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Bobby Shmurda Has Officially Been Released From Prison

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It was reported yesterday that after spending six years behind bars, Bobby Shmurda (real name Ackquille Pollard) would get out of prison on a conditional release today. Sure enough, this morning, the rapper was released from Clinton Correctional Facility.

A spokesperson from the New York State Department Of Corrections told Vulture, “At approximately 8:30 this morning, Ackquille Pollard was conditionally released from Clinton Correctional Facility. Mr. Pollard will be under community supervision in Kings County until he completes his sentence on February 23, 2026.”

Shmurda preemptively celebrated his then-upcoming release last night with an Instagram post. He shared a 5-minute clip from the movie King Of New York, in which Christopher Walken’s character gets out of prison and then celebrates his freedom. Shmurda wrote alongside his post, “How the fuc y’all forget about me.”

Quavo recently vowed to be the one to pick Shmurda up from prison, saying, “I’m going to get my guy. I’m personally gonna go pick up Bobby Shmurda. I’m ’bout to go get him. I’m gonna let him show you how I’m gonna pick him up. It’s gonna be big.” Yesterday, Shmurda’s mother indicated that once the rapper is free, he plans to spend most of his time making music.

Vanessa Bryant Criticized Meek Mill’s ‘Disrespectful’ Kobe Lyric And He Had A Response

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Last week, Meek Mill found himself in some hot water after some unreleased lyrics of his surfaced, in which he makes a joke about Kobe Bryant’s death, which came as the result of a helicopter crash. On the track, he raps, “And if I ever lack, I’m going out with my choppa, it be another Kobe.” The backlash was quick and plentiful, and now Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife, has publicly expressed her discontent.

In an Instagram Story last night, Bryant addressed Mill directly, writing, “Dear @meekmill, I find this line to be extremely insensitive and disrespectful. Period. I am not familiar with any of your music, but I believe you can do better than this. If you are a fan, fine, there’s a better way to show your admiration for my husband. This lacks respect and tact.” Bryant also shared a post from Candace Parker, who wrote, “Dear @vanessabryant I’m sorry YOU and your GIRLS have to continually deal with SH*T like this. It’s not fair it’s not right! We love you and I continually am in awe in your ability to take the high rode. So I will follow suit and say to everyone #dountoothersasyouwouldhavethemdountoyou.”

Following Bryant’s posts, Mill shared what seemed to be a reaction to the situation, writing on Twitter, “I don’t think we on the same signal y’all .. I don’t see what y’all see… I be looking at the net laughing like I did whet. I say random sh*t all day on social … it becomes a trend to hate on me every once in a while but I feed off that sh*t ima beast literally.” He then more directly addressed Bryant’s posts, writing, “I apologized to her in private earlier today not to the public…Nothing I say on my page directed to a internet viral moment or the family of a grieving woman! If you care about someone grieving change the subject!”

Find Bryant’s posts below.

@vanessabryant/Instagram
@vanessabryant/Instagram

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

UCLA Gymnast Margzetta Frazier Was Moved To Tears After Janet Jackson Gushed Over Her Floor Routine

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The UCLA gymnastics team has earned a reputation for their stellar floor routines in recent years, and junior Margzetta Frazier has been in the center of the spotlight. In year’s past, the athlete graced headlines after some of her routines included both voguing and soul-inspired dance moves. More recently, Frazier competed with a routine to Janet Jackson’s music — and the singer loved it so much that she personally thanked the gymnast.

After a video went viral of Frazier nailing a floor routine to a medley of Jackson’s music, the singer was able to get in contact with the gymnast. During their FaceTime call, captured by TMZ, Jackson gushed over Frazier’s skills and even asked to be her student:

“I would one day love to tumble. And if I do, I would for you to teach me. I did it once in the video ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and the way it was shot, people didn’t think that it was me, but it was me doing the back flip. I would love for you to teach me. Hopefully I won’t break anything. But I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your talent, it was so beautiful to see you tumble, it was really inspiring. It just inspired me to want to do more, do better, and be stronger. I loved it, absolutely loved it. […] I would love to meet you next time I’m in LA and just sit down and chat, I really would.”

Jackson’s words apparently inspired Frazier to “do more, do better, and be stronger” because after their call, Frazier headed straight to a meet and performed her best. Per TMZ’s report, Frazier recorded personal bests both on the beam and on the vault.

See Frazier’s floor routine above.

