Stefan Ponce is more than just the producer behind your favorite records from Childish Gambino, Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper. Although his name is forever attached to some of your favorite rappers, Ponce is currently making a name for himself. Don’t label him as the Grammy-nominated Stefan Ponce, or the Childish Gambino-affiliated Stefan Ponce, or the guy who produced ‘Down On My Luck’ and ‘3005’, Ponce is an artist of his own, with an album of his own that’s on its way. We sat down with Stefan Ponce to talk about his forthcoming project, and some of his artist friends who have helped him get to this point.
CHICAGO, IL — Just when it looked like Patrick Kane was on the track to clear his name from the on-going rape allegation, after speaking to media with confidence that he would be absolved from any wrongdoing and after fans greeted him with cheers last night at the United Center, a cloud of doubt was again cast over him as the attorney of his accuser, Thomas Eoannou, presented some serious allegations in front of the media this afternoon.
According to Eoannou, an empty evidence bag (that Eoannou believes to be legitimate) was received on the doorstep of the accuser’s mother’s home. “In my 30 years plus of being both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I have never seen an evidence bag outside of a police lab, a prosecutor’s office or a courtroom, let alone find one in the doorway of a rape victim mother’s home,” said Eoannou. Eoannou also called for an independent investigation, outside the local authorities, to look into the matter.
While many were quick to again doubt the integrity of the Chicago Blackhawk’s star forward, and assume that Eoannou’s allegation’s were true and that Kane (or someone close to Kane) potentially tampered with the evidence, the Town of Hamburg Police Department issued the following statement:
“In regard to the information conveyed today by Mr. Thomas Eoannou, the Hamburg Police Department will cooperate with any authorized investigation regarding the handling of evidence and the procedure of such. That said, The Hamburg Police Department has documentation that unequivocally demonstrates that it’s handling of the evidence and the integrity of it’s chain of custody of evidence in this case is unassailable. As is policy with active investigations, there will be no further comment regarding this situation.”
In simpler terms, the Hamburg Police Department has full confidence, through its evidence of documentation, that there is no reason to question the integrity and handling of its evidence in this matter.
Of course anything can happen, but unlike the attorneys for both the accuser and Kane, the Hamburg Police Department has no obvious motive for tampering with the evidence.
Accusing or hinting that someone, especially the opposing side in an on-going investigation, is a serious accusation, but if we are to believe the Hamburg Police Department, then there is no reason to question the evidence in the case, as well as the various reports that the evidence of the rape kit demonstrated that Kane’s DNA was not found on the accuser’s genitals or undergarments.
Although lack of DNA evidence does not necessarily prove one’s innocence in a rape allegation, prosecutors say that cases where a rapist uses a condom (therefore no DNA evidence) are extremely rare.
Chicago doesn’t subscribe to the idea that music festivals need to end in the summer, which is why React Present has totally expanded their Halloween music festival this year with Freaky Deaky. And while you purchase your tickets and await it’s full schedule, Freaky Deaky has just announced its daily lineups. Fans on Freaky Deaky’s opening day will be trick or treated to performances from Bassnectar, 2 Chainz, Action Bronson, Flying Lotus, Markus Schulz and many more. On Saturday Armin Van Buuren, Big Gigantic, Logic, Joey Bada$$ and more will hit the state. Then on Sunday, the Windy City will see sets from Chicago’s own Vic Mensa, Pretty Lights, Aluna George, A-Trak, Carnage, Mac Miller and many more.
With appearances from 2 Chainz, Vic Mensa, Flying Lotus, Mac Miller, Logic, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson and Riff Raff, Freaky Deaky is set to have the biggest rap and hip-hop presence of all Chicago music festivals this year.
We are just a few weeks away from the release of Atlanta rapper/singer Raury’s debut album, All We Need, the follow up to his critically acclaimed mixtape Indigo Child. The LP will drop on October 16th and in promotion of the forthcoming project, Raury paid a visit to Stephen Colbert, as one of his first guests on The Late Show. The ‘Devil’s Whisper’ performance (which is the lead single from All We Need) also marked the 19-year-old’s first network television appearance.
Watch Raury’s powerful performance of ‘Devil’s Whisper’ below.
Lana Del Rey wastes no time when it comes to releasing new music. Since her 2012 debut, Born To Die, Lana has now released four studio albums in just four years (including Born To Die:The Paradise Edition), a consistency that is rare for today’s pop artists. While Lana instantly gained a cult following after her debut LP, she most recently won over critics last year with Ultraviolence, widely accepted as her best album up until that point. While artists frequently fall victim to the sophomore album curse and slumps throughout their career where they simply run out of fresh ideas for songs, fans were anxious to see if Lana could follow up her critical success from Ultraviolence, just a year later with Honeymoon. Although the Honeymoon may not be quite as beautiful as the wedding that it follows (Ultraviolence), Lana’s new album again proves that she is continuing to grow as an artist, all while delivering her unique sound and consistently great records.
Watch as A$AP Rocky pays a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live for a special performance of his At. Long. Last. ASAP record, ‘Canal St.’, with California rapper Bones. If you like what you see, you definitely need to catch Rocky on tour with Tyler the Creator on their new joint tour. Their tour (also with Vince Staples and Danny Brown) kicked off last weekend in Lowell, MA and it will hit a number of stops throughout the U.S., including Chicago, New York, Phili and more. You can get your tickets now at RockyAndTyler.com.
Watch A$AP Rocky’s performance of ‘Canal St.’ below.
Last night, Energy 106.9 brought two of the hottest artists right now to the Lucid Light Lounge in Milwaukee for the “That ENERGY Party”. After hours of free champagne, fans were treated to a special live performance from Atlanta rapper Silento, as he performed his hit single ‘Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae).’ After hitting that whip, everyone got to see Wisconsin native and ‘Classic Man’ singer, Jidenna, perform his hit record for the Milwaukee crowd.
Check out our photos of Jidenna and Silento’s performances below.
Today we traveled to Camp Randall Stadium to see the No. 24 ranked Wisconsin Badgers host the Trojans of Troy University. While Troy stayed competitive throughout the first half, at the end of the day Wisconsin dominated through its defense, still not giving up a touchdown since Alabama. Our photographer Dan Garcia captured some of the game’s best moments.
Read our game recap here and check out our photos from the Wisconsin’s impressive performance over Troy below.
It was clear from the start on Saturday afternoon from Camp Randall Stadium. The Wisconsin Badgers were going to make the run a priority. In fact, they ran the ball three straight times for a first down on the game’s opening drive. With a promising start, the drive immediately came to a halt on the next set of downs, with a wild snap resulting in an eleven yard loss on third down and five.
With a chance to make a big statement on the road, Troy simply sputtered on their opening drive, going three and out. This time, Wisconsin would take full advantage, wasting little time flying down the field for the game’s first score.
The Badgers big break came on a 30 yard pass and catch play from quarterback Joel Stave to emerging weapon Robert Wheelwright. Stave looked the defense off to Alex Erickson, turned and beamed a beautiful strike to Wheelwright down the left sideline. Wheelwright’s athleticism continues to impress both Stave and his coaches.
Stave followed up his fantastic day one week ago versus Miami (OH) with another stellar effort. The senior threw for 202 yards with a touchdown. His accuracy remained elite, finishing 13/17.
Troy quarterback Brandon Silver had a nice day himself, finishing with 174 yards with 23/34 passes completed. Despite solid quarterback and running back play, the Troy Trojans never really posed a threat to upsetting Wisconsin on this day in Madtown, losing 28-3.
Dare Ogunbowale and Taiwan Deal were men possessed on the Badgers second drive, combining for seven yards per carry en route to the end zone. Ogunbowale capped things off with an 18 yard untouched scamper.
Troy was not going to be shut out like Miami (OH) last week. The Trojans moved the ball effectively on the following drive, settling for a 32 yard field goal after a video review overturned a completed pass, making it 4th and 6 instead of 4th and 1 deep inside Wisconsin territory.
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
It was a huge call as Troy had initially lined up to go for it on fourth down. These would be the only points they would score.
Wisconsin erased any hopes for a late comeback by Troy when Stave connected with senior tight end Austin Traylor on a 1-yard touchdown with some five minutes remaining. This followed a 38-yard reception by Traylor moments earlier in the drive.
Troy’s backup kicker Ryan Kay handled the kicking duties Saturday as their starting kicker and long snapper are currently suspended by the team. It was certainly a blow to the team as Kay missed a makeable kick that could have forced the Badgers hand a little more.
Wisconsin’s junior inside linebacker Leon Jacobs was ejected from the game for a vicious, albeit legal hit on Troy quarterback Brandon Silvers. The consensus was that he led with his helmet, leading to the hasty decision by the referees upon video review.
The Badgers defense did not let up after the ejection. It seemed to have motivated the defense was hustling versus Troy’s balanced attack.
Tanner McEvoy continued his outstanding play on both sides of the ball Saturday for Wisconsin. The offensive and defensive specialist rushed for 41 yards on just 2 carries while helping the Badgers secondary keep the Trojans in check in the passing game.
The Badgers rushing attack, led by Ogunbowale and Deal were effective all day long. Ogunbowale rushed for 75 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. Not to be outdone, Deal had 84 yards on 16 carries of his own.
Number one receiver Alex Erickson had another fine day with 3 receptions for 87 yards.
