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Prince Estate Lawsuit: Judge Sides With Advisors In Legal Battle Against Pop Icon’s Heirs

Prince’s former business advisors have won a key ruling in their ongoing legal battle with three of the pop legend’s heirs over the management of his estate.

In a decision issued Friday, a Delaware judge ruled that advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. could not be ousted as mangers of Prince Legacy LLC, a company created to operate half of Prince’s lucrative estate.

Three of Prince’s heirs, led by his sister Sharon Nelson, had argued they could amend the LLC agreement to remove McMillan and Spicer from their leadership positions, but the judge ruled that such efforts were clearly invalid under the terms of the agreement.

“The LLC agreement is unambiguous and [McMillan and Spicer]’s interpretation is the only reasonable one,” Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick wrote in the decision, which was obtained by Billboard.

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Ruling that Prince’s heirs had vested the two advisors with “broad and exclusive management authority,” the judge said they could not now amend their agreement simply because they “came to regret this decision.”

An attorney for Sharon Nelson and the other Prince heirs did not immediately return a request for comment on the ruling.

Prince had no will when he died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, leaving six heirs to inherit equal shares in his valuable estate and sparking a long legal battle in Minnesota probate court over how the estate would be managed in the future.

When the court case finally wrapped up in August 2022, the estate was split into two companies – one controlled by Primary Wave after it purchased the shares of three heirs, and another (Prince Legacy) controlled by McMillan, Spicer and the three remaining relatives. At the time, both sides vowed to work together to bring Prince’s music and legacy to a new generation of music fans.

But in January, McMillan and Spicer sued their partners within Prince Legacy, claiming Nelson and other heirs were improperly trying to force them out as managers and “install themselves” in their place. McMillan and Spicer claimed Nelson had become “disgruntled” because they had refused to comply with her “unreasonable demands. They cited one incident in which she allegedly attempted “replace the entire staff” of Prince’s legendary Paisley Park home “with individuals of her choosing.”

The lawsuit argued that the efforts to oust McMillan and Spicer were not only barred by Prince Legacy’s operating agreement, but also posed a threat to their efforts “to preserve and protect Prince’s legacy.”

“The individual defendants lack any business and management experience, have no experience in the music and entertainment industries, and have no experience negotiating and managing high-level deals in the entertainment industry,” attorneys for McMillan and Spicer wrote at the time. “They have a documented history of infighting. Based on the amount and complexity of the work that Prince Legacy is involved with, they are simply not capable of stepping in and managing its business.”

In Friday’s decision, McCormick sided decisively with McMillan and Spicer, granting them summary judgment on their core allegation: That Nelson’s effort to amend the LLC agreement had been invalid under terms of the deal.

“Defendants’ interpretation … would lead to the absurd result of giving the non-managing members the authority to unilaterally take actions on behalf of the company and bind the company without the approval of the managing members,” the judge wrote in her ruling.

In a statement to Billboard following the ruling, McMillan said: “We are pleased with the judge’s decision and wish we were not forced to take legal action for the wrongdoing of the defendants (and their advisors) yet we have a heavy responsibility to preserve and protect Prince’s legacy and all he created, by all appropriate means necessary. I have protected Prince and been his partner for decades. Nothing will change our history and my loyalty to him and his legacy.”

Friday’s decision will not end the lawsuit, because McCormick also ruled that McMillan and Spicer could to pursue their related allegation that Nelson and the other heirs had breached that contract when they attempted to amend the LLC agreement. That claim will be subject to future litigation.

Primary Wave, which controls the other half of Prince’s estate, is not involved in the litigation nor accused of any wrongdoing.

L.A. Public Library Debates Retiring Its Owl Puppet After Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Video

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has permeated different avenues of pop culture, and now, even libraries are feeling the impact of the Drake diss. The Los Angeles Public Library went viral over the weekend when it posted a video to TikTok and Instagram over the weekend, debating whether its owl puppet needed to say farewell for good following the arrival of the diss track’s video on July 4.

In the visual, the rapper “wop wop wop wop wops” a giant owl piñata while the screen notes “NO OVHOES WERE HARMED DURING THE MAKING OF THIS VIDEO.” The visual ends with a scene of an owl in a cage.

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“Do we need to retire our owl puppet,” the library asks in the clip, which features “Not Like Us” booming in the background. “Let us know,” the Instagram caption also said. The library’s raccoon puppet wraps the owl — synonymous with Drake’s OVO brand — in a blanket and closes the storage bin’s lid on him in a ceremonial burial of sorts.

