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R&B singer Jhené Aiko knows how to make her man smile. The popular crooner has lit up her social media pages to unload throwback pics of rap star Big Sean in celebration of his birthday. Jhené Aiko Unloads Big Sean Throwback The West Coast beauty relies on Instagram to share some gushy shots of Sean […]
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Freddie Gibbs has become a borderline rap superstar by sheer force of will, longevity, and his charismatic personality. The latter is mostly displayed through his irreverent social media presence, but soon fans will be able to see it on the big screen. Complex reports that the Gary, Indiana supreme rhyme technician has just wrapped principal photography on his feature film debut, the independently-produced Down With The King.
According to Complex, the film follows Gibbs’ Mercury Maxwell, a rapper who wants to leave hip-hop behind to become… a farmer. After being sent to the rural Berkshires of Massachusetts, Mercury decides to drop his Money Merc persona and announces his retirement. However, his manager isn’t ready to let his client walk away so easily. While those ingredients have all the hallmarks of a comedy — and Gibbs’ certainly has the chops for one — Complex reports the film’s a drama.
Produced by Breaker Studios, written and directed by Diego Ongaro, and co-starring Bob Tarasuk, David Krumholtz, Jamie Neumann, and Sharon Washington, Complex notes that Down With The King will appear at festivals later this year, where the creators hope to pick up a distributor. Gibbs, who wrote and performed original music for the film, “worked intimately together” with Ongaro “to craft Mercury’s character and backstory” according to the director, who wanted to combine two of his seemingly opposing passions.
“Many films that feature the hip-hop community tell underdog ‘success stories,’ whereas Down with the King does the contrary,” he says. “Mercury is at the top of the hip-hop world but desperately seeks a simpler life… It was an absolute thrill working with someone as sharp and multi-talented as Freddie in this collaborative way.”
Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
LeBron James has loved every bit of his time in Los Angeles and whenever he gets the chance, he pays homage to the city in the form of a brand new sneaker. Typically, LeBron does this with his very own signature sneaker models, however, now he’s looking to do it with one of the most iconic models in Nike’s history: the Air Max 95.
The Nike Air Max 95 in Lakers colors has been teased over the past few weeks now, with the official images found below. One shoe is predominantly purple while the other is mostly yellow, and the mismatched look is perfect for the Lakers’ aesthetics. This new colorway is actually going to be called “Home Team” which actually makes a lot of sense especially when you think about the context that surrounds the entire shoe. Whether you’re a LeBron, Lakers, or Air Max 95 fan, there is something for everyone here.
If you are interested in getting yourself a pair, you will be able to do so as of April 6th for a price of $170 USD. These would be a huge addition to any collection, especially if you’re a Los Angeles resident. As always, stay tuned for more news from the world of sneakers.
On last year’s Burden of Proof, Benny the Butcher recognized that his debut album was a momentous occasion, and in turn put out a Hit-Boy produced project that was more grandiose and stately than anything the Buffalo emcee had released prior. His story of perseverance had finally paid off, and it was imperative that he authenticate these experiences. Despite a tumultuous rise that not only sent him to prison but nearly cost him his life, Benny’s spirit remained unbroken, humbled by his experiences in a way he felt wasn’t often reciprocated.
“It’s rubbin’ me the wrong way when these rappers speak comfortably bout street life, it seems like they only given y’all luxuries,” he raps, over choppy soulful loopings on Burden Of Proof’s “New Streets.” Benny the Butcher has forever loathed the lack of stakes communicated in rap. “They just said everything happened happily ever after,” he told Genius. “I know sh*t ain’t end like that. They just talk about shooting a person. They don’t give you like, ‘I didn’t even want to do this.'” But while Burden of Proof was steeped in reflection, The Plugs I Met 2 isn’t quite as meditative. The first project to emerge since being shot in Houston last November, Benny uses the lush production of Harry Fraud to embrace his foils and question his blessings. He recognizes his own self-preservation in a more literal way and outright demands his flowers in the process.
