(AllHipHop News) Jesse Williams is joining the chorus of celebrities lashing out at H&M bosses over their controversial new clothing ad. The fashion retailer hit headlines earlier this week after an offensive campaign photo featuring a young black child wearing a green hoodie emblazoned with the words ‘Coolest Monkey in the Jungle’, surfaced online. The Weeknd and rapper G-Eazy, who both had lines with the company, have since cut ties with the firm, and now Williams is slamming the brand. “Just getting back from vacation to see this pathetic excuse for corporate behavior and (ir)responsibility,” he writes on Instagram. “Last year I chose to do a holiday campaign w/ (with) @HM specifically because it centered (on) women and girls as imaginative doers; because it centered (on) an intelligent dark skinned girl w/ (with) natural hair as (a) protagonist; because it featured a loving, creative, working class black family. And then, here they come with this bulls##t…” “The collateral damage of this corporate, colonial mind-state occurs several times a year, and it’s predictable the world over, like the seasons, so when i laid (my) eyes on it, my initial reaction was neither shock nor anger,” he continues. “It was boredom. This old world, white power, failing-upward culture of reckless trampling that repeatedly exposes itself, is boring already. Aren’t you bored?…” And he is urging his fans to boycott H&M and take their business elsewhere. “End relationships with your abusers,” he adds. “Make room for yourselves.” Company bosses have issued an apology, insisting they will investigate why the controversial ad was approved. “We understand that many people are upset about the image,” a statement from an H&M representative to NBC News reads. “We who work at H&M can only agree. We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print.” “It is obvious that our routines have not been followed properly,” the statement continues. “We will thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again.” The ad has since been removed from all H&M online outlets. https://www.instagram.com/p/BdvGFCkhHYK/?hl=en&taken-by=ijessewilliams

(AllHipHop News) Rapper-turned-reality TV star Gunplay is facing allegations of assault after reportedly head-butting his ex-girlfriend in a bust-up early on New Year’s Day. The “Love and Hip Hop: Miami” star stands accused of becoming engaged in a heated exchange with Aneka Johnston at Florida adult club The Office, where she works as a stripper after he arrived with his current girlfriend, Keyara. According to reports Gunplay, real name Richard Morales, Jr., is said to have waited in the parking lot for Johnston’s shift to end, and then allegedly attacked her. She was treated in hospital for bruising to her face and neck, and a scratched cornea, and subsequently filed a police report about the alleged incident, with officers noting the rapper “became irate and struck Miss Johnston upon her face with his head”. Investigators have since completed their investigation and passed the case on to the Florida State Attorney’s office, where prosecutors will decide whether or not to press charges. Gunplay, who is signed to Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, has yet to comment on the accusations.

(AllHipHop News) Russell Simmons is “vehemently” denying new rape allegations against him. Two new accusers filed criminal complaints against the hip-hop mogul with the New York Police Department last month, alleging he raped them in 1983 and 1991, respectively. One of the accusers, Sherri Hines went public with her claims on TV in America last month. She told cops Simmons raped her at his office in 1983. The second woman, who has not been identified, claims Simmons raped her at his Manhattan home following a date in 1991. New York Police Department officials are currently “in the process of reviewing” the allegations, but Simmons is now insisting they are not true. “I vehemently deny all these allegations,” a statement issued by his representative reads. “These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual.” “The current allegations range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful,” he adds. “The presumption of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ must not be replaced by ‘Guilty by Accusation’.” Simmons is also claiming he has been the target of extortion attempts. “One woman attempted to extort me for $500,000 only to recant her ridiculous claim,” his statement adds. “In recent weeks, some former business, creative and romantic partners have aired grievances as claims I categorically reject. In some of these instances, financial motives and direct contradictory witness testimony has been supplied to the media, which has been completely left out of stories.” Simmons is currently facing sexual misconduct and/or rape accusations from 14 women. In November, he stepped down from his companies after former model Keri Claussen Khalighi and screenwriter Jenny Lumet accused him of sexual assault. In December, he was hit with more accusations of sexual misconduct, rape, and assault from a group of other women in exposes published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. The NYPD is reportedly investigating Simmons for at least seven claims of sexual misconduct.

(AllHipHop News) Rap star 50 Cent will take some time off from promoting his upcoming movie “Den of Thieves,” to focus on his music career. 50 and his G-Unit cohorts are heading to Australia for a mini-tour celebrating his landmark debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, which dropped on February 6, 2003. 50, Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and Uncle Murda will be the headlining performers at two shows in Sydney, and Melbourne. The first show in Sydney will take place on February 9 at The Crescent, while the other show will go down at the Melbourne Showgrounds on February 10. 50’s performance comes as he gears up for the release of his highly anticipated movie “Den of Thieves,” where he stars opposite Gerard Butler O’Shea Jackson Jr and Pablo Schreiber. The movie is due in theaters on January 19th.

(AllHipHop News) Actress Taraji P. Henson has a new understanding of how fatal accidents can occur while filming complicated stunts after pulling double duty on new movie “Proud Mary.” The “Empire” star portrays the titular hitwoman in the action thriller, which she also executive produced, and the long hours on set made her realize the importance of safety procedures when shooting daring sequences towards the end of the day. “I don’t think people really realize how much work goes into an action film,” Taraji explained on U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America. “It’s so physical, and we often hear tales of people dying, and I’ll tell you why: because you’re in the 13th hour, you’ve been working all day, and you get to the end of the day and you still have this hugely dangerous stunt to pull off, and people are tired! And sometimes if fatigue sets in or you miscount a step, it can go really bad.” Her comments come months after two stuntworkers were killed last summer – John Bernecker died from his injuries following a balcony fall on the set of “The Walking Dead” in Atlanta, Georgia in July, and Joi Harris lost her life in a motorcycle crash on the set of the “Deadpool” sequel in Vancouver, Canada just weeks later. Meanwhile, Taraji has blamed her own exhaustion for suffering a minor mishap on the set of “Proud Mary” back in May, when she crashed a Maserati sports car into a fire hydrant while filming in Massachusetts. Reports at the time suggested the collision had caused $12,000 worth of damage to the pricey vehicle, and the actress, who was not hurt in the incident, admits the cost was the first thing that came to her mind when the accident happened. She recalled, “Man, let me tell you – if I was just the actress, I would’ve been like, ‘Oh, was that me?’ (But as an executive producer), I was just like, ‘How much is this gonna cost us?’ I benched myself! I was like (scolding myself), ‘Go to your trailer!’” Despite the motor mistake, Taraji insisted she had so much fun fronting the new movie, likening her tough character to the female protagonist in the “Tomb Raider” video game and film franchise. “I just felt like a black Lara Croft, that’s what I kept saying!” she smiled. “I had the ponytail and the combat boots, it was that (part) when she really goes to war, she has… a navy blue motorcycle jacket and these motorcycle pants, and I just felt like, ‘Dang, I could really hurt someone just with my outfit!’” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0aKm1gKLo https://www.google.com/sorry/index?continue=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg0aKm1gKLo&q=EgQ0Gqq7GInhgvkFIhkA8aeDS0-UB2469zlEIsskWzdg1HY-hOqgMgFy

(AllHipHop News) Legendary hip-hop star Chuck D has reportedly lost his home during the devastating wildfires in California. The Public Enemy star’s predicament has been brought to light by documents in which his old bandmate Flavor Flav is attempting to sue him over royalties. Flav, real name William Jonathan Drayton Jr. has been trying to serve Chuck, real name Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, with a lawsuit, but according to the papers, when officials turned up the rapper’s home last month, they learned it had been torched by the Thomas Fire – the largest blaze in California history. Although the fire, which has destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, is still burning, Los Angeles Fire Department officials say it is now 90 per cent under control. Flav reportedly wants to battle Chuck in court because his old bandmate is playing old Public Enemy songs on tour with his new supergroup Prophets of Rage – formed with members of metal group Rage Against The Machine. According to the lawsuit, Flavor Flav is now seeking alternative means to serve Chuck with the lawsuit.

(AllHipHop News) Rapper Nas and his ex-wife singer Kelis have come to a custody agreement after a lengthy battle over the care of their eight-year-old son Knight. The two have divided up visitation rights and now Nas is able to spend time with Knight on weekends, according to documents. The former couple has also agreed to avoid exploiting the child on social media. In November, the “One Mic” star, full name Nasir Jones, filed court papers claiming Kelis was only allowing him visitation with Knight “when she deems it convenient for her,” even though he had done his best to co-operate with his ex-following their separation in April 2009, when she was seven months pregnant. The rap star asked for an official custody schedule to be put in place, and suggested Knight spends the first, third, and fifth weekend of every month with him. Last December, Kelis filed a request for a court hearing. Nas and Kelis, who wed in 2005, finalized their divorce in 2010. The rapper is also dad to 23-year-old daughter Destiny from his relationship with ex-girlfriend Carmen Bryan, while Kelis welcomed another son in 2015. She has never publicly revealed the identity of the boy’s father. Nas dated Nicki Minaj for seven months before the pair split last week.

(AllHipHop News) Music mogul Jimmy Iovine is denying reports he is leaving Apple music. Earlier in the week, news broke that Jimmy would be leaving the company around August, after his stock options vest later this year. The Interscope Records founder, who has been with the company since 2014, has responded to the claims during an interview at the Grammy Museum earlier this week during a screening of the HBO series “The Defiant Ones.” “All this stuff you’re seeing in the newspapers, let me tell you, my stock vested a long time ago. We need Donald Trump here to call it ‘fake news’,” Jimmy Iovine told the crowd. Although Iovine claims he isn’t leaving Apple anytime soon, the mogul, who turns 65 in March, admitted he would probably be out of the business within the next 10 years. “I don’t see myself at 75-years-old running around doing music. Eventually, I’ll be slowing down. But right now, I’m committed to getting streaming right,” Jimmy Iovine said. Jimmy Iovine took over Apple Music four years ago, after he sold Beats to the company with Dr. Dre, for over $2 billion dollars.

(AllHipHop News) Fans of Eminem will get a glimpse into the rap stars reclusive life, now that he has officially joined Snapchat. Em took to Instagram to reveal his account to his 16.9 million followers. https://www.instagram.com/p/BdvC3ZeFkkx/?taken-by=eminem The notoriously private rapper will most likely take his fans behind the scenes, as he prepares for a series of high-profile dates. Eminem is scheduled to headline Coachella in April, the Governor’s Ball in June, the Boston Calling music festival in May and Bonnaroo in June. The news comes just weeks after Eminem released his 9th album, Revival. If you want to follow Eminem on Snapchat click here.

(AllHipHop News) Rapper Kevin Gates is a free man. Gates was released from an Illinois prison today (January 10) after serving 9 months over a gun charge. The rapper, born Kevin Gilyard, was ordered to serve 30 months in prison for felony gun possession back in April, just after he completed five months of a six-month sentence in Florida, for kicking a woman in the face at one of his shows. Authorities in Florida Kevin Gates had an outstanding weapons-related warrant out for his arrest as he was preparing to be released, with the order dating back to a missed court appearance for a 2013 gun case in Illinois. Now that all of that is behind him, Kevin Gates said he planned on speaking to young at-risk teens, in hopes of keeping them out of prison. Today, Kevin Gates, 31, returned to Instagram, with a cryptic message, and he received well wishes from a variety of rappers including Gucci Mane, Famous Dex and Lil Baby. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdxep-LhbtQ/?hl=en&taken-by=iamkevingates

(AllHipHop News) Rap newcomers Cardi B and 21 Savage have been tipped for continued success after landing on Forbes magazine’s Hip-Hop Future Moguls of 2018 list. The poll, formerly called Hip-Hop Cash Princes, highlights the stars on the way to raking in the big bucks and joining the ranks of multi-millionaires like Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Sean “Diddy” Combs, on the publication’s annual Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Acts countdown. In addition to “Bodak Yellow” hitmaker Cardi, rapper/singer Lizzo, and producer Wondagurl also give the Class of 2018 the feminine touch, which is partly why the panel of judges decided to rename the list. Meanwhile, Post Malone, Playboi Carti, and Lil Pump are also featured, alongside Dave East and Tyler, The Creator. Eligible participants have to be under 30 years of age, and cannot have featured on the list in previous years in any capacity.

(AllHipHop News) Two women are moving forward with an attempt to prosecute Hip-Hop mogul, Russell Simmons. The women have filed criminal complaints with the New York Police Department, against Simmons, according to reports. One woman, Sherri Hines aka Sheri Sher of the Mercedes Ladies has already gone public with her allegation that Simmons raped her in an office in Manhattan back in 1983. Another anonymous woman filed a new complaint, claiming Russell Simmons raped her when she was 32-years-old. The woman claims Simmons raped her in 1991 inside of his Manhattan apartment after the pair returned from a date. So far, 14 women have accused Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct or rape. In related news, Russell Simmons recently revealed he has halted his #NotMe campaign, after deciding that “this is a time for women to speak.” [The Def Jam Recordings co-founder recently stepped down from his companies after former model Keri Claussen Khalighi and screenwriter Jenny Lumet accused him of sexual assault in November. ]((AllHipHop News%29 Two women are moving forward with an attempt to prosecute Hip-Hop mogul, Russell Simmons. Two women have filed criminal complaints against Simmons, according to reports. One woman, Sherri Hines, has already gone public with her allegation that Simmons raped her in an office in Manhattan back in 1983. Another anonymous woman filed a new complaint, claiming Russell Simmons raped her when she was 32-years-old. The woman claims Simmons raped her in 1991 inside of his Manhattan apartment after the pair returned from a date. So far, 14 women have accused Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct or rape. In related news, Russell Simmons recently revealed he has halted his #NotMe campaign, after deciding that “this is a time for women to speak.” The Def Jam Recordings co-founder recently stepped down from his companies after former model Keri Claussen Khalighi and screenwriter Jenny Lumet accused him of sexual assault in November. In December, he was hit with accusations of sexual misconduct, rape, and assault from a group of other women in exposes published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. However, following the publication of the articles, Simmons vehemently denied the allegations and stated that he would present evidence to prove his innocence. He also revealed he was creating a new movement called #NotMe – in response to the #MeToo initiative created to encourage sexual assault victims to come forward. Simmons has allegedly taken a polygraph test in response to the claims he sexually assaulted model Khalighi and claims the results prove his innocence. According to the music mogul’s attorneys, he plans to repeat the polygraph test for allegations made by four other women – and he’ll release the results once he’s completed all the tests.) In December, he was hit with accusations of sexual misconduct, rape, and assault from a group of other women in exposes published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. However, following the publication of the articles, Simmons vehemently denied the allegations and stated that he would present evidence to prove his innocence. He also revealed he was creating a new movement called #NotMe – in response to the #MeToo initiative created to encourage sexual assault victims to come forward. Simmons has allegedly taken a polygraph test in response to the claims he sexually assaulted model Khalighi and claims the results prove his innocence. According to the music mogul’s attorneys, he plans to repeat the polygraph test for allegations made by four other women – and he’ll release the results once he’s completed all the tests.