State Champ Radio Hip-Hop
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Hours after Travis Scott revealed on Tuesday (Aug. 8) that he was gearing up for a U.S. tour in support of his just-released chart-topping Utopia album, the mayor of his hometown, Houston, confirmed that the rapper has booked a gig at the city’s Toyota Center later this year.
While Scott has not revealed any of the dates or venues for the outing yet, other than to tease on Instagram “UTOPIA TOUR SOON, US AND EURO DATES SOON TO BE ANNOUNCE, I MISS THE ROAD I MISSS YALLL,” the Houston gig is notable because it will mark the first time since the Astroworld tragedy two years ago that the rapper will take the stage in the city.
According to ABC 13, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released a statement on Tuesday that Scott and his promotion partners “booked the Toyota Center for a concert in October.” Turner also noted that the 19,000-seat arena is a different type of venue than the one that hosted Astroworld in 2021, the parking lot at NRG, where 10 people died and hundreds were injured during a deadly crowd crush. Scott and Live Nation are still facing a number of civil lawsuits over Astroworld.
“The Toyota Center has been a good partner with the City of Houston, and we expect this to continue for this and every other concert. Before today’s announcement, Toyota Center representatives convened meetings with public safety officials and the City’s special events office,” the mayor’s statement read. “They will continue working together to ensure this concert’s safety, not unlike the many other concerts and events held at Toyota Center each year.”
A grand jury in Houston decided in June that neither Scott nor the organizers of the festival would face criminal charges in the incident following a 19-month investigation that found there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges against the rapper or other individuals who organized the event.
Though Scott has not confirmed the Houston date, KPRC 2 reported that local law enforcement agencies told the station that leaders in the Houston Police Department were not pleased with the news. “The HPOU found out early last week that Travis Scott would be returning to Houston for two concert dates. October 19th, and November the 20th, were the dates in which were proposed for the return. Like most we were in complete disbelief,” read a statement from HPD Union president Douglas Griffith after what was reportedly a tense meeting with the HPD and a number of officers who expressed their frustrations and safety concerns about the upcoming show by the rapper who in the past has encouraged his fans to “rage” at his shows.
“Only days after the release of a 1,200-page report describing the tragic events that took place during his Astroworld Concert, we are advised just days later that there will be another,” the HPD statement continued. “This is outrageous and the HPOU will be calling for all of our elected officials to stand up and say, Not in our city, not again! We truly do not want to ever make a statement like the one two weeks ago asking for prayers for the families of those lost at a Travis Scott concert.”
At press time a spokesperson for tour promoter Live Nation could not be reached for comment on the HPD’s reported concerns.
Scott celebrated the release of Utopia with a concert at Rome’s Circus Maximus over the weekend which featured a surprise appearance from disgraced rapper Kanye West (who now goes by Ye.) Utopia shot to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated Aug. 12, marking the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release.
It’s only fitting that when you share a bill with an artist who has written a viral hit with your name in the title that you invite said person up to do their thing for you. At least that’s what happened on Saturday when Billie Eilish and “Billie Eilish” rapper Armani White played different stages […]
Iggy Azalea is clarifying reports that she has spoken out in support of rapper Tory Lanez (born Daystar Peterson) as the “Say It’ MC is awaiting sentencing in his felony assault and weapons case in connection with his attack on Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020. The Associated Press reported on Monday that Azalea was among the dozens of people who wrote the judge in the case, with her note asking that the sentence be “transformative, not life-destroying.”
In a series of tweets, however, Azalea wrote, “I have not been in touch with tory for months, I have no reason to be, but I do wish him well,” adding, “I don’t ‘support’ anyone. the whole thing is full of oddities. My letter never mentioned anything in regard to what happened that night.”
Lanez’s sentencing will stretch into Tuesday (Aug. 8) and in a written statement, Megan described the ongoing trauma she has suffered since Lanez shot her in the feet after they left a Hollywood party together three years ago. “Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” Megan said in a statement read by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta. “Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.”
Megan, who testified during the trial, said she struggled with appearing in person to read the statement, but said she, “simply could not bring myself to be in a room with Tory again.”
