Shortly after the shooting that injured Lil Reese in Chicago, news of another Hip-Hop related shooting has surfaced. According to HipHopDX, up-and-coming rapper and Paper Route Empire signee Kenny Muney was reportedly shot at in Atlanta while at an intersection near the Atlantic Station retail district. Fortunately, reports reveal that Muney was “alert, conscious and breathing” once taken to a nearby hospital, and since his injuries were not life-threatening, he was subsequently released.
Once police arrived on the scene, they found the Memphis native shot in both his hip and elbow, and upon questioning, Muney explained that he was at an intersection when someone in a vehicle started shooting at him.
According to HipHopDX, police have been unable to identify any suspects, but they did find that there were “nine defects from being struck by bullets” in Muney’s grey Mercedes-Benz, 22 shell casings scattered at the scene, and a Glock 19 in Muney’s car. Furthermore, reports show that Muney also rammed his car into the side of another vehicle during the shooting, causing additional damages.
A witness on site reportedly described the shooting as a “bit scary” due to the “bullets flying,” and they went on to say, “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I honestly believe from what I saw it was kind of like a cut-off or some kind of an incident, maybe he tapped them or something, and it was just over a car dispute.”
Having already been shot on two separate occasions in 2018, this incident marks another life-threatening situation for Young Dolph’s rising artist. Luckily, Kenny Muney is expected to make a full recovery.
Rappers have taken to NFTs with a vengeance, and the ever-entrepreneurial Jeezy wasted little time in capitalizing on the ongoing phenomenon. A few weeks back, the rapper confirmed that he was teaming up with Liquid Avatar Technologies to bring his iconic Snowman logo into the NFT space. Now, Jeezy has confirmed that his first-ever NFT collection has officially gone live.
“My first NFT collection is now LIVE,” confirms Jeezy, taking to Instagram to share the exciting news. “Be a part of history and own your very own snowman. We are dropping five different iconic versions of the snowman that got a lot to say. LETS GET IT. Link in bio.”
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Interested parties can check out the drop right here, which includes five unique limited-edition animations incorporating both the Snowman and Jeezy’s iconic ad-libs. For now, the “Dat’s Riight” variant is up for sale, listed at $101 — the sale, which officially kicked off today, is set to go until June 1st, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET.
In a few days, the second of five animations will hit the market, this time featuring Jeezy’s Snowman over a purple background highlighting his “Ha Haaa” ad-lib. Third is the “Ayyy” variant, with four and five rounding it out with “Dat’s Riiight” and “Yeaaah” respectively. It’s certainly an interesting option for die-hard Jeezy fans, and one has to wonder how many will shell out the dough to own a piece of exclusive digital art from the trap music innovator.
Check out Jeezy’s announcement post below, and should you be interested in seeing the collection for yourself, do so at your convenience here. Are you enjoying this wave of rapper NFTs that have been emerging of late?
Shortly after Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s tragic passing in January of 2020, it was revealed that Sheriff’s deputies who were on the scene ended up taking photos of the remains of all nine victims. In fact, one of the officers who got a hold of the images used them at a bar as a way to hit on women. It was a truly disgusting turn of events that had Vanessa Bryant feeling violated for her family. As a result, she promptly filed a lawsuit against the L.A County Sheriff’s Department, where she received the four names of the deputies who snapped the photos.
The County believes that the lives of the deputies in question could be threatened, especially since her millions of followers know who they are now. They are effectively demanding that the court make her stop with the social media posts and to stop naming the deputies in future posts.
For now, Bryant has yet to respond to the demand, although we’re sure that is something that will be taken care of internally. It’s certainly a sensitive subject to discuss, and this won’t be the last we hear of this ongoing dispute.
Sexual assault allegations were first made against actor Danny Masterson back in 2017. Masterson pleaded not guilty when these allegations eventually turned into proper charges, in January of this year. As of today, one of his alleged victims, a woman named Jen B., took the stand and pleaded her case in a preliminary hearing, designed to determine if there is sufficient probable cause for a trial to take place.
While on the stand, Jen B. claimed that it all started when she paid Masterson a visit to retrieve a pair of car keys. She ended up getting stuck at the That 70’s Show actor’s home, when Masterson made her a vodka cocktail and she proceeded to get “blurry.”
From what Jen B. could recall from her moments of in and out of consciousness, Masterson forcefully placed her in his jacuzzi. When Jen B. attempted to leave the jacuzzi, she experienced lethargy, weakness, and moments where her vision was strained. “I couldn’t walk or stand, so he put me on the tile on the ground,” Jen B. testified. “I couldn’t open my eyelids. I felt really, really sick.”
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As the night continued, Masterson took her upstairs and reportedly placed her in his shower. Jen B. testified further that she began to lose consciousness. When she regained consciousness for a moment, she woke up to Masterson washing her breasts. Jen B. stated she remembered vomiting and attempting to hit Masterson, but felt too weak and was unsuccessful in hitting him.
Following the shower, Masterson placed her on his bed and proceeded to rape Jen B. When she tried to hit him again, in order to escape, Jen B. alleged that Masterson pulled out a gun on her from his nightstand and threatened her. Jen B. said that any efforts she made to escape were futile and he continued to push himself on her to stop her from resisting.
Masterson and Jen B. reportedly initially met through the Church of Scientology. After the rape happened, she reported it to the church before the police. When Jen B. told the church about the assault in 2004, they tried to persuade her not to report it to the authorities. “I would lose my family and everyone I knew,” she explained.
Rap crooner Tory Lanez is super serious about how he’s putting his music out right now. The hip-hop heavyweight has announced plans to release a non-fungible token (NFT)-type new project following retail-friendly Playboy and Loner studio capsules. Tory Lanez’s Next Album Is NFT-Friendly Lanez went to his Instagram page to get followers super pumped about […]
J. Cole’s The Off-Season continues to spark discussion, but in terms of immediacy, there are many who have named the 21 Savage and Morray assisted “My Life” as one of the project’s notable standouts. It’s certainly moving units effectively, with a projected first-week tally of 100k making it the best-selling single of the week. Not only is it proving to be a favorite on the mainstream side, but it’s also won the hearts of hip-hop historians across the board.
Upon hearing the chorus, brought to life through a powerhouse vocal performance by North Carolina’s Morray, many fans were quick to look back to Styles P and Pharoahe Monch’s timeless classic “The Life.” Originally released in 2002 on Styles’ debut solo album A Gangster And A Gentleman, it was Monch who delivered a haunting rendition of the hook that Morray would reinvent decades later.
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Following the release of “My Life”, Styles and Monch took a moment to reflect on having their song honored by J. Cole. “I hit my brother the great @pharoahemonch yesterday like Ain’t we some cool middle aged dudes???” captions P. “Salute @JColeNC for a beautiful album Breath of fresh air !kicked it with him for a few he is such a gracious Jedi !!! It’s A honor to be honored by the honorable.”
For Monch, seeing “The Life” honored brought him all the way down memory lane, and the legendary lyricist penned a reflection on his own history with the song. “When I was speaking to @realcoleworld last week about his love for the My Life song and the chorus all I could think about was those days digging for samples at the Roosevelt Hotel record conventions in Manhattan,” begins Monch. “Those dusty ass shops out of town, crawling around with a bandana over my mouth looking through the boxes on the floor. Thinking back to when critics said hip hop was a fluke and wouldn’t stand the test of time.”
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“This week has been an insane introspective look back into that time,” he continues. “At the same time that I’m celebrating with a “hell fucking yeah” as Jay-Z & @llcoolj are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, the young king who is obviously cut from the same cloth as those legends, reached out to say how much the My Life song moved him coming up in High School. Shout out to @realcoleworld on yet another classic album / shout out to @stylesp / @phantomofthechakras2 on the creation of the 2002 classic, The Life.”
In Allblack‘s new video for “War Stories,” he and Mozzy keep DMX’s legacy of hyperviolent but secretly super sad lyricism alive, detailing both the bloody shootouts that peppered their lives with tragedy and the deep mental scars such trauma can bring in its aftermath. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t loved so much, I’d die today,” Allblack mulls. “Next birthday, I’ma put a bomb inside my cake.” The sentiment is similar to X’s verse on Mase’s “24 Hours To Live,” in which X seemingly decides that 24 hours is just too long and he’s going out with a bang.
Meanwhile, Mozzy’s verse is less depressed but no less grim. “The homies popped the homie, I tried to tell him he wrong,” he remembers. “He don’t care though, all black Forces you know we wear those.” Detroit rapper Peezy brings up the anchor verse, coming a bit more boastfully but with an anxious undercurrent amid the triumphant tone. “Used to sell raw, cook crack up in the kitchen sink,” he muses. “Now I gotta wake up early for a business meetin’.” At least the story has a happy ending.
“War Stories” is the latest single from Allblack’s recently released album TY4FWM, which finds the Bay Area fixture rapping with fellow NorCal rhymers E-40, G-Eazy, Guapdad 4000, and Rexx Life Raj, as well as more Detroiters such as Sada Baby and even Long Beach’s Vince Staples. You can listen to that here.
Watch Allblack’s “War Stories” video with Mozzy above.
Life is a forever-winding path filled with crossroads and intersections. At times, navigating this journey is as easy as breathing and walking; decisions are made with help from destiny and subconscious thought, going unrecognized unless one requests it from the file cabinet of the mind. Other times, destiny takes a step back and leaves us in charge of commanding the journey. Even with the highest dose of wisdom present, questions of where to turn, when to stop, slow down, or speed up become far too dreadful to answer.
As we all had to do in some corner of our lives, Jorja Smith has been left to make these decisions and, as she unveils on her new EP Be Right Back, the choices before her are some that most would hate to choose from. On the lovelorn project, Jorja engages in a mental tug of war in the often unpredictable world of love and is left to decide what’s best for her: holding on in hopes of receiving better or letting go in fear of prolonging the bad before experiencing the worst.
Be Right Back is the English singer’s first project since her 2019 debut album, Lost & Found, an effort where she quite literally discovered herself. Songs that she wrote as a naive youth grew beside her with age and became tales of what once was, what is now, and what could be. The EP not only signals her return to music, as it’s her first project in over two years, foreshadows more to come for those who crave more from Jorja, just like that morning cup of Joe.
The scene is set as Be Right Back begins. The singer is knee-deep and tangled within the webs of unrequited love on “Addicted.” Jorja craves her lover like a caffeine addict does with their cup of coffee, but unlike that morning boost of energy that seeks nothing in return from its consumer, Jorja needs reciprocation from her companion. “The hardest thing / You are not addicted to me,” she croons with a voice filled with agony on the track. “I’m the only thing you should need / You should be addicted to me.” It’s at this moment that the unsettling crossroad presents itself.
The worst thing about these journeys is you’ll never know what’s next. No amount of astrology, prayer, or fortune-telling can give a play-by-play of the future that we’d all love to have. The gains and losses that come with each turn are vastly unpredictable. Taking one path can cause the extinction of another and sacrificing something else can spark the appearance of something new and better. So when Jorja deals with the pain of departure on “Gone” and “Weekend,” and inflicts some of the same on “Time,” it’s all with the hope that maybe one day she’ll make the right decisions to bring her towards the happy moment she desires.
For what it’s worth, Jorja can end a chapter in love if it proves to be necessary. After a whirlwind of doubts blur her perception and confidence towards a successful relationship on “Home,” Jorja opts to step away from it as her worries only seem to weigh her down. “Why can’t we leave it? Should’ve left it as just another chapter,” she ponders over the soft strums of an electric guitar. “It stays the same, will always remain with my heart in doubt.”
As a result, her bags are packed and she continues on her journey towards what’s next and what is hopefully better for her. Be Right Back sees her take a momentary break from the path she travels to document the scenery and events she experienced. It’s never the destination, but rather the journey, so timely pauses to take in what’s occurred are often necessary to avoid repeating mistakes and being lost — again — within it all.
Despite the fact that Young Nudy and 21 Savage are cousins, their rapping styles could not be anymore different. With the release of his new album Dr.EV4L, Young Nudy shows us exactly why that is. By mixing up his rap style with a zany production and aesthetic, “Perc 30,” is a unique track that’s part of an equally unique album.
Perc 30 is nothing short of a fire drop. Sonically speaking, the track gives a circus-traphouse vibe that is irresistible. Young Nudy skates on the beat as he spits lines laced with heat such as “Hold my money, that’s a fee. I like her body, that’s on me. Dirty dreads, red bandana, R.I.P.” Young Nudy’s bars and the production that’s laced with carnival vibes makes “Perc 30” an absolutely amusing standout from his latest LP.
The influence of the hip hop scene in Atlanta has a strong presence in Young Nudy’s work. Which sounds about right given that his stomping ground is Eastern Atlanta. Traces of Gucci Mane’s earlier work are also prevalent not only in “Perc 30,”but the rest of Dr.EV4L as well.
Perc 30 is one of the bangers from the newly dropped Dr.EV4L. Dr.EV4L is the second album from Young Nudy. His first studio album titled Anyways… was released in February of 2020.
Quotable Lyrics
Trap beat in the A, I got blocks, make a play (Make a play) And my ho protect the spot, won’t go, no way (Go, no way) Too many shooters in this bitch strapped up, it’s too many K’s (Too many K’s) Everybody gon’ do what I say (Yeah) Every word that I say is law (Law) This game, I play too raw (Raw) That’s why I keep my gun on me, beam just like Rudolph
