Ben Baller

Ben Baller Claims Kendrick Lamar’s New Album “GNX” Is Full Of Skips

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Ben Baller is one of the most famous jewelers in hip hop. He had made chains and various pieces for some of the biggest rappers in the game. He is not, however, here for the current biggest rapper in the game. Ben Baller discussed Kendrick Lamar’s new album GNX on his podcast Cold As Ice with Ben Baller and JimmyBoi. The jeweler is Los Angeles based, and Lamar’s album is steeped in L.A. culture, but he did not care for it. Not even a little bit. Baller went as far as to say that he skipped every single track.

“I’ma keep it all the way a buck,” Ben Baller told his co-host. “I skipped every song, dog. I just can’t.” The jeweler made it clear that his disdain for GNX had nothing to do with the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud. Baller is not choosing sides in the battle, he simply couldn’t get with Lamar’s new song. “It’s got nothing to do with f*cking Drake,” he asserted. “Don’t care. I won’t even talk about the lawsuit, I don’t wanna get into that part.” Ben Baller’s take has been met with scorn across the internet. Many accused him of not being part of hip hop culture. Others posited that he should support a fellow California creator.

Read More: Drake Trolls Kendrick Lamar’s “Mustard!” Scream In Live Stream Chat

Ben Baller Previously Designed Dot’s “Pop Out” Chain

Ben Baller’s negative opinion of GNX is a bit surprising, given his recent history with Kendrick Lamar. He designed the $60K cross that Kendrick Lamar wore during his iconic “Pop Out” concert on Juneteenth. He even hyped up the rapper via social media. “LA went crazy tonight,” Baller tweeted. “And Dot had my ice around his neck all night. $600K cross shuts it down. Nobody better and he knew who to call.” In an Instagram post, Ben Baller praised Lamar for putting together the “biggest” show in L.A.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert was dedicated to bashing Drake, as evidenced by the multiple performances of the diss song “Not Like Us.” Ben Baller’s promotion of the event supports his latest statement regarding a lack of favoritism. He clearly isn’t team Drizzy. He just wanted a better batch of songs from Kung Fu Kenny, it seems. The jeweler did keep it all the way a buck.

Read More: Charlamagne Tha God Explains Why Kendrick Lamar Would Beat Lil Wayne In Possible Battle

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Kendrick Lamar Honors 2Pac With Matching Outfit & $600K Chain At “The Pop Out”

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Kendrick Lamar’s recent “Pop Out” at the Forum in LA was undoubtedly impressive, and it appears as though he paid tribute to one of the iconic artists who inspired him with his onstage outfit. During the show, Kendrick rocked a bright red hoodie with a white t-shirt underneath, as well as a matching red hat. This is strikingly similar to the look 2Pac wore for his performance at the 1994 Source Awards.

To complete his 2Pac-inspired fit, Kendrick even sported a massive diamond cross chain, which is also similar to the one the late icon wore at the awards show. Jeweler Ben Baller recently chatted with TMZ Hip Hop about the eye-catching piece, revealing that Kendrick reached out to him last week looking for something to wear for the show. He claims that he wasn’t aware of its connection to 2Pac at first, but was friends with him before his 1996 death, making it an ideal collab.

Read More: Vince Staples Reveals Why He Missed Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” Show

Kendrick Lamar Rocks 2Pac-Inspired Look At LA Show

Reportedly, the chain Kendrick wore is worth a whopping $600K, which is certainly no small chunk of change. He also rocked a $150K Cuban link, meaning that all together, his jewelry alone was $750K. Obviously, the hitmaker went all out, and fans can’t blame him. Aside from the hundreds of thousands of fans tuning in to watch the show, he was joined by several of his celebrity peers onstage. Dr. Dre, YG, Tyler, The Creator, and many more made appearances.

He performed his hit “Not Like Us” five times too, truly driving his message home after his viral feud with Drake. As for Ben Baller, he said he didn’t pick a side amid the beef, and that he’s still friends with Drizzy despite providing Kendrick with the 2Pac-inspired chain. What do you think of Kendrick Lamar paying tribute to 2Pac with his “Pop Out” look? Are you surprised? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

Read More: The Weeknd Receives Apparent Threat From Top5 Over Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out”

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The post Kendrick Lamar Honors 2Pac With Matching Outfit & $600K Chain At “The Pop Out” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Ben Baller Reveals The Earth-Shattering Price Of Kendrick Lamar’s Diamond Cross Chain

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Kendrick Lamar had the entire hip-hop world watching last night as he took to the stage for “The Pop Out.” Overall, this was one of the biggest events of the year so far. In fact, one could make the argument that this will go down as an all-time great hip-hop concert. Numerous West Coast artists were in the building, and unity was the main theme. However, during Kendrick’s set, there was a whole lot of Drake hate going around, which fans definitely expected.

