DJ Drama

DJ Drama Continued His ‘Juice’ Remake Rollout For ‘I’m Really Like That’

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DJ Drama has released the next installment of his Juice remake promoting his upcoming album I’m Really Like That, really leaning into the nostalgia with the help of rappers Jim Jones and Chinese Kitty. This time around, he duplicates the “Picking Up Vinyl” scene in which Omar Epps’ character, Q, distracts an employee at a record store by flirting with her (remember asking for phone numbers???) as his friends Raheem, Steel, and Bishop steal records.

Making the scene even more fun, the characters of Raheem and Steel and played by their original actors, Khalil Kain and Jermaine Hopkins respectively. This continues a trend from Drama’s previous scene recreation, which cast Queen Latifah in her film role as the Ruff House MC. The shop girl is portrayed by rapper/model Chinese Kitty, while Jim Jones takes over the Bishop role from Tupac Shakur. The music, of course, is updated to a more modern trap beat (a Roddy Ricch song from the upcoming album) from the New Jack Swing track from the movie. The whole thing is cool.

With two Juice remake clips out, Drama still hasn’t revealed the tracklist for his new album, which drops on 3/31 via Generation Now and Atlantic, so stay tuned — there’s definitely more to come.

DJ Drama is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

DJ Drama Enlists Queen Latifah To Promote New Album

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DJ Drama’s hotly anticipated album I’m Really Like That is dropping this Friday (March 31), and the acclaimed producer tapped Queen Latifah to promote its release. Not only that, but their promo was quite creative and paid homage to one of the most important films in hip-hop culture. Moreover, Latifah reprised her role in the 1992 film Juice for a recreation of one of its most iconic scenes. While Drama played the role of Q (originally played by Omar Epps), Jim Jones directed the homage. Also, additional featured actors included fellow Dipset member Juelz Santana, DJ Superstar Jay, and others.

Furthermore, the plot of the scene centered around a group of DJs waiting in line to play their mixes for the Queen so they can play at The Ruffhouse. It seems like the Gangsta Grillz icon wanted to recreate and evoke the feeling of the early hustle in the game, trying to make a name for yourself. Of course, given the incredibly stacked feature list for I’m Really Like That that floated around social media, it’s clear that Drama succeeded in such efforts.

DJ Drama & Queen Latifah Promote His New Album

To elaborate, here are a few of those names: there’s Tyler, The Creator, 42 Dugg, and Nipsey Hussle. In addition, there’s Freddie Gibbs, Lil Uzi Vert, Gucci Mane, Roddy Ricch, and many more. What’s more is that Drama isn’t just looking forward to new projects in the future, but also bringing new ones back into the culture. For example, he recently revealed that Lil Wayne’s classic mixtape Dedication 2 will make a return to streaming services this year. However, that wasn’t all, as he also stated that brand new music from him and Tunechi is due in 2023, too.

Meanwhile, the Philly native has eggs in a lot of promising baskets in addition to his solo outing. Recently, he announced that him and De La Soul are working on a Gangsta Grillz mixtape following the release of their impeccable catalog on streaming services. After so many years of innovation and quality drops, it’s very exciting to see Drama get some flowers and keep shaping the game. If you’ve never seen Juice before, check out the referenced clip below. Otherwise, come back to HNHH for the latest news and updates on Queen Latifah and DJ Drama.

Ruffhouse MC & Q In Juice Clip

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DJ Drama Remade A Classic Scene From ‘Juice’ With Queen Latifah To Promote His New Album

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Despite being over 20 years old, the 1992 coming-of-age crime drama Juice continues to be an inspiration for hip-hop artists to this day. Considered to be one of the first hip-hop films alongside Boyz N The Hood and New Jack City, as well as the acting debut of one Tupac Shakur, Juice‘s imagery, narrative, and soundtrack, have influenced a number of rap acts as well as the culture overall.

Case in point: In order to promote his new album that drops this week, DJ Drama reproduced one of the film’s most recognizable scenes with one of its actual actors: Queen Latifah. Latifah reprises her role from the film as Drama himself steps into Omar Epps’ role of Q as the DJ stands in line to audition to play at a local club, the Ruff House. The Queen, meanwhile, hasn’t aged a day: Black well and truly does not crack.

The album is called I’m Really Like That — a feature that he and the Queen sneak into the remixed dialogue from the scene — but for now, that’s all the information we have so far. Over on Genius there are a few possibilities for tracks that could appear, including ones with appearances from 42 Dugg, Doe Boy, Freddie Gibbs, Gucci Mane, Lil Uzi Vert, Roddy Ricch, and Tyler The Creator, but for now, we’ll just have to wait to see if Drama continues the Juice theme or taps any other classic hip-hop films for future announcements.

I’m Really Like That is due 3/31 via Generation Now and Atlantic Records.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

DJ Drama Confirms Lil Wayne’s “Dedication 2” Arriving To DSPs Soon

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Days after suspicion of DatPiff’s demise, DJ Drama confirmed one of Lil Wayne’s most iconic mixtapes to arrive on the platform will soon be available on DSPs. As projects like No Ceilings recently landed on Spotify and Apple Music, the Gangsta Grillz founder confirmed Dedication 2 will follow suit. During his interview with Rap Radar, he also said that he had no music with Lil Wayne in the cut that will see the light of day before the year comes to an end. “We are dropping Dedication 2 on streaming services this year, along with new music,” he told B. Dot and Elliott Wilson.

Dedication 2 arrived in May 2006 on mixtape services, though it managed to crack the Billboard charts. Despite using unlicensed music, such as the instrumentals to Drama’s “Cannon” ft. T.I. and Busta Rhymes and “Player’s Ball (Reprise)” by Outkast,” Dedication 2 wound up on platforms like iTunes and Best Buy for commercial sale. As a result, this second installment in the Dedication series peaked at #69 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Hopefully, the DSP version of Dedication 2 includes all of the original music without having to trim the tracklist due to sample clearance issues.

DJ Drama & Lil Wayne’s History

The Dedication series was integral to Lil Wayne’s “best rapper alive” era. As the frontrunner of Cash Money, Wayne used these mixtapes to prove that his work ethic, consistency, and quality were unmatched. On Dedication 2, Wayne took on the most popular beats of the time and turned each record into his own. In a lot of cases, Weezy’s remixes became even more popular than the original songs themselves. Hopefully, the return of Dedication 2 on DSPs will provide new fans insight into why Lil Wayne is the GOAT.

While Lil Wayne and DJ Drama plan to bring the mixtape to streaming services, hopefully, they haven’t forgotten about the next installment in the Dedication series. The two released Dedication 6 in 2017 before unveiling a reloaded edition a month later. However, the two previously announced D7 in September 2020 with a release date set for the following year. The project still hasn’t dropped yet and it looks like we’ll probably get Tha Carter VI before then. Check out Drama’s interview above. 

DJ Drama Regrets Not Keeping Nicki Minaj On Gucci Mane’s 2008 Gangsta Grillz Mixtape

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After doing some reflecting, DJ Drama admits to a few regrets. His impact on Hip Hop doesn’t need defending as Drama is one of the most celebrated DJs and producers in the game. His Gangsta Grillz series has lasted for decades, and from one generation to the next, artists are clamoring for an opportunity to add their names to his list of collaborators. While chatting with Bootleg Kev on his podcast, Drama revisited a moment in 2008 when he was working with Gucci Mane on their Gangsta Grillz project, The Movie. The mixtape was supposed to feature a look from Nicki Minaj, but Drama switched things up.

At the time, Minaj was only a few years into her professional career. She was still establishing her relationships, proving her skills, and competing for attention in a Hip Hop boys’ club. She didn’t have much national or global visibility, so DJ Drama decided it was best to take her off the project, all together. In hindsight, he wishes he didn’t make that move. “When he brought it to me, the first song on the tape, the first voice you heard on the tape was Nicki Minaj,” Drama said.

DJ Drama Made Things Right

Drama didn’t want fans to hear the voice of a lesser-known artist from the onset. “Obviously, this is an early Nicki Minaj. And disrespectfully, I felt like we can’t have a Gangsta Grillz with me and Gucci, and the first voice you heard not be Gucci, so I removed her verse from that song. I feel terrible to this day.” However, he did make things right, in his own way, by including Minaj in Lil Wayne’s Dedication 3 project that same year. Minaj made sure her voice was heard.

