News
Page: 188
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: NYPD / NYPD
It’s been days since the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was gunned down outside of the New York Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan and while the manhunt for the shooter continues, police have released new photos of the murderer as the public still refuses to lift a finger to help in any way, shape or form.
According to the New York Times, the NYPD have released two new images of the suspected hitman as they continue to struggle to get a lead on his whereabouts, following the shocking murder of Brian Thompson. While we still aren’t getting a good look at his entire face, police are hoping these images will jog someone’s memory and lead to a hint or tip that’ll help them in their efforts to track him down even though he’s become sort of a folk hero to many people in the online community.
The New York Times reports:
One image, captured from the front of the cab, appears to show the unidentified suspect peering forward from the vehicle’s back seat with his face partially obscured by a blue surgical mask, a dark hat and a black hood. The other image, apparently recorded through a window, shows the man walking on the street wearing the same mask, a black puffer jacket and a hood pulled over his head.
The police have said that the man caught a taxi around 7 a.m. Wednesday on the Upper West Side, about 15 minutes after he shot Mr. Thompson. He took the cab uptown to a bus terminal near the George Washington Bridge, where they believe he may have caught a bus out of the state.
🚨UPDATE: Below are photos of a person of interest wanted for questioning regarding the Midtown Manhattan homicide on Dec. 4.
The full investigative efforts of the NYPD are continuing, and we are asking for the public’s help—if you have any information about this case, call the… https://t.co/U4wlUquumf pic.twitter.com/243V0tBZOr
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 8, 2024
Though it is suspected that the killer has already made his way out of New York City (and maybe even the U.S.), police might’ve gotten some evidence in their search for the gunman.
Officers also recovered a backpack in Central Park on Friday that they believe the man may have discarded as he cycled away from the scene of the shooting toward the Upper West Side, before he caught the cab. They had yet to publicly confirm if the backpack belonged to the man or contained any items of value to the investigation.
Hoping to get someone to drop dime, the NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that’ll lead to the arrest of the suspect. Seems a bit low to us, but hey, it is what it is.
What are your thoughts on the UnitedHealthcare CEO suspect? Hero or villain? Let us know in the comments section below?
Pusha T has some thoughts on the battle that broke out between his arch nemesis Drake and Kendrick Lamar, who the Virginia rapper has collaborated with in the past.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
On Saturday (Dec. 7), Emmy-winning journalist and MSNBC correspondent Ari Melber interviewed Pusha for Saint & Citizen’s Saint Sessions Live at Art Basel in Miami, where they talked about a number of topics, most notably the aforementioned rap beef.
When asked by Melber if he thinks Kendrick won the battle, Push answered, “1,000 percent,” before elaborating on how he thinks Lamar pulled it off. “I think that Kendrick is a lyricist and a lyricist that talks to your soul. Like, you could be clever, you can say cute things, you can do things and so on and so forth, right? But the truth really hurts and the truth cuts deep,” he said. “And I think what Kendrick was doing was really talking to his soul. I believe that.”
Trending on Billboard
He then added, “And I believe that’ll cause you to tap out, that’ll cause you to sue, that’ll cause you to do a lot of things. It’s crazy. Listen, suing is crazy … it’s nuts.”
Ari then tried to compare Push’s back and forth with Drake in 2018 with Lamar’s and why they were willing to say the things they said about the Toronto rapper while other peers decided to stay quiet publicly. “I play in a space that my music is, I guess ‘semi-popular,’ I don’t even know if it’s that popular,” he admitted. “It’s a very niche group that messes with me. So, it’s easy to dismiss my wins because it’s not as loud as everyone else’s. Kendrick on the other hand, his music is super popular so it’s a difference.”
The “Story of Adidon” rapper continued, saying artists were “backing away” from him after his beef with Drake, adding that they “didn’t wanna get on records” or “do videos” with him after it ended. “The record labels, the artists, everybody were taking me off of songs, it was crazy,” he said, referencing Pop Smoke’s posthumous album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon when he asked to be taken off “Paranoia” that also featured Young Thug and Gunna after Thugger was upset Push’s verse was about Drake.
