NEWS
Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez continue to deal with a lot of legal fallout from the case of the latter shooting the former back in 2020. In fact, their most recent legal update also concerns her defamation lawsuit against blogger Milagro Gramz.
According to AllHipHop, a federal judge in Florida ordered Lanez to cover Megan's legal fees for a disastrous deposition he reportedly participated in. During this April 9 meeting for the Gramz defamation case, he allegedly disrespected the Houston femcee's legal counsel by insulting her, interrupting questions, and feigning ignorance of basic facts and definitions.
As such, the sanctions against the Canadian star will cover that first round of questioning. Megan Thee Stallion's legal team asked Tory Lanez to explain why the court shouldn't hold him in contempt for this behavior. He and his legal team didn't respond by the April 30 deadline, which has now led to this sanctions ruling.
Furthermore, Tory's next deposition will also host a magistrate judge to supervise the procedure and ensure civility. Meg's attorneys also want his pockets to pay for a special master to overlook future testimony, but we'll see where the judge falls on that.
For those unaware about the origin of this deposition, Megan Thee Stallion's lawsuit against Milagro Gramz accused the YouTuber of lying about her mental health, substance use, and more. Much of Gramz's commentary circled around the Tory Lanez case. Not only that, but Megan also accused Lanez and his father of assisting her.
While that case seems incomplete, Milagro Gramz did have to cough up cash for Megan Thee Stallion's legal fees due to a delay in her social media vetting. So it's looking like an uphill battle for the defendants here, but anything could change.
We will see whether or not more legal updates and developments change both cases in the near future. Clearly, convictions, sentences, mediations, and civil moves were not enough to settle these matters once and for all. It's been a rollercoaster to follow the whole thing. But hopefully a better era emerges for all sides involved once it's all over.
NEWS
There’s a high probability that Jorja Smith has new music coming this summer. The British singer revealed plans for her What Are the Odds LP on Thursday (July 2), with the album set to arrive on Aug. 21 via FAMM.
Smith reunites with producer P2J — who served as a primary collaborator on her 2023 album Falling or Flying — for the entirety of the project. J Money and P2J will continue to build on the inventive U.K. garage sound Smith has been exploring, alongside a mix of grime and house.
“This album came together really naturally. There was never a big plan; it was just me making music that felt right in the moment,” Smith tells Billboard. “Working with P2J, we started experimenting with different sounds, pulling from U.K. garage, grime and house (funky house, Afro house) and it all grew from there.”
She continues: “The music feels uplifting, but the lyrics can be a bit sad at times. They’re about growing up, love, loss, friendships and figuring things out as I go. I trusted my instincts with this one, and I think you can hear that throughout the record.”
Smith kicked off the album’s rollout in May with the self-assuring “What’s Done Is Done,” and it continues on Thursday (July 2) with a second single, “Alive,” which finds the R&B singer joining forces with Afrobeats pioneer WizKid. The duo basks in the love-drunk euphoria of the honeymoon phase of a bubbling relationship and heads to Paris for the visual.
“Making this with P2J and WizKid felt really easy,” Smith adds of the collab. “We wrote and recorded it together in London. I think we captured that feeling when you’re at the beginning of something with someone and everything feels exciting. I’ve always loved WizKid’s music and the way he’s opened so many doors for Afrobeats around the world, so it feels really special and a big honor to have a song with him.”
What Are the Odds serves as Jorja Smith’s third studio album and contains 12 tracks. Outside of WizKid, the only other feature comes from grime artist Devlin.
When the project lands on Aug. 21, Smith will hit the stage later that night at London’s All Points East, as she’ll be co-headlining the Victoria Park show with Tems. 2026 has already been a busy year for J Money, who served as a musical guest on the debut season of Saturday Night Live UK in April.
The 29-year-old also collaborated with Mobb Deep’s Havoc for a remix of her “Blue Lights” classic and lent “Price of It All” to Amazon MGM Studios’ Bait soundtrack.
Find the What Are the Odds cover art and tracklist below.
What Are the Odds tracklist:
