celebrity
Page: 2
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Brad Barket / Getty
There are more shake up’s at YZY headquarters. Kanye West has reportedly fired longtime footwear designer Steven Smith.
As reported by Nice Kicks the rapper has reportedly asked the veteran creative to exit from his company DONDA. This week Fast Magazine caught up with Smith and confirmed the rumors about his exit back in August. While Steve has historically been supportive of West throughout all of his ups and downs it seems his patience for YE has run out. “He’s lost his mind,” he said in an exclusive statement to the magazine. “The whole of Yeezy is circling the drain and this is just part of it. He has surrounded himself with toxic, C-grade losers.”
While Smith did not touch on any of the recent Kanye happenings including wanting to launch his own adult content channel or is possibly addicted to nitrous oxide he did make it clear he is excited about his next chapter. “I’m in a very happy place with it all,” Smith reveals. “I will certainly be a priceless asset to whoever I work with next. It’s all his loss and the result of his foolishness.”
Steven Smith is a pioneer in the sneaker industry for his work on several iconic releases including the Reebok Instapump Fury, the New Balance 574 and the Yeezy Boost 700. YE has yet to publicly comment on the matter. Back in May Milo Yiannopoulos resigned as Chief of Staff for YZY.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
Diddy has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from Lil Rod, alleging that the producer sexually abused him.
According to reports, lawyers representing Diddy have filed a motion in a New York federal court seeking to dismiss the lawsuit brought against him by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones in February. In a statement, the lawyers say that Lil Rod’s lawsuit “fails to state a single viable claim” and that the accusations are false. The original suit by Jones claims that Diddy drugged him, sexually assaulted and harassed him, and goaded him into procuring prostitutes to engage in sex with during a year that he spent with the mogul in Miami and Los Angeles producing the Love Album: Off The Grid from 2022 to 2023. Jones also claimed that Diddy, aka Sean Combs, was part of a RICO enterprise that included executives from Love Records, Motown Records, and Universal Music Group.
“There was no RICO conspiracy and Mr. Jones was not threatened, groomed, assaulted, or trafficked,” Diddy’s lead attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement. “We look forward to proving — in a court of law — that all of Mr. Jones’ claims are made-up and must be dismissed.” Jones’ initial lawsuit alleges that he has hundreds of hours of audio capturing many of the acts described, including threats of physical harm made against him by Diddy. The lawsuit also names Diddy’s oldest son, Christian “King” Combs, and other executives. Jones is seeking $30 million dollars in damages, claiming that he wasn’t paid for his work on the Love Album: Off The Grid, which would be nominated for a Grammy Award, and claiming Diddy promised him $20,000 and four royalty points per song in addition to publishing credits. A spokesperson for Combs denied that in a statement to Rolling Stone.
The motion comes as Diddy is dealing with six other lawsuits that allege that he engaged in sexual assault, drugging, and physical attacks. He is also the subject of a sex trafficking probe initiated by federal investigators, which resulted in a raid on his properties in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year.
The fallout came after he was sued by his former partner, Cassie Ventura, last November on charges of rape and assault. He would settle with her shortly after.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Matthias Nareyek / Getty
Now that Drake has become arguably one of the most ostracized men in the Hip-Hop game (he can thank Kendrick Lamar for that), he seems to have found an unlikely ally in another rap star-turned-social pariah, Kanye West, respectfully.
Over the weekend, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign were out in South Korea rocking the crowd at the Goyang Stadium in Seoul when Ye decided to dedicate one of his performances to Drake. As “I Wonder” came on the loudspeakers Yeezy said, “This one for Drake.” Having been engaged in a weird feud with the King of the North for the past few years, we can only wonder if Kanye is extending an olive branch to the embattled Canadian crooner, or if this is somehow another subliminal that only he and Kanye can understand.
You never know with these guys.
On the other hand, Kanye did take the time to remind everyone that he’s still not happy with how his relationship with adidas turned out and led the crowd in a “F*ck Adidas!” chant as their termination of Yeezy led to Kanye going from a billionaire to a millionaire overnight.
For a country who’s main language is Korean, they really knew how to say “F*ck adidas” very well. Just sayin’.
While we know adidas won’t respond to any Kanye slander anytime soon, we do wonder if Drake will be reaching out to Kanye (or vice versa) following this latest turn of events. Will Drake and Kanye be reuniting at some point in the near future? Is Kanye trying to officially bury the hatchet with his sometimes rival? Does Drake even care to repair his relationship with Kanye at this point?
We don’t know, but best believe the whole Hip-Hop world is watching and interested to see how this ultimately plays out.
We’re sure adidas couldn’t care less though.
What do y’all think Kanye’s angle is in his shouting out of Drake? Let us know in the comments section below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis / Getty
A$AP Rocky fans will have to wait just a bit longer for the release of Don’t Be Dumb. The rapper has announced it is delayed to later this year.
As spotted on Hypebeast, the “Good for You” rapper recently responded to a post by NPR on X, formerly Twitter, where the publication reported the news. A$AP Rocky confirmed it saying, “LEAKS & SAMPLE CLEARANCES ARE DISRUPTING THE ALBUM. ITS BEEN 6 YEARS & I WANNA MAKE THE BEST ALBUM EVER. IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT.” Recently he spoke to Billboard, in an in depth interview where he revealed that he has been working on this project for the last couple of years. “At this point I’ve been working on music for six years, but they leak my music and I get over it and say, ‘F**k it,’ ” he explained. “They leak a lot of the music and it ruins it. Like my ‘Taylor Swift’ video. I was pissed off about it, so I never released it.”
Later on during the conversation he touches on his involvement in the Rap civil war that occurred earlier this year, specifically his back-and-forth with Drake. “You got to realize, certain ni***s was throwing shots for years. I ain’t in the middle of that sh*t,” he said. “That’s not how I retaliate right now. I got bigger fish to fry than some pu**y boys. It is real beef outside. It is real. Ni***s getting really clipped and blitzed every day. Ni***as sniping ni***s every day. That little kitty sh*t ain’t about nothing.”
You can watch A$AP Rocky’s newest video “HIGHJACK” below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Robert Gauthier / Getty
Comedian Kenan Thomspon tore into Project 2025 with a skit at the Democratic National Convention highlighting its horrors.
On Wednesday (Aug. 21), the third night of the Democratic National Convention got a comedic boost with context as Saturday Night Live alum Kenan Thompson took the stage, carrying an oversized book under his arm, which he stated was a real document – Project 2025. “Y’all remember this big old book, from before?” he asked the crowd at the United Center, who burst into laughter. “You ever seen a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time? Well, here it is,” he quipped.
“You know how when you download an app and there are hundreds of pages there that you don’t read, it’s just the terms and conditions, and you just click, agree, right?” Thompson said while slamming the book down on the lectern. “Well, these are the terms and conditions of a second Trump presidency. You vote for him. You vote for all of this. Let’s take a look.” He then engaged members of the public who appeared on screen behind him. After encountering technical difficulties with the first guest, he moved on to a woman named Becky who shared that she’s been married to her wife for eight years. “Oh, that’s amazing. Very, very cute,” Thompson replied. “But I have got some bad news for you on page 584, Project 2025 calls for the elimination of protections for LGBTQ+ Americans. Right back to the Stone Age, I’m afraid so.”
He moved on to the next guest, who shared that she was diabetic and thanked President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their work in cutting the price of insulin down to $35. “That is great,” said Thompson. “But! On page 465, Project 2025 calls for millions of people like yourself to pay more for prescription drugs like insulin. Why? Well I guess to help big pharma make more money to donate to Republican politicians, I assume.” Thompson then directed the crowd to look up the document on Harris’ campaign website.
Project 2025 has been under intense scrutiny since its online publication by the Heritage Foundation, thanks to Democrats along with other celebrities like Taraji P. Henson informing the public. Trump has denied any knowledge of Project 2025 via social media, but reports have tied numerous figures in his previous presidential administration to its creation.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Courtesy of Damon Dash / Damon Dash
It’s no secret that Dame Dash has been strapped for cash for a while now, and though he’s not bankrupt broke, the man certainly isn’t balling out of control like he was during Roc-A-Fella’s heyday.
With a court forcing him to sell his 33.3% share of Roc-A-Fella Records to satisfy his outstanding debt, Dame Dash decided to take the time to explain to everyone why he’s been hard on cash. Yesterday, Dame took to Instagram to inform everyone on how it’s gotten to this point, and truth be told, it’s pretty understandable. No, he didn’t blow all his dough on fancy cars, cribs or more jewelry, but he did blow a decent amount on his dreams.
In his IG Live, Dame explained that his pockets began thinning out when he started “investing” in ventures that he wanted to see grow into fruition. Though he didn’t specify what kind of investments he made, it’s obvious at this point that they just didn’t work out or give him a return on his investment.
“Somebody asked me how I got so broke. Um, investing in my dreams. You know, when you’re investing in your dreams and you dream big, you’re always gon’ be broke. You’ll have a lot of sh*t, but I don’t have no money for nobody else if that’s what you call broke. That’s what it is. Either way, I’ma get with y’all. Stay tuned. I’m curious to see how it all rolls out.”
Call us crazy, but we really hope things work out for Dame.
The post comes a day after Dame Dash took to Instagram to offer an OG iced out Roc-A-Fella chain to the first person to put down $10 million on his share of the iconic record label. With a judge ordering Dame to pay film director Josh Webber a cool $800,000, Dame has to part ways with the label he, Jay-Z and Kareem Burke founded in 1994.
While many would jump at the chance to purchase his stake in the label, Jay-Z put everyone on notice that the crown jewel of Roc-A-Fella Records’ catalogue, Reasonable Doubt, would ultimately be reverted to him in just seven years, 2031. With the starting bid of Dame’s share of the label beginning at $1.2 million, will anybody be willing to put much more than that on the label knowing its biggest asset will be gone in a matter of years? Guess we’re going to find out.
Check out Dame’s post below, and let us know your thoughts on his situation in the comments section.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Matthias Nareyek / Getty
It seems Kanye West has one less legal issue to worry about. The rapper is no longer liable in a lawsuit over a Boogie Down Productions sample.
As spotted on Digital Music News, Kanye has apparently come to an agreement over his song “Life Of The Party.” The track, which was recorded for the original version of Donda but saw daylight on the deluxe version, featured what seemed to be elements from Boogie Down Productions’ classic single “South Bronx.” Back in 2022, Phase One Network claimed that “Life Of The Party” featured an “exact reproduction” of horn parts, drums and a melody from BDP’s 1987 anthem. “This appears to be an ongoing practice of Mr. West, using other people’s music without paying for it,” Phase One’s attorney Gary Adelman of Adelman Matz said at the time. “Using music without permission violates the copyright law and hurts artists.”
In June, Kanye West’s legal team requested the artist be removed from the lawsuit citing that Ye was “creating the track and experimenting with it, with the intent to contact the license holder for approval as evidence by such act, is undoubtedly fair use.” On Monday, Aug. 19, Reuters reported that Kanye West and Phase One Network had agreed to dismiss him from the filing but will still pursue Kano Computing, the maker of the Stem Player.
You can listen to “Life Of The Party” below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Eric Charbonneau / Getty
And just like that, Jennifer Lopez is a single woman… again.
Just two years after wedding her 2000s beau, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from the Oscar-winning actor as their marriage has seemingly been struggling for quite some time. According to the Huffpost, Jenny from the block has officially taken steps to once again dissolve “Bennifer” after months of speculation that the two might very well be on their way to divorce court.
While Jennifer decided to file for divorce on Tuesday (Aug. 20), according to her legal filings, the two have been separated since April 26, 2024. To make matters even more complicated, there is no prenuptial agreement, and Lopez actually filed the divorce papers “pro per,” which means she didn’t use an attorney to file on her behalf. We guess after filing for divorce three times already, Jennifer Lopez seems to have learned a thing or two about how to get the job done without any legal assistance.
Still, it’s no surprise to many onlookers who have speculated for months that “Bennifer” was on the rocks as the two spent some meaningful days of the year apart from each other without any explanation.
The interesting aspect is that without a pre-nup in the picture, the money the two made since they tied the knot will now become “community property” including Ben’s films such as Air and The Accountant 2, along with Jennifer’s Atlas and Shotgun Wedding.
Huffpost reports:
Amid reports that the two were living separately, the “Hustlers” actor tried to put a damper on the breakup speculation.
When she was asked about the reported relationship strife during an event promoting her film “Atlas” in Mexico City on May 22, costar Simu Liu stepped in.
Chastising the journalist for the question, Liu said: “OK, we’re not doing that.” Lopez added: “You know better than that.”
Though the two appeared happy together at Affleck’s daughter’s high school graduation on May 30, questions about the marriage intensified when “Entertainment Tonight” reported that Affleck and Lopez had quietly put their $60.8 million Beverly Hills estate on the market in early June. The property hit public real estate listings in July.
We’re not gonna lie, we were low-key rooting for these two, but at the end of the day it’s better to be single than to feel alone in a relationship or marriage.
Regardless of the fact that Jennifer Lopez is 54 years old, you can bet your bottom dollar that many men will be sliding into her DMs to see if she needs a “friend” or “consoling” now that she’s going through some hard times.
It’s a cold game out there.
What do y’all think of Jennifer Lopez filing for divorce from Ben Affleck? Let us know in the comments section below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Prince Williams / Getty
DJ Vlad has another tofu beef on his hands. Hip-Hop’s most hated interviewe and Marlon Wayans had a heated exchange over the actor’s interview price demand.
As reported by Bossip, the media personality has another celebrity on his head. Last week, VladTV released a clip of a new Aries Spears interview. During the sit-down, Vlad revealed that he recently retracted his Marlon Wayans invite after the actor had asked for $40,000 dollars and 30% of the revenue earned from the content. “There’s no one on Earth that will pay you $40,000 for an interview much less 30% on top of that,” Vlad said. “At one point we got on the phone… I had to break it down to him. If you look at your recent interviews… you get around 300,000 views. That’s a few thousand dollars in YouTube revenue.”
As expected, this clip soon went viral and landed on Marlon’s radar. To which the White Chicks star took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and proceeded to slander the media personality. “You mad? You unprofessional my guy. If you don’t like the number keep it moving. You look BAD. You should fall back,” Marlon Wayans responded. “Mad at a Black man stating his number? And now you go public and use your platform to try to drag me. I never in my life dealt with this silly negotiating tactic.”
DJ Vlad continued on with his pettiness and shared more posts antagonizing the comedian. “Not mad at all. I find all this amusing because you really think that you’re worth $40K for an interview,” he retorted. “I said there’s nobody on Earth that will pay you that, and I have yet to be proven wrong. Throwing out a stupid ass number for an interview is unprofessional my guy – because your interviews don’t even make 5% of that on every platform you do. And bringing up race when there was no mention of it throughout all our discussions shows how weak of a man you really are.”
This is not the first time DJ Vlad has been called a culture vulture. The likes of Lil B, Lord Jamar, Tyrese, Slim Thug, and even New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins have called him a culture vulture. You can view Vlad discuss the situation with Aries Spears below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
A year ago, Jay-Z made the tough call of closing up shop of his original 40/40 Club in Midtown Manhattan. But it seems like that will not be the end of Hova’s fancy big boys club as he seems to be planning on popping up shop at a new location.
According to People, the certified billionaire has an eye on a few different spaces in New York City to bring back his adored establishment. Though nothing is set in concrete as of yet, his team is planning on breaking ground sometime in 2025. The news comes on the heels of Jay-Z’s weekend soiree at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center, where with the help of Fanatics Fest NYC, the Hip-Hop mogul held a 40/40-ish type of affair where he was joined by some of the biggest names in pop culture and a few of his Hip-Hop peers.
Though details are scarce about where they’ll be trying to land their new iteration of the 40/40 Club, the club’s Vice President of operations Sheldon Robinson revealed that they’re hoping to get things underway sooner than later.
People reports:
The new club, which will be located somewhere in New York City, has been a passion project for Jay-Z after the original Manhattan location closed in August 2023 following 20 years of operation.
“Jay definitely wants to keep it as part of his legacy,” Robinson said, confirming that the rapper has been “very involved” in the process. Robinson revealed Jay-Z has “been at site locations and in meetings” as the vision for the future takes place.
Calling Jay-Z “one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked for,” Robinson marveled at his ability to constantly turn his business ideas into reality.
Between a new 40/40 Club and the casino that Jay and his partners are trying to open up in Times Square, Hova seems like he’s once again trying to take over New York City but in a way that doesn’t involve rapping.
What do y’all think about Jay-Z bringing back the 40/40 Club? Would y’all check out his new remixed version of his old establishment? Let us know in the comments section below.