New Jersey’s own is officially back on his music grind. Fetty Wap pulls through this week with fellow musicians Imanbek and Morgenshtern for their “LECK” remix. Fetty Wap Teams W/ Imanbek For “LECK” Remix FW goes the international route on the banger. Wap’s newest version comes with a twist courtesy of Russian hip-hop artist Morgenshtern. […]
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On Friday morning, it was reported that the infamous Parkway Gardens affordable housing project, also known as O Block in Chicago, was listed for sale by the real estate firm that owns it. They are presently looking for a buyer to take over the three complexes spanning from 63rd to 65th streets, and it looks like somebody has already come forward and offered to pay.
Lil Durk appears willing to pay whatever price to own the Parkway Gardens housing project, responding to a tweet from hip-hop blog @KollegeKidd by claiming that he’ll handle it. “I’ll buy it don’t matter how much it is,” he said.
The rapper, who famously used to call O Block his home, has spent much of his career telling stories from the streets. He has become a voice of the streets of Chicago, as was his affiliate King Von. Von also grew up on O Block, putting the zone on the map with his hit single “Took Her To The O.” Many theorized that Smurk would express interest in purchasing the housing projects and it didn’t take a long time for him to do exactly that.
We’ll keep you posted as Durk seems poised to own the housing project that he used to live in.
Cypress Hill member B-Real has earned his place in the pantheon of hip-hop legends, and as such, his words carry a certain weight. As it happens, the rapper slash marijuana aficionado recently held it down with an appearance on Tony A. Da Wizard’s Roadium Radio, where he opened up about a variety of topics. During the conversation, B-Real took a moment to issue a few choice words for comedian and notorious hip-hop critic Steve Harvey.
Suffice it to say, B is far from a fan. Around the one-hour-and-forty-three-minute mark, Tony notes that Steve Harvey was originally hired at Los Angeles radio station 92.3 The Real, with the intention of competing with Big Boy, who was hosting at Power 106. “Realistically at the time, nobody could compete with Big Boy,” explains B-Real. “But they thought bringing in Steve Harvey would be the lick, cause he’s a comedian and they thought he’d bring something new to the table.”
“We knew him cause he was a famous comedian,” recalls B-Real. “But, we also knew him because he was overtly against hip-hop. He would speak against it, like ‘Man, fuck that shit ain’t music. Y’all don’t know how to talk to women, y’all be disrespecting the women and all this violent shit.’ Like just keying in on all the negative and not the positives. Like the groups like Public Enemy and KRS One, Queen Latifah, all these rappers pumping positivity. He’d only key in on the gangsta shit.”
“So here they’re bringing Steve Harvey in, and they’re competing with Power 106 for ‘where is the home of hip-hop,” notes B. “They bring in this dude who is totally anti-hip-hop. We were like, this shit contradicts what this station is about, where hip-hop lives. This is where hip-hop lives and you gotta guy that is shitting on hip-hop every fuc*ing chance he gets. And he still does it to this day. Whenever he gets a chance, he will dog hip-hop…You’re making money off this station, that’s based off of Latinos and Black folks who love hip-hop.”
B-Real cites a modern example of Harvey’s hip-hop hate, which resurfaced after the Earth, Wind, and Fire vs. The Isley Bros Verzuz. “He went out of his way to dog hip-hop,” notes B-Real. “See, hip-hop ain’t got this type of swag, blah blah. Constantly shitting on our genre, man. So for me, I’m always like ‘fuck that dude.’ He’s ain’t even that funny. He’s shitting on something that saved a lot of black and brown lives, and that’s something he should be celebrating.”
Check out B-Real’s thoughts on Steve Harvey, and much more, on the lastest episode of Roadium Radio with Tony A Da Wizard. For more from B-Real, check out his appearance on the recent Serial Killers album right here.
WATCH: B-Real on Roadium Radio with Tony A Da Wizard
Atlanta rapper 21 Savage is back on his music grind. The hip-hop superstar and executive producer of the upcoming Spiral: From The Book of Saw movie soundtrack has released his new “Spiral” single and music video. 21 Savage Drops First Spiral Single Savage’s first anthem since putting out his chart-topping Savage Mode II album with […]
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Toronto rapper Smiley takes on the challenge of fitness training in the video for his new single “In My Zone.” Playing the role of a personal trainer, he teaches a class, giving a motivational speech at his whiteboard before hitting the stationary bikes for a sweat-centric back half of the video. The emphasis on exercise follows an early scene in which Smiley and his friends take over a 1950s style diner.
Smiley — also known as Smiley_61st — caught a huge break in 2018, despite being unsigned, when Drake posted lyrics from his song “Intro” on Instagram. In 2020, Smiley followed up with YYZ – LAX, a seven-song EP led by the singles “90210” and “YYZ-LAX.” “In My Zone” is Smiley’s first song of 2021, implying that he might be working on a full-length body of work to finally capitalize on the attention he received from Drake’s co-sign.
Fans who checked out Smiley’s music thanks to Drake’s Instagram video (which has since been deleted) discovered an artist who raps in a lethargic, slurred tone about life in the streets of Toronto. His hazy flow is paired with an enthusiastic charm — which pops out at the end of the “In My Zone” video via a handful of outtakes — that draws in listeners as much as his lyrics and unique flow.
Watch Smiley’s “In My Zone” video above.
Smiley is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each April brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of April below.
Toro y Moi was a defining chillwave act in the early 2010s and 2011’s Underneath The Pine was a pivotal release of the era. The album celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and the occasion has been marked with the first-ever colored vinyl edition of the record. On top of that, some orders also come with a thematically appropriate pine tree seed matchbook.
Get it here.
Spiritualized and Fat Possum Records are embarking on The Spaceman Reissue Program, which will consist of definitive vinyl reissues of the first four Spiritualized albums and which began this month with Lazer Guided Melodies. The band’s Jason Pierce reflected on making the album, saying, “We recorded the tracks in the studio near my flat which was a place where they predominantly recorded advertising jingles and it’s where we made all the Spacemen 3 records, but then the recordings were taken to Battery Studios in London, to explore a more professional way of making music… Once I approached that way of doing things I opened up a whole world and I was astounded that somebody could take those tracks and turn it into the record it became…”
Get it here.
It’s a good time to be a PJ Harvey fan, as she has spent the past few months busting out a seemingly endless series of vinyl rereleases. The latest is Uh Huh Her, which is accompanied by Uh Huh Her — Demos, a collection of unreleased tracks that is also available on CD and digital formats.
Get Uh Huh Her here. Get Uh Huh Her — Demos here.
Young Thug is fresh off the release of a new project, and now there’s also an opportunity to look back with a fresh vinyl rerelease (pressed on gorgeous translucent green vinyl) via Vinyl Me, Please. Beyond Thugger, Vinyl Me, Please has a strong lineup of albums for May, which also features Darkside’s Psychic and Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds In Country Music.
Get it here.
It didn’t take long after The Beatles broke up for John Lennon to kick off his solo career, as both things happened in the same year. 1970 saw the release of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and now the album is being re-shared with a stunning and expansive new box set, which features, aside from new mixes, a whopping 87 previously unheard recordings on CD/DVD (and also available digitally). The vinyl version of this release comes as a 2LP edition that rounds up some of the most notable outtakes with a fresh mix of the classic album.
Get it here.
Uproxx’s Martin Rickman wrote of the expansive new box set from The Mars Volta, “It’s a fitting monument to a band that never purported itself to be boring or accessible. Just looking at a The Mars Volta album cover, or even just peering at a tracklisting or their song lengths, gives that away. One album is based on a cursed Ouija board that is now allegedly broken and buried. Bixler-Zavala often switches between languages, and creates his own words mid-song. Rodríguez-López presents a challenging production style to both listeners and his own musicians (who sometimes don’t know which project they’re recording their isolated tracks for). One song (in five parts) off Frances The Mute clocks in at over 32 minutes. ”
Get it here.
Shakey Graves (real name Alejandro Rose-Garcia) is a real DIY success story: His self-released debut album Roll The Bones picked up steam on Bandcamp, where it was exclusively released. Now the 2011 album has gotten a rerelease titled Roll The Bones X, and on top of the base album, there’s also a 15-track LP titled Odds + Ends, which features, well, odds and ends from the era.
Get it here.
Eve was a hip-hop pioneer of the late ’90s and early ’00s, and now her landmark sophomore album Scorpion is getting a shiny new rerelease, pressed on lovely red and black vinyl. Eve says of the reissue, “It’s crazy it’s been 20 years since Scorpion dropped! I remember the whole process of putting that album together, so many great moments and working with amazing artists and producers and of course winning a Grammy! And tracks that have lasted the test of time musically… Perfect time for a re-release.”
Get it here.
Scottish group Travis has some clout with American music fans (maybe you remember the music videos they made with Ben Stiller and Demetri Martin), but across the pond, they were a defining Britpop group of the ’90s and ’00s. They got off to a hot start with their 1997 debut album Good Feeling, and this vinyl reissue is an accurate re-creation of the original release, featuring the classic sleeve and a faithful replication of the original packaging.
