Chicago-raised singer-songwriter Jeremih is still recovering from contracting COVID-19. The 33-year-old R&B performer is out of the hospital, and he is now able to take part in interviews.
During his conversation with Sway Calloway and crew, Jeremih recalled waking up twice to see “a white light” as he was recuperating from medical treatment in Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit. The Def Jam signee also explained some of the physical complications he suffered as a result of contracting COVID-19.
“I ended up having, and I don’t mind sharing it because now I’m here, but it’s called multiple inflammatory syndrome, MIS, which is a rare case of cause and effect of COVID,” explained Jeremih. “All my organs became inflamed. It was going down. My heart went out and started beating irregularly, my kidneys went out, my liver started to go bad. I know all that now. Mind you, I didn’t know what was going on at the time. I was out.”
The iHeartRadio Music Award winner added, “I’ve never been to a hospital in my entire life either – not for a broken bone, not for nothing. So just to be in there, I look at it as somewhat of a blessing. As crazy as it might sound, I needed to sit down. I needed to take a break.”
According to Jeremih, he also had to learn how to walk again as a result of MIS. The Late Nights album creator also talked about how surviving this near-death experience will serve as a catalyst for him to advance his career to the “10th power” upon fully regaining his strength. He referred to his coronavirus hospitalization as a “setback for the big payback.”
R&B icon Dionne Warwick is currently one of the most-talked-about people on Twitter. The “Walk on By” vocalist is building a following on the platform by sharing her thoughts on modern-day entertainers.
“It runs in the family,” wrote Warwick on December 15 with a photo of Taylor. The 80-year-old music legend was referring to memes that suggest she and the 30-year-old “Wake Up Love” performer look similar.
After getting wind of Warwick’s post, Taylor added a quote-tweet response that just simply read “Period” with a brown heart emoji. Her reaction tweet received more than 10,000 likes. In the past, Twitter users have claimed Offset of the Migos resembles Warwick too.
Jayceon “The Game” Taylor and Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter have collaborated numerous times over the years. The Game once again recruited the Young Money leader for his new Mike Zombie-produced single “A.I. With The Braids.”
The song pays tribute to legendary Philadelphia 76ers star, former NBA Most Valuable Player, and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. The Game’s “A.I. With The Braids” also drew inspiration from Junior Mafia’s 1996 classic “Get Money.”
“A.I. with the braids is almost single-handedly responsible for most if not all trends you see in Hip Hop and professional sports these days,” says The Game. “Every kid including myself wanted to be Allen Iverson, from the baggy jerseys with the diamond chains, to the designs in his braids and whole swagger.”
The Compton-bred emcee continues, “Girls were in love with him and he was pound for pound the best player in the NBA. A.I. went from being my idol as a kid to being my brother in real life, so it’s only right I pay homage.”
Game created a 3D-animated visual for “A.I. With The Braids” which is serving as a precursor for the follow-up project to 2019’s Born 2 Rap. The 41-year-old industry veteran adds, “[Iverson] didn’t care what anyone in the world thought of his style, he just did him… and back then we had a little ‘A.I. with the braids’ in all of us.”
As the final weeks of 2020 wind down, fans, media outlets, and streaming services are taking a look back at the most successful recording artists over the last 12 months. Lil Baby is a name that repeatedly comes up in those conversations.
For example, the major label-owned Vevo revealed its list of Most Watched Artists of 2020 in the United States. The Atlanta rap star born Dominique Jones leads that ranking. Lil Baby is followed by Future at #2, Chris Brown at #3, Billie Eilish at #4, and Luke Combs at #5.
These heavy hitters caught your eyes this year 👀 @Lilbaby4PF claims the top spot in the U.S. and the whole list brought their best in 2020 📹 pic.twitter.com/lsrMlHepct
The video hosting platform released its list of Most Watch Videos in the United States as well. Future’s “Life Is Good” featuring Drake topped that Vevo tally. Lil Baby and 42 Dugg’s “We Paid” came in at #2. Plus, the #3 spot went to Lil Baby for his “Woah” visuals.
“Life Is Good” and “We Paid” also made the Top 3 of YouTube’s Top Trending Music Videos for 2020. Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture” (#10) rounded out that annual listing from the Google subsidiary. Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later” featuring Lil Durk was included in the Top 10 of both the Vevo and YouTube stats.
Over the last few years, several New York City-based rappers have claimed to be the reigning King Of New York. 6ix9ine, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, and even female rapper Cardi B planted their respective flags in order to take ownership of the NYC throne.
Now that Rowdy Rebel of GS9 is a free man following his six-year stint in prison, the Brooklyn native is declaring that the crown belongs to him. He made his proclamation in a video posted to social media on Tuesday.
“Tell n##### the real King of New York is back! If they don’t like it, tell them n##### to do what they gotta do. You see my guys with me,” Rowdy can be heard saying while standing on top of a vehicle.
With NYC being the birthplace of Hip Hop culture, “King of New York” has long been viewed as a description that represents one of the top rappers on the planet. Previously, names of legendary emcees such as The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, and Cam’ron were attached to the KONY title.
CupcakKe decided to take a move out of 50 Cent’s playbook. Back in 1999, 50 dropped a controversial song titled “How To Rob” which featured the Queens rapper sharing the many ways he would hypothetically mug other rap stars.
Fast forward 21 years later, CupcakKe took the baton from 50 and released her own “How to Rob (Remix).” This time, the Chicago rhymer took aim at her Hip Hop peers like Lil Baby, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Tory Lanez, Migos, Lizzo, DaBaby, Lil Durk, City Girls, and many more.
CupcakKe easily became a top trending topic on Twitter this morning as social media users began debating “How to Rob (Remix).” Some people praised the 23-year-old Eden album creator’s lyrical skills while others complained she was being a divisive clout chaser.
“I think it’s a beautiful thing & [anyone] upset with it it’s just [used] to the mediocre. Understand it’s not male rappers complaining it’s female rappers. Sit back & enjoy talent at its finest & for the last time it’s all love to all the rappers mentioned. Don’t be sensitive,” tweeted CupcakKe after the song came out.
Once 50 Cent’s “How To Rob” hit the streets, the G-Unit leader eventually faced responses from acts such as Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Big Pun, and others. A different scenario played out in 2013 when Kendrick Lamar used Big Sean’s “Control” to call out his contemporaries like Drake, J. Cole, and Meek Mill. It was mostly emcees that were not named on “Control” that fired back at Lamar.
Lil Durk suffered another blow last week when an artist on his record label was charged with murder.
Justin M. Mitchell, AKA JusBlow600 is an artist signed to Durk’s Only The Family record label.
Last week, JusBlow600 was charged with participating in a robbery turned homicide back in 2017 in Hammond, Indiana.
According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, the rapper and two associates, Lucky Tyler and Paradise Haynes robbed a man and an apartment in Hammond, Illinois. The robbery turned deadly during a shootout, which killed a 19-year-old man named Khalil Carter.
JusBlow600 was charged with murder and six other felonies after his co-defendant Haynes entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors.
She is facing 10 to 30 years for participating in the robbery, while the rapper and his co-defendant Tyler are facing anywhere between 45 to 65 years in prison.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and HIp-Hop legend Chuck D sits down with Tim Einenkel and AllHipHop.com’s co-founder, Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur to discuss Public Enemy’s newest album, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down, future projects which Flavor Flav as a producer, stories about the late Jam Master Jay, DJ Premier, and DMC from Run-DMC. Chuck also touches on The Beastie Boys, a conspiracy against the Pro-Black Hip Hop movement, the dismantling of the White Power structure, fascism under Trump, watching an African dictator zoom off in a jet, America’s standing amongst the rest of the world and so much more.
The Roots’ Questlove will make his directorial debut at the most revered film festival in the country – The Sundance Film Festival.
Questlove is taking his passion for music to the big screen with the new documentary “Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised).”
The documentary focuses on the legendary Harlem Cultural Festival, which took place in 1969 – at the same time Woodstock was going down in upstate New York.
Summer of Soul
Even though 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival (aka “Black Woodstock”) its significance has been mostly obscured by the Woodstock.
“As a first-time director I can’t tell you how much of an honor it is to tell this story,” Questlove said in a statement. “Not only a story of music but a story of issues we are currently dealing with now, especially in light of the fact that NO ONE knew this story! One of my happiest achievements.”
