New Hip Hop News

The legal issues continue to escalate for T.I. and wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris. What began as an allegation from Sabrina Peterson has developed into a barrage of sexual assault and rape allegations against the couple. Peterson first accused the rapper of holding a gun to her head, an allegation that T.I. has denied. After engaging in a back and forth, Peterson resurfaced with a number of women who claimed that they were victimized by both T.I. and Tiny with many of them sharing allegations of being held against their will, being drugged, or enduring sexual assault.

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T.I. and Tiny have released statements through their attorney adamantly denying the accusations but it’s reported that many of the women have acquired legal representation. In a report made by the Daily Mail on Monday (March 8), six additional women have come forward with allegations that they were sexually assaulted, adding to the more than one dozen others.

The outlet shared information about a few of the accusers, stating that one person is a member of the military, another was a 17-year-old high school student who allegedly interned at one of T.I.’s studios, and a stripper. The woman who interned for T.I. is 22-years-old now and claims that she was drugged and anally raped on a tour bus. The military woman said she met the couple at a club and went back to their hotel where she allegedly took a sip of Tiny’s drink and felt dizzy. She claims they took a shower together and before passing out. T.I. allegedly told her he wanted to put his foot inside of her vagina. The woman says when she woke up, she felt sore.

Attorney Tyrone Blackburn penned a letter to authorities in both California and Georgia in hopes that a formal investigation will be launched. With these new allegations, he’s written a new note. “These women are unaware of each other, and without any leading on my part, they recount eerily similar events of sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment,” he reportedly wrote, adding that the accusers aren’t seeking a financial payout.

T.I. and Tiny deny all accusations of forcing or coercing anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do. No charges have been filed against either party.

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The changes over at 1501 Certified Entertainment have helped in the label’s success and speculation. The buzz about the Houston collective increased astronomically following the success of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Big Ole Freak,” and soon, the rapper became the new “it” artist in the game. We’ve continued to watch Megan’s career reach new heights with each release and collaboration, but her conflict with her label has taken center stage. Megan is managed by Roc Nation as she and her label are looking to end their legal battle, which will be soon, according to Rap-A-Lot Records legend J. Prince.

The label moved on to Erica Banks, a Dallas rapper that has been taking the world by storm. She’s an artist on the rise thanks to her “Buss It” single taking over TikTok with its own challenge, but she’s not the only woman in rap that 1501 has been working with. Wife and mother of four Kona Lisa is also on the roster but a recent video she shared suggests that she’s at odds with her team. She dropped a few bars and alleges her label is no longer progressing her career.

“No I’m not from Dallas but I’m still a star b*tch / My label they ain’t really f*ckin wit me ’cause they found out I was a smart b*tch,” Kona Lisa spits over Pooh Shiesty and Lil Durk’s “Back in Blood” beat. Later, she even drops Pooh Shiesty’s name and references Gucci Mane as she closes her rhymes out with, “Even Pooh say I’m so shiesty / I should’ve signed to so icy.”

Kona Lisa doesn’t expand on her label issues other than that, but you can check out her bars below and let us know if she would be better fitted with Gucci Mane and his team.

It was devastating enough for Vanessa Bryant to lose both her husband and their 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash, but after learning that deputies at the scene were taking and sharing photos, the widow was vexed. A bartender reportedly filed a complaint with authorities after overhearing a patron, a deputy, hitting on a woman at a bar by telling her he had personal crash-scene photos that included the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant. When he allegedly took them out and proved that they were real, the bartender took action. In September 2020, Vanessa filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County sheriffs and it’s been a point of contention regarding whether or not the names of the deputies involved should be shared with the public.

In a recent ruling, a federal judge has stated that Sheriff Alex Villanueva can no longer keep those names private. The judge denied the request to withhold that information and reportedly explained his ruling in a two-page document. The deputies were hoping that their personal information would be kept under wraps due to safety concerns, especially considering the international movement behind Kobe Bryant and his career. They were mistaken.

“Although the Court recognizes that this case has been the subject of public scrutiny and media attention and that the Deputy Defendants are legitimately concerned that they will encounter vitriol and social media attacks, such concerns, by themselves, are not sufficient to outweigh the public’s strong interest in access,” the ruling said.

Vanessa took to Instagram to celebrate the bittersweet news. Check out posts about the court-ruling below.

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The news regarding Jay-Z’s monumental sell-off of Tidal to Jack Dorsey’s Square, Inc. revealed that Hov took home $297 million, but it sparked a conversation about his co-owners. Others who bought-in when Jay acquired Tidal back in 2015 include Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, J. Cole, Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Chris Martin (Coldplay), Calvin Harris, deadmau5, Madonna, Jack White, Win Butler & Régine Chassagne (Arcade Fire), and Jason Aldean. Variety recently shared a report where they broke down the numbers, including how much each of these partners will walk away with in this latest Tidal deal.

According to the outlet, those who partnered with Hov were “gifted 3% in equity in Tidal,” and it’s estimated that each artist (or artist paring) will receive approximately $8.91 million. Jay’s latest move has been heavily criticized from all sides, but regardless of where one stands about the Rap mogul’s business decisions, they all prove to be lucrative in maintaining his billion-dollar empire.

