Hip Hop News

A$AP Rocky & A$AP Relli Pause Civil Lawsuit Over 2021 Shooting 

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A$AP Rocky and A$AP Relli have agreed to put a pause on their trial. As we previously reports, Relli is suing Rocky after claiming that the “Fashion Killa” rapper shot him in 2021. According to reports, both parties have agreed to halt the civil trial due to Rocky’s criminal case.

The Harlem rapper is charged with two criminal counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm for the incident. Rocky would reportedly have to invoke his 5th amendment in his trial with Relli to avoid statements that could incriminate him in the criminal prosecution. 

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 17: Rapper A$AP Rocky (R) pleads not guilty to assault charges during his arraignment hearing at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on August 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, has been charged with two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm stemming from a November 2021 incident in Hollywood. He remains free on $550,000 bond and is due back in court November 2. (Photo by Irfan Khan-Pool/Getty Images)
Read More: A$AP Rocky Denies A$AP Relli’s Allegations In Response To Shooting Lawsuit

Rocky was charged for the shooting last year after exiting an airplane with his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna. Relli went to the police just before Rocky’s detainment to name the star as the triggerman in the 2021 shooting. The A$AP Mob member claims Rocky fired four shots at him following a heated argument. 

Back in September, Rocky responded to Relli’s criminal claims against him. “Relli’s injuries were caused solely, directly and proximately by the negligent or intentional acts or omissions” of someone else. The documents also state that that Relli “failed to exercise reasonable care to avoid the consequences of harm.” The “DMB” rapper’s lawyer Joe Tacopina called the lawsuit “an extortion” attempt.

“Rocky didn’t commit a crime,” Tacopina said. “It was an extortion attempted by a former associate, who threatened to make false criminal accusations if Rocky didn’t pay him. Rocky didn’t commit a crime.” The news comes weeks after Rihanna shared the first photos of her and Rocky’s seven month old son. 

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Ciara Teases An Exciting ‘Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve’ Performance Featuring ‘Something Exclusive’

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ciara march 2022 oscars
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Ciara has dropped some catchy bops this year. With songs like the catchy “Jump,” and the kiss-off anthem “Better Thangs” with Summer Walker, Cici had some hits on her hands. This New Year’s Eve, Ciara will close out the year with a couple of performances of Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve.

Of course, fans can expect her to perform her hits from this year during her set, as she revealed to People.

“It’s been amazing to see the love from my fans for my newest song with Summer Walker called ‘Better Thangs,’ so they’ll definitely get a taste of that,” she said. “And then obviously I put out my song ‘Jump’ before that and so that’s a lot of energy that’s in your face nonstop. So there will be that, a little taste of that too.”

Also in the interview, Ciara teased some new music, of which fans will also get a preview during her performances.

“I’m also going to give my fans something new,” she said. “They’re going to get something exclusive the night of New Year’s, so I can’t wait. Let’s just say that it’s going to be winning energy.”

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve airs Saturday, December 31 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

Bella Thorne Recalls A Director Accusing Her Of Flirting When She Was 10 Years Old

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Bella Thorne says that a director once accused her of flirting with him when she was just 10 years old. Throne recalled the incident during a discussion with Emily Ratajkowski on her High Low podcast.

“’What the fuck are you talking about man?’” she remembered thinking at the time. “I don’t give a fuck what the fuck I said. I don’t care if I said ‘eat my pussy right now.’ She is 10 years old! Why ever would you think that? Why?”

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 14: Actress Bella Thorne attends the premiere of MTV And Dimension TV’s “Scream” at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on June 14, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Thorne continued: “You’re in a director session—you can’t really say or do much. You do the scene, you say hello, you walk out. There’s no time to like ‘let me go sit on your lap’ or like make you feel uncomfortable. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Just putting that on a 10-year-old child and making it like they made an adult man uncomfortable is insane… and then that was relayed to a casting director who was happy to relay that to your mom,” Ratajkowski said. “If you need a more fucked up story about Hollywood and, like, pedophilia and the sexualization of children, I don’t know if there is one.”

