Hip Hop News

Talib Kweli says that De La Soul now owns the rights to their music after years of not have control of their catalog. He did not confirm if their albums would appear on streaming services.

“Ladies and gentlemen I spoke to @djmaseo from the legendary @wearedelasoul today and it’s official… after years of being taken advantage by the recording industry in the worst possible ways, De La Soul now owns all the rights to their masters and is in full control of the amazing music they have created,” Kweli wrote, Saturday night. “Let’s salute Plugs 1, 2 and 3 for sticking to their guns and showing us that we can all beat the system if we come together as a community. Let’s hear it for black ownership of black art! Congratulations fellas…”

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The group’s debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, is widely considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, but a younger audience has been unable to stream the project as it has been kept off of streaming services. Earlier this year, Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy, which owned De La Soul’s back catalog, for $100 million. The company has said they are working to get the music online.

Check out Kweli’s announcement below.

Comedian Trevor Moore died, Friday night, at the age of 41 following an accident, according to his wife and manager, Aimee Carlson. Moore was best known as the co-creator of The Whitest Kids U Know.

“We are devastated by the loss of my husband, best friend and the father of our son,” Carlson said in a statement. “He was known as a writer and comedian to millions, and yet to us he was simply the center of our whole world. We don’t know how we’ll go on without him, but we’re thankful for the memories we do have that will stay with us forever. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone. This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you please respect our privacy during this time of grieving.”

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In addition to being a founding member of The Whitest Kids U Know comedy troupe, Moore worked behind the scenes on Saturday Night Live, made appearances on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Funny or Die, and more.

“Early this morning, we learned that we lost our brother, our collaborator and the driving force behind WKUK,” his collaborators, Sam Brown and Zach Cregger wrote in a statement to Variety. “He was our best friend, and we speak for all of us in saying that the loss of Trevor is unimaginable. We are heartbroken and our grief pales in comparison to the loss felt by his wife and son. On behalf of WKUK, we ask for privacy during our time of profound grief, and strength for his family who are dealing with the impossible thought of living life without him. Our hope is that friends, fellow artists, and fans that loved him will not focus on his death, but will remember the countless moments of laughter he gave them.”

After news of his passing, fans shared their favorite sketches on social media.

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Kit Harrington recently opened up regarding his struggle with mental health during and after Game of Thrones, stemming from “pretty traumatic” events. Harrington spoke about the struggle of going sober afterward in an interview with The Times.

“You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person. And you feel that there’s no way out, that’s just who you are,” he explained. “And getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change.’ One of my favorite things I learnt recently is that the expression ‘a leopard doesn’t change its spots’ is completely false: that a leopard actually does change its spots.”

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He continued: “I just think that’s the most beautiful thing. It really helped. That was something I kind of clung to; the idea that I could make this huge fundamental change in who I was and how I went about my life.”

He went on to explain that he’s suffered from depression in the past and has even felt suicidal before.

“I went through periods of real depression where I wanted to do all sorts of things…maybe [speaking about this will] help someone, somewhere,” he added. “But I definitely don’t want to be seen as a martyr or special. I’ve been through something, it’s my stuff. If it helps someone, that’s good.”

Harrington took a one-year break from acting after the finale of Game of Thrones.

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Isaiah Rashad discussed SZA’s recording process in a new interview with Apple Music 1’s Nadeska, and referred to the CTRL singer as a “perfectionist.” Rashad also spoke about her contributions to his new album, The House Is Burning.

“We respect each other so much, like artistically and then like personally knowing like we have other things going on,” Isaiah Rashad said in the interview. “So when we hang, we try not to make music. So this one kind of took us like, just being okay with just doing it. Like we’re going to, because we know we’re going to do it. And knowing the song, knowing them what song it was, we both procrastinate. Sometimes she’ll make some of our best at the last minute.”

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Rashad also celebrated the success of her two songs, “Hit Different” and “Good Days.”

He continued: “I guess maybe the on top of like the fear of failing, not being willing to fail can push out something like that. And it was just cool, just linking with her on that. But I’m surprised that I’m putting my actually, especially with her having like two of the biggest songs of the year.

“And then she been in her zone so much, like being a perfectionist,” he added. “I’m just happy that she wanted to do this. Cause she really took some time apart. She was in a studio for like a week trying to make it exactly as she wants to make it. It’s always beautiful.”

Check out the interview here.

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In his latest cinematic play, Lebron James will be producing a new Native American basketball film titled Rez Ball. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the story, “follows the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, that must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive. It’s an all-American underdog story about Navajo kids and coaches told from the inside-out.”

Sydney Freeland, is set to direct the film, co-writing it along with Sterlin Harjo, who co-created FX’s Reservation Dogs.

The script is adapted from Michael Powell’s Canyon Dreams sports novel, incorporating pieces from his own New York Times articles which preceded the original book. The overarching story focus on “reservation basketball,” a fast-paced iteration of the sport that many credit with influencing top NBA teams and coaches.

“Basketball on the Rez is like high school football in West Texas,” says Freeland. “It has a fanatical following that few sports can rival. This is a story that’s commonplace on Indian reservations all over the US, but most people aren’t even aware it exists. What we want to do is bring people into our world, to tell a story about the people and places we know, and what better way to do that than through a sports movie?”

 T-Pain says he took Jay-Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” as a personal diss because he saw himself as “the face of Auto-Tune” at the time. Pain discussed his reaction to the classic track during a new interview on the Drink Champs podcast.

“Of course! A wise man once said, ‘You can’t knock the hustle,’” T-Pain said when asked by Co-host N.O.R.E. whether he thought the track was a diss was he first heard it. “I’m the face of this. Just like Lil Yachty was the face of mumble rap—anytime somebody talk about mumble rap, Lil Yachty was the first person to come up. I was the face of Auto-Tune. Anytime somebody said, ‘Auto-Tune,’ I’m the face. So, when you say Auto-Tune is wack, I’m the face.”

He continued: “If I woulda said fuckin’ blue Yankees are terrible, everybody woulda been like, ‘Oh you dissin’ Jay-Z now?’ … Anytime [Jay] says something is wack, it’s trash.”

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“D.O.A.” was released in 2009 and fans quickly assumed it was T-Pain who was being targeted, but Jay shut that rumor down in an interview with Hot 97 shortly after the track’s release.

“You n***as singin’ too much/Get back to rap, you T-Painin’ too much,” Hov rapped on the track.

Check out the interview below.

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