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Madlib, a veteran music producer and one of the more notable names in Hip-Hop, lost his home to the wildfires ravaging portions of California that has displaced thousands of residents and all but destroyed longstanding neighborhoods. Madlib’s hometown of Oxnard was also under threat of the blaze that claimed him family’s home and is now launching a fundraiser to help recover what was lost.
On Instagram, Madlib, born Otis Jackson Jr., shared details regarding the fundraising effort along with an image of his damaged home. The caption, which we’ll share below, details what the producer hopes to gain from his supportive fans.
From Instagram:
We are reaching out with heavy hearts to ask for your support in helping legendary producer Madlib and his family after losing their home, decades of music, and equipment in the devastating LA fires. Your donation, no matter the amount, will provide assistance to help Madlib with immediate personal needs, essentials like clothing, temporary housing, transportation costs and the tools Madlib needs to continue creating the music that has touched so many lives. 100% of your donations are tax deductible and will go directly to Madlib and his family. continue creating the music that has touched so many lives. Thank you in advance for your love, prayers and support.
Madlib, who has released music since the 1990s, has worked alongside the likes of the late J Dilla of Slum Village fame (as JayLib), the late MF DOOM (as Madvillain), Freddie Gibbs, and has produced for Kanye West, Erykah Badu, De La Soul, his young brother producer-rapper Oh No (Michael Jackson), and Anderson .Paak among others.
The link for the fundraiser can be found by clicking here.
https://www.instagram.com/madlib/p/DExf4kMJR-7/
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Sam Moore, who found fame as part of the Sam & Dave duo that delivered the “Soul Man” hit, has died. According to Sam Moore’s publicist, the singer passed away last Friday after complications surrounding a recent surgery procedure.
Sam Moore was born Samuel David Hicks on October 12, 1935, in Miami, Fla. After his mother married his stepfather, Charlie Moore, he took the surname. Moore began singing in church choirs as a young man and joined doo-wop groups but gospel music was where he was a notable force. Moore would be discovered alongside his future Sam & Dave partner and fellow gospel singer, the late Dave Prather, in 1961 at Miami’s King Of Hearts Club and subsequently signing with Roulette Records, a label with reported New York mob ties and was home to acts such as Pearl Bailey and Frankie Lymon among others.
As was customary during this time, Sam & Dave signed with Atlantic Records in 1964 and were contracted out to Stax Records to construct and release records. The fruitful union spawned hits such as “Hold On! I’m Comin’,” “I Thank You,” and perhaps the duo’s best-known hit, “Soul Man” which was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Booker T. & The M.G.’s, which provided backing instrumentation for several Sam & Dave tracks, was also on hand for the hit.
England’s The Times revealed in their obituary that Moore broke personal ties with his partner after Prather shot his wife in 1968. The pair would continue to perform together but officially split ways for good in 1981. The Times also notes that Moore fathered several children with multiple women and worked as a pimp and conman, some of which was mentioned in an autobiography, For the Record 3: Sam and Dave by Dave Marsh.
After kicking a heroin addiction, Moore would see a late-career resurgence, even re-recording “Soul Man” alongside Lou Reed for the 1986 film of the same name. He remained an active touring and recording musician up until 2022, joining Bruce Springsteen on the New Jersey rocker’s R&B and soul cover album, Only The Strong Survive.
As mentioned at the top of the article, Moore passed after complications from surgery in Coral Gables, Fla. but details are scant beyond that. It isn’t known the exact number of children and no obituaries that we’ve seen gave an accurate number.
Sam Moore was 89.
[h/t Associated Press]
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Source: Variety / Getty
Early last year it was reported that Chance the Rapper and his wife of five years, Kristen Corley, were filing for divorce, and now, the two seem to have reached some common ground on how to go about things as they go their separate ways.
According to XXL, both Chance and Kristen have agreed to the terms of their divorce settlement and though the details of said settlement have yet to be revealed, it brings the two one step closer to putting a stamp on their divorce proceedings. Awaiting the signature of the judge overseeing their separation, this happens to be one of the quickest celebrity divorces we’ve seen in history, as they tend to drag out for years with each person looking to get or keep more of their riches and belongings.
Per XXL:
Chance and Corley were wed in a marriage ceremony in March of 2019 that was attended by family and friends in Newport Beach, Calif. However, in October of 2022, Kirsten spoke out after Chance’s X account liked a sexually explicit post. In April of 2023, she released a statement after a video of Chano dutty wining on women at Carinval went viral.
Last April, the former partners released a joint statement on Instagram announcing their breakup. “After a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at the decision to part ways,” the post shared via Instagram Story read. “We came to this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together. God has blessed us with two beautiful daughters who we will continue to raise together. We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate this transition. Thank you – Chance & Kirsten.”
