Joyce Wrice may be a relative newcomer to the game, but she’s already been making steady waves. Today comes the release of her brand new debut album Overgrown, a project that features guest appearances from Freddie Gibbs, Westside Gunn, Lucky Daye, Kaytranada, and more. Already being widely praised as a refreshing dose of new R&B, Wrice’s new project serves to spotlight her talent and versatility, drawing heavy influence from the enduring soul music of years gone by.
Musically, songs like the intimate “Think About You” and the percussive “You” highlight an ear for lush production, with heavy emphasis on intricate guitar work. Though the project is certainly R&B in essence, it’s clear that Wrice holds an appreciation for some of the game’s top-tier lyricists, having enlisted Westside Gunn and Freddie Gibbs on “Westside Gunn’s Interlude” and single “On One” respectively. For the most part, however, Overgrown is Wrice’s show, and she makes a lasting impression that will likely land her a spot on many-a-radar.
Should you be a) a far of R&B music, and b) looking for a new artist to check out, Joyce Wrice will check out both boxes in one fell swoop. Check out her debut Overgrown now, and share your thoughts in the comments section below.
For instance, Nike has just unveiled a Swarovski crystal version of the Air Max 97 called “Polar Blue.” As you can see in the images below, the shoe has that signature shimmery style to it, all while a silver glow is placed upon the upper. From there, we have some hints of blue on the Nike swoosh branding, which helps accentuate the overall look. It’s a flashy offering but it’s one of those sneakers that many collectors will be looking to add to their collections.
As for the actual release date, these will be hitting the market on Thursday, March 25th for a price of $400 USD. The release will take place on the Nike SNKRS App, so prepare yourself for as many Ls as humanly possible.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Smith-Schuster signed a one-year deal with the Steelers and even took less money to stay where he is now. Schefter notes that the Baltimore Ravens tried to sign him to a big deal but in the end, he opted to stay put.
The Ravens are a team in desperate need of help when it comes to wide receivers, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they were going after the likes of Smith-Schuster. However, JuJu will remain on a team that has committed to Ben Roethlisberger for this upcoming season. The Steelers may not be favored to win the division, but they do have a ton of weapons.
Keep it locked to HNHH as we will continue to bring you the latest NFL free agency news.
Taylor Gang’s own Fedd The God has come through with a new single, looking to a past classic and flipping Black Rob’s classic “Woah.” Over a modern interpretation of Buckwild’s iconic instrumental, Fedd The God revisits the original flow for the track’s chorus before sliding into the verse. “Shake your ass on my dawg, do your shit like a pro / little red dress trying to teach me her stroll,” he spits, making his intentions abundantly clear.
“Henny in my system, bout to lead the crowd on go, did I fuck his bitch? I told him I don’t even know,” he raps, kicking off his second verse. “It might have been me, but she was fucking with my bro / and why you acting hostile, little boy you gotta go.” Making sure to rep the Khalifa Kush while acknowledging its potency, Fedd The God seems to thrive while inebriated — at the very least, such is the blurry picture “42” ultimately paints. Check it out for yourself now, and sound off if you still keep Black Rob’s “Woah” in steady rotation to this day.
QUOTABLE LYRICS
Henny in my system, bout to lead the crowd on go Did I fuck his bitch? I told him I don’t even know It might have been me, but she was fucking with my bro And why you acting hostile, little boy you gotta go
Despite the loss, Ball still put up 26 points in the match and was one of the most impressive players on the floor. After the game, LeBron explained just how impressed he is with Ball and how the rookie has a very bright future.
“I think he’s, ya know, damn good … to be his age,” LeBron said via TMZ. “His speed, his quickness, his ability to make shots at all facets, ya know in the paint, floaters, threes, he has the 3-tier already, and he’s going to only get better. Every game is a learning experience for him. He’s going to get better and better as the season goes on, as his career goes on, and so on and so on.”
LaMelo might not be on the same level as a LeBron just yet although if he continues to develop his game, Melo could be well on his way to superstar status. Not to mention, he’s already making the Hornets a team to watch for every single night.
Tony Buzbee is the lawyer behind these allegations and according to TMZ, there are supposedly two more women who are set to file lawsuits. All of these women claim that Watson hired them to give him a massage and then proceeded to force them to do sexual acts. In the photo below, you can see a text that was allegedly sent by Watson to one of the women.
Image via TMZ
Watson has denied all wrongdoing although Buzbee seems adamant that he has a significant case here. There is a press conference that is set to go down this afternoon and Buzbeen claims that he will be revealing more evidence to the table, including more text messages. Meanwhile, the NFL is currently investigating the entire situation.
More updates are to come so stay tuned for more information as we will be sure to bring that to you.
Although many Hip-Hop fans probably wouldn’t have seen the team-up coming a year ago, DDG and OG Parker have become one of the most dynamic duos in rap as of late. Last month, the two artists announced that they would be unleashing a joint project and dropped off “Money Long” with 42 Dugg to give fans an idea of what their collaboration would sound like. Yesterday, the full album (titled Die 4 Respect) officially landed on streaming services, and it came stacked with features from Lil Yachty, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Coi Leray, PnB Rock, Tyla Yaweh, 2KBABY, 42 Dugg, and BlueFace.
Early reception of the Die 4 Respect has been positive, reflecting the impressive quality of DDG and OG Parker’s collab album, and one song from the project, in particular, has left a strong impression: “Hood Melody,” featuring NBA YoungBoy. The track serves as the opener for Die 4 Respect, and it situates DDG and NBA YoungBoy over a slow-burning and melancholic piano-driven beat. Both artists touch on the pain that they have experienced and express their general distrust in everyone, from random people passing by to women that they’re romantically involved with.
If you haven’t checked out DDG & OG Parker’s collab album Die 4 Respect, don’t sleep. Check out “Hood Melody” with NBA YoungBoy as well as the rest of the project here.
Quotable Lyrics
Can’t leave the crib without bringing my stick Got too much money, I’m rich then a bitch They killed my brother, that shit got me sick Soon as they free him, I’m gettin’ him hit
“I feel like respect is the most important sh*t ever,” 23-year-old rising rap star DDG firmly proclaims over a mid-day Zoom call with Uproxx. “I feel like being respected is better than being loved. If you ain’t gonna love me, you at least gotta respect me. Disrespect is not tolerated on my side.”
Today, the Pontiac, Michigan-bred rapper is celebrating the release of his latest project Die 4 Respect with legendary producer OG Parker. From the sound of their 11-track collection of songs, respect should be on the way.
“I feel like OG Parker don’t get enough respect,” DDG further asserts. “He on the radio every day, people don’t even realize it that this n**** — he’s a G.O.A.T., he’s a genius.”
Alternately, many may know DDG from the YouTube space. However, he’s fully aware that the idea of one of the top Black YouTube creators transitioning into the music space to become one of the biggest stars in the world, is an idea that may take some time for people to get used to.
“Just because I come from this different platform don’t mean that I don’t deserve the same respect as a motherf*cker that went to jail 10 times and got out and made some songs and got lit,” he says.
DDG isn’t necessarily asking for anyone’s respect, though. He’s simply taking it.
Philip Cosores
With nearly 10 million combined subscribers on YouTube and a loyal base of supporters who show up for DDG at all costs, that should be easy. It makes even more sense when the music aligns with the talent and that’s what DDG delivers on Die 4 Respect.
Getting to this point has been a windy road. In 2014, he lost his older brother Darion Breckinridge. He recalls being woken up at 4 o’clock in the morning with the tears of his big sister telling him the heartbreaking news. He raps about the moment on the track “Hood Melody” featuring NBA Youngboy.
“A lot of people don’t make it out of Pontiac,” he says. “That’s why when you search for Pontiac, I pop up. Not to sound cocky or nothing but DDG is Pontiac. That’s because not a lot of people make it out that motherf*cker. That’s why I keep it in my name. I keep PontiacMadeDDG in my Instagram name, in all my social media handles because I like to let people know where I come from and that sh*t made me who I am. It made me change my ways and it made me want more for myself. It made me want to get my mom out of there.”
