Hip Hop News

Damian Lillard has been extremely loyal to the Portland Trail Blazers over the years, even if the franchise hasn’t given him the proper players to be successful. Lillard has always been about the grind, although over the last few days, it appears he has been contemplating whether or not the grind is really worth it. In fact, this contemplation comes after the hiring of Chauncey Billups, who is being scrutinized due to a past rape allegation.

Since Billups’ hiring, fans have been going after Lillard and his alleged involvement in the hire. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports, Lillard isn’t happy with the way the fans are treating him right now and it is making him reconsider whether or not he actually wants to stay with a team like the Blazers.

Ever since the news broke, Twitter has been in a state of calamity as various NBA fans have been waiting for the day that Lillard would leave Portland. Of course, there is no guarantee that he forces a trade, although fans are already fantasizing about where he could land over the coming months. Lakers fans are convinced Lillard will join the team, while various other fans believe Philadelphia or the Knicks have the best chance at landing the superstar point guard.

Either way, the coming months will be very interesting, and if Lillard does get dealt, it will shake up the league for years to come. You can check out some of the reactions to the news, below.

Just last week, Kanye West and his Yeezy brand filed a complaint against Walmart as they found bootleg Adidas Yeezy Foam Runners being sold on Walmart’s platform. Kanye’s Yeezys have been faked in the past and he has always made sure to protect his intellectual property, especially since it is his designs that have turned him into a billionaire. The Foam Runner is a shoe that is easy to fake and while the Walmart listing wasn’t surprising, it was still troubling.

In the end, Walmart apologized for the error, noting that the shoes were sold by third-party listers. According to TMZ, since that time, Walmart has taken the shoe down and they have even cracked down on those who are selling bootlegs. Unfortunately for Kanye, it isn’t just Walmart sellers who are the culprit.

Image via Walmart

TMZ has found that there are dozens of fakes being sold on websites like Etsy, where the shoes go for much cheaper than the usual $75 USD price point. The bootlegs seems pretty convincing and if you didn’t know anything about sneakers, there is a good chance that you could wind up getting duped into copping some inauthentic shoes.

Kanye has yet to take action against the Etsy sellers although if history is any indication, then we’re sure he’s thinking up his legal strategy, as we speak.

Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company

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Method Man, Griselda, and more came together at the BET Awards, Sunday, to perform a tribute for the late legendary rapper DMX. The star-studded performance included Method Man performing an a cappella rendition of DMX’s 1998 single “Get at Me Dog,” actor Michael K. Williams performing “Slippin” and “What’s My Name,” Swizz Beatz and the LOX remixing “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” and much more.

Mark Davis / Getty Images

Method Man told EW that it was a privilege to be invited to perform during the ceremony.

“There were so many people that DMX impacted through his journey, so many people that knew him as he went from Earl to DMX that they could have chose to be there,” he told the publication. “The fact that they chose me, again, I am honored, it’s a privilege. And I didn’t get to say goodbye at his wake or at his funeral, even though I was invited. This would be a nice way for me to say farewell.”

DMX died back in April after suffering a heart attack at the age of 50. In the wake of his death, tributes poured out from around the hip-hop community, and a massive funeral was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. On May 28th, his posthumous album Exodus was released.

Check out the tribute below.

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The Milwaukee Bucks were able to defeat the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals 113-102, Sunday night, after Trae Young was taken out of the game with an ankle injury, late in the third quarter. Young later returned in the fourth quarter, but the damage was already done. Milwaukee outscored Atlanta 30-17 in the final quarter.

Hawks coach Nate McMillan spoke about Young’s injury after the game: “I don’t know right now. I think, when he returned to the floor, he was obviously limping on that, and when I subbed him, we decided just keep him out.”

Todd Kirkland / Getty Images

Young will be undergoing an MRI, Monday. He said that he plans to get “as much treatment as I can,” adding that the ankle is “sore” and “hurting.” He finished the game with 35 points.

For the Bucks, star Kris Middleton caught fire during the match with a game-high 38 points as well as 11 rebounds and seven assists. 20 of his points came in the final quarter of play, including a stretch where he scored 10 points in a 13-3 Bucks run that took the lead.

Giannis Antetokounmpo added 33 points in the contest as well.

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals will tip-off on Tuesday at 8:30 PM, ET.

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