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03 Apr 2023

YouTube Unveils Its Biggest Coachella Livestream Experience for 2023 Festival

Coachella is just around the corner, and for those who won’t be able to make it out to Indio, Calif., to catch the three-day festival in person, YouTube has got you covered.

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The video-sharing platform unveiled its 2023 Coachella livestream experience on Monday (April 3), and for the first time, YouTube will be streaming live from all stages of the festival with six separate livestreams over both weekends of the desert festival.

The livestream experience will feature performances and exclusive merch drops on Coachella’s YouTube channel, plus on-the-ground content with artists, creators and fans on YouTube Shorts.

The weekend one livestream, sponsored by Fast X, Verizon and NYX Professional Makeup in the U.S., will kick off at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Friday, April 14, and run through Sunday night (April 16). Weekend two, sponsored by Tic Tac and Dove Shower Collection, will begin at the same time on Friday, April 21, before wrapping up on Sunday, April 23.

Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK are headlining this year’s festival, with additional performers including Rosalía, Gorillaz, Burna Boy, Blondie, Becky G, Pusha T, Metro Boomin, Charlie XCX, Kid Laroi, Flo Mili, Bjork, A Boogie, Uncle Waffles, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Elderbrook, Kenny Beats, Yves Tumor, The Chemical Brothers, Kaytranada and SG Lewis and many more.

Watch the teaser for YouTube’s Coachella livestream event below, and see more information here.

03 Apr 2023

Lupe Fiasco Announces His Yale University Fellowship

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Lupe Fiasco

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Lupe Fiasco is continuing his journey in higher academia. He announced that he will be taking part in a fellowship at Yale University.

The Drill Music In Zion rapper broke the news to fans last Thursday (March 30) through his Twitter account. “Proud to announce I’ve been chosen to be a Saybrook Fellow at my OTHER favorite school in the whole wide world outside of MIT…@Yale,” Lupe Fiasco wrote. “Shout [out] to Tom Near for nominating me to a place where against all odds two Chicagoans found a home in the Ivy League.”

Tom Near is Saybrook’s Head of College in addition to being a Professor and the Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale, and Bingham Oceanographic Curator of Ichthyology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

The Saybrook College Research Fellowship at Yale was created to enable students and fellows to discuss and examine topics in informal spaces. “The Fellowship is intended also to provide students and Fellows with opportunities for discussion in an atmosphere less formal than the classroom,” their website states. “They represent a considerable potential for informal discussions of your interests, academic or otherwise, but you must seek them out and make your interests known. You will find that they are eager to meet you.”

This will be the second Ivy League teaching stint for the Chicago native, who recently completed teaching a course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) entitled “Rap Theory & Practice: An Introduction.” “[T]he MIT relationship was formally initiated through someone who had a connection to one of the professors at MIT, Dr. Nick Montfort. I mentioned my interest in studying computational poets and trying to look for somebody who worked in that space,” Lupe said in an interview last year.

He continued: “The connection was made, and all of a sudden, I was at MIT. At first, it was, ‘Come for a day.’ Then ‘Come see the school, get a tour.’ Then to, ‘Come speak at a class.’ Then it’s, ‘Oh, yo, come be part of a research group.’ Then it’s, ‘Oh, come be an artist-in-residence.’ Then it’s, ‘Oh, come be MLK Visiting Scholar for a year.’ It was just incrementally building over time, so it’s a result of a five-year engagement.”

03 Apr 2023

Kanye West, ‘Yeezy’ Brand Sued For $275K By Ex-Employee Who Says She Wasn’t Paid Severance

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2019 FGI Night Of Stars Gala

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Ye aka Kanye West and his brand Yeezy brand are being sued for nearly 300 racks by a former employee who claims she’s owed as much in severance pay after she was allegedly fired without cause in 2021.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, the ex-Yeezy employee in question, Dora Szilagyi, claimed the Donda rapper and producer convinced her to quit her job at Addidas—which ended its partnership with Ye last October—so that she could come work for his brand as Yeezy’s “Director of Product Innovation.” She was hired in June 2021 but by December of that year, she was let go for no discernable reason, her lawsuit claims.

From TMZ:

Dora claims she was promised a $275,000 severance payment if she was fired without cause after September 1, 2021 — but she claims it was never paid to her when she was let go in mid-December 2021.

In the suit, Dora says she doesn’t believe Kanye or his company ever intended to follow through on the severance package, and only dangled it to lure her from Adidas.

If what Szilagyi claims is true, that’s a pretty deplorable way for Ye to mess with someone’s livelihood. It’s one thing for the “Jesus Walks” rapper to fumble his own bag by going full YeDolf and alienating brands through antisemitic and pro-Nazi remarks (which his ex-employees have even accused him of making). But now he’s out here getting folks to quit good jobs to come work for him just to be fired shortly after and denied severance? Again, if it’s true, the plaintiff should get all her coins.

Also, maaaaybe it’s time for people to consider the possibility that Ye is not the employer they want.

03 Apr 2023

Howell Wayans, Wayans Family Patriarch Dies At 86

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The father of Marlon Wayans and his other renowned celebrity siblings, Howell Wayans, passed away on March 30. He was 86 years old.

The comedian confirmed the news in a social media post on Saturday (April 1). Wayans shared a photo of himself and his father on Instagram, writing: “Thank you Pop for being an example of a Man to all your boys. I pray all young black boys can grow up to be a Man like you.” He continued: “Kiss Ma for me. Tell her her babies miss her. I got two angels. I feel y’all lifting me already.” Elvira Alethia, the family’s matriarch passed away at the age of 81 back in 2020.

According to reporting from TMZ, Marlon Wayans received word of his father’s passing after performing the first of two shows he was scheduled to do at the Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, California. He’d go on to do the second set, imbuing the emotions of the moment into his act before letting the present crowd learn the news.

Howell Wayans raised his 10 children – Keenen Ivory, Damon, Shawn, Dwayne, Kim, Nadia, Elvira, Diedra and Devonne Chaunté Wayans in addition to Marlon – in New York City. He was well-regarded as a hard worker who guided them with discipline but always supported their creative dreams. Beginning with Keenan Ivory Wayans, the siblings have made their mark on the entertainment world through major television and film projects like In Living Color, The Wayans Bros. and White Chicks, continuing to do so today. He is also survived by many grandchildren.

Veteran actor and friend of the family Omar Epps also paid tribute to the senior Wayans through a post on his Instagram account, noting him as a second father figure. “Thank you for taking me under your wing as if I was one of your own. We’re all devastated, but yet somehow, you prepared us for this moment,” he wrote.

03 Apr 2023

Drake Samples Kim Kardashian On Latest Track “Mommy”

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Looks like Drake isn’t quite over his beef with Kanye West. The King of the North has just dropped a snippet of his new song, which features Ye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

A year and change after Drizzy and Kanye seemingly squashed their beef by performing a joint concert in support of Larry Hoover, Drake decided to sample Kim Kardashian on his latest song dubbed “Mommy,” which features a snippet of Kanye’s baby mama saying “I didn’t come this far just to come this far and not be happy.”

Sure it seems innocent enough, but as we’ve learned over the years, Drake likes to play chess not checkers. And he’s constantly putting his pieces in place a few steps ahead of his opponent. (Remember him and his team rocking Chris Paul jerseys for “no reason” years ago?)

And let us not forget his bars on the Her Loss track “Circo Loco” in which Drizzy spit “Linking with the opps, b*tch I did that shit for J. Prince.” Why Drake would spit that particular line or unnecessarily sample Kim Kardashian is anyone’s guess at this point.

Has Kanye still been talking sideways about Drake on the low and it got back to Drizzy? Maybe Drake took Kanye’s antisemitic outbursts to heart and wants some retribution. We don’t know, but it seems like Drake still wants the smoke with the lone MAGA rapper in the Hip-Hop game and we’re curious to see if Kanye returns with some kind of subliminal of his own.

Whatever the case may be it feels like the Drake and Kanye beef isn’t over, and we’re wondering if Ye (or maybe Pusha T) will respond to the King of The North sampling Yeezus’ former queen for his track.

What do y’all think is at play here? Is Drake baiting Kanye West or did he just sample Kim Kardashian for sampling sake? Let us know in the comments section below.



03 Apr 2023

Jimin Is Spreading the ‘Love’ After His First Solo Hot 100 No. 1

Jimin made history on Monday (April 3) when his new single “Like Crazy” scored the BTS singer his very first solo No. 1 on the Hot 100, marking the first solo South Korean artist to reach the summit.

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The superstar took to Instagram following the news to thank his fans, sharing a screenshot of the latest Hot 100 top 10. “Love u all,” he captioned the post with purple heart emojis.

The Hot 100 start for “Like Crazy” was largely driven by sales, with five versions available during the chart’s tracking week. The song was released March 24 on Jimin’s debut solo set FACE, which enters at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The six-track project was preceded by the pre-release single “Set Me Free, Pt. 2.” With production by Pdogg, Ghstloop, Supreme Boi, BLVSH and Evan, the project also features songwriting credits on three tracks from bandmate RM.

Jimin and the rest of BTS previously became the first all-South Korean group to lead the Hot 100, with “Dynamite” in 2020.

In an interview with Consequence previewing FACE, Jimin admitted each of his bandmates have been anxious over going solo as they focused on individual projects, but “their results were absolutely great.” (Recent solo efforts have included J-Hope’s old-school hip-hop-leaning Jack in the Box, RM’s eclectic, collab-packed Indigo and Jin’s single “The Astronaut,” which was co-written by Coldplay and released before he started his mandatory enlistment in the Korean military.)

03 Apr 2023

Snoop Dogg Saves Wrestlemania Match After Shane McMahon Suffers Freak Injury, Twitter Loved It

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Snoop Dogg Saves Wrestlemania After Shane McMahon Gets Hurt

Source: Ronald Martinez / Getty / Snoop Dogg

No one is living life more than Snoop Dogg.

Snoop Dogg’s post-rap career has been legendary. No, he isn’t retired from Hip-Hop, but he continues to scratch things off his bucket list.

The “Gin & Juice” crafter can now add a Wrestlemania win to his list of achievements. The Doggfather got his WWE win during an impromptu match between his co-host, The Miz, and Shane McMahon, who was making his return to the WWE ring.

For those who enjoy professional wrestling, everyone knows everything that happens in the ring is scripted, but sometimes things happen. Unfortunately for Shane O’ Mac, a freak injury knocked Vince McMahon’s son out of the game, but thankfully, Snoop Dogg was there to save the day.

In the first 15 seconds of the match, McMahon appeared to injure his knee after pulling off an acrobatic move forcing the company to make a game-time decision.

Who would have thought the audible the WWE would call would be Martha Stewart’s homie hopping the ring to show off his wrestling skills at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles?

With some instruction from the referee, Snoop Dogg hit The Miz with a People’s Elbow, shoutout to The Rock, and secured the win with a pin.

Snoop Dogg Was Living At Wrestlemania

Wrestling Twitter was here for Uncle Snoop completing another side quest while handling hosting duties at Wrestlemania. “I just looked back and it seemed like Jessika Carr told Snoop Dogg to hit the People’s Elbow. What an incredible save to that segment,” one Twitter user wrote. 

Snoop had himself a day. He also drove Rey Mysterio to the ring in a lowrider before his match against his son Dominik Mysterio to honor the late Eddie Guerrero.

Salute to Snoop Dogg. You can see more reactions to his fun time at Wrestlemania in the gallery below.

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Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty

1. Triple H shows love to Snoop Dogg

2. For the culture

3. They need to make this happen immediately

03 Apr 2023

Dreamville Festival 2023 Was Packed With Star Power Over The Weekend

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2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Dreamville Festival 2023 concluded its weekend-long celebration in Raleigh, N.C., and Hip-Hop Wired took in the festivities on the grounds. Much like the inaugural event which we also attended, the Dreamville team once again provided a safe and enjoyable experience for the attendees while packing the stages with plenty of star power.

As we noted during our first time attending the festival, the Dreamville organizers have figured out how to stagger performances that ensure fans get to hear their faves unencumbered.

From acts like Houston spitter Marqus Clae and his passionate performance, the soulful crooning of SiR, the City Girls, and the always energetic EarthGang duo, fans got more than their money’s worth before acts such as Sean Paul, the beautiful Ari Lennox, and day one closer Usher took to the stage.

Sean Paul

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Ari Lennox

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

City Girls

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Usher

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Omen, who was also among the day one list of performers, showed and proved that while it’s been some time since he’s released a proper project, his conviction and confidence are unwavering. We spoke with Omen briefly backstage at the event, and he promised that new music was on the horizon.

“It’s always difficult to put yourself back out there because I’m naturally shy and introverted but I try to put all I can into the music and I think this new project will showcase Omen at my best,” the Chicago native explained. Omen said that the album should drop in either the third or fourth quarter of this year.

Omen added, “My focus on this new album is that I want the music to mean something and to live beyond me. While Chicago influences almost everything in my art, this is also about my journey of me as a man. Being away from the scene for these years was hard but trust me, we got something to be proud of and I’m glad to be doing this with Dreamville behind me.”

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to speak to many of the performers on the festival’s first day, but the second day provided grander opportunities.

Reuben Vincent

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

EarthGang

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Baby Tate

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Waka Flocka Flame

2023 Dreamville Music Festival

Before the interviews, the performances from Reuben Vincent, Cozz, Mario, and Baby Tate, along with a rousing set from both J.I.D. and Waka Flocka Flame were mindblowing as evidenced by the roars from the crowd. Of course, most fans packed themselves early in front of the Shine stage for the event’s closing set of J. Cole and Drake, more on that in another post to come.

Backstage, we chopped it up with Jamla Records artist Reuben Vincent fresh after his set. Vincent, who hails from the city of Charlotte, explained to us that his purpose is grander than being a famous musician, especially after releasing the excellent album, Love Is War.

“I created Love Is War to honor my Liberian heritage and what my parents survived during the Liberian War but it’s also just about the fact that love truly can be war at times,” Vincent shared in a quiet tone, a stark contrast from his stage performance.

