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Tennis star Coco Gauff was ousted at the Olympic Games in Paris after contesting a call with an umpire, leaving her in tears.
Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff’s quest for Olympic gold came to an end on Tuesday (July 30) amid controversy and tears after an argument with the chair umpire over a call during the match. Gauff, who was the number 2 seed, lost 7-6(7), 6-2 to Croatia’s Donna Vekić who will continue on to the quarterfinals. Gauff’s exit was all too familiar and frustrating, as the match was held at Court Phillippe Cartier, where the French Open was held a month earlier. Then, the 20-year-old was in a similar situation arguing a call with a chair umpire during a semifinal match that she’d lose to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
Gauff seemed set to get the victory after a good lead in the first set at 4-1 but Vekić fought her off and would take command of the match. Two games before the match ended, Gauff hit a serve and Vekić’s return landed near the baseline. A line judge had initially called the return out, but chair umpire Jaume Campistol ruled that it was in and awarded Vekić the point which made it 4-2. “I never argue these calls. But he called it out before I hit the ball,” Gauff was overheard saying to Campistol. “It’s not even a perception; it’s the rules.” She began to tear up and according to Portuguese commentator Jose Morgado, she continued: “I feel like I’m getting cheated constantly in this game. This is the 3rd time this happened to me this year”.
In the post-match press conference, Gauff was transparent about the situation. “There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,” she said, calling for video reviews to be instituted in tennis while acknowledging the moment wouldn’t have meant victory: “I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point.” Gauff, who was one of the flag bearers for the United States at the opening ceremony, is set to take the court again with teammate Taylor Fritz for the first round of mixed doubles. “I want to come home with something,” she stated. She’s also partnered with Jessica Pegula to compete in women’s doubles.
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Source: Carmen Mandato / Getty / Drake
Drake found out that not everyone loves him the 6.
Could this be the after-effects of his battle and loss to Kendrick Lamar?
Spotted on TMZ Hip Hop, Drizzy did not get a hometown greeting by locals attending a Limp Bizkit concert in his hometown of Toronto.
The proud Canadian was showered with boos when Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst announced to the crowd that the OVO General was in the building.
Per TMZ Hip Hop:
Limp Bizkit was performing in Toronto Thursday night — prodding their local audience with the mere mention of Drizzy’s name as a guest in attendance … and it didn’t get over well at all, as the crowd booed the hell of him.
The video never shows Drake appear onstage … but they definitely weren’t happy to hear he was in the building — which left Fred Durst absolutely speechless.
He questioned the hate, saying … “I thought Drake was your homie? What? No? Drake’s my homie.”
The celebrity gossip site reports the boos got even more aggressive, and f-bombs could be heard as Durst continued talking about Drake before going into his next song, “Take a Look Around,” which he dedicated to the 6 God.
To his credit, Drake has been taking his L in stride.
He is still showing up places, dropping new music, and posting on social media at his regular rate.
So if he’s hurting on the inside, he isn’t showing it at all, but we would have to imagine being booed in your hometown stings a lot.
Welp.
We are sure Kendrick Lamar is somewhere laughing at Drake’s current misfortunes.
At least Drake can count on DJ Akademiks to be on his side when it’s all said and done.
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Flava Flav has lived a life that spans decades marked with extreme highs and some requisite lows but life is certainly sweet for who is arguably Hip-Hop’s best hype man. The founding member of the famed Public Enemy collective is in Paris to support the USA Water Polo teams, sparked by his passion for being a girl dad and wanting to elevate women in sports.
As reported by the Associated Press, Flava Flav, 65, is enjoying his first time experiencing the Olympics in person after years of watching the games on television. His enthusiasm and million-dollar smile have been hard to avoid for anyone observing the USA Water Polo teams, most specifically the women’s group.
From the AP:
Flav, a founding member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, is in Paris as part of his duties as the official hype man for USA Water Polo — a partnership that came together after he connected with U.S. captain Maggie Steffens on Instagram in May.
The 65-year-old Flav is embracing his new responsibilities with his usual brand of seemingly boundless enthusiasm.
“I’m so ready, man. … I’m so hype right now about this sport,” said Flav, wearing a custom USA Water Polo clock around his neck. “I wish I was playing it. I’m hyping myself up right now to ask them to let me on the team.”
The outlet goes on to add that Flava Flav reached out to Maggie Steffens on social media after learning about how the team has struggled financially. Flav offered to sponsor the team, sparking the partnership. As seen in the report, Flav will work with USA Water Polo for five years while using his fame to bring visibility to the sport. It should be noted that the women’s water polo team has brought home the gold medal in the past three Summer Olympics.
Adding to this, Flav’s work with the team is bringing the sport into the homes of Black families as they learn about the little-known sport. One member of the team, Ashleigh Johnson, who is the first Black member of the water polo Olympics team, added that Flav’s work is spreading to those communities and beyond.
In sad news, Steffens is currently mourning the loss of her sister-in-law and artist Lulu Conner, the sister of her husband, Bobby Conner. Ms. Conner designed the custom clock that Flava Flav has been wearing for the games, as reported by PEOPLE.
Details are scant but Steffens confirmed it was a medical emergency.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Matt Jelonek / Getty
For a while now Cordae has been considered one of the best young lyricists of today’s Hip-Hop generation and though he’s been overlooked often by Hip-Hoppers across the board, his peers know he’s a problem and he’s joined by one of the game’s legends for his latest offering.
Linking up with Lil Wayne for the visuals to “Saturday Mornings,” Cordae and Weezy show what they can do on the same track as Cordae proves to be one of the young bulls in the game while Wayne continues to cement his GOAT legacy with bars so hard they’ll chip a tooth if you try to take a bite. Weezy’s still got it, man.
Back in Brooklyn some of the game’s triple OG’s, Smif-N-Weesun show that they still got that Bucktown grittiness in them and in their clip for “Fifty Fifty” the Boot Camp Click representatives roll through Kings County in style while keeping it gully like they’re known to do.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Drizzy Juliano, Albee Al, and more.
CORDAE FT. LIL WAYNE – “SATURDAY MORNINGS”
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SMIF-N-WESSUN – “FIFTY FIFTY”
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DRIZZY JULIANO – “SOMETHING GOTTA GIVE”
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ALBEE AL – “NO HOOK PO”
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MEET THE WHOOPS – “WHERE I’M FROM”
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FINESSE2TYMES – “PRETTY RICKY”
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FAT TAY – “CRAZY”
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WOLFACEJOEYY – “FINSTA”
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It’s been a minute since we’ve heard any new work from Cardi B and though she trends on social media for all kinds of other reasons including her separation from her ex-hubby, Offset, the newly single Bronx rapper seems ready to get reacquainted with the dating scene if her bars are any indication of her mindset.
Linking up with Rob49 for his latest visuals to “On Dat Money,” Cardi and Rob host a private soiree where a gang of strippers show how to shake a tailfeather only to have Cardi B steal the show by stuntin’ on a bed of money and rapping about how she wants a man to get down when creating the beast with two backs with her. Hella graphic suggestions.
Speaking of how to get down, Blxst and Ty Dolla $ign seem ready to show women how they do in the bedroom and in their clip for “I Need Your Love,” the two men turn up on an dark and lonely highway where they park their car and let a thick young woman bounce to the beat and their melody. So, is a threesome on the itinerary for them? Just sayin.’
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Juicy J and Xavier Wolf, Popcaan, and more.
ROB49 FT. CARDI B – “ON DAT MONEY”
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BLXST & TY DOLLA $IGN – “I NEED YOUR LOVE”
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JUICY J & XAVIER WULF – “KNOCKIN’ AT THE DOOR”
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POPCAAN – “KILL E CLUB”
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KEED KANAN – “MOTION”
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TAY KEITH & SIZZY – “ITTY BITTY”
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KRAFF – “HAWK TUAH”
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JASONMARTIN & DJ QUIK – “DERN & SPRUCE”
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
The term “DEI” is now being widely recognized as a substitute for the N-word to be used toward Black people, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
As Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is up and running, the attacks directed toward her by Republican politicians and other right-wing figures have had one common phrase – DEI, which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Many are noting that it is being used in place of the n-word slur to describe Harris and other Black individuals, as expressed by Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross. “You name a Black successful person, they’re labeled “a DEI hire”. America has awakened around what this is,” Cross told the CNN panel she was a part of on Tuesday night (July 23). “It is being used as a pseudonym for the n-word when we’re talking about black people.” Cross then referenced Dr. Claudine Gay of Harvard University as an example.
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“I think there’s something to be said about a push to isolate women and minority groups,” Cross said. “You are attacking so many people that are not heterosexual white men under one umbrella and I don’t think Americans are going to settle for that.” The scrutiny comes as GOP leaders held a meeting on Tuesday to urge their congressional members to stay away from using race and gender to criticize Vice President Harris, with House Speaker Mike Johnson telling reporters after, “This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy.”
The meeting didn’t seem to prevent other Republican politicians from the usage of DEI in their attacks afterward, with Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman targeting Vice President Harris later that day. “Well, I think she’s one of the weakest candidates I’ve ever seen in the history of our country,” Hageman told a reporter. “I mean, intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.” She would add that she thought “she was a DEI hire, and I think that that’s what we’re seeing.”
Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett had made a similar comment on Monday about Harris but wound up saying he “regrets” the comments. “Do I wish I’d said it? No, but it was the truth.”, he said in an interview with SiriusXM’s Laura Coates. Democratic representatives have floated the idea of censuring Burchett, which was confirmed by Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett.
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It looks like Westside Gunn’s retirement will be short lived. He has announced that he has a new album on the way.
As reported by HipHopDX the Buffalo, New York rapper is preparing the third installment to one of his most revered series. On Monday, July 22 he took to X, formerly Twitter, to make the announcement. “This ALBUM IS KRAAAAAZY!!!! I had to Bring the Mask back out bc this sh*t toooo RAW & DUSTY, I know the game Miss me even though my kids been doing a great job with entertaining… YOUR FATHERS BACK HOME @griseldarecords x MICHELLE” he wrote. The following day he posted a snippet to a song from the project featuring Stove God Cooks titled “BIG DUMP”.
Last year the Griselda Records founder announced that he would be retiring from making albums. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine he explained his reasoning to fall back. “It’s back to dumping until I don’t want to dump no more. I’m going to have fun now. It’s no more pressure” he explained. “This album [And Then You Pray For Me] was pressure to me. I’m testing the waters on a few different things, but it’s all me. It’s not like I’m going out of the box with it or I’m not being me. I’m still me, it’s just kind of a different sound. But at the same time, I don’t know how long I want to ride for.”
You can listen to Westside Gunn’s “BIG DUMP” featuring Stove God Cooks below.
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An online call supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for president drew thousands of Black men, raising over $1 million.
On Monday (July 22), the veteran journalist Roland Martin and his Black Star Network hosted a “Win With Black Men” Zoom call for Black men pledging to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. The call would exceed viewership levels from the first minutes, prompting Martin to also stream the event live via YouTube. The final numbers were staggering, as revealed in a post by Martin to X, formerly Twitter on Tuesday (July 23): “I have no words. And not just because I’m tired. My @BlkStarNetwork just told me that 53,862 people registered for our #WinWithBlackMen video call. We raised $1.3M and counting from 17,000 donors.”
The call featured numerous guests, including Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock. “This moment will go down in history when the brothers got together to say we are all in for the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris,” Warnock said. “It is time to show up not just for Kamala Harris but our families and future.” Bakari Sellers spoke to those gathered, sharing a deeply personal story about how Harris helped him in a dark time. “Let’s protect Kamala. Let’s be with her like she was there for us,” Sellers said. “We are going to disagree a lot. But let’s put the petty bickering aside. Let’s stand up and be the Black men who change this country. We built this country. I’m rocking with Kamala.”
