Jay-z
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Jay-Z was named in a refiled civil lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs on Sunday (Dec. 8) with the complaint accusing the rapper and mogul of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2000. The complaint was originally filed against Diddy back in October of this year and was readjusted to include Jay-Z’s name in the most recent filing.
In an exclusive report from NBC News, the complaint, filmed by an unnamed accuser, claims that Jay-Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter, was involved in the rape of the girl known as Jane Doe in the complaint. The outlet, which has details about the lawsuit, shared the contents within.
Jane Doe accused Combs and Carter of assaulting her at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party event. The lawsuit was filed by Tony Buzbee of Texas in the Southern District of New York. The outlet adds that Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, and other media representatives have yet to comment on the claim. In addition, reps for Combs also decided against offering comments. It is the first lawsuit filed by Buzbee to include a celebrity of Jay-Z’s magnitude.
The outlet laid out the details of the lawsuit and we must warn that what is explained might be triggering for some so proceed with caution.
Jane Doe claims that in 2000 at the age of 13, she was raped at a house party in New York after the MTV VMAs. Doe says that a friend dropped her off at the VMAs, which was held at the Radio City Music Hall venue. Doe says she asked several limo drivers on the premises for access to the award show or parties.
One driver heeded her call and said that he worked for Combs and that she “fit” the profile of what “Diddy was looking for” and was invited to the after-party. The driver then allegedly picked up Doe and took her to a home in New York and was ordered to sign a nondisclosure agreement to gain entry to the party.
Doe says she was given a drink that made her drowsy and went into a room to rest. She then claims that Combs and Carter came into the room, stating that Carter removed her clothes and sexually assaulted her. Combs allegedly came into the room and also assaulted the girl as Jay-Z and an unnamed woman celebrity watched.
The Roc Nation account on X has posted a response from Carter stating that Buzbee’s lawsuit filing is nothing more than a shakedown. Read below.
pic.twitter.com/jl8sgOllCM
— Roc Nation (@RocNation) December 9, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Jane Doe is seeking unspecified damages.
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Many people tend to forget that British music star M.I.A. was signed to Roc Nation back in 2012. Alhough the relationship dissolved just two years later, M.I.A.’s interaction with Roc Nation boss Jay-Z seems to have left quite an impression on her.
On Friday (Nov. 29), the “Paper Planes” artist took to Instagram Live to spill some disturbing beans about what Jay-Z asked of her when she put her John Hancock on that Roc Nation contract and revealed that Hova actually implored her to get some plastic surgery done.
Word?!
Dispelling any notion that she would need plastic surgery to get over any insecurity she may have, M.I.A. explained why she rebuffed the request saying, “Even when I met Jay-Z and signed to Roc Nation the first thing he told me to do was get plastic surgery. I’m not insecure because I would have got plastic surgery. So their argument of ‘Maya’s f-cking insecure, that’s why she needs to f*cking massage her ego,’ fails. Fails. Because you turn around and ask the mutha*cka – what women do you know who hasn’t had plastic surgery around you? All of them have. I’m the only one who didn’t, which already proves the fact it’s not insecurity.”
We can’t be mad at that at all. If the woman doesn’t want any work done on herself she shouldn’t have any work done even at the behest of her boss.
Continuing to explain herself, M.I.A. said, “Because if I was insecure I would have done that 100 times over. Even when I met Jay-Z and I signed to Roc Nation, the first thing he told me to do is get plastic surgery and I didn’t because it’s okay. Guess what, I’m 50. And I’m totally fine with the fact I am because, yeah, I f*cking took off when I was 30. It took 10 more f-cking years than any other f-cker because I was the first and I was the new. I was making something interesting happen that wasn’t f*cking happening before.”
Well, y’all can expect social media to be disgusted and begin to start going at Hov for trying to get M.I.A. to make some enhancements to herself. That being said, good for her for standing her ground and refusing the request.
According to MadameNoire, the relationship between herself and Roc Nation soured just two years after signing with them in 2012, and from the sound of it, it seems like M.I.A. not playing ball with them might’ve been the reason.
Per MadameNoire:
One of the first major issues was regarding a documentary that was about her. Roc Nation continued to delay the promotion for it and frustrations grew. The director of the project, Steve Loveridge, leaked the trailer for it, which Interscope immediately took down. This led to Loveridge quitting the project.
That next month, M.I.A. threatened to leak Matangi if Interscope wouldn’t stop delaying it and give it a release date.
The 50-year-old explained the reasons behind the delay of her fourth album, originally scheduled for release in December 2012.
According to Fader, in January 2013, months before her warnings, she told Gold Coast Bulletin about her label’s concerns with the project.
“I thought I’d finished it. I finished it and then I handed the record in, like a couple of months ago,” she said. “At the moment, I’ve been told it’s too positive. So we’re having a bit of an issue at the label. They’re like, ‘You need to like darken it up a bit’. I don’t know what it is but as soon as I work that out. I’m taking my time to decide what they mean. It’s an interesting one for me. It’s like ‘We just built you up as the public enemy No. 1 and now you’re coming out with all this positive stuff.’”
M.I.A. ultimately bounced before the end of 2013.
Check out M.I.A. talk about her situation at Roc Nation below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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Jay-Z’s The Book of Hov exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library last year was a huge hit amongst Hip-Hop fans. Now, anyone who missed out on the exhibition will be able to bring it home as The Book of Hov will be turned into an actual book.
The Associated Press is reporting that the exhibit dedicated to arguably the greatest rapper alive will now be available in print form as The Book of Hov: A Tribute to Jay-Z will be available Wednesday (Dec. 4), as Jay-Z celebrates his 55th year on this Earth. Available to purchase on Assouline, the 432-page book features what the 600,000 visitors of The Book of Hov exhibition saw first-hand at the Brooklyn Public Library divided into eight chapters with 675 illustrations.
Per the AP News:
“The Book of Hov: A Tribute to Jay-Z” unveils Jay-Z’s deep connection with the art world and his rising business ventures, reveals his unique method of composing rhymes mentally and his criminal and social justice activism. It offers a tribute to Baseline Studios where “The Blueprint” and “The Black Album” were birthed. The book also captures him articulating his vision and manifesting his future through a series of interviews spanning several years.
Some of the book’s other highlights include the guitar Jay-Z played at the Glastonbury Festival; Daniel Arsham’s sculpture of the iconic “HOV Hands”; his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame award; and hundreds of paper planes, which were created by New York City schoolchildren who wrote their dreams inside.
“The Book of Hov: A Tribute to Jay-Z” will be available in three editions: The classic version for $120, the ultimate for $2,000 and price upon request for five special limited- edition copies with a tri-fold each housed in a bronze slipcase artwork by Arsham.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the special limited edition will be donated to the Brooklyn Public Library.
We don’t know about y’all, but if we’re putting down $2,000 for a book about Jay-Z it better come with a chance to meet him in person or a golden ticket kind of contest or something. Just sayin’.
Will you be picking up a copy of The Book of Hov: A Tribute to Jay-Z? Let us know in the comments section below.
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JAY-Z continues to make criminal reform a priority. Roc Nation is launching a podcast about misconduct within the justice system.
As reported by Variety Magazine the entertainment company will shine a light on the wrong doings that often take place when someone stands accused in a court of law. This week the organization’s social justice division Team Roc announced a new medium in which they will try to bring attention to the matter. Corruption Uncovered is a show that will specifically explore the alleged corruption that has followed the Kansas City, Kansas police department. This new project coincides with the trial of former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski who is accused of kidnapping two Black women and raping them. These claims came to light back in 1994 when it was alleged that he and his police department at the time framed a Kansas City teenager for double murder. The man, Lamonte McIntyre, was eventually released in 2017 and was awarded $12.5 million dollars in a settlement.
“There is a need for powerful and comprehensive storytelling in the criminal justice sector so that the voices of those who have been silenced are heard,” says Team Roc managing director Dania Diaz said. “Our hope is for Corruption Uncovered to not only achieve that purpose, but also to serve as an investigative platform that will expose misconduct, demand accountability and drive change from the people and systems that are duty bound to protect its citizens and community.”
On Monday, Dec. 2 Roger Golubski was found dead at his home by what is suspected to be a suicide. According to Fox 4 KC neighbors called 911 after hearing a gunshot. When police arrived they found the former lawman with a gunshot wound. Authorities are not investigating this as a homicide. You can view the trailer to Corruption Uncovered below.
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Jay-Z joined the growing ranks of celebrities in the cannabis space via the high-end Monogram brand, coupled with endorsements from his creative and artistic peers. Now, it’s being reported that Jay-Z’s brand, initially boasting $575 million in funds, has blown through the cash and can’t even be found in stores in dispensaries where advertised online.
In a report from SFGate, Jay-Z, birth name Shawn Carter, joined the cannabis space in 2020 with Monogram, and it came replete with the level of class and luxury expected of anything Hov puts his name on. Boasting a quartet of strains and pre-roll packages, Monogram was believed to be one of the major players, considering its top pitchman’s success in business.
