Joe Budden Theorizes Why Infamous Def Jam Video Game Hasn’t Been Remade

Joe Budden believes corporate greed as well as other financial issues are getting in the way of a reboot of the iconic Def Jam Vendetta video game. He explained his take on the lack of an update for the 2003 game during a discussion with Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero on their podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn.

“I’m not involved in those talks but I imagine that would be the hold up,” Budden explained. “Gaming is big. If the business is right, we should definitely do that. Music should have more of a presence in the video game world outside of n****s just going round your house for a 2K party or whatever.”

Read More: Def Jam Teases New Hip-Hop Fighting Game

Joe Budden Attends Brooklyn Chophouse Grand Opening

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 25: Joe Budden attends Brooklyn Chophouse Grand Opening on April 25, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

He further said: “It seems like they’re trying to redline this sh*t and keep it to themselves. If they gonna do that, then f*ck ’em, I’m not with it. But if they’re down to come talk [business]… They gotta get it right.” Budden isn’t the only rapper who appeared in the original game that put forth a theory as to why a new version hasn’t been made. Ice-T, who appeared in its sequel, Def Jam: Fight For NY, wrote on Twitter that artists weren’t compensated fairly for the originals and this time around, things would have to be different. “Here’s the BIG problem.. I don’t think they paid ANY of us ANYTHING to be in that original game…,” he previously said. “I know I didn’t get any type of substantial money. It was a situation where you didn’t want to be left OUT of the game. Well….. Yesterday’s price is not Today’s price..!”

Joe Budden On The Possible Return Of “Def Jam Vendetta”

Check out Budden’s full comments on the potential for a rebooting of the Def Jam video game series above. Be on the lookout for further updates on Joe Budden on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: Ice-T Co-Signs Calls For “Def Jam: Fight For NY” Reboot

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The Kid Mero Net Worth 2024: What Is The Former “Desus & Mero” Co-Host Worth?

In the world of comedy and entertainment, The Kid Mero has carved out a name for himself with his quick wit, sharp humor, and infectious personality. As one half of the dynamic duo behind the popular podcast and TV show Desus & Mero, he garnered a significant following and became a household name. However, following the duo’s split, Mero has continued to pursue various ventures, including writing and his new podcast endeavor, 7PM In Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony. In this article, we delve into The Kid Mero’s net worth in 2024, tracing his journey from his early years to his current endeavors.

Read More: Charlamagne Tha God Speaks On Desus & Mero, Calls Out “Culture” That Focuses On Bad News

Early Years And Rise To Fame

Desus Nice and The Kid Mero of Showtime’s ‘Desus & Mero’ pose for a portrait during the 2019 Winter TCA Getty Images Portrait Studio at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 31, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Robby Klein/Getty Images)

Born Joel Martinez on May 15, 1983, in the Bronx, New York, The Kid Mero’s journey to success was anything but conventional. Raised in the vibrant and diverse borough of the Bronx, Mero developed a sharp sense of humor and a keen eye for observation from a young age. After graduating from high school, he embarked on various odd jobs while nurturing his passion for comedy and entertainment.

Mero’s breakthrough came when he teamed up with fellow Bronx native Desus Nice to create the Desus Vs. Mero web series. The duo’s unique blend of humor, pop culture commentary, and Bronx-centric banter quickly gained traction, attracting a loyal fanbase and catching the attention of media outlets.

From Complex To Vice To Showtime: The Evolution Of Desus & Mero

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 20: Desus Nice and The Kid Mero participate in a q&a at the FYC Event for VICELAND’s DESUS & MERO at Saban Media Center on April 20, 2018 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for VICELAND)

Building on the success of their podcast, Mero and Desus transitioned to television, hosting a series of shows on Complex and Vice. However, it was their move to Showtime in 2019 that solidified their status as two of the most prominent voices in late-night entertainment. Desus & Mero on Showtime became a cultural phenomenon, earning critical acclaim and a devoted fan following.

Despite their success, Mero and Desus announced their decision to part ways in 2022, marking the end of an era for the beloved duo. While fans were disappointed by the news, both Mero and Desus expressed their excitement for new opportunities and creative endeavors.

Read More: Desus Nice Net Worth 2024: What Is The Former “Desus & Mero” Co-Host Worth?

Diversifying Ventures: Writing & 7PM In Brooklyn” Podcast With Carmelo Anthony

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 16: The Kid Mero winks at the camera during the MGM All-Star Celebrity Softball Game at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, July 16, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Following the dissolution of Desus & Mero, The Kid Mero wasted no time in exploring new opportunities. He delved into writing, penning articles and essays that showcased his unique perspective and comedic genius. Additionally, Mero embarked on a new podcast venture titled 7PM in Brooklyn alongside NBA star Carmelo Anthony. The podcast, which explores a wide range of topics from sports to culture to current events, has already garnered a significant following and rave reviews.

The Kid Mero’s Net Worth In 2024

As of 2024, The Kid Mero’s net worth is estimated to be between $100,000 to $1 million, according to Idol Net Worth. While the exact figure may vary depending on various factors such as investments, endorsements, and other income streams, it’s clear that Mero has achieved considerable success throughout his career. From humble beginnings in the Bronx to becoming a fixture in the world of comedy and entertainment, The Kid Mero continues to captivate audiences with his unique brand of humor and infectious personality.

In conclusion, The Kid Mero’s journey from his early days in the Bronx to his current status as a comedic powerhouse is a testament to his talent, perseverance, and unwavering dedication to his craft. As he continues to explore new avenues and push the boundaries of comedy and entertainment, one thing is certain: The Kid Mero’s star will continue to rise in the years to come.

The post The Kid Mero Net Worth 2024: What Is The Former “Desus & Mero” Co-Host Worth? appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Desus & Mero Split Reportedly Due to Disagreement Over Management

desus and mero

First, the Fat Boys break up, then Desus & Mero break the hearts of their online Hive. In the middle of the past week, rumors floated online that Desus & Mero were heading for splitsville. That report would be confirmed by both Desus and the network for their show, SHOWTIME, but no reason was given.

In a new report from Puck news, the break-up is connected to their longtime manager Victor Lopez, who Showtime asked to no longer come to filming or meetings due to his abusive demeanor. Lopez’s behavior was stated to have “included bullying, screaming, and generally making people on the show feel bad.”

Five sources with information spoke to Puke, revealing Lopez was asked not to return around the same time the Bodega Boys podcast wrapped up. Desus agreed with Showtime, but Mero believed he should remain loyal to Lopez.

Puck also stated the two participated separately in MLB All-Star Game activities they were booked for and did not interact. You can read the full report here.

The post Desus & Mero Split Reportedly Due to Disagreement Over Management appeared first on The Source.

The End Of Desus And Mero Is A Loss For Hip-Hop

Johnny Carson. David Letterman. Jay Leno. Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Kimmel. Stephen Colbert. What do all those television personalities have in common? Sure, they’re all late-night television hosts… but what else do they have in common? You see it. Even if you don’t want to admit it just yet, you do. Let’s face it: Late night is a very white occupation. And sure, there have been some exceptions; Arsenio Hall, Joan Rivers, and Chris Rock spring to mind. But for the most part, the space has been dominated largely by older, white, straight, male, former stand-up comics. And before you scroll down to the comments to write “nuh-uh,” just hear me out.

Until very, very recently, there was one huge exception to this trend: Showtime’s Desus & Mero. However, last night, the show’s creators announced on Twitter that after four seasons, the show is coming to an end. Even worse, its two hosts, Daniel Baker aka Desus Nice and Joel Martinez aka The Kid Mero, were splitting up to pursue separate creative endeavors after nearly a decade of collaborations which included the Desus vs. Mero and Bodega Boys podcasts, the Desus & Mero talk show, and even an anime, Neo Yokio. The show’s cancellation isn’t just a loss of a beloved, underrated comedic pairing — it’s a loss for hip-hop as a whole.

Before Desus & Mero, it’s hard to find too many examples of hip-hop culture in the late-night TV space. Sure there was Arsenio Hall, doing his best to bring the fashion, music, and voice of the streets to America’s living rooms in the early ’90s. But while The Arsenio Hall Show was a landmark in bringing hip-hop to mainstream audiences, it was also watered-down, polished, and presented in a way that the whole thing slicker and more palatable to those audiences. It also largely avoided political topics, although the show did come under fire for booking — or not booking — some guests that audiences found controversial.

And certainly, hip-hop music remains a draw on late-night, with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon employing a house band that comes from the rap world in The Roots. Rappers with new projects to promote are often booked as musical guests, performing their viral hits on shows like The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! But more broadly, the Desus & Mero show was a chance to see hip-hop as a culture on TV, in a space that not many of us get to touch. They were not buttoned up. They didn’t wear suits. Their set was modeled after a New York bodega, the type of place where you’d actually find rappers hanging out.

Decked out in fitted caps and Timberland boots, they spoke in the sometimes coded slang of the streets, with all the swagger born of growing up in The Bronx. They interviewed the rappers that the bigger shows wouldn’t; in the past year, they’ve had guests like Baby Keem, Bobby Shmurda, Cordae, and Nas — both the Queens legend who made Illmatic, and the Fox News frustrating Lil Nas X. They debuted underground crooner RMR’s “I’m Not Over You” video. And they got their non-rapper guests to open up about not just their favorite rappers (watch Yo-Yo Ma play DMX!), but all sorts of down-to-earth topics. They interviewed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in their shared borough, taking the format beyond the confines of the studio.

And, in perhaps the biggest coup for the show to date, the duo interviewed former President Barack Obama, who roasted them as naturally as if they were having the conversation on a neighborhood stoop, rather than an empty rented auditorium undoubtedly surrounded by Secret Service agents. Whatever your feelings on the man’s politics, you have to admit that the moment lent legitimacy to hip-hop (and vice versa) in a way that, whether we want to admit it or not, is nice to see after three decades of politicians and pundits blaming rap culture for everything from school shootings to the overall decline of polite society.

So, pour one out for Desus And Mero. They showed that hip-hop could belong in yet another space that wasn’t made for it, that didn’t make provisions for it, and that mostly overlooked it. They brought us — our voices, our faces, our fashion, our outlook, our language, our interests, our culture — to millions of American homes. Late-night might have gotten a little less colorful without them, but those two guys from the Bronx undoubtedly opened a door — and the next Desus and Mero are likely right around the corner.

Cordae Explains Why He Thinks ‘Squid Game’ Is ‘Oversaturated’ On ‘Desus & Mero’

Sunday night, Cordae dropped by Desus & Mero to talk about his new music and his recent physical transformation posts on social media, but because it’s Desus and Mero, the conversation was quickly sidetracked into NSFW discussions about adult film, McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, and of course, the inescapable juggernaut of popularity that is Netflix’s Korean drama Squid Game, which Cordae thinks is “oversaturated.”

“That’s like a head ass, now,” Cordae said of the show when asked whether he’d watched it recently. “N****s overdid Squid Game so much.” While he allowed that “a lot of n****s did some dope sh*t with it,” he adamantly rejected Desus’ suggestion that he make an album based on the show. He did, however, seem interested in a parody of the show mentioned by the host. “I gotta check that, just for curiosity,” he quipped.

On a more serious note, Cordae explained how he lost so much weight in the photos he recently posted. He admitted that “I was just eating terrible. This is my first time getting money like this and we eating steaks, going to Mastro’s every day, getting chefs to pull up.” He says that he was able to shed the extra pounds by “just staying disciplined.”

Watch Cordae’s wild Desus & Mero interview above.

Nas Explains That Voice On ‘Who Killed It?’ From ‘Hip-Hop Is Dead’: ‘I Was Bingeing James Cagney Movies’

Although its premise has long since been disproven, Nas’ album Hip-Hop Is Dead was one of his most successful albums commercially and remains in the upper half of his catalog in fan esteem — except for one song, the 1930s gangster movie-influence “Who Killed It?” While it’s technically a creative and innovative approach to the storytelling tracks for which Nas is known and loved, the song does find the Queens icon employing a cartoonish, film-noir detective voice that still puts off hip-hop fans to this day.

On Sunday night’s episode of Desus & Mero on Showtime, the two New York natives finally confronted the rap legend to find out why he chose to go with such an eyebrow-raising technique. Surprisingly, Nas is game; he’s probably far too deep in his career to be defensive about 15-year-old albums, but he still has a pretty good sense of humor about it as he admits, “I wilded out. I was bingeing on James Cagney movies at the time… It was like a joke to do that record and then I left it on the album — it happens.”

This leads to a broader discussion about the importance of details in Nas’ storytelling over the years, as well as a light flex about Nas having time to watch Regis And Kathy Lee in the morning. Also discussed during the interview: Nas’ relationship with DMX, his restaurant chain Sweet Chick, and his latest endeavor, a brand of cigars.

Watch Nas’ interview with Desus & Mero above.

Chance The Rapper Explains Why He Won’t Sign New Artists Even Though He Follows Them

Chance The Rapper is one of the better-established artists in rap right now, which begs the question: Why doesn’t he have a label with a roster full of little homies like so many of his peers? “Young Thug is the king of that sh*t,” he tells Showtime hosts Desus & Mero. “He got 50 people in this sh*t, put them in great positions.”

However, as he explains, “I’m in a position where I can’t sign anybody. I can’t put nobody on.” He elaborates, “You get to a certain space in the industry, and then people are like, ‘Okay, who are your underlings?’ … I’ve never been a person that signed anybody, so when somebody is hot and people are like, ‘Yo check this person out,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I listen to this person every day.’ I don’t have anything for them. I can’t advance their career. I can tell them not to sign. That’s the best I can do for n****s right now.” One such rapper he does shout out though is Beaumont, Texas’ Teezo Touchdown, with whom he’s performing at Summerfest in September.

Desus also challenges Chance to answer the age-old question of which city’s pizza is better between Chicago and New York. Chance goes with his hometown, but he offers an intriguing rationale: “I think the problem with New York pizza is you have too much of it.”

Watch Chance The Rapper’s hilarious interview with Desus & Mero above.

Chance The Rapper Explains Why He Won’t Sign New Artists Even Though He Follows Them

Chance The Rapper is one of the better-established artists in rap right now, which begs the question: Why doesn’t he have a label with a roster full of little homies like so many of his peers? “Young Thug is the king of that sh*t,” he tells Showtime hosts Desus & Mero. “He got 50 people in this sh*t, put them in great positions.”

However, as he explains, “I’m in a position where I can’t sign anybody. I can’t put nobody on.” He elaborates, “You get to a certain space in the industry, and then people are like, ‘Okay, who are your underlings?’ … I’ve never been a person that signed anybody, so when somebody is hot and people are like, ‘Yo check this person out,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I listen to this person every day.’ I don’t have anything for them. I can’t advance their career. I can tell them not to sign. That’s the best I can do for n****s right now.” One such rapper he does shout out though is Beaumont, Texas’ Teezo Touchdown, with whom he’s performing at Summerfest in September.

Desus also challenges Chance to answer the age-old question of which city’s pizza is better between Chicago and New York. Chance goes with his hometown, but he offers an intriguing rationale: “I think the problem with New York pizza is you have too much of it.”

Watch Chance The Rapper’s hilarious interview with Desus & Mero above.