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02 Feb 2023

31 Milestones in Hip-Hop Awards History: Star-Studded Grammy Salute, Super Bowl Halftime Show & More 

The announcement on Thursday (Feb. 2) that the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, will include a star-studded segment celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop is just the latest in a long series of milestone moments for the genre on awards shows.

LL Cool J will introduce the segment, which will include performances by Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz and Too $hort.

“For five decades, hip-hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I’m so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage.”

While this segment is one of the most lavish celebrations of hip-hop to date on an awards show, rappers have been winning awards and earning plaudits for decades. In September 2022, The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent became the first Super Bowl halftime show to win a Primetime Emmy for outstanding variety special (live).

Below, take a look at 31 milestones in hip-hop awards history. We’ll keep adding to this list as more history-making moments happen.

02 Feb 2023

VP Kamala Harris, Rev. Al Sharpton Speak At Tyre Nichols Funeral

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Rev. Al Sharpton Holds Funeral For Tyre Nichols In Memphis

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The funeral of Tyre Nichols was held in Memphis, and Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks along with the Rev. Al Sharpton calling on officials to deliver justice.

The funeral service was held on Wednesday (Feb. 1st) at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, with hundreds attending. Nichols’ family was front and center, mourning the 29-year-old who died three days after being beaten to death by police officers during a traffic stop on January 7th. Other attendees included the families of those who also lost their loved ones to police brutality, including the family members of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, and Eric Garner who were there with officials from the city. Director Spike Lee was also in attendance along with Nichols family attorney Ben Crump.

Members of Nichols’ family took the podium to share their love for him. His mother, RowVaughn Wells spoke tearfully about her son. “Tyre was a beautiful person and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable,” she said. “I guess now his assignment is done. He’s been taken home.”

Vice President Harris spoke at the podium, first honoring Tyre Nichols’ parents before calling out the violence and police brutality that was the source of Nichols’ death. “This violent act was not in pursuit of public safety,” she said. “Was he not also entitled to the right to be safe? Tyre Nichols should’ve been safe.”  Harris continued by demanding that Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, created to increase accountability for misconduct by law enforcement nationwide, in addition to banning acts of excessive force such as chokeholds. “Joe Biden will sign it and we will not delay, and we will not be denied,” she said as Ms. Wells wept and clapped. “It is nonnegotiable.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, forcefully calling out the five Black police officers involved in Nichols’ death. “In the city that Dr. King lost his life, not far away from that balcony, you beat a brother to death,” he said. “There’s nothing more insulting and offensive to those of us that fight to open doors than you walked through…and act like the folks we had to fight for to get you through them doors.”

He also called for an end to qualified immunity and echoed Harris’ calls for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to be passed. “Why do we want the George Floyd in Policing Act passed?” Sharpton asked. “You’d have to think twice before you beat Tyre Nichols. You’d think twice before you shoot someone unarmed.”

02 Feb 2023

Ciara Calls Jason Whitlock Out For Blaming Tyre Nichols’ Killing On Single Black Mothers

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Ciara tried to talk sense into white nationalists’ favorite Black bobblehead, Jason Whitlock, who can’t seem to stop himself from going out of his way to make stupid remarks regarding the police-involved death of Tyre Nichols.

Recently, Jason Whitlock sat down with the Calvin Candie to his Stephen, Tucker Carlson, and erroneously blamed Nichols’ violent death on Black single mothers.

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“Everybody involved in this, on the street level, was either 24 to 32 years old. Everybody, it was a group of young Black men, five-on-one. It looked like gang violence to me. It looked like what young Black men do when they’re supervised by a single Black woman, and that’s what they got going on in the Memphis Police Department.”

“They’ve elected—or put some Black woman in charge of the police force, and we’re getting the same kind of chaos and disunity and violence that we see in a lot of these cities that are run by single mothers,” Whitlock continued, in reference to Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis. “If we want to discuss the breakdown of family that leads to disrespect for authority, that causes you to resist the police and run from the police and not comply with the police, because you resist authority at all times, because there was no male authority in your home, let’s have that discussion.”

Yeeeeah—this is beyond a reach. 

Whitlock is clearly using Nichols’ death to arbitrarily take shots at single Black mothers, which makes no sense since Nichols had a stepfather in his life. Rush Limbaugh’s Black doppelganger also appears to be insinuating that if a Black woman is a single mother she couldn’t possibly be qualified to run a police department (or anything, for that matter).

