After brushing off the backlash resulting from his “Beat Box” freestyle, DaBaby officially joins Florida-based, TikTok-favorite, trap rap upstart SpotEmGottem on “Beat Box 3.” While the original “Beat Box” generated a wave of buzz for the 19-year-old rapper and “Beat Box 2” featured Pooh Shiesty and became the basis for a viral TikTok challenge, “Beat Box 3” finally connects SpotEmGottem with the North Carolina superstar who helped bring “Beat Box” to the mainstream with his freestyle.
That freestyle, though, was the subject of some controversy thanks to a throwaway line in which DaBaby name-checks 17-year-old pop star JoJo Siwa. The line, which rhymed the singer’s name with “see why,” posited an imaginary rival as a “bitch,” employing the hashtag flow for a clunky punchline that seemed to either call JoJo a bitch as well, or equate all women with bitches, with the most conveniently rhyming one falling within the category. Either way… not a great use of the form, which is always a danger with the hashtag flow.
Of course, DaBaby — no stranger to Twitter controversy after a couple of years’ worth of call-outs and missteps — dismissed the backlash as a case of wordplay going over listeners’ heads. That isn’t quite what happened here, but by combining his verse with SpotEmGottem’s original, at least SpotEmGottem can hope to benefit from the extra attention, and capitalize on it with his next release.
Police now believe Lady Gaga may have been the target of the thieves who shot her assistant and stole two of her French bulldogs, according to TMZ. The singer is currently offering a half-million-dollar ransom for the safe return of her pets, which may have been the point all along. Using a neighbor’s security video that caught the robbery in progress, police theorize that the assailants were aware of just whose dogs they were taking.
Adding to the fact that the thieves’ white sedan pulls up alongside Gaga’s assistant Ryan Fischer in the video, law enforcement sources told TMZ that Fischer wasn’t exactly secretive about his employer. He told “numerous people” in the neighborhood that the dogs belonged to the singer, so it was seemingly common knowledge. Meanwhile, due to the darkness of the street, police don’t think the thieves would have been able to tell that the dogs were valuable French bulldogs — although dognapping and pet ransom are pretty common in affluent neighborhoods, as residents usually offer rewards for “missing” pets that thieves often return to collect.
However, rarely is a case so high-profile as this one is, or as violent. The fact that Fischer was accosted and shot suggests the thieves may have targeted him specifically, knowing the dogs’ owner was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet and being willing to use extreme measures to get ahold of the ransom money. Further complicating things is the fact that Gaga’s dogs were never chipped, so identifying them if they are sold out-of-state — another common tactic of dognappers — will be very difficult.
Gaga’s father spoke out against the attack on Fox News, saying “Our whole family is upset and praying Koji and Gustavo are not harmed. Help us catch these creeps.”
Samples have always been the backbone of hip-hop. The very first raps were performed over beat breaks, which were looped and extended to provide B-boys a platform for their gymnastic dance routines and rappers their bombastic bars. However, despite hip-hop’s preference for calling back to the past, making history as modern as a freshly-released single, the genre has oddly few examples of another tool for paying homage to the forebears and icons of days past.
Last week, M1 and Stic.man of revered revolutionary rap duo Dead Prez revealed that the late, great Los Angeles legend Nipsey Hussle reached out to them prior to his death for permission to remake their seminal 2000 debut albumLet’s Get Free — but the idea was never executed, as Nipsey passed away before he was able to begin work on the project in earnest. Besides this one high-profile example, there aren’t very many other albums by current rappers that seek to recreate the classic works that have inspired and influenced them. So, why doesn’t hip-hop have many cover albums?
Part of the answer may stem from rap music’s status as a young genre. Just 30 years ago, the culture as a whole was still fighting for its legitimacy, dismissed as a passing fad. However, that didn’t seem to stop musicians in other disciplines from nearly constantly covering each others’ songs to the point that there is widespread debate about the “best” versions of hits like “Respect,” originated by Otis Redding and made classic by Aretha Franklin; “Proud Mary,” a Creedance Clearwater Revival turned rocking revue by Ike and Tina Turner; and “Strange Fruit,” the defiant ode to Black resistance in the face of monstrous treatment sung by Billie Holiday and further popularized by Nina Simone.
Rock artists have also had a long history of reinterpreting classics for new generations. Consider Dirty Projectors’ Rise Above. In 2007, bandleader David Longstreth set out to replay Black Flag’s 1981 album Damaged from memory despite not hearing in for 15 years prior. If that sounds ambitious, Beck’s 2009 project Record Club would seem downright obsessive, as the genre-hopping multi-instrumentalist sought to cover whole albums in just one day each with a fluid collective of musicians. These included Leonard Cohen’s Songs Of Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico, and INXS’s Kick.
