| DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, and Jeremih Drop 'Thankful' Video May 3rd 2021, 23:29, by Rap-Up Bless up. On the heels of his album release, DJ Khaled teams up with Lil Wayne and Jeremih in his latest video for "Thankful," the opening track off his 12th studio album Khaled Khaled. In the uplifting clip, Khaled counts his blessings as he walks the lush grounds of his tropical paradise. He reflects on his early days hustling mixtapes and producing beats, while the newly-married Weezy recounts his humble beginnings. Jeremih, who overcame a near-death battle with COVID-19 last year, also has a lot to be grateful for. "And I know that somebody been praying for me / Head above ground and I could've been six feet deep," he sings. Along with the video, Khaled shared an inspiring message. "This my intro of my album. This one is personal so the video needed to be personal as well," he said. "It's everything I represent. Believe in yourself, never give up and ALL praise to the most High." Khaled previously dropped videos for "Sorry Not Sorry" with JAY-Z and Nas, as well as "Where You Come From" featuring Buju Banton, Capleton, and Bounty Killer. More visuals are on the way. Khaled recently went in front of the lens to shoot a video for his Justin Bieber and 21 Savage collaboration, "Let It Go." | | Birdman Reveals How Much Cash Money Earns From Its Masters May 3rd 2021, 23:06, by Rap-Up Birdman is making millions off Cash Money's masters. During an interview with Wallo of "Where's Wallo" (via Complex), the Cash Money Records boss revealed how much money he earns annually from Cash Money's current and former roster of artists, which includes Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. "We license the music, I just started letting people sample my shit. So yeah, it's a gang of ways you can make money with your masters," Birdman said. He went on to reveal that the figure is in the tens of millions. "We generate $20-30 million a year just on our masters," added Birdman. Cash Money has come under fire in the past from its own artists including Lil Wayne. In 2015, Weezy sued the label for $51 million. In 2018, they settled their legal dispute for an undisclosed amount. Tyga also filed a lawsuit in 2018 for millions in unpaid royalties. Last year, Wayne sold his masters to Universal Music Group for a reported $100 million. While he continues to make bank, Birdman is also giving back. Last May, amid the COVID-19 crisis, he and his brother, Cash Money co-founder Ronald "Slim" Williams, donated over $225,000 to help pay rent for hundreds of subsidized tenants and families in New Orleans. | | The Weeknd Still Boycotting Grammys After Rule Change May 3rd 2021, 21:37, by Rap-Up The Weeknd will continue to boycott the Grammys. Last week, the Recording Academy announced that it would eliminate the "secret" nominations review committees. Now the "Blinding Lights" singer has responded to the rule change. In a statement to Variety, he called the decision an "important start," while doubling down on his previous comments. "The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy organization and artists that it would be unwise to raise a victory flag," he said. "I think the industry and public alike need to see the transparent system truly at play for the win to be celebrated, but it's an important start." However, The Weeknd will still withhold his music from consideration in the future. "I remain uninterested in being a part of the Grammys, especially with their own admission of corruption for all these decades. I will not be submitting in the future." His manager, Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, added, "No change comes without a voice heard. I'm just proud of Abel for standing up for what he believes in. I was in a shock when all this happened but now I see it clearly, and I'm glad we stood for our beliefs." In November, The Weeknd blasted the Grammys after being shut out of the 2021 nominations despite the success of his latest album, After Hours. "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…" he tweeted, while vowing to boycott the awards. "Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys," he told The New York Times. The "secret" committees have faced growing criticism in recent years. These anonymous expert committees were put in place to review the initial nomination choices from voting members and ultimately decide who makes the cut in 61 of the Grammys' 84 categories. "It's been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I'm immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our awards process," Harvey Mason Jr., the Academy's interim president and CEO, said after the decision. "This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community." | | NLE Choppa Speaks Out After Beach Fight May 3rd 2021, 18:56, by Rap-Up NLE Choppa is speaking out after a brawl at the beach. Over the weekend, video surfaced of Choppa getting into a physical altercation with an unidentified man at Venice Beach in California. The man approaches Choppa and his crew on a bike before a verbal argument ensues. Choppa swings at him and the man swings back, landing a blow to his face. But the man was outnumbered by Choppa and his crew, who attack him, eventually knocking him to the floor before Choppa and friends walk away. After the video went viral, the Memphis rapper took to Twitter on Monday to address the scuffle, which reportedly started after the man asked for a picture. When he said no, Choppa claimed that the man insulted him. "Damn y'all never got hit in a fight before?" he tweeted. "bruh asked for picture I said no I'm enjoying my self and I get called scary and a bitch. I make sure I take pictures with every fan but some days I just be trying to chill and get disrespected in the process." He insists he didn't want any problems, while defending himself against those who said he lost the fight. "And I eat punches ask bout me. Imma rush you take what you got to give and resume beating some. Honestly ain't wanna fight I was just tryna walk the beach." In late March, Choppa was arrested on burglary, drugs, and weapon charges. After his release from jail on $4,500 bond, he claimed that he was framed. "During this arrest I was setup, substances were planted on me that I don't consume/use/own, my name was lied upon, and I was even mistreated in the process," he tweeted. On Friday, Choppa released his new single "Final Warning" on which he takes aim at the police for trying to lock him up. | | Quando Rondo and Crew Involved in Shooting May 3rd 2021, 18:18, by Rap-Up Quando Rondo was involved in a shooting that left one member of his entourage wounded. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that gunfire erupted around 3:20 a.m. Sunday (May 2) in Blackshear, Georgia, while Quando and his crew were in a parking lot off the highway. Cops believe the shooter opened fire from across the road or from the highway. The "Bad Vibe" rapper was not harmed because he was not at the scene when cops responded. However, one member of his crew was shot in the hand and taken to a local hospital for treatment. The group was making a quick stop at the convenience store just moments before shots rang out. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting, which occurred about 10 minutes from the nightclub where Quando performed on Saturday night. Back in November, Quando's crew was involved in the fatal shooting of King Von outside an Atlanta nightclub. Timothy Leeks, a Quando affiliate, was arrested and charged with felony murder. Quando is gearing up to release his new project Still Taking Risks on Friday. | | Lil Wayne Pays Tribute to 'Late Great' DMX May 3rd 2021, 17:08, by Rap-Up Lil Wayne is paying his respect to the late great DMX. Almost a month after the rapper's death, Lil Wayne shared a heartfelt tribute to the Yonkers legend at Trillerfest in Miami on Saturday (May 1). While on stage, Weezy reflected on touring with X on the "Cash Money Ruff Ryders Tour" back in 2000, which featured top acts from two of the hottest hip-hop labels at the time including Eve, Swizz Beatz, The LOX, and Juvenile. "When I was a younger kid, we used to be on tour a lot, like six months out the year," Wayne told the crowd at Miami Marine Stadium. "And we used to go on tour with another record label because we used to have so many artists. We didn't have to have no opening acts because we just needed another record label and it was just us and them. So back then, we went on this tour called the 'Cash Money Ruff Ryders Tour.' See, being from New Orleans, it's so far away from New York and Cali and shit like that, we didn't know if it was real when we seen it on TV, the New York guys, the L.A. people. So when we saw DMX, we all fell in love." Once he met X in-person, he was instantly taken. "But when I got on tour with him, now you in the hotel lobby, you in the backstage, you run across the ni**a and he actually say something to you," Wayne continued. "And when you see this ni**a talk like how he rap and you see this ni**a is what he is, and you see this ni**a got a zillion dogs with him, then a zillion dogs with him, it's impossible not to be obsessed, infatuated, motherfu**in' impressed, whatever." Added Wayne, "Ladies and gentlemen, please make some noise for the late great DMX!" He then launched into his Carter V hit "Uproar," produced by one of DMX's closest friends, Swizz Beatz. "It hit my brother real hard–real, real, real hard. My brother's name is Swizz Beatz," said Wayne. "He would never let a Lil Wayne album come out without a beat on that motherfu**er from him." DMX died on April 9 after suffering a heart attack. He was 50. In the wake of his death, his peers including Nas, Eve, Jadakiss, and Swizz honored him during a memorial service in Brooklyn last weekend. | | Will Smith Says He's in the 'Worst Shape of My Life' May 3rd 2021, 16:25, by Rap-Up Will Smith is showing off his quarantine body. The rapper-actor is known for staying in shape, but like many, the past year at home during the pandemic has taken a toll on him. In a display of humility, the 52-year-old showed off his dad bod on Instagram, wearing just workout shorts and an unzipped track jacket while standing in front of a lake. "I'm gonna be real wit yall – I'm in the worst shape of my life," Smith wrote in his caption. The photo had over 5 million likes from fans and friends including DJ Jazzy Jeff, who wrote, "We're twins." The Roots' Questlove called it the "most amazing