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50 Cent Threatened With Lawsuit Over “Hip Hop Homicides”

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Every series 50 Cent touches seemingly turns to gold. But the star has been threatened with legal action thanks to his new WE Tv series Hip Hop Homicides. The newest episode explores the murder of Chicago rapper FBG Duck. Duck was shot and killed in his hometown in August 2020 while out shopping with two other people.

The episode mentioned the names of people who were reportedly involved in murder — including OTF rapper Memo600. Memo took to Instagram with a message for 50 after the episode aired. “@50Cent I’M SUING YOU FOR DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER,” he wrote.

“I DONT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT SOMEBODY BETTER EXPLAIN SOMETHING U PAID THE WRONG INVESTIGATORS DONT PUT ME IN NO MURDERS FAM CHASING CLOUT!!”

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 23: 50 Cent attends STARZ Series “BMF” World Premiere at Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood on September 23, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/FilmMagic)
Read More: 50 Cent Debuts Trailer For New “Hip Hop Homicides” Series 

The men responsible for Duck’s murder were apprehended and charged with murder in October 2021. However, Memo wasn’t one of them. FBG Duck died after being shot in the chest, groin and neck.  A trial date for his murder has been set for October 2, 2023.

50 Cent has yet to respond to the legal threats. The Power creator has been gearing up for new seasons of his hit STARZ shows, BMF and Power Book II: Ghost. 50 recently used the arrest of BMF star Demetrius ‘Lil Meech’ Flenory Jr. to promote season two of the highly anticipated hit series. “What the fvck,” the hip hop heavyweight wrote. “LIL Meech didn’t hear them say cut. BMF returns Jan 6 Black mafia Fridays.”

Meech Jr. was arrested in Florida last week after a gun was found in his luggage. He was released hours later after posting a $2,500 bond. BMF returns Jan 6 on Starz. As for Memo, he deleted his post threatening to sue 50. 

‘Power’ Stars Joseph Sikora and Gianni Paolo Squash Beef

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'Power' Stars Joseph Sikora and Gianni Paolo Squash Beef

Earlier this year, Power stars Joseph Sikora and Gianni Paolo’s beef was made public.

The conflict began when 50 Cent took the stage for the Power theme song during Tycoon Weekend. The actors from Power entered the stage during the performance. The majority of the Power cast members greeted Paolo on stage, with the exception of Sikora. On camera, the Tommy actor is seen shoving Paolo’s hand away when the latter tries to dap him up.

Paolo’s Power: Ghost co-star Michael Rainey Jr. revealed the beef was over while teasing their upcoming episode of The Crew Has It Podcast.

The post ‘Power’ Stars Joseph Sikora and Gianni Paolo Squash Beef appeared first on The Source.

50 Cent Announces His Departure From His Partnership With Starz

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50 Cent
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In April, Curtis Jackson, alternatively known as 50 Cent, exclaimed that he only had five months left of his deal with the company Starz, about whom he shared some complaints in the past regarding their treatment. Today, he’s announced his departure from his partnership with the network.

Together, they worked on Power, the American crime drama television series that has been running for six seasons. The rapper made a post on social media on Saturday, September 17, stating this split. “This is my vibe right now!” he wrote. “STARZ deal done, we had nothing but success so no hard feelings… I’m out. I’ll let you know where we are going shortly.”

In our interview with Jackson earlier this year, he discussed social issues he you hoped to address with the show. “Coming into the town, [Tommy] interacts with who he would just run into,” he said. “It turns into a whole different thing, but in the future, you should expect him to see more of that culture that we are aware of coming into the show, but it comes in as a resource that he sees. When he’s under circumstances where he gets into something and he involves them to come as muscle.

50 Cent Fuels Beef Between “Power” Universe Actors Joseph Sikora And Gianni Paolo: “You Should Sock Him Tommy”

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sikora

50 Cent is known for his internet antics and beef with other rappers and public figures, but this time, he’s fueling the beef inside his crew. 50 recently took to IG where he instigated the beef between Power universe actors Joseph Sikora and Gianni Paolo who play Tommy on Power and its spinoff Force, and Brayden on Ghost.

