Apr 26

Bill Cosby Found Guilty On All Counts Of Sexual Assault

Norristown, PA – Bill Cosby was found guilty on all counts of aggravated indecent assault on Thursday (April 26) at the Montgomery County Courthouse, according to the New York Times.

A jury of seven men and five women sealed Cosby’s fate for his assault on former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, who the once beloved actor had previously mentored.

Each felonious count — penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious and penetration after administering an intoxicant — carries up to 10 years in prison. Consequently, the 80-year-old comedian could spend his remaining years behind bars.

Following the verdict, Judge Steven T. O’Neill told the jurors it was “an extraordinarily difficult case” and added, “You have sacrificed much, but you have sacrificed in the service of justice.”

CNN reports that after the verdict was read, Cosby stood up and called prosecutor Kevin Steele an “asshole” as Steele was telling Judge O’Neill he thought his bail should be revoked for being a flight risk. Cosby reportedly overheard Steele telling the judge Cosby had a private plane and could go anywhere in the world.

Cosby shouted, “He doesn’t have a private plane, you asshole.”

On the defense side, the most damning foreshadowing of the verdict was that Tom Mesereau, Cosby’s attorney actually fell asleep with his “mouth open” as Judge O’Neill read long accounts of Cosby’s testimony regarding Quaaludes and the sexual nature of his relationship with Constand.

Multiple women have accused the former sitcom dad — Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable — of similar violations. Last summer, his first trial ended with a deadlocked jury because of two not guilty hold-outs.

Over the years, Cosby has notoriously taken an anti-Hop Hop stance. In 2008, Mr. Pudding Pops was reportedly working on a Hip Hop-inspired album called Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency. In an interview with Today, he clarified, “I do not rap on any of these things. I wouldn’t know how to fix my mouth to say some of the words.”

He added the Hip Hop he was hearing at the time was “profane and degrading,” and that his album was “the opposite of what I think is the profanity for no particular reason, the misogyny for no particular reason. It really looks at the frustration and the anger that a young man may have.”

Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency was released in 2009.

Reactions to his conviction were mixed on social media. Some remember Cosby as the fun-loving, morally sound father on The Cosby Show while others view him as a malicious predator. One Twitter user even wanted to remind people Kanye West once defended him.

Celebrities and Hip Hop artists alike took to Twitter to chime in.

Check out their reactions below.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46626/title.bill-cosby-found-guilty-on-all-counts-of-sexual-assault

Apr 26

Universal Music Group & EMPIRE Enter New Distribution Deal

San Francisco, CA – The powerhouse that is EMPIRE Distribution just keeps growing with each passing music quarter.

For the latest blockbuster business deal, the San Francisco-based indie music hub has reached a non-exclusive, multi-year deal with Universal Music Group. The newly inked partnership is yet another clear indication of the music industry’s ever-changing parameters.

“In a rapidly changing landscape, we turned water and oil into cream and coffee,” EMPIRE Founder Ghazi Shami exclusively tells HipHopDX. “The unique blend of size and strength (Universal Music Group) combined with speed and ingenuity (EMPIRE) will be a force in the industry.”

With the new agreement, EMPIRE joins Caroline and Priority in UMG’s accessible stable of independent music distributors that are on the wave of burgeoning talent. It’s been well documented that EMPIRE released Kendrick Lamar’s 2011 icebreaker LP, Section.80, but they have put out some Billboard 100 smash hits in Fat Joe, Remy Ma and French Montana’s Grammy-nominated “All The Way Up,” DRAM and Lil Yachty’s “Broccoli” and even a Billboard 200 win with XXXTENTACION’s debut album, 17, which debuted at No. 2.

ODIE’s (@odiexyz) album “analogue” is out today and has the potential to be one of this years most important debut releases. Do yourself a favor and check it out on the digital service of your choice. S/o @carlchery @applemusic for their support.

A post shared by Nima Etminan (@nima_empire) on Apr 6, 2018 at 3:08pm PDT

The fast-growing record company also recently announced a string of new hires, with former Chris Brown manager and Def Jam executive Tina Davis joining the fold as V.P. of AR, former HipHopDX Editor-In-Chief Justin Hunte coming onboard as Director of Content and Strategic Marketing and former Wavo.me employee Moody Jones assuming the role of Director of Digital Marketing.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46618/title.universal-music-group-empire-enter-new-distribution-deal

Apr 26

Slum Village Release "Lost Scrolls Vol. 2"

Slum Village may be no more, but the acclaimed group has provided fans with something new(ish) to enjoy via the release of Lost Scroll Vol. 2.

The project compiles 11 demos and remixes from the vault of the original trio: J Dilla, T3 and Baatin. Each song is produced by Dilla and was recorded during the timeframe of 1996-1999.

Check out Slum Village’s Lost Scrolls Vol. 2 stream, cover art and tracklist below.

Slum Village's Lost Scrolls Vol. 2Slum Village's Lost Scrolls Vol. 2

1. Hold Tight [Lost Remix] f. Q-Tip
2. Burn
3. Hard Core
4. Bring It Back
5. Dilla Freestyle
6. Oh!
7. Like This
8. Living It Up
9. On the Run
10. Talk About the Hoes
11. Lab Test

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46619/title.slum-village-release-lost-scrolls-vol-2

Apr 26

Chance The Rapper & Kim Kardashian Defend Trump-Loving Kanye West

Twitter (Again) – Most people have figured out Kanye West is on a Twitter rampage that’s seemingly spiraling out of control with pro-Donald Trump posts, random bits of self-help advice and a Candace Owens co-sign.

Wife Kim Kardashian took a moment from posting nude photos of herself and ran to West’s defense, while blasting the media for “trying to demonize” her husband.

On Wednesday (April 25), the reality television queen wrote, “To the media trying to demonize my husband let me just say this… your commentary on Kanye being erratic his tweets being disturbing is actually scary. So quick to label him as having mental health issues for just being himself when he has always been expressive is not fair.”

While the jokes about West being in the “sunken place” — a reference to the film Get Out and its social commentary on racism — are running rampant, Kardashian says that’s when he’s truly himself.

“He’s a free thinker, is that not allowed in America?” she continued.”Because some of his ideas differ from yours you have to throw in the mental health card? That’s just not fair. He’s actually out of the sunken place when he’s being himself which is very expressive.”

And she didn’t stop there. West, who famously took a meeting with Mr. Trump last year, has continued to voice his “love” for the current POTUS but Kardashian believes he has a right to own viewpoint and insisted he wasn’t cosigning Trump’s politics.

“Now when he spoke out about Trump… Most people (including myself) have very different feelings opinions about this,” she wrote. “But this is HIS opinion. I believe in people being able to have their own opinions, even if really different from mine. He never said he agrees with his politics.”

Finally, Kardashian ended her tirade with a note about mental health and chastised anyone making light of people’s personal struggles.

“Kanye will never run in the race of popular opinion and we know that and that’s why I love him and respect him and in a few years when someone else says the same exact thing but they aren’t labeled the way he is and you will all praise them! Kanye is years ahead of his time.”

“Mental Health is no joke and the media needs to stop spitting that out so casually. Bottom line.”

While a wife defending her husband isn’t exactly something to write home about, Chance The Rapper took it up a notch when he stuck his neck out for his fellow Chicagoan and tweeted, “Black people don’t have to be democrats.”

Prior to that gem, Chance replied to a Twitter post from Hot 97’s Ebro Darden who questioned if West had been in touch with Lil Chano. The Coloring Book rapper is convinced it’s just Kanye being the same old Kanye.

“Talked to him two days ago,” he wrote. “He’s in a great space and not affected by folk tryna question his mental or physical health. Same Ye from the Vmas, same Ye from the telethon.”

 

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46620/title.chance-the-rapper-kim-kardashian-defend-trump-loving-kanye-west

Apr 25

Prince’s Estate To Release Original, Exclusive Material

Minneapolis, Minnesota –

Fans of The Purple One may have new memorabilia to swoon over sooner than later.

According to TMZ, boxes of unreleased photos and writings have been found by the Prince Estate in Minnesota. Paisley Park Enterprises, the merchandising division of Prince’s Estate, intends to cash in on the discoveries, having just filed documents for clearance to release the handwritten poetry, lyrics, journals and never-before-seen photos. The estate plans to produce a collector’s book of this original printed material, though there has been no word on when the book will be available.

The announcement comes after the criminal investigation into Prince’s death was closed. Last week (Thursday, April 19) TMZ has reported that after a two-year investigation into Prince’s death, no one will be held responsible, due to insufficient evidence of who provided the fentanyl-laced Vicodin that killed the legendary singer. According to Carver County District Attorney Mark Metz, Prince was likely unaware that he was taking fentanyl, but had been taking opioids for quite some time for “significant pain.” Prosecutors allege he did not have a Vicodin or fentanyl prescription on record.

Just hours prior to this decision, court documents revealed that Dr. Michael Schulenberg had agreed to pay $30,000 in a federal civil violation suit for illegally prescribing Prince Oxycodone. Schulenberg had treated Prince at least twice, and had written Oxycodone prescriptions to Prince’s bodyguard, Kirk Johnson as a cover, claiming he used Johnson to protect Prince’s privacy. Though Oxycodone was not found to play a role in the musician’s death, this violated the Controlled Substances Act. This case differs from Michael Jackson’s, in which the doctor responsible for administering MJ a deadly dose of propofol was eventually sentenced for involuntary manslaughter.

In a statement Thursday (April 19), U.S. Attorney Greg Brooker said, “Doctors are trusted medical professionals and, in the midst of our opioid crisis, they must be part of the solution. As licensed professionals, doctors are held to a high level of accountability in their prescribing practices, especially when it comes to highly addictive painkillers. … We are committed to using every available tool to stem the tide of opioid abuse.”

The decisions come around the two-year anniversary of Prince’s death, when he was discovered unresponsive in an elevator of his Paisley Park estate in April 2016, aged 57. The singer has continued selling albums and racking up streams – an April 2017 Billboard report showed that he surpassed Drake and Adele to total $7.7 Million in sales in the first year after his passing.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46615/title.princes-estate-to-release-original-exclusive-material