Category Archives: Rap

Killer of teenager Jimmy Mizen is now rapper promoted by BBC, reports say

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Parents of murdered schoolboy say prison rehabilitation does not seem to have made any difference to Jake Fahri

The parents of murdered schoolboy Jimmy Mizen have said prison does not “seem to have made a blind bit of difference” to their son’s killer, who is reportedly now a rapper whose songs have been promoted by the BBC.

Jake Fahri, then 19, was given a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years for killing Mizen by throwing an oven dish at him. The glass dish shattered and severed blood vessels in the 16-year-old’s neck in a south London bakery.

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Drake withdraws legal petition over Kendrick Lamar diss track

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Drake had alleged Universal Music Group and Spotify each manipulated the popularity of Lamar’s track Not Like Us

Drake has withdrawn a legal challenge he made against his own label, Universal Music Group (UMG), and Spotify, alleging they artificially inflated the popularity of a Kendrick Lamar diss track about him.

UMG and Spotify were accused of trying to “manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves”. Lawyers for the rapper had claimed that UMG paid influencers and radio stations to play the track, Not Like Us, which topped the US charts and proved to be the hammer blow in the Drake-Lamar feud between March and May last year.

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Chuck D pleads for people to stop using Public Enemy’s Burn Hollywood Burn on videos of LA fires

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The 1990 protest track ‘has nothing to do with families losing everything they have’ says the rapper, hitting out at TikTok and Instagram videos

Public Enemy’s Chuck D has asked people to stop using the rap group’s song Burn Hollywood Burn as a soundtrack on videos of the California wildfires, saying it has “nothing to do with families losing everything they have”.

The rapper issued the statement on the weekend in response to several videos uploaded to TikTok and Instagram that use the 1990 Public Enemy song over footage of the wildfires, which have killed at least 24 people, destroyed more than 12,300 buildings and displaced more than 200,000 people so far.

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Drake claims UMG and Spotify ‘artificially inflated’ Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us

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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.

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Ka, Brooklyn rapper and New York firefighter, dies aged 52

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Kaseem Ryan, a member of Natural Elements and an FDNY captain, died unexpectedly, according to Instagram post

Ka, a Brooklyn rapper, producer and firefighter, died unexpectedly on Saturday at age 52, according to a post on his Instagram account.

Kaseem Ryan was a member of the group Natural Elements and also served in the New York City fire department (FDNY). He collaborated with artists Roc Marciano and GZA and earned praise from artists such as Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, BET reported.

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British musician and broadcaster Yung Filly charged with rape and assault

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Former BBC host, with millions of social media followers, was arrested in Australia following alleged attack on woman in Perth hotel room

The British rapper, YouTuber and television personality Yung Filly has been arrested in Australia and charged with rape and assault.

The 29-year-old, born Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, who was on tour in the country, was arrested in Brisbane and taken to Perth where the alleged incidents occurred.

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Donald Glover cancels Childish Gambino tour dates because of ‘ailment’

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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”.

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Tennessee man testifies that he and another man killed rapper Young Dolph

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Cornelius Smith said he and Justin Johnson shot Young Dolph after brother of rival rapper Yo Gotti put a hit on him

A Memphis man testified on Monday that he and a second person shot and killed rapper Young Dolph after Big Jook, the brother of rapper Yo Gotti, put a hit on him.

Cornelius Smith identified himself and Justin Johnson as the two people seen on a 17 November 2021, surveillance video exiting a white Mercedes outside a Memphis, Tennessee, cookie store about 30 seconds after Young Dolph entered the store and then opening fire in broad daylight.

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US rapper Fatman Scoop dies after collapsing on stage mid-performance

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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”.

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Travis Scott arrested in Paris over altercation with security guard

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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.

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Drake’s Toronto mansion seriously flooded amid record-breaking storms

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Rapper films muddy water pouring through 50,000 sq ft home, quipping ‘this better be espresso martini’

The Toronto mansion of rap superstar Drake has been seriously flooded following record-breaking storms in the city.

He shared footage on Instagram of ankle-deep muddy water rushing into an area of his home, with the caption “this better be espresso martini”.

