Most Anticipated Hip-Hop Albums of 2022

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All The 2022 Super Bowl Music Events That Aren’t The Halftime Show

On February 13, a pretty large football game is happening, and in the middle of it, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige will perform the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. While those artists are the select few chosen to take the field at SoFi Stadium on the big day, the gravity of the Super Bowl means that there will be plenty of other music events taking place in the Los Angeles area during the weekend. We’ve rounded up the most major examples — which include performances by stars like Jack Harlow, Drake, Miley Cyrus, and many others, so check out the list below.

John Mayer Small Stage Series

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Apple Music

This one comes a few days before Super Bowl weekend, but if you happen to live in LA or plan to be in town a few days early on February 8, there’s an opportunity to swing by the Hollywood Palladium and see John Mayer perform some of his Sob Rock songs in front of a live audience for the first time. On top of that, the show is hosted by longtime Mayer pal Andy Cohen and will be preceded by an interview between the two. Even if you can’t check this one out in person, the show will be broadcast on various SiriusXM channels.

Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest

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This annual event is perhaps the biggest non-halftime musical attraction of the weekend, or perhaps more so if duration is taken into consideration, as the festival runs for three days from February 10 to 12 at Crypto.com Arena. Halsey and Machine Gun will perform on the first day, and they’ll be followed by Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, and Mickey Guyton on the second night, then Miley Cyrus and Green Day will headline the third and final night. All in all, those artists make up a diverse roster that will have something to please just about anybody.

Shaq’s Fun House

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Shaq’s Fun House has become a Super Bowl weekend tradition in recent years, as Shaquille O’Neal takes the show around the country to wherever the big game ends up being played. This year, it’s going down at LA’s Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on February 11. The festival/carnival is set to feature performances from Shaq himself (as DJ Diesel), Lil Wayne, Zedd, and Diplo. On top of that, there’s going to be a full carnival, nightlife VIP experience, and a bunch of food vendors. The NBA great has one of the most infectious personalities in pop culture, so his Fun House is sure to be a terrific time.

MaximBet Music At The Market and DirecTC Presents Maxim Electric Nights

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DirecTV and Maxim are working together on a pair of events for the big weekend, both at City Market in Downtown Los Angeles. The first is MaximBet Music At The Market on February 11, which will feature Lil Baby, Gunna, and The Chainsmokers. The next day, they’re offering DirecTV Presents Maxim Electric Nights, a 50 Cent-hosted event that will feature Tiësto, Loud Luxury, and DJ Vice. All of this is going down in “a custom-built 45,000 square foot open-air pavilion representative of a 1980’s retro-futuristic setting.”

h.wood Group’s Homecoming Weekend

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While Drake isn’t part of the hip-hop-heavy halftime show (as far as we know, anyway), he will be making an appearance at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on February 12. If you can get into this event, it’s bound to be a good one. That said, good luck with that, as it’s an invite-only affair.

Sports Illustrated The Party x Palm Tree Crew

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If you’re looking for a party featuring premiere hip-hop talent that you can actually attend, Sports Illustrated and Palm Tree Crew are bringing a nice lineup to Century Park on February 12. Performing at their event will be a good mix of talent that includes Kygo, Jack Harlow, Frank Walker, David Solomon (yes, the Goldman Sachs CEO/DJ), and DJ Irie.

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

Nicki Minaj Takes Down Powerful Criminals In A Trailer For Her Lil Baby Collab ‘Do We Have A Problem?’

After sharing a few new tracks in 2021 with her re-released project Beam Me Up Scotty, Nicki Minaj is gearing up for her first new music of 2022. Last week, the rapper began teasing a joint track with Lil Baby and ahead of its official release Friday, Minaj dropped a cinematic trailer for the upcoming collab, “Do We Have A Problem?”

The trailer parodies a big-budget film and presents Minaj as a special agent tasked with interrogating someone who claims to be a “high-powered hitter.” He ominously informs Minaj that “the heads of the world’s top criminal organizations will meet” the following night, saying it’s possible to “acquire rare items that money can’t even buy.” After the trailer shows clips of Minaj’s fellow agents infiltrating an opulent building, the man leaves Minaj with one last message: “So you take out the target, you become the f*ckin’ target.” While Lil Baby doesn’t appear in the trailer, his verse is briefly previewed in the last few seconds of the clip.

Apparently, the trailer isn’t the only way Minaj is getting her stans to hype up the new single. She also set up a hotline where her fans can call in with problems they need Minaj’s help solving. “Did you guys leave a message on the hotline?” the rapper asked her fans on Twitter. “Tmrw when I go on live I’ll be responding to some of your voicemails & giving you advise about whatever the ‘problem’ is.”

Watch Minaj and Lil Baby’s “Do We Have A Problem?” trailer above.

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Nicki Minaj Announces Her First Single Of 2022 And It Features Lil Baby

Nicki Minaj fans hoped the rapper would deliver a new album in 2021. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case, though she did drop some new music over the year. That included re-releasing her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty with three additional tracks, such as “Seeing Green” with Drake and Lil Wayne. She also remixed BIA’s viral hit song “Whole Lotta Money” and delivered a collaboration with Polo G, among other artists. Now it seems Nicki is ready to share new music as per her latest announcement.

Minaj hopped on Twitter to share the release date of her first single of the year: On February 4, she’ll drop a collaboration with Lil Baby. While she did not reveal the title, she did share an image from what appears to be the song’s music video. “DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM,” she wrote alongside the image. “BABY X BARBIE,” she wrote, adding, “PINK FRIDAY” and its release date along with a number of emojis.

The announcement comes after Nicki Minaj appeared on murals around the country for Rap Cavier’s campaign “Rap Mount Rushmore,” which also featured Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake. As for Lil Baby, the song arrives after he and Future joined Rvssian for their collaboration “M&M.”

2 Chainz Calls On Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, And More For ‘Dope Don’t Sell Itself’

On February 4, 2 Chainz will deliver his seventh full-length effort, Dope Don’t Sell Itself. So far two singles have been released: “Million Dollars Worth Of Game,” with 42 Dugg, and “Pop Music,” with Moneybagg Yo and Beatking. The album will be his first since 2020’s So Help Me God and it may also be his “last trap album,” as he previously hinted in a tweet last summer. Ahead of its release, 2 Chainz unveils the tracklist and artwork.

The cover is an image of him holding a shoebox filled with cash while a blunt sits between his fingers. He described it as “a reimagined image of my ‘first bank account,’” adding, “I’m sure some of the hustlers can relate !” Dope Don’t Sell Itself features 12 songs and appearances from Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Lil Durk, Swae Lee, Moneybagg Yo, 42 Dugg, Beatking, Young Boy Never Broke Again, Sleepy Rose, Steve God Cooks, Symba, Major Myjah, and Jacquees.

You can view the artwork for Dope Don’t Sell Itself above and check out its tracklist below.

1. “Bet It Back”
2. “Pop Music” Feat. Moneybagg Yo and Beatking
3. “Kingpen Ghostwriter” Feat. Lil Baby
4. “Outstanding” Feat. Roddy Ricch
5. “Neighbors Know My Name”
6. “Million Dollars Worth of Game” Feat. 42 Dugg
7. “Free B.G.”
8. “10 Bracelets” Feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again
9. “Lost Kings” Feat. Lil Durk and Sleepy Rose
10. “Caymans” Feat. Swae Lee
11. “Vlad TV” Feat. Stove God Cooks, Symba, and Major Myjah
12. “If You Want Me To” Feat. Jacquees

Dope Don’t Sell Itself is out 2/4 via Def Jam. You can pre-save it here.

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