Music

Megan Thee Stallion Covered The Funeral Costs Of A Fan Who Died Unexpected

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Megan Thee Stallion always holds it down for her supporters. Whether it be through her music or comments that stand up for the ladies and their rights, the Houston rapper has never shied away from returning the love and support her fans give her. Another example of this came through an interaction Megan had with a user on Twitter who told the rapper that a friend of hers, who was also a fan of Megan, recently died.

“Meg we lost a hottie [crying emoji] our best friend passed away unexpectedly,” the fan wrote. “They absolutely loved you, listening to ur songs was something we did every time we were together. We’re helping their family w funeral costs. We started a gofundme & are halfway there. @theestallion.” They replied to this tweet with a link to a GoFundMe that looked to raise $16,000 in funeral costs for the late fan.

The rapper caught wind of the tweet and responded, “How much do y’all need?” The fan answered back and said $8,000 was needed to meet the goal. Megan then replied with a screenshot that showed she donated $8,155 to the fan to meet the funeral costs.

The rapper’s random act of kindness comes after she made her return from hiatus with her newest single, “Thot Sh*t.”

You can read the interaction between the fan and the Houston rapper in the tweets above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Dr. Dre And Jimmy Iovine’s Los Angeles High School Will Aim To Accomplish ‘Something Extremely Different’

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Shortly after New Year’s Day this year, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine announced they would open a high school in the South Los Angeles area. It will serve as an extension of the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, an undergraduate program the duo created in back 2013. Specifics about the school were not revealed at the time of the announcement, but now that’s changed.

According to Billboard, The school will open in the fall of 2022 through a partnership between the duo and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The innovative high school, which is tentatively named Regional High School No. 1, will house 124 ninth and tenth graders, with plans to later accommodate a total of 250 students. It will also offer a unique curriculum that focuses on multidisciplinary, hands-on learning and emphasizes real-world projects. The school will be built on the Audubon Middle School campus in South Los Angeles.

During a press conference on Monday, both Dre and Iovine spoke about the upcoming school. “I think it’s going to be something extremely different,” Dre said. “I’m still trying to learn myself and understand the politics and the hurdles that we have to get over to help. All we’re here to do is help the kids.” He added, “We’re here strictly for the kids and trying to give them a future and something promising that maybe wasn’t available before then, so that is our intent.”

Iovine added, “I didn’t have great experiences at school and I don’t believe Dre did either, but it feels awesome to be here because the idea is to try … It’s incredible to be here and we come here with complete humility. We know how difficult this is, but we hope that we don’t get criticized for trying, because that’s the most important thing.”

Iovine concluded, “I want to encourage people like us that are fortunate and have success to come to these neighborhoods and really do something positive.”

HER’s ‘Back Of My Mind’ Tracklist Features Lil Baby, Bryson Tiller, Cordae, And More

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HER has been a big deal since 2016, when she released her debut EP, HER Vol. 1. Over the years, the California-born artist has won a Grammy and an Oscar. Through it all, one of the only things HER hadn’t accomplished was release a full-length album, but that will change in just a few days.

Back Of My Mind, HER’s long-awaited long-player debut, will drop on June 18. After revealing its title and cover art earlier this month, the singer shared its tracklist with just three days until the album arrives. According to the Apple Music pre-save page, it’s comprised of 21 songs with contributions from Ty Dolla Sign, Hit-Boy, Cordae, Lil Baby, Kaytranada, Thundercat, Chris Brown, Yung Bleu, DJ Khaled, Bryson Tiller, and YG. Previously-released singles, “We Made It,” “Damage,” “Come Through,” “Hold On,” and “Slide.”

You can check out the full tracklist for the album below.

1. “We Made It”
2. “Back Of My Mind” Feat. Ty Dolla Sign
3. “Trauma” Feat. Cordae & Hit-Boy
4. “Damage”
5. “Find A Way” Feat. Lil Baby
6. “Bloody Waters” Feat. Kaytranada & Thundercat
7. “Closer To Me
8. “Come Through” Feat. Chris Brown
9. “My Own”
10. “Lucky”
11. “Cheat Code”
12. “Mean It”
13. “Paradise” Feat. Yung Bleu
14. “Process”
15. “Hold On”
16. “Don’t”
17. “Exhausted”
18. “Hard To Love”
19. “For Anyone”
20. “I Can Have It” Feat. DJ Khaled & Bryson Tiller
21. “Slide” feat. YG

Back Of My Mind is out 6/18 via MBK Entertainment/RCA Records. Pre-order it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Amorphous Was Brought To Tears After Meeting Brandy And James Fauntleroy During A Studio Session

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Amorphous’ Twitter

Amorphous is having a huge year. After years of sharing DJ mash-ups of popular tracks from the present and the past, the viral producer is seeing his career take off, working with some of the industry’s biggest names. His latest big moment came during a studio session with Brandy and James Fauntleroy. The latter greeted the prospering producer at the door, but it seems to be his introduction to Brandy that moved him the most.

This big moment came not long after Amorphous joined forces with Kehlani for their first-ever collaboration “Back Together.” The track is a summer-ready anthem that speaks about refusing to commit to past lovers. He also spoke about recording the track with the singer during an interview with Uproxx. “I was super nervous going in,” he said. “I mean, it’s Kehlani, it’s my first major studio session. I’ve obviously been in the studio by myself and with friends. But to be working with a major recording artist, I felt a lot of pressure.”

Prior to that, Amorphous provided the production for Fat Joe and Diddy’s “Sunshine (The Light),” which sampled Rihanna’s “Kiss It Better” and “Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much.”

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

YG, Mozzy, And Ty Dolla Sign’s Video For ‘Vibe With You’ Is The Essence Of A West Coast Summer Day

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YG and Mozzy dropped their joint album Kommunity Service last month. It was a solid display of West Coast rap and it’s one that the duo continues to promote. Indeed, now they’ve dropped a new video for “Vibe With You,” which elicits Ty Dolla Sign to sing the song’s chorus, all while the trio drinks in the essence of a West Coast summer day. That includes riding with their ladies in a car with the top down and enjoying an outdoor day party with a large cast of women standing around them.

“Vibe With You” is the fifth track from Kommunity Service to receive the video treatment, following ones for “Dangerous” with G Herbo, “Gangsta,” “Perfect Timing” with Blxst, and “Bompton To Oak Park.” As for Kommunity Service as a whole, the 10-track album features help from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, G Herbo, Tyga, D3, E Mozzy, Celly Ru, and Young M.A., in addition to the aforementioned names.

Elsewhere, Mozzy recently stood alongside Allblack and YFN Lucci in their own videos, while YG handed out more than $20,000 worth of his Block Runner shoes to ex-inmates in Los Angeles.

You can watch the visual for “Vibe With You” above.

Kommunity Service is out now via Mozzy Records/4Hunnid Records/EMPIRE. Get it here.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jay-Z Sues The Photographer Who Shot The ‘Reasonable Doubt’ Cover

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TMZ reports that Jay-Z is suing photographer Jonathan Mannion Photography LLC for using Jay-Z’s name and image without his consent. Mannion, who shot the cover photo for Jay-Z’s 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt, has been using the photos to generate “thousands of dollars” selling prints and merchandise for years, and Jays that when he requested an end to this practice, Mannion demanded “tens of millions of dollars.”

Jay’s lawsuit points out that while Mannion was hired to shoot the cover and had hundreds of leftover, unused images, he was compensated for the photo sessions and Jay-Z maintains the rights to how his likeness is used. Mannion was never given permission to sell or otherwise use the photos from the Reasonable Doubt sessions, with Jay calling it “ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce.” The lawsuit demands Mannion pay Jay any profits he’s made from the sale of the prints and merch using his image.

Speaking of profit from Jay-Z’s image, it was only March that a signed Topps trading card bearing it was sold for a record-breaking sum, raking in $105,780 at auction. If that’s what a mass-produced flick of Jay-Z goes for, it’s no wonder Mannion wanted a piece of the action — and why Jay, the ultimate businessman, wanted that piece back.

There Might Be No Greater Love Than That Of Rick Ross And His Horses

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During an insightful interview in which Rick Ross reveals that his money-saving methods include flying commercial, antiquing, and mowing his own lawn (on a 325-acre property, to the tune of $1 million a year), the Miami rapper also shared his love for his horses. Asked by Forbes’ Michelle Hofmann what he does when he’s not recording, decorating, or working on business partnerships, Ross told her that his horses are his greatest passion, giving worthwhile advice that works in any number of situations.

