Hip-Hop
Solange Knowles to Expand Creative Expression Platform Saint Heron: ‘We Are Creating a Legacy’
Saint Heron, founded by Solange Knowles, is officially expanding. On Monday (May 24), it was announced that the creative expression hub will become a multidisciplinary platform, studio and creative agency. Speaking on her decision to broaden Saint Heron into a cultural institution, Knowles, 34, said in a statement, “Worldmaking has been a huge part of my practice. … As we transition to an institution, the answer and the vision become abundantly clear. We are creating a legacy where we not only continue the work we have already built, but preserve collections of creators with the urgency they deserve. She continued, “Together we want to create an archive of stories, and works we deem valuable. We want to open up these works publicly, and make them accessible to student...
Chi Modu, Legendary Hip Hop Photographer, Dies at 54
Born in Nigeria in July 1966, Modu was raised in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University, graduating in 1989 with a degree in economics. It was at Rutgers that he began to dabble in photography and upon leaving college he studied the medium at Manhattan’s International Center of Photography. His first job as a photographer was at Harlem-based New York Amsterdam News. In the early 1990s, he joined The Source, one of the premier hip hop magazines, and rose to become the director of photography. Influenced by the likes of Roy Decarava and André Kertész, he was known for capturing candid, unguarded images of artists, many of whom had never been shot professionally before. In all, Modu shot 30 covers for The Source during what many consider to be hip hop’s golden age. His images documented b...
Doja Cat and SZA Perform “Kiss Me More” at 2021 Billboard Music Awards: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T00:17:37+00:00“>May 23, 2021 | 8:17pm ET Open a new tube of chapstick and check out Doja Cat and SZA’s first performance of “Kiss Me More” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. “Kiss Me More” is the first single from Doja Cat’s upcoming album, Planet Her, and Sunday marked the first time she and SZA have sung it together live on stage. Surrounded by dancers with their heads in giant orange balls, the pair delivered a stylish performance. SZA sang from atop a rotating pedestal platform before kicking it down to Doja for a dance-remix breakdown. Check it out ahead. After jumping into bed with hyper-sexualized songs like the “34+35” remix, you might be wondering, why a song about l...
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Bring Timely ‘Optimistic’ to the 2021 Billboard Music Awards With Sounds of Blackness and Ann Nesby
Legendary songwriter/producer duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis linked up with soul and gospel singers Ann Nesby and the Sounds of Blackness for a mighty performance of the early ’90s hit “Optimistic” at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night (May 23). Delivered as a tribute to the duo’s hometown of Minneapolis, from Prince’s Paisley Park, Jam and Lewis shouted out the “place that musically has always represented change to the status quo.” They were then joined on stage by Nesby and the Sounds of Blackness, who performed “Optimistic” in a towering a cappella rendition, with powerful photos of recent activism (much of which has been recently centered in Minneapolis) shown on a screen behind them. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you a...
Lil Nas X Rips His Pants on ‘SNL’ While Pole Dancing During ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’: Watch
Surrounded by a hell-themed backdrop and shirtless dancers, the artist was noticeably caught off guard by the wardrobe malfunction, evidenced by a wide-eyed look of surprise as it happened, followed by a quick grab of his crotch for the remainder of the performance. Nevertheless, he finished out the song like a pro. Lil Nas X dropped “Montero” on March 26, along with a video that generated plenty of controversy, which led to a spoof on SNL. In the visual, the artist at one point pole dances down to hell, where he proceeds to give Satan a lap dance. The track debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and went on to top both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. For his second song on the SNL finale, hosted by actress Anya Taylor-Joy, Lil Nas slowed things down ...
Lil Nas X Perseveres Past Wardrobe Malfunction for Memorable SNL Debut: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-23T14:40:08+00:00“>May 23, 2021 | 10:40am ET Lil Nas X helped close out Saturday Night Live’s 46th season by performing his two latest singles: the chart-topping “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and his recent follow-up, “Sun Goes Down”. However, Lil Nas X’s appearance on SNL’s season finale nearly proved disastrous, and not because angry conservatives bum-rushed the stage. Rather, all that gyrating during Lil Nas X’s performance of “Montero” caused the front of his pants to split open. He spent the last minute of his performance with one hand on his crotch — which, to be honest, wasn’t all that out of place when juxtaposed alongside some of the other sultry moves carried out by ...
Nas, LL Cool J & Fat Joe Help Break Ground At Universal Hip Hop Museum
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Sylvester Zawadzki / Universal Hip-Hop Museum Our culture will finally have a destination where its’ rich history will be formally exhibited. Some living legends helped break ground at the Universal Hip-Hop Museum. Source: Sylvester Zawadzki / Universal Hip-Hop Museum As reported by HipHopDX the build out of the Universal Hip Hop Museum is officially underway. On Thursday, May 20 several Rap icons appeared on site to put shovels to dirt in honor of the sound that raised many of us. At the ceremony were the likes of Nas, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Kim, Naughty by Nature, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick, Michael Bivins (of Bell Biv DeVoe), Public Enemy’s Chuck D, MC Sha-Rock, EPMD and more. The event was hosted by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr....
Saweetie ‘At a Loss for Words’ as a First-Time Billboard Music Awards Finalist
“I feel accomplished, although I have a lot of more work to do. Honestly, it’s just an honor. And I was really surprised, so I’m just very grateful,” she tells Billboard in a Zoom interview ahead of the show. “I’m just really excited about being nominated with no album out. I’m kind of at a loss for words.” As someone who was nominated as Female Athlete of the Year at her high school, where she competed in track, volleyball and powderpuff football, Saweetie likes a challenge. The 27-year-old MC has already defeated the forces that pit female artists against one another by extending her collaborations to women outside the rap game, like pop icon Gwen Stefani on the “Slow Clap” remix and British girl group Little Mix on th...
Bobby Sessions Drops New Single “Gold Rolex” with Benny the Butcher and Freddie Gibbs: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-21T20:14:37+00:00“>May 21, 2021 | 4:14pm ET Bobby Sessions joins forces with Benny the Butcher and Freddie Gibbs on his new single “Gold Rolex,” out today via Def Jam. On the track, the trio of rappers decry the capitalist structure that fuels America’s materialistic culture, all while taking aim at everything from Donald Trump to the prison industrial complex. “Took the shackles off my soul, never sold it for a cent/ Now the wrist is full of gold, I hit the goal and now I’m rich, uh/ Made some new ones/ Kept this shit one hundred, now it’s paired up with the blue ones/ I expose the system, take a look at how they do us/ They wanna hang me, tell the world that I’m a nuisance/ P**...
Latto Is Ready to Bet It All and Win Big With Her New Name
Coined during slavery, “mulatto” was a racial slur used to describe multiracial children. According to Merriam-Webster, the word “mulatto” means “the first-generation offspring of a Black person and a white person.” They also consider the term “usually offensive” because of its muddy origin. As Latto’s popularity increased, her namesake — which represented her biracial roots — became a more significant issue for her and her team. “Mulatto was a negative term that I was trying to make positive,” she relayed. “We’re gonna start positive, and I feel like that’s gonna bring that energy my way. I feel like, in a way, that could’ve been holding me back, and I don’t want to attach that to m...
J. Cole Celebrates ‘The Off-Season’ With New RS-Dreamer 2 Sneaker
The red and black mid-silhouette of the Off Season Red are fit for both on-court performance and off-court style, featuring Puma’s signature ProFoam throughout the midsole and full coverage rubber outsole for optimal durability. The sneaker is now available for $130 on Puma’s website here, as well as on FootLocker.com here, at the Puma NYC Flagship Store and select retailers worldwide. J. Cole’s been rolling out a number of sleek footwear launches throughout the past couple of months, including the RS-Dreamer Proto, a personal favorite of the rapper and his label Dreamville, and the re-release of the RS-Dreamer sneaker. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It ...
Wu-Tang Clan Announce Epic Performance with Symphony Orchestra
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-21T02:11:18+00:00“>May 20, 2021 | 10:11pm ET Never mind the cicadas and prepare for a swarm of killa beez: The Wu-Tang Clan will assemble at Red Rocks in August 13th alongside the Colorado Symphony, turntablist Chris Karns, and Big Boi from Outkast. The Shaolin spitters last summoned their forces to Red Rocks for a Halloween show during the 25th anniversary tour. For this post-COVID return, the Clan are trying to match the heightened energy of that event by turning to the local masters. The Colorado Symphony calls Red Rocks its “unofficial summer home,” and since it’s currently there presenting a program of John Williams scores, we assume it will be up to the challenge of Wu...
