Hip Hop News

After an unfortunate series of events, Maria Taylor and ESPN mutually cut ties.

Back in July, the New York Post reported Maria and the network were not seeing eye-to-eye while negotiating a raise for her salary. The network reportedly offered her a $4 million dollar raise and Maria declined, seeking to match the salaries of the highest-paid analysts who rack in about $8 million annually. 

On top of that, a few weeks ago the New York Times revealed a leaked audio clip of fellow analyst Rachel Nichols rudely suggesting she was not given the NBA Finals job because ESPN “was feeling pressure” about the network’s “crappy longtime record on diversity.” Maria Taylor didn’t stoop to her level in response and instead shared an empowering message on her Instagram. 

The joint statement released on Wednesday announced that the two parties ultimately could not come to agree on the terms of Maria’s contract extension, and thus would be going separate ways. 

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro released a statement saying, “There is no doubt we will miss Maria, but we remain determined to continue to build a deep and skilled talent roster that thoroughly reflects the athletes we cover and the fans we serve. While she chose to pursue a new opportunity, we are proud of the work we’ve done together.”

Maria is rumored to already have a move to NBC in the works.

Check out some reactions to the news as soon as it began to trend below.

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EST Gee may be a newcomer to the game, but under the watchful eye of Yo Gotti, he’s well on the way to becoming a household name.

Today, the rapper came through with his brand new album Bigger Than Life Or Death, featuring guest appearances from Lil Baby, 42 Dugg, Future, Young Thug, Rylo Rodriguez, Pooh Shiesty, and Yo Gotti. He wasted little time in hitting the promo circuit, and this morning, Gee and Gotti hit up The Breakfast Club for a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, and DJ Envy.

Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images

Throughout the interview, Gee covers a variety of different topics, including his harrowing experience being shot. At around the eight-minute and fifty-second mark, he reveals that he was actually on the phone with DJ Drama’s people (Gee explains that he was considering signing with Drama before Yo Gotti) moments before he was hit. “I wasn’t focused,” he reflects. “I was on the phone with them when I got shot.”

Charlamagne asks if he was hit five times. “Yeah,” says Gee. “Shot five times. I got shot once in my eye, four times in my stomach. I’m straight though. I’m [blind] a little bit. I can’t really see out my left side, but I’m straight.” It should be noted that Gee’s stomach scar can be seen quite clearly on the album cover of Bigger Than Life Or Death. 

Envy proceeds to ask Gotti about how he discovered his new signee. “I [got sent his] music, it was during the pandemic,” recalls Gotti. “Everyone was in the house. We from the same life, so I knew what it is immediately. Just certain shit you say, you can’t really say that unless you’ve been close to it or really lived it.” He reveals that rather than sending Gee’s music to his A&R’s, he hand-picked a few people from his inner circle to check it out. “Because of the message and what he was talking about, it didn’t send it to our typical A&R’s,” says Gotti. “I sent it to my street homies.”

For more from Yo Gotti and EST Gee, check out their entire Breakfast Club interview right here. 

EST Gee may be a newcomer to the game, but under the watchful eye of Yo Gotti, he’s well on the way to becoming a household name.

Today, the rapper came through with his brand new album Bigger Than Life Or Death, featuring guest appearances from Lil Baby, 42 Dugg, Future, Young Thug, Rylo Rodriguez, Pooh Shiesty, and Yo Gotti. He wasted little time in hitting the promo circuit, and this morning, Gee and Gotti hit up The Breakfast Club for a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, and DJ Envy.

Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images

Throughout the interview, Gee covers a variety of different topics, including his harrowing experience being shot. At around the eight-minute and fifty-second mark, he reveals that he was actually on the phone with DJ Drama’s people (Gee explains that he was considering signing with Drama before Yo Gotti) moments before he was hit. “I wasn’t focused,” he reflects. “I was on the phone with them when I got shot.”

Charlamagne asks if he was hit five times. “Yeah,” says Gee. “Shot five times. I got shot once in my eye, four times in my stomach. I’m straight though. I’m [blind] a little bit. I can’t really see out my left side, but I’m straight.” It should be noted that Gee’s stomach scar can be seen quite clearly on the album cover of Bigger Than Life Or Death. 

Envy proceeds to ask Gotti about how he discovered his new signee. “I [got sent his] music, it was during the pandemic,” recalls Gotti. “Everyone was in the house. We from the same life, so I knew what it is immediately. Just certain shit you say, you can’t really say that unless you’ve been close to it or really lived it.” He reveals that rather than sending Gee’s music to his A&R’s, he hand-picked a few people from his inner circle to check it out. “Because of the message and what he was talking about, it didn’t send it to our typical A&R’s,” says Gotti. “I sent it to my street homies.”

For more from Yo Gotti and EST Gee, check out their entire Breakfast Club interview right here. 

Roc Nation executive Lenny S. captured a snap of HOV rocking his wife’s new line while on vacation, or perhaps just another day, out in the Hamptons. In the photo, appropriately captioned “East Hampton HOV. Sheeeeesh,” Jay-Z strikes a serious pose in the eye-catching fire-orange Adidas set.

