On Monday afternoon the Los Angeles Lakers will host 'A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant' at Staples Center, which will be filled to the rafters with Kobe and Gianna's fans, friends and family. Each of the 20,000+ people in attendance will receive commemorative t-shirts and booklets, featuring images of Kobe and his daughter, as well as other Bryant family photos and memorable moments from Kobe's Hall of Fame career.
Ahead of today's event, celebrity jeweler Ben Baller took to instagram to show off his custom Kobe chain and pendant, consisting of the Black Mamba's logo on one side and his No. 8 on the other. Baller captioned the instagram post:
"I wish I could have been at Staples center today ?? So in honor of legend, friend and the greatest Laker ever, I made myself this piece to remember you Kobe ?? Lots of baguettes. VS1-VVS2 D-E-F ? #KobeFarewell #BlackMamba #RIPKOBE #KB8."
The Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gianna Bryant will not be shown on any video screens outside Staples Center, the event will air live on local tv stations starting at 10am local time (1pm ET). Live streams of 'A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant' can also be found on CNN's website, NBA TV, CBS All Access, and BET and its social media platforms.
Taxstone Says N.O.R.E Called 50 Cent A Snitch
Taxstone reveals N.O.R.E. alleged that 50 Cent is a snitch, and advised the podcast host not to invite the rapper on his show.
Taxstone is the latest to reveal 50 Cent “snitch” allegations, this time by way of N.O.R.E. This isn’t the first time somebody has tried to tear down 50 Cent’s platform by referring to the man as a “snitch.” In one of the rapper’s most recent feuds, French Montana actually unveiled paperwork that allegedly places Fiddy in government informant territory, exposing him for leaking information to the feds in ongoing criminal cases. Although those rumblings have been relevant within the hip-hop community for years upon years, 50 Cent refuses to allow any type of slander on his character, striking back with the force of a tank and continually ending up on top of his opponents. During a recent podcast appearance from behind bars with Ben Baller, Taxstone spoke about how he was advised not to invite 50 Cent onto his own podcast because of his “snitch” reputation, noting that a conversation with N.O.R.E left him confused about the situation.
“I remember me and NORE had a conversation and I was telling him how 50 Cent was one of my favorite rappers,” says Tax during his rare audio appearance. NORE allegedly agreed that Fif was one of the greatest to do it, but he also explained why Tax would never want to interview the man.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, I ain’t gonna lie, 50 always was hard,’ but he was like ‘Yo I’ma tell you why you would’ve never wanted to interview 50.’ So I was like, ‘Why?’ He was like, ‘Yo, ’cause that n***a 50 really is a snitch.’ So I was like, ‘he a snitch?’ I ain’t never seen no paperwork on him. I’m from East New York and we don’t come from a culture of promoting that type of shit without paperwork. The only way you can promote something like that without paperwork is if somebody’s on camera doing it. So I was confused because I’m like, what the fuck like, why the fuck would he have 50 on Drink Champs if he just said that 50 was a snitch.”
Taxstone gets into some pretty engaging topics during the podcast. Check out this bit below.
Ben Baller Creates Kid Cudi An Insane Spinning Murakami Chain
Ben Baller does it again.
Ben Baller is arguably the best jeweler in hip-hop today. Over the past several months, the Korean-American craftsman has curated custom pieces for Tyler, The Creator, Tyga, Drake, and more. Now, the former DJ and record executive has produced one of the most intricately detailed custom pendants and chains for none other than Kid Cudi in celebration of the hip-hop musician’s 36th birthday yesterday (Jan. 30).
The one-of-one rose gold-based “Kiki” pendant inspired and designed by Takashi Murakami and Ben Baller himself features hundreds of handset Pink Sapphire gems, rubies, and diamonds complete with a matching multicolor Murakami Skull Flower Link chain to complement the ornament. This particular piece is the first complete project of the year for Ben Baller and required a year’s worth of curation to fully execute.
Each Murakami flower on the chain is individually designed and has the ability to spin on its own axis. The back of the chain features engraved graphics of Kid Cudi’s logo, Takashi Murakami’s logos, as well as Ben Baller’s IF & Co. custom jewelry trademark.
Less than a year ago, Kid Cudi commissioned Ben Baller to craft him a custom BAPE pendant and chain that costed the “Mojo So Dope” rapper over a quarter-million dollars to complete. With Kid Cudi’s upcoming Enter Galatic LP and Nextflix series set to release sometime this year, Scott Mescudi’s 36th year alive has the potential to be his best one yet.
Check out more images and videos of Kid Cudi’s Ben Baller x Takashi Murakami “Kiki” chain and pendant below.
