Month: March 2013

“Time” Magazine says “Thank you Based God” looking at the important Twitter voices of 2013.

Ninety year-old TIME magazine got a bit #Based this week, as it would seem. The publication ran a list of “The 140 Best Twitter Feeds Of 2013” yesterday (March 25) and included Lil B, along with Roots’ drummer/band-leader ?uestlove.

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The Berkeley, California independent sensation and co-founder of The Pack and the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native percussionist were included under “Celebrities” in the list taking its number from Twitter’s maximum number of characters allowed per tweet. The list was reportedly made by “TIME editors in every field.”

Among the 13 other categories besides Celebrity, were Politics, Health & Family and Activitsts.

Lil B’s Twitter handle is @LilBTheBasedGod and ?uest’s is @Questlove. They have 640,000 and 2.5 million followers, respectively.

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Kanye West is reportedly considering “I Am God” as the title for his upcoming album.[expand title=”Read More” tag=”h2″]

Kanye West is not one to be known for his humbleness. A report which was later dismissed as false claimed that the follow up to Ye’s Dark Twisted Fantasy would be titled Rich Black American. The title seemed a bit off, but definitely stayed in line with his outspoken and confident persona. The latest report indicates that the title may be even more ridiculous than the previous fake had suggested, with the claim that Yeezy was considering I Am God as the title to his new collection of songs.

Albeit according to the BBC (which is a pretty credible source) the title is meant to be partially tongue in cheek.

“Mixed emotions greet reports that Kanye West is considering calling his first child North. It’s a good joke, from a slightly unexpected source (neither the rapper nor his possibly even more famous partner, Kim Kardashian, are best known for their self-deprecating sallies, although the title Kanye is supposed to be contemplating for his new album, I Am God, is said to be ‘half tongue-in-cheek’),”

Kanye has yet to confirm the rumor, and has been known to be fickle with his album titles (Good Ass Jobanyone?), so it’s hard to say whether the name will stick even if there is some truth to the claim.

Questlove also tweeted the rumored title earlier today and some suspiciously amateur DONDA-esque cover art has surfaced. See Quest’s tweet below and the cover in the gallery above.

 

 

Lupe Fiasco connects violent Hip Hop lyrics to violence in society.

While most use Sunday as a day to relax and reflect on the previous week, Lupe Fiasco took the day to reflect on the state of lyrics in Hip Hop.

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Taking to Twitter this afternoon, Lupe decided to write a short novel on the issue blasting off 19 tweets about the use of violent lyrics in Hip Hop music. Fiasco says he believes that violent lyrics give rappers “positive reinforcement” to commit negative acts.

“Violent music (and all violent media) effectively says its ‘OK’ to be violent. It provides positive reinforcement for negative actions,” Lupe said in a tweet. “If you rap and make violent music then own up to it. Stop hiding behind ‘art imitating life’ as a way to evade the guilt.”

Lupe Fiasco also referenced a Dr. Dre line in Eminem’s song “Guilty Conscience” quoting, “How the hell you gonna tell this man not 2 be violent?, Cuz he dont need to go the same route that I did.” Lupe’s latest Twitter anthology could be linked to 50 Cent’s appearance on CBS’ Sunday Morningprogram in which the Queens rapper said that his music doesn’t glorify violence. Lupe admitted that he himself has made violent music and committed violent acts in the past but questions why people continue to do such.

“Ive made violent music. Done violent things. Most my friends are violent. Lived in violent neighbors. Seen violence first hand,” he said. “A certain point you start to get tired of it. You ask why? why is it like this? what is causing this? why is this ok to live like this? Then you turn on the news and see that a 12 month old got shot in the face by two teenagers in Georgia for no reason at all.”

See all of Lupe’s tweets on the matter below:

 

Gucci Mane allegedly assaulted a United States soldier who tried to get a photo with the rapper.

Atlanta, Georgia police have issued an arrest warrant forGucci Mane after a soldier said he was assaulted by the rapper.

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According to wsbtv.com, the soldier claims he was trying to get a picture with Gucci when the rapper hit the soldier on the head with a champagne bottle.

The soldier, who only revealed his name to be James, says he asked the security guard in the VIP section of Harlem Nights in Atlanta if he could take a picture with the rapper.

“I was speaking to the security guard, and Gucci Mane hit me in the head with a bottle,” said the soldier, who returned from Afghanistan in October.