Get it here.
This box set is a wonderful way to start a journey into Joni Mitchell vinyl, as it includes her first four albums: Song To A Seagull (originally released in 1968), Clouds (1969), Ladies Of The Canyon (1970), and Blue (1971). Even the cover art of this reissue is special, as it features a previously unseen self-portrait Mitchell painted around the time these albums came out.
Get it here.
Vinyl Me, Please have now offered an Essential Record Of The Month for 100 months, with prompted the vinyl subscription platform’s “VMP 100” series of reissues. They have a strong roster of releases coming as part of the series: Gorillaz’s Demon Days; Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix; Outkast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik; Queens Of The Stone Age’s Songs For The Deaf; Queen’s A Night At The Opera; Outkast’s Stankonia; Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space; Saba’s Care For Me; Al Green’s Call Me; and Miles Davis & John Coltrane’s The Final Tour: Paris, March 21, 1960.
Get it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Today is Travis Scott’s birthday and to celebrate, he decided to come through with a brand new pair of sneakers in collaboration with Jordan Brand. The Air Jordan 6 “British Khaki” had been teased for months leading up to today and sneakerheads were very excited for the opportunity to cop a pair. After all, Travis has a good eye when it comes to putting colorways together and the “British Khaki” Air Jordan 6 is certainly no exception to that rule.
As is typically the case with most Travis Scott shoes, these were sold at around 10 AM EST and were placed on the Nike SNKRS App. The draw took place on schedule and, once again, many people missed out as the SNKRS App handed out some of the most ruthless Ls of the year.
There were a lot of people hoping to get these this morning and when they didn’t get their way, they did what any self-respecting person would do…complain about it on Twitter. In the tweets below, you can get a taste of what these Ls felt like as thousands of sneakerheads had their hopes dashed by an App that has been doing the same thing over and over again for the better part of five years.
Let us know if you copped a pair, in the comments below.
New York rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine is going to find out just how many fans he truly has tomorrow night. The hip-hop star has teased the world about doing the most at his Florida concert. Tekashi 6ix9ine Reveals What Crazy Antic’s On Deck 6ix9ine hit up his Instagram page to play with followers’ heads. Tekashi shared […]
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Over the last 36 years, the Air Jordan 1 has delivered various incredible colorways to the masses. There are certainly some iconic OG offerings and one of them is the “Shadow” model. What makes this shoe great is just how simple it is. With a black base and grey overlays, you simply cannot go wrong with it. It’s one of those shoes that will stand the test of time and it can be paired with a wide variety of outfits.
Now, Jordan Brand is back but this time they have altered the “Shadow” model with a new 2.0 version. With this one, the toe box is black, and so are the side panels, and even the tongue. From there, all of the grey is placed on the overlays and the back heel. The Nike swoosh also grey on it which helps bring the “Shadow” look together. It’s yet another clean model and while it may not be the OG, it’s still pretty dope.
You will be able to cop these as of Saturday, May 15th for $170 USD. Let us know in the comments below whether or not you plan on copping a pair.
Hip-hop is in a constant state of flux. Between ever-changing trends, social media stars, sounds and era-defining crews, constants are hard to come by. This means that in the time since hip-hop has exploded in popularity, it’s become near impossible to enforce any sort of “rulebook.” So, where the social and political climate of the time has governed the direction of other genres, hip-hop has traditionally kept its own counsel and developed a unique code of ethics in which there’s very few cardinal sins.
So, naturally, as the world has grown accustomed to viewing life and art through the lens of “cancel culture,” hip-hop has developed its own outlook. While some public figures have watched their prospects take a nosedive for relatively small indiscretions, in hip-hop, there’s been a certain wariness to participate, by both fans and artists respectively. This raises the question of how exactly hip-hop interacts with the notion of “cancel culture,” if at all.
To break this down, we must first look at how hip-hop tends to be much less reactionary when any sort of allegation comes to light. Before simply expelling an artist amid a scandal, the rap world tends to wait, in order to hear what someone has to say– whether that be via song or via social media commentary. To cite a recent example, someone such as Blueface, who was accused of being a “predator” after footage emerged his house of women sleeping in bunk beds and getting tattooed at his request, would’ve likely seen an uproar, without any platform to provide an explanation, if this where in any other mainstream-associated genre.
By the same token, the news that Lil Mosey is set to stand trial on rape charges was more readily met with comedy than it was any kind of mass condemnation. In any other medium, this would likely be the point-of-no-return. But if this 19-year old MC were to release a single tomorrow, there’s very little doubt that it’d gain a lot of traction across his 15 million-plus Spotify listeners.