Fast forward to 2024 and it doesn’t appear that the brand ever got its footing. illustrating this point, any potential buyer of Monogram wouldn’t be able to as none of its listed partner dispensaries in California and Arizona carried the product.
The outlet spoke with Seth Yakatan, an investor and adviser who worked with the California legal cannabis sector, and said that Monogram’s parent company, The Parent Company (TPCO), spent high amounts of cash which is evidenced by its seven-part video series featuring Jadakiss, Tinashe, Curren$y, 2 Chainz, and Chika among others.
Monogram was formed on the back of an investment round raised by The Parent Company, which consists of three cannabis businesses with TPCO going public in 2020 via a special-purpose acquisition company which SFGate explained as a fundraising method that fast-tracked a huge haul of cash. In all, TPCO oversaw 20 cannabis retail brands, several grow houses — places where cannabis is grown — and retail stores based in California.
Much of Monogram’s success was based on market projections made by TPCO and was expected to rake in $334 million after announcing the launch. However, as the story notes, California’s competitive market had to compete against itself amid high taxation, falling wholesale prices, and even illegal cannabis sales thus causing many businesses to close up shop.
SFGate also reports that Monogram is no longer in business with TPCO, with the split reportedly taking place two years ago. Monogram is now owned by an LLC connected to the Gold Flora brand, which absorbed TPCO’s business thus making them a minority owner.
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Dame Dash has become what he used to despise: a chatty patty. The former “cakeaholic” now explains why he was doing his iconic dice roll dance moves in R. Kelly’s “Fiesta (Remix)” video even though he dated the late singer, one of the disgraced musician’s victims, Aaliyah.
The former CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records opened up about his appearance in the R. Kelly music video alongside his former business partner, JAY-Z, in a recent episode of his American Nu Network podcast on YouTube.
During the episode, he answered a question from Baller Alert about his appearance in the R. Kelly/JAY-Z video despite famously dating Aaliyah and knowing her past with the jailed singer/songwriter.
He reveals that he spoke with Aaliyah, expressing that he didn’t want to be in the videos, but she said she didn’t want to start any trouble.
Per XXL:
“When Jay was proceeding to still do business with R. Kelly, I went back and told Aaliyah, like, ‘Yo, they’re still doing projects. They got singles together. They are shooting videos. I don’t want to go to the videos. I don’t want to have any parts of it,” Dame says at the 38:55 mark of the video below. “And what she told me was that, ‘I don’t want to start any trouble that would probably trigger more attention on it. I just want to heal. I just want to leave this alone and get as far away from it as possible. I don’t want to hear about it. I’m really happy with our relationship in this moment and where it’s going. Just don’t be in any scene with him and don’t take any pictures with him.’”
“So, you can ask anybody that was on the set,” he continues. “I stood in the trailer. When it came time to do the shoot, I did my shots with Jay or whoever. I was not in one scene with R. Kelly. And you never seen me in a picture with R. Kelly. At least after I met Aaliyah.”
We see.
In the episode, he also discussed Jaguar Wright’s outrageous claims about JAY-Z and more. If you have time to waste, you can’t watch the episode in its entirety below.
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It looks like the culture will continue to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The NFL have announced they have extended their deal with Roc Nation to curate the festivities.
As spotted on Yahoo! Entertainment, the National Football League will continue their partnership with Jay-Z to curate their biggest event of the year. As exclusively reported by Bloomberg News, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disclosed the deal saying the partnership is “mutually positive” while attending the annual owners meeting in Atlanta. “I’m not sure either one of us really spend much time talking about contracts. Jay is happy” he said. “Desiree Perez is happy. I’m happy, so we’re all good.”
Back in 2019, the NFL signed the original deal with Roc Nation to curate the Halftime Show festivities. According to ESPN, the original contract was for about $25 million over a five-year term. In addition to choosing the talent, Roc Nation also assisted in the league’s commitment to social justice via their Inspire Change program. Since then, the Super Bowl has featured some of the culture’s biggest and brightest stars. In 2022, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Eminem took the stage. Rihanna headlined the show in 2023, and Usher took the baton earlier this year.
Kendrick Lamar has been chosen as the headliner for Super Bowl LIX. It is set to take place on Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.
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A few days, ago Jaguar Wright gave right-wing conspiracy theorists a lot to work with on social media. The controversial crooner appeared on conservative media darling Piers Morgan’s Uncensored show and unloaded on the likes of P. Diddy, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, accusing them all of being in the same league of sadistic abusers in the music industry.
