Hip Hop News

Drake’s “Scorpion” Becomes His 6th Project To Spend 150 Weeks On Billboard

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The world doesn’t need to be reminded of Drake’s star power. Named Billboard’s Artist of the Decade earlier this month, he’s amassed a total of 9 No. 1 albums throughout the span of his career. In addition to successful albums, the OVO head honcho has managed to break even the most obscure of records in music, becoming the first artist to ever debut at all top 3 positions on the Hot 100 chart after releasing Scary Hours 2. 

As fans eagerly await Certified Lover Boy, another one of the Toronto native’s projects has surpassed a major milestone. Drake’s 2018 fifth studio album Scorpion is still charting on the Billboard 200 chart years after its release. The 25-track project currently sits at #43 on the publication’s chart, spending a total of 150 weeks on the chart. 


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Although the album was received with mixed reviews from avid listeners and critics of the rap star, its lead single “God’s Plan” went on to be Diamond-certified. In addition to “God’s Plan,” “Nice For What,” and “In My Feelings” both hit the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 and have each been certified 5x-Platinum by the RIAA.

Scorpion joins Drake’s other efforts Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (197 weeks), Views (261 weeks), More Life (209 weeks) as efforts from the megastar to remain on the Billboard 200 for a minimum of 150 weeks. Each of these projects also peaked at #1. 

In 2019, he became the second artist in the hip-hop game to ever have two albums reach the 300-week level on the chart. The rapper achieved this coveted milestone with the help of fan-favorite albums Take Care, which has spent 428 weeks on the chart, and Nothing Was the Same, which has spent 374 weeks on the chart. Eminem was the first to do this. 

Congrats to Drake! With CLB on the horizon, there’s certainly more to come. Be sure to revisit Scorpion as well. 

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Smino Begins His ‘New Journey’ With The Nourishing ‘Rice & Gravy’

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St. Louis rapper Smino is back with a new song, “Rice & Gravy,” which he calls the beginning of a new journey. Releasing the single with a minimum of fanfare, Smino seemed to reveal a change in his label situation with a tweet just before the new song’s release. “dawg I went thru so much bullsht tryna release music over da past couple years,” he wrote. “I’m jus happy af to begin my new journey tonite… I feel like a brand new artist rn.”

He may feel like a new artist, but “Rice & Gravy” is vintage Smino, with a glitchy, synth-and-bass beat produced by Monte Booker and a rubberband flow that springs between melodic and staccato cadences delivered in Smi’s signature, grits-thick St. Louis accent. Longtime fans will surely be satisfied with this recipe, and anyone who has been awaited a follow-up to Smino’s 2018 album Noir may be excited to learn that he’s once again in the driver’s seat of his own release schedule.

Despite whatever troubles he’s had in getting new music out, Smino has tried to stay busy, featuring on tracks from Thundercat (“Dragonball Durag Remix” with Guapdad 4000), and his recently discovered cousin Denzel Curry (“So.Incredible.Pkg” with Kenny Beats and Robert Glasper), working with his Zoink Gang compatriots Buddy, Guapdad, and JID, and dropping the surprise quarantine tape She Already Decided.

Listen to Smino’s “Rice & Gravy” above.

Mulatto’s Long-Awaited Name Change Is Finally Official

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It looks like Atlanta rapper Mulatto’s long-awaited name change is finally official, as first Apple Music and now Spotify, reflect her new, slightly less problematic moniker. While many fans expected her to start going by her nickname “Big Latto” — which also doubled as the title of her second EP — she went for a bigger chop, reducing that nickname down to simply “Latto.” It also appears she’s got new music coming soon to celebrate.

This marks the second time she shortened her nom de guerre after knocking her name down from “Miss Mulatto,” the title under which she appeared on Lifetime’s The Rap Game, where she won the show’s first season. Unfortunately, due to the historical implications of the term “Mulatto,” her increased profile over the past year also brought increased scrutiny and criticism, which she addressed at multiple points over the year, including in an exclusive profile with Uproxx, in which she explained:

“It’s not about me comparing my ‘struggles of being mixed’ to any other skin tone, any other race, anything like that. It’s just simply me explaining my story. I did experience a different type of upbringing having two completely different cultures. One side of my family cooked this way, talked this way, celebrate this way, traditions is this way, and then one of the sides is different, and as a kid, I was just confused and kind of had to find my way in my identity. It’s just about an experience, and flipping that negative into something positive.”