The beef started on stage during Fif’s Tycoon Weekend where he took the stage and performed the Power theme song. During the performance, Power actors came on stage. Gianni Paolo made his way to the stage where he was greeted by most of the Power actors except for Sikora. The Tommy actor was caught on video pushing Paolo’s hand away when he tried to dap him up.

“We saw each other at the hotel afterward and talked. All good. [thumbs up emoji],” Sikora commented under a post of the exchange. Paolo saw the comment and said that things were actually not good between the two actors.

“He’s been doing this sh*t for years when I’ve shown nothing but respect and love,” Paolo wrote on IG. “He kept just saying he doesn’t f*ck with me. Nothing was resolved. Stop spreading lies cause people are pressing you about your saltiness. I’ve said nothing but amazing things about this dude on the podcast and if you listen to it you know.”

He then said that the two were cool during season 6 of Power, but everything changed once Ghost started. “If you’re gonna try and pretend like shit is resolved for social media case you’re mad everybody is asking a 47 year old man is throwing shade at someone who everybody fucks with then at least do better than that my guy.”

Fif caught wind of Paolo’s response and added fuel to the fire, instigating Sikora to “sock” Paolo.

“[Eyeball emoji] oh sh*t, it’s up! [thinking emoji] Now I never like to start shit but you should sock him Tommy,” Fif wrote. “Wait I think this little nigga Brayden got a knife. lol.” 

Screenshot 2022 08 31 164636
Screenshot 2022 08 31 164636

The post 50 Cent Fuels Beef Between “Power” Universe Actors Joseph Sikora And Gianni Paolo: “You Should Sock Him Tommy” appeared first on The Source.

Joey Badass Says He Drew From Real-Life Experiences For His ‘Power Book III’ Role

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joey badass power book iii
Getty Image / Johnny Nunez

Ahead of the season premiere of Power Book III: Raising Kanan tonight, Joey Badass spoke with HipHopDX about his role. On the show, Joey plays a drug kingpin named Kadeem “Unique” Mathis.

Joey‘s performance has received much praise, and in the interview, he said he drew from real-life experiences of witnessing drug deals growing up in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn.

“I always been around that stuff, but I never took that path because it was right there,” Joey said. “I wanted to challenge myself to do other things, and then I had good older cousins and family that pushed me to not do that because they were doing it. It would’ve been easy for me to do it, but they wanted to see better for their little cousin and nephew…So it was easy to just kind of pull from those experiences that I’ve had or those observations that I made as a kid.”

Over the years, Joey has built an impressive acting resume, with stints on Mr. Robot, Grown-ish, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga. Elsewhere in the interview, Joey said that acting, to him, comes as easily as making music.

“Acting, in general, comes pretty instinctively to me…just in a way where you kind of go somewhere else. Like on that stage, I gotta go into superstar mode. I’m still here but it’s like a superstar hangover, but when I’m home, it’s a different vibe where I’m chill.”

Season 2 of Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres tonight at 9 p.m. EST on Starz.

Joey Badass’ newest album, 2000, is out now via Columbia Records. Stream it here.

Bobby Shmurda Might Be Coming To The Power Universe

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If 50 Cent is going to do one thing, its give somebody a shot. In May, it was announced that Mo’nique would be joining season 2 of BMF as Goldie. This happened after she came out and revealed the reason why she was blackballed by the industry following her Best Supporting Actress win for Precious at the Academy Awards.

Now it looks like Bobby Shmurda might be joining the Power Universe. In a new interview with HotNewHipHop, Shmurda said that he’s been in talks with 50 about joining the franchise.

“Me and 50 were on a two-hour call like two weeks ago,” Bobby said. “Some talent agents I was talking to, they help 50 with Power and STARZ and all that other sh*t. So you know he wants me to act, and they want me to act, so we just talking about a couple of sh*t right now.”

He added, “He got like 25 shows. You know, he called me like, ‘N*gga, you know I got like 25 shows. You ready to do 26 and 27?’ Like, stop playing, n*gga! You know I want this shmoney, n*gga!”

“Yo, I’m gonna call that n*gga as soon as we get off this interview. Yo 50, they want me in Power!” he said.

Shmurda would join a list of rappers that have made appearances in the Power Universe or are regulars on a series. Method Man, Redman, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, and recently Freddie Gibbs have all made appearances or are regulars in a Power series.

