Paramount+ A new documentary about the use of rap lyrics in court rooms and on trial will premiere on Paramount+ next month. The streamer announced As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, which follows Bronx rapper Kemba as he explores the “growing weaponization” of rap lyrics in the United States criminal justice system and abroad. His findings will reveal…
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ABC/Heidi Gutman Many would agree Issa Rae is an entertainment force to be reckoned with. But she’s maybe a good luck charm, too? When nominations for the upcoming 96th Oscars were announced Tuesday, it was revealed that all three movies Rae starred in last year are in the running for the coveted gold statuette. There’s Across The Spider-Verse,…
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Courtesy Lovers & Friends Janet Jackson and Super Bowl halftime performer Usher will headline the third edition of the Lovers & Friends festival, scheduled to take place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on May 4. The lineup for the festival also includes Nelly, Alicia Keys, Nas, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Timbaland and TLC. Usher will be performing his megaselling Confessions album in honor of its 20th anniversary, while…
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Disney/Frank Micelotta A new TV project involving rapper Ludacris has a home at BET+, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The untitled series will be a half-hour scripted dramedy inspired by Luda’s life and his “experience coming up in the competitive music scene in Atlanta as DJ Chris Lova Lova.” A description of the project, as listed by THR, says, “The series follows…
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Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images Two months after dropping his first solo project, New Blue Sun, André 3000 has announced the album’s accompanying road show, the New Blue Sun Live Tour. The former Outkast member will hit the road in support of New Blue Sun, his rap-less instrumental album. The concert series, billed as a “run of intimate live shows,” kicks off on January 29…
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Paras Griffin/Getty Images Rapper YFN Lucci, known for songs “Everyday We Lit” and “Key to the Streets,” has pleaded guilty to gang charges connected to a racketeering case in Atlanta, Georgia. ABC affiliate WSB reports the rapper, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, could serve 10 years in prison as part of a 20-year sentence, after pleading guilty to one count of violating…
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Live Nation Offset is hitting the road for his first solo headlining concert series, the Set it Off Tour. He announced the 17-city tour via Live Nation Tuesday, revealing the list of dates and cities in which he’ll make stops. After a kickoff in Philadelphia on March 10, the rapper will travel to Maryland, New York,…
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ABC The nominations for the 96th Academy Awards were announced Tuesday, revealing the top big screen projects and actors up for a gold statuette. American Fiction, the race-related film starring Jeffrey Wright, earned five nominations, including the coveted Best Motion Picture of the Year. With the film, Wright scores his first-ever nod, as he’s up for Performance by an Actor in…
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Slaughter Gang/Epic Records Not only did American Dream, the new album from 21 Savage, debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, almost every song on the album charted on the all-genre Hot 100. That’s what crazy about the Hot 100 feat: The album contains 15 tracks, and the only one that didn’t land a spot on the chart is the “American…
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ABC/Eric McCandless LaKeith Stanfield, star of Jeymes Samuel‘s The Book of Clarence, says the biblical-set film is the closest he’s gotten to the acting gigs he’s dreamed of. He chatted with Ebony for its January cover story, opening up about his role as Clarence and how it’s his best role yet. “I think Clarence stood singularly as the closest I’ve gotten to…
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