If you aren’t familiar with Full Force, you’re missing out. The six-person group of singers is comprised of brothers and cousins who were not only a chart-topping collective, but they also wrote and produced for dozens of artists throughout their careers. A few notable acts included the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Patti LaBelle, ‘N Sync, Roxanne Shanté, The Black Eyed Peas, and Selena. Most people recognize brother Paul Anthony, Brian George, and Lucien George Jr. from the original classic film House Party where they played the muscular, jheri curl-wearing bullies.

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The longtime entertainers recently visited The Breakfast Club to not only celebrate the 30th anniversary of House Party which just past on March 9, but to talk about their eventful careers. As they shared stories of artists they’ve worked with, they mentioned their time with Nicki Minaj. They explained that a friend of theirs turned them on to Nicki’s music and they “immediately said she is dope.”

“Besides Nicki just rapping, she even sang me a gospel song,” Paul Anthony recalled. “Even before she was big, she was doing all the crazy voices and everything.” Nicki joined the Hood$tars rap group with Paul Anthony’s son and a few others, but he said it was difficult getting them a record deal. Soon, they began working with Nicki as a solo artist and eventually ended up at Warner Bros in a meeting with Kevin Liles.

Things were going well until the label expressed that they wanted Nicki to have a ghostwriter. “At the time [they] wanted Juelz Santana to write for her and she refused,” he said. “Nicki always had a thing about writing her own sh*t.” They thought it was an impressive move for the unknown artist because they knew she was “hungry” but wouldn’t compromise on who she was an artist—and she even passed on the opportunity while having “a little crush on Juelz.” Watch the members of Full Force on The Breakfast Club below.

Weeks after Pop Smoke was murdered in an affluent area of Los Angeles, there are still many questions circulating about his death. The rapper had just released Meet The Woo 2 and was in a Hollywood Hills residence when he was shot and killed during a home invasion. Following the tragic news, Blueface came forward with a bit of advice for artists who make their way to L.A. Some people thought he was telling rappers to “check in” with streets prior to landing, but in an interview with Bootleg Kev, Blueface stated that wasn’t what he was saying at all.

 
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“The way they took what I was saying like, go find your local hood that’s affiliated with what you—honestly, that’s the last thing I’m promoting,” said Blueface. “If anything, go find you a regular, square that’s got maybe a gun license or permit or even a security guard or even a friend of a friend that can pull up and provide you with the utensils that you need to defend yourself.”

He doubled down that he wasn’t telling rappers who come to Los Angeles to contact gang leaders in order to get permission to move around the city. “That’s the last thing you should do,” the rapper added. “They gonna extort you! F*ck that. We ain’t payin’ nobody sh*t.” Bootleg Kev said he thinks that people need to keep their guard up more than getting the “artillery” they need. “They see the palm trees, they’re in the hills,” and they get distracted. 

Blueface added, “They don’t know that the ‘hood is a 20-minute drive. They coming, for sure.” Watch Blueface with Bootleg Kev on Real 92.3 below.

With over three million followers (and growing) on Instagram alone, Lala Milan is an “internet famous” success story. She began her career creating her own funny skits and clips online, and after building a worldwide following, she grabbed the attention of brands. Lala wanted to be taken more seriously as an actress and finally, she nabbed a role on BET’s Boomerang which is now in its second season.

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The multi-talented entertainer is open to trying new avenues in the industry in order to continue building her brand, but Nick Cannon advised her not to go the rapping route. Lala was a guest on Power 106‘s Nick Cannon Mornings where the Wild ‘n Out mogul told Lala to steer clear of the music game. He said he was giving her the advice from experience, and that’s when she let him know that he can’t rap.

“You still trying,” she said. Nick made it clear that he doesn’t put out albums anymore and he’s not rapping. “I got a whole lotta talents,” Nick said. “Rapping is just one of the things that I used to do… People like to joke, but I got really rich off of rap.” Lala wasn’t having it. “No, it’s not,” she said jokingly. “Nick, listen [that was] back then. Just stop. Collect the residuals and keep it pushin’. My God.” Watch Lala Milan on Nick Cannon Mornings below.

There may not be an official date of when Juelz Santana will be home from prison, but his wife Kimbella insists that it will be this summer. The rapper recently released his #FREESANTANA mixtape while behind bars with the help of his team and there’s a project with Lil Wayne in the works that will hopefully drop later this year. Things are looking up for the incarcerated rapper and Kimbella recently visited The Breakfast Club to update everyone on what life has been like without him.

Kimbella talked about Juelz revealing his addiction issues on Love & Hip Hop New York and why they decided to share such a personal subject matter with the world. She said that one of the main reasons why Juelz hadn’t released new music in so long was because of his struggle with addiction, along with some business troubles, and it wasn’t until he was confronted with his own mortality did he recognize it was time for a change.

Elsewhere, Kimbella addressed her Love & Hip Hop New York rift with former friend Yandy Smith and patching things up with Jim Jones‘s girlfriend Chrissy Lampkin. The reality star explained why she threw a drink at Yandy and talked about being “above” the VH1 drama. Check out Kimbella’s interview with The Breakfast Club below and stream Juelz Santana’s #FREESANTANA mixtape here.

Can you still be considered one of the top rappers in the game if you use a ghostwriter? Jadakiss weighed in on the subject with two answers that he called “politically correct.” The veteran emcee recently shared his anticipated and acclaimed project Ignatius, so he stopped by Sway in the Morning to chat about the record. While there, Jadakiss was asked if an artist can be considered one of the “Top 5” emcees if they use a ghostwriter, and the rapper answered both yes and no.

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“In our era, no way at all,” Jadakiss said. “In today’s [era], it don’t matter.” He added, “In our era, it wasn’t even a thought. You wouldn’t even think…once that happens, you outta the thing. You ain’t gettin’ a yellow jacket after that. Today, that don’t even matter. If you can turn up to it and do whatever crazy-ass dances they do, they don’t care. And that’s what I don’t like that’s happening to the game.” Jadakiss added that he’s happy that the young artists are able to make money and have success, “but…when we’re just erasing things out of the original black book of hip hop, I can’t really condone that.”

During his talk, Jadakiss also revealed why the early days in his career were more “fun” for him. “In this particular business, when you get success, you get a target on your back,” he said. “You gotta move different and accordingly. Watch family, friends, the snakes, spiders, things of that nature. It takes some of the happiness out of it. Opposed to when you going for that, that journey in the beginning is more fun ’cause the valleys and peaks and meeting people and learning new stuff. Then after you cross that line, the financial situation, everything is much better, but it’s also that much dangerous and that much more snakes.”

Check out more from Jadakiss including his take on why he agrees with Young M.A about a lack of R&B in the current music culture below.

It would be an interesting sight to see Azealia Banks host a show on Revolt TV, and according to Joe Budden, it almost happened. The State of the Culture co-hosts Joe Budden, Remy Ma, Brandon "Jinx" Jenkins, and Eboni K. Williams made their way to The Breakfast Club where the packed room chatted about the hit Revolt series. Budden was asked about how he and Diddy came up with having four hosts and Budden shared that initially, the first idea was only to have two people.

"The original idea was two," Budden said. "Me and another person." Charlamagne challenged the podcast host to say the person's name, but eventually, the radio host just blurts out, "At one point it was Azealia Banks." The reaction in the room was surprise as everyone expressed that it was a visual that was hard for them to imagine.

"In theory, what an amazing idea," added Budden. Someone mumbled, "I wonder how long that would have lasted." Budden replied, "That's what I wanted to create. Something that you would say, 'How long is that gonna last?' That didn't pan out for whatever reason. So then we said, alright, we need three. And then when we were screen-testing the three..." Budden was interrupted but fellow State of the Culture host Brandon "Jinx" Jenkins who joked, "Was I really not supposed to be on this show, sh*t."

Budden continued by saying that during the screen-testing it was obvious that a fourth person needed to be added. Remy chimed in that during the screen-testing they learned that "Rem is just like Joe, she just has a wig on. So it was like, we need four." Check out Budden discussing how he and Diddy came up with the format for State of the Culture below.

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In an alternate universe, Tupac Shakur starred in Menace II Society. In our real world, however, the late rapper didn’t make an appearance. The classic film is a favorite to millions, and during a talk with People’s Party with Talib Kweli, MC Eiht shared that early on, Tupac was hand-picked for the role of Sharif. The part would later go to Vonte Sweet, so Eiht explained why Tupac was booted from the film.

“The Hughes brothers worked all of Pac’s earlier sh*t,” Eiht said. “‘Brenda Got a Baby,’ all that sh*t. So they knew him [and] knew he was difficult to work with, but I think New Line [Cinema] wanted him in the movie. Juice, Poetic Justice, you know, and y’all have a relationship with him… We want him. So, who knows what happened, but, okay. We’ll get him in the movie. I don’t think it was the plan to keep him in the movie. We all know Pac, very vocal. Very outspoken.”

According to MC Eiht, Tupac questioned why he was cast as Sharif when everyone else got to be gangbangers. The rapper wanted the movie producers to give his character more of a backstory so that the audience knew why he was the “voice of reason.” The film’s production team didn’t have time for that. Tupac in turn, allegedly, made the table readings difficult because he wouldn’t participate. Soon, Vonte took his place.

MC Eiht said that he thinks Tupac was given the role of Sharif because they knew he would fight it and they’d have a way to get rid of him. Check out the full clip of MC Eiht chatting about Tupac Shakur on People’s Party with Talib Kweli below.  

He’s worked hard to get to where he is, but Don Toliver certainly hasn’t reached the goal of where he wants to be. The rapper is an artist to watch on the hip hop scene and recently his acclaimed collaboration with the JackBoys earned him even more recognition. Next, Toliver will be releasing his anticipated project Heaven or Hell that’s expected to drop March 13 so he chatted with Sway Calloway about his career.

