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Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) has announced an event in Miami to coincide with the release of his Donda 2 album.
In a post on Instagram Saturday night (Feb. 12), Ye shared an image of a house on fire.
“DONDA 2 2 22 22 LOANDEPOT PARK STADIUM MIAMI,” he captioned the photo, adding that tickets would be “on sale Monday @ Noon.”
The Donda 2 event at Miami’s LoanDepot Park stadium is set for Feb. 22, 2022, the release date Ye had previously announced for the Future-produced album, the follow-up to 2021’s Donda.
Ye has confirmed one artist who won’t be featured on Donda 2: Kid Cudi. Earlier on Saturday, he posted a note on Instagram that read, “Just so everyone knows Cudi will not be on Donda because he’s friends with you know who. We all speak in Billie language now.”
Cudi, who last collaborated with Ye on 2021’s Donda, left a comment on Ye’s post, writing, “Too bad I dont wanna be on ur album u f—in dinosaur hahaha. everyone knows ive been the best thing about ur albums since i met u. Ima pray for you brother.”
See Ye’s latest announcement below.
Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) has decided to publicly announce that Kid Cudi will not be featured on his next album, Donda 2.
On Saturday (Feb. 12), Ye uploaded a note to Instagram, tagging Cudi as well as Kim Kardashian.
“Just so everyone knows Cudi will not be on Donda because he’s friends with you know who,” Ye wrote. He added, “We all speak in Billie language now.”
Cudi, who last collaborated with Ye on 2021’s Donda album, left a comment on Ye’s post and also seemingly tweeted a response — though he didn’t mention Ye by name on Twitter.
“Too bad I dont wanna be on ur album u f—in dinosaur hahaha,” he responded directly to Ye on Instagram. “everyone knows ive been the best thing about ur albums since i met u. Ima pray for you brother.”
“We talked weeks ago about this. You’re whack for flipping the script and posting this lie just for a look on the internet. You ain’t no friend. BYE,” he tweeted soon after Ye posted. In another tweet, Cudi said, “God opens the door so the wrong people can exit ur life.”
Ye’s mention of “Billie language” comes days after the rapper took to Instagram to ask his fellow Coachella headliner Billie Eilish to apologize for allegedly taking a vague dig at Travis Scott at a recent concert. “Literally never said a thing about Travis,” she said in the comments of his post on Thursday (Feb. 10). “Was just helping a fan.”
Eilish, who had paused her show to help get an inhaler to a fan in the crowd, had said from the stage, “I wait for the people to be OK before I keep going.” Ye later shared a headline that accused her of dissing Scott with that comment, in reference to the tragedy at Scott’s Astroworld Festival in November.
See Ye’s latest post that was aimed at Kid Cudi below.
Rihanna brought her growing baby bump to the red carpet.
The pregnant pop superstar and fashion and beauty mogul attended the Fenty Beauty Universe Event in Los Angeles with A$AP Rocky on Friday evening (Feb. 11).
At the L.A. event, Rihanna told People that she’s enjoying dressing herself while pregnant. “I’m enjoying not having to worry about covering up my tummy,” she said. “If I feel a little chubby, it’s like, whatever! It’s a baby!”
Boyfriend A$AP Rocky showed up in a shade of purple that complemented Rihanna’s outfit, but the singer clarified that they didn’t plan it that way.
“I didn’t know what he was wearing,” said Rihanna, according to People. “I didn’t even see him! Like, he left the studio to come here. That always happens with us. We get dressed in completely separate [areas] across the house, and we leave looking coordinated somehow.”
Rihanna first revealed that she was pregnant at the end of January, in photos with A$AP Rocky in New York City. Since then, she’s shared some snapshots of her belly on Instagram.
See Rihanna posing at Friday’s Fenty Beauty event below.
Rihanna celebrates her Fenty Beauty brand on Feb. 11, 2022 in Los Angeles.
