The 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors was certainly one for the books!
The star-studded event, presented by BET, took place at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
The very comedic and beautiful actress Regina Hall kept the audience thoroughly entertained with a number of funny jokes and hilarious monologues.
ABFF celebrates Black excellence and Black culture by honoring individuals with extraordinary achievement and individuals, movies, and television shows that have had a significant impact on American entertainment.
Actor and director Denzel Washington was honored with the “Hollywood Legacy Award,” musician and actress Queen Latifah with the “Entertainment Icon Award,” writer, producer and actress Issa Rae with the “Rising Star Award,” film director and producer F. Gary Gray with the “Excellence in the Arts Award” and actor, Terrence Howard with the “Excellence in the Arts Award.”
Those in attendance cheered with excitement each and every time a highlight reel of the the honoree’s accomplishments flashed on the screen. For most, it was moments of nostalgia as Denzel, Terrence, Queen Latifah, and F. Gary Gray have all had incredible longevity creating and or contributing to art, film, and performance staples in Black culture. Issa Rae was an inspiration to all as she served as a reminder that instead of waiting for your opportunity to come, you can go out and create it!
Viola Davis, Common, Pharrell Williams, Lee Daniels, Morris Chestnut, Omari Hardwick and Anika Noni Rose took the stage as presenters while Maxwell and Dionne Farris performed their hits “Sumthin’ Sumthin'” and “Hopeless” from the film “Love Jones,” which received the “Classic Cinema Award.”
Cecily Tyson took the stage to present Denzel Washington with his award, and Pharell Williams added his own magic to the evening as he presented Issa Rae with her honor. The cast of the New Edition Story biopic [Luke James, Keith Powers, Elijah Kelley], Jay Ellis, Kofi Siroboe, Nia Long, Larenz Tate, Alexandra Shipp, and many more were also in attendance.
The awards special was produced by ABFF Ventures founder Jeff Friday, Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones for de Passe Jones Entertainment, Jesse Collins for Jesse Collins Entertainment, and Connie Orlando, Stephen G. Hill and Debra Lee for BET Networks.
ABFF Honors will air on BET tonight at 8:00pm E.T.! Make sure to tune in! Photos by Getty Images for BET.
(AllHipHop Rumors) Allegedly The Game has a new boo, who is an 18-year-old. We need more evidence than Game liking the little girl’s photos, but that didn’t stop the fans for trying to call out Game for his alleged “predatory” ways.
You know they say that Game likes em young. I can’t remember if people came to this conclusion before or after he was spotted f######## a teenage India Love in the park.
They say Game has a type with his type being barely legal. Game has since clapped back at all of these claims explaining that he’s against pedophilia, but he doesn’t like to date older women because all he can do with them is play bingo. An Instagram user inquired as to why Game couldn’t find any models his own age, to which Game replied by saying,
“@Quietstormv you don’t know me and you don’t know her to assume anything about either of us. & all of these weirdos on here throwing that “pedofile” and “molester” sh-t around need to check themselves. I ain’t never in my life had sexual relations with anyone under age & never will.”
Ummmm define older and younger in your own words Game? LOL. What are your thoughts?
(AllHipHop News) Rapper Kanye West has been immortalized thanks to a new giant Jesus sculpture in Los Angeles by a street artist ironically known as Plastic Jesus.
The art was unveiled today (February 22), at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Ave and emphasizes a giant Kanye nailed to a gold cross, with nails in his hands, a wreath on his head, along with some bling around his neck.
The sculpture, which is called “False Idol,” is the latest in a series of wild art pieces Plastic Jesus has been putting up since 2015.
In 2015, Plastic Jesus made a life-size figure of the Oscar snorting cocaine on all fours, in addition to doing a controversial graffiti piece of Lance Armstrong cycling with an IV bag.
“He’s a genius at writing and producing but he’s not a God, and that’s where we put him. Until there’s an issue in his life or a hiccup in his career, then we crucify him,” Plastic Jesus told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’ve seen it before with people like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan. The same people who put him into a God-like place are the same yapping at his heels for a piece of flesh when something happens.”
Notorious Los Angeles Street Artist Plastic Jesus has caused Oscars controversy by placing a full size Oscar statue on Hollywood Blvd. Unlike the official faceless gold figures this one is Kanye West !
The life size gold installation is an amazing likeness of the Hip-Hop star complete with tightly cropped hair, neck chains and even wearing a pair of Yeezy shoes!.
In previous years the British born guerrilla artist has created a cocaine snorting Oscar statue, a gold plated stripper on a pole and a heroin injecting figure following the drugs related death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. The artist claims his street installations are to highlight issues which are going un-notice in the glitzy world of Hollywood.
The installation appeared on the famous Boulevard on Wednesday morning, closely guarded by two burly security guards.
In a Statement on his website the artist said “We have built Kanye West into some kind of god-like idol, I believe he’s a genius when it comes to writing and producing but he’s human. When we build people into idols we have expectations, and if they fail to meet those expectations we crucify them. We saw this last year when Kanye was admitted to a medical facility to get treatment for stress, anxiety and paranoia. We need to take a step back and remember our idols are only human and as such we need to give them space to err”.
Plastic Jesus had the custom figure moulded from resin specially for this year’s event by a Los Angeles based mannequin company.
He was also lucky another to collaborate with “Ginger” the Sulpture who created the naked Donald trump figures that appeared on the streets at the end of 2016. Ginger spent four weeks carefully crafting the head and then moulding the final piece to produce an amazing likeness of the rapper.
The life size figure took about 6 weeks to produce in total but will only be on Hollywood Blvd for one day. If fans wish to see the statue in person they can see it at
Notorious Los Angeles Street Artist Plastic Jesus has caused Oscars controversy by placing a full size Oscar statue on Hollywood Blvd. Unlike the official faceless gold figures this one is Kanye West !
The life size gold installation is an amazing likeness of the Hip-Hop star complete with tightly cropped hair, neck chains and even wearing a pair of Yeezy shoes!.
In previous years the British born guerrilla artist has created a cocaine snorting Oscar statue, a gold plated stripper on a pole and a heroin injecting figure following the drugs related death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. The artist claims his street installations are to highlight issues which are going un-notice in the glitzy world of Hollywood.
The installation appeared on the famous Boulevard on Wednesday morning, closely guarded by two burly security guards.
In a Statement on his website the artist said “We have built Kanye West into some kind of god-like idol, I believe he’s a genius when it comes to writing and producing but he’s human. When we build people into idols we have expectations, and if they fail to meet those expectations we crucify them. We saw this last year when Kanye was admitted to a medical facility to get treatment for stress, anxiety and paranoia. We need to take a step back and remember our idols are only human and as such we need to give them space to err”.
Plastic Jesus had the custom figure moulded from resin specially for this year’s event by a Los Angeles based mannequin company.
He was also lucky another to collaborate with “Ginger” the Sulpture who created the naked Donald trump figures that appeared on the streets at the end of 2016. Ginger spent four weeks carefully crafting the head and then moulding the final piece to produce an amazing likeness of the rapper.
The life size figure took about 6 weeks to produce in total but will only be on Hollywood Blvd for one day. If fans wish to see the statue in person they can see it at
Miami icons Cool & Dre and their label Epidemic Music are working with 29-year-old artist A.M. SNiPER who has been called “The Hybrid of the Year” in the U.K. where he’s a huge success.
No stranger to the charts, A.M SNiPER has performed and collaborated with superstars from both sides of the Atlantic such as Kanye West, 50 Cent, Memphis Bleek, Akon, Julian Marley, Juelz Santana, N.O.R.E, Sway, Mutya Buena, Curtis Young, Rick Ross, Lethal Bizzle, Sway, JME, Ghetts, Wiley and more.
“Foreign Dreams” features The Game and Dre3000.
Shying away from the usual classic style of Hip Hop videos, the team traveled around northern Nigeria to search and find a way to contact this specific tribe featured in the video – a tribe that had never listened to rap or hip-hop music before or speak any words of English.
Only one member was able to translate.
Curious, collaborative and motivated by the project and song, the tribe was incredible and the video bypasses trends and fashion – motivated for the art.
During his prison stint, the 37-year-old released several albums and started writing his memoir.
In an upcoming interview with rocker Marilyn Manson for CR Men’s Book, Davis explains being creative helped him keep his mind clear.
“When I was locked up and they put me in the hole, this is what I was doing to keep my sanity,” he told Marilyn Manson. “This is how I was protecting myself.”
Gucci Mane is now gearing up to hit the road for his first tour and he will release his 11th album later this year.
The rapper has been pouring all of his focus into the trek and has a specific vision.
“I want to look like Liberace (on stage), just big diamonds, shining,” he says. “But I want the production to be like the (Flaming) Lips. I want the crowd to feel that sweat, like Hendrix.”
“I ain’t gonna lie, I think I could be a hell of a rock star,” he adds. “I’m a free spirit, I love having fun, I don’t give a f##k. Even the way I record, the way I perform, I’m unstructured. I just let the wind blow through me.”
Gucci Mane’s tour will kick-off this week and in October, he will tie the knot with fiance Keyshia Ka’oir.
(AllHipHop News) A new compilation of 50 Cent’s classic records is heading to stores, on double vinyl/CDs.
