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Ghostface Killah And Raekwon Will Bring Their Classics To The Table In An Upcoming ‘Verzuz’

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The music world is still recovering from a great display of R&B talent thanks to D’Angelo’s Verzuz show on Saturday night. Rather than facing another artist like other participants on the platform have done, the legendary singer put on a concert that saw him go through his beloved albums — Brown Sugar, Voodoo, and Black Messiah — with some special guests. Once D’Angelo’s show came to an end, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland got together on Instagram Live to discuss the night and tease what would be next for the platform and it was here that they revealed an upcoming battle would take place between Ghostface Killah and Raekwon.

Neither Swizz nor Timbaland revealed when the matchup would take place, but their excitement for it was clear. They delivered the news after excitingly playing select songs from the rappers’ catalogs, including Raekwon’s “Incarcerated Scarfaces” and “Verbal Intercourse” as well as Ghostface’s “Run.” Raekwon and Ghostface will now be the third and fourth members of the Wu-Tang Clan to participate in a Verzuz. RZA went against DJ Premier last April while Method Man joined D’Angelo last night to perform “Left & Right” and “Breakups 2 Makeups” with him.

The upcoming Ghostface Killah and Raekwon battle joins a growing list of matchups that have been teased. Foxy Brown and Lil Kim were reported to be locked in for a Verzuz, but Swizz Beatz said it was unconfirmed. Bun B also said a matchup between him and 8Ball & MJG was in the works, but it had yet to be confirmed.

You can watch a clip from Swizz and Timbaland’s Instagram Live above.

Nick Jonas Anchored An ‘SNL’ Edition Of The ‘Dionne Warwick Talk Show’

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Dionne Warwick has become everyone’s favorite auntie on Twitter. The legendary singer has graced her growing social media fan base with phenomenal content that ranges from poking fun at the young generation of artists to seeking knowledge about them as well. All in all, it’s been a joy to watch Warwick work through the Twitter world and it was only a matter of time before Saturday Night Live emulated her personality on the show, something the cast did during their most recent episode.

Setting up the stage for her daily show, Ego Nwodim played the role of Warwick for the Dionne Warwick Talk Show. The sketch began with Kenan Thompson, who appeared dressed as The Weeknd in his current After Hours plastic surgery look. She asked him about his apparent plastic surgery addiction, confusing his “love” for it as the basis of his “Can’t Feel My Face” track.

Warwick quickly rushed him off stage and invited Nick Jonas, who hosted and performed on the SNL episode, to replace him. The comical questions continued as she asked Nick, who is currently a coach on The Voice, how he could be a more boring contributor to the show than fellow coach John Legend. Warwick also mixed up him with his fellow Jonas brother, Joe, before asking Nick a daring question about his manhood.

The sketch continued with an appearance from Dua Lipa, played by Melissa Villasenor, who agreed to join Warwick in egging Wendy Williams’ house. Lastly Machine Gun Kelly, played by Pete Davidson, joined to close the show, but Warwick was extremely disturbed by his look and quickly asked him to leave.

You can watch the sketch above.

Dua Lipa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

D’Angelo’s ‘Verzuz’ Was Supposed To Be Against Maxwell And Take Place On Valentine’s Day

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It’s been more than a month since the last Verzuz battle, one that took place between Keyshia Cole and Ashanti. While the platform made its return on Saturday night, the rules were a little bit different this time around. Rather than a matchup between two artists, legendary R&B singer D’Angelo took the stage for what became more of a livestream concert. It wasn’t an entirely solo affair, however, as the singer promised the appearance of some “friends” which turned out to be HER, Method Man, and Redman. While the show was definitely an enjoyable one, it wasn’t the plan from the start.

Once D’Angelo’s Verzuz concluded, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland hopped on Instagram Live to recap the event and it was here that Swizz revealed the battle was supposed to be D’Angelo against Maxwell and take place on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, the plans fell through.

“That didn’t work out…the fact that D’Angelo was still ready to go…and motivated, we had to celebrate him…no matter who was on stage with him,” Swizz said. “We had to celebrate that king because, as you can see, those songs that he played tonight, man, that’s real music and this is celebrational stage…and we couldn’t play around with him. We had to let him get his garden because he showed up and showed out.”

You can watch Swizz’s comments above.

Nick Jonas Gave Debut Performances Of ‘Spaceman’ And ‘This Is Heaven’ On ‘Saturday Night Live’

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It’s been nearly five years since the pop world received an album from Nick Jonas. His last effort was 2016’s Last Year Was Complicated and since then, the singer has been fairly busy thanks to his role as a coach on The Voice and the reunion of Jonas Brothers with siblings Joe and Kevin. Now, Nick is getting back to his solo career, a return that began with the release of “Spaceman” this past Friday. Just days later, he brought his talents back to the Saturday Night Live stage to perform the single for the first time and to debut a new track as well.

Serving as host and musical guest for the SNL episode, Nick began the night by performing “Spaceman.” He performed the track while rocking a thin astronaut-like jumpsuit, ideal for the out-of-this-world feeling he details on the song. Later in the show, he returned to debut a brand new single, “This Is Heaven.” This track is much livelier than the aforementioned single and found Nick getting lost in the groove of the uplifting song to end the night

Both songs will appear on his upcoming album, Spaceman, which is set for a release on March 12. During a recent interview on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music show, Nick spoke about the meaning behind the album’s title. “The key for me was trying to find a way to give this idea a persona, give it a name,” he said in regards to his 2016 album, Last Year Was Complicated. “So ‘Spaceman’ kind of came into my mind as I was thinking, ‘What’s the one thing that all of us have felt during this time? Completely disconnected from the world.’ We’ve gotten so accustomed to looking at a screen instead of human interaction and I think the thing that keeps us all encouraged and hopeful is the idea of knowing that there will be a tomorrow when this is our reality.”

You can watch the performances above.

Spaceman is out 3/12 via Island. Pre-order it here.

J. Balvin Returns Home To A Barrio In Medellin For The ‘Ma’ G’ Video

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J. Balvin made an appearance tonight to walk boxer Canelo Alvarez into the ring for his fight against Avni Yildrim at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. And what better walkout music for Alvarez than a brand new song from the Latin pop superstar? Balvin performed his new single “Ma G” before the fight for the first time, and a video to accompany the new song dropped shortly after, check that out above.

It’s good to see the Latin legend in good spirits and good health again, as last summer he contracted a bad case of Coronavirus and had to spend some time in recovery. Though he bounced back in time for a partnership with McDonald’s last fall, and has apparently been busy in the studio based on the new music tonight. This is the first thing the Colombian star has released since his 2020 collaboration “Un Dia (One Day)” with Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy.

Along with the new music, Balvin also announced a merch collection that’s a collaboration with 747 and La Plaga Invade, including a varsity jacket, mask, cap, hoodie, sweatpants, and music bundles. Shop that collection here and look out for more info on Balvin’s fifth album coming very soon.

Watch D’Angelo’s ‘Verzuz’ Battle Against A Slate Of Friends, Live At The Apollo

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Since the advent of the pandemic and subsequent quarantine measures pretty much shut down live music and touring as we know it, Verzuz battles have taken off in a big way. Streamed live on Instagram, and now Apple Music, the face-off framework usually pairs two legends from the same era and style, who take turns playing songs from their discographies to determine a winner. Of course, like in most subjective battles like this, the real winner is the friends we make along the way… AKA the chance to celebrate the artists who have impacted our lives and made history. It’s much less about anything competitive as it is celebrating the artists and songs, as past setups with Gucci Mane and Jeezy, or Ashanti and Keyshia Cole (which went off when Cole finally showed up) or the Bay Area championship between Too Short and E-40 clearly illustrated.

Tonight things take a slightly different turn, though, probably because R&B icon D’Angelo doesn’t really have any nearby peers in terms of talent and status. Instead, D’Angelo is appearing live for a Verzuz at the equally legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem to face off against a crew of as yet unannounced friends. Tune in via the Verzuz Instagram, or Apple Music if you have it, to see who shows up. The DJ is spinning his warm up tunes, but D’Angelo is just taking the stage around 7 PM PST, so you still have time to settle in.

Jewelry Designer Lorraine Schwartz and Beyonce Created A Scholarship For Black Gemologists

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Beyonce has always been the kind of pop star who is interested in giving back to the communities she’s been a part of or benefits from. So when jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz, who has been responsible for plenty of Bey’s red carpet gem-laden looks, decided to began advocating for diversity and inclusion in the precious gems world, it’s no surprise that Beyonce would be a part of it.

As announced via Beyonce.com, the singer and designer are teaming to launch the Beyonce Knowles-Carter x Lorraine Schwartz scholarship at GIA, the Gemological Institute of America. Schwartz has designed jewelry for everyone from Oprah to Lady Gaga to Jennifer Lopez, but Beyonce fans will probably know her work best for the diamond earrings the singer wore on the cover of Dangerously In Love.

“This scholarship is an homage to Beyonce for the inspiration she’s given me through my career,” Schwartz said of the new initiative. “It’s about the love formed from relationships and knowing at the end of the day, we are all the same. Now I have the opportunity to bring that inspiration full circle and show the community the endless possibilities that are in this industry, especially for Black professionals.”

The scholarship will be give “two members of the Black community” the chance to earn credentials at GIA, for the GIA Graduate Gemologist Diploma, with full tuition and paid expenses for the program. The program is primarily online through distance education, and applications for the scholarship are open from March 1 of this year until March 16.

Check out more information on here.

Black Thought Fans Rush To His Defense After A Controversial Tweet Was Shared About Him

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Black Thought is widely respected within the world of hip-hop thanks to his lengthy resume of impressive contributions to the genre. He’s often regarded as one of the best lyricists to grace the game. Much of his work came alongside The Roots, a group that is more than worthy of respect as a collective as much as they are for its members’ individual work. While the greatness of Black Thought may be an undeniable fact to most, one Twitter user seemed to be a bit uninformed about him. As a result, a tweet they shared delivered a controversial take about The Roots rapper and one that saw hip-hop Twitter rush to his defense.

Responding to a tweet that said Drake could not be grouped with names like “Kendrick, Lupe, Eminem, Black Thought and J. Cole,” a fan of the Toronto rapper looked to share their opinion on the matter. “Drake is more relevant, raps better, has more success, sings better than all these people,” they declared. “Plus who tf is a ‘black thought’ or any of these irrelevant rappers. Another example of HHT searching up rappers who no one listens to [and] comparing them to legends like drake.”

As one might have expected, the tweet brought a flurry of reactions that condemn the individual for their thoughts. One person said, “Saying ‘who tf is a black thought’ should disqualify you from listening to hip hop let alone speaking on it.” Another added, “If you don’t know who Black Thought is keep that to yourself it’s embarrassing.” Even Questlove, a fellow member of The Roots, saw the tweet and decided to share some thoughts of his own.

“Lol at this Black Thought trend. Y’all gone learn one day——I don’t care if he is 83 years old,” he said. “Psssssh even then he will out rhyme anyone….lol——for all of y’all frustrated about Riq’s standing in the world…y’all gotta preach the gospel too. THAT’S how people learn.”

You can find some more reactions to the Black Thought tweet below.

Bobby Shmurda Gave A Reasonable Explanation For Turning Down A Drink At A Club Appearance

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After nearly seven years, Bobby Shmurda was finally freed from prison on Tuesday. The rapper was welcomed with open arms by the entire music world including Meek Mill and Quavo. In just his first few days out, the rapper has spent much of his time in the spotlight. He even took some time to make a club appearance on Friday, and thanks to a video that was taken during the event, the rapper went viral after he turned down a drink he was offered.

After watching the video, fans shared their theories for why Bobby might not have wanted a drink at that moment, but only a few were right as the rapper gave an explanation on his Instagram story.

“Hell nah a n**** on parole,” he wrote in the post. Given that Bobby was freed from prison on a conditional release, it could be that one requirement of his parole is to refrain from consuming alcohol. The rapper also has no interest in risking a parole violation and possibly returning to jail as he expressed his wishes to stay free during a FaceTime call with Meek that was detailed in his profile with GQ.

“I’m done with that [jail] sh*t,” he said during the call. “I’ll be light-skinned in Jamaica before I go back.”

Another aspect of the video that caught fans’ attention was the fact that Bobby was wearing a mask in the club, something that we haven’t see too many celebrities do during their own events. As a result, they took to Twitter to share their reactions.

You can read them below and watch the video that caused it all above.

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

Tekashi 69 Sued By A Miami Stripper For Aggravated Battery Following A Club Fight

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Tekashi 69 has been involved in a decent amount of controversy over the past couple of weeks, but the latest report finds the rapper in some legal trouble. According to TMZ, he was recently sued for aggravated battery by a Miami stripper following a club fight on February 20.

The victim, Alexis Salaberrios, and her lawyer David M. Tarlow told the publication that an altercation at the city’s Gold Rush Cabaret began after someone called the rapper out for snitching. During the ensuing fight, he tried to throw a champagne bottle at the individual, but he unfortunately missed and struck the stripper in the head.

Salaberrios reveals that the incident forced her to go to the ER where she received several staples to close a cut on her head. In the suit, she claims he threw the “deadly object with intent to commit serious bodily injury.” In addition to the rapper, Salaberrios is also suing the club for their lack of security around Tekashi despite knowing he has a “propensity for violence.” She claims that club employees removed him from the club after she was hit with the bottle and tried to convince her to not call the police. Tarlow says she refused their request and reported the incident to officers.

The rapper’s attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said his client was not involved in the club fight. “There are video cameras in the establishment. It’s an attempt to shake him down,” he said. “If he is served properly, we will immediately move to have it dismissed.”