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Quincy Jones Talks Michael Jackson, The State of Pop Music, The Trumps, and More

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Quincy Jones Michael Jackson Trumps Pop Culture Vulture

This year, Quincy Jones will be turning 85-years-old. With a Netflix documentary and a CBS special hosted by Oprah Winfrey in honor of Jones coming soon, the well-respected music producer, composer, and humanitarian has made quite an impact on the music industry, working with Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and more.

In an interview with Vulture.com, Quincy Jones provides a must-read article where he tells us unknown facts about Michael Jackson that may be hard to digest to die-hard fans, dating Ivanka Trump, his views on the current state of pop music, and much more.

Check out a couple snippets from the interview below and read the full tell-all article here:

On Michael Jackson stealing music:
Greedy, man. Greedy. “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” — Greg Phillinganes wrote the c sectionPhillinganes, an in-demand studio keyboardist, played on a handful of Jackson-Jones collaborations, including the 1979 album Off the Wall, from which “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” comes. Michael should’ve given him 10 percent of the song. Wouldn’t do it.

What about outside of music? What’s misunderstood about Michael?
I used to kill him about the plastic surgery, man. He’d always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bullshit.

On the state of pop music:

Do you hear the spirit of jazz in pop today?
No. People gave it up to chase money. When you go after Cîroc vodka and Phat FarmCîroc is the alcohol brand owned by Diddy. Phat Farm was the fashion label founded by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons in 1992. Simmons sold the company in 2004. and all that shit, God walks out of the room. I have never in my life made music for money or fame. Not even ThrillerJones may not have worked on Thriller for money, but co-producing the album (with Jackson) presumably made him a ton of it: The 1982 album is widely reported to be the biggest-selling LP of all time, having sold somewhere north of 66 million copies. . No way. God walks out of the room when you’re thinking about money. You could spend a million dollars on a piano part and it won’t make you a million dollars back. That’s just not how it works.

Is there innovation happening in modern pop music?

Hell no. It’s just loops, beats, rhymes and hooks. What is there for me to learn from that? There ain’t no fucking songs. The song is the power; the singer is the messenger. The greatest singer in the world cannot save a bad song. I learned that 50 years ago, and it’s the single greatest lesson I ever learned as a producer. If you don’t have a great song, it doesn’t matter what else you put around it.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Seen Physically Assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016 Footage

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs Seen Physically Assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016 Footage miixtapechiick
Denise Truscello/WireImage for Jet Nightclub/Getty

On Friday, May 17, CNN obtained footage showing Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs physically assaulting his former girlfriend and Bad Boy artist, Cassie, at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles.

The surveillance footage, dating back to 2016, shows Diddy chasing Ventura, who was seen standing at a set of elevators, and proceed to grab and shove her to the ground. He then kicks her, and takes what appears to be her purse and suitcase from the floor. Diddy then drags her by her sweater towards a room. Ventura is later seen slowly getting up and collecting items from the floor.

Diddy returns moments later, sits on a chair, grabs an object off a table, and throws it at Ventura. He is then seen walking away, but turns back toward Ventura when an elevator door opens and someone exits.

Ventura’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, told CNN: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

In November, Cassie, born Cassandra Ventura, initiated legal proceedings against Diddy, born Sean Combs, alleging years of control, rape, and prolonged physical abuse spanning over a decade. The two parties reached a settlement 24 hours later.

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Drake Responds To Kendrick Lamar With New Diss ‘FAMILY MATTERS’

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Drake Responds To Kendrick Lamar With New Song ‘FAMILY MATTERS’ miixtapechiick
Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

It’s been an entertaining two weeks as Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been sparring in a lyrical battle.

Since Kendrick’s diss towards Drake on Metro Boomin and Future‘s We Don’t Trust You track, “Like That,” Drake returned fire with two diss tracks titled, “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” Kendrick Lamar then returned with two tracks towards Drake titled, “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA.”

The two rappers aren’t done yet, as Drake has just released his response to Kendrick titled “Family Matters.” On the diss track, things get personal as Drake brings up Kendrick’s wife, Whitney Alford.

“Say you hate the girls I fuck but what you really mean / I been with Black and white and everything in between / You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen / And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem.”

Drake also implies that Kendrick’s kids aren’t his, but are actually Dave Free’s, Kendrick Lamar’s longtime creative partner.

“Why you never hold your son and tell him say cheese / We could have left the kids out of this don’t blame me,” he raps.

“Our sons should go play at the park / Two light-skinned kids, that shit would be cute / Unless you don’t want to be seen with anyone that’s Blacker than you”

Stream the diss below.

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Megan Thee Stallion’s Lawyer Calls Harassment Lawsuit ‘Salacious’

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Megan Thee Stallion's Lawyer Calls Harassment Lawsuit 'Salacious' miixtapechiick
STEFANO RELLANDINI/AFP via Getty Images

Megan Thee Stallion‘s lawyer, Alex Spiro, addressed the lawsuit filed by Megan Thee Stallion’s former cameraman Emilio Garcia, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Spiro, in a statement to Page Six on Tuesday (April 23), dismissed the lawsuit as an opportunistic money grab and characterized it as an attempt to tarnish his client’s reputation.

“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” he said. “We will deal with this in court.”

The suit details an incident where Garcia allegedly found himself trapped in a moving SUV with Megan whileshe engaged in sexual activity with another woman during their time in Ibiza, Spain.

According to court documents, “The following day, STALLION inquired whether PLAINTIFF was in the SUV the previous night. PLAINTIFF confirmed that he was in the SUV. Subsequently, STALLION instructed, ‘Don’t ever discuss what you saw.’ STALLION berated and directed her fat-shaming comments towards PLAINTIFF such as ‘Fat Bitch,’ ‘Spit your food out,’ and that ‘You don’t need to be eating.’”

Garcia is seeking compensation of over six figures, Garcia’s lawsuit requests unpaid wages, overtime pay, and other benefits as per California labor laws, along with statutory penalties and punitive damages.

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