“Summer of Soul” will make its debut on day 1 of The Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off on January 28th, 2021.
Eve has credited the COVID-19 lockdown for “solidifying why” she fell in love with her husband.
The “Love Is Blind” rapper celebrated her six-year wedding anniversary with Maximillion Cooper in June, and has said spending time in quarantine with her spouse amid the coronavirus pandemic has made their romance even stronger.
“Honestly, it’s been really good. I have to say, I feel lucky that we’re one of the couples that got out of the quarantine and was like, ‘I still like you and love you’ – that’s a different thing. Because love is one thing, but you still gotta like the person!” she told People magazine.
“We’ve learned a lot of new things about each other. This is gonna sound so cheesy – and I swear I apologize because I’m not a romantic – but it has solidified why I fell in love with him. It brought us closer together, and it made me realize wow, we chose each other, and this is a great choice.”
Eve married the British entrepreneur in June 2014 after four years of dating and has said she thought their romance would be short-lived when they first met because Maximillion has four children from a previous relationship.
“In the beginning when I first met my husband, then-boyfriend, I was like, ‘This is never gonna last because you got four kids! How’s this gonna work?’ But then I met the kids and honestly was like ‘Wow, kids are amazing’,” she grinned.
And as she looks ahead to 2021, Eve – who recently announced she is leaving her co-hosting position on U.S. TV show “The Talk” – said she wants the next year of her life to focus on feeling more “grounded, peaceful and happy in the decisions that I’ve made.”
“I think also I realized that stopping is okay,” she continued. “I hold onto that, and I hope that other people hold onto that too. I think we all just got used to being crazy-busy all the time. Just take some time for yourself, an hour a day, it could be a week if you’re lucky enough, but take care of yourself and your mind.”
Bobby Shmurda’s GS9 associate, Chad “Rowdy Rebel” Marshall is finally a free man.
Rowdy Rebel was signed to Epic Records with Bobby and scored hits with “Hot N####” and “Shmoney Dance.” Their careers were interrupted after Rowdy, Bobby, and 13 members of the GS9 crew were hauled off to jail in December of 2014.
The guys were investigated by the NYPD for two years.
Rowdy Rebel was eventually charged with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, conspiracy, attempted murder, attempted assault, and reckless endangerment.
Rowdy eventually pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree conspiracy and one count of weapons possession to get a lighter sentence.
According to the terms of his release, Rowdy will still be under community supervision until December 15th, 2025.
In 2016, Ackquille “Bobby Shmurda” Pollard pled guilty to federal conspiracy in the fourth degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree charges.
Bobby Shmurda was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He’s due out of prison next year (December 2021) after his latest bid for parole was denied.
Hailing from Tennessee, the musician, actor, dancer, and all-around innovator arrives with one hell of a voice (no pun intended), and even more impressive vocal range and songwriting abilities. Fusing the genres of Pop, R&B, and Soul, Blue’s raw talents on national television swooned the hearts of audiences all around the world.
With his voice holding healing power itself, Chris describes himself as “a guy who loves God, loves family, loves people. Loves the way love feels, loves music, loves to perform for people. Chris does a lot of things. He’s an actor, he’s a dancer, he’s a singer.
He’s one who carries truth everywhere he goes, “a carrier of gospel.”
Now partnering with Roc Nation/Equity Distribution, Blue returns with his standout new single titled “Back 2 The Future,” a record that speaks volumes to the current state of the world.
AllHipHop caught up with Chris Blue in London, where he was working and spending time with family. Read below as we discuss his upbringing in Tennessee, what he learned from The Voice, the inspiration behind his new single/video, studio essentials, and his upcoming “The Chris Blue Project.”
AllHipHop: Being from Tennessee, what was the household like growing up?
Chris Blue: Household was crazy. I’m the youngest of 7 kids so a lot of them would beat up on me because I’m the baby. I got the flack of a lot of stuff, but I also got to see a lot of my siblings get whooped up on and I learned a lot of their lessons. It was great man, always good times. We always had fun, we always laughed. Now that I’m much older, I really really enjoy having a big family because during the holiday season it’s always a good time. It’s been great growing up as a kid in Tennessee.
AllHipHop: At what point did you realize you wanted to sing for the rest of your life?
