Hip Hop News

Nicki Minaj has been a superstar, even before the public recognized her as one. This boils down to not only her attitude but her work ethic, as well. T-Pain recently sat down for an interview with the 85 South Show where he detailed the one time that Nicki Minaj had him in his feelings.

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Back in 2007 when Nicki’s buzz with strictly on an underground level, T-Pain said that he tried to reach out to her in an attempt to lock her down in the studio. However, it seemed that Nicki was too focused on her solo material at the time to work with the multi-platinum singer. “We was about to work together and she stopped responding and I was like, ‘Nick, let me know what’s going on,'” he recounted. “She was like, ‘Hey, I’m an artist too and I’m working on my shit so ya know. Baby, chill.’ And I was like, ‘Oh… My heart.'”

He joked that he may have been in love with Nicki at the time but in actuality, he explained that Nicki’s quick curve wasn’t anything malicious. 

Nicki caught wind of Pain’s comments and quickly offered an apology to Pain. Though she didn’t remember the actual exchange, she said that it did sound like something that she would’ve said. 

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“Omg what was I thinking? He was already a rlly big artist. I was still underground. Chileeee I used to b buggin yo,” she wrote, admitting that she already felt the weight of everyone’s expectations of her. “My bad babe, all love. I have nthn but respect for your talent and thank you & Kanye for clearing ‘Go Hard’ for Beam Me Up Scotty last month.”

Nicki expressed her adoration for Pain on that record in particular. “Listening to you over & over on that record taught me [so much] about harmonies & background vocals,” she continued. “Your vocals on that song alone are GOATED FOR LIFE. I listened to every single detail @tpain.”

Perhaps, the Nicki Minaj x T-Pain collaboration will soon come into fruition. 

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Pharrell has proven time and time again his commitment to giving back. While the multi-hyphenate has already extended his reach into the mogul world by adding different entities to his portfolio, his green thumb has remained intact in many of his other endeavors has remained intact. 

On Saturday (June 12), the Grammy-winner announced plans to open a group of small private schools for low-income families. The first of these schools will be in Norfolk and will open this fall. Students in the city in grades three through five will be eligible to attend the school, with an end goal of expanding on his equity-focused non-profit’s established summer program for students. 

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“If the system is fixed and unfair, then it needs to be broken,” said Pharrell of the endeavor in a press release. “We don’t want lockstep learning where so many kids fall behind; we want bespoke learning designed for each child, where the things that make a child different are the same things that will make a child rise up and take flight.”

Dubbed Yellowhab, the school will be completely tuition-free for at least the first year of running. The costs of attendance are set to be covered by philanthropic supporters. One of the school’s earliest donors was the Walton Family Foundation, which has already spent millions over the last two decades to support and promote charter schools.  

According to Executive Director Mike McGalliard, the school currently had no plans to make the school a public charter. “We are very clear here that we’re not taking away from the city or the district. We want to be additive and not put any kind of onerous, intrusive impact on those institutions,” explained McGalliard. “It’s very important that we not disrupt that revenue stream.”

Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander praised the work Williams’ nonprofit has done, adding that he was looking forward to seeing what else he’ll be able to accomplish. “What happened was breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty,” Alexander said. “To see that students had gone on to university and some of the Ivy League schools was just very impressive. That’s what we witnessed there.”

The school will initially enroll 40 and 50 students and will follow a skill-level format rather than traditional grade-level cohorts. Families can apply for admission at www.teamyellow.org/yellowhab and will be selected through a lottery process.

Yellowhab will officially open its doors on September 7th. 

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Lonzo Ball has been through a lot over the course of his young career and he hasn’t been shy to speak about some of the struggles that have come with it all. Having started his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, there were a lot of expectations placed on Lonzo, especially with his father LaVar trying to call much of the shots. Eventually, LaVar backed off a bit and since then, Lonzo has been able to ease into his role with his new team, the New Orleans Pelicans.

Recently, Ball appeared on the Who’s Interviewing Who show where he spoke candidly about his career and the hurdles he has faced. Ball admitted that the lowest point for him actually came in high school after his dad told him he couldn’t play AAU. After being cut from a high-level team, Lonzo knew he needed to step things up.

