Twitter

Lil Duval Claims Afrobeats Are The Death Of Hip Hop, Twitter Debates

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Comedian and rapper Lil Duval provoked a not-so-humorous debate on Twitter last night (February 19th), which caused a back-and-forth conversation regarding the longevity of hip hop. In his tweet, the Guy Code star wrote, “Afrobeats might be the death of hip hop as we know it.” As a result, Duval sparked a heated argument amongst music lovers.

One user quickly snapped back with “hip hop will never die,” while another vocalized reassurance, explaining, “Afrobeats is a fad. It’ll come and go just like every other form of music that has tried to bite hip hop.” However, fans of the genre were not so happy with Duval’s statement, which even prompted pro wrestler EJ “the Judge” Nduka to respond. “We gon’ ignore those outlandish tweets you put out about your kid,” the Judge tweeted, “or we gonna focus on how uncultured you are?”

Duval Stirs The Pot Amongst Music Lovers

Deriving from Ghana and Nigeria, afrobeats has gained popularity as a genre that fuses together R&B, hip hop, dancehall, and house. Accordingly, Apple Music describes this category of music as “the infectious but indescribable sound of 21st-century Africa.” In recent years, artists like Burna Boy, Tems, and Rema have raised in popularity in North America, with the trio even performing during the NBA’s halftime show.

Twitter users were quick to jump at the differences between the two genres, showcasing how afrobeats and hip hop are not on the same playing field. “Hip hop and afrobeats will coexist, and we also bringing dancehall back, we the essence of music,” one user wrote. Another brought up the cultural significance of the genre by tweeting, “It stands to reason that the globally recognized sound of black people comes from Africa and not USA anyway. About time hip hop stopped representing us.”

Duval’s Past Tweets Receive More Backlash

As pointed out by angry commenters, this isn’t the first time the 45-year-old performer has sparked controversy. Duval was under fire after old tweets recently resurfaced containing uncomfortable comments about his daughter. Accordingly, the disturbing tweets (the same ones that the Judge referred to as “outlandish”) have only added flames to the fuel that angry music lovers are throwing his way.

Do you think that afrobeats threaten the existence of hip hop? Let us know in the comments down below. Make sure to check back later for more music and pop culture news updates.

Twitter Reacts:

Blueface Says Lil Baby Has Been The One Texting Him This Whole Time

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Blueface continued his Twitter rant on Monday morning (February 20) and clarified that Lil Baby’s been texting him this whole time. Moreover, the California rapper exploded on social media after his girlfriend Chrisean Rock spoke about meeting Baby recently. During an Instagram Live sessions, she said the Atlanta rapper believes she has “potential,” and Blue wasn’t happy about that. “I think you be letting too many rap n***as be in your face,” the “Bleed It” star told her. After Blueface posted alleged DMs between Baby and Chrisean, it seemed like he was set on protecting his relationship.

However, maybe this all turned out to be a big misunderstanding. Earlier today, the 26-year-old sent out a message on Twitter that apparently diffuses the whole situation. “Ain’t even have to go thru the fone,” he tweeted. “Rock gave cuz my number he been texting me the whole time,” adding a laughing emoji at the end. Still, all this back and forth is slightly confusing, and it’s unclear who really tried to text who. Also, this revelation is kind of undercut by Blue’s previous tweets, where he claimed to go through Chrisean’s phone. “You in her DMs I’m in this b***h one on sy cryp,” he tweeted before his new admission.

Blueface & Lil Baby’s Weird Texting Exchange

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 14: Blueface attends Daniels Leather Fashion Show at Blue Moon on September 14, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

As such, many fans also seemed confused in the comments, or even accused the California rapper of something fishy. “And if you been responding as if u was rock u weird,” one tweeter expressed. Another took note of how this situation could’ve even been a problem in the first place. “I’m confused,” they tweeted. “If he been texting you about working with her then what is the problem.” Overall, it’s a weird situation to wrap your head around, but one that’ll surely be replaced by another antic soon.

Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time that Blueface’s potential jealousy got in the way of his relationship. Furthermore, Chrisean took a selfie with Rick Ross at the Super Bowl, which Blue did not take well.  “Could never be my b***h,” he messaged to her after finding out about the selfie. Peep his clarifying message below and check back in with HNHH for the latest on Chrisean Rock and Blueface.

Blueface’s New Tweet

Mark Zuckerberg Announces Paid Service For Facebook & IG Similar To Twitter

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Mark Zuckerberg says that Meta is launching a paid service for Facebook and Instagram, noticeably similar to the Twitter Blue service that Elon Musk recently went forth with. The subscription will cost $11.99 per month on web browsers or $14.99 per month on iOS. Zuckerberg made the announcement on his Instagram Story, on Sunday.

“Good morning and new product announcement: this week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support. This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services. Meta Verified starts at $11.99 / month on web or $14.99 / month on iOS. We’ll be rolling out in Australia and New Zealand this week and more countries soon.”

Mark Zuckerberg’s Announcement

Image via Instagram/zuck

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to CNN that the company will shift the emphasis of the blue badge to authenticity in order to verify more people. “We are evolving the meaning of the blue badge to focus on authenticity so we can expand verification access to more people,” the Meta spokesperson said. “We will display follower count in more places so people can distinguish which accounts are notable public figures among accounts that share the same name.”

Elon Musk launched a similar idea for Twitter back in December. While the service has undergone many changes since then, it costs $11 a month for iOS and Android subscribers. Discord, Reddit, and YouTube are other social media platforms to offer similar subscription-based features.

Unlike Twitter, Meta users looking for verification will have to submit government IDs and match them up to their own profile. This will hopefully prevent the spread of fake accounts posing as celebrities, as has been a problem on Musk’s site. Musk responded to the Meta news on Twitter, Sunday, while reacting to a meme that implied Zuckerberg is cheating off of Musk’s ideas. He also described the decision by Meta as “Inevitable.” Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion, last year.

Elon Musk’s Response

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Kiely Williams Continues Going At Chris Brown: “I Know His PR Team Is Mad”

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Kiely Williams, best known as a member of the Cheetah Girls, continued to call out Chris Brown on Twitter, Friday night. The two artists have been going back and forth on social media for days. The interactions began when Williams criticized Chlöe Bailey for working with Brown, who has faced numerous allegations of abuse over the years. Brown fired back on his Instagram Story afterward.

“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 he wont. So what does he do?” she wrote when quote-tweeting Bailey. “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.” She also added: “I am swatting the fucking air rn. Garbage.”

Williams’ Tweet

Brown fired back in a series of posts on his Instagram Story, starting with a selfie captioned, “The face I make right before I go all Team Breezy on the haters.” From there, he wrote: “Obviously you are at a point in your life where either you are very broke or broken. The fact you think you have to speak negatively about me makes u look so lame…your life and career must suck right now..minding your business wouldve [sic] been best..but I guess you don’t have a business or a real job that makes u financially stable. I feel more embarrassed for you and your actual maturity.”

Later, Brown compared the response to his alleged actions to that of Blueface and Chrisean Rock: “If yall still hate me for a mistake I made as a 17 year old please kiss my whole entire ass! Im fucking 33! Im so tired of yall running wit this narrative..you weird ass nas are the same ones that tune in every week to see Blueface and Chrisean beat the fuck out each other in front the world. But thats OK? It’s entertainment? All yall can suck my dick disrespectfully. Where are the cancel culture with these white artist that date underage women, beat the fuck out their wives, giving bitches AIDS, oh. That’s right..they are your buddies😏 No more fake love from me..stay out my way or get ran over simple as that. None of you and mean none of you nas can fuck wit me.”

On Friday night, one Twitter user wrote that Chris Brown is getting “pressed” while referring to Kiely Williams as a Cheetah Girl. “And not even one of the famous ones,” Williams’ joked in response before adding, “I know his PR team is mad,” in another tweet.

Williams Keeps It Up

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Cardi B Reacts To Instagram’s New GIF Feature, Says “The Twitter Ghettos” Is Where It Belongs

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In order to keep up with their competitors, social media platforms are constantly launching new updates in hopes of satisfying current users and attracting new ones. In particular, Instagram has released several over the years that have helped elevate their platform. Among them are borrowing Snapchat’s concept of Stories to keeping up with TikTok via Reels. Most recently, they’re attempting to introduce GIFs in an exciting way.