“And as I looked at him in the shock of why, one of his friends hit me in the side of my face,” he added.

James required 10 stitches and says he has a concussion and bad headaches:

Lt. Jeff Cantin of the Atlanta Police Department revealed that an arrest warrant was issued for Gucci, real name Radric Davis.

“We do have an active warrant for Mr. Davis for aggravated assault,” said Lt. Cantin. “So I’m sure after he sees this, I’m sure he’ll want to reach out and contact us.”

James added, “He could have possibly killed me. I just hope and pray that I recover pretty well because I still want to serve my military career.”

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The name of rapper Billboard Biggs’ label should have been a clue — CrimeScene Entertainment. Biggs and two other men are featured in a music video for “The Joy”. The clip features all of the trappings of most rap videos — a big body Mercedes, wads of cash, a robbery. Now, the NYPD says that the crimes depicted in the slick music video happened in real life.

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The actual crimes, prosecutors say, included a string of armed robberies in the Bronx and Westchester County, in which a group of men brandished guns and knives and stole thousands of dollars from bodega owners and deliverymen. In one 2011 robbery in Mount Vernon, N.Y., a man was shot and killed.

Source: New York Times

In total, five members of CrimeScene Entertainment have been found guilty. One of the men, Dwayne Barrett, 35, seen driving the car in the music video is suspected of driving the same car during the groups many robberies.

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Rapper Chopper (also known as Chopper Young City) was arrested in Las Vegas and now awaits to be extradited back to his home state of Louisiana, where the charges originated.

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According to reports Chopper, real name Kevin Barnes, was in Town Square in Las Vegas partying. One of the men that he was with got into a verbal altercation and the police were called in. When they were alerted, the authorities did background checks on everybody and Chopper’s check revealed several warrants.

He’s wanted for a number of unnamed cases, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Last September, Chopper was hit with allegations of extortion, unauthorized use of a vehicle and a separate simple battery allegation.

Chopper, 28, did not receive an additional charges in Las Vegas.

At press time, Chopper was still in jail awaiting extradition back to Louisiana.

Chopper was one of several contestants on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ “Making The Band,” but has maintained relevance in music and social media.

His last tweet said “live and learn.”

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Rappers, careful what you boast and brag about. Future’s first baby mama is taking the struggle falsetto king back to court over child support payments. She wants more cash.

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In early January, Future came to terms with Jessica Smith over child support payments. A DNA test proved Future, born Nayvadius Wilburn Cash, was the father of a 10-year-old son. Citing a monthly income of $16,516, Future agreed he would pay $1,662 a month in child support.

However, Smith alleges that shortly thereafter the “Same Damn Time” rapper claimed to carry 25 large on his person at all times, reports TMZ. Note: This not that safest things to do in the hood, just saying.

Smith felts that she was duped, and immediately filed paperwork to get their child support terms updated. Smith claims Future makes $50K a month, which if the math stays the same would mean about $5,000 in child support payments.

A couple of points to be made here. Rappers lie about their net worth all the time. But Future is making bank considering he is a hot commodity in the game and even has penning hits songs for Rihanna to his credit. Also worth noting, it seems like Future didn’t know about his son until Smith came out the woodwork and sued him last year. Where was she when he was broke? But hey, all the money will be going to the child, right? Just saying.

Future’s new album, Future Hendrix, is due out later this year.

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Last night (March 22) at the West Fest concert, Ray J and West Coast rapper Bad Azz were involved in a massive brawl backstage at around 1pm.

According to TMZ, it appears the fight started when Ray J called a woman a “fat b*tch” as he was moving past her in the backstage area.
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The concert was presented by “Bobby Dee, Clubben.com, and Behind the Scenes and hosted by Power 106 FM’s radio personality Big Boy.

The concert featured performances by Warren G, Mack 10, Baby Bash, Clyde Carson, Problem, Skeme the Duke, and headliners DJ Quik and E-40.

At the time of print Ray J has yet to issue a statement on the incident, nobody was arrested, and there is no word on if there is a connection with Bad Azz and the woman Ray J is seen arguing with.

Bad Azz issued a statement to TMZ.com, claiming the fight was due to past tension over an incident involving Suge Knight.

The Dogg Pound rapper claimed he was assaulted by Suge because the former Death Row mogul found out Bad Azz had been speaking bad about Ray J behind his back.

Ray J has yet to comment on either of last night’s incidents.

