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An interesting development has recently occurred, fueling discussion on the topic of online censorship — with particular emphasis on hip-hop lyricism. YG’s “Meet The Flockers,” a Mikely Adam-produced track from 2014’s My Krazy Life, was recently removed from the rapper’s official YouTube channel; subsequently, My Krazy Life was removed in its entirety from both Spotify and Apple Music. 

Last week, it was reported that YouTube staff members were fighting to have YG’s “Meet The Flockers” removed from YouTube, citing a violation of the hate speech policy. At first, YouTube moved to keep the song uploaded, though they acknowledged that they were indeed offended by the song’s lyrical content. Yet they eventually changed their minds, and YG’s controversial song was summarily scrubbed from the website. Shortly thereafter, the album followed suit on several prominent DSPs. 

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The about-face prompted backlash from many of YG’s fans, though it would appear that YouTube was not looking to remove “Meet The Flockers” entirely. As of now, a censored version has been added to the rapper’s official channel, with the reference to Asian-Americans being scrubbed out. It is as of yet unclear is those critical of the song will feel this measure is sufficient. In the meantime, check out the censored version of “Meet The Flockers,” which features an upload date of April 5th, 2021.  

Though some applauded YouTube’s decision to take action, given that “Meet The Flockers” featured lyrics that singled out Asian-Americans, others expressed concern that YouTube’s decision marked a slippery slope — particularly where hip-hop is concerned. In a musical genre where a vast majority of albums are slapped with the “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content,” and there is little doubt many bars would be deemed problematic by today’s standards. 

It seems as if YouTube themselves acknowledged this, having noted in their initial response that “removing this video would have far-reaching implications for other musical content containing similarly violent or offensive lyrics, in genres ranging from rap to rock.” Given that they ultimately went on to remove the song anyway, it should be interesting to see how these “far-reaching implications” come to manifest in the future. 

HNHH has reached out to YG’s team for a statement on the situation. 

Paul Pierce went absolutely insane on Instagram Live this weekend, gathering up some of his closest friends and having a wild party at his house. Much of the night was caught on camera with several moments going viral on social media, including twerk-filled moments with the NBA champion requesting dances from strippers, and others of him getting lit with his boys. It’s safe to say that Pierce probably regrets this weekend.

He ended up losing his job over the live stream, getting canned from his analyst position at ESPN as a result of the raucous fun. Paul has already seemingly laughed at the reports of him getting fired, and another controversial entertainer has officially chimed in with his thoughts on the matter.

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If you’ll recall, before Tory Lanez was effectively canceled by the masses for his alleged involvement in Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting, the Toronto-based rapper was going viral every week for his Quarantine Radio live streams, which were also filled with twerking strippers. Joking about Paul Pierce’s reported firing, Tory commented this: “Damn.. he thought he was me ….. NBA give my man one more chance.”

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The blackballed rapper isn’t the only person who has voiced their opinion over Paul Pierce’s antics this weekend. Los Angeles Lakers player Kyle Kuzma also gave his two cents, laughing and calling the legend a “sicko” for his Easter shenanigans.

Do you think Paul Pierce was just trying to live his Quarantine Radio dreams?

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Erica Banks is one of the hottest it-girls in hip-hop right now. The Texas-born rapper has been shaking up the landscape of the game in recent months, going viral with her top-performing single “Buss It” and angling to follow up in a major fashion. With all of the eyes on her, Erica Banks is poised to become one of the next superstars among the talented women in rap, so it’s customary that she would have received a ton of enticing offers to sign to different record deals.

According to her latest interview with Clinton Sparks, Erica Banks says that she received many offers from the major labels, including Atlantic, Capitol, and more. As for the artists that tried to swoop her up before she signed the dotted line with Warner Records and 1501 Certified Entertainment, DaBaby was allegedly among the top class. She explained why she didn’t end up signing with the “Suge” rapper, revealing that her mother prevented her from joining his Billion Dollar Baby roster.

“I had already turned everybody down,” says Erica Banks by the time DaBaby came with an offer. “I personally did not sign with DaBaby because I was very excited, it was my second offer, I was like, ‘hell yeah’. I was about to get all the planning done. But then I called my mom, like, ‘this is what I’m about to do, I’m about to go sign with DaBaby.’ She’s like, ‘oh no, we need to slow down. This is only the second offer. We’re not gonna just jump on whatever.'” 

Erica’s mother explained to the young rapper the importance of just waiting things out sometimes, and she’s happy that she didn’t jump at DaBaby’s offer because something came to her later on that suited her best needs more appropriately.

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At the time DaBaby hit her up in her DMs, he was ready to offer her the spot of being the “First Lady” of Billion Dollar Baby. He said he would fly her to Los Angeles and give her opportunities that she had never been awarded. At the end of the day, despite the fact that she eventually turned him down, Erica still has a lot of love for the North Carolina rapper. “We love DaBaby. Appreciate him. At the same time, he’s an artist just like me. So I just had to think about that too.”

Do you think Erica Banks ultimately made the right decision?

Fans love a good supergroup if artists can make them work, and there was much enthusiasm for TGT. When R&B superstars Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank became a trio, their fans were excited about the future. The first appeared together back in 2007 on a remix of one of Tank’s singles and because they were friends outside of the industry, it was expected that their collaboration would move forward without a hitch. They were set to tour in 2007 but hit snags that caused delays, and because they were all signed to different labels at the time, they struggled to coordinate.

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However, in 2012, the trio reunited and the following year, they released their debut album, Three Kings. The record reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, and while that is quite the accomplishment, a second album didn’t follow. For years, TGT fans have been anticipating their sophomore effort, and Tank has given the world a hint as to why it has yet to materialize.

During the most recent Verzuzbetween the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind, & Fire, Tyrese hopped in the comment section and was amazed that these iconic groups have been together for decades. “50 years!!!!! I couldn’t even get a second album out of TGT lol,” Tyrese wrote. The Shade Room reposted a screenshot of the remark and Tank decided to respond.

“He means we couldn’t get a second album out of him [sideways crying laughing emojis],” Tank penned in the comments. Maybe they’ll be able to get things squared away for future projects. Back in 2015, Ginuwine called Tyrese a “wack little boy” for announcing their split online. Check out the post below.

For two people who are keeping the details of their relationship close to the chest, we sure do see quite a bit of Future and girlfriend Dess Dior. The pair of lovers like to flaunt their romance with the world, and in true Future fashion, he and his lady are tight-lipped about what goes on in their personal lives. Yet, Future and Dess know how to strike a pose when the cameras are on, and they did just that with their latest set of Instagram photos and videos.

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In one photo, Dess is seen sitting on Future’s lap as she looks at him lovingly. Future grins from ear-to-ear with his arms around his girlfriend, and in the caption, Dess delivered a line from her recently released single, “Tenin.” She wrote, “Call my n*gga MLK cuz he believe in my dreams,” before shouting out her latest release.

On the track she rapped, “I just wanna hold my n*gga down till the end / I just a copped a new boutique and bought my mom a Benz / Call my n*gga MLK ’cause he believed in my dreams / Thought you hoes was heatin’ up I blew up off a scheme.” Check out Future and Dess along with a few reactions to her bar below as some people like seeing the couple together, while others don’t want Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s name involved.

It’s been a minute since we’ve had news about ILoveMakonnen and he’s coming in hot. The singer-rapper burst onto the scene with his breakout “Tuesday” that hosted a remix with a feature from Drake. The former OVO Sound artist was the next big thing on the block but in 2017, ILoveMakonnen said that Drizzy and his OVO crew threatened him. We haven’t received a project from the rapper in some time, but he resurfaced online to tweet about his place in the industry and the lack of respect he feels he deserves.

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“Why they love leaving me out of the 2014-2015 music talks now days, the shade the blogger girls and music sites be giving!!! Honey! Was I not there??” ILoveMakonnen questioned. “Is it cus I came out as gay? Since I came out as gay everyone has tried to discredit my music talents and originality and influence. I know y’all ashamed to say u was on a gay mans d*ck, but just keep it 100 since everyone so real nowadays.”

He added that it amuses him to see that “hip hop loves fashion brands made by gay men” but doesn’t embrace gay artists. “U confusing yourself.” ILoveMakonnen also tweeted, “Rappers be feeling confident bragging about being in gay designer brands and buying their so called girlfriend gay designer handbags but u don’t f*ck with music made by a gay man cus why?”

In discussions about LGBTQIA+ artists in the Rap industry, some have argued that fans are becoming much more accepting than past generations. However, others believe we have a long way to go. Do you think ILoveMakonnen was edged out due to his sexuality? Swipe below to check out his tweets.