Month: August 2021

DaBaby Meets With 9 HIV Awareness Organizations After Rolling Loud Comments

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DaBaby has yet to defeat the effects of cancel culture but he’s certainly been riding out the backlash with his head up. Last month, the rapper made insensitive comments at Rolling Loud festival that were deemed homophobic. The rapper’s failed attempts at an apology eventually led to several other festivals pulling him from the line-up. 


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According to TMZ, the rapper met with nine HIV awareness organizations to gain more education on the matter. DaBaby also offered an apology for the comments he made during Rolling Loud festival after he heard personal stories from those living with HIV.

The nine organizations wrote an open letter to DaBaby offering him to have a conversation after making homophobic and misinformed comments about HIV at the festival. They explained they were keener on calling him “instead of calling him out.”

The meeting went over well, according to organizers, who described DaBaby as being “genuinely engaged” while offering an apology for what he admitted to being hurtful comments about HIV, as well as the impact it had on marginalized groups within the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.

Black AIDS Institute, GLAAD, Positive Women’s Network, and Transinclusive Group were among the nine organizations that invited DaBaby for a sitdown. Southern AIDS Coalition rep, Marnina Miller, praised DaBaby for wanting to learn from his mistakes and educate himself on the reality of HIV.

DaBaby recently appeared alongside Kanye West and Marilyn Manson at the Chicago DONDA listening party. The rapper also features on “Jail Pt 2” with both Ye and Manson where he speaks candidly on the situation. “I said one thing they ain’t like, threw me out like they ain’t care for me/ Thre me out like I’m garbage, huh?/ And that food that y’all took off my table/ You know that feed my daughters, huh?” He raps on the song.

[Via]

Van Buren Records & AzizTheShake Drop New EP “Black Wall Street”

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Van Buren Records emerged last year as one of the most exciting hip-hop groups coming up. The 13-person collective continues to make noise out of Brockton, Massachusetts, and they’ve officially released their latest project BLACK WALL STREET, produced by AzizTheShake.

With members including FELIX!, Luke Bar$, SAINT LYOR, Invada, and more, Van Buren Records follows in the same lineage as groups like BROCKHAMPTON, giving each rapper a chance to shine as they bring a different energy to every song. BLACK WALL STREET is the perfect example of that, with hard-hitting alternative bars coming from each of the thirteen men involved, and Aziz handling production duties. 

The EP features a guest appearance from Jazz Cartier on “CULT.”

With upcoming shows in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Boston, Van Buren Records will surely be getting the crowd moving with their latest music. Listen to BLACK WALL STREET below and let us know what you think.

Tracklist:

1. JUMP STREET (with Jiles, Luke Bar$, Invada, & FELIX!)
2. CASH RULES (with Luke Bar$, SAINT LYOR, FELIX!, Jiles, Regis, & Meech)
3. CULT (with SAINT LYOR, Luke Bar$, Luke Bar$, Invada, & FELIX!) [feat. Jazz Cartier]
4. FOXY BROWN (with SAINT LYOR, Luke Bar$, Jiles, Invada, Meech BOLD, & FELIX!)
5. FINGERPRINTS (with Jiles, Luke Bar$, Meech BOLD, & FELIX!)

DaBaby Reportedly Met With Nine HIV/AIDS Organizations Following His Homophobic Rant

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During his Rolling Loud festival set, DaBaby hopped on the mic and made some very distasteful and inaccurate comments about people living with HIV/AIDS. The homophobic rant caused the rapper to be dropped from several festival lineups and get called out by several celebrities for his offensive speech. Now, it seems as though DaBaby is taking some steps to educate himself about people living with HIV/AIDS.

According to a recent report from TMZ, the rapper has held meetings with nine HIV/AIDS non-profit organizations. A few of the organizations in attendance included Black AIDS Institute, GLAAD, Positive Women’s Network, and Transinclusive Group. GLAAD had previously issued a statement following DaBaby’s comments, calling them inaccurate, “hurtful, and harmful to the LGBTQ community and the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV.”

During the meetings, DaBaby allegedly had the chance to hear from people whose lives are impacted by the condition and how they are able to live with the virus. Apparently, several of the organizations had reached out to DaBaby directly following his rant, attempting to “call him in instead of calling him out” by having a thoughtful conversation.

Per TMZ’s report, several of the organizations noted DaBaby was “genuinely engaged” during their meetings and open to learning more about HIV/AIDS. He reportedly apologized for his inaccurate and hurtful comments, allegedly acknowledging how it impacted Black and LGBTQ+ communities.

Lil Nas X Shares A Fascinating Visual Detail About His ‘Montero’ Album Art That Can’t Be Unseen

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YouTube

Adding a new layer to the Montero multiverse, Lil Nas X shared some majestic album art for his forthcoming album earlier today. Depicting the rapper fully in the nude, his back arched and skin glistening, the Lisa Frank-looking design for Montero represents “a continuous loop, to represent the circle of life,” according to Nas’ follow-up tweet. Indeed, when the art is duplicated and stacked vertically, the edges of the art line up to make a continuous image.

Then, the “Industry Baby” rapper laid out some more visual inspirations for Montero, posting images of SpongeBob SquarePants and John Stephens’ Genesis II. The tracklist, he said, would arrive tomorrow.

Just a few days out from Montero‘s release, Lil Nas X has definitely been making the most of his promotional cycle, posting his (joking) take on Drake’s Certified Lover Boy emoji art and making nice with Tony Hawk on TikTok.

“Growing up in the Atlanta area, I [saw] a lot of microaggressions towards homosexuality,” Nas recently told Out Magazine in a cover story about growing up in the South and his coming out process. “Little things like going into an IHOP and hearing one of your family members say ‘look at those faggots’ to two people eating or even just a small [statement like] ‘boys don’t cry.’ Little sh*t like living in the hood, not being super into sports, and then having to go outside and pretend that I was. [I remember] pushing that part of myself in more and more, almost convincing myself that it’s not even actually there,” he added.

Meanwhile, he recently wrote of Montero, “creating this album has been therapy for me. i’ve learned to let go of trying to control people’s perception of who i am, what i can do, and where i will be. i’ve realized the only opinion of me that really matters is my own.”

Montero is out 9/17 via Columbia Records. Pre-save it here.

Kanye West Wanted To Move Actual Childhood Home Into Soldier Field: Report

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The release of Kanye West’s DONDA was a spectacle in and of itself. Last week, the Chicago native took it back to his hometown for a third, and most elaborate, listening part for his 10th studio album. It was hard to do after the whole levitating act but he did it. At the center of the stadium was a replica of his childhood home in Chicago that was apparently only there because the city refused him permission to bring DONDA’s House to Soldier Field.


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According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Kanye West’s original plan was to bring his actual childhood home to the stadium for the listening event. The city ultimately shut down Kanye’s request which was why a replica was built on the stage. 

Chicago’s Building Department explained that attempting to take Kanye’s home from the South Shore community to the Soldier Field was an incredibly intricate process. Additionally, the house is apparently in demolition court currently.

“Moving a home in Chicago is a very technical process that requires structural engineer reports and multiple city permits,” the Building Department said in a statement. “The request to move the house at 7815 S. South Shore Dr. was denied last week because no permit application had been received to excavate and move the vacant property which is also in Demolition Court.”

DONDA dropped on Sunday morning with appearances from Lil Durk, Lil Baby, The Weeknd, Jay-Z, and more.

Share your thoughts on the album below. 

XXXTentacion & His Son Gekyume Look Identical In New Photos

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Three years ago, Florida rapper XXXTENTACION was murdered during a failed robbery. The recording artist was shopping at a motorsports store and when he exited, four men blocked his exit with their car, attempting to rob him of a Louis Vuitton bag that was filled with cash. When XXX reportedly refused to hand over the money, he was fatally shot. 

XXXTENTACION remains one of the most influential artists of his generation, hitting a billion streams on a few of his songs, including “SAD!,” which was just certified diamond the other day. As his music keeps on inspiring people, fans are pointing out the similarities between XXX and his son, Gekyume, who was born several months following the rapper’s death.

Posting new photos of Gek, XXXTENTACION’s ex-girlfriend Jenesis Sanchez wrote, “Big $teppin in his @musebypablo.” In the pictures, he wears a memorial chain around his neck for his father, who he never got to meet. Fans are tripping out over how they look the same, especially in his eyes. XXX had small eyes, which was a distinctive quality for him. It seems Gekyume has adopted his beady eyes, with fans remarking anew that the two look like twins.

This isn’t the first time that people freak out about XXXTENTACION’s son looking just like him — plenty of times now, fans have commented on Gek’s photos, reminding the family that he shares significant facial similarities with his father.

Check out some new photos of Gekyume below and let us know if you think he looks like his dad.

Azealia Banks Trashes Kanye West, Says “DONDA” Album Is “Garbage”

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So much for the love affair… After revealing that her new song “Fuck Him All Night” is about Kanye West, Azealia Banks has done a complete 180-turn on the music legend, trashing his new album DONDA on Instagram Stories on Monday afternoon.

Azealia Banks has had high and low opinions of Kanye West over the years but, most recently, she seemingly let her negativity fade, joking that she wants to have Kanye’s babies. She also dedicated her new song “Fuck Him All Night” to the billionaire recording artist. Unfortunately, after the release of Ye’s new album DONDA, Azealia is back on her bully, insulting the rapper and his music.


Matthew Baker/Getty Images

“This Donda shit is wild garbage,” said Azealia. “Music for hegdefund bros.”

She continued in a later post, saying, “If you have ever smelled kanye up close or tried having a conversation with him you’d know that FHAN is a conceptual art piece. I’m clearly making fun of him. I said it because that gospel cockfest was legit depressing garbage.”

Aside from Azealia Banks, Charlamagne Tha God, Soulja Boy, DJ Envy, and a few others, people seem to really be enjoying Kanye’s new album. Many are hailing it as his best body of work since Yeezus, and while it’s not right to call any album a classic mere days after it dropped, some fans are already referring to DONDA as a masterpiece.


Ethan Miller/Getty Images

What do you think? Is Kanye West a genius for making DONDA, or is it garbage like Azealia Banks says?


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Lil Wayne Says He’s The First Rapper With A Trading Card Set

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Lil Wayne is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of his album Tha Carter IV, performing at a sold-out show over the weekend and reminiscing on the creation of the project by sharing exclusive material on social media. As part of a collaboration with Topps, Tunechi told his fans that he’s offering a limited-edition trading card pack for Tha Carter IV, and he’s claiming that he’s the first rapper to ever do something of the sort.

“The first rapper with a trading card pack,” boasted Lil Wayne on Instagram. “Special delivery to my Topp Spotify fans.”

While this may be the first official team-up between a rapper and a trading card company, other artists, including JAY-Z, have had trading cards made of them in the past. This year, a rare trading card for JAY-Z sold for over $105,000. 

A much better deal, Lil Wayne’s cards are only on sale for $19.99. There are twenty cards in total, and each box comes with eight of them. Cards were made for the songs on C4, including “6 Foot 7 Foot,” “Novacane,” “John,” and others.

If you’re looking to get your hands on some of these, you’ll want to be quick. The sale ends in twenty-nine days.

Take a look at Lil Wayne’s trading cards and buy them here.

Read our new article: “Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter IV’ Is Low-Key One Of His Best Albums.”