Nipsey Hussle is a example of hard work paying off. Nipsey mother gave him $40 dollars to go school shopping, We all know $40 dollar now days might get you a good shirt. Not want to stress his mom out Nipsey started shining shoes at the age 11 earning up to $90 a day, thats what you call hustle, early entrepreneurial drive I have nothing but respect for anyone grinding at 11 years old watch the video below and learn more about Nipsey Hussle:
Jay Z and Beyonce took Blue Ivy on a tour of the White House this weekend, according to marieclaire.co.uk.
Beyonce was in Washington, D.C. to perform at Michelle Obama’s fiftieth birthday party, which was also attended by Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Samuel L. Jackson.
In 2010, Jay Z and Beyonce made their first trip to the White House while Jay Z was in Washington as part of hisBlueprint 3 Tour.
Photos of Blue Ivy’s trip to the White House are as follows, courtesy of marieclaire.co.uk:
Bun B is one half of the legendary southern Hip Hop group UGK. He is also a professor at Rice University and potential political candidate. With those credentials as an artist, educator, and possible politician, Bun spoke with MSNBC’s NewsNation with Tamron Hall about the ongoing practice of the criminal justice system using rap lyrics to convict suspects of crimes.
The discussion stemmed from reports that the New Jersey Supreme Court was reviewing whether a defendant’s lyrics is admissible as evidence in trial. According to Bun, every rapper should not be held criminally accountable for artistic speech.
“If someone chooses to incriminate themselves that’s their own thing,” says Bun. “Once we open this door to start just going through everyone’s rap lyrics to try to find crime in there, I think that’s where we have the problem.”
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There have already been several recorded incidences of rappers’ lyrical content used as evidence against them in criminal cases. In July of 2013, Virginia rapper Antwain “Twain Gotti” Steward was charged with several crimes, including murder, after police cited his lyrics in a YouTube video about the alleged killings as admission of guilt.
In August of 2013, Deyundrea “Khali” Holmes’ first-degree robbery and murder convictions were held up by the Nevada Supreme Court. The court ruled that Holmes’ “Drug Deala” song, allegedly detailing the crime, could be used as a confession in court.
While not specifically speaking about any particular case of rap lyrics being used as evidence, Bun does elaborate on his belief that a rap artist’s constitutional right to free speech should allow him or her to present an artistic view of the world around them.
“As an artist, I want to be free to speak my mind, my opinions, my outlook on the world. If I’m speaking in hate against people then that’s a different issue,” adds Bun. ”But if I’m just expressing my viewpoints about different things that I see in society, different things I see going on in the world, then I don’t see why there should be an issue with me expressing that viewpoint. We see it in all forms of music, not just rap music. So why shouldn’t we be able to speak our minds?”
Bun goes on to talk about how Hip Hop shines a light on the struggles of the inner city for the rest of the world to see and hopefully seek change. He also addresses rumors that he may run for mayor of Houston, Texas in 2015 which he says is not practical. He would consider going for a seat on the city council in the future.
Watch Bun B’s discussion on NewsNation in the video below.
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On his 1992 single “It Was A Good Day,” Ice Cube rapped that his name was on the Goodyear Blimp. Today (January 20), Ice Cube’s name appeared on the Goodyear Blimp as part of a fundraiser for A Place Called Home as it flew over South Central Los Angeles, according to laweekly.com.
Through Crowdtilt, a crowdfunding site, three friends going by the name “Team Good Day Blimp,” pledged to raise $25,000 for A Place Called Hope if Goodyear would participate. Ice Cube also got involved, as did Jimmy Fallon.
According to its website, A Place Called Home works with its “caring staff, supporters and volunteers come together to provide South Central children and teens 8 years old – 21 years old with love, safety, enrichment, training, and opportunities through educational programs,counseling, and mentorship. After-school, weekend, and all-day summer programs and services include tutoring and homework support, as well as a full spectrum of instruction in the arts, athletics, dance and music. “
Photos of the event are as follows, courtesy of laweekly.com:
When asked Kanye West during a Interview magazine interview how he dealt with the negative criticism “mentally, physically, spiritually” following his incident with Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards, Kanye West answered quite matter-of-factly:
It’s funny that you would say “mentally, physically, spiritually” because my answer before you even said that was going to be “god, sex, and alcohol.”
In the interview, Kanye says openly compares himself to innovators such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and others to give people a better context of his potential. West also remarked that one of the people he as often been compared to, Tupac, had a dream that has since manifested in the form of one of Tupac’s rivals:You know, some different friends of mine have been showing me these interviews that Tupac did and how they’re very simple and to the point. I watched them, and one of the things that Tupac kept saying is that he wanted thugs to be recognized. Now Jay-Z is a multi-hundred-millionaire who came from the streets, so Tupac’s mission, in a way, has been realized.But my mission is very different from Tupac’s—and I’m not Tupac.
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You know, some different friends of mine have been showing me these interviews that Tupac did and how they’re very simple and to the point. I watched them, and one of the things that Tupac kept saying is that he wanted thugs to be recognized. Now Jay-Z is a multi-hundred-millionaire who came from the streets, so Tupac’s mission, in a way, has been realized. But my mission is very different from Tupac’s—and I’m not Tupac.
Kanye West is now a multiplatinum superstar who “moved his family out the country so you can’t see where I stay”. But according to West himself, he hated his first trip to France which was orchestrated by his former labelhead and the man who signed him to Roc-a-Fella, Dame Dash. Dame did more than organize the trip for Kanye and a few other Roc-A-Fella artists to go to London, especially for Kanye:
But at the time, there was a rapper out of Chicago who wanted me to show up at some event of his, and he was trying to threaten me in some way physically if I didn’t show up because we had done a record together. And Dame Dash had to man-up on the situation and apply a bit of gangster to have them fall back, just for me to be able to get on that first flight to London.
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Next week, the New Jersey Supreme Court will consider whether the violent rap lyrics of a criminal defendant should be admissible in his trial for attempted Murder.
Vonte Skinner, the defendant in a 2008 trial for his involvement in a 2005 shooting had 13 pages of lyrics read allowed by the prosecution that were composed before the shooting. The lyrics also did not mention the victim or specific details of the crime.
In 2012, Skinner’s conviction was overturned by an appellate court that ruled the lyrics shouldn’t have been admissible in the trial. That majority opinion stated, “We have a significant doubt about whether the jurors would have found defendant guilty if they had not been required to listen to the extended reading of these disturbing and highly prejudicial lyrics.” The state would later appeal the ruling and send it to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Aside from his lyrics, evidence in the ’08 trial was largely based on testimony from several witnesses who changed their stories multiple times. Skinner was later found guilty for attempted murder and sentenced to three decades in prison.
Skinner’s case and recent attention around the matter of rap lyrics in court cases was brought about in a recent New York Times op-ed that stated his case is not the first. In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey found that in 18 cases in which courts considered the admissibility of rap related content as evidence, lyrics were allowed in nearly 80 percent of the cases. They also say there is no evidence Skinner committed any of the criminal acts he wrote about.
The NY Times opinion piece goes on to argue that no other form of fictional expression is used or exploited in court and often times the prosecution presents lyrics as an autobiography of the defendant.
Last summer, the Supreme Court of Nevada upheld the admissibility of rap lyrics as evidence in a first-degree murder case. On occasion, appellate courts have reversed convictions after citing that prosecution misrepresented the lyrics as evidence.
Worldstarhiphop.com is one of the most visited entertainment websites in the world. The site features music videos from both well-established artists and up-and-coming performers. It also highlights videos that depict violent acts often committed by young, black individuals. In response to those depictions of violence, activist and writer Rahiel Tesfamariam penned an op-ed for the Washington Post titled “Death of World Star Hip Hop (D.O.WSHH).”
In the article, Tesfamariam calls for World Star to experience “brand damaging from hip-hop artists and community activists” similar to Jay Z’s take down of auto-tune on his 2009 track “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-tune).” While acknowledging WSHH’s right to freedom of speech, she also brands the website as “one of the most culturally damaging media platforms in existence today.”
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Tesfamariam is just the latest public figure to offer criticism of World Star. Last year members of the Zulu Nation started a petition to persuade the site to remove “Hip Hop” from its name. The Minister of Information for the Zulu Nation, Quadeer “MC Spice” Shakur, argued that World Star was misrepresenting the foundations and true principles of Hip Hop.
“WorldStarHipHop has no respect, as far as I’m concerned, for our people and our music,” Shakur told AllHipHop.com last March. “If it was in fact just a site for what we call ‘entertainment’ then let it be known at the bottom of your page. Put some kind of disclaimer that you are not in fact involved in or a part of real Hip Hop culture.”
In the same article, one of the forefathers of Hip Hop, Grandmaster Melle Mel, also expressed his opinion that WSHH was not a true representation of the culture.
