Fat Joe Addresses Controversy Surrounding ‘Wuhan Virus’ Bar On “Talkin’ Back'”

Benny the Butcher dropped off his latest effort The Plugs I Met 2 last Friday (March 19). While the album garnered attention for its Benny and Harry Fraud’s magical chemistry, Fat Joe’s guest verse on the track “Talkin’ Back” has taken center stage, with many accusing the rapper of perpetuating anti-Asian rhetoric. 

In a failed attempt at displaying his lyrical wit, the rapper waived political correctness and ended up delivering an insensitive bar that could be interpreted as promoting anti-Asian rhetoric. “Threw that white up in the pot, gave ‘em pipe dreams/And watch it spread like the Wuhan Virus,” spit the Bronx native. 

 


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In wake of the tragic hate-driven mass shooting in Atlanta last week against the city’s Asian population that left six women dead, the rapper potentially creating space for more harassment towards the community was instantly condemned. Catching wind of all the backlash, Joe took to Twitter to explain that he recorded the verse over a year ago when media outlets and publications were still problematically referring to COVID-19 as the ‘Wuhan Virus.’ The harm in the term wasn’t seen until months later. 

“I’ll address the Benny verse i did that verse a year ago when the news was calling it the wuhan virus before they called it COVID,” Fat Joe wrote. “I support and love all my asian brothers and sisters never hate.”

While Fat Joe’s explanation makes sense, it still does not fully absolve the rapper from any fault. With hate crimes against the East Asian community increasing since the start of the pandemic, even releasing the verse in today’s climate was stilll incredibly harmful. 

How do you feel about Joe’s apology? Let us know below. 

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Bam Adebayo Puts Domantas Sabonis On A Poster With Monstrous Dunk

Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat have had their struggles throughout the early parts of 2021 although over the last few weeks, they have been showing improvement, and they are one of the harder teams to go up against. Today, the Heat were going up against the Indiana Pacers in a match that at the time of writing this, is tied at the end of regulation.

So far, it’s been a pretty good game although the biggest highlight to come from it is the clip below. As you can see, Bam Adebayo went up for a dunk on the likes of Domantas Sabonis, and he absolutely posterized him. Sabonis tried to take a charge but in the end, it was no match as Adebayo went up and performed an incredible dunk that had everyone on the Heat bench going wild.

Adebayo’s dunk belongs among the best of the year thus far, including the one done by Anthony Edwards just a few weeks ago. Fan reactions to the dunk were also quite intense, and overall, you’ve got to hand it to Adebayo for putting on an athletic display that would make Michael Jordan proud.

Let us know what you think of this dunk, in the comments below.

Bam Adebayo

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Mir Fontane Releases Latest Project “Melody Monster”

Mir Fontane’s run in 2020 was impressive. He released three projects and a slew of singles, maintaining his momentum into the new year. This month, the rapper returned with his latest body of work, Melody Monster. Laced up with 14 songs in total, Melody Monster is an excellent showcasing of his ear for production and versatility as a rapper. It includes the recently released singles like, “Call J. Cole” and “Made In Trauma.” No credited features on the project, proving that Mir is truly a force to be reckoned with on the microphone.

The latest project arrived after a brief controversy involving Cardi B. Last month, the rapper and Mir Pesos claimed that the Bronx rapper bit the hook to their single, “Stuck.” Though it’s unclear what has occurred in recent times regarding the record, Mir Fontane wasn’t lying when he told us it was “back to our regularly scheduled programming.”

Check out his latest project below. 

Plies Warns Miami Spring Breakers They Won’t Be Treated The Same As Capitol Rioters

As Spring Break season arrived upon us, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic–albeit nearing the end of it, thousands of young people still traveled down to Miami to celebrate. Similar to last year’s chaos, spring breakers flooded South Beach, hardly social distancing or wearing masks. This prompted Miami Mayor Dan Gelber to declare a state of emergency in the city as well as an 8 pm, forcing tourists to stay in their hotel rooms during curfew hours. The city has used intense force to keep the restrictions in place, leading many people like Plies to warn the mainly Black and brown spring breakers to tread lightly.


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“Dear Miami Spring Breakers: Be Careful,” wrote the 44-year-old. He continued, “Just Remember U Will Not Get The Sme Nice Treatment They Gave The Rioters @ The Capitol On Jan. 6th!!!! They View Y’all More Dangerous!!!!”

