State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
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Bow Wow gave fans some interesting insight into how beats get passed around, while also making a crazy revelation. Sitting down with former NBA player Jeff Teague for his Club 520 podcast, Bow Wow was asked which songs he’s passed on over the course of his career. First, he mentioned passing on the beat that […]
SZA has come to Megan Thee Stallion’s defense after Tory Lanez‘sattorneys and a Florida congresswoman have spoken out about new evidence that they say will prove the Toronto singer/rapper’s innocence.
SZA was spotted by eagle-eyed fans in the comments of an Instagram video posted by user @theluncheonlawyer, who was speaking on the alleged new evidence uncovered in the 2020 shooting case.
“The density !!!!! I’m actually SO shocked at the amount of ppl fully comfortable bullying a woman that’s proven to be a victim of assault,” SZA wrote in defense of her “Freaky Girls” collaborator. “Like out loud where other ppl can see you ?? Lmao u finna be stupid OUTLOUD ?”
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Megan Thee Stallion has also heard the negativity and noise. She clapped back in a comment on her TikTok earlier this week, where she referred to Lanez as a “demon.”
“At what point are yall gonna stop making me have to re live being shot BY TORY,” she reaffirmed. “At what point are Tory and yall FANS gonna stop lying ? Like how much is the check to keep harassing me?”
Meg continued: “One min him/ yall said I was never shot now yall letting him play in yall face AGAIN and say I was shot but it wasn’t him oh ok… ? Ain’t no new f—ing evidence yall been saying the same sh– for years, TORY PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE you are a f—ing demon.”
Lanez was the victim of a prison stabbing earlier in May. A rep for the Toronto singer claimed he was stabbed 14 times and suffered collapsed lungs, but was “in good spirits” while recovering at a nearby hospital. The Canadian artist was attacked by an inmate inside California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi around 7:20 a.m. PT on May 12, according to a spokesperson for the prison who talked with ABC News.
Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence in prison after being convicted on three felony counts for shooting Megan Thee Stallion during a heated dispute outside a Hollywood Hills party in July 2020. She was granted a restraining order against Lanez in January.
The new evidence claims came from the Los Angeles nonprofit social justice organization Unite the People, as attorney Walter Roberts alleged new findings in Tory’s case during a press conference last week. Roberts claimed that Kelsey Harris’ bodyguard, Bradley James, filed an affidavit saying he overheard Harris admit to shooting the gun and not Lanez.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida’s 13th district also called for Tory Lanez’s freedom earlier this week and claimed that new evidence was going to be presented in the next 36 hours, proving Lanez’s innocence.
“I am calling on Gov. Newsom @CAgovernor to review Tory Lanez’s case and issue a pardon,” she wrote. “His 10-year sentence was based on flawed evidence, political pressure, and prosecutorial bias. Justice must be blind— not driven by headlines. Free Tory Lanez.”
She added on Tuesday: “We have compelling evidence proving Tory Lanez’s innocence, and it will be released within the next 36 hours. Those who rushed to call for his incarceration, and worse yet pushed false evidence, should prepare to be held accountable.”
Karol G lands her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Pop Songs chart as her new single “Milagros” flies from No. 19 to the top of the May 24-dated ranking after its first full tracking week.
“Milagros” was released May 8 on Bichota Records/Interscope/ICLG, the last day of the May 2-8 tracking week. Thus, it debuted at No. 19 on the Hot Latin Pop Songs chart with only one day of activity. On the current list, it surges to No. 1 with a 687% boost in streams, that is 4.4 million clicks earned in the U.S. on the tracking week ending May 15, according to Luminate.
As “Milagros” rises to No. 1, Karol G wraps a dominant stretch for Selena Gomez, benny blanco and The Marías at the Hot Latin Pop Songs chart. The trio ruled with “Ojos Tristes” for the last six weeks, since the chart launched on the ranking dated April 12.
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Sales too, assist “Milagros” rise to the summit, after a 253% gain in sales, with 1,000 downloads sold during the same period, enough for an equal No. 1 on Latin Digital Song Sales.
Beyond its Hot Latin Pop Songs coronation, “Milagros” also bows at No. 20 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, which also mixes airplay, streaming data and digital sales into its formula. With the new arrival, Karol adds her 68th career entry, an extends her record for the most career entries among women.
Becky G & Manuel Turizo Hit It Off: Over on the Hot Tropical Songs chart, Becky G secures her maiden top 10 on her first try, thanks to “Qué Haces,” with Manuel Turizo. The song debuts at No. 3 with 1.9 million streams registered on the May 15 tracking week. Plus, it launches at No. 17 on Tropical Airplay with 1.3 million audience impressions.
In terms of digital sales, “Qué Haces” logged little less than 1,000 downloads, enough for a No. 2 debut on Latin Digital Songs.
For Turizo, “Qué Haces” marks his second top 10 on Hot Tropical Songs, among three entries. “En Privado,” with Xavi, took him to a No. 2 debut and peak on the April 12-dated tally.
Kneecap band member Liam O’Hanna has been charged with a terror offense by London police after he allegedly waved a Hezbollah flag onstage, according to the BBC.
The charge comes about six months after the alleged incident, during which the 27-year-old Irish musician — whose stage name is Mo Chara — is said to have displayed the flag during his band’s gig at the O2 Forum on Nov. 21, 2024. The London Metropolitan Police only learned of the alleged offense in April, when a video of the concert surfaced online.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia that the United States has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization, is banned in the U.K., with the BBC reporting that it is illegal to express support for the group. The same goes for Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization that Hezbollah has backed amid the former’s ongoing conflict with Israel.
O’Hanna is reportedly due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.
The update is just the latest development in a series of controversies for Kneecap, which made headlines in April for ending its Coachella set with the following message displayed onscreen: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F— Israel; free Palestine.”
While some criticized the Coachella message, some fellow musicians — including Massive Attack, Pulp and Fontaines D.C. — expressed support for the group in an open letter. The Belfast trio has been one of the most outspoken voices in the music world in supporting Palestine amid Israel’s war on Hamas, which began Oct. 7, 2023, when the terrorist group killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 more. More than 53,000 Palestinians have since died in the violence, according to The Associated Press.
Kneecap again drew criticism when footage of the group allegedly calling for the deaths of British MPs (members of parliament) in 2023 resurfaced online in April, shortly after London authorities announced that they were assessing a video taken of a band member appearing to say “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” Around that time, Kneecap released a statement: “Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” the band wrote. “We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history. We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”
“We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual,” it continued. “Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”
Dead & Company have released new details about the Grateful Dead 60th-anniversary concerts at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park from Aug. 1-3, including the announcement of special guests booked to play each show. Bluegrass phenom Billy Strings will open the Aug. 1 concert, while singer/songwriter Sturgill Simpson, performing as Johnny Blue Skies, will perform Aug. […]
Jurors at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial heard testimony Wednesday (May 21) from a psychologist about abusive relationships and from one of the hip-hop mogul’s former assistants, who was granted legal immunity before he took the stand.
Midway through the second week of Diddy’s trial, prosecutors called Dawn Hughes, a clinical psychologist who also testified at the sex abuse trials of disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly and NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere, as well as in Johnny Depp’s civil defamation case against Amber Heard.
Hughes is one of many witnesses already called by prosecutors, who claim Combs coerced longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura and others into participating in drug-fueled sex shows known as “freak-offs.” Defense attorneys have said the events were consensual.
On the stand, Hughes said it’s common for victims of abusive relationships to stay for years because they feel trapped: “They experience a tremendous amount of shame, humiliation, degradation,” Hughes told the jury, as reported by CNN, before later adding that victims often use substances to “numb” themselves.
Later in the day, the jury heard from George Kaplan, a former assistant to Diddy who was subpoenaed to testify, according to NBC News. After concerns that Kaplan might invoke his Fifth Amendment right to not testify, prosecutors granted him immunity so that he could do so without concern of prosecution.
Kaplan testified that part of his job was setting up and cleaning up rooms for freak-offs, after which he would often find liquor bottles and baby oil strewn around the hotel rooms. He said he understood that Diddy’s reputation had to be closely safeguarded: “Protecting him and protecting his public image was very important and that was something I was very keen on doing,” Kaplan said.
Combs was indicted in September, charged with running a sprawling criminal operation aimed at facilitating the freak-offs — elaborate events in which Combs and others allegedly pressured Ventura and other victims into having sex with escorts while he watched and masturbated. Prosecutors also say the star and his associates used violence, money and blackmail to keep victims silent and under his control. (Read Billboard‘s full explainer of the case against Diddy here.)
Once one of the music industry’s most powerful men, Combs is accused of racketeering conspiracy (a so-called RICO charge), sex trafficking and violating a federal prostitution statute. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a potential life prison sentence.
During the first week of the trial, Ventura herself spent four days on the stand detailing how Combs allegedly controlled and physically abused her during their 11-year relationship. She said the sex parties left her feeling “humiliated” but that she felt she had no choice but to participate.
Defense attorneys maintain that Ventura and other women consensually took part in the sex parties. They’ve admitted that Combs had committed domestic violence during his and Ventura’s “toxic” relationship and had unusual sexual preferences, but that he had never coerced her into participating in his “swinger” lifestyle.
While cross-examining Ventura, Combs’ attorneys showed jurors huge numbers of text messages and emails between the couple — some romantic, others graphically sexual — in an effort to show that Ventura was a willing and, at times enthusiastic, participant in the freak-offs.
The trial will continue Thursday (May 22), first with more testimony from Kaplan and then from rapper Kid Cudi, who will likely be asked about an infamous incident in which Combs allegedly set Cudi’s car on fire as payback for dating Ventura. Cudi, a surprise witness, was originally going to take the stand on Wednesday, but his testimony was postponed.
Source: Jackson State University / Getty
Lil Durk is currently embroiled in a legal battle, facing accusations of intimidating witnesses in a murder-for-hire case set to go to trial later this year.
Prosecutors allege that Durk was not only responsible for financing the crime but also for orchestrating and directing it. The charges stem from the murder of Savaiy’a Robinson, the cousin of rapper Rondo, which Durk is said to have been involved in planning. U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli has firmly rejected Durk’s attempt to have the case dismissed, arguing that the rapper’s defense fails to provide valid reasons for such a motion.
In a recent court filing, Essayli pointed out that the prosecution’s case is focused on the actions Durk allegedly took regarding the murder plot, not on his music or lyrics. He further emphasized that witnesses in the case and their families have already been subjected to threats, adding to the gravity of the situation.
Durk’s legal team, on the other hand, has pushed back against these claims. They argue that the lyrics used as evidence were recorded long before the murder took place, suggesting that the prosecution is relying on irrelevant material. In a statement, Durk’s family condemned the legal process, accusing the government of presenting false evidence to the grand jury in an attempt to frame him. With the trial approaching, the controversy surrounding the case continues to grow, putting Durk’s fate in serious jeopardy.
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Bad Bunny is continuing his acting streak, this time joining the cast of the forthcoming film Caught Stealing, alongside Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz. The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio appears on the official movie trailer out Wednesday (May 21), where he is seen portraying a Puerto Rican gangster. “Either I get what I […]
Glasses Malone is confident Kendrick Lamar is going to respond to Joey Bada$$ in due time. On Tuesday (May 20), Malone — who was shouted out by Lamar at the Grammys earlier this year — was asked on X if he thought Lamar should respond to Joey’s recent string of freestyles where he mentions the […]
Country music star Martina McBride headed to Capitol Hill on Wednesday (May 21) to speak out in support of the NO FAKES Act, arguing the legislation is necessary to protect artists in the AI age.
If passed, the bill (officially titled the Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe Act), which was recently reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, would create a federal protection against unauthorized deepfakes of one’s name, image, likeness or voice for the first time. It is widely supported by the music industry, the film industry and other groups.
Just prior to McBride’s testimony, the Human Artistry Campaign sent out a press release stating that 393 artists have signed on in support of the NO FAKES Act, including Cardi B, Randy Travis, Mary J. Blige and the Dave Matthews Band.
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In her testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, McBride called unauthorized deepfakes “just terrifying” and added, “I’m pleading with you to give me the tools to stop that kind of betrayal.” She continued that passing the NO FAKES Act could “set America on the right course to develop the world’s best AI while preserving the sacred qualities that make our country so special: authenticity, integrity, humanity and our endlessly inspiring spirit…I urge you to pass this bill now.”
McBride went on to express the challenges that musicians face as unauthorized AI deepfakes proliferate online. “I worked so hard to establish trust with my fans,” she said. “They know when I say something, they can believe it… I don’t know how I can stress enough how [much unauthorized deepfakes] can impact the careers [of] artists.”
During her testimony, the singer-songwriter pointed to more specific concerns, like what can happen to individuals after they pass away. “Far into the future after I’m gone,” she said, there is the threat now that someone could “creat[e] a piece of music or [a video of] me saying something that I never did.” She added that this issue is especially challenging for emerging musicians: “I think for younger artists, to be new, and to have to set up what you stand for and who you are as a person as an artist and what you endorse what you believe in…on top of having to navigate this… is devastating.”
Suzana Carlos, head of music policy for YouTube, also expressed her company’s support for the NO FAKES Act during the hearing. “As technology evolves, we must collectively ensure that it is used responsibly, including when it comes to protecting our creators and viewers,” she said. “Platforms have a responsibility to address the challenges posed by AI-generated content, and Google and YouTube staff [is] ready to apply our expertise to help tackle them on our services and across the digital ecosystem. We know that a practical regulatory framework addressing digital replicas is critical.”
Carlos noted how one’s name, image, likeness and voice (also known as “publicity rights” or “rights of publicity”) is only currently protected on a state-by-state basis, creating a “patchwork of inconsistent legal frameworks.” She noted that YouTube would like to “streamline global operations for platforms.”
Mitch Glazier, CEO/president of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has served a strong role in pushing the NO FAKES Act forward, added during his testimony that time is of the essence to pass this bill. “I think there’s a very small window, and an unusual window, for Congress to get ahead of what is happening before it becomes irreparable,” he said.
Also during the hearing, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) brought up concerns about a “10-year moratorium” that would ban states and localities from implementing AI regulation — a clause the Republican-led House of Representatives baked into the Republicans’ so-called “big beautiful” tax bill last week. “I’m very concerned, having spent years trying to pass some of these things,” Klobuchar said. “If you just put a moratorium [on]…the ELVIS law [a new Tennessee state law that updated protections for deepfakes in the AI age] coming out of Tennessee…and some of the other things, this would stop all of that.”
The NO FAKES Act was introduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Klobuchar along with Representatives María Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4) Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-1) and Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large). It was first introduced as a draft bill in 2023 and formally introduced in the Senate in summer 2024.
Unlike some of the state publicity rights laws, the NO FAKES Act would create a federal right of publicity that would not expire after death and could be controlled by a person’s heirs for 70 years after their passing. It also includes specific carve-outs for replicas used in news, parody, historical works and criticism to ensure the First Amendment right to free speech remains protected.