Roddy Ricch Marks Himself Safe After Shots Were Fired At His Video Shoot

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It looks like new music is on the way from Roddy Ricch, whose breakout track “The Box” dominated charts this summer. But unfortunately for the rapper and his crew, shots rang out on set at a video shoot Sunday. Several hours after the news broke, Ricch has now taken to social media to let fans know he was unharmed.

Per a report from WSB-TV Atlanta, Ricch and his collaborator 42 Dugg were filming at a scrap yard in south Atlanta when shots were fired. 42 Dugg took to his Instagram Stories to clarify that he did not get shot and thanked his followers for their concern. Now, Ricch has similarly marked himself safe in a tweet. “aint nobody shoot at me. we all good,” he wrote following the incident. “im juss tryna feed the streets.”

Two members of the film crew, Antoine Blake, and Vernon Moulder, were hit by the bullets but were able to take themselves to a nearby hospital. Another attendee of the video shoot, Peter Cook, was injured by debris resulting from the chaos. Teresa Lakes, a medic who was on set to assist with COVID screening, described the scene, “Everyone started running, trying to get out or take cover; lot of places to take cover in there,” she said. “Anyone that was injured, I laid hands on ’em to make sure they were OK. Just glad it wasn’t a lot worse than it could have been… could have been worse.”

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters Applauded Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Audacity’ In ‘WAP’

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Last summer the internet went into a tizzy following the release of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s NSFW song “WAP,” which debuted at No. 1 and welcomed some harsh criticism by conservative thinkers. But unlike other politicians, California congresswoman Maxine Waters actually enjoyed it.

Rep. Waters and Megan sat down for a conversation for Harper’s Bazaar where they talked about education, the importance of standing up for yourself, and, of course, “WAP.” Waters revealed that some of the younger people in her life had played her the song, and she was impressed by Megan’s candor:

“I listen to the young people around me and they may tell me something maybe you ought to pay attention to. But then they told me to look at, was it WAP? Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry. I said, ‘Now that’s audacity. That is audacity.’ And that is the ability for women to take charge of what they want to say. I had paid attention to the young gangster rap time, when men were in charge. They said whatever they wanted to say about women, what have you. But women didn’t say, for a long time, what they could say or wanted to say or dared to say. And so I thought ‘that’s audacity.’”

While this was the first time Waters and Megan had chatted in person, it was not their first correspondence. After Megan penned her powerful New York Times op-ed about the importance of speaking up for Black women, Waters responded with her own open letter. “I write all this to say that I’m so incredibly proud of you and how you have used your voice to uplift Black women,” Waters wrote. “I know that Black women and girls everywhere thank you for the way you so fiercely have their back. I want you to know that I have your back, too.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Thug Apparently Lost Over $800k In One Night While Gambling In Las Vegas

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With lockdowns being lifted in various cities across the country, businesses are beginning to open back up — including casinos. Young Thug traveled to Las Vegas over the weekend to indulge in the now-open casinos, much to the disappointment of his wallet. After a weekend of gambling, Thugger said he was out over $800,000.

The rapper took to social media to reveal how much money he lost in Las Vegas. “Man, Vegas just won $800,000 from me, man,” Thugger said in a selfie video posted to his Instagram Stories. “Man I threw liquor everywhere in the motherf*cker.”

While the rapper managed to lose the equivalent of a luxury home in just one night, Thugger estimated that he was losing much more than that at the beginning of the pandemic. At the time the live music industry shut down, Thugger was bringing home hundreds of thousands of dollars per show. “The money that I get for the shows — let’s just say I get 500,000 — if I don’t do these ten shows, that’s 5 M’s,” he said in an April interview with Big Boy. “Then I don’t make five million til June, and then I might spend a million, I might spend two million just on this quarantine sh*t.”

See Thugger address his losses above.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Saweetie And Doja Cat Are Giving Teslas Away To A Few Lucky Fans

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Back in January, Saweetie tapped Doja Cat for the joint single “Best Friend,” a sizzling celebration of every woman’s irreplaceable partner-in-crime. Now to future promote their track, Saweetie and Doja Cat have partnered with Telsa to gift a Model S car to a few lucky fans in a giveaway contest.

Announcing the official “Bestie In A Tessie” giveaway in a video posted to Instagram, Saweetie shared the news. “I am doing a huge giveaway. I’m not only giving away one, but two brand-new Teslas,” she said. “They’re sleek, they’re sexy, and they’re hella spacious.”

Speaking about her decision to hold the giveaway, Saweetie said: “My Icy family has shown so much love towards the ‘Best Friend’ track and I’m hyped to return the love to two lucky fans with these two Teslas.”

