Hip Hop News

EarthGang originally teased that their Ghetto Gods album would be arriving on the same day as J. Cole’s The Off-Season, but Olu and Dot opted to take a different road. At this moment, they have yet to provide a concrete release day for the anticipated project, though the Dreamville duo has been extremely generous in delivering new music — including “Aretha” and a remix to “Options” with Wale and Coi Leray that drops tomorrow. 

Now, they hit up Reddit’s hiphopheads to share an update on the project, confirming that it will be arriving at some point after Lollapalooza wraps in August. “Album coming after Lolla,” confirms EarthGang, in a lengthy post. “We appreciate our fans and we appreciate Reddit. More joints like the lemon pepper freestyle and Aretha are coming. Shouts to KP for coming on to executive produce it. Real dungeon family heads know who that is. It’s our most complete and succinct album we’ve had since strays. It sounds like nothing from us previously, we hope that’s a good thing.”

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“Festival run in the fall, can’t wait to see our fans,” they continue. “Touring all 2022 #Biodeghettable. Ghetto goods Merch store on the way also Please donate to our ghetto garden, it’s a real life changer for the community. Drink more water and grow some shit – wise words from Killer Mike. Interscope cleared the budget, creative on the way. Dollar & A Dream EARTHGANG edition? Thinking about making a discord but we’ll gauge interest. We’ll be back with more #WeAreEARTHGANG.”

From the sound of it, it’s entirely possible that we’ll be looking at a similar release to Mirrorland, which arrived on September 6th of 2019. Keep an eye out for new updates on EarthGang’s upcoming album, as well as the “Options Remix” with Wale and Coi Leray. Are you excited to see what Olu and Wowgr8 have been cooking up?

LISTEN: EarthGang – Aretha

Trae Young and his Atlanta Hawks are currently enthralled in a highly competitive playoff series against the New York Knicks, and as a result, all eyes are on him to see if he can push his team to the second round. On Sunday, May 23, the star point guard scored two clutch points at the end of the game to lead the Hawks to a victory at Madison Square Garden, and ever since, Young has been the butt of many criticisms and jokes, from Skip Bayless to the NYC mayor Bill de Blasio.

Now it looks like Kodak Black is stepping up to the plate, and he has just one question for Trae Young.

“How You Scared Of Birds But You Play Fa The Hawks?” Kodak asks Young via a recent tweet.

For those who are unfamiliar with the context of Kodak Black‘s question, Trae Young has previously been vocal about his ornithophobia, a.k.a the fear of birds. His fear is even more ironic seeing that he ultimately ended up playing for the Atlanta Hawks in the first chapter of his professional career in the NBA.

The Knicks defeated the Hawks on Wednesday, May 26, and tied their series 1-1, and following Kodak and everyone else’s jokes, it will be exciting to see how Young bounces back when the series continues in Atlanta on Friday, May 28.

Check out Trae Young’s #PoppinOff interview with Yahoo Sports, in which he confirms his fear of birds around the 1:50 mark.

With the ninth chapter of The Fast And The Furious saga receiving praise as the summer’s first blockbuster, Complex has come through to share a first look at the tracklist of the official soundtrack. Set to drop on June 19th, the project features an absolutely stacked lineup of hip-hop talent, including a few posthumous appearances from Pop Smoke and King Von.

In addition to Smoke and Von, the F9 soundtrack will feature appearances from Don Toliver, Lil Durk, Latto, Skepta, Pop Smoke, A$AP Rocky, Juicy J, Project Pat, Offset, Trippie Redd, Kevin Gates, Lil Durk, King Von, Jack Harlow, Ty Dolla $ign, 24KGOLDN, The Prodigy, RZA, Lil Tecca, Konshens, NLE Choppa, Rico Nasty, Sean Paul, and more.

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In some cases, we’re looking at some promising combinations. For example, the opening track “Fast Line” features Toliver, Lil Durk, and Latto,  “Lane Switcha” features Pop Smoke, Skepta, A$AP Rocky, Juicy J, and Project Pat, and “Hit Em Hard” unites Offset, Trippie Redd, Kevin Gates, Lil Durk, and King Von. 