Anyway, Ciara called him all the way out on his misogynoir and general anti-Blackness, but Whitlock is a dedicated house negro and he would not be dissuaded from his special brand of self-loathing.

“As a black man to get on national tv and say something like this is irresponsible,” Ciara tweeted. “A lot of amazing kids have come from single mothers. For you to also undermine single black women in the midst of this tragedy is so sad. This woman just lost her son! Do better!”

“Appreciate the feedback, Ciara. But at some point, we are going to have to deal with the negative impact of baby-mama culture,” Whitlock replied. “It’s destructive and unsustainable. Come up out of the denial. Denial won’t fix the problem. Thanks.”

Again, what does “baby-mama culture” have to do with Nichols? What do Black single mothers have to do with this story at all? It’s like Whitlock is throwing them under a bus that wasn’t even driving down their street.

WTF is wrong with this man?

02 Feb 2023

Diddy Stars In New Uber One Super Bowl Commercial

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Take that, take that, take that, Lyft!

Years after caping for Burger King in a pretty entertaining commercial, P. Diddy will once again be starring in another Super Bowl ad but this time he’ll be co-signing Uber as his favorite mobile service whenever he’s not pushing Bentley’s or riding limos. In a teaser trailer for what’s to come during Super Bowl Sunday on February 12, 2023, Diddy recreates a scene from his film, Get Him to the Greek, and brainstorms with his team on ideas for Uber One.

After one of his employees suggests a song could “put Uber One” on the map, Diddy’s bodyguard states, “Diddy doesn’t do jingles.” Going back-and-forth with the towering shadow behind P. Diddy, the team finally agrees with the man that “Diddy does do hits” to which the OG Bad Boy responds to with a smile and excitement saying, “Meet me at the studio.”

Should be interesting to see what Diddy cooked up for Uber One come Super Bowl Sunday and whether or not it will actually be a hit or miss. With the Get Him to the Greek reference here we wouldn’t be surprised if the films stars, Jonah Hill or Russell Brand make an appearance in the commercial.

Check out the teaser below and let us what y’all think of Diddy teaming with Uber One in the comments section below.



02 Feb 2023

Mariah Carey’s ‘It’s a Wrap’ Explodes at Streaming Thanks to TikTok Challenge

Over the past month, Mariah Carey has beckoned her fans toward “It’s a Wrap,” a luxurious album cut from her 2009 album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and the Lambily has responded in kind. Since Carey launched a TikTok dance challenge in mid January, weekly U.S. on-demand streams of “It’s a Wrap” have soared by more than 1,000% compared to where they were at the beginning of the month, and have kept climbing as more Carey fans have participated in the challenge.

On Jan. 15, Carey acknowledged a sped-up version of “It’s a Wrap” gaining social media traction by performing her own elaborately choreographed sequence to the song. The clip, complete with backup dancers and a sandwich wrap at the end for a cheeky sight gag, has earned more than 575,000 views on TikTok to date.

Naturally, her diehard fans wanted to recreate her choreography over the following days — and on Jan. 26, the superstar shared a slew of her favorite fan clips. “Battery about to die.. just watched hundreds of videos of IT’S A WRAP ON TIKTOK!!! I can’t even know what to say!!!” Carey posted.

The combination of Carey kicking off the challenge with her own clip, then personally posting some standouts from the thousands of fan clips that followed, has helped generate tons of new interest in “It’s a Wrap” on streaming platforms. During the week ending Jan. 26, the song earned 1.65 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate — a massive increase from its pre-TikTok challenge total, as it earned 17,000 streams in the week ending Dec. 29.

“It’s a Wrap” was never released as a single from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which was led by the top 10 hit “Obsessed,” and has yet to hit the Billboard Hot 100. Its TikTok revival follows Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” once again scaling the chart and reaching No. 1 during the holiday season.

Click here to read more about the “It’s a Wrap” TikTok revival and watch more of Carey’s favorite fan clips.

02 Feb 2023

White History Month Trends Because MAGA Twitter Be Dumb

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The 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville

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February is Black History Month, which serves to make sure the members of the African diaspora are recognized and celebrated in a society where too often they have been marginalized. Apparently, this concept is tough to comprehend for the MAGA contingent, thus the asinine “White History Month” is trending on Twitter.

Pick up a history book or turn on your vintage TV shows and movies and it becomes quite evident that just about every day is White History Month. And while we’re on the topic, BHM wasn’t officially recognized until 1976 by President Gerald Ford. That was not that long ago.

