performance

LL Cool J Honors Hip-Hop With Bars At iHeartRadio Awards

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One of hip-hop’s most revered and influential figures just honored the genre yet again on the year of its 50th anniversary. LL Cool J shared a tribute to the rap world during the iHeartRadio Music Awards with some impactful and impressive bars. Moreover, the New York MC honored the art form that made him at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday (March 28). Furthermore, his content revolved around the power of the art form and that of his own career in an engagingly braggadocious set of lines. While it’s not the same clarity with which people talk about the genre, his metaphors, evocative imagery, and powerful phrasing shows what hip-hop can achieve more fully than a simple anecdote can.

“I just want to keep it real simple, alright?” he expressed to the crowd. “I want you to imagine what I’m saying,” and then proceeded to let the mic talk. “A crowd gathered ’round, throwing punches and elbows. Then his mama arose, and recited a poem. That’s a Hip Hop God, not rock’n’roll. She put the baby in the whip- that’s a car. There was a solar eclipse, then a spirit came down, wrote his name in hieroglyphs.”

LL Cool J Drops Bars In The Name Of Hip-Hop

“Break beats played, he had a speaker for a crib,” the Rock The Bells mogul continued. “She screamed ‘Jack the Rip!’ and ignited his gifts. To the parents, he’s a legend, to the children a myth. Here’s ya firsthand experience with Mr. Smith, alias Mr. ‘Killing-Every-Rapper-In-His-Radius.’ Ciphers like a stadium, bars is vibranium.” After all that barrage, he even managed to throw a Black Panther reference in. As expected, the crowd erupted into excited and passionate cheers.

However, as he closed out his stage time, he told the audience, “A new record is coming!” Moreover, excitement for LL’s next album revolves not just around his legacy, but the people he brought into the fold. For example, he remarked his excitement surrounding his work with fellow rap legend Q-Tip on his next project. Given the perfect storm of the genre’s historical 50-year milestone, this will be emblematic of a lot of hip-hop greatness. Regardless, stick around on HNHH for the latest news and updates on LL Cool J and hip-hop history.

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Megan Thee Stallion Gives Show-Stopping First Performance Since Tory Lanez Verdict

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Megan Thee Stallion is back, and gave a wonderful performance after taking a lengthy break since November. Moreover, she performed at her hometown of Houston at the March Madness Music Festival AT&T Black Party. Not only was this her first performance of the year, but also her first since her highly publicized case against Tory Lanez came to a guilty end for the Canadian star. While that case is still developing on his end, it’s clear that Megan is moving on to bigger and better things. For example, her collaboration with Doja Cat, “Taste Me,” is rumored to be released next Friday.

Furthermore, the “NDA” MC received a lot of love from her day ones while playing for Houston, both in person and on social media. What’s more is that her return even prompted some old wounds to heal up, albeit from her opponents. 1501 label boss Carl Crawford praised her for the comeback despite their industry feud and back-and-forths. Last month, the former MLB star issued somewhat of an apology to Megan Thee Stallion, and his latest message about the festival indicated a new album and world tour on the way.

Megan The Stallion Kills Her First Performance After Break

“Unfortunately, me and Megan haven’t talked since 2019,” Crawford remarked. “We been going through what y’all seen online. That’s unfortunate, too, because I never wanted to go have a situation where I was going back and forth with her on the internet. I never had problems with Megan Thee Stallion, but this social media stuff turned it really sour. You take this social media stuff out of it, and we won’t have a problem. You won’t hear me mention Megan Thee Stallion’s name unless it’s a big-time interview.”

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old is also making massive moves in the film industry, according to reports online. Moreover, the Safdie Brothers and Adam Sandler reportedly tapped Meg to star in their next film. While it’s far from her first acting role, the fact that she might link with the Uncut Gems team in a sports memorabilia-based flick is quite exciting. Still, there’s nothing quite like seeing the Stallion rock a live show. Check out another clip of her performance below and return to HNHH for the latest on Megan Thee Stallion.

