On this day in Hip-Hop history, Death Row Records, in conglomeration with Interscope Records, released the soundtrack to the popular film, Above the Rim. Winning the 1995 Source Award for Soundtrack of the Year, this album featured so many hits that it could have stood alone from the movie as a compilation album.
Acting as executive producers of the project, Suge Knight and Dr. Dre curated one of the most popular movie soundtracks of all time. This album featured artists 2Pac, Warren G, SWV, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, The Lady of Rage, and more. Due to the popularity of the artists and the success of the movie, the soundtrack sold 2,000,000 copies in the year of its release and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Although it fell short on the mainstream chart, the album was able to grab hold of that #1 spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Here are some videos from the outstanding soundtrack to help jog your memory of its greatness.
As first reported by Pitchfork, a summons has been filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York County on behalf of a woman publicly identified as Jane Doe. The publication relayed that “the lawsuit itself is forthcoming,” but Iovine is being sued for “alleged sexual misconduct and abuse.”
Pitchfork‘s Evan Minsker continued, “Doe claims that she was ‘sexually abused, forcibly touched, and subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation’ in August 2007. The lawsuit against Iovine is for assault and battery, as well as violations of the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act and the New York City Human Right Law.”
Shortly after Pitchfork broke the news, Billboardprovided additional details:
“Though the full complaint is not yet available, a summons with notice was filed by the woman’s attorneys, Douglas Wigdor and Meredith Firetog at Wigdor Law. The case includes an accusation of ‘multiple instances’ of abuse along with a specific incident of sexual misconduct that occurred in New York in 2007. The woman is seeking economic and compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.
The case against Iovine is just the latest in a string of sexual misconduct lawsuits filed over the last month against men in the music industry, including industry executives like L.A. Reid and superstar artists like Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Axl Rose. The spike in cases is due to the looming expiration at midnight Thursday [November 23] of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year window for alleged survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would typically be barred under the statute of limitations. The summons effectively extends the deadline to submit a complete lawsuit.”
Iovine acted as Chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M until departing in August 2014 (as per Billboardat the time). Earlier that year, he and Dr. Dre sold their Beats Electronics and Beats Music to Apple “for a total of $3 billion,” Apple announced in May 2014. The acquisition “helped launch Apple Music,” as The New York Timesput it in a December 2019 profile of Iovine.
On Wednesday evening, November 22, Pitchforkreported that Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records, is facing allegations of “sexual misconduct and abuse.” A summons was filed earlier in the day in Supreme Court of the State of New York County. The publication specified, “Only the summons has been filed; the lawsuit itself is forthcoming.” The woman filing is publicly identified as Jane Doe.
“Doe claims that she was ‘sexually abused, forcibly touched, and subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation’ in August 2007,” Pitchfork‘s Evan Minsker wrote. “The lawsuit against Iovine is for assault and battery, as well as violations of the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act and the New York City Human Right Law.”
Billboardadditionally relayed that the filing attorneys on Doe’s behalf are Douglas Wigdor and Meredith Firetog of Wigdor Law. Because only a summons has been filed, “the full complaint is not yet available.” However, Billboard was able to confirm the following: “The case includes an accusation of ‘multiple instances’ of abuse along with a specific incident of sexual misconduct that occurred in New York in 2007. The woman is seeking economic and compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.”
Iovine co-founded Interscope in 1990 and remained at the head of the label until his departure from Interscope Geffen A&M in May 2014 (as relayed by Billboardat the time). In 2006, Iovine and Dr. Dre co-founded Beats By Dr. Dre (more commonly known as Beats). They sold to Apple for a reported $3 billion in 2014 “and helped launch Apple Music,” as reported by The New York Timesin December 2019.
Jordan Ward is one of the most exciting voices coming up across any genre, although to call him on the come-up sounds unfitting. After all, following cosigns from the likes of Tyler, The Creator and this new collab single with 6LACK, the 28-year-old is quickly establishing himself as a bright voice with star potential. Moreover, this new track “MUSTARD” highlights Ward’s penchant for sincere and subtle songwriting filled with detail on closer inspection. It’s an acoustic guitar-led cut with dry but warm percussion that’s a perfect soundtrack for a day around the park. Lyrically, though, it centers around rebirth and change, making for a sweetly melancholy song with a lot of emotive weight behind it.
What’s more is that the vocal embellishments throughout, like background vocals and ad-libs, add a lot of atmosphere to “MUSTARD.” Jordan Ward sings with a slightly pitched-up voice that fits its reflections on the past quite well, while 6LACK keeps his signature soulful drawl. However, even though the track might sound simple at first, a few elements reveal the fleshed-out structure beneath. For example, wavy and low-toned synthesizers close the track out, and more effect-heavy guitar chords accentuate the chorus. Overall, it’s all held together by a sticky and distinct vocal melody for the chorus that makes for one of the catchiest and most tender ones you’ll hear all week.
Meanwhile, both artists are celebrating very successful albums this year, and will actually embark on a tour together later this year. Ward dropped FORWARD, whereas the Atlanta star released Since I Have A Lover. All we can hope for following this single’s release is that they both bring us even more heat soon. If you haven’t heard “MUSTARD” yet, you can find it on your preferred streaming service and peep some standout lines below. Also, stay logged into HNHH for the latest on Jordan Ward and 6LACK and for more great music releases each week.
Quotable Lyrics Fall to the ground, it’s a rebirth, phoenix, I mean it It was offset, now the scene is the greenest Fruits of my labor just needed some sun Grounded myself but I wanted to run
On this day in Hip-Hop history, Death Row Records, in conglomeration with Interscope Records, released the soundtrack to the popular film, Above the Rim. Winning the 1995 Source Award for Soundtrack of the Year, this album featured so many hits that it could have stood alone from the movie as a compilation album.
Acting as executive producers of the project, Suge Knight and Dr. Dre curated one of the most popular movie soundtracks of all time. This album featured artists 2Pac, Warren G, SWV, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, The Lady of Rage, and more. Due to the popularity of the artists and the success of the movie, the soundtrack sold 2,000,000 copies in the year of its release and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Although it fell short on the mainstream chart, the album was able to grab hold of that #1 spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Here are some videos from the outstanding soundtrack to help jog your memory of its greatness.
On this date twenty-seven ago, the Hip Hop legend Tupac Shakur officially released his fourth album, All Eyez On Me, on the Death Row/Interscope imprint.
The album featured five singles with two topping number one on the Billboard Hot 100; “How Do U Want It” and “California Love.” It made Hip Hop history the first double-full-length solo Hip-Hop studio album released. It was the second album from Tupac Shakur to hit number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, selling 566,000 copies in the first week. Shortly after his untimely death, the album then won the 1997 Soul Train R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year Award. Shakur also won the Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist at the 24th Annual American Music Awards. The album was certified diamond by the RIAA on July 23, 2014.
All Eyez On Me, the biopic about Pac’s life with the same name, was released on June 16, 2017.
Kendrick Lamar is hitting the road this Summer — in support of the release of his new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers — as he announced on Friday morning (May 13) dates for his upcoming Oklama Presents… The Big Steppers Tour featuring K.Dot’s proteges Baby Keem and Tanna Leone — brought to you by Amazon Music, Cash App and Rotation.
Kicking off in Oklahoma City July 19, the 65-city tour runs nationwide all summer long with its last U.S. stop in Los Angeles on September 15 before heading for international terrains from October to December with stops including Amsterdam, London and Sydney. General admission tickets go on sale worldwide May 20 at 12 PM local time via the Oklama website. The same website Kendrick used to announce Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers would be his “final” album with Top Dawg Entertainment.
For U.S. dates, the first tickets to the tour will be made available via an exclusive Cash App presale starting one day earlier at 10 AM local time.
See complete 2022 tour dates below.
Tue Jul 19 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
Thu Jul 21 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Fri Jul 22 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sat Jul 23 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sun Jul 24 – Miami, FL – Rolling Loud
Wed Jul 27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Fri Jul 29 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Sat Jul 30 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sun Jul 31 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Tue Aug 02 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
Thu Aug 04 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Fri Aug 05 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Sat Aug 06 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Sun Aug 07 – Long Island, NY – UBS Arena
Tue Aug 09 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Wed Aug 10 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Fri Aug 12 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sat Aug 13 – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
Sun Aug 14 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Tue Aug 16 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
Thu Aug 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Fri Aug 19 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sat Aug 20 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Sun Aug 21 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Tue Aug 23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Wed Aug 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena
Fri Aug 26 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Sat Aug 27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sun Aug 28 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Tue Aug 30 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Wed Aug 31 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
Thu Sep 01 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
Tue Sep 06 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena at San Diego State University
A double album that also includes Baby Keem and Tanna Leone, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers features Kodak Black, Sampha, Blxst, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Beth Gibbons, Sam Dew and actress Taylour Paige (“Zola”). The new album marks Lamar’s first album in five years since the release of his Pultizer Prize-winning DAMN. in 2017.
See the tour’s promotional flyer above that advertises “Come help Mr. Morale get out of the box.”
Dallas stars unite to takeover the dancefloor in new hit.
Consistenly viral new artist, Lil Eaarlmakes his formal introduction with the help of the city’s hottest star, Tay Money, in the highly-anticipated visual for the booty-bouncing lead single “Bend It Ova 2.0” from his star-studded debut album.
In the ZStarrock and Half Pint Filmz-co-directed visual, Lil Eaarl, Tay Money and entourage hit the dancefloor and showcase some of the latest dance moves next to the curvaceous twerkulators. Eaarl and Tay’s grand standish bars are perfect fits for their styles and create a hit that will be talked about all summer long. The song and visual comes at perfect timing with Tay Money hitting the road on her first nationwide tour and Eaarl’s album drop.
Before linking up with Tay Money and her unstoppable wave, Lil Eaarl has been making waves in the Gen X and Tik Tok crowd with impressive back-to-back-to-back viral hits on the platform. He boasts over 300k followers on Tik Tok due to the popularity of his tracks “From The Back,” “Work Yo Legs,” and, of course, “Bend It Ova.”
“Bend It Ova took very little time to record once my producer pulled up the beat and it was a go, we made the song and the tik tok challenge the same night. Working with Tay is always a vibe she brings it every time we are in the studio we got tons of new unreleased music on the way.”
The latest Tay Money feature comes on the heels of the release of the artist’s new mixtape, Girls Gone Duh. Along with her viral hit “The Assignment” taking over social media in 2022 with support from everyone in pop culture from Taylor Swift to Michelle Obama participating in the song’s viral challenge. A perfect pick for Lil Eaarl’s debut album.
All three singles appear on Lil Eaarl’s recently released debut album, Planet Eaarl. A revitalization of the classic Dallas boogie sound that made chart-topping history in the early 2000s, the 10-song album’s heavy bass-driven sound and rowdy party animal gimmick thrust the rising star into the Best New Artist of 2022 debate. And with the viral hits, the album features trendsetting acts Lil Ronny MothaF (“Throw Dat Ass In A Circle”), HunchoDaRockstar and, of course, Tay Money (“The Assignment”).
Tay Money appears on the new song and video via Rebel/Geffen Records. “Bend It Ova 2.0” is available everywhere via F.W.M.B.
Check out the new visual for “Bend It Ova” above and lil eaarl’s full debut below.
Today, Paris-born Queen’s NYC-raised rapper Bas has released his long-awaited new 4-track EP titled “[BUMP] Pick Me Up” on Dreamville Records via Interscope. The short but sweet release has a feature on every track, with a star-studded lineup of Lil Tjay, J. Cole, Gunna, Ari Lennox, and Galimatias all squeezed into four tracks clocking in total at just 12-minutes. Watch the lead single to the release “[Admire Her]” featuring YSL Records’ Gunna below;
Bas released the track “The Jackie” featuring both J. Cole and Lil Tjay last Summer in July to critical acclaim, meaning that this new EP is more of a teaser to a more extended project in the works. Fans can expect a new album from Bas well in the works, having recently teased the news since his last full-length dropped in August of 2018 in the 14-track “Milky Way” album that charted well both in America and internationally. Revisit the melodic triple threat from last year below.
On this day in Hip-Hop history, Death Row Records in conglomeration with Interscope Records released the soundtrack to the popular film, Above the Rim. Winning the 1995 Source Award for Soundtrack of the Year, this album featured so many hits that it could have stood alone from the movie as a compilation album.
Acting as executive producers of the project, Suge Knight and Dr. Dre curated one of the most popular movie soundtracks of all time. This album featured work from artists 2Pac, Warren G, SWV, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, The Lady of Rage, and more. Due to the popularity of the artists and the success of the movie, the soundtrack sold 2,000,000 copies in the year of its release and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Although it fell short on the mainstream chart, the album was able to grab hold of that #1 spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Here are some videos from the famed soundtrack to help jog your memory of its greatness.
