Hip-Hop
Drakeo the Ruler Fatally Stabbed at Once Upon a Time in L.A. Festival
Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed backstage at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. Festival in Los Angeles on Saturday night. The 28-year-old rapper was stabbed with a knife during an altercation that took place around 8:30 p.m. local time, according to TMZ. He was taken to an area hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Following the incident, the remainder of Once Upon a Time in L.A. was canceled, including headlining sets from 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. “There was an altercation in the roadway backstage. Out of respect for those involved and in coordination with local authorities, artists and organizers decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early,” organizers said in a statement. Advertisement Related Video Drakeo had been scheduled to per...
UTFO’s Kangol Kid Dies After Battle With Cancer at 55
Kangol Kid, a member of the legendary hip-hop group UTFO, has died after a battle with colon cancer. He was 55. The family of Kangol Kid — whose real name is Shaun Shiller Fequiere — said in a statement that he died peacefully around 3 a.m. Saturday (Dec. 18) at a hospital in Manhasset, New York. He was diagnosed with cancer in February. Kid was known for often sporting the popular Kangol headwear and being a member of UTFO, which stands for Untouchable Force Organization. The four-member group was known for 1980s hits including “Roxanne, Roxanne” and “Ya Cold Wanna Be With Me.” Explore Explore UTFO See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Along with his hip-hop success, Kid became recognized for his efforts against breast cancer through the Mama Luke Foundatio...
Boldy James and The Alchemist Drop New Album Super Tecmo Bo: Stream
Boldy James and The Alchemist have dropped Super Tecmo Bo, the companion to their August album Bo Jackson. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. While Boldy and our 2021 Producer of the Year have separately collaborated with lots of other artists, their partnership is quickly becoming one of the greats in rap history. They first linked up on 2013’s My First Chemistry Set, and they’ve recently unleashed The Price of Tea in China, one of the best albums of 2020, and Bo Jackson, one of the best albums of 2021. Super Tecmo Bowl was named after the 1991 video game Tecmo Super Bowl, which featured Bo Jackson on the cover. The nine-track project comes with one lone feature, when ICECOLDBISHOP explodes into “Hot Water Tank.” Otherwise i...
Rap Song of the Week: Boldy James Gets Ice Cold on “Hot Water Tank”
Our recurring new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the hip-hop tracks you need to hear every Friday. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Boldy James and The Alchemist close out the year strong with the ICECOLDBISHOP-assisted “Hot Water Tank.” Boldy James is known for his prodigious output: Last year alone, he dropped four projects. In 2021, he slowed down the pace a bit, solely releasing his Alchemist team-up Bo Jackson, one of the best albums of the year. Today, the Detroit rapper upped his volume by releasing Super Tecmo Bo, a nine-track project combining a handful of new songs with bonus tracks previously only available on the Bo Jackson vinyl deluxe edition. One of the standouts is “Hot Water Tank” featuring underground LA rapper ICECOLDBISHOP, who brin...
Song of the Week: Best Coast and The Linda Lindas Collaborate on the Vibrant “Leading”
We’re taking a break from our Annual Report to highlight the Song of the Week. In this feature, we talk about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Best Coast is back with a little help from rising stars The Linda Lindas. Pop culture right now seems dominated by a certain amount of sentimentality. Rebooting and revamping have become the norm, and people are starting to push back on the oversaturation. Best Coast probably weren’t intending to jump into that exact discourse with their latest, “Leading,” but the opening line is a relatable statement nonetheless: “Nostalgia’s overrated, or maybe it’s just complicate...
RZA and Flatbush Zombies Drop New Song “Quentin Tarantino”: Stream
RZA and Flatbush Zombies are big Quentin Tarantino fans. Last week, the Wu-Tang MC teamed up with the hip-hop group for the Reservoir Dogs-inspired single “Plug Addicts,” and now, the artists are back with a song named after the director himself. Produced by RZA, Prince Paul, and Erick the Architect, “Quentin Tarantino” sees Flatbush Zombies rap over a slow, smoky guitar riff. Zombie Juice, Erick the Architect, and Meechy Darko blend references to characters real and imagined, noting, “Who killed Bill? They shot Kennedy/ Malcom layin’ dead, like how they gon’ level the playin’ field?” In the accompanying music video, directed by John Tashiro, RZA does his best Mr. Blonde while the Zombies roam Los Angeles in white suits. The rappers discussed the origin of “Quentin Tarantino” in a sta...
R.I.P. Leonard “Hub” Hubbard, Longtime Bassist of The Roots Dead at 62
Leonard “Hub” Hubbard, the bass player known for his work in The Roots, has died at the age of 62. His wife, Stephanie, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he died of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. Hubbard was first diagnosed with the disease in 2007 and had been in remission until last month. “It happened quickly,” his wife told the local Action News station. “He didn’t suffer a lot.” Raised in West Philadelphia, Hubbard joined The Roots in 1992, back when they were called The Square Roots. Soon after, they dropped the “Square” from their name and released their first album, 1993’s Organix. Hubbard played on all of the band’s records, including 1995’s Do You Want More?!!!??!, 1999’s Things Fall Apart, and 2004’s The Tipping Point, until his departu...
All Ten Astroworld Victims Died of Compression Asphyxia, Says Medical Examiner
The ten people killed at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival all died as a result of “compression asphyxia,” the Harris County Medical Examiner announced in a report released on Thursday. Compression asphyxia is caused when respiration is prevented by external pressure on the body, limiting oxygen supply to the lungs. Such was the case when the densely packed crowd at Astroworld surged to the stage, causing numerous individuals to become crushed and trampled. Only one of the victims had drugs in their system at the time of their death, which the medical examiner listed as a “contributing factor.” Advertisement Related Video The ten victims ranged in age from nine to 27 years old. Last week, Scott sat down for his first interview since the incident. Speaking to Charlamagne Tha God, the rappe...
Freddie Gibbs Announces 2022 “Space Rabbit Tour”
If you can’t go to outer space, let Big Boss Rabbit bring outer space to you. Freddie Gibbs has announced the 2022 “Space Rabbit Tour,” which finds the Indiana MC hopping across North America. The 22-date tour launches in San Francisco on April 14th before trekking through the southwest and across the Rocky Mountains. By mid-May, Gibbs will take on New York and the northeast, and as the month ends he’ll return to his old stomping grounds in the midwest. “Space Rabbit” lands in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver in June. Throughout, Gibbs will be supported by various lineups featuring MIKE, Zack Fox, and Redveil. Tickets go on sale Friday, December 17th, with presale beginning on Thursday, December 16th (use code BELLS). You can book your seat here. Advertisement Related Video Gibbs is p...
Logic’s Anti-Suicide Anthem “1-800-273-8255” Saved Hundreds of Lives: Study
Its “I don’t wanna be alive” refrain may have become a jokey TikTok trend, but Logic’s anti-suicide anthem “1-800-273-8255” really did save lives. A new study from the BMJ, a peer-reviewed medical trade journal from the British Medical Association, ties performances of the song to a decrease in suicide rates among teenagers. In the days after Logic performed the song — which takes its name from the number of the US National Suicide Prevention Hotline — at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2017, the organization said calls to the lifeline increased by 50%. In addition to this, the BMJ studied suicide rates around this time frame, as well as around the song’s April 2017 release, and around a 2018 performance of the song at the Grammy Awards. In doing so, they found a 5.5% reduction in sui...
Tory Lanez Shouted, “Dance Bitch!” Before Shooting Megan Thee Stallion in Foot
According to testimony at a preliminary hearing for Tory Lanez’s assault trial, the controversial artist shouted, “Dance, bitch, dance!” before shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. Via TMZ, the revelation came from LAPD Detective Ryan Stogner, who was relaying Meg’s version of events. According to Det. Stogner’s testimony, at approximately 4:30 a.m. on July 12th, 2020, Lanez was standing on the step board of an SUV while Meg stood outside of it. The two had been fighting, and Lanez was intoxicated when he yelled at her to “Dance!” As shots rang out, Meg “immediately felt pain to her feet, observed blood, fell to the ground, and then crawled to an adjacent driveway of a residence.” Det. Stogner’s testimony confirmed public knowledge of the event, including that Mega...
Lil Uzi Vert: “My Insurance Tried to Cut Me Off” over Diamond Forehead Piercing
To Lil Uzi Vert’s apparent surprise, having a $24 million diamond implanted in your forehead comes with some drawbacks. In an appearance on the Scuffed podcast, the rapper said that after he got the gaudy piercing, “My insurance tried to cut me off.” Speaking to a roundtable of Twitch streamers, the rapper motioned to his currently sparkle-free forehead, saying, “This is actually the back post of it.” He had once again removed the stone, explaining that, “It was pretty heavy, it was like ripping my forehead, so I had to let it re-heal.” Whether or not he decides to implant it once again, the process has already been draining. “I had to really get all my shit together,” he said. “My insurance tried to cut me off, they were like, ‘This kid’s trying to kill himself.’ ...
