career

Nas Speaks On Impact Of Jay-Z Beef On His Career In GQ Interview

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During his recent GQ interview, Nas reflected on how his beef with Jay-Z impacted his career, and perhaps the hip-hop landscape as a whole. While they squashed said issues eventually, their spat is the stuff of legend in the rap community. Elsewhere in the interview, he spoke on a few other topics, including his Madison Square Garden show, his run with Hit-Boy, and his idea of success. However, his reflections on his Hov battles led to some interesting reflections on collaborations in the game. At the time of that beef, he remarked, hip-hop still existed on a coastal binary for many.

“That’s just being reminded of what rap is, being shocked, taking it places you didn’t think you were going to go with it as an artist,” he explained about the shock behind the Jay feud and how it marked a second phase of his career in the early 2000s. “[Like] me on ‘One Mic,’ making a song slow, low-key, raising an octave higher. ‘Got Yourself A Gun’ was a Dr. Dre-sounding track, and I had worked with Dre on music before that.

Nas Speaks On Beef With Jay-Z To GQ

INDIO, CA – APRIL 12: Rappers Nas (L) and Jay-Z perform onstage during day 2 of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 12, 2014 in Indio, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella)

“So I kind of had a pass to do a Dre-kind of sound because Dre cosigned our friendship and our collabs,” he continued. “I feel like that collab [with Dre] brought in the idea, maybe, for things like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Biggie together. I didn’t invent it, but it made it more of a thing, like, ‘Hey guys, we’re always so standoffish. You come into my market, I come into your market, and let’s have fun. It’s all a family thing.’”

Meanwhile, the hip-hop legend chases a very different idea of success to what many might believe or expect from one of the game’s greatest. “All records sell,” the 49-year-old stated. “If they don’t sell at all, then get out of the music business. Or if you love your art, don’t let that determine anything. If you need them to sell too quickly, you gotta watch that. lllmatic wasn’t the huge seller the first week, but now you look at how well it did. You just have to worry about the music.” Check out the full interview in the link below and stick around on HNHH for the latest greatness from Nas.

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50 Cent Reflects On His Early Career And Divulges On Why Kids Fell In Love With Him

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When 50 Cent first started his rap career in 1996, he led a dangerous life. The lyrics he expressed in the music that followed his troubled childhood were raw and heavy, but truthful. In an interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber, the rap mogul shared his reflection on his early career. “The stuff that they see that I’ve learned, it kinda kept me out of trouble at points,” 50 told Melber. “The stuff I was saying in the music in the very beginning, I was crazy to tell you the truth, Ari. I was absolutely crazy at that point.”

One of 50’s most celebrated works from his early career was his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. This best-selling rap album was charged with explicit lyrics and references to the rapper’s “crazy” beginnings. In “What Up Gangsta,” for example, 50 alludes to his gang relations. He describes, “nah, that’s a semi-auto and a vest on my chest, I try not to say nothin’ the DA might wanna play in court.” He continues these themes, rapping in “In da Hood,” “get robbed, get shot, shit is poppin’ in the hood.”

50 Explains His “Crazy” Youth

While “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” became instrumental to 50’s success, he notes how his fan base didn’t connect with him for the right reasons. He tells Melber, “Kids fell absolutely in love with me and they were in love with the wrong part of me. The part that won’t actually continue to be successful. The part that people won’t continue to be something that people celebrate.” Even today, 50 sees other hip-hop artists following in a similar suit. Specifically, he mentions rappers like 21 Savage, DaBaby, and Lil Durk. “They have to turn into something bigger and better as they go with the new information and new opportunities that come because they’re really street,” he says.

Nearly 25 years after the start of 50’s legacy, the rapper has fully changed his life around. The interview follows 50’s new development deal with Fox, which was also announced in his interview with Melber. With 24 shows across 10 different networks, this non-exclusive deal will open more doors for the 47-year-old to continue his work in television.

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G Herbo Reflects On How Leaving The Streets Helped His Career

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Chicago MC G Herbo cemented himself as one of the 2010s’ most pivotal rappers from the city. Moreover, his come-up from a hardened background fueled much of his most resonant and definitive artistry. In a new interview with XXL, G Herbo reflected on how leaving the streets behind ultimately helped his career move forward.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 30: G Herbo attends the BET Hip Hop Awards 2022 at The Cobb Theater on September 30, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)

Furthermore, the interview broke down specific lyrics from the 27-year-old’s track “Outside Looking In.” It’s featured on his 2022 album, Survivor’s Remorse: A Side. In a particular moment in the interview, XXL asked Herbo when he made this realization.

