JAY-Z: Of course Young Hov has shut down the horrific sexual attack claims and Diddy connection

I promise my intent really isn’t to keep the NEWS section having this type of vibe - it’s way more lifestyle around these parts but it’s such a massive topic with the Diddy drama going down and music icon JAY-Z stepping up to shut down some pretty horrific sexual assault claims.

JAY-Z steps up to shut down those wild sexual assault claims

Just for context purposes, the claim circulated online over the weekend and pits Young Hov as a predator back in 2000 with an unnamed 13-year-old. Of course JAY relied on his Roc Nation company’s Instagram page to shut down the claim and provide clarity.

PUMA: The much-needed Roc Nation 'Mixtape' sneakers collection has arrive

Need to upgrade your sneakers stash? Say less. PUMA is officially here to the rescue with help from Roc Nation and a super fuego Mixtape series shoe collection rollout.

PUMA and Roc Nation’s ‘Mixtape’ sneakers collection has arrived

Low-key and high-key? The kicks are super fire and come courtesy of both powerhouses celebrating hip-hop reaching its 50th anniversary this summer.

Global sports company PUMA in partnership with Roc Nation officially launched the Mixtape apparel and shoe collection in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip hop. The new designs, which pay homage to the mixtape, arrive from Roc Nation’s Paper Planes co-founder Emory Jones and footwear designer Alexander John.  

Available exclusively at Foot Locker and Champs Sports, the Mixtape collection features the RS-XL model in three versions that have been designed around different mixtape formats: cassettes, CDs and playlists.  

Each shoe features a “LGT Tag,” an NFC-powered chip from Legitimate, that once scanned, unlocks a digital portal featuring exclusive content, weekly mixtape drops and unfettered access to life behind the scenes as a Roc Nation artist. To unlock the exclusive, unreleased music and more from Roc Nation, tap your phone to the tongue of the RS-XL sneaker. 

The Mixtape collection is available exclusively online and in-store at Foot Locker, Champs Sports and Champs Sports Canada.

The shoe debut follows Roc Nation’s suite of custom content pieces tied to the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop including the Mixtape Roundtable featuring Wayno, DJ Clue, Jim Jones, DJ OG Ron C, Lenny S.

Tribeca Film Festival: The must-see 'RISE: The Siya Kolisi Story' is headed to NYC

Black excellent, much? You bet. Roc Nation knows how to properly give people their flowers and proves it with its RISE: The Siya Kolisi Story documentary being slated to arrive at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.

Roc Nation’s must-see Siya Kolsi documentary is coming

Is it June yet? The film centered on the first Black South African rugby captain’s journey to winning the World Cup is set to officially premiere at the annual event June 12.

oday, award-winning athlete, entrepreneur and philanthropist Siya Kolisi announced that his documentary “RISE - The Siya Kolisi Story,” which chronicles his journey as the first black, South African rugby captain who overcame the odds to lead his national team to win the 2019 World Cup, is set to world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12.

The documentary is more than a sports story and pulls back the curtain on Kolisi’s tumultuous upbringing in South Africa, where he navigated through poverty, systemic racism from apartheid, neighborhood violence and a complex relationship with his father.

Rugby became Kolisi’s refuge as he honed his craft, becoming the first-ever, Black captain of South Africa’s national team in its 126-year history as well as one of the greatest superstars of his generation. In the process, Kolisi’s leadership on and off the pitch inspired a country that had been plagued by decades of segregation and injustice.

“I’m truly honored to be sharing my story with millions around the world,” said Siya Kolisi. “I hope my journey inspires people to chase their dreams and reminds others to never allow adverse circumstances to define our lives. We are more than products of our environments and we have the potential to change our respective narratives.”

RISE - The Siya Kolisi Story was written and directed by Tebogo Malope, an award-winning filmmaker who most recently directed a documentary series on the launch of the NBA's Basketball Africa League that included appearances from President Barack Obama and J. Cole. Roc Nation Sports International has represented Kolisi since his historic World Cup win in 2019, having shepherded his professional and personal career endeavors. Most recently, Kolisi was featured on CBS’ iconic program, 60 Minutes, where they highlighted his life story as well as his plans to create meaningful change in South Africa.

The Tribeca Film Festival premiere of RISE - The Siya Kolisi Story comes shortly after Kolisi was awarded the National Order of Ikhamanga, a prestigious award bestowed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that recognizes citizens who excel in sports, arts, culture, literature, music, and journalism. In recent years, Kolisi released his best-selling autobiography, RISE, and has also been designated as the UN Global Advocate for Spotlight Initiative, nominated as a BBC Sports Star of the Year, honored as the SA Rugby Player of the Year and recognized by Forbes Africa in 2021 as one of the 100 most influential Africans. He also co-founded The Kolisi Foundation with his wife Rachel Kolisi that is committed to changing narratives of inequality in South Africa.

“Siya is an embodiment of resilience, patience and determination,” President of Roc Nation Sports International Michael Yormark said. “We are beyond thrilled to premiere this powerful documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival and help tell Siya’s inspirational story. He has shattered barriers to become a global icon and is continuing to leave an impactful legacy for the next generation.”

Roc Nation Executive Vice President of TV & Film Lori York is spearheading global distribution conversations and sales negotiations with partners for RISE - The Siya Kolisi Story. Jon Day and Vincent Mai executive produced the film alongside Yormark and York, who served as consulting producers.

