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Johnny Depp has lived what most would call an “adventurous” life, but recently unearthed court documents from 1981 show that before he became famous, things for the actor were even worse than imagined. 

According to Page Six, Depp’s mother, Betty Sue, effectively abandoned him in the midst of her divorce from Depp’s father when the young boy was just 15 years old.

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Court documents from the case show Betty Sue claiming that her son was “emancipated and self-supporting” at this time, although he paints an entirely different picture. 

Interviews from over the years feature the Pirates of the Caribbean star talking about experimenting with drugs as early as 11, dropping out of high school at 16, and moving to Los Angeles where he lived in his car for several months before meeting Nicolas Cage.

“He said since age 11, he’s taken all manner of substances, including marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, prescription painkillers, opiates and magic mushrooms. His drug use, he said, was a way to escape family problems,” Paul Barresi said, according to Page Six.

Barresi, who is currently working on a documentary about Depp’s ongoing legal battle with his ex wife, Amber Heard, is the one who discovered the divorce documents.

“Johnny was hardly financially self-sufficient, and far from being emancipated. As far as I am concerned, his mother disowned him at a time when he unquestionably needed her most,” he said.

Apparently, there is no court record in existence that reports Depp as having been emancipated. Despite this, Betty Sue, signed a paper in 1981 stating that, “the wife hereby acknowledges that the parties’ minor child … John C. Depp II is fully emancipated and self-supporting.”

Betty Sue passed away in 2016, but in 2018, the actor sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone, during which he shared the unfortunate impact his childhood trauma has had on his adult life.

“It was a ghost house — no one talked. I don’t think there ever was a way I thought about people, especially women, other than ‘I can fix them.’”

He continued, “Betty Sue, I worshipped her, but she could be a real bitch on wheels.”

If you’re interested in hearing more about Depp’s ongoing legal battle with Amber Heard, check out our latest story on the controversial topic.

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Drake, Future and Young Thug’s Billboard #1 record took the internet by storm following the release of Drizzy’s Certified Lover Boy and hasn’t taken its foot of the gas since. Between the “I’m Too Sexy” sample, insane visuals featuring Drake in so many hilarious scenarios and 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and countless IG videos of “Way 2 Sexy” going off in the club, the record is as hot as ever and recently, producer TM88 had to explain how the whole thing came together. 

After giving the beat to Future without knowing that Drake (or Thugger, for that matter) would ever get on it, producer TM88 says the “March Madness” rapper pushed to include the Right Said Fred “I’m Too Sexy” sample. 

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“That sample was actually Future’s idea. He was like, ‘Man, add this sample in there.’ And my boy who is his engineer, he was like, ‘I got it.’ He found the sample and put that little piece in the beginning. It happened to just ride through.”

Despite not knowing for sure that anybody else would be getting on the track, TM88 revealed that he *did* have a feeling Future had a certain Toronto rapper in mind the whole time. 

“I feel like the whole time, in Future’s mind, he was going to put Drake on it anyway,” he said, also mentioning his surprise at the record hitting number one on the Billboard Charts.

“We tried these new drums from this kit we got, and man, it was going so crazy. I had to give it to Future. … And Drake getting on the song, you see what it did. It’s on one of his most anticipated projects, and it’s going crazy, spreading like wildfire. It just happened to be the single, which shocked me as well.”

It’s always interesting when those who create massive records like “Way 2 Sexy” give fans a window into the creative process and this  is no exception. The first number-one of TM88’s career, this record grew beyond what the producer believed it could. And even though everything Drake touches seems to go to #1, knowing that it was Pluto who masterminded the entire move to include that “I’m Too Sexy” sample makes it even more fitting that the track became the first number one of the Monster rapper’s career. 

What do you think about how “Way 2 Sexy” came together? It’s been a couple weeks now and we gotta know, are you still bumping this one? Let us know in the comments. 

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Following the trend of celebrities using their platforms for political good, a group of rappers and professional athletes have been pooling their efforts into a push for marijuana reform. Quavo, Meek Mill, and 2 Chainz are among those who have sent a letter to Joe Biden in hopes of making a change.

Fox13 reports that a document arrived at the White House earlier this week, requesting the pardon of all non-violent cannabis related offenders across the country.

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“Whatever one thinks of other drugs and other defendants, incarcerating marijuana offenders in federal prisons is a misuse of our nation’s resources and grossly hypocritical,” the letter reads.

“A clear majority of Americans oppose marijuana prohibition and about half admit to using the drug during their lifetime.”

