Meek Mill Plans to Drop 10 New Mixtapes, Says He Has ‘A Million Behind Every Project’ Thanks to ‘Sponsors’
Month: July 2022
Aida Osman And KaMillion Of ‘Rap Sh!t’ Are Becoming Stars Alongside Their Characters
Even before they landed the lead roles on Issa Rae’s new HBO Max series, Aida Osman and KaMillion have been living and breathing this rap sh*t. The new show, appropriately titled Rap Sh!t, tells the story of two estranged high school friends – the poetic, lyric-focused Shawna Clark (Osman) and the confident, sexually liberated Mia Knight (KaMillion) – reuniting to form a rap duo. While this is both actors’ first times starring in a lead role, their TV counterparts are entities the two have been manifesting for years.
Before Rap Sh!t, KaMillion had been putting out independent mixtapes and singles for eight years. Osman had worked as a writer and producer on shows like Big Mouth and Betty, and was initially hired to be a writer for Rap Sh!t. With Rap Sh!t, the two are at the forefront of their own sharp pen game after years of putting in work behind the scenes.
“It’s so complicated and scary and weird to actualize,” Osman says of being a lead on television. “Every time I see the photo of me and Milly in the car that they’re using for the Rap Sh!t art, I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s somebody else. That’s not me and her’ But like, that is me and her. That’s me and my friend. When I drive by the billboard now, it’s so weird to see that that’s us. It’s surreal.”
Aida Osman plays the lyric-focused Shawna Clark. She is also a writer on the show.
Osman’s affinity for hip-hop began as a secret love affair. Having grown up in a Muslim household in Lincoln, Nebraska, she was not allowed to watch TV or listen to hip-hop, which the TV writer and actress on a hip-hop-centered show admits is “crazy… because look at me now.” As a teenager, she would often take her computer and sit in her room, watching Nicki Minaj videos in secret. She played drums and performed in her school’s choir throughout high school, and by college, she was quietly writing her own rhymes and exploring beatmaking.
Today, Osman’s mother is more than supportive of her work, even if she doesn’t quite get it.
“[My mom] hates Big Mouth so much,” Osman says. “She’s always like, ‘What is this? They’re ugly.’ She thinks it’s all ugly, and she thinks the concept is so stupid. But she always pauses at the credits like, ‘That’s my baby.’ And I’m like, ‘Which is it? Which is it?’ I don’t even know if my mom understands the concept of Rap Sh!t, but we’ll see.”
KaMillion, on the other hand, has always been immersed in the world of hip-hop, having grown up in Jacksonville, Florida, and hearing music constantly playing outside. “I started writing poetry at first,” says KaMillion, “just looking at the community that I was raised in, and everything I was going through. Everything started out as poetry, and then I just put a beat to it. When I felt like I could do it, I started rapping and getting with different producers. Hip-hop has just always been in me just because of how I was raised in the neighborhoods where I came from.”
When we first meet Osman’s Shawna on the show, she is working the front desk at a Miami hotel. She is recognized for one of her viral freestyles, however, it is revealed that she now wears a mask when she records her rap videos, that way people can focus on her lyrics instead of her appearance. She is critical of the hypersexual nature of women rappers and is fed up with being slept on and wants very badly for industry professionals to take her seriously.
KaMillion’s Mia, on the other hand, strives to be a woman’s fantasy in regards to sexual liberation – a la Lil Kim in the ’90s. As an aspiring rapper single mother, a make-up artist, and an OnlyFans model, Mia wears many hats throughout the series.
Sex work is a big component of the Rap Sh!t universe. In the first episode, we see Mia live streaming on OnlyFans, taking requests and tips from men. In real life, KaMillion briefly dipped her toes in the OnlyFans waters during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, though not for what she considers sex work, but rather to share intimate pictures that wouldn’t make it past the Instagram censors. “We’ve all done odd jobs to come up,” KaMillion says. “I danced briefly to make ends meet, so I understood that aspect when it came to my character, because I’ve experienced it.”
While she became well-versed on the platform of her own accord, bringing the OnlyFans action to the screen was an entirely new challenge for KaMillion.
