Hip-Hop
Sotheby’s First Hip-Hop Auction Headlined by The Notorious B.I.G. & Tupac Shakur’s Prized Possessions
Sotheby will host its first-ever hip-hop auction featuring two prized items from late hip-hop heavyweights The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. While reflecting on the “Golden Age” of the genre in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, the auction features 120 lots and showcases iconic artifacts, contemporary and fine art, one-of-a-kind experiences, vernacular photography, vintage and modern fashion, historic and modern jewelry and luxury goods, and rare flyers and posters. Monica Lynch, the former president of Tommy Boy Records in the ’90s who helped launched the careers of hip-hop legends Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Naughty by Nature among others, co-organized the auction. The two headlining items are the crown wo...
Wet, Wet, Wet: Cardi B Launches Waterproof ‘Wap’ Merch Line
Cardi B is making the most of her “WAP” summer, launching a line of waterproof merch to slide off the success of her hit Megan Thee Stallion single. The ode to female sexuality that has become a hot weather anthem — and source of outrage to some on the right — now has its own “Wapstore,” stocked with all your water-repelling needs. There is, of course, a transparent pink “WAP” raincoat ($125), which also comes in white and black, as well as black and pink “WAP’ umbrellas ($25) and a “WAP” crop biker set ($40) that comes with a nylon spandex bra with the song title airbrushed on the front and bike shorts with the name on the butt, of course. The “WAP” store has plenty of other merch that will make your grann...
Big Sean and Nipsey Hussle Reminisce About Paying Dues on ‘Deep Reverence’
The posthumous track with Nip appears on Sean’s upcoming “Detroit 2” album. Big Sean dropped a collab with the late Nipsey Hussle on Monday night (Aug. 24) with the reflective “Deep Reverence,” on which the two MCs reminisce about their struggle coming up. The song, which will appear on Sean’s upcoming Detroit 2 album (Sept. 4), was produced by Hit-Boy, along with Rogét Chahayed, Audio Anthem and G. Ry, and it features the two MCs coming together on the chorus, “F–k rap, I’m a street legend/ But I’m the don ’cause the streets said it/ Block love me with a deep reverence.” After a fiery first verse from Nip, who runs down the lessons he learned running in the streets and how it made him a legend, Sean breaks down the pr...
Leikeli47 Speeds Past Her Competition on New Single “Zoom”: Stream
Leikeli47 hasn’t released a new album in nearly two years, but she doesn’t want her competition to think she’s been sleeping on the job. Enter “Zoom”, a fresh single from the Virginia-born rapper and our first preview of her upcoming third LP. On the booming and braggadocious offering, Leikeli47 reminds her peers she’s not to be trifled with. “Fist in my pocket, just in case a n*gga talking crazy/ Gotta sock ’em/ I don’t have no ammo, but my gunna got the rocket,” she says, fully confident and ready to step up to anyone. Leikeli47 also works in references to multiple ’90s boybands as well as her roots in the DMV area and New York City. “I ain’t the type of bitch to do a lot of barking/ And only thing I need validated is my parking/ I’m from the back street boy, where it’s very rare to link...
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HHW Premiere: Five Steez & Mordecai – A.B.S. [Video]
Source: Five Steez / Five Steez Jamaica is, without doubt, one of the richest cultural hubs in the world and by way of DJ Kool Herc‘s birthright and influence, responsible for the global impact of Hip-Hop music and culture. Kingston’s own Five Steez and Mordecai are adding to their ongoing legacy as leading voices via their take on traditional boom-bap with “A.B.S.” from their latest EP. With Five Steez commanding the microphone duties with confidence, Mordecai’s head-nodding production serves as the foundation of the Jamaican duo’s signature sound, present across their latest set, HeatRockz 2.0. The EP follows the duo’s 2019 full-length Love N Art and is a direct sequel of the pair’s hard-hitting HeatRockz project from 2016. Five doesn’t rely on the expected patois-tinged deejay hybrid st...
Cardi B Announces Waterproof Line of “WAP” Merch
When she isn’t interviewing the Democratic nominee for President or making FOX anchors flip out, Cardi B stays busy by giving fans new songs that will get stuck in their head for months. The latest example of such is “WAP”, her viral collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion that promotes female sexuality in the most over-the-top way. Now, Cardi has released an exclusive line of waterproof “WAP” merch to keep that brand going strong,. Cardi B has unveiled a new webstore exclusively for “WAP”-themed items called the “Wapstore”. It features a wide array of raincoats, crop tops, sweatpants, umbrellas, sports bras, and biker shorts, each emblazoned with the text “WAP” and, in some cases, the single artwork featuring the rap duo’s hair intertwined. Prices start at $25. Though some stuffy critics a...
