Traxamillion, Producer Who Helped Popularize Bay Area's Hyphy Sound, Dead at 42

Courtesy Prashant “PK” Kumar

Traxamillion, a prolific hip-hop producer and one of the pioneers of the Bay Area's hyphy hip-hop movement, is dead at 42.

According to his manager, Prashant “PK” Kumar, the artist, born Sultan Banks, died Sunday at his aunt's house in Santa Clara, California, where he was on hospice — ending a long battle with a rare form of cancer that began for him in 2017.

“He was an amazing musician/producer,” Kumar told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He was an integral part of the hyphy music sound who helped reopen the door for Bay Area hip-hop. He did it in 2004 or 2005, and the rest of California got on it and adapted his sound.”

Born in East Orange, New Jersey, and raised in San Jose, California, where he attended Andrew Hill High School in San Jose before moving on to San Jose City College to further his education; Banks was a force both behind-the-scenes and behind the mic in helping popularize hyphy music. 

Rest In Peace @traxamillion 🙏🕊️ The San Jose producer who helped create the "Hyphy" sound passed away today. This is a huge loss for Northern California 💔 We send our condolences to his family & loved ones. #RIPTraxamillion pic.twitter.com/I3k4NsUq5M

— Thizzler On The Roof (@TheThizzler) January 2, 2022

His production work with Oakland, California, rapper Keak da Sneak, who coined the term hyphy was its self-proclaimed king, on songs like "Super Hyphy" helped shape the genre's sound in the mid-2000s. While his biggest project, a compilation album released in 2006 featuring Banks and an all-star squad of hyphy rappers flowing over his beats, “Traxamillion Presents the Slapp Addict,” remains iconic in the Bay.

“That album is often referred to as the soundtrack of the hyphy movement,” Kumar said.

Banks, also worked with other prominent Bay Area rappers, including mainstream music icons, Too Short and E-40, the latter of whom shared a heartfelt tribute to him on Instagram following the news of his death.

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Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty of All But One Charge in Sex Trafficking Case

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Following six days of deliberations, Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty Wednesday on all but one count in a sex trafficking trial that has gripped the nation.

The 60-year-old former companion of disgraced financier, and alleged rapist and pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted of conspiring with him for over a decade to recruit, groom and sexually abuse underage girls by a federal jury in Manhattan.

Maxwell, who has been held without bail since her arrest in July 2020, faced six counts related to her role in aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls between 1994 and 2004.

The jury, comprised of six men and six women, found her guilty of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking of minors.

Maxwell, who was not found guilty of enticing a minor to travel across state lines to engage in illegal sex acts, faces up to 65 years in prison for her crimes.

"A unanimous jury has found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable -- facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following the verdict. "I want to commend the bravery of the girls -- now grown women -- who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today's result, possible."

"This Office will always stand with victims, will always follow the facts wherever they lead, and will always fight to ensure that no one, no matter how powerful and well connected, is above the law," Williams added.

Maxwell, the daughter of a British media mogul, plead not guilty to all the charges but could not escape the specter of her former companion, Epstein (66), who was found hanged in a jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner.

Her defense team tried to separate her image from that of Epstein. They argued that the government’s case was based on flimsy evidence, and pointed to money as the motivation for the women that came forward to accuse her.

The prosecutors unfurled reams of evidence that the two were life partners for many decades and that Maxwell was active and took the lead in decisions related to the trafficking of women.

“Ms. Maxwell was a sophisticated predator who knew exactly what she was doing,” a prosecutor, Alison Moe, told the jury in closing arguments Monday. “She manipulated her victims and groomed them for sexual abuse.”

Dr. Dre and Ex-Wife Nicole Young Reach $100 Million Divorce Settlement

Instagram @therealbreyonprescott

With the holidays upon us in full force and Omicron causing a new wave of Covid concerns and cancellations, it’s no surprise that some of us might have forgotten about Dr. Dre — more specifically his ongoing divorce battle with Nicole Young.

The couple, married for 24 years before Nicole filed for divorce in 2020, citing irreconcilable differences, were declared legally single in June of this year after filing legal paperwork that terminated marital or domestic partnership status between them.

Now, according to reporting from TMZ the 56-year-old music mogul and his ex (51), have finalized the rest of the divorce with a settlement that will give her less than 1/5 of his estimated $820 million dollar fortune.

Thanks in part to a prenuptial agreement, which Nicole contested, Dre will pay Young just $100 million split into two payments, one now and another a year from now. While the sum is significant, things could have gone much worse for the artist.

Dr. Dre and ex-wife Nicole Young reached a massive divorce settlement Tuesday that will see Young walk away from their 24-year marriage with $100 million https://t.co/7nWtmf7sL4

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) December 28, 2021

Young originally filed for half of everything, but her attempts to overturn the prenuptial agreement outright proved futile in the end. The couple will split a fleet of 10 cars, with Dre getting six and Nicole receiving four. Dre retained much of their property — including a Malibu home; two homes in Calabasas, and four properties in the L.A. area, including their $100 million Brentwood estate, and most importantly, he keeps the full rights to his master recordings, trademarks, and interests in various partnerships and trusts.

Young was allowed to retain all the money in her personal accounts accrued and jewelry she received while married to Dre but loses the right to spousal support and must pay the millions in legal bills she piled up fighting the prenuptial agreement. The couple’s kids, son Truice (24) and daughter Truly (20), are adults.

The ruling is seen by many as a victory for the music producer, but it may hurt him more financially than initially thought according to reporting from Rolling Stone. He filed paperwork in Nov. during divorce proceedings that placed his net worth at $458.2 million, with $182.7 million in cash; another $6.3 million in stocks, and $269.2 million in property and assets, including intellectual property. Much of his estimated wealth comes from his stake in Beats Electronics, which Apple bought for $3 billion in 2014. His stake was worth $800 million at the time, and. It is unclear what accounts for the discrepancy.