New Hip Hop News

Inspired by hit girl groups like TLC and SWV, the ABC show Queens follows the story of four members of an imaginary, but once-popular, 90s group called “Nasty Bitches.” The drama begins when the ladies are forced to reunite due to a last-minute offer to perform at an award show.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the series cast Eve as Brianna aka Professor Sex, Naturi Naughton as Jill aka Da Thrill, Brandy as Naomi aka Xplicit Lyrics, and Nadine Velazquez as Valeria aka Butter Pecan.

Although the cast plays fictional characters, each role mimics the real-life career of the actress. Brandy’s musical career took off in the 90s, leading up to her famous sitcom Moesha, and her 1998 hit with Monica, “That Boy is Mine.”

Eve came onto the scene right after, releasing her debut album in 1999. The rapper/singer-songwriter went on to become one of the most influential artists of the early 2000s. 

Naturi was actually a singer in the girl group 3LW, alongside soon-to-be The Cheetah Girls stars Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams. 

Nadine has no musical experience but does have a lengthy acting resume, including starring alongside Denzel Washington in the 2012 film Flight.

Brandy, Eve, Naturi, and Nadine shared their excitement for the new project on Twitter, alongside the announcement. The show will premiere this fall according to a tweet by Power star Naturi Naughton. Deadline also reports Brandy and Eve will record songs for the soundtrack of the show.

Take a look at the teaser below, and let us know if you’ll be adding this series to your rotation.

Let us know what you think about the trailer below.

[via]

It is never easy discussing personal issues for anyone, but Billy Porter has taken a giant leap of faith. The Grammy, Tony, and Emmy award-winning actor has recently been celebrated for his role as HIV-positive Pray Tell on the megahit series Pose, but his career has spanned for decades from Broadway stages to movie sets. Porter has often sat down for interviews where he’s shared bits about his life, upbringing, and artistic endeavors, but it was his chat with The Hollywood Reporter that has made headlines on Wednesday (May 18).

For nearly 15 years, Porter has told almost no one that he’s been living with HIV, a diagnosis he received back in 2007.

“In June of that year, I was diagnosed HIV-positive,” said Porter. Because his Pose character shares his health issues, Porter found comfort in communicating through a work of fiction. Additionally, he told the publication that no one on set or in production was aware of his status.  “I was able to say everything that I wanted to say through a surrogate.”

“The shame of that time compounded with the shame that had already [accumulated] in my life silenced me,” said Porter of learning of his diagnosis in 2007. “I have lived with that shame in silence for 14 years. HIV-positive, where I come from, growing up in the Pentecostal church with a very religious family, is God’s punishment.”

Porter detailed his journey poetically for The Hollywood Reporter, mentioning telling his mother and reconciling any feelings he had within himself about the relationship with his church. Porter got married to someone who isn’t positive and is glad that at this stage of his life, he’s being taken seriously as a performer, more so than he ever has in his career.

“This is for me. I’m doing this for me. I have too much sh*t to do, and I don’t have any fear about it anymore. I told my mother — that was the hurdle for me. I don’t care what anyone has to say. You’re either with me or simply move out of the way.” Check out a few shots from his cover feature below.

[via]

After NBA YoungBoy declared his love for her in a letter from jail, Jazlyn Mychelle is returning the sentiments. The latest of YoungBoy’s baby mamas is expecting what’s reported to be his eighth child after he recently welcomed two babies with two different women since last November. One of those mothers is Floyd Mayweather’s daughter Yaya who just weeks ago seemed to tease Jazlyn for receiving the same jailhouse message from YoungBoy that she did. However, that prodding came to a stop when YoungBoy recently begged Jazlyn not to leave him.

“I really just want to be there when my daughter born i want to be in the same house as her while she grow up i never had that experience,” YoungBoy recently wrote, confirming that Jazlyn is pregnant. 

“Jaz im sorry (ma’ma) i promise im sorry for every time i said something to another woman for every time they ever gotten the chance to come around ill give you anything for you not to leave anything to have you when its all said and done,” the rapper continued.

In response, Jazlyn cleared her Instagram timeline aside from a photo of YoungBoy. “Forever with you [red heart emoji]#freeyou,” she penned in the caption. Meanwhile, after YoungBoy openly stated that he’s riding for Jazlyn, Yaya took to her Instagram Story to say that she’s “outside this summer,” letting folks know that they can “shoot y’all shots.”

Check out a couple of posts below.

[via]

As all artists do, Jidenna has evolved dramatically since his hit “Classic Man” went viral back in 2015. Six years later, the rapper has evolved from his 1920s-influenced businessman style, to an entirely new rock star look and persona, one that is set on breaking boundaries for men in hip hop.

In recent years, Jidenna has begun rocking long hair and making headlines for dancing with fans on and off stage during his sophomore album tour.

His Instagram shares, the most recent captioned “I hope you have sex today” — have caused fans to feel the summer heat. The dreamy posed shots show off Jidenna’s sculpted chest, tattoos, black-painted nails, and intricate jewelry.

While these pictures may simply appear as shots seeking “Likes,” Jidenna stays true to his activism. The artist has often spoken up about the importance of supporting Black clothing businesses, including his presentation at the 2019 Essence Best in Black Fashion Awards. 

Specifically, African clothing businesses are a cause close to home for him as a Nigerian-American. In the photos, he wears a loose, sleeveless cardigan by Rwandan brand Moshions, and tags them in the caption to promote the brand. 

Social media raged in response with compliments, and various other flirty requests from fans.

Check out the new looks below.