Users have already been able to send the animated images back and forth in their DMs. Now, IG will allow them to respond to both Stories and feed posts with them. This feature is already popular on Twitter, where many use GIFs to their comedic advantage. According to Cardi B, Elon Musk’s app may be where the antics should stay.

On Friday (February 16) evening, the New Yorker wrote, “I know them GIFs ain’t hitting like they hit in the Twitter ghettos.” Her tweet has since earned nearly 7K likes, as well as hundreds of replies agreeing with her. “They need to be original and stick to comments only,” one fan account said.

In response to that, another page chimed in, “Instagram is NEVER original. They don’t know if they want to be TikTok or Twitter [at this point].” Elsewhere, someone else pointed out that IG hasn’t hit the same since they began prioritizing video content. “It’s so ghetto, Instagram needs to go back to pictures!” they demanded.

She’s obviously not be loving Instagram’s newest feature. Still, her followers on the app certainly ate up Cardi’s Super Bowl weekend outfits. During her time on stage, the mother of two put on a tantalizing display in a revealing metallic mini-dress. She also stepped out in Chanel and a pair of Loubitons on game day, though that look wasn’t exactly practical for the event.

Cardi B attends the Pre-GRAMMY Gala & GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Julie Greenwald & Craig Kallman at The Beverly Hilton on February 04, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

On her Story last weekend, the rap diva posted a comedic clip of her and Offset awkwardly running through an Arizona parking lot. At the time, they were attempting to catch Rihanna’s Halftime Show, though Bardi’s footwear proved to be something of a problem. Read more about that here, and check back later for more pop culture news updates.

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Cardi B Reckons The ‘Twitter Ghettos’ Is A Better Place For Instagram’s New Feature

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cardi b nye
Getty Image

The social media world is cutthroat in terms of different platforms trying to compete with each other, to either stay relevant or increase their market share. One way to gain an edge is by introducing new features, which Instagram understands: they’re currently rolling out a new feature allowing users to comment on posts and Stories with animated GIF images.

As for how the feature is being received, it appears Cardi B isn’t quite sold yet. On Twitter last night (February 16), she wrote, “I don’t know them gifs ain’t hitting like they hit in the twitter ghettos.”

As for how to make use of GIFs on Instagram, 91mobiles explains, “To reply with a GIF, users have to type the keyword of the GIF they’re searching for in the ‘Send Message’ or comment box and then tap the GIF icon that appears. A series of GIFs from GIPHY’s library will be presented to users based on the search phrase. The feature is being rolled out in phases and should be available to all shortly.”

Speaking of Instagram Stories, Cardi took to hers recently to reveal that she nearly missed Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ice-T Trades Shots With Twitter User Who Trolled Coco Austin

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Ice-T defended his wife, Coco Austin, on Twitter, Monday, after a user criticized the dress she wore to the Grammys. The Twitter troll accused his wife of being “wrapped in a dress three sizes too small” at the awards ceremony. In response, the rapper asked when is the last time the user “had some dick.”

“To those of you who thought my opinion of a woman named Coco (don’t know who she is..don’t care) I see Adele at the Grammies. She looks fabulous. When she was heavier, she was classy, that is a woman who knows her beauty doesn’t have to be wrapped in a dress 3 sizes too small,” the user posted.

Ice-T Responds

“Maureen.. When was that last time you had some Dick.. That’s the problem. Lol,” Ice-T wrote back to the woman. He added in another post: “We NEVER attack … but we RETALIATE. … Keeping it as Real as Possible was always a Goal for me.” Ice-T also shared a photo of the woman with the caption, “I gotta say Maureen. You’re Hot as F….”

Plenty of Ice-T’s fans took his side in the back and forth. One user wrote to the woman, “Women should be uplifting, NOT tearing each other down. And if women feel better about themselves by having a little work done, or wearing a skimpy dress? That’s for THEM to decide.” Maureen replied: “If you believe that. Then start telling females they don’t have to be Barbie Dolls. It is symptomatic of self esteem issues in many young women.”

