I swear people are going out of their way to kill rap LOL! A Texas rapper named Blues has admitted that he’s influenced by Young Thug. Thugger and this “flexible” movement have reached new heights. Blues rocks make up, pink faux fur, and a see through mesh/net shirt. Are you feeling this? It’s like Young Thug and Jaden Smith combined. Texas hold this L. What are your thoughts?
Lil Mama is back and in boss mode with her new video “Memes”. Hugging the pocket of Notorious B.I.G. and DJ Premier’s “Kick In The Door” she asserts “You get exposed if you thinking your going to kill me with Memes”. Cop her latest effort Take Me Back now @ www.iamlilmama.com.
Watch below.
Some have taken offense to the the imagery displayed in Beyonce’s “Formation” video as well as her Super Bowl 50 halftime performance of the song. Law enforcement officers across the country seem to be taking the most offense. The New York Daily News reported that five police officers were killed across the nation between February 7th and February 11th. According to a very delusional Tennessee Sheriff, Beyonce is responsible. Sheriff Robert Arnold claims Bey’s Super Bowl performance of “Formation” even prompted a drive-by shooting that took place outside of his home. He also believes it was her performance that led to the deaths of seven other police officers.
“With everything that’s happened since the Super Bowl, with law enforcement as a whole, I think we’ve lost five to seven officers, five deputy sheriffs since the Super Bowl, that’s what I’m thinking. You have Beyoncé’s video and that’s kind of bled over into other things about law enforcement.”
Ummmm he’s definitely reaching with this one.
Apparently Kris Jenner is worried that Kanye West’s recent antics and Twitter rants are hurting the Kardashian brand. According to Page Six, the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch is worried that her son-in-law is “damaging the Kardashian brand” and has gone into full-on crisis mode, ordering Ye to do damage control. Ye’s team has allegedly met with several top publicists recently, but none of them are willing to risk working with him. Page Six says the response has been silent.
“You couldn’t pay us enough to represent Kanye. He’s too much to handle,” one top publicist said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A Page Six source said,
“His Twitter rants are out of control, and Kris fears that he’s taking the family down. Kris wants Kanye to hire someone to handle all the noise and drama so he can focus on being an artist.”
Kanye probably wont let anyone else handle his Twitter. Supposedly, he feels it’s part of his art. Is Kanye out of control? Ye may need to seek counseling ASAP.
Every day we learn of a new alleged Fetty Wap baby mama. Fetty seems to not believe in condoms. Fetty just apologized to one of his baby mamas Love & Hip Hop’s Masika, but it’s some other women who are still waiting for an apology. Apparently a stripper he once got pregnant, @Tiarayvonne, got wind of this and was pretty upset. She says he can apologize to Masika but he still owes her for the abortion she had. Although we would guess that Tiara means Fetty owes her money back for the abortion, maybe she means he owes her an apology also for the mental and emotional stress he put her through. Well Fetty is irresponsible but so are these dumb chicks.
The social media standoff between Fetty Wap and Masika Kalysha may have reached a mature resolution. Since last year, their personal business has been referenced in salacious headlines. These two publiclly allged that one other suggested everything from an “abortion,” to a establishing a willful plot to become impregnated.
The New Jersey native is currently traversing the United States on his Welcome To The Zoo tour. Amid his professional demands, the “My Way” rapper appears to have taken time to reflect on his personal responsibilities. Last night (Feb. 18), Fetty forced his angst to the side and made a public appeal to Masika.
The two have yet to establish a healthy co-parenting relationship, but Fetty appears to be apologetic for his actions.
Check out his tweet:
@masikakalysha everything may not b okay but I want what's best for the baby so I apologize 💯
— Fetty Wap (@fettywap) February 18, 2016
Earlier today, the reality starlet issued the following response:
Thank you… Me and baby appreciate the apology. https://t.co/kW3l2eydeR
— Masika Kalysha (@masikakalysha) February 18, 2016
In any relationship respect is essential.
If you think that it is mysterious that you haven’t heard anything bad about “Deadpool”, there’s nothing more to be said about it except that the movie is just that good in it’s own very special p#### mouthed way. As a counterculture masterpiece, it works studiously well in spite of what most would call the handicap of your typical Hollywood Studio cache in assumed star power. To that measure, even though it stars current “People” Magazine’s Sexiest Dad Alive, Ryan Reynolds, it immediately trashes the concept of such traditional labels in a title sequence that is as insulting as it is hilarious. In this way, when it comes to breaking just about every classic story telling rule about three or four times in the telling and then some, “Deadpool” is some kind of wonderful in it’s refusal to be just another MARVEL franchise blockbuster, or any studio head’s cinematic b####. Ironically, this is what makes the film such a crossover success.
It’s hard to classify “Deadpool” as it really goes that extra mile in regards to being beholden to no audience, but yet just about everyone’s cup of tea (with the exception of children – just the language itself let alone what is being described is a hard R rating). Full of characters that are diverse in age, creed and general world view, Ryan Reynolds must be seriously applauded for being the diligent Hollywood insider with enough juice and patience (eleven years, to be exact) to get this unlikely picture green lit by a major studio – and the extra love and attention to detail shows. In an exhilarating mix of turbo charged superhero worthy action, as well as a love story that is equally bad to the bone, with a special affinity for songs of the late 80’s (insert WHAM and Salt-N-Pepa here) this film just keeps building as a sustained ride that is quite simply too legit to quit. Deadpool’s love interest, Copycat, played by the luminously gorgeous but deliciously tough Morena Baccarin is an unbelievable Sophia Loren type find who can deliver the soft along with the tough right in step with Reynolds’ signature whip fast repartee and snark. Secondary stories, such as the trials of tribulations of Deadpool’s taxi driver Dopinder, played to much amusement by Karan Soni, serves as a great foil to Deadpool’s quest of the heart and unique search for what only a character like Deadpool could classify as a suitable “Love, American Style” happy ending.
Another thing that is very fun about this movie is that unlike most Marvel hero introductory films, because of the adroit elasticity with which the timeline for the film has been constructed, we get to start out with Deadpool already being none other than superhero Deadpool, in the midst of kicking ass.
For those of you who have gotten used to Stan Lee making his obligatory cameo, this movie might just serve up his best cameo yet.
High on action, and high on heart without a hint of misplaced schmaltz, this movie is a must see for everyone over 18. With none other than Betty White dubbing the movie “the best of the year,” you’ll definitely want to see this movie again and again, starting in the theater and then repeat.
Grade – A+ with extra smile stickers for originality.
At first glance, “Triple 9” has everything going for it as a made to order cops and crooks morality to morass type of tale. The cast is bananas, starting with no less than Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Woody Harrelson and Kate Winslet rounding things out in a close to unrecognizable star turn as a pragmatic but ice cold Russian Mafia maven. Australian director John Hillcoat also has a solid resume when it comes to genre with “The Proposition”, “The Road” and “Lawless”, starring respectively no less than Guy Pierce, Viggo Mortensen and Tom Hardy as part of his directing oeuvre. However, for a reason that would seem to lie in the writing, the devil in the details, or that ineffable something that you just can’t put your finger on, “Triple 9” while possessed of great performances just never gels like it should so we feel true pathos for the poor characters involved. For whatever reason, some part of the recipe is missing. As such, the whole result just leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth, feeling something like regret for the time invested on something that you were really hoping to savor as things looked so promising at the beginning.
There is no question that the performances in “Triple 9” are good and fitting to the rules of the action thriller. In that school of thought that posits that all excellent cops are only a few steps away from becoming the excellent criminals that they are trying to thwart and vice versa, all of the major characters are given a great start in the way of written props suggesting that they are more than the sum of their inherent goodness or badness. Kate Winslet is a welcome shock as a hardened Russian Jew who is both crime syndicate matriarch and loving aunt to her biracial nephew, even as she leverages him relentlessly for a perceived greater familial good. Norman Reedus shows a real propensity for his job even as he shows very convincing humanity in his fleeting regret for innocents that unwittingly fall in the way of the potentially deadly business he conducts as a means of gainful employment. However, as the movie sinks deeper and deeper into it’s examination of the cesspool that it has set up at the outset, something catches in the mix, and despite all of the great acting, the story itself seems to stall out with regards to being a fresh take on the genre. Too many emotional beats get stuck in scenes that we have seen before, such as the frustrated veteran cop who gets drunk, and starts waving his gun around in a bar, only to be calmed by his protégé, or another familiar set up, when the unwanted “source” appears at the dive cop bar, only to be roughed up and beaten up outside. Given the caliber of all of the players involved in “Triple 9”, it would seem that they could do better to get us to care about these well-crafted characters that are suddenly being abandoned in scenes that could be better and more original.
As for standout performances amongst a cast of standouts, Casey Affleck truly becomes the detective that he has been tasked with fleshing out. With Woody Harrelson’s character, you can almost feel the grime in every step that he takes, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is riveting as a hard man dictated by hard times.
With regards to what might have made “Triple 9” all that it set out to be, seeing as no one can be said to be clean, it would have been a service to see more with regards to the unique spots of sunlight all of these characters guard from the soul crushing darkness accepted as a means of gainful employment. Short of that, if you are a suspense and violence junkie, the movie does hold up its end of the bargain in delivering on that score. However, if you are looking for something enduringly meaningful or deeply affecting in the middle of all of that carnage, this is not your Saturday night special.
Grade C-
Photo Credit: YouTube
(AllHipHop News) Recently, Grammy Award-winning, NC lyricist, Rapsody, opened up about meeting Dr. Dre. As one of Hip-Hop’s elusive hero’s that moment still resounds within the mind of the “Complexion (Zulu Love)” featured MC. To have earned the Doctor’s stamp of approval surprised Rapsody. She insists that his character is “cool, laid back and humble,” this according to HipHopDX.
Rapsody would recount the unforeseen experience of meeting The Chronic creator. A trip to Los Angeles to help polish a project with Terrace Martin lead to the fateful meeting. While in L.A. Rap would meet up with her friend, Wyann “The Voice Of Reason” Vaugh. Wyann is a singer and hails from a celebrated R & B lineage. She was personally chosen by Dr. Dre to co-host is radios show, The Pharmacy.
So when the Beauty and the Beast wordsmith received a call to link up with Wyann she was on her way. Rapsody recalls, “She said she was at the studio and wanted to see me. I had no idea I was going to meet Dre or what. I get there and start talking to her. Then Dr. Dre and DJ Premier walk in through opposite doors at the same time. I was like oh sh*t.”
The Southern explained her momentary dilemma, “The messed up thing was that I didn’t know who to speak to first. Like me and Premier are close, but I’m Dre’s house and I didn’t want to be disrespectful. So Premo started joking with me first and I went and hugged him and then introduced myself to Dre.”
“I had my camera guy with me and I didn’t want to come with the camera on in his house, ” she explained. “I just wanted to ask first, but before I could ask, he looked at me and asked was the camera on. Then Dre was like come here and that’s when he did the shout out.
Between working on “parts for the Beats show” and cultivating a new “Lauryn Hill joint” Rapsody was challenged to spit for the supreme sonic engineer. She then explained that surreal situation, “”Dre was like he had time for anyone to do a drop or spit a rhyme. When he said rhyme, everyone in the room pointed at me. I was like yup, OK. You have a moment, I’m about to rhyme in front of Dr. Dre during the first time meeting him.”
The prepared narrator was ready. ” You snap out of it because when you practice for the moment, it’s like practicing free-throws a hundred times a day. When it gets to game time, you’ve done it so much to where it’s nothing. That’s what it is. Dre is cool, laid back and humble. He didn’t make me feel nervous about it,” she said.
“He has the same qualities I’ve seen in 9th working with him all these years, referenced Hip-Hop’s student, “He’s a teacher first and just gives you game and advice. That’s what I loved about the whole experience.”
The 757 is known for breeding many great talents, and today, Va Beach emcee JBdaPilot steps up to put the city on, even further. “The Pilot” is no stranger to the grind as he boastfully explains his ethic in his latest audio, Jerry Maguire, and keeps it close to home as he connects with DMV rapper, Phil Adé. The two trade verses and expound upon their desire to simply win & make a smooth profit from the efforts they put forth on a day-to-day basis.
Listen below.
Photo Credit: YouTube
Both on and off the mic, Future is making his presence felt. Recently, Mr. Freebandz earned an unprecedented honor from Billboard. Within the last 50 years, the Georgia native garnered the distinction of becoming the first artist to most quickly earn three No. 1 albums.
Given the growing popularity of DS2, What A Time To Be Alive, and Evol, it’s only natural for Future to embrace different concerts and scheduled appearances. In addition to his Rap career, Future’s relationship status has been highlighted with the media and with his supporters. Many contentious interactions between himself and, Ciara — his former fiancée — have provide fodder for sordid headlines.
Early this morning (Feb. 19), a group of the “Honest” artist’s supporters may have crossed a line. It has been reported that unidentified individuals from Future’s camp laid hands on a collection of Chicago men who were said to be disrespecting Ciara, this according to DJ Akademiks. During a supposed meet-and-greet at Chicago’s RSVP Gallery an alleged altercation transpired. Future was not on site when the situation occurred.
Check out a video from the incident.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB9z1Fmqw2u/?taken-by=iamakademiks
(AllHipHop Features) In the 58 year history of the Grammys, only two Hip Hop acts have ever won the coveted Album Of The Year honor – Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1999) and OutKast (Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, 2004). More surprisingly, iconic rap representatives like 2Pac, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Run-DMC, Ice Cube, Rakim, and many others have never won a golden gramophone.