The letter then points out the current law’s stance against the principle of federalism, saying, “nearly three-quarters of the states have now abandoned the federal government’s blanket criminal ban in favor of safe, regulated legal access to marijuana for adults and/or those with qualifying medical conditions.”

Other artists in support of the movement include Drake, Dave East, Killer Mike, Kodak Black, Ty Dolla $ign, and T.I.

Professional athletes like Deion Sanders, Stephen Jackson, Kevin Garnett, Al Harrington, J.R. Smith, Julio Jones and John Wall have also let President Joe Biden know wheee they stand on the issue.

According to HipHopDX, Meek Mill has been hard at work trying to make the world a better place; with the help of his REFORM Alliance, he was able to help change probation laws in Virginia over the summer. 

What are your thoughts on marijuana reform? Comment below and let us know.

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Wack 100 has taken on somewhat of a mentorship role with Tekashi 6ix9ine over the last few weeks, which came as a surprise to hip-hop fans given their past differences. 6ix9ine has been outwardly disrespectful to two of Wack 100’s main clients, Blueface and The Game, so his work with the admitted snitch rapper has been perplexing. It’s been difficult to ignore them as they appeared on DJ Akademiks’ podcast Off The Record, and followed up with further conversations on social media. 

Discussing their connection, Wack 100 spoke to Bootleg Kev about some of the advice he’s given 6ix9ine behind the scenes, and you may be glad to hear what Wack is preaching to him.

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“I told him he should stop disrespecting the dead,” said Wack 100. Over the years, 6ix9ine has made it a point to insult Nipsey Hussle, King Von, and other deceased rappers following their passings. “I told him that you done made enough enemies, why don’t you give some of that attention to your fans? I don’t think that you need to be so controversial on the negative side to bring attention to your music. I’ve seen him do things over the years when I didn’t even know who he was, I’ve seen him go and visit kids on their last leg of living. If you gon’ do something, focus on your music and do some positive things. Let your fans love you. People that’s gon’ hate you, they gon’ hate you. You’ve done what you did, there’s no sense in antagonizing them even more.”

Wack 100 proceeded to speak directly to 6ix9ine’s disdain for Lil Durk, advising him to just give it a rest.

“Especially the Lil Durk shit,” clarified Wack. “You know, I like Lil Durk.” Bootleg Kev agreed that 6ix9ine’s taunts toward Durkio are “out of pocket.”

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This is surprisingly some pretty good advice! Check out a portion of their conversation below. 

Since Los Angeles rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle’s untimely passing in March 2019, there have been countless tributes in honor of the late legend. Coming in the forms of lyrics nodding to Nipsey’s greatness, murals painted on LA walls and tattoos on a handful of rappers and athletes, the tributes have been endless, and for good reason. Hussle’s impact was felt in the rap game, in business spaces and also in the hearts and minds of seemingly everyone he crossed paths with. 

That includes random, non-hip-hop fans, too. 

Yesterday, engineer Young Guru took to Instagram to share a chance encounter he had with a man repping Nipsey’s brand, Crenshaw. 

“So I’m on my flight today and this man sits next to me. We didn’t say a word to each other the whole flight. We are about to land and as usual I take out my camera to shoot out of the window. He says ‘Is that a Leica?'” referencing the brand of Young Guru’s camera. ‘I say of course. I then ask him “do you know what hat that is you have on?’ And he says ‘of course, Nipsey gave it to me!!'”

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Continuing on with more details of the interaction, Guru painted a perfect picture of Nipsey’s personality, as well as the personality of this newfound connection. 

“I’m like ‘what? how’? He says ‘I’m from New Jersey but my son loves Nipsey. He asked me a couple years ago to stop by the Marathon Clothing Store and get him merch.’ He said he went in got the clothes and on his way out Nipsey stopped him and spoke. After the convo Nipsey gave him a hat,” Guru wrote. “I then asked him ‘do you listen to HipHop” and he said ‘no I just loved the way the young man carried himself, so I put it on every time I come to LA’!!!” 

Interactions like these come few and far between but just based on this one encounter between Young Guru and a random person who said they don’t even listen to hip-hop, Nip’s reach was on full display.

Finishing the post with Nip’s most important message, “The Marathon Continues!!!,” Guru showed us all with one IG post what kind of impact a person and performer like Hussle had and why that loss hurt the entire rap community so much more. 

What do you think about this chance Young Guru interaction? Let us know in the comments.

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