KaMillion plays the ambitious, sexually-liberated Mia Knight.
“When you’re recording kinky little videos on your phone, no one’s in there watching you,” KaMillion says, “but now, you’ve got to perform in front of the camera guy and the director. Like they’re up in your coochie, and I’m like ‘Did I shave good enough?’ ‘How’s every angle looking?’”
Although Shawna hasn’t done any sex work in the series, Osman, similarly to KaMillion, said one of her most challenging scenes to shoot was a virtual sex scene in the first episode, in which she is having FaceTime sex with her long-distance boyfriend, Cliff (Devon Terrell).
“There will be a closed set for things like this, so it’s just you, the cameraman, the producer, the main writer, and the showrunner,” Osman says. “But every time that we film a scene, we do a practice round before, where the necessary crew comes in and maps out what the scene is going to look like. So to lay in a bed while Issa Rae is just watching me masturbate is the goofiest thing. I felt funny and stupid, and I couldn’t take that scene seriously. I kept cackling mid-orgasm.”
Throughout the series, the promising rappers navigate the treacherous music industry as their single, “Seduce And Scheme,” continues to go viral. They face challenges like handling personal relationships as artists, remaining couth at industry functions, and the pressures of viral fame. All the while, the two channel the spirit of women in rap to help them get through the titular rap sh*t, both on-and-off screen.
Viewers with a keen ear will catch the characters referencing iconic quotes by female rappers in casual conversation. In the second episode, when Mia and Shawna are brainstorming ideas for songs, Mia says she wants to make “something fun, something for the summertime, something for the girls to get ready and party to,” referring to Saweetie’s 2019 interview for Amazon Music’s Rap Rotation. In a later episode, where the ladies head to New York City, Mia recreates Nicki Minaj’s 2017 viral “you b*tches can’t even spell Prague” video, recording a clip in front of a black Cadillac Escalade, saying, “Attention, this is how a bad b*tch leaves Miami and arrives in Queens. You b*tches can’t even spell Queens.”
Like the hidden Drake-lyrics in the dialogue of the first season of Rae’s breakout series, Insecure, and the Frank Ocean-lyrics in the second, this was something the writers did on purpose.
“It’s definitely about paying homage, and we love that,” Osman says. “It always feels amazing to catch a little easter egg like that. So with our show, it only made sense for the writers to be like, ‘Let’s put in our favorite moments from Black women in rap.’”
As Mia and Shawna become stars on Rap Sh!t, both Osman and KaMillion are becoming stars in real life, alongside their breakout characters. According to Osman, Rae first commissioned her to write “a month’s worth of television” when she was hired onto the show’s staff. She was comfortable working as a writer “for the rest of [her] life,” and even assumed that someone else had landed the role of Shawna before she was asked to do a chemistry read with KaMillion.
KaMillion had been working toward her breakthrough moment in music for nearly a decade, and now, with Rap Sh!t, she feels like the stars are all aligning.
“I think it’s a blessing for me to be able to make a living in hip-hop,” KaMillion says. “And, ultimately, to be on a show like this – that I feel is about to be culture.”
Bad Bunny’s ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’ Passes The ‘Encanto’ Soundtrack As The Most Popular Album Of 2022
Bad Bunny has rapidly risen from relative obscurity to become one of the biggest artists in the world, accumulating multiple No. 1s, selling millions of records, and making history in the short amount of time he’s been in the spotlight. His latest impressive accomplishment comes courtesy of Billboard, which reports that BB’s new album Un Verano Sin Ti has become the most popular album of 2022 — even surpassing the inescapable Encanto soundtrack.
Un Verano Sin Ti, which was also the second all-Spanish-language album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (the first being its immediate predecessor, El Último Tour del Mundo, in 2020), has earned 1.606 million equivalent album units in the US. Encanto, which featured the immensely popular “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” had 1.565 million units. For those who don’t know, equivalent album units are a combination of straight album sales, 10 individual tracks sold from an album (track equivalent units), or 1,250 streams via a subscription — or 3,750 ad-supported streams (streaming equivalent units). While Billboard’s data doesn’t break down how BB reached his impressive 1.6 million EAUs, previous reports noted his totals were being driven mostly by streams, which kept the album at No. 1 for five consecutive weeks, then reclaimed its spot earlier this month, breaking a record previously set by Adele in the process.
