Source: Newsday LLC / Getty / Frontier Airlines

Another day, another passenger acting the hell up on an airplane.

As seen on the New York Post’s website, a woman had to be dragged off an airplane by four cops by her limbs after threatening physical harm to another passenger and trying to bite a police officer.

Simone Bryna Kim, 24, of Killeen, Texas, was caught in 4K acting a damn fool on a Frontier Airlines flight heading to Philadelphia on Tuesday while it was still on the tarmac at Miami International.

“During the boarding process for Flight 2326 from Miami to Philadelphia, two customers got into a verbal altercation which resulted in one of the customers being asked to deplane. Upon her refusal, assistance was requested from local law enforcement. We defer to the Miami-Dade Police Department for additional information,” a statement from Frontier Airlines read.

Per The New York Post:

“I’ll beat you the f–k up. What you trying to be on,” Kim yelled at a male passenger. “I’m going to rock your s**t.”

“‘If you’re real, show me what’s up. I’m going to beat you the f–k up on this s–t, I guarantee you, I guarantee you,’ she continued. 

“You’re not even from Philly,” she said to the man at one point, as a woman tried to intervene.

Kim could then be seen refusing to leave the plane after a crew member tried to defuse the situation, with police later called in to remove her.

When law enforcement showed up to diffuse the situation, Kim began to “struggle, pushing and pulling” as Miami-Dade Police tried to arrest her.

Local 10 News reports that Kim scratched one officer and tried to bite and kick another, knocking an officer down during the entire ordeal.

A passenger got footage of Kim being carried away by a group of officers through the plane window like a “rag doll”  while attempting to put her in the back of a police cruiser.

Kim Is Looking At A Bevy of Charges For Her Unruly Behavior

According to Miami cops, Kim is facing two charges of battery on a police officer and one charge of resisting an officer with violence. Both are felonies.

She is also looking at three misdemeanor counts of assault on an officer and a trespassing charge and is currently out of jail after posting bond.

It sounds like she needs to be on the no-fly list as well.

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Photo: Newsday LLC / Getty

The post Mile High Mayhem: Frontier Airlines Passenger Physically Dragged Off Plane Following In-Flight Fracas appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Twitter

Elon Musk’s mission to make Twitter hot garbage continues.

Twitter, well, Elon Musk’s version of the app is now “winding down” its “legacy verified program and is giving people until April 1 to subscribe to Twitter Blue or risk losing their blue checkmark.

On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue here: https://t.co/gzpCcwOpLp

Organizations can sign up for https://t.co/RlN5BbuGA3…

— Twitter Verified (@verified) March 23, 2023

The announcement of this is not new because Musk has been threatening to do this since he took ownership of the social media platform, saying since November that in the “coming months,” he would be snatching away “legacy” verification badges given to users under company’s old ownership. After all, he feels they were given out in a “corrupt and nonsensical” way.

Keep in mind Phony Stark benefited from the old verification process because it told people on the platform and those who followed him on purpose that his account was legit.

This could be an elaborate troll job using Twitter’s Verified account because the new rule takes effect on April 1, also April Fool’s Day. Musk loves “own the libs” on Twitter, and many changes he said were coming have yet to happen.

But, another tweet sourcing a report from a website called boing boing claims Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to hide their blue checkmark to avoid ridicule because they dare to subscribe to the service.

Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to hide their blue checkmarks to avoid the shame https://t.co/DjctZ6WwwD pic.twitter.com/of7zCjaekF

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) March 24, 2023

We Are Watching These Social Media Platforms Suffer A Slow, Painful Death

Twitter Blue subscribers get other handy features outside the blue checkmark, like posting longer videos and editing tweets. It’s sad to see how one of the best social media experiences has quickly become a dumpster fire that you might have to pay $8 bucks to use to its full extent.

Musk is not the only social media platform CEO pushing a pay-for-verification plan. Mark Zuckerberg just recently began something similar on Facebook and Instagram, and, of course, no one cares for it.

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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty

The post Twitter Claims It Will Begin ‘Winding Down” Its ‘Legacy’ Blue Checkmarks Program appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty

Angela White, formerly known as Blac Chyna, is turning over a new leaf.

The 34-year-old model/socialite has been making headlines for her decision to reverse the results of several plastic surgeries. She recently underwent surgery to reduce the size of her breast and butt implants. Additionally, she had a procedure to dissolve the fillers in her face. 

In a recent Instagram post, Chyna showed off her still beautiful face with the caption, “Sound On–My name is Angela,” the clip used an excerpt from Jay-Z’s “The Story of OJ.” 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Blac Chyna (@blacchyna)

“I am ready to get back to Angela [her birth name]. Blac Chyna is Blac Chyna and I feel like I’ve outgrown that and it’s time for a change,” she added, per Page Six. 

She notes that the change is part of her “life-changing journey,” which started with her shutting down her wildly-popular Only Fans channel. 

“I’m just changing everything about me,” she said on the “Jason Lee Show” earlier this month. “It’s a dead end. All that stuff is a dead end, and I know that I’m worth way more than that.”

Angela also recently revealed that she was baptized last year. She shared a photo from the baptism with the caption, “I was reborn on my birthday 5-11-22,” she added, “God is Good.” 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Blac Chyna (@blacchyna)

“Basically, I want to dissolve all of it,” she told her doctor in an Instagram Live, per Page Six. “Just dissolve it. Back to the baseline … I’m tired of the look. And it’s just not flattering, it’s not what I look like. It totally changed my face, and I’m just ready to get back to Angela.”

The mother of two also said, “Blac Chyna’s Blac Chyna, you know what I mean? I feel like I’ve outgrown that, and it’s just time for a change. And I just want to be good.” 

Additionally, Page Six reports that Angela is also cutting her long signature nails in favor of a more conservative look. She’s previously said that her new look will take her to the “next level” now that she’s changing her “ways.”

The former reality star hasn’t announced new career plans, but her more than 16 million Instagram followers seem supportive of her progress offering messages of congratulations and prayers in her comment sections. 

The post Newly Baptized Blac Chyna Reclaims her Birth Name: Angela White appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: ADIDAS / Ivy Park

Months after cutting ties with Kanye West, adidas has parted ways with yet another big time celebrity. Their partnership with Beyoncé and her Ivy Park brand has come to an end.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, after five years of working together, Beyoncé and adidas have mutually agreed to go their separate ways. The news comes a month and change after it was revealed that sales for Beyoncé’s Ivy Park clothing line was down 50% and the three-stripe brand had been left roughly $200 million in the hole behind the lackluster sales. While the lack of sales could be blamed for the breakup, apparently creative differences between Bey and adidas are what led to the separation.

Now that Queen Bey is fully in charge of Ivy Park and is back in the driver’s seat, she “is excitedly looking to reclaim her brand, chart her own path and maintain creative freedom.”

There is no word on whether another sports brand will be partnering with Beyoncé to relaunch Ivy Park in the near future. But we wouldn’t be surprised if Puma ends up undertaking the process as her hubby, Jay-Z, is the creative director of its Basketball division. It’s something that just seems a long time in the making.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

In 2016, Beyoncé debuted Ivy Park, which was a joint venture with Sir Philip Green of Topshop. The 50-50 venture with Topshop ended in 2018, and Beyoncé gained full ownership of Ivy Park.

In January, Beyoncé previewed Park Trail, her latest Adidas x Ivy Park collaboration, in Dubai a day before she performed a private concert in the city. It marked her first live show in four years.

For someone who boasts such a dedicated fanbase and world-famous BeyHive on social media, we’re kinda surprised they didn’t come out to support her Ivy Park brand in droves. The collections were pretty cool, and the colorways were as fresh as anything out in the market. Just sayin’.

What do y’all think Beyoncé should do with her Ivy Park brand now that it’s a free agent? Should she fly solo or link up with another top-tier brand going forward? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Beyoncé & adidas Mutually Agree To End Ivy Park Partnership appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: MANDEL NGAN / Getty

Spotify has found itself under high scrutiny over reports that diversity funds created after Joe Rogan’s controversial deal have yet to be doled out.
According to reports, the Creator Equity Fund which was created by Spotify Technology SA in the wake of staff being upset over the expensive deal Joe Rogan signed for his podcast has been barely touched. The fund, which contains $100 million, was meant “for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups.” The report estimates that based on data from Parcast, a podcasting network at the company, “less than 10% of its funding” has been spent towards that goal.

Sources for the report said that multiple factors are to blame and “has suffered from shifting priorities,” with the project behind schedule in hiring an eight-person committee to oversee the spending and not even completing their budget for 2023 among them. The $100 million was slated to be spent over a period of three years, but Spotify did not have a set infrastructure in place to vet and allocate money from the fund. 

The fund was announced by Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek in February 2022 after employees at the streaming giant expressed their displeasure over Rogan signing a distribution deal for his controversial The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The deal was first believed to be worth $100 million, but it was later reported to be worth over $200 million. In addition, Ek refused to nullify the deal even after the removal of 70 previous episodes of the podcast where the N-word and other racially charged terms were used. The backlash from employees was initially sparked by artists offended by Rogan’s behavior which included Neil Young, who objected to his spreading of disinformation about COVID-19.

A representative for Spotify responded to the reports via email, refusing to comment on the details of the fund but saying it has spent more than the 10% percent that’s been reported. “The Spotify Creator Equity Fund is dedicated to a variety of initiatives that help elevate and support an inclusive and diverse portfolio of artists and creators on the platform,” they wrote. “We are able to empower and uplift underrepresented voices around the world.” They also cited projects they’ve supported such as the LGBTQ music promotion program Glow, marketing campaigns for Black artists like Kaytranada, and an expanded relationship with HBCUs such as Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

The post Spotify Reportedly Being Stingy With Joe Rogan-Inspired Diversity Funds appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: John Parra / Getty

If you thought the brutal beatdown that Tekashi Snitch9ine caught the other day at LA Fitness would’ve humbled the outspoken and often annoying Hip-Hop pariah, think again.

Remaining as defiant as ever, the rainbow haired rapper considers the beating of a lifetime a small hiccup during his recent stint in Florida. According to TMZ, he feels that he doesn’t need security 24/7 even as he continues to pull a Croc out his ass. Still, the “FuFu” rapper feels safe enough in Trump country to remain there and try to live the “normal” life of a government informant who stands out like a sour, colorful thumb.

From TMZ:

Sources close to Tekashi tell TMZ … he’s actually been going out in public without his hired muscle pretty regularly over the last year — without issue. We’re told he’s not about to let one incident change the way he lives. He wants to continue to live as normal a life as possible … and is chalking up the gym beatdown as an outlier.

What’s more, Tekashi has no plans on leaving South Florida, despite the attackers saying snitches weren’t welcome in their neighborhood.

Yeah, we give it a few weeks before Tekashi is run out of town and holes up somewhere in Seattle like Henry Hill did after snitching on the mob. Watch Macklemore catch him lacking out there too though.

While we wait and see if authorities catch up to the men who caught 6ix9ine slipping in the locker room, another video has surfaced of Tekashi catching the universal. Man, it was not pretty. If you get stomped out by a guy in Crocs (different colored ones on top of that), you might as well just never come back outside. Just sayin’.

What do y’all think of Tekashi 6ix9ine saying he’s not leaving Florida? Is he cappin’ to save face or do y’all think he’s seriously staying put in the Sunshine state? Let us know in the comments section below.

Full video leaks of tekashi 69 being brutal beaten at LA Fitness for being a rat pic.twitter.com/xRYM2XNTtI

— FIGHT COMPS (@fightcomps_) March 24, 2023

The post Tekashi 6ix9ine Says He’s Not Leaving Florida or Adding Security After Catching Beatdown appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Lori Harvey and Damson Idris were celebrated just months ago as the newest young “it” couple, with many fans of the two loving their romantic connection. However, the streets say the pair have broken up and the reactions from the failed relationships segment of Twitter are out of control.

Lori Harvey, 26, and Damson Idris, 31, first made their relationship official on Instagram at the top of the year. Late last year, Harvey split with Michael B. Jordan after an intense romance between the pair went to the wayside. For Idris, the showy declarations of love and the like were just as noticeable as it was with Jordan and Harvey herself joined in on the display with photos sealing the deal.

News of the breakup came by way of a source who spoke to Media Take Out and the outlet took notice of the fact that recent public appearances of Idris feature him without Harvey on his arm. That doesn’t necessarily confirm the rumors of the breakup but it definitely has folks online talking.

As it stands, fans are making their own assumptions about what happened, even though the source that spoke with Media Take Out said there are no issues between the two and the split was amicable. Further, those same fans are taking shots at Idris over his sex scene with Chloe Bailey in the Amazon Prime thriller series, Swarm.

Yeah, we know that doesn’t make sense.

At any rate, the reactions are starting to bubble up and this latest high-profile relationship examination inspired some cringeworthy and frankly mean-spirited reactions on Twitter. We’ve got the best of the worst below.

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Photo: Getty

The post Lori Harvey & Damson Idris Allegedly Split, Failed Relationships Twitter Reacts appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: Daniel Boczarski / Getty / Ahmed Best

The latest episode of The Mandalorian was a redemption story for a longtime Star Wars actor.

Ahmed Best, known for his role as clumsy Gungan/Senator Jar-Jar Binks from the polarizing Star Wars prequel films, is back in a galaxy far, far away. Best appeared in Wednesday’s episode of the popular Disney+ original series The Mandalorian as the Jedi Knight, Kelleran Beq.

Beq answered a major question revealing himself to the Jedi Knight who got our favorite youngling, Baby Yoda, to safety and out of the crosshairs of clone troopers who were killing the force-sensitive warriors as part of Emperor Palpatine’s Order 66.

Best has taken on three roles in the Star Wars universe, Jar-Jar Binks, Achk Med-Beq in Attack of The Clones, and Kelleran Beq, a game show host for Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, basically Legend of The Hidden Temple with a Stars Wars spin on it.

Beq was never considered Star Wars canon until his appearance in The Mandalorian, so who knows, that might not be the last time we see Kelleran Beq wielding two lightsabers.

To celebrate his return to the sci-fi/fantasy franchise, Best shared a photo of himself in the gym with the caption, “Gratitude! Good to be back. There is so much to say and share. It’s going to take a couple of days. But, for now, I’ll just say thank you to all that have held me up and made me better.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ahmed Best (@bestahmed)

Twitter Loves Seeing Best Return As Kelleran Beq

A much brighter outlook from the actor, who wrote in his book, he was deeply depressed, leading to career setbacks and even death threats following Jar-Jar Binks’s poor reception.

Twitter has been praising the actor’s return to the franchise and the fact Beq is officially canon.

Ahmed Best was bullied by toxic fanboys to the point of contemplating suicide for his portrayal of Jar Jar Binks. Twenty years later and he's now the Jedi Knight who saves Grogu from Order 66.

You love to see it. pic.twitter.com/Ta9PH1J69q

— Comrade Sisko ☭ (@Pinko69420) March 22, 2023

This is the way.

You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

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Photo: Daniel Boczarski / Getty

The post Former Jar-Jar Binks Actor Returns As A Bad A** Jedi In ‘The Mandalorian,’ Twitter Says This Is The Way appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: Allen Berezovsky / Getty / Soulja Boy

Remember when crypto was all the rage? Now celebs who were out here pushing them are getting in T R O U B L E.

The SEC is cracking down on celebrities nefariously pushing crypto on normal people. Lil Yachty, Soulja Boy, Ne-Yo, Akon, Jake Paul, Lindsey Lohan, Austin Mahone, and adult film actress Kendra Lust were all hit with charges by the SEC for illegally promoting cryptocurrency.

According to Pitchfork’s reporting, everyone has agreed to pay a fine of $400K in “disgorgement, interest, and penalties” to settle the charges without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings. Mahone and Soulja Boy have yet to pay the funds.

The SEC also charged crypto pusher Justin Sun and three of his companies—Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc. (formerly BitTorrent Inc.) for the unregistered offer and sale of Tronix and BitTorrent. Sun is also in trouble for allegedly violating federal securities laws by plotting a scheme to inflate Tronix’s trading volume artificially.

Sun allegedly duped investors into buying Tronix and BitTorrent by using celebrity influencers and throwing them money to promote what the company was offering while telling them not to spill the beans on how much they were receiving in compensation.

Per the SEC:

While we’re neutral about the technologies at issue, we’re anything but neutral when it comes to investor protection. As alleged in the complaint, Sun and others used an age-old playbook to mislead and harm investors by first offering securities without complying with registration and disclosure requirements and then manipulating the market for those very securities. At the same time, Sun paid celebrities with millions of social media followers to tout the unregistered offerings, while specifically directing that they not disclose their compensation. This is the very conduct that the federal securities laws were designed to protect against regardless of the labels Sun and others used.

These latest celebs join the likes of T.I. who the SEC hit with a charge in 2020 for pushing bootleg initial coin offerings from a company called FLiK. In 2018, Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled felt the SEC’s wrath, with the boxer coughing up over $600K and the music producer having to pay over $150K and agree to not “promote any securities, digital, or otherwise,” for multiple years.

Kim Kardashian also got in trouble for the crypto jig as well and had to come out of her pockets. It was fun, but the SEC is not playing anymore.

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Photo: Allen Berezovsky / Getty

The post Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, Akon, Ne-Yo & Other Celebs Charged By The SEC For Illegally Promoting Cryptocurrency appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

Look, Florida A&M University’s basketball team might not have had one of its best seasons, which the Rattlers finished with a 7-22 record, but one thing the ballers at FAMU have going for them is a cheerleader who DGAF that she’s hyping up a losing team—she’s still going to talk all the trash and put on for her school. 

This FAMU cheerleader talkin trash has me dying pic.twitter.com/64h0okeYEL

— Kenny Morales (@KennyMoralesTV) March 18, 2023

According to Blavity, the Rattlers cheerleader with the slick tongue who clearly doesn’t care how anyone feels about it is FAMU senior Nailah Clarington, who will be graduating soon, meaning FAMU might be down one diehard sh*t-talker who can rival any Black family sitting around the Sapdes table. (If you can thrive in that environment, you’re an official trash-talk blackbelt to be revered by anyone who wishes to avoid getting roasted beyond recognition.

“Messiah, yo coach says you suck. That was his words. Take him out of the game, Coach,” Clarington can be heard shouting from the sideline. She could also be heard telling the referee they don’t need to let people talk to them any old kind of way—while definitely planning to keep talking to folks any old kind of way.

She also questioned the refs’ calls and shouted, “He’s not a shooter!” at multiple players from the opposing team, who were, apparently, not shooters.

Suffice it to say, the fine folks on Twitter were amused and appreciative of Nailah’s energy.

Yes girl!!!! I'm a former cheerleader from many, many, MANY, yrs back and her front hurdler is ON POINT!!!

— Ang (@GueUSCwho) March 19, 2023

Bro work on your free throws

— umehta24 (@umangmehta24) March 19, 2023

She is giving me life

— jennifer shirah (@jenmeltwin) March 19, 2023

I want any woman like her

— 𝟚ℙ𝕖𝕒𝕥 (@2PeatAx) March 19, 2023

“that was his words” – love it.

— Morgan Edge (@morganedge17) March 19, 2023

33: pic.twitter.com/mRcbYfevkB

— i am not davido (@woskethoughts) March 19, 2023

@english_shamar And you know if anyone stepped up , they done cus a mouth like that got the Ali hands

— GUYVER HORDAK (@guyverHORDAK) March 21, 2023

Clarington clearly won herself a lot of fans—and possibly a career as a sports broadcaster. Steven A. Smith better watch out.

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

The post FAMU Cheerleader Steals Show From The Sidelines With Epic Trash Talk In Viral Video appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: Greg Swales/SKIMS / Greg Swales/SKIMS

SZA has just stolen the show without singing one note. She has lent her amazing energy to the new SKIMS campaign and it doesn’t disappoint.

As spotted on Variety Magazine the songstress has added modeling to her resume. This week Kim Kardashian’s underwear brand unveiled the TDE talent as the new face of their “Fits Everybody” line. The new drop celebrates and embraces every woman’s unique curves. “Our buttery soft, molds-to-your-body fabric that stretches to twice its size” is the brand’s headline for the launch.

“I’m excited to be in Skims’ latest Fits Everybody underwear campaign and to align myself with a brand that strives to make women feel both comfortable and sexy,” SZA said in a formal statement. SKIMS founder Kim Kardashian also expressed her excitement for having the Grammy Award winning vocalist on board as well. “SZA’s honesty, confidence, and dynamic energy are unparalleled. She’s truly the woman of the moment, and I’m so honored for her to be featured in SKIMS latest campaign”.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SZA (@sza)

The “Fits Everybody” collection includes a variety of bodysuits, t-shirts, slips, briefs, bras and more. You can shop the pieces here. 

Photo: Greg Swales/SKIMS

The post Oh My: SZA Stars In SKIMS “Fits Everybody” Campaign appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: Amazon Studios / Amazon Studios

Ben Affleck and Amazon Studios highly-anciticpated film, Air is a few weeks from hitting theaters across the board and to hype up the film’s release, Amazon will be embarking on a multi-city consumer experience to both promote the film and help people have a good time.

Variety is reporting that the studio will be teaming up with sneaker culture icon, Jason Markk to host said multi-city consumer tour promptly named “Fresh Air” which aims to bring sneakerheads together and celebrate the culture that’s been basically ruined by resellers, backdooring employees, and sneakerbots (yes, we salty over here). With the help of guerrilla teams, the “Fresh Air” teams are set to turn big time cities like New York, LA and Chicago into sneakerhead havens where we get to express our love of the sneaker culture while getting some sneaker products at the same time.

Free to the public, the “Fresh Air” activation allows attendees to celebrate self-expression through fashion as they share their sneaker stories while getting a complimentary shoe cleaning, with premium care products from Jason Markk and staff on site to offer advice on keeping their shoes in pristine condition. In addition to their freshly cleaned kicks, attendees will also walk away with an “Air” and Jason Markk sneaker duster bag.

If Amazon really loved us sneakerheads they’d give us chances to get out hands on some Air Jordan 1 “Lost and Found,”‘s. Lord knows Jeff Bezos can afford to lace the entire sneaker community with a pair from city to city. Just sayin.’

Still this is a pretty cool initiative as we’re sure sneakerheads will be putting their best laced foot forward when the “Fresh Air” team hits their hood in the coming weeks. Heck, they’ll even be posting up at Jason Markk’s flagship store in L.A. Should be interesting to see how this sneaker community promo tour plays out.

Are you looking forward to the “Fresh Air” team hitting your city? Will you be catching Air when it premiers on April 5th? Let us know in the comment section below.

The post Amazon Studio Teams With Jason Markk For “Fresh Air” Multi-City Consumer Experience appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: iOne / iOne

On this episode of BackStory with Colby Colb, legendary radio host Colby ‘Colb’ Tyner chronicles the thriving Hip-Hop renaissance of the ‘90s—a time when Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest and Busta Rhymes, to name a few, were emerging on the scene representing East Coast Hip-Hop.’

This was the perfect environment for a young Christopher Wallace to break out on the scene. The young Biggie Smalls studied the Hip-Hop greats, growing up on Word Up! Magazine and listening to Rap Attack on the radio. His mother, Voletta Wallace, tells Colb that young Christopher excelled in English class. “So I wasn’t shocked that he was such a great writer,” she says.

Raised in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, bordering Bedford-Stuyvesant, young Christopher would pass the time between drug deals by performing verses on the street. In the video below, you can feel the undeniable presence that he had at just 17 years old, rapping on Fulton Street in Brooklyn.

In 1991, Christopher was arrested and jailed for cocaine in North Carolina. While behind bars, he focused on writing and dropped his first demo tape upon his release. Biggie Smalls was born.

DJ Mister Cee is credited with discovering the young rapper, after being introduced through his first DJ, DJ 50 Grand. Biggie soon caught the eye of a young Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs, who was doing A&R for Uptown Records at the time. The two met up, and the rest is history.

Puff was the mastermind behind Biggie’s rise to fame. He was strategic in where he placed Biggie in features alongside artists like Super Cat, Mary J. Blige, and Craig Mack. Colb goes in-depth here, documenting in detail the progression of singles and collaborations that further propelled Biggie to stardom.

Biggie’s momentum continued to build upon the success of his song Party and Bullshit off the Who’s The Man? soundtrack in the spring of 1993. In this next video, Puff and Biggie perform at the OutKast picnic in Atlanta in 1994, just months prior to the release of Biggie’s iconic debut album Ready to Die.

Colb plays a clip from his first interview with Biggie in July of 1994, two months leading up to the release of Ready to Die. By this point, Biggie had changed his stage name to The Notorious B.I.G. due to a lawsuit filed against him by actor Calvin Lockhart, whose character in the 1975 film Let’s Do It Again inspired the rapper to adopt the name Biggie Smalls.

Two months after the release of Ready to Die, Biggie tells Colb in a second interview that the album was a chance to showcase another side to his artistry, a darker side, following the release of the mainstream hit Juicy, which told his life story and introduced The Notorious B.I.G. to the world.

Colb delves into the series of unfortunate events that caused the friction between Biggie and Tupac, and led to their untimely deaths. Tupac was making his mark on the West Coast Hip-Hop scene at the time. The two rappers were successful and thriving, yet the tension between them grew, fueling the rivalry between East Coast and West Coast Hip-Hop.

The iconic MCs were fatally shot within six months of each other, following one of the greatest years of Hip-Hop (1996), as Colb tells it. Their deaths sent shockwaves throughout the music world, but their impact on Hip-Hop lives on.

Listen to BackStory with Colby Colb: The Notorious B.I.G. for exclusive clips of Colb’s past interviews with Biggie Smalls, his mother Voletta Wallace, DJ Mister Cee and Craig Mack.

The post ‘BackStory With Colby Colb Podcast’ – The Notorious B.I.G. appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: The Center For Black Literature / The Center For Black Literature

The Center For Black Literature will focus on the success of Black authors in speculative fiction for this year’s national convention to be held later this month in Brooklyn, New York.
For those fans of Black literature and the tradition of speculative fiction, the upcoming 2023 National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium will satisfy their desires. The conference, organized by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of  Brooklyn, New York will be held beginning next Friday (March 31st) and Saturday (April 1st) at the academic institution. The theme of the event this year is Diasporic Visions: Celebrating Black Speculative Fiction.

In accordance with the theme, the three panels slated for the conference will hone in on the various factors of speculative fiction and Afrofuturism employed by Black authors across the diaspora. There will be a slew of notable writers who are attending, which include Tananarive Due, Jewelle Gomez, Tim Fielders, and Christine Taylor-Butler among others. The penultimate event of the conference will be the NBWC Honorees Spotlight, which will be a conversation between authors and the honorees for 2023, Sheree Renée Thomas and Jewell Parker Rhodes. Both women will receive the Octavia E. Butler Award, named after the award-winning late author and pioneer of the genre.

The conference will also feature a selection of other events to take place before the symposium, aimed at students interested in writing speculative fiction from the primary school level to the high school level. Booksellers will also be in attendance on-site and virtually throughout the conference.

The NBWC was first founded by the literary giant John Oliver Killens in 1986 at the City University of New York school and has been held on the last weekend in March since its inception. From that point, it has become a well-regarded event for emerging Black writers and those of note, spanning all generations.

For more information on tickets for the conference, you can check out their website here.

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Shadée Monique is just the type of beauty for us to feature in our latest edition of Baes & Baddies, a segment we’ve neglected for far too long here at Hip-Hop Wired. While most people will automatically connect Shadée Monique to her beau Joe Budden, she is definitely her own woman.

There isn’t much information out there about Shadée Monique, who posts on Instagram under the name @therealcateyes. What we do know is that she runs her own clothing boutique, Bawdy Essentials, and often appears as an off-camera voice on The Joe Budden Podcast.

Respectfully speaking, Ms. Monique is a shapely goddess of a woman with curves that will stop traffic in any major city. While we don’t know much about her relationship with Budden beyond a few photos here and there, the couple is going strong after years of dating and we always salute Black Love on these pages.

Again, thank you to Shadée Monique for allowing us to bring back Baes & Baddies in style. Check out the gallery below.

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Photo: Instagram/@therealcateyes

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Source: New and Making Noise / New And Making Noise

Big Latto graces the studio for Episode 12 of New And Making Noise with hosts Incognito and DJ Misses. The Grammy-nominated artist discusses her next moves and her thoughts on the current state of Hip-Hop.

Source: New and Making Noise / New And Making Noise

The Atlanta-raised rapper describes what it was like to transition from the 16-year-old who won The Rap Game to the Billboard chart-topping success that she is today.

“It was [difficult], just because I had so many opinions and people in my ear and so many hands on my career, and I feel like I wasn’t really telling my story how I wanted to tell it,” she says. “So I had to get to a point where it was like… there is no right or wrong way to do this. I just gotta be me with it.”

Now 24, Latto is enjoying life fresh off the success of her multi-platinum breakthrough single ‘Big Energy’ and her last two albums Queen of da Souf and 777.

“I’m learning to live in the moment lately,” she says. “I feel like I’ve been rapping for so long, so it could start feeling like a routine sometimes… But I’m learning to live in the moment and appreciate and just take it all in.”

We can expect more freestyles on the way—Latto’s way of responding to critics who question her lyrical ability. “That’s a joke. We laughed at that for sure. Y’all gotta remember, I came in writing,” she says.

Latto is taking the momentum from ‘Big Energy’ and running with it. “I think after Big Energy, my horizon was just different,” she says. “I didn’t put myself in a box anymore. I learned to think bigger. I saw the bigger picture.”

From releasing new music to appearing on the big screen this year, Latto isn’t limiting herself. “I want to step into the business world,” she says. “Music is not going to last forever… So I’m getting ahead of that while I’m young.”

The artist also gives a nod to other women in the music industry who have supported her, including the late Gangsta Boo and Mariah Carey, who is featured on the ‘Big Energy’ remix with DJ Khaled.

Latto stans for her fellow women in Hip-Hop as well. “I love the inclusivity of everything right now. And I’m really a fan of the movement,” she says.

Latto also discusses her current style inspiration, her first tattoo, and what she would change about the music industry.

The post ‘New And Making Noise Podcast’ Episode 12: Big Latto appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: MSCHF / MSCHF

Oh y’all thought MSCHF’s Big Red “Astro Boy” Boots was ridiculous? Wait to you see what they got coming down the pike next.

Hypebeast is reporting that after revealing their latest sneaker, the Super Normal 2 “Mint Green” (not bad), MSCHF is focusing on their wildest creation to date, the “BWD” silhouette which seems like the footwear of someone who got stuck between two different dimensions or something. Boasting two entrances per foot, the strange design is sure to be an attention grabber though we’re not sure it’ll be a hit amongst customers who take their fashion style seriously.

The two-way silhouette is likely the first of its kind, boasting dual foot entrances allowing for multiple styling options. In addition, standard toe boxes — usually concealed and ventilated — are completely unlatched, while customary compartments are also left open for a mule-like design.

The rest of the sneaker remains simple, featuring white leather uppers (or whatever is left of them) with pierced medial decor and striped ankle graphics. Reminiscent of ’90s skate shoes, it dons a chunky outline complemented by red suede heel counters with MSCHF’s triple exclamation point motif and arrows that might signal correct wearability. Finally, cautionary branding continues across the pair, stacked atop angular speckled midsoles and ribbed gum bottoms.

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Yeah, we good on these. Let thy sneaker bots eateth on this particular sneaker drop.

No word on how much these mutt puppies will be going for but they’re slated to drop exclusively via the MSCHF app on April 11th.

Will you be trying to copp a pair? We know we won’t. Let us know in the comments section below.

