Muhammad Ali and his innermost circle started a document years ago that grew so thick they began calling it "The Book."
In the pages, the boxing great planned in exacting detail how he wished to say goodbye to the world.
"The message that we'll be sending out is not our message — this was really designed by The Champ himself," said Timothy Gianotti, an Islamic studies scholar who for years helped to plan the services.
"The love and the reverence and the inclusivity that we're going to experience over the coming days is really a reflection of his message to the people of planet Earth."
The 74-year-old three-time heavyweight champion wanted the memorial service in an arena. He wanted multiple religions to have a voice while honoring the traditions of his Muslim faith. And he wanted ordinary fans to attend, not just VIPs.
By now most of you have heard about the unfortunate shooting at T.I.'s Irving Plaza concert on May 25, that left one person dead and three injured.
Troy Ave, who was shot in the leg, is currently being held in jail with no bond after being charged with crimes related to the incident.
West Coast rapper YG was a recent guest on DJ Self's Power 105.1 show and was asked about the situation.
"If I got popped I would've did the same thing. I woul've made my way out that joint," YG said. "That's just reaction ... protocol. It's sad. It was backstage at the concert, so the first shot shouldn't have went off. It come with the rap game, the streets. It come with it, bro."
When 50 Cent released the single "How to Rob" in 1999, he served notice to the rest of the industry that anybody could get it when he stepped into the booth.
Around that time he was about to sign a deal with production duo, Trackmasters.
DJ Self was just getting into the business and through a mutual friend he got 50 to agree to record a freestyle for him. The only catch was that Self had to go to where the 50 was living at the time, in the heart of Southside Jamaica, Queens, New York to pick him up.
"He dresses in all black like he's about to rob somebody or something. And in my my mind I'm like 'Yo, we're just going to a home studio where my friend's mom lives.'" Self says. "So he sits in the back. He wants to sit in the back seat. We're driving, so I keep looking back, keep looking back fiddling. He pulls out a big gun. I'm like 'Yo, fam what are you bringing a gun to my man's mother's house where we got the home studio?' 50 says 'Yo, you just never could be prepared. Things is crazy out here."
Check out the rest of the hilarious story in the video below and listen to the classic freestyle 50 recorded that night.
President Barack Obama was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, June 9.
He reflected on his accomplishments while in office and gave his opinion on the 2016 presidential election in a special edition of "Slow Jam the News" with help from Jimmy and The Roots.
Boston George, born George Jung, served 20 years in prison for crimes committed during his reign as a notorious cocaine kingpin. Being credited for smuggling 90% percent of America's cocaine through the 70's to the 80's and ultimately paying for it in 1994, the famed drug dealer's story was recreated for the big screen in the 2001 film "Blow." In this sit-down with DJ Vlad, Boston George talks about why he feels guns and sugar are worse than drugs, Blacks who've been sentenced the same time as him for small amounts of crack, and America's overpopulated prison system.
01 Wut I Luv 02 6 Rings 03 Balmain 04 Big Body 05 Overboard (feat. Lil Duke) 06 Nervous (feat. Young Booke) 07 Trap Talk 08 Big Pimpin’ 09 Broke da Scale 10 Professional 11 Saucin’ 12 Drug Store 13 Torch 14 Pinky Nucca (feat. Chichi)
As promised Chicago rapper and producer, Young Chop, drops off his new "King Chop" album. He locked down features from Chief Keef, Vic Mensa, Riff Raff and more. It's available now on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/king-chop/id1115283920
Stream the album via Spotify up top.
King Chop Tracklist:
01. What You Need 02. W.A.G.T.F.T 03. Ring Ring Ring (feat. Chief Keef & Riff Raff) 04. With tha Choppa 05. Between the Lines 06. Just Do Me 07. Fool with It (feat. Lud Foe) 08. Can’t Hear You 09. My Jeweler 10. Mo Money, Mo Problems 11. Old Hunnits New New Hunnits 12. Around My Way (feat. Vic Mensa & King100james)
Dynamic R&B singer Chrisette Michele is back with a brand new album titled "Milestone." Features include Rick Ross, Meet Sims, Lem Payne and Mali Music. Stream it up top and purchase a copy now on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/milestone-deluxe/id1098078360
Milestone Tracklist:
[03:36] 01. Diamond Letter [04:09] 02. Steady [03:44] 03. Meant To Be (feat. Meet Sims) [04:09] 04. Soulmate [02:48] 05. Unbreakable [04:09] 06. To The Moon [03:03] 07. Make Me Fall [02:58] 08. Equal (feat. Rick Ross) [04:25] 09. These Stones [03:44] 10. Indy Girl [03:33] 11. Us Against The World [03:41] 12. Reinvent The Wheel (feat. Mali Music) [03:28] 13. My Body [03:06] 14. Private Destination [03:16] 15. Black Girl Magic [03:15] 16. Edge Of The Bar [03:58] 17. Top Of The World [03:12] 18. Zero (feat. Lem Payne) [02:56] 19. Ebony
After having his name dragged into the controversy surrounding the shooting at an Irving Plaza T.I. concert May 25, that resulted in the death of Ronald McPhatter and the subsequent arrest of Troy Ave, Choo Biggz decides to speak his piece on the song "Green Room."
Floyd Mayweather Jr. caught the footage of Justin Bieber fighting a much bigger guy Wednesday, June 8, outside of a hotel in Cleveland.
The retired boxing great liked what he saw from his friend.
"I don't know why he was out there fighting, but he's ready," Money May told TMZ Sports. "At the end of the day, people can say what they wanna say ... Justin Bieber ain't no bitch. He showed he got heart, he showed he ain't no bitch. So, It's all respect."