But since February is BHM (the shortest month of the year, no less), all the slow-witted folk scared that their grip on power, and the admonishment of white supremacy, is getting shaky as their reading comprehension levels, are now quite butt-hurt.

This is evident since the people (or bots) pushing the trending topic tend to be far-right wingnuts or irredeemable trolls. There is also plenty of education, and slander, going on in the trend, too.

Check out some of the sharper reactions, good and bad, in the gallery below.

1. Learn something.

2. Goofy Is As Goofy Does

02 Feb 2023

Reba McEntire Originally Turned Down Seat on ‘The Voice’ and Said Filling Blake Shelton’s Shoes Is ‘Gonna Be Tough’

The Voice could have had a very different vibe if producers had gotten their first choice of judges to fill one of the iconic red spinning chairs. In an interview with ET Online country legend Reba McEntire was asked who she thought would make a good replacement for soon-to-depart OG coach Blake Shelton, revealing that it could have been her they were looking to re-cast.

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McEntire reminded ET that she was originally offered a role on the reality singing series before it debuted in 2011, with producers then offering the gig to Shelton, who will end his 12-year-run with the show after Season 23, which premieres on NBC on March 6. “Who could fill Blake’s shoes?” McEntire asked with a smile according to ET.

“I got [a look at] the Holland version of The Voice. They sent it to me and I said, ‘I can’t see me doing that,’” she said of her feelings after seeing the original version of the show that has spawned a global franchise. “Because, you know, I’m a gypsy at heart,” McEntire, 67, said, noting that she’s not sure she could be committed to one project for so long and stay in one place.

Whoever does permanently fill Blake’s shoes has their work cut out for them, McEntire said. “To fill Blake’s chair? Wow. That’s gonna be tough,” she predicted. “He did a great job and kudos to him.” McEntire didn’t totally blow producers off, though, agreeing to serve as a mentor to Team Blake during the show’s premiere 2011 season and returning again in 2015.

The upcoming season of The Voice will feature new coaches Niall Horan and Chance the Rapper joining Shelton and returning cast member Kelly Clarkson.

For now,

02 Feb 2023

SEVENTEEN’s BSS Unveils ‘Second Wind’ Tracklist With Sporty Highlight Medley: Listen

SEVENTEEN‘s subunit BSS — which consists of members Seungkwan, DK and Hoshi — unveiled the tracklist for its forthcoming album, Second Wind, on Wednesday (Feb. 1) through a sporty highlight medley that details the track themes and provided snippets of the songs to come.

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The medley video was designed like a fitness app with goal trackers, measurement of energy and a community that consisted of the SEVENTEEN singers, who also serve as voice and fitness coaches for CARATs.

DK launched into his guiding messages, and explained in detail what fans may gain from the project’s lead single. “‘Fighting’ is the first and title track of BSS’ first single album, Second Wind,” he says in the video, as snaps of him running on a track and wearing sportswear appear onscreen.

“The song is like a positive energy. Your own cheerleaders BSS offer you to help you start a refreshing day thinking, ‘I can do this!’ You can start your day with brimming energy if you start with this song,” DK adds before an upbeat preview of the track starts to play.

Seungkwan was up next for the second track from Second Wind. “‘LUNCH’ is a song that will wash away the drowsiness of the afternoon and fill you with subtle but invigorating energy. ‘LUNCH’ is a song with a distinctive and cheerful melody that makes you want to keep listening! Should we have lunch together with this song?” he says, leading into a synth-heavy preview of the song.

Hoshi closes out the voice coaching with details about the final tune on the album. “The third track, ‘7PM’ is a good song to wrap up your tough and tiring day. I hope you can get pleasant comfort from this song on a day that feels especially longer than the others. Everyone, great job today as always. BSS is always by your side to support your day,” he says as he signs off, before a preview of the mellow song closes out the video.

Second Wind serves as the first single album for BSS since the release of the group’s debut single, “Just Do It,” in 2018. The album will arrive on Monday, Feb. 6.

Watch the Second Wind highlight medley in the video above.

02 Feb 2023

Trippie Redd’s ‘Mansion’ Sits Atop Rap Albums Chart With No. 1 Debut

Trippie Redd banks his fourth consecutive No. 1 album on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart as Mansion Musik debuts in the top slot of the list dated Feb. 4. The set, released on Jan. 20 via 1400/Ten Thousand Projects/Capitol Records, opens with 56,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 26, according to Luminate.

Of the 56,000 unit start, 50,000 units derive from streaming-equivalent album units, representing 68.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams of the album’s songs. 5,000 of the remaining units are from traditional album sales, and the residual balance of 1,000 units comes from 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.)

Mansion Musik gives Trippie Redd his fifth total champ on the Top Rap Albums chart, and, as mentioned above, marks his fourth leader in a row. Here’s a full recap of all seven of his No. 1s on the chart – all of which have ruled for one week:

  • A Love Letter to You 3, Nov. 24, 2018
  • A Love Letter to You 4, Dec. 7, 2019
  • Pegasus, Nov. 14, 2020
  • Trip at Knight, Nov. 4, 2021
  • Mansion Musik, Feb. 4, 2023

In addition to the five chart-toppers, the 23-year-old rapper has three more albums that have made the list: A Love Letter to You 2 reached at No. 14 in October 2017, Life’s a Trip achieved a No. 4 best in August 2018 and ! debuted and peaked in the runner-up spot in August 2019.

Elsewhere, Mansion Musik starts at No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, behind only SZA’s blockbuster SOS, and at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200, trailing SOS and Taylor Swift’s Midnights.

As Mansion Musik arrives, four of its songs land on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. “Knight Crawler,” with Juice WRLD, leads the pack at No. 19 and was the project’s most streamed song of the week. “Crawler” registered 10 million official U.S. streams in the week and launched at No. 4 on the Rap Streaming Songs chart.

After “Crawler,” the next highest placement on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs belongs to “Fully Loaded,” with Future and Lil Baby, which starts at No. 33. The Travis Scott collab “Krzy Train” starts at No. 35, while a second teamup with Lil Baby, “Dark Brotherhood,” enters at No. 46.

02 Feb 2023

Taylor Lautner Wishes He’d Handled That Taylor Swift, Kanye West VMAs Moment Differently

Taylor Swift once wrote the lyrics, “This me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you, saying I’m sorry for that night,” allegedly about Taylor Lautner, and now, the Twilight actor is returning the favor. In a recent podcast appearance, Lautner opened up about regretting how he handled that fateful night in September 2009 when, seconds after he presented a VMA award to the pop star, Kanye West rushed the stage and took the microphone.

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The recollection comes during a Wednesday (Feb. 1) episode of The Squeeze, a podcast hosted by Lautner’s wife, health influencer Taylor Lautner (that’s not a typo, they share the same first and last name!). When Mrs. Lautner asked Mr. Lautner which moment in his life to which he’d like to travel back in time and change, he said, “Probably the 2009 VMAs when I presented the award to Taylor and was unaware that the Kanye thing was not a skit.”

You might recall that this was also around the time Swift and the Home Team star dated, as confirmed during the podcast by Lautner’s wife. “You and Taylor [Swift] had just gone public,” the podcast host prompted.

“I presented the award to her,” the actor continued. “I took five steps back and was standing five feet behind her. Kanye jumps up on to the stage. I could barely hear it, I can’t see them, I’m just assuming this whole thing was a practiced and rehearsed skit. Because why else would Kanye West be jumping up on the stage interrupting Taylor Swift? It just didn’t make sense.”

The Tracers star went on to say he regrets his onstage reaction to the moment, even though he couldn’t hear what was happening at the time. “If you look back at it, I’m actually caught laughing and giggling at them,” he recalled. “The second she turned back around and I saw her face for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh, that wasn’t good.’”

It was a pop-culture moment that immediately went down in history: Swift winning best video, female artist for “You Belong With Me,” Kanye West grabbing the microphone and shouting the now infamous line, “I’mma let you finish, but …,” and Beyoncé’s horrified expression as he declared her the rightful winner of the award. It was the very beginning of a decade-long, on-off feud between the “All Too Well” singer and Ye, who, 13 years later, has been in and out of the news for making infinitely more shocking statements about antisemitism.

After that chaotic VMAs ceremony, Swift went on to release her 2010 third studio album, Speak Now, with songs seemingly dedicated to both Ye (“Innocent”) and Lautner (“Back to December”). In the latter track, she even appeared to reference the award-show incident, singing about how a love “held me in your arms that September night/ The first time you ever saw me cry.”

Watch Taylor Lautner reflect on the infamous Kanye West/Taylor Swift VMAs moment below: