Hip Hop News

XXL announced their annual Freshman List on Wednesday, naming the lucky artists who are getting the publication’s co-sign in 2021. After monster years, Pooh Shiesty, Coi Leray, and Flo Milli were shoo-ins for this year’s tally, being joined by DDG, 42 Dugg, Morray, Blxst, Rubi Rose, Lakeyah, iann dior, and Toosii. 

As part of the magazine cover’s rollout, XXL always stages some entertaining content for fans to get to know the rappers better. They start by having them read mean comments before dropping the freestyles, cyphers, and more videos for the world to fall in love with the next generation. On Thursday, the mean comments portion was released and it didn’t disappoint, especially when Pooh Shiesty, 42 Dugg, and Coi Leray were clapping back.

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The episode starts out with the ever-positive Morray responding to a fan who told him he dresses badly. Considering he just got his first whiff of money, Morray actually agreed with the fan, saying he’s not used to designer clothing yet. Then, Pooh Shiesty faced the inevitable “Poop Shitty” comment, to which he responded, “Fuck you dude” with his middle fingers up.

As you would expect, when the camera got to 42 Dugg, the rapper was given a comment about how he doesn’t qualify because of how short he is, to which he said, “Depending on the height measurements, he might be right.”

Watch the video below to see how Blxst reacts to being called the fourth member of the Migos, how Rubi Rose responds to someone saying she stole an actress’ name, and how Lakeyah replies when someone says she looks like Mike Jones.

Yesterday, bombshell news came out of the NBA as it was revealed that Chris Paul tested positive for COVID-19 and would have to enter quarantine as part of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. This was especially bad news considering the Suns had just finished off their series against the Denver Nuggets, and were looking forward to some rest before playing in the Western Conference Finals. At this point, the Suns are still in a good spot thanks to a prolonged series by the Clippers and Jazz, however, there is still some concern that Paul won’t be good to go in time for Game 1.

Nick Young reacted to this news with a pretty blunt tweet on Wednesday, and it certainly wasn’t well-received by the fans. Young essentially said that Paul must be doing something wrong in his life because his Karma has simply been going against him for years. In fact, Young urged Paul to pray and to start living right.

“Cp3 you need to go pray … you not living right lol something somewhere dnt want you to win … every playoffs something happen to you,” Young wrote.

While Young probably meant this in the most harmless way possible, there were still some people out there who took it as disrespectful. After all, Paul is a beloved player in the NBA and many fans are hoping that he can get himself a title sooner rather than later.

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LaMelo Ball was an absolute force in the league this past season and many fans were hoping for him to win rookie of the year honors. After injuring his wrist late in the season, there was a fear that he would be passed up for the award in favor of Anthony Edwards, who had a much more consistent rookie campaign in terms of his health. In the end, however, it was the Hornets star who ended up getting the award and fans are ecstatic about how it all played out.

Ball’s oldest brother Lonzo was also quite excited about the achievement as he took to his Instagram story with a message for his brother, saying “just another step along the journey… keep going lil bro.”

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Lonzo has played four years in the NBA and he knows what the grind looks like. There have been plenty of ups and downs throughout his career and there is no doubt that he sees a bit of himself in his younger brother. LaMelo is expected to make the next step in 2022 and the blueprint is certainly there for him to become a Superstar. Needless to say, these next few years will be a fun time for the Ball brothers.

Let us know if you think LaMelo’s latest award was deserved, in the comments below. Also, keep it locked to HNHH for more updates from around the NBA.

Joe Budden doesn’t seem to be one to take the art of strip clubbing lightly. The rapper and podcaster posted a joke photo to his Instagram story on Wednesday with a brief caption stating “I left” in response to a stripper wearing a pair of sandals instead of the typical club attire of heels.

There were no location tags or any distinguishable features in the background to properly identify the strip club that Budden was at, but it seems this stripper’s particular choice of attire did enough to rub him the wrong way and promptly spark his departure. Future hopefuls of Budden’s club philanthropy should be taking notes.

Budden sneakily took the photo of the stripper’s waist down — so she’s not easily as identifiable — but her shoe of choice for the night was more comparable to a pair of church shoes than anything else. Fans shared a laugh with Joe in the comments of the post, while piling onto the jokes that he set off by posting the photo to his story.

