Hip Hop News
‘Dawn Raid’: Film On New Zealand Hip-Hop Pioneers Gets U.S. Digital Premiere
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Universal Pictures / Universal Hip-Hop culture is immensely global, and a new documentary that highlights the first-ever Hip-Hop label in New Zealand will make its U.S. debut online next week. Source: Universal Pictures / Universal Dawn Raid is the remarkable story of the duo of Andy Murnane and Tanielu Leaosavai’i aka Brotha D, who were students at the Manukau Polytechnic school who started out selling t-shirts together in the streets of South Auckland in addition to running a Hip-Hop night at a local bar. From that origin point, they built the Dawn Raid Entertainment record label, the name coming from the police raids conducted by New Zealand’s government in the 1970s & 1980s that zeroed in on Pacific Islanders who were overstayers, deporting them s...
Nipsey Hussle Estate Wins Restraining Order Against Fake Merch Sellers
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz A federal judge in Illinois has granted the estate of the late Nipsey Hussle a temporary restraining order against vendors selling counterfeit merchandise bearing his name and likeness. According to reports on the case, the ruling was issued by Judge Steven Seeger on Monday (January 3rd) in response to a complaint by the estate represented by Hussle’s brother, Samiel Asghedom against a group of individuals the complaint claims “reside and/or operate in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems.” Judge Seeger also granted the plaintiff’s motion for “electronic service of process” and a “motion for leave to file under seal” as recorded in the one page ruling made avai...
Gift God: Drake Spreads Holiday Cheer In Toronto By Handing Out Cash
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images / Getty Drake is known to show out with his generous side, and that was in full display on Christmas as he was spotted doling out cash to people on the street in Toronto, Canada. The “More Life” rapper was spotted out and about in the six by a fan, casually reclining in the backseat of his custom Mercedes Maybach while cruising through a Yorkville neighborhood. The area is a destination for upscale shoppers, old Victorian-era homes, and elite restaurants. The video shows Drake handing passerby, who recognized him, a stack of 20 Canadian dollars. The size of the stack of money suggests that it contained hundreds of dollars. The original caption on that fan-shot video read: “@Champagnepapi giving away racks for...
Hit-Boy Says “King’s Disease III” With Nas Is On The Way
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Vivien Killilea / Getty Nas surprised fans with a new album, and producer and collaborator Hit-Boy reveals that he and the iconic rapper have begun work on another album – King’s Disease III. The world was caught off guard as Nas announced that he was set to release a new album that he worked with Hit-Boy on at midnight on Christmas Eve (December 24th), entitled Magic. As fans began to listen intently to the nine-track release, Hit-Boy took to social media to celebrate the album drop and to let the public know the two have more on the way. Related Stories “KD3 otw this just to feed the buzz… @Nas my dawg is a maniac,” Hit-Boy wrote via Twitter minutes after midnight. Nas did drop a lyric announcing that the new album was on the way as well, on the track “...
Infamous Suge Knight Inks Deal to Have Biopic Produced
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Winston Burris/WENN.com / WENN The infamous former head of Death Row Records, Suge Knight, has taken the first step to having his life story on the big screen. According to reports, the music executive who co-founded the iconic label that entrenched gangster rap further into the cultural landscape by signing Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg among others has struck a deal with producer Steve Whitney and his TSW Films company to produce a film on his life. The terms of the arrangement ha Knight signing over his life rights to the producer to begin the process, and actor/writer Nick Cassavetes has been tapped to pen the script for the film. Suge Knight has factored in as a major subject in movies and documentaries within the past decade, with Straight Outta Compton an...
Blac Youngsta Responds To Criticism of Young Dolph Diss Track Performance
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty Sometimes beef lasts beyond the grave. At least according to Blac Youngsta after a clip of him performing his diss track directed at the late Young Dolph appeared online. On Friday (December 17), the rapper held a show at the Aces of Dallas nightclub in Dallas, Texas. During the show, he wound up doing “Shake Sumn,” a song from back in 2016 which levies a diss at Young Dolph: “Young Dolph Thornton wanna play ho/I’m on tour with the K ho/Mac 11, Smith & Wesson, extended clip, 100 rounds though/How the fuck you the king of Memphis, you ain’t from the city, you from Chicago/F*ck boy, you better lay low/Killers move when I say so.” He paused to light up a blunt and then finished doing the song. Related Stories Video of the performance...
LL Cool J Honored With His Own Statue In His Hometown of Queens
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Al Pereira / Getty Hip-Hop legend LL Cool J has always made it a point to represent his home borough of Queens throughout his career. That love was reflected in a new statue dedicated to him. Last week Tuesday (December 7th), the “4,3,2,1” rapper and actor shared a post to social media featuring a new statue built and installed in his honor. The Instagram post he shared contained the caption “Anything is possible. Statue of me in Corona Park, Queens by the talented @sherwintheartist.” Related Stories The statue, which is a bust of LL Cool J atop a boombox similar to the one he had in his iconic music video “Radio”, is installed in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The boombox element of the sculpture even has a 7” cassette of the song in it to be played by an...
Doja Cat Pulls Out Of Concerts After Positive COVID-19 Diagnosis
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Daniel Boczarski / Getty Doja Cat has made the move to bow out of her scheduled concert appearances in the coming weeks after testing positive for COVID. The “Say So” rapper broke the news via a social media post on Sunday (December 12th). She expressed that she’d be missing the remaining dates for the iHeart Radio Jingle Ball Tour which were to be in Philadelphia, Atlanta and the last stop being Miami on December 19th. “While my spirits are down since I can’t be there to celebrate the holiday with my fans in Philly, DC< Atlanta, and Miami, I’m doing ok and look forward to recovering and getting back out there as soon as I can!” she wrote. This marks the second time that Doja has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first time being in July 2020. R...
Travis Scott’s Lawyer Defends Charlamagne Tha God Interview
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Rick Kern / Getty Travis Scott’s recent interview with Charlamagne Tha God attracted a fair share of critics wondering why he did the sit-down – it turns out the rapper pushed for it to happen. In an interview with TMZ on Thursday (December 9th), the “Sicko Mode” rapper’s attorney, Ed McPherson, addressed those people who got wind of the interview with The Breakfast Club host and stated it was his idea to speak out publicly that way. Related Stories “This was all Travis. Travis insisted on it, he’s been wanting to speak out to the public, to the fans. He’s been reaching out to the families affected,” McPherson said. The nearly hour-long interview was Scott’s first since the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival last month, where a crowd surge took the ...
Rising Rapper and YG Affiliate Slim 400 Shot and Killed In Los Angeles
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Brandon Williams / Getty Slim 400, an affiliate of YG whose rap career was on the rise, has been confirmed dead after being shot down in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday night (December 8th). According to TMZ, the fatal shooting took place in the Inglewood neighborhood, in the area of Manchester Boulevard and 7th Avenue at 7:50 P.M. Officers responded to the call and found the rapper on the ground with gunshot wounds. He was then rushed to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center after receiving on-the-scene treatment from paramedics, where he later died. His identity wasn’t immediately released by officials, and investigators do not have a full idea of the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting. Currently, they are in the area looking to contact possible...
Kanye West & Drake’s Larry Hoover Benefit Concert Will Stream On Amazon Platforms
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Ye / Instagram The long-awaited benefit concert that Kanye West is organizing which features Drake will now be available to fans worldwide, thanks to a deal with Amazon. In a press release issued on Tuesday (December 7th), Amazon Music and Prime Video announced that their platforms will be exclusively streaming the concert in honor of Larry Hoover, which is organized and headlined by Kanye. The Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert, which will feature Drake as a special guest on December 9th is set to take place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Prime Video will host the live stream of the event for all of its 240 million customers, and it will also be streamed on Amazon Music’s app and its Twitch channel. The concert will also be streamed at select ...
Kanye West Aims To Eliminate Homelessness In Los Angeles
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: David Livingston / Getty Kanye West, also known as Ye, has a new calling he’s undertaking —helping the homeless in the city of Los Angeles get back on their feet. As reported by TMZ, Kanye spent a considerable amount of time at the L.A. Mission last week, dropping off enough meals to feed one thousand people. Related Stories It was here that he took the microphone and delivered an elaborate and vulnerable prayer which included a hopeful entreaty that he and former spouse Kim Kardashian would reunite with the help of God, saying: “But when God brings Kimye together, there’s going to be millions of families that are going to be influenced to see that they can overcome the work of the separation, of trauma the devil has used to capitalise to keep people in m...
