J. Cole Pays Respects to Mike Brown in Ferguson

As evident in his music, if anyone cares about the social issues effecting Black communities, it’s J.Cole. After releasing his emotional “Be Free” tribute to Michael Brown, the responsive rap star landed in St. Louis to visit the sight where the 18-year-old was slain before taking some time to speak with Ferguson residents and protestors (with no media coverage or “give-me-credit” cameras around.) So if J. Cole isn’t on your list of favorite MCs, you might wanna add him.

Read it at Vibe.

Drake Joins Ice Bucket Challenge in Support of ALS Awareness

There’s a new challenge taking off on social media and becoming increasingly popular among celebrities in particular—it’s called the Ice Bucket Challenge. The goal is to raise awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, by—you guessed it—recording yourself having a bucket of freezing ice cold water dumped on you and posting it on a social platform. Participants also have to call out a friend to partake in the challenge or donate at least 100 bucks. Well, with the help of Lil Wayne, Drake just joined the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Chris Brown, and Weezy himself (plus many more) in getting frozen to near-death during the Drake vs. Lil Wayne tour stop in Pittsburgh last night. Who did he pick to get iced next? It looks like Beyoncé better get ready to get that expensive weave wet!

Read it at Complex.

Tyrese Angers Twitter Followers with Mike Brown Tweets

Known for getting his T.D. Jakes on when it comes to his social sites, Tyrese is another celebrity who’s been vocal about the shooting death of Michael Brown. But his sentiments rubbed Twitter-heads the wrong way when he went on a rant pointing out the almost non-existent nature of protests or national news stories concerning the alarming rate of Black on Black crime in America. Of course, his followers saw this as a deflection from the cold-blooded slaying of Mike Brown and the issue of police brutality against Black men in general, thus the dragging began. But whether you agree with his words or not, we need to fight for the end of mistreatment and the murdering of all our people by any means.

Read it at Urban Belle.