On August 9, Apple TV+ will launch The Instigators, a criminal comedy that takes a lighter approach to the heist genre. Starring in the next movie with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are Jack Harlow as well. The action-packed trailer was posted by the actors on Thursday, June 13. For a mere two and a half minutes, viewers are introduced to Damon as an ex-Marine planning his first robbery with the help of a younger, more experienced team, which includes Harlow.
The movie, which was first revealed a year ago, is the continuation of Harlow’s acting career, which has drawn some “mixed” reviews. Although Harlow has received accolades for his performance, his previous film, a remake of White Men Can’t Jump, was heavily criticized for being very much inferior to the original. Additionally, Paul Walter Hauser, Ron Perlman, Hong Chau, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alfred Molina, and Ving Rhames make up the rest of the all-star cast of The Instigators. Since Doug Liman is also directing it, perhaps people will begin to believe all those claims that “Apple TV has the best content.” Someone someone instruct Netflix on how to accomplish this.
In a 2022 interview, Harlow talked about getting his first acting job with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “You know, I did the work to get it. I put the time in with the script, I sat with it. I considered things,” he explained. He continued saying, “I tried to be egoless during the audition, take notes, do what I had to do, and it came…. I just want to kill it. I just want to be good, and I want to do everything I can to make it good.” Furthermore, Jack Harlow is now loking to expand and solidify himself in the movie world.
“There was an initial excitement about announcing it and just the buzz that comes with saying, ‘Look, I’m in a movie.’ Everybody [is] like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’ But after that, [the] dust settles,” the rapper continued. “It’s either just going to be there was an announcement you were in a movie and nothing else, or you get that, and it’s like, ‘Wow, and you brought it. You brought it.’ So, I’m starting to look at it how I look at the music, and it’s my first one, so I care a lot about it.” Overall, The Instiators looks like it’ll be a good time, and Jack harlow looks good in it.
When Gucci Mane launched the latest iteration of the 1017 imprint, one of the standout artists in the line-up was Enchanting. The multi-talented singer and rapper immediately caught attention, not only because she was the only woman in the group, but also for her unique vocals. Sadly, news about Enchanting’s hospitalization started circling on June 10, 2024. Fans tried to stay optimistic about her progress as she was put on life support, but the 26-year-old artist was announced dead the next day. Despite the brevity of her career, Enchanting was already making a name for herself and had amassed a dedicated fanbase. Undoubtedly, her bright light dimmed out way too soon.
Channing Nicole Larry was a singer and rapper based in Texas. She started singing at a young age in her church choir and honed her vocal talents. She also used to make covers of songs she liked, primarily in the R&B genre, and share them on Soundcloud. While in high school, Enchanting was a cheerleader and played some other sports. She also had some side hustles like doing hair and nails, but hadn’t yet considered going into music full time. Her first mixtape, Love & Drugs, did well on Soundcloud, earning 100k plays, despite her not doing any promotion. That was when she realized that she could pursue music full-time and started to dedicate herself to her craft.
Breakout And Career
After high school, she started recording and releasing her own music. In an interview with Dallas Observer, she shared that music has always come naturally to her. However, it wasn’t something she had considered pursuing seriously until after school. Her first foray into music was through a friend who had a studio. He encouraged her to post covers online, despite her shy nature.
She went from posting covers to recording original music and released her first mixtape on Soundcloud. The success of her first mixtape spurred her on in her career which eventually caught the attention of Jay White. The producer, known for working with many talented rappers such as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, told Enchanting that he believed he could get her signed. White showed her music to Gucci Mane who reached out to Enchanting personally and asked her to join 1017.
Enchanting shared that she had initially planned on focusing on R&B, but discovered she was a talented rapper while working with Gucci Mane and the other members of 1017. She featured on a few songs with Gucci Mane, and her softly delivered bars made her verses memorable. In 2022, she released her debut album, No Luv. The predominantly rap album included many features from artists such as Gucci Mane, the late Big Scarr, Kaliii, Coi Leray, and more. She followed up No Luv with Luv Scarred, an R&B-focused album that brought her lyricism and vocals to the forefront while showcasing her softer side. Alongside her music career, Enchanting also ran a successful OnlyFans page.
