Hip hop fiends need their fix, and RJ Payne is happy to keep them supplied. The Educated Ignorance Music Group (EIMG) CEO comes through with a new batch of his weekly audio dope in the form of a collaboration with UFO Fev titled "Predators."
The Netflix docuseries on L.A.'s mysterious Cecil Hotel is triggering a flood of new, & bizarre, theories on who was behind Elisa Lam's death -- some so strange they'd require time travel.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... ever since "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel" started streaming, LAPD's 24/7 hotline's been ringing off the hook with tips. We're told most are connecting the hotel's haunted past to the unsolved mystery of how Lam ended up dead in a rooftop water tank.
If you've seen the series you know a former GM at the Cecil said she saw about 80 deaths at the hotel over 10 years.
Our sources say the strangest tip cops have gotten involved Richard Ramirez, AKA The Night Stalker. Now, he is mentioned in the series, because he lived on the 14th floor at the hotel while he terrorized California in the '80s.
That tip clearly didn't come from Sherlock Holmes since Ramirez had been locked up for nearly 30 years when Lam was found dead in 2013.
We're told the vast majority of these "tips" cops are getting are from "home detectives" and "internet sleuths" -- who are clearly interested, but, so far at least, have zilch to help solve the case.
UFC fighter Tim Elliott was multi-tasking Saturday night as he pounded away at his opponent, accusing him of beating his ex-girlfriend ... something the opponent's manager calls "reckless slander."
Elliott was dominating the flyweight fight to an empty arena, when Elliott appeared to say, "I heard you choked your girl in 2018. Are you a woman beater? She messaged me." The opponent, Jordan Espinosa, responded, "Did she? You don't know the whole story." Elliott shot back, "I know enough," to which Espinosa said, "You don't know s***."
Elliott won the fight by unanimous decision. When it was over, Espinosa's manager, Bryan Hamper, called the accusation, "Reckless slander."
After the fight, Elliott told reporters, "I didn't say that for anybody else to hear, because I don't know the whole story." He says he was messaged texts and photos between Espinosa and a woman and there were photos of the woman with choke marks around her neck. He added, "... it's not something I wanted the whole world to hear. That was supposed to be between him and I. I didn't know the mic was going to pick up on it."
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Israel Adesanya learned that holding two UFC title belts simultaneously is not nearly as easy as Amanda Nunes makes it look.
And Petr Yan learned that even a momentary lapse in discipline can dearly cost a champion.
Jan Blachowicz defended his UFC light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Adesanya at UFC 259 on Saturday night, thwarting the reigning middleweight champ’s bid to claim a second belt.
Two-division champion Nunes defended her featherweight belt with ease, beating Megan Anderson by submission 2:03 into the first round at the Apex gym on the UFC’s corporate campus. Aljamain Sterling also won the UFC’s bantamweight title when Yan was disqualified for an illegal knee strike in the fourth round.
The 38-year-old Blachowicz (28-8) made his first title defense in impressive style by outworking Adesanya (20-1), the fearsome 185-pound champion moving up for a shot at history. The Polish champion used his size advantage and veteran savvy, taking control of their fight with two huge takedowns and subsequent ground control in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Blachowicz won 49-46 on two judges’ scorecards and 49-45 on the third. The Associated Press scored it 48-47 for Blachowicz.
Blachowicz ended the fight in full mount while raining down punches on Adesanya, who had never lost in a mixed martial arts career that began in 2012. The charismatic Nigerian-born New Zealander failed to join Nunes, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo as the UFC’s only simultaneous two-belt champions.
Adesanya took his first setback in stride.
“Losses are part of life,” Adesanya said. “This is just my first one in MMA. If I was going to lose to anyone, what better guy to lose to than a guy like Jan? Classy champion, cool dude, nice guy. He has a great story to tell. From almost getting cut from the UFC, he becomes a champion and hands this guy, a future legend, his first loss.”
Adesanya appeared to be the sharper, more aggressive striker in the early rounds, but Blachowicz countered the onslaught with his own strikes and eventually implemented his game plan. Blachowicz turned the fight in the fourth round with an impressive takedown and strong ground work, all but forcing the judges to give him the round.
