It looks like Xscape is in more of an EP format (at least the Standard version is), so it should hopefully be pretty good. Production will come from Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins and Stargate and the album officially makes waves May 13th. Check out the list below.
1. Love Never Felt So Good
2. Chicago
3. Lovin’ You
4. A Place With No Name
5. Slave To The Rhythm
6. Do You Know Where Your Children Are
7. Blue Gangsta
8. Xscape
Before the Manny Pacquiao Vs Timothy Bradley match -- which went down as the MGM Grand in Las Vegas -- Ashanti played her part with a performance of the United States National Anthem.
From TMZ:
Meek Mill says the Philly P.D. screwed him out of a multi-million dollar shoe contract … and now he’s suing the City of Brotherly Love to get his cash back.
According to the lawsuit, Meek claims his Halloween 2012 arrest was total BS because even though cops claimed they smelled pot in his car … they ultimately came up with zilch. Meek says he was cuffed for refusing to let cops search — and he ended up missing a private jet flight to Atlanta.
Meek claims he lost $22k on the cancelled jet and a $39K appearance fee for the A-Town party he missed.
In the docs, he also claims he took a hit in negotiating a $2 million deal with Puma because all the negative pub from the arrest … forced him to settle for a mere $650K.
Meek is suing the city of Philly for false imprisonment, invasion of privacy … and most importantly (we suspect) to get back some of that lost dough.
This May, Birmingham City FC will be hosting a memorial football match in honour of fallen teenager Joshua Ribera (also known as Depzman from the Invasion Alert collective) with a memorial football match at St Andrew’s.
Me and Tunechi in the studio
From Bieber’s Instagram….I am admittedly not all that excited for the final product (yet).
Places way better than ‘Merica, part 25346352. From USA Today:
France already has a 35-hour work week, and a new rule is designed to make sure that it doesn’t start shading toward 40 hours because of work-related e-mail.
The Guardian reports that the rule forbids workers from checking their phones or computers for work stuff after 6 p.m., and it forbids employers from pressuring them to do so.
The move apparently doesn’t affect all workers in France, but it does cover about 1 million workers in the tech industry — including French employees of Google and Facebook.
At Fox Business, a U.S. labor expert finds it hard to believe the IT industry can manage such a draconian shut-off time.
“There’s always something going wrong off the clock — when a computer goes down, it doesn’t go down between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.”
A post at Fast Company agrees that it might be tough to enforce, but adds that “it’s a nice perk to have in any case.”
Elsewhere, Germany already has a similar rule in place, while Sweden is experimenting with a 30-hour work week.
From Metro:
Cash fares will no longer be accepted on London buses from July 6, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.
TfL said a ‘considerable drop’ in the number of people paying their bus fare in cash was behind the decision expected to bring £130m savings over the next nine years.
London commuters will need an Oyster card, pre-paid ticket or contactless payment cards to travel on buses.
Leon Daniels, managing director for TfL Surface Transport, said: ‘As Londoners and visitors change the way they pay for goods and services in the capital I am proud that we at the forefront of that change.
‘Customers will not only benefit from a quicker, cheaper and more convenient method of paying their bus fare; it will also enable us to save millions of pounds each year – which will be reinvested in further improvements to the capital’s transport network.’
TfL said around 25 per cent of journeys were paid for using cash in 2000, compared with around one per cent today.
The cash-free announcement was made in February but TfL had yet to specify an exact date when the changes would go live.
You can check out various pics of the royal couple (including baby George) during their weeklong stay in New Zealand above. From BBC News:
The Duke of Cambridge sealed victory over his wife the Duchess of Cambridge when the couple coached opposing rugby teams during their tour of New Zealand.
The royal couple went head-to-head in a tag rugby tournament for youngsters in Dunedin, in the South Island.
The duke punched the air as he claimed victory in the final on Sunday – coming days after his wife beat him in a yacht race in Auckland.
And he teased his wife, mouthing to her “Next time, next time”.
Meanwhile, back in Britain the headlines in Sunday’s papers focused on speculation the couple could be expecting a second child.
It came after a well-wisher who presented Prince William with a lace shawl for Prince George said she was encouraged to make a second baby gift.
Cynthia Read said the prince told her during their meeting in the town of Cambridge on Saturday: “You might have to make another one soon.”
“The way William said it, it was like he was dropping a hint, letting me in on a secret,” she said of their conversation.
The trip to the city of Dunedin was the latest leg of the couple’s 19-day tour, which will also take in Australia.
In addition to seeing the artwork (above) and tracklisting (below) for IAMSU! forthcoming album, we also get to hear a track that may or may not have made the cut (it’s not on the listing you’re about to see). Nonetheless, check it all out below.
1. Intro
2. No Secret
3. Interlude
4. Only That Real feat. 2 Chainz and Sage The Gemini
5. Girls
6. Sincerely Yours feat. 1-O.A.K.
7. Stop Signs
8. I Love My Squad
9. Interlude
10. Back On Your Mind feat. Kool John & Skipper
11. What You ‘Bout feat. Wiz Khalifa & Berner
12. T.W.D.Y. feat. Too Short & E-40
13. Ascencion
14. Problems
15. Martina
Spotted on the Daily Mail:
Partying with beautiful women, racing European supercars and stealing selfies with Paris Hilton, the sons and friends of Mexico’s most feared drug lords are not shy in keeping the world up to date with their exploits through Instagram and Twitter.
While countless people were killed just because they had seen reclusive Mexican Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán Loera, his sons Alfred and Ivan Guzman appear to have no such worries.
Advertizing their ill-gotten wealth, no doubt bought with drug money from North America’s most feared trafficking organization, Alfred and Ivan are joined showing off online by Serafin Zambada and Mayito Zambada – the sons of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada Garcia, who was El Chapo’s right hand man.
Sharing through social media with them is Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, or El Chino Anthrax, the hitman for the New Generation Cartel, who was arrested in December in Amsterdam, shortly after posting a seflie of him and an unaware Paris Hilton.
Read more on the story here.
You can also check out an additional clip below. From TMZ:
Master P has each of his kids on tape saying he DID NOT kidnap them, and their mom has trouble with booze and weed … claims she adamantly denies.
As TMZ first reported, Sonya Miller went to court yesterday trying to obtain an emergency order forcing the rapper to return their 3 minor children to her. Her request was denied until a court hearing in July.
But today a video popped up on YouTube of Master P interviewing each of his kids about the situation — and they all backed their dad … claiming their mother was the bad influence who had exposed them to weed and alcohol.
Master P goes on to say he wants Sonya to get help … specifically rehab.
Responding to the video, Sonya’s attorney tells TMZ she vehemently denies Master P’s allegations and calls the video “a joke,” “despicable” and “offensive.” Miller’s lawyer says she’d rather face her ex in court and not battle things out through the media.
From NJ.com:
A member of Naughty by Nature, a Grammy Award-winning hip hop trio from East Orange, was arrested Thursday in Union City after a short high-speed chase, and when he rushed toward the police car he was ordered back to his vehicle at gunpoint, authorities said.
Anthony “Treach” Criss, of Massachusetts, made his first court appearance today in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City, where his bail was set at $15,000 cash or bond. Before posting bail he will have to take care of some child support issues and other matters, officials said.
Criss attempted to elude law enforcement officers after being given a signal to stop, the criminal complaint said, adding that Criss was speeding for nine blocks through a congested area.
Union City Police Chief Richard Molinari said at 7:30 p.m. Thursday officers were checking car speeds with radar at Kennedy Boulevard at 18th Street when Criss blew past them in his Cadillac Escalade at 55 miles per hour in the 25-miles-per-hour zone.
When the officers pulled out to stop Criss, he hit the gas and headed north on the Boulevard, flying through four red lights before finally stopping on the Boulevard at 29th Street, Molinari said.
Upon stopping, Criss jumped out of his vehicle and ran to the police car and the officers drew their weapons and ordered him to return to his vehicle, Molinari said.
Criss later complied with the officers’ orders, Molinari said, adding that he was cited for reckless driving, speeding and driving with a suspended license.
Officers also found there was a warrant for his arrest out of Essex County for failing to appear at a hearing related to child support, and warrants out of Union City and Secaucus for failing to appear at hearings related to motor vehicle violations, Molinari said.
