New Hip Hop News

Jay-Z has curated a new playlist for his streaming platform, Tidal, featuring several underground rappers. Among the selections for his “Block Vibes” playlist include MF DOOM, Mach-Hommy, The Alchemist, and more.

Curating playlists has become a favorite hobby for Jay, who has released dozens of playlists since Tidal launched in 2015.

Earlier this year, he bragged during a Twitter Spaces conference: “I’ve found so many songs, my playlist game is A++. I challenge anyone out there … I’m definitely in the top-tier of playlist creators.”

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As for why the playlist is titled “Block Vibes,” Tidal’s parent company, Square, Inc, announced its changing its name to Block on Wednesday. The company was founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Jay also serves on Square’s board of directors.

“The change to Block acknowledges the company’s growth,” the company said in a press release. “Since its start in 2009, the company has added Cash App, TIDAL and TBD54566975 as businesses, and the name change creates room for further growth. Block is an overarching ecosystem of many businesses united by their purpose of economic empowerment, and serves many people—individuals, artists, fans, developers, and sellers.”

Check out Jay-Z’s newest playlist below.

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It was inevitable that there would be several documentaries made about the tragedy at Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, which left ten people dead and hundreds more injured. As news spreads that multiple families affected by the tragedy have declined Travis Scott’s offer to pay for their childrens’ funerals, outrage has started to break out on social media regarding a documentary that was uploaded to Hulu on Wednesday night about the festival’s tragedy just three weeks after it happened.

The documentary, titled Astroworld: Concert From Hell, was originally hosted by ABC. It was uploaded to Hulu, causing an uproar on social media as some deceased concertgoers still have yet to be buried. 

“Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime,” reads the doc’s synopsis. “But it turned into a tragic nightmare. A minute-by-minute look at what happened in the crowd, the young victims who were killed, and what happens next.”

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

“Hulu making a documentary about Astroworld is in poor taste all around,” said one person on Twitter, which was “liked” by over 11,000 people. “People are still burying their loved ones. The legal cases haven’t even started. Great documentaries are done when all the facts are laid out. Not enough time has passed to fully discuss this.”

The fifty-minute report on Astroworld is comprised of interviews, videos from the concert, and more footage that aired on ABC in the network’s coverage of the tragedy. 

Some Hulu users are reporting that the documentary was removed from the platform following the outrage, and it is presently unclear if it will be added back in the future.

Take a look at some tweets about it below.

He has stayed silent through the drama this week, but now Blueface is stepping forward with his version of events. Chrisean Rock has been Blueface’s artist for some time but it has been made clear that they are no longer working with one another. Earlier this week, video footage circulated online showing Blueface and Wack 100 attempting to kick her out of the rapper’s home and since that time, Chrisean has continuously resurfaced with posts about the incident, as well as Blueface.

“She was gettin’ a little too outta hand for me,” Blueface said in a video. “The work ethic wasn’t there enough for me to cope with her crazy life decisions and what she think.” Blueface added that he was filming at his home but Chrisean was not living there the entire time. 

He claimed that he arranged for her to live somewhere else but she would continue to come to his place. While there, she would want to “jump in the pool” but he said he reminded her that they had business to handle. He added that he told Chrisean he was filming at the house and told her to leave but when she got back to her place, she broke windows, causing the police to be called to that location. 

“She made the spot I had her at hot,” said the rapper. When he ended the business relationship, he was once again at home with the camera crew, however this time, Blueface said Chrisean came in and caused a disruption. 

Check it out below.

In her memoir, The Pursuit of Porsha – How I Grew into my Power and Purpose, Porsha Williams shared a surprising story about interactions she had with R. Kelly years ago. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star is known for bringing drama to the Bravo series, although it seems her tenure may have come to an end, but she revealed that there were also unbelievable occurrences in her real life with the disgraced singer.

“I was definitely held in a mental state,” she told Good Day New York. “I felt danger.” This revelation comes on the heels of Kelly’s conviction in his New York case.

Roy Rochlin / Stringer / Getty Images

“When I was writing this book, I looked at my journey, and I thought about how many times I ended up in abusive situations and toxic relationships. That pattern all had to do with me not knowing my worth,” she added. Porsha has been on a book tour, hopping from one outlet to the next, and earlier this week, she spoke with Tamron Hall about her alleged experiences, as well.

“I did a lot of victim-blaming, a lot of shaming of myself, and that’s what silenced me for a very long time to speak out against any of the sexual abuse that I encountered in my life.” In her book, Porsha added that Kelly was just one name in the list of men who had taken advantage of her. 

“He had just been one of the men who was a predator in my life, who had taken advantage of me and mentally abused me,” she penned in her memoir. “So I saw him no different from those same men. That same darkness, that same treatment, they faced and met the same Porsha who did not know her self-worth.”

Watch a clip of Porsha Williams on Tamron Hall below.

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The ongoing saga between Blueface and his former artist Chrisean Rock enters its new episode now that she has appeared on Livestream sharing her side of the story. We previously reported on the altercation that took place at Blueface’s home as the rapper and his manager, Wack 100, attempted to get Chrisean to leave the residence.

She refused and instead, the police were called to help the situation. Much of the incident occurred while on Instagram Live and the world witnessed the event unfold. Chrisean has resurfaced and now suggests she has relocated to an apartment.

“I just want everybody know I’m safe,” she said. “I’mma go visit my family for Christmas… He’s just doing this because my family really, really worried because they can’t get in no contact with me.” Chrisean explained that she refused to leave because she wanted 30 days like any other eviction. She admitted that she escalated the situation and later, she wrote that she’s 21-years-old and is learning from her mistakes.

She has been posting and deleting throughout the day and claimed that she isn’t trying to be messy, she just wanted to explain her position in the face of controversy. Swipe through the posts below to catch it all.

Another reality star has fallen victim to a home robbery and this time, it is from a Love & Hip Hop cast member. We’re in the thick of the holiday season and police departments are warning against thefts and home invasions. We previously reported on the tragic news of 90-year-old music executive Clarence Avant and his 81-year-old wife Jacqueline enduring a frightening home invasion early this (December 1) where the latter was murdered.

Love & Hip Hop Atlanta‘s Sierra Gates posted surveillance camera footage of suspects in her home and she wrote in the caption that it all went down while she was away from the residence hosting a holiday giveaway event.

“The day I did My Turkey & Car Give A Way, My New House Was Robbed By 3 Armed Guys,” she wrote in the caption They Took Everything My Joy & Excitement Of Buying My Dream Home For Me & My Kids & All My Bag & Shoes Jewelry! I’m Always Giving To Everyone Going Over & Beyond! My Heart Is Broken! Yes They Took Everything But My ‘Praise’ My ‘God Stills Gets The Glory’ God I Trust You[praying hands emoji] So Glad God Had Me & My Family Covered!”

On Twitter, fellow reality star Safaree Samuels advised the public to make sure they still set their alarms, even if they are at home. “Ppl who break into ppls homes deserve the death penalty idgaf. If they don’t have a regard for life of children and women in homes let me fry!” Check it out below.

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Whenever their names are together, there is controversy afoot, but DaniLeigh and ex-boyfriend DaBaby have also faced some scandals individually. As a pair, the two are co-parenting after welcoming their baby girl into the world just a few months ago, but their happy home quickly turned sour in an epic blowout that was played out for a global audience on Instagram Live. 

DaBaby recently penned notes about being at the peak of his career while enduring tragic losses that include his father and brother. As those messages were being shared online, DaniLeigh has also popped up on social media with new photos of their daughter.

Tasia Wells / Stringer / Getty Images

The couple has yet to share their baby girl’s name, but fans are just getting first looks at the newborn’s face. It was suggested that DaniLeigh wanted to keep prying eyes away from her child as she was seen in videos attempting to cover her daughter’s face. Following their explosive social media argument, DaBaby revealed his baby girl to his followers.

Now that her face has been shown, both parents have opted to continue to posts images of their little one. “It’s the eyes , the smirk , and the face for me,” DaniLeigh recently wrote in a caption to several pictures of her baby girl. Check out DaniLiehg latest adorable photos below.

This is a trial that some thought would never actually happen, but here we are. Jussie Smollett has faced worldwide backlash following the alleged staged hoax attack on him years ago. He claimed he was walking down the street in the early morning hours when two white men accosted him both physically and with racial and homophobic slurs.

The world witnessed Smollett’s downfall unravel when the two brothers claimed that they were hired by the actor to execute the alleged fake attack for fame. During the trial, Abimbola Osundairo testified that Smollet “wanted me to fake beat him up.”

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor / Getty Images

Smollett is being accused of filing a false police report and wasting the Chicago Police Department’s time and resources that could have been used on other crimes or cases. Osundairo said that Smollett texted him stating that he needed assistance “on the low” and when they met up, the actor told him that Empire bosses weren’t giving him the respect he believed he deserved.

“He said he wanted me to beat him up,” Osundairo reportedly said. “I looked puzzled, and then he explained he wanted me to fake beat him up… He wanted me to tussle and throw him to the ground and give him a bruise while my brother Ola would pour bleach on him and put a rope around him, and then we would run away.”

Meanwhile, Smollett’s attorney insists that his client is the true victim in this case. 

Nuccio DiNuzzo / Stringer / Getty Images

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