XXL ranks every song on Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake album. Continue reading…
T.I. & Tiny Allegedly Tried To Make A Deal With Sexual Abuse Accusers: Report
T.I. and Tiny are in a world of trouble. Following Sabrina Peterson’s claims that the Atlanta rap legend put a gun to her head and threatened her in front of her children, a string of sexual abuse allegations started appearing on social media. Handfuls of people have been accusing T.I. and Tiny of recruiting women as victims of sex trafficking, drugging them, and engaging in sexual acts against their consent. Azealia Banks even went so far as to suggest that Iggy Azalea, one of her arch-rivals, could have been a victim of theirs.
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Attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn is currently representing eleven women accusing Tip and Tiny of sexual assault and other crimes, and he’s claiming that the couple’s attorney approached him to strike a deal to drop this matter. “[Attorney] Steve Sadow reached out to me looking to make a deal on behalf of T.I. and Tiny,” said Blackburn in a statement. “And I told Steve Sadow my clients want justice. So, if the deal involves Tiny and T.I. turning themselves in and admitting to the crimes they have committed then fine we got a deal. But if it does not, then I would prefer the investigators do that work and to bring criminal charges against Tiny and T.I. for what they’ve done throughout the years.”
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Blackburn says that none of the women he’s representing know one another and that they were all victims of T.I. and Tiny on separate occasions. The crimes they’re accusing them of carrying out include “sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats, and false imprisonment”.
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T.I. has been dropped from the upcoming Ant-Man film as a direct result of this scandal. We will continue to keep you updated as this story develops. What do you make of the allegations being made against T.I. and Tiny?
Kendrick Lamar Brought Twisted Swagger To “Levitate”
Five years ago, Kendrick Lamar offered fans a further window into his psyche with Untitled.Unmastered, a project largely comprised of leftover tracks from the To Pimp A Butterfly sessions. And while it wasn’t quite up to the admittedly lofty standard of his recognized studio discography, there were still plenty of stellar moments to be found throughout. Especially on the strange and wonderful “Levitate,” a track that found Kendrick taking to a twisted instrumental and pushing his experimental level to the maximum stage.
Pushing his cadences to strange places, Kendrick lets fly an unrestrained flow as he fires off a hypnotic refrain. Though it might have been interesting to see him attack the instrumental with a more traditional approach, there’s something delightfully unsettling about his presence here, a true display of unhinged creativity. Alternating between a manic temperament and a more lethargic one, Kenny’s “Levitate” is surprisingly complex in spite of its apparent simplicity; those interested in that sort of thing could likely find much thematic value upon closer analysis.
For those simply looking to lose themselves in a banger, “Levitate” serves that purpose as well. Check it out for yourself now, especially if you’re feeling nostalgic for the era when Kendrick Lamar was dropping music at a prolific rate. Happy anniversary to Untitled. Unmastered.
QUOTABLE LYRICS
Shut your fuckin’ mouth and get some cash, you bitch, you
You be in your feelings, I be in my bag, you bitch, you
Santa’s reindeer better have some ass, you bitch, you
Everything I’m working, gotta be the gas, you bitch, you
Dave Grohl Used To Listen To Juvenile’s ‘Back That Azz Up’ Backstage Before Every Foo Fighters Concert
Foo Fighters stopped by The Late Late Show to perform their Medicine At Midnight highlight “Waiting On A War” last night. While they were there, they also took a few minutes to chat with James Corden, and over the course of their conversation, one of Dave Grohl’s excellent old pre-show traditions was revealed.
Playing off the fact that Foo Fighters have referred to Medicine At Midnight as a “party album,” Corden asked some of the band members what music they’d play at a party. Taylor Hawkins jokingly answered, “Just yacht rock, always, all the time.” Rami Jaffee then chimed in with the Bee Gees’ Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, an album that Grohl recently highlighted as a must-listen for children. Chris Shiflett added, “I remember when I first joined the band, we had a big boombox backstage, and before every show, Dave would put on Juvenile, “Back That Azz Up.” As Grohl excitedly recited some of the lyrics and other band members laughed, Shiflett added, “That was our pre-show warm-up.”
Shiflett joined the band in 1999, so while the band was touring in support of that year’s album There Is Nothing Left To Lose, Grohl was probably back stage getting pumped up to the then-brand-new Juvenile song, which is also known as “Back That Thang Up” and features Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne. “Back That Azz Up,” by the way, was actually Wayne’s first-ever single.
Watch the interview above and check out the band’s performance of “Waiting On A War” below.
