(AllHipHop News) One of Mac Miller’s most famous songs is his 2011 track “Donald Trump.” Since the real estate magnate the single is named after is running for President of the United States, what does Miller think about Trump now?
The Pittsburgh rapper sat down for an interview with Larry King Now. The conversation covered Mac’s “feud” with The Donald.
“At first [Trump] was like ‘yeah!’ But then he was threatening to sue me. He went on a Twitter rant,” said Miller. “He kept calling me ‘Little Mac Miller’ which is awesome. Then I realized: Who does Donald Trump beef with? It’s like me and Obama.”
The “100 Grandkids” spitter suggested he would be open to actually meeting Trump, but he does not think he’ll be supporting the billionaire’s presidential candidacy.
“I don’t judge or act like I know anyone, especially in celebrity culture. I’m big on this. You can’t pretend that you know someone if you’ve never met them,” added Miller. “I’d definitely be down to having a conversation with him. Will I vote for him? I don’t think so, but I have nothing against him at all.”
Mac Miller’s third studio album GO:OD A.M. is scheduled for release September 18 through Warner Bros.
Sometimes we feel like Bow Wow does it to himself. Sometimes it seems like he’s delusional or seeking attention. In his latest rant he claims his exes are stalking him. He also says only one ended up being successful. Shots fired! We wonder who he views as unsuccessful? Ciara? Angela Simmons? Joie? Oh Bow Wow.
(AllHipHop News) A year ago Talib Kweli was being interviewed by CNN’s Don Lemon, and the exchange quickly turned into a back-and-forth over the network’s coverage of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. A VladTV interview with Kweli was recently uploaded to YouTube which included the Brooklyn emcee addressing his on-air argument with Lemon.
“I don’t f*ck with Don Lemon… I heard that people don’t like him. I had read some things he said that I didn’t agree with, but I went in really happy and excited to do the interview with him,” said Kweli. “Here’s a Black gay man who is on the news and somebody I was looking forward to having a conversation and relationship with. I wasn’t expecting him to be so disrespectful as he was to me.”
The Q&A also included the Reflection Eternal member talking about police brutality, the Eric Garner settlement, his appreciation for Nina Simone, and rappers he sees as the voice of this generation.
“I don’t see potential voices. I see actual voices,” states Kweli. “From Killer Mike to Kendrick Lamar to J. Cole to Rapsody to Joey Bada$$ to Tito Lopez, that’s just the people I’m naming off the top of my head.”
(AllHipHop News) In less than a month, Keith Murray and Fredro Starr will finally meet face-to-face in the battle rap ring. The two titans will clash at MC WARS’ “Generation X” event set to take place Sunday, October 4 in New York City.
Several emcees have given their thoughts on who they think will emerge the victor in the lyrical contest. Previously, 50 Cent and Mysonne weighed in on the match-up, and now Sadat X of Brand Nubian speaks on Murray versus Starr.
“It’s a good thing they’re battling each other as opposed to maybe one of them battling Murda Mook or one of those type of battle dudes,” says Sadat. “Them battle dudes get personal.”
Fans can watch the Keith Murray Vs Fredro Starr battle in person at Brooklyn’s Milk River. Tickets are available at mcwars.com. The event will also broadcast live on AllHipHop.com.
Before Atlanta earned the reputation for being the epicenter of the Trap music universe, the capital of Georgia left a mark on the Hip Hop landscape with the soulful sounds of the Dungeon Family crew.
Two decades later, there is a new duo grabbing that baton handed off by ATL icons OutKast and Goodie Mob. While they may not acknowledge it, EarthGang is helping to restructure the musical foundation of their hometown.
Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot have constructed a discography that combines alternative soundbeds, socially aware lyrics, and an authentic Atlanta aura. Even with a vibe that leans more towards perceptive thinking and emotional connection, Venus and Dot do not embrace the “conscious” or “gospel rap” stamp.
“That whole conscious thing is the elephant in the room. When you label something ‘conscious,’ it gets a label that I don’t necessarily want,” Dot relays to AllHipHop.com. “Does that mean I’m not a conscious human being? I don’t know who is and who isn’t. I know our music is based on authenticity more than anything. We call it ‘authentic.’ You can call it ‘real.’ But ‘conscious’ is just a word that’s become almost taboo at this point. So why even say it at all?”
Venus adds, “Nobody’s really trying to listen to Gospel rap. It can be entertaining like Lecrae, but if it’s boring nobody wants to hear that sh*t. You have to entertain while you’re bringing your message. A lot of times, entertainment is done by exaggeration, hyperbole, jokes, and saying wild sh*t.”
During their 9th grade year at Benjamin E. Mays High School, the two Southwest Atlanta natives united under the goal of providing edutainment. The story goes Venus and Dot met while on a field trip. When they arrived back at school, the building was ablaze. Much like the prophecies of the Red Priestess Melisandre from Game Of Thrones, the fire was seen as a sign the future would be bright for the pair.
“At that moment, we said this is something special, this is something crazy. We started kicking it hard after that,” states Venus. “We had similar interests as far as music and learning. We could teach each other about music and other sh*t.”
That initial meet led to several classmates interested in rapping coming together under the name EarthGang. Over time other members parted ways until eventually Venus and Dot decided to go at it as a twosome.
The emcees even stayed together as a group when they enrolled at Hampton University in Virginia. Venus studied graphic design, and Dot studied psychology. But music was still near the forefront of their personal pursuits.
Positive reaction to tracks uploaded to the net provided a push toward the Hip Hop route permanently. Friends and family began sharing those early EarthGang tunes on Facebook which made the tandem take a serious approach to being music artists.
“The internet makes it a more professional thing than you actually are. We put stuff up on the internet, and it started to get traction,” recalls Dot. “So it was like, ‘I guess we’re in it now.’ We were just putting it out to share our art.”
By 2011, EarthGang had dropped the projects The Better Party EP, Mad Men, and Good News. Then 2014 included their breakout album Shallow Graves For Toys released via Spillage Village Records.
SV is a collective of Atlanta/Baltimore acts that united during their college days. EarthGang, J.I.D., Jordxn Bryant, and Hollywood JB also joined forces for the Bears Like This and Bears Like This Too compilations.
“Spillage Village was generated out of a community that comes from being artists who ain’t got sh*t. We were all using each other’s studio time,” Dot explains. “We were always around each other anyway and helping each other. So it was Why don’t we take it to the next level?Why don’t we call ourselves something? It was something between the n*ggas that started to take on a brand of its own.”
A faction of like-minded funk/soul influenced Hip Hop artists based in the southwest section of Atlanta sounds very similar to the aforementioned Dungeon Family. Goodie Mob once walked the same Mays High School hallways as Dot and Venus as well. So the inevitable Spillage Village/Dungeon Family and EarthGang/OutKast correlations were sure to come.
“Some people give that as a lazy comparison without going through the music. It’s two cats from Atlanta who really got some content, so we’re going to put them in the OutKast lane,” responds Venus. “On the flip side of that, it’s still cool when your name is brought up – not on the same level – in relation to people that have done so many things. It’s motivating and ensures you’re on the right path. It’s not a glass ceiling. That’s not how I see it.”
EarthGang have no problem naming OutKast’s Big Boi and Andre 3000 as rhymers they listened to growing up. Venus lists Bone Crusher and Lil Jon as performers he followed as a youth. Dot refers to T.I. and Baby D as middle school favorites.
Yet as self-described “kids of the LimeWire Age,” Venus and Dot had the opportunity to be exposed to music beyond what local radio and mainstream TV outlets fed to the public. That counterculture openness and individuality created by the internet saturated into the brand and mindset of EarthGang as well as the art they present.
“What n*ggas don’t realize, Hip Hop is West African transformational storytelling that we brought over here. We don’t get a chance to tell our stories in the media,” says Venus. “When we do our storytelling – when we say what we say – it’s our authentic experience. It’s all the experiences of Black people.”
He continued, “It’s an education message, because people don’t know themselves. That’s why when people hear Hip Hop, they appreciate the real, the truth. As an educational tool, it’s passing down information in the context of how we’re living as a people.”
Unfortunately, that message still involves addressing the issue of race in America. EarthGang had the opportunity to travel the nation as part of separate tours with Ab-Soul and Fashawn. Their experiences on the road included reminders that some citizens of this country still have an issue with young, Black males simply because of the color of their skin.
“One time we got kicked out of a hotel for smoking weed. We smoked zero weed. We didn’t even pull the sh*t out in the hotel,” conveys Dot. “We were in Kansas City, Kansas. We went right across the bridge that same day to Kansas City, Missouri. Not only was the staff a different shade of people, they were very hospitable. We got our first taste of that.”
Both rappers mention similar incidents in other states. One unwarranted police stop happened outside the same city where Caucasian software developer Michael Dunn murdered 17-year-old African-American Jordan Davis over playing rap music too loud.
“We were driving to Jacksonville on the Ab-Soul tour. One of the service vehicles – not highway patrol – pulled us over. He was an off duty officer. He told us, ‘You’re going too fast. That’s how people end up getting shot down here,’” states Venus. “He didn’t give us a ticket, because he was off duty. He didn’t have the jurisdiction to do any of this stuff. He low-key threatened us. That sh*t is commonplace.”
Like Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, and Lauryn Hill before them, EarthGang use their art to shine a light on the political and social concerns of the greater society. Songs such as “New Malcolm X” and “Mojo” are rhythmic presentations equivalent to HBCU poli-sci lectures.
Doctur Dot and Johnny Venus are set to continue their authentic entertainment instruction with the forthcoming Strays With Rabies album. The project features production by DJ Khalil, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Mike Will Made It’s Eardrummers, and the Dungeon Family’s Organized Noize. The latter two beat making teams suggest the LP will contain some of the diverse styles radiating from the ATL.
Could Strays represent the intersection between Organized Noize’s Southernplayalistic sound and Mike Will Made It’s Trap tendencies? Listeners will have to wait until EarthGang’s latest work hits stores to find out, but the Georgia boys definitely recognize a common bond with their street-centered A-Town counterparts.
Venus declares, “We’re not seen as the Trap guys from Atlanta, but we go through the same things that they go through. Same day, same city, same troubles.”
Thanks to the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, the biopic talk has been rejuvenated. There has been news of a Welcome to Death Row flick as well as a Dogg Pound 4 Life movie in the works to serve as sequels to Compton. But one west coast legend revealed that he isn’t jumping to have his life depicted on the big screen.
Snoop Dogg revealed to Hip-Hop Wired that he isn’t ready to have his story told because he is far from finished with his career.
“I’m still creating the Snoop story,” he said. “It’s still happening as we speak…I don’t feel like I’m ready for that. I feel like I got more to do. And when I’m able to settle down and look at it and then say ‘Okay, I wanna document my life and my career and whatnot then I will do it.'”
Snoop said he is enjoying watching N.W.A’s success with their movie and sent much praise their way.
“I’m loving the fact that N.W.A did they thing. I grew up a fan of theirs and just letting they movie breathe. Letting the people enjoy their story and their success. That’s what it’s all about.”
With his new album 90059 dropping this Friday (9/11), Jay Rock has released a documentary of the same title to show fans the work he has been putting in leading up to the release.
In the nearly five-minute vid, the TDE spitter spoke about the making of the album, his upbringing in Watts, CA and trying to live up to ScHoolBoy Q and Kendrick Lamar’s successes. The album is still available for pre-order on iTunes.
William “Accent” Rivera returns with a new cut that pays homage to a classic N.W.A track. The New York native uses “Straight Outta Tompkins” to address gentrification and the 1988 Tompkins Square Park riot.
The hip-hop mogul allegedly had a violent confrontation with UCLA strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi on campus while confronting him for sending his son, Justin, home from practice. Puff allegedly swung a kettle bell at Alosi. He was arrested on charges of battery, making terrorist threats and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Mr. Combs will appear in court on Oct. 15th with his lawyer, Mark Geragos, and others involved in the encounter. At the hearing, the L.A City Attorney could issue him a warning about his temper or mandate him to attend anger management classes.
Since dropping his first album, Trap Lord, A$AP Ferg has been dabbling in fashion endeavors while also doing community service for his Harlem community. But now, the self-proclaimed Hood Pope is ready to release some new music and drop his second album.
In an interview with BBC, he revealed that it is nearly complete and is more personal than his 2013 debut.
“It is a real open diary I would say, It is my ‘rags to riches’ story, my climb to the top,” he said.
The “Work” rapper was able to snag major star power for the upcoming project, including Pharrell Williams.
“He is like a big brother figure for me, he gives me a lot of advice and drops jewels,” A$AP Ferg says.”Just that experience of me being able to be in the studio with somebody I idolized for so long was great. He changed my life with music because he showed me it was alright to be different, and make the music that you wanted to make.”
Ferg said he was also sought out by pop icon Madonna, who he says was pretty eager to get in the studio with him.
“It was just crazy because she was calling Skrillex and Diplo and all of these different people to get me in…It is kind of surreal at first, when you first get that initial call it’s like a high,” he said.
Urban website MediaTakeOut.com has been hit with a lawsuit from Playboy for re-publishing Azealia Banks’ nude photos from their April 2015 issue without permission, Billboard reports.
The lawsuit, which was filed in New York on Tuesday (Sept. 8), states that Playboy had the pictures copyrighted and is the exclusive licensee to the pictures. MediaTakeOut reportedly not only re-published the pictures but also put their own watermark on the photos as if they were theirs.
“Upon information and belief, defendant knowingly altered and/or falsified copyright management information to conceal defendant’s infringement of plaintiff’s registered and unregistered copyright works,” states the lawsuit.
Playboy is reportedly seeking $150,000 per each copyright infringement. The magazine also wants $25,000 per each violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Chicago’s ClarkAirlines continues his house party at the studio as he delivers vibrant lyrics in the new freestyle video “Bar Hoppin'”, complete with red cups, chickens, cheetahs, skeletons and… well, just watch and see…
“Bar Hoppin” will appear on a new mixtape from ClarkAirlines coming this Fall. The #TrillAir EP is out now!
Up and coming Portland star, Tre Redeau drops off his smokey visuals for Doja featuring Dizzy Wright and Blossom. Directed by Soundlapse Media and produced by Sir Chamberlin, Tre and Dizzy hook up over a melodic beat to speak on the greener things in life with guest appearances from Nacho Picasso, Jarv Dee, Manny Monday, and more. Fresh off a national tour with King Chip and opening for Vic Mensa in Portland, Tre Redeau continues to impress with his latest Kool-Aid Stand project and a growing buzz with his crew, The Soar Losers. Roll up the Doja, pour up the Kool-Aid, and see what all the talk is about.
After consistently releasing music for the last year, Mike Martin decided that it was time to release his debut EP “Benefit Never Counterfeit”. Creating a buzz in the Bay Area Mike is ready to give his fans what they have been waiting for. This is Mike Martin’s most cohesive body of work to date. Stream and download the EP below.
We now have “Carousel”, the latest single from Parable vs. Mac Soto off of their debut EP available worldwide on September 8th. Following up their madcap competition video to the lighthearted track “OMG”, the singer/rapper duo have released the first brand-new audio from their eponymous collaborative project, Parable vs. Mac Soto. “Carousel”, an uptempo, driving song lamenting a poisonous relationship that continues to go “around and around,” was recorded and performed in various locations as the duo traveled across the country, and features original music composed, performed, and produced by Mac Soto. Their debut EP is being released via SoFlo Entertainment/The Orchard.