Throughout the evening, fans noticed Kendrick’s attire and how he was seemingly paying homage to Tupac. Moreover, fans were noticing the cross-chain that he had around his neck. Overall, it is a nice chain that had some pretty clear diamonds throughout. Some fans were speculating about how much this may have cost, especially since we don’t see Kendrick with chains that often. Thankfully, Ben Baller was around to tell the world how much the chain cost. As you can see in the tweet below, he revealed that the chain was $600K.

Read More: DJ Akademiks Caught Deleting Tweet Claiming Dave Free & Whitney Alford Skipped Kendrick Lamar’s Show

Kendrick Lamar Had Some Cool Hardware Last Night

That is certainly a lot of money for just one piece. However, this should not come as much of a surprise. Diamonds are expensive, and putting these pieces together takes labor. Given the scope of this show and the stage Kendrick was on last night, the pendant was probably well worth it. At the end of the day, Kendrick put one of the best shows in recent memory, and that is what fans are always going to remember.

Let us know what you think of the chain, in the comments section down below. Do you believe that this was one of the best concerts in the entire history of hip-hop? Who were some of your favorite performers from the entire night? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar Appears To Pay Tribute To Tupac’s Source Awards Outfit

The post Ben Baller Reveals The Earth-Shattering Price Of Kendrick Lamar’s Diamond Cross Chain appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Snoop Dogg Offered Features In Exchange For Weed In Korea, Ben Baller Says

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It’s a rare sighting to see Snoop Dogg without a blunt in his hand, even in places where cannabis is prohibited. The Death Row owner smoked inside the White House during Barack Obama’s time as president. 50 Cent previously suggested that he tried to stop Snoop from smoking weed on the set of BMF. Snoop Dogg will go to extreme lengths to get stoned no matter where he’s at in the world.

Ben Baller recently appeared on No Jumper where he discussed his friendship with Snoop Dogg. The conversation eventually led to the infamous tale of the rapper’s visit to South Korea. Baller explained that he told Snoop he would set him up with whatever he needed during his stay. However, there wasn’t enough weed in South Korea for the rapper. This led Snoop Dogg to get creative in his attempt to score more weed in Asia. 

Snoop Dogg Feature For Weed

Ben explained that he already discussed the type of hotels and the best places to smoke weed. By the time Snoop Dogg got to his hotel, Ben kept to his word and had weed waiting for him, though it wasn’t enough. “I pretty much got all the weed possible in the entire country of Korea to his hotel,” Baller explained, revealing that it was less than two ounces. Even though the quality was to Snoop’s liking, he got through the bag quickly and needed another supply.

“So Snoop goes on his social media, and he goes, ‘I don’t give a fuck who you are. Anybody in Korea right now, bring me whatever weed you have.’ And his manager got mad about the shit because what he offered was absolutely insane,” Baller said of Snoop Dogg. “Snoop goes ‘I’m doing features right now for weed, and I’m signing off on the clearance.’” Even Ben said that it was an offer that was difficult to pass on for any Asian artist. “If I was a rapper in, like, Indonesia or somewhere else, I would’ve flown to Korea [and] took the chance because, bro, the hardest part is the clearance right?” Check out the clip above. 

Ben Baller in No Rush To Create YE a Chain After How He Dissed Kid Cudi

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Ben Baller Offers Kanye a Chain Ultimatum Over Kid Cudi Feud TMZ 0 10 screenshot

Over the weekend, Kanye West said he was done working with Kid Cudi after the latter would not cut his ties to Pete Davidson, a friend of several years. YE’s decision would cut Cudi from being a participant in DONDA 2, which he didn’t seem to care about.

In the development of the new beef, YE’s decision has put him on thin ice with celebrity jewelry designer Ben Baller. The jewelry designer was caught in traffic by TMZ and he revealed that YE asked for him to create a dove chain, but he brushed it off.

“He’s wanted a chain for a while. Cudi hit me up about it,” Baller said. “I talk to Cudi almost every day. He was like, ‘Hey man, Kanye wants your phone number. He wants to get this chain done.’ Then he had one of his employees reach out to me and then he had Justin LaBoy reach out to me. Then I ran into him the other day and I was kinda like, ‘I don’t know, I’m busy.’”

A wise decision to brush off YE? Let us know what you think.

The post Ben Baller in No Rush To Create YE a Chain After How He Dissed Kid Cudi appeared first on The Source.