Though his life was cut tragically short after a fatal shooting, the legendary 2Pac Shakur managed to bless the game with four studio albums prior to his passing. Yet the music did not end there — his estate went on to deliver an additional seven posthumous albums, including the Eminem-produced Loyal 2 The Game, The Don Killuminati, Better Dayz, and Until The End Of Time — the latter of which recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary.
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In honor of the occasion, the quadruple-platinum double-album Until The End Of Time will be receiving an ambitious vinyl release, set to arrive in full on July 23rd. The complete package will feature four vinyl discs, as well as a four-page LP Folio Book that includes a handwritten tracklist from Tupac, as preserved by the estate. Interested parties and Pac collectors would be wise to pre-order this one right here, with the price currently listed as $89.98.
Technically billed as 2Pac’s seventh album, Until The End Of Time has never been officially re-released until now. It’s certainly welcome, as the project has proven to be a fan-favorite among the posthumous releases, with many of the vocals allegedly recorded during the sessions for All Eyez On Me and Makaveli: The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. Should you hold this project in high regard, be sure to voice your thoughts in the comments below, as it can sometimes feel like Pac’s posthumous output is forgotten in the wider hip-hop discourse. Do you think Until The End Of Time is one of the best posthumous albums ever?
Atlanta rapper Rich The Kid might not secure a Kanye West collaboration anytime soon. The hip-hop star has lit up social media to tease plans to try to shoot his shot at soon-to-be divorced wife Kim Kardashian. Rich The Kid Wants To Date Kim K Rich hit up Instagram with fresh pics of himself flexing […]
Young Dolph has officially retired from rap… again.
The Memphis rapper previously told the world in March 2020 that he was considering his retirement from music. Several days later, he confirmed that he was hanging up his microphone for good. Then, a few months later, he released his album Rich Slave. It seems that every few years, Young Dolph pulls this kind of stunt to keep his fans on their toes. However, is he being serious with his latest retirement announcement?
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Taking to Instagram, the 35-year-old Memphis rapper told his followers that Dum & Dummer 2 with Key Glock would be his final release ever. “I hope y’all enjoying the new mixtape, it’s my last project putting out,” said Dolph. “I wasn’t gonna tell y’all but i thought y’all should know im done with music.”
When Dolph announced his retirement last year, he noted that he wanted to spend more time with his children. “I’m done doing music so I can go kick it with my son,” he said at the time. “Key Glock is already poised to be the new torch bearer,” added a representative.
Young Dolph’s new twenty-track effort with Key Glock is available on all digital streaming platforms now. If you’re a fan of the Memphis duo, be sure to check it out because it will apparently be the last album ever from Young Dolph.
“Love & Hip Hop” stars Safaree Samuels and Erica Mena don’t appear to be on the same page marriage-wise but when it comes to their mini-me there’s no debate. The estranged couple have lit up social media with an epic look at an iced-out piece of jewelry modeled after their daughter Safire Majesty. Safaree + […]
No matter individual opinions regarding Lil Nas X’s reimagination of the Devil and Satanism in the new visuals for his latest single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” one thing that’s for certain is that he does not care about the backlash. In the days since the release of the music video, the 21-year-old Grammy winner has gone on to release a line of “Satan Shoes” inspired by the Nike Air Max 97 silhouette (and be sued by the sneaker company as well). Despite this, the controversial kicks have received a co-sign from one very important institution.
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According to TMZ, David Harris, the head magister for the Church of Satan, reports that the shoes are getting a ton of appreciation within their church for its full embrace of the essence of satanism. They specifically cite the inclusion of an inverted cross, bronze pentagram, and a drop of human blood as their favorite points on the shoe.
For those unfamiliar with the church, Satanists do not actually worship Satan nor do they believe in God or the Devil. Rather, the Church holds beliefs opposed to anything supernatural or spiritual, with no belief in the afterlife. The Church also tells TMZ they believe in being your true self, personal achievements, and living life to the fullest, all values it says Lil Nas X aligns with in the release of his new shoe.