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The Joe Budden Podcast has been the former rapper’s main source of prominence and relevancy in recent years, but underwent a recent shakeup when he seemingly fired longtime co-hosts Rory Farrell and Jamil “Mal” Clay in the middle of the since-deleted May 12th episode. There had been brewing discrepancies between Budden and the two in recent months over the show’s finances, which steered their relationship to a point of no return.

The duo has since gone on to start their own show on YouTube, seemingly doing just fine without Budden. On the other hand, Budden has continued on with the podcast after declaring that it was “over” during the aforementioned episode, substituting them with various guests to attempt to recapture the vibe of the show’s past.

What’d you think of Budden’s post? Are you still listening to his podcast without its co-hosts? Comment below.

Oscar De La Hoya was one of the best boxers in the world during his prime and these days, he is seen as more of a promoter than anything else. Regardless, De La Hoya has expressed interest in returning to the ring, and fans have been eager to see who he would choose as his next opponent. After months of teasing fans with a fresh fight, it appears as though De La Hoya’s next match has been revealed, and it just so happens to be one of those crossover fights he used to hate.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, De La Hoya will be fighting former UFC fighter Vitor Belfort on September 18th. This is going to be an exhibition with lighter and gloves and is supposedly going to go down in Las Vegas.

It remains to be seen whether or not this fight will actually move the needle when you consider how there hasn’t been a lot of hype for a De La Hoya comeback. Despite this, the Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. fight worked out pretty well, and it has led to some very real conversations amongst retired boxers. There is a lot of money to be made here, and De La Hoya understands that better than anyone.

Let us know what you think about this matchup, in the comments below.

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With the BET Awards set to air on Sunday, June 27th, the network has officially lifted the curtain to unveil the stacked lineup of performers. Set to take the stage throughout the night are Andra Day, City Girls, DaBaby, DJ Khaled, H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, Kirk Franklin, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Migos, Moneybagg Yo, Rapsody, Roddy Ricch, Tyler The Creator, and more. 

“As we return LIVE with culture’s biggest night, this year’s show marks many firsts–including the highest number of performers in 21 years of BET Awards; and viewers can expect several surprise moments,” explains Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy. “Some of today’s hottest talent will join us for our return to LA for an unforgettable night celebrating Black excellence.”

As far as the nominations are concerned, DaBaby and Megan Thee Stallion are leading the pack with seven apiece; interestingly enough, Megan is not slated to take the stage, while DaBaby is set to hold it down. Cardi B and Drake, both of whom locked down second place with five nominations, are also absent from the performance schedule. Despite a few notable omissions, the ceremony has more than enough talent to keep things moving. Who are you most excited to see taking the stage?

With the full lineup officially revealed, it’s looking like this year’s BET Awards will be an enjoyable viewing experience for anyone interested. Look for our coverage on the big event when it airs at the end of June, and be sure to sound off with your predictions of the big winners in the comments below.

While R. Kelly awaits the start of his sex trafficking trial in New York this summer, his name has also come up in conversation during Angela Yee’s Lip Service podcast. In a recent clip, R&B singer and songwriter Nivea joins the Lip Service cast for a conversation about dating preferences between younger or older men. After a question about “geriatric penis” from Angela Yee goes south, one of the Lip Service co-hosts questions whether Nivea and R. Kelly ever had sex.

Nivea and R. Kelly notably worked together on her 2001 hit single “Laundromat” as well as other records like “Touchin'” and “The One For Me.” A couple of years ago, the R&B songstress told DJ Vlad that she never noticed R. Kelly’s creepy tendencies when she was younger, but while talking with Angela Yee, Lore’l, and Gigi Maguire, Nivea does reveal that R. Kelly did flirt with her back in the day.

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“Have you ever had geriatric penis, like old penis?” Angela Yee asks Nivea, to which she replies, “It just depends.” Angela Yee then presses on the topic and asks, “Like how old is old?”

After Nivea reveals that she has had sex with someone who is roughly 20 years older than her, Lore’l then follows up her statement by asking Nivea if she was referring to R. Kelly. “No!” Nivea responds, visibly disgusted and clearly thrown off by the question. Lore’l explains that the question simply arose due to their working relationship in the past and rephrases her question, instead asking Nivea if R. Kelly ever tried to talk to her when she was younger.

“Yes, he did,” Nivea reveals. “The thing is, being in the industry as a young, little girl or a young female, the industry is filled with men. Everybody’s trying to talk to you, girl!” 

Check out the R. Kelly-related exchange from Angela Yee’s Lip Service podcast below.