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J. Cole Details How He Changed His Approach To Competing With Drake And Kendrick Lamar

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J. Cole’s The Off-Season is the talk of the music world this weekend. The project is his first solo effort in over three years and everyone is raving about it, from everyday fans to NBA players. And in what’s been a unique press run, at least on Cole’s term, the rapper has shown his face to the media more than some might’ve expected.

From a documentary and a SLAM Magazine cover that also arrived with an interview to an LA Leakers freestyle, it’s clear Cole is not sticking in his cave this time around. Just a little over a day removed from the release of The Off-Season, J. Cole sat down for another interview with Kevin Durant and Eddie Gonzalez on the duo’s podcast, The ETCs.

One highlight of the trio’s nearly 90-minute conversation came when Cole spoke about competing with fellow heavyweight rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar and how he eventually realized it would be better to dial back his competitive nature.

“I’ve never been a reach-out [person], especially because when there’s competition involved,” he said. “It’s almost like working out together. I guess in the NBA, in the past, that was unheard of. Like, ‘Why would I work out with this n****? … I’m trying to destroy this n****.’ That was kind of my mentality early on.”

He added, “But as I’ve gotten older, I realize … no one is truly my peer or can relate to what’s going on in my life better than these people right here — just in terms of whatever pressures there might be … nobody can really relate to that like these dudes, and I really genuinely f*ck with these dudes.”

At that point, Cole realized he had to “strip competition” from not only his approach to Drake and Kendrick but music altogether. “I also see a time when I’m not doing this. That seems very realistic to me,” he revealed. “And in the time when I’m not doing this, I don’t wanna be like, ‘Damn, we never kicked it, we never really did nothing.’”

You can watch a clip of the interview above and listen to the whole episode, which touches on Cole’s family, basketball, and the new album, here. The Off-Season is out now via Dreamville/Roc Nation. Get it here.

Tee Grizzley Urges His Fellow Rappers To Invest In Life Insurance

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Tee Grizzley is a few weeks removed from his latest project, Built For Whatever. The effort is the Detroit rapper’s seventh project since 2017 and it’s one that saw him work with the likes of King Von, Quavo, YNW Melly, Lil Tjay, Baby Grizzley, G Herbo, Big Sean, Babyface Ray, and Young Dolph. It also arrived after he joined Lil Yachty on his Michigan Boat Boy mixtape. While some might expect his focus to be on the project and its promotion, Grizzley took a second to speak about something he deems as important and a topic that fellow rappers need to look into.

In a video he shared to his Instagram story, Grizzly urged rappers to invest in life insurance. “So look right, as rappers, as successful Black men from the trenches, we the No. 1 target and the least prepared,” he said. “I feel like everybody should have life insurance. I need everybody to go get life insurance if you don’t got it. If you got kids, I need you to get a will set up for your kids so, God forbid anything happen, but if anything happen your people ain’t bold after you gone because you weren’t prepared and have your sh*t together.”

He added, “We’re the No. 1 target and we’re the least prepared bro. I need us to get on top of this sh*t, get life insurance, we need get to our wills right so the next generation don’t have to go as hard as we did and have to go through everything we did.”

You can listen to Tee Grizzley’s thoughts in the video above.

Chance The Rapper Teases A ‘Home Alone’ Reboot That May Be Titled, ‘Hood Alone’

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It’d be inaccurate to label this stage of Chance The Rapper’s career as anything along the lines of idle or inactivity. The Chicago native is busy on the music side of things as he recently shared “The Heart And The Tongue,” as well as “Shelter,” a collaboration with Vic Mensa. He also premiered a new movie titled, Magnificent Coloring Book, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his mixtape, Coloring Book, and he’s set to headline the Summerfest 2021 show with Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus.

While that’s an ample plate of tasks, the rapper is adding something else to the mix.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday night, Chance revealed that he’s working on a reboot for a particular classic movie.

“It’s a secret thing. I’m working on…I got this pitch for a Home Alone reboot,” he said. “As a lot of people know…I’m sure everybody here is a huge fan of Home Alone and John Hughes. Chicago guy, Macaulay Culkin, it’s a Chicago film. Since I was young, I always watched it and I was like, ‘What if there was a hood Home Alone?’ Or Hood Alone, if you will.”

He added, “Just a little more realistic story about what happens when people try to kick in the doors at the wrong house. Hilarity ensues. I can’t give you too many details, but yeah.”

You can watch him talk about the reboot in the video above.

DMX’s Eldest Son Reportedly Approved Final Album

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DMX was revving up for a massive comeback before his untimely passing in April. The rapper had secured a deal with Def Jam and was preparing for the release of a new album. Exodus, the album X planned to release, was wrapped up before his death and fans will get to hear it in its entirety on May 28th.


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According to PageSix, Swizz Beatz hosted a listening party over Zoom for a few DJs across the world. A source close to the tabloid publication detailed some of the music which is reportedly a healthy balance between the streets and his spiritual side. “He gives the street side he is known for, but also shows his side with God,” the source said. “He embraces his age and you can tell he was in a good space and was having fun.”

The source added that Swizz Beatz revealed during the Zoom call that he reached out to DMX’s oldest son, Xavier Simmons, for approval of each song before it reaches the ears of the public.

Exodus will mark X’s first posthumous album and first project since 2012’s Undisputed. The tracklist is stacked with features including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Nas, The LOX, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, Griselda, Usher, Alicia Keys, and more.

Swizz Beatz recently revealed that both Lil Durk and Lil Baby pushed back the release of their joint project out of respect for DMX’s release date. 

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Travis Scott x Nike Air Max 1 Collab Teased By Future

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Travis Scott is easily one of the biggest artists in the entire world and on top of his music, he has also become a huge force in the fashion and sneaker worlds. Travis has been with Nike for upwards of four years now and in that time he has dropped off a ton of successful collaborations, including a Nike SB Dunk Low, and Nike Air Force 1, and various Jumpman silhouettes like the Air Jordan 1, Jordan 4, and even the Jordan 6.

Now, he is setting his sights on an Air Max 1 which features his signature backward swoosh. This is a very solid look for the artist and in some teaser images posted by Nike, the shoe has some muted browns and even some beige. There is a lot going on with the sneaker and based on images we’ve seen, you can expect a ton of Cactus Jack branding. Thanks to megastar Future, we now have yet another look at the shoe as he posted a little teaser on IG. As you can see, the aesthetics fit what we’ve already been made privy to although there is no denying that this is one of the clearest photos to bless the internet.

For now, release info has yet to be announced, so keep it locked to HNHH as we will be sure to keep you informed.

Image via Future
Image via Nike
Travis Scott
Image via Nike
Travis Scott
Image via Nike

J. Cole “The Off-Season” First Week Sales Projections Are In

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The legends came out on Friday. It was a massive week in the world of rap but specifically, J. Cole’s return to the fold with The Off-Season has been the topic of discussion. He’s had a relatively impressive rollout if you want to call it that. He announced the album shortly before it was revealed that he will be playing in Basketball Africa League with the Rwanda Patriots. 


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Fans have been excited to hear his new project for quite some time. Ever since the release of K.O.D., and the string of collaborations he released, fans have been hoping that The Off-Season would arrive soon. Clearly, the demand is reflected in Cole’s first-week sales projections. According to Hits Daily Double, J. Cole is on pace to have the biggest sales debut of the year with a projected 280K-310K in its first week. Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) currently holds the title with 291K. Cole’s received rave reviews for his latest project, including from his haters, so it would not be surprising if it inches towards the 310K mark.

The tracklist for the project didn’t reveal any features but ultimately, he didn’t plan on going platinum with no features, again. Lil Baby, Morray, 21 Savage, Cam’ron, Lil Jon, and more all appear on the project.

What’s your favorite song on The Off-Season? Sound off in the comments. 


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J. Cole Links Up With Kevin Durant And Talks About Pro Basketball Debut

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J. Cole will officially make his pro basketball debut on Sunday morning as he takes to the court in Africa to play for the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League. Cole has always expressed interest in playing basketball at a high level and this new opportunity in Rwanda will give him that shot at glory. Not to mention, it’s great timing considering he just released The Off-Season to the masses.

Recently, J. Cole got to appear on Kevin Durant’s podcast called “The ETCs.” During the episode, Cole spoke about his new album and how he got involved with the Basketball Africa League. He got to speak at length about the similarities between basketball and music, which is a topic he also broached during an interview with SLAM Magazine.

“The main parallel that I always draw between music and basketball is like, Yo, it’s just a matter of hours. The difference between the pro guy that sits on the bench and the superstar, it’s just a matter of intentional hours. They’re both really good, but that final foot of separation comes in the amount of hours that were put in,” Cole told SLAM. “I think in order for any of those guys to be great, like LeBron, Steph, Damian Lillard, Kyrie, KD, there has to be an insane work ethic. You know what I mean? Especially looking at LeBron, the age he is. He has to commit way more to his body. You know what I mean? He has to do so much more than these other guys, just to stay ahead.”

If you are interested in hearing the entire podcast, you can stream it, below.

Kevin Durant

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Babyface Ray Doubles Up On “Unf*ckwitable (Deluxe)”

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Babyface Ray is currently one of the hottest artists out of Detroit right now. The rapper has been bubbling up over the past few years but with the release of Unfuckwitable, many more began to recognize his unique voice and sound. The seven-song project was released in February, and now, he’s doubled the tracklist for the official deluxe version. 

The deluxe edition of Babyface Ray’s latest project includes the previously released single, “A Million Cash Race,” as well as a surprise feature from Jack Harlow who appears on the “Paperwork Party (Remix).” The rapper also enlists Murda Beatz who produces his collab with Peezy. Veeze also appears on the track, “Gallery Dept.”

Check out the deluxe edition of Babyface Ray’s new project below. Are you feeling Unfuckwitable?

Lil Reese Was Reportedly Shot In Chicago For The Second Time In 18 Months

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Lil Reese was reportedly caught again in the midst of gunfire in his hometown of Chicago. The city’s local news station, CWB Chicago revealed the rapper was among three men who were shot in Chicago’s River North neighborhood on Saturday morning. The outlet reports that two of the men are listed in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital while the remaining individual was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition. It’s unknown to which of these two hospitals Reese was admitted.

CTWB says police officers were called to 6 West Grand Avenue around 9:53 a.m. on Saturday after calls about a shooting were made. When they arrived at the scene they discovered Reese and the two other victims, one who is 20 years of age while the other was 27 years old. Officers also found a stolen Dodge Durango riddled with bullet holes that crashed near the scene. A video of the aftermath shows cops investigating the scene and detaining a man.

The incident comes 18 months after Lil Reese was left in critical condition following a previous shooting that also occurred in Chicago. Here, according to WGN, the rapper was shot in the neck by a man with an AK-47 assault rifle in the Country Club Hills suburb of the city. Witnesses at the scene claimed to have heard as many as 12 gunshots. Fortunately, the rapper was able to make a full recovery following the shooting.