Peep the latest visual from D12’s Bizarre, “Outer Space.” It’s from his forthcoming mixtape, Tweek Sity 2. Be sure to check it out when it drops!
Peep the latest visual from D12’s Bizarre, “Outer Space.” It’s from his forthcoming mixtape, Tweek Sity 2. Be sure to check it out when it drops!
(AllHipHop News) Lil Wayne is once again set to share one of his live performances on Tidal. In July 2015, the Young Money leader used the entertainment platform to stream his “Lil Weezyana Fest,” and last month he teamed with 2 Chainz for the “TIDAL X: COLLEGROVE” show. Now Wayne is using Tidal to broadcast the “Social Wave For Change” concert from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
UL-Lafayette was granted the free concert as a reward for participating in social activism. Wayne selected the university to host the event because students worked together to donate 7,000 bottles for individuals affected by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
“I feel blessed to be part of this project initiative with an outstanding amount of responses – nearly 50 schools across the country entered a contest for a chance to see me perform at their school for free,” stated Wayne in HuffPost. “It was so cool to see what college kids are up to — they did everything from setting up toy drives for Watts, distributing food to the less fortunate, organizing a bottled water drive for Flint, Michigan, raising awareness for various diseases, volunteering with schools & food banks and much more. It was truly inspiring!”
Watch Lil Wayne & Tidal’s “Social Wave For Change” concert starting at 9 pm ET below.
(AllHipHop News) Again more victims are coming forward alleging that Afrika Bambaataa sexually assaulted them when they were in their teens.
In a poignant interview by the NY Daily News with one of the victims, Hassan Campbell, he assails that he frequently spent time at Bambaataa’s apartment receiving food, shelter and money even when he was behind bars.
“He had the most fun house in the world,” the 39 year-old Campbell The New York Daily News. “There were celebrities there, musicians, neighborhood heroes. It was the best place to be – and the worst place to be.”
“He is a pervert,” Campbell said. “He likes little boys.”
One of the new victims asked to remain anonymous amidst growing accusations against one of Hip-Hop’s most iconic pioneers.
“I know what Ronald Savage is saying is true because he did it to me,” a 50-year-old New York victim said. “I have never spoken to anybody about this and when I did, I said ‘Holy s—, they finally caught up to him.'”
The NY Daily News report comes following weeks of speculation that Ronald Savage was assaulted by Bambaataa after he gave an emotional testimony to former Hot 97 and Power 105 DJ, Star.
Savage claimed Bambaataa forced him to commit sexually lewd acts five times in 1980 causing deep emotion pain.
Just last week (April 14) Bambaataa struck back against the victim’s claims of sexual assault speaking for himself.
“I, Afrika Bambaataa, want to take this opportunity at the advice of my legal counsel to personally deny any and all allegations of any type of sexual molestation of anyone,” Bambaataa said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “These allegations are baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time. This negligent attack on my character will not stop me from continuing my battle and standing up against the violence in our communities, the violence in the nation and the violence worldwide.”
Much of the concern surrounding this case is in regards to the current 5 year statute of limitations for the sexual assault of a minor.
Bambaataa and Zulu Nation have alleged that this whole set of circumstances is part of a government conspiracy to take down The Universal Zulu Nation.
More news as details emerge.
Photo via Rich Homie Quan’s Instagram
Apparently Rich Homie Quan isn’t rocking with Desiigner. RHQ kind of dissed Desiigner recently when he explained an interaction between them at Just Brittany’s (@QueenJustBrittany) listening party. Rich Homie is saying that he can’t support Desiigner because he feels that he is part of the current problem in Hip Hop where everyone is trying to rip off the hottest artist or their sound. Was Rich Homie’s style/sound that original? What are your thoughts? All I know is I’m tired of seeing Desiigner jumping all around the stage all the time. He was doing so much recently that he threw up on stage and continued performing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEWQthzqwwQ/
It looks like Tory Lanez wasn’t feeling the XXL Freshman list or cover, in fact he didn’t want to be involved. There have been people over the years that have passed on the XXL cover. Many feel the list is often inaccurate, overrated, or the offer comes too late. Rumor has it that Bryson Tiller passed on it as well. Tory has been grinding a while, and he had a hot single, but do you think he was arrogant for shooting down the offer? Maybe he should’ve gone with it and got the publicity. What are your thoughts?
Photo via Nicki Minaj’s Instagram
It looks like Meek Mill may have banned his girl Nicki Minaj from doing sex scenes in ‘Barbershop The Next Cut’ and anywhere else for that matter. Nicki has been promoting the film in an “ask Nicki” Q&A fashion on Twitter. A fan asked Nicki if there would be any sex scenes, and Nicki replied saying,
“I’m not allowed to do those.”
