New Hip Hop News

Law enforcement blamed the Chicago Drill rap scene in a press conference for its influence on crimes earlier this week as they arrested five suspects tied to the 2020 murder of Chicago rapper FBG Duck — Charles “C-Murda” Liggins, Kenneth “Kenny” Roberson, Tacarlos “Los” Offerd, Christopher “C Thang” Thomas and Marcus “Muwop” Smart.

An agent, in a clip of the conference, explained that it was easy for the Feds to crack the case because the suspects bragged about committing the crime on social media.

“What’s happening on social media and what’s happening in music videos that are on YouTube, particularly in the drill rap genre, it shows you what’s happening in the city,” the agent said. “It shows you exactly what’s happening in the city, which are people are flooding the streets to commit acts of violence and then either bragging about acts of violence or talking about how they’re going to retaliate through other acts of violence, and it’s happening on a regular basis.”

“Again, that is why it’s significant that as law enforcement, we’re able to investigate and hold people accountable for the acts they’re committing. For instance, you can go on the internet right now, you can see people in music videos, guns all over the place.”

FBG Duck and two others were killed last year, August 4th, 2020, in a drive-by shooting on a shopping trip in Windy City’s upscale Gold Coast neighborhood. The suspects, alleged gang members of Chicago’s infamous O-Block faction, with territories in South-side Chicago, were arrested on charges of murder in aid of racketeering, federal firearm violations, and assaults in aid of racketeering.

Prosecutors attributed the suspects’ motives for the killings to “the purpose of maintaining and increasing position in O-Block, an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, did knowingly commit the murder of Carlton Weekly, a/k/a ‘FBG Duck.’”

Shortly after the arrests had been made, Duck’s mother took to Instagram Live to reveal the names of those detained and seemingly, to get some closure for the year-long case. “Muwop, C-Thang, whatever the fuck they call ’em, I was told that I could say it,” said Duck’s mother. “Them people promised me I would hear about my son’s killers before the internet. So y’all heard it from me first, they got they ass.”

For the last month, Gabby Petito’s name has been all over the media as the world came together to try to solve the mystery of her death. As the pieces come to light, we now know that the 22-year-old died of strangulation, but her fiancé, and the main person of interest in the case, Brian Laundrie, remains missing.

While the hunt for Laundrie continues, the family that Petito left behind continues to mourn their loss and celebrate the young girl’s legacy. Yesterday, her father, Joseph Petito, tweeted out a sweet message to Gabby.

“I now know why you came here,” he wrote, alongside a photo of a beautiful blue lake, surrounded by trees and mountains. “#gabbypetito has a beautiful view from now on. Love you, and miss you.”

According to TMZ, the lake the Joseph visited was in Wyoming, not far from where Petito’s remains were discovered. The family is reportedly headed to the area to pick up their daughter’s ashes and take them back to New York.

At the end of September, the Petito family held a funeral for Gabby, during which Joseph encouraged people to live the way his child did – by being kind, and spreading love to everyone.

Her step-father, Jim Schmidt also shared kind words about the 22-year-old, saying that she taught him in a valuable lesson in learning how to value spending time with his loved ones over making money.

Earlier this month, a man hiking the Appalachian Trail claimed to have crossed paths with a disoriented Laundrie, who was reportedly headed for California. The wanted man’s father has also been aiding officials in the search, and his sister has publicly spoken out, asking Brian to “come forward.”

You can find more information about Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie in our story about the recently released bodycam footage that gives insight into the couple’s seemingly toxic relationship.

RIP Gabby.

[Via]

Skip Bayless has always had hate in his heart for LeBron James, and it is hard to explain why. Bayless is one of the biggest Michael Jordan stans out there, so perhaps he feels as though LeBron is a threat to MJs legacy. Either way, Skip usually doesn’t have nice things to say about LeBron, but these days, that seems to be changing. 

In fact, after scoring 30 points in a preseason game on Thursday night, Skip offered big praise to the Los Angeles Lakers star. While speaking on Undisputed, Bayless claimed that LeBron is looking like an MVP candidate and that if he keeps up this pace, he will be well on his way to one of the best seasons of his career.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for IAVA

“I will start off with your man LeBron James,” Bayless told Shannon Sharpe. “The quote on quote ‘king’. The phony GOAT. I thought LeBron James played great last night. I thought he looked, I’ll go this far, an MVP candidate. Going into his 19th season, I’m gonna give you MVP candidate. … He came out on a preseason mission last night. He said ‘enough is enough’.”

LeBron is going into his 19th season which makes his play that much more impressive. It is hard to be this good for this long, and LeBron is proving that you don’t need to be young to be successful in the league.

Former NFL and Raiders wide receiver Andre Rison recently defended his former coach Jon Gruden, telling TMZ Sports that he knows Gruden is “not a racist”, amidst his resignation as Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. On October 11th, Gruden released a statement to the media announcing he’d be stepping down from the position, as to not be a distraction for the team moving forward, following the use of racist and homophobic words in various emails spanning nearly a decade being brought to light. 

Rison, however, told TMZ that regardless of the email scandal, he still believes Jon Gruden is a good person, who simply just made a mistake. Telling reporters that, “We all say some things behind closed doors that we regret or we wouldn’t say in public. We’ve all made mistakes.”

As far as the context of the emails getting out, Rison said, “I believe who he said and what he said and who he intended it for, it was for that person and nobody else.”

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The former Raiders wideout last played under Gruden back in 2000 but has since kept his relationship with his former head coach. Adding that throughout all the years that he’s known Gruden, he’d never seen anything that hinted at him being a racist or a bad person. He even went as far as to offer an apology on Gruden’s behalf, as he admitted that his former head coach was intentional in what he said in his messages to people like DeMaurice Smith and others. 

Rison then spoke on what he’d say to Gruden and what’s potentially next for the former head coach, with this potentially being his last stop in the NFL. Saying that “You’ve already given this game some of the best tutelage and best leadership you could possibly give. So if you don’t ever touch the game again, don’t feel any type of way… Go on with your life and enjoy it with the rest of the Gruden family.” 

Las Vegas’ special team’s coach, Rich Bisaccia, has taken over as the interim head coach for the Raiders since Gruden’s departure. 

Check out Rison’s entire response, below:

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LeBron James is one of the best athletes in the world right now and at the age of 36, he is looking to do some serious damage out on the court. The NBA star is turning 37 years old and in his 19th season in the league, he hopes to win a title with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team has made some serious changes in the offseason, and there are some new plays on board that will certainly help the team go far.

Throughout the preseason, the Lakers have been playing various rookies, including the likes of Austin Reaves, who went undrafted. Recently, the team gave Reaves a standard contract after being placed on a two-way deal at first. He has even caught the attention of LeBron, who told reporters just how much he loves the 23-year-old.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“He’s an NBA player. He can play at this level. I watched a lot of film on him when we (signed) him. His size … shot making ability …passing … High IQ kid, and he has a lot of dog in him,” James explained. This is high praise from one of the greatest to ever do it, and if you’re Reaves, you can’t help but feel good right now.

The Lakers have a lot to be excited about heading into this season, and while Reaves might not get a ton of playing time, there is no doubt that he is on his way to becoming a fan favorite in the city.

When she was just 21, Mia Khalifa spent 3 months working in the adult film industry. During this time, she starred in a total of 12 films that have since gone on to generate millions of dollars. Unfortunately for Khalifa, she only saw a $12,000 pay check (or $1,000 per scene) for her work.

In a new interview with Yahoo Life, the 28-year-old opened up about what it was really like to be exploited within the industry, how she found her own self confidence, and why she made the decision to start an OnlyFans account.

“I was looking to other people to put value on myself. I was looking for validation in every crevice that I could, without actually doing internal work,” Khalifa said during her interview. “I was naive, vulnerable, and malleable. Very easily talked into things, especially if it was by a man.”

In what’s been deemed as her most controversial Pornhub video, the model wore a hijab, prompting outrage and even death threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. According to Khalifa, this period of her life was a “lapse in judgment,” and is ultimately what caused her to walk away from adult film.

“What I can take away from this is protecting other women and being a cautionary tale,” she said. “I was overweight and I didn’t really have very many friends. I didn’t look like everyone else who was around me and that led me into a relationship that I should not have entered. And those were the steps that led me to the adult industry.”

Nowadays, Khalifa has been reclaiming her power by sharing her story and connecting with women on apps like TikTok, which she says is “better than therapy.”

“The women who tell their stories, who are brave enough to put their face on the internet and share their experiences, that is where my confidence comes from. That’s been the biggest key to battling with my own shame — seeing all of these women who have been through things that are a lot worse than I have and come out, like, fighting, with skin under their nails.”

She may not be working with Pornhub anymore, but Khalifa is still putting out content on OnlyFans, which she enjoys because it allows her to form a more genuine connection with fans.

“I trust the people who I’m sending my content out to, to the point where even if it leaks, I’m not too worried about it because I’m proud of what I’m putting out there.”

The 28-year-old has come to terms with the fact that she can’t change the past, but she’s doing all that she can to move forward into a brighter, more empowered future. 

Check out a video of Mia Khalifa getting real about the adult entertainment industry below. 

[Via]