Hip-Hop
Kanye West Continues Long Slide into Fascism by Wearing “White Lives Matter” Shirt
Kanye West wore a “White Lives Matter” sweater at a surprise Yeezy fashion show, Page Six reports, continuing his long and troubling flirtation with fascist politics. The slogan was shocking, if not exactly surprising. West put the Confederate Flag on his merch in 2013. His 2018 Trump White House visit embraced the language of the men’s rights movement. One of his publicists threatened a Georgia election worker in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election on Trump’s behalf. And during his own brief 2020 presidential campaign, he combined authoritarianism and religion, suggesting that abortion was an attempt by white people to commit Black genocide, coming out in support of mandating prayer in schools, and calling vaccines “the mark of the beast.” At this point, we can’t pretend that hi...
Cardi B Compares Bad Bunny’s L.A. Stadium Concert to 2022 Super Bowl: ‘There’s More People Here’
Cardi B is very impressed with Bad Bunny‘s concert attendance numbers. On Saturday (Oct. 1), the reggaeton superstar performed at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles as part of his World’s Hottest Tour, which topped the Billboard Boxscore chart in August, grossing $91.1 million. During the show, Bad Bunny brought out Cardi for surprise performances of her breakout hit “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” and the pair’s chart-topping collaboration “I Like It.” The tracks peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After the concert, Cardi took to social media to share her enthusiasm about Bad Bunny’s success in the touring space. “I was just at this stadium for the super bowl not long ago,” she twee...
Kendrick Lamar Kicks Off SNL Season 48 in Style with Three-Song Performance: Watch
Kendrick Lamar took a break from “The Big Steppers Tour” to help kick off the 48th season of Saturday Night Live. In support of his latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, the Compton rapper made his third visit to Studio 8H. He performed “Rich Spirit,” “N95”, and “Father Time” with Sampha. Watch the replay below. “The Big Steppers Tour” resumes later this week in Europe. Check out the tour’s itinerary and on-sale ticket links below. Kendrick came through with the energy on the season premiere of SaturdayNightLive. What was up with earrings? He pulled the look off though. #SNLPremiere #snl #kendricklamar pic.twitter.com/7r9XEOKEfJ Advertisement Related Video — GoreJust Goth (@gorejustgoth) October 2, 2022 KENDRICK LAMAR x SAMPHA – FATHER TIMEpic.twitter.com/EF9NgWYMUc — Hiiipo...
Listen to Skrillex and Steve Aoki’s Production on Kid Cudi’s Stunning “Entergalactic” Album
Take a bow, Kid Cudi. After the long-awaited release of Entergalactic, fans and critics have been quick to praise the fabled hip-hop artist. The adult animated TV special has been lauded as a creative breakthrough for Cudi, who created the Netflix program and voices its protagonist, Jabari. And its musical counterpart meets the moment. Just like its TV namesake, the 15-track Entergalactic album flaunts a powerful storyline and formidable cast of characters. In the wake of rumors of a collab between Skrillex and Cudi, fans can now finally hear the fruits of their labor. They joined forces for “Ignite The Love,” a brooding alternative hip-hop track with additional production from Rex Kudo, Heavy Mellow and Dot da Genius, among others. Elsewhere, Cudi reunites ...
Rap Song of the Week: Smino and J. Cole Light It Up on “90 Proof”
Rap Song of the Week runs down all the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Smino gears up for his upcoming album Luv 4 Rent with “90 Proof” featuring J. Cole. Since dropping “24-8” earlier this month, Smino’s been teasing his next album, Luv 4 Rent, with the hashtag “droptober.” To close out September, the St. Louis native has reunited with J. Cole for his confessional new single, “90 Proof.” Over a soulful groove co-produced by frequent collaborator monte booker and Groove, Smino uses a singsong flow to plead patience from a woman he hasn’t been able to commit to. Admitting he’s not “great at relationships,” Smino expresses his feelings the best way he knows how. In addition to opening up with lyrics like, “My heart start be...
Lil Nas X Pauses Atlanta Concert to Take a “Mean Shit”
When it comes to a Lil Nas X performance, you have to prepare for the unexpected. That advice can also extend to the rapper himself, who was forced to paused his Atlanta show earlier this week to take a “mean shit.” As we saw in our recap of Lil Nas X’s first night at Radio City Music Hall, the “Long Live Montero Tour” consists of three acts, giving the performers a brief break between each as the curtains close. Evidently, Lil Nas X took that as his opportunity to answer nature’s call: “I’m backstage and this is not a part of the show, but I’m taking a mean shit,” he told the audience over the venue speakers. “I’m gonna be, like, a minute or two, and I’ll be right back.” If you ask us, the music biz could always use a little more transparency, and some fans took to Twitter to ex...
California Bill Restricts Rap Lyrics from Being Used as Criminal Evidence
Creative expression has scored a major victory in California, as Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill restricting rap lyrics from being used as evidence in court. The Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act was unanimously approved by the state’s senate and assembly back in August before being signed into law. Per Variety, a virtual signing ceremony was held featuring speeches from rappers including Killer Mike, Meek Mill, Too $hort, YG, E-40, and more. CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. and leaders from the Black Music Action Coalition and Songwriters of North America also joined the ceremony. “For too long, prosecutors in California have used rap lyrics as a convenient way to inject racial bias and confusion into the criminal justice process,” Dina LaPolt, entertainmen...
Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ Remains Evergreen on Billboard Global Charts
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts launched in September 2020, measuring the most popular songs in the world based on global streams and sales (the latter excluding United States-based consumption). For 72 of the 107 weeks since the lists premiered, Coolio‘s 1995 classic “Gangsta’s Paradise,” featuring L.V., has ranked among the biggest hits on Global Excl. U.S. – the most time tallied among songs released in the ’90s. “Paradise” ranks at No. 149 on the most recent, Oct. 1-dated, Global 200 (in its 62nd frame), as well as at No. 151 on Global Excl. U.S. In the week ending Sept. 22, the track drew 14.3 million official streams worldwide, according to Luminate. As previously reported, Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., died Wednesday (Sept. 28) in Los Angeles at a...
Freddie Gibbs Unleashes New Album $oul $old $eparately: Stream
After more than a decade of success as an independent artist, Freddie Gibbs has released his major label debut album, $oul $old $eparately, via ESGN/Warner Records. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The 15-track LP features appearances from Pusha T, Rick Ross, Scarface, Offset, Raekwon, and more. Producers on the project include close collaborators Madlib and The Alchemist, as well as Boi-1da, Justice League, Kaytranada, Jake One, and DJ Dahi. James Blake, Anderson .Paak, and Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul pulled double duty by producing and contributing vocals. In anticipation of $oul $old $eparately, Gibbs shared Rap Song of the Week “Too Much” featuring Moneybagg Yo and the James Blake-produced “Dark Hearted.” The Gary, Indiana rapper’s last full-length was 2020’s Alfredo in collabor...
M.I.A. Wants Us To Live Free on New Single “BEEP”: Stream
M.I.A. has always been an outspoken, boundary-pushing artist, and she’s no different on new single “BEEP.” Listen to the track below. “You can be who you wanna be,” goes the hook in “BEEP,” a short, slinky song rife with exotic percussion. Doing what she wants has always been M.I.A.’s MO, and she remains unbothered by that fact here: “I tried to tell you all what will happen to you/ I tried to make you see I was telling the truth/ I was tryna be everything you want me to be/ I can’t please everyone/ Imma let it BEEP BEEP,” she raps. No word on if the single’s “Be free” message is about vaccines, though. “BEEP” will appear on M.I.A.’s upcoming album MATA, which has yet to receive a release date. So far, however, the musician has previewed the project with the singles “The One” and “Popular....
Coolio Recorded New Dialogue and a Song for Futurama Before His Death
Just a few weeks before he died of cardiac arrest, Coolio was in the studio recording dialogue and a new song for the upcoming revival of Futurama, producer David X. Cohen told TMZ. During Futurama’s initial run, Coolio had a recurring role on the animated satire as Kwanzaa-bot, the exasperated holiday companion to Santa Claus Robot and Chanukah Zombie. “Coolio was one of my favorite guests,” Cohen said. “He was always totally upbeat and genuinely enjoyed coming in to record as his character Kwanzaa-bot.” Cohen said that the episode will be dedicated to Coolio and feature him rapping over the credits, in order to give him “the best send-off we can.” He added that he’d had an enjoyable conversation with the “Gangsta’s Paradise” MC, and learned that Coolio had r...
Future Interrupts Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a “Love You Better” Dream Sequence: Watch
Life is different when you’re living in the Future, as the Atlanta MC demonstrated with a show-stopping performance — literally — of “Love You Better” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Kimmel introduced the musical guest as if he were sitting down for an interview. After Future took a spot on the couch, the host asked, “So how is the Future? Relatively speaking.” “Man, I be drifting off sometimes,” Future replied, as music began to swell and the lighting went woozy. The cameras shifted to show a young woman calling out, “Future!” as she entered his dressing room. She found a bouquet of flowers, a bucket of ice, and a note: “I NEVER LIKED U.” Advertisement Related Video That’s a reference to Future’s new album, I Never Liked You, and as she sat on the couch to process this missive, the camera...