“WorldStarHipHop has no more to do with Hip Hop than FedEx has to do with the federal government,” said Melle Mel.
While World Star has its critics, the site also has its defenders. Huff Post Live hosted the Google+ discussion “Do ‘Hood Sites’ Normalize Black Stereotypes?” moderated by Marc Lamont Hill. Panelist Mandon Lovett offered his take that WSHH is only shining a light on the violence that’s happening in urban America. The independent filmmaker reinforced World Star’s tag that the site is the “CNN of the Ghetto.”
Chicago rapper Rhymefest also defended World Star during the Huff Post exchange. He points out that other video streaming sites provide the same type of content as WSHH.
“We’re not here talking about YouTube,” said Rhymefest. “We’re not here talking about Vimeo. We’re not sitting here talking about all of these sites that do the same thing that World Star does.”
In her WashPost piece, Tesfamariam addresses those who stand up for WSHH.
“To defend World Star Hip Hop is to defend the normalization of violent stereotypes and exploitation of pain, anger and brokenness,” she writes.
Watch HuffPost Live’s “Do ‘Hood Sites’ Normalize Black Stereotypes?” discussion below.
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Scarface says that modern Rap music pales in comparison to the quality of material being generated in other forms of music.
“The Rap shit [is] sounding stupider and stupider, and Country music is sounding more brilliant,” Scarface says in an interview with xxlmag.com. “Rock music is sounding more brilliant and Alternative music is sounding way more brilliant. Shit sound good as fuck. Everybody [in Hip Hop] wants to turn up now, even in R&B. Who stole the soul? The soul is gone. Twenty-five years ago it was called soul. Thirty years ago it was called soul. Then they turned it into rhythm and blues, R&B. What is it now? Is R&B gone, too?”
A member of politically-minded Gangster Rap group the Geto Boys, Scarface says that music helped determine the type of act he would become.
“I think that the music that I listened to turned me into the artist that I am,” he says. “I grew up listening to great music that molded my character and my artistry, that helped me. You got to look at it. Look at the music that came out 25 years ago. Now match it up to the music that came out today. There’s no comparison to it. I go back to the same question that I always ask. Who stole the soul?”
Ice Cube’s Ride Along film earned $14.4 million in its first day of release yesterday (January 17) and is expected to earn about $40 million during the four-day weekend,variety.com reports.
Ride Along, which also stars Kevin Hart, is expected to be the #1 movie at the box office this weekend, variety.com’s story says.
During an interview with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, Los Angeles rapper/actor Ice Cube shared a brief timeline of his feud with his N.W.A group mates.
Cube started off the conversation by speaking on the moment those in the group were finally able to sit down and talk following their lyrical battle. According to the former N.W.A spitter, the group never really discussed his “No Vaseline” record, a song Cube says knocked an already wounded N.W.A down “like bowling pins.”
Eminem is starting 2014 focusing on the same thing he did for the entirety of 2013: bars. Earlier today (January 16th), Jack Thriller announced he would be hosting Eminem’s forthcoming battle rap reality show.
On his personal Instagram page, he not only revealed Eminem directly contacted him to host his battle rap reality show, but also alludes to another partner in the show:
Shoutout to my big brother SLIM SHADY for hitting me up last night and making me the new host of his battle rap reality show JACKTHRILLER.COM WORDS CANT EXPLAIN THE JOY IN MY HEART @uwbattleleague @unclevinrock #doglife #thrillergang #superstarsh*t
The UW Battle League’s official twitter account seemingly confirmed the partnership earlier today.
The UW Battle League’s High Stakes event is set to take place on January 26th at ENVY Night Club in Elizabeth, NJ.
Check out Jack Thriller’s announcement below:
Drake’s new line of Air Jordan sneakers has not even hit stores yet, but the rare kicks are already selling for a staggering $100,000 on the Internet.
On Saturday, the Toronto Raptors honored the Canadian rapper with an event called “Drake Night.” During the event, Drake gave away a couple pairs of sneakers from his OVO (October’s Very Own) x Air Jordan line, which have not been released yet.
The fans, however, are not looking to cherish these gifts from Drake forever. Instead, the fans, just like Drake, are hoping to cash in on the sneakers.
“Check out Unreleased Promo Sample Drake OVO Air Jordan Retro 10s on @eBay,” @A_Kashmir said via Twitter with a link to an eBay posting with the sneakers.
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The OVO Air Jordan 10 Retro sneakers, which are listed as “New with box” were originally priced at an already high $300. After less than a week and 154 bids, however, the price has skyrocketed to $100,000.
