Hip Hop News

Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder apologized to Ja Morant, Friday, after a group of fans yelled sexually explicit and racist remarks at the Memphis Grizzlies’ star’s parents, who were present for the Jazz’s 141-129 Game 2 win over the Grizzlies.

“First, I’d like to apologize to Ja and his family,” Snyder said after Friday’s practice, according to ESPN. “No one should have to be subjected to the kind of behavior that they were the other night. It’s deplorable. And the people that made those comments should be banned for life. I’m sorry for [his family] to have to endure that and as I said it’s deplorable and concerning and should not be tolerated.”

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Jazz star Donovan Mitchell also spoke about the incident, comparing it to a handful of instances where fans have crossed the line in recent weeks: “You’ve seen guys say that the way they [would have] handled it would be totally different. It’s beyond unfortunate and it needs to change. It happened here. Trae [Young] got spit on in New York, [Russell Westbrook] getting popcorn thrown at him, and we obviously hear what’s going on in Boston, too. Enough is enough, man.”

Morant says the behavior was unacceptable, but he’s now focused on Game 3: “Obviously, it’s very unacceptable what went on. My family’s doing well. It’s just mind-blowing that that type of stuff still continues in the world today. But our focus now, me and my family, is Game 3. Probably go home, watch basketball with them tonight to prepare, and we’re very excited to be back home in Memphis, where we’re comfortable and have fans who embrace us and love us, treat us like their own.”

Game 3 between the Jazz and Grizzlies will tip-off Saturday, at 9:30 PM, EST.

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Ever since her public visibility has increased after her massively successful hit “Truth Hurts” climbed the Billboard charts, Lizzo has unfortunately been the victim of persistent body-shaming trolls. While she often maintains an unbothered and carefree public persona, she has been vocal about how the negative attention has never been easy to deal with. 

Just earlier this month, she took to TikTok to share a vulnerable moment with fans where she shared, “I am loved. I’m not alone. That’s how I want to feel but I don’t feel it.” Akbar V, a supporting cast member on Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, recently took to Twitter to defend the “Juice” artist from body-shaming trolls, sharing her experience with fat shamers in the industry. 

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Edited for clarity, the reality TV star penned, “[I don’t] like how y’all be body-shaming [Lizzo] to keep shit G yall drove me into surgery.” 

She continued, “I felt like i couldn’t make it being fat and apart of me wanted to lose weight to be healthy but 95% i wanted to lose weight cause i wanted to win in this music industry and i don’t regret losing.” She added in a second tweet, “It’s always something … you too big …. lose some weight do this do that you got to act like this you got to say that to be honest none of that shit matter if you got a hit record …with a hit record you can skate on ice …..[Lizzo] don’t let nobody drive you into depression.” 

“Then when you do decide to lose weight here come the trolls you lost to much weight, you look sick, you think you all that, you this you that, ion like the new person you became,” she added in a final tweet. “So basically nothing is good enough for y’all and y’all bash us when we talk back an check y’all.” 

Following his divorce from Kim Kardashian, Kanye West continues to remain an extremely elusive figure. Over the past few months, the JESUS IS KING artist has only popped up on rare occasions, and his most notable appearances as of late were his surprise visit to DJ Khaled’s house days prior to the release of Khaled Khaled and his performance at DMX’s funeral.

Now, it appears that Kanye is aiming to be even more low-key. According to TMZ, Yeezy was spotted out in Los Angeles wearing a face mask that resembled a paper bag more than a traditional balaclava.

The look is undeniably a strange one, but in actuality, the bag-like mask is a unique fashion choice that Yeezy has experimented with before. With no visible holes for his eyes, nose, or mouth, the eye-catching mask is reminiscent of the ornate face coverings that Kanye wore throughout his 2013 Yeezus Tour.

It’s also worth noting that Ye is seen without the wedding rang that he wore in DJ Khaled’s Khaled Khaled promotional pictures. After rumors recently claimed that the controversial rapper is now dating Irina Shayk, it appears that Kanye may be moving on from his divorce after all.

Are you feeling Kanye’s new mask?

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Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat made an improbable run to the NBA Finals last year, where they eventually lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, fans felt as though it was a coming-out party of sorts for Butler, who was never seen as a number one option before. With his performance in the bubble in the rearview mirror, fans were expecting a lot from the Heat this season, and for the most part, they coasted along to a sixth-seed performance in the Eastern Conference. 

After beating the Milwaukee Bucks last year, there was a sense that they could upset them once again in 2021. However, that turned out to be unequivocally false as the Bucks immediately jumped to a 3-0 series lead, all while Butler struggled. Today, the Heat were looking to delay the inevitable in Game 4 against the Bucks. In fact, they even had a lead at the half, however, things quickly fell apart which allowed the Bucks to reclaim the lead and ultimately come away with the win.

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With the loss, the Heat have officially been swept from the playoffs and NBA Twitter is rejoicing. There are a lot of fans out there who felt like last year’s run was a complete fluke, and they were waiting for their suspicions to be confirmed. Now that Butler and his teammates are going home for the summer, the slander has been front and center, and if you were to go to Twitter right now, you would see a ton of jokes at Butler and the Heat’s expense.

As for the Bucks, they will now await the winner of the series between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics, although who are we kidding, we all know it’s going to be the Nets.

You can check out the Butler/Heat slander, below.

Lil Baby was already a force to be reckoned with after unleashing a series of mixtapes and his debut project Harder Than Ever between 2017 and 2019. His star power reached new heights when he dropped his second studio album My Turn at the top of 2020, going on to earn the Atlanta native some of the biggest hits of his career and two Grammy nominations at the 2021 ceremony. 

The album’s lead single “Woah,” as well as some subsequent singles like “Sum 2 Prove,” “Emotionally Scarred,” and “The Bigger Picture,” all peaked within the Top 40 region of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the album landed on numerous year-end lists. While he didn’t walk away with any Grammy awards for My Turn, the massively successful project was recognized as this year’s Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the iHeart Radio Music Awards. 

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In a pre-taped acceptance speech, the rapper thanked the people that made it all possible. “First off, I wanna say it’s an honor to receive the Hip Hop Honor of the Year,” Lil Baby said during the acceptance speech. “I wanna give a special thanks to iHeartRadio, and all my fans and all my supporters. Thank you.”

The Atlanta native surely earned the recognition, too. My Turn became Baby’s first Billboard 200 chart No.1 album and was also the highest-selling album of 2020, pushing roughly 2.6 million album-equivalent units since its release in February of 2020. In February of this year, the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA. 

Lil Baby also accompanied the family of George Floyd on a visit to the White House on Tuesday to commemorate his death. There, he and Floyd’s family members privately met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Baby notably used some of the proceeds from his single “The Bigger Picture” to help put together a birthday party for Floyd’s daughter Gianna in December of 2020.

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