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A Conversation With Wyatt Cenac On Funny Rappers & Questlove Making Him Join Twitter

(AllHipHop Features) In the final part of my conversation with comedian Wyatt Cenac, the host of the Night Train web-series divulges which emcees keep him laughing on a regular basis.

The connection between Hip Hop and comedy led me to also ask Wyatt why his official Twitter account only follows The Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Cenac’s story involves him explaining how Questlove potentially cost him $1 million.

With Night Train now available for streaming on Seeso and People Of Earth set to premiere on TBS, Cenac keeps his plate full. Discover some of the comedic projects the New York resident is sharing with the world in the third installment of our interview.

[ALSO READ: A Conversation With Wyatt Cenac On ‘Night Train’ Series, Media Conglomerates & Women Having Babies By Aliens]

You’ve worked with Questlove, Jay Z, Slim Thug, and others. From your experience, who is the most naturally funny rap star that you’ve met?

The person I talk to the most that makes me laugh is Jean Grae. I think she’s somebody that I’ll have come do my show sometime. Because just talking to her, she just naturally has funny thoughts and opinions on things. She’s somebody that often makes me laugh a lot.

Tariq [Black Thought] from The Roots is funny because you don’t expect it coming from him. He’s just got such a gruff voice and then he’ll do or say something silly that just goes counter from what I’ve heard come out as his voice on song after song.

Speaking of The Roots, why is Questlove the only person you follow on Twitter?

He’s the person who set up my Twitter account. I didn’t actually want a Twitter account. One day, I was with the comedian John Hodgman, and he was with one of the founders of Twitter.

Me and my friend Chris were going to see a midnight screening of the Thor movie. So we met with John and the Twitter guy. They weren’t going to the movie, so as Chris and I were leaving, the guy from Twitter was like, “Live tweet the movie.” Neither Chris or I had Twitter. I remember thinking, “No, pay me. You want me to promote your thing for free? At least pay for my movie?”

I thought about doing this thing where I would try to shoot a couple of videos as an online campaign for what my tweets would have actually been if I had Twitter. Basically, do that as an attempt to get that dude to give me a million dollars.

He wasn’t going to do it. But I’d do a bit where I was going to say, “This dude from Twitter asked me to join Twitter. Here’s an example of some of the things I would tweet if I had Twitter. But because he asked me, and I know Twitter makes millions of dollars, I’ll join Twitter for $1 million.”

Obviously, he wouldn’t give me money. It was just a stupid bit. As I was planning to do that, Amir [Questlove] signed me up for Twitter independently behind my back. He was like, “Here you have this thing now.” I was like, “No! You gave me a Twitter account, and I lost out on a million dollars!”

How often do everyday situations like that spark these million dollar ideas in your head?

[laughs] It was a million dollars in my head. I don’t know how much it was worth in street value. The interesting thing about working in TV, film, and also this digital space is the landscape is so vast now. So I think I go through the world a lot of times looking around thinking about things as far as… “Oh yeah, that might be an interesting thing if I was writing a script.”

This little interaction might be something that sparks an idea, “Okay, maybe I’ll hold onto that if I ever write a movie script about this or that” or “that would be an interesting thing to do as a little web video.”

Some of those ideas I get to flesh out and make. Some sit as ideas that never get to see the light of day. I probably have a drawer full of ideas that could have been. That drawer is probably more full than the ideas that actually have been made.

So you have Night Train [out now] and People Of Earth coming later this year. What else can we expect from Wyatt Cenac in the coming months?

That’s a very good question. I think I probably need to figure that out myself. We’re going to start filming People Of Earth, so at least for the next three months, I’ll be in Canada shooting that show.

For three months, I won’t be able to get on stage as much as I have been. Hopefully, I’ll come back hungry to get back on stage. Maybe even with some new ideas I can talk about. Furry Dumb Fighter is coming out on vinyl at the end of the summer. For people who love a dead medium, there’s a vinyl record coming out.