[via]

What began as Kwame Brown going after a select few that have spoken ill of his career has turned into a beef with Charlamagne Tha God. Matt Barnes, Gilbert Arenas, and Stephen Smith have all had a few things to say about Brown’s basketball career, and after Brown caught wind of the remarks, he went all out online. Brown called everyone to the table with claims that he’s ready for a street fight with Smith, but Barnes proposed that they meet up in the ring for an official boxing match. The hosts of The Breakfast Club weighed in on the controversy, but Charlamagne Tha God’s comments rubbed Brown the wrong way.

“Leave Kwame Brown alone,” said Charlamagne before he gave a sordid family history of the former basketball player. He claimed that Brown’s father is serving a life sentence for allegedly beating his girlfriend with an axe handle and burying her alive. Then, the radio host went on to say that one of Kwame’s brothers “shot his baby mama several times and then killed himself.”

Charlamagne wasn’t finished, because he also mentioned that another of Kwame’s brothers “just went to jail for murder like, three years ago.” He added, “I’m saying all that to say, leave Kwame alone. That man has been quiet for twenty years, he don’t bother nobody. Clearly all that ‘he’s a bust up’ gets to him. You don’t know what people are going through or have been through.

Kwame wasn’t thrilled about Charlamagne’s trip down memory lane. “Rapist, Charlamagne Tha God. Rape case guy that actually pled guilty and got away with it,” said Brown in a video. He wanted to know why Charlamange went through a deep-dive of his family’s history in response to the beef brewing with him, Smith, and Barnes. 

“You wanna talk about a brother that I never met? That my father had children outside of his marriage? Just like DJ Envy cheatin’ ass?” questioned Brown. “So, I’m wrong because my father had a son at the time that I never met, so you go put out to the world like I’m some killer, when I asked these gentlemen and they said they was joking. So, now it’s time to light you little rapist ass up, too.”

“We gon’ find that girl you raped, punk. Allegedly. Matter of fact, we ain’t gotta say allegedly ’cause you on the docket, b*tch.” That was just the tip of the iceberg. Watch both clips below.

The storyline of Black Ink Crew has nothing on what’s going down in real life. Reality television star Ceaser Emanuel has been having a rough week as he, his ex, and his kids have been going at it on social media. Previously, Ceaser and Crystal Torres’s teen daughter Cheyenne accused her father of abuse. The 17-year-old reportedly claimed that Ceaser grabbed her while he was in the shower and “stomped her out.” This week, the drama reignited when those family issues once again resurfaced and Crystal blasted Ceaser, accusing him of using their personal lives as a storyline for Black Ink Crew.

Crystal got on Instagram Live and accused her ex of sending both her and their daughter a cease and desist letter so they wouldn’t be able to speak about the incident. However, Ceaser didn’t appreciate the allegations and is taking the mother of his child to court for defamation.

According to TMZ, Ceaser denies the accusations that he physically abused his daughter and stated that he was only disciplining her. The reported court documents also show that Ceaser called his ex a liar and said that the letter he sent to her came from the Department of Family & Child Services, clearing him of any wrongdoing and refuting their claims of abuse. However, he said, Crystal didn’t cease publicly calling him out, resulting in his reputation being tarnished and him missing out on business opportunities.

VH1 has also reportedly stepped in to launch their own internal investigation into the allegations, thus halting production of Black Ink Crew New York. Endorsement deals have reportedly fallen through, as well, and the reported charitable work he does with organizations specialing in programs for underprivileged children has been affected.

He’s seeking damages, but it’s unclear just how much he’s looking for in a judgment. Ceaser is reportedly scheduled to hold a press conference, but Crystal is said to have a temporary restraining order against him that includes contact, harassment, or “family offense.” Crystal reportedly refused to comment on the lawsuit, but you can swipe below to hear her side of the story.

[via]

All seemed well with the blended Simmons family but things took a turn this week. Russell Simmons and his ex-wife Kimora Lee were together for 14 years, married for eight, before they decided to call it quits. They have two daughters together and later, Kimora would go on to date actor Djimon Hounsou for four years and the two have a son together. By 2012, that relationship was over and in 2014, Kimora announced that she’d married Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner. The following year, they welcomed a son, as well, before adopting another child.

Russell and Kimora are often private about their personal relationships and family business, but on Wednesday (May 19), news circulated that Russell is taking his ex-wife and her husband to court. Leissner was being investigated by authorities for allegedly stealing $200 million in the 1MDB scandal that involves the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. The political figure is accused of siphoning $700 million from a government-led company.

The Blast reports that Russell claims his ex and her new husband used his shares of an energy drink named Celsius to help pay for Tim’s legal fees. Documents reportedly state that Russell said they “conspired with each other, aided and abetted each other and together engaged in fraud by causing an unlawful conversion and fraudulent transfer” of those shares without telling or alerting the music mogul.

Russell reportedly found out because his accountants were quick to note that something wasn’t right with his finances and learned that the shares had been transferred to Kimora and Tim. The Blast further states that Tim pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy back in 2018 and Russell’s legal team wrote in documents that Kimora and Tim “knew full well that Leissner would need tens of millions of dollars to avoid jail time, stay out on bail, and forfeit monies for victim compensation.” The total monies needed were calculated to the tune of $44 million.

The Def Jam icon reportedly wrote a letter to Kimora asking her to rectify this situation because he just wanted to move forward, but it didn’t work. His shares are reportedly now “locked up with the government after being used” for Leissner’s “bail money.” He’s seeking damages that include interest “and equal value for the wrongfully obtained shares.”

Kimora nor her husband have issued a statement regarding the accusations.

[via]