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Marijuana is legal in the state of California on the medical and recreational level but there are still rules and regulations in place despite this. Authorities in a California town have a major marijuana mystery on their hands after discovering a massive stash of the plant with a reported street value of $100 million.
According to a report from local outlet VVNG, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department entered a home in Oak Hills, just outside of Hesperia, Calif. On Monday, Dec. 9, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Marijuana Enforcement Team entered a home on a search warrant and discovered trash bags of cultivated and packaged products weighing around 90,000 pounds in total.
The property contained a large metal building that caught the eye of investigators, who later revealed the contents within via a statement.
Source: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department / SBCSD
From the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department website:
On Monday, December 9, 2024, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant at a residence along the 5000 block of Honeyhill Road in Oak Hills. The five acre property contained a newly built, 120’ x 40’ metal building, along the east fence line. Inside this metal building, investigators located over 3000 trash bags filled with processed marijuana, stacked over 12 feet high, from end to end of the building. The trash bags each weighed approximately 30 to 50 pounds.
Over the course of two days, the Marijuana Enforcement Team, San Bernardino County Code Enforcement, and California Fish and Wildlife Department, seized 51 truck loads of processed marijuana totaling over 90,000 pounds, with a market value of over $100,000,000.00.
No arrests have been made thus far.
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Photo: Getty/San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Robbie Williams thinks he’s exhibited a lot of “Patience” around rumors of his sexuality — but in a new interview with The Guardian, the Take That singer is setting the record straight. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Speaking to the outlet about his forthcoming biopic Better […]
A behind-the-scenes look at SEVENTEEN’s BBMAs performance for the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Kylie Kang:Hi, we’re the directing duo, seven to five, and my name is Kylie and his … Jihoon Jeon:Jihoon Jeon. Because we had a limited amount of time to develop a performance that felt as live as possible, we thought a lot […]
50 Cent is working on a Netflix documentary about Diddy’s history of alleged sexual abuse, and he’s speaking out about the project. The “In Da Club” rapper joined GMA3: What You Need to Know on Friday (Dec. 13), where he referred to his longstanding “beef” with the disgraced rapper as more of a “competitive energy.” Of the […]
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Lil Durk is currently being held in Los Angeles in connection to a murder-for-hire plot sparked by the death of fellow Chicago artist King Von in Atlanta. Lil Durk was denied bond this week and is now being linked to another murder case in his hometown where officials say he gave orders for another killing in the city.
The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times both report that Lil Durk, 32, was at a detention hearing on Thursday (Dec. 12) which was attended by over two dozen of Durk’s supporters, including Sony Music representatives. U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue said that due to the showing of support for Durk and citing state prosecutors, he is a person of significant influence and a flight risk.
The attorneys for Durk, real name Durk Devontay Banks, put together an extensive bond package that included two homes in Georgia and $1 million from Sony Music along with promises of twenty-four-hour security to keep Durk both safe and on schedule.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Ian Yanniello pointed to the over 30 individuals inside the courtroom as a demonstration of the power Durk has and could wield if he is released on bond.
“This case is about how he used that power and used that influence and how he used those resources to promote and perpetuate violence with deadly consequence,” Yanniello said.
With this setback, Durk’s attorneys are promising to work on behalf of their client to get him out on bond.
‘We were obviously disappointed, but will continue to fight on,” Jonathan Brayman said to the Chicago Tribune. “Mr. Banks remains confident and optimistic about the future. He deeply appreciates the outpouring of love and support he has felt since his arrest.”
As this case unfolded, back in Chicago, Lil Durk is now linked to the 2022 shooting death of an alleged leader of a notorious gang faction in the city’s Far South Side section.
A newly unsealed filing from the U.S. District Court in Chicago asserts that Durk was the mastermind of the Jan. 2022 shooting death of Stephon Mack, who was gunned down while leaving the Youth Peace Center of Roseland. FBI officials say Mack was the alleged leader of the Smashville faction of the wider Gangster Disciples gang network.
According to the filing, Durk’s brother, Dontay “DThang” Banks, was shot and killed outside the now-closed Club O in Harvey, a suburb of Chicago, in 2021. Based on the filing, a Gangster Disciples member who was reportedly connected to Smashville carried out the killing of DThang. In 2023, a federal agent wrote in a statement that Durk was offering a cash reward to anyone who could locate his brother’s killers.
Lil Durk is alleged to have ordered a cross-country hit on rival Quando Rondo after an affiliate of Rondo shot and killed King Von. In retaliation, investigators believe Durk ordered members of his crew to take out Rondo but instead ended up killing Rondo’s cousin, Lul Pab in Los Angeles.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty
Mannie Fresh is a legend for being a Swiss army knife in the music game. Super producer, DJ, professional sh*t talker before the MC begins his verse. Whatever ya need, Mr.Fresh is going to bring that heat. We’ve gotten CLASSIC records like, ‘Back That Azz Up’, ‘Bling Bling’, ‘I Need a Hot Girl’ & so many more. The New Orleans artist has always kept the sounds of his hometown alive by incorporating bounce into it.
