Tag: Rapper

  • 21 Savage cleared to legally travel abroad with plans of international performance in London

    By Associated Press

    LOS ANGELES: Rapper 21 Savage can now legally travel outside the United States and plans to make his international performance in his native London.

    Savage’s lawyer, Charles Kuck, told The Associated Press in a statement Friday that his client has officially become a permanent U.S. resident and may now go overseas. He cleared a major traveling hurdle after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Georgia in 2019.

    Kuck said the Grammy-nominated artist followed “all applicable immigration laws since his initial detention by ICE.”

    “His immigration court proceedings have now been terminated and he is a lawful permanent resident of the United States with the freedom to travel internationally,” Kuck said.

    Savage, 30, whose given name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, spent 10 days in a detention center in southern Georgia before his release. He was arrested in a targeted operation over his visa, which expired in 2006.

    The Atlanta-based rapper said he had no idea what a visa was when his mother brought him to the U.S. at 7 years old. He said in a 2019 interview with the AP that immigrants like him who lived in America illegally as children should automatically become U.S. citizens.

    Savage said the visa application process discourages many immigrants who don’t have documents because it “hangs over your head forever.”

    Savage made his announcement about returning to London via social media but did not give details.

    LOS ANGELES: Rapper 21 Savage can now legally travel outside the United States and plans to make his international performance in his native London.

    Savage’s lawyer, Charles Kuck, told The Associated Press in a statement Friday that his client has officially become a permanent U.S. resident and may now go overseas. He cleared a major traveling hurdle after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Georgia in 2019.

    Kuck said the Grammy-nominated artist followed “all applicable immigration laws since his initial detention by ICE.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “His immigration court proceedings have now been terminated and he is a lawful permanent resident of the United States with the freedom to travel internationally,” Kuck said.

    Savage, 30, whose given name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, spent 10 days in a detention center in southern Georgia before his release. He was arrested in a targeted operation over his visa, which expired in 2006.

    The Atlanta-based rapper said he had no idea what a visa was when his mother brought him to the U.S. at 7 years old. He said in a 2019 interview with the AP that immigrants like him who lived in America illegally as children should automatically become U.S. citizens.

    Savage said the visa application process discourages many immigrants who don’t have documents because it “hangs over your head forever.”

    Savage made his announcement about returning to London via social media but did not give details.

  • Nigerian superstar Rema to tour India in May 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Nigerian music superstar Rema is set to perform in India for the first time in May this year.

    His upcoming tour, titled ‘Rema Calm Down India Tour’, is themed after his debut album ‘Rave & Roses’, which came out in 2022.

    The rapper and singer-songwriter, whose real name is Divine Ikubor, will perform in India in May 2023.

    He will play in multiple Indian cities between May 12 and 14.

    “I’m super excited to be visiting India, I’ve always been fascinated by the cultural landscape of the country and it feels amazing to be finally touring the country. Can’t wait to join all my lovely Indian fans in the arenas in May 2023,” the 23-year-old musician said in a statement.

    ‘Rema Calm Down India Tour 2023’ is presented and produced by Offline Guys, Yuvraj Entertainment, Grid Entertainment in collaboration with Afrodesh.

    Anant K Srivastava, founder of Offline Guys, said Rema enjoys a massive goodwill in India and is one of the few global artists who enjoys sustained growth and immense popularity on home turf.

    “We believe Afro music is here to stay and dominate not just the airwaves and charts but also the live music festival industry. We are looking at capitalising on the Afro music market which remains relatively untapped in the concerts and live events space in India since there is a massive potential for this genre to be on par with the dance music, rock and pop genre,” he added.

    Solomon Sonaiya, founder at Afrodesh, said the Afrobeats movement has a huge market in India.

    “The reception Afrobeats artists receive from India is quite incredible and we would love to explore the region in the coming few years by bringing down some stellar names from the genre to India,” he added.

    NEW DELHI: Nigerian music superstar Rema is set to perform in India for the first time in May this year.

    His upcoming tour, titled ‘Rema Calm Down India Tour’, is themed after his debut album ‘Rave & Roses’, which came out in 2022.

    The rapper and singer-songwriter, whose real name is Divine Ikubor, will perform in India in May 2023.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    He will play in multiple Indian cities between May 12 and 14.

    “I’m super excited to be visiting India, I’ve always been fascinated by the cultural landscape of the country and it feels amazing to be finally touring the country. Can’t wait to join all my lovely Indian fans in the arenas in May 2023,” the 23-year-old musician said in a statement.

    ‘Rema Calm Down India Tour 2023’ is presented and produced by Offline Guys, Yuvraj Entertainment, Grid Entertainment in collaboration with Afrodesh.

    Anant K Srivastava, founder of Offline Guys, said Rema enjoys a massive goodwill in India and is one of the few global artists who enjoys sustained growth and immense popularity on home turf.

    “We believe Afro music is here to stay and dominate not just the airwaves and charts but also the live music festival industry. We are looking at capitalising on the Afro music market which remains relatively untapped in the concerts and live events space in India since there is a massive potential for this genre to be on par with the dance music, rock and pop genre,” he added.

    Solomon Sonaiya, founder at Afrodesh, said the Afrobeats movement has a huge market in India.

    “The reception Afrobeats artists receive from India is quite incredible and we would love to explore the region in the coming few years by bringing down some stellar names from the genre to India,” he added.

  • Migos rapper Takeoff dead after Houston shooting

    By Associated Press

    Migos rapper Takeoff is dead after a shooting early Tuesday outside a bowling alley in Houston, a representative confirmed. He was 28.

    Takeoff — whose name was Kirsnick Khari Ball — was part of Migos along with Quavo and Offset. A representative for Migos, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to The Associated Press that Takeoff had died.

    Police responded shortly after 2:30 a.m. to reports of a shooting at 810 Billiards & Bowling, where dozens of people had gathered on a balcony outside of the bowling alley, which is on the third floor, police said. Officers discovered one man dead when they arrived.

    Security guards who were in the area heard the shooting but did not see who did it, a police spokesperson said. Two other people were injured and taken to hospitals in private vehicles.

    No arrests have been announced.

    The Grammy-nominated rap trio from Georgia have had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including their multi-week No. 1 “Bad and Boujee” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. They put out a trilogy of albums called “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III,” with the first two albums hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

    They earned an ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2018, for their streaming success with multiplatinum songs like “Motorsport (featuring Cardi B and Nicki Minaj),” “Stir Fry,” and “Walk It Talk It.”

    They also played a fictional version of themselves on an episode of the hit TV show “Atlanta.”

    Offset, who is married to Cardi B, released a solo album in 2019, while Takeoff and Quavo released a joint album “Only Built for Infinity Links” last month.

    Migos rapper Takeoff is dead after a shooting early Tuesday outside a bowling alley in Houston, a representative confirmed. He was 28.

    Takeoff — whose name was Kirsnick Khari Ball — was part of Migos along with Quavo and Offset. A representative for Migos, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to The Associated Press that Takeoff had died.

    Police responded shortly after 2:30 a.m. to reports of a shooting at 810 Billiards & Bowling, where dozens of people had gathered on a balcony outside of the bowling alley, which is on the third floor, police said. Officers discovered one man dead when they arrived.

    Security guards who were in the area heard the shooting but did not see who did it, a police spokesperson said. Two other people were injured and taken to hospitals in private vehicles.

    No arrests have been announced.

    The Grammy-nominated rap trio from Georgia have had four Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including their multi-week No. 1 “Bad and Boujee” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. They put out a trilogy of albums called “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III,” with the first two albums hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

    They earned an ASCAP Vanguard Award in 2018, for their streaming success with multiplatinum songs like “Motorsport (featuring Cardi B and Nicki Minaj),” “Stir Fry,” and “Walk It Talk It.”

    They also played a fictional version of themselves on an episode of the hit TV show “Atlanta.”

    Offset, who is married to Cardi B, released a solo album in 2019, while Takeoff and Quavo released a joint album “Only Built for Infinity Links” last month.

  • Kanye says he was beaten to pulp after outrage over his anti-Semitic rants

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name ‘Ye’, is having a hard time after posting anti-Semitic remarks on social media.

    He has now claimed to have been beaten to a pulp in recent weeks, reports Female First UK. The 45-year-old rap star lost lucrative contracts with the likes of Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap after he posted an anti-Semitic message on social media.

    According to Female First UK, he recently took to Instagram to bemoan his situation and the perceived lack of transparency in the business world. The outspoken rapper said on the photo-sharing platform: “While I’m still allowed on Mark Zuckerburg platform. I’m going to say this again.”

    ALSO READ | Kanye says lost USD two billion over anti-Semitic rants

    He further mentioned: “Let’s see the contracts. The film contracts, the sports contracts, the music contracts. The mortgages. Let’s see the contracts. So we can or better yet will do better business. I’ve been beat to a pulp and there’s still no accountability (sic).”

    Kanye also captioned the post: “The ‘unknown powers’ are trying to destroy my life off of a tweet So does this prove that my so called suspicion was true? Leading with love. This is #lovespeech.”

    Female First UK added that Kanye made the comments shortly after his Twitter account was restored to the platform. The ‘Stronger’ hitmaker was recently suspended from the platform after he posted an anti-Semitic tweet – but new Twitter owner Elon Musk confirmed that Kanye’s account has been restored.

    LOS ANGELES: American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by the name ‘Ye’, is having a hard time after posting anti-Semitic remarks on social media.

    He has now claimed to have been beaten to a pulp in recent weeks, reports Female First UK. The 45-year-old rap star lost lucrative contracts with the likes of Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap after he posted an anti-Semitic message on social media.

    According to Female First UK, he recently took to Instagram to bemoan his situation and the perceived lack of transparency in the business world. The outspoken rapper said on the photo-sharing platform: “While I’m still allowed on Mark Zuckerburg platform. I’m going to say this again.”

    ALSO READ | Kanye says lost USD two billion over anti-Semitic rants

    He further mentioned: “Let’s see the contracts. The film contracts, the sports contracts, the music contracts. The mortgages. Let’s see the contracts. So we can or better yet will do better business. I’ve been beat to a pulp and there’s still no accountability (sic).”

    Kanye also captioned the post: “The ‘unknown powers’ are trying to destroy my life off of a tweet So does this prove that my so called suspicion was true? Leading with love. This is #lovespeech.”

    Female First UK added that Kanye made the comments shortly after his Twitter account was restored to the platform. The ‘Stronger’ hitmaker was recently suspended from the platform after he posted an anti-Semitic tweet – but new Twitter owner Elon Musk confirmed that Kanye’s account has been restored.

  • Drake releases seventh studio album ‘Honestly, Nevermind’

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: As a follow-up to last year’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’, Drake has released his seventh studio album titled ‘Honestly, Nevermind’. Earlier, the rapper made the announcement for the album through his Instagram.Kanye West was quick to like the post which has hip-hop fans reeling at who the album might possibly feature, reports ‘Variety’.He had also invited Drake to appear alongside him at his ‘Free Larry Hoover’ Benefit Concert in December of last year.The new LP includes 14 songs. Earlier, Drake had released the album’s track list, revealing it was executive produced by Noah ’40’ Shebib, Oliver El-Khatib, Noel Cadastre and Black Coffee.Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’, released in September of 2021, featured some heavy-hitting collaborations from Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Future, Young Thug, Rick Ross and 21 Savage, amongst others.According to ‘Variety’, the LP shot to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and was a standout with the viral tracks ‘I’m Too Sexy’ featuring Young Thug and Future and the 21 Savage and Project Pat-featuring ‘Knife Talk’.News of ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ comes on the heels of another highly anticipated album announcement as Beyonce will be releasing ‘Act I’ of her next album ‘Renaissance’ on July 29.

  • Doja Cat says she’s quitting music after cancelling show in Paraguay

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: American rapper Doja Cat suggested that she’s quitting music in a series of tweets in which the 26-year-old star expressed her frustration, going so far as to change her Twitter handle to ‘I Quit’.

    During her tour through South America, Doja, whose real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, had to cancel her show at Paraguay’s Asuncionico festival on March 22 due to a storm causing intense flooding, she said.

    After tweeting about her March 24 show in Brazil, fans from Paraguay said it seemed like she doesn’t care about their country.

    One fan tweeted, “Not a single photo being in Paraguay, not a single tweet, not a single Instagram story!!!! You made us empty!!”

    Doja simply replied further down the Twitter thread, “I’m not sorry.”

    She said the hate she received on social media for cancelling the show over safety concerns put pressure on her.

    Miley Cyrus also had to cancel her headlining set at the festival in Paraguay scheduled for March 23.

    She shared a video on the day she was meant to perform of lightning striking her plane, writing with the video, “To my fans and everyone worried after hearing about my flight to Asuncion. Our plane was caught in a major unexpected storm and struck by lighting. My crew , band , friends and family who were all traveling with me are safe after an emergency landing.” Later in the day, she apologised to fans in another tweet, writing, “I wish I could’ve STAYed & performed for all of my fans in Paraguay. Please STAY safe. I love you.” She accompanied the tweet with a video of her singing her single “Stay,” dedicating the a cappella performance to Paraguay and thanking them for making it No. 1 in the country.” 

  • Kid Cudi to write, direct and feature in Netflix’s ‘Teddy’

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is all set to make his feature directorial debut with the Netflix movie ‘Teddy’, in which the star will be pulling multiple duties.

    The musician-actor, who is writing, directing and starring in the upcoming film, shared the exciting news with his fans via a lengthy post on his Instagram account.

    In the post, Cudi also shared that he has been working on the project since 2013. While it was earlier envisioned as a TV show, it finally became a film.

    “This year im directing my first feature film “Teddy” at Netflix which I wrote and will also be starring. This is a story I started writing in 2013 because I always wanted to write my own movie, so I said f–k it and started doing it. (MESSAGE!) The road has been long, from it being a tv show for years to finally being a film. So it means so fuckin much to finally be able to bring it to the screen next year, and I cant wait for u all to meet Teddy, his friends, his family and take a walk in his world for a bit,” he began his post.