For years, an argument has been made that part of the reason why rappers are widely ignored at the Grammys is because the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) is made up of mostly older members who may not be as familiar with the higher quality Hip Hop music that should be recognized.
An example is the controversial selection of Macklemore’s The Heist winning Best Rap Album over Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, M.A.A.D. city in 2014. Or go back to 1990 when Young MC’s “Bust A Move” defeated Public Enemy’s undeniable classic “Fight the Power” for Best Rap Performance.
In addition, Kanye West and Eminem have each been shut out of the Album Of The Year award three times. Throughout their respective careers, two of the biggest rap superstars of the last 15 years lost the AOTY trophy to musical elder statesmen Steely Dan, Ray Charles, U2, and Herbie Hancock. And just this week, Taylor Swift’s 1989 was crowned Album Of The Year, despite the fact Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly is one of the highest rated albums of all time.
However, a new rule change for Recording Academy membership could affect future voting for the Grammy awards. HitsDailyDouble reports the organization’s renewal policy for its 12,000 members is being altered.
“We’ve done in this past year a requalification piece, so if you’re a member and you’re about to renew, you will have to go through a requalification submission of the application,” NARAS President Neil Portnow told HDD. “To the extent that you meet those requirements and you’re current and actually a practicing member of the industry, you can continue to have the ability to be a voting member. If not, you can continue as an associate member, but not voting, so that’s a big step in keeping the current membership relevant.”
The Recording Academy also released the following statement:
Periodically, the Academy requests its members to submit updated profession credentials. As the recording industry continues to evolve, we want to ensure our member records reflect their current roles in the industry. Member records need to be updated to reflect new voting categories (voting members only), professional affiliations and primary genre. If members do not proactively update their accounts with us, we will reach out to them directly at least once within every five years of their membership. If someone no longer works in the recording industry professionally, they will not be eligible to renew their membership after their current membership expires.
Essentially, the move means NARAS members have to be currently working in the music industry in order to maintain his or her membership. This revelation comes after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) – the organization that awards the Oscars – recently altered its policy from a lifetime membership to a 10-year limit with possible renewal options.
With the push for more inclusion at all levels of the entertainment industry, AMPAS has also announced it will launch “an ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity.” The Recording Academy may have to follow the Motion Picture Academy’s lead in both its membership tenure and recruitment techniques.
Of course, requiring Recording Academy members to be actively working in the music industry or instituting membership term limits does not automatically guarantee Hip Hop artists will start running away with more Grammys or that underground performers will get more shine at the ceremony, but having a younger, involved base of musicians, producers, songwriters, engineers, and other music professionals could help level the playing field across all genres of music.
For information on how to become a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences visit grammypro.com.
(AllHipHop News) Drake has been relatively quiet about the direction of his upcoming studio album Views From The 6. While Drizzy is remaining coy about the LP, his longtime producer Noah “40” Shebib spoke with the New York Times about the highly anticipated project.
“It’s going to be what everybody expects and wants from Drake and from us,” said 40. “A lot of introspection, very vivid. He’s discovering new flows, new cadences, new patterns.”
Drake’s last official album was 2013’s Nothing Was the Same. Since that time, the Toronto rhymer released the commercial mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and the Future collaborative effort What A Time To Be Alive. 40 explained why Drizzy decided to create If You’re Reading This as a rap-centered mixtape.
“After Nothing Was the Same, Drake was like, ‘I want to do a rap project,’” stated 40. “He wanted to do what all the other rappers get to do.”
He continued, “[But that approach] is a thing we can’t do that much on a Drake album. We have other fans we need to satisfy.”
While the subject matter for Views is likely to mirror Drake’s previous albums, 40 revealed the production is headed in a more experimental direction. He added, “I’m trying to find ways to pull more untraditional sounds in, to push the boundaries a little further.”
Last April, Four Pins published an extensive article about Drake which included the author describing Views. Ernest Baker wrote:
The topic of our talk switches to Drake’s upcoming fourth album. He only has two songs finished that he likes. One is a collaboration with Beyoncé that he recorded a while ago. The other is a song that he expects to inspire a paradigm shift. His days of releasing lay-up bangers that everyone loves right away are over. For now.
Views From The 6 needs to shock listeners just as much as it needs to impress them. I compare it to what Kanye did on his own fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak. Drake agrees and, as if to reinforce that notion, he tells me that Boi-1da said he needs to listen to the non-Beyoncé song a few more times before he can decide whether it’s good or not. It appears that Drake is ready to deviate from his winning formula and get a little weird.
