It looks like YFN Lucci is living his best life behind bars.

A video recently surfaced online of the Atlanta rapper pouring up lean in his jail cell, seeing Lucci recording himself pouring purple liquid into another bottle that’s labeled ginger ale. He’s then seen mixing the bottle up and grabbing a stack of styrofoam cups before the camera cuts off.

YFN Lucci is currently detained at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, awaiting trial for murder and RICO charges. Dating back to the top of 2021, a warrant was issued for Lucci’s arrest due to his connection to the shooting of James Adams, who passed away at 28 years old.

Lucci, real name Rayshawn Lamar Bennett turned himself in, consequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, participation in criminal street gang activity, and possession of a firearm. After posting bail, Lucci was one of the names in a sprawling, 105-count racketeering indictment focused on factions of the Bloods gang. He turned himself in in May of 2021 and attempted to post bail again, but the judge denied it.

Last year in February, Lucci was stabbed by a fellow inmate while behind bars. Allegedly, two YSL associates were behind the attack. Even so, Lucci posted to his Instagram last month that he would not testify against Young Thug. He wrote, “Even in a earthquake we wouldn’t break n-gga know we solid #Free650.”

Lucci’s lawyer continues to claim his innocence. He tells WSB-TV, “He’s not a gang member. What he is is an internationally recognized musical artist that is a triple platinum winner, that has performed all over the United States and all over the world.”

Lucci is best known for hit singles “Wet,” “At My Best,” “Everyday We Lit” with PnB Rock, and more.

The post [WATCH] New Video Shows YFN Lucci Pouring Lean Behind Bars appeared first on The Source.

Post Malone is a man of many talents.. and now he’s designing his own Raising Cane’s restaurant! 

It’s always full circle when an artist can go back and do dope things in their hometown, and Post Malone does exactly that. The “White Iverson” recording artist has designed his own, one-of-a-kind Raising Cane’s joint in Utah where he currently resides, making it all pink and Post Malone-themed. They even deem it a “complete visual restaurant takeover.”

Post Malone’s designs will be featured everywhere from the parking to the bathrooms inside the building, to even the packaging that the chicken tenders will be served in. Their typically exterior brick design has been replaced with a 360 pink wrap, decorated with pictures of Post Malone’s tattoos and a stainless steel ‘1’ tower. Showcasing his love for cars as well, a Classic 1974 Ford F250 with a custom license plate sits outside as a permanent fixture.

Inside the restaurant will be endless decor that reflects Post Malone’s style, as well as outfits he’s worn and some of his personal guitars. The restrooms will be medieval-themed, showcasing Post Malone’s genuine interest in medieval armor. 

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is an American fast-food restaurant chain that only serves chicken fingers, originally founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But with this new location, it’ll definitely draw in more than just chicken lovers — undoubtedly set to attract some of Post Malone’s die-hard fans.

Food-lovers will have the opportunity to order Post Malone’s favorite meal from Raising Cane’s: four chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, two Cane’s sauces, and two Texas toasts, served with a half unsweetened tea/half lemonade in a collector’s cup. Additionally, if you order the “Posty Way,” you’ll receive Post Malone-themed packaging, napkins, and even a surprise sticker!

Located at 890 For Union Blvd. in Midvale, the exciting new restaurant will open its doors this coming Thursday, April 13th. 

The post Post Malone Designs All-Pink Raising Cane’s Restaurant In Utah appeared first on The Source.

Kim Kardashian wears many hats, including mother, reality television star, social media personality, lawyer, entrepreneur… and now actress.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)

Today, Kim posted a video to her 352 million followers on Instagram, revealing she will be joining the next season of American Horror Story on FX. The brief trailer showed Kim Kardashian’s name alongside actress and TikTok star Emma Roberts, who also boasts a huge online presence, including 19.7 million followers on Instagram.

The teaser included a creepy version of “Rock-a-bye, Baby,” at the end revealing a voice that whispers, “Emma and Kim are delicate.”

While Kim has most famously been known for her role on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which recently celebrated its 20th season, now, it looks like she’s diving head first into scripted television. 

Ryan Murphy, writer and director of American Horror Story, states, “Kim is among the biggest and brightest television stars in the world and we are thrilled to welcome her to the AHS family. Emma and I are excited about collaborating with this true force in the culture. Halley Feiffer has written a fun, stylish and ultimately terrifying role especially for Kim, and this season is ambitious and unlike anything we have ever done.”

Halley Fieffer has been appointed the sole showrunner for this chapter of AHS. Allegedly, Murphy was impressed by Kim’s exciting hosting gig on Saturday Night Live back in 2021 and reached out last summer to have her join AHS.

The post Kim Kardashian to Join Cast of ‘American Horror Story’ Season 12 appeared first on The Source.

DJ Holiday is here to tell you that you don’t need “No Stress,” reminding folks all around the world to live their life to the fullest without any worries. With life, there are always ups and downs and highs and lows — and we can appreciate any music that promotes positivity and upliftment. 

Today, the Atlanta native returns to unleash his newest single titled “No Stress,” enlisting two of the rap game’s favorite artists, Wiz Khalifa and O.T. Genasis. All three artists joined forces to shoot the official music today in Los Angeles, and the energy on set was unmatched. Nothing but laughter filled the studio.

The hook sees Wiz singing, “I don’t stress, I got a check” repeatedly, as O.T. delivers a high-energy, braggadocious verse and Wiz follows suit.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DJ Holiday (@djholiday)

Holiday speaks on the all-star collab, “O.T. has always been one of my favorites and I always told him we was gon’ get one in every time he came to Atlanta. So I sent him the beat, he destroyed the hook and I thought it was instant heat. It was definitely giving me a ‘Push It’ and “Cut It’ vibes.” Only thing missing was my Pittsburgh  big dog, Wiz Khalifa!! His fanbase is next level and they always showed me love from ‘Cabin Fever 2’ days so I thought it was only right knowing how big this record could possibly be to put him on it! ‘No Stress’ was born from there.”

DJ Holiday has worked with all the greats, and his tagline “Holiday Season!” ensues instant nostalgia. He currently hosts an afternoon slot for the Atlanta radio station Streetz 94.5 during the weekdays.

The post Track of the Week: DJ Holiday Taps Wiz Khalifa & O.T. Genasis in “No Stress” appeared first on The Source.

Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” is a massive hit, and it looks like the story behind the record is one that we’d never guess.

Released in 2018, “This Is America” took home not one, not two, not three, but four Grammy awards — the biggest being Song of the Year at the 61st Grammys. The record also won Record of the Year, Best Music Video, and Best Rap/Sung Performance.

The 39-year-old recently sat down with GQ for their cover story, revealing the origin behind “This Is America.” In fact, he had the idea for the song and was perfecting it for three years before it was released to the public.

Gambino explains, “I had the idea three years before. I told [director] Hiro [Murai] the idea, and he’s like, ‘I really want to do that.’… The idea for the song started as a joke. To be completely honest, ‘This is America’—that was all we had was that line. It started as a Drake diss, to be honest, as a funny way of doing it. But then I was like, this shit sounds kind of hard though. So I was like, let me play with it.”

Apparently, one of the main lyrics was originally supposed to take a jab at Drake’s stomping grounds in Canada. “[It] was a funny way of like doing [a Drake diss],” Gambino stated. “ But then I was like, ‘This shit sounds kind of hard, though.’ So I was like, ‘Let me play with it.’ So we just had that for a long time, I told Hiro the idea, and he was like, ‘Oh, let’s do it.’”

Gambino goes on to explain how his dance movies in the “This Is America” visual were directly inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” visual. Gambino even admitted to studying the clip for a long time.

The post Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” Started As A Drake Diss appeared first on The Source.

It’s Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, which means we are continuously honoring all the greats. Insert Flavor Flav, who we can all agree boasts legendary status in the rap game. Seen as a musical prodigy, the New York native exploded onto the scene in the 80s, most notably as the co-founder of Public Enemy. In 2013, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Today, Flavor Flav blessed the students at Harvard University, giving them games and teaching them about the roots of Hip-Hop culture. TMZ obtained a video of Flavor Flav sitting down in front of a class at the Ivy League school, stating, “I’ma tell ya something man, I sound like I graduated from Harvard and I didn’t even go to school here. Wowwww.”

At this point, a student in the crowd yelled out his ad-libs: “Yeahhhh boye!!”

Flavor Flav expressed how much fun he had on campus, even doing a table read of Emily Dickinson’s 1896 poem titled “A Clock Stopped,” and how it influenced his own lyrics throughout his long-standing career. 

Soon after, Flavor Flav blessed the school by donating one of his own personal clocks to the Hip Hop Archive Research Institute. And if you know one thing about Flavor Flav, it’s the fact that he always has a clock around his neck. The video sees two professors, Henry Louis Gates, and Tommie Shelby, receiving the rare prize.

However, the festivities don’t stop there. Flavor Flav is reportedly supposed to return to Harvard tomorrow to lead more activities, including a writer’s workshop, a sit-down interview with PBS, and even volunteering to feed the homeless inside Harvard Square Homeless Shelter alongside a few lucky student groups.

Some notable names that were present include Lupe Fiasco (who previously taught at Harvard), rapper Dee-1, DJ Stretch Armstrong, and Khaliah Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali and a dear friend of Flav’s).

The post Flavor Flav Blesses Students At Harvard & Even Donates A Clock appeared first on The Source.

Every year, Hot 97 does it big by throwing the biggest Summer Jam concert possible. Every year, they reel in the who’s who of the rap game. But this year serves as Hip-Hop’s 50th year anniversary, and the lineup is undoubtedly one for the books.

Announced today, this year’s Summer Jam will take place on June 4th at UBS Arena, with Cardi B as the headliner. With Cardi B being from the Bronx and Hot 97’s roots being in New York, it’s only right that the “Bodak Yellow” closes the show.

Fans that attended last year’s show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey can be thrilled to know that weather will no longer be a factor. With Summer Jam going on their 29th year, the venue change to the beautiful UBS Arena in Long Island will definitely have concert-goers looking forward to the upgrade.

Besides Cardi B, other superstars performing include Ice Spice, Coi Leray, GloRilla, Lola Brooke, French Montana, Fivio Foreign, Lil TJay, and even a special set celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop with The LOX.

During an interview with Ebro In The Morning today, Lola Brooke expresses her excitement. “This means everything to me,” Lola states. “This is a New York City artist’s dream. It’s so crazy because the first time I ever been to Summer Jam, I said I wasn’t coming back until I was on stage and I never came back.”

She added, “Since 2012, I never came back. It was hard though, I made it work.”

Lola Brooke isn’t the only artist who will be taking the Summer Jam stage for the first time, joining Ice Spice, Coi Leray, GloRilla, and Lil Tjay.

Tickets go on sale this Saturday, April 8th at 10am EST on Ticketmaster.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HOT 97 (@hot97)

The post Cardi B Announces as Headliner for Hot 97 Summer Jam 2023 appeared first on The Source.

It’s not every day you’ll see Jay Z hop on a track, but even when it’s the global pop star Ed Sheeran?!

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the UK singer-songwriter revealed Jay Z actually turned down the opportunity to deliver a verse on his viral smash hit “Shape of You.” The record was released back in 2017, and the song’s official music video currently boasts a whopping 5.9 billion views on Youtube and counting.

Ed Sheeran explains, “We were in touch. I sent him the song, and he said, ‘I don’t think the song needs a rap verse.’ He was probably right. He’s got a very, very good ear. He usually gets things right. It was a very natural, respectful pass.”

Hov may have known what he was talking about, as the original song ended up doing astronomical numbers. “Shape of You” went Diamond in America and stayed afloat at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 12 weeks that year. The song even won Sheeran a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Later, Sheeran ended up doing remixes for the song, recruiting fellow UK native Stormzy for the official remix and Zion and Lennox for the Latin remix.

Music-wise, Ed Sheeran is currently gearing up to release his highly-anticipated album titled Subtract, which he performed in full for the first time at Hammersmith Apollo a few days prior.

The post Ed Sheeran Reveals Jay Z Denied a Verse on His Massive Hit “Shape of You” appeared first on The Source.

Teyana Taylor is a jack of all trades and excels in every field she enters. In the new film, A THOUSAND AND ONE, the “Gonna Love Me” artist proudly steps into the lead role, playing a character named Inez, who is a Harlem, New York native just like herself. 

And while most may view survival as a task in itself, having to take care of yourself and another human seems damn near impossible… especially in the inner city. A THOUSAND AND ONE sees Teyana (Inez) kidnapping her son (Terry) from his foster home, as they both attempt to navigate the hurdles of life, simultaneously having to adapt to the aftermath of gentrification. 

The Source was invited to an exclusive, invite-only advanced screening of the film at WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles. Many emotions were felt during the two-hour film, from tears to laughter to everything in between.

Not only were Teyana’s acting skills impressively remarkable, but it was the storyline and messaging that viewers can resonate with most. Insert A.V. Rockwell, the indie filmmaker whose roots in New York directly inspired the film. Rockwell says seeing first-hand the impact of gentrification on the black neighborhoods in New York was the driving force, even stating she “felt like we were being erased as a city altogether.”

The end goal is to fight across generations for stability, creating a safe space, a safe home so you can work towards the American dream.” Serving as Rockwell’s major feature debut, the movie won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

The evening concluded with a super intimate Q&A between Rockwell and Beyonce’s mother, Ms. Knowles-Lawson. Read below as they discuss 

Ms. Knowles: You did a great job on the film. How does it feel to share your film with the world?

It’s a really beautiful feeling of accomplishment. To create any movie is really such a feat. People have no idea what goes into it, people that don’t work in production or work on movies. Getting my first film made and getting to tell the story that I really wanted to tell, a story I really cared about and felt passionate about, is really a blessing. I feel so grateful and the way it’s been resonating with people means the most. It’s why I got up out of my bed every day for the years that I did spend on this in the first place, so this is a real triumph for me personally.

Ms. Knowles: This is your feature directorial debut. You’re also the writer, that’s amazing. Who did you draw inspiration on for the characters? Especially Inez and Lucky.

A.V. Rockwell: I pulled from all of my life experiences. With Inez, she was a composite of so many women that have been in my life. This was a very personal film for me. I also wrote her from a position of what do I want to see? I really want to see a woman like this empowered, I really want to see her strength celebrated. I wanted to see her fully in control of her own destiny, for better or worse. She really does, right until that last moment in the film when she’s making the decision of what’s going to happen next. 

It was the same thing for Lucky, I was drawing on experiences on both sides. Experiences of men who I felt were great figures, great father figures. But through Lucky, you see somebody who’s a very great father, but not so much a great husband or great romantic partner. So much of this movie through Inez’ and Lucky’s relationship, you see dynamics between black men and women. 

Again, really going back to the idea of we are not here to protest for you, we’re not here to fight for you or be a supporting character in your journey. We really are looking for people that are standing by us, holy completely. Loving us holy completely, and not just loving the parts of it that’s most convenient for me. Loving my skin color, my hair texture, love every part of what my experience is. Devote yourself to me the way I do for you, you see that very beautifully in their dynamic. I pulled so much of that for this real life.

101_4052_D015_00300_R

101 4052 D015 00300 R

147_4052_D004_00278_R

147 4052 D004 00278 R

151_ATAO_FP_02164019_00136623_R

151 ATAO FP 02164019 00136623 R

Ms. Knowles: During the casting process, how did you know that you found your Inez in Teyana Taylor? She was amazing!

A.V. Rockwell: Teyana really did some outstanding work. I’m so proud of her and proud of our collaborative relationship, what we accomplished creatively. For me, it was important when I needed to make sure that I not only found an actress who had talent and depth to give to this performance and get to this character, but also had a truthfulness. Teyana could speak to this human being because she knows this woman, she’s been this woman at some point in her life. Those connected points were really important to me. 

Obviously, she’s a homegirl herself and that’s a bonus. She’s a New York woman herself,  but I felt like she was empathizing with Inez fully. Not looking down at her, because she’s so connected to this woman. That was really important to me. Because she’s not only

a woman who can relate to this character, but a mom. She put a lot of that even seeing what her dynamic was with the boys was really beautiful on set. 

After seeing hundreds of women, actresses — some were established, some people unknown. By the time we got to Teyana’s tape, I really felt the difference. Our casting director, the same thing. “I looked at Teyana’s tape, and I was smitten by it.” We immediately knew that something was there. 

Teyana had her own story to tell, her own pain that she could get out through this character. I always told her to embrace that, to embrace the parts of herself that people told her not to love. Because this character is on a self-love journey. I told Tiana to pull from the places that she has been told about herself to reject. No, you embrace all of that. 

Ms. Knowles: What do you hope that audiences take away, more than anything after seeing A THOUSAND AND ONE?

A.V. Rockwell: There’s so much in this film. I wrote it from a very nuanced place, so there is so much to take away in terms of the themes. In some ways, I feel like the movie doesn’t belong to me anymore, it belongs to people. They’re gonna interpret it in so many ways, beyond what I even had in mind as I was writing it.

For me at minimum, if it is healing for mothers and sons, that’s a win for me. Because people have the opportunity to see their moms and how complicated they are, in a better way and hopefully it nurtures our relationship. Ro me, this story was about unrequited love in so many ways. Not only within people within communities. How people relate to the cities and neighborhoods that they live in. Harlem in particular, it’s the mecca for Black history and culture, and to see it potentially being erased by gentrification and all the policies that set the stage for gentrification is really devastating.

The post A.V. Rockwell on ‘A Thousand and One’: ‘Teyana Taylor Had Her Own Story To Tell’ appeared first on The Source.

While the internet seems to have the ability to answer every question you may have, it’s also important to separate the real from the fake. With this being said, it seems the net worths of these major celebrities might not be entirely true. Plus, how can you really scale one’s net worth anyways?

Insert Lil Wayne, who definitely shared his two cents on the matter. The “A Milli” rapper recently did an interview with Culture Millennials, speaking about how he “doesn’t have a cent close to” the number listed on Google.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by CULTURE MILLENNIALS (@culturemillennials)

Wayne explains, “Honestly, I’ma let everybody know now: when you go check a motherfucker’s net worth and that shit be saying some crazy numbers, I don’t have a cent close to that shit. I don’t have that, but I guess they be meaning that’s what I’m worth. So I be always calling my agent and being like, ‘I’m telling you, bro, I’m gonna fire the shit out of you ’cause I don’t need you.’ I Googled that, you know what I mean? I’m a zillion dollar n*gga on Google bro.”

He continues, “They smart. They know what they talking about. It’s motivation, that’s all. It’s just motivation.”

