Month: July 2023

Anthony Fantano Is A “Colonizer” & “Outsider,” According To Killer Mike

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Anthony Fantano is one of the more well-known names in the world of music critics. Still, that definitely doesn’t mean the public always agrees with his opinion. Just last month he made headlines by scoring Gunna’s surprise a Gift & a Curse album a measly 1/10 on his YouTube channel, The Needle Drop. Later on in June, Fantano gave a listen to hip-hop icon Killer Mike’s MICHAEL LP, which received a 79/100 rating on Metacritic.com shortly after its debut.

“If you’re familiar with Killer Mike, you know he’s no stranger to throwing political views out there. On previous records, I feel like that mostly worked in his favour,” the internet personality told viewers tuning in. “But on MICHAEL, I’m kinda scratching my head because I feel like a lot of it isn’t fully lining up,” Fantano added, ultimately scoring it a 6/10. “Are you 12 years old? Are you literally a 12-year-old boy? If you took these lyrics and you showed them to me and told me they were some kinda MAGA rapper from the internet, I would have to believe you,” he asked Mike during one rant.

Read More: Anthony Fantano Hits Gunna With A 1 Out Of 10

Anthony Fantano Reviews MICHAEL

The 48-year-old has obviously gotten wind of the slander circulating about his album, and he didn’t hold back when addressing it on Twitter. “People have forgot that Mike is an artist above all and braggadocious rap is part of it. Y’all prefer he rap about drugs?” one Twitter user pondered in response to Fantano’s review.

To this, Mike wrote, “His opinion on life and culture cannot possibly understand.” He went on to say,”[It’s] laughable and shows you the arrogance of the outsider or colonizer. I encourage all to listen and feel something special. #MICHAEL, a truly Black Southern American experience.”

Read More: Killer Mike Drops First Solo Album In A Decade, “MICHAEL”

Killer Mike Responds

Do you think Anthony Fantano’s review of Killer Mike’s first solo album in a decade was fair, or accurate? Let us know in the comments, and stream MICHAEL at the link above if you haven’t already.

Killer Mike Twitter
@killermike/Twitter

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Janelle Monáe Couldn’t Be Policed As She Flashed Her Breast To The Audience At Essence Festival

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janelle monae essence festival 2023
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Janelle Monáe is baring it all. Her latest album, The Age Of Pleasure features her more in touch with her sexuality than ever before, and as she’s been promoting the album, she’s been seen flashing her fans, notably with the vinyl album itself, which contains a foldout picture of her breasts.

Last night (June 30), at Essence Festival in New Orleans, Monae gave a performance of all of her hits from over the years, including her 2015 Jidenna collaboration, “Yoga.”

The song contains the line “You cannot police me, so get off my areola,” which has become one of Monáe’s signature lyrics. During this particular portion of the song, Monáe lifted up the right side of her bikini top, flashing her breast to the audience. Her nipple was covered with a pink sticker, but nevertheless, stirred up fans throughout the festival.

This exuberant move was met with cheers and support from the audience, who were all on board with the sense of liberation she’s tapped into during this album era.

You can see a clip from Monáe’s Essence Festival performance above.

Janelle Monáe is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nicki Minaj Thanks Barbz For Showing Love To “Endless Fashion”

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“Endless Fashion” is one of Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape‘s many highlights, and that’s obviously owed to Nicki Minaj’s great track presence. Whether it’s her melodic interludes, witty bars, or infectious energy, the Queen pleased longtime Barbz and naysayers alike. Moreover, she recently reacted to her fanbase and more showing her love for the track online, dividing it up into a few different areas. First, she addressed fans (particularly straight men) who typically dismiss her music, but thought that she did a great job on “Endless Fashion.” Then, the Trinidadian rapper thanked these people for supporting the song, calling them “undercover” fans.

“S/o all my undercover barbz playing #EndlessFashion all day reminiscing,” Nicki Minaj wrote on Twitter. “I know y’all gotta pretend not to be in love wit da 1 (not da 2). I still love y’all. I can feel the vibrations. Muva thanks u. Come let me give you a noogie in yall big a** head. *virtual hugs*.” In addition, she spoke more specifically on a few clips that went viral of guys reacting to her verse.

Read More: Nicki Minaj & JT Talk About “Endless Fashion” Verse On Lil Uzi Vert’s “Pink Tape”

Nicki Minaj Thanks “Undercover Barbz”

“Nah the way they just switched up like that is cr*zy,” one user on Twitter captioned a video compilation of the phenomenon. “These str***ots be trying it chi,” the 40-year-old replied in a quote-tweet. “Nah they cute or whatever & actually I rlly appreciate them being MEN comfortable in their own skin.” There are plenty of fans of every demographic online who turned around on Nicki Minaj after this verse, despite their own biases. Given the amazing year that she’s been having so far, we’re sure that even more people will be praising her by her next album in November.

The Queen Addresses Haters-Turned-Fans

Also, she spoke a bit more earnestly about why this fan reaction happens, and why people have those biases. “Music is more than metaphors & ppl r free to like who & what they like for their own personal reasons babe,” she responded to a fan who asked why men discount her talents. “For instance, those guys in the 2 videos clearly identify with Uzi & they have his temperament. That like-able quality. But shy. Very deliberate/conservative w/who & what they like. I think they’re dope.” For more news and the latest updates on Nicki Minaj, stay logged into HNHH.

Read More: Natalie Nunn Reacts To Nicki Minaj Mentioning Her On Lil Uzi Vert’s “Pink Tape”

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LCS Summer 2023 Tracker: Cloud9 Back On Top, Perfect Week For FlyQuest

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The race to Worlds is finally here. By the time September rolls around, just four LCS teams will be moving onto Worlds. Riot Games revealed that Worlds 2023 will feature a brand new format, meaning that three LCS teams will qualify for the tournament’s Swiss Stage. Meanwhile, one team will qualify for the Wildcard Qualifier, which will send one team to the Worlds Play-In stage.

HotNewHipHop is here to give you the perfect tool to follow along with all the action. In this article, you will find every roster move and an easy-to-understand breakdown of all ten teams’ rosters. Furthermore, you will be able to find the result of every game, as well as regularly-updated standings.

LCS Rosters And Transactions

Top Jungle Mid ADC Support
100 Thieves Ssumday Closer Quid Doublelift Busio
Cloud9 Fudge Blaber ENEMES Berserker Zven
Dignitas Rich Santorin Jensen Tomo Diamond
Evil Geniuses Revenge Armao
Sheiden		 Jojopyun UNF0RGIVEN Eyla
FlyQuest Impact Spica VicLa Prince Vulcan
Golden Guardians Licorice River Gori Stixxay Huhi
Immortals Solo Kenvi Bolulu Tactical Treatz
NRG Dhokla Contractz Palafox FBI IgNar
Team Liquid Summit Pyosik Haeri Yeon CoreJJ
TSM Hauntzer Bugi Ruby WildTurtle Chime
Names that appear in this table only reflect confirmed roster moves.

April 2023

  • 7th: Team Liquid release head coach MaRin. Meanwhile, FlyQuest promote Winsome from FlyQuest Challengers to the LCS roster. Furthermore, 100 Thieves mid laner Bjergsen announced his retirement.
  • 11th: Cloud9 release positional coach Selfie.
  • 17th: Immortals demote support Fleshy to Immortals Challengers and sign free agent support Treatz. Elsewhere, Dignitas support Biofrost leaves the active roster to become a team content creator.
  • 18th: Immortals release top laner Revenge.
  • 26th. Evil Geniuses release head coach Freeze and assistant head coach H4xDefender. Meanwhile, Immortals sign free agent top laner Solo.
  • 28th: Team Liquid promote assistant head coach Reignover to head coach and team manager Dodo to assistant head coach.
  • 29th: Evil Geniuses release top laner Ssumday, jungler Inspired, ADC FBI, and support Vulcan.

May 2023

  • 2nd: Dignitas sign free agent top laner Rich. Elsewhere, TSM part ways with head coach Chawy.
  • 3rd: Cloud9 release positional coach Armao and sign free agent positional coach Duffman. Meanwhile, TSM release mid laner Maple.
  • 9th: 100 Thieves demote head coach Nukeduck to assistant head coach and hire free agent head coach Cain.
  • 10th: Top laner Armut leaves Dignitas to join Turkish team SuperMassive.
  • 11th: Mid laner Quid joins 100 Thieves from Gen.G Academy.
  • 12th: Top laner Ssumday joins 100 Thieves. Ssumday previously played for 100 Thieves between Spring 2018 and Summer 2022.
  • 13th: 100 Thieves top laner Tenacity leaves the active roster to become a team content creator.
  • May 17th: Dignitas promote academy support Diamond to the LCS roster.
  • 18th: TSM sign free agent head coach Reven. Elsewhere, free agent Armao role-swaps from positional coach to jungler and signs with Evil Geniuses.
  • 19th: FlyQuest release substitute support Eyla and sign free agent support Vulcan.
  • 23rd: TSM announce their Summer roster, adding free agent top laner Hauntzer and free agent mid laner Ruby.
  • 25th: Evil Geniuses head of player development Razvan moves to the role of head coach.
  • 27th: NRG release ADC Luger. Furthermore, support IgNar signs from Dignitas.

June 2023

  • 2nd: Golden Guardians sign free agent ADC Array as their team substitute.
  • 9th: Free agent Svenskeren role-swaps from jungler to strategic coach and joins Dignitas.
  • 10th: FlyQuest sends support Winsome to their academy team.
  • 12th: Evil Geniuses sign top laner Revenge, jungler Armao, ADC UNF0RGIVEN, and support Eyla. Furthermore, Evil Geniuses promotes jungler Sheiden from their academy roster. Elsewhere, Dignitas sign free agent support Diamond.

NACL Roster Moves

June 2023

  • 1st: Disguised sign top laner FakeGod, jungler Tomio, mid laner Young, ADC Meech, support Zeyzal, and head coach Goldenglue.
  • 6th: Supernova releases top laner Dragoon, jungler Kisno, mid laner Onat, ADC Azog, support Chookies, and substitute Avril. Meanwhile, the team signs top laner Qwacker, jungler Music, midlaner RobbyBob, ADC Sketchdreams, support Trevor, head coach Mesmerism, and assistants Pookar and Shiazuri. Elsewhere, FlyQuest Challengers sign top laner Faisal.
  • 9th: Cinncinati FEAR signs top laner Phillip, support JayJ, head coach Kiao and assistant coach Xav. Meanwhile, AOE Gold releases jungler Winnie, support SkyTec, and positional coach Fawn. Furthermore, AOE Gold signs top laner Concept, jungler Will, and support breezyyy. Additionally, AOE Gold, promotes Akaadian from assistant coach to head coach and Zaga from analyst to assistant coach. Meanwhile, Team Fish Taco announces their NCAL summer roster of top laner lunacia, jungler RoseThorn, mid laner Onat, ADC Spawn, and support Nxi, who role-swaps from jungler.
  • 12th: Supernova part ways with head coach Mesmerism and promote assistant coach Shiazuri to head coach.

The NACL runs between June 10 and July 17.

LCS Match Results

Following a two-week delay due to the LCS Players’ Strike, a deal has been reached between the LCS and LCSPA. The LCS Summer Split will adopt a three-a-week format starting on June 14.

The top eight teams qualify for the LCS Summer playoffs. First and second place begin in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. Third through sixth place begin in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals. Meanwhile, seventh and eighth place begin in the Lower Bracket.

Team Record
Cloud9 7 – 2
Evil Geniuses 7 – 2
Golden Guardians 6 – 3
Dignitas 5 – 4
Team Liquid 5 – 4
100 Thieves 4 – 5
FlyQuest 3 – 6
NRG 3 – 6
TSM 3 – 6
Immortals 2 – 7

LCS Week 1

  • Nukeduck played as 100 Thieves’ mid laner due to visa issues for Quid.

June 14

Cloud9 1 – 0 Golden Guardians
Team Liquid 1 – 0 TSM
Immortals 1 – 0 Dignitas
Evil Geniuses 1 – 0 NRG
FlyQuest 0 – 1 100 Thieves

June 15

Dignitas 0 – 1 Cloud9
TSM 1 – 0 FlyQuest
100 Thieves 0 – 1 Team Liquid
NRG 0 – 1 Immortals
Golden Guardians 0 – 1 Evil Geniuses

June 16

Immortals 0 – 1 Team Liquid
Golden Guardians 1 – 0 FlyQuest
Evil Geniuses 0 – 1 Dignitas
NRG 1 – 0 100 Thieves
Cloud9 1 – 0 TSM

LCS Week 2

June 21

Dignitas 0 – 1 Golden Guardians
Team Liquid 1 – 0 NRG
FlyQuest 0 – 1 Cloud9
TSM 1 – 0 Immortals
100 Thieves 0 – 1 Evil Geniuses

June 22

NRG 0 – 1 TSM
Golden Guardians 1 – 0 Immortals
100 Thieves 0 – 1 Cloud9
Dignitas 1 – 0 Team Liquid
Evil Geniuses 1 – 0 FlyQuest

June 23

TSM 0 – 1 Golden Guardians
Immortals 0 – 1 100 Thieves
Team Liquid 0 – 1 Evil Geniuses
FlyQuest 0 – 1 Dignitas
Cloud9 0 – 1 NRG

Week 3

June 28

TSM 0 – 1 Evil Geniuses
FlyQuest 1 – 0 Team Liquid
NRG 1 – 0 Golden Guardians
100 Thieves 1 – 0 Dignitas
Cloud9 1 – 0 Immortals

June 29

NRG 0 – 1 FlyQuest
Team Liquid 1 – 0 Cloud9
Dignitas 1 – 0 TSM
Evil Geniuses 1 – 0 Immortals
Golden Guardians 1 – 0 100 Thieves

June 30

Cloud9 1 – 0 Evil Geniuses
Team Liquid 0 – 1 Golden Guardians
Dignitas 1 – 0 NRG
TSM 0 – 1 100 Thieves
Immortals 0 – 1 FlyQuest

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Young Thug’s “BUSINESS IS BUSINESS” Was Made In Two Weeks, Southside Claims

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Young Thug’s BUSINESS IS BUSINESS is one of the biggest rap albums of the year so far, with its No. 2 debut on the Billboard charts marking the Atlanta trap pioneer’s eighth top ten placement. More importantly, the album contains plenty of highlights, whether it be Thug’s solo tracks or some of his excellent collaborations. However, one big question that fans had about the album regards the recording and production process, since he’s in jail. Now, it looks like TMZ brought some answers thanks to a conversation they had with producer Southside. He worked on the album and offered some brief but interesting insights into the business of BUSINESS IS BUSINESS.

Furthermore, he said that they completed the album in “a week, two weeks.” In regards to this feat, he credited executive producer Metro Boomin for keeping up a fast-paced workflow across all collaborators. Considering that many album cuts are older tracks, the short time in the studio for this album makes much more sense. In addition, the producer revealed that some of Young Thug’s vocals were recorded and sent in on the phone, although he suggested that it was a very small amount.

Read More: Young Thug “BUSINESS IS BUSINESS” Review

Southside Speaks On Process For Young Thug’s New Album

Unfortunately, BUSINESS IS BUSINESS dropped just as Thugger faced more challenges and accusations in his RICO case as it started to pick up more steam. Most recently, his legal team denied claims that he provided information on a homicide. In addition, his lawyer motioned to remove certain charges from his indictment, as they are related to incidents that occurred over five years before Young Thug’s arrest. Still, there’s a lot of support behind him right now, even if his family also sees plenty of backs turned to him, as well. For example, his sister Dolly White recently expressed belief that everyone in Atlanta “hates” him.

Meanwhile, it seems like the rollout for this new album is far from over. Onlookers spotted Drake potentially filming a music video for their collab “Oh U Went” in Memphis. Hopefully BUSINESS IS BUSINESS continues to see spins throughout the year. For more news and the latest updates on Young Thug and Southside, keep checking in with HNHH.

Read More: Young Thug’s Sister Reacts To Quando Rondo Getting Bond Before Him

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Lil Uzi Vert Flexes 1 Of 1 Rolls-Royce Cullinan

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Lil Uzi Vert is having a big week. They finally dropped their highly-anticipated album, The Pink Tape, Furthermore, the first-week sales indicate that he could in contention for the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 when The Pink Tape becomes eligible. The top spot is once again being held by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time. However, Uzi is now making headlines for their new ride.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is named for the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered. With a starting retail price of $325,000, it is “affordable” by Rolls-Royce standards. However, the SUV model is still a status symbol for the rich and powerful. It was launched in 2018 and has drawn comparisons to the likes of the Bentley Bentayga. Now Uzi has their own unique variant of the luxury car.

Read More: Lil Uzi Vert opens up about paying for the funeral of Lotta Cash Desto

Check Out Lil Uzi Vert’s Unique Rolls-Royce Cullinan

Lil Uzi Vert showcased their custom Cullinan in images shared on Instagram. The car is a sleek metallic white, with a drop-top roof stretching from the front seats to the trunk. The interior is a cool beige, with unique detailing on the headrests and a custom “Cullinan Vert Edition” plate above the trunk space. Furthermore, the iconic spirit of ecstasy hood ornament has been painstakingly bejeweled with diamonds. It’s unknown how much the car set Uzi back. However, with the base price being $325,000, the modifications likely did not come cheap.

Read More: The Pink Tape confirms Lil Uzi Vert’s sexuality

The in-depth images come after Uzi pulled up to The Pink Tape album release in the vehicle. Additionally, the Callihan appears to be the rapper’s Rolls of choice. In December 2022, they gifted their partner JT with a black Callihan to celebrate her 30th birthday. It definitely appeared to one-up her 29th birthday, when Uzi rented out the Dream Mall in New Jersey and took her on a $350,000 shopping spree. What do you think of Uzi’s new ride? Let us know in the comments. Follow all the latest music news here at HotNewHipHop.

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Janelle Monae Flashes Her Chest During Essence Festival Performance

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Janelle Monae’s extremely sensual The Age of Pleasure album has had a few weeks to settle in now, and many music lovers still can’t get enough of the genre-bending release. “Phenomenal” with Doechii, “Champagne S**t,” and “Only Have Eyes 42” are surfacing as immediate favourites from the project, though there’s not a single title on the tracklist that isn’t steadily amassing streams. The singer-songwriter has a handful of live performances scheduled for this summer, the most recent one taking place on Friday (June 30) at Essence Festival.

As we previously saw her do during The Age of Pleasure‘s rollout, Monae didn’t hesitate to entice the audience with her salacious antics. A black and white bra top left little to the imagination during a portion of the show, with underboob notably hanging out. Ever the free spirit, the “I Like That” hitmaker lifted up a portion of the top at one point, fully exposing her breast which was partially covered with a pasty for modesty. Obviously, no one complained about that moment, but it was really Monae’s beautiful vocals that kept the crowd watching.

Read More: Janelle Monae Celebrates “The Age of Pleasure” Album By Flashing Her “Chest” For The Camera

Janelle Monae is Vocal Bible at Essence Fest 2023

@deez_blue

#essencefest #neworleans #essencefest2023 #hiphop50thanniversary janellemonae@Janelle Monáe

♬ original sound – Delilah Blue

The 37-year-old performed tracks from her latest release for the most part, though we also heard throwbacks from Dirty Computer and beyond. Others who have taken the stage at Essence Fest so far include Ari Lennox and Lauryn Hill, who made up for being later after Monae’s set with a legendary show of her own.

Seeing as she previously told Rolling Stone that she’s “much happier when [her] t**tes are out,” it’s not surprising to see the creative embracing her body in all its glory. We won’t share the NSFW images directly with you here, however, you can let your curiosity get the better of you at this link. Have you given Janelle Monae’s The Age of Pleasure album a listen yet? Let us know in the comments, and tap into our review of the groovy new project at the link below.

Read More: Janelle Monae “The Age of Pleasure” Review

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R. Kelly Has Reportedly Been Ordered To Give Over $500,000 In Songwriting Royalties To His Victims

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r kelly
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R. Kelly has reportedly been ordered to hand over more than $500,000 in royalties to the courts. According to a report from HipHopDX, Kelly will be required to disburse the money to his victims.

The hip-hop outlet reportedly obtained documents indicating that the United States Court in the Northern District of Illinois issued a third-party citation to Universal Music Group back in May in order to discover assets. The terms of the citation indicated that Universal Music Group would have to disclose how much money in outstanding royalties Kelly still needed to be paid for songwriting.

The courts reportedly learned that Universal Music Group still owes Kelly $567,444.19 in unpaid royalties, though Kelly himself will not see a cent of that money.

According to Radar Online, the royalties will be used to pay Kelly’s victims, who have reportedly only received about $27,000.

Almost a year ago, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Back in February, he was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for child pornography. He is currently serving both sentences concurrently in Butner Federal Prison in North Carolina.

Kelly’s crimes have been the subject of various documentaries, including a Lifetime docuseries called Surviving R. Kelly.