State Champ Radio Hip-Hop
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Jung Kook’s “3D,” featuring Jack Harlow, has topped this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 29) on Billboard, choosing the team-up between the BTS member and Louisville rapper as their favorite new music release of the past week. “3D” brought in 62% of the vote, beating out new […]
Jada Pinkett Smith is reacting the arrest of a suspect in connection with the murder of Tupac Shakur.
The Emmy-winning actress and talk show host took to her social media on Friday (Sept. 29) to speak out following news that Las Vegas police arrested Duane “Keffe D” Davis in connection with the drive-by shooting of the iconic rapper, who died on Sept. 13, 1996.
“Now I hope we can get some answers and have some closure. “R.I.P. Pac,” Pinkett Smith wrote on her Instagram Stories, adding a dove emoji.
The Girls Trip star’s post arrived hours after after Davis, 60, was arrested and charged with the high-profile murder on the Las Vegas strip, which has been the subject of numerous documentary films, investigative TV series, books, and theories about who gunned down the then-25-year-old MC.
Pinkett Smith had a close relationship with the rapper for many years. Since Tupac’s passing, she has often relived her memories with him in front of the public. In 2017, Pinkett Smith revealed that she was a drug dealer when she first met the rapper, and in 2021, she shared an unpublished poem from the “Dear Mama” rapper.
While Pac was alive, Pinkett Smith appeared in his “Keep Ya Head Up” and “Temptations” music videos, and covered $100,000 for his bail after he was convicted for sexual abuse. While the two stars never officially dated, their incredibly close friendship has become a point of public debate, especially in light of her and Smith’s “entanglement” controversies.
Earlier this month, Pinkett Smith shared an adorable throwback video of her and Shakur lip-syncing to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s 1988 hit single “Parents Just Don’t Understand.”
“Not in a million years would I have dreamed that the Fresh Prince and I would become, um, very acquainted. Not in a million years did I imagine three lives, their fates, would be so intertwined,” she wrote on Instagram. “And… I never would have imagined that this video would become a tangible memory, of the last time Pac and I, were simply kids together. Pac and I lip syncing Parents Just Don’t Understand by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince during our Junior year in high school. Who would have thought?”
The caption is believed to be an excerpt from Pinkett Smith’s forthcoming memoir, Worthy, which is slated for release on Oct. 17.
Las Vegas police made an arrest on Friday morning (Sept. 29) in one of the most vexing high-profile cold cases in the city’s history. According to the Associated Press, Las Vegas PD arrested Duane “Keffe D” Davis in connection with the unsolved drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur on the Las Vegas strip on Sept. 7, 1996.
The unsolved murder of the legendary rapper in a brazen nighttime assault on the city’s most famous boulevard had vexed authorities and fascinated the public for nearly 30 years, spawning a number of documentaries, investigative TV series, books and theories about who gunned down the then-25-year-old MC.
Davis was reportedly arrested early Friday morning, with the exact charges he was taken in on not announced at press time; two officials with first-hand knowledge of the arrest said Davis was expected to be indicted later in the day.
The 60-year-old alleged member of the South Side Compton Crips street gang was the uncle of gang member Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, long considered the prime suspect in Shakur’s killing. Anderson was beaten by the rapper and his entourage on the night of the murder, allegedly in retaliation for Anderson’s role in snatching a Death Row chain at a Los Angeles Mall in July 1996; Anderson, 23, who denied involvement in the Shakur murder, was shot and killed in 1998 in a gang shooting and was never charged with the killing.
Las Vegas PD announced in July that they had searched Davis’ Henderson, Nevada home in connection with the Shakur murder investigation, though they did not give any additional information at the time about what they found or what spurred the search.
NBC News reported at the time that a copy of the warrant it obtained noted that authorities were looking at computers and other electronic devices, as well as audio recordings and that they took away a Pokeball USB drive, a black iPhone, two iPads and a purple Toshiba laptop, among other items.