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Xzibit expressed his disdain for USAir today after having a run in with a flight attendant who wasn’t to happy about him using the bathroom — probably when the seat belt light was on.

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Apparently, Xzibit has some great fans, some of them being cops. Clearly they were fans of Gridiron Gang.

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Exclusive: Veteran producer/emcee E-A-Ski discusses the rekindled working relationship he and Ice Cube have. He also hints at some of what Cube is up to on “Everythang’s Corrupt.”

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Ice Cube’s upcoming album Everything’s Corrupt is building a buzz and mystique not only because he hasn’t released an album since 2010, but also due to the accumulation of possible tracks vying for the final cut. Producer/rapper veteran EA-Ski is one of the lucky invitees participating, having already submitted three beats to Cube.“I know we got one, one and another one that we messin’ around with. So about three right now that we playin’ with ideas for,” according to Ski.

One of his contributions thus far has been work on a track titled “Still In The Kitchen.” Between the rhymes with food-related metaphors and the overall energy, Ice Cube is “Still chef at this shit” explains Ski. “Metaphorically speaking…it’s dope how he’s doing it ‘cause there isn’t really one prognosis. Just comin’ from different angles. Real clever. Real clever how he doin’ it.”

 

He may be excited about his involvement on Everything’s Corrupt, but EA-Ski is equally vocal about everything and everyone else in contention for the album. “[Ice Cube]’s got a lot of records that bounce and just make you…it’s really hard to explain, ‘cause [there is] the stuff that catches you off guard, but he’s made a lot of records. He just ain’t sure which ones he wanna use, ‘cause he’s still building, he still working.”

Cube released the single “Everything’s Corrupt” in November 2012, but the title-track offers little in what can be expected from the album as a whole. “I keep playing around with a lot of ideas and seeing what’s going to be the best addition to the album [for it] to be what he want it to be. He’s not going to know what’s the hit record right now. And that’s why we in there making sure we make the best record,” explains EA-Ski. “We gonna sit back, we gonna discuss it, make sure the album is cohesive, and everything feels good…‘cause he wanted to take his time to make this record the way he wanted.”

The album is still a work-in-progress. Nevertheless, as mentioned before by EA-Ski, Ice Cube remains calm and in no rush to push Everything’s Corrupt. “He’s got a good [probably] 16 that I’ve heard that sound dope as fuck,” offers EA-Ski. “But like I said, he’s probably got a lot of stuff that’s unfinished that he’ll just lay like a verse or two and leave it where it is.

“He’s worked very hard [for] where he’s at. But I will tell you this: what I’ve heard is sounding dope.”

Previously, the duo worked together on E-A-Ski’s “Please,” which a video was released for. Ski has also confirmed there will be two Cube appearances on his forthcoming 5th Of Skithoven album.

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Dr. Dre checked into Big Boy’s Neighborhood today to reveal that Beats By Dre has a new venture. He also said that he wants to make music as long as he can.

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Today, Dr. Dre briefly called into Big Boy’s Neighborhood show, the syndicated radio program produced by Los Angeles, California’s Power 106. Dre’s call was relevant to the show, as the Aftermath Entertainment founder has appointed Big Boy’s co-host Fuzzy Fantabulous to work on a new Beats By Dre-related project.

While Dre was slim on details, he did offer some, “The most I can say right now is that it’s a music subscription service. That’s the most I can say right now.” It is unclear what Fuzzy’s role will be within this new Beats By Dre division or product. The longtime Big Boy’s Neighborhood personality detailed the company as merely, “A Beats Music service we’re about to launch.” Today marks Fuzzy’s last day on the show’s staff.

For fans of his music, Dre did briefly update a few items. He confirmed that Aftermath star Eminem is wrapping his upcoming album. “[Eminem] is finishing up his project,” said Dre. Without mentioning theDetox album, Dre did allude that he was approaching his work differently. “For me, I’ve just got inspired to go in the studio again,” admitted the N.W.A. member-turned-mogul. Last year, Dre and his label released Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, in addition to his production for Xzibit, Alicia Keys and 50 Cent. Pointing out that he’s approaching the 30-year mark, Dre closed in saying, “Music is my first love, and I’m gonna continue to do that as long as I can.”

Dre’s first group, World Class Wreckin’ Cru released “Surgery” around 1984, marking the longtime deejay’s first foray into recording.

