Radio veteran Funkmaster Flex turns 53 years old today, and wouldn’t have gotten here without the people by his side. He’d probably agree, as the Hot 97 host is always clocking in time with friends in the industry. From rappers to fellow hosts to whoever, honestly, Funkmaster has friends in high places. Here’s five shots […]
Logic is back — and we never even had a chance to miss him. Just a year removed from the declaration of his retirement, the Maryland rapper turned video game streamer (technically) bounced back last week with the release of his return mixtape, Bobby Tarantino III. Though technically, he did work out some of his itches to rhyme earlier this year with Planetory Destruction, the thinly-disguised, Kool Keith-like endeavor he dropped as Doctor Destruction, and the YS Collection Vol. 1, a collection of older songs cut from the Young Sinatra mixtape series that he was able to clear after a decade.
And look, we understand. When you have a long-lasting love for a thing that has been your whole life — literally, your job, your hobby, and your semi-living arrangement — for over a decade, it’s hard to let go. Logic is hardly the first rapper to have gone through separation anxiety upon realizing that retirement would upend his entire way of being. It was Jay-Z who first coined the bar, “Can’t leave rap alone, the game needs me,” nearly 20 years ago on “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” from his career-defining album The Blueprint. Yet, just two albums later, Jay had decided to gracefully bow out with The Black Album, only to return two years later with Kingdom Come.
Rappers, it seems, have a hard time committing to retirement in general. While they love to announce that they’re stepping away from the hustle of the rap game and hanging up their mics for good, they’re rarely able to stay on the wagon for very long. Here’s a short list of the rappers who have retired only to unretire shortly thereafter when they realized that while the game may not actually need them, they most certainly need the game.
The Compton rapper said he was done with the rap game with his 2019 album Born 2 Rap (a threat he’d already made once before), but it looks like he may have taken the title pretty literally. His manager Wack 100 recently told AllHipHop that Game’s been back in the studio working on a new album titled 30 For 30. He also dropped the single “A.I. With The Braids” in November of 2020, implying more material on the way, which would bring his total collection of projects to 30, including studio albums, mixtapes, compilations, and independent releases.
The most infamous rap retiree on the list, Jay-Z famously delivered his swan song, The Black Album, in 2004, accompanying the farewell project with a massive show at Madison Square Garden, a documentary titled Fade To Black recording the creation of the album, and a press tour that saw him collecting his flowers ahead of his final curtain. However, it didn’t take long for him to feel the hunger again. After remixing a number of his songs for the Linkin Park mashup album Collision Course, Jay began popping up on other artists’ songs to find his sea legs before dropping the uneven (but still criminally underrated) Kingdom Come, garnering plenty of both fanfare and criticism, as the brevity of his retirement made it seem more like a gimmick to sell records.
Midway through 2019, Nicki decided that she was finished with the rap game, deciding to trade in her lucrative career for the family life, despite a number of recent examples of women in music who have apparently been able to do both, such as Beyonce and Teyana Taylor. However, it took her all of a day to begin backtracking, posting on social media that she was “still right here” before making her unofficial return in February 2020 with “Yikes.” Although that song didn’t make much of a splash, she renewed her cultural ubiquity with appearances on Doja Cat’s “Say So” and Tekashi 69’s “Trollz,” and recently began teasing a new album after re-releasing her breakout mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty to DSPs for the first time.
March 2020 was an eventful month for the Memphis mogul, who recanted just 15 days after making his initial retirement announcement by teasing the upcoming release of his album Rich Slave. Then, he followed up the release of his joint project with protege Key Glock, Dum And Dummer 2, with another retirement in March of this year before coming out and admitting straight up in a July interview that he can’t commit to it. “I can’t do it, real talk,” he said. “I’m the spokesperson for all of the street n****s.” His most recent release wound up dropping the same day as Logic’s own comeback, with the Paper Route Empire compilation album Paper Route Illuminati.
Meanwhile, even more rappers, from Denzel Curry to NLE Choppa to T.I., have announced their own intentions to walk away from the rap game after releasing a few more projects. T.I. is said to be working on Kill The King, his final album, while Denzel Curry said that he had three more releases planned before punching the clock for good. NLE Choppa wants to switch to selling natural health products, Chika and Noname are over the poor treatment they feel they’ve received at the hands of the industry, and even DaBaby gave himself a five-year limit — although recent events may have forced him to unwillingly accelerate those plans.
Time will tell whether any of those names manage to stick to it, or transition into other outlets for their creative faculties. But as long as rappers’ retirement announcements make headlines, it seems that they’ll keep making announcements — even if they can only stay retired for a few months at a time.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Conway The Machine has cemented himself as one of the most elite bar-spitters in the game right now, with two solid projects under his belt this year alone. Most recently, Machine delivered La Maquina, an album featuring guest appearances from J.I.D, Ludacris, Benny The Butcher, Westside Gunn, and more.
With the follow-up — Shady Records’ debut God Don’t Make Mistakes — on the way later this summer, Conway opted to take it back for a moment with a little bit of behind-the-scenes studio footage. The clip in question centers around La Maquina’s second track “6:30 Tip-Off,” produced by Bangladesh. In it, Machine can be seen laying down his vocals behind the mic, offering a little bit of trivia about the track’s creation.
“The process…. Wrote that shit in 20 mins (I usually don’t write at all tho),” he captions. (It was literally 6:30 in the morning too lol) La Maquina Lp out now!! All streaming platforms.” Fans of Conway will likely enjoy seeing the song come to life. The acapella delivery really highlights the complexities of some of The Machine’s schemes, and it’s rewarding to hear how it all comes together on the final track.
With God Don’t Make Mistakes feeling like the end of an era — many have suggested that he’ll follow Westside Gunn’s lead and part ways with Shady after its release — it’s feeling like Machine’s next move will be an important one. No matter what he ends up doing, however, he’ll always have his formidable bars and technical prowess in the studio; check out his process at work below.
Donald Trump has always taken issue with those who don’t like him. The former president knows how to hold a grudge better than anyone, and whenever he has the opportunity to take a shot at his adversaries, he’s going to do it. One of his biggest foes of the last two years was none other than women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe who has been very vocal about her distaste for the former commander in chief. During the last women’s world cup, the United States team was seen engaging in anthem protests all while bringing awareness to certain issues, which did not sit right with the President.
For the most part, Rapinoe and her teammates have had the last laugh on Trump, although that all changed recently as the team lost to Canada in the semi-finals at the Olympics. As a result, the U.S had to go to the Bronze Medal game, where they eventually won. Despite getting the medal, Trump couldn’t resist as he made a statement to reporters about how Rapinoe’s mentality is what cost her team the win.
“If our soccer team, headed by a radical group of Leftist Maniacs, wasn’t woke, they would have won the Gold Medal instead of the Bronze,” Trump said. “Woke means you lose, everything that is woke goes bad, and our soccer team certainly has. They should replace the wokesters with Patriots and start winning again. The woman with the purple hair played terribly and spends too much time thinking about Radical Left politics and not doing her job.”
This scathing critique of Rapino is to be expected coming from Trump, as we know he loves the attention something likes this brings. Regardless, Rapinoe has won numerous women’s world cups and she has also done just fine at the Olympics over the years. With this in mind, we’re not sure Trump’s soliloquy is going to hurt her in the grand scheme of things.
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Khabib Nurmagodemov is one of the best fighters in the history of the UFC, and if you were to ask most fans, he would make it into their top five. After a huge win against Justin Gaethje, Khabib decided to enter retirement as he no longer wanted to fight without his father by his side. It was an emotional decision and one that saddened UFC fans who were hoping to see just a bit more from him before the end of his historic run.
Over the last few months, fans and reporters have been badgering UFC President Dana White about Khabib and whether or not we will ever see him back in the Octagon. On numerous occasions, White has said it won’t happen, and recently during an interview with TMZ, White reiterated that reality.
“I’ve abandoned all hope, so you should too. [Khabib’s] done. Believe me, I threw the kitchen sink at this kid, tried to get him to stick around and I think he’s done,” White said. “I think he’s sliding into this coach’s role. You know, he went undefeated in his career and retired undefeated, and now he’s undefeated as a coach too. So, the guy has had nothing but success, he continues to be successful, and I think he’s moving on to that next chapter of his life.”
If you are a big fan of Khabib, this news is going to be just a tad disheartening although you can’t blame the man for wanting to enjoy the finer things in life. Fighting can be a rough gig and when you’ve accomplished it all, there is no point putting your body at further risk. Hopefully, Khabib is able to find peace during this transitioning period in his life.
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C-Murder’s legal saga is a tragic and sprawling tale that dates back to 2002. The former No Limit rapper and brother of Percy “Master P” Miller has been serving a life sentence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary since 2009, yet his efforts to regain his freedom over the past decade have not gone unnoticed. Regardless, C-Murder has not had much luck. In 2017, he was ordered to pay $1.1 million to the family of Steve Thomas, and in recent years, he has also sought out help from Kim Kardashian and anyone else who could possibly help his case.