Enchanting was in a long-term relationship with rapper MotionGod Bandman. The two met in 2022 and started dating that same year. The two didn’t work together too often, but she collaborated on his song “Trap Don’t Stop” in 2022. When Enchanting was hospitalized, Bandman shared some Facebook posts about her health. Since her death, he has shared some more posts mourning her.
Enchanting’s sister Kayy Jayy also shared some posts, first updating the public on her sister’s health status and mourning her when her death was confirmed. Kayy Jayy, or Kashunte Johnson, isn’t a rapper like her sister. She is a devoted mother to two children, a daughter, and a son, and resides in Houston, Texas.
Enchanting was also very close to the late rapper Big Scarr. Both artists were signed on 1017 by Gucci Mane in 2020 and Scarr released his debut mixtape, Big Grim Reaper in 2021. Big Scarr, whose real name was Alexander Woods, died in 2022 due to an accidental drug overdose. Enchanting shared many social media posts mourning him.
On a trip to Egypt in 2004, the RZA first ideated a new Wu-Tang Clan album that would deservedly treat music as high art, not as a commodity to create and distribute quickly and on a dime. By the time the LP Once Upon A Time In Shaolin “came out” in 2015, following almost a decade of studio sessions with the whole Wu, the project became a more pertinent experiment and statement amid streaming’s rising devaluation of music. He and producer Cilvaringz worked heavily on recreating that gritty sound from the 36 Chambers days, compiling verses from every surviving member of the rap group plus some extra names like Redman and Cher.
So when 2015 rolled around, and the album released as a unique physical copy with no digital equivalent, the idea was to tour it around museums, listening events, and the like before landing on a single buyer. Wu-Tang Clan members like Ghostface Killah, Method Man, and Raekwon all voiced their grievances over remaining in the dark on this release strategy. Despite the internal conflicts of the group, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin stuck to this approach, and its legacy continues to champion this idea, albeit in an altered manner, to this day. But it definitely went through many obstacles to find itself in 2024, and will likely face more. But where did this all start?
Once Upon A Time In Shaolin entered the steep marketplace with some legal stipulations: its eventual owner would not be able to release or profit off of the album until 2103, 88 years after its release. About 150 art aficionados, critics, and art dealers heard the album at a MoMA listening session in 2015, and auction house Paddle8 searched for a buyer. This was more of a compromise when compared to the original vision for this Wu-Tang Clan album to tour the world in a briefcase. Alas, they eventually found the project’s buyer, which opened up a notorious can of worms.
Martin Shkreli Buys The Wu-Tang Clan’s Album In 2015
In 2015, hedge fund head and infamous “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli bought the album at an auction for $2 million. This wasn’t just controversial based on the presumptuous image that he represented as Once Upon A Time In Shaolin‘s owner, but also because of his actions elsewhere. A big narrative around this sale was that Shkreli had raised the price of the anti-parasitic drug Daraprim, for AIDS treatment among other uses, by 5,000%. He promised to leak the album if Donald Trump became U.S. President in 2016, yet upon his election, he only played some snippets here and there and shared them online across various platforms. Shkreli also boasted about playing the album for partners and colleagues, and this obviously caused a stir in the Wu-Tang Clan camp.
How Did The Wu Respond To Shkreli?
The RZA claimed ignorance of Martin Shkreli’s moves to raise Daraprim’s price before they finalized the purchase. In fact, the group apparently donated much of the proceeds behind the sale to charities supporting cancer treatment and other medical efforts to circumvent high pharmaceutical costs. While he defended Shkreli’s right to purchase the album as a hip-hop fan and appreciator of art, others weren’t so keen. Ghostface Killah got into it with the “pharma bro,” resulting in some back-and-forth diss videos in which Shkreli played more of the album. Method Man also spoke on feeling blindsided and at odds with Once Upon A Time In Shaolin in 2017, and others like Raekwon spoke of their differences in the years since.
