State Champ Radio R&B/Hip-Hop
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Epic Records chairwoman/CEO Sylvia Rhone being presented with the Vanguard Award was one of several highlights that took place during the inaugural Black Women in Music dinner, held Tuesday evening (June 3) at the Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles.
The Black Music Month fete also honored Grammy-winning artist Ciara, music executive Phylicia Fant, creative director/costume designer June Ambrose, media personality DJ Kiss and photographer/photojournalist Florence “FLO” Ngala. Celebrating the global impact of Black women in the music industry, the dinner also served as the first fundraiser for its presenter, The Connie Orlando Foundation, which supports breast cancer prevention, care and research in Black communities.
As the first Black woman CEO of a major record label, Rhone accepted her award from Grammy- and Stellar Award-winning gospel powerhouse Yolanda Adams. In making the presentation to the industry trailblazer — also known as “The Godmother of the Music Industry” — Adams said of Rhone, “You are a beacon of hope and a powerful champion for change.”
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Flo Ngala, DJ Kiss, Sherrese Clarke, Phylicia Fant, Connie Orlando, Ciara, Sylvia Rhone and June Ambrose attend Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 03, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
Grammy-nominated artist Normani presented the Avant Garde Award to Ciara, saluting the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/entrepreneur as “the blueprint for leveling up.” Emmy-winning actress Niecy Nash stepped onstage to honor hip-hop and R&B style pioneer Ambrose with the Guardian of Vision Award. “She taught hip-hop how to wear its crown — and how to do it in a fresh pair of heels,” Nash remarked.
Grammy-winning singer and actress Andra Day, alongside co-presenter/entrepreneur Lori Harvey, paid tribute to veteran music executive Fant (Warner Bros. Records, Columbia Records, Amazon) and her work in music marketing and advocacy for equitable representation. “Phylicia has a deep understanding of how crucial Black artistry is to the future of business, and her work stands as a testament to this,” Day said.
Giveon attends Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 03, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
HarborView Equity Partners founder/CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares — also founding partner of Black Women in Music — gave out special Guardian Angel Spotlight awards to aforementioned culture-shapers DJ Kiss and Ngala. Citing Black Women in Music as a “platform to reshape narratives around Black artistry and leadership,” Clarke Soares further commented, “At HarbourView, we believe artists deserve more than just a seat at the table. They deserve ownership of their stories and the freedom to build their own.”
In thanking the audience as well as the evening’s supporters and sponsors, Orlando addressed the call to action needed to fight the breast cancer crisis affecting the Black community. “It is a privilege for me to curate this event to give these extraordinary women their flowers, to shine a light on how vital they’ve been to global culture and to just say, ‘Thank You,’” added Orlando who is also exec. vp/head of specials, music programming and music strategy at BET.
Connie Orlando attends Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 03, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
The inaugural Black Women in Music dinner/fundraiser was hosted by actress and comedian Zainab Johnson with performances by Giveon, Alex Isley and YULI. Hip-hop icon MC Lyte voiced the tribute videos, while DJ Midi Ripperton provided afterparty entertainment. In addition to The Connie Orlando Foundation and founding partner HarbourView Equity Partners, the event’s prestige partners were BET and BET HER; contributing partners included Jesse Collins Entertainment, Flavor Unit, Quality Control, CMG, Epic Records, Atlantic Records, OWN and Universal Music Group.
Zainab Johnson attends Black Women in Music Dinner convened by The Connie Orlando Foundation at Audrey Irmas Pavillion on June 3, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Connie Orlando Foundation
Teyana Taylor is ending her five-year musical hiatus, announcing Wednesday (June 4) that she’ll drop her new Escape Room album in August. And Taylor is giving fans a spicy taste of the new music with the release of her new single “Long Time” and its red-hot music video, starring actors LaKeith Stanfield and Aaron Pierre. […]
50 Cent wasn’t feeling Cam’ron bringing up his ex Daphne Joy during a conversation with a male sex worker involved in the Diddy trial. During a recent episode of his Talk With Flee podcast, Cam’ron had on escort Sharay “The Punisher” Hayes to talk about his alleged exploits with Diddy and Cassie, and after Hayes […]
Young Thug and Mariah The Scientist have been going strong for four years — even remaining together through Thugger’s two-plus-year incarceration — but their relationship may have never gotten off the ground if the YSL rapper didn’t remain persistent. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Thug and Mariah […]
Vic Mensa has shared his thoughts on being an artist in the streaming era, and spoke about the heavy emotional toll it can take on a rapper. On Tuesday (June 3), the Chicago rapper hopped on social media and recalled an emotional breakdown he had in the shower after thinking deeply about the intense public […]
It’s officially Lil Wayne week. Weezy is set to return with the sixth installment of arguably rap’s most decorated album series with Tha Carter VI arriving on Friday (June 6).
Seven years after C5, Wayne hopes to make more history and add to his decorated legacy. The project’s slated to be another star-studded affair with a range of rumored features from Miley Cyrus, Bono, MGK, Wyclef Jean, Andrea Bocelli and more.
Three decades into a hall-of-fame career, Lil Wayne changed the aesthetic of rappers and the genre’s sound in the 21st century. Take a look at all the “Lil”s in the rap game, the tattoos and dreadlocks, that can be attributed to Weezy’s influence. His intoxicating Auto-Tune-laced rhymes and witty punchlines that seemingly never end ushered in a new archetype of rapper.
“Before I stepped into music, everyone looked a certain way and everyone did a certain thing. Look at me. Now look at music. They all look like me,” he said in 2020. “I love it.”