Ratajkowski has been open about her own struggles with sexual harassment in the industry. In 2021, she published a collection of essays titled My Body, in which she examined the commodification of the female body. In the book, she accuses Robin Thicke of groping her on the set for his “Blurred Lines” music video. The track was released in 2013.

Check out Bella Thorne’s appearance on High Low below.

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Coco Austin Defends Video Of 7-Year Old Daughter Twerking

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Coco is no stranger to making headlines regarding her 7-year old daughter with Ice T. The former model and mom is receiving backlash after posting a video of her young daughter Chanel Nicole twerking on Christmas. Coco captioned the silly footage, “She loves to joke.”

Commenters slammed the “Ice Loves Coco” star for “doing too much,” claiming that the video is “Not a good look at all. But Coco wasted no time defending her video as well as daughter Chanel. According to Page Six, Austin explained that she and her family members were “in the middle of” filming a TikTok video in her front yard when the 7-year-old ran out “to bust a move and make [them] laugh.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 12: Coco Austin and daughter Chanel Nicole Marrow attend the New York Premiere of Paramount’s “Blue’s Big City Adventure” at Regal Union Square on November 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)
Read More: Coco Austin Bathes Her Daughter In The Sink

However, this isn’t the first time the mom came under fire over content featuring daughter Chanel. The former reality star got emotional last month while opening up about the criticism she and her daughter recieve online. “You don’t hear the goodness,” she told Tamron Hall. “[People] just hear a lot of bad. [They] just want a little love, you want a little respect from people.”

Back in October, Coco was slammed on social media for bathing her daughter in the kitchen sink. Once again, she clapped back at critics with a statement. “Everything I do, people have got to say something about it,” Coco told Page Six. “But now it’s kinda weird to other people. Like, really? If you are a mom you have bathed your child in the sink.”

Read More: Coco Austin Faces Instagram Backlash For Getting 5-Year-Old Chanel’s Nails Done

She went on to express her frustration about people judging her and her family based on short social media clips. “I was going to the fashion show,” Coco continued, “And they took that one second and made that one little thing bigger than anything else.” Share your thoughts on Coco and Chanel’s holiday video below. 

Tony Yayo Says 50 Cent Has Done More For Uncle Murda Than Jay-Z

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Tony Yayo argued that 50 Cent has done more to help Uncle Murda’s career than Jay-Z. Yayo explained his position while speaking with Murda on Thisis50. Murda signed with Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella in 2007 but later moved over to G-Unit with 50 Cent in 2016.

“That’s why I respect him because we have more of an assist,” Yayo said. “We have 50 Cent so I knew I was okay. He sold 11 million records I’m gonna get a percentage of his fans. I’m good. [Uncle Murda] had to kind of more do it on his own. He had deals with Jay-Z and them but Jay-Z ain’t gonna never… I always tell them all the time Jay-Z ain’t treating you like this n***a.”

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 30: Tony Yayo attends the XXL Freshmen Live 2015 concert at Best Buy on June 30, 2015, in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

From there, Murda reflected on Jay-Z giving him his first six-figure check and thanked him for the support. He also joked about Yayo being quick to call out Jay-Z by recalling his response to a party they recently attended. Several high-profile celebrities, including the Kardashians and Serena Williams, were in attendance.

“We just finished performing, great time, right,” Murda said. “First thing my man wanna say, ‘Yeah shit lit, Jay-Z will never take you to a party like this.”

Yayo then continued: “I’m just telling you how we get treated. I’m quite sure Hov and a lot of artists they treat some of their artists maybe good, maybe not. I’m just telling you how we get treated. I don’t know [if] Jay-Z ever had him in the Armani Hotel.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the two discuss Tory Lanez’s recent trial regarding the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, “Rap-Up 2022,” and more.

Check out Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda’s conversation on Thisis50 below.

