Hip-Hop
MF Doom Posthumously Honored with Street in Long Beach, New York
Eight months after his untimely passing, MF Doom is getting a street named after him in his hometown of Long Beach, New York. According to HipHopDX, a petition to name one block of East Hudson Street between Riverside Boulevard and Long Beach Road was organized by Dr. Patrick C. Graham — a former classmate who attended Long Beach High School with the late rapper — on behalf of a larger collective calling themselves the KMD-MF DOOM Way Committee. “I had several community members contact me to see if I could get engaged with it,” Dr. Graham told the outlet, adding, “I used to run the Martin Luther King Center there, so I still have a close connection to the community. I was born and raised there, went to high school with Dumile. So I said give me a minute and I’ll craft a letter to the City ...
Juvenile, Mannie Fresh & Mia X Drop New Vaccine Anthem ‘Vax That Thang Up’
Majority Founder Omid Farhang said in a statement, “To be young is to feel invincible. BLK is uniquely positioned to meet this historic moment, not through an academic lecture or sober manifesto, but through pop cultural content that speaks directly to the benefits of dating in real life once you’re vaccinated.” “Vax That Thang Up” marks the first time that artists from Cash Money Records and No Limit Records have collaborated on an official music project. “I just wanted to do something positive for my people and to stand in the front to show that I’m willing to sacrifice my life, not just for me but also for my family,” Juvenile said in a statement. “We don’t know what we’re facing right now but we really do all need to be vaccinated so we can continue to do our thi...
City Girls Share “Twerkulator” Video Directed by Missy Elliott: Watch
In May, City Girls finally released “Twerkulator” after a lengthy clearance battle. Now, they’ve dropped a heavily choreographed music video directed by Missy Elliott. Showing off the vision that won her MTV’s Video Vanguard Award, Elliott helps JT and Yung Miami pay homage to the track’s influence by setting the video in “Twerk City,” a landscape resembling New York City in the early ’80s. The Miami duo proceeds to show off choreographed dance moves while accompanied by a cadre of backup dancers. Sean Bankhead choreographed the video with creative direction by Derek Blanks. “Twerkulator” first leaked online in 2020, and started going viral on TikTok in early 2021. City Girls initially ran into clearance problems due to its infectious sample of Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force’s pion...
Isaiah Rashad Details New Album The House Is Burning
Isaiah Rashad is prepping the release of his sophomore album The House Is Burning, which he announced today will drop July 30th via Top Dawg Entertainment/Warner Records. The studio set serves as the rapper’s follow-up to The Sun’s Tirade, his 2016 debut album, and will feature previously-released track “Headshots (4r Da Locals)” and the Duke Deuce-assisted lead single “Lay Wit Ya.” With cover art showcasing the titular home ablaze in crayon, and Rashad’s multi-colored name scrawled in all caps across the bottom, the LP’s title is drawn from the rocky road Rashad has walked since the release of his first album — one that involved drugs, alcohol and a successful trip to a rehab facility in Dana Point, California. “I took it seriously, but I was drunk in the studio and trying my best to make...
Nicki Minaj Teases a ‘Very Very Very Important’ Announcement
Nicki Minaj is cooking up something, but you’ll have to wait until Thursday (July 8) to find out what it is. In a tweet on Tuesday the rapper revealed that “there’s something I URGENTLY need to share w/you guys.” The announcement was accompanied by a one-second loop video of Nicki rocking straight pink hair, matching nails and a plunging-neckline top staring into the camera. “I’ll go LIVE on IG THURSDAY @ 10:30 PM EST,” she continued. “No, I won’t be late. In fact, I’ll be early. This is VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Love you guys so much.” New mom Minaj hasn’t released an album since 2018’s Queen and her last solo single was 2020’s “Yikes,” but she’s been creeping back into our ears again rec...
Bad Bunny Unveils New Song “De Museo”: Stream
Bad Bunny reflects on the passage of time on his new song “De Museo.” This is the Puerto Rican star’s latest single, following “Yonaguni” from last month. “De Museo” is a laid-back trip through Latin trap, with Bad Bunny measuring the man he is now against the (less well-paid) man he used to be. “Pasa el tiempo y yo sigo aquí/ Un hermano no se traiciona, la familia nunca abandona,” he sings, which could be translated to, “Time passes and I’m still here/ A brother doesn’t betray, family never abandons.” He does catch himself aging, rapping, “El tiempo pasa, pasa y no se detiene/ Ya me estoy poniendo viejo y ayer era un nene” (“Time passes, it passes and it doesn’t stop/ I’m already getting old and yesterday I was a little kid”), but he doesn’t see himself as diminished. ...
Cardi B’s Daughter Kulture Kisses Mom’s Pregnant Belly in Precious New Video
Last summer, Cardi B and Offset‘s daughter Kulture Kiari joined Instagram. This summer, her account is proving to be the perfect place to document becoming a big sister. An adorable video of little Kulture, who’s almost 3 years old, and her pregnant mother was uploaded on the @kulturekiari account on Sunday (July 4). “I want to kiss the baby there,” Kulture, pointing to Cardi’s belly, tells her mom in the clip. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Chloe Bailey Delivers Her Own Version of Drake’s ‘Marvins Room’
Chloe Bailey continued her well-loved cover series with a rendition of Drake‘s “Marvins Room” over the weekend. For her latest cover, the Chloe x Halle singer uploaded a video on Sunday (July 4) of her own spin on the vulnerable Take Care track, which Drake originally released in 2011. “You told me that there’s someone else/ You messing with my confidence/ How you make me feel unwanted/ I’m really trying not to hold a grudge/ But you didn’t send me flowers for my birthday/ And now I’m hurting in the worst way,” Bailey sings on her “Marvins Room.” You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, c...
Cardi B Is ‘Thankful’ She Didn’t Get That Face Tattoo She Wanted as a Teenager
Cardi B planned to see stars long before her journey to Hollywood. The 28-year-old rapper took to Twitter to reveal the face tattoo she nearly had. “Everyday I’m thankful at the fact that [I] ain’t get this face tatt I wanted when I was 16,” she wrote. But what design would’ve graced Cardi’s face you might ask? “Little stars from the top of my eyebrow swirling down to my jaw,” the “WAP” artist wrote in response to her original tweet with an epic GIF of Mel B’s face-palm moment during America’s Got Talent. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process...
Declaime and Madlib Break Down New Album In the Beginning (Vol. 1) Track by Track: Exclusive
For our Track by Track feature, artists break down the meaning behind each song on their latest project. Today, Declaime gives insight into his joint album with Madlib, In the Beginning (Vol. 1). Today, prolific producer Madlib and Oxnard rapper Declaime have released their collaborative album, In the Beginning (Vol. 1). Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify, and read a complete Track by Track breakdown of the effort from Declaime. In the Beginning (Vol. 1) compiles 13 previously unreleased tracks recorded from 1993 to 1996, during which Declaime, aka Dudley Perkins, and Madlib lived across the street from each other. The two became fast friends outside of the studio, eventually leading them to enter the booth together. For Declaime, releasing the project is his way of paying tr...
Iggy Azalea Twerks Down the Highway, Takes a Rolling Bubble Bath in ‘I Am the Strip Club’ Video
The action just gets hotter from there when Azalea — rocking canary yellow hair and a matching yellow and black bikini and leather pants, drops verses from the back of a four-wheeler speeding down a desert highway at night, surrounded by motorcyclists standing up on their seats while popping wheelies and throwing sparks. “Don’t need dark rooms (I am the strip club)/ Don’t need red lights (I am the strip club)/ I do the lap dance, I ride the pole up/ I am the, the strip club,” she raps on the hook to the J. White Did It-produced the song about what goes on in the dark. The song follows on the heels of a similarly electronic-sounding promo track “Brazil,” the B-side to the rapper’s “Sip It” single from April. According to a release, both “...
Bobby Brown vs. Keith Sweat in Essence Verzuz Battle of R&B Icons: Billboard’s Scorecard & Winner For the Showdown
“This is truly a celebration of two giants of the culture…” DJ Cassidy enthused later in the evening and he couldn’t be more on target. Bobby Brown’s career soared in the mid-‘80s as part of the omnipresent R&B boy band New Edition — and while he ventured out on his own in 1987 with a built-in fanbase, Keith Sweat was finding his place on the Billboard 100 for the first time with hits like “Make It Last Forever” and “I Want Her” from his debut album. As the lights brightened in the venue, the two sat across from each other, backs straightened against ornate thrones, ready to prove why they’ve long been crowned kings. Here’s how Billboard scored their showdown. Round 1: Keith Sweat’s “Something Just Ain’t Right” vs. Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel” Sweat...
