Showing posts with label Trending. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trending. Show all posts

Friday, July 17, 2026

25 Years After Debut, B2K Returns With First New Single 'Mileage'

B2K has spent the past year proving its reunion could survive a tour. On Friday, the group faced the harder test: whether it could build something new after audiences came back for the memories.

Omarion, J-Boog, Lil Fizz and Raz-B released “Mileage,” their first newly recorded official single together in more than two decades. The song arrived through BPC Music Group as the lead release from “Eclipse,” a studio album scheduled for this fall.

The timing was deliberate. “Mileage” arrived 25 years to the day after B2K released its debut single, “Uh Huh,” on July 17, 2001.

Produced by Ethos, “Mileage” uses the experiences people carry into relationships as its central metaphor. Rather than treating a partner’s past as automatic disqualification, the song argues for acceptance, growth and the possibility of starting again.

“People lived their lives before they met you,” Omarion told YouKnowIGotSoul while discussing the record.

That message is difficult to separate from the group delivering it.

B2K’s members have spent much of their adult lives trying — and frequently failing — to move beyond old disputes, broken trust and public attacks. “Mileage” does not erase that history, but its title fits four men attempting to make use of everything they traveled through before returning to the same studio.

Bobby Yan directed the accompanying video, which places the group’s synchronized choreography amid an industrial warehouse, a Los Angeles rooftop and automotive imagery built around the song’s title. The presentation allows the members to look and perform like grown men without asking them to imitate the teenagers who helped define early-2000s R&B.

B2K first introduced “Mileage” during its late-June Verzuz battle with Pretty Ricky. Friday’s full release, however, marks the first time the latest reunion has produced an official new single rather than another tour, television appearance or performance of the group’s established hits.

The original lineup previously reunited for the Millennium Tour in 2019 but did not release new music. That comeback eventually gave way to another round of public disagreements and separation.

The current reconciliation became visible in April 2025, when J-Boog, Lil Fizz and Raz-B joined Omarion during the final stop of his Millennium Tour. The full group followed with a surprise performance at the BET Awards that June.

This year, B2K reunited with Bow Wow for the Boys 4 Life Tour, reviving a partnership that helped make the Scream Tour era a defining moment for young R&B and hip-hop audiences.

The reunion did not require anyone to pretend the intervening years had been peaceful.

B2K split amid internal friction, financial disagreements and disputes involving its management. The years that followed included public insults and long periods when the members did not speak to one another.

“It definitely starts with maturity,” Fizz told The Associated Press earlier this year while discussing the reconciliation.

The new recording process also gives the members a degree of control they say they did not have during their original run.

“We picked every record, we’re making all the decisions,” J-Boog told the AP.

B2K has not announced an exact release date or complete track list for “Eclipse.” The group has said the album will address more mature subjects and reflect the members’ lives as adults rather than attempt to recreate the teen records that made them famous.

The members also have returned to the studio with The Underdogs, the production team whose earlier work with B2K included “Gots Ta Be.”

The album would be B2K’s first studio project since “Pandemonium!” and its first full-length group release since the soundtrack to the 2004 film “You Got Served.”

That original run was brief but substantial.

B2K’s self-titled debut reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped the R&B albums chart. “Bump, Bump, Bump,” featuring Diddy, later reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the group’s biggest hit.

Those records ensured that B2K would always have a market for reunions. They do not guarantee an audience for new material from four men now speaking to listeners who grew up alongside them.

Nostalgia got B2K back into arenas. “Mileage” is the first evidence that the reunion intends to go somewhere new.

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Young Thug Takes YSL's New Generation on First Headlining Tour Since 2019

A promotional poster outlines the lineup for "The New Generation Tour." The 23-city international tour, beginning Sept. 1 in Rogers, Arkansas, marks Young Thug's first headlining run since 2019 and features special guest NAV alongside emerging Young Stoner Life Records artists.
Young Thug is taking YSL back on the road, and using his return to introduce the artists he expects to
carry the label forward.

The Atlanta rapper announced “The New Generation Tour,” his first headlining run since 2019. The 23-date U.S. and European trek opens Sept. 1 at Walmart AMP in Rogers, Arkansas, and closes Oct. 24 at Adidas Arena in Paris.

NAV will appear on all 19 U.S. dates. The tour also will showcase Young Stoner Life Records signees Tezzus, Diamond*, 1300saint, Iyrus, Yume, Biggs and Unky, placing a new YSL lineup alongside one of the most influential and unconventional rappers to emerge from Atlanta’s 2010s takeover.