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Less than three weeks after Chicago reported its lowest monthly total for homicides in over 55 years, seven people were shot at an album release party in the Gresham neighborhood of South Side Chicago early this morning (March 21)

The event was a launch party for the record label Heat Squad Records, which was held at Mr. G’s Entertainment Center.

A fight broke out around 1 a.m. and a gunman opened fired, according to Police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro.

Of the seven victims, one was a 19-year-old female with the rest being males between the ages of 21 and 36.

There is no word if any of the people shot were one of the gunmen.

Chicago Tribune reporter Peter Nickeas reported that there were shell casings found inside and outside the club, a table was flipped, further validating the claim that a chair was thrown initially to spark the fight.

Unfortunately, the camera, inside the club, was not functioning properly.

However, the Chicago police are checking surveillance camera footage across the street from the club.

King Samson and Lil Mouse performed at the label release party.

Both artists took to their personal Twitter pages to address the shooting:

 

UPDATE #2: Too Short is charged with drug possession, but admits his own surprise that the Driving Under The Influence charges did not stick.

Oakland, California pioneering emcee Too Short has been arrested, according to TMZ.com. Short was reportedly stopped for a traffic violation by police in his vehicle early this morning (March 20) in Los Angeles, California. Appearing under the influence, the rapper was allegedly given a breathalyzer test and is reported at .09—which is over the legal limit.

TMZ’s report also alleges that Short tried to escape police once he was out of the vehicle. Unnamed law enforcement sources claim, “Too Short took off  … and tripped as he ran down the street.” The report also claims that Too Short tried to dispose of drugs after being detained in the police vehicle.

At present, Too Short is believed to be in the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department.

In 2010, the longtime Jive Records artist was arrested in Boise, Idaho after he was charged with battery involving three club bouncers. Short later spoke out publicly, claiming reports were “exaggerated and false.”

The full report is available at TMZ.com.

UPDATE: Yesterday (March 20) Too Short was released by the Los Angeles Police Department, hours after his arrest. TMZ captured video footage of Too Short leaving from the incident. The rapper clarified the charges, but affirmed earlier reports that he may have been intoxicated. “Possession of a controlled substance; I thought it was a D.U.I.,” proclaimed Short, when asked about the charged. Further pressed about if he tried to dispose of evidence once in the police cruiser, all Short said was, “I was tryin’ to avoid a D.U.I.”

The rapper added that he’ll return to court in April. No specific date was given.

 

UPDATE #2: TMZ.com has released a second video, taken yesterday (March 20) during Too Short’s arrest. The video clearly depicts the famed rapper evading police before being apprehended.

Freeway Ricky Ross has hit another snag in his quest for legal vindication over allegations that Rick Ross stole his identity. On Wednesday (March 20), a judge rejected the argument filed against Warner Bros., who he believes assisted the Maybach Music rapper.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the former drug kingpin, vowed to take his battle to appeals court. “California Appeals Court briefs are due in a few weeks,” he said. “Judge believes that even a new contract still falls under Single publication, our position is that it is republication as in Nestle v. Chistophe. We feel good about our case.

“This is classic republication as to all defendants there was consistently new music, management decisions and product made. The statute of limitations was never meant to be used to hide defendants actively infringing with new decisions and campaigns.”

Ross has suffered setbacks before. Last year, he was ordered to cover his alleged impostor’s $500,000 legal fees.

Aside from the litigation, he’s also prepping a film about his life, in which Nick Cannon will star.

Soulja Boy says recent attacks from hackers on his social media accounts will only make him work harder.

Atlanta artist Soulja Boy became the latest celebrity to fall victim to hackers this month when videos from his YouTube page were all deleted. 3 News reports that on top of the hacking of his YouTube page, Soulja Boy’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts were also targeted in the attack this week.

After reclaiming his Twitter account, Soulja Boy reached out to fans and asked for their help in recovering his other social media accounts. He also shared that the attacks will only force him to work harder.

“If any of my followers know anyone from Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube/Google let me know because all of my accounts are hacked. Thanks…This is only going to make me go harder, they deleted all my YouTube videos that’s some real hater shit right there,” said Soulja Boy in a series of Tweets.

As of now it’s unclear who was responsible for the attacks on Soulja Boy’s various accounts. It also appears that all of the rapper’s YouTube videos have been restored.

Other celebrities whose personal information was compromised this month include Jay-Z, Beyonce, and actor Ashton Kutcher.