While Lil Wayne may be swimming in money, he keeps it real by saying he doesn’t have that kind of bread in real life. Regardless, Wayne’s whole career should motivate anyone chasing their dream to work hard and always remain true to themselves.

This is interesting as now we wonder if Jay-Z’s net worth is actually true. Forbes recently reported Hov’s net worth to be $2.5 billion, which nearly doubled compared to the previous year of $1.4 billion. 

Either way, we definitely should stop believing Google regarding celebrities’ net worth!

The post Lil Wayne Says His Net Worth Online Is Fake! appeared first on The Source.

Nym Lo is here to remind us that real Hip-Hop will forever live on. The Harlem, New York native prides himself in being a go-getter, someone who works hard stays passionate, and always stays true to himself. Nicknaming himself the Big Horse thanks to his endless Polo drip, Nym Lo takes us back to that golden era of Hip-Hop we all know and love.

Now, the East Coast rapper returns with his newest single and visual titled “A Kid From The Town,” tapping Statik Selektah and Curren$y. The message behind the song? That no matter how successful you become, it’s always important to stay grounded and remember where you came from.

Nym Lo first met Spitta years ago in the 2010’s, so the two were already familiar with each other. When Statik Selektah was whipping up the beat, Nym immediately heard two voices in his head: 2 Chainz and Curren$y. When finalizing the song, Statik reached out to both artists… and Spitta spend his verse back in a day. The next morning, he posted to his Instagram and tagged Nym Lo — and it’s been up ever since!

Speaking on what the collab meant to him, Nym Lo states, “To me, it meant I’m stepping in the right direction. This music business is real tricky and sometimes it’s easy to lose your way, so when the dots connect organically, your can’t even ask for more. He’s definitely an artist that I knew I could learn from because his game is cold. He got rich off this shit!”

The feel-good visual was shot in Spitta’s hometown of New Orleans. Nym explains, “I pulled up on him in the 7 and he was out in front of Jet Life headquarters wiping his Indy 500 Corvette down smoking and chillin’. That’s what I wanted: I wanted to get next to my dawg in his element, pop some champ and really get the best vibe I could while capturing it on film. It was a movie. He had his car crew out there so all the homies had the old schools bouncing, 3-wheel motion type shit and the big block engine boys doing donuts and all that. It was crazy!”

Watch the visual for “A Kid From The Town” above, and follow @nymlo for more!

The post The Source’s Track of the Week: Nym Lo, Statik Selektah & Curren$y – “A Kid From The Town” appeared first on The Source.

Hip Hop continues to mourn the loss of Migos member Takeoff, who was tragically murdered at a bowling alley in Houston back in November of last year. The Atlanta rapper was shot twice: once in the head and once in the back.

During the chaotic incident, which took place after hours around 2:30 am, a woman by the name of Sydney Leday was also injured by the flying bullets. The 24-year-old was shot in the head, leaving her in a coma that resulted in a week stay in the hospital. Now, she’s left with a hefty amount in medical bills, totaling to over $200K. 

Speaking with The Shade Room, Sydney gives us the backstory of what led her to be at the wrong place, wrong time. She was celebrating her 24th birthday at a late-night party hosted by J. Prince, at 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston. Suddenly, she noticed the energy had shifted in the room, especially following the dice game.

Once she saw the guns, she tried to hurry and leave, heading to the escalator. “Everything happened within a few seconds. I remember running away, I know where I stopped. I felt the sting in my head. I didn’t realize what actually happened to me. Fortunately, I had on a wig and a wig cap. So I took the wig off and noticed I had a lot of blood.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KHOU 11 News Houston (@khou11)

During the car ride to the hospital, she actually had a seizure, before going into a coma for a few days. Now, she has to deal with the PTSD, seeing a therapist to cope. She even admits loud events like New Year’s Eve are major triggers.

When asked what she has to say to the players in the case, she states, “That was a senseless act that wasn’t needed. It impacted people in a big way. Not just Takeoff, not just me. People that were there are traumatized.”
Sydney’s family has since set up a GoFundMe to help raise money to pay off the insanely high number in hospital bills. So far, they’ve raised $14K.

The post Woman Shot in Head During Takeoff’s Passing Owes $200K in Hospital Bills appeared first on The Source.

It’s not every day you hear someone smoking cigarettes at age six, but of course, J. Cole is an anomaly. 

Today, ESPN unveiled a new interview where the North Carolina rapper sat down with Bob Myers for an in-depth conversation on the Lead By Example podcast, chatting about his upbringing, thriving rap career, and future plans. Myers serves as the GM for the Golden State Warriors.

J. Cole has historically not partaken in any drinking or smoking activities, which is every reason why fans may be shocked to hear Cole started smoking cigarettes at the young age of six years old.

“At six years old, I was smoking cigarettes, regularly around the neighborhood. The thing was, my brother’s almost four years older than me. I was always hanging around the older kids in the neighborhood that he was hanging around. And they were smoking. I was young and fearless, trying to be cool.”

The “No Role Modelz” artist explained how his mom didn’t know he was smoking, especially given the fact she comes from a huge family raised in a small town. But the smoking habit didn’t last long once Cole’s brother told on him.

“This was literally a life-changing moment,” Cole remembers. “To them, it’s funny. They’re 10 themselves, so it’s funny for them to see. Nobody’s really worried about me: ‘hey don’t do that’. They’re 10 and smoking cigarettes. I’m smoking with these older kids, this is going on for two to three weeks.”

He continues, “One day, I’m down the street at a house where it was happening at. My brother comes up and I asked one of our homeboys in the neighborhood, ‘You got any cigarettes?’ I’m six, trying to be cool.”

Cole goes on to explain his brother’s response: “I’m telling mom!” Proceeding to walk home to tell her. But Cole being six years old, his game plan was to just deny everything.

Upon going home, Cole had to face his mom who bent over to smell his breath.

“This was the life-changing moment right here, because I saw her face. When she smelled cigarettes on my breath, her face was like… it was heartbroken. It was disbelief, it was crushed. I remember the look on her face. She was like, ‘You have been smoking!’ It hit her, that her baby who’s six, a) is capable of smoking cigarettes. And b) capable of lying dead to her face about it.”

Cole explains how he later received a whipping from his mother, but it was the look on her face that he only can recall. The life-changing moment came when he realized how his actions can affect other people.

The post J. Cole Admits To Smoking Cigarettes at Six Years Old appeared first on The Source.

Nick Cannon is detailing the extent of his love for Mariah Carey, and we are here for it!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

Cannon recently stepped into The Shade Room for an exclusive interview at his studio in Los Angeles, revealing that he had pictures of Mariah Carey on his wall at just 12 years old.

When asked who Cannon considers the love of his life, he states, “Like the greatest? I mean, I always talk about that. Then it goes viral, and our fans get mad at me. But I was 12 years old with Mariah Carey pictures on my wall, and that becomes my wife. And the fact that she’s the coolest person I ever met.”

Cannon and Carey tied the knot back in 2008 and currently share two children together: 11-year-old twins named Moroccan and Monroe. Despite breaking up in 2014 and finalizing their divorce two years later, the Wild ’n Out star still had nothing but praise for his ex-wife.

“I get a lot of this delightful disposition from her,” Nick states. “She’s just always happy, always doing for others. No matter what’s happening in life. I’m like, ‘Wow, a person can really operate like that and don’t allow negative energy into they space. “When I found that out about how remarkable she was, that woman is not human. She’s a gift from God.”

This is certainly not Nick’s first time on record complementing Mariah Carey.

Last year during a podcast, Cannon even said he’d reconcile their relationship if their romance was back to “the way it was.” 

He states, “I’m a true romantic. I’m a true believer in love. I will never have a love like I did with Mariah. It was literally like a fairy tale with Mariah, so I would rather it just be that way, and I appreciate that fantasy because if I try to go back and it wasn’t the same, I’d be like, ‘Damn, I messed it up.’”

The Shade Room also asked if Nick would ever want to marry again, in which he replies his “focus now is my children and my business.”

Nick Cannon also addresses his other four baby mamas, stating “I love them! They’re amazing!” But he could commit to one of them because “that’s a disservice to the other ones.”

The post Nick Cannon Reveals He Had Pictures of Mariah Carey On His Wall At 12 Years Old appeared first on The Source.

Lil Wayne is the Best Rapper Alive, and if you’re a real fan of Weezy, you’re a fan of his mixtapes.

Recently, DJ Drama hopped on the Rap Radar podcast to reveal some exciting news: Lil Wayne’s Dedication 2 will be hitting streaming platforms very soon.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HipHop-N-More (@hiphopnmore)

DJ Drama tells Elliott Wilson and B. Dot, “If it’s Wayne, it wasn’t original music so it couldn’t go on streaming platforms. I just feel like today in 2023, if we gon’ do it, let’s do it. It might take a little bit of time, but it can be done. Speaking of that, we are dropping Dedication 2 on streaming platforms this year. And it’s going to have some new music along with it, so that’s pretty exciting.”

Dedication 2 serves as Tunechi’s fifth mixtape, hosted by DJ Drama as the second installment in his Gangsta Grillz series. The project, released in 2006, is revered as one of the most critically-acclaimed mixtapes in the genre of Hip-Hop as a whole. Beyond it finding success on both iTunes and retail stores, it even cracked the Billboard charts — pretty unheard of for a mixtape back in the day.

The amount of time Drama is referring to is due to the number of samples and borrowed music that has made the tape extra hard for clearance. 

Clocking in at 25 tracks total, Dedication 2 sees Wayne rapping over some of the biggest songs in the rap game, including Tupac’s “Ambitionz Az a Ridah,” Rick Ross’ “Hustlin’” and Three 6 Mafia’s “Poppin’ My Collar.” Features include T.I., Juelz Santana, Pharrell, Curren$y, Remy Ma, Mack Maine, and more.

At the top of last year, 2022, fans were elated when Wayne’s 2011 tape Sorry 4 The Wait hit streaming services. Now, we wait patiently for Dedication 2 to do the same!

The post Lil Wayne’s ‘Dedication 2’ is Heading to Streaming Services with Bonus Tracks appeared first on The Source.

Nipsey Hussle will forever be remembered as a mogul, not just in the rap game but as a businessman. Now, it seems his children will be carrying the torch.

Recently, Nipsey’s brother Blacc Sam, who also served as his business partner, went on the Earn Your Leisure podcast alongside the All Money In team. The interview included the artists signed to Nipsey’s label, including Cobby Supreme, BH, and Pacman Da Gunman. 

During the conversation, Sam addressed setting up Nipsey’s children for ownership with his Marathon clothing store located in Crenshaw. This doesn’t just mean having them run the business, but teaching the value in owning real estate and property — something Nipsey always advocated for. 

Sam states, “When I say we own it, it’s in Hussle’s kids’ names. In their trust funds. When they get older, this is something their father worked for, and that they own, and that’s important to me. Also, just having a brick-and-mortar, once again to reinforce what Hussle told us, and taught us. 

He continued, “Through the ups and downs of business and brands: whether you’re shit boomin’ online or slows down, just having that brick and mortar and being able to pass it down through the family I think is important. To me, that’s the importance of us owning this property.”

Sam goes on to reveal the property has already doubled in monetary value since they first acquired it.

Regarding Nipsey’s family, Nipesy’s ex Tanisha Foster continues to fight for custody over their 14-year-old daughter Emani, with plans to go to trial in April. Foster recently took to social media to reveal her sentiments about the situation, stating, “I miss my child’s father. I wish he was here to see my accomplishments. It’s almost 4 years of him being gone so just think how I feel. I met him in my teens, and he been my roll dog ever since. I spoke with him 30 mins [sic] b4 [sic] his death. I was one of the last persons he spoke with. I wish I was there I would have took those bullets.”

Nipsey shares another child named Kross with Lauren London.

The post Nipsey Hussle’s Kids To Own Marathon Clothing Store Building appeared first on The Source.

Prayers go up to Young M.A. The New York rapper recently went viral in a video online, seeing her inside a barbershop with yellow eyes and slurring her words.

Both the “OOOUUU” rapper and the barber named FatsDaBarber responded to the negative rumors concerning Young M.A’s health, assuring them they had nothing to worry about. 

FatsDaBarber wrote on his Instagram story, “Y’all got so much to say as if I’m trying to embarrass my dawg,” the barber wrote. “She reposted my video if she didn’t want me to record she would have told me… What y’all need to do is just send your prayers for her and that’s that. She didn’t have a haircut in a month and she wanted me to bring her haircut back to life which I did!!!!!”

Young M.A reposted his story, with a laugh emoji, stating, “We blessed don’t let that get to u blooda. And I told you it was like 4 months.”

Most recently, Young M.A spoke with TMZ Hip Hop addressing mental health concerns.

She stated, “As many of my supporters know I’ve been dealing with various personal health issues the last few years. I recently was hospitalized and was successfully treated for several conditions. I’m doing better now, will take some time but I’m on the road to recovery and look forward to the future!!!”

She adds, “Rest assured I’m in good spirits and everything will be explained in the MUSIC … plus a documentary. Love y’all MAB! Don’t worry I’m good!” 

It’s been roughly two years since Young M.A released a full-length project, and fans can look forward to new music once she’s done healing. 

The post Young M.A Responds To Mental Health Concerns appeared first on The Source.

Love is in the air! It looks like Rubi Rose and French Montana may be the newest couple on the scene, and we’re here for it.

Last night in Los Angeles, TMZ spotted Rubi Rose and French Montana as they exited his luxury car and made their way into Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. The fine dining restaurant offers high-end Chinese cuisine while surrounded by artwork by Warhol.

The two were dressed comfortably in hoodies and sweats, as they didn’t shy away from the PDA, even with the paparazzi present. French Montana even threw his arm around Rubi, proving he has nothing to hide about their new romance.

Throughout March, Rubi has been sharing tweets on her Twitter about a potential new bae. On March 8th, she tweeted, “This boy gimme butterflies in my pussy .” 

Four days prior, she tweeted, “I’ll cut ‘em all off rn bae… jus say da word.”

With the cat out of the bag and blogs jumping on this almost immediately, Rubi’s most recent tweet hilariously addresses all that. “Dang… i can’t go out to eat now,” she writes.

Sources close to the couple reveal Rubi is for sure French’s “new girlfriend.”

Regardless, we’re happy for Rubi. This arrives on the heels of her previous back and forth with her ex-boyfriend DDG. Allegedly, DDG was in an argument with current girlfriend, Halle Bailey, when Rubi decided to leak his DMs on Twitter. The DMs showed DDG reaching out to Rubi the same day he was bickering with Halle.

Let’s not forget Rubi raps as well! Let’s hope French and Rubi make a banger in the studio along the way.

The post Rubi Rose & French Montana Spotted on Date in Beverly Hills appeared first on The Source.

If you had the chance to see Lil Uzi Vert perform at Rolling Loud Los Angeles, you know it was a movie. However, the Philadelphia native left some pondering on what exactly was the message he was trying to convey during the set. Uzi rocked an all-red outfit with spiked hair and yellow and blue contacts in his eyes.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Source (@thesource)

As seen on The Source’s Instagram, Uzi’s performance of “I Just Wanna Rock” had the entire festival hyped. But there was also some backlash that he was supporting the devil, given the crosses and mannequins behind him.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

During his set, Uzi debuted a new song called “I make a City Girl believe in Satan.” Summer Walker caught wind of the song, and shared her two cents on her Instagram story.

Summer Walker posted a clip of Uzi’s performance, plugging the new song title and stating, “I Be genuinely curious have these people ever seen or heard a demon before..? Or it’s just a trend cause I feel like if you have you’d stop playin..really nothing funny or cute about it. May God be with y’all.”

TMZ caught up with Uzi while out in Beverly Hills, California, first inquiring about when fans can receive his forthcoming album titled Pink Tape, in which Uzi responds, “I’m gonna drop it.. I probably got two more months.”

They then asked if “I make a City Girl believe in Satan” will be on the project, in which he confirms yes.

Uzi explains, “Not actually Satan, but basically I make a girl do whatever I say so.”

When asked what his girlfriend JT (CityGirls) thinks of the lyrics, Uzi responds, “She really didn’t think too much of it. She was there when she heard me make the song, she knows what I really meant.”

After confirming the song was not actually about Satan, Uzi confirms he doesn’t pay attention to whatever narrative gets picked up by social media.

“I don’t even really pay attention to them even saying that. I just say whatever I want in my songs, it’s my freedom of speech. I come from a real religious household,  but me finally living my life and being an adult, I say anything I want to say. Even if I offend people, I don’t mean to offend people. But if they don’t like it, they have the option to turn it off.” 

Uzi also confirmed he does not believe in Satan, and jokes that he’ll keep his braces in forever.

The post Lil Uzi Vert Denies Rumors That He’s Supporting Satan appeared first on The Source.

Xavier “X” Jernigan, Spotify’s Head of Cultural Partnerships, could hardly contain his excitement when reflecting on the iconic five mics ratings that took place on The Source. In fact, he even remembers De La Soul’s fourth album Stakes Is High getting a mere four mics. “But that really should have been five mics, at least four and half,” he states.

Born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, but living in Brooklyn half his life, Jernigan is the new voice of Spotify’s newly-launched AI DJ. With AI taking over the foreseeable future, Spotify has taken it upon themselves to take personalization to new heights, offering this new feature that gauges what the listener likes and chooses what to play based on their preferences. 

Essentially, it’s an AI DJ in your back pocket. By simply tapping the DJ button, you can switch the music. The more you listen and offer feedback, the better the recommendations get. Think of your favorite playlist, only it’s X’s voice you hear — the same one that you heard on other Spotify podcasts such as their morning show titled The Get Up.

The Source spoke with X at the Spotify offices in downtown Los Angeles, during their Stream On 2023 event for creators. Read below as we discuss his love for Hip-Hop and The Source, his journey to Spotify, assisting for Diddy, the new AI DJ feature, and more!

For those who don’t know, who is X?

Xavier, my friends call me X. As a human being? I’m nice. I’m myself. I try to be as authentic as possible. I try to treat people as well as I possibly can. I try to be my unapologetic self, and just make connections with people. I thrive on that. I get a sense of purpose from that, so I bring that into everything I do. Hosting, being the voice of AI DJ, I want to make real lasting connections with people. I want people to feel seen and heard. 

When did you fall in love with music?

From birth. My favorite picture that my mom has, I’m three years old. I have this little short set on, my feet don’t touch the ground. I have these huge headphones on, you can see me singing/commentating to the music. There’s a big old record player behind me. It’s been my first love, truly. Music in general, but then Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop grabbed me.

The Source is all Hip-Hop! 

Come on now, five mics was everything! Some of the reviews are etched on my brain. For  example, when De La Soul’s catalog came back on streaming. I’m a big De La fan. I was going through my mind, trying to remember how many mics some of the albums got. I think Stakes Is High got four mics? But that really should have been five mics, at least four and half.

De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, title track off the album. First song, first video. There’s a verse that both Posdnuos and rest in peace, Dave Trugoy said. There’s a line Posdnuos says: “every word I would say should be a Hip-Hop quotable.” That was a Hip-Hop quotable! That’s so dope they said that, and made it a Hip-Hop quotable. I used to look in The Source for all that. 

That helped me to know you can be in front of the camera, in front of the mic, behind the mic, all these different jobs in the industry. Because I will read all those credits, and that put me on a path to knowing I can have a career in this.

Hip Hop celebrates 50 years this year. What does Hip-Hop mean to you?

Hip-Hop means life, it means culture. It drives this country. It’s the last original American art form that went out in the world, it moves the world. I’m excited because I’m guest curator for Lincoln Center for the Hip-Hop 50th anniversary concert. We got something dope coming up in August, but just to have the honor to do that. 

Hip-Hop is me, and I’m Hip-Hop. I bring it to everything I do, I don’t try to separate it. All the elements: lyricism, DJing. It’s one of the elements of Hip-Hop. Even when this project came, I’m thinking about all the great DJs. All the mixtapes I listened to. I wanted people to feel the way I felt when I heard those mixtapes. It all ties together: b-boying, graffiti, all of it. 

I watched the AI DJ trailer and loved the nostalgia part. What is nostalgic for you?

Oh man, college. FAMU: Florida A&M University. HBCU pride. I did a five year MBA program. I knew then, I was going to do entertainment, but I had to find a way in. I’m from Florida, Daytona Beach, so I grew up around spring break and NASCAR . People really coming to my city to have a good time. 

MTV and BET’s heyday was at that time, so they’d come down to Daytona. We’d skip school, sneak and go to all those shows. All these people, the biggest artists. That’s when I first felt it was attainable. We knew what hotel they’d stay in, so me and my friends would sneak in. I met Biggie, Diddy, Redman, Method Man, Outkast. I have pictures with them. I met them at what we call the strip in Daytona Beach, right there. It felt attainable to me, being at those shows. Seeing A Tribe Called Quest rock out. 

Took that energy into FAM, all of that shapes you over time. I used to say to people, “I’m going to work in music. I’m going to work in entertainment.” They’d say, “You can do it!” I was always the person telling them what to get on. “Oh, check this out. Oh, did you know…?” Because I read that stuff in The Source or Rolling Stone. I drop little tidbits. So to do that now, for my job? Is so surreal, but it feels right. Because this is who I am. 

When you’re listening to AI DJ, it’s really my personality. My word choices, nobody’s telling me to be anybody other than who I am. That’s why I say my name. That’s why I say, “Hey I’m Xavier. My friends call me X.” That’s literally how I introduce myself to people, it’s no different and it all ties together. I am Hip-Hop, the anniversary means everything. De La’s catalog, this year’s special.

How did you get into the industry?

I went to school again. I went to NYU for a Music Business graduate program, so I got a second Master’s. I was a valedictorian. I’m on the Dean’s Advisory Board now, full circle. I got all these crazy internships, but my first job was Diddy’s personal assistant. He asked me to be his protege. My first full-time paid job right out of NYU. I graduated one day, the next week I was with him 24/7. 20 hours a day, seven days a week. 

How was that?!

Traumatic. But learning the industry firsthand, seeing how he moves, you learn what to do. You also learn what not to do. You learn there’s a way I can do it that fits me. That’s how I got into industry: doing internships, using school as the avenue for me like NYU. Being in New York City where all the labels are, I interned at Bad Boy, Warner Music Group, Columbia’s A&R department. I got a feel.

Even though I’m a Hip-Hop head, I didn’t want to be pigeonholed as the black guy that only does Hip-Hop. It’s easy to do that. I had long locs several years ago, so this is a new look for me. I love all types of music. Grunge rock shaped me too, jazz, samples in Hip-Hop, indie rock. My love for grunge morphed into indie rock, early 2000’s. All the bands: The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines. That’s my jam too. 

I did internships at different labels, but the Bad Boy opportunity — Diddy saying “I want you to my protege, and eventually take over”? That’s what the pitch was.

What did Diddy see in you?

I hope he saw a light, somebody who thinks for themselves. I wasn’t trying to be like everybody else. I was content to be myself, and I’m curious. I ask a lot of questions. I want to know about people and make those connections, I think he saw that.

So how did you learn at Spotify?

Spotify was my dream company. I left Bad Boy, went to Universal Motown Republic. I worked at Procter & Gamble and Arm & Hammer before I went to NYU, super corporate. I took all that marketing experience. I shifted from being his personal assistant to digital marketing. I was able to parlay that through somebody at NYU. 

This is why you gotta be nice to people. You gotta treat people good, you gotta connect with them because you never know who’s gonna say your name in a room you’re not in. They were hiring somebody else. This guy I went to school with was doing the same job I was doing at Bad Boy. We ran into each other during a lunch break. He said, “What you doing? Oh we’re hiring. You want to come over here?” 

They were paying more, more artists and opportunity, so I said “yeah.” That’s how I got over to Motown Republic. Amy Winehouse was my big project, I introduced her from a digital marketing perspective to the world. I knew that was gonna be big, the second I heard it. I got promoted very quickly to Director, to Senior Director. I was Erykah Badu’s product manager. I did New Amerykah Part Two. If you look into the credits, you’ll see my name. Really cool marketing campaign. 

I got a lot of trust with artists, in knowing how to help their vision come to life. They trusted me. We’d even be in meetings, they’d say, “X you say it, because you can say it better than I can.” I was trying to help them present their art to the world, in a way that makes people feel what I felt when I heard their music. She was somebody I was listening to for years and years, so to have that connection with her was special. I worked with Q-Tip, one of my musical heroes. Busta Rhymes. 

I went over to Epic. I got this project. “It’s this dude named Future, you’re going to be his product manager.” How are we even gonna get people to Google search Future, for that name to pop up? I was his first product manager, introduced him to the world as an artist. I’ve been able to work with some really cool projects, really big artists. I ended up at Def Jam. 

Wow, you’ve been everywhere!

All the majors, I hit them all. At Def Jam, I was the head of Digital Commerce. I was responsible for the relationships with all the DSPs. The Spotify’s, the Apple’s. Like 2 Chainz, I’ll bring them through and we figure out the plan we’re going to do. They liked the way I did the job. When the job was offered to me, again, didn’t have to interview for it. Somebody said my name: “we need X’s marketing mind to come into Commerce, and change the approach to that job.” My name came up. 

The pitch to me was, “We need to change how it’s done. We need people like you doing this job.” What happened was, I was doing a job being my authentic self. The Spotify’s and the Apple’s start saying to me on the side: “Man, labels need to hire somebody like you to do this job.” A year later, they started saying, “We need somebody like you on this side.” 

In 2016, I came to Spotify as the head of North America for Music Editorial. I led the playlisting teams for US and Canada, that’s what started it off. We needed something to move the culture and connect with the culture on Spotify. I created this team called Cultural Partnerships. My job description became the Head of Cultural Partnerships, which is my executive title now. Partnerships with Netflix, partnerships with HBO. We did Insecure, we brought Disney in through my team. There’s some really cool things, then I started getting asked to host. 

I didn’t even talk about hosting. We barely had any podcasts in 2016. Maybe three or four original podcasts. It was Season Two for this podcast called Showstopper, which is about the memorable music moments in TV shows and films. I randomly got pitched by that team to be the host for Season 2. I said, I never hosted a podcast. I told him upfront. They said “no you’ll learn that, we want you to do it.” I told them, I need to change the music. I need to pick the shows and movies we talk about, I want my input there. 

We did a Spike Lee episode, because I have a relationship with Spike Lee. Wanted to delve into his music choices in his movies, it’s so good. We did an Insecure episode, because music was a big part of Insecure. We wanted to help tell that story on our platform. That led to me hosting another podcast called The Window with Gimlet, about life during the pandemic. Essentially looking out your window and what you see, and people taking a look into your window. 

That led to me hosting The Get Up Spotify morning show, which was this new mix of your personalized music with talk. I was the host of that with a couple other co-hosts. A lot of artist interviews, a lot of celebrity interviews. That led to DJ.

Let’s get into AI DJ, how pivotal is AI in today’s day in age?

It’s everything. That’s how you personalize. Without the use of AI, you wouldn’t be able to scale and personalize me. It’d be limited, so that’s the only way. The use of generative AI in the hands of our music experts. We put it so they can put the parameters around it from an editorial standpoint, this is where their writing comes in. This comes full circle because our music team, the editors in our writers room can output context around the songs they’re putting on the playlist.

Those fun facts I talked about earlier that I’d say with my friends, we’re giving that context. Because we know if you give context around the songs that we’re choosing for them, people are more likely to listen to a new song we’re suggesting for you, than you would if it just popped up in one of your playlists. We already knew that. We said if we had this hyperrealistic voice that makes a connection with people, feels warm, with some really playful, fun, commentary that connects with people — that’s down-to-earth, your friend, your companion, with really, really good music choices, we think we’ll be on to something. That’s what DJ is. 

They said, “Hey, the list is one person. Is you. We want you to do it.” Of course, I

said yeah.

What services does AI DJ offer?

It offers a simple solution to a problem that people don’t realize they have. People struggle with deciding what you’re going to listen to, we completely simplified that for you. You just press play, I’m going to set it up for you. You’re going to get a five-song segment of different moods, it’s not going to be all over the place. In that segment is going to be a certain vibe, maybe an editorial playlist.

For example, it could be our R&B flagship playlist. It can be Hot Country. It’s The Source, so RapCaviar or Gold School. It’ll give you one of those. If that’s not your vibe, you press the DJ button. I come back and I switch it up. It gives you nostalgia, it could give you something new in different genres. It’s a simple solution to a problem that people don’t even realize they have.

The post Spotify’s Xavier “X” Jernigan Talks AI DJ, the Streaming Giant’s New Feature appeared first on The Source.

When you’re poppin’ like Yung Miami, you get a lot of love… but you also get a lot of hate.

The City Girls rapper surprised the world last night by appearing on 50 Cent’s BMF, playing the role of a woman named Deanna. The emotionally-charged scene sees Miami talking to Big Meech, played by his real-life son Lil Meech (real name Demetrius Flenory Jr.), who just informed her that her husband had passed away.

The conversation escalated as Miami began to cry, eventually slapping Big Meech for delivering the bad news. However, critics on Twitter were not the biggest fans of Yung Miami the actress.  

One Twitter user shares, “I hope Yung Miami stick to making music bruh this really the worst acting I ever seen in my life.”

Another user writes, “”I loveeeee Yung Miami, but that acting was very much trash. Understand she’s a well known rapper, but baby girl needs acting lessons.”

Of course, Yung Miami isn’t one to hold back her tongue. She responded to the negative feedback gracefully and reminded folks the scene was meant to be sad, not funny.

Her last tweet reads, “If I’m crying why y’all laughing??? Y’all play to much ”

In one tweet, Miami writes, “🫶🫶🫶 The more they hate the more opportunities come!! It’s only the beginning for me! ”

Miami has been in her acting bag lately, as seen in the Netflix comedy You People as well as an episode of Grown-ish. Regardless, it looks like the CityGirl isn’t letting anyone dim her light.

The post Yung Miami Responds To Backlash On Her ‘BMF’ Acting Debut appeared first on The Source.

Lil Baby and Drake doing a whole project together? Yes please!

Lil Baby blessed the stage at Rolling Loud this past weekend in Los Angeles, and one song fans can always look forward to hearing is “Yes Indeed.” Serving as Baby’s first collaboration with Drake back in 2018, the song immediately went viral as everyone recited the line: “wah wah wah, b*tch I’m the Baby!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Source (@thesource)

The dynamic duo has since released even more bangers, including “Girls Want Girls,” “Never Recover,” and “Wants and Needs.” 

Now, it appears the two may have a joint project in the works — per Black Coffee, a producer who worked on Drake’s 2022 album titled Honestly, Nevermind. The South African DJ recently went on MacG’s Podcast and Chill to unveil the exciting news, which stems from a conversation he had with Coach K from Quality Control.

Black Coffee states, “He had said to me Lil Baby and Drake are making an album. It’s possible Drake is retiring, I’m like ‘whatever’.”

This seems like a very possible collaboration, given Drake’s last project was a collaborative effort with 21 Savage called Her Loss. The tape debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, as “Rich Flex” immediately became a viral sensation.

Beyond that, Lil Baby was even recording new music at Drake’s mansion in Toronto just last year in May. During a livestream, Drake informed the viewers that Lil Baby was putting in work in The Embassy.”

“By the way, my brother Lil Baby is in the studio right now,” Drake stated. “He’s cooking up. We’re working.” 

Soon after, Drake said he wanted to stop the studio session to get Baby so they could gamble together. 

If this album does come into fruition, this will be the third Atlanta rapper Drake has done a project with, following 21 Savage as well as Future on 2015’s What A Time To Be Alive. 

The post Lil Baby and Drake Album Loading? “Yes Indeed” Collaborators Rumored to be in the Lab appeared first on The Source.

The word “legend” doesn’t apply to just anyone, but DJ Semtex is an exception. A true GOAT in his field, you know you’re doing something right if Semtex is playing your song.

For over three decades now, Semtex, real name John Fairbanks, has dominated the radio airwaves in the UK, spending 15 years on BBC1Xtra before transitioning to Capital XTRA, where he has his Friday night show now. But besides his talents on the microphone, his unwavering love and passion for hip-hop resonates the most.

Growing up in Manchester, it was Semtex’s older brother who first introduced him to the genre in his early teens. Eventually, Semtex established himself as the go-to tastemaker whenever a hip-hop artist was in his town in the UK, sitting down and interviewing all the biggest superstars from Jay-Z to Drake to Kanye West. In fact, Ye has even gone on record saying Semtex was the DJ who “helped him launch his career.”

Talk about full circle, Semtex went on to release his own book titled Hip Hop Raised Me, which would also become the name of his new podcast. 

And if that’s not enough, he’s even stepping into the music-making process as a producer. His most recent release, “Floor Shake,” is a fusion of drill and Afro-Trap, tapping BackRoad Gee with Ghana’s own Kwesi Arthur, giving us the disclaimer that he’s got much more bangers in the vault.

The Source caught up with DJ Semtex via Instagram Live, for our latest Hip Hop Convos. Read below as we discuss his love for festivals, his new single, his early days with Kanye, how he preps for his interviews, shaking before Jay Z, Drake DMing him, sharing moments with Mac Miller, booking Pop Smoke, his book being inspired by a line in Macklemore’s song, and more!

I know you’re coming out to Rolling Loud. Do you like festivals? 

Listen, I couldn’t live without festivals. As far as being a DJ, it’s the best experience. Clubs and shows are dope, but festivals? Oh man, those are the biggest moments. As DJs, that’s what we live for. Any DJ who’s locked in right now knows exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve been very blessed to do some of the biggest in the world. I need festivals man. 

I’m coming out to Rolling Loud, I know I’m going to be inspired. By the time Sunday, I’ll be back on the plane Monday morning. Whether it’s music, I’ll be plotting something new. It inspires me to go harder. I love festivals, can’t get enough.

How does the crowd react to your new single, “Floor Shake”? It’s so uptempo, you got African artists. It’s not the typical Hip-hop record. 

What is the typical Hip-Hop record? I’ve heard people say the same thing about Kanye West records, Jay Z records in the past. You’ve got to do different things. I could’ve done the same regular shit that everybody’s doing, I find that boring. I don’t think there’s any point in doing that. It’s mundane. You’ve really got to push the envelope and try to do something different. 

Festival season hasn’t really started in the UK yet. But last year, I was playing the instrumental at different shows. I did the Lil Tecca tour out here in the UK. Doing shows helps me A&R the track, to make the track bigger. With the “hey’s” in the background, they weren’t on that before the show in Birmingham and the crowd started chanting “hey!” I thought, I need to put that on the track. 

It’s an invaluable insight. Every artist, every DJ, anyone making music, you have to test them at shows. You have to play at festivals. I played it at the Joey Badass show, same thing. It goes up man. It’s already been well-tested, I’ve been playing it on my show every week. It’s a monster, I’m just waiting for festival season to kick him out here. It’s the first thing I want to play at Rolling Loud. I know it’s gonna go up.

I saw Kanye had said you helped launch his career. How exactly did you do that?

That sounds absurd right? That sounds crazy. There was a point when no one really cared about Kanye. Take it back to when Jay Z’s Blueprint 2 came out, he was on the album. He wasn’t even credited. Out here, first there were mixtapes. Before College Dropout dropped, a lot of my DJ friends were fans. We were nerds. Anything of a Kanye beat or verse, we were on. 

I connected a lot with him back in the day, early. I DJed at his shows, worked with him in different capacities. I interviewed him six, seven times. I was just helping to break the music.

Before College Dropout, I used to work at Def Jam at the time. I worked on those albums: College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation.

What were you doing at Def Jam?

I started out in the game doing street promotion. I used to have the streets lit with stickers. I had the illest sticker campaigns throughout London. I did radio promotion. I’ve done everything at a record label, every facet. I’ve been very very blessed to work with some great people, I’ve never taken it for granted. I’ve never been mad at the game or thought the game owes me. It’s a beautiful game, just get involved. Everyone has to participate and do some dope shit.

Back to Kanye, that was showcased in the documentary right?

Yeah. When he went into the office and he was playing tracks like “All Falls Down” and nobody was listening? In the UK, it was the total opposite. “Yo, have you heard this? This shit is banging!” Most rap takes off over here first. No disrespect to anybody, anywhere else in the world. But there’s a real passionate audience for Hip-Hop, real thirst. Always has been.

Take it even further back, Public Enemy, Chuck D always says he got his first real fanbase in the UK before anywhere else. Out here, all you gotta do is keep coming out. Come out four times a year and your fans will be loyal. Your fans will turn up and see you every single time, they’ll stay with you your whole career. It’s dope out here.

Talk about your plaque collection behind you.

[laughs] These are all plaques for Dizzee Rascal, I used to tour with him back in the day. He’s a pioneer of UK rap, and grime.. I was his tour DJe for eight years. We did a lot overseas: South American tours, European tours, everything. 

Were you doing that while you were on radio too? 