With many on social media having already accused Jay-Z of such acts following the arrest of P. Diddy, they viewed Wright’s comments as validation of their beliefs and immediately took to X (formerly Twitter) to boast about the segment and further call for the downfall of Hova and company. While Wright has been suggesting that Jay-Z is “worse” than Diddy for quite some time now, giving her such a platform to continue to spew her slander caught the attention of Jay-Z’s legal team who promptly informed Piers Morgan that he done f*cked up now.
On Tuesday (Oct. 8), Morgan took to his show and issued a public apology for Jaguar Wright’s comments on his broadcast and let everyone know that lawyers for Jay-Z told him to do so. Taking to his show, Morgan explained that regardless to whom or what, people like Jaguar Wright have built a following “with or without shows like mine” and acknowledged that she made some “serious allegations about Jay-Z and Beyoncé.”
That’s when Morgan stated that Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s lawyers “contacted us to say those claims were totally false and have no basis in fact, and we therefore comply with the legal request to cut them from the original interview.”
Though Morgan said cutting segments out of his show is not something they practice, he did recognize that “There are legal limits on us too and we apologize to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.”
Yeah, Jay-Z-hating conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day with this one. Morgan himself set it up in a way where he seemed reluctant to comply with the legal request but had no choice, so y’all already know how this is going to play out on social media.
Check out Piers Morgan’s apology video, and let us know your thoughts on the situation in the comments section below.
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Jaguar Wright is back on the airwaves and much like before, she is continuing her relentless attack on key figures of the entertainment industry. The singer was a guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored and unloaded on Diddy, Jay-Z, and got into it with DJ Vlad.
Jaguar Wright appeared on a Wednesday night (October 2) broadcast of Morgan’s program alongside Ariel Mitchell-Kidd, a lawyer representing one of Sean “Diddy” Combs” alleged victims, and DJ Vlad. Wright wasted little time in sharing her three decades of experience with executives and others in the industry who wielded their power for nefarious means.
Wight was challenged by DJ Vlad, who framed Wright as a conspiracy theorist during the segment, and explicitly said to Morgan that he “doesn’t cosign anything that she says” before giving his thoughts on the legal woes faced by Combs and offering his thoughts on Wright framing Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Combs.
In his estimation, Vlad believes that much of what’s occurring in the Diddy case is a direct result of the lawsuit filed by Cassie Ventura which opened the floodgates to other allegations that have since surfaced.
Mitchell-Kidd also chimed in and essentially said to Wright that she should seek legal counsel as some of her statements could be viewed as defamatory without proof or official charges. She also called DJ Vlad a culture vulture and dressed down the media figure in what she believes is his role in leading to the indictment of Black artists and entertainers.
On X, formerly Twitter, the Piers Morgan Uncensored segment with Jaguar Wright, DJ Vlad, and Ariel Mitchell-Kidd garnered several replies and we’ve got them listed in our playlist slideshow. The replies shared do not echo our sentiments, we are just delivering a report.
The entire segment can be viewed below.
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After much speculation, we now know who chose Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The show’s producer confirmed it was Jay-Z’s decision.
As spotted on Rap-Up, the culture now has better clarity on how the Compton, California, talent became the Super Bowl LIX headliner. This week, Variety spoke to event producer Jesse Collins, and the entertainment executive provided more context regarding the decision and why was Lil Wayne not chosen to perform in his hometown. “We love Wayne,” he said. “There’s always Vegas odds on who’s going to get to perform it. But I think we’re going to do an amazing show with Kendrick, and I think everybody’s going to love the halftime show. I know Kendrick is going to work exceptionally hard to deliver an amazing show.”
Collins went on to say that HOV ultimately gave the greenlight to book K. Dot. “It’s a decision that Jay makes. Since we’ve been on board with that show, he’s made it every year, and it’s been amazing. He’s always picked right,” he added. Soon after the announcement confirming that the “Not Like Us” MC would take the slot there was an outcry questioning why Lil Wayne was not chosen to perform. Days later, Weezy released a video revealing that he was hurt by the snub, but the outcry of support was humbling.
“It broke me, and I’m just trying to put me back together,” he explained. “But my God, have you all helped me. Thanks to all of my peers, my friends, my family, my homies on the sports television and everybody repping me. I really appreciate that, I really do. I feel like I let all of y’all down by not getting that opportunity, but I’m working on me and I’m working.”
Super Bowl LIX will be taking place Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.