The “Win With Black Men” call came a day after the Win With Black Women advocacy group held a call on Sunday night (July 21). That call drew 44,000 women supporters and raised $1.5 million for Harris’ campaign in only a few hours.
The call is significant because of the focus on the voting power of Black men – a survey held in May by the Pew Research Center showed an uptick in Black men who said they’d vote for Donald Trump over President Biden in the November elections at 20%. The Biden-Harris ticket did capture 92% of the vote in the 2020 elections. Throughout the chat, the emphasis on voting and voter outreach was emphasized by every speaker, including the Reverend William Barber. “Let’s reach out to those brothers everywhere and lift up a mighty transformative remnant of voters who can change the direction of this nation,” he said, imploring those present to engage those Black men not on the call.
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Source: Courtesy Sotheby’s / Sotheby’s
Since his untimely passing in 2020, Kobe Bryant-related memorabilia and attire has been a hot commodity amongst fans and collectors. Now, someone out there will have the chance to own something extremely rare as Kobe’s personal locker is now up for auction.
Source: Courtesy Sotheby’s / Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s has begun taking bids for Kobe Bryant’s Staples Center locker, which was actually discarded once the Staples Center underwent renovations back in 2018. Luckily, it was recovered and is now a coveted piece of Kobe Bryant history, which is sure to bring in millions of dollars. Can you believe they were actually willing to chuck this locker?
Sotheby’s Head of Modern Collectables, Brahm Wachter, knew this was something akin to a grail for hardcore sports fan and stated as much in a press release for the auction saying, “Kobe Bryant’s locker at the Staples Center is more than just a piece of memorabilia; it’s a sacred relic of his unparalleled journey. This locker was Kobe’s sanctuary amidst triumphs and challenges, a witness to the highs and lows of a storied career. Every achievement and hardship left its mark within these walls. Its appearance now at auction symbolizes a rare opportunity to own a unique piece of Kobe’s legacy.”
We couldn’t agree more.
The auction for Kobe Bryant’s personal locker will be live from Tuesday, July 23 until August 2 and carries an estimated value of $1-1.5 million. Who will end up with the winning bid and how much they’ll actually end up dropping is anyone’s guess, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone who actually knew Kobe personally whether it be a fellow NBA player or a celebrity of some sort.
Would you drop a King Kong-sized grip to own a piece of Kobe Bryant history? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: @est_bigbeach / Instagram
Tragic news coming out of Louisville as EST Gee’s manager, Devontae Beach, was shot and killed after a concert EST Gee (George Stone) held in his hometown.
According to WLKY, the 31-year-old’s lifeless body was discovered inside a car in downtown Louisville during the wee hours of Sunday morning. Police found Devontae Beach’s body after responding to a call of gunshots on the 800 block of West Main Street around 1:30 a.m.
Local media outlet Wave3 reports that there were concerns about the security surrounding the concert at the KFC Yum! Center prior to the shooting.
Per Wave3:
The Yum! Center was aware of those concerns, multiple sources confirmed, but the concert happened anyway.
A spokesperson for the venue said they had enhanced security measures during the concert and that ensuring their staff and guests’ safety is paramount. They added the measures “effectively ensured a secure environment for everyone attending the concert.”
LMPD successfully increased their efforts inside the venue as well. Investigators know of the gang ties surrounding Stone’s crew.
In 2021, the FBI arrested several of Stone’s business partners including his previous manager, Eric Mosely, for gang related activity including guns and drugs. The trafficking organization, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was “Everybody Shine Together,” or “EST” their press release stated. Stone, who has been shot twice himself, was not arrested in that raid.
As of press time, police have no suspects or motive for the killing.
EST Gee has yet to comment on the murder of his manager. RIP.