celebrity news
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Drake may be done going back and forth with Kendrick Lamar, but it seems like A$AP Rocky isn’t letting the King of the North off the hook that easily for speaking sideways about his queen, Rihanna.
Months after A$AP Rocky took a subliminal shot at Drake on Kid Cudi’s “WOW,” the Harlem rapper is at it again as he throws another indirect dart at the Canadian crooner for his transgressions on his 2023 song, “Fear Of Heights.” In a newly released cut dubbed, “HIJACK,” Rocky seems to continue to rub his relationship with Rihanna in his ops’ face with some bars saying, “These n*ggas want my wife bad, the people want my next track.”
While people may make of that what they want, Hot 97’s DJ Kast One recently attended a listening event for A$AP Rocky’s next album, Don’t Be Dumb, and according to HipHopDX, Pretty Flacko got a little something for Drizzy in the chamber ready to go.
Per HipHopDX:
After attending a listening event for the album, Kast One said on air: “I heard A$AP Rocky definitely addressing a lot of the main topics that are happening out there right now. Let’s just say the list keeps going on strong.”
Host Ebro Darden then asked whether “Rocky is still on Drake’s list,” with the DJ responding: “Oh, he’s gonna be cemented on the list after this.”
Whether Rocky’s shots at Drake are more subliminal bars or direct darts at the embattled Canadian king remains to be seen, but one has to wonder if Drake would even entertain another battle so soon after getting beaten, battered and bruised by the likes of Kung-Fu Kenny.
Check out “HIJACK” below, and let us know if A$AP Rocky vs. Drake is a battle you’d like to see, or if the two men should just let things go and move on with their lives.
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Simone Biles, who already secured her position as the most decorated gymnast of all time, won her second gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris this week. After a glowing reply on X from Ricky Davila, Simone Biles took a jab at Donald Trump and the former president’s weird “Black jobs” quip.
Ricky Davila shared an X reply Friday morning (July 2) featuring images of Simone Biles showing off her latest gold medal at the Paris Games. Davilla, using Trump’s “Black jobs” quote, wrote in the caption, “Simone Biles being the GOAT, winning Gold medals and dominating gymnastics is her black job.”
Biles caught wind of Davila’s reply, quoting and resharing while writing in the caption, “I love my Black job.”
Some might recall that Trump recently debated President Joe Biden in June on the CNN network, where he suggested migrants were crossing the border and taking “Black jobs” as a means to attract the Black voting bloc, but the tactic backfired explosively by way of social media lampooning Trump’s words.
Further, during an appearance at the 2024 NABJ Convention and Job Fair in Chicago, Trump once more used the “Black jobs” bogeyman to stoke fears of Black voters as he looks primed to take on presumptive Democratic Party nominee Vice President Kamala Harris this fall.”I will tell you that coming from the border, are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs,” Trump said.
Trump also sparked another social media trend during the same NABJ appearance by suggesting that Vice President Harris suddenly turned Black.
“She was always of Indian heritage and she was promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian, or is she Black?” Trump said, trying to seize on a thin wave of poorly researched assumptions that have grown loud but ultimately weak legs on social media.
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Veronica Fraley is currently living out her dreams as a part of Team USA’s Track and Field team at the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, the 2024 NCAA discus champion expressed that she was struggling to pay her rent which caught the eye of Flava Flav and Alexis Ohanian.
On Thursday (August 1), Veronica Fraley took to X, formerly Twitter, to share with her followers that her school, Vanderbilt University, didn’t send her the full percentage of her rent as she attempted to figure out how to make up the rest.
“I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t even pay my rent my school only sent about 75% of my rent while they pay football players (who haven’t won anything) enough to buy new cars and houses,” Fraley wrote.
Flava Flav, who has shown amazing charity and support for all things Team USA, reached out to Fraley and said that he’d cover the costs.
“I gotchu,,, DM me and I’ll send payment TODAY so you don’t have to worry bout it TOMORROW,,, and imma be rooting for ya tomorrow LETZ GO,!!!” Flav added.
Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit and husband of tennis legend Serena Williams, chimed in and said he’d split the costs with Flav.
“C’mon now! I’ll split it with @flavorfav, Ohanian wrote in a reply.
Both Flav and Ohanian showed proof that they paid Fraley, with Flav saying he’ll come and watch her compete in the discus event.
When a fan inquired why Ohanian paid $7,7600 to Fraley, he kindly explained that there was a deeper reason.
Salute to Flava Flav and Alexis Ohanian for putting their money where the mouth is. Best of luck to Veronica Fraley in her quest to capture Olympic gold.
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Vybz Kartel, one of the most influential Dancehall artists of his time, spent nearly 13 years behind bars and was sentenced to life in prison a decade ago. This week, Vybz Kartel exited prison as a free man and is already back in the business of releasing music.
As reported by the Jamaica Observer, Vybz Kartel, 48, was freed from the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre on Wednesday (July 31) to much fanfare. The popular deejay was sentenced to life behind bars in 2014 with eligibility for parole after 35 years. Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, was sentenced alongside Shawn “Shawn Storm” Campbell, Kahira Jones, and Andre St. John for the 2011 slaying of Clive “Lizard” Williams.
Back in March of this year, the United Kingdom’s Privy Council overturned the convictions of the accused after jury misconduct was discovered, sending the matter to the Court of Appeal in Jamaica to decide if the men should be retried or released.
On Wednesday, judges overseeing the matter decided to not enact another trial and allowed Kartel, Campbell, and St. John to go free. Jones remained behind bars as he continues to serve an 18-year sentence in connection to an earlier wounding with intent charge after shooting a man in 2009.
The panel of judges cited 12 factors that allowed the men to go free, which included the absence of evidence, the absence of defense witnesses, the absence of prosecution witnesses, the physical, psychological, and emotional health of Palmer, and other related factors.
In delivering a statement to the Observer, Kartel described his time behind bars as “hell” and warned young people in Jamaica to steer far away from a life of crime.
The self-proclaimed “World Boss” is wasting little time and released a new project titled First Week Out, a 12-track effort that he is heavily promoting across his social media channels.
Salute to Vybz Kartel!
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Source: Courtesy of Damon Dash / Damon Dash
Just a week ago it was reported that Dame Dash was about to sell his stake in Jay-Z’s classic debut album, Reasonable Doubt. But now, it seems like Dash will be forced to sell much more than he originally intended.
According to TMZ, a court has just ruled that Dame Dash will have to sell his entire share of Roc-A-Fella Records as his money woes continue to pile up. According to the report, Dash will have his 33.3% in the iconic record label auctioned off by a U.S. Marshall on Aug. 29. For serious bidders who plan on getting in on the action, they’ll have to send an email to attorney Christopher Brown in order to register for the upcoming event.
Naturally, the biggest gem here is Dash’s share of Reasonable Doubt. With rumors having swirled that Jay-Z had been trying to get that back from Dame for a while now, we wouldn’t be surprised if a representative for Hova ends up with the winning bid for Dame’s share of Roc-A-Fella Records.
TMZ reports:
Brown, as you may know, represents film director Josh Webber, who secured an $800K-plus civil judgment against Dash for copyright infringement and defamation two years ago.
Webber and Muddy Water Pictures produced “Dear Frank” and filed suit against Dash after claiming he went around and told people he owned the rights to the movie even after he was dropped from the project.
The court docs specify the purpose of the auction is to collect on the judgment. The docs also note Jay Z’s album “Reasonable Doubt” is the biggest asset Roc-A-Fella owns.
It will be quite the pricey entrance fee for anyone interested in the auction as the starting bid will be $1.2 million, with the winning bid having to put down 20% of the final tally as soon as the auction ends. We all know that’s pocket change to someone like Jay. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think of Dame Dash’s latest legal setback? Let us know in the comments section below.
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With the hype behind Kamala Harris’ presidential run continuing to build momentum (and garnering all kinds of hate), fans have been demanding that comedian Maya Rudolph reprise her role as the current vice president of the United States on SNL. Apparently, she will oblige.
According to Deadline, Maya Rudolph plans on returning to Saturday Night Live to give the Harris campaign a comedic boost until election season is over. With the stakes being as high as they are in this current election cycle—thanks to an orange wannabe dictator who plans on making Project 2025 his blueprint for a new America—Rudolph seems intent on using her comedic powers to help propel Kamala Harris into the White House and making that a priority from now until November.
Deadline reports:
Deadline has learned that pre-production on Season 3 of Rudolph’s Apple TV+ comedy series Loot, which was scheduled to begin filming August 26, has been paused. According to sources, the cast and crew of the comedy series, which Rudolph headlines and executive produces, were told earlier this week that production has been pushed for scheduling reasons.
Maya Rudolph is taking her role in fighting for democracy dead serious, and we love her for it. This is nothing new for Saturday Night Live as they’ve become a target for far-right trolls who feel they use their platform to clown their orange overlord and his disciples while propping up his political rivals.
SNL previously employed a similar stunt-casting strategy in the lead-up to the 2020 Presidential election with Jim Carrey and Rudolph playing Joe Biden and Harris from the start of the TV season in early October through December. Carrey relocated to New York, where SNL is based, for the duration.
Jim Carrey as Joe Biden was hella funny though.
Now that Kamala Harris is the main focus of this year’s presidential campaign, it will be interesting to see how Maya Rudolph re-introduces herself when SNL returns to the airwaves on Sept. 28.
Are you excited about Maya Rudolph’s return as Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Young Thug will remain behind bars along with his co-defendants after the new judge overseeing the YSL RICO trial has denied the group bond. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker also denied requests by prosecutors to place gag orders on attorneys from speaking to the media.
As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Young Thug attorney Brian Steel stated to the court that his client has been living under poor conditions at Cobb County and asked that the rapper be released and placed on house arrest during an argument for bond.
In response, Judge Whitaker said to Young Thug and his co-defendants’ defense team, “I’m not going to reconsider any bond issues that have already been considered and ruled upon by another court absent legitimate changed circumstances.”
Whitaker came into view after Chief Judge Ural Glanville recused himself due to an ex-parte meeting held in secret in June with prosecutors and a state’s witness. Running for 19th months now, the trial remains the longest Georgia court history but Whittaker promises to move things along.
“It should not take another seven months,” Whitaker said to attorneys during a motion hearing on Tuesday (July 30).
State prosecutors said to the court that they will aim efforts at calling 105 witnesses to the stand. Whitaker is ordering the state to compile a list of evidence in connection to the next 30 witnesses they plan to call.
Further, AJC added in its reporting that the judge is looking over the case to decide whether or not to proceed with the case against Young Thug and his five co-defendants. Four attorneys from the defense have filed mistrial motions with two being denied by Whitaker thus far.
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Source: Cook County Department of Corrections / Cook County Department of Corrections
R. Kelly is exploring yet another route in order to get his freedom back. He is asking the Supreme Court to review his federal sex crimes case.
As spotted on TMZ, the disgraced entertainer might have a legal ace up his sleeve. This week, his lawyer Jennifer Bonjean confirmed she formally submitted a petition asking for his case to be reevaluated. According to the US Courts, a writ of certiorari is a “a request that the Supreme Court order a lower court to send up the record of the case for review.” In essence, she is making a statute of limitations argument where the actions he was accused of occurred in the 1990s/early 2000s and he was charged with a law that did not exist yet.
Jennifer Bonjean appeared on TMZ and explained this is not the first time this technicality was brought to the court. “Yes, we raised this issue pre-trial and it was denied” she said. “The government’s position is that they admit they applied a statute of limitations that did not exist at the time the conduct was allegedly committed. But they are saying that ‘we were permitted to extend it’ nor did it ‘harm’ him or ‘violate’ him.
R. Kelly was convicted on three counts of child pornography and three counts of inducement back in 2020. He was sentenced to 20 years and is slated to be released in 2045.
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Stunna Girl, a recording artist who was a member of the Baddies reality television series, was recently shot in the chest under circumstances she has yet to reveal. However, the California native did share images of her imagery and asked fans to react.
TMZ shared a report regarding the gunshot suffered by Stunna Girl, real name Suzanne Brown. According to their report, Stunna Girl shared scant details of the shooting via her Instagram Story feed, and we do urge caution to anyone curious enough to look.
From the appearance of the images shared, it seems that SG has been seen by medical authorities as her injury heals. She explained that the bullet from the gunshot hit right above her left breast and exited through her armpit.
The feed begins with SG writing “Yall stop making up stories!!” and later adding, “I love yall thanks to everyone who’s reached//reaching out, my family,[friends], homies, supporters, [etc.]. I knew [I] was loved but this showed me just how much everybody really loves me & rocks fa me. I know yall aint lettin nun slide n gone paint this mf red about me!!”
Stunna Girl also shared that she’s still going forward with releasing her television series on RedRum TV after reportedly splitting with the Baddies franchise.
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Justin Timberlake is trying to save his name anyway he can. His lawyer claims he wasn’t intoxicated during his recent DUI arrest.
As reported by Digital Music News, the musician is set to virtually appear at a hearing next week regarding his driving under the influence charges. But his attorney’s hope is that the case can be dismissed entirely. His attorney Edward D. Burke Jr. claims the the case is “procedurally defective” and says the “young, part-time” badge who booked the singer did not follow proper procedure.
After concluding a hearing on Friday, July 26, he detailed his stance further to reporters outside of the court. “The most important thing we have to say today is obviously that Justin should not have been arrested for driving while intoxicated,” he explained. “The police made a number of very significant errors in this case, and you heard the District Attorney try to fix one of those errors just this morning upstairs in court.” He went on to add that Justin Timberlake “cooperated with the police offers from the second he was ordered out of his car to the second he was discharged on June 18. But the facts remain: he was not intoxicated. I’ll say it again: Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated and we’re confident that charge — that criminal charge — will be dismissed.”
According to Sag Harbor Village Police Department, Justin Timberlake told the arresting officer “I had one martini, and I followed my friends home.” He then was asked to perform a field sobriety test to which he did “poorly.” The report states he appeared to be “in an intoxicated condition” and emitted “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.”
You can see his lawyer discuss the trial proceedings below.