“‘Dram, please don’t let the tape come out without me on there,’” Drama recalled Nicki telling him. “And I said, ‘I got you.’ So Nicki Minaj is on Dedication 3 directly because I made sure she was on there.” The Queens icon has long discussed the roadblocks she experienced early on in her career—and throughout. Minaj has been open about struggling to earn respect while her male peers have navigated an easier route.

Deb Antney Claims Gucci Didn’t Like Nicki

Meanwhile, music executive Deb Antney previously shed light on the relationship between Gucci Mane and Nicki Minaj. Antney used to manage both artists, but according to her, Gucci “couldn’t stand” Minaj because she refused his sexual advances. It’s unclear if this also contributed to the exclusion on his mixtape years ago, but it certainly has fans talking.

DJ Drama Announces De La Soul “Gangsta Grillz” Mixtape

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DJ Drama is gearing up to drop off a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with De La Soul. The Drama recently sat down on Rap Radar where he divulged plans for the future of Gangsta Grillz. In the wake of De La Soul’s discography returning to DSPs, he said he discussed plans to create a tape with the group. Though no release date has been set, it appears that we have something to look forward to this.

DJ Drama announced the project as he explained his ability to connect with different generations flawlessly. He said he was “addicted to new shit” and being able to be ahead of the trends. As he explained his love for hip-hop, he slyly slipped in the news of the De La Soul project. “I was a teenager in the 90s, so that’s my era. I love that. That’s why I ride around to, listening to – De La Soul’s coming to streaming. I can’t be more excited,” he said. “And we got a Gangsta Grillz coming. Little sidebar.”

DJ Drama & De La Soul “Gangsta Grillz” Project

As DJ Drama mentioned, De La Soul’s discography finally came to streaming service after battling with Tommy Boy Records. De La Soul and their former label reached an agreement that allowed their discography to hit streaming platforms. 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, and Bionix finally appeared on streaming services at the top of the month.

Unfortunately, it seems like DJ Drama filmed his interview with Rap Radar earlier this year, prior to the tragic announcement of Trugoy The Dave’s death. Trugoy battled congestive heart failure over the past few years, which he discussed on De La Soul’s “Royaly Capes” in 2016. A week after De La Soul graced the Grammys stage (sans Dave), his rep announced that he passed away. However, there’s yet to be an official cause of death released publicly. Though it’s unclear how this will affect the Gangsta Grillz mixtape, we can only hope that DJ Drama and De La Soul pay tribute to him in some form on the project.

G Perico And DJ Drama Collaborate On New “Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz” Album

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West Coast rapper G Perico teams up with DJ Drama, an Atlanta Dj and music executive. Together they created the Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz album. DJ Drama and G Perico dropped their latest project on March 10th. It highlights new features as well as previous singles. Along with the album drop, G Perico announced he will be starting a tour on March 30th. The tour will hit big cities such as Detroit, Boston, and San Diego. A few days ahead of releasing their project, a short documentary for the process was released on YouTube.

DJ Drama took the time to explain his thoughts on the process in the video, titled Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz Documentary. There he explains that he feels the Hot Shot mixtape series is arguably the most important one of all time. “I was able to really touch all facets of, not even just hip hop culture, but just music in general.” Drama makes his statement at the beginning of the short film. G Perico joins in to explain his inspiration for the project. “The project is inspired by a few of my homies.”

G Perico x DJ Drama “Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz”

Hot Shot: Gangsta Grillz has 13 tracks total on the album. Some of the songs include “Religion,” “Everything,” and “Lifestyle.” There are also a couple of singles that have been released prior to Gangsta Grillz. One notable single is “Ask G4.” A couple of the tracks feature other artists, such as Steelz and RJmrLA. However, each song on Hot Shot shows off the musical chemistry between both DJ Drama and G Perico.

Drama’s main goal for the mixtape was to showcase talent and put something unique on the market. “Cause right now in L.A everybody’s sounding the same. All the beats sound the same, it’s all the same producers.” Drama is confident that fans will be pleased with the new installment in the Hot Shot series. G Perico and DJ Drama are excited and proud of Gangsta Grillz, as the project has been in the works for some time. Make sure to give the new album a listen on your preferred streaming service.