Music

R. Kelly’s Ex-Wife Drea Kelly’s ‘Heart Is In Two Places’ Over His Guilty Verdict

by

Drea Kelly appeared on Good Morning Britain this week to discuss the outcome of the sex crimes trial against her ex-husband R. Kelly, saying that her “heart is in two places” as a result of the guilty verdict handed down Monday (September 27). R. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking, including 14 specific acts and eight counts of violating the Mann Act. Drea is “sad that it took this long,” but said that she has to “also wear the hat of a mother and an ex-wife,” unlike some of R. Kelly’s other victims.

“My heart definitely goes out to the survivors and the courage that it takes to come forward and tell the story,” she said, “But my heart breaks as a mother because this is now the legacy that my children will have to deal with and their children’s children. At the end of the day, you cannot walk away from your bloodline.”

She noted that she has the ability to more or less cut ties as the singer’s ex-wife, but that the former couple’s three adult children won’t have it so easy. “I have the ability to separate and kinda distance myself from it, but his blood runs through my children’s veins,” she said. “It’s part of their DNA and they couldn’t escape it even if they wanted to. So it’s very difficult for me to sit in that position.”

R. Kelly posted a statement on Facebook after the verdict was announced, writing, “To all my fans and supporters I love you all and thank you for all the support. Today’s verdict was disappointing and I will continue to prove my innocence and fight for my freedom.” Meanwhile, the prosecution in the trial produced a number of compelling witnesses who attested to Kelly violating the law by having fake ID made for Aaliyah so she couldn’t testify against him after a pregnancy scare, described specific sex acts committed by a 26-year-old Kelly on a 13-year-old Aaliyah, and recounted horrifying abuse at the singer’s hands.

A sentencing trial is set for May 4, 2022, as Kelly is set to go back to Chicago to face another trial on similar state charges.

Nicki Minaj Confirms Her Next Collab Will Be With Former Little Mix Star Jesy Nelson

by
Getty Image

After dropping the 2020 album Confetti, Little Mix‘s Jesy Nelson announced she was officially parting ways as a member of the girl group. The singer, who formed Little Mix on The X-Factor in 2011, after feeling the “constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard.” But it looks like Nelson already has plans to jump start her solo career — and it’s with a very high-profile collaboration.

It all started when Nelson cleared all the posts on her Instagram feed and posted a teaser vaguely promising a “new chapter” for the musician. On Tuesday, Nelson returned to preview what exactly she has in store for her new chapter, and it involves a joint track called “Boyz” with none other than Nicki Minaj.

Nelson and Minaj both shared some behind-the-scenes footage of a dance practice. The end of the clip features a snippet of Minaj in a faux British accent rapping the hook: “It’s the UK baddie and the Barbie.” “Do you think they’re ready for this?” Nelson asked Minaj in the teaser’s caption.

Neither Nelson nor Minaj have offered insight into when “Boyz” is expected to see a release. But the song’s announcement arrives shortly after Minaj made her first public appearance in over two years on stage at Lil Baby’s LA tour stop. Minaj returned to the stage to perform her verses from “Seeing Green” and BIA’s “Whole Lotta Money” remix.

Rick Ross Must Pay $11,000 In Child Support To The Mother Of Three Of His Kids

by
Getty Image

Rick Ross is a man of means, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to save money. Recently the “Rich Forever” rapper revealed that he even mows his own lawn — despite it being huge — to cut down on monthly expenses. It’s a good thing, too, because he just got hit with a new monthly bill that would have some crying poor. According to TMZ, Ross must pay $11,000 a month to the mother of three of his children, Briana Singleton.

In addition, he also agreed to pay $25,000 for Singleton’s attorney in the dispute, along with health insurance and extracurricular activities, which could add up to around $7,500. He may also be required to add annual payments for up to $3,000 per child. However, with an income listed by TMZ at about $585,000/month, the “biggest boss that you’ve seen thus far” shouldn’t be set back too much.

In any event, at least one of his kids (he has four, three with Singleton) likely won’t be needing it in the future. For his son William’s 16th birthday, Ross signed over one of his Wingstop franchises, making the teen a young boss in his own right. Meanwhile, while the younger William just became eligible to get his driver’s license, the elder one only just got his own, despite owning over 100 cars.

A Skeptical Snoop Dogg Absolutely Kills The ‘One-Second Rap Song’ Game On ‘Fallon’

by

After decades in the music industry, Snoop Dogg is putting his music knowledge to the test once and for all. As the latest guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg attempted to guess song titles after hearing a short snippet of a track in a game called One Second Rap Song.

Snoop Dogg was very skeptical about the game at first but unsurprisingly went on to absolutely kill it. When Fallon first explained the game’s premise, Snoop said: “Who thought of this damn show? When you do what I do, one second just may not be enough.” But sure enough, Snoop Dogg was able to successfully guess the title of each hip-hop tune, even when he was played a quarter of a second of a song.

Elsewhere in the segment, Snoop Dogg reveals he has secured a new gig at Def Jam Records: Executive Creative and Strategic Consultant. “I was a fan of Def Jam Records as a kid, and knowing the talent that they have over there and the opportunity that was waiting on me, I wanted to go over there and give a lot of opportunity to the artists over there to get some information, some wisdom and some guidance from me and then also develop some new acts and give some opportunity,” he told Fallon. “So Def Jam was the perfect place for me, considering how much I love it and how much it means to hip-hop and how it really needed somebody like me to change the energy of the building. I’m over there for one reason: to get the music back poppin’ and to make the people feel the way they’re supposed to.”

Watch Snoop Dogg play One Second Rap Song on The Tonight Show above.

Lil Nas X Thinks He Would Never Have Come Out If ‘Old Town Road’ Wasn’t So Successful

by
Getty Image

In a new interview with XXL, Lil Nas X recounts coming out in the wake of the success of his hit song “Old Town Road,” calling it a “duty” to represent other queer people within hip-hop. He previously called the making of his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” therapeutic for him after coming out, which he tells XXL is something he would not have done had “Old Town Road” not been so popular and successful.

“I don’t think I would have ever came out,” he says. “I honestly felt like it was kind of my duty. Especially if I wanted to move forward. And what I was doing, because authenticity is very real, and I feel like people can see right through that. And that’s a part of me.”

His reluctance is understandable. While his announcement was greeted with plenty of acceptance, there were also those who rejected him — as he rightly predicted they would when he refused to admit to being a Nicki Minaj stan. Almost immediately, he faced backlash from other famous figures. He was forced to check Kevin Hart on The Shop over Hart’s old homophobic bits, while in the wake of his success, he’s had to field knee-jerk reactions from other rappers like Dave East, Joyner Lucas, and Boosie Badazz, while shutting down Twitter commenters who claim he’s “being gay for success.”

Nas also had a hard time recruiting other rappers to feature on his debut album Montero, telling a fan on Twitter, “maybe they didn’t want to work with me.” Fortunately, he’s got others on his side such as Kid Cudi, who believes Nas will “break down” the “cloud of homophobia” stifling hip-hop simply by being an example to the youth who might feel left out right now.

Don Toliver Announces The Release Date Of His New Project, ‘Life Of A Don’

by
Getty Image

Houston rapper Don Toliver has had a relatively eventful two years. While most of the entertainment industry was shut down over the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cactus Jack Records product toiled away, building on the buzz he’d accumulated since appearing on his mentor Travis Scott’s 2018 album Astroworld. In addition to popping up on Eminem’s “No Regrets” early in 2020, Toliver dropped his debut album Heaven Or Hell, then featured on projects from Nav, Kaash Paige, Nas, and Rico Nasty, the F9 soundtrack, and on the runaway Internet Money smash, “Lemonade” with Gunna.

Now, he’s set to capitalize on all that hard work with the release of his second album, Life Of A Don. After teasing the project on Twitter earlier this year, Toliver finally shared the release date, October 8, via a grandiose trailer featuring a pair of ballroom dancers onstage in an empty, elegantly appointed theatre.

In addition to the trailer, Toliver has teased the future release with a handful of singles including “What You Need,” “Drugs N Hella Melodies” with Kali Uchis, and “Don’t Go” with Justin Bieber and Skrillex. He’s currently on tour through October 30 with BIA, which means fans on the back end of the tour may well get the opportunity to hear the new album live after its release.

L.O.A.D. (Life Of A Don) is due 10/8 through Cactus Jack and Atlantic Records.

Don Toliver is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rihanna Says It’s ‘Hard To Even Accept’ The Fact She’s A Billionaire

by
Getty Image

While fans may be waiting on Rihanna’s ninth studio album, the singer has been hard at work growing her wealth. As a musician, beauty guru, and business mogul, Rihanna’s net worth last year jumped to a whopping $1.7 billion. That’s a number that’s hard to conceptualize, and even Rihanna agrees. The singer recently said when reflecting on her “humble beginnings,” her billionaire status can be “hard to even accept.”

Speaking in a recent interview with the New York Times, Rihanna said it can be difficult to wrap her head around her massive fortune:

“It’s tricky because it’s hard to even accept that’s where you’re at because I know where I’ve come from. At the same time, it feels good to be able to inspire young women and boys, who like me, come from humble beginnings, who come from parents who are immigrants or who are immigrants themselves, to be able to do this.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Rihanna noted that she aims to give back. She wants a lot of her massive fortune to benefit her Clara Lionel Foundation, which is named after her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. The foundation not only funds emergency responses to natural disasters caused by climate change, but it also supports education initiatives for marginalized communities. “Every dollar I make, I want to give it back,” she said. “When it comes to people who need help, it hurts when I can’t do as much as I want, so now we’re just putting our foot down and C.L.F. is about to grow in a way that I’m really proud of.”

Read Rihanna’s full interview with the New York Times here.

Tyler The Creator Explains Why He Felt Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Family Ties’ Verse ‘Ruined’ Him

by

Rappers often seem like they are in competition, probably because of the nature of their art form. They have to be brash, cocky, outspoken, and a lot of times, very self-focused, to the point it feels like they are all clamoring for a single spot at “the top” of the rap game. In reality, though, there is no real top or “number-one spot”; they can all collect the same trophies over time and many of them enjoy and respect each others’ crafts. Just watch Drake express his appreciation for J. Cole while refuting the North Carolinian’s self-deprecating third-place claim from “Heaven’s EP.”

In a similar way, Tyler The Creator — who has a legitimate claim on the rap album of the year thanks to Call Me If You Get Lost — praises Kendrick Lamar in his XXL cover story. He especially points to Kendrick’s verse on Baby Keem’s “Family Ties,” saying, “You know why it ruined me? Because it’s someone at that level still gunning. He’s trying new voices. He’s trying new shit. He’s still learning. You can tell he was off his phone for a few months.”

Watch Tyler The Creator’s photoshoot interview with XXL above and read the full cover story here.

The New ‘Harder They Fall’ Trailer Teases A Jay-Z And Kid Cudi Collaboration

by

Jay-Z and Kid Cudi, despite both being very popular rappers in the upper echelon of the genre’s best-known names, would seem to be diametrically opposed at first glance. Jay came up in the gritty ’90s and helped define the glitzy sound of the 2000s before settling into his elder statesman role in the last decade. Kid Cudi, however, was a part of the blog era movement to redefine rap, focusing on mental health rather than “Money, Cash, Hoes.”

But the two make for one awesome dynamic duo in the new trailer for the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall, where a new collaboration between them can be heard as Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, and Regina King shoot at each other with old-timey revolvers. Fittingly, the song features a shootout theme, with Cudi’s chorus echoing the refrain “My guns go bang” and Jay’s verse describes a duel: “Bullets with your names, drew / Cock back, aim, shoot.”

Netflix has appeared to make an effort to reach out to both hip-hop generations in recent years; from the rap contest Rhythm + Flow to a new Kanye West documentary to a comedy special hosted by Saweetie, the streaming company has made sweeping overtures to capture a demographic with plenty of potential for all kinds of enjoyable content.

Watch the Harder They Fall trailer above and stream the film itself on Netflix on 11/3.

Sonos Is Adding An Erykah Badu-Curated Station Called ‘Badubotron Radio’ To Their Radio Offerings

by

Erykah Badu has been a legendary force in the music industry for a few decades now, so it’s no surprise that the ultra-hip speakers brand Sonos wanted to partner with the artist. In a new initiative that includes 20 additional stations and shows, Sonos has announced Badu will have her own artist-curated station called Badubotron Radio. According to a press release, Badubotron will “celebrate her 2021 live tour with tracks to help you unwind and expand your mind — from reggae lulla-vibes to induce relaxation to experimental R&B promoting exploration of the mind, body and soul.”

Further description of the station from the brand references all the psychedelic vibes that a Badu-curated mix is going to include: “Erykah Badu’s Badubotron Radio blasts off as Badu takes you outta this world and into her sonic orbit. A space where music genres are stars and the galaxy is filled with psychedelic funk, retro soul, classic rock, spiritual jazz and experimental hip hop. A trip to Badu’s curated station will take your mind exactly where it needs to go.”

For her part, Badu gave a very typical-of-her answer. “WELL Listeners can expect whatever they please,” she began. “I just want them to feel something. Something new, something good, something unfamiliar, something triggering, something that inspires them to peace… Or war, or whatever they may need. Music makes me feel soooo great. There are billions and trillions of atomic memories in these notes. I curated this station especially for me… WITH you In mind, of course. I’m grateful. Push up the faderrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

Yeah, this is going to be good. The station will be debuting sometime in October. As usual, the Sonos Radio offerings are only available on Sonos speakers. If you’re a massive Badu fan and want to find your way in, check out the options here.