Jay-Z's latest hustle is big-time gambling ... he's signed on with some heavy hitters in a bid to open a sportsbook in NY, and the move could make him a pioneer in the billion-dollar industry.
TMZ has learned Jay's name is on one of the applications submitted to the NY Gaming Commission requesting approval for an online sports betting license. Sources with direct knowledge tell us he's partnering with his buddy Sixers partner Michael Rubin to form Fanatics Sportsbook, and they've teamed with Kambi ... a company that makes software used for online sports gambling.
Jay and Rubin's group is up against stiff competition ... including companies like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and WynnBET.
We're told NY state will approve at least 2 of the 6 groups, and it's possible Jay-Z will be the secret weapon that puts his group over the top. Not only is he the most prominent public figure applying for a license, but he's the only Black applicant. While the other corporations might have Black employees or execs, they aren't the actual licensees ... whereas Jay would be.
You'd think the guy who rapped about his "Empire State of Mind" would at least have a leg up in his home state -- but there's probably a lot of politics at play too. The Gaming Commission has until December to make the call.
Sports gambling pulled in roughly $1.55 BILLION nationally last year, so it's easy to see why Jay and Rubin want in on the action. Our sources say their Fanatics Sportsbook will be headquartered in NYC, and Jay's already planning to hire a diverse staff -- race and gender-wise -- as he's done with Roc Nation.
BTW, Jay-Z previously held gaming licenses in Nevada and New Jersey when his 40/40 Clubs were open in Vegas and Atlantic City, but he closed those down many years ago.
Cypress Hill has been making an impact on the culture since they first came out in 1991. Now thirty years later, they are a staple in hip-hop history and are celebrating 30 years since their debut. Sen Dog talks with Sway In The Morning about their journey.
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman accidentally shot a friend while using the laser sight on a handgun to play with a cat, authorities said.
A criminal complaint charging the 19-year-old woman, identified as Jashanti Pleasant, with negligent use of a weapon said she was visiting a Kenosha apartment on Tuesday afternoon where a 21-year-old man had brought a handgun.
The woman, who a witness said had been drinking, picked up the handgun, “turned on the laser sight and was pointing it at the floor to get the cat to chase it,” when the gun went off, the complaint filed Thursday said.
The man, identified James Daniels, who was standing in a doorway, was shot in the thigh, authorities said. He left and went into another apartment, where police found him after responding to a 911 call.
A tourniquet was applied to his leg to stop the bleeding before he was taken to a hospital. There’s no word on his condition, but authorities said he was facing charges for violating bond conditions that prevented him from having a weapon.
The woman told police she thought the magazine had been taken out of the gun and said it“accidentally went off,” according to the complaint.
YNW Melly is facing a possible death penalty as he sits in prison awaiting trial for murder, but he's passing the time by producing an album behind bars.
Sources close to YNW Melly tell TMZ ... the rapper had been working on "Just a Matter of Slime" for the better part of the last 8 months. We're told he spent hours and hours on the phone ... securing collabs with other rappers like Young Thug, Future and Lil Uzi Vert. He's also spent lots of time talking to sound engineers.
Our sources say YNW recorded his verses long before he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the shooting deaths of 2 friends.
YNW has been locked up since February 2019 ... and while he awaits trial in Broward County, Florida -- where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty -- the rapper's been grinding.
We're told YNW has been listening to arrangements of his music and giving engineers direction on tweaking the vocals.
The rapper hopped on the phone Thursday and someone from his team recorded him from prison ... promoting his new album. We're not sure how well that's gonna go over with the warden.
As for the meaning behind the album title ... here's the story -- YNW had been unable to get a trial date for the murder case due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the courts.
But, with things slowly but surely opening up again, YNW feels it's "just a matter of [time]" until he sees his day in court.
