Hip Hop News

In just a few days, Destiny James will graduate from college. She may not look familiar to some, but those who repeatedly watched the music video for “God’s Plan” will recognize the student. In the 2018 clip of Drake’s No. 1 hit, the rapper is seen blessing random people with money, and one of those lucky recipients was Destiny who took home a scholarship worth $50K.

On Instagram, Destiny revealed that she’ll soon be graduating from the University of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health with a master’s degree in Public Health in Health Behavior. She’s unsurprisingly excited about the accomplishment and chatted with TheShadeRoom about why she wanted to pursue her field.

“Public health has been a passion of mine since 2016 when my dad passed from stage 4 lung cancer,” Destiny shared with the outlet. “Obtaining this degree is something I will always be proud of! The obstacles I was able to overcome fueled my fire and I am so proud to say I am now a graduate of the #1 ranked public school for public health in the country.”

In the “God’s Plan” visual, Destiny is seen being surprised by Drake who then presents her with a $50,000 check for the University of Miami. Destiny first attended the school in 2015 and the check went to pay off her studies. The year after she received the financial help from Drizzy, Destiny reportedly began her studies for her masters at UNC. 

Drake jumped in TheShadeRoom’s comments to congratulate the college grad. “LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DES,” the rapper wrote.

Things are not looking good for Hollywood’s most prestigious institutions. The HFPA has been under tons of scrutiny recently that resulted in NBC announcing that they would not be airing the Golden Globes. This marks the first time in 25 years that the network wouldn’t be carrying the channel.

 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The protest against the HFPA ramped up this week after it was announced that Tom Cruise returned three of his Golden Globe Awards back to the Academy. His awards for best actor for Jerry McGuire in 1997 and  Born On The Fourth Of July in 1990, along with the best supporting actor award for Magnolia in 2000, were returned to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The backlash facing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group behind the Golden Globes, stems from a lack of diversity in the organization, specifically due to the fact that there are no Black members. 

Tom Cruise began receiving applaud from many within the entertainment business including 50 Cent who commended the actor for the bold move. “For the first time since 1996 NBC won’t be airing the Golden Globes no diversity, no show,” 50 Cent wrote on an IG post. “@tomcruise is the man for sending his trophy’s back.”

The public pressure resulted in a statement from the HFPA who said that they are committed to making changes within their organization. “Regardless of the next air date of the Golden Globes, implementing transformational changes as quickly — and as thoughtfully — as possible remains the top priority for our organization,” the statement reads. “We invite our partners in the industry to the table to work with us on the systemic reform that is long overdue, both in our organization as well as within the industry at large.”

[Via]

It’s been a long time coming but it appears that Migos are finally coming through with the third installment in the Culture series. Over the past few weeks, rumblings of new music have emerged from their camp as fans debate whether the Atlanta trio still got it. Clearly, the stakes are high on their upcoming project and it seems like we’ll be receiving the first taste of it this week. 

Rich Fury/Getty Images

Just hours after rumors floated around that Quavo got into it with Justin LaBoy over Saweetie’s appearance on Respectfully, Migos teased a new song that egged on speculation further. This week, the song will be released in its entirety. All three members of the Migos took to their respective IG pages where they shared the cover art which includes a photo of them posted in front of the traphouse.

The release of the new single will seemingly kick off the campaign for the new album. On Valentine’s Day, Quavo hinted that fans could expect the album in 6 weeks which would’ve been late March/early April. Despite the delay, we’re more than excited to hear what the trio have been cooking up in recent times. 

It looks like Migos are looking to have summer 2021 on smash with their upcoming project. Check the cover art for their new single due out on Friday, May 14th. 

Never one to pass up an opportunity to use a pop culture moment to bash liberals, Candace Owens has resurfaced with a rant. The controversial conservative talking head has ruffled feathers in the political and pop culture worlds with her often rough commentary, but she’s unwavering in her delivery. Owens and Chrissy Teigen haven’t been the best of friends over the years and the political pundit has often taken to social media to bash Teigen, especially due to the model mogul’s opposition to former President Donald Trump.

As polarizing of a figure as Owens is, she’s been rallying support after she took to Twitter to further antagonize Teigen during her recent scandal involving Courtney Stodden. Yesterday (May 11), we reported on the news that Stodden revealed when she was 16-years-old when she married 50-year-old The Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison. According to Stodden, Teigen would send her tweets and private messages telling her to kill herself.

Jason Kempin / Staff / Getty Images

Teigen apologized earlier today, but the public, including Owens, isn’t letting her off that easy. “Donald Trump was censored off the internet for writing nothing even remotely violent,” tweeted Owens. “Chrissy Teigen told a then-16-year-old to commit suicide, and that she couldn’t wait for her to die— and is allowed to keep all of her accounts. Disgusting.” She then shared screenshots of some of Teigen’s disturbing messages.

“Chrissy Teigen publicly defend Meghan Markle and said she believed that Meghan had suicidal thoughts. She just forgot to mention that she uses social media to encourage teenagers to kill themselves,” Owens continued. “Chrissy Teigen has offered a public apology to Courtney Stodden for encouraging her to commit suicide as a teenager, but ONLY because I blew the story up. The media has given Chrissy a pass for YEARS as she has monstrously attacked people, repeatedly for simply existing.”

Teigen hasn’t answered any of the verbal jabs, but she previously stated that she’s “embarrassed and ashamed” of her messages to Stodden. You can check out more from Candace Owens’s tirade below.

Soulja Boy is riding high off of the success of “She Make It Clap” which became one of the biggest songs on TikTok recently. Unfortunately, he’s found himself engulfed in heinous accusations stemming from his relationship with Nia Riley. Yesterday, Nia Riley filed a lawsuit against Soulja Boy accusing him of physical abuse and causing her to have a miscarriage. 

 Marcus Ingram/Getty Images

The rapper’s remained quiet since the news of the lawsuit emerged but he did take to Twitter today where he seemingly addressed the allegations. Without saying any names, he shared a slew of tweets that have since been taken down. “At the end of the day sometimes us men just pick the wrong females to be with,” he wrote in one tweet. “I’m a legend I can’t date a bum b*tch that’s out.”

In a subsequent tweet that was also taken down, the rapper seemingly referred to the lawsuit as some sort of blackmail. “At the end of the day you can’t force nobody to be with you. If somebody don’t want you no more let them go don’t try and blackmail them to be with you. That’s evil,” he wrote.

The tweets may have been taken down on his personal page but screenshots were quickly captured. Check out what Soulja Boy had to say below. We’ll keep you posted on further updates. 

Co-parenting can be difficult for anyone, but when you’re living your life out loud for the world to criticize, things can become exponentially acrimonious. Queen Naija has been a public figure for years, starting her career as a YouTube star, and she began with Chris Sails by her side. The singer and her then-husband created a following together and even welcomed their son CJ into the world but in 2017, the couple filed for divorce.

Over the years, there have been outbursts from Sails regarding his former relationship with Queen, and almost every time he comes forward with an accusation, she immediately claps right back. Today (May 12) wasn’t any different. Sails tweeted, “You break somebody heart that’s one thing. But trying to take they child away and give them a limited amount of time for 1 month the whole year is dead wrong.”

Joshua Blanchard / Stringer / Getty Images

“Smh…. it’s fathers who don’t wanna be in they child life at all,” Sails continued. “I guess that’s what I get.” Queen wasn’t having it, and after TheShadeRoom reposted the tweet, Queen hopped in the comments to set the records straight. According to her, he sees his son all of the time.

“[cap emoji].. he gets to see his son at least a week out of each month,” Queen commented. “He’s mad he only gets one month out of summer. Based on the situations Cj has been put in while in his fathers care .. and the evidence I have in my files.. I’m being very lenient, so let’s tread lightly. Im protecting my son. hate when ppl play victim.”

In April 2020, Sails was reportedly arrested and it was shared that their son, CJ, was in his care and couldn’t be located. At the time, Queen sent out a panicked, public plea for someone to help her find her child. 

“Also, everyone with their 2cents could save it cause y’all speaking on only what y’all have seen not knowing there’s more,” Queen added about her ex’s tweet. “Apart of being a parent is leading by a GOOD example.” Check out the messages below.