Author: alaskaadmin

Too $hort used his platform during a live telethon to deliver a powerful message to Oakland residents, urging the city not to lose faith following a string of violent incidents and the personal tragedy of his brother’s murder.

The Bay Area Hip-Hop pioneer appeared on KRON4’s “Table 4 All” to promote holiday donations when the conversation shifted to recent community trauma, including a student shot at Skyline High School and the fatal shooting of respected Laney College football coach John Beam.

Drawing from his own grief, the rapper spoke about the January killing of his brother, Wayne Shaw, who was gunned down during an attempted robbery at a cannabis grow site in East Oakland.

Wayne, 61, was reportedly guarding the facility when he was shot multiple times.

“I just say stay positive,” said Too $hort. “It’s a lot of bad PR that goes against the city that if you actually here, it’s a lot of beautiful things going on in Oakland. Lot of beautiful people and a few bad apples shouldn’t destroy the entire image of a city. I hear so many people think it’s a bad place. It’s beautiful to move around Oakland and the diversity and the community and just everything out here, I love it, love it, love it.”

The veteran artist has long been a fixture in Oakland’s cultural landscape.

In 2002, the city renamed a stretch of Foothill Boulevard “Too $hort Way” in recognition of his contributions to West Coast Hip-Hop and his role in shaping the genre’s sound during the 1980s and 1990s.

And recently became a co-owner of the city’s professional baseball franchise, The Oakland Ballers.

“I just think if you’re from here and you struggle with incidents like this,” he added. “I lost my brother in Oakland earlier this year. And you know, you just got to keep going, man. Just stay hopeful for the city. We’re not giving up on our city. Don’t give up on Oakland.”

Too $hort’s remarks come as Oakland continues to grapple with public safety concerns. The city has seen a rise in violent crime in recent years, prompting calls for both reform and community-based solutions.

​AllHipHop

D4vd‘s Hollywood Hills mansion is being prepped for new renters as Los Angeles police continue to investigate the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose remains were found in a Tesla registered to the rising Hip-Hop artist.

The singer, 20, has not been arrested but is now considered a suspect in the death of the 15-year-old, law enforcement sources confirmed. Although his team initially claimed he was cooperating with investigators, police say he has since stopped communicating with detectives.

As of press time, the case remains open and active while detectives work to piece together the events leading up to the teen’s death and uncover the full nature of her relationship with the artist.

The $20,000-a-month luxury rental, once home to the “Romantic Homicide” singer, is undergoing cosmetic touch-ups, including a fresh coat of green trim, according to listing agent Alex Micic.

The 4,315-square-foot home features four bedrooms and four bathrooms and sits just blocks from where the gruesome discovery was made in September.

“Right now it is a work in progress,” Micic told The New York Post. “The property is not on the market, but it will be put back on the market.”

According to reports, the property owner brought in cleanup crews to clear out piles of clothing and boxes left behind after the artist’s sudden departure.

On September 17, the Los Angeles Police Department executed a search warrant at the property, seizing “several items of evidence,” including a computer and multiple bags.

The raid happened while D4vd was on tour, a tour that was abruptly canceled as the investigation escalated.

The investigation has since expanded to Texas, where the artist transferred ownership of his Cypress home to his mother’s name on September 23.

Rivas Hernandez had been missing since April after fleeing her home in Lake Elsinore.

Her last known communication was a phone call to her family in May. Her mother later told police that her daughter had a boyfriend named David, the real first name of D4vd, born David Austen Burke.

The teen’s dismembered body was found inside a Tesla parked at Hollywood Tow after employees reported a strong odor coming from the vehicle.

The car had been abandoned and ticketed roughly two weeks before the discovery, just a half-mile from the artist’s rented home in the Bird Streets.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner completed an initial review of Rivas Hernandez’s remains but has not yet determined a cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition.

“The deputy medical examiner is requesting additional testing and/or studies in order to make a determination,” the office said in a statement.

Investigators suspect more than one person may have been involved in the disposal and dismemberment of the teen’s body. The complexity of the crime has led detectives to believe there may have been accomplices.

Before the investigation, D4vd frequently posted videos from the home, including one in which he was perched on the kitchen island, with a Valentine’s Day caption.

He currently has 3.9 million followers on TikTok and over 33 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

​AllHipHop

Michael B. Jordan broke down in front of a star-studded crowd at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles as he accepted the American Cinematheque Award, reflecting on his journey from rising talent to respected filmmaker and actor.

The 38-year-old Creed star received the honor from longtime collaborator Ryan Coogler after a series of heartfelt tributes from peers including Ben Affleck, Mahershala Ali, Tessa Thompson, Octavia Spencer, Bradley Cooper, Delroy Lindo and Daniel Kaluuya.

Kaluuya paused the celebration to request a moment of silence for their late Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman, whose Hollywood Walk of Fame star was unveiled earlier that day.

Jordan’s 13-minute speech was filled with gratitude and emotion as he looked back on his career and the people who helped shape it.

“I look around the room and I see the people who were there from the beginning with prayer, support, belief,” Jordan said, according to Gold Derby. “Some of those people aren’t here tonight, but their fingerprints are all over the foundation. Their work, their faith — it all went into this. Watching y’all do that for me, I realized I didn’t have to pull up a chair to somebody else’s table. I could have my own table. I could have my own house. And more importantly, I could build a community.”

The Fruitvale Station actor, one of the youngest ever to receive the Cinematheque Award, spoke about forging his own path and creating space for others.

