Hip-Hop
Megan Thee Stallion Says She Was Shot in the Foot
Megan Thee Stallion has issued a social media statement regarding the incident over the weekend that led to Tory Lanez’s arrest and her own trip to the hospital. The “Girls in the Hood” rapper was taken to a Los Angeles hospital with what was reported at the time as a foot wound caused by broken glass found in Lanez’s car. However, Megan has now said the injury was in fact “gunshot wounds” she sustained “as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me.” She also clarified that she was never arrested, and the police only drove her to the hospital. Despite her public statement, the Los Angeles Police Department told TMZ that while Megan Thee Stallion was with police, “she did not report that she was the victim of any crime.” Accordi...
Kanye West Is Still In the Presidential Race
Stop the presses: Kanye West’s political ambitions aren’t finished. The unpredictable hip-hop superstar has filed with the Federal Election Commission and has qualified to appear on Oklahoma’s presidential ballot, the Associated Press reports. This just hours after a wave of reports which claimed West had failed to file the requisite paperwork and was no longer in the U.S. 2020 presidential race. West met the deadline for a spot on the state’s Nov. 3 presidential ballot and paid the $35,000 filing, according to a spokesperson for the Board of Elections in Oklahoma, where Ye now calls home. Two other independent candidates also paid fees ahead of the cut-off: concert pianist Jade Simmons and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce. The West campaign filed a “Statement of Organization” on W...
DMX Will Challenge Snoop Dogg for Verzuz ‘Battle of the Dogs’
There’s a dogfight coming to #Verzuz. In what’s billed as “The battle of the dogs,” DMX will square off with Snoop Dogg for the next round of the Verzuz series, due to take place July 22. There are no puppies in this stoush. DMX’s decades-long career includes 15 visits to the Billboard Hot 100. Snoop, of course, is a mainstream superstar with a long list of movie credits, TV series and no less than 43 Hot 100 hits, including three No. 1s: “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (featuring Pharrell), and assists on Akon’s “I Wanna Love You” and Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”. Verzuz was launched in March by hip-hop producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. Starting life as a 20-song showdown between evenly matched producers, the series has also come to enlist writers and performers. Some of the hottest b...
Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon Secures the Late Rapper’s Legacy: Review
The Lowdown: Last summer, at a congested intersection in Flatbush, the hip-hop rule book was left to smolder in a fiery, steel mesh garbage can. Passersby extinguished the fire, but by then Pop Smoke had already scored an improbable hit with “Welcome to the Party”. Pop Smoke (born Bashar Jackson) hardly seemed destined for superstardom; only a Noo Yawker could love those carelessly dropped “R’s” and that honking bassone cadence. And “Welcome to the Party”, with its retro drum’n’bass synth riff, could have been recorded between rounds one and two of the Bush tax cuts. It was the song that time forgot. Yet, it was streamed 80 million times. Coming to a barber shop near you is Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, Pop Smoke’s posthumous new album. (He was killed in a February home invasion; ...
Jay-Z, Yo Gotti and Team Roc File Suit Against Mississippi Prison Over Health Conditions
In the midst of the raging COVID-19 pandemic across the nation and in Mississippi prisons, Jay-Z, Yo Gotti and Team ROC have filed a class-action lawsuit against on behalf of 227 Mississippi inmates against the state’s new Department of Corrections Commissioner Nathan Burl Cain and Centurion (the healthcare provider for all Mississippi prisons) in an effort to address the dire conditions for prisoners in lockdown during the pandemic. According to a copy of a sworn COVID-19 questionnaire filled out by some Parchman prisoners provided to Billboard by a spokesperson for Team ROC, the men describe a lack of COVID testing protocols in the century-old prison, reports of officials saying that corona tests in short supply, poor social distancing, a lack of PPE and confinement in cl...
Kanye West Drops New Song “Donda” in Honor of Late Mother: Stream
Kanye West has unveiled a new song in honor of his late mother, Donda West, on what would have been her 71st birthday. Simply titled “Donda”, the track begins with audio of Kanye’s mother reciting lyrics to KRS-One’s “Sound Of Da Police”. Kanye himself takes over around the 1:28 mark. Listen below. Donda West died on November 10th, 2017, one day after undergoing a plastic surgery procedure. A coroner later determined she passed from coronary artery disease and “multiple post-operative factors.” Last month, Kanye released “Wash Us in the Blood”, a collaboration with Travis Scott that serves as the first preview of Kanye’s upcoming album, God’s Country. He also recently announced his intention to run for president in 2020, though he has yet to file the proper paperwork and some family and fr...
