Hip-Hop
A$AP Rocky’s Debut Mixtape Live. Love. A$AP Is Coming to Streaming Services
Before A$AP Rocky had enough clout to date Rihanna and share the stage with Red Hot Chili Peppers, he was a burgeoning rapper whose 2011 debut mixtape was beginning to garner some heavy buzz. Now, that project — titled Live. Love. A$AP — will finally see the light of day on major streaming services in celebration of its 10th anniversary. The Harlem native born Rakim Mayers first shared Live. Love. A$AP as a free download, spawning some of his early career highlights like “Purple Swag” and “Peso.” That same year, he famously signed a $3 million record deal with RCA and Polo Grounds Music. Per Sony, Live. Love. A$AP will finally hit Apple Music and Spotify on October 29th, just in time to fill out your Halloween party playlists. The streaming version of the mixtape will also f...
J. Cole Celebrates His Beloved Catalog During Intimate L.A. SiriusXM & Pandora Show
“One time for my L.A. sisters, one time for my L.A. h–s,” J. Cole‘s voice rumbled during his performance of “No Role Modelz” in the intimate 500-capacity Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, Calif., on Saturday night. But the Fayetteville, N.C., rapper did it two times for his L.A. fans last week, as Saturday’s performance, which was part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series, came two nights after his The Off-Season Tour stop at Inglewood’s Forum arena. The coziness of Cole’s concert was all-too palpable for the artist himself, sweating through his orange tee but breezing through his decade-long discography and assuring concertgoers not to sweat it if they didn’t know his tracks bar-for-bar (while warning them no...
Aminé Returns with New Single “Charmander”: Stream
Aminé is back with “Charmander,” his first new music of 2021. To accompany the single, the rapper released a music video that he co-directed with frequent collaborator Jack Begert. Produced by Lido (Halsey, Chance the Rapper) and Aksel Arvid, “Charmander” sees the Portland MC explaining his chosen life of solitude. “Look, my energy is priceless, told my jeweller, ‘Ice this’/I’m way too decisive, don’t catch that ego-itis,” he raps over a chirpy beat featuring a sped-up vocal sample. “People be so phony, that’s why I be on my lonely.” In the video for “Charmander,” Aminé leads a simple life with his partner in a cabin located in the Oregon wilderness. The couple is also joined by a gigantic dog who pisses off their next-door neighbor. Watch the full clip below. Advertisement Related Vi...
A$AP Rocky’s ‘Live. Love. A$AP’ Mixtape Coming to Streaming for First Time
This re-release includes the addition of a new song called “Sandman,” a track with signature A$AP hazy instrumentals and pitched-down ad libs, which first premiered during Yams Day 2021 in January. “Sandman” was produced by Kelvin Krash and Clams Casino, who was a close collaborator on the original mixtape. The single was also part of the rapper’s NFT collection that featured select pieces and entered fans into a raffle to win one of his testing vehicles from his Injured Generation Tour or a studio visit to listen to his upcoming studio album. Pre-save the re-release here and see the tape’s full track list below. Live. Love. A$AP track list PalacePesoBassWassupBrand New Guy feat. Schoolboy QPurple SwagGe...
Snoop Dogg Remembers His Mom With Heartfelt Tributes
In another, he wrote: “Thank u god for giving me an angel for a mother,” accompanying a picture of his parent in a pastel pink ensemble, holding a bouquet of flowers. Snoop also posted a video of himself, listening to music in a darkened room, captioned with a single broken-heart emoji. Born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, Snoop is one Tate’s four sons. More than just the mother of the Doggfather, Tate published a string of books during her lifetime, including Real Love (2012), and Real Love II: The Story of an Extraordinary Woman (2014). Tate was reportedly hospitalized earlier this year for undisclosed reasons. A cause of death has not been revealed. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with givin...
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, MC Lyte, Big Freedia & More Inducted Into Ebony Power 100 Class of 2021
Jam & Lewis were presented with the lifetime achievement award by Janet Jackson via video and singer MAJOR. onstage. Thanking “God in the sky and god on earth, Clarence Avant — the Black Godfather,” his family and Ebony (“I saw people that looked like myself”), Jam said the pair’s award “isn’t a place to stop but a bar set high that we will continue to try to raise every day.” After doing a quick “happy dance,” Lewis thanked his family as well, adding, “You could be in Billboard, Variety or any other magazine, but you didn’t make it until you were in Ebony or Jet. That was the bar. I love awards, but I love the journey that I’ve been on … and the journey that I’m going to be on with you.” Also among the individual ...
Young Thug’s ‘Punk’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
Of Punk’s 90,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 21, SEA units comprise 77,000 (equaling 102 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales comprise 12,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. Punk marks Young Thug’s third visit to No. 1. He previously topped the list by way of the Young Thug-led Slime Language 2 album earlier in 2021 and So Much Fun in 2019. Drake’s former No. 1 Certified Lover Boy falls to the No. 2 slot after four nonconsecutive weeks in the lead. It earned 83,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 21 (down 12%). Mac Miller’s Faces mixtape debuts at No. 3 with 67,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 34,000, SEA units comprise 33,000 (equaling 43.03 million on-demand streams of the ...
Boosie Unleashes Disgusting Homophobic Rant on Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X is one of the most compelling and innovative artists to emerge in the last decade. Boosie (aka Lil Boosie aka Boosie BadAzz) is a one-time Southern rap titan whose career hit the skids when he decided to name his 2017 album BooPac and never recovered. Nowadays, you’re much more likely to see Boosie’s name in the headlines for the homophobic comments posted to his Twitter than you are for his music. Over the last several months, Boosie has made a number of derogatory comments about the “Industry Baby” rapper and his sexuality. Lil Nas X has mostly ignored Boosie, but during a recent Instagram chat with fans, he joked that the two had collaborated on a new song (via HNHH). “Shit fire,” Lil Nas X quipped. “I ain’t even gonna lie, for real. Gotdamn song with Lil Boosie gonna come out...
Boosie Badazz Hurls Vile Words at Lil Nas X in Homophobic Tweet
“STOP TROLLING ME F—– LOL!! U A WHOLE B—- PLAYING WITH A GANGSTA SMH U CAN KEEP SUCKING D— N GETTIN F—ED N YOUR A– N PEACE N #uhateyourself I WOULD TOO IF I WAS YOU LOL NASx IF YOU #commitsuicide YOU WOULD DO THIS WORLD A HUGE FAVOR NOBODY WANTS U HERE,” Badazz tweeted Saturday afternoon (Oct. 23). The tweet remained published for a while on Saturday, but has since been deleted for violating Twitter rules. At the time of publication, Lil Nas X — who was recently honored as The Trevor Project’s Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year — had not responded to Boosie Badazz. While his name trended on Twitter over the hateful remarks, Lil Nas X instead took a moment to write, “i am truly saddened. i have never been so mortif...
Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Scream’-Inspired Halloween Nails Are Scary Good
Megan Thee Stallion continues to be in the Halloween spirit. On Friday (Oct. 22), the “Thot Shit” rapper took to Instagram to share her newest set of spooky nails. “Spooky $et,” the rapper captioned the post of her nails, which features several versions of Ghostface from Scream — one face is bejeweled, while the others are sparkly, starry-eyed and bloody. Along with the images of her decked-out nails, Megan posed in a Ghostface mask and oversize Venom T-shirt, using a knife as a prop to complete the scary look. Finishing off the rapper’s photo set was a screen grab from the 2000 Scream spoof Scary Movie, where “Ghostface” is on the phone telling the person on the other end of the receiver that he’s “just chillin’, ...
Mick Jenkins Drops New Single “Scottie Pippen”: Stream
Earlier this month, Mick Jenkins announced that his new album, Elephant in the Room, would be released soon. Just ahead of its release on October 29th, the Chicago rapper has shared another preview of the project with the single “Scottie Pippen.” “Scottie Pippen,” named after the former Chicago Bulls star, is a dreamy, smooth jazz-influenced track that puts Jenkins’ relaxed flow at the forefront. As Jenkins puts it, however, his points per game isn’t quite as high as the song’s namesake: “No matter how I shoot, I’ll never win it all/ On my own, yeah, without you,” he raps. More heartbroken than victorious, “Scottie Pippen” is a meditation on lost love and the difficult task of moving on. Stream the song below. “Scottie Pippen” follows Mick Jenkins’ previous singles “Truffles” and...
Rap Song of the Week: Maxo Kream Details Immeasurable Loss on “CRIPSTIAN”
Every week, our new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down our favorite hip-hop tracks of the week. Check out the full playlist here. This week, we highlight Maxo Kream’s WEIGHT OF THE WORLD opener “CRIPSTIAN.” The world has changed immeasurably in the two years since Maxo Kream released his standout project Brandon Banks, and the Houston rapper might be carrying more weight than anyone else. While still grieving the loss of his brother, Maxo’s grandmother was hospitalized due to COVID and he had a cousin die by suicide — not to mention a friend whose bail was set at a million dollars. Trauma is a theme explored throughout Maxo’s aptly titled new album WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, but the opening track “CRIPSTIAN” distills all his pain from the get-go. In addition to his dad and frien...