In a further clarification, Azalea noted that she was told her statement would be for the judge’s eyes only. “Yet it’s being discussed in public? I never intended to publicly comment,” she wrote. “Iam not in support of throwing away ANY ones life if we can give reasonable punishments that are rehabilitative instead. I support prison reform. Period.”
Further explaining why she wrote a statement, Azalea said she was asked to share her “genuine experience and the type of punishment I think he deserves: I did.” In another tweet Azalea lamented that the statement became a topic of conversation on Monday because, in her words, “it’s not really an explosive revelation. Yes: he should be held accountable. No: the charges don’t warrant 5plus in prison.”
She argued that “most agree” with her position because “it’s a reasonable take.”
Though Megan did not come to court to make her statement in person, she asked Judge David Herriford not to take that as a sign of indifference and urged him to issue a stiff sentence to Lanez. Sentencing hearings typically take only a few hours, but Herriford allowed attorneys for each side to argue factors for Lanez’s potential sentence, allowing seven witnesses to give statement’s about the rapper’s charitable works, his childhood trauma and his status as a father to a six-year-old son.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to hand down a 13-year sentence to Lanez, 31, who was convicted of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. Lanez’s lawyers have argued in a sentencing memo that he should get only probation and be released from jail to enter a residential substance abuse program.
See Azalea’s tweets below.
For the record:1. I have not been in touch with tory for months, I have no reason to be, but I do wish him well. 2. I don’t “support” anyone.the whole thing is full of oddities. My letter never mentioned anything in regard to what happened that night. 3. I was told this…— NOT IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 8, 2023
I really hate that this is todays discourse online because it’s not really an explosive revelation. Yes: he should be held accountable. No: the charges don’t warrant 5plus in prison. Most agree with that sentiment because it’s a reasonable take. This is not news worthy. 🤷♀️— NOT IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 8, 2023
DJ Casper, the Chicago artist best known for the creation of the party classic “Cha Cha Slide” has died at 58. According to ABC 7, Casper’s wife confirmed to the station that he died on Monday (Aug. 7) after a seven-year battle with cancer.
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As legend has it, Casper (born William Perry Jr.) created his most famous song for his nephew — a Bally fitness trainer — around 1998 as an aerobics exercise with the original title “Casper Slide Pt. 1.” The line dancing track however, with its instructions “To the left/ Take it back y’all/ One hop this time/ Right foot, let’s stomp/ Left foot, let’s stomp/ Cha cha real smooth,” blew up to become a global staple of bar/bat mitzvahs, proms, weddings and any party that needed starting.
In one of his last interviews in May, Casper — who got his DJ nickname thanks to his ubiquitous all-white stage outfits — told ABC 7 that he never imagined “Cha Cha Slide” would become an international smash performed by people all over the world. “When I first did it, I did it as an aerobic exercise for my nephew at Bally’s,” said Casper, who released the song under the name Mr. C the Slide Man. “From there, it just took off. Elroy Smith from WGCI grabbed ahold of it.”
The latter is a reference to the DJ at WGCI-FM in Chicago who picked up a new version, “Casper Slide Pt. 2,” in 2000 and began playing it. The track became a local hit in Chicago and in 2004 M.O.B. Records picked the song up, which later led to a deal with Universal Records and the track’s inclusion on the record, Cha-Cha Slide: The Original Slide Album.
“I have one of the biggest songs that played at all stadiums: hockey, basketball, football, baseball; they played it at the Olympics,” Casper told ABC. “It was something that everybody could do.”
In 2016, a GoFundMe was announced for Casper, revealing that he had been diagnosed with liver and kidney cancer and he told ABC that he’d been losing weight recently and despite shedding 60 pounds he was determined to fight on. “I used to weigh 236 pounds, and I think I’m about 60 pounds less,” Casper said in May. “If you know me, you know I’m not going to stop. I’m going to continue to go. I’m going to continue to go until I can’t go.”
In 2018, Casper made an unexpected cameo in Netflix’s women’s prison drama Orange Is the New Black, when Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren sees visions of everyone in the psych ward doing the “Cha Cha Slide,” including Casper, who is dressed as a prison orderly working the turntables. He was also an on-air personality on iHeart radio station V103 in Chicago and the creator of the streaming station Casper Classic Radio. In 2019, he announced that his cancer was in remission, but it later returned.
The DJ said his legacy was that “Cha Cha Slide” would always serve as a joyful reminder of the power of music to unify people with a positive message. “Anybody that’s going through cancer, know that you have cancer and cancer does not have you,” Casper said in May. “So, keep on doing the ‘Cha Cha Slide.’”
Watch the “Cha Cha Slide” video below.
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Ne-Yo has issued an apology for the comments he recently made regarding transgender kids.
“After much reflection, I’d like to express my deepest apologies to anyone that I may have hurt with my comments on parenting and gender identity,” the singer wrote on Twitter/X Sunday night (Aug. 6). “I’ve always been an advocate for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQI+ community, so I understand how my comments could’ve been interpreted as insensitive and offensive.”
Ne-Yo continued: “Gender identity is nuanced and I can honestly admit that I plan to better educate myself on the topic, so I can approach future conversations with more empathy.”
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“At the end of the day,” he said, “I lead with love and support everyone’s freedom of expression and pursuit of happiness.”
On Saturday, a video of an interview with Gloria Velez for VladTV — in which Ne-Yo and Velez questioned parents who support their children identifying as a different gender than the sex they were assigned at birth — was uploaded to YouTube.
“I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman,” said Ne-Yo in the interview clip. “And there was two genders, and that’s just how I rocked. You could identify as a goldfish if you feel like, I don’t care. That ain’t my business. It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game with you. I’m not gonna call you a goldfish. But if you wanna be a goldfish, you go be a goldfish. We live in a weird time, man. We do.”
During their conversation he said, “I feel like parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is. If your little boy comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I want to be a girl.’ And you just let him rock with that? He’s 5 … If you let this 5-year-old boy decide to eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that. When did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, let a 6-year-old, let a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision for themself? When did that happen? I don’t understand.”
“He can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex?” asked Ne-Yo, who is a father of seven children.
The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association all agree that gender-affirming care is not dangerous for trans youth, and in most cases, it’s highly beneficial and life-saving.
Later on Saturday Ne-Yo expanded on his thoughts in the comments section of an Instagram post, writing, “1st and foremost, I CONDEMN NO ONE. Who am I to condemn anybody? Your life, your kids, your choice. I was asked a question and I answered it. My opinion is mine. I’m not asking anybody to agree with me nor am I telling you what you can and cannot do with your children. I stated my opinion on a matter and that’s that. Why should I care if my opinion upsets you when you don’t care if yours upsets anyone? Opinions aren’t special. We all have one. People voice them regularly whether they’re asked or not. I was actually asked mine. Agreeing to disagree is not a declaration of war. Y’all do whatever the hell y’all want to. But my feelings on the matter are mine. Same way yours are yours. Meanwhile, I love everybody. Don’t agree with some of y’all’s ideals….but love you no less.”
See his latest statement below.
Beyoncé concertgoers ready for the Renaissance World Tour at FedEx Field Sunday night (Aug. 6) were told to shelter in place ahead of showtime due to lightning in the area. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Concert organizers at the D.C.-local stadium, located nearby in Maryland, instructed fans […]
Ne-Yo shared his thoughts on how to parent transgender children and questioned minors’ rights to receive gender-affirming care in a new interview.
The singer, a dad of seven children, spoke for several minutes on the topic during a conversation with Gloria Velez for VladTV.
Ne-Yo prefaced what he was about to say with “I have no issue with LBG — I have no problem with nobody. You love who you love, you do what you do.”
“I just personally come from an era where a man was a man and a woman was a woman,” said Ne-Yo. “And there was two genders, and that’s just how I rocked. You could identify as a goldfish if you feel like, I don’t care. That ain’t my business. It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game with you. I’m not gonna call you a goldfish. But if you wanna be a goldfish, you go be a goldfish. We live in a weird time, man. We do.”
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Later in the chat he added, “I feel like parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is. If your little boy comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I want to be a girl.’ And you just let him rock with that? He’s 5 … If you let this 5-year-old boy decide to eat candy all day, he’s gonna do that. When did it become a good idea to let a 5-year-old, let a 6-year-old, let a 12-year-old make a life-changing decision for themself? When did that happen? I don’t understand.”
“He can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex?” asked Ne-Yo, referring to a child who identifies that their gender is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. A misinformed Velez replied, “And he can cut off his pee pee.”
“I can’t take credit for it,” Ne-Yo said toward the end of the interview clip, “but I heard somebody say one time, if your son comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I want to be a girl,’ ask your son, ‘Son, what is a girl?’ What is he gonna do? He might want to play with dolls. All right, you want to play with dolls. Play with dolls. But you’re a boy playing with dolls. ‘I want to wear pink.’ Cool, wear pink, but you’re a boy wearing pink.”
The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, all agree that gender-affirming care is not dangerous for trans youth, and in most cases, it’s highly beneficial and life-saving.
When trans youth receive gender-affirming care, that does not typically include the kind of surgical intervention Velez implied in her conversation with Ne-Yo. Both the Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health do not recommend surgical intervention before age 18, unless the patient, their doctor and a mental health professional all agree that intervention is necessary.
Gender-affirming care for minors may focus on gender expression, publicly changing pronouns and names, and using puberty blockers, which pause permanent physical change while the patient decides how they want to proceed with their transition. In later teenage years, well-established patients may begin gender-affirming hormone treatment.
Interestingly, in 2018, Ne-Yo voiced LGBTQ+ support. When Amanda Lepore was removed from Travis Scott’s Astroworld album art, TMZ asked Ne-Yo his thoughts on hip-hop embracing the community.
“If rap is not embracing them, that’s the only people that ain’t embracing them,” he replied at the time. “It doesn’t make any sense. I mean, they’re here, they’re not going anywhere. They’re people just like us, and I feel like they deserve the same respect.”
Ne-Yo released his latest studio album, Self Explanatory, in July 2022.
Watch Ne-Yo’s interview with Velez below.
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, a milestone that is being celebrated with curated concerts, special programming and more.
To commemorate such a momentous birthday, influential hip-hop executives and artists honor the groundbreaking and culture-defining genre with personal love letters to the art form that continues to inspire them every day — and will for many more years to come.
Tuma BasaDirector of Black music and culture, YouTube
Tuma Basa
Courtesy of YouTube
I grew up in Zimbabwe listening to hip-hop from here and could feel the realness from all the way over there. And in true hip-hop fashion, when I got to the States, I was able to flip my love for hip-hop into a whole career. To me, it’s not just a culture, it’s a vibration. … It’s not just music, it’s the actual news! That artful reflection of reality is unmatched and is going to keep me loving it till infinity.
Jermaine DupriArtist/producer/songwriter/DJ; author; CEO, So So Def
Jermaine Dupri
Steven Eloiseau
I believe hip-hop has created opportunities and opened doors for people — artists, producers, designers, etc. — that no other music genre has. It’s a lifestyle that has evolved over 50 years and its legacy is deeply rooted in Black culture and our experiences. A lot of the choices I make are because hip-hop makes me do it.
Stephen HillTV producer; former BET and MTV executive
Stephen Hill
Marteen DeBoer
Socially conscious music existed before hip-hop; artists observed social challenges, oppressions and disparities and incorporated their views into their work. Often brilliantly, hip-hop is and has been the platform on which those who actually live their daily lives fully in those challenges, oppressions and disparities can stand and be seen and heard … authentically. Hip-hop is also one of the entities responsible for the largest growth in Black millionaires (and a few billionaires) in this country. Increased Black wealth leads to increased Black ownership. Black ownership leads to a cleaner and better lit, though not unfettered, path to freedom. This is America.
MC LyteRapper/DJ/entrepreneur
MC Lyte
Michael Buckner for Variety
Hip-hop means everything to me. It has been an integral part of my life since I was a kid and is woven into every significant fabric of my life. It put me on a pathway and journey that I couldn’t have imagined in the beginning. It has changed my life, my family’s lives and so many others over the past 50 years. Hip-hop is beyond music. It is style, fashion, dance and even taught as part of the curriculum in universities nationwide. Hip-hop has allowed me to use my voice to inspire, ignite and give back. It is also the embodiment of Black culture and the ultimate voice of the people. I’m so proud to be part of its legacy, which is constantly growing and evolving — as it should. Hip-hop is forever.
Mona Scott-YoungCEO, Monami Entertainment
Mona Scott-Young
Jaxon Photography
To me, hip-hop has always represented freedom. More than just freedom of expression, it’s freedom from the limitations of stereotype, freedom from socioeconomic boundaries and freedom to live and speak our truth. Hip-hop is community — a common expression of experiences that allows us to connect to one another and better understand each other, even when the experiences expressed are not our own. Hip-hop is a global platform that allows us to be heard, seen, recognized and acknowledged in spaces and places where we would not otherwise have a voice. Hip-hop is a testament to our resiliency and ingenuity and its legacy is one of hope, empowerment and freedom.
Mopreme ShakurRapper/producer; member of Thug Life with stepbrother Tupac Shakur
Mopreme Shakur
Talia Rodríguez-Shakur
For those who grew up in our generation, hip-hop was our hope, our dream, our creation, our baby. It is something that brings us pride and affirmation of the power of our voices to connect with the world. Our creation came from the ground up and it has fed our communities. Hip-hop is our culture, our love, and most of us don’t give a damn who likes it or not. We’re the rebels whose art became a force and went on to inspire the world. Hip-hop and its legacy mean power to me. Long live hip-hop!
Roxanne ShantéRap legend; host, SiriusXM
Roxanne Shanté
Prince Williams/WireImage
Back in the day, they always said that hip-hop was not going to last. So now, to be here 50 years in and to have the celebration we’re having right now worldwide, for me, it’s an honor and a blessing. When you think about how they always thought that hip-hop was only going to be the music for the urban area or how they thought it was always the news for the urban children going through situations and circumstances, it now seems to be the word for everyone, everywhere. Nothing can be sold without it, no story can be told without it. It’s a beautiful thing.
This story will appear in the Aug. 5, 2023, issue of Billboard.
After kickstarting her new era with “Attention,” Doja Cat has unleashed her latest single: “Paint The Town Red.” The new single from the “Need to Know” rapper is available on all streaming and digital download platforms. “B—h, I said what I said / I’d rather be famous instead / I let all that get to […]
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New York Red Bulls, a Major League Soccer team purchased by the famed brand back in 2006, will debut a new kit that honors the city and birthplace of Hip-Hop music and culture. The Freestyle Kit pays homage to the pillars of Hip-Hop just in time for the 50th anniversary later this month.
The New York Red Bulls Freestyle Kit comes in a graffiti-styled Black and white motif with various “tags” blasting the word Hip-Hop underneath the Red Bull logo on the chest. For those unaware, the kit in soccer (or football) is the uniform players wear on the field (pitch).
The New York Red Bulls Freestyle Kit honors the pillars of MC-ing, DJ-ing, graffiti, and beat-boxing and is also marked with a tag that notes that Hip-Hop is celebrating 50 years of existence on the hem.
“Representing a global movement that spans 50 years and has seen so many different styles and approaches. It had to be raw, it had to be authentic. It’s not about having all the fancy equipment or technology. It’s about letting all the imperfections show through, which in turn, makes it perfect,” Art Director Kevin Maulbeck said in a statement. “We decided on focusing on one of the pillars of hip hop – graffiti, more specially in this case, writing. Thought about the walls, doors and trains all around the area covered in graffiti and stickers. I hope when people see this jersey, they think it is raw, authentic, loud and true. It’s more than NY hip hop, but at its core, that’s exactly what it is: the local scene on display for the global audience.”
Director of Marketing Justin Baier adds, “It was important for us to celebrate a narrative and design that can be authentic and representative of the club, our values and our surrounding neighborhoods. Our third kit is our club’s offering to the celebration of the 50-year history of Hip Hop, its impact around the globe from artists of all different backgrounds and the importance it’s had on our local community’s culture and storytelling through the past 5 decades.”
The New York Red Bulls will don the kit for the first time on August 26 in perhaps the most anticipated MLS game of the year as Inter Miami CF and new addition Lionel Messi will lock horns on the field at Red Bull Arena.
To purchase the kit, click here.
To learn more about the New York Red Bulls, click here.
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Photo: Mauricio Gonzales / New York Red Bulls
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