Tensions between tourists and police came to a final battle when Miami PD turned away thousands of people from Ocean Drive using a SWAT truck, pepper balls, and sound cannons. At least a dozen arrests were made during the altercation, and the city has vowed to continue to 

They have received criticism for the new ordinances from Black leaders in the area. “I was very disappointed,” said Stephen Hunter Johnson, the chairman of Miami-Dade’s Black Affairs Advisory Committee on Sunday morning. “I think when they’re young Black people [on South Beach], the response is, ‘Oh my God, we have to do something.’”

Mayor Gelber has said the new regulations are to maintain order. “Too many are coming, really, without the intention of following the rules, and the result has been a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure,” Gelber told CNN about the new restrictions.

What are your thoughts? Let us know below. 

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Illinois Toppled By Loyola Chicago As March Madness Upsets Continue

March Madness is easily one of the best times of the year if you are a big fan of basketball. The NCAA Tournament always provides some drama and everyone is always interested in the big upsets. In the first round, the biggest upset was Oral Roberts over Ohio State, especially since Oral Roberts was the 15th seed. There were other big upsets throughout the first couple of days and on Sunday, we got yet another great moment.

In the tweets below, you can see that Loyola Chicago came through with a massive win against Illinois, who were one of the number one seeds, and was expected to make it all the way to the Final Four. Now, Loyola Chicago gets to go to the Sweet Sixteen, while one of the tournament’s big favorites is gone.

Loyola Chicago has been an underdog story numerous times in the March Madness tournament, and they are guided by Sister Jean who is always at the games, making sure the players are well taken care of. In fact, after the game, the jokes were flowing on social media, as many reacted to Loyola’s performance, and what their win means for the tournament, moving forward.

You can see some of the reactions to the match, below.

Chloe Bailey Blows Everyone Away With Sultry Silk Sonic Cover

The past few months of the internet have belonged to Chloe Bailey. Ever since she and her sister and bandmate finally launched their own separate social media channels, Chloe’s content has blown up to unforeseen levels, namely after she shared her jaw-dropping #BussItChallenge. Since then, she’s maintained the momentum with an even split between sexy shots and exclusive musical content. Her latest rendition of Bruno Mars’ and Anderson .Paak’s super duo Silk Sonic’s debut single “Leave The Door Open” has left internet users wowed again.


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Already amassing more than 1 million views on each of the respective pages the video was shared to, Chloe looked stunning as rocked a blue two-piece set to deliver her extremely sultry rendition of the soulful single. 

“Ima leave the door open,” penned Chloe in the caption of the one-minute cover. Her stunning take on the single followers her previous well-received rendition of Yung Bleu and Drake’s hit “You’re Mines Still.” 

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Beyoncé’s father Matthew Knowles previously caught flack for saying that comparisons between his daughter and Chloe were “insulting. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? You’re asking me that question?” said Dr. Knowles. “Are you actually serious that you are comparing that young lady to Beyoncé?

When asked about them comparatively in a biopic sense, he eased on his comments. “Okay, if you’re talking about a movie– not talent-wise. Talent-wise? Are you telling me talent-wise, somebody is an idiot enough to compare her to Beyoncé talent-wise? Are there people saying her talent is equal to Beyonce? They’re idiots. That’s actually insulting to Beyoncé.”

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What are your thoughts about the cover? Let us know down below. 

Big Sean Geeks Out Upon Meeting Goku’s Voice Actor

Dragon Ball Z is one of those entities that hold a special place in a lot of people’s hearts. The animated series is still going strong and the cast of characters that made the series famous continue to elicit joy from people both young and old. Goku is the main character in the series and when some of us were kids, we wanted to be just like him. One of the people that feels that way is none other than Big Sean, who has been adamant about his love for the series.

Recently, Sean and his mom got to meet the actor behind Goku, Sean Schemmel. In the clip below, you can see Sean’s mom explaining to the actor just how much his work means to her son. She notes that Goku’s character had an impact on him, and Sean even chimes in saying he appreciates the character now more than ever.

Schemmel seemed humbled by it all and noted that when he used to do the voice for Goku, he always thought of the kids who would be watching, and the wonder they would feel whenever seeing Goku on the screen. Clearly, Schemmel’s strategy worked as he was able to get someone like Big Sean to look up to the character.

