Entertainment
Does hip-hop need adult contemporary categories? Yes, and others too.
I realize I’m old-school, especially with regards to hip-hop. I’m 45 and grew up on ’90s and 2000s hip-hop — all my favorite hip-hop albums were released between 1991 and 2001. Despite my love for music released within the ’90s and 2000s, I’m a complete fan of the present era of music. I feel young artists are doing super creative things with sound and their voices right away. Almost each day, after I browse curated playlists on various streaming services, I come across recent music that puts a smile on my face; the youngsters will likely be effective.
As with the evolution of anything, as something recent comes along, the older stuff gets pushed further and further out of the image. That’s to not say that the old guard isn’t creating, but that those versions of art that stick firmly and faithfully to the older way of doing things grow to be more area of interest than the universally praised way they once were.
This is the case with hip-hop. While I really like the present era, I also understand why many individuals my age don’t. Lyrics, once an indicator of the culture, aren’t the principal focus. Rappers sing almost as much, if no more, than they rap. Even the toughest rappers mostly sing songs, in a rap style, with pitch correction and vocal effects. Sure, some rap, nevertheless it’s more of a mixture of styles and sounds than… “rapping.” The sound of hip-hop has also modified drastically. Because music production is now so software-based, there are more producers in the combination, and to older ears, lots of songs sound… similar. You can download a music production app and make a full beat 10 minutes later. While this makes it more accessible to get into the art form, it also implies that anyone with a pc or phone (most individuals) can grow to be a producer. Some of the outcomes are amazing—some aren’t.
It also implies that hip-hop as a genre has a ton of music now, and all of it falls under the identical umbrella, even when the sound is so diverse that two artists who each do hip-hop could make music that exists in polar opposite sonic universes, but they each rap. For lots of us, there’s a transparent difference between The Lox and Migos. Or Kendrick Lamar and Lil Yachty. Or J. Cole and Kodak Black. It’s like they’re making completely different music, but they’re all making music now. Sure, some artists collaborate and discover a technique to make it work, but the reality is that some music just is not the identical, even when it’s all hip-hop.
So when ninth Wonder, the famous music producer, teacher, DJ and hip-hop historian tweeted that it was time for an “adult contemporary” category in hip-hop, echoed a thought and conversation lots of us have had who grew up on hip-hop, which felt like a very different era… and purpose.
ninth Wonder’s July tweet from 2024 got here on the heels of a joint album from rap legends Common and producer Pete Rock. The album is fun and speaks to a certain generation of rap fans. It features boom-bap and lyricism that those of us who grew up within the 90s will recognize. The album is built on the rhythms, rhymes, and formulas of life that were the essence of the culture. The album sounds good in 2024 when it was released, nevertheless it could have just as easily existed in previous eras. I feel that’s the purpose ninth Wonder was making. So many genres of music allow their music to be divided into categories that more accurately fit the sound or era by which something was created. I could not have the opportunity to define yacht rock, but I do know yacht rock is something after I hear it. Heavy metal, country, classical, etc. are all genres which have subgenres that allow art to exist within the space where it’s most understood, fairly than being dismissed as old or unpopular on the time.
Music
To me, it just is smart to permit for some diversity in how we categorize releases. It doesn’t take away from the culture, nevertheless it recognizes that hip-hop has been around long enough and has many various ways of existing. It’s not a division, it’s… an evolution. And even when we do not technically create subgenres of hip-hop for awards and stuff, they still exist; just because the older hip-hop fans amongst us complain in regards to the recent generation of artists and sounds, the younger guys aren’t desperate to revisit a sound that was already gone once they were born.
Now some people might want divisions in hip-hop to distinguish the music they love from the music they don’t, which isn’t great, nevertheless it’s human nature. But the reality is that 90s hip-hop was different from the 80s, and there was some trepidation in regards to the direction that artists from the early 90s were taking the music. There have all the time been conversations about labels and categories in hip-hop, from gangsta rap (which some looked as if it would welcome) to conscious rap (which many rappers avoided because they didn’t wish to be boxed right into a label that sometimes created not possible expectations). Trap rap and emo rap were the sounds of the day.
I do not know if we need to divide hip-hop into categories solely for awards purposes in order that rappers who would never hearken to one another or perform on the identical stages don’t compete for a similar awards, but I do not see anything incorrect with letting the music and sound run their course. The popularity of newer artists makes it harder for music that follows a more “traditional” sound to take up space. Maybe ninth Wonder thinks Common and Pete Rock’s The Auditorium Vol. 1 album must win every award it will probably, so we need categories so he can achieve this. I do not even know what awards that might be. Or possibly it’s only a call to place adult contemporary radio stations and the like on terrestrial radio that play Mobb Deep, Stalley, OutKast, Jean Grae, and The Fugees all day long?
It’s at the very least a fun thought exercise. Hip-hop has many tentacles, and I see nothing incorrect with acknowledging and acting in a way that celebrates all of them.
Entertainment
Melania slammed Donald Trump with third prenup change, fueling rumors of marital drama after she dodged his kiss and claim resurfaced
For years, there was speculation concerning the authenticity of the love between President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump. The theories intensified after Melania was caught repeatedly hiding from her husband’s public displays of affection for years.
Some imagine their relationship is solely business-related, a view that gained popularity when the New York Post reported in September 2023 that its alleged insider claimed that Melania had renegotiated her prenuptial agreement with the forty fifth president for the third time. The move followed Trump’s confirmation of his intention to hunt a second term as president after announcing his re-election campaign on November 15, 2022.
When the couple married in 2005, the initial prenuptial agreement reportedly significantly favored Donald Trump. However, since then the contract has been renegotiated not less than 3 times, with the primary renegotiation going down in 2017 and one other in 2020, when she served as apparently delayed moving to the White House – not less than that is what the New York Post claims in its unconfirmed reports. It is unclear why the thrice-married Trump would conform to loosen up his protections as part of such an arrangement.
In 2023, an alleged insider told the Post’s Page Six gossip column: “Over the past yr, Melania and her team have been quietly negotiating a brand new deal following the suspension of her contract with Donald Trump. This is not less than the third time Melania has renegotiated the terms of her marriage contract.
It continued to be claimed that Melania can be increasingly concerned about Trump’s mounting legal problems. Last yr, he was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with making secret payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. That same yr, Trump was also found liable in a civil suit for sexual abuse and defamation of author E. Jean Carroll. More than a yr ago, Trump was also charged in Atlanta with attempting to overturn the presidential vote within the 2020 elections in Georgia. Trump ultimately faced federal criminal charges related to his mishandling of classified documents after leaving office and the January 6 rebel.
With all this happening against Trump, Melania obviously desired to be certain she can be secure.
“This agreement was necessary due to ongoing legal disputes that (…) (Donald) has suffered,” the source said.
However, the insider also told Page Six that the postnuptial agreement doesn’t mean Melania plans to depart Trump.
They said the revised deal would also provide money for his or her 18-year-old son, Barron Trump.
“Melania is most concerned with maintaining and increasing the considerable trust she has in her son, Barron.”
Another source backed up this statement, saying, “I know she wanted this to provide her with more money, and also – from what I understand – there is at least a set amount that Barron is expected to get.”
Fans shared their thoughts on Melania renegotiating her prenup with The Daily Beast’s. side.
One person said: “Thanks to her we managed to save him. After filing for bankruptcy five times, he will be living on Melany’s benefits.”
The second wrote: “He must secure Barron’s future before the non-existent money disappears.”
A third commenter advised: “Honey, take the money and run.”
CNN is preparing for Trump’s second visit to the White House reported that his wife doesn’t plan to live in Washington full time. Sources told the news outlet that while Melania plans to attend essential events, she will spend loads of time living between New York City – as her son Barron attends NYU there – and Palm Beach, Florida, where many of her friends live.
Her reported impending absence from the White House has sparked whispers about whether Melania is serious about her responsibilities and priorities as first lady, but that is not all. It also sparked more speculation about whether she and Trump have a blissful marriage.
Even during Trump’s victory speech, a smiling Melania avoided being kissed by her husband as he sang her praises on stage. After thanking her and expressing his appreciation for her “best-selling book in the country,” Trump moves to hug and kiss his wife, then places her hand on her cheek as she turns her head barely.
Still, Melania assures doubters that every little thing is effective in her marriage to Trump. In September, she even tried to disclaim the rumors during an interview on “Fox & Friends.”
When asked what she liked about her husband, she replied: “His essence. His humor. His personality. His kindness,” he added later. “It’s very special. His positivity. His energy. It’s unbelievable. Yes, so we’ve got a fantastic relationship.
Entertainment
Jussie Smollett’s 2019 Self-Attack Conviction Overturned – Andscape
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the choice to fireside an actor Jussie Smollett conviction on charges of organizing a racist and anti-gay attack on himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lying to police.
The the state’s highest court ruled that the special prosecutor shouldn’t have been allowed to intervene after the Cook County state’s attorney initially dropped charges against Smollett in exchange for waiving $10,000 bail and performing community service. The ruling and appeal didn’t address Smollett’s continued claim of innocence.
Smollett, who’s black and gay, claims two men attacked him, hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and placed a noose around his neck, resulting in an enormous seek for suspects by Chicago police and sparking a world uproar. Smollett was starring in a television drama that was filmed in Chicago, and prosecutors alleged that he organized the attack because he was unhappy with the studio’s response to hate mail he received.
“We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and considered it unfair,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in a 5-0 decision. “Nevertheless, more unfair than the resolution of any single criminal case would be for this court to find that the state is not obliged to honor agreements on which people have relied to their detriment.”
Smollett’s attorneys argued that the case ended with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office dropped initially 16 counts of disorderly conduct. A grand jury reinstated the fees after a special prosecutor took over the case. The jury convicted Smollett of five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021
Emails searching for comment were sent Thursday to Foxx’s office and Smollett’s attorney, who argued that Smollett was the victim of a racist and politicized justice system.
Testimony at trial showed that Smollett paid $3,500 to 2 men he knew to perform the attack. Prosecutors said he told them what insults to shout and shout that Smollett was in “MAGA country,” an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan.
Smollett testified that “there was no fraud” and that he was the victim of a hate crime in his downtown Chicago neighborhood.
He was sentenced to 150 days in prison, six of which he had already served released pending further notice — 30 months probation and ordered to pay roughly $130,000 in restitution.
The state appeals court’s ruling upheld Smollett’s conviction, declaring that nobody promised Smollett that he would not face a brand new charge after accepting the unique deal.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justice Joy Cunningham didn’t take part in Thursday’s decision.
Entertainment
Lil Baby didn’t just rap about change – he went to Harvard to achieve it – Essence
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 27: Songwriter of the Year Award winner Lil Baby speaks on stage on the ASCAP R&S Music Celebration on the London Hotel on June 27, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP)
Lil Baby will not be only considered one of the most important names in hip-hop – he can also be an aspiring entrepreneur who’s serious about taking his business knowledge to the subsequent level.
The GRAMMY Award-winning rapper recently participated in Harvard Business School’s “Launching New Ventures” program, a prestigious short course designed to help entrepreneurs grow their ventures through modern strategies. The program, which will not be a level-granting initiative, focuses on key entrepreneurial tools, including opportunity assessment, competitive evaluation and developing sustainable business models, – we read on this system’s website.
For Lil Baby, born Dominique Armani Jones, the move was greater than just earning bragging rights. Known for hits like and , the Atlanta native has all the time been open about his desire to construct a legacy beyond music. As head of his record label 4PF (Four Pockets Full), he is committed to creating opportunities for artists and running a business that will not be only profitable, but in addition influential. However, he realized that running a successful label required honing his skills, and Harvard was the right place for this.
Movie shared on X On Wednesday, we got to see Lil Baby participating within the show. The clip ended on a touching note as he was presented together with his certificate of completion, followed by a surprise ceremony organized by his family.
While critics were quick to indicate that he didn’t “graduate” from Harvard – despite misleading headlines – his decision to commit to this system is critical in itself. Shows like “Launching New Ventures” offer insights that may transform corporations and help entrepreneurs overcome challenges, and Lil Baby’s presence signals his commitment to constructing a legacy that goes far beyond music. For Lil Baby, the move is an element of a broader commitment to securing his position not only as a rapper, but in addition as a mogul. His commitment to self-improvement reflects the values he promotes through his music: perseverance, resilience and development.
It’s also value noting that Lil Baby’s decision to attend Harvard sends a powerful message to his community, especially Black entrepreneurs. In a world where barriers to business education still exist, his decision to pursue higher education shows that it’s never too late – or too unconventional – to take what you are promoting seriously.
As Lil Baby grows, one thing is obvious: his diligence knows no limits. Whether he’s behind the microphone or within the classroom, he proves that the important thing to success is to continually strive for more.
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