Hip-Hop
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Officially File for Divorce
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have officially filed for divorce, ending their marriage of seven years. TMZ reports that Kardashian recently filed the requisite documents through her lawyer Laura Wasser. Kardashian is asking for joint legal and physical custody of the couple’s four children, which West has apparently agreed to. Additionally, neither Kardashian nor West is said to be contesting their prenup. Settlement negotiations are reportedly “amicable” at this time. West first hinted at a riff in the couple’s marriage over the summer when he bizarrely tweeted about divorcing Kardashian in the wake of a meeting she had with Meek Mill. “I been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Warldolf [sic] for ‘prison reform,’” he tweeted, seeming to refer to a criminal justice ...
Justine Skye Joined by Bella Hadid, Lil Yachty & Timbaland in ‘Intruded’ Video
All eyes and cameras are on Justine Skye in a music video for “Intruded,” her new Timbaland-produced single released Friday (Feb. 19). The mega-producer stars in the visual alongside Bella Hadid and Lil Yachty, who all try catching Skye’s attention from the confines of her security-camera footage and video calls, but to no avail. The 25-year-old R&B singer is too busy hitting all her angles while spinning around on a 360 platform in the six-minute Nina Holmgren-directed visual. “Intruded” spotlights a love that knows no escape because of how hard Skye is willing to keep it around. “Falling in love can make you feel kind of crazy,” she said in a statement. “When I wrote ‘Intruded,’ I wrote from a place of being comple...
Questlove to Direct Documentary About Sly Stone
Common will exec produce the project from MRC Non-Fiction. After making his feature directorial debut with Sundance-winning doc Summer of Love, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has set his follow-up feature on Sly Stone. Questlove will direct the documentary about the influential artist, king of funk, and fashion icon, with his partners Zarah Zohlman and Shawn Geehis producing under their Two One Five Entertainment banner. According to the announcement, the doc will follow the musician “who was breaking all the rules at a time when doing so was extremely challenging, even dangerous. The pressure of explosive mainstream pop success and the responsibility of representing Black America forced him to walk the fine line of impossible expectations.” You Deserve to Mak...
Trace Lysette on Debut Rap Single ‘SMB’: ‘I Needed Another Outlet for My Artistry’
What made you want to get into music with “SMB”?In this business, we’re constantly evolving and showing the world more layers of who we are. I think that’s always a struggle with talent: this relationship of trying to figure out how to present your most authentic self to the world, and hopefully be loved for it. I grew up on hip-hop, had Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown plastered on my walls as an adolescent, and I always wanted to dive into that space. Acting can be so limiting, especially as a trans actor. You just get what’s thrown at you, and a lot of times, it’s crumbs. I needed another outlet for my artistry. I really wanted the song to have a message. Sometimes I feel like it might be going over people’s heads, cis people’s heads. Maybe they don’t quite get the meaning of being a self-made b...
Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats Announce Guest-Heavy UNLOCKED 1.5 Remix EP
Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats famously only took 24 hours to put together their collaborative EP, UNLOCKED. In the year since, they’ve put a bit more time into recreating the eight-track effort as the guest-heavy reimagining UNLOCKED 1.5. Due out February 26th, UNLOCKED 1.5 is described as “a brand new release inspired by Denzel and Kenny’s original.” Remixes of the tracks are presented by the likes of The Alchemist, Jay Versace, GODMODE, and Georgia Anne Muldrow, with new features coming from recent Artist of the Month Arlo Parks, Joey Bada$$, Benny the Butcher, Kenny Mason, and more. As a first listen, Curry and Beats have, well, unlocked Robert Glasper’s version of “So.Incredible.pkg”, which includes a guest verse from Smino. Take a listen via the visualizer below. That fighting-sty...
R.I.P. Prince Markie Dee, Rapper in The Fat Boys Dead at 52
Mark “Prince Markie Dee” Morales, whose swagger and humor with The Fat Boys helped define early hip-hop, has died at 52. The news was first announced by the SiriusXM radio channel Rock the Bells, where Morales hosted The Prince Markie Dee Show, and later confirmed by his longtime friend Louis “Uncle Louis” Gregory. AllHipHop reports the cause of death was congestive heart failure. Morales was born on on Feb. 19th, 1968 in New York City. He formed The Fat Boys in the early eighties with Darren Robinson, aka The Human Beat Box, and Damon “Kool Rock Ski” Wimbley. Alongside fellow Golden Age pioneers like Doug E. Fresh, The Fat Boys brought beatboxing to mainstream audiences, piling up the hits with self-deprecating humor and riotous party anthems. The trio put out seven albums between 19...