For Darion’s funeral, a fund was set up for people to donate. With some of the leftover funds, his mom asked him if he wanted a car or a camera. He ultimately chose a camera with a combined effort to focus on school so that he could make it out the city.
“I was always heavy into the school side,” the high school valedictorian admits. “I used to stay after school. I was like a little nerd and into robotics. I was like a cool nerd. I had all the girls.”
While working at TJ Maxx in high school, he quit after making his first $200 check from creating videos and having fun on YouTube.
Philip Cosores
“I’m wondering if I can make $400,” he remembers. “I’m wondering if I can make $1,000. Then I got to college, freshman year, it got to a point I was making like $700 a month, which is nothing. But I’m in college, that’s crazy. I’m 18 and it get to a point where I’m making like 10, 15K, 20K a month. This was before I really got into music. I did a song with Zaytoven before I even went to college. That was like when I was 17 years old, and I just never really took music too serious. I was focused on YouTube.”
While majoring in Broadcasting at Central Michigan University, he was rocking expensive threads like Bape hoodies and Yeezy attire on campus. Much like quitting his job at TJ Maxx, DDG made the decision to drop out of college after reaching over $10,000 a month in revenue.
“It was an 8 a.m. class and I had to pass it for my major,” he says of the moment he decided to longer go to school. “My major was broadcasting and my minor was acting because that’s what I wanted to do. I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want to wake up for this no more. It’s sophomore year, I’m making 15 bands a month.’ So I’m like, ‘I’m done going to class.’ Let’s see, let’s take a leap of faith. I’m sitting in my dorm and I skipped class for three weeks straight. You know college, they don’t call you, they don’t care if you come to class or not.”
It was around the time that the killer clowns phenomenon was going viral on social media that he began to make that type of money off his own killer clown videos.
“I’m the hottest Black creator there is,” he says of that moment. “There is nobody that’s more lit than me. I’m on some other sh*t. Whatever is lit on YouTube, I’m doing because I’m making money. 2017, I’m dropping diss tracks every week and I’m beefing with my buddies. But it’s not like real beef on my side. I really don’t care. I’m just finessing. I make a diss track on Lil Yachty.”
The diss towards Lil Boat came about after hearing the Atlanta rapper spit, “S, K, T, D, D, G,” in a freestyle to Tay-K’s “The Race.” Though DDG knew Yachty was not talking about him, the clever creative chose to take things full-throttle with not only a diss track but with an accompanying video that he also edited himself.
“The sh*t gets 12 million,” he recalls. “It goes crazy, like the biggest video I ever had.”
Yachty actually ended up responding to his diss track by hopping on Twitter to deny any knowledge of who DDG is. Now the two have a song together titled “Rule #1.”
“Me and Yachty cool at this point,” he tells me. “I DMed him, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m just messing, bro. I know you ain’t shout me out. I’m just finessing. Don’t even mind that sh*t.’ I got that squared away.”
Soon after, YouTube had a devastating crash and his monthly income went from 50k to $8,000. Not one to panic, he chose to adapt and made the decision to focus on music with the understanding that people may not take him too seriously.
“I know they ain’t gonna rock with me off the jump because I’m this full-blown YouTube dude,” he says.
Once his song “Lettuce” with Famous Dex earned 5 million views on Worldstar Hip Hop, he began to turn things up a notch.
Among other songs he released during this point in time is the track “No Label” where he boasts about all the labels after naming Atlantic and others being on his line offering him million-dollar deals.
“I’m in my bag. I’m lit right now,” he says of that time period. “So I was just feeling myself and I knew where I was headed. I knew where I was going. It was just I always know where I’m going. I know I’m going to be the biggest artist at some point. It’s just about me being patient and making sure I follow all the steps to get to that point and not lose sight of the journey rather than looking at the destination.”
In that song, he raps about copping a Wraith, which he eventually manifests in 2019.
“When I made that song, I couldn’t afford a Wraith at the time, but I knew I was on my way,” he says. “I knew how much money I was making and I knew as long as I saved up for a little bit, I was going to get that Wraith.”
“I go ahead and I do a song called, ‘Take Me Serious,’ shot in downtown LA, shot the music video,” he remembers. Next was his R&B record “Arguments,” which was the song that got him signed to Epic. The song was part of debut album Valedictorian to which he admits to being disappointed in.
“I just think when Valedictorian was coming out, truthfully, I felt insecure about my music,” he laments. “I felt like, ‘I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough to work with these people yet. I didn’t put in the groundwork to work with these people yet.’”
One thing he learned about his process in making Valedictorian from his process in making Die 4 Respect is that making music takes time. It can’t be dealt with in the same rapidness that he creates his YouTube videos. Especially if he wants to be taken seriously as a rapper in this game.
“I already put the groundwork in, man,” he says of his journey so far. “I went on two solo tours and I’m headlining both of my own tours and I’m selling it out. It’s like at this point, nobody can tell me that they don’t take me serious. Nobody can tell me that I’m not an artist. It sounds dumb. I just wanted to prove people wrong at this point. I’m more impactful than a lot of rappers that’s already lit because I got kids on lock. Every minority kid, every minority teenager know who I am. That was my goal. That was me at one point. I want these people to look up to me. I just got a cult following.”
Philip Cosores
The burgeoning star has a staunch army of supporters who show up for him for not just entertainment but inspiration. He knows that he’s spawning a generation of Black kids who are vlogging because of him and he takes pride in that.
Before our conversation, he recounted how he was recently on Instagram live motivating his fans and said someone had sent him a DM, thanking him for helping them to become a millionaire.
“If I ever met 50 Cent when I was a kid, I would’ve cried and now people look at me like I’m 50 Cent,” he says. “The little kid that I used to be is my supporters. They look up to me like I used to look up to him. I’m their favorite like he used to be my favorite. So it’s just a dope feeling, man.”
DDG himself gathers inspiration from those he looks up to the most and if he can help it, is on his way to becoming just as great. After all, he’s barely getting started and already has two gold records under his belt including his breakout hit “Moonwalking In Calabasas.”
“I’m going to be lit,” he proclaims. “I’m finna to be him very, very soon and I’m excited for that. I want to know what it feels like to be Meek or Drake. I want to know what it feels like to be Diddy. I want to know what it feels like to be 50 Cent. I want to know what it feels like to be Lil Baby, to be on top of the rap industry. I want to know what that feels like and I’m chasing that experience and I feel like that’s what really keeps me going.”
DDG is confident and poised to win at this juncture.
“I really feel passionate about it to the point where I’d die about this sh*t like you gonna respect me at the end of this,” he expresses. “At the end of my road, everybody gonna respect me. That’s how I feel.”
Die 4 Respect is out now via Epic Records. Get it here.
Staten Island rapper CJ has a bonafide hit on his hands with his Bollywood-sampling single “Whoopty,” tightening drill’s stranglehold on the New York rap scene. Now, he looks to further ingratiate himself with the Big Apple’s rap fans by giving them a remix of the song just for them. The “Whoopty NYC Remix” features a pair of Empire State stalwarts in the Bronx-bred, underrated hitmaker French Montana and the recently-released rabble-rouser Rowdy Rebel.
Featuring a slightly re-worked sample, the remix sees the three rappers delivering updated verses boasting of their money, fame, and respect in the rap game. When the original came out, I was struck by how similar to French Montana I thought newcomer CJ sounded; on the remix, that comparison is heightened and enhanced, but it also shows just how versatile both rappers really are to not completely step on each other’s toes (the effect is similar to when Ghostface did a song with Action Bronson, and suddenly everything just clicked for the younger rapper).
Meanwhile, Rowdy Rebel’s comeback campaign appears to be proceeding swimmingly. After surviving a six-year bid, he’s returned with a more polished flow and gameness to take on any and all new musical trends, unwilling to become the out-of-touch oldhead that laments how much things have changed. It’s a good look for him and his feature has the added benefit of a cross-co-sign effect for CJ; the younger rapper gets the approval of older fans while the older rapper gets to stay cool in the younger generation’s eyes. It’s a win-win and to be honest, another collaboration wouldn’t go amiss.
Watch the video for CJ’s “Whoopty NYC Remix” featuring French Montana and Rowdy Rebel above.
CJ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