In 2017, a court convicted Martin Shkreli on federal charges involving security fraud, and while he tried to sell the album on eBay before his imprisonment and 2018 sentencing to seven years, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin became one of the assets that the court seized as part of a $7.3 million forfeit. The Wu-Tang Clan’s album fell into the hands of the U.S. government, and Ghostface Killah and Raekwon were among those who blasted Shkreli after this arrest. But the question of what would happen to the album remained a mystery… until 2021.
Pleasr Takes Over
there are a lot of beautiful ideas of what this art can be and how it can expand itself in the world and have a life of itself — the possibilities are there now.” – RZA
In July 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the sale of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin in its continued asset seizure of Shkreli. The buyer was later revealed as NFT company PleasrDAO, who bought the Wu-Tang Clan project for $4 million. This doubled its value but still left its future as an uncertain sea of speculation.
On June 10, 2024, PleasrDAO filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court against Martin Shkreli for allegedly playing unauthorized copies of Once Upon A Time In Shaolin since 2021 that breached the terms of his forfeiture order. Not only that, but the company claimed that he boasted about this practice on social media. Shkreli blasted this lawsuit attempt online, calling PleasrDAO “super nerds” that displayed a “lack of diligence” in their arguments.
Once Upon A Time In Shaolin Is Slowly Becoming A Reality… Right?
Apparently, this did not halt Pleasr’s efforts to get the album out to the public little by little… and on their terms. Earlier this June, New York City’s oldest synagogue held a listening event for bits of the album (not in its entirety), and the company announced that the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania would host 30-minute listening events playing select Once Upon A Time In Shaolin cuts twice daily as part of its “Namedropping” exhibition, running from June 15 to June 24. Not only that, but they also reportedly launched five-minute snippets from the Wu-Tang Clan album as NFTs, as part of a reported agreement to “unlock” the album by speeding up the timeline until October 8, 2103 by 88 seconds with each purchase. Will it generate the $28 million necessary to put all the pieces together? Time will tell…
Remember NFTs? It’s okay if you don’t — no one should — but, apparently, no one told PleasrDAO, who now owns Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-one album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin. You should remember this; the album was recorded in secret over six years, pressed onto one CD copy in 2014, and auctioned for an extravagant amount of money to a person who even RZA regretted giving access to it.
As predicted back when the group of self-declared “DeFi leaders, early NFT collectors, and digital artists” was first revealed to have bought the album from the US government at auction, PleasrDAO has turned the album into an NFT. A representative for the group told Rolling Stone upon its purchase, “This album at its inception was a kind of protest against rent-seeking middlemen, people who are taking a cut away from the artist. Crypto very much shares that same ethos. The album itself is kind of the O.G. NFT.”
According to Consequence, PleasrDAO figured out a loophole in the legal agreement that prevents the album from being commercially exploited until 2103 (of course they did). Each NFT purchase will purportedly speed up the countdown by 88 seconds, although as of now, only a five-minute sampler is available for $1. You can find more information below.
The world’s most expensive album is available for $1.
> Proceeds split with all artists involved in the making. > Art designed by famed artist & designer Hassan Rahim. > We will follow up with further details on airdrops to verified GME holders, holders of the commemorative Zora mint, and additional communities.
Our master plan is to release the music to the public in a way that honors the Wu-Tang Clan and gets them paid while circumventing the streaming oligopoly; every action we are taking is in service of that mission.
The public has certainly heard no shortage of disturbing allegations about Diddy in recent months, many of which pertain to his tumultuous relationship with his ex-girlfriend Cassie. The songstress sued him in November of last year, accusing him of sexual assault, abuse, and much more. They settled shortly after she filed, though just last month, footage of him assaulting her at a hotel in 2016 surfaced online. Of course, this appeared to corroborate some of the allegations she made against him in her suit, and left social media users and peers outraged.
As Diddy continues to face repercussions for his actions, more unsettling accusations continue to come to light. Aside from the additional lawsuits he’s now facing, various former employees, partners, and collaborators have come forward to speak out against him. The Bad Boy Records founder’s ex-bodyguard Roger Bonds is one of them, and has had some shocking things to say about his former employer as of late.
