Newsletter
Russell Simmons Sues Kimora Lee For Allegedly Finessing Him Out Of Stocks
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz Russell Simmons is finding out that doing business with family isn’t always a good idea. He is now suing his Kimora Lee for reportedly fleecing him out of millions of shares. As spotted on Page Six the Rap mogul is taking his ex-wife to court over what he alleges is fraud. The story, as expected, is somewhat complicated. Kimora’s now husband Tim Leissner is currently facing some heavy time stemming from some very serious money laundering charges from 2018. The former chairman of Goldman Sachs in Southeast Asia pleaded guilty to charges in connection to his supposed plan to rip off 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Russell is alleging that Lee and Leissner conspired to transfer his four million Celsius ...
9th Wonder Continues His Academic Career With Roc Nation and LIU Brooklyn
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Paul Morigi / Getty The renowned Hip-Hop producer 9th Wonder has become the latest musician to become a part of the new Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment which is part of Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus. The news was announced earlier today in a press release from the school. The former Little Brother member was announced as a teacher along with jazz saxophonist Sam Newsome and baritone vocalist Colin Levin, both who are longtime faculty members – Newsome with LIU Brooklyn and Levin arriving from Rowan University. 9th, who’s worked with countless artists from Drake to Kendrick Lamar, will join the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment as a visiting professor and artist-in-residence who will be teaching classe...
Black Activist Sasha Johnson Shot In Head In South London
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Guy Smallman / Getty Sasha Johnson, a notable Black activist in London, suffered a gunshot wound to the head according to reports that are still circulating here in the states. Johnson has endured death threats in the past and details are still in development regarding the incident as she recovers. On Sunday (May 23), the Taking The Initiative Party (TTIP), a group based in London, shared details of the shooting and has kept Johnson’s supporters informed with frequent updates regarding her condition. From Taking The Initiative Party’s Facebook page: It is with great sadness that we inform you that our own Sasha Johnson has sustained a gunshot wound to her head. She is currently hospitalised and in a critical condition. The incident happened in the early h...
Andrew Yang’s Claim To Be A Hip-Hop Fan Seems To Fall Flat After Jay-Z Question
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bloomberg / Getty The race for New York’s mayoral seat is on and while candidate Andrew Yang describes himself as a true-blue New Yorker, the former Presidential candidate doesn’t seem to be all that familiar with the musical catalog of perennial King of New York contender Jay-Z. During a recent interview with Ziwe Fumudoh for her most recent episode of Ziwe, Yang was asked if he listened to rap music to which he answered, “I listened to a lot of Hip-Hop during like the ‘90s and 2000s” while referencing Nas and Jay-Z as artists he rocked with. Okay, that’s cool and sounds about right. But things got a little awkward when he was asked to name his favorite Jigga track. Seemingly caught in a “trap,” Yang said “What is my favorite Jay-Z song?” ...
Bryshere Gray Pleads Guilty To Domestic Violence, Gets Skid Bid
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: FOX / Getty It’s been almost a year since Empire star, Bryshere Gray was booked and charged for domestic violence following a standoff with a SWAT team outside his home in Phoenix, Arizona. Now TMZ is reporting that Gray has entered a guilty plea and will have to serve some prison time as part of the plea. As part of his guilty plea to felony aggravated assault, “Hakeem Lyon” will have to serve 10 days in county jail followed by three years of probation. While on probation Gray will have to refrain from consuming any kind of illegal drugs and have to submit to drug and alcohol testing. He’s also been ordered to pay restitution and enroll in a domestic violence offender treatment program. He also can’t possess any kinds of firearms including stun guns...
Blue Checks For All : Twitter Is Now Slowly Rolling Out Its Revamped Verification System
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: NurPhoto / Getty After months of speculation and leaks, Twitter’s “revamped” verification system is here. Twitter announced on Thursday (May.20) it has begun to roll out its new verification process slowly plus shared what criteria have to be met to obtain the highly-coveted blue checkmark details on how it will approve applications from now on. The announcement comes after months of speculation and “leaks” hinting at the return of the process. As detailed in a blog post, Twitter says it has been working on the new verification process for the past several months and that the new policy is shaped by public feedback and should bring some much-needed clarity to the process that was put on ice in November 2017 after it was criticized for verifying a white su...
