Body of Nathan Smith, known professionally as DJ Young Slade, was found in pond north of Atlanta in February
The son of the rapper Lil Jon drowned after ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms, officials in the US state of Georgia said.
The body of Nathan Smith, known professionally as DJ Young Slade, was found in a pond north of Atlanta in early February.
Continue reading...Warnindhilyagwa singer also wins film clip of the year, while Malyangapa Barkindji rapper Barkaa wins album of the year
Emily Wurramara expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and “all Indigenous peoples around the world” experiencing oppression as she accepted the artist of the year award at the 21st National Indigenous Music awards at the Nimas in Garramilla/Darwin on Saturday night.
“There’s nothing like coming back home and being here and playing for mob and playing for the people,” the Garramilla-born Warnindhilyagwa singer said. “Because the music is about the people. The music is freedom. Free Palestine, free Congo and free all Indigenous peoples around the world from their oppressors. It always was, always will be Indigenous land.”
Continue reading...Rubicon hip-hop gathering in Bratislava, due to be held on 20 July, says several performers and partners withdrew
The Slovakia festival due to welcome Kanye West next week has been called off after the uproar over the US rapper’s May release of a song glorifying the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Before the 20 July gig was cancelled, Bratislava’s Rubicon hip-hop festival was set to be West’s only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.
Continue reading...High-profile case enters its final stage after more than a month of testimony from 34 witnesses
Closing arguments began on Thursday morning in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, signaling the final stage of the high-profile case.
Assistant US attorney Christy Slavik began her closing argument by describing Combs as the “leader of a criminal enterprise” who “doesn’t take no for an answer”.
Continue reading...Rapper turns BET awards speech into call for justice after White House deployed military forces on demonstrators
The rapper Doechii turned her acceptance speech at the BET awards on Monday night into a powerful call for justice as she criticized the Trump administration’s deployment of military forces on protesters in Los Angeles.
The Grammy winner used the stage to highlight the immigration raids and protest crackdowns happening just miles from where the ceremony took place in Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Music mogul warned to desist from looking and nodding at jury during sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial
The judge in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to remove the music mogul from court for looking and nodding at the jury during testimony on Thursday.
The court also heard from a woman, under the pseudonym “Jane” and who previously dated Combs, as she began testifying about their relationship and the drug-fueled sexual marathons that she said Combs orchestrated.
Continue reading...Music mogul’s former girlfriend describes physical abuse, control and violence at trial in New York City
Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and a key witness in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of the music mogul, returned to the witness stand in New York City on Wednesday morning and testified that Combs raped her, assaulted one of his employees, and detailed abuse she says occurred in their over decade-long relationship.
Ventura, who is eight and a half months pregnant, began her second day of testimony by revisiting the hotel surveillance footage of her 2016 assault by Combs. She said Combs was yelling at her and then threw a vase at her in the elevator lobby.
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Singer said on the stand there were ‘violent arguments’ and ‘dragging’ in former relationship with the hip-hop mogul
The singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and central character in the case against him, took the stand on Tuesday as the high-profile federal trial of Combs enters its second day in lower Manhattan.
She is expected to testify against her former partner for several days.
Continue reading...Authorities say 39-year-old suffered an injury after jumping a fence when fleeing police and later died in the hospital
A rapper signed to fellow lyricists Future and Waka Flocka Flame died on his 39th birthday in his home town of Atlanta after injuring his leg while running from police and jumping fences, according to authorities as well as multiple media reports.
The death of 39-year-old Young Scooter, born Kenneth Edward Bailey, was confirmed by Atlanta’s Fulton county medical examiner’s office, as Variety first reported.
Continue reading...Drake’s attorneys accuse Universal of being ‘a greedy company’ that is ‘finally being held responsible for profiting from dangerous misinformation’.
Universal Music Group have moved to dismiss Drake’s defamation suit, characterising it as “a misguided attempt” by the Canadian rapper to “salve his wounds” after he “lost a rap battle” with rival Kendrick Lamar.
In the motion, filed on Monday in the US district court for the southern district of New York, Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both artists, claimed that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated.
Continue reading...There are two awards apiece for the UK artists, while Nigerian singer Ayra Starr also wins two at Newcastle-hosted ceremony for Black musical excellence
Seventeen years since his debut single, British rapper Bashy has capped his long-awaited return to music with two wins at the 2025 Mobo awards, given each year to the best music of Black origin in the UK and overseas.
The 40-year-old vocalist and actor, born Ashley Thomas, won best hip-hop act as well as album of the year for Being Poor Is Expensive. While it didn’t make the UK charts, the album earned critical acclaim and a dedicated audience on streaming, drawn to its examination of race, mental health and working-class life in north-west London.
Continue reading...Five witnesses called in eight days, including accuser A$AP Relli, who was on stand for three day’s worth of testimony
Los Angeles county prosecutors rested their case on Thursday at the trial of rapper and fashion mogul A$AP Rocky, who is charged with firing a gun at a former friend on a Hollywood street in 2021.
They called five witnesses in eight days of testimony, including two police officers, a police detective and a firearms expert.
Continue reading...Rapper alleges assault, false arrest and more when he was detained shortly after winning three awards at 2024 ceremony
Killer Mike, the hip-hop artist known for his solo work as well as the duo Run the Jewels, has sued a private security company after he was arrested at last year’s Grammys.
The rapper, real name Michael Render, won three awards at the ceremony, for best rap album, best rap song and best rap performance. But shortly after his wins, as he moved backstage towards the red carpet area, he was arrested and detained after an altercation with what Render later described as “an overzealous security guard”.
Continue reading...Feud escalates as rapper’s lawyers file two petitions alleging Universal Music Group and streaming giant conspired while also accusing them of defamation
Drake has launched two legal actions against Universal Music Group and Spotify, alleging they conspired to artificially inflate interest in Kendrick Lamar’s diss track about him, Not Like Us, while suppressing his own music, as well as accusing them of defamation.
In a petition filed to the New York supreme court on Monday, attorneys for Drake’s company Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG and the streaming service of having “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves”, using various tactics to make Lamar’s song more popular.
Continue reading...Rapper caps off 2024 with release of 12-track album featuring guest spots from SZA and Kamasi Washington
Kendrick Lamar has released a surprise album called GNX.
The Pulitzer prize-winning rapper teased the release with a one-minute video before the 12-track album was then released.
Continue reading...American musician and actor will not play his UK and Ireland dates as he recovers from scheduled surgery
Donald Glover has cancelled the remaining dates on his Childish Gambino tour after scheduling surgery for an “ailment”.
The American actor, rapper and singer was due to head to the UK in November and early December to perform in Manchester, Glasgow, London and Birmingham, as well as Dublin in Ireland. Glover had already postponed the remainder of his North American tour to focus on his “physical health”.
Continue reading...New York-born artist, 53, known for collaborating with Missy Elliott, was performing in Connecticut on Friday
The US rapper Fatman Scoop has died after he collapsed mid-performance during a free concert in Connecticut on Friday night, according to reports.
The New York-born artist, whose real name is Isaac Freeman III, was headlining the so-called Green & Gold Party in Hamden, Connecticut, when he had what was described as a medical emergency. He was seen in a video posted on X to have collapsed behind the DJ booth after urging concertgoers to “make some noise”.
Continue reading...The rapper was arrested for an incident involving a hotel security guard while he is in the city for the Olympics
Rapper Travis Scott was arrested at a Paris hotel after an altercation with a security guard, French prosecutors said Friday.
The arrest occurred after police were called to the Georges V hotel early Friday to arrest a man “nicknamed Travis Scott for violence against a security guard”, according to a statement from the Paris public prosecutor’s office.
Continue reading...US rapper will conclude torch’s relay through Saint-Denis and Olympic Village to mark start of 33rd Games
Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic torch through the final stages when it passes through Paris before the opening ceremony on Friday.
The US rapper will be hoping he won’t Drop It Like It’s Hot when he holds the torch in Saint-Denis to mark the start of the 33rd Games.
Continue reading...Move comes after video released showing hip-hop mogul attacking singer Cassie Ventura in 2016
Howard University on Friday announced that it has revoked the honorary degree it gave to Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2014, discontinued a scholarship program named after the rap mogul and returned a $1m donation from him, citing the video that showed him violently attacking singer Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.
“Mr Combs’ behavior … is so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University’s core values and beliefs that he is deemed no longer worthy to hold the institution’s highest honor,” the Washington DC school said in a statement. “The university is unwavering in its opposition to all acts of interpersonal violence.”
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