State Champ Radio GALLERY
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O.J. Simpson, a former NFL star running back who later in life went into acting and other ventures, has reportedly died according to a family statement. Via social media, the family of O.J. Simpson says that he passed away on April 10 after a battle with cancer.
As seen on X, formerly Twitter, Simpson’s family says that his loved ones surrounded the former Buffalo Bills star during his transition.
From X:
On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.
He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.
-The Simpson Family
The news came as a shock to many, although Simpson hasn’t been in the public eye as of late. In the 1990s, Simpson was villainized after the brutal murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and friend Ron Goldman, and the fact he was later acquitted of all charges. Once seen as a popular pitchman for ads and a likable figure, the controversy surrounding his wife’s murder, including the late Johnnie Cochran’s defense tactics, painted Simpson in an unfavorable light with many.
In his later years, Simpson made a return to public life via reality television and became a known presence on social media, often taking pains to inform the public that it was him behind his account activity and not the work of others. Simpson further soured his image by way of his 2007 book, If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.
On X, folks are reacting to the news with memes and other sharp words that we’re merely reporting on. You can view those replies in the gallery below.
O.J. Simpson was 76.
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Hip-Hop music and culture have influenced so many musical genres and fashion trends that there is little question about its value to the world. However, the origins of Hip-Hop are currently under debate after a user on X suggested that it wasn’t born from competition.
Breaking the wall a bit here, Hip-Hop wasn’t always something I viewed as a competitive sport. I was too busy being fascinated by the concept of rhyming words over beats, scratching, breaking, and graffiti— the pillars of the culture itself. It wasn’t until much later that I saw value in competition when I began entering rap battles as a fledgling MC. During that time of my journey, I absolutely wanted nothing more than to tear another rapper’s head off in battle, all in the spirit of wanting to be the best.
Social media is currently in serious debate over the decision J. Cole made to withdraw from a battle with Kendrick Lamar after the Compton rapper seemingly took shots at his North Carolina counterpart on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” track. Oddly enough, many listeners feel that the Dreamville honcho let the culture down for not engaging in the battle further and saying that he intends to remove “7 Minute Drill” from his Might Delete Later project.
If you want my opinion, I don’t see a need to debate Cole’s choice to step aside because I don’t know these people well enough to question their motives. My real life has way more of my focus and concern than some battle of the super MCs debate that social media can’t seem to let go of. The fact people are calling each other names and coming to digital blows over this is cornier to me than what J. Cole did.
Twitter user @RonObasi posed a thought in the wake of these recent happenings that garnered some passionate and even disrespectful replies.
“[S]aying hip hop was born from competition is a crazy narrative and a lie. Lets do our homework please,” @RonObasi wrote on Tuesday (April 9). “Also saying hip hop is at its best & “healthy” when n*ggas using their platforms and influences to beef was/is crazy. Sound just like white men we claim to hate.”
Since putting up the reply, fans from all sides of the debate have chimed in and even blasted the assertion that Hip-Hop wasn’t meant to be a clash of talent. As I view it, every rapper, producer, DJ, and graffiti writer should feel like they’re the best, even if they feel they’re only in competition with themselves.
I do agree that the music and culture aren’t necessarily healthier when the top names are going at each other. I feel we as a culture could do more for all under the banner of unity and togetherness. It all seems like a pipe dream at this point, considering how folks are approaching J. Cole’s decision. And if you don’t like what I’m saying here, we can battle if you want.
Check out the replies below.
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City Girls fans thought they were witnessing the end of an era after members JT and Yung Miami went at each other’s weaves on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the end, the City Girls remained united after squashing the beef which was due to a misunderstanding.
Monday (April 8) was a wild day for many reasons. A large portion of the United States was witness to a solar eclipse, J. Cole walked back his diss of Kendrick Lamar, and the tensions spread to large factions of fans online.