What is New Orleans Bounce Music?
New Orleans bounce music is a super energetic style that started in the ’80s. It mixes hip-hop beats with the city’s own rhythms, making it fast, fun, and perfect for dancing. The music often has a lot of call-and-response (like people shouting back to the DJ), heavy bass, and catchy, sometimes wild lyrics. Artists like Big Freedia and DJ Jimi helped make it famous, and it’s known for dance moves like twerking. Bounce is all about having fun, being loud, and celebrating the unique culture of New Orleans. It’s not just music; it’s a movement that keeps growing and influencing artists worldwide.
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Mannie Fresh caught up with Hot 107.9’s Program Director, Devin Steel to speak about N.O. Bounce. The super producer named the bounce remix of Anita Baker’s song as his favorite. He also mentioned that New Orleans bounce has evolved and there is a new version of it called a “Yatch Bounce”.
Check out the full video below:
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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Amazon and Meta are contributing $1 million each to the inauguration fund for Donald Trump in an attempt to curry good favor with him.
According to reports, Meta and Amazon are donating $1 million to the inauguration fund for President-elect Donald Trump. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, made its announcement of the move on Wednesday (Dec. 11), weeks after founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Amazon announced its decision the following day, with Trump claiming that he would meet with Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos next week.
In addition, Amazon will livestream the inauguration ceremony on Prime Video, representing an “in-kind” donation totaling up to $1 million. Amazon also did the same with President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021. “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” Bezos wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Nov. 6. “No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”
The donations come after Trump’s turbulent history with Amazon and Facebook. Trump opposed a proposed ban on social media giant TikTok, claiming that Meta would benefit if it took place. “If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. He also accused Facebook of interfering in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump has also blasted Bezos, calling the “Fake Washington Post” an Amazon lobbying arm and alleging that Amazon was avoiding paying U.S. Postal Service rates in full during his first presidential administration. The two seemed to reconcile after the assassination attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania in July, and Bezos recently said at the DealBook Summit last week that Trump “seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. And my point of view is, if I can help him do that, I’m going to help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country.”
The moves are seen as a way to gain favor with the incoming administration – the Trump team has promised donors who contribute $1 million top-tier benefits, which include six tickets to inaugural events from January 17 to 20 as well as tickets to the ceremony and “an elegant and intimate dinner with President Donald J. Trump and Mrs. Melania Trump” on Jan. 19.
We’re done recapping the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century — find all of our past episodes for that series here — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty of Greatest Pop Stars Podcast discussion to be had, as we begin to dive into our annual top 10 Greatest Pop Stars of the […]
Brian Austin Green is firmly on the side of Megan Fox — to whom he was married from 2010 to 2022 and shares three kids with — when it comes to the actress’ rumored split from MGK this week.
While out and about Thursday (Dec. 12), the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum reacted to the news of his famous ex’s split from the musician when TMZ approached him for comment. “I didn’t even know,” he begins in a clip on the outlet’s website, throwing his head back with a big sigh.
“How old is he? He’s in his 30s, isn’t he?” Green continued after the reporter suggested that something on the “My Ex’s Best Friend” musician’s phone had sparked the breakup. “In your 30s, grow up. She’s pregnant.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for the actress and musician.
The actor’s comments come just days after multiple publications reported that the Jennifer’s Body star and MGK had called it quits just weeks after announcing that they’re expecting their first baby together, with several reporting that the breakup had happened in November. Reps for both parties did not respond when Billboard reached out for comment at the time.
Fox and the rapper-turned-rocker had been in an on-and-off relationship since 2020, getting engaged in 2022, the same year she finalized her divorce from the actor. The following year, the pair called it quits before getting back together later in 2023.
Prior to her relationship with MGK, the Pretty Boys Are Poisonous author welcomed three children — 12-year-old Noah, 10-year-old Bodhi and 8-year-old Journey — with Green. The “Bad Things” singer is also a dad to daughter Casie, whom he shares with ex Emma Cannon.
While speaking to TMZ, Green added, “I just want the best for [Megan], I want the best for the baby, I want the best for our kids.”
“That’s a shame,” he continued. “I’m heartbroken about it. I know she’s been so excited, and the kids are so excited, for life and the change … I don’t know the facts of it, but if that’s the case, that’s a tragic situation.”
TikTok is taking the Canadian government to court.
Last month, the popular social media app was ordered by the federal government to “wind down” its operations in Canada following a national security review.
“We will challenge this order in court,” TikTok said at the time.
Now, the company is following through on the promise. TikTok Canada has filed notice of application for judicial review, which is an official legal challenge to the decision.
“This order would eliminate the jobs and livelihoods of our hundreds of dedicated local employees – who support the community of more than 14 million monthly Canadian users on TikTok, including businesses, advertisers, creators, and initiatives developed especially for Canada,” the company wrote on its official website. “We believe it’s in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform.”
Trending on Billboard
TikTok posted the whole legal filing on its website, which you can read here. The document breaks down the order of events, suggesting TikTok cooperated with the security review but was surprised by the abrupt announcement.
The company is requesting a court date to challenge the decision in Vancouver, B.C., one of the two locations of its offices. The other is in Toronto.
The filing calls the order “grossly disproportionate” and says it “will result in the termination of hundreds of employees in Canada and the potential termination of over 250,000 contracts with Canadian-based advertisers.”
The legal filing also focuses on the impact to those creators who use the platform, stating that the order “will cause the destruction of significant economic opportunities and intangible benefits to Canadian creators, artists and businesses, and the Canadian cultural community more broadly.”
The federal government made the decision to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations following a review of its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., calling the operation “injurious to national security.” Canadian users would still be able to use and access TikTok, but the company would be forced to close its offices in Canada.
The filing follows a new law in the United States that would require ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19, 2025 or face a ban in the country. – Richard Trapunski
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Charlotte Day Wilson to Play Special Orchestral Concert in Toronto in 2025
Charlotte Day Wilson is preparing for a hometown concert that she calls “a dream opportunity.”
On Feb. 28, 2025, the Grammy nominated R&B/soul singer-songwriter will play a Red Bull Symphonic concert with members of the the Symphonic Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall, the home of the acclaimed Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Charlotte Day
Emily Lipson
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 13, 2024 at redbull.ca/symphonic.
Previous editions of Red Bull Symphonic in Atlanta and Los Angeles have featured Rick Ross and Metro Boomin, plus special guests including John Legend, Swae Lee and more.
It will be the first orchestral concert for Wilson, and she’s approaching it as a full vision of her current state as a musician.
“I want people to come away from it understanding the musical makeup that I have and of my sense of self within music,” Charlotte Day Wilson tells Billboard Canada over Zoom from her apartment in Toronto.
She’s still in her early 30s, but Wilson has been recording and performing for well over a decade. With two albums and multiple EPs, she has a full body of work to play from, and she’s excited to rethink it in a new context.
Her 2024 album, Cyan Blue, has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, and though Jack Rochon was the primary engineer, Wilson says the two of them made everything in the room together as “an exchange of two people producing and engineering and writing all in tandem.”
Charlotte Day Wilson’s soulful voice and songwriting chops have become a secret weapon for many renowned musicians. She’s performed and collaborated with Kaytranada, Daniel Caesar, Mustafa, BadBadNotGood and Nelly Furtado, and one of her songs was even sampled by Drake.
The Grammy recognition and the ability to do a full-scale orchestral concert feels like a mark of wider recognition in a field that can often include a lot of isolation. It also feels like a “maturing moment,” she says, which fits her mindset right now.
“It’s something I think about a lot as an artist,” she says. “In an industry that is ruthlessly obsessed with youth, how do we graduate into a next chapter of life and still maintain our integrity and relevance. That’s something I think about all the time, and it’s something I want to approach really deliberately.” – R.T.
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Patrick Watson’s ‘Je te laisserai des mots’ Becomes First French-Language Song To Hit A Billion Spotify Streams
Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson has made history on Spotify.
His 2010 song “Je te laisserai des mots” is now the first French-language song to hit a billion streams on the platform.
The song, a wistful composition led by piano and strings, was first written for the 2009 film Mères et Filles.
Listeners clearly agreed that the song has a cinematic quality: it went viral in 2021 and 2022, used by thousands of TikTokers — including Justin Bieber — to soundtrack serene or sad moments in their own lives during Covid restrictions.
Watson joins Bieber and other Canadian artists like Drake, Tate McRae, Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes in Spotify’s Billions Club. Most of the other Canadian members are major label signees with a pop-oriented sound, which makes Watson — an acclaimed indie singer-songwriter represented by Montreal’s Secret City Records — a more unusual entry into the club.
“Je te laisserai des mots” was the most-streamed French language track both in Canada and globally this year on Spotify, while the veteran songwriter and producer is the No. 6 most popular Québécois artist on Spotify this year in Canada. He finishes alongside Quebec legends Les Cowboys Fringants and Celine Dion, pop star Charlotte Cardin and rappers Souldia and Enima.
Spotify notes that since 2019, listening to music in French has jumped by 94% on the app — which means after Watson, another Billions Club French-language song could only be a matter of time. – Rosie Long Decter
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Music Business Year In Review