“When I’m at home, that’s when I get to talk to my horses,” Ross shared. “I get to tell them what my week was like. I get to rub them on their noses and their heads. They love me. They try to kiss my ears. When they see me walk up to the gate, they stop doing what they’re doing and they trot to me like they are saying, ‘There he is. We hope he has carrots and apples.’ And I do. Remember, a boss always comes bearing gifts. You’ve gotta bear gifts.”

Interestingly enough, Rick Ross’s love for horses has fascinated fans on social media for years. At one point, his Snapchat content largely consisted of him feeding and petting his horses, and in 2016, a video of Ross struggling to mount one of them for a ride went viral.

Check out the full interview here.

Pooh Shiesty’s Alleged Shooting Victim Recants His Police Statement

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The security guard Pooh Shiesty allegedly shot at Miami nightclub King Of Diamonds over Memorial Day weekend has reportedly recanted his police statement, claiming that he can’t remember what happened on the night of the incident, according to TMZ.

Pooh’s attorneys have filed a motion to grant the rapper a release from jail on bond with sworn testimony from the guard, Frivin Dor, claiming that he was given a powerful painkiller after the incident and was still feeling the effects when he talked to police. Pooh’s lawyers argue that this should be enough for prosecutors to consider throwing the case or at least granting the rapper the possibility of bail.

According to TMZ, in Dor’s new account, he attributes the club commotion to a cooling fan falling in a nearby garage. He says he doesn’t recall Sheisty aiming at him at all, despite his previous account and video from the night of that suggests that Shiesty shot someone. However, Dor supposedly doesn’t want to press charges or make any other statements.

Previously, the security guard alleged that he was shot trying to prevent Pooh Shiesty from firing at anyone else after the rapper was incensed by someone in the club trying to grab stray bills out of his pockets. While trying to calm him down, the guard says he was shot in the leg when the rapper spontaneously let off a round in anger. Shiesty was arrested last week after turning himself in.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Dr. Dre Speaks Out Following His Brain Aneurysm: ‘I Never Saw That Coming’

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Early this year, Dr. Dre was rushed the the hospital following a major health scare. It turned out that he had suffered a brain aneurysm and he remained in the ICU for several days. Thankfully, the producer made a full recovery and even hit the studio shortly after returning home. While Dre says the incident took him by surprise, he now has some sage advice to prevent the same issues from arising in others.

Dre recently sat down with the LA Times to discuss his new endeavor, an LA public high school aimed at preparing students to become entrepreneurs. The producer also spoke about his surprise brain aneurysm, giving an update on the current state of his health:

“It’s a really weird thing. I’ve never had high blood pressure. And I’ve always been a person that has always taken care of my health. But there’s something that happens for some reason with Black men and high blood pressure, and I never saw that coming. But I’m taking care of myself. And I think every Black man should just check that out and make sure things are okay with the blood pressure. And I’m going to move on and, hopefully, live a long and healthy life. I’m feeling fantastic.”

Anderson .Paak also recently gave an update about Dre’s health, saying he’s actually being doing great in quarantine. “Dre’s having a good-ass time,” he said. “That’s already his life — isolation, working all the time. I think he was probably used to it. But he’s having fun now because a lot of people have more time on their hands, so they can come visit him and make music with big Uncle Dre.”

Cardi B Gushes Over Her ‘Fast & Furious 9’ Character: ‘She’s Just That B*tch’

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The latest movie in the Fast & Furious franchise, F9 (aka Fast & Furious 9), is set to his theaters in the US on June 25. Cardi B landed a role in the film, and ahead of its theatrical release, she talked about her character (Leysa) and how she came to be involved with the movie.

In a video, she said, “Vin Diesel reached out, and he was talking about a role. I’m like, ‘It’s freakin’ Fast & Furious. Get me there, put me on a plane!’ I like the fact that I’m representing such a powerful, strong woman. She’s just that bitch [laughs]. […] I remember when I saw Ludacris in Fast & The Furious, […] then to see Don Omar, it makes the hood have hope. Being around Vin, he’s just so nice, so dope. He makes you feel so comfortable. I’m just so excited.”

She also tweeted today about her excitement to see the movie, writing, “I can’t wait to watch Fast and furious 9 .I haven’t seen my scenes yet! That’s the best part about it thooo watching the movie then you see yourself coming in.I’m sooo proud of myself. GOD IS GOOD ! Can I get a ALL THE TIME ? !!!!”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.