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Don Toliver revisited those stories from his past as an artist traveling from city to city in an effort to get his music heard by anyone with influence. Toliver revealed that years ago he was even able to slide his CD Sway’s way when they happened to have met in Houston. Toliver shared that his main goal was to get his music out and unlike many others, he really didn’t think through making millions or stacking his bank account. He just wanted to get away from the street life and be a respected artist.

The rapper also talked about initially knowing Travis Scott by name and reputation but said he didn’t officially meet the Astroworld artist until 2017. “I was [nervous],” Toliver admitted. “He was my idol. He’s from Houston, all that. It was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life, to be honest. He was just real. It was just crazy to me. At that point, I was already signed on my own thing, whatever, but I still didn’t believe the stuff that I was like, really trying to achieve was happening the way it was happening.”

Toliver added that not only does Travis give him advice, but the whole Cactus Jack team keeps each other in check. “We are a collective here to uplift each other,” he said. “We all kinda give each other advice, pointers, and Travis for sure is very hands-on when it comes to creative direction. Like, ideas I might have.” Check out what else Don Toliver had to say about Heaven or Hell and his come up in the industry below.

On Valentine’s Day, Harry Styles was confronted by muggers near a bar in Spaniards Road, Hampstead in London. Initially reports about the incident were rather vague as to what went down between the former One Direction singer and the would-be thieves. During his recent visit to The Howard Stern Show, Harry detailed what happened, including sprinting from his assailants in a fast getaway.

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“I was walking home from a friend’s house. I’m five minutes from home, and I see this group of guys who all got their hoods up and their faces covered and stuff and I was like, ‘That’s a bit weird,'” the singer said. “The guys cross the road and I’m like, ‘That’s weird.’ Then, I’m walking up and hear the shuffling of feet, trying to catch up to me. So I cross the street, and they cross the street.”

Harry knew he was in trouble at that point. “Oh f*cks sake, I think I’m about to get robbed,” he said he thought at the time. The group of people recognized him and first offered him weed. After turning them down, he was quickly surrounded. He turned over his cash, but when the men noticed that he had his headphones, they wanted to know if they were plugged into his phone. 

“I pull out my phone and I’m thinking, ‘OK, this is really annoying, but I’ll wipe it and get a new phone,” Harry recalled. “And then the guy’s like, ‘Unlock your phone,’ and the other one pulls his shirt up and he’s got a knife sticking in his pants. I just said, ‘I’m sorry mate, I can’t. I can’t unlock my phone.’ And the guy’s like, ‘You got 10 seconds,’ and he starts counting them down and I’m like, ‘F*ck, am I going to unlock my phone?”

Instead, Harry told Howard Stern that he seized an “opportunity” after he saw cars approaching. He ran into the street and tried to get their attention but that didn’t work. So, instead, he just took off as quickly as he could “toward the little village area near where I live.” He added, “I guess because they had some cash and stuff they ended up just turning around.” The incident hasn’t kept the singer from walking around his neighborhood at night. Watch Harry Styles on The Howard Stern Show below.

If you’re a woman in the industry who has a child with a famous rapper and you’re trying to build a name for yourself as an artist, it’s going to be difficult to shake the “baby mama” label. Lezhae Zeona, the mother of two of Fetty Wap’s children, is learning through trial and error that no matter how talented she may think she is, people will always see her in one light.

Recently, Lezhae caught up with Supa Cindy for Miami’s 99Jamz radio and talked at length about her rap aspirations. Lezhae revealed that Fetty has given her advice on how to navigate her music career. “When he first found out I did music, I didn’t tell him,” she said. “I just did my own thing. He was on Live and people was actually telling him. He was like, ‘What?’ He thought they was trippin’. Maybe two weeks later, he was at my house and I was just playing him the music that I was doing and his face was just dropped. He was so shocked. He was like, ‘I’m not gon’ lie, this ish is good. It’s really, really good. Keep going.'”

Fetty told her that he would help her if she needed it, but Lezhae expressed that she wanted to do this independently of him. “I try to not really use him to my advantage too much because I really want to accomplish this on my own,” said Lezhae. “It’s like a cheat code and I’d rather just navigate and have my own path and my own journey with this whole music industry.”

Supa Cindy wanted to know how things are going on the homefront, specifically if Lezhae’s kids are friends with their siblings and if she gets along with the mothers of Fetty’s other children. She revealed that she has a good relationship with two of Fetty’s baby mamas: Ariel Reese, the mother of the rapper’s first child, and Masika Kalysha, the mother of Fetty’s fourth child. 

“Girl, it’s so many, I’m just trying to make sure I’m not forgetting nobody,” Lezhae joked. “‘Cause the ones that I am cool with, we’re cool cool.” She added, “Once you put away all the differences and then just—the common barrier is the children, but moving forward I realized [Masika] is a good person, she is not as bad as people paint her out to be. She’s a sweet girl.” Watch Lezhae Zeona’s interview in full below and check out what else she had to say about her music career.