mural

Juice WRLD Chicago Mural To Be Replaced

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Juice WRLD fans can rest easy now. Many were upset by the mural of the late artist being painted over. However, they can find solace in today’s news. According to TMZ, a new mural paying tribute to him is in the works. The person who painted over the original mural has still not been identified. According to the late rapper’s manager, Peter Jideonwo, he and the family are still unaware of who removed the beloved cultural landmark.

Since it was unveiled in 2020, thousands of fans traveled to Chicago to see the original mural. It was created in memory of Juice WRLD after he died from an overdose in December 2019. The artwork was commissioned by the 999 Squad for $50,000 and was painted by artist Corey Pane. Despite being in the early stages of planning, Peter and Juice’s team are considering how to make the new installation even better. Additionally, they want to make sure to protect it from potential vandalism or accidents. As such, they are considering the possibility of a life-sized statue or a mural that would be covered for protection.

Juice’s Continuing Legacy

Juice WRLD poses with a sculpture of himself at Spotify’s RapCaviar Pantheon at Brooklyn Museum on April 02, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York.
(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Spotify)

Despite his untimely death, Juice WRLD has continued to achieve significant accomplishments in his music career. Last month, it was revealed that the rapper had surpassed 30 billion streams on Spotify alone. This achievement solidified his status as one of the most streamed artists of all time. One can only imagine how many streams Juice has when you include other platforms such as Apple Music and YouTube. Recently, Juice’s close friend and collaborator, Cole Bennet, celebrated a personal milestone in their careers by sharing on Instagram that the first music video he ever shot for Juice had reached 300 million views on YouTube.

Juice’s death was a huge blow to the music industry and community at large as he seemed to be one of the fastest-rising stars in the industry. Since passing, the rapper’s music has only become more popular. In 2021, the RIAA announced that the rapper had posthumously received 50 new platinum and gold song certifications. His 2018 single “Lucid Dreams” has gone 9x platinum. The rapper also currently holds the record for the highest number of streams per song on Spotify. Stay tuned to HNHH for the latest updates on Juice’s accomplishments and the new tribute planned in Chicago.

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Los Angeles Rallies To Try And Save Iconic Mural

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Los Angeles has long been a hub of entertainment greatness. The Lakers have called the city home since 1960. The Dodgers have been in LA since 1958. The city is also the beating heart of the film industry, anchored by iconic Hollywood. However, perhaps the city’s greatest contribution to entertainment has been the music industry.

In particular, rap and hip hop would not be the genres they are today without Los Angeles. The city was, and still is, the hub of the West Coast scene. This was particularly important in the 1980s and 1990s with the rise of the East Coast-West Coast beef that pitted New York against Los Angeles. However, a mural memorializing that iconic history is now at risk.

Fans Fight To Save Mural Featuring Snoop and Tupac

Street artist Sloe Motions took to Instagram with a passionate plea to save one of their most iconic pieces. “SAVE THE LA MURAL IN BELLFLOWER! we recently received a notice to take down this mural in the city of Bellflower. I want to reach out to everyone n help get the word spread to keep this up. This is our culture and these are our city’s, government policies n politics shouldn’t have any effect on the peoples art or expression. I’m tired of the cities tryna stop artist and make things hard on us when we are the ones giving the inspiration to the community’s n giving back in a real way. this mural is also on the owners property.” read some of the lengthy caption.

The mural in question, located on the side Speedy Auto Tint on Woodruff Avenue, depicts a number of LA icons. Most notably, these icons are legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur. A petition launched in defense of the mural notes that “At Speedy Auto Tint we are proud of our mural because we are a Latino/ family-owned small business, and we believe this mural represents the city of Los Angeles and the culture it embodies.” Bellflower city officials have stated that the mural, “Does not comply with the established mural standards in the Municipal Code, and we have received complaints about that fact.”

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Pop Smoke Mural Gets Roasted Online

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Years after his untimely death, Pop Smoke’s legacy continues to loom large over the hip-hop world. However, not every attempt to immortalize and celebrate his memory has gone over particularly well. On one hand, some people disrespectfully vandalized The Woo’s mural last December to many’s outrage. Still, a new mural has people feeling heated for other, albeit much less overtly disrespectful reasons. On Monday (April 17), an unknown mural made rounds on social media, for which people don’t know the location, artist, or if it was even meant to resemble Pop. However, the details certainly match up, even if many fans think it looks nothing like the rapper.

Of course, Twitter had a field day reacting to this news, either making jokes about it or expressing straight up disgust. Still, since it’s unclear where this mural is, it’s not like people can go out and ask around its location to see who could explain some more. Despite the confusion, it looks to be inside a store, so take that hint and run with it if you’re in the New York area. Also, this news comes shortly after a suspect in his murder pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and received a sentence of four years and two months in juvenile detention.

