Episodes – Page 1353

Khia slams music exec Pierre “Pee” Thomas over sampling of breakout hit “My Neck, My Back”

Johnny Nunez/WireImageKhia is publicly airing her grievances with Pierre “Pee” Thomas, CEO of the Atlanta indie label Quality Control Music, over the use of her hit single “My Neck, My Back.”

On Wednesday, the veteran rapper took to Instagram to blast the music exec for his use of the record in 2017. The song is interpolated on the Control the Streets Volume 1 deep cut “Fuck Dat N****”, performed by the City Girls.

According to the self-proclaimed Thug Misses, Quality Control sampled her material without her permission and she was not properly compensated for its use.

Not one to hold her tongue, Khia blasted Thomas during an Instagram Live session. “Why couldn’t you be a real n**** and call the queen and say, ‘Queen, I wanna sample your s***. I got these new, little young girls, I wanna sample your s***. Here you go,'” she began her lengthy tirade.

“You got all this money. You n***** so rich, and I’m so poor […] Why the f*** you ain’t call me and say, ‘Queen, it ain’t nothin’. Get this money. I wanna sample your voice, your s***.'”

Thomas, however, shot down Khia’s accusations of non-payment by posting a letter which indicated that QC had shelled out 10K for use of the sample to the companies that own the master recording and the publishing.

“We have agreements for the use and everyone was paid,” he captioned it, and suggested Khia contact her publisher if she has any questions.

Khia’s response? “They don’t own[the song] by themselves […] They ain’t tell you, Khia own half of the song, too. You got to pay her too.’ You need to call me and pay me, too.”

She’s also continued her crusade against the label head on social media.

Mathew Knowles says R. Kelly rumors “certainly” influenced his decision to keep Destiny's Child from working with him

Pam Francis/Getty ImagesMathew Knowles— Destiny’s Child’s former manager, and the father of Beyoncé and Solange — has decided to addresses the relationship between the girl group and R. Kelly.

In an interview with Metro UK, Knowles admits that the rumors surrounding R. Kelly made him reluctant to have Destiny’s Child work with the singer, even though there was pressure to do so.

“R. Kelly was managed by Sony, and at that time, they would almost force you to record with [their] artists,” Knowles explained. “And R. Kelly wasn’t cheap – it was $75,000, plus travel costs, so we’re talking $100,000 for a song.”

Knowles says when Kelly did pen a song for the girls, he turned it down — not because of the rumors, but because he didn’t like it.

As Knowles explains, “I personally rejected the song, because I didn’t think it was a good song. Not just because of [his] reputation – this was around 1998, we had just begun to hear some of those things.”

But from that point on, Knowles says, the rumors “certainly” played into his decision not to have the group record Kelly’s songs, especially because he and his then-wife Tina were so protective of them.

“The girls were 15, 16,” Knowles said. “When they went to the bathroom, Tina would go with them. They did not leave our eyes.”

Metro UK cites a source that claims Matthew and Tina rejected all Kelly’s material “because they didn’t want him anywhere near the band.”

Still, the group did end up cutting one of Kelly’s songs, “Stimulate Me,” for the soundtrack of the 1999 Eddie Murphy film Life. But, the source claims, Kelly wasn’t in the studio when the track was recorded, and Matthew didn’t want it on any of the group’s official albums.

Leave me alone: Michael Jackson's estate denounces “Leaving Neverland” documentary

robert wallis/Corbis via Getty ImagesFollowing the announcement that a documentary about two boys who were allegedly abused by Michael Jackson would premiere later this month at the Sundance Film Festival, Jackson’s estate has dismissed the movie as an attempt to “exploit and cash in” on the late King of Pop.

Leaving Neverland is about two men in their 30s who claim that they were sexually abused by Jackson when they were children. While neither man is named in the promotional materials for the film, Jackson’s estate does so in its denouncement of the project.

In a statement to E!, the estate said, “This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson. Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them.”

The statement continues, “Safechuck and Robson, the latter a self-proclaimed ‘master of deception,’ filed lawsuits against Michael’s Estate, asking for millions of dollars. Both lawsuits were dismissed.”

“This so-called ‘documentary’ is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations,” the statement concludes. “It’s baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”

As E! notes, Robson filed a negligence claim against two of Michael’s companies in 2017, claiming that the purpose of the businesses was to, “operate as a child sexual abuse operation.” The judge dismissed the case.

In 2013, he’d sued MJ’s estate on grounds of child molestation; that was dismissed in in 2015. But in 2005, Robson testified in defense of Jackson at the singer’s 2005 child molestation trial.

Report: Jets to hire Adam Gase as next head coach

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — It appears the New York Jets have chosen their next head coach.

ESPN reports the team is expected to bring former Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase on board to lead the squad.

Gase, 40, was fired by Miami on Dec. 31 after three seasons with the team. During his time with the Dolphins, the team went 23-25 but beat the Jets in five of their six matchups.

The Jets have been searching for a new head coach since firing Todd Bowles after their last game this past season. Under Bowles’ leadership, New York went 24-40 in four seasons without any playoff appearances.

Report: Yasmani Grandal signs one-year deal with Brewers

Allen Kee / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — The Milwaukee Brewers have reportedly extended their budget to sign free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal.

League sources tell ESPN the Cuban born catcher agreed to a one-year deal with Milwaukee for $18.25 million on Wednesday. The Brewers went over their planned budget in order to acquire Grandal, according to the sources.

In his seven seasons in the MLB with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, Grandal has compiled a .240 batting average with 113 home runs and 339 RBIs.

Last season with the Dodgers, the 30-year-old batted .241 and had 106 home runs and 68 RBIs. He opted for free agency at the end of October.

Chance the Rapper addresses sexual assault allegations levied against his associates: “I am ashamed of y'all

ABC/Randy HolmesChance the Rapper is standing in solidarity with victims of sexual assault, by calling out his friends and frequent collaborators for their alleged misconduct.

On Wednesday, the Chicago lyricist hopped on Twitter to address the allegations recently levied against his known associates over the course of the past several weeks.

“In the past 2 days I’ve heard too many stories of domestic abuse, sexual violence and rape perpetrated by [people] I called friends,” the Coloring Book rapper tweeted. “I am ashamed of y’all.”

He continued, “These stories will be amplified and your victims will receive the justice they deserve.”

Although Chance did not specifically name any of the “friends” in his tweet, it can be assumed that he was referring to “Juke Jam” collaborator Towkio, who is currently facing rape allegations. On Monday, a woman took to Twitter to share graphic details about an alleged incident in which the WWW. artist attempted to coerce her into having sex with him during a 2011 encounter.

The same woman claimed that she also was sexually assaulted by Chance’s drummer, Stix, during a separate interaction.

Chance’s recent statement arrives on the heels of him addressing the Surviving R. Kelly documentary and the numerous allegations brought against the R&B crooner. As previously reported, Chano stated that he now feels that working with R. Kelly was a “mistake.”

“Surviving R. Kelly” executive producers address response to the series: “The conversations being had are larger than R. Kelly”

Andrea Kelly/Courtesy of LifetimeNearly a week after its premiere, the executive producers of Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly series are sharing their thoughts on how it’s been received.

Tuesday, Tamra Simmons and Jesse Daniels spoke with ABC News about the overwhelming response to the shocking six-part expose. The docuseries, which included interviews with #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, musician John Legend and Kelly’s multiple accusers, detailed the decade-long history of the singer’s alleged serial abuse.

According to Variety, ratings for the Lifetime series surged past two million total viewers following the three-night event.

“The conversations being had here are larger than R. Kelly,” Daniels told ABC News. “It’s helping people who have been abused to come forward and feel like they’re being supported…feel like they’re being heard.”

For her part, Simmons said as an African-American woman, she understands why so many of the singer’s alleged victims have been reluctant to come forward over the years.

“When black girls say this person did this to me or that person, they’re like, ‘Well, you were being fast or you shouldn’t dress like that,” Simmons explained.

“So, black girls’ voices aren’t going to be heard. And that’s why a lot of these survivors haven’t spoken up. Because they’ve seen it in the past over and over again, when someone came out, and they were in their race, they weren’t heard.”

In the wake of the series, Kelly is reportedly under criminal investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office and is also at risk of being evicted from his Chicago music studio.

New Jersey Supreme Court rules in favor of NFL over Super Bowl ticket prices

33ft/iStock(NEW YORK) — The NFL did not skirt any state consumer protection laws when the league decided how to allocate tickets for the 2014 Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium, the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled Wednesday.