The form is a staple of other genres, such as rock and soul, but seems foreign to hip-hop, despite the fact that hip-hop now has enough history behind it to have several generations of “old-school” music, as many a millennial has been dumbstruck to learn in recent years. Where a 35-year-old today may have cited NWA, Public Enemy, or Run-DMC as “old-school” based on their high school experiences, a 15-year-old today looks at that 35-year-old’s high school faves like Jay-Z, Ludacris, or Nelly, and sees only a pack of old fogeys — Public Enemy may as well have been recorded on Fred Flintstone’s Dictabird.
Further complicating hip-hop’s relationship to cover projects is its reliance on samples and insistence on originality. Biting lyrics is a no-no of the highest order in hip-hop, and while sampling is the foundation of the art form, rarely are songs recreated or reinterpreted — and sometimes, choosing a sacrosanct record to recreate is seen as blasphemous. Just look at the reaction to DJ Khaled’s Outkast sample on his 2019 song “Just Us.” Borrowing the melody of “Ms. Jackson” didn’t work out any better for him than J. Cole’s similar homage — borrowing the loop from “Da Art Of Storytelling, Part 1” on “Land Of The Snakes — did for the North Carolina MC.
However, there is one example of a hip-hop cover album that was both well-received and tastefully done. In 2011, former Slum Village member Elzhi set out to pay tribute to one of his favorite MCs, Nas, by recreating Nas’s revered debut album Illmatic with a live band. The resulting mixtape, cleverly titled Elmatic, saw Elzhi putting his own unique twists on both Nas’s rhymes and the ’90s masterclass beats; Elzhi deftly re-worded some of the more iconic lyrical sequences, keeping the familiar diction and cadences, channeling them to flip Nas’s autobiographical tales into narratives of his own Detroit upbringing. The band embellished on the Ahmad Jamal, Gap Band, and Michael Jackson samples, bringing their musicality to the fore, where previously the drum tracks were the centerpieces of the album.
Elmatic‘s success only highlights how intriguing the idea of hip-hop cover albums truly is. Rap music, despite its reputation as a youth genre with little use for its elder statesmen, has always held a deep reverence for the history, breadth, and depth of Black music. Puffy can sample Diana Ross for a celebratory posthumous Notorious BIG single and Three 6 Mafia can turn a 30-year-old Willie Hutch soundtrack cut into an international players’ anthem, thoroughly disproving the trope that hip-hop doesn’t respect its elders. Rappers and producers simply choose to reinterpret what has already been done. If that’s not the essence of a cover, nothing is.
Nipsey Hussle and Elzhi both understood this, and both were willing to take the plunge, risking the disapproval of hardcore hip-hop heads to salute their musical forebears. That’s to be applauded — and imitated. Hip-hop now has a rich history of its own, just waiting to be mined, paid homage to, and translated into new terms for younger ears that may not be familiar with it, but are certainly much more receptive than they are given credit for. Whether it’s a New York boom-bap standard, a West Coast G-funk essential, or a Dirty South crunk classic, it’s time for hip-hop to begin giving its older albums some fresh looks.
Nipsey Hussle is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Alabama-born crooner Yung Bleu and New Jersey-raised buzzing rapper Coi Leray team up for a brand new song about falling in love in Atlanta, dropping the music video for “Thieves In Atlanta” a few moments ago.
Spending time in one of the hip-hop world’s hubs, Yung Bleu and Coi Leray are no strangers to Atlanta. They especially know what it’s like to love in the city, making metaphors on how difficult it is to find that special someone for you in the industry and lamenting in the new song. The slow-paced ballad was produced by NOBY and the music video, which shows a hood love story primarily taking place inside the strip club, was directed by Kalani Kelly.
Yung Bleu has been buzzing for a minute, striking with “You’re Mines Still” and getting a co-sign and feature from Drake. Coi Leray has equally been making noise, leveling up with her hit single “No More Parties” and promising to follow up strongly with a Pooh Shiesty feature.
What do you think of the new record from Yung Bleu and Coi Leray?
Quotable Lyrics:
Thieves in Atlanta, that’s where I land here I done beat the odds like a miracle I swear she had it planned out on the low They say hold my heart down in Atlanta Word is, they stealing hearts now in Atlanta I don’t need it anyway
As usual, Lil Uzi is currently taunting JT on Twitter and further deepening the public’s confusion about their “relationship.” Before his recent string of social media antics, however, Lil Uzi recently took to Instagram to show off his eclectic fashion sense with a flashy new photo dump.
