New Hip Hop News

For the past few years, Eminem’s publisher Eight Mile Style has been engaged in a lawsuit against Spotify, centered around the accusation that the streaming giant had infringed on the rights of over two-hundred-and-fifty of his songs. Eight Mile Style also alleged that the Harry Fox Agency, an organization responsible for collecting royalties, conspired with Spotify to alter and falsify royalty statements among other documents in order to facilitate the process.

In the lawsuit, as reported by Billboard, Eight Mile Style alleges that Harry Fox Agency backdated notices and the licenses were never actually valid in the first place. And while Harry Fox opted to have the lawsuit, which was recently amended to include the company, dismissed, U.S. District Corut Judge Aleta Trauger of Nashville has recently denied their request. 

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“HFA protests that all it is accused of doing is sending letters based on information it received from Spotify,” explains the Judge, in a written statement. “At this stage, however, the court is required to take the plaintiffs’ allegations as true, and those allegations include the plaintiffs’ claims about how and why industry practice and HFA’s own reputation allowed HFA’s actions to conceal Spotify’s lack of a valid mechanical license for the Eight Mile Compositions.”

“The purpose and effect of that concealment, moreover, was not simply to prevent past infringement from being discovered, but to allow infringement to continue,” it continues. “Even if HFA was innocent in Spotify’s first alleged instances of infringement, the plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that its actions contributed to Spotify’s ability to continue infringing over time.” Recognizing that it’s entirely possible that the Fox Agency’s denial of any wrongdoing may hold true, the Judge ultimately decided that letting this one play out in court was the wisest course of action.

One has to wonder about the potential ramifications this may have on the music industry, with one of the biggest superstars in the world going up against the largest streaming platform. Look for further developments on this ongoing legal battle as they unfold.

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The death of Earl “DMX” Simmons has been a tough one for hip-hop fans to process. The late fifty-year-old passed away following a weeklong battle in the hospital after a heart attack. The rapper reportedly suffered a drug overdose, which triggered the heart attack. His family made the difficult decision to take him off of life support when his organs started failing.

The legendary rapper was laid to rest in a private ceremony last week, including members of his family, his close friends, and more. DMX’s fiancée Desiree Lindstrom is understandably having an incredibly hard time coping with the death of her love, grieving publicly with a few heartbreaking messages on Instagram. 

“God knows I miss you so much! This hurts my soul,” she wrote over a picture of them together. “My world has completely just been turned upside down! I love you so much stinky!”

Desiree went on to share a picture of her and Exodus, their son together. “I love you exodus,” she wrote. “Daddy will forever be in our hearts!”

Finally, she shared a prayer on her story. “Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you because I am so weak right now. I pray for the strength lord Jesus! Loosing a loved one, has been by far the hardest thing ever in my life! I’m so lost without my soulmate, I’m so lost without my son’s father! I just pray God, that you continue to lift me and my son up! For this one is so hard for me!”

We would like to send our love and positive energy to Desiree Lindstrom, and the rest of DMX’s family during this time. Rest in peace to one of the greatest.

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Last November, it was with heavy hearts that we reported the passing of the beloved Dallas rapper Mo3. The Boosie associate and native Texan was shot and killed in broad daylight on a freeway in his hometown. Three weeks following the murder, a grand jury indicted Kewon Dontell White in connection with the senseless act. 

As we reported over the weekend, a second man, Devin Maurice Brown, was recently charged for his role in the violence. More details surrounding Brown’s involvement and the case surrounding the murder of Mo3 are now coming to light since his arrest, including a peculiar motive. 

According to The Dallas Morning News, 28-year-old Brown told officers that he knew Mo3 was seeing “a known witness” and he was upset over a video posted on Facebook presumably featuring Mo3 and the unidentified woman. Brown, however, denied playing a role in the fatal shooting. He was indicted on murder charges for the death of the rapper on Wednesday (April 21). 

Reports show that phone records identify numerous calls between Brown and 22-year-old Kewon Dontrell White on the day before and the same day Mo3 was shot by White. Cellphone data was able to place White near the apartment where Mo3 stayed the night as well as following a similar path of the rapper before he was shot. The arrest affidavit also states that witnesses identified White as the gunman. 

White was charged and indicted on the murder charge in February. As for Brown, he is also facing additional charges after officers searched his home after the shooting and discovered a stolen AK-47, synthetic cannabinoids, a bottle of pills that tested positive for meth, numerous scales and baggies, plus more than $3,200 in cash. 

If convicted of the federal charges, White faces up to 10 years in federal prison and Brown faces up to 20 on both the drug and gun charges. We’ll keep you updated as the case develops.

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Tekashi 6ix9ine isn’t taking any breaks following a close run-in with would-be chain snatchers this weekend. The rapper recently performed at an Orlando nightclub, jumping into the crowd and nearly parting ways with his $2 million in jewelry. According to multiple sources, the rapper’s hat was knocked off his head and fans started yanking at his chains, causing one of them to fall to the ground before it was retrieved by security. While the situation likely annoyed him in the moment, 6ix9ine is getting back to it again this coming weekend, announcing yet another show for his Florida-area supporters.

Sharing the poster for his upcoming concert with Trillerfest at the Miami Marine Stadium, 6ix9ine teased that this would be one of the best performances he’s ever done. “THEY SAID HE CANT DO NO SHOWS IN AMERICA,” boasted the rapper in his caption. “THIS SATURDAY MIAMI. MIAMI MARINE STADIUM. THE BEST PERFORMANCE YOU HAVE EVER SEEN !! SEE YOU THERE.”

Tickets are currently on sale for the show. Judging from how he performed last weekend, you can probably expect him to dive into the crowd once more– or, if he plays it safe and doesn’t want another chain-yanking fan on his neck, he might stay posted on the stage the entire time.

For months, 6ix9ine has been attempting to return to his old trolling ways after being sentenced in a major gang racketeering case. He was released from prison last year, dropping an album upon his return, which ultimately did not perform as well as he had wished. In recent weeks, 6ix9ine has been teasing yet another new era, releasing new NFTs and hinting that another album could be coming.

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That deleted tweet continues to haunt LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers star kicked up dust over on Twitter last week after the officer responsible for shooting 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant was identified as Nicholas Reardon. James shared a screenshot of Reardon at the scene of Ma’Khia’s foster home with the caption “You’re Next #Accountability.”

James was hit with an onslaught of backlash from people who accused the basketball star of inciting violence against Reardon. Yet, LeBron’s defenders pointed out that his message was following the Derek Chauvin verdict, and James was speaking about legal justice. That explanation was ignored but still, James took down his original message.

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An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department has gone viral after sharing an open letter of condemnation directed at LeBron. Deon Joseph began his letter by saying he wasn’t coming “from a place of hatred” and complimented the sports icon for his charitable work. Then he let LeBron have it.

“Instead of apologizing, you deflected,” wrote Joseph. “You said you took your tweet down because you did not want it to be used for hate, when the tweet itself was the embodiment of hatred, rooted in a lack of understanding of the danger of the situation.” Joseph added that he hoped to sit down with James to explain to him “the reality of the profession of policing.”

“You are tired of Black folks dying? So am I. You hate racism and police brutality? So do I. But you cannot paint 800,000 men and women who are of all races, faiths, sexual orientations and are also mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, preachers, coaches, community members and just human with such a broad and destructive brush.” Some critics of Joseph took to social media to point out the overwhelming amount of accusations of police brutality, profiling, and corruption within the LAPD, but he has yet to respond to their questions.

Read through Joseph’s message in full below.