Criss’ attorney, Darryl Smith of Jersey City, said he had no comment.
The Tweet has since been deleted, but thanks to the reality that everything on the internet is permanent, we can see that Naya Rivera had some big words about her former-fiancé-turned-we-don’t-really-know-yet (above). It’s also revealed that she unfollowed Big Sean as well.
In related news, Big Sean had also released a statement through his rep (via People):
“After careful thought and much consideration, Sean has made the difficult decision to call the wedding off,” the rep said.
“The recent rumors and accusations reported by so-called or fake sources are simply untrue. Sean wishes Naya nothing but the best and it is still his hope that they can continue to work through their issues privately. We will not be commenting again on this matter.”
I’m sure there will be songs about this from both parties in the near future…
From BBC:
Former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell has received an 18-month ban for failing a drugs test.
The Jamaican sprinter, 31, took the banned stimulant oxilofrine at last year’s national championships but the suspension has been backdated and will end on 20 December, 2014.
Powell called the ruling “unfair and unjust”, and said a legal supplement he took, Epiphany D1, was contaminated.
He plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
He wasn’t the only athlete hit with a ban recently, either…..you can check out more at BBC.
From TMZ:
Chris Brown just checked into the “Four Seasons” of jails … and good news/bad news — he gets to shower as much as he wants!
Chris arrived in Washington, D.C. after a 5-day trek from California courtesy of Con-Air.
An administrator at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Virginia confirms Chris is currently an inmate — and he’s quick to add Chris isn’t getting special treatment.
Chris has been placed in limited general population with no restrictions — meaning he gets to enjoy all the amenities of the facility, including:
— Daily showers
— TV
— Library
— Telephone
— Exercise
— Meals in the cafeteriaIt beats L.A. jail by a country mile … where he was locked down in solitary 23 hours a day.
The downside … besides group showers — he circulates among the other inmates.
From the Daily Mail:
Matthew Knowles masterminded little Nixon’s half-sister Beyoncé’s rise to global stardom.
But while she is living the life of a feted superstar, four-year-old Nixon has been pictured moving out of his home after Knowles fell tens of thousands behind in court-ordered child support payments.
Nixon and his mother Alexsandra Wright are now putting their belongings into storage and seeking temporary accommodation at a shelter as they await the back-payment of the child support.
The two were pictured looking emotional as they packed up their modest home into boxes earlier this week.
Nixon was seen comforting his mother as she cried while opoening letters on their driveway, before packing boxes in their garage. The two looked at photos together on their balcony, before finishing their packing.
Alexsandra conceived her son during an affair with Knowles, who was married to Beyoncé’s mother Tina at the time – the revelation of the relationship ended their marriage.
You can read more about this at Daily Mail; the question is, what would you do if you were, say, Beyonce, Tina or Solange?
AP — Hillary Rodham Clinton ducked a thrown shoe, expressed surprise, cracked a couple of jokes that drew applause and continued her keynote speech on stage in front of a Las Vegas convention audience.
Moments later, still in the stage spotlight, the former secretary of state reflected calmly on what she called “an atmosphere and attitude in politics” that she said rewards inflexibility and extremism.
“That is not the way democracy works,” Clinton said as she fielded apologies and questions Thursday from Jerry Simms, the outgoing chairman of the host Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
“People bring their beliefs and their concerns to the table, and work them through,” Clinton said.
Meanwhile, a woman was taken into federal custody after admitting she threw the shoe. She didn’t say why she did it.
“Is that somebody throwing something at me?” Clinton said after the object flew past her on the stage at the Mandalay Bay resort. “Is that part of Cirque de Soleil?”
Most in the audience of more than 1,000 people understood the reference to the popular series of Las Vegas Strip shows featuring acrobats, magic and whimsy.
“My goodness, I didn’t know that solid waste management was so controversial,” Clinton laughed. “Thank goodness she didn’t play softball like I did.”
Brian Spellacy, U.S. Secret Service supervisory special agent in Las Vegas, said the woman in custody was being questioned and would face criminal charges. Spellacy declined to identify the woman.
Spellacy and a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said it wasn’t immediately clear what charges she would face.
A black and orange athletic shoe was recovered from the stage, Spellacy added.
Ilene Rosen, the wife of a conventioneer from Denver who was seated in the second row, said she saw an orange object fly toward the stage from a side aisle and papers fluttering in the air.
Rosen said the woman had walked to a rope line within six rows of the front of the seating area, threw the items, turned around, put her hands in the air and walked up the aisle toward the back of the room. Security officers quickly caught up with her.
In the hotel hallway, the middle-aged blonde woman sat calmly on a sofa, wearing a blue dress and thong sandals. She said she threw a shoe and dropped some papers, but didn’t identify herself to reporters or explain the action. Security officials then ushered reporters and photographers away.
Spellacy and Mark Carpenter, spokesman for the recycling institute, said the woman wasn’t a credentialed convention member and wasn’t supposed to have been in the ballroom.
An attendee sitting near Rosen later handed a reporter a piece of paper that he said the woman threw. It appeared to be a declassified copy of a Department of Defense document labeled confidential and dated August 1967; it referred to a Bolivian Army operation called “Cynthia” in Bolivia.
The shoe-throwing incident reminded some of former President George W. Bush dodging two shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist during a news conference in Baghdad in December 2008. Shoe-throwing is considered an insult in Arab cultures.
Clinton, the former first lady and Democratic senator from New York, has been traveling the country giving paid speeches to industry organizations and appearing before key Democratic Party constituents.
During a speech in San Francisco on Tuesday, Clinton said she was seriously considering a presidential bid and all it would entail.
From the New York Daily News:
Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic accepted their induction just four days after the 20th anniversary of Cobain’s death.
Nirvana’s emotional induction included speeches from Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, as well as his mother, Wendy O’Connor.
R.E.M’s Michael Stipe, whom Cobain greatly admired, gave the official induction.
“Nirvana captured lightning in a bottle,” he said. The band pushed “us forward towards our individual and collective potential.”
He saluted Nirvana’s anti-mainstream stance and specifically Cobain for offering an “outsider voice for the fags, the fat, the fed-up and the bullied.”
“Kurt, I miss you,” he said, rawly.
Cobain’s mother fought back tears as she said of her son “he would have been so proud. He’d say he wasn’t, but he would be.”
An uncommonly terse Love echoed that sentiment, “Tonight, he really would have appreciated.”
Love also vowed to give the award to their daughter, Francis Bean, “who isn’t here because she’s sick.”
Novoselic thanked Cobain for fronting music “that means so much for so many people.”Joan Jett sang lead with the band on a ferocious “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Several other women also sang Cobain’s parts with genuine brilliance and edge: Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth on “Aneurysm,” Annie Clark on “Lithium” and Lorde on “All Apologies.”
You can read more about the induction — which also included greats Kiss, Linda Ronstadt, Yusef Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates and The E Street Band — at the New York Daily News.
A little while ago (last July), JAY Z appeared on The Breakfast Club and other outlets to promote his most recent album Magna Carta… Holy Grail and some attention was brought to the fact that he was rocking a chain with an eight-pointed star with the number 7 in the middle — also known as the symbol for Nation of Gods and Earths. If you check out the interview (you can do so here), he doesn’t really give up any information on why he wears it…
…fast-forward to this week, and he’s spotted (with King Bey in tow) wearing the chain at the Barclays Center. Asked if the symbol meant anything, he only response was “a little bit”.
Now, two groups are apparently up in arms…the America that he’s become a part of isn’t liking the fact that Hov is representing something that apparently teaches and ‘Whites are devils’, and the Nation of Gods and Earths aren’t too happy that someone who isn’t (supposedly) fully a part of a movement is rocking the symbol. From the New York Post:
“Jay Z is not an active member — no one has vouched for him” Saladin Allah, a representative of the group’s upstate region, told The Post. “It was always understood that you don’t wear the regalia if you don’t totally subscribe to the life.”
