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MEEK MILL

Jay-Z's Roc Nation forms book publisher with Random House

NEW YORK – A decade after publishing his memoir “Decoded,” Jay-Z is forming a more lasting partnership with the book industry. Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by the rapper, is starting an imprint with Random House called Roc Lit 101. In a joint announcement Tuesday, Random House and Roc Nation promised “books at the dynamic intersection of entertainment and genre-defying literature." Future releases will include a book by Meek Mill on “criminal justice and survival,” memoirs by rappers Yo Gotti and Fat Joe and fantasy fiction from rapper Lil Uzi Vert, along with everything from cookbooks to children's stories. Roc Lit 101 will be led by Chris Jackson, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Random House imprint One World and a recent recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Center for Fiction; and Jana Fleishman, executive vice president of Roc Nation.

Amid unrest, songs continue to voice the black experience

The trio are among several artists who have released songs in response to the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. It’s confusion.”Other musicians have released songs in the last week in the wake of Floyd's death and those of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Mickey Guyton, one of the few black voices on the country music scene, wrote the song “Black Like Me” last year about her life story and experiences with racism. The black man in the grip of the oppressor. “It was the first time that I shed tears over a man that I didn’t even know, over a black man.

Police: Robbery looks unlikely as motive in rapper killing

In this undated photo provided by Republic Records is Pop Smoke. "We are devastated by the unexpected and tragic loss of Pop Smoke," Republic Records said in a statement. An autopsy was planned after Pop Smoke was declared dead at a hospital. Chance the Rapper, 50 Cent, Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj, who collaborated with Pop Smoke, were among those paying tribute on social media. “Young tycoon gone2soon had a blast wit ya,” Snoop Dogg posted, along with a video of himself and Pop Smoke on stage together.

Banana, duct tape add up to $150,000 at Art Basel Miami

In this Dec. 4, 2019 photo, gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin poses next to Maurizio Cattlelan's "Comedian" at the Art Basel exhibition in Miami Beach, Fla. The most talked-about artwork of the week was titled “Comedian” — a spotty banana duct-taped to a wall by artist Maurizio Cattelan. The Paris-based Perrotin gallery raised the price to $150,000 for the third piece, which will be sold to a museum. On Saturday, David Datuna removed the banana from the wall, unpeeled it and took a bite as a large crowd documented it with their phones. The city of Miami Beach commissioned a million-dollar traffic jam by artist Leandro Erlich.