Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation has partnered with Long Island University in Brooklyn to create a school on the college campus that is focused on educating students that aspire to careers in entertainment. The partnership was announced earlier this week. LIU president Kimberly Cline commented on the new venture.
“We look forward to joining with Roc Nation to offer an unprecedented educational resource that opens up the entertainment and sports world to a new and eager generation.”
Jay-Z is a native of Brooklyn and he’s been helping the community for decades. His Sean Carter Foundation was established in 2002 and has since helped numerous students with scholarships and other forms of support. The school will open for the 2021 school year.
Dipset prodigy Juelz Santana was released from prison in Virginia on August 5 earlier this week. He was serving time for a gun charge and narcotics possession stemming from a 2018 incident at Newark Liberty International Airport. The release was expected last week but apparently some complications prevented that from happening. Regardless, the “Oh Boy” rapper is finally free.
The rapper turned reality TV star is 38 years old and got his start rapping alongside Cam’ron and Jim Jones as part of The Diplomats. He was featured on Chris Brown‘s “Run It” and became a household name in the early 2000s. He is now happily reunited with his family after serving 27 months in prison. Welcome home.
One thing Talib Kweli has always done is make time to deal with trolls on Twitter. He’s well-educated and respected by many as a thoughtful artist and leader in the Black community. However, according to Jezebel, the rapper was obsessively tweeting a Black woman activist named Maya Moody and it eventually cost him his blue check. He got kicked off the platform for “repeated violations of Twitter rules.”
This is the exchange that started it all.
Moody reported Kweli for harassment weeks ago but her efforts went unanswered until recently. In response, Kweli stated, “I responded… to the lies that Maya posted about me. When you respond to someone who posts lies about you, that is not harassment.” Apparently, Twitter felt differently. Kweli was recently put on blast by Jaguar Wright as well. The conversation revolves around the vulnerability of Black women in both public and virtual spaces.
Black Star and Reflection Eternal rapper Talib Kweli and Refugee Camp All-Star John Forté went to exclusive boarding schools. Kweli attended Chesire Academy while Forté was a student at Philips Exeter Academy.
After school, the two Brooklynites were roommates while pursuing careers in rap music. Kweli is from Park Slope and Forté hails from Brownsville and the two shared housing while going to NYU. This is how it went down according to Okayplayer.
“So Talib and I have known each other since we were probably 12 years old. He was in Flatbush. And I was going to junior high school in Bushwick. But one of my best friends was also one of his very good friends. I would hang out with Talib. We started linking up in the summertime, hanging out in the village, in Washington Square Park. He went away to boarding school. I went away to boarding school. But we obviously stayed in contact on those vacations. And then we said to each other, ‘Hey, what school are you applying to after school?’ ‘NYU.’ ‘Oh, I’m applying to NYU too.’ And we both got in. And we were roommates. I’ve known Kweli for 32 years. So that’s my brother.”
According to CNN, Kanye West’s campaign is being influenced by the president’s GOP operatives. They are trying to help Kanye get on the ballot in states like Wisconsin and Ohio the report says. The news comes as West named his presumed running mate, a life coach from Wyoming where the rapper has a ranch. This news points to Kanye’s campaign being leveraged by the president in order to disrupt Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden’s support in the Black community.
When Kid Cudi burst onto the scene with “Day ‘n’ Nite” there was little doubt that his talent lent itself to the screen. The short film he made for the video would eventually lead to TV roles on HBO’s How to Make it in America and others before making the leap to the big screen. Here are 5 movies starring Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi.
Vincent N Roxxy
In this 2016 action drama, Cudi starred alongside Zoe Kravitz as a character named Suga. While it didn’t make much noise, the film added to his resume.
Entourage
This 2015 adaptation of the hit HBO show featured Cudi playing a character named Allen, Ari’s assistant.
Goodbye World
Fellow Entourage actor Adrien Grier starred in this 2013 dramady. His character was Lev Berkowitz, one of the people trying to survive an apocalyptic terror attack.
Two Night Stand
Cudi played a character named Cedric in this 2013 Rom-Com. Miles Teller took the lead. It is summarized as being about, “[a] snowstorm forces two people who made an online connection to unwillingly extend their one-night stand as the blizzard goes through the night.” His character is the boyfriend of the female lead’s best friend.
Need for Speed
Who could forget all of Cudi’s one-liners from the cockpit of a helicopter in this action-packed car racing movie alongside Aaron Paul and Rami Malek? His role as Benny, the genius sidekick with a plan, helped the movie go on to gross a worldwide total of $203,277,636.
J. Cole recently dropped a commercial for his new Puma basketball shoe and it’s narrated by none other than No Limit’s Percy “Master P.” Miller who played for the Charlotte Hornets and the Toronto Raptors during the 1998-99 preseasons. He is indicating that Cole wants to consider doing just that, crossing over from rapper to NBA baller.
.@JColeNC we see you out here. You said they only got 12 slots on the Pistons.
Apparently, the news got the Detroit Piston’s attention. They invited Cole to tryout for one of the 12 slots on their roster. They even went so far as to mock up a jersey with his name on it. Cole played in high school and practiced at St. John’s so this isn’t unprecedented if it does happen. He’s proven that he’s a dreamer as a rapper, why not as a professional basketball player?
Logic‘s swan song LP has earned the Maryland rapper his 5th number 1 spot on the Billboard’s Hip Hop charts with 221,000 units. Hi previous #1s include Everybody, The Incredible True Story, Bobby Tarantino II, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The news is a sign of appreciation from his loyal fan base as the rapper enters retirement to embrace fatherhood. Not a bad way to go out.
The album was released to critical acclaim, ending a recent slump for the lyricist. His fans have compared No Pressure to his earlier Young, Broke & Infamous mixtapes. He welcomed a son earlier this year.