50 and UME will release The Best of 50 Cent in March, which will showcase some of 50’s best solo and collaborative records over the past 15 years.
Songs are taken from his classic albums Get Rich or Die Tryin’, The Massacre, Curtis and Before I Self Destruct in addition to other releases on the upcoming collection, which includes two non-album tracks, “Get Up” and “I Get It In.”
Rappers and singers like Mobb Deep, Akon, The Madd Rapper, Nate Dogg and Ne-Yo make the cut on the 18-track effort.
The Best of 50 Cent will be in stores on March 31. Take a look at the track listing and artwork below:
In Da Club
21 Questions (Feat. Nate Dogg)
P.I.M.P.
Disco Inferno
Candy Shop (Feat. Olivia)
Just a Lil Bit
Outta Control (Remix) (Feat. Mobb Deep)
Hustler’s Ambition
Best Friend (Remix) (Feat. Olivia)
Window Shopper
Ayo Technology (Feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland)
Ill Camille is an heirloom of Hip-Hop. First of all, those that know the California emcee realize her unique worth inherently. She’s oozes “special.” Secondly, her talents as a lyricist and writer are in the rich tradition of African griots of old that have recorded our stories through the generations. So, it is more than fitting that Camille’s new album is called Heirloom.
Heirloom is a heavy, lengthy gaze into the growth of a warrior woman, with a depth that’s rarely represented in rap these days. “I am a makeup of everybody that raised me. Everybody I been around. Everybody I been in a relationship with. Friendship. So the conversations…experiences. The time. All heirlooms,” ill Camille tells AllHipHop. “I put it in the music and created an heirloom of my own and realized we are an heirloom of our ancestors.” It is also the culminate of her many collaborations with the luminous likes of Kurupt, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Valentino, Damani Nkosi, Ty Dolla$ign, BJ the Chicago Kid and others like Robert Glasper.
When the album hits on March 06, 2017, it undoubtedly continues a renaissance rap music experienced just a couple years ago. We are talking evolution and honesty and patience with the likes of Camp Lo, Deion, Mmykk Shevy, TDE’s SiR, Damani and others contributing. It has been years since ill Camille blessed listeners with an audio saga. This is the culmination of the past, present and, believe it or not…the future.
AllHipHop: What can fans (old and new) get from this album?
iLL Camille: A sense of maturity. I haven’t put out an album since 2012, rightfully so. Needed to grow and go through things. I needed to play the back a little bit and get back to myself. I changed the title from illustrated b-sides, something DJ Battlecat prompted. He told me the name of my album doesn’t match the soundscape…undermines it. And I felt that was true, but was too afraid to make the change. For a whole two years I kept talking about “illustrated b-sides” and now I’ma change it? (laughs) I didn’t wanna look indecisive. But the title change was necessary. More fitting.
AllHipHop: Rap has changed a lot and maturity seems to be an afterthought. What do you think of “the game” these days.
iLL Camille: Rap seems to be the only genre that isn’t friendly to evolution…to the grown folks. And I don’t know why…I don’t have the answer for that but I can only do my part, as I grow, to reflect my growth in my music and show love to others that do. Well it was really a photoshoot. I wanted to recreate the “Great Day in Harlem” shoot right here in the neighborhood I grew up in for most of my life. My father’s side …View Park. All of my family and friends…people that contributed directly or indirectly to this album and, my life in general, were there. My photographer homeboy captured this and I wasn’t fully aware that he did that. Pleasant surprise. Peace to Slaucienega.
AllHipHop: How was it working with Georgia Anne Muldrow on Home? And Damani was there when we first met in LA.
iLL Camille: Working with Georgia Anne is a blessing because she’s always her and she’s always rooting for me to be me. That’s where we connect. Damani too. They are different types of people, and the music just comes out naturally when working with them both. “Home” brought us three together.
AllHipHop: I know this is cliche – be we are all longing for other “feminine” voices in Hip-Hop. Does this matter to you any more?
iLL Camille: If there were only representation in music coming from women, I’d be wondering where the brothas are. That balance is necessary. Aint no yall without us and vice versa. Our stories matters. They are unique and our own. I got my own thing and I just wanna be able to say it in a way that makes sense to me, in my lifetime. It matters to communicate it through music. Yes.
AllHipHop: The album cover is pretty iconic,classic. Talk about that a bit.
iLL Camille: Thank you so much. My brotha in Brazil did it. We built a solid friendship over a 4 yr period. Guisoares aka “I Chase Ballons” found me after Snoop Dogg posted my video for “Live It Up” on his Underground Heat segment. He’s a visionary from Rio. We stayed in communication. We talked about our lives. Families. His new baby girl “Lizzy.” Our cultures. Politics. Real friendship. He is the reason I love Brazil and ain’t never been. So much meaning and ancestral connection in the cover. He can explain it better than me…but he created an heirloom of my own.
AllHipHop: Is Heirloom your “Miseducation”?
iLL Camille: “Miseducation” is still “Miseducation” to me and for me. It still has that effect on me. But no, this is my Heirloom. The first time I accepted my responsibility as a woman, and as an artist and did an album based on acknowledgement of that. I’m just starting.
AllHipHop: Boom. You mentioned in an interview that kids can listen to this. As a father, this is important. Why is that important to you?
iLL Camille: Believe it or not, it’s some kids that are more self-aware than adults. We spend our whole lives getting back to ourselves. It wasn’t until I got around some of the smartest, honest, intuitive kids, that I realized, I need to tap into my inner child again. That’s when I loved the music and me more. I thought more practically. Talked to God more. I put kids throughout this record. They taught me a lot, and I think I can teach them a lot. Let your daughter listen to it
Black Gold Warrior/Sankofa feat. Camp Lo, Deion, Mmykk Shevy Trust Me feat. Sha’leah Nikole & SiR Home feat Damani Nkosi Almost There feat SiR Live it Up feat Iman Omari Fight On feat Preston Harris & Damani Nkosi Spider’s Jam feat Georgia Anne & JaVonte’ Slip Away feat Amaru Again feat The Fernando Pullum Creative Arts Center, Ryck Jane, and Marcus Garvey Elementary
Lighters Still a Lady feat Tiffanie Cross, Shava’sha Dickerson, and Wyann Vaughn
Duality Sao Paulo feat Punch & Rose Gold Few Days ft. JaVonte’ & Marknoxx Renewed
(AllHipHop News) Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather will celebrate his 40th birthday in grand fashion this weekend.
The 12-time world champion is hosting several special events in Southern California, to celebrate turning 40 years old.
The weekend will begin on Thursday (February 23) when Floyd hosts a private dinner with Louie the 13th and Hollywood Unlocked.
On Friday, Floyd will sit ringside at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, where Mayweather Promotions is hosting an evening of ShoBox.
The highlight of the weekend comes on Saturday when an Oscar-inspired birthday bash takes place in downtown Los Angeles.
A who’s who has already been confirmed for the black tie affair, including Future, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Fat Joe, Tyrese, Allen Iverson, Marlon Wayans, Nicole Murphy and others.
“Being surrounded by my family and friends for my birthday weekend reminds me to never take anything for granted in life,” Floyd Mayweather told AllHipHop.com in a statement.
“I am grateful for everything I’ve accomplished and received in my lifetime. I have a beautiful family, four great children and many friends that have been there since day one,” Floyd continued. “Life is short and I try to make every minute count. This is exactly how I want to celebrate my 40th birthday. I use each year as an opportunity to grow and with this big milestone, I’m even more grateful for everyone who showed me the way and made me the man I am today.”
Floyd’s big weekend will wind down on Sunday, with a rollerskating party to honor the boxing legend.
(AllHipHop News) Hip-Hop legend Jay Z has accomplished another feat by becoming the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Today (February 22), Jay was announced among the 2017 class of songwriters heading into the Hall of Fame,
The Roc-a-Fella//Roc Nation founder is in good company, with Motown legend Barry Gordy, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and members of the rock group, Chicago.
It took a little a little longer for organizers to recognize Jay-Z, according to Chic’s guitarist Nile Rodgers, who made the announcements this morning on CBS.
“It’s massive. He has changed the way that we listen to music. He’s changed the way that we have fun,” Nile Rodgers said of Jay Z, who has racked up 21 Grammys over the course of his career.
(AllHipHop Rumors) Given Chris Brown’s history, I don’t know man. It doesn’t sound like this singer is making this stuff up.
We all love Chris Breezy as an artist, and he’s undeniably one of greatest performers! I mean who doesn’t love to watch Chris Brown dance?!?!
Despite all of that talent, the singer has been plagued with bad press and legal issues for almost a decade now.
Despite being able to have one hell of a “comeback” after beating Rihanna, and throwing that chair through Good Morning America’s window, the singer will probably never be able to live down the former, especially since he’s had other legal trouble and altercations in the following years, and he gets into it with someone every other week on social media. Chris Breezy with the dance moves definitely needs help!
Anyway Brown’s ex-girlfriend, Karrueche, has filed a restraining order against him claiming that he threatened to kill her.
Remember Brown not too long ago recorded a video that made it to social media saying that he was the stalking type, and if he couldn’t have his girl no one else could.
In the report filed by Karrueche, she claims that Brown beat her twice in the past, punched her in the stomach, and threw her down steps.
