STEPHEN A SMITH Archives - New Hip Hop News

Stephen A Smith Breaks Silence On Jay-Z Sexual Assault Allegations

December 11, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Stephen A Smith has got takes. He gives takes for a living, in fact. Sports may be his forte, but the famous analyst has also weighed in on recent hip hop scandals. Smith has got lots to say about the likes of Diddy and Drake. Jay-Z has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor in a new lawsuit, so it only seems natural that the analyst weigh in on this matter as well. Stephen A Smith was critical of Diddy and Drake, however. In the case of Jay-Z, the media personality believes that foul play is involved.

Smith made it clear from the jump that he did not believe the allegations against Jay-Z. “I cannot believe for one second,” he explained. “That he would ever be associated with an allegation like this.” Stephen A Smith went on to address the inevitable criticisms that his stance would elicit from fans. He claimed that many would be frustrated by the fact that he was critical of Diddy’s assault allegations, but not those for Jay-Z. The difference? Well, in Smith’s case, it was familiarity. He claimed to have only spoken to Diddy a few times throughout his life. Jay-Z, meanwhile, is someone he’s known for two and a half decades.

Stephen A Smith Vouched For Jay-Z’s Character As A Friend

“I don’t believe it,” Stephen A Smith asserted. He admitted that he couldn’t go much further in terms of a stance, since he was not present the night the alleged assault took place. Still, the analyst stated that he was not convinced by the allegations that have been put forth. Stephen A Smith claimed that he not only knew Jay-Z, but loved him. He also claimed that the rapper would not be “capable of such a thing” in his estimation. “That’s love right there,” he explained. “Because of what you know about a person. Based on your personal interactions.”

Stephen A Smith returned to the Diddy comparisons. Jay-Z was accused of assaulting a teenager in the company of Diddy at the 2000 VMAs after party. The analyst does not, however, align Hov with the Bad Boy mogul. “This ain’t P. Diddy,” Smith asserted. “Homeland Security didn’t raid Jay-Z’s home. He was not charged with multiple felony accounts.” Stephen A Smith is the latest celebrity to attempt to draw a line between the Diddy allegations and the lone allegation made against Jay-Z. He does, however, make a decent argument regarding the differences between them.

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Stephen A. Smith Offers Drake Some Advice In His Feud With Kendrick Lamar: ‘That Ain’t What Hip-Hop Is’

December 5, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Stephen A. Smith has weighed in on Taylor Swift, the best starter Pokémon , and now, Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar.

On a recent episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the ESPN host directly addressed Drake, who he claims has seen “some of the things I have said about him” on the show. In particular, his thoughts on the “Family Matters” rapper’s legal dispute with Lamar and Universal Music Group.

Smith said (via Complex):

“I did not say or echo a single negative thing about you. You’re a phenomenal artist. You’re big time. What I said was — fact — ‘Not Like Us’ got you. What I’m saying is, you don’t go the lawyer route in hip-hop over something like this: You take it to the studio. You take it to the streets. That’s all I said. I didn’t sit up there and say you can’t answer Kendrick Lamar. I said, ‘You better figure out a way to do so,’ meaning you have the capability, I think, to pull it off. That’s all!”

That wasn’t all.

“The point is Kendrick got you with that song. Come back with one of yours. That’s all I’m saying. This is what you do,” Smith continued, adding, “If you’re gonna rely on lawyers, then it’s not a good look because that ain’t what hip-hop is. That’s all.”

You can watch The Stephen A. Smith Show above (the Drake and Kendrick talk begins around the 27:00 mark).

Stephen A Smith Claims Drake Is Upset With His Kendrick Lamar Coverage

December 4, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Stephen A Smith has something to say about every topic. It’s what he does for a living. He has been a vocal critic of Drake throughout his battle with Kendrick Lamar. Conversely, he has been been vocal in his support of Lamar, and his handling of the 6 God on wax. It’s a stance that has dominated most of media in the months since the battle kicked off. That said, Drake did not appreciate what Stephen A Smith had to say, in particular. Smith claims that the rapper reached out to him and voiced frustration regarding his coverage.

Stephen A Smith shared all this on his self-titled show. “I understand that Drake’s a bit sensitive in these times,” he posited. “He’s in his feelings.” The analyst then let the cat out of the back with regards to the 6 God’s awareness of his show. “Don’t ask me how but I know he’s seen this show,” Smith noted. “And I know that he has seen some of the things I have said about him on this show.” He then decided to speak to Drizzy directly regarding his coverage of the battle. “I did not say or echo a single negative thing about you,” Stephen A Smith asserted. “What I said was fact. ‘Not Like Us’ got you.”

Stephen A Smith Voiced Disappointment In Drake’s Actions

Stephen A Smith reveals that Drake is upset at him over his commentary of the Kendrick Lamar beef pic.twitter.com/Q5cxs8Xw6f

— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@Chatnigga101) December 4, 2024

The analyst went on to recount his opinion of the Drake diss, and the belief that Kendrick Lamar simply bested him on record. He then turned his ire towards Drake’s decision to take legal action. “You take it to the studio, you take it to the streets,” he explained. “It’s not a crime for somebody to say, ‘He got you.’” Stephen A Smith framed Drake’s legal action as a weak response, and to deny the success of “Not Like Us” would be, in his estimation, to deny the truth. The analyst assured Drake that he is a great artist and he has “nothing but respect” for him. He simply wants Drake to “come back” with a song instead of a lawsuit.

During his rant, Stephen A Smith repeatedly stated that he is not pushing a “negative” slant against Drake. “That’s not negative,” he said. “That’s facts.” He claims that the music industry would be much more supportive of the 6 God if he kept things on record instead of taking Lamar and UMG to court. “If you gon’ rely on lawyers,” Smith posited. “Then it’s not a good look. That ain’t what hip hop is.” Smith’s take has been shared by most music fans online. We will see if Drake heeds the analyst’s advice.

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Stephen A Smith Nearing Historic Deal With ESPN That Provides Even More Access To Disney

December 4, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Stephen A Smith and ESPN are reportedly closing in on a historic contract that would give the popular sports television pundit access to more of Disney’s entertainment properties. The update comes as his current contract is set to expire in 2025. He earns $12 million a year under that deal.

Smith has previously suggested wanting to be the highest-paid personality on the network. ESPN recently signed Troy Aikman and Joe Buck from Fox to lead their Monday Night Football program. Additionally, they spent a massive amount to add Pat McAfee to their roster and even announced Jason Kelce will be getting his own late-night show in January.

Stephen A Smith & Bill Maher Attend A Los Angeles Lakers Game

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 23: Bill Maher and Stephen A. Smith attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on November 23, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

During an interview with Chris Wallace for an episode of his Max series, earlier this year, Smith joked about wanting a bigger salary than Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. “I’m not getting specific as it pertains to numbers, because only a fool discusses his own negotiations while negotiating,” Smith said at the time. “So I’m not going to go that far. What I would say to you is, I would ask, respectfully, pay attention to the industry. See what people are getting paid. See how much money they’re making and what they’re bringing to the table. Look at look at their ratings, look at their revenue that they’re generating, and look at mine. And so we all want what the market bears. Dak Prescott just signed a contract for $240 million he’s making 60 million a year.”

The update on his upcoming ESPN deal comes as Smith has been making headlines for his commentary on politics in recent months. He discussed the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election during an interview with Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast, last week.

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Stephen A Smith Drags Drake For Threatening UMG Over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”

November 28, 2024 by newhiphopnews

This week, Drake took legal action against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the label and Spotify of artificially boosting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.” In a second pre-action filing in a Texas court, he also accused UMG of defamation. According to him, the label could have allegedly prevented the release of the song, in which Kendrick “falsely [accuses] him of being a sex offender.”

“UMG … could have refused to release or distribute the song or required the offending material to be edited and/or removed,” the lawsuit alleges, per Billboard. “But UMG chose to do the opposite. UMG designed, financed and then executed a plan to turn ‘Not Like Us’ into a viral mega-hit with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and, of course, massive revenues. That plan succeeded, likely beyond UMG’s wildest expectations.” Unsurprisingly, this latest move has earned mixed reactions. While some are siding with Drake, others like Stephen A Smith are not on board.

Stephen A Smith Thinks Drake Looks “Weak And Sensitive”

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“Let’s get this out of the way right now, it’s a bad look, and it’s all smeared on Drake. All of it. This is hip-hop, man, this is hip-hop. Somebody comes at you with lyrics, with a song, you supposed to come right back at them with the song, with lyrics,” he said during a recent episode of The Stephen A Smith Show. “I don’t care who pumped what up. If the song wasn’t straight fire, there’s no way it would have had that many hits.” He continued, arguing that this makes Drake look “weak and sensitive.”

Smith is far from the only person to criticize Drake lately, however. Joe Budden also recently slammed the Toronto rapper on his podcast. “This n****s been a sack of sh*t behind the scenes and because he got fans and had Lucian, everybody just gets to turn a blind eye,” he said. “The blind eye days are done.“

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Stephen A Smith Admits He Never Thought Donald Trump Was Racist

November 27, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Stephen A Smith has weighed in on the results of the 2024 presidential election, in which Donald Trump retook the White House. Speaking with Bill Maher on the latest episode of the Club Random podcast, Smith explained that he doesn’t view Trump as racist and admitted he used to be friendly with him.

“If we’re being totally honest, all the brothers found him to be cool. They found him to be very cool. So, let’s be clear. Because he knew his sports, all right? He would say what he feel, he bucked the establishment, which we love, and we gravitated to that,” Smith said. From there, Maher chimed in to suggest that Trump isn’t genuinely “hateful.” “Is he really, like, in his heart, like hateful? No. I don’t think his motivation is ‘I don’t like black people.’ I think his motivation is ‘Everybody must love me,’” Maher stated. Smith added: “I have never called him a racist. I have never spoken about him that way. Ever. Not one time. Not one time. Because I knew him beforehand.”

Donald Trump Speaks With The Press Before Boarding Air Force 1

President Donald J. Trump talks to members of the press about the investigation before boarding Air Force 1 at Palm Beach International Airport as he leaves West Palm Beach for Washington Sunday afternoon March 24, 2019. [LANNIS WATERS/palmbeachpost.com] © Lannis Waters / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Later in the interview, Smith recalled the former President trying to purchase the Buffalo Bills back in 2014. He says when the league denied his request, he vowed to get revenge after he became president. Trump went on to criticize the league after Colin Kaepernick famously kneeled during the national anthem.

Stephen A Smith Discusses Donald Trump

Trump will take over the White House once again after his inauguration on January 20th of next year. Check out Stephen A Smith’s full comments on Donald Trump with Bill Maher below.

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ESPN Reveals If Stephen A Smith Will Be On “Inside The NBA”

November 21, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Recently, it was announced that “Inside The NBA” is headed to ESPN sometime in the not-so-distant future. This left fans with many questions, including whether or not Stephen A Smith will have any part in it. The network’s content president Burke Magnus addressed this question during a recent chat with Sports Illustrated. According to him, it’s not likely.

“We have no plans to do that,” he began. “And that’s because, frankly, the construct of the deal really doesn’t — that’s not how it was conceived. What is conceived is that Turner, as they have always done with this show, with this cast, with the people involved behind the scenes, are going to continue to do what they’ve always done. And we’re going to distribute it on the ESPN platform. Frankly, that’s exactly what we want. We don’t want to change it, we don’t want to interject new talent into it. We don’t want to really do anything to it.”

ESPN Content President Confirms There Are “No Plans” To Put Stephen A Smith On “Inside The NBA”

ESPN Reveals If Stephen A Smith Will Be On “Inside The NBA” — Stephen A. Smith in 2021. Tori Lynn Schneider / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Magnus’ clarification comes just a few days after Smith reacted to the news of “Inside The NBA” moving to ESPN for the upcoming season on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “Major credit goes to Commissioner Adam Silver and ESPN President James Pitaro for bringing this deal to life, allowing a much-loved show to remain in circulation, even as streaming rights shift hands,” he said at the time. “It’s fantastic to see the show still produced in Atlanta by the folks from TNT, now airing on ESPN and ABC.”

“This doesn’t affect me at all with ‘First Take’ and other projects I have going on,” he continued. “Plus, I’m thrilled for my friends—the hosts of ‘Inside the NBA.’ Ernie Johnson is a remarkable human being, and Shaquille O’Neal is like a brother to me. Kenny Smith and I go way back, and of course, Charles Barkley is someone I hold in high regard.”

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Rubi Rose Crowned Champion at Star-Studded PrizePicks World Championships in Atlanta

November 18, 2024 by newhiphopnews

The PrizePicks World Championships brought together celebrities, athletes, and influencers for an unforgettable evening at Pullman Yards in Atlanta on Sunday, November 17. Hosted by PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, the event merged sports, pop culture, and entertainment, culminating in rapper Rubi Rose winning the championship title.

Rose teamed up with Janelle, a fan selected through a social media contest, to take home the $100,000 grand prize, splitting the winnings equally. Their victory came from correctly predicting five outcomes in a 6-Pick Flex lineup, which included standout projections like Derrick Henry under 86.5 rushing yards and Bijan Robinson over 25.5 receiving yards. Both Rose and Janelle also earned 6-pick Free Lineups for a chance at $1,000,000 during NFL Week 12.

The event drew major names in sports and entertainment, including Stephen A. Smith, Kysre Gondrezick, and Parker Meadows, alongside social media icons and influencers like SteveWillDoIt, Funny Marco, and Sara Saffari. PrizePicks transformed the venue into the ultimate watch party, celebrating its status as the premier daily fantasy platform.

You can see images from the star-studded event below.

With operations in 44 jurisdictions, PrizePicks is committed to enhancing the sports experience for fans nationwide while prioritizing responsible gaming. To learn more about their responsible gaming initiatives, visit PrizePicks Responsible Gaming.

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Shyne Admits He Learned From Diddy Despite Believing He Was “The Devil”

November 14, 2024 by newhiphopnews

Shyne has one of the most infamous careers in all of hip hop. He was pegged to be Bad Boy’s next big star after the death of Biggie in 1997. He was Diddy’s protege, until a fateful shooting in a nightclub led to his arrest. Shyne spent a decade in prison for assault, and many felt he took the fall for an incident that that was perpetrated by Diddy. The Bad Boy mogul’s reputation could not be worse at the moment, so Shyne took the opportunity to discuss his relationship with Diddy during a recent appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Shyne admitted to having conflicted feelings about Diddy. He acknowledged the important lessons he learned while under Diddy’s wing in the late 90s. “I learned a lot, as far as being an entrepreneur,” the rapper explained. “As far as being a disrupter, a trailblazer. I got exactly what I went to the university of Bad Boy [for], with Diddy as professor, when it comes to entertainment.” Shyne also credited Diddy in terms of establishing a strong work ethic. The rapper-turned-politician has been able to translate said work ethic to his role as the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party.

Shyne Also Referred To Diddy As A “Creep”

There is, of course, the flip side of the coin. Shyne disparaged Diddy for failing to provide financial compensation, despite his willingness to take the fall for the mogul on a prison rap. “People say, ‘Oh Diddy gave me millions to go to jail,’” the rapper recounts. “Nothing. [He] probably made two, what I thought were offensive contributions over the last 20 years.” Shyne did not mince words when it came to Diddy’s character, either. He referred to the mogul as “the devil” after his ordeal in prison. “For years I was saying what a creep I thought he was,” the rapper explained. “How he destroyed my life, and at one point I thought he was the devil.”

Shyne credits his faith, and his second career as a politician in his native Belize, as the reasons why he was able to get out of this negative headspace. The rapper no longer harbors negative feelings for what Diddy did to him. Shyne’s timing could not be better. He is the star of the new documentary series The Honorable Shyne, which not only details his political career but his controversial past with Diddy. It will likely be another nail in the coffin of the mogul’s reputation.

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Stephen A Smith Reveals If He’d Ever Consider Running For President

November 7, 2024 by newhiphopnews

During his recent appearance on The View, Stephen A Smith discussed the results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election and made an interesting revelation about his own potential future in politics. The personality was asked whether or not he’d ever consider running for president, and while he admits he’s not exactly qualified, he said he might consider it under the right conditions.

“If you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it,” he explained. “But I would be independent because I don’t like either side and I’m not gonna be bought and paid for. I’m gonna do what’s in the best interest of the American people, whatever that may be.”

Stephen A Smith Claims He’d “Definitely” Consider Running For President If He Had A “Legitimate Shot To Win”

“If you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it.” – Stephen A. Smith on The View pic.twitter.com/Q3Ccdbopws

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 7, 2024

Smith may be open to considering running for president, but he also pointed out that he’s happy with his life the way it is, and truly has “no desire to be a Congressional figure.” As for his take on the results of the election, he couldn’t help but praise Donald Trump for pulling out a win despite the circumstances. “Donald Trump’s return to the White House is the greatest comeback probably in American history,” he said on his show yesterday. “Thirty-four felony counts, two impeachments — I can’t count the number of mistakes that he has made. When he departed in 2020 after the insurrection at the United States capital, we all thought he was finished, he was done.”

Earlier this year, Smith even expressed interest in debating Trump, insisting that he’d have it in the bag. “I would love to be in a presidential debate,” he told Howard Stern in January. “I’d eat him alive. I wouldn’t run for the presidency, but I’d debate Trump any day of the week. Any day of the week. Name the time and place and I’d show up.” What do you think of Stephen A Smith claiming he’d consider running for president of the United States? Do you think he should or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.

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