Hip-Hop
Lil Baby Is as ‘Real as It Gets’ in New Music Video, Featuring EST Gee
Lil Baby enlists up-and-coming Louisville rapper EST Gee for his latest “Real As It Gets” music video. The two count up their respective stacks while rolling with a large entourage before debating where to keep rolling in the Caleb Jermale-directed video. Before wrapping his lyric about being impatient, someone discusses shooting one more scene, to which Lil Baby nonchalantly replies, “We finna shoot it right here.” The 26-year-old rapper is showing no signs of slowing down, as his new single joins the other two loosies, “On Me” and “Errbody,” he dropped following his ultra-successful run with My Turn. His sophomore album My Turn was declared the most popular album and most-streamed album of 2020 in the...
Nas to Young Rappers: “There’s No One Keeping Me Up at Night”
Nas isn’t feeling threatened by the youngest generation of rappers. In a new interview with the Financial Times, the hip-hop veteran revealed that while he enjoys many of today’s rising stars, there’s “no one keeping me up at night.” Until relatively recently, hip-hop was considered a young person’s game. However, now that rappers such as the 47-year-old Nas have proven that they can carry out successful careers well into their middle-age, the competitive nature of the genre lends itself to playful generational warfare. During his interview with FT, which was mostly focused on his historic career and various business ventures, the Illmatic icon took a moment to share his thoughts on the rap titans of today — many of whom are more than half his age. “I appreciate what’s ...
Ready or Not, The Opus to Explore Fugees’ The Score
Consequence Podcast Network and Sony’s The Opus returns for an incredible Season 13. Beginning March 11th, host Jill Hopkins will begin exploring the stories and songs behind the Fugees’ second and final album, The Score. After their criminally underrated 1994 debut, Blunted on Reality, struggled to win over critics and fans, the Fugees needed to make a statement. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Pras Michel were granted a second chance in 1995 by Ruffhouse Records head Chris Schwartz, who gave them a $135,000 advance and complete creative control. Their followup was 1996’s The Score, a diamond album that cemented Fugees’ place in hip-hop history. Led by hit singles “Killing Me Softly”, “Fu-Gee-La”, and “Ready or Not”, the LP went on to be certified six-times Platinum by the ...
Stalley Announces New Partnership With Mello Music Group: Exclusive
Mello Music Group placed the welcome mat to Stalley by teaming him up with Joell Ortiz, Namir Blade and Solemn Brigham for their latest collaboration, “Black Rock.” The record will reside on the label’s forthcoming compilation album titled Bushido. Slated for production include vets Alchemist, illmind, and Apollo Brown, while the rap side will boast features by Skyzoo, Open Mike Eagle, B-Real, Murs, and Stalley. The project will officially be out on April 2. You can pre-order here. “While my debut Mello Music project will be released later this year, I’m eager to showcase my talents with the rest of the label on the Bushido Compilation album and debut “Black Rock”; the single is dope!” Stream “Black Rock” bel...
10 Artists Worth Bringing Back VH1 Storytellers For
Kendrick Lamar photo by Amy Price; St. Vincent photo by David Brendan Hall; Janelle Monáe photo by Philip Cosores VH1 Storytellers was such a cool show. It borrowed the idea of MTV Unplugged — a hugely popular act performing a stripped-down set in front of an intimate audience — and took it one step further. Audiences could see and hear artists in a more relaxed setting, dishing on their careers and telling stories about creating the songs we know and love. Storytellers first aired 25 years ago in late February 1996; Kinks mastermind Ray Davies was the first performer. It ran for 97 more episodes, the last starring Ed Sheeran in 2015. In between, there was a veritable Who’s Who of talent, from classic rock gods like David Bowie and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to ‘90s stars like Pearl ...
Wesley Joseph Drops Thumping Track “Thrilla”: Stream
23-year-old UK rapper Wesley Joseph has released “Thrilla”, his first new song of 2021. The booming track is co-produced by Jai Paul collaborator Lexxx and Joseph himself. It arrives via a self-directed music video featuring one of the two working DeLoreans in the UK. Stream the clip below. “Thrilla” is propelled by a heavy 808, but the production is also layered with funk-inspired guitar licks and gothic strings. In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac, Joseph said he freestyled the song’s lyrics while drunk “off the rum and orange juice.” Accordingly, most of the track features swaggering rhymes, but Joseph also gets introspective at times. “Visions in my dreams, who do you believe / They fear the change,” he raps. “Looking hollow tomorrow, dividing barricades / Thought I saw the fu...
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...
Fans Choose Pop Smoke’s Posthumous Song ‘AP’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music
Pop Smoke was shot and killed at a Los Angeles residence in early 2020. In the months following his murder, the 20-year-old Brooklyn star’s posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The late rapper will make his posthumous acting debut in Eddie Huang’s new coming-of-age movie Boogie, the story of Queens basketball prodigy Alfred “Boogie” Chin. Pop Smoke plays Boogie’s on-court rival Monk. Placing second on the past week’s tally with 23% of the vote was Malone’s rendition of Hootie & the Blowfish’s 1995 hit “Only Wanna Be With You.” The cover will appear on Pokémon 25: The Album, which celebrates the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Other artists appearing on Pokémon 25 include ...
Cardi B Wants Lizzo to Join Her on a Song
Cardi B and Lizzo, together at last? After gushing over some stunning portraits of Lizzo, the rapper implied that she’s ready to write a song that will feature her. “These pics do it for me,” Cardi wrote on Twitter Sunday afternoon (Feb. 28), captioning a set of four photos of Lizzo in various poses. When a fan left the comment “now drop that collab with her” on Cardi’s post, she replied within two minutes. 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.
Redman, Method Man, and H.E.R. Join D’Angelo’s Verzuz in a Celebration of Live Music: Review
For music lovers, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively put an end to live performances for the foreseeable future. Many venues across the country have temporally (or permanently) closed or now operate with capacity restrictions. Never again will we take for granted the sweet simplicity of being able to catch our favorite artist/band in concert. But one of the few positive things to happen for live music during all the insanity that has taken place over the last year and counting is the emergence of the Verzuz series. Curated by super producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, who dueled in the first battle last March, Verzuz gave fans a lifeline as we sat at home watching our favorite producers and singers reminisce about the creation of their classic songs, many of which have defined hip-hop and R...
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 ...
D’Angelo Brings Friends, Classics and No Drama to Verzuz Stage For Competition-Free Performance
After a little under an hour, D’Angelo breezily walked on the Ciroc-loaded stage with a cigarette in hand, a black mink coat on his back, and a tall, wide-brimmed hat on his head. “Peace and love, everybody,” he calmly declared, welcoming viewers to a deeply intimate evening with D’Angelo. He informed the audience that they would be the friends, opting for the concert route rather than a traditional 1v1 setting. He kicked off the night with a performance featuring trumpet player Keyon Harrold (of his backing band The Vanguard), then transitioned to the fan favorite Smokey Robinson cover “Cruisin” from 1995 debut album Brown Sugar — to instant delight from viewers. After D’Angelo and DJ Scratch collaborated in performing the singer’s most celebrated early reco...