“I received them from Drake himself at Drake night at the Raptors,” the posting says. “Drake was seen wearing the same ones at the game that night. ”
The $40 shipping price is a bit alarming as well, but I suppose anyone willing to pay over $100,000 for the sneakers could afford to dish out an extra $40.
Those willing to pay the price for the unreleased Drake-designed Jordans have three days left to post a bid.
Meanwhile, a pair of “Air Jordan Retro 12 Unreleased Sample Pair Drake OVO Jordan’s Size 10” ended bidding on eBayyesterday. The sneakers sold for $400.
Drake announced his Air Jordan sneaker line in December.
“Growing up I’m sure we all idolized this guy,” Drake said according to AllHipHop. “He goes by the name of Michael Jordan. So today I came to Portland, and I officially became inducted into the Team Jordan family.”
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According To Allhiphop.com While artists like Jay Z, Beyoncé, Kanye West, J. Cole, Wale, and A$AP Rocky managed to secure a number album in 2013, The Slate points out that no lead African American acts reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart last year. This was the first time this has happened in the history of the chart.
Rap and R&B styled tunes were popular, but only ones by white artists Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, and Robin Thicke were able to hit number one. In fact, the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart was also led mostly by white performers with Macklemore, Thicke, and Em holding number one for 44 out of 52 weeks on that list. Rihanna’s “Diamonds” was number one for 3 weeks and Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” held the number one spot for 5 weeks.
Macklemore and Eminem ran the Rap Songs chart as well. Mac & Lewis had the number one rap song in the country for 29 consecutive weeks with “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us.” Eminem’s “Berzerk” and “Rap God” ruled for a week respectively and his duet with Rihanna, “The Monster,” held onto number one for the last 7 weeks in 2013.
Flo Rida and Psy each had a song hit the top spot on the Rap Songs chart for a week. Jay Z’s collaboration with Timberlake “Holy Grail” held onto to number one for 12 non-consecutive weeks.
The R&B Songs chart was not much different. Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke controlled the tally for most of 2013.
Kim Kardashian is mulling a counterstrike against the teenager who allegedly called her a “n—er lover” and accused her baby daddy of battery.
The reality TV vixen says the 18-year-old threatened to “beat” her during a racist rant in a Beverly Hills medical building Monday, and that the aggressive behavior made her fear for her physical safety, a well-placed source told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Kardashian — whose famous fiancé, Kanye West, raced to her aid and allegedly punched the unidentified teen — has been talking with her lawyer and “investigating every option available,” the source said.
“He threatened to hit her. He said, ‘I bet I could beat you,'” the source said, referring to the teenager.
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“She’s tiny, and if someone is following you screaming, ‘Slut! N—er lover! C–t,’ you don’t know if you’re dealing with an insane person who will go postal and hurt you,” the source said. “She was so upset, she was crying.”
The source it was not yet clear whether Kardashian would follow up by filing her own police report.
The brunette bombshell had not filed anything as of early Tuesday afternoon, a source in the Beverly Hills Police Department told The News.
Beverly Hills cops rushed to the scene of the alleged Monday melee about 12:15 p.m. and said the alleged victim and witnesses named West as the suspect in a misdemeanor battery.
The teen reportedly dropped the N-word while referring to a group of paparazzi stalking Kardashian outside the Wilshire Boulevard chiropractor’s office and unleashed his bigoted blast on the former sex tape siren when she scolded him for inappropriate language.
“F–k you b–ch. Just trying to help. Shut up n—-r lover, stupid slut,” he allegedly yelled, according to the source.
At some point Kardashian connected with West on her cellphone, and the rapper overheard the vicious verbal assault and Kardashian’s panicked reaction, the source said.
West, who was already in the building for a design meeting, raced to Kardashian’s side and “confronted the guy,” a source told E! News.
“The guy continued with the slurs,” the source said. “He was in Kanye’s face and wouldn’t stop. He was taunting him.”
Cops were called to the scene but did not encounter West, Beverly Hills Police Sgt. George DeMarois told The News.
“Kanye was named as a suspect by the victim as well as witnesses. He had left prior to our arrival, and detectives are currently investigating,” Sgt. DeMarois said.
The alleged dustup wasn’t the first time West has been accused of violent behavior.
He pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor battery and attempted grand theft in November in a case involving an alleged altercation with a paparazzo at LAX last summer.
The photog later hired lawyer Gloria Allred.
“While we would never condone someone taunting Mr. West or [Kardashian] by using racist, sexist or homophobic terms, we believe that [West] certainly has the ability to call the police, and that unless he is being physically attacked he needs to keeps his hands to himself,” Allred said in a statement to The News.
She said West’s celebrity status did not give him the “right” to use his “fists as a weapon.”
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Method Man says he has heard a lot of criticism about his work as the co-star of Chozen, an animated comedy about a gay White rapper who was recently released from prison.
Method Man recently spoke on Twitter about the criticism he has heard regarding the TV show, a program made by the creators of HBO’s Eastbound & Down. In his series of Twitter posts, which were published during the week, Method Man said that he does not care about anyone’s opinion of a show they have not seen yet, noting that the program is slated to premiere January 13 on FX.
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In his Twitter statement, Method Man, who recently announced his The Meth Lab project, also says that he did not work on this program for the money. He says he was paid $1,500 – $2,000 an episode. “It was a favor,” Method Man says. According to Method Man, he did the work for free at first, only confirming that he was paid after “the show got picked up” by FX.
Furthermore, Method Man chastised critics of the show. “It’s a fuckin cartoon.These same hatin ass nigs cheer for Omar from the wire tho,” Meth said in a Twitter post. “So fuck off wit all that it hurts hip-hop bs only thing hurtin hip hop is u self loathing over opinionated wannabe thug ass niggas..smh.”
Omar from The Wire refers to Omar Little, a character in The Wire who is a gay man. Omar Little was portrayed by Michael K. Williams on the television series.
Chozen is said to be written and executive produced by Grant Dekernion, who also reportedly raps on the songs featured on the show. SNL’s Bobby Moynihan is set to star in the series as Chozen, the lead character of the show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Method Man, Michael Pena, Hannibal Buress, Kathryn Hahn, Nick Swardson, Dekernion and Danny McBride are set to also work on the show.
The trailer for the series can be found below, followed by Method Man’s Twitter posts.
I don’t care about any1’s opinion of a show they hvnt even seen yet.FYI:didn’t do it for the $(I only get about 15-2000 an Ep)it was a favor
For a friend at 1st(no money) then the show got picked up.. It’s a fuckin cartoon.These same hatin ass nigs cheer for Omar from the wire tho
So fuck off wit all that it hurts hip-hop bs only thing hurtin hip hop is u self loathing over opinionated wannabe thug ass niggas..smh
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Beats Electronics, the headphone company founded and run by music industry legend Jimmy Iovine, has joined up with AT&T to launch its subscription music service on January 21.
Everyone can try the entire service for free, Beats Music said, AT&T customers can access unlimited song streaming and downloads for individuals across three devices for $10 a month or for up to five family members across 10 devices for $15 a month. AT&T Family customers will receive a 90-day free trial, while individual AT&T wireless customers can get the first 30 days free. It will be part of an AT&T customer’s regular bill.
Song downloads will allow customers to listen to music when they’re offline, but a download expires when the user’s membership ends.
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Beats Music will be available for download on nearly all major platforms or from a PC beginning January 21, the companies said. It’s supported on iPhone, Android, or Windows Mobile phone.
CNET reported in July that Beats was pursuing a partnership with AT&T to launch its music service.
Striking a deal with AT&T, the country’s second-biggest wireless carrier, gives Beats a huge pool of potential customers and a mega marketing machine at its very outset, with single billing removing the hurdle of entering in payment information to sign up as a revenue-generating subscriber.
It’s a strategy that some of Beats Music’s main rivals — the likes of Spotify and Deezer — have used to spread their service globally.
While Beats is entering a market of strong growth, it’s also one of intensifying competition. Not only is Beats going up against relative newcomers like Spotify, it will also face entrenched Internet radio service Pandora and offerings from huge tech companies such as Apple’s iTunes Radio and Google’s All Access.
Beats is seeking to set itself apart by marrying algorithms with curated programming from tastemakers. In a blog post Saturday, Beats Music CEO Ian C. Rogers said Beats Music’s competitors “aren’t actually ‘services,’ they’re ‘servers.'”
Beats Music combines “the trust that comes from excellent handpicked music with the personalization that knows you’re an individual and that a handful of stations can’t satisfy all listeners,” Rogers said.
Iovine founded Beats with musician and producer Dr. Dre and bought MOG, an on-demand subscription service. The intent was to combine that technology and the Beats brand to create Beats Music, also known by its code name Daisy.
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methodman ✔ @methodman