Hip Hop News

It seems like NLE Choppa’s legal troubles have only continued to pile up. Back in March, the 18-year-old Memphis-based rapper NLE Choppa was reportedly arrested in Broward County, Florida, and charged with burglary, possession of Xanax and marijuana, and possession of a concealed firearm. 

While he was released shortly after posting bond, he’s facing another round of legal problems. According to Music Business Worldwide, Choppa is being sued by an Outkast-affiliated rapper named Kilo Ali for copyright infringement in a suit filed in California Central District Court last week (June 24) over the song “Make Em Say.”

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Ali, who is a Southern-based rapper that released a string of considerably successful projects throughout the 90s, has worked with members of the Dungeon Family Crew like Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo Green and Outkast’s Big Boi. In the suit, he accused the 18-year-old rapper of stealing the chorus from his 1997 track “Love in Ya Mouth” to use for his Top Shotta cut “Make Em Say.”

Kilo Ali claims to be a “critically-acclaimed rapper” and accuses Choppa of borrowing his “flow and pitch,” calling it “substantially similar” to that of his own track. Ali feels his song was illegally sampled and is seeking damages in all forms of profit from Choppa’s track. 

“Further, the lyrics of the chorus and post-chorus of the Infringing Work resemble the lyrics of the chorus of the Original Work in word, sound, and meaning, which invoke the heart of the Original Work,” the legal filing reads.

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Mexico is among the many countries that are ready to move forward with cannabis legalization. Unfortunately, they’ve been facing setbacks in passing bills that would decriminalize marijuana for recreational use. The good news is that a top court in Mexico has officially ruled that prohibiting recreational use or the cultivation of cannabis in one’s home is unconstitutional.

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According to BBC, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled 8-3 in favor of reversing the anti-marijuana laws that were put in place. The new decision means that people 18 and over will be able to apply for a permit to consume and cultivate cannabis. Residents with the permit are limited to holding up to 28 grams and growing eight plants. However, smoking publicly or in front of children is still prohibited.

“Today is a historic day for liberties,” said Supreme Court president Arturo Zaldívar.

Despite this, some don’t agree that this entirely addresses the issues at hand. Non-government association Mexico Against United Crime said that ruling “does not decriminalize the activities necessary to carry out consumption.”

Mexico’s lower house approved of a bill that would legalize cannabis use, though the Senate has yet to give make a ruling. Mexico’s Supreme Court ruling doesn’t address that it’s currently illegal to carry more than five grams. 

In addition to creating a massive legal market for cannabis, many believe that this could help address violence among drug cartels. 

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There’s a photo presently going viral across social media, showing the moment that Jack Harlow and Saweetie laid eyes on one another at the BET Awards this weekend. The two rappers previously worked together on the “Tap In” remix and on Sunday night, they showed the world that they’ve got some in-person chemistry together. 

The picture that everyone is talking about shows the two seemingly flirting with each other with their eyes on the red carpet, but we hadn’t seen the moment that birthed the photo until now. The Shade Room has officially shared their video interview with Saweetie, which Jack interrupted to shoot his shot.

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Saweetie was just getting started on a quick interview with The Shade Room when Jack Harlow interrupted her first question. “Hi, Saweetie,” he said, catching the rapper off-guard. She responded hesitantly before he introduced himself. “I know [who you are],” she said. Then, a part of their conversation wasn’t picked up by the microphones, but Jack appears to apologize for interrupting the interview before giving her a compliment.

“You don’t like getting caught off guard?” asked Jack as he flirtatiously held Saweetie’s hand. “Why you shaking?” she asked him. 

Saweetie seemingly already knew that the internet (and specifically The Shade Room) would run off and make a story out of their encounter, which is exactly what’s happening. “Y’all better not be messy with this shit,” she urged.

Do you think Saweetie and Jack Harlow might have a thing brewing?

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Former Disney star Kyle Massey, best known for his role as Cory Baxter on That’s So Raven and Cory in the House, is reportedly facing felony charges for sending pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl, according to a new report from TMZ.

The outlet reports that they’ve obtained legal docs confirming that Massey’s being charged with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. The illicit messages were sent during the months of December 2018 and January 2019. The victim’s mother says her daughter has known Massey since she was 4 years old. 

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The new charges are related to a civil suit that was leveled against Massey in 2019. 

At the time, Massey categorically denied the accusations, urging the public “not to jump to conclusions based on the allegations alone but reserve judgment until the whole story comes to light, proving these allegations baseless.”

Police began investigating the incident at the beginning of 2020. They claim that the victim’s mother provided a flash drive containing the explicit messages which were sent to her daughter by Massey over Snapchat. 

Massey was scheduled to appear at King County Criminal Court in Washington, Monday; however, the former Disney actor was a no-show.

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Back in June of 2018, NeNe Leakes revealed on social media that her husband was currently battling stage 3 cancer. She added that the couple’s “new normal” was in a doctor’s office, later recalling on Real Housewives the terrifying moments that lead up to her hubby’s diagnosis. 

In May of 2019, both NeNe and Gregg took to Instagram to celebrate Gregg’s remission. “Look at God! We are over joyed to say, we saw the doctors for the results of Gregg’s Pet Scan he took last week! Test show, wait for It…..WE ARE CANCER FREE!!! Yes God!” wrote Nene over a photo of Gregg. Unfortunately for the couple, the reality TV show star recently revealed for the first time her husband is battling cancer again. 

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The former The Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member shared the “difficult” news of Gregg Leakes’ updated health condition during an Instagram Live with The Jasmine Brand, adding that he recently underwent surgery. 

“He’s in the hospital. He’s been in the hospital, tomorrow it’ll be a week,” 53-year-old NeNe shared when asked about her husband’s health. “I’m sure he’ll be home in about a week or so. He had to have a surgery, [because] his cancer did return.”

As mentioned prior, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer back in 2018 but was able to go into remission after treatment. “He’s had this surgery before and he was in the hospital for about 15 days,” explained NeNe, adding that she expected him to remain in the hospital for the same amount of time as the first cancer scare.

She furthered that the disease has made him “super small,” hitting him harder than before. “If you’ve ever been around somebody who’s had cancer before, he’s different,” she shared. “He’s different.”

“I’d love for everybody to pray for Gregg, that would be beautiful. Pray for his strength,” NeNe said, adding, “And pray for me too.” Our prayers go out to NeNe and Gregg during this difficult time.  

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It feels like there isn’t a definitive song of the summer right now. While it may take a few extra weeks (and potentially a Drake album) to determine which song will rule the airwaves this summer, we’re officially in the thick of the warmer months and global streaming giant Spotify is sharing its predictions for the 2021 song of the summer.

Spanning across all music genres, Spotify’s editorial team came through with their predictions for which songs will be running our summers with replay-worthy attention by the pool. Some selections, like Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” and Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” with SZA are obvious frontrunners, but others, including Tyler, The Creator, Megan Thee Stallion, and more are also in the running.

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The list of potential songs of the summer includes “WUSYANAME” from Tyler, The Creator’s new album, Silk Sonic’s beautiful single “Leave The Door Open,” Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” with DaBaby, Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot Shit,” Polo G’s “RAPSTAR,” Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO,” Roddy Ricch’s “Late At Night,” and more. 

Across other genres, BTS, Ed Sheeran, Karol G, Bad Bunny, and others all have a chance to take over with their respective summer smashes.

“Spanning a variety of genres – from hip-hop to country – our Songs of Summer predictions are based on a number of factors like streaming numbers, current trajectory and future forecasting from Spotify’s global curation team,” explained the Spotify team.

Of course, this list only includes music that has already been released. It’s possible that somebody could steal the 2021 song of the summer debate with a late entry. 

In addition to the predictions list, Spotify also launched the all-new Summer Breakouts playlist, which is uniquely tailored to each user to shine a light on some potential summer hits, including music from Mac Miller, BIA, BROCKHAMPTON, Wiz Khalifa, and more.

What do you think will be the 2021 song of the summer?

Across the United States, different jurisdictions have begun to ease their ban on marijuana. While some states have chosen to decriminalize the substance and simply stop policing the substance, others have opted to fully legalize pot and have established state-sponsored markets. 

The United States Congress even recently re-introduced legislation to decriminalize the substance at the federal level, a tell-tale sign of the changing attitude towards cannabis consumption. Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a fiery dissent on Monday (June 28) arguing that federal marijuana prohibition may no longer make sense. 

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“A prohibition on intrastate use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or proper to support the Federal Government’s piecemeal approach,” wrote Thomas. The infamously conservative justice shared his thoughts in the court’s denial of a petition to hear an appeal for a Colorado medical marijuana dispensary. 

The case centers on an IRS investigation into whether it illegally deducted business expenses. The current federal tax code denies companies dealing in controlled substances the privilege of deducting costs the way other businesses are able to. 

“Under this rule, a business that is still in the red after it pays its workers and keeps the lights on might nonetheless owe substantial federal income tax,” Thomas continued.

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Thomas also noted that 36 states across the country allow for medical marijuana use, while 18 allow recreational use. The U.S. Department of Justice policy has long been against interfering in those states’ policies despite current federal law. 

“Once comprehensive, the federal government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use of marijuana,” he wrote. “This contradictory and unstable state of affairs strains basic principles of federalism and conceals traps for the unwary.”

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While the dissent doesn’t immediately change anything, it could assist in inspiring lower-level judges to strike down laws that make marijuana illegal. 

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