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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?
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Source: Rolling Stone / Getty
On the heels of receiving four Grammy Award nominations just a few weeks ago, TDE’s up-and-coming artist Doechii took her talents to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and showed everyone in the audience and viewers at home why she’s going to be a problem for years to come.
Taking to the stage with two look-alike back-up dancers decked out in some spiffy Gucci attire and interlinked braids (that was a dope touch), Doechii performed her hit singles “Denial Is A River” and “Boiled Peanuts” much to the delight of the crowd. After giving a captivating performance you can understand why she’s up for Best New Artist and even has her album Alligator Bites Never Heal up for Best Rap Album of 2024. While she has some stiff competition in the likes of Drake and Eminem, we’re sure she’s honored to even be in the running.
Check out Doechii do her thing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Source: Netflix / Netflix
After almost two decades of being a programming stable on the USA Network, WWE Monday Night Raw will be making their much publicized move to Netflix in January 2025 and while fans don’t know exactly what that may mean for the show, it seems like not many changes will be made.
According to Deadline, WWE and Netflix executives spoke to the media Tuesday (Dec. 3), and revealed what we can expect from Monday Night Raw when it streams on Netflix Jan. 6 (hopefully it won’t involve an insurrection) and where they hope it goes going forward. With WWE overlord Vince McMahon no longer involved in the company due to some scandalous accusations, his son-in-law, Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and WWE President Nick Khan will steer the franchise going forward. With a 10-year deal worth an impressive $5 billion dollars, best believe they’ll do what they can to keep the show fresh, relevant and utterly entertaining.
With that being said, do not expect the move to Netflix to automatically set the rating from PG-13 to a hard-rated R as Nick Khan promises the wrestling soap opera will continue to be a family affair that people of all ages can enjoy.
Per Deadline:
“We’re not changing the rating of our programming. So there’s some online chatter about, ‘oh, it’s going to be R-rated, or for us old folks, X-rated.’ That’s definitely not happening,” he said. “It’s family-friendly, multi-generational, advertiser-friendly programming. It’s going to stay that way. I would look for more global flair, especially as the relationship continues to develop. Countries outside of the United States are as important to us as the United States is. So we have certain targeted countries that are priorities for Netflix. They’re priorities for us. You’re going to see more of that. I think that’s the way you’ll see a bit of a difference.”
That’s all good and dandy, but we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Monday Night Raw return to the golden “Attitude Era,” which bore many classic moments and matches that blurred the line between PG-13 and NC-17. Just sayin’.
While fans are worried that the move may lead to streaming problems as we witnessed during the fiasco that was the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, it seems like that’s a risk that Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and company are willing to take.
“We expected a big number, for sure. It was a big number. But again, you don’t know, and you can’t learn these things until you do them so you take a big swing. Our teams and our engineers are amazing, moved super quickly, and stabilized it, and many of the members had it back up and running pretty quickly. But we learn from those things. And we’ve all obviously done a lot of stuff to learn and get ready for the NFL and Beyonce at halftime and so we’re totally ready and excited for WWE.”
Added Levesque jokingly, “I’ll just say, if it blinks a couple of times and we do 60 million, I’m good with that.”
Heck, for $5 billion we’d be good with a few blinks too.
Aside from remaining true to their platform, WWE does expect more celebrity involvement in future matches (Bad Bunny actually held his own during his WWE run) and possibly taking their SmackDown and NXT shows along with them to the streaming platform when those contracts are up.
What do y’all expect from WWE Monday Night Raw when it moves to Netflix? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: CHRISTIE’S / Christie’s
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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LL Cool J is without doubt one of the greatest MC’s of all-time and while many may consider him to be the actual GOAT of the rap game, LL himself is going a step beyond that assessment and labeling himself the most important rapper in Hip-Hop history.
Recently, Ladies Love Cool James appeared on Apple Music‘s Le Code podcast and gave an in-depth interview about himself and his career. While speaking about his place in Hip-Hop among the gods of the game, LL basically labeled himself Hip-Hop’s anchor being “humbly” saying, “I think that one day people are going to wake up and realize LL Cool J is the most important rapper that ever existed.”
While LL’s evaluation of himself is debatable (and it will be in many Hip-Hop circles and think tanks), the man did know how to balance hardcore Hip-Hop songs along with R&B tunes that made women swoon as soon as they came on the radio.
Continuing to make his case as “the most important rapper that ever existed,” LL stated, “They’re going to look and say, ‘Wow when it comes to the jewelry, this is the guy that introduced all the diamond and the ice and the jewelry and the champagne. They’re going to say when it comes to the love songs, they’re going to say, ‘This is the guy that introduced the love songs and all the love sh*t.’
“When it comes to the bad boy vibe, they’re going to realize that this is the guy who introduced all the bad boy vibes before it was done. When it comes to the GOAT terminology, ‘This is the guy who came up with all the GOAT stuff.’ They’re going to say when it comes to Def Jam, ‘Wow this is the first artist that was on Def Jam.’”
Well, the man isn’t wrong. He continued to explain he was the first rapper to make endorsements for clothing brands and attire a thing in the rap game and helped paved the way for rappers to become actors on television and movies. Whether or not that actually makes him Hip-Hop’s anchor being is up for debate, but he made some pretty solid points about his impact on not just the Hip-Hop game but the Hip-hop culture overall.
Check out the interview in its entirety, and let us know what your thoughts are in the comments section below.
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Not too long ago Kanye West was hit with a lawsuit in which he was accused of antisemitic behavior and weird sexual deviancy, but now, the College Dropout artist is facing more serious allegations as a former America’s Next Top Model contestant says that Kanye West sexually assaulted her.
According to Rolling Stone, Jennifer An filed a lawsuit in New York Federal Court Friday (Nov. 22), suing Kanye West for sexual assault and strangulation during an incident that took place back in 2010. In the legal filing, An says that the assault took place when she was working as a background actor for a video shoot for La Roux’s “In for the Kill.” She says that during the shoot, Kanye West arrived on set and bluntly stated, “Give me the Asian girl” before he got in her face while “breathing heavily” and actually instructed the camera crew to focus on her face while he turned the shoot into his “own production.”
That’s when things got disturbingly uncomfortable for everyone.
Per Rolling Stone:
“On camera, defendant West began to choke plaintiff with one hand. He then wrapped his other hand around her neck and continued to strangle her with both hands,” the lawsuit alleges. “He then rammed several fingers down her throat, continuously moved them in and out, and gagged her.”
An says West used his fingers “to emulate forced oral sex” as he allegedly screamed, “This is art. This is fucking art. I am like Picasso.” The lawsuit claims West assaulted An “in a manner similar to pornographic gagging/deep throat/BDSM fetishes.”
As she panicked under West’s “gyrating hand,” An says she looked around the room, hoping someone would intervene. She alleges no one helped her. “Plaintiff struggled to breathe and felt as if she had temporarily blacked out. When defendant West decided that he was finished with plaintiff, her face was covered in saliva and smeared makeup,” the lawsuit states.
We’re low-key surprised this wasn’t big news on social media even though it was only a few years old at the time.
While An is suing Kanye for the assault, she also names Universal Music Group as a co-defendant as they were behind Kanye’s cameo in the video and failed to investigate the incident afterwards or take any kind of action.
Jennifer An is suing for compensatory and punitive damages.
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It’s no secret that crime in New York City began to skyrocket during the COVID pandemic a few years ago. While it has since been declining, things might get a bit safer as authorities have rounded up 30 alleged gang members who turned Washington Heights and Inwood into a war zone.
According to the Gothamist, the NYPD have announced that they have indicted 30 alleged gang members who they say are responsible for roughly half of the shootings in Inwood and Washington Heights and have hit them with a range of charges, including conspiracy to commit violence, weapons possession, attempted murder, and murder. While one might think these are just wild kids looking to gain street credibility, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says it stems from a yearslong rivalry between two street gangs that turned deadly back in 2018.
Per the Gothamist:
“The violence did not impact just these defendants and their associates,” Bragg said at a news conference detailing the indictment. “It impacted the entire neighborhood, [creating] a climate of fear among ordinary residents who had no part in this violence.”
Bragg said all of the shootings addressed in the charges were sparked by an alleged gang killing in 2018. The incident sparked 18 retaliatory shootings that claimed seven lives, including innocent bystanders, Bragg said.
Bragg blamed the gang war for approximately 50% of all this year’s shootings in the 33rd and 34th precincts, which include much of Washington Heights and Inwood in Uptown Manhattan.
Well, at least the residents of Inwood and Washington Heights can rest a bit easier now knowing that the gang bangers in their neighborhood have been taken into custody, but that PTSD may stay with them for a long time.
Stay safe out on those streets, y’all.
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Paris might be known as the “City of Love,” but it seems like Offset’s relationship with some of its residents got off to a rocky start as he found himself in a brouhaha during a recent visit to the home of the Eiffel Tower.
According to TMZ, Offset and his entourage found themselves in a wild street brawl with French rapper, Gazo, and his crew outside of Hôtel du Collectionneur (sounds like a hotel in a John Wick movie or something). The incident unfolded Wednesday night (Nov. 13) after the two crews got into a dispute over a music video shoot that Offset was paid to do for Gazo and company. Feeling like the former Migos rapper failed to meet their requirements due to his “laziness,” Gazo wanted a refund on the $150,000 he paid Offset for his appearance. Needless to say, the “Clout” rapper was having none of that.
After confronting Offset and his crew in front of Hôtel du Collectionneur, fists were thrown and Offset was even able to land a kick to someone’s head as his security team did their best to refrain him from participating in the sidewalk brawl.
TMZ reports:
The 2 sides began to brawl so hard in the Paris streets … one guy managed to land a swift roundhouse kick to the back of one of Offset’s guy’s head, which angered the rapper.
The guard was preventing him from jumping into the fight to even the odds!!!
The confusion even led to Offset’s crew fighting each other at one point — but Offset wouldn’t give up.
He managed to break free and whack one of his French opps with a designer boot kick to the head — before the guard rushed him back into the hotel.
The French rappers weren’t quitters either and bum-rushed the door, attempting to pull Offset out. A woman ended up taking a scary fall on the pavement when she fought off the attackers.
We’re not sure if that woman was a video model or part of anyone’s crew, but what we do know is that she was a ride or die chick for someone out there. Respect, shorty.
Eventually, police arrived on the scene and though no one was taken into custody, Gazo ultimately shared a pic of himself kicking it with Offset to promote their upcoming collaboration, “Wemby.” If he didn’t get his money back he might as well get his money’s worth and promote their collabo regardless, right?
What do y’all think of this situation? Who’s right and who’s wrong in your opinion? Sound off in the comments section below.
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It’s been five years since Marvel announced that Blade would be joining their ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since then, the rebooted franchise has suffered setback after setback, and it’s gotten to the point where fans doubt the film centered around the “Day Walker” would ever see the light of day.
Luckily for us, it seems like the President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, hasn’t given up on the project and recently stated that Blade is still a priority and its star, Mahershala Ali, is still all in on becoming the latest superhero in the MCU. According to Deadline, Feige spoke with Brazilian entertainment website Omelete about Blade and a few other Marvel projects and revealed that not only is Blade still very much happening, but that Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch is still very much alive in the MCU and could be making a return sooner than later.
Though rumors had been swirling that Marvel was close to giving up on Blade (as was Mahershala Ali) after a few directors quit or passed on the project and the script was rewritten a few times, fans of the vampire killing are rejoicing as Feige says that they’re dedicated to bringing Blade into the MCU and resurrecting the franchise that technically kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Per Deadline:
“We love the character, we love Mahershala’s version of him. And rest assured: whenever we change direction with a project, or are still trying to figure out how it fits into our schedule, we let the public know. You’re up to date on what’s going on. But I can tell you that the character will be coming to the MCU,” Feige said.
We sure hope so. While the future of Blade was up in the air, there were whispers that Wesley Snipes would be reprising the role in Marvel’s upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars as his return in Deadpool & Wolverine showed that the man still had a lot left in the tank with the character.
As for Elizabeth Olson’s Scarlett Witch, who supposedly met her fate at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she too will be making her return in the upcoming future, following the success of the Disney+ series, Agatha All Along.
“Since then (Agatha), there have been a lot of questions about Wanda on fans’ minds… So all I can say is that we’re excited to find out when and how the Scarlet Witch might return,” Feige said.
With word that Scarlett Witch may get her own film or series, rumors are already swirling that the X-Men’s Jean Grey could make her MCU debut in a potential Scarlett Witch project.
Another nice little tidbit in Feige’s interview with Omelete was the potential debut of Miles Morales Spider-Man who may get called into MCU action after Sony wraps up their Spider-Verse series.
“I hope that, shortly after that (Beyond the Spider-Verse), he can enter the MCU in live-action.”
Are y’all ready for a Black and Puerto Rican Spider-Man? We know we are.
What do y’all think about Kevin Feige’s revelations? Who should be cast as Miles Morales? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Over the past few months Plies did what he could to help get people to the polls and vote for their freedom and future. Now that the election is over the Floridian is getting back to business and taking a few of his Hip-Hop peers to court over copyright infringement.
According to TMZ, Plies has sued the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla and Cardi B for sampling his song “Me & My Goons” without proper clearance. In the lawsuit Plies states that his 2008 cut was sampled on Megan and GloRilla’s collaboration song “Wanna Be,” which ultimately landed a verse from Cardi B on the remix. For her participation in the hit song, Cardi done got herself wrapped up in the lawsuit as well.
Interestingly enough, Soulja Boy seems to be the first to have taken Plies’ beat and ran with it on his 2010 track “Pretty Boy Swag.” After listening to all of these songs, the man might have a strong case.
Per TMZ:
The suit also names Meg’s Hot Girl Productions, Soulja’s former imprint Collipark Productions, and record labels Universal Music Group, Collective Music Group and Interscope as defendants.
If the suit is successful, the damages could cost everyone plenty of shiny pennies.
We’re not taking any sides on this one, but it looks like Plies might have an open and shut case. Just sayin’.
Check out all three of the songs after the jump, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.