Chris Blue: At 2 years old. My mom and dad used to always have us in church all the time, literally 5 to 7 days a week. I remember I was watching this gospel singing group, I liked what they do, I liked how they sound. I liked how people respond to them when they sing, so I started trying it. I started mimicking videos, I enjoyed the response people would give me when I’d sing. I said “this is really what I want to do.”
I knew it’s what I was supposed to do when I tried out for The Voice because I really didn’t think I was good enough to be on the show. Didn’t think I was good enough to win, but I knew I was supposed to be there for some reason. Winning and seeing all the different messages that people gave me then and still to this day give me now. Somebody messaged me today saying how much they still only enjoy my season, how my voice and what I did on that show really inspired them.
AllHipHop: What did you learn about yourself on the show?
Chris Blue: I learned I belong on this level, on the level with top artists. I belong on stages with the Usher’s of the world, with the Alicia Keys’ of the world. I belong on stages with A-list artists who have paved the way for me to be on stages such as The Voice. If you work extremely hard and you continue to keep pushing and persevere through the difficult times, eventually you’ll win. We’re able to win literally on that show. I learned that very quickly in my experience.
AllHipHop: How was it doing the duet alongside Alicia Keys?
Chris Blue: It was a lot of things man. [laughs] It was great! What’s funny was my fiance at the time wasn’t familiar with the music industry or music, she didn’t understand performing. When we did the song vocally, it was great but there were some theatrical expressions we had to do throughout the song. I never told my fiance what we’re going to do so when she saw it, she’s like “okay, so you wasn’t gonna tell me you gon’ hold another woman in front of the whole world?” It was still all good, all funny and all love. On a serious note, performing with her was amazing. She’s a beast vocalist, an amazing person, a genius musician. It was an experience that honestly if I could do it again, I’d do it a billion times over because she’s Alicia Keys! [laughs]
AllHipHop: “Back 2 the Future (Louder)” out now, what were you going through recording this one?
Chris Blue: You know what, we didn’t intend to write the song. We didn’t even intend to release the song to be honest. We wrote it thinking “alright we’ll release it in 2021,” because 2020 has been such a tough year for everyone. Watch this one out, we’ll come back and revisit next year. There’s a line in the song that says “I’ve been dreaming of Wakanda,” a reference or nod to the Black Panther movie. Chadwick Boseman’s the lead actor, he’s the Black Panther.
AllHipHop: Rest in peace.
Chris Blue: Chadwick passed away the very next day. That’s when I knew because the song felt really special to me. I wanted to release music period next year but when we recorded the song before Chadwick passed away, it felt especially real good. If you know anything about recording in the booth, you have those days, those songs where it takes time. It really takes time to cultivate and craft the song, the take, the performance that you’re most proud of and the one that tells the story the best. Then you have those songs where it literally takes you one take, maybe 2. This song took us 15 minutes to finish, that’s when I realized I needed to release the song after Chadwick Boseman passed away. Rest in peace.
AllHipHop: Talk about the 80’s New York vibes influence in the record.
Chris Blue: I’m a huge fan of 80’s music, I’m inspired by all those guys. Al Green, Stevie Wonder, those timeless, classic legends have been a very big inspiration in my life musically. Currently, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, The Weeknd have also played a major role and influenced me. I have a lot of history in New York. I spent a lot of time up there and I love the culture. I love the city, I love the people. I love it up there. I wanted to blend all the things I love about music and life, and put it in a song. That’s how we’ve been able to cultivate our sound and style we want to give people. You’ll see me sometimes, I’ll look 80’s retro. I look like a throwback. If you go back to the show, you’ll hear me. I’m singing a bunch of 80’s throwback stuff. It’s in me. I think I was born at the wrong time. [laughs]
AllHipHop: The music video is so powerful, what inspired you to pull from each generation?
Chris Blue: It’s important we understand the message of the song, “Back 2 the Future.” It’s an outcry for unity, not hate. It’s an outcry for love and unification. I grew up in a culture where I had all types of friends, all types of ethnic groups and cultures around me. Even though I’m in a small town. I loved on everybody. We grew up poor but in my community, every type of person you could imagine was there. I was never one to have cliques, only hang out with this group or that group. I wanted to be cool with everybody, that’s always been me.
