LeBron James is officially switching back to No. 6 on his jersey next season with the Los Angeles Lakers, as reported by Shams Charania and Tim Cato of The Athletic.
Previously, LeBron wore No. 6 as a member of the Miami Heat. He hasn’t worn the number since then but many believe he wore the number during his best years, so we might be in for a special year from The King. The official reason for the switch wasn’t reported but when the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis, the original plan was for LeBron to allow him to use No. 23.
We will keep you updated as more information is released regarding the number change.
The Lakers’ season ended after a disappointing first-round exit in the Playoffs. They were bounced by the Pheonix Suns after LeBron and Davis both suffered injuries. LeBron never completely healed from a high ankle injury, while Anthony Davis reaggravated a groin injury in the first round.
Do you think we’ll see a different LeBron James when he puts on that No. 6?
If there’s one thing for sure about Jayda Cheaves, it’s that she will always have another hustle on the way. Even before being introduced to a more widespread audience after she began dating trap star Lil Baby, she had already amassed a $1 million+ net worth from her various entrepreneurial endeavors.
She even gifted her and Baby’s son Loyal Armani his own company for his birthday earlier this year. For her latest venture, she’ll be able to add actress to her resume. Cheaves scored a role in the upcoming movie Bid For Love. While not much information about the film has been released, she shared a photo on set Wednesday (June 9), building anticipation for her first acting gig.
“Hi I’m Juvie,” posted the multi-hyphenate on Instagram as she posed in front of a trailer on set of the film, likely referencing to her previously unknown role in the new film. In case it wasn’t clear, she added in her location as “on set.”
As previously reported, Bid for Love is still in its filming phases. From the IMDb. description, it seems that viewers can anticipate a romantic drama between a girl caught in an unhealthy relationship and learning to “bid” for herself.
“A love struck Sasha falls head over heels for Malik who slowly makes an attempt to alienate her from her shut ones and secretly plots towards her,” IMDb. summarized. “Her therapist and surprising new pals opens her eyes to her historical past of relationships and provides her recommendation on find out how to cope with them and getting her life again.”
At this time, it’s unclear what Jayda’s role as Juvie will entail. Let us know if you’ll be tuning in down below.
Basketball fans received a second glimpse of the LeBron James-led Space Jam: A New Legacy in a new trailer released today.
The sequel to the 1996 original that starred Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan will feature James in the leading role alongside the iconic Looney Tunes characters, and also features actor Don Cheadle, actresses Zendaya and Sonequa Martin-Green, as well as Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, among other NBA players.
In the trailer, James teams up with the likes of Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, Tasmanian Devil and other Looney Tunes characters in a high-stakes basketball game to save his son from a simulation cartoon world. In addition to the Looney Tunes characters, there will be a plethora of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos throughout the film from iconic characters across different Warner Brothers properties.
The film is helmed by Girls Trip director Malcom D. Lee and James serves as an executive producer alongside his longtime business partner Maverick Carter. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler also has a producer credit on the film.
A New Legacy will be in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max on July 16. Check out the trailer below and comment which characters you can spot.
Young Nudy recently delivered his new album, the sinister Dr. EV4L, a project that many have already praised among his best. Many including us over at HNHH — you can check out our official review of the project right here. Today, the villainous Atlanta artist has come through to deliver some new visuals from the project, opting to land on the COUPE-produced “Soul Keeper.”
Visually, the clip is relatively straightforward, following Nudy in a few different locations — namely a lavish luxury penthouse, where the bulk of the clip takes place. Spitting bars as he smokes weed and stacks paper, Nudy’s charisma comes through in spades, as does his intimidating presence once the ski mask comes out. “Shoot that motherfucker ’til I see that ni**ga not breathing,” he raps. “And I put on stunna frames so these ni**as cannot see me / Sit behind this black tint, black stick get to squeezin’.”
While Nudy’s horror-tinged album and cover artwork might have inspired a few potential video ideas, this latest clip for “Soul Keeper” is enough to keep the momentum rolling. Check out the video now — directed by iNIGHTLYFE and co-directed by Young Nudy himself — and sound off if you’ve been keeping Dr. EV4L in steady rotation.
Videos from Pooh Shiesty’s appearance in court have been circulating on social media, showing the moment the judge — who is actually the same judge who recognized her old friend from middle school in a separate viral video — granted the rapper’s $10,000 bond. However, he must remain in jail until he faces the judge from his other Miami shooting case.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images
As the hearing concluded, the judge informed Pooh Shiesty that he needs to stay away from the alleged victim, also informing the rapper that he is effectively banned from the King of Diamonds strip club in Miami. The attorneys joked with the judge that she should ban the prosecutors from the club too, to which she laughed that she didn’t have that power.
We will continue to keep you updated as more information is released but for now, it looks like Pooh Shiesty will be a free man within the next few days.
Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and D-Nice made a major impact on the music landscape in 2020, and now their efforts are being recognized: The three will be receiving the ASCAP Voice Of The Culture Award during the 2021 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, for their inventive and uniting virtual music events — namely Verzuz and Club Quarantine — during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The award celebrates the most-performed R&B/hip-hop, rap, and gospel songs from the previous year. The virtual celebration will be held on June 22 through June 24 via social media. Registration for the virtual chats and other events is available at the ASCAP Experience website.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s Verzuz was the virtual singing competition series that gained instant claim on Instagram Live by pitting musical legends from all genres against each other, including Gladys Knight vs. Patti LaBelle, Erykah Badu vs. Jill Scott, Earth, Wind & Fire vs. the Isley Brothers, Snoop Dogg vs. DMX, and more. The two Grammy-winning producers and label founders created must-see spectacles that brought millions of isolated people together over music.
Similarly, the legendary DJ Derrick “D-Nice” Jones, turned his Instagram Live broadcasts into a virtual dance party with Club Quarantine. D-Nice’s DJ sets were praised as a much-needed respite by millions during the 2020 lockdowns. Even A-listers like Will Smith, Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Diddy tuned in for D-Nice’s heavy rotation of funk, disco, hip-hop, and R&B. D-Nice teamed up with Issa Rae’s Raedio to co-curate the official playlist of the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris inauguration. His full-length studio album is set to arrive later this year.
Lil Baby stole the show in 2020 and his sophomore album, My Turn is complete proof of that. The project grew to be the best-selling album of the year thanks to efforts like “We Paid” with 42 Dugg and “Sum 2 Prove,” and helped push the Atlanta rapper into a new tier among hip-hop acts. However, the pandemic-riddled year wasn’t a bright spot for Baby only. Nearly a thousand miles northwest, Chicago native Lil Durk also elevated his artistry. Throughout 2020, he dropped two projects, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and The Voice, with both debuting at No. 2 on the album charts, a career-high for him.
With the rappers’ respective success came a new height of popularity and more eyes on them. While some prefer to take advantage of the new attention for their benefit, Baby and Durk — who hatched some chemistry of their own through frequent collaborations — decided to make the most of their increased status for their newly-released album, Voice Of The Heroes. Just like the last however many collaborative hip-hop albums we’ve received over the past decade, the project looked to answer one question: Was it worth the hype?
Yes, but not by a significant margin. The thing with hip-hop joint albums over the past decade is most of them are either underwhelming or age poorly. Huncho Jack is an example of the former while Drake and Future’s What A Time To Be Alive — minus a few highlight tracks — fits the shoe of the latter. Voice Of The Heroes sits in the middle of these. It wasn’t a disappointment nor will it age poorly. The project did what it needed to in highlighting the rappers’ best talents while inviting each other to their respective worlds to experience it and try a hand at thriving in it.
Examples of this arrive fairly often throughout Voice Of The Heroes. “Who I Want” sees both rappers tell their side of a “hustle and love” story with production that allows Durk’s laxed and woozy bars to be palatable with Baby’s grittier approach to the subject. The same occurs on the project’s title track, which doubles as the intro to the album. “Voice Of The Heroes” creates a space for both Durk and Baby that allows them to deliver a melodic sermon about life’s past and current struggles, the things they’ve overcome along the way, and their legacy that takes shape through each release. While there are songs that certainly complement both rappers, there are others that see one of them at an advantage.
“Medical” carries a piano melody that would’ve made the song ideal for placement on Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and Durk shines because of it. Elsewhere, “Man Of My Word” and “How It Feels” sound like they were cut from the cloth of Baby’s My Turn fabric and released with slight alterations. “That’s Facts” is by far the best song on Voice Of The Heroes and it’s a jacket that fits Baby extremely well, but let it be known that Durk slides with ease on the track as well. Lastly, Durk treats his supporters to a pair of “No Auto Durk” offerings — which finds him rapping without his trademark autotune filter — through his verses on “Still Runnin” and “Lying.”
Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s project could have been a slimmer release. Outside of their excellent collaboration with Rod Wave on “Rich Off Pain,” the last third of the album is a bit of a drag that makes the energetic and diverse offerings that arrive before it feels like a distant memory. While today’s streaming world welcomes lengthy projects for the sake of a boost in sales, this writer will rarely be fond of projects that push past the 40-45 minute duration mark. This isn’t to say that the music in that section is bad, but in almost all cases, even the best things in life get tiring after a while.
Voice Of The Heroes is not the career-altering release that Baby and Durk’s respective 2020 projects put forth, but that wasn’t the expectation set by the rappers or their fans before it was released. The project delivers a satisfactory showcase in collaboration between two of this generation’s best rappers. Just like Future and Young Thug did when they shared Super Slimey in 2017, Lil Baby and Lil Durk recognized the potential in joining forces at the relative heights of their careers. Unlike the Atlanta rappers’ effort, Voice Of The Heroes is much closer in proximity to Baby and Durk’s best work. While this project isn’t heroic in any sense, Voice Of The Heroes is certainly better suited to save the day than most of the joint hip-hop albums we’ve received in recent years.
Voice Of The Heroes is out now via Quality Control/Alamo/Motown. Get it here.
Hitmaking producer Pi’erre Bourne reunites with Lil Uzi Vert on “Sossboy 2,” the final single from his upcoming mixtape, The Life of Pi’erre 5, which is due this Friday, June 11. The track was accompanied by an animated visualizer depicting the two artists as Dragon Ball-inspired cartoon avatars as they both rap over the hypnotic, synthesizer-heavy beat.
“Sossboy 2” is one of three tracks featuring guest artists on the 16-song project, including, of course, Playboi Carti and newcomer Sharc, who is signed to Pi’erre’s label SossHouse. Although Pi’erre is focusing on highlighting his solo talents, the three features all make sense; it was Carti and Pi’erre’s collaboration “Magnolia” that launched both to stardom in 2017, while Pi’erre produced a number of tracks for both Carti and Uzi on their most recent outings, Eternal Atake and Whole Lotta Red.
Sossboy 2 last single before album, featuring Uzi Drops Wednesday. Full album Friday. And documentary Friday as well. There.
Pi’erre also produced the majority of Carti’s prior album Die Lit. Most recently, Pi’erre has promoted his SossHouse signees, producing three projects in 2020 for Chavo, Jelly, and Frazier Trill, as well as releasing a deluxe version of the last The Life Of Pi’erre tape, which included 15 new tracks.
Listen to “Sossboy 2” above.
The Life of Pi’erre 5 is due on 6/11 via Interscope Records. Pre-save it here.
Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Houston rapper Slim Thug is determined to end dating and make himself into an honest man. The hip-hop veteran has stepped forward to reveal he’s ready to settle down and put his faith in l-o-v-e. Slim Thug Needs Love Right Now Slim Thugger went to his Instagram page to keep things super honest and real. […]
On Wednesday (June 9), the rap mogul announced that he had appointed his wife Shante Broadus as his official manager. The serial entrepreneur and philanthropist is the founder of Boss Lady Entertainment (BLE), and got her start by managing the early part of Snoop’s career. Shante will oversee Snoop’s full portfolio of business ventures and investments.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
“The industry at large is seeing a major shift in more representation of Black women in key executive roles. I am excited to enter this official position, helping to further expand Snoop’s wide-ranging empire,” said Shante of her new gig. “I have been by Snoop’s side for over two decades, so together with the rest of the team, our goal is to strengthen Snoop’s legacy as a brand with the loyalty and trust of our guidance that has made Snoop who he is today.”
Upcoming projects for the rapper under Shante’s guidance include: Mt. Westmore, Snoopermarket, Snoop Dogg’s Triller Fight partnerships, the Snoop Youth Football League, Snoop’s highly anticipated summer tour, and even more. The new gig arrives ahead of the release of her first memoir chronicling her life in the public eye Paid the Cost to be the Boss Lady, which was penned with an established NYT-bestselling author as her guide.
“Shante has been guiding my career behind the scenes from day one,” says Snoop about his new mangement. “She has always been my final gut check with all my decisions, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her. I am grateful to have her as my official manager, helping to build the Snoop Dogg empire together.”
In addition to the chief management appointment, she will also oversee operations at Los Angeles music recording, production and events space The Compound, which is frequented by artists such as Nipsey Hussle, Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, Wiz Khalifa, and others.
i’erre 
ourne (@pierrebourne) 
