Hip-Hop Music News
Brasstracks Share the Origins of New Single “Golden Ticket” with Common, Masego: Stream
In our new music feature Origins, we asks artists to take a moment to reflect on the backstory of their latest single. Today, Brasstracks tell us how they cashed their “Golden Ticket” with Common and Masego. Rising from their jazz school backgrounds, Brasstracks have already accomplished more than most duos made of just horns and drums could dream of. Mark Ronson essentially has them on speed dial, they’ve got some GRAMMY shine thanks to their work on Chance the Rapper’s “No Problem”, and they’ve collaborated with everyone from Wyclef Jean to Anderson .Paak. Oh, and they only formed six years ago. But now Ivan Jackson and Conor Rayne are really ready to grab the spotlight with their debut album, Golden Ticket. Due out August 21st, the full-length follows their 2019 EP Before...
Open Mike Eagle Announces New Album Anime, Trauma and Divorce, Shares “Bucciariati”: Stream
Open Mike Eagle has announced his first album in three years. Titled Anime, Trauma and Divorce, it’s expected see release this fall. Due out via his own AutoReverse Records label, the LP follows up on 2017’s Brick Body Kids Still Daydream. According to the 39-year-old rapper, it recounts the worst year of his entire life. “Before the world went to shit I was already in the middle of a few personal crisis,” OME explained in a statement. “Shit had gone haywire personally and professionally and my therapist had to remind me that I have an outlet to process some of my shit in rap music.” “So I made a bunch of painful rap songs and Jacknife Lee was kind enough to help me make good music out of them,” he continued. “Maybe it can help other people too. It probably won’t but maybe.” As noted, Jack...
Travis Scott Confirms Kid Cudi Collaborative Album is in the Works
Travis Scott and Kid Cudi debuted their first-ever joint single “THE SCOTTS” on Fortnite this past April. For those who enjoyed the pair’s chemistry, get ready for plenty more: Scott has confirmed that a full collaborative album with Cudi is in the works. Scott revealed the exciting news in a new GQ profile. The rapper described the forthcoming material as “some fireness” and noted that a number of songs are already totally finished. One of those Cudi collabs was actually played aloud for GQ writer Gerrick D. Kennedy, and he called the untitled cut “the craziest thing” he’d heard during his entire time spent interviewing Scott. In addition to that joint record, Scott has a few other projects in various stages of development. Speaking about his first solo album since 2018’s Astrow...
Kanye West Wants to Create a Christian Version of TikTok
For reasons totally unrelated to the sabotaging of his campaign rally earlier this year, Donald Trump is threatening to ban TikTok in the US. He’s given the Chinese-owned company till September 15th to sell its US operations to an American company or else face a nationwide ban. However, his good buddy Kanye West is proposing an alternate path: turn TikTok into a Christian-friendly video service. The 2020 presidential candidate (?) proposed the prospective rebrand via Twitter on Monday, claiming the concept came to him as some sort of spiritual revelation. “A VISION JUST CAME TO ME… JESUS TOK I WAS WATCHING TIK TOK WITH MY DAUGHTER AND AS A CHRISTIAN FATHER I WAS DISTURBED BY A LOT OF THE CONTENT BUT I COMPLETELY LOVED THE TECHNOLOGY,” he wrote. In order to maintain the smart tech while lim...
Two Men Charged with Murder of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay
18 years after the death of Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay, two men have been charged in connection with his murder. Federal prosecutors will announce the indictments of Ronald Washington, 56, and Karl Jordan, Jr., 36, during a press conference set for 2:30 p.m. ET on Monday. Washington is already in a federal prison serving time for robbery, while Jordan was arrested on Sunday. Both men are charged with murder while engaged in drug trafficking, according to The New York Times. More details are expected to be revealed during the press conference, but it’s believed Jay Master Jay was financing drug-trafficking operation involving Washington and Jordan. “There was a beef — it didn’t go as planned,” an official told The Times. Editors’ Picks Born Jason Mizell, Jam Master Jay w...
Margo Price Covers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” on The Daily Show: Watch
Although Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” may already be the song of the summer, it’s caused some predictable controversy amongst those with more conservative tastes. Everyone from congressional candidates to Tiger King stars have taken issue with the track, which begs the question: Is this yet another example of women — particularly Black women — facing a different level of public scrutiny? Exploring that thesis on The Daily Show on Thursday night, Margo Price recontextualized “WAP” as a beautiful country song. Would it be any less “offensive”? Price’s cover came as host Trevor Noah and remote correspondent Dulce Sloan examined the media’s sexist reaction to Kamala Harris being selected as presumptive democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate. While arguing that...
Anderson .Paak and Rick Ross Pay It Forward on New Single “Cut Em In”: Stream
Anderson .Paak’s prolific summer continues today with “Cut Em In”, a new collaborative single with Rick Ross. Produced by veteran beatmaker Hit-Boy, the track is about paying back the buddies who supported you when you were at your lowest. “Sometimes you need a friend/ Not the ones that just show up and don’t put nothin’ in/ You know the ones that lend a hand and wanna see you win/ When you come up on a lick, make sure you cut ’em in,” .Paak advises while at the mic. The R&B artist also later drops a shout-out to mentor Dr. Dre, who helped launch his some career years ago. A number of bars throughout “Cut Em In” also emphasize the importance of knowing your own worth, such as this one from Ricky Rozay: “Distinctive destinations, all I wanna see/ Oceans from residences, it’s three ...
Snoop Dogg Honors a Fallen Friend with “Nipsey Blue”: Stream
Tomorrow, August 15th, would have been Nipsey Hussle‘s 35th birthday. In honor of that day, Snoop Dogg has released a moving tribute song to the fallen rapper, “Nipsey Blue”. Before he was killed on March 31st, 2019, Nipsey built his reputation off of scorching g-funk mixtapes, community activism, a sharp entrepreneurial spirit, and one excellent album: 2018’s Victory Lap. Throughout his career, Snoop didn’t just co-sign Nipsey, he took the younger rapper under his wing. In a 2010 interview with Complex, Nipsey spoke about the profound influence of the Doggfather. “Snoop didn’t ask me to sign to him, ask for no percentage, ask for no cut, and he more or less just took his visibility and his celebrity and co-signed and spoke real highly of me as opposed to being like “Oh, fuck this you...
Lawsuit Against Lizzo Over “Truth Hurts” Royalties Dismissed
Lizzo may finally get some peace and quiet after last year’s nonstop lawsuits. On Friday afternoon, a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the breakout pop star over credits on her hit “Truth Hurts”. Last fall, songwriters Justin and Jeremiah Raisen accused Lizzo of plagiarizing the “Truth Hurts” lyric “I just took a DNA test/ Turns out I’m 100% that bitch” from “Healthy”, a collaborative demo they made together with the Cuz I Love You singer, Jesse Saint John, and Yves Rothman in April 2017. Lizzo pushed back by suing the Raisens and Yves Rothman, and instead granted a songwriting credit to Mina Lioness, the Twitter user whose original joke inspired the lyric. Then in February, the Raisens filed a countersuit against Lizzo to demand credit and royalties from “Truth Hurts”,...
EarthGang Are “Powered Up” on New Song for Madden NFL 21: Stream
Atlanta rap duo EarthGang make inventive, absurdist hip-hop songs that are not too dissimilar from the kind that fellow locals Outkast created. Now, like André 3000 and Big Boi before them, Olu and WowGr8 will contribute to the Madden video game franchise, as their new song “Powered Up” will be included on the Madden NFL 21 soundtrack. Madden NFL is the longest-running video game franchise in EA SPORTS’ history, and the company makes sure the soundtracks to these games are loaded with energetic songs to give you an extra boost to charge onwards. As the title suggests, “Powered Up” is perfectly designed to energize you as you pound the digital gridiron. The track distorts a squiggly synth line into a weird hook for EarthGang to rap atop. In the background, there’s lots of hazy electron...
Smino Offers a “Backstage Pass” with Monte Booker and The Drums: Stream
Smino has dropped the snappy new single “Backstage Pass”, co-created with producer Monte Booker and indie pop band The Drums. The contribution from The Drums was written almost a decade ago; “Backstage Pass” heavily samples the 2011 hit “Money”. Here, Booker slows down that propulsive guitar lick and adds some… Please click the link below to read the full article. Smino Offers a “Backstage Pass” with Monte Booker and The Drums: Stream Wren Graves You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back th...
Rising Rapper Chika Stays Winning on New Single “My Power”: Stream
Emerging rapper Chika first turned our heads earlier this year with her Industry Games EP, anchored by solid singles like “Crown” and the title track. But her rising star had actually been shining brightly well before that release. The Alabama-born artist made her grand introduction in 2018 when she freestyled over… Please click the link below to read the full article. Rising Rapper Chika Stays Winning on New Single “My Power”: Stream Lake Schatz You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Intern...