Should there be boundaries, or should Meek accept it because it’s acting/ role playing? Well, she did all kinds of “acting” with other guys when she was with Safaree. Nicki is an entertainer; a hyper-sexualized one at that. Something like a sex scene seems like it would come with the territory. What are your thoughts?
Photo via T.I.’s Instagram
Now this is an interesting story. Apparently, a 12-year-old nicknamed Tip, a clear T.I. fan, was shot and killed in a drive-by. The child’s family made posts on social media about him being a T.I. fan, and the family wanted T.I. to attend the funeral. Allegedly when word got back to T.I he allegedly said his fee is $40,000. With the loss of their child, it seems like they would be mourning the loss more than worrying about a celebrity appearance. Hmmmm. Maybe they wanted T.I. to come speak about/against gun violence. People have gone in on the situation all the way around. Some are wondering why the family would ask T.I. to make an appearance or why T.I. would [allegedly] ask to be paid $40k to do so. Interesting enough some T.I. fans say that everyone else involved in the funeral such as the directors, drivers, florists etc get paid, so why shouldn’t Tip. Hmmm maybe the family should’ve tried to get a local public figure who is actively fighting against gun violence to speak. What are your thoughts?
(AllHipHop News) Today it was revealed that Philly rapper Quilly was shot in a string of shootings across Philly over the weekend.
According to NBC 10 news in Philly, five shootings left seven people wounded and three dead in a matter of four hours.
First, a 25-year-old man was hit in the wrist at Lancaster Ave near 41st Street, in West Philadelphia.
Less than two hours later, three men at 9th and Ontario streets in North Philadelphia were all wounded when a gunman opened fire.
Information obtained from people close to Quilly’s crew say that one of these three men shot was allegedly Quilly who was taken to Einstein Medical Center.
All three men were reportedly listed in stable condition, but according to those close to the situation Quilly is allegedly in critical condition.
Then police responded to what became a standoff in which the shotgun toting man shot four people, killing three.
An hour later a 27-year-old man was shot in the arm near Front Street and Lehigh Avenue, in North Philadelphia at 4:50 am.
Finally at 5:45 a.m. a 19-year-old was shot in his buttocks when someone opened fire on him at Erie Avenue and B Street.
The group of shootings come after a 4-year-old girl was shot to death inside a home in Kensington Saturday afternoon.
No arrests were made in the shooting of Quilly, while police are unsure what could have motivated it.
Quilly got his start as a battle rapper going by the name Quilly Millz and in 2013 signed with On Dek Entertainment.
Despite being on house arrest in 2014 Quilly remained active with several projects including his studio project, Quilly.
To date Quilly’s most popular song on Spotify is “Real One”
A photo posted by Terry Starks (@expressurself) on
This dude is something else! Desiigner shows no signs of slowing down! That would be quite literally! At a recent concert, Desiigner was dabbing and threw up about 1:10 into the video! And then he didn’t stop performing.
I didn’t look at it myself. I don’t wanna see it, but you might. 🙂
(AllHipHop News) After news that Kanye West’s T.L.O.P. project was streamed over 99 million times in the first week and that 11 tracks from TLOP debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reports are surfacing of a lawsuit against Kanye West and Tidal.
The class action lawuit filed in San Francisco’s U.S. Distric Court says that Kanye “fraudulantly promised fans that his album, ‘The Life Of Pablo,’ would be only available on Tidal.”
Despite those claims from Kanye via his Twitter page and Tidal’s 9.99 minimum charge, the album was since released on Apple Music and Spotify.
According to NBC’s KCRA, Justin Baker-Rhett contends that the promise of exclusivity gave the struggling Tidal a boost in sales and consumer information. Baker-Rhett is asking that a judge delete all information collected for uses that signed up specifically for Kanye’s album.
“Mr West’s promise on exclusivity also had a grave impact on consumer privacy,” Baker-Rhett’s lawsuit explains.
The lawsuit also assails that in addition to the personal information and credit card info, Tidal reportedly made an upwards of $84 million off the project.
At one point the lawsuit brings up Kanye’s famed Twitter posting again are the focus as his proclamation stating, “My album will never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale… You can only get it on Tidal.”
“We fully support the right of artists to express themselves freely and creatively, however creative freedom is not a license to mislead the public,” Baker-Rhett’s attorney Jay Edelson said in a statement to KCRA. “We believe that we will be able to prove to a jury that Mr. West and Tidal tricked millions of people into subscribing to their services and that they will ultimately be held accountable for what they did.”
