Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Teyana Taylor believes stepping away from music for five years was one of the best decisions she could have made, saying she has since watched her prayers come true.
The singer and One Battle After Another actress announced her retirement from music in 2020 after becoming frustrated with the lack of support from her record label for her third release, The Album.
During her time away from the music industry, Taylor turned her attention to acting and built an impressive screen career, appearing in films including A Thousand and One, Coming 2 America and One Battle After Another, as well as the television series All's Fair.
Looking back on the decision, the 34 year old told ELLE for its Women in Hollywood issue that she was thankful she had found the courage to walk away, even without knowing what would come next.
“I have a lot of gratitude for how I am able to see all of my prayers answered, all of the tears wiped. It was tough because I said I retired, and I didn't know what was next. I was afraid, but I wasn't afraid to take the leap,” she explained. “I've always had a strong relationship with God and felt him saying, 'Okay, do you trust me? I know you've been trusting, but do you really, really trust me? You ready to let me take that teddy bear from you so I can give you something bigger and better?'”
Speaking about her upcoming feature directorial debut, Get Lite, Taylor added that her ambitions behind the camera were also beginning to become a reality. “I told y'all that one day I'm going to be a big director, and (the fact that) that is coming to fruition shows his power.”
Taylor made her musical comeback in August with her fourth studio album, Escape Room, which she has described as her most personal and emotionally open work so far.
Although she has returned to music, Taylor continues to pursue acting, with upcoming appearances in The Rip, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and 72 Hours, which features Kevin Hart.
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Kim Kardashian has opened up about the emotional challenges of raising her children with ex-husband Kanye West, describing their co-parenting situation as a "big burden".
The reality star, who filed to end her marriage to the rapper in 2021, admitted she still worries about Kanye every day and does her best to shield their four children from the difficulties in their relationship.
Speaking to Jonathan Van Meter for his biography Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future, Kim said: "I spend every day worrying about him. He's the father of my children, and that's something I'll always care about.
"Having children with someone you don't always see eye to eye with comes with a heavy responsibility. But my children would never realise that."
She continued: "I try my hardest to put all the difficult things that have happened behind me. I have to be realistic, and my therapist always reminds me that I need stronger boundaries. Still, we've found a way to raise our children together without too many disagreements."
Although Kim doesn't expect their relationship to improve significantly, she explained that things have been "pretty smooth" lately, largely because they have limited contact with each other.
Kim also revealed that she regularly invites Kanye to visit their home, often reaching out to him through his wife, Bianca Censori, or his manager. She admitted that she sometimes makes up explanations for their children when he isn't around.
"Trying to co-parent with someone who only shows up every few months can be difficult, but I'll tell them things like, 'Oh, Dad's away travelling,'" she explained. "I still come up with stories to protect them because I want them to see their father in the best possible light."
When asked how frequently Kanye, whose hit song Stronger helped cement his place in music history, spends time with their children, the Skims founder suggested looking online for the answer, explaining that "every time they're with him they're photographed, you'll see".
Kim also shared how she responds when Kanye makes controversial remarks that attract widespread media attention, revealing that she immediately puts strict rules in place at home to keep her children away from the coverage.
"Everyone in my household knows exactly what I mean when I send a text saying we're on 'lockdown'. It means no television, just movies. No radio either, and we'll connect a phone to play music in the car instead. We don't even put on Sirius XM because they discuss breaking news as it happens. My children shouldn't have to be involved in any of that," she said.
Kim and Kanye married in 2014 and have four children together: daughters North, 13, and Chicago, eight, and sons Saint, 10, and Psalm, seven. Their divorce was officially finalised in 2022.
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