Joey Bada$$ “2000” Album Review
When it comes to this beautiful thing we call hip-hop, making your presence felt is one thing. Once you’ve landed on the world’s collective radar, staying there, amid a constant maelstrom of competition and a seemingly endless turnover of new artists, amounts to a fine art. Thus, when making your journey through the genre, it behooves you to keep yourself visible and to feed your fanbase’s insatiable appetite for fresh output while it’s there. Not least of all, when you’re an artist with the sort of lofty ambitions that Joey Bada$$ has.
Eager to dually wield the roles of mogul and artist in one fell swoop, BK’s own ‘Badmon’ has pulled off the considerable feat of retaining his relevancy despite not releasing an album for half of a decade. Having dabbled in the world of acting, Joey appeared to take some time out from his primary occupation to stretch his legs and recalibrate. But now, ten years on from the release of his landmark debut mixtape, 1999, the former leader of the PRO ERA crew is back and in magnificent form with its sequel, 2000.
A project that came into being after a process of recording over 2000 songs, Joey wastes little time in reminding the world of not only his lyrical prowess, but how his stature within the industry has grown since his earlier years on “The Baddest”.
For an artist that remains as fiercely independent as ever, opening with an interlude from Diddy is no small feat. But when you consider that it’s occurring on a record from a man that once rebuffed the advances of Hov because he wants to “become Jay Z” rather than work under him, it appears that he is now finally embracing the contacts book that his skills and resolve have afforded him.
Over a jazzy, piano-punctuated beat from Flatbush Zombies’ Erick Arc Elliott and McClenney, “The Baddest” quickly proves that Joey is back like he’s never left. He immediately reasserts himself as he proclaims, “I can take five years off ’cause my shit is timeless/My core got my back so I’m standing on my promise/These n****s only backed by they labels, they all spineless/I’m back by popular demand and on that timing.” It’s a wise choice for an opener in the sense that it proves that his flow and pen game has by no means blunted, and from there, any long-term fan of Joey was sure to be hooked.
Firmly keeping attention spans ensnared with “Make Me Feel”, the track sees Joey fuse the ambiance of the R&B-inflected jiggy era with a masterclass in high-caliber rhyming. Floating over an exquisite Stephanie Mills sample from frequent collaborator Statik Selektah — whose fingerprints are all over this project — his razor-sharp delivery suggests that he’s earned every bit of the braggadocio that he exhibits on it as he spits “Automatic classic when Joey get on a Statik beat/All my bars appreciate with time like a Patek Philippe.”
Although there is room for worthwhile experimentation on the project, his strengths remain as evident as ever, and his return to a fresh and vibrant take on the boom-bap sound that first elevated him to greatness proves to be not only worthwhile, but often yields gold.
On the Westside Gunn-aided “Brand New 911,” we see a watertight intermingling of the sounds of Griselda and Pro Era. So much so that when you consider how long they’ve been occupying the same space, it almost feels like a missed opportunity that there have not been more dalliances between the two crews.
In a track that houses the second spoken word outing from an iconic artist, “Cruise Control” fuels the neo-soul-inspired production of All Amerikkkan Bada$$ with the sort of lyrical barrage that he’d employed in his earlier years. Endorsed by Nas at the track’s conclusion as the icon declares, “This man has age on him, like he’s been here before,” Joey leans into this perception of being wise beyond his 27 years on “Eulogy,” on which he declares “Never did college and I still raised dollars for tuition/You could buy my album for like eight dollars/Best money that you’ll ever spend, I promise.”
Although he revealed in a Reddit AMA that “with 2000, I wanted to have fun and not think too much, flex up and talk my shit a bit,” he often stumbles upon something far more profound than that open-ended brief that he set for himself.
