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Protoje Takes Vigilante Approach To Protect Women In Jamaica With “Self Defense” Visual

Unbeknownst to a vast majority of people stateside, in Jamaica specifically, there has seen an uprise in domestic violence, sexual abuse, and murder of young women. While law enforcement tries to get a grasp of the situation, Protoje is taking matters into his own hands with a vigilante approach, as seen in his newest visual that tackles the domestic violence problems in his country.

“This is one of my favorite songs from the album and I decided to do a video for it because I feel like I wanted it to be almost like a declaration or call to attention regarding how we treat our women, especially as men. I wanted the story to be told from a woman’s perspective – and that’s how I linked up with the director, Rebecca. She’s an awesome storyteller & I think she did a great job with this video,” Protoje states.

At the end of the day, as men we need to respect our women and all people.

#NoBlackGirlMagic … Zaila Avante-Garde Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee By Working Hard— A True Trait of Black Girl Genius

It was the twirl that said it all.

It wasn’t the whimsical and mystical musing of Black Girl Magic. It wasn’t the kinetic manifestation of her delicious chocolate skin that innately makes her better than everyone else. It was a little 14-year-old girl spinning around with pride because she had accomplished through hard work something that no other Black person in America had done in history.

On July 8, 2021, Zaila Avant-garde became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. 

In almost a century, there has never been a Black person from her country of birth to win, but this beautiful little girl from Louisiana —void of butt shots, long weave, or anything close to what made the City Girls famous— pulled out the victory.  We love #BlackGirlMagic but she also worked hard to achieve this goal. Her coach could attest to this … a little.

20-year-old Coach Cole Shafer-Ray, a Yale student and the 2015 Scripps runner-up, said about his student, “Usually to be as good as Zaila, you have to be well-connected in the spelling community. You have to have been doing it for many years.”

“It was like a mystery, like, ‘Is this person even real?’”

“She really just had a much different approach than any speller I’ve ever seen. She basically knew the definition of every word that we did, like pretty much verbatim,” he said. “She knew, not just the word but the story behind the word, why every letter had to be that letter and couldn’t be anything else.”

Despite working seven hours a day on practicing for this bee, maybe there is a little bit of magic there. She coolly remarked, “I was pretty relaxed on the subject of Murraya and pretty much any other word I got.”

There was one other Black person to win the competition in 1998, but she was not American. She was Jamaican. What makes her win significant and history-making is that she is the first non-Indian American (person of Asian descent) to win since 2008.

“I kind of thought I would never be into spelling again, but I’m also happy that I’m going to make a clean break from it,” she said. “I can go out, like my Guinness world records, just leave it right there and walk off.”

Guinness World Record? What you talkin’ bout Willis? 

Zaila, whose last name was given to her by her father to honor Jazz great John Coltrane, has three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple basketballs simultaneously: Most balls juggled in one minute with four basketball, most dribbles in 30 seconds with four basketballs, and most basketballs dribbled by one person simultaneously.

She is something special.

And all of these wins are primarily for herself, but she also did it for the millions of Africans chained to the slave ships…

She did it on the shoulders of …

  • John Chavis, the first Black person on record to attend an American college or university in 1799.
  • Alexander Lucius Twilight, the first known African American to graduate from a college in the United States with a bachelor’s degree in 1823.
  • James McCune Smith, the first African American to earn a medical degree in 1837.
  • Charles L. Reason, the first African American to teach at a mixed-race institution of higher education in the U.S in 1849.
  • Martin Henry Freeman, the first Black college president at Avery College in 1856.
  • Richard Henry Green, the first African American to graduate from Yale College in 1857.
  • Mary Jane Patterson, the first African-American woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in 1862.
  • Rebecca Lee, the first Black female medical school graduate in 1864.
  • Patrick Francis Healy (a former slave passing as white), the first Black faculty member at one of the nation’s highest-ranked and predominantly white universities (Georgetown University) in 1868 and then became the president of that school in 1874.
  • James Webster Smith, the first Black student admitted to West Point in 1870.
  • Edward Bouchet,  the first Black to earn a Ph.D. at an American university in 1876.
  • George Washington Henderson,  the first Black student elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honorary society in 1877.
  • Ida Gray, first Black woman to earn a degree in dentistry in 1890.
  • Robert Robinson Taylor, first Black to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1892.
  • W.E.B. Du Bois, the first Black to get a degree from Harvard University, the oldest college in the United States in 1895.
  • Anita Hemmings, first Black to receive a degree from Vassar College in 1897.
  • Mary Annette Anderson, first Black woman to be elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honorary society in 1899.

She did it for MacNolia Cox, the first Black finalist at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1936, but because of Jim Crow laws, was not permitted to stay in the same hotel as the rest of the children participating in the contest. 

We are proud of you and can’t wait to what else you do in the future. By the way … this ain’t Black Girl Magic … she won this with a gang of hours a day practices and a whole lot of sacrifice. #YouRockZaila

Jaden Smith Bosses Up With Ultimate Ears Deal

Jaden Smith has launched a new line of moldable earbuds as part of a collaboration with bosses at Ultimate Ears.

The actor, rapper and influencer’s UE FITS You accessories are the “first-ever true wireless earphones that mold to the unique shape of your ears.”

Ultimate Ears experts claim the customisation process takes less than a minute, giving listeners the best fit – and therefore the best sound.

A new campaign video features Jaden Smith showing off the earbuds, and he admits he has been a fan of the brand for years, using Ultimate Ears earbuds onstage and in the studio.

“From my very first live performance to this day I have always relied on Ultimate Ears as a go-to tool,” Jaden Smith says. “They allow me to concentrate on my craft and not worry about anything else getting in the way.”

Florida Rapper SoufsideSlim Is Buzzing With Cash Money’s Hot Boy Turk On “Counterfeit”

If this week wasn’t enough for Cash Money and Hot Boyz fans with the”Vax that Thang Up” single by Juvenile and Mannie Fresh, now we get another Hot Boy breaking the mold with a new single with SoufsideSlim a rising actin out of Jacksonville, FL.

SoufsideSlim is one of the hottest artists coming out of the Southside of Jacksonville, Florida and this song will be right on time for Cash Money fans. The song “Counterfeit” features legendary Cash Money artist Hot Boy Turk.

The single already has the streets on fire reaching over 20K+ streams on YouTube, along with a chopped not slopped remix by Slim K coming soon. Check out the new track below via YouTube.

Karrine “Superhead” Steffans Is Back And Chris Brown, Trey Songz & Michael B. Jordan All Evoke R.Kelly!

Karrine “Superhead” Steffans.

Superhead is back! The 40-something-year-old woman, that was known as the best in the business when it comes to her oral talents is back. Those of you have a certain age can remember when Karrine Steffans put Hip-Hop and Hollywood on blast. She is including Trey Songz, Michael B. Jordan and Chris Brown in her tales this go-round.

But this is not quite as simple as it may seem. She speaks openly in a new podcast and speaks on a few things that we never heard before. First of all, she says the Trey Songz wanted to PEE on her for her birthday. Like a drunk and a tree! WHAT!? 

She’s basically saying that R. Kelly and Trey Songz have something in common! By the way, she said she didn’t allow him to do that to her.

The second one is she says she had sex with Michael B. Jordan when he was 18. I guess she in R. Kelly also have something in common! But, this is not really the juice that we love from Karrine Steffans. This is pretty basic stuff! She also maintains that the sex was just “OK,” but I’m like what did she expect? The man was only 18! He might’ve been a virgin! I doubt it but maybe.

And then there is Chris Brown, who she certainly has something in common with R. Kelly. She doesn’t even know exactly how old he was, but claims he was at least 18, maybe 19. But, suppose he could also have been 16 or 17/ Either way, she says that he was the aggressor and, “snuck up on me.” But she makes it clear she was not being raped, but they had a fun encounter. She said she was wearing a dress and cleaning a tub when he came up and they began to get it in. This is also pretty boring to me! Maybe for some it is not, but for me it is.

Remember, she had a book called “Confessions of a Video Vixen” where she put on blast numerous stars like Jay-Z, Bobby Brown, Shaq, Dr. Dre, Diddy, Kool G Rap, DMX and more! By the way, she didn’t lose anything in court either. A lot of people threaten to sue her and they did not bust a grape in a food fight when it came to this woman. So, I am going to assume after all this time, she was telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

I have to admit, now that a lot of time has passed, this sort of stuff is pretty much a common place. Being a hoe is very normal and she is simply a pioneer. I am not disparaging her, but just saying that she was one of the first and certainly one of the greatest hose to ever come into the culture and shake things up tremendously. She made a pretty coin as well as she is worth a couple of million.By the way, she didn’t lose anything in court either. A lot of people threaten to sue her and they did not bustBy the way, she didn’t lose anything in court either. A lot of people threaten to sue her and theyBy the way, she didn’t lose anything in court either. A lot of people threaten to sue herBy the way, she didn’t lose anything in court either.By the way, she didn’t lose anything in court 

Too Short Gets Animated With Producer Extraordinaire For Hilarious “Pimpin Ain’t Easy” Cartoon

If there’s one thing that the Bay Area knows, it’s pimpin – just ask around you will know that unfortunately pimpin is a real thing in the Bay. But even though it’s pimpin in Northern California, real pimps know that “Pimpin Ain’t Easy.” Let Too Short tell it, the man known for his favorite word, “b*tch” knows all about pimpin and on this song he breaks it down.

Check it out as extraordinaire and his BFI label present the new animated music video “PIMPIN AIN’T EASY (Remix)” featuring Too $hort, Black Folk Inc. and Chillmode. Produced by Extraordinaire, the single is from Extraordinaire’s latest project “Extraordinary Volume 1” released earlier this year and the animated visual is absolutely hilarious

IDK Delivers USEE4YOURSELF Album With The Neptunes, Young Thug, Offset, DMX, MF DOOM And Rico Nasty

Today Maryland artist IDK releases his new album USEE4YOURSELF. Laced with luxe production from The NeptunesCashMoneyAPDJ DahiBlue Rondo, and IDK himself, and a far-ranging guest list including Young ThugOffset, the late greats DMX and MF DOOMRico Nasty, and many more, the project reaffirms IDK’s status as one of the most inventive auteurs of his generation.

IDK has lately become as known for his songwriting ability as for his extracurricular passions. He’s now teaming up with No Label and Harvard University clinical law professor Brian K. Price to launch No Label Academy. Partners include NIKE, Logitech, Brand Jordan, GUESS, Converse and more. The 10-day music business program will find him instructing at Harvard University’s Boston campus August 21-31.

“I decided to create this program for the purpose of letting people in the BIPOC community know that a job in the arts is a lot more realistic than what society makes it seem these days,” IDK says of No Label Academy. 

On Monday, IDK hosted the KKIDD Family Reunion, a cookout designed to expose local youth to a well-curated environment designed to broaden the horizons of local dreamers. Filled with art activities supplied by the estates of Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, food from local vendors, a basketball tournament, and more, KKIDD Family Reunion is multifaceted and genuine.

Proceeds from IDK’s merch sales at the event will benefit his former school, DuVal High. The event is just the latest step in IDK’s lengthy journey to educate, and invest, in the community.

“The way that we build our legacies, the way that we build our communities, that knowledge is important to pass on,” he says. W

Glasses Malone Links With The Game and Kurupt For G-Funk Anthem, “Gangsta Boogie”

West Coast rapper, Hip-Hop historian and poignant G-Funk torch bearer Glasses Malone has returned with an absolute slapper for fans titled, “Gangsta Boogie.” Teaming up with The Game and Kurupt for his song “Gangsta Boogie” this track is a an homage to the era of 90’s West Coast rap that changed Hip-Hop forever. Celebrating the return of summer parties, BBQ’s and Sunday cruises Glasses Malone delivers right on time.

“Maya Angelou once said ‘if you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. As the last true essence of this west coast rap lineage, I want this project to connect the DNA. The history of The West. ‘6 ‘N the Mornin’ (GMX)’ is the start with 4 decades of West Coast artists coming together and putting on for the culture,” Glasses explained.

For this visual the Watts rapper Glasses Malone releases a visual in support of his upcoming project Glasshouse (The Prequel) due out later this year. Produced by Fingazz, the bouncy track showcases West Coast bosses Glasses Malone and The Game delivering braggadocious bars over synth-driven melodies topped off with vocals from the OG gangster rapper himself, Kurupt.

“‘Gangsta Boogie’ is the soundtrack to getting back outside,” explains Glasses. “Let’s get out of this pandemic with some west coast flavor. And who better than Glasses, Game and Gotti to bring you back to the palm trees with this summer anthem,” Glasses explained.  

Guests include Ice-T, Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla $ign, The Game, Kurupt, Schoolboy Q, Xzibit, Warren G, E-40, Cypress Hill, Too Short, Raphael Saadiq, Kid Ink, Coolio and Tha Eastsidaz. 

Dave East & Harry Fraud Announce New Album With Lead Single “Diamonds”

Last month Dave East joined forces with Westside Gunn for a special art show to unveil the artwork for his forthcoming collaborative project with Harry Fraud entitled Hoffa

 The original painting was curated by Westside Gunn and his Buffalo Kids collective and unveiled during a live in-store at the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY.  Today, Dave East & Harry Fraud officially announced the release date for Hoffa, and released the project’s first single “Diamonds.” 

Dave East and Harry Fraud’s collaborative union, Hoffa, will be released on at the end of this month on the 30th and is produced in its entirety by Harry Fraud; who further etches his name on any early “producer of the year” ballots, on the heels of his collaborative projects with Benny The Butcher (The Plugs I Met 2) and Jim Jones (The Fraud Department). 

This Hoffa project also features guest appearances from G Herbo, Benny The Butcher, Jim Jones, Curren$y and French Montana among others. 

Houston’s Jimmy Bolt Goes Crazy In “Yacks On Me” Visual

Today H-Town rapper Jimmy Bolt drops the visual for his new track “Yacks On Me,” a title which is a play on the phrase “racks on me.” Continuing with his theme of incorporating “y” in everything he says, Jimmy Bolt delivers “Yacks On Me” ahead of his new album set to drop July 30th.  In the visual Jimmy Bolt can be seen riding in a Ferrari, flashing money and smoking out with a host of sexy ladies.

The single itself is already picking up on the club and party scenes as day parties and Summer vibes are in full swing in the Lonestar state and regional DJ’s have picked up on the record adding it to rotation. 

“We got the y’s again, it’s y’s forever manm,  Yacks On Me is dropping July 2nd! It’s a smash, it’s a hit and this whole song just tells me and just tells the whole world that the yacks in me, but it is also on me too. You know what I am saying?  So, it is super pressure,” Jimmy Bolt explained. “We just shot the video out Houston, f##### Ferrari, downtown, bad b###### of course and driving that Ferarri. We got a house like a live ass mansion.  We had a drone pilot, I have never seen a guy, fly drones, so crazy and fast.”

Raised in a musical family, Jimmy Bolt is a natural when it comes to creating and visualizing the feel to his music and the industry has taken notice after his collaborations with Lil Keed, SSG Splurge and co-signs from OG Louie the XIII, Rubi Rose, Gunna, Lil Baby, Trippie Redd and more. 

“Music was just something that I was always around and heard. My pops was in music, he was a band instructor, so I always heard all types of music from Jazz to Pop, to Rap to Rock. So I’ve always been around it and had an ear for it. Around four or five years ago I just started doing it, so it went up from there”

Preceding the release of his new single “Yacks On Me,” Jimmy Bolt performed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with Rod Wave and Moneybagg Yo for Summerfest at Raising Cane’s River Center in one of Jimmy’s biggest shows to date. 

“I had a huge show with Rod Wave and Moneybagg Yo in Louisiana that I prepared for. I just spent a few weeks out in LA with my team recording, filming and just vibing out in LA to get the music together,  I loved hitting the stage for my fans aka the Yang,” Jimmy Bolt said. 

“We call our fans the Yang – not the gang – but Yang. It’s a whole fan club and the whole lit crowd of people that are always gonna tee-up and wear the merch and just catch the full vibe,” Jimmy Bolt said. “Get ready Yang, this is our year, we gonna drop this crazy s### and show y’all something that you’ve never seen before. Real life yock star ish, on Yod.”

In addition to the show and album, Jimmy Bolt is focused on developing several artists that are signed to his Yellowland imprint. 

“I’m YEO, I’m the boss, it’s all coming full circle, and it’s time to go crazy. I got my two artists that are harder than a b*tch and we’re gonna start pushing.    I’m not here cappin, my s### it is authentic you know, you see it,” he laughed. 

Vic Mensa Is Going For The “Victory” With Just Blaze

Southside Chicago rapper Vic Mensa is back with a new visual via his Roc Nation situation. The track “Victory” gets a production assist from Just Blaze who puts Vic Mensa in a different light than his typical politically charged raps.

The “Victory” visual shows Vic riding around in a clean luxury SUV while he kicks his bars over stellar Just Blaze production. Later in the visual Vic takes to the bikes as him and his crew do wheelies through the intersections of his hometown.

The black and white visual carries a serious tone as Vic Mensa typically does, but this visual is crisp and highly artistic as the video glitches with the negative filter.

Vic Mensa’s I Tape is now available on all streaming services with features from Zacari, Chance the Rapper and Wyclef Jean to name a few.

G Herbo Freestyles For Funk Flex On Hot97

In support of his new project G Herbo goes into Hot 97 to drop a freestyle with the legendary Funk Flex. G Herbo had his last project PTSD go crazy in the streets and now the young Chi-Town homie is out promoting this new project titled, 25. For this effort G Herbo assembled his biggest body of work to date with 25. Among these 19 tracks, he recruited a cohort of A-list collaborators, including Polo G and Lil Tjay on “Cry No More, 21 Savage on “T.O.P.”, and The Kid LAROI and Gunna on “You Can’t. In addition this project boasts the fan-favorite “Statement, nearing 10 million streams. G Herbo is back.

Ghostluvme Entertains With Melancholy Harmonies On ‘Don’t Go Gently’ Album

Recently Southern California rapper GhostLuveMe released his new project, Don’t Go Gently.   The  nine-song project released through High and Mighty Entertainment is highlighted by the catchy lead single, “Pill Crosby” which is accompanied by a hilarious visual.  Also on the project is the single “Von Strangle” ft. $teve Cannon which has been generating significant attention on the DSPs over the last few weeks.  

When asked about the project Ghostluvme explained that this project combines songs that are nearly three years old with newly recorded material that creates a uniform soundscape for listeners from beginning to end. 

“Some of those songs are three years old, but the songs were deliberately selected to be together.  You know, I make tons of songs, hundreds of songs, so you know, I just try to select the best ones so that it plays out, kind of like a whole movie.  Whatever you want it to be like, it has a beginning, middle and end that flows together.” Ghostluvme said. “I believe in my music a lot, I’m underground and so the only competition right now is myself. Music really means the world to me. I mean, people probably would be surprised how much I care about this – I care too much. That’s basically why it even took me a long time to drop this s### because I cared so much about the whole project sounding good from start to finish.”

Influenced by Rock music and riding heavily on melodic hooks, the music of GhostLuvMe is light hearted but is also backed by GhostLuvMe’s classically trained ear that draws on influences ranging from Motown to Lil Uzi Vert. 

“I’m very melodic with my music, so I would say a big part of my influence is like modern artists like Uzi Vert, but I have a Motown influence too.  Not all of the songs are obviously influenced by Motown, not like Pill Cosby, but especially like my main sound, a lot of them are very influenced by Motown, you know?” GhostLuvMe explained. 

Also  buried deep inside of GhostLuvMe’s music is the tragedy that will forever impact his life after his family members were killed by a psychopathic man on the loose in what would later be determined to be a murder suicide. In fact, the incident is where GhostLuvMe draws his name. 

“To me my name is just like a reminder to myself that love is something that can exist, even after somebody is gone. So it’s like, you know, Ghost Love Me, my family is always with me,” he said. 

Putting tragedy aside and priding himself on making catchy songs, not worrying about the genre or what people will say, GhostLuvMe acknowledges that his music has both Trap and Pop elements to it, but, he maintains that his music has a bit of “griminess” that leans more towards the Rock side of music the spectrum

“My music is catchy, and Pop is catchy, but I would say it’s not as refined as Pop music tends to be. My music still has that like Trap element to where it’s not like super polished, you know? When you hear a lot of Pop music, it’s got that polishing that they do just like mixing and mastering and stuff that makes it sound really clean,” Ghostluvme said. “I would say I’m way more Rock based than Pop based, cause it’s like my s### is catchy, but it’s still grimy. I like Pop songs, I would love to be able to make Pop songs, I’d probably be further along in my career if I was making Pop songs. But you know, my basis for my music is Rock because I’m classically trained at the guitar.”

With Emo-Rap and Pop-Punk influenced Rap taking off during the late 2010’s with artists like Lil Peep, Juice WRLD, Trippie Redd and others, there’s no question that Ghostluvme has a lane with loyal fans that will continue to support his movement, backing the message in his music.

“A lot of the Pop-Punk type influenced stuff I’ve heard today is a little bit more on the emo sad side of things. I feel like my stuff is kind of melancholy, which is like both happy and sad at the same time. It’s kind of like there’s a funny line, then there’s a sad line. Its happy and it’s sad,” Ghostluvme explained. “I feel like society naturally fits as melancholy. It’s like at any given moment, if you’re not happy, you’re probably sad or maybe even happy at the same time. You’re just like sitting in the middle of it, you know, it’s like a yin yang balance and that’s why I like this kind of music so much. I think that’s why if you go back and listen to some of those pop punk bands just were so genius with some of their songs – they just said so much.”

Hip Hop Film Festival To Honor Queen Latifah With The G.O.A.T. Award

The Harlem Film House’s 6th annual Hip Hop Film Festival will present the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) Award to rapper/singer/actress/entrepreneur Dana “Queen Latifah” Owens.

Running from August 1 through September 3, the Hip Hop Film Festival will take place in person at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn as well as online at 247films.tv and the Harlem Film House VR Metaverse.

Chuck D of Public Enemy will help kick off the Hip Hop Film Festival with The Art of the Score on August 1. Actors Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) and Morris Chestnut (Boyz n the Hood) are scheduled to participate in the Icon Living Cypher.

“The theme for this year’s festival is unity,” said CR Capers, founder/CEO of the Harlem Film House and Hip Hop Film Festival. “This event is a continuation of our efforts to bring together a global community to create access and opportunity for filmmakers from the culture.”

More than 200 filmmakers from around the world are taking part in the 2021 Hip Hop Film Festival. “Best of the Fest” honors will be awarded in over 21 categories including Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Web Series.

The Harlem Film House VR Metaverse is being presented as a virtual reality world that allows festival-goers to attend select events in 2D and VR. Attendees can create avatars that are able to travel on the virtual Harlem neighborhood subway to locations hosting film screenings, live block parties, rap battles, and more.

Queen Latifah initially established herself as a Hip Hop hitmaker with songs such as “Ladies First” and “U.N.I.T.Y.” The BET Awards recognized her four-decade career in entertainment by bestowing her with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 ceremony in June. 

The New Jersey-raised entertainer also acted in television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Living Single as well as feature films like Set It Off and Girls Trip. Her performance in Chicago earned Queen Latifah a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 75th Academy Awards. 

Queen Latifah also picked up two Primetime Emmy acting nods (Life Support, Bessie). She won an Outstanding Television Movie Emmy Award as an executive producer for Bessie. Latifah’s portrayal of Ana Wallace in Life Support won the Black Reign album creator a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Migos Present 4-Part ‘Ice Cold’ Docuseries Featuring Lil Baby, City Girls, Talib Kweli & More

Migos partnered with YouTube Originals to produce Ice Cold. The docuseries debuted last night on the global video streaming platform.

All four episodes of Ice Cold are now available. Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff are using the digital program to examine Hip Hop culture’s appreciation for jewelry and its association with wealth and status. 

“We all have our own ways of feeling and displaying success,” said Ice Cold director Karam Gill. “This series explores that concept through the story of Hip Hop jewelry. It’s a deeper look at the construct of ’The American Dream’ and how Hip Hop has redefined it through jewelry and creative expression.”

Fellow Quality Control recording artists Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, and the City Girls make appearances on Migos’ Ice Cold. Other musicians like J Balvin, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, A$AP Ferg, French Montana, Slick Rick, and Talib Kweli show up as well.

Additionally, celebrity jewelers Ben Baller, Eliantte, Johnny Dang, and Icebox were interviewed for Ice Cold. The series was executive produced by Migos, Kevin “Coach K.” Lee, and Pierre “P” Thomas and co-produced by Quality Films, Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios and Polygram Entertainment, Mass Appeal, and MGX Creative.

“This film has been a passion project that was four years in the making to tell a larger story about our music and fashion culture as well as being Black and navigating what we all grow up hearing is ‘the American dream,’” said Kevin ‘Coach K’ Lee, Quality Control founder/COO. “Our QC family are extremely proud to bring this film to life with our partners and the deeper spin on bling that Karam Gill gives it,” 

In celebration of the release of Ice Cold, Migos were the featured artists on YouTube’s weekly music series Released. The trio is also preparing to present a music video for the “Roadrunner” single off their Culture III album. “Roadrunner” serves as the score for Ice Cold

Megan Fox Denies “Robbing The Cradle” With MGK

Rapper-turned-actor Machine Gun Kelly got himself a firecracker with his new boo thang, Megan Fox.

People have been talking about her robbing the cradle because she is older than the former Bad Boy Records’ artist, and in a recent interview her clap back made perfect sense.

While talking to In Style, Megan Fox mentioned the double standard that she is held to in her relationship between her and MGK because she is a woman.

Megan Fox said to the magazine, “You want to talk about patriarchy? The fact that he’s four years younger than me, and people want to act like I’m dating a younger man. He’s 31, and I’m 35. Granted, he’s lived like he’s 19 his whole life, but he isn’t 19.

“No one would blink twice if George Clooney was dating someone four years younger … Four years? Go f### yourself.”

She added, “We would have been in high school together. That’s so ridiculous that women are treated that way.”

The couple has been dating for about a year. They met on the set of the movie, “Midnight in Switchgrass.”

They announced their relationship on his social media, posting on Instagram the video for “Bloody Valentine.”

In the visual for his 2020 release, Megan Fox starred as the featured pretty girl. The two seem to be going strong and are currently not being considered for any episodes of “Love & Hip Hop.”

OutKast’s ‘ATLiens’ To Be Released As Limited-Edition 25th Anniversary Vinyl Bundle

OutKast first garnered national attention with 1994’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, but the Atlanta-based duo solidified their presence as a Hip Hop force with 1996’s ATLiens

Legacy Recordings and SME’s Certified are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Big Boi and André 3000’s sophomore album. ATLiens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is being released as an expanded digital and vinyl version.

The 20th-anniversary edition of ATLiens features the original album in its entirety bundled with a full-length collection of 14 previously unreleased instrumental tracks. The limited-edition 4LP 12″ vinyl edition of ATLiens will include the original release on 2LPs and the previously unavailable instrumental album on 2LPs.

OutKast’s ATLiens hosts the songs “ATLiens,” “Elevators (Me & You),” and “Jazzy Belle.” Music videos for those tracks have been upgraded to HD for the 25th anniversary ATLiens single bundles.

In addition, ATLiens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) was selected as Vinyl Me, Please’s Hip-Hop Record of the Month for August 2021. VMP Hip Hop members will receive the album as a 2LP Neon Green and Blue Galaxy vinyl mastered at half speed. 

The Vinyl Me, Please ATLiens package also includes an exclusive listening notes booklet. Previously, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was featured by VMP in 2019 for the company’s Hip Hop subscription.

“We’ve had an unofficial policy — that many of our members are aware of — that we won’t do the same artist twice in any single subscription track since we launched Classics in 2017,” said VMP Country & Classics Director Andrew Winistorfer. “But, specifically in the case of OutKast, they have a peerless catalog, and their label and the group has been very proud of the reissues we’ve done with them, and they approached us for this ATLiens reissue since it turns 25 this year.”

Winistorfer continued, “And when there’s an album this classic, this incredible, sticking to this unofficial policy seemed crazy to us. We don’t have any plans to repeat artists in Essentials, but in our other Tracks, we’re definitely open to doing the same artist more than once.”

ATLiens peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for a total of 33 weeks. The critically acclaimed studio LP is certified to 2x-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

OutKast’s ATLiens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is available for pre-order at Get On Down, Vinyl Me, Please, and Amazon Music. The OutKast digital store is also selling an ATLiens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) bundle as well as merchandise such as sweatshirts, hoodies, shorts, and more.

RapCaviar Names J. Cole, Drake, Lil Durk & More To Its All-RapCaviar Team

In celebration of the NBA Finals, Spotify’s RapCaviar revealed the 2021 All-RapCaviar Teams. The streaming service’s lists are inspired by the annual All-NBA Teams.

J. Cole, Polo G, Lil Durk, Drake, and Lil Baby were named to the First Team for RapCaviar. Each of those commercially successful rhymers have been regulars on the music charts over the last six months. 

The All-RapCaviar Second Team includes Coi Leray, Lil Tjay, Megan Thee Stallion, Moneybagg Yo, and Pooh Shiesty. For the Third Team, RapCaviar recognized Young Thug and Tyler, The Creator as well as Migos members Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff.

The selections for the 2021 All-RapCaviar Teams were based on the acts’ streaming performances on RapCaviar and other Spotify Hip Hop-centered playlists during the duration of the NBA season (December 22 through June 14). 

 Last month, RapCaviar presented its Mount Rushmore of rappers for the 2010s decade. The faces of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Nicki Minaj were placed on the fictitious monument.

In 2020, Spotify identified Drake as the leader of RapCaviar’s list of Top Male Artists on the playlist since 2015. Cardi B was listed as RapCaviar’s Top Female Artist over that five-year period.

