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The man charged in the 2015 murder of New York City rapper Chinx was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
On Monday (Aug. 12), Quincy Homere was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the killing of New York rapper Chinx. Homere, also known as “Q” or “Qwality,” received the sentence in a Queens courtroom. The 32-year-old pled guilty to manslaughter the month before. At the time of his death, Chinx was enjoying a fair amount of success with a series of mixtapes and being signed to French Montana’s label. “Homere fired numerous rounds into Pickens’ car while he was stopped at a red light in Briarwood and then fled, leaving the young man for dead,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement after the sentencing. “Nothing can undo what happened, but I hope today’s sentence brings some solace to Pickens’ loved ones as they continue to grieve.”
The murder took place on May 17, 2015, as Chinx, aka Lionel Pickens Jr., had stopped at a red light on his way home from a show in Brooklyn. Homere was identified as the shooter with an accomplice, Jamar Hill. Homere would make a statement in court. “I’d like to express my condolences to the family and anyone else that was affected with what happened here,” he said. “I don’t believe there’s words that can express the way I feel about what transpired here.” Chinx’s widow, Janelli Caceres-Pickens, also delivered a statement to the court, saying: “I was told I had two minutes to say goodbye, holding his mother’s hand, watching his lifeless body, praying and crying for him to wake up. A mother has to bury her son. At the age of 28, I had become a widow. My children, who were 15, 11, and 4, are now without a dad.”
Homere and Hill were identified as suspects in the killing in 2017 by DA Katz, with both pleading not guilty at the time of their arrest. They were indicted on five counts, one count each of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Sources close to Homere stated that jealousy was a factor in the killing and court documents that the two “hunted Chinx down like an animal” due to a dispute they had over a phone while incarcerated on Rikers Island. Hill’s case has not been settled as he’s currently incarcerated for an unrelated charge.
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The migrant crisis overtaking the streets of New York (thanks mostly to the Republican governors of Florida and Texas who are bussing their migrants to the Big Apple to make a political point) has a lot of New Yorkers on edge and things are continuing to get more hectic with each passing day.
Weeks after a gang of migrants jumped some police officers in Midtown Manhattan, a cop used a stun gun to subdue a migrant after being called to a migrant shelter in Queens, and the incident was captured on video. According to NYMag, Venezuelan migrant Yanny Cordero was tased and subdued by police this past Friday (March 7) after police were called to the scene in response to an altercation between Cordero and the staff at the migrant shelter.
After police confronted Cordero at the shelter, things escalated and one officer pulled out his stun gun and hit him while he was holding his 1-year-old son.
NYMag reports:
Additional officers intervene and pull him from the elevators, forcing him down on a nearby desk after removing Cordero’s 1-year-old son from his arms. His wife, Andrea Parra, can be heard screaming and attempts several times to put herself between her husband and the officers, only to be pulled away.
Andry Barreto, a Venezuelan migrant who recorded the video, can be heard yelling in Spanish, “This is abuse, brother!” and “Don’t hit him! Don’t hit him!” as officers hold Cordero down and strike him multiple times, after which he tumbles to the ground.
Cordero, who has been staying at the shelter since December, tells the Timesthat the incident began when he returned to the building Friday evening after buying food for his family. He claims employees at the shelter stopped him from taking food up to his room and that, as he struggled to use a translator on his phone, one of the employees suddenly hit him in the face. They later called the authorities.
Both Cordero and his wife were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Their 1-year-old son was taken in by the Administration for Children’s Services but returned to the couple when they were released the following Monday (March 11).
Naturally struggle Mayor Eric “Party Time” Adams defended the officer’s actions saying “This person was under the influence of alcohol, holding a child. Those officers had to get that child from him so that child was not going to be in danger.” Cordero for his part denies being drunk.
Don’t be surprised if more of these kinds of incidents continue to happen because after those migrants beat down those cops in Times Square a few weeks ago, y’all know the NYPD isn’t going to take anything lying down going forward.
Nas wants to bring a state-of-the-art casino to his home borough of Queens.
On Thursday (Feb. 29), the rap legend was on hand to unveil the $5 billion vision for Resorts World‘s Aqueduct Park in Southeast Queens as the company hopes to win a license from New York State to break ground on the project. If granted, the casino is expected to be one of the largest in the world at 350,000 square feet.
“This is an ambitious project that will give new opportunities to the hard-working families who call Queens home, attract top-tier talent, and build up the next generation of leaders,” said Nas, who has partnered with Resorts World to help promote the project, in a statement. “Clearly, with this project, the world is ours.”
