Hip Hop News

Lupe Fiasco is widely regarded as one of the greatest lyricists to ever do it, though his challenging and sometimes inaccessible catalog has kept him from becoming a recurring presence in GOAT conversation. Still, he has remained one of the more compelling emcees, and one who happens to boast a vast wealth of stories and intriguing anecdotes. He happened to share a few during a recent conversation with Andrew Barber on The Coda Collection, where he opened up about his long-running — and sometimes contentious — relationship with Kanye West.

Lupe & Kanye West in 2006. Kevin Mazur Archive 1/WireImage/Getty Images 

“I been knowing Ye for a long-ass time,” explains Lupe, after Barber inquires about their history. “I remember first meeting Ye when he first did The Truth for Beans. We did a symposium together, some little speaking thing at Columbia college. N***a had a fro’ and some other shit, it was weird. I was working with Ye for years. I got Ye joints. I remember Ye used to come to the crib, like ‘what do you think about this verse?’ He’d spit verses and shit.”

“I remember we brought Ye into Arista to showcase for L.A. Reid,” reveals Lupe. “Before Roc-a-Fella. Stack Bundles was sitting there. It was me, Stack, Kanye, and LA Reid in the office.” Lupe laughs. “When Kanye stopped, LA was like ‘you should stick to making beats.’ Real shit! That’s why I always honor Ye no matter how fuckin’ crazy he goes. I’ve seen that man struggle. Him just working through it.”

Though Kanye has since taken on the qualities of a larger-than-life figure, it’s certainly humbling to hear one of the low points in his origin story detailed by a first-hand witness. Clearly, Lupe will forever hold Kanye in high esteem following that fateful meeting with L.A. Ried, leaving us all wondering what might have been had Yeezy actually taken the music mogul’s blunt advice. Check out the story for yourself below. 

One of the most affected industries when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic is sports and entertainment. Numerous leagues like the NBA, NHL, and NFL have had to deal with a brand new reality that, at times, has made it incredibly difficult to function. The NFL was particularly hit hard by the pandemic in the early stages of their season, although by the time the playoffs rolled around, they were able to get things under control.

Throughout the offseason, the NFL has started to see cases pop back up again, as it was reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was recently diagnosed with the virus.

For the time being, Tomlin has taken some time away from the team, and will not be heading back to the facility in the near future. It was revealed by the team that other members of the coaching staff have also tested positive, although those names have not been released. For the time being, some staff members have been told to stay home until some of the positive tests have gone back to negative.

This is never a fun situation for anyone to be in, and we wish Mike Tomlin a speedy recovery from the virus.

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Despite his staggering popularity, DJ Khaled has been a divisive figure all the same, with some detractors continuously wondering what he actually does in a given studio session. And with his upcoming album Khaled Khaled currently in the works, questions about whether or not the Floridian DJ has a masterpiece project in him have begun to circulate at an increasingly active pace. So much so that the generally affable mogul actually took a moment to school some of his critics on Instagram, encouraging those negative types to dig deeper and do their homework.

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“Some boy Ah need to do history lesson unless you want lesson,” writes Khaled, echoing the same message in the accompanying video. “Some tings take time and some tings take along time can’t wait to share the KHALED KHALED journey on my new album I’m working on . when it’s coming? I don’t know. “Swipe for HISTORY LESSON or some boy might want lesson. THE LIGHT IS LOVE. YOU CAN NEVER SKIP THE GRIND ! DO NOT GIVE UP !!!!”

In addition to the message, Khaled lined up a veritable slew of throwback pictures, many of which harken back to his humble roots as a rising disc jockey. Though his bombastic personality can feel larger than life to the point of parody, it’s refreshing to see him in a more relatable state — a young creative simply looking to master his craft and make a living. There are even a few crates ripe for the digging. It’s no wonder he continues to preach a message of hard-work and relentless hustle, given how far he has come. Check out the old school pictures below, and sound off if you’re excited for Khaled Khaled.