Earlier today, an official statement was posted to the Love & Hip-Hop Instagram page regarding Erica Mena calling Spice a monkey.
While multiple outlets are reporting that Erica has been fired, it’s important to note that that’s not quite what they said. The statement says she will not appear on the next season of Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta, which leaves the door open for her to returning after next season. It also leaves the door open for her going to another city in the Love & Hip-Hop franchise.
Nicki Minaj just dropped a new single — or the first single, depending on who you ask — from Pink Friday 2. “Last Time That I Saw You,” which feels like a song from the early 2010s, was written solely by the rapper, who is actually singing on most of the track.
The song doesn’t quite jump at you immediately — even after a half-dozen listens — but to be quite honest, neither did “Barbie World” and that has gone on to be a major hit.
Pink Friday 2, Nicki’s fifth LP, drops on November 17.
In 1995, Patra & Aaron Hall joined forces on the title track and third single from the former’s sophomore set, Scent of Attraction, and the end-product was an R&B/dancehall blend that makes you wanna see someone inna yuh bedroom tonight.
Based on a sample of Tom Scott’s “Shadows,” “Scent of Attraction” is a baby-making song with just enough beat to be played in a club. Aaron Hall is sangin’ down per usual while Patra rides the beat as only she can.
The song, much like its performers, never got the recognition it deserved, only managing to peak at No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, as we all know, audiences sometimes get it wrong.
While performing last night on the LA stop of his Final Lap tour, an enraged 50 Cent (who was onstage with YG) tossed not one but two microphones because they were faulty. The second time, he actually launched the mic into the production area, and unfortunately, it hit Power 106 host Bryhana Monegain right in the forehead, leaving her bloodied.
She ended up being taken to the hospital. TMZ obtained photos of her injuries.
The radio host has since filed a police report and 50 Cent is now being investigated for criminal battery. She claims he looked right at her when he threw the mic.
The Miseduction of Lauryn Hill turns 25 years old tomorrow, so in honor of the classic, let’s revisit what has turned out to be its most iconic single, “Ex-Factor.”
Yes, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” was the album’s biggest hit by far, but in the two-and-a-half decades since its release, “Ex-Factor” has become the foremost track from Miseducation.
Written and produced — at least officially — by Lauryn Hill, the song is said to be about her relationship with ex-boyfriend and ex-bandmate, Wyclef Jean. It samples Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can It Be All So Simple,” which samples Gladys Knight & the Pips’ cover of Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were.”
It’s hard to listen to “Ex-Factor” without feeling like you’re going through a troubled relationship yourself. The lyrics are laced with pain and Ms. Hill’s vocal delivery is packed with emotion. If there was a Mount Rushmore of breakup songs, one spot would have to be reserved for “Ex-Factor.”
Though it only peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, it has had an outsized impact over the years, sampled by everyone from Drake to Cardi B, and covered by everyone from Kelly Clarkson to Beyoncé. As we approach the 25th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, we can safely crown “Ex-Factor” as Lauryn Hill’s signature hit.
A few hours ago, Donald Trump turned himself in at the Fulton County jail and immediately bonded out, but not before getting his mugshot taken.
Earlier in the day, he got rid of Drew Findling, who had been representing him in his RICO case, and has now retained Steve Sadow, the lawyer who represented Gunna in his own RICO case (and got him released after taking the Alford plea).
Seven years after they filed, Halley Berry and Olivier Martinez have now finalized their divorce. The couple will share custody of their nine-year-old son, Maceo Martinez.
Here’s the kicker: Olivier will receive $8,000 in child support and 4.3% of all Halle’s earnings over $2 million. Mind you, Halle is responsible for 100% of Maceo’s tuition, extracurricular activities, insurance, and uninsured expenses.
We missed TBT last week, so you know what that means: We get two picks this week.
The music gods must’ve been having a laugh when they took not one but TWO icons from us on another icon’s birthday, but it is a reality with which we must now live. Yesterday was Madonna’s 65th birthday, so how about one from her catalog?
