New Hip Hop News

NLE Choppa has always been a proud Memphis resident. While he is a global rap sensation at the young ago of 19, he still looks to help out his hometown when he can.

This past weekend, the Black Men Crowned Awards was held in Memphis, as they honored Black young men who excelled in their communities in the mid-south of America. High school senior LaZarus Morgan won the BMC scholarship which gave him $1,000 for his college tuition. 

NLE Choppa was there to present him the award, and surprised with even more financial assistance. After LaZarus was given the $1,000 check from BMC, Choppa handed him another large check for $5,000 to recognize his accomplishment even more: “In addition, on my behalf, I’d like to present LaZarus with a $5,000 scholarship. I would like to leave him with some words of encouragement – The best preparation for tomorrow, is to prepare for today.”

NLE is currently working on releasing his upcoming sophomore studio album Me vs. Me, which is set to release on Jan. 14, 2022. He has put out four promotional singles for the record, including “Jumpin” with Polo G, “Final Warning,” “Mmm Hmm” and “I.Y.B.” The full tracklist is not yet confirmed, but NLE’s first project since 2020 will surely be one to look out for.

It is commendable for NLE Choppa to take time out of his busy schedule and album preparations to honor and assist young Black students getting ready to go to college, especially young men that are around his age.

Check out the scholarship presentation below.

If you are a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, then you know just how disappointing this season has been. A record of 15-13 just isn’t going to cut it, especially when you have Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, all on the same team. The chemistry has been off, and in the eyes of many, this roster is just not sustainable for the long or even the short term.

In fact, there were some reports today from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report that suggested how the Lakers are currently shopping around Russell Westbrook. Perhaps the biggest bombshell here is the fact that the Lakers even spoke to the Philadelphia 76ers about trading Ben Simmons for Westbrook.

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This would absolutely be a blockbuster trade, however, it simply isn’t going to happen. In Fischer’s report, it was noted that the Sixers have no interest in Simmons and that they would prefer some of the Lakers’ younger pieces. Since offering Westbrook to the Sixers, trade talks between the Lakers and Philly have ultimately died down, which goes to show that they are probably out of the running for the Simmons sweepstakes.

As we quickly approach February, you can expect the trade rumors to ramp up. so stay tuned to HNHH for all of the latest updates from around the NBA.

Azealia Banks says her former manager, Prospect Park CEO Jeff Kwatinetz, feigned being interested in a romantic relationship with her in order to swindle her out of money. Banks is counter-suing Kwatinetz for breach of contract and fraud as Kwatinetz is suing her for extortion.

“[Kwatinetz] attempted to control and manipulate Banks so he could eventually steal from her, by charming the 23-year-old from Harlem and attempting to convince her that he loved her,” Banks’ court filing states, according to Rolling Stone. “He would repeatedly tell her in e-mails that he loved her, had sleepovers with her and sent her gifts.”

She also accuses Kwatinetz of “blurring the lines between a fiduciary and a romantic suitor so that he could take financial advantage” of her.

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Banks says she was paid just $15,344.94 for her debut album despite it earning $1,490,460.00 in profits.

In response, Kwatinetz issued a statement to Rolling Stone, accusing Banks of “acting irresponsibly and dangerously.”

“Ms. Banks is a talented artist, but she has been acting irresponsibly and dangerously for years,” the rep told Rolling Stone Thursday. “Ms. Banks’ cross-complaint has no merit and is nothing more than a PR stunt. Mr. Kwatinetz will vindicate his rights in court, where he will prove that Ms. Banks’ allegations are false and slanderous.”

The next court date for the case is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2022.

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Yesterday, we reported about how the Chicago Bulls had two games postponed as 10 of their players currently have COVID-19. As it turns out, it’s not just the Bulls who are having issues with an outbreak. The Brooklyn Nets are currently going through the exact same thing as five of their players tested positive, and won’t be able to play tonight against the Toronto Raptors.

Those five players are  LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, DeAndre’ Bembry, James Johnson, and Jevon Carter. The team is already shorthanded due to Kyrie Irving’s absence, and now, Joe Harris is injured to boot.

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According to reporter Marc Stein, it actually gets worse for the Nets as Kevin Durant is dealing with ankle soreness. His status for tonight’s game has been put into question, and if he’s out of the lineup, then the Nets are in big trouble. The only player they will have to rely on is James Harden, and given the fact that he’s used to being paired with a superstar, the game could get ugly if KD doesn’t find himself in the lineup.

While the NBA took action in the case of the Bulls, it doesn’t seem like they will be extending the same courtesy to the Nets. After all, five players out is much less of a problem than 10. Either way, this is one of those moments where you would have loved to have had Kyrie active.

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are having yet another phenomenal season as the team is currently atop their division with a record of 10-3. There is no doubt that the Buccaneers are a threat to win it all, and with Brady at quarterback, it almost seems unfair once playoff time comes around. 

On Sunday, the Bucs were able to defeat the Buffalo Bills in overtime, and during various stages of the game, Brady had to showcase his running ability, which has oftentimes been roasted. For instance, Tony Romo even called Brady slow throughout the broadcast, which is a sentiment that was echoed by Peyton Manning during Monday Night Football.

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As you can imagine, Brady ended up hearing these comments, and he wasn’t too happy about them. In fact, he even went to Twitter with a response video, which can be seen below. Throughout the clip, Brady chastises the two former quarterbacks for their comments, all while implementing clips of his rushing first downs from Sundays game. While Brady certainly isn’t the fastest guy, he sees the field exceptionally well, and he knows when to run when he has to.

Brady has always had a friendly rivalry with Peyton Manning, so this response should come as a surprise to no one. As for Romo, he is simply doing his job as an analyst, and at the end of the day, he isn’t necessarily wrong when he calls Brady slow. Regardless, the seven Super Bowls truly speak for themselves.