But in his chat with Melber, Push gave Kendrick credit for bringing quality lyrics to the forefront. “It’s good to see lyricism be looked at and respected on such a high level and it’s dope because … what Kendrick did for what we do as rappers was very big.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Donald Trump’s first post-election network interview with NBC News’ Kristin Welker was widely trashed for his numerous false claims and Welker’s apparent lack of pushback on his answers.
The first network interview for President-elect Donald Trump, which was recorded to be aired on NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday (December 8), was derided by observers who tuned in, noting that he repeated many of the false claims that were a hallmark of his campaign with re-election. Trump was interviewed by the news program’s host, Kristin Welker, being combative with her as he has been in the past, reacting to her questioning of his proposed policies in his return to the White House. “You have such potential. If you could be just non-biased… you hurt yourself so badly,” he remarked as Welker’s frustration could be seen.
Trump maintains his composure as “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker grows frustrated.
“You have such potential. If you could be just non-biased… you hurt yourself so badly.” pic.twitter.com/YYQmniPH4h
— Julianna Frieman (@JuliannaFrieman) December 8, 2024
Trump made false claims again about migrants in the United States, misusing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistic to say 13,000 immigrants who had committed murder were “released into our country over the last three years.” When asked about his proposal to remove so many undocumented immigrants, he replied: “Well, I think you have to do it, and it’s a hard – it’s a very tough thing to do,” Trump said. “But you have to have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally. You know the people that have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been on line for ten years to come into the country. And we’re going to make it very easy for people to come in in terms of they have to pass the test.” He also lied about the United States being the only nation granting birthright citizenship – 30 other nations also do so.
Trump also claimed that he “was able to get hundreds of billions of dollars put into NATO just by a tough attitude.” The false claim refers to NATO countries agreeing to put more money into boosting their military forces but The New York Times noted that the agreement was in place since 2014. Trump also falsely claimed that “just prior to Covid coming in, I had polls that were the highest.” In truth, at that point in 2020 he had a 48% approval rating, placing him lower than all but three presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Pusha T doesn’t speak much, but when he does the culture listens. In a recent interview, he gave his opinion on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef.
As spotted on Rap-Up, the front man of Clipse was in Miami for Art Basel. The Virginia Beach, Va., MC was a guest on “Saint Sessions Live,” an in person Q&A hosted in front of a live audience. While he discussed a variety of topics regarding his illustrious career it was his take on this very high-profile moment that soon went viral. Journalist Ari Melber asked him his thoughts about Kendrick’s infamous “Yeah, f**k all that pushin’ P, let me see you push a T” line from “Euphoria.” Pusha T made it clear he got what K. Dot was hinting at.
“I guess he was just telling him, you know he needed to address me before it comes back and trying to go at him.” He went on to reveal that he took the reference as a gesture of respect. “I think it was a great time for me. That whole battle was an awesome time. I think that him being a fan of Hip Hop, he saw it as that.” When asked if he also agreed with the people that Kendrick Lamar won the battle against Drake he emphatically replied, “1,000%.” Pusha T added, “I think that Kendrick is a lyricist and a lyricist that talks to your soul.”
You can see King Push discuss the beef below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
On Sunday (Dec. 8), the Hip-Hop culture was shocked when it was revealed that Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in a civil lawsuit against Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. While most lawyers advise their clients to keep quiet in such cases, Hova, allegedly, went on the offensive.
In a statement shared on Roc Nation’s X account, he suggested that attorney Tony Buzbee was “blackmailing” him with the lawsuit.
That in turn prompted Buzbee to respond in kind. The lawyer representing “Jane Doe” in the latest lawsuit against Diddy took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to push back against Jay-Z’s claim of blackmail by stating that Jay got himself in this pickle by suing Buzbee for trying to inquire about the situation in general. In his post Buzbee wrote, “Regarding the Jay Z case and his efforts to silence my clients: Mr. Carter previously denied being the one who sued me and my firm. He filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym.”
As for Jay saying that Buzbee was “blackmailing” him with this case, Buzbee added, “What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation.”
Buzbee then went on to say Jay and his team tried to intimidate him and his client and wrote, “Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve. As far as the allegations in the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media.”
https://x.com/TonyBuzbee2/status/1865928354114814391
In the statement in which Jay-Z accused Buzbee of blackmailing him, Jay not only denied the allegations but went so far as to dare the lawyer to file a criminal complaint instead of a civil one and said, “Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?” After calling Buzbee a “deplorable human” and “ambulance chaser in a cheap suit,” Jay ended the statement and said, “I look forward to showing you how different I am.”
https://x.com/RocNation/status/1865917852542247358
Jay-Z wants all this legal smoke to clear his name.
In the lawsuit, Jane Doe claims that both Jay-Z and Diddy raped her at a 2000 MTV VMAs afterparty when she was 13-years-old as another female celebrity watched.
Needless to say, Jay-Z haters celebrated the lawsuit on social media while Jay-Z fans also suggested this could be a shakedown and are awaiting all of the evidence to be presented before abandoning ship.
50 Cent for his part isn’t weighing in but wonders if this lawsuit will effect the Super Bowl.
Y’all knew 50 Cent wasn’t going to not say anything.
What do y’all think about this latest bombshell? Do y’all think Jay-Z is being blackmailed, or is karma catching up to the pop culture icon? Sound off in the comments section below.
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” leads the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for a seventh week each. The song debuted as the stars’ second leader on each survey.
Plus, four holiday songs light up the Global 200’s top 10 and three decorate the Global Excl. U.S. top 10.
The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
Trending on Billboard
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“APT.” rules the Global 200 with 149.9 million streams (down 7%) and 18,000 sold (down 13%) worldwide Nov. 29-Dec. 5. The hit now boasts seven of the top eight global streaming weeks among songs released in 2024:
224.5 million, “APT.,” ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, Nov. 2
207.5 million, “APT.,” Nov. 9
176.8 million, “Fortnight,” Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone, May 4
162.2 million, “APT.,” Nov. 16
160.6 million, “APT.,” Dec. 7
149.9 million, “APT.,” Dec. 14
146.4 million, “APT.,” Nov. 23
132.7 million, “APT.,” Nov. 30
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” surges 9-2 on the Global 200, with 92.7 million streams (up 48%) and 7,000 sold (up 77%) worldwide. The modern Yuletide standard, originally released in 1994, has spent a record 18 weeks at No. 1 dating to the chart’s start (five each over the 2023 and 2022 holidays and four in both the 2021 and 2020 holiday seasons).
Plus, three other classic carols return to the Global 200’s top 10: Wham’s “Last Christmas” (11-4), Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (21-6) and Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (25-8). The songs have hit respective Nos. 2, 2 and 4 highs. They drew 84.3 million streams (up 75%), 63.6 million streams (up 60%) and 56.7 million streams (up 61%) worldwide, respectively, in the tracking week.
Lady Gaga and Mars’ “Die With a Smile” slips 2-3 on the Global 200, following eight weeks at No. 1, the most for any song this year, beginning in September. It drew 115.2 million streams (essentially even week-over-week) worldwide in the latest tracking frame and has tallied over 100 million streams globally in each of the last 14 weeks, the longest such streak since the chart began.
Elsewhere in the Global 200’s top five, Kendrick Lamar’s “Luther,” with SZA, slips to No. 5 a week after it debuted at No. 4.
“APT.” concurrently tops Global Excl. U.S. with 132.6 million streams (down 6%) and 12,000 sold (down 7%) outside the U.S. Nov. 29-Dec. 5.
“Die With a Smile” holds at No. 2 on Global Excl. U.S. following eight weeks at No. 1 starting in September; Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” lifts 5-3, having spent a record-tying 13 weeks at No. 1; Wham’s “Last Christmas” leaps 14-4, after reaching No. 2 (54.1 million streams, up 88%); and Stromae and Pomme’s “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” jumps to No. 5 a week after it entered the chart at No. 8.
Plus, Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” dances merrily back to the Global Excl. U.S. top 10 (34-10), with 32.4 million streams (up 70%) outside the U.S. in the tracking week.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Dec. 14, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Dec. 10. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: General / Getty
As the year comes to a close, movie lovers got a peek into what to expect come award season in early 2025.
This morning, Dec. 9, Mindy Kaling and Morris Chestnut announced the ceremony’s 2025 film and television nominees.
RELATED: 2025 Golden Globe Nominees (Full List)
RELATED: Black Celebs We Lost in 2024
Fan favorites such as Wicked, Abbott Elementary, Dune: Part II, The Bear, and Emilia Pérez all (expectedly) landed nominations. Along with 26 total first-time nominees (including Pamela Anderson, Zoe Saldana, Glen Powell, Ariana Grande, Jesse Plemons, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Nikki Glaser), Viola Davis will be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and Ted Danson with the Carol Burnett Award.
Also of note this year, Gladiator II actor and two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his portrayal of Macrinus in the swords-and-sandals epic.
It is his eleventh Golden Globe nomination, setting a new record for Black performers.
Last month, Washington shut down rumors that he was retiring from acting.
While on a press run to promote the November 22 release of Gladiator II, Washington reflected on his career and rattled off the next few films he’d be appearing in, making it seem like after those movies wrapped, he’d be retiring from the industry.
Of course longtime fans were disheartened to hear that the actor, who turns 70 next month, was calling it quits. And as the interview made its way around the web, word on the street was DW was about to retire.
RELATED: Denzel Washington Says A Role Is Being Written for Him in ‘Black Panther 3’
RELATED: Spike Lee Gives Update On ‘He Got Game’ Sequel
In a later interview, Washington explained that he wasn’t leaving the industry entirely, but that he’d only accept future roles that truly spoke to him.
“I didn’t say I was going to go into retirement. I said that it has to be a level of interest for me. I’m more interested in getting behind the camera, so that’s about five years out,” he said.
“I’m not retiring,” he added, saying he realizes his age makes it more difficult to keep up with the younger generation of action stars. “It’s not like on June 5, that’s it. But to think that I’m going to run as far as they are or as far as you are, I’d be a fool.”
Denzel Washington Just Set A New Record with ‘Gladiator II’ Golden Globe Nomination
was originally published on
theboxhouston.com
Another week, brings another shocking new legal filing. Following bombshells legal actions involving fellow hip-hop moguls Sean “Diddy” Combs and Aubrey “Drake” Graham, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has found himself in the center of a harrowing new suit. In a Dec. 8 refiling of an earlier civil lawsuit against Combs, Carter has been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 after that years MTV Video Music Awards. The 24-time Grammy-winner, who was recently named Billboard’s 16th Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century (So Far), immediately took to social media to vehemently deny the accusations, and the following day (Dec. 9), he filed a motion calling the case “extortionate” and arguing that the accuser should not be allowed to litigate such “heinous allegations” anonymously.
This case is still in the early phases, so there isn’t much to analyze beyond the new filing, Carter’s responses and general reactions to the stunning news. Though the news broke late Sunday night, it quickly became the weekend’s defining hip-hop moment, surpassing both the buzz of Doechii‘s new NPR Tiny Desk performance and Smino‘s new Maybe In Nirvana LP.
Trending on Billboard
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Khalid and Normani spinning the block to A$AP Rocky’s fiery new remix. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
THEY., “Straight Up”
If you have a new album dropping on Valentine’s Day next year with a title inspired by one of the most beloved Black romantic comedy-dramas of the ’90s (1997’s Love Jones), you know your singles have to be home runs. With “Straight Up,” the latest taste of the forthcoming Love.Jones, smooth R&B duo THEY. deliver a ’90s-evoking cut built around sultry vocals, pitched-up vocal loops and come-hither lyricism. “Let’s make plans, let’s link up, let’s be ’bout it/ Got you wet, got me drunk, now we drownin’/ Crashing out, pussy good, I’m surrounded/ We on round number four, but who’s countin’?” Drew Love croons in the first verse. Infused with the forward, hip-hop sensibilities of contemporary R&B but steeped in the sensual tension of the genre’s ’90s iterations, “Straight Up” is another hit for THEY. — KYLE DENIS
Hanumankind, Kalmi & A$AP Rocky, “Big Dawgs (Remix)”
This isn’t your average remix in 2024 looking to game the streaming system as Hanumankind recruited A$AP Rocky to take his thrilling ride of “Big Dawgs” to another level. The Mob leader flosses to kick off the track and takes it back to his humble beginnings running around Harlem. “Crackheads by the corner store, bakin’ soda by the stove, mattress on the floor/ Mice and the roaches, my room ain’t have a door, but I had some dope,” he reminisces over the revved-up production. The Indian rapper even slaps a reworked verse into his top 40 Hot 100 hit as he gives a shout-out to Flacko – his first American rap collaboration – and sets the stage for his official debut album in 2025. — MICHAEL SAPONARA
Khalid & Normani, “Personal”
After making history with “Love Lies” back in 2018 — the Love, Simon track was the first duet by two African-American singers to reach No. 1 on Pop Airplay in over 20 years — Khalid and Normani are back with another sultry team-up. This time, the two stars have joined forces for a deluxe cut for Patience, Khalid’s third studio album. Across a hiccuping, Afrobeats-nodding beat courtesy of Digi and Simon Says, they coo in carnal whispers: “Don’t know how I got it, but I’m next to you/ So what you gonna do?/ Put your body on my body, get personal/ So sensual.” Normani continues to show off her personal innovations on Brandy’s vocal playbook, while Khalid displays his growth as a duet partner, offering up a rich, husky complement to Mani’s airier timbre. — K.D.
AzChike, “Love Yo Weapons”
Fresh off his appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s GNX album, AzChike keeps fans’ attention with the menacing “Love Yo Weapons.” “Welcome to the show/ I don’t think we got no seats left,” he greets the newcomers over the haunting production. But it was the slick wordplay flipping Drake’s So Far Gone into a bar that had us hitting replay: “Up this Drake, now he gone/ Hit him from so far,” Az spews. The burgeoning West Coast rhymer certainly didn’t fumble the spotlight with “Love Yo Weapons.” — M.S.
Rhyan Douglas feat. Lekan, “Magic Gurl”
Rhyan Douglas and Lekan have both made incredible strive in 2024, and they’re capping off their formidable runs with an ode to a special “magic gurl.” A slow-burning duet that unfurls across a sparse soundscape comprised off ricocheting background synths, serne percussion and ethereal harmonies, “Magic Gurl” plays with quietness and loudness in a really refreshing way. Rhyan and Lekan both understand the innate dynamism of holding back and they effortlessly demonstrate that across this languid, swirling tune. — K.D.
Chocc, “Did You Mean It”
Cori Broadus, who sings under the alias Chocc, is stepping out from under her father, Snoop Dogg’s, shadow – or smoke cloud. Revealing her vulnerabilities through a reinvented sound mixing moody R&B with glitzy pop, Chocc shines on Journals to Johnny EP standout “Did You Mean It.” The 25-year-old pleads with her fiancee Wayne Duece while grappling if his “I love you’s” were for nothing. “Did you mean it when you say you love me,” Chocc sings while demanding an answer. The couple further peels back the layers of their relationship in a new E! docuseries Snoop’s Fatherhood: Cori and Wayne’s Story, which arrived alongside the project. — M.S.
Following the final show of the Eras tour, a comparison between its opening and closing, and how Swift’s biggest live show evolved over time.
Monday (Dec. 9) is the 10th anniversary of J. Cole’s classic 2014 Forest Hills Drive album and he’s playing the role of Santa Claus bearing gifts for fans. Cole shared eight previously unreleased songs on Monday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The batch of tracks were part of an alternate […]