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The old adage that “controversy sells” tends to hold as true as ever. In the case of Lil Nas X, who recently delivered his brand new single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” complete with a sexually charged music video, a bit of hand-wringing has evidently worked in his favor.

By now the fallout of the infamous video is well documented; in case you missed it, the clip depicted a scantily-clad Lil Nas X giving a lapdance to none other than the Prince Of Darkness himself, Satan. Between the provocative subject matter and incorporation of religious imagery — not to mention the ensuing “Satan Shoe,” which went on to invoke the wrath of Nike’s legal eagles — “MONTERO” quickly became the most incendiary single of Lil Nas X’s young career. 

Jerritt Clark/Getty Images

Unsurprisingly, Billboard has indicated that Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” has debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, dethroning reigning champ Justin Bieber and his Daniel Caesar/Giveon-assisted “Peaches.” While the exact numbers have yet to land, the lofty number-one debut is further testament that Lil Nas X remains a dominant force in the realm of pop music, no longer destined to be defined by the looming shadow of the record-shattering “Old Town Road.”

Lil Nas X wasted little time in celebrating the accomplishment, sharing an amusing video on his Twitter page. Keep an eye out for the full chart update to surface, as it will be interesting to see whether “MONTERO” can remain a dominant commercial force now that the height of the controversy has faded. What do you think — will “MONTERO” continue to ride this momentum in the weeks to come?

Pooh Shiesty’s climbing up the rap game. Shiesty Season cemented him as the most promising artist under Gucci Mane’s wing in recent times. However, his rise to the top did not come without controversy. Last month, he found himself in a back-and-forth with Kodak Black who said that he stole his ad-lib. The unfortunate part is right before, Shiesty cited Kodak Black as one of his favorite rappers in the game.

Many feared that a potential feud between the two rappers could get even worse. However, maybe the internet antics are all for show. Earlier today, Pooh Shiesty shared a photo of himself flexing his new chain that includes his signature ad-lib while holding the money phone to his ear in front of the ice cream section of the grocery store. “Anybody That Got Smoke With Me Got Shot Or They Tried To Fix It,” Shiesty captioned the phone, along with a red drop and a snake emoji.

Despite their feud, Kodak Black slid into the comment section of Pooh Shiesty’s latest post where he wrote, “I Can Relate Lil Bra I Can Relate.”

Yak has since deleted the comment and it’s unclear whether it was posted after the alleged ambush today. Kodak Black and his entourage were reportedly followed and shot at, leaving the rapper’s security guard injured. 

Last week, white radio host Rob Lederman compared Black women’s skin tones to toaster settings on his show Morning Bull With Rich & Rob, saying he’d “never go to a Serena Williams level,” but he was very comfortable at a “Halle Berry level.” He also said that Gayle King is “not even on my toaster level.” People were understandably horrified by the comments, but actress LisaRaye McCoy seemed unphased on her show Cocktails with Queens, which she hosts alongside Claudia Jordan, Syleena Johnson and Vivica A. Fox. 

Claudia Jordan said that while Lederman could have his preference, she thought the way he said it was disrespectful and rude. “I don’t know, I’m not there with it,” LisaRaye refuted. “I just think that we’re so sensitive now, that I think that, just like how we talked about Justin Bieber’s video and him using Martin Luther King. I mean, he got a pass because he’s more Black-white, he’s more white-Black, you know what I’m saying.” Basically, LisaRaye seemed unbothered. 

In a new video from TMZ, LisaRaye was asked whether she stood behind Lederman following her comments on the show. “I never supported him,” she says. “I don’t even know who he is… you guys are so funny, because you will take something and run with it… I was commenting on his preference… But I get it. It’s a bigger conversation.” LisaRaye also said she shouldn’t be labeled as a colorist because her grandchild has darker skin.

What do you think? Were LisaRaye’s comments insensitive, or does she have a point? Let us know your thoughts and watch the original clip of the show below.

[Via]

We’ve come to the end of another month, welcoming the warmer weather of April and looking forward to clearer skies, more colorful plant life, and a lot of good music. As we continue to look forward to the world returning to normal, we’re also anticipating some big music drops in the coming weeks, including Drake’s upcoming album Certified Lover Boy. DJ Akademiks, who has been spot-on with his recent Drake track record, previously said that CLB would be out before the end of April. 