Yeah. You have to do everything. You gotta make it work. Because otherwise, you’re not gonna make it in life just doing one thing. No disrespect to anybody who’s doing that. But what I found as a DJ, you’ve always had to evolve. You’ve got to be on radio, touring, do clubs, do festivals, do mixtapes. do podcasts. You’ve got to make some bangers, you gotta do it all. That’s it.

Is this a good time to talk about your Hip Hop Raised Me podcast?

My first podcast was 2009, it was at the G.O.O.D. Music showcase at the Fader Fort at SXSW. I had backstage access so I was walking around recording. It was too much to put on a radio show, so let me do this thing called a ‘podcast.’ That was when I first did it. 

I dipped in and out of it, because it gets tedious. I couldn’t have done it every single week since 2009. I like to keep moving from things to things, keep the excitement going. I like talking to artists man. I want to find out how things happen, how it works, how they did this, how they got that with that. Projects and so forth. 

I’ve had some amazing episodes, did one with DJ Khaled on the last season. Talking to Joe Budden about the whole situation just as he got into Spotify at that time. I’m about to start again, a new season moving forward. I like podcasting, it’s dope.

How do you prepare for an interview? 

I just have one question, and everything leads up to that one question. I find that if you write things down it’s distracting… I stopped doing that. I’ve done it once. I only do it if it’s a really, really big one, but I haven’t done it for years. When I first interviewed Jay Z, I had to do it. I was actually shaking the first time. As I saw him walking towards me, I’m thinking ‘it’s Jay Z man. Oh shit, it’s Jay Z!’ It kicks in.

The second or third time was cool. He’s like, “oh we meet again.” He’s almost like an English guy, some of the things he said. He’s like “oh yeah, we’re both doing something right. Right?” It’s different.

Most of the time, I just have one question. One time I interviewed Chance The Rapper, we did an hour talk. I asked him four questions throughout the whole time. He had so much to say and it was around the time that Donald Trump was elected. Everyone was a bit shaky about what was going to happen. I got him at an Interesting point in time. One question I  wanted to ask him is: is music all we’ve got, and why? He broke it down. It’s really, really fascinating to hear him break it down.

I find that if you’re a fan of the music and the artist, you don’t need to write shit down. You don’t need to prepare because you’ve been preparing your whole life. You’ve been listening to all of the albums, there’s things you’ve always wanted to ask. When you get icons like

Kanye, Wayne, and people like that, it’s easier than a new artist who still has a story to establish. 

So did you not write anything down for Drake’s More Life interview?

I didn’t, because I do sections. What I do is I break it down to 10 points. There’s 10 points that I need to talk about. I’m going straight to the point on everything. I knew he wanted to do the interview, he clearly wanted to talk. I knew I just had to talk to him.

Even when I said, “who’s Quintin Miller?” He’s like [sighs] It’s a simple question. Of course I know who he is, but you need to open it up and everything comes from that. You have 10 key points in your mind, and as one gets answered, don’t process what he said. Don’t get gassed, don’t give your opinion on it. It’s not a discussion, onto the next section. Because if you don’t do that, you’ll forget the cycle of what you need to ask. When you get that answer, next question. You keep it moving. 

How’d it feel when Drake DMed you?

I thought someone was taking a piss in the UK. Because it was 7am, I was on the toilet. I was going through my DMs. Drake? Who the fuck’s doing this? Oh shit! It woke up, it’s Drake. You don’t expect that. The beautiful thing about that: it’s always dope when the first thing you do means something. Seven years later, they remember and they want to go back to that. 

That’s the dream. I feel for any journalist or DJ, that’s why we do it. We do it so things are remembered, you maintain that relationship. So that was dope.

How important are relationships in our line of work? 

Relationships and reputation are imperative. Those are the two most important things in life, in any role you do. Any job, any career. Whether you’re a rapper, a DJ, a manager, a lawyer, a mastering engineer, relationships and reputation, you have to maintain them at all costs. Never jeopardize them for anybody or anything. Never fumble it, it’s not worth an argument over money or anything like that.

I can set off any show, any festival. You can’t talk to me about radio, I’ve done my 10,000 hours. I’ve done a Friday night rap show every week from 9pm to 11pm for 20 years, I’m doing something right. When it comes to making music, it’s hard. I’ve done it before, but because I focused on everything else, it was always in the background. Now because the barriers to entry have been removed it’s a lot easier, and also evolving as DJs you have to do it. 

People like Calvin Harris, DJ Khaled, DJ Drama, they’ve shown the way. You have to do it, it’s the evolution of what happens next. A lot of producers said “Yeah, I’ll give you some beats and put your name on it.” I’m not doing that. I can’t do that, that’s cheating. You have to do it yourself to get your point across, so it’s a great challenge. It’s a great mountain to climb, I’m going to get that #1 record in 62 countries around the world. I just gotta work for it, that’s all it is.

I saw you were booed because the Wu-Tang Clan were late to the show. How late were they? 

That was in Glasgow, one of their farewell tours. [laughs] They’re incredible but as we all know, there’s no rules. There’s no order around what they do. The Wu is the Wu, it happens when it happens. It might have been over an hour late. Yo Glasgow, they get down. That’s a hardcore crowd, they just started booing. 

I’ve never been in that situation before. I stopped the music. The thing I learned from touring with Dizzee is the showmanship. Even when things go wrong, you turn it into a positive. I’m like “what are you booing for? They’re late. I’m here to see the Wu as well, don’t boo me!” [laughs] I was trying to finesse it. Fuck it, I’ll get some MCs on stage. It turned into a cypher, it was dope. I wasted another half hour doing that, then they turned up. Everyone forgot what happened, and it was another great night in Hip-Hop.

Did you know Takeoff as well? Rest in peace.

Yeah, we did the Migos first show in London. Incredible, amazing night. It’s sad man. We’ve lost so many great artists in such a short space of time. It’s upsetting and it’s alarming, because I’ve never seen it like this. We’ve never lost so many rappers in such a short space of time. When I was growing up, it was Biggie and Tupac, then it was a gap. It was years before someone else significant passed away like that, but it’s almost every couple of months now.

I love reading how Mac Miller told you “hey, we don’t always have to do an interview.” What’s your relationship with him?

Mac was dope, mad cool. Anytime he was in the UK, he used to check for me. “Yo I’m in town, come to the show.” Whether I make it or not, he was just cool. He’s always passed through the radio show, did a freestyle. He was the essence of Hip Hop, he embodied that. He was about the art. 

One time, he had a show in Brixton, he was cool. He said “come backstage.” We met, hung out. After that, we went next door to a place called Nando’s, which is one of the main spots in the UK for dope chicken. It’s really surreal: it was me, Mac Miller, and some UK fans chillin’ on a table. We made Nando’s stay open and ordered more chicken. It was just another night, you couldn’t make it up.

It’s one of the things you talk about years later, like we are now. I witness crazy moments like that, very very fortunate. With Mac, same thing. Gone too soon. It’s horrible. 

What was it like booking Pop Smoke early on, then seeing him blow up? 

Pop, we tried to do that show for a year. All of these artists, we’ve been chasing them for years. Same thing for the Nipsey Hussle, Migos, Young Thug. We spent 12 months trying to book them. When you get them, it’s just magical. With Pop, he was a mad cool guy. He was going to be that bridge between cultures around the world. The way he embraced UK drill, and the way he embraced other artists. 

I was on stage with him at the soundcheck, first time I met him. His first ever London show, he was cool. In between talking to him, he was on the phone with UK rappers. I’m not gonna say the names, but he said “Yo, I’m here. Pull up.” He was organizing connects himself. It wasn’t get the manager to make something happen or get the  label, he took a genuine interest in our artists and our scene out here. He would’ve done some major things. He’s one of the great ones, but he was gonna get to that point where he was gonna go off. It’s a real shame.

How was it writing your book, Hip Hop Raised Me? 

I was very fortunate. I wanted to do-self help book originally. There’s so many stories in Hip-Hop, they’re more likely to listen to these stories than the self-help books out there, which can be a bit jarring to me. The book company said “nah, we want you to do the book on Hip-Hop.” I said I can’t do that. No, I’m not doing that. 

What happened was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, I love those guys man. The track “Can’t Hold Us” is one of my favorite jams. You play that at a festival, you look like a god on stage.

You play the track the whole length, people clap their hands every single part of it. There’s a line: “but that’s what you get when Wu-Tang raised you.” 

I was raised on Public Enemy, and that’s how I came up with the title. I can do the book from that perspective. As a DJ who’s worked with artists, interviewed artists, performed with artists, I can do it. I worked with a great team who sourced some of the pictures. I already had the stories, the interviews and perspectives. I wrote every word myself, 50,000 words. No ghostwriter, nothing like that. I learned doing the book, I need to do that in music. I need to have that same commitment and that same ethos.

It’s dope, every week, I see DMs from around the world with the HipHopRaisedMe hashtag. They take shots of it as a coffee table book. Every artist has it. Drake, Big Sean, Chuck D, Jay Z… everyone’s got it.

Your brother introduced you to Hip Hop early. Who were the first initial artists you listened to?

Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, that was it. It was the House of Def Jam: LL Cool J, Public Enemy, all of that. Then I found out my own artists I liked and put my own taste on everything. I listened nonstop.

I met Slick Rick recently during Grammys week, when he got the Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s so legendary!

Yes, he’s the biggest UK rapper in America. He’s from Mitcham, South London. Technically, he was the first. He was that guy who inspired Nas, Jay-Z, J Cole, etc, he inspired everybody. As a guy from London… it’s crazy.

What’s your relationship with him?

Mad cool. When I was doing the book, he was one of the first people I reached out to. There was a point where it looked like he was going to have to live over here. Def Jam reached out to me like “we might have to relocate, can you help?” So I caught up with his family, I did the  “welcome to London” type of thing, just in case. I met him in New York, I bumped into him several times in different places. He knows what I do, I know what he does. He’s the greatest. 

Anything you want to let the people know?

Yeah, just take me in. [laughs] I’ve got bangers coming, check out the music. Check out the podcast. Check out the book. I’m on Capital XTRA every Friday night. I’m here, I’m not going? nowhere. 

How’s Capital XTRA treating you?

Dope. They leave me to it. They’re like, “need any help?” Nah I’m alright. “Alright cool.” They’re always ready to support. It’s a great station, the biggest in London on a Friday night. Again, I’m very privileged. I never take it for granted. It’s a very dope duty to be able to broadcast to the whole world live and play music that you like, or music that you hope people will be interested in. It’s great.

The post DJ Semtex’s ‘Hip Hop Raised Me Book’ Is Inspired By A Line In Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s “Can’t Hold Us” appeared first on The Source.

Gangsta Boo was an angel; anyone who knew her could attest to that. Joining the Memphis hip-hop group Three Six Mafia at age 14, alongside Juicy J and DJ Paul, real name Lola Chantrelle Mitchell paved the way for females to be able to rap just like the men — influencing a whole era of artists to come after.

On New Year’s Day this year, Gangsta Boo tragically passed away at age 43 in her hometown of Memphis.

Today, Gangsta Boo’s significant other and co-star of Marriage Boot Camp launches a new website, www.queenofmemphis.com, in her honor. Fans can shop exclusive hoodies and t-shirts, including ones that hail Gangsta Boo as the “Queen of Memphis.”

Proceeds from the merchandise go directly to her mother, as well as Stax Music Academy in Memphis, which will receive 10% of all sales for student tuition.

Additionally, Flores is preparing her posthumous release, The Booprint, which will be released sometime this year. Gangsta Boo’s mother has retained an attorney, and once all legal hurdles have been cleared, the project will be available on all streaming platforms. Fans can expect some high-profile features on the project.

Gangsta Boo’s mother, Veronica Mitchell, states, “My daughter Lola was my only baby girl. I was so proud when she would rap as a little girl. She called herself Tinkerbell and would always be singing her little songs. Me and her father Cedric knew she was talented, but she took it to another level chile. She became the Queen of Memphis. My baby is loved by people everywhere and it all started at home with us. That’s so amazing to me. It makes me smile ear to ear. God brought her home to be with her daddy Cedric and her brother Derron. I miss her but I know she’s happy with them. I’ll always remember telling her GO GET THEM DOLLAS, but I had no idea how many people would love my baby girl. I’m grateful all y’all support my daughter. Thank you.”

Be sure to check out queenofmemphis.com for more. The merch items can be seen below.

image_6487327

image 6487327 1

image_6487327 (4)

image 6487327 4

image_6487327 (2)

image 6487327 2

image_6487327 (5)

image 6487327 5

image_6487327 (1)

image 6487327 1 1

The post Gangsta Boo’s Partner Emmet Flores Launches New Merch, Proceeds Go To Her Mom & Stax Academy In Memphis appeared first on The Source.

It’s always an honor to sit with the legendary XSCAPE. 

If you’re a fan of R&B, you’re a fan of XSCAPE. Exploding onto the scene in 1991, the R&B quartet is composed of Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, Tamika Scott, and LaTocha Scott.

In fact, it was Jermaine Dupri who wrote and produced the girls’ breakout hit, “Just Kickin’ It,” which even today stands as their biggest song to date.

Fast forward to now, XSCAPE returns to celebrate their 30-year anniversary. In addition to continuing to tour the world, the girls are excited to premiere their newest television show titled SWV & XSCAPE: The Queens of R&B, which premieres on Sunday, March 5th. The Bravo-hosted series sees two of the biggest R&B girl groups of all time coming together, giving audiences a first row, VIP seat to all the glory and drama that unfolds. 

Each episode captures the highs and lows of the reality of being a touring artist, with not only their careers, but family commitments and business endeavors. And after an epic VERZUZ behind XSCAPE and SWV, fans are on their edge of their seat to see which group will take the highly-coveted headlining slot.

The Source caught up with Kandi, Tamika, and Tiny in downtown Los Angeles, to discuss the nostalgia of 90’s R&B, the new show, their favorite singers, secret to relationships, personal endeavors, and more!

What is it about ‘90s R&B that gives people such nostalgia?

Kandi: 90’s R&B, to me it was way more harmonies back in the day. People don’t harmonize anymore. It was a lot more love lyrics and stuff like that, making love. Now, it’s “fuck that n*gga.” All types of stuff right now. [laughs]

Tamika: Hooks. You can have a dope hook, but the verses aren’t really saying nothing. Back then you had a dope hook, the verses meant a lot of things, and it’s still relevant to today.

Tiny: We had great storylines. We had some great artists back then. We forgot about Kut Klose. We had some good groups back then that had some major great hits.

The trailer for SWV & XSCAPE: The Queens of R&B shows a lot of tension. What was the reality of filming together?

Kandi: A lot of tension. 

All: [laughs] 

Tiny: It was real.

Kandi: When we came into the show, we were really cool with SWV. Because for years, we’ve always had a good relationship. But our own group, we was dealing with our own inner turmoil.

Tamika: Our inner demons. 

Kandi: We got a lot of stuff that we still haven’t even worked out, since filming ended. We were dealing with that. You get to see that on the show obviously, but then we ended up bumping heads with SWV because the whole show is about us trying to come together to put this concert together. When you get to groups that have accomplished a lot, you get the egos involved, it can be a disaster. 

Was it fun though? 

Kandi: No. 

All: [laughs]

Tiny: The fun part was when it was over.

Kandi: We really got to the point we’re like,” Ooh, I can’t wait until this shit over.

What was the most difficult moment from filming?

Tiny: I think us battling about who’s going to close the show. 

Kandi: That was an unnecessary moment to me.

Tiny: Between the two of us, but we had bigger moments that were more explosive as a group. Of just us four girls, we had way bigger moments. But between SWV and XSCAPE, I’d say the battling over who’s going to end the show.

That’s a real thing! 

Kandi: It is a real thing!

So who closed the show?

All: You gotta watch the show!

Tamika: Why do you think we’re mad? No I’m just playing.

March is Women’s History Month. As an all-female group, who are some of the most important women singers? 

Kandi: The most important singers, you mean history? Obviously Whitney [Houston], Mariah [Carey], Stephanie Mills, Gladys Knight. 

Tiny: We talking 30 years. Anita Baker! Chaka Khan.

Tamika: Sade’s been doing it a long time, she don’t even get her just due. 

Kandi: Definitely Sade.

Tiny: Kelly Price. Britney Spears.

Kandi: You gotta give Beyonce and those artists their just due. Rihanna.

Tamika: And the list goes on, there’s so many. 

Kandi: Taylor Swift. 

Tamika: Yes, all different genres. Pink baby!

Kandi: Miley Cyrus, all the women from now till back then. 

You mentioned Chaka Khan, did you see she had a problem with the best 200 singers list on the Rolling Stone?

Tiny: I did. I laughed because I like the way she talks. She talks like me! The stuff she was saying out her mouth, I loved it.

Kandi: That’s like that auntie, you’re like “oh Lord, here she comes.”

How do you balance being a mom and having a career?

Tamika: The same way we nurture our careers, we nurture our families too. We don’t have stuff when it comes to that, we give them the time and the love. At times when we’re busy, they understand. My daughter told me, “You’re not working on my birthday.” I’m like, every birthday, I have to fly you and your friends to wherever you want to go. It’s a 9-year-old, I’m working on your birthday if I have to. But they get it though.

Tiny: I usually don’t work on my childrens’ birthday at all. Because my husband don’t do it, so I can’t be lesser than. [laughs] My daughter’s birthday is the 26th and we got a job the day before, so I’m like dang. She’s like, “You ain’t gonna be there for my birthday!” I will be there for your birthday, just maybe not for the party. Her birthday is on Sunday. If I would have known that before I took that show, I would’ve been like no.

Tamika: We actually leave on my daughter’s birthday. Zonnique’s the 20th, O’Shun’s is the 24th, then Heiress the 26th.

Tiny: When they get older, yeah I’m working, because they doing their own things. But the little ones, Major and Heiress, I’ll be there.

Tamika: That’s so sweet, because I’m working. [laughs]

What are some of the challenges of raising a family in the spotlight?

Kandi: A lot of people have their opinions and say so in your kids’ lives. My daughter Riley, they constantly be on Riley about anything. “Oh, she lost weight. Oh, she gained weight.” She’s six years old when she came on the show on TV, so people seeing her grow up. She’s 20 now. Sometimes people have a little bit too much opinion about my child. 

Other than that, your kids have a lot to learn how to have tough skin as well, because they are growing up in the spotlight. A lot of our kids want to be in the entertainment business, some of them by default. Ace, he’s acting now. I don’t know if that was his thought, but his ass is doing it. [laughs] Riley is behind-the-scenes,she works at a record label now and she goes to NYU. 

They all have to learn how to accept that being a spotlight comes with a lot.

Congrats Kandi, you’re receiving the LOVE Award at the 2023 BET Her Awards. What is the secret to a successful relationship? 