A Spanish Rapper Is Being Accused Of Amputating His Roommate’s Penis For A YouTube Video
Offset was right — they do anything for clout. “They” in this case is a Spanish rapper named Aaron Beltran, who is being accused of cutting off his roommate’s penis with a kitchen knife for a YouTube video. The Independent reports that the two men apparently had a mutual arrangement for the gruesome task in which Beltran would pay Andrew Breach, a British teacher staying with him in Zaragosa, Spain, between $240 and $3,000 depending on the video’s performance.
The two men were discovered when Breach went to the hospital for treatment. The doctors were able to reattach the member, then reported both men to the authorities. However, Breach later claimed that he was the one responsible for the amputation, claiming he was “unwell” at the time. However, authorities don’t believe the updated version of the story, and prosecutors are pursuing charges against Beltran despite the apparently consensual arrangement. Beltran denies the charges but is facing up to four years in prison as the case goes to trial.
An anonymous officer who spoke to The Independent is quoted, “When interviewing the victim in hospital he told us the accused cut off his penis. Andrew said he did not feel 100 percent a man and wanted to get rid of his penis. He agreed a deal with the accused to pay him €200 which would depend on how many views the video of the amputation received on YouTube. It was done on the basis of hits.”
If that’s truly the case, it was a bad plan; YouTube’s terms of service would see to it that such a video would be instantly demonetized and deleted.
G Herbo Is Dropping Two New Tracks Tomorrow
The wait for new G Herbo music is officially over, as the Chicago rapper has just announced that he will be following up last year’s critically acclaimed album PTSD with the release of two singles this Friday. Over the past year, the artist has taken a step back to enjoy time with his family, but now it appears that he’s finally ready to share new music with his fans. To build hype for his upcoming drop, G Herbo took to Instagram to share his official announcement.
“I AINT DROP SH*T SINCE I DROPPED MY ALBUM,” Herbo writes under his latest post. “FEELS LIKE A GOOD TIME TO GET BACK TO IT… 2 NEW TRACKS COMING FRIDAY.”
If the all-caps caption isn’t enough to get fans excited for his two new singles, the cover artwork for each of the tracks surely will. The first single, titled “Really Like That” features an Illmatic-esque design that shows a transparent portrait of G Herbo plastered on top of what appears to be a housing project. In contrast, the cover art for “Break Yoself” takes the Swervo artist back in time with a throwback baby picture of a young Herbo smiling.
The Chicago rapper recently dropped off the loosie “Statement” in December and appeared on the Judas and the Black Messiah soundtrack last month, so although “Really Like That” and “Break Yoself” aren’t technically his first singles since the release of PTSD last spring, these two new tracks will probably be a great appetizer for whatever G Herbo has on the way.
Are you excited for G Herbo’s two new singles tomorrow or are you still bumping PTSD one year later?
Shaq Gets Put Through Tables In “AEW: Dynamite” Debut
Wrestling fans have been wanting Shaquille O’Neal to step into the squared circle for years. He’s teased a rivalry with the Big Show in the past, and after the legendary wrestler made his shock announcement to join All Elite Wrestling last week, Shaq figured that he would follow suit, possibly gearing up for the long-awaited Shaq Vs. Big Show (known professionally as Paul Wight) match at an upcoming AEW pay-per-view event.
As fans wait for any announcements on that front, we got the first good look at Shaq’s skills in the ring as he teamed up with Jade Cargill for a mixed tag team match on last night’s episode of AEW: Dynamite, getting the win against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. With the way the match ended though, you wouldn’t have realized that Shaq was having his arm raised in victory.
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At a point during the match, Shaq’s teammate Jade Cargill started setting up a wooden table outside of the ring, catching her own partner by surprise. Red Velvet caught up to her though and sent her flying back into the ring, setting up a second table before joining her. After a few minutes went by, Shaq and Cody began squaring off when Shaq got hung up against the ropes. Cody took the opportunity to create a viral moment, running at him and sending himself and the basketball legend crashing through the two tables, knocking out Shaq for the rest of the bout. Cargill ended up taking over the rest of the way, winning the match for her team.
Shaq isn’t the only celebrity to join AEW this year. Snoop Dogg also made his first appearance on the show, jumping off the top rope and landing on another wrestler in January.
Do you think Shaq has a future in wrestling?
Russ Flexes Gargantuan Earnings From Independent Catalog
In hip-hop, many artists have taken to asserting their dominance by flexing their finances. Russ is no exception, often using his substantial earnings to justify and inform listeners about the benefits of an independent catalog. It’s no secret that the once-self-declared “SoundCloud King” has been a vocal advocate of retaining ownership over one’s master recordings, shirking the major-label route and profiting as a result.
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Now, Russ has taken to social media to share some additional words on his own journey, encouraging young artists to follow his lead for a variety of beneficial reasons. “Ever since shit started ‘working’ for me with this music shit I often think about ‘damn, what if I woulda stopped after those 11 mixtapes?'” he reflects. “Can’t lose if you don’t quit. If it’s your truth, keep goin regardless of wtf people are sayin.” He also shows off a total earning of ten million dollars, revealing a surprising fact about the gargantuan sum.