Some fans still couldn’t see it that way, especially after Latto made some public missteps in addressing the criticism. Now that her name change is official — at least on streaming services, if not social media, where the process can be a bit more complicated — we’ll see if she can dodge continued opprobrium as her star continues to rise. Check out some screenshots of the artist’s revamped title on Spotify and Apple Music

below.

Joe Budden Addresses Oliva Dope’s Sexual Harassment Accusations: ‘I Apologize Sincerely’

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Just a day after former Joe Budden Podcast Network host Olivia Dope accused the network’s namesake of sexual harassment, Budden himself has responded, saying he takes accountability and apologizes. Dope left Budden’s podcast network after he made lewd comments toward her while taping her show See, the Thing Is…, just months after the show’s launch in October of 2020. She explained why she left in an Instagram video detailing the comments and calling the experience “embarrassing” and “traumatizing.”

According to Rolling Stone, Budden has since issued a statement in which he addressed the power imbalance inherent to his sexual remarks as Olivia’s former boss, and claimed to support “all women’s rights to feel comfortable and protected in the workplace.”

You can read the full statement below.

As a podcaster, it is my job to address topics and create dialogue around them. During the conversation on the See, The Thing Is podcast I didn’t handle the topics with the sensitivity they deserved. I recognize my words and power in that situation created an upsetting environment for Olivia. Upon reflection, both the network and I take accountability for this. I apologize sincerely to Olivia, her former co-hosts, our staff, and the public. In an effort to not further any trauma, the episode will be removed from all platforms. We support all women’s rights to feel comfortable and protected in the workplace. We fell short of that in this instance. We support Olivia in her quest to heal, applaud her for finding the strength to share her experience, and wish her the best in all her future endeavors. I am taking the time to listen and learn; we have already begun to make the necessary changes to ensure this is a safe environment for all moving forward. We at the network endeavor to continue to elevate Black women’s voices and create opportunities to have constructive conversations to impact change.

Aesop Rock Goes Skeletal In “Jumping Coffin” Video

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The Spirit World Field Guide has returned with another scenic stop on his tour. We are, of course, referring to the one and only Aesop Rock, who has proven to be one of hip-hop’s most intellectually challenging lyricists, seldom presenting something exactly as it seems. It’s part of what makes him so compelling to revisit, and Aesop’s latest drop continues to spark new interpretations with every new spin. 

Today, the Rhymesayers emcee has come through to bring some new visuals to the table, this time holding it down with a clip for “Jumping Coffin.” In typical Aesop fashion, the visuals come courtesy of his longtime collaborator Rob Shaw, who animated macabre imagery over motion-captured footage of pro skaters  Emile Laurent, Enzo Kurmaskie, Anthony Del Togno Armanasco, and Silas Baxter-Neal.

Though relatively simple in concept, the clip is actually rather ambitious in execution. It also happens to be on-brand for Aesop, who has long held a fascination with all things skeletal — lest we forget about his underground classic Skelethon, which unsurprisingly featured a skeleton on the album cover. Be sure to revisit “Jumping Coffin” now, and show some love to Aesop Rock in the comments below — have you been keeping Spirit World Field Guide in steady rotation? 

Kodak Black Says He Had A Dream About Trump: “I Love Dat N***a”

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If it weren’t for Donald Trump, rapper Kodak Black could possibly still have been incarcerated today. On the former President’s final day in the White House, he doled out pardons and commutations to dozens of people, including Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. Black was previously sentenced on gun charges. He was released from prison shortly after Trump’s pardon and it looks like he couldn’t be more thankful for Trump’s decision to let him off the hook.

Over the last couple of months, we’ve seen Kodak reference the former President numerous times, even getting a diamond-clad championship-style ring with “Trump Ties” written on it. Given his personal connection to Trump after being pardoned, many of his fans aren’t too shaken up about his support of the disgraced POTUS. His Trump love appears to run pretty deep though and, apparently, it even moved over to Yak’s dreamland this week.

On Monday, the rapper tweeted: “Had a dream bout trump last night, I love dat n***a.” 

As you would expect, his replies are filled with trollery from hip-hop fans who aren’t impressed with the post, Trump-supporting bots that are singing his praises, and others theorizing that Trump would definitely have retweeted the message had he not been banned from Twitter. 

Kodak didn’t specify what the dream was about. In other news, Kodak released his latest project Haitian Boy Kodak last week, which you can listen to here.


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Naomi Campbell Announces She’s Become A Mother To A Baby Girl

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With one of the most recognizable visages in the fashion industry, Naomi Campbell’s life is often placed under a microscope. While still stepping out to make brief appearances, she has taken a noticeable step back from any major appearances. The legendary supermodel announced today that she became a mother for the first time, dropping the surprise announcement today with an adorable picture to compliment. 

The 50-year-old British model explained on Instagram how “honoured” she was to become a mother for the first time. “A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother,” wrote Campbell on Instagram Tuesday (May 18).


Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

She went on to rave about motherhood, adding, “So honoured to have this gentle soul in my life there are no words to describe the lifelong bond that I now share with you my angel. There is no greater love.”

While no further information on her new bundle of joy is known at this time, Naomi has been vocal in the past about her aspirations to become a mother. “I’d love to have kids. I don’t discount anything in my life. I love kids and always will,” said the model in a 2018 interview with Vogue Arabia. 

She continued, “When I’m around children, I become a child myself. That’s the little girl I don’t ever want to lose.” In 2017, she opened up about possibly adopting a child but desiring a stable relationship so the child would have a father figure. “I think about having children all the time,” she explained. “But now with the way science is I think I can do it when I want.”

On single parenting, she explained, “I do want a father figure. I think it’s important,” but added the future is up in the air, “It’s the way I feel today, sitting here talking to you.”

Congrats to Naomi on becoming a mom!

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Nicki Minaj Put G Herbo On With “Chi-Raq”

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Herbo has become a household name at this point, but there was once a time when the Chicago rapper was grinding to make his mark in the game. Going by Lil Herb at the time, he eventually went on to catch the eye of Young Money’s Nicki Minaj, who was in the midst of a triumphant run on Weezy’s legendary label.

In 2014, Nicki included Lil Herb on her song “Chi Raq, which was ultimately the biggest look of his still-early career. Minaj actually included the track on her re-released version of her breakout 2009 mixtapeBeam Me Up Scotty, bringing a new wave of attention to the Allen Ritter, Boi-1da, and Vinylz-produced banger. “@nickiminaj GAVE ME MY FIRST BIG SHOT,” praised Herbo, following the big re-release. “PUT ME ON THAT STAGE WITH HER & I AIN’T LOOKED BACK SINCE! LOVE YOU 4 EVER EVER!!” 

Perhaps we’ll see them collaborating once again, as Minaj has been teasing a return to the game following her brief “retirement.” Given how far Herbo has come since the days of their first duet, it would certainly be interesting to hear what they’d cook up in 2021. Be sure to check out one of the tape’s many highlights right here, and sound off — do you want to hear Nicki Minaj and G Herbo reuniting? 

QUOTABLE LYRICS

When it’s drama time
Run up on a ni**ga with the llamas flyin’
Leave his loved ones all traumatized
1-50, I’m really with it
I’ll drop his ass and then forget it
I’m the man ’round my side of town
Might see a bitch and forget I hit it

Joe Budden Responds To Olivia Dope Sexual Harassment Allegations

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Joe Budden has responded to the sexual harassment allegations from Olivia Dope, former co-host of See, The Thing Is, in a new statement.

On Monday, Olivia Dope accused Budden, her boss on the Joe Budden Network, of sexual harassment. “On Jan. 18, 2021, Joe Budden sat in on a recording of the female-led podcast I was a part of and continuously made sexual, suggestive remarks to me that made me extremely uncomfortable as well as fearful of dampening the mood if I didn’t laugh along while he made those sexual remarks to me,” she said. Shortly after she made the claims, a video resurfaced of Budden giving Dope a hug during the recording, seemingly moving his hips during the embrace.

Budden issued the following statement, according to Rolling Stone, in his official response to Dope’s allegations.

“As a podcaster, it is my job to address topics and create dialogue around them. During the conversation on the See, The Thing Is podcast I didn’t handle the topics with the sensitivity they deserved. I recognize my words and power in that situation created an upsetting environment for Olivia. Upon reflection, both the network and I take accountability for this. I apologize sincerely to Olivia, her former co-hosts, our staff, and the public.In an effort to not further any trauma, the episode will be removed from all platforms.

We support all women’s rights to feel comfortable and protected in the workplace. We fell short of that in this instance. We support Olivia in her quest to heal, applaud her for finding the strength to share her experience, and wish her the best in all her future endeavors. I am taking the time to listen and learn; we have already begun to make the necessary changes to ensure this is a safe environment for all moving forward. We at the network endeavor to continue to elevate Black women’s voices and create opportunities to have constructive conversations to impact change.”

Let us know what you think of this situation in the comments.

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