Tamika: Respect, communication, and you got to have sex. Even if you have shit to do, you have to please your partner. Because if you say no, there’s somebody else that will say yes. That’s what I be thinking.

Tiny: My man knows that. He’ll have the worst attitude. All day, he’ll be like [makes sour face]. 

All of that, just because I said not right now? It’s terrible.

Tamika: No, you can’t do that.

Tiny: Just working hard towards it, because relationships are really hard. Especially if it’s in the spotlight, so both people have to really work at it. 

Tamika: It’s not hard for me. [laughs] I married my best friend, we were friends first. Friends friends, like knows each other’s secrets friends.

Tiny: I married my best friend too! But still, he’s a bigger superstar than me.

Kandi: I agree with them. Me and my husband, we do everything together. We’re building empires together. I talk to him about everything. Our communication is like no other, and he’s the only guy that I never got bored with. Before meeting my husband, I’d date somebody for a little while, then okay, I’m over it. Time to go. [laughs]

Tiny: I was once told by an older wise young lady, she said “if you find a man that loves you more than you love him, y’all gon’ be together forever.” My sister used to tell me that all the time. “Girl, he’s never going nowhere. He loves you so much! You couldn’t lose him if you wanted to.” She dropped some gems, along with Auntie Georgie honey.

What personal endeavors are you ladies working on?

Kandi: We just wrapped Season 15 of Real Housewives of Atlanta. XSCAPE, our new show’s coming out every Sunday. We want everybody tuned in on Bravo. I have a movie coming out that I’m in next April, called Pretty Stoned. I’m starting filming The Chi. The new season of A La Carte, second season. My husband and I just produced a movie, it’s called The Past. Hopefully by the end of the year, then our restaurants. We doing a lot of stuff. XSCAPE, we got some concerts coming out.

Tiny: We got concerts for all of us. We have them up to June/July.

How is it performing now versus back then?

Tiny: Now, it’s better because we have got to a point where we headline shows. We have big shows, we have the LED screens. We have all the bells and whistles to a show. Not to a JLo level…

Tamika: It’s coming!

Tiny: Yeah it’s coming, but we have bells and whistles that make up a real show. Back in the day: okay y’all got 10 to 15 minutes. Go on over there and do what y’all gonna do. 

Tamika: In front of the curtain! [laughs] 

Tiny: So yes, it’s so much bigger deal now.

Do you guys get nervous ever? 

Tiny: Yeah, we do. Every time before a show.

Tamika: Yes I do. It’s crazy: every time I get nervous, Kandi knows it. She’ll come over and I feel the soft hands in my hand, she’ll be like “you got this friend!” 

Tiny: She got the softest hands!

Tamika: The softest hands ever! I hate when people shake her hand, then mine.

What do you use?!

Kandi: I don’t use anything!

Tiny & Tamika: It’s DNA. She’s just soft.

Tamika, any personal endeavors for you?

Tamika: I have my own seasoning line called Tamika Scott Southern Fuse Spice Line, go to southernfuse.com. I have my cookbook, Table Set Cooking with Tamika Scott. uyI just directed my husband’s first inspirational video with Pastor John Gray and Empire’s Terrell Carter. He’s singing on it.

Kandi: Does that mean y’all can’t drink no more?

Tamika: Who can’t? Jesus, his first miracle was wine. Don’t play with me. That was the first miracle he ever did, was wine.

Favorite thing to cook?

Tamika: Everything! Oh my gosh, my favorite thing to eat is seafood. But I cook everything. You name it, I can cook it.

Do you cook for them? 

Tamika: I cooked for them for VERZUZ. When we did VERZUZ with SWV, I catered that.

What was the highlight from the VERZUZ?

Tamika: Beating they butt!

All: [claps & laughs]

When we saw it was like “bring it back! Bring it back!” My girls brought it back and did a home run. They did a Grand Slam! Shoot, y’all killed it. I was a fan of us that night.

Kandi: Yes!

The post XSCAPE Says “Inner Turmoil” Within Group Outweighed Tension With SVW In New ‘Queens of R&B” Show appeared first on The Source.

It looks like Chaka Khan has a lot to say, and she’s airing it all out on her latest podcast appearance with Los Angeles Magazine, on The Originals.

For starters, it seems the legendary singer still has some resentment towards Mary J. Blige, who she previously feuded with in the past. In fact, she brings up again the fact that Mary J. Blige butchered her cover of “Sweet Thing” back in 1992. 

It all started when the host, Andrew Goldman, congratulated the 10x Grammy-winning artist for making the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list on Rolling Stone. Her response?

 “I didn’t even know what the hell you were talking about, so obviously this don’t mean a great deal to me,” Chaka states. “These people don’t quantify or validate me in any way.”

With her 70th birthday quickly approaching on March 23rd, Chaka was then curious to know who else made the highly-coveted list. The only one she agreed with was Aretha Franklin, who stood high at the #1 spot. Chaka agreed by stating “as she fucking should be.”

That’s when things start to go downhill. When finding out Mariah Carey was listed as #5, she states, “That must be payola or some shit like that.” When finding out Adele was listed as #22, seven spots ahead of her on the totem pole, she had no words. She simply responds, “Okay, I quit.”

Goldman then informs Chaka that Mary J. Blige has the $25 spot, in which Chaka responds, “They are blind as a motherfucking bat! They need hearing aids. These must be the children of Helen Keller!” This was in reference to the editors at Rolling Stone.

Khan then takes the time to remind folks that Mary J. Blige previously messed up her song “Sweet Thing,” which was introduced to her back in 1975, during the time she was a member of the band Rufus as their lead vocalist. 

Chaka explains, “I told Mary J. Blige she fucked it up. Number one, her vocals were flat, and I asked her. I said: ‘what time did you, what time of day was it or night, what were you doing when you decided to cover ‘Sweet Thing’ and where were you at when you covered it?’”

Apparently, Blige’s response was “Oh girl I been up late. It was at eight in the morning girl.”

“I said girl you don’t sing nothing at eight in the motherfucking morning,” Khan continued. “Especially if you have to get up to sing it. If you’d been up all night, smoking crack or something, I don’t know, it might have been a whole different thing. But you don’t get up at eight in the morning to sing girl. But she and I have that kind of relationship we can talk…you know, I love her. She loves me. We don’t have a problem. Now the press would love to making it a motherfucking problem.”

However, elsewhere in the interview, Chaka Khan was also made aware of Rolling Stone’s 200 Best Singers Of All Time list and lost her temper when she learned that the “Family Affair” singer was placed ahead of her. 

“These bitches are blind as a motherfucking bat! They need hearing aids,” Chaka said, who was placed at No. 29 on the list. “They don’t have hearing aids? They have no eyes. They have no ears. They must have a – these babies, you know what? These must be the children of Helen Keller!’”

Khan continued, “I said girl you don’t sing nothing at eight in the motherfucking morning. Especially if you have to get up to sing it. If you’d been up all night, smoking crack or something, I don’t know, it might have been a whole different thing. But you don’t get up at eight in the morning to sing girl. But she and I have that kind of relationship we can talk… I love her. She loves me. We don’t have a problem. Now the press would love to making it a motherfucking problem.”

While Khan and Blige mended their relationship in 2007, even recording a song together called “Disrespectful,” it seems Khan still is holding on to that one mess up. 

On a positive note, Khan kept things neutral when she found out Beyonce was placed at #8. She states, “I don’t have anything to say about Beyoncé. She’s a great singer, okay?”

The post Chaka Khan Recalls Telling Mary J. Blige Her Vocals Were ‘Flat,’ Shades Adele and Mariah Carey appeared first on The Source.

Rihanna showed up and showed out at this year’s highly-anticipated Super Bowl performance. And while she’s been thriving in motherhood, that doesn’t take away from her entrepreneurial spirit.

Today, Puma took to their Instagram page to announce that Rihanna’s Fenty collection will return with two simple words: “She’s back.” Sharing the simple post to their 12.7 million followers, in a collab post with @pumasportsstyle, Puma’s simple caption reads: “coming soon.” 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by PUMA (@puma)

While there are no specific details on the collection, the iconic sportswear brand has had a very successful run with the “Umbrella” singer. Back in 2014, Rihanna made her mark in the fashion world by taking over as Puma’s creative director, launching a super coveted collection of footwear such as her popular Fenty x Puma Creepers sneakers and fluffy slides. She also shut down the runway at New York Fashion Week, showcasing her effortless talents in any field she enters.

Rihanna’s last clothing collection with Puma arrived six years ago, putting her all into the collection that featured one-of-a-kind athleisure looks inspired by the early 2010s. This translated into vibrant bodysuits, oversized hoodies, thigh-high boots, and thick-soled sneakers.

That same year, Rihanna got into her beauty bag by launching Fenty Beauty, rising as one of the most successful businesswomen in the history of cosmetics.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri)

As always, Rihanna hasn’t been the most active on social media. Her last post dates back to February 16th, when she shared her viral British Vogue cover spread that featured her newborn son and baby daddy, A$AP Rocky.

While we wait for further details, the hype has certainly taken over, with fans publicly expressing excitement in the comments.

The post Rihanna’s Puma Collection Set to Return: ‘She’s Back’ appeared first on The Source.

Karriem Riggins deserves all his flowers. Three decades deep in the game, the Detroit native is a drummer, producer, DJ, and songwriter, working with the likes of Common, Slum Village, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Paul McCarney, and the late, great J Dilla.

While Riggins’ contributions to the genre of jazz are impressive to say the least, working with the greats such as Hank Jones, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Donald Byrd, and Ron Carter, we definitely can’t overlook his work within the Hip-Hop space. The 47-year-old is best known for his tenure as Common’s bandleader, who actually was the one who introduced him to J Dilla in the first place. Soon after, Riggins and J Dilla would collaborate on critically-acclaimed albums such as Welcome to Detroit and The Shining.

One thing about Riggins, he is an originator. Spanning the genres of old funk, soul, and jazz, Riggins makes and plays the type of breaks that Hip-Hop producers have been sampling off since the genre was birthed.

Fast forward to today, Riggins is excited as ever to unveil his new mini-documentary, Behind The Sleeves, produced by Native Instruments. Together, they created a new digital instrument, as Riggins continues to intentionally inspire the next generation of producers.

The Source spoke with Karriem Riggins via Zoom, who was enjoying the 80 degree weather in Atlanta. Read below as we discuss his relationship with Common, meeting J Dilla, being a fan of J Dilla already, creating a new instrument with Native Instruments, Steve Lacy reaching out, and more!

For those who don’t know, who is Karriem Riggins?

I’m a music-lover, producer, drummer, DJ, and a father. From Detroit, Michigan. My passion for music, it runs deep. I’m a real true creative, and an advocate of just being creative.

How did you end up becoming the bandleader for Common?

I met Common in 1995, went to the jazz showcase. I played for Roy Hargrove for a lot of years, and Common came to the jazz showcase to hear our band. That’s when we connected. I had already heard Resurrection and Can I Borrow a Dollar? I was already a fan, so we stayed in contact. When he was working on One Day It’ll All Make Sense, is when we started to really connect on music. He wanted to start a live band, so that was perfect.

What does it mean to work with such a legend in Hip Hop?

I’m very grateful to be able to work with an artist like him. Being close with Common taught me what MCs need, when buying beats. It taught me how to tailor and make beats for certain people. And he picks — he’s hard. I make 100 beats, and he may pick one. [laughs] It taught me to really go hard to, to really try to artistically fit whatever I’m working on with the artist.

You met J Dilla through Common, bring us back to that moment.

Man, that was an incredible moment. Because when I met Dilla, I had already heard his music. Once I met him, I had already heard the frequencies that he was using. To be in the basement at that time, he had a cassette player and two small speakers. All of that music was made on that small setup, I was amazed. It just inspired me. 

I passed him my number and we stayed in contact. He called me when he was working on Slum Village’s Fantastic, Vol. 2. I went to the studio and that’s the song, “2 U 4 U,” that he passed me a cassette of in the studio. He said “I want you to play drums on this.” I went to the car, learned it. Went back in studio, and I did one take. He didn’t let me do another take. That was it. [laughs] That was our first musical collaboration.

What was special about J Dilla’s producing?

What makes him extremely specialist is you hear his ear. You can tell that he’s a real music-lover. He’s not someone that just listens to records for loops, he really listens to learn. So I consider him more of a musician than just a producer. Because he has a real heavy respect for the art form.

When you and J Dilla are together in the studio, what is the synergy between you guys?

He reminds me of a jazz musician, like that one take. A lot of people want to do 100 takes to get it to where they feel like it should go, but he made that work from that one take. We got so many ideas done being in the studio together because we did so many back to back little one offs, then it turned into an album.

Do you miss cassettes?

I do. I still use them to this day. I’ll go record my drums. My drums are recorded to 2 inch tapes. Then from 2 inch, I go to cassette. A lot of the stuff, you hear my drums. You might hear the hiss and everything, it’s on cassettes.

Is there a best memory from The Shining, and that whole process? 

I’d pick him up when we had the sessions, and we’d ride to — he’d have a CD of new beats every time I got in the car. One of those CDs, he was shopping Donuts. Donuts was at the time, a B-side CD that he was giving to different artists. Shopping. Listening to that, it blew my mind. I was in heaven, riding to the studio every day. Listening to new stuff like that.

Talk about the collaborative spirit with you and Native Instruments. You created a new instrument?

Yes, this Play series is called Karriem Riggins Drums. I was contacted by Justin Adams from Native Instruments, my good friend. He put it all together. A lot of the ideas I had, sometimes I think there’s so far left. He made it happen. He said “whatever you want to do, we can make it happen.” They went above and beyond, actually exceeded my expectations with how it works.

Hip Hop celebrates 50 years this year. What does Hip Hop mean to you?

Hip-Hop means everything. This is the rhythm that I have, everything that inspires me. From the beginning, my first 45 was Fat Boys “Stick ‘Em.” That was the beginning of Hip-Hop for me, how they were innovative with beatboxing on the mic and using the effects. You can make anything dope in Hip-Hop, it’s about being creative. That’s me, that’s who I am.

Do you have a Top 5?

No, I don’t. I can’t give you a Top 5, but I can give you some people that I really, really love and who inspire me. Dilla, Pete Rock, Madlib, Kaytranada, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes. Gregory Hutchinson is an incredible drummer who helped me out in my career. When I was in high school, he was a major influence on me and helped me connect to Betty Carter. That’s what sent me to New York, working with Betty car through Gregory Hutchinson. Those are some of my favorites.

What did it mean to have Steve Lacy reach out to you? That’s pretty legendary.

Man, that dude is really incredible. That’s the confirmation that music is gonna be here forever. Because the soul that he has, is an old soul, but he’s also bringing future in it. That inspires me a whole lot, just to want to work with someone like that. To hear what he did to my drums also, that blew my mind to hear that much soul in those drums. He’s an incredible artist.

What are you most excited for next?

Really this Play series, I want to hear what people are making. I’m going to send a message out to the world that I want to hear beats. I want people to send me the music that they’re making with Karriem Riggins Drums. Because we put a lot of hard work into it, it’s just a blessing to hear it back. Keep recycling the energy, gives me energy and inspiration when I hear that. That’s what I’m excited for.

Anything else you want the people to know?

Just to spread love. Through the music, spread love and light.

The post Karriem Riggins On J Dilla’s “2 U 4 U”: ‘That Was One Take! He Didn’t Let Me Do Another Take’ appeared first on The Source.

Kid Cudi fans are in luck! The “Day ‘N’ Nite” rapper took to Twitter last night to inform the masses that his new album is on the way. 

Boasting 2.7 million followers on Twitter alone, Cudi wrote in a tweet: “Album this Fall. First singles this summer. The new chapter has begun. Ur not prepared man. We’ve reached a new level.”

While we’re still only in winter, the 39-year-old teasing his project dropping in fall will give his fans something to look forward to. The good news? His new singles will be dropping in the summertime.

One Twitter use replied to the tweet, quoting it saying “Fuckkkkk yessss!!!! Please have a tour in the works  for this upcoming album🥹 

@KiDCuDi .”

Kid Cudi responded by confirming that a world tour is indeed, in the books. He states, “World tour next year. Count on it.”

Anyone who’s seen Kid Cudi live knows that he’s a big touring artist, and his live performances speak for themselves. However, will this be Cudi’s last album?

Cudi previously went on record stating that the follow-up to 2020’s Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, might be his last. A tweet dating back to November 2022 states, “Im doin 1 more album and then im done w my deal and not sure what ima do after that but yea, 1 more.  Wont be next year. Keep u posted.”

The deal he’s referring to is with Republic Records. Cudi also hinted at retiring during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music last year in September.

“The Kid Cudi stuff, I think I want to put it on the back burner and chill out with that,” Cudi explains. “I think, I want to be done with it. I think, closing the chapter on Kid Cudi. I’ve said a lot and I have other desires, I have other things I want to do. And I do not see me never making music. I’ll always fuck around in the studio, or make something here and there. But, as far as getting in the studio and working on an album, and then going and touring it, I just don’t have it in me. I don’t have the desire.”

Cudi went on to say he had many other things he wants to invest his time in, one being his daughter.

He states, “I really want to spend more time with my daughter. We’ve been kicking it a lot lately and I’ve been having more time and it’s good. She’s growing up, our relationship is super tight. It’s what I always dreamed of.”

For now, let’s bask in the idea that Cudi will be releasing new music this summer!

The post Kid Cudi Says New Album Is Coming This Fall, New Singles This Summer appeared first on The Source.

When you’re Lil Wayne, living average is simply not an option. In fact, the Young Money CEO recently went on record stating he hasn’t had fast food for the past two decades. A baffling fact, given the amount the superstar tours and performs across the country! 

Recently, the 40-year-old did an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple 1, stating that he has avoided fast food for the past 20 years. If that’s not enough, he also hasn’t worked out in that time period either!

The convo sparked with Wayne reminiscing on moving to Miami at 19 years old. With his mom being a chef, she nudged him to hire one for himself. In fact, he tells Zane Low that he couldn’t even identify the smell of McDonald’s food if it was right in front of him. Fast food is simply not in his lifestyle; of course, mama knows best!

Good genes are also a factor here, with Wayne admitting he doesn’t ever hit the gym or workout. He even comments how Jim Jones is one of the only “gyms” he’s aware of.

On the music tip, Wayne is excited as ever to unveil his newest record titled “Kant Stop,” featuring Swizz Beatz and the late, great DMX. This serves as the first single off his highly-anticipated, forthcoming album Carter VI. Wayne also plans to give his fans a nationwide tour to promote the music.

The post Lil Wayne Hasn’t Had Fast Food or Worked Out in 20 Years appeared first on The Source.

K Camp’s work ethic is unmatched, having locked himself in the studio for the past decade. In fact, on his way over to our interview, he DMed Ludacris to see if there were any film opportunities for him. It’s time to expand!

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the 32-year-old boasts an impressive catalog of hit records, including  “Money Baby,” “Comfortable,” and “Cut Her Off,” and even “Lottery (Renegade)” which took a course of its own over the pandemic. The song immediately became a viral sensation on TikTok, as millions of users made dance videos to the uptempo record.

But Camp doesn’t feel any type of way about the numbers. In fact, he chose not to perform it at his recent sold-out show at The Roxy in Los Angeles — mostly because the song became something he didn’t envision for himself initially.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

The show itself was a movie, though, with even The Shade Room reposting the video we posted on The Source. One thing about K Camp, he will always have the ladies supporting him and going crazy.

Most recently, K Camp released his new single titled “Pretty Ones,” featuring B-Lovee.

The Source spoke with K Camp in downtown Los Angeles to discuss his recent show, collaborating with B-Lovee, TikTok, his clothing line, what Hip Hop means to him, and more! 

How’s it feel to be here in Los Angeles? Sold-out show, congrats!

It feels good. I was on stage, I told the crowd I had came out here a couple years ago and did a show. It was a janky promoter who really didn’t promote. I had did the show, it was probably 50 to 100 people in the crowd and it pissed me off. I was mad at everybody that night. I got into it with my manager, I got into it with my DJ. The girl I was talking to at the time, I almost made her walk home.

On God I was pissed off, because no artist wants to go to a show and ain’t nobody there for them. So it’s a full circle moment going to the Roxy and selling it out, and the promoter telling us “we left tickets on the table because we could have sold out more. We could have did a bigger venue.” It was a surreal moment.

What was the best moment?

[laughs] It was two moments. It was a dude I brought on stage that was doing some weird ass dance moves. I brought him up when I was doing “Woozie,” he was doing some shit with his legs. It was too damn funny.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Source (@thesource)

That girl jumped up. I put my hands up, because she jumped on me and I didn’t want to drop her. I didn’t want to catch no charge. It was funny. Shout out to her man, she shot a shot. 

Did you not perform “Lottery”? 

Nah, I don’t be performing “Lottery” like that. I don’t know why. I did it in Hawaii, but only because my DJ played it on some humbug shit. Because the way that song turned into a song that it wasn’t supposed to be. They turned it into a dance, like KIDZ BOP. So when I perform it, it feels childish to me. If they request it, I’ll do it.

I was going to ask, do they be requesting it?

Yeah they request it. If I hear someone saying it in the crowd, I’ll do it. But if I don’t hear it, I’ll just keep going. I got a lot of songs, I can keep going. If they don’t want it, they ain’t gon’ get it. 

Let’s talk about “Pretty Ones” featuring B-Lovee, fire collab.

For sure, shout out B-Lovee. He came through Atlanta and did that verse, so we really had an interaction and vibe in the studio. I already had the record ready. I just had to figure out who I wanted to put on it. He got motion up top. In my mind, I gotta turn my buzz up a little more on top. I get love in New York and up top, don’t get me wrong. But me personally, I need to make a presence more in New York and in Philly. 

I reached out to him, an artist that has some motion. He did what he had to do. It’s so crazy, I did that song last year in September. The song old. It’s not old, but I had it in the cut on my iTunes forever. Then when I heard Uzi come out with “I Just Wanna Rock Out,” I’m like damn. He beat me to it! It was just perfect timing. We did the deal with TikTok, the distribution deal. They wanted that record, and it’s out. 

How does that work? When they distribute it.

They got a distribution platform called SoundOn. They got the platform with the marketing and they send it through their own distro. You know, a direct deal. 

You be on TikTok like that?

I ain’t gonna lie, I didn’t at first. You probably bring back clips when I was not fucking with TikTok. But these days, I can catch myself just scrolling for an hour and a half. Til’ my head hurts. That shit be addicting though, it be some funny shit on there. I don’t watch TV, so I’m just scrolling. But I fuck with TikTok now. I fuck with it.

So you didn’t love it when “Lottery” was going crazy?

Nah, because I didn’t know what it was. Of course, it’s a social media app. But it seemed too gimmicky for me. It was too much weird funny shit going on. I don’t be doing weird funny shit, so let me just stay off the app. But the song started blowing up on the app, I’m like alright. I was rolling out an album, they kept saying “you gotta get on TikTok.” Let me just fuck around with TikTok. It’s cool. There’s methods to go viral, you gotta figure out how to go viral. It’s very detailed.

Talk about your own clothing line, Shop4Float.

Shop4Float, that’s the apparel. We just did a brand name change, so it’s called ONMÌ now.

It’s on me. Until you put it on, you gotta feel like it’s on me. We’ve been doing good. Right now, I’m tapping into the cosmetics lane. Got a product called Bae Essentials that I’m putting out soon. When I get back to Atlanta, we’re gonna do the rollout. The marketing for it. 

We got the Dickies shirt, the I Can’t Love No Bitch That Love Me shirt. They sold out. That was the biggest drop I did, it made almost $20K in two days. But I reinvest everything back into the business. All that shit goes hand in hand. I love fashion. I’ve been doing music so long, I just had to expand my brand and to do other shit I love. I decided to do clothes. 

I just DMed Ludacris when I was on the way today. I told him put me in some films man. [laughs] I said I want to get my Denzel on, I just DMed his ass. 

Did he respond? 

I just did it, so we gon’ see. He’ll prob hit me back later, but I did it. I just want to do some different shit. I’ve been in the studio for damn 10 plus years straight, I gotta do some other shit. It’s fun though.

Hip Hop celebrates 50 years this year. What does Hip Hop mean to you?

Hip Hop means everything to me, it made me who I am. Grew up learning and studying this shit. Studying the people that came before me, inspired by the people who came before me. Wanting to be like the people that came before me. The fact that we’re still here, carrying a torch. It’s a lot of artists doing a good job, there’s artists burning the shit out. That’s every year, every decade. 

I just want to say salute to us. Salute to all the OGs that paved the way. Some of the OGs need to, I’m not gon’ say do a better job, but guide the youth. Our generation, nobody really gave us the game. We had to learn it on our own. It’s our job to inspire the next generation, but give them the game. Put them on, show them how it’s supposed to be done. We were out here just scrambling, trying to figure it out. It took a little longer. 

Especially for me, I got an interesting story. An interesting journey with my career. I had to figure that shit out. Shout out to 50 years of Hip Hop. Pretty sure we’ll have another 50 more, 150 more. When I’m gone, that shit will probably still be going. Salute to the legacy.

Anything else you want to let us know?

“Pretty Ones”out right now. Tour starts March 23rd. Shop4Float, go get your merch. Shout out to the fans out, I love y’all.

The post K Camp Talks “Pretty Ones,” Why He Doesn’t Perform “Lottery,” and Reaching Out to Ludacris appeared first on The Source.

The Lithia Springs, Georgia native released his highly-anticipated debut album in September of 2021, with standout features from Miley Cyrus, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and even Elton John. The project’s lead single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” went completely viral, boasting over 521 million views on Youtube and counting.

On Monday, Feb. 20th, on President’s Day, Lil Nas X surprised his fans by doing a surprise Q&A on Twitter. During the exchange, the superstar answered some questions about the arrival of his second studio album.

Lil Nas X responds, “Most likely summer,” but was hesitant to unveil any further details. Of course, when you’re this big, you have to keep some things a surprise.

When asked how many songs he might have on the project, Lil Nas X reveals, “idk i love so many songs plus i’m still in the studio making music so it’s gone be hard to pick.”

Regarding the type of music, fans can be excited to know there will be more upbeat records this time. One fan asked Lil Nas X if he could make another sad song, to which he responded, “I didn’t make many of those, I been too happy lately.”

While it’s been a year and a half since the release of his first project, Lil Nas X reminds fans that perfection takes time. One fan commented, “take your time but also hurry the hell up,” to which Nas responded, “it’s mostly planning now. i could easily just release music but i have to build moments around this shit. i have to go bigger than before!” 

One thing for sure, fans can expect the leaked track with Saucy Santana, “Down Souf Hoes,” can be found on the forthcoming album.

The only thing bigger than Lil Nas X’s Montero album? A potential follow-up. 

The Lithia Springs, Georgia native released his highly-anticipated debut album back in September of 2021, with standout features from Miley Cyrus, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and even Elton John. The project’s lead single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” went completely viral, currently boasting over 521 million views on Youtube and counting.

On Monday, Feb. 20th, on President’s Day, Lil Nas X surprised his fans by doing a surprise Q&A on Twitter. During the exchange, the superstar answered some questions about the arrival of his second studio album.

Lil Nas X responds, “Most likely summer,” but was hesitant in unveiling any further details. Of course, when you’re this big, you have to keep some things a surprise.

When asked about how many songs he might have on the project, Lil Nas X reveals, “idk i love so many songs plus i’m still in the studio making music so it’s gone be hard to pick.”

As far as the type of music, fans can be excited to know there will be more upbeat records this time around. One fan asked Lil Nas X if he could make another sad song, in which he responds, “I didn’t make many of those, I been too happy lately.”

While it’s been a year and a half since the release of his first project, Lil Nas X reminds fans that perfection takes time. One fan commented “take your time but also hurry the hell up,” in which Nas responds, “it’s mostly planning now. i could easily just release music but i have to build moments around this shit. i have to go bigger than before!” 

One thing for sure, fans can expect the leaked track with Saucy Santana, “Down Souf Hoes,” can be found on the forthcoming album.

The post Lil Nas X Teases ‘Montero’ Follow-up for This Summer, Stating “I Have To Go Bigger Than Before!” appeared first on The Source.

Chris Brown is NOT here for the backlash he’s receiving, and he’s standing his ground and speaking out. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chlöe (@chloebailey)

This all started when Chloe Bailey announced the title of her second single, posting a picture of herself and Chris Brown with the caption, “2ND PIECE. HOW DOES IT FEEL @chrisbrownofficial.” The 24-year-old also revealed the release date, slated to arrive on February 24th. 

While this new collab should be met with excitement and anticipation, it seems some fans had their own sentiments on the matter. 

While Chris Brown commented under the post with multiple fire emojis, others took to time to remind folks of his past actions, specifically in 2009 when he assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna. 

One Instagram account wrote, “Is it really that difficult to not work with known abusers or do ppl in the industry just not care at all?”

Keily Williams, best known for being a member of Cheetah Girls and 3LW, took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the situation. She quoted Chloe’s tweet by stating, “Let him come out with his own record—so genius, so captivating that it makes us all forget HE BEATS WOMEN. He can’t so he wont. So what does he do? 

He slowly creeps back into the mainstream by getting small nods for features on Black Women’s merit. Black women who are more talented, more worthy, but give him the okay. 

I am swatting the fucking air rn. Garbage. .”

While Chris Brown has had opportunities pulled from him in the past for the same reason, such as the Michael Jackson tribute at the AMA Awards, this time, Chris has some things to get off his chest.

Taking to his Instagram story, Chris addressed all the negative feedback stating, “If ya’ll still hate me for a mistake I made as a 17-year-old, please kiss my whole entire ass! I’m fucking 33! I’m so tired of y’all running with this narrative.. You weird ass n*ggas are the same ones that TUNE IN every week to see Blueface and Chrisean beat the fuck out each other in front of the world. But that’s ok? It’s entertainment? All y’all can suck my dick, disrespectfully.”

If that’s not enough, he goes on to fire back at Williams’ tweet… beginning with making fun of her lisp. He writes, “I’m getting kinda tired of Ya broken PROMITHIS PROMITHIS.” 

If that’s not enough, he then goes after the fact that she’s unemployed.

“Obviously you are at a point in your life where either you are very broke or broken … THE FACT that you think you have to speak negatively about me makes u look so lame… YOUR LIFE AND CAREER MUST SUCK RIGHT NOS.” Brown wrote. “Minding your business WOULDVE been best.. but I guess you don’t have a business or a real job that makes u financially stable. I feel more embarrassed for you and your actual maturity..’

Brown then diverse the attention to all the white celebrities who have been accused of something foul in their career.

He writes in another Instagram story: “’Where are the cancel culture with these white artist that date underage women, beat the fuck out their wives, giving bitches AIDS. Oh. That’s right.. they are your buddies . No more fake love from me.. Stay out my way or get ran over simple as that!”

On a happier tip, Chloe Bailey’s single with Chris Brown serves as the second single from her debut, highly-anticipated solo studio album In Pieces. The release date is slated for March of this year.

The post Chris Brown Airs Out White Celebs In Defense Of His Single w/ Chloe Bailey appeared first on The Source.

NBA Youngboy hardly does interviews, which is why we are all the way tuned into his newest interview with the Rap Radar podcast.

Sitting down with Elliott Wilson and Brian ‘B. Dot’ Miller, the Baton Rouge native, opens about new music, his personal life, family, and much more.

A standout moment transpired as he teased his forthcoming album titled Don’t Try This At Home, saying he plans to “talk crazy” on there. This arrives fresh off the heels of his most recent project titled I Rest My Case, which was released on January 6th of this year. And if there’s one thing about Youngboy, it’s his undeniable work ethic. Last year alone, he dropped his eighth albums for his dedicated fanbase.

After he repeats the title, “don’t try this at home,” Youngboy states how most of the stuff you see is entertainment.

“It’s all entertainment, bruh. I’ma talk my shit and everything I’m talking, I’m letting you know don’t try this at home.”

B.Dot then asked YB if he felt there’s a thin line between entertainment and reality.

Youngboy answers, “Entertainment and reality is very different, but I do think some of these entertainers make their entertainment their reality also. If I said that right.”

The “Top” rapper goes on to call out most rappers in the music industry for not being honest.

“Don’t get me wrong, a lot of people you’ll see today, oh that’s 100 percent who they is,” YB states. “I don’t doubt it. A lot of rappers today, half of them probably 100 percent who they is. But I guarantee you bro, the majority of them, nah.”

He then mentions that he can tell if someone is “gangsta” by looking at their mom.

He continues, “It be like this bro: you’ll look at these rappers’ videos, you gon’ see a gun in this video, right? You go to the next one, he got a gun in his video, right? Man, you gotta dig a little deeper sometimes, bro. Alright, now look at his mama. His mama ain’t no gangsta, so how the fuck is he a gangsta? That shit don’t be adding up bro. It’s all entertainment.”

Looking back at his career overall, YB is far from satisfied. Even though he’s the third most streamed artist in the world, behind Drake and Taylor Swift, he continues to feel he has a point to prove. He also calls music his “therapy.”

The post NBA Youngboy Can Tell if Someone Is Gangsta by Looking at Their Mom appeared first on The Source.

Rihanna made history with this year’s Super Bowl, not only standing as the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show but also reeling in a whopping five million more viewers to her performance, than the actual game. Additionally, she broke the internet by revealing she’s pregnant with her second child, after giving birth to a baby boy with boyfriend A$AP Rocky.

While the world continues to rewatch the flawless set on Apple Music, Timbaland is already focused on future prospects.

Taking to his 3.9 million followers on Instagram, the super producer posted an Instagram story stating, “I was thinking… if Kanye was to do the Super Bowl, that almost would be like watching Motown 25. ‘Cause that boy is serious… don’t you ever forget it!

The caption for his Story post read: “Dat boy Ye doing the Super Bowl. they wouldn’t be ready.”

While most music lovers may be basking in the black excellence that Rihanna offered, it looks like Timbaland is excited about a possible Kanye West Super Bowl half-time show. He even brings up the reference that Kanye’s set might be comparable to Motown 25, a television special to commemorate 25 years of Motown legacy and contributions to the music industry. The show ran back in 1983, highlighting iconic moments such as Michael Jackson’s performance of “Billie Jean” (and his moonwalk dance!).

What Timbaland may not have been aware of is Kanye’s recent controversial Anti-semantic statements, which greatly upset the Jewish community. Of course, no one is perfect, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Still, Kanye’s public support for the Nazis cost him multiple brand deals, including separation from adidas and Gap. 

Regardless, Kanye West fans would probably be all for a Ye performance at Super Bowl LVIII in Nevada next year… and it would certainly be a look for all parties involved. After Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance this year, her streams on Apple Music jumped 331% immediately following. The best part was Rih performing all her biggest hits, reminding folks that music is timeless and she hasn’t gone anywhere musically!

The post Timbaland Is Looking Forward to a Kanye West Super Bowl Performance appeared first on The Source.

At this point, what can 50 Cent not do?

Real name Curis Jackson has officially signed a non-exclusive multi-project broadcast deal with Fox, which serves as the new television partner for his G-Unit Film & Television company. 

The partnership includes developing scripted dramas, live-action comedies, and animated series that would air on the network. Any content under this deal will be owned by Fox Entertainment, and produced entirely in-house between Fox and 50’s production company.

In a statement, 50 Cent states, “I am excited to formalize a partnership with Michael Thorn and Fox that will allow G-Unit Film & Television to focus on putting multiple series on Fox, a perfect broadcast destination for G-Unit Film & Television content while our premium, streaming, scripted, and non-scripted slates continue to grow in all directions.

This new deal arrives just months after Jackson split from his previous deal with Starz, which he had even described the situation as “dumb shit” prior to the exit. However, 50 remains the executive producer for his television shows Power, and more recently, BMF and British boxing drama Fightland. 

And with this new deal being non-exclusive, 50 is able to shop his production services to other places.

Michael Thorn, President of Scripted Programming, Fox Entertainment had some nice words for 50. “Whether it’s music, film or television, Curtis always delivers premium entertainment that captivates millions of fans across the globe. He is the rare multi-hyphenate with a deft hand at storytelling, no matter the format or medium, and we’re looking forward to developing new and exciting series for Fox with him and his team.”

50 Cent isn’t the only multihyphenate with deals at the network, joining an all-star roster including Rodney Rothman and Adam Rosenberg, Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz, and writer/producer/director McG.

Beyond film, 50 is also diving into the podcast space. With his new G-Unit audio banner, he debuted “Surviving El Chapo: The Twins Who Brought Down a Drug Lord,” in partnership with iHeart Media and Lionsgate Sound.

The post 50 Cent Signs Non-Exclusive Deal w/ Fox appeared first on The Source.

Anyone who lived through the 90s would probably list The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as one of their all-time favorite television shows. The sitcom starred Will Smith as himself, as his mom sends him away from the troublesome neighborhoods of Philadelphia to beautiful Bel-Air in California. Suddenly, he finds himself inside the home of Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian, as Will hilariously learns to navigate this new environment.

Fast forward to today, fans of the show can live vicariously through Bel-Air on Peacock, the new one-hour, reimagined drama series set in modern-day Los Angeles. And with the success of Season 1, audiences can hardly wait for the premiere of Season 2 today, February 13th.

Season 2 of Bel-Air sees the return of Jabari Banks as Will Smith, Adrian Holmes as Uncle Phil, Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Vivian, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Coco Jones as Hilary, Akira Akbar as Ashley, and Jimmy Akingbola as the butler.

C038C020_221104_RNOF.0007172

C038C020 221104 RNOF.0007172

NUP_199375_00175R

NUP 199375 00175R

NUP_199109_00148R

NUP 199109 00148R

NUP_199376_0365R

NUP 199376 0365R

NUP_199376_0493R

NUP 199376 0493R

A017C007_220916_RPE0.0001109

A017C007 220916 RPE0.0001109

B044C013_220930_RO83.0006578

B044C013 220930 RO83.0006578

NUP_199110_00622R

NUP 199110 00622R

NUP_199376_0539R

NUP 199376 0539R

NUP_199333_00937R

NUP 199333 00937R

The Source had the opportunity to sit with the cast at Langham Hotel in Pasadena, for an exclusive roundtable conversation. Split into two groups, the cast discusses what it meant to have Saweetie on set, what hip-hop means to them, and their favorite artists.

I interviewed Saweetie and she told me she was taking acting classes. How was it working with her on set and what can we expect from her character?

Olly Sholotan: Saweetie is the nicest-smelling woman on the planet. She smells great, which I feel that’s really, really important. Working with her was fantastic. She’s very, very kind and very gracious. Having her on set was so exciting. I don’t want to say too much, but it’s this really cool scene at a party and the setting is a lot. 

Jabari Banks: It was actually one of the first days shooting.

Olly Sholotan: It was our second day shooting and Saweetie comes by, it was really, really exciting. It was such a great way to kick off the season of filming. 

Jabari Banks: And you know what? She was super prepared. She was even more prepared than we expected her to be. More prepared than us, to be honest. She was a joy. Saweetie is amazing. I love her as an artist. I respect her a lot as an artist, it was amazing that she got to grace our show. 

______

Adrian Holmes: She was so sweet. 

Cassandra Freeman: She was so sweet, she can actually be an actress! I was like, look here lady, you’re legit.

Adrian Holmes: She was very comfortable. Very, very relaxed. She was a nice addition to the energy. Stay tuned, we’re going to be seeing more of her.

Cassandra Freeman: You just never know what to expect when you see people from different industries coming into your industry. Some people over prepare, under prepare. Some people aren’t personable. They don’t know if they’re supposed to be personable when you hit the set. She was just professional. As soon as she hit, she was so nice and normal. There was no diva energy, it wasn’t like “excuse me! I’m Saweetie!” It was like, “Hey guys, I’m here.” She was super sweet, just like her name.

Adrian Holmes: She lived up to her name, for sure.

______

Hip-Hop celebrates its 50th year anniversary this year. What does hip-hop mean to you and who is your favorite artist currently?

Adrian Holmes: Hip-hop, for me, is the fabric of my childhood. It really shaped our lives, and my life. It’s very nostalgic. When I think of hip-hop, I go back to Heavy D and the boys. I’m a 90’s hip-hop head, so I go back to Leaders of the New School, A Tribe Called Quest. I love that about Phillip because they introduce that in the show. In my office, I have artwork and post pictures of concerts and hip-hop references. 

Cassandra Freeman: I love it! Mine would be J.J. Fad, Salt & Pepa, Lauryn Hill. Queen Latifah. MC Lyte, come on. This is my childhood. Especially J.J. Fad was the first rap I ever learned. “We’re J.J. Fad and we’re here to rock!” That was the first rap I ever learned. 

Jimmy Akingbola: Cass is a rapper, she’s got bars. For me, I’m thinking of people like Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, N.W.A. Growing up, they really had a big influence on me. Fu-Schnickens. Also, some of the new cats now. Is it Coast Contra? They do a lot of great freestyles on Instagram. Obviously, you got people like Kendrick. My favorite. In the UK, because I got to represent, men like Stormzy. For me, he’s the GOAT. He’s the king of UK hip-hop at the moment. As well as Ghetts, Kano, and Blaze, who’s in Top Boy. So it’s a real good time, but hip-hop for me is an identity, the culture, also education. That storytelling back in the 90’s was what was beautiful. 

Adrian Holmes: That’s the thing: back in the 90’s, there was more of a story being told through the music. Not to say that doesn’t exist today. Kendrick, J. Cole, they do that too. In the 90’s, it was poetry. Spoken word. Real spoken word, they put a beat to it. 

Jimmy Akingbola: Who was that one? Jeru the Damaja. 

Adrian Holmes: Oh man! Because hip-hop is so nostalgic. When you think about hip-hop, you think about certain artists and songs, it takes you back to a time and place in your life and it sparks joy. It makes you feel good. You remember where you were when you heard these songs, or that time in your life. That’s why we could talk about it.

______

Coco Jones: Hip-hop is about being vulnerable in a way that still gets stuck in your head. It’s a really interesting balance because if you’re making an important song, you’re probably talking about something and it’s infectious at the same time. That’s hard to do. Sometimes hip-hop is seen as something easy, but really, it takes a lot of skill to make a song that will stand the test of time. 

I know that being a musician and an artist is equally challenging. I’m not in hip-hop, but I’m in R&B. And that’s what I’m always trying to do, especially with my EP What I Didn’t Tell You. Just making music that stands the test of time, in any genre is challenging. Hip-hop is culture. A lot of things get inspired by hip-hop, and they wouldn’t even tell you that. That’s what we do as Black people, we are innovative and we are continuing to evolve and make classics in general.

Olly Sholotan: Hip-hop is about truth and exploration and innovation. One of my biggest inspirations at the moment is Metro Boomin, his album Heroes and Villains is fantastic. What’s so good about it, is hip-hop more than any other genre is so welcoming to other genres. Hip-hop is very descriptive rather than being prescriptive. It’s not trying to be anything else, it just is. It borrows from different genres and it borrows from different cultures and ideas . That’s so well-exemplified in Heroes and Villains. And it uses samples, elements of gospel, of R&B. Metro Boomin!

Favorite song?

Olly Sholotan: “Raindrops” or “Superheroes.” “Superheroes” is so hard!

Jabari Banks: “Superheroes” is fire! At the end of the day, I feel that pop is hip-hop. The birth of hip-hop from where it was to where it is now, it is the culture. It is who we are. Sorry to say, all of our favorite white artists are influenced by hip-hop. Ariana Grande. Thank you Taylor Swift. Thank you Justin Bieber. The hip-hop influence is everywhere. At the end of the day, hip-hop is about being authentic. Doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what you been through. That’s where it was birthed, so happy birthday hip-hop!

Akira Akba: They couldn’t have said it better. Hip-hop on TikTok is a big thing, especially with dancing. Dancing plays a huge part in hip-hop. That one dance — what’s that one dance? Literally, we were all doing that constantly. But I have a few favorite artists. I listen to SZA, Summer Walker, PARTYNEXTDOOR. This new SZA album is so good. 

The post Jabari Banks Of ‘Bel-Air’ Says Saweetie Was ‘Super Prepared’ On Set appeared first on The Source.

Just a few days before Super Bowl Sunday, in which Drake bet nearly a million dollars on the Kansas City Chiefs, it looks like he’s hit with some interesting news.

With the ongoing trial for the murder of XXXTentacion, the court is calling the 6 God to now sit for a deposition or sit in court. Not only will Drake have to answer questions regarding the death of the Florida rapper, but the judge says there will be severe consequences if Drake doesn’t show up.

The reasoning for this dates back to a 2017 feud between Drake and XXXTentacion, as rumors filled the media accusing Drake of ripping off XXX’s flows on “Look at Me!”, for his own track “KMT.”

One year later, XXX posted a black screen to his Instagram story with the words: “If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi.” Since then, the conspiracy theories have spiraled — even though XXX claimed his Instagram account was hacked. Four months later, XXX was shot outside a RIVA Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

This is all the doing of Mauricio Padilla, the defense attorney for Dedrick Williams, one of the three men accused of murdering XXX. Padilla convinced the judge that Drake was a prime suspect in the matter, and he needs to be interrogated. 

The original deposition was supposed to take place on January 27th, but Drizzy did not show up. As a result, he now has to sit for a virtual deposition via Zoom on February 27th. If he doesn’t, he may be charged with contempt.

The trial began early this week, with Williams, Michael Boatwright and Trayvon Newsome all facing life sentences. Another suspect named Robert Allen has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and has been testifying throughout the trial.

Either way, we’re sure Drake’s lawyered up and ready for the smoke.

The post Drake Ordered to Sit for Deposition in XXXTentacion Murder Trial appeared first on The Source.

It looks like Dee Barnes isn’t too thrilled about Dr. Dre being honored with the Global Impact Award at this year’s Grammys. The acclaimed journalist claims she was attacked by Dr. Dre back in 1991, during the time when she hosted Pump It Up! — a weekly hip-hop show that chronicled the growth of hip-hop into the art form it is today.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Barnes called out the Recording Academy in their decision in honoring Dre.

“Everybody wants to separate the art from the artist, and sometimes that’s just not possible,” she states. “Most people without a knowledge of [Dr. Dre’s] history are going to say, ‘Oh, he must deserve that. He must be such a great person for them to put an award in his name.’ But they named this award after an abuser.” 

Barnes alleged Dr. Dre assaulted her at a record release party in Hollywood, following an episode of Pump It Up! that highlighted the tension between Dr. Dre’s N.W.A. and Ice Cube, who exited the group in 1989. While Barnes gives him the benefit of the doubt about the person he is now, she makes it very clear she isn’t happy.

“It wasn’t just a one or two-time thing; these are choices. The first time, it’s maybe a mistake. The second time, okay. The third time, it’s a choice. I’m not saying he is the same person now, though. I don’t know. I’m not around him anymore. I haven’t talked to him. But to name an award after someone with that type of history in the music industry, you might as well call it the Ike Turner Award.”

Barnes also brought up Dr. Dre’s own statements from The Defiant One’s documentary, where he says she’s a “blemish” on who he is as a man.

“Well, what do you do with a blemish?” she asks. “There’s a whole industry created—skincare lines and vitamins and rituals—to get rid of blemishes,” she continued. “And, in a sense, there’s a whole network to keep me hidden.”

It’s not only the Grammys where Barnes feels some type of way, it’s the Hip-Hop culture as a whole. While she had a great run in the 90s, she feels her image and brand have been tarnished because of the instances.

“I shouldn’t have to suffer by not being able to exist in a space and in a culture that not only did I grow up in but that I contributed to in a major way. Is this about his feelings? Is this about his legacy? Or is it about ego and toxic masculinity? What is it about? My whole history has been erased: as an artist, as a music journalist, and as a television host.”

To conclude, she brought up the missed opportunity that could have transpired, if she was able to sit down with Dr. Dre on camera and talk through their differences. 

“I think that would’ve begun a journey of healing; he’s coming face to face with me, and I’m coming face to face with him. I’ve put out the olive branch. Black women and grace, you know how we are. It wasn’t accepted.”

The post Dee Barnes calls Dr. Dre An ‘Abuser’ After He’s Honored At Grammys appeared first on The Source.

Another day, another hilarious story involving 50 Cent. 

Ray J recently visited The Breakfast Club to tell an epic story of that one time he was in the middle of a pitch meeting with 50 Cent, who decided to take a dump.

The 42-year-old states he’s had multiple conversations with 50 Cent, but this one was a standout. 

“One conversation me and Jackie [Long] had with 50, [he] was moving around. I don’t know if he didn’t like our idea, or he liked it and he was just like, ‘I gotta get it in before I get on the plane.’”

Before Ray J continues, he gives a disclaimer: “Fif, don’t be mad at me” – proceeding to state that 50 had taken a shit in the middle of their virtual meeting.

“We on FaceTime, Jackie Long set it up, and 50 took a dump on the meeting that I had when I was in a pitch,”  Ray J explains. “He went in and just did it. I don’t know if he liked the idea, like the idea was wack and just shitted on it.”

While Ray J made it a point that he wasn’t 100% sure 50 took this dump, he made his assumptions on the situation. 

At this point, Charlamagne adds his two cents, stating it probably wasn’t the best look for Ray J to be putting 50’s business on blast.

But Ray J ultimately twisted it into a positive. 

“To me, I felt it was gangster. It was like, we got little homied. It felt like we got little homied in the meeting because maybe the idea wasn’t good.” 

Ray J also added that 50 Cent is busy, so it’s understandable. But during a conversation? 

Let’s see if 50 cares enough to respond! 

The post Ray J Says 50 Cent Took a Dump During Facetime Meeting appeared first on The Source.

Fivio Foreign stepped onto the Grammys red carpet looking fresh to death, decked out in all pink and even matching pink shades. But this isn’t his first stroll down the legendary award show, the “Big Drip” rapper was nominated last year for his feature on Kanye West’s album Donda, which held its place for Album of the Year. The song “City of Gods” features himself alongside Alicia Keys, a fan favorite from the project.

This year, however, Fivio walked down the carpet nominated for yet another Grammy. This time, it’s his collaboration with Mary J. Blige on Good Morning Gorgeous, which was a contender for Album of the Year. The two worked on “On Top,” a huge moment as both hail from New York.

The Source had the pleasure of speaking with Fivio Foreign on the red carpet, asking him about his collaboration with Nicki Minaj on “We Go Up.”

How are you doing? 

I’m doing good. I’m just chillin’. I’m staying blessed. I’m happy to slip through the cracks and make it here. Word.

Check out the pink, who styled you today?

Come on man, my homegirl Jenna. She be hooking me up. I told her I don’t want to go suited and booted or nothing like that, but I still want to keep it classy. She’s like yo, do it like that.

Was this inspired by Cam’Ron / Dipset at all?

You know, I love big bro Cam’Ron. So I could say yeah.

Second Grammy nomination, how does it feel?

I got nominated last year. I’m just blessed, ain’t gon’ lie. Coming from where come from, n*ggas ain’t making it this far. So I snuck little cracks on them, I’m chillin’.

What are you going to do if you win?

Probably drink some Casamigos. [laughs]

Hip-Hop celebrates 50 years this year. What does Hip-Hop mean to you?

Shit, Hip-Hop means everything. When I was growing up and coming outside, it molded me. Taught me how to move and live, dress and feel. It almost means everything to me. 

Do you have a favorite artist right now?

Right now, I’m fucking with me. I only listen to me. Drill music!

“We Go Up” is such a banger. How was it working with Nicki Minaj on that?

I ain’t gon’ lie, I was surprised that she was gonna let me rock out like that. I was just so happy she let me rock out, shout out to Nicki.

That verse from her was crazy. Did you feel pressure? 

Hell yeah. She had sent me the beat and she had rapped the verse to me, like “Yo, da-da-da.” I’m like “yo, you went crazy!” I just finished up, did what I did and sent it back. When she put it tougher and sent me the finished product, I’m like damn! Crazy. Legend, big sis! 

The post EXCLUSIVE: Fivio Foreign Says He Felt Pressure After Nicki Minaj’s Verse On “We Go Up” appeared first on The Source.

Rapsody is hip-hop royalty, and now she reveals exactly what fans can expect on her next album.

On Thursday, Feb. 2nd, in the thick of Grammys week in Los Angeles, Roc Nation held an exclusive listening experience for their newest signee, Reuben Vincent, who just released his debut album titled Love is War. And with Rapsody coaching him as his big sis and Young Guru guiding him as a producer, the result speaks for itself: a conceptual project that’s reminiscent of the Golden Era of Hip-Hop.

The evening consisted of an album playback, as all three broke down the meaning and composition behind each record. And while many topics were covered, one definitely stood out amidst the rest: relationships.

In fact, Rapsody actually revealed her next album will see her speaking on her own experiences with love.

While speaking on the track she’s featured on, “February 13th,” she states, “I’m pursuing my dreams: when you really locked in sometimes, you gotta make sacrifices. And one of the sacrifices that I made was relationships. I lived in the studio. I would not go out to no club, I never put myself in a position to really meet people. Then whatever whatever, I found myself in a relationship. I talk about this on my next album, so I’m not gonna go too deep in. [laughs]”

“This was partly my experience, a majority of it, sprinkled with a little bit of experiences of people around me,” she adds. “I always like to make music that people can relate to. My part in this is how are you showing the behind the scenes stuff? Every relationship that I have had, I always stood on: I don’t cheat, and I don’t lie. But this one time, I told this one little lie that changed the whole thing of somebody that I really was deeply in love with. And I had to sit with that.”

Anyone who’s a fan of Rapsody’s knows the cherished relationship she shares with Young Guru and 9th Wonder, all part of the Jamla record label (founded by 9th).

“Me and Guru would talk: you could be with somebody for 10 years, and you make one decision in 30 seconds that changes everything for the rest of your life,” Rapsody says. “And you have to live with that. You could be hopeful, but at the same time, you have to live with those decisions. That’s me taking a step back and looking at: you can say you sorry all you want to. You can blame this and that, but at the end of the day, you made the decision and you have to live with it.”

“That’s what that verse was,” she continues. “Even as a woman being in this business this long, you see it. I remember when I listened to “Zion” and how Lauryn talked about the idea of having a child, having to make that decision over a career and a child. Now we’re in a time, which is beautiful, where women and men are having children. Yeah I could do this and be a mother and be a father, and I’m proud of it. And I’m going to show my child too, right? 

That was one thing that I had to deal with, it’s so layered but that’s what it was. As far as me, it’s not about the bars, it’s about connecting with people and telling real stories. I’m not going to tell any more because my next album, I’ll tell more. Guru, I’m sure you have something you want to add.”

Rapsody then passes the microphone to Young Guru, who says “Rap has the ability to write my life.” Throughout their working relationship, it seems Rapsody’s lyrics have always somehow related to Guru’s own life experiences, in a way that allows the two beautiful sync on real, meaningful music with substance. In other words, pure Hip-Hop!

Young Guru also revealed “February 13th” was “one the best beats he’s ever produced.” It was also a therapeutic process to create, as he was also going through his own break-up.

The post Exclusive: Rapsody Says New Album Will Touch On A Past Relationship appeared first on The Source.

With all eyes on Kanye West, he still gets noticed by paparazzi — even when he’s covered from head to toe. 

Last night, Ye was spotted leaving the restaurant Beauty & Essex in Los Angeles with his new wife, Bianca Censori. The restaurant is described as “a sophisticated, jewel-toned eatery with vintage decor offering New American plates, drinks & wine,” located right in the heart of Hollywood.

The G.O.O.D. Music founder was seen rocking a balaclava or ski mask, a cloth headgear that exposes only part of the face. In this case, only Kanye’s eyes were visible as he seemingly tried to go incognito while enjoying date night with his new partner.

TMZ reports that the two remained relatively quiet and low-key as they got into their vehicle, which may come as a surprise given West’s antics last week. A woman was recording Kanye West, who approached her in the car and asked her to stop recording. You see him grabbing her phone and flinging it into the air before it lands on the ground.

The woman even exclaimed, “You’re a celebrity!” But clearly, West was fed up by that point. He is now the named suspect in a battery investigation. 

Thankfully, things seem calm now with Ye and his newlywed, who was Kanye’s former Yeezy designer. The two were recently spotted shopping at Balenciaga in Beverly Hills and tied the knot during a secret wedding ceremony.

The post Masked Kanye West Spotted Leaving Dinner in Los Angeles w/ New Wife appeared first on The Source.

It’s no secret Trippie Redd has paved his way to becoming one of the biggest artists of this generation… which comes with its battles. The Canton, Ohio native recently went on Zane Lowe’s show on Apple Music 1 to chat about his new album, Mansion Musik, and also how his music was hacked and held for ransom for a whopping $1 million.

Lowe first brings up that fans were wondering why the record “Krzy Train,” which features Travis Scott,” sounds like it does. The 23-year-old admits that the sound was not on purpose, as he didn’t have the time to mix the record properly. The reason? Hackers were in the picture.

Trippie explains, “I ain’t really speak on it, but I’m going to speak on it. I was held for ransom on my project. They wanted me to pay them a million dollars because they had all my records. Every single last one. All the features. Some hackers, they had all my songs, so I had to rush the project out.”

As a result of this unexpected hurdle, Trippie says that “Krzy Train” was precisely the version Travis Scott had sent to him because his engineer never ended up mixing it. He was trying to release the music before the hackers got to it.

“I had to run with it because if I didn’t, the whole project was going to release and it would’ve been a big thing,” Trippie states. “And this has been a big thing, they have been hacking and leaking like crazy. At least my last two, three albums,  I don’t know how they do it.”

These same hackers leaked his third studio album, Pegasus, two months before it was released.

Trippie then says: “If I don’t drop it now, then it’s going to be out there and they’re going to hear it regardless. They’re going to hear the bad mix regardless, so I’m going to put it out unmixed and see what they think.”

The good news is that Trippie will fix the mix on the record and reupload. He goes on to shed some positivity on the situation.

“I’m the kind of person, I work through anything. God got the last laugh, you feel me?” Trippe says. “The devil going to throw so much at you, you can’t really let it bother you. You just take the bruises, you’ll heal eventually. [laughs]”

Trippie’s new album Mansion Musik arrived on Jan. 20th and debuted at #1 on the Rap Albums Chart. Serving as Trippie’s fourth consecutive #1 album, the 25-track project features guest appearances from Lil Baby, Chief Keef, Future, Ski Mask the Slump God, Kodak Black, and Juice WRLD.

The post Trippie Redd Reveals His Music Was Hacked & Held For Ransom For $1 Million appeared first on The Source.

One thing about Latto, she will clap back if you try her.

A recent tweet went viral of a user posting side-by-side photos of Latto rocking the same cheetah print panties in different outlets. The caption read, “Can’t afford new panties?”

While the humor was there initially, Latto quoted the tweet by commenting, “Oh no, it’s the panty police.” The post has been retweeted nearly 8K times, with 139K likes. 

The laughs continued as Latto decided to take it a step further. Sharing to her 9.8 million followers on Instagram, Latto posted a photo to Story with five different pairs of cheetah underwear, stating, “I’m gonna wear a pair today and sell em tomorrow.”

The next day, Latto did precisely that. The 24-year-old decided to sell the legendary cheetah panties online on eBay, beginning the auction at a mere 99 cents. Her caption reads, “Auction live on eBay since I can’t wear them twice,” as she directed her fans to the link in her bio.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BIG LATTO (@latto777)

Sadly, eBay came in hot to stop the party, stating that used and worn underwear directly violates their “used clothing policy,” deactivating Latto’s post altogether. The company uses AI technology and trained investigators to ensure their policies are upheld.

The eBay listing read: “Latto’s everyday cheetah print panties. Used. As seen on Latto multiple times.” 

With Latto’s devout fanbase, it was no surprise when hundreds of thousands of dollars were put up. Within a few hours since Latto posted, the auction peaked at $95,650, with over 100 bids from her fans partaking in fun. Sadly, Latto won’t sell her panties on the platform soon.

eBay’s customer service page, @askeBay, responded to Lotto’s tweet of the auction stating, “Used underwear is not allowed on site, please report any listings you see in breach of policy.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

Before the listing, Latto even went as far as giving fans a peek into her underwear drawer. She states, “In light of my panty discrepancy yesterday, I’ve decided to give you guys an inside look on my panty drawer. These are all my Target panties that caused such a discrepancy yesterday. $5 at Target, here’s the cheetah stash.”

Either way, we’re sure Latto is getting kicked out of how much fans were willing to pay for her cheap panties!

The post Latto’s Used Panties Listing Removed By eBay For Violating Their Policies appeared first on The Source.

When you’re Drake, $1.1 million might seem like chump change. To the regular person, betting a million dollars on a football game might seem like a huge risk… one that many may not be able even to partake in. 

Luckily for Drizzy, the Kansas City Chiefs came out on top in the AFC title game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. Last night, the Chiefs and Bengals were tied 20 to 20 as the clock was dwindling in the fourth quarter – when Joseph Ossain of the Bengals was hit with a penalty that resulted in a field goal win for the Chiefs.

But most importantly, the win broke the “Drake curse,” who, in past instances, seemingly always bets on the team who ends up losing. Some teams even say they’re more prone to lose when he bets on them.

The evening before the big game, the Toronto superstar posted a screenshot to the Instagram story of his high-stake bet on the Chiefs to take the trophy home over the Bengals. He writes, “Big Sunday let’s buy mama something nice.” The wager? $1.1 million.

It looks like Drake’s mama, Sandi Graham, is all smiles, with Drake receiving an end payout of over $2.27 million. Of course, Drake is best known for his undeniable hit records and Platinum-selling projects. But this win proves he might also have a chance at sports betting.

Some past bets he’s failed on include the Duke Blue Devils winning over North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four, FC Barcelona over Real Madrid, Israel Adesanya over Alex Pereira in the UFC middleweight title fight, and even the World Cup, where he met $1 million on Argentina. While they ended up winning, Drake sadly lost all his cash in two minutes since his bet was in the 1×2 market, which doesn’t cover the extra time.

On a positive note, Drake did take home $1.4 million after betting the Rams would win in the Super Bowl versus the Bengals last February.

We’ll be on standby to see if he places his money on this year’s Super Bowl!

The post Drake Comes up on $2.27 Million Betting on Kansas City Chiefs appeared first on The Source.

Mike Jones! Who?? Hailing from Houston and forever putting on for his city, the Swishahouse rapper has come a long way from working at Jack In The Box to now being a certified legend in the rap game. Lil Uzi Vert even went on record stating how much Mike Jones influenced his artistry. 

The amount of hits under Mike Jones’ belt alone deserves its flowers, from his debut single “Still Tippin” featuring Slim Thug and Paul Wall to “Back Then” to “Flossin’.” Regardless, his lyrics are directly inspired by real-life experiences, such as dropping “Drop & Gimme 50” around the time he lost 100 pounds. 

Beyond the music, it’s Mike Jones’ mindset and positive thinking that fans resonate with most. Anyone following Mike’s journey knows that he’s been through it when it comes to the business side of the music industry, fighting for years to retrieve the royalties to his songs.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Jones (@where_mikejones)

The Source caught up with Mike Jones via Instagram Live, for our first ever Hip-Hop Convos series. Read below as we discuss Mike Jones recent coverage in the news about not clearing a sample for a 1017 artist named BiC Fizzle, his deal with Buffalo Wild Wings, Charlemagne shouting him out, and more!

Happy Wednesday, how you doing?

Been blessed, everybody been excited about this interview. I’m excited. I’m happy that you leveled up and got with The Source, because The Source been the source. They always been the source to everything. Music, Hip-Hop, everything. I’ve been rocking with The Source since I came into the game for real. The Source was the magazine, everybody and their mama wanted to be on The Source. RIP Big Poppa: “Smiles every time my face is up in The Source.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Jones (@where_mikejones)

Definitely want to start out by talking about Buffalo Wild Wings using your song “Sauce.”

You know what’s crazy? That was a record we did and a lot of people overlooked it, but we stayed down with it. Buffalo Wild Wings came into the play and said, “Hey, we want that record. We want it for what we doing.” Now, the record has really grown to other levels. It opened us up and showed us how we can really boss up on sync licensing. We don’t have to just put out an EP or LP, we can really change our mindset on how we do business.

Do you remember when you made the song? How long ago was that?

We made the song 2016/2017. 

It got picked up five years later? That’s crazy.

What’s crazy, I sat down with Ghazi from EMPIRE and let him hear the record. I let a lot of people hear it, and they didn’t see what I saw. So I had to keep the record in my backpack, and here we go. A billion dollar plus company comes in and says “hey, we want to use this record.” It changed the whole trajectory for us.

How do you do the sync licensing deals?

For one, you got to own the music. A lot of your favorite artists don’t own the music, so that money goes to the boss. The CEO, and the CEO never wants to talk about it. I’m an artist/CEO. I came into the game this way so it’s only right that I educate my artists/CEOs to understand this type of money you could be making from doing this type of stuff. They don’t own the record, we own it. We still getting publishing and royalties, yet they’re sync licensing and using it on a big scale like NFL. Merging it with players like Sauce Gardner, #1 draft pick for the New York Jets. It’s showing us that we all got the sauce, we just had to merge it with the right sauce.

What was your mentality as Mike Jones when you created it in 2016?

The feeling I felt then, I’m justified for it now. Because I felt good when I made it, I got the sauce. Because since I came into the game to now, I’m still holding it down. I’m still here. I’m not faded away, I’m still in the know. Whether somebody’s trying to sample my song, or rather somebody trying to reuse my new song, I’m still here. For Buffalo Wild Wings to come years later, and place it right there into the centerpoint of all commercials and TV, and then merging with other places, it just let us know music has no date.

Someone said, arguably one of the hardest debut albums of all time. Shout out Mike Jones.

Thank you, I appreciate y’all. I appreciate the people at the time for really listening to real music. Real pain. I wasn’t trying to be something I wasn’t, I was trying to let y’all know what’s going on. Most times in order for you to go somewhere and get put on, you gotta give up something. You always gotta give up something in order to get something, and that’s one thing that we don’t have to do with this sync licensing thing. 

It’s very important if you own your own stuff, you go viral on TikTok and people want to use your stuff, you can still do a sync licensing deal to where you still own the publishing and royalties. You don’t gotta sell it off for no chump change, and somebody else comes and does a sync licensing on you and you don’t know nothing about it.

So what exactly happened with BiC Fizzle? You wouldn’t clear his sample?

It ain’t nothing bad, it’s just you gotta learn the business. Once you become an owner of something and people will want to sample your stuff, it’s a proper procedure of business that has to go down. Once that business goes down, you get the access gate to keep going. If everything starts off good but the business stops at the end, you’re not going to be able to access through. Even if you still put it out already without finishing the proper inside details, it’ll still be abruptly taken down — which it was. I can show you proof of this stuff going on over a year ago. It didn’t just happen yesterday or last week, we’ve been waiting. People put it out anyways, then all of a sudden it gets taken down and people get upset. That’s what happened.

Were you initially down to clear it?

We heard the record, we were down. But they didn’t finish the business, you follow me? Yeah, I’ma get you to host this. I’ma get you to do this, but never paid for your flights. I’ll never finish off this, so how can we still..? Were you initially gon’ go? Yeah! But we still had to finalize this this and this. Everybody ran off the deep end without finalizing everything.

Evidently for it to almost get to a million, we sat back and watched to see what’s going on. Okay, y’all steady running, whatever. Then you see right behind that another person comes in and clears it, and does the business the correct way. Because if you look at it, they both was trying to get the record cleared last year! I’ll show the emails, both was back in April/May of last year. 2022. So why it took this long?

We was the ones patient. The difference is one of them put it out, one of them held off. Okay, we still haven’t got back to him in months, but we ain’t put it out. We ain’t gon disrespect him, we gon’ get our stuff together. Everything clean, money passed, everything good? Boom, there we go. That’s respected. I’m not finna buy no pity cry from somebody if you’re not finishing the business. Y’all know what you said you was gon’ do, but you didn’t do it. How you gonna hold me in contempt, behind something you were already supposed to finish? Respectfully.

How did you feel when he posted that on his story and called you broke? 

I laughed about it. Because you seen what I posted: Warner Brothers royalties. So all that is not true at all, because I’m an artist who gets publishing and royalties on a quarterly basis. That is not who he’s talking about when he said my name. He’s speaking out of not knowing the game, and a lack of knowledge. You gotta understand the business, I’m trying to put y’all on game.

Did you feel any type of way about SayCheese and Akademiks covering that? 

I thought they was better than that. You know why? Because they want to teach Hip-Hop artists so much about what they don’t know. But yet instead you gon’ take something you know is not true, or you could’ve got to the bottom of the truth, and you took it because it was for clickbait. It had a celebrity name attached to it and you threw it out there. Good journalism: even if I hear something, hey let me check and see what’s going on. 

Hey boy, you want to rebuttal this? Somebody said you broke, you want..? I appreciate you coming at me before you just blasting with that. Here are the facts. Oh damn, they’ve been talking about this for over a year now. Yeah, we’ve been waiting! We didn’t get no treatment. Then why did they put it out on YouTube? I don’t know! We didn’t say nothing when they did that. So to get on there and say we’re almost at a million, and we were hating and took it down — y’all were supposed to get the business right, and y’all could get to three million! What we doing? That’s all I’m saying.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Jones (@where_mikejones)

How’d it feel to see Charlamagne shout you out recently?

Man, that was love. The times we’re in right now, social media really got people to where they can’t stand up on 10, even in rejection phase. That’s all I had to do back in my day, all I could do was stand on 10. A person told me they weren’t feeling me, I was too chubby, I wasn’t finna go kill them. I wasn’t on that mindset back then, plus we didn’t have social media to really add on what was going on. I’m like man, rejection sucks. I had to come up with a way to where I don’t go through these feelings anymore. So I bossed him, like Charlemagne said. For him to mention him, it’s respect. I didn’t pay him, I didn’t ask him. It’s the love, because that’s really what I did.

The post Mike Jones Responds To Artist Who Says He Wouldn’t Clear “Still Tippin” Sample appeared first on The Source.

It’s not everyday you’ll find a random stash of cash in the basement of your home, and even more so from your late father. Today, 2 Chainz shared to his 11.9 million followers on Instagram a video of himself running his hands through a bunch of rolled-up one-dollar bills placed there by his father.

The discovery occurred after a pipe burst in 2 Chainz’ basement when the plumber found a gifted bag full of money. “”In the video, you can hear someone telling the Atlanta native, “He did this, this is before you were born.” The caption reads “RIP POPS” with three money emojis, and a thinking emoji to start.

While no details have been made on exactly how long the stash has been there, 2 Chainz has been vocal about his relationship with his father, who passed away in 2012. During an interview with Fuse, Tity Boi refers to his father as his “best friend” and opened up on the sometimes complicated dynamic within a father and son relationship.

“Father-and-son relationships, it’s a lot of masculinity,” 2 Chainz reflects. “You’re taught to be strong. You’re taught to fight back. You’re taught not to cry. Losing him, I definitely lost somebody that I could trust, confide in, and communicate with about a lot of different things and talk to. But even that experience of losing him made me stronger.”

2 Chainz also stated that making music was “therapeutic” for him to help cope with the grief in losing his father.

In an interview with Angie Martinez on Hot 97, 2 Chainz states, “All these good things are happening, my pops was actually my best friend. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, so me and him had a relationship to where I told him things that I wouldn’t tell anyone else. Or I asked him for advice.”

He continues,” It’s crazy, I was there the whole time. Even when he passed, I was right there. It’s like, ‘Man you got a tour to do, you got an album about to come out’. He’s saying little things like I’m a be alright. Really, I be talking to him like he’s still there. I can’t believe you did this bro. I know it’s cool to say, but I can’t believe you left me.”

On the music tip, 2 Chainz is currently gearing up to release his collaborative project with Lil Wayne, which fans have been waiting for since their 2016 ColleGrove tape.

In an interview with Akademiks, 2 Chainz explains, “I feel super excited about this fucking project because it don’t sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before. And doing something like that with Wayne, it’s welcoming, it’s warming and it’s going to be accepted.”

The post 2 Chainz Finds Late Father’s Cash Stash After Plumber Fixes Broken Pipe in House appeared first on The Source.

Nipsey Hussle is Hip-Hop royalty, which means protecting him at all costs. The West Coast rapper was fatally shot on March 31st, 2019, outside his The Marathon Clothing store in South Central, Los Angeles.

Today, a joke about Nipsey Hussle in an episode of Family Guy has resurfaced online and all over social media, stirring up controversy amongst fans. Directed by Jerry Langford, the episode is titled “Young Parent Trap,” which aired in April of 2021 during the show’s 19th season. 

During the scene, Chris (who’s voiced by Seth Green) is heard telling his parents, Peter and Lois, that he plans on attending a local music festival called Quachella. When Peter (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) asks for more information, Chris states, “They’re gonna have holograms of Tupac and also Nipsey Hussle, who I’d never heard of and then was told to care immensely about.”

The video on Twitter has since gone viral, clocking in at 2.2 million views since it was posted early in the morning. Many fans came to defend Nipsey Hussle for the show’s dark humor towards his death, while some argued that this is precisely in line with the sense of humor that Family Guy is known for.

The reference stems from Tupac’s hologram appearance during Dr. Dre’s headlining set at Coachella back in 2012, as a virtual Tupac was seen performing with the legendary Snoop Dogg.
Nipsey Hussle was considered a legend in the underground scene. Some would even say he reached the mainstream light, especially with the release of his debut album, Victory Lap. Regardless, any joke regarding someone’s death should not be taken lightly; unfortunately, this wasn’t caught earlier.

The post Nipsey Hussle Joke In ‘Family Guy’ Episode Stirs Debate appeared first on The Source.