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Pop Smoke’s Alleged Killer Claims He Isn’t Sorry

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No Jumper and Adam22’s controversial interview with Pop Smoke’s alleged killer, Blockstar, resulted in a lot of backlash online for its insensitivity and platforming. For those unaware, authorities charged four people in the rapper’s 2020 murder, three of which (including Blockstar) were minors when the crime took place. While they received juvenile sentences, which Blockstar served for a few years and was recently released over, Corey Walker awaits trial as the only adult defendant. Moreover, the alleged killer claims that the robbery at Pop’s Hollywood Hills mansion wasn’t a set-up and had no plans of turning fatal, that they didn’t think anyone would be home, and not only that, but he also refused to clarify which defendant was the shooter.

“I’m not sorry about nothing,” Blockstar expressed concerning Pop Smoke’s death. “It should’ve never happened, but I ain’t sorry. If I could go back, I’ll go back. But I ain’t sorry. N***as die every day. [Pop Smoke] was rapping about it. All type of s**t So, I ain’t sorry about it. I send my condolences to the family. I wish it never happened. But… I don’t regret nothing.

Read More: Pop Smoke Murder Witness Details The Moments Leading Up To His Passing

Pop Smoke’s Alleged Killer On No Jumper

“Growing up, I just -– my people, my family told me, ‘You ain’t sorry for s**t,’” Blockstar continued concerning Pop Smoke’s murder. “‘Whatever you did, you did it for a reason and stand on it.’ It was a robbery. Nobody sent us. Nobody did none of that. That’s all false information. Nobody [was] intended to get hurt. Nobody… We was just kids being kids -– being kids from the hood. And [there was] too much movement… Movement from everybody. Too much s**t going on. Just too much s**t going on. It wasn’t intentional.”

Blockstar thought that his sentence was too light, but he didn’t complain and refrained from suggesting more strict consequences for his actions. As for Pop Smoke’s murder trial, Corey Walker failed to secure plea negotiations, so authorities issued a delay for the case as a result. We don’t know whether Blockstar will also play a crucial role in it or if he can leave all that behind. Well, in a way; of course, hopping on media platforms to talk about murder isn’t exactly what many would call “moving on.”

Read More: Pop Smoke’s Murder Reportedly Connected To Rapper Found Dead In Barrel

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MC Lyte Thinks Sexyy Red Gets Too Much Hate For Her Lewd Music

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Sexyy Red’s superstardom rose alongside a lot of criticism over her raunchy content and presentation, which has sadly never been an uncommon reaction to femcees. One of the most legendary female rappers of all time, MC Lyte, recently reflected on this history during an interview with The Neighborhood Talk at BET‘s Media House ahead of their awards show this Sunday (June 30). However, it’s important to note that her comments on the St. Louis MC don’t really seek to answer the question of whether or not this should be an approach that women in hip-hop continue to engage with. Rather, it calls out double standards and a lack of historical context and knowledge that leads to unjust vilification.

“Nothing that we see is really new,” MC Lyte’s remarks on Sexyy Red began. “And so, you know, we’ve all lived through the advent of ‘My Neck, My Back.’ Trina, Kim, Foxy… You know, so we lived that. So nothing surprises us, I don’t think. As an artist, as a creator, everyone’s always pushing the limits and the boundaries. But also, she didn’t pop out of a planet. She came from a neighborhood where this is how they speak to one another, this is how they communicate. And so this is definitely art imitating life. I think it’s important for people to know that it appears to me that she’s being herself. Whenever you’re being yourself, how can anybody argue with that?”

Read More: MC Lyte Net Worth 2024: Updated Wealth Of The Rap Pioneer

MC Lyte’s Thoughts On Sexyy Red

Of course, we know that MC Lyte herself isn’t immune to lewd and controversial content. In fact, her comments about age gaps back in the day probably would get much more flack today than anything that Sexyy Red is doing in particular. But context is everything, and time heals all -– well, most wounds. Who knows how folks would’ve reacted to “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad)” back in 1991?

Meanwhile, MC Lyte also came to the defense of other rappers like LL Cool J and even President Joe Biden when it comes to their public perception. When Biden called LL “boy,” it sparked a debate around the connotations of the word. Like a lot of other people online, Lyte didn’t find it to be a big deal and instead opted for empathy and forgiveness. We’ll see how this Sexyy Red take ages in comparison.

Read More: Sexyy Red’s Essential Songs

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J Dilla’s Brother Illa J Has A Dismissive Hot Take About Kanye West

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Everyone seems to have a hot take about Kanye West these days, and they became so common for so many different reasons that the more mild and non-bigotry-centric ones are now the most notable. Moreover, the late and legendary J Dilla’s younger brother Illa J recently spoke about the Chicago artist during an interview with AnecDope (which you can find by clicking here). Specifically, he remarked on what the Detroit beatmaker would be cooking up now, which Illa thinks would be “some crazy trap beats” given his desire to listen to all kinds of rap music despite his specialties. “Even when I was younger, he would ask me what I was listening to,” he said of his brother.

Then, Illa J made a bold claim that Kanye West would not be as big as he is today if J Dilla were still alive. “That’s my opinion,” he prefaced the reasoning behind this conclusion. “I don’t think Kanye is as big as he is if my brother stayed alive. I’m sorry, Kanye needs seven producers. If you look at the credits, there’s, like, 20 producers on one track. Because it’s a thing to make beats, and then it’s a thing to produce, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, you’re making some crazy stuff. But, like, I mean, [if] we’re talking producers, man, like, Quincy Jones is still the GOAT. That’s a real music producer, you know what I mean? Most people are beatmakers, if we’re being real.”

Read More: Common Tributes J Dilla And Kanye West On “Be” Anniversary

Illa J Speaks On His Brother J Dilla & Kanye West

 
 
 
 
 
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Of course, Kanye West himself will be one of the first to tell you that J Dilla is one of the all-time greats, if not the greatest producer of all time. During a 2013 appearance on the Stones Throw Records documentary, Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton, Ye spoke on the need to honor Dilla as artists. “We gotta think, ‘If Dilla was alive, would he like this?’” he remarked. “I have to work on behalf of Dilla. The best respect that we can pay to great artists that have inspired us is to never sell out.”

Meanwhile, Illa J was previously very outspoken about how he feels that some folks are trying to take advantage of J Dilla’s legacy for their own gain. Last year, he framed this as more of a conversation around how people use Dilla’s impact to further their own goals or the relationship that they seek with Illa. It doesn’t seem like this applies to Kanye West, but it’s also easy to believe that both artists would’ve still made amazing art if they were both still around. Sadly, we’ll never know for sure, but we do know that their catalogs and artistry are worth much more than their individual careers.

Read More: Kanye West Inspired J Dilla’s “Donuts,” Young RJ Claims

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KAYTRANADA Thanks Freddie Gibbs For His Early Support After Coming Out

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Ahead of his new album Timeless coming out next week on June 7, KAYTRANADA recently gave Rolling Stone a wonderful interview. In it, he reflects on much of his personal evolution and his career trajectory, with one particular moment being a key point of support and reminiscing. Moreover, the Haitian-Canadian producer came out as gay in a 2016 piece with The FADER, and took this RS opportunity to reflect on that development. Specifically, he spoke on how Freddie Gibbs was one of the first artists to champion his experience and perspective, which gave him hope moving forward in an industry that used to treat the LGBTQIA2+ community much more harshly, and that sometimes still falls victim to that bigotry.

“I still don’t think many people know that I’m gay. Even with that story,” KAYTRANADA remarked to Rolling Stone. “Freddie Gibbs was one of the first artists that was like, ‘I’m proud of you, man, keep doing your thing.’ I thought that was crazy. That gave me hope. Now, we got Lil Nas X and rappers from the LGBT community just coming out. R&B artists, too. It’s more acceptable and more welcome. I heard Snoop [Dogg] and Dr. Dre were performing at Pride in L.A. That’s crazy.” Freddie even quote-tweeted coverage of this thankfulness with another sweet message: “That’s my homie in real life tho [fingers crossed emoji].”

Read More: KAYTRANADA Debuts Unreleased Childish Gambino Song During DJ Set

Freddie Gibbs Responds To KAYTRANADA’s Thankfulness

As for their link-ups, KAYTRANADA and Freddie Gibbs have a couple of tracks together, namely “My Dope House,” “Alexys,” and the KAYTRAMINÉ cut “letstalkaboutit.” Hopefully the Big Boss Rabbit and the “Lover/Friend” sonic wizard reunite for some more collabs in the future. While Freddie won’t appear on Timeless (as listed at press time), there are plenty of other amazing guests to look forward to. These include Channel Tres, Childish Gambino, PinkPantheress, Don Toliver, Charlotte Day Wilson, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Mariah The Scientist, Ravyn Lenae, and many more.