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Source: @diddy / Instagram

Sean “Diddy” Combs is returning to reality television, this time with all of his children in a new show for Hulu.
According to reports, the entertainment mogul is in the midst of filming a new reality show for the streaming platform that will focus on him and his children. The show’s tentative title is Diddy + 7, which lines up with a trademark filed by his legal team earlier this year on his behalf. Representatives for Diddy and Hulu offered no comment when contacted.

“It’s going to profile the entire family. They all have businesses — even the kids — and it will feature everyone,” a source close to the show’s creation expressed to reporters. “[The show] is all about the dynamic of the family and how Diddy does it all with all the kids. They’re a real family, even all the baby mamas.”

These sources also report that the family’s individual accounts on Instagram are providing some previews of what potential viewers can expect. The REVOLT TV founder’s son Christian is currently promoting his latest single “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.” He and twins D’Lila and Jessie are the children of the late model Kim Porter. His eldest son Justin shared a photo of him with his youngest sister Love Sean Combs with the caption, “My twin”. Love was born on October 28th to her mom, cybersecurity specialist Dana Tran. Sources have also reported spotting Diddy and his family shooting scenes in Los Angeles and Miami among other locations around the country.

The 53-year-old’s return to the reality show world will certainly remind many viewers of the Making The Band 2 reality series from 2002 which aired on MTV. The show would last three seasons and contained a few pop culture moments that are still talked about to this day in addition to being responsible for the careers of groups Da Band, Danity Kane, and Day 26. Diddy was recently a judge on The Four: Battle for Stardom which aired on Fox.

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Source: @JustInMyView / R1 Digital

A few days ago Tekashi Snitch9ine finally got the comeuppance that the culture has been so patiently waiting on for the past few years, respectfully. Now new video footage appears to show that the men involved in the attack didn’t just so happen to run into the “Gummo” rapper by coincidence.

TMZ is reporting that the surveillance video from the LA Fitness where Tekashi was brutally beatdown shows the two men enter the gym before being joined by a third, briefly speaking to the desk employee and then ultimately making a beeline directly to the sauna where Tekashi was enjoying life as a free man.

It certainly looks like the two men were in on some sort of plan … but it’s still unclear if they knew Tekashi was going to be at the gym all along, or if one man possibly saw 6ix9ine and called his buddy to help.

What followed was a beatdown for the ages. Leaving Tekashi bloodied up, bruised and battered, the men left the infamous Hip-Hop snitch with coloring on his face that actually blended in with his rainbow wig piece. Though everyone wondered where his security was at during the assault, Tekashi probably felt it wasn’t necessary as TMZ says he’s frequented the South Florida gym in the past without any kind of problems.

Our sources tell us if Tekashi is ever approached or recognized, most of the interactions are peaceful … and he’s usually accommodating and willing to pose with fans. Of course, he’s clearly got enemies out there — no doubt still lingering from the infamous RICO case.

Well, Tekashi found out that day that the streets eventually catch up to everyone. Usually working out for 20 minutes on the stair master at that particular location, Tekashi must’ve thought he was safe in Florida as he’s never beefed with any rapper in Trump country in his career, that we know of. He obviously wasn’t.

Luckily for Tekashi, LA Fitness staff reportedly intervened to help get him to a safe room and keep the men from inflicting more damage on his body.

No word on whether the men involved in the assault are being sought for questioning by authorities, but given the brazenness of their actions, they could probably care less about getting cuffed up for the assault. Heck, Boosie Badazz is already calling for fans to start a GoFundMe page to support his new snitch-beating heroes. Even Gunna is getting heat due to Tekashi’s plight.

What do y’all think of the situation? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post LA Fitness Staff Rushed Tekashi 6ix9ine To A Safe Room After He Caught The Hands & Feet appeared first on The Latest Hip-Hop News, Music and Media | Hip-Hop Wired.

Source: TELFAR / Telfar

One of the hottest accessory imprints is trying to change the game again. Telfar is rolling out a new pricing model.

As spotted on Business Of Fashion the New York City based label is changing their approach on how they sell their uber popular bags. This week the company announced they are restructuring their pricing model with a goal of empowering their consumer base.

Starting with their forthcoming collection, all of their bags will be released at the wholesale price. From there pricing will increase depending on the demand. Once an item sells out of inventory it will remain at that final price for all future drops. Founder Telfar Clemens explained their strategy in an exclusive interview with Fast Company Magazine. “Many brands use price as a barrier to entry. I never wanted that for my brand,” he stated.

This is just yet another move in Telfar’s approach to disrupting the luxury category. Previously Telfar launched their “Bag Security Program” where consumers can pre-order bags prior to production and receive their piece months later. The initiative is a direct response to the difficulty of purchasing bags upon launch (they sell out quickly). In 2021 they launched their “Telfar TV” feature on the Telfar app to combat bots.

Photo: TELFAR

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