He took down Adesanya again midway through the fifth before ending the fight in a dominant position. Blachowicz joyously celebrated the latest victory in a late-career surge for a fighter who won his title last September after six years in the UFC and 13 years as a pro.
Nunes (21-4) handled her second featherweight title defense with her usual flair, making short work of her Australian challenger while extending her winning streak to 12 fights since 2014. After peppering Anderson (11-5) with strikes, Nunes jumped on her off-balance challenger and worked her way into a triangle armbar, forcing Anderson to tap out quickly.
The fight was Nunes’ first since her wife, fellow UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff, gave birth to their first child. Nunes has been the UFC’s bantamweight champion since 2016, and she added the featherweight strap in late 2018.
“Since my daughter was born, it’s the best thing that happened in my life,” Nunes said. “She’s made me a better person, more happy. The house is full of love. She was supposed to be sleeping tonight, but she waited and waited to watch my fight, and now she’s sleeping. I’m glad that I shined for her.”
The much-anticipated slate of three championship fights at UFC 259 got off to a bizarre start when Yan’s inexplicable rules violation handed the 135-pound title to Sterling, the first fighter to become a UFC champion on a disqualification.
The fight was stopped with 31 seconds left in the fourth when Yan drove his knee into the face of Sterling, who was kneeling on the canvas in front of him.
MMA rules strictly prohibit such blows to a downed opponent, and the knee clearly hurt Sterling, who struggled and failed to get up for several minutes. The bout was called off by referee Mark Smith, who had verbally warned Yan not to throw such a strike a few seconds earlier.
Sterling (20-3), a Long Island native, appeared disoriented and disappointed when the belt was wrapped around his waist after a fight he appeared to be losing to Yan (15-2). Sterling threw the belt onto the canvas before he left the octagon.
“Everything I worked for to this point, and to have the fight go like that ...,” a teary-eyed Sterling said afterward. “I thought the fight was very close. I thought I was down two rounds. That’s not the way I wanted to win. That’s not the way I envisioned this. I just took the belt off, man. I was trying to continue, but I was in bad shape.”
Earlier, former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz beat Casey Kenney by split decision for his first victory since June 2016. Cruz, who turns 36 on Tuesday, saw his ascendant career derailed long ago by brutal injury problems, but he persevered against a similarly exhausted Kenney to win in just his sixth MMA bout since October 2011.
Three-time flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez also took his third consecutive loss in a one-sided decision win for Russia’s Askar Askarov, who missed weight for the bout.
One of two men accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay almost 20 years ago has been hit with unrelated drug trafficking charges, according to Brooklyn federal prosecutors.
Karl Jordan, Jr., is charged with busting into the DJ & hip-hop icon’s studio in October 2002 & shooting Jam Master Jay at point-blank range while his co-defendant Ronald Washington, 56, pointed a gun at others in the room.
The 36-year-old now faces new allegations he distributed up to 280 grams of cocaine, or roughly 10 ounces, in Brooklyn between March 2016 & August 2020, according to the indictment filed Thursday, & carried a gun with him while he did it.
Jordan was charged with conspiracy to distribute & sell a controlled substance & firearms charges, filings show.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York — where Washington & Jordan are being tried — say Jam Master Jay, whose legal name was Jason Mizell, was killed over a botched drug deal.
According to the feds, Jam Master Jay acquired some cocaine that he was planning on selling with Washington ― but he cut Washington out of the deal at the last minute, prompting his spurned partner to seek revenge.
Jordan & Washington were arrested in August last year & held without bail 18 years after the killing. They each face significant prison time if convicted.
A police officer shot and killed a 30-year-old robbery suspect Wednesday night at a southwest Houston gas station & a baby was injured in the gunfire, officials said.
Shortly before 11:30 p.m. on the 10200 block of Sugar Branch Drive, officers located a black Mercedes-Benz suspected in two aggravated robberies & attempted to stop the car, said Troy Finner, executive assistant chief of the Houston Police Department.
The vehicle failed to stop, prompting a pursuit that ended when the suspect crashed near the Interstate 69 feeder road & Beechnut Street, Finner said. The suspect ran to a Chevron gas station at the corner & jumped into a car with a 1-year-old baby in the back seat while the mother pumped gas, he said.
Officers feared the suspect was trying to car-jack the mother & saw a gun, Finner said. The suspect did not obey the officer's commands to drop the weapon, he said.
One officer identified as E. Garza fired several shots that struck the suspect & the baby in the back seat. Finner said he doesn't think the officer realized the child was there. The infant was reported to be in stable condition as of Thursday afternoon.
"We’re all praying for that mother & that baby & hope they’re going to be alright," Finner said.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A Rochester police officer has been placed on administrative duty after using pepper spray on a woman suspected of shoplifting who tried to escape with her 3-year-old child in her arms, authorities said Friday.
Video of the Feb. 22 incident has been made public at a time when the Rochester Police Department is under intense scrutiny over its interactions with Black residents, including the death last spring of Daniel Prude.
Body camera video of the latest encounter shows the woman, who is Black, bolting from a white officer who had stopped her in the street and told her she had been accused of stealing from a convenience store.
The officer chased the woman down the sidewalk, then struggled to subdue her while trying not to injure the screaming toddler. Another officer arrived and carried the child several yards away.
A statement from the police said the woman was pepper sprayed during the arrest.
“The child was not pepper sprayed or injured during the arrest,” the statement said.
The woman, whose name was not released, was ultimately charged with trespassing.
Police Chief Cynthia Herriot-Sullivan told reporters on Friday the officer appeared to follow protocol, but “some things to me aren’t as simple as whether a policy was followed or not.”
“Just because we can do certain things, doesn’t mean we should,” she said at a news conference. “Can we get to the same place by utilizing a different strategy?”
The city’s Police Accountability Board, an entity created by a 2019 voter referendum to look into allegations of police misconduct, said it saw “troubling parallels” with another emergency call in which officers pepper-sprayed a distraught 9-year-old girl they had handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser during a family dispute.
“Both incidents involved Black mothers. Both involved Black children. Both involved Black people obviously in crisis. Both involved officers using pepper spray on or around a Black child,” PAB Chair Shani Wilson said during a video news conference Friday.
LAUREL, Md. (AP) — A former Maryland police chief is accused of setting fires to multiple structures that belonged to his adversaries, authorities said.
Former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford, 69, was arrested Wednesday & is charged with over 50 felonies, including first-degree arson & first-degree attempted murder, in connection to a string of fires from 2011 to 2020 in Howard, Prince George’s, Frederick & Montgomery counties.
Twelve fires were set in the nine-year span to multiple homes, vehicles and residential garages, authorities said.
Investigators determined the fires were connected to people who had disagreements with Crawford, authorities said. Police said they found a target list of known victims & other evidence during a search of Crawford’s Howard County home in January.
Some of the victims include a former City of Laurel official, 3 former law enforcement officials and two of Crawford’s former physicians.
“People who are angry, they do bad things,” said State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci. “Clearly, our suspect, thought he was wronged in a lot of different cases & wronged by a lot of different people, & these are all, you know, spite-revenge fires.”
All the fires were set at night. In 6 of the arsons, the victims were asleep in their homes with their families. Authorities said no one was injured in any of the fires.
Crawford is being held at the Howard County Detention Center. It’s unclear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Crawford served as the Laurel police chief from 2006 until his resignation in 2010.
Laurel Mayor Craig Moe, who appointed Crawford, said he was a staple in the community. Moe said some people in the police department were unhappy with Crawford, but that wasn’t unusual for a police chief.
“It’s very disturbing,” Moe said. “Somebody who took an oath of office to protect and serve, that’s not how you protect and serve.”
Flee Lord presents the "LordMobb Vol. 1" compilation album, hosted by Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg. The 21-track project features vocal contributions from Eto, Willie the Kid, Flee Lord, G4 Jag, Zaza God, Young Act, Mummz, BVNGS, Jameel Na'im, Mumbles, Phonk P, T.F., Aaqil Ali, Noah Ark, Reef Hustle, Vic Spencer, Jai Black, Shady Ray, Shoota93.
Production credits: V Don, Ghost Dave, Mephux, Eto, godblessBEATZ, Casey Jones, 4ord, Big French.
