State Champ Radio Hip Hop News
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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.
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The cost of a sample from one of British singer Sting’s most popular hits is costing Diddy $5,000 a day, the mogul recently revealed online in response to a viral video.
A clip from the singer-songwriter’s appearance on The Breakfast Club in 2018 resurfaced and went viral, in which Charlemagne Tha God asked Sting if Diddy shells out $2,000 a day to him for sampling “Every Breath You Take” from The Police without permission. “Yeah,” Sting replied. “For the rest of his life.” The Bad Boy Records founder saw the clip on Wednesday (April 5th) and corrected the record by quote-tweeting it and saying: “Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!”
Diddy’s declaration surprised many online, but much of the background behind it is well-established. The sample was heavily used in “I’ll Be Missing You,” a tribute song for his friend and Bad Boy Records artist The Notorious B.I.G. who was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997. The song, which featured Biggie’s widow Faith Evans and 112, would go on to win a Grammy Award and be number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. Sting would even join Diddy, Fatih and 112
Diddy would be sued by Sting for not seeking clearance in 2002, and the singer would go on to win 100% of the royalties. In the interview with The Breakfast Club, Sting would say that Diddy eventually asked for permission “after the fact” and stated: “We’re very good friends now.” By some estimates, the daily amount would total a payment of $1,825,000 a year and $47,325,000 to date since the publication date of May 7th, 1997. Sting has since sold his songwriting catalog to the Universal Music Group in a deal estimated at $300 million which took place last February, which does include “Every Breath You Take,” meaning that the group would potentially receive most of the royalty payment going forward.
Sting had previously spoken about the situation in a Rolling Stone interview in 2003. “Those guys just take your s–t, put it on a record, and deal with the legality later,” he said. “Elton John told me, “You gotta hear [“I’ll Be Missing You”], you’re gonna be a millionaire!” I said, “I am a millionaire!” He said, “You’re gonna be a millionaire twice over!”
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A list of the top media figures in the Hip-Hop world was released, with Joe Budden being named number one—leading some on social media to applaud and others to question how that was possible.The power ranking of the top media personalities in Hip-Hop was released by Complex Media on Monday (April 3), with twenty-five notable figures on podcasting and radio being recognized. The host of The Joe Budden Podcast nabbed the top spot, edging out his former Everyday Struggle co-host DJ Akademiks. Budden’s pick as number one by his former platform surprised some but also delighted many other fans, given how he and Complex parted ways under stormy conditions after he spoke out about being undervalued by the media group. And there were also those who openly wondered how such a list could be created without bias and with some questionable placements (i.e. Sway Calloway coming in at 23rd on the 25-person list).
Before unveiling the list, the staff detailed their criteria for putting the list together which had them focus on individuals rather than shows or platforms. In an apparent nod to those who might complain about the placement of certain figures above others especially if veteran personalities were lower on the list, the staff stated: “We engineered the list to be a ranking of the right now—which means that current relevance and influence supersedes legacy and longevity.” They also addressed potential questions about including those who have been hit with allegations of abuse and misconduct by stating, “We ranked the personalities strictly based on their content, not their character.”
Responses to the Hip-Hop Media Power Ranking were predictably all over the place, as some praised Joe Budden for attaining the top position. Others trashed the list for various reasons. We highlighted some more notable reactions in the gallery.
1. ImeWrites
Nigerian journalist ImeWrites weighed in with perspective. “I am disappointed at the ranking for Sway. However, Sway is an actual journalist, while this list is for media personalities,” they wrote.
2. DeronIsDope
This Twitter user offered a sarcastic jab at Budden’s placement at the top, while voicing that it was “egregious” that Sway came in at 23rd on the list.
3. Lauren
A viral video clip summed up this Twitter user’s response to Budden getting the top spot.
4. CRU137
“What does Joe Budden do other than hate on people for clout?”, they asked.
5. Nicholas Price Sr
“This list don’t make no sense. @RealSway is not number one with the impact that he has on hip-hop media?”, they asked.
6. Lloyd Banks
The G-Unit artist sent out his salute to Joe upon hearing the news.
7. Preston Taylor
“I must be missing something. The word power is definitely being thrown around nowadays for no rhyme or reason,” Preston Taylor wrote.
8. TheFuture8606
This user offered up praise for Budden’s ranking and his reformatting of his current podcast for success.
9. Joshua
Joshua called out the list for placing Narduwar towards the bottom. “Nardwuar should not be so low this is actual blasphemous writing y’all should be ashamed,” they wrote.
10. Joezzy_ACH
This Twitter user who goes by the handle “Wins and Losses” gave “The Pod Father” his due.
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Lupe Fiasco is continuing his journey in higher academia. He announced that he will be taking part in a fellowship at Yale University.
The Drill Music In Zion rapper broke the news to fans last Thursday (March 30) through his Twitter account. “Proud to announce I’ve been chosen to be a Saybrook Fellow at my OTHER favorite school in the whole wide world outside of MIT…@Yale,” Lupe Fiasco wrote. “Shout [out] to Tom Near for nominating me to a place where against all odds two Chicagoans found a home in the Ivy League.”
Tom Near is Saybrook’s Head of College in addition to being a Professor and the Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale, and Bingham Oceanographic Curator of Ichthyology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.
The Saybrook College Research Fellowship at Yale was created to enable students and fellows to discuss and examine topics in informal spaces. “The Fellowship is intended also to provide students and Fellows with opportunities for discussion in an atmosphere less formal than the classroom,” their website states. “They represent a considerable potential for informal discussions of your interests, academic or otherwise, but you must seek them out and make your interests known. You will find that they are eager to meet you.”
This will be the second Ivy League teaching stint for the Chicago native, who recently completed teaching a course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entitled “Rap Theory & Practice: An Introduction.” “[T]he MIT relationship was formally initiated through someone who had a connection to one of the professors at MIT, Dr. Nick Montfort. I mentioned my interest in studying computational poets and trying to look for somebody who worked in that space,” Lupe said in an interview last year.
He continued: “The connection was made, and all of a sudden, I was at MIT. At first, it was, ‘Come for a day.’ Then ‘Come see the school, get a tour.’ Then to, ‘Come speak at a class.’ Then it’s, ‘Oh, yo, come be part of a research group.’ Then it’s, ‘Oh, come be an artist-in-residence.’ Then it’s, ‘Oh, come be MLK Visiting Scholar for a year.’ It was just incrementally building over time, so it’s a result of a five-year engagement.”
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The young son of Flo Rida is in an intensive care unit in serious condition after suffering a fall from an apartment building in New Jersey.
According to reports, 6-year-old Zohar Dillard is in intensive care after falling five stories from his family’s apartment in Jersey City, New Jersey. The incident occurred three weeks ago, leaving the boy with multiple pelvis fractures, fractures in his left foot, a grade three liver laceration, internal bleeding, and collapsed lungs. This was disclosed in a civil lawsuit filed by his mother, Alexis Adams on Monday (March 27th).
“As a single mom to a special needs child, this feels like a nightmare,” Adams said in a statement according to local news reports. “My heart is broken into a million pieces. It is devastating to see my child go through such pain and trauma knowing that this could’ve been avoided.I am devastated, angry, and struggling to come to terms with the fact that my only child has suffered severe injuries due to willful negligence of our landlord and others involved In failing to take necessary safety measures.” Zohar suffers from hydrocephalus, a condition caused by an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain’s ventricles.
Adams is suing the owners of the apartment complex as well as its managers, a window installer, and others claiming that the building had “incorrect-sized guards,” creating a “hazardous condition.” She is seeking payment for Zohar’s medical bills, damages, and attorney’s fees.
The “Right Round” rapper has not offered any public comment to the press. Adams has gone on record of stating that the Grammy Award-nominated artist has not been heavily involved in his child’s life. “Flo Rida has only seen his son once during the paternity test [in December 2016] but kept his shades on and his back turned,” she said in an interview with the Daily Mail in 2018.
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A lawsuit against Childish Gambino alleging that his hit track “This Is America” contained elements of another previously released song has been dismissed in court.
According to reports, the case concerning the Grammy Award-winning song from 2018 came to an end after Judge Victor Marrero declared a dismissal in a Manhattan courtroom last Friday (March 24). The lawsuit was brought by rapper Kidd Wes (aka Emelike Nwosuocha) in 2021, alleging that Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) committed copyright infringement on his 2016 song “Made In America.” Wes said the hook was “unmistakably substantially similar, if not practically identical,” to his track.
“A cursory comparison with the challenged composition reveals that the content of the choruses is entirely different and not substantially similar,” Judge Marrero said, explaining Kidd Wes’ song was more of a “short, simple, aggrandizing proclamation” as opposed to Glover’s song detailing “what America means and how it is perceived.” The lawsuit also named Roc Nation, composer Ludwig Göransson and Young Thug as co-defendants.
Another factor in the decision made by Judge Marrero involved a discrepancy in how Kidd Wes registered the copyright for the song with the United States Library of Congress. The court ruled that his copyright claim isn’t valid because his registration certificate only covers the sound recording and doesn’t cover the music of the song.
“Even if Nwosuocha had a copyright registration for the composition of Plaintiff’s Composition, however, dismissal would be warranted here because the elements of Plaintiff’s Composition purportedly infringed upon are insufficiently original to warrant protection, or because they are not substantially similar to the Challenged Composition,” Marrero said.
The legal team for Kidd Wes issued a statement after the decision, saying that the artist is disappointed and is contemplating an appeal. “He stands by his music, creativity, and the independence of grassroots artists to create their own music, and receive credit where credit is due, without the fear of it being apportioned by another,” attorneys Imran H. Ansari and La’Shawn N. Thomas said.
A lawyer for Glover, Jonathan D. Davis, said in a statement: “We are very grateful for the court’s decision. No case existed here, as there was no infringement—let alone a copyright registration. That was obvious from a simple comparison of the two songs and a review of the U.S. Copyright Office records.”
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