(AllHipHop News) East Baltimore rapper and 300 Ent signed Tate Kobang is about to take his buzz nationwide with Swizz Beatz.
Today it was revealed in the Baltimore Sun that Swizz Beatz will be executive producing Tate’s debut album.
Although no release date has been scheduled, plans are to release the project in September this year.
“Man, listen. Swizz was like, “Man, I’ma let you know, I get a million artists come across me every day, and there ain’t nothing special about them. There’s something about you. You it! You got ‘it!’ It is what it is.” I was like, “Man, whatever ‘it’ is, I’m glad I got it, because this is crazy.” We gonna link up and we gonna make magic.”
In addition to work with Swizz, Tate Kobang has been working with Nelly, Fabolous and Jadakiss.
Tate Kobang has been doing his best to give back to his community as the anniversary of the Freddie Gray’s death approaches.
“I’m also doing a shoe drive. I do a shoe drive every year on my mother’s birthday. That’s April 19 in Baltimore, which is also the [anniversary] of the Freddie Gray [death], so we’re going to do it right on North Avenue. We’re going to bring live music, cook out. We’re just going to have fun in the city.”
If you are still getting to know Tate Kobang, get to know this rising talent via his most popular video the “Bank Rolls Remix” below:
(AllHipHop News) Tinashe has unexpectedly cancelled her Joyride tour due to “recording commitments.”
The news comes on the heels of a well-known feud with R&B singer Chris Brown playing out on various social media platforms.
“It is with a heavy heart that I come with the news that due to unexpected recording commitments I need to postpone my upcoming international tour,” she said on Facebook. “Originally, I had planned this tour in support of Joyride, and as you know, the album has yet to be released.
“I know there will be a lot of questions about this. I am going to do a live Q&A on my Facebook tomorrow to answer them all. Stay tuned for more info on that.,” she added.
When Breezy criticized R&B singer Kehlani’s suicide attempt and PartyNextDoor’s photo of the two in bed, Tinashe came to Kehlani’s defense.
The feud has continued on in a KMEL interview (see above) where Tinashe clapped back at Breezy, “I felt like it was just so unnecessary,” she said. “I was just like, ‘Whatever.’ That’s just so unnecessary. I just think it’s silly. It’s petty. What’s the benefit?”
“It’s always hard when everything that’s really personal is just on social media in general. It’s just a messy situation. It’s not nice. It’s not nice to see. It’s not fun. It’s not positive,” Tinashe said of Kehlani’s public love triangle with Kyrie Irving and OVO’s PartyNextDoor.
Yesterday Baller Alert captured Chris Brown’s response as he shrugged off the “2 On” singer’s comments and then began name calling.
“I hope she talked about ‘HER’ career for most of this interview ‘WHOISHAE’ TINASHAE. I hope they rehearsing for those performance (power 106 charity basketball game halftime show) give her credit though, 30 16 year old hobbit face ass. WE WANT MUSIC, WE WANT MUSIC, WE WANT MUSIC!! TEACH ME HOW TO JERK FACE ASS.”
More news as it develops.
Check out Tinashe’s letter to fans below and Chris’ comment on the IG:
These days it seems like everyone wants a piece of the Kardashian clan, and vice versa. Ice Cube got wind of the fact that Khloe Kardashian was interested in dating his son O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Ice Cube had some very interesting words of advice for Khloe.
“Hell No. Khloe better run…[she] better run. They can’t handle that boy. They cannot handle him. Don’t worry about it. Tell ’em, they can’t handle O’Shea. That boy’s a beast,” said Cube.
Looking at that “L” O’Shea Jr. took with that Instagram model, we don’t know how much of a beast he is. Well, the Kardashians have been known to change a few lives whether it be good or bad. Would dating Khloe be a good look for O’Shea?
Apparently Drake recently had a Kanye West moment when it came to his interaction with a few photographers. Matt Small, a hobby photographer, says he was taking pictures of a vibrant sunset from Toronto’s Polson Pier Monday when a luxury helicopter landed nearby, and produced a celebrity passenger: Drake.
Small turned his camera toward the aircraft and began to snap pictures as Drake emerged with a man and two women. According to Small, Drake and his friend approached him demanding to know who he was and telling him that he had to delete his photos. Small told Drake,
“I was just taking a picture. I’m there all the time taking pictures.”
“Drake or not, no one can really treat me that way. I was pretty offended by it,” said Small.
Small said Drake and his friend didn’t intitiate physical contact with him, but they did try to take his camera and memory card. Small said when he refused to delete the photos for Drake he realized Drake’s friend was right behind him. At this point he called out for someone to call the police.
“It’s just so messed up. I think they were just trying to bully me.I’m not a confrontational person. I was so anxious and panicked to get out of there. It was a bunch of punks last night, how they acted. I’m really not in this to exploit Drake. It’s just the principle of bullying and walking off and getting into your limo and pretending your actions were OK,” said Small.
We know celebrities get tired of being photographed, but did Drake take it too far?
(AllHipHop News) If all is fair in love and war, then Nicki has just tipped the scales.
After news broke this morning that Nicki was single, Nicki quickly shot down headlines that her and Meek Mill were no longer an item.
Drawing inspiration from DJ Khaled, Nicki encouraged her followers “to get some D.”
“#They don’t want me to write this caption. Cc @djkhaled ~ It would be very remiss of you to not watch what I said about Valentines Day prior to writing or believing a headline about my comment. I’m not single. Thank you for coming out. Have a blessed day and get some D. ?.”
In the photo Nicki poses with smirk on her face, while her rumored fiancé stares directly in the camera with no smile and a tilted cap.
The clarifying IG post comes just hours after headlines broke that the two may be looking to split up after Nicki’s Ellen show appearance.
On the show Nicki was quoted as saying, “First of all, that’s not an engagement ring,” said Nicki. “I have two rings from this boy that likes me. That’s not my engagement ring though. He said, that’s my second ring, and he said if I get a third ring, then that’s my engagement ring.”
Based on the post below, it seems like all of that was taken out of context.
Fans had a field day with Jay Z’s bars, or lack thereof, on Drake’s “Pop Style”. Many felt that the rap mogul barely said anything. It’s that awkward moment when you expect to hear so much from Jay Z, and he gives you like two bars. Kanye West delivered a lengthy verse, but Hov limited his contribution to a few lines. Check out some fans’ jokes and reactions below. What are your thoughts?
It looks like quite a few rappers have been in the studio cooking up heat for the spring and summer. Future, Eve, Swizz Beatz, DJ Khaled, and Scarface have been working on “taking the summer” and “making history.” We’d love to see what Khaled and Future and Swizz and Scarface are cooking up. Eve says she wants to give her fans the same amount of love and support that they’ve shown her over the years, and as a result she plans to deliver new music. Do you think Eve still has it? We hope so; we need more female rappers to put out new music consistently. What artists do you think will own the spring and summer? Future? Drake?
One quarter of the slaughter Joell Ortiz is back with a new visual off his latest effort “That’s Hip-Hop.” Watch the official video for the Domingo-produced track “Last Man Standing.”
Rich The Kid finally unleashes his new mixtape “Rich Forever Music: The Mixtape.” The 15-track compilation includes contributions from Offset, Famous Dex, Lil Yachty, OG Maco and more.
HIGH TIMES magazine recently chopped it up with West COast rapper Kid Ink at Silika Glass’s flagship West Hollywood shop. Ink talks the art of rolling, dabbing, the right way to ‘shroom in the studio and much more.
(AllHipHop Features) The region around the nation’s capital is the next locale set to be a major center point of the Hip Hop industry. Chaz French is among the young performers rising from the District of Columbia.
The 24-year-old emcee is already making noise across the country thanks to his well received projects Happy Belated and These Things Take Time. Many listeners have discovered a sense of relatability with Chaz. His lyrics demonstrate an element of fearlessness, exemplified by content that presents intensely personal elements of his life.
“Sometimes the stuff I’m addressing in my music I haven’t addressed elsewhere. I feel like I’m my most vulnerable when I’m making music. So why not be as open as possible?” Chaz tells AllHipHop.com. “I know there’s somebody across the world that’s probably going through the same thing or something similar.”
Chaz’s songs cover dealing with family issues, overcoming homelessness, using drugs, and being a parent. In fact, fatherhood is a central theme of the DC native’s work. The cover art for both Happy Belated and These Things Take Time serve as tributes to his children.
Chaz French Cover Art
“My number one inspiration are my kids. My dad wasn’t involved in my life as much as I wanted him to be, and I want to be the total opposite,” expresses Chaz. “I don’t ever want my kids to feel like they’re alone or are going to go without. I’m a dad first before anything.”
Chaz’s own childhood began in Washington, DC. His earliest days were spent in the Northeast quadrant of the city before he began attending elementary, middle, and high school in Prince George’s County. He also spent time living in Texas before officially launching his rap career.
The future rapper born Chaz French built a relationship with music early on. His first introduction to the art form came as a church drummer, but it was during an extended time being grounded that he discovered his gift as a writer.
“One day I got in trouble and got put on punishment. I couldn’t really go outside for weeks, so I just started writing music,” explains Chaz. “Then in 9th grade I did a talent show. Everybody went crazy, and that’s when I realized I wanted to take this serious.”
Becoming a rap artist may have come as a surprise to some of the people who knew a young C. French. Especially since it was thought being a pastor was Chaz’s true calling. His ability to combine words and tunes in such an effective way was perhaps a revelation to French as well.
The talented wordsmith admits he was not always a close follower of Hip Hop culture. However, Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon as well as Kanye West’s College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation would eventually help spark a creative fire within Chaz.
“Growing up my parents didn’t like to listen to Hip Hop, so I never had any rap CDs. All my parents listened to was Gospel,” says Chaz. “When I was old enough to buy my own music, those were the first albums I bought. When I was homeless that’s all I listened to – Kanye, Cudi, and Amy Winehouse.”
Anyone familiar with Kanye, Cudi, and Winehouse will instantly recognize the similarities of those three Grammy-winning performers. Each have used their music to confess painful moments they have experienced throughout their life. Chaz exhibits that openness as well.
Happy Belated presents a somber soundscape covered by heavy bars about doing cocaine (“LMGLML”) and dropping out of school (“Primavera”). However, These Things Take Time shows Chaz was in a different state of mind when making that project. The album is a brighter presentation from the 368 Music Group representative.
“I don’t want to be in a dark place forever. That’s what I was going through at that time, but during the transition [from Happy Belated to Take Time] I was happier,” states Chaz. “I was able to provide for my family and my daughter. My relationship with her mom had gotten better. My relationship with my mom had gotten better. I was in a happier space.”
He continues, “Who wants to be in a dark mood all the time? I’m trying to get people out of dark places and let people know it’s cool to be happy, it’s cool to smile, it’s cool to be uplifting, it’s cool to be positive. Positivity is not something that people like to glorify, so I want to be one of those people that brings a positive message and has a positive influence on the youth and my listeners.”
Fans can expect his next collection to be a mixture of Happy Belated, Take Time, and whatever he is feeling once work on a specific project begins. At the moment, Chaz is just recording constantly.
Upcoming efforts will also consist of the religious references that have been embedded in much of Chaz’s music. Take Time opens with the creator’s mother offering a prayer of protection for her son. French later gives thanks to the Man Above on the cut “Let God” which features his blood brother Eddie Vanz and Lito Walker.
“I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I know there is a God. I know He blessed me with a talent, so I’m always going to give back to him as much as I can through that talent,” says Chaz. “I know that’s him speaking through me to somebody that doesn’t have an outlet. It’s very important to put God first, because without him nothing you do would be possible.”
Chaz French is still a fairly fresh face in the recording business. As his career progresses thanks to introspective tracks and nationwide treks (such as the “Only In Your Dreams” tour with headliner Pell), French is sure to gain more zealous supporters. While a higher tax bracket will likely come along with that progression, amassing wealth is not the sole definition of success for the emerging entertainer.
“When I’m completely happy, when I can look back and say, ‘Everything I did made a difference in somebody’s life,’ when I can buy my mom a house and pay off my kids’ tuition, I’m good,” Chaz states. “Money isn’t everything, but then again, people who say that – we haven’t touched any real money either. [laughs] Of course I want to be rich, but I want to be rich in happiness, love, honesty, respect, and trusting myself. That’s when I’ll know I’m successful.”
(AllHipHop News) Drake’s latest release “Pop Style” was met with a lukewarm response. His single “Summer Sixteen” opened at #6 on the Hot 100 then quickly fell out of the Top 20. His last two full bodies of work (If You’reReading This It’s Too Late, What A Time To Be Alive) were considered by many observers to be underwhelming. So has Drizzy reached his musical peak?
That’s a question Joe Budden asked during the latest episode of his podcast. The self-professed longtime Drake fan spent most of the show questioning if the OVO leader hit his highest point as a music artist with 2011’s Take Care.
“Have we seen Drake peak? I think that question has been floating around the universe for a little while,” stated Joe.
He later added, “Drake came and dominated as a breath of fresh air, something so different. He was like a hybrid emcee… A lot of people would say Take Care is his best album. This is where the whispers started.”
Budden then spoke about how Drake’s next album, Nothing Was The Same, was viewed by some as not having a lasting impact. The Slaughterhouse member also reminded his listeners he was not a big supporter of IYRTITL, WATTBA,or what he calls “Trapper Drake.”
The conversation turned to the fact that The Weeknd played a major role in the creation of Take Care. An argument could be made that after the fellow Canadian parted ways with the OVO Camp, Drake’s projects have not been as critically celebrated as his second LP.
“If I go in deep, I start with the mumblings of a Weeknd/Drake beef. I’m going that far back. Because I’m putting the peak – if I’m taking that side of the argument – I’m putting the peak at Take Care,” said Budden. “All I know that happened after that is that The Weeknd left, and I know that The Weeknd has done rather f-cking well since leaving.”
In addition, Budden gave Drake credit for starting his own sub-genre of Hip Hop. However, he took issue with his favorite rapper riding the wave of other artists rather than setting the trends of the culture like he believes Drizzy did at one point.
(AllHipHop News) Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill have been dating for over a year. With Nicki posting photos of a ring to her Instagram page, some of her followers began to wonder if the Queens rapper is engaged to her Philadelphia beau. Miss Minaj addressed her relationship status during a taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“First of all, that’s not an engagement ring,” said Nicki. “I have two rings from this boy that likes me. That’s not my engagement ring though. He said, that’s my second ring, and he said if I get a third ring, then that’s my engagement ring.”
While downplaying the wedding rumors, Nicki may have sparked more speculation. Another quote reported by ET reveals the Barbershop: The Next Cut star is not even sure if she is ready to walk down the aisle with Meek.
“We’re still figuring each other out. In fact, I don’t even want to say I’m in a relationship anymore, because I think when people hear that they go to a mean place,” added Nicki. “Now, just going back to saying, you know what, I’m single.”
Nicki took to Instagram to clear up her comments on Ellen. She posted a picture of herself with Meek. The caption for the photo reads, “It would be very remiss of you to not watch what I said about Valentines Day prior to writing or believing a headline about my comment. I’m not single. Thank you for coming out. Have a blessed day and get some D.”
(AllHipHop News) Last week, Kanye West’s latest musical effort The Life Of Pablo was finally made available for streaming on other sites besides Tidal. Fans that use the mobile version of Spotify got a bonus when listening to the album’s cuts on the “Behind the Lyrics (Hip Hop)” playlist.
Fader points out TLOP songs now come with lyric annotations provided by Genius. The “Behind The Lyrics” feature allows listeners to view the Genius lyrical breakdowns for each track.
The “Behind the Lyrics (Hip Hop)” experience was started on Spotify in January. Songs from Kanye’s Pablo joins work by other artists such as Drake, Wiz Khalifa, J. Cole, and Pusha T.
“I’ve partnered with Genius and Spotify to take you ‘Behind The Lyrics’ of my greatest songs because every word that I write means something to me,” said Pusha when the feature launched. “Together we’ve found a way to bring my fans a deeper listening experience and raise the bar for songwriters.”
(AllHipHop News) In a music career that spans three decades, Jay Z has many memorable lines with a lot of braggadocious declarations. One of Jigga’s claims that has been challenged, dissected, and defended for nearly 15 years is the “92 bricks” bar off “Never Change.”
Lost 92 bricks had to fall back. Knocked a n-gga off his feet, but I crawled back. Had A-1 credit, got more crack. From the first to the fifth, gave it all back. If, I’m not a hustler what you call that? This is before rap, this is all fact.
But was it all fact? Complex caught up with fellow Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke to get his take on Jay’s famous lyrics.
“I’m not sure. You know what Jay says, ‘Believe half of what you see, none of what you hear, even if it’s spat by me.’ [laughs],” said Biggs. “Back then it was another life, so he raps about certain things, but it’s not to be glorified. It’s about telling a story about what happens in the hood everyday.”
Biggs also addressed another question that has been circulating the internet for years. Did the Roc fall apart because of internal conflict? According to Biggs, the plan from the beginning was always to sell the company at some point.
“Once we did the deal with Def Jam the plan was to build to sell. There was a formula put in and it was a certain number times net, and probably the only regret was it should’ve been times gross but they weren’t doing any deals like that,” he explained. “We wanted to sell in 2002 but we were having so much success they extended the deal for another three years. They didn’t think Jay was going to last this long.”
(AllHipHop News) Fans of Champagne Papi have been waiting for his next official studio album for a while. There were rumors that Drake’s Views From The 6 would drop sometime this month. Pitchfork now seems to know more information about its arrival date.
Drake’s long-promised album Views From The 6 is scheduled to be released at the end of the month, Pitchfork has been informed. This reaffirms his January “OVO Sound Radio” announcement that the album would be out in April.
Drake has been working on Views for about two years. So far, the man that referred to himself as “Chaining Tatum” released the singles “Summer Sixteen,” “One Dance,” and “Pop Style.” The songs are expected to be on the Toronto rhymer’s fourth LP.
(AllHipHop News) Yesterday (April 6) a Connecticut bankruptcy judge roasted 50 Cent in bankruptcy court for making fun of the court process with this social media posts that glorify his wealth.
The case stems from the drama surrounding Rick Ross’ baby mama and the $7 million case against the Queens rapper in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“There is nothing funny going on here. This is all very serious business,” Judge Ann Nevins said according to New York’s PageSix. “I am not trying to impede on anyone’s right to exercise free speech. But I would appreciate it if we can keep the tone of this case very serious.”
“You have all been advised. This is not funny.”
In addition to altering the tone of the case, the Judge officially warned 50 to stay away from commenting on the bankruptcy case via his social media sites.
“I want to make this very clear, that I am discouraging the use of social media to comment on this case, especially when parties are in a courtroom or in the conference room.”
So does this mean that 50 won’t be “teaching us how to stunt” on IG anymore?
We never know with 50 Cent, but he appeared to be assuming a more compliant stance in the case when Judge Nevins confronted him about his social media.
Fifty backed down on the IG posts saying he had changed his ways, “Instagram? Nah, that’s not me anymore,”
Since marriage and a move to London, England, it’s been a minute since Hip Hop star and actress Eve has been stateside to discuss her creative endeavors both cinematically and musically. Looking as fly as ever to promote her new movie, “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” Eve was on hand in Los Angeles, California to discuss acting opposite new co-stars Common and Nicki Minaj, as well as reuniting with all of usual “Barbershop” suspects like Ice Cube, Cedric The Entertainer and more in a one on one conversation with All Hip Hop’s Kylie Krabbe:
Living in Europe do you think you have a different perspective on the political issues here right now? You see it completely differently I think than being in it here. Seeing it being over there I’m kinda like, c’mon America. We just look crazy that we are allowing the show to go on with homeboy, cause he’s crazy.
Who would you be talking about? Just a certain blondish craziness.
With a comb over and rhymes with frump? Yes. It’s funny to watch it on that side and uh, yeah, It’s crazy. I mean it’s crazy here too obviously, but to see it from the point of view of Brits watching Americans go through it, it’s crazy.
Do you ever feel as if you have to answer to Brits as an American with regards to what is going on here politically? No, but sometimes I feel bad. I’m like, ‘it’s not my fault,’ because I’ve had people say to me, ‘why do you all let this happen?’ It’s not ya’ll. It’s not me. So I don’t feel like I have to answer, but I do feel like people will look at me like you’re American, so you know what’s happening – but I don’t.
How would you encapsulate your evolution from a ‘pitbull in a skirt’ to now? You have had so many faces along the way. I’ve always called myself a chameleon. Since I was little I’ve felt like I was a chameleon or a shape shifter or like I’ve always been able to be in certain situations. From a young age my mother had me in many different circles…she was a young mom. She had me at seventeen but I never felt throughout my life, even though she was a single mom working and going to school, I never felt like I needed for anything. She would take me to her jobs where she worked with white people or whoever else outside of our community because we grew up in the projects… So I think from a young age I’ve just been able to adapt… We all have to change as we go through certain things in life as you get to a certain age, especially as women. We are always figuring out how to be better, I feel like. So, yeah I don’t know. It has been a lot of faces though.
There is a whole dynamic in “Barbershop” with you and Common playing husband and wife, centering around women who are in relationships and doing very well professionally in love with men who aren’t doing as quite well professionally. Could you relate to that at all? Absolutely. I mean, I’ve been in relationships in the past where I was the one making it happen and that person wasn’t. It caused arguments because even though I was like this is ours and this is our house, car, whatever, as a man men feel like they need to provide. It’s a hard thing I think for most men to kind of sit back and not be the breadwinner. But yes, I’ve been there. I’ve definitely been there. It wasn’t as civil as the relationship in the movie… But then sometimes something happens to someone’s job or someone’s money or whatever and I think that’s being in a relationship. Being a grownup is being able to say, if you really love someone, I’m there. Let’s make it happen, let’s figure it out. That’s the grownup approach.
You’ve been involved in a lot of projects. You had your own television show, you’ve done music – what made this experience on “Barbershop: The Next Cut” special for you? It made it special because it was coming back to see Cube (Ice Cube) and Cedric (Cedric The Entertainer) and people that I already did this movie with before, but also with the new people – the new fresh faces. Also the script was so good. Honestly, I would not have agreed to do it if the script wasn’t good. Immediately as soon as I read it, I loved it. So yeah, it was exciting and to revisit the franchise in a way. For me, when I did the first two, I was at a different place in my career, and as a person, and as a woman. Being able to come back to it as this person, as a mature woman and you see that in the evolution of the character as well was great.
People have really missed you on the music scene. Yes. New things are happening.
Why the wait and all of this time between albums? I put out an album independently because now I’m independent. I own my own label. I put out an album about three and a half years ago on my own. And that was a small project.
Was that a difficult learning curve for you? Oh my God! So hard. I grew up in a machine. I didn’t know how much work it took. You know, you take for granted those people who have those offices – one’s marketing, one’s promotion, one’s this and all of the sudden, I’m having all of those meetings with my small staff and that s### was hard. It’s hard! But rewarding, because I felt that that was something that I needed to do. And then, I needed to be inspired again. After that situation, I kind of needed a minute. And then I got married and then I moved to a new country. You know, I needed to settle again and find my footing. Now I feel secure in where I live. I do call London home and so I feel like I’m back to me – if that makes sense.
What’s the inspiration for this new music? Where are you drawing it from? Because like you were saying, you’re a very different person now. I think sound wise, my ear is a bit different just because I live in London and I hear so many things. Music in London is so eclectic. So I think my ear is a bit different, so I’ll be looking for different sounds. But lyrically, I’m a lyricist. That’s who I am and what I’ve always been. So lyrically I think – not think I know people will know, ‘oh that’s my girl,’ but musically it might be a little different.
So then what will you be talking about as a part of this most recent lyrical evolution? Can you give us a little hint or a taste? I don’t know yet. I honestly don’t know. You’ll have to see.
“Barbershop: The Next Cut,” from Warner Bros. Pictures opens nationwide in theaters on April 15, 2016.