Neighbors Called the Cops on the Birthday Party for Cardi B and Offset’s 2-Year-Old Daughter
On Saturday, June 11th, Cardi B and Offset (but mostly Cardi B) threw their adorable two-year-old daughter Kulture a lavish birthday party. While the kids vaulted around ornate bouncy castles, adults sipped on themed cocktails. Both groups were apparently having such a good time that the neighbors felt compelled to call the cops. Cardi B filmed police officers entering her home, and the noise complaint was apparently resolved quickly and amicably. As noted by The Daily Mail and on social media, Cardi B posted the video as an Instagram Story with the caption, “We was too loud I guess.” The short clip showed the rap star staring deadpan at the camera, sucking down a martini, while a mask-wearing police officer loomed behind her. A man’s voice is heard greeting the cop, saying “How ...
Kanye West Pays Tribute to Late Mom With New Song ‘DONDA’: Listen
Kanye West has shared a musical tribute to his late mother, Donda West, on what would have been her 71st birthday. The hip-hop star posted the new song “DONDA,” which opens with a recording of his mom reciting the lyrics of KRS-One’s “Sound of da Police”. In the second part, ‘Ye leaps in with both feet as he ruminates on racism, the Devil and “fake leaders,” all set to an uplifting soundbed. On it, he says, “Mama I need you to tuck me in/ I done made some mistakes and they rubbed it in/ I know you and grandma had enough of them/ Why I gotta be so stubborn then/ I’m doin this one for y’all/ So we can end racism once and for all.” Earlier in the day, Kim Kardashian West posted a vintage video of her husband and his mom singing his song “Hey Mama”, from 2005’s Late Registrat...
Kid Cudi and Eminem Release New Collaborative Single “The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady”: Stream
Kid Cudi and Eminem have released their very first collaboration, “The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady”. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. For a high-definition listening experience, you can sign up for a 60-day free trial of TIDAL HiFi. The joint single was initially announced Wednesday afternoon by Cudi’s own young daughter, Vada Wamwene Mescudi. “Hi! It’s Vada, I’m here to say that my daddy’s new single, ‘The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady,’ is coming on Friday! Check it out!” she adorably revealed in a video posted to Twitter. It’s not clear whether the new song is just a one-off release or taken from a larger project, such as Cudi’s promised Entergalactic album. The track’s title, of course, is a reference to the two rappers: in 2009, Cudi released a t...
Kim Kardashian Shares a Sweet Throwback Video of Kanye West in Honor of His Late Mom’s Birthday
Kim Kardashian honored her late mother-in-law, Donda West, with a sweet tribute to mark what would’ve been her 71st birthday on Sunday (July 12). The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star shared a vintage video of husband Kanye West singing his song “Hey Mama” off 2005’s Late Registration via Twitter and Instagram Stories. In the clip, the rapper can be seen smiling broadly as he sings and dances alongside Donda in a home kitchen. West told Oprah Winfrey in 2005 that he wrote the tune for his mother in 2000. “It’s one of my favorite songs,” he said at the time. The rapper has previously performed the song on Mother’s Day 2019 during a special edition of his Sunday Service events. Donda died in 2007 from post-surgery complications. She was 58. ...
August Alsina Reacts After Jada Pinkett Smith Confirms Their Past Romance
August Alsina is speaking out following Jada Pinkett Smith’s confirmation that she and the singer were romantically involved during her separation from Will Smith. The 27-year-old “No Love” singer took social media on Friday (July 10) shortly after Pinkett Smith detailed their past relationship during her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk. “Imagine not knowing how to mind the business that pay you,” Alsina tweeted. “I catch all the subliminals. (Not just about today) & you can call me whatever you like, Mess is constantly inserting yourself in topics you have nun to do w/. Go play w/ ya MAMMY! Not me!” He added, “If you have something to say, say it w/ ya CHEST kids. It’s always very perplexing cause I real deal be showing people genuine...
Kid Cudi Credits Lil Wayne for Helping Land His New Eminem Collaboration: Listen
Kid Cudi joined Lil Wayne on the latest episode of Young Money Radio, where the two rap superstars discussed Cudi’s new collaboration with Eminem and more. Earlier this week, Cudi and Em dropped their first collaboration “Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady.” The fiery new track was set into motion after Eminem was a featured guest on Weezy’s Apple Music show in early May, Cudi told Wayne on Friday (July 10). “Well it’s crazy because your interview kind of set it off, right?” Cudi said, adding that his team reached out to Em’s manager, Paul Rosenberg, after the interview aired. “I had the record and I just was like, ‘Man, let’s send it to him. The worst that could happen is, he doesn’t f–k with it, and then at the end of...
