This year produced some major moments that fell into three categories: The good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian got married, OutKast reunited for a worldwide festival tour, rappers like Remy Ma and Boosie came home from prison, Drake and Chris Brown set their beef aside, D'Angelo emerged with his first release in over 14 years, and Taylor Swift shattered sales records with her album, 1989.
The bad: Lil Wayne beefed with Birdman and Cash Money, Vybz Kartel was sentenced to life in prison for murder, Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose split, Puff Daddy attacked Drake over a song, and Bobby Shmurda witnessed his blossoming career disappear after a narcotics investigation led to several charges against the Brooklyn rapper, including conspiracy in the second degree.
And the ugly? Well, of course sometimes shit go down when it's a billion dollars on an elevator. Check out all that and more in What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Year?
Macklemore apologized to Kendrick Lamar for winning Best Rap Album at the Grammys.
Boosie Badazz was released from prison after serving five years for various charges.
Vybz Kartel was found guilty for murder and received a life sentence in prison.
OutKast reunited for a festival tour spanning over 40 dates and four continents.
Rihanna left Def Jam to join Jay Z and Roc Nation.
Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine sold Beats to Apple for $3 billion.
Solange attacked Jay Z in an elevator while Beyoncé stood by watching.
Kanye West and Kim Karadashian tied the knot in Florence, Italy.
Two videos surfaced of a teenage Justin Bieber making extremely racist remarks.
Date: June 1
An old video of Justin Bieber telling a racist joke to his friends was finally made available to the public. According to TMZ, Bieber was 15 years old when the video was recorded backstage at a charity event. TMZ also revealed that they had the video for four years, but didn't publicize it because of Bieber's age at the time the footage was filmed.
Justin released a statement about the video to TMZ:
“As a young man, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance.” Justin goes on, “Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologized for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologize again to all those I have offended.” Justin continues, “I'm very sorry. I take my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable mistake. I was a kid then and I am a man now who knows my responsibility to the world and to not make that mistake again.” And Justin says, “Ignorance has no place in our society and I hope the sharing of my faults can prevent others from making the same mistake in the future. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say but telling the truth is always what's right.” Justin ends with this: “Five years ago I made a reckless and immature mistake and I'm grateful to those close to me who helped me learn those lessons as a young man. Once again….I'm sorry."
Before Bieber could escape the backlash of his controversial remarks, another video surfaced of the singer telling a racist joke. The second video featured a 14-year old Bieber singing his song, “One Less Lonely Girl,” but instead of girl, Bieber repeatedly uses the n-word. Bieber also sings about joining the KKK. —Zach Frydenlund
Related: Old Video of Justin Bieber Telling a Racist Joke Has Surfaced
Meek Mill beefed with fellow MMG member Wale and served a five-month jail sentence for violating parole.
Date: July 8
Meek Mill called out Wale on Twitter for not supporting his upcoming album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, and revealed that his fellow MMG member has been hating on him for sometime. He also addressed issues with Louie V Gutta—who responded, as the two rappers have been beefing for quite quite a bit.
Tension between Meek and Wale doesn't appear to be anything new. During an interview in 2011, Wale kept interrupting Meek on the red carpet, which led him to walk away in clear frustration. The two later denied that they had any issues.
After Meek Mill called Wale out on Twitter, Wale took to Instagram, to respond.
Few weeks ago. (7w) I posted this .but ok. Movin along . My Avi always changed when it's THAT time .. Ok that's not enough y'all see “razor ramon " post on his no. But I don't care.. I wrote a long ass post day before his single dropped .. Mariah record dropped nobody said a word I didn't care .. I still don't… I carry myself with confidence and humility ., I always try to have a lighter side to MMG.. Cuz I understand I don't “fit the mold” so if I'm tryna spruce an interview up to show that we not tryn be “serious tough guys” on the red carpet Or try to be a bit more engaging to broaden our audience forgive me . I never wanted anybody to think we take ourselves THAT serious. (Were rappers )I don't need to take anybody shine.. Or hate on anybody . I walk in a completely different world .. Where I look for slp jeans and Shanghai dunks online and know what “kayfabe” means. I check nbadraft.net daily . I'm on whatculture allll day I enjoy shyt like that. I play fuckin Zelda and fuck wit bitches who teach yoga and paint… I get it . I'm different . I always embrace that shyt.. I encourage y'all to embrace what y'all like or the person y'all wanna be.. I text niggas happy Father's Day and get no reply .. I laugh it off .. I laugh at how I write songs about “chain music” and y'all get lost or “600benzz” i like to have fun with our culture. Because I beleive I add THAT to a “gangster rap” faction. I made my opportunity work for me that way. I write poems . I watch wwe . I collect kicks. I'm sensitive ok. Maybe bi polar. But one thjng I'm not is a hater.. I see Daquan jokes all day yesterday and patted myself on the back that I'm regarded as the aforementioned adjectives and not “Daquan”. I'm me and I'll be me and do this shyt wit my “dew” till I don't wanna do it. I encourage you to wake up soon as you find time. This was a post about nothin.
Following Meek Mill's online rant, the Philadelphia rapper was sentenced to serve jail time because the local DA was “worried about his behavior while on probation,” particularly his issues that unfolded on Twitter. He also missed meetings with his probation officer. Previously, Meek stated that his longstanding probation held him back from moving out of Philadelphia.
A statement was released by Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Noel Ann DeSantis:
“The defendant's clear attitude with probation while reporting on May 15, his Twitter accounts being derogatory to the probation department and this DA and others in this court system, the judge found that all these are in tactical violation of probation."
After a five-month stint, Meek Mill was released from jail. He still has to undergo treatment and participate in community service, and he will also not be able to travel outside of Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.
Before he was locked up, Meek was gearing up to drop his long-awaited sophomore album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, which was ultimately delayed due to his jail sentence. A new date for the album has not been announced. —Zach Frydenlund
Related: Meek Mill Calls Out Wale On Twitter
Drake and Chris Brown deaded their longtime beef.
Remy Ma was released from prison after being locked up for six years.
Beanie Sigel also came home from prison.
Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose split after one year of marriage.
Tyga beefed with Drake and his label, Young Money.
Kesha sued producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault.
Date: October 14
Kesha sued longtime producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault and battery that, according to the lawsuit, went on for 10 years. The disturbing claims, discovered by TMZ, document years of sexual, physical, emotional, and verbal abuse from the well-known producer towards Kesha which includes a time where he reportedly made her snort something before getting on a plane, and once on the plane, he forced himself on her while she was drugged.
She's asking to be released from her contract with Luke, who she says was a reason behind her well-documented eating disorder, which was first reported on earlier this year. TMZ received the following statement from Kesha's lawyer on the matter:
Kesha's lawyer, Mark Geragos, tells TMZ, “This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for ten years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and an instance of sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke."
Geragos adds, “The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time."
Dr. Luke is countersuing Kesha for extortion. Luke claims that Kesha is lying about her allegations of abuse and that she is only doing it to get out of her binding contract with him. He also claims that the whole thing is an extortion scheme from Kesha and her new management team to get out of the deal by spreading false information about him. —Zach Frydenlund
Related: Kesha Is Reportedly Suing Producer Dr. Luke For Sexual Assault and Battery
Chief Keef severed ties with Interscope.
Mac Miller ended his independent run and joined Warner Bros.
Taylor Swift's 1989 sold over a million copies in its first week.
Jaden Smith emerged as one of the brightest stars in rap.
Lil Wayne beefed with Birdman and Cash Money over the delay of his album, Tha Carter V.
Date: December 4
After countless delays, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V was set to hit stores in 2014 until Weezy took to Twitter to voice his frustrations with Cash Money Records and Birdman, and claims the label won't let him release his album.
To all my fans, I want u to know that my album won't and hasn't been released bekuz Baby & Cash Money Rec. refuse to release it. This is not my fault. I am truly and deeply sorry to all my fans but most of all to myself and my family for putting us in this situation. I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain't that easy. I am a prisoner and so is my creativity. Again, I am truly sorry and I don't blame ya if ya fed up with waiting 4 me & this album. But thk u.
Wayne has been associated with Cash Money Records since the early '90s, and has always maintained an extremely close relationship with Birdman over the years. His own label, Young Money Entertainment, is an imprint of Cash Money and back in April 2012, Wayne signed an additional four album deal with Cash Money, as well.
“Everybody knows I came into the game at 11 years old with Cash Money Records, before we even had a major deal,” Wayne told MTV News back in 2012. “We signed a deal in I don’t remember when, and I been with Cash Money ever since. So if you’re looking for integrity, I am the definition. If you’re looking for a person that’s gonna stay down, I am the definition. If you’re looking for loyalty, I am just that." —Lauren Nostro
Related: Lil Wayne Wants Off Cash Money Records, Blames Label and Birdman For “Tha Carter V” Delay
Puff Daddy got into a physical confrontation with Drake over a song.
D'Angelo dropped his first album in over a decade.
Bobby Shmurda was arrested and charged with conspiracy in the second degree, among other charges.
Azealia Banks called out Iggy Azalea for appropriation, and Iggy made a fool of herself in response.