The “Queens Get the Money” rapper reportedly added at the unveiling: “It’s an honor to be here, to be a part of this with Resorts World, realizing the future, seeing what this can be and what it will be.”
Since Resorts World gained access to the land and infrastructure in 2010, it has been preparing to one day build a multi-functional casino. There are plans for a 7,000-seat capacity entertainment venue to host events and concerts as well.
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Park space, housing, hotels, restaurants and renovated transit options to JFK Airport and Manhattan are also part of the grand vision, which could create 5,000 union jobs.
Two-time NBA champion and current TNT basketball analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith also endorsed the project; the plan includes building a sports academy with facilities named after the former Houston Rocket player.
“Resorts World came to me with a clear goal of fostering tomorrow’s athletes, student athletes and leaders both on and off the court,” said Smith in a statement. “Their investment in this Academy will help us teach the next generation the nuances of the game on and off the court, as well as the social, economic, and cultural impact of sports. I’m thrilled to partner with them to improve the borough that raised me and take it to the next level.”
Per The New York Times, Resorts World as well as Yonkers’ Empire City are expected to receive two out of the three licenses granted by New York State. That would not bode well for JAY-Z’s Times Square casino bid in Manhattan.
Watch an ad starring Nas for the Queens Resorts World Casino proposal below.
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A 2023 List Of Hip-Hop’s Leading Ladies
As we celebrate the 50th year of Hip-Hop, it’s the perfect time to recognize women in music who are ruling the charts and beating the odds.
Hip-Hop has historically been a male-dominated genre, largely built on the stories of strife of growing up as a young Black man in America. However, women have always been an important part of the culture, and we’re grateful to the legendary rap queens who came in to unify artists breaking into the industry. Today, women from all over the country are making a name for themselves, breaking records and looking good doing it! Read on for the stories behind the leading females currently taking charge in Hip-Hop!
Latto
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Alyssa Michelle Stephens, also known as Latto, is a southern rapper from Clayton County, Georgia. The 24-year-old first appeared on the scene on Jermaine Dupri’s reality show The Rap Game where her spunky energy and advanced wordplay wowed judges and viewers alike. While she ultimately rose to fame after her 2019 hit single “B*tch From Da Souf,” Latto started her journey in music years earlier at the tender age of 10.
After “B*tch From Da Souf” garnered huge label recognition, Latto signed to RCA Records where she went on to release chart-toppers like “Big Energy” and “Put It On Da Floor.”
Latto is of mixed race, which inspired her original rap name, Mulatto. Over time she received severe criticism about over choosing to use a name with a charged racialized history. However, Latto overcame the public castigation and rebranded, changing her social media handles to Latto777.
Her 2021 single “Big Energy” reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was re-released with the legendary Mariah Carey on the remix! Now, that’s killing the game!
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Source: handout / Bryan McDaniels
A public library system in New York City is launching a new program celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop, with the guidance of the legendary “Uncle” Ralph McDaniels.
Last week, the Queens Public Library announced a partnership with over 30 libraries, colleges, and art institutions nationwide to honor the culture of Hip-Hop celebrating 50 years of existence. The partnership was made possible through funding via a $267,760 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) That has led to the launch of “Collections of Culture: 50 Years of Hip Hop Inside Libraries, Museums, and Archives,” which will be coordinated by the library’s Hip-Hop coordinator, Ralph McDaniels.
McDaniels, the beloved host of the iconic Video Music Box television show has been in that role with the library since 2015. As a venerable archivist of the culture, the Brooklyn native has been instrumental in providing education about all of the elements of Hip-Hop. “Hip-hop has been a learning tool for many years,” McDaniels said in the statement. “We are humbled by the IMLS grant and the response we have received from our partners and collaborators and excited that communities around the country will come together to deepen their understanding of Hip-Hop as it turns 50.”
The six-month program kicked off last Monday (February 27th) as Grammy Award-winner and Hip-Hop pioneer Chuck D joined McDaniels at the Central Branch of the QPL for a discussion on the culture turning 50 and the borough of Queens’ impact as well as other subjects. The QPL is also working with The Gates Preserve, a multimedia hip-hop archiving and preservation firm that is helping each institution create original programming along with creating a digital archive of each event for QPL’s Digital Hip-Hop Archive.
“QPL’s hip-hop program has drawn people of all ages and backgrounds to our spaces and has created a unique community connected by a love for music and knowledge,” said QPL President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott in the release. “We are thrilled to share our experience with libraries, museums, and other educational institutions across the country to celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, and we are grateful to the Institute of Museum and Library Services and our partners for their tremendous support in making sure that hip hop remains part of our culture for generations to come.”
For more information on upcoming programs, check out the dedicated website here.
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