The ruling is likely to doom the federal lawsuit of a New Jersey man, Josh Finkelman, who claimed he was forced to pay $2,000 – more than twice the face value – for his Super Bowl seat because the NFL withheld far too many tickets from the general public in violation of the state’s ticket law.

The NFL released one percent of 2014 Super Bowl tickets to members of the public who had won the right to buy them via a lottery. The league gave the remaining 99 percent of tickets to teams, broadcast networks, corporate sponsors and others.

Finkelman claimed a since-repealed state law required the vast majority of tickets be made available to the general public but the court disagreed.

“The Legislature sought to impose a more modest constraint on the sale of tickets to sports and entertainment events,” Justice Anne Patterson wrote. “We do not consider the NFL’s distribution of other tickets to the 2014 Super Bowl to its teams, other selected individuals, and entities to constitute the unlawful withholding.”

The NFL praised the court’s ruling Wednesday.

“We are pleased by today’s ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which unanimously confirmed that the NFL’s distribution of Super Bowl XLVIII tickets was in full compliance with applicable law,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Associated Press in an email.

For his part, Finkelman’s attorney blasted the decision.

“It’s the most anti-consumer opinion that has been issued in decades out of New Jersey,” said Bruce Nagel, a partner at Nagel Rice LLP in Rosewood, New Jersey. “The Legislature passed a law to ensure the public had access to fair-priced tickets and the Supreme Court, at least with regard to the Super Bowl, basically nullified the statute. It’s a sad day for consumers under this ruling today.”

Nagel declined to speculate on what the state ruling might mean for Finkelman’s federal lawsuit, which is pending before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Michael Jackson abuse documentary “Leaving Neverland” to premiere at Sundance Film Festival

Kimberly White/Corbis via Getty ImagesA documentary about two boys who were allegedly abused by Michael Jackson will have its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The documentary, Leaving Neverland, says it will tell the story of two men, now in their 30s, who say that when they were seven and 10 years old, they and their families started long-running relationships with the late King of Pop, who was then at the height of his stardom.

In the film, the men describe how they were sexually abused by the entertainer, and explain how they were able to “come to terms with it” years later.

Leaving Neverland will screen on Friday, January 25 in Park City, Utah, and Saturday, January 26 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

From 2004 to 2005, Michael Jackson was involved in a criminal trial in which he was accused of abusing a 13-year-old boy. He was indicted on a number of counts and pleaded not guilty to all of them. On June 13, 2005, a jury delivered a verdict of not guilty on all counts.

Keyshia Cole, Keke Palmer and K. Michelle share their reactions to 'Surviving R. Kelly' docuseries

ABC/Randy HolmesWhile numerous male celebrities have stated their disapproval of R. Kelly, a handful of women in music are now weighing in on the R&B crooner’s alleged crimes.

Most recently, Keyshia Cole, Keke Palmer and K. Michelle shared their thoughts on the matter following the airing of Lifetime’s shocking Surviving R. Kelly docuseries.

Notably, Michelle has gone against the grain, taking to social media to explain why she has no interest in denouncing Kelly.

“When it comes to this situation with [R. Kelly] you want me to step forward AGAIN. Why would I want that type of hate,” she wrote on Instagram. “I know right from wrong, but I also know that I’m not the type of person to kick a person while they are down.”

Last year, Michelle claimed she felt “trapped” while living and working with Kelly at the start of her career. She also claimed to “not be surprised” at the “sex cult” allegations were leveled against him in 2017.

Palmer, however, has quite a different opinion of her former mentor. Wednesday, the actress and songwriter penned a lengthy Instagram post revealing that she was “hurt and saddened” by how Kelly had manipulated his alleged victims.

“God blessed him to vindicate his childhood shortcomings and yet still he has slapped God in the face by his actions towards these women,” the “I Don’t Belong To You singer” wrote.

She added, “I will stand by my sisters because that’s simply what’s right.”

Meanwhile, Cole is shifting some of the blame to the parents of Kelly’s accusers.

“Until your child is 18, they are YOUR responsibility…I never said R. Kelly wasn’t wrong!!! But a lot starts at home with your parents!!” the singer wrote on Twitter.