J.B. with the stamp of approval from one of the best boxers in history. What do y'all think?
(Reuters) U.S. President Barack Obama formally endorsed Hillary Clinton's White House bid on Thursday and called for the Democratic Party to unite behind her after a protracted battle with Bernie Sanders for the party nomination.
Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said it "means the world" to her that Obama has her back in a bruising campaign for the Nov. 8 election.
The endorsement increases pressure on Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, to bow out of the race and lend his support to Clinton so that the party can focus on defeating Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.
"It is absolutely a joy and an honor that President Obama and I over the years have gone from fierce competitors to true friends," Clinton told Reuters in an interview.
After an unexpectedly tough battle against Sanders' challenge from the left, former first lady Clinton made history when she reached the number of delegates needed to win the party nomination this week. That made her the first woman to lead a major U.S. party as its White House candidate.
Obama, who enjoys strong approval ratings after nearly eight years in office, will appear with Clinton on the campaign trail next week in Wisconsin, her campaign said.
The pair were opponents in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary race which Obama won but they buried their rivalry and she served as his secretary of state for four years. Clinton is the 2016 candidate who the White House believes will best safeguard Obama's legacy.
"I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office," Obama said of Clinton in a video. "I'm with her. I am fired up, and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary."
Trump assailed the endorsement on Twitter: "He wants four more years of Obama—but nobody else does!”
Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama—but nobody else does!
Sanders, who galvanized young voters with his calls for more social equality and measures to rein in Wall Street, has been reluctant to concede the race, despite concerns among leading Democrats that continuing party divisions could hamper Clinton's efforts to beat Trump.
Obama and other senior Democrats are seeking a delicate balance between the need to unite behind Clinton in the battle against Trump while not alienating Sanders and his supporters.
Sanders met with Obama at the White House on Thursday, and said afterward he would work with Clinton to defeat Trump. Senator Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the Senate, later met separately with Sanders and said the Vermont lawmaker had accepted that Clinton was the nominee.
Sanders told reporters, however, that he would stay in the race to compete in the final Democratic primary vote in Washington, D.C., on June 14.
Obama recalled the party unity that followed his prolonged primary battle against Clinton in 2008.
"Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders may have been rivals during this primary, but they're both patriots who love this country and they share a vision for an America that we all believe in," Obama said in the video.
Nearly half of Americans in a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey approved of Obama's handling of his presidency, a high mark for a president at this point in the job. Among Democrats, his approval rating was 82.3 percent, though 84.3 percent of Republicans disapproved of his leadership.
Justin Bieber wound up in an all around out fight with a guy outside of his hotel in Cleveland Wednesday, June 8.
According to TMZ, the pint-sized singer was in town to catch game 3 of the NBA championship series between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Things got out of hand when he got back to his hotel. When footage of the fight starts Justin is seen arguing with a guy much bigger than him. The guy looks like he lightly jabs at Bieber, who then starts swinging wildly.
Bieber later posted a photo with the caption: "Not a scratch on this pretty boy."
I think the pop star got lucky that the guy he was fighting with didn't seem to want to hurt him because the singer might have gotten messed up badly otherwise. Bieber did show heart though.
Check out the videos above and let us know what you think.
Future took to Twitter to respond to the $10 million lawsuit filed against him by Rocko and his label A1 Recordings.
The Atlanta rapper had a hard time accepting he had been sued by someone he considered to be from the street and used the opportunity to take shots at his former friend,
"Call them people & tellum u was jus playing Brodie," Future Hendrix wrote. "Ion want my nigga lookin like no baby momma. Real street nigga went to the court house, how did it feel when u signed the papers???? My dog gave a statement."
Call them people & tellum u was jus playing Brodie..
Rocko says he didn't have any other option other than to seek a legal remedy to the problem.
"LORD KNOWS I HAVEN'T SEEN A COURTHOUSE IN AGES! THAT'S WHAT LAWYERS ARE FOR!" he wrote. "OLD HOMIE OF MINE ONCE TOLD ME JUST LET THE LAWYERS HANDLE IT."
LORD KNOWS I HAVEN'T SEEN A COURTHOUSE IN AGES! THAT'S WHAT LAWYERS ARE FOR!
Aswe previously reported, Rocko filed a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit against Future, alleging the rapper signed a deal with A1 Recordings in 2011. As part of the agreement Future's first six albums would be recorded for the label.
Rocko claims that the "Wicked" rapper tried to circumvent the contract by negotiating backdoor deals with A1's distributor, Epic Records, without his knowledge, then failed to pay him his 25% cut from those multi-million dollar advances.
He's seeking proper compensation, plus a share of Future's earnings from endorsements and touring.
Ron Browz a.k.a. Ether Boy calls on Brooklyn, New York rapper Maino for his new song titled "Mazi, Porsche & Beamerz." Listen and download the track for free up top
Snoop Dogg was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch at the San Diego Padres vs Atlanta Braves game at Petco Park in San Diego on Wednesday, June 8.
It wasn't a pretty sight as the right handed rapper uncorked a ball that sailed high and far wide of the catcher.
Big Snoop Dogg took it in stride and showed a sense of humor when he later messaged50 Centon Twitter.
Lil Wayne pays tribute to the Cleveland Cavaliers as they battle the Golden State Warriors for NBA supremacy in the finals. The track was produced by Ben Billions.
Superstar singer and actor Usher Raymond teams up with Young Thug for his Master P-inspired new single titled "No Limit." This is a Tidal exclusive. Hit the link to head over there and take a listen.
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