Jay-z
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Source: Jim Spellman / Getty / Jonathan Mannion
After shocking the Hip-Hop world when he sued Jonathan Mannion, the photographer who took the iconic Reasonable Doubt cover art, JAY-Z and Mannion have come to an agreement on the matter.
In June 2021, Jigga slapped Mannion with an unexpected lawsuit for selling photographs, specifically the ones he shot for the Reasonable Doubt cover art, without his consent.
The Brooklyn rapper/mogul demanded Mannion fork over millions of dollars after asking Mannion to cease his sale of the merch featuring the photos. The two men tried to settle in January 2022 but failed and were set to battle it out in court in March, but a resolution in the matter has been met.
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, JAY-Z and Jonathan Mannion were working diligently to reach a settlement asking the judge to vacate the trial, implying that cooler heads have prevailed.
Crisis Averted
They have until February 17 to file the necessary paperwork. According to the documents, the “parties have engaged in settlement discussions and agreed in principle on the terms of the settlement, which includes a stipulated dismissal of this action, subject to execution of a long-form settlement agreement.”
At the time of the lawsuit’s announcement, Jonathan Mannion’s attorney said, “Mr. Mannion has created iconic images of Mr. Carter over the years, and is proud that these images have helped to define the artist that Jay-Z is today. Mr. Mannion has the utmost respect for Mr. Carter and his body of work, and expects that Mr. Carter would similarly respect the rights of artists and creators who have helped him achieve the heights to which he has ascended. We are confident that the First Amendment protects Mr. Mannion’s right to sell fine art prints of his copyrighted works, and will review the complaint and respond in due course.”
We’re happy to see the two legends in their respective crafts have worked things out.
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Photo: Jim Spellman / Getty
Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 16 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin” was one of the biggest records of his career and while it featured UGK (Bun B and Pimp C), Pimp C actually had his reservations about getting on the track when he first heard it.
In an interview with R.O.A.D. podcast, former Roc-A-Fella A&R Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua reveals that Pimp C actually wanted nothing to do with the song after he misinterpreted one of Jay-Z’s lines on the track. “He thought Jay was saying that he was playing with his d**k in the truck. So he’s like, ‘Man, I’m not getting on no song with another man talking bout playing with himself in the truck. Young Hov, you my boy, but, damn, what you trying to have me doing?’”
We can see why he’d think that at first listen, but you’d have to hear it again to see that Jay actually said: “‘Til I need a nut, ’til I need to beat the guts/ Then it’s ‘beep beep’ and I’m pickin’ ’em up/ Let ’em play with the d*ck in the truck.”
But aside from the misunderstanding, Pimp C’s relationship with the late-great Tupac Shakur had him hesitant to work with Jay as well. Tupac had dropped a few bars aimed at Jigga over his friendship with The Notorious B.I.G. saying that Pimp was “a big 2Pac fan and 2Pac had just passed away not too long ago. And he heard of something, I guess ’cause Pac said something about Jay. So [Pimp C] was like, ‘I’m not f*cking with him, ’cause Pac ain’t f*cking with him.’”
Fortunately though, Pimp eventually decided to hop on the track and Hip-Hop history was made as “Big Pimpin” went on to become a smash record and went platinum back in 2000. What an era that was.
Check out the full interview with Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua below and let us know if “Big Pimpin” would’ve been as big a record as it was without Pimp C or UGK on the track.
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Veteran rapper Bun B took time to reflect on Jay-Z’s apparent usage of his lyrics for one of his hits and on their relationship in an interview.
The “Still Trill” rapper sat down as the guest on the most recent episode of the People’s Party with Talib Kweli podcast. At about the halfway mark the discussion soon turned to his feelings about the revelation that the first four lines of the third verse of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” were taken from Bun B’s verse from the UGK song “Touched.” The track was on their iconic 1996 album Ridin’ Dirty. “99 Problems” would go on to be one of the standout hits from The Black Album.
“I feel like enough people know,” the Port Arthur, Texas native said. “But I don’t feel like it’s that big of a deal. I would call it mutual respect. We do this a lot in Hip-Hop, right? Where we have artists who have said, ‘Fuck that was dope, the way he said that.’ And sometimes you wanna pay homage to that wordplay. How many songs, Kweli, have you listened to and been like, ‘I woulda rhymed that last part like this.’”
He continued plainly: And I think that’s what happens. I think you feel like, ‘This is a dope rhyme, I don’t think enough people heard this shit. I’m finna drop this shit in here.’ Sometimes you take a dope rhyme and make it a hook, and then people gotta go back and figure it out. But nah, I don’t think a lot of people know that. I don’t think it’s a big deal that they don’t know. Or a big deal if they do.”
The Trill Burgers founder has often spoken about his connection with Jay-Z, dating back to Pimp C’s guest verse on “Big Pimpin” from Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter. In the years since Pimp C’s passing, Bun B has shared that his UGK partner had initial misgivings about appearing on the track out of respect for the late 2Pac.
“So, 2Pac was not a Jay-Z fan, this is very well-known,” Bun B said in another podcast interview. “Jay-Z had been introduced to UGK by a big DJ in New York named Clark Kent. And he’s like, ‘I like these guys, I wanna work with them.’ And Pimp C did not want to fuck with people that 2Pac did not fuck with, because he thought 2Pac was the best judge of character.”
Check out the entire podcast episode below.
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Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty / Kodak Black
Another day, another rapper or celebrity sharing their head*ss opinion on Tory Lanez being found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
Legal expert and frequent court visitor Kodak Black is the latest person with something to say about Tory Lanez being found guilty on all charges.
