Month: August 2021

Kanye West Collaborator DJ Toomp Knew “Donda” Wasn’t Finished At Listening Event

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We’re officially on the countdown until Donda‘s arrival. Kanye West has been locked in at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta as he puts the final touches on his anticipated project, so it will be interesting to hear the differences from his listening party weeks ago. Kanye’s friends and collaborators have been helping hype the project including people like Justin Laboy and Consequence, but DJ Toomp was skeptical about Donda‘s development.

Toomp worked with Ye 15 years ago on the rapper’s acclaimed Graduation project and attended the listening event last month. Upon hearing the record, he told BHighTV that it was clear that the album wasn’t finished.

Kanye West, Donda
Kevin Mazur / Contributor / Getty Images

“I’mma keep it one hunnid. Just as a producer, as a music guy, as a guy who really love Hip Hop and Hip Hop is derived from drums, as far as us,” said Toomp. “We send signals across a whole ocean with drums. That’s our sh*t, the beat. That’s the rhythm. And when I heard a lot of the songs that just didn’t have drums… I thought it was about to drop and he start talkin’. I’m like, damn, that’s it? Is that the song?”

“So, my first thing was like, I hope the album doesn’t sound like this,” he continued. “That sound like that could be dope. If I was in the studio, I’d say ‘Hey, Ye, is this sh*t gonna drop anywhere? Cause you build us up and we thinkin’ that sh*t finna go crazy and it goes to another song. And that’s why I was like, ‘Ah, this album must not be finished.”

Toomp added that he’s witnessed Kanye mix records seven times before releasing and was disappointed that the Donda tracks didn’t embrace the “shock value” that some of Kanye’s previous records encompass. Check out DJ Toomp’s interview below.

 

DaBaby Promised Lollapalooza A Video Apology To Save Set

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DaBaby was set to be a staple in the festival circuit this year but he fumbled that bag within the past week. His appearance at Rolling Loud included some homophobic comments that not only caught the crowd off-guard but viewers who were tuning into the live stream. He failed to properly apologize for his comments which ultimately resulted in a slew of other festivals booting him off of the line-up.


 Kevin Winter/Getty Images

All of his performances could’ve been saved had he simply upheld his end of the bargain which was issuing a video apology. According to Billboard, reps for the rapper had reached out to seven festivals scheduled for the fall, as well as Lollapalooza, promising that DaBaby would offer a video apology for his insensitive remarks. The plan was to film a video apology that would air immediately before he hit the stage at Lollapalooza. The video didn’t arrive and Lollapalooza pulled the plug on DaBaby’s set.

DaBaby has been booted off of several festival line-ups in the past 24 hours. ACL Fest in Austin, Texas, iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, and Music Midtown festival in Atlanta announced that DaBaby would no longer be performing.

DaBaby issued an actual apology on Monday, writing, “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important. Love to all. God bless.”

[Via]

21 Savage Flexes His Million-Dollar Ferrari & Rare Air Jordan 4 PEs

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It looks like 21 Savage’s work ethic is definitely paying off. Earlier this year, he spearheaded the soundtrack for Spiral: From the Book of Saw, and he more recently made the Rolling Loud crowd go insane by doing a nostalgic performance of “Red Opps.” To celebrate his success this year, the Savage Mode II rapper hit Instagram a couple of days ago to remind his 12.5 million followers that he’s in a league of his own. 

Posing against a white Ferrari, 21 Savage shared one of the hardest flexes of the summer. With the location tagged as “Woke not Broke,” the Slaughter Gang artist let loose the caption, “this rarri cost a M play wit them don’t play wit him!”

In addition to the stunning, sleek white Ferrari prominently featured in his new set of photos, 21 Savage upped the ante by showing off his huge cash flow and incredibly rare pair of kicks. The blue sneakers that he can be seen sporting are the Air Jordan 4 “Florida Gators” player exclusives, and according to Flight Club, 21 Savage could have paid anywhere between $5,500 and $10,000 for them. 

Which part of 21 Savage’s latest Instagram flex is the most impressive to you — the Ferrari, the extremely rare pair of sneakers, or the cash?

Fetty Wap Breaks Down On IG Live After Death Of Daughter

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Fetty Wap went on Instagram Live, Tuesday, to tribute his late daughter, Lauren Maxwell. While sharing pictures of Maxwell he broke down into tears and thanked fans for their support.

“She’s good. My baby’s happy now,” the New Jersey rapper said on the live stream.

“My shorty,” he added before kissing a picture of his daughter. “That’s my little twin right there.”

He then asked his fans to post butterflies: “If y’all could do me a favor. Just post all butterflies on my shitt.”

“Man, thank y’all,” the choked-up rhymer continued. “That’s love. I appreciate ya’ll, for real. Damn. That’s love. She’d be happy as hell.”

Fetty Wap, Daughter
Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Maxwell’s mother, Turquoise Miami, first announced her passing on July 31st.

“This is my amazing, beautiful, funny, vibrant, loving, talented, smart and hardheaded princess mermaid Aquarius,” she captioned a video of Maxwell on Instagram. “If you see this post scrolling by with her comment or just say to yourself ‘I love you LAUREN’ because they say that souls can feel your love. #rip.”

Check out Wap’s live stream below.

@macky_pills

#restinpeacelaurenmaxwell#staystrongfetty#fettywap#fypシ#fypシ#fypシ#foryou#yourfyp#mackyp#🦋#🦋#🦋#sad#emotional#💔#viral#yourpage

♬ Get You The Moon – Kina

[Via]

Ian Connor Exposed For Threatening His 16-Year-Old Employee: Report

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A couple of months after Ian Connor and his ex-fiance Raven’s messy split, the controversial fashion designer and stylist is once again trending due to unfavorable circumstances. Conner has previously dodged rape allegations, but now the infamous Yeezy Season 3 model is facing allegations that he has been stealing work from one of his full-time employees, a 16-year-old designer operating under the Twitter handle @argent_jp. 

According to the teenager, who refers to themselves as Argent, they have worked for Ian Conner since March 1, but has yet to receive any compensation or credit for their work. “On March 1st this year, Ian Connor asked me to join his Sicko creative team “Full Time” after I sent him some work,” Argent reveals in an in-depth statement. “I was super excited (despite all the negativity surrounding him) as I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some real connections in fashion and help get my name out there. I understand it was not a good choice, but keep in mind I’m 16 years old and this was the first real chance I had in fashion. Period.”

Ian Connor attends Slim Jxmmi "Great Gatsby" Birthday affair on December 30, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.(
Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

According to Argent, their working relationship with Ian Connor came to a breaking point at the beginning of July, when the A$AP-affiliated stylist  ghosted the teenager around the same time that Argent’s Instagram got hacked. Argent allegedly continued to try and get in contact with Connor for 28 days, and that’s Ian reportedly started threatening the 16-year-old.

“He threatened me, a 16 year old. Ian Connor is a 28 year old. A grown ass man. Threatening a 16 year old,” Argent says, concluding their lengthy statement. Along with the statement, Argent also released screenshots of their messages with Ian Connor for context. Check out Argent’s thread below and let us know what you think about the alleged situation.

Diddy Is Starting A New, ‘All R&B’ Record Label But Isn’t Signing Any Artists

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Getty Image

Before he was a world-renowned hip-hop impresario and multi-hyphenate businessman with designs on starting a political movement, Sean “Puff Daddy/Diddy/Love” Combs got his start A&Ring R&B acts like Jodeci and Mary J. Blige at Uptown Records. For his next endeavor, he’s getting back to those roots, as he told Vanity Fair in the magazine’s upcoming September issue. Although he did previously announce he was putting out an R&B album, here he goes a step further, announcing that he’ll be starting a new, R&B-centric record label as well.

And before any of his many critics could point out that his previous label, Bad Boy, has a less-than-stellar record in how it treated its artists, Combs explained that he’s doing things differently this time, explaining that he wants to get back to R&B because “I feel like R&B was abandoned and it’s a part of our African American culture,” he says. “And I’m not signing any artists. Because if you know better, you do better. I’m doing 50–50 partnerships with pure transparency.”

He also elaborates that his purpose in launching such a label is so “we can own the genre; we don’t own hip-hop right now. We have a chance to — and I’m going to make sure that — we own R&B.” Although he hasn’t announced any projects or even a name just yet, it may be interesting to find out whether or not he can be the person to drive innovation in the music business.

You can read the full profile here.

Fendi P Drops Off “Trappin’ Jazz” Ft. Curren$y & More

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Curren$y has been active this year but it seems like he’s putting more of his effort behind his record label, Jet Life Recordings. In 2020, he closed the year out with a compilation tape from the label. Then, he shared a sequel that he dropped off a month ago.

Fendi P’s been one of the most consistent members on the roster and this week, he returned with a brand new project titled, Trappin’ Jazz. The rapper takes on jazz-influenced production which he complements with his laid-back flow. The project includes eight songs in total with appearances from the Jet Life Recordings honcho Curren%y, as well as LuLu P and Int’l Jones.

Trappin’ Jazz follows the release of Fendi P’s The Art Of Finessin 2 which he dropped earlier this year. 

“So It Goes” Was The Eerily Beautiful Conclusion To Mac Miller’s “Swimming”

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Although it is only three years old, Swimming will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Mac Miller fans. Released roughly a month prior to his tragic death in September 2018, Mac’s fifth studio album landed the same day as Astroworld, the LP that officially ushered in Travis Scott’s arrival as Hip-Hop’s latest superstar. Thanks to Astroworld and the arrival of Nicki Minaj’s fourth studio album Queen a week later, Swimming wasn’t the project that was inspiring nonstop headlines at the time of its release, but it was lauded by critics nonetheless.

On its three-year anniversary, Mac Miller’s fifth studio album remains his most poignant and well-constructed full-length effort. Featuring tracks like “Perfecto,” “Self Care,” “Wings,” and “2009,” Swimming was self-aware and accepting without feeling emotionally overwhelming. 

Even on the album’s hauntingly beautiful closing track, “So It Goes,” hope, defeat, and indifference all blend together seamlessly. Mac reportedly tasked producer Jon Brion to make the track’s orchestral outro sound like the “ascension into heaven,” so perhaps “So It Goes” alludes to the acceptance of one’s accomplishments and shortcomings prior to their death. Like “So It Goes,” Swimming was just ethereal, and it was a remarkable full-length effort from the late Pittsburgh rapper.

On the three-year anniversary of Swimming, what tracks from Mac Miller’s fifth studio album do you find yourself revisiting the most?

Quotable Lyrics

Okay, well, you could have the world in the palm of your hands
You still might drop it
And everybody wanna reach inside your pockets
So it goes
It’s like, in every conversation, we the topic
This narcissism, more like narcotics
So it goes

Rest in peace, Mac Miller!