Their fathers are household hip-hop names, but forget all that - they want their music to speak for itself.
The kids of Peter Gunz and rap legend Doug E. Fresh have teamed up to release a video for their collaboration, "The Pain."
Trips and Slim, known collectively as Square Off, made a second-generation collabo tapping YMCMB's Cory Gunz for a feature. The song appears on Square Off's mixtape, "Money, Moet and Memories," which was released over the summer.
Trips and Slim are the kids of Doug E. Fresh and Cory Gunz is the son of Peter Gunz, most known for his uptown anthem with Lord Tariq, "Deja Vu."
Check out an interview I did with Square Off last year: click here.
WrestleMania is coming back to the region where it was born, but it will likely never return to its true birthplace ever again.
MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Giants and Jets, will host the annual wrestling spectacular on April 7, 2013.
Though the stadium is in East Rutherford, N.J., the event is being billed as the NY-NJ WrestleMania, which is no surprise.
But what this announcement does signify is that WrestleMania will likely never be held in New York ever again - unless a football stadium magically drops out of the sky and onto Manhattan's West Side.
Fans of the WWE know that WrestleMania was born in New York City at Madison Square Garden in front of nearly 20,000 people. The 1985 event featured stars like Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T.
Now, it's safe to say WrestleMania has outgrown 20,000 seat venues, like the Garden.
A real shame since it was the Garden that hosted the inaugural WrestleMania as well as the 10th and 20th anniversaries of the show.
For the last five years, the Super Bowl of professional wrestling has hosted crowds of more than 70,000 fans at various football stadiums - Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. (80,103), Citrus Bowl in Orland, Fl. (74,635), Reliant Stadium in Houston, Tx. (72,744), University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (72,219) and the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (71,617).
And this year's showdown will take place at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami.
You can bet that WrestleMania XXX in 2014 will take place at another monstrous stadium, meaning the Garden will have to settle for hosting other big company shows like Survivor Series, Summerslam and the Royal Rumble.
So it's no surprise there is a big "NY" on the event logo because Bergen County, N.J. will be the closest the WWE will get to hosting a WrestleMania.
Still, WWE officials and superstars at Thursday's press conference insisted WrestleMania was returning to its home.
"WrestleMania, on that date next year of April 7, comes home," said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
Not quite, Vince. Not quite.
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Other highlights:
The Rock promised he would once again be a part of WrestleMania in 2013.
"It is with great pride and great excitement that I can tell you now that I will come to Wrestlemania 29, and I will electrify MetLife Stadium like it's never been electrified before," he said.
Later, I asked The Rock if he would be wrestling at next year's WrestleMania. He couldn't give me answer. Here's the video:
John Cena told reporters that he'd like to wrestle in the snow.
Here's the video:
Tripe H also pumped up a WrestleMania homecoming.
"Finally, to quote the Rock, Wrestlemania comes home," he said.
WWE superstars Mark Henry, Sheamus and the Bella Twins were also in attendance for the press conference.
The superstar songbird, known for her chart-topping hits like "I Will Always Love You" and "The Greatest Love of All," was found dead at a hotel room in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Saturday afternoon. The cause of death has not been determined.
Many regarded her as the greatest singer of all-time, and some even referred to her simply as "The Voice."
Her string of number one hits from her 1985 self-titled debut album quickly made the singer from Newark, N.J. a household name.
Houston also made a big splash on the big screen. She starred alongside Kevin Costner in 'The Bodyguard' in 1992 and the 1995 romance film 'Waiting to Exhale.'
Despite all of the success, Houston's demons soon sent the singer on a downward spiral. Her turbulent marriage to R&B bad boy Bobby Brown and her battles with drugs tragically dimmed her shining star. She would hit rock bottom and disappear from both singing and acting.
However, Houston made a comeback with "I Look to You" in 2009, but it was at that moment when we realized "The Voice" was gone for good.
She would never again be able to capture a crowd like she did singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 1991. She would never again be able to perform "I Will Always Love You" and send chills down your spine. She would never again conquer the charts like she did when she first arrived on the scene.
Her singing career was all but done.
Now, nearly three years after making a rocky comeback, Houston's name covers the marquee of the world famous Apollo Theater, where she shot the video for "The Greatest Love of All."
But her name appears as a reminder of the larger-than-life singer whose life expired too soon.
The marquee read: "In Memory of Whitney Houston A True Music Icon."
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I was able to see Whitney Houston perform at Central Park in 2009. Below are the videos:
Jay-Z's got more than a baby and 99 problems to worry about.
The rap icon's recently re-opened 40/40 Club scored 69 violation points during an inspection by the New York City Health Department.
The result: the club has been temporarily been shut down.
The lavish club was just re-opened on Wednesday for celebrities and for the media to get a sneak peek. The inspection was conducted the following day when the club was opened to the public.
Among the "critical" violations listed on the NYC Health Dept website included:
1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment.
4) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
5) Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.
6) Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.
The temporary closing of the club comes following an over-the-top event, which brought out celebrities, including Warren Buffett, Ashanti, CC Sabathia and Russell Simmons.
Beyonce was also rumored to be at the grand re-opening, but she was a no show.
Being a reporter in the Big Apple has its share of heartbreaking stories, interesting interviews and monumental moments.
In the year 2011, I was able to cover historical same-sex weddings, including one officiated by Mayor Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion.
I followed the story of 17-year-old Afrika Owes, once a prep school standout who garnered the front page of the Daily News when she was busted running guns for a Harlem street gang. She was later bailed out by the prominent Abyssinian Baptist Church.
I revealed the identity of afro-wearing baby on the cover of the Notorious B.I.G. 'Ready to Die' album - and to the surprise of many, the baby had no relation to the late Christopher Wallace.
I interviewed celebrities including Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, T.I., Gayle King, Don Lemon, Kelly Rowland, Jim Jones, J.Cole, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kangol Kid, Consequence and Keith Sweat.
I also followed local heroes X Factor rap phenom Astro and Christian Lopez, the Yankee fan who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit. I even interviewed Newark Mayor Cory Booker about his use of Twitter in the midst of the Anthony Weiner photo scandal.
I covered the funerals of rap legend Heavy D, the iconic singer/songwriter Nick Ashford, poet/musician Gil Scott-Heron and even the homecoming for Clarice Taylor, best known for being Bill Cosby's TV mom.
Oh yeah, I also sat outside waiting for a glimpse of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. (blah)
I watched exhausted runners cross the finish line at the ING NYC Marathon. I attended one of the many ceremonies around the city remembering 10 years since 9/11. I saw a Harlem community mourn a beloved high school basketball player who was senselessly gunned down in a housing project.
And the year ended covering one of the worst tragedies that I've seen since becoming a journalist, three children and their grandparents were killed in a horrible Christmas morning house fire in Stamford, Ct.
Here's a look at my top 10 stories of the year (that I covered):
Perhaps the biggest star of the 2011 MTV VMAs was one that hasn't even been born yet.
Beyonce, looking stunning in a flowing floor-length orange dress, shocked the world as she gave photographers a preview of her baby bump on the pre-VMA show 'black carpet.'
It was a moment that was not televised, but it didn't take long before social media started spreading the exciting baby news.
Beyonce posed for photos while smiling and holding her hands around her protruding stomach, and the pregnancy rumors finally seemed to be put to rest - especially after MTV tweeted a photo (shown below) to prove it.
It was just a matter of moments before "BEYONCE IS PREGNANT" became a trending topic on Twitter.
The VMAs had yet to start and the buzz about Beyonce and Jay-Z's first child reached an all-time high.
And if the pre-VMA photos - that were spreading like wildfire on Twitter - weren't enough, Beyonce made it official following her powerful award show performance of 'Love on Top.'
The superstar singer - a week away from her 30th birthday - confidently tossed down the microphone, unbuttoned her purple sequined tuxedo jacket and posed with her hands her hips to let the world know she is indeed expecting.
To top it off, she gently rubbed her stomach several times with her right hand, instantly making it the belly rub heard 'round the world.
The first ever award show pregnancy announcement was met with wild cheers, and MTV cameras caught the reaction from father-to-be Jay-Z, who was congratulated in very brotherly fashion by Kanye West.
-We'll have to put up with constant speculation about the baby name and gender.
-Her young nephew will be taking a backseat to this new bundle of joy. Sorry, Juelz. No more award show spots for you.
- Offers to take photos of Beyonce's belly for a magazine cover will be pouring in.
-Someone will probably make a BeyonceJayZBaby Twitter handle.
-Kanye West will begin shopping for gifts to spoil his new 'nephew.' First items to purchase: red hot baby pants and gold chains.
-No one will care about photos of Michael Jackson's strange kids anymore. This newcomer is getting all the attention.
-TMZ and MediaTakeOut will be trying to outdo each other by obtaining sonograms of Bey and Jay's first child.
-Lastly, it means the baby could be born in April, which would be interesting considering Beyonce's endless connection to the number 4. (this could change depending on when the baby was conceived - but it seems April is a top candidate)
Note: Beyonce's birthday is 9/4. Jay-Z's birthday is 12/4. And her mother, Tina Knowles, birthday is 1/4. Beyonce and Jay-Z were married on 4/4. Beyonce's album is titled, '4.'
