Tag: Rap

NME

Cardi B has joined the likes of Lil Wayne, Lil Uzi Vert, Post Malone and plenty others by getting her face tattooed.

Though it’s not entirely clear what the new addition is, tattoo artist Robinson De Los Sanots shared a video on August 14 demonstrating the red ink being applied to her cheek. A Cardi fan page has also shared a photo of the rapper and De Los Santos together after the session, giving another glimpse of the new work.

There’s been some suggestion online that the tattoo could be a tribute to her son, Wave. As Billboard points out, earlier this year Cardi said she was thinking about getting Wave’s named inked on her face. “I really really wanna do it,” the rapper tweeted back in January.

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Cardi is yet to post an image showing the tattoo in full view. Whatever it is, Cardi’s new ink will add to a wide array of art the star has gotten on her body, such as a vibrant peacock she got on her hip and colourful floral art on her back.

Back in February, Cardi B and husband Offset tattooed one another to mark Valentine’s Day, each inscribing the date of their wedding, 9/20/17. “This tattoo, to us, it means love,” Cardi said during a video of the process.

Speaking of tattoos, Cardi is set to testify in person in a a $5million (£4.17million) lawsuit case over the artwork on her 2016 mixtape, ‘Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1’. The plaintiff, Kevin Brophy Jr, has alleged that the rapper photoshopped his distinctive back tattoo onto someone else’s body and used it without his permission for the artwork, which shows a man with his head between Cardi’s legs.

In the 2017 lawsuit Brophy filed, he said his likeness had been appropriate in “a misleading, offensive, humiliating and provocatively sexual way” that has caused him to suffer “distress and humiliation”. Cardi has previously claimed that Brophy’s tattoo art was superimposed without her knowledge on the back of a male model who posed with her for the photo, and has argued that it’s clear the image is not of the same person.

Last month, Cardi released latest single ‘Hot Shit’, featuring Kanye West and Lil Durk. It followed her 2020 mega-hit ‘WAP’ with Megan Thee Stallion along with last year’s ‘Up’. All three songs are expected to appear on the rapper’s forthcoming second album – the follow-up to 2018 debut ‘Invasion of Privacy’ – details of which are so far relatively scarce.

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NME

T.I. has responded to The Chainsmokers singer Drew Taggart’s claim that he was struck in the face by the rapper after giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“T.I. just literally punched me in the face,” Taggart said in a clip posted on TikTok yesterday (August 16) that shows the duo performing at a nightclub alongside T.I. and others. “We’re in a vibe and I, like, gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was totally my fault,” while Taggart’s Chainsmokers bandmate Alex Pall can be heard laughing in the background.

“He was like, ‘Don’t do that.’ And I was like, ‘OK.’ He pushed me off and I was like, ‘Alright, my bad,’” he said, with Pall adding that a member of T.I.’s crew approached him and said, “You need to get your boy.”

Taggart added that the rapper was quick to move on from what had happened. “He was like, ‘Alright cool, we’re good.’ It was the weirdest interaction ever,” the singer explained.

@thechainsmokers

My bad T.I. won’t happen again… unless?

♬ original sound – The Chainsmokers

“First of all, T.I.’s fully in the right here. I was feeling the vibes way too hard and I kissed T.I. on the cheek. And he punched me in the face for it! It’s like, fully fine,” Taggart concluded.

T.I. has since shared his own video stating that there “isn’t that much more to the story that you’ve already heard” that Taggart told, but added that he loved The Chainsmokers.

“They make great music,” he said in the clip. “I think the important thing to take away is that afterwards, we had a drink, we took a shot, you know what I’m saying? And we moved on.”

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In July last year, T.I. used Lil Nas X to defend homophobic comments made by DaBaby at that summer’s Rolling Loud Festival in Miami.

Appearing at the festival, DaBaby told the crowd: “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two or three weeks, put your cellphone light up.”

Posting a video in support of DaBaby, T.I. said: “For instance, the Lil Nas X shit. The performances and video, man I got a lot of respect for bruh because he had the courage to live his truth, but that shit ain’t for me… Just can’t look at it… And I don’t want my children seeing it, either,” he said.

He expanded on that comment later on in the video, saying: “If you have a Lil Nas X video, and him living his truth, you gone damn sure have people like DaBaby who are going to speak they truth. There ain’t nothing wrong with none of that. It ain’t got to be no hate, it’s all honesty.”

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NME

A$AP Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) has pleaded not guilty to two charges of assault with a semi-automatic firearm.

He is accused of shooting A$AP Mob member A$AP Relli – real name Terell Ephron – during an altercation in 2021.

Mayers was charged earlier this week after after Relli claimed he was shot by the rapper last November.

Today (August 17), he was barred from possessing any firearms or ammunition and prohibited from contacting or coming within 100 yards of Ephron, reports Rolling Stone.

