New Hip Hop News

Over the past few months, we’ve seen a ton of big-name rappers add on to some of the hottest projects of 2021 with deluxe editions and B sides and it’s been a blessing for fans. 

MoneyBagg Yo came back with A Gangsta’s Pain: Reloaded, Westside Gunn added on to HWH8 with a full-length side B, Isaiah Rashad added four new tracks to The House Is Burning on The House Is Burning [homies begged] and Kanye West came through the Donda deluxe edition, which featured the infamous Drake-dissing “Life of The Party” with Andre 3000. 

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And yesterday (November 29), Louisville rapper EST Gee announced he is dropping the “second disc” of his July album, Bigger Than Life Or Death. 

In an Instagram post, the “5500 Degrees” rapper announced his new album will release this Friday, December 3, and unlike Bigger Than Life Or Death, which included features from Future, Young Thug, Lil Baby and Lil Durk, Bigger Than Life Or Death Part 2 will be completely featureless. 

“December 3rd Disc 2 No features Pre-Order link in my story #BiggerThanLifeOrDeath #FreeTheShiners,” he captioned his post featuring the upcoming album’s cover. 

Dropping this late in the year, Bigger Than Life Or Death Part 2 is sure to be a culmination of sorts for EST Gee. In span of twelve months, Gee has ascended into rap superstardom, and after a year that saw the 27-year-old sign with Yo Gotti’s CMG record label, get dubbed ‘the new Young Jeezy,’ and sit in studio sessions with Jay-Z (Bigger Than Life Or Death also debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 — a huge accomplishment), this featureless record will be a clear look into where EST Gee’s mind is at at this point in his career. 

Keep an eye out for Bigger Than Life Or Death Part 2 when it drops this Friday, and let us know what you’re expecting from EST Gee down in the comments. 

It’s been a tumultuous month for Fetty Wap. In the midst of what seemed to be a major comeback, the rapper was arrested on federal drug charges. The rapper was held in federal custody until posting a $500K bond. According to Rolling Stone, the trial has now been pushed back by two months as Fetty Wap has reportedly begun plea negotiations. The rapper appeared in court via phone on Nov. 29th where his lawyer and U.S. attorney Andrew P. Wenzel agreed to delay the trial.

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“We are starting plea discussions,” Wenzel said in an Eastern District of New York court hearing. “I think we’re all in agreement that a consent adjournment would be appropriate until February 2 for us to continue plea discussions and for the defendants to review discovery.”

Fetty Wap previously pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess and distribute over 100 kg. of controlled substances including fentanyl and heroin. The rapper and his co-defendants are facing life in prison if convicted. Officials accused Fetty of being involved in a bi-coastal drug trafficking operation. Fetty was referred to as a “kilogram-level redistribution” while officials claim his co-defendants brought the drugs from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Between the recent legal troubles and issues with the mother of his late daughter, Fetty took to Instagram where he subtly responded to all of the ongoing drama.

“I’m Fighting real life shit … I don’t respect the internet shit .. Much love for the ones who bring peace in my life at this point,” he wrote.

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Every rapper has their own writing process. 

Where some rappers are constantly writing in a notebook, or in the notes app, others never write a single lyric.

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Jay-Z has long been known as someone who doesn’t write lyrics. His raps aren’t necessarily freestyles, but they aren’t read off a page, either. Hov is known for having one of the best minds in the game, and much like with Lil Wayne, fans and peers have been in awe for two-and-a-half decades at his ability to keep every line of every song just inside his head.

In a recent appearance on Fader‘s Uncovered podcast, Pharrell Williams gave an even better window into how Jay-Z creates a song. 

Explaining that Hov is “one of us,” Pharrell explained his process as “weird,” but “amazing.” 

“Jay-Z is another one — people don’t realize that. He’s one of us,” Pharell told Uncovered host Mark Ronson. “He’s not good because he’s just made good records. No! He’s really a character. He’s an odd guy. When you have a conversation with him, it’s not a regular conversation.”

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“When he writes, he’s just sitting there mumbling to himself — in falsetto, by the way. Yo, when he writes a rhyme, he doesn’t go, ‘[tough voice] Chyea! When the Remy’s in the system’ — he doesn’t do that,” he continued. “He goes, ‘[falsetto voice] Yo, yo, when the Remy’s in the system/Ain’t no telling will I f*ck ’em? Will I diss ’em?/That’s what they be yellin’/I’m a pimp by blood.’ And he taps you on the shoulder and takes it back again. He writes in falsetto.” 

Pharrell explained that even though he doesn’t know why Jay writes like that, the Blueprint rapper has always done it. 

“That’s odd and different and weird and amazing! And makes him a character,” he said. “I gotta ask him why he does that, I don’t know why he does it. But he’s always done that.”

What do you think of Hov writing in falsetto? Let us know down in the comments.

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Drake hasn’t performed any shows since the release of CLB but he’s been popping up at certain venues, largely to show face. When Jack Harlow dropped by the 6ix, Drizzy stood on the balcony, overlooking the sold-out crowd like a proud father. He didn’t show up on stage but the crowd offered a warm embrace to the hometown hero.

Last night, Giveon held it down in the 6ix for the second show on the Timeless Tour. Performing in front of a sold-out crowd, the singer delivered all of the fan favorites before he got a surprise visit from Drake. The Toronto rapper popped out on stage briefly and hugged Giveon before posing for a few flicks in front of the crowd. “Can’t believe my brother surprised me tonight,” he wrote alongside an emoji of a heart and the Canadian flag. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Drake seized the opportunity to perform “In The Bible” or “Chicago Freestyle.” 

The sold-out tour comes after Giveon secured six Grammy nominations including Best R&B Song for “Heartbreak Anniversary.”

While Drake might not have performed last night in Toronto, the rapper will be hitting the stage in a little over a week for the Free Larry Hoover benefit concert in Los Angeles with Kanye West. We could only imagine that he’ll be delivering a few cuts off of CLB.

The internet had a blast last week after a photo surfaced of Kevin Durant’s exposed leg during one of his basketball games. The Brooklyn Nets star appeared to have some of the ashiest legs possible, and former Boston Celtic Isaiah Thomas pointed it out to his Twitter followers.

This opened the flood gates for people to troll Durant, making tons of memes and insults, to which he responded by threatening to pull out his “‘y’all broke’ card.”

After the dust had settled in this incident, tennis legend Serena Williams decided to reignite the slander, hilariously using cooking oil on her skin to avoid a KD-like fate. In a recent TikTok, Serena explained that she needs to take extra precaution, as she sprays Pam cooking oil on her legs: “The internet got me shook. I’m doing everything, just anything, not to be out there looking like my boy KD.”

Using cooking oil on your skin is actually an effective method of adding a layer of protection, while moisturizing it at the same time. Perhaps KD could actually employ this tactic so he can avoid a debacle like what happened last week. 

Check out Serena’s hysterical TikTok below.

Early Monday morning, “Pressure” singer Ari Lennox tweeted that she was being arrested in the Netherlands after being racially profiled by airport security. 

“F*ck Amsterdam security. They hate black people,” she wrote. “They’re arresting me. I’m being arrested in Amsterdam for reacting to a woman racially profiling me.”

In a pair of statements, Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for Dutch police, told Reuters and Entertainment Tonight, that they responded to reports of a “a woman full of emotions, that wouldn’t calm down,” and explained that, “That’s why she had to be taken into custody.”

van Kapel added that Lennox was suspected of being drunk, and accused her of threatening airline employees and security staff.

“Dutch military police, who are responsible for security at Schiphol Airport, held Ari Lennox because of her aggressive behavior towards an airline official, and for being drunk in public,” van Kapel told ET. “She threatened staff of an airline and security at the airport, and because of those threats, she is now interrogated.”

In the hours following the arrest, fans and followers waited with bated breath for any new information on the situation, and last night, Lennox’s manager Justin LaMotte offered a positive update. 

“hey everyone, ari is safe and appreciates the support and