    The rapper also shared that he added his own personal struggles and experiences in the movie.

    The rapper added, “If I could sum up what the movie is about in one sentence, id say this: It’s as if I took the song “Pursuit of Happiness” and wrote a movie about it. I added a lot of my own personal struggles and experiences in it, so this film is very close to my heart.”

    He further said, “I know, that deep down, this movie will help people in the same ways my music has. Im continuing my mission. Now this is a comedy, but It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t sprinkle some real shit in there. Its trippy, its fun, its sad, its life. The film is produced by the almighty Jeymes Samuel, Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, James Lassiter, MAD SOLAR and BRON. Special shout out to the homie Tendo Nagenda and Netflix for seeing the vision.”

    Concluding the post on an exciting note, he wrote, “The next chapter begins…” As per Variety, the new movie marks Cudi’s second collaboration with Samuel, Carter, Lassiter and Nagenda after the hitmaker contributed the track ‘Guns Go Bang’ for their Netflix Western earlier this year.

    The film’s music won awards from the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) and bagged nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

    It also marks a continuation of his relationship with Netflix after Cudi appeared onscreen in the streamer’s recent release ‘Don’t Look Up’ from director Adam McKay. He earned a SAG Award nomination alongside the movie’s star-studded ensemble and teamed up with Ariana Grande to pen the original song ‘Just Look Up’ for the film’s soundtrack.

    Cudi, who goes by Scott Mescudi on camera, was recently seen in ‘X’, the horror film from Ti West, which debuted earlier this month at SXSW and is now playing in cinemas. 

  • Cardi B exits Paramount Players movie ‘Assisted Living’

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B has pulled out of a Paramount Players movie, nearly one week before the filming was set to begin.

    After the rapper’s exit, the studio has shut down the production of the film ‘Assisted Living’ altogether, reported Deadline. The Hollywood studio hopes to “put the pieces back together later this year.”

    Cardi chose to exit the film due to overextension. The cast and crew members have reportedly been informed of the sudden change in plans.

    The 29-year-old rapper was set to star in ‘Assisted Living’ in which her character was wrongly accused of committing a crime and went into hiding at her grandmother’s retirement home.

    ‘Assisted Living’ was set to be Cardi’s third film. The rapper first appeared in the 2019 film ‘Hustlers’ alongside stars like Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, Lizzo as one of several strippers working at a New York City strip club.

    Last year, Cardi made her debut in the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise as Leysa in ‘F9’.

    Meanwhile, on the personal front, the rapper announced her second pregnancy with her husband and rapper Offset back in June at the BET awards and the pair welcomed their baby boy in September. 

  • Rapper, YouTube star Lil Bo Weep passes away at 22

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Australian rapper and YouTube star Lil Bo Weep has tragically died. She was 22 when she breathed her last. The singer died on March 3, her father, Matthew Schofield, confirmed on Facebook, reported E! News.

    He wrote in his post, “This weekend we lost the fight for my daughter’s life against depression, trauma, PTSD and drug addiction that we have been fighting since we got her back from America through emergency repatriation DFAT but broken.” The cause of her death has not been released yet.

    According to her father’s post, the Australian singer “fought hard against her demons as we all did side by side next to her and picking up the broken pieces over and over again but she could not fight any more and we lost her.”

    After the singer’s death, fans grieved her demise in the comments section, saying, “I love you. I’m sorry baby girl. In another life” and “Rest in peace Winona your music got me through some of my roughest times in life.”

    Her father shared in her fans’ love and adoration, saying, “As her dad, I am proud of her beyond words as she is my hero, my daughter and my best friend that I love so so much She is no longer hurting now with the universe wanting their angel back.”

    Matthew also asked for space from friends while he mourned the death of his daughter, saying, “A big part of me is lost at the moment but I ask respectfully that my close friends try not to ring me until I get some way through this.”

    Lil Bo Weep, whose real name was Winona Brooks, started sharing her music on SoundCloud in 2015 and gained many followers. Her last post was a minute-and-a-half-long song titled ‘PTSD’, reported E! News. In her most recent Instagram post, which was shared on March 2, she said that she was mourning the anniversary of losing a child.

    “I would like to do something in remembrance of her, preferably spread some flowers at a beach and spend the day just mourning. I’d really appreciate it if anyone online would be kind enough to do that for me and with me,” she said.

    In the video, she can be seen crying and explaining her sorrow in the caption, “I am heavily dosed on seroquel to avoid any psychosis from my cptsd. not only have I been mourning my child, I have recently found out my fertility has been affected by growing up with a severe eating disorder.”

    Before sharing the emotional post, she posted a photo of her baby bump on February 26, captioned, “mourning you.”