Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, and Akon have found themselves in hot water after being charged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for promoting illegal cryptocurrency offerings. However, this isn’t just another case of famous faces getting caught up in financial fraud. What Happened? Akon, Soulja Boy, and Lil Yachty are among the […]
The post Akon, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty & More Charged for Promoting Illegal Cryptocurrency Offerings appeared first on SOHH.com.
After only just emerging back into the public eye as the spokesperson for Pepsi’s questionable concoction of milk and cola with the questionable nickname “Pilk,” Lindsay Lohan is in hot water with the SEC over pitching crypto without disclosing that she was paid for the endorsements. She’s also not alone. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lohan, Jake Paul, Kendra Lust, Soulja Boy, Ne-Yo, Lil Yachty, Akon, and Austin Mahone are all being charged in connection with their endorsements for TRON founder Justin Sun’s crypto companies.
“As alleged in the complaint, Sun and others used an age-old playbook to mislead and harm investors by first offering securities without complying with registration and disclosure requirements and then manipulating the market for those very securities,” said director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement Gurbir S. Grewal. “At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation. This is the very conduct that the federal securities laws were designed to protect against regardless of the labels Sun and others used.”
The celebrities charged, except Soulja Boy and Mahone, have agreed to pay $400,000 and effectively plead no contest to avoid admitting wrongdoing. This isn’t legal advice, but they should all probably fire whoever gave them the legal advice that it’s cool to do paid crypto promotion without telling people (and the SEC) that you got paid.
These cases are different than other celebrity-endorsed-crypto cases in the recent past, including the FTX investors suing their celebrity endorsers for allegedly making crypto investments seem safer than they are. For now, most involved in this crypto flim-flam can chug a warm glass of pilk and be glad it’s all over.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
Lil Yachty fans were disappointed tonight, as the rapper’s scheduled performance at SXSW has since been canceled due to rain and lightning in Austin. In addition, all other outdoor venue performances were evacuated from the Moody Amphitheater.
“Attention Moody Amphitheater Guests: Due to current conditions, the venue is being evacuated and all event programming has been cancelled. Our primary concern is the safety of our patrons and staff,” the venue tweeted.
“Unfortunately, we have to evacuate the venue,” a voice says in the video captured by an attendee — and everyone in the crowd audibly boos. “Just for the time being. We will let you know when it is safe to enter. I know this is not what anyone wanted to do.”
The moment the Lil Yachty concert at Billboard’s THE STAGE was evacuated due to lightning at SXSW. #sxsw pic.twitter.com/8FzHMA5CkN
— Jay Janner (@jayjanner) March 17, 2023
While the music will go on safely still inside with other acts, concertgoers are wondering if Yachty will return to make it up to them on another night of the festival.
“Sooo are we gonna get refunded??? cuz i guarantee we did not come to see anybody but yachty…” one fan wrote, tagging SXSW.
soooo are we gonna get refunded??? cuz i guarantee we did not come to see anybody but yachty…. @sxsw
— cassie ☆ (@CASSIEYVE) March 17, 2023
Another pointed out that Yachty had apparently posted to his Twitter and Instagram story that the show would go on before eventually deleting it — meaning it’s unlikely considering the weather conditions are causing power outages in some parts of the city and state.
The first Saturday Night Live guests of April have been revealed. During tonight’s episode, which was hosted by Jenna Ortega and featured two musical performances from The 1975, an onscreen message between commercials revealed that Quinta Brunson from Abbott Elementary will host the first SNL episode of April. The news was then shared on SNL‘s social accounts shortly after.
Quinta and Lil Yachty! pic.twitter.com/QYLO0UqYzG
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) March 12, 2023
Joining Brunson will be rapper and singer Lil Yachty, who is still hot off the release of his critically-acclaimed new album, Let’s Start Here.
Yachty’s latest album features him making a departure from his Soundcloud rap stylings and experimenting with a more psychedelic rock sound. In a recent interview with Billboard, Yachty revealed that making this album was vital for him to show his fans — and more importantly, himself — his wide range of musical talents.
“There’s a lot of kids who haven’t heard any of my references,” he said. “They don’t know anything about Bon Iver or Pink Floyd or Black Sabbath or James Brown. I wanted to show people a different side of me — and that I can do anything, most importantly.”
Quinta Brunson and Lil Yachty’s episode of Saturday Night Live will air on Saturday, April 1 at 11:30 p.m. EST on NBC. The episode will also stream live on Peacock.
Lil Yachty has come out on Twitter to say that he no longer wants to do interviews. According to the American rapper, he feels people are misunderstanding what he says whenever he speaks. Lil Yachty recently dropped his fifth album, back in January 2023. Yachty was absent all of 2022 but managed to start off the new year with a bang. With the release of his new album came multiple interviews where he talks about his project. In some of his interviews, he made some controversial comments regarding his own goals.
Most of these comments are about where he wants to go in the future, musically. Lil Yachty also spoke up about how he felt that hasn’t been taken seriously as an artist. His boldest statement, however, has been where he said “f**k any of the albums I dropped before this one,” in reference to his newest album. These comments threw some of his fans off. As more and more fans call him out, Lil Yachty is getting fed up with the misinterpretation of his statements.
After the recent backlash from his statements, Lil Yachty took to Twitter to express his feelings. “I think ima all around just stop doing interviews,” he announced online. “The things I say are never understood as intended.” Many fans took Yachty’s interview statements about his albums as a disrespect to the hip-hop genre. However, the rapper was most likely just trying to stress the importance of his latest album. He was comparing his own albums to each other, as opposed to dissing the genre as a whole.
Regardless, many fans are still supportive and understanding. His fans are flooding his comments with encouragement, and telling him to keep going. Social media can be full of individuals who misinterpret things easily. It can be frustrating for a celebrity to not feel heard. However, some fans are pointing out that Yachty may simply just need to articulate his thoughts better. It can be easy to say the wrong thing in the heat of the moment. Other fans are encouraging the rapper to only do interviews with certain outlets. All in all, fans are hoping Lil Yachty can let the criticism roll off his back.
When Lil Yachty dropped his Let’s Start Here album last month, Uproxx’s review contextualized that Lil Boat “is not the first rapper to release an alternative project,” but the album “isn’t just a departure from his own oeuvre; it also differentiates itself from its peers.”
And Let’s Start Here is a first for Lil Yachty in an even more unexpected way.
Yachty was revealed as Billboard‘s new cover star on Wednesday, March 8, and within the cover story written by Lyndsey Havens, Motown Records VP of A&R Gelareh Rouzbehani detailed how Yachty was able to posthumously feature famed painter Bob Ross on “We Saw The Sun!” (Ross died from cancer on July 4, 1995.)
Per Rouzbehani, Ross’ estate initially declined. “I think a big concern of theirs was that Yachty is known as a rapper, and Bob Ross and his brand are very clean,” she told Billboard. “They didn’t want to associate with anything explicit.”
She added, “With a lot of back-and-forth, we got the call. Yachty is the first artist that has gotten a Bob Ross clearance in history.”
Elsewhere in the Billboard cover story, Yachty discussed the difficulties of planning his subsequent tour and the desire to collaborate with Tyler The Creator.
“I would love to do a project with Tyler,” Yachty said. “He’s the reason I made this album. He’s the one who told me to do it, just go for it. He’s so confident, and I have so much respect for him because he takes me seriously, and he always has.”
Tyler was correct in pushing Yachty to put Let’s Start Here out in the world, as it debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Alternative Albums charts. Most recently, it served as the perfect palette from which to paint an impressive Rolling Loud California set last weekend.
Lil Yachty made an unexpected turn in his career when he came through with Let’s Start Here. Over the past few months, people have anticipated Yachty’s next move. The release of “Poland” earned him another viral single that became an anthem of the year. However, he also contributed to Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss, which many felt was a promising sign of his next musical endeavor. Yachty produced four songs on the record and even contributed ad-libs to the album.
Between “Poland” and Her Loss, many felt like Yachty would’ve taken his signature sound to new heights. Instead, he leaped into psychedelic rock and delivered a body of work that stands as one of the best in his catalog. With a tight-knit group of collaborators and instrumentalists, he showcased his range as an artist with an unexpected musical direction. He could return to hip-hop in the future but it seems like he might explore this particular genre further in the foreseeable future.
Though the project doesn’t have many features, Yachty did manage to include a sample of Bob Ross on Let’s Start Here. Ross’s voice appears on the “We Saw The Sun!” outro following an excellent performance from Ant Clemons. The sample comes from Ross’ The Joy Of Painting as he provides a hopeful message. But according to VP of A&R at Motown Records Gelareh Rouzbehani, the estate of the late painter didn’t necessarily want to clear the sample at first.
“I think a big concern of theirs was that Yachty is known as a rapper, and Bob Ross and his brand are very clean,” Rouzbehani told Billboard in their new cover story with Yachty. “They didn’t want to associate with anything explicit. But Yachty was adamant, and played the track for Ross’ team and also sent the entire album’s lyrics to set the group at ease. With a lot of back and forth, we got the call. Yachty is the first artist that has gotten a Bob Ross clearance in history.” Eventually, they got it cleared and made history together. How do you feel about Lil Yachty’s new album? Sound off in the comments below.
