The history between Lupe Fiasco and Joe Budden is riddled with scathing words and heated exchanges, but when Lupe joked that he would take over the podcast host's vacant Slaughterhouse spot, hip hop fans were divided. Many who are hoping for another Slaughterhouse project seemed eager to entertain such a possibility, while others couldn't see anyone taking Budden's place. Royce Da 5'9" was recently questioned about Lupe's suggestion, and we'll let you guess what side he's on.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, 112’s was one of the reigning R&B groups. The Bad Boy Records quartet was one of the biggest singing groups in the world at the time with hits like “Only You” with Mase and Notorious B.I.G, “Anywhere” with Lil’ Zane, “Peaches & Cream,” “Cupid,” and “It’s Over Now.” Like many other singing groups of music history’s past, 112 eventually disbanded over personal differences, but Q Parker sat down with TV One for Life + Lyrics to chat about what it was like in 112’s heyday.

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“Being signed to Bad Boy was a dream come true,” Q recalled. “It was sort of like, our gift, because all we watched were Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Take 6. So when we finally put our group together it was like, that’s gonna be us one day. Jermaine Dupri passed on us, Dallas Austin passed on us, Teddy Riley passed on 112.”

Then, the R&B group got their big break. “Here comes Puffy who had this edge about him,” said Q. “I believe the gift for us was we were supposed to sign with Bad Boy because he brought an element out of us that I don’t know would have been brought out of us had we signed to those other executives. We would’ve still been the balladeers and the crooners and all of that, but Bad Boy gave us like—we were the guys you could take home to mom, but we were the guys mom want you to stay away from. We had a nice blend of bad boy but church boy, too.”

He said Bad Boy’s era from 1194-2004 is something that is etched into R&B and hip hop history. “And you can’t mention that era, and the dominance of that era, without mentioning 112,” he said. Q added that the group met Diddy outside of the nightclub 112 and they sang for him on the spot. They soon became the fourth artist to sign to Bad Boy.

Check out Q Parker talk about his Bad Boy memories, his relationship with Diddy now, and why he’ll always show the hip hop mogul love.

Today, Rick Ross has been announced as the first performer of Canalside’s 2020 summer concert season, performing in Buffalo on July 18th 2020. Tickets for the Eventbrite-hosted event can be purchased here, including a swanky VIP option for those looking to treat themselves in an appropriately boss-like fashion. Those who cop the high-end will be gifted access to a VIP Pavillion, a few free drinks, and most importantly, a private bathroom. Several alternative ticket bundling options are available for purchase, and the $40 general admission option will be made available at a later date. 

It’s unclear whether his Canalside show will spark a rollout of sorts for The Boss, though it should be noted he’s still running off the momentum of last year’s Port Of Miami 2. It’s highly unlikely that Ross decides to come through with another new album, though given how prolific artists are these days, you never know. Either way, he’s set to bless the longstanding Buffalo-based Canalside concert series with his presence, kicking off a run that’s sure to include some fellow heavy hitters.

Should you be interested in seeing Rick Ross this summer, be sure to buy your tickets now while you still can. For those who have seen Renzel perform before, sound off in the comments with your take on his live game. Worth the VIP package price?

There’s a deep mutual respect between Rapsody and Kendrick Lamar. The two artists have worked together and made musical magic in the past, and during her chat with People’s Party with Talib Kweli, the North Carolina native shared why she connected with Kendrick on a creative level from the moment they met. 

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“Anytime I need advice, I always hit him,” said Rapsody. “Even though we kinda came up in the early days together, he skyrocketed. He’s experienced so much that I haven’t, so he’s someone that I know that I can look to for advice just to kinda gauge on what I should do.” The rapper said when she works on projects, K-Dot is one of the few other artists she sends music to because she trusts his musical judgment.

“I trust his ear,” she added. “You hear stories of Primo and how he would play records for Dr. Dre, just to get his ear. Kendrick is in that peer group for me of my peer’s ears that I trust… I have so much love and respect for him as a person.” The southern rapper also gave a shout out to DaBaby, calling her fellow North Carolina native “explosive.” 

“When he came out, it had the same energy as when Get Rich or Die Tryin came out,” Rapsody said of the comparison to 50 Cent‘s classic record. “He just came in with a whole different force. It’s aggressive but it’s fun at the same time and funny. That’s what 50 was.” Check out the clip below and see what else she had to say about her chuckle-worthy moment in the office with Jay Z as he rode around on a bike “air-dunkin’ on people.”

Bernie Sanders has been getting a ton of celebrity endorsements in recent times, especially among artists in hip-hop. Cardi B has previously extended her endorsement to Bernie in the past and even sat down with the Democratic nominee for 12-minute interview discussing issues the average American is facing today.

Along with Cardi, Killer Mike has been a big supporter of Bernie and did a similar sit-down back-and-forth on camera with the democratic nominee. As more prominent figures in the Black community have co-signed Bernie, Killer Mike has continued to be a major one to voice his support. In recent times, Public Enemy's Chuck D and Boots Riley have shown their support for Bernie in the Democratic race which Killer Mike suggested should be a good sign of who to vote for in the next election.

"If I'm a regular every day black person in America and Boots Riley, Chuck D, and Killer Mike all agree on the same presidential candidate, [I'mma] really have to consider that candidate because these three in music and real life action really give a damn," he tweeted.

Although many people agreed with Killer Mike, one person suggested that he was actually getting paid for public support. "Keep it really real. I’m accept NO MONEY from any politician. I am already rich," he clapped back.

Peep the tweets below. 

Megan Thee Stallion has already scored a major win after filing a lawsuit against her record label, 1501 Entertainment. Over the weekend, she claimed that she's blocked from releasing music following a request to renegotiate her contract with Carl Crawford, the head honcho of 1501 Certified Entertainment. TMZ reports that a restraining order was granted towards Megan Thee Stallion against her record label that would allow her to release music as planned. 

In the lawsuit, Megan Thee Stallion details some of the terms of their agreement including the payment methods. 1501 apparently gets 60% of her recording income while Meg's left with 40% which also has to go towards paying off engineers, featured artists, and other fees related to her career. Ultimately, she's making the majority of her money from touring which apparently is supposed to be paid straight to the label. Although 1501 said that they were going to give her proper accounting, Megan said that was never done and "purposefully and deceptively vague."

This story extends deep into the roots of Houston's hip-hop's scene since Meg also said Crawford's used his connection to J. Prince to strong-arm producers. "Prince is notorious in the industry for strong-armed intimidation tactics, and the comment was taken as a physical threat of harm," she said in the suit. She even suggested that Prince may have been behind an online smear campaign including the mugshot photo that surfaced.

"We are very happy the Court granted our [temporary restraining order] and thrilled that the world should be able to now hear Megan's new music on March 6," Richard Busche, Meg's attorney, said. "We will now proceed with the other claims set forth in the [lawsuit]."

Apparently, Meg only got a $10K advance on the deal when she signed it at 20-years-old. She's suing Crawford and the label for $1M in damages.

Three 6 Mafia is facing a brand new lawsuit from a Memphis-based group who claimed Juicy J and DJ Paul have ripped them off over 150 times. According to TMZ, a group of artists based out of Memphis claim Three 6 Mafia committed “over 150 independent acts of copyright infringement from more than 100 individual sound recordings.”

 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The group of artists who’ve collectively come against DJ Paul and Juicy J said that they all came up around the same time that Three 6 Mafia was trying to establish themselves. Along the way, they’d all collaborate with this group of artists claiming they produced, recorded, and wrote for Three 6 Mafia but never received a check for their efforts. On top of that, they said Three 6 Mafia was one of the many groups under DJ Paul and Juicy J’s umbrella that they created to make money off of other people’s work. They said this is how they’ve been able to make millions of dollars off of their labor. “Tear Da Club Up” and “MEMPHIS” are two songs Three 6 is accused of ripping off. 

