Hip-Hop
Atlanta Rapper Lil Keed Dead at 24
Atlanta rapper Lil Keed has died at the age of 24. Keed’s brother and fellow rapper, Lil Gotit, shared news of his passing in an Instagram post on Saturday. “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro,” he wrote. “I did all my cries. I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama, Daddy, Our Brothers, Naychur, and Whiteboy #ImaHoldthisShitDown.” Fellow members of the hip-hop community have also paid tribute to Keed, including Drake Rick Ross, Lil Yachty, and Quavo. Related Video A cause of death was not immediately clear. Lil Keed was a protégé of Young Thug and signed to his YSL record label. He released two mixtapes through YSL, 2019’s Long Live Mexico and 2020’s Trapped on Cleveland 3. Advertisement Earlier this week, Young Thug, Gunna, and several other members of YSL were arreste...
With Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar Chooses Himself and Makes a Masterpiece
“I choose me, I’m sorry.” The last five words on Kendrick Lamar‘s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers hit the hardest for anyone who “did the work,” as trained and untrained therapists like to say. Kendrick’s fifth album, out today (May 13th), is a lot of things: part political analysis, part social critique, with a dash of familial observations. But from start to finish, it’s all therapy. Kendrick’s latest effort is the Compton emcee putting himself on the couch and asking, “Why?” Why is he addicted to women and cheating? Why is he overwrought with guilt when he can’t help old friends? Why does he bathe in toxic relationships? Or even why he’s so damn competitive when it comes to rap? Advertisement Kendrick created a double LP sure to inspire tons of ink spillage from the pop culture indust...
Rap Song of the Week: Kendrick Lamar Is No “Savior”
Rap Song of the Week is a round-up of the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. Today, Kendrick Lamar returns with “Savior” off his new album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. In the second half of Kendrick Lamar’s double album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, he focuses on breaking free of other people’s expectations. Due to the Compton rapper’s position as a public figure, fans look to him to lead the conversation about racial and social issues, but just like Charles Barkley, Kendrick doesn’t want to be their role model — nor should he be. On “Savior,” Kendrick makes his case while pointing to other Black celebrities like J. Cole, Future, and LeBron James, who are also expected to shoulder the burdens of the Black community. Although each person...
Every Song Ranked on Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ Album: Critic’s Picks
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, released Friday (May 13), is Compton wordsmith Kendrick Lamar’s momentous 18-track return to the rap spotlight after a five-year layoff. Outside of a few guest appearances on cousin Baby Keem’s 2021 effort The Melodic Blue, fans have not heard much from the Pulitzer Prize winner since 2017’s DAMN. Precursor single “The Heart Pt. 5,” in which Lamar raps over a sample loop of Marvin Gaye’s 1976 single “I Want You,” came earlier this week (May 8) and gave fans a taste of the new record’s overarching concepts, themes and ideas. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Sporting guest appearances from Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Blxst, Sampha, Summer Walker and plenty more, the double-disc record clocks in at 73 minutes a...
Kendrick Lamar Returns with New Album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers: Stream
Kendrick Lamar is finally back with Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, his first album in five years. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. In addition to marking Kendrick’s fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers also closes the chapter on the Compton rapper’s storied run on his longtime label Top Dawg Entertainment. Last August, Kendrick revealed he would be leaving TDE. It’s likely he’ll partner up with a major label to put out music through his multi-media company pgLang going forward. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was announced last month through Kendrick’s website oklama.com, under the letterhead of pgLang. He initially shared a link to the announcement by quote tweeting a fan who recently pronounced the rapper had retired. Advertisement Related Video The albu...
Diddy Says He’s “Un-canceling the Canceled” with Morgan Wallen and Travis Scott BBMAs Performances
Sean “Diddy” Combs, as the host and executive producer of this Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards, has declared that “everybody in the room is getting a second chance at life” in response to the recent bookings of Morgan Wallen and Travis Scott as performers on the broadcast. It will mark Wallen’s first awards show appearance since he was caught on camera shouting the N-word in February 2021, while Scott will also give his first on-screen performance since the fatal crowd-rushing incident during his set at Astroworld Festival last November. In a new interview with Billboard, Combs addressed the booking, saying: The mood of the show is about love and forgiveness. As a musical family, none of us are saints; none of us are without things that happen to them in life. So one of the things I’m doin...
