Hot 97

The LOX Bring Out Rakim In Vintage Summer Jam Performance

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There was some controversy for rappers like Cardi B and Ice Spice at this past weekend’s Hot 97 Summer Jam. Thankfully, The LOX delivered an uncontroversial and very fun set during the festival. The legendary New York hip-hop trio put on a great show that had fans talking online. They were joined on stage by a fellow New York rap icon, Rakim. The rapper and one-time Eric B. & Rakim member was introduced as “The God MC” and he didn’t disappoint.

The veteran collection of talent linked up on stage to perform Rakim’s classic “Eric B. Is President” together. In addition to the performance, LOX member Sheek Louch spoke on how much of an influence Rakim was on the group. “We bringing out somebody that meant so much to us,” he said to the crowd. The crowd erupted in surprise upon finding out Rakim was the special guest.

The LOX Light Up Summer Jam

ELMONT, NEW YORK – JUNE 04: The Lox perform during Hot 97 Summer Jam at UBS Arena on June 04, 2023 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Hot 97 Summer Jam is one of the biggest gatherings in the hip-hop calendar. This year in particular the festival is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The LOX were specifically booked as the festival’s tribute act to the history of the genre. They performed alongside a roster of impressive ladies of rap, another theme of this year’s festival. Cardi B, Ice Spice, GloRilla, and Lola Brooke all brought their talents to the Summer Jam stage. In addition, French Montana, FIvio Foreign, and Lil Tjay all appeared at the festival.

The LOX were far from the only reasons that fans were talking about the festival online. Cardi B had to clarify that some of the visuals during her set weren’t an Ice Spice diss like some fans thought. Ice Spice herself also sparked some discussion online in the wake of her performance. After a video of her performing gave the impression she was lip-syncing fans discussed whether it was true and the ethics of delivering live vocals. What did you think of The LOX, Cardi B, and Ice Spice’s performances at Hot 97 Summer Jam? Leave a comment below explaining which moments blew you away and which ones you could have done without.

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The post The LOX Bring Out Rakim In Vintage Summer Jam Performance appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Funkmaster Flex Apologizes TO RZA For Hot 97’s Wu Tang Clan Beef

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Several reports have confirmed that Funk Flex has issued a public apology to the RZA on behalf of Hot 97 for their longstanding beef with the Wu Tang Clan.

Flex took to IG not long after being named the station Creative Program Director, posting a pic of him and The Abbott, captioning,

“I WANNA TAKE THIS TIME TO APOLOGIZE TO THE @RZA AND THE ENTIRE @WUTANGCLAN !!! ALMOST 25YRS AGO THE GROUP, ME AND HOT97 HAD A DISAGREEMENT THAT TO ME NEVER GOT PUT TO BED AND I APOLOGIZE!” Flex wrote.

“LOOKING BACK AT THIS 20 SUMTHIN YEARS LATER.. WE GONNA MAKE UP FOR THE TIME WE MISSED…”, he continued. “THE WORLDS GREATEST RAP GROUP AND THE WORLDS GREATEST RADIO STATIONS ARE GOING TO COME TOGETHER BRING U SOMETHING AMAZING!”

Flex hinted at a collabo between him and the Wu in the future, with every member of the Clan tagged in the photo. RZA responded with the Wu hand signal while Raekwon replied, “Nothing but love Blackman ! And that’s Reciprical !!!!!”

The rift came in 1997 when the Wu felt they were forced to fly back to NYC to perform for Summer Jam for free after they were booked to headline the event at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey.

Inspectah Deck recalled the beginning of the beef on the 2019 Wu Tang Clan: Of Mice And Men, where he explained, “The deal was, as far as I remember, you gotta come back and do this Hot 97 Summer Jam or we’re not gonna play any more of your records on your station.”

“They didn’t play our records for like the next 10 years,” said Deck, noting that other radio stations followed suit. “Us not being involved while they playing the Biggie shit, they playing Nas shit, everybody that was rocking with us at the time. That affected our sales, that affected our touring, that affected everything. That affected our presence.”

Hot 97 and the Wu eventually made peace, with the Clan performing at Summer Jam in 2013.

The post Funkmaster Flex Apologizes TO RZA For Hot 97’s Wu Tang Clan Beef appeared first on The Source.

Funk Flex Apologizes To Wu-Tang Clan For Past Hot 97 Beef

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Funk Flex has posted an apology to RZA and the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan for their beef over the years. The Hot 97 DJ shared the message on Instagram, Saturday. He explained that he regrets not putting their dispute, which dates back over twenty years, to bed.

“I WANNA TAKE THIS TIME TO APOLOGIZE TO THE @RZA AND THE ENTIRE @WUTANGCLAN !!! ALMOST 25YRS AGO THE GROUP, ME AND HOT97 HAD A DISAGREEMENT THAT TO ME NEVER GOT PUT TO BED. AND I APOLOGIZE!” Flex wrote i the caption of a photo of himself with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.

NEWARK, NJ – DECEMBER 14: FunkFlex performs onstage at the 2017 Hot for the Holidays concert at Prudential Center on December 14, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images)

“LOOKING BACK AT THIS 20 SUMTHIN YEARS LATER.. WE GONNA MAKE UP FOR THE TIME WE MISSED…” he further wrote. “THE WORLDS GREATEST RAP GROUP AND THE WORLDS GREATEST RADIO STATIONS ARE GOING TO COME TOGETHER BRING U SOMETHING AMAZING!”

Raekwon commented on the post: “Nothing but love Blackman! And that’s Reciprical!!!!!.” RZA also commented three Wu-hands emojis.

Wu-Tang Clan detailed their beef with Hot 97 during the group’s 2019 docuseries Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men. Inspectah Deck claimed Hot 97 threatened to pull their music if the group didn’t perform at Summer Jam in 1997. On stage at the event, Ghostface Killah lead the crowd in a “Fuck Hot 97!” chant.

“They didn’t play our records for like the next 10 years,” Deck explained, while adding that they got other radio stations to join in the boycott as well. “Us not being involved while they playing the Biggie shit, they playing Nas shit, everybody that was rocking with us at the time. That affected our sales, that affected our touring, that affected everything. That affected our presence.”

Wu-Tang Clan previously mended their relationship with Hot 97 by playing Summer Jam in 2013. The group aren’t the only artists Funk Flex has blacklisted over the years. He also recently stopped playing music by 6ix9ine, but has since gone back on that decision. Check out Funk Flex’s apology to Wu-Tang Clan on Instagram below.

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J.I.D Stopped Doing Freestyles, Blamed Funk Flex

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Never forget that all the greatest rappers today started on the same hustle of proving themselves as anyone else. Sometimes, though, people don’t yet see what they’ll become down the road, or even what they’ve already achieved. J.I.D. explained how his appearance on Funk Flex’s Hot 97 radio show made him stop doing freestyles. Moreover, the “Surround Sound” MC said that he was frustrated with Flex for not reacting to his 2017 freestyle.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 20: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) JID performs onstage during the 2022 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Still, one can’t imagine the rapper who gave us The Forever Story failing Funk Flex. Most people can’t even imagine a 2017 J.I.D doing so. Regardless, the 32-year-old attributed a lack of awareness to the DJ’s original reaction.

“Funk ain’t even understand what was going on,” he expressed to the Rap Radar Podcast. “He was kerfuffled. I was giving him something and he ain’t even get it. We might go back one day. I silently retired away from the freestyles because I was mad at Flex because he didn’t respond the way I wanted to.

“It was like a childhood dream to get the bomb and I ain’t get the bomb or none of the hype, so I was a little upset,” the Atlanta artist continued. “But I think I’m gonna get back into the freestyle world just because it’s another part of the art, it’s another notch on your tool belt.”

Moreover, the Rap Radar hosts specifically highlighted one of his lines from the six-year-old freestyle. “You said the rhyme… something like ‘The doctor can’t see my pee like pterodactyl,’” they said. “Like, I ain’t never heard a n***a say ‘pterodactyl’ in a rhyme, this guy’s incredible!”

However, at least J.I.D didn’t close the door on spitting off the dome on a track, for interviews or otherwise. What’s more is that he talked about potentially doing DiCaprio 3 with DJ Drama. Another Gangsta Grillz production to look forward to, it seems.

Still, what do you think of J.I.D’s silent exit from freestyles thanks to Funk Flex and his 2017 reaction? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, come back to HNHH for the latest insights from your favorite MCs.

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Jermaine Dupri Claims Credit For NYC Radio Playing Southern Hip-Hop

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Jermaine Dupri wants credit for Southern rappers prospering on East Coast radio.

During a recent appearance on The Gauds Show, Jermaine Dupri discussed his upcoming Verzuz battle against Diddy, leading to a conversation about New York radio. According to JD, he broke down the doors for Southern acts to get representation on NYC’s radio circuit.

“The reason New York plays down south music on the radio is because of me,” Dupri said. “Bone Crusher and the YoungBloodZ were all over Hot 97 in a way that like nobody could ever imagine. And I hired DJ Envy to work for me.”

JD explained that he set a precedent for Southerners to land on East Coast radio that many have benefited from ever since.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 13: Jermaine Dupri arrives to the 2022 Soul Train Music Awards at the Orleans Arena on November 13, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/FilmMagic,)

“My attack on New York radio and the New York streets from the south is like no other. Nobody, no other company, nothing,” he said. “Not as far as back then, now everybody else moving forward, that door opened cause I was out there beating the streets.”

His latest comments come shortly after he sparked a whole debate online surrounding the inception of 106 & Park. The So So Def executive explained that he created the platform as a means to propel Bow Wow’s career.

“I was watching MTV and MTV had TRL. And they was catering to N’Sync, they was catering to the Backstreet Boys,” he also stated. “Anything white that was coming out that was Pop, they was allowing these kids to scream and holler. I’m like, ‘Yo, we don’t have nothin’ for Black people. Like, where’s the Black kids that love music. Why don’t they have a show like this?’”

He added, “So, I called Stephen Hill and I said, ‘Yo, I got [an] artist, we need to make a show just like TRL. He said, ‘What’s the artist?’ And I said, ‘His name is Bow Wow.’ Of course, he was like, I don’t know. Everybody challenges what I’m saying.”

However, Bow Wow quickly refuted these claims before former BET president Stephen Hill called JD’s claims an “overstep.”

Funk Flex Debuts An Unreleased DMX Song After Challenging Swizz Beatz To Dig Into X’s Vault

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DMX’s passing in April 2021 shook the hip-hop world to its core, especially after seeing him look so jovial in his 2020 Verzuz battle with Snoop Dogg. While the legendary rapper no longer exists on this plane, he left behind his classic discography that has been and will be hailed for generations. Though his first posthumous album Exodus, recorded while X was still alive and executive produced by Swizz Beatz, was shared a month after his passing, for some, namely Funkmaster Flex, it wasn’t enough.

On last week’s Hot 97 radio show (September 1), the DJ challenged Swizz to send him a record from X’s vault. Evidently, Swizz Beatz answered the call as Flex debuted an unreleased Dark Man X record on his Thursday night (September 8) radio show. The song samples Big Daddy Kane’s 1988 record “Ain’t No Half-Steppin’” and features production from Marley Marl.

“Unreleased, we don’t know when it’s coming out,” exclaimed Flex after playing some of the track. Notably, Swizz Beats can be heard on the record saying “When I say ‘DMX,’ y’all say ‘The great.” Rightfully so.

Swizz Beatz has spoken previously on how he wants to handle X’s music that has yet to be released in an interview with The Breakfast Club. “Let’s do something masterful with it. Let’s treat it as art and curate it to where it adds to his legacy and is not just a blip of a moment that seems like it works, but you still don’t understand the whole story.”

Check out the unreleased DMX record via Swizz Beatz and Funk Flex above.