“I stand on the shoulders of giants — and my ancestors. Build the house, and they will come,” he said. Quoting author Toni Morrison, he added, “If there’s a book you really want to read that hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

He closed with a message to fellow creatives and decision-makers in the industry: “So, to the artist: plant your seeds, find your people, build with them. And to the people making decisions about what stories do get told: be bold, take the risk. These stories matter.”

The American Cinematheque Award is given annually to an individual who has made a lasting impact on the art of film. Past recipients include Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson, Spike Lee and Eddie Murphy.

​AllHipHop

Cash Money pulled up in New York Friday night (November 21)… well, kinda. The 30th anniversary celebration touched down in Long Island and people rolled out deep expecting the whole empire. You know, the full Birdman hand-rub special. But when the lights hit the stage, only BG and Juvenile slid through. Just them. That’s it. A two-man army holding down three decades of one of the biggest dynasties in Hip-Hop.

Now look… we all know Cash Money’s family tree has been through it all – hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and more. They’ve separated, reunited, separated again, got cool again, not-so-cool again – and more. It’s a lot. But folks were surprised. They just did the No Limit Verzuz, minus Lil Wayne.

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DJ Self jumped out and said the obvious: “Only 2 show up for the NYC show come on man cash Money yall gotta get it together man NYC love yall man don’t do us like this ” (No editing needed. You get it!)

People who bought tickets were expecting a whole celebration, not a duo set.

BUT — and this is a huge “but” — everybody who was actually at the show said BG and Juve tore that stage to pieces. They bodied it! New York crowds are not easy to impress and those two had the spot jumping. Even our own AllHipHop staff hit me up raving.

From what I’m hearing, when “Back That Azz Up” hit…the place turned into CHAOS.

So despite the missing members, the night was still a win. But let’s be honest… there’s a bigger conversation here. If this is the 30-year anniversary, Cash Money might want to regroup and re-strategize. And yes, get right with Turk. People love Turk. Turk brings value. Turk brings nostalgia. Turk is part of the DNA. Somebody gotta make that phone call. Other than that, salute BG and Juvie The Great!

We’ve got interviews with BG and Juvenile coming soon.

Stay tuned…

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​AllHipHop

This small business almost went out of business because of a mistake by Squarespace. Thanks to thousands of comments, Squarespace fixed it.

TikTok creator Dan McLaughlin is a small business owner struggling with rising prices and increased risk as he runs his Cleveland-based coffee company, Golden Triangle Coffee. But recently, he said, Squarespace Payments has been putting him out of business. 

In a video with over 1.5 million viewer, McLaughlin explained how signing up for the payment middleman has shaven off a percentage of every sale he’s made for the last 10 months.

“ [I] made a mistake a while back that is just the nail in the coffin for our business,” he said. “And it’s probably gonna force us to close.  I trusted Squarespace, which… has proven to be a mistake for me in the past.”

Will Squarespace Be the ‘Nail in the Coffin’ for this Small Business?

“A while back, I signed up for something called Squarespace Payments where Squarespace will act as a middle man between me and Stripe, my current credit card processor, except with lower service fees,” McLaughlin said. This was supposed to save McLaughlin’s business about .05 per transaction.

Except, McLaughlin quickly realized that the platform was withholding a percentage of each of his coffee bag sales for a “reserve” fund. He tried to deactivate the service, but Squarespace continued to collect money from the transaction. To make matters worse, Squarespace held the funds for six months to account for refunds and disputes.

“But the amount that they are holding, refuse to release, and continue to collect even though its not active on our account is so high that it cuts into our margins so deeply that it now costs us money to send a bag off coffee out of this building,” McLaughlin said. “We are now making negative money because of Squarespace.”

Viewers React to Small Business Owner’s Squarespace Complaint

In the comments section, viewers expressed outrage over the situation. Many urged McLaughlin to escalate this via an attorney.

“Hire an attorney ASAP,” advised one viewer claiming to be an attorney.

“Six months of holding funds is insane!” a second viewer said.

“I am a Squarespace circle developer and have access to forums only meant for us. I’ll be posting this and tagging veteran developers. My hope is it gets some attention,” said another person.

It appears McLaughlin’s video worked. In a follow up video, he said that he heard back from someone at Squarespace after tons of failed interactions with customer service. Fortunately, the Squarespace employee was able to solve the issue.

“I told them thanks for reaching out and fixing my issue but I shouldn’t have had to have a million followers in order to get that resolution,” McLaughlin said.

How Do Squarespace Payments Work?

Squarespace Payments is an addition to Squarespace that “allows you to accept payments and manage your transactions within your website.” The service allows website owners to receive payments from credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and other methods, acting as a middle man between the purchaser and your banking institution. 

By signing up for Squarespace Payments, though, you’re agreeing to the terms of service outlined by  Squarespace Payments LLC (in the United States) or Squarespace Ireland Limited (outside the U.S.). By enabling Squarespace Payments, a user essentially entitles the platform to handle any settlements of funds.

Squarespace Payments LLC, through its terms and conditions, reserves the right to impose holding periods for funds if there’s suspicious activity, excessive chargebacks, or a requirement from a third party bank. They also reserve the right to maintain a reserve account, which buffers losses, refunds, disputes, or negative balances.

As McLaughlin noticed, Squarespace can continue withholding his income for buffer funds, even after a user cancels Squarespace Payments. The holding schedule for buffer funds still exists regardless of cancellation as per its terms and conditions. So, basically, the company will continue withholding funds until “the risk is deemed cleared” with the account. 

All Hip Hop reached out to McLaughlin for comment via email and TikTok message and to Squarespace via media contact form.

This article includes additional reporting from Mars Ramos.

@softpourn @Squarespace ♬ original sound – Dan

​AllHipHop