Author: hhns

A small radio station in Michigan has opted to remove both Rick Ross and Lil Wayne from their playlists.

Both artists have been particularly controversial in the past few months for a variety of reasons, ranging from drugs, to Emmett Til and, most recently, Rick Ross lyric that seems to advocate date rape.

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WUVSIp 103.7 in Muskegon, Michigan issued the following statement.

“Many would say both rappers have taken their lyrical content too far and offended too many. The family and estate of [Emmett Till] have released a statement of disapproval over Lil Wayne’s disregard and disrespectful lyrics. Though his record label issued a statement of apology, the rapper has yet to do so. In the case of Rick Ross, a petition has been started over his blatant disregard for women and the issue of date rape. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that over 300,000 women are raped or sexually assaulted per year in the United States alone. That is a disturbing number and should not be taken lightly. His lyrics not only condone the behavior, but he boasts about it in the song. While some feel it’s only entertainment, many feel it sends and encourages the wrong message. Several individuals and organizations have taken a stand and so are we. Effective immediately Muskegon’s WUVSlp 103.7 the Beat has pulled ALL Lil Wayne and Rick Ross music from rotation. We pride ourselves on playing music that is non-degrading and non-violent. While we believe in freedom of speech, creative writing and individualism, we refuse to be part of the problem by spreading messages that could harm or end someone’s life.”

No other urban stations have formally take such a hard stance against the artists, despite the controversy.

Neither artist has commented at press time.

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Cypress Hill’s B-Real says that gangsters and lawsuits don’t mix. He calls both Game and 40 Glocc “his homies” but disapproves of their summer 2012 fight and following course of legal action.

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West Coast Hip Hop luminary, B-Real recently took a moment to comment on 40 Glocc’s recent lawsuit against Game for an altercation that took place in July 2012 outside of a Hollywood, California mansion.

“You never hear a rapper from the street aspect like 40 Glocc suing another rapper from the street aspect,” said the Cypress Hill emcee speaking exclusively with VladTV. “That just doesn’t happen because it kind of defeats the purpose of that code—that ‘gangster’ code—that we all [abide by]. If you were involved in gangs, you don’t fucking talk on your enemy like that to nobody. In [California], that’s just a no no. You just don’t do that.”

An an example of the “gangster code,” B-Real referred to the 1989 altercation between Suge Knight and Vanilla Ice over the rights to royalties from Ice’s smash hit, “Ice Ice Baby.“ Allegedly, Knight and his bodyguards dangled Ice over a hotel balcony.

“When Suge Knight allegedly had Vanilla Ice out that fucking window, [Vanilla Ice] didn’t go fucking sue the motherfucker,” said B-Real. “He shut the fuck up. That story may have gotten out here and there, but he ain’t go to no lawsuit for it. He just kept it the way it was and chalked it up to, “Fuck it. This is what happened. I gotta live with this shit…If you’re a gangster rapper, for you to go sue another gangster rapper for that type of shit, it doesn’t seem like a good look. I think you lose a little bit of respect there.”

B-Real continued: “As far as the regular individuals outside of that world, yeah, they’re gonna be like, ‘Yeah, go get your money.’ Fuck that. You shouldn’t let nothing like that happen to you.” …This is something that obviously he’s thought about over and over again because I don’t think this is a decision that you make right off the bat. If you come from that world, you lose a little bit of respect from the other niggas that come from that world. Like, “Aw man, how’s he sueing this motherfucker? I thought he was from the streets.” Who knows what his mentality is? I definitely don’t know. We’ve never seen that before.”

The “Insane In The Brain” lyricists also foreshadowed that 40 Glocc’s lawsuit against Game may start a trend of street beef filtering into the courtroom. While he says he’s “cool” with both rappers, B-Real also said the situation is “pretty ridiculous” and “irresponsible.”

“I got love for both of them, but I think they’re being a little irresponsible because you’ve got kids that are fucking looking at what you’re doing,” he said. “It’s one thing to be saying what you’re saying in music because it’s art coupled with a lot of different things. Whether you’re trying to inspire somebody, or educate somebody, or provoke some sort of thought—it’s all artistry…But your actions outside of that—when you’re on Twitter or the Facebook or the YouTube—and you’re going at this motherfucker or he’s coming at you, that’s gonna make these motherfuckers think that’s what they gotta do. You’re leading kids into that fucking deep ass water.”