After all these years, Schemmel has certainly made an impression on millions of people.

Big Sean
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Sean Schemmel
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Kylie ‘Billionaire’ Jenner Sparks Outrage After Asking Fans To Pay For Friend’s Surgery

The Kardashian-Jenner family and associates love to flaunt their wealth, oftentimes to social media’s disapproval. Kylie Jenner, although later disproven, allegedly became a billionaire early last year, while older sister Kim K and ex Kanye West both individually have acquired billion-dollar-plus fortunes. Announcing the news during the COVID-19 pandemic, many viewed the family’s braggadocious as insensitive. The youngest Jenner has just sparked outrage across social media after she tone-deafly requested her fans to donate to a crowdfunded to pay for her friend’s emergency surgery despite only donating just $5,000 herself.  


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Jenner, who apparently makes $1.2 million per Instagram post and upwards of $450,000 daily, drew widespread gasps from humble internet scroller who were in disbelief after she took to Instagram to ask followers to help raise money for Samuel Rauda’s $60,000 treatment. Rauda was propelled from a moving vehicle and suffered internal bleeding requiring eight brain surgeries after hitting his head on the pavement.

A GoFundMe page was subsequently set up her Rauda’s family to help pay for the medical costs of the 26-year-old make-up artist, whose clients include Jenner and her mother, Chrissy Teigen, and Khloe Kardashian. 

Undergoing surgery on March 14, Jenner shared a picture of Rauda a few days later telling her followers, “May God watch over you and protect you @makeupbysamuel. Everyone take a moment to say a prayer for Sam who got into an accident this past weekend. And swipe up to visit his families’ GoFundMe.”

While she certainly meant for it to be a kind gesture, social media users instantly questioned why, considering Jenner is a billionaire and would easily spend the amount of the total surgery on a Birkin bag, would not just donate the full amount. Simply put by one Twitter user, “Kylie Jenner is a billionaire and her makeup artist friend got into a car accident and needed $60,000 so she started a gofundme and only donated $5,000.”
Check out some more outrage and let us know down in the comments your take. 

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Beanz Flexes Her Lyrical Muscle On “Crackin”

Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow has surprisingly produced a few stars including a Grammy-nominated rapper. Even the artists who didn’t make their way to the final round have been prospering as well, proving that even the bit of spotlight from the reality show can go a long way. Beanz, specifically, appeared to have a promising trajectory on the show until she was eliminated but that hasn’t slowed down the hustle.

Beanz has been popping up everywhere these days and she’s keeping her momentum at an all time high. This week, she slid through with her latest release, “Crackin.” With production handled by JetsonMade, Beanz flexes her lyrical muscle and proves that she’s getting ready to takeover the game.

Check out her latest offering, “Crackin” below and sound off in the comments with your thoughts.

Quotable Lyrics
He say you see how you do me
He call me bad and I’m boujee
I’m bubblin’ like jacuzzi
You can’t do nothin’ to me

Joey Badass Criticized Disney World After His Autistic Cousin Was Blocked From Entering Without A Mask

Back in July, Florida’s Disney World reopened despite a coronavirus surge in the state. The park opened with a mask mandate that applied for all guests “ages 2 and up and Cast Members, including those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.” These official guidelines came into play for Joey Badass when he and his family, which included his autistic cousin, took a trip to the theme park. Unfortunately for them, they were all turned away after they said Badass’ cousin could not enter without a mask.

The rapper criticized Disney World for the incident on Instagram in a video that captured some of the ordeal. In it, Badass can be seen approaching a security guard and two vacation planners at the park and questioning their decision to turn away his cousin. The video’s caption added more context to the situation.

“Here’s Luis, Cameron, and Kaitlyn and they just turned away an autistic child at Disney World because he didn’t want to wear his mask,” he said. “The child thinks the mask is suffocating, the child also has no idea why it is even a requirement. Not to mention that, kids under 2, doesn’t have to wear a mask. These guys have completely ruined my family’s trip.” He added, “We came out here 30+ for my daughters bday and they turned my lil cousin away, can’t even enjoy this experience anymore.”

It’s unclear how old the rapper’s little cousin is as it would factor into whether or not the mask guidelines would have applied. Disney has not issued a statement about the matter as well. You can watch the Badass’ video above.