Hip Hop News

Cardi B Responds To Accusations Of ‘Queerbaiting’ In Normani’s ‘Wild Side’ Video

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As usual, new music from Cardi B means lots of huge reactions from fans and critics. While the overall response to Normani’s “Wild Side” video, which features a cameo from Cardi B, is positive, accusations of the two female artists “queerbaiting” with their naked dance scene have begun to pop up. On Friday, Rolling Stone posted about the phenomena of queerbaiting, which is when a straight artist engages in queer romantic or sexual behavior to “bait” queer audiences purely for commercial gain. It can be harmful because it continues to play into the lack of representation for queer audiences by capitalizing on that desire.

But the accusations can also be off base, because interrogating someone’s sexual identity simply because of clothing or dancing in a music video is invasive and harmful, too. That was part of Cardi B’s response to the accusations that were leveled for the “Wild Side” scene, where she was naked, primarily to help hide the growing baby bump. She hadn’t publicly disclosed her second pregnancy at the time the video was shot.

“Uuummmm @RollingStone queer baiting?” Cardi wrote on Twitter. “You do know we was trying to hide a whole baby bump right ?Also I’m married to a man but I have express soo much about my bisexuality and my experiences wit girls. All of a sudden ‘queer baiting’ is the new word & people use it to the ground !”

She followed that initial response up with some more thoughts: “I don’t like this new ‘queer baiting’ word. I feel like it pressure artist to talk about their sexuality or their experiences that they don’t feel comfortable speaking about. If a artist kiss a girl on a video does that means she gotta show videos & text wit wit other women?”

Check out the “Wild Side” video above and decide for yourself.

Isaiah Rashad Shares ‘The House Is Burning’ Tracklist, Revealing Guest Spots From SZA, 6lack, And More

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Isaiah Rashad’s long-anticipated sophomore album The House Is Burning drops next Friday, July 30, and with just one week to go, the Chattanooga rapper has shared the album’s full tracklist on social media.

As you can see from the back of the album, pictured below, The House Is Burning features guest spots from SZA, Lil Uzi Vert, Jay Rock, 6lack, and plenty more. Also, production credits range from Devin Malik to Kal Banx (who also guests on the record), Kenny Beats, Hollywood Cole, and more. As previously reported, Rashad first made his comeback earlier this year with “Lay Wit Ya” featuring Duke Deuce, following up with “Headshots (4r Da Locals).” He also shared a few songs that got cut from the album, including “200/Warning.”

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Rashad first mentioned The House Is Burning in a May interview with The Fader. “I just wanted this sh*t to sound fun,” he said. “If I’m sad, people don’t need to be able to tell. And this is probably my most depressing album.”

Check out the tracklist below.

1. “Darkseid”
2. “From The Garden” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
3. “Rip Young”
4. “Lay Wit Ya” Feat. Duke Deuce
5. “Claymore” Feat. Smino
6. “Headshots [4R Da Locals]”
7. “All Herb” Feat. Amindi
8. “Hey Mista”
9. “True Story” Feat. Jay Rock and Jay Worthy
10. “What U Sed” Feat. Doechii and Kal Banx
11. “Don’t Shoot”
12. “Chad” Feat. Ygtut
13. “9-3 Freestyle”
14. “Score” Feat. SZA and 6lack
15. “Thib”
16. “HB2U”

The House Is Burning is out 7/30 via TDE/Warner. Pre-order it here.

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

Tyler The Creator Said Pharrell’s ‘In My Mind’ Influenced Odd Future: ‘Very Important Piece Of Art To Me’

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Now that Tyler The Creator is entering into one of the most powerful phases of his own career, he’s been sharing introspective thoughts on his own evolution as well as the influence of other artists on his thinking. While plenty of people point to Odd Future as the boundary-breakers and blueprint for the next generation of rap, Tyler let fans know that it was Pharrell who pushed him to set goals for his own creative output.

Sharing a throwback photo of himself at 15 on Twitter, he further posted his thoughts on how Pharrell’s album In My Mind was influencing him at the time. “‘In My Mind’ turns 15 today,” he wrote on Twitter. “Came out around the time of this photo. Was at hawthorne high summer school and man I can’t articulate what it means/did for me. I made odd future that summer and set out to be where i am now before 10th grade begun. Very important piece of art to me.’”

For those who aren’t familiar, Pharrell’s 2006 solo debut featured guests like Kanye, Pusha T, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Nelly. It came out on July 25, 2006. The official fifteen year anniversary was yesterday, when Tyler made his post honoring the record. Check it out below if you’ve never spent any time with the project.

Skepta Announced A New EP, ‘All In,’ Featuring Kid Cudi And J Balvin

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Instagram

Acclaimed British rapper and Grime legend Skepta just announced a new EP, and it includes some pretty big names on the tracklist. All In is the rapper’s first release since his 2019 full-length project Ignorance Is Bliss, and he shared the news on Instagram along with the album artwork. He also tagged the other artists that will be featured on the EP, which includes some big names like Kid Cudi — who just pulled off a comeback of his own with Man On The Moon III: The Chosen last year — and reggaeton star/noted McDonalds collaborator J Balvin.

Aside from the big names that American audiences are likely to recognize, Skepta also tapped Nigerian rapper Teezee, who is also the founder of the Lagos-based African culture magazine, Native Mag. Teezee appears on the track “Peace Of Mind” along with Kid Cudi, while Balvin holds down his own feature on a song called “Nirvana.” Check out the full tracklist below, the project drops this Friday on July 30th. Nothing else big happening that day like Billie Eilish dropping her hotly-anticipated new album Happier Than Ever or anything. Then again, their fanbases probably don’t overlap too much.

All In EP tracklist:
1. “Bellator”
2. “Peace Of Mind” (Featuring Kid Cudi and Teezee)
3. “Nirvana” (Featuring J Balvin)
4. “Lit Like This”
5. “Eyes On Me”

DeMar DeRozan Dilvulges On What He Wants Out Of Free Agency

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DeMar DeRozan has been painfully underrated over the past few years as his teams typically break down in the playoffs. While playing alongside Kyle Lowry in Toronto, DeRozan had numerous playoff failures that ultimately led to his trade out of the city. For the last three seasons, DeRozan has been playing for a declining San Antonio Spurs team, and now, he is finally a free agent who can go wherever he so desires.

Recently, a report surfaced that he wants to team up with Kyle Lowry again and it would be interested in playing for a team like the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, anyone would want to play for the Lakers as it is a legendary franchise that is situated in a prime location. 

DeMar DeRozan

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In a new episode of Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, DeRozan spoke about free agency and everything he is hoping to get out of it. As you can imagine, winning a title is at the top of his mind at this point.

“It’s all about winning at this point,” DeRozan said. “Going into my 13th season and seeing all these guys just competing for a championship. At this point, you got to weigh out the opportunity to winning a championship kind of more. Especially with the career I’ve had. I’ve been fortunate to make a lot of money, but at this point, the ultimate goal is to compete for a championship.”

No one knows for sure what DeRozan will decide to do, however, there is no doubt a lot of teams could use his talents right about now. With free agency coming up, stay tuned to HNHH as we will continue to bring you all of the latest news and updates from around the NBA.

Lil Baby Responds To Video Of Him Sensually Grabbing Woman

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Lil Baby has his story and he’s sticking to it. This weekend, the Atlanta-based rapper was seemingly caught getting close to another woman inside the club, but he says that he was simply telling the woman to ask her friends to leave his section.

Rah Ali’s blog site posted a video of Lil Baby inside the club, sensually grabbing a woman’s shoulders. They asked fans to caption the video without suggesting anything, simply leaving the content there for people to engage with. They likely were not expecting the rapper himself to stop by the comments section and explain himself, which is exactly what he did.

Commenting on the post, Lil Baby wrote, “Let me live !! I was telling her to get girls out our section !! Y’all be creeps fr !! Tf is you recording me.”


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People don’t seem to be buying Baby’s story, calling cap on his comment and implying that he wasn’t doing that at all. “Naaaah that was TOO seductive,” said one person. “Why didn’t u just let them talk they shit cause that was the worst lie evaaaaaaa,” added another.

Lil Baby was in Miami, Florida for Rolling Loud this weekend. He was spotted with James Harden after the show, and he brought out 42 Dugg and EST Gee during his performance. 

Watch the video below and let us know what you think he was actually doing.

Amber Rose Blasts T.I. For Defending DaBaby’s Homophobic Rant

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Above all else, Amber Rose is an activist. The SlutWalk founder has worked hard throughout the years to empower women’s voices, also standing up for the LGBTQ+ community in the face of homophobia and transphobia. She has used her platform on numerous occasions to speak up against bigots and on Monday, she blasted rappers T.I. and DaBaby for a homophobic rant that the latter went on at Rolling Loud this weekend, which T.I. defended.

DaBaby told the crowd at the festival, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up. Ladies, if your pussy smell like water, put your cellphone light in the air. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”

T.I. defended the rant, commenting, “If Lil Nas X can kick his shit in peace… so should dababy [shrugging emoji] #equality.”


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Both rappers have been earning a fair amount of backlash from their comments, and Amber Rose has officially chimed in, speaking her piece.

“What in the homophobia???” she said, responding to T.I.’s remark. “Y’all are so mad that @lilnasx is fucking winning! To be this homophobic feels like they are battling something internally. This is not equality this is hatred. Period.

I’m an activist first and foremost this is why I started my slutwalk for EVERYONE to come and feel comfortable in their own skin! This perpetuates hate and violence! I stand with the LGBTQ Community. We should all feel safe at a concert no matter what our status is, who we love or who we wanna give head to.”

Read Amber’s response below.


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Jake Paul Explains Why He Can Beat Canelo Alvarez

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Jake Paul is easily one of the most controversial people in the boxing world and for good reason. Paul came into boxing as a YouTuber and at first, he was fighting against other content creators. Back in November of 2020, his boxing career hit a new stride after he knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson in just two rounds. The win put him on the map and he was able to follow up his success with a win against Ben Askren.

Now, Paul is set to fight against the likes of Tyron Woodley and it’s clear he is about to face his toughest challenge yet. It remains to be seen whether or not he is up for it, however, Paul has proven time and time again that he is a better boxer than some may imagine him to be.

Jake Paul

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In a recent interview for Maxim, Paul took some shots at the likes of Canelo Alvarez, who has stated his distaste for Paul in the past. It is of Jake’s belief that he could win a fight against Canelo and that at the end of the day, it would all come down to his size.

“I’m very confident,” Paul explained. “He’s a killer at 168 pounds, but people forget that I naturally walk around at about 205, so there’s a big weight difference. There’s a big height advantage.”

Canelo would certainly have something to say about this, although as always, Paul says things to get a rise out of people, and that’s exactly what he is attempting here. Whether or not you want to get mad about it, is entirely up to you.

[Via]