In the early days of Love & Hip Hop New York, back when the VH1 series was still fairly new on the scene, Rich Dollaz's storylines centered around his artists. Whether he was developing them or dating them, Rich was known as the music industry professional who was about his business, and he took on his good friend Oli as a client.

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Oli was hoping to revive her career after her time with J Records had come to a close and she was no longer affiliated with G-Unit. Rich worked with Oli on songs and even gave one to her that was initially intended for his then-girlfriend Erica Mena. The fallout from that decision was watched by millions, and now years after Liv and Rich collaborated, Oli is back with some serious accusations.

In a clip, the singer told Rich that he cheated her out of money she should have earned off of their single. Rich vehemently denies that he stole anything from her. "If you do not write on a record, you get what's called performance royalties," Rich said in the clip. "What were you entitled to other than the hundreds of thousands of dollars you made on the road singing it?" 

"You and I took hits together, Rich. That's what we always did," she said. "So, when I found out from the lawyers what was going on that really hurt me to my core. Because you were really my brother. I'm trying to understand how do you think that you get all of the money. That makes absolutely no sense."

Rich told her that he was in debt. "Everything that was going on at that time of our lives was footed by me," he said. "I was your production company. I was your management. I was your security. I was your f*ckin' taxi service. Radio! Record had over 800 spins. Independently, by me. By myself. You think that sh*t is free?"

Oli wanted to know why he just didn't tell her that he was taking money to cover expenses. "Financially, this sh*t put such a f*cking strain on me for the four years," Rich said. "Why am I gonna tell you that? You my sister." Oli added if that was the case, they should have been able to speak about any and everything. 

Rich told her that she made a good amount of money from the record, more money than anyone else. Oli, in turn, insisted that she "got got" by Rich and they both ended things by saying they were hurt by the situation. Check out the clip below.

Alchemist continues to solidify himself as the most prolific producer in the game. If not the number one, he’s up there. The legendary beatmaker and occasional rapper never stops working, and now he’s linked up with Boldy James for yet another collaborative effort. Picking up where last year’s Boldface (not to be confused with Blueface) EP aperitif left off, the pair have unveiled further details about their upcoming album The Price Of Tea In China. 

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Drawing inspiration from an old idiom suggesting an irrelevant point, the project features esteemed lyricists in supporting roles; look for Vince Staples, Benny The Butcher (who seems to be widely recognized by fellow verbal elites), Freddie Gibbs, and Evidence. Yet it’s Boldy himself, and possible Alchemist with the occasional verse, who will be carrying the torch the majority of the way. And for that reason, it’s clear we’re in good hands. 

Check out the full tracklist and Kei Imazu-laced cover artwork below, and look for The Price Of Tea In China to land on February 7th. 

1. “Carruth”
2. “Giant Slide”
3. “Surf & Turf” f. Vince Staples
4. “Run-Ins”
5. “Scrape the Bowl” f. Benny the Butcher
6. “Pinto”
7. “Slow Roll”
8. “S.N.O.R.T.” f. Freddie Gibbs
9. “Grey October” f. Evidence
10. “Mustard”
11. “Speed Demon Freestyle”
12. “Phone Bill”

It’s safe to say that Nicki Minaj‘s retirement announcement may have been a tad bit reactionary. In early September 2019, Nicki shocked her dedicated fanbase when she tweeted that her music career may be coming to an end. “I’ve decided to retire & have my family,” she wrote. “I know you guys are happy now. To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me, ❌ in the box- cuz ain’t nobody checkin me. ✅ Love you for LIFE ?♥️?.”

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Since that time, she’s been featured on a number of tracks, including Meghan Trainor’s “Nice to Meet Ya” that dropped last Friday (January 31). This latest collaboration comes after Nicki’s month hiatus from social media, but now that the Queen rapper has returned, she’s been showing off daily glam looks.

On Monday (February 3) evening, Nicki showed that she’s been hard at work in the studio, as well. The rapper shared a clip of herself previewing a new track that will most likely be featured on her forthcoming record. “Woke up, the price of coke up / I just hit em with the low cut then call my folks up,” Nicki raps. “All that talkin’ out your neck just might get your throat cut / This a mac truck not a black truck / When we move tell ’em back up / Click the clack up.” She then moves into the chorus which mentions, “Yikes, you a clown, you do IT for likes.”

Unsurprisingly, Nicki’s husband Kenneth Petty sits right next to her and the two newlyweds groove to Nicki’s newly recorded track. Give it a listen and leave your thoughts.

