Critics (which is a somewhat nicer word than haters) are saying that Rihanna‘s performance lacked effort at a pre-wedding bash for Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, despite her reportedly earning over $6 million for the 90-minute appearance.
One critic claimed, “She simply doesn’t care,” while another noted, “Ri is the least energetic performer out there! Even Taylor Swift brings more enthusiasm.”
Adding to the critique, another voice suggested, “She collected her payment and decided to do only what was necessary.”
At the event, Rihanna sang a medley of her famous hits, including “Umbrella,” “We Found Love,” “Stay,” “Rude Boy,” “Diamonds,” and “Work.”
During her time on stage, the Fenty Beauty CEO addressed Anant and Radhika, expressing, “I’m here tonight in honor of Anant and Radhika. Thank you for having me here. God bless your union. I wish you all the best. Congratulations.”
In case you’re curious, Ambani’s father has a current net worth of $113 billion and is the head of the company, Reliance Industries.
By the way, the pre-wedding party is a three-day event and is set to continue into Monday, March 4. According to the Daily Mail, the event cost over $120 million.
Akademiks & Meek Mill Offered $1M For Celebrity Boxing Fight
DJ Akademiks is accusing Meek Mill of being a snitch after cops allegedly showed up to his house -- and if he wants to fight the rapper ... they now have the opportunity to do so!
There's a lucrative 7-figure offer on the table to sweeten the deal between these 2 foes ... and it comes courtesy of Celebrity Boxing czar Damon Feldman.
He tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he's got a cool $1 million purse locked and loaded for Ak and Meek -- in addition to other amenities, if they wanna take him up on this. Damon also says he has a venue in Atlanta booked for May 18, adamant he wants both guys to give it their best.
Meek already has a boxing trainer in his corner, but Damon says he's willing to provide Akademiks with one of his top guys -- if he's inclined to train ahead of the fight.
He tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he's got a cool $1 million purse locked and loaded for Ak and Meek -- in addition to other amenities, if they wanna take him up on this. Damon also says he has a venue in Atlanta booked for May 18, adamant he wants both guys to give it their best.
Meek already has a boxing trainer in his corner, but Damon says he's willing to provide Akademiks with one of his top guys -- if he's inclined to train ahead of the fight.
BEYONCÉ REACHES 2 NEW CAREER MILESTONES AS 'TEXAS HOLD 'EM' TOPS BILLBOARD HOT 100 CHART
Beyoncé‘s “Texas Hold ‘Em” has reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart two weeks after the track’s release, and the Queen Bey has recently celebrated two more career milestones as well.
Chart Data is reporting that as of Friday (March 1), Beyoncé has broken the record for the most unique chart airplay appearances for any female artist — breaking the record previously held by Mariah Carey.
According to the outlet, she has now had songs appear on 18 different airplay charts including those most might expect: Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Airplay, Adult R&B Airplay, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Rap Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay.
Beyoncé has also had songs appear on the Country Airplay, Dance/Mix Show Airplay, Gospel Airplay, Latin Airplay, and Smooth Jazz Airplay charts to name a few. Chart Data has also confirmed that “Texas Hold ‘Em” has officially surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, becoming the singer’s fastest song to reach the milestone.
In addition to all of these new career benchmarks, last week “Texas Hold ‘Em” also became Beyoncé’s first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 Chart.
The tally, which was launched in September 2020, ranks songs based on streaming and sales activity from more than 200 territories around the world. After debuting on the chart at No. 4 in its first week of release, “Texas Hold ‘Em” jumped up an additional three spots in its second week with 59.6 million streams and 43,000 sales units, according to a Billboard report February 26.
The news arrived just one week after Bey officially became the first Black woman to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with the same track.
The publication revealed on February 20 that both the aforementioned track and her other new single “16 Carriages” made for her first two entries on the chart, with the latter debuting at No. 9
KANYE WEST CALLED OUT BY BIANCA CENSORI'S FATHER FOR TREATING HER LIKE 'NAKED TROPHY PONY'
Kanye West has been called out by Bianca Censori’s father – also known as Yeezy’s father-in-law – over the way he’s been dressing his wife.
A report in The Daily Mail from Wednesday (February 28) detailed Censori’s family’s frustration with West’s behavior, particularly the way he’s been outfitting the Australian architect and model.
Insiders close to Ye’s in-laws told the publication that the family is “hurting” as they watch her “being paraded around like a ‘trophy pony.'” They’ve even gone so far as to wonder out loud how he might feel if his daughters North and Chicago were one day treated the same way.
“Bianca’s father Leo wants to have a proper sit down with Kanye and ask him what the hell he is thinking when he parades Bianca around like a trashy naked trophy pony,’ said a source close to the Yeezy architect — whose father is the brother of a notorious gangland killer.
Leo simply wanted Kanye to hear his side of the story, the source added.
“Leo honestly wants to just sit Kanye down to let him know that he is hurting her family by turning his beloved daughter into a trashy-looking marketable commodity,” they explained. “No man should ever encourage the woman that he loves to walk out in public and present herself like this. That isn’t love. That is control.”
Despite what Censori’s family may suggest, Yeezy has been vocal about his love for his wife.
JOE BUDDEN PROCLAIMS ‘THE GIRL RAPPER WAVE IS OVER’: ‘VERY FEW OF Y’ALL ARE SELLING RECORDS’
Joe Budden has made a bold claim about women in Hip Hop, declaring that the thrill surrounding them has died out.
In a clip from an as-yet unreleased episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, the Slaughterhouse MC shared his thoughts regarding the uptick in female rappers over the past few years.
“Y’all ain’t gonna want to hear it from me, but the girl rapper wave is over,” he said. “Just telling you what it is. I’m normally a few months ahead with this stuff, sometimes a few years ahead with this stuff. The girl rapper wave is finito.
“The cream rises to the top, so Latto shall remain; Flo Milli shall remain; Rapsody will always be there, but she wasn’t really a part of [that scene]. But all of that, ‘Go find a girl, send her to Columbia, get it done, put her in the studio with fucking Mike WiLL [Made-It] or any one of them n-ggas’ … all that planting the girl in the scene, getting the record and it taking off — that wave is over.”
He added: “I think labels are looking at it like, ‘Very few of y’all are selling records, it’s too much work to get your coin back, we got to go do brand deals all over the world with ya’ll, ya’ll are expensive, some of ya’ll are annoying,’ and none of these records are working.”
NBA YOUNGBOY'S CONTINUED DRUG USE PUTS PRE-TRIAL FREEDOM AT RISK
NBA YoungBoy‘s freedom has been threatened as the prosecutor in his ongoing federal trial has requested a hearing to address his alleged “noncompliant behavior.”
According to court documents obtained by HipHopDX, the request for a hearing — which was filed on Thursday (February 29) — came because prosecutors have noticed that the Baton Rouge native has allegedly been using drugs, which is in violation of one of the conditions of his pre-trial release.
“The undersigned has learned that the defendant has violated Condition Number (10) and has informed his supervising officer that he has no intentions to discontinue using the substance that resulted in the violation,” read sthe hearing request. “WHEREFORE, the United States respectfully requests that this Court set a hearing to address the violation with the defendant and to determine the appropriate remedial action.” While the specific violation hasn’t been addressed in the paperwork, NBA YoungBoy’s fans have been concerned about the rapper’s excessive drug use, to the point that many are hoping that the rapper “seeks help” for his apparent issues.
On February 1, YB, who has been on house arrest in Utah since 2021, uploaded a picture to Instagram of himself lying on the floor next to a bottle of prescription pills and a Styrofoam cup full of what appears to be lean.
The “Right Foot Creep” rapper, who has a vacant expression on his face in the photo, wrote in the caption: “& that’s why I don’t pick up my phone when it rings.”
The alarming photo sparked immediate concern from his followers, with many flocking to the post to express their worries about his health.
LIL WAYNE CALLS OUT LAKERS OVER COURTSIDE TREATMENT & HAS THEORY WHY
Lil Wayne is a noted Los Angeles Lakers fan, but it appears the love doesn’t go both ways.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night (February 29), the Young Money rapper claimed he was “treated like shit” while attending the Lakers’ home game against the Washington Wizards.
Weezy didn’t elaborate on his allegations, but he did say that he’d been getting the distinct vibe that team officials didn’t like him.
He also offered a theory behind the mistreatment, linking it to past comments he made about Lakers star Anthony Davis.
“Wow! Got treated like shit at the Laker game just now but I figured they’d do me [like] that sooner or later either bc of what i said abt AD or simply bc they don’t fwm which I been got that vibe from em as well so all good I get it,” he wrote.
“Fuck em. It isn’t what it isn’t. I’m used to it.”
Terrence Howard’s Gotta Pay Nearly $1 Million in Back Taxes to the U.S. Government
*Terrence Howard, probably best known for his role in Fox’s “Empire” and movies like “Hustle & Flow” and “Iron Man,” has found himself in hot water with the IRS.
Last year, the federal government filed a complaint against Howard for allegedly owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
The IRS claimed that Howard had not paid his taxes for five years, from 2010 to 2019, resulting in a hefty bill of $578,000. Despite multiple attempts to contact him and resolve the issue, Howard failed to respond or appear in court to defend himself.
As a result, a federal judge recently ruled in favor of the IRS, ordering Howard to pay $903,114.72, reports TMZ. This amount includes the unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest accrued over the years.
Howard now faces the task of repaying Uncle Sam a significant sum of money, which could have serious consequences if left unresolved.
It serves as a stark reminder that even celebrities are not exempt from their financial obligations to the government.
Umm, err, tell that to Donald Trump.
It is unclear why Howard ignored the federal complaint and failed to address the issue. While he remains active on social media promoting his projects, he has not publicly commented on the tax evasion case.
On the heels of Donald Trump’s totally expected GOP presidential primary win over Nikki Haley on Saturday (02-24-24), his new line of sneakers will be a great tool for winning black voters, according to Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo.
In his eyes, the $399 shoes are a great way for the former commander-in-chief to connect with black voters and, ultimately triumph in his bid to win the 2024 presidential election. Needless to say, Arroyo’s logic is not fact-based. HuffPost notes It stems from racist stereotyping as he insists the footwear will connect with Black folks who plan on exercising their right to choose the next president.
Ok.
“So when you have Trump roll out his sneaker line, they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, this is cool,’” said Arroyo, who sees success with the shoes because “they love sneakers” and they are “a big deal, certainly in the inner city.” “He’s reaching them on a level that defies and is above politics. The culture always trumps politics, and Trump understands culture like no politician I’ve ever seen.”
Arroyo’s support of Trump’s shoe endeavor comes after #45 launched his sneaker brand one day after New York judge Arthur Engoron ordered him to pay $355 million in penalties. The ruling came after the judge found Trump fraudulently valued parts of his real-estate empire to secure favorable loans. News of the hefty penalty has triggered speculation that the GOP presidential nomination frontrunner is using the sneaker line to raise money to pay the civil fraud case penalty, among other debts, HuffPost mentioned.
