Hip Hop News

171 days have passed since the Hip-Hop community welcomed Bobby Shmurda as he victoriously emerged from a six-year stint in prison. To some fans’ frustration, the “Hot N*gga” rapper has released hardly any new music within those 171 days. With no “First Day Out” freestyle and just one guest feature on Eladio Carrion’s Spanish smash “TATA” to hold fans over, plenty of skeptics have started to question Bobby Shmurda’s post-prison strategy.

Well, it appears, that Bobby Shmurda has been intentional and well-calculated ever since his release from prison in February, and he has reportedly reorganized his entire team, starting with a management deal with Roc Nation.

According to Complex, Bobby Shmurda has been working extremely closely with the same management team that worked with Meek Mill following his release from prison in 2018, which adds context to Bobby’s appearance at Michael Rubin’s massive 4th of July party. What’s also interesting is that as he works to complete his debut album, Roc Nation has also reportedly been fielding film and documentary deals.  

HipHopDX reports that the JAY-Z-led company has been thumbing through offers from various distributors who are interested in producing a feature film or a documentary surrounding Bobby Shmurda’s fan-favorite comeback story.

“He’ll ask questions and not just ask but actually comprehend,” Mike Brinkley, Roc Nation’s senior vice president of artist management said of Bobby Shurda during a recent interview with The New York Times. “Meeting him for the first time, you can’t even fathom what he went through because he doesn’t wear it. He’s like, ‘I’m here to work, what do you need me to do?'”

Do Bobby Shmurda’s strategic moves with Roc Nation’s management team make you more excited about his upcoming music? And are you down for a potential movie about the iconic Brooklyn rapper?

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If there is one type of person you should never mess with, it is a UFC fighter. Months ago, one guy tried to break into Jon Jones’ house, and it ended with the UFC fighter chasing the man down with a shotgun. After that, it should have become crystal clear that MMA fighters are not to be tried or played with. Well, apparently, someone didn’t get the message as earlier this week, a man tried to steal Jordan Williams’ car.

Williams posted about the incident on his Instagram page, and luckily for all of his fans, he even had some surveillance footage of the whole thing. Typically, these things can go under the radar although this time around, we were blessed with a front-row view to the entire proceedings.

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In the clip, you can see how a man crept up on Williams’ car and began to get in. He eventually put the car in reverse although Williams ran out of the store and opened the car door before delivering some knee strikes to the man’s body. From there, the perpetrator got out and ran away which allowed Williams to get his car back.

“I have a push to start and my car won’t go unless the keys are within 5 ft of it and I have them on me always. Needless to say my lesson was learned and I hope so was his,” Williams wrote. “Wish I would of hit him with the trip after the clinch work when I tossed him out of the whip, and finish off with some ground and pound but I’ll settle with getting my car back.”

Williams eventually went on TMZ to talk about the attempted carjacking, and as he noted, it was quite the ordeal. Thankfully, however, everything worked out in his favor. 

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Artists have come to learn that more often than not, a Verzuz battle can lead to an immediate surge in streaming traffic. Such was indeed the case for both The LOX and Dipset, who recently faced off against one another live at Madison Square Garden.

Though it was unanimously declared that Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch held it down for a resounding victory, the Dipset nostalgia was not to be counted out. According to a new report from Billboard, the legendary hip-hop crews experienced massive increases on the streaming end in the days following their battle. In fact, the publication notes that The LOX and Dipset both enjoyed one of the biggest streaming weeks of their respective careers. 

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According to the report, the LOX were the biggest beneficiaries, with 3.4 million U.S. on-demand streams in the week of August 5th, a  215% rise from the previous week’s total of 1.1 million. Billboard notes that the gargantuan rise was enough to net the group the fifth-best streaming week of their career; their highest came following the release of their 2020 album Living Off Xperience, which netted them 6.6 million streams.

On Dipset’s end, Cam, Juelz, Freekey, and Jim Jones saw their work netting 2 million streams, a 117% rise from their previous week’s total of 919,000. Billboard notes that the week was Dipset’s fourth-best, with their biggest having arrived when they scored 4.8 million on Nov. 29, 2018. — right after they dropped their Diplomatic Ties album.

For more specifics surrounding the respective streaming catalogs of The LOX and Dipset, be sure to check out the full report from Billboard right here. Were you among the millions queuing up your favorite LOX and Diplomats classics this past week? 

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With COVID-19 cases rising all around the United States, many are looking to get vaccinated as a way of preventing serious illness from the virus. There are various people out there who feel as though the vaccine is some sort of poison that will leave them with serious complications, while others have been trying to educate anti-vaxxers about the benefits of the vaccine. Either way, the vaccine has proven to be a polarizing issue that has many taking strong stances on either side of the coin.

In New York City, Mayor Bill De Blasio is instituting vaccine mandates as a way to force people to get the jab. The city was hit heavily by COVID when the pandemic first started, and this new mandate is a way to keep public places safe for those who have already gone out and gotten the vaccine.

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In a new statement on Twitter, the Brooklyn Nets revealed that they would be complying with the new rules and that all fans, as well as employees, would have to get vaccinated in order to enter the Barclays Center. Proof of vaccination will now be required at the door, and as you can imagine, this is a bit of a controversial decision.

Numerous fans took to Twitter to voice their displeasure over the rules noting that they will no longer be attending games. On the flip side of that, many fans were happy about the move as they now feel safer when entering the arena.

You can see what people had to say about the ordeal, down below.

A day after rumors started circulating that Nicki Minaj may be trying to distance herself from Kenneth Petty, some troubling news has surfaced regarding the famous couple. Apparently, the Queen rapper’s marriage continues to be affected by the repercussions of her husband’s controversial legal history. In 1995, Kenneth Petty was convicted of trying to rape Jennifer Hough, and after serving time in prison, Petty registered as a sex offender in New York.

Now, Hough is suing both Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty for years of alleged harassment. According to TMZ, Hough attests that the Queen rapper and her husband have been directly and indirectly pressuring, bribing, and threatening her to not speak about the incident or recant her story altogether since 2018. 

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Last spring, however, the alleged tension between the Pettys and Hough reportedly got even worse after Kenneth was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender upon moving to California. According to TMZ, Hough has stated in court documents that Nicki allegedly called her and personally offered to fly her and her family to Los Angeles in exchange for recanting her 1994 rape claims against Petty. After declining the offer, Hough claims that she has been offered a $500,000 payment from one of the Petty’s associates, bombarded with unsolicited visits from their lawyers, and threatened time and time again.

According to TMZ, Hough even had to move away from her home in August 2020, and since she still lives in fear, she has decided to take legal action against Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty.

Stay tuned for more details surrounding this pending litigation involving Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty.

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Travis Scott is easily one of the biggest artists in the world right now and as a result, he has received some pretty big endorsement deals with the likes of Sony, McDonald’s, and even Nike. Over the years, Scott has delivered a plethora of dope sneaker collabs to the market and with each new shoe, fans continue to show their excitement and support.

Today, Scott dropped off his new collab with Fragment on the Air Jordan 1 Low. This shoe was highly anticipated although with the release going down on the Nike SNKRS App, fans knew that it was going to be difficult to get their hands on a pair. As you will quickly find out in the comments below, the SNKRS App mania was something to behold as numerous fans lost out on their chance at the shoe.

With retail pairs going for $150 USD, the collab proved to be quite affordable, although the resale market currently has these kicks going for thousands. Needless to say, the SNKRS App drop was a lot of people’s best chance at glory, and it all went up in smoke. On Twitter, fans were quick to describe their Ls all while cursing out the SNKRS App for another fruitless endeavor.

The SNKRS App is notorious for its ability to crush your soul, and today, it showed the full range of its power. Hopefully next time around, fans are given a better chance at their favorite kicks. 

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

For a man who deems himself the Certified Lover Boy, Drake appears to be experiencing a classic case of fear of commitment. Release dates have come and gone, potential windows have slammed shut. Countless pictures of the 6ix God spending tireless hours recording vocals in the booth, including one posted only yesterday. Clearly, the anticipated project isn’t quite finished, though all signs seem to point to an imminent release.

Now, DJ Khaled has come through to make things even more uncertain. No stranger to the inner workings of Drizzy’s mind, having collaborated on many different occasions at this point, Khaled took a moment to stir up hype for Certified Lover Boy on his Instagram page.

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“LET JAH RISE and all his enemies scatter!” writes Khaled, alongside an image of the two “POPSTAR” pals. “SOUND THE ALARM OF LOVE. CERTIFIED SOON COME! PON YOUR [DOME] Spelling B time again. HOW DO YOU SPELL CLB SOON COMING PON YOUR HEAD TOP. D.R.A.K.E.” 

Aside from being untethered by the rules of proper spelling, Khaled’s post seems to indicate that Drake’s next body of work will be arriving shortly. Curiously, Drizzy’s old buddy Kanye West is also having similar release date woes, and it’s entirely possible that they’d like to avoid claiming the same real estate. Or perhaps not — after all, it wouldn’t be the first time Yeezy battled a heavyweight for the top-selling album, and a little bit of healthy competition with Drizzy would certainly spark an interesting narrative.

Either way, we can only hope to see Drake engage in a more conclusive rollout soon. All of this suspense has left fans grasping at straws, seeking solace from DJ Khaled’s Instagram captions. Speaking of which, observe the Khaled prophecy below. 

Lonzo Ball is officially a member of the Chicago Bulls, and fans of the team couldn’t be any happier. In its current form, the Bulls roster is pretty stacked thanks to Zach LaVine, Ball, and DeMar DeRozan. While the Bulls might not be the best team in the Eastern Conference, they are definitely a team that should make the playoffs, if everyone is firing on all cylinders.

The Bulls have been bad for quite some time, although these latest additions indicate just how ready this Bulls franchise is to start winning again. Their fans have been begging for a change, and after years of underperforming, that change is finally here.

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Today, DeRozan and Ball got to participate in their introductory press conferences with the team. Lonzo was asked plenty of questions by reporters, and at one point, Ball got to explain exactly why he chose the Chicago Bulls over other franchises. As you will come to find out, this is a team that Lonzo felt good about from the start.

“(The Bulls) were the team that stood out that really wanted me for me. I wanted to go somewhere I’m appreciated and can play my game. Chicago is the perfect place for that,” Lonzo explained. He also gave props to some of the players on the Bulls and how the roster is looking very solid.

Lonzo and the Bulls have the potential to be great this year, and if they’re able to get it done, then it’s safe to say that Ball will be beloved in the city for years to come. 

Meek Mill has had issues with Wack 100 for a long time, and they’re adding a new wrinkle to their feud with Meek’s latest comments about the hip-hop manager.

A well-respected figure in gang culture, Wack 100 caused some friction when he got buddy-buddy with Tekashi 6ix9ine, interviewing the controversial rapper on DJ Akademiks’ new podcast. Considering the fact that Meek Mill also has issues with 6ix9ine, it was inevitable that he would comment on Wack’s decision to interview him, and he officially did on Friday.

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“Wack 100 tryna keep that manipulative stupid mindframe in tact to control and influence the younger gangs he need protection from and to use,” tweeted the Philadelphia rapper. “Let’s have a real gangsta meeting in private with farakhan and other strong black men and speak as men and stop embarrassing ourself!”

He quickly followed up on his tweet to correct himself, and also add more. 

“Minister Farrakhan* correction ..and I don’t need nobody in the room to protect me I can speak for myself,” he continued. “These guys like secret agents tryna crash the rappers …. we tryna win … I don’t wanna beef .. but we ain’t gone give them chumps one chance to mess our lives up!”

Wack 100 has not responded to Meek’s request for a meeting yet. We will keep you posted on his reply.

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