In a recent Instagram post from prison, Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty compared himself to Jay-Z. He claimed he was bigger than the New York rapper and entrepreneur before he got locked up. The 22-year-old Memphis native, Lontrell “Pooh Shiesty” Williams said he was better than Grammy-winning billionaire rapper, Jay-Z. Jay-Z “Can’t Relate”? He also said […]
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Many people may have heard of the “Five Percenters” or the teachings that stem from this cultural phenomenon born in the ghettos of America, but there are very few who are familiar with the origins of the 5% Nation (also known as the Nation Of Gods and Earths) or that of the founder of the Five Percent, who is best known as Allah. Artists and athletes such as Jay-Z and Carmelo Anthony have shown either their allegiance or alliance to Allah’s 56-year-old Nation. Of all of the religious and nationalist movements of the revolutionary 1960s, his story is always left out of Black History Month recognition, even though Allah met the same treacherous fate as many of the Black leaders of that era.
Born on this date in 1928, the man known as Allah was born Clarence Edward Smith to Louis and Mary Smith in Danville, Virginia. He moved to Harlem, New York as a young adult and it was from there that he began his lifelong journey in establishing a legacy of pride, righteousness, and all-inclusivity among the youth that has expanded all over the globe.
In commemoration of Black History Month, TheSource.com brings you seven facts about Allah and what his 5% Nation has brought to the Black, Latino, Asian and white youth in the United States and around the world.
The post #BHM Happy Born Day To The Man Named Allah! 7 Facts That You May Not Know About The Founder Of The 5% Nation appeared first on The Source.
Canibus’ contributions to the rap game don’t always get the right recognition, partially because he left the music industry behind for a while. Throughout the course of his career, he traded bars with the best of them and proved to be a formidable MC in his own right. However, being a tight MC doesn’t always amount to becoming a powerful force within the music industry. Over time, we’ve witnessed some of the nicest rappers to grace a mic get shoved to the sidelines due to the politics of the music industry.
For Canibus, he emerged under Wyclef Jean’s wing, who produced some of his biggest hits. “Second Round K.O.,” a diss track towards LL Cool J, became his only charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Unfortunately, Canibus later fell out with Wyclef Jean, which seemingly began a decline in his career. Regardless, Wyclef Jean undoubtedly opened many doors for Canibus afterward, including exclusive invitations to restaurant openings and events where he rubbed shoulders with revered artists and celebrities.
During a recently appearance on Nems’ Outside with Gorilla Nems, Canibus shared details surrounding a brief run-in with Jay-Z, who subtly provided him with early gems in his career. The two attended Diddy’s opening of Justin’s in 1997 when Hov approached him. “He says, ‘Yo Canibus, man… I like yo shit. You ready for what this game about to do to you?’ Real cool,” he recalled. “And me being young and ignorant, I said, ‘Hell yeah I’m ready!’”
The conversation was cut short after Wyclef told him they needed to go to the studio. However, he later realized what Jay-Z was asking him, though he missed the opportunity to form a strong connection with the Roc-A-Fella co-founder. “I’m not realizing that this is a multi-billion dollar enterprise and industry and that there’s a chain of command involved,” he continued. “It’s not just how good you can rap. Them Triple OGs, they knew that I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. They knew all I could do is just rap.” At the time, he said he was more focused on gaining respect as a rapper rather than becoming a mogul. Check the clip above.
Jay-Z is the picture of sustained greatness, so his voice was the correct choice to open TNT’s 2023 NBA All-Star Game broadcast on Sunday night, February 19.
The three-plus-minute montage began with a wider focus on the league’s many all-time greats, such as Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and the late Kobe Bryant, before zeroing in on LeBron James, with this year’s other all-stars going unmentioned by name.
Sunday’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah marked James’ 19th career All-Star selection, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most such honors in NBA history. That, nearly two weeks after James broke Kareem’s record and became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. The TNT tribute featured footage from James’ historic night on February 7, including his on-court embrace of Jay-Z.
Here’s a transcript of Jay-Z’s tribute:
“Being able to perform at a high level for a long period of time, that’s excellence. Long after you’re gone, people, they looking at your name like, ‘That’s what greatness is.’ There’s not many you can compare LeBron to. 19-time All-Star, a remarkable feat. The all-time leading scorer. All-time! I mean, what could you say?
I’ve known LeBron since he was in high school. There was a lot of talk around how amazing he was. We were convinced, like, this guy is super special. He’s been through plenty iterations of the game, and each era, he’s been the best. The Chosen One, and that’s it.
All-Star energy: it’s fun. The players, they’re super excited to play with one another. The league is in a great place right now. Every team has major stars. Amazing, amazing performers. People call it ‘being in the zone,’ where you could tell someone’s just like not there. You know, this thing is happening within seconds. How did he see this person? How did he jump and adjust mid-air? You can’t help but react watching that.
This is the All-Star Game! The attitude, the swagger. The players get a chance to do things they wouldn’t normally do in a game. All-Star, it’s like a childhood, boyish energy where everyone’s just happy to play the game that they love.”
To Hov’s point, Team Giannis beat Team LeBron 184-172 (!) in the 2023 All-Star Game with Boston’s Jayson Tatum claiming the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP on a record 55-point performance.
Tatum was far from the only player to go off:
LEBRON OFF THE BACKBOARD TO HIMSELF
pic.twitter.com/OQ4mTWz6Ix
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
“I’ll give him an 8.”@Shaq is scoring dunks like it’s still Saturday Night
pic.twitter.com/rdjpYhArpu
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
JA GOES 360
pic.twitter.com/v2ejqOASOE
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
DAME FROM HALFCOURT
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
JB vs. JT
pic.twitter.com/G2sFAlKzmR
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
DAME TIME
#NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/gQdIOslZdc
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
And Jay-Z wasn’t the only one to celebrate James, as Dwyane Wade gave his former Miami Heat teammate flowers when introducing him at Vivint Arena:
.@DwyaneWade celebrates the #ScoringKing
pic.twitter.com/WY04trycY8
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 20, 2023
Watch Jay-Z’s montage above.
At one point, JAY-Z and Nas were the most intense rap beef in the game. Now, the gentlemen are older, cooler, collaborate, and even call each other friends. One of the soldiers on the front line of the clash between the New York titans was Freeway, who now reveals it was personally tough for him to diss Nas.
Nas tells DJ Vlad:
“That was painful for me. ‘Cause when I was a young boul, they used to call me the Philly Nas. I had this song and I had this hook, ‘They love to hear the story how the thugs live on worry/ Ducking down the car seats, heat is mandatory.’ Like, I love Nas.”
Free added, “When it come time to ride for the team, I’m riding for the team. You got a problem with Big Homie, you got a problem with all of us.
You can hear it below.
The post Freeway Admits It Was Tough to Diss Nas When He Fueded With JAY-Z: ‘I Love Nas’ appeared first on The Source.
The NBA All-Star game always brings the stars out. This year, the opening video package included one of the biggest stars in Hip-Hop: JAY-Z.
Hov hit the screen for TNT to celebrate the “greatness” of NBA All-Stars past and present but took a special moment to salute his brother LeBron James on his continued success.
“Being able to perform at a high level for a long period of time, that’s excellence,” he said. “Long after you’ve gone, people, they’re looking at your name. That’s what greatness is. There’s not many you can compare LeBron to. 19-time All-Star, a remarkable feat. The all-time scorer, all-time. I mean, what can you say?
“I’ve known LeBron since he was in high school. There was a lot of talk about how amazing he was. We were convinced this guy was super special. He’s been through plenty iterations of the game, and each era, he’s been the best. The chosen one, that’s it.”
That “What can you say” opens a run of electric highlights, scored by Hov’s Black Album single “What More Can I Say?” The video captures images of LeBron throughout the year and a couple of special moments between Hov and King James dating back as far as 2003.
The post [WATCH] JAY-Z Delivers Opening Video for 2023 NBA All-Star Game appeared first on The Source.
Whether it be music or business, 50 Cent has never been one to hold back.
Recently the Queens-bred mogul stopped by MSNBC to chat about his career and the new deal with FOX, the 20th anniversary of his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and more. During the conversation, the host talked with 50 Cent about his thoughts on Billboard’s list of the “Best Rappers of All Time,” where he placed 17th. While flattered at the nod, the rapper noted how flawed countdown lists can be and that “music marks time,” speaking to the generational rift between the OG rappers and younger ones.
50 Cent said for today’s music consumer, Future, is the more prominent artist right now compared to an older rapper like Jay-Z.
“[He’s] way bigger,” 50 said, “Like, there’s consistent music from him that didn’t chart that, huge records that people love and appreciate. Later, it may not have the same things to hold onto that you have at points.”
But not everyone seems to agree with the Power creator. Fat Joe agrees with the list and believes that Jay-Z— who earned the No.1 spot— is more relevant now than ever. While on Instagram live last week, Joe noted that many emcees who were the “gods at the time” with “flows like nobody else” fell off, whereas Jay-Z has remained consistent.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z recently went out for dinner, and a paparazzi actually made them crack up at a joke. Moreover, the star couple went to Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, California, and The Hollywood Fix uploaded a small clip of their exit into their vehicle. While white lights flashed and the two artists walked quietly and calmly to their car, one paparazzi had to pipe up. “Beyoncé!” they yelled out to the couple. Then, they said “B to the A! I mean, B to the C- whatever.” Furthermore, at that moment, you can hear both celebrities laugh softly at the poor photographer.
“Take care, Beyoncé,” they added. “I love you. You run the world remember that,” and you can slightly hear the singer thank him. After all, they’re not wrong. Moreover, she had an incredibly successful past year, marked by her album RENAISSANCE and the announcement of a world tour. In fact, she received so much praise and acclaim that even a Grammy nomination feels moot. When she lost the Album of the Year award to Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, fans on social media reacted in rage.
Still, her husband isn’t making a huge fuss of it. “I remove myself from the process and hope they just get it right,” he remarked about the Recording Academy’s choices. “It got to the point where I was like, it’s just a marketing thing. You go, you got an album out and it could help the sales go up.” Of course, RENAISSANCE hardly needs a promotional or streaming boost, but the sentiment is there. After all, the most awarded Grammy rapper (tied with Kanye West) knows a thing or two about the ceremony. However, he still stood by why he felt the album deserved to win.
“Look what it’s done to the culture,” he expressed. “Look how the energy of the world moved. They play her whole album in the club. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. The whole entire joint — like, everything?! Every remix is amazing. Everyone’s inspired. It has inspired the world. Every remix is better than the other one. From anybody, we’re just finding these joints out in the street… It’s inspiring creativity.
“You know how The Black Album had The Grey Album [Danger Mouse’s 2004 mashup project]?” he continued. “And the one with Radiohead? It was called Jaydiohead [Minty Fresh Beats’ 2009 mashup]. When it just inspires creativity, that’s an album. That has to be Album Of The Year. It has to be.” Regardless of your take, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest on Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and paparazzi comedians.