Badgers true freshmen Chris Orr had a career day with 13 tackles, leading another dominant defensive effort.
Wisconsin has now allowed just 3 points in their last 8 quarters of play.
After two token matchups at the cozy confines of Camp Randall Stadium, the Badgers will have a much bigger test next Saturday when they host the Hawaii Warriors (1-1). Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm (Eastern).
Winning is always great. In the new college football postseason era, winning-out on a decent schedule probably gets you a shot at the championship. But not all is peaches and beer pong in the land of the undefeated. After all, only four teams get a shot at taking home the championship trophy. So, despite being loss-less rocky wins, early injuries, and close games could (and rightfully should) make fans at home a little nervous about the rest of the season. Here are the top three teams, who despite being undefeated, should be worried about going into today’s game.
Auburn – The fact that Auburn (2-0) barely squeaked out a win against Louisville (0-3) and still managed to avoid a drop in the rankings is quite shocking. Louisville went into the season dealing with multiple off-the-field issues, quarterback controversy, and a lackluster run defense. Despite a hot start Auburn looked sluggish in the second half, allowing Louisville a chance at victory up until the very last second.
Auburn eventually dropped eight spots after defeating an unranked Jacksonville State (1-1) in OT. If it weren’t for a botched punt with under a minute left, the Tigers would most likely be heading into today’s game against LSU (1-0) with a loss under their belt.
It seemed as though the game against Louisville could’ve been a fluke- first game jitters perhaps. But the OT victory over Jacksonville State shows that Auburn must re-legitimize themselves as a serious contender before they can move back up.
They have a shot to do so in today’s game against LSU.
Although it may not seem like it from watching the past two games, LSU is Auburn’s first real opponent thus far. A victory against LSU could give Auburn fans, coaches, and players a little relief from what is is shaping up to be a very rocky start. For the Tigers, a big win today could be exactly what they need.
Courtesy of WagerTalk.com
Notre Dame – There were many unanswered questions for Notre Dame going into the 2015 season. Would Malik Zaire be ready to take over as the starting quarterback? Has the defense improved enough to be deserving of the 6th overall defense in college football? After their 38-3 domination over Texas it seemed as though the answers to those questions were yes, and yes. The 6′ 222lb Junior completed 19 of his 22 passes against the Longhorns, racking up a total of 313 yards and three touchdowns. And the defense held Texas to a mere three points. Talks of Notre Dame (2-0) as a likely contender for the playoffs were abuzz.
It seemed as though the doubts vanished, that was until Malik Zaire fell to a broken ankle late in the 3rd quarter last Saturday against Virginia (0-2). The Caveliers began attacking through the air and the Irish secondary was slow to adjust. This forced Notre Dame to respond with an inexperienced, second-string freshman quarterback Deshone Kizer.
Kizer’s first drive was a disaster. He was nervous, flustered, and indecisive. And it showed.
Down 26-27 with 1:54 left on the clock it was up to Kizer to lead the Irish to victory. Kizer looked infinitely more relaxed, completing every one of his passes as he sought to set up kicker Justin Yoon with a game-winning field goal. Unbeknown to Kizer, however, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly had other plans.
Kelly allowed Kizer to take a shot at the end zone. With a few seconds left on the clock, he launched a 39 yard pass and Fuller snagged it in for the game winning touchdown.
Notre Dame managed to rally against Virginia but not without consequence. They revealed to opponents everywhere that their secondary can be worked. And although Kizer finished strong, there is currently a rather large question mark over the inexperienced quarterback’s head.
Today, Notre Dame will face-off against a tough Georgia Tech (2-0). This is far from a throwaway game, and Irish fans everywhere should be a little nervous about what lies ahead.
Courtesy of Baylor.edu
Baylor – The Bears are undefeated. They’ve dominated every team thus far, beating their first two opponents with a combined total of 122-52; ultimately allotting themselves the number one total offense in all of college football. To top it off, they have the advantage of easing into what seems like a difficult schedule down the road.
So why should Baylor (2-0) fans be worried? Despite it all, the Bears are the only team in the top 10 who dropped in the rankings after last week’s match-ups. They’ve done everything they could, yet if the playoffs were tomorrow Baylor would be out. This has to be worrisome for Bears fans, many of whom feel like they were snubbed a playoffs spot last season.
With opponents like Oklahoma (2-0), Oklahoma State (2-0), and TCU (2-0) in their future, Baylor needs a ranking high enough to be able to take a loss. As of now they aren’t in that spot.
Ohio State has the burden of being number one, and thus, can only go down in the rankings. However, after Baylor’s recent drop it seems as though they, too, share this burden.
Baylor plays Rice (1-1) 2pm CT and is expected to have another blowout game. But if the Bears fall anything short, don’t be surprised if they drop again.
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