R&B Only is set to put on their very own festival. R&B Only will be headlined by Erykah Badu, Miguel, and Wale who will perform all of his R&B collaborations.
Additional performers include Ann Marie, DVSN, Lloyd, DEnde, Lucky Daye, Maeta, Muni Long, Ty Dolla $ign, and Will Wildfire.
R&B ONLY FEST is a music event that expands on our world-famous R&B ONLY LIVE program, which combines outstanding DJ sets with performances by contemporary and legacy artists.
Shenseea’s debut album, ALPHA, has been released. The album showcases the Jamaican artist’s compositional prowess and ear for ravenous melodies and hooks on a genre-spanning record grounded in dancehall, hip hop, and pop. Rvssian, Scott Storch, and London On Da Track all contributed to the project’s production.
Shenseea kicks off the album with the sensuous “Target,” followed by tracks like “Deserve It,” “Shen Ex Anthem,” and dancehall anthems in “Henkel Glue with veteran Beenie Man,” as well as heartfelt anthems like “Body Count” and “Sun Comes Up,” which highlight Shenseea’s vocal abilities. The album features Megan Thee Stallion, Offset, 21 Savage, Sean Paul, and Tyga.
Two of the most common reasons behind athletes going broke after their professional career: bad investments and money management. On last month’s “I Am Athlete” podcast, guest and retired NFL linebacker D.J. Williams revealed his former financial advisor invested $1.2 million dollars in various bad investments early in his career that included an investment of $300,000 dollars into the music career of former Bad Boy Records artist, Sara Stokes.
“Remember when Puffy Daddy had ‘Making The Band’? Ya’ll remember Sara Stokes? The one … the light-skin girl, ” Williams begins to explain the investment at the podcast’s 22:06 minute mark of season 3 episode 21. “Puffy Daddy had ‘Making The Band,’ there was a young lady on there named Sara Stokes. She was a singer. She was like young, like I don’t want to throw her age out there but she had like three four five kids. All I knew was I invested $300,000 dollars into her music career.”
Williams would claim the investment was in result of leaving his finances to a power of attorney given to his financial advisor while he focused on playing professional football.
“What I’m saying was because of the amount of time and energy that I put into football,” he continued. “I’m going into these meetings and I’m sitting across from this man and I’m taking his word. And I’m just … Okay, yeah, that sounds good, that sounds good. What I’m saying is is if you already a million, relax, chill. Stop trying to rush to become a billionaire.”
Drafted in 2014 – 17th overall by the Denver Broncos – D.J. Williams received a $2.4 million dollar signing bonus his rookie year after signing a five-year deal valued at $9 million dollars – according to Spotrac.com. The linebacker would play ten seasons with the Broncos, earning over $35 million dollars. Williams played 12 seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2014 with the Chicago Bears.
It was never revealed throughout the interview if Williams was ever reimbursed for his investment. Stokes was signed to Bad Boy Records from 2002 to 2005.
Sara Stokes, 44, is a Detroit, Michigan recording artist, actress, journalist, best known as the singer in the former Bad Boy Record’s group Da Band. Formed in 2002, Da Band released their gold-selling debut album, Too Hot For TV, in 2003, which spawned hit songs “Bad Boy This, Bad Boy That” and “Tonight.” The six-member group had their journey documented on reality television for three seasons aired on MTV 2.
After Da Band, Stokes, mother of three, released multiple solo singles, independently, throughout the years, like 2015’s “Sneak Peek” featuring Babs Bunny and 2016’s “Fragile Heart.” Outside music, Stokes embarked in an acting career, known for roles in recent films, The Many (2019), The Enemy (2019) and Facade: Chapter 4.
News of the investment comes during a slew of other trending stories going viral right now surrounding Sean “Love” Combs with old clips from the popular 2000s MTV rap competition series Making the Band, which Combs executive produced, and several former music mogul’s artists releasing public criticism about the harsh treatment they endured their time on the reality show and under Diddy’s Bad Boy Records.
Freddy P, who was Diddy’s first choice when putting together former group Da Band, took to Instagram last week to criticize his former mentor and revealed him responsible for the Florida native’s multiple suicide attempts, all stemming from recounts of his time under Diddy’s tutelage.
“This year alone I’ve contemplated suicide three or four times,” he says in the video. “I done pictured my brother walking in and finding me dead. I cried a few times thinking about leaving my son because I just get tired of life. But no matter what you gotta do you just gotta keep at it … there’s n-ggas that wanna see you fall.”
He added: “Like this n-gga Puffy is the main muthafuckin’ reason why I hate fucking life, dawg. People don’t even understand. Like, I don’t even give a fuck. I’ve never been to a point where I thought of suicide my whole life, never. I mean, I’m a gangsta. I don’t even know how I started thinking like that. I done had it all and I fell to the bottom. How do you come back from that when you battling a giant? It ain’t got nothing to do with your skill no more ’cause your skill is 90 percent better than any n-gga that’s out there right now and the world knows it. But it ain’t your skills … the world is built on relationships.”
Freedy’s rant sparked reactions from fellow Da Band member Babs Bunny, who simply responded in an interview that the group just signed a “shitty contracts,” and Willie Taylor, formerly of the Making of the Band-created R&B group Day 26, who chimed in with the belief that the show and group was set up to “fail.”
The 52-year-old billionaire with ownership in Ciroc and his own television network, Revolt, addressed the claims of his former proteges last Monday via social media. On an Instagram Story, he writes, “STOP ALL YOUR CRYING, BITCHING & MOANING. HUSTLE HARDER OR GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY. – LOVE.”
All parties involved have not issued a statement on Williams’s revelation at press time.
Watch the latest episode of the I Am Athlete podcast below.
In 2013, E-40 used his hip-hop contacts to transition into the wine and spirits industry, launching “Earl Stevens Selections,” a line of still and sparkling wines manufactured in Napa, California. In 2013, he released the Function Red Blend, which he called after his hit track “Function,” followed by the Sweet Red, Chardonnay, Mangoscato, Moscato, and Tropiscato in the years that followed.
Beyond wine, E-40 has created a versatile and robust liquor portfolio that includes other types of spirits, including:
E. Cuarenta Tequila – A line of 100 percent, blue agave tequilas produced in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico. There are currently three offerings in market – Blanco, Reposado and Anejo.
Tycoon Cognac – A luxury line of cognac produced in Cognac, France with blends hand-selected by Stevens. The lineup currently includes a VS and a VSOP.
Kuiper Belt Bourbon – An ultra-premium bourbon whiskey aged for eight years in New American Oak
Sluricane – An ultra-premium line of ready-to-drink, spirit-based cocktails inspired by Earl’s past experiences in music and attending college in Louisiana.
E. Cuarenta Cerveza – A Mexican-style, Golden Lager that was named after the rapper’s moniker in Spanish
Boosie is widely known for his bold and largely unpopular takes on situations, so anything he says should not come as a surprise. Boosie recently sat down for another interview with VladTV where he revealed that he doesn’t care if his white fans say the N-word when singing one of his songs.
Vlad asked Boosie if he is okay with white people saying the N-word during his concerts and Boosie said he doesn’t care, essentially because they’re not saying it out of hate. “How do I feel about it? I feel like they’re a fan,” Boosie said. “They’re not coming saying ‘n*gger!’ You know? I feel like they’re a fan, they’re singing their music. It’s a different type of hate in a conversation. That’s different from a fan.”
Vlad then offered a scenario, asking Boosie if it was still okay if a white fan came backstage after a show and started rapping one of Boosies songs to him, and said the word while rapping the song. Boosie still said it would be okay.
“I got white fans bro. N*gga, I got the trailer parks, n*gga. Yeah, they got ’em everywhere across the world,” said the rapper. “Every white boy is different. You can’t specifically mix no kind of white race cause they got white boys who hard as steel, bro. I been around them, in the penitentiary. I been around them. N*gga, they gone beat you up. You gon beat them up for five minutes, ten minutes straight, but in the end, they don’t stop and they got a lot of respect.”
According to several confirmed reports, disgraced actor Jussie Smollett was placed in the psych ward in the Cook County Jail after receiving his 150-day jail sentence, but his brother says that despite his classification, Jussie is not having any mental health issues while incarcerated.
Jocqui Smollett, the brother of Empire actor Jussie Smollett took to IG over the weekend, saying, “So Jussie is currently in a psych ward at the Cook County Jail. What’s very concerning is that there was a note attached to his paperwork today saying that he’s at risk of self-harm.”
Jocqui continued, “I want to make it clear that he is in no way, shape, or form at risk of self-harm. He wants to let folks know that he is very stable, he is very strong, he is very healthy and ready to take on the challenge that… has been put up against him.”
Sources in law enforcement say that Smollett was placed in the psych ward because it is another housing unit used for high profile inmates.
Smollett was sentenced to five months behind bars for faking a racial and homophobic attack in Chicago back in January 2019.
Over the last few years, hip hop has seen the emergence of a wave of LGBTQ+ artists, probably at the forefront of the wave being Lil Nas X. Now, LGBTQ+ artists like Saucy Santana are making a name for themselves in the industry as well.
Rick Ross was recently interviewed by FOX Soul’s, Quentin Latham. Ross was asked about his take on gay rappers like Saucy Santana coming into the game and if he thinks hip hop will ever fully embrace the LGBTQ+ community.
Ross admitted he was not familiar with Santana’s name but offered some words of encouragement and support.
“I’m not familiar with the name Santana but live your life, chase your dreams, and go hard man. Go hard,” Ross said. When answering Quentin’s second question, Ross responded by saying that he already thinks that hip hop embraces the LGBTQ+ community. “I believe hip hop has already embraced it. Without a doubt.”
You can watch Ross’s comments here. What are your thoughts?