“I always knew I was special,” the rapper said. “It was just my environment. The circumstances that I was up against that made me make certain decisions. It was always hope for me. I knew that I was gon’ make something of myself.

“When I used to go visit my aunt house, all they really did was gangbang and sell drugs and s**t,” he continued. “Don’t get me wrong, it was family vibes, but that’s what I was exposed to. At my grandmother house, she liked to gamble. Her crib was like a party spot, a gambling spot. They played cards all night. But when you a kid, they not really paying attention to us observing everything that’s going on around. Referring to the birds and bees, I never had those conversations with my parents growing up. It just happened naturally. I was exposed to that type of stuff early.”

Meanwhile, the “PTSD” artist recently looked back on his personal past, as well. After he admitted to cheating on Yung Miami’s Caresha Please podcast, Ari Fletcher believed that he owed her an apology. Even though it’s in a very different context, recent interviews and discussions opened Herbo up to some very interesting conversations. Hearing him speak on how he relates art to family is a fascinating account.

“I was ahead of my time,” the drill artist stated. “I was smart and people in my life that I looked up to, they looked at me as like, ‘That’s just lil Herbie, my lil cousin.’ They didn’t take me serious when I would bring up rap. When I was going to my first studio sessions and stuff like that, I never used to let my family hear my music or nothing. I never really spoke of my dreams and aspirations ’cause I learned early on, if people don’t see it for themselves, they’ll never really see it for you. All these years later, I’m still trying to like build that connection with my family.”

When asked how he changed his focused mindset to hip-hop rather than the streets, Herbo elaborated on the extent of that focus.

“I disassociated myself with the streets and with the outside world, I wasn’t engaged with nothing other than chasing my dreams. I believe in God, so when I have those moments where I feel chills or I have those deep thoughts. My calling, my destiny. I believe in that type of stuff, I wanted to focus on solely being a rapper. I took a flying leap of faith and I really did it.”

What do you think on G Herbo’s reflections on the streets and his career? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, come back to HNHH for more insights from hip-hop’s most talented minds.

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50 Cent Says He Wishes Tony Yayo Blew Up Instead Of Him

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50 Cent says that he wishes Tony Yayo‘s career had taken off instead of his own. 50 discussed how his career took off during a recent interview with Big Boy’s Neighborhood.

The legendary New York rapper says that after the release of his 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, he wanted to bring all of G-Unit with him to the top.

“My solo album took off so big that I just brought them with me,” 50 said. “So it was clear that it was me creating opportunity for everybody else in the crew, but we was all together. I wish it would have been Yayo, because then I coulda did all of the business. If he woulda did what 50 Cent did, then I would have been running the whole thing.”

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JUNE 11: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) 50 Cent performs on day 1 of Parklife Festival at Heaton Park on June 11, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Burak Cingi/Redferns)

He continued: “It would still be two of us. He’d still be 50 Cent as the artist and I’d be the largest asset to us.”

Despite dropping many mixtapes and appearing on collaborative projects, Yayo has only released one studio album. Thoughts of a Predicate Felon debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 back in 2005.

Yayo recently discussed 50’s impact on his career during an interview with the Only Way Out Podcast. He admitted that 50 helped him “survive a lot of shit.”

Elsewhere in his discussion on Big Boy’s Neighborhood, 50 revealed that he’s working on an 8 Mile TV series with Eminem.

“It’s gonna be big. I’m working. I ain’t got no duds,” he said. “I’m batting 100 … I think it should be there for [Eminem’s] legacy because it’s important to me that they understand it.”

Check out 50 Cent’s full comments on Big Boy’s Neighborhood below.

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K Camp Reacts To Claims That He Fell Off

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K Camp responded to criticism that he “fell off” while appearing on the Mr. Jay Hill Show, earlier this week. The Atlanta rapper explained that people use the phrase too loosely.

“I heard all that shit,” K Camp said firstly regarding the criticism. “Don’t no artist wanna hear that they fell off. But you got to understand, what’s the definition of falling off. N****s use that term so loosely. What is falling off? Falling off to me is fucked up somewhere under a bridge with no paper, with a box saying: ‘Can I get some food?’ That’s falling off.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 14: K Camp performs during 2019 Rolling Loud LA at Banc of California Stadium on December 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/WireImage)

He continued: “When n****s speak in the aspect of falling off in music, like they don’t hear you on the radio, they don’t see you visually, it’s not falling off. Every player got an off-season … You got to go back to practice, you got to go out and get back in the gym and get your skill set up and come back out.”

In 2015, XXL included Camp in its Freshman Class. He released his latest project, Vibe Forever, back in July. He announced that it would be his final album with a major label. He’s taken issue with Interscope Records several times over the years.

In 2020, he complained about the lack of support the label was showing for his song, “Lottery.”

“Lottery should be the biggest song in the world right now,” he wrote at the time. “How many times we gotta keep putting up HITS to show y’all this shit real? We need answers @Joeyie!”

Check out K Camp’s appearance on Mr. Jay Hill Show below.

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Tony Yayo Says 50 Cent Has Done More For Uncle Murda Than Jay-Z

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Tony Yayo argued that 50 Cent has done more to help Uncle Murda’s career than Jay-Z. Yayo explained his position while speaking with Murda on Thisis50. Murda signed with Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella in 2007 but later moved over to G-Unit with 50 Cent in 2016.

“That’s why I respect him because we have more of an assist,” Yayo said. “We have 50 Cent so I knew I was okay. He sold 11 million records I’m gonna get a percentage of his fans. I’m good. [Uncle Murda] had to kind of more do it on his own. He had deals with Jay-Z and them but Jay-Z ain’t gonna never… I always tell them all the time Jay-Z ain’t treating you like this n***a.”

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 30: Tony Yayo attends the XXL Freshmen Live 2015 concert at Best Buy on June 30, 2015, in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

From there, Murda reflected on Jay-Z giving him his first six-figure check and thanked him for the support. He also joked about Yayo being quick to call out Jay-Z by recalling his response to a party they recently attended. Several high-profile celebrities, including the Kardashians and Serena Williams, were in attendance.

“We just finished performing, great time, right,” Murda said. “First thing my man wanna say, ‘Yeah shit lit, Jay-Z will never take you to a party like this.”

Yayo then continued: “I’m just telling you how we get treated. I’m quite sure Hov and a lot of artists they treat some of their artists maybe good, maybe not. I’m just telling you how we get treated. I don’t know [if] Jay-Z ever had him in the Armani Hotel.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the two discuss Tory Lanez’s recent trial regarding the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, “Rap-Up 2022,” and more.

Check out Tony Yayo and Uncle Murda’s conversation on Thisis50 below.

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Ice Cube Recalls 2Pac Saying He Wanted To Make Music Like N.W.A.

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Ice Cube reflected on meeting 2Pac during a recent appearance on Talib Kweli‘s People’s Party podcast. Appearing alongside E-40 and Too $hort, Cube remarked that 2Pac once said he wanted to make music like N.W.A.

Cube says that he met 2Pac while the late star was still a member of Digital Underground.

“He would always tell me like, you know, ‘This Digital shit is cool, man, but I want to do records like y’all,’” Cube said. “‘Cause where I live at, shit is fucked up. You know what I’m saying? I want to talk about how the shit is.’”

LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 06: Rapper Ice Cube attends Daylight Beach Club at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on May 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Daylight Beach Club)

From there, Cube recalled seeing 2Pac’s career continue to take off until he became one of the most iconic hip-hop artists of all time.

“I was like ok ‘Pac is starting to move up from just being in the background to actually doing some songs then he went solo,” Cube added. “He was like, man I’m going to do my own thing. I still fuck with Digital but I’ma do my own thing.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I can do the music I want to do.”

2Pac ended up leaving Digital Underground in 1991, the same year he dropped his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now. Over the next several years, he became one of the best-selling musical artists of all time.

Ice Cube recently released a new album with E-40 and Too $hort as members of Mount Westmore. The trio, along with Snoop Dogg, dropped Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort back on December 9, 2022.

Check out Ice Cube’s appearance on People’s Party alongside E-40 and Too $hort below.

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