[ALSO READ: A Conversation With Wyatt Cenac On Smoking Weed, Being Awed By Kevin Hart & The Success Of ‘Daily Show’ Alumni]

Night Train with Wyatt Cenac is available for streaming on Seeso.

Follow Night Train on Twitter @NightTrainShow and Instagram @nighttrainshow.

Follow Wyatt Cenac on Twitter @wyattcenac and Instagram @wyattcenac.

Chance The Rapper Announces Magnificent Coloring Day Music Festival

(AllHipHop News) Chance The Rapper is putting on for his hometown. Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field will host the Magnificent Coloring Day music festival.

The event will feature appearances by Chance, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Tyler The Creator, 2 Chainz, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Lil Uzi Vert, and Skrillex.

For more information about Chance The Rapper’s Magnificent Coloring Day visit chanceraps.com.

Did Taxstone Diss Meek Mill During Twitter Rant?

(AllHipHop News) Podcaster Taxstone went on an extended Twitter rant last night (July 26). While the New Yorker did not mention anyone by name, it appeared he was talking about Meek Mill.

“F-cking bozo Rolex rapper,” wrote Tax in one tweet.

The “Rolex rapper” reference seemed to be an indirect shot at Meek. The MMG star is often criticized for rapping about his watches.

Tax’s series of tweets also came after the Tax Season host interacted with his onetime rival Joe Budden.

Meek and Budden have had their own issues which once again played out when a video of the Philadelphia rhymer seemingly dissing Joe circulated on the internet.

“Just heard a Meek snippet where he’s ‘dissing’ me,” posted Budden on Twitter.

Tax responded to Joe’s tweet with “Lmao.” Moments later he started his subliminal social media attack.

Read Taxstone’s tweets below.

Will Smith Gives Impromptu Performance During Unveiling of Mural

During a promotional stop in Miami on Monday, cast members from the highly anticipated new Warner Bros. film Suicide Squad hit up the city’s Wynwood Art’s District to unveil a custom Suicide Squad themed mural.

Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jay Hernandez, Karen Fukuhara & Director David Ayer came out to see the mural, which was painted by local artists, Amanda Valdes & Didirok.

Over 1,500 screaming fans braved the sizzling sun in anticipation of seeing the cast, so Will Smith graced them with an impromptu performance of his Summer anthem, “Summertime.”

Also in the building was South Florida’s own, rapper Ace Hood and former NFL baller Bryant McKinnie among other local influencers made sure to stop by and show some love.

Suicide Squad hits theaters nationwide on August 5th.

Three Questions With Choo Jackson

(AllHipHop Features) Choo Jackson is set to hit the road on the West Coast for the “Permanent Vacation” tour with The Cool Kids member Chuck Inglish.

Prior to linking with Inglish, the Florida to Pennsylvania transplant also joined forces with Taylor Gang’s Sledgren to create the 6-track Pray 4 The Best EP.

The Choo/Sledgren collaborative effort was the result of a conversation during a studio session at Pittsburgh’s ID Labs. That is the same facility where PA rhymer Mac Miller recorded Best Day Ever and Blue Slide Park.

Jackson also happens to be part of the roster that makes up Miller’s Remember Music label. They first met before Mac even dropped his K.I.D.S. mixtape in 2010.

The man also known as producer Larry Fisherman mixed music for the group Jackson was part of at the time. A few years later, Choo officially signed on the dotted line with Miller, and the two have been friends ever since.

“I signed with Mac because it was only right. He was the first to notice my talent on a bigger level, so I’m loyal to him to my life is over,’ says Jackson.

AllHipHop.com connected with Choo Jackson to have him participate in the “Three Questions” interview series. Find out which female stars the “Wonderful Day” rapper wants to f-ck, marry, or collaborate with.

[ALSO READ: Three Questions With Bigal Harrison]

Chuck Inglish X Choo Jackson _Premanent Vacation_ Tour Flyer

What’s the hardest part about being a recording artist?

The hardest part about being a recording artist to me is just getting motherf-ckers to believe in you like you do in yourself. But once you do, it’s sky’s the limit.

Can you describe what happened on the last “wonderful day” you experienced?

The last wonderful day I had was actually yesterday. I woke up – thank God. I made breakfast, smoked some weed, and played Batman on Xbox. A homie and I shot a cool video in the city – positive vibes, beautiful girls. I went to an after-spot, got drunk. They played my songs. I had some sex. [laughs]. Wonderful day.

F-ck, marry, collab: Kylie Jenner, Cardi B, and Chanel West Coast?

I would f-ck Chanel West Coast. Yes, she’s fine. [laughs] I would marry Kylie Jenner. I guess because it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get Kanye [West] to help me on an album. And I would collab with Cardi B just because I never heard her music, but if she’s talking about shaking ass and twerking I’m with it. [laughs]

[ALSO READ: Three Questions With Phonic]

Follow Choo Jackson on Twitter @GaptoofChoo and Instagram @choogotyourbeer.

Stream Choo Jackson & Sledgren’s Pray 4 The Best below.

Vic Mensa & Joey Purp Go Back-And-Forth During Freestyle Session (VIDEO)

(AllHipHop News) The Sway In The Morning radio show has become well known for calling on rappers to actually spit bars during an appearance on the program.Some of those on-air performances have become legendary. Sway recently called on two Chicago raised emcees to display their rapping talents.

Some of those on-air performances have become legendary, and Sway recently called on two Chicago raised emcees to display their rapping talents.

Vic Mensa and Joey Purp stopped by Shade 45 and exposed listeners to an epic back-and-forth freestyle session.

The SAVEMONEY crew members are also currently on the nationwide “Back With A Vengeance” tour.

“We might throw it back and do some old sh-t. Joey Purp has a phenomenal tape out right now called iiiDrops,” Mensa told AllHipHop.com about his opening act on the tour. “I’m excited to watch his shows and see him tear that sh-t up, because he’s got one of the dopest rap projects of the year out right now.”

Watch Vic Mensa and Joey Purp’s interview and listen to their freestyle at the 35:00-minute mark in the video below.

Fat Joe & Remy Ma’s “All The Way Up” Is Certified Platinum

(AllHipHop News) Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s#### record “All The Way Up” featuring French Montana has officially been certified platinum. The single was released via Terror Squad Entertainment and Empire Distribution.

Empire CEO Ghazi Shami presented Joe with a platinum plaque after he performed at the Empire Summer Classic in San Francisco.

“All The Way Up” has peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Joe spoke with AllHipHop.com in May about the success of the song.

“I’m not just happy, I’m ecstatic. It feels like I’m smoking crack or something. I don’t know how to act. [laughs],” said Joe. “You gotta understand in 1993 I came out with my first single, ‘Flow Joe,’ and it went #1 in the country. And now 23 years later we got a top 10 song in America. It’s unheard of in Hip Hop music.”

Stream Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s “All The Way Up” below.

Drake, U2, Sting & More To Headline 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival In Las Vegas

(AllHipHop News) Toronto MC Drake is set to be the headliner for the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas this September.

The rapper will be joined by U2, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, and Sting in his headlining position, which features a very diverse range of artists.

Drake dominated the 2016 iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards, with the artist taking home five of the top awards.

The sixth edition of the festival is also slated to feature performances from the following artists: Sam Hunt, twenty one pilots, Billy Idol, Florida Georgia Line, OneRepublic, Sia, Cage the Elephant, Zedd, Tears for Fears, Pitbull and Usher.

This year, the Daytime Village will return to the Las Vegas Village across from the Luxor Hotel and Casino and will include performances on day two of the event by the following: Panic! at the Disco, Alessia Cara, Hailee Steinfeld, Good Charlotte, Jeremih, The Chainsmokers and DNCE,

The festival will provide interactive experiences for the concert attendees in addition to the musical performances and will be broadcast on iHeartMedia radio stations across the country, as well as through livestream on CWTV.com and the CW app.

CW Network will also broadcast the two-day festival on Oct. 6-7.

