Last month, Nicki Minaj received news that her father was tragically struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident. Robert Maraj was walking at the intersection of Roslyn Rd. and Raff Ave. in Mineola, New York when a white Volvo driven by 70-year-old Charles Polevich hit him. Polevich fled the scene but was arrested a few days later. More than a month after the incident, Robert’s wife has filed a $150 million lawsuit against the 70-year-old.
Paul Napoli and I have filed a $150 million lawsuit in the hit-and-run death of Robert Maraj, @NICKIMINAJ‘s father. Charles Polevich was not only irresponsible & negligent in hitting Maraj, but was more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help. pic.twitter.com/tPrJgwYRIV
According to TMZ, the lawsuit was filed by civil rights lawyer Ben Crump and New York-based attorney Paul Napoli. In a tweet, Crump said that Polevich was “not only irresponsible & negligent in hitting Maraj, but was more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help.” He added, “Polevich’s behavior was criminal, cowardly, and immoral. We will hold him responsible for his reckless actions that led to Robert Maraj’s death!”
Polevich turned himself into Long Island police just days after the hit-and-run incident. According to the cops, after he struck Maraj, he “then exited his vehicle stood over the victim asked him if ‘he was ok,’ walked and returned to his vehicle and fled the scene.” He then drove home while “avoiding intersections and did conceal his vehicle in the detached garage at his residence.”
Upon his arrest, Polevich was charged with two felonies: leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was freed on a $250,000 bond. Polevich was also ordered to surrender his passport in order to stay in New York state.
Ever since R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle released their breathtaking sophomore Ungodly Hour, the two have taken the music industry by storm. They’ve graced countless late-night talk shows with captivating performances, and were even nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song, Best Traditional R&B Performance, and Best R&B Performance. Though they didn’t end up taking home any awards, it still gave the young singers a healthy signal boost. Now returning with new music, the sister duo share a moving cover of “Georgia On My Mind.”
Chloe x Halle’s rendition of the classic ballad puts their powerful vocals on full display. The song was originally recorded to feature in an ESPN commercial ahead of the Masters Tournament, which takes place in Georgia.
In a statement, Chloe x Halle shared their excitement about the cover: “We are happy to be given the opportunity to record our version of the timeless ‘Georgia On My Mind’ for the Masters Tournament.”
Ahead of the release of “Georgia On My Mind,” Chloe x Halle decided to revisit some of their old music. Because they still can’t tour behind Ungodly Hour, the sister duo decided to revamp it instead. Offering a new take on a deluxe album, Chloe x Halle dropped the “Chrome Edition” of Ungodly Hour, which featured two news songs.
Listen to Chloe x Halle’s “Georgia On My Mind” cover above.
In the last few weeks, everyone from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to toilet paper brand Charmin have been talking about NFTs. NFTs, which stand for Non-fungible tokens, are a way for creators to make a profit off their digital content using blockchain technology. Several musicians have already gotten a jump start on the trend, and Rico Nasty is now the latest.
On Friday, Rico Nasty announced that she’ll be teaming up with her “OHFR?” video creator Don Allen III to sell artwork from the video as an NFT. Not only will the owner of the NFT get to boast ownership of the clip, but they’ll also receive the authenticated physical hammer seen in the video, signed by the rapper herself.
Rico Nasty isn’t the first musician to join the NFT marketplace. Grimes was one of the first to sell her artwork as an NFT, raking in $6 million in just one day. Diplo, Halsey, and Post Malone have also recently sold NFTs.
The NFT will be made available for bidding on SuperRare starting March 22 at 9 am EST, followed up by a conversation with Rico Nasty on Clubhouse. Join the discussion here and watch Rico Nasty’s “OHFR?” video above.
Nightmare Vacation is out now via Atlantic/Sugar Trap. Get it here.
Rico Nasty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Saweetie took to Twitter to make the announcement, hinting that the main reason for their breakup was because Quavo had been unfaithful to her during their three-year relationship. “I’m single. I’ve endured too much betrayal and hurt behind the scenes for a false narrative to be circulating that degrades my character,” she wrote. “Presents don’t band aid scars and the love isn’t real when the intimacy is given to other women.”
Quavo has now broken his silence and is denying Saweetie’s allegations that he cheated. “I know you want to make this into a show so I’ll play my part just this one time,” he wrote in a tweet. “I don’t normally put my business out there, especially my personal life. I feel the need to address this so there are no false narratives.”
I know you want to make this into a show so I’ll play my part just this one time. I don’t normally put my business out there, especially my personal life. I feel the need to address this so there are no false narratives.