At the end of every concert, Lil Wayne expresses gratitude to his fans, saying, “I ain’t s–t without you.” But Weezy wouldn’t but the artist he is without Tha Carter series—a staple in his discography and an artifact of hip-hop history. “Welcome back hip-hop, I saved your life,” he raps on Tha Carter 3’s “Dr. Carter.”
Lil Wayne’s prime heading into C3 circa ‘07-’08 was something you had to see to believe. In a genre with goliaths like Kanye West, Jay-Z and Eminem dominating, Weezy stood tall at 5’5”, in a league of his own. At times, his greatness was impossible to measure through sheer commercial numbers, with the droves of leaks and mixtape files being shared online between fans in a pre-streaming world.
“You scare me, man, every time you spit,” Ye told Wayne on stage at the 2008 BET Awards while referring to Weezy as his “fiercest competition.”
The New Orleans rap deity will take a bow and a well-deserved victory lap on Friday night when he celebrates Tha Carter VI’s arrival with his first headlining solo show at Madison Square Garden. How is that possible?
Billboard sifted through all five installments of Tha Carter and attempted to do the impossible, filing down a list to the 10 best tracks from the acclaimed series. (And a quick honorable mention to “Mirror,” “This is the Carter,” “I Miss My Dawgs,” “Got Money,” “Mona Lisa,” “Fly In” and “Comfortable.”)
“Tha Mobb”
50 Cent promised to let Donald Trump know what Diddy has said about him in the past, and he followed up on exactly that when posting a pair of clips on Monday (June 2) featuring Combs condemning the president.
“See Trump don’t like s–t like this buddy, you run your mouth to much,” 50 wrote in one caption.
The first video finds Sean Combs in conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, talking about a potential race war if the now twice-impeached president were in office. “If Trump gets elected, I really do believe in my heart there’ll be a race war,” Diddy said in the clip.
Another video shows Diddy condemning Trump on REVOLT, saying: “White men like Trump need to be banished.”
Fans hopped into the comments, chiming in about 50 looking to kill any chance of a pardon for Diddy by Trump, who recently pardoned YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
“We will have BREAKING NEWS….from the White House to address by noon tomorrow…I am sure you just took that man’s last hope for sure,” one fan wrote.
The G-Unit mogul has been relentless in his trolling of Combs, as 50 even posted an edited image of himself rocking a “Free Diddy” shirt on social media.
Combs remains on trial in New York for federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. During Tuesday’s 15th day of testimony, a hotel worker alleged Diddy paid them $100,000 to make sure the video of Combs assaulting Cassie never got out, per ABC News.
Last week, Trump was asked about a potential Diddy pardon during an Oval Office briefing and said he’d consider it, but would have to take a look at the case.
“I haven’t spoken to him in years,” Trump said. “He used to really like me a lot. I think when I ran for politics, that relationship busted up. … I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me.”
Run-DMC’s “It’s Like That” has been reimagined into a girl power anthem thanks to LEGO Group and Global Girls Crew. With shows like Bob the Builder and gender norms typically aligning males with construction, “She Built That” looks to challenge the status quo and show that girls can do it too. Explore Explore See latest […]
Offset doesn’t seem too happy about Cardi B and New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs going public over the weekend. The new couple went viral when videos of a yacht party surfaced just as the NFL’s organized team activities were starting up, and while the team activities weren’t mandatory, Diggs’ absence was frowned upon […]
The Game wasn’t happy with Complex‘s list of the top 50 L.A. rappers of all time, so he made his own list and posted it on Instagram with a lengthy caption attached.
“A few days ago @complexmusic dropped a list of the Top 50 LA rappers,” the Compton rapper began. “I don’t know who gave final approval but I get it… ‘playas f— up too!!!’ I was born and raised in this city and I’ve never moved from it, left it for more then two months or abandoned it to call anywhere else home. I’ve lost brothers, family, friends, and damn near my own life to the lifestyle that so many people around the world try to imitate.”
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He added: “I say that to say, I AM LA… I’ve mastered the art of surviving in this city that has claimed so many & believe when I say.. I’ve been in the trenches since my birth.”
On the Complex list, The Game falls just outside the top 10 at No. 11.
He went on to mention his own standing within L.A. rap history and seemed confident in his picks. “Forty-five years the music created here has been the soundtrack to my life,” he wrote. “And here I stand today as one of thee koldest rappers in the history of the city, state and coast I’ve given my blood sweat and tears to. Everybody on this list know what it is with me out here and those not on the list understand that the names above from top to bottom best represent this city and its culture.”
He then continued about including certain rappers who weren’t born in L.A. but have claimed and repped the city as their own, like 2Pac, who was born in New York City but raised in Baltimore and the Bay Area before becoming closely affiliated with Los Angeles during a good portion of his rap career.
“The few rappers on the list that weren’t specifically born here are on the list because of their dedication and choice to ride with the city once they got here,” he said in regards to Complex deciding to leave ‘Pac off of their list. “It’s non debatable!!! Argue all you want to but this is how I feel… if I’m wrong, challenge my pen and let me remind you of what and who I am. At the end of the day, this my list punk!!!! I was born here and I will die here…. Sincerely, the Coast Guard.”
The Game’s list is twice as long as Complex‘s, and his top 50 is somewhat similar aside from the order, but the main difference is that he decided to include rappers like 2Pac and The D.O.C. (from Texas) for their contributions to LA rap history even though they weren’t born there.
2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar and himself round out The Game’s top five.
You can check out his list below:
