Everyone knows Snoop Dogg loves to keep his spirits high, with the help of one herbal remedy. But fans are convinced that he actually identifies as a Satanist in his worship observations. However, Snoop Dogg immediately slammed the accusation.
So where did the rumor start? In promotional images from the 2024 Paris Olympics, Snoop is seen rocking an iced out medallion, which people believe is a Baphomet.
“If you were on the fence about which side Snoop was on – he made it clear upon his appearance at the Satanic Olympics ritual. He wears Baphomet upon his heart,” penned one user.
If you were on the fence about which side Snoop was on – he made it clear upon his appearance at the Satanic Olympics ritual. He wears Baphomet upon his heart. pic.twitter.com/doX17VDA0S
— Malak of 5th Avenue (@Malakof5thAve) July 27, 2024
In his Instagram Stories, the “Gin & Juice” rapper quickly put that rumor to bed. “I don’t know what y’all thought this was, but this is the goat,” he said. “I had this made because somebody told me I was the G.O.A.T. So I wanted to make me a goat chain. All that other sh*t y’all talking about, I don’t know what you all are talking about! This is the G.O.A.T. Greatest Of All Time!”
Apparently, no owls were harmed in the making of Kendrick Lamar’s hilarious video game version of “Not Like Us,” but fans are having a blast bopping the birds in the Whac-A-Mole-esque browser game for the past few days. For what it’s worth, the little “Wop”s that pop out when you make contact is an adorable touch.
Kendrick isn’t the only rapper whose had their music turned into a memorable digital mayhem, though; he’s actually the latest in a long line of rappers with games tied to their songs — a list that includes superstars like Future, Kanye West, and more. Sadly, some of the simple, browser-based games have gone offline after their initial releases, since they were timed to help promote specific projects.
But over the years, there have been big studio-produced games that put fans in the shoes of their favorite MCs to do everything from shooting hoops to brawling in the streets. Here’s a list of 10 more rapper-approved video games to feed your fix for beats, rhyme, and extra lives.
50 Cent: Bulletproof
A third-person action shooter in the vein of genre classics like Max Payne, this PlayStation 2-era revenge story was widely panned for having bad gameplay. While it proved 50’s early interest in expanding his G-Unit empire, it also betrayed a lack of care in how it did so.
Chance The Rapper: SuperMe
The story behind this game’s creation is more endearing than the game itself, thanks to its simple gameplay. However basic it is, though, it’s cool that Chance worked with Chicago’s public school system to encourage kids to learn to code.
Doja Cat Website for Planet Her
Excited to finally reveal that I created all the pixel art with RCA Records to revamp @dojacat ‘s website into a whole top-down pixel adventure. It was a lot of fun and I had lots of freedom in creating the city and the style. (1/3)#dojacat#rcarecords#pixelartpic.twitter.com/aFtxZNjDvJ
While not technically a game, per se, the 16-bit pixel art style for the interactive redesign of Doja’s website circa Planet Her made it very game-like. That you also navigated a tiny avatar of Doja through the titular world makes it all the more a shame it’s not accessible anymore.
Earthgang: Mirrorland
Pixel artist Ali Graham has had a lot of fun turning popular hip-hop moments into cute, 8- and 16-bit animations on Instagram. Atlanta rap duo Earthgang tapped him to make a full-blown side-scrolling adventure platformer for the release of their 2019 album, Mirrorland.
Future: I Won
Probably the grossest game on the list (although its attitude toward women isn’t exactly an outlier in either games design or hip-hop), this basic game is a bit like a ring toss, only the targets are scantily clad digital women, and the rings are chain necklaces. Yeesh.
Kanye West: Lil Ye Adventures
Although technically not officially endorsed by Kanye himself, this one’s almost too good not to include. Another of Graham’s creations, this one is based on Graham’s first cartoon avatar, a child-like version of Kanye from when he was way less problematic.
Aside from the games no longer in circulation, this one may very well be one of the hardest to obtain. A promotional product hyping his 2022 album Heroes & Villains, this dungeon crawler was released in limited quantities as a physical Game Boy game. I can’t exactly speak to its quality — despite having a copy, I haven’t actually owned a Game Boy since like 2003.
Nicki Minaj: The Empire
A lifestyle simulator might have seemed like a home run for Ms. Minaj’s first foray into mobile gaming, but its dated format is a relic of several outdated ideas about women in gaming (and its developers’ lazy assumptions that Nicki’s audience would be primarily women).
Def Jam Vendetta, Fight For NY, and Icon
Like a video game version of a posse cut, these games collect a roster of rapper to beat the hell out of each other in martial competition. The first one was a groundbreaking delight, the second is a damn classic, and the third tossed out a winning formula, effectively killing interest in the format. This is my semi-annual request for someone to figure out a way to do a new one of these with contemporary rappers (in the style of Fight for NY, not Icon).
Rap Jam Volume One
An utterly legendary release, likely thrown together to compete with the popularity of the NBA Jam franchise, Rap Jam has the distinction of being the first game to bring together a collective of real-life rappers — ’90s staples like Coolio, House of Pain, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, and Yo-Yo — for an unhinged basketball game that flouted the rules. It was developed by Motown during another one of the label’s ill-fated attempts at branching out, and while its name might suggest that there were more of these, its unimpressive quality meant that it was also the last of its kind.
Les Ardentes Festival means business. The festival will employ seven stages to handle all of the star power descending upon Liège, Belgium from Thursday, July 11, to Sunday, July 14. The 2024 lineup features DJ Snake, Gunna, Offset, Doja Cat, 21 Savage, Central Cee, Don Toliver, Nicki Minaj, Yeat, and so many more.
Check out the Les Ardentes Festival set times you need to know below, and find the full schedule exclusively on the Les Ardentes Festival app.
Here Are The Les Ardentes Festival Set Times For 2024
Set times are listed in local time and subject to change.
Thursday, July 11
Destroy Lonely is set to perform from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and the same stage (Big Eye) will host Gunna from 7:50 p.m. to 8:50 p.m. and Offset from 10:10 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. DJ Snake will close the night from 11:20 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Friday, July 12
Rosie will jumpstart the day from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sexyy Red is due to perform from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by 21 Savage from 10:20 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. and Doja Cat from 11:30 p.m. to 12:45 a.m.
Saturday, July 13
Ayra Starr will perform from 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. to set the tone for Zola (6:40 p.m. to 7:40 p.m.), Don Toliver (9:10 p.m. to 10:20 p.m.), and Central Cee (11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.) on the Phoenix stage.
Sunday, July 14
Yeat is due on Big Eye from 10:15 p.m. to 11:15 p.m., flowing right into Nicki Minaj punctuating the weekend from 11:30 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. on the Phoenix stage.
In a roundabout way, one of Doja Cat’s unspoken wishes might have just been granted. The “F*ck The Girls” rapper’s X (formerly Twitter) account appears to have been hacked by “Crypto Bros.”
Back in March, Doja Cat announced her hiatus from social media, stating mental health concerns due to the public’s constant criticism. But shortly after, she returned to tease her single, “Masc.” Today (July 8), Doja Cat took to her official Instagram page to confirm that her latest posts on X were indeed not her.
“My Twitter’s been hacked,” she wrote. “These messages are not from me.”
Instagram
The messages in question are several calls for her followers to invest in cryptocurrency.
Other uploads include shady notes directed at her rumored musical foes, Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj. Ironically, Azalea nearly found herself in a feud with SZA after she took to her page to promote another cryptocurrency in May.
Doja Cat isn’t afraid to be polarizing. It was the promotional game plan for her last album. It worked too, as the album contained massively successful singles. That being said, die-hard Doja fans were confused on July 8. The rapper seemingly targeted Iggy Azalea, and began to leave insulting comments under the “Fancy” artist’s posts. After a series of increasingly bizarre posts, however, fans determined that Doja’s account had been hacked. Iggy Azalea even addressed the hacker directly.
The first sign that something was off was when Doja Cat’s account left a childish insult underneath a photo ad of Azalea. “Shut up b*tch,” the tweet response read. It was the follow-up, however, that made it clear Doja Cat was not the person behind this attack. “F*ck that stupid b*tch @IGGYAZALEA,” the hacker posted. “And buy $DOJA.” It didn’t take long for Iggy Azalea to notice the bizarre string messages, and she promptly responded. Azalea made it clear that she’s the one running her social media account, and she sees these posts firsthand.
Hackers on celeb girl accounts again making it about me cause I’m their fixation but they didn’t consider the fact that I may actually interact w ppl in real life and it’s not fitting into reality lol https://t.co/cTeV1VSJno
“Hackers on celeb girl accounts again making it about me,” she tweeted. “Cause I’m their fixation but they didn’t consider the fact that I may actually interact w ppl in real life. It’s not fitting into reality lol.” Iggy Azalea then cleared the air between her and Doja Cat. She assured fans that they didn’t have any problems with each other, and were merely being pitted against each other by trolls. “Get rugged if yall want but I’m cool w that girl irl,” she added. “So yall f*cked up w that tweet hackers.”
Doja Cat and Iggy Azalea haven’t had too many interactions over the years. Ironically, Doja Cat went viral for comparing Azalea to Donald Trump in 2015. In a series of since-deleted tweets, Doja claimed that she hated Azalea’s music contributed nothing to the art form. “Iggy doesn’t do sh*t for me emotionally,” she explained. “Except for annoy the f*ck out of me immensely. It’s like if Donald Trump made music. Rich waste.” If Azalea’s claims of being “cool” with Doja Cat are truthful, then we can only assume the latter has changed her harsh tune.
Concerts, especially big-budget spectacles like Doja Cat’s ongoing The Scarlet Tour, are carefully planned affairs. That doesn’t mean that something can’t go wrong, though. That’s just what happened at a recent tour stop, where Doja was faced with a wardrobe malfunction.
As Billboard notes, this went down on June 19 at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Fan-shot video shows Doja struggling to get a dress unstuck from her corset, frustrated as she tugs at it. Doja, actually in rhythm with the song, then shouted into the microphone, “F*ck this dress! B*tch!” Eventually, a crew member emerged and managed to help Doja get the dress unstuck. Doja then angrily strutted away and gave a final, forceful “f*ck” into the mic for good measure.
Doja Cat had a wardrobe malfunction while performing “WYM Freestyle” at her ‘Scarlet Tour’ show in Amsterdam. pic.twitter.com/xcxoyl1TKf
If anything, this incident supports the point Doja made in April, that parents shouldn’t bring their kids to her concerts. In a trio of tweets at the time, she wrote, “idk what the f*ck you think this is but i don’t make music for children so leave your kids at home motherf*cker,” “im rapping about c*m why are you bringing your offspring to my show,” and “rappin about eatin dick and pissin on his v-cut, leave your mistake at home*.”
On September 28, the Great Lawn in New York City’s Central Park will play host to the 2024 Global Citizen Festival. The event is coming into shape with the headliners announced today, June 18: Doja Cat, Post Malone, Jelly Roll, and Rauw Alejandro lead the way, while additional performers are set to be announced.
The event is set to be hosted by Hugh Jackman (a Global Citizen Ambassador), while Jane Goodall and Coldplay’s Chris Martin (the latter being the Global Citizen festival curator) are expected to appear.
There are two main ways to get tickets. There’s a general on-sale that begins today at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster, or you can earn free tickets by “taking action” through Global Citizen. More information is available on the event website.
Doja said in a statement (as Billboard notes), “It’s been a few years since I was last on the Global Citizen Festival stage in Paris, and I’m excited to join forces with Global Citizen once again in Central Park this September to drive as much action as we can to make the world a better place. We all have a part we can play to help end extreme poverty and stand up for equity. I’m looking forward to being part of this major evening of positive change.”
A statement from organizers also notes, “The hunger crisis continues to grow, infectious diseases are still spreading, debt is on the rise, and last year was the hottest on record. Meanwhile, governments everywhere are reducing their contributions to foreign aid, with more than half of G7 countries having proposed cuts this year. Despite the emerging gap between what the world needs and what seems politically possible, the plight of the world’s most vulnerable communities is more urgent than ever. This is a critical year for the global community to support frontline organizations, invest in lifesaving solutions, and act today, to save tomorrow.”
Doja Cat’s sense of humor isn’t for everybody. She has thrown fans off a few times with her off-beat (okay, unhinged) humor, from nearly getting into beef with another artist over a quirky impression to a spoof interview with her alter ego, “Scarlet,” who she asked to “sh*t on my face.”
During her recent Parklife Festival set, her jokey attempt to show appreciation for one of her inspirations was met with confusion by the crowd — a reaction that disgusted Doja Cat. Trying to lead a singalong to Hilary Duff’s “Come Clean,” Doja was frustrated by the silence that followed. “B*tch, you don’t know that sh*t?” she asked incredulously. “What the f*ck?”
Of course, “Come Clean” came out well over 20 years ago, when Doja herself was only eight years old (arguably in the song’s target audience). There’s a possibility that much of the Parklife crowd was either (a) not born yet, or (b) not big fans of the then-Disney Channel star. Still, she does have some call for her surprise at the crowd’s disinterest; “Come Clean” was Duff’s first top 40 single, peaking at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA, despite receiving only mixed reviews from critics.
Lists have become lighting rods of controversy. Music fans are still reeling from the outrage that was sparked by Apple Music’s 100 greatest albums of all time. Now, it’s Billboard’s turn. The outlet put out a ranking of the hottest female rappers right now, and unsurprisingly, the comment section was flooded with complaints and/or talking points. Some fans felt that it was incomplete, others felt it was ignoring less popular but more artistically ambitious rappers. Some were mad that Nicki Minaj claimed the top spot.
To be fair, Minaj laid the groundwork for the rest of the rappers on the list. She’s also had a resurgence in the last year, thanks to a number one single and a record-breaking tour. Nicki Minaj is as big as a female rapper can get, according to the stats, and that’s not even taking her huge influence into account. Cardi B, GloRilla, and Doja Cat have all cited Minaj as an inspiration on their own style. GloRilla went as far as to say Minaj gets too much hate considering all the doors she opened for female rappers. Be that as it may, rappers like Sexyy Red and Megan Thee Stallion have had meteoric rises in recent years. They place at number two and three, respectively. Doja Cat and Ice Spice round out the top five, despite the former being more of a singer/pop star historically.
As some fans have pointed out, though, Doja Cat has had way more success than Megan or Sexyy Red. She’s scored multiple number one singles as a featured and solo artist, and her albums sell significantly more than everybody else on the list. “Why TF is Megan higher than Doja,” asked one user, which was a sentiment shared by another: “Lol in no world is Meg better than Doja.” Others felt that Megan should be at the top of the list. There were fans who believed Sexyy Red has had the most eyes on her in 2024, and therefore is most deserving of the “hottest” title. “Sexy [sic] is clearly the hottest out,” one IG user wrote.
Then the attention turned to commissions. The missing name that really rubbed fans the wrong way was Rapsody. The North Carolina native is the most respected female rapper working today, and she just put out another acclaimed album, Please Don’t Cry, in May. “No Rapsody is an automatic ignore,” one IG user posited. “Rapsody is LIGHT years better than this entire list,” another wrote. “No shade tho.” Other huge names who were thrown out as being worthy for consideration were Che Noir, Lola Brooke and Kamaiyah. What do you think of the Billboard list? Who got snubbed, and who was placed too high?
Hot97’s Summerjam, held in New York at the UBS Arena, drew an electrifying crowd of 19,000 fans. The festival began with a high-energy Pre-Summer Jam festival, leading into a night full of music, dance, and unforgettable moments. From long-time listeners to new fans, everyone found something to enjoy, creating a unifying experience that celebrated hip-hop’s rich history.
Doja Cat, Sexyy Red, French Montana, and Davido headlined the event with breathtaking performances. Hip hop legends Method Man and Redman energized the crowd with “Da Rockwilder,” while Lola Brooke mesmerized with hits like “Don’t Play With It.” Viral star Cash Cobain kept fans on their feet with “Fisherrr.” Big Daddy Kane honored Mister Cee with a heartfelt tribute, and Doja Cat closed the night with a mesmerizing set featuring surprise guests ASAP Ferg, Busta Rhymes, and Gunna.
Celebrating Hip-Hop’s Legacy
HOT 97 Summerjam’s 30th anniversary wasn’t just a concert; it was a celebration of hip-hop’s enduring legacy. The event showcased both the genre’s historic past and its vibrant future, highlighting how integral Summerjam has become to hip-hop culture. This year’s festival reinforced Summerjam’s status as a crucial event for fans and artists alike.
Exclusive Media Lounge
The exclusive media lounge hosted artists like Offset, ASAP Ferg, and Davido. Celebrities enjoyed gifts from Ellesse and engaged in interviews with Fox 5’s Lisa Evers and HOT97 personalities DJ Mike Medium and DJ Wallah. Sexxy Red turned heads on the red carpet with her unique teddy bear, adding to the night’s excitement.
Hot97’s Summerjam has consistently been a cornerstone of hip-hop culture, bringing together the biggest names in the industry and highlighting emerging talents.
This celebration of hip-hop continues as the genre evolves and grows. Next up, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of new music from some of the artists who performed at Summerjam, promising even more excitement in the hip-hop and R&B world.
Malak of 5th Avenue
(@Malakof5thAve) July 27, 2024
