Hip Hop News

The last few years have been a whirlwind for Cassie. Her career catapulted after she released her classic hit “Me & U,” but she struggled to maintain that steam with her later releases. For the better part of a decade, Cassie was known more for her relationship with Diddy than her work in the studio, but in 2018, Cassie and Combs decided to end their romance after reportedly being together for 11 years. Soon, Cassie resurfaced online boasting about her relationship with Alex Fine, and in 2019, the couple got married and welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Frankie.

At the tail end of 2020, Cassie revealed that she was pregnant yet again, and in a recent interview with Ciara for Level Up Radio on Apple Music, the ladies talked about balancing their professional lives with their growing families. Cassie, who was once naturally a Bad Boy artist, also shared that not only has she parted ways with Diddy personally, but she was able to remove herself professionally, as well.

“I left Bad Boy. I was able to get out of my deal. So now I’m independent,” Cassie reportedly said according to Rap-Up. “So that’s just very different from the start.” She’s previously spoken about reigniting her music career but this is a new stage for Cassie. “It’s so different. And I mean, even now I’m just in a different place in my life.”

“It’s the place to be, just to own your stuff and just… You could do whatever you want. You could wake up tomorrow and be like, ‘Okay, I want to record four records. And then put them out and it’s mine. And what you going to say?’” That is something that Ciara identifies with because back in 2017, she launched her own brand, Beauty Marks Entertainment, and has been working for herself for some time.

It’s unclear if or when Cassie will return to the music scene and it will be interesting to see what sound she goes for after being out of the game for some time.

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Most fans will agree that Russell Westbrook is one of the most exciting players in the entire NBA. He can get triple-doubles at will and he always seems to be the hungriest player on the court. Unfortunately, there has been one area of his game that has always held him back and that’s shooting. Westbrook is a notoriously bad shot taker and it has led to a lot of slander and some early exits from the playoffs. Despite this, he is still regarded as a top-tier player in the league.

With these shortcomings, it’s hard to make the argument that Westbrook is undoubtedly the best player in the league. However, today on The Jump, former NBA Champion Rasheed Wallace tried to do it as he took Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson by surprise.

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“This man is right now. I gotta say, Russ is the best player in the NBA right now. There is no disrespect to KD, or Kyrie, or LeBron, but right now, no disrespect to Steph either. I know you scoring champion, but man what this kid is doing right now,” Wallace said. “Ain’t no disrespect to guys, Russell Westbrook right now is killing it man, if I am the pacer in the meetings, it will be how to stop Russ.”

The Washington Wizards have a massive opportunity tonight as they take on the Indiana Pacers in the final play-in game. If they win this, they will go to the first-round and play against the Philadelphia 76ers who are the first-seed. For the Wizards to have any shot, they’re certainly going to need Westbrook at his best.

Let us know if you agree with Wallace, in the comments below.

Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers are heading to the playoffs and it is all thanks to a huge win last night against the Golden State Warriors. While Davis struggled in the first half, he ended up turning things around as the Lakers blasted the jets in the second half. Davis is one of those key players for the Lakers and if they want to make it far in the postseason, they are going to need him to be playing at his best.

Last night, Davis made sure to throw some shade at the Warriors after the game, in light of a speech Warriors coach Steve Kerr made in the middle of the match. In the clip below, Kerr tells his team “They got a lot of doubt down there, we’ve got a lot of belief.” This amused Davis as he hit up the comments with five laughing emojis.

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The Lakers Vs. Warriors rivalry has been real over the last couple of years although it is mostly because of LeBron James’ previous rivalry with Steph Curry. Due to circumstances involving injuries, the Lakers have always gotten the best of the Warriors and last night, the status quo was maintained.

As for the playoffs, AD and his teammates will be facing the Phoenix Suns in the first round.

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One of the biggest shoes to see a resurgence over the last little while has been the Nike Dunk Low and by extension, the Nike Dunk High. These are shoes that had a huge moment a few decades ago, and now, everyone is rediscovering why this is such a dope sneaker. As a result of this resurgence, Nike has been bringing a ton of new colorways to the market, and it has led to some cool offerings that have certainly gotten all of our attention.

Now, one of the newer Nike Dunk Low colorways to be shown off to the masses is this “Michigan” offering which can be found below. The shoe has the Michigan Wolverines color scheme as the base of the sneaker is yellow all while the overlays are navy blue. These colors work perfectly in tandem with one another and if you are a big fan of the team, then these are a pair that you will have to consider getting.

If you want to get a pair of these, you will be able to do so through the Nike SNKRS app as of Thursday, June 3rd for $100 USD. Let us know if these are in your summer plans, in the comments below.

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Like many other stand-up comics, comedian Chris Rock has been trying to get back into the groove of being on stage and telling jokes after a year of staying home. On Monday morning, he went on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Show to talk about this process and his recent projects when one of the hosts, DJ Envy, asked about his thoughts on now-infamous “cancel culture.”

Rock, having been a comedian since the 1990s, had a lot to say about what this “culture” has been doing to comedy. He even went on to claim that “cancel culture” is part of the reason why entertainment has been so “boring” in the last few years, because comedians and other writers have resorted to making content that is “safe” to avoid getting canceled.

“I see a lot of unfunny comedians; I see unfunny TV shows, I see unfunny awards shows, I see unfunny movies — because everybody’s scared to make a move,” Chris Rock said while speaking to DJ Envy and Angela Yee, making the point that everyone should have “the right to fail” as it’s apart of any art and is in itself the “ultimate cancel.”

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Rock has been known to tell new comedians they should always be nervous before getting on stage, no matter how long they’ve been in the game. He clarifies this in light of cancel culture, stating, “the nerve isn’t like, ‘I’m scared I’m going to be canceled,’ the nerve is like, ‘yo I’m scared they’re not gonna laugh.'”

Check out the full interview with The Breakfast Club below. Let us know if you agree with Chris Rock’s take on cancel culture.

A Bathing Ape is easily one of the biggest streetwear brands in the entire world and they are known for their loud designs that always attract streetwear enthusiasts. One of their most popular pieces is the Bape Sta which is a shoe that closely resembles the infamous Nike Air Force 1 Low. The main difference here is that there is a shooting star on the side, although everything else is fairly similar. However, fans love this look and the eclectic colors have always made the Bape Sta a must-have.

Now, Bape has unveiled the “Color Camo Combo” pack which will see six new patent leather colorways hit the market. In the images below, you can see there is a pink model, as we as some blue, green, orange, red, and silver offerings. All of these models look pretty flashy and the patent leather certainly helps give these that extra bit of flash.

If you are looking to get your hands on one of these new colorways, you will be able to do so as of May 29th for $270 USD. Let us know what you think of the new pack, in the comments below.

Image via Bape

Image via Bape

Image via Bape

Image via Bape

Image via Bape

Image via Bape

Gillette Venus has come out with a new line of products for pubic hair and skin, and they’ve taken a rather unique approach to advertising it. Most razor and shaving products opt for a spa and flowery theme while saying things like “great for all hair,” and simply showing bare legs and arms. Gillette took a brave leap forward and decided to animate a single pubic hair that sings about, well, pubic hair, and the general taboo around the word. 

The ad starts out with the title, “A Song for Pubes by Pubes,” before zooming into a shower, to show a lonely hair sitting on the ledge of the soap dish, but instead of it looking gross like the taboo might dictate, it’s a cute little animation of a curly black hair that’s seemingly genuinely sad it isn’t another type of hair. 

Consisting of lyrical wordplay such as “oh what’s a curl to do” the cartoon fights against shunning the hair in under your underwear, with lyrics like “It’s okay to say our name / You really can say pubic / No need to be ashamed.”

Needless to say, the reactions to this new jingle are mixed. While some people love the ad, calling it a “masterpiece,” others still do not like the fact that the word “pubic” is being said on primetime TV. Nonetheless, that would simply prove that the song’s message is correct: people just don’t like acknowledging pubic hair and deem it as inappropriate, even though everyone has it.

Is this the beginning of a new era of pubic-hair-positivity that will take over the world? Or will this just be a funny commercial to look back at in 5 years? Only time will tell. 

Check out the new ad below and let us know your thoughts.