You can watch the clip of Shmurda here.

The post Bobby Shmurda Might Be Coming To The Power Universe appeared first on The Source.

Omari Hardwick Says He Was Paid $150k Per Episode On “Power”

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Omari Hardwick Recalls Denzel Washington and His Wife Taking Him in As Their Own Son During Early Days of His Career

Power might’ve been one of the most popular shows on tv until its original un-ended in early 2020, but with the success of its many spinoffs, it has continued to be one of the most popular shows on tv. Despite the show’s success, Omari Hardwick, who rose to fame after playing James St. Patrick, recently revealed how much he made per episode and how he even had to borrow money from 50 Cent at one point.

Hardwick appeared on The Pivot podcast where he revealed that he was not earning what he thought he should have been earning. “I still haven’t made what I should have made. I still never made the money—no, the money, I never made what I should have made. Never,” Hardwick said. “Period. It’s happening now, finally.” He noted that he fianlly felt like he made it when he landed the role in Power.

Hardwick then went into detail about how he was borrowing money from 50 Cent in the summers after the first and second seasons of Power. “He gave me $20,000 and the next summer he gave me $23,000,” Hardwick said, adding that he might’ve done it because of how much he adored Hardwick’s wife, Jennifer, and their two kids. “He might like them more than me. It was absolutely given in a way of, like, you know take care of the family bro, use that,” Hardwick added.

Hardwick went on to say how even by the show’s 6th and final season, he “never” go the salary he wanted. “How much do you think I made a week? An episode,” he asked the hosts. One guessed around $150,000 per episode. “You got it right, yeah,” he replied. “First time I’ve ever disclosed it.”

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Kanye West’s King Crimson Sample On ‘Power’ Sparks A Lawsuit

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kanye west chaney jones
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Lawsuits over samples in music seem to be filed all the time. Usually, though, the reason for them tends to be related to the sampled work not being properly credited. However, that’s not the case with the latest lawsuit Kanye West faces, from Declan Colgan Music Ltd (DCM). The suit is regarding West’s sample of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” on his 2010 song “Power.”

Variety reports DCM (which owns the mechanical rights to the King Crimson song, is suing Universal Music Group (UMG) due to payment issues with West’s “Power.” The suit claims the label has been underpaying on streaming royalties. DCM is seeking all sums due along with interest.

After Ye sampled the song without a license, DCM and UMG came to an agreement, allowing West to sample the song in exchange for a 5.33-percent royalty on each copy of “Power” that was sold or “otherwise exploited.” Per the agreement, UMG had to pay a royalty on the same terms West receives royalties from the track.

The lawsuit claims UMG “has failed, and continues to fail, to comply with its royalty accounting obligations in respect of one mode of exploitation, namely the making available of the Power [r]ecording to consumers through so-called ‘streaming’ services.”

So, DCM argues UMG should be paying streaming royalties based on what the sums would be if those streams had instead been physical CD sales, per the royalty agreement. Instead, DCM alleges UMG has been paying a lower amount, being the percentage of what they actually receive per stream.

50 Cent Is Looking For A New Home For ‘Power’ After Starz Contract: ‘Only 5 Months Left On My Deal!’

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50 Cent Power
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50 Cent has been less than happy with the current situation at Starz, where he currently produces the Power universe of television shows. He recently complained about the network’s treatment on social media, threatening to relocate his shows after being frustrated by its refusal to announce any renewals for the next few seasons of the handful of Power spinoffs currently airing. Now, after voicing his frustrations and still receiving no new information on those renewals, he says he’s had enough.

“Everybody ready to work,” he wrote in the caption of his latest Instagram post, which included a video of a mixed martial artist asking for a role in Power during a post-fight interview. “I’m trying to buy my universe back from STARZ so it goes where ever I go. Only 5 months left in my deal, and I’m not on the air for 6 months so We Out!”

In his previous posts, 50 explained his reasoning. “They renewed High Town, and FORCE is the highest-rated show they have sitting in limbo,” he argued. “If I told you how much d*mb shit I deal with over here, you would think they all went to school on a small yellow bus.”

The finale of Power Book IV: Force is set to air on April 17.