If you follow Kanye West’s Instagram, you might have woken up Sunday morning to a string of posts about Ye’s recent divorce and not wanting his daughter North on TikTok. During his tirade on Instagram, Ye took aim at D.L. Hughley over comments he made during a recent interview on VladTV.
In one post, Kanye calls D.L. Hughley a “pawn” and tells the King of Comedy to not speak on him or his children before telling him “I can afford to hurt you.”
“And DL Hughley is a pawn Yeah I know a king not supposed to address a pawn but I address everything and fine addresses DL So don’t speak onme or my children I can afford to hurt you,” Ye wrote.
In a separate post, Ye shared a video of D.L. collapsing during a performance in 2020. In the caption, he called Hughley a leftist pawn, a “practicing drug addict” and said that neither God nor D.L.’s own family liked him.
“We gone stop letting practicing drug addicts be used by leftist to Willie Lynch our Future Black people with our own opinion are not allowed to talk in public I am the glitch DL God does not like you You have no favor Your family hates you I would hate to be related to somebody who used to be famous Now you just known as a broke pawn at least Oprah got billions “allegedly”” Kanye said.
Shortly after Kanye’s threats, D.L. took to Twitter to fire back at Ye.
“Hmmm! Ain’t it weird that #Kanye supposedly has all these goons who will kill for him, but not one of them will get his prescriptions filled?” Hughley tweeted. “Here’s a thought while you’re on your way to kill me in Calabasas, how about somebody drop by CVS and pick up his Xanax! Lol #TeamDl.”
Hmmm! Ain’t it weird that #Kanye supposedly has all these goons who will kill for him, but not one of them will get his prescriptions filled? Here’s a thought while you’re on your way to kill me in Calabasas, how about somebody drop by CVS and pick up his Xanax! Lol #TeamDl
Hughley then took aim at Ye’s fashion choices and how Pete Davidson is sleeping with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
“Aint no way in hell I’d ever be scared of a dude who wears #IKnowWhatDidLastSummerBoots!!!,” Hugley tweeted. “It’s just too bad that you acting like a nut won’t stop #Pete from busting one!!” he continued.
The two’s online beef comes after Hughley sat down with Vlad where he scolded Kanye for the handling of his recent divorce and said that he is “stalking” Kim Kardashian.
This is the video that set Kanye West off on comedian DL Hughley.. I agree with himpic.twitter.com/gQktlMOnAn
— The Gworls Are Fighting (@Barbiedolltvv) March 13, 2022
A video has gone viral that shows Love And Hip Hop star Stevie J receiving fellatio during a FaceTime interview while the journalist conducting the sit down tries to ignore what is actually happening.
Leah Henry was interviewing the former Bad Boy producer for her show “Leah’s Lemonade” when not long into the interview, a female’s hand comes into the frame, revealing that the philandering producer was not alone nor was he fully attentive to Ms. Henry. Leah eventually asks Stevie about his unidentified company, but he never reveals what’s actually going on during the interview.
Henry has had to defend herself against fans and critics alike who have criticized her for not promptly ending the interview when she realized what was going on and some even questioned her professionalism for continuing to interview Stevie while he was receiving oral sex.
All these journalism majors (sarcasm) telling me how to conduct interviews…I went to one of the top journalism schools in the country. I know how to conduct a professional interview. I’ll address this #stevieJ interview on my podcast because some y’all make me sick
Last month, things began to take a futuristic turn for Death ROw Records, with former label signee Snoop Dogg taking ownership of the label and soon after said that the “world’s most dangerous recordlabel” would be made into an NFT. To further solidify that, the Dogg has now removed all of Death Row’s previous recordings from all streaming platforms.
Even though the report stems from a Wikipedia page, upon close examination of Death Row recordings on all DSPs including those from Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, all of access to these songs and albums on public streaming platforms have been removed. Death Row labeled classic albums like Doggystyle, Dogg Food, the Above The Rim soundtrack, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and more are no longer available.
Snoop discussed the idea of bringing the Death Row label into the metaverse in a Clubhouse conversation, saying, “Death Row will be an NFT label,” he said.“We will be putting out artists through the metaverse. Just like we broke the industry when we was the first independent to be major, I want to be the first major in the metaverse.”
Even though Snoop hasn’t publicly addressed the disappearance of the Death Row projects, but fans have certainly expressed their displeasure in the absence of some of Hip Hop’s most revered classics.
One Clubhouse participant said, “So, thanks to Snoop Dogg promoting NFT shit and making Death Row Records an NFT record label, all the releases except 2Pac’s, will be removed from Spotify and so on. This is actually bullshit, that means no more Dre’s Chronic on Spotify. NFTs need to die, fucking stupid movement.”
First thing Snoop Dogg does as owner of Death Row Records is drop an amazing album. Second thing he does is take all past Death Row albums off of streaming services. Bad business move. NFTs suck. pic.twitter.com/S5HD9x0xHy
(@BlakeHolmer1)