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Since being released from prison following a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, Kodak Black has been steadily biding his time and putting in work on new music. The last album released by the Floridian rapper arrived at the end of 2018, when he dropped off Dying To Live right in time for the holiday season; aside from a few misguided attempts for mainstream attention, the project was easily one of Kodak’s strongest projects to date.

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The young rapper’s momentum was derailed by his lengthy prison stint, though his loyal fans have remained patient throughout the uncertain process. Now, it would appear that Kodak is gearing up to reclaim lost territory, taking to Instagram to preview a new snippet. From the sound of it, his next release will be a posse cut with WizDaWizard, WamSpinThaBin, and Syko Bob. “2021 To The Death We Applying Pressure Accordingly,” captions Kodak, suggesting his intentions to make this year his own.

Furthering that notion is the fact that Kodak appears to be taking extra measures to assert his dominance. Over the past week or so, the Sniper Gang rapper has been issuing reminders about the scope of his influence, referencing among other things his “let me drive the boat” quote that went on to spark a Megan Thee Stallion viral trend. 

While his confidence may rub some the wrong way, others are satisfied to see Kodak gunning for the credit he deserves. Either way, he appears particularly inspired this year, so look out for this coming posse cut and whatever else he’s got cooking up.   

Los Angeles rapper Drakeo The Ruler shared some hot takes on social media this week, mouthing off against his fellow West Coast rap stars and claiming superiority over them. He said that he’s the best rapper alive from California, effectively dissing Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, The Game, and dozens of other prolific forces from the state. During his tweeting spree, Drakeo specifically took aim at Snoop, saying that nobody under the age of 30 listens to The Doggfather.

His comments seem to have sparked some commentary from California’s music scene, particularly Game and Snoop, who made separate remarks about the state of the game, and how untied its rappers are, on the West Coast.

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“The problem wit California rappers is n***as don’t really f*ck wit each other like the ATL & NY n***as do,” said The Game on Twitter. “When I came up, I was the only young n***a ON ON & I extended my self to as many new n***as as I could & have always protected the WEST BY ANY MEANS!“

While some people have disputed his claims that New York sticks together, pointing out the numerous issues that have arisen from the city’s rap scene, the general sentiment seems to be echoing Game’s words in the comments. When the tweet was reposted by The Shade Room, Snoop Dogg noticed it and added his two cents. “I back that and am one to start that,” said Snoop in the comments. Lyrica Anderson said the statement could also apply to singers in California. “This goes for singers to which is sooooo true,” she said. “It’s fake support if it is.”

Do you think there will ever be a united rap force in California like we’ve seen in Atlanta and other cities in the country? And do you agree that California-based rappers don’t necessarily always stick together?

People across the United States have been in awe since news spread of the mass shooting that occurred at three spas across the Atlanta metropolitan area. The shootings reportedly left eight people dead, most of whom were women of Asian descent. As a result, many people have interpreted the shootings to be a hate crime against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community, despite the shooter allegedly claiming that sexual addiction was his motive. Still, reports have shown that nearly 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents have occurred over the past year, so many public figures have been taking this moment to address the rise of Asian hate in America. The latest, Jhené Aiko.

In a series of posts to Instagram, Jhené Aiko condemns AAPI hate, shares a story about her grandfather, and gives her followers action steps and resources that they can take note of. In her first post, Jhené opted for a simple graphic from the Asian-American Collective that read, “Hate is A VIRUS.” She quickly followed up that post with a more heartfelt statement regarding her grandfather. 

Throughout the post, Jhené shares her late Grandpa Teddy’s legacy and reflects on the discrimination that he faced throughout his life. According to Aiko, Teddy was “a Japanese-American man from Compton, California,” who was known as “one of the best defense lawyers in Los Angeles.” She detailed Teddy’s work throughout the Los Angeles riots and also talked about how brave he was to marry a Black woman and raise six biracial children, as well as several mixed-race great and grandchildren. 

“Grandpa Teddy fought for his family and his community until his dying day,” Jhené writes in her caption. “And I owe it to him to continue to fight for justice and equality for my communities as well. Getting to know each other’s stories, we learn we are more alike than different. Not until we understand this will we truly see each other.”

She concludes her post about her grandfather with a major call to action, saying, “We have the opportunity to stop the hate NOW. #StopAsianHate #STOPAAPIHATE #tellourstories.”

Finally, Jhené shared a post that detailed seven action steps for people who are wondering what they can do to help stop discrimination and hate against people of Asian descent. In light of the Atlanta shootings, Asian hate is definitely more important and pressing of an issue than many people likely thought before, and Jhené Aiko’s series of posts serve as a great way to get informed and help make a change.