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Rick Ross Sued By Concert Promoters After He Missed A Show Earlier This Year

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Rick Ross has some new legal troubles to deal with. The rapper was sued by St. Louis concert promoters after he missed a show back in January 2021. Antoine Meeks and Orland Watson filed a lawsuit earlier this month that seeks $74,000 in damages from Ross. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Meeks, whose company is Black Luxury Entertainment LLC, and Watson, who’s connected to Rockhouse Entertainment, claimed Ross was contracted to appear at the Pagent in St. Louis, but the show was eventually canceled after he didn’t appear for the concert.

Prior to the cancellation, Meeks, Watson, and their respective companies said Ross was set to receive $60,000 in two payments through their contract. The first $30,000 was paid on October 21, 2019, while the second half would be given at the time show. The promoters also paid $6,000 for the venue, $3,300 to accommodate Ross’ travel expenses, $4,100 on marketing and promotions, and $25,000 on “production costs.”

As he awaits further details in this lawsuit, Ross will most likely continue work on his upcoming album, Richer Than Ever. Back in September, he said the project was 95% complete. He and Drake are also reportedly working on a joint album, which former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson revealed in a tweet. “The joint album they’re doing together [will] unseat all projects they’ve done to date,” he wrote.

Swizz Beatz Revealed DMX Believed ‘Exodus’ Would Be His Last Album, Saying, ‘X Was Tired’

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On Friday DMX’s posthumous album, Exodus was released. Fans of the late rapper can rest assure knowing that the final body of work was completed before DMX tragically passed. Swizz Beatz, who executive produced Exdous, also revealed that a bulk of the project was completed after DMX and Snoop Dogg’s Verzuz battle last summer. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Swizz spoke about the energy DMX had while he recorded the album — or lack thereof.

“We’d been talking about this record for a long time, but after we did Verzuz [in July 2020], he was ready,” Swizz said during the interview. “He saw that the people were showing him love and the fans were ready.” He added, “X was tired. The whole time we were doing the album, he was excited, but he was like, ‘I think this is going to be my last album.’ I was just like, ‘Let’s get through this and then let’s see; let’s judge it later, let’s not judge it now.’”

Swizz concluded, “I just tried keeping him in the now spirit, instead of thinking about what he’s not gonna do. But obviously, he knew something we didn’t.”

The famed hip-hop producer also shared his own feelings about the album now that it’s out. “I can at least listen to a song now without breaking down,” Swizz said. “I’m making it look strong, but I’m crushed, I’m destroyed, I’m hurt. But I had to pull this through for him and his family and for his legacy.”

You can read the full Rolling Stone interview here.

Exodus is out now via Def Jam. Get it here.

Jay-Z Explains Exactly Why DMX Was An Impossible Act To Follow As A Live Performer

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In the wake of the late DMX’s tragic, untimely death, his fans and peers have been sharing their memories and stories that reveal just what made him such a formidable force in the hip-hop world. Who better to testify to X’s power as a live performer than one of the best and most influential New York rappers in the game, Jay-Z. As the clip below shows, in a recent episode of LeBron James’ show, The Shop on HBO, even Jay-Z found X a tough act to follow. Just as he showed his fallibility in a recent episode by admitting he sometimes forgets his own lyrics, Jay let James and crew know that following up a DMX set was no easy feat.

“X is about to go on, and I’m like, you know, I wanna see,” he begins. “X is going before me. And then he goes (growls), and the f*cking arena goes crazy. First of all, it’s deafening… and I’m like oh sh*t.” Jay goes on to explain the other elements of X’s set that get the crowd hype, including ripping his shirt off halfway through his set, and then, of course, leading the entire crowd in prayer as a closing act. Then, after all that, it’s time for Jay-Z to take the stage — a tough act to follow indeed. Check out his retelling of the set above, it showcases exactly why Jay is such a successful figure in pop culture in the first place, he’s a great storyteller. And if you’re craving more DMX, check out the posthumous Exodus album his label released this past Friday.

The Weeknd Continues To Tease His New Era With A Cryptic Tweet

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After cleaning up with a whopping ten wins at the Billboard Music Awards last Sunday — you hear that, Grammys? — The Weeknd is doubling down on his promise that new era is coming. Though the R&B superstar didn’t even get to tour behind his most successful album yet, due to the blight that was COVID-19 on 2020 live events, he’s already unveiling a new concept anyway. After teasing the new era as “The Dawn” in one of his many acceptance speeches at the BBMAs, Abel hopped on Twitter this afternoon to double down on his promise.

“Ladies and gentleman, the…” he wrote, a cryptic teaser that had fans quickly filling in the blank: “Dawn is coming.”

Of course, it’s also a reference to a now-beloved SNL meme, when Daniel Craig introduced the star on the show. So do with it what you will!

Tesfaye’s After Hours era was a dark one punctuated by his constant red suit and facial injuries and bandages, a visual shtick that kept fans guessing as to how he’d show up to public events. If the “Save Your Tears” performance at the Billboard Music Awards was any indication, that visual is now down. His crips black suit with a long trench was the new look, and even if Ariana didn’t join him for the BBMAs performance, her appearance at his iHeartRadio Music Awards for their new remix was another indication that the pair might have more new music in the works. This was Ari’s first appearance after her secret at-home wedding, so it’s a big deal that she made it out on that stage.

Whether The Dawn era includes Ari or not, it’s definitely coming soon. And new music from The Weeknd is the perfect way to head back into festival season.

Beyonce And Jay-Z Probably Commissioned This $28 Million Rolls Royce With Champagne Refrigerators

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Though it hasn’t been officially confirmed that Rolls Royce’s latest insanely expensive car was commissioned for Mr. and Mrs. Carter — aka Beyonce and Jay-Z — all signs point to the Carters. Partnering with the custom builder Coachbuild, the new Rolls Royce Boat Tail reportedly retails for around $28 million, making it one of the most expensive cars on the market.

According to the Rolls Royce website detailing the car’s custom features: “A double refrigerator houses the clients’ favorite vintages of Armand de Brignac champagne. Bottles can be rapidly cooled to precisely six degrees — the optimum serving temperature of the preferred vintage.” Of course, Jay-Z only recently sold his fifty percent stake in Armand de Brignac, back in February, to Moët Hennessy.

Other features of the car’s back deck include a parasol and picnic set, alongside the double refrigerators, and gossip sites like Page Six point to the Boat Tail’s blue color as another sign that the commissioners were Bey and Jay. I mean, considering they love the color so much that it’s their daughters name, it’s a pretty solid bet. The other fascinating bespoke feature in the car? A pair of Bovet 1822 timepieces that are two-sided, one for the lady and for a gentleman, which can be used in the car as clocks or worn. Check out more details of the rather magnificent car here.

Rexx Life Raj Releases The 3-Song ‘Untitled’ EP To Thank Fans For Their Love And Support

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The past year has been rough on all of us and while some were able to use the extended economic shutdown to be productive, others were less inspired, finding whatever they could hold onto to help them survive. Bay Area rapper/singer Rexx Life Raj falls partially into the latter category, according to a tweet thread he shared earlier this week. “Over these past months, I haven’t been able to make a lot of music,” he admitted. “But of the few I made these have been on repeat, helping me through these times.” As a gesture of appreciation to fans for their continued love and support, he released the three songs as an untitled EP.

The three tracks include “Silver Linings,” on which he nods to his flaws, but resolutely holds to his virtues and reminds listeners to “check on your strong friends” over a groovy beat. On “Made A Man,” Raj recalls the struggles that have built him up and “forced me to learn to stand on my own” over an acoustic guitar sample and spacey synthesizers. Finally, on “Make It Shake,” he again uses a guitar loop to accompany another motivational anthem on which he prays “for better days, then outside and make it shake.” And despite not making much new music over the past few months, what he has made has been similarly inspirational, including “Bounty” and the encouraging “Bounce Back.”

Listen to “Made A Man,” “Make It Shake,” and “Silver Linings” above.

Russ Reunites With Rexx Life Raj On The Romantic Duet, ‘Private’

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Over the years, Russ and Rexx Life Raj have developed an easygoing and prolific creative chemistry, with Rexx appearing on Russ’s “On 10” and Russ returning the favor to appear on Rexx’s Father Figure 3 track “Falling.” Now, it’s back to Russ on the newly released “Private,” which Russ initially planned to release back in 2019 or 2020. However, the breakout success of his song “Best On Earth” with Bia — which caught the attention of Rihanna, among others — meant pivoting to work that record instead. Fortunately, as an independent artist, Russ is completely in control of his own release schedule.

