Hip-Hop
Kim Kardashian West, Ye, Maluma, Pharrell Attend Louis Vuitton Show Honoring Virgil Abloh
Louis Vuitton’s first ever U.S. fashion show turned into a somber yet whimsical tribute to groundbreaking designer Virgil Abloh days after his death. The Miami menswear event, an unofficial kickoff to the prestigious Art Basel fair, had been in the works for months. Guests were ferried by yachts to the star-studded affair held on an island. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Celebrity attendees, including Kim Kardashian West and her daughter North, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, model Bella Hadid, Joe Jonas, Maluma and Pharrell, arrived in sleek LV monogrammed silver speedboats. Kid Cudi and Erykah Badu performed at an after-party. “Hey Virgil,” she yelled at the start of her set, later saying “we want to see you fly.” Abloh, who die...
Tierra Whack Announces Rap? EP
Tierra Whack is returning this week with new music. The Philadelphia rapper just announced a new EP called Rap?, which will be released on December 2nd via Interscope Records. Rap? is Whack’s first complete of songs since her 15-track, 15-minute 2018 debut, Whack World. That’s not to say the Philadelphia artist hasn’t stayed busy: she’s released a steady flow of singles since her debut, including three songs — “Link,” “76,” and “Walk the Beat” — in 2021. To coincide with Rap?, Whack is dropping a collaboration with Vans on December 3rd. The rapper teamed with stylist Shirley Kurata to create an 80s-inspired collection of shoes and apparel that centers the mantra “Weird Hype And Creative Kids” (or “WHACK”). Advertisement Related Video Whack recently contributed to the star-st...
Your Old Droog Unleashes New Album Space Bar: Stream
Your Old Droog has unveiled the new album Space Bar. Stream it below with Apple Music or Spotify. A meditation on travel, space, culture, and limits, Space Bar is set beyond Earth’s atmosphere. “Here we are, in space,” he says. “A bar in space, at that. Drink up!” This is the ever-prolific Droog’s fourth (!) new album of the year, following TIME and his two collaborations with Tha God Fahim, Tha Wolf on Wall St and Tha YOD Fahim. Fahim appears on a pair of Space Bar tracks, and YOD has also recruited features from Lil Ugly Mane, billy woods, and Nickelus F. Production comes from 88 Keys, Nicholas Craven, SadhuGold, and Elaquent. Advertisement Related Video Previously, Your Old Droog shared the Space Bar singles “Yuri” and “Meteor ...
Kanye West (Ye)’s Choir Covers Adele’s ‘Easy on Me’ at Sunday Service Dedicated to Virgil Abloh
A choir assembled for a moving rendition of Adele‘s “Easy on Me” at Kanye West‘s latest Sunday Service, which was dedicated to Virgil Abloh, his longtime creative director who died on Sunday (Nov. 28). Ye’s Sunday Service choir sang new lyrics set to “Easy on Me,” the chart-topping lead ballad from Adele’s album 30. The performance was live streamed briefly at dondalive.com Sunday afternoon, shortly after Ye shared the link on his Instagram Story. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a reworked first verse, they sang: “I know your love flows like a river/ And I could wash myself in it forever/ I know there is hope in these waters/ But I can’t bring myself to swim/ When I am drowning in my sin.” “Go easy on me, father,” Ye’s choir harmonized on th...
R.I.P. Virgil Abloh, Fashion Designer and Kanye West Collaborator Dead at 41
Fashion designer Virgil Abloh has died following a private two-year battle with cancer. He was 41. According to a statement released by Abloh’s family, he “valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.” Born in Rockford, Illinois, to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Abloh graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, and later received his Master of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. While working at a Chicago print shop, Abloh met rapper Kanye West, which marked the beginning of a close fr...
Chance the Rapper and Dionne Warwick Share New Single “Nothing’s Impossible”: Stream
Chance the Rapper has a song out with Dionne Warwick. Yes, you read that right: the Chicago rapper has teamed up with the R&B legend, TV host, and Twitter personality for the new single, “Nothing’s Impossible.” We can safely assume that Chance and Warwick made their first interaction via Twitter back in December 2020, when the singer wrote: “Hi, @chancetherapper. If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this.” Not long after, she teased that the duo would be in the studio together to put out a song benefitting both their charities (Chance’s SocialWorks and Warwick’s Hunger: Not Impossible). The result was “Nothing’s Impossible,” a slinky ballad that feels right in line with Warwick’s hits from the late ’70s and ’80s. And, ri...
Kanye West and Taylor Swift Were Last-Minute Grammy Nominees for Album of the Year
An 11th hour decision by the Recording Academy to expand the number of finalists in the Grammys’ “Big Four” categories from eight to 10 resulted in Kanye West and Taylor Swift each receiving Album of the Year nominations. According to the New York Times, West’s Donda and Swift’s evermore were absent from an early version of nominees that had been circulated prior to last week’s official announcement. Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, told the Times that the last-minute expansion in the number of Grammy nominees was done “to make room for more music, more artists and more genres, and to embrace the spirit of inclusion.” Mason said that the artists added to the list were the ninth and tenth most voted by the Recording Academy’s members. “For us this is all positive movement,” M...
Dionne Warwick & Chance the Rapper Team Up for ‘Nothing’s Impossible’ Duet
“Nothing’s Impossible,” a duet between Dionne Warwick and Chance the Rapper, has arrived. “For those of you asking about the song with @chancetherapper… well, it’s out NOW,” Warwick announced on Twitter on Friday (Nov. 26). “I gotta tell you, I am so excited,” Warwick said in a video clip she tweeted. “Yes, I am.” The pair revealed the song was in the works back in January, after connecting on Twitter a month before. Warwick had first initiated contact by poking fun at Chance with some pointed comments that had her trending on Twitter: “Hi, @chancetherapper,” she wrote on Twitter on Dec. 5. “If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name? I cannot stop thinking about this.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I am now Dio...
Kanye Gets Real About His Mental Health, Temper, and “Misactions” in Thanksgiving Prayer
Kanye West has shared a Thanksgiving prayer to his Instagram page. In the five-minute spoken-word piece, the rapper speaks openly and honestly about his mental health, politics, religion, and narcissism, and the strain it has put on his family. At the onset, Kanye says, “All I think about every day is how I get my family back together, and how I heal the pain that I’ve caused” his wife, Kim Kardashian. (Kanye and Kim separated following a six-year marriage in February 2021. She has since begun dating Pete Davidson). “I take accountability for my actions,” Kanye continues, adding that he’s coined a new term: ‘misactions.” He goes on to admit that “the one thing that all my successes and failures have in common is me,” and proceeds to detail each of his failures: alcohol, episodes, ego, temp...
Who Profits From the Posthumous Album Release?
“Do not continue anything in my name if I die. You got this on record,” Tyler, the Creator told XXL in October 2021. “If I ever die, I don’t want people to put my music out… [with] features with people I do not fuck with. The companies are over with. Everything’s done.” Amid a continuous tide of posthumous releases, where quality and quantity battle against each other in the streaming era, that sentiment is becoming louder. In fact, Tyler’s fellow Californian Anderson .Paak went as far as to tattoo his perspective across his right forearm back in August: “When I’m gone, please don’t release any posthumous albums or songs with my name attached. Those were just demos and never intended to be heard by the public.” Tyler and .Paak are two of the more outspoken artists on this increasingly...
Travis Scott Goes Golfing with Michael Jordan and Mark Wahlberg in First Public Appearance Since Astroworld
Travis Scott surfaced publicly this week for the first time since the tragic events at Astroworld. As TMZ reports, on Tuesday the rapper hit a Southern California golf course with an all-star pairing that included Michael Jordan and Mark Wahlberg. Prior to this week, Scott had been laying low in his hometown of Houston, Texas, dealing with the aftermath of Astroworld. During Scott’s headlining performance at the festival, a crowd surge left 10 people dead and hundreds of others injured. While a criminal investigation is still ongoing, already there’s been a bevy of civil suits filed against Scott, the festival’s promoter Live Nation, and others. Scott has offered to cover the funeral costs for all 10 individuals killed at Astroworld, and is providing free counseling for attendees impacted ...
Rolling Loud Makes California Festival 18+ Following Astroworld Tragedy
Earlier this month, 10 people ranging in age from nine to 27 died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival after being trampled in a large crowd surge. Now, in an apparent response to the tragedy, the hip-hop festival Rolling Loud has announced that its upcoming California event will only be open to audience members age 18 or older “in light of recent events.” In a statement posted to Twitter noting they “want everyone to rage safely,” the Rolling Loud organizers wrote: “We welcome everyone to experience our festivals, however, in light of recent events, we will be implementing an 18+ policy specific only to our upcoming 2021 California festival. We will be giving all ticket purchasers who are under the age of 18 the option to either roll their tickets over to next year’s 2022 California fest...