What are your thoughts? Does it even make a difference what he believes? It’s not lile he hasn’t said some thought provoking lines pointed at religion before:
“Exciting the mic much to the delight of millions of Nubians/and Amorites just can’t understand the groove we’re in…” – ‘The Originators‘
Hail Mary to the city you’re a Virgin/and Jesus can’t save you life starts when the church ends” – ‘Empire State of Mind‘
You can check out the actual legal documents here. Courtesy of Radar Online:
Ludacris has been embroiled in a nasty child custody battle and in new legal documents exclusive obtained by RadarOnline.com, the Georgia judge sided with the rapper’s baby mama and he’s been ordered to pay her legal bill.
In the documents filed on March 20, Ludacris’ baby mama, Tamika Fuller, is named guardian of their 4-month-old daughter, Cai Bella, “for the purpose of representing the best interest of the child” and Chris Bridges’ (Ludacris’ real name) attempt to have her held in contempt of court was shot down.
“The Petitioner shall pay the Guardian ad Litem’s initial retainer of $7,500.00, to be replenished to the full amount when depleted to $1,500.00,” the documents read.
“The Guardian ad Litem shall be billed at a rate of $325.00 per hour. The retainer shall be paid directly to the Guardian ad Litem within 14 days of the entry of this order.”
On March 18, both Ludacris and Fuller testified in front of a Georgia judge where Fuller pled with the Superior Court of Fulton County for her attorney fees to be paid by the “Southern Hospitality” singer.
“Petitioner shall pay to Respondent’s counsel, Thirty Five Thousand Dollars ($35,000.00), in addition to any amounts previously awarded or paid, as an award of temporary attorney’s fees and expenses of litigation,” the March 20 ruling reads.
“Said amount shall be paid to Respondent’s counsel within 10 days of the date of this order.”
And because Ludacris’ motion to have Fuller found in contempt was denied, he was knocked an extra $2,000 in fees for that too.
Cai is Luda’s second child; he has a 12-year-old daughter named Karma from a previous relationship.
Spotted on SI, where you can ready more on the story (including the actual police report):
On Thursday afternoon, news surfaced that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick could be facing some legal trouble for a recent incident in Florida. As first reported by TMZ.com, and later confirmed by the Miami Police Department, the 49ers’ signal-caller is being investigated for a possible sexual assault incident that occurred in Miami earlier this month.
The report states that the case is in the “beginning stages” of the investigation and it is important to note that no one has been charged at this time.
There are no further details available at this time and Kaepernick has yet to comment on the allegations. The 49ers acknowledged the report, and said they are still in fact-finding mode.
“49ers organization is aware of the recent media report regarding Colin Kaepernick,” it said in a statement, “and is in the process of gathering the pertinent facts.”
Per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, 49ers receiver Quinton Patton and Seahawks wideout Ricardo Lockette are also part of the investigation, with the incident in question occurring at Lockette’s apartment in Miami.
From ABC News:
Stephen Colbert has been named the new host of “The Late Show.”
CBS announced today that the current host of “The Colbert Report” will take over for David Letterman when he retires next year.
“Stephen Colbert is one of the most inventive and respected forces on television,” said Leslie Moonves, the network’s president and CEO. “David Letterman’s legacy and accomplishments are an incredible source of pride for all of us here, and today’s announcement speaks to our commitment of upholding what he established for CBS in late night.”
The 49-year-old Emmy-winning Colbert said that just being a guest of Letterman’s was “a highlight of my career.”
“I never dreamed that I would follow in his footsteps, though everyone in late night follows Dave’s lead,” he said. “I’m thrilled and grateful that CBS chose me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grind a gap in my front teeth.”
According to FSD, Blood Money was shot multiple times, later dying in a hospital in Chicago. He recently signed a deal with Interscope records and had recorded several songs for his debut release under his new label.
Bossip reports, by way of Star Magazine:
They got engaged after just six months of dating, and now, Naya Rivera and Big Sean are rethinking their fast track to the altar. In fact, the Glee star has put all wedding plans on hold because her rapper beau has admitted to being unfaithful.
Insiders tell Star that after the 26-year-old popped the question in October, his playboy ways did not subside, and he suddenly got cold feet. “It was too much, too fast for him,” a source spills.
Now, Naya’s inner circle is urging her to break things off for good, but the actress refuses to give up so easily. “She’s already picked out a wedding dress and doesn’t want it all to be for nothing,” a pal says. “She’s in denial.”