DEE BARNES SPEAKS ON DR. DRE BEING HONORED AT GRAMMYS: Journalist Dee Barnes criticized the Recording Academy for honoring Dr. Dre at this year's Grammy Awards. Barnes claimed that Dre physically assaulted her in 1991. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Barnes said, “Everybody wants to separate the art from the artist, and sometimes that’s just not possible. Most people without a knowledge of Dr. Dre’s history are going to say, 'Oh, he must deserve that. He must be such a great person for them to put an award in his name.' But they named this award after an abuser. She continued, “It wasn’t just a one or two-time thing; these are choices. The first time, it’s maybe a mistake. The second time, okay. The third time, it’s a choice. I’m not saying he is the same person now, though. I don’t know. I’m not around him anymore. I haven’t talked to him. But to name an award after someone with that type of history in the music industry, you might as well call it the 'Ike Turner Award.'”
IS A NEW J. COLE ALBUM COMING SOON?: J. Cole's manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad has fueled rumors that the rapper’s forthcoming album will be The Fall Off. Earlier this week, Ib tweeted about The Fall Off being his choice of an album he’d most want to see Cole perform on tour front-to-back.
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS FOR MEN CHARGED WITH THE MURDER OF XXXTENTACION ALLUDE THAT DRAKE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS DEATH: Defense attorneys for the three men accused of murdering rapper XXXTentacion have suggested that Drake may be linked to the 2018 murder. XXXTentacion was shot and killed in June 2018 after he was ambushed during an apparent robbery as he was leaving a motorsports store. Suspects Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome and Dedrick Williams are accused of fatally shooting the rapper. Boatwright is accused of being the shooter, while Newsome is accused of being the other gunman. Williams is accused of being the driver. All three men are facing life sentences. The defendants' legal team is arguing that investigators need to examine XXXTentacion‘s beef with Drake. As previously reported, prior to his death, the rapper took to social media and said, “If anyone tries to kill me, it was @champagnepapi Drake. I’m snitching right now.” He later retracted the statement, claiming his account was hacked.
