Nas (along with his brother Jungle and more) recently celebrated the grand opening of his new sneaker store, titled 12AM:RUN, in Sin City. You can check out both pics from the opening, as well as a few snapshots of the actual store, above. When the website officially launches, you’ll be able to enjoy that here.
Will you head to Vegas to check it out?
Me, Lil Wayne and Mannie Fresh at the studio. pic.twitter.com/WGuTEuSSoj
— charles pettaway (@cpettaway1) April 25, 2014
Looks like Weezy is taking it back to the essence for Tha Carter V. I do hope we hear the culmination of whatever was created soon.
From TMZ:
Tyga’s pet tiger has just been ripped from his clutches — after authorities claimed the rapper was illegally in possession of the exotic animal … and now Tyga could face criminal charges.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, California Wildlife officers received a report last week that a tiger was housed at Tyga’s home in Ventura County.
We’re told a warden responded to the home — and Tyga told him he had removed the cat from the house (presumably due to complaints) and placed it at a private animal shelter.
It’s unclear how long Tyga’s had the cat — but he began posting photos of the tiger on Instagram last month.
According to law enforcement, Wildlife officers picked up the 7-month-old cat at the shelter and transferred it to a state facility for safekeeping … while they investigate.
We’re told Tyga could face misdemeanor charges of possession of a prohibited species … punishable by up to six months in jail.
Worth noting, we’re told Tyga took good care of the tiger. Sources close to Tyga tell us, the rapper didn’t realize it was illegal to own … and as soon as he realized, he gave it to a sanctuary.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
ABC’s Scandal will be without one Gladiator when it returns for its fourth season.
Columbus Short has opted to exit the Shonda Rhimes political thriller following domestic abuse claims, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
“At this time I must confirm my exit from a show I’ve called home for three years, with what is the most talented ensemble on television today. I would like to first thank Shonda Rhimes for the opportunity to work with such an amazing cast,” he said in a statement. “Thank you Gladiators, who have supported me throughout my entire career and of course to ABC and Shondaland for allowing me to play such a pivotal role in the Scandal series. I have enjoyed every single minute of it. Everything must come to an end, and unfortunately the time has come for Harrison Wright to exit the canvas. I wish nothing but the best for Shonda, Kerry [Washington] and the rest of the cast, who have become like a second family to me in such a short amount of time. For this, I will forever be grateful.”
Short was arrested in March after allegedly knocking a man out during an altercation at a West Los Angeles restaurant and subsequently released on bail. He faces four years in state prison if convicted. The actor most recently was hit with a restraining order from his wife after she claimed he threatened her life during a fight at their Chatsworth, Calif., home earlier this month. She has subsequently filed for divorce and is seeking sole custody of their 2-year-old daughter.
On Feb. 14, he was also charged with misdemeanor spousal battery, and on March 5, a judge ordered him to keep away from his wife, Tuere Short. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.
Short’s character, one of the original series regulars on Scandal, was last seen in the season-three finale with a gun pointed at his head. Showrunner Rhimes declined to comment on Harrison’s fate during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel after the season finale. “You know I can’t tell you whether or not he’s dead,” she said.
Short marks the second original castmember to exit the series. Henry Ian Cusick departed after season one following a mutual decision with Rhimes.
Scandal has not officially been renewed for a fourth season, but it’s a lock to return.
Ja Rule’s upcoming book Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man drops July 1st…the covers for the book is above, which you’ll be able to purchase through both hardcover and electronic formats.
After basically hearing half of the album for free, we get to see what else awaits us when Fiddy’s Animal Ambition touches landfall June 3rd. Check out the tracklisting below.
Spotted on Us:
George Clooney and hotel magnate Steve Wynn had their very own Sin City showdown earlier this month, when a dinner at Botero restaurant turned into a verbal sparring match. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Clooney walked out of the meal following an argument with Wynn—but both men have very different accounts of what happened before that.
Wynn, 72, told the Review-Journal that Clooney, 52, “got drunk” and took exception to a joke about former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. What really set him off, though, was a debate over healthcare—in Wynn’s version of the story, at least. “I think my discussion about the Affordable Care Act was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” the casino mogul (and noted Republican donor) told the paper.
Clooney, for his part, issued an emailed statement through his publicist on Wednesday, April 23. “There were nine people at that table…so you can ask them,” he told the Review-Journal. (The star was part of a group including his Casamigos business partners Rande Gerber and Michael Meldman, as well as two CAA execs.)
“Steve likes to go on rants…He called the president an a–hole…that is a fact,” the Argo producer continued, referring to President Barack Obama. “I said the president was my longtime friend, and then he said, ‘your friend is an a–hole.’ At that point I told Steve that HE was an a–hole, and I wasn’t going to sit at his table while he was being such a jackass…and I walked out.” (Reps for Wynn and Clooney confirmed to THR that an argument had taken place.)
“There were obviously quite a few more adjectives and adverbs used by both of us,” he added. “Those are all the facts. It had nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with character.”
Wynn thinks it had something to do with alcohol, too. “When he’s drinking, he considers himself a close personal buddy of the president,” the Encore hotel owner told the Review-Journal of the actor. “Clooney’s fun to be with when he’s sober. If you have a chance to drink with him, you want to get there early and don’t stay late.”
Following a supposedly real beef that stemmed from their stints on Love & Hip-Hop, Consequence and Joe Budden finally come to terms in a strip club. Courtesy of Hip Hop Wired:
Consequence tells Hip-Hop Wired exclusively that the upon seeing each other, neither MC backed down from their ice grill but cooler heads prevailed and bygones were doubled.
“What a difference a year makes,” the former G.O.O.D. Music artist tells Hip-Hop Wired. “The feud is simply over. We mutually squashed it all at Starlets. It was an impromptu encounter and it did start with a stare down, but we concluded it with a man to man talk. Nothing but ‘G Sh*t!”
The “Starlets” he is referring to is Starlets Gentlemen’s Club, located at 25th Ave in Queens. It seems to be the place for peace and other words beginning with the same letter.
While Consequence says the next step to actually recording a song together will come with time, but both artists have been diligently working on their next solo project.
Liam Gallagher is apparently driving fans crazy with his latest tweets, which seem to hint at a possible new Oasis album (but not really?). Spotted on NME:
Gallagher took to the social media network to individually tweet the letters O A S I S over the course of a few hours, following it up by tweeting OASIS LG. Fans responded by asking what the meaning of the message was, tweeting back at the singer “WHAT DOES THIS MEAN”, “oh god what” and “just tell us what you’re on about”.
I did see one pretty humorous comment on the matter:
Guy gets drunk and starts tweeting – not news
Spotted on TMZ:
50 Cent has ruined a video vixen’s life — getting her blacklisted in the business by calling her a “thirsty video bitch” in front of millions of people — or so the woman claims … and now she wants millions to call it even.
Sally Ferreira filed the defamation suit against Fiddy, claiming he FALSELY accused her last month of spreading rumors she was dating the rapper — as well as leaking behind-the-scenes photos from his music video shoot.
50 posted the accusations on Instagram and Twitter (where he has a combined 9 million+ followers) including a call to blacklist the model, writing, “WARNING: Do not attempt to work with this thirsty video bitch.”
For her part, Ferreira says she NEVER leaked the photos — and insists she’s openly been in a relationship with her fiance for 9 years.
Ferreira claims 50’s Internet postings — which have since been deleted — not only ruined her blossoming modeling career … they have subjected her to endless public ridicule and scorn. She says she’s suffered extreme emotional distress as a result.
She wants several million in damages.
May 5th will see the release of 2 Chainz’ latest project Freebase, and today we get to see the EP’s 7-song tracklisting….check it out below.
01 Don’t Do It (Intro)
02 Trap Back (prod. Street Symphony & 808XELiTE)
03 Freebase (prod. C Note)
04 Flexxin’ On My Baby Mama (prod. DJ Paul & Twhy)
05 WudaCudaShuda f. Lil Boosie (prod. Mike Will Made It)
06 Crib in Closet f. Rick Ross & ASAP Rocky (prod. Metro Boomin & 808 Mafia)
07 They Know f. Cap-1 & Ty Dolla $ign (prod. Young Chop)
Def Jam was nice enough to let us see some photos from Jhené Aiko’s GQ spread. I’m sure much of America just wishes that she’d do a nude photoshoot already…
Spotted on Billboard:
Lenny Kravitz has announced his tenth studio album, “Strut”, will be released Sept. 23 through his own Roxie Records imprint. He has signed a worldwide agreement with Kobalt Label Services to release and promote the album. An upcoming Kravitz tour is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The four-time Grammy winner has sold more than 38 million records worldwide and was signed to his first label, Virgin Records, for over 20 years. “Black and White America”, his last album, was released through Roadrunner/Atlantic in 2011 and sold 61,000 to date in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
“I am looking forward to my partnership with Kobalt,” Kravitz said in a statement. “They have a passionate team that share a high artistic view and I am confident they that are the right partner to carry out my creative vision for this album.”
Kravitz is managed by Craig Fruin and Howard Kaufman. On Kobalt’s end Richard Sanders, president of Kobalt Music Group and Chairman of KLS; Paul Hitchman, KLS MD; and Diarmuid Quinn, president, KLS North America worked on the agreement.
“We are thrilled to be working with Lenny and the Roxie Records team,” Sanders commented. “Lenny is in peak creative form, writing and recording what we believe is some of his best material yet.”
You can read more here.
C.R.E.A.M. Taken from ValleyWag, where you can read more on the story:
RadiumOne CEO Gurbaksh “G” Chahal pled guilty to two misdemeanors for domestic violence and battery last week. The ad-tech executive faced 45 felony charges based on security footage from his San Francisco penthouse apartment, which allegedly showed him hitting and kicking his girlfriend 117 times in half an hour.