Like the ridiculous petition started by “fans” and Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, and other family members, Black also stupidly believes that JAY-Z and Roc Nation have something to do with the trial’s outcome.
Kodak Black Thinks JAY-Z Is A “F*ck N*gga”
In an Instagram Live session, the rapper shared his unwanted opinion, chastising the victim in all of this, Megan Thee Stallion, for speaking on the matter while dissing the GOD MC, JAY-Z.
Via HipNMore:
Who advised this sh*t before Christmas? And Jay-Z standing behind this, you a f*ck n*gga homie,” Kodak said, dissing Jay-Z and believing the wild rumors that his company Roc Nation has a big role to play in the case. “And Meg, you supposed to be from the streets …. even it was a gunshot on your foot (and not pavement fragments) … I know a b*tch who got shot in the toe, too. I know a female who got shot in the toe. You don’t see her talking about sending n*ggas to jail.” He also called Tory a “good n*gga.”
“This shit aint right, homie. For real, bro,” Kodak continued. “And Tory Lanez a good nigga, bro…This shit fu**ing with my Christmas Eve. Everybody shit ain’t for me to speak on. But it’s like ni**as aint finna talk about that. Ni**as finna act like this shit ain’t never happen. I don’t know. I wasn’t in the courtroom. But at the same time, if it is some fu**ed up shit going on, ni**as ain’t gonna wanna say nothing because of the politics bullshit. And all of this Jay-Z shit. But I don’t like that shit nan bit.”
You can watch Kodak Black spew his stupidity below.
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Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty
Former rivals Nas and Jay-Z find themselves on equal footing in one regard on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, as Nas’ King’s Disease III debuts at No. 10 on the chart dated Nov. 26. With the arrival, the Queens MC lands his 16th top 10, tying Jay-Z for the most among rappers in the chart’s history.
King’s Disease III opens with 29,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 17, according to Luminate; 20,000 units of the starting sum derive from streams, equaling 26.5 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Of the remaining units, 8,500 are in traditional album sales, with the outstanding balance owed to track-equivalent album units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)
As the new album enters the list, here’s an updated leaderboard for the rappers with the most top 10 albums on the Billboard 200:
16, Jay-Z16, Nas15, Drake15, Future12, Eminem12, Lil Wayne12, YoungBoy Never Broke Again11, Jeezy11, Kanye West11, Snoop Dogg
Elsewhere, King’s Disease III begins at No. 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at No. 3 on Top Rap Albums. On the former, it becomes Nas’ 18th top 10, the second-best sum among rappers there, behind Jay-Z’s 21.
King’s Disease III is the third installment of what has become an annual series from Nas. The first edition arrived in August 2020 and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Its next iteration came 12 months later and improved on the original, starting at a No. 3 best on the Billboard 200. Between King’s Disease II and King’s Disease III, Nas released another album, Magic, which reached No. 27 this January.
Jay-Z made a mark on the hip-hop scene with his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt and has gone on to create a musical legacy worth remembering in the decades since. This week, the 52-year-old MC reminded fans of his longevity in the game with an Instagram pic posted by his longtime engineer Young Guru.
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The Roc Nation founder can be seen posing at the edge of a couch with his extensive Grammy collection, surrounded by bowls of snacks. Jay appears to be drinking from one of the trophies — an ode to the famous pic of him drinking his D’USSÉ cognac out of a Grammy at the 2013 ceremony.
“It’s crazy how one 5 minute convo with HOV can refocus your entire life,” Young Guru captioned the post. “I appreciate you, Big Homie. My anchor is strong. For motivational purpose only. But this is my real life!”
While Jay-Z has earned 24 Grammys over the years, we count 21 visible in the pic — though it’s likely the last trio of trophies could be right behind him in the photo.
The post has garnered more than 31,000 likes so far.
The Jiggaman is tiedwith his frequent collaborator Kanye West for the most Grammys for any hip-hop artist. Jay began racking up Grammys in 1999 when his third project, Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, won best rap album.
In 2004, he took home best R&B song and best rap/sung collaboration for his “Crazy In Love” duet with wife Beyoncé, and in 2013, he and West won three awards for their Watch the Throne tracks “N—as in Paris” (best rap song, best rap performance) and “No Church in the Wild” (best rap/sung collaboration).
Despite his staggering Grammy success — including 83 nominations overall, more than anyone else in history — Jay-Z hasn’t always had a great relationship with the Recording Academy. In 1999, he boycotted the ceremony after two projects by DMX — It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood — were both snubbed in the best rap album category. Jay talked about boycotting the Grammys on LeBron James’ The Shop last year. “I won that year for rap album, so my first Grammy win, I wasn’t there. I boycotted it for him,” he said of the rapper, who died in 2021 at age 50. “There was a competitive thing, but it was big love.”
Jay-Z has made a few jabs at the Grammys over the years, like when he rapped on his track “APESH–” with Beyoncé in 2018, “Tell the Grammys f– that 0-for-8 sh–,” in reference to not winning any awards at the ceremony earlier that year when he went in as the leading nominee with eight nods.
While Jay-Z is the all-time nominations leader, he may lose that status next week, when the 65th annual Grammy nominations are announced. But he probably won’t mind too much: He could lose it to his wife, Beyoncé, who currently has 79 career nominations and is expected to be nominated in numerous categories. (Jay stands to also pick up at least two nominations for his involvement on Beyoncé’s Renaissance album.)
Grammy nominations for the 2023 ceremony are set to be announced on Tuesday. The awards show will be held at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 5.