In this clip from next week's "People's Party with Talib Kweli," Kweli and co-host Jasmin Leigh talk with rapper and record producer Hi- Tek about recording the album 'Black Star' with Yasiin Bey and Kweli. Full episodes arriving Monday 4/26 at 9AMet/6AMpt.
Foes Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman cut weight in very different ways. Francis Ngannou lightens the mood. Valentina Shevchenko has an easy cut, and the title fights are official at the weigh-in. Fans return for the triple-header ceremonial weigh-in.
Starz is developing a limited series based on the life of Cyntoia Brown Long, a sex trafficking victim who was convicted of murder as a minor and later had her sentence commuted.
Power franchise executive producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and La La Anthony, who has been a long-time supporter of Brown-Long's cause, will executive produce the drama, titled The Case of Cyntoia Brown. Santa Sierra (Power Book III, Vida) will write and executive produce, and Brown Long and her husband, Jamie Long, will consult.
"We're honored to be entrusted with Cyntoia's story, which shines a light on the injustice of a system that tried and sentenced an at-risk minor as an adult when she was a victim herself of sex trafficking," said Christina Davis, president of original programming at Starz. "This limited series from Curtis, La La and Santa chronicles Cyntoia's long journey to freedom and furthers our #TakeTheLead programming mandate centered on narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences."
The limited series will trace Brown Long's life beginning when she was a teenager and sex-trafficked by a boyfriend. At age 16, she was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery for killing a man who paid to have sex with her. She maintained it was an act of self-defense but was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole until she was 67.
While in prison, Brown Long earned associate's and bachelor's degrees and served as a mentor to at-risk kids. She continued to advocate for her release, and her case attracted high-profile support from the likes of Anthony, LeBron James, Kim Kardashian West and Rihanna. She was granted clemency and released in 2019.
The potential series is based on Brown Long's memoir, Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System. The series is being developed through Jackson's G Unit Film and Television, which has a rich overall deal with Starz.
"A.O.D. (America's on Drugs)" is a fire album by Bronx, New York emcee BeenOfficial that continues to spawn one banging single after another. The latest song off it it to get an official music video is titled "Heroin Hymns."
SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. (AP) — Courtney Wilson and Shenita Jones invited family and friends to their “dream home and estate” for their weekend wedding celebration: the ceremony Saturday, brunch on Sunday.
There was just one problem: The couple didn’t own the 16,300-square-foot (1,500-square-meter) mansion and didn’t have permission to use it.
The suburban Fort Lauderdale estate had everything: a bowling alley, swimming pool with a waterfall, hot tub, tennis courts, a gazebo and an 800-foot (240-meter) bar. Wilson said it was God’s plan that the couple marry there.
But despite what the invitation inferred, the actual owner, Nathan Finkel, never gave them permission to hold the festivities there. He was stunned when Wilson showed up Saturday morning to set up and he called police, according to the South Florida SunSentinel.
“I have people trespassing on my property,” Finkel told a 911 dispatcher. “And they keep harassing me, calling me. They say they’re having a wedding here and it’s God’s message. I don’t know what’s going on. All I want is (for) it to stop. And they’re sitting at my property right at the front gate right now.”
Two officers told Wilson he would have to leave. He did and no charges were filed.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Wilson told the paper.
Finkel, whose late father was an early IHOP restaurant franchisee, has been trying to sell the property for two years, now listing it for just over $5 million.
Wilson, posing as a potential buyer, toured the estate several months ago, said Keith Poliakoff, attorney for Southwest Ranches, the upscale suburb where Finkel resides.
“A few months later, this guy asked Nathan if he could use Nathan’s backyard for his wedding,” Poliakoff said. “Nathan said no.”
But that didn’t stop the couple from sending out elaborate invitations, detailing their love story: reconnecting 30 years after high school and how he proposed over pizza on Christmas Eve. The Saturday afternoon ceremony would be followed by a red carpet cocktail hour and a reception lasting past midnight. Sunday brunch would be from noon to 4.
“The guy figured it was a vacant house and didn’t realize Nathan lived on the property in a different home,” Poliakoff said. “This guy had no idea he lived there. You know the shock that must have been on his face when he showed up at the gate and the owner was home?”
Broward County records show a marriage license has been issued to the couple last week, but they had not registered as married by Wednesday.
Chase Fetti is preparing to release a new project titled "Final Shot" on April 30. The lead single off of it is the Snub-produced gem, "Reasons" featuring Mikee Mula.
