PBS has been a valuable source for learning for generations, and now, thanks to the network’s genealogy series Finding Your Roots, two entertainers learned they are much more connected than they ever knew. Comedian Tracy Morgan recently appeared on the podcast Connect The Dots, where he talked about discovering his relation to another New York-based entertainer after years of friendship on an upcoming episode of Finding Your Roots.
As he recounts flipping through a family tree, he says, “I turn the last page, and guess who’s sitting there? Nas. Me and Nas is third cousins on my mom’s side. Me and Esco was always tight before that. I did a show years ago on Comedy Central called One Mic that was for Nas’ mom that just passed away, so me and Esco always been tight.”
Upon learning that they were actually related, he says they shared some tears. “I called him up and I say, ‘Yo Esco. Guess what? I just did Finding Your Roots,’” he recalled. “‘Me and you related.’ He started crying, I started crying. And I said to him, ‘If you ever need me, I’m there, cuz.’ He said, ‘Cuz, if you ever need me I’m there.’”
They aren’t the only rap relatives. In 2021, rappers Denzel Curry and Smino also learned they were cousins.
You can watch the full episode of Connect The Dots above and Morgan’s episode of Finding Your Roots when it airs in February.
2 Chainz is fortunately okay following a three-car accident in Miami over the weekend for Art Basel, allegedly close sources to him told TMZ. Moreover, they relayed that he left the hospital hours after he initially went in on Saturday morning (December 9), following a check-up from doctors. The rapper didn’t sustain any significant injuries, was just a little rattled, and is reportedly happy to be out of the medical facility and back home to rest before the holidays kick into full swing. On his Instagram account, he shared a picture of the car that struck his vehicle from behind, a video of him walking to a private jet, and a thankful and heartfelt message for his supporters and loved ones.
“This the car that hit us from behind,” 2 Chainz wrote on the social media platform. “Praise God for the blessings , Things could have been worse , but it wasn’t. Don’t wanna pity party, but i do appreciate every single person that checked up on me. Sometimes someone in my position don’t feel like the love real or maybe it’s mind thing. But I truly felt the love and don’t worry bout me , I’m good , shake back king.”
Furthermore, authorities found that he was not responsible for this three-vehicle crash. After all, police suspect that the driver that hit 2 Chainz’s car from behind was under the influence at the time. It looks like this will soon be a thing of the past for him, which is great because it would’ve been very tough to handle an accident like this during a time that you’d much rather spend with family. As such, we hope that the “Oprah & Gayle” MC is able to recover fully and swiftly on what he has left of this journey, and that the holidays bring him much joy. Meanwhile, the artist formerly known as Tity Boi recently shouted out a fellow hip-hop star for helping out with his Lil Wayne collab album.
“I actually wrote these things for 50 Cent to say,” he shared on the Rap Radar podcast recently. “50 is somebody that has a voice I think people can recognize. I knew that when it was time to put out an album, I was going to do something to maybe f**k people up to think maybe he was. I had this whole thing in my head about trailers and chaos and mayhem like, ‘What the hell they got going on?’ So I hit him. He did it for me. I mean, it didn’t take long. He killed it on the first take as far as knowing how to breathe, the spaces. Just little stuff that us as creatives just wanted.” For more news and the latest updates on 2 Chainz, keep checking in with HNHH.
After a relatively quiet first half of the year musically, Megan Thee Stallion has been busy recently. Back in September, she teamed up with Cardi B for a second time and dropped the highly-anticipated single “Bongos.” While the song didn’t reach the same commercial peaks as their previous collab “WAP,” it did stick around in the Hot 100 for multiple months after its release. She also flexed her acting skills in the absurdist A24 comedy musical Dicks: The Musical. She contributed the song “Out Alpha The Alpha” to the soundtrack for the film.
The biggest moment for Megan so far this year was when she returned with her new single “Cobra.” The song saw her diving deeper into some of her emotions while still maintaining her trademark intensity. Though the song performed just okay commercially fans absolutely ate it up. She released a remix of the track with metal band Spiritbox where they re-formed the song into a rap metal fusion. Now she’s announced her next soundtrack contribution and it’s a collaboration with somebody you might not expect. Check out the announcement below.
Megan Thee Stallion Added To “Mean Girls” Soundtrack
Megan Thee Stallion reveals that herself and Renee Rapp have an upcoming collaboration for the “Mean Girls” soundtrack — out in 2024. pic.twitter.com/VAxExepPI6
Megan Thee Stallion is teaming up with breakout singer Renee Rapp on her newest song. Rapp released her debut album Snow Angel earlier this year on the back of a highly acclaimed new EP she released in 2022. She scored a Best New Artist nomination at this year’s VMAs making it all the way to the finals alongside Ice Spice and Peso Pluma. The deluxe edition of Snow Angel was released last month. The deluxe included a new version of her song “Tummy Hurts” that featured another recent breakout star, Coco Jones.
Megan and Renee are teaming up for a song that will be included on the upcoming Mean Girls musical. The new movie is a musical re-imagining of the original 2004 film and hits theaters in January of next year. What do you think of Megan Thee Stallion and Renee Rapp collaborating on a song? Let us know in the comment section below.
1090 Jake is back with some more vigilante work in the hip-hop space, accusing King Yella of snitching. What’s more is that he actually has alleged receipts this time, as he published a transcript of an interrogation that Las Vegas police conducted with Yella. In it, he allegedly names Offset, Lil Durk, 600 Breezy, and Smurk’s affiliate Snap Dogg as gang members, of which you can see each individual claim in the post below. Overall, these are pretty hefty accusations and not a good look at all for Yella considering the alleged paperwork– if you care about this kind of thing, of course. Some couldn’t care less, but you can’t deny that this watchdog mentality found an audience online.
Furthermore, this is pretty curious because Lil Durk and 1090 Jake actually have a relatively solid relationship, or at least they appear to be. For example, this is mostly based on the former’s new compilation project with his OTF collective, Nightmare In The Trenches. “Deeski beat his body, he the man / Even though the witness took the stand (Yeah) / 1090 Jake on the ‘Gram / Blastin’ snitchin’, show it to the fam’ (Yeah),” Durkio raps on “Eyes Red.” As such, maybe Jake wanted to particularly call King Yella out in order to stand up for him, although that’s probably a stretch considering the other names involved here.
However, another angle to consider with this story is that King Yella and 600 Breezy have beef, which the latter has no interest in resolving. “Aye Yella, I’ma tell you one more time and it’s the last time I’ma tell you,” he expressed on social media. “Stop messin’ with me, gang, and stop mentioning, bro. Why the f**k? What is me sitting down with your big, goofy a** gonna do for the city of Chicago? Be for real, bro. Me and your block not even into it. Y’all steady wanna push this fake-a**, tiddy-biddy beefin’. That’s not what the f**k is goin’ on in the streets. We beefin’ off sets, we beefin’ off blocks. You hung with the n***as that we was beefin’ with and you wanna put yourself in it with like, stop doin’ that, gang.”
Meanwhile, Yella also has beef with Durk and some issues with Offset, so there are a lot of moving parts here. In fact, it’s kind of wild how so many different storylines converged here. What do you think will happen next? Let us know in the comments and check back in with HNHH for more on 1090 Jake, Offset, Lil Durk, 600 Breezy, and King Yella.
Rick Ross says he’s willing to purchase several G-Unit artists’ catalogs amid his ongoing feud with 50 Cent. Taking to social media on Monday, Ross explained that he doesn’t “need the entire G-Unit catalog,” but wants Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck as well as the Beg For Mercy album.
“So that’s $2 million dollars. I’m making a business offer to the diabolical genius,” Ross suggested, after listing what he wants to purchase. He also joked that he could send him the money directly via wire transfer, or just give him the watch on his wrist and ring on his finger at the same value. Throughout the video, Ross calls 50 “diabolical genius,” a reference to Charlamagne’s recent comments on the music mogul.
Rick Ross At The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 07: Rapper Rick Ross attends the New Era In Florida Gaming Event at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on December 07, 2023, in Hollywood, Florida. (Photo by Mireya Acierto/Getty Images)
Charlamagne had been discussing 50 Cent’s handling of Diddy’s recent sexual assault lawsuits on the Brilliant Idiots podcast when he described him as a “genius.” He reaffirmed his description during an episode of The Breakfast Club afterward. “I stand by what I said. 50 Cent is absolutely a diabolical genius,” Charlamagne said. “If you look up the word diabolical and the definition of diabolical genius, then you know that is exactly what 50 Cent is. [Diabolical people are] very evil but often intelligent.” When Rick Ross caught wind of the praise, he accused Charlamagne of “d*ckriding” the G-Unit legend.
Ross argued that “a diabolical genius doesn’t file foreclosure, doesn’t file bankruptcy, that’s not a diabolical genius. A diabolical genius, for my next generation of bosses, they buying Delta. They buying the Miami Heat.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Rick Ross and 50 Cent’s feud on HotNewHipHop.
Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 has been dominating the music industry for the past few days, and for good reason. This last month of 2023’s been busier than expected in that regard, but nothing was able to slow down this rollout and the debate between the Barbz about whether this project lived up to the hype. Based on pure sales projections, general fan reception, and all the support behind her, we’d argue that this has been a pretty satisfying release so far. However, given that the Trinidadian MC is always one to surprise and please her fans, then it should come as no surprise that she’s not done yet.
