New Hip Hop News

JAY-Z has been working alongside his brand, Team Roc to help turn over unjust prison sentences. In his latest attempt, he has been seeking a reduced sentence for a man named Valon Vailes. Vailes reached out to Hov last year to help get his sentence reduced but in new court documents, the feds are refusing over a leftover meal. 

Vailes was convicted in 2007 and has been serving a 20-year prison sentence for intent to distribute more than a ton of marijuana. Team Roc attorney Alex Spiro believes that Vailes meets the requirements for a compassionate release but federal prosecutors won’t allow it after Vailes attempted to sneak leftover chicken into his cell. Documents obtained by TMZ also claim Vailes is being cited for simply using a piece of his prison uniform as workout equipment. 

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JAY-Z and Team Roc are frustrated with federal prosecutors because Vailes, now 56, has been a model inmate.

Vailes has also expressed his frustration with the judicial system. In his letter to Hov, he talked about his struggle with watching large corporations and people make billions off of legalized marijuana while he remains imprisoned. Many prisoners like Vailes, remain unjustly incarcerated while marijuana continues to be legalized across the states. 

It’s unsure what will come of the case, but Spiro wants a federal judge to reduce Vailes’ sentence to time served and release him immediately. 

Team Roc is a division of Roc Nation that focuses on raising awareness around socio-political injustices that continue to affect the community.

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Her life may have ended in 2014, but Maya Angelou continues to make history. According to Complex, it was announced on Monday that the first coins in the American Women Quarters Program have entered circulation – one of which features the likeness of the late, influential and inspiring Black poet.

Coins honouring the Missouri-born woman are said to have been manufactured in Philadelphia and Denver. “It is my honour to present our Nation’s first circulating coins dedicated to celebrating American women and their contributions to American history,” U.S. Mint Deputy Director Ventris C. Gibson shared in a statement.

“Each 2022 quarter is designed to reflect the breadth and depth of accomplishments being celebrated throughout this historic coin program. Maya Angelou, featured on the reverse of this first coin in the series, used words to inspire and uplift.”

Designed by Emily Damstra and sculpted by Craig A. Campbell, the tail side of the coin sees Angelou posing with her arms uplifted, a bird and a rising sun behind her. A mint representative has said that the depiction is “meant to be emblematic of both [her] work as a poet and the way she lived.”

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Angelou appearing on the U.S. coin – after her death at the age of 86 in 2014 – makes her the first Black woman to achieve such a feat, as pointed out by Representative Barbara Lee, and countless others.

“The phenomenal women who shaped American history have gone unrecognized for too long – especially women of colour. Proud to have led this bill to honour their legacies,” she tweeted on Monday morning.

Others set to appear on forthcoming quarters include Dr. Sally Ride, Anna May Wong, Wilma Mankiller, and Nina Otero-Warren; see what Maya Angelou’s coin looks like in the posts below.

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Legendary adult film actress Jenna Jameson has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, according to a couple of posts on her Instagram page. The 47-year-old model revealed to her followers that she lost the ability to walk and was hospitalized in Hawaii, where she is presently undergoing treatment.

Jameson’s partner, Lior Bitton, uploaded a video to her account speaking about her recent health issues, claiming that she had been throwing up for weeks and was hospitalized before returning home from Hawaii. When she got home, she could not carry herself and needed help getting to and from the bathroom. Bitton says that multiple times, her knees would buckle and she could not carry her bodyweight. She returned to the hospital in Hawaii, where she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, which she mispronounced twice in her video.

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According to the CDC, Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare, autoimmune disorder in which a person’s immune system works against them and damages the nerves, which can cause muscle weakness and paralysis.

“I am in the hospital and will likely remain here until treatment is complete. I hope to be out of here soon,” said the former adult film star. “PS I did NOT get the jab or any jab. This is NOT a reaction to the jab. Thank you for your concern,” she clarified.

We will keep you updated as she recovers. Pray for a speedy recovery for Jenna Jameson in the comments.

Kool Moe Dee’s “rap report card” from the ’90s has resurfaced on social media, going viral for ranking several of the time’s top hip-hop artists for their individual skillsets, including Lauryn Hill, Tupac Shakur, Biggie, JAY-Z, and more. The report card was published as part of Ego Trip’s Book of Rap Lists, which dropped back in 1999 by Elliott Wilson, Sacha Jenkins, Gabe Alvarez, Jeff Mao, and Brent Rollins. 

Multiple artists have been trending on social media as rap fans take a look at the list many years later, reacting to some of Kool Moe Dee’s preferences. Snoop Dogg entered the conversation, reacting to his own B+ grade, which was decided from his overall score of 87. Snoop earned a score of 10/10 on his originality, got a near-perfect 9/10 on his creativity, voice, versatility, and records, and got a 7/10 for his vocabulary. Comparatively, artists including Mystikal, Lauryn Hill, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Biggie, and 2Pac earned better scores in the A and A+ range. DMX, Redman, Mos Def, Black Thought, Common, Canibus, and others were also ranked at a B+.

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Snoop seemingly wasn’t bothered by himself earning a lower score than some of his peers, thanking Kool Moe Dee for adding him to the list and celebrating his B+ average.

Looking back on this list, do you think that Snoop Dogg should have earned a higher/lower score? And who else’s rankings are looking a little off?

Baby Tate has a major flex to share with all the haters who were commenting on her natural body a few months ago. The 25-year-old dropped off a couple of booty shots to her Instagram on Monday, January 10th, rocking a gorgeous blue set with matching boots from Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty lingerie collection.

In case you missed it, back in October we shared a story about RiRi shooting the “I Am” rapper a heartfelt DM after she received some nasty comments about her body. “It’s always people with the least going on with the most to say. MY BODY is MY BODY to work on or NOT,” Tate tweeted at the time.

A few hours after the drama about her figure blew up on social media, the Georgia native provided us with an update, revealing that she’d gotten a super kind message from the Fenty entrepreneur, and also teasing that she could be teaming up with Ri’s lingerie brand in the future.

“I’m really crying y’all Rihanna just DM’d me,” Baby Tate told her followers. “Y’all gone be so mad when I link with Savage X Fenty in this bomb ass body of mine.”

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Clearly, the recording artist spoke her dreams into existence, as she’s now securing the bag while looking sexy in Savage, regardless of what people online have to say about her shape.

Flo Milli, Louise Chantal, and Princess Nokia are just a few of the famous friends hyping Baby Tate up in her comments; see her latest thirst trap for yourself below.

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Mississippi-bred rapper Slim Jxmmi is using the oldest excuse in the book, claiming that his Twitter account was hacked after posting that he was “smashing pornstars” in Las Vegas. The rapper, who forms one-half of Rae Sremmurd with his brother Swae Lee, addressed the hack after his girlfriend responded to the tweet.

“Just got done smashing this pornstar on her only fans. Vegasssss on demon time,” tweeted Jxmmi a few days ago in a post that has since been deleted.

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His girlfriend, Kiara, caught wind of the post and confronted him about it, saying, “Yeah ok. Play if you want to.”

Jxm’s hacked account responded to her, saying, “Yktv I f*ck h*es on u every week it ain’t nun new. Stop complaining u signed up for this.”

Kiara quickly told her followers that Jxmmi had been hacked, sharing a video recorded by the rapper, claiming that he doesn’t even have access to his phone.

“Kiara, I don’t even have my phone,” he says in the clip. “Literally. Only reason I know that my page is hacked is because Amanda called G-Lo and told him to tell me. I don’t even have my phone.”

Jxm’s girlfriend then tweeted, “Jimmi was hacked and blogs are still posting it embarrassing me like it’s real when they clearly see he was hacked. sad. social media is horrible. honestly.”

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Do you think this was a slip-up on Jxmmi’s part, or was he actually hacked?

Kanye West and Julia Fox are enjoying the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen the budding lovers take on Miami, New York City, and now, Los Angeles.

A new report from TMZ reveals that the 31-year-old and her rapper boyfriend appeared to don matching outfits for their dinner date at Craig’s in the City of Angels. While Ye wore his signature hoodie, jeans, sunglasses, and boots, Fox opted for a feminized version of the same look with a similar colour palette, wearing a curve-hugging jacket, jeans, and boots while carrying what appears to be a Balenciaga bag.

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The couple seems to be enjoying their time together, although West has made a habit of bringing his friends on their dates, with the most recent third-wheel being none other than controversial NFL star Antonio Brown, who’s been making plenty of news in his own right as of late.

Previously, we’ve seen “Mask Off” rapper Future and Drink Champs host Noreaga take on the town with them, and as you may have heard, we’ve also seen some super-steamy photos come out of the DONDA recording artist’s latest photoshoot with his new girl for Interview Magazine.

At the time, the Uncut Gems actress penned an essay for the outlet, revealing that the father of four has been spoiling her with not only endless physical luxuries but also with plenty of laughter and entertainment.

Strangely enough, before she met Ye on New Years Eve, the Milan-born star addressed his ongoing divorce with estranged wife Kim Kardashian on her Forbidden Fruits podcast show, admitting that she’s been a die-hard Keeping Up With the Kardashians fan since the E! series premiered over a decade ago – read more about that here, and check back with HNHH for further updates on your favourite celebrity couples later.

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