New Hip Hop News

It’s only been a few months that we’ve really started to hear about NFTs and how they can help you get rich quickly but they have caused quite the phenomenon, and it looks as though they’ll be around for the next little while. While some find it difficult to grasp exactly what an NFT (non-fungible token) is, others have done their research and taken advantage of the new technology, making some easy money off of them. Atlanta rapper Gunna became the latest celebrity to dabble in the world of NFTs, working with MoonPay to purchase a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT worth over $300,000 this week.

The rapper successfully bought his Bored Ape, which he named Butta, this week. The purchase went through without a hitch and to celebrate his acquisition, Gunna actually got the ape tattooed on his leg. His ape wears aquamarine glasses and blows into a kazoo in the animated video posted to Wunna’s Instagram page.

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They may be new but with the holidays approaching, it seems as though NFTs might actually be a popular gift this season. Similar to Gunna, rapper Lil Baby revealed that he wants to gift NFTs to his fans in the next few days for Christmas.

Check out Gunna’s Bored Ape below and let us know what you think about NFTs in the comments.

At one time, Fetty Wap was viewed as one of the biggest artists in the world. He appeared poised to take over the next decade in music but somewhere along the way, he got caught up in the politics of the business, finding himself in the middle of record label deals that took advantage of him and his art. This year, he seemingly took control back, releasing his new album The Butterfly Effect, but he ran into problems on the way, getting arrested the week following the release. While his future remains uncertain, the New Jersey-based rapper has been opening up about his storied career, speaking with DJ Akademiks this week on his Off The Record podcast, and explaining why he left a Drake feature off his album back in the day.

Revealing that he didn’t want his name to be on the “My Way” remix with Drake and asking the superstar to remove his verse and only keep his hook, Fetty told Ak that he wanted to give the shine to his friend Monty, who was also on the track. However, after sending the record to Drake, the artist’s team allegedly did not send back his verse before dropping it on SoundCloud, crediting Fetty as the main artist and not giving a spotlight to Monty. As a result, Fetty says he felt “played.”

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The singer explains that, at that time, he felt as though “nobody could tell [him] nothing” because his confidence was at the top of the world. He was cranking out hit after hit, and he says that the moment left a bad mark on his relationship with Drake. Fetty says he has never met with the rapper or spoke to him about the release, and he thinks that Drake probably believes he’s “ungrateful” for leaving the remix off his album.

Listen to Fetty Wap explain below why he ultimately chose not to include the Drake remix of “My Way” on his album.

There haven’t been explosive Tekashi 6ix9ine moments on social media but the rapper has apparently been keeping busy. 6ix9ine is known for taking over timelines with his antics, but over the last few months, he’s been laying low and minding his business behind the scenes. However, that hasn’t kept him out of trouble completely, because Radar Online reports that the rapper is facing a lawsuit.

According to the outlet, 6ix9ine was booked to perform at the Humble Civic Center in Houston back in June. Promotion company JJD Entertainment claims filed a lawsuit stating 6ix9ine showed up, took the cash, and left before performing.

Jamie Dominquez operates JJD Entertainment and reportedly spoke with a man named Will Cornish who is described as being “one of Tekashia’s reps.”

The deal had Tekashi being paid $45k upon execution of the paperwork and another $75k in cash on the day of the event. He was also to be paid $20k for a jet from Boca Roton to Texas.

In the suit, the promoter says he paid Tekashi the $45k and booked the private jet at a cost of $28k. He says the rapper’s team kept renegotiating the deal which ended up costing him an additional $100k.

They were all allegedly able to come to an agreement and the private jet flew the rapper from Florida to Houston on June 27. He reportedly made it to the venue, was paid $75K cash, and dipped out before taking to the stage. The promoters were understandably upset and claim they “spent $178K as well as over $100K for the venue rental, security and insurance.”

The promoters also alleged in the lawsuit that 6ix9ine later mentioned the incident in an interview where he claimed that he didn’t perform because he wasn’t paid adequately. 6ix9ine was reportedly under the impression that he was to receive $250K to perform but the promoter contests that. They’re also suing the rapper for defamation.

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The COVID relief fraud crime wave has been lucrative for scammers looking to take advantage of government programs, but Uncle Sam has his foot on their necks. We’ve reported on people getting hefty sentences for their alleged involvement in Payment Protection Program scams where officials found out they used COVID-19 relief loans for personal gain.

The Secret Service is known for keeping the President of the United States safe and out of harm’s way, but they also track financial fraud. According to CNBC News, the Secret Service has discovered that approximately $100 billion in COVID relief funds have been fraudulently acquired. There are reportedly “900 active investigations related to pandemic fraud.”

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“I’ve been in law enforcement for over 29 years and worked some complex fraud investigations for 20 plus years, and I’ve never seen something at this scale,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Roy Dotson. “There’s no doubt that the programs were easily accessible online. And so, with that, comes the opportunity for bad actors to get into that mix. It was necessary to try to get these funds out to people that were truly hurting, and no fault of anybody.”

“It’s a wide range because the pot was so big,” Dotson said. “You not only have your typical transnational organized groups and domestic organized groups, criminal groups, but you have individuals that decided to take advantage of that. So, there’s many different patterns and investigative intelligence that we develop that I can’t really go into. But we’ve mapped out kind of some of the different characteristics of different groups.”

Dotson also overlooks cryptocurrency fraud and some thieves are immediately transferring funds to their crypto wallets, making it even more difficult to track down and retrieve. 

“I would say the primary difficulty is the sheer scope of the amount of fraudulent you know, loans, or unemployment insurance benefits ever distributed,” he said. “And the number of individuals that receive those, whether they were a money mule, or the actual recipient is just enormous.”

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Her fans have been thrilled to see Britney Spears taking control of her life and the singer is now promising that new music is one the way. It has been some time since the world received a single or album from Spears and the very thought has her fans excitedly sharing posts about the possibility. Now that she’s ready to take the world by storm, Spears hopped on her Instagram once again and this time, she flexed her vocal skills.

After hearing Spears sing to the top of her lungs, Miley Cyrus appeared in her comments, dubbing Spears “the vocal bible.” It’s a term that has been used to describe many vocalists, but it has long been Brandy’s title in the industry.

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In the caption, to her post, Spears enthusiastically shared her accolades after Googling herself. She later deleted the caption.

“I just realized this today guys … after what my family tried to do to me three years ago … I needed to be my own cheerleader [shrug emoji] !!!! God knows they weren’t … so I just read up on my self and this is what I found:  Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Britney Spears is one of the most successful and celebrated entertainers in pop history with nearly 100 million records sold worldwide.”

Spears then told the public that she “not auditioning for anything” and added that a “new song [is] in the works.” Her vocals were praised by her fans but not everyone was impressed. Check it out below.

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There were several people who came forward to offer their shoulders to cry on following DaniLeigh and DaBAby’s explosive argument on social media. The former couple streamed their fight on Live and DaBaby even showed when police were called. He would go on to ridicule and demean DaniLeigh publicly while also showing off their newborn baby girl to the world.

Summer Walker reached out and told DaniLeigh to contact her if she needed anything, and Karrueche Tran told Angie Martinez that she, too, contacted the Def Jam singer.

“But DaniLeigh… I felt it in my soul and in my body, like, when I saw the video, somebody was saying it’s just like, it made me wanna throw up,” said Karrueche. “Because I felt her pain and I felt her embarrassment. ‘Cause, it was public! And the things he was saying was disgusting!” Angie chimed in to add, “It was bad.”

Karruched continued, “I sent her a message, I don’t even know if she saw it or not but just to support. Like, ‘Yo, if you need anything, you need somebody to talk to or whatever, I’m here.’ I just—ugh. That just really triggered my trauma!” Martinez replied, “I get that for you,” before Tran added, “She just had a baby.”

“To go through it with a child…a new baby. She’s very, very strong.” Both women agreed that DaniLeigh will bounce back. Watch Karruche Tran chat ith Angie Martinez below.

There hasn’t been much shared about the status of Drakeo The Ruler’s murder case. The beloved Los Angeles rapper was reportedly stabbed in the neck while attending the Once Upon a Time in L.A. concert over the weekend and since that time, there has been an outpouring of grief over the tragic loss. The Los Angeles Times penned a lengthy article about the status of the investigation that included speaking with a talent organizer for Once Upon a Time in L.A. who wanted to remain anonymous.

According to the source, Drakeo was scheduled to perform on the G-Unit stage at 8:30 p.m. but the concert was running behind. The talent organizer told the L.A. Times that he saw “many attendees in the VIP area wearing red clothing as a potential sign of their Blood affiliation.”

They also alleged that there was a lack of security backstage, adding, “I probably saw at most two armed individuals, and they were at the VIP entrance telling people to turn away because it was too packed to get in.” However, music manager Robert “Smoov” Bryant, contested that there was ample security on the grounds.

“Some had USC gear, you had event security, artist security and you had officers from the LAPD stationed in that area,” Bryant said. “I felt very secure.”

Video of the assault shows a swarm of people involved in the melee, with many passersby watching from the perimeter. Once Drakeo falls to the ground, a half-dozen young men continue to attack him.

One eyewitness to the fight said that the security response was surprisingly slow. The eyewitness said he saw “no security remotely near there.” Security would have “had plenty of time to break up the fight, but there was maybe one guard trying to help,” said the person, who asked not to be identified so he could speak freely about what he saw.

Officer Luis Garcia, an LAPD spokesman, stated that investigators are trying to piece together what exactly occurred, but the talent organizer offered his opinion.

“Drakeo walked into the lions’ pit,” he said. No arrests have been made and no suspects have been named. We continue to offer our sincerest condolences to Drakeo’s loved ones. Read our interview with him, one of Drakeo The Ruler’s last, here: Drakeo The Ruler Always Counted His Blessings: Our Final Interview With The West Coast Staple.

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We’ve often written about TikTok challenges that take over the world, but not all of them are fun and safe. Most have to do with dances, poses, couples, or crates, but not many results in the deaths of children. Parents of a 10-year-old Philadelphia girl who recently passed away fault TikTok’s “Blackout Challenge” for being the reason behind their daughter’s death. 

According to Philly Voice, young Nylah Anderson attempted the challenge and was found deceased in her bedroom back on December 12. What was more devastating was that her entire family was at home and had no idea that Nylah was in trouble.

“They eventually found her unconscious and rushed her to the Nemours Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead,” reported the Voice. Tawainna Anderson, Nylah’s mother, warned other unsuspecting parents of these dangers while speaking with ABC 6 News. Nylah was reportedly an extremely intelligent child and was said to have spoken three languages.

“Make sure you check your kids’ phones,” Tawainna said. “You never know what you might find on their phones… They’re kids. They don’t know better.”

Sadly, Philly Voice also reported that Nylah’s tragic death isn’t the first for the Blackout Challenge as other children in “Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Colorado” have also fallen victim. This challenge mirrors a similar wave that took place decades ago online when kids were secretly asphyxiating themselves in order to feel a euphoric high, but unfortunately, many died then, as well.

A spokesperson for TikTok reportedly issued this statement about the Blackout Challenge: “This disturbing ‘challenge,’ which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, long predates our platform and has never been a TikTok trend,” they said. “We remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss.”

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Loved ones of Virgil Abloh continue to mourn his surprising death after succumbing to cancer. The fashion icon was admired globally for his contributions, but the Hip Hop world was particularly devastated. Abloh maintained intimate relationships with some of our favorite artists and rappers, and it is easy to turn on a chart-topping hit and find his name mentioned in one of many cleverly spun bars. 

Drake has been one who continuously honored Virgil in life and he remains dedicated to paying homage after Abloh’s death. 

Last month, Drake penned a touching message about his friend. “My plan is to touch the sky 1000 more times for you…love you eternally brother,” Drake wrote. “Thank you for everything.” On Wednesday (December 22), it was revealed by Ganga Tattoo that Drizzy once again gave a nod to Alboh with some new ink.

Ganga’s Instagram account shared a photo of Drake’s tattoo that is of Virgil throwing a paper plane into the air. “A remembrance of the great Virgil Abloh done on Drake’ @champagnepapi @virgilabloh Microrealism,” the account wrote in the caption. Drake has yet to show off or reference the tattoo, himself, but it is a touching tribute, nonetheless.

Check it out below.