Posted by Miguel Cruz on August 15, 2021 at 1:01pm
Energetic; That's the best way to describe Liezer's new track, <--[oaxime'']''--]. The Vancouver, Washington electronic music producer breathes life into the melody in such a way that you'll swear that you're listening to a club masterpiece. The track, which is led by hard hitting drums and backed by gorgeous synths that you can not only ride to, but dance the night away to while you're in the middle of the club. I dare you to press play; but I warn you, this glorious and well put-together track might just have you in your own world enjoying the melodic vibes while you're dancing the night away.Stream <--[oaxime'']''--] here: https://open.spotify.com/track/6Ba8JQZQHrSJ0yIG5aeM6m?si=302c4c83849342afLiezer Social Media:https://www.liezermusic.com/https://open.spotify.com/artist/7naQdU6McIBIGsplgxA1mx?si=hdCiI4r1SsW6lKmZqvjVYQ&nd=1https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCwreGjOHea8j_ObcRTbILAhttps://www.instagram.com/l_iezer/https://twitter.com/liezermusichttps://www.facebook.com/liezer.musicLiezer Bio:Brian Paul Zimmerman (born February 8, 1990) known professionally as Liezer, is an American electronic music producer and composer from Vancouver, Washington. He received his master's degree in Music Composition from New York University. While at New York University, he studied with Pulitzer Prize winning composer, Julia Wolfe. Zimmerman first broke into the music industry in 2018 with his self-titled album, "Liezer." His next two projects, "Mirrored .9" and "Industry Acid were were both released in 2020, respectively. His next release, "Memeantine Railway" was released in 2021. Zimmerman's LP entitled, "Wear Upward" is slated for a summer of 2021 release date. Zimmerman is currently in the studio working on various projects including his upcoming EP, "Merilline." Zimmerman has composed music for video games, movies, and Anime films.In 2015, Zimmerman was a composition fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival.Zimmeran was the drummer for Brooklyn-based indie band, Evelyn from 2017-2019.Zimmerman was awarded the OPUS 7 Choral Composition award in 2013 while he was a member of the Seattle Choir.
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban & signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.
The Taliban, who for hours had been on the outskirts of Kabul, announced soon after they would move further into a city gripped by panic where helicopters raced overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy. Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents & the American flag was lowered. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.
Afghans fearing that the Taliban could reimpose the kind of brutal rule that all but eliminated women’s rights rushed to leave the country as well, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings. The desperately poor — who had left homes in the countryside for the presumed safety of the capital — remained in their thousands in parks & open spaces throughout the city.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Vietnam, as many watched in disbelief at the sight of helicopters landing in the embassy compound to take diplomats to a new outpost at Kabul International Airport.
President Ashraf Ghani flew out of the country, two officials told The Associated Press.
“The former president of Afghanistan left Afghanistan, leaving the country in this difficult situation,” Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, said. “God should hold him accountable.”
In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. & NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces. Just days earlier, an American military assessment estimated it would be a month before the capital would come under insurgent pressure.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former accounts manager for a nonprofit affiliated with the University of South Florida’s medical school has pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $13 million, spending most of it at an adult website with some of it coming back to him.
Ralph Puglisi, 59, is facing up to 20 years in prison under the deal, which was recently filed in Tampa’s federal court. Puglisi had worked for the University Medical Service Association, which provides staffing & support for USF Health & other medical providers in the Tampa Bay area.
Puglisi spent almost $12 million at an adult website that allows users to subscribe to channels belonging to specific women, who disrobe & engage in sex acts on live video.
An investigation showed that Puglisi subscribed to a channel belonging to his stepson’s fiancee & they split almost $750,000 in profits, with Puglisi taking 60%.
“The investigative team developed a working theory that Puglisi worked either with the principals of the adult content provider, or with the female profiles of the adult content provider in order to financially benefit from funds charged,” prosecutors wrote.
Puglisi also is accused of making $647,000 in payments to a limited liability company he owned with his wife, plus other expenditures, including: $374,000 for personal travel; $191,000 in rent for a family member & $120,000 on household improvements.
The fraud was detected in November, leading to the firing of Puglisi, his boss & University Medical Service Association’s internal auditor.
Meek Mill is looking to feed the community with a new positive outlook on life and music that ref;ects his transition. Check out his new official music video for "Mandela" freestyle.
In this clip from next week's "People's Party with Talib Kweli," Kweli and co-host Jasmin Leigh talk with rapper Isaiah Rashad about who the most entertaining rappers are, including Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, and Young Thug.
Full episode arriving Monday 8/16 at 9AMet/6AMpt. Full audio episode currently live on Luminary.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A homeowner accused of shooting three tenants, killing two of them, after an argument over unpaid rent at his Las Vegas home told a witness that “he didn’t want to go through the eviction process,” a prosecutor said Wednesday.
Arnoldo Lozano-Sanchez “wanted to handle it, quote-unquote, ‘his way,’” Chief Deputy District Attorney Tim Fattig told a judge.
The judge decided Lozano-Sanchez, 78, should remain jailed without bail pending his arraignment on murder & attempted murder charges in the slayings of two women & the wounding of a man who authorities said was shot nine times.
Lozano-Sanchez “made statements about the victims not paying rent and that he was certainly upset about it,” Fattig said.
Police reported arriving at his small home early Tuesday to find one woman dead outside, the wounded man stumbling out the front door & another woman dead in a bedroom.
The wounded man was hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive, police said.
Lozano-Sanchez refused to speak with police after his arrest. A police report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal said he told a witness, Adria Ortega, several days ago that he was angry about his tenants not paying rent.
“Ortega suggested Lozano go to court to evict the people living inside his home. Lozano Sanchez told the witness he would ‘handle it his way,’” the report said.
Fattig revealed that another tenant, a man identified in the police report as Carlos Lopez, was in the house during the shooting but was not shot.
Lopez told police that he saw Lozano-Sanchez go into a bedroom where a woman pleaded for her life, multiple gunshots were fired and the wounded man ran out.
“The surviving roommate heard and saw the defendant enter into another bedroom in the house, and he heard cries for help from the occupants and thereafter heard the defendant shoot them,” Fattig told the judge. “He also saw the defendant exit that bedroom, smiling.”
The names of the victims, all in their 50s, were not immediately released.
Sarah Hawkins, a deputy public defender representing Lozano-Sanchez, protested that reading a police arrest statement in court did not amount to evidence. She lost a bid to have him freed on $10,000 bail & house arrest.
The judge set Lozano-Sanchez’s next court date for Monday.
Police say they had no immediate information linking the rent dispute with a nationwide eviction moratorium that expired last week but was reinstated for areas with high transmission of COVID-19, including Nevada.
The modified ban from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention faces legal challenges and lasts until Oct 3.
Fattig told the judge that Lozano-Sanchez asked a neighbor to help him dispose of the gun, but police found it in a nearby bush.
Tory Lanez's surprise appearance at Rolling Loud better have been worth it for him, because it's landed him in hot water with prosecutors who are now going after him in court, claiming he violated a court order to stay away from Megan Thee Stallion.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... prosecutors have filed a motion to hold Lanez in contempt for violating the restraining order that was issued in his ongoing criminal case.
You'll recall, Lanez was charged with felony assault for allegedly shooting Megan in the foot last summer. The restraining order requires him to stay clear of Megan.
We're told the prosecutors believe Tory's guest appearance during DaBaby's controversial set at the Miami hip-hop festival last month violated the judge's order, because he got within 100 yards of her.
Our sources say prosecutors have filed legal docs asking the judge to either revoke Tory's bail -- which could land him in jail pending trial -- or at the very least increase his bail.
And, our sources also say prosecutors believe Tory and DaBaby attempted to rush the stage while Megan was performing.
A source close to Tory told us he never saw Meg at the festival nor did he ever get physically close to her.
A hearing on the contempt motion is set for next Thursday.
A woman says rapper Nicki Minaj’s husband raped her while the two were teens in Queens more than 20 years ago — and the couple then harassed her and tried to intimidate her into recanting, according to a new lawsuit.
Jennifer Hough says in her Brooklyn federal suit that she was raped by Minaj’s hubby, Kenneth Petty, in 1994, after she encountered him while waiting for the school bus in Jamaica.
Petty allegedly approached her at the bus stop — then pulled a knife, held it to her back and led her to a nearby house, where he raped her, according to the suit.
After the alleged rape, he got off Hough and stood in front of a mirror while saying, "I am the man. I am the man," the suit states.
Petty was arrested at the time and ended up taking a plea deal, serving more than four years behind bars on the charge of attempted rape.
Hough says in her suit that she suffered mental anguish for years after the attack — and then was targeted by Minaj when Petty was arrested in 2020 for failing to register as a sex offender in California over her case.
Minaj called Hough on the phone and offered to "help out" her situation, saying she could fly her and her family to California, according to the suit. Hough declined, the suit states.
The "Starships" rapper also allegedly offered to fly her publicist out to meet Hough to craft a statement for her to recant the accusation, the suit alleges. Hough says she refused.
Then through a series of encounters, Hough and members of her family were allegedly repeatedly offered cash bribes for as much as $500,000 by Minaj and her associates to get her to recant, the suit says.
In one proposed scheme, an old friend of Hough’s identified as "Black" in the suit told Hough that Minaj would record "happy birthday" videos for Hough’s daughter for her "Sweet 16" if she recanted. Hough says in her suit that she again refused.
Big Twins of Infamous Mobb is preparing to release a new album titled "Still Here" on 8-20-2021. The Queensbridge, New York connects with Ransom and Mooch of The Cloth for the official project jump off, "Cannoli."
Nashville artist Killah Calico delivers his highly anticipated video to the single "Said What I Said" featuring BryantTaylorr that has the radio and clubs going crazy all summer. Shot by Ed Pryor.
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Eminem’s 19-year-old child came out as non-binary and asked to be called Stevie from here on out.
Stevie, who shared the news in a recent TikTok video, said they’ll use the pronouns they/she/he going forward. Formerly known as Whitney, Stevie showed their journey to become “more comfortable” with their body and self as their appearance changed over the years.
“forever growing and changing <3 #greenscreen #genderfluid #bi #life,” they captioned the post.
The video kicks off with audio of someone crying before a montage of photos is shown to document Stevie’s transformation over the years.
Fans and followers praised Stevie in the comments, and half-sister Hailie Mathers “liked” the video. Stevie also revealed how they came up with their new name, explaining in the comments, “I spent a long time trying to pick a name I felt uncomfortable with and the first name I felt comfortable with is Stevie!”
Stevie added that they were “working on” changing their name officially on their passport.
The “Stan” rapper, 48, adopted Stevie, who is his ex-wife Kim Scott’s biological daughter with Eric Hartter, in 2005 when he had briefly reconciled with Scott.
The name Stevie first appeared in the obituary for their late grandmother, Kathleen Sluck, who died in July. It read, “Kathleen was a exceptional mom to her two daughters; Kim and Dawn; and was overjoyed to become a grandmother to her grandchildren; Alaina, Adam, Hailie, Stevie, P.J., and Parker.”
Stevie came out as bisexual in 2017 and requested at the time to go by the pronouns she/they.
TAMPA, Fla. (CBS12) — A man pretending to be a police officer is under arrest in Tampa.
Justin Evans, 35, is accused of pulling a vehicle over on Monday night and ordering the three women in the vehicle to get out.
He told the women he was an undercover officer conducting a narcotics investigation.
Evans told one of the women she was being arrested and drove her away to a nearby apartment complex where he sexually assaulted her, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office says Evans had blue LED lights in his 2016 Chevrolet Malibu.
Evans was found on Tuesday in Pasco County and taken into custody.
He is charged with impersonating a public officer, sexual battery on a victim over 18, and grand theft third degree, kidnapping, and false imprisonment.
The initial concept for “Hungry” was simple: invite half a dozen up and coming emcees to record songs over Ro Data production, put the EP on cassette, and bundle them with the new issue of LTD ED. However, we then had the idea to have Ro strictly sample records with food-based titles to reinforce the theme. So, for example, he used a loop from the Leon Haywood track “Cornbread & Buttermilk” to create one of the beats. We also asked the rappers to give their joints food-based titles to really hammer home the concept.
As “Hungry” started to take shape, our excitement grew and we decided to expand the scope of the project by producing an Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe type of comic to put a spotlight on each artist. If you’re not familiar with the aforementioned line of comics, they are a comprehensive guide to Marvel's characters. We commissioned illustrator Milad Taleghani to render Ro and the emcees as anti-heroes and supervillains for our “Official Handbook of Hungry” comic.
1. Jae Skeese & Brainorchestra “Cheese & Eggs” 2. Dunny Cold-Facts “Heavy On The Pepper 3. A.M. Early Morning “Whip A Pot” 4. Blass 89 “Great Golden Flan” 5. Freddy Stone “Starvin’ On A Sunday”
Produced by Ro Data Cuts on “Whip A Pot” by DJ Dolo76 Conceptualized and executive produced by Jordan Commandeur Cassette cover and comic illustrated by Milad Taleghani Obi by Pablo Thunder Logo by Jonny Botsch