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Rapper M.I.A. Threatens Leak Nicki Minaj & Doja Cat Songs Off ‘MATA’ Album

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

M.I.A. has upcoming music with Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat on her upcoming album MATA, but it seems that there are hitches with the album being released, and now she is threatening to leak the songs.

M.I.A says she might leak the songs if her album is not released on the date it was originally scheduled to drop.

The latest project is long in coming as M.I.A’s last album Aim was released in 2016, and she has been quiet on the music scene. On Tuesday, the artist shared that she has had collaborations with Minaj and Doja for years now and wants them to drop by the end of September.

“Coming soon I promise,” she began. “I had to wait two years for a Doja Cat verse… Then a Nicki one… Then a… Nevermind. If MATA isn’t out [in] September I will leak it myself.”

The Sri Lankan artist is releasing her forthcoming album as the first with her deal with Island Records. She was previously signed to Interscope Records/XL Recordings, but their relationship deteriorated quickly.

In the meantime, MATA does not have an official release date, although two songs from the album -“One” and “Popular,” have been released.

This is not the first time that M.I.A is threatening to leak an album. Back in 2013, at the height of her drama with Interscope, she had threatened to leak her album Matangi after the label allegedly held back her album due to it being “too positive.”

The album took eight months to release. M.I.A shot to fame with her track “Paper Planes.”

In the meantime, news of more releases from Nicki Minaj was met with excitement from the Barbs, Minaj’s fan base, even though more details were not released. Minaj recently received the MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and also just dropped her new remix “Likkle Miss (Remix)” featuring Skeng Don from Jamaica and also her Billboard No. 1 hit “Super Freaky Girl,” which samples Rick James’ “Freak.”

As for Doja Cat, she is busy creating headlines with the absence of her eyebrows and her music from her last album Planet Her, which remains one of the longest-running albums on the Billboard 200.

She recently released the video for her track “Vegas,” which is also the Elvis Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

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Popcaan Link With J. Cole & Kevin Durant On Vacation With Drake

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Could a Popcaan and J. Cole collab be in the works?

The Unruly Boss is rubbing shoulders with some of hip hop’s finest as he continues his vacation in Turks and Caicos with Drake and others. The Jamaican dancehall artist has been on the Caribbean Island since August 23, when he first shared photos of himself on Air Drake. Popcaan was spotted there with OVO label boss Drake at the beach, at parties, and out and about the villa they were staying at, where he appeared to spend time chilling and living it up.

On Tuesday, Popcaan shared that he was getting his self-care on as he shared a photo dump of himself at the spa where he was getting a facial. He also later posed for a photo with platinum-selling, Grammy-award-winning artist J. Cole and basketball player Kevin Durant.

In other videos, the artist shared several videos where they were picking out lunch- a bunch of giant-sized lobsters as well as videos of Drake being a daredevil as he rode around on his jet ski.

Other photos also showed Popcaan getting his hair shampooed by an unknown woman and him being kind to a thirsty baby crane. “Pull up to the bar on a jet to the ski,” he captioned the photo dump.

Popcaan has been working on his upcoming album Great is He, although he has not revealed a release date for the track. He previewed the album’s name in February, but he has not given any updates since. It’s unclear if being with J. Cole is an indication of music to come, and Popcaan has not said anything beyond the photos he posted.

The upcoming album is dropping under Drake’s OVO label, which previously released his mixtape ‘Vanquish’, and ‘Fixtape,’ the latter of which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Reggae chart and Billboard’s 200 charts at No. 94.

With songs like “Bank and God,” “All I need,” “Friends Like These,” and “My Way,” Drake had also argued that Popcaan should have been nominated for a Grammy for the 2020 project.

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Busy signal Shares His Jamaica Pride When Traveling In Calls For Peace

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Veteran dancehall artist, Busy Signal, has one wish for Jamaica, and that is that there will be peace on the island. As Jamaicans get ready to celebrate the nation’s diamond jubilee, this dream has come even more into focus.

The “One More Night” deejay made the comments during a recent interview with the Star.

He added that even though that wish may seem impossible right now, especially with violent crime on the rise, he prays for a peaceful Jamaica. While it may seem somewhat unattainable at the moment, he added that it’s a matter of putting positive vibes out into the universe.

His dream extends to seeing a Jamaica without the numerous amount of crimes, senseless violence, and altercations.

The latest data shows that there have been 968 murders between January 1 and August 22 in Jamaica.

The “Come Over” artists also shared that it was not just about the violent crimes but that there are other socioeconomic changes that have to take place before Jamaica can realize its fullest potential. He added that one of the issues that must be addressed is true equality.

“I just want equality as well not just upper class. I want equality for all classes of Jamaicans. We should just be comfortable and enjoy the paradise that we have pon di rock, our little island Jamaica, that’s very great,” he said.

It may be because his illustrious career has taken him around the world that he has a different perspective on the issues that Jamaica is currently facing.

Busy Signal admitted that having the opportunity to travel the globe has helped him to better understand how Jamaicans are perceived. The dancehall veteran said that sometimes people may say negative things, but in the end, he’s noticed that no matter what being Jamaican is a thing filled with pride.

The distinction makes every Jamaican unique because they are different from any other place in the world, he continued.

“You come from [the] USA, you come from Canada, you come from England, it’s not that feeling you get when a person asks, ‘You’re a Jamaican?’ When you go to Madagascar, or different parts of Africa, or just different parts of the world, and people find out that you’re Jamaican, it’s just that type of distinctive difference,” he added.

Busy Signal, whose real name is Reanno Devon Gordon, is a born and bred Jamaican who was born in St Ann and grew up in several areas around the island, including Tivoli Gardens and Spanish Town. He’s been in the competitive dancehall genre since 2005 and has been able to maintain a very successful career.

The “Dreams of Brighter Days” singer revealed that he is working on new music but did not let on too much about what he had in store for his fans.

One of his latest projects was a single called “Big Up Jamaica” in collaboration with Red Stripe for its Jamaica 60 campaign. Busy recently released two new singles, “Old School New School” and “Feeling,” with Oryane and Blaiz Fayah.

His wish for a peaceful and prosperous Jamaica is probably echoed by all living on the island who are hoping that the recent spate of violence will soon dissipate.

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Worl’Boss Settling Down: Vybz Kartel Engaged & Dedicating EP To Fiancee: Exclusive

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Vybz Kartel’s upcoming EP announcement has left fans more curious than ever as the artist has been promoting a track for the project with the photo of an unknown woman whom he confesses his love for.

The EP True Religion is scheduled to release on September 30th, but while fans are excited about new music from the Gaza Empire boss, many are also curious as to who the woman is as Vybz Kartel has shared her photo with a snippet of the soundtrack “True Religion” in the background.

Vybz Kartel was previously thought to be in a relationship with Tanesha ‘Shorty’ Johnson. The two are not married, however, despite sharing three lovely boys, two of whom have kicked off their music careers.

Despite the new confirmation that the artist is now engaged, there has long been speculation that things were not working out between him and Johnson, who was his muse for the 2020 album To Tanesha where the artist appeared to address some of the pains from their relationship.

Vybz Kartel’s management exclusively confirmed with Urban Islandz that the mystery woman posted up with the artist is his fiancée Sidem Öztürk.

Last week, Kartel shared several photos of Öztürk and one with him hugging her from behind in what looks like a photo taken for family members on visitation at Horizon Adult Remand Center.

Vybz Kartel / courtesy

According to the deejay’s representative who spoke with us exclusively, “True Religion” is a song dedicated to Öztürk, who is now engaged to Vybz Kartel. The two have been together since 2015. “When he was at Horizon initially and their relationship has blossomed since then,” the rep said. The song does sing about forgiveness before one can love again, giving an idea of the artist’s state of mind.

While few details were shared about the EP, the artiste’s management, however, disclosed that there is a title track coming called “Like Royalty,” which homages Öztürk and will be “the sound of the EP, which is also a dedication to Sidem.”

Kartel and Öztürk were first linked together in 2018, but many Gaza fans directed hate at the artist’s new flame, with some calling her a “snow bunny” even though Öztürk’s social media accounts disclosed that she is actually of Middle-Eastern descent, specifically Kurdish heritage and from Turkey. Her latest updates since then show that she resides in the United Kingdom.

At the time, Kartel had put the haters on blast for disrespecting his lover. “Shes white? Lol come offa mi page wid simple minded ignorant rubbish,” Kartel had written at the time.

Urban Islandz understands that the artist will address the backlash he received from some Gaza fans for his decision to be with Öztürk in a track called “interracial.”

“Songs like “interracial” have the “same vibe as well. Cool and deadly reloaded,” the rep said.

Meanwhile, Gaza fans who have kept their eyes peeled for updates on possible features with other dancehall artists will need to wait a little longer.

“No, there are no features as yet. Let’s wait and see nuh…the EP will do the talking. Just wait and see, artistically it will not disappoint,” his rep told us.

Vybz Kartel is well-known in the dancehall world in Jamaica and is also famous among even hip hop and rap icons. The artist is also the inspiration for a new generation of artists like Skillibeng and Masicka whom he collaborated on “InfraRed.”

The artists have often shared their appreciation and the lessons they have learned from Vybz Kartel.

Vybz Kartel also appears to be keeping up with the movements in the local dancehall scene as we’re told he’s the biggest fan of his sons, Likkle Vybz and Likkle Addi, who have not only grown up in the time since he’s been away, but they are also now fulling running his Adidjaheim Records Label.

They also recently launched their separate label, Uptown Gaza Records, as the brothers continue to pursue music as a duo or solo.

In the meantime, among Vybz Kartel’s favorite young artists aside from his sons are Skirdle Sparta, the son of his friend Tommy Lee Sparta, and Jahshii. The artist also keeps up with Skillibeng, Squash, and Chronic Law, who are all past the ‘young artiste stage’ but still among his top 10.

Vybz Kartel is presently awaiting the outcome of his Privy Council appeal. The artist is challenging his murder conviction on several grounds of facts and law and is represented by attorney Isat Buchanan.

The dancehall legend has also been receiving much public support from artists like Dexta Daps and Busta Rhymes.

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Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’ Creates History, 1st Afican Album To Go Gold In US

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Wizkid’s album “Made In Lagos” has been certified Gold by the RIAA.

The Nigerian singer continues to set the trend as he earned a new milestone on Monday (August 29) as the only artist from the continent of Africa to earn a Recording Industry of America Association (RIAA) Gold certification for his album Made in Lagos.

The Nigerian Afrobeat singer-songwriter is a four (4) time Grammy nominated artist, and he won his first Grammy award for “Brown Skin Girl” for his credits on the track by Beyonce.

At the 64th Grammy awards held earlier this year, Wizkid was nominated for Best Global Music Album for Made In Lagos: Deluxe Edition.

Wizkid was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Global Music Performance for the Platinum-selling track, “Essence” featuring Tems.

Wizkid earned his first United States RIAA Gold certification for the Grammy-nominated single “Come Closer,” featuring Canadian rapper Drake.

Earlier this month, he earned his second RIAA Gold certification on August 8th with Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl,” which features him and Blue-Ivy Carter.

In the meantime, Wizkid continues to make a name for himself with notable collaborations.

The artist is featured on Chris Brown’s “Call Me Every Day,” which was released on Brown’s ‘Breezy’ album. The song peaked at No. 103 on the Global Billboard 200 chart and also charted in several other countries, including the Netherlands, New Zealand, and South Africa, and several charts in the UK, including the UK Singles and Hip Hop/ R&B chart.

The song also climbed the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 76, while it also dominated the Billboard US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at No. 20.

The singer also seemingly reacted to the new RIAA certification as he shared posts shared by fans announcing the album’s latest accomplishment.

Wizkid’s new EP, More Love Less Ego, was released on August 5th on streaming platforms. The project features 6 tracks with guest features from Vaito and Marickelz.

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Skeng Expecting First Child With Girlfriend Bebe, Hosts Baby Shower

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Skeng is set to become a father as the 21-year-old dancehall artist and his girlfriend, only known as Bebe, hosted their baby shower over the weekend.

Videos of the baby shower show the artist dressed in a white long-sleeve button-down shirt and blue acid wash jeans and wearing a pair of spectacles while he held Bebe’s hand. The young mother-to-be also wore a white knee-length dress that barely showed the silhouette of her baby bump, which is said to be in the final trimester.

On her Instagram account, Bebe shared several videos of the intimate moment. One video showed off the deco, which included hints as to the gender of the baby. The cake, which looked like chocolate cake, had a Michael Jordan logo on the side with the soundtrack to Nicki Minaj’s “Moment 4 Life” playing in the background.

She also shared another selfie video with her and Skeng. “Mini Mommy & Daddy Love You,” she captioned a post.

The couple also showed off their matching Jordan 1 sneakers. Not much is known about Skeng’s baby mother except that she owns a hairdressing business.

Skeng has not publicly reacted to the latest development, but the artist has been enjoying his moment as he reposted several videos of fans enjoying his latest collaboration with Nicki Minaj.

The “Do We Have A Problem” rapper hopped on Skeng’s “Likkle Miss,” and the song was released on Sunday (Aug 28).

Nicki Minaj had previously teased that she was a fan of the artist as she has been listening to him for a while now. Skeng, whose real name is Kevon Douglas, shot to fame over the pandemic even though Jamaica’s entertainment sector was shut down for almost a year.

Skeng started in music in 2019 shortly after graduating from high school and has seen success in his career from his hits “Gvman Shift,” “Protocol,” “Taliban,” and “23 London.”

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Lil Baby Spoil His Friend James Harden With $250k Cash For His Birthday

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

What’s a quarter million dollars between rich friends? Nothing, as Lil Baby was recently seen on video gifting his close friend and NBA star James Harden $250,000 for his birthday over the weekend.

Harden showed that he doesn’t need the cash, considering he brought in his 33rd birthday on a yacht in Marina Del Rey, California, with a star-studded event last Friday, August 26. He was surrounded by other big names in the NBA and hip-hop world, including Kevin Durant.

Lil Baby did not attend that event but showed up sometime after to let Harden know that he definitely did not forget his birthday.

In the video, which has been making the rounds, Lil Baby can be heard saying, “I ain’t have time to get you nothing. I know you ain’t low on no money or nothing,” before handing Harden a Goyard bag packed with the cash.

The two have been inseparable this year and have been spotted multiple times enjoying each other’s company. In fact, Lil Baby and other rappers like Travis Scott have been seen in attendance at quite a few of Harden’s games.

Some media outlets have also noted that on many occasions since the start of the year, Harden has been spotted leaving as soon as training was finished or right after his games to go and hang out with Lil Baby.

James Harden/IG

Harden has also come under scrutiny for his long partying hours, which was again highlighted in February when a last-minute studio session with Lil Baby, Lil Durk, and Meek Mill at his home in Houston turned into an all-nighter. According to reports, they partied until Harden had practice on the same day.

“They all called me like, ‘Yo, we about to pull up to Houston.’ Baby, Durk, Meek. They all come to the house [from] Atlanta, like two in the morning. I gotta go to practice in the morning! They come in the studio and I’m up with them the whole time,” Harden is quoted as saying.

He then explained that he had to leave right from the studio at 7:30 a.m. to get to practice.

Even though it may seem like he is just partying, it seems that Harden is way more into rap music than many people know. For example, he is listed as an executive producer on Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s joint album The Voice of the Heroes.

It’s been confirmed that he was involved from the beginning and that many of the sessions were recorded at his home studio. He even shared that his involvement with rap music has helped him on the court.

“Leaving all-night studio sessions going straight to practice with the songs they made gave me a newfound motivation. The Voice and The Hero two killers at the top of their game the collaboration only seemed right. I just hope the same impact they have on me, they have on the world,” he said in another interview.

It looks like Harden’s friendship with Lil Baby and his affinity for rap music isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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Missy Elliott Keeps It Classy In Response To Nicki Minaj Barbz Attacks

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Nicki Minaj Barbz have been dragging Missy Elliott after the rapper asked a question they interpreted as her shady the Queen Radio rapper.

Missy Elliott had shared a tweet earlier this week on Wednesday, but it seems that the Barbz recently got wind of the tweet where Missy asked fans to define a hit versus a classic. “I have a question…Is there a difference between A Hit & A Classic record or no?” she tweeted. “And if so what is this difference?”

Coincidentally, Missy Elliott asked the question at a time when Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” snagged several record and historical achievements.

The song, which debuted on Billboard No. 1, also saw the greatest solo debut for a rapper in recent decades and also had the biggest global and U.S Spotify solo debut ever.

Fans appeared to think that Missy was shading Minaj, and many left acrimonious tweets directed at the “Work It” rapper.

“B**ch fall back! Don’t ever disrespect them like that! All hail to the Queen of innovation!! If it wasn’t for Missy, there will be no Nicki or Cardi B’s,” one fan wrote.

“Missy Elliott always have something to say surrounding Nicki Minaj indirectly,” one fan wrote. “I see her dirty spirit. It’s been like that for years. Give it up mama,” one person responded in the comments.

“Missy you 51, you had a great run buts it’s over, go live in your authentic truth,” another added.

Some also accused her of being messy. “Missy so miserable and messy b**ch don’t let me get started these old b**ches really mad and miserable go pay ya rent and stay in ya bum ass place these old and new school b**ches make me sick!!! Nicki can’t win from either generation of female rappers.”

Meanwhile, many also tried to shade her as they claimed that the “Get Your Freak On” rapper did not have any hits.

“A Hit is what you have YET to have. ‘Super Freaky Girl’ by Nicki Minaj is A Hit. Classics are ‘Moment 4 Life’, ‘Only’, ‘Itty Bitty Piggy’, etc. You signed by Atlantic, right Messy Missy? Tell them to buy you a hit like they did for Cardi,” one shot back at the rapper.

Missy’s post was liked twelve thousand times and received thousands of replies and quotes.

Some of her fans came to the rescue as they called out the Barbz for being insecure and attacking Missy.

“B**ch fall back! Don’t ever disrespect the like that! All hail to the Queen of innovation!! If it wasn’t for Missy there will be no Nicki or Cardi B’s,” one person told a Nicki fan.

“Missy elliott is unproblematic and never had any issue or feud with any other rapper Nicki fans are just desperate,” another pointed out as the two rappers recently reacted after she was announced to be the recipient of the MTV Vanguard award.

“Anybody saying Missy Elliot don’t have classics don’t know hip hop and not because your a fan of an artist means you know music,” another fan said.

Meanwhile, Missy later cleared the air after the commotion as she shared that she asked the question since she was having a debate with her producer.The rapper added that there was no shade behind her question,

“I love so many of yall answers,” she began. “This was a back & forth with my producer friends over music.Is there a difference between Classics & hits & he said it’s more preference. So y’all helped. A few chose 2 be hurtful but understand this came from a positive place,” she added.

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Ginuwine Reacts To Becoming A Meme Frenzy, ‘I gotta stop calling myself Old’

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Ginuwine is not bothered by trolls who are making fun of his latest dance moves on the internet. The 90s R&B singer in fact shared that the latest jokes about his dance moves bring him new motivation.

On Friday, he shared a lengthy post where he said that he is turning the troll’s attention into cold hard cash.

The R&B icon was recently the subject of memes and jokes after a video of him performing went viral. The singer could be seen performing his signature abs-rolling sexy dance, but some people felt that he was no longer slim and light, and the dance move didn’t look good.

One person even went as far as likening the artist to the Family Guy character, Quagmire. However, according to Ginuwine, he is not fazed by the comments by rude people online.

“I was shooting TV stuff in Vegas that you will see in October (secret) But couldn’t respond to a lot of this internet cyber stuff,” Ginuwine wrote in a lengthy response on Instagram. “Phone been ringing, blogs calling, friends calling, WOW.”

The artist said that he’s grateful for the attention he is getting despite thinking that he was not like other artists nowadays.

“And for those who know me you already know I’m defiant as f**k so letsgetit!!!!” Ginuwine added. “I see I gotta stop calling myself the ole man lol I didn’t know I was still even news-worthy; Funny or not, my homies always tell me you don’t understand who you are G. Wow!!! Ok now I do, so it’s on. Thank y’all indeed.”

This is not the first time Ginuwine has caught flack for the dance moves. Many fans have been sharing the same dance routine at past events, but the “In Those Jean” artist continues to perform his platinum hit singles for fans along with his dance routine.

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Judge Jay-Z Awarded $6.78 Million in Royalties Against Parlux Fragrances

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

Jay-Z is adding to his vast fortune as a Manhattan court gave judgment in favor of the rapper against a perfume company that initially sued the rapper for millions in damages.

Jay-Z partnered with Parlux Fragrances in 2013 for his “Gold Jay-Z” cologne. The relationship with the parties, however, deteriorated, with Parlux suing the rapper a few years later in 2016.

Parlux had brought a $68 million lawsuit in October 2021 for damages. The company claimed that the New York rapper failed to promote the cologne in violation of their agreement, and as a result, the company suffered losses.

On Thursday, Jay-Z was awarded millions for unpaid royalties plus interest for the cologne Gold Jay-Z. The rapper appeared during the trial this week which culminated on Thursday with him being awarded the judgment.

The matter was presided over by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok, who found that Parlux owed the rapper $6.78 million in unpaid royalties, including interest.

“We’ve been awarded and will be receiving the money as we should,” Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro said.

Parlux had been sued by Jay-Z in a counterclaim after bringing the initial lawsuit worth $68 million, which the jury declined to award.

Jay-Z had countersued for $4.5 million in royalties. The case took three weeks before the jury found neither side should be liable for damages.

Parlux previously lost its appeals case in February and was found to be liable to pay the rape for royalty payments due and owing going back to 2015. The amount of royalties was in dispute leading to Judge Borrok determining the amount owed.

According to a NY Post report, Parlux has filed an appeal on justice Borrok’s ruling.

Meanwhile, as he is as leaving the courtroom, a smartly dressed Jay-Z was asked by the press if he had comments on the matter. One person could be heard asking the rapper if he had “98 problems now,” to which he laughed.

“98, I like that,” he said as he cracked a smile while walking away with his lawyers.

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