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Coming off his legal victory representing A$AP Rocky in the rapper’s 2021 felony shooting case, where he was acquitted on all charges, attorney Joe Tacopina joined The Breakfast Club on Monday (Feb. 24).
Among the topics discussed throughout the interview were Diddy’s sex trafficking and racketeering case, and Tacopina revealed he was asked to look into Sean Combs’ case, but declined due to his ties to Roc Nation and Jay-Z.
“I represent Roc Nation; a lot of people in Roc I’m very close with,” he said. “Jay and [Roc Nation president] Desiree Perez, who’s the most amazing, like, bomb of a boss. Jay is amazing. You know, Jay Brown, all those people are just, like, they really are special, special people.”
Tacopina continued to claim that Diddy and Jay aren’t close these days. “That’s sort of family to me and I don’t think they see eye to eye with P. Diddy,” he added.
Host Charlamagne Tha God interrupted Tacopina to have him repeat his sentiments regarding the status of Combs and Hov’s relationship.
“Everyone wants a picture with P. Diddy, at one time or another when they went to a party,” he explained of the hip-hop moguls being photographed together over the years. “But when things got real, years and years ago.”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Diddy and Roc Nation for comment.
A civil lawsuit accusing Jay-Z of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Diddy was voluntarily dismissed on Feb. 14 after being filed in New York federal court in December by attorney Tony Buzbee.
A Jane Doe plaintiff had accused Hov and Combs of drugging and assaulting her during an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Jay-Z called the case “extortionate” in his initial response to the filing.
“The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed,” Jay-Z wrote in a message posted to the Roc Nation Instagram account following the case’s dismissal. “This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims. I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, my loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”
Combs was arrested in September and is currently being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His lawyer Marc Agnifilo called it an “unjust prosecution” at the time, and added that the musician was cooperating with law enforcement and had moved to New York in anticipation of the charges. Said Agnifilo: “These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The disgraced music mogul is currently awaiting trial, which is slated to start in May. Prosecutors allege Combs was running a criminal enterprise looking to satisfy his need for “sexual gratification.” Diddy has also been accused of using violence and intimidation tactics to keep his alleged victims from speaking out against him. If convicted on all charges, Combs faces life in prison.
Watch the full interview below. Talk of Diddy and Jay-Z starts shortly after the 47-minute mark.
Los Angeles rapper Lefty Gunplay (born Franklin Holladay) was arrested on controlled and prohibited substance charges in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend.
Per jail records viewed by Billboard, the alleged offense happened on Sunday (Feb. 23) and he was booked into El Paso’s Downtown Jail the following day on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a prohibited substance in a correctional or civil facility and not wearing a seatbelt.
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The rapper, who collaborated on Kendrick Lamar’s “TV Off,” was released Monday after posting a $35,000 bond and paying the $184 fee in cash for the seatbelt violation.
According to local news affiliate CBS 4, Holladay was in El Paso for an appearance at the Chuco Brunch event, which he never made it to. The outlet also shared video footage of what appears to be the artist in handcuffs while being escorted around a medical facility by a police officer.
Billboard has reached out to the El Paso Police Department and reps for Lefty Gunplay for comment.
Holladay apologized to his fans during an interview with Power 102.1 FM’s Patti Diaz, and promised to make it up to those he disappointed.
“Later on, I’ll get into further details of what really happened. If you know, you know, but I feel like I got to make it up to my El Paso fans. You know I got a lot of fans in Texas and things didn’t work out the way they were supposed to,” he said during the chat.
Holladay continued: “At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason and I love Texas. They gotta come see me in California if they really wanna see me. Things ain’t matching up right when I make an attempt.”
Lefty Gunplay emerged onto the mainstream rap scene in November with his guest appearance on Lamar’s GNX standout “TV Off.” The Mustard-produced hit sits at No. 4 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.
Listen to a clip of Lefty Gunplay on Power 102.1 FM below:
Leanne Lucas, the instructor whose Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance and yoga class became the target of a deadly stabbing in Southport, England, last year, is speaking out about the attack for the first time.
In a sit-down interview with BBC posted Monday (Feb. 24), Lucas recalled from start to finish how then-17-year-old Axel Rudakubana — who in January pleaded guilty to the murders of three young girls and the attempted killings of 10 other people at the July 2024 class — burst into her studio with a knife. As he began attacking the children in the room, Lucas sprang into action calling the police and urging the rest of the class to run to safety.
That’s when she says Rudakubana turned on her, leaving her spine, head, ribs, lung and shoulder blade severely injured. “I just knew that if I didn’t get out, everyone was going to die,” Lucas told the broadcaster with tears in her eyes. “I thought that he wasn’t going to stop until he killed everyone. I thought that he wanted to kill us all.”
Rudakubana was sentenced to 52 years in prison, with Judge Julian Goose adding in his January ruling that the teenager would likely “never be released.” In addition to critically wounding multiple people, Rudakubana killed 9-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and 6-year-old Bebe King.
In the interview, Lucas recalled the agony of helping the rest of the children escape while enduring the pain of her injuries, for which she was later hospitalized. She noted that police have told her that the surviving children would not have made it out of the class alive if not for her and fellow organizer Heidi, who also assisted the fleeing children at the scene — but Lucas still feels guilt over the three girls she couldn’t save.
“That gives nothing for the children who did die … that doesn’t take that away,” Lucas told the BBC. “I just don’t know what else I could have done.”
The dance class was just one of countless Swift-themed events local organizers all over the globe put together during the “Anti-Hero” singer’s Eras Tour last year and in 2023. Before the attack started, Lucas remembers her students happily making friendship bracelets and chatting in a circle, with 9-year-old Aguiar apparently saying shortly before her death, ‘This is the best day of my life.’”
Swift personally spoke out about the killings one day afterward, writing in a statement, “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock …”
“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders,” she added at the time. “These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
About a month later, Swift hosted some of the survivors and their families at her London Eras shows and personally greeted them backstage at Wembley Stadium.
Lucas told the BBC that she still has to take life “an hour at a time” amid her grief, but that Aguiar, Stancombe and King are the reasons she keeps going. “The only reason to survive is the fact that I did get out, and I am alive,” the instructor said. “The fact that the girls aren’t, I’ve got to stay alive for them. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
The members of U2 are making sure the people of Ukraine know that they still have their backs three years after Russia’s invasion.
On Monday (Feb. 24) — the same date Russia launched its full-fledged military operation on Ukraine in 2022, effectively sending the countries into a war that is still ongoing — Bono shared an emotional piano-accompanied reading of Taras Shevchenko’s “My Friendly Epistle” on the Irish rock band’s Instagram. “Break then your chains, in love unite,
nor seek in foreign lands the sight
of things not even found above,” the poem dictates. “Then, in your own house, you will see
true justice, strength and liberty!”
“All who believe in freedom and sense the jeopardy we Europeans now find ourselves in are not sleeping easily on this, the third anniversary of the invasion,” Bono wrote in his caption, revealing that he and The Edge had originally sent the musical reading to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy days after Russia first invaded three years ago.
“More to say about this and other bewilderments later,” added the “Mysterious Ways” musician.
Bono and his U2 bandmates have been vocal in their support of Ukraine throughout the country’s war against Russia, which began in February 2022 when the latter country’s president, Vladimir Putin, ordering multiple attacks on Ukraine’s major cities as part of a “special military operation.” In April that year, Irish rockers performed on a bill with Celine Dion, Katy Perry and more stars as part of a Stand Up for Ukraine relief show, a month after which Bono and Edge traveled to Kyiv to perform Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” in a metro station.
Last year, Bono also paid tribute to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — one of Putin’s most outspoken critics who died in Russian prison in February 2024 — during one of U2’s residency shows at Las Vegas’ The Sphere. “For these people, freedom is the most important word in the world,” the frontman told the crowd at the time. “So important that Ukrainians are fighting and dying for it, and so important that Alexey Navalny chose to give his up.”
As Ukraine enters a fourth year of fighting off Russia, its fate remains uncertain. Many Western leaders gathered in Kyiv Monday to observe the date and, in some cases, pledge more military aid to Zelenskyy’s efforts. However, President Donald Trump recently stirred up concern over the United States’ yearslong Biden-era alliance with Ukraine by calling Zelenskyy a “dictator,” while maintaining a cordial relationship with Putin amid Trump’s pushes for a peace settlement.
See U2’s tribute to Ukraine below.
One of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ attorneys has filed a motion to step down from representing the incarcerated hip-hop mogul. Per court documents filed in the Southern District of New York on Friday (Feb. 21), Anthony Ricco said that while he had “provided Sean Combs with the high level of legal representation expected by the court, […]
Ye (formerly Kanye West) is feeling the love, even after his controversial X spree earlier this month. The Chicago rapper shared a screenshot of an X post highlighting Tyler, The Creator supposedly liking a picture of A$AP Rocky on his Instagram page, and added a caption saying that the West Coast rapper is North West’s […]
Six years after Leaving Neverland gave Wade Robson and James Safechuck a platform to share shocking accounts of Michael Jackson‘s alleged sexual abuse of them as children, the two men are once again taking to the documentary format to talk about their experiences. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
Over its 50-plus years in existence, hip-hop has long been underestimated. And in a new interview, Doechii calls it for exactly what it is: racism.
In her new cover story with The Cut published Wednesday (Feb. 19), the Florida native was introspective about her place in a long lineage of rap legends, noting that the ingenuity of her predecessors — shouting out Lauryn Hill, specifically — has historically gone unappreciated. “Old-school hip-hop is vulnerability,” Doechii began.
“I’m gravitating towards the pure skill that was incorporated,” she continued. “Anyone who doesn’t think that hip-hop is an intellectual genre, I think that assumption is rooted in racism.”
Now that she’s taken the baton from the “Ex-Factor” hitmaker, Lil’ Kim, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and more game-changing women in rap, the “Denial Is a River” artist says she strives to inspire the next generation of young Back girls who love the genre. “The first album I ever purchased and ever remember listening to in full length was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” she told the publication. “The feeling that I have when I listen to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the same feeling I want some other Black little girl to have when she listens to me. And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”
The interview arrives just a few weeks after Doechii made history as the third woman to ever win best rap album at the Grammys with Alligator Bites Never Heal, following none other than Ms. Hill and Cardi B. During her acceptance speech, she echoed, “I know there is some Black girl out there [watching], and I want to tell you that you can do it … you are exactly who you need to be.”
Elsewhere in her Cut feature, Doechii recalled her own struggles as a young girl with dreams of being an artist someday. Before she had a spiritual experience in the sixth grade during which her stage name suddenly came to her as if through divine intervention, pulling her out of a dark place. The musician says she “was getting bullied so bad,” she considered suicide.
“[Then] I realized, ‘Oh, f–k, I’m gonna kill myself and then I’m gonna be the only one dead,’” she added. “The bullies aren’t gonna be with me, and everything they said is not coming with me either. I would just be gone. And then I was like, ‘F–k that!’”
If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts and/or distress, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 for confidential help and support. You can also call or text 988 to get connected to a trained counselor.
See Doechii on the cover of The Cut below.
Three 6 Mafia had been hit with Satanism allegations in the past and DJ Paul hopped on Bunnie XO‘s Dumb Blonde Podcast earlier this week to clear the air.
Paul explained that the satanic imagery was essentially “just an image” for the Memphis crew, and it started with DJ Infamous referring to the group as Triple 6 Mafia.
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“Basically Lord Infamous said ‘Triple 6 Mafia’ in a song, that wasn’t even our group name,” he told Bunnie, who is married to country star Jelly Roll. “I liked that and I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s dope.’ And I started sampling ‘Triple 6 Mafia, Mafia.’ And that became really popular with us, but that still wasn’t our name.”
He continued: “I was just sampling that, and then it was time to form a group, I was like, ‘We should call ourselves Triple 6 Mafia.’ And everybody liked it … Next thing I know, white fans came like that [snaps fingers]. They flocked to us.”
DJ Paul downplayed the late Lord Infamous being involved with Satanism in any fashion when asked by Bunnie. “He was just high,” he quipped. “That n—a grew up singing ‘Amazing Grace’ in a church, and I was playing the organ … It was just an image. It was just something that was cool. We never studied Satan or nothing like that.”
Formed in the early ’90s by DJ Paul, Juicy J and Lord Infamous in Memphis, Three 6 Mafia went on to become one of the most influential rap groups in the genre’s history. The horrorcore crew saw stints from the late Gangsta Boo, Koopsta Knicca as well as Crunchy Black.
Best known for hits such as Billboard Hot 100 top 15 anthem “Stay Fly,” “Poppin’ My Collar,” “Slob on My Knob” and many more, Three 6 Mafia became the first rap group to win an Oscar Award in 2006 for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” in Hustle + Flow, which took home best original song. The group’s last album arrived in 2008 with Last 2 Walk.
Watch the full interview below.
Ye — formerly Kanye West — is walking back earlier statements labeling himself a Nazi. West came to the realization on Wednesday (Feb. 19), retracting his previous statements in a new post to X.
“After further reflection I’ve come to the realization that I’m not a Nazi,” he wrote.
The backtracking on his heavily criticized comments — which saw him praising Adolf Hitler — comes just over a week since his series of antisemitic, homophobic and hate-filled X tirades earlier in February.
“I love Hitler, how what bi—es,” Ye wrote, which he followed up with, “I’m a Nazi.” He later added, “Hitler was sooooo fresh” and “call me Yaydolf Yitler.”
West had been selling T-shirts emblazoned with a black swastika logo for $20 on his Yeezy website, which was shut down by its marketplace partner Shopify.
West faced backlash for his remarks, as the Anti-Defamation League, Charlie Puth and Lyor Cohen all condemned Ye and pleaded with him to stop pushing antisemitic rhetoric.
“With antisemitism on the rise, your voice and influence carry a significant responsibility,” the former Def Jam president wrote in a letter to Ye. “I urge you to be more sensitive to the pain your words inflict on Jewish communities and all those who stand against hate.”
Back in October 2022, Ye fired off a series of antisemitic rants, including the “Death Con 3” tweet, which led to companies such as Adidas, Def Jam, Balenciaga, Gap and more cutting ties with the rapper.
“West is not just any person — he is a pop culture icon with millions of fans around the world,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel wrote at the time. “And among them are young people whose views are still being formed. This is why it is necessary for all of us to speak out. Hatred and anti-Semitism should have no place in our society, no matter how much money is at stake.”
In another post on X, Ye responded to Adam Sandler seemingly referencing the musician during his performance on the SNL50: The Anniversary Special over the weekend, singing, “50 years of finding out your favorite musician’s antisemitic.” Ye chose to focus on the “favorite musician” part of the lyric, responding to the comic actor on X: “Adam Sandler Thank you for the love.”