BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

This year rapper Kanye West has been at the centre of many controversies.

So far West had been banned from performing at the 2022 Grammy Awards, he received a one-day suspension from Instagram after making racist comments towards The Daily Show host and 2022 Grammys host Trever Noah (who had voiced concerns over the rapper’s conduct) and had continuously trolled ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her now former ex-boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson.

The controversy does not end there as West continued to stir up more controversy this month.

The rapper recently received backlash from many celebrities after spending more than three hours making insulting comments towards different celebrities and going on an antisemitic rant while he made an appearance on a now-removed episode of Revolt TV’s Drink Champs podcast.

During the podcast, West also made misinformed comments on the death of George Floyd by claiming Floyd did not die by having former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneel on his neck, but by a fentanyl overdose.

On October 18^th, 2022, the family of George Floyd announced their plan to file a $250 million lawsuit against West, his business partners, and associates for the comments he made on Floyd’s death.

Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd’s only daughter, filed the lawsuit and will be suing for harassment, defamation, misappropriation, and inflicting emotional distress.

Lawyers representing the family also issued a cease and desist letter to West for his comments and said they were a “Repugnant attempt to discount George Floyd’s life and to profit from his inhumane death.”

While fentanyl was found in Floyd’s system, a toxicology report did not identify it to be part of his cause of death.

Chauvin, who was found guilty of violating Floyd’s civil rights and has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death, is currently serving a 21-year federal sentence and a 22 1/2-year state sentence, which will be served concurrently.

Due to all the controversy that has been surrounding Kanye West in recent months, people and organizations have been urging companies who have worked with West to sever their business ties with him.

As of Friday, October 21^st, 2022, one of those companies recently decided to part ways with the rapper.

The French luxury fashion house Balenciaga became the first company to sever ties with West after the rapper made a series of anti-Semitic comments and misinformation on the death of George Floyd.

According to a statement sent to the Women’s Wear Daily, Kering, the parent company to Balenciaga, provided a statement them with a short statement saying:

“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects relating to the artist.”

West has had a long history with the luxury brand due to the close relationship he had with the luxury fashion house’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia.

Balenciaga has since removed the rapper’s look from his runway debut at Paris Fashion Week and a section featuring the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenziaga collaboration from their website.

While Balenciaga severed their ties with West, the Anti-Defamation League, Campaign Against Anti-Semitism and many celebrities are calling for Adidas to also end their partnership with the rapper.

Adidas, who has been collaborating with West since the release of his Yeezy brand in 2015, currently have their business partnership with the rapper ‘under review.’

Amid all of his most recent controversies, it seems as if Kanye West has an ally who has recently come to his defence.

Candace Owens came to the defence of her friend as she has threatened to sue the family of George Floyd in response to the lawsuit they filed against West after the rapper claimed it was a drug overdose that contributed to Floyd’s death and not police brutality.

According to Mediate, Owens based Floyd’s family in a recent podcast of her show after it was announced that his family will be suing West over the comments he made on Floyd’s death.

“I’m also sick of frivolous lawsuits. You know, if this is actually considered credible – if you sue somebody because you’re feeling ‘emotionally distressed’ because of them going out and saying things – well then I think that I have grounds to sue George Floyd’s estate,” said Owens during her podcast episode.

Owens said she is considering seeking lawyers’ advice to file a complaint against Floyd’s family.

BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

Jamaican artists, Vybz Kartel and Stefflon Don, paired together again on their newly released dancehall single, “Amazing.”

Amazing, which was released last Friday, marks the second time the two artists have collaborated together, after both were featured on late rapper XXXTENTACION”S track, Royalty.

The single is also one of many songs of the dancehall producer Dunw3ll’s PlayStation Riddim, which featured the most streamed songs by Jamaican artists.

Other songs featured on this riddim include: “Day 2 Day” by Sean Paul, “Bye Bye” by Shenseea, “BFF” by Govanna featuring Romeo Nelson and “Please Yuh Girl” by Moyann Montique.

Dunw3ll is also credited for Vybz Cartel’s 2016 hit, Fever, which received a Gold Certification Plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2020.

There’s more great news for Jamaican artists. Even though Popcorn has a collection of plaques, this plaque he recently earned is special as this is his first Canadian platinum certification for his featured single, “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times).”

Music Canada issued the Platinum Single certification on September 14^th, 2022 after selling more than 80,000 units in combined digital and physical sales and on-demand audio streaming in the country.

The single had also been certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) after selling 200,000 units and was certified gold in March of last year in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after seeing more than 500,000 units.

The song, which was by English producer/DJ Jamie XX and also features American rapper Young Thug, is the third single from Jamie xx’s 2015 debut album, “In Colour.”

More great news for Popcaan is a collaboration between the dancehall artist and rapper Post Malone, which is apparently in the works.