You wouldn’t know this from recent RadiumOne headlines, however.
His online advertising network plans to raise $100 million from its IPO and just partnered with Condé Nast. Meanwhile Marcom, an international marketing conference that claims the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Netherlands as a partner, sent out a press release touting Chahal as a featured speaker on “dark social.”
These promising career developments occurred well after Chahal’s arrest in August. Business Insider has a copy of the felony complaint. At the time, the prosecution thought the video handed them an “airtight” conviction, but the San Francisco Chronicle implies that the serial entrepreneur, who sold his previous company to Yahoo for $300 million, bought his way out:
But after Chahal posted $1 million bail and hired attorney James Lassart, the case against him unraveled.
First up, the girlfriend refused to cooperate with the investigation or testify, having hired famed criminal attorney and CNN commentator Mark Geragos to represent her. (Do we hear “big-bucks settlement for not talking”? Geragos didn’t return our call, and Lassart’s camp is staying tight-lipped.)
But perhaps the biggest blow came when Judge Brendan Conroy ruled that surveillance video from Chahal’s bedroom – which reportedly captured the 1 1/2-hour attack – had been seized unlawfully by police. The cops claim they took the video without waiting for a warrant because they feared it might get erased, but the judge didn’t buy it.
SFCitizen faults the police and the judge for getting such damning evidence thrown out. Regardless of how Chahal squirmed out of 45 felony convictions, his get out of jail free card looks more like a carte blanche.
Spotted on That Grape Juice, fans of R. Kelly will be elated to know that the Chicago R&B legend (and man of infamy) will be releasing both a greatest hits project (The Essential R. Kelly, out May 19th) and a holiday album (12 Nights Of Christmas). This all comes in addition to the previously mentioned sequel to his most recent release Black Panties (titled White Panties).
We should also be looking forward to more episodes of Trapped In The Closet as well. The man is working, no doubt.
What an unexpected combo…who knows what these guys are cooking up. The combination can only create a fresh sound that we’ve been waiting for (perhaps for an upcoming Miguel album?).
Beyonce returns to the cover of TIME as one of their 100 “Most Influential People In The World”. This year, Mrs. Carter joins the likes of Pharrell, Obama and many more.
UPDATE: We now have the tracklisting, added below.
****************************************
…And Then You Shoot Your Cousin drops May 20th (and I can’t wait).
TRACKLISTING:
1. Theme From The Middle Of The Night
2. Never
3. When The People Cheer
4. The Devil
5. Black Rock
6. Understand
7. Dies Irae
8. The Coming
9. The Dark (Trinity)
10. The Unraveling
11. Tomorrow
12. Nothing
No immediate clue on when this guy’s very much needed album will drop, but a good sign of it’s eventual arrival lies in the new visual for ‘Every Little Word’ (above).
Spotted on Deadline:
As many as 13 VH1 staffers have been let go, we have learned. That represents the bulk of the network’s New York development and production team who have overseen such series as Mob Wives. Among the departing are VPs East Coast production and development Brad Abramson and Kari McFarland. The move comes a month after VH1 brought in veteran showrunner Nina Diaz (Mob Wives) as SVP East Coast Production and Development. She is expected to build a new New York development and production team. Additionally, some of the vacated positions are expected to be filled by people with different skill sets, including some servicing the network’s app. “With ratings on an upswing and the pace of development increasing cross platform, we felt it was the right time to examine our overall production and development structure in New York,” VH1 said in a statement to Deadline. “It’s imperative we accurately structure our teams to deliver the content that our growing number of viewers want from VH1 today.” VH1 has operations on both coasts with its development headquarters located in Los Angeles where new EVP Original Programming and Production Susan Levison is based.
TMZ reports:
Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is filing for divorce from his wife Ashton … after 2 years of marriage — and less than 3 months after earning his first Super Bowl victory.
Wilson just made the announcement, saying … “I have made the difficult decision to file for divorce. Clearly, decisions like these don’t come easy.”
Russell and Ashton have known each other since high school in Virginia — and they started dating during their college years.
They got married in January, 2012 … just a few months before Russell was drafted by the Seahawks.
The divorce is kinda shocking … considering the couple did a ton of charity work together — often visiting children’s hospitals during his Super Bowl winning season.
So, courtesy of Hits Daily Double, we have a good idea how Iggy Azalea and Future’s albums will do their first week out….The New Classic looks to sell between 50,000-55,000 (which is probably higher than a lot of folks thought she’d do) and Future’s Honest is on track to do 45,000-50,000, which continues to show the lack of real interest the popular consumer has in a full trap music album (unless it’s performed by an already established Pop artist, of course).
King Louie has announced his upcoming mixtape Tony….no release date as of yet. He also revealed the artwork via his Instagram account. I look forward to this mixtape dropping.
According to AP, Chris Browns trial for assault was put on hold for months after prosecutors declined to grant immunity to Chris Brown’s bodyguard this past Wednesday, who would be a key witness in the case.