Three 6 Mafia is being sued for copyright infringement, damages and an injunction blocking them from profiting off of their work with attorney Bradley Eiseman representing the group of artists.

This arrives just weeks after DJ Paul and Juicy J announced the Three 6 Mafia reunion tour which kicks off this Friday in Denver.

Aaliyah is without a doubt still missed almost two decades after her tragic death in 2001, and Yara Shahidi proved that by honoring the Princess Of R&B in the upcoming spring finale of Freeform’s hit series grown-ish.

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Most people are well aware that Baby Girl was one of the premiere brand ambassadors for Tommy Hilfiger in the 1990s, seen above with lead designer Andy Hilfiger at a Tommy Hilfiger American Tour event for the clothing label back in 1997. Yara decided to give the show’s lead character Zoey a full Tommy Girl makeover as the character celebrates her 21st birthday in the episode with a 90s-themed party. Many of the other characters don costumes from that influential era as well, including Trevor Jackson as Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, Chloe Bailey as Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice and Ryan Destiny pairing up with Luka Sabbat as denim-rocking ex-power couple Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Looks like it’ll be a good one!

Check out Yara Shahidi’s Aaliyah tribute below, in addition to a clip from the grown-ish spring finale that inspired the Tommy Girl look, and let us know if you think the actress nailed it or should dust herself off and try again:

Considering how many delays Eternal Atake has experienced, it's understandable if Lil Uzi Vert's fans have trust issues when it comes to him announcing release dates. However, we want to have faith that he will deliver on his promise. On Thursday (Feb. 28), Uzi was whipping around in one of his speedy cars when he went on Instagram Live to tease that his long-awaited sophomore album will be arriving in two weeks time. 

A fan had doubts whether the Philly rapper was capping or not, but Uzi has doubled down on his commitment. In response to the fan who tweeted, "Eternal atake in 2 was a lie huh, Uzi wrote, "Nope real shit." Under ordinary circumstances, this would slate his album for release on Friday the 13th. Choosing this spooky date would definitely make sense given Uzi's track record of dark interests. However, he is also known for dropping stuff at unpredictable times. For example, his latest single, "That Way", arrived on streaming platforms yesterday - on a Sunday afternoon. Uzi is now excitedly prepping us for his next song, which appears to be centered on a new alter-ego, "Baby Pluto". "Baby PLUTO make every bitch that played HIM realize how they fucked up," he explained in a tweet.

Roddy Ricch has been commanding the Billboard charts since we entered the new decade. Not only has his massive hit, "The Box", been sitting pretty at the top of the Hot 100, but its success has repeatedly propelled his debut album, Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial, to the top of the Billboard 200. The album, which released on December 21, has beat out other artists' first week sales for three nonconsecutive weeks. 

Although PEMFBA did not clench the No. 1 spot again this week (it slipped from 4 to 5), "The Box" is still the biggest song in the country. This marks its eighth nonconsecutive week in this prized position. "The Box" continues to ward off Future and Drake's "Life Is Good" and Post Malone's "Circles", which sit just below.  

"The Box" may maintain some power on next week's chart from finally getting an official music video last Friday, but it will be going head-to-head with releases from some major artists. SZA and Justin Timberlake's "The Other Side" from Trolls World Tour soundtrack is bound to get tons of radio play and make an impressive debut. Lady Gaga also just released "Stupid Love", the first single from her forthcoming album, Chromatica. 

Another hip hop artist who performed really well on the charts this week is Youngboy Never BrokeAgain. His new album, Still Flexin Still Steppin, debuted at No. 2 (behind BTS' Map Of The Soul: 7) and landed him nine entries on the Hot 100.