R. Kelly is reportedly feeling optimistic about his upcoming sexual misconduct trial, and believes he’ll get a fair one. But he wants to enlist Michael Jackson’s former defense attorney just to be on the safe side.
The Blast reports that the disgraced singer wants Thomas Mesereau to join his criminal defense team. Mesereau is reportedly busy with a trial in Houston, but he connected with Kelly on a FaceTime call last month and he’s allegedly interested in taking on the role.
Mesereau led Jackson’s 2005 criminal trial in Santa Barbara County, and got him cleared on all charges including 4 counts of molesting a minor, 4 counts of intoxicating a minor to molest him, 1 count of attempted child molestation, 1 count of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive, and conspiring to commit extortion and child abduction.
Jackson was found not guilty after Mesereau put together a powerful defense.
R. Kelly has been charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse in Chicago, is faced with the possibility of two federal indictments.
Kodak Black is in a tangled web of legal troubles. It may have been in his best interest to stay out of trouble though because he was already dealing with legal issues stemming from a 2016 sexual misconduct case.
But unfortunately the Pompano Beach rapper was arrested during Rolling Loud weekend for allegedly lying on a firearm application in order to obtain guns. XXL reports Kodak has requested a judge grant him a supervised jail release so he can appear in a South Carolina courtroom to stand trial for a criminal sexual conduct case.
Kodak Black’s legal team requested that he is released under 24-hour surveillance to travel while he’s out on bond. But federal prosecutors think he’s a risk considering his criminal history, but Kodak’s lawyer argues they have no proof of that.
It has been over a year since the #freemeekmill campaign came into fruition.
On April 24, 2018, Meek, whose birth name is Robert Williams was released from prison pending the result of a plea deal to the Philadelphia supreme court. Since his release, he has had trouble traveling due to probationary restrictions. Judge Genece Brinkley can take the blame for this. Therefore, the District Attorney in Philadelphia is adamant that Meek gets a new trial and a new judge.
It is evident of Judge Brinkley’s personal vendetta against the Championships rapper. According to TMZ, the Philadelphia D.A. called out the judge for her bias against Meek, in addition to abuse her power. Brinkley sentenced the “What’s Free” rapper for a “technical violation” of his probation. Despite a number of requests for Brinkley’s dismissal, she refuses to step down from the case. The D.A. has publicly sided with Meek, 32, saying that he serves no threat to society. He deserves a fair trial without a biased judge.
Since his release, Meek had been adamant about prison reform. He empathizes a number of people who are not as fortunate as him. They don’t have the foundation for the funds or connections to change their current situation. Meek is just one of thousand cases that will not be publicized. Jay-Z, Robert Craft, Michael Rubin, and others continue to lend their support for the sake of progressive reform. At this moment, Judge Brinkley is the only one standing in the way of Meek Mill and his freedom.
Graduation season is upon us and although it is a time to celebrate many accomplishments, for some, it may be a burden due to financial reasons. In an effort to help ease the graduation burden, Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth gifted 13 students from Booker T. Washington High School by paying off their senior dues, which includes a cap and gown so that the students can walk with their class on June 2.
In a statement to ABC News, Fatima, a senior says, “I really appreciate for him to do that because I was struggling on buying it,” she added, “He knows what the struggle is.”
Trae wanted the students, to know that graduating high school is a huge accomplishment,
“The main message is that they are not alone. We are proud of them.” “Sometimes you need to let people know that you appreciate them.”
Trae The Truth and his Relief Gang are well known for giving to those in need. During Hurricane Harvey, Trae and his Relief Gang opened up a warehouse to donate cleaning supplies, clothes, toys, home items and more. They also went around Houston donating a mattress to those who may be sleeping on the floor.
The Bronx rapper has a lot on her plate from being a new mommiana, a chart-topping rapper, to being a Nova Babe. Now it looks like the “Money” rapper is returning to the small screen.
TMZ reports that she filed a trademark for the name “Bocktails with Cardi B.” The outlet reports that the show is for “entertainment services in the nature of providing ongoing episodes for distribution via television and the Internet featuring celebrities and artists.”
The brand won’t stop at just a television show. There plans to be an entire roll out of “clothing, including shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hooded sweatshirts, hats, caps, footwear, skirts, dresses, blouses, sweaters, pants and shorts.”
Additionally, Bardi wants to use her trademarked name for “alcoholic beverages, except beer and beverages containing beer.”
The Brooklyn intersection where the Notorious B.I.G grew up at is getting renamed in his honor. The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, announced the news on his 47th birthday yesterday.
Billboard reports that a ceremony will be held on June 10th to officially rename the Fulton Street intersection between Gates Avenue on St. James Place to Christopher Wallace Way. The ceremony is open to the public and several members of the late rapper’s family will be in attendance, including his mother, Voletta Wallace.
The Brooklyn Community Board 2 approved the initiative in November but additional approval from City Council and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio was needed.
“Honoring Biggie symbolizes more than just one man,” LeRoy McCarthy, who came up with the idea a few years back, told Rolling Stone. “It symbolizes a culture. It symbolizes a borough. It symbolizes a people, and hip-hop is worldwide.”
Biggie is the latest rapper to get a street renamed after him posthumously. The Crenshaw Boulevard and West Slauson Avenue intersection was changed to Nipsey Hussle Square back in April,
Yesterday marked what would’ve been Biggie Smalls’ 47th birthday and his loved ones got together to break bread at a celebratory dinner.
Curated by Alyi V, the inaugural launch of the B.I.G. dinner brought together his close associates including Junior Mafia. This is huge for the culture because Lil Kim and Lil Cease’s friendship disintegrated after Cease testified against Lil Kim during her perjury trial in 2005. Kim spent a year in the slammer and left Cease in the past.
But Cease issued a heartfelt apology to his longtime friend. “I apologize for the things I have done that may have hurt you or affected you or made you feel bad,” he begins, his voice thick with emotion. “I genuinely apologize, I love you from the bottom of my heart. You not my real sister, but you are my sister, I love you for life. I thank you for bringing this energy here.
During the trial Lil Cease told MTV that he testified against the Queen Bee because they weren’t on good terms already. “Me and Kim wasn’t on good terms for the moment, and she made it clear to the world that she didn’t want to have anything to do with me and my peoples. So she wasn’t trying to call us to her defense,” Cease explained, back in 2005. “Being that we was witnesses there, the U.S. government subpoenaed us. And there’s nothing you can do about that. When you’re subpoenaed, you either come or they take your ass to jail. It’s just that simple.”
Despite the rocky history between them two, they were able to make peace at Biggie’s dinner.
Social media is having a field day after watching Monday night’s Teen Mom 2 reunion show on MTV. One of the reality show’s stars, Jenelle Evans, stormed off the stage in a “why-you-picking-on-me-bratty-Becky” tantrum, when the big bad Black girl challenged her for being an Internet bully.
By now the world knows that Nessa Diab, a popular HOT 97 radio personality, is dating Colin Kaepernick. And that this Egyptian queen takes no shorts when it comes to her man. On the reunion show, Evans tried to set it off on co-star Amber Portwood for using her “celebrity platform” to tell the world that her husband was abusive.
Diab was not having the hypocrisy… not any of it. She called her out on her bussht by showing how she is actually guilty of doing the same thing.
“You posed hateful comments on social media about my family. My man, Colin Kaepernick,” Nessa stated.
Evans, of course played dumb. Perhaps forgetting that she had anything to say about Kaepernick. But audience and social media quickly reminded her. Back in September, Evans went to her Facebook account and expressed her disappointment in Nike, after they hired the former NFL player to be the face of their new “Just Do It” campaign.
“Lets choose the most disrespected guy in the NFL for our promos.” “Lets add a slogan about sacrificing, everyone will…
“Jenelle this is an open healthy conversation that I would like to bring up with you. Please understand something, my man uses his platform to peacefully protest systemic oppression in this country. Specifically police brutality against Black people. Men, women and children are wrongfully dying and people who are doing this are not being held accountable. That is the issue. It has nothing to do with military men or military women, because they have fought for our constitutional [right] to peacefully protest. All of us.”
Jenelle believed she was being attacked. Blinded by her own issues and her personal politics, she got up and left once confronted.
Speaking of personal issues that may actually be the root of her emotionalism…
Evans has had several of her kids removed because of allegations that her husband killed their family pet in from of her children (with another man). According to reports, Evans and her husband showed up to court with their shotgun. The story is advancing as this story is being published.
Back to the initial story…
Nessa completed the thought by saying:
“I’ve known Jenelle over the years, and I’ve always been fair and just to her,” she said. “It wouldn’t have been authentic to who I am to be on this stage with someone who disrespected my family on social media.”
There are a few things that Tupac Shakur left in his legacy that Tupac Mosley embodies: Resilience, Intellect, Drive and Broad Shoulders to carry his community on.
Mosley, a 17-year-old scholar from Memphis, pushed through the toughest times to emerge a as the class valedictorian.
In Shakur’s song “Me Against The World,” he gave some sound advice and it seems that Mosley has kept close to his heart during his time in the shelter.
Pac said, “Through every dark night, there’s a bright day after that. So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out, keep your head up, and handle it.”
In February, Mosely’s father unexpectedly died. After Mosley’s father transitioned, it would have been easy for him to give up. Bills started to flood in and his family wound up getting evicted from their home. Many would have allowed the trauma to stop them, but he understood that he had to stick his chest out and stay encouraged.
He decided to reach out to his teachers and an organization called For the Kingdom for help. For the Kingdom is a nonprofit organization designed to help youth experiencing crisis in the Memphis area. On their website, the organization says that their mission is to provide young people with year-round experience, allowing them to “get away from city life but not from the city.”
Because Mostly and his family did not have a place to stay, applying for scholarships (much less getting up every day for school became a challenge. But like Shakur, his sense of purpose did not let him sit in spaces that killed his dreams of going to college. In a poem from his book, The Rose That Grew From the Concrete called “And 2morrow,” Pac said, “Tomorrow I wake with second wind and strong because of pride. I know I fought with all my heart to keep the dream alive.”
Mosley who was a Raleigh Egypt High School senior and when For the Kingdom stepped in they helped him and his family by providing them with a place to live while they were homeless. Mosley told Fox 13. “So, we went to different homes…and we were blessed to have For the Kingdom. ”
Mosley’s dream was to go to college and with the help of For the Kingdom, he was able to apply for college. Despite what was going on, he managed to keep a 4.3 GPA. Multiple colleges and universities wanted his as a student, but he decided to go with Tennessee State University in Nashville, where he will major in electrical engineering. He received more than 50 scholarships totaling to approximately $3 million in college scholarships—despite being homeless. The Kingdom allowed him a space on the their campsite and he received mail there.
Mosley says, “When I heard that I got $3 million, I was more than elated and excited and astonished that it was that much,” he said.
Don’t be astonished. Pac also did not know that he would be able to do million dollar deals. But he took a chance on himself and changed his reality.
“Life is a wheel of fortune and it’s my turn to spin it.” – Tupac Shakur
According to multiple polls, Russia is facing one of its biggest dilemmas. Rap music is stealing the minds of their youth. Remember when Chuck D said that “Rap was the CNN of the Streets,” that is exactly what Russia was afraid of. According to the New York Times, armed with an awareness that Hip-Hop always brings, a population that would have normally leaned towards supporting Mr. Putin and his regime has become more critical of their policies.
The Kremlin is definitely flipping out. In 2018, dozens of rap concerts were cancelled out of fear of the messages that the Russian rappers are spitting in their rhymes. In fact, when rapper Husky tried to do a pop-up concert for fans on the top of hie car (hoping to entertain those who bought tickets to a canceled show) he was arrested by the police.
This is a crisis for the Kremlin.
According to the New York Times, at the end of last year, President Putin ordered his administration to develop progamming that would allow the state to be able to regulate pop music- instituting grant monies to help fund the music being made and opening state ran studios for artists to record in. They will also have vowed to filter undesirable content on the internet. They are still working on that.
But like all the systems, Hip-Hop rages against the machine and makes it mark… even if it goes underground and spreads like wildfire.
“The impact of hip-hop has been massive,” said the battle rapper Oxxxymiron states. “Through music, visual art, movies, dance, clothing styles and more, key values of Hip-Hop have spread through contemporary Russian culture.”
And just in case you think that Russian rappers can’t hang, consider Oxxxymiron and his battle against notable American battle rapper, Dizaster. On the King of The Dot stage in California in 2017 to battle. Within 24-hours, their battle made history becoming the most viewed rap battle in U.S. rap-battle history. What does that look like? A whopping 7 million enthusiasts tuned in to their YouTube channel to see the epic contest. Not only did a lot of people tune in, most believe that the Russian rapper won the battle, rhyming in English which is his third language. To date, the battle has over 12 million views. Even though battle rap is huge in Russia, this medium of emceeing is the largest in the world. The country has the largest battle rap league in history with over 4.4 million subscribers to their YouTube channel and over 591,712,186 views
