We need to talk about those ‘Prison Tapes’ snippets Tory Lanez just teased on his new Instagram profile @thetorytapes.
Full stop. How ever you feel about Tory Lanez, his incarceration and the victims who were affected by his case – who need to be shown respect at the highest levels, one thing is undeniable, these snippets are fire.
Okay onto the music … On Friday (July 26) Lanez’s dropped content on his official Instagram account. The post included snippets of has been reported as two newly released songs.
We all know he’s locked up but the quality of the music is insane, but lets continue …
The caption broke down two song titles: ‘Wish I Never Met You,’ and ‘Cell 245’
It gets more interesting. The songs are a part of a new project he’s calling ‘The Prison Tapes.’ Appropriate name if there ever was one.
But check this out, the Gram profile says new drops from Lanez will come out every Friday, indefinitely. Feels like Quarantine Radio all over again.
Here’s the caption from his post:
“‘The Prison Tapes’ Out Now Wish I Never Met You Cell 245 Dropping every week on @thetorytapes”
And looks like the records are out on platforms so go press play and tell us what you think.
In the meantime, here are some comments from the first IG post reacting to the drop:
Listen to Cell 245 here from Tory Lanez YouTube channel:
The hauntingly cinematic quality of Nicholas Craven’s production has cemented his status as a trailblazer among the producers specializing in drumless samples. While Daringer of Griselda and Roc Marciano played pivotal roles in developing and popularizing this sound, Craven’s movie-like approach to making beats has resulted in some of hip-hop’s most revered albums in the past few years, namely his joint projects with Boldy James, Fair Exchange, No Robbery and Penalty Of Leadership. The former was recorded in three days and released in 2022. Boldy James and Nicholas Craven doubled back at the beginning of 2024 with Penalty Of Leadership, a shoo-in for album of the year, but the circumstances surrounding the album’s release were unlike their first project together.
“We made two songs in the first day. He was still bound to the wheelchair, could hardly move, coming back from like paralysis. Like, it was insane – bolts in his neck,” Nicholas Craven told HotNewHiphop backstage at Festival D’Été Quebec in mid-July, where he performed alongside Mike Shabb later that day. “It was a heavy album to make but that was one of the most amazing experiences, too, because we managed to make something so special, so timeless out of that hardship.”
That quality that the two tapped into was presumably therapeutic for Boldy James following a near-death experience. For Nicholas Craven, it was an exercise in his ear for production; that innate ability to help score an artist’s story with subtleties that draw inspiration from his film heroes, like Martin Scorcese or Akira Kurosawa.
“I like to take something that’s subtle, that’s like smooth on the outside, and then turn it into something dark and almost scary, you know? Almost disturbing, but it seems like nothing. It’s just like, oh, there’s just some little nice melody with violins, but it’s actually like, you put the right rapper on it, the right context, and it’s completely different now. It’s like a horror movie,” he said.
Though he might be best known for his work alongside U.S. artists, it’s his collaborative efforts alongside Mike Shabb that has spearheaded a new era in Quebec hip-hop, one that he takes much pride in. Before the two hit the stage for FEQ, where they performed cuts off of their joint project Shadow Moses, we caught up with Nicholas Craven to discuss crate digging, working with Boldy James, and what he has in store for the remainder of the year.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
HotNewHipHop:Your career has been defined through your work with American counterparts. Westside Gunn, Mach-Hommy, Boldy James, and the like. How is working with someone like Mike Shabb, an up-and-comer from Montreal, different from working with some of the more prominent artists you’ve worked with? Especially just bringing it back to your hometown.
Nicholas Craven: It’s the best because I really feel like I’m getting in on the ground floor. You know, Shabb is like, he’s just like a small percentage of what he’s going to be right now. He’s already doing big things but I got a vision for him that he’s going to be like, probably one of the greatest rappers to ever live, honestly. To just f**k with him his honor, and he’s making amazing music too. So I’m just really happy to have somebody in the city that I can f*ck with on that level. Shout out to Jimmie D. Jimmie, that’s my man but me and Shabb got a nice chemistry.
I was telling Shabb earlier that you two are ushering in this new era of Quebecois rap that’s beginning to expand beyond the province itself, and obviously, getting a lot of traction from the States. How have you felt about the reception towards the work you and Mike Shabb have done together, specifically among your collaborators in America?
Honestly, that’s one of the best parts. Just like, you can realize that you don’t even really know these people until you meet them but there’s already a mutual respect, there’s already an understanding. It’s like a universal language, you know? When we’re really, really about this sh*t, you can hear it, you can feel it automatically. There’s no room for miscommunication. Like we both know what we’re about to do, we both know we’re about, period. So it’s just nice, man. And, I’ve been lucky to work with really, really good dudes, really good people, like family men, dads and shit that like [who] know how to be respectful and how to treat people right. So all in all, man, all these collaborations I’ve done, it’s just been a blessing and it brought me to talk to you, honestly.
Is there a project or track you’ve done out of your whole catalog that sticks out to you or has sentimental value to you?
It’s hard to say, for sure. There’s a bunch. But like, you know, most of my stuff with [Mach-Hommy], Boldy [James], Shabb, Jimmie, Roc Marciano, all that type of stuff – Ransom, Fahim. That’s where most of my great stuff lies, I think.
I read the Complex interview alongside Shabb where you mentioned the difference between being inspired and biting. How do you feel about seeing Nicholas Craven-type beats online?
That’s amazing. I’m just really happy that I’m actually inspiring people on that level, you know? And when you call it out, and you give respect, and you give credit, can you really be called biting? You know what I mean? So it’s like, you know, they’re trying to get in and try to get some little bread. To have a name that you can associate with the sound is pretty cool. So, yeah, no, I love that. I got my own little Nicholas Craven type beats playlist on YouTube. And I just like run through them sometimes and some of them are fire. I’m like, oh, wow, how didn’t I think of that?
I want to move to Shadow Moses real quick. How would you describe this project in terms of the creative synergy between you and Mike Shabb?
I’d say it’s one of the projects I’ve done that has the most like – it’s like a fusion. You know, I’ve usually I’ll do a project that’s like right up like – you know, I’ll do beats that are for Ransom, beats that are for Boldy. Shabbs’ picks are so different. They’re so unique, like, sometimes it’ll be beats I didn’t even think were dope, you know? And he’ll just perceive something in them. And he will hit them with like, his own new like 21st century style, you know? Like 2024 style, you know, and he listens to so much contemporary music that he mixes it up so nicely into like something that people aren’t doing on these types of beats. So the fusion is like one of my favorite things about it. It’s like a dark, new age and old school hip hop fusion.
Shabbs’ is also a producer. How does that play into the studio flow? He mentioned that he’ll listen to 1000 beats before finding one and you even mentioned that he’s very peculiar with his production choices.
Yeah, we got to go through a bunch because you know, I like a rapper that’s picky. You know, I like a rapper that’s really like – because I got beats. And the reason I got so many beats is because I want to be able to cater as perfectly as I can, as specifically as I can, to the rapper. So if I have, you know, 1000 beats to show him and he listens to all of them, there’s more chance he’s going to find exactly the thing that correlates with what he’s trying to do. So, working with him, it’s going through a lot of beats, and it’s also approaching samples a little differently. Sometimes I’m like, “Oh, I know Shabbs is gonna like this if I do that,” and I usually get them now when I got like a really good sample that I know he’s gonna fuck with. So yeah, it’s a lot of learning. It’s different than a lot of other beats of people I’ve worked with, but it’s fucking it’s one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had.
He was telling me you guys run up in the vinyl store and just spend bands to find the illest sounds.
100%. It’s just filtering it down. We go into the vinyl shop, the owner already filtered it by selecting what he’s going to sell in the store, then we pick what we want, we make beats out of it, and then it’s filtered down again by Shabbs picking exactly the ones that work with him.
It sounds like a more precise and cleaner workflow between you two. I wanted to ask you, again, the Complex interview. You both mentioned how you put each other onto new things. I believe Shabbs said he rewatched The Wire because of you. What’s one thing you’ve learned from him throughout this collaborative process?
I’ve learned, really, the new local scenes in the States. A lot of people think, because of the internet, there are no local sounds anymore, but it’s false and Shabb is really tapped in. Like he can tell you the difference between a Baltimore and a DC beat, even though it’s like 40 minutes away, you know? He understands the lyrical characteristics, the instrumental components that make beats what they are, and like he can clearly see, not necessarily the genre, but the style that everybody’s doing. He can break it down mathematically really well. And I was never really a closed-minded dude. I like to expand and learn as much about hip-hop as I can but he definitely showed me a pocket that I wasn’t even aware existed.
I know you’re a film buff of sorts. If you could compare your sound, or even your production style to any director, who would it be in life? And why?
If I could compare it? I would like to say [Martin] Scorcese. Or [Quentin] Tarantino. Or, you know a [Akira Kurosawa]. Some sh*t like that, Coen Brothers. Yeah, that’s my sh*t.
Elaborate on that a little bit more.
I like how, especially like a Scorsese-type dude, and the Coen Brothers and Kurosawa – less Tarantino because him it’s like – what I’m trying to say is that I like to take something that’s subtle, that’s like smooth on the outside, and then turn it into something dark and almost scary, you know? Almost disturbing, but it seems like nothing. It’s just like, oh, there’s just some little nice melody with violins, but it’s actually like, you put the right rapper on it, the right context, and it’s completely different now. It’s like a horror movie.
I want to touch on Penalty Of Leadership. You and Boldy are going back-to-back with classics but this one has sentimental value to Boldy, as well. How was the process with this project, considering he was also in recovery? I’m sure this was also a therapeutic experience for him.
I think so. Yeah, it was very different than Fair Exchange. You know, Fair Exchange, we did in three days. Penalty took us about a year, a year and a half, going back and forth from Montreal to Detroit. And yeah Boldy, as soon as he got out the hospital, four days out the hospital, he hits me like, “Yo, come down. We got to make some music.” And we made two songs in the first day. He was still bound to the wheelchair, could hardly move, coming back from like paralysis. Like, it was insane – bolts in his neck. And yeah, it was super, super, super, like it was a heavy album to make but that was one of the most amazing experiences, too, because we managed to make something so special, so timeless out of that hardship. Now, it might make them look back on the situation in a brighter light, too, you know? I hope.
I know you recently mentioned that you and Ransom are cooking up something this year. I want to know, generally, what’s on the itinerary for the rest of 2024?
Yeah, me and Ran’ definitely cooking. I just sent him a 300 pack and he took a bunch of beats from it. And I got CravenInc coming. You can hear it here first. I got the new, new, new trilogy. Like Craven N is done, Craven N 2 and 2, now it’s Craven Inc. You know so that’s coming out. New Craven producer album, you know, a bunch of artists on there – everybody, all the All-Stars. Me and Ran got some shit, like I said, me and Boldy got some shit; me and Roscoe P. Coldchain from the Reup Gang got some shit. You know, we got some shit. No, no, no, we got some sh*t coming. Me and Shabb got some sh*t coming. It’s about to be a nice summer.
The sneakers feature a bold combination of red and navy rubber on the sole, complemented by a clean white and cream midsole. Also, the standout “Gold Medal” colorway takes the spotlight with striking gold accents across the upper. Further, a navy blue Nike Swoosh, highlighted with red outlining, adds a dynamic contrast to the design. The tongue proudly displays Kobe Bryant’s iconic logo in gold, enhancing the sneaker’s sophisticated touch. Additionally, the heels are adorned with the number 10, honoring Kobe’s jersey number on the National Team.
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Sneaker Bar Detroit reports that the Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Gold Medal” will be released on August 5th. Also, the retail price of the sneakers will be $190 when they drop. Further, make sure to let us know what you think about these kicks in the comments below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the most recent updates and news from the sneaker community. We’ll make sure to offer you the newest products from the most notable brands.
A meet and greet allegedly turned violent for four Texas men, who claim that they were attacked by members of Chris Brown’s entourage following an altercation backstage at Brown’s concert on Saturday night in Ft. Worth, Texas.
The four men (Larry Parker, Joseph Lewis, Charles Bush, and Da Marcus Powell) are suing Brown, Yella Beezy, Sinko Ceej, and Live Nation Entertainment for $50 million in damages as well as restraining orders against the performers. The plaintiffs argue that they suffered serious injuries that required hospitalization and one plaintiff remains hospitalized (although it is unclear which one it is).
While it is unclear what happened (various accounts have placed the men backstage at the concert with at least one having a verbal interaction), the defendants allege that Brown ordered the attack on them and that they were kicked, punched, and chased by members of Brown’s entourage.
Tony Buzbee, the Houston-based lawyer who is representing the four men, posted the following statement on his Instagram account on Monday (along with a picture of Brown in court from a previous trial):
On Saturday night in Ft. Worth, entertainer Chris Brown, along with his entourage, attacked and brutally beat several men who had just attended his concert. Multiple police reports have been made. At least one of the men beaten remains hospitalized. Chris Brown has a long history of violence. He has been arrested or accused of assault on at least ten occasions. Enough! The Buzbee Law Firm filed suit this morning on behalf of the four men brutalized this last weekend in the hope of obtaining justice for these victims and putting an end, once and for all, to Brown’s intolerable and thuggish behavior.
As of Monday afternoon, Brown had not publicly addressed the situation.
Brown was playing his second night in Ft. Worth as part of his 11:11 tour.
Chance The Rapper previewed his upcoming mixtape, Star Line, for fans at his “Writings On The Wall” listening event in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this week. Several attendees have been taking to social media to share their thoughts on the highly-anticipated project. It will be his first full-length project since The Big Day in 2019.
According to reports, he showed off 10 unreleased songs and two music videos. “Chance The Rapper is transforming how we consume music and interact with artists…again lol. Beautiful and inspiring experience. So grateful,” one user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, as caught by Uproxx. Another on Instagram remarked: “Such a cool experience. I can’t believe how intimate and fascinating it was to unravel music in such a collective way.”
Chance The Rapper Attends SXSW For 50th Anniversary Of Hip-Hop
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 19: Chance looks on during the ’50th Anniversary Of Hip Hop’ keynote at SXSW Sydney on October 19, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
Chance has already released several singles from the project, including “Together,” “Stars Out,” and “Buried Alive.” He has still yet to confirm a release date for the album, although he told BET in a recent interview that he’s in no rush to do so. “I don’t have to rush to put anything and that gives me the confidence and security knowing that it’s cool to wait until I have everything packaged,” he said. “Then, I’ve fallen in love with it over and over again before I release it.”
Chance The Rapper Announces His Next Listening Event
Fans who missed out on Chance’s listening event in Atlanta will have a chance to catch another one in New Orleans, next week. Be on the lookout for further updates on Chance The Rapper on HotNewHipHop.
This colorway is perfect for those who love making a statement. The Freak 6 continues to push boundaries. It merges innovation with Giannis’s unique style. Fans and players alike will appreciate the combination of functionality and aesthetics. Nike focuses on both performance and fashion. The “Laser Orange” is no exception. It’s a testament to Giannis’s influence and Nike’s commitment to quality. Overall, the Nike Giannis Freak 6 in “Laser Orange” is a must-have. Whether you’re playing or just stepping out, it delivers. Look out for its release—it’s bound to turn heads.
The sneakers feature an orange rubber sole and a vibrant pinkish orange midsole. The uppers of the sneakers are comprised of an orange mesh base, with a green Swoosh that dips into the midsole. As you go further up the sneakers, lighter orange laces and leather are present. The tongues feature a new FREAK logo along with Giannis flexing, his signature move.
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Kicks On Fire reports that the Nike Giannis Freak 6 “Laser Orange” will be released on October 5th. Also, the sneaker will have a retail price of $140 when it is released. Further, make sure to let us know what you think about these kicks in the comments below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the most recent updates and news from the sneaker community. We’ll make sure to offer you the newest products from the most notable brands.
Reebok, the iconic and irreverent sports culture brand, has revealed a NASA-inspired footwear and apparel capsule that explores the intersection of archival artifacts and vintage resale. This unique collection will be available globally on July 31, celebrating the spirit of innovation and discovery.
NASA, America’s renowned civil space program, is dedicated to exploring the unknown in air and space while innovating for humanity’s benefit. This ethos is mirrored in Reebok’s latest collection, which draws inspiration from the concept of historic innovation transformed into artifacts and then rediscovered as vintage treasures. The collection revives Reebok’s most innovative footwear technologies, presenting them as lost artifacts now made available to the public.
Footwear Highlights Reebok BB4000 II ($200, 100206315): A historic high-top basketball sneaker featuring a synthetic/textile upper with padded detail, asymmetrical translucent overlay on the vamp, 3-D molded heel counter, and NASA branding on the exposed tongue.
Reebok FloatZig 1 ($120, 100207040): A new, bouncy running shoe with a synthetic/textile upper, printed graphic vamp, tech-inspired speed lacing system, and matte silver overlays.
Reebok Club C Zip ($120, 100210124): An iconic court sneaker with a utility-inspired zipper closure, custom graphics on the tongue, textile upper, and distressed midsole treatment.
Reebok Instapump Fury 94 ($200, 100207039): A historic, laceless Pump runner featuring an aged upper treatment, signature NASA branding on the tongue, and printed graphic detail on the midsole.
Reebok Nano UNKNWN ($170, 100207042): A high-cut training shoe with branding on the exposed tongue, synthetic/textile upper, padded upper detail, and matte silver side stripes.
Reebok Classic Leather Hexalite ($100, 100207043): A classic runner redesigned for her, featuring visible Hexalite honeycomb cushioning, a utility-inspired zipper closure, custom graphics on the tongue, suede/textile upper, and distressed midsole treatment.
Additional footwear options include the Royal BB4500 HI ($85, 100207840), Court Advance ($80, 100207730), Glide ($70, 100207657), Club C KIDS ($65/$60), Classic Leather KIDS ($65/$60), and Zig Dynamica 2.0 KIDS ($70/$60).
Apparel Range Complementing the footwear, the collection features a head-to-toe apparel range including:
Pump T-Shirt ($40) Moon T-Shirt ($40) Pump Hoodie ($80) Vector Track Jacket ($90) Graphic Short ($50) Jogger ($80) Captured within Reebok’s Boston-based global archive, the creative campaign showcases the collection against a backdrop of rolling shelves, blueprints, documents, and photos. The clean and intentional environment underscores the theme of rediscovery and innovation.
Reebok’s NASA-inspired collection promises to blend the futuristic with the vintage, offering fans a chance to own a piece of reimagined history. For more information, visit Reebok’s official website on July 31.
Another busy summer travel day has brought another airline-related controversy, this time involving hip-hop superstar Pepa (of the group Salt-N-Pepa) who was removed from a Southwest flight after a dispute over whether or not she was entitled to both of the two seats that she had purchased for a flight
Pepa (whose real name is Sandra Denton) had reportedly purchased two seats for a flight from Las Vegas to Nashville due to a recent knee surgery that required her to have more space. (She was wearing a knee brace at the time.) Initially, Southwest staff told her that she would be able to have both of the seats that she had purchased, but then a man boarded and said that he was entitled to one of the seats because he had to go to a funeral.
A video posted on TMZ shows Denton showing her two tickets after she was kicked off the plane and discussing the incident with staff, who appear to be trying to explain the policy that says she wasn’t entitled to the two seats until she put her knee brace on (she apparently did not have it on when she initially boarded the plane despite using a wheelchair assistance service to get to the gate). The Southwest employee then alleges that she was filming on the plane, to which she responds that she was simply on the phone with her assistant.
Southwest reportedly offered to move her to a seat in an emergency exit row, but since her ticked noted that she had a disability due to her knee surgery that she was ineligible to sit in an exit row since she might not be able to adequately assist in the event of an emergency.
Southwest reportedly rescheduled her flight and reimbursed her at least some of the funds, but Denton has said that she is exploring her legal options with regard to the situation.
Rashida Jones, the daughter of Grammy Award winning producer Quincy Jones, says that her and her family had an up-and-down relationship with the late Tupac Shakur, but still considers him family.
In an interview with the New Yorker, which was published over the weekend(July 7), the actress recalled the open letter she wrote to ‘Pac in The Source following some disparaging remarks that Shakur made about the famed musician/producer.
“All he does is stick his dick in white bitches and make fucked up kids,” Pac said of Rashida’s father at the time.
“I do think that anyone who reads this article would be shocked by his ignorance and lack of respect for his people,” she said. “To demean a man like Quincy Jones, a man who came from the ghetto of Chicago and through his talent and perseverance became a living music legend, demeans the whole progress of African Americans.”
She continued, “Where the hell would you be if Black people like him hadn’t paved the way for you to even have the opportunity to express yourself? I don’t see you fighting for you race. In my Opinion, you’re destroying it and shitting all over your people.”
30 years later, Rashida reflected on the letter she wrote, which was shortly before her older sister Kidada began dating Tupac.
“Furious! So precocious, so self-righteous. Yeah, I was so mad,” she said. “It was a new perspective to me. I kind of understand the nuance more now that I’m older. It just felt like a completely unwarranted attack. It resolved itself really nicely, because when I met him, he immediately apologized to me, immediately apologized to my dad. We sat down and had a really good conversation about it, and then he was family.”
It goes without saying that it’s been a rough couple of months for Lil Skies. At the beginning of June, the Pennsylvania-born performer was reportedly arrested in Chambersburg. He’s accused of failing to exchange insurance information with another driver after a car accident. Fortunately, it looks like he was quick to get back to work after the incident, as he recently unveiled his new single “Pain.”
As the name suggests, the track is about the hardships Lil Skies has run into throughout his life, and how they’ve impacted who is today. He details becoming fiercely self-reliant as a result of betrayal and believing in his own career, which he thinks has a greater purpose. The song features mellow, melancholy production and laid-back vocals. It also arrived alongside an accompanying music video, in which Lil Skies is seen singing in a room by himself, lying in a pile of cash, and more.
It stays true to the darker themes Lil Skies has been tapping into over the past few months, following tracks like “Runnin Thru The Fire,” “Death,” and more. So far, fans are enjoying the new track, and claiming that it reminds them of some of his older material that blew him up in the first place. What do you think of Lil Skies’ new track? What about its accompanying music video? Will you be adding “Pain” to your summer playlist or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Lil Skies Reflects On His Hardships In Melancholy New Track
Quotable Lyrics:
Got a lot of pressure going on in my mind Ain’t runnin’ out of money, but I’m runnin’ out of time Been runnin’ out of love, but I ain’t runnin’ out of grind
