Hip Hop News

H.E.R. was one of the many artists who made huge appearances at the 21st BET Awards this past Sunday, and in addition to killing the red carpet with an eye-catching, transparent pair of pants, the rising R&B star also performed the Back of My Mind album intro “We Made It” and took home the award for “Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.” Apparently, the highly decorated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist did it all while celebrating her birthday, and on Monday, H.E.R. kept the celebration going by announcing the second year of her curated music festival.

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Following its impressive launch in 2019, Lights On Festival is finally making its return this year after sitting out 2020 due to the pandemic. This year, the festival s expanding to a two-day format, and artists such as H.E.R., Erykah Badu, Bryson Tiller, Ty Dolla $ign, and Ari Lennox will be leading the R&B festivities this time around.

In addition to the aforementioned artists, other R&B stars who have been tapped for the festival include Arin Ray, Blxst, Brianna Castro, Foushee, Keyshia Cole, Kiana Lede, Lorea, Lucky Daye, Maeta, Masego, Maxx Moore, Sabrina, Tiana Major9, Tone Stith, and VanJess. Check out the poster for the festival below.

With such a stacked line-up, H.E.R.’s upcoming festival will definitely be a treat for R&B fans. The 2021 Lights On Festival returns to Concord, California for its second year on September 18th and September 19th, and general admission tickets are already on sale.

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The last full-length project we heard from Travis Scott was 2018’s ASTROWORLD. Since then, the Houston native has been focused on expanding his business portfolio. As one of the most profitable artists in hip-hop, scoring brand deals seem to come easy for the “Highest In The Room” artist.  

He’s collaborated with McDonald’s, Nike, and more. He even debuted his own line of tequila seltzers dubbed CACTI. Most recently, he partnered up with Dior to debut a new menswear collection that pays homage to the late Canarsie-bred rapper Pop Smoke. In a new interview with WWD, the multi-talented artist revealed a few more details about what to expect on his forthcoming release Utopia. 

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In the interview, Travis touched on how the visuals of the fashion show were inspired by working on the long-awaited follow-up of his chart-topping project ASTROWORLD. “I’m in this new album mode where it’s like psychedelic rock,” Scott told WWD. “So even just like the field of cactuses and mushrooms, you might get tripped out.”

Elsewhere, the Grammy-nominated hitmaker spoke on his upcoming Astroworld festival set to take place in Houston this November. “We’re back on the streets. I think that’s just one of the craziest things. This is gonna be super dope,” he promised. “I’m really putting a lot into the stage this year. I’m putting a lot into the surrounding, so you’re going to see a lot of different things, a lot of new experiences at this festival.”

Travis notably previewed a brief teaser of his upcoming collaboration with Westside Gunn during the show. The track, tentatively titled “How Wonderful,” includes a more somber rhythm than Travis fans are used to. “Baby girl think she in Honolu’ (Wonderful)/ Don’t you know you in the I-5 loop?/ How many chickens fit in the coop? (How wonderful, wonderful)/ Wonderful, she don’t wanna leave/ She jump up, bounce back like trampoline,” spits the Houston native on the track.

Westside Gunn then comes in, “ayo, whip the cocaine to the pop ups/ You was on the porch, I was locked up (I was locked up, ah)/ Two-tone Maybach truck with the Maxwells/ Think a n*gga shot somethin’.”

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What are your thoughts on Travis’ “psychedelic rock” inspired sound? Let us know down in the comments. 

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After an ugly public feud with his former co-star, which included threats of leaving the Fast and Furious franchise, Tyrese and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have turned a new page. 

Tyrese sat down with Tiffany Haddish on the Ellen Degeneres Show to spill about the just-released Fast & Furious 9. His former costar came up in the conversation, and in the process, Tyrese revealed that the two have more than just a simple truce going on. 

The two have apparently stayed in close contact since December 2020, when they first convened for a four-hour conversation, and resolved their issues. Nonetheless, it seems like their relationship has progressed even further, returning to bromance territory. The actor spoke on his rekindled friendship with Dwayne, saying, “we’ve been on the phone every other day. We reconnected in a real way. I think we’re both better men on the other side of all that stuff that went down.”

He added, “We’re about 20 phone calls in and we’re in competition right now on who can leave the longest voice note.”

The Rock recently confirmed that the spinoff film that started all the drama — Hobbs and Shaw  — will be receiving a sequel. 

Check out the clip with Tyrese and Tiffany Haddish below.

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Over the last week or so, Scottie Pippen has made some interesting comments as it pertains to the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and even Phil Jackson. On Monday, Pippen got to speak to Dan Patrick where he was asked whether or not he really felt like Jackson was a racist. Pippen claimed that he did, indeed, think that Jackson was a racist person, for the most part, these comments didn’t sit right with Bulls fans.

Pippen also said some disparaging things about the likes of Michael Jordan. For instance, Pippen referred to Jordan as “selfish” and said that “The Last Dance” was a way to control MJ’s legacy and narrative. 

With his comments going viral, Pippen took to Twitter where he commented on the matters at hand. As he stated below, he is simply answering questions and that it is the media who is at fault here, not him.

“I’m just answering the questions y’all asking me,” Pippen said. “You wanted the headlines, you got them – dig deeper to find out why I actually said what I said instead of framing your questions to get clicks. It’s all love!”

Needless to say, Pippen has been holding in a lot over these past few years, and now, he is ready to speak his truth. Whether his former teammates like it or not, there is nothing stopping him from giving his side of the story.

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The 2021 BET Awards was packed with stellar performances and star-studded appearances from guests. Migos hit the stage to perform their Culture III cut “Type Sh*t,” Cardi B making a surprise appearance and subsequently announcing her second pregnancy. Lil Nas X did a rendition of his single “Montero,” which saw the hitmaker kiss a male backup dancer on stage. 

Tyler, the Creator made his BET Awards performance debut at Sunday’s (June 27) show, taking the stage for a windy performance of his single “LumberJack.” Before hitting the stage, Tyler, along with CMIYGL collaborator DJ Drama, spoke with Billboard and touched on how they connected for the critically acclaimed project. Additionally, Tyler clarified his position in music as a rapper first before anything else. 

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Speaking about how they connected in the fist place, DJ Drama explained, “Tyler reached out to me last summer … he always said it was a dream of his to do a Gangsta Grillz [tape].” He went on to praise Tyler for his artistic vision and “how much of a hundred percenter [Tyler] is when it comes to production, writing, composing [and] videos.”

He also touched on how much he trusted Tyler’s vision for placing his vocals over the album’s tracks. “Normally I let someone give me the music and I do my one-two over it,” he explains. “[But Tyler] has it all in his head. I love people like that.”

Elsewhere in the red carpet interview, the Grammy-winning rapper also took a moment to clarify that rap music will always be his first love despite his 2019 funk-inspired project IGOR. “I just love rap so godd–n much … listening to [The] Dedication with [Lil] Wayne, and ‘We Got It For Cheap’ with Clipse, they really shaped me into who I am,” says Tyler.

“I think a lot of people forget that I’m a rapper because I’m so multifaceted. I just had to remind everyone, ‘Don’t let the wig get it twisted, y’all n—as can’t f— with me.'” This confirmation from Tyler will likely bring joy to longtime fans of the Odd Future rapper who celebrated the rap-heavy sound on Call Me If You Get Lost. 

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