Four people were shot and wounded early Saturday (Feb. 11) after a fight broke out outside a Los Angeles restaurant hosting a party that followed a Justin Bieber concert, police said.
The gunfire erupted outside The Nice Guy restaurant, striking and injuring four men ages 60, 22, 20 and 19, LAPD Officer Lizeth Lomeli said. Their names were not released, but NBC News reported rapper Kodak Black was among the wounded.
Officers who responded to the scene found two victims. Paramedics took them to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said in an updated statement Saturday afternoon.
Two additional victims went to hospitals on their own, according to the statement. All four victims were listed in stable condition.
Detectives asked witnesses to come forward to help them identify the gunman.
Videos posted on TMZ and on social media show Black posing for photos with a group of people outside the restaurant when the brawl broke out. Black is among several people involved in the brawl when shots rang out, sending everyone at the scene running for cover.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News that Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, was among the people shot and injured. A message to his publicist at Atlantic Records has not been returned.
The party followed Bieber’s private concert at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, as part of a Super Bowl-week party dubbed “Homecoming Weekend.” The guests at the star-studded event included Jeff Bezos, his girlfriend TV host Lauren Sánchez, Hamilton actor Anthony Ramos and NFL Hall-of-Famer Tony Gonzalez.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Bieber and his wife Hailey Baldwin, Drake, Khloe Kardashian and Tobey Maguire were also among the celebrities seen entering the afterparty.
Luke Bryan knows how to make a memorable exit. The country music star closed the sold-out opening night of his new Las Vegas residency by soaring 45 feet in the air on a catwalk at Resorts World Theatre.
The stunning final moments of the 100-minute performance on Friday night (Feb. 11) brought Bryan eye-to-eye with the 5,000-person crowd as he ascended the levels of the AEG/Concerts West venue. The singer appeared to be feeling the good vibes — and in a particularly cheeky moment, he allowed an audience member to as well, with a butt grab — before throwing on a sequin-adorned jacket and making an ascent to the top levels of the theater.
Heavy on the booty shaking for which he is known, Bryan literally rocked the hydraulic walkway with an avalanche of hip gyrations during “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” before appropriately ending the night with “Don’t Want This Night to End.” Then, he tore off his jacket and ripped into a margarita.
Matching Bryan’s vibe, the celebratory mood of the audience heightened Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak recently dropping the statewide mask mandate, which allowed the crowd to attend without restrictions.
“I’d like to take some personal credit in getting rid of the mask mandate,” Bryan told the crowd. “I really appreciate that. I feel like the governor saw that we’re all coming here and he’s just like, ‘Oh now, just f— it.’ It happened on my weekend.”
Although Carrie Underwood and Katy Perry might have taken their residency turns first in the recently debuted Resorts World Theatre, Bryan pushed it full throttle with an electric show that showed what the Scéno Plus venue can do. The spatial audio experience showcased through the state-of-the-art speakers and sound technology delivered Bryan’s pristine, crisp vocals.
Matching the energy of the crowd from the first note and bringing his A-game, the American Idol judge electrified with a generous amount of pyrotechnics through the kick-off song “That’s My Kind of Night,” continuing into “All My Friends Say,” taking an early walk around the audience to hype everyone up. The multilevel LED-fronted set raised and lowered to the music, transforming the entire stage into a captivating video production. The massive proscenium filled with sounds, sights and Bryan’s “man in black” presence along with his band.
Then came the tequila, thanks to several margaritas Bryan consumed onstage, apropos for the country star who’s song “One Margarita” graduated to exalted status as a carefree summer anthem. “Let’s drink some margaritas tonight,” he said. “I’m not really sure how good I’ll be having a residency in Vegas.”
It is impossible to not have fun at a Bryan show, as the performer, infectiously, is having the most fun of all. “This is an amazing night,” he shared. “This is an amazing situation to have a place here in Las Vegas to call home.”