Vincent continued, “Having the legacy of Liberia within the body of my music and having strong mentors like 9th Wonder and the Jamla team is amazing. I’ve been chasing this dream since I was a teenager and now it’s all coming together for me at the right time. I’m glad I got to share my art with the crowd and that they seemed to get it.”

Baby Tate also delivered a stirring performance at this year’s festival, which was her first and she spared a few minutes of her time to talk about the experience and the resurgence of her track “Hey Mickey!” via TikTok.

“This was my first time rocking this festival but I’m so glad people were vibing with me, especially because I haven’t put a whole lot of music out but that’s about to change,” Baby Tate shared.

“And that’s why “Hey Mickey!” coming back around because of the kids on TikTok is so dope because I know some artists get hate for making songs for [TikTok] but if the kids are vibing with it, why not? That’s why we locked in with Saweetie for the remix. Because of that, we have a lot of stuff in store for y’all,” Baby Tate concluded.

Waka Flocka Flame, another artist who has kept a low musical profile lately, shared with us that he’s got a ton of new music in the can. While Waka says we can expect more of his stadium-rocking anthems, he’s also concerned with continuing his I Can’t Rap mixtape run as well.

“My whole thing right now is putting other people on but not just with music, but also the spiritual aspects of life because this industry will try you if you let it,” Waka explained, exuding the most positive energy of all the entertainers we met during the festival.

“I have so many blessings that were given to me that I have to do more for the people and it’s always more than just music. Yes, we got new music coming, and I’m coming back with that I Can’t Rap series. So many things. I can’t share too much but trust me, a whole lot of Waka is coming to the people and I can’t wait to hit the road,” Waka stated.

Hip-Hop Wired wishes to extend its thanks to Omen, Reuben Vincent, Baby Tate, Waka Flocka Flame, and the entire Dreamville Festival team for sharing a bit of their time with us.

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Photo: K97.5/Getty

03 Apr 2023

BTS’ Jimin Scores His First Hot 100 No. 1 & ARMY Couldn’t Be Prouder: See the Fan Reactions

Congratulations are definitely in order for Jimin. Not only did the BTS singer score his very first solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with new single “Like Crazy” Monday (April 3), he also became the first solo South Korean artist to ever reach the top spot on the chart.

Luckily, ARMY and fans of Jimin’s solo career alike already have the “congratulations” department covered. Within an hour of the news breaking of the 27-year-old K-Pop star’s tremendous new feat, countless messages of support flooded in on social media — to the point where iterations of Jimin’s name occupied five of the top 30 trending topics on Twitter at the time of publication.

“So utterly proud of how far jimin has come to even getting his first ever #1 on hot100 for his own solo song that is so absolutely insane,” tweeted one proud fan. “Just shows how hard [work] really does pay off when you ACTUALLY make GREAT music.”

“ALL THOSE HOURS AND DAYS HE DEDICATED IN THE STUDIO PAID OFF PARK JIMIN WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU,” wrote another.

It wasn’t just fans who were quick to congratulate the “Set Me Free Pt. 2” singer for his history-making No. 1. His BTS bandmates also took to social media to virtually pat him on the back, including RM, who served as a co-writer on “Like Crazy.”

“I’m proud,” he simply wrote on his Instagram Story, sharing a screenshot of the Hot 100 leaderboard.

J-Hope also shared the screenshot on his Story, along with a string of purple heart emojis.

See the best fan reactions to Jimin scoring his first ever solo No. 1 on the Hot 100 below:

03 Apr 2023

Cardi B Says It’s ‘Not a Flex’ to Have Sex Multiple Times Every Day

Cardi B is known for sharing her thoughts on various topics while chatting with fans on Instagram Live, and her recent livestream session on Friday (March 31) was no different.

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At some point during the conversation, the “I Like It” rapper got on the topic of women claiming that they have sex with their partner multiple times every day, according to Hip-Hop DX. “You practically telling the world that your man on drugs,” she said. “Your n—-’s on drugs, your man is on drugs. ‘Cause there ain’t no way.”

The “WAP” rapper, who has been married to fellow star Offset since 2017, added that while she gets why someone would want to have sex all day, it’s not realistic. “If your man wanna have sex with you four, five times a day… and we do that everyday… Girl, your man is on percs, or your man is trying to convince himself that he likes p—-,” she explained.

“That is not a flex. Go stitch your p—- up. Your man is sick,” Cardi concluded.

Last week, Cardi’s vodka-infused whipped cream, Whipshots, revealed that it has sold more than 2 million cans and expanded into new markets. “We just went double platinum! We’re not playing around when we say Whipshots is the best,” Cardi said in a statement. “Boozy and beautiful since day one, and two million cans later, there is no slowing us down. I love the fans supporting our brand – let’s keep this party going!”

The boozy, non-dairy whipped cream, which sold its first million cans in just 10 months, went on to sell another million cans four months later.