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COVID-19 has been a massive struggle for many of the players in the NBA this season. With the season not taking place in a bubble, players have been forced to make do with the current situation although it has ultimately put them at a heightened risk for catching the virus. Recently, that’s exactly what happened to Derrick Rose as he tested positive for COVID-19. In fact, Rose had to miss eight games with the virus, although now, he will be able to come back to the Knicks lineup.

While talking to reporters, Rose revealed that he faced all of the symptoms that are associated with the virus and that it was one of the worst things he has ever dealt with in his life. As you can see by his words, it was a harrowing experience and one that he would not wish on anybody.

“It’s real. The COVID thing, I know a lot of people overlook it but it’s very serious. It’s real… I had the flu. It was nothing like the flu…It was that times-10,” he told The Athletic.

With the vaccine being made available to millions throughout the United States, hopefully, this pandemic will be over sooner rather than later. It’s been rough for a wide variety of people, and the sports world has been especially hit hard.

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Lil Baby is an adequate hustler and rapper but basketball clearly isn’t his forte. The rapper was paired with 2 Chainz during All-Star Weekend for a two-on-two game against Quavo and Jack Harlow. The winners received a cash prize of $500K plus Bleacher Report vowed to match the cash prize as a donation to HBCU’s. 2 Chainz and Lil Baby lost against Quavo and Jack Harlow but it was Baby who found himself getting clowned for the remainder of the weekend.

It seems that all of the memes and jokes towards Baby have lit a fire under his ass. The rapper is seemingly fed up with the jokes surrounding his basketball skills and demanded that Quavo and Jack Harlow accept a rematch. However, he did preface the request by stating that he needs 90 days to get himself prepared for it. “Give me three months I’m setting one of these up!! Y’all got me fucced up,” he wrote on his Instagram Story with a video of Harlow and himself shooting before the game. 

The Internet revisited Baby’s highlight reel, reminding themselves that even three months probably won’t be enough time to sharpen his skillset. However, it seems that his “Finesse Out The Gang Way” collaborator Lil Durk is willing to lend a helping hand. The rapper slid under the comment section of Akademiks post, stating that he’s willing to assist Baby in his win against Harlow and Quavo. “All he gotta do is call me,” he wrote.

Durk’s skills on the court have made him one of the most reputable rappers with handles. He previously sent out a challenge to Chris Brown, Tory Lanez and Quavo to put $10K down on a game. During an interview with HNHH in 2018, the rapper revealed that he heard back from all three of them, though he admitted: “it’s just right time and place.” In terms of the best rapper basketball player in the game, Durk said, “I ain’t played him yet but I’d definitely bet on Quavo.”

Will we finally get to see Durk and Quavo face-off on the basketball court? 

Another week in the books. It may still feel as though every day is the same as the one before but we’re nearing a finish line in this pandemic. With vaccine distribution happening at a quicker rate, much of the world’s population will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in a matter of months and, before the end of this year, we may be back to “normal”. 

Despite how awful things have been for most people, music has been consistent in keeping us grounded throughout our current struggles. Thankfully, at the end of every week, we can rely on a number of incredible artists to share their gifts with us through single, project, and video releases. Last week, we welcomed new projects from Benny The Butcher and Harry Fraud, DDG and OG Parker, KOTA The Friend and Statik Selektak, Guapdad 4000 and !llmind, and more. It was seemingly a huge week for rapper-producer pairings, but we also happily enjoyed new music from Justin Bieber, Saba, IDK, Lil Gotit, and others. 

All of the aforementioned artists have earned spots on the latest update of the Staff Picks playlist, which is curated weekly by our editorial and sales staff.

Check out 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)

Tee Grizzley – White Lows Off Designer (feat. Lil Durk)
Lil Gotit – Wok
Justin Bieber – Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & GIVEON)
Roddy Ricch – Heartless (Live From LA)
Lil Tjay – Headshot (feat. Polo G & Fivio Foreign)

Erika Marie (Editorial)

Justin Bieber – Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & GIVEON)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Longevity (feat. French Montana & Jim Jones)
Starrah – Home Alone
KOTA The Friend & Statik Selektah – Day Glow
Tokyo Jetz – YAK (feat. Jackboy)

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

IDK – Just Like Martin
Saba – Ziplock
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Live By It
Guapdad 4000 & !llmind – Chandler
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Plug Talk (feat. 2 Chainz)

Alex Cole (Editorial)

Saba – Ziplock
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Live By It
Guapdad 4000 & !llmind – Chandler
IDK – Just Like Martin
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Survivor’s Remorse (feat. Rick Hyde)

Joshua Robinson (Editorial)

Justin Bieber – Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & GIVEON)
DDG & OG Parker – Treat Me Right
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Live By It
Rob Milton – Cry
Brent Faiyaz – Show U Off

Madusa S. (Editorial)

Justin Bieber – Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & GIVEON)
Roddy Ricch – Heartless (Live From LA)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Plug Talk (feat. 2 Chainz)
Saba – Ziplock
Jazz Cartier & Cousin Stizz – Nothin 2 Me

Cole Blake (Editorial)

Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Overall (feat. Chinx)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Plug Talk (feat. 2 Chainz)
IDK – Just Like Martin
Brent Faiyaz – Show U Off
Saba – Ziplock

Rose Lilah (Editorial)

Ant Clemons – Story Of My Life
Asiahn – Gucci Frames (Orchestral Performance)
Lil Tjay – Headshot (feat. Polo G & Fivio Foreign)
Lil Tjay – Calling My Phone (feat. 6LACK)
Tee Grizzley – White Lows Off Designer (feat. Lil Durk)

Paul Pirotta (Sales)

Justin Bieber – Peaches (feat. Daniel Caesar & GIVEON)
Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, & Silk Sonic – Leave The Door Open
CJ – Whoopty NYC (feat. French Montana & Rowdy Rebel)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Plug Talk (feat. 2 Chainz)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Longevity (feat. French Montana & Jim Jones)

Mike Rapp (Sales)

CJ – Whoopty NYC (feat. French Montana & Rowdy Rebel)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Plug Talk (feat. 2 Chainz)
Benny The Butcher & Harry Fraud – Longevity (feat. French Montana & Jim Jones)

While there has yet to be a concrete release date attributed to Migos’ upcoming Culture 3, a project that has been cooking up for a minute now, all signs are currently indicating an imminent released. In fact, the group appears to be laser-focused and locked in ahead of the big drop, having recently taken to social media to drop off a few promising teasers for the album. 

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The first finds them taking things back to October of 2020, during a studio session that Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff locked in the booth and huddled for some group recording session. All the while, a faint banger can be heard through their headphones. Though we can’t exactly discern much about the song’s lyricism or structure aside from a reference to “Children Of The Corn,” it certainly sounds like it could be a standout upon its full release.

Between this and the recently-teased single Offset shared on his Instagram page a few days back, it’s looking like Migos will be hitting the ground running with a slew-of uptempo and hard-hitting tracks — in case you missed it, check that out right here. It’s likely we’ll see further details surrounding Culture 3 shortly, as Quavo previously indicated that it would be released within “a month and a half” from February 15th. Stay tuned for the final chapter of the trilogy, an album that marks the first Migos drop since 2018’s Culture 2. 

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