The previously shelved song has a light melody, employing soft organs and keys as the backdrop for a romantic entreaty on which Russ raps and Raj sings, wisely splitting their shared talents between them to avoid cluttering up the track. It works as their prior collaborations have because it plays to both artists’ major strength: Emotive storytelling that doesn’t feel forced or corny — as seen on Russ tracks like “Hard For Me” and “Bankrupt” and Rexx Life singles “Built For Everything” and “Your Way” with Kehlani.

While Russ hasn’t mentioned any new projects in the works, he’s clearly got a backlog of strong songs just waiting for a home — even if he’s never truly embraced a traditional release format. Meanwhile, Rexx just released a three-song set of his own, which you can check out here.

Listen to “Private” above.

Lil Nas X, Demi Lovato, And Others Helped Pay Tribute To Elton John At The 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards

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Elton John has achieved a lot during his lengthy and illustrious career, so he was a natural choice to be given the iHeartRadio Icon Award at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards last night. iHeartRadio went all out with honoring the legend, too, as they pulled out all the stops.

The award was presented to John by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who ran through some comedic fake facts about John. Lil Nas X then joined in to pay tribute. After the award presentation, there was a tribute performance from Demi Lovato, HER, and Brandi Carlile. HER started by playing “Bennie And The Jets’ at a piano, when then segued into Carlile performing “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.” Lovato wrapped things up with a rendition of “I’m Still Standing,” and John himself even joined in during the song’s climax.

Ahead of the performances, John also gave an acceptance speech and thanked the aforementioned artists for paying tribute to him. He also spoke about how stunned he was by American radio early in his career, saying, “When I first came to Los Angeles in 1970, radio was so important. I’d never heard radio in America before because I had never been here before, but it was just incredible to me. In England, we had one station. Over here, you’d have music coming out of the radio in all sorts of formats, all sorts of styles… I was a pig in sh*t, basically.”

Watch some clips from the show below.

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

DJ Khaled’s ‘I Did It’ Video With Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, And DaBaby Is Wild And Expensive

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Even after highlighting his brand sponsorships in previous videos for “Body In Motion,” “Let It Go,” and “We Going Crazy,” the “Quincy Jones of hip-hop” DJ Khaled abandons all pretense in his video for “I Did It.” He sets things off by putting the product placement right at the beginning of the video, complete with shout-outs to each individual product he holds up for the camera.

His reasoning? The video’s director, Dave Myers, “costs too much money.” The tradeoff is Khaled’s demand for Myers to finish editing the video as quickly as possible. While we may never know whether or not that requirement was fulfilled, the hard rock-accented track arrives with a Michael Bay-level amount of high-flying shenanigans.

First, Megan Thee Stallion parachutes onto the grounds at Khaled’s estate to rap her fully auto verse and hop aboard a horse. Then, Lil Baby joins Khaled on a speedboat for a tour of the canals and lights a cigar on a burning guitar. DaBaby performs from the pool, surrounded by dancers, and hangs from a crystal chandelier. Post Malone doesn’t make an appearance but his presence is still felt in the energetic hook. The video closes, fittingly enough, with a closeup on Khaled’s Chime account, flashing a notification showing just how expensive a Dave Myers video really is.

Watch DJ Khaled’s “I Did It” video with Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, Lil Baby, and DaBaby above.

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

Lady Gaga Introduces An Anniversary Edition Of ‘Born This Way’ With A Big Freedia Cover

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2011 was a huge year for Lady Gaga: Following the breakout success of her debut album The Fame, she released her first No. 1 album, Born This Way. The album yielded a handful of memorable top-10 singles, including “The Edge Of Glory” and the chart-topping title track. May 23 actually marked the 10th anniversary of the iconic album, and now Gaga is celebrating with a new reissue of it, Born This Way: The Tenth Anniversary, that is set to come out in June 18.

Aside from the original album, this 10th anniversary rerelease will also feature a handful of new versions of songs by artists who are representative of the LGBTQIA+ community. The first of these recordings has been shared today: A rework of “Judas” by Big Freedia. Freedia explains, “‘Judas’ was my favorite song when it came out originally, so I really wanted to cover. To me, ‘Judas’ is a love song about when someone does you dirty. I’ve sure had my experience with that. Who can’t relate?”

Aside from “Judas,” the reissue will also feature re-worked versions of “Highway Unicorn”, “You & I”, “Marry the Night”, “Born This Way,” and “The Edge Of Glory.” The other artists set to be involved have not yet been revealed.

Listen to Big Freedia’s version of “Judas” above.

Born This Way: The Tenth Anniversary is out 6/18 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.