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Florida rapper Foolio, 26, killed in car park shooting

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Rapper who amassed tens of millions of streams for his emotional trap music was reportedly ambushed outside a Tampa hotel

US rapper Foolio has died at the age of 26 after being shot in a hotel car park in Tampa, Florida.

The rapper, real name Charles Jones, had amassed tens of millions of streams for a discography that stretches back to 2017.

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Iran court overturns death sentence of rapper Toomaj Salehi, lawyer says

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Musician, 33, faces retrial after being sentenced to death for ‘corruption on Earth’

Iran’s supreme court has overturned the death sentence imposed on the rapper Toomaj Salehi, his lawyer said.

The decision comes in the middle of Iran’s presidential election campaign but seems unrelated to the fierce public debates under way about Iran’s future direction, including the rights of women not to wear the hijab if they wish.

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Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss track debuts at number one in the US

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Rapper’s scathing song Not Like Us, from his headline-grabbing rap beef with Drake, becomes his fourth Billboard chart-topper

Kendrick Lamar has won the culture-consuming rap beef with Drake, at least as far as Billboard hits are concerned, as his diss track Not Like Us debuted at No 1 on the US Hot 100.

The scathing track, which alleges that the Canadian hit-maker is a “certified pedophile”, is Lamar’s fourth No 1 song, after a feature on Future and Metro Boomin’s Like That earlier this year, 2017’s Humble and his verse on Taylor Swift’s 2015 track Bad Blood.

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Man arrested for attempted break-in at Drake’s Toronto mansion

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Incident comes the day after a shooting outside the rapper’s home in which a security guard was seriously injured

A man has been arrested after trying to gain access to Drake’s Toronto mansion, the day after a security guard at the property was seriously injured in a shooting.

“Officers were called after a person attempted to gain access to the property,” Toronto police said in a statement. “The person was apprehended under the Mental Health Act, and they were taken to receive medical attention.”

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Drake denies allegations by Kendrick Lamar of underage sex and harbouring secret child

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Drake says ‘I feel disgusted’ by allegations, as enmity between rap superstars deepens following weekend flurry of diss tracks

Drake has denied allegations of child sex offences and of him harbouring a secret child, both levelled at him by Kendrick Lamar in recent days.

The enmity between the rap superstars has escalated over a series of diss tracks in the past few weeks, culminating in a flurry of activity during the weekend with three tracks by Lamar and two by Drake.

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Kendrick Lamar responds to Drake with diss track Euphoria in escalating feud

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Euphoria is the latest in the hip-hop heavyweights’ fight via songs, which has now drawn in some of the biggest names in rap

Kendrick Lamar has released a new diss track against Drake titled Euphoria – the latest in a long-running feud between the two hip-hop heavyweights which was reignited earlier this year and has since ballooned into a “civil war” among rap’s upper echelons.

The song, which shares a name with the HBO series on which Drake serves as executive producer, was released on Lamar’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.

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Aya Nakamura thanks fans for support over Olympics racism as she wins awards

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French singer dedicates top prizes at Les Flammes ‘to all black women’ after backlash over rumoured Paris show

The French pop star Aya Nakamura, who found herself at the centre of a racist row after rumours she was going to sing at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, has thanked fans for their support after winning three big prizes at France’s Les Flammes awards for rap, R&B and pop.

“I’m very honoured because being a black artist and coming from the banlieue is very difficult,” Nakamura told the audience at the ceremony, which she opened with a medley of her songs. She dedicated her awards – female artist of the year, pop album of the year, and international star of the year – “to all black women”.

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Megan Thee Stallion accused of ‘abusive work environment’ including sexual harassment

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Former employee Emilio Garcia alleges chart-topping rapper had sex in front of him in a moving car, and made abusive comments and employment law violations

Megan Thee Stallion has been sued by a former employee who alleges she withheld payment and created an “abusive work environment”, including having sex with a woman next to him in a moving car.

Cameraman Emilio Garcia alleges “severe” and “pervasive” harassment by the chart-topping rapper following the incident, including sexual comments and fat-shaming insults, as well as a loss of earnings. He is seeking unpaid wages and interest on them, as well as damages, and wage penalties under California labour laws.

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