Between this, Remy Ma and Papoose’s breakup and Cardi B and Offset’s marriage going off the rails, we can’t help but feel that true love is a thing of the past. We blame social media for all of it. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think of Chance the Rapper and Kristen Corley calling it quits after five years of marriage? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: YouTube / IT IS WHAT IT IS
Sorry Dipset fans, but it doesn’t seem like a new Diplomats album may ever materialize, as Cam’ron and Jim Jones are currently engulfed in a war of words. Killa Cam has been clapping back at his former Capo over some comments that Jones made during an interview with Justin Laboy just last week.
During the interview, Jim spoke about Cam’s interview with 50 Cent in which they spoke about how 50 was able to get Jim Jones to appear with G-Unit at the height of 50’s back-and-forth with Cam’ron and basically said both 50 and Cam were on his “d*ck” all these years later. While 50 trolled Jimmy with an IG post insinuating his was working with the feds during their investigation of Tekashi 6ix9ine and his former crew, the Nine Trey Gangsters, Cam took to his podcast and aired out Jimmy in a way more personal way.
Grabbing the mic (pause) on his It Is What It Is show, Cam’ron gave Jim a dressing down (pause, again?) and said that the only reason Cam embraced Jim into Dipset was because he was “fanned out” and “begged” Cam and his crew to give him a shot. He even revealed that Mase taught him how to rap as the camera man shifted his focus to Mase, who was eating a bucket of popcorn on his side of the table (LMAO).
“We taught you how to rap, ni**a. How you ran the whole organization?” Cam’ron asked.
But the biggest dart that might’ve hurt Jim was when Cam’ron reminded people that Jim Jones isn’t even from Harlem. While many New Yorkers were already familiar with that fact, some fans might not be aware of Jim’s roots as he screams Harlem as much as any other rapper who actually hails from the Black Mecca in New York.
“We didn’t grow up with you!” Cam stated. “You not from none of that! So you can sit around and act like you been around all this Harlem sh*t and everything. You ever see somebody from Harlem try to act like they’re from Harlem so bad that you gotta keep saying ‘I’m from Harlem’?”
Jim Jones is actually from the Bronx.
Cam then went on to say that Jim tends to beef with guys only to befriend them once they “put hands” on Jim. From C-Gutta (Junior Mafia) to Maino to French Montana, Cam came with the (alleged) tea, b.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see if Jim responds to his former homie.
Check out Cam’ron respond to Jim Jones, and sound off on the situation in the comments section below.
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Ferg, formerly known as A$AP Ferg, emerged and rose to stardom as a member of the sprawling A$AP Mob collective that boasted well over a dozen members at its heights. Largely inactive for a few years, Ferg shared an update about A$AP Mob in a new interview with veteran journalist, Touré.
Ferg sat down for an interview with the Touré Show and shared his views of where the A$AP Mob exists today, his hand in creating the collective, and where his career is heading now that he’s largely on his own.
“I don’t think there is A$AP [Mob] anymore,” Ferg began, answering Touré’s inquiry on the status of the collective. “It’s not a Cozy Tape out, not a new one, there’s not a office, it’s not a record label, A$AP Worldwide is not a record label. I think it’s a thing of the past.”
He continued, “I think people hold on to the legacy that we created and those things but when you think about A$AP, I think, from the music point, you think about me and Rocky who did the music and all of that. Of course, it was built on the back of Bari and Yams and all of that but we’re the faces. So I feel like if we not making no music, and not putting out no new timestamps, then there’s no A$AP.”
Ferg continued by saying that he’s solely focused on his own movement but doesn’t have any issues with A$AP Rocky or any past members of the crew, and instead is focusing on his musical direction and his latest album, Darold.
The A$AP Mob’s last release, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy, was released in 2017 on Polo Grounds/RCA and later was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Check out the interview in full below.
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HipHopWired Featured Video
Ferg, formerly known as A$AP Ferg, emerged and rose to stardom as a member of the sprawling A$AP Mob collective that boasted well over a dozen members at its heights. Largely inactive for a few years, Ferg shared an update about A$AP Mob in a new interview with veteran journalist, Touré.
Ferg sat down for an interview with the Touré Show and shared his views of where the A$AP Mob exists today, his hand in creating the collective, and where his career is heading now that he’s largely on his own.
“I don’t think there is A$AP [Mob] anymore,” Ferg began, answering Touré’s inquiry on the status of the collective. “It’s not a Cozy Tape out, not a new one, there’s not a office, it’s not a record label, A$AP Worldwide is not a record label. I think it’s a thing of the past.”