However, that doesn’t mean there are no possible lines to cross in hip-hop. Perhaps they just differ from the career-ending exploits of other celebrities.
Case in point, the ostracization of the always-controversial 6ix9ine. Seen as a polarizing figure from the minute he emerged with “Gummo,” 6ix9ine’s endless trolling meant that he was never universally-beloved, even before he turned state’s witness and forever defamed his gangster image.
Nonetheless, the allegations that he’d sexually assaulted a minor at the outset of his career, did little to deter everyone from Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Fetty Wap, to Tory Lanez, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj from aligning themselves with him, prior to his courtroom appearance. Now, in the aftermath of his decision to break the unwritten rule of hip-hop, a laundry list of artists have declared that they want nothing to do with him.
“Before he snitched? Hell yeah, I would’ve done a song with him. Yeah, it would’ve brought me some bread,” DaBaby told Big Boy in 2019. “I would be a bad businessman to turn that down.””
Clearly, it no longer really matters how many views 6ix9ine could bring in, because there is an over-arching notion that any rapper who appears on a song with him, would by extension be endorsing what he did in court– snitching– and would risk being tarnished with the same label themselves. Thus, 6ix9ine went from a profitable-but-problematic star to a complete pariah. It’s unsurprising then, when his post-prison project Tattle Tales saw the artist scale back his features, going from one or more on almost every Dummy Boy song (!), to securing just five over the course of thirteen songs.
“Hell motherfucking no. I don’t even want to be next to that man,” Bobby Shmurda declared firmly at the prospect of following up on their “STOOPID” collab to VladTV. “These motherfuckers would have everybody locked up. That’s why I tell these kids. These entertainers just entertainers. They ain’t living that shit they are talking.”
Where Shmurda, who actively took more time in order to grant Rowdy Rebel a lighter sentence, was vocal in his distaste of the colourful rapper, other former collaborators, such as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, comically dodged the issue in the hope that people would simply forget that they were ever associated.
Now viewed as conduct unbecoming of any rapper with respect for the culture, the ill-will associated with 6ix9ine is so pronounced that in the wake of Nicki Minaj choosing to link up with a post-prison Tekashi for “TROLLZ,” YG ruled out ever working with the Queen Barbz again.
“I don’t know, my feelings was hurt,” the rapper behind anti-informant anthem “Stop Snitchin” revealed to Bootleg Kev. “Yeah, I’m cool.”
From PnB Rock proclaiming that he hates “this new generation” after someone suggested playing a “rat’s” music in his presence to even hip-pop crossover star Post Malone gently rebuffing the idea of a collab, 6ix9ine has been rejected by hip-hop with a uniformity that resembles what you’d usually see in mainstream cancel culture.
And when it comes to leading the charge, it’s those who want to safeguard the sanctity of the genre, and its roots, that are generally most insistent about his removal.
“6ix9ine’s] history is erased,” declared Dipset icon Jim Jones in a fiery interview. “We not even gon’ say what we liked or what we [don’t like]. Screw him. He did some actions that he can’t come back from… I grew up in [an] era where certain things…you cannot come back from… You black, you black forever. You a rat, you a rat forever. Ain’t no coming back from that.”
This is a sentiment that was echoed by 50 who claimed that “it’s just against the way I grew up.” Hip-hop’s anti-snitching stance is so ingrained across the generations that 21 Savage even roped Morgan Freeman in to discuss how they were the most foul creatures to ever walk the earth on Savage Mode 2.
Despite the vitriol spouted against him by his colleagues, as far as the mainstream consumer goes, this is all part of his shtick.
In a neat summary of the disconnect between hip-hop’s traditional fanbase and its suburban audiences, grizzled New York vet Maino explained why 6ix9ine’s cancellation within the culture would have little bearing on his star power in other sectors of society.
“I think he gon’ make music for the people that love him. A lot of people ain’t stopped playing his music. What he did, didn’t stand right with me, but he ain’t doing with me either though,” Maino detailed. “Nobody cares about him snitching. His fans would’ve done the same thing. People in the regular world, they don’t have the same values and morals as I have. They don’t have the same code as I do.”
Maino’s comments tell you everything you need to know about the differing approaches to cancel culture within hip-hop and the wider world.
Hip-hop’s approach to cancel culture– a certain openness for dialogue, understanding, or even overlooking altogether– vastly differs in outcome than the rest of the entertainment sphere. And, when you consider that everything else about the genre, from its origins to the socio-economic background of many of its stars, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
