State Champ Radio Current Events
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Nas’ record label and media company, Mass Appeal, has reached a settlement with a white former executive who claimed that she was discriminated against and forced to leave the company because she’s white.
From Billboard:
Mass Appeal filed a joint motion with its former head of development, Melissa Cooper, in federal court on Friday (June 13), agreeing to dismiss the case entirely. Court filings show that Mass Appeal and Cooper have reached a settlement, although the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cooper sued Mass Appeal, CEO Peter Bittenbender and the company’s former content chief, Jenya Meggs, in 2023, claiming she was the subject of a “racist conspiracy” at the company. Nas is not individually named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Cooper is white. Meggs is Black. Cooper claims that Meggs didn’t like her ideas because of her animosity toward a “white woman working in Hip-Hop.” Meggs reportedly refused to work with Cooper and even had her taken off of big projects “…like the planning of Mass Appeal’s Hip Hop 50 Live concert,” Billboard reports.
Cooper was eventually fired from Mass Appeal in June 2023.
After her termination, a messy former lover of Meggs reached out to Cooper to share text messages in which Meggs reportedly referred to Cooper as a “cracker” and criticized “white folk.”
Cooper claimed in her lawsuit that she brought the messages to Bittenbender, but he paid them no mind. Cooper wanted to be reinstated to Mass Appeal and given money for damages for the alleged racism she endured.
Mass Appeal, Bittenbender and Meggs not only deny the claims of discrimination, but they “vigorously” deny any claims made by Cooper and claim that she was fired because her division hadn’t sold any projects. Oh, and about those text messages, they claim they were “taken out of context and are nothing but a red herring.”
Meggs reportedly left Mass Appeal in 2024.
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Source: Taylor Hill / Getty
For the past few weeks, the American people have been speaking up against Donald Trump’s fascist regime amid his hardcore immigration crackdown, which has led to quite a few Americans and neutralized citizens getting caught up in his dragnet of apparent ethnic cleansing. But while we see his own personal Gestapo terrorize Black and Brown communities in LA, New York and other cities, many aren’t aware that ICE is also invading the often-overlooked island of Puerto Rico.
Yes, Puerto Rico too has been dealing with ICE raids as masked white men rummage through the Borinquen streets and search for illegal immigrants on the island. Many of its residents aren’t pleased with what they’re seeing including its most famous superstar today, Bad Bunny. Taking to social media to show ICE “agents” harassing everyday people while they work, Bad Bunny cursed out ICE (in Spanish of course), called them “sons of b*tches” and slammed them for terrorizing everyday working people in the streets of Puerto Rico.
While it may be a bit confusing as to why ICE is on a Latino island looking for Latinos to deport, the U.S. commonwealth does house quite a few people from places like the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other countries that aren’t part of the U.S.
Still, Puerto Ricans are known to have welcomed people from all places to their island, but this current American regime is having none of that. With numbers suggesting that up to 20,000 illegal immigrants live in Puerto Rico and ICE having a quota to meet of 3,000 deportations per day, it doesn’t seem like ICE will be leaving the good people of Puerto Rico (or America for that matter) alone anytime soon.
On the bright side, there is word that ICE is already a billion dollars over budget and may soon run out of money to keep operations going. Still, it feels like in Trump’s America, hate will always find a way to flourish even at the expense of decent people.
What do y’all think about ICE carrying out deportation operations in Puerto Rico? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Lester Cohen / Memphis Bleek
Outside of Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith, Kareem “Biggs” Burke, and at one time Dame Dash, no one was as close to JAY-Z as his former protege Memphis Bleek, and now he is sharing some of his insight on Hov’s departure from Roc-A-Fella Records.
Speaking with The Breakfast Club, the “My Mind Right” crafter kept it real about his former boss leaving Roc-A-Fella Records and his relationship with him.
Bleek, who was once considered the “heir apparent” to Jay-Z’s Hip-Hop throne, told the Power 105.1 morning radio show that he knew he was a “liability” regarding Jigga’s business ventures, something the mogul would not risk jeopardizing.
Per Complex:
“I knew he had to,” he said at the 28:55 mark. “For Jay to be where he at, he couldn’t be around us everyday. I’m a liability. Me now, being married, being a businessman, of course, things have changed. But the reckless Bleek, you couldn’t be around us.”
“Anything could happen, and then it spills right back to you,” Bleek continued. “So once Jay started to do these billionaire deals, basketball teams, moving teams from here to Brooklyn, you automatically knew the distance was warranted. It’s not that he don’t rock with you, or don’t rock with us.”
Bleek also revealed that he tried to warn his fellow labelmates that the end was near, with Jay-Z checking out.
“Y’all better hope y’all got a retirement plan,” Bleek said during a 2023 appearance on Drink Champs. “Put this shit together. You see him [Jay-Z], he getting out of here. He telling y’all, Black Album, fade to black, it’s over.”
Welp, it’s clear no one listened to Bleek.
You can see the entire interview below.
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Murray Close / Will Smith
Will Smith’s legendary boneheaded decisions regarding choosing film roles early in his career will forever haunt him.
The rapper and actor has had numerous notable roles in his ongoing Hollywood career. Still, he will forever be remembered by movie fans for turning down the lead role of Neo in The Matrix franchise to star in one of the biggest flops of his career, Wild Wild West.
It turns out that he has been holding onto another epic failure, having turned down a role in the Christopher Nolan blockbuster Inception.
The Independence Day star shared during an interview with radio station KISS XTRA that Nolan pitched the 2010 mind-bending science fiction film to him, but he said nah because “didn’t get it.”
“I’ve never said that out loud,” Smith said in the interview. “And now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities, they don’t pitch well.”
Bruh.
He didn’t reveal which role Nolan was pitching to him, but the lead role ultimately went to Leonardo DiCaprio, and we honestly couldn’t see anyone else in it now.
Smith Is Still Hurt About Turning Down The Matrix
Smith also revisited his decision to turn down the starring role in The Matrix, calling it one of his “beautiful scars.”
Instead of being the one, a role that eventually went to Keanu Reeves, catapulting his movie career, Smith decided to star as Jim West in Wild Wild West.
Smith was banking on his newly minted status as a summer blockbuster king following the success of his previous films, Independence Day and Men in Black, but that turned out not to be the case.
The Matrix went on to be a critical success in 1999, spawning two successful sequels and a reboot, while Wild Wild West went on to win several Razzies and was panned by critics.
We are sure Smith has learned some valuable lessons from his box office misses.
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Fox News was once considered the hub of all conservative media and a favorite network of President Donald Trump and his acolytes. Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host, invited Trump ally Steve Bannon to his program, with both framing the networking as pushing propaganda to its viewers.
Carlson invited Bannon to his eponymously named program, and the pair spoke on President Donald Trump’s second term, the political climate in America, and the burgeoning conflict between Iran and Israel. They opened up the show discussing Trump’s policies, centering much of their critique on how the administration is handling the situation in the Middle East.
Much of their conversation meanders about and centers on Israel and the state of affairs regarding domestic unrest under the Trump administration early on, but around the 7:00-minute mark, Carlson aims Fox News with Bannon adding in similar criticism.
“I never criticize Fox because they were so kind to me,” Carlson said. “But they are playing a central role in the propaganda operation here.”
Bannon seized upon this moment after Carlson shared that he helped push the narrative surrounding the Iraq War, which seemed to rankle Bannon and caused him to launch into a further examination of the media’s role in the conflict and its perception stateside.
“An epic, failed war. We were lied to about everything,” Bannon fired back. “ Because if you remember, at first, the American people supported it, given the information they were given. Then later, they realized that, hey, not only was the initial predicate for this a lie, all the updates were kind of a lie. We really weren’t winning.”
Carlson and Bannon continued to take hits at Fox News for pushing a pro-war agenda under Trump’s watch, later turning their attention to so-called “Never Trumpers” surrounding the president and holding jobs in the current administration.
On X, reactions to Tucker Carlson and Steven Bannon’s comments appeared, and we’ve posted some below.
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Photo: Erik McGregor / Getty
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Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Singer Chrisette Michele stunned fans by sharing that she was recently diagnosed with autism at the age of 42. In a post shared Sunday (June 15) on Instagram, Michele shared two photos of herself and spoke about the diagnosis. “I just learned I’m autistic,” she wrote in the caption of the post. “Official diagnosis. They used the word ‘Severely.’”
