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Robert Townsend is hailed as one of the most respected comedians in the entertainment industry. In his lengthy career, the actor-director-writer has been involved in films and television shows like Cooley High, Hollywood Shuffle, The Meteor Man, The Parent 'Hood, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, B*A*P*S, and American Soul. He worked with all of the great black comedians since the inception of his career back in the 1970s, but according to Faizon Love, who is affectionately remembered for his role as Big Worm in Friday, Townsend's reputation isn't as clean as his fans may think. "He's a b*tch ass n*gga, but I learned a lot from him," he told VladTV. "The reason why I say that is because I know how smart this guy is, but when it comes to...I think it's the reason I don't wanna...him and Keenan's [Ivory Wayans] relationship [was close]. So, when it comes to ride or die, he's not riding with you," Faizon said of Townsend. "He's going to take the Robert Townsend safe route. I love everything he's taught me, but I still say, you a b*tch ass n*gga. Why you can't you ride for Bill Cosby when he's been looking out for you since Meteor Man! Are you serious?" At another point in the interview, Faizon claimed that the only reason Chris Tucker accepted the role of Detective James Carter in the action-comedy Rush Hourwas because Faizon convinced him to take the part. "He didn't know who Jackie Chan was," he said. "I'm a big Bruce Lee fan. I'm like, 'Are you f*cking kidding me? That's Jackie.' [Imitating Tucker] 'I don't know no gotdamn Jackie Chan, man!'" Faizon also claimed that Tucker was out of control with the demands he was making while filming, including wanting a Corvette from the studio and a Puff Daddy wardrobe that consisted of multiple puffy jackets a la "Mo Money Mo Problems." Check out parts of his interview below. View the full article

He called out Charlamagne Tha God on social media, but on Monday, Lyfe Jennings and The Breakfast Club came face-to-face. Last month, Lyfe released a track called "Slave" (although he now claims it's titled "Beat It Like a Slave") and comedian-social commentator Amanda Seales shared an Instagram Story of herself making disagreeable faces while listening to the song. He sings, "I'm gon' beat it like a slave so you don't run away / Got the whips and chains, call me master / I'm gon' beat it like a slave and work you every day / And do everything I say, I'm your master." Amanda's good friend Charlamagne Tha God reposted a clip of her Insta Story with a deprecating caption. Lyfe came across the clip and made a video of his own, calling out Charlamagne for not supporting his career and for spreading negativity. Almost exactly a month later, the two came together on Power 105.1's radio station to discuss what led up to their lightweight beef. To begin, Charlamagne insisted he didn't even know the person singing the song was Lyfe. "I think you knew it was my record," Lyfe said before adding that Amanda included his name on the video, so Charlamagne must have had some idea who was singing it. However, Charlamagne denied he was aware of the artist. "If you reposted this, I just feel like, my catalog speaks for itself. Every single song that I've pretty much ever done has been on some real positive sh*t, man. It's been on some uplifting sh*t. And it's just so funny how artists, if you go through time, black artists, we the only genre of people where people be like, 'Oh he old school now, he ain't poppin' no mo'.' Country artists and all that type of stuff, they protect they artists. They put 'em on pedestals, but we don't do that, man. We'd rather hurry up and take some negative stuff." Lyfe interrupted his own thought and asked Charlamagne, "Did you post that, um, I got a new album out?" Charlamagne said he wasn't aware of the record until he came across "Slave." Then, Lyfe looked around and commented that the mood in the room was different that his previous visit. After the hosts assured him that everything was fine, Charlamagne addressed Lyfe's accusations that he doesn't support the singer's music. "I was like, that's not true. I've interviewed Lyfe before. I've been on plenty of radio stations that have played Lyfe's records. Lyfe can come to The Breakfast Club right now if he want to." Lyfe understood, but he still didn't appreciate his song being spun into a negative narrative. "To clarify, when I said, 'Beat it like a slave,' I'm talkin' 'bout a sex slave. If you watch the video, you can see everything that's in the video." Angela Yee added that Britney Spears had her song "I'm a Slave 4 U" and Charlamagne stated she got backlash from that at the time of its release. He also added that Lil Wayne also caught heat from his "Karate Chop (Remix)" lyric where he stated he's "beat that p*ssy up like Emmett Till." Check out clip of Lyfe talking things out with The Breakfast Club below. View the full article

Contrary to what many Barbz may think, T.I. is a fan of Nicki Minaj. Last week, the ATL rapper jumped on his ExpediTIously podcast and discussed his list of top 50 rappers. He and his panel spoke on the placement of Nicki on the list and T.I. stated that the Queen rapper would possibly have to be excluded if it came down to her or Lil Kim. "I don't think we can have both because they are a direct reflection of one another," he said at the time. What ensued was a social media onslaught of backlash from Nicki fans who were angered by T.I.'s comments, but he seemed to take it in stride. The "Sabotage" rapper later released his Top 50 list where Nicki was included, however, that didn't seem to satisfy her highly dedicated fanbase. In the most recent episode of Rap Radar's podcast, T.I. sat down with his Rhythm + Flow co-judge Cardi B and hosts Elliott Wilson and Brian “B.Dot” Miller to talk about his new Netflix series, as well as to share his thoughts of "miserable, lonely mothaf*ckas" who he claims have tried to make him choose sides when it comes to supporting female artists. Kevin Mazur/MG18/Getty Images During the chat, T.I. said that he faced some "indirect flack" when he featured a tribute to Nicki and Cardi in the same Trap Museum art installation. "Of course, everybody [was like], 'How could you?! [Cardi] hasn't been rapping long enough! She ain't put out enough!' Hey, whoa. 'You're being disrespectful to Nicki!' Whoa. When does celebrating two queens become disrespectful to one? I never understood that. This is an acknowledgment." He continued, "Both of these young ladies have struggled and overcame obstacles and defied the odds to put themselves in positions to represent them and the next generation. Why in the hell is you tryin' to pit one against the other? They have they own personal differences," he said, adding, "It ain't my job to perpetuate that. And I ain't got to choose a side, unlike you miserable, lonely mothaf*ckas. [I have] my own opinion. I'm a free thinker, and free thinkers think freely." Tidal users can listen to the episode below. View the full article

It's been a wild few weeks for Jim Jones. In the thick of Tekashi 6ix9ine's kidnapping trial, an audiotape surfaced that allegedly featured Jones calling for the disgraced rapper to be "violated." Never one to miss out on an opportunity to troll his fellow artists, 50 Cent shared a screenshot of a social media post that stated Tekashi's court documents listed Jones as a federal informant. It suggested that is how Jones was able to avoid jail time after copping to a plea earlier this year in connection to a drug charge. Although the information was unverified, the rumor went viral after Fif shared it on his Instagram page. "Oh sh*t, so that's why they ain't pull him in," Fif wrote in the caption. "Say it ain't so jimmy." When questioned about his alleged link to 6ix9ine's case or the informant gossip, Jones has kept his opinions to himself, but in a sit down on Monday with his friend Angie Martinez for her radio show, he shared his thoughts before wanting to quickly move on. "You never know that you was at a circus 'til you figure out that you was lookin' at a clown," he said. "When a clown gives out information, everybody laughs. For the most part, everybody knows that I'm a substantial individual. I've been doing this for a very long time. People don't read the facts, they read the Gram. It's a big difference, you know what I mean? People use the media to do what they do. They blow everything up out of proportion, but, as far as my feelings? No, it doesn't feel right." Jones admitted that he was upset when he first caught wind of the disparaging meme, but he was able to assess the situation and get ahold of his temper. "Of course it took me somewhere else at the moment when I saw it, but then calmed down, sat back, laughed at it, looked at the person who was dishin' it," he continued. "Thought about it. Thought about tryin' to be just as facetious as the person was, but then it doesn't make no sense. I'd be doing the same thing he's doing and that's lightweight doing what we don't like to do. I just leave it alone, but I do say one thing: Where I'm from, real n*ggas don't do bullsh*t to tarnish people's name. At all. That's not honorable. We don't gotta talk about that too much. If you know me, you know me." Check out Jones's interview with Angie below. View the full article

The Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed an unarmed woman in her home on Saturday has been arrested and charged with murder. Atatiana Jefferson's neighbor grew concerned after he noticed that the front and side doors of her home were open. After time passed, he wanted to make sure that everyone in the home was safe, so he called a non-emergency number and asked for someone to come by and perform a welfare check on his neighbor. Former Officer Aaron Dean arrived on the scene and, as reportedly seen in his body camera footage, within minutes he looked through a bedroom window and saw something moving. He yelled, "Put your hands up, show me your hands" without announcing that he was a police officer, and instead of waiting on someone to follow his commands, he opened fire through the window. Atatiana was inside of her home playing video games with her eight-year-old nephew when she was shot and killed. Activists, celebrities, and concerned citizens stormed social media to air their grievances, and on Monday, Dean reportedly resigned from his position before the Fort Worth Police Department could officially fire him. The New York Times now reports that Dean has formally been arrested and charged with murder, and is currently being held without bail. "Nobody looked at that video and said there was any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately,” the Interim Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus said. James Smith, the neighbor who called for the welfare check, regrets contacting the police. “It makes you not want to call the police department," he stated. "Because not just Dallas or other incidents, if you don’t feel safe with the police department, then who do you feel safe with?" Smith said. "Do you just ignore crime or ignore something that’s not right? They tell you if you see something, say something. Well if you do that and you cause somebody to lose their life it makes you not want to do that and that’s sad.” View the full article

Lil Nas X has become a superstar because of his chart-topping, record-breaking single "Old Town Road," but the song didn't become a smash hit until it was remixed by country great Billy Ray Cyrus. As we all remember, "Old Town Road" was steeped in controversy when it first gained a buzz due to it being removed from the Billboard country charts for not being...well...country enough. The song was criticized and exiled by country fans, a move that was regarded by many to be racially motivated, so Cyrus added his vocals to validate "Old Town Road"'s country credibility. Over the summer, the pair shared the stage to perform the genre-blending track, and just recently, they took home two trophies at the BET Hip Hop Awards for their single. "Thank you to the BET Hip Hop Awards and hip hop/rap community for the Best Collab and Single of the Year wins," Cyrus said. "You kept OTR at No. 1 for 19 consecutive weeks. More importantly, you made me feel welcomed into your home and world. I’m dedicating these wins to Mr. Nipsey Hussle—a legend gone way too soon." As polite as Cyrus has been when it comes to occupying hip hop spaces, there have been some who have accused him of being insincere with his approach. The topic was discussed on this week's episode of State of the Culture where Joe Budden wasn't about to let his co-host degrade Cyrus's name. "You're a guest, and that's what Billy Ray Cyrus has done every time he's taken the stage," Joe said. "He comes and he says, 'Thank y'all for having me.'" Eboni K. Williams asked Remy Ma if she thinks Cyrus was "pandering" to his audience. "I'm not really sure," Remy said, speculatively. Joe interjected. "Pandering!? Nah, I'm not gon' let y'all do that." He added, "We gotta stop that as black people. Take a sh*t or get off the toilet. The little n*gga put a record out. The message was, 'Hey, country won't let me in. The white people are white people-ing again'. So, it took for Billy Ray Cyrus ass to come and say, 'No, white people. Y'all gon' take this 'cause I'm on this motherf*cka and I'm country.' He stood up! So let's not do that now that the kid has gotten all of the accolades. Let's not even mention it!" Check out the clip below and sound off in the comments on what you think of Joe's stance. View the full article

Even as female emcees storm the charts and often beat out their male counterparts at award ceremonies, women in rap will tell you that they struggle with obtaining respect in the industry. This is a complaint that has existed as long as there have been women with hip hop fame aspirations, and in an upcoming episode of E! True Hollywood Story, Yo-Yo and Da Brat reminisce about life in the limelight back in the early 2000s. The two female rap icons reflect on what they call double standards that exist in hip hop, especially as it pertains to looks. "Hip hop female artists continuously reinvent themselves," Yo-Yo stated. "You have to constantly stay hot or they move onto someone else." Da Brat added, "You're expected to look a certain way. They want you to be beautiful. Can't get fat, but men can be fat as hell. Look at Biggie and look at Heavy D. Really, the main thing, you always wanna be f*ckable." The pair also discussed the monumental moment when, back in 2003, the Grammy Awards introduced a new category: Best Female Rap Solo Performance. However, the category only existed for two years before it was axed due to the "lack of releases" by qualified artists. "It was amazing when they finally gave women a solo category because we stand alone," Da Brat said. Although the Funkdafied rapper was nominated both years, Missy Elliott ultimately took home the title each time. Yo-Yo, who was on the board for the Grammys, asserted that the council wasn't knowledgable about women in rap so she said they didn't see the value in giving them much attention or praise. Check out the clip of Sunday's E! True Hollywood Story below. View the full article

We live in an interesting era of music. Artists are gaining worldwide fame and recognition without the backing of record labels while they share their music with millions of fans without radio play. Records are being made and broken left and right, and it seems that every artist has become the first person to change the game in one way or another. Then, as soon as one person takes the title, there's another that creeps in and steals it within weeks. Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrence "Punch" Henderson is over it. The record executive took to his Twitter account to share his amusement with people who try to formulate fictitious achievements in order to make themselves seem more accomplished than they are. "Never been a fan of creating a false narrative to push sales or buzz," Punch tweeted. "They get creative though I’ll tell you that . N*ggas will make up a whole stat that’s impossible to verify. 'My album the first one to sale 314 copies at 3:14am on a Tuesday by an artist with a headache!'" Whether you agree with him or not, that "false narrative" buzz may just be working for some artists out there. Who do you think fits what Punch is talking about? View the full article

Kevin Durant wont be playing any basketball this season but that won't be stopping Nike from dropping new colorways of his latest signature basketball shoe, the KD 12. So far, Nike has released a plethora of KD 12 colorways and all of them have been fairly successful as ballplayers are always looking for some new kicks to mess around in. There has been a pretty dope variety of models as both colorful and more neutral options have hit the market. The latest colorway to be revealed is this vibrant monochrome offering which is being dubbed "Blue Gaze." This sneaker certainly lives up to its name as it is covered in an icy light blue tone that hits pretty hard. It's a gorgeous looking shoe and if you want to stand out on the court this season, these are definitely the way to go, especially if your prefer KDs. According to Sole Collector, these will be dropping on Friday, November 1st for $150 USD so don't sleep if you plan on copping. Let us know in the comments what you think of this latest colorway. Image via JD Sports Image via JD Sports Image via JD Sports Image via JD Sports View the full article

WWE superstars will be returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later this month for another "Crown Jewel" event, which will include several highly publicized bouts, including Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez and Braun Strowman vs boxing champ Tyson Fury. On Monday, the WWE revealed some more details about the upcoming Crown Jewel card and their plans to hold the largest Tag Team Turmoil Match of all time, with the winning team taking possession of a newly announced World Cup trophy and the title of Best Tag Team in the World. According to WWE's press release, these nine tag teams will be included in the brawl: The New Day, The Viking Raiders, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party, Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins, The Revival, The O.C., Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode and The B-Team. WWE has also announced that Mansoor Al-Shehail, the first Saudi wrestler to have ever competed in a WWE ring and the winner of the first-ever 50 Man Battle Royal, will go up against Cesaro. A five-on-five tag team match pitting "Team Hogan" vs "Team Flair" is also scheduled for Crown Jewel, but the full teams have not yet been revealed. Thus far, we know that Hulk's team will be represented by Seth Rollins and Rusev, while Flair's team consists of Baron Corbin and Randy Orton. WWE Crown Jewel, taking place at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will air on the WWE Network on Thursday, October 31, at 1 pm ET. View the full article

Ted Gioia's "Music: A Subversive History" is daringly ambitious but, laments critic Robert Christgau, disdains the pleasure of "mere entertainment." View the full article

Travis Scott's new single 'Highest in the Room' has hit the top of the 'Billboard' Hot 100. It's his first single to debut at the No. 1 spot. View the full article

An investigation is ongoing into the death of Sulli, the South Korean pop star, actress and f(x) alum whose body was found in her home on Monday. She was 25. View the full article

Pharrell Williams revealed that his understanding of masculinity changed in a new cover story with 'GQ.' He also talked a bit about his definition of masculinity. View the full article

L.A. Chamber Orchestra continues its "Session" experiment with Christopher Rountree's wild Up, the Four Larks theater troupe and a vibe that proves a welcoming departure. View the full article