On this day in Hip-Hop history, veteran MC Rakim released his debut solo LP, The 18th Letter. Coming off of the infamous split of Eric B. and Rakim and a five-year hiatus, this album was surprisingly thorough and left no room to doubt Rakim’s resilience in the ever-changing Hip-Hop world.
Although far removed from his heyday, Rakim delivered an LP that debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and stayed true to the technique that made him rich. Tapping-producing legends DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Clark Kent(RIP), and Father Shaheed(RIP), Rakim produced a solid Golden Era album at a time when mafioso rap was taking New York by storm. Peaking only one spot beneath one of New York’s newest brightest stars, Jay-Z, this album proves that Rakim ages like wine regarding his lyrical mastery and microphone prowess.
The album also came with a second disc, The Book of Life, which was an Eric B & Rakim greatest hits album.
Jadakiss says he’s working on a new solo album and that fans may get to hear the project sooner than than later. He discussed the upcoming effort during an interview with AllHipHop’s Chuck Creekmur. “I’m actually working on it now. I wasn’t planning to let it out yet, but yeah, I’m working on it. I’ve got two more projects with Def Jam, and hopefully, we continue doing business in the future. If not, it’s all good—I’ll still deliver. But yes, I’m working on it right now,” he told the outlet.
It won’t be the first time The Lox rapper has worked solo, having dropped five studio albums over the course of his career, beginning with Kiss tha Game Goodbye, followed by Kiss of Death, The Last Kiss, Top 5 Dead or Alive, and most recently, Ignatius. He hasn’t confirmed any further details about the title of his next project, nor a release date.
Jadakiss Performs During “Verzuz: The Lox Vs Dipset”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 03: Jadakiss of The Lox performs onstage during Verzuz: The Lox Vs Dipset at Madison Square Garden on August 03, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Jadakiss had been making an appearance at The Queen in Wilmington for HBCU week during the interview. He used the opportunity to speak on the importance of HBCUs. “Anything affiliated with HBCUs is important. My son actually went to Clark Atlanta, and we need more kids enrolling in these schools,” he said. “With all the focus on NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), D1 programs and big schools, a lot of kids are being persuaded to go elsewhere. So anytime I can support, whether it’s hitting the stage or doing a panel, I’m going to be there. Honestly, I didn’t even know I had this today because we just got back from the West Coast leg of The LOX’s 30th Anniversary Tour. So when they told me I had to be here, I was like, ‘What?’ But I’m here!”
Fans will be able to catch Jadakiss in person, later this year, as there are a few more dates lined up on The LOX’s 30th Anniversary Tour. Be on the lookout for further updates on Jadakiss on HotNewHipHop.
Kanye West just kickstarted his new solo album rollout for Bully, and we still have no idea whether or not it will actually manifest. After all, we’ve been here before, and there have been plenty of scrapped Ye albums over the years that either never saw the light of day or became other LPs. However, it’s far too early to characterize Bully as such, especially when considering that the Chicago artist’s social media profile is more active than it was in recent years. He recently posted a possible cover art for the album on Instagram.
We know what you’re thinking: it’s not a square photo, how could it be artwork? Well, not only are Kanye West’s cover art ideas quite sporadic and ever-changing, but this wormhole-esque visual for his China concert is looking like a pretty solid iconographic marker for this new era. It’s like the gothic lettering or suspended stage for TLOP and its tour, or the Donda house. So we’ll see if its eventual cover art features this wormhole illusion. The China concerts also held a lot of other great moments, such as Ye singing “Only One” to the track’s inspiration, his daughter North.
Of course, we’ll have to see whether this Bully era reckons with, addresses, or rectifies any of the recent controversies that have impacted Kanye West’s life. As unlikely as it seems, some fans still hope that he can set things right, at least partially given his previous choices. But other fans are just worried about the music, and they wonder whether this new album will bleed into VULTURES 3 or vice versa. Even though this Ty Dolla $ign collab series has been shoddy and unpredictable when it comes to releases, Ty says that it’s still happening.
Meanwhile, there are even more music rumors floating around, even though these last ones are years old at this point. Consequence recently brought up the previous rumor that Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar have about 40 unreleased collabs together, all produced by Madlib. That will probably never see the light of day, although we can’t rule anything Ye-related out.
At this point, there really isn’t much more to say about the career of The Alchemist. The California producer and rapper has become one of the most impactful beatmakers of this generation. He’s always had the secret sauce that a lot of others have tried to recreate at a similar level. However, Uncle Al manages to stand above the rest even decades in. 2024 has been another one of those nonstop years for him, as he has been lending his skills to multiple other artists. Big Sean, A$AP Rocky and J. Cole, Big Hit and Hit-Boy, and Oh No and Gangrene, are just a few names to list off. Sadly, we aren’t able to include Eminem after fans were left astray after the trailer for the ExpandedMourner’s Edition included an Al cameo.
We are going to continue to pray for that to happen, but for now, we have another new tape to discuss. For The Genuine Articulate, The Alchemist is putting himself in the spotlight. This just one of a few times where he’s providing bars on every cut. In this case, it’s for a trim eight-song, 22:30-long tape. The album is led by “Ferraris in The Rain”, which features ScHoolboy Q. However, the fellow West Coast native isn’t the only guest here. Action Bronson, Big Body Bes, Havoc of Mobb Deep, Conway the Machine, and Larry Lune can be heard as well. Give the project a spin with the links below.
Navy Blue being an independent artist has always seemed to fit him better. Being such a talented name in New York’s underground scene did get him a deal with Def Jam Recordings a couple of years ago. However, the relationship was short-lived, as the 27-year-old was dropped from the major label. But as we said, the “Chosen” MC is more of a hidden gem than a blatant superstar. It seems Navy Blue enjoys being the former based on a recent IG post about his new album Memoirs In Armour. This album was initially an 8 track EP, in response to the fact that the album I had worked so hard on for the past 2 years wasn’t able to come out”, he began.
“I’m grateful to have been inspired enough to make this album within the past few months. Due to the shift in circumstances, this project became a refuge to me. I hope you enjoy it. I’m happy to be putting this album out independently —the way I had always intended to be releasing music”. Overall, you certainly tell that Memoirs In Armour is just that as Navy Blue is openly introspective. He talks about his career, his past struggles mentally and physically, in addition to life advice. Also making the album a hit is the equally thought-provoking instrumentals which are airy and dreamy. Blue’s consistently detailed writing mixed with the aforementioned beats are a great combo making this a standout in his catalog and a stellar return after a rough transitional period.
“I feel like everything in life’s a gamble. You walk out the front door, you could get hit by a bus. Everything’s a gamble. I’ve taken wins and losses with my career, and I felt it was a perfect title”. That was Rich The Kid explaining the meaning behind the title of his latest studio album, Life’s A Gamble to Billboard. This is the Queens, New York native’s first solo record since 2020’s BOSS MAN. However, he did drop two collaborative tapes that same year —Origin and Nobody Safe— and Trust Fund Babies with Lil Wayne in 2021.
While a fair number of those past releases had lukewarm results, Life’s A Gamble, hopes to perform better. It helps that Rich The Kid has built up a lot of momentum coming in. A lot of that stems from him being on the number one record “CARNIVAL” off of Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s VULTURES 1. Speaking of those two, Rich The Kid grabbing them to executive produce this LP had fans licking their lips. Finally, the lead singles, “Gimme A Second” and its sequel, as well as “Band Man”, have also been performing well.
What we can say about LAG is that you can tell that Kanye and Ty were big contributors. That is especially true when it comes to the production. For the most part, the beats and the guests attached are the stars of the show (Chief Keef, Offset, Quavo, etc.). However, Rich does have solid performances here such as “Gimme A Second” and “Not In The Mood”. But will all of this be enough to negate the long wait and numerous track and feature removals? It sure is a gamble and we will see if it pays off for Rich The Kid soon.
Boosie Badazz is someone who does not bite his tongue. If he feels a certain way about something, he is going to share his opinion, even it offends others. That is especially true on his brand-new song, “Letter to the LGBT”. It is essentially a commentary about the community that includes a half-baked apology. We say that because throughout the four-and-a-half-minute record, he talks about trans athletes, gender reassignment surgery and more. He even goes as far as to say, “I told him not to cut his d**k off”. This song is now on the “cold” opener on Russia, the latest album from Boosie Badazz.
This is alredy the fifth project from the prolific Louisiana rapper this year. Russia most recently follows up on Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas, which is only five days old. Before than Boosie’s fans were treated to another take on the Blues genre with Boosie Blues, as well as Bleek Mode and In House 2: Boosie and the Beast. On Russia, Boosie Badazz is giving you his familiar style of soulful trap on 12 tracks. What is also reoccurring here is that the features are held to a minimum. Just one guest makes the cut, and that is Og Dre on the closer, “Stuck On You”. If you want to hear what else Boosie is laying down, you can check out Russia with the streaming links below.
Yung Miami has finally spoken at length about focusing on solo music following a rumored split from her City Girls partner, JT. Speaking with Complex on Monday, Miami explained that the two rappers were in “different spaces” following the release of their latest album, RAW, but are still on good terms. That album only reached as high as 117 on the US Billboard 200 in October 2023.
“I had to really get back in my bag. People had just been talking to me crazy… So just going through s**t really motivated me to get in the studio and make music,” Miami said. From there, she admitted that RAW “didn’t do too well,” and it inspired her to want to get to work on solo music.
Yung Miami & JT Perform Together At The Roots Picnic
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 04: JT and Yung Miami of City Girls perform during the 2023 The Roots Picnic at The Mann on June 04, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Live Nation Urban)
“I think when the City Girls album [RAW] just dropped, and it didn’t do too well, and we was just trying to do our press run. The whole rollout of the album was just so bad because we was just in two different spaces,” she explained. “We older now, and she [JT] was doing her own thing. She on the West Coast, I’m in Miami. I’m doing my own thing. And I felt like naturally, when she doing her own thing, it just worked for her. And when I’m doing my own thing, it worked for me. But when we get together as a group, it just wasn’t connecting. It just wasn’t working no more.”
Yung Miami and JT got into a heated argument on social media, earlier this year, prompting fans to theorize the City Girls were done. Regardless, they quickly made amends and expressed their love for one another. Addressing the incident with Complex, Miami described it as the result of “sisterhood” and described JT as “family.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Yung Miami on HotNewHipHop.
What happens when you combine, comedy, unpredictability, an unconventional rap style, and banging beats? You get New York rapper and eclectic personality, RXKNephew. There may not be any artists quite like the 29-year-old MC and it is a shame that his name is not more widely known. On the surface, his absurd lyrics and off-kilter flows probably have people thinking he is some sort of troll trying to get clicks. But, if you dig a little deeper, you will notice that KXKNephew has a lot more to offer.
That is why we strongly encourage you to check out his newest project, Till I’m Dead 2. The man has been on a mission this year, as this is his seventh tape already, and we are only five full months in. There is a chance that he is already putting together his eighth project. If that is the case, then he is roughly on a 16-20 album pace for 2024.
Across this tape you are getting a whole host of different beats (RX Brainstorm) and topical focus. Nephew explores subjects such as providing for himself and others, the rap industry, relationships, and more. Sometimes he presents the ideas in a tongue in cheek or serious tone and adds to the excitement of the listening experience. So please, give RXKNephew and Till I’m Dead 2 an honest shot, you will not regret it.
What are your thoughts on Till I’m Dead 2 by RXKNephew? Is this his best album of 2024 so far, why or why not? What song did Nephew bring his best stuff? Is he the best rapper in the underground scene in New York? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding RXKNephew. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Vince Staples made sure he went out with a bang before departing from Def Jam Recordings. The now developed Long Beach, California multi-hyphenate has come a long way since joining the label nearly 11 years ago. For him, Dark Times is essentially a culmination of all of the skills that he has now harnessed and honed in. It is a mixture of great storytelling, rapping, thematic execution, and production choices.
One track that sees Vince Staples deliver on all those fronts is “Étouffée.” On this cut, the veteran uses this time to reflect on how far he has come from the Dark Times he went through growing up. Instead of getting really grim, Staples keeps it all the way 100 with the fans and people he proved wrong throughout his career. It is a fairly celebratory moment on the record and is a bit of a full circle moment.
“No love, I’ma sleep with my weapon / Porsche 911, slide through the section / Gotta show my homies I’m on now / Both soles on the ground, never sold out.” While this is going on, Vince is showing love to the rap culture in the rich city of New Orleans. “Big timin’, like them n****s in New Orleans / Grill shinin’, like them n****s from Magnolia / Chopper City in the ghetto, I’m a soldier now.” There is also a bright and fun beat switch at the end, which is clear nod to New Orleans bounce. Even though there are ton of great listens, “Étouffée” may be at the top.
What are your thoughts on “Étouffée” by Vince Staples? Is this the best track from Dark Times, why or why not? What is your favorite aspect of it? How would you rank all of his Def Jam releases? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Vince Staples. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Quotable Lyrics:
Dropped Big Fish, cuh been weak since (Cuh be trippin’) Damn, tell me how you really feel (That’s how you feel?) And, all I wantеd was a couple mill’ (Okay) Make the city proud (Hood) Put it on ‘forе them crackers come and tear it down What are you about?