Chrisette Michele also shared why she’s been relatively quiet, which includes her taking time away from hosting her Chrisette Michele Show podcast. “I’ve been outside,” she wrote. “Singing… but learning to strip the mask. One show at a time (the irony). Just… coming to grips with a lot and giving myself room to take it all in. My life and its challenges finally make sense. So so much sense. Autistic. Would you get a load of that… I’ll talk more soon. Just wanted to say hi… from stage side.”The Central Islip, New York native was in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday opening up for Anthony Hamilton. There haven’t been too many concert performances for the R&B star after she endured torrential backlash after performing at the inauguration of Donald Trump for his first presidential term in 2017. Her last album, Out of Control, was released a year later. But the backlash was strong enough that her label subsequently dropped her, and she also revealed that her family disowned her afterward.“The first thing I thought was that I have an opportunity to get in front of these people who don’t seem to understand who they’re talking to and show them what we look like,” she said to Billboard after the inauguration in 2017. “I felt automatically committed to making sure that I stood up for the women who’ve felt disrespected and the minorities who felt disrespected, communities that felt that they weren’t being heard or understood,” Michele added. “I thought that it was almost my responsibility to not just say yes but to say yes with purpose, so that was my reasoning. And no, I didn’t think twice about it.”
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Source: Variety / Getty
Life for Bryshere Y. Gray after Empire could’ve been an episode of Empire.
The show, which ran for six seasons, ended in 2020. In May 2020, Gray was sued by his landlord for more than $26,000 in damages to his property.
Later that same year Gray, who played Hakeem Lyon, was arrested in Arizona for allegedly abusing his wife. Gray’s wife, who had visible bruises, flagged down a passerby to get help. She claimed that Gray strangled her and was taken to the hospital for help. Gray refused to leave his home. SWAT and crisis negotiators responded. Gray eventually left without incident. In May 2021, Gray received a 10-day jail sentence and three years of probation for the altercation.
In November 2022, he violated probation and faced abuse charges against a different woman.
Gray, 31, has now been charged with assault and battery in Virginia, according to news station WAVY. Chesapeake police told the news station that Gray was not arrested as the charge was taken out by a citizen. Court documents viewed by TMZ claim that Gray was working with a man named Dustin Wilkins, who goes by the name Chosen Wilkins. Wilkins claims that after an argument over money Gray charged him and the two men began fighting.
“As I was explaining to him that he can’t just leave without paying, adding you have enough problems,” Wilkins said in court documents. “ …I am trying to save your life. He then charged towards me from around the car. Charged into me with his shoulder…and fighting me as I was recording the incident over the phone…a blunt blow into me and punching me.”
The incident occured on Friday afternoon at Homewood Suites, but charges were not filed until Sunday.
Gray told WAVY in an interview that Gray “suffers from a mental health disorder and added that the actor is not a bad person.
“Something took place in a mental health aspect. I can not disclose what happened, I can not disclose the details of that,” Wilkins said. “All I can tell you is Bryshere is a friend, he’s like my brother. He is just someone who is dealing with some very interesting mental health issues.”
Wilkins added that he worked to get Gray a bond.
“Bryshere doesn’t need to be in jail. He wouldn’t survive in jail. He needs mental help,” Wilkins explained.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Elon Musk
Elon Musk is fighting back against those allegations of drug use and dropped a receipt in the form of a urinary drug test, but users on X are pointing out one glaring issue with his evidence.
The Tesla chief continues to be the talk of the platform he allegedly no longer owns. A few weeks ago, he got into a public spat with his MAGA homie, Donald Trump, that eventually led to him apologizing for calling the “president” a pedophile.
Then there was a bombshell New York Times story that highlighted Musk’s drug use, alleging Phony Stark took a “cocktail” of drugs during his time in the White House, and advising Cheetoh Mussolini, aka Donald Trump—claims which he has vehemently denied.
Now, he recently shared on X the results of a drug test with the caption “lol,” showing he tested negative for ketamine, cocaine, and amphetamines.
According to the report, the urine test came back negative for: benzodiazepines, amphetamines, ecstasy, barbiturates, buprenorphine, cocaine, ketamine, methadone, meperidine, zolpidems, opiates, PCP, oxycodone, propoxyphene, cannabinoids, tramadol, ethanol, fentanyl, and carisoprodol.
