Snoop Dogg Drops Surprise Project, 50 Cent Announces Europe Tour

Rapper Snoop Dogg and his wife, Shante Broadus, are featured on the cover art for Snoop Dogg's surprise new album and short film, "Iz It a Crime?", set for release May 15.

Snoop Dogg put fans on notice today during an appearance on "Access Hollywood," revealing “Iz It a Crime?,” a surprise album and companion short film set to arrive Thursday via Death Row Records and γamma. “I’m dropping a brand-new movie and an album,” the Long Beach legend said. “It’s some of the things that I’ve done that have been speculation. I just want to ask the question — ‘Is it a crime for me to be me?’”

Recorded between Los Angeles and Nashville, “Iz It a Crime?” finds Snoop reflecting on his life and career with guest turns from Sexyy Red, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell Williams, LaRussell and October London. “When people are around me, they feel like they already know me,” he explained, calling that intimacy the project’s guiding light after recent forays into gospel on “Altar Call” and preschool education with “Doggyland.”

 

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Meanwhile, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson will embark June 8 on a 12-city European run celebrating both his 50th birthday and his blockbuster catalog. The “Legacy Tour” opens at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt and hits major festivals and arenas before wrapping Aug. 10 in Warsaw, Poland.

Jackson’s tour pages promise deep cuts (“Many Men,” “In da Club”) alongside surprise guests, underscoring 50 Cent’s knack for turning nights into events. Between corporate investments and his “Power Book” series, he’s shown the blueprint for hip-hop multiplied — and multiplied again.

Confirmed 50 Cent “Legacy Tour” dates:
June 8 – Frankfurt, Germany (Deutsche Bank Park)
June 14 – Manchester, England (Parklife Festival)
June 21 – Rabat, Morocco (Festival Mawazine)
June 28 – Hannover, Germany (Heinz von Heiden Arena)
July 3 – London, England (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
July 6 – Dublin, Ireland (Longitude Festival)
July 11 – Glasgow, Scotland (TRNSMT Festival)
July 12 – Frauenfeld, Switzerland (Openair Frauenfeld)
July 13 – Paris, France (Paris La Défense Arena)
Aug. 6 – Skanderborg, Denmark (Smukfest)
Aug. 8 – Tallinn, Estonia (Tallinn Song Festival Grounds)
Aug. 10 – Warsaw, Poland (PGE Narodowy)

John Edwards, Frontman for R&B Group The Spinners, Dead at 80

John Edwards, the lead singer who helped sustain The Spinners’ chart success from 1977 through 2000, has died at 80, the group announced Saturday on its official Facebook page.

Edwards, a Missouri native who took over for Phillippe Wynne, lent his baritone to hits such as “Working My Way Back to You” and “Cupid” and was inducted alongside the group into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.

 

Edwards joined The Spinners at age 33, stepping into the shoes of Wynne—whose departure in 1977 left big expectations. “He proved more than capable of bearing the burden, ensuring that the excellence that fans came to associate with The Spinners would continue uninterrupted,” the group’s statement read. “John Edwards is an integral part of The Spinners’ legacy and we will continue to celebrate his contributions to this mighty legacy.”

Before his tenure with The Spinners, Edwards recorded as a solo artist and found modest success, according to SoulTracks, which also reported that he had been in poor health since suffering a stroke more than two decades ago.

 

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The Spinners first rose to fame in the early 1970s with Phil Collins–produced tracks like “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.” They received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976 and were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2015 before their Rock Hall honor. Edwards’ era kept that momentum alive with polished soul-pop that bridged AM radio and disco dance floors.

Edwards retired from touring in 2000 but continued to make public appearances with his former bandmates on special occasions. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Tory Lanez Stabbed in Face During Prison Yard Altercation

Tory Lanez

Tory Lanez was rushed to a Bakersfield hospital Monday after being stabbed multiple times in the face by another inmate during yard time at the California Correctional Institution, TMZ first reported.

Prison officials say Lanez, 32, endured the attack in a Tehachapi exercise yard when an assailant struck him with a homemade weapon. Corrections officers rendered first aid and summoned an ambulance, which transported the rapper to a civilian facility for treatment of his facial wounds.

Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence for the July 2020 shooting of fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion outside a Hollywood Hills party. He was convicted in December 2022 on three felony counts — assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence — and remains free to appeal.

In January, Megan Thee Stallion obtained a five-year restraining order against Lanez, telling a judge she feared he might attack her again. In April, her lawyers sought to hold him in contempt after he “disrupted” her deposition in a civil defamation case she filed against influencer Milagro Cooper.