Hit-Boy

Hit-Boy Claims Ye Tried To Blackball Him From The Music Industry After They Had A Fallout

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Hit-Boy Grammy Museum 2021
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It’s been years since Ye and producer Hit-Boy have worked together, and it’s all because the two had a falling out some years back. Hit-Boy previously spoke about the separation, saying it occurred after Ye found out he was working with Beyonce. During a recent interview on the Rory & Mal podcast, Hit-Boy further discussed the incident and how it almost affected his career. “I thugged through a lot of f*cked up sh*t, falling out with Kanye f*cked me up for a minute bro,” Hit-Boy said. “I was damn n****, am I still gonna be able to do this sh*t?”

He continued, “Just being a thousand, it’s n****s that done came to me that was like Ye said to this n****, ‘Don’t use Hit-Boy on your album.’ Like I really lived through that, n****. How many motherf*ckers could get through Kanye tryna derail their sh*t bro? So now you see why I’m at the Nas party like, “N**** I did a harder album than for Nas than you did, that’s just real.”

The Nas party that Hit-Boy is referring to is the album release celebration the two artists had for King’s Disease II, the Nas album that Hit-Boy executive produced. It was there that Hit-Boy said to the audience, “It’s not a hundred n****s producing the beat. It’s not a hundred n****s writing the rhymes, n****. It’s two n****s in the studio. I hear this shit right now, homie. It’s going down. King’s Disease II. Stream that sh*t, buy that sh*t.”

He added, “There don’t be n****s in the studio. It’s just me and bro. Do y’all hear this sh*t? It’s just me and this n**** in the studio. He’s barred up, I’m making beats. No hoopla. We not on f*ckin’ Twitter botherin’ y’all. We not on IG Live putting a weird-ass stream up, n****. We doin’ this sh*t for real though, n****! Stop playin’!”

Big Sean And Hit-Boy Connect For The Fiery ‘What You Expect’ EP

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Though Hit-Boy has always been one of the most respected producers in the game, he’s really been on a streak lately. After producing not one but two projects with Nas that helped catapult the veteran New York rapper back into the realm of modern hip-hop heroes, now he’s connected with Detroit’s Big Sean for a new EP. You’d think with King’s Disease II coming out just a few short months ago the producer might rest on his laurels for a moment, but no.

Rolling out the collaboration slowly with a new single called “What A Life” a few days ago, today the duo announced that song was the lead-off for a whole EP, and now that project is here, too. Sharing another video for the stacked collaboration, “Loyal To A Fault,” with cameos from Bryson Tiller and Lil Durk, the new EP’s tracklist also includes performances from Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg, but no one else. Clearly, it will be primarily focused on how Sean and Hit-Boy vibe together. Of course, some of the best songs off Sean’s latest album Detroit 2 were when Hit-Boy was involved, but this new song collection emphasizes that more than ever.

Check out the video for “Loyal To A Fault” up above and stream the entire tape below.

Big Sean & Hit-Boy Team Up

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Big Sean & Hit-Boy

Grammy-nominated artist Big Sean and longtime collaborator Hit-Boy have announced their next EP. “What You Expect” is coming this Friday. Hit-Boy and Big Sean To Drop An EP This Friday Sean and Hit Boy’s long list of collaborations go back to their 2012 smash hit “Clique”. The two also joined forces on three songs from […]

Big Sean And Hit-Boy Announce Their Collaborative ‘What You Expect’ EP

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Big Sean/Hit-Boy

So far, the creative partnership between Big Sean and Hit-Boy has been massively fruitful. Beginning with their work on GOOD Music’s 2012 posse cut “Clique,” the duo has put out almost a decade’s worth of hits and fan-favorite bangers, right up to last year’s Detroit 2 and its fiery singles “Deep Reverence,” “Lithuania,” and “Lucky Me.” They kept that momentum this year with “What A Life,” which turned out to be the first single from a collaborative EP the two announced today, What You Expect.

As revealed by Big Sean, the EP will include five new songs, a number he increased from just one new song after a month of chatting up how much he’s enjoying himself just rapping lately. “I had fun doing that LA Leakers freestyle n droppin the What A Life song/video,” he wrote on Twitter today. “it feel good to be active, n just doin whatever the f*ck I wanna do.” Last week, Sean drew attention for delivering a nearly nine-minute freestyle over four different beats, tackling Kanye West’s “Hurricane,” Drake and Jay-Z’s “Love All,” Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek’s “Dear Summer,” and Nardo Wick’s “Who Want Smoke??”

Meanwhile, Hit-Boy is riding high after his pair of successful King’s Disease releases with Nas, which prompted the Queens legend to call the California producer his Quincy Jones.

What You Expect is due 10/29 via Def Jam.

Big Sean And Hit-Boy Celebrate Their Best Moments On The Reflective ‘What A Life’

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Big Sean returned to the music world with a chip on his shoulder and his spike in activity continues with his latest single, “What A Life.” The track is produced by Hit-Boy and it finds the Detroit rapper reflecting on his best moments and the hardships he got through over a quick-paced beat supplied by Hit-Boy. It marks the latest collaboration between the two as they last connected on the rapper’s fifth album, Detroit 2, which was released towards the end of last year and was executive produced by Hit-Boy himself.

The track also seems to be a sequel to the rapper’s 2015 track, “What A Year” which features appearances from Pharrell and Detail with the latter responsible for the song’s production. Big Sean released the song two days after stopping by Power 106’s LA Leakers to deliver a sharp freestyle over five songs that include Kanye West’s “Hurricane,” which he originally had a verse on, Drake and Jay-Z’s “Love All,” Nardo Wick’s “Who Wants Smoke??” and more. A day after it was released, Big Sean took to Twitter to explain his intention behind the freestyle.

“I’ll do a hype song, a conscious song, a love song or strip club song and will hop on a song with anybody and hold my own,” he wrote. “That’s why I rapped on 4 different styles of beats on the LA Leakers cause I embrace being versatile, love to everybody who listened as well and sharing.”

Listen to “What A Life” above.

50 of the Greatest Producer Tags in Hip-Hop

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Pi’erre Bourne, Tay Keith, Southside and more have some of the coolest producer tags in hip-hop. Continue reading…

Nas Reflects On His Life Changes In The Gravity-Defying ‘Big Nas’ Video

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Nas is going from rapper to teacher thanks to MasterClass, where he’ll be directing a lesson on hip-hop storytelling available for streaming on October 14. In addition, he shares a new song, “Big Nas,” produced by Hit-Boy, with a video directed by Ben Dean. In it, a dancer defies gravity as they tip-toe and levitate through the locations near and dear to Nas’ heart, including the Queensbridge Housing Projects where he grew up and started his rap career over 30 years ago.

In an interview with Complex, Nas explains why he partnered with MasterClass to present “Nas Teaches Hip-Hop Storytelling,” which will spin off into other lessons including “Writing an Original Rap Song” and “Recording an Original Rap Song.”

“MasterClass is a great thing for people to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with artists, producers, actors, and people,” he says. “I think the whole thing is a great concept.” Although he calls his process “too much to say in one MasterClass,” he notes that it’s still important to watch experts in their respective fields because you can always learn something new. “You might see things that you do that are similar or that you didn’t see before in yourself,” he muses. “You might find that I gave you something that could add to what you’re doing, and I think that’s important. I think that’s where we’re at in the business: it’s to share.”

Watch Nas and Hit-Boy’s ‘Big Nas’ video above.

Nas Enjoys ‘Brunch On Sundays’ With LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Swizz Beatz, And More In A New Video

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It’s been just over a month since the release of Nas’ fourteenth album, King’s Disease II. The sequel to the rapper’s 2020 album that gifted him his long-awaited first Grammy award. King’s Disease II is executive produced by Hit-Boy and arrived with features from Eminem, Lauryn Hill, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Charlie Wilson, and more. Today Nas unveils a new star-studded visual for “Brunch On Sundays.” In it, the rapper enjoys a mid-day mealwith LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Swizz Beatz, Blxst, Hit-Boy, Cordae, and Lil Rel.

The video is the second we’ve received for King’s Disease II, the first being “Rare.” The 2021 album has received a similar, if not better, response when compared to its predecessor, with people commending he and Hit-Boy’s chemistry and asking for the possibility of third installment in the series.

“He’s like my Quincy [Jones], you know what I mean?” Nas said during an interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden last month. “So I feel like the next thing I do, if I was to work with Hit-Boy on the next thing I do, I think that we might do something that is going to be magical.” He added, “I think what we have is magic. I think if we do another one, I’m excited about that idea, but you know, we’re celebrating this one now.”

You can watch the video for “Brunch On Sundays” above.

King’s Disease II is out now via Mass Appeal. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nas Calls Hit-Boy His ‘Quincy Jones’ And Talks About The Possibility Of ‘King’s Disease 3’

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Earlier this month, Nas and Hit-Boy reconnected for King’s Disease 2, the follow-up to their 2020 effort, which earned the former his first-ever Grammy award. The new project is packed with guest appearances from Eminem, Lauryn Hill, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, EMPD, YG, Blxst, and Charlie Wilson. Some argued that it was even better than the first. During a recent interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, Nas spoke about his chemistry with Hit-Boy, who executive produced both King’s Disease and King’s Disease 2.

“He’s like my Quincy [Jones], you know what I mean?” the rapper said. “So I feel like the next thing I do, if I was to work with Hit-Boy on the next thing I do, I think that we might do something that is going to be magical.”

Considering how successful the series has been so far, it’s no surprise that talk about a King’s Disease 3 came up. “I think what we have is magic,” Nas added. “I think if we do another one, I’m excited about that idea, but you know, we’re celebrating this one now.”

Nas’ comments come after he joined Belly and The Weeknd in a video for their collaboration, “Die For It.”

You can watch the full interview on Apple Music here.

King’s Disease 2 is out now via Mass Appeal. Get it here.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Babyface Ray, Big Sean, And Hit-Boy Won’t Take The Blame On The Nonchalant ‘It Ain’t My Fault’

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The Detroit rap scene is in the midst of a resurgence and names like Babyface Ray are a large reason for that. Earlier this year the rapper shared his Unf*ckwitable EP which presented seven tracks with features from Moneybagg Yo, Kash Doll, and EST Gee. A few months later he doubled the project’s length with a deluxe reissue that featured additional help from Jack Harlow and Murda Beatz. Despite giving his fans plenty of music to enjoy in 2021, Ray is far from done as his latest release finds him alongside Big Sean and Hit-Boy for “It Aint My Fault.”

The trio delivers the track with a new video that initially presents them as clean and neat businessmen who sit at a press conference of sorts to clear their name out of a string of allegations. Halfway into it, they switch out their suits for relaxed clothes and plenty of chains to flex some muscle for the remainder of the song. “It Aint My Fault” is also the first time Big Sean and Babyface Ray have collaborated marking a cross-generational connection in the city’s hip-hop scene.

Months after sharing his fifth album, Detroit 2, Big Sean is extending his streak of collaborative efforts. Most recently, he joined Yung Bleu on “Way More Close (Stuck In A Box)” and Sada Baby for “Little While.”

You can press play on the video for “It Aint My Fault” above.