West Coast fans loved to see the L.A. Library enter the feud and most found the skit to be funny. “THE LIBRARY! I thought it was done done when Duolingo got in on the beef, but I think this does it,” one person wrote on TikTok.

“LA standing on business,” a fan replied.

Another person joked about how this made them want to pay their late fees on books, but it turns out the library doesn’t even have late fees anymore.

The momentum of “Not Like Us” doesn’t look to be waning anytime soon with Kendrick’s victory lap taking over the summer on the West Coast.

The Mustard-produced anthem may receive another boost on the charts with the arrival of the track’s music video. On last week’s Billboard Hot 100, “Not Like Us” held strong in the No. 3 slot in its eighth week on the chart.

Kendrick delivered the live debut of “Not Like Us” on Juneteenth during his Pop Out concert at L.A.’s Kia Forum, which made for a memorable hip-hop moment with mentor Dr. Dre kicking off the performance alongside K. Dot on stage.

Watch the Los Angeles Public Library’s clip about its owl below.

Jennifer Lopez Marks Anniversary of 2021 ‘Freedom’ Song ‘Cambia El Paso’

Back when she released the Spanish-language reggaeton Rauw Alejandro collaboration “Cambia El Paso” in 2021, Jennifer Lopez was coming out of a difficult time in her life. The song co-written by the two singers dropped just after Lopez split with longtime fiancé former MLB star Alex Rodriguez, and in a chat with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe at the time Lopez said the track was about moving on, pointing out that the title translates into: “change the step.”

“I’m super happy. I know people are always wondering. How are you? What’s going on? Are you OK? This is it. I’ve never been better,” she told Lowe. “And I want my people who care about me, because I care about them so much, to know that I’ve really gotten to a place in my life where I’m great on my own. And I think once you get to that place, then amazing things happen to you that you never imagine in your life happening again. And so that is where I’m at. And I love all the love that’s coming my way right now and all of the, the good wishes. And I just want everybody to know that it’s the best time. It’s the best time of my life.”

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The conversation came at a time when Lopez was spotted spending time with her former fiancé, actor Ben Affleck; after two decades apart, the two tied the knot in July 2022.

Now, the couple are reportedly going through a rough patch amid rumors of marital strife, though neither artist nor their reps have offered any public statements to date about the status of their marriage

Which is why fans were wondering about the timing of Lopez’s repost of a snippet of the “Cambia” video on Sunday. The singer titled the throwback “Happy Anniversary ‘Cambia El Paso,’” in celebration of the original July 5, 2021 release date. The brief clip features Lopez dancing and posing on the beach and city streets, rolling around in the sand in a silver bikini top and short jean shorts.

While the video only has Lopez, 54, singing the title in Spanish and lyrics about how “all she wanna do is dance, dance, dance dance,” other lines from the song have long been construed as having a not-so-subtle double-meaning. “Her life is better now without him/ He knows that his hips do not fail him/ You don’t need anyone to be well/ She doesn’t fail, she doesn’t fail,” Lopez sings on the track in Spanish in lyrics not included in the Instagram post. The homage initially featured a number of supportive comments from fans earlier in the day, but by noon on Monday (July 8) it appeared as if all comments had been removed.

Back on June 27, Lopez similarly paid tribute to another milestone in marking the 10th anniversary of her eighth studio album, A.K.A.

People noted that Sunday’s post came after Lopez appeared to spend the Fourth of July weekend in New York away from Affleck, 51, who was reportedly in Los Angeles. The last time Lopez appeared to feature Affleck in an Instagram post was on March 2 when she was promoting her documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. The two were also spotted last month, reportedly arriving separately to celebrate the graduation ceremony for the actor’s 12-year-old son, Samuel.

In the Lowe interview from 2021, Lopez further explained that “Cambia” was about “change and it is about taking a step … when things don’t feel right… To me that represents joy, happiness, life… it just represents happiness to me, because I love dancing so much because it’s kind of my first love, it represents joy, happiness, a freedom… All she wants to do is be happy. All she wants to do is live.”

Check out Lopez’s post and watch the “Cambia El Paso” video below.



Kesha Praises Sabrina Carpenter & Says She’s ‘Proud to Be a Woman in Music’

Kesha is loving all the new music female artists are releasing this year, but especially Sabrina Carpenter‘s.