The first taste of Views From The 6 arrived in the form of the track “Summertime Sixteen.” The song debuted at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it quickly fell to #26 in its second week. “Summertime Sixteen” peaked at #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and then dropped to #10 the following week.
(AllHipHop News) Even in an era of streaming platform exclusives and surprise releases, Kanye West’s roll out for his latest album The Life Of Pablo has been extremely unorthodox. Ye recently proclaimed the project will never be for sale and only available for streaming on Tidal (which West is a part owner), but someone connected to the G.O.O.D. Music boss says that could change soon.
The New York Times reports:
…a source close to Mr. West, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the album’s release, said that there is a plan — including talk of a deluxe physical edition — in the works, although the source could not confirm the timeline, citing Mr. West’s creative process.
At the moment, Spotify and Apple Music users do not have access to listen to TLOP through the respective services. However, listeners looking to stream Kanye’s new LP on Spotify receive a message that reads, “The artist or their representatives have decided not to release this album on Spotify just yet. We’re working on it, and hope we can change their minds soon.” It is the same notice listed for other artists not on the platform such as Taylor Swift and Adele.
Since Hip-Hop’s inception, its popped up in some of the most unlikely of places. From the suburbs to the farthest reaches of the planet, Hip-Hop has gone from an inner city phenomenon to a worldwide lifestyle. But has there ever been a poppin rapper from Denver? Like one with a chance to have an impact on the game?
Enter Jahni Denver, an artist pushing his music within Snow the Product’s WOKE Movement. He started as worker in a bud dispensary, and now he’s heavy in the medical marijuana game and has a real following in his city.
Besides Snow, Jahni is the only other artist on the label and he’s been a part of three national tours, including one recently with Dizzy Wright and Demrick.
Aside from his tracks with Krizz Kaliko and Bizzy Bone, Jahni has features coming soon with Snow, Dizzy Wright, Demrick and others. Currently Jahni is also working with FigzTV for more visuals like the one below so expect weekly content from the WOKE camp, with their new WOKE app with exclusive content and live streams every Sunday at 5pm pst on WOKEtv
(AllHipHop News) Any list of greatest rap albums in history without Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full is incomplete. The masterful 1987 body of work is considered a benchmark in the evolution of lyricism for Hip Hop culture, and now fans in the New York City area will get to experience Rakim performing the classic in full.
The rap legend is set to run through the entire album on July 13 at NYC’s B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Concert goers will hear Rakim rap classic songs such as the title track “Paid In Full” and the lead single “Eric B. Is President.”
Paid In Full has been named one of the “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time” by Rolling Stone. Slant listed the LP in its “100 Best Albums of the 1980s” article. Time magazine included it as one of the “All-TIME 100” albums of the 1980s. In addition, the certified platinum project has inspired numerous rappers including Nas, Jay Z, and 50 Cent.
Tickets for “RAKIM – Performing Paid in Full” are available at Ticketmaster.
(AllHipHop News) Tip Harris (fka T.I.) is giving his hometown a special treat next Monday. The self-proclaimed King of the South will perform a pop-up show in Atlanta.
For those fans not in the Georgia capital on that date, Tip will be live streaming the event on Tidal. ATL’s Greenbriar Mall will host the “TIDAL X: TIP” concert at 10 pm ET.
The upcoming Tip showcase is the latest live stream provided by Tidal. The entertainment and music platform previously broadcast events from Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Jay Z, and deadmau5 as well as the Made In America festival and the “TIDAL X 1020” concert.
Listeners can also stream Tip’s new single “Money Talk” off his forthcoming album Dime Trap. The track is available as a pre-paywall on Tidal for a limited time. To live stream the “TIDAL X: TIP” pop-up show on Monday, February 22 at 10 pm ET visit tidal.com.
(AllHipHop News) California rapper Tyga is the latest entertainer to join the One Management modelling agency. The New York based company’s goal for its Celebrity Division is to bridge the gap between fashion, music and film.
Tyga joins a roster which features Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, Cassie, Steve Aoki, and Amandla Stenberg. One’s lineup of professional models includes Iman, Karolina Kurkova, Helena Christensen, Kirsten Owen, Anthony, Carlos Diaz, Evan Wolff, and Collins Egege.
One was founded in 2001 by Scott Lipps. In 2014, the agency opened a social media division. One.1K connects its models with various brands through social media.
After hosting his Wildheart Motel event in Baldwin Hills, California with appearances from the who’s who including Rihanna. Miguel unleashes the trippy visuals with him and Travis Scott performing on top of the roof of a house in the hills with a live band. Miguel is on his high end Prince type flow with this “Waves” track. Check out the remix to the joint below: