Ludacris is known for doing a number of different things — he’s an actor, a businessman, a philanthropist, and a guy who drinks glacier water in Alaska. Before he was able to make a career doing those things, though, Luda was a rapper from Atlanta who specialized in making some absolutely iconic music videos.
Perhaps his most well-known video is for the track “Get Back,” which was directed by Spike Jonze and is famous for the comically large arms that he wore the entire time. If you are like me, you’ve probably wondered what the hell happened to those arms after the video came out, and on Wednesday evening we got the answer: Ludacris still has them.
We know this because he threw out the first pitch for the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Colorado Rockies at Truist Park. And As you can guess, he wore the arms out to the mound, kept the baseball stuck to his palm, and launched it to home plate — you can watch the video here.
Shockingly, this was not the worst first pitch any of us have ever seen, because while it was a ball, he at least got it to the plate. Credit to Ludacris for that, and I hope this is not the last time that we see him throw out a first pitch at a baseball game while wearing the “Get Back” arms.
Sade has not released an original studio album since Soldier Of Love in 2010. While there’s no news of that changing anytime soon, Sade will soon release her first song since contributing to the A Wrinkle In Time and Widows soundtracks in 2018.
On Wednesday, September 4, Sade confirmed her participation in Transa, a compilation album by the non-profit Red Hot in an effort to support transgender awareness. Sade’s track is entitled “Young Lion,” and, according to Variety, is dedicated to her son, Izaak.
Variety additionally relayed that Transa consists of three-and-a-half hours of music. The album “has over 100 contributing artists and is structured across eight chapters and 46 songs — a nod to the eight-stripe rainbow pride flag.” Transa will be released on November 22.
“We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world, and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts,” Dust Reid said, as per Variety. “We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or non-binary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.”
Reid put together Transa with Massima Bell, beginning in 2021.
Adin Ross has become Funkmaster Flex for Gen Z. It may churn the stomach of some fans to read that, but it’s true. Ross (and fellow streamer Kai Cenat) have become the means through which rappers tease new music. Drake is the biggest rapper in the world, and he’s leaked several songs to both Ross and Kai Cenat in the last year. The latest instance of this happened on September 4. Adin Ross played a snippet of an unreleased Drake and Lil Durk song called “Discontinuing Wockhardt.” It sounds like a potential hit, but it has lyrics that may catch some fans off guard.
The snippet starts with Lil Durk rapping, but Drake steals the show in multiple ways. His melodic flow is so catchy when he gets on the track that Adin Ross even commented on it. More than the flow or melody though, “Discontinuing Wockhardt” will garner attention for Drake’s bars. The rapper opens his verse by claiming that he’s quitting lean. “Discontinuing Wockhardt,” he sings. “But still do I pop now.” Wockhardt is a Promethazine and codeine combination is used to relieve coughs. Well, it’s supposed to be, at least. It’s also used to make lean. Drake’s (former?) friend Lil Yachty used the brand as the basis for his song “Wock” in 2022.
The timing of the snippet is worth considering. Drake recently caught flack from fans for a video in which he appeared to be drinking lean around his son, Adonis. The video is shot from Drake’s perspective, and sees him get in a car with what looks to be a cup of lean. Fans were horrified by the rapper’s seemingly oblivious attitude towards his son. He also caught heat for drinking such a potent combination around a child in the first place.
Drake hasn’t made lean part of his persona the way other rappers have. Future would be the most prominent example of someone basing their sound and overall vibe after the drink. He has, however, admitted to drinking it as far back as 2011. During an interview with The Guardian, Drake opened up about the drugs he consumed during his rise to fame. “Have I sipped codeine before? Yeah, of course,” he told the outlet. “Have I smoked weed? Yes. Do I drink wine? Yes. But do I do it excessively? No. I’m not a reckless guy. I do it all within moderation.” Sounds like lean have been taken out of rotation, though, if the new song is to be believed.
Earlier this year, Drake hopped on Instagram to share a photo of himself rocking a “Free Yayo” t-shirt. The shirt was first worn by Eminem at the 2003 Grammys when Yayo was behind bars for bail jumping. It appears that Drake wore the shirt as a nod to Yayo’s comments about his viral feud with Kendrick Lamar on VladTV. At the time, Yayo claimed that he didn’t think the battle was over.
“I think the battle is not over,” he told DJ Vlad. “Drake is Drake, Kendrick is Kendrick. They’re both two of the biggest artists in the world. … We can say what we wanna say, all Drake gotta do is… Every time we count Drake out he comes back with a f*cking hit, that’s all I’m saying. All he gotta do is come back with No. 1 record. The kids are gonna be dancing just like they are to ‘Not Like Us.’“
Now, during another VladTV interview, Yayo has revealed that Drake’s decision to wear the t-shirt paid off for him. Apparently, he received a call the following day and was told that Spencer’s was interested in selling the t-shirt. “Once Drake wore the shirt, I got the call the next day. ‘Spencer’s wants to do a deal with you,’” he recalled. Yayo went on, also noting how this is one of the perks of refusing to pick a side amid Drake and Kendrick’s beef.
What do you think of Tony Yayo revealing that he got a call from Spencer’s the day after Drake rocked a “Free Yayo” t-shirt on his IG story? Are you surprised or not? Do you agree that he made the right move not picking a side? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Star Boy may not be a household name, but the producer is on the rise. He’s worked with several notable artists this decade, including Ken Carson and Lil Uzi Vert. His production style is so enticing that massive names like Destroy Lonely and Kanye West have reportedly booked sessions with him. Unfortunately, for both artists, Star Boy has decided to draw a line in the sand. The producer announced that he will not be clearing the sample for his anticipated Destroy Lonely collab “Holding It Down.”
Destroy Lonely previewed “Holding It Down” back in May. The rapper told fans that he wanted to put it on the second version of his new album, Love Lasts Forever. The second version is now available on the rapper’s personal site, but the song is nowhere to be found. Lonely even took to Twitter to explain why the song was omitted. “‘Holding It Down’ going on streaming,” he explained. “We waiting on Star Boy to clear the track blow him up.” The plea for fan assistance didn’t pan out, though. Star Boy went on IG and stated, definitively, that he wasn’t clearing anything. “I ain’t clearing sh*t,” he wrote.
Fans were confused by the harshness of Star Boy’s words. There was some confusion as to whether there was beef between the producer and Destroy Lonely, or whether the two men had a falling out after recording the song. Apparently, Star Boy had a change of heart. He posted a follow up on Instagram, and explained that he will not be clearing songs he considers to be against his beliefs. “Not clearing anything ungodly,” he wrote. “For no amount of money.” Kanye West then caught a stray, when Star Boy said the same rules applied to him. “I ain’t clear @Ye sh*t either,” he added. “No one getting swag.”
Star Boy’s sudden line in the sand is surprising, given his production history. He’s lent his talents to songs with plenty of “ungodly” messages in the past. He has multiple credits on Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red, as well as Ken Carson’s A Great Chaos. Star Boy has also worked with artists who have done and said controversial things in the past, like West and DaBaby. Regardless of the reasoning, it appears as though Destroy Lonely fans are going to deprived of “Holding It Down” for the near future.
It has been a rocky week for Ice Spice, whose latest scandal has her once again going back and forth online with a former friend. The New York rapper has embarked on her Y2K World Tour, where she will perform her viral hits until its conclusion in January 2025. Ice Spice has made considerable strides in her career, although she is still climbing the femcee Rap ranks. Hip Hop isn’t for the weak, and the orange-haired artist is learning that the court of public opinion can be unforgiving.
Days ago, the internet was set abuzz after rapper Cleotrapa released a series of videos to social media detailing a harrowing experience with her fairweather friend. This has garnered reactions from fans and critics, causing Spice’s behavior on the road and online to be scrutinized. As those conversations don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, we thought we’d revisit some controversies plaguing Ice Spice throughout her short mainstream career. It only makes sense to begin with her most recent clash with Cleotrapa.
1. The Feud With Cleotrapa
According to Cleotrapa, Ice Spice asked her friend to join her on the Y2K World Tour. However, Cleo claims Spice only gave her one day to get things together before setting out. Further, Ice Spice is accused of treating Cleotrapa poorly and refusing to allow her team to help her friend with anything, including simple tasks like carrying a suitcase. Cleo alleged she also had to pay for her own hotel rooms, was told she couldn’t eat with the tour budget, didn’t receive adequate compensation, and sometimes didn’t have a dressing room to change in at the concert. “She don’t want nobody to say nothing to her,” said Cleo. “She tried to lowkey torture me.”
Cleotrapa’s comments quickly went viral, forcing Ice Spice to come forward with a scathing reaction. She said Cleotrapa was “crashing out” and defended herself against the allegations. “The scary part of fame, honestly, is the moment that somebody feels like they can no longer use your platform or they’re not getting exactly what they want out of a situation the way that they want it. That’s when they decide to crash out every single time. I’m noticing a pattern.” Spice added, “You got less than 10,000 listeners and I’m sharing my stage with you, and you feeling so entitled. Like, you thinking that my peoples that are working for me are supposed to work for you too? That’s so crazy to me.” As far as Ice Spice is concerned, she was “only trying to help.”
2. The Copyright Lawsuit
The year started off shaky for Ice Spice after an artist named D.Chamberz took her and her producer and rumored boyfriend, Riot, to court. Spice’s “In Ha Mood” gained traction and ushered in new visibility for the rapper; however, D.Chamberz accused her of stealing his sound. He claimed he released his track, “In That Mood,” in January 2022 on DSPs. TMZ reported findings from the copyright infringement lawsuit, in which D.Chamberz also speculated that Riot may have heard the song in New York City clubs and radio stations.
“In Ha Mood” has accumulated tens of millions of views online, earning Ice Spice’s labels a pretty penny. D.Chamberz wants what he says to be his piece of that pie, including the song’s publishing, revenue streams generated from the track, and damages. However, a specific number was not shared. Meanwhile, Ice Spice’s attorney denied any wrongdoing. “The claim is baseless,” they told TMZ. “We will vigorously defend this case and look forward to our day in court when we will be fully vindicated.”
3. Matty Healy’s Racist Jokes
Last year, Ice Spice was at the center of controversy after The 1975 singer Matt Healy appeared on a podcast and disparaged the rapper. Ice Spice made friends with Healy’s ex, Taylor Swift, and even collaborated on a song, “Karma.” However, that wasn’t up for discussion while Healy visited The Adam Friedland Show. Instead, he spoke about DMing Spice, calling her “dumb,” a “chubby Chinese lady,” and an “Inuit Spice Girl.” Ice Spice has claimed she is Dominican and Nigerian. Still, Healy went on to mock Chinese and Hawaiian accents as everyone laughed.
Ice Spice would later say she was perplexed when she learned of the remarks. “When I had heard that little podcast or whatever, I was so confused,” she told Variety. “Because I heard ‘chubby Chinese lady’ or some sh*t like that, and I’m like, ‘Huh? What does that even mean?’ First of all, I’m thick. What do you mean Chinese? But then they apologized or whatever. And the whole time, I didn’t really care. But that’s funny because I saw him at the Jean Paul Gaultier party a couple days ago. He was like, ‘Hey, you OK?’ and I’m like, ‘Of course.’ He apologized to me a bunch of times. We’re good.”
When it was time for Ice Spice to get her looks together for her Y2K World Tour, a woman named Gia told the internet that the rapper’s team reached out to have custom wigs made. The owner of The Bella Brand stated she had worked with Ice Spice before, so gathering two dozen wigs didn’t seem to be a problem. However, things took a turn when Gia came knocking for her payment. She alleged that the team didn’t fork over the money, and just 24 hours prior to the delivery date of the items, the entire order was canceled. Still, she wanted some fee for her time, effort, and resources. Gia claimed that Ice Spice’s team promised to send her a service fee at least, but she hadn’t received any further contact about the cash.
“Things happen, but that is not how you handle someone that respects your business. AND ALWAYS comes through for you at the very last minute LITERALLY!!!!!!” Gia wrote. “Also, you still owe me my wig back because it’s not paid for what’s going on with that??” She added, “Thank you for making us make all of these Nicki Minaj wigs. I’m going to go ahead and not upload the rest of the screenshots since this is supposed to be ‘Princess Diana’ but it’s really always Queen Onika”.
5. The Drama With Baby Storme
Her claiming I was her “best friend,” (I never claimed that btw,) then becoming best friends with the racist white girl who made my childhood a living hell, just to spite me. After she used my connections & resources that I worked so hard for to make her way to the top, & tried… https://t.co/Tmk44gHjix
Oh I threatened to beat you up cause you was doing all that cause was mad at ice. It didn’t give you had any respect for me boo You really could’ve dm’d me from the jump with that whole situation if you was on some real bitch shit word but thank you
Cleotrapa isn’t the only one of Ice Spice’s friends to have a fallout with the “Munch” hitmaker. Earlier this year, Spice’s “good friend” Baby Storme emerged online with some harsh criticisms. The friendship had dissipated, and Storme was ready to expose Ice Spice’s secrets. “She forced everyone in her life to sign an NDA, including me,” Baby Storme penned on Xitter. “But the only person I’m signed to is God. So I will speak the truth.”
Storme then brought receipts through screenshots of conversations showing Ice Spice making disparaging remarks. In them, they show a purported Spice speaking ill of Nicki Minaj, making racist statements, exhibiting fatphobia, and making fun of Cleotrapa. Baby Storme was accused of having a meltdown at the time, but amid this ongoing rift with Cleo, Spice’s foes have united. “I tried to warn you & you just threatened to beat me up,” Storme said to Cleotrapa. “Nevertheless, I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Cleotrapa responded, “Oh I threatened to beat you up cause you was doing all that cause was mad at ice. It didn’t give you had any respect for me boo. You really could’ve dm’d me from the jump with that whole situation if you was on some real b*tch sh*t word but thank you.”
Megan Thee Stallion went toe to toe with Nicki Minaj earlier this year, yet she still doesn’t fully understand what sparked Minaj’s issue in the first place.
Late last month, Wack 100 revealed that Irv Gotti suffered a stroke earlier this year on his podcast. He went on to share a photo of him walking with a cane. This prompted a great deal of backlash from social media users at the time, as he faced accusations of being insensitive. Regardless, Gotti’s team confirmed the news in a statement, also stating that he’s since made a full recovery.
“Irv has been struggling with diabetes for years, which caused him to have a minor stroke over six months ago,” a rep for Gotti told TMZ. “He has since changed his diet to eating more healthy. He’s been successful in making a full recovery. Irv is not in a rehab facility. He is at home with his family, enjoying life.”
Now, however, rumors have been floating around online that Wack 100 could face legal repercussions for sharing Gotti’s medical information without his or his family’s permission. For now, it’s unclear whether or not this is truly a possibility, and whether or not Gotti would even be interested in pursuing this. Either way, Wack 100 took to Instagram earlier this week to react to the rumors, making it clear that he’s not looking for any of that smoke.
“This has to be click bait Please don’t get me started … Ima act like this is [cap emoji],” he wrote simply. It looks like fans will just have to wait and see whether or not there’s any truth to these rumors. What do you think of Wack 100 speaking out amid rumors that he could face legal repercussions for leaking news of Irv Gotti’s stroke? Do you think he deserves to or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Massive albums are a byproduct of the streaming era for sure. 18-19/20-21 song projects are more common than ever before and it’s a person-by-person case if that’s a good thing or not. For us, we prefer shorter listens, as we feel it creates a higher chance of the project sounding tighter in all aspects. In that same breath, we can see why other artists are loading up the tracklists. For example, Destroy Lonely is one who is still forging his own path in a world crowded with rage/trap copycats. Longer listens allow for rising names to mess around with more sounds, melodies, and structuring to see what could be worth revisiting down the road.
We feel that Destroy Lonely is doing that to some extent on LOVE LASTS FOREVER, with “THRILL” being one of those instances. Like quite a few tracks, there are some things to like about it. The track kicks off with this amusement park-like intro before smoothly transitions into the head-nodding and atmospheric trap beat. Also helping “THRILL” is the inclusion of Opium teammate Ken Carson. They trade verses and adlib for each other at certain points, keeping things interesting. Furthermore, the guest’s chorus is pretty catchy too, making it a more a memorable listen. Overall, it’s a solid track, and one that could be made better in the future with slightly improved mixing and writing.
N****s be talking that— huh, n****s ain’t talkin’ ’bout nothin’, huh, huh I just been talking that— huh, I just been talkin’ that money, yeah, yeah Can’t communicate if it ain’t ’bout them funds, huh, huh My location off, like I’m on the run, huh, huh Rock Balenci’, woah, she like Saint Laurent, huh, huh I’m all in her jaw, just like bubble gum, yeah, woah
COMING SOON
(@nojumper)
(@iamcleotrapa) 