In a TikTok posted Sunday (July 7), the “Tik Tok” singer cited the 24-year-old rising star as an example of why she’s pumped to be part of the music industry as of late. “the ladies are holding it down with new music this summer,” she wrote over a clip of her vibing to Carpenter’s Billboard Hot 100-topping “Please Please Please,” modeling a spangly gold top.

“proud to be a woman in music,” Kesha added in her caption.

Indeed, this summer has already proven to be dominated by women musicians. Along with “Espresso,” Carpenter occupied two of the top five spots in the Hot 100 chart dated July 6, while six female artists charted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 the same week for the first time this decade, thanks to projects from Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande and Charli XCX.

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Plus, Kesha recently entered the ring with her new single “Joyride,” which dropped on the Fourth of July in honor of the 37-year-old superstar’s newfound independence. The track marks her first release since fulfilling her contract with Kemosabe Records and settling her nearly decade-long defamation lawsuit with the label’s founder, Dr. Luke; in 2014, she alleged that he had drugged and raped her after a 2005 party. In announcing their settlement, the producer denied Kesha’s claims, saying in a joint press release, “I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years.”

“Good news: I’m a free motherf–king woman,” Kesha said at New York City’s Planet Pride in June, where she debuted “Joyride” for her audience days ahead of its release. “And do you know what I want to do? I kinda wanna play my first song in almost 20 f–king years … as a free motherf–king woman.”

Kesha isn’t the only star who’s lauded Carpenter for her wildly successful summer recently. Last week, Taylor Swift commented on one of the “Feather” singer’s posts — in which Carpenter celebrated selling out her first-ever arena tour — and wrote, “SUMMER OF SABRINA AND MAY IT CONTINUE FOREVER ?.”

See Kesha’s post praising Sabrina Carpenter below.

Busta Rhymes Teases “Not Like Us” Remix, Barks On Essence Festival Crowd

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2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture Presented By Coca-Cola - Day 1 - Caesar's Superdome

Busta Rhymes is a consummate professional and one of the top performers to ever grace the stage. Over the weekend, Busta Rhymes ended his set by teasing a possible remix to Kendrick Lamar’s massive hit “Not Like Us.”

Busta Rhymes was at the Essence Festival in New Orleans over the weekend and the veteran Hip-Hop performer had DJ Scratchator rock a portion of his verse from the assumed “Not Like Us” remix. However, it isn’t known if it’s an official release. DJ Scratchator ran the verse back twice as Busta and Spliff Star continued to exit the stage.

If this remix is the genuine article, it appears that Busta has chosen a side in the ongoing feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, with many declaring the Compton, Calif. star the victor over his Canadian counterpart.

Also during Busta’s set at Essence Fest, the former Leaders Of The New School rapper checked the crowd for being too subdued for his tastes and said in his three decades of performing, he’s never had folks play the too-cool for-school position.

“Thirty-three years of doing this sh*t, I ain’t used to n*ggas sitting down at my show. I don’t give a f*ck! All age groups, get your ass up now,” Busta said to a crowd still trying to settle in their seats.

You can watch clips of both moments featuring Busta Rhymes below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=ulU2KIt1yB0&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Photo: Getty

Hip-Hop Wired Digital Cover: Hip-Hop Beef

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Hip-Hop Wired Digital Cover: Hip-Hop Beef That Shifted Culture

Source: @aldreday courtesy of @hiphopwired / A.L. Dre | iOne Digital

The spirit of competition has always fed the beast that is Hip-Hop. Not just anyone could set up a sound system, plug into a streetlight and DJ for the block party.

The streets had to be with you (or else, you’d be risking robbery or bodily harm). Same goes for the rappers who would soon enough come to the forefront. Sure, you might have been friends with the DJ, but the crowd would expeditiouslymake it clear if that alley-oop was either adept curation or “you might want to give up the mic before you get really booed, or jumped” folly. This hierarchy, along with the human propensity for misguided dislike or “hating,” meant that “beef” has long been intrinsic to Hip-Hop’s DNA. Whether for the sake of getting your own time in the spotlight or just letting the listeners know why you’re the better option, the thin line between a friendly feud and cold-blooded animus has always been there.

At its worst, the bitter rivalries led to spilled blood, even homicide (rest in powerful peace Tupac and Biggie). But at its best, which is more common, it spurned innovation and timeless records. Beef has permeated Hip-Hop throughout its 50 years and going life, as covered in By The Numbers: How Rap Beef Affects the Culture and has moved the culture, as noted in It’s What’s For Hip-Hop: 9 Rap Beefs That Shifted Hip-Hop Culture. Also, the tour de force that is Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” makes it clear Hip-Hop will always have an appetite for well-crafted and no holds barred battle.

