Despite the constant media coverage (or perhaps because of it) Kanye West’s “Yeezus Tour” is struggling to sell tickets at some venues. Multiple news reports claim that the G.O.O.D. Music leader’s tour stop this week only managed to bring in 4,500 concert goers. The Kansas City Sprint Center has a 19,000 seat capacity which means 76% of the arena was left unfilled for the show.
It has been a rough run for Kanye’s first solo tour since 2008′s “Glow In The Dark Tour.” The “I Am A God” rapper had to postpone several Yeezus dates after a traffic accident damaged some of the stage equipment, and he permanently cancelled scheduled stops in Vancouver, Denver, Minneapolis, Montreal, St. Louis, and Columbus.
While the “Yeezus Tour” is having difficulties, the Yeezus album is getting praised by music critics. Kanye’s sixth studio LP has been named album of the year by Time,Pitchfork, and Spin.
The tragic killing of 7-year-old Talib Pecantte has rocked the Los Angeles area. The young boy was shot in the chest while sitting in a parked car with his mother and an unidentified man. As response to the murder rapper Game is working with local members of the Crips, Bloods, and Spanish gangs to raise funds for Pecantte’s funeral.
“In 60 minutes, $7000 which is a generous contribution from people who don’t have to give anything,” announced Game. “We grew up in this city, so at the end of the day we kind of feel obligated. So I’m gonna keep on raising money.”
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The Jesus Piece rapper also revealed that he has managed to broker a “Cease-Fire L.A.” campaign with the city’s gangs for the holiday season. Game says the short-term goal will be reevaluated at the top of year and beyond.
Authorities have not arrested anyone for the shooting yet. The suspects have only been described as four black males in black hoodies last seen in a white vehicle. Talib’s mother and the man in the car were also hit, but are reported to be okay.
Listen to Game talk about his effort to help the Pecantte family in the TMZ video below.
West has been accused of anti-semitism. The Anti-Defamation League recently released a statement denouncing Kanye’s comments on Power 105.1 The Breakfast Club about Black people not having Jewish-like connections.
During his interview on Power 105.1, West explained President Obama’s inability to make certain changes to his racial predisposition to a lack of connections as compared to the Jewish community:
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People want to say Obama can’t make these moves or he’s not executing. That’s because he ain’t got those connections. Black people don’t have the same level of connections as Jewish people.
Days following the interview, The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)’s National Director Abaraham H. Foxman issued a statement describing Kanye’s comments as “classic anti-Semitism”:
There it goes again, the age-old canard that Jews are all-powerful and control the levers of power in government. As a celebrity with a wide following, Kanye West should know better. We hope that he will take responsibility for his words, understand why they are so offensive, and apologize to those he has offended.
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz was one of the first publications to make light of Kanye’s potentially anti-semitic comment in their issue last Friday (November 29th).
Gucci Mane faces a maximum of 10 years each for two federal gun charges.
Gucci Mane has been charged in federal court with two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon, leaving the rapper facing major jail time.
CNN reported the charges, which stem from two September incidents during which the rapper showed a gun and threatened police, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
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At the time of his arrest on September 14, a friend had flagged down police, stating that he was concerned about Gucci’s behavior.
Police say the rapper became “increasingly agitated” and threatened the officers. He was taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct, marijuana possession, and carrying a handgun.
The federal prosecutor provided a news release. “On September 12, 2013, Davis, who was a felon at the time, was found in possession of a firearm,” the release said. “Then, just two days later, on September 14th, he again possessed a firearm different from the earlier gun. On both occasions, Davis displayed the loaded firearm, acted erratically, and made threats to individuals, including police and his attorney.”
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner applauded the arrest. “We cannot tolerate convicted felons ignoring the law by carrying firearms and endangering our citizens.”
U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates also spoke on the matter. “This is how people get hurt, and we are committed to ensuring that convicted felons not have guns,” she said.
A federal grand jury indicted Gucci on November 19. Each charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
In March, Gucci was arrested for hitting a man over the head with a champagne bottle at an Atlanta nightclub.
An unfortunate physical altercation that resulted in a stolen have Detroit police anticipating more grave consequences.
Last Wednesday (November 27th), Doughboyz Cashout member HBK was assaulted and robbed of an expensive piece of jewelry at Cobo Center in Detroit. According to multiple reports, east side Detroit rapper known as Green Guy Webbie and rapper Icewear Vezzo were responsible for the beatdown and Webbie was even spotted wearing the stolen chain:
THE MEDIA WILL SAY AND BELIEVE ANYTHING IF YOU WASN’T THERE SHUT THE FUCK UP AND I DO NOT HAVE THAT CHAIN AND YES I DID TAKE A PIC WIT IT
Threats on Webbie’s life, including a $30,000 bounty issued through Twitter, have reportedly surface since the unfortunate event. According to Sgt. Michael Woody of the Detroit Police Department, the threat is enough to warrant added precaution:
There’s a potential for a lot of bullets to go flying, and we’re talking a large group of people here that are making threats.
No word from Doughboyz Cashout, Jeezy or Corporate Thug Entertainment regarding the incident or their cooperation with the police in this investigation.
For many listeners one of the standout tracks on J. Cole’s sophomore album was the song “Rich N****z.” The cut opens with the Roc Nation emcee rapping “I hate rich n****s,” but it then goes on to reveal the rapper’s own apprehension about the fact he is now one of those people with money he use to hate.
Cole spoke with Hard Knock TV to discuss track 9 off Born Sinner. He talks about growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina feeling jealous of his classmates who were more well off than him. He shares another story about his mother having to take on a part-time job and his worries that she would get hurt delivering pizza at night
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Cole also refers to “Rich N****z’s” second verse where he calls out rappers who focus all their rhymes on wealth and material possessions. He then questions himself on whether he is now a part of that group of entertainers that put money first.
“I’m talking to this rapper like, ‘Damn, your flow is ill, but the only thing you offer to world is talking about how much money you have?” says Cole. “I know you’re suppose to write your life, but damn you ain’t got nothing else to talk about. I see through you… Oh s**t. Am I becoming you? That’s the fear.”
According to a federal indictment obtained by TMZ, Atlanta, Georgia rapper Gucci Mane has been ordered to give up his firearms.
Gucci reportedly owns a .40 caliber Glock and a .45 caliber Taurus. The Fed’s are demanding their transfer, along with any ammunition because of Guwop’s prior weapons charges. In mid-September, Gucci was arrestedon multiple charges including weed and weapons possession. When the police approached Gucci Mane during the eventual arrest, he started “cursing and threatening them.”
Gucci Mane also has a pending assault case from back in May of this year. He was accused of hitting a soldier over the head with a champagne bottle at a night club in March. Gucci pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault charge.
Gucci Mane’s problems outside of the studio have also affected his music career. Back in September, Gucci Mane was reportedly dropped from Atlantic Records after he went on a long rant via Twitterwhere he called out numerous rappers, former managers and even people in the media.
J. Cole comments on the contrasting thoughts on “Rich Niggaz,”
North Carolina rapper J. Cole recently offered a breakdown of his Born Sinner record “Rich Niggaz” during an interview with Hardknock TV and revealed that the song is one filled with ironies and other contrasting thoughts. Additionally, Cole says the song is also a result of the feelings of bitterness and jealousy he harbored towards those not struggling financially.
The Roc Nation emcee also provided some insight into how he creates records, stating that he doesn’t necessarily know what direction a song will go in until he’s started writing it.
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“Understand that when I start writing I don’t always know where it’s headed maybe until midway through the first verse or something,” said Cole. “So, the first thing I write is ‘I hate rich niggas. God damn it. Cause I ain’t never had a lot, damn it.’ And it’s perfect that that came out because the thought that’s been in my head or was in my head at the time was like—like I told you earlier, I used to have such a problem with like with people with money. It was almost a bitterness and a jealousy. Because my mom gotta work so hard. You know what I mean? And in my eyes, your father’s rich. Your mom don’t even gotta work. You drive a Benz.”
Cole later spoke in-depth on the ironies and contrasting thoughts addressed on “Rich Niggaz.” At one point on the song he questions if he’s becoming the money hungry rapper he once criticized as he raps, “You ain’t crazy, motherfucker, you’re just afraid of change/That’s new, maybe that’s true/But listen here I got a bigger fear/Of one day that I become you.”
On “Rich Niggaz,” he also references the fact that he’s biracial and the irony of now having money.
“It was like a real feeling for me, which is kinda weird because there’s people that I used to live around, but now that we moving to a better neighborhood they looking at me like ‘Yo nigga, y’all got two cars and you got your own bedroom now’…It’s ironic cause now I have money,” said Cole. “I’m at that level now. You know what I mean? I’m one of them. My kids are gonna be one of them. So, it’s that battle. The whole song though I just took that approach of ironies. ‘Half cracka, but a nigga too.’ It was a time when my mom was delivering pizzas for just extra income. So, she had to deliver mail, come back home, change her clothes, and go deliver pizzas. And I used to be so scared cause she was delivering…you delivering pizza in the projects at night. I know how niggas do. I know the game.”
J. Cole’s sophomore album Born Sinner was released on June 18 and consequently put the album directly up against fellow rapper Kanye West’s Yeezus album. Despite surpassing album sales forYeezus as of September of this year, Cole revealed that he’s in it for the music and not the accolades.
“I don’t live for the accolades,” Cole said during an interview with Noisey in September. “I’m more so about the music. Making it, and putting it out. Those are the two best feelings.”
Dr. Dre was not pleased by posts published on the gossip site TheDirty.com accusing him of cheating on his wife with a video model. The Los Angeles based producer had his attorney send the website a cease and desist letter demanding that the “scandalous, false accusations” be removed or the site could be facing a lawsuit. The Dirty’s lawyer replied to Dre with his own letter released by TMZ.
The Dirty’s representative David Gingras begins the letter by announcing he is a long time fan of Dr. Dre writing, “Back in the ’80s I personally destroyed many subwoofers blasting N.W.A.’s ‘F**k Tha Police’ in my car in the high school parking lot.”
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From there Gingras’ fires off snarky remarks about famous people who lied to cover up mistakes that became public comparing the Dre situation to the Bill Clinton/Monica “What’s-Her-Name” scandal and Lance Armstrong lying about using steroids. He even mentions O.J. Simpson who he jokingly says “was clearly framed.”
In the end Gingras makes the point that TheDirty.com nor its owner Nik Richie can be held responsible because the articles were posted by users and not Richie. He even cites a 2012 case where the site won a similar lawsuit.
Indeed, courts have already agreed with this argument in cases involving Nik Richie and TheDirty.com. You didn’t mention this one in your letter, so here’s a quote: “In sum, a third party unilaterally created and submitted [content to TheDirty.com] without specific instructions or requests from the Defendants to do so. This is precisely the type of situation that warrants CDA immunity.”
Yo Gotti’s Jeezy-assisted single, “Act Right” enteredBillboard magazine’s “Hot 100” chart this week, joining Drake’s 2011 single, “The Motto” on the list of recent, charting songs to pay homage to slain Bay Area rapper Mac Dre. But fellow Bay Area emcee, E-40 questioned the motives of such artists.
“Man, you know my words carry a lot of weight. I have nothing against none of them dudes, right? They just capitalizing off a great rapper that was from the Bay and passed away,” E-40 said during an exclusive interview with HipHopDX. “They know that the Bay had love for him, so why not say his name? Can I say that they listened to him before he passed or even after? Can I say that they can quote his lyrics? I don’t know. But hey, they did come to the Bay and shoot the videos and invite the whole Bay out. It opened a lot of people to the sound when Drake did it. And with Yo Gotti, I hear it everywhere. So to each his own, man. I ain’t mad at it. It is what it is.”
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Mac Dre, born Andre Hicks, was killed in 2004 in Kansas City, Missouri when a gunman fired into a van in which Hicks was riding. Known for his signature slang, E-40 added that he often feels the Bay Area gets overlooked in terms of trendsetting. Additionally, 40 praised Richmond, California emcees Calvin T and Magic Mike as influences. And he often speaks out in support of his hometown Vallejo and the surrounding Bay Area, E-40 pointed out the need for West Coast unity and how his 2012 single“Function” fit into that agenda.
The West Coast hadn’t been on for a minute,” E-40 said. “We all the way on now, and everybody wanna get some West Coast slaps…I wanted to bring the Bay Area and Lala together, because we all West Coast. It was just God that did it, because ‘Function’ wasn’t a violent song. It was just a slap, and it’s not going nowhere. I think it’s in there, ‘cause it’s played everywhere. I was glad to be with the youngsters, and I truly believe in them. All of them told me, ‘Right on, Unc.’”
After emerging on the scene with his Mr. Flamboyant EP in 1989 E-40 will continue his 21-year career in Hip Hop with the release of Block Brochure: Welcome To The Soil 4, 5 & 6 on December 10. In addition to the single “Plush,” E-40 explained that the albums will feature singles that either sample and/or interpolate “Stairway to Heaven” by the O’Jays, “Doo Wah Ditty” by Roger Troutman and Zapp among others.
Lil Mama to pay money owed, interest, and other fees to a former lawyer who says he wasn’t paid for nearly three years.
After being taken to court by a former lawyer, Harlem rapper Lil Mama has been ordered to pay $18,000 for money owed, interest, and other fees.
According to TMZ, the lawyer worked for Lil Mama up until 2011, but was not paid from 2008 to 2011. Lil Mama’s former attorney was also reportedly responsible for protecting the rights to the musician turned television show host/actress’ stage name.
The judge in the matter ruled in the lawyer’s favor and Lil Mama will now have to pay monies owed.
The lawsuit comes weeks after the 24-year-old rapper starred in the CrazySexyCool: The TLC Storybiopic on VH1. In the film, Lil Mama played the role of the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes,” a role she says led Left Eye’s sister to tears.
“After I got out of the scene, Rain started crying,” said Lil Mama during an interview with Vlad TV. “And I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ And she said, ‘Nothing’s wrong. Everything is right.’ And that melted my heart to know that I pleased her ’cause your siblings, like that’s the closest thing to you.”
There’s some good new on this Thanksgiving Day. Fat Joe was sentenced to four months in jail for tax evasion, but the Bronx rapper was released in time to surprise his family.
Details are scant, but the rapper is definitely home
Yesterday, Joe posted an Instagram video that showed his daughter’s surprise that he was actually home.
Gossip Site Responds To Dr. Dre’s Cease & Desist With Snark-Filled Letter
After sending a cease and desist letter to blogger Nik Richie and TheDirty.com, a site that describes itself as a provider of “Dirty Army intel, opinions, gossip, satire, and celebrities,” the legal team for producer Dr. Dre has received a response from the website’s lawyer, David Gingras.
According to TMZ, the cease and desist letter was first sent to TheDirty.com after a handful of stories were published in regards to Dr. Dre and Kili Anderson, a woman the website claims is the Compton beatsmith’s mistress.
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In his response to Dr. Dre’s lawyer, Gingras expressed his appreciation for Dre’s music and went on to reference O.J. Simpson, Bill Clinton, and others. He also suggested that the producer is lying about his relationship with Anderson.
“Back in the ’80s I personally destroyed many subwoofers blasting N.W.A.’s ‘F**k Tha Police’ in my car in the high school parking lot…Bill Clinton and Monica what’s-her-name both denied having sexual relations. Of course, they were both lying,” said Gingras. “Same thing with Lance Armstrong…Other than O.J. Simpson, who was clearly framed, history is filled with examples of people who make mistakes and lie about them to cover it up.”
Gingras concluded his letter by stating that the posts about Dr. Dre and Anderson will not be removed from TheDirty.com.
Dr. Dre is currently married to Nicole Threatt and has been married to Threatt since 1996. The couple has two children together.
Kanye West yells at radio host Sway Calloway after being asked about empowering himself.
A radio interview between Kanye West and radio/television personality Sway Calloway turned intense today (November 26) following a comment the Sway In The Morning host made in regards to ‘Ye empowering himself.
Following that particular remark from Sway, the rapper immediately began yelling, “How Sway? You ain’t got the answers, man. You ain’t got the answers. You ain’t got the answers. You ain’t got the answers, Sway. I’ve been doing this more than you.”
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Following Ye’s outburst, he revealed that he spent $13 million on trying to empower himself and ultimately lost money.
The G.O.O.D. Music emcee eventually offered an apology to Sway and informed the radio host that he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. During the less heated portion of the conversation, Kanye even went on to reference the French Revolution and abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
“I just told you I lost the money because I did not have the knowledge [to] do it the right way…I’m not trying to embarrass y’all,” said ‘Ye. “What I’m trying to say to y’all is this industry of what I’m trying to get into—ain’t nobody ever broke down. Ain’t nobody broke down. We all slaves. So, I ain’t trying to disrespect you on your show. We all slaves to something.”
Both Sway and Kanye found themselves in another tense predicament at the top of this year whenSway was criticized by Kanye after the release of MTV’s Hottest MCs list.
“I gave Sway his first TV…and he ain’t even remember that,” said Kanye, during an interview with HOT 97’s DJ Enuff in March.
THE YOUNG BOSS @greenguy_webbie