As mentioned briefly before, the shoe release arrived shortly after his polarizing visual for “MONTERO,” which features him giving a lap dance to the Prince of Darkness himself. Selling 666 pairs of the now-sold out kicks at $1,018 each, the money he’s earned from the shoes will surely help him fight his way out of the lawsuit Nike just hit him with.
Outside of the Church of Satan, public reception of the shoes and his overall use of Satan imagery has received mixed reviews. In true Lil Nas X nature, however, he’s taken all of the criticism in stride.
It’s not often that a rapper opts to body a harp, generally viewed as the orchestra’s most inherently docile instrument. And yet whenever it does get incorporated into hip-hop production, as is the case on Jay Critch’s Jahdiddat-produced “Been That,” the results tend to shine. Today marks the official arrival of Critch’s previously released single “Been That,” which comes equipped with an accompanying music video directed by Hundo x Lost Footage.
Originally released on his recent album Signed With Love, “Been That” serves as a solid reminder of what the New York rapper is all about. Lyrically, he opts to flex his accomplishments — “I’ve been bagging bitches before I could hold the groceries,” he raps. “It ain’t nowhere worth being real, you just posed to be / Fuck all the awards, I B-E-T I got a Role on me.” There’s a confident and defiant energy throughout the song and the visuals, one that compliments his style quite effectively. There’s a reason Critch has retained such a loyal fanbase, despite not being quite so prolific as some of his peers.
Check out the “Been That” video now, and sound off if you’d welcome a new project from the young lyricist.
Ice-T remains an institution throughout the various realms of pop culture, going strong for over 30 years now. From his earliest 1980s solo rapper days to his heavy-metal stylings with Body Count (the group recently won a Grammy), his influence cannot be underestimated. Nor has his career remained predictable, although once Ice-T makes a move, he does not waver, which is precisely why Law and Order: SVU fans have dug him as Fin Tutuola since the year 2000. He’s done reality TV and tells it to everyone straight on Twitter, and the man has never been anything but consistently entertaining.
Such a reliable nature might work to Ice-T’s advantage with his new ad campaign for Tide alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. You’d probably never expect to see him associated with a laundry detergent brand, but he’s on board to educate people (through the #TurnToCold campaign) about the environmental (and money-saving) benefits of washing clothes in cold water. Not that Ice-T actually does the laundry at home, which is something that he had no problem admitting while he was cool enough to chat with us. We touched upon plenty of topics during our discussion, including when he’ll tour again, how he feels about working with Chris Meloni on the Law and Order: SVU crossover with Organized Crime, his approach to Twitter, and other assorted odds and ends.
Is this really the O.G. Original Gangster on the line here?
Hey! How you doin,’ Kim?
I should tell you that Law and Order: SVU was once a go-to syndicated show while I did cardio at the gym. Now we don’t go to the gym, and it’s a little bit sad!
Can I tell you a funny story?
Please do.
I was in Miami one time, and this lady walked up to me, and she goes, “I was on the treadmill, and I said I would go off when Law and Order went off, and it was a marathon, so I ran 26 miles.” I was like, she did a TV marathon and a marathon at the same time, okay yeah, be careful with that.
It’s strangely motivational to watch you guys take down the indisputably bad guys, and you’ve been on the show for over 20 years at this point.
Yeah, 22 years. I technically came in during the first episodes of the second season, but they shot it during the first season, so I try to claim the first season, but there’ll be arguments. [Laughs] But I’ve been on it a long time.
You’re a pretty fit guy. With gyms being closed and all that and touring not happening, are you still getting your workouts?
I stay in shape. I have a little mini-gym in my house, so I do my dips and my calisthenics, so I’ve always pretty much been in shape. You can get out of shape very easily as you get older, so I gotta stay on top of it. Since I’m on television all the time, I don’t wanna look at myself and say, “Look at yo’ fat ass!” I’m forced to be vain in that respect, but when you marry a swimsuit model, it’s not smart to get fat, so I’ve got a lot of motivation around to stay slim and trim, but I’m doing okay.
You’re SVU-ing it on an April 1 crossover episode, which is the premiere of Chris Meloni’s Organized Crime spinoff. What’s it like to have him back in the saddle?