Shakur was gunned down inside a black BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight when it was stopped at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip on the night of a Mike Tyson fight. A white Cadillac pulled up next to the passenger side of Tupac’s car and someone inside fired 14 rounds. Hit four times, Shakur was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died a week later. The unsolved case has spawned a number of conspiracy theories about the murder, including allegations that it was tied to the similarly unsolved murder of the Notorious B.I.G. in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997 as part of a media-whipped East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry.
In 2018, Davis claimed in an episode of BET’s Death Row Chronicles that he knew the name of Shakur’s killer, though he did not supply one at the time, even as he said Anderson could have been the gunman. Davis also claimed in his 2019 memoir, Compton Street Legend, that he was in the Cadillac on the night of the shooting and has described himself as the last living witness to the incident. No arrests had previously been made in the decadeslong investigation and Nevada does not have a statute of limitations for prosecuting homicide cases.
Retired LAPD detective Greg Kading — who spent years investigating the Shakur murder and wrote a book about it — interviewed Davis in 2008 and 2009 during the LAPD ‘s investigation into the Shakur and Smalls killings. He told the AP that he thought the Shakur investigation gained momentum recently after Davis’ description of his role in his memoir.
“It’s those events that have given Las Vegas the ammunition and the leverage to move forward,” Kading told the AP before Davis’ arrest. “Prior to Keefe D’s public declarations, the cases were unprosecutable as they stood… He put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy,” Kading said of Davis. “He had acquired the gun, he had given the gun to the shooter and he had been present in the vehicle when they hunted down and located both Tupac and Suge (Knight).”
Back in November, Drake postponed planned dates at the Apollo Theater in order to mourn the loss of Migos rapper Takeoff. And on Monday night in Atlanta, Drizzy took a moment during his It’s All a Blur tour show at the State Farm Arena to honor Take (born Kirsnick Khari Ball) again near the one-year […]
Besides flexing his creativity on the hardwood, NBA marksman Stephen Curry is quickly etching a lane for himself on the film side alongside his Unanimous Media co-founder Erick Peyton. Next up, the duo are producing an upcoming documentary on the Bay Area legend Mac Dre. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
J. Cole would like NY Jets fans to change their famous chant from J-E-T-S! to “Kap-Kap-Kap!”
On Tuesday (Sept. 26), Cole posted a letter he said he obtained from exiled NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, in which the player who famously got sidelined after taking a knee during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in 2016 offered up his services to the Jets in the wake of the week-one injury to Aaron Rodgers. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017 after his protest made international headlines and offered himself up as a free agent, but the six-year veteran has not had any offers from another NFL team since.
“I asked Colin @kaepernick7 if I could share this letter with the world. He was reluctant,” Cole said of the note dated Sept. 21. “My argument was that I believe the people and all organizations should know the truth about how hard he works and how much he still wants to play. And always has. In the end, he agreed to let me.”
In his note, the former San Francisco 49ers QB told the Jets’ GM Joe Douglas that he would be “honored and extremely grateful for the opportunity to come in and lead the practice squad.” At press time it did not appear that Kaepernick had posted the letter on his socials, or commented on Cole posting it.
“I’m writing, of course, in response to the unfortunate loss of Aaron Rodgers. I know the aspirations this season were, and still are, to win a championship, and so that Hall of Fame sized hole will need to be filled as best as possible to keep the team on a Super Bowl track,” Kaepernick wrote in his note about the loss of the legendary Rodgers, who went down with a torn Achilles tendon just four plays into his first season with the Jets.
“As of right now, Zach Wilson is charged with that task, and I wish him and the rest of the team the best moving forward,” Kaepernick continued. “However, I know that there are currently depth issues at the position, and I’ve heard that the back-up spot is likely to be filled by a veteran Quarterback. As much as I would love the opportunity to fill that spot, I’m writing you in hopes that you can imagine a much different approach involving me.”
Kaep said he would be happy to lead the practice squad in an effort to help the team’s defense be ready each week by giving them the advantage of getting a “truer read on the more mobile/athletic/versatile quarterbacks it will face in weeks 4, 5, and 6 (Mahomes, Wilson, and Hurts.”
It would also, of course, allow the team to get a look at where Kaepernick is at this point, football-wise, after more than six years on the shelf. Kaepernick assured the Jets that he has not stopped training since his exile, working out every weekday, while attaching a list of references that included Michigan head coach (and former 49ers coach) Jim Harbaugh, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and UCLA head coach (and former 49ers coach) Chip Kelly.
Rumors about Kaepernick’s availability and interest have been swirling for several weeks, following the Rodgers loss that instantly deflated title chances for the Jets, who are currently mired in the longest active playoff drought in the league at 12 seasons.
“I wish the @nyjets organization luck. My boy @bas is a big ass fan so I saw the heartbreak of every Jets fan when Arod went down,” added Cole, who shouted out CKaep on the 2018 Miguel track “Come Through and Chill,” where he rhymed, “In case my lack of reply had you catchin’ them feelings/ Know you’ve been on my mind like Kaepernick kneelin’/ Or police killings, or Trump sayin’ slick s–t.”
“@richeisen Everyone from players, to coaches, to execs are feeling the pressure I’m sure. I hope y’all can turn it around, and I hope there’s a spot out there for my boy Kap.”
See Cole’s post below.
It’s been a long time since Hailie Jade Scott has seen her dad’s pal 50 Cent in concert. But when Eminem‘s daughter, 27, attended Uncle Fif’s show at Pine Knob Amphitheater in Clarkson, Mich. last weekend, the site of the G-Unit general on stage next to pops Shady really made her day.
“We went to the 50 Cent concert, and I was so freaking happy,” Scott said on this week’s episode of her Just a Little Shady podcast. “I have not seen him perform since, like, I seriously think it was like the sixth grade. It’s been so long.”
Scott said she was “just so happy,” mostly because 50 has “so many bangers” that she thinks people forge about. Sure, there are the legendary club songs, but there are also so many more she enthused, with co-host and friend Brittany Ednie completely agreeing. “There’s so many like… play that you’re like holy s–t!… Bop after bop after bop.”
She also noted that she was discussing the tour’s high-end production values with fianceé Evan McClintock, saying she has not “seen that level of production” in ages, from non-stop pyro to confetti cannons and, of course, 50’s explosive special guest.
“And also dad came out and I don’t know why… that’s just how I have to say it, ‘dad came out,’” Scott laughed about her pops’ cameo on “Patiently Waiting,” which then led to the old friends running through their Grammy- winning collab “Crack a Bottle.”
Scott said she knew Em was going to collab with Ed Sheeran on stage before it happened when Slim Shady jumped out to do “Lose Yourself” and “Stan” at Detroit’s Ford Field in July, but she only found out about the 50 spot right before it happened.
“But still no matter what I get so hype because I could just see the crowd being so happy,” she said of the immediate energy surge when the dynamic duo began performing together. Scott described the moment by recalling that there was a guy in front of her — he was originally in her actual seats, but jumped up a row when her party arrived — and she said “he was living his best live the entire time!… and I was like, ‘Yes! You deserve to be right there, man!”
50’s Final Lap tour will truck on on Thursday when it kicks off the international portion of the trek at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.
Watch Hailie Jade talk about seeing 50 Cent live below.
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Between Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s first live performance of “Savage,” a new LP from Doja Cat, and friction between Drake and Charlamagne tha God, it’s been a characteristically hectic week for hip-hop — but there’s also been some excellent music released over the past seven days. With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the boldest and most exciting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Sexyy Red’s ode to dreads to moody R&B midtempos from TA Thomas and Jean Dawson & SZA.
Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
Sexyy Red, “Shake Yo Dreads”
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The Hood Hottest Princess continues her year-long streak of grimy bangers with this delightfully rowdy ode to dreads. Stuffed with hooks at every turn, Sexyy effortlessly embodies the spirit of Waka Flocka Flame with her seemingly endless arsenal of party rap bangers. “F—k the opps, f—k the opps, f—k the opps/ You the cops, you the cops, you the cops/ Gimme top, gimme top, gimme top/ “B—h, I’m hot, b—h, I’m hot, b—h, I’m hot,” she chants over the Kat Lightning & AyoCBass-produced beat. Words to live by.
Jean Dawson & SZA, “NO SZNS”
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Fresh off a pair of collaborations with Drake (“Slime You Out”) and Justin Bieber (an acoustic “Snooze” remix) last week, SZA returns with a featured turn on Jean Dawson’s “NO SZNS.” Built around a dry acoustic guitar and shimmering reverb-drowned background synths, Jean and SZA deliver a wistful, plaintive ballad about the ever-present warmth of California. Somewhere between Frank Ocean’s “Biking” and the guitar-centric soundscape of Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights, “NO SZNS” is perfectly engineered for a late-night drive.
Byron Messia, “Mad Dawgs“
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Still riding high off the global success of his breakout summer hit “Talibans,” Byron Messia keeps the momentum going with the new single “Mad Dawgs.” Released alongside the announcement for his forthcoming Sad & Famous album, “Mad Dawgs” finds Byron relaying snapshots of life in his native St. Kitts over his now-signature blend of soulful ad-libs, a nimble dancehall flow, and a percussive beat that combines elements of Afrobeats and traditional dancehall drum patterns with a touch of piano.
Chris Patrick, “Slide On Me”
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Over an unassuming arrangement, anchored by acoustic guitar and accented by lush strings and 808s, Chris Patrick coasts across “Slide On Me” with an air of effortlessness that’s truly captivating. The laidback production and his prickly high-speed flow shouldn’t work together as well as they do. “And she wanna slide on me/ Take the night off and ride with me/ Is you down? Take a dive with me/ 21 questions, I’d ask you right now/ Is you down to die for me?” he sing-raps — a pitch-perfect lead into cuffing season.
JELEEL!, “GFU!”
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JELEEL! has basically become synonymous with zany, rambunctious bite-sized bangers, and that formula remains intact on “GFU!” Across what is essentially an interlude, JELEEL! squeals, whines, shouts and raps over this rage rap-meets-Jersey club banger about, well, getting f–ked up. He’s somehow able to teeter on the very edge of absolute mania for the entirety of the track, never slipping too far in either direction. From the way he plays with different pockets of his voice to the way he warps his intonation to match whatever studio filters are put over his vocals, JELEEL! harnesses a special balls-to-the-wall energy that holds the song together.
Karri, “Lemonade”
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So far in 2023, Karri has kept fans enthralled with his slow-burning heaters, including “Only U” and “3 AM in Oakland.” Fresh off a newly-inked deal with Interscope, he drops off his sweet-sounding record “Lemonade.” Scripting sugary lines like, “She’s a tall glass of lemonade/ She’s exactly what I need,” Karri looks to mesmerize his female listeners with his dulcet delivery on this latest release.
TA Thomas, “Bad for Me”
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After releasing a fistful of songs, including “June 15,” “W.I.A.(Where I’m At),” and “Pros and Cons,” singer TA Thomas goes on a full-fledged exploration of love, self-discovery, and healing on his debut EP Caught Between 2 Worlds. From dealing with an internal tug-of-war on “Bad for Me” to combating trust issues on “Truth Is,” TA Thomas carves out a soul-stirring effort for his rookie project.
Doja Cat‘s Scarlet tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 22) on Billboard, choosing Doja’s new album as their favorite music release of the past week. Scarlet brought in more than 40% of the vote, beating out new music from Shakira and Fuerza Regida, Kylie Minogue, Zach […]
Megan Thee Stallion finally joined Beyoncé to perform “Savage” live together for the first time on the Renaissance World Tour. The superstar pair of Texas natives treated a lucky Houston crowd to their “Savage” collab at NRG Stadium Saturday night (Sept. 23). Bey first put her twist on the track in 2020, when the “Savage” […]
