Lil Wayne announced that his upcoming “Free Weezy Album” will be released on the Fourth of July. A couple of days later, Young Thug revealed the cover art for his upcoming release, and according to Thugger’s latest post, he plans to follow in the steps of Weezy and release his mixtape on July 4 as well.
Facing pressure from angry consumers, Amazon on Tuesday joined other big retailers in deciding to remove Confederate battle flag merchandise from its offerings.
The giant online retailer followed Walmart, Sears and eBay in discontinuing sales of such products after the shooting of nine black parishioners in a South Carolina church by a white gunman. Etsy, the online retailer, also decided to drop flag-related items.
The killings have renewed a focus on the Confederate flag, which had been displayed in photographs of the gunman. And large segments of the public have demanded that it be removed from its perch at the statehouse in Charleston, S.C. On Tuesday, as the flag continued to be held up as a symbol of hatred and slavery, South Carolina lawmakers were considering whether to have it taken down.
Janet Jackson’s indelible mark on the world of music transcends decades and generations, and because of that, BET is honored to recognize the Queen of Pop with the first-ever Ultimate Icon: Music Dance Visual Award at the 2015 BET Awards.
“This is Janet Jackson, people! We are excited beyond belief to present her with our inaugural ULTIMATE ICON: Music Dance Visual award and we are thrilled that she chose the BET Awards as the first step on her new road,” said Stephen G. Hill, BET’s President of Programming. “An inspiration to many other artists, ‘Ms. Jackson’ (’cause I’m nasty) blends music, dance and visuals in unique and groundbreaking ways and we look forward to celebrating her storied history… as well as giving the BET Awards audience a peek into her Unbreakable future.”
As she makes her grand return to the music scene, Jackson will be honored like the music royal that she is with performances from three of her biggest contemporary admirers: Tinashe, Jason Derulo and Ciara.
Ms. Jackson’s comeback has already begun with her first single, “No Sleeep,” from her upcoming album — her first in seven years — officially premiering yesterday (June 22). The Ultimate Icon: Music Dance Visual award will be another honor that Jackson can add to her résumé as she currently holds six Grammys, two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and many others. She is also the first African-American female artist to have hit singles in each of the last four decades, proving that she is very much deserving of this prestigious distinction.
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is free on bail after being arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, among other counts, stemming from an alleged incident on the UCLA campus, according to police and school officials.
Combs, 45, was arrested about 12:30 p.m. at the Acosta Athletic Training Complex in connection with an alleged assault involving a kettlebell, police said in a news release. A kettlebell is a round piece of weightlifting equipment with a handle, usually made of cast iron.
Combs was initially held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, but police updated the charges late Monday night to three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of making terrorist threats and one count of battery.
No one was seriously injured, police said. Combs was freed from jail just after 10 p.m., according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records.
Sylvester