Hip-Hop Music News
Drake Releases Scary Hours 2 EP: Stream
Drake has released his second Scary Hours EP. It serves as a follow-up to his 2018 EP of the same name. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Like his last Scary Hours release, this new EP only includes a few songs — three to be exact. “What’s Next” opens the EP, followed by “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross. Chances are Drake is hoping some of these tracks will blow up and can then be tacked onto Certified Lover Boy, his new album due out this year. After all, that plan worked surprisingly well with the last EP when “God’s Plan” became a smash hit and scored a proper spot on Scorpion. Speaking of, Certified Lover Boy was technically supposed to be out in January, but that month has since come and gone. Drake hasn’t updated fans on...
Chance the Rapper Drops New Song “The Heart and the Tongue”: Stream
Chance the Rapper is back with a new single. It’s called “The Heart and the Tongue” and it comes with an introspective music video filmed during quarantine. Stream it below. In his typical slick delivery over a trip-hop beat, “The Heart and the Tongue” sees Chance the Rapper ruminating on truth as a concept. “My heart and tongue are fighting/ My mind is undecided,” he raps. “It’s not like Trump and Biden/ It’s more like something private/ Like when yo’ cousins are fighting/ One of ’em gets excited/ You can’t just jump the gun and pick a side and jump inside it.” It’s funny hearing him bring up the election considering he supported Kanye West in his presidential run only to perform at a post-inauguration performance for Biden six months later. In the song’s accompanying music video, Ch...
Ghostface Killah and Raekwon to Go Head-to-Head in Verzuz Battle
Verzuz is a quarantine battle series that pits two similar artists against one another to determine who is the hit-for-hit champion. Over the past few months, the event’s organizers have gotten some of the biggest names in the music industry to join in on the fun, and the next battle might just be their most anticipated yet: Ghostface Killah vs. Raekwon. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland announced the news during an Instagram live story last week. In the clip, they hyped up the reveal, saying, “Who’re we talking about?” while playing various songs by the two Wu-Tang Clan members in the background. Unsurprisingly, fans were immediately stoked to realize this meant Ghostface Killah and Raekwon would be dueling it out over a livestream battle, with an excited Common even commenting, “WHOAH!!!!!” Curr...
Benny the Butcher Announces New EP The Plugs I Met 2
Benny the Butcher has announced a new EP. It’s called The Plugs I Met 2 and is scheduled to come out on March 19th. The Plugs I Met 2 will be the first record the Butcher has dropped since putting out Burden of Proof in October 2020. As the title suggests, this new EP will serve as a sequel of sorts to his The Plugs I Met, which came out back in 2019. So far, the only name attached to The Plugs I Met 2 is Harry Fraud, who will serve as the EP’s producer. It’s likely a handful of other rappers will hop on the joint considering the original 2019 EP saw the Butcher link up with Black Thought, Pusha T, Jadakiss, Conway The Machine, and more. “March 19th THE PLUGS I MET 2 EP,” he wrote on Instagram on Friday. “Me and @harryfraud linked up on niggas I could sit here and ...
Facebook’s New App Bars Lets You Rap Over Premade Beats
The follow-up era to SoundCloud rappers may well be upon us. As noted by TechCrunch, Facebook is releasing an app that will let users rap over premade beats and share a video of it with their community. It’s called Bars, and it’s currently available to download in closed beta form. From the sound of it, Bars is an app geared towards beginner rappers and freestyle pros alike. Users can choose from a rolodex of beats already available to use on the app, rap over them for 60 seconds, and then post the video to a “TikTok-style feed” where fellow Bars users can watch it and mark it as “fire” if they like it. Bars reportedly offers “studio quality vocal effects,” including everybody’s favorite AutoTune feature, too. Those in need of a creative boost should be pretty pleased with Bars because it ...
Noname Releases New Single “Rainforest” featuring Adam Ness: Stream
Barely five years after releasing her debut mixtape, Noname is gearing up to drop what may be her last album ever, Factory Baby. Today, she’s teasing its release by sharing a new single called “Rainforest” featuring fellow Chicago rapper Adam Ness. Stream it below. Clocking in just under three minutes in length, “Rainforest” is the latest track to showcase Noname’s unique mellow flow and her penchant for slick retro-themed beats. While the hook is seemingly a forlorn take on trust in relationships (“How you get closer to love?/ How you lemonade all your sadness when you opening up?”) the rest of the song concerns itself with the realities of hustle culture, the environmental ignorance of greed, and the intersection of capitalism and race. Noname is one of the few modern rappers to imbue he...
Kevin Gates Drops New Single “Plug Daughter 2”: Stream
Punxsutawney Phil predicted another six more weeks of winter, but Kevin Gates couldn’t care less. The Louisiana rapper just surprise released a new single called “Plug Daughter 2” and an accompanying music video that sees him soaking up the sun in Puerto Rico. It’s a welcome dose of vitamin D, and you can stream it below. Lyrically, “Plug Daughter 2” sees Gates detailing a tumultuous love affair, but the music itself couldn’t sound happier. Over a breezy beat, Gates’ vocals echo atop a nimble keyboard melody and faded backing vocals that harmonize rather sweetly. It’s mellow but driven — the exact type of progression Gates has been capitalizing on as of late. In the music video, Gates wanders through gorgeous landscapes in Puerto Rico. Lucious trees and vibrant greens surround him while he...
Fredo Releases New Album Money Can’t Buy Happiness: Stream
British rapper Fredo has dropped his star-studded new album, Money Can’t Buy Happiness. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. Money Can’t Buy Happiness is the second studio album of Fredo’s career, following 2019’s Third Avenue. On his new effort, he links up with Summer Walker for The Fugees-sampling song “Ready” and collaborates with both Pop Smoke and Young Adz for the uptempo number “Burner on Deck”. He also reunites with Dave, his longtime friend and fellow British rapper, for “Money Talks”, which serves as a follow-up single of sorts to their 2018 smash hit “Funky Friday”. In a statement, Fredo explained that he scrapped his original version of Money Can’t Buy Happiness before settling on this current version, in part to portray a more realistic version of himself and his belie...
YFN Lucci Wanted for Felony Murder in Atlanta
Rayshawn Bennett, the 29-year-old rapper who goes by YFN Lucci, is wanted on a federal murder charge following a shootout in Atlanta on December 10th. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the shooting resulted in the death of a 28-year-old man named James Adams and left another man severely injured. Two suspects, Ra’von Boyd and Leroy Pitts, have already been arrested on similar charges in Miami, Florida for their alleged roles in the shootout. In addition to murder, Bennett is wanted on aggravated assault, participating in criminal street gang activity, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The Atlanta police department is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the rapper’s arrest. Anonymous tips can be made by contac...
Playboi Carti Releases New Album Whole Lotta Red: Stream
Merry Christmas! Playboi Carti has just released Whole Lotta Red, his long-awaited sophomore album. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The arrival of Whole Lotta Red today couldn’t be more of a worthwhile gift. The Atlanta rapper has been working on the follow-up to his 2018 smash hit Die Lit for over two years now. Carti revealed the album’s title back in August 2018, hinted at various details throughout 2019, and announced the release date earlier this week on Monday. And now, on Christmas day, it’s finally here. As previously hinted at, Whole Lotta Red includes Carti’s chart-topping, unconventional single “@ MEH”, which he released back in April of this year. Other notable tracks include “Go2DaMoon” featuring Kanye West, “M3tamorphosis” featuring Kid Cudi, and “Teen X” featurin...
CupcakKe Drops Epic Diss Track “How to Rob (Remix)”: Stream
Leave it to Chicago rapper CupcakKe to start some drama right before the year’s end. In a nod to 50 Cent’s debut single “How to Rob”, she’s released her own diss track called “How to Rob (Remix)” where she goes after more than 20 rappers. Stream it below. CupcakKe sets the scene by opening the song with cheeky insults and friendly digs, saying, “It’s all motherfuckin’ love, don’t take shit personal.” From there, she wastes no time calling out Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, Lil Baby, 6ix9ine, Lizzo, Offset, Migos, Wiz Khalifa, Tory Lanez, Young M.A., Doja Cat, Sukihana, Lil Durk, City Girls, Lil Kim, Chief Keef, G Herbo, Mulatto, Flo Milli, Sada Baby, and DreamDoll. The one-liners she shoots off, ranging from “Drop Offset’s body in the jungle since he wanna be a cheetah” to “Is that ...
Griselda Records Announce Conflicted Feature Film and Soundtrack
Griselda Records is breaking into the movie business. The hip-hop collective and record label has announced that a debut feature film called Conflicted is on the way, as is the stacked soundtrack that will accompany it. Check out the official trailer below. According to a press release, Conflicted is an “urban tale” depicting Benny the Butcher as a Buffalo gangster named Hunter who struggles to do right after being released from prison. Faced with the dilemmas of his fresh start, Hunter declares he will never to go back to the game that cost him his freedom. In the process of getting back on track, though, he falls in love and is inevitably confronted with the demons of his past. All of this leaves Butcher feeling — wait for it — conflicted. Conflicted is directed by AK Reed, written by De...