Tacoma, Washington collective ViniHellaBandz and producer Brelliono gear up for their upcoming album "One Take" by releasing an official music video for "Mean Bidness."
"One Take" will drop this month and will be available everywhere music is streamed and sold!
Presented by Hyperice, Champs Israel Adesanya and Petr Yan do media; Aljamain Sterling and Amanda Nunes’ family get a feel for the Octagon. At UFC PI, the City Kickboxing team, Nunes and Megan Anderson push themselves; Jan Blachowicz stays sharp with ping pong.
As he's putting the finishing touches on his "Plates 2" project, Black Soprano Family member Rick Hyde gifts fans with a new EP appropriately titled "Plates 2 on the Way."
Fully produced by Rick himself, the 4-song gem features Benny the Butcher, Heem and ElCamino.
"Plates 2 On The Way" Tracklist:
1. Respectfully 2. Hard Times Ft. Benny the Butcher and ElCamino 3. 11 Shots in Broad Day Ft. Heem 4. Stay Dangerous
Houston rapper Chucky Trill was killed early Friday in a shooting on an Atlanta-area interstate, his manager confirmed.
The Gwinnett County Police Department identified an early morning homicide victim as 33-year-old Corey Detiege, who goes by his artist name, Chucky Trill. The rapper was visiting for NBA All-Star weekend, according to his manager.
Officers responded around 3 a.m. to a shooting on Interstate 85 south near Jimmy Carter Boulevard in an area northeast of Atlanta, police said. The victim was shot at least once & died at a hospital. Detectives said the motive remained unknown.
Chucky Trill was the son of rapper D of Trinity Garden Cartel & manager of Cash Committee Musik Group. In 2018, he released an album called "Music for the Soul" and he was working on albums "Cartel Baby" & "No Rumors," said his manager, Bone of Boneafied Entertainment.
"He was very passionate about his music, very humble young dude," Bone said. "Just a good guy."
Tributes & condolences poured out on social media as the hip hop community learned of Trill's death Friday morning.
Rapper Bun B, also of Houston, wrote in an Instagram post that he is heartbroken & sending condolences to Trill's family & friends. "Damn. This was a good man. Humble. Hard working. Loyal. Determined. Focused. And he had the talent," Bun B wrote.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis-area man fatally shot his estranged wife and two of her children before fleeing with the couple’s baby, who was later found safe, and then killed himself hours later on Friday as officers closed in on him, authorities said.
The killings happened late Thursday in north St. Louis County, said St. Louis County police spokeswoman Tracy Panus. Police on Friday identified the victims as Roseann McCulley, 34, her 13-year-old son Kayden Johnson and her 6-year-old daughter Kaylee Brooks.
Officers responding to a report of a shooting found all three victims had been shot. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police also learned that a 1-year-old girl had been taken — the daughter of Roseann McCulley and the suspected shooter, 35-year-old Bobby McCulley III. The two children killed were not McCulley’s biological children, police said.
Court records show Bobby McCulley III filed for divorce on Feb. 28.
McCulley entered the home with a weapon Thursday night and confined the family for several hours before killing them, police said.
An Amber Alert was issued, and the baby was found safe with relatives just before 5 a.m. Friday.
Meanwhile, police launched a manhunt for the gunman. Police said officers were closing in on McCulley when he fatally shot himself.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol tweeted that the 1-year-old was taken to a hospital to be checked by doctors as a precaution.
Lenox Hughes and producer AP kick promotion into high gear as they release another music video off of their collaborative album titled "Opulent Habits." This latest one is for "Fritz & Frank."
Kenneth Petty’s alleged rape victim claims she’s being bribed to recant her story.
The accuser is identified as Jennifer. She alleges when she was 16, she was raped by Petty in 1994, who was 15 at the time. In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Jennifer claims Nicki Minaj & people close to the rapper, are allegedly trying to convince her to recant her story.
The Pettys have always denied the allegations. Back in 2019, during an episode of Nicki’s Apple Music radio show, Queen Radio, the “Yikes” rapper said Jennifer wanted to recant her story in 1995 but allegedly changed her mind when she learned she could serve jail time for filing a false report. Nicki also alluded that people believed Jennifer over her husband because Jennifer is white. However, Jennifer claims to be biracial.