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Van Lathan Calls Akon A “Clown” For Comparing African & Black American Performers

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Akon has been on quite the press run lately, and not everyone is impressed. The hitmaker’s recent remarks about Nick Cannon earned him a viral moment. However, his comments comparing African performers to Black Americans received a bit of pushback.

According to Akon, Africans are “a little different when it comes to stage presence.” He added, “Them n*ggas gon’ be wobbling, pants hanging half down, bored as hell, half asleep ‘cause they high as hell on stage. But Africa, we wake up in the morning—like, look at these YouTube clips of all these kids from Uganda. Like these kids are performers. So for us, it comes natural.”

Read More: Akon Draws Backlash After Comparing American & African Performers

Quickly, Akon was called out for his alleged anti-Blackness by both Africans and Black Americans. Van Lathan also chimed in with a response, and he didn’t mince words.

“First off, Akon has been on his clown sh*t for years now but that’s another topic… I wanna say something though. I’m Black. Like Black American Black,” wrote Lathan on Instagram. He then took readers on a history lesson.

“Like South Louisiana bayou bondage Black.” He added, “Like my father was raised by Bishop and Lizzie Lathan Black. The kind of Black where you grow up around old people with scarred souls who tell you about everyone who died and everyone who lived so you could sit down and drink a soda on a Saturday.”

“The type of Black where you understand the beauty and the danger of your skin from the beginning, because the old people want you know what they been through. Real talk, I’m sick of seeing people sh*t on that. And make no mistake, when you single out Black Americans for criticism, the ones who have culturally empowered the entire diaspora, you’re sh*tting an entire experience I feel connected to by birthright. This seems to be happening more now, why?”

PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 18: Youssou NDour and Akon perform at AccorHotels Arena on November 18, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Wolff – Patrick/Getty Images)
Read More: Akon Says He Supports Nick Cannon Having So Many Kids

Lathan accused Akon of making millions by “cosplaying like brothers from Atlanta or Miami.” He then questioned why there is a need to target Black Americans specifically.

The podcaster’s hot take was co-signed by several other influential figures in his comment section. Akon has yet to respond to his latest controversy. Check out a few more reactions below.

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Amber Rose Says She’d Beat Blac Chyna In A Rap Battle 

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Amber Rose has taken her talents to the hip hop world, and she’s calling out her former BFF Blac Chyna. The Philadelphia model turned rapper stopped by Drink Champs earlier this week to dish on her new music and much more. 

During the interview, famed battle rapper Murda Mook flexed his rap skills, urging Amber to ask, “Can you teach me.” Rose went on to share her desire to battle rap against someone. Drink Champs cohost NORE chimed in, suggesting that Amber go up against Blac Chyna in a rap battle. However, Amber was sure of her ability to win. She responded to NORE’s proposition with, “she’ll lose.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 24: Blac Chyna and Amber Rose arrive to the 2018 BET Awards held at Microsoft Theater on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Prince Williams/Getty Images)

Both Amber and Chyna have turned their socialite status into a budding rap career. Rose dropped her Manny Fresh produced record “GYOH” back in June to mixed reviews. As for Chyna, she’s been attempting to break onto the music scene since 2020. Her latest record, “Can’t See Me” was also met with mixed reviews from fans. 

The Philly native and the DC bred model were inseparable at one point in their career. But children, marriages and career changes seemingly brought a bit of distance between the friends. Rumors also began to swirl back in 2018 that the two were feuding after Chyna ditched attending Amber’s annual Sl**walk in favor of going to the BET Hip Hop Awards instead. 

Neither of the ladies confirmed the beef. But after Chyna was a no show at the slut walk, Amber unfollowed her on Instagram. No word on where the pair stands as friends today. But their social media interaction and public outings are a far cry from their early days in Hollywood together. 

Back in 2020, Amber posted a sweet tribute to the Rob & Chyna star via Instagram. “We are always there for each other through thick and thin no matter what people say about us,” Rose wrote. “We’re lovers, we’re fighters and we’re extremely strong women.” Who do you think would win a battle rap session?