The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival is scheduled to take place September 23-24 and will be held at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

 

Joe Budden Responds To Meek Mill’s “Diss” In ‘DC4’ Snippet

(AllHipHop News) Joe Budden has been at the center of the Hip Hop conversation for the past few days.

The New Jersey rapper has faced comical online reaction for an encounter with Drake fans, and he appeared to be hit with a subtle shot from Meek Mill.

“N-ggas say that we beefing, probably ain’t gonna see em. I’m just pushing the buttons/Buddens on em and they gon leave em,” rapped Meek in a video posted online.

The lines seem to be from a song on Meek’s upcoming Dreamchasers 4 mixtape.

Budden addressed the clip on his Twitter timeline writing, “Just heard a Meek snippet where he’s ‘dissing’ me… Spoiler alert, he also mentions a Rolex… Sounds hard tho.”

Liam Tracy Releases Video For “Reminisce”

New Rochelle, New York native Liam Tracy released visuals for his new song “Reminisce.”

The 21-year-old rapper draws inspiration from the Golden Era of Hip-Hop and mashes it with a more contemporary sound.

The new song “Reminisce” comes on the heels of Liam Tracy’s mixtape “Drugs and Alcohol,” which came out in May.

(VIDEO) Rapper Shoots Himself In The Face To Bring Attention To His Music

(AllHipHop News) These days, wanna-be celebrities will go to great lengths to find fame. One rapper has opted to shoot himself in the face to garner some attention for his struggling career.

“I swallowed the bullet…if I die, f**k it,” says Rapper Kasper Knight, who shot himself in the cheek. After doing the deed, he keeps talking in the Facebook post.

The video has gotta over a half million views at the time of this writing.

Many have speculated that the shooting was simply a prank since, the bullet never pierced the other side of his face and that the bullet would be far too hot to swallow immediately after being discharged from a gun.

The rapper had an answer for those questioning the integrity of the shooting.

“You guys are a mess. We got black people blaming my facial mutilation on whites, whites blaming it on blacks, conservatives blaming it on liberals, liberals blaming the gun, random f***s blaming it on Mexicans, and conspiracy theorists asking for proof even though we have a full blown unedited video on deck,” Knight said.
Whether or not this helps his career remains to be scene.

On commenter said, “He can shoot himself wherever he wants…… I still won’t be interested in his music.”

<iframe src=’//players.brightcove.net/624246174001/82f79524-152c-485f-bcb0-09197a216c87_default/index.html?videoId=5049076110001′ allowfullscreen frameborder=0></iframe>

Is Young Dro The Father Of Love & Hip Hop’s Joseline Hernandez’s Child?

Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’s Joseline Hernandez revealed not too long ago that she was pregnant, and the announcement has left people wondering who is the father! Naturally one would assume Stevie J would be the father first because of their fake marriage that both claimed to be in for so long.

But, Young Dro hasn’t exactly been ruled out as a possible father either as the two have been getting pretty cozy.

In the last few months Joseline & Dro have posted photos of them together on Instagram, but to most, the photos just look like storyline promo as Dro has also been filming for Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.

Young Dro was recently interviewed by Jazzy McBee, and he dodged most questions about the Puerto Rican Princess.

It seems like the hilarious Dro has had some media training. When McBee asked him if he was the father of Joseline’s child, he didn’t confirm or deny it. If he wasn’t, that definitely would’ve been a great time to speak up.

We think this is all hype for the show. Next thing you know, Joseline will be saying she was never pregnant or she had a mysterious miscarriage.

Dr. Dre Searched By Police Following Racially Charged Road Rage Incident In Front Of LA Home (VIDEO)

(AllHipHop News) Compton’s finest Dr. Dre was searched by law enforcement in front of his home after a racially tinged road rage incident today.

According to reports from TMZ, a man had stopped in front of the driveway to Dr. Dre’s home, prompting the super producer to request for him to move his vehicle.

The motorist would then oblige, but begrudgingly so, as he is reported to have cursed at the mogul as he moved.

Dr. Dre then pulled out his phone to record the scenario, in which the upset motorist responded, “Here we go again, another black guy with a gun.”

Apparently the irate driver called 911 to report that Dre had pulled a gun on him.

When law enforcement arrived they handcuffed the Doc and searched him before releasing him after no weapon was recovered.

The Hip-Hop legend was not physically arrested by deputies.

In spite of Dre’s apparent innocence the driver insisted on making a citizen’s arrest and filing a report of his accounts of the scenario.

The report will be forwarded to the District Attorney by the Sheriff’s Department to determine if there is a case.

Check out the visuals from the incident below.

Dre TMZ

DJ Numark Drops “Zodiac Tracks” During European Tour

DJ Nu-Mark of the Jurassic 5 is currently overseas touring Europe, but that hasn’t stopped him from releasing his all vinyl “Cancer” mixtape series titled “Zodiac Tracks.”

The new release features RZA, Kool G Rap, Guru of Gangstarr, Syl Johnson, Missy Elliott and Chali 2na of Jurassic 5.

Take a listen to the mixtape online:

https://soundcloud.com/djnumark/zodiac-tracks-cancer

Innovation Live Comes To The DNC For Tech, Politics And Even Hip-Hop

(AllHipHop News)  Innovation Live (www.InnovationLive.us) jump started their movement in Cleveland with a party with Questlove and now it continues  at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

A union of tech and politics,  Innovation Live traverses to the  The Annenberg School of Communication at The University of Pennsylvania on July 26 and July 28 from 12pm to 6pm.

Innovation Live is committed to a series of events, music concerts, and panel discussions that bring together the brightest minds in America’s startup community and our country’s most influential government policy makers.

Highlights include one on one conversations FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburne, Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA), Congressman Jared Polis (D-CA) and journalist Matt Katz from WNYC & New Jersey Public Radio,  Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Alex Klokus, Founder of Futurism, as well as a one on one conversation between Alison Snyder Senior Editor of The Washington Post and Ted Chung, CEO of Cashmere/Merry Jane and Snoop Doggs long time manager.

My Brothers Keeper Philadelphia (MBK Philly) will also present panels regarding Diversity and criminal justice reform. Other prominent speakers include Vikrum D. Aiyer, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Kendrick Davis, Director of STEM Initiatives, Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Education, Chuck Creekmur Founder of AllHipHop.com, human trafficking activist Brooke Axtell, and Jack Drummond, Director of the Office of Black Male Engagement for the City of Philadelphia.

My Brothers Keeper Philadelphia is a city-wide collective that engages and empowers individuals and organizations to take action in dismantling systems of inequality to create measurable change for youth. Our vision is to eliminate the disparity in outcomes for boys and young men of color.

Innovation Live is committed to providing startups with access to the resources and networks they need to succeed, while creating more jobs for Americans by stimulating and cultivating a growing American startup economy.

To find out more information, visit the Innovation Live website — www.InnovationLive.us

 

Kanye West Returns To Balmain For 2016 Campaign

(AllHipHop News) Kanye West has returned to Balmain as the star of creative director Olivier Rousteing’s new campaign.

The rapper, who featured in Balmain’s menswear spring 2015 campaign alongside his wife Kim Kardashian, appears in a new teaser for the latest concept, which also stars Rousteing favorite Joan Smalls.

Photographed by Steven Klein, Kanye appears to be wearing a beaded jacket and distressed jeans, similar to the look he wore to this year’s Met Gala in New York, where he also sported sky blue-colored contact lenses.

In the teaser ad, West falls backwards as a dramatic and windswept Smalls attempts to come to his rescue.

Announcing Kanye and Smalls as the stars of his latest Balmain campaign, Rousteing tweets: “THE #BALMAINARMY IS BACK Starring #KanyeWest and #JoanSmalls.”

They join the likes of Justin Bieber, Kardashian and her sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Claudia Schiffer as official members of Rousteing’s ‘Balmain Army’.

Rousteing is a big fan of Kanye’s and recently told Hypebeast.com he has a great deal of “love and respect” for the rapper’s fashion vision.