The message of the song is crying out for love and unity for all, that’s what I wanted to present in the video. You take a message we’re currently feeling right now in our climate today, you can reference it back to the 1950’s and 60’s when my grandmother was around protesting and crying out. Crying for you to love, it’s the same thing. My grandmother’s been saying it, my mama, and now I’m saying it. I’m praying to God I’m the last one of my generation to say it. I pray that my children and my children’s children won’t have to say it. If you don’t hear what we’re saying by now, we’re going to keep saying it louder and louder and louder and louder! Until you hear love will always win.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWSbwUDXj2/
AllHipHop: Favorite scene in this visual?
Chris Blue: I was a big fan of the hospital and the straightjacket scene, because I got to play a doctor. When I was a little boy, I said I wanted to be a doctor or lawyer. The 2 professions I wanted because they make a lot of money, and I wanted to make a lot of money when I got older. Obviously my life went in a different direction so I didn’t end up being that doctor or attorney, but I got to play one. My first time ever wearing scrubs, it was cool.
AllHipHop: Talk about your new deal with Roc Nation/Equity Distribution.
Chris Blue: I didn’t see that one coming at all, it just happened. I was out, I was getting some Japanese food because I love Japanese food and I get a call from my team. They said “yo guess what?” I said “what now?” [laughs] They said “you got a deal!’ What you mean I got a deal? “You got a deal with Equity Distribution, they work with Roc Nation and a whole bunch of different…” ‘What?! What you mean? “You got the deal!” So I’m flippin’ out, I started screaming like a little girl. Break the glass in my car window. [laughs] It was very dope.
Equity Distribution is a great company, good group of people. Fine staff, amazing team. They go hard for their artists so I was really excited. That’s who I’m signed to, a lot of people say it’s Roc Nation but it’s really Equity Distribution. I want to clear that up, make sure everybody knows. They work alongside majors like Roc Nation and some others.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIlwcvHjCK_/
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio?
Chris Blue: I need water, preferably Essentia or Fiji. I need plain Lay’s potato chips, and I’ll take some plain red juicy grapes. As long as I got even 2 out of 3, I’m good. I’m easy. Honestly, I like to get in, do what we gotta do, get moving on to the next one. I’m not spending too much time worrying about my atmosphere because I’m so locked in inwardly, it really doesn’t matter. I need what I need for my throat, make sure my voice is good and we all good.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from The Chris Blue Project?
Chris Blue: Expect a vacation, because that’s what I go on every time I listen to this music. I don’t feel like I’m in my reality, I don’t feel I’m in my own skin. I’m taking a trip, a journey somewhere else and I’m escaping my reality. We all need to escape 2020, Even when 2020’s done, in our mind we need help forgetting it ever happened for the most part.
There was some good that came out of this year but definitely a lot of hardship, a lot of challenges many people faced. You can expect high energy, dance, uplifting but upbeat, fun, heartfelt music. A mix of pop, retro, R&B, and dance. A whole lot of fun. I can’t wait for people to have it because it’s what people have been wanting from me. I’m giving the people what they want, so I hope they enjoy it as much as I’m enjoying it.
A group of parents in Gaston County, North Carolina are outraged at the executives who run the Mountain Island Charter School.
Parents are mad because the directors of videos for Blacc Zacc, DaBaby Kris Rich supposedly lied to the faculty when they shot some controversial videos inside of the school.
The parents were ticked off when they saw Blacc Zacc’s video for “Bang” with DaBaby, which was shot by 20K Media on the school’s football field.
“Bang” features Blacc Zacc and DaBaby surrounded by twerking cheerleaders, and with the exception of explicatives and some gun references, the video is tame compared to Kris Ruch’s video for “Classroom.”
Kris Rich’s video for his song “Classroom” sent the parents at Mountain Island Charter School into a frenzy. The video, which was shot by Gemini Vision, was especially egregious since it depicts Kris Rich simulating oral sex with a teacher, and features guns, which are supposedly just props.
One parent said props or not, the videos are a bad look for the school and the students who attend Mountain Island Charter School.
“No matter how they want to spin it, this was a huge failure of leadership,” said Berkley Savage, a mom of two students at school. “There’s no excuse for letting these people in our school unsupervised and participate in the conduct that they did.”
According to WCNC, Justin Matthews, the Executive Director of Mountain Island Charter School, was duped into letting the rap stars use the facilities.
Matthews claims he was led to believe the videos were for a college project. To make matters worse, Mountain Island Charter School was not even compensated for the video.
Matthews said the objectionable content featured in Kris Rich’s video was shot in secret. The Board Of Directors at Mountain Island Charter School issued a statement to parents regarding the controversial video by Kris Rich.
Kris Rich “Classroom” Video
“We like so many of you, share the concern and outrage to see a video that was released with unacceptable content without consent,” a letter sent to parents read. “The school was misled by this individual, and our attempt to help this individual for no payment in return has cost us dearly.”
Kris Rich’s antics could have serious repercussions for executive director Justin Matthews.
Parents have started a petition to suspend Matthews during an investigation, which could ultimately lead to him losing his job in the middle of a pandemic.
Will Smith has launched the second season of his Snapchat series by handing out a hard-to-find Playstation 5 package to a teen battling cancer.
Smith teamed up with pal Jason Derulo to plan the big surprise for “Will From Home,” which premiered on Monday (December 14th), announcing he plans to celebrate real-life heroes’ selflessness and bravery.
His first target was 14-year-old Aiden, who was diagnosed with cancer in April and has been undergoing weekly chemotherapy treatments during the COVID lockdown.
When Aiden opened a box containing his PS5, the systems weren’t available to the public.
Smith also made a $10,000 donation to the Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, where he and Derulo surprised the teenager.
Alicia Keys, Lil Nas X, and Ludacris are also lined up to make appearances on Will’s 10-episode series.
Dionne Warwick’s hilarious set of tweets at Chance the Rapper and The Weeknd have led to a blockbuster collaboration – for a good cause.
Last week, Dionne set the Twitterverse on fire when she trolled the pair over their names and joked that she was coming for any artist with “the” in their names.
Both artists were flattered by Dionne Warwick’s playful tweets and now the trio of artists will work together on a new song to benefit the Hunger Not Impossible initiative.
Dionne’s son Damon Elliott wrote a song called “Nothing’s Impossible,” which will be recorded by Chance, The Weeknd, and Dionne.
Dionne Warwick hopped on Twitter to break the news herself.
I’m still on a mission to end foolishness by 2021. It looks like @theweeknd and @chancetherapper are joining me. Who’s next?
Jay-Z continues to expand his Roc Nation empire with a new division dedicated to literature.
The rap star’s brand has teamed up with a Random House to launch a new imprint called Roc Lit 101.
“There are so many untold stories and we consider it a true privilege to be able to amplify diverse voices while exploring the uncharted worlds that are about to open to us,” said Roc Nation’s Executive VP Jenna Fleischman, who will run the imprint alongside Random House executive Chris Jackson.
Jay has to look no further than his roster of Roc Nation artists to kick off the company.
According to Random House, initial releases from Roc Lit 101 include memoirs by CC Sabathia, Yo Gotti, and Fat Joe.
Philly rappers Meek Mill and Lil Uzi Vert are also on board. Meek will write a book about social justice and “survival” and Lil Uzi Vert is on board to create a fantasy fiction novel.
Roc Lit 101 will also drop Danyel Smith’s “Shine Bright: A Personal History of Black Women in Pop.”
Roc Lit 101 will also publish in a variety of verticals, with children’s stories to cookbooks on deck. The first releases under the new imprint are scheduled to start rolling out this summer.
Check it out as Yung Pooda releases his new single, “Chicken N Grits” produced by legendary producer duo Cool & Dre and featuring Dreamdoll.
Yung Pooda is a rising Houston hip-hop artist. The rapper, with his likeable, distinct flow teamed up with legendary producers, Grammy Award winners, Cool & Dre for the new single and an accompanying visual.
Obasi Jackson is the older brother of Pop Smoke, and he is resolute in forging ahead despite the sorrow attached to his brother.
Obasi has exclusively released audio to a brand new song with previously unheard vocals from the late, great Pop Smoke. A Brooklyn native, like his brother, Obasi is paving his own lane one verse at a time.
“I don’t necessarily feel it’s me ‘carrying the torch’ [once held by Pop Smoke]. I do things in honor of my brother, but I am me,” he stated frankly to AllHipHop exclusively. “Carrying the torch would imply walking the same path he did. I walk my own path with my own rules. I do things in hopes that he’s proud of me and protect him and my families’ legacy.”
In honoring his brother, Obasi has dropped the already-infectious new song, “In My Bag,” which has taken off already.
Obasi and his team have planned a winter tour and continually dropping new music. He said all of this is helpful in the healing process and staying focused.
“Sometimes I just need to get away to clear my head and emotions. Touring and being in my zone, artistically, helps. The upcoming winter tour will also tease what’s to come in the latter part of Q1 heading into Q2,” Obasi told AllHipHop. “We’re hitting Atlanta, Philly, Richmond, Charlotte, Raleigh, Miami, Houston, and Vegas. New music on the way. More announcements.”
So, in theory, it is quite feasible for Obasi to simultaneously carry on his brother’s legacy while creating his own sound and style.
“In regards to my brother, his music influenced Brooklyn and the world. You can’t tell me different. He’s already left his legacy. Time for me to create my own,” Obasi explained.
Obasi Jackson recently released “Ain’t Worried,” which carries a concise message.
He said, “The single is a piece I wrote to express and represent what can happen when you’re not focused on the right things. Too many people get a taste of fame and status and become comfortable, or oblivious. This song is my way of saying no matter what, I won’t be phased. Good or bad.”
Since his arrival on the music scene in 2016, Lil Yachty has faced ridicule for his sing-song style and his red hair. The Atlanta-raised entertainer even had to deal with accusations that he was gay.
The way the 23-year-old southerner chooses to express himself has caused him to be in social media’s crosshairs more than once. Yachty is now defending another young man that decided to step outside the norm of his community.
According to reports, 17-year-old Trevor Wilkinson was given an in-school suspension for violating Clyde High School’s policy against male students wearing nail polish. The openly gay teenager then started a Change.org petition in order to point out what he sees as a “double standard” and hopefully have the rules changed. As of press time, that petition has over 322,000 signatures.
Lil Yachty was recently asked about the Texas school punishing Wilkinson. The Lil Boat 3 album creator told TMZ that he is currently working on his own line of unisex nail polish and defended all genders being able to color their fingernails.
“It’s 2020, about to be 2021. Why do we still have barriers? If someone wants to express themself in any type of way, as long as it’s not harming anyone or bringing anybody down, they should be allowed to do so,” said Yachty. “When I was in college, some people are just lightyears behind mentally.”
Lil Yachty (born Miles Parks McCollum) went on to say that he wants to speak with Wilkinson personally. The Quality Control Music representative added, “I do [want to reach out to Trevor Wilkinson] just for the simple fact of him being himself. You shouldn’t be punished or tormented for being you.”
Back in January, Russell “Russ” Vitale let loose his studio LP, Shake the Snow Globe, which opened at #4 on the Billboard 200 chart with 65,000 first-week units. Russ then returned last month with the rap-focused, 5-track Chomp EP.
Chomp featured credited contributions from Hip Hop luminaries Kxng Crooked, Ab-Soul, DJ Premier, Busta Rhymes, Benny The Butcher, and Black Thought. Russ spoke to Apple Music’s Ebro Darden about his latest body of work.
Darden also chatted with Russ about what could be next for the 28-year-old rapper. Apparently, the Sicilian-American musician wants to work with three of the most celebrated contemporary R&B songstresses on another potential EP that has absolutely no rapping.
“That’s definitely been thought about,” said Russ when asked about possibly creating an R&B project. “I might have to come with five songs and it’s me and Keyshia Cole, and me and Kehlani, and me and Ari Lennox, and there’s not an ounce of rap on it. And you put that right next to Chomp and it’s like, ‘Enjoy.’”
Keyshia Cole rose to prominence in the mid-2000s with songs such as “I Should Have Cheated,” “Love,” and “Let It Go” featuring Lil Kim and Missy Elliott. Over the last four years, Kehlani landed in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart with SweetSexySavage, While We Wait, and It Was Good Until It Wasn’t. Dreamville Records artist Ari Lennox made waves in 2019 with her Shea Butter Baby album and the label’s chart-topping Revenge of the Dreamers III compilation.