But thanks to Fraud’s serene backdrops, these demands are executed with a welcomed sense of warmth that Griselda’s granitic lo-fi loopings often don’t cater to. On “Live By It,” Benny offers transparent street lessons over a subtle sprinkle of strings that only enhance his narrative pull. On “Talkin’ Back,” Benny speaks on being in tandem with his past over a scatter of fluttering windpipes. Fraud’s spacious productions help Benny’s anecdotes crack like a whip, and they crack aggressively, as The Plugs I Met 2 features some of Benny’s tightest lines.
On “Survivor’s Remorse,” he doesn’t so much reflect as he does pass on the hard-won lessons his trials and tribulations taught him. “You got plans on gettin’ rich? Well, consider this / The ones who expect the most favors ain’t give you shit.” Plugs 2 is steeped in this transparency. He mentions on “Survivors Remorse” that a fleeting change of heart is all that kept him on the right path, while a constituent of his is currently serving “20 in Clinton.” Over the lo-fi musings of “No Instructions,” Benny embraces the “unhealthy connections” of his past life and refutes anyone who says his slate has been wiped clean.
The resulting effort pans out like a diary, with Benny constantly toeing the line between his current life of comfort and the allure of his old lifestyle, which he admits at times can be all-consuming. “You hear the sounds of the pot scraping, me I only hear music,” he states on “Plug Talk.” He’s maintained connections that could come back to bite him, and despite being comfortable in his fame still constantly looks over his shoulder and questions his every blessing. “What’s the outcome for n****a like me? Where do I land?” he asks on “When Tony Met Sosa.” But it’s this clarity that gives Benny the Butcher his power.
At 36 years old, he is far more grown and self-aware than most of today’s young rappers. On Plugs 2, he isn’t scared to admit that he is wary of how bright his future looks, but that doesn’t mean his lessons aren’t hard-won or that he doesn’t deserve every good thing that comes his way. “I’m too far ahead, it’s easy to feel like I’m cheatin’ when I read these deals,” he raps on closer “Thanksgiving.” “You talk and you live like this, it’s gon’ make them hate you — this what fueled them to get off they asses, I made ’em greater.”
Kanye West’s Yeezy brand has made him one of the wealthiest people in the United States and all of this success is well-deserved. When Kanye first left Nike to join Adidas, there were people out there who were very skeptical but eventually, fans came back to Kanye’s side and the brand hasn’t looked back since. One of his most popular silhouettes is the Adidas Yeezy Boost 700, and to this day, it is still receiving new colorways.
The latest model to be shown off is this “Bright Blue” version which can be found below. In the image via Yeezy Mafia, we see how the upper is mostly covered in blue materials, all while the midsole is orange. From there, we have some white laces on top, all while some black tooling is laid up throughout the top. Overall, it’s a pretty great model and if you’re someone who has been looking for something new from the Yeezy brand, then these are definitely for you.
As for the release date, all indications suggest that these will be coming out on April 17th, which means these are just about three weeks away. Let us know what you think of these, and be sure to stay tuned for more sneaker news, coming down the pipeline.
It’s not uncommon to see this new generation of hip-hop superstars flaunting their seemingly endless wealth on Instagram. Trends like the “money phone” and the “money spread” have gone so far as to spark minor feuds. Private jets are seemingly commonplace means of travel for today’s young rap elites. Luxury items like Birkin Bags and lavish iced-out jewelry are frequently showcased, with price tags being worn like a badge of honor.
For Method Man, a longtime legend who has achieved success in a variety of different mediums, the seemingly infinite wealth that the new rap landscape possesses has been a source of great confusion. He expressed as much during a recent interview with Math Hoffa, as noted by HipHopDX. In fact, Meth all but demanded answers about the fortunes of rap’s nouveau riche, implying that something may very well be afoot behind the scenes.
“Now, [rappers] are fuckin’ rockstars,” remarks Meth. “I remember getting twenty-five hundred a show. ‘All I Need’ had dropped, and I’m doing shows every fuckin’ day. Seven days a week. I had to tell the manager to raise the price…Next thing I know, I’m getting twenty-five g’s a show, and I’m forgetting cause I love what I’m doing so much. Now we’re in an era where these kids got more money then–son, I couldn’t imagine. I don’t even got a car. My kids got cars, my wife got a car. But these kids got four, five cars.”
“I still ain’t taking private jets!” laughs Meth. “Where are they getting this money? They got a deal or some shit? No fucking way that they flying private all the time. That money long as fuck. At minimum, that’s 30 grand round trip. Where are they getting this money from, can somebody tell me? I need that hustle. They paying to fly a private jet, and they’re doing it all the time!”
“I used to complain, when I worked at the Statue [of Liberty], to save half my cheque for carfare,” he continues. “Dollar seventy-five. We talking thirty-grand a trip, where are they getting this fucking money from!” When shows are brought up as an option, Meth isn’t quite convinced. “They still doing this shit during corona. I know Migos probably getting a hundred-grand a piece.” Hoffa adds that streaming revenue, club appearances, and features are all viable income sources, but Meth still isn’t convinced.
“Rick Ross is rich, we’ve seen the estate,” he continues. “He earned that though. We can see where he got his money from. But some of these–where is this shit coming from! We can’t see it! Nobody really listen to your music like that, where did you get this fucking money! It boggles my muthafuckin’ mind man. Every penny I got, I know where that came from.”
Clearly, Method Man is bamboozled by the situation, and in truth — it can indeed be puzzling at times, especially in an era where success is so often associated by material goods. Check out the Wu-Tang legend’s take on the topic below, and keep an eye out for him and Redman to reunite for an epic 4/20 Verzuz battle. Do you share Method Man’s confusion?
If you are a big fan of the Toronto Raptors, then you know that the team has been looking to trade a few key pieces at the deadline. Of course, Kyle Lowry has been front and center when it comes to all of these rumors and some believe he could be headed to Miami, Los Angeles, or even Philadelphia by the end of the day. One of the other players that has been surrounded by rumors is Norm Powell, who has been a key star throughout the team’s recent run of success.
Well, today, Powell was officially dealt as according to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Raptors sent Powell to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent. This is a good deal for both sides, as the Raptors need more depth, while the Blazers could use some extra scoring to help complement Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
For now, it doesn’t seem like the Raptors are done with their deadline moves. There is still a ton of interest surrounding Kyle Lowry and if one team offers the right amount, the Raptors might be tempted to pull the trigger and start fresh.
There are still plenty of deals left to report, so keep it locked to HNHH as we will be sure to keep you informed.
Having dropped his critically acclaimed debut project No Love Lostlast summer, rising hip-hop artist Blxst has yet to take a break. Earlier this month, the Red Bull Records and Evgle artist surprised his fans with a surprise two-pack EP featuring guest appearances from Russ and Drakeo The Ruler, and now the Los Angeles-based multihyphenate is back with a visual treatment for one of the standout cuts from the deluxe version of No Love Lost.
The music video for “Chosen,” which features fellow West Coast artists Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga, transports viewers to the campus of a fictional college named Evgle University. The nostalgic video is shot by madebyJames, and over the course of the video, you can see how much of its inspiration was pulled from iconic college films such as School Daze, Stomp the Yard, and Love & Basketball.
In addition to the shots that depict quintessential college experiences such as tailgating and partying at frat houses, viewers also follow Blxst’s pursuit of a woman that he ran into while jogging at the start of the video. They eventually connect at the wild house party at the end of the video, and of course, Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga appear to perform their verses.
Check the video out at the top of the page and let us know what you think about Blxst’s latest visuals.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
It’s a formula we’ve all seen before; one rapper, one producer, 10 tracks. There’s a reason for this: It works.
The latest example proving this aphorism is To Kill A Sunrise, the concise collaborative project from burgeoning Brooklyn rapper Kota The Friend and veteran Boston producer Statik Selektah. Released just two months removed from Kota’s last project, the quick and dirty Lyrics To Go, Vol. 2, this latest effort makes an ironclad case for the aforementioned recipe with crisp, inventive rhymes over inviting instrumentals that show what traditionalist hip-hop can be at its absolute best.
Over the course of his surprisingly productive five-year career, Kota has proven to be one of the genre’s foremost advocates of the bars-first mentality endemic to his hometown’s musical philosophy throughout the mid-’90s. To put it bluntly, whenever someone shouts out “real hip-hop,” they usually mean rap in the vein of jazz-sampling, puffer jacket-wearing, Timberland boot-stomping, cerebral rappers from the lyrical bloodline of acts like Gang Starr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Kota has this, yes, but he also adds his own unique, plainspoken perspective to the simile-ridden rhyme style of his forebears, leavening their rugged machismo with a vulnerable, confessional, emotionally intelligent bent to his raps. He displayed as much on his breakout 2019 album Foto and on its 2020 follow-up Everything, but whereas on those albums, he displayed that honest tendency over beats that toed the line between modernism and his natural, jazz-rap instincts, on To Kill A Sunrise, he fully indulges the latter, partnering with their perfect foil in Statik Selektah.
For instance on “Hate,” Statik laces Kota with a stripped-down, hand-clap-and-key-stab sample pack over which Kota can “have some fun,” as he says on the song’s introductory instrumental bars. On the song’s opposite, “The Love,” Statik scratches in over a tinkling piano sample, throws hella swing on the drum kit, and channels the spirit of 1991. Kota dives in headfirst, ruminating on intergenerational responsibilities and working at mediocre jobs before attaining his dream of supporting himself through his music.
The combination of Statik’s throwback beats and Kota’s straightfoward, lyrics-focused rhyme style certainly evokes nostalgia for a certain era and place in hip-hop history but they’re not stuck in the past, as so many rhyme-first rap conservatives can be. They don’t thumb their noses at modern trends so much as eschew them entirely; they aren’t here to scold rappers for humming or diss their gold-chain-flexing, trap-praising peers. The endeavor comes across more self-contained, as if to say, “This is us, in our element, doing what we like to do.” In short, it’s a rapper and producer having fun making music, which can sometimes feel rare these days.
Ever since Jay-Z first uttered that fateful phrase “I’m not a rapper,” it can seem as though many folks who do the job are only doing it to get their feet in the door at the places they really want to work, like waitstaff at the local diner who are really actors or web designers or CEOs in casual conversations. Within the past month, I’ve written about no less seven major rap stars securing their first acting roles, while a number of others have jumped into tech or become restauranteurs.
These are all good things! We’ve seen enough rappers go from rags to riches back to rags over the past four decades to understand that rap money doesn’t always last. “LLC Twitter” is quick to remind anyone unfortunate enough to stumble across their condescending messages that you should have multiple streams of income to ensure a comfortable lifestyle and we’ve both praised and criticized Jay-Z for his capitalistic ambitions. Entertainment’s a fickle mistress, so it’s best to make sure there’s a plan B, C, D, E, F, and G for the day the winds change and fans’ taste does too.
But it’s so refreshing to listen to someone make hip-hop because they enjoy making hip-hop. Kota raps about hustling his way out of poverty, yes, but not through socially destructive means. And now that he’s reached his level of comfort, there’s no castigation or roasting of his listeners or taunting of his enemies and haters. Kota raps like the money is assured on tracks like “Live & Direct,” but also secondary to things like fatherhood, community, health, and sharing his wisdom rather than lording it over the plebians who keep him in business.
Nor does he waste time berating anyone for making or enjoying that type of rap. He’s not a snob or an elitist. He’s not above employing a trappish beat himself, as he displayed on prior releases like Everything. But he’s a rapper’s rapper who truly enjoys the craft, working with an established producer who knows how to tap into his strongest impulses. The result is just like the sunrise: Enjoyable to experience, invigorating and easygoing at the same time, and full of promise for a new day.
To Kill A Sunrise Is Out Now via FLTBYS. Get it here.
