Tag: nas

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Cherry Juice Trending

Kelis Says Beyonce And Pharrell Steal Sample Of Her Song

beyonce-kelis
Images via Wireimage/Shutterstock

Kelis is accusing Beyonce, Pharrell and her team of sampling one of her songs without her permission. Kelis took to Instagram to comment that the song “Energy” from Beyonce’s highly anticipated new album Renaissance, contains parts of her 1999 song “Get Along With You.” She wrote, “It’s not a collab, it’s theft.” When a fan expressed disgust with the purported theft, Kelis wrote back, “It’s ridiculous.”

She also released a video speaking about the issue. She expresses that they should have the decency to call and reach out to her, letting her know that they would be using the song on the project.  “From one artist to another, you should have the decency and the common sense and the courtesy to call, reach out…” The “Bossy” singer then noted that it was a passive-aggressive move on their part. While Pharrell produced the 2000 hit, it is has been an ongoing issue of not giving the artist a heads up. “The reason why I’m annoyed is that I know it was on purpose. This was an on-purpose, direct hit. Pharell knows better, this a direct hit at me, its very petty…”  As Kelis mentioned, other artists have sampled her work as well.

Artists Sampling Kelis’ Music

As Kelis mentioned in the video, young artist Ashnikko reached out to Kelis and sampled her song “Deal With It,” which also notes that Kelis is featured on it. The Internet sampled her song “Perfect Day” for their song “Partners In Crime Part Two.” Rochelle Jordan sampled her song “Mars” for her song “Earth To Brain.” Kelis will and always be a treasure to the music industry as she continues to inspire so many artists today.

Written By: Roy Lott

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The Game’s New Album Title Was Actually Given To Lil Durk First

The Game
Image Source: NRK P3

The Game‘s new album Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind will be arriving in a few weeks. The eye-grabbing title is a reference to the classic Hip-Hop masterpiece Illmatic by the famous Nas. In one of his most recent exclusives with HipHopDX, The Game explains originally giving his Drillmatic album title idea to Lil Durk years ago. After highlighting how it’d fit Durk due to him being from Chicago, he stated, “I text Durk like, ‘Yo, call your next album Drillmatic.’ And he was like, ‘Yo, that’s fire.’ And then two years passed and he didn’t call nothing Drillmatic so I was like, ‘I’ma reel that back in.’” Oddly, Lil Durk never bothered to use the title after The Game shared the idea.

 

Nas Blessing The Game With Illmatic Reference

As mentioned above, The Game’s new album title plays on Nas’ 1994 classic album Illmatic. Well, he & producer Hit-Boy ran into Nas during the fourth day of recording the album. Nas gave the duo permission & had no issue with the idea at all. All The Game is simply trying to do is bridge the gap between rap generations, “Drill is now. All these kids, it’s drill this, drill that and so I gotta get they attention because I want the new school to understand my school, we can coexist.” It’ll be exciting to see how he accomplishes this on Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind.

 

Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind Coming Soon

The Game is extremely confident about the quality of his upcoming album. He’s said, “I don’t care who got an album coming out, I don’t care who dropped — nothing’s gonna be better than this album…” In another interview, he boasted about being the best rapper alive. Will Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind live up to all of the hype built up.

Read more of FM Hip-Hop’s featured articles today.

 

Written by: Oryah Brown | Instagram: @oryah.wav

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Rolling Stone 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Album List Causes Backlash

Rolling Stone Backlash Stirs After The Controversial List
The covers from the Rolling Stone's list. Image source: Def Jam Records / Epic, Cactus Jack, Grand Hustle / Roc-A-Fella / Aftermath, Interscope (Top Dawg Entertainment) / Atlantic Records / Chance The Rapper.

Every so often, some entity releases a list of the best ever hip-hop albums. This time the 200-album list comes from the Rolling Stone team. Hip-hop fans flocked to see how the magazine ranked the different albums. Rolling Stone shared the list on social media, and hip-hop fans couldn’t wait to express their opinions about the rankings.

A Disappointing List by Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone dropped the list on June 7. Tupac, Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Nas, and The Notorious B.I.G. all made this list. Hip-hop fans appreciated seeing these familiar favorites, but heated debates surround the rankings.

The trailblazing Tupac album “All Eyez on Me” only made it to number 29. Eminem, arguably the greatest rapper ever, doesn’t have any albums in the top 10. None of his albums even made it into the top 24! Slim Shady, who changed the game with his work, also could have received higher rankings for his contributions.

Another questionable ranking was given to “Illmatic” by Nas. Rolling Stone faced backlash for ranking the album at number 24 on the list.

https://twitter.com/luvhartxx/status/1534365903432757248?s=20&t=g-aNp3ZTxd627qeejJTFdA

Nas, Eminem, and Tupac were ranked lower than expected, but others didn’t even make the list of the Greatest Hip-Hop Albums. KRS-One, MC Lyte, The Lox, and Ludacris didn’t have one album on the list. Fans also didn’t appreciate Rolling Stone’s disrespect to many hip-hop legends.

Outrage Against Cardi B’s Ranking

The most significant outrage emerged over a Cardi B album. “Invasion of Privacy” received a ranking of 16. No one disputed that the album should be on the list someplace, but its high order caused a stir. “Invasion of Privacy” was ranked higher than “All Eyez on Me,” “Illmatic,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Supa Dupa Fly,” and “The Chronic.” These albums don’t just include a few names; many fans find them much better than “Invasion of Privacy.”

All and all, the list disappointed the hip-hop community. The Rolling Stones 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums list missed a significant margin. The list’s order — and the albums that didn’t make it at all — ignited a vocal outcry. Hopefully, the following list created by Rolling Stone won’t upset fans. Until then, Rolling Stone has to live with the backlash.

Xavier “Writer X” Griffin | Facebook @WriterX93 |Twitter @WRITER_X_713

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Footage Surfaces of Jay-Z At 2001 Summer Jam

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 30: Jay Z watches performers onstage during the 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 30, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame )

Vintage footage of the unforgettable 2001 Hot 97 Summer Jam just surfaced online.  The hour long video shows a young Jay-Z rocking the Nassau Coliseum.  No one has ever been able to get their hands on the video!  He debuted the infamous diss, “Takeover”, aimed at Nas and Mobb Deep on that stage.  The crowd was shocked at the bars Hov dropped directed at the three New York emcees. During his set, a photo of Prodigy showed up on the screen.  He was a child dressed like a “ballerina” causing the stadium to erupt!

Jigga Reminices

Shortly after, he brought out Michael Jackson! Although, he didn’t  perform, he blessed the crowd with his prescence.  He took pictures with the Roc-A-Fella team and blew kisses to the crowd before leaving.  Jeymes Samuel, producer of the movie The Harder They Fall, sent Jay-Z the video that has been buzzing online.  Samuel and Jay-Z have been working together on more projects.  Apparently, while looking at the old video of himself he says, “Yo, Jigga’s something else!”

https://youtu.be/-v48TghihAM

Jay Keeps Winning

He is something else! And has proven that his whole career.  Lately he has been working with Yo Gotti regarding prison reform.  In 2020, Parchman penitentiary in Mississippi was being investigated for inhumane conditions.  Team Roc, the Roc Nation social justice group, hired lawyers for over 200 inmates.  Yesterday, Parchman Penitentiary was found guilty by the U.S. Justice Department of denying constitutional rights to its prisoners.  They have violated the 8th and 14th amendments. This includes failing to provide adequate mental health treatment.  Also, failing to protect incarcerated people from violence at the hands of other incarcerated people.

Yo Gotti makes a statement following the big win!

“My heart goes out to the incarcerated men wo have suffered without access to clean water, food and healthcare and the families that tragically lost loved ones in the process.  I will continue to stand up for the voiceless until they receive justice they deserve”.

WRITTEN BY: Brandon Simmons

 

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Nas Will Hit The Grammy Stage

Nas will be performing for the first time solo at the Grammy Awards Ceremony. The Grammys will be in Las Vegas this Sunday, April 3rd.

Best Rap Album

Last year, he won Best Rap Album for King’s Disease. Now, King’s Disease II is up for the same award. Others nominated are Drake for Certified Lover Boy, J.Cole for The Off-Season, Ye for Donda, and Tyler the Creator for CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST. The last time the Queensbridge rapper performed at the Grammys was in 2020 with Lil Nas X as they performed the remix to “Rodeo.” This time he will be hitting the stage by himself. Besides Nas, Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X, and Silk Sonic will be hitting the stage.