Moreover, Nicki Minaj just released a new remix of the album cut “Beep Beep” with none other than her fellow legendary Queens MC, 50 Cent, which they previously announced on social media. It’s available exclusively on her website for digital purchase, and hopefully it lands on streaming services soon– which is something that she’s already hinted at. Unfortunately for international fans, this version is currently only available to purchase for U.S. residents. Still, if you want to check the song out and aren’t in the States, you can find that here or wait for the streaming version.
Nicki Minaj’s Original Version Of “Beep Beep”: Stream
In other news, the 41-year-old recently blasted the music industry for contributing to what she believes is a weak state for female hip-hop right now. “Rap should sound like f***ing rap!” Nicki Minaj expressed on her radio show. “That’s y’all f***ing problem, and that’s why all of the record labels– not all, but some– are scrambling so bad because they about to go f***ing bankrupt. ‘Cause they was trying so bad to replace this one b***h. When you water something down, you lose the quality, which then loses the investors and investments. ‘Cause it’s not bringing back any profit.”
Meanwhile, she recently announced a world tour in 2024, which has fans bouncing off the walls with excitement. As for Fif, he made plenty of amazing contributions to albums as of late, so this verse is cold, emphatic, and engaging verse is no surprise. Hopefully this doesn’t start and end their collaborative run. For more news and the latest updates on 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj, stick around on HNHH.
Nicki Minaj finally shared her highly-anticipated new album Pink Friday 2 last week. Unsurprisingly, fans quickly dissected the album and a few select favorites have emerged online as big hits in the making already. The biggest breakout song of the bunch so far seems to be the track “Everybody” with Lil Uzi Vert. It’s outpacing nearly every other song on the record that wasn’t previously released with “Needle” featuring Drake as the sole exception.
Fans found “Everybody” irresistible pretty much immediately. The very night that Pink Friday 2 dropped North West was already sharing videos online of herself dancing to the song in a Barbie-themed outfit. Shortly after the album dropped Billboard ranked all 22 of the songs that appear on it. In their list, they had “Everybody” at the very top spot, which prompted a response from Nicki herself. Subsequently in a quote tweet, she explained that she originally wrote the song in just 5 minutes and that it was originally for her Call Of Duty collab. The song is already taking off on TikTok as well and one particular high-profile Nicki fan got involved. Check out Lizzo’s video dancing to the song below.
In a new video shared to TikTok, Lizzo tries her hand at a dance choreographed to “Everybody.” It may not be as elaborate as her usual choreography. She’s performing it at home by herself in some fittingly pink loungewear. As is the case almost any time the “About Damn Time” singer comes up fans in the comments discussed her weight.
“She’s working out” one of the top comment points out observing her noticeable weight loss. “Go head Lizzo. I see the weight loss,” another comment reads in support of the singer. Additionally, other comments referenced the biggest drama that Lizzo went through this year. A few months ago she was sued by some of her backup dancers for creating a hostile workplace for her employees. What do you think of Lizzo dancing to Nicki Minaj’s new song in a TikTok? Let us know in the comment section below.
The relationship drama between Cardi B and Offset just crossed over into that of Blueface and Chrisean Rock, and the results are unsurprisingly explosive. Moreover, the “Bongos” rapper recently revealed that she’s been single for a minute, and social media is going wild over this. Not only that, but it also got paired with claims from Blue that the former Migo slept with the Baddies star. All in all, there are a lot of moving pieces here, and the one we’re focusing on here is the response to Blueface blowing all this drama up with his accusations. Coming to Bardi’s defense is actress, model, and Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Claudia Jordan, who took to Twitter recently to chime in.
“There would be no Blueface without Cardi throwing him a major assist and validating him,” she wrote, referring to the latter’s feature on the former’s “Thotiana” remix, one of his breakout singles that propelled him into stardom. “He’d just be another IG rapper off beat in low quality yet gaudy jewelry. And this is how he repays her? He coulda sent her a text IF THIS WAS TRUE. What a messy [bird emoji] he is.”
Furthermore, this is what Offset had to say in response to Blueface’s claims, and as you’d imagine, he denied ever getting involved with his baby mama. “I ain’t never talk or touch that lady. Real talk man, you need some help!” he wrote on Twitter. In addition, Chrisean Rock also responded to all this on the social media platform, and she thinks that her ex is just spiraling out of control and making narratives up for clicks. “U just crashing out, making up s**t,” she expressed following this scandal’s high-profile arrival on our timelines.
Meanwhile, Cardi said that she doesn’t believe these specific rumors are true, but that said speculation doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. Either way, she is single now and apparently has been for a while, which makes sense because these rumors began earlier in the month. What do you think is gonna happen next in this drama? Let us know in the comments and come back to HNHH for more news and the latest updates on Cardi B, Blueface, Offset, and Chrisean Rock.
Nicki Minaj is bringing Gag City to stages across North America, Europe, and the UK in 2024. This morning, December 11, she announced her highly anticipated Pink Friday 2 World Tour, days after dropping her album of the same name. The tour will begin on March 1, 2024 at Oakland Arena in Oakland, California, stretching far and wide before wrapping on June 7, 2024 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany.
Below is everything you need to know.
How Much Are Tickets For Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour?
Minaj’s last headlining tour was the controversialThe Nicki WRLD Tour with the late Juice WRLD in 2019 (as per Concert Archives), after her and Future’s NICKIHNDRXX Tourwas canceled. Usually, I’d use an artist’s most recent tour to contextualize what to expect from current ticket prices, but nothing costs now what it did in 2019. However, Touring Data relayed in June 2019 that average ticket price for The Nicki WRLD Tour was $74.33. Take that for what you will. As of this writing, ticket prices for the Pink Friday 2 World Tour have not been confirmed.
When Do Tickets For Nicki Minaj’s 2024 Pink Friday 2 World Tour Come Out?
A press release relayed that there will be various presales scheduled between Tuesday, December 12, and Thursday, December 14. Citi cardmembers will enjoy an exclusive presale from December 12 at 9 a.m. local time to December 14 at 9 p.m. local time. Ticketmaster lists all of the scheduled presales here. The general sale for both the North American and European/UK legs is scheduled for Friday, December 15, at 9 a.m. local time.
How To Buy Tickets For Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour
Information about the Citi presale can be found here, and Minaj’s official website will direct you for all of your other ticketing needs. Information about purchasing VIP packages and experiences, which “vary but include premium tickets and access to the Gag City Headquarters, Nicki’s VIP lounge with special pop-up activations, exclusive merch items, and more” can be found here.
What Are Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour Dates?
Copyright to Nicki Minaj/Live Nation
03/01/2024 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
03/03/2024 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
03/08/2024 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
03/10/2024 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
03/13/2024 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
03/15/2024 — Inglewood, CA @ Rolling Loud California
03/18/2024 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
03/20/2024 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
03/22/2024 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
03/26/2024 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
03/28/2024 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
03/29/2024 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
03/30/2024 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
04/01/2024 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
04/02/2024 — Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
04/04/2024 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
04/05/2024 — Hartford, CT @ XL Center
04/07/2024 — Raleigh, NC @ Dreamville Festival
04/10/2024 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
04/12/2024 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
04/13/2024 — Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
04/17/2024 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
04/18/2024 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
04/20/2024 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
04/24/2024 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
04/27/2024 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
05/02/2024 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center
05/09/2024 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
05/11/2024 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
05/12/2024 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
05/25/2024 — Manchester, UK @ Co-Op Live
05/26/2024 — Birmingham, UK @ Resorts World Arena
05/28/2024 — London, UK @ The O2
06/01/2024 — Paris, France @ Accor Arena
06/02/2024 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
06/05/2024 — Cologne, Germany @ Lanxess Arena
06/07/2024 — Berlin, Germany @ Mercedes Benz Arena
Every Monday, Billboard unveils the top 10 songs on the latest Hot 100 chart. The most recent rankings, for the chart dated December 16, are out now, so let’s run down who had this week’s biggest hits.
10. Doja Cat — “Paint The Town Red”
The Hot 100 is certainly painted red (and green) this week, thanks to the holiday songs coming up next on this list. Doja’s hit is among the few non-holiday tunes hanging around this week’s top 10, though.
8. Andy Williams — “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”
Williams’ Christmas classic has helped him make some history: As Billboard notes, “The late singer now sports a record span of 64 years, two months, and one week from his first week in the top 10 with ‘Lonely Street’ in October 1959 through his latest frame.”
7. Taylor Swift — “Cruel Summer”
Even through the holiday rush, Swift is unstoppable, as she remains in the top 10 with a song that was originally released in 2019 but has become a gigantic hit here in 2023.
6. Burl Ives — “A Holly Jolly Christmas”
Ives is one of the holiday regulars, as “A Holly Jolly Christmas” routinely returns to the charts. Its previous peak was at No. 4, so let’s see if it’s able to top that this year.
5. Jack Harlow — “Lovin On Me”
In terms of non-holiday songs, Harlow is No. 1 this week with “Lovin On Me,” which previously became the rapper’s third No. 1 single (Christmas classic or otherwise).
4. Wham! — “Last Christmas”
“Last Christmas” has so far peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 and the enduring 1984 favorite finds itself back at that personal-best summit this week.
3. Bobby Helms — “Jingle Bell Rock”
The same is true for Helms in terms of re-achieving its previous peak. It’s also the oldest song of the holiday bunch, as it was originally released in 1957.
2. Mariah Carey — “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
Carey has gotten used to having the No. 1 Christmas song of the past few years, but so far during this holiday season, she hasn’t been able to reclaim the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100.
1. Brenda Lee — “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”
(@nojumper)