Newsweek attempted to verify the test by reaching out to Fastest Labs of South Austin and United States Drug Testing, who are listed on the test, but did not receive a response.
Folks On X Are Not Buying What Elon Musk Is Selling
While Musk thinks this is a dunk on the New York Times reporting, some users on X are pointing out that he’s celebrating being sober for a week.
Per the Priory Group, drugs like ketamine “can be detected in your urine for up to 14 days after you last used it. However, some studies suggest that it’s possible for ketamine to be detected in your urine for as long as 30 days after you took it.”
According to the form, Musk took the test on June 11, which is also the same day he apologized to Trump on X, formerly Twitter, for claiming Felon 47 was on the Epstein list and that he should be impeached, and replaced with JD Vance, who is equally as evil, but not as stupid as Trump, which is terrifying.
Welp.
While we don’t care for Elon Musk due to his allegiance with Donald Trump, we also hope he is getting some help if he is, in fact, having substance abuse issues.
You can see reactions from more skeptical X users in the gallery below.
1. Good point
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Source: Anadolu / Getty
Add another strange interaction to the legacy of New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The lawmaker co-hosted a livestream with online right-wing personality Sneako on the porch at Gracie Mansion last Saturday night (June 14) along with Amber Rose, his son Jordan Coleman, and businessman Sean Sudarshan Rajan. The group smoked cigars from The Billionaires Club (a brand owned by Rajan) while discussing Adams’ rise in politics, his federal indictment case and the “cover up” of former President Joe Biden’s health.
Mayor Adams blasted the Southern District of New York for bringing the federal corruption case against him, mocking their designation of “sovereign district”, saying “no one is sovereign in America.” He dismissed the charges against him. “They said, well, Turkey upgraded you when you flew,” Adams said. “I don’t know who doesn’t try to get an upgrade. And they said, ‘We’re now saying that you committed bribery because you called the fire department and you pressured them not to pass inspection.’ I was facing over 30 years in prison for that.”Mayor Adams’ appearance with Sneako, aka Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, is odd as Sneako has been banned from several Internet platforms including YouTube and Twitch for antisemitism. He’s done livestreams with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, and Ye aka Kanye West appeared on one of his streams recently to preview a song of his named “Heil Hitler.” Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent in November, is planning to run on a ballot line of either “EndAntiSemitism” or “Safe&Affordable.”
His participation in the livestream garnered swift public criticism. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, New York City Councilman Chi Osse’ reposted the clip, writing with crying emoji added: “Y’all look at my mayor … we’re cooked.” In another post on X, Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres of the Bronx blasted the interview, writing: “Who’s next on the guest list—David Duke?”“Mayor Adams has been clear that living in silos and speaking into echo chambers accomplishes nothing,” Mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus wrote in a statement. “As always, an interview is by no means an endorsement of the interviewer’s views.” The stream also took place on the same night that Zohran Mamdani, a serious contender in the Democratic mayoral primary, was holding a campaign rally hosted by The Kid Mero with Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a speaker.
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Source: Mythical / Mythical
We’re a whole year away from getting into all the patriotic hype of the 2026 World Cup (if it’s still partially held in Trump’s Amerikkka anyway) and to get soccer fans amped up for the upcoming games, FIFA has announced a new mobile game that’s sure to be a hit among futbol enthusiasts around the globe.
FIFA Rivals is a new arcade-style soccer game that allows users to not only build their dream teams but will also give them the option to play in live events and even some PvP leagues to keep the fun going.
With the help of Mythical Games, FIFA Rivals delivers a fast-paced multiplayer mobile game allowing players to compete in real time and climb leader boards against other users across the globe.
“Football is the world’s game, and we’re thrilled to bring its billions of global fans an experience that captures the thrill of the sport, with the accessibility of mobile gaming,” Mythical Games CEO, John Linden explained in a statement. “With FIFA Rivals, we’re blending high-energy arcade gameplay with team-building strategy and actual ownership in gaming. This is just the beginning of what we believe will become a landmark title in gaming.”
Along with the ability to pull off trick shots and signature plays from your favorite soccer stars, the game’s other highlights include skill-based progression, player collectable ownership and trading, and fast-paced PvP gameplay.
You’re about to see a bunch of folk out in the wild playing this on their phones and tablets.
Check out the game trailer for FIFA Rivals below, and let us know if you’ll be downloading it in the comments section.
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