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“My lowest moment in basketball came after my freshman year in high school,” Ball said via Lonzo Wire. “My pops never let me play AAU or travel ball or nothing like that so I was just local kid nobody really knew about. But I got an invitation to the USA camp to make the team and I ended up getting cut and that kind of shaped my whole high school career from that because I was like ‘There’s no way I’m not one of the best 15 players in my class.’ I went from not even being ranked to I think I made it to No. 2 by the time I was a senior. It just gave me motivation just to chase all the guys in front of me that people thought were better than me.”

This off-season, Lonzo is a free agent, and he will have yet another big decision in front of him. While he hasn’t let on as to where he wants to go, it seems like the player will be highly-sought after.

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Cam’ron has been off to a pretty active 2021. J. Cole recruited the Dipset rapper for the opening track “95.south” of his latest effort The Off-Season, appearing for a surprise, uncredited verse. Elsewhere, he’s been hitting the studio to ready his upcoming release Killa Season 2, sharing updates with fans on the project’s progression on social media. 

His last full-length solo effort was 2019’s Purple Haze 2, so fans of the Harlem native are certainly eager to hear more from the 00s rap staple. This weekend, he took to the Gram to preview his upcoming track dubbed “24 Year Run Hun,” a sure ode to his stellar run in the rap game. 

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In the footage, he sits in his vehicle rocking a bandana and sunglasses as he listens to the upcoming track. “God, family, money, nothing above it/For this chicken I’ll turn you turkeys to nothing,” he confidently spits on the track. 

Elsewhere, Killa Cam also paid a visit to the Avianne Showroom to pick up a brand new diamond Dipset ring, an ode to the group he formed back in 1997 with his childhood friend Jim Jones and his cousin Freekey Zekey. 

In other Cam’ron news, the rapper appeared on REVOLT‘s series Drink Champs to discuss his career beginnings, his Pink Horsepower male supplement, and more. Check out the full episode below if you haven’t already. 

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Soulja Boy is a pioneer in the rap game and he has been quick to remind people of that. His hit song “Crank Dat” was one of the first-ever songs to go viral because of the internet and over the years, he has cemented himself as one of the most internet-savvy artists of his generation. In fact, he has now crossed over into the Twitch world, where he is a highly-viewed streamer who can be found playing some of the most popular video games on the market.

Soulja has been known for playing a lot of Fortnite and on his latest stream, he was playing the game while using a “Rick & Morty” skin. This prompted Soulja Boy to deliver a quick little “Rick & Morty-” inspired freestyle while in the middle of the battlefield. 

The freestyle was pretty catchy and in true Soulja Boy fashion, it ended up going viral. As the video got passed around, fans gave praise to Soulja Boy and they even urged him to turn it into a fully-fledged song. The “Rick & Morty” fanbase runs deep, so it’s no surprise that they were quick to give Soulja his flowers.

Perhaps in the near future, the “Rick & Morty” freestyle will become Soulja’s next viral TikTok hit.

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Lil Baby and Gunna have remained good friends over the years as they came up in Atlanta together as disciples of Young Thug. They have made a plethora of songs together and even have a joint project. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that the two are always eager to celebrate each other’s birthdays, as their friendship runs deep.

On Monday, June 14th, Gunna will be turning 28 years old which means he is just two years away from a huge milestone. To celebrate the occasion, Gunna took to the club with his closest friends, and as you can imagine, Lil Baby was right there by his side. As for birthday gifts, Baby kept things simple as he pulled up with a shoebox full of wads of cash. It was an Air Jordan box, and Gunna seemed to be pretty content with his new riches.

It’s unknown how much money Lil Baby gave to Gunna although it’s probably more than what some people will make over the course of two years. At the end of the day, Lil Baby is a multi-platinum artist, and he can afford to treat his friends in such a manner.

As for Gunna, we hope he has a wonderful birthday tomorrow. Based on last night, it seems like the festivities have gotten off to a solid start.

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