Rihanna has released a stream of her newest song “James Joint” exclusively on her website which will be an interlude on her upcoming album. This new track is not like any of the Rihanna tracks we’ve been hearing lately with a more organic sound. This album was supposed to be in celebration of 420 but arrived today but fans of Rihanna should check it out. Here is the link to her site. RihannaNow.com
Us Weekly is reporting that Ariana Grande and Big Sean have broken up which seemingly came out of nowhere. Both Seans and Grande’s reps have confirmed that they have indeed split by putting out this statement “They both deeply care for each other and remain close friends. We kindly ask that the media respect their wish for privacy regarding this personal matter at this time. They made the decision to part ways because their conflicting touring schedules would keep them apart over the next year.” So it seems that there is no bad blood between the two so looks like we won’t be getting a IDFWU part two.
Kanye West created Very GOOD Beats which houses several great producers including Q-Tip, Hudson Mohawke, and more. The practice of having a bunch of producers on one track creating something amazing goes all the way back to Diddy and his production team, The Hitmen, who released 21 platinum and gold tracks together. A few days ago Diddy announced the return of the Hitmen which will include him returning members Chucky Thompson, Deric Angelettie, Steven Jordan, Mario Winans, and Nashiem Myrick. But now the team will have Kanye West added this year so Diddy’s next album “MMM” may be something for everyone to look forward to.
Drake did his thing on the Coachella stage and everyone was surprised when Nicki Minaj showed up on stage last night. Though Nicki didn’t rap at all she made an appearance and after Drake finished the song he said “It’s been too long, mama. You gotta make some noise for the love of my life. I love this girl right here.” Then Drake congratulates Minaj which we can assume is for the engagement to Meek Mill but these two are known to joke around with the media so we must wait and see the official word. Check out the video below.
Just yesterday it was reported that at least two members of the rap trio Migos had been arrested during their performance at Georgia Southern University. But today we found out that all three members Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff were arrested along with 15 members of their entourage. They were all three charged with “possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, possession of marijuana (misdemeanor), possession of a firearm in a school safety zone and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.” As reported by the local paper Statesboro Herald. Keep it locked right here for updates on this ongoing situation.
Migos did a concert at Georgia Southern University last night and police showed up and stopped the music. The police arrested Quavo, Offset, and some other members of their crew and TMZ obtained video of the police waiting backstage and police waiting. Both members were arrested for marijuana possession which is a misdemeanor. What is being said right now is that they found cocaine, oxycontin, and codeine as well as possession of a firearm. This gives them a charge of carrying a gun on school property plus Offset was just released from prison back in October of 2013 and is being charged with a gun possession by a convicted felon which is not good. No word as to why the third Migo, Take Off, wasn’t charged with anything but keep it locked right here for more information.
An audio recording has surfaced in which you hear Cle “Bone” Sloan, the victim Suge non-fatally ran over, talking to Los Angeles Police telling them that he blames himself for the death of Terry Carter. “I was in a rage, I fucked up. I get that ’cause a guy is dead behind this shit.” The footage of the incident does show Cle Sloan attacking Suge Knight through the driver-side window which ended with Suge badly hurting Sloan and killing Terry. Sloan has said that he will not testify against Suge Knight because he doesn’t want to be used to send him to prison.
The Weeknd has done his thing on the Coachella stage two weekends in a row even going so far as to call last weekend’s performances the greatest of his entire life. But last night he brought out Kanye West after he had covered Kanye’s song “Heartless” which suddenly transitioned to “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and Kanye came out. Check out some of the performance down below.
The new TIDAL streaming service hasn’t had the best start even after all the endorsement from big name artist like Jay Z, Madonna, Usher, and Kanye. Just recently the CEO of TIDAL, Andy Chen, was forced out of the company along with 25 employees. The company released the following statement “TIDAL’s new interum [sic] CEO is Peter Tonstad – a former CEO of parent company Aspiro Group. He has a better understanding of the industry and a clear vision for how the company is looking to change the status quo. He’s streamlining resources to ensure talent is maximized to enhance the customer experience. We’ve eliminated a handful of positions and refocused our company-wide talent to address departments that need support and cut redundancies. TIDAL’s offices globally will remain and grow: we are already hiring for several new positions now. We’re excited about our future and what’s in-store for fans who want the best listening experience.” Later Peter released a more personal statement that said “I believe in TIDAL and what the team is doing to affect the change the music industry needs. We’re streamlining the company and refocusing our resources to ensure the platform continues to grow, and listeners can make a connection to their favorite artists. No one else is doing this.”
The highly anticipated sophomore album from Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp A Butterfly” has just gone gold. Last year only three artists had achieved this but this year things are looking much better in music sales with Kendrick moving 513,000 units. The others that made it over the 500,000 mark this year are Drake, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor, and Same Smith. This makes this year the fastest that we have gotten 7 gold album sellers in the least amount of time since 2010 that had 8 gold by April 11th. So congratulations to Kendrick on his achievement and it looks like things are slowly on the rise for the music industry.
After speaking with a executive within Tidal, Business Insider found out that Jay Z and other big time musicians have been calling Tidal users. A quote from the Tidal employee was this, “He called some of his fans and one of them made the funniest comment. He said ‘This is the best customer service call I’ve ever received!'”. So it seems that Tidal is trying everything to get people subscribed to their service but will it work? Only time will tell but one thing is for sure if Kanye drops his next album “So Help Me God” exclusively on the Tidal service it will really sway a lot of people into subscribing.
Just last month it came out that Chris Brown had a 9 month old daughter named Royalty. Though the news did end his on again off again relationship with girlfriend Karreuche Tran, it managed to start another part of his life becoming a father. Just last night Chris took to his Instagram to show off his now 10 month old daughter, Royalty, for the very first time. The two were even wearing matching outfits and Brown wrote the caption “God has blessed me with my twin. #ROYALTY.” Check out the photo below.
According to a new lawsuit that has been acquired by HipHopWired a company had paid 2 Chainz $60,000 to do a show in Atlanta back in 2013. The catch was that 2 Chainz couldn’t do or market for any other shows in Atlanta for two weeks before or after the scheduled show. The new lawsuit states that 2 Chainz not only breached the contract but he also performed another show the same exact night at another venue. The lawyers statement on the situation is as follows “Mr. Epps and his team blatantly violated a very basic obligation of my client’s agreement. Rockmo Entertainment fulfilled all of its contractual obligations including, but not limited to, paying 2 Chainz $60,000. As a result of all of the Defendants’ bad faith and willful disregard for 2 Chainz’s contractual obligations with Rockmo Entertainment, my client has suffered extreme financial damages and irreparable harm to its professional representation. At the end of the day, everyone made money at the expense of my client.” Keep it locked right here for updates on this situation.
Every year TIME magazine does “The TIME 100” which is a list of the hundred most influential people in our world. Kanye West not only made the list this year but he is covering the issue as well. The blurb for Kanye West on the TIME.com is as follows and was written by Elon Musk who is the CEO and Chief architect of Tesla Motors. “Kanye West would be the first person to tell you he belongs on this list. The dude doesn’t believe in false modesty, and he shouldn’t. Kanye’s belief in himself and his incredible tenacity—he performed his first single with his jaw wired shut—got him to where he is today. And he fought for his place in the cultural pantheon with a purpose. In his debut album, over a decade ago, Kanye issued what amounted to a social critique and a call to arms (with a beat): ‘We rappers is role models: we rap, we don’t think.’ But Kanye does think. Constantly. About everything. And he wants everybody else to do the same: to engage, question, push boundaries. Now that he’s a pop-culture juggernaut, he has the platform to achieve just that. He’s not afraid of being judged or ridiculed in the process. Kanye’s been playing the long game all along, and we’re only just beginning to see why.” Check out the cover below.
Suge Knight is to stand trial for murder charges that stemmed from his January hit-and-run that left one man dead and another badly injured. The ruling has been made by Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen today with most of the focus being on the testimony from Cle “Bone” Sloan who was one of the victims. At first Sloan gave a detailed account of what had happened but in his testimony on Monday he said “I will not be used to send Suge Knight to prison”. But either way Knight is going to court and will be tried for murder and attempted murder and faces life behind bars if he is convicted. Keep it locked right here for more information on this ongoing situation.
