Hip Hop News

Over the last couple of years, Lil Durk has seen a massive career resurgence that has put him on the map alongside some of the biggest artists in the world. The Chicago artist even dropped a collaborative album with Lil Baby earlier this year, called Voice Of The Heroes which ended up being well-received by fans. He is an artist who has a big spotlight on him right now, and it should come as no surprise that his lyrics are being looked at a lot closer as a result.

If you’ve been following Durk for quite some time, then you would know that he has name-dropped the dead quite a bit in his songs, and typically, it is done in a negative light. These actions can have massive real-life implications, which could only exacerbate bad situations. Durk is well-aware of this, and he is looking to change his ways.

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While talking to Twitter, Lil Durk gave a message to his fans saying “I’m not mentioning the dead in my songs no more or performing songs with they name in it.” This latest tweet comes after a recent podcast episode between 6ix9ine and Wack100, where the two had a heated confrontation about dissing the dead. This is a topic that is a hot-button issue right now, and it would only make sense that Durk would deliver his stance.

This is a sentiment that Durk has expressed in the past. For instance, back in January, Durk said he would do the same thing, albeit he never mentioned anything about performing.

Either way, it’s clear that Durk is looking to make a big change in his music, and only time will tell whether or not he honors that promise.

While DONDA hype is at an all time high, other aspects of Kanye West’s enterprise have come under fire. West entered into a ten-year deal with the Gap clothing brand in June 2020 with plans to “modern, elevated basics for men, women and kids at accessible price points.” His experience in the fashion world is not one of a novice – he has previously worked with brands like Nike and Adidas, creating iconic footwear models for both, in addition to collaborations with high-fashion and streetwear brands. With this new Gap deal in place, and his first piece for the brand – a blue puffer jacket – selling out instantly, it seems he still has some detractors. Namely, the former CEO of the clothing brand.

Mickey Drexler, former Gap CEO and previously a member of Apple’s board of directors, spoke with Yahoo Finance about the brand’s latest endeavors, including West’s first released collaboration with the brand.

“I probably shouldn’t say this but I told him he shouldn’t do the deal because it doesn’t make any sense in my opinion,” he said. “I have a lot of friends at Gap still, but it doesn’t work for someone like Kanye. He is not a corporate person and Gap is a big corporation.”

Continuing on, he said, “So, I know the jacket sold out. They did $7 million on the jacket overnight. [Kanye] is a smart guy but he shouldn’t have done it. And I don’t think they should have done it, either.”

Despite the detractions, what Drexler said is true – the first piece, which was released on West’s 44th birthday, racked up millions in sales. West has previously rapped about the fashion industry attempting to box him and his creativity out on records like Yeezus and The Life of Pablo. Drexler’s comments look to be another notch of opposition against Kanye’s creative efforts in the fashion world.

Check out a clip from the interview below. What do you think of Drexler’s comments?

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of all time and when all is said and done, he could very well be considered the best. Just last month, Messi won his first-ever Copa America title, and since then, he has been basking in his success. In the midst of all of this, however, Messi has been dealing with contract negotiations. His contract with Barcelona expired just a few months ago, and there was optimism that he would be able to return to the club that he’s spent his whole life with.

Unfortunately, due to LaLiga regulations, Barcelona won’t be able to sign Messi for the upcoming year. He is simply too expensive for them, and if he were to get re-signed, Barcelona would be breaking various salary cap regulations. In a statement, Barcelona explained just how regrettable this situation is.

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Per Barcelona:

“Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations). As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled. FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandisement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life.”

Moving forward, it is unknown as to where Messi will play. There have been rumors that he would want to come to the MLS, although there is no guarantee that such a thing would ever happen. However, there are certainly a lot of teams interested in the superstar, and it will be interesting to track where he lands.

Kanye West is currently living at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta where he is finishing up his brand new album DONDA. Over the last few hours, West has been teasing fans with the new project as he is currently in the midst of doing an IRL live stream that depicts him in his small room in the stadium. The album is expected to be out by tonight, however, when it comes to Kanye, we all know anything can happen.

When Jesus Is King was released in 2019, Kanye posted a photo of himself in the studio with Dr. Dre, where he claimed that Dre would actually be producing Jesus Is King 2. While this project never came, West and Dre have remained in contact with one another, and now, it looks like a brand new collaboration between the two will be appearing on DONDA‘s tracklist.

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We know this because Beats by Dre just took to Twitter with a new commercial featuring Sha’Carri Richardson. This time around, the commercial features a new song called “Glory” which features production efforts from Dre. If you watched the Apple Music live stream two weeks ago, you would know that this is the song that kicked off the entire event. This time around, however, there are some added drums and verses. 

So far, the reactions to the snippet have been mixed. Some fans are loving the gospel sounds, however, the verses near the end of the commercial appear to be disjointed and disorienting upon first listen. Of course, the final product will sound a bit more fleshed out, although that doesn’t take away from the initial feeling the snippet provides.

You can see what people have to say about the new Dr. Dre and Kanye collab, below.

Action Bronson has been living in the gym since the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone inside. For some, months of being holed up at home has allowed them to make important lifestyle changes, which is what Bronson did. According to an interview with Men’s Health about his weight loss transformation, he started his journey in March 2020, at around 400 pounds.

Now, a recent post shared to his Instagram account revealed that the rapper has hit an amazing milestone weight of 240 pounds, down an entire 160 pounds from his initial start goal. Many celebrity friends left comments of support for his ongoing journey under the post.

In the video, Bronson rightfully flexes his transformed physique, which includes more defined arms and a well-rounded chest and figure in comparison to where he began his weight loss journey. His caption jokingly makes clear that he’s preparing his physique for his first concert back since the pandemic shutdowns.

“FEELING STRONG. CHIPPING AWAY LITTLE BY LITTLE. NEVER GONNA STOP. GETTING READY FOR MY FIRST CONCERT BACK. CONEY ISLAND AUGUST 21st BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.” Bronson said.

“My brother, you look f*cking fantastic! Such an inspiration for people to see that incredible things are possible when you dedicate yourself and harness your discipline. I’m immensely impressed!!!” Podcast host and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan commented, showing his support for Bronson’s ongoing journey.

Other prominent figures like DJ Premier and Dana White commented emojis of support. Chef Ming Tsai commented “Impressive Action. When we cooked together at Blue Dragon, you were huge, probably busting 350!! Ao happy to see this life transformation!! Kids are the best motivators in the world, cause you have to be around…” In addition to making music, Action has dabbled his hands in the cooking world, creating shows surrounding his food adventures and even publishing a book focused on his culinary experiences.

Though this is only his most recent post documenting his weight loss journey – while hitting a very prominent number in the process – Bronson has not shied away from sharing his workouts consistently on his Instagram page. He typically prioritizes HIIT workouts in combination to weightlifting, maintaining a healthy balance of constant movement with building out his frame. Check out some of his workout videos below.

 What do you think of Bronson’s weight loss transformation? Let us know in the comments.