Hip-Hop
Halsey Shows Off New Hand Tattoo Honoring Juice WRLD: See the Pic
Looks like Halsey‘s got some new ink. On Tuesday (July 8), the pop star debuted a new tattoo on social media in tribute to her late pal Juice WRLD. Written in cursive across the back side of her hand, Halsey’s latest tattoo reads “Life’s a mess 999,” referencing the title of her posthumous collaboration with the rapper and his favorite number. (Juice also had his own “999” tattoo on his forearm, which he claimed represented making good out of bad, and also named his official merch collection using the number.) “Juice was one of the greatest people I have ever known, and one of the most brilliant artists we will ever live to witness. A true genius who had lyric and melody spilling out of him without any second thought or hesitation. And a beau...
Dave Chapelle Hosts Socially-Distanced ‘Summer Camp’ Event With Erykah Badu, Common & More
Dave Chappelle and friends made sure to have a blast in a social-distanced way during the Fourth of July weekend. Chappelle ventured back to his hometown in Dayton, OH, and hosted Chappelle Summer Camp, which featured comedic and musical performances. Those in attendance included Erykah Badu, Common, Talib Kweli, Michael Che, Tiffany Haddish, DJ Trauma, Michelle Wolf, Donnell Rawlings, Cipha Sounds, Questlove, Jon Hamm, Mo Amer and Issa Ali. During the festive gathering, Chappelle did an action-packed cover of Eric B and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” featuring Common and Talib Kweli. The Roots’ Questlove gushed about his Chappelle Camp Summer experience in an Instagram post he shared after the event. “Drove 900+ miles to a hippie farm town...
Kanye West’s Yeezy Company Received a PPP Loan for Over $2 Million
Kanye West, a literal billionaire, sought a government-backed loan to pay his employees during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Small Business Administration (via The Daily Beast), the 2020 presidential candidate (?) has received between $2 and $5 million for his Yeezy fashion line company through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program. The Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was created so that companies with 500 or fewer employees could apply for loans to cover the cost of eight weeks of payroll, up to two and a half times the company’s average monthly payroll costs, with a cap of $10 million total. It’s weird to think Kanye’s “small business” was allegedly in dire need of financial support despite its expensive shoes regularly selling out, its branc...
Posthumous Juice WRLD Album Legends Never Die Dropping Later This Week
The first posthumous album from Juice WRLD has been announced, and its due date is literally just days away. Fittingly titled Legends Never Die, the effort arrives later this week on July 10th. This new collection marks the third album overall from Juice WRLD, following Goodbye & Good Riddance from 2018 and 2019’s Death Race for Love, which hit shelves just a few months prior to his passing in December. A tracklist hasn’t been revealed, but previous teasers “Righteous” and the Trippie Redd-assisted “Tell Me U Luv Me” are expected to appear on the album. As a third preview, a single dubbed “Life’s a Mess” is now being shared by the late rapper’s estate. A collaboration with pop singer Halsey, it sees Juice WRLD detailing the ups and downs of life, especially his arduous search for ...
A Timeline of Kanye West Getting Political
Kanye West paved a long road before reaching his 2020 presidential run, which he announced on the 4th of July. From criticizing former President George W. Bush on national television to supporting President Donald Trump on social media, Billboard compiled a timeline of when he hit the Ye button when it comes to hot-button political issues. Sept. 2, 2005 – West declares, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” in historic moment during A Concert for Hurricane Relief. Following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, La., NBC hosted an hour-long, star-studded benefit concert titled A Concert for Hurricane Relief. The rapper stood side-by-side with comedian and actor Mike Myers when he veered off script and spoke from the heart about the d...
Black Thought Announces New EP ‘Streams of Thought Vol. 3: Cane and Abel’
The Roots‘ renowned frontman, Black Thought, is gearing up for his upcoming EP, Streams of Thought Vol. 3: Cane and Abel. Set to release July 31, Thought’s third installment will include an array of features ranging from Swizz Beatz, Pusha T, ScHoolboy Q and more. Interestingly enough, Portugal The Man makes three appearances on the 13-track effort. For those salivating for new music, the hip-hop luminary will be unleashing his first single, “Thought Vs. Everybody,” this Friday (July 10). On the production side, Sean C will helm the project. In 2018, Black Thought spoke to Billboard about Streams of Thought Vol. 1 and the constant juggling act between rapping and performing daily as The Tonight Show’s house band. “We make ...