The legacy of Bad Boy is often defined by Biggie’s short reign in the rap industry. Although the label has gone on to produce a ton of incredibly massive hits, Diddy and Biggie set a standard that was incredibly difficult to live up to — for any artist. That being said, if you manage to get your hands on any sort of memorabilia from that era, it’s bound to be worth a lot. According to TMZ, a poster of Diddy and Biggie’s Vibe Magazine cover is up for sale but it has a very unique story behind it, besides the fact that both Diddy and Biggie autographed the poster.

Moments In Time are the ones brokering this poster which is going for $54K right now. It’s the cover from September 1996 but Biggie and Diddy signed it on Match 8th, 1997 — the night Biggie was gunned down. Quincy Jones was hosting a Vibe Magazine industry that same night in Los Angeles. Apparently, Jones brought the poster, which is 2-feet by 3 feet, to the party in order to get it signed from Biggie and Puffy. The part was shut down and hours later, Biggie was shot in a drive-by.

Quincy Jones’ son is selling the poster now for $54K and includes the rapper’s travel itinerary and the invitation to the Quincy Jones-hosted party.

He may have recently called for Eminem to stop dissing him on his tracks, but years ago Joe Budden had no problem taking to his platforms to criticize his former friend. The podcast host has spoken out against Eminem quite a few times, including on his podcast back in 2018 where he goes off about the Shady Records founder for over an hour and a half.

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Budden’s relationship with both Shady and Eminem has been a strained one, and D12’s Bizarre recently sat down with RealLyfe Productions to discuss what he calls the facts behind the tension. “I just felt like, it’s his job to give his opinion, but I really analyzed it and I’m like, damn bro, this is assassination,” Bizarre recalled of Budden’s critiques of Em’s Revival. “He just one of them n*ggas that got diarrhea of the mouth and he just went too far. It wasn’t like he was like ‘I ain’t feelin’ this.’ That n*gga was like, ‘This is that—I will not stand around and let this man talk to black people and make a mimick…’ I’m like, n*gga, this n*gga paying your f*ckin’ rent. What the f*ck is you talkin’ ’bout?”

“Like, n*gga you disloyal, b*tch ass. What the [f*ck]? You know what I’m sayin’?” Bizarre continued. “You act like you ain’t even know this man just because you got another opportunity that’s in front of you. Loyalty’s a big thing with us in our crew. That’s how we got on. We made a pact that whoever get on first comes back and get everybody else. Em pulled me from Dallas. My life was over.”

Then, Bizarre broke down the beef a bit more. “So, Joe Budden was supposed to get a job with Diddy on Revolt. What happened? Do you think if he got a job on Revolt he can say Puffy album was wack? Think he’ll be able to say he ain’t feelin’ French Montana new sh*t?” Bizarre added that he’s not saying that Eminem or anyone else is above criticism, but you should tell someone, especially a friend and label head, “off-camera.”

Bizarre also said he felt bad because it was D12 who vouched for Budden and let him in the circle. They needed someone to hop on their tour and Royce Da 5’9″ recommended Budden. At first, D12 was against it because Budden dissed them on a track. On a conference call, Budden reportedly apologized. They all ended up making amends, and it was on that tour that Slaughterhouse was allegedly developed.

“Everybody helped the process, so it’s like, bro—and before that, n*gga, you was still [the] ‘Pump, pump, pump it up’ man,” Bizarre added. Check out his full clip below to hear more of why Budden’s beef with the Shady crew runs deep.

Jennifer Lopez and Shakira shut it down during the Super Bowl Halftime Show that took place in Miami just yesterday. The beloved acts welcomed Bad Bunny and J. Balvin on the stage and not one second of choreography or key was offbeat, proving that all that hard work and choreography paid off. After the show, JLo headed to JR and Loren Ridinger’s yacht with Alex Rodriguez by her side and reflected on her performance that she (and everyone around her) called the best yet. 

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“I was happy to stand up there with Shakira. Two Latina women – two women – who did one of the best Super Bowls of all time, ” she said before everyone agreed. “I am so grateful to all of you. I know how special it is to be able to go out there and hold up an American flag, a Puerto Rican flag and have my daughter sing with me and represent women, and single moms and working moms. This is what you can do.” 

She added: “The message tonight was use your voice, get loud, stand up for yourself.”  

“Thank you to my incredible team for the most epic halftime I could have ever imagined. I love you guys so much,” Jennifer wrote on Twitter after the show. 

Now that Billie Eilish has become a critical and commercial phenom, the masses have adopted the “protect her at all costs” mentality. This instinct may result in alarms ringing off when there isn’t even a true threat present. When it was revealed that 33-year-old Drake had been texting Eilish, who was 17 years old at the time, the public erupted. Drake was labelled as a creep who had no right talking to girls so young, a concern that was amplified by the fact that he had faced similar criticism for privately communicating with Millie Bobby Brown. 

Riding the wave of her Grammy sweep, Eilish has been selected as the March cover star of Vogue. The Drizzy fiasco is broached in her profile and she fumes about the Canadian rapper being treated unfairly. “The internet is such a stupid-ass mess right now,” Eilish said. “Everybody’s so sensitive. A grown man can’t be a fan of an artist? There are so many people that the internet should be more worried about. Like, you’re really going to say that Drake is creepy because he’s a fan of mine, and then you’re going to go vote for Trump? What the fuck is that shit?”

Millie Bobby Brown gave a similar response to the Internet framing her correspondence with Drake in this perverted way. “Why u gotta make a lovely friendship ur headline? U guys are weird… For real,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Now get back to talking about real problems in this world other than my friendships.”

Prior to signing a major record label deal with RCA Records, Brian Todd Collins, better known by his stage name of Kid Ink had worked with the likes of Nipsey Hussle, Tyga, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, and more. The Los Angeles-based rapper had also earned a selection for the 2012 XXL Freshman Class and sold over two million records as an independent artist. It wasn’t until Jan. 2013 that the “Rich” performer partnered with RCA and now, it looks like Kid Ink has officially severed his relationship with the record label and is returning to his indie roots. 

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The 33-year-old emcee wasted no time revealing his independence during an interview on the Bootleg Kev & DJ Hed show on Real 92.3 LA late last week. Collins revealed that he’s currently sitting on a copious amount of unreleased music due to the creative differences he had with the executive team at RCA. Because of his early success, Kid Ink stated that he been labeled as a radio rapper and wanted to free himself from the perception of not being a multidimensional musician. 

“I don’t know how to express this big news. What do you say? I’m free,” Ink jokingly shouted before continuing, “I’m independent again. Free of RCA. (I’m) back in control so, you know really just having fun.”

DJ Hed asked the “Randy Mos$$” rapper why it was important for him to be back in a space of independence. To which, Kid Ink replied:

“I got to a place where what I wanted to do creatively and the way I wanted to release music, the time frame, the way I think things were switching up with how the way the label usually operated changed for them… It got to a standstill because we just weren’t agreeing on things creatively, marketing-wise, or how things should be put out.”

Kid Ink revealed that he wasn’t used to the bureaucratic politics of being on a major label and that being independent has allowed him to maximize his true potential and creative outlets. 

With the recent release of singles like “Ride Like A Pro” featuring Reo Cragon and “Holy Grail,” we can expect a major resurgence from Kid Ink in 2020 in the form of his upcoming LP, Almost Home 2, expected to drop this year. Check out the rapper’s full interview on Real 92.3 where he discusses his newfound independence (1:50 mark), the birth of his child, and more in the video provided below. 

The 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards made for a handful of surprise wins last week — Billie Eilish winning everything for starters! — but one that ended up being surprising in more of a “about damn time!” sorta way was J. Cole‘s big win in the “Best Rap Song” category alongside 21 Savage for their hit collaboration “a lot.” Now, fellow rap king T.I. decided to give props to the homies on a job well done.

Tip’s kudos didn’t arrive as “expeditiously” as he usually is — the GRAMMYs happened a whole week ago after all — but the camaraderie is still a nice sight to see nonetheless. “Congrats Kings,” T.I. wrote on Instagram (seen above), followed by two crown emojis to signify his approval of their new royal golden gramophone trophies. Although he has no real reason to say anything, particularly since he’s not featured on a remix of the song or 21’s chart-topping I Am > I Was album where the track derives from overall, T.I.’s words are sincere off the strength that he’s simply just an OG to the game giving props to one of the new guys and the self-proclaimed “middle child.” Much respect, Tip.

Watch the music video for “a lot” by 21 Savage featuring J. Cole below to remind yourself of this award-worthy single: 

It must feel nice to be one of the top artists in the music industry, and for rap-rocker Post Malone you can rest assure that he's living a pretty luxe life right about now. His latest antics while clubbing during Super Bowl weekend in Miami this past Saturday (February 1) proved that 50,000 times over.