It should be interesting to see how the music turns out, and whether or not F9 has the mileage to secure a spot alongside the great hip-hop soundtracks of our time. Look for the soundtrack to land ahead of the film on June 19th, and check out the full tracklist below. Do you think this one has potential?

On Monday, May 24, 32-year-old Derius Taylor reportedly admitted to shooting and killing 20-year-old Dominique Stafford, a locally known Kansas City rapper, in 2015. According to Complex, Taylor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action for his involvement in Stafford’s murder, and a Jackson County judge then sentenced him to 20 years in prison — 10 years for each of his convictions.

Taylor’s conviction comes six full years after Stafford’s death, which took place in April 2015. The Jackson County prosecutor reveals that Taylor originally devised a plan to rob Stafford during a fake drug deal, and when he got to the Kansas City rapper’s car, Taylor shot him and took both a rifle and a diamond-encrusted pendant, the latter of which he ultimately sold at a nearby pawn shop.

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According to Complex, Stafford’s death tragically came one month after his older brother’s. In March 2015, 22-year old Arthur Stafford, Jr. was shot and killed, but unfortunately, after more than six years, Arthur’s murder has still not been solved by the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.

Both of the Stafford brothers were signed to local Kansas City-based record label Duced Out Records. Rest in peace to both Dominique and Arthur.

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Throughout the past few years, Royce Da 5’9″ has been using his platform to speak on hip-hop culture, praising his peers for their accomplishments and building up young Black artists. Today, the legendary Detroit lyricist — who is currently putting in work on his upcoming follow-up to The Allegory — has taken a moment to speak on J. Cole’s brief but important decision to pursue a pro career in the Basketball Africa League.

Though Cole’s time in the league was short-lived, with the rapper wrapping his three-game stint with 5 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and forty-five minutes of time on court, Royce made it clear that he appreciates and respects the rapper’s dedication. “Listen man, I just want to say I’m very proud of what J. Cole is doing,” he begins. “He’s showing the young kids that look up to him that you don’t have to stop at one dream. If you can somehow create enough value for yourself, you can achieve many things and do whatever you want without limits.”

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“If you dedicate your life to playing a professional sport and you don’t realize its a business, you just wasted your whole life,” he continues. “J. Cole brings viewership, just like Jake Paul and Logan Paul bring to boxing. Just like when all the boxing purists go man, this is bad for the sport. No, we don’t do that shit when all ya’ll n***as decide you want to be rappers and get in our fuc*ing way. We don’t say nothing about that.”

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“So just be happy for J. Cole,” concludes Nickle. “He’s chasing his dreams, he’s bringing viewership, he didn’t take nobody’s spot because he’s bringing something to the table that other muthafuckas can’t bring. And you can thank hip-hop for that.”

It’s clear that Royce appreciates J. Cole as not only an artist, but a man. We can only hope the pair once again cross paths in the studio, as their first and only collaboration “Boblo Boat” was an excellent piece of music. Check out Royce’s glowing assessment of Cole’s basketball career below.

Congratulations are in order for G Herbo and Taina Williams, who shared that they have welcomed their first baby into the world together. 

The couple announced they were pregnant at the beginning of this year, keeping the child’s sex under wraps until a few months later when G Herbo accidentally revealed they were having a boy during an Instagram Live. He went on to tweet the following: “YEAH I GAVE THE GENDER AWAY ON ACCIDENT THE OTHER DAY [laughing emoji] BABY BOY + SON SON = DOUBLE TROUBLE.”

Early on Thursday morning, the rapper updated his Instagram with the first picture of his newborn son in his arms. He kept his caption short and sweet, sharing a black and white heart emoji. Already, celebrities including Reginae Carter, Lil Tjay, DJ Envy, DJ Clue, Trae Tha Truth, and more have rushed to post their celebratory messages in the comments. 

Taina Williams has not posted since the birth of her newborn son.

G Herbo has one son with his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Fletcher. This is Taina Williams’ first child.

We’ll keep you posted as the couple reveals more information about their baby, including his name, more pictures, and anything else. Congratulations to G Herbo and Taina!