Now, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for C-Murder after all. Less than 24 hours ago, the Trapped In Crime artist claimed that there is DNA evidence that has been withheld in 31 sealed court documents that could help effectively free him. On Thursday, C-Murder returned with yet another statement regarding his legal situation.
“To all my oppressed brothers this 10/2 non-unanimous jury law is a direct violation of our civil rights!!” the former No Limit rapper states. “This is a racist Jim Crow law !! We must fight for ourselves !! This is our call of duty !! Over 1500 inmates are wrongfully incarcerated under the illegal 10/2 verdict!! We are presently kidnapped in Louisiana prisons !! I must take a stand.”
C-Murder signs off on the statement with “Corey Miller #4EVERTRU,” and in the same post, he also highlights a hunger strike protest that he is currently leading in order to bring attention to COVID-19 Lousiana prison deaths and help secure protection for inmates against the virus.
2 Chainz is one of those rappers who simply commands respect, even beyond the rap game. With his new album Dope Don’t Sell Itself currently in the works, Tity has been out and about, roaming the streets of Los Angeles California.
Last night, 2 Chainz found himself crossing paths with none other than Conor McGregor, who has been in the process of recovering from a broken tibia and fibula, an injury that happened during his recent fight with Dustin Poirier.
“Ran into the boy @thenotoriousmma,” captions 2 Chainz, sharing a flick of their recent encounter. On his own page, Conor made sure to show some love to the Atlanta icon, deeming him to be a “lyrical genius” and quoting his favorite 2 Chainz bar. “She got a big booty so I call her big booty” – @2chainz,” he quotes. “That’s the goat lyric of all time ya’s mad fools hahahahahaah classic.”
Clearly, McGregor is a man who knows exactly what he loves; like many rap fans before him, he simply cannot resist the simple charm of a big booty. Perhaps appropriate, given that he currently has a different sort of big booty on his foot, the likes of which might be worn by Kanye West during the upcoming Donda live stream.
Check out the pictures of Conor and 2 Chainz’s excellent adventure, in which two masters of their respective crafts find common ground over a shared love. In other news, look for more updates on the upcoming Dope Don’t Sell Itself, 2 Chainz’s seventh studio project and “last trap album.” Are you looking forward to hearing that one?
Ben Simmons is one of the most talked-about players in the entire NBA, although it isn’t for the best reasons. In the playoffs, Simmons was awful for the Sixers as he could barely get buckets. There were multiple times in which Simmons looked timid at the rim, which led to a lot of frustration amongst Simmons’ Sixers teammates.
There were reports that Simmons could be traded, and these days, a move is looking likely. As we have reported in the past, the asking price for Simmons is quite large, and numerous teams are declining rich offers as a result. In fact, Simmons has even ghosted the Sixers, which is further proof that he wants out sooner rather than later.
A new report from Jason Dumas suggests that Simmons has cut off everyone on the Sixers, even his own teammates and head coach. Based on his sources, Simmons is positioning himself to leave Philadelphia and that if he had to choose where he goes next, he would absolutely pick the Warriors.
The Sixers have already negotiated with Golden State, although the Warriors felt as though the asking price was astronomically steep.
A Simmons trade could have massive ramifications on the shape of the league heading into next season. If Simmons does, indeed, go to the Golden State Warriors, then you would have to expect the Warriors to be contenders, especially with their backcourt of Klay Thompson and Steph Curry reuniting.
Stay tuned tuned to HNHH for all of the latest updates from around the NBA.
Excitement over Dr. Dre’s potential upcoming album has been somewhat overtaken, after his daughter, LaTanya Young, revealed to the Daily Mail that she has been living out of her car.
The 38-year-old, the eldest daughter of the storied producer and Lisa Johnson, has been working as a delivery driver for DoorDash and Uber Eats to support herself, she told the publication. She reportedly has not seen her father in 18 years, and has to go through his team to reach him, which proves difficult. He reportedly has not given financial assistance to LaTonya since January 2020.
She is a single mother of four but her children do not stay with her, instead staying with friends while she takes odd jobs to make ends meet.
According to LaTanya, her father’s lawyer claimed he won’t help her out financially since she has chosen to speak with the press about her father in the past. Additionally, her children have never met their world-renowned grandfather, which she says pains her deeply. Her children are old enough to know who Dr. Dre is, but they are shocked that he doesn’t seem to want much to do with them.
Given this bombshell information circulating across the internet, in addition to Dr. Dre’s troubled past with domestic abuse, Twitter is not letting the 56-year-old artist go lightly.
Check out some of the dialogue surrounding his daughter’s comments below.
What do you think of LaTanya Young’s comments? Do you think Dr. Dre should be supporting his eldest daughter? Let us know in the comments.