During Jennifer’s interview with The Daily Beast, she denied ever trying to take her story back. She also claims she was offered $20,000, by a childhood friend who also knows Kenneth, to sign a letter stating that she lied in 1994. Jennifer said, “I came outside & sat in the car & he pulled out the letter & the $20,000 out of his middle console & put the money on my lap. And I held it in my hands, and I put it on the floor in the passenger seat. And I told him, ‘I’m not taking it. I don’t want it.’” Jennifer continued,
“It was like this dude, he really doesn’t give two s***ts about me. It’s like, d***, don’t you know I’m a mother of 4? Don’t you know I have kids? These are things I’m saying to him, & to have him come back to me & tell me, ‘Well, you know how many girls can say that I probably raped them?’”
Jennifer claims she moved 3 times last year for her safety. She also says she’s been in contact with U.S. Marshals who said an investigation of the Pettys is underway & that they’ve found evidence.
In 1995 Petty was convicted for first-degree attempted rape. He served nearly 4 years at a NY state prison & was required to register as a sex offender.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a judge to reconsider adding a third-degree murder charge against a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, handing a potential victory to prosecutors.
A three-judge panel said Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill erred when he rejected a prosecution motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin. The panel said Cahill should have followed the precedent set by the appeals court last month when it affirmed the third-degree murder conviction of former officer Mohamed Noor in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The unarmed Australian woman had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault.
The appeals court sent the case back to Cahill for a ruling consistent with its ruling in the Noor case.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of Chauvin, who is currently charged with second-degree murder & manslaughter.
It was not immediately clear if Friday’s ruling would force a delay in jury selection for Chauvin’s case.
A reinstated third-degree murder count could increase the prosecution’s odds of getting a murder conviction.
Floyd, who was Black, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed & pleading that he couldn’t breathe. In the wake of his death, protests spread worldwide & forced a painful reckoning on racial justice.
Check out the new compilation from OTF titled "Only The Family & Lil Durk Presents: Loyal Bros."
Tracklist
1. Jump (ft. Lil Durk, King Von, Booka600, & Memo600) 2. Sip Again (ft. Lil Durk, Doodie Lo, & THF Zoo) 3. Let It Blow (ft. Memo600 & Lil Uzi Vert) 4. Hellcats & Trackhawks (ft. Lil Durk) 5. Turkey Season (ft. Lil Durk & Chief Wuk) 6. Chess (ft. Tee Grizzley) 7. Took Down (ft. Doodie Lo & Big30) 8. Out The Roof (ft. Lil Durk, King Von, Booka600) 9. Me & Doodie Lo (ft. King Von & Doodie Lo) 10. Game Face (ft. Booka600 & Tee Grizzley) 11. I Ainât Lying (ft. Chief Wuk & EST Gee) 12. Pull Up (ft. Doodie Lo, Timo, & C3) 13. Do It For Von (ft. THF Zoo, Memo600, & Booka600) 14. Dying 2 Hit âEm (ft. Lil Durk & Slimelife Shawty) 15. Toxic (ft. Jusblow600) 16. Glaciers (ft. Booka600 & Boss Top) 17. Kennedy (ft. Lil Mexico) 18. Streets Raised Me (ft. Doodie Lo & Booka600) 19. Rules (ft. Timo) 20. Pistol Totin' (ft. Memo600 & Foogiano) 21. Young Rich N*ggas (ft. Ikey & Hypno Carlito) 22. Get Backers (ft. THF Zoo, Boonie Moe, & Boona) 23. Apart (ft. Booka600)
As he's putting the finishing touches on his "Plates 2" project, Black Soprano Family member Rick Hyde gifts fans with a new EP appropriately titled "Plates 2 on the Way."
Fully produced by Rick himself, the 4-song gem features Benny the Butcher, Heem and ElCamino.
"Respectfully" directed by Zach Warren Films
"Plates 2 On The Way" Tracklist:
1. Respectfully 2. Hard Times Ft. Benny the Butcher and ElCamino 3. 11 Shots in Broad Day Ft. Heem 4. Stay Dangerous
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