Vanilla Ice Only Sold 284 Tickets Prior to Canceling His Coronavirus Concert
Vanilla Ice canceled his Fourth of July concert in Texas, citing concerns over the coronavirus and the safety of his fans. But lackluster ticket sales may have also contributed to his decision. Thanks to a legal loophole in Texas allowing restaurants to stay open at 50% capacity, Vanilla Ice had been scheduled to headline the “Independence Day Throwback Beach Party” at the Emerald Point Bar & Grill on Friday night. The venue made 2,500 tickets available to the event, with prices ranging from $25 to $300. But of those, only 284 were sold prior to Vanilla Ice deciding to cancel the show. The venue’s owner, William Brannam, told ABC News that he sold 84 general admission tickets, 96 VIP tickets, and 104 seated tickets. For comparison, Vanilla Ice played at the same venue last year an...
Kanye West Shares a Look at His ‘YZY SHLTRS’ as Part of #2020VISION Campaign
A day after Kanye West announced a 2020 presidential run, his #2020VISION campaign is underway. The rapper, and apparent political candidate, returned to Twitter on Sunday (July 5) with a photo of some innovative dome-like structures in development. “YZY SHLTRS in process #2020VISION,” he captioned the picture. West offered no further context to explain the new image, but the update continues the “building our future” theme of his Fourth of July message, when he said he’s running for president of the United States. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future,” he wrote Saturday night. Although the location of the pictured structures has not been confirmed, West reportedly was buildin...
Perspective: Kanye West’s Presidential Run Would Be as a Long-Shot Write-In Candidate
If Kanye West is truly serious about running for president in 2020, he’ll likely have to do so as a write-in candidate. As Kanye will be neither the nominee of the Democrat or Republican party, he’d instead run as an independent or third party candidate. And as an independent or third party candidate, Kanye would not be guaranteed a spot on every state’s ballot: Each state has is own individual rules for getting on its ballot, including requiring a certain number of signatures. Obtaining such signatures in the middle of a pandemic would be a difficult enough proportion, but he would also have to do so in an extremely short timeframe. Each state has a deadline for filing to run for president, and several of those deadlines have already passed. It’s too late to get on the ballot in Indiana, ...
Tiffany Haddish, Eric Balfour & More React to Kanye West’s Presidential Run: ‘This Is the Height of Privilege’
On Independence Day, Kanye West tweeted that he’s running for president. It’s not the first time the rapper has declared an interest in taking over the Oval Office. At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, he announced at the end of his 11-minute Video Vanguard Award acceptance speech that he’s aiming for the highest office: “I have decided in 2020 to run for president.” It’s no surprise that wife Kim Kardashian is showing her support after his latest announcement. She retweeted the rapper’s July 4 message with an emoji of the American flag. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is also backing Ye, tweeting in response to West’s announcement: “You have my full support!” But how does the music community feel about Yeezy 2020? Reactions were mixed afte...
Taylor Swift Fans Call for Singer to Run for President Amid Kanye West’s White House Bid
Taylor Swift for president in 2020? Her fans sure hope so. Swifties around the nation took to social media on Saturday (July 4) to call for the pop superstar to run for president following Kanye West‘s announcement that he’ll be running for commander in chief in the 2020 election. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States,” West tweeted Saturday night, adding an American flag emoji and the hashtag #2020VISION. Swift’s fans quickly reacted to the unexpected news, begging the singer — who has been at odds with West for more than a decade — to run against the rapper/fashion mogul this November. “How about taylor swift as the president ...
6ix9ine Releases Spanish-Language ‘Yaya’ With New Music Video: Watch
As promised, 6ix9ine released his new song “Yaya” Friday afternoon (July 3). The party-ready track sees him rapping and singing in Spanish, a departure from the previous English-language singles he’s dropped this year following his early release from prison. The vibrant music video was filmed while 6ix9ine remains on house arrest and features a whole lot of suggestive booty shaking and milk — and not much social distancing. “THIS IS THE BEST ONE I DID SO FAR,” he teased on Thursday, saying, “WE BREAKING THE INTERNET PARAAAAA MI GENTE LATINAAAAAAAAAAA LATINO AMERICA !!!!” “Yaya” follows the rapper’s recent singles “Gooba” and “Trollz,” the latter of which was released with Nicki Minaj and went to No. 1...