(AllHipHop Features) Any up-and-coming producer would value the chance to have their work be the first thing listeners hear on a major label performer’s debut album. HighDefRazjah was able to experience that rare opportunity when RCA recording artist A$AP Ferg opened his Trap Lord LP with the Razjah produced “Let It Go.”
Having a breakout placement on one of the most critically acclaimed Hip Hop albums of 2013 exposed Razjah’s sound to rap fans worldwide, and since that time he has managed to parlay that accomplishment into more work with other stars of the genre. HDR is now ready to push the culture forward through his kaleidoscopic musical concepts.
“When I listen to the radio, I just hear repetition even if it’s a beat or flow. It gives me the motivation to set a bar for music or create a new genre for music that people can party and vibe to,” Razjah tells AllHipHop.com. “When you hear one of my productions, I want it to take you somewhere else. I want you to ride to it.”
While crafting tracks for the likes of Ferg, the Virginian also wanted to use his personal project to take his followers on a spaced out ride through his psyche. In March, Razjah released Psychedelic. The project was conceived after one of its creator’s magic mushroom trips, and the result was a collection of tunes that rightfully embodies the EP’s title.
“I was doing shrooms like twice every two months. It’s good for the creative process. That’s what put me in the mindset to do this project,” explains Razjah. “I did all these songs in two days. I mixed and engineered them myself. On the night before I dropped it, I actually recut three songs. I sat up for like seven hours until 8 o’clock in the morning until it was complete. Then I sent it out.”
Psychedelic also features production from Lex Luger, the fellow VA beat maker who is responsible for Rick Ross’ “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” and Jay Z & Kanye West’s “H•A•M.” Razjah and Luger have known each other since elementary school. After the two Suffix natives became closer in high school, Lex went on to gain national exposure for the double platinum record “Hard In The Paint” by Waka Flocka Flame.
The pair grew apart as Lex’s profile continued to rise. However, Luger’s Caesar-esque return to the Hampton Roads metropolitan area from Atlanta reunited him with Razjah, and they have been building together ever since.
“I didn’t talk to him for like 4 or 5 years. Then in 2014 he returned to Virginia and he hit me up,” says Razjah. “He inspired me to get in the booth and be an artist. He was the first to believe in me about being an artist. I really respect him a lot for that.”
HDR adds, “Lex has had a big impact on my music career. As a friend, as a brother, as my daughter’s godfather, he’s just a big impact on my life.”
Lex Luger is just one of the big named production minds that Razjah has managed to log studio time with. He regularly travels down I-85 to work with Mike Will Made It’s Ear Drummers label in Atlanta. Razjah first connected with the collective through Rae Sremmurd’s deejay Jay Sremm. The relationship began when Razjah reached out to Sremm in order to share some of his tracks.
“He sent beats to my email while we were in New Zealand,” says Jay Sremm. “From there I knew he had a different wave, because they sounded like he was from New Zealand but he was somewhere in the U.S.”
One of those beats eventually found their way to Rae Sremmurd member Swae Lee. Razjah later met Swae and his brother Slim Jimmi during a concert at Old Dominion University. That initial introduction led to him recording with the “No Flex Zone” rhymers and their mentor Mike Will. The hit maker serves as sort of a tutor for HDR as well.
“Being around Mike and seeing how he works – he’s a genius. He showed me his work ethic. 2016 is going to be a great year for Mike and everybody at Ear Drummers,” Razjah states. “When I went to Atlanta, he was working on Ransom 2. He played us some records. He recut a Bun B record, and he gave me the blessing to add a breakdown in it. So I added some pieces here and there. The record was so dope.”
In all likelihood, the next 8 months are set to be great for Razjah too. He is currently in talks with a major label to sign as a producer and an artist, he is putting together an animation YouTube series, and he contributed to Rae Sremmurd’s SremmLife 2. Razjah is also finalizing his own A Drug Habit Story. The album is set to arrive with a short film and original score.
In addition, Razjah’s catalog is likely to include a joint project with another Lex Luger production disciple. He talks about teaming with Norfolk, Virginia’s Kino Beats to put together a 5-song EP with Lex as the executive producer.
“Razjah is nonstop in the studio,” says Kino. “He really works around the clock honing his sound and taking his music to a whole new level.”
While his brand of art is rooted in the 757 where he grew up and his sometimes second city of the ATL, Razjah is not only cemented in the prominent 808s sound from the southern part of America. His life journey is inspiring him to expand musically.