His King’s Disease II nomination brings the legendary emcee’s total Grammy nominations to 16. Not only is he up for Best Rap Album, but he can also have his name attached to Best Rap Song. Additionally, “Bath Salts” by DMX featuring Jay-Z and Nas is up for the award. However,  it needs to beat out Saweetie and Doja Cat’s “Best Friend” and J.Cole’s “My Life” featuring 21 Savage and Morray.

Nas
Nas and Lil Nas X  performing at the Grammys in 2020. Photo: Getty Images

“Wave Gods”

Last year, the artist was able to drop two projects, “King’s Disease II” and “Magic,” with the latter project coming out right before the year closed. The “Wave Gods” video, a song off of the “Magic” project, was released this past week. It features A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier.  A$AP even had a hand in directing the video. Of course, shot in New York, The performer shows viewers everyday life as he strolls around the city.

The Great AZ

Speaking of New York City, there is a documentary in the works on a rapper very close to Nas. Brooklyn’s own, AZ, will get his story told.   He was first heard on Nas’s classic album, Illmatic, on the song “Life’s a Bitch”. After that verse, everyone wanted to hear more of AZ! Nas helped get AZ’s career off the ground with that song. He even joined The Firm, which consisted of Nas, Foxy Brown, and Nature. In the documentary, Nas talks about AZ stating, “He created a lane for himself. He didn’t want to go where anybody else went…”. The documentary is titled “Jewels, Gems & Treasures,” with interviews from Nas, 50 Cent, and Buckwild.

 

WRITTEN BY: Brandon Simmons

 

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Snoop Weighs In On The Photographer Suing Nas For His Latest Upload

Nas

Al Pereira vs. Nas

A photographer filed lawsuit against Nas for using his picture on Instagram without permission.  Al Pereira is the photographer who took a photo of Nas and Tupac at Club Amazon in 1993.  Al Pereira is accusing Nas of profiting off picture and using it without licensing.  Snoop Dogg not feeling that as he had a few words for Al P. Check out the clip of his rant here.

Protect the Artist

Snoop’s confused to how Nas can be sued for a picture that he’s in.  He’s calling for a change in the current copyright laws.  All artists need to be protected from situations like this. Nas shared this photo on Instagram two years ago, while Al Pereira copyrighted the photo back in 2017. Pereira is not a stranger for pursuing a suit like this.  Back in 2017, he sued Kendall and Kylie Jenner for using his photos of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. to start a clothing line.  Al Pereira says Nas didn’t ask for permission to use the photo or have a license to use. He also says that the picture has lost value since it is on Instagram now and is suing for unspecified damages.  Nas has yet to comment on the lawsuit.   Maybe Sofia Vergara can give Nas some pointers as she went through the same thing.

Nas
Nas and Tupac photographed in a club in 1993. via Instagram:@nas

East Meets West….Again

Nas and Snoop have a solid relationship.  They have done some songs together in the past and just recently Nas was on Snoop’s Bacc on Death Row album.  The song ‘Conflicted’ has Nas and Snoop rapping like the legends they are.  We all remember Snoop telling the infamous Nas and 2Pac story.  To this day, Snoop claims Nas probably could’ve gotten him and Pac killed because they were in the middle of Queens and Nas had a lot of people with him.  As he told the story on his Breakfast Club Interview, Snoop was aware of what was happening while Pac was giving Nas an earful in his own city.  Snoop was hoping Pac would chill out, but thankfully Nas kept everything cool.

I guess he owes Nas one.  Nas had a busy 2021 dropping two albums, King Disease II and Magic.  We can’t wait to see what he has in stored this year.  I’m sure this lawsuit won’t steer him off track.

Written by Brandon Simmons

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Al Pereiea v. Nas Lawsuit Starts Over A Picture From 1993

Al Pereiea v. Nas Lawsuit Starts Over A Picture From 1993
Image source: Financial Times

Nas v. Al Pereira lawsuit starts over the artist using Pereira’s photo without permission. Pereira’s saying the photo’s worth is decreasing because so many are using it. After all, its availability is constantly increasing thanks to the internet. According to Radar, this isn’t the first time Pereira fights a legal battle against celebrities because of his work.

