Hip Hop News

Elon Musk’s net worth has reportedly taken a massive hit following his appearance on Saturday Night Live. During the show, the Tesla CEO joked that Dogecoin is a “hustle,” resulting in a 35% drop in its value. 

Additionally, Musk announced that Tesla would no longer be accepting Bitcoin as a form of currency to purchase their electric vehicles, causing a sharp drop in Bitcoin’s value. Musk cited environmental safety as the leading concern in his decision.

Maja Hitij / Getty Images

“Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin,” Musk said. “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel. Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment. Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin’s energy/transaction.”

To top it all off, Tesla shares have fallen 15% in value over the last week.

All-in-all, Forbes reports that Musk’s losses from this week total $20 billion.

Grimes, who is dating Musk and also appeared on the SNL episode, was hospitalized after the show, having suffered a panic attack.

[Via]

Last night, J. Cole delivered his sixth studio album The Off-Season, a project that may very well have played a role in crashing Spotify and TIDAL upon its release. Featuring production from Timbaland, DJ Dahi, Boi-1da, Jake One, T-Minus, and more — not to mention guest appearances from Morray, Lil Baby, and 21 Savage — many have already been quick to praise the project based on the early listening experience. 

One recurring point centers around J. Cole being at the top of his game, specifically at a technical level. Though the project is only a few hours old, it’s evident that Cole’s penmanship has elevated to yet another stage; few emcees can structure verses with such a dynamic approach, sliding in unexpected flow schemes without sacrificing the integrity of his lyricism.

Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images

Case in point, the storytelling-driven standout “Let Go My Hand,” which finds Cole taking listeners on a stroll down memory lane, culminating in a direct reflection on his infamous fight with P Diddy:

“Kept a tough demeanor on the surface but was mostly just pretendin’/And luckily my bluff was workin’ way more often than not / But sometimes a ni*ga pulled my card, tryna expose me for a fraud/And with my reputation at stake, I was scufflin’ just to save face/Couple wins, couple losses/Some broken up too quick to call it/My last scrap was with Puff Daddy, who would’ve thought it?/I bought that ni*ga album in seventh grade and played it so much/You would’ve thought my favorite rapper was Puff/Back then I ain’t know shit, now I know too much.”

Beyond the rare exploration of masculinity in hip-hop, a refreshing admission from Cole in its own right, many were excited to hear the rapper finally address on that fateful night at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Complex sources explained that the conflict stemmed after Diddy confronted Kendrick Lamar over his “king of New York” comments on “Control.” When Puff reportedly tried to pour a drink on Kendrick, Cole stepped in and the situation got physical between the rappers and their crews. 

Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Afterward, Cole’s longtime right-hand man Ibrahim Hamad implied that much of the coverage surrounding the incident was overblown, though it was clear there was more to the story. Now, Cole took it upon himself to finally address his Diddy fight, providing a bit of context surrounding what might have driven him to scrap in the first place. “But sometimes a ni*ga pulled my card, tryna expose me for a fraud / with my reputation at stake, I was scufflin’ just to save face,” he spits, a telling and refreshing bit of honesty.

Check out “Let Go My Hand” now, and be sure to check out The Off-Season in full right here. 

LISTEN: J. Cole – Let Go My Hand

J. Cole’s long-awaited album, The Off-Season, has finally arrived and fans have had a lot to say about the 12-track project on social media. 

Thus far, HotNewHipHop readers are loving Cole’s KOD follow-up. On HNHH, the album has an 89% positive rating from fans with comments declaring Friday to be Cole’s day, despite another highly-anticipated release from Nicki Minaj.

“Cole didn’t not [sic] disappoint, this is just what the game needed,” one user wrote.

Other users celebrated the all-star lineup of producers who worked on the project. Timbaland, Boi-1da, DJ Dahi, Jake One, Frank Dukes, Tae Beast, Maneesh, Wa1o, Sucuki, Coleman, Tommy Parker, Mario Luciano, T-Minus, and Cole, himself, are all credited.

“DIFFERENT PRODUCERS FINALLY,” another user cheered.

Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images

An early favorite on the tracklist appears to be “9 5 . s o u t h,” the Cam’ron assisted introduction to the album. Maneesh, COLEMAN, and Boi-1da are credited with the song’s production.

“The last :35 seconds of 95 south has me ready to beat up everybody in my house,” one fan wrote on Twitter.

Cole averted expectations by bringing in 21 Savage, Lil Baby, and others to appear on the album, a decision that fans seem to be loving.

Some fans are even suggesting that 21 and Cole should do a full project together: “If we can’t get the cole and kdot album we need cole and 21.”

Listeners were also shocked to hear Cole confirm that he got in a fight with Diddy, a story he references on “Let Go My Hand.”

Check out more responses below.