New Hip Hop News

We’re only two weeks into 2022, but thus far, things are looking pretty good musically, with more and more impressive releases arriving every week. As we entered into the new year, our first Fire Emoji update found us praising Gunna, Nas, and 2 Chainz, but this week, we’ve got a fresh roster of artists to celebrate.

First up is Joey Bada$$’s THE REV3NGE, which found the actor returning to the music scene after taking some time off to focus on his on-camera career; the “Love Is Only A Feeling” artist recently confirmed that he’s got a new album dropping in the future, so we have that to look forward to as well.

We also have “Shit On Me” by Peewee Longway and “Bring The Hook” courtesy of YoungBoy Never Broke Again, both of which see relentless lyricism from each rapper.

On JID’s “Surround Sound,” we find the Spillage Village member linking up with Baby Tate and 21 Savage, who absolutely killed his turn on the beat, as he always does.

We’ve been giving Atlanta’s own Gunna plenty of love for his efforts on DS4EVER, and since his highly anticipated joint track with Drake – called “P Power” – has finally made its way onto streamers, we absolutely had to include it on our Fire Emoji update.

Last, but certainly not least, we see three GOATs (50 Cent, Jeremih, and Lil Durk) come together on “Power Powder Respect.”

Check out hip-hop’s hottest new releases below, and let us know what arrivals you would’ve added to our playlist.

Back in November, Mariah the Scientist and Young Thug first sparked dating rumors after being seen cuddling in the club in pictures posted by Young Stoner Life, Young Thug’s label. Before this, Thug had a years-long relationship with longtime girlfriend Karlae, so this development confused fans.

But, it seemed like he was committed to his fling with Mariah, as they were seen again on a date at an Atlanta Falcons football game later in November. Now, they have depicted taking the next step in their relationship in Mariah’s recent music video.

Mariah the Scientist released her sophomore studio album RY RY WORLD in July 2021, as the sensual R&B sensation linked up wit Lil Baby, and Thugger for features. Her collaboration with Thug, “Walked In,” received the visual treatment half a year later this week, and may reveal her current standing with Thug relationship-wise.

In the music video, Mariah and Young Thug appear to be a happy couple getting married. Cozied up in the club and having intimate conversations, Mariah celebrates with her bridesmaids and gives her heart to Young Thug in the music video.

So, it appears at the moment that Young Thug and Mariah the Scientist are all but officially, a couple. Check out some of the intriguing scenes from the music video for “Walked In” below.

As he does with every album he releases, Drake dominates charts and streams. Most recently, his September Certified Lover Boy album was the most played rap project of the year, and the numbers clearly indicate that.

On Jan. 13, Chart Data announced that Drake was officially named the most streamed artist last year in the US, with a whopping amount of on-demand streams: “@Drake was the #1 most streamed artist of 2021 in the US, with 8.6 billion on-demand streams. 1 out of every 131 streams was a Drake song.”

Prior to this, Drake last over a month at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with Certified Lover Boy, as he debuted with 613,000 sold copies in its first week. Even after his peers like Young Thug and NBA YoungBoy briefly knocked him down to the No. 2 spot, he returned to the top due to the constant streaming of CLB‘s songs throughout the year.

When CLB debuted, nine out of the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart were songs off the album, shattering the previous record. At this point, Drake has become synonymous with streaming success, and Certified Lover Boy exemplified that perfectly. 

Just last week, the album achieved RIAA double Platinum status, as the first 2021 rap album to earn that honor. It first went Platinum in the same month it was released in September 2021, signifying the insane amount of times t had been streamed.

So, next time Drake decides to put out an album, expect eye-popping streaming results similar to CLB‘s.

Gunna and Chloe Bailey may be just friends (for now), but that doesn’t mean that the 28-year-old DS4EVER rapper wants to see his “you & me” collaborator settle down with anyone else. During a recent sit down on The Breakfast Club, the Georgia-born “drip influencer” told Charlamagne Tha God, EJ Envy and Angela Yee that he feels as though he’s “becoming ready” to settle down into a serious relationship.

“I’m growing into being ready,” Wunna shared. “Because I understand having a girlfriend and having a wife, you gotta have stability when it’s time, so I think I’m getting here.”

When Angela asked the Georgia-born “Drip Too Hard” hitmaker how he would feel if Chloe began dating someone as he prepares for marriage, he responded, “that wouldn’t be very P of her, to take my time and waste it,” which sent the hosts spiralling into a fit of laughter.

“I for sure would keep it P if she moved on, but I wouldn’t like that, no,” Gunna confirmed.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Elsewhere in the interview, he also shut down rumours that he and the “Have Mercy” songstress are related. “We ain’t cousins, we’re really close friends,” the hip-hop star said, which caused the conversation to head back to September of 2021 when Chloe famously gave her microphone a seductive lick during her performance at the 2021 MTV VMAs.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop,” Gunna said, blushing. “It was the tongue for me, it was, it really was,” he confessed. “But I didn’t know her [when I posted that]. And I wasn’t… Okay, I was kind of shooting my shot a little bit, it was a shot.”

Watch the “thought i was playing” artist’s full stint on The Breakfast Club below.

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Before Hit-Boy’s elite run the past two years, where he executively produced albums for Big Sean and Nas, he and Kanye West had a special thing going in the early 2010s. Signed to G.O.O.D. Music for a short two-year span, Hit-Boy helped produce two of Ye’s biggest collaborative songs of his career, “N****s In Paris” and “Clique.”

However, this era led to a fallout between the two, as Kanye was displeased that Hit-Boy was helping make music for Beyoncé without letting him know. So, for years, the two were estranged. In 2020, after Hit-Boy endorsed on of Kanye’s stances on the music industry, Ye clarified his grudge against Hit-Boy: “I DIDN’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIM PRODUCING FOR BEYONCÉ … I HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE FACT HE WAS SIGNED TO ME AND I DIDN’T KNOW.”

Now, with Kanye’s latest release, it appears all of this drama is now behind them. As West dropped “Eazy” with The Game last night (Jan. 15), exclusively on Spotify as we reported, he employed Hit-Boy for the song’s production.

While Ye’s verse includes several disses to his newfound adversaries like the Kardashians and Pete Davidson, he and Hit-Boy’s reuniting is a wholesome occurrence as Ye works towards his upcoming Donda 2 record.

In an Instagram story from last night, Hit-Boy thanked The Game for helping to connect him with Ye again: “Me and Ye back working thanks to my brudda @losangelesconfidential.”

Check out Hit-Boy’s post below.