So, for whatever reason, Azealia Banks has decided to release the first single to her sophomore album Fantasea II: The Second Wave (which drops July 11th of next year) before her debut album Broke With Expensive Taste has even been released. Alright.
Iggy Azalea wears her birthday suit for the October/November cover (1 of 2) for Complex. Read an except from her Q&A, as well as behind the scenes footage, below.
On the next page (below), you can check out Chance The Rapper’s feature and cover.
You’ve been fortunate to be around veterans like T.I. at Grand Hustle Records and Nas, who you toured with. What are the greatest lessons they’ve taught you?
Nas encourages me to take risks. He’s made me be less afraid and even more unapologetic. Even with “Bounce,” I was like, “It’s a pop record. I don’t know.” He was like, “Just fucking do it. It’s something different. It’s one song, what’s the big deal?” I couldn’t believe Nas was telling me to do a hip-pop record. The thing that I learned from both of them is to be unaffected by everything. There were a lot of sad days in that studio, and T.I. would be like, “Look, shawty…” and give me a spiel about how he went to prison and if something’s not going to send you to prison or kill you, you shouldn’t worry about it. Career-wise, I used to compete with certain other people I had issues with. He sat me down and said, “You run your own race, like you’re a horse and you have blinders on. Don’t look at who’s on either side of you or who’s coming up.” That’s helped me a lot because even last year a lot of people would have chalked me up and said I was a wrap. I sometimes feel like I’m the turtle and other people are the hare. They win their race and finish or burn out and I just slowly run my own race. It works out in the end.
Another awesome hip hop moment courtesy of Peter Rosenberg with the big assist from Brother Ali!!
From TMZ:
Mack Maine — who’s rapped with everyone from Lil Wayne to Rick Ross — has been hit with two felony criminal charges in Oklahoma after cops say he sexually assaulted a female fan and then punched the woman’s female friend in the face … TMZ has learned.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, officials believe the 31-year-old rapper invited Rachel Reed and Cailey Maddox onto a tour bus on August 22, 2013 … and while on the bus, “put his hand down Rachel’s dress and grabbed her right breast” without her consent.
The docs say, “Rachel got upset and when she and Cailey tried to leave the bus, [Mack Maine] held the door shut.”
“Once the door was opened, Cailey was walking down the steps but turned and looked back to call for Rachel and [Mack] punched her in the face, breaking her jaw and knocking her down.”
No word on when Mack is due in court.
Spotted on USA Today:
While performing at the Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday, Beyoncé was happily singing and swinging her hair around when she stooped down to shake hands with fans who were right at her feet at the edge of the stage.
In an instant, one of them jumped up and pulled her down. It looks pretty startling in a video posted on YouTube. A security guard immediately ran up on stage and grabbed her to pull her back up.
Beyoncé seemed unfazed and kept right on singing Irreplaceable throughout it all. Later she even spoke to the fan saying, “It’s all right. … thank you, I love you, too.”
Sources have confirmed that the gunman that shot and killed several people at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C. has been identified as 34-year old Aaron Alexis of Fort Worth, TX. Story is continuing to develop.
At least twelve people are dead after a shooting Monday morning in a heavily secured building at the D.C. Navy Yard, and authorities now say they have identified the gunman.
That gunman, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis of Fort Worth, Texas, is among the twelve dead. Officials said he recently began working as a civilian contractor.
The FBI, which now is leading the investigation, believes the gunman used the identification of a man who used to work at Navy Yard, reported Pete Williams of NBC News. The ID was found next to his body in Building 197, where most of the victims were shot on the third and fourth floors.
People with proper badges are allowed to enter Navy Yard without having their bags checked, Williams reported.
However, authorities have not completely ruled out the possibility of other gunmen, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier said at an afternoon press conference. Lanier had said police were seeking a man aged between 40 and 50 years old, who was wearing olive drab and was armed with a “long gun,” though she did not give any other details about the weapon. He was about 5-feet-10-inches tall and 180 pounds, African-American, with a medium complexion and graying sideburns.
From Vlad TV:
News broke earlier today that legendary Houston rapper Scarface was in the hospital on a respirator, which was seemingly confirmed on The Geto Boys’ Twitter page. The message read “Y’all pray for Scarface. Respiratory problems. Not doing well. @BrotherMob @WillieDLIVE,” and included a photo of the rapper slumped over in a hospital bed.
Just hours later the “No Tears” rapper cleared up any confusion on his page, writing “I was having allergy issues and told Willie to post a pic and that was my pose I’m good y’all preciate the luv tho.”
The Geto Boys have reassembled for a reunion tour and had performed in Little Rock, Arkansas the night before Scarface’s episode. Hit the above slide to view the photo and tweets.
“Cup Inside a Cup” is the latest visual off Stalley’s Honest Cowboy. The video is directed by Daniel Cummings and the song is produced by BCG’s own Black Diamond. The Honest Cowboy EP Is coming 9/17 on iTunes (preorder here).
UPDATE: Our own sources are now saying that the man is a 34-year old from Texas who used a former employee’s ID to get into the building. Confirmation is in queue….
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From My Fox D.C.:
Authorities in Washington, D.C., say at least 12 people are dead after a shooting today at the Washington Navy Yard. And they say they are looking for two other possible gunmen.
Police say a third gunman has died, though they’re not saying how.
Witnesses describe a gunman opening fire from the fourth floor, aiming down at people in a first-floor cafeteria. Others say a gunman fired at them in a third-floor hallway. It’s not clear whether they’re describing the same shooter.
Police say the two other potential gunmen were wearing military-style uniforms, including one who was wearing a beret. The police chief says one of them had a long gun, and the other was also armed.
The shooting prompted nearby schools to be put on lockdown. And planes at Reagan National Airport were briefly grounded so they wouldn’t interfere with police helicopters. Less than two miles away, security was beefed up at the U.S. Capitol, but police said there was no known threat there.
The attack unfolded just a short distance from the White House and the U.S. Capitol at a former shipyard that is one of the Navy’s oldest shore facilities.
The building that was targeted was the military’s headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command, which buys, builds and maintains ships, submarines and combat systems. About 3,000 people work at the headquarters, many of them civilians.
Witnesses described a gunman opening fire from a fourth-floor overlook, aiming down on people in the first-floor cafeteria. Others said a gunman fired at them in a third-floor hallway.
It was not clear whether the witnesses on different floors were describing the same gunman.
As emergency vehicles and law enforcement officers flooded streets around the complex, a helicopter hovered overhead, nearby schools were locked down and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were briefly grounded so they would not interfere with law-enforcement choppers. Less than 2 miles away, security was beefed up at the Capitol and other federal buildings, but officials said there was no known threat.
President Barack Obama mourned yet another mass shooting in the U.S. that he said took the lives of American patriots. Obama promised to make sure “whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.”
Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.
“He just turned and started firing,” Brundidge said.
Terrie Durham, an executive assistant with the same agency, said she also saw the gunman firing toward her and Brundidge.
“He aimed high and missed,” she said. “He said nothing. As soon as I realized he was shooting, we just said, ‘Get out of the building.'”
Rick Mason, a civilian program-management analyst for the Navy, said a gunman was shooting from the overlook in the hallway outside his office.
Shortly after the gunfire, Mason said, someone on an overhead speaker told workers to seek shelter and later to head for the gates at the complex.
Patricia Ward, a logistics-management specialist, said she was in the cafeteria getting breakfast.
“It was three gunshots straight in a row — pop, pop, pop. Three seconds later, it was pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, so it was like about a total of seven gunshots, and we just started running,” Ward told reporters several blocks away from the Navy Yard.
Ward said security officers started directing people out of the building with guns drawn.
One person died at George Washington University Hospital of a single gunshot wound to the left temple, said Dr. Babak Sarani, director of trauma and acute care surgery. A police officer and two civilian women were in critical condition at Washington Hospital Center, said Janis Orlowski, the hospital’s chief operating officer.
