Tory Lanez Found Guilty in 2020 Shooting of Megan Thee Stallion

Tory Lanez

Canadian rapper and singer Tory Lanez faces up to 22 years in prison and deportation after being found guilty of three charges in the shooting of fellow musician Megan Thee Stallion.

He was convicted on all three counts against him pertaining to the July 2020 assault on Megan, which left her temporarily unable to walk and forced her to get surgery on both feet.

Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, had pleaded not guilty to assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.

During the nine-day trial, the 30-year-old did not take the stand in his defense. It took the jury, made up of seven women and five men, one day to reach its conclusion, delivering the verdict Friday afternoon after deliberations had begun Thursday.

In a statement to CNN following the verdict, LA County DA George Gascón said Megan “showed incredible courage and vulnerability” during her testimony “despite repeated and grotesque attacks.”  

“You faced unjust and despicable scrutiny that no woman should ever face and you have been an inspiration to others across LA County and the nation,” he said, in reference to Megan.

“Women, especially Black women, are afraid to report crimes like assault and sexual violence because they are too often not believed. This trial, for the second time this month, highlighted the numerous ways that our society must do better for women,” Gascón added, referring to Harvey Weinstein being found guilty of three out of seven charges on Monday

Megan, 27, had accused Lanez of shooting her in the foot after she exited a vehicle they had been riding in following an argument.

"I want him to go to jail,” Megan Thee Stallion told Rolling Stone in a no-holds-barred interview published earlier this year. “I want him to go under the jail.”

Memphis Rapper, Big Scarr, Reportedly Dead at 22

Photo Credit: Gucci Mane/Instagram

The hip-hop world is reeling from the loss of another up-and-coming rapper from Memphis, Tennessee.

Big Scarr has reportedly passed away. He just wrapped up a major year & was preparing to tour with Key Glock and perform at Rolling Loud LA next year. The worst part is that he died right before the holidays.

My condolences go out to his family, Gucci Mane & 1017. RIP Big Scarr pic.twitter.com/2EB1WS2vyx

— Tony M. Centeno (@_tonyMC) December 23, 2022

Gucci Mane confirmed reports that fellow Bluff City artist Big Scarr died Thursday in an Instagram post.

“This hurts,” Mane, whose label 1017 Records signed Scarr in 2020, wrote. “I’m a miss you.”

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A post shared by Gucci Mane (@laflare1017)

No cause of death was given for the 22-year-old, born Alexander Woods, but his demise is the third in less than a year of a prominent Memphis rapper. 

Young Dolph was murdered while at a bakery in Memphis in Nov. of 2021 and Snootie Wild was shot to death in Houston in February. 

RIP Big Scarr. A whole lot of bangers in a very short time.

An entire generation of rap stars killed, dead from an accidental od, or incarcerated before they have the chance to realize their full potential.

A recurring series of tragedies streaming on a cursed infinity loop. pic.twitter.com/rF9QtXU9lR

— Otto Von Biz Markie (@Passionweiss) December 23, 2022

A member of the 2022 XXL Freshman Class, showcasing rap artists on the rise, Scarr moved toward mainstream success in 2021 with the release of the hit single "SoIcyBoyz," Featuring labelmates Pooh Shiesty, who is also his cousin, and Foogiano.

A mixtape by Scarr, "Big Grim Reaper," was released in April of 2021. It sold 22,000 copies in its first week and peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard 200, and earned him his first charting project. 

Former Stars of The 5th Dimension, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Making New Music

Courtesy Photo 

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. — often referred to as "The First Couple of Pop and Soul"— are back in the studio making new music.

After making their return to the Billboard charts for the first time in nearly 40 years In 2021 with "Blackbird Lennon-McCartney Icons," which was released on former supermodel and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland's label EE1 BMG, the husband and wife duo are reteaming with its producer Nic Mendoza for an album the label says will be unique.

"This new music will be two records unlike any others," said kathy ireland Worldwide creative director Jon Carrasco and president Stephen Roseberry.

They added, "What we're hearing is exciting everyone," and said that the release of the new music would coincide with the couple getting their second star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Receiving the star, which will make them the only Black artists to have two on the walk, is just the latest in a long line of accomplishments for McCoo and Davis, who begin their careers as the lead singers of iconic vocal pop group The 5th Dimension.

Founded as the Versatiles in 1965, the group had 20 top 40 hits on the Billboard charts. Its "Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" from the group's 1969 album "Age of Aquarius" held No. 1 for six weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in the spring of that year. The group amassed 14 gold and platinum recordings during its time together.

Following their departure from the group in 1975, they began to record as a duo. Their debut album, "I Hope We Get to Love in Time," produced a chart-topping single in "You Don't Have to Be a Star (to Be in My Show)." It won them the 1976 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

They have continued to sing, act and perform in several mediums since then. Davis (84) had a successful gospel music carer and McCoo (79) was the emcee for television's Solid Gold for much of the '80s.

Recently they appeared in "A Waltons Thanksgiving" on the CW together and they will appear in the sequel, "The Waltons' Homecoming", airing on the Hallmark Channel on December 26. They also appeared in Questlove's Oscar-winning film "Summer of Soul," earlier this year.

"Marilyn and Billy continue to break new barriers and amaze with their bionic voices and talent," Ireland said. "It is a great privilege to represent Marilyn and Billy, the only artists who have sustained marriage, recording and television careers in the 1960s, 70s, 80, 90s, 2010s, and 2020s."