Rapper 6ix9ine went to court on Dec. 18, with a strong possibility of being released from jail. Instead? He has been sentenced to two years in prison. Wahhh.
The rainbow-haired Brooklyn rapper has already been in jail for 13 months, and it is thought his time served will be included in the sentence, paving the way for him to be released November 2020.
6ix9ine was one of the biggest artists in the world for a year-and-a-half span before he was arrested on racketeering charges. His story was emblematic of the quick rise-and-fall in popularity of the music industry, and more generally, the times we live in.
6ix9ine was done dirty by his team when they stole his money whereafter he proceeded to snitch on them in court, prompting memes and outcry from locals and celebrities alike.
With the memes and documentation of the court case and 69’s snitching, the curly-haired clown stayed in the public consciousness enough. Then December approached, and it was expected that due to his compliance and testimony, 69 would be released from prison.
Think of the intrigue, think of the jokes, think of the (both real and metaphorical) shots at 69 had he been walking the streets a free man today. 69 is about as polarizing an artist as I can remember; whether you hate him or love him, you definitely have an opinion.
There are so many questions about the circumstances surrounding 69 once released. Will he venture out into the public often, will he still be his loud, cocky self? Will he still rap about the things he once did, or will his flow sound completely different than what it was before?
Will he still talk shit and post-Instagram videos like this one?
For now, we don’t know. We can only wait and imagine. 69’s sentencing comes as a shocking blow to fans of his music, jokes, and fans of drama in general.
Whatever 69 has cooking up or ready to release when he gets out is going to be entertaining at the very least. But to not see it before the holidays? Sickkkk.
With Bobby Shmurda getting out this summer, and 69 being released a few months after him, 2020 is already looking crazy from the jump.
Details have emerged that Drake paid out $350k to Laquana Morris, also known as Layla Lace, this past November in a settlement where she accused him of sexual assault.
If you remember, Pusha wasn’t the only one accusing Drake of hiding a kid. Similar accusations came forth in 2017 after Drake and Morris had become intimate during the UK leg of his Boys Meets World tour.
While Drake admits the encounter, he always maintained that everything was consensual. However new revelations of him shelling out $350k to the alleged victim paints a new narrative, or at least it should.
Sexual harassment? Settlement? In this here 2019? Under any other circumstance, a report divulging such explosive accusations, even if not proven true, in this era we live in alone, should garner, at the very least, a number one trend on Twitter.
Although they aren’t indictments, we’ve seen this before. Like Bill O’Reilly, who had legal settlements totaling a reported $45 million and Harvey Weinstein, who reached a tentative $44 million deal to resolve lawsuits. What about our current sitting president and his dealing with porn star Stormy Daniels? All that guap for what? It’s not like money absolves guilt too.
With #Metoo #TimesIsUp and other progressive movements, you’d think there’d at least been a cancel Drake campaign. What happened to “believing women?”
However, Mr. OVO has been virtually unscathed by this scandal and there’s only one reason why. Drake is responsible for too many of our favorite memories to let him go that easy.
We’re talking about a man who’s hit, “Best I Ever Had,” debuted on the chart in 2009, and went an unprecedented run of 431 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100. We’re talking about “HoustonAtlantaVegas,” “Controlla” and the co-rapper of WATTBA.
The Canadian culture shifter has had ladies’ hearts from the jump and summers on smash like clockwork. It’d be foolish not to believe that the court of public opinion would afford his graces they wouldn’t other stars.
And, to be clear, Layla’s story doesn’t exactly hold up.
After going public on social media saying that she was pregnant by Drake and appearing on a SiriusXM to confirm the rumors, Drake’s lawyers asked for a paternity test, which she refused.
After the baby gimmick didn’t work, Morris and her legal team fabricated a story that Drake raped her. In the police report, she stated that “she was raped, forced to perform oral sex and falsely imprisoned in Drake’s hotel.”
That’s when he and his lawyer filed against Morris for civil extortion, fraud, emotional distress, abuse of process and defamation, which was settled.
“The filing made by Drake against Layla Lace has been resolved, with Layla avoiding going to trial by agreeing to a stipulated judgment which prohibits her from repeating past statements she made against Drake,” Drake’s attorney Larry Stein said in a statement to TMZ last year.
“Drake and his team are satisfied with this outcome and while Drake appreciates the support he has received, he asks that his fans and the media allow both parties to move on with their lives.”
However, due to the new findings, thanks to the complaint Morris recently filed against her own attorney with the New York Attorney Grievance Committee obtained by The Blast, shouldn’t we be handling Drake and this entire situation a little differently?
Although the complaint violates the settlement between Morris and Drake, it shows that he indeed gave her money despite denying all allegations. Additionally, it exposes explicit details of what took place.
The Blast
According to the complaint, Morris states:
“I, Laquana Morris signed a retainer agreement with Alexander Cabereiras on January 23, 2018. I explained to him that I was sexually assaulted by the rapper Drake.”
Morris then gives explicit details and explains, “How Drake forced me to perform oral on him. It wasn’t your ordinary oral it was more so a fetish where he measured a cup and demanded that I spit in the cup until he had measured it…
“Afterward, he dumped the spit on my face repeating, ‘I wanna see your face messy.'”
Morris also states, “Being that the incident happening in Manchester UK I had to file a police report over there. I called the Manchester Police Department in June 2017.” Subsequently, Drake was investigated by authorities in the UK based on Morris’ complaint and the rapper was eventually cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.
Still, the lead investigator sent Laquana an email explaining that the reason he wasn’t prosecuted is that they couldn’t secure a “100%” conviction, which, sadly, is the case for many women who really have gone through it. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), for every 1,000 rapes, 993 will go unpunished.
I mean, look, I like Drake just as much as the next guy. But if we’re being honest, there wasn’t a rush to judgment nor call for his cancelation because of the music he makes. We may never really know what happened in that hotel room in the UK that night, but Drake deserves more a little more accountability regardless.
Last week the streaming giant Spotify was sued for copyright infringement, using songs without a license and without properly paying the publisher.
Wixen Music Publishing Inc, who is the sole licensee of gems like “Free Fallin” by Tom Petty, “Light My Fire” by the Doors, “(Girl We Got a) and Good Thing” by Weezer, claims Spotify streamed these and countless others like them without a direct or a compulsory license granted permission.
The $1.6 billion Wixen is seeking in damages is an unimaginable amount but it’s not the first time the Stockholm, Sweden-based company has had to shell out cash. In May, they payed $43 million to settle a proposed class action alleging they failed to pay royalties for some of the songs it makes available to users. Sound familiar?
Additionally, Spotify was hit with two more lawsuits where the plaintiffs claim that Spotify hadn’t fully complied with obligations under Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act. According to the group of Wixen songwriters in the filing,
“The Settlement Agreement is procedurally and substantively unfair to Settlement Class Members because it prevents meaningful participation by rights holders and offers them an unfair dollar amount in light of Spotify’s ongoing, willful copyright infringement of their works.”
The Music Modernization Act ,which impacts copyright holders suing over mechanical reproduction.was enacted Jan. 1, 2018, which also when the suite was filed. Spotify is refuting the legitimacy of the claims and plans of fighting in court.
With Tidal facing it’s own financial woes, Apple remains Spotify’s only competitor. But with antics like these, artist may lose trust pull their music (cc: Taylor Swift).
These types discrepancies are the types of kinks you run into when an industry is developing as fast as the streaming one is.
Whether Spotify’s argument will hold is yet to be seen but wither way, the ruling will set precedent on copyright issues in streaming.
“I see you, but are you gon’ do it,” Scott says. “They gon’ catch you; don’t be scared!”
The lawsuit claims Scott, “incited mayhem and chaos through his conduct.”
As for Green, he remembers the fall and the chaos that ensued, instead of giving him proper medical help, security dragged him around and brought him on stage,
“I fell and hit the floor. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by security guards, who scooped me up…Travis Scott was yelling at his security guards to bring me to the stage. They didn’t put a backboard or a neck brace on me or anything, they just kinda lifted me up and pulled me around.”
Travis Scott put out a statement at the time claiming that safety is always a priority,
“The safety of everyone is held in the highest regard and we are currently conducting an internal investigation to ensure that this does not happen again. We are deeply concerned about the guest who was injured and intend to offer him our support.”
This is fucking brutal for Green, but I’m not sure if Scott is liable in this case.
Folks, we fully support going off at all live shows, but stay safe and never jump from elevated surfaces onto a sea of people that will most likely not catch you.