Meanwhile, KAYTRANADA is fresh off releasing one of the surefire summer bops of 2024 with Mach-Hommy and 03 Greedo’s “#RICHAXXHAITIAN,” the titular track off Mach’s newest masterpiece. If Timeless lives up to that moniker, we’re in for an absolute treat. Surely we’ll get some more breezy jams and bops to blast all the way through blistering days under the sun. But most importantly, it’s great to hear KAYTRA reflect on those who had his back every step of the way.

Read More: KAYTRANADA Originally Approached To Produce “Honestly, Nevermind”

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Megan Thee Stallion Reveals How Women Rappers Are Expected To Carry Themselves Compared To Men

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Megan Thee Stallion’s years in the public eye have taught her some lessons on the best ways to be. That’s one of the things she discusses in a newly released interview with L’Officiel. In the piece she shared some advice for female rappers and also revealed how she arrived at the philosophy she now follows. ““For female rappers, there’s a line that you don’t want to cross. You want to be Miss Congeniality, you want to be well liked by everyone. You want to be the baddest, you want to be the best, but you want to do it the right way,” she begins.

While it’s evocative for Megan to claim there’s a “right way” for her and her contemporaries to act, it’s not what it seems. She opened up further on her philosophy of trying your hardest to be yourself because no matter what you do, people will criticize. “I did have to learn that there is no right way. Whoever you are, be that. If you crazy, be crazy, if you nice, be nice. If you mean, be mean, if you sad, be sad. Whatever your lane is, just be that. Be your real true self,” Meg concludes. Check out her full interview with the publication discussing a variety of subjects below.

Read More: Megan Thee Stallion “HISS” On Pace For No. 1 Debut

Megan Thee Stallion Tells Rappers To Be Who They Are

Megan Thee Stallion has already shared three singles from her upcoming new snake-themed album. “COBRA” dropped last year followed by “HISS” and “BOA” earlier this year. But those aren’t the only big songs this year that she appears on. She teamed up with GloRilla for the second single from her new mixtape, the track “Wanna Be.” The pair are gearing up to release a new remix of the track with Cardi B that was first teased during a recent live performance.

What do you think of Megan Thee Stallion’s advice to other female rappers to focus their energy on being themselves? Do you think she’s right that female MCs will face criticism no matter what they do? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Megan Thee Stallion Warns Fans To “Get Ready”

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Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria” Producer, Cardo, Reflects On Working With Him & Drake 

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It goes without saying that the release of Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss “Euphoria” was one of the notable moments of their beef. On it, K-Dot made it clear that he wasn’t messing around, declaring that he hates everything about Drake, from the way he walks to the way he talks, dresses, and more. The chilling track continues to stand out as one of the most effective of their feud, serving as a response to Drake’s “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle.”

Now, one of the producers behind “Euphoria,” Cardo, has opened up about his experience working alongside both Kendrick and Drake. During a recent interview with Kids Take Over, he also shared his take on the viral beef. According to him, he’s not surprised that Kendrick challenged Drake and went after him as hard as he did, as he previously knew him as a competitive guy. Moreover, he thinks the lyrical battle was a positive thing for the genre, and has respect for both artists.

Read More: Kendrick Lamar & Drake’s Beef: An Exploration Through Michael Jackson & Prince References

Cardo Says He Has Respect For Both Kendrick And Drake

“I respect them both. They’re both somebody I both f*ck with. I’ve made history with both of them. And it’s good for Hip-Hop,” Cardo explained. “Dot is the type of guy that will challenge anybody. He’ll challenge people in a game of hopscotch. He’s a competitive dude.” Clearly, Cardo knows a thing or two, as the track he contributed to ended up making a serious splash. “Euphoria” managed to secure No. 1 spots on both Apple Music and Spotify’s daily U.S. streaming charts.

Of course, the song was arguably outshined by the subsequent release of Kendrick’s DJ Mustard-produced track “Not Like Us,” which is now a fan favorite from the feud. What do you think of Cardo’s recent remarks about working alongside both Kendrick Lamar and Drake? Are you surprised that he said he has respect for both of them? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

Read More: DaBaby Channels Kendrick Lamar On New “Not Like Us” Freestyle

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Saweetie Reflects On Working At A Strip Club Before Her Rap Fame

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Saweetie has been making waves recently for both her new music and her unwavering pettiness. The former came because she recently released a new single and has been gearing up for quite a while now to eventually release a debut album. The latter is because she recently took the opportunity to clap back at an old tweet from a fan claiming she’ll be a one hit wonder. She waited a full four years after the tweet was originally made to share a quote tweet now that she’s fully beaten the one-hit wonder claims.

Now in a new interview making the rounds online, she discusses her past before rapping. Plenty of rappers have harrowing stories about how they got by before breaking through with their music and Saweetie is no different. She’s talked about her experiences with homelessness in the past and in the new interview she spoke on working at a strip club. She even revealed some details about where she worked and what name she used to go by. That led to a conversation about the desire she felt to keep her employment there a secret. Check out the conversation they had below.

Read More: G-Eazy Raps Over Saweetie’s “Tap In” With “All I Wanna Do”

Saweetie On Her Time Working At A Strip Club

Last week, Saweetie dropped her new single “NANi. “ The track arrived on the back of quite a bit of fan anticipation following multiple teases. The track is already off to a solid start racking up more than 1.1 million streams in just 5 days. Fans are hoping that the song is another step closer to her long-awaited debut album. She’s been teasing the project for a while now and dropping music for well over 5 years. All without putting out a proper studio debut.

What do you think of Saweetie’s story about working in a strip club before she became a famous rapper? Do you agree with her that she shouldn’t have to feel the need to cover up the fact that she worked there? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: Saweetie’s Debut Album Will Have “Songs [That] Correlate With One Another,” She Promises

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Cardi B Refuses To Vote For Neither Donald Trump Nor Joe Biden

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Cardi B remains outspoken about her political views, and while she’s no realist theorist, she can often resonate with a lot of U.S. citizens in the same boat. Moreover, you probably saw that she spoke to Rolling Stone for a Thursday (May 16) profile, and the topic of the upcoming presidential election came up. Furthermore, the Bronx MC relayed that she’s not a big fan of neither (likely) Democrat candidate Joe Biden and (probable) Republican candidate Donald Trump. Not only that, but she even made it a point to state that neither old white man will get her vote in 2024.

“I don’t f**k with both of y’all n***as,” Cardi B revealed, explaining that domestic and international decisions caused “layers and layers of disappointment” for her. She believes that people experienced “betrayal” thanks to skyrocketing living costs, insufficient wages, and consistently inconsistent action. “It’s just like, damn, y’all not caring about nobody. Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any f***ing thing.

Read More: Cardi B Seemingly Reveals Sobering Update On Her New Album

Cardi B At Met Gala 2024 Afterparty

Cardi B Biden Trump No Vote New Interview Hip Hop News
Cardi B at Richie Akiva’s 10th Annual “The After” Met Gala After Party held at Casa Cipriani on May 6, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WWD via Getty Images)

Cardi B also spoke on situations like that of Israel and Palestine or Russia and Ukraine. She thinks artists of color could get “blackball” treatment for speaking out particularly about what’s going on in Gaza. “[The U.S. doesn’t] pay for endless wars for countries that have been going through s**t for a very long time,” Bardi went on. “There’s countries [where] kids are getting killed every single day. But because the [U.S.] won’t benefit from that country, they won’t help. I don’t like that America has this superhero cape on. We never did things to be superheroes. We did things for our own convenience.”

Meanwhile, Cardi B always seeks to balance these tough topics out with staying grounded, appreciative, and boastful in her personal life. After all, four songs with over a billion streams on Spotify will definitely provoke a flexing mood every once in a while. But she has always been very clear about what broad values she stands for, and what she thinks are the important issues affecting her country. Even though celebrities aren’t political analysts, hopefully their words inspire at least one person to reconsider their worldview.

Read More: Cardi B Shows Off The Elaborate Mother’s Day Gifts She Received

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Andre 3000 Delivers Sobering Update On Potential Outkast Reunion Album

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In his new conversation with legendary poet Hanif Abdurraqib for The Bitter Southerner, Andre 3000 once again shared his thoughts on an age-old (well, at least since 2006) question: will Outkast come through with another album? 3 Stacks and Big Boi have arguably the most decorated catalog in hip-hop history, and while they are still great friends, it’s been a long time since they’ve put out music together. In Andre’s case, he’s even yet to drop a hip-hop-oriented solo album. Through his most recent remarks on the subject, he expressed that while he doesn’t think that the reunion is impossible, it would also be a bit of a backtrack considering how his relationship with Sir Lucious Left Foot has evolved over the years, from friends to musicians and beyond.

“People ask, ‘So, will there be another Outkast album?’” Andre 3000 shared. “I really can’t say, man. I do realize that our chemistries have changed. We’re different people. We’re totally different people. Not to say that we won’t be able to make any kind of music, but I think, yeah, people have to realize, like, even in relationships, man… chemistry should change after a while. And I think people think there’s this one thing that has to stay a way, but we are ever-changing, man.

Read More: Smino Surprises Fans With A Cover Of The Outkast Classic “Roses”

Andre 3000 & Big Boi Performing As Outkast At One MusicFest 2016

Andre 3000 New Outkast Album Interview Hip Hop News
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 10: Big Boi and Andre 3000 of Outkast perform at One MusicFest at Lakewood Amphitheatre on September 10, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images)

“You know, people always ask about me and Big Boi,” Andre 3000 continued. “We cool, man. That’s my homie forever. We were friends before doing music.” If anyone doubted the bond between the ATLiens creatives, remarks on Big Boi’s reaction to New Blue Sun quickly dispelled them. They have crossed paths a lot over the years, whether it’s for get-togethers, reunions, or other events. Outkast is alive and well, not just in their catalog of music’s enduring influence and acclaim, but in terms of that Dungeon Family spirit that both MCs continue to embody in unique ways.

Meanwhile, speaking of the Dungeon Family, that whole collective is still mourning the loss of Rico Wade, the great bridge of not just Southern rap, but rap in general. Perhaps this grief and the 20-year anniversary of Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik will provide some other form of reflection, celebration, or tribute… just not a new Outkast album. It seems like Andre 3000 and Big Boi won’t meet up again in the booth, or at least, in the exact same capacity as their previous work. While we accepted that reality a long time ago, that wouldn’t make it any less hype if they change their minds one day.

Read More: What Is Outkast’s Best-Selling Album?

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21 Savage Finally Meets Nardwuar For An Interview

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Nardwuar The Human Serviette has added to his legendary roster with a new interview in Vancouver with 21 Savage, who just kicked off his American Dream tour in the city earlier this week. Of course, it was a pretty chill, wholesome, and interesting interview that saw the rapper go down memory lane with a whole lot of “How do you know that?” answers. Moreover, the two talked about the history behind some of the Atlanta MC’s beats, his London background and that of his mother, what’s next for him on the trek, and his first-ever show in the A.

Overall, it was a nice interview to watch as usual, and a nice cool-down moment amid absolute warfare in the hip-hop game. Kendrick Lamar just name-dropped 21 Savage as one of the Atlanta artists that Drake is “colonizing” on his latest diss track in their battle, “Not Like Us.” As such, a lot of people reacted comically to this in the interview’s YouTube comments section and on social media, remarking how he’s just having fun and keeping busy while his Her Loss partner is on the battlefield. Some even joked that 21 is the mole, and that Nardwuar is the one that has been feeding both sides all that information.

Read More: Metro Boomin Shares Cryptic Update On “Savage Mode III” With 21 Savage

21 Savage’s Nardwuar Interview: Watch

Jokes aside, though, we’ve actually seen 21 Savage living his best life these days amid a busy tour schedule, such as singing on Instagram again and showing some love to Ayra Starr. It’s unclear whether he or other name-dropped artists on either side will chime into this beef, especially in his specific case as he’s on tour right now and probably wouldn’t want to have any part in it. It’s not like they should in the first place, but it’s an interesting parallel since Drake was on tour when Kendrick Lamar dropped “Like That” and only responded after. But that’s enough speculation… we’re not Nardwuar, after all.

Meanwhile, speaking of the “Jimmy Cooks” duo, Drake and 21 Savage recently appeared in the city of Chicago’s lawsuit against Glock, with that track specifically seeing mention as an example of prolific references to the gun brand in media. Probably not the association that they expected, but here we are. It doesn’t affect either MC in any way, but it does go to show the very tangible and unignored reach that they have. It also shows how folks will only question these references when they’re not in an entertainment or capitalistic context… but that’s another story.

Read More: 21 Savage Cracks Time’s 2024 Most Influential People List

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