WEEKLY NEWS ROUNDUP: DAVE’S APPAREL COLLABORATION WITH TRAPSTAR, VACCINE PASSPORTS FOR NIGHTCLUBS & MORE

DAVE DROPS ‘WE ARE ALL ALONE IN THIS TOGETHER’ CLOTHING COLLAB WITH TRAPSTAR 

UK Grime & Hip-Hop heavyweight Santan Dave has just dropped a landmark collaboration with streetwear giant Trapstar to celebrate the launch of his album ‘We Are All Alone In This Together’. This partnership marks the first time the brand has collaborated so directly with an artist, designing a full 10 piece collection centred around the album artwork adorning the highly-anticipated album. Sadly, the full collection sold out almost immediately but rumours of a second drop have already begun to surface.

BORIS JOHNSON ANNOUNCES ‘VACCINE PASSPORTS’ TO BECOME MANDATORY FOR ALL NIGHTCLUBS 

One day removed from ‘Freedom Day’ in which UK clubs reopened for the first time since the pandemic began, Boris Johnson has announced that a ‘Vaccine Passport’ will be mandatory to enter all nightclubs beginning in September. The measures are being introduced in response to the rapid spike in cases caused by the flourishing Delta variant as bars and restaurants return to normal operations. The plan has been met with widespread criticism, including by Sacha Lord, head of Warehouse Project club nights, who released a statement saying that the government “appears to have wiped out live gigs for a whole generation”.

HIP-HOP ICON AND PIONEER BIZ MARKIE DIES AGE 57

US Hip-Hop legend, MC, Producer and Beatboxer Biz Markie died in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was widely heralded as one of the most humorous and inventive rappers of his generation, rising to stardom with his 1989 hit single ‘Just A Friend’ Although Biz was diagnosed with diabetes in 2014, no official cause of death has thus far been released. Since the announcement of his passing, stories and well wishes have been pouring in from all corners of the hip-hop universe to thank Biz Markie for his contribution to the genre he helped establish. Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip offered his condolences in a tweet that read, ‘This one hurts baad,RIP to my Aries bro … I’m gonna miss u.”

CENTRAL CEE HEADS TO THE US FOR HIS FIRST EVER RECORDED INTERVIEW ON NO JUMPER 

On Monday, the hit US podcast ‘No Jumper’ dropped a surprise interview with London drill MC Central Cee. Rarely do UK artists feature on the California based podcast making Central Cee’s unexpected appearance on the show a massive move in UK Hip-Hop’s quest to conquer the US market. Not since Aj Tracy and Aitch featured on the channel has a UK MC received the sought after stamp of approval from No Jumper host Adam22.

JEFF BEZOS JETS TO SPACE IN SELF FUNDED BLUE ORIGIN SHUTTLE 

Things are really starting to heat up in the Billionaire space race as Jeff Bezos joins Richard Branson and Elon Musk in their pursuit of private interplanetary travel. Bezos’s Blue Origin shuttle launched 65 miles into the sky from a base in Texas heralding in a new era of space tourism. Bezos was beaten in the race to the stars by Richard Branson who launched in his own ‘Virgin Galactic’ craft just weeks earlier.

NHS WORKERS CONSIDER STRIKING AFTER LAUGHABLE 3% PAY RISE OFFERED BY UK GOVERNMENT 

NHS staff are considering taking ‘industrial’ action against the UK government after being offered a measly 3% pay increase. The announcement of the pay rise was met with a furious uproar as the proposed increase was intended to compensate medical staff for the struggles and traumas endured during the pandemic. The 3% increase was not satisfactory to a large section of key workers that rightly believe their heroic actions over the last year warranted a larger pay rise.

TOKYO OLYMPICS IN MELTDOWN AFTER OPENING CEREMONY DIRECTOR FIRED 

It’s been a drama-filled week in the Tokyo Olympic village this week. After athletes learned that many of their beds were made from cardboard boxes in an attempt to stop athletes from having sex, the certainty of the event was once again thrown into question after Kentaro Kobayashi was fired from his post as director of the opening ceremony after footage emerged of him making jokes about the holocaust. This is another nightmare for an already tumultuous Olympics as locals continue to protest the negative economic impact felt by the community during the games.

DRUG COMPANIES SUED FOR $26 BILLION FOR CAUSING OPIOID EPIDEMIC 

Four of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay $26 Billion to US states for causing and accelerating an opioid epidemic that has killed more than half a million addicts by lethal overdose between 2009 and 2019. The deal was reached after concerted bipartisan pressure forced the four corporate giants to take ownership of the damage caused by crooked opioid marketing campaigns.

JUSTIN BIEBER MAKES HISTORY AS THE YOUNGEST ARTIST TO HAVE 100 SONGS ON BILLBOARD HOT 100 LIST 

Justin Bieber has officially dethroned Drake as the youngest person to register 100 tracks on the Billboard charts at the age of 27. It was his most recent track ‘Stay ft The Kid Laroi’ that tipped the scales in favour of Justin following its debut on the charts at no.3. The young superstar now joins an exclusive group consisting of Drake, Lil Wayne, Future, Taylor Swift, The Glee Cast, Kanye, Elvis and Chris Brown as the only other artist with triple-figure Hot 100 Hits.

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See also: THE CULTED WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP