Hip Hop News

Tory Lanez Brings “Playboy” To Life With Live Album

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Tory Lanez has been keeping it moving, having recently dropped off his new Playboy capsule at the beginning of March. At the time, Lanez broke down his inspiration behind the R&B project as follows: “This R&B Capsule ‘PlayBoy‘ was made off of pure pain, heartbreak, and hard liquor. Tread lightly listening.” Being so clearly a personal release for the Canadian melodist, it’s no wonder he opted to explore it further with a subsequent live version, officially released today.

Though generally similar to the studio version in many regards, Playboy Live has the advantage of being fueled by live instrumentation, which in itself breathes new life into an arrangement; new emotions can surface in unexpected places as unspoken camaraderie between musicians is explored. On the vocal front, Tory allows his vocals room to shine, his passionate cadence blending effectively over guitars, drums, bass, and keyboards. In some ways, it can be argued that this live Playboy variant is an improvement over its predecessor, as there’s a rawness throughout that captures the very pain that inspired its creation in the first place.

Should you be among those still loyal to Lanez’s cause, consider Playboy Live a welcome addition to his catalog, and an artistic showcase that finds him comfortably in his element. One has to wonder if he’ll consider bringing this project to the live stage once the world opens up again. What do you think of Playboy Live? 

Milano Pens Sweet Birthday Message For Meek Mill

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Meek Mill welcomed his first child with his then-girlfriend Milan Harris during quarantine last year. The couple split shortly after welcoming their bundle of joy, initially being on somewhat shaky terms with each other following the break-up. They’ve since patched things up and seem to be on pretty healthy terms, mutually praising each other in the time since then.

Further proving their stable co-parenting relationship, Milano penned a sweet birthday message for the father of her son on his recent 34th birthday. 


Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows

“Happy birthday Babydad,” wrote Milan over an old family video of a young Meek Mill shared to her Instagram story on Thursday (May 6). She continued, “Thanks for showing me the world through a new lens & blessing me with Czar.” 

The one-year-old son of the former couple Czar made a rare social media appearance on his father’s Instagram page ahead of his first birthday. The father-son duo notably shares the same born day, likely a huge deal for the first-time dad. 

A few months following the birth of Czar, the couple amicably decided to split. “Me and Milano decided to remain friends and build our child as separate parents … we still have mad love for each other, but we both came to an understanding,” Meek penned in a since-deleted Instagram post last summer. “No fall out either, just moving forward! Still love! This for protection, so social media won’t think we moving wrong.”

Happy belated Birthday to both Meek and Czar!

Toosii And DaBaby Would Rather Send Shots Than ‘Shop’ In A Tough-Talking New Video

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Last night, Raleigh, North Carolina rapper Toosii released his mixtape, Thank You For Believing, his third project since February of 2020. The tape, which followed his star-making debut album Poetic Pain, arrived with more than a little fanfare, as listeners tweeting about the project momentarily launched Toosii to a higher position on Twitter’s trending topics chart than even J. Cole. He also shared the first video from the project, “Shop” featuring his fellow South Coast Music Group artist DaBaby.

The song sees Toosii and DaBaby relaying their tough-guy credentials, insisting they’d be more likely to shoot down a foe than waste money on a woman. The video mostly tracks with this concept, as a clubgoing Toosii puts the pause on his mack game to put his paws on a player hater. The beat features an easygoing acoustic guitar loop much like the one on DaBaby’s No. 1 single “Rockstar,” somewhat belying the menacing subject matter and ensuring that “Shop” will be a catchy hit despite its dismissive view of the violence the two rappers are ready to commit.

If the song does become a hit, it’ll be Toosii’s second huge smash after 2020’s “Sapiosexual” put him on the radar as one of 2021’s top artists to watch. His “What It Cost” video is worth a look, too.

Watch Toosii and DaBaby’s “Shop” video above.

Thank You For Believing is out now via South Coast Music Group. Get it here.

Mario Judah Fans Are Dismayed To Learn He Was Taken Off Trippie Redd’s ‘Miss The Rage’

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Last night, Trippie Redd and Playboi debuted their dizzying trap-metal collaboration, “Miss The Rage” to general acclaim among their fans on Twitter, but the highly-anticipated song turned out to be missing something: Its original hook, which was sung by rock-rap upstart (and semi-professional Playboi Carti troll) Mario Judah. Upon learning that the “Die Very Rough” wailer was discluded from the original mix, fans armed themselves with memes and shot “Mario Judah” back onto Twitter’s trending charts.

Fans couldn’t help comparing Mario Judah’s previewed version of the song to the one that officially featured Playboi Carti, with some calling the leak better and others defending the commercial release.

Trippie’s new song arrives just over two months after his latest album, the Travis Barker-produced Neon Shark Vs. Pegasus. Trippie also recently appeared on Internet Money’s Juice WRLD-featuring single “Blast Off,” avoiding zombies in the song’s animated music video.

Carti, meanwhile, has been teasing the deluxe version of his 2020 album Whole Lotta Red — the one Mario Judah playfully tried to hijack from under Carti after repeated delays in its release — and dropped a video for “Sky” in April. Despite the delays, Whole Lotta Red became Carti’s first-ever No. 1 album.

Watch Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti’s “Miss The Rage” video above.

Fredo Bang Sends His Enemies A Message On “Oppanese”

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One of the biggest rappers to rise from out of Baton Rouge, Fredo Bang continues to show why he’s one of the best from his city in his new single “Oppanese.” The self-proclaimed “most hated” has a lot of enemies in his city, as well as nationally. His beefs have been well-documented, including an intense feud with fellow Louisiana-based rapper Youngboy Never Broke Again. 

With his new single “Oppanese,” Fredo Bang dives deep into his bag to spit some catchy flows and melodies. While the song’s vibe is melodious, Bang’s menacing lyrics tell a different story. Clearly, he’s not done with the drama and he’s ready to go to war to defend his name.

This week, Fredo Bang revealed his show rate to the world, telling concert promoters that he won’t perform unless he gets $100,000. Do you think he’s worth that rate?

Listen to his new single “Oppanese” below.

Quotable Lyrics:

I don’t need no n***a to vouch for me, my body count gon’ speak
B*tch tryna bring up opps, I told that hoe I don’t speak Oppanese
She like, why you keep me round? But it’s the top and just to drop some knees
They want me in the cell, they tryna stop me like Monopoly
Oh oh, dissing in his feelings, I ain’t trippin he just talk loud

Conor McGregor Roasts Floyd Mayweather After Jake Paul Altercation

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Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul were the talk of social media last night as Jake went and stole Floyd’s hat in the middle of an interview. This all took place at a promotional event for the upcoming fight between Mayweather and Jake’s brother Logan. Overall, Jake ended up stealing the show from Logan and now, the whole incident has turned into a meme all while Jake has created merch for it. Clearly, this whole thing was just a tad staged although it doesn’t take away from the genius marketing.

Despite all of the fun that was had, there is still one man who isn’t laughing. That man is none other than Conor McGregor, who fought Floyd over three years ago. In a rant on Instagram, Conor ripped into Floyd, saying that the situation is actually quite sad.

Floyd Mayweather & Jake Paul

Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

Per McGregor

“The kid curled up, didn’t fight back once, and Floyd is still running around acting the tough guy. The kid actually just pulled this shambles of a situation Floyd is in out of the drain for him. He should thank him. It’s embarrassing! Pro to pro it’s embarrassing. He will not scratch 10m for this fight and he knows it. It was cancelled once already. The world is watching this on Twitter. He’d fight a half decent pro and command 20m upwards, yet its this shit. Whatever way you spin this, it’s sad. Fight someone for real, on your record, or fuck off mate. Slap head!

We all know that McGregor wants to fight against Floyd again and he is mostly using this rant as a way to extend the rivalry. However, at this point, Floyd seems a lot more content with fighting in exhibitions. 

London On Da Track Wants Credit For His 2015 Young Thug Run

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The hip-hop discourse will forever rage on, as there are few things rap fans enjoy more than ranking their favorite emcees and producers. While the topics are certainly numerous, one of the more thought-provoking discussions in recent years centers around the producers that came to define the new generation. Yet amidst all of the names oft-cited as hip-hop’s most influential, it somehow feels like London On Da Track has continuously flown under the radar.

As Young Thug has certainly come to be recognized as one of the most exciting, creative, and dynamic artists of the past several years, London On Da Track’s role as one of the main musical minds behind some of his best work should not go unrecognized. Responsible for beats on the Slime Season series, Barter 6, Beautiful Thugger Girls, On The RVN, and more, London managed to lock in with Thugger’s melodic instincts to the point where their collaborative works were often project highlights.

 London On Da Track

Ollie Millington/Redferns/Getty Images

Yesterday, one fan noted that London’s run was not getting due respect in the wider conversation, prompting a response from the producer. “When it do get talked about it’ll be a lot to talk about,” reflects London, calling back to an era he clearly holds dear to heart. “Me & thug was ahead of our time back in 2015. Me & thug had over 100 songs leaked n shit still went platinum.” 

Interestingly, he notes that their run was “ahead of its time,” with the implication being that their work together went on to impact the sound of today. Not an entirely wild thesis, given how melodic many of today’s rappers tend to be, not to mention the increased emphasis on acoustic instrumentation. Do you think London On Da Track deserves more appreciation for everything he’s brought to the table? And would you say his run with Young Thug in 2015 is among the game’s recent best?

Rich The Kid & Ray J Reenact Jake Paul & Floyd Mayweather’s Fight

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Jake Paul has done it again, antagonizing one of the all-time boxing greats and successfully getting under Floyd Mayweather’s skin. At the press conference for Floyd’s upcoming fight against YouTuber Logan Paul, the championship fighter clashed with Paul’s brother, Jake, who trolled him in the audience. Shortly after they got in each other’s faces, Jake grabbed Floyd’s hat and ran away from the scene. He was promptly met by a member of Floyd’s security team, who landed a punch and left him with a black eye. Jake even got a tattoo directly after the incident to commemorate his hat-snatching moment.

The altercation quickly gained attention on social media as millions around the world commented on what had just happened. As you may have expected too, it has already become a popular meme to reenact the press conference brawl, with rapper Rich The Kid and singer Ray J filming their own version of the fight.

Posting a skit video to Instagram, Rich The Kid took on the role of Jake Paul while Ray J assumed championship duties as Floyd Mayweather. They spewed threats in the street with a crowd overlooking them before Rich grabbed Ray’s cap and ran off. Already, celebrities including 2 Chainz, Jay Critch, Flo Milli, Murda Beatz, and more have left laughing emojis in the comments.

While the majority of people are cracking up at the reenactment, others are teasing Rich The Kid and telling him to recreate his street brawl with Lil Uzi Vert from a few years ago next, wishing to see the rapper jump behind the Starbucks counter one more time.

Watch the video below.

Russ Slides On “Small Talk”

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By now, Russ’ range has been well-documented. Throughout his career, he’s collaborated with R&B artists like Kehlani and Kiana Ledé for more vibey tracks while also linking up with artists like BIA for more club-friendly tunes. 

On “Small Talk,” the Atlanta artist goes bar for bar on the self-produced track. Russ notably owns all his masters, an accomplishment he’s never too shy to brag about and taking a few bars to do so on the new track. The singe is the first in his commitment to releasing one song every week for the next few weeks. 

“No Small Talk, song a week starts back May 7th,” announced the artist while sharing a preview of the track to his Instagram page. He famously first effectively changed his career trajectory back in 2015 by doing the same thing on his Soundcloud account to build ample buzz around his music. 

Of course, all the hard work paid off and the hitmaker is now a multi-Platinum artist with numerous RIAA certifications and several Billboard-charting singles. Listen to Russ talk his sh*t on “Small Talk” below and let us know what you think!

Quotable Lyrics:

Please shut the f*ck up if you don’t have the deal ready
I really don’t want to waste my time
My lawyer told y’all better have ten mil’ ready
But it’s cool, I ain’t trippin’, I’m eatin’