“Ran up 10M off the independent catalog alone,” he explains. “No TRAW. ZOO. Shake The Snow Globe. I remember making 1k and sayin to myself ‘if I can make 1k I can make 10k, if I can make 10k I can make 100k, etc. Reality is this is just a lot of time and effort mixed with consistency and a meaningful relationship with fans from all over the world. Lowkey fuck the money even tho I’m hella grateful. I’m just glad y’all FW what the message and the music is.”
Clearly, Russ has perfected his formula with an alchemical precision, and he remains a key inspirational figure to any young artist looking to make an impact in the game. And thanks to his frequent updates and encouragement on the matter, perhaps we’ll see more and more newcomers considering the independent route as a viable one. Check out his impressive flex below.
Lil Nas X Clowns Conspiracy Theorist In Hilarious TikTok Video
Lil Nas X is one of the most interesting figures in Hip-Hop. Besides the fact that his breakout single “Old Town Road” completely took the music industry by storm in 2019, the Atlanta native has been making major strides for LGBTQ+ rappers, and he’s also known for being one of rap’s most dedicated trolls. Never shying away from an opportunity to playfully joke with his fans, Lil Nas X has recently caught wind of a conspiracy theory video floating around on TikTok, and of course, he took the opportunity to clown the TikTok user behind the viral video.
Lil Nas X shows the original video, complete with dramatic horror-movie music, in the top right corner while filming his “reaction” to the conspiracy theory. First, the man in the viral video explains his reasoning for deeming Lil Nas X an industry plant, saying, “Just hear me out real quick. Y’all remember when Old Town Road first came out right? It literally went viral…Not only that, he even got Billy Ray Cyrus to get on his song. If you ask me, that’s a red flag right there. Not because Billy Ray Cryus got on the song, but because it blew up so fast, which is literally screaming, ‘industry plant.'”
Throughout the man’s explanation, Lil Nas reacts to the conspiracy with wide eyes and overdramatic gasps, completely trolling the original video. As the video continues, the man points out a ring that Lil Nas once wore and explains how him wearing it symbolizes that he’s being forced to spread an LGBTQ+ agenda.
“One of my supporters pointed out when people get this star ring, they either die or they play a part in an agenda,” the man continues. Pointing to a picture of Lil Nas X at the 2020 Grammys, he says, “Probably like a few months later, they start turning him into this. This is not at his own will.”
Ironically, while the man explains that he thinks Lil Nas X is being forced to act more feminine, the “Panini” rapper gets up and starts dancing, hitting the dance to Silentó’s 2015 hit “Watch Me “Whip/NaeNae.” Even as the guy continues to point out similarities between Lil Nas and Playboi Carti, Lil Nas continues to dance and ridicule the original video without saying anything at all.
Even though the original video could have been offensive or even slightly bothered the rapper, it’s nice to see Lil Nas X spin the situation into a funny moment.
Kendrick Lamar Fans Freak Out Over His First Twitter Like In Over A Year
We’ve officially gotten to a point where people are so desperate for new Kendrick Lamar music that they’re flocking to his “likes” on Twitter and going absolutely bonkers when something new pops up. The prolific rapper has been seemingly working behind-the-scenes on his pgLang label, possibly collaborating closely with Baby Keem and other artists, but his first “like” on Twitter has shifted the narrative among his fans, who are now theorizing about a possible collaboration with Jack Harlow.
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The Kentucky native has proudly been representing his home state as he rises to superstardom, having the best year of his professional career as an artist with the success of his songs “WHAT’S POPPIN” and “Tyler Herro”, as well as his debut album That’s What They All Say. This week, Jack rewinded a few years to show that he’s always been passionate about music, posting a video of himself rapping as a kid, spitting some funny bars about not texting back his friends because he’s working on his next track and turning down birthday party invites. Surprisingly enough, mystery man Kendrick Lamar ended up liking the tweet, marking the first time he’s done so since December 2019.
That wasn’t all though… Drake also commented on the rapper’s bars from years ago, saying “Hardddddddd” in an Instagram comment.
Instagram
“What the hell,” said Jack about Kendrick liking his tweet. “So this is what it takes for the great ones to recognize my work?”
Instagram
People have been reacting to Kendrick liking the tweet, predicting an upcoming collaboration between him and the Louisville native. While that’s possibly a reach, people have been desperate for Kendrick news for years at this point, so it’s not too farfetched for a Twitter “like” to make headlines.
What do you think of Jack’s skills as a kid, and do you think Kendrick has something in the works with him?