The route includes a Sept. 20 homecoming at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, followed by three Texas dates: Sept. 27 at 713 Music Hall in Houston, Sept. 29 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving and Sept. 30 at Moody Amphitheater in Austin.

The U.S. leg ends Oct. 4 at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. Young Thug and the YSL lineup then travel to Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Germany; Łódź, Poland; and Paris.
Young Stoner Life Records presents
“The New Generation Tour”
Young Thug with NAV and the YSL roster
NAV is scheduled to appear on every U.S. date.
U.S. dates
Sept. 1Rogers, Ark.
Walmart AMP
Sept. 3Minneapolis
The Armory
Sept. 5Chicago
Aragon Ballroom
Sept. 8Sterling Heights, Mich.
Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
Sept. 10Camden, N.J.
Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Sept. 11Boston
MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Sept. 13New York
SummerStage in Central Park
Sept. 15Washington
The Anthem
Sept. 16Virginia Beach, Va.
The Dome by Rutter Mills
Sept. 18Charlotte, N.C.
Bojangles’ Coliseum
Sept. 19Raleigh, N.C.
Red Hat Amphitheater
Sept. 20Atlanta
Lakewood Amphitheatre
Sept. 23Tampa, Fla.
Yuengling Center
Sept. 25Birmingham, Ala.
Coca-Cola Amphitheater
Sept. 27Houston
713 Music Hall
Sept. 29Irving, Texas
The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sept. 30Austin, Texas
Moody Amphitheater
Oct. 2Phoenix
Arizona Financial Theatre
Oct. 4Inglewood, Calif.
YouTube Theater
European dates
Oct. 14Amsterdam
AFAS Live
Oct. 17Düsseldorf, Germany
PSD Bank Dome
Oct. 21Łódź, Poland
Atlas Arena
Oct. 24Paris
Adidas Arena

General ticket sales begin Friday at 10 a.m. local time through Live Nation, Ticketmaster and the tour’s official website. Artist and other presales began earlier this week.

The tour represents more than a return to buses, backstage rooms and nightly set lists.

Young Thug’s last headlining trek was the strangely titled Justin Bieber Big Tour, a 2019 co-headlining run with Machine Gun Kelly that did not include Justin Bieber. He has made several major festival appearances since returning to the stage, including Coachella this spring, but “The New Generation Tour” will be his first sustained headlining itinerary in seven years.

His formal return to live performance began at the Summer Smash festival near Chicago in June 2025, where Travis Scott, T.I. and Ken Carson joined him during his first public concert since March 2022.

Young Thug, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, had spent more than two years in custody before his release in October 2024 ended his part in the sprawling Georgia racketeering case involving YSL.

Williams pleaded guilty to one gang charge, three drug charges and two gun charges. He entered no-contest pleas to another gang count and racketeering conspiracy, meaning he did not admit guilt but accepted punishment as though he had.

A judge imposed a 40-year sentence structured around five years commuted to time served and 15 years of probation. An additional 20-year prison term can be imposed if Williams violates the conditions of his probation.

That case kept the YSL name attached to court testimony, criminal allegations and debates over the use of rap lyrics as evidence for years. The tour places the emphasis back on Young Stoner Life Records — not simply as the company behind Young Thug, but as a label attempting to establish its next class.

Tezzus and Diamond* have already begun attracting some attention as part of Atlanta’s younger underground movement, while the rest of the touring roster gives Young Thug an opportunity to introduce developing artists directly to an audience that may know little about them beyond their YSL affiliation.

That makes “The New Generation Tour” both a comeback and a handoff.

Young Thug has already shown that he can return to a festival stage and command attention. This fall, he will find out whether that return can carry a full international tour, and whether the YSL name can again become known for what happens on records and stages instead of inside a courtroom.

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Lil Durk Scores Pretrial Win, but New Federal Charges Remain Pending

Rapper Lil Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, is shown in a 2024 booking photo after his arrest in Broward County, Fla. A federal judge has ordered two newly added counts tried separately from the murder-for-hire case scheduled to begin Aug. 20. Banks has pleaded not guilty.
A federal judge has separated racketeering-related charges from Lil Durk’s upcoming murder-for-hire trial, preserving the August start date after the rapper’s lawyers argued that prosecutors had expanded the case too late for the defense to prepare.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald granted the defense’s motion Tuesday, severing Counts One and Six of the third superseding indictment from the four counts that will go before a jury Aug. 20.

The ruling is a significant pretrial victory for Durk, whose legal name is Durk Banks, but it is not a dismissal. The severed counts remain pending and may be tried separately at a later date. Banks has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody.

The distinction matters.

Durk’s lawyers did not persuade the court to throw out the government’s expanded indictment. They did persuade Fitzgerald not to make the defense confront the broader racketeering case at the same trial as the allegations it has been preparing to fight since Banks’ October 2024 arrest.

Prosecutors filed the third superseding indictment June 3, about 11 weeks before jury selection was scheduled to begin. The filing added a murder-in-aid-of-racketeering charge and a stalking-conspiracy charge while introducing a wider theory of criminal activity extending beyond the 2022 Los Angeles shooting at the center of the original prosecution.

The expanded allegations describe a group prosecutors call the “Banks Gang Enterprise,” which they claim used violence, drug trafficking and other crimes to strengthen the organization and reward members. Banks and his attorneys deny those allegations.

His defense team argued that prosecutors had taken a relatively focused murder-for-hire case and transformed it shortly before trial by adding years of alleged conduct from Chicago, Atlanta and elsewhere.

The defense said it had spent 19 months preparing for the Los Angeles case before receiving thousands of pages of additional material connected to the government’s expanded theory. Rather than seek another delay, Banks asked the court to separate the new allegations so the original trial could proceed as scheduled.

Prosecutors opposed that request, arguing that separate trials would duplicate evidence and prevent jurors from hearing the complete context surrounding the alleged plot.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Fitzgerald repeatedly pressed prosecutors to explain how the government would be unfairly harmed by severance. His written ruling concluded that prosecutors had not demonstrated sufficient prejudice from holding two trials, according to reporting based on the order.

The August trial stems from the fatal shooting of Saviay’a Robinson near the Beverly Center in Los Angeles on Aug. 19, 2022.

Federal prosecutors allege that Robinson’s cousin, rapper Quando Rondo, was the intended target of a retaliation plot tied to the November 2020 killing of OTF rapper King Von outside an Atlanta nightclub. Robinson was killed, while Rondo was not injured.

The government alleges that Banks offered a bounty for Rondo’s death and that people associated with his Only the Family collective used money tied to the organization to arrange flights, rental vehicles, hotel rooms and other expenses connected to the attack.

Banks is accused of helping finance and direct the alleged plot. He has denied ordering the shooting or offering payment for it.

Prosecutors have also sought to introduce selected lyrics, music videos, social media messages and evidence of public pressure on Banks to retaliate for King Von’s death. Fitzgerald previously allowed some of that material while excluding or limiting other portions, finding that certain lyrics carried too little connection to the charged crime or too great a risk of unfair prejudice.

Banks’ attorneys have consistently challenged the reliability of the government’s witnesses and its use of his music. When prosecutors unveiled the latest indictment in June, the defense called it “lipstick on a pig” and said the new allegations reflected weakness in the original case rather than newly discovered proof.

The Grammy-winning rapper has remained jailed without bond since his arrest in South Florida in October 2024. His trial has been postponed several times, sometimes over his objection, as attorneys reviewed evidence and litigated disputes involving witnesses, lyrics, videos and the defendants who will be tried together.

Tuesday’s order prevents the latest expansion from producing another immediate delay.

Issa Rae Brings ‘Insecure’ Anniversary Tour to 13 Cities This Fall

“Insecure: The 10th Anniversary Tour,” a 13-date fall run led by Issa Rae and showrunner Prentice Penny, with Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Natasha Rothwell scheduled for select appearances opens Sept. 10 in Philadelphia and closes Oct. 8 in Inglewood, California.
Ten years after Issa Dee first worked through her problems by rapping to herself in a bathroom mirror, Issa Rae is taking the stories, arguments and lingering questions of “Insecure” on the road.

Rae announced “Insecure: The 10th Anniversary Tour” on Tuesday, a 13-city run that will reunite her with showrunner Prentice Penny for live conversations about the HBO comedy that made awkwardness, friendship and the everyday lives of Black millennials worthy of prestige television.
 

The tour opens Sept. 10 at The Met in Philadelphia and travels through National Harbor, Maryland; Detroit; Boston; Brooklyn; Montclair, New Jersey; Las Vegas; Oakland; Chicago; Atlanta; Irving, Texas; and Houston. It closes Oct. 8 at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California — the city whose neighborhoods, businesses and changing identity were central to the series.

Yvonne Orji, who played Molly Carter; Jay Ellis, who played Lawrence Walker; and Natasha Rothwell, who played Kelli Prenny, are scheduled to appear on select dates. Organizers have not announced which cast members will participate in each city, so ticket buyers should not assume the full group will appear at every stop.

The live shows are expected to feature behind-the-scenes stories, candid conversations and reflections on the series’ most memorable moments and cultural impact.

Rae announced the tour with a video built around a reunion of the cast’s group chat. After Rae proposes the idea, Ellis, Orji and Rothwell quickly sign on.

“It’s ‘Insecure,’ but we’re very secure now,” Orji says near the end of the clip.

“Come see us on tour,” Rae adds.
 

Created by Rae and Larry Wilmore, “Insecure” premiered on HBO in October 2016 and ran for five seasons before ending in December 2021. The comedy followed Issa Dee and Molly as they negotiated friendship, relationships, work, ambition and the consequences of decisions that often looked much clearer after they had already made them.

The show’s appeal came partly from what it refused to do. Its Black characters did not exist solely to explain racism, carry a social message or serve as flawless examples of representation. They could be selfish, funny, petty, accomplished, confused, loyal and painfully wrong — sometimes within the same episode.

“Insecure” also treated South Los Angeles as more than a backdrop. Restaurants, apartments, neighborhood businesses, art spaces and community events became part of the story as Issa tried to build a career without abandoning the place that shaped her.

Music was just as important.

The series used contemporary hip-hop and R&B as an extension of its characters’ inner lives, placing established artists alongside records that many viewers were hearing for the first time. Solange consulted on the first season’s music, while longtime music supervisor Kier Lehman helped build later soundtracks that included SZA, Jazmine Sullivan, Miguel, Jorja Smith, Leikeli47, Thundercat, The Internet, Dreezy and others.

Songs did more than fill transitions. They carried scenes after the dialogue stopped, helped define Issa and Molly’s emotional distance and gave each season a musical identity that fans discussed alongside the show’s romances and betrayals.
 

The anniversary tour extends a reunion that began in May with “Blocc Party: An Insecure Podcast.” The weekly rewatch series features Rae and Penny revisiting individual episodes, telling stories from the writers’ room and bringing in members of the cast and crew.

A Citi cardholder presale begins Wednesday at noon local time. General ticket sales begin Thursday at noon local time through Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Most listed performances begin at 8 p.m., and several venues identify the events as restricted to guests 18 and older.
The complete tour schedule:
  • Sept. 10 — The Met, Philadelphia
  • Sept. 11 — The Theater at MGM National Harbor, National Harbor, Md.
  • Sept. 13 — The Fillmore Detroit, Detroit
  • Sept. 16 — MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston
  • Sept. 17 — Brooklyn Paramount, Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Sept. 18 — The Wellmont Theater, Montclair, N.J.
  • Sept. 25 — The Palazzo Theatre, Las Vegas
  • Sept. 26 — Fox Theater, Oakland, Calif.
  • Oct. 1 — The Chicago Theatre, Chicago
  • Oct. 2 — Tabernacle, Atlanta
  • Oct. 3 — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Irving, Texas
  • Oct. 4 — Bayou Music Center, Houston
  • Oct. 8 — YouTube Theater, Inglewood, Calif.
“Insecure” ended with its characters growing into lives that once seemed out of reach. A decade after the premiere, Rae is reopening the group chat.

Monday, July 13, 2026

T.I. Lands One More Billboard Top 10 With ‘Kill the King’

The cover art for T.I.’s “Kill the King,” which the Atlanta rapper has described as his final album. The project debuted at No. 10 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, giving him his 13th top-10 entry on the ranking.
T.I. is leaving the album business with one more Billboard top 10.
“Kill the King,” which the Atlanta rapper has repeatedly described as his final album, debuted at No. 10 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart dated July 11. It marks his 13th career top-10 entry on the chart.

The album earned 22,000 equivalent album units in the United States during the June 26-July 2 tracking period, according to Luminate. It also opened at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart and No. 30 on the Billboard 200.

Those numbers fall well short of the blockbuster launches T.I. delivered at his commercial peak, when “King,” “T.I. vs. T.I.P.” and “Paper Trail” each reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

But the latest debut carries a different kind of weight.