Back in the early 1990s, before the Internet, artist André LeRoy “A.L. Dre” Davis cooked up a artistic depiction of one of Hip-Hop most infamous if now forgotten beefs—KRS-One vs. PM Dawn. The story goes The Teacha stepped to PM Dawn’s Prince B at a now-shuttered venue in NYC called Sound Factory, and it ended badly for the “Set Adrift” rapper. There were no cell phone cameras in the building 30 or so years ago, so Dre artfully recreated what allegedly went down for The Source magazine, and the rest is history.

So we felt it would be dope to use A.L. Dre’s artwork, with his permission of course, to flip a homage to Hip-Hop for Hip-Hop Wired’s first-ever digital cover. The assignment was understood and executed to perfection.

Tia Ray Is Top Winner at China’s 2nd Wave Music Awards

Tia Ray was the top winner at China’s 2nd Wave Music Awards, which were presented in Beijing on June 20. The event was initiated by the Wave Music Committee and organized by Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), an online music platform in China.

Tia Ray (born Yuan Yawei) won the best female singer award, and also received honors for record of the year and best pop album for Allure.

Tia Ray, 39, a singer-songwriter from Hunan, China, rose to fame in 2012 as a contestant on the televised singing competition The Voice of China. She has since released four albums, all of which she co-wrote and co-produced.

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After almost three months of evaluation, the Wave Music Awards selected the most representative Chinese music works from nearly 10,000 new songs and more than 500 albums released in 2023. A total of 35 awards were presented across seven categories, including singer, style, creation and technology.

Album of the year was awarded to Flow by Faith Yang, 50. Song of the year went to “Mother and Daughter” by Huang Qishan, 56, and Curley G, 25.

Other highlights included best male singer won by JJ Lin, and best group, which was awarded to Radio Mars. Leah Dou’s “Monday” won best pop song, while Chinese rock band Young Drug’s “Flower” earned the best rock song award.

The Wave Music Awards also presented honors in the fields of creation and technology. Dao Lang’s “Luocha Haishi” won best lyrics, JJ Lin’s “Dust and Ashes” won best composition, Jude Qiu’s “Please Unfriend Leo” won best arrangement, Xu Jun’s “OPEN IT” won best album production, “The Source of Life” by Lowell Lo and Jonathan Lee won best single production, Faith Yang’s “Flow” got best recording studio engineering album and Eason Chan’s “Something Missing” won best music video.

The ceremony also featured performances by 11 artists with diverse styles. Such award winners as Huang Qishan, Yu Kewei, Leah Dou, Young Drug performed their honored works.

Jorts Legend John Cena Announces His Retirement From The WWE

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WWE Money in the Bank

Source: WWE / Getty

After professionally wrestling for almost a quarter of a century, WWE superstar John Cena is calling it a career.

According to Deadline, the iconic wrestling superstar plans on hanging it up after 23 years of putting on amazing shows in the squared ring exclusively for the WWE. One of the very few wrestlers to have never left the company he started for, John Cena has spent the last two decades and change giving people reasons to both cheer him and jeer him while never once turning heel after becoming the face of the company. At one point, people began to boo him just because he was such a good guy that he became corny to them. It was hilarious.

Now, it seems like the 13-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion is prepared to move on to bigger and better things (Hollywood) as over the weekend, during a surprise appearance at WWE’s Money in the Bank event in Toronto, Canada, Cena shocked everyone when he announced that after next year’s WrestleMania you won’t see him wrestling in the ring ever again.

Per Deadline:

“Why am I here? Tonight, I officially announce my retirement from the WWE,” he said to shocked gasps from the audience.

Later in his speech, Cena revealed he plans to stay on to take part in Monday Night Raw as it makes the unprecedented move to Netflix in January 2025.

“This farewell, it does not end tonight,” he said. “It is filled with opportunity. Everybody, Raw makes history next year when it moves to Netflix. I’ve never been a part of Raw on Netflix, that is history. That is a first, and I will be there. 

“And along with that history making first, we are going to build so many unforgettable lasts. The 2025 Royal Rumble will be my last. The 2025 Elimination Chamber will be my last. And I’m here tonight to announce that in Las Vegas, WrestleMania 2025 will be the last WrestleMania I compete in,” added Cena.

With John Cena at least outlining what his last year of wrestling will entail, we have to wonder what kind of storyline will lead to his exit. Who will be his last antagonist? Roman Reigns? Solo Sikoa? CM Punk? It’s anyone’s guess at this point, but we just hope he puts on a helluva last run as he’s earned it over the decades.