Following in the footsteps of his last photo dump that debuted his sensational pink forehead diamond, Lil Uzi is back with another series of photos that prove that he is still one of the most fashionably adventurous artists in Hip-Hop. In addition to giving fans yet another look at his massive forehead gem, Uzi’s latest photo dump shows the rapper flexing a head-to-toe Chanel outfit.
In the series of photos, the Eternal Atake artist is seen in a Chanel store flaunting several of the French fashion house’s garments and accessories, from a branded necklace and pair of sunglasses to Chanel sneakers and what appears to be a branded car key case. Perhaps one of the most impressive takeaways from Uzi’s latest photo dump is the rapper’s uncanny ability to meticulously incorporate luxurious pink accents that accentuate his iconic forehead diamond.
Are you feeling the photos from Lil Uzi’s Chanel-centric photo dump?
If you are a sneakerhead with a particular interest in Nike and Jordan Brand, then you know what the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is. Over the last decade, Nike has been teaming up with the hospital, where they have given kids the opportunity to create their very own sneakers. These Doernbecher shoes are auctioned off for thousands of dollars in a bid to raise funds for the hospital. Since the start of this initiative, $30 million has been raised, and Nike continues to bring forth new models.
The latest to be revealed is this Air Jordan 1 found below. In fact, this is being pegged as a “What The” model as it contains various elements from other popular Doernbecher Jordans. The Doernbecher shoes are known for being full of imagination, and with all of the various colorways coming together here, this “What The” is certainly going to be a huge hit among collectors.
Seventeen pairs of this shoe have been created and one of them was auctioned off as part of the Virtually Freestyle event. Now, the rest of the pairs will be sold on eBay today. If you want to see all of the different elements that make up the shoe, check out the photos below.
Superstar recording artist Justin Bieber has just announced his brand new studio album Justice. As part of his announcement, the Ontario-born pop star shared the release date and cover artwork for the project, also explaining what he hopes to achieve through its release.
“JUSTICE the album March 19th,” revealed Bieber. “In a time when there’s so much wrong with this broken planet we all crave healing and justice for humanity. In creating this album my goal is to make music that will provide comfort, to make songs that people can relate to and connect to so they feel less alone. Suffering, injustice and pain can leave people feeling helpless. Music is a great way of reminding each other that we aren’t alone.”
While he knows that it will take more than just music to repair the world, Bieber is doing his part by providing content that connects to his core fanbase, offering a repose from the constant information being thrown at us at all angles. “Music can be a way to relate to one another and connect with one another,” he went on. “I know that I cannot simply solve injustice by making music but I do know that if we all do our part by using our gifts to serve this planet and each other that we are that much closer to being united. This is me doing a small part. My part. I want to continue the conversation of what justice looks like so we can continue to heal.”
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Justice comes out on March 19. Will you be tuned in?
Akbar V has certainly been stirring things up on Twitter this week, as the Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star has been dropping names left and right. Earlier this year, she took her best shot at Drake to no avail, now turning her attention to Chris Brown on Thursday. She wrote, “At this point if i can’t get@Drake i might as well get me another light skin N****@chrisbrown what’s up babe i been rocking with you since#runit#excusemems#yomanaintme#goodbye can i get a date I’m single blink once if i got a shot babe.”
Following this thirsty tweet, Akbar V also called out Diddy for not sending her any Ciroc PR packages, saying she’s good friends with his son. She also asked “music genius” Kanye West to produce a song or two for her. So it’s safe to say, she was having a bit of a social media celebrity-call-out field day.
New York rapper Safaree Samuels isn’t about switching it up. The “Love & Hip Hop” star went online to voice his frustrations with the company responsible for beloved toy Mr. Potato Head adjusting its packaging to become more gender neutral. Safaree Questions Mr. Potato Head Change Although the final details of the name change are […]
During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Zion was asked about the fouls he has endured over the last couple of years, and whether or not the officiating has bothered him. Zion is rarely the beneficiary of good calls, and the show was curious if he’s started to get upset. Williamson was quite reserved with his answer, noting that he will never argue with the refs and that he just wants his game to do the talking.
“My stepfather taught me old-school,” Zion said. “I’m never going to be one of those dudes to say something to the refs. I just won’t. You know, hopefully, things will change. Until then, I’ll just keep playing.”
In just his second year in the league, Williamson is heading to the All-Star game and it’s certainly well-deserved. He has a bright future ahead, and as he matures, those calls will begin to go his way.
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