State Champ Radio Hip Hop News
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As many on social media made light of the latest incident featuring Ja Morant and guns, one meme proved to be a haunting throwback for GloRilla.
The Memphis Grizzlies star guard is embroiled in another controversial incident involving a firearm, this time through a viral video that was uploaded online featuring him flashing a gun in a car with an unidentified friend. The reaction online sparked a wave of memes criticizing but mostly clowning Morant, with one meme of a young girl holding a large gun that read, “Ja Morant every month.” It turned out that the young lady in the photo was GloRilla. She got wind of the meme circulating and quote tweeted it with a couple of laughing emojis. “I was a menace in high school,” she wrote. “I’m so embarrassed.” The Memphis native didn’t offer anything further.
The new Morant video comes weeks after he was suspended for eight games towards the end of the regular season by the Grizzlies after a video of him flashing a firearm in a gentlemen’s club in Denver, Colorado captured from his Instagram Stories went viral. The latest situation has already seen possible heavy repercussions being floated, as National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver spoke about it on Tuesday at the NBA Draft Lottery. “Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend — that video. Now, we’re in the process of investigating it,” he said.
Morant released a statement Tuesday (May 16), which was relayed by Adrian Wojnarowski via Twitter: “I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me. This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
Wojnarowski has previously reported that the league could hand down a stiffer suspension.
As for GloRilla, she’s currently building off of the success of her Grammy Award-nominated track “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and being the headliner for the Anyways, Life’s Great tour this past spring. Signed to fellow Memphis artist Yo Gotti’s CMG label, the 23-year-old is also expected to perform at the Austin City Limits Festival later in the year.
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The late Tupac Shakur will now be a permanent part of Oakland, California as a street in the city is renamed after him.
On Tuesday (May 16th) the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to rename a stretch of MacArthur Boulevard in the Lake Merritt area where Shakur once after the iconic rapper. The street will keep its name but gain “Tupac Shakur Way” in addition, with commemorative signs and plaques. The Tupac Shakur Foundation will be responsible for paying for those signs and plaques.
A spokesperson for the City Council said that the Tupac Shakur Way of the boulevard will serve as a lasting reminder of his musical and cultural contributions and provide inspiration for more moments of societal change through art. “Tupac Shakur’s legacy will continue through his contributions in art and social outreach, through his family and fans, touching countless lives of children and elders over the years while alive and after his death, taken too young by gun violence,” the accompanying resolution said. There was no set timeline announced for the change.
The late rapper and actor, who was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting at the age of 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996, was born in Harlem, New York to Black Panther Party members Afeni Shakur & Billy Garland. He would later move with Afeni to Baltimore, Maryland, and then live in Marin City before settling in Oakland for a time. It was there where he claimed he got his “game” and further expanded his career, linking up with area Hip-Hop legends Digital Underground. “I give all my love to Oakland, if I’ma claim somewhere I’ma claim Oakland,” he once said.
Oakland is no stranger to honoring its heroes. Other notable figures whom the City Council has renamed streets for include Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton and rapper Too Short. The city also has had a history of celebrating Tupac annually since 2016 when they proclaimed June 16th as “Tupac Shakur Day”.
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In an exclusive interview, we got the chance to speak with Rocky Bucano, the director of the Universal Hip-Hop Museum about the institution’s plans this year for Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary.
This year, Hip-Hop has officially been in existence for 50 years, and there’s already been a few numerous events that are celebrating and amplifying the culture. At the center of these celebrations stands the Universal Hip Hop Museum, an institution that has been years in the making in the culture’s birthplace of the Bronx, New York. It has been a long journey that will culminate in the completion of the museum’s permanent home at Bronx Point, projected for the summer of 2024.
A respected music industry veteran with strong ties to Hip-Hop dating back to his founding of Strong City Records with DJ Jazzy Jay to working with LaFace Records before venturing into television and community initiatives, UHHM’s Executive Director Rocky Bucano has been hard at work collaborating with many individuals, artists, and companies to make the UHHM a reality. We recently had a chance to speak with him about the plans for the museum as Hip-Hop celebrates this landmark year and beyond.
Hip-Hop Wired: Hip-Hop is celebrating 50 years of existence, and many are paying rightful tribute and homage to the culture. For you, as someone who’s been such an integral part of this culture, how does it feel witnessing all of this taking place with the celebrations and the continued journey of UHHM, how does that make you feel?
Rocky Bucano: I’m deeply blessed and honored to be one of the few people who have seen Hip-Hop from before it was Hip-Hop to where Hip Hop is today. Being the executive director of the University Hip-Hop Museum, it becomes almost an obligation, because I’ve seen the entire journey of Hip-Hop, right? To make sure that we have one of the best museums in the world to celebrate and preserve the global history of the culture. I’m so excited and blessed to be in this position. And I look forward to the next 50 years, even after the museum is open. You know, Hip-Hop has done so much for so many people, including myself. So I’m just so excited to be in this position and to see this museum coming to the finish line.
HHW: With the current exhibition, The [R]Evolution of Hip Hop “Golden Era” 1986-1990 open now – which I feel everyone has to visit at least once – what further activations and events do you and UHHM have planned this year?
Bucano: So we are the official partner of Mayor Adams and his administration to produce and curate a variety of different programs and events to celebrate the 50th anniversary. We have a women’s empowerment program coming up later this month, which will be at the Billie Holiday Theater (in Brooklyn). We’re doing health and wellness programs, we’re doing social justice outreach programs, and small business workshops. But the big one we’re working on is a celebratory concert to celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop. Right now, the plan is to do it in Central Park, but it might be Yankee Stadium, so stay tuned for that.
And then we will be opening up a traveling museum that will start here in New York City. Later this year, so hopefully around August 10 of this year, we’ll be putting that up and that will stay open until the actual museum opens up at the Bronx Point. The traveling museum will debut in Manhattan, so we’re working on a location now.
HHW: That sounds amazing. And that ties into the final question that I have for you. In terms of further projects that have been completed, with the highly interactive components in the exhibits at your current space are we going to see further virtual collaborations like you’ve done in the past with Microsoft, like with Metaverse and Facebook under Meta as well?
Bucano: Great question. So you know, we have a Metaverse, a virtual museum that was accessed accessible through alt space. We were working with Microsoft, but they decided to sunset their alt-space division. So now we’re moving our Metaverse virtual museum over to Spatial, and we’re working with the team there on that. We’ll probably have some virtual projects and programs ready to go later this spring and early summer. Pretty excited about that. And we’re exploring how to use AI and all of the available tech experiences including ChatGPT. We’re right there trying to use the most advanced technology. We want to make sure that we’re curating and celebrating Hip-Hop history with new technology.
For more information on upcoming events at the Universal Hip-Hop Museum, visit their website.
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Janet Jackson received a lovely surprise from Busta Rhymes in the form of flowers and a heartfelt tribute during her New York concert.
On Tuesday night (May 9), the superstar was performing on her Together Again tour before the sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. As the opening notes of “What’s It Gonna Be?” began to play, the “Gimme Some More” rapper stepped onto the stage to perform the hit track from his Extinction Level Event album released in 1999.
The moment was even more special as Busta began a moving speech to Jackson while someone delivered a bouquet of flowers he brought for her. “I don’t want to disrupt the programming too much, but I brought some gifts for you, queen,” he said. “We’re going to give you your flowers. I’m going to give you your bouquet while you can smell them.”
He shared the story of how they got to collaborate with each other. “In 1998 … I’m on the Belt Parkway going from Long Island to Manhattan,” he said. “I’m listening to Janet Jackson do an interview … Angie Martinez asked her, ‘What rapper have you never worked with before that you would like to work with?’ She said, Busta Rhymes. Excuse my language,” he added, “but I almost crashed my fucking car.”
“What’s It Gonna Be” would earn a Grammy nomination and Busta told the crowd that it was “the most expensive hip-hop video ever made.” (The cost of the video, directed by Hype Williams, is estimated at $2 million.) “You finally made a dream come true for me, queen,” he told Jackson. “I waited 25 years to be able to share this stage with you and perform this song. And I am so grateful that I’m fighting tears of joy right now. I just want you to know that I love you so much.”
Busta Rhymes also had a cake brought onstage by a stagehand and directed the crowd to shout “Happy Birthday” to the singer, who turns 57 next week. He also paid homage to her as a mother. “This is one of the most beautiful, most gorgeous, one of the most incredible souls as a mother walking the face of the earth,” he told the exuberant audience. “Please make some noise in advance for the beautiful Janet Jackson for Mother’s Day.”
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The longest-running free performing arts Celebrate Brooklyn! festival unveiled its lineup of artists for the summer and a special celebration of Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary.
On Wednesday (May 3rd), BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn and the Prospect Park Alliance announced their full lineup for their 45th season of concerts. Each of the free shows (with a few benefit concerts) will be held at the historic Lena Horne Bandshell in the borough’s venerated park. Featured artists that will be performing at Celebrate Brooklyn! throughout this summer include Corinne Bailey Rae, Taj Mahal, Robert Glasper, NxWorries featuring Anderson .Paak and many more.
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In addition, there will be a special two-day concert held in conjunction with BRIC celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. The lineup for that event has yet to be announced. Those interested can RSVP early at the concert series website.
“BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park is a beloved flagship event and a clear sign of summer for our community,” said Morgan Monaco, President of Prospect Park Alliance in a press release. “Music and performing arts are what help keep us thriving in good times and in bad, and I’m grateful that the park serves as an important inspiration for artists of all kinds. The festival has brought a wide range of free music, performances, and family programming to Brooklyn’s Backyard and we look forward to coming together this season with the many diverse communities of Brooklyn.”
“BRIC is about community, art, and culture and there is no greater example of that than BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!,” said BRIC President Wes Jackson in the same press statement. “For 45 years our team has brought free and affordable programming to Prospect Park, and low-cost media education to the people of Brooklyn. We’re honored to serve our neighborhoods in this way every summer, and we look forward to 45 more years at the Bandshell and beyond. Thank you to our friends and partners at the Prospect Park Alliance and the Parks Department. I’ll see you out there.”
For those seeking to RSVP for the free shows and purchase tickets for the benefit concerts, the Celebrate Brooklyn! website is now up and running.
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The spirit of Heavy D lives on in striking fashion in his hometown of Mount Vernon, New York thanks to a new sculpture honoring him.
Last Thursday (April 27), the late rapper’s family was joined by artist Eto Otitigbe and Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard outside the newly completed high-rise building at 42 Broad Street, located near the Cross County Expressway. The sculpture, named “Peaceful Journey” after one of his renowned album releases, was unveiled to the waiting crowd. Standing over 18 feet tall, the work by Otigbe is made from stainless and Cor-Ten steel and marble.
The Brooklyn-based Otigbe was selected from a group competition organized by ArtsWestchester to create the work. “I wanted to pay homage to the Mount Vernon community that had such an important place in hip-hop with this work of art,” he said in an interview about the work through the art organization’s Instagram page.
“My son loved the arts and this sculpture and this sculpture depicts the love that he has especially for the city of Mount Vernon,” said Eulahlee Myers, Heavy D’s mother, at the ceremony. Heavy D tragically passed away in 2011 from complications of pneumonia. It was later learned he also suffered a blood clot in his lung as well.
“Mount Vernon has a rich history of arts and culture. With this being the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, nothing could be more appropriate than to honor this beautiful, beautiful sculpture of Heavy D,” said Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, acknowledging his ties to the Westchester enclave where he moved to as a child with his family at the unveiling. “Heavy D, for me, wasn’t just an artist. He was my classmate. He was my friend. He was my party partner.”
The 44-year-old, born Dwight Arrington Myers, was an iconic part of Hip-Hop’s “Golden Age,” parlaying his affable charm and skilled lyricism into a music and acting career that saw him break numerous barriers and paving the way for other artists from the area including Diddy and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth. “He was the rapper your mother liked,” said Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival founder Wes Jackson.
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A new concert event, The F.O.R.C.E Live tour is in effect with LL Cool J featured as a headliner along with The Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Source: General / Live Nation
The F.O.R.C.E (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) Live Tour is the first that the Hip-Hop icon is headlining in 30 years. Each of the 24 dates across the U.S. (with a stop in Toronto) on the tour will feature the two-time Grammy Award winner with The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Z-Trip, the same powerful tandem at the heart of their celebration of 50 years of Hip-Hop at this year’s Grammys. Rock The Bells is the major organizer of the tour event. “I’m excited to be on my first Arena tour in 30 years. It’s proof that our culture is more viable than ever. Get ready for some non-stop beats and rhymes. See you this summer!”, the rapper said in a press release.
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The lineup for the tour is a hearty one, curated by LL Cool J himself. It features Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Common, MC Lyte, Method Man & Redman, Big Boi, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ice T, Juvenile, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, De La Soul, Goodie Mob, Jadakiss, Rick Ross, and more special guests. The F.O.R.C.E. Live tour, according to the press release will feature the lineup “unlike the traditional “opening act – headliner” format, the show will be a nonstop musical mash-up with artist performances interwoven within one continuous musical set backed by The Roots.” These same artists will also perform at the Rock The Bells Cruise slated for November.
The tour kicks off on June 25th at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and ends its run at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California on September 3rd. A ticket pre-sale for fans will be held by Live Nation on Thursday (April 27th) beginning at 10 A.M., with the general sale taking place on Friday (April 28th) through Ticketmaster. Tickets will also be available through StubHub once the general sale begins. To find out more, visit the website.
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Post Malone achieves a high status with the Recording Industry Association of America and is toasting the feat with a new album containing his greatest hits.
On Thursday (April 20th), three songs from the artist – “I Fall Apart,” “Better Now” and “Circles” – all were certified by the Recording Industry Association of America to have crossed the diamond threshold in certified units sold, which is ten million. Universal Music Group announced the achievement on Twitter along with the cover for a new album from Post Malone entitled The Diamond Collection, which will be released from Republic Records on Friday (April 21st).