"Reasons" is available now on all streaming platforms:
(CNN) Basketball player Terrence Clarke, who last month declared for the 2021 NBA draft after playing his freshman season for the University of Kentucky, died Thursday after sustaining fatal injuries in a car accident in Los Angeles, according to the Kentucky athletics department. He was 19 years old.
The accident occurred Thursday afternoon as Clarke's vehicle collided with another that was making a left-hand turn, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department. The LA Fire Department was first on the scene and Clarke was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
"I am absolutely gutted and sick tonight," Kentucky men's basketball head coach John Calipari said. "A young person who we all love has just lost his life too soon, one with all of his dreams & hopes ahead of him. Terrence Clarke was a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile & joy. People gravitated to him & to hear we have lost him is just hard for all of us to comprehend right now. We are all in shock.
Clarke, who was born in Boston, was limited to eight games -- seven in non-conference play and one in the Southeastern Conference tournament -- in the 2020-2021 college basketball season due to a right leg injury. A guard, Clarke started six games and averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
It had been announced Wednesday that Clarke was signing with the agency Klutch Sports Group.
Clarke is survived by his parents, Osmine Clarke & Adrian Briggs, & his three siblings: Tatyana Gray, Gavin Clarke & Madison Adrianne.
On this episode of Actually Me, Polo G goes undercover on the Internet and responds to real comments from Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Wikipedia and Quora. Why does he call himself Capalot? Does he prefer lyrical rap or melodic rap?
Lenox Hughes and producer Big French come through with a new EP titled "The Return Of Sugar Ray & Quick." Listen to it up top and stream/buy from everywhere music is streamed and sold.
"Teflon Melanin" is the latest single from RJ Payne. The Educated Ignorance Music Group CEO got vocal assistance from L-Biz and Fashawn. Produced by the one and only PA Dre.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shock G, who blended whimsical wordplay with reverence for ’70s funk as leader of the off-kilter Bay Area hip-hop group Digital Underground, has died. He was 57.
Nzazi Malonga, a longtime friend who served as head of security and helped manage the group, said the rapper-producer was found unresponsive Thursday in a hotel room in Tampa, Florida. Malonga said the performer, born Greg Jacobs, had struggled with drug addiction for years.
The group found fame with the Billboard Top 10 hit “Humpty Dance” in 1990, as Jacobs donned a Groucho Marx-style fake nose and glasses to become one of his many alter egos, Humpty Hump. He initially maintained the flamboyant Humpty was a separate person, doing in-character interviews and sometimes having his brother Kent Racker play the part.
“Same Song” a year later served as 2Pac’s introduction to music fans, with Shock G handing the baton to the future megastar, who had been working as a roadie for Digital Underground: “2Pac, go ’head and rock this.”
Jacobs was an introverted “technical wizard” adept at arranging samples who played keyboards and drums, said Digital Underground co-founder Jimi Dright, known as Chopmaster J. Dright met his future bandmate while buying equipment at a music store in San Leandro, California, where Jacobs was working.
“The Humpty Dance” invited an audience of awkward youth into hip-hop with its embrace of misfits and outcasts. “Stop whatcha doin’ / ’Cause I’m about to ruin / The image and the style that ya used to,” Shock G rapped with lighthearted bravado. “I’m crazy / Allow me to amaze thee / They say I’m ugly but it just don’t faze me.”
”‘The Humpty Dance’ spoke to all the people that were like him — the fat people, the unattractive people. If you moved like him, you could be whatever you want,” said Malonga.
Fight week workouts are underway for champions Kamaru Usman and Valentina Shevchenko, plus title challengers Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade. Champ Zhang Weili gets an award for Fight of the Year; Chris Weidman and Jimmy Crute see to business.
Lil Mosey's in big trouble in the state of Washington ... he's been charged with rape, and there's a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear for a court hearing.
The “Pull Up" rapper was supposed to appear in court Wednesday, just weeks after he was charged with second-degree rape. We’re told Mosey never showed up ... so now he's a wanted man.
This all stems from an alleged incident back in January after a woman says she and a girlfriend went to a cabin to see Mosey but claims they ended up getting raped by him and another man.
According to the affidavit, obtained by TMZ, one of the alleged victims says she consented to having sex with Mosey in a vehicle but goes on to says she blacked out afterward in the cabin after drinking White Claws and champagne. She claims a short time later Mosey got on top of her and was pushing her legs up and apart while he was having sex with her. She said she recalled having pain in her leg muscles while Mosey was pushing her legs.
She says she blacked out again and woke up to find the other man forcing himself on her.
In the affidavit, the woman says she suffered injuries, including bruising on her arm, neck and inner knee. She also claims she got a message from one of the people at the party that said the guys were talking about "training two girls."
If convicted, Mosey faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
A loaded handgun fell from his jacket as rapper Fivio Foreign fought Fort Lee police who nabbed him during a foot chase.
Maxie Ryles III had left his 2018 Mercedes Benz running in a no-parking zone as he went into the nearby Citibank around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Capt. Ricky Mirkovic said.
Sgt. Howard Ginsburg requested Ryles's driver’s license as he approached the vehicle and asked whether he was getting a ticket, Mirkovic said.
Instead of complying, Ryles simply walked away, he said.
The sergeant stayed with the running vehicle while backup Officer Gabriel Avella tracked down a jaywalking Ryles a block away.
Avella repeatedly asked Ryles to stop so he could speak with him, the captain said.
Ryles “acknowledged but ignored him & continued to walk away,” then began running toward The Modern luxury apartments on Park Avenue, he said.
Avella grabbed him the parking garage as a loaded .25-caliber handgun fell from Ryles’s waistband, Mirkovic said.
It had a defaced serial number, he added.
Police charged Ryles with weapons possession, having a defaced firearm and resisting arrest, then sent him to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained Thursday pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy in the San Francisco Bay Area has been charged with manslaughter & assault in the fatal shooting of an unarmed Filipino man during a slow-moving car chase more than two years ago.
Last month, the same deputy shot & killed a Black man.
The Contra Costa County district attorney’s office said it charged Deputy Andrew Hall with felony voluntary manslaughter & felony assault with a semi-automatic firearm in the 2018 killing of 33-year-old Laudemar Arboleda, who was shot 9 times.
“Officer Hall used unreasonable & unnecessary force when he responded to the in-progress traffic pursuit involving Laudemer Arboleda, endangering not only Mr. Arboleda’s life but the lives of his fellow officers and citizens in the immediate area,” District Attorney Diana Becton said.
Deputies slowly pursued Arboleda through the city of Danville after someone reported a suspicious person. Sheriff’s department video shows Hall stopping his patrol car, getting out & running toward the sedan driven by Arboleda. Hall opened fire & kept shooting as Arboleda’s car passed by, striking him 9 times.
Hall’s attorney, Harry Stern, said prosecutors previously deemed the deputy’s use of force in the 2018 case justified, “given the fact that he was defending himself from a lethal threat. The timing of their sudden reversal in deciding to file charges seems suspect & overtly political.”
The district attorney has faced criticism for taking so long to make a decision in the 2 1/2-year-old case, which intensified after Hall shot & killed Tyrell Wilson on March 11.
Wilson was carrying a knife in the middle of an intersection. Graphic body camera footage released Wednesday shows the deputy call out to Tyrell Wilson, 33, accusing him of jaywalking & then shoot him in the middle of a busy intersection within seconds of asking him to drop his knife.
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” reveals a chilling story of terror, murder and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they’d ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return to star as Lorraine and Ed Warren, under the direction of Michael Chaves (“The Curse of La Llorona”). The film also stars Ruairi O’Connor (Starz’ “The Spanish Princess”), Sarah Catherine Hook (Hulu’s “Monsterland”) and Julian Hilliard (the series “Penny Dreadful: city of Angels” and “The Haunting of Hill House”).
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” was produced by James Wan and Peter Safran, who have collaborated on all the “Conjuring” Universe films. Chaves directed from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (“The Conjuring 2,” “Aquaman”), story by James Wan & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, based on characters created by Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes. Serving as executive producers were Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Victoria Palmeri, Michael Clear, Judson Scott and Michelle Morrissey.
The behind-the-scenes creative team reunited “Conjuring” Universe contributors, including director of photography Michael Burgess, production designer Jennifer Spence, costume designer Leah Butler and composer Joseph Bishara, along with the director’s editor from “The Curse of La Llorona,” Peter Gvozdas, and editor Christian Wagner (“Furious 7”).
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” is the seventh film in the “Conjuring” Universe, the largest horror franchise in history, which has grossed more than $1.8 billion worldwide. It includes the first two “Conjuring” films, as well as “Annabelle” and “Annabelle: Creation,” “The Nun,” and “Annabelle Comes Home.”
New Line Cinema presents An Atomic Monster/A Peter Safran Production, “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film opens in theatres and IMAX nationwide on June 4, 2021 and will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. The film is rated R for terror, violence and some disturbing images.
Master P and two of his sons sat down with The Breakfast Club crew to chop it up about family business, his kids being student athletes, artists union and more.
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