“Tidal started with the idea of honoring artists by being artist-owned and led, focused on an uncompromised experience of the art,” Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey recently tweeted. “It’s refreshing and right. The vision only grows stronger as it’s matched with more powerful tools for artists, inclusive of new ways of getting paid.”

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We’re far from being “bored in the house and in the house bored” under quarantine like we were this time last year when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the world to undergo a lockdown. There are still restrictions in place, but we’re finding ourselves adjusting to our new normal. There have been a few ideas created during quarantine that have developed into money-makers, including Verzuz, but now that we’re no longer under lockdown, 50 Cent doesn’t quite see the continued purpose of the music-centered online show. 

Brad Barket / Stringer / Getty Images

The Rap mogul sat down with The Morning Hustle where he discussed his potential participation in the series after Fat Joe recently stated he’d only do a Verzuz if it was with Fif. “I thought Verzuz was something we did when we was stuck in the house. Look, as soon as we got out of the house and we come back outside, I was like, Verzuz didn’t make sense to me,” said Fif. One of the hosts suggested that maybe artists can take Verzuz on the road and make money that way, but 50 Cent wasn’t convinced.

“The reason why—the Verzuz part, to me, because of how it came, I looked at it like…Verzuz showed up and was the hottest thing. I was paying attention to it and watching it like everybody else. This is when D-Nice is like, the only DJ on the planet, right?” he added with a laugh. “This is like, COVID, this is crazy, what are we doing, we’re just looking and trying to figure out what we’re doing next.” 

“Soon as we come back outside I’m like, I don’t know why we’re still doing [Verzuz]. I think when they did the Jeezy, Gucci Mane [Verzuz], I think that that was desperation on Jeezy’s part trying to sell a record.” When asked if he felt as if the promotion ploy worked, Fif answered, “No, the record didn’t sell.”

“But I think that’s what that was leading up to it because they looked at how much a catalog would sell and how much exposure you’ll have ’cause he was releasing a record at that point. Other than that, I don’t know why you would do that.” Check out the clip, and 50 Cent’s full interview with The Morning Hustle below.

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Hip Hop culture is never without beef. Since its inception, there have been verbal battles and wars regarding who is the best lyrically, what rapper has the greatest flow, and who consistently drops the hardest bars. There haven’t been issues when comparing one artist to the next, but as social media has become the leading force of entertainment, fans have introduced new avenues of pitting rappers against one another. We’ve witnessed these rising beefs turn violent or even deadly, and many entertainers are opting to stay away from the controversy instead of feeding into it for “likes.”

Rich Fury / Stringer / Getty Images

Back in February, Saweetie and Cardi B fans were debating if the two chart-topping rappers were secretly at odds. With Cardi married to Offset and Saweetie paired up with Quavo, their fans expected the women to show themselves interacting more. Cardi’s sister Hennessy Carolina quickly shut down the rumors and said that the ladies didn’t have any beef with one another and were actually in talks to collaborate, and Saweetie confirmed that information during her sit-down with The Breakfast Club.

“Yeah, our teams have definitely been talking. I think we’re just kinda waiting for that right record,” said Saweetie. Shee explained why she believes things were blown out of proportion. “I think the media just likes to take things out of context. I’m loving how women artists are starting to realize that sometimes it’s the media that creates something that’s not there. I think it just shows mature and it shows growth amongst me and my peers to not be affected by what the media says.”

Check out the clip below and revisit our previous story about the fans’ speculation here: Is There Beef Between Cardi B & Saweetie?

Another successful NBA All-Star Weekend is in the books, but not without scandals. The city of Atlanta lit up this past weekend as dozens of nightclub events were hosted by several of the hundreds of celebrities in town. We saw videos from just a few of the parties, as well as the not-so-pleasant occurrences from those looking for a come-up. There were a handful of photos floating around showing that while people were inside of the clubs, others were taking the tires off of their cars. Two people reportedly died over the weekend including rapper Chucky Trill who was reportedly shot and killed on a highway. 

When there is a celebrity-centered event on the horizon, especially sports-related, models will do all they can to make sure they’re seen. However, just because someone is flexing online doesn’t mean they have the means to afford their travels, and often, people end up stranded. That’s what was said to have happened to a woman who goes by “Yazz Theestallion.”

“I went to Atlanta for all star weekend with $400 only booked a one way because I was waiting on my unemployment to pay my way back but they baited I need help surviving and making back home to New York please anything will help!!!” she wrote in her original GoFundMe post that has since been deleted. She asked for a goal of $1,500 and after making $1,600 with the help of over 50 donors, her post was taken down.

Lil Yachty couldn’t help but draw attention to “Yazz” over on TikTok. “Why did you go? You shoulda stayed home. Anybody that want to help this poor girl, they shouldn’t because you shoulda stayed home.” Then, he decided to scream it for good measure. “You shoulda stayed home!” 50 Cent couldn’t help himself and had to weigh in, as well, over on Instagram.

“Is this real [laughing emojis] or is somebody trying to pull some bullsh*t. LOL ALLSTAR weekend is over.” Some have suggested that this was all a scam, but truthful or not, it made someone $1,600 richer. Check out the posts below.

@lilyachty

##greenscreen U SHOULDA STAYED HOME!!!!!!!!

♬ original sound – lilyachty

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