“I love Yeezy. I wear Yeezy. You know what I love about him? It’s that he can create so much tension and power at the same time. It’s insane!” Olivier said. “I went to his show in Madison Square Garden and I was just like, ‘Wow! This is fashion’.

“In one live moment, there were 20,000 (people) surrounding his clothes, while launching a new album, The Life of Pablo, dressing everybody in Yeezy. This is the dream of every designer. You might not do the same clothes as he does, but just imagine having all of these people and TVs around your show.
“You sit back and you’re just like, ‘You are a f**king god because you made this happen’.”

https://twitter.com/Balmain/status/757565797267046401

Gangsta Boo Gets Lit On “Smoked Out Loc’d Out”

Memphis Tennessee native Gangsta Boo has had a career many rappers envy.

The 20-year-veteran member of Three 6 Mafia has isn’t showing any signs of slowing down and gets lit on her new song “Smoked Out Loc’d Out.”

Did T.I. Get Caught Creeping With This Well Known Escort?

The rumors of T.I. and Tiny separating just might be true as there have been rumors that Tip has been cheating on Tiny with a known “model” and former Taz’s Angel escort.

Apparently T.I. was caught with the escort in an upscale Atlanta hotel, and a hotel employee clearly ran their mouth to SandraRose. According to Sandra Rose,

The hotel employee had proof that T.I. was a registered guest at the hotel and that a female’s name was added to his room as an authorized occupant with 24/7 access.

The female added also was not Tameka “Tiny” Harris; it was Analicia Chaves aka Ana Montana. SR has listed her as a former member of the infamous Taz Angel prostitution ring in Miami.

Ana has appeared in Tip’s music videos before, so they definitely have a relationship.

The couple has been rumored to have a pretty open relationship over the years, with that said, would alleged side pieces really matter?

Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat Want The Loot In New Song “F U Pay Me”

Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat continue their longstanding tradition of working together on the new song “F U Pay Me.”

In addition to JD and Da Brat, the pair enlist the help of super producer/crooner The Dream.

EXCLUSIVE: Vic Mensa Says His Restarted Debut Album Is 75% Done

(AllHipHop News) Vic Mensa originally planned to release an album titled Traffic, but the Chicago rhymer has decided to scrap that name and most of the content recorded for the long-delayed project.

In an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com, Mensa discussed his forthcoming debut LP.

The SAVEMONEY crew member revealed the collection will consist of fresh material.

“I made an album and then I didn’t feel like it was the right representation. So I started making a new album,” explained Mensa. “That’s where the songs from There’s Alot Going On came out of. I would say it’s about 75% done.”

Mensa dropped There’s Alot Going On in June. The 7-track EP includes the Laquan McDonald inspired “16 Shots” and the introspective title track.

Vic’s next body of work will continue the theme of reflecting on real life moments. He stated, “The things I’m doing are very autobiographical. There’s a lot of narratives, a lot of stories.”

There’s Alot Going On only contained one feature by Ty Dolla $ign, and followers of Vic Mensa should expect a limited number of guests on his upcoming set as well.

“I don’t really do a lot of collaborations. I really just collaborate with my immediate team,” said the 23-year-old spitter. “The stories that I’m telling are real personal. It’s very unique to me, so it’s not often that the songs I’m writing for the album really lend themselves for somebody else’s voice.”

Mensa has been working with fellow Windy City representative Malik Yusef. The Grammy-winning songwriter also spoke with AllHipHop.com about his contributions to Vic’s studio LP.

“I worked on a song on the [There’s Alot Going On] EP, and we’re working on the album right now,” said Yusef.

The spoken word artist was sure to point out that this was not a “ghostwriting” situation. Yusef conveyed, “I don’t write for Vic. I write with Vic. Cause Vic can do it by himself.”

While the finishing touches are being put on Vic Mensa’s highly anticipated debut album, a video for “16 Shots” is on the way. Mensa is also currently crossing the nation on his “Back With A Vengeance” tour with Joey Purp.

Watch Vic Mensa’s video for “There’s Alot Going On” below.