We live in a sad world where many people, with the majority being women and his crazy fan base, decided to come to his defense saying that Karrueche is lying.
One person who is coming with some “receipts” of her own against Brown is Grammy-nominated singer Kay Cola, who happens to be Breezy’s neighbor. Kay Cola claims she once heard Chris beating Karrueche, and she wants the world to know the truth so that they can stop blaming Karrueche. Cola says she remembers Karrueche yelling at the top of her lungs, and she said some of the violence even made her cry. When asked why she was coming out now, Cola says because it wasn’t her place to tell Karrueche’s truth at the time, but now she can’t stand by and let people say she’s lying.
“Some of y’all make me sick to my stomach talking about Karrueche [Tran]’s lying. I’ve heard him beating her myself. I even called the police: I used to cry over that situation hearing her screaming at the top of her lungs because i am also a victim of domestic violence. Some of y’all are so delusional defending this man! It’s sick! He will never get help or change because of yes man and weirdos like y’all. I never spoke up, cause I didn’t feel it was my place but hearing y’all say she’s lying I can’t just sit by and watch this. I even got into it with Chris [Brown] because his loud a-ss used 2 wake up my daughter. He was rude as f-ck & I had known him since he was a kid. The point is, stop defending these a–holes and always blaming the woman. It’s sad & sick, & is why women don’t speak out. Women literally get murdered by men who act like this and y’all think it’s cute or she just wants attention gtfoh,” said Cola.
Most abusers are repeat offenders. There are three sides to every story, and Breezy does have history. What are your thoughts?
(AllHipHop News) Rap group Rae Sremmurd and Interscope Records have partnered with EA Sports to launch the new version of the first-person shooter game Battlefield 1.
Rae Sremmurd and Mike Will Made-It’s EarDrummer Records hooked up a remix to their smash single “Black Beatles,” which appears in the new forthcoming release of Battlefield 1.
The game, which was EA’s best-selling shooter title in 2016, highlights a new version of the group’s song, which was produced by Madsonik.
Mike Will Made-It, who created the original version of “Black Beatles,” serves as the executive producer of the “Black Beatles” official remix debuting with Battlefield 1.
“With new lyrics set to the dawn of all-out warfare, the fresh new version gives a nod to heroic military soldiers,” a rep told AllHipHop.com about the contents of the full version of the song.
The new official “Black Beatles” remix will hit stores this Friday (February 24).
Check out a snippet of the song, which debuted with the new Battlefield 1 trailer today (February 22).
Police said Tavon Jackson’s corpse was found near The Players Club Apartments, where US Marshals retrieved his body from the woods.
Police believe that Jackson, who shared a 2-year-old daughter with Ms. Glover, committed suicide.
Javon Glover’s mother, Jennifer Battles told WCTV that she finally had closure now that Jackson is dead.
“I am happy and relieved. It gives me closure. I thank the Tallahassee Police Department and the US Marshals,” Jennifer Battles stated. “They promised me from the beginning that they would not give up until he was found one way or the other, and that’s exactly what happened. Now our family can begin to move forward and heal.”
As group of rappers music begins to reflect their loyalty to religion on the new song “La illaha illa Allah.”
Ar-Ab, Shine-On, Dark-lo, Oschino Vasquez, as well as JidAllUNeed unite to show Muslim rappers are not scared to show there faith check out the new single.
Mexican rappers from California are usually put into two groups: cholo rappers that rap over lowrider funk or oldies samples and dark underground types. You rarely come across ones that aim for a mainstream or more commercial sound. Annimeanz from Los Angeles, CA is looking to change that as he’s decided to break that stereotype by going with a sound that is more in line with the artists that you hear on urban radio. His 2016 song “Like The Westside” featuring Jake & Papa received airplay on L.A.’s Real 92.3, Las Vegas’ 104.3, and stations in Palm Springs and Riverside as well as coverage XXL Magazine’s Fall 2016 publication. We caught up with the upcoming artist to talk about leading Mexican rappers in a different direction.
Early beginnings
I come from a city called Cudahy, Ca. It’s a city in Los Angeles near Watts, South Gate, Lynwood, Bell Gardens – that whole little section. I started selling drugs at an early age because my pops wasn’t around a lot for us – he was in and out of jail. My mom didn’t have a lot of money so we lived in motels around my neighborhood. Eventually I joined the local gang and started going in and out of jail over the dirt I was doing. I had a cousin that was going to school for business management and we had a close bond through rap music – always sharing new stuff with each other. When I was in jail, I’d write raps for him and he would write them back to me and he’d always suggest that we start a group. The group thing never happened but he continued on with his school and I continued to go to jail. I had served a prison sentence and when I got out, he suggested I take the rap thing seriously because he had built up some music contacts which included a producer named Meech Wells, who’s made hit records with Snoop Dogg.
No regional rivalry division
I started writing raps seriously when I got out of prison but I didn’t even know what a 16 bar was or even know how to construct a song – I was just writing verses. I was real heavy into east coast hip-hop, so I’d just copy their style of hooks and verses. Nas, Mobb Deep, AZ, Big Pun – those were the artists that I was really into. Dogg Pound and other West Coast acts were ill to me as well but I never let the regional rivalries stop me from listening and getting into the music from artists out east. Growing up in the motels in my neighborhood the dealers would play whatever was hot at the time and that included east coast hip-hop and I became a big fan.
Getting into the game
My cousin and I started paying Meech Wells to record at a studio that he had set up in his apartment. The recording booth was in one of the bedroom closets. I met the artist Bad Azz there and paid him to hop on a song with me. I started to get noticed but at the same time I still didn’t know about things like ad-libs and nobody was really trying to teach me. That didn’t change until I met Rakaa from Dilated Peoples and he took me under his wing to teach me the ins and outs of recording. Plus, he never charged me – not even for the features. I reached out to DJ Ill Will, who was still doing mixtapes before he went on to bigger things. We met at the Dub Show and he agreed to host my first mixtape after hearing some of my bars. He was also the first one to tell me to start making my own original songs instead of rapping over other artists known tracks. He told me that people want to make memories to your music and they will never do that as long as you’re rapping over someone else’s beats.
Through Ill Will I met Hot Dolla and Guerilla Black and this was when Hot Dolla was doing big things out in Los Angeles. Even though I was breaking into the rap game still, I was more of a goon for Hot Dolla. It was myself and a few other cats that were around Dolla to handle any business if anybody tried to f*ck with him. It was all good too because I was just happy to be in the situation of being down with a rap crew – we were Dolla Figga . I was able to meet a lot of industry cats like David Banner and even Glasses Malone who I ended up working with down the road.
Linking up with Glasses Malone
Internal problems within the Dolla Figga crew began to develop and soon enough we were all beefing with each other, so that all fell apart. I ran into Glasses Malone and he was always cool with me whenever we saw each other. He had just left his situation at Cash Money and he invited me to come work with him at the Blu Division studio. I started hanging out there and helping out in an intern type of way – it was all good though because things were moving slow for me and I needed to get a good learning experience as far as how the industry works and I got that by being around Glasses. Most of the people from the original Blu Division crew were gone by this point as Glasses was rebuilding his career after the Cash Money split. The company and crew was rechristened as DMC which stands for Division Media Company. Glasses was able to rebuild himself by combining ratchet and gangsta rap. At that point I was still making boom-bap records but in watching him make his Glasshouse album, I listened to his records and learned the structure. I’ve heard people say often that if you’re a lyrical complicated rapper, then you can make any kind of record and that’s not really true. I’ve spent so many years trying to complicate my bars and then when it was time to bring them to a lower level of wordplay, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Making commercial sounding records is a job and it took me a few months to get the formula down and that’s how I made the transition into the style I have now. Unfortunately due to creative differences, I left Glasses Malone’s camp and linked up with a fellow minded artist named Young Hu$tle who shares the same vision as I do.
Trailblazing new grounds for West Coast Hispanic rappers
What I’m doing right now is totally different. A lot of the Hispanic West Coast rappers that are still putting out music are still stuck in the old ways which is that old cholo rap Latino sound. What me and my partners are doing is totally left field from what’s acceptable from a Latin West Coast artist. Chicano rappers are put in a stereotype and kept in to a certain sound. It’s so embedded into the minds of people that a Mexican rapper has to be a cholo and rap over an oldies sample.The Los Angeles radio market is mostly a Hispanic crowd that’s listening to radio artists like YG and Ty Dolla $ign so it makes sense to move away from the old style into what’s out right now. Some people feel that I should stick to old stereotypical sound and I disagree. I believe I can create mainstream styled songs like others are allowed to. I make music for everybody to enjoy but if I have to be classified, then I’ll be a YG type alternative for Mexicans. I just want to break the stereotype that a Hispanic West Coast rapper has to sound like a typical cholo and can’t sound mainstream. It’s being embraced but at the same time I’m still battling with the media, the industry, and even certain audiences on what they feel someone like me should sound like.
(AllHipHop Rumors) The questions on everyone’s minds are have Future and Rocko really settled this $10 million lawsuit, and if so, was Rocko truly victorious.
Rumors hit the net that Rocko won the lawsuit against Future, and that Future was allegedly ordered to pay Future 50% of his tour revenue as well as giving Rocko the royalties of Future’s next two albums.
At first Rocko tried to downplay as well as deny the rumors. He even raised eyebrows when he posted and promoted Future’s new album.
Now it looks like the two are taking jabs at each other over the whole lawsuit. Why do I feel like Rocko is really laughing all the way to the bank?
Future recently went live on social media, and of course fans didn’t hold back about asking him about his situation with Rocko. According to Future, the reason he’s been dropping new music/albums has nothing to do with Rocko’s lawsuit…so he says.
Rocko was taking the high road at first, but he did have a little time to jump in The Shade Room’s comments saying,
“Big Mad or Little Mad.”
Future also posted a post on Instagram that many felt was directed towards Rocko. It was one big run-on sentence. LOL. Future said,
“who told u,you couldn’t b exactly who u wanted to be? They lied,they wasn’t bold they didn’t have the ambition they didn’t have the courage they was mislead they didn’t believe in they self when no one else would they cared about what other people thought of them they gave up not knowing god wouldn’t give u more than u could handle they didn’t sew seeds they didn’t have the passion they didn’t have the drive they didn’t tell u all of there flaws because they was scared of not being accepted by there peers they said I can’t I tried I need help but not me #HNDRXX.”
To some it seemed that Future was saying that Rocko didn’t even believe in himself, and Future did [believe in himself], and that’s why he succeeded.
Rocko has said that all-in-all, he just wants Future to succeed like he always has, however he wants Future to run him his coins that they agreed on originally. Do you think Future is in the wrong, or is Rocko? What are your thoughts?
(AllHipHop Features) “I think that we’ve got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?” stated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a 1966 interview with Mike Wallace.
Five decades later, several social uprisings have taken place across this country. From Ferguson to Baltimore to UC Berkeley, some unheard, frustrated citizens have once again begun expressing their anger towards the status quo through aggressive means.
However, is the majority of this current generation of young people really too enamored with capturing the perfect selfie or vibing off Xanax to continue to take appropriate action against injustice and discrimination? That question is part of the introspection that plays out on Abbas “Bas” Hamad’s latest music collection Too High To Riot.
I recently spoke with Bas about the inspiration for the Dreamville Records release. We also chatted about another politically tinged topic – Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban for seven majority-Muslim countries.
In addition, the Paris-born/NYC-raised emcee discussed his progress on completing author Malcolm Gladwell’s debated “10,000 Hours” theory which suggests ten thousand hours of deliberate practice are needed in order for anyone to master a particular field.
Even with last year’s Too High To Riot and 2014’s Last Winter in his discography as well as serving as a headlining act on a nationwide tour under his belt, Bas admits to still working tirelessly to cross that 10K-hr milestone.
Listeners should not be surprised the 29-year-old artisan is putting in even more time for crafting high-quality music. Another body of work is on the way.
Too High To Riot – that title seems even more relevant now than when the album dropped.
Yeah, I agree.
Did you foresee the theme of the album’s title being so topical?
I want the albums’ titles to be iconic for my whole career. As time progresses, you want more people to see the thought and inspiration behind it, and also interpret it as their own. But from the jump, it had a lot to do with personal issues as well as issues I perceived in society.
That’s where “Too High To Riot” stems from. It’s just me living this life, being on the road, and pursuing my dreams. And all the things that that entails – the good and the bad.
And also you’re snapping back to the real world and realizing we’re kind of living in this fairy tale as performing artists or in general. A lot of people in our generation – with the way the media and social media are – everyone’s living in a narrative. Either a narrative they created or a narrative they’ve seen and want to emulate.
While you’re busy living in this simulation you create for yourself, there’s all these much more pressing things going on. But we’re just too faded, too high, too caught up in our lifestyles and all the bullsh-t we’re into to really pay attention in order to make a statement or a stand.
I wanted to say that because those are the thoughts that go through my head. I feel like I’m part of the problem. I could be doing more and less self-serving things with my time. We’re all in this.
Didn’t you go to Ferguson?
I did. We all went out there with Cole and Dreamville. A bunch of us went out there for a couple of days.
That’s more than some people have done.
I know. But I still don’t think that’s any excuse. I think a lot of people don’t have the resources and they feel helpless in a sense. I’m not too far removed from feeling the same, so I can’t really blame anyone.
I just felt like I made the assessment about myself first. I didn’t want to point the finger because I know I’m part of it. We all could be doing more. We could all be a little more aware of the things going on around us and the impact we can have on them. Unfortunately, it’s not where we’re trending.
I know you don’t like to necessarily consider yourself a political rapper, but you do touch on political topics in your music. So I wanted to ask you for your opinion on Donald Trump, particularly the travel ban. Your family is from Sudan. What was your reaction?
It was really disheartening. I have siblings overseas, so my first concern is them being able to get back and reuniting with the rest of my family. I feel like the whole world is moving inwards in a sense. Every country is going in this isolation mode. It’s a worldwide trend. It’s even more alarming than just Donald Trump.
It’s these far-right leaders popping up everywhere that are strictly about anti-immigration and moving society backward. That’s what Trump is essentially doing. That was the more shocking part to me.
I felt like these are things that took generations to achieve and they can’t possibly be wiped out in the span of two weeks of this guy being president. That’s not how democracy works. But apparently, we’re all in for a big surprise.
With all that’s going on in the world, do you feel like music has the power to push back against that issue? Some people make the argument that culture is the greatest weapon against ideas like fascism.
Yeah, I do, because, at the end of the day, the music speaks to the youth. None of us are going to convince Donald Trump and his circle of 70-year-old white men that they have some wrong policies regarding the world. But you can convince the next generation.
I’ve been looking at exit polls from the last election. They show how Millennials were voting. It wasn’t even close, so I think there’s hope in that. Because that’s who we’re speaking to at the end of the day. We gotta keep trying to shape the thoughts and minds of the next kids coming up.
When they come to our concerts and see black kids, Hispanic kids, white kids, Asian kids, those are the moments. Somebody like Trump got so popular because he spoke to people that didn’t have to see or deal with Muslims or other races. He could feed off the ignorance.
But if they had more experience going to concerts and festivals with people of all walks of life, you can shape how they feel about other people. When people have real life experiences with other people, they’ve already shattered those stereotypes and that PR isn’t as effective.
I read an interview where you said you purposely challenged yourself on Too High To Riot to be more honest. Have you figured out how you’re going to challenge yourself on the next project? Is there something that you’re really interested in getting across in your next body of work?
I think it’s expanding on that. Too High To Riot was honest, but it wasn’t in all facets. There are certain aspects I didn’t touch on because I wasn’t experiencing them. This past year alone has brought on a whole host of experiences. Not just for my career, but from a personal standpoint that I want to share with my fans.
Every time you come to listen to one of my albums, you should have an update on my growth as a man, things I’m experiencing, and how I’m responding to them. That doesn’t really end. The more you experience things, the more you have to speak on. So honesty is still the calling card.
Sonically, there are some real interesting progressions. But there are topics that I didn’t speak on on Too High To Riot that I touch on more on this one.
You started rapping about six years ago?
Yeah.
Do you feel like you’ve mastered this art form?
No, not at all. That’s the exciting part of it. Those are the “eureka” moments in the studio. That’s what the progression is when you go in and you find a new wrinkle, whether it’s in your flow, in your tone, in your melodies, in your writing, or in your cadence.
The more you learn, the more the parameters expand. That’s the most exciting part of the creative process – knowing that I haven’t put my 10,000 hours in. It’s still an evolution and a process. From that standpoint, I’m just as excited as my fans in a sense. I want to know what I can do next. First and foremost, I want to know how I can grow and then deliver that.
One thing I’ve picked up from listening to the music, watching the documentaries, and from having conversations with you guys, it feels like the Dreamville team seems to be structured like a family.
Yeah, 100 percent. It’s a family operation. It’s not about “what you can do for me.” It’s about what we can all achieve together. It’s been that way from jump.
Yeah man, Cole’s not in it to make a load of cash off us. He’s good. He’s going to be okay regardless. He’s doing it to share music and artists that he likes and messages that he respects. That’s what he built here. I think from top-down, we all take that philosophy and run with it.
(AllHipHop News) News broke overnight that a fight apparently broke out in Las Vegas involving the camps of Sean Kingston and Migos.
According to TMZ, Kingston was supposedly attacked by Migos at the Sands Expo and Convention Center over an argument involving Soulja Boy.
Police sources say someone connected to Kingston fired a single shot.
Both Kingston and Migos were no longer at the scene when the authorities arrived.
The Daily News is reporting the alleged shooter and one other person were taken into custody.
Investigators are reportedly looking to speak to the members of Migos.
However, there are currently no arrest warrants issued for the “Bad and Boujee” rappers.
Kingston was “semi-co-operative” with police after being pulled over for a traffic violation later in the evening, but he did not mention any names involved in the situation.
Kingston is said to be close to Soulja, and the two performers have recorded several songs together.
The “Beautiful Girls” singer addressed the previous Soulja Boy-Quavo dispute on Instagram before deleting the post.
“I was right there. [Soulja] said pull up, I want to fight one-on-one,” stated Kingston. “This s##t ain’t have to go to no social media…It was no point where [Quavo] ain’t show up, it’s like okay, he want to go in.”