“Traveling let me know there’s more than Trap music. It’s different styles out here,” HDR states. “When you bring two styles together on one song, it’s a hit.”
As he continues to collaborate with super-producers Lex Luger and Mike Will Made It as well as Zaytoven and TM88, collecting hit records is likely to become a normal occurrence for HighDefRazjah. In the not too distant future, he could even be the one inspiring the next generation of board masters.
“Just being around them, I just soak up the energy and gain experience from it,” says Razjah about time spent with highly successful record producers. “It let’s me know that it’s possible. One day it might be a kid who’s been waiting to get in the room with me, so I just try to learn from it and pass down information.”
Purchase Lex Luger’s Lex Luger Experience: The Tour, Vol. 1 featuring HighDefRazjah on iTunes and Google Play.
Follow HighDefRazjah on Twitter @HighDefRazjah and Instagram @HighDefRazjah.
Stream HighDefRazjah’s Psychedelic below.
(AllHipHop News) Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was not the only guest to take part in the Run The Jewels performance at Coachella this year. Killer Mike and El-P also got their Mass Appeal Records boss Nas to grace the stage during the set. The Hip Hop legend ran through his classic cut “Made You Look.”
Run The Jewels released 2014’s Run The Jewels 2 and 2015’s Meow The Jewels on Mass Appeal. The duo is set to drop the third installment of their self-titled album series via Nas’ label later this year.
Coachella festival goers can also catch Killer Mike and El-P during the second weekend of the event. Run The Jewels is scheduled to perform on Saturday, April 23.
Watch footage of Run The Jewels and Nas at Coachella 2016 below.
(AllHipHop News) Hip Hop was heavily represented at the White House this weekend. President Barack Obama invited several performers to Washington, DC to discuss his My Brother’s Keeper initiative. The program is designed to provide young men of color with high-quality early education, safe learning environments, and other needs.
The high-profile meeting was unannounced. According to various reports, stars such as Common, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Wale, Ludacris, Chance The Rapper, Talib Kweli, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, and Alicia Keys were in attendance on Friday.
“Many of these artists have lent their voices and platforms to promoting these issues,” stated a White House official. “Through their own nonprofit work or artistic commitment, many of these artists have found ways to engage on the issues of criminal justice reform and empowering disadvantaged young people across the country.”
Several of the artists shared their experience at the White House on social media. Check out some of the Instagram posts below.
A photo posted by Nicki Minaj (@nickiminaj) on
So much hard work put in @djkhaled we can’t do nothing but smile. #MyBrothersKeeper #DaywemetObama
Meeting with the President today. #MyBrothersKeeper
A photo posted by Common (@common) on
A photo posted by @ludacris on
Yesterday was Epic #mybrotherskeeper ????????????????????????????
A photo posted by Timbo the King (@timbaland) on
(AllHipHop News) Chris Brown has faced a lot of scrutiny throughout his career. The R&B singer is now being slammed by a member of the band Best Coast. Vocalist Bethany Cosentino took to Twitter to call out CB for his Top 20 hit “Back To Sleep.”
Cosentino went on an extended tweet rant claiming the Royalty single was about rape. She took issue with the song’s chorus: “Just let me rock, f-ck you back to sleep girl. Don’t say a word no, don’t you talk. Just hold on tight to me girl. F-ck you back to sleep girl rock you back.”
Cosentino posted, “You already know how I feel about Chris Brown – but WHY/HOW are those lyrics ok? Cool, a song that perpetuates rape culture being a hit.”
She later added, “How about this for a review: singing about f-cking a girl back to sleep/telling her dont say a word is singing about rape + it’s disgusting.”
While the indie rock singer’s interpretation of the song suggested the lyrics are about rape, others took the track’s theme to be about Brown returning home in the middle of the night to his girlfriend after a long trip. He finds her asleep. She then wakes up to greet him before they engage in sex.
The idea of rape being promoted in music has become a very sensitive issue in recent years. Both Rick Ross and Rich Homie Quan faced backlash over lyrics that were perceived to be about sexual abuse of women.
Read Bethany Cosentino’s tweets and watch the video for Chris Brown’s “Back To Sleep” below.
Going on a rant…get ready…
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
“just let me rock, f### you back to sleep girl, don’t say a word no, girl don’t you talk” are lyrics to the chorus of a VERY popular song
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
You already know how I feel about Chris Brown – but WHY/HOW are those lyrics ok? Cool, a song that perpetuates rape culture being a hit.