In February of 1989, the Queen of Pop released “Like a Prayer” as the lead single from her fourth album (of the same). The song’s meaning has been source of debate. Is Madonna singing about prayer or giving head? One line-by-line read of the song’s lyrics should clear that up.
It’s about secks, y’all.
The slightly ambiguous lyrics combined with the gospel-esque production leaves just enough room for plausible deniability. If Madonna went around calling herself a genius because of this one song, I’d allow it.
Madge might’ve gotten away with the song as is, but the video is where she got people mad. With strong racial themes, including burning crosses and a wrongly arrested Black man, it was all a little too much for 1989 audiences. Not to mention, she cast Leon Robinson as a Black saint, who she ends up making out with. Most people assumed he was supposed to be Jesus (the horror!), and Christian groups around the world were losing it. Even Pope John Paul II got involved, calling on people to boycott Pepsi, which had an endorsement deal with Madonna at the time — in fact, “Like a Prayer” was first heard in a Pepsi commercial.
The “Live a Prayer” video was banned by most TV stations (with MTV being a notable exception) and Pepsi eventually caved, ending the partnership with Madonna. However, she got to keep $5 million she had been.
“Like a Prayer” would become Madonna’s seventh No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts across the globe. All in all, she won.
Yesterday marked five years since we lost the Queen of Soul, so it’s only right that we honor her memory with a lookback at signature hit, “Respect.”
Originally performed by Otis Redding in 1965, the song is about a man who doesn’t feel like he’s getting enough respect from his ol’ lady. This version, which credits Redding as its sole writer, is actually not the first version of the song, which is said to have been a ballad. The writer of that original version remains a bit of a mystery, but Otis Redding rewrote its lyrics and upped the tempo to create his version.
The Otis Redding version of “Respect” would become a top 40 hit in the US and one of the biggest songs of his career. And then came the Aretha Franklin version.
In 1967, the Queen of Soul would cover the song but rearrange it so drastically that it basically sounded like an entirely new song. Curiously, Jerry Wexler is credited as the song’s producer, but every account of how it went down says all of the ideas for the rearrangement came from Aretha and her sisters, Erma and Carolyn. Aretha also played the piano on her cover of the song.
This overhaul of an established (and recent) recording would become a trend in the music business, and in many ways, pioneered what we now call remixing.
Aretha Franklin’s version of “Respect” would go on to become her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earn her two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Recording and Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance in 1968. The song would also become a feminist and civil rights anthem, and quite frankly, one of the most iconic and recognizable songs of all time.
Remember The Blind Side? That cringe-inducing movie that won Sandra Bullock an Oscar in 2009? It turns out the “true” story it was based on was actually a lie.
Former NFL player Michael Oher (portrayed by Quinton Aaron in the movie) says the version of his life events we see on the big screen are not factual. He says the “benevolent” couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who adopted him actually never did — he claims they tricked him into a conservatorship.
In a petition filed in court yesterday, Oher accuses the couple of exploiting him and says that he only just found out SIX MONTHS AGO that the documents presented to him as adoption papers were actually a petition to appoint them as his conservators, which gave them control over his ability to enter contracts despite the fact that he was over 18, able-bodied and of sound mind. This allowed the couple to negotiate with Fox when The Blind Side was being produced.
This NASTY couple allegedly negotiated for $225,000 and 2.5% of all future earnings for themselves and their kids while leaving Oher out of it. The move would go on to gross over $309 million at the box office.
Oher is seeking to end the conservatorship and is asking for damages. He also wants an accounting of proceeds from all contracts negotiated on his behalf.
The Tuohys have since responded through their attorney, who claims Oher tried to shake them down for $15 million and threatened to go to the press if they didn’t pay up. They also claim that they didn’t trick him into the conservatorship.
Earlier today, an official statement was posted to the Love & Hip-Hop Instagram page regarding Erica Mena calling Spice a monkey.
