Damon Dash is facing mounting legal pressure in Manhattan federal court after failing to comply with a court order related to a $4 million default judgment. AllHipHop reports that court documents filed on July 14 confirm that Dash has not submitted key ownership documents required to initiate the sale of his assets through a public auction. The U.S. Marshal’s Office cannot proceed without them. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dame Dash (@duskopoppington) U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger criticized Dash’s lack of cooperation, describing it as part of a “pattern of non-compliance and delay.” He has ordered Dash to appear in court on July 31 at 10 a.m. to explain his inaction. Should he fail to appear, the court may issue a warrant for his arrest and impose additional financial penalties. Dash can avoid those outcomes by filing the missing paperwork by July 30. The dispute stems from a long-standing legal fight over the 2019 film Dear Frank. Dash was removed from the production but later asserted ownership, leading filmmaker Josh Webber and Muddy Water Pictures to sue for copyright infringement and defamation. A 2022 judgment ordered Dash to pay $805,000 after he missed court deadlines and refused to mediate. Tensions escalated further in 2025 after Dash made defamatory comments about Webber during an appearance on the Earn Your Leisure podcast. The remarks resulted in a $4 million default judgment against him. To recover damages, the court approved the sale of Dash’s business holdings, including stakes in Dash Films Inc., Bluroc LLC, Blakroc LLC, Lebanon Improvements LLC, Ocean East Improvements LLC, and 1996 Songs LLC. Poppington LLC was also directed to hand over copyright certificates tied to multiple film projects. Webber’s attorneys say those documents remain outstanding. In a recent court filing, Webber’s legal team asked the court to issue an arrest warrant and transfer control of Dash’s disputed assets to the U.S. Marshal. Dash previously sold his one-third interest in Roc-A-Fella Records in December 2024 for a little over $1 million, but the funds were absorbed by outstanding debts to New York State and did not offset the full judgment. With no resolution in sight, the court is now moving to liquidate the remaining assets. The U.S. Marshal will oversee the auction, and any excess proceeds will be returned to Dash once the judgment is settled in full.

Clipse continued their masterful rollout of their long-awaited album Let God Sort Em Out, with an epic performance on NPR’s “Tiny Desk.” Released on Friday, July 11, to coincide with the release of the album, No Malice and Pusha T proved why they are among the greatest rap duos of all time. With vivid storytelling and hard-hitting production, their 16-year hiatus proved just how much they contributed to the culture and how much they were missed. The two performed songs from their new album, Let God Sort Em Out, for the first time, and left the audience wanting more. But the performance went to another level when they concluded with their classic “Grindin.” Bobby Carter, producer of ‘Tiny Desk,” shared the dynamic duo’s creative vision for the performance. “At first, I didn’t know exactly what they were looking for, in terms of sonics, but it clicked when I was told what they didn’t want: no jazzy renditions of their music. They meant no disrespect to jazz at all, and if you follow the duo’s music, it boils down to hard drums and even harder synths,” Carter explained.  “Hybrid drummer Daru Jones, who played on last year’s Tiny Desk for the LOX, was the first choice because of his unique ability to mix traditional and electronic drum sounds,” he continued. Produced solely by Pharrell Williams,  Let God Sort Em Out has already garnered rave reviews. The project features appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Stove God, Tyler, the Creator,  Check out the setlist below: “Virginia” “Keys Open Doors” “Momma I’m So Sorry” “Chains & Whips” “Birds Don’t Sing” “Grindin”

Ice Cube is not only one of the greatest rappers and a legendary filmmaker, but Selena Gomez used to love him as a child. Appearing on 3’s and Ones podcast, Cube said that he was already aware of Gomez’s childhood crush on him. “A lot of ‘em like me, homie,” Cube said.“What? What’s up? I heard this years ago. Look, I had my crushes too growing up.” Cube went on to reveal that Vanity whose real name was Denise Matthews from Prince’s Vanity 6 group was one of his favorites. “Look, I had my crushes growing up, too. Vanity, bring her in here and see what happens,” he said. “I had about four [childhood crushes].” “One of mine was Eminem only because I grew up listening to him,” she said. “My dad was a DJ, so he would remix all kinds of songs, and every time it was an Eminem song, I would just get so excited.” “Can I tell you my first one that I had a crush on, Ice Cube?” continued Gomez. “I had the biggest crush on him when I was, like, 5.” When he’s not being crushed on, Cube is celebrating the eight season of the BIG3, the hugely-popular 3-on-3 pro basketball league that he founded. We’ve got Hall of Fame coaches,” Cube said in an interview with Back In The Day Hoops On SI. “We definitely don’t want to tempt Rick Barry, Ice Man [George Gervin] to suit up. We’ll let the OGs coach the league and let the players play.” “That’s the beautiful thing about the league,” Ice Cube said. “You get to see people like Dr. J, Nancy Lieberaman back in the heat of battle, back wanting to win a game,” Cube continued. “They can’t play but they can coach their teams. They can show their passion. They can definitely scream at the refs.”

Raphael Saadiq is heading back on the road. After sold-out shows  at the Apollo Theater in New York City, Los Angeles’ historic United Theater on Broadway, and in his hometown  of Oakland at the Fox Theater, Saadiq will be taking the stage with the No Bandwidth: One Man, One Night, Three Decades of Hits tour to several venues across the country. In a statement, Saadiq shared his vision for the show and his excitement about performing a one-man show. “I’ve always wanted to do a one-man show. I want to challenge myself,” Saadiq stated.  “My one-person show has three acts; I will be talking about my career, bringing a couple of instruments to express myself, singing my original music as well as covers of songs I wish I had written, and more. I want it to feel magical and like a Broadway show.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Raphael Saadiq (@saadiqmoves) This year, the Tony! Toni! Toné! co-founder also announced launch of the Raphael Saadiq Vinyl Club, where he allowed fans inside his immense music vault. Membership in the club offers exclusive quarterly releases of Saadiq’s classic LP. “The very thing that got me started was vinyl. The vinyl club is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. This first vinyl is very important for me to release,”: he said at the time. I call it Lucy Pearl 2.0,” said Saadiq in a statement. “When you join the club, you get merch, maybe a song, a download in the middle of the night. Maybe I’ll drop something directly to you, access to private shows. We’re gonna be adding things to it all the time. It’s going to be new music, I’m not just gonna hold stuff in the studio. I’m gonna put stuff that I have in the vault.” Check below for the entire list of tour dates: NO BANDWIDTH SHOW DATES 9/7 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 9/8 – San Francisco, CA – Davies Symphony Hall 9/10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Ford 9/12 – Las Vegas, NV – Pearl Theater 9/14 – Tucson, AZ – Fox Tucson Theatre 9/16 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre 9/19 – Dallas, TX – Majestic Theatre 9/21 – Austin, TX  – The Paramount Theatre 9/22 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Center 9/24 – Atlanta, GA – Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre 9/25 – New Orleans, LA – Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts 9/27 – Columbia, SC – The Township Auditorium 9/28 – Durham, NC – DPAC – Durham Performing Arts Center 9/30 – National Harbor, MD – MGM National Harbor 10/2 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Hall at New Jersey Performing Arts Center 10/4 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre 10/7 – Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland 10/8 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre 10/10 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre 10/11 – Detroit, MI – Detroit Opera House 10/13 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace 10/14 – Nashville, TN – Schermerhorn Symphony Center – Laura Turner Concert Hall

The country music community has heavily criticised Beyoncé since the release of Cowboy Carter in March 2024. Most recently, a country music star called out the singer during a recent set, claiming that her country-inspired album was, in fact, “not country” by his standards. “There’s only three people in front of me on the Apple Music country charts, and one of them is Beyoncé,” Adcock said in a whiskey-filled speech. “You can tell her we’re coming for her f*cking a**.” The crowd, seemingly in agreement, cheered in approval as Adcock droned on. Adcock added, “That sh*t ain’t country music, it ain’t ever been country music and it ain’t gonna be country music.” Country artist Gavin Adcock slams Beyoncé after his album currently ranks below ‘COWBOY CARTER’ on the Apple Music Country chart: “That s*** ain’t country music and it ain’t ever been country music, and it ain’t gonna be country music.” pic.twitter.com/rKwaqymt5t — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 30, 2025 “It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country,” Adcock says in an Instagram post following his rant Not long after Adcock’s rant, he received significant backlash from Beyoncé fans, who are often referred to as “the hive.” Adcock would later walk back some of his comments in an Instagram video post to his official account. “When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car. I’ve heard a ton of Beyoncé songs, and I actually remember her Super Bowl halftime show being pretty kick-ass back in the day, but I really don’t believe that her album should be labeled as country music,” Adcock said. “It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people who have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top just because she’s Beyoncé.” While some of country music’s old guard haven’t been the biggest supporters of Cowboy Carter, others, like Dolly Parton, felt “honored” by Beyoncé’s venture into country music. The legendary country performer tells the outlet that she’s a “huge fan” of the singer and refers to Beyoncé as a “magnificent artist.” Beyoncé’s version of “Jolene” is featured on her Cowboy Carter album. Parton revealed that she “loved” the album and called it “really, really good.”

Bangladesh is the architect of hip-hop and R&B’s biggest songs. Hailing from Des Moines, Iowa, and making his name in Atlanta, Bangladesh emerged as a formidable force in music production, crafting signature sounds that became the blueprint for chart-topping hits for artists like He has produced chart-topping hits for Beyoncé, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, and many more. His innovative but minimalist production style has not only defined eras but also cemented his legacy as a true architect of modern urban music. HOT97 spoke to Bangladesh about his legendary career, his latest music project, and the launch of his clothing line. HOT97:How was it growing up in Des Moines, Iowa? Bangladesh: Growing up, I knew of two guys who made rap music. One was close to my family, and the other was older than me. His name was Corey D, and he made it on Rap City, and that was a big deal back then. But there wasn’t a rap scene because it wasn’t any outlets there. There wasn’t much going on as far as like culture, so we pulled from the West Coast and East Coast popping. We listened to E-40, Bone Thugs In Harmony, and anyone who was poppin at that time. HOT97: I read that you were discovered as a producer when you were a barber. Bangladesh: I had been cutting hair since I was 12, so by the time I was 15, I was making money doing it. In my senior year in high school, I was working in a barber I started saving up. Once I graduated from high school, I moved to Atlanta with my auntie, and she had a beautician license and her own shop. I saved my money up and bought myself an MPC 2000, and I just started making beats. HOT97: How did you come up with the name “Bangladesh?” Bangladesh: Bangladesh was a word that we used a couple of used. We used to use that word to describe cool stuff like “Oh, that’s Bangladesh. I named my company Bangladesh Records because I wanted to always be a record executive. I was working on a project with some of the artists that I had, and I started to do ad-libs on the songs, and I would say Bangladesh, Bangladesh, Bangladesh, a whole bunch of times, and I sampled it like my own voice. I started putting it in front of beats, and it became a producer tag. HOT97: Eventually, you relocated to Atlanta, where the rap scene was just about to take off in a major way. How was it to see so many artists become stars? Bangladesh: Rico Wade, who was 1/3 of organized noise, his sister went to school with me. All I wanted to do was move to Atlanta and be in the Dungeon Family, so imagine you going to high school with the leader’s sister. I just started meeting people at the school I went to, and my best friend is a cousin of Lil Fate, who is Ludacris’ right-hand man and his hype man even today. But back then, everybody was just rapping and had rap dreams. So knowing each other, and everybody being like-minded, we just came together, and it just organically happened for real. HOT97: Your work with Ludacris helped to launch him into superstardom. When did you first connect with Luda? Bangladesh: Me and Ludacris already knew each other. I was among a group of people that was doing music. So I think Chris was probably the last person that knew what I was doing, because he would come through, he would get his, you know, he had an afro, he would just get lineups. I took him to my car one day, and I played him, like four beats I had on a tape. The whole time, he was listening and looking through the front window. He never looked at me, never said a word. I could see him  thinking, like, ‘Man, this, this dude got it like this?’  ‘Where did he come from?’ From there, we started working on “You’s a Ho*”, which is one of my first beats. That was the beat tape I played him, and “What’s Your Fantasy” was the last song we recorded. HOT97: You also created “Diva” for Beyoncé. How was that creative process? Bangladesh: I had “A Milli” with Lil Wayne, and when you have a smash out, everybody is open to whatever you’re doing. Everybody wants to work with you. It was just the perfect time to work on her project, coming off that a Millie song. I was working with Sean Garrett, who wrote “Diva”, um, so I had the beat already, but I didn’t take the beat seriously. It was a duplicate of “A Milli,” and I never tried to not remake things, and that was a mixtape track that I was working on with my artist. I was playing a beat in the studio one day, and my peers were going crazy. I kind of downplayed it, but  I started looking at it different. When I got with Sean Garrett, he was always a fan of “A Milli.” He said, “If I had ‘A Milli, I would have killed it. When I was working on Beyoncé, I just pulled that beat out. She was the only top-tier female artist who could do a song like “Diva.” I already had the beat, and they put her voice on there. All we had to do was finish the job. HOT97: After all your success in music, you have entered the fashion world. What led you to this way? Bangladesh: I’ve always been into fashion. I guess it’s in the blood. All my peers always get ideas of what to wear for me. Ever since I was in elementary and middle school, I have always come back from Christmas break and dress like me. They would tell their parents to get them the shirts and the pants like mine.  I always knew that’s kind of how

Mariah Carey has a new album on the way. During a recent interview at the 10th anniversary of Apple Music with Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden, Carrey made the announcement.  “I’m trying not to tell too much about the new album,” Carrey said.  “It’s a special occasion/ Mimi’s emancipation- that’s a lyric from one of my songs. What is next? The album is coming out,” she continued. “I don’t wanna tell too much about it because I just don’t want to reveal the whole thing. It’s finished.”  Carey dropped the news following the release of her newest single, “Type Dangerous.” She went on to say that the track was a “heavy record” and that it has “real weight to it.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Apple Music (@applemusic) The multi-Grammy award-winning vocalist also revealed that the new album has about 11 or 12 songs on it.  “We got some Mariah ballads,” she said, adding that a second single will be released soon. “I’m very excited about it. It’s very summery. I like the beat as well.” Sampling Eric B. and Rakim’s classic 1986 single, “Eric B. Is President”, she performed ”Type Dangerous,” along said Rakim at the 2025 BET Awards.  “I’ve always loved ‘Eric B. Is President.’ It wasn’t something like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna flip this’- I just wouldn’t think of doing it,” she explained. “But then we were in this restaurant in Aspen, and they had different music on, and they played ‘Eric B. Is President’ and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I love this song!’ We ended up in the studio a couple months later and we did it.”

Childhood crushes may not last, but they’re something you’ll never forget. None more evident than when former Disney star Selena Gomez revealed she had the “biggest crush” on one West Coast hip-hop legend in particular: Ice Cube. “I had the biggest crush on him when I was, like, 5,” she tells Colombian singer, Karol G, on Complex’s GOAT Talk. The Only Murderers In The Building star, felt that Ice Cube would “protect” her. “It’s so weird,” she added. That said, Selena Gomez did note that at the time her feelings were “simply based on my childhood.” During another segment of the interview, Gomez also talk about another rapper she admired: Eminem. “I grew up listening to him,” she said. “My dad was a DJ so he would remix all kinds of songs, and every time it was an Eminem song, I would just get so excited.” Selena Gomez wasn’t the only person to highlight her admiration for Ice Cube. Earlier this year, the hip-hop icon was immortalized with the imprint of his hands and his signature Converse All-Stars outside the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Taking to Instagram, the “Don Mega” shared his excitement about the distinguished honor.”Today was legendary,” Cube wrote of the moment on IG. “Left my prints in cement at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Honored to continue to receive my flowers in a business I never thought I’d be a part of.” Now, among Hollywood’s biggest stars who have received the honor, the moment was not lost on the West Coast legend. “To have my hands, signature, to put the Chuck Taylors in the cement here, it’s next level,” Cube told ABC7 of the honor. “It’s things you don’t even dream of because the dream is too big.”

Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins celebrates his Songwriters Hall of Fame induction with Darkchild Sessions, a live three-track EP recorded in Nashville. Released exclusively through Apple Music and his faith-based label Alienz Alive, the project reimagines some of Jerkins’ most iconic productions through the lens of a new generation of artists. Jerkins, a towering figure in R&B and pop for over two decades, enlists Jon Keith, Hulvey, and nobigdyl. to reinterpret classics like Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine,” and Ray J’s “One Wish.” Each performance fuses nostalgia with lyrical reinvention, balancing reverence for the original tracks with bold, spiritually grounded storytelling. Darkchild Sessions honors Jerkins’ legacy while casting forward a vision of faith-infused hip-hop and R&B. The live setting brings a raw emotional power, echoing the genre’s roots while embracing modern voices committed to substance and sincerity. For Jerkins, this is more than a tribute—it’s a creative revival. “These songs shaped an era,” he says. “Now this new generation carries the torch with purpose. To celebrate this Hall of Fame moment through these voices, in partnership with Apple Music Nashville, is a full-circle blessing.” The EP also reflects the mission behind Alienz Alive, the label Jerkins launched in June 2024. Built on faith, truth, and spiritual growth, Alienz Alive supports artists committed to transformation through their music. The label fosters community while pushing sonic and cultural boundaries. With a roster that includes Jon Keith, GAWVI, IMRSQD, Alex Jean, and TJ Carroll, it positions itself as more than a label—it’s a movement of purpose-driven artistry. Darkchild Sessions doesn’t just revisit past glories. It reframes them with heart, urgency, and a deep sense of calling. At a career milestone, Jerkins proves his influence remains not only relevant—but renewed.

Raekwon and Ghostface Killah recently dropped the trailer for an upcoming documentary, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Raekwon’s legendary 1995 album. Titled the Purple Tape Files and filmed over several years,  the doc celebrates the album on its 30th anniversary and its ongoing influence. During the trailer, Raekwon shared the creative zone he was in while putting the album together.  “I put myself into a serious mindframe,” The Chef said. “A serious storytelling album. I had to make this product stand out. “I knew that purple represents royalty, and that’s exactly what I was looking for,” he continued, referencing its distinctive color palette that led many to call the LP The Purple Album. Raekwon also shared that he was serious about approaching the album and demanded that those around him live up to the same standard. “We had to make a conscious decision,” he explains. “Either we want to stay here and keep holding guns and want to run around playing this game, or did we want to go for the American dream and get on this rap shit.” The documentary also features guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Method Man, Nas, and fellow members of the  Wu-Tang Clan who share their insights about the impact of one of the most renowned projects in hip-hop history. “It ushered in the alter egos, the aliases,” RZA says in the clip. “Still, to this day, it’s flows that you haven’t heard before, saying the most wild shit,” Lamar added. Snoop Dogg describes Only Built 4 Cuban Linx as a “lesson on style” and that “it was all created from the Wu-Tang movement.” Released on August 1, 1995, and produced entirely by RZA, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is renowned for its cinematic, mafioso-rap storytelling, with Ghostface Killah as the “guest-star.” With no skips, some standout songs include “Criminnolgy”, “Heaven & Hell”, “Ice Cream, “Verbal Intercourse”, “Rainy Dayz”, and  “Incarcerated Scarfaces.”