While Saweetie’s most recent collaboration was with Doja Cat, it seems as though the rapper may be collaborating with another groundbreaking hip-hop artist. Earlier this month, Cardi B’s sister Hennessy spilled some news about a possible joint track with Saweetie. According to Hennessy, Cardi and Saweetie’s managers are in talks about a mysterious project that the two are working on, meaning that a new single could be on the way.

See Saweetie’s official announcement above.

The contest winners will be announced 4/16. Enter the giveaway here.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Quavo Vows To Pick Up Bobby Shmurda From Prison When He’s Released

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With Bobby Shmurda’s five-year prison sentence finally coming to an end this month, the 26-year-old Brooklyn native has become the focal point of all the buzz in hip-hop this week. While fans speculate about his post-prison activities and his longtime friend and partner-in-rhyme Rowdy Rebel promising the two will touch the stage again soon, another figure in rap found a way to become part of the moment, according to Billboard.

In a yet-to-be-published interview coming soon as part of a Bleacher Report event, Migos member Quavo told Billboard, “I’m going to get my guy. I’m personally gonna go pick up Bobby Shmurda. I’m bout to go get him. I’m gonna let him show you how I’m gonna pick him up. It’s gonna be big.” According to the report, Bobby and Migos were working on a joint mixtape to be titled Migos Shmigo Gang. Naturally, the collaboration was derailed by Bobby’s arrest in December 2014 and eventual guilty plea on 4th-degree conspiracy and 2nd-degree criminal weapons possession charges.

Rowdy, who was arrested alongside Bobby and released earlier after Bobby was denied parole for behavioral problems inside, told Hot 97 that the two planned to attend — and possibly perform at — New York’s Summer Jam this year. Bobby’s whose last major hit was “Hot N****” back in 2014 will have to imitate his labelmate and hit the ground running like “Jesse Owens” to make up for the lost time. With Quavo at the wheel, he’ll be getting back to the studio that much quicker.

Taylor Swift And Lil Wayne Are Now Tied For A ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 Chart Record

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It’s no secret that Taylor Swift is a prolific musician. On top of releasing two surprise albums in 2020, the singer began re-recording her entire discography. Because she continues to turn out hits, Swift has broken a handful of charting records. Some of her historic feats are less positive, however, like when her song “Willow” broke Tekashi 69’s record for the biggest fall from No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But now, it looks as though the singer is competing with Lil Wayne to secure yet another chart record.

Swift released her newly-recorded version of her 2009 track “Love Story” last week, which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song marked her 51st song to land a spot in the top 20, which officially ties with Lil Wayne for the second-most top 20 songs in the chart’s history.

Though the two may be competing for the second-most top 20 entries, Taylor Swift still leads the pack when it comes to Hot 100 chart entries among female artists. She continues to hold the most Hot 100 songs compared to any other female musician in history.

Lil Wayne and Swift’s competing record isn’t the only exciting news from this week’s Billboard charts; Olivia Rodrigo also made an impressive impact with her hit debut single “Drivers License.” The song was once again at No. 1 this week, making it the first time a debut single has ever spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart.

Killer Mike Delays Reopening His Barbershop After A Nearby Shooting Damages The Windows

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Killer Mike, who recently closed his Atlanta barbershop due to safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is delaying re-opening the shop after a nearby shooting damaged the windows. However, in the social media post announcing the delay, he clarified that the shop was not the target of the shooting, blaming it on “Black men who could not shoot for sh*t.” He also stated he wasn’t upset, but indirectly admonished the perpetrators to think about the consequences of their actions.

“Last night at 1am (non biz hours) while I was in the booth I got a call ‘Mike the OG Store windows were shot out,’” he explained. “It was not a personal attack but it was black men who cud not shoot for shit shooting at one another. I am not upset as property can be replaced. I am sorry to my customers as this will continue pause the re launch of the OG SWAG Shop barber Shop & store. I wanna say to the brothers tho: Please consider what would have happened if one of y’all actually hit one another. The jail, the lawyer fees, the funeral cost and two black families loss. I’m glad y’all cud not hit the side of a barn with a shot gun cuz this am y’all all are alive.”

Mike recently appeared on ESPN to talk about the importance of ownership and financial responsibility, explaining how seeds planted by prior generations of his family allowed him the economic freedom to expand the family’s wealth. He also recently launched his Greenwood digital banking platform to help give other Black people access to the same wealth-building tools and expanded his business interests into the world of cannabis alongside his Run The Jewels partner El-P.