Newsletter
Page: 11
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Los Angeles Lakers fans saw their team scrap their way back in a Thursday night game (Jan. 12) against the Dallas Mavericks and force the contest to go into overtime. The Lakers, most especially team captain LeBron James, believe that the referees missed a foul call against one of its team members that could’ve won the game.
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 19-23 in the contest against the 24-19 Dallas Mavericks but showed exceptional grit despite a poor shooting night for James. The squad was without talented big man Anthony Davis but backup center Thomas Bryant, a former Washington Wizards player, has proven to be a useful asset. Russell Westbrook has also found a bit of a rhythm and before Davis went down with an injury, the Lakers looked to be surging.
Of concern was a three-point shot taken by former Wizards player Troy Brown Jr. at the end of regulation that would’ve won the game. On the closeout, Tim Hardaway Jr. seemingly bothered the shot but Brown didn’t openly criticize the referees and opted instead to state that the call was not in his hands. However, James offered a counter blanketed with plenty of profanity.
“No, it’s a f*cking foul,” James said, as reported by ESPN. “It’s a foul. No matter what he [Brown] says, it’s a f*cking foul. That sh*t is blatant, and they should have called it.”
Laker coach Darvin Ham also took the high road during his time at the podium, falling short of critiquing the referees and their call.
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Photo: Kevork Djansezian / Getty
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Meek Mill has endured a number of legal issues over his career, but now he’s able to say that one hurdle is cleared in his home state. MIll was among a group of individuals who were granted a pardon by Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Wolf, with the Philadelphia rapper vowing to do more for his community on the back of the news.
Meek Mill shared an image of the declaration from Gov. Wolf via his Instagram page and wrote a brief yet hopeful message in the caption of the post.
“Thank y’all [crying emoji],” Meek wrote. “I’m only gone do more for my community, on god! [series of shining star emojis] #newlevelsunlocked.”
The rapper born Rihmeek Williams was slapped with weapons and drug charges in 2008 and sentenced in January 2009 by Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley to 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison and seven years of probation. Mill went on to serve five months and battled the charges along with reported probation violations and continued jail time.
He has since become a notable face in the criminal justice reform movement with assistance from the likes of Robert Kraft, Jay-Z, and others.
Gov. Wolf’s office issued a press release highlighting that over 2,500 individuals were granted pardons this week, the most in state history.
In his excitement, Mill also took to Twitter, writing, “I got pardoned today …, I’m taking things really far from being a trench baby!”
Congratulations are in order for Meek Mill.
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Cordae found his name trending on Twitter starting on Wednesday (Jan. 11) after his girlfriend, Naomi Osaka announced she was expecting her first child. Fans of the rapper and tennis superstar are naturally celebrating the news and getting off jokes at Cordae’s expense but it isn’t mean-spirited in the least for the most part.
Cordae, 25, and Osaka, also 25, have been quite the pair over the past few years with the talented rapper often seen courtside supporting his lady. Since 2019, the couple has been going strong, and the addition of a little one all but signals that this is a union that was meant to last. We should note that while Osaka never mentions the DMV rapper, it can be assumed that he is indeed the father.
In Osaka’s announcement, she shared a photo of an ultrasound showing off the couple’s upcoming bundle of joy along with the promise that she’ll make a return to the court and says her child will be there cheering mom on. For Osaka fans, the news comes with the caveat that she’s intending to take off the entire year of 2023 but will make a return to the court in 2024.
“I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure,” Osaka tweeted yesterday. “I know that I have much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ haha. 2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024 (Australian Open).”
Cordae hasn’t been terribly active on social media, last tweeting on Jan. 5 writing “I feel like I’m the underdog” and “just until 2 ??” in a pair of tweets.
As it stands, congrats are in order for the happy couple and the reactions below are saluting Cordae for what people are saying is the A$AP Rocky package of wifing up and having a baby with a bonafide star. In all seriousness, we’re very happy for the couple.
Check out the tweets below.
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Karon Blake, a 13-year-old middle school student in Washington, D.C., was shot and killed over the weekend for allegedly tampering with a vehicle. This week, the school community Blake attended is attempting to process the shocking moment with others calling for justice for the arrest of the person that carried out the shooting.
As reported by local outlet NBC 4 Washington, Karon Blake was a student at Brookland Middle School in Washington’s Northeast quadrant. According to a press release from Metropolitan Police Department, the shooting took place last Saturday (Jan. 7).
From the press release:
At approximately 3:56 am, members of the Fifth District responded to the listed location for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, the members located a juvenile male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported the victim to an area hospital. After all life-saving efforts failed, the victim was pronounced dead.
Detectives’ investigation at the scene revealed that a male inside of a residence, at the listed location, heard noises and observed someone that appeared to be tampering with vehicles. The male resident went outside, armed with a registered firearm, to further investigate. There was an interaction between a juvenile male and the male resident. During the interaction, the male resident discharged his firearm striking the victim. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
As NBC 4 notes, members of the Brookland Middle School community are speaking out and offering support to Blake’s peers who might be affected by news of his passing. In the broader community, some are asking that criminal charges are levied against the unnamed resident who shot the firearm that ended Blake’s life. That same call has been growing across social media as well but MPD officials have yet to announce new developments regarding the investigation.
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Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 17 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]
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Source: The Coca-Cola Company / The Coca-Cola Company
The art of sampling is taking something previously recorded and rendering it anew by chopping, looping, and other techniques that are the hallmarks of Hip-Hop production. Producers Madlib and Mark Ronson joined forces with The Coca-Cola Company for an innovative EP cleverly titled Recycled Records.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company / The Coca-Cola Company
The Recycled Records campaign launched back in December, putting Oxnard, Calif. native Madlib (Lootpack, Madvilliany, Freddie Gibbs) and London’s Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Wale, Lady Gaga) in charge of sampling a bevy of sounds from a number of recycling centers that are turning used clear plastic bottles into new containers for a bevy of Coca-Cola products.
For years, Sprite, Fresca, and Seagram’s used a distinctive green plastic for their products, and as we learn in a short film narrated by the legendary MC Lyte, those bottles can largely only be used once. With Coca-Cola transitioning to clear bottles, recycling is now easier than ever thus creating less impact on the environment and giving the bottles new life.
The campaign produced the unique seven-track EP full of original tracks from Madlib and Mark Ronson, all of which are sonically different than the other and show off an amazing range of sounds between the pair. Fans can also try their hand at sampling the sounds and producing their own beats using the same library of sounds the Loopdigga (Madlib) and Ronson employed on their respective outings.
Source: The Coca-Cola Company / The Coca-Cola Company
“Sampling is an artform which is constantly regenerating. The tiniest sound, whether from an old record or from the world around us, can inspire an entire piece of music. I learnt from my heroes, DJ Premier and Q-Tip, who all made incredible albums from sampling, and it’s stayed an integral part of my work up until today,” Ronson added in a statement.
Madlib adds, “A great sample doesn’t have to come from other music, it just has to make you move. The thud of a plastic bottle going through a recycling facility is, in its own way, a piece of art, it has the ability to transform. Being able to take sounds from the recycling process that are so different from what I’ve used in the past, and flipping it into a whole new format, is a great example of the versatility of sound. Now any cat has the opportunity to make some dope sounds of their own.”
As the short film highlights, the most random sounds were used to create the samples, including the fizz of a bottle opening, the whirr of a forklift in motion, and the steady hiss of a factory conveyer belt. These music masters used all of their skills to flip these sounds into serious head-nodding bangers.
The campaign is part of Coca-Cola’s wider efforts in waste management under its World Without Waste operation.
To learn more, please visit this link to get more information on Recycled Records and to create your own original soundscape. Kudos to The Coca-Cola Company for its effort in protecting the planet by reducing waste on a global scale.
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Dr. Dre has a number of notable hits and songs bearing his production that have been used in commercials, stadium events, and more. After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene used a track of his without permission, his legal team sent a letter asking for the removal of the song from a promo video Greene posted on Twitter.
Dr. Dre, real name Andre Young, filed a complaint via his attorney Howard King asking Twitter administrators to remove a video posted by Greene that featured the track “Still D.R.E.” as its background as reported by TMZ. The video in question appeared to be in celebration of Rep. Kevin McCarthy becoming the Speak of the House.
The letter took a not-so-veiled jab at Greene’s political aims writing, “Mr. Young has not, and will never, grant you permission to broadcast or disseminate any of his music.”
The letter added, “We’re writing because we think an actual lawmaker should be making laws not breaking laws, especially those embodied in the constitution by the founding fathers.”
Deadline added in its own reporting that the Republican congresswoman responded to the video takedown via a statement by way of a spokesperson writing, “While I appreciate the creative chord progression, I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs.”
Dr. Dre has not yet responded to Rep. Greene’s latest written missive but the matter appears to be efficiently settled.
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French Montana is currently promoting the latest release of his Coke Boys 6 mixtape series and making the interview rounds in the process. In a recent appearance, the Moroccan-American rapper shared that an autobiographical documentary produced by Drake is currently in the works.
French Montana was a recent guest on Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson and spoke with the former boxing champion and his co-host Angie Martinez about a number of topics, most especially his early upbringing in Morrocco and his rise in Hip-Hop.
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Early in the interview, Montana shared that he returned to New York to complete his documentary, and dedicated the project to this mother.
“It’s called For Khadija, that’s for my mother,” Montana shared. “You know she came out here and sacrificed for us. My father had left and she stayed, and she helped me become who I became, so I dedicated it to her. Drake is executive producing it. It’s a real immigrant story.”
Montana shared with Tyson and Martinez that he experienced culture shock after arriving in the United States at 13. At the time, Montana didn’t speak English but he soon acclimated to life in New York and the rest is history. During the chat, Montana celebrates his track “Unforgettable” going diamond, his charity work in Uganda and across Africa, representing Morrocco and much more.
Check out the full French Montana video by clicking here.
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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries decided that his first order of business as the new House Minority Leader was to address the division in the House of Representatives between the Republicans and Democrats. The congressman then launched into a speech employing the alphabet that took some slight digs at Republicans and urged collaboration.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, graciously extended his party’s hand to the newly-elected House Speaker, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and members of his party vowing to find “common ground” in their future proceedings.
“We do extend our hand of partnership to you and want to make clear that we extend and intend to try to find common ground whenever and wherever possible on behalf of the American people,” Jeffries said. “Not as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as independents, but as Americans. But I also want to make clear that we will never compromise our principles.”
Jefferies then launched into his “Alphabetical Slaughter” (Look up this classic from Papoose) speech, using each letter of the alphabet to deliver a poignant line.
The speech in full below:
House Democrats will always put American values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry, the Constitution over the cult, democracy over demagogues, economic opportunity over extremism, freedom over fascism, governing over gaslighting, hopefulness over hatred, inclusion over isolation, justice over judicial overreach, knowledge over kangaroo courts, liberty over limitation, maturity over Mar-a-Lago, normalcy over negativity, opportunity over obstruction, people over politics, quality of life issues over QAnon, reason over racism, substance over slander, triumph over tyranny, understanding over ugliness, voting rights over voter suppression, working families over the well-connected, xenial over xenophobia, “Yes we can” over “You can do it,” and zealous representation over zero-sum confrontation.
We will always do the right thing by the American people, so let us not grow weary of doing good for the American people who will reap the benefit of the harvest if we do not give up. God bless you, God Bless the house, and God bless the United States of America.
Salute to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
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Sara Jay is hailed as a legend in the world of adult films and would easily be considered just that by many fans of the genre. On Twitter, the AVN Hall of Fame alum is trending and the #RealBeater segment of the social media network has plenty to say.
Sara Jay, according to what biographical information exists online, got started in porn in 2001. According to the amazingly fit Jay, reportedly in her mid-forties, she’s recorded over 300 scenes in her still-ongoing career. These days, she’s the chief operator of Wyde Syde Productions and is currently recruiting the next crop of stars in the game along with still maintaining an active presence on her personal website and OnlyFans among other ventures.
Twitter fans have been widely sharing a video of Jay alongside fellow pornstar Lil D, remarking on Jay’s talent for entrancing Black fans of her work. For those unaware, and we certainly urge caution if you search her name, Jay has quite a large backside and her enthusiasm onscreen has garnered her a number of awards in the industry. Further, she’s been connected to some figures in Hip-Hop but of course, all of that is speculative information.
One Twitter user claims Jay’s name began trending after another person on Twitter compared her to the fictional character Hank Hill, which prompted some to fire back at the person by calling her facially challenged as well. To be honest with you, joking about the looks of folks isn’t really that cool, especially if you’re not a looker yourself.
As it stands, Sara Jay is still enjoying a lot of attention not only from the veterans from the #RealBeater clan (figure it out) but also from folks who are new to her work.
Check out those reactions below.
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