Houston Shows Hometown Love To The Hot Girl

Drake’s Canceled Lollapalooza Brasil Set Prompts Fans To Get Refunds

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Drake unfortunately canceled his headlining Lollapalooza Brasil set, scheduled for Sunday (March 26), and disappointment quickly turned to anger. Moreover, fans expressed outrage that he was spotted hanging out at a Miami club with 50 Cent that weekend, although the official explanation of the canceled show tells a different story. Regardless, Skrillex replaced the 6 God as headliner, and the festival is now offering fans refunds for their troubles. Not only that, but with the cancelation coming just hours before he was set to perform, this left quite the sour taste in people’s mouths.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Drake is without members of his sound and production team, essential to the realization of the Lollapalooza show in Sao Paulo,” Lolla Brasil’s IG page posted on Sunday. “Drake was excited to perform for his fans in Brazil. Unfortunately, this is beyond his control. Apologies.” In its caption, they outlined refund policies, stating that fans could request one until April 5th and a variety of plans for each ticket category. Between his outing with 50 and his other performance controversies, Latin American fans aren’t happy at all with the “Rich Flex” MC.

Lollapalooza Brasil Offers Refunds For Canceled Drake Set

Direct translation: “Alert, important information! In view of this cancellation, we will liberally make available to the holders of the purchase of tickets for the Lolla Day, Lolla Comfort Day and Lolla Lounge Day modalities on 03/26 the possibility of keeping the ticket active and attending the event, or requesting a refund of the value of the ticket. To be entitled to the refund, the ticket of the modalities indicated above may not have been used for access to the festival on 03/26. The link to the Refund Policy will be available soon on the official website: www.lollapaloozabr.com/politica-de-ingressos“

Moreover, his Lollapalooza Argentina set faced a myriad of issues and controversial developments, although he at least performed. However, he apparently came out 15 minutes late for his set according to fan testimonies. Also, he reportedly retracted a previous agreement to livestream the show just minutes before emerging out to the crowd, which left fans at home confused and disappointed. Finally, it seems like his show lasted only about 45 minutes or so, which is far from the typical hour or hour-and-a-half slot many headliners use up.

Meanwhile in the States, a lot of fans blasted insanely high ticket prices for his tour with 21 Savage. In fact, Ticketmaster received a class-action lawsuit for allegedly boosting price ranges up to an absurd amount, likely due to demand. While Ticketmaster controversies are practically a given at this point, it’s odd to see Drake garner flack for his first few performances in quite a long time. One would think that he’d be excited and committed to performing at a high caliber for his massive audience. Hopefully these instances are due to bad luck and poor planning, and not the 36-year-old’s own carelessness and dismissal of his fans and agreements. Regardless, log back into HNHH for the latest news and updates on Drake.

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Drake’s Lollapalooza Argentina Set Cut Short, Fans Upset

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The 6 God might be going on a massive tour soon, but if his latest sets are anything to go by, fans might be disappointed. Drake caught a lot of heat on social media for cutting his Lollapalooza Argentina set short and falling prey to a few other logistical issues. Fans claim that his performance was only about 40 minutes long, which differs from the typical hour and a half that a headliner would enjoy. Not only that, but the Canadian star allegedly barred his performance from being live-streamed just minutes before he arrived late to his show.

Moreover, this news is all the more concerning for Drake fans in the States, because it potentially indicates how his upcoming U.S. shows with 21 Savage will be. People are already outraged at the insanely inflated ticket prices for these shows. In fact, they added additional dates to accommodate demand, bringing the date count from 29 to 43. Still, it hasn’t made $1,000+ tickets any easier to swallow. However, despite all the outrage and disappointment with Drizzy’s Lolla Argentina performance, many of these factors aren’t necessarily his fault.

Drake Cuts Lollapalooza Argentina Short

Translation: “Drake’s show should’ve lasted an hour and 30 minutes in Lollapalooza Argentina, but the artist unexpectedly ended it early. In total, he played for less than an hour.”

Given the sheer size and scope of the festival, it’s natural that maybe there were some behind the scenes issues that we don’t know about that Drake had to handle in the moment. What’s curious is that it looks like event organizers were also blindsided by Drake’s decision to not allow a set livestream. Furthermore, they replaced footage of his performance on their stream with a message for fans. “Drake decided, minutes before going on stage, to not permit the live transmission of his show, despite the formal agreement reached earlier,” the message read. “We regret the artist’s decision.”

Meanwhile, Drake also performed at Lollapalooza Chile this weekend, which seems to have gone by without much of a hiccup. At least on Twitter, though, people are also complaining about a short set time. However, many people appreciated the set list itself, with many hits across his catalog, but that seems like a given for Drake. One can only wonder as to why he dismissed his sets this time around. Hopefully he’ll give a longer set at Lollapalooza Brasil next weekend. Check out reactions to his Lollapalooza Argentina set below and return to HNHH for the latest on Drake.

Fans Respond In Outrage

“Drake leaving Argentina without allowing his show to stream on TV and having sung half an hour less at Lollapalooza”

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Chloe Bailey Clarifies Video Of Fans Throwing Things At Her On Stage

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Chloe Bailey has responded to the viral clip of fans throwing objects at her on stage, explaining that they weren’t intending to do so maliciously. Commenting on a post of the video by The Shade Room, Bailey explained that “not everything is negative.”

“Wayment! Not people throwing things at #ChloeBailey while she was performing. Sis was definitely dodging ’em though!” The Shade Room wrote in the post’s caption. Bailey then commented: “lol the kids were trying to give me their light up wrist bands. they weren’t throwing things at me to be mean. it was a great show. not everything is negative.”

Chloe Bailey On Stage

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 24: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Chlöe performs with musical group Cheat Codes onstage during the Daytime Stage at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Festival held at AREA15 on September 24, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

Bailey is currently on the road for her first headlining tour in the U.S. She announced the shows, last month. “I’m headlining my very own solo tour performing all the songs from the new album,” she wrote at the time. “Y’all I’m so excited. See you there.” The announcement came ahead of the release of her highly-anticipated debut studio album, In Pieces, which will be out later this month.

The latest online drama is far from the only controversy Chloe Bailey’s dealt with as of late. Many users on social media criticized the young singer in February when she collaborated with Chris Brown. The two worked together on Bailey’s new track titled “How Does It Feel.” Perhaps the most vocal among the critics was Cheetah Girls singer Kiely Williams. “Let him come out with his own record – so genius so captivating that it makes us all forget HE BEATS WOMEN. He can’t so we won’t. So what does he do?” Williams wrote on Twitter at the time. “He slowly creeps back into the mainstream by getting small nods for features on Black Women’s merit. Black women who are more talented, more worthy, but give him the okay.” Chris Brown later exchanged shots with Williams online.

The Viral Video

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A$AP Rocky Toasts Rihanna After Oscars Performance

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A$AP Rocky honored Rihanna with a toast following her incredible Oscars performance. Moreover, she performed her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever track “Lift Me Up” on Sunday’s (March 12) 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood. Not only did she proudly show off a bit of her baby bump, but her emotional performance received a standing ovation from the crowd. The song is a eulogy, dedication, and tribute to the late great Chadwick Boseman, who played the groundbreaking superhero in the first film. Following her performance, the camera showed Rocky cheering and pumping his fist for his girlfriend before raising his glass and giving a loving smile.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time that the star couple made headlines for their supportive performances. In February, Rihanna gave her long-awaited performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which left fans stunned and in shock due to the reveal of a second pregnancy. While the New York MC supported her from the ground and danced along to the occasion, fans watching from everywhere expressed shock and awe on social media.

A$AP Rocky Toasts The Excellent Oscars Performance

Meanwhile, the “Diamonds” singer recently reflected on motherhood during a photoshoot with her boo and son. “Oh, my God, it’s legendary,” RiRi told British Vogue about being a first-time mom. “It’s everything. You really don’t remember life before, that’s the craziest thing ever. You literally try to remember it- and there are photos of my life before. But the feeling, the desires, the things that you enjoy, everything, you just don’t identify with it because you don’t even allow yourself mentally to get that far, because it doesn’t matter.

“You walk into the hospital as a couple and leave as a family of three,” she continued. “It’s nuts. And oh, my gosh, those first days are insane. You don’t sleep. At all. Not even if you wanted to. We came home, cold turkey, had no one. It was just us as parents and our baby. Man, you’re a zombie for the most part.” Regardless, check out her full performance down below and return to HNHH for the latest updates on A$AP Rocky and Rihanna.

Rihanna Lifts The Awards Ceremony Up

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Jordin Sparks Gets Clowned By Social Media For National Anthem Performance

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Twitter’s just never going to be a very nice place, is it? Jordin Sparks recently got clowned on social media for her performance of the national anthem at the Big 12 Championship game. Moreover, many people compared it to Fergie’s infamous national anthem performance during an NBA All-Star Game. However, many also said that Sparks’ rendition wasn’t that bad, as Fergie’s spread like legitimate wildfire online. Still, whether you have an opinion on that, it’s always a bit sad to see so much hate thrown on social media sites for performances like these.

Still, people are entitled to their take, and it probably says something significant if a lot of people did not like your performance. With all that said, it’s not like Sparks is constantly in the public limelight, so hopefully she’s not getting an absurd amount of haters down her throat. In fact, her most recent big story before this performance was that Chris Brown’s abuse of Rihanna caused their collab “No Air” to get snubbed at the Grammys. Given how Brown’s career’s progressed since then, maybe it was best for Sparks to get a little distance.

Jordin Sparks Clowned For National Anthem

“Honestly, I think that shouldn’t even be a conversation anymore,” she remarked, defending his history of violence. “It’s about his talent, and they just shouldn’t have canceled the performance. That’s how I feel about it. People deserve to be able to grow and learn. Be able to live their life without things hanging over them. Everybody deserves that.” While her comments obviously didn’t land with people in the most positive way, she does make a point about growth. It’s all about how people move forward from those things, or how they stick by old ways.

Regardless of all that, people still laughed off her rendition of the national anthem. While the singer keeps dropping music on a relatively low-key level, perhaps people remember this instance a little more. Hopefully, the 33-year-old’s fans remind the haters of some of her classics. Still, check out reactions above and stay logged into HNHH for the latest news and updates on Jordin Sparks.

Lil Uzi Vert Shouts Out Playboi Carti, Rocks Colored Contacts & Spiky Hair At Rolling Loud L.A.

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Lil Uzi Vert just shouted out Playboi Carti in a teased track performed during their Rolling Loud L.A. set with a new look, which could appear on the rapper’s upcoming Pink Tape. Moreover, Uzi opened their set with plenty of new material, donning spiky hair and colored contacts rendering them bright brown on one eye and crystal blue on the other. In the track, they rap “Shout out to Carti, we don’t talk hardly, but that’s where my heart be.” While he wasn’t the only artist Uzi referenced in their new material, it caught the ears of many due to their storied history.

Moreover, Uzi and Carti are somewhat of artistic kindred spirits, working in similar genres around similar times. Of course, since their careers started, both rappers took things in different stylistic directions. However, collabs of theirs like “wokeuplikethis*” and “Shoota” are still beloved rap classics. Their road as friends was rocky to be sure, but they moved on despite apparently not communicating often. Also, many reacted strongly to both this tease and to Uzi’s overall look, which just continues to cement his ability to make stories out of eccentric fits and styles.

Lil Uzi Vert’s New Look At Rolling Loud

What’s more is that Carti previewed new music of his own during the California festival as well. Still, Pink Tape‘s been teas by Uzi time and time again. However, they at least gave fans the RED & WHITE EP last year to hold them over in the meantime. In fact, Uzi reportedly has over 700 songs recorded for the project. Generation Now’s Don Cannon praised their work ethic and said the album will feature no guest appearances.

“I do make y’all wait a long time for music and I’m so sorry,” Uzi said during their set. “I thought that s**t was cool before but that shit is lame,” he admitted. “I’m putting the final touches on Pink Tape and I promise. I made a lot of promises in my life, but this time I promise.” Check out reactions to the set below and return to HNHH for updates on Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti.

Twitter Reacts To Uzi’s Set & Mention Of Carti

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Blueface Claims Police Barred Him From Rolling Loud LA Performance

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Blueface took to Twitter to claim police stopped him from performing at Rolling Loud LA this weekend. Moreover, the festival canceled his set prior to his scheduled time for no apparent reason, and he didn’t show up to perform. After the California rapper posted the update to his Twitter feed, he also announced a show in Pomona, California on March 16th. While it’s unclear whether this was scheduled beforehand or in response to his set’s cancellation, it certainly lined up time wise. Still, not much else is known about this situation, so take Blue’s words with a grain of salt.

“Sorry rolling loud they hit my bus police ain’t let us in,” he tweeted Saturday (March 4). Also, after that tweet, he also gave some interesting information on his Cardi B collab for the “Thotiana” remix. “When I got that cardi feature, I never spoke with her prior to the studio session or recording of the music video. Everything was done from management to management to ensure professional business. No money was exchanged for anything because it made cents for everyone no leverage.”

Blueface Claims Police Stopped Him From Performing At Rolling Loud

“That feature changed my life fasho that’s the only way we doing business in 2023,” he concluded. Furthermore, his set wasn’t the only one that faced difficulties at this year’s West Coast premier rap festival. For example, Playboi Carti faced an emergency at his show and was almost cut off multiple times. In addition, Travis Scott’s set was inexplicably cut short as he performed “SICKO MODE.” Of course, these delays and scheduling changes are normal for such large-scale festivals, especially ones as wild as Rolling Loud.

Meanwhile, the “Bleed It” rapper and his girlfriend Chrisean Rock recently appeared on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin’ podcast. Moreover, the boxing legend asked the couple if fighting is how they show their love to one another. Blue said that he only fights when he has to, while Rock said he “plays nice and then he switch.” Even though news surrounding the couple seems unavoidable online, maybe talking about their relationship in more open dialogues will result in a change in what many perceive as a toxic dynamic. Regardless, stick around on HNHH for updates on this story and the latest on Blueface.

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Lil Baby Performs At Kids’ Choice Awards, Fans React & Call It Inappropriate

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Lil Baby just performed at the 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and many fans believe that it was an inappropriate appearance. Moreover, he rapped the cut “California Breeze” off his latest album, 2022’s It’s Only Me. While he gave a cleaned-up rendition of the track, many still pointed to the track’s sexually explicit lyrical content. Of course, conversations like these surrounding kids’ proximity to genres like hip-hop are nothing new. Still, it was quite bizarre to see the Atlanta MC try to turn up some 11-year-olds.

Furthermore, Twitter had a field day reacting to the sight and cracking some jokes about it. “Lil Baby performing at a kids choice awards is like Yo Gotti performing at a back to school tour,” one fan remarked. Another wrote, “Y’all worried about Lil Baby Performing at the Kids choice awards but your kids know every word to Glorilla songs and s**t and they are twerking. Ijs like the selective outrage ain’t none of this music kid appropriate now a days let’s be honest!” That “selective outrage” reference is likely from Chris Rock’s latest comedy special, which itself drew some fire online.

“California Breeze” Takes Kids’ Choice Awards By Storm

However, any complaints from online adults don’t concern kids loving the performance onstage. After all, a lot of the show’s target audience isn’t quite at the impressionable teen age that these lyrics could more confidently affect. As such, they were just happy to dance along to the song and not really care about (or fully understand) what Baby was saying. Also, the 28-year-old probably got the gig in the first place because he has young kids of his own. What’s more is that eight-year-old Jason and four-year-old Loyal also attended the awards ceremony alongside their dad.

Meanwhile, Baby’s latest headline appearances stemmed from topics that would’ve torn the Kids’ Choice stage apart. Moreover, Blueface and Chrisean Rock fought recently over Baby contacting Chrisean. Since then, the California rapper adamantly claimed that him, as well as other rappers like Rick Ross, want to get with her. Overall, it’s quite hilarious but also enlightening to see just how many lanes the “Freestyle” artist finds himself in. Regardless, log back into HNHH for the latest news and updates on Lil Baby and check out more reactions down below.

Twitter Reacts To Lil Baby’s Kids’ Choice Performance

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