Months After ‘Lightyear’ Remarks Drew Criticism, Snoop Dogg Drops ‘Love Is Love’ for Glaad’s Spirit Day

Snoop Dogg has spent a career flipping expectations. But this week’s move — dropping a children’s song about LGBTQ+ families after publicly stumbling on the same topic months ago — might be one of his most unexpected reversals yet.

Earlier this year, Snoop said a screening of Disney’s “Lightyear” with his grandson “threw [him] for a loop” when the boy asked about the film’s lesbian couple. “I didn’t come here for this,” he told a podcast host, adding that he didn’t have the answers. The backlash came quick: how could a man who’s preached love, unity, and evolution be so uneasy about a Pixar kiss?

Fast-forward to October. Snoop partnered with GLAAD to release “Love Is Love,” a new song from his YouTube series "Doggyland," timed with Spirit Day — the organization’s national anti-bullying campaign for LGBTQ youth. The track, sung by cartoon dogs with preschool-friendly beats, insists that “no two parents are the same, but the love won’t change.” It’s deliberately simple — not an apology, but a public correction.

“I felt like this music is a beautiful bridge to bringing understanding,” Snoop said in a filmed conversation with Jeremy Beloate, an openly queer artist who competed on his Voice team. “These are things kids have questions about. Now hopefully we can help them live a happy life and understand that love is love.”

That humility may surprise some longtime fans. For decades, Snoop has represented a particular brand of West Coast masculinity — smooth, funny, charismatic, but grounded in the coded norms of old-school rap. So when he faced criticism for how he handled "Lightyear," his response wasn’t to double down but to recalibrate in public. It’s not brand management; it’s self-education.

What’s striking is the medium. Hip-hop has had plenty of protest songs, but almost no bedtime stories about inclusion. "Doggyland," Snoop’s kid-focused series, already promoted kindness and literacy; now it’s modeling empathy. That’s not something you can fake in a market where kids notice contradictions faster than adults.

Still, the gesture comes with baggage. Some fans see “Love Is Love” as image rehab — a late pivot after months of social-media dragging. But even that tension speaks to something bigger. When an artist as visible as Snoop evolves on camera, it says more about generational change inside hip-hop itself. The culture that once defined toughness through resistance is now old enough to define it through growth.

In his GLAAD statement, Snoop put it plainly: “Spreading love and respect for everybody is what real gangstas do. We’re showing the next generation that kindness is cool, inclusion is powerful, and love always wins.” It’s both a wink and a warning — that empathy, in 2025, might be the hardest flex of all.

Because hip-hop doesn’t need another PSA. It needs its elders to keep learning out loud.

Mickey Factz Takes Over Black Thought’s 'Art of the MC' Course at NYU

Rapper and educator Mickey Factz, newly appointed adjunct professor at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, will teach “The Art of the MC” beginning Oct. 23. The course, previously taught by Black Thought of The Roots, explores the craft and culture of lyricism in hip-hop. (Photo courtesy of NYU Clive Davis Institute)

Mickey Factz is headed back to class — this time at the front of it. New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music has appointed the Bronx lyricist as an adjunct professor to teach The Art of the MC, a seven-week fall course that digs into the craft, culture and history of emceeing.

The class begins Oct. 23 and, according to the institute, picks up a lineage previously carried by Black Thought of The Roots, bringing a working pen from hip-hop’s blog era into a university room where students write, perform and defend their bars.

“It’s an honor to continue the legacy of MCs that preceded me to teach at the Clive Davis Institute,” Mickey said in the program’s announcement. “I’ll be bringing my expertise, wealth of knowledge and mentoring to a historic space such as NYU… Long, live, lyricism. Class is in session. Literally.”

The institute’s performance area head, JD Samson, put it plainly: “His dedication to teaching and his artistic vision will be a massive asset to our students and community,” calling his approach “groundbreaking hip-hop pedagogy.”

Mickey Factz — Career Highlights

A concise, verified snapshot for readers

Profile

• Full name: Mark Anthony Williams Jr. (aka Mickey Factz); Bronx, New York.
• Known for: elite lyricism, meticulous craft, and bridging hip-hop and academia.

Breakthroughs

• Mid/late-2000s blog-era run with mixtapes including “In Search of N*E*R*D,” “The Leak Vol. 1 & 2,” and “Mickey MauSe.”
• XXL Freshman Class (2009), spotlighting rising artists of the moment.
• Collaborative ties over the years include Drake, Lupe Fiasco, and others.

Selected Releases & Projects

• Notable projects: “The Achievement,” “The New Museum,” “Love.Lust.Lost,” “#Y,” and “the dark phoenix #ALPHA.”
• Signed with Battery/Jive (2010) during his major-label chapter.

Education & Teaching

• Co-founder of Pendulum Ink, a rap academy focused on lyricism, performance, and craft discipline.
• Adjunct Professor, NYU Clive Davis Institute (course: “The Art of the MC,” fall 2025), continuing a lineage that has included Black Thought, Questlove, Pharrell Williams and Swizz Beatz.

Cultural Impact

• Advocates for “long live lyricism”: treating MC’ing as a rigorous discipline with history, theory, and technique.
• Active in battle-rap circles; brings stagecraft, structure, and bar-for-bar analysis into the classroom.

The curriculum reads like a cipher with a syllabus: lyrical analysis, freestyle development, song structure, breath and projection, stage presence, and the evolution of rap as both art form and culture. Students are expected to trace a line from the pioneers to today’s streaming-first scene, then apply the lessons in original work that can actually hold weight in a room full of peers. The idea isn’t to canonize a single “right” way to rhyme — it’s to make students conversant in form, fearless in performance, and precise on the page.

Factz, who broke through as a 2009 XXL Freshman and built a catalog of densely written projects during the blog era, comes to NYU with more than two decades of writing, touring and teaching behind him. His extracurriculars underscore the fit: Pendulum Ink, the rap-craft academy he co-founded, has been training MCs in storytelling, rhythm and delivery — essentially, the same muscles this class intends to develop. If the university is where industry meets inquiry, a practitioner-teacher who lives the work is the point.

There’s a larger story here, too. The Clive Davis Institute has spent the past decade normalizing hip-hop in higher ed not as case study or museum piece but as living practice. Q-Tip co-taught a course on the intersection of jazz and hip-hop in 2018; Swizz Beatz has held a faculty role guiding production and mentoring; Questlove and Pharrell Williams have led seminars on history, creation and business. Each appointment pushes the idea that the people who shaped the music are best positioned to teach its language and its ethics.

Following Black Thought in this specific course also matters. It signals continuity of a high bar: technical excellence married to context. Where Thought is an exemplar of breath control, pocket and live-band poise, Mickey’s value add is micro-surgical writing and workshop rigor — skills that can move a verse from “good” to “publishable,” whether the dream is a Tiny Desk or a festival slot. For students, that continuity is the difference between a guest lecture and a real pipeline.

It’s also part of a broader shift: hip-hop’s elders and working artists are claiming educational spaces on their own terms. The move legitimizes what fans already know — that MCing is a discipline with theory, technique and lineage — and it forces institutions to meet the culture where it lives. An NYU classroom won’t make an artist, but a serious class can shorten the distance between taste and technique, and between potential and performance.

Hip-Hop Takes Center Stage as Outkast and Salt-N-Pepa Prepare to Join Rock Hall

The Atlanta duo is among this year’s inductees, joining Salt-N-Pepa and other music legends in a ceremony streamed live on Disney+ Nov. 8, 2025. (Courtesy Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

For years, fans argued that hip-hop had rewritten the rules of rock & roll. This fall, the Rock & Roll Hall
of Fame made it official. Outkast and Salt-N-Pepa will be inducted November 8 at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater in a 40th anniversary ceremony that brings the South, the streets and the sisterhood to the Hall’s biggest stage.

The lineup, confirmed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, marks a breakthrough for Black music and culture. Outkast — André 3000 and Big Boi — will enter the Performer category alongside Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes. Salt-N-Pepa, the groundbreaking Queens duo of Cheryl James and Sandra Denton, will receive the Musical Influence Award, a nod to how “Push It,” “Shoop,” and “Whatta Man” redefined empowerment in hip-hop and pop.

“This year’s inductees created their own sound and attitude that had a profound impact on culture,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”

The ceremony — streaming live coast to coast on Disney+ at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PST) and later airing on ABC on January 1, 2026 — promises a star-studded celebration of rock’s evolution. Among the presenters and performers are Missy Elliott, Killer Mike, Questlove, Maxwell, Doja Cat, Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Flea, J.I.D, Sleepy Brown, Iggy Pop, Olivia Rodrigo, and others. Together, they represent every era of rebellion and reinvention that defines the Rock Hall’s expanding universe.

While the full list of inductors has yet to be released, insiders close to the ceremony expect Southern hip-hop peers and collaborators — including Killer Mike and J.I.D — to play major roles in Outkast’s tribute. For Salt-N-Pepa, the night is expected to draw appearances from Missy Elliott and Doja Cat, both of whom have cited the duo as foundational influences.

Outkast’s induction is more than a career milestone; it’s the formal recognition of a movement. From Atlanta’s Dungeon Family collective to Grammy glory, the duo brought the world the sound of the modern South — blending funk, gospel, and social consciousness into genre-defying records like “Aquemini” and “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.” The Rock Hall’s 2025 exhibit will include André 3000’s lime-green outfit from the “Hey Ya!” video, displayed alongside memorabilia from The White Stripes and Cyndi Lauper.

Sandra “Pepa” Denton, Deidre “Spinderella” Roper, and Cheryl “Salt” James of Salt-N-Pepa pose for their 1987 album in New York. The trailblazing hip-hop trio will receive the Musical Influence Award as part of the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class. (Photo by Janette Beckman/Getty Images, courtesy Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

For Salt-N-Pepa, the honor closes a circle that began in the mid-1980s when two nursing students decided to rap about what women actually thought. They turned dance floors into classrooms of confidence, changing the language of mainstream pop in the process. Their induction alongside Warren Zevon (Musical Influence), Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins, and Carol Kaye (Musical Excellence), and Lenny Waronker (Ahmet Ertegun Award) underscores the Hall’s ongoing shift toward inclusivity and a broader definition of what “rock” truly means.

The 2025 ceremony’s range — from Chubby Checker’s twist to Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” — will illustrate that rock & roll’s essence was never about guitars alone. It was about defiance, self-expression, and the urge to push sound forward. In that sense, the voices from Atlanta and Queens belong here as much as anyone who ever picked up a Les Paul.

For hip-hop fans, it’s validation long overdue. For music history, it’s a reminder: rock & roll isn’t a sound. It’s a spirit. And it’s still evolving — with a Southern drawl, a bassline from Queens, and a groove that never dies.

Grammy Winner D’Angelo Dies at 51 After Private Battle With Cancer

D’Angelo, shown here in a promotional image for his 2000 album “Voodoo,” was one of the defining voices of modern soul. The Grammy-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist died at 51 after a private battle with pancreatic cancer, his family confirmed on Tuesday. (Photo: RCA Records)

The music world is in mourning: D’Angelo, the elusive and influential neo-soul pioneer whose voice defined a generation of R&B, has died at 51 after a private battle with pancreatic cancer his family and multiple media outlets confirmed on Tuesday. Reports indicate he passed away over the weekend.

Born Michael Eugene Archer in Richmond, Virginia, D’Angelo was among the architects of the modern soul revival that fused gospel roots, hip-hop sensibility, and jazz freedom. 

His debut album, “Brown Sugar,” in 1995 announced a new kind of groove — live instrumentation wrapped around lyrics that were sensual, spiritual and raw. 

The follow-up, “Voodoo,” in 2000 elevated him to icon status and earned two Grammys. Fourteen years later, his surprise return with “Black Messiah” turned reflection into revolution.

In recent years, D’Angelo had stepped out of the spotlight again. In May, he canceled a headlining slot at the Roots Picnic, citing complications from surgery. “I’m not 100 percent yet, but I’m working my way there,” a representative said at the time.

Tributes began flooding social media from peers and admirers who saw him as both innovator and spiritual force.

“Such a sad loss to the passing of D’Angelo. We have so many great times. Gonna miss you so much. Sleep peacefully D’ — Love you KING,” wrote DJ Premier on X, formerly Twitter.

“My sources tell me that D’Angelo has passed. Wow. I have no words. May he rest in perfect peace,” journalist Marc Lamont Hill posted.

Producer Alchemist added simply: “Man. Rest in peace D’Angelo.”

Fans filled his Instagram comments with heartbreak emojis and lyrics from “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” the 2000 single whose slow burn redefined intimacy on record and screen. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame called him “a singular voice who bridged past and future — the sound of vulnerability made holy.”

Through just three studio albums, D’Angelo reshaped the sound of R&B. With Questlove, Erykah Badu, Common and J Dilla, he helped create the Soulquarians collective that blurred lines between genres and generations.

D’Angelo is survived by his two children, Michael Jr. and Imani Archer. He was previously in a longtime relationship with singer Angie Stone, who collaborated with him early in his career and shared his deep gospel and soul roots. 

Their creative and romantic partnership helped shape the direction of his first album, “Brown Sugar.” Stone died in March at 63, a loss that friends said deeply affected him.

‘Billie Eilish’ Rapper Arrested After Stopping Traffic for Video Shoot

Armani White, 28, smiles in his booking photo after being arrested Sunday in London, Ky. Police say the “Billie Eilish” rapper stopped traffic on Interstate 75 while filming a video. He was charged with disorderly conduct and illegally stopping a vehicle on a highway, then released from the Laurel County Correctional Center. (Photo: Laurel County Correctional Center)

Armani White’s latest viral moment didn’t happen onstage — it happened in the middle of an interstate.

The 29-year-old Philadelphia rapper, best known for his 2022 breakout hit “Billie Eilish,” was arrested Sunday night in Laurel County, Kentucky, after police say he stopped traffic on Interstate 75 to film a video.

According to booking records and police reports, White — whose real name is Enoch Tolbert — was taken into custody by London Police officers and charged with second-degree disorderly conduct and stopping, standing, or parking on a limited-access highway, both misdemeanors. He was booked into the Laurel County Correctional Center and released shortly after.

The incident occurred less than 24 hours after White performed as a supporting act on T-Pain’s “TP20: Celebrating 20 Years of T-Pain” tour in Newport, Ky. Witnesses told police that multiple vehicles had stopped on the highway and that a man — later identified as White — was seen dancing and jumping on a concrete median while a crew filmed.

Police said the spectacle caused several motorists to call 911, prompting officers to respond to prevent potential accidents. “The situation presented a clear traffic hazard,” one report noted, describing the impromptu shoot as “reckless and unsafe.”

White’s booking photo, released by the Laurel County Correctional Center, went viral overnight. Without his signature beaded braids — reportedly removed at officers’ request — the rapper flashes a broad smile, looking more amused than concerned.

While his representatives have yet to issue a formal statement, fans quickly connected the arrest to White’s penchant for spectacle. His platinum single “Billie Eilish” turned a playful boast into a viral moment that earned him national attention, and his blend of humor and energy has long blurred the line between charisma and chaos.

Flamingos Great Terry Johnson, Who Bridged Doo-Wop and Motown, Dead at 86

Terry Johnson, tenor, guitarist, and arranger for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame vocal group The Flamingos, performs in an undated photo. Johnson, who co-arranged and sang on the group’s 1959 classic “I Only Have Eyes for You” and later worked as a Motown producer, died this week at 86. (Courtesy photo)

Terry Johnson, the silky-voiced tenor, guitarist, and arranger who helped define doo-wop’s celestial sound with The Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You,” has died. He was 86.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame confirmed Johnson’s passing Friday, calling him “one of the architects of sophisticated vocal harmony” and a guiding force behind one of the genre’s most influential groups. Johnson, who joined The Flamingos in 1958, arranged and co-sang on “I Only Have Eyes for You,” the 1959 ballad whose shimmering harmonies and echoing “shoo-bop shoo-bops” remain one of pop’s most enduring sonic signatures.

(1/3) In Memoriam: Doo-wop legends the Flamingos, including 2001 Inductee Terry Johnson, took listeners higher with their sublime harmonies and impeccable arrangements. With Johnson joining as tenor/lead vocalist, guitarist, and arranger in 1958, The Flamingos... pic.twitter.com/UgF15LWdV6

— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) October 10, 2025

“Crafted a sophisticated sound like no other vocal group,” the Rock Hall said in its remembrance on X (formerly Twitter). “Their rendition of ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ remains an irresistible expression of yearning.”

 

In a 2001 Rock Hall ceremony speech inducting The Flamingos, Johnson described the group’s magic as “extraordinary harmonies combined with a love of the classics and a touch of dynamic stage presence.” Their album Flamingo Serenade, he told the crowd, was “without a doubt a masterpiece” — a testament that still rings true decades later.

After The Flamingos’ peak, Johnson carried his musical touch to Motown Records. Smokey Robinson recruited him as a songwriter and producer in the 1960s, where he contributed to sessions for The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Supremes. His behind-the-scenes work helped shape the seamless, orchestral polish that came to define Motown’s golden era.

Fellow performer Kathy Young shared a tribute Friday, writing, “I am so very sad upon hearing of the passing of Terry Johnson. He and I worked together so many times and always had fun. My deepest sympathies and prayers to Theresa, his family and The Flamingos. RIP Terry.”

The Flamingos, formed in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood in the early 1950s, embodied the elegance of the doo-wop era — their tuxedoed performances and symphonic vocals bridging gospel discipline with pop sensuality. Johnson’s tenure brought a new level of polish and musical sophistication, blending jazz chords, romantic lyricism, and lush production that influenced generations of R&B and soul artists.

“Their innovative recordings made a major contribution to our industry,” Johnson said during his Hall of Fame induction. “They rightfully deserve to be enshrined.”

Drake Loses Defamation Suit Against Universal Over 'Not Like Us,' Judge Says Rap Battle Was Hyperbole

A federal judge in New York dismissed Drake’s defamation suit over Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” ruling that the song’s lyrics were protected artistic expression — a decision that reaffirmed rap’s long tradition of rivalry as a form of free speech.

Drake’s bid to turn a diss record into a defamation case just hit a wall. A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out his lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” ruling that the song’s explosive accusations— however cutting — are protected opinion, not factual claims.

The 38-page opinion, issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas, brings one of hip-hop’s strangest courtroom dramas to an end. “Because the Court concludes that the allegedly defamatory statements in ‘Not Like Us’ are nonactionable opinion, the motion to dismiss is granted,” Vargas wrote. She called the song part of “perhaps the most infamous rap battle in the genre’s history — the vitriolic war of words that erupted between superstar recording artists Aubrey Drake Graham and Kendrick Lamar Duckworth in the spring of 2024.”

Drake, whose suit named Universal Music Group, argued that the label helped spread false claims that he preyed on underage girls, endangering his safety and reputation. But the court said no reasonable listener would take such statements literally. “A reasonable person,” Judge Vargas wrote, “is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation conveying fact-checked, verifiable content.”

That reasoning — rooted in decades of First Amendment case law — may sound clinical, but its impact is cultural. Vargas compared modern diss tracks to the “freewheeling, anything-goes” nature of YouTube and X, where hyperbole is part of the art. In that setting, she said, Kendrick’s most incendiary bar — “Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young” — cannot be read as an assertion of fact. “In the context of this rap diss battle,” she wrote, “no reasonable person would listen to ‘Not Like Us’ and assume that Lamar uniquely had access to credible, provable facts that revealed Drake to be a pedophile.”

The judge also cited Drake’s own provocations in earlier tracks, noting that “Not Like Us” was a lyrical counterpunch to his “Taylor Made Freestyle,” where he baited Lamar with insinuations and personal digs. The back-and-forth, she said, was the modern embodiment of battle rap’s “epithets, fiery rhetoric, and hyperbole” — a context that transforms insult into performance.

Vargas rejected Drake’s remaining claims under New York’s consumer-protection statute and harassment laws, calling them “meritless extensions” of the same defamation theory. The cover art and video, she found, operated within the same expressive sphere. “They are not literal; they are commentary.”

With that, a judge effectively codified what hip-hop fans have known for decades: the diss is a weapon of art, not evidence. For Kendrick Lamar, it’s another win in a year already marked by triumph — “Not Like Us” spent multiple weeks at No. 1 and became a cultural anthem of competitive purity. For Drake, it’s another loss in a rivalry that’s blurred the line between ego and legacy.

Beyond the headlines, though, the decision may stand as a landmark. By writing that a diss track “cannot reasonably be understood as stating actual facts,” a federal court has, perhaps for the first time, explicitly framed battle rap as protected speech.

Cash Money and No Limit To Face off in Verzuz’s Comeback at Complexcon Las Vegas

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz series will return Oct. 25 at ComplexCon Las Vegas with “Cash Money VERZUZ No Limit,” reuniting two of New Orleans’ most influential rap labels for a new chapter in hip-hop’s Southern story. (Photo: VERZUZ TV via Instagram)

When two of New Orleans’ most powerful rap dynasties meet on one stage, it’s not just a reunion — it’s a reckoning.

Verzuz, the online battle series created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland during the pandemic, is set to return Oct. 25 at ComplexCon Las Vegas with “Cash Money VERZUZ No Limit.” The event promises a collision of legacies that once defined Southern hip-hop’s rise from regional pride to global dominance.

Verzuz itself has traveled a long road to this moment. What began in 2020 as a live-streamed experiment between friends turned into a communal ritual at the height of lockdown, when millions of viewers tuned in to watch artists face off hit for hit. By 2021, the brand had been acquired by Triller in a deal meant to expand its reach and grant equity to participating performers.

Within a year, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland accused the company of failing to deliver on its commitments, filing a $28 million lawsuit before eventually reaching a settlement. In 2024, they regained control of the platform and struck a new distribution partnership with X, formerly Twitter. “VERZUZ is still 100 percent Black-owned,” Swizz said after reclaiming ownership — a statement that reasserted the show’s purpose as both cultural archive and act of independence.

🚨 IT’S OFFICIAL 🚨
Verzuz is BACK — live at #ComplexCon Las Vegas.
Cash Money #VERZUZ No Limit Celebration 🙌🏽
One stage. Two legendary iconic Labels . History is about to be made !!
October 25.
Live Streaming details coming soon !!!!!!
Stay tuned for more info ….. pic.twitter.com/tM4TZibBuN

— VERZUZ TV (@verzuzonline) October 7, 2025

That context makes the upcoming battle feel less like a nostalgia trip and more like a symbolic passing of eras. Cash Money Records, founded in 1991 by Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams, shaped the glossy, radio-ready sound that turned bounce into mainstream pop currency. From Juvenile’s “400 Degreez” and Big Tymers’ “Still Fly” to Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter” series and Drake’s global dominance, its artists redefined what success from the South could look like.

No Limit Records, founded a year earlier by Master P, built a different kind of empire — gritty, self-reliant, and defiantly prolific. The label’s rapid-fire releases and signature Pen & Pixel album art made its soldiers — Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, C-Murder, Mia X and Fiend — household names. Master P’s philosophy of ownership and community uplift would go on to influence an entire generation of independent entrepreneurs.

Their rivalry fueled one of the most important shifts in rap history. Long before Atlanta became the genre’s capital, New Orleans created the model — ambition on one side, autonomy on the other. Cash Money and No Limit didn’t just compete for charts; they competed for narrative, for the right to define what Southern success sounded like.