post in the history of social media." Arnold Schwarzenegger offered his fellow actor some encouraging words. "Will, you poor baby, I'm crying for you, even though you're still in better shape than 90% of America. Keep pumping!" he said. Smith is set to star in director Antoine Fuqua's runaway slave thriller Emancipation. The big-budget film, which was set to begin shooting in June, will no longer be shot in Georgia in response to the state's restrictive new voting law. "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access," said Smith and Fuqua. | | Pop Smoke's Manager Announces New Album May 3rd 2021, 15:44, by Rap-Up Pop Smoke's legacy lives on. Another posthumous album from the late Brooklyn rapper is in the works. One of his managers, Rico Beats, posted a photo to Instagram over the weekend and in his caption, he revealed plans for a new project. "I see and hear everything kept it cool tho no worries pay back around the corner Popsmoke new album loading…." wrote Rico Beats. Pop Smoke's posthumous debut Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was released last July. The album, which was co-executive produced by 50 Cent, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and became the longest-running No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart since M.C. Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Em in 1990. The album spawned a trio of platinum tracks ("Hello," "Got It On Me," and "Something Special"), three 2x platinum songs ("Mood Swings," "The Woo," and "What You Know About Love"), one 3x platinum ("Dior"), and the 4x platinum "For the Night." Pop, who was shot and killed in February 2020, continues to earn accolades after his death. He was recently nominated for 10 Billboard Music Awards including Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Artist, and Top New Artist. | | Watch Nas React to JAY-Z's Verse on 'Sorry Not Sorry' May 2nd 2021, 17:40, by Rap-Up Only DJ Khaled could bring together JAY-Z and Nas. The hip-hop legends reunited for their first collaboration in over a decade on Khaled's new album Khaled Khaled. Following the album's release on Friday, Khaled posted rare footage from a video call between JAY and Nas. In the clip, Nas is with Khaled in the studio while speaking with JAY-Z on FaceTime. Nas shared his reaction upon hearing JAY's verse, on which he raps, "Circular ice on Japanese whiskey, on my mezzanine …. Everybody's gettin' bands, we just dance to different drums." "Oh no no no!" said Nas while joking that he had to rewrite his verse upon hearing Hov. "I'm just here tweaking lines and shit. I'm in here like rewriting four bars." As JAY-Z smiled and laughed, Nas went on to praise Beyoncé, whose vocals are credited as The Hive. "And the queen at the end, bro, those harmonies. That gave my chills, bro." "This is one. This is definitely one for the books," added Nas, while JAY concurred. "Now that feel good. It feels great." Getting the rap titans on the same track—and in the Hype Williams-directed video—was a dream come true for Khaled. "JAY and NAS on one record has been a lifelong dream! And I'm so glad it happened the way it did! TRUE brotherhood! Amazing energy! And love! God was in the booth, on set, and all over this ALBUM!" he said. In the end, Khaled said that neither JAY nor Nas rewrote their lyrics. "By the way no lines were changed it was PERFECT and BEAUTIFUL." Khaled Khaled, which also features appearances from Cardi B, Drake, H.E.R., Migos, and Justin Bieber, is expected to debut at No. 1 on next week's charts with 80-100,000 equivalent album units. | | Tory Lanez and Chris Brown Ready Joint Project May 2nd 2021, 16:36, by Rap-Up Tory Lanez and Chris Brown have more music on the way. The duo's long-awaited joint effort may finally come to fruition, according to Tory. Speaking with DJ Carsima in an interview following his Playboy virtual performance on Saturday, the One Umbrella singer announced plans to release an entire capsule collection with Breezy. "Me and Chris, we gon' come out with another project too," he said. "We gon' drop a little capsule together. Me and Chris gon' do a capsule too." In February, the two dropped a song and video for "Feels" off Tory's R&B album Playboy. Prior to that, they collaborated on songs like "FlEXiBle" and "The Take." Tory has been teasing the joint project as far back as 2018. In 2019, he told Rap-Up that he and Chris had recorded 9-10 tracks. "We could damn near put out a project right now if we wanted to," he said. "When me and Chris work, we just work mad fast." In addition to Chris, Tory teased upcoming collaborations with Yung Bleu ("Crazy one for all the R&B heads") and DaBaby, who appears on "Skat," for which they also shot a video. "The video for 'Skat' is like nuts, like stupid crazy, like the best video I think of the year," said Tory, who previewed the visual earlier in the year. And he's only getting started. "We about to start turning the summer up. I'ma kill the whole summer," added Tory. | |
bruh asked for picture I said no I'm enjoying my self and I get called scary and a bitch. I make sure I take pictures with every fan but some days I just be trying to chill and get disrespected in the process
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