New Hip Hop News

Suspect Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Ga., was captured after a manhunt on Tuesday. The suspect was pursued after allegedly murdering eight people, shooting them to death. He targeted people at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area. Seven of the slain were women, and six of them were of Asian descent while two were white. Authorities are investigating whether the killings were part of a robbery in progress.

The first shooting took place at Young’s Asian Massage near Acworth, a northwest suburb of Atlanta. Four people were killed there before the suspect moved on. At 5:47 PM, the Atlanta police claim that officers responded to a robbery at Gold Spa in the same area. It was there they found the bodies of three women with gunshot wounds. Soon after, the police on the scene were called to respond to shots fired at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street. There they found another victim.

Although the suspect in custody is white, police have not confirmed any racial motivation for the shootings. Still, Stop AAPI Hate, created to stop anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic, called the shootings “an unspeakable tragedy” for both the victims’ families and an Asian-American community that has “been reeling from high levels of racist attacks.”

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It was the pop culture moment heard around the world back in 2015 during an episode of E!’s Fashion Police when host Giuliana Rancic made a comment about Zendaya’s hair on the Academy Awards red carpet. The then-18-year-old actress decided to wear her hair in locs to celebrate diversity on the red carpet, but Rancic remarked that Zendaya looks as if “she smells like patchouli oil or weed.” Zendaya and her Malcolm and Marie co-star John david Washington recently posed for W Magazine‘s cover feature, and inside, the actress revisited the incident.

Soon after Rancic’s remarks went viral, Mattel created a Barbie doll for Zendaya, sporting the same locs that were criticized. “That’s how change happens,” Zendaya shared with W. “And it made me think, How could I always have a lasting impact on what people saw and associated with people of color?”

It’s a sentiment that echos Zendaya’s initial response back in 2015 when she took to Instagram to say, “There is already a harsh criticism of African-American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair… To say that an 18-year-old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or ‘weed’ is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive. I don’t usually feel the need to respond to negative things but certain remarks cannot go unchecked.”

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Rancic exited her Fashion Police position following the remarks but later spoke out about it, claiming that it was edited incorrectly. “You know, I made a reference to the hippie culture,” Rancic told Today back in 2015. “I talked about patchouli oil, which is a hippie perfume. And in the editing process, some of the gestures I made, some of the things I said were taken out for time. I made peace signs, I said ‘bohemian’ twice — those were taken out for time. So when the joke aired, some people were offended by it.”

Rancic was later rehired by E!. Check out photos from Zendaya and John David Malcolm’s cover feature with W Magazine below.

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There has been a great debate within the music industry regarding artists signing other artists. We’ve seen artists take other aspiring rap stars under their wings to help mold and shape them into their crew, but that doesn’t always spell a successful Rap career. There are many rappers who have found fame thanks to linking with a veteran artist, much like OMB Peezy did when he signed to E-40’s Sick Wid It Records.

“I had a partnership with 40 but I feel like, sh*t, I was like a caterpillar, you know what I’m sayin’,” Peezy recently told the hosts of Big Facts Podcast. “I’m trying to grow into a butterfly and you can’t grow into a butterfly in a cocoon. I feel like Sick Wid It was a cocoon, feel me? [E-40 is an] artist and a CEO. I feel like, if I could go back in time, I’d sign to a straight CEO. Somebody who gon’ be worried about my career as much as I am.”

“No disrespect to 40, changed a n*gga life, for real,” Peezy added. “Me, if I was a CEO and not an artist, I’d be like, ‘Okay, I got connect to this artist, so I’m gonna get this artist for this artist.’ It’s features that he’ll get, but he’ll get him for himself. He got n*ggas like me, Nef the Pharaoh, and sh*t like that who would blow with these songs, but I just felt like, that wasn’t the place with me.”

OMB Peezy advised that any artist starting out or rising in the Rap game should avoid inking deals with other artists who are looking to expand their brand. “You gotta be a real CEO. You can’t like, be more focused on rappin’ than [being a] CEO… You can’t be playin’ wit’ nobody life.” Check out the clip below and let us know if you agree with him.

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The city was just the epicenter for NBA All-Star Weekend as thousands of people, including several celebrities, descended on Atlanta to party, but now the Peach State is mourning eight losses. According to multiple reports, on Tuesday (March 16), there were three separate shootings in Georgia that all took place at spas or massage parlors. In Atlanta, police responded to an emergency call of a robbery, and when they arrived, they walked into a grisly scene. Three women were found inside, shot to death.

The story takes a turn when, as the officers were at one scene, they were alerted that an altercation was occurring at a spa across the street. Authorities quickly rushed to the location but they were too late; another woman had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. The third incident reportedly took place in Acworth, Georgia at a spa where four people were killed and one person was injured. 

In the Acworth shooting, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long was identified and arrested. At the time of this publication, authorities haven’t stated whether or not Long is linked to the other shootings. “Many have asked whether these shootings are related to Cherokee County’s shootings. At the moment, it is too early to confirm that, but we have spoken with Cherokee County officials and we are looking into that possibility,” Atlanta Police reportedly shared in a statement.

It’s also being reported that many if not all of the victims were Asian and the public is concerned that these incidents are hate crimes that have increased during the pandemic.

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Rihanna is a boss on so many levels, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all her moves. Although the songstress didn’t grace the Grammys, she was in Beverly Hills putting a lockdown on a new piece of property. 

RiRi struck on a gorgeous mansion for $13.8 million.  According to Dirt.com, the estate is located on a highly desired cul-de-sac in the mountains above Beverly Hills. The property has 5 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Sir Paul McCartney lives in the same neighborhood. The home was originally built in the 1930s. Used as a farm estate, the property was formerly owned by Mary Sheldon,  who is the daughter of I Dream of Jeanie creator Sidney Sheldon. In 2016, Sheldon sold the property for $4.3 million to investor Daniel Starr who demolished and rebuilt it. 

Rihanna has four other multi-million dollar homes. This new one is a 7,600-square-foot mansion that has a “sophisticated design” which “blends both contemporary and traditional elements,” says the listing. It highlights a fireplace-equipped living room with Fleetwood glass walls, a friendly family room that comes with a lounge or library with built-in bookshelves, a full bar, two islands-equipped kitchen, a luxurious swimming pool and much more. What do you think of RiRi’s new place?

It’s been quiet on the YFN Lucci front ever since the rapper was bonded out of jail last month. The Georgia rapper was arrested and charged in connection with the December murder of a 28-year-old man who died during a shooting. Lucci was initially denied a bond but was able to convince a judge to set him free for the time being with heavy restrictions. Lil Wayne’s daughter Reginae Carter has stood by her man’s side throughout this ordeal, but anytime she pens messages on social media, the public believes she’s trying to shade the rapper with a subliminal jab.

“I swear I went above and beyond for some people & they have the nerve to have amnesia now … k cool,” Reginae wrote over on Twitter. “I sat at tables and had to eat my damn self and still fed a mf before I ate . That same mf bit my hand quick . Never again .” A user replied to her messages and told the reality star to let Lucci go, assuming that Carter was speaking about her relationship. Reginae bit back.

“B*tch ain’t everything about that n*gga imma tell u now,” she said. Unsurprisingly, Lucci is keeping himself out of the spotlight as he manages his personal life and stays out of trouble as his case looms. Check out Reginae’s tweets below.