Mr. Carter loosely wore a bright orange camp collar shirt and a matching pair of shorts accented with the signature Adidas stripes. Clean shades and a white bucket hat embroidered with “East Hampton, NY” topped off the look– perhaps “East Hampton” will reign as the new “Calabasas” now that Kanye has shunned his former ‘burbs?

Whatever the case, this post comes just in time for the drop of Beyonce’s new IVY PARK swimwear capsule line “FLEX PARK” set to drop on Thursday, July 22 online and in-store.

Chloe Bailey wowed when she showed off some of the womenswear pieces from the line earlier this month on her Instagram. The Beyonce-co-signed singer showed off her curves in one-piece and two-piece swimsuits from the collection in the same bold hue.

The new collection features bucket hats, slides, tees, water bottles, towels, and coverups, in addition to the clothes modeled by Beyonce’s closest crew. The collection is affordable with the apparel and footwear priced between $45 to $75, and accessories ranging from $40 to $120 according to WWD.

Beyonce drove by the early release Soho pop-up location on Tuesday, sharing a quick pic on the official brand Instagram. The pop-up only drove up more hype around the drop, which is expected to sell out upon release tomorrow morning.

[via]

Roc Nation executive Lenny S. captured a snap of HOV rocking his wife’s new line while on vacation, or perhaps just another day, out in the Hamptons. In the photo, appropriately captioned “East Hampton HOV. Sheeeeesh,” Jay-Z strikes a serious pose in the eye-catching fire-orange Adidas set.

Mr. Carter loosely wore a bright orange camp collar shirt and a matching pair of shorts accented with the signature Adidas stripes. Clean shades and a white bucket hat embroidered with “East Hampton, NY” topped off the look– perhaps “East Hampton” will reign as the new “Calabasas” now that Kanye has shunned his former ‘burbs?

Whatever the case, this post comes just in time for the drop of Beyonce’s new IVY PARK swimwear capsule line “FLEX PARK” set to drop on Thursday, July 22 online and in-store.

Chloe Bailey wowed when she showed off some of the womenswear pieces from the line earlier this month on her Instagram. The Beyonce-co-signed singer showed off her curves in one-piece and two-piece swimsuits from the collection in the same bold hue.

The new collection features bucket hats, slides, tees, water bottles, towels, and coverups, in addition to the clothes modeled by Beyonce’s closest crew. The collection is affordable with the apparel and footwear priced between $45 to $75, and accessories ranging from $40 to $120 according to WWD.

Beyonce drove by the early release Soho pop-up location on Tuesday, sharing a quick pic on the official brand Instagram. The pop-up only drove up more hype around the drop, which is expected to sell out upon release tomorrow morning.

[via]

Joe Pytka, director of the iconic 1996 film, was less than impressed with the 2021 rendition starring LeBron James. According to TMZ, it took Pytka “5 separate sessions to complete its 2-hour runtime.”

Like many of us, Pytka was hoping Space Jam: A New Legacy would come close to the film that was a landmark in so many of our childhoods. Aligned with the general consensus from those who have seen the film, Pytka had some harsh criticism for the new direction. 

The director felt some of the weight of the difference fell in the fact that “when Space Jam was made in 1996, MJ wasn’t just the best basketball player … he was the biggest celebrity in the world.” He did praise LeBron as an amazing athlete and actor but stated, “the truth is that LeBron ain’t Michael.”

Pytka also intentionally connected the plot of the film to Michael Jordan’s real life at the time, and felt Space Jam: A New Legacy was missing that vital connection. Additional flaws included the supporting cast; in Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard. The director believed that MJ’s legendary cast of Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley, and Bill Murray was far better. 

Despite his opinion, Pytka objectively acknowledged that the original Space Jam faced criticism just as brutal, and still went on to become a classic. Only time will tell.

Check out our rundown of the film here.

[via]

Joe Pytka, director of the iconic 1996 film, was less than impressed with the 2021 rendition starring LeBron James. According to TMZ, it took Pytka “5 separate sessions to complete its 2-hour runtime.”

Like many of us, Pytka was hoping Space Jam: A New Legacy would come close to the film that was a landmark in so many of our childhoods. Aligned with the general consensus from those who have seen the film, Pytka had some harsh criticism for the new direction. 

The director felt some of the weight of the difference fell in the fact that “when Space Jam was made in 1996, MJ wasn’t just the best basketball player … he was the biggest celebrity in the world.” He did praise LeBron as an amazing athlete and actor but stated, “the truth is that LeBron ain’t Michael.”

Pytka also intentionally connected the plot of the film to Michael Jordan’s real life at the time, and felt Space Jam: A New Legacy was missing that vital connection. Additional flaws included the supporting cast; in Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard. The director believed that MJ’s legendary cast of Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley, and Bill Murray was far better. 

Despite his opinion, Pytka objectively acknowledged that the original Space Jam faced criticism just as brutal, and still went on to become a classic. Only time will tell.

Check out our rundown of the film here.

[via]