Mayers’ lawyer Sara L. Caplan asked Judge Victoria Wilson if the rapper was permitted to travel for work before the judge ruled that he should “clear dates” with the prosecutors.

A$AP Rocky is currently scheduled to headline Rolling Loud New York at Citi Field in Queens on September 24.

Mayers spoke only to agree that his next court date would be set for November 2.

The alleged shooting initially went unreported, however back in April, Mayers was arrested over the incident after being detained at Los Angeles International Airport. It was claimed at the time that he’d been under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), with the shooting said to have happened near Vista Del Mar and Selma Ave at around 10:20pm on November 6.

Ephron had not been named as Mayers’ alleged shooting victim until last Wednesday (August 10) when the rapper was accused of having lured Ephron to an “obscure” location in Hollywood “to discuss a disagreement between the two of them”, where “unbeknownst to Mr. Ephron, A$AP Rocky was not just planning for a conversation and came armed with a semi-automatic handgun”.

It was alleged that when Ephron and Mayers met, they had a conversation “whereby without provocation, warning, or any justification, A$AP Rocky produced the handgun and intentionally fired multiple shots at Mr. Ephron”.

The incident was said to be in eyeshot of nearby surveillance cameras, and resulted in Ephron suffering minor injuries to his left hand.

If convicted as charged, Mayers could face up to nine years in prison.

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NME

Rick Ross has been fined for labour law violations at five of his chicken wing company’s franchise locations in Mississippi.

Among the violations, investigators found that the rapper’s company illegally forced employees to pay for their own uniforms, training, and background checks, covered till shortages from their own pocket (bringing their pay below minimum wage), and breaching child labour laws by allowing a 15-year-old employee to repeatedly work past 10pm.

As a result Ross, via his business Boss Wings Enterprises LLC, has been forced to pay $114,427 (£950,000) in back wages, liquidated damages, and civil penalties, according to Pitchfork.

The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall said in a statement: “Restaurant industry employees work hard, often for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet. The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers by deducting the costs of uniforms, cash register shortages or training expenses, or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate.”

The fine appears to have implications for Ross’s family, as sister Tawanda Roberts and mother Tommie Roberts are listed as the registered agents for the company in Mississippi. Last year, Ross also revealed via Instagram that he had gifted his 16-year-old son a Wingstop franchise.

Members of the company’s corporate office shared a statement with Mississippi Today distancing themselves from Ross’ franchise restaurants, stating: “The restaurants investigated by the DOL are owned and operated by a franchisee, not Wingstop Restaurants Inc.

“Our franchise agreement requires all of our franchisees to operate under our operating standards, which requires compliance with all laws and regulations. We were not previously aware of the DOL action against Boss Wings LLC.”

Earlier this month (August 4), Ross expressed his upset after being denied entry into Buckingham Palace during a visit to London.

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NME

Young Thug is being sued up to $150,000 (£124,608) over a concert he was allegedly set to perform over the summer.

The rapper – real name Jeffery Williams – was allegedly due to appear at the State Farm Arena on June 18 in Atlanta but due to his recent arrest, he was unable to attend.

According to court documents, Williams was set to receive $300,000 (£249,216) for a 45-minute set half of which had already been paid up front and the rest due to be paid after the event.

However, concert promoter A-1 Concert Entertainment has claimed they still have not received the $150,000 advance back, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution via HipHopDX.

“Due to his arrest and the nature of the felony criminal charges against Williams, it was immediately apparent in May 2022 that he would not be able to perform as required in the agreement,” the filing added. “To date, A-1 Concert has not received any reimbursement of the $150,000 owed to it.”

A representative for YSL Touring told the publication a refund will be issued.

NME has contacted a spokesperson for Young Thug for comment.

The rapper was arrested on May 9 and hit with charges that included taking part in criminal street gang activity. He was named in a 28-person grand jury indictment that focused on YSL (short for Young Stoner Life) as an alleged street gang. Williams had initially faced two charges, but later in May, was pinned with an additional seven.

Williams’ lawyer said that he had “committed no crime whatsoever” – and later hit out at his “dungeon like” prison conditions. The rapper was also denied bond at the start of June.

He released a surprise statement from jail during New York radio station Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam concert in June.

The rapper was due to be playing the New Jersey show but was still in jail, having been denied a prison release on bond earlier that month.

He said: “You know, this isn’t just about me or YSL. I always use my music as a form of artistic expression, and now I see that Black artists and rappers don’t have that, you know, freedom. Everybody please sign the ‘Protect Black Art’ petition and keep praying for us. I love you all.”

The rapper is set to stand trial on January 9, 2023.

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NME

Kid Cudi has spoken out about the vitriol he’s received from Kanye West this year, saying the Donda rapper’s online attacks have damaged his mental health and irreparably damaged their friendship.

West and Cudi were previously close friends and collaborators but have had a tumultuous relationship since the mid-2010s. They fell out again earlier this year, supposedly due to Cudi’s friendship with Davidson – which led Ye to remove Cudi’s contributions from his ‘Donda 2’ album.

• READ MORE: ‘Donda 2’: Kanye West’s ego is scuppering these half-baked, dashed-off sounding songs

Speaking to Esquire in a new profile, Cudi said of West: “I’ve been on every one of that man’s albums. He’s only been on two of mine. That should tell you something. And don’t think I didn’t ask.”

West went on to share numerous posts on Instagram targeting Davidson and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian – who he had been dating up until earlier this month – as well as Cudi. A mocked-up New York Times headline created by West imagining the death of “Skete Davidson” included the line: “Kid Cudi meant to play funeral but fearful of bottle throwers.”

“Do you know how it feels to wake up one day, look at your social media, and you’re trending because somebody’s talking some shit about you?” Cudi said. “And then you got this person’s trolls sending you messages on Instagram and Twitter? All in your comments?

“That shit pissed me off. That he had the power to fuck with me that week. That he used his power to fuck with me. That pissed me off. You fucking with my mental health now, bro.”

Cudi went on to explain he now had “zero tolerance for the wrong energies,” adding: “I’ve watched so many people throughout the years that are close to him be burned by him doing some fucked-up shit. And then they turn around and forgive him. And there’s no repercussions. You’re back cool with this man. He does it over and over.”

“I’m not one of your kids. I’m not Kim. It don’t matter if I’m friends with Pete or not friends with Pete. None of this shit had anything to do with me,” Cudi continued. “If you can’t be a grown man and deal with the fact that you lost your woman? That’s not my fucking problem. You need to own up to your shit like every man in this life has. I’ve lost women, too. And I’ve had to own up to it. I don’t need that in my life. I don’t need it.”

Cudi also suggested that the chances of them mending their friendship, as West has previously done with artists, was minimal.

“With all due respect, I’m not Drake, who’s about to take a picture with him next week and be friends again, and their beef is squashed,” Cudi said. “That’s not me. What I say, I mean. I will be done with you. It’s gonna take a motherfucking miracle for me and that man to be friends again. I don’t see it happening. He gon’ have to become a monk.”

Back in February, Kardashian criticised West for his “constant attacks” on her following their split. Davidson also previously revealed he had sought trauma therapy following the rapper’s online abuse.

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NME

The Game has said that he believes his new album ‘Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind’ is “the best rap album out right now”.

The Compton rapper released his eleventh studio album last Friday (August 12), which features guest appearances from the likes of Kanye West, A$AP Rocky and Pusha T.

• READ MORE: The Game: “Me and 50 Cent should have died in that beef”

‘Drillmatic – Heart vs. Mind’ also features the 10-minute track ‘The Black Slim Shady’, which takes aim at Eminem.

One part of the track sees The Game imitating Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ flow, with the former rapping: “Oh, he goes platinum / And, oh, I’m on the ‘Math with him / He got all the Blackest friends / He wants to be African / Me, left for dead on the ‘Doctor’s Advocate’ / Dre never executive-produced it, I just imagined it.”

Speaking in a video message to his Instagram followers on Sunday (August 14), The Game thanked his fans for their support following the album release.

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“Everybody that supported the album, everybody that showed me love with this ‘Drillmatic…’ shit,” he said. “Everybody that’s bumping it, sending me your favourite songs, posting it on your story, that shit means a lot to me.

“It’s dope to be 20 years in… and still get the love and the support from my day-one fans and everybody in the world,” he added. “I promise you it’s the best rap album out right now… probably the best full album out, I ain’t gone even lie.”

Earlier this week, 50 Cent responded to claims made by The Game that he was in fact the writer behind 50’s 2003 hit ‘What Up Gangsta’.

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NME

Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have sued Triller for $28million (£23m) over claims of non-payment after the recent sale of their popular VERZUZ series.

VERZUZ is the popular entertainment series that pits producers, songwriters and artists against each other in a rap battle style format.

• READ MORE: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on VERZUZ battle series: “We want to celebrate the architects of good music”

Kicking off in March 2020 after Timbaland and Swizz Beatz issued challenges to one another, artists that have taken part so far have included T-Pain, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Brandy, Monica, Rick Ross, DMX, Snoop Dogg, D’Angelo and many more.

Last year, the rights for the series were sold to Triller, who livestream the events on their app.

In a new lawsuit seen by Billboard, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz claim that Triller owe them £23m and have been defaulting in previously agreed payments.

The suit goes on to claim that while the pair received payments as planned in January and April 2021, a payment that was due in January of this year has still not arrived.

A new payment plan was then reportedly agreed, but the money from that has still not come through.

Speaking about VERZUZ previously to NME, Timbaland said: “Well, it’s not really a battle – it’s a celebration of our heroes in music, the ones who make us feel a certain type of way. Given what’s currently going on in the world, it’s a way to give back.

“It’s also an education, it’s educating people on the music, its creators and where this feeling comes from.”

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