“Thank you so much for letting me play in the house that you built for so many years,” said Cena. “Thank you so much always for your voice, because it’s really loud, and your honesty, because it’s beautifully brutal. And most of all, thank you so much for allowing me to be with you here tonight to let the whole world know that we are planning something unforgettable, which also involves me returning to Toronto to kick some ass!”

Chet Hanks Condemns Neo-Nazis Co-Opting “White Boy Summer”

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World Premiere Of Apple TV+'s

Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty

Actor Chet Hanks has publically come out against hate groups using his “White Boy Summer” song and catchphrase for ill intent and recruitment.

On Wednesday (July 3), Chet Hanks, the son of the renowned actor, Tom Hanks, denounced the usage of his trending song and catchphrase “White Boy Summer” by white nationalist groups. In a post on Instagram, the actor posted a quick video with the caption: “White boy summer was created to be fun, playful, and a celebration of fly white boys who love beautiful queens of every race,” he wrote. “Anything else that it has been twisted into to support any kind of hate or bigotry against any group of people is deplorable and I condemn it. I hope that we all can spread love to each other and treat each other with kindness and dignity.”

The post comes after a report issued by the Global Project Against Hate & Extremism (GPAHE), which explicitly named Hanks’ song and phrase, coined in 2021, as a rallying slogan for white nationalist groups in their communications on the private social media platform Telegram and other outreach efforts online in addition to promoting acts of violence. The report names the Proud Boys extremist group as one of the first adopters in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, along with other domestic groups and those based in European nations like France and Finland. “This is the story of how an influential person with a large social media audience can inspire a viral and dangerous narrative and motivate white supremacist groups worldwide,” the report stated.

Hanks has tried to distance himself from these groups using “White Boy Summer” in the past. “Take it how you want, I’m not talking about Trump, Nascar-type white. I’m talking about me, (rappers) Jon B. Jack Harlow-type white boys. Let me know if you guys can vibe with that, and get ready. ‘Cause I am,” he wrote back in 2021. But the Your Honor actor came under intense scrutiny on his initial attempt to sell merchandise with the phrase that bore a font that was strikingly similar to that used by white extremist groups, as well as the typeface used on Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.”

Ice Spice Blows Kisses at Crowd Booing a Taylor Swift Song During Rolling Loud Europe Set: Watch

Ice Spice keeps her side of the street clean, especially when Taylor Swift is involved. When fans at the rapper’s Rolling Loud Europe set started booing her “Karma” collaborator’s song Sunday (July 7), the former had the best reaction: blowing kisses to the haters and keeping things moving.  

The moment came when Swift’s part of the duo’s “Karma” remix — which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after Ice hopped on the track last year — started playing over the speakers during the 24-year-old Bronx native’s festival set in Austria. “Swifties, make some noise!” Ice cheered, to which a group of fans started booing loudly, waving thumbs-down symbols. 

Ice, however, was unbothered. Instead of directly acknowledging the negativity, she simply blew a kiss and gave a stony expression, seemingly in the haters’ direction, before moving right along.  

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The “In Ha Mood” artist was one of several musicians to take the stage at this year’s European edition of Rolling Loud, where she also performed tracks such as “Gimmie a Light” and new single “Phat Butt.” Nicki Minaj, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott served as headliners, while Gunna, Sexyy Red, Don Toliver, Offset and more were billed on the 2024 program as well.  

And if some festivalgoers were expecting Ice not stand by Swift, they were sorely mistaken. Both artists have been vocal in their support for one another since coming together on “Karma,” with the pop star asserting on more than one occasion that the rapper is the “one to watch.” 

Ice has also said that Swift often acts as a guiding light for her when it comes to her career. “When I was in the studio with Taylor, like, I’ll never forget that,” the rapper shared with Billboard in the March 2024 issue. “She told me, ‘No matter what, just keep making music and everything’s going to be fine.’”

The younger musician is currently gearing up to release her debut album, Y2K!, on July 26. After teasing that the project features more than one A-list collaboration, many fans have speculated that Swift may make an appearance for a “Karma” sequel — but Ice isn’t giving anything away just yet.  

“I don’t know,” she said at the BET Awards in June when asked about the rumors, giving a coy smile. “Let’s see, let’s see, let’s see.” 

See the moment Ice Spice blew kisses at her crowd while “Karma” played at her Rolling Loud Europe set.