learned from my mistakes like if this was my tour or had more control of it wouldn’t you think I’d have my brother @stevencamnon on it like every other tour I’ve done? Cmon man.”

In the midst of the tour cancellation, Lil Xan has announced new music on the way with the reveal of his “final” EP under the rap moniker coming soon. Breaking the news to fans on Tuesday, Xan shared that they can discover more information about the upcoming music on his Discord group. “The time has officially arrived,” tweets Xan. “The announcement of my final EP as “LiL Xan”… join the discord link in my bio for all the information on how it will be released, how you can get it and also how you can get my 1st project as “Diego” See you there!”

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Several Injured After Shooting Scare Sparks Stampede At Barclays Center

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A startling noise inside the Barclays Center sent people scrambling to escape what they feared was an active shooter early Sunday morning.

The chaos erupted around 1 a.m. after the boxing match between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Rolando “Rolly” Romero. Videos posted on social media show terrified people scrambling and looking for cover.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka was at the Barclays, and tweeted that she was “petrified” as people yelled that there was an active shooter.

Rolando Romero went down in round 6 with a power knockout from Gervonta Davis’ left hand.

At least 15 people suffered minor injuries in the panic. Police determined that no shots were fired inside or outside the venue.

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Lupe Fiasco Lands Professor Position at Boston’s MIT Instructing Rap

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GRAMMY-award-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco will soon have a new title to add: Professor. He recently announced on Twitter that he is set to become a visiting professor at Boston’s acclaimed MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall.

Fiasco said he’s been holding on to the news for a while and will provide more details later. A tweet from him said, “I’ll just say it straight and raw: I’m going to teach Rap at MIT.”

According to MIT’s website, the opportunity came through MIT’s MLK Visiting Professor Program, which was created to increase minority scholar participation.

READ MORE: Lupe Fiasco Announces New Album ‘DRILL MUSIC IN ZION’ for June 24

Rapper and community advocate, Lupe Fiasco joins two new teachers participating in the 2022-2023 program including theater teacher Eunice Ferreira and documentary filmmaker Louis Massiah.

Visiting professors will be responsible for engaging with students while advancing the school’s research and academic programs.

It’s not the first time the “Daydreamin’” rapper has been involved with the university as he spent the 2020-21 school year there as a Visiting Artist.

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