Monday, September 8, 2025

At VMAs, Mariah Carey Earns Video Vanguard and First Competitive Moon Person


Mariah Carey finally got her MTV moment — twice. The singer accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at Sunday’s 2025 MTV Video Music Awards and, earlier in the night, won her first competitive VMA, taking Best R&B for “Type Dangerous.”

Carey marked the honor with a career-spanning medley that doubled as a reminder of her video legacy. She opened with her new single “Sugar Sweet,” then flipped through “Fantasy,” “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed” and “It’s Like That,” closing with a string-kissed “We Belong Together.” Ariana Grande presented the Vanguard; onstage, Carey joked about the long wait for her first Moon Person and nodded to the show’s role in her career.

The telecast — hosted by LL Cool J at UBS Arena — threaded legacy and spectacle. Ariana Grande took Video of the Year for “Brighter Days Ahead,” and Lady Gaga won Artist of the Year and Best Collaboration for “Die With a Smile” with Bruno Mars. ROSÉ and Bruno Mars earned Song of the Year for “APT.” New special honors expanded the frame: Busta Rhymes received the inaugural Rock the Bells Visionary Award, and Ricky Martin was named the first Latin Icon. The show aired on CBS and MTV with streaming on Paramount+.


Also notable: Doechii won Best Hip-Hop for “Anxiety,” Tyla took Best Afrobeats for “PUSH 2 START,” and LISA’s “Born Again” — featuring Doja Cat and RAYE — won Best K-pop. BLACKPINK claimed Best Group; Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet won Best Album.

What lingered was Carey’s set — precise, playful and pointed. The cuts that once defined TRL afternoons and late-night countdowns felt newly present, and the acknowledgment finally matched the scale of that history. With “Here for It All” due Sept. 26, the night functioned as both celebration and reset: a Hall-of-Fame résumé met with hardware, and a new chapter arriving on schedule.

Clipse Joins ‘Grace for the World’ Concert in St. Peter’s Square

St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, where “Grace for the World” will feature Clipse, Pharrell Williams with the Voices of Fire Gospel Choir and other artists. The concert streams globally Sept. 13.
After reuniting for “Let God Sort ’Em Out,” their first album in 16 years produced by longtime collaborator Pharrell Williams, Clipse may be finally giving one of the world's most popular deities the chance.

On Saturday, Sept. 13 the duo will take the stage in Vatican City for “Grace for the World,” a live concert set in St. Peter’s Square.

For fans with the means to join the locals, attendance is free, but those without — whom Malice often strikes at with his verbal venom, no worries. It will also be streamed globally on Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live starting 3 p.m. ET / noon PT (with a replay on Disney+).


The placement fits the arc of the year. Pusha T and Malice spent 2025 rebuilding the Clipse voice — reflective, surgical, grown — while Pharrell kept his hands on the wheel, shaping the new set with the same instincts that defined their 2000s run. Tracks like “Ace Trumpets,” “So Be It” and “The Birds Don’t Sing” reintroduced the duo’s contrast: Malice’s spiritual gravity in counterpoint to Pusha’s cold precision. Vatican City extends that tension in the most unexpected of venues.

The lineup underscores the scale. Organizers list Williams with the Voices of Fire Gospel Choir, Maestro Andrea Bocelli, John Legend, Karol G, Clipse, Teddy Swims, Jelly Roll, Angélique Kidjo, and the Choir of the Diocese of Rome led by Maestro Marco Frisina, joined by an international choir under the musical direction of Adam Blackstone. Newly added performers include Jennifer Hudson and BamBam. Aerial drone and light work by Nova Sky Stories — with imagery inspired by the Sistine Chapel — is set to sweep the square overhead.

For a duo that once made stark minimalism feel like gospel, performing beside actual choirs is more than a stunt — it’s a clean through line. The same partnership that forged “Grindin’ ” matured into a record about memory, loss and resolve, and now it’s headed to a stage where the setting amplifies the message.

Friday, September 5, 2025

Dame Dash Seeks Chapter 7 Protection in Florida; Petition Lists $25.3 Million Owed

Damon “Dame” Dash in a recent episode of his web series “Bosses Take Losses,” where he discussed eye surgery and dental work. The Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida, court papers show. (Screengrab)
On Thursday, Roc-A-Fella Records co-founderDamon “Dame” Dash filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida, listing about $25.3 million in liabilities and only a few thousand dollars in assets, according to the petition.

The filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida estimates one to 49 creditors and reports about $4,350 in personal property against roughly $5,200 in monthly expenses. Schedules attached to the petition list $100 in cash, a $500 phone, $2,500 in jewelry, clothing and two firearms. Dash also reported no current income.

Under Chapter 7, an automatic stay pauses most collection efforts while a court-appointed trustee reviews whether any non-exempt property can be sold to pay creditors. Certain obligations — including child support and many tax debts — are typically not dischargeable.

The petition follows a series of judgments and enforcement actions. In 2025, a federal judge entered a $4 million default judgment against Dash in a defamation case brought by filmmaker Josh Webber tied to the indie film “Dear Frank.” Earlier, in 2022, a jury awarded roughly $805,000 in a related dispute involving Webber and Muddy Water Pictures. Dash’s creditor roster in the bankruptcy includes tax agencies, support arrears and court awards stemming from those cases.

Financial pressure intensified in late 2024, when New York State purchased Dash’s one-third stake in Roc-A-Fella Records at a court-ordered auction for about $1 million to address tax liabilities — a sale that generated headlines but did not resolve his wider debts. This year, judges have pressed compliance on outstanding judgments, including orders to turn over business interests and produce records tied to Dash-controlled entities.

Dash has not issued a detailed public statement about the bankruptcy. Standard Chapter 7 procedure will now move to trustee review and a meeting of creditors.

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