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After going through a year that saw music festivals across the world canceled due to the global pandemic, Lyrical Lemonade is giving music fans a big treat for waiting it out by bringing back The Summer Smash Festival in Chicago for summer 2021.

Image: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Presented by SPKRBX and set to go down over three days from August 20 – August 22, The Summer Smash is looking to be just that if we’re judging based on the massive festival lineup. Based off first glances, A$AP Rocky, Lil Baby and Lil Uzi Vert will take turns as headliner acts over the weekend, with the A$AP Mob head honcho taking over for Day 1, the My Turn emcee following up on Day 2 and the Eternal Atake king himself closing things out on Day 3. Rocky’s performance is a bit of a nostalgic one for us personally, as he was one of the last acts HNHH got to cover live at Barclays Center in Brooklyn last year for Yams Day 2020 (seen above) before the pandemic shut everything down.

The rest of the lineup is impressive to say the least, with each day of the festival boasting some hip-hop heavyweights for the new wave of rap. Day 1 sees Rocky being joined by Lil Skies, Lil Tecca, Lil Yachty, Mulatto, Swae Lee, Xavier Wulf, Yung Bans, BabySantana, BAHA BANK$, Bennett, CEO Trayle, Daniyel, Femdot, glaive, Goldenboymnny, Kaash Paige, Landon Cube, Supa Bwe, Teezo Touchdown and Yung Baby Tate.

In addition to Lil Baby, Day 2 will also see Baby Keem, City Girls, Coi Leray, Earl Sweatshirt, Gunna, Ski Mask The Slump God, Babyface Ray, Blueface, City Morgue, Famous Dex, Internet Money, Lil Eazzyy, Lil Gnar, MadeinTYO, SSGKobe, Yung Pinch, Cdot Honcho, CP, First Class Bee, Guwop Reign, Joey Purp, KA$HDAMI, Komla, Nina Tech, Qari, Queen Key, Trucar and 3800 Drippyy blessing the stage with performances on that Saturday.

Uzi closes the festival on Sunday, and he’ll be getting help from the likes of 24kGoldn, Benny The Butcher, Carnage, The Kid Laroi, Lucki, NLE Choppa, Pooh Shiesty, $NOT, SoFaygo, Waka Flocka Flame, Young M.A, BKTHERULA, Cpochise, Danny Towers, Dro Kenji, Ericoda, Jasiah, Ken Car$on, Pi’erre Bourne, TheHxliday, Warhol.SS, Broke Boii, DCG, Kelo, Lei Dominique, NGEEYL, Slime Dollaz, Smiles 773 and TokenVlone. DJ sets will be handled by DJ Scheme, Zack Bia and GloUpJake.

Are you ready for The Summer Smash Festival 2021? Peep the lineup below and let us know your thoughts down below in the comments:

It’s looking like a Black Superman is one step closer to manifesting as a reality. Though history has seen the iconic superhero portrayed by Christopher Reeves, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill in his many cinematic appearances, it would appear that Warner Bros is looking to shake things up for their next go-around with the Man Of Steel. 

According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is on the search for a black actor to don the cape for the next film, which features Ta-Nahisi Coates on board as screenwriter and J.J. Abrams as producer. In the case of Abrams, THR specifies that he is not being considered as a director, with the report citing a source that suggests a white director helming the first Black Superman movie would be “tone-deaf.” 

“Superman” screenwriter Ta Nehisis-Coates. Ismael Quintanilla/Getty Images 

As such, the search for both a Black director and star is currently ongoing, a process that will apparently find WB directly competing with Marvel, who will be scouring a similar list of Black filmmakers for the upcoming Blade. As for the leading man — it should be noted that Michael B. Jordan was previously rumored to be interested in the project, though he neglected to confirm whether there was any truth to those particular rumblings. “I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation,” he explained. “It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one.”

As of now, Coates is projected to wrap up his script, which will draw influence from some of the classic Superman comics, by the end of the year, which suggests that the next Superman movie is still a ways away. It should be interesting to see how this one plays out, so be sure to keep a watchful eye as news on the upcoming flick develops. Being that casting is in a purely speculative state, sound off with your own wishlist in the comments below.

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Childish Gambino is being accused of allegedly ripping off his Grammy Award-winning song “This Is America.” A lawsuit was filed by Emelike Nwosuocha, who performs under the stage name Kidd Wes. The rapper says that Gambino’s song is nearly a blatant rip-off of his song “Made In America,” which was released two years prior. 

Kidd Wes says that the hook from “This Is America” is almost the same as his chorus from “Made In America,” featuring similar lyrical themes and flows. In the legal documents, the rapper said the track is “unmistakably substantially similar, if not practically identical” to his. He believes he was intentionally ripped off after his song was uploaded to SoundCloud for free in 2016. It was subsequently registered with the U.S Copyright Office in May 2017.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images

The artist is suing Childish Gambino, the co-writers of the song, the labels that released it, and other parties for major damages. He even mentioned Young Thug in the lawsuit, who provides additional background vocals.

Listen to the two songs below and let us know if you think they’re similar. Do you think Childish Gambino ripped off Kidd Wes or was this unintentional?

Late last year, Childish Gambino teased fans and revealed that he has more new music on the way, claiming that it will be his “biggest” project yet. It’s unclear when he’s planning to release. We will keep you posted on his new music, as well as the outcome of this lawsuit.

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Fredo Bang is officially charging six figures as his show rate, and he’s not open for negotiation either. According to the rapper’s latest video upload on Instagram, he’s been receiving some lowball offers for performances in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, he’s calling out the promoters trying to book him, revealing that he won’t accept anything less than $100,000.

With some big songs under his belt, including the latest “Top” remix with Lil Durk, Fredo Bang’s confidence is reaching new heights. He told everyone trying to book him to essentially do better next time, naming his price. “This is a public service announcement because I think some people missed my post. I’m not doing a show in BR unless you give me a hunnid. I need at least a hunnid,” he said. “Not $40K, not $60K. I need a hunnid! So if your bag ain’t big enough, I’m not picking up. I don’t give a f*ck who you call, you can call my motherf*cking mama, she can’t change my mind.”

The video was reposted by Akademiks, whose commenters don’t agree with Fredo Bang’s new show rate. Many are simply flooding the comments with “no” in response to the blogger asking if the rapper was worth that much money. For comparison, Lil Durk announced that his show rate was $200,000 in December 2020.

Do you think this is a fair price for Fredo Bang?

Though Young Thug often receives praise for his musical innovation, long has he exhibited character traits worthy of celebration. For one, he has remained unwaveringly loyal to those in his inner circle, often emphasizing how his bonds with his YSL artists extend far deeper than rap. It’s part of why the chemistry on the recent Young Stoner Life compilation project Slime Language 2 was so effortless. 

That’s not to say Thug’s loyalty extends exclusively to his camp. Today, Lil Yachty took a moment to celebrate the YSL leader’s character, taking to Instagram to share some kind words about his friend and collaborator. “Arguably the most solid ni*ga ever,” writes Yachty, alongside an image of himself and Thugger gazing off into the distance. His glowing review sparked agreement from a few of his hip-hop peers, with A$AP Ferg replying “U ain’t never lie.” Killer Mike also echoed the sentiment: “As a rock! Good man.”

Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images

While it’s unclear what sparked Yachty’s generosity — perhaps he was simply reminiscing on the good old days — there’s certainly ample evidence for Thug’s integrity. At the end of April, Young Thug and Gunna stepped up to post bail for thirty low-level offenders at the Fulton County Jail. “This is where we are from,” he stated, speaking with a news outlet on the scene. “We just woke up and went to the jail with the lawyer and, you know, DA’s and the prosecutors, you know, the bonding companies and just got as many people as we can out.”

Check out Yachty’s words on Young Thug below, and support Lil Boat by checking out his recent album Michigan Boy Boat right here.