Hip Hop News

Hip-hop fans were outraged on Twitter, Thursday, when the account MyMixtapez published their own version of Mt. Rushmore, captioned  “G.O.A.T.S. Of Atlanta” which featured Jeezy, Future, Rich Homie Quan, and Lil Baby. 

Fans were most angry about the snubs of Outkast, T.I., Young Thug, Ludacris, Gucci Mane, and many more who could’ve made the cut.

“No young thug or outkast? Delete this whole shit,” one fan replied.

Another asked, “So we just gonna forget Outkast, T.I., Luda, shit even Jermaine Dupri?”

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The concept of Mt. Rushmore’s in hip-hop is always in the conversation when discussing the best rappers, but Migos recently spoke about why they don’t like Rushmore as a way of ranking artists, after the release of their new album, Culture III.

“They count us out cause we in a group,” Takeoff explained during the group’s interview with The Shade Room.

“Say for instance, they say ‘name your top five rappers,” Offset added. “They really count us out cause we in a group. Just like XXL Freshmen, during the time, we couldn’t be on it cause we was a group, and they don’t do groups. It should be a little circle with all three heads like boom boom boom on that Mt. Rushmore. Cause w done birthed a lot of this.”

“Y’all talking eras,” Quavo explained. “We been it for the last five years. You gotta throw us in there.”

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James Harden is one of the best players in the entire NBA and if there is one thing that fans know about him, it’s that he likes to spend some money in the strip club. In fact, Harden has been seen partying at these clubs at various points throughout the pandemic, which has gotten him in trouble with the league. More recently, however, bizarre stories began to surface online that Harden was spending his money in a completely different place. Essentially, these stories claimed that Harden had paid rapper Saweetie $100K just to go on a date.

This story is so salacious in nature that it eventually went viral online, and since then, many have taken to their respective social media platforms to give some commentary. For instance, just hours ago, 50 Cent commented on the matter and seemed very suspicious of Harden’s alleged actions. Now, Harden himself is speaking out about the whole thing, and he is denying every single word of it.

“I’m tired of people creating these fake ass stories knowing I really don’t speak on bullshit,” Harden said. “Leave me out of all the weird shit. Shit trash. Back to my real life. I really stay out the way. Cashapp 100K? Beat it.”

It’s unclear as to where this rumor even came from, as it seems pretty out of the blue, and truly out of the ordinary. Regardless, it was something Harden felt he needed to respond to and it’s nice to have some clarity on the situation.

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The Pulitzer Prize Board honored Darnella Frazier, the young woman who recorded the killing of George Floyd with a video that would go on to help convict police officer Derek Chauvin and spark national protests. Frazier was given a special citation on Friday during the award ceremony.

Pulitzer Prize co-chair Mindy Marqués said that “The Floyd story in particular highlighted not only the essential role of journalists, but the increasing importance of ordinary citizens in the quest for truth and justice.”

She added, “We want to note that the board has awarded a special citation to Darnella Frazier, the teenage witness who filmed and posted the transformative video that jolted viewers and spurred protests against police brutality around the world.”

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Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter during his trial in April.

Frazier reflected on the decision to film Floyd’s murder with an Instagram post on the one-year anniversary of his death last month: “Even though this was a traumatic life-changing experience for me, I’m proud of myself. If it weren’t for my video, the world wouldn’t have known the truth. I own that. My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets.”

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Mt. Rushmore debates have been recurring with increased frequencies these days, because if there’s anything rap fans love to do, it’s ranking. In this case, Rushmore centers around the idea of hip-hop’s founding fathers, for simplicity’s sake divided up into era or category. Regardless, the discussions tend to celebrate rap innovators and legends, with a recent one from RapCaviar claiming the 2010’s Rushmore includes J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and Drake.

Naturally, the omission of many notable names sparked further conversation, and today — the same day the Migos dropped off their brand new Culture III album — Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff found themselves asked about the ongoing Rushmore frenzy seizing social media. Speaking with The Shade Room, the pair opened up about their own thoughts on being frequently left out of the conversation, with Offset noting that groups seldom find themselves included in such debates.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

“They count us out cause we in a group,” says Takeoff, as Offset jumps in. “Say for instance, they say ‘name your top five rappers,” says Set. “They really count us out cause we in a group. Just like XXL Freshmen, during the time, we couldn’t be on it cause we was a group, and they don’t do groups. It should be a little circle with all three heads like boom boom boom on that Mt. Rushmore. Cause w done birthed a lot of this.” “Ya’ll talking eras,” adds Quavo. “We been it for the last five years. You gotta throw us in there.” 

Earlier in the conversation, Quavo provides a bit of context to his point. “They don’t ever give us credit for the flow, the flow we created,” says Huncho. “We created this new genre of great music. Great artists came out because of the flow. If you take us away from the game, you’ll see the apocalypse or something…It ain’t necessarily about the sound…we saying your cadence is the same, it got some similarities.” 

For more from Migos, be sure to check out their full interview with The Shade Room below. And if you haven’t already, give Culture III a spin right over here. 

WATCH: Migos speak with The Shade Room

Polo G has fulfilled and even surpassed his “Rapstar” moniker in the past two years with consistent and explosive success in the rap game. With last year’s blowup sophomore album The Goat, a #1 song on Billboard, and today’s release of his third album Hall of Fame, there seems to be nothing that can stop the Chicago rapper’s drive. Polo G sat down with The Breakfast Club today to discuss these successes, his journey to the top, and more with Charlamagne and the group. He spoke on everything from drug addiction, his high-profile collaborations, and his vision for the future.

Polo G, real name Taurus Bartlett, began the interview speaking on his recent purchase of a $5 million mansion– a perfect metaphor for his stature in the contemporary rap game. “It’s like the level that I’m at now in my career. It’s a reflection of it at this point,” the rapper had to say about the purchase. Purchasing mansions and working with industry legends like Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj hasn’t come without hard work, however, says Bartlett who began writing songs when he was nine. He began taking music seriously in his senior year of high school and enrolled in an HBCU, though he “had just went to the studio instead and stayed in Chicago”, as he tells Charlamagne. He then tapped his “businesswoman” mom to manage his music career when he started blowing up. 

“It took for me to get back home and know what I just did, I’m like, damn I just shot a video with Lil Wayne,” the rapper says on his impressive track “GANG GANG” with the rap legend. He then remarks how excited his family was at his new track “For the Love of New York” with Nicki Minaj. Though he finds he needs no coaching or outside direction in his career, “there’s no one really experienced in the rap game who’s going to coach me”- he found guidance in his short friendship with late rapper Juice WRLD. 

As for the future, Polo G promises new music and another business venture into the jewelry business. He also plans on investing money into the city of Chicago, focusing on infrastructure and the livelihood of neglected neighborhoods.

Have you listened to Hall of Fame yet? Want to watch the interview? Check it out below: