Diddy Shuts Down JD’s Verzuz Challenge: ‘Dre The Only One Can Get In The Ring W/ Me’

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Music icon Diddy is not feeling any pressure to lace up against veteran hitmaker Jermaine “JD” Dupri. The hip-hop icon has responded to the Southern producer reaching out to him for an epic Verzuz battle with their biggest hits facing off. Diddy Completely Shuts Down JD’s Verzuz Demand It all started with JD hitting up […]

SZA Interrupts Ashanti’s Interview To Sing Her Praises In Heartwarming Video

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Before all of the Verzuz hoopla took over timelines, Ashanti and Ja Rule made an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. The longtime friends and collaborators were making the rounds like many of the other celebrities on the scene in New York City, but Ashanti was especially touched by a surprise moment that she shared with SZA.

Fans were treated to a video of the brief exchange thanks to Entertainment Tonight. Ashanti and Ja were in the middle of an interview when SZA was walking by with her team, and the Top Dawg Entertainment songbird couldn’t help but interrupt to share a memory and sing Ashanti her praises.

Ashanti, Ja Rule
Bennett Raglin / Stringer / Getty Images

It seems, according to SZA, that when she was a young teen she waited in line for upwards of 10 hours to get Ashanti’s autograph. The “Good Days” singer revisited the memory in detail, ending her story by telling Ashanti that she would wait forever to see her. The singers embraced as Ja looked on and both he and Ashanti were touched by the heartwarming exchange.

Ashanti shared the clip to social media and added, “This was such an incredible moment last night. We don’t see enough women empowerment.. Women camaraderie… Women showing women love. The perception is that women are so ‘Catty’…. This genuinely made my heart smile and I can’t lie it made me a lil emotional.”

“@sza you are beautiful with a beautiful soul inside and out… and your Talent is Amazing. Love u too I’m a big fan as well [red heart emoji].” Check it out below.

Ariana Grande Stalked By Knife-Wielding Fan Who Showed Up At Her Home: Report

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There was reportedly a frightening scene at Ariana Grande’s home this week. The singer, like many celebrities, has been staving off her fair share of stalkers and obsessive fans. The newlywed got married back in May to real estate broker Dalton Gomez, and while she is trying to enjoy the first months of her new life, someone has been showing up at her home.

In May 2020, Ariana received a five-year restraining order against a stalker fan who snuck onto her property. On Tuesday (September 14), TMZ reported that someone else did the same, this time with a weapon.

Ariana Grande
Mike Coppola / Getty Images

According to the outlet, a man identified as 23-year-old Aaron Brown was captured around 2:00 a.m. in the morning at the singer’s Hollywood Hills property. He showed up at Ariana’s residence and reportedly “demanded” to see her, but her security refused to let him in. When they told him to leave the area, Brown reportedly wielded a knife resulting in the Los Angeles Police Department being called to the scene.

Ariana seeming missed the incident altogether and most likely never knew what was happening. It is unknown if she was at the home when Brown arrived. He was arrested and is “facing a felony brandishing charge.” Ariana reportedly has already filed for a temporary restraining order against him.

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Diddy Tells Jermaine Dupri He “Ain’t Got Enough Hits” For “Verzuz” Against Him, T.I. Responds

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Diddy is feeling the heat tonight (September 14) and he wasn’t even the one on the Verzuz stage. We’ve been reporting on Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s match-up along with the aftermath that followed, and while fans are fiercely debating the night’s highlights, Diddy has been stirring the pot.

Hip Hops fans have been rallying for the Bad Boy mogul to take to the stage, but he has repeatedly stated—for over a year now—that he is only interested in pairing up with Dr. Dre. During the Verzuz this evening, fans stated that they wanted to see Diddy and Jermaine Dupri go toe-to-toe, a look that Dupri co-signed, but Sean Combs was clear that the Aftermath icon was his pick.

Diddy, Jermaine Dupri
Prince Williams / Contributor / Getty Images

Meanwhile, Diddy also spoke directly to Dupri, detailing why he believes he would wash the So So Def founder. “Beloved you my n*gga but your arms too short to box with God!!” he wrote. “You ain’t got enough hits. I’ll smash you with just biggie n Mary . But I do have the upmost respect on you as a musical legend  Dre the only one can get in the ring w me . -LOVE [black heart emoji]”

Those were some big words that elicited a huge response, including a comment from T.I. “I disagree. Side note: Why do I feel NY n*ggaz (Most of which I love,look up to, appreciate and respect)always feel like they so much above competition with their Atlanta (southern)constituents???? @50Cent ducking me the same way (@jermainedupri).”

You know the internet was quick to react to this one. Check it all out below.

Doja Cat Thinks Collabs Are Getting Out Of Control, Will Be More Selective

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Artists love hopping on one another’s tracks in the hopes of creating the next No. 1 charting hit or crafting a hit that the streets will love, but most of the time, we just have a series of rappers and singers jumping from one studio to the next. There have been some epic moments on wax as some of the industry’s favorites have come together, and tonight’s (September 4) Verzuz with Fat Joe and Ja Rule showed that the right link can prove to be a classic decades later.

Over the weekend, Doja Cat made her award show-hosting debut at the MTV Video Music Awards, and later, she caught up with Extra where she spoke with Rachel Lindsay about Planet Her. During the chat, Linsday asked the singer-rapper about her dream collaborations, and Doja revealed that she is planning on being a bit more selective with who she partners up with.

Doja Cat
Theo Wargo / Staff / Getty Images

Planet Her featured looks from artists like The Weeknd, Young Thug, and SZA, and Doja told Lindsay that she has noticed a collaboration trend that she doesn’t want to be a part of.

“I have been trying to be more careful about who I’m collaborating with,” she began. “Not to say that the people on my album are—they’re incredible. They are the perfect features only album, but I do want to be more choosy about what I’m doing because I feel like a lot of features are coming out and it feels like people are just getting on each other’s songs for the sake of having them on each other’s songs.”

“I want to be really careful about that. Sometimes it’s too much collabs and remixes and things like that.” Check out Doja Cat’s clip below and let us know if you think collaborations are getting out of hand.

D Smoke Announces His Second Album ‘War & Wonders’ And Reveals Its Release Date And Artwork

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It was just seven months ago that D Smoke released the deluxe edition of his debut album, Black Habits. The reissue added four songs and features from Snow Tha Product and E-40 to the already stellar project that showcased appearances from Ari Lennox, Snoop Dogg, Sir, Jill Scott, Davion Farris, Jackie Grouche, and Iguocho. Since then the Inglewood rapper has remained fairly active on the music scene by releasing a string of singles and it turns out that some of these outputs could appear on the rapper’s upcoming sophomore album which he announced on Tuesday.

D Smoke took to his Instagram to officially announce his upcoming album, War & Wonders. The rapper revealed the project would arrive on September 24 and even unveiled its artwork, a painting of D Smoke himself standing tall while a number of people are piled on top of each other around him. D Smoke’s most recent single that we can expect to appear on the project arrived last month with “Shame On You.” The track showed love to the rebels fighting for a righteous cause.

Elsewhere in 2021, D Smoke delivered a tribute track to Sade and remixed “Gasper Yanga” with Snoop Dogg after dropping “Basketball” for Last Chance U.

You can view the post from D Smoke above.

War & Wonders is out 9/24 via Woodworks Records/EMPIRE.

Nas Enjoys ‘Brunch On Sundays’ With LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Swizz Beatz, And More In A New Video

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It’s been just over a month since the release of Nas’ fourteenth album, King’s Disease II. The sequel to the rapper’s 2020 album that gifted him his long-awaited first Grammy award. King’s Disease II is executive produced by Hit-Boy and arrived with features from Eminem, Lauryn Hill, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Charlie Wilson, and more. Today Nas unveils a new star-studded visual for “Brunch On Sundays.” In it, the rapper enjoys a mid-day mealwith LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Swizz Beatz, Blxst, Hit-Boy, Cordae, and Lil Rel.

The video is the second we’ve received for King’s Disease II, the first being “Rare.” The 2021 album has received a similar, if not better, response when compared to its predecessor, with people commending he and Hit-Boy’s chemistry and asking for the possibility of third installment in the series.

“He’s like my Quincy [Jones], you know what I mean?” Nas said during an interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden last month. “So I feel like the next thing I do, if I was to work with Hit-Boy on the next thing I do, I think that we might do something that is going to be magical.” He added, “I think what we have is magic. I think if we do another one, I’m excited about that idea, but you know, we’re celebrating this one now.”

You can watch the video for “Brunch On Sundays” above.

King’s Disease II is out now via Mass Appeal. Get it here.

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