Given that it is the sequel to a monumental project, it’s unsurprising that the album is reflective in nature. Most notably, Joey ruminates on what’s been lost. On the driven “Head High,” Joey recounts the tale of his first encounter with XXXTentacion over a breezy, Statik Selektah instrumental. Rather than it taking on a solemn tone, Joey uses the story as an allegory for embracing life and all of its blessings while they remain abundant.
Elsewhere, on “Where I Belong,” Joey writes his own origin story with the finesse of a seasoned screenplay writer as he discusses often “taking the long way home just to get thoughts off my dome.”
Yet when it comes to the emotional centerpiece of the album, that honor undoubtedly falls to “Survivor’s Guilt.” An ode to both his fallen comrade Capital Steez and his older cousin Joseph B, the track sees Joey raise the important topic of how the perception of mental health issues has changed in recent years and the manner in which the stigma over it has decreased in previously unimaginable ways, spitting, “You see, the truth about Steelo, he lacked the mental health/But try to tell that to people way back in 2012/But now that it’s a mainstream topic/I’m guessin’ I can finally open up and talk about it.”
Later, he brings it all home as he discusses his ongoing quest to bring his friend’s music to the masses and deliver Steez’s unreleased output, proclaiming that he hopes to “give the fans the thing that they demand the most/King Capital, the fucking G.O.A.T., word/I’m just tryna get my n***a heard/Give him what he deserves.”
Although Statik Selektah is certainly prominent throughout, that doesn’t mean no other beatmakers get a look in. Among contributions from Mike Will Made-It among others, the Golden era of Pre Era is dutifully saluted courtesy of the contributions from Kirk Knight and Chuck Strangers. With the former providing the dynamic backdrop of “Zip Codes,” his fellow Beast Coast member gives Badmon space to bask in his own accomplishments. Meanwhile, Chuck– who exploded onto the scene with his contributions to 1999, namely the LA Noire-indebted production on “FromDaTomb$” — drops in to bring the trunk-knocking “Wanna Be Loved” with JID to life. Embellished by a touching hook that delves into the need for affection that we all feel as humans, this collision between Joey and Dreamville’s top prospect not only provides the record’s most notable guest verse — with JID telling an insightful tale of his friend readjusting to life on the outside as he tries to outrun the allure of returning to a life of crime — but reminds us that Joey is more than keeping up with the MC’s that sprung up in his absence.
As previously discussed, the attributes which really make Joey tick as an artist remain as plain to see as ever. While on the flipside, this means that the likes of “Welcome Back” with Chris Brown feel more inauthentic and inessential. While Joey may have been “honored” to have Breezy on his project, a joint ode to “sneaky links” feels incredibly incongruous amid some of the other tracks on the project. On the other side of the coin, “Show Me” — featuring an ingenious flip of indie band Men I Trust from Statik & Heavy Mellow — does a vastly better joy of saluting the fairer sex.
Featuring resplendent live instrumentation, the project’s closer, “Written In The Stars”, feels like both a celebration of how far he’s come and an exercise in setting up his next act as he declares himself to be “Leader of my generation, down to die for the cause, we all fighting the wars, hiding invisible scars.”
No longer the young prospect that he was on 1999, the spiritual successor to Joey’s breakout project sees him firmly cement himself among the elite. And while he may have to deliver something even more seminal than that lauded debut mixtape if he’s ever to be seen as part of the “holy trinity” with Kendrick and Cole that he alludes to on “The Baddest,” there’s every chance that he has both the talent and cultural gravitas to do just that in the years to come.
Rap Lyrics Could Be Banned As Evidence In Newly Introduced Federal Bill
Two Democrats introduced a new bill to Congress that would protect artists from having their lyrics used against them in a court of law. The RAP (Restoring Artistic Protection) bill was brought to Congress by Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). If passed, this would be the first legislation on a federal level that would protect lyrics from being presented as evidence.
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
“Rap, Hip Hop and every lyrical musical piece is a beautiful form of art and expression that must be protected,” Rep. Bowman said in a statement announcing the bill. “Our judicial system disparately criminalizes Black and brown lives, including Black and brown creativity.”
Similar to New York’s Rap Music On Trial bill that was introduced earlier this year, the RAP Act aims to “limit the admissibility of evidence of a defendant’s creative or artistic expression against such defendant in a criminal proceeding, and for other purposes.”
“Evidence shows when juries believe lyrics to be rap lyrics, there’s a tendency to presume it’s a confession, whereas lyrics for other genres of music are understood to be art, not factual reporting. This act would ensure that our evidentiary standards protect the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. We cannot imprison our talented artists for expressing their experiences nor will we let their creativity be suppressed,” Bowman added.
It’s a timely issue following the recent RICO indictment against Young Thug, Gunna and YSL, who’ve been considered a dangerous street organization rather than a record label. The 56-count indictment heavily relied on using lyrics from Young Thug and Gunna to nail them for gang-related crimes. Kevin Liles even launched a petition called Rap Music On Trial to “protect Black art” after appearing in court for Thug.
Louisiana Rapper JayDaYoungan’s Girlfriend Share Memories After Sudden Tragedy
Last night, someone close to JayDaYoungan took to social media to share memories after his death. JayDaYoungan’s girlfriend Carena Vonchae took to Instagram with a heartbreaking message as she copes with the rapper’s passing: “Thank God that my last words to you were I love you, I hope you know how though. I’m so hurt […]
The post Louisiana Rapper JayDaYoungan’s Girlfriend Share Memories After Sudden Tragedy appeared first on SOHH.com.
NLE Choppa Clarifies Claims That He Cured Cancer
NLE Choppa has finally addressed the controversial tweet claiming that he helped cure someone of cancer. “Wow man just was informed I helped cure someone from cancer. This Major To Me,” he wrote in June 2021, causing a flurry of questions and criticisms.
Last week, Vlad finally sat down with NLE Choppa to put their beef to rest while also allowing the rapper an opportunity to clarify a few things to the public, including the cancer claim. Though Vlad previously referred to him as a “snake oil salesman,” Choppa clarified that he never claimed responsibility for curing cancer directly.
“I said I helped someone,” said NLE Choppa. “I’d be lying if I said I got patients in my house and I’m just treating them. I don’t have the time for that. The only thing I can do is be a messenger and provide you with something that I’m blessed with – my energy… As long as you have good intentions, you pray over these things, you talk to them, and you give it to people with the right intentions and they use it and they hear you out consistently with the things that they do within themselves every day, you can help someone. You can help save a life.”
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
The claim comes shortly after he publicly reached out to Justin Bieber in an attempt to help him with his Ramsay Hunt diagnosis. “I tried to have my label dm Justin Bieber on instagram idk if it was sent out because I don’t run it but can y’all please do me a favor and let him know I have what can help I promise. I just want to help and heal,” he wrote.
Check out the clip below.
Yung Miami Drops Scorching Hot “Queen Of Rap” Take
Although the City Girls will no longer be releasing their third studio album alongside Beyoncé’s Renaissance this Friday, the Miami-bred duo is still letting the industry know that they have female rap on lock. Yung Miami, in particular, recently took to Twitter to touch on City Girls’ role in Hip-Hop, and while doing so, she fired off a scorching hot take.
According to the Caresha Please podcast host, JT is currently leading the current wave of female rap.
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images
In a recent tweet, REVOLT sparked a debate about female rap by asking its followers, “Who is the queen of rap?” That’s when Yung Miami dropped a major hot take and responded to the tweet by saying, “JT.”
The moment served as a heartfelt nod to her longtime collaborator, and after releasing a string of successful singles — from the Fivio Foreign-assisted “Top Notch” to the Usher-assisted “Good Love” — over the last several months, some fans may think that JT is a worthy Queen of Rap candidate.
See the City Girls rapper’s Twitter interaction below.
With other female rappers like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Coi Leray, and Glorilla also having big years so far, the Queen of Rap debate is likely far from over. Let us know if you agree or disagree with Yung Miami’s hot take in the comment section below, and keep it locked to HNHH for more City Girls-related news.
Usher Recalls Meeting 2Pac, Biggie, Ice Cube & More While Making His Debut Album
The R&B legend rubbed shoulders with rap greats when he was just a teen.
