Some things just sound right and make you feel that all is right in the hip-hop universe. Lil Wayne and Mannie Fresh working together is one of those things. The energetic MC and charismatic DJ have made for one of music's best tandems during two-plus decades, creating major hits and influencing culture.  While obviously the two have branched out since their Cash Money heyday, it was still special to see Fresh listed as producer on the recently released blockbuster, Tha Carter V.  The Mannie-helmed “Start This Shit Off Right” and “Perfect Strangers” were two bullseye-hits on the 23 song LP.

Last night in Atlanta, Fresh performed a DJ set right before Wayne hit the stage as headliner at A3C, spinning Cash Money classics and hits from notables including Wayne and Notorious B.I.G. The producer/ DJ said he’s not surprised Wayne has had longevity on top of the game.

 
“I always felt homie was gonna hold his own,” Mannie told us backstage after his set. “Big ups to him for always answering the phone no matter what was going on.  I can I always say my dude — low point for me, low point for him [or] when we was up— always answered the phone. Before I knew Wayne, I knew his dad. His das was always like ‘this dude got star qualities.’ When I met him, he was right. First one there, last one to leave. It’s still that way. When we worked on Tha Carter [V], people don’t know we got like 13 songs, we dumbed it down to two. And we did that in three days. So the chemistry is still there, still crazy. Dude was like, 'let this ride and you can put those out.' The world will get to hear Mannie Fresh/ Carter. It’ll be ‘The Fresh File.’”
 
Fresh is currently crafting a solo LP and one of the MCs he most wants to work with is Kool G. Rap. 
 
Tha Carter, hit with major velocity since it’s release two weeks ago. It went gold in just a few days after being streamed around half a billion times it’s first week out (the second highest in history). The opus, Wayne’s latest in the series that started 14 years ago also debuted number one on the Billboard charts.

In a time when Kanye West is arguably alienating a large portion of his fanbase with his MAGA hat and pro-Tump speeches on late night sketch shows, Taylor Swift has decided that it’s her turn to her first-ever public political stance. The iconic singer used social media to convey her support for the Democratic candidates in the upcoming midterm elections in her home state of Tennessee.

“I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee,” she told her 112 plus million followers. “In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.

I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love.”

Swift then outlined why she considers Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn to be the absolutely the wrong person to represent her state.

“Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn[,]” the multi-time Grammy winner expressed. “Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway.

So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈”

Her newfound public political stance has upset some of Swift’s Republican fans, many of whom took to social media with their rebuttals, admonishing the singer. Meanwhile, several celebrities jumped in the mix to support the hitmaker. One time Swift nemeses Kary Perry likes Swift’s post as did Avengers mega-villain Josh Brolin, legendary directors Rob Reiner and Joseph Khan, and of course Swift’s renaissance-man friend Todrick Hall.

Swift is slated to perform a slew of concerts around the world in this month, and will be open this week’s American Music Awards broadcast.

In a weekend where literally dozens of noise-making, popular hip-hop figures converged on two cities, the most anticipated performance ended almost as soon as it began.  Lil Wayne’s headline outing at the A3C Music festival in Atlanta lasted for only two and half songs. The man with the number one album in the country, "Tha Carter V," was ushered off stage and into his waiting SUV after pandemonium broke out in the crowd. A reportedly violent incident occurred in the audience, causing thousands of concert-goers to stampede towards the exits.
 
According to some witnesses, at least two spectators were fighting when one got stabbed. Some witness say they saw a man a draw a gun and hoist in the air. Others say no one had a weapon. A source within the event security team told LiveXLive that they actually saw a man shoot a gun in the air. Wayne started his set at exactly 10pm with “Mr. Carter.” “Got Money” followed, and during song #3, “John,” the stampede occurred.

A3C released a statement shortly after the chaos:
 
“Sadly, there was an altercation tonight that ended Lil Wayne’s performance,” the statement read. “We are still collecting information to determine exactly what happened and will provide follow up information as soon as we know more details. Please be assured that the law enforcement officers present have confirmed that there were no weapons involved. This was a very unfortunate way to end what had been an otherwise amazing week of music, friendships and connections. Thank you to everyone for your amazing support and positive energy all week. We love y’all.”
 
A spokesperson for the Atlanta police was unable to be reached.

Soon after the performance, Wayne tweeted: “Hope everyone at A3C is safe."

“The “Greatest Rapper Alive”’ was very energetic and made sure to thank his fans for their support over the past two decades and he let everyone he would be nothing without the people on his side. He didn’t get to spend much time in Atlanta today, as he flew back to Miami after the A3C incident to make an appearance Club Liv. He had previously been in Miami during the taping of the BET Hip-Hop Awards where he received the coveted “I AM Hip-Hop” award. Bun B and DJ Khaled presented him the honor at the event, which also featured Cardi B, Lil Baby and Gunna, Lil Duval, T.I., YG, Lil Pump, Gucci Mane and Young M.A.

As for A3C today, M.A also performed as did Curren$y and the entire group of the Diplomats. Cam’ron, Jim Jones, and Freekey Zekey along with Juelz Santana. Santana has recently faced serious legal issues, having been arrested for bringing a loaded handgun to the New Jersey airport in March. Santana had been on house arrest for several months and had not been able to travel with his band of brothers while they’ve been touring. Juelz was onstage standing to the side with his wife Kimbella tonight with Wayne.

Stay tuned to LiveXLive for more coverage of this ongoing story, A3C and the BET Hip Hop Awards.