Black Immigrant Daily News

Tina Knowles-Lawson issued a strong defense of her daughter Beyonce amid criticism over her new album, Renaissance.

According to Lawson, Beyonce is the hardest working person she knows and has witness first hand her grind over the last two years to put together this album. The music icon has been getting flack from all corners of the music spectrum including from fellow singer Kelis over a sample she did not know was coming.

“I’ve watched for over two years all of the constant hard work, the sacrifice sometimes of time with her family, the all night sessions, working while sick, weekends and then nurturing three kids,” Tina Knowles wrote. “She minds her own business and does not speak badly of anyone, never puts anyone down, Is always loyal and kind. Takes care of her bussiness don’t mess with nobody. So I am proud of you.”

Meanwhile, the Lemonade artist on Friday shared her gratitude to her fans for waiting patiently for the official release of her seventh studio album Renaissance even though leaks of the album were available online and across social media platforms.

The album was officially released on Friday, and the artist wasted no time commending her dedicated ‘BeyHive’ for being faithful and loyal as they waited for the official release from the artist to support her.

On her Instagram account, she shared a message expressing her deep gratitude for fans who waited on the project. It’s been six years since Beyoncé released a solo album.

“So, the album leaked, and you all actually waited until the proper release time so you all can enjoy it together. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said as she publicly acknowledged the leak for the first time.

“I can’t thank y’all enough for your love and protection. I appreciate you for calling out anyone that was trying to sneak into the club early,” the artist continued. Beyoncé also added to her fans, “I love you deep.”

In the meantime, fans online reacted with mixed reviews, but many of the artist’s loyal fans raved about the album calling it Album of the Year.

“I hope artists are taking note from Beyoncé, hoping they’re scraping whatever it is they had and going to the drawing board,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“Beyoncé is literally the only celebrity that grabs my attention in the way she does. Everyone else I’m just like oooo nice new album how fun, but nobody could take up my entire weekend!” another person.

“Beyoncé is in a category, class and race all by herself. #RENAISSANCE,” another person said.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Nelly didn’t missed the opportunity to take a dig at Irv Gotti.

The rapper and Ashanti hit the stage to perform their hit single “Body On Me” at the Oakland Arena in California on Friday night, and fans think their appearance together was to send a message to Irv Gotti. Nelly and Ashanti have not been particularly close since their breakup, and even their appearance at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz last year was a bit awkward for the couple.

However, it seems that the former couple is cordial as they performed “Body On Me,” showing off their old chemistry. The song was released in 2008 and features Akon (who was not present for the performance).

While the couple seemed to enjoy performing together, fans think that the couple’s appearance is to troll Irv Gotti, who said this week on Drink Champs that he was “hurt” when he found out that Ashanti was dating Nelly. The Murder Inc boss said he was in love with Ashanti as he insinuated that the two of them were involved in some kind of tryst, although he was married at the time.

Ashanti and Irv Gotti have not been on good terms, especially since she asked for the masters of her music. He has refused to hand them over despite making millions off of her, and he is also unhappy that she is seeking to record over her music so she can have full ownership.

Ashanti and Nelly dated for more than ten years before breaking up in 2014.

On Twitter, fans reacted to the former couple being on stage together.

“I know Irv somewhere fighting air seeing Nelly and Ashanti perform together,” one person wrote.

“Is this and the thing about him seeing Nelly and Ashanti together all from one interview or is this dude obsessed and talking about her all the time? I really need him to move on and seek therapy,” another person said.

“So Nelly and Ashanti performed together at his recent show. country grammar wins again lol somebody check on irv,” another person said.

In the meantime, Irv’s Drink Champs interview appears to be a venting session instead of therapy, as he gets angry when talking about Ashanti’s music and her effort’s to re-record her album.

According to him, Ashanti wants to cheat him out of the monies he earns from royalties from her music. Based on what Gotti says, it’s clear that although he claims to have worked on her music, he and Ashanti do not share the royalties as he has all of the ownership.

“Lucy and Grange weren’t in the studio with you making those records, I made those Ashanti records, oh I made those records,” he tells Nore. “Like She wrote them but she wrote them with the help of me telling her what to write,” he said.

Irv goes on to say that he ‘helped’ to make the records, and he tries to explain why he has 100% ownership of the records, although if he helped, it would be fair business practice to ensure that all the persons who helped earn from the records.

“I don’t lie. I helped make those records so I own them. I never sign my artists to 360 deals, I never said give me some of your show money… I never did that, I feel I was always very good to my artist,” he said.

However, Ja Rule, who was on the show with Irv Gotti, interjects to remind him to be fair as 360 deals never existed at the time, which contradicts Gotti’s statement about being good to artists.

“Let me make this statement, artists have ways of getting money, Rule makes a lot of money from shows, Ashanti makes a lot of money doing shows so what’s left for the guys doing the records, how do I make money? How I make money out of this is the masters so how am I supposed to feel when you remove that aspect, you really saying you don’t want sonny, JJ and Angie, my beautiful kids, you don’t want them to eat,” he says.

Although Gotti says if Ashanti gets to re-record her label, it would take away money from his children, elsewhere in the interview, he boasts about funding a $250 million documentary on Murder Inc as he again becomes obsessively angry at Ashanti for refusing to be a part of the documentary.

Ashanti is seeking to re-record her album under the cover laws, but Gotti says she would need the stems of the tracks to do that, and he is not going to give them to her.

“Ashanti I’m not falling for the banana in the tailpipe. This is where it’s going. She’s been performing for 20 years and she’s never asked for her stems. This is what happened, she went in the studio and tried to re-do ‘baby, baby, baby.’ She probably went in the studio, tried to and fell drastically short with people saying that don’t stand like what they did. So you want me to give you my stems of your whole album now after 20 years, you say you need it for shows, you want to take my stems and now you will be able to remake your f*****g album,” he says, raising his voice.

“When she’s on the shows and she says she will ‘spritz it up and jazz it up’, Ashanti you cannot spritz it or or jazz it up, the minute you spritzy it up and jazz it up it’s not a cover now it has to come back to me to clear it… If you change anything, it reverts back to the writers to clear it, let me just give you the answer right now, NO!” he shouts.

“NO!” so it’s up to you and whatever bullshit players and musicians you have to recreate the magic…” Gotti says.

Ashanti has not responded to Gotti’s interview. She had previously stated her album was to drop in February of this year, but that time has passed with no explanation, although Irv Gotti’s statements reveal the real reason Ashanti’s album hasn’t been ready.

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