Beyoncé’s ‘Brown Skin Girl’ Video Is Now Available Outside of ‘Black Is King’: Watch
The visual features appearances from Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o, Kelly Rowland and Blue Ivy Carter. Ring the alarm! Just weeks after unveiling Black Is King, Beyoncé has gifted the wider world with the stunning video for “Brown Skin Girl.” On Aug. 24, the superstar uploaded the celebratory clip as a standalone visual on YouTube. (Previously, the video for the fan favorite track had only been available to Disney+ subscribers as part of Beyoncé’s most recent musical film, which dropped exclusively on the streaming service July 31.) In the video, Beyoncé enlists (and name drops) the likes of Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o and former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to help laud and pass down the ideals of Black identity, heritage and beauty to fut...
Ms. Lauryn Hill Performs Six Songs for Louis Vuitton’s Menswear Show: Watch
Ms. Lauryn Hill Ms. Lauryn Hill has given limited performances during the pandemic, but her latest is a big one. Louis Vuitton called on the hip-hop icon to provide the musical accompaniment for their spring-summer 2021 menswear show in Shanghai, which took place earlier this month. The whole six-song performance was captured on video for an accompanying video presentation, which has now come online for all to behold. The black-and-white video finds Hill delivering half-a-dozen tracks, including her contribution to the Queen & Slim soundtrack, “Guarding the Gates”. With her band in full force around her, she also sings “Everything Is Everything”, “Lost Ones”, “Ex-Factor”, “Black Rage”, and the classic “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. Most of the July 31st shoot took place at New Jersey’s MLH St...
JAY-Z and Pharrell Team for New Single “Entrepreneur”: Stream
JAY-Z and Pharrell Williams are two of the most successful business men in all of music, so it’s fitting that their new collaboration be called “Entrepreneur”. Coming as part of a new cover package for TIME, the track finds the two artists advocating for an equality revolution across all levels of the American Dream. “The intention for a song was all about how tough it is to be an entrepreneur in our country to begin with,” Pharrell told TIME. “Especially as someone of color, there’s a lot of systemic disadvantages and purposeful blockages. How can you get a fire started, or even the hope of an ember to start a fire, when you’re starting at disadvantages with regards to health care, education, and representation?” In the song itself, Pharrell raps, “Gravity on the black man/ With everythin...
Kendrick Lamar Narrates Nike’s New Kobe Bryant Tribute Video: Watch
Nike is celebrating Kobe Bryant’s 42nd birthday with a new short film narrated by fellow Los Angeles great, Kendrick Lamar. Entitled Better, the film “celebrates the universal relevance of progress and highlights Kobe’s prolific desire for improvement,” Nike says. “The Mamba Mentality is about getting better, every day, in everything we do.” Kendrick echoes these sentiments throughout the clip: “Kobe taught us to be better,” K. Dot begins. “Better waker, better stretcher, better walker, better talker.” As the clip progresses, so too does the intensity of Kendrick’s articulation: “Better form, better focus, better friend, better fighter, better rider, better eater, better generation, better nation!” he continues. “Just be better. Can you do that?” Watch the full video below. ...
Nike Celebrates Kobe Bryant’s 42nd Birthday With Kendrick Lamar-Narrated Tribute: Watch
Happy birthday, Kobe Bryant. To help commemorate the late basketball legend’s 42nd birthday on Sunday (Aug. 23), Nike teamed up with Kendrick Lamar for a 90-second video highlighting Bryant’s Mamba Mentality of always striving to be better. In the inspirational video, appropriately titled Better, Lamar spits rapid-fire spoken word over a montage of clips from Bryant’s unforgettable career, mixed with footage of recent protests across the United States. “Better friend. Better fighter. Better rider. Better eater. Better leader. Better generation. Better nation,” Lamar says over a soft piano melody. “Just be better. Can you do that?” In a post on its website, Nike described the video as a celebration of the “universal relevance of progress and highlights Kobe’s prolifi...
Megan Thee Stallion Confirms Tory Lanez Shot Her
Over a month after it was first reported that Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot, the “WAP” rapper has confirmed that it was Tory Lanez who pulled the trigger. News broke in mid-July that Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, had been arrested for suspicion of possession of a concealed weapon. Megan, né Megan Pete, was in the vehicle with Lanez at the time and reported suffering glass wounds on her feet. However, the very next day, she took to social media to reveal she had actually been shot in both her feet “as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me.” At the time, the Los Angeles Police Department said Megan had not reported any crime. Over the next few weeks, however, she continued to discuss the experience, including surge...