The Nas v. Al Pereira battle has the two in court. Pereira is suing Nas for using his 1993 picture without permission.

Al Pereiea v. Nas Lawsuit Starts Over A Picture From 1993
The picture in legal question. Image source: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.

In 2017, he sued Kendall and Kylie Jenner for using pictures he took. Vikki Tobak, the creator of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, recalls when she discovered the image of a young Nas, Tupac, and Redman. Saying: “We uncovered a photo that’s a very infamous photo of Biggie, Redman, and Tupac together. Also, when we were going through that contact sheet, there was a strip of images of Tupac Shakur and Nas. It was funny because Al told the story of some guy trying to get his photo, who turned out to be Biggie. 

 

That photo meant a lot to him because it had a friend who ended up passing away a few years after Pereira took the photo, in the photo with him.” It’s 1993, Pereira’s taking a picture of Nas, Redman, and Tupac outside of Club Amazon. The photographer says that that picture Nas is using without Pereira’s permission or licensing of the work. Court documents say that Nas re-uploaded the photo to his Instagram after Pereira registered his copyright for it. 

Radar Magazine specifies the ongoing legal battle between these two parties. Pereira is suing for damages and an injunction for work used without his permission.

Hopefully, this ongoing battle will soon come to an end. Both of these artists know how hard it is to make great art. Maybe this will be the reason that the battle actually leads to both parties coming out with a few battle scars. Ideally, both parties will come out with no battle scars. Realistically, that won’t happen because of the nature of lawsuits. Especially ones that go to federal court.

These are both legends, so maybe that’ll change things.

Written by Tobin Kaplan

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Bow Wow’s Rap Retirement Plans: Connect With Snoop Dogg’s Death Row & Be Hip Hop’s Dwayne Wade

Bow Wow

Bow Wow contrasts his desire to release retirement album to Dwyane Wade, three-time NBA champion of the Miami Heat.  He enlightens those who don’t know why he chooses to be signed to Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Records label after his career.

In a Twitter Q&A session with his fans Friday (Feb. 25), Bow Wow revealed his desire to continue to work with his mentor Snoop Dogg for the final chapter of his music career. Perhaps to finish what he began with the West Coast hip hop legend before he retires from music.

“Spoke to snoop last week,” he wrote in part in response to a fan inquiry. “Very soon. My plan is to put my final album on death row and close my music career out where it began. Im tryna do the d wade and come home and close it out.”

Wanting Nas On His Album and Succeeding With Or Without Jermaine Dupri

The 34-year-old rapper and actor also broke down a pair of crucial details about his final album. Revealing he would love to have Nas on the album, yet has some reservations on collaborating with So So Def owner Jermaine Dupri. He produced Bow’s debut Beware Of The Dogg album. Fans are clearly excited for this collaboration.

“JD busy just like im busy,” he wrote. “He has projects to finish. I cant sit back and wait on no one. I dont NEED jd to do an album. I did it w my 3rd and STILL went platinum. So its proven ive had success w out him. BUT with him its even more dynamic because of what we can do.”

Bow Wow’s 2000 Multiplatinum Album

In 2000, Bow Wow released his multiplatinum album, Beware Of The Dog, including the number one single, Bow Wow (That’s My Name) with Snoop Dogg. The Recording Industry Association of America has certified the album three times multiplatinum.

Bow Wow’s final album may take longer, however, as the terms of Snoop Dogg’s acquisition of Death Row Records are said to still “be negotiated,” and more likely than not, several of Dr. Dre and 2Pac’s albums will not appear.

Will There Be A 2nd Part To The Movie ‘Lottery Ticket?’

Bow Wow also discussed several topics, including the possibility of releasing a sequel to Lottery Ticket, the 2010 film he starred in with comedian Brandon T. Jackson. He also collaborated with him on the movie Roll Bounce and claimed it “got weird overnight.” during the Twitter Q-and-A.

Written by: Nikiya Biggs

 

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Nas Scores New Aflac Short Film ‘The Park Bench’

Nas
Source: Getty

Nas has found time to score Aflac’s new animated short film, The Park Bench. The film was made with a primarily African American crew. It tells the story of a family healing, both physically and emotionally.

Source: Aflac

Aflac is an insurance company known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage, which pays cash benefits when a policyholder has a covered accident or illness.

The Park Bench is about a little girl, called Bella, taking care of a duck with a broken wing while her father is at the hospital for sickle cell disease. At the end of the film, he comes back at the same time the duck is healed. The family says goodbye to the duck and he flies away.

The film is saying that Aflac will take care of and provide for your family, but only until you are released from the hospital. After that, you are on your own.

Behind the scenes

Aflac has been using a duck as their mascot since the early 2000s. The first commercial they did with the duck was called “Park Bench“. The commercial is remembered for its diverse casting for its time. Their new short film pays homage to it through the name.

“We wanted to make a film that depicted the value of care, using the backdrop of a common family story—caring for each other in times of an unexpected medical crisis,” Aflac CMO Shannon Watkins tells Muse. “It underscores what Aflac believes—during medical events you need to focus on what matters most: your recovery, not finances.”

“When we reached out and told Nas the story we wanted to share, he immediately jumped on board,” Watkins recalls. “His friend and collaborator, rapper Prodigy, passed from sickle cell disease at age 42. It’s a devastating reminder of what the genetic disorder can do, specifically to the African American community.”

Written by Justin Acosta

Twitter: @hahalacka

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Biggie’s “The Ugliest” Intended To Lyrically Slaughter Tupac

Lil Cease dropped a bomb in “The Art of Dialogue” Interview; “The Ugliest” was a killer track set up to feature Biggie, Nas, and also Busta. The project’s intent was to collectively destroy 2Pac in lyrical form. Lil Cease also noted that Biggie wanted Nas to go hard on “The Ugliest.” However, the Biggie, Nas, and Busta project didn’t come to fruition.

Little History On Tupac And Biggie

Without a doubt, Biggie Smalls and Tupac were two of the illest hip hop artist to surface. Both artists raised the bar for lyricism. Their lyrical tussle will forever be iconic.

In 1994 someone shot Tupac, leaving Quad Recording Studio in New York. In February 1995, The Notorious B.I.G. released “Who Shot Ya.” All eyes turned to Tupac, the public sentiment Biggie targeting Pac. However, according to a source, Biggie denied the allegations. The artists traded lyrical punches like blows in a heavyweight bout from then on. Pac’s lyrics were semi-automatic, and he didn’t give trigger warnings. Biggies style was subtle, like a weapon with a silencer, stealthy but deadly.

In Lil Cease words,

“Big Wasn’t gon put forth a full effort into a whole full song dissing 2 Pac—Big was kinda more like sprinkling on it. “

Lyrical beast with different lethal approaches best defines Pac and Biggie, together with Nas and Busta.

What Did Biggie With Nas and Busta Rhymes Intend In “The Ugliest?”

The subtext of Biggie’s lyrics in “The Ugliest” feature with Nas and Busta undeniably shifted sights to the “Hail Mary” lyricist. However, no names come up. So how do we know Big took aim at Pac? The lyrics tell the story.

“And the winner is, not that thinner kid, Bandanas, tattoos, my fist never bruise. Land still cruise, Frank White paid his dues.”

Everyone had familiarity with how Pac appareled himself. The portrait Biggie painted with his lyrics left nothing to the imagination.

What Happened With Biggie’s, Nas’s, and Busta Rhymes’s Project “The Ugliest?”

The song went unreleased. According to Lil Cease, Nas or Busta don’t spit on the track after Biggie flexed on his lyrics. A YouTuber contends Busta refused to release the single,

“[The Ugliest] Was supposed to be on Busta’s The Coming, but Biggie was aiming shots at Pac in his verse, so Busta took it from the album to avoid beef with Pac. Puffy tried to buy the beat from Busta, but he didn’t want to sell it.”

Despite the rationale for non-release, the world now has a sample to please the palate. If formally released, who knows if the collaborative effort of Biggie, Nas, and Busta would have forever etched their names in history as Pac’s lyrical assassins?

Are you interested in updated coverage related to Biggie Small’s murder? Then check out FM Hip Hop’s retrospective article. 

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Written by Renae Richardson

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