Unlike most residency performers, Bryan maintained a continuously uncanned dialogue with the audience, showcasing his endearing humor, as he fired off close to two dozen hit songs. Throughout, he shared his love of the casino action.
“I have already lost my ass this week on blackjack,” he said. “Which made me double my typical NFL bets. Raise your hand if you are up out there tonight? Raise your hand if you are down … it is always more.”
But when the jokes cooled off, the music heated up. During the staging of “Waves,” the set undulated to the song, encapsulating Bryan in cascades of digital waterfalls. The new country classic “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” prompted a five-person guitar jam session. More pyro rained during “Kick Up the Dust,” and he took to the piano to sing “Strip it Down” and “Do I” against a backdrop of lights.
“I’ve been waiting for this all night,” Bryan commented as he took a sip of his margarita to deliver the song as if the audience was in his living room.
One thing Bryan couldn’t deliver was all of 29 of his No. 1 songs. “I can’t sing all my hits,” he said. “Can someone google how many No. 1’s Blake Shelton had? Don’t be screwing up my damn Yelp review, I don’t need a three star … I’m working my ass off.”
The show was directed by Strip royalty Brian Burke, whose credits include Las Vegas residencies by Pitbull, Celine Dion and Keith Urban, among many others. Brian Burke Creative and Tom Sutherland from DX7 Design designed the production.
AEG Presents announced nine more dates for Bryan’s run after the debut. The newly announced shows begin in mid-June and run through early September.
Two men charged with fatally shooting rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush at a Tennessee cookie shop pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other felony charges Friday (Feb. 11).
Lawyers for Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith entered the pleas in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis.
Both were indicted in January in the Nov. 17 killing of Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr. Police have said two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies, where Young Dolph was making a purchase. Police released photos taken from surveillance video that captured the shooting.
Prosecutor Paul Hagerman told reporters outside the courtroom Friday that authorities believe they know the motive for the killing, but he would not discuss details. The case could qualify for the death penalty, but no determination has been made regarding that issue, Hagerman said.
“Memphis is already past ready for justice in this case,” Hagerman said.
Both Johnson and Smith have prior felony convictions for violent crimes. Johnson, 23, was traveling on a highway in Indiana on Jan. 11 when he was stopped and arrested on a murder warrant outside of Terre Haute by the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said. Smith, 32, was arrested in December on an auto-theft warrant involving the vehicle used in Young Dolph’s killing.
Both defendants were being held without bond.
Juni Ganguli, Johnson’s lawyer, said he spoke with his client after the hearing.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever happy when they’re indicted for first-degree murder, so he’s sad and confused,” he said.
Ganguli and Smith’s lawyer, Michael Scholl, are both well known in the Memphis legal world and both have worked on high-profile cases in the past. Both lawyers said it was too early to discuss details of the case.
The next step will be for prosecutors to present evidence to the defense attorneys.
The shooting stunned Memphis and shocked the entertainment world. City officials and community activists pointed to the killing as a symbol of the dangers of gun violence in Memphis, where more than 300 homicides were reported last year.
Known for his depictions of tough street life and his independent approach to the music business, Young Dolph was admired for charitable works in Memphis. He organized Thanksgiving food giveaways, donated thousands of dollars to high schools, and paid rent and covered funeral costs for people in the Castalia Heights neighborhood where he was raised. When he was killed, the 36-year-old rapper was in Memphis to hand out Thanksgiving turkeys and visit a cancer center.
Young Dolph was born in Chicago and moved to Memphis with his parents when he was 2. He released numerous mixtapes, starting with 2008′s “Paper Route Campaign,” and multiple studio albums, including his 2016 debut “King of Memphis.” He also collaborated on other mixtapes and albums with fellow rappers Key Glock, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz and others.
He had three albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with 2020′s “Rich Slave” peaking at No. 4.
Judge Lee Coffee set the next hearing in the case for March 24.