From what we can determine, Saucy Santana wrote on X that he had some issues to address regarding Diddy via an upcoming television series to which JT responded by saying that she better not be mentioned. This sparked a light back and forth between the pair. Yung Miami, who is best friends with Santana, then suggested JT has been “sneak dissing” her.
All hell broke out from that point on with JT writing, “It’ll be too much for me to tweet! I will like a sit down…. Caresha please! And this time leave Santana home! I know I come off crazy but never in my life did no wack sh*t to this girl she literally enjoys seeing me being dragged when ppl show me love she goes crazy & call it a hate train! But like I said we can sit & talk about it!”
JT also wrote that she was “for sure there” for Yung Miami and added that “y’all will see this in time that I’m not, never was & never will be the problem!”
There were a lot more exchanges, including Yung Miami saying that fans online have caused the rift which put JT and her at odds and if you saw what was said before it was all deleted, that part seems to be true.
The beef ended after Yung Miami, using JT’s first name, wrote, “Jatavia I love you. I’m moving on!”
In a quote tweet, JT added, “I love you more [heart emoji] I actually love you the most!”
While the City Girls look to be poised to talk their sh*t together on stage again soon, fans online had plenty to say about their beef and how they made up. We’ve got replies below.
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Photo: Getty
11. Same. Same.
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Meek Mill and his frequent outbursts on Twitter usually come with a side helping of entertaining misspellings, passionate thoughts delivered without care, and brain blurts from beyond. Right now, Meek Mill is trending on Xitter after hard launching a beef with Wale, which is getting a lot of traction online now.
Meek Mill, 36, shared a tweet on Monday (April 7) that has since been deleted and it explains his issue with Wale although it was delivered in that same punctuation-free fashion we’ve come to expect.
“Wale never liked me,” the tweet began. “Now ima treat him like the streets everytime I see him. I gave him 1000 chances these guys be thinking they linking with the enemy clown ass n*gga I wish I woulda knew the other day I woulda stretched you!”
Some online are noting that Meek is wilfully talking about catching a body as a very popular figure which involves someone else who is known to the public.
From there, the coffee kicked in or something because Meek has been on a Xitter tweeting spree, speaking on the recent tussle between Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. He’s also addressing fans who checked the Philadelphia rapper for talking reckless online considering he has been imprisoned before and is supposed to be an advocate for prison reform.
“I was raised in jail and in kiladelphia how did yall forget so fast …. Yall not listening to my raps I been this way! I never been normal tf I have boundaries like every other American but shit not sweet out here why yall acting like it,” read one tweet from this morning.
Check out the reactions to Meek Mill proudly announcing a beef we didn’t know about with Wale below.
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Photo: Getty
1. Someone go check on Meek.
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J. Cole put the Hip-Hop world on notice after firing back at Kendrick Lamar on his surprise project, Might Delete Later. During his set at this year’s Dreamville Festival, J. Cole addressed the beef with K-Dot and said that “7 Minute Drill” will be removed from streaming services in an epic moment of walking it back.
J. Cole, 39, took to the stage on the closing night (April 7) of his annual Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, N.C., and addressed the crowd as he’s often done in the past. The massive elephant roaming through the festival grounds was the shot K-Dot took at Drake and Cole on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” from the pair’s WE DON’T TRUST YOU project.
Taking a moment during his closing set, the Dreamville honcho addressed the crowd and checked himself for taking shots at Lamar and ending the feud, at least from his end.
“I’m so proud of that project [Might Delete Later] except for one part,” Cole said onstage. “There’s one part of that sh*t that makes me feel like, ‘Man, that’s the lamest sh*t I ever did in my f*cking life.’ And, I know this is not what a lot of people wanna hear. I can hear my n*ggas up there right now like, ‘Nah, don’t do that.’ But, I gotta keep it 100 with y’all. I damn near had a relapse.”
Cole admitted to being reactionary at the moment and expressed that he wasn’t pleased by the chatter sparked by his diss track although he framed it as friendly competition. In the end, Cole says he intends to remove “7 Minute Drill” from his latest project while stating he has love for both Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
On Xitter, fans are debating who won the mock meat tussle (more on that later) between J. Cole, Drake, and Kendrick, the so-called “Big Three” with some declaring winners and losers in a battle that never took off to the degree some seem to think.
We’ve got reactions below.
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Photo: Astrida Valigorsky / Getty
2. Xitter is way too bored.
3. Seeing this live was something else.
9. Too much like right for some people.
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J. Cole is preparing for a big weekend in his home state as he is set to headline the closing night of the Dreamville Festival, but he had time to drop a new project. The North Carolina star released his Might Delete Later LP and the closing track features a response towards Kendrick Lamar and the recent “Big 3” jab.
J. Cole dropped Might Delete Later on Friday (April 5) ahead of the 2024 Dreamville Festival weekend and the 12-song project has features from Dreamville acts Ari Lennox and Bas, along with Young Dro, Central Cee, Cam’Ron, and Ab-Soul.
The one song that has everyone’s attention however is the closing track “7 Minute Drill,” the first response from J. Cole after Kendrick Lamar fired at Drake and Cole on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That” track from the pair’s collaborative album, WE DON’T TRUST YOU.
Early thoughts on the latest album from Cole are still coming in but most are focusing their energies on dissecting the “7 Minute Drill” track with some saying it was a light jab while others were underwhelmed.
Still, this is the first time the public has seen any manner of issues between the two and it’s clear that the battle is finally heating up. Drake still has yet to respond on wax but the Canadian superstar has made some defiant statements here and there while on his It’s All A Blur tour.
With J. Cole’s latest project and salvo against Kendrick Lamar, the social media streets are talking. We’ve got reactions from X listed below.
Check out Might Delete Later below as well.
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If social media has taught us anything in the last decade and more, it’s that there are a lot of creeps and weirdos out here on all sides. A woman on X had to protect her account after essentially cosigning sexual assault and homophobia in a two-for-one tweet, prompting others to call her She Diddy.
She Diddy began trending early Thursday (April 4) morning after X user @themdolll tweeted some thoughts that somehow got connected to some other recent happenings involving Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The tweet, which X user @ScamFisher screengrabbed, reads as follows:
once i reach fa that dic & you move my hand u can get tf on gay ass ngga
X user @FirstName_Alan quoted @themdolll’s tweet, writing in the quotes, “It’s called consent She Diddy” and all hell broke loose from there.
Since that exchange, She Diddy has gone viral, seeing Combs’ nickname repurposed once again in an unfortunate fashion. In recent times, the phrase “No Diddy” has cropped up which seemingly has a homophobic bent although it appears it isn’t dominating the conversations of late.
As it stands, fans and onlookers are more aware than ever of the specter of sexual assault in the wake of Diddy’s recent legal issues. Further, it’s revealed that some people have some zany views about consent, assault, sexuality, and conduct. Adding to this, Diddy has his fair share of defenders along with those who wish to see his downfall in connection to the mounting allegations he faces.
Perhaps not wanting that image on her jacket, @themdolll has since made her X page private so we don’t know if there have been any other statements or responses to her earlier quip.
Check out the reactions under the X trending topic She Diddy below.
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Emmanuel Acho, currently a sports analyst and a former professional athlete, is certainly qualified to speak on the happenings of the sports world. However, the former NFL linebacker delivered an awful take that he tried to dress up nicely regarding Angel Reese, and many of Acho’s peers are checking him while other fans are going at his well-manicured fade.
In a now-viral clip shared to social media, Emmanuel Acho, 33, appeared on his Fox Sports 1 program SPEAK to discuss Angel Reese and LSU falling to Caitlin Clark and Iowa during the NCAA Women’s Elite 8 games this past Monday (April 1). While Reese was doing her best while being reportedly hobbled by an injury, LSU fell to Iowa behind the scoring explosion from Clark.
In the postgame press conference, Reese, 21, tearfully explained that after her team defeated Iowa last year for the championship, the vitriol she’s experienced since that epic contest has been too much to bear.
“I’ve been through so much,” Reese said. “I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats. I’ve been sexualized. I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things.”
Despite this, Acho found it necessary to deliver what he framed as a “gender neutral and racially indifferent” —which doesn’t make any sense because you’re discussing a women’s basketball tournament contest featuring a Black woman who is a superstar opposite a white woman who is considered the next great hope for the game. That alone negates the low shot Acho took at Reese’s experience by comparing her tears to that of the animated character, Courage the Cowardly Dog.
People with far more access to Emmanuel Acho have checked him on his dressing down of Angel Reese and the accomplishments of her team. Others are dragging Acho’s name through the mud while others are muting his entire name from their feeds. What’s worse is that the MAGA nuts and closet racists loved the take because of course they did.
Check out the reactions below.
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Beyoncé has long since been considered one of the most innovative artists of her generation, as evidenced by the warm reception to her recent country music-influenced album, Act II: Cowboy Carter. This past Monday, Beyoncé accepted The Innovator Award from the legendary Stevie Wonder at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards and delivered a moving speech.
The 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards took place on Monday (April 1) at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. The star-studded event saw Beyoncé up for R&B song of the year for “Cuff It along with a R&B artist of the year nod.
Stevie Wonder took to the stage to announce the Houston superstar as the recipient of The Innovator Award and was met with measurable applause. Yielding the stage to Queen Bey, Wonder was showered with praise from the singer and entertainer who casually dropped that Wonder played the harmonica on her “Jolene” remake from Cowboy Carter.
Beyoncé came to the stage decked out in a Black and gold leather outfit no doubt inspired by the recent themes from her latest album, complete with a hat that was also emblazoned with gold. After thanking Wonder for his contributions to music and her album, Beyoncé spoke with confidence and eloquence.
“Tonight, you called me an innovator and for that, I’m very grateful,” Beyoncé said. “Innovation starts with a dream. But then you have to execute that dream and that role can be very bumpy. Being an innovator is saying what everyone believes is impossible. Being an innovator often means being criticized, which often will test your mental strength. Being an innovator is leaning on faith, trusting that God will catch you and guide you.”
Also winning that night was SZA, who took home the R&B Artist and R&B Song award for “Snooze” from the singer’s SOS album, which also took home an award.
The full acceptance speech can be viewed in the clip below.
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Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty
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For the past few weeks, Travis Scott has been hard at work dropping off new visuals. Now, the rapper, who also happens to be one of the biggest names in the sneaker game, continues to bring more work as he revisits his last LP, Utopia.
Linking up with Playboi Carti for the visuals to “FE!N,” the pair takes viewers on quite the visual experience as they use fast-speed camera work to capture their performances and that of the participants in the video. This joint will leave you dizzy if you’re not careful. Just sayin.’
Back in Brooklyn Maino does some self-reflecting and in his clip for “Forgive Me,” the man asks the women who’ve known him to forgive him for doing wrong to them throughout his life. Good luck with that, bro.
Check out the rest of today’s drops and some joints you might’ve missed over the weekend including work from TG Gates, Ducey Gold, and more.
TRAVIS SCOTT FT. PLAYBOI CARTI – “FE!N”
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MAINO – “FORGIVE ME”
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TG GATES – “NIPSEY FLOW”
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DUCEY GOLD – “FIND YOUR LUV”
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ENZO MCFLY – “1 TAKE”
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CONCRETE BOYS – “FAMILY BUSINESS”
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PREMO RICE – “DEEP IN MY BAG”
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WIZZ HAVINN – “LOCO”
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Photo: Scott Dudelson / Getty