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The new album will contain nine diamond-certified hits from the rapper and singer, along with a new track, “Chemical”. The song, the lead single from his upcoming fifth studio album, was recently projected to debut on the United Kingdom hit charts just shy of its top ten. For the Utah-based artist, the new song marks a change in his process.
“Trying to shove 20 to 25 songs, it doesn’t work. Talking to the label [it’s like], ‘Oh, if you have less songs, you’re not going to stream as much,’ but the whole thing is that you don’t want to compromise your art and your gut vibe on anything,” he said to Billboard. “I’ve made a lot of compromises, especially musically, but now I don’t feel like I want to anymore. I don’t need a No. 1; that doesn’t matter to me no more, and at a point, it did.”
He previewed the song to his followers on Instagram before its release.
Malone’s feat broke the previous record of six songs having attained a diamond status, which was previously held by Bruno Mars. The artist also has tied for the highest certified single of all time, with his hit “Sunflower” with Swae Lee for the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse soundtrack. That song would go on to become seventeen-times platinum per RIAA records.
The status is a hard one to obtain, having been first created in 1997 with “Something About The Way You Look Tonight / Candle In The Wind 1997″ by Elton John.
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Lil Durk is giving back through a new partnership with Amazon Music creating an endowment for students to receive scholarships to HBCUs, including Howard University.
The Chicago native announced last Friday (April 14th) that he has created the Durk Banks Endowment Fund in partnership with his Neighborhood Heroes 501(c)(3)non-profit group which he founded and Rotation, the HIp-Hop & R&B brand from Amazon Music. He let his fans know through social media. “I’m the voice this the part they don’t show, I appreciate all the kids who struggling to finish school and needed this blessing,” he wrote.
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The fund awarded a $50,000 scholarship to two students from Chicago who’re set to enroll in Howard University in Washington D.C. this fall. “I feel it’s my responsibility to reach back to the kids—especially those that are growing up in my community,” says the rapper in a press release. “These kids have to be our biggest investment as they’re our future leaders. They are destined for greatness and I’m encouraging others to join my team’s efforts to help pave their way.”
In addition to the scholarships, Lil Durk also donated $250,000 directly to Chicago-area students who are receiving Howard’s Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence (GRACE) Grant. This fund is to assist students with financial support to alleviate financial burdens so they can stay in school and graduate on time. “For me to boost them up and get them to the next level, it was like a no-brainer,” he stated in an interview with Billboard. “And this scholarship was a super-no-brainer for me. For me and my team, having my own scholarship is like a Grammy.”
The “Hellcats and Trackstars” artist also was the headliner for Howard’s Springfest over the past weekend and paid $100,000 towards a trip taken by 20 high school students from his hometown to visit the university. “We are incredibly grateful to be the recipients of such generous support from Lil Durk, the Neighborhood Heroes Foundation, and Amazon Music,” adds Cynthia Evers, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Affairs at Howard University in the press release. “Not only did they lend their support to the premier event run by and for Howard University students, but they also left a lasting impression by offering a gift that will continue to benefit Howard students for a long time to come.”
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A social media post by Diddy concerning alleging that he paid daily – and hefty – royalty payments to Sting had many people buzzing until he walked it back.
The entertainment mogul initially became a topic of discussion after a viral video showed the British singer-songwriter stating that he was receiving $2,000 a day in royalty payments due to Diddy not obtaining permission to use a sample from his hit song with The Police, “Every Breath You Take”. Diddy had quote-tweeted the video on Friday (April 7th) and said “Nope. 5k a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting,” adding more speculation to the mix. But that would be short-lived.
Later that day, Diddy returned to his Twitter account to discount everything. “I want y’all to understand I was joking! It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history. LOVE.”, he wrote with a smiling face emoji.
The sample in question was used for Diddy’s smash hit “I’ll Be Missing You”, released in 1997 in tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. after his death two months earlier that year in Los Angeles. The song would go on to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. Diddy hadn’t contacted Sting for the usage of the sample, resulting in his being sued in 2002. In the viral clip from a 2018 appearance on The Breakfast Club, when asked about the veracity of getting royalties for Diddy, Sting said it was true and that it was “for the rest of his life.”
The “Fields Of Gold” singer has mentioned that he won royalties from Diddy in a past 2003 Rolling Stone Q&A and that they “were good friends still”. He even joked about it when asked about his legacy: “All the songs can live on. Hey! P. Diddy’s grandchildren can rerecord “Every Breath You Take.” However, there isn’t anything on public record that contains accurate details on what the ruling amount actually was. Many speculated that if the alleged $5,000 payment was real, it would mean that Sting got close to $50 million since the song’s 1997 publication.