In Drake’s absence, other artists have been dropping career-defining bodies of work in 2021. While we did receive new albums from Lil Tjay, Jasiah, and more last week, the last seven days were mostly focused on single releases, including new drops from 42 Dugg and Roddy Ricch, Westside Gunn, Freddie Gibbs, and more. Of course, BROCKHAMPTON also continued to tease the release of their next album through their new single “COUNT ON ME”, which features A$AP Rocky and SoGone SoFlexy. 

All of the aforementioned artists have songs in our freshly-updated Staff Picks playlist, which you can check out below. Peep what each HNHH staff member picked for the playlist this week and let us know whose selections are your favorite. Subscribe to our page on SoundCloud here for more playlists, as well as TIDAL here.

Alex Zidel (Editorial)

42 Dugg & Roddy Ricch – 4 Da Gang
Lil Gotit – Toosie
24kGoldn – Company (feat. Future)
Lil Tjay – Born 2 Be Great
Internet Money, Lil Tecca, & Lil Mosey – JETSKI

Joshua Robinson (Editorial)

Chiiild – Awake (feat. Mahalia)
Kenny Mason – Rih
Young M.A – Successful
Jasiah – In N Out (feat. TheHxliday & Rico Nasty)
BROCKHAMPTON – COUNT ON ME (feat. A$AP Rocky & SoGone SoFlexy)

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

Young M.A – Successful 
Freddie Gibbs – Big Boss Rabbit
Westside Gunn – TV Boy
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist – Sir Benni Miles
Flee Lord & DJ Muggs – The Equation

Erika Marie (Editorial)

Young M.A – Successful
Benny The Butcher & Ransom – Spineless
42 Dugg & Roddy Ricch – 4 Da Gang
BROCKHAMPTON – COUNT ON ME (feat. A$AP Rocky & SoGone SoFlexy)
Freddie Gibbs – Big Boss Rabbit

Cole Blake (Editorial)

BROCKHAMPTON – COUNT ON ME (feat. A$AP Rocky & SoGone SoFlexy)
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist – Aubergine (feat. Fielded)
42 Dugg & Roddy Ricch – 4 Da Gang
Navy Blue – Durag Anthem
24kGoldn – Company (feat. Future)

Madusa S. (Editorial)

Kodak Black – Easter In Miami
Freddie Gibbs – Big Boss Rabbit
NEZ – To The Money (feat. Flo Milli & 8AE)
Lil Tjay – Run It Up (feat. Offset & MoneyBagg Yo)
Chiiild – Awake (feat. Mahalia)

Paul Pirotta (Sales)

42 Dugg & Roddy Ricch – 4 Da Gang
Westside Gunn – TV Boy
Lil West – No Days Off
Freddie Gibbs – Big Boss Rabbit

Mike Rapp (Sales)

42 Dugg & Roddy Ricch – 4 Da Gang
Freddie Gibbs – Big Boss Rabbit
Guapdad 4000 & !llmind – She Wanna (feat. P-Lo) 

Jay-Z’s made massive moves in the past few months between the sale of TIDAL as well as Ace Of Spades but it’s his foray into the cannabis industry that came from left-field. Though many rappers have emerged onto the scene with their own strain, Hov’s Monogram strives to bring the best products into the hands of its consumers.

Monogram might be new to the market but their strains are winning over some of the most seasoned smokers. 2 Chainz recently joined N.O.R.E. for the latest episode of High Tales that was aptly titled (Too) High Tales. Apparently, Chainz got a little too smoked out for the episode so they ended up compiling the outtakes from the shoot. This was ultimately the result of too much Monogram floating in the air which Chainz admittedly tries for the first time. “Alright, alright, Jay-Z. Okay, Jay-Z,” said Chainz mid-cough.

At one point, N.O.R.E. gets the exclusive on Chainz’s munchies of choice: cotton candy grapes. “I get high and I want cotton candy grapes. You ever had them before?” he asks N.O.R.E who seemingly needs a moment to process this concept. The clip suddenly cuts to footage of Chainz on the phone with an associate inquiring about where these could be located. It seems that Chainz successfully caught the interest N.O.R.E who said that he was going to try them soon. 

Check out the latest episode of High Tales below. Have you tried Jay-Z’s Monogram cannabis line yet? Sound off in the comments.