Portland, Oregon recording artist Devin “Gatsby” James debuts his latest release in his “Pin Up” series of video vignettes showcasing a who’s who of pin up model alum and newcomers in the jaw dropping visual to “Pin Up 4: Gatsby B. Good”. Once again contracting go to production duo JCA Beats Productions, the fellas channel the sounds of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and aid Gatsby in spinning the vintage sound into a more modernized record. Full of high energy, fast paced instrumentation and some of the best pin up models and photographers within the pin up community, “Gatsby B. Goode” is a record that has strong mass appeal.
Thanks to UK pin up model Ria Fend, the gang was able to amass over 27k plays of the “Pin Up 3: Flapper Muzik” video on her FB fan page and another 2,500 on Youtube. It was a no brainer that Devin would invite her to be the cover girl for this release. With rumors brewing that Gatsby and JCA Beats Productions will be providing music for the upcoming “Pin Up: The Movie” documentary, it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. catches on to what they are dubbing “Swing Hop”. In the meantime, press play and enjoy the show.
After the “Vicious Lies..” project and his other work with Phantogram, Big Boi has continued his reign in a completely different category of Hip-Hop from so many other artists. He maintained his relevance by remaining true to his ideas of music, and with 3000 out the mix, Big Boi has completely reinvented himself and its amazing. Colorful and music that is great for vibing out. The 7 track EP will feature Run the Jewelz, Skrillex and others and will release later this month.
Fetty is as hot as anyone can get in rap right now. His infectious melodies mixed with his trap friendly rhymes have won him the admiration of the radio world. He is backed by 300 Ent, an industry conglomerate of record exec big wigs that are pulling all the right triggers to get this kid up and outta here. He is a bonafied star at this point and it doesn’t look like Fetty is going anywhere anytime soon. Patterson, NJ to the top, this is becoming an amazing story. #1738
The story of Doe B is a sad one indeed and now local supporters of the slain rapper are taking their frustrations out on the Atlanta rap mogul.
On Instagram, Shaka of Cash Out Gang called out T.I. in a post that supported the claim by Perry Boi that Tip owed the dead rapper’s estate 100k. Perry Boi is known to be one of Doe B’s closest friends when he was alive and made the initial post. Perry was also there with Doe when he was murdered in an Alabama club.
“Before all the fame, he grew up with Doe and was on his very first mixtape all the way up to doe’s last…he grew up with him,” a source told AllHipHop.com. “Perry Boi was in the club next to fighting when he got killed. When things popped off (at the time Doe was killed), Perry Boi was the first to swing a bottle at the offending crew.”
So, T.I. sees the aforementioned post and responds: I see it…. U want some shine…. But that ain’t gon do it fa ya…. You got no talent…. I did my part cuz. Doe was on his way to becoming da Notorious BIG of da south. And yall let him get killed in yall city that yall supposed to run,& now because u can’t find another opportunity that’s what Doe was u lookin to point da blame elsewhere. Typical. Yall n##### better wake up & see da world don’t owe u s###!!!! That’s what I liked about Doe da most, he was a humble hard working cat & he listened….to everything except when we told him to leave yall broke,bitter,jealous hearted, small minded muuuufuckaz alone. News flash genius… U can get 100 mill or kill 100 men,until u change U…. Your world WILL NEVER GET BETTER. #OnDoe
AND I don’t owe nobody s###!!!! I never made a dime off Doe. NEVER!!!!! Before he could get anywhere or do anything for himself,Grand Hustle,or anyone else, yall let him get killed… On Yall watch!!!! I ain’t never took a dime on doe’s behalf n####!!!!
It continued to play out Tuesday. There is more to this story. Stay tuned.