Post Malone’s manager, Dre London, who is currently promoting his tequila brand Don Londre’s broke the news of the collaboration and hopes for more collaborations in the future.

Since Popcaan’s rise to fame, the dancehall artist has been part of a long list of international collaborations with artists such as: Pusha T, Busta Rhymes, Chaka Khan, Megan Thee Stallion, Maroon 5, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Lion, Drake and countless others.

BY JANIECE CAMPBELL

Nicki Minaj shares a trailer for her upcoming documentary!

Trinidadian-born rapper, Nicki Minaj, is giving fans a sneak peek at her upcoming six-part documentary series entitled Nicki.

Nicki shared the two-minute trailer for the series, alongside a caption:

“I took some time to perfect this very intimate, delicate, electrifying, inspiring body of work,” she writes. “As I decide on a home for this project, I can’t help but reflect on what I’m including in this doc. Some things are so personal, it’s scary. It’s like NOTHING you’ve seen before & I need it to be handled with care. Love you so much. Thank you for the continued support.”

The trailer begins with a video of the rapper in New York, when she was young and unknown, and is then followed by clips of her dive into early fame. “You don’t get a manual on how to be a famous rapper,” she says in the clip. “You just learn it as you go.” Produced by Canadian company, Bron Studios, the series bills itself as “a story so raw.”

For now, there is no sight of a release date but she teased on Instagram that the doc would be “coming out sooner than you think.”

Ne-Yo asks for privacy amid cheating accusations from wife

Ne-Yo is fighting to keep a very publicized allegation under wraps.

His wife, Crystal Renay, took it to social media to announce that she will not be staying with her husband after claiming he has been unfaithful to her for eight years.

Crystal shared a personal update about her marriage on Instagram that reads: “8 years of lies and deception. 8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and husband with numerous of women who sell their bodies to him unprotected … every last one of them! To say I’m heartbroken and disgusted is an understatement. To ask me to stay and accept it is absolutely insane. The mentality of a narcissist… I am not a victim. I’m choosing to stand tall with my head held high. If someone can’t love you the way you deserve then it’s up to you to love yourself. With no hate in my heart, I wish him nothing but the best.”

Social media users went into a frenzy after noticing that Ne-Yo seemingly “liked” her post.

The following day, Ne-Yo released a statement of his own: “For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors. Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family’s privacy at this time.”

About a month ago in an interview with Billboard, Ne-Yo spoke on his marital issues and how over the course of the pandemic, he and his wife considered getting a divorce. These problems seemed to blow over since he claimed that they renewed their vows this year.

The pair also welcomed their third child together just a little over a year ago, in June 2021.

NBA legend, Bill Russell, passes away at 88 years old

The NBA has lost a great alum, who revolutionized the game of basketball at a time where the country was heavily racially divided.

Leaving behind the legacy of a true champion, he was an essential part of the Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 years. Russell also earned his last two NBA titles as a player-coach — the first Black coach in any major U.S. sport. A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell was voted the greatest player in the NBA history by basketball writers in 1980. He remains the sport’s most decorated champion, as he also won two college titles and an Olympic gold medal.

Russell died with his wife by his side. A statement was released shortly after.

“Bill’s wife, Jeannine, and his many friends and family thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers. Perhaps you’ll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us, or recall his trademark laugh as he delighted in explaining the real story behind how those moments unfolded,” the family statement said. “And we hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle. That would be one last, and lasting, win for our beloved #6.”

A cause of death has not been revealed, though it’s known that he was battling a long-term illness.

What’s on TV? Upcoming Netflix shows that should be added to your list! 

Feeling like you’ve watched everything on TV? Well, there are quite a few shows and movies coming soon to your big screen that you should tap into!

• Good Burger (premieres August 1^st) is a classic 1997 comedy starring the hilarious duo Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. The film centres around the two taking on the roles of dim-witted teenagers who are forced to save the fast-food restaurant they work at from going out of business.
• Clusterf**k: Woodstock ’99 (premieres August 3^rd) is a three-part documentary series detailing the chaotic events from Woodstock ‘99. Viewers will get the chance to see unseen home movie footage, commercial archive, and artist interviews that retell the story of the festival that promised to celebrate the legacy of the 1969 event but instead tarnished it with violence, vandalism and allegations of sexual assault.
  • I Just Killed My Dad (premieres August 9^th) is a shocking true crime documentary that explores the never before told story of Anthony Templet, who at 17 years old, killed his father and never denied it. This three-episode series examines the psyche of Anthony leading up to the shooting and the journey of his mental and emotional aftermath.
  • Never Have I Ever (premieres August 12^th) is a comedy series starring Mississauga native, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The story revolves around a first-generation Indian-American teenager in the midst of a traumatic year who wants to improve her social status at school. However, friends, family, and feelings don’t make it easy on her.