(AllHipHop News) The feds are looking to seize millions of dollars in real estate and assets from Atlanta rapper Ralo, who is accused of trying to smuggle almost $2 million worth of marijuana on a private jet. According to detectives, Ralo owns 20 apartment units and five other properties connected to the 23-year-old. The FBI is asking a judge to hand the real estate over to the government, if Ralo is convicted on charges he attempted to sell hundreds of pounds of marijuana. In addition to the real estate, the state has their eyes on two Lamborghinis, a Corvette, two Dodge Chargers and four other vehicles. In December of 2017, cops confiscated over 520 pounds of marijuana worth $1 million, from a vehicle near the Fulton County Airport. Prosecutors also believe Ralo was involved in different load, where over 444 pounds of pot worth $840,000 was found. Ralo has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges but he is being held without bail, pending a judge’s verdict on his parole status from another case.

(AllHipHop News) Rapper J. Cole is getting into the live event business, with his own new Dreamville Festival. The North Carolina rapper will host the big event in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Fayetteville-born rap star must have big plans for the Dreamville Festival, which will take place at Dix Park, which sits on 306 acres of land. “We’ve been trying to put this festival together for a few years now,” his manager Ibrahim ‘Ib’ Hamad said in an interview. “It’s just hard to come into a city and get the whole city to approve it and (get) behind you,” added Hamad, who is also President of J. Cole’s Dreamville record label. “It was great that we took our time and really connected with the city (and) connected with the mayor,” he added. Other than the September 15 date, no details have been announced about the inaugural Dreamville Festival.

(AllHipHop News) Tyler, The Creator has teamed with Converse on a limited edition line of sneakers. The rapper, real name Tyler Okonma, is not only making his mark in the hip-hop world but also the style scene having started clothing company Golf W### back in 2010. Tyler was unveiled as one of the faces of Converse last July and went on to launch his take on the Converse One Star sneaker as part of the Golf Le Fleur x Converse collection. Earlier this week, he dropped another line known the “Mono” range. The collection features five shoes with suede upper, white midsole and a flower motif stitched on one side. The designs are available in black, white, Greener Pastures, an emerald hue, Limoges, a bright blue and Rhubarb, a dark red. Taking to Twitter to share images of the sneakers, Tyler also warned fans that they may want carefully consider what size they purchase as they tend to run large. In addition to the footwear, Tyler has also added apparel to his offerings for Converse. New clothing items include a grey sweatshirt with the Golf Le Fleur logo embroidered on the left side, and simple T-shirts in blue, green and grey also embossed with the same branding. All of the sneakers are priced at $100 while a T-shirt costs $40 and a men’s sweatshirt is $85 . Items are now available to purchase from the Converse and Golf W### websites. Tyler previously designed a range of shoes for Vans, with his last collection dropping in late 2016, two years after he first signed on as a brand ambassador. He left the company claiming his creativity was being stifled as he tried to explore new design ideas. ​ ​ ​ ​

(AllHipHop News) Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. wants a court showdown with his ex’s current boyfriend Nelly as part of her ongoing assault, battery, and defamation case. Shantel Jackson sued Mayweather in 2014, accusing the fighter of publicly releasing her medical information on social media regarding an abortion. He then countersued claiming she ran up his credit cards without his permission, and last week, Mayweather filed new documents stating his intent to depose Nelly and Ashanti, who dated the rapper eight years ago. Both depositions aren’t scheduled until January of 2019 – just ahead of the expected trial. Nelly is currently dating Jackson – and they are still together after the rap star was accused of sexual misconduct in Washington and London. Monique Greene, 25, who claims the Country Grammar rapper forced himself upon her during an encounter on his tour bus after a gig in Washington recently subpoenaed Jackson after accusing her of lying for the rapper. Nelly, 43, was arrested in October of 2017 but Greene’s criminal case against him was dropped in December after she declined to testify. She later launched her own defamation and sexual assault suits against the star, and he then countersued, claiming that they had sex but that it was consensual. Greene has accused Nelly’s girlfriend of falsely corroborating his alibi to “further his defamation campaign” against her.

(AllHipHop News) Ciara is accusing hip-hop star Future of skipping out on daddy duties with their child. The singer claims her ex is slowly becoming an absentee father, so she’s taking Future to court before it becomes a larger issue. She says Future allegedly misses his visits 37% of the time, and the last minute cancellations are ruining her own schedule. To complicate the issues, Future lives in Georgia and the traveling to visit his dad have been tough on the 3-year-old’s health, according to court documents. Ciara is asking a judge to force Future to mediation, where they can work out a new, official schedule that will be good for Future, Ciara and little Future.

(AllHipHop News) John Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen was left fuming when Kanye West shared text messages the singer sent him about his support of U.S. President Donald Trump on Twitter. The “All of Me” singer had decided to get in touch with Kanye, a close friend after he hit headlines with his controversial tweets in which he pledged his support for the divisive American leader. Instead of contacting Kanye on Twitter, John decided to text him, but his intention to keep the situation private backfired when the rapper shared the messages with his 28 million followers. Now, John’s wife Chrissy has taken issue with Kanye’s decision to breach John’s privacy in such a manner, and she took to Twitter to vent her anger. Chrissy then managed to calm down and see the funny side of the situation as she and Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian traded jokes about their double date dinner plans for Friday night. “@KimKardashian are we still doing dinner Friday or no lol,” Chrissy wrote, to which Kim responded, “Yes but maybe no phones”, alongside crying laughing emojis and a “no phones allowed” symbol. John and Chrissy have long been opponents of Trump and his policies and ideals, and frequently tweet their grievances with the POTUS on social media. In his texts responding to Kanye’s pro-Trump tweets, John had written: “Hey it’s JL. I hope you’ll reconsider aligning yourself with Trump. You’re way too powerful and influential to endorse who he is and what he stands for. As you know, what you say really means something to your fans. They are loyal to you and respect your opinion. “So many people who love you feel so betrayed right now because they know the harm that Trump’s policies cause, especially to people of color. Don’t let this be part of your legacy. You’re the greatest artist of our generation.” Kanye remained unaffected by John’s messages and replied in a tweet of his own: “I love you John and I appreciate your thoughts. You bringing up my fans or my legacy is a tactic based on fear used to manipulate my free thought.”

(AllHipHop News) Rapper Meek Mill has to remain in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania while out on bail. The rapper walked free on Tuesday after lawmakers in Philadelphia overturned a judge’s decision to keep him locked up for violating his probation linked to a crime he committed in 2008. Meek will return to court in June, but he has been ordered to remain in Philadelphia County until his next hearing. However, he can petition court officials to leave the county if he needs to, according to The Blast. “Pursuant to this same Order, this Court ORDERS that Defendant reside in Philadelphia County, be supervised by the Philadelphia County Adult Probation and Parole Department, and shall report to the Philadelphia County Adult Probation and Parole Department within 24 hours of the date of this Order,” the order reads. Meek’s lawyers have been trying to get the rapper’s original conviction vacated after it emerged the police officer who arrested him had been named as part of a local corruption scandal – he was accused of lying under oath to put the rapper behind bars. Judge Genece Brinkley was recently asked to toss Williams’ 2008 conviction by prosecutors, but she refused.

(AllHipHop News) Miami rapper Pitbull is really looking to motivate his fans, with his upcoming tour. Pitbull, born Armando Pérez, will be heading out on the road with legendary motivational speaker Tony Robbins. “I’m just being a revolutionary to wake everybody else,” Pitbull said of the tour. “Music brings everybody together.” According to Pitbull, he’s idolized Tony Robbins since he was 10 years old thanks to his mother. Pitbull’s motivational speaking tour with Tony Robbins will kick off sometime in 2019.

(AllHipHop News) Dr. Dre already has a $40 million mansion, but that just is not enough for the billionaire rap mogul. According to reports, Dre recently used one of his companies to purchase a $4.9 million piece of real estate in Calabasas, California. There is no word yet as to what Dre is planning to do with the property, which comes with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, an in-ground pool, a private movie theater, tennis courts and other amenities. If Dre stays in his newest mansion, he will be neighbors with celebrities like Justin Bieber and members of The Kardashian clan. Dre has been flipping real estate for a minute now. In 2013, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian tried to buy an $11 million plot of land from Dre, but he ended up selling the plot to another purchaser for $32 million. Dre then copped his $40 million mega-mansion from Tom Brady in 2017. Earlier this month, Dre’s protege Kendrick Lamar scooped up a $2.5 million piece of real estate in Calabasas, as an investment property. ​

(AllHipHop News) Kanye West’s former creative designer Virgil Abloh has managed to snag a deal Kanye and could not get done. The Off-White founder has been tapped to create a new line of furniture for IKEA. According to reports, Virgil will design an exclusive furniture capsule collection for IKEA which will land in stores this year. The deal is the latest power move from Virgil Abloh, who recently became the first African-American creative designer for Louis Vuitton. In March of 2016, Kanye West was spotted touring IKEA’s headquarters in Älmhult, Sweden and publicly stated his desire to design furniture for the company. Unfortunately, IKEA rejected Kayne’s proposal to design for the company, with a rep stating Ikea was “flattered by Kanye West’s high interest” but they had no intention on collaborating with the rap star. IKEA will broadcast a live Q&A with Virgil Abloh regarding the new collection on April 30. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh4th1qF2ts/

(AllHipHop News) Ice Cube will return to the big screen in the upcoming controversial thriller, “Excessive Force.” The entire plot of the movie has yet to be revealed, but reports say the movie centers around the Cleveland Police Department racism and political corruption. The rap star will also serve as executive producer of the flick through his CubeVision production company, which his produced hit movies like “Friday,” “Barbershop,” “Ride Along,” “Straight Outta Compton” and the cult classic, “Janky Promoters” amongst others. “Excessive Force” is scheduled to go into production this fall, and will be directed by Carl Franklin, who has shot TV shows like “Ray Donavan,” and “13 Reasons Why.”

(AllHipHop News) R&B star Ne-Yo wants to move into filNe-Yommaking and has started penning a movie script. In addition to his career as a recording artist, Ne-Yo has a number of acting credits to his name and played himself in hit 2017 comedy “Girls Trip.” Now, Ne-Yo has revealed that he wants to move behind the camera by directing and writing and has already begun to realize his ambition by starting work on a film script. “I want to get more into the TV and film space, maybe not in front of the camera,” he said. “I want to direct and write. I have started writing a movie.” However, Ne-Yo did not reveal his movie’s subject matter and confessed that he’s not quite got the hang of screenwriting yet – as he has found it requires very different skills to telling a story in a short pop song. “I’m not totally confident how good it is yet, as I’m still learning,” the 38-year-old explained. “There’s a major difference with writing a story in three minutes versus a story you spend an hour to two watching – there’s a lot more detail.” And if things don’t pan out for the soul star in Hollywood, he can always fall back on his music career. He will soon release Good Man, a new track that is dedicated to the #MeToo anti-sexual harassment campaign and features artists Stefflon Don and Bebe Rexha. Talking about how the movement has inspired him, he added, “It’s time for me to put a spotlight back on what chivalrous values are and why we’ve lost them and what they’re supposed to be.” Good Man is set to be released on June 8.

(AllHipHop News) Fans of Tupac Shakur will be able to make a fashion statement with his lyrics, thanks to a new partnership between his Estate and clothing company Bravado. The Estate of Tupac Shakur just launched the “Tupac Poetry Collection” of merchandise featuring verses from the late artist’s poems. The lyrics selected for the limited edition capsule collection launches just in time for National Poetry Month, which kicks off on May 1. Pieces in the collection range in price, from $30-$200. A launch event for the “Tupac Poetry Collection” will take place at the VFILES in Manhattan on April 26, where a special edition of the in-store event “Pass the Aux: will feature a number of emerging artists. ​ ​ ​

(AllHipHop News) Cardi B could be facing a huge legal battle during her pregnancy, thanks to her former manager. Klenord “Shaft” Raphael filed a $10 million lawsuit against Cardi, claiming he discovered her only to be screwed out of his portions of her earnings. To complicate the matters, Shaft claims it was his team of writers and producers who gave Cardi her big hit “Bodak Yellow.” Shaft also claims Cardi’s fiancee Offset has been threatening him through text messages after Cardi claimed her former manager had been robbing her. “U better stop play acting like u don’t know u taking her s##t from her u a snake,” Offset allegedly texted to Shaft. “U can’t hide from me n##ga and u not bout to play my WIFE.” Despite the threats, Shaft’s lawsuit maintains he helped develop Cardi’s career and her public image and instead of being grateful, Cardi B gave him the boot.

(AllHipHop News) Queens, New York rap star Nas is heading to Los Angeles as a headliner for the 6th Annual BET Experience at LA. Live. Nas will headline the four-day event, which will include performances from Nipsey Hussle, LL Cool J, Ludacris, Chris Brown, Rae Sremmurd, Kamaiyah, Playboi Carti, SZA, A$AP Ferg and others. In addition to the performances, the 6th Annual BET Experience will feature interactive activations, ticketed events and a Celebrity Dodgeball and Basketball game. BET Experience at L.A. Live will take place from June 21-24 at The Staples Center.

(AllHipHop News) Rap veteran DMX has officially begun his one-year sentence for tax fraud. The rapper, real name Earl Simmons, was sentenced to 12 months behind bars in March after striking a plea deal with prosecutors and pleading guilty to just one count of tax fraud, instead of the 14 federal charges he initially faced upon his arrest last summer. The hip-hop star was expected to serve his punishment at Danbury Federal Correctional Facility in Connecticut, the same prison which inspired the hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black,” but he was instead moved to Federal Correctional Institution Hazelton in West Virginia at the last minute from his holding cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. His lawyer tells said DMX is still happy with the change of location, even though it is further away from his family in New York, as the facility has a reputation for its treatment programs for addicts. The 47-year-old, who has battled drug demons in the past, will also have the opportunity to take part in various training programs and arts and crafts classes while behind bars. The news emerges a day after DMX’s attorney, Murray Richman, revealed his client has been inundated with offers for movie roles and publishing deals to chronicle his road to redemption. “(DMX) looks great, is very happy, and overall, is doing remarkably well,” he said.

(AllHipHop News) Rapper J. Cole is adamant any MC offended by a diss track on his new album only feels slighted because “the shoe fits.” The “Lights Please” hitmaker stirred controversy in the hip-hop world last week following the release of his new project K.O.D., which featured the song “1985 (Intro to the Fall-Off).” On the tune, Cole appears to throw shots at the new wave of young hip-hop artists, spitting, “Everybody talkin’ like they know somethin’ these days/N##gas actin’ woke, but they broke, umm/I respect the struggle but you all frontin’ these days…” Many fans speculated the pointed words were aimed at rising rappers like Lil Pump and Smokepurpp, who are known for glorifying drug use on song, with the latter even leading a concert crowd in Atlanta, Georgia to chant, “F##k J. Cole” at a recent show. However, Cole insists the lyrics aren’t calling out any one artist – but if any star takes issue with the track, it’s likely he’s referring to them. “It’s really a ‘shoe fits’ situation – several people can wear that shoe,” he shrugged in a rare interview. “Why you yelling at your show?” he continued. “You must feel attacked in some kind of way, must feel offended, and if you feel offended, then that means something rings true, something struck a chord. That’s cool with me. That’s all I ever want to do.”

(AllHipHop News) Meek Mill is determined to live up to his responsibilities following his release from jail on Tuesday, insisting he’s going to shine a light on prison reform. The rapper is out on bail after lawmakers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania overturned a judge’s decision to keep him locked up for violating his probation linked to a crime he committed over a decade ago, when he was 19, but in his first post-jail TV interview, he insists he doesn’t feel like a free man. “I believe God is my first lawyer,” the rap star told newsman Lester Holt on Wednesday, explaining he plans to use his time as a headline grabber to help others who he feels are wrongly imprisoned. “There’s a lot of light being shed on my situation,” he adds. “I’ve got a lot of important people depending on me… I’m talking about the men that’s depending on me (that are) going through the same think I’m going through.” Meek will return to court in June, to find out if his probation can be dismissed after it emerged the police officer who arrested him had been named as part of a local corruption scandal – he was accused of lying under oath to put the rapper behind bars. Judge Genece Brinkley was asked to toss the MC’s initial 2008 conviction by prosecutors, but she refused. https://www.google.com/sorry/index?continue=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVecCNSWVPg&q=EgQ0Gqq7GKrsgvkFIhkA8aeDS5lQa1yClBHO56ng1bN8ejs-qNxQMgFy

(AllHipHop News) Rapper T.I. has urged fans not to fall for an imposter on Facebook offering up prizes of cash and cars. T.I., born Clifford Harris, took to Instagram on to share a pair of screen shots of the fake page with his 8.3 million followers, warning them against signing up for the “free” competitions. “A shame that I have to say this but… FAKE S##T!!!!,” he captioned the images, which showed the Facebook user’s name as “Tip Harris (Official Page).” https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh-EhtXhjeh/ In the description for the profile, the conman wrote, “I’m the CEO/Manager of Tip Giveaways. I’ll Be Contacting All The Winners On This Page. Good luck y’all.” However, T.I., who also goes by the nickname Tip, made it clear the contests have nothing to do with him, and highlighted a section on the fraudster’s page which stipulates that winning participants have to send in cash in order to receive their prize. “We are giving away $875.000.00 and a brand new cars to 5 person each……,” it read. “Winner’s are only required to pay 2% fee which claims has to be done at a western union or money gram (financial services companies) if you win…” The message also included a line promising the winners they would hear from the hip-hop star himself. “Stop letting folks finesse (easily sweet talk) y’all…,” T.I. added as he continued his warning. “here’s a tip… if it seems too good to be true… IT IS!!!! #NothingWorthHavingComesThisEasy (sic)!!!”