Well, it’s fun for me. The thing of it is, the difference between me and the fans is that I’ve been in touch with Chris over the last ten years while he’s done his movies and while he had his show, Happy. Me and Chris kinda became friends because we worked together twelve years, so when we got back and we did our scenes together, it’s just like old times. We’re glad to have him back, but Chris wanted to do other things. A lot of actors, well, you don’t become an actor to just play one role for twenty years. It’s about being able to be different characters, and that’s what actors love to do. So, now he’s back, he’s happy, and he’s got his own show, so when you see this reunion, it’s gonna blow everybody away because it’s written well, and it’s good.
Speaking of blown minds… dare I ask how you got involved with your new Tide commercial?
I got cold-called. When people want you to do commercials, the first thing you do is ask, “Does the shoe fit?” “How am I gonna be connected to Tide?” Although I use Tide already, so they told me that cold washing helps the environment, it saves money, and also, it doesn’t ruin your clothes, which is smarter. And Tide does not require hot water to activate. It cleans just as well in cold water, so I thought that was cool. I was like, “Okay, okay, got that!” And then I figured out, “Oh, it’s because my name is Ice.” And they said, “The campaign will be you and Stone Cold Steve Austin,” so I was like, “I’m in.” I’m a fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin, so we went and did the campaign, and it’s a really cool campaign. We’re cold-calling people and telling them about the benefits of using Tide in cold water. We cold-called Mr. T, and it’s kind-of a cool commercial.
And does Ice-T do the laundry at home?
No, I don’t do it. Coco does the laundry. We’ve got a very old-school family situation, so she loves doing laundry, and she’s like, “I’ve got this.” Because she knows that if I do the laundry, I’m gonna half-ass do it.
You know what people say: you can’t be good at everything.
But I told her, and she got the memo that we no longer have to use this hot water, from what I understand, to clean it. And I don’t have to shrink my clothes up and have the colors running and all that stuff, so it’s great.
You’re out there lobbying for an “edit” button while saying that you’ve heard all of the comments for and against one, but dammit, you want one.
I think it’s stupid that they don’t have one! I mean, Instagram has one. People are so concerned: “Oh, you could say something, and then you could take it back!” You can screenshot, and all the reasons they don’t want an edit button are negative. It’s just based around catching someone saying something and then trying to deny it. It’s based in negativity, it’s not based to help people. There’s a million different ways they could do an edit button. They can make it so that if you edit it, it says it’s been edited — it could have a little symbol. What they don’t understand is that I’ll put up a tweet, and it might get 2000 likes, and then I’ll realize that something’s spelled wrong, and then you don’t wanna take that one down. Because I’ve had times when I’ve had a bunch of people like something, and I took it down, and they got offended. But you know, it’s Twitter, and maybe Twitter’s just not wanting to be like IG, but you know, whatever. Then don’t comment on my spelling! All the spelling Nazis, stop.
Twitter is for bursts of 240 characters. Typos happen that way.
And also, Twitter’s something you’re doing on your phone! Your thumbs are moving, and they won’t have an edit button, but they’ve got autocorrect. So why do you have autocorrect if I’m talking slang? So whatever, it’s nothing… I just had a moment when I felt like saying it because I just tweeted something where I didn’t put an -ing on a word, and I felt like, “Man, why can’t I just edit this stuff?” Whatever, who cares.
There was quite a reaction to that saga on Twitter and on the news.
It was stupid. You’ve got real crimes and all that going on, and as far as arresting me? Yeah, I think they overreacted. They could’ve given me a ticket. A lot of times when a cop arrests a celebrity, it gives them the chance to be famous. They never arrested anyone, but they arrested JLo. So now, they get to say, “Ahhhh, I put JLo in handcuffs.” It’s something that they do for themselves. You know, as many crimes as I’ve committed in my life, and you’re gonna bust me for running a toll? It’s funny to me. If there’s nobody in the trunk, I’m not sweating, so I’m not really worried about it. The thing is, I was on my way to go play a cop! on TV! And you guys are busting me.
Speaking of your SVU character again, there was a Cameo you did for some John Mulaney fans, and they got you to poke fun at Fin Tutuola — that time that he took a long time to grasp the concept of sex addiction — and you played along, and that Cameo clip went viral. People ask you to say some really odd stuff.
I don’t even remember that one! On Cameo, most of the people just want you to say “hi” and “happy birthday” and anniversaries. There were some people who had a sixty-second wedding anniversary. When I first started Cameo, I didn’t think that was as cool as it was until I saw the reaction. When I saw the way that people reacted to cameos, I thought, “Oh, this is cool.” So there’s “tell my brother to stay in school,” or “congratulate my teen” for this or that, it’s a cool platform, and I enjoy doing ’em.
We are almost out of time here, but I’m a Body Count fan, and you guys won a Grammy this year. You once talked about your heavy metal influences, like Black Sabbath. Do you dig any particular contemporary metal bands?
We based our band off of Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies, and of course, Black Sabbath. I like Lamb of God and Fit for an Autopsy, which is the band of my producer (Will Putney). We’ve been out with so many bands. Of course, I like Power Trip, but it kind of sucks because this past year, we couldn’t tour. We put out Carnivore, and then the pandemic hit, so we dropped an album, and we haven’t been able to do a single show.
Do you know when touring will likely resume for you?
Everybody’s saying 2022, so we’re gonna come up with some other ways to get the music out to the fans. Right now we’re doing an EP to connect to Carnivore because we don’t wanna just step over that album like a dead body. We got a Grammy for it, so we’re trying to keep our fans entertained, so we’re thinking of different options. We just did a fan video for “The Hate Is Real.” Have you seen that, the one with the puppets?
Oh, I saw it on Twitter and did not click on it yet, so I’m doing fantastic here.
You’re gonna bug out on that one. I had a concept where I said, “The fans are gonna make the video,” and this one was the winner. It’s outrageous.
I’ll go watch it now, and it’s been real talking to you.
Well, keep following me and stay on Twitter. You never know what’s gonna happen, day by day. Someone might pop off, and I might need to let ’em have it.
‘Law and Order: Organized Crime’ debuts on April 1, and find out more about how to #TurnToCold via Tide’s website.
Over the past few days, Lil Nas X has gone all-in on Satan, going as far as to give him a lap dance in the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video and to sell controversial “Satan shoes” themed after him. Reactions have been predictably mixed, but through it all, it turns out the Church Of Satan is on board with with Nas is up to and they’re a fan of the new sneakers.
TMZ spoke with David Harris — magister for the Church Of Satan, a high-ranking position — and notes the shoes “are getting a ton of love from the Church because they embrace the essence of Satanism” and that “Satanists are digging the way Lil Nas X is turning against religion to market” the shoes.
Harris also spoke about the “Montero” video with Rolling Stone for a recent feature and said, “He obviously did his homework. Whether he consulted with us directly or did his own research, he clearly put a lot of effort into this video.” He also describes the end of the clip, when Nas kills Satan and wears his horns as a crown, as “the most Satanic part of the video” and added, “We view ourselves as the most powerful beings in the world. The fact that he crowned himself as Satan — now, that’s Satanic.”
Saweetie is seemingly doing well post-Quavo, working on her upcoming album release and teasing some of her latest new music, including a record with Drakeo The Ruler. She’s prematurely declared that she’ll be taking over “Pretty B*tch Summer” and, with all of the moves she’s setting herself up for, that much could be true.
As she spends her first month as a single lady in a while, Saweetie appears to be embracing her new relationship status, making a minor shift on her social media accounts to reflect her current mindset. As many people have noticed, overnight, the Bay Area rapper changed her profile picture on Instagram to one of Katt Williams as “Money Mike”, a stereotypical pimp from Friday.
Instagram
The switch-up was noticed by popular blogs like The Shade Room and DJ Akademiks. While it doesn’t signal much in terms of what Saweetie has been up to, it does show that her mindset could be mirroring that of Money Mike. Perhaps she’s making the most of her single status, partying it up and enjoying life as Katt Williams’ character would do.
Days before her breakup with Quavo, Saweetie was a guest on Respectfully Justin where she spoke about sex, specifically revealing whether she would have a threesome with her partner. Many believe that her answer to the question could have sparked the split between her and Quavo. The hosts of the show have denied that.
What do you think of Saweetie channeling Money Mike?