He continued, “I think people hold on to the legacy that we created and those things but when you think about A$AP, I think, from the music point, you think about me and Rocky who did the music and all of that. Of course, it was built on the back of Bari and Yams and all of that but we’re the faces. So I feel like if we not making no music, and not putting out no new timestamps, then there’s no A$AP.”
Ferg continued by saying that he’s solely focused on his own movement but doesn’t have any issues with A$AP Rocky or any past members of the crew, and instead is focusing on his musical direction and his latest album, Darold.
The A$AP Mob’s last release, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy, was released in 2017 on Polo Grounds/RCA and later was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Check out the interview in full below.
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Even with all the hype behind Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel fans know we’re still a ways away from seeing the MCU version of the X-Men come to fruition, but already, up-and-coming movie star, Cynthia Erivo is campaigning for a big role in Marvel’s upcoming Mutant Saga.
According to Newsweek, the Wicked star is monitoring Marvel Studios’ new adaptation of your favorite superhero mutant team and has stated that she’d love nothing more than to play Ororo Monroe aka Storm and feels like she can add more depth to the character than we’ve seen in previous iterations of film. Telling the National Board of Review that she’d “really love to play Storm,” Erivo added that the Marvel character has more to offer than just controlling the weather and flying around in the sky.
Per Newsweek:
“I know it sounds frivolous but I don’t think we’ve uncovered how grand she is and all of the inner turmoil that she has. So I think there’s a world in which we could do something like that.”
Storm was last played by Alexandra Shipp in 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Shipp’s unlikely to reprise the role, however, and that’s for several reasons. The film was a box office bomb, grossing just $252 million worldwide on a $200 million production budget and losing a reported $133 million, as per Deadline Hollywood. Mixed reviews didn’t help.
Yeah, those last few X-Men films were hella struggle. Even the makeup used to turn Jennifer Lawrence into Mystique seemed like something they picked up at Party City or something. Just horrible.
While we don’t know which actors will be tapped to take on the roles of your favorite mutants, it seems like a pretty safe bet that Ryan Reynolds will be returning as Deadpool for the Mutant Saga, and there’s word that Hugh Jackman will indeed be the MCU’s Wolverine for the foreseeable future as well. Age be damned!
Whether or not Channing Tatum is able to hold onto his role as Gambit is the big question mark here. Fans loved his take on the character in Deadpool & Wolverine, and there’s even rumors that he turned a few Marvel executives into believers as well.
Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what Marvel decides to do after Avengers: Secret Wars wraps up.
What do y’all think about Cynthia Erivo possibly being cast as Storm? Should someone else be considered? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Redman has been an active rapper since 1990 and he has carved out a lane as the wisened version of his younger self, still sharp lyrically but perhaps less brash than he was decades ago. With his latest album, Muddy Waters Too, Redman took on the impossible task of creating a sequel to his beloved classic which serves as a return to form for Funk Doctor Spot.
Breaking the usual format here, I want to express my deepest apologies to Redman. I was not excited about Muddy Waters Too in the least bit, especially as a fan of Muddy Waters, the crown jewel of Funk Doc’s discography to some. I realize now that my folly was limiting the New Jersey legend to what I felt was his creative zenith instead of appreciating that he’s still here releasing music that largely seemed cathartic for him. Further, his style had matured over the past three decades but he never lost the ability to rhyme at an elite level, and through it all, he’s maintained something that’s been long missing in current Hip-Hop — having fun.
Muddy Waters Too was initially promised in 2013 and at the time, the industry largely moved on from hard-hitting punchline-laden Hip-Hop. This was also after the so-called “Blog Era” period and the industry’s audio textures shifted once more. Nevertheless, Red remained an active participant and alongside his longtime collaborator Method Man, he perfected his live performance while delivering loosies, mixtapes, and other projects over the years but nothing approached the commercial or critical success of his previous releases.
MW2 still maintains the sonic ethos of its predecessor, and that includes Redman’s zaniness, the everpresent skits, and a throughline of Brick City (Newark, N.J.) pride. The album opens with “Da F*ck Goin On” which would sound right at home on Red and Meth’s Blackout series. Red digs into the funk on the production and he sounds in top shape. Next up is “Whuts Hot” with production from Khrysis finds Red rapping with his typical confidence. Oran “Juice” Jones II, the son of Oran “Juice” Jones, who delivered the ’80s R&B hit, “The Rain,” shows up for the hook.
Perhaps as a preview of a potential Blackout 3 drop, Method Man appears on “Lalala” and the pair go bar for bar over production from Vinyl Frontiers. A little fan service happens early on “Dont You Miss” with Erick Sermon serving up a bass-heavy platter for Red’s nostalgic trip down memory lane and serves as a strong ode to the 1990s. Other standouts include the Tall Black Guy-produced “Aye,” a track that would’ve run summer radio if that were still a thing, the previously released “Don’t Wanna C Me Rich,” and “Pop Da Trunk” with production from Rockwilder. And while Redman is never outshined on any track, Sheek Louch of The Lox comes quite close on “Dynomite.”
About that aforementioned Jersey pride, “Lite It Up” seemingly features the entire state with Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, Rah Digga, Shaquille O’Neal, Lord Of The Underground, Lady Luck, The Artifacts, Heather B, Hakim Green of Chanel Live, and Nikki D all appearing. And no Redman album would be complete with a “Soopaman Luva” track and part seven of the series finds Red back in his Hood Lothario mode. The album ends with the soulful “Smoke With Me” with production from DJ Static and Seige Monstracity and Redman employing a double-time flow as he has done previously.
To get personal, something magical happened over the holidays as I finally took in the album. I approached the record with lofty hopes and I can freely admit that from the intro to the final track, I felt as if I were transported back to 1996 and hearing Muddy Waters for the first time. Adding to this, I found myself getting choked up about how good the album sounded, even on tracks I wasn’t necessarily wowed by. I told everyone near and dear to me to check out MW2. I felt like it was my duty to correct my wrongs and promote this album as if I worked for Gilla House myself. I am still struck by how Doc was able to channel the energy of nearly 30 years ago and managed to make it sound like now. I vow to never doubt Redman again.
Check Out Muddy Waters Too below.
MUDDY WATERS TOO !! OUT NOW !!https://t.co/zvc3bsY8tQ pic.twitter.com/sHBQ3HHtRv
— Redman (@therealredman) December 24, 2024
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Jay-Z is not wasting any time in clearing his name. He has filed a new motion to dismiss the sexual assault lawsuit against him.
As spotted on Variety, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has submitted another request to have a rape case terminated. Back in October, an unidentified woman filed a claim against Jay-Z and Diddy alleging the two raped her at a MTV Music Video Awards after party in 2000. As expected, the news of the allegation soon went viral to which the “Song Cry” rapper quickly responded with a written statement denying the claims. Jane Doe would go on to participate in an interview with NBC News and seemed to contradict her original statements detailed in the original filing.
http://WWW.TWITTER.com/RocNation/status/1865917852542247358
Soon after Jay-Z’s legal representation filed a request to dismiss the claim. On Dec. 26, 2024, Judge Analisa Torres denied it and ruled that Jane Doe can move forward with her lawsuit anonymously. The judge has since granted Jay-Z permission to request for a dismissal. His lawyer, Alex Spiro, filed a new motion Wednesday (Jan. 8), and according to Variety, the new document cites a “series of inconsistencies in the woman’s account.” This new filing also asks that Tony Buzbee, the lawyer representing Jane Doe, be imposed with a fee for “alleging facts without a sufficient investigation or by failing to withdraw those allegations once it is clear that they are false or exceedingly unlikely to be true.”
The legal professional has responded via a formal statement to Variety saying, “They are dead wrong. We won’t be bullied or intimidated, ever.”
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WWE Monday Night Raw made its debut in splashy fashion on Netflix earlier this week, and numbers show that the premiere was a notable success. According to new data, WWE Monday Night Raw tallied more than double its usual numbers from over the past five years of the weekly event.
WWE Monday Night Raw debuted on Jan. 6 on Netflix and the streamer, already proving it can handle live events after the Christmas Day airing of NFL games, aired the event without any technical glitches that plagued the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson bout.
According to a press release from the streamer, Monday Night Raw earned an average of 2.6 households watching the event live and same-day in the United States by way of data from VideoAmp.
More from the press release:
The inaugural event on Netflix averaged 2.6 million households (Live+SD) in the US, according to VideoAmp, which is 116% higher than RAW’s average 2024 US audience of 1.2 million households, and higher than any other Monday Night RAW broadcast in the past five years. The event also more than doubled the A18-49 audience vs. last year.
As we reported earlier in the week, the star-studded event featured the likes of stars Roman Reigns, Jay Uso, Rhea Ripley, and CM Punk, all emerging victorious. Fans also saw an intense open from WWE’s Chief Content Officer, Triple H, an appearance from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena cutting a promo for his farewell tour, and Hulk Hogan being booed out of the building.
The show was the top trending topic in the United States, Brazil, Australia, and the United Kingdom, using the #WWERaw hashtag. The event also garnered 223 million social views, which is more than any episode in the past year.
Netflix added that the debut of Monday Night Raw at the sold-out Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. set a record as the highest-grossing WWE area event of all time. It also set a merchandise sales record and was the highest-grossing non-premium live event of all time for the company.
WWE and Netflix are in a 10-year, $5 billion dollar partnership that will also showcase other big events such as Wrestlemania and the like.
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