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
???????????? x infinity at that trash/anyone who thinks its OK to sing about f###### a girl back to sleep + telling her to not say a word
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
This isn’t just about that idiot tho- the fact that’s a song in popular culture that some A&R person was like “this is great” saddens me
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
.@billboard‘s review of that song “excels as a quality addition to his catalog’s stellar collection of panty-dropping and baby-making songs”
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
How about this for a review: singing about f###### a girl back to sleep/telling her dont say a word is singing about rape + it’s disgusting
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
Last thing then I’m out- it’s an issue even if someone else was singing those lyrics. Rape culture is everywhere + it’s a BIG problem.
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
https://t.co/4xFVUxkN1z SHOW ME WHERE HE ONCE ASKS THE WOMAN IF ITS OK TO WAKE HER UP WITH SEX? NO, HES TELLING HER HE’S GOING TO DO IT.
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
4 those of you that don’t understand the definition of “consensual sex” – it’s not TELLING a woman yr gonna wake her up 2 f### her. BYE ✌?️
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
Ok I’m for real done with Twitter for today- but this is the last I’ll say on the subject. ✌?️? pic.twitter.com/Y8oiINVykR
— Best Coast (@BestCoast) April 17, 2016
(AllHipHop News) Another piece of Tupac Shakur memorabilia is up for sale. In March, Moments In Time offered some of 2Pac’s music and handwritten notes to the highest bidder, and now the website is selling a love letter written by the iconic rapper.
According to TMZ, the letter was composed in 1988 and was intended for a girl Pac nicknamed “Beethoven.” She earned the name because she enjoyed playing the piano. The young lady was in the same drama class as Shakur at the time.
The letter included Pac writing he “felt really good vibes” from Beethoven. The Marin City, California resident even asked his crush to let him know if he was moving too fast. The note revealed a young Tupac was a big fan of Prince, and he even left his phone number at the bottom of the page. The item is said to be going for $35,000.
(AllHipHop News) Pop singer Ariana Grande is loading her third studio album Dangerous Woman with rappers. The former Nickelodeon star recruited Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Future for the upcoming project.
Grande is not a stranger to working with Hip Hop artists. 2013’s Yours Truly featured Big Sean and Mac Miller. 2014’s My Everything featured Sean, Iggy Azalea, Childish Gambino, and A$AP Ferg.
While Grande’s previous LPs also included appearances by other Pop and EDM acts, Dangerous Woman‘s only other guest besides Wayne, Nicki, and Future is R&B songstress Macy Gray. The album is scheduled for release on May 20.
Check out the tracklist for Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman below.
1) Moonlight
2) Dangerous Woman
3) Be Alright”
4) Into You
5) Side to Side feat. Nicki Minaj
6) Let Me Love You feat. Lil Wayne
7) Greedy
8) Leave Me Lonely feat. Macy Gray
9) Everyday feat. Future
10) Sometimes
11) I Don’t Care
12) Bad Decisions
13) Touch It
14) Knew Better/Forever Boy
15) Thinkin Bout You
Yesterday, the Young Musicians Foundation had their first “Yeethoven” concert at the Arabian Theatre in Los Angeles. According to HYPETRAK, the Foundation’s Orchestra combined six pieces from classic music legend, Beethoven, with Kanye West. The free show, lead by conductor Yuga Cohler and arranger Stephen Feigenbaum, breaks boundaries with an interesting blend of orchestral pieces with Yeezus.
Someone managed to record the Orchestra performing “Blood On The Leaves” and “New Slaves.” Give the two clips a listen.
Today, Post Malone had an odd performance at Coachella. The “White Iverson” rapper wasn’t on the official bill, however, he did perform his hit single during Jack U’s set as a special guest last night. However, the more memorable performance was his surprise cover of the Nirvana song “Lithium.” Someone managed to record him performing the classic rock song
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEUczBUjnFK/
This isn’t the first time Post Malone has done a cover outside of rap. The rapper has shown that his interest in rock and country music for a while. He was recorded covering a Bob Dylan
Swizz Beats son, Egypt, is pretty good at making beats. The young producer even has a credit working with Kendrick Lamar on his latest project Untitled Unmastered. The surprising thing about Egypt is that he’s only 5 years old, earning a credit for work producers four times his age only dream about. Today Swizz, Beatz recorded his son once again working on making some beats. However, Egypt was accompanied by legendary producer, Q-Tip.
View this post on Instagram
No word on what the two were working on, but it’s very obvious that young Egypt is going to be a producing force once he gets older.
As the saying goes, “You don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” Here is a look at notable events that took place in Hip-Hop culture this week from years past.