J.Cole Announces 2014 Forest Hills Drive Album
The year in hip-hop releases has been so lightweight that some have openly called it the worst in modern history. But with the rap game on the line, J.Cole is stepping up in the fourth quarter. Last night, the 29-year-old North Carolina native announced an out-of-the-blue third studio album titled 2014 Forest Hills Drive, named for the address of his childhood home. The Dreamville founder dropped a seven-minute mini-documentary that captures him in his hometown element, visiting his old home, high school, the local arcade and roller-skating rink. In the short, he says he’s personally focusing on authentic happiness: friends, family and love. If any of this is an indication of the direction of 2014 Forest Hills Drive—of which no music has yet been released—it’s likely it’ll be a personal, back-to-the-roots project. One thing that’s for sure is that this quote from a vintage clip of kid Cole featured in the video still holds true: “When I drop my CD, I want it to be perfect in every way.”
Watch it at The Stashed.
Yet Another Bill Cosby Rape Accuser Steps Forward
Yet another rape accuser has come out against Bill Cosby. Joan Tarshis, a former actress, music industry publicist and journalist, wrote a personal account for Hollywood Elsewhere alleging that Cosby drugged and raped her twice back in 1969; she was 19 years old at the time. She says she remembers him pouring her a Bloody Mary mixed with beer while they worked on material for The Bill Cosby Show. “The next thing I remember was coming to on his couch while being undressed,” she wrote. “Through the haze, I thought I was being clever when I told him I had an infection, and he would catch it, and his wife would know he had sex with someone. But he just found another orifice to use. I was sickened by what was happening to me and shocked that this man I had idolized was now raping me.” Prior to Tarshis’s accusation, Cosby appeared with his wife Camille on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday to speak about their lending of artwork to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art. When the conversation inevitably shifted to the controversial rape charges, Cosby shut down, simply shaking his head without saying a word.
Read it at Hollywood Reporter.
106 & Park Will Move to Strictly Online in December
BET is ending an era, and birthing a new one. On Friday (November 14), the network issued a statement that 106 & Park would cease television airing and move to a web platform in December. “It’s been a great 14-year run as America’s top music/variety show on cable,” said BET president Stephen Hill. “And now that very valuable brand is going to take its talents to the digital realm. The interactive brand you helped build, 106 & Park, is alive and well… and it’s moving to the space in which our audience NOW interacts with music the most: online.” It’s the show’s biggest shift since Terrence J and Rocsi stepped down as hosts in 2012 and were replaced by Bow Wow and Keisha Chante. Cheers to happy endings and new beginnings.
