Month: December 2025

Dionne Warwick is stuck in a legal battle as the management company that negotiated her lucrative sample deal for Doja Cat’s massive hit “Paint the Town Red” demands millions in unpaid fees.

Artist Rights Enforcement Corp filed suit Monday, claiming the R&B legend is trying to dodge a 50% royalty split agreement that helped generate over $2.5 million in revenue. The lawsuit centers on Warwick’s 1964 classic “Walk on By,” which became the foundation for Doja Cat’s biggest commercial success to date.

“Paint the Town Red” dominated charts worldwide in 2023, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first rap song to reach the top spot that year. The track broke Spotify streaming records, eventually surpassing 1 billion streams, making Doja Cat’s sixth song to reach the milestone.

Artist Rights Enforcement claims it has represented Dionne Warwick since 2002, “at great effort and expense,” on complex rights issues ranging from Doja Cat sample clearance to a prior lawsuit by Atlantic Records.

According to Billboard, the company alleges Warwick agreed to a perpetual 50% cut of recovered royalties in exchange for representation “at no cost to her.”

“After decades of service, Ms. Warwick is now trying to evade paying Artists Rights hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars,” the lawsuit states. “In doing so, she has violated her contracts with Artists Rights.”

The financial stakes are substantial, given “Paint the Town Red’s” commercial dominance. The song generated over 84 million streams worldwide in its peak week and maintained consistent streaming numbers throughout its chart run.

Doja Cat’s album Scarlet, anchored by the Warwick-sampling hit, debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

According to court documents, Artist Rights helped increase Warwick’s royalty distributions by a “sixty-fold” margin over the years, generating significant revenue from various enforcement efforts. The company handled matters involving SoundExchange, Sony Music tax issues and the high-profile 2023 sample clearance that made “Paint the Town Red” possible.

The lawsuit reveals that Warwick began expressing reluctance to continue making payments to Artist Rights, and that her lawyers allegedly sent a termination letter in September. Still, the company argues it fulfilled all contractual obligations while Warwick “wrongfully and unreasonably repudiated the contracts.”

Neither Doja Cat nor Atlantic Records was named as a defendant in the case. Representatives for Warwick have not responded to requests for comment about the legal action.

Artist Rights Enforcement seeks damages for breach of contract and demands that Warwick honor the perpetual royalty arrangement that facilitated one of 2023’s biggest musical successes.

​AllHipHop

Chance the Rapper brought holiday cheer and two wheels of freedom to a crowd of Chicago children on Monday (December 16) by giving away 100 bicycles during a festive event at Raising Cane’s in Chicago Ridge.

The Grammy winner teamed up with his nonprofit SocialWorks and the fast-food chain to distribute custom bikes and helmets to local kids, who also received meals and enjoyed live caroling as they tested their new rides in the parking lot.

“It’s a quintessential childhood gift, like everybody remembers their first bike,” Chance told the Chicago Sun-Times. “My dad taught me how to ride a bike and it was a big deal. It was like going through driving school, he was very intent on getting me to understand it and not giving up.”

The giveaway was part of a larger effort by Raising Cane’s, which donated 200 bikes in total—doubling last year’s contribution. Half were given out on Monday, while the other 100 had already been distributed at a warming center near a Green Line CTA station two days earlier.

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Chance, a proud Chicago native, emphasized the importance of bikes as a symbol of independence for young people.

“Once you get your bike, it’s like a new level of independence that you reach and being able to decide where you’re going, like, transportation wise, as a kid,” he said.

When asked what he wants for Christmas, Chance didn’t hesitate: “I want peace and serenity and democracy and recognition of all countries and their people.”

Founded in 2016, SocialWorks focuses on empowering Chicago youth through education, the arts and civic engagement. The organization has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into local schools and community programs over the years.

The bike giveaway comes during a packed December for Chance, who also lent his voice to the Chicago Transit Authority’s “Enjoy the Ride” campaign. Riders across the city now hear his announcements echoing through train stations.

Next up, he’s slated to co-host “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on December 31. The New Year’s gig follows the August 2025 release of his second studio album, Star Line.

​AllHipHop

Halle Bailey turns a rocky shoreline into a soft-focus fantasy, posting up where the waves crash and the sunlight hits just right.

The setting is raw and jagged, but Halle brings the balance, standing steady on slick stone in a barely-there bikini that hugs her curves and lets the ocean do the rest.

Braids fall down her back, the water sparkles behind her, and every pose feels unforced, like she wandered into a postcard and decided to stay.

One frame has her paused mid-step, hips angled, stomach taut, shoulders relaxed, as if the sea breeze is part of the styling. Another catches her leaning forward, hands braced on the rocks, letting the curve of her body do all the talking without a single word.

It’s confident, calm, and quietly dangerous, the kind of energy that doesn’t chase attention because it already owns it.

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The color of the water pops against her skin, the sun carves definition along her waist and legs, and the rocks beneath her feet make the whole moment feel grounded and wild at the same time.

There’s no glam squad in sight, no heavy filter, just Halle, the shoreline, and a reminder that natural settings tend to bring out the most heat.

She captioned it simply, “back home,” but the photos say more than that. This isn’t just a beach day.

It’s a reset, a flex, and a soft launch of summer energy that hits harder because it feels effortless. Rocky beach, calm seas, and Halle Bailey standing in the middle of it all like the view was built around her.

​AllHipHop