NEWS
Tony Yayo once again showed why G-Unit and Ja Rule will never reconcile. In an interview with DJ Vlad, Yayo and Vlad had a discussion about the greatest rapper of all time. Dr. Dre recently called Eminem the greatest to ever do it. Yayo co-signed Dre's opinion, adding that he had Em in his top five, but couldn't disagree with Dre's opinion. He talked about the value of statistics, mentioning that Eminem is still breaking records nearly a quarter of a century into his mainstream career. He uttered a familiar phrase: "men lie, women lie, numbers don't," suggesting a belief that commercial success is the greatest measure of a rapper's status in the industry.
The conversation between Vlad and Tony Yayo went from the greatest rapper of all time to Yayo creating his Mount Rushmore of Queens rappers. The two of them went through a list. They did not quite settle on a Mount Rushmore, but Vlad was quick to note that Ja Rule's name did not come up. Vlad argued that Ja should be in conversations over the Lost Boys. Especially if one of Yayo's own measures for success is how well one performs commercially. For a period, Ja Rule was among the most popular rappers around, along with DMX, OutKast, Eminem, and of course, 50 Cent.
"He was like the industry plant early, Ja Rule [...]," said Tony Yayo in the clip. "Ja Rule was a buster to me. I don't know him. He's from the other side of town. He's a buster to me, and he's still a buster. Irv [Gotti]'s a buster, Irv's brother's a buster, and they're all busters to me." When questioned about Ja's ability to sell records at his peak, Yayo responded by calling him a buster again. He disregarded his sales and reiterated that the Lost Boys deserve to be on that list instead of him.
Tony Yayo's response is not surprising. The 50 Cent-led G-unit camp and Ja Rule have had issues for over twenty years. 50, along with Eminem, contributed greatly to ending Ja's run as a commercially viable rapper, with a series of diss tracks that kneecapped his credibility. Em once again took aim at him on The Death of Slim Shady. With this interview, Yayo is the latest 50 Cent affiliate to remind fans that the participants in this long-running beef will probably never reach a truce.
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
