Hip Hop News

It’s looking like a Black Superman is one step closer to manifesting as a reality. Though history has seen the iconic superhero portrayed by Christopher Reeves, Brandon Routh, and Henry Cavill in his many cinematic appearances, it would appear that Warner Bros is looking to shake things up for their next go-around with the Man Of Steel. 

According to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is on the search for a black actor to don the cape for the next film, which features Ta-Nahisi Coates on board as screenwriter and J.J. Abrams as producer. In the case of Abrams, THR specifies that he is not being considered as a director, with the report citing a source that suggests a white director helming the first Black Superman movie would be “tone-deaf.” 

“Superman” screenwriter Ta Nehisis-Coates. Ismael Quintanilla/Getty Images 

As such, the search for both a Black director and star is currently ongoing, a process that will apparently find WB directly competing with Marvel, who will be scouring a similar list of Black filmmakers for the upcoming Blade. As for the leading man — it should be noted that Michael B. Jordan was previously rumored to be interested in the project, though he neglected to confirm whether there was any truth to those particular rumblings. “I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation,” he explained. “It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one.”

As of now, Coates is projected to wrap up his script, which will draw influence from some of the classic Superman comics, by the end of the year, which suggests that the next Superman movie is still a ways away. It should be interesting to see how this one plays out, so be sure to keep a watchful eye as news on the upcoming flick develops. Being that casting is in a purely speculative state, sound off with your own wishlist in the comments below.

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Childish Gambino is being accused of allegedly ripping off his Grammy Award-winning song “This Is America.” A lawsuit was filed by Emelike Nwosuocha, who performs under the stage name Kidd Wes. The rapper says that Gambino’s song is nearly a blatant rip-off of his song “Made In America,” which was released two years prior. 

Kidd Wes says that the hook from “This Is America” is almost the same as his chorus from “Made In America,” featuring similar lyrical themes and flows. In the legal documents, the rapper said the track is “unmistakably substantially similar, if not practically identical” to his. He believes he was intentionally ripped off after his song was uploaded to SoundCloud for free in 2016. It was subsequently registered with the U.S Copyright Office in May 2017.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images

The artist is suing Childish Gambino, the co-writers of the song, the labels that released it, and other parties for major damages. He even mentioned Young Thug in the lawsuit, who provides additional background vocals.

Listen to the two songs below and let us know if you think they’re similar. Do you think Childish Gambino ripped off Kidd Wes or was this unintentional?

Late last year, Childish Gambino teased fans and revealed that he has more new music on the way, claiming that it will be his “biggest” project yet. It’s unclear when he’s planning to release. We will keep you posted on his new music, as well as the outcome of this lawsuit.

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Fredo Bang is officially charging six figures as his show rate, and he’s not open for negotiation either. According to the rapper’s latest video upload on Instagram, he’s been receiving some lowball offers for performances in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, he’s calling out the promoters trying to book him, revealing that he won’t accept anything less than $100,000.

With some big songs under his belt, including the latest “Top” remix with Lil Durk, Fredo Bang’s confidence is reaching new heights. He told everyone trying to book him to essentially do better next time, naming his price. “This is a public service announcement because I think some people missed my post. I’m not doing a show in BR unless you give me a hunnid. I need at least a hunnid,” he said. “Not $40K, not $60K. I need a hunnid! So if your bag ain’t big enough, I’m not picking up. I don’t give a f*ck who you call, you can call my motherf*cking mama, she can’t change my mind.”

The video was reposted by Akademiks, whose commenters don’t agree with Fredo Bang’s new show rate. Many are simply flooding the comments with “no” in response to the blogger asking if the rapper was worth that much money. For comparison, Lil Durk announced that his show rate was $200,000 in December 2020.

Do you think this is a fair price for Fredo Bang?

Though Young Thug often receives praise for his musical innovation, long has he exhibited character traits worthy of celebration. For one, he has remained unwaveringly loyal to those in his inner circle, often emphasizing how his bonds with his YSL artists extend far deeper than rap. It’s part of why the chemistry on the recent Young Stoner Life compilation project Slime Language 2 was so effortless. 

That’s not to say Thug’s loyalty extends exclusively to his camp. Today, Lil Yachty took a moment to celebrate the YSL leader’s character, taking to Instagram to share some kind words about his friend and collaborator. “Arguably the most solid ni*ga ever,” writes Yachty, alongside an image of himself and Thugger gazing off into the distance. His glowing review sparked agreement from a few of his hip-hop peers, with A$AP Ferg replying “U ain’t never lie.” Killer Mike also echoed the sentiment: “As a rock! Good man.”

Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images

While it’s unclear what sparked Yachty’s generosity — perhaps he was simply reminiscing on the good old days — there’s certainly ample evidence for Thug’s integrity. At the end of April, Young Thug and Gunna stepped up to post bail for thirty low-level offenders at the Fulton County Jail. “This is where we are from,” he stated, speaking with a news outlet on the scene. “We just woke up and went to the jail with the lawyer and, you know, DA’s and the prosecutors, you know, the bonding companies and just got as many people as we can out.”

Check out Yachty’s words on Young Thug below, and support Lil Boat by checking out his recent album Michigan Boy Boat right here. 

It’s still hard for many music fans to process the sudden death of DMX last month. As a primary elder statesman of hip-hop, particularly if you favored New York rap, Earl Simmons lived a life that was both inspiring to watch and complicated to understand. Overall though, he will always be remembered as one of the illest emcees to pick up a mic, not to mention his honest pen game when it came to dropping hit records.

Thankfully, TVOne will be giving the world an insightful, first-person look into his life by airing his final interview this weekend for a special episode of Uncensored.

Image: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images 

Announced just a few days ago, “DMX Uncensored” will show X sitting down for the camera to directly speak on how the the unfortunate trials and tribulations of his life balanced out with the countless wins he received throughout his colorful career. A short preview gives us edited clips from the sit-down, with DMX speaking on striving to “thank God for every moment” if he ever to were to look back on his life, in addition to dropping gems on how to view the harder moments in life, stating “it’s those moments, when they come together — you see the beauty of who you are and why you are.”

The beauty of who DMX was and will be remembered as can be seen throughout his multiple number one albums and handful of Hollywood hit films — him and Aaliyah did their thing in Romeo Must Die and on the soundtrack! Plus, it goes without saying, but the Dark Man definitely spent some time making sure his legacy will live on through all 15 of his children.

R.I.P. forever DMX. Make sure you check out DMX Uncensored on TVOne this Sunday (May 16) at 8P/7C. Peep the trailer below:

We’ve been hearing all about the NFT boom in the art world for the last few months. Artists including Eminem, A$AP Rocky, Curren$y, Jeezy, and so many others have hopped onto the trend to deliver one-of-a-kind artworks to their fans through exclusive auctions. As the NFT space continues to develop and expand, more history has been made with the launch of an exclusive collection of songs that were previously not commercially released from XXXTentacion, which will be offered via YellowHeart’s NFT marketplace.

The upcoming collection debuts on Thursday morning ahead of the open edition NFT drop from May 10 to May 15. It will feature a number of commercially unreleased songs from the late XXXTentacion, as well as never-before-seen footage from the REVENGE Tour, which was XXX’s final tour before he was fatally shot. The NFT drop was done in collaboration with the XXXFoundation, which was founded by the rapper’s mother as well as his manager, Solomon Sounds. 

“The most important thing for me since X has passed is growing and protecting his legacy,” said Solomon about the NFT collection. “With NFTs becoming such an important tool for artists, it’s great to have the opportunity to expand X’s legacy into the digital space where it can be shared and treasured by his current and future fans.”

The proceeds from the launch will be donated to the XXXFoundation. Watch the video below for a sneak peek at what fans can expect.

Engineers are the unsung heroes of the music industry, and while seldom recognizable or well-known as producers, their importance behind the board deserves the utmost appreciation. In the case of MixedByAli, who has long held it down for the TDE camp and beyond, his discography speaks for itself with projects like Kendrick Lamar’s Section 80 & To Pimp A Butterfly, YG’s My Krazy Life, Danny Brown’s Atrocity Exhibition, Boogie’s Everything’s For Sale, and many more. 

Today, MixedByAli took to Instagram to open up about his latest endeavor, a company he started called EngineEars. “For over two years I’ve been taking my time really understanding the real problems in my industry,” he writes. “From all of this research, what I’ve realized is that the problem is there are minimal tools provided to audio engineers to set us up for success, and very little access for artists and labels to search and instantly book talented engineers for their projects.”

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

“This is why we created the solution; @engineears,” he continues. “From acquiring clients and scheduling new projects, managing file storage and project archiving, to tracking payments, EngineEars provides audio engineers with the tools to operate their business whilst democratizing access to high-quality engineering for artists globally.”

In addition to sharing the mission statement, Ali also revealed an extensive list of pre-seed investors, many of whom boast at least one piece of music mixed by his hand. The list includes Kendrick Lamar, Roddy Ricch, Mustard, DJ Khaled, Ella Mai, Russ, YG, Bas, Smino, Kenny Beats, Ibrahim Hamad, and many more. So many backers, in fact, that EngineEars has already reached a pre-seed investment goal of one million dollars.  In addition to Ali’s hip-hop investors, the project also saw heavy funding from the Slauson & CO investment company, as well as The Community Fund and EQT.  

Check out Ali’s EngineEars announcement post below, and show some love to one of the game’s MVPs in the comments below. We look forward to seeing what Ali continues to bring to the table — and that includes his involvement of whatever TDE albums have been lining the 2021 release calendar.