Hip Hop News

Machine Gun Kelly Shaves Head For New Single, Reveals Another Tattoo

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Making headlines for fashion and appearance choices is nothing new for Machine Gun Kelly. In fact, it’s only been a few months since he garnered mixed reviews for his sharp nail extensions to the iHeart Radio Awards, though nobody denied he and girlfriend Megan Fox were best dressed at this year’s BBMA’s.

This week, Machine Gun Kelly is turning heads after he took a pair of clippers and shaved his long, bleached hair completely off. He described the move on Twitter as being for his new single “Paper Cuts,” which is set to release Wednesday night with a Cole Bennett video. 

MGK first teased a new project last week, announcing that he was re-partnering with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker for the new album. The duo got matching “Born With Horns” tattoos to commemorate the new album of the same name. Barker also produced/peformed on MGK’s last record, Tickets to my Downfall, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was a massive success.

“I shaved my head for this @_ColeBennett_ “papercuts” tomorrow 9pm,” MGK tweeted alongside a screenshot of his FaceTime call with Bennett. In the picture, you can see the singer left no hair untouched– MGK is completely bald. However, interestingly enough, his bare scalp features a massive Avatar the Last Airbender-esque arrow tattoo, though it’s unclear if this is a new or old addition to his tattoo collection. Perhaps MGK shaves his own head in the actual music video? It seems we’ll know by tonight. 

Do you think this is a good look? Check it out below as well as some fan reactions.

midwxst Reveals He Got Into Music From “Roblox” On “Top 5s”

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Indiana-based artist midwxst has been going viral on TikTok all year with his hyperpop-rap blend, creating a whole new lane for himself. As the next generation gravitates toward a more electronic style of production, especially in pop and hip-hop, midwxst caters to them with his playful energy and vibe. As he continues to gain recognition ahead of the release of his new EP BACK IN ACTION, the “Tic Tac Toe” artist stopped by to tell us a little more about himself and where he’s from, starring in the latest episode of Top 5s.

The rising star started off by naming his favorite things to do in the oft-overlooked state of Indiana, placing a particular focus on his city, Carmel. Describing himself as a “happy nerd” who grew up in a military family and had aspirations to join the army himself, midwxst reveals that his main hobby in Indiana is to go paintballing with his friends.

Much like YBN Nahmir, Almighty Jay, and Cordae began rapping after meeting each other playing Xbox, midwxst also transitioned to a career in music from video gaming. His favorite franchise, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Call Of Duty, but it was another game that got him started in music.

“I literally got into music from Roblox,” admitted the artist. “It’s a crazy coincidence. I was in the car community in Roblox for the longest and a bunch of people would build 3D models of cars in Blender, which is a 3D software. From that, I got into the car community but the car community opened the door to the music community for me ’cause there were some producers in the little Discord community I was in. They sent me beats, I started recording over those beats and I created a really good friendship with them.”

Check out the new episode of Top 5s with midwxst above and be sure to listen to his new single here.

Lil Nas X Discusses The Stigmas Bottoms Face After Coming Out As One On ‘Holiday’

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Lil Nas X got real about a sexual preference of his on “Holiday” when he rapped, “Ayy, can I pop sh*t? / I might bottom on the low, but I top sh*t.” Now, the rapper, one of music’s most visible members of the LGBTQ community, has spoken out about being a bottom in a new Variety interview, in which he discusses some stigmas bottoms face.

He said, “I feel like even within the gay community, people see bottoming as a joke or something, and somebody who bottoms is beneath a top or something. The idea of that, I feel like, is a form of misogyny between men, you know? It doesn’t make any sense, and people attribute certain traits to whichever sexual position you decide to take. A lot of people say, ‘It’s just a joke.’ But all jokes have truths to them.”

Elsewhere, he speaks about how fame has impacted his love life, saying, “Before fame, I didn’t really have a sexual life besides one person or two. It’s definitely made things a lot more interesting, to say the least. I’ve had some good boyfriends, some bad ones. A lot of them emotionally unavailable and whatnot. A lot of insecurity between them. But yeah, I found somebody special now.”

Check out the full feature here.