Maxo Kream rarely gets enough credit for his role in introducing Playboi Carti to the masses. While hip-hop fans love to credit Lil Uzi Vert, Pi’erre Bourne, Ian Connor, and others for elevating the Atlanta rapper to superstardom before he became one of the most popular rappers in the world, Maxo Kream deserves just as much, if not more, credit than them. 

In the song “THEY SAY” from his new album WEIGHT OF THE WORLD, the rapper addresses his relationship with Playboi Carti, rapping, “He put Playboi Carti on then that n***a surpassed him.” As the winter holidays approach, HNHH has started the second annual edition of our 12 Days of Christmas interview series and for Day 2, we spoke with Maxo Kream, who cleared up his connection to the King Vamp.

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“I was destroying n***as on the streetwear, bro,” said Maxo about his transition from streetwear to high fashion back in 2017. “I’m talking about I had the Supreme Dipset shirt, I had the Supreme— is it Kate Moss, the white lady? I had that, bro. It’s like f*cking with Ian Connor and Playboi Carti. I met Ian Connor because I was on the Supreme sh*t earlier in Houston doing my thing, Playboi Carti because of the music sh*t. We was vibing. Running around with Rocky and Bari. I’m a fan. I got into the fashion game by just being a fly n***a from Houston, Rocky coming out. A$AP at the top of the game in 2012. Maxo Kream coming up. And A$AP knowing the culture, I didn’t know that these n***as knew me. Hit me on Instagram, Yams gave me my first cosign ever. They just made sense. I went on tour with them, boom, we rocking. Everything was just natural and genuine, like I always been a fly n***a. All the fly sh*t would just gravitate towards me. I don’t know.”

After interviewer Taylor McCloud brought up his lyrics on “THEY SAY,” Maxo elaborated more.

“I knew [A$AP] before. I knew them way before I met Carti. I met Carti fighting. Y’all want the real story?” said the rapper. “So Travis Scott brought me out at Rolling Loud. This is when Post Malone first came out. Travis Scott had did Rolling Loud, he brought me out, so I’m rocking with him. I’m in Miami. I met Father and we ended up doing that song ‘CELL BOOMIN’. But before we dropped the song, he had this, Awful Records had a little platform where they were performing, and Playboi Carti was Awful Records first. So he was Awful Records from Atlanta. I met him, so now he’s running with Kream Clicc x Savage squad, because at that time, me and Fredo Santana was like this. Chief Keef cousin. So it wasn’t like no, ‘Oh, Carti, you got to be Kream, you got to be this.’ That was lil bro, he with us. F*ck you. We were just rocking. That’s how we locked in. I was rocking with Ian [Connor] because of the A$AP sh*t, rocking with Bari because of the A$AP shit before then. Being a fly n***a bro— my lifestyle, just everything. This was before a n***a really popped off with the rapping.”

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Watch the full interview with Maxo Kream for 12 Days of Christmas below, or read it here if you prefer.

Lil Uzi Vert made headlines early this year when he had a $24 million pink diamond implanted into his forehead. Throughout the year, he was only seen wearing it sparingly, but it is glaringly noticeable when he does.

Uzi shared that the implant was inspired by Lil B, and said that if he did not remove it properly, he could die: “If I don’t get it took out the right way I could die…. no seriously.”

In response, however, an employee of beloved jeweler Eliantte claimed that the procedure was totally safe, just like any other piercing: “Yeah, it’s as safe as any other piercing. As long as you maintain it well and have good upkeep, it’s perfectly fine. We made sure that prior to getting anything done that Uzi brought someone in to consult on everything. We didn’t just do this randomly.”

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Uzi has since taken out the piercing and put it back in a few times, but now just rocks the ordinary piercing on his forehead meant to hold up the diamond.

Lately, Uzi has paid a few visits to the Trainwreck Twitch stream, where he has discussed the origins of his rap name coming from a “crackhead” and wanting to buy himself a jet pack. Most recently, on stream from Dec. 10, Lil Uzi went into detail about how his insurance company wanted to cut him off because they thought he was getting the forehead diamond to aid in a suicide attempt: “I had to really get my sh*t together. My insurance tried to cut me off, they were like, ‘This kid’s trying to kill himself.’ Because we knew it was a piercing, my insurance looked at it like, ‘This kid just implanted this diamond in his head, and he’s gonna die,’.”

He continued to explain that he had to bring in the people who executed the piercing to prove it was safe: “They’re retarded…I really had to call the piercing person and show them low-key everything that I got a piercing. It’s literally a piercing. But everything’s straight.”

Check out Lil Uzi Vert’s conversation on Twitch below, and skip to the one hour and 35 minute mark for the story of his insurance-diamond piercing debacle.

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Cardi B says she wants to go vegan after recently dealing with a stomach virus. The Invasion Of Privacy rapper discussed what’s holding her back on Twitter with fans, Sunday.

“I want to go vegan but I love meat.. are vegan meat replacements similar to meat in taste or not really?” Cardi asked her followers on Twitter.

One fan joked about Cardi missing out on seafood: “You willing to let go of the seafood boil you LOVE?? With all that lemon?? Girl….”

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The rapper explained that it boils down to an ongoing issue with her digestive system: “I had a stomach virus not so long ago and I feel like my digestive system haven’t been the same. I been drinking probiotics and I don’t see a change much. I be lookin at raw food pages a lot but that will be a huge change for me to do that.”

Cardi also recently provided an update on her highly-anticipated sophomore album, revealing that it will be released in 2022. She says she’s extremely busy at the moment balancing work and family time. She also says she’ll be recording a new movie next year as well.

Check out Cardi’s new tweets below.

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