Orlowski said the police officer was in the operating room with gunshot wounds to the legs. One woman had a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The other had gunshot wounds to the head and hand.
Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy’s five system commands and accounts for a quarter of the Navy’s entire budget. Only security personnel were allowed to be armed on the campus.
The Navy Yard has three gates, according to its website. One is open around the clock and must be used by visitors. A second gate is only for military and civilian Defense Department employees. The other gate is for bus traffic.
The Navy Yard is part of a fast-growing neighborhood on the banks of the Anacostia River in southeast Washington, just blocks from the Nationals Park baseball stadium.
August Alsina’s Downtown: Life Under The Gun is out now.
Young South London Rapper Little Torment makes his Behind Barz debut.
From the Jamaica Gleaner, where you can read more on this story:
The dancehall fraternity has been left reeling after the shooting death of popular producer Patrick ‘Roach’ Samuels yesterday.
A police officer on the crime scene confirmed to The Gleaner that the producer was at the gas station at Mary Brown’s corner at 4:15 yesterday morning when gunmen opened fire on his vehicle.
Roach attempted to drive away, but more shots were fired at him. He later crashed along a section of Mannings Hill Road.
Roach was formerly Vybz Kartel’s manager and also made headlines in 2011 when he teamed up with Justus Arison for the popular rhythms ‘Overproof’ and ‘Overtime’.
A year earlier, Roach made headlines for his work on the ‘Siren’ rhythm, which featured Sean Paul’s international hit, Break Out, as well as Kartel’s Emergency.
Within minutes of hearing the news, several dancehall artistes took to social media to pay tribute to the producer.
Aside from producing famed Syrian singer Omar Suleyman’s upcoming album this fall, Four Tet has a solo LP also on the way. The soulful “Parallel Jalebi” is the second leak from Beautiful Rewind, which still has no release date.
In this prank our trolls go around smashing each other with sugar glass bottles to provoke reactions from innocent bystanders…
CMG’s Zed Zilla drops his highly-anticipated mixtape, Time 2 Eat. Features from Yo Gotti, Shy Glizzy, DJ Paul, Kevin Gates, Lil Lody and more. I also just found out today that Zed also did the beat for “Got It On My Own” (Featuring Yo Gotti & Shy Glizzy), which is impressive.
From the NY Daily News:
Two NYPD cops opened fire at a deranged man a block from Times Square — as he pretended to point a gun at them — but instead struck a pair of innocent bystanders Saturday night, police said.
The 35-year-old man was behaving wildly in the middle of W. 42nd St. at Eighth Ave. about 9:36 p.m. when he was confronted by the officers, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
As officers tried to corral the hulking wacko, he suddenly “reached into his pocket, took out his hand, and simulated as if he was shooting at them,” Kelly said.
One officer fired a single shot at the man but missed.
The second officer squeezed off two rounds that also went wayward, Kelly said.
A 54-year-old woman who uses a walker was struck in the lower right leg and rushed to Bellevue Hospital.
A 35-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to the buttocks and was transported to Roosevelt Hospital.
The man, who was not identified, was arrested. He was unarmed when he was taken into custody.
“The only thing the individual had on his person was a wallet which was recovered from his right rear pocket,” Kelly said.
You can read more on the story here.
Zed Zilla drops a two part video, Time 2 Eat drops in a few minutes.
Obama just spoke on the matter, giving his condolences to those that were “touched” by the recent shooting on the Navy Yard, also stating that he wants the ongoing information to be “seamless” between all parties and they are doing “everything within their power” to catch those responsible. We should have a video clip of the speech soon.
He is currently taking part in a ceremony marking the five-year anniversary of the financial markets’ collapse.
The random guy who almost got in a fight with Gucci Mane at Lenox Mall last week stopped by the ATL radio station with Big Tigger to talk about why he almost gave the rapper the fade. The random guy stated that Gucci Mane was disrespectful to his wife, putting his hands on his wife’s butt.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An unarmed man who was shot and killed by a police officer in North Carolina after a wreck was a former football player for Florida A&M University, school officials said Sunday.
Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, played for the school in 2009-10 and had recently moved to North Carolina. Early Saturday, he had apparently been in a wreck and was seeking help at a nearby house early Saturday, according to a statement from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. A woman answered the door and, when she didn’t recognize the man, called 911.
Officers responding to the breaking-and-entering call found Ferrell a short distance from the home, police said. As they approached him, Ferrell ran toward the officers and was hit with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them when officer Randall Kerrick fired his gun, hitting Ferrell several times. Ferrell died at the scene.
Police called the Ferrell and Kerrick’s initial encounter “ appropriate and lawful. But in their statement late Saturday, they said “the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive” and “Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.”
Police said Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, which under North Carolina law involves killing without malice using “excessive force” in exercising “imperfect self-defense.”
Police were not expected to further describe the incident Sunday, CMPD spokesman Officer Keith Trietley said, and a report was not available Sunday.
Kerrick, 27, of Midland, turned himself in for booking Saturday evening and was released on $50,000 bond, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office website. Kerrick joined the police force in April 2011.
FAMU Interim Athletic Director Michael Smith confirmed Sunday that Ferrell played the safety position for the school’s football team during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family during their time of bereavement,” Smith said in an emailed statement.
A search of public records indicated that Ferrell began living in Charlotte early this year after moving from Tallahassee, Fla., home to FAMU.
Before Kerrick was charged, police chief Rodney Monroe describe the accident in a news conference: Ferrell was driving a vehicle that crashed into trees off a northeast Charlotte road early Saturday, and the wreck was so severe he would have had to climb out of the back window to escape. Monroe said he didn’t know what caused the crash and didn’t say whether Ferrell suffered injuries, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Ferrell apparently walked about a half-mile to the nearest house and was “banging on the door viciously” to attract attention, Monroe said. Thinking it was her husband coming home late from work, the woman who lives there opened the door. When she saw Ferrell, she shut it and called police about 2:30 a.m., Monroe said.
Monroe said he didn’t think the unarmed Ferrell made threats or tried to rob the woman. – AP
UPDATE #4: At least six are dead, according to Associated Press. In addition, Mayor Gray and D.C. Police Chief Lanier have stated that there are two additional shooters that may be on the loose.
UPDATE #3: One shooter is reported dead.
UPDATE #2: There are now reportedly 3 shooters.
UPDATE: Even as this story is released, new reports are saying that there are at least 4 killed and 8 wounded. In addition, the shooter has apparently barricaded himself in one of the buildings in the area.
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From Washington Post:
As hundreds of police officers from various agencies converged on the scene, officials at Reagan National Airport ordered all outgoing flights held.
Police on the scene said eight civilians were shot, along with the two police officers. One is a D.C. Metro Police officer who was shot two times in the leg, police said. The other officer worked at the base.
A Navy Yard employee reached by telephone shortly before 10 a.m. said employees are still being told to shelter in place. She did not hear the shots, but described sirens, SWAT teams, Marines and a helicopter responding.
The U.S. Navy said that three shots were fired around 8:20 a.m. at the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building, where about 3,000 people work.
Police closed the 11th St Bridge as well as M St SE between 2nd and 4th streets SE due to the shooting. Entrances to the Navy Yard Metro station remain open.
U.S. Capitol Police confirmed enhanced security at the Capitol, but no immediate threat.
Tyler Elementary School at 10th and G streets in Southeast is on lockdown.
As helicopters circled overhead and emergency vehicles continued to rush to the scene, crowds of onlookers gathered on sidewalks and at a construction site near the Navy Yard, but police pushed them back, yelling at them to keep a distance from the grounds.
One employee who declined to give his name said he heard “blam, blam” inside one of the buildings, then someone pulled the fire alarm.
“We aren’t going back on base today,” he said. “[But] there are still people inside.”
Reports began circulating around 9:30 a.m. that the suspect was “down,” but D.C. police said the suspect is still on the loose and “hiding between floors.”