Roger Bonds Recalls Diddy & Cassie’s Alleged Fight
During a recent interview with VladTV, Bonds recalled one of Diddy and Cassie’s intense alleged fights. He claimed they had all been in a car when the former pair began to argue, and things allegedly escalated beyond the point of return. He alleges that eventually, Cassie punched Diddy in the face, leaving him feeling glad that she finally defended herself. “Cassie had punched him in the face, rightfully. She punched him in the face and they started fighting,” he alleged. “In my mind, I was happy because I actually seen her fight back. In my mind I was happy.”
He went on, claiming that things escalated once again when they got back to the house. Bonds alleges that Cassie “kicked” Diddy, prompting him to grab the mogul who had allegedly tried to chase her. What do you think of Roger Bonds accusing Cassie of once punching Diddy in the face amid a fight? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
I thought we already settled this, but apparently, here we go again. South African hitmaker Tyla recently appeared on The Breakfast Club radio show, where a line of questioning undoubtedly designed to generate a viral moment regardless of the consequences for the 22-year-old star was shut down by her protective publicists.
As Charlamagne The God — who’s never been known for his tact and sense of nuance regarding fraught topics — asked her what it means to be “coloured” in South Africa (again, here’s a refresher for those who need it), a voice can be heard from off-camera asking, “Can we not, por favor?”
Tyla, who was already a star in her home country before “Water” broke in America, has had a stellar year to date, releasing a well-received debut album fueled by the Gunna-featuring remix of her breakout hit and cross-cultural collaborations with stars like Becky G and Skillibeng.
Although she was forced to cancel her highly anticipated headlining tour for health reasons, her star continues to rise. And with her previously addressing the differences in how America and South Africa do systemic racism, it’s clear she has no time for the Breakfast Club crew’s usual shenanigans.
She addressed it in her Cosmopolitan Interview and that’s enough.
What more do people want?? A DNA test?
Stop being obsessed with people’s race and identity – it has nothing to do with you! pic.twitter.com/yGKS3JwNl8
Tyla was one of the biggest breakout stars of 2023. She released her single “Water” in the first half of the year and it slowly climbed its way up the charts eventually becoming a smash hit. The song currently sits with more than 670 million streams on Spotify. It even got a remix late last year featuring an assist from Travis Scott with that version generating more than 50 million streams of its own. It all led to her self-titled debut album which dropped earlier this year. The project sparked even more success for the R&B star with songs like “Jump” and “Truth Or Dare.”
But now she’s found herself having to address some fan concerns. After apparently seeing one too many accusations of colorism online she felt the need to respond. “Yoh guys. Never denied my blackness, idk where that came from. I’m mixed with black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian and Coloured. In Southa I would be classified as a Coloured woman and other places I would be classified as a black woman. Race is classified differently in different parts of the world,” her statement begins. “I don’t expect to be classified as Coloured outside of Southa by anyone not comfortable doing so because I understand the weight of that word outside of SA. But to close this conversation, I’m both Coloured in South Africa and a black woman. As a woman for the culture. It’s and not or… with that being said ASAMBEEE” she concludes. Check out the full statement below.
In the replies, fans seem unequivocally supportive of Tyla, insisting she not listen to the critics. “You don’t need to explain yourself tyla, these people just need to educate themselves” one comment reads. “I love how you’ve stood your ground on this particular matter” and “Just ignore them Tyla” two others agree.
What do you think of Tyla’s lengthy new Twitter post addressing allegations of colorism made against her? Do you agree with fans that she should ignore those criticizing her and focus on doing her best work possible? Let us know it the comment section below.
Boosie Badazz and Yung Bleu’s longwinded feud doesn’t look like it’ll be resolved anytime soon, as Boosie has made it clear he refuses to back down. He accuses the Alabama-born performer of forging his name on a contract and costing him millions of dollars as a result. Fans have since seen them engage in vicious online arguments, and recently, Yung Bleu even went after Boosie with a diss track. On his song “Reading The Room,” he tore into the Louisiana icon, as well as his confidant DJ Vlad.
The duo on the receiving end of the diss discussed it during a recent interview and called Yung Bleu out for the project’s poor commercial performance overall. Vlad even pulled up his initial response to the track, which saw him question how much the rapper actually made on the video. He seemingly put a lot of money into it, as it was filmed in Dubai, features luxury cars, and more.
Boosie Badazz & DJ Vlad Speculate That Yung Bleu Made $500 Off “Reading The Room”
“Damn, @_YungBleu filmed a whole music video in Dubai dissing me and @BOOSIEOFFICIAL. Rented a Ferrari and everything. And only to get 136k views after 5 days. That’s like $500 in YouTube revenue. That doesn’t even cover the price of the Ferrari rental. He got more views in a single VladTV interview clip,” he Tweeted at the time. Of course, Boosie riffed off this, reminding Vlad that the $500 would have to be split amongst his crew. “That’s about $250,” he said before questioning how Yung Bleu’s project didn’t perform better considering its high-profile features.
“That’s John Legend, Bro,” he also emphasized, “That’s Lil Wayne! Lil Wayne, bro. Like, you’ve done something wrong, and it’s not the music.” What do you think of Boosie Badazz roasting Yung Bleu for his seemingly low earnings on his diss track? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Chloe Bailey, Uproxx’s August 2022 cover star, said she had a confession to make, and it could have gone in various directions. The artist known mononymously as Chlöe announced Trouble In Paradise, her sophomore solo album, while performing at Coachella 2024, so that couldn’t be it. But what about a new single? Nope. Bailey had some personal news to get off of her chest.
“I’m about to spill some tea,” Bailey said in a recent Live session captured by The Shade Room. “You wanna know my confession? My confession is that, recently, I have begun consuming chicken.”
She added, “The first time I ate it, my stomach cramped maybe a little bit. After that, I was fine. I just can’t eat fried chicken with egg wash because I’m allergic to eggs, but what I have noticed is that my body has been getting more tone.”
This is notable because Bailey had been vegan for years. Last August, TMZ dedicated an entire video segment to Bailey accidentally eating a beef burger after ordering a Beyond Burger while sharing a hotel room with her sister, Halle Bailey, which was an issue because, as Bailey said in her video at the time, “I’m crying. Halle’s just laughing so hard at me because I’m freaking out. I have been vegan for ten years. I have not consumed any red meat for ten years.”
Chloe Bailey accidentally bites into a real burger after 10 years of being a vegan pic.twitter.com/CsWHuw7Ap2
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Webbie’s DJ T Gutta has reportedly killed himself along with his wife, Kalisha Seddens-Dunn. The outlet reports that authorities were notified of gunshots at their Powder Springs, GA home on Sunday (June 9). Upon arrival, T Gutta and Seddens-Dunn’s bodies were discovered. The Powder Springs Police Department provided more details of the tragedy to HipHopDX today in a statement.
“I can confirm that Notorius Brown died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds after killing Kalisha Seddens-Dunn,” Captain J.W. Holcombe said. “I am being told that he went by that name [T Gutta] when performing.” The alleged crime took place only hours after T Gutta shared a lengthy post on Facebook, in which he criticized Webbie for allegedly creating poor working conditions.
“Dawg DJin for Webbie is a living hell!” he began. “1st That n***a don’t want to pay. Then that n***a don’t want to see nobody around him shine! Like nobody not even his own brother.. Why y’all think everybody left from around him? I was only supposed to be his tour DJ but i had to be a driver, a dr, a security, a PR, a babysitter, booking Agent, a referee, a counselor, a road manger, and a list of other things.”
“But yet this n***a didn’t appreciate none of it,” T Gutta continued. “I did all that sh*t with a smile on my face in front of thousands every night, but i was dying inside. All the times he had seizures on the planes, on stages in the hotels, who y’all think was there? Me! Becuz his family ain’t wanna deal with him, or nobody on our team wanted to deal with him but me! Our driver quit cuz he ain’t wanna pay him. Then every time we would try to make our money in other ways he always found a way to stop that too.” Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
(@luvenchanting)
Kim Porter’s Father Reacts To Diddy Assaulting Cassie In Security Footage
(@LorenLorosa) 