Pop Smoke Mural Gets Blasted Online

Even though this mural isn’t the best look for Pop Smoke’s legacy, given that his fans seem to hate it, the New York legend lives on in many other ways. One of those is his strong connections to other heavy-hitters in the industry who tell stories of what a pleasure he was to work with. “I f***ed with Pop Smoke and the whole Drill sound,” Polo G said on the Full Send podcast. “You know, coming from Chicago, that’s where that s**t started at. So, I really tapped into they s**t. I hit up Pop like, ‘Yo, let’s do this.’ He had been hitting me up in the past, but before I knew who he was. And then, when I seen they wave going strong, I hit him like, ‘Yo, I f**k with y’all s**t. Let’s do something.’” Polo was asked if he worked with Pop in the studio.

“The craziest thing, I worked with him right before he passed,” he continued. “I was in the studio with him. He said he was leaving to L.A. I stayed in New York an extra day to make sure Fivio [Foreign] laid his verse [for ‘Clueless’]. And Pop, a contact was telling me Pop wanted to get in the stu in L.A. the night he passed. ‘Cause I live there, he live there. We was supposed to get up.” Furthermore, he shared that Pop Smoke asked Polo for the name of a popular Chicago spot to shout out in his verse, and he did exactly that. Check out reactions to the controversial Pop Smoke mural below and return to HNHH for more on the late legend’s legacy.

Twitter Reacts To Mural

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Biggie Mosaic Unveiled On Christopher Wallace Way In Brooklyn

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NYC Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a new mosaic mural located on Christopher Wallace way honoring Biggie Smalls. Moreover, the piece was done by Brooklyn artist Jan Carlos Pinto and shows the rap legend made out of glass and various pieces of stone. Furthermore, they all unite to show him donning a crown and his iconic Coogi sweater. In fact, it’s a reference to Barron Claiborne’s 1997 snapshot of Big during his “King Of New York” photoshoot for a Rap Pages magazine feature. However, the mural’s most unique quality is a mirror where Big’s face would be, allowing passerby to see themselves as the King of New York.

To celebrate the occasion on Thursday (March 9), city leaders and hip-hop community members alike gathered on the street named after the “Hypnotize” icon. Mayor Adams spoke during a press conference in Notorious’ hometown of Brooklyn about the honoring, which came on the 26th anniversary of his tragic loss. “We are larger than our surroundings,” Adams remarked according to PIX11 News. “The possibilities are endless if we go within and use the creativity for our life experiences, how do we tell our stories, and how do we make sure we leave from our block of Brooklyn and become a global phenomenon.”

Biggie Mosaic Unveiled, Eric Adams & Fans Usher It In

Furthermore, Diddy was one of many who honored the hip-hop legend 26 years after he passed. “There will NEVER be another,” Puff wrote. “The GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME. Today we celebrate and honor you king. Love and miss you!” Also, he included a rare interview clip of Biggie that spoke to his dedication to idiosyncrasy. “Don’t be a fool and sit back and do it because somebody else is doing it,” Big stated. “Because only thing you gon’ do is follow in somebody else’s footsteps and you gon’ be a shadow. Who wants to be a shadow for the rest of they life?

“If you got a lil’ something that you know how to do, progress that and keep trying,” he continued. “God knows what could happen, you know what I’m saying? That’s what I did. I kept on rapping and it happened to get to the right ears.” Given the continuous cultural ubiquity and consistently present legacy of the MC, his efforts yielded greater results than he could’ve imagined. Let us know what you think of the mural in the comments and return to HNHH for the latest on Biggie Smalls.

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Jadakiss Praises New LOX Mural In New York

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Jadakiss and The LOX have been receiving their flowers from many over the past few years. The iconic New York rap trio has aged gracefully since their reign in the early 2000s. People have taken notice of that, including hip-hop stars of today’s era. One of the first instances of this was Kanye West. In 2021, he included the group on his “Jesus Lord” track off Donda. Including The LOX during such a huge moment of his career truly showed how much Ye loved the trio.

Another recent instance of this was when DJ Khaled added a “Jadakiss Interlude” on his recent studio album GOD DID. The August 2022 project was also accompanied by a music video for “Jadakiss Interlude.” This was another great demonstration of appreciation for Jada and his group’s impact. Additionally, The LOX got their proper praise during their Verzuz battle with DipSet. General consensus says The LOX won the battle, which took place in August 2021. Even DipSet’s Juelz Santana came out and said The LOX was victorious.

Jadakiss Loves It

With all this love going around lately, an NYC painter found another opportunity to honor The LOX. On Thursday (Feb. 16), Andaluz The Artist debuted his LOX mural near a Whitecastle restaurant in The Bronx. This mural is the first piece of his collection that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. “First mural of 2023 is finally finished. In dedication of the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. Wanted to give @sheeklouch @stylesp @jadakiss and @thelox their flowers. I grew up listening to these guys so I’m honored to have painted this wall,” he wrote on Instagram.

The next morning (Feb. 17), Jadakiss was able to get a look at the mural. Although it could only be on FaceTime because he is currently on tour, Jada was blown away. “That sh*t is mean!” you could hear Jada say about the neon-accented wall art. The tour Jada is out of town for includes the likes of Jeezy, T.I., Rick Ross, Gucci Mane 2 Chainz and more. A “reloaded” version the “Legendz of the Streetz” tour that originally took place in late 2022, their latest stop was Feb. 18 in Birmingham, AL. So, whether it be on the road or in his neighborhood back home, Jada and his legendary rap group still have dedicated fans.

A Closer Look

KRS-One Honored With Mural In Neighborhood Where He Was Once Homeless

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This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, and New York City is giving a nod to KRS-One. The Boogie Down Productions icon has been involved in the culture since its inception, and he’s grown to be a respected artist, activist, and teacher. FOX 5 News reported that KRS was recently honored in the Big Apple with a stunning mural on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His initial reaction was a shocked “Wow!”

“There is no award that is above this,” the “Self Destruction” icon said. This mural was carefully constructed to celebrate not only KRS-One but Hip Hop’s 50th. The mural’s location also touched the rapper’s heart because he grew up in that neighborhood, and it was a humbling, full-circle moment.

Read More: Bow Wow Receives Response From Hip Hop Alliance’s KRS-One, Kurtis Blow, & Chuck D

“I grew up here,” he told the news outlet. The powerful artwork stopped him in his tracks. “KRS-One grew up in this neighborhood and was less than every single person here. I was homeless. I might have slept right there.” The placement was important for the mural’s creator, Jorit. The Italian street artist explained to Fox 5 the impact KRS has had on Hip Hop culture.

“KRS-One is aggressive, but he always looked to unite the aggressiveness and force of rap with positive messages,” Jorit shared. KRS was asked what he learned from Hip Hop, and he replied, “I can do anything.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 17: Big Daddy Kane and KRS 1 perform during TrillerVerz at Barclays Center on October 17, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Read More: KRS-One Teams With Slick Rick & Big Daddy Kane For Hip Hop Alliance Video

Hundreds of thousands of people turned into Verzuz in real-time to watch KRS-One and Big Daddy Kane join together. The union was supported by several of their Rap pioneer peers, many of which we haven’t heard from in decades. Verzuz prides itself on celebrating Black culture and music, and they promise more will come in 2023 following a minor legal setback.

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Pop Smoke’s Mural Reportedly Vandalized

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It’s been nearly three years now since Pop Smoke’s tragic murder from a fatal home invasion gone wrong. He was only 20 years old. Unfortunately, a mural put up in his memory was allegedly vandalized yesterday.

DJ Akademiks took to his Instagram to report the news. “Someone vandalized Pop Smoke’s mural in Brooklyn,” reads the caption from the streamer. “Word to my dead[,] yall n*ccas are mad childish like wtf,” says a screenshot of a Snapchat of the damage. Based on the photo, it appears as though somebody is responsible for writing “Woo K” over top of the mural.

The mural was finished shortly after his passing, in July of 2020. It honors the late rapper’s legacy in Canarsie, Brooklyn, where Pop grew up. According to Complex, Hattas Public Murals is responsible for undertaking and painting the tribute.

“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and fans of the late and beloved Pop Smoke. Much love to you all. And thank you to the community of #Canarsie for your overwhelming support as we painted this memorial mural,” the company wrote in an Instagram afterwards.

Four men have since been charged in Pop Smoke’s murder. They broke into the rented home while intending to rob the rapper of his jewelry. They took his watch during the invasion and subsequently sold it for $2,000. The alleged shooter is only 15 years old.

Ever since the “Dior” rapper’s untimely death, his estate has released two posthumous albums. The first of which is Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon. Releasing just five months after his passing, the project serves as a celebration of life and honors his legacy through songs like “Make It Rain” and “Got It On Me.”

The second one, Faith, saw a release in July of 2021. However, it isn’t as successful as its predecessor in continuing the Brooklyn native’s legacy. Fans and publications alike critique the album for containing too much filler content. Additionally, a common sentiment is that it has too many songs that are seemingly unfinished.

Long Live Pop Smoke. It’s certainly heartbreaking to see someone do this to a mural meant to honor him and his music.

What’s your favorite song of his? Comment down below. Finally, make sure to stay tuned to HNHH for the latest updates in music and pop culture.

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