Marvel’s Kevin Feige Says White Washing ‘Doctor Strange’ Role Was A Mistake
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Back when Doctor Strange was about to go into production, fans of the comic book were outraged that the studio was white-washing the character of “The Ancient One” by casting Tilda Swinton in a role that should’ve went to someone of Asian decent. Though the move was to avoid racial stereotypes of its Marvel characters (the reason The Mandarin was played by Ben Kingsley in Iron Man 3), many felt the casting choice was disrespectful and called Marvel out at the time. Now Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige says he regrets going that route with Doctor Strange. In an interview with Men’s Health for Marvel’s upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Feige admitted that the casting of Swinton as “The Ancien...
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Says She Will Only Be Doing 1-on-1 Interviews With Journalists of Color
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty If you’re a white journalist and want to speak with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, don’t hold your breath cause it’s not happening. On Wednesday (May 19), the embattled mayor announced that she would only be granting one-on-one interviews with journalists of color to mark the second anniversary of her inauguration, pointing out that she has been taken aback by the “overwhelmingly” white press corps in Chicago. In a tweet thread, Lightfoot announced her decision she wrote, “I ran to break up the status quo that was failing so many. That isn’t just in City Hall. It’s a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American.” ...
Future Seemingly Snubs Lori Harvey On New Song
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: @PhotosByBeanz / @PhotosByBeanz83 Future might have just put a slight dent in Lori Harvey’s hot girl summer. His new feature makes it clear he has moved on from his ex. As spotted on Complex the Atlanta trapper turned rapper has added yet another petty shot in his long list of Hip-Hop quotables. In a new track with 42 Dugg titled “Maybach” the “Wicked” MC makes mention to his former love in a not so flattering manner. “Magic City, I’m the owner/Tell Steve Harvey I don’t want her/One thing I never seen was a b***h to leave” he raps. Naturally the bars went viral very quickly with folks on the internet taking sides on the matter. One user took to Twitter to put him in his place for what is largely perceived as a low blow by Future. “Imagine havin a cur...
Nas, LL Cool J & Fat Joe Help Break Ground At Universal Hip Hop Museum
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Sylvester Zawadzki / Universal Hip-Hop Museum Our culture will finally have a destination where its’ rich history will be formally exhibited. Some living legends helped break ground at the Universal Hip-Hop Museum. Source: Sylvester Zawadzki / Universal Hip-Hop Museum As reported by HipHopDX the build out of the Universal Hip Hop Museum is officially underway. On Thursday, May 20 several Rap icons appeared on site to put shovels to dirt in honor of the sound that raised many of us. At the ceremony were the likes of Nas, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Naughty by Nature, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, Michael Bivins (of Bell Biv DeVoe), Public Enemy’s Chuck D, MC Sha-Rock, EPMD and more. The event was hosted by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr....
UPS Driver Stops A Sneaker Jacking In New York City
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bloomberg / Getty People and love to UPS drivers as they bring us the packages we order online, but now it seems like they’re also saving lives while on the job. According to CBS New York, a UPS driver put on his brown cape and intervened to help a teen who was in the midst of being beaten and robbed over a pair of Nike Air Force 1’s in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. The jux went down last Friday (May 14) when UPS driver Christopher McCall witnessed a teenager getting pounded out and relieved of his 1’s on 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue. After seeing what was going down McCall sprung into action and saved the 17-year-old victim from the hands and feet of his two assailants. “I yelled back, ‘Really? That’s all you want? You wanted his sneakers?’” Christ...
T.I. Seemingly Hits Back At Accusers On “What It’s Come To”
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Prince Williams / Getty Clifford “T.I.” Smith and his wife Tiny Cottle-Harris are battling a series of explosive claims from near a dozen women and one man who claims the couple sexually assaulted them. In a new track titled “What It’s Come To,” Tip seemingly addresses his accusers with some very direct bars despite the case being under active investigation in Los Angeles. T.I.’s newest song also comes complete with a lyric video and takes explicit aim at the accusers who have anonymously accused Mr. and Mrs. Harris of engaging in sexual assault by way of force, drugs, and other means. In one of the lines in the song, it appears quite clear that T.I. is aware of what’s being said about him and Tiny at the moment and might garner some criticism for calling...
