Hip Hop News

Giannis Antetokounmpo Has Surprising Take On Being Face Of The NBA

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Giannis Antetokounmpo shocked the world this season as he was able to defy the odds and with the NBA Championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis’ 50-point performance in Game 6 was truly phenomenal and it was good enough to get him the Finals MVP trophy, for all of his hard work throughout the series against the Phoenix Suns. Now, Giannis is back home in Greece, and he is celebrating his time off with his family and friends.

The Greek Freak is a massive superstar in his native country and there is no doubt that fans are excited to see him back home. Greece has never had a player of Giannis’ caliber before, and it’s likely he won’t have to pay for a single meal during his stay in the country.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Recently, Giannis was asked by journalist Harris Stavrou about whether or Giannis thinks he is the face of the NBA right now. Surprisingly, Giannis shut the question down quickly as he said that he doesn’t care about such a designation. In fact, he would much rather have other NBA stars get that title.

“I don’t care about being the face of the NBA. KD or Harden can be. I want to be with my kids and my family, I want to win and enjoy the game. I want to be Giannis the hard worker,” Antetokounmpo said matter of factly.

Giannis is one of those players that prefer to remain lowkey, and you have to respect it given everything he has accomplished. His legacy is bulletproof at this point, and no one will be able to take his championship away from him.

Marjorie Harvey Flaunts Virgil Abloh Designed Airplane LV Bag That’s Worth A Tesla

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Marjorie Harvey, the wife of Steve Harvey, just flossed one of the most unique bags on the planet. The Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2021 airplane bag designed by Virgil Abloh comes at a price tag of $39,000, matching that of a Model 3 Standard Range Tesla. The bag doesn’t really look practical at all, and is bulky and somewhat ugly. The lane shape is covered in LV branding, with weird little black straps coming off the top to form a handle.

In a video, Harvey seems shocked to have gotten the bag. She questions if it’s some type of gift sent by the company, and you can hear her kind of laughing about it. “What is this that just arrived at my house?” she questions. “Did you all send this as a gift? What am I supposed to do with this?” she laughs.  

The funny thing is, you can buy a real single-engine plane for that price. When the bag was first revealed, the internet was confused as to the purpose of the bag. However, it’s being called a “statement piece,” made more for shock value than actual use. What do you think about the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2021 airplane bag designed by Virgil Abloh?

Prince’s Estate Sold Almost Half Of The Late Singer’s Rights To A New York Publisher

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This past Friday, Prince’s estate released Welcome 2 America, the late singer’s first full album solely comprised of previously unreleased material. The 11-track project — which was recorded back in 2010 prior to his Welcome 2 America tour — captured Prince’s concerns, hopes, and visions for society at that moment and how he believed politics, disinformation, and the growing push for social justice would affect the world in the future. Now his estate has made some new moves that may make even more of his work more accessible.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the late singer’s three youngest siblings agreed to sell a large portion of their inheritance in the estate to Primary Wave, an independent New York music publisher and talent management company, which is in control of a catalog that also includes music from Ray Charles, Nirvana, and more.

According to Rolling Stone, the exchange grants Primary Wave the rights to Prince’s name and likeness, royalties from his masters and publishing rights, as well as his beloved Paisley Park studios. The late singer’s three oldest siblings — Sharon, Norrine, and John Nelson — have all said they have no plans to sell any part of their stake in the estate. “We’ll never sell out. We know the prize,” Sharon said to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

L. Londell McMillan, a New York lawyer that represents Sharon, Norrine, and John Nelson shared a statement on behalf of the trio. “There’s not much anyone can do about family members who sell out for the dollar,” he said. “That’s their right.”

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

BangBangSg Puts On For Philadelphia With New Project “Bando Season”

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Coming out of Philadelphia, BangBangSg has been steadily building a large fanbase that is always looking forward to his next move. The artist is known for some braggadocios tracks but he is also known for his storytelling ability. From his humble beginnings in Philly, BangBangSg has a lot to rap about and he makes sure to leave it all out on his records. After a successful collaboration with EST Gee called “Catch A Body,” it was only a matter of time before BangBangSg dropped a full-length project.

On Friday, that is exactly what he did as he blessed his fans with his latest effort called Bando Season. This brand new tape contains 10 tracks and clocks in at about 26 minutes which makes it a quick and digestible listen. There are a few features to be found on the album including verses from EST Gee, Babyface Ray, Benjy, IDKMir, Kobe SWP, and City Rominiecki. Overall, this is a project that does a great job of showcasing BangBangSg’s talents, and if you’re already a fan, this will prove to be among your favorite projects from him.

Let us know what you think of the tape, in the comments below.

Jennifer Hudson Performs “Respect” In New Clip of Aretha Franklin Biopic

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Aretha Franklin’s Respect biopic will soon arrive in theaters and just ahead of its release, fans get a look at how star Jennifer Hudson is portraying the Queen Of Soul.

In a newly-published clip, Hudson assumes her role as the late Franklin during a performance of her quintessential “Respect” track, reenacting the 1968 show that Franklin put on at Madison Square Garden. Hudson is seen in a baby blue dress and a hairstyle true to the period as she manipulates her vocals to do Franklin justice.

The film, which is due in theaters on August 13, will document Franklin’s origins, singing as a young girl at her father’s church, following her personal and professional life with focuses on her abusive marriage as well as her involvement in the civil rights movement.

Directed by Liesl Tommy, Respect finds Hudson starring alongside the likes of Forest Whitaker and Marlon Wayans. Notably, Hudson was hand-picked by Franklin to take on the role prior to her passing in a shortlist that also included names like Fantasia Barrino.

“I’m just honored that she picked me to play her,” Hudson stated earlier in the year. “I mean, who can say that? […] I would have never done it without her wishes.”

Ahead of the film’s official release, Hudson has descended upon Franklin’s native Detroit for a slew of promotional activities in addition to a private screening of the film with friends and family of the musical legend.

Aretha Franklin passed away in August of 2018 at the age of 76 after a battle of pancreatic cancer.

DaBaby Has Been Dropped From Lollapalooza’s 2021 Festival Lineup

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The homophobic rant DaBaby delivered during last weekend’s Rolling Loud festival in Miami was met with plenty of backlash. His rant — which also targeted people with HIV/AIDS — earned him criticism from Madonna, Dua Lipa, Elton John, Questlove, and more, while BoohooMan terminated their partnership with him. Now, his actions have impacted one of his bigger gigs.

On Sunday, Lollapalooza announced that DaBaby would no longer perform at the show, just a half-hour before the final day of the festival began. “Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love,” read a statement put out by the festival. “With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight.” The festival also announced that Young Thug will take the show’s 9 p.m. slot, while G Herbo will step into the 4 p.m. slot to accommodate the gap in their scheduling.

While the move from Lollapalooza is a credible one, it should be noted that at least one other scheduled performer has made public statements that don’t exactly comply with “diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love.” Last year, Young Thug — who’s still on the line-up — responded to controversial comments Boosie Badazz made about Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union’s trans daughter. But he seemed to be more on Boosie’s side. “All I wanna say to dwade son is ‘GOD DONT MAKE MISTAKES’ but hey live your true self,” he wrote in a tweet. The rapper later deleted the message.

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

DaBaby Removed From Lollapalooza Lineup After Homophobic Rant

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This past week has been full of controversy for DaBaby who has been rightfully criticized for some homophobic remarks at Rolling Loud. Since that time, DaBaby has doubled down on his remarks and says that he won’t be apologizing for anything. In fact, DaBaby even released a new song this week that was meant to poke fun at the outrage he has received over the past week. 

As a result of his actions, DaBaby has been dropped from some music festival lineups, and he is also dealing with pushback from some of his peers, including Chris Brown. Despite all of this, DaBaby seems content with pushing forward in an unapologetic manner that will certainly make people even angrier.

DaBaby

Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

Today, DaBaby was supposed to perform at Lollapalooza, although that has officially been canceled. Taking to Instagram this morning, Lollapalooza made the decision to remove DaBaby from the lineup. In a statement, Lollapalooza explained the decision while also revealing that G Herbo and Young Thug would be taking DaBaby’s spot.

“Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight. Young Thug’s performance will now take place at 9:00pm on the Bud Light Seltzer Stage, and G Herbo will perform at 4:00pm on the T-Mobile Stage,” the statement read.

Fans in the comments section rejoiced over the move, although we’re sure all of the hardcore DaBaby fans out there are upset with the decision. Based on the events of the past week, Lollapalooza was feeling the pressure to do something like this, and eventually, they pulled the trigger. 

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if any festivals decide to take on DaBaby, regardless of his previous transgressions.