Est Gee’s ‘5500 Degree’ Video Is A Massive Flex Featuring Lil Baby, 42 Dugg And Rylo

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Steadily dropping new singles all summer, rising Louisville rapper Est Gee has been on a run lately with track like “Riata Dada,” “Price Tag,” and “Capitol 1,” all of which appeared on his Bigger Than Life Or Death project from last month. That album also cracked the Billboard 200 chart, hitting No. 7, and dith momentum like that, all anyone would expect Est Gee to do is keep dropping new music. Today, that’s exactly what he’s done — although, if he’s going to be meeting up with Jay Z to put in work at the studio, he better come alone.

His latest single “5500 Degrees” is a study in the art of the posse cut, with Lil Baby, 42 Dugg, and Rylo all joining in. The video is a massive flex with stacks of cash everywhere, lots of fancy cars, diamond encrusted chains, and all the rappers partying together, celebrating their abundance. The track is a clever update of Juvenile’s 1998 classic “400 Degreez,” and is just another example of how ’90s nostalgia is finding its way into hip-hop and the pop mainstream of late. All the rappers deliver on their verses, but Lil Baby’s final, rapid-fire effort is definitely worth sticking around for. Watch the video above and look out for more new music from Est Gee coming soon.

Isaiah Rashad And Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘From The Garden’ Video Is Trippy and Twerking-Fueled

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Last week Isaiah Rashad dropped his excellent new album, The House Is Burning, which our hip-hop editor Aaron Williams described as depicting ” the tension between that sense of helplessness in the face of certain doom and our own… need to press forward as though this is all normal, even though we know it’s not.” This week, Rashad is keeping up the stream of new material by dropping a video for the Lil Uzi Vert-featuring “From The Garden.” The visuals start off in black and white, with Rashad rapping and walking through the neighborhood, lingering outside a line to get into a club, where 4-wheelers and expensive cars line the street.

Lil Uzi Vert does show up in the clip to rap alongside Rashad, wielding a 4-wheeler of his own in a return to black and white visuals that multiply and divide like a trippy ’70s video where twerking abounds. Cutting back to the club from earlier, more hijinks abound as someone drops a pizza, and Rashad makes it rain with fistfuls of money outside the club, as patrons eagerly run over to grab the cash. Check out the Omar Jones-directed visuals above and read our full review of The House Is Burning here.

Hyperpop Rapper Midwxst Releases New Single “Tic Tac Toe”

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Hyper-pop has been dominating all year with artists including 100 gecs, glaive, and many others making noise on the internet. With an amplified focus on catchy melodies and electronic-based nostalgic production, a lane has been forming for hip-hop to create yet another subgenre, slightly differing from the rage sound being popularized by artists like Trippie Redd, Playboi Carti, and Lil Uzi Vert.

Over the last few months, Indiana artist midwxst has been blowing up on TikTok, creating unmissable rhymes over blaring synths and production that feels like it was made specifically for 16-bit video games. Today, the rising rapper released his new video for “Tic Tac Toe,” making his official HNHH introduction with the Nirvan-directed video.

midwxst is truly like nothing that you’ve heard before in hip-hop. Check out his new song below.

Quotable Lyrics:

Playin’ my opps like tic tac toe
If I really wanted to, I could steal your hoe
My head on a swivel, I stay on my toes
Don’t wanna text you, I’m finna go ghost
Doin’ too much, bitch you doin’ the most
When I get me a deal, I’m finna have a toast
Go to Chicago, I feel like D Rose
You know that I’m speeding when I hit the road

Yella Beezy Arrested On Drug & Weapons Charges: Report

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Dallas rapper Yella Beezy was reportedly arrested on Wednesday with drug and weapons charges. The news comes after the rapper posted a video of law enforcement officers seemingly searching his vehicle’s trunk on Tuesday night.

“They stay fwm,” wrote the “That’s On Me” artist as blue and red lights flashed in a video posted to Instagram Stories. He has not commented further on his reported arrest.

According to TMZ’s report, Yella Beezy is presently in police custody. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon. The drug charge is a felony and the weapons charge is a misdemeanor. 


Amy Sussman/Getty Images 

This marks the rapper’s second arrest this year. Back in February, he was nabbed on weapons charges, but he later claimed that he was set up. He reportedly had five guns at the time of his arrest and was released from jail on the same day he was booked.

There is not much information available pertaining to Yella Beezy’s arrest this week. As more updates are released, we will keep you posted.

We spoke with Yella Beezy at the end of last year. You can read the full interview here.

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