Post Malone Feels “Cooped Up” on New Single with Roddy Ricch: Stream
Post Malone’s forthcoming album twelve carat toothache is fast approaching. Before it drops on June 3rd, the rapper has shared a new single today called “Cooped Up” featuring Roddy Ricch. “Cooped Up” is a Posty hit through-and-through, drenched in reverb as he uses his typical sing-rapping over a heavy-hitting bass. He also co-produced the track alongside his frequent collaborator Louis Bell. As you’d probably expect, the lyrics of “Cooped Up” evoke vignettes of flaunting excessive wealth and late-night inebriated partying: “We ’bout to toast up/ All that bread that we burnin’/ ‘Cuz I’ve been feelin’ cooped up,” he sings on the chorus, a sentiment that we’ve likely all felt at some point since March 2020 — although the relatability factor stops once Post starts singing about vomi...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Promotes Love, Forgiveness and ‘Uncanceling the Canceled’ at 2022 Billboard Music Awards
Love and forgiveness. Those are the two themes that Sean “Diddy” Combs is embracing for his first-time stint as host and executive producer of the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. As the countdown to the May 15 telecast begins, the impresario has already started raising the curtain a bit about what’s been happening behind the scenes. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news When it was announced earlier this week that Travis Scott would be joining a performer lineup that includes Morgan Wallen, Silk Sonic, Ed Sheeran and Megan Thee Stallion, Combs noted on Instagram, “I made a request; I made a demand. I said my brother Travis Scott has to perform … And NBC said yes.” This will be Scott’s first awards show performance since a crowd crush during his show at ...
Young Thug, Racketeering, and RICO, Explained
Musical superstar Young Thug, his close associate Gunna, and 26 others have been charged with violating Georgia’s criminal racketeering laws. In a 56-count indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged that Thugger’s label Young Stoner Life Records acted as a criminal street gang with ties to the national Bloods organization. He was arrested on Monday, while Gunna was booked Wednesday morning. The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO Act, which was closely modeled on the federal RICO Act. To make those charges stick, the DA’s office will have to prove that Young Thug served as the head of a criminal enterprise whose illegal activities came as part of an organized scheme. RICO Acts are...
Joey Bada$$ Announces New Album 2000, North American Tour
Joey Bada$$ has announced his first album in five years. Titled 2000, the LP is out June 17th via Columbia Records and will arrive almost exactly 10 years after the release of his breakout debut mixtape, 1999. The record will also be supported by a summer 2022 North American tour. Not much else is known about the follow-up to 2017’s ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$, but Joey recently told XXL that the album will include production from Statik Selektah, Kirk Knight, Cardo, Mike WiLL Made-It, and possibly DJ Premier. The Brooklyn rapper also shared a trailer today containing a clip from a song in which he triumphantly raps, “Back on the set like I never left/ I am takin’ steps to be the best and they don’t let me rest.” Watch the trailer below. The “1999-2000 Tour” will travel acros...
Young Thug Facing Seven Additional Felony Charges After Guns and Drugs Found in Home Raid
After being arrested on gang activity and racketeering charges in Atlanta earlier this week, Young Thug (born Jeffery Lamar Williams) is facing even more legal trouble. A search of Fulton County jail records has revealed seven more felony charges stemming from guns and drugs that were found in a police raid of his home in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Specifically, the charges include Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Schedule III, Iv or V Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Firearm During Commission of a Felony; and Possession of Sawed-Off Shotgun, Sawed-Off Rifle, Machine Gun, dangerous Weapon, or Silencer. There are also three separate charges of Unlawful for Person Employed By/Associated with Criminal Street Gang to Conduc...
Kendrick Lamar Reveals Artwork for New Album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Kendrick Lamar has revealed the artwork for his new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Photographed by Renell Medrano, the cover depicts Kendrick, with a crown of thorns and a gun tucked into his waistband, embracing a child, while a woman (who appears to be his wife Lauren London) is sitting on a nearby bed nursing another a baby. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is Kendrick’s fifth album to date and first since 2017’s DAMN. The forthcoming project also marks his final release with Top Dawg Entertainment. Last August, the rapper announced that he would be leaving his longtime record label in favor of pgLang. Related Video Earlier this week, as a prelude to Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick revealed a new single called “The Heart Part 5.” Advertisement So far, Kendrick ha...