Ice-T and Coco Austin married back in January 2002. In 2015, the couple had their first child together. The two celebrated Valentine’s Day together on Tuesday. Ice-T shared a photo of himself with Austin, writing “By all means.. Keep it Sexy.”

At the Grammy Awards, Ice-T was one of many icons of hip-hop to perform for the celebration of the genre’s 50th anniversary. He took the stage alongside LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run DMC, LL, Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim, KRS-One, Public Enemy, and many more. “So the Grammys brought us together and it’s so crazy that for a while, rap wasn’t even represented at the Grammys,” he told ET of the performance. “I got one of the early Grammys with Quincy Jones, you know, but I felt Quincy kinda snuck us in the backdoor.”

Ice-T’s Next Tweet

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Iggy Azalea Calls Out Playboi Carti, Fans React

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Iggy Azalea says that she “warned” fans about Playboi Carti after the rapper was arrested for allegedly choking his pregnant girlfriend. The two had been in an argument about a paternity test when the woman says Carti grabbed her by her throat and pushed her. Iggy Azalea, who dated Carti from 2018 through 2019, previously claimed that he cheated on her and missed their son’s birth.

“Been there. Done that. Warned you,” Azalea wrote in her first post. She later added in another: “Imagine having a pregnant girlfriend and pretending they don’t exist until it comes out you like to abuse them too – & rarely visiting your actual son unless is because you’re running from whatever problems ya got going on in Atlanta & the press with your serial abuse of woman.”

Iggy Azalea’s Posts

Azalea’s posts prompted Carti fans to flood into her replies to defend their favorite artist. “HE LIVES IN YOUR HEAD RENT FREE,” one user wrote. Another implied Azalea is a hypocrite for working with Tory Lanez in the past. “Talking about abusers like you wasn’t just ready let tory lanez produce ya album before he got put in all orange and cuffs is wild,” they argued.

Despite the negative response from Carti fans, many of Azalea’s own supporters defended her in the replies as well. “Were his fans waiting on you to post about this???” one said. “Why they all In the comments defending him???? Get a job.” Another admitted: “I’m a huge Carti fan but this really shocked me and I’m disappointed in him. You can’t defend something like that.”

Other users criticized Azalea for being on the platform OnlyFans. The Australian rapper joined the platform, last month, for her ongoing Hotter Than Hell multimedia project. On the site, she posts photos, videos, music, illustrations, and poetry. The project is expected to build up to the release of her untitled fourth studio album, which will release in the summer. Subscriptions to Azalea’s OnlyFans page cost $25 per month. Check out the responses to Azalea’s post regarding Playboi Carti below.

Fans’ Responses

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John Boyega Reacts To Idris Elba Not Calling Himself A Black Actor

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John Boyega took to Twitter to defend Idris Elba, who sparked a conversation online when he told Esquire UK that he no longer refers to himself as a “Black actor.” According to Elba, the label puts him in a box and limits his career. He said that “as humans, we are obsessed with race and that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be.”

He continued, saying “I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin. Rant over.” After the interview, people accused Elba of renouncing his Blackness with the statement. However, some individuals came to Elba’s defense to agree. Hollywood’s need to put labels on actors and performers plays a huge hand in the way they are able to stereotype actors. John Boyega responded to the discussion on Twitter.

John Boyega Speaks

When Elba realized that the statement was causing backlash, he responded to the negative comments on Twitter with an overall response. He said, “There isn’t a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not. Being an ‘actor’ is a profession, like being an ‘architect,’ they are not defined by race. However, If YOU define your work by your race, that is your Perogative. Ah lie?”

Soon after, someone said that “[Elba]’s not wrong lmao. Many Black and POC actors have talked about being typecast into stereotypical roles because of their race.” Boyega said, “I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this. Not on making weird adjustments for them. We continuously focus on what we have to do so they don’t do this or that. Very worrying. We BLACK and that’s that.” The biggest highlight from Boyega’s statement is that more individuals should be paying attention to and questioning the typecasting that happens in Hollywood. It, like Elba said, puts Black actors into boxes.

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