“I know Game is smarter than that. 40 Glocc is probably smarter than that, too. But because of the positions they’ve put each other in, they have to react to one another so that they don’t look bad to their perspective fucking homies and shit like that. Meanwhile, you’re giving this fucked up message to these kids and maybe possibly putting their lives in danger to one another. Maybe they don’t give a fuck about that. Maybe they don’t see that. But they should.”

As part of Cypress Hill, B-Real was once embroiled in a publicized beef with fellow West Coast Hip Hop legend, Ice Cube and his group, Westside Connection that began when Cypress Hill believed Ice Cube stole the chorus to their song, 1995’s “Throw Your Set In The Air” and placed a similar version of the hook on his song “Friday.” After nearly spilling into citywide violence, the conflict was resolved in 1997 when Mack 10 brokered a conversation between B-Real and Ice Cube.

40 Glocc is sueing Game for $4,500,000 because he believes he was attacked for “entertainment purposes.”

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A petition created this week requests that Rick Ross be investigated and prosecuted for date rape lyric.

Miami rapper Rick Ross has recently found himself under fire due to a lyric on Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O (You Ain’t Even Know It)” and as a result of the song a petition created on Change.org is calling for an apology from the Maybach Music Group founder.

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On “U.O.E.N.O.” Ross raps, “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it / I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.”

Not only does the petition request an apology from the rapper, but it also suggests that Ross be investigated and possibly prosecuted.

“If what he is saying is true, not just meaningless lyrics he has just publicly admitted to drugging and raping a woman. This should be investigated further and he should be prosecuted. If it is not true and they are just lyrics, he has still just glorified rape and this should not be ignored,” read the petition.

The petition is roughly 500 signatures away from its goal of 1,000.

Change.org has increasingly become a platform for music fans to rally support for an issue of their choosing. Earlier in the year, a petition was created on the site calling for the cancellation of “All My Baby’s Mamas,” a reality show that would have featured Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo and has family. Weeks after the petition was created, the show was cancelled by Oxygen.

A petition created this week requests that Rick Ross be investigated and prosecuted for date rape lyric.

Miami rapper Rick Ross has recently found himself under fire due to a lyric on Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O (You Ain’t Even Know It)” and as a result of the song a petition created on Change.org is calling for an apology from the Maybach Music Group founder.

On “U.O.E.N.O.” Ross raps, “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it / I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.”

Not only does the petition request an apology from the rapper, but it also suggests that Ross be investigated and possibly prosecuted.

“If what he is saying is true, not just meaningless lyrics he has just publicly admitted to drugging and raping a woman. This should be investigated further and he should be prosecuted. If it is not true and they are just lyrics, he has still just glorified rape and this should not be ignored,” read the petition.

The petition is roughly 500 signatures away from its goal of 1,000.

Change.org has increasingly become a platform for music fans to rally support for an issue of their choosing. Earlier in the year, a petition was created on the site calling for the cancellation of “All My Baby’s Mamas,” a reality show that would have featured Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo and has family. Weeks after the petition was created, the show was cancelled by Oxygen.

A petition created this week requests that Rick Ross be investigated and prosecuted for date rape lyric.

Miami rapper Rick Ross has recently found himself under fire due to a lyric on Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O (You Ain’t Even Know It)” and as a result of the song a petition created on Change.org is calling for an apology from the Maybach Music Group founder.

On “U.O.E.N.O.” Ross raps, “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it / I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.”

Not only does the petition request an apology from the rapper, but it also suggests that Ross be investigated and possibly prosecuted.

“If what he is saying is true, not just meaningless lyrics he has just publicly admitted to drugging and raping a woman. This should be investigated further and he should be prosecuted. If it is not true and they are just lyrics, he has still just glorified rape and this should not be ignored,” read the petition.

The petition is roughly 500 signatures away from its goal of 1,000.

Change.org has increasingly become a platform for music fans to rally support for an issue of their choosing. Earlier in the year, a petition was created on the site calling for the cancellation of “All My Baby’s Mamas,” a reality show that would have featured Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo and has family. Weeks after the petition was created, the show was cancelled by Oxygen.

A petition created this week requests that Rick Ross be investigated and prosecuted for date rape lyric.

Miami rapper Rick Ross has recently found himself under fire due to a lyric on Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O (You Ain’t Even Know It)” and as a result of the song a petition created on Change.org is calling for an apology from the Maybach Music Group founder.

On “U.O.E.N.O.” Ross raps, “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it / I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.”

Not only does the petition request an apology from the rapper, but it also suggests that Ross be investigated and possibly prosecuted.

“If what he is saying is true, not just meaningless lyrics he has just publicly admitted to drugging and raping a woman. This should be investigated further and he should be prosecuted. If it is not true and they are just lyrics, he has still just glorified rape and this should not be ignored,” read the petition.

The petition is roughly 500 signatures away from its goal of 1,000.

Change.org has increasingly become a platform for music fans to rally support for an issue of their choosing. Earlier in the year, a petition was created on the site calling for the cancellation of “All My Baby’s Mamas,” a reality show that would have featured Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo and has family. Weeks after the petition was created, the show was cancelled by Oxygen.

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The internet had a field day Tuesday with reports that Kanye West was working on an album titled “I Am God,” a rumor that seemed to originate from a parenthetical in a BBC post about what West and Kim Kardashian may name their child (apparently “North” is a name that’s in the running).

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Given West’s habit of being outspoken (and a Rolling Stone cover in which he posed in a crown of thorns), many sites were eager to run with the unattributed factoid. The only problem is that that rumor appears to be a bit of a misunderstanding. A reliable source in West’s camp tells HuffPost Entertainment that the title is actual for an upcoming single, and that the album’s name has yet to be set. The track will be called “I Am A God” (emphasis added).

“We would never be so presumptuous or sacrilegious to call ourselves the supreme being,” the source said. While everyone will have to wait for the actual song to parse the specifics of the song’s message, the source hinted that the idea was generally that all people are manifestations of a higher power.

The title is also a reference to Psalm 82, which inclues the following:

I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.
But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.”

West’s songwriter and spoken word artist Malik Yusef corroborated this report in a tweet to Team Kanye Daily:

 

Back in 2007, Jay-Z, Diddy and 50 Cent released “I Get Money (The Forbes 1-2-3 Billionaire Remix).” The song was a celebration of the artists’ inclusion atop the first-ever Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings list, now an annual package on the genre’s top-earning artists. It seems fitting that those same three artists find themselves in an even more exclusive group—the Forbes Five, a short list of hip-hop’s wealthiest moguls.

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Indeed, the original trio boasts a combined net worth well over a billion dollars, rendering their lyrical prognostications accurate. They’re joined by Dr. Dre, flush with cash from his Beats headphone line, and Cash Money Records cofounder Bryan “Birdman” Williams.

“One of my motivations in life is to be a billionaire,” said Birdman in a telephone interview with FORBES. “We’re going to keep working hard until we get our brand to be as big as possible. That’s the goal in life, that’s what I live for.”

 

Diddy is the closest to becoming a billionaire, leading the pack with a net worth of $550 million. The Bad Boy Records founder has remained a mainstream mainstay for 15 years thanks to his knack for self-promotion. Lately, he’s been channeling that energy toward Diageo-backed Ciroc vodka, much to the benefit of his bank account: he receives double-digit millions annually as a share of profits. Sales of the spirit spiked 122% last year in the wake of strong demand for new flavor Ciroc Peach; he is entitled to a nine-figure chunk of cash if the brand is ever sold.

Diddy also boasts stakes in clothing lines Sean John and Enyce, marketing firm Blue Flame, record label Bad Boy and a handful of tech startups. But it’s his deal with Comcast to launch cable channel Revolt in 2013 that could push him into billionaire territory. He’ll own the channel outright, and based on projected viewership totals, its value could soar into the low-to-mid nine figures within the next few years.

Full Coverage: The Forbes Five

Next up is Jay-Z at $460 million. Unlike his fellow Forbes Five members, Jay-Z still churns out music and goes on tour—most recently with pal Kanye West—adding to his considerable war chest. He sold his Rocawear clothing label for $204 million in 2007 and signed 10-year $150 million deal with Live Nation in 2008, and also holds stakes in the New Jersey Nets, his 40/40 Club chain, ad firm Translation, cosmetics company Carol’s Daughter and other businesses. (For more on his rise as a businessman, check out Zack’s Jay-Z biography, Empire State of Mind).

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Gucci Mane apparently isn’t ready for spring break to end just yet.

The Atlanta rapper and actor was booked into the Fulton County Jail late Tuesday, after Gucci Mane (born Radric Davis) turned himself in on suspicion of aggravated assault with a weapon, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

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PHOTOS: Celebrity mug shots

In an irony befitting the “Spring Breakers” star,  the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department said Gucci Mane allegedly hit a man over the head with a Champagne bottle at a night club after the man asked to take a photo with him. According to ABC News,  the man is a soldier.

Gucci Mane’s idiosyncratic charisma comes with a long criminal history and some instances of erratic behavior. He previously served jail time for assault in 2005, and he returned to jail in 2009 for violating probation on that conviction. In 2011, a judge ordered him to a mental hospital to evaluate his competency after yet another probation violation.

He also famously tattooed a giant portrait of an ice cream cone on his face in 2011. His forthcoming studio album, “Trap House III,” is due out July 2.

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The making of the New Orleans rapper’s ‘DEWeezy’ commercial will air this weekend

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Who is working to be more overexposed these days, Beyonce or Lil Wayne?

On March 31st, BET will debut a documentary on the making of Lil Wayne’s DEWeezy commercial.

Chris Robinson is the director and Robot Films worked with a “non-profit action sports youth development agency,” Stoked, to create the commercial.

The rapper, who has a deal with soft drink maker, Mountain Dew, is documented making the “DEWeezy” commercial as they worked with 10 teenagers from the New York City area, as well as various industry executives and employees from Mountain Dew.

The making of the commercial with Mountain Dew is slated to air on BET on March 31 at 11:30 PM.

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Just a few days ago, we told you that Gucci Mane is wanted for aggravated assault in Atlanta. According to the warrant, the rapper struck a military veteran in the head with a champagne bottle after he asked for an autograph at a nightclub.

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Now, WSBTV Channel 2 in Atlanta reports that another man has come forward, claiming that Gucci assaulted him two nights later in Philadelphia. The man, who only identified himself as TJ to the news channel, claims Gucci punched him in the jaw on March 18, two days after the Atlanta incident. TJ claims he visited Club Onyx to watch Gucci perform. He tried to shake his hand and say hello and was punched in the face, TJ claims.

“I sustained a chipped tooth in the back. I sustained also swelling on the left side,” TJ told the news channel. “You just don’t go around hitting your fans.”

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1995: I was drinkin’ 40 ounces a lot/And every liquor store in Compton sold out the day Eazy dropped. Game couldn’t have said it better. Eazy-E was a rap pioneer respected by the West Coast, with a legacy that went down in the hip-hop history books.

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The MC born Eric Wright had an uncanny ability to portray the notorious gang activity and crime in Compton with vivid precision. As part of the group N.W.A., alongside Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella, he helped gangster rap gain national exposure. It would later become a groundbreaking phenomenon where hip-hop pundits accepted a pure and unapologetic style. There was nothing like it at the time.

From the late 1980s to early 1990s, Eazy was also viewed as one of the most controversial figures in rap. His fallout with Dr. Dre was highly publicized, as the two went back in forth on a number of tracks. Dre’s 1992 debut The Chroniccontained swipes at Eazy, while “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” resonated for its straightforward shots at the whole Death Row label.

Eazy was diagnosed with AIDS and succumbed to the disease in 1995. Much like many other legends that passed away too soon, Eazy will always be forever remembered for his contributions. Spin some of these cuts in honor of “The Godfather of Gangsta Rap.” Cruisin’ down the street in my 6’4/jockin’ the bitches, slappin’ the hoes…

“Sippin on a 40″
“Real Muthaphuckkin G’s”
“Sorry Louie”
“8 Ball”
“Dope Man”
“Findum Fuckum and Flee”
“Boyz-n-the-Hood”

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“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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