Songs by Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Saweetie, Doja Cat, and Erica Banks were the most-streamed songs of 2021 on Spotify’s “Feelin’ Myself” playlist. All five women also made the Top 5 most-streamed tracks since the launch of the “Feelin’ Myself” collection.

Logan Paul Backtracks On Criticizing’s Lil Baby Music

A year-old clip from Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast made the rounds on social media this week. In the video, Paul suggested Hip Hop star Lil Baby’s career would be short-lived.

“I’m scrolling through [Spotify], and I can’t f###### get away from Lil Baby songs,” said Logan Paul on Impaulsive in March 2020. 

He continued, “I’m all for the new artists, but this one in particular I have no idea what he’s saying. I have none. And it all sounds the same. His tone is the same, it’s all the same. I give him a year.”

Many Lil Baby fans took issue with Logan Paul’s comments about the Platinum-selling rapper. Even Baby reacted to the famous YouTuber on Twitter.

“Logan Who?” tweeted Lil Baby on Thursday. He later added, “More like give em a year to have [100 million dollars] 😤.”

https://twitter.com/lilbaby4PF/status/1413132325911613445?s=20
https://twitter.com/lilbaby4PF/status/1413133375418761221?s=20

Following the public backlash, Logan Paul backtracked on his previous opinion. A few hours after Lil Baby’s response went viral, Paul tweeted, “I was wrong about Lil Baby.”

Last month, Lil Baby and Lil Durk released their #1 collaborative album The Voice of the Heroes. That project was Baby’s second chart-topper. He also led the Billboard 200 rankings for five weeks with 2020’s My Turn.

Lil Baby became just the eighth rapper to score 90 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The 26-year-old Quality Control recording artist was recently named ASCAP’s 2021 Songwriter Of The Year as well. Plus, he will headline Jay-Z’s Made In America festival in September.

How Rapper/Singer CWBY Is Influencing Music Lovers With His Latest Song, “Trapstar”

Music is the language of the soul. It’s through music that artists express their emotions and bare their true selves to the world. CWBY is one such artist who has reflected his real-life struggles through his unconventional music. The rapper/singer entered the music industry in 2020 with his single “Trapstar,” which highlights the complexities of relationships and heartbreak that every person can relate to.

CWBY was born and raised in Florida. When he was 19 years old, he started promoting at an EDM club in Tampa. DJ Plantez, who was performing at the club, offered CWBY the opportunity to be his MC/hype man. The idea of walking around the stage creating hype among the audience thrilled CWBY and led to him realizing his talent as an artist.

CWBY has always wanted to be different and to stand out from the crowd. He thought of starting his career as a rapper but soon realized his potential as a singer. Various genres of music have always interested him, and he experimented with them all to find his perfect fit. He came up with his signature style that is an unconventional mix of hip-hop, rock, rhythm and blues, and country music. In March 2020, he released his debut single that gained him a lot of appreciation from music lovers from around the world, speaking about love and relationships in a way that audiences could instantly relate to.

CWBY’s latest song, “Trapstar,” is a high-energy track that combines hip-hop with familiar undertones of country rock to create a unique sound. It talks about heartbreak, falling in love, the come-up, and the downfalls in life that people can relate to. The lyrics in most of CWBY’s songs are a reflection of his real-life struggles. He has overcome many difficulties in life; there was even a point when he was living out of a suitcase, in and out of motels for three years. He worked for 16 to 20 hours a day just to make a living. Overcoming such challenges was not easy for him, but those experiences have shaped him into the person he is today.

“Trapstar” is a passion project for CWBY that relates to the world many of us may feel trapped in. CWBY sings about how his fast-paced life leaves no room for love and relationships. He has faced situations in his life where he’s had to go through failed relationships and heartbreak, and he chose to remain true to himself through it all, persevere, and grow.

“Trapstar” is produced by Plantez, and the music video, featuring CWBY, is directed by O Soloman. It is already creating a huge buzz among music lovers around the world who are expecting more new releases from CWBY.

CWBY is not only a rising music sensation; he is also an entrepreneur. He is successfully managing his cannabis business while also working on his upcoming music projects. He is optimistic about his summer music track, which has something unique and exciting for his audience. CWBY also wants to get into live performances after releasing a couple of albums. He is already thrilled to see people cheering for him. His goal is to stand out in the music industry by setting a new trend for unconventional music, and he is working hard to make this dream a reality.