hip hop
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Ain't Nothing to It…Boss: It's Official, Jay-Z Is a Billionaire
Big pimpin’, spendin’ cheese—but more more importantly, big pimpin’, makin’ cheese. A billion slices, in fact. At the end of 2018, Forbes announced Jay-Z as the richest musician. Now, Forbes is officially giving him a label many believed was coming soon: he’s a billionaire. The financial site is “conservatively” giving the rapper a $1 billion…
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30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB, Day 1: Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, ‘They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)’
June is Black Music Month and we here at VSB have decided to celebrate with aplomb and splendor. Just like we did back in February with our 28 Days of Literary Blackness series, we also love music and relish in the opportunity to celebrate that love as frequently as possible. Sometimes you just have to…
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10 Thoughts About the Wu-Tang Clan and Their Showtime Documentary Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics & Men
1. I got into the Wu-Tang Clan very late to the game. It’s not because I didn’t think they could spit—I did, but the sound was just too dirty for me. I was a very big fan of Dr. Dre and DJ Quik and they both produced very cleanly, so to speak. And also, one…
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Eric Holder, Suspect in the Shooting Death of Nipsey Hussle, Pistol-Whipped a Man an Hour Before Rapper Was Killed, Witnesses Tell Prosecutors
Authorities prosecuting the murder case against Eric Holder, the man charged with shooting rapper Nipsey Hussle to death in front of his store in South Los Angeles in March, are preparing to paint a portrait of a man prone to violence. According to witness statements presented to prosecutors, an hour before Holder is alleged to…
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Fever: Megan Thee Stallion Will Drive the Boat This Summer and Beyond
Megan Thee Stallion. Megan Thee Star. Before we get to the nitty and the gritty that is the sublime rapper’s debut album, Fever, I want to take you on a fantastic voyage, quickly chronicling my introduction to her—and the stanning crescendo that followed. Sometime last year, I saw the names “Tina Snow” and “Megan Thee…
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Hip-Hop Legend Bushwick Bill Reveals Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis
One of the founding members of legendary rap group Geto Boys has announced he’s battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. In an interview with TMZ, Bushwick Bill made the revelation that he was diagnosed in February and is currently undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatments. “We see a mass on your pancreas and we can’t understand it,” the…
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Salt-N-Pepa Are Still in Effect and Playing ‘Black Ass Game’
Salt-N-Pepa is the stuff of legend: They’ve got hits. They’ve won a Grammy award. Heck, even the Queen, Beyoncé, paid homage to them for Halloween. But, is their game dominoes or Spades? After 30-plus years in the music industry, trailblazing artists Salt-N-Pepa still have plenty of opinions. Ahead of the premiere of Ladies’ Night on…
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John Singleton Introduced Me to a World That Changed My Life
John Singleton passed Monday, April 29, 2019. After suffering a stroke that left him in a coma, his family ultimately decided to take him off life support. To say it was a life gone too soon is an understatement, especially for a figure who has had such a tremendous impact on the black community at…
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Pioneering Hip-Hop Journalist Dee Barnes, Now Homeless, Gets a Hand-Up From Wendy Williams
Life has admittedly not been easy for hip-hop media pioneer Dee Barnes, but perhaps things will start to get a little brighter with the help of talk show host Wendy Williams. Barnes appeared Thursday on Wendy: The Wendy Williams Show, where the talk show host offered to publish the book Barnes has in the works…
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Grammy-Nominated Rapper Nipsey Hussle Shot and Killed Outside Store
Grammy-Nominated Rapper Nipsey Hussle, born Ermias Joseph Asghedom, has died after being shot multiple times while standing outside of his Marathon Clothing Company store in the Hyde Park section of Los Angeles. Asghedom’s shooting was initially reported by TMZ. Asghedom was 33. He was known for a run of mixtapes that began in 2005 with “Slauson…