The rapper continued, taking aim at Saweetie’s character: “I had love for you and disappointed you did all that. You are not the woman I thought you were,” he wrote. “I wish you nothing but the best.”
I had love for you and disappointed you did all that. You are not the woman I thought you were. I wish you nothing but the best .
According to Saweetie, though, she’s remaining unbothered. After announcing their breakup, the rapper said she had “emotionally checked out a long time ago” and is now ready for her “new chapter of elevation.”
Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
For years, people have been noticing how certain predictions of the future in The Simpsons end up actually coming true, like Trump’s presidential campaign and Kamala Harris’ Inauguration Day outfit. But now, people have noticed that Donald Glover’s Emmy-nominated series Atlanta may have coincidentally made an accurate pop culture prediction about Justin Bieber. The singer released his album Justice on Friday, a title that Atlanta forecast in their first season’s episode “Nobody Beats The Biebs.”
The episode originally aired back on September 27 2016. Earn’s cousin and client, Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles, participated in a celebrity basketball game benefiting the community’s youth. The celebrity in question ended up being Justin Bieber. Instead of tapping Bieber to act in the episode, the show cast Black actor Austin Crute.
During the episode, Bieber held a press conference at the charity basketball game where he announced his next album would be titled — you guessed it — Justice. “I’m not a bad guy. I actually love Christ,” Bieber says in a scene from the episode. “I guess I’ve just been hanging out with the wrong people. Which is why I want to sing this new single from my upcoming album, Justice.”
It’s official; Saweetie and Quavo are no longer relationship goals. The “Best Friend” rapper confirmed that she and her Migos beau have broken up after a day of wildly circulating rumors. The rumors began when the two unfollowed each other on Instagram and Twitter, prompting speculation from fans that their seemingly perfect relationship had taken a setback.
Saweetie explained the reasons for the split in a tweet, accusing Quavo of infidelity. It’s unknown if the incident in question is related to prior rumors about Quavo cheating on her. “I’m single,” she verified. “I’ve endured too much betrayal and hurt behind the scenes for a false narrative to be circulating that degrades my character. Presents don’t band-aid scars and the love isn’t real when the intimacy is given to other women.”
I’m single. I’ve endured too much betrayal and hurt behind the scenes for a false narrative to be circulating that degrades my character. Presents don’t band aid scars and the love isn’t real when the intimacy is given to other women.
A second tweet provided more context, establishing that the breakup had been coming for some time. Saweetie wrote, “I emotionally checked out a long time ago and have walked away with a deep sense of peace and freedom. Excited for this new chapter of elevation.”
I emotionally checked out a long time ago and have walked away with a deep sense of peace and freedom. Excited for this new chapter of elevation
Quavo hasn’t tweeted since March 7, when he promoted a Foot Locker partnership, and his last Instagram post is a shot from Migos’ appearance on Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards from four days ago. All hope may not be lost, though; his partner-in-rhyme Offset was also accused of cheating in the past, nearly losing his wife Cardi B a few times over the last three years, but Cardi and Offset still seem to be going strong.
Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Tee Grizzley switches up his flow on his new song “White Lows Off Designer” — a likely side effect of collaborating with one of the most melodic rappers out, Lil Durk. The woozy-sounding single finds the two Midwestern MCs reflecting on the street code — “Loyalty no option / Please don’t start no drama” — with singsong flows that make the gritty subject matter sound almost beautiful.
Although he hasn’t announced any projects coming out this year, Tee Grizzley appears to be slowly rolling out a new collection of music for 2021. He most recently put out the video for “Late Night Calls,” his first solo single of the year after sharing a pair of singles featuring his little brother Baby Grizzley, “Twin Grizzlies” and “Gave That Back.”
Meanwhile, the resurgent Lil Durk has been a hot commodity for features ever since popping up on Drake’s single “Laugh Now Cry Later.” New Jersey newcomer Coi Leray tapped Durk to add a verse to her breakout single “No More Parties,” R&B revivalist Kehlani put him on her “Love You Too,” and Lil Baby is working on a joint mixtape with him.
Listen to Tee Grizzley’s “White Lows Off Designer” with Lil Durk above.
Tee Grizzley is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Do not cross Pooh Shiesty and Gucci Mane. That’s the main message behind their song “Ugly,” which they dropped the video for today. The persistent minor keys and muted percussion highlight a menacing beat from Nile Waves and Doc Playboi, while the duo’s cold-eyed verses stack blocks of rhymes dedicated to conveying one intimidating theme: If you challenge these two Southern trap veterans, “Sh*t get ugly.”
The video is a straightforward affair, with the two rappers aiming guns and lasers at the camera alongside a bevvy of ski-masked models who are just as heavily armed despite being more scantily clad.
The song comes from Pooh’s recently released Shiesty Season mixtape, which introduced the Memphis MC to a wider audience after he signed to Gucci’s new 1017 label in 2020 and featured prominently on the label’s first compilation album Gucci Mane Presents: So Icy Summer. Thanks to those big moves, and singles like “Guard Up” and “Back In Blood,” he’s become a breakout star to watch — and earned enough to be able to buy his mom a new house.
Watch Pooh Shiesty’s “Ugly” video with Gucci Mane above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“I feel like respect is the most important sh*t ever,” 23-year-old rising rap star DDG firmly proclaims over a mid-day Zoom call with Uproxx. “I feel like being respected is better than being loved. If you ain’t gonna love me, you at least gotta respect me. Disrespect is not tolerated on my side.”
Today, the Pontiac, Michigan-bred rapper is celebrating the release of his latest project Die 4 Respect with legendary producer OG Parker. From the sound of their 11-track collection of songs, respect should be on the way.
“I feel like OG Parker don’t get enough respect,” DDG further asserts. “He on the radio every day, people don’t even realize it that this n**** — he’s a G.O.A.T., he’s a genius.”
Alternately, many may know DDG from the YouTube space. However, he’s fully aware that the idea of one of the top Black YouTube creators transitioning into the music space to become one of the biggest stars in the world, is an idea that may take some time for people to get used to.
“Just because I come from this different platform don’t mean that I don’t deserve the same respect as a motherf*cker that went to jail 10 times and got out and made some songs and got lit,” he says.
DDG isn’t necessarily asking for anyone’s respect, though. He’s simply taking it.
Philip Cosores
With nearly 10 million combined subscribers on YouTube and a loyal base of supporters who show up for DDG at all costs, that should be easy. It makes even more sense when the music aligns with the talent and that’s what DDG delivers on Die 4 Respect.
Getting to this point has been a windy road. In 2014, he lost his older brother Darion Breckinridge. He recalls being woken up at 4 o’clock in the morning with the tears of his big sister telling him the heartbreaking news. He raps about the moment on the track “Hood Melody” featuring NBA Youngboy.
“A lot of people don’t make it out of Pontiac,” he says. “That’s why when you search for Pontiac, I pop up. Not to sound cocky or nothing but DDG is Pontiac. That’s because not a lot of people make it out that motherf*cker. That’s why I keep it in my name. I keep PontiacMadeDDG in my Instagram name, in all my social media handles because I like to let people know where I come from and that sh*t made me who I am. It made me change my ways and it made me want more for myself. It made me want to get my mom out of there.”
For Darion’s funeral, a fund was set up for people to donate. With some of the leftover funds, his mom asked him if he wanted a car or a camera. He ultimately chose a camera with a combined effort to focus on school so that he could make it out the city.
“I was always heavy into the school side,” the high school valedictorian admits. “I used to stay after school. I was like a little nerd and into robotics. I was like a cool nerd. I had all the girls.”
While working at TJ Maxx in high school, he quit after making his first $200 check from creating videos and having fun on YouTube.
Philip Cosores
“I’m wondering if I can make $400,” he remembers. “I’m wondering if I can make $1,000. Then I got to college, freshman year, it got to a point I was making like $700 a month, which is nothing. But I’m in college, that’s crazy. I’m 18 and it get to a point where I’m making like 10, 15K, 20K a month. This was before I really got into music. I did a song with Zaytoven before I even went to college. That was like when I was 17 years old, and I just never really took music too serious. I was focused on YouTube.”
While majoring in Broadcasting at Central Michigan University, he was rocking expensive threads like Bape hoodies and Yeezy attire on campus. Much like quitting his job at TJ Maxx, DDG made the decision to drop out of college after reaching over $10,000 a month in revenue.
“It was an 8 a.m. class and I had to pass it for my major,” he says of the moment he decided to longer go to school. “My major was broadcasting and my minor was acting because that’s what I wanted to do. I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want to wake up for this no more. It’s sophomore year, I’m making 15 bands a month.’ So I’m like, ‘I’m done going to class.’ Let’s see, let’s take a leap of faith. I’m sitting in my dorm and I skipped class for three weeks straight. You know college, they don’t call you, they don’t care if you come to class or not.”
It was around the time that the killer clowns phenomenon was going viral on social media that he began to make that type of money off his own killer clown videos.
“I’m the hottest Black creator there is,” he says of that moment. “There is nobody that’s more lit than me. I’m on some other sh*t. Whatever is lit on YouTube, I’m doing because I’m making money. 2017, I’m dropping diss tracks every week and I’m beefing with my buddies. But it’s not like real beef on my side. I really don’t care. I’m just finessing. I make a diss track on Lil Yachty.”
The diss towards Lil Boat came about after hearing the Atlanta rapper spit, “S, K, T, D, D, G,” in a freestyle to Tay-K’s “The Race.” Though DDG knew Yachty was not talking about him, the clever creative chose to take things full-throttle with not only a diss track but with an accompanying video that he also edited himself.
“The sh*t gets 12 million,” he recalls. “It goes crazy, like the biggest video I ever had.”
Yachty actually ended up responding to his diss track by hopping on Twitter to deny any knowledge of who DDG is. Now the two have a song together titled “Rule #1.”
“Me and Yachty cool at this point,” he tells me. “I DMed him, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m just messing, bro. I know you ain’t shout me out. I’m just finessing. Don’t even mind that sh*t.’ I got that squared away.”
Soon after, YouTube had a devastating crash and his monthly income went from 50k to $8,000. Not one to panic, he chose to adapt and made the decision to focus on music with the understanding that people may not take him too seriously.
“I know they ain’t gonna rock with me off the jump because I’m this full-blown YouTube dude,” he says.
Once his song “Lettuce” with Famous Dex earned 5 million views on Worldstar Hip Hop, he began to turn things up a notch.
Among other songs he released during this point in time is the track “No Label” where he boasts about all the labels after naming Atlantic and others being on his line offering him million-dollar deals.
“I’m in my bag. I’m lit right now,” he says of that time period. “So I was just feeling myself and I knew where I was headed. I knew where I was going. It was just I always know where I’m going. I know I’m going to be the biggest artist at some point. It’s just about me being patient and making sure I follow all the steps to get to that point and not lose sight of the journey rather than looking at the destination.”
In that song, he raps about copping a Wraith, which he eventually manifests in 2019.
“When I made that song, I couldn’t afford a Wraith at the time, but I knew I was on my way,” he says. “I knew how much money I was making and I knew as long as I saved up for a little bit, I was going to get that Wraith.”
“I go ahead and I do a song called, ‘Take Me Serious,’ shot in downtown LA, shot the music video,” he remembers. Next was his R&B record “Arguments,” which was the song that got him signed to Epic. The song was part of debut album Valedictorian to which he admits to being disappointed in.
“I just think when Valedictorian was coming out, truthfully, I felt insecure about my music,” he laments. “I felt like, ‘I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough to work with these people yet. I didn’t put in the groundwork to work with these people yet.’”
One thing he learned about his process in making Valedictorian from his process in making Die 4 Respect is that making music takes time. It can’t be dealt with in the same rapidness that he creates his YouTube videos. Especially if he wants to be taken seriously as a rapper in this game.
“I already put the groundwork in, man,” he says of his journey so far. “I went on two solo tours and I’m headlining both of my own tours and I’m selling it out. It’s like at this point, nobody can tell me that they don’t take me serious. Nobody can tell me that I’m not an artist. It sounds dumb. I just wanted to prove people wrong at this point. I’m more impactful than a lot of rappers that’s already lit because I got kids on lock. Every minority kid, every minority teenager know who I am. That was my goal. That was me at one point. I want these people to look up to me. I just got a cult following.”
Philip Cosores
The burgeoning star has a staunch army of supporters who show up for him for not just entertainment but inspiration. He knows that he’s spawning a generation of Black kids who are vlogging because of him and he takes pride in that.
Before our conversation, he recounted how he was recently on Instagram live motivating his fans and said someone had sent him a DM, thanking him for helping them to become a millionaire.
“If I ever met 50 Cent when I was a kid, I would’ve cried and now people look at me like I’m 50 Cent,” he says. “The little kid that I used to be is my supporters. They look up to me like I used to look up to him. I’m their favorite like he used to be my favorite. So it’s just a dope feeling, man.”
DDG himself gathers inspiration from those he looks up to the most and if he can help it, is on his way to becoming just as great. After all, he’s barely getting started and already has two gold records under his belt including his breakout hit “Moonwalking In Calabasas.”
“I’m going to be lit,” he proclaims. “I’m finna to be him very, very soon and I’m excited for that. I want to know what it feels like to be Meek or Drake. I want to know what it feels like to be Diddy. I want to know what it feels like to be 50 Cent. I want to know what it feels like to be Lil Baby, to be on top of the rap industry. I want to know what that feels like and I’m chasing that experience and I feel like that’s what really keeps me going.”
DDG is confident and poised to win at this juncture.
“I really feel passionate about it to the point where I’d die about this sh*t like you gonna respect me at the end of this,” he expresses. “At the end of my road, everybody gonna respect me. That’s how I feel.”
Die 4 Respect is out now via Epic Records. Get it here.
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