Released 25 years after “I’m Serious” introduced T.I. nationally, “Kill the King” extends a chart run that survived shifts from CDs to downloads to streaming — and from Atlanta fighting for rap-industry respect to becoming one of the genre’s dominant centers.

The 18-song album arrived June 26 through Grand Hustle and EMPIRE, nearly six years after 2020’s “The L.I.B.R.A.” It includes the Pharrell Williams-produced “Let Em Know,” which reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. The single also topped Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in March.

“Let Em Know” became T.I.’s first top-40 Hot 100 entry since 2014, giving his farewell campaign a legitimate current hit rather than leaving it to depend entirely on nostalgia.

T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., told People that he had already been living a largely retired life since the pandemic. He said he completed one last album because disappearing without formally closing that chapter would have felt unfinished.

“I’ve gotten everything I prayed for from the game,” he said.

The title completes an idea T.I. has carried for years.

After he began publicly calling himself the “King of the South,” Outkast’s Big Boi warned him that claiming the crown would place a target on his back. Big Boi compared the music business to chess, where the objective is to kill the king. T.I. said he knew then that the phrase would eventually become the title of his final album.

The crown once invited arguments that helped fuel T.I.’s ascent. During the 2000s, he helped move Atlanta trap music into the pop mainstream without sanding away its Southern identity. “Whatever You Like” and the Rihanna-assisted “Live Your Life” both reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, while “What You Know” earned him a Grammy Award and became one of the defining records of his career.

“Kill the King” does not recreate the enormous first-week totals of that era, nor does its No. 30 Billboard 200 opening suggest that it has. Its more meaningful achievement is continuity: another R&B/hip-hop top 10 for a rapper whose first album arrived before streaming, social media and Atlanta’s complete takeover of rap’s center of gravity.

T.I. may no longer be interested in defending the title that made him a target. Billboard’s latest chart still gives the King of the South one more number for the résumé.

Jay-Z Caps Three-Night Yankee Stadium Run With Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher and More

Jay-Z performs Sunday during the “Extra Innings” finale of his three-night run at Yankee Stadium in New York. The show began shortly after midnight following a security breach that temporarily halted entry to the stadium. (Photo/Roc Nation via Instagram)
Jay-Z’s final Yankee Stadium concert began with locked gates and thousands of fans waiting outside. It ended shortly before 3 a.m. Monday with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher and collaborators from across his career helping him close a record-setting three-night run.

A security breach outside the Bronx ballpark forced officials to temporarily stop anyone from entering or leaving Sunday night. A police source told WABC that a large group pushed and shoved its way through security checkpoints, prompting a full lockdown while authorities regained control.

Gates began reopening around 10 p.m. under heightened security and what sources described as a slow, methodical screening process. The concert had been scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., but Jay-Z did not take the stage until about 12:20 a.m. No arrests were reported.

Jay-Z apologized after taking the stage and said he chose not to begin while so many people remained outside, fearing that starting the music could cause a dangerous rush toward the entrances.
@abc7ny There was chaos at Jay-Z's third and final Yankee Stadium concert after a security breach delayed the show. #nyc #jayz #jayzyankeestadium #yankeestadium #concert #entertainment #music ♬ original sound - ABC7NY

“I had to make sure everyone was OK,” he told the crowd.

The Yankees, Roc Nation and Live Nation later issued a joint statement thanking the New York Police Department and Yankee Stadium security personnel for putting attendee safety ahead of other considerations.

Once the show finally started, “Extra Innings” became the broadest of Jay-Z’s three Yankee Stadium concerts. Unlike the first two nights, which centered on specific albums, Sunday’s finale moved freely through his catalog and the relationships that have followed him from Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects to the top of the music business.

Teyana Taylor joined him for “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” the opening song from his 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt.” Jermaine Dupri appeared for “Money Ain’t a Thang,” while Jeezy performed “Seen It All” and “Go Crazy.”

Usher joined Jay-Z for “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love),” “Throwback” and “Part II (On the Run).” The-Dream appeared during “No Church in the Wild,” and Swizz Beatz accompanied Jay-Z through a stretch that included “On to the Next One.”

Rihanna delivered one of the night’s loudest moments when she emerged for “Run This Town,” then remained onstage for “Bitch Better Have My Money.” Pharrell Williams returned for a five-song run before Clipse joined them for “Grindin’.”

Beyoncé appeared later during a medley of “Drunk in Love,” “Tom Ford” and “Partition.” Fat Joe and Jadakiss helped bring the marathon show toward its close with “New York.”

The finale completed a weekend organized around two albums that marked different stages of Jay-Z’s rise.



Friday’s opening concert celebrated the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt.” Beyoncé handled Mary J. Blige’s part on “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” Blue Ivy Carter played piano before “Feelin’ It,” and Nas, Jaz-O, Memphis Bleek and Alicia Keys joined Jay-Z during the night.

Saturday belonged to “The Blueprint,” released 25 years ago. Slick Rick joined Jay-Z for “The Ruler’s Back,” Eminem appeared for “Renegade,” and Pharrell performed five songs with him.

The show also established a Yankee Stadium concert record, selling 45,832 tickets and breaking the mark Jay-Z had set one night earlier.

The guests mattered because they were more than famous names added to a stadium bill.


Jaz-O represented Jay-Z’s years before “Reasonable Doubt,” when the veteran rapper served as an early mentor. Nas stood beside the man he once battled in one of hip-hop’s most consequential feuds. Eminem’s appearance revived “Renegade,” a performance that has fueled rap arguments since “The Blueprint” arrived in 2001.

Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel connected the concerts to Roc-A-Fella’s peak. Dupri, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz and The-Dream represented different phases of Jay-Z’s evolution from street-level New York storyteller to crossover hitmaker. Beyoncé and Blue Ivy placed his family inside the story rather than alongside it.

The staging left room for those connections to carry the shows.

Creative director Willo Perron designed a largely bare stage backed by a massive outfield screen showing archival images from Jay-Z’s life and career. A 10-person band and an 18-piece string section supported the performances without overwhelming them.

“I think the statement piece in a Jay-Z show is Jay-Z,” Perron told Wired.

The Yankee Stadium run was originally announced as two concerts. Organizers added “Extra Innings” after the “Reasonable Doubt” and “Blueprint” shows quickly sold out.

Jay-Z will continue the “Jay-Z 30” anniversary celebration with stadium concerts Sept. 4 in London, Sept. 10 in Paris and Oct. 23 in Inglewood, California. Those shows are tied specifically to the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt,” not the full three-night New York format.

The final night nearly became a story about a security failure and a four-hour wait. Instead, after the gates reopened and the music finally started, Jay-Z finished a weekend that put his debut, his commercial peak, his family, his former rival and three decades of collaborators in the same ballpark.

The delay lasted four hours. The history took three nights.

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Netflix Docuseries Executive Produced by 50 Cent Secures Three Emmy Nominations

Promotional art for the Netflix docuseries “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” is shown in this undated handout image. The project, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, earned three Emmy nominations this week, including outstanding documentary or nonfiction series. The critical television recognition arrived exactly as Jackson faced a separate legal setback in a New York appellate court regarding a disputed life-rights agreement.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson spent the last two decades turning beef, television and personal history into business.

This week showed both sides of that machine.

A New York appeals court on Thursday rejected G-Unit Books’ attempt to win a default judgment against Shaniqua Tompkins, Jackson’s former girlfriend, in a breach-of-contract case tied to a disputed life-rights agreement. The same week, “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” the Netflix docuseries Jackson executive produced, earned three Emmy nominations.

It is a strange but very 50 Cent split-screen: a legal setback over who controls one woman’s story and awards recognition for a documentary about another hip-hop mogul’s fall.

The court loss came from the Appellate Division, First Department, which unanimously affirmed a lower-court ruling denying G-Unit Books’ motion for default judgment and giving Tompkins more time to answer the complaint. The case is listed as G-Unit Books, Inc. v. Shaniqua Tompkins, Index No. 654265/2025.

G-Unit Books had sued Tompkins, accusing her of breaching an agreement by posting online videos and speaking publicly about her past relationship with Jackson. Bloomberg Law reported that the company claimed the posts violated a contract connected to her life story.

The appeals court did not decide whether Tompkins breached the agreement. It ruled that G-Unit Books was not entitled to a quick win before the case was answered.

The panel said the lower court “providently exercised its discretion” in denying G-Unit Books’ motion, pointing to New York’s “strong public policy in favor of litigating matters on the merits.” The court also noted that Tompkins’ delay in answering was “only four months” and that G-Unit Books did not allege prejudice from the delay.

The appellate panel focused heavily on service. Tompkins said she did not receive the summons and complaint. The court said G-Unit Books failed to provide evidence that she lived at the addresses where service was attempted.

At one Jamaica address, a process server was told by security staff that Tompkins no longer lived in the building. At a Greene Avenue address in Brooklyn, a tenant said he did not know her, according to the appellate decision.

The court also rejected G-Unit Books’ argument that publicity around the lawsuit showed Tompkins knew about the case. The panel said Tompkins denied knowing about the lawsuit until October 2025 and that G-Unit Books presented no evidence refuting that denial. A TMZ request for comment did not prove she had notice, the court said.

The lower court ruling, which the appeals court upheld, said Tompkins had raised possible defenses to the case. Judge Robert R. Reed wrote that Tompkins disputed that the “Life Rights Agreement” was entered into voluntarily and had identified possible defenses including duress, illegality and fraud.

That does not mean those defenses have been proven. It means the case continues instead of ending by default.

While G-Unit Books lost that round, Jackson’s television business had a better week.

The Television Academy lists “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” with three Emmy nominations: outstanding documentary or nonfiction series, outstanding directing for a documentary/nonfiction program and outstanding picture editing for a nonfiction program. Jackson is listed as an executive producer on the documentary/nonfiction series nomination.

The nominated Netflix series was produced by House of Nonfiction, G-Unit Film & Television and Texas Crew Productions. Alexandria Stapleton was nominated for directing the episode “Pain Vs Love,” while the editing nomination was for the episode “Blink Again.”

Jackson celebrated the nominations on social media, writing that “everybody had something to say” when the project was announced and that “the Emmys got something to say too."

Music Publisher Reservoir Media Secures Global Rights to T.I. Discography

Multi-platinum recording artist T.I., second from left, poses alongside Reservoir Media executives to celebrate a new publishing agreement. Pictured from left are Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi, T.I., Executive Vice President of A&R and Catalog Development Faith Newman, and President Rell Lafargue. The Atlanta rap pioneer signed a comprehensive worldwide publishing deal with the company on Thursday covering his entire back catalog and future releases. (Courtesy photo)
T.I. is turning his legacy into long-term publishing business.

The Grammy-winning Atlanta rapper has signed a worldwide publishing deal with Reservoir Media covering his back catalog and future works, including his new album, “Kill the King,” the company announced Thursday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement gives Reservoir a role in a catalog that helped push Atlanta trap from regional movement to global rap language. Reservoir said the deal spans T.I.’s full publishing catalog, including his back catalog and future work, and comes as “Kill the King” has debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts.

T.I., born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., has released a catalog that Reservoir said includes 11 studio albums, more than 100 singles and 13 mixtapes. His hits include “What You Know,” “Bring Em Out,” “Live Your Life,” “Dead and Gone” and “Swagga Like Us.”

“I’m very excited about building a strong partnership with Reservoir as we work together to diversify the business and expand the reach of my catalog,” Harris said in a statement.

The deal arrives as T.I. is also positioning “Kill the King” as the closing chapter of his rap career. In a People interview published Thursday, he reflected on retiring from music, family life with Tameka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris and the 25-year arc from his 2001 debut, “I’m Serious,” to his final album.

That makes the Reservoir agreement more than routine catalog housekeeping. It is a legacy move by one of the central figures of 2000s Southern rap at a time when hip-hop catalogs from the CD era are being treated as long-term assets.

Reservoir Executive Vice President of A&R and Catalog Development Faith Newman called T.I. the “King of the South” and said his music helped put Atlanta’s rap scene on the map.

“His crossover successes and enduring popularity have proven time and again how much his music resonates with fans,” Newman said.

Reservoir President and Chief Operating Officer Rell Lafargue said T.I.’s music has “real cultural significance and staying power.”

T.I. won three Grammys during his commercial peak, including best rap solo performance for “What You Know” and best rap/sung collaboration for Justin Timberlake’s “My Love.” He won again in 2009 for “Swagga Like Us,” the Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and T.I. collaboration built around an M.I.A. sample.

His 2008 album “Paper Trail” remains the cleanest example of his crossover reach. The project included “Live Your Life” with Rihanna, “Dead and Gone” with Timberlake and “Whatever You Like,” turning the self-proclaimed King of the South into one of rap’s most reliable pop-chart names without fully detaching him from trap music’s street foundation.

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