Tha God Fahim and Your Old Droog Release New Album Tha YOD Fahim: Stream
Rappers Tha God Fahim and Your Old Droog have released a new collaborative album called Tha Yod Fahim. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. That deja vu you’re feeling is totally justified. Tha God Fahim made two appearances on Your Old Droog’s December 2020 record, Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition, and then last month the prolific emcees teamed up for a fantastic mini-album of their own called Tha Wolf on Wall St. That one was only eight tracks, but its dense production and sharp lyricism gave fans a lot to chew on. Nevertheless, the pair have decided that it’s already time to swing back around with even bigger second helping. Tha YOD Fahim (incredible pun, by the way) adds 14 new songs to the stack we heard from them last month. Together, they make gritty jazz-rap that’s bo...
Lil Nas X Chronicles His Turbulent Road to Fame in Revealing ‘Life Story’ TikTok Series
So, in November of that year he moved in with his older brother into a situation where he says there was “domestic violence everyday.” The one-minute clips consists of a series of Lil Nas’ signature selfie videos, with part two kickinh off with the Dec. 2018 release of the mega-smash that would make Lil Nas a global phenomenon, the record-breaking No. 1 hit “Old Town Road.” With literally no money to promote, the rapper used silly memes to promote the song, which helped the track chart on Apple Music and unleashed an onslaught of label deal offers that he characterized as “terrible,” mostly because they were focused on the song, not him. He turned them all down and kept promoting “Road” in his own unique way and before he knew it the Ti...
Wyclef Jean on Covering Bob Marley and a Third Fugees Album
Kyle Meredith With… Wyclef Jean Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public | RSS Wyclef Jean hangs out with Kyle Meredith to dive into his new podcast series, Run That Back, and his Bob Marley cover for Amazon Music. The Fugees member also celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Score, speculates on what a third LP from the group would have sounded like. Jean then regales us with stories of disguising Van Halen songs in his church and starting as a jazz musician while wanting to be a composer. Later on, he gives updates on his recent 2020 singles, his Netflix movie Prince of Port au Prince, scoring Showtime’s The Chi, the Sodo Mood Lab, and what’s next for Haiti. In related news, Rootsland is curre...
Mahalia and Rico Nasty Team Up on New Song “Jealous”: Stream
Jamaican-British singer Mahalia has recruited Maryland rapper Rico Nasty for her new single, “Jealous”. Check out the music video below. In the clip, which is directed by Melody Maker and produced by Common People Films, Mahalia and Rico get revenge on an ex by hacking into his smart home. “I was really frustrated at the time with some friends. I was kind of going through this phase of not understanding why I was getting this bad energy from people around me,” Mahalia told BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders about the song. “I think the song, it was kind of me stepping away from that and saying, ‘I’m not going to let this get to me. I’m still going to be the biggest queen I can possibly be in the room.’ It was definitely an empowering song for me to write.” After dropping her pandemic EP, Iso...
McKinley Dixon Announces New Album, Shares “make a poet Black”: Stream
McKinley Dixon will make his Spacebomb Records debut on May 7th with the new album For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her. The emerging MC is previewing the release with the lead single, “make a poet Black”. In 2018, with little industry support, Dixon put himself on the map with a pair of self-released LPs, The Importance of Self Belief and Who Taught You to Hate Yourself? That output attracted the attention of Matthew E. White’s Spacebomb label, which is better known for folk- and funk-inflected artists like Natalie Prass, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Fruit Bats. But setting genre aside, Spacebomb has become a home for incisive lyricism, and in that sense, Dixon fits right in. For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her is an album-length exploration of trauma and time. As Dixon m...
Rick Ross Performs Atop a Throne During NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert: Watch
Rick Ross is the latest artist to appear on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series, which is currently celebrating Black History Month. True to his Boss nickname, he performed a lavish 20-minute set while perched atop a gold-plated throne. According to NPR, the concert marks the Miami rapper’s only second time performing with a live band. During the set, which took place in a gallery space owned by Miami artist Rich B Caliente, the Maybach Music Group label head ran through some of his biggest hits, including “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)” and “Aston Martin Music”, as well as fan favorites like “I’m Not a Star” and “Tears of Joy”. Ross’ most recent album was 2019’s Port of Miami 2, the sequel to his breakout 2006 debut. In 2020, he made guest appearances on projects by Freddie Gibbs, Te...