Bobby Fishscale: The Roc Nation Florida rapper delivers with his 'I Might'

Florida stand up? You bet. Turns out Roc Nation rap artist Bobby Fishscale is gearing up for a major new album rollout but in the meantime, it’s all about building the anticipation with hard-hitting tunes like his new ‘I Might’ single.

Bobby Fishscale’s ‘I Might’ really does hit hard

With the studio effort slated for a summer rollout, Bobby gets the vibes going with ‘I Might’ to the masses.

“It’s all about a hustler’s mentality,” Bobby Fishscale said. “This song is about the life you get to live coming out the other side of grinding hard and staying focused.”

This single follows last week’s drop of “Really Eat” where the rapper chronicles his come up story, utilizing today’s release to bring his journey full circle.  

The pair of single releases marks Bobby’s preparation for an exciting summer of new music, building off of the success of his debut album,The Evolution featuring lead track “Huncho Fishscale” ft. Quavo. The Florida rapper has made his mark with an impressive list of notable collaborators such as Juicy J, Zaytoven, DJ Paul, Ink, Mozzy, and labelmate Kalan.FrFr - promising more exciting collaborations later this year. 

The Florida native has catapulted himself to the forefront of Florida’s burgeoning wave of rappers by capturing the attention of hip hop heavyweights like Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak Black, Rod Wave, and 2Chainz who co-sign Bobby for his “Flunkies Flow” freestyle. Bobby is a BMI R&B and Hip Hop Social Star Award winner joining respected names like Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Zendaya, Joey Bada$$, and NLE Choppa.      

JAY-Z leads the pack on Roc Nation's 'The Harder They Fall' soundtrack

Music icon JAY-Z really is doing it all these days from hanging out with floor seats at the Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center games to flexing with Beyoncé in Tiffany & Co. campaigns and now appearing on the new Roc Nation-released The Harder They Fall soundtrack.

JAY-Z leads ‘The Harder They Fall’ soundtrack

Young Hov’s Roc Nation and Netflix have partnered up for the film’s audio release. In addition to the Jigga Man, the album features music heavyweights including Kid Cudi, Jadakiss, Conway The Machine, Koffee, Seal, CeeLe Green, Lauryn Hill and film director Jeymes Samuel.

Each song on the soundtrack was produced by Samuel, who also co-wrote the screenplay for “The Harder They Fall” and directed the film starring Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, R.J. Cyler, Damon Wayans Jr., Deon Cole with Regina King and Idris Elba. In addition to making his directorial debut, Samuel also showcases his versatility as an artist with his own song “No Turning Around” also appearing on the project.

Director Jeymes Samuel is big proud of the soundtrack

The film’s director has since spoke on being a part of the jam-packed soundtrack and dished on what it means to have a deep mixture of talent all on one project.

“I’m honored to have collaborated with such a diverse and talented array of artists to bring this film’s soundtrack to life," said Samuel. "My vision was to create a versatile body of work that blends genres and eras in an innovative way. I hope that, through our collaborative work, fans will be able to really immerse themselves in the stories we’re trying to tell.”

JAY’s on more than just one fire song

While in most cases you would figure JAY is only going to be featured on one track, Shawn Carter actually has a couple of standout collaborations.

The soundtrack includes the long-awaited collaboration between JAY-Z and Kid Cudi on “Guns Go Bang,” which was first teased in the film’s main trailer in September and marks the duo’s first official collaboration since 2009. JAY-Z makes another appearance on the soundtrack alongside Jadakiss and Conway The Machine on “King Kong Riddim” for an explosive collaboration.

Additionally, the soundtrack includes a rare appearance from Hill, whose collaborative effort with Fatoumata Diawara on “Black Woman”offers a strong message of empowerment. Hill’s appearance on “The Harder They Fall” soundtrack is significant, considering it marks the Grammy-award winning icon’s fifth release as lead artist in the past 10 years.

The project also features some notable songs by veteran musician Barrington Levy and a skit with “Atlanta” star LaKeith Stanfield and Regina King.

1. Lightnin’ With The Blam Blams (Skit) - Edi Gathegi & R.J. Cyler

2. The Harder They Fall - Koffee

3. Guns Go Bang - Kid Cudi & JAY-Z

4. Better Than Gold - Barrington Levy

5. Black Woman - Fatoumata Diawara & Ms. Lauryn Hill

6. Wednesday’s Child - Alice Smith 

7. Blackskin Mile - CeeLo Green 

8. Ain’t No Better Love - Seal

9.  We Ain’t No Nincompoop (Skit) - LaKeith Stanfield & Regina King 

10. King Kong Riddim ft Backroad Gee - JAY-Z, Jadakiss & Conway The Machine 

11. We Go Harder - Laura Mvula & Mayra Andrade

12. Is The Devil Dead? (Skit) - Zazie Beetz & Jonathan Majors 

13. No Turning Around - Jeymes Samuel 

14. Three and Thirty Years - Pretty Yende 

From theaters to Netflix

The great thing about today’s technology is if you didn’t get a chance to see The Harder They Fall in theaters, the movie is slated to soon arrive on Netflix.

The film was recently released in select theaters on October 22 and will be followed by a global release on Netflix on November 3. The domestic premiere for the film took place on Oct. 13 at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles while the world premiere for “The Harder They Fall” occurred at the 65th BFI London Film Festival. It received rave reviews with Deadline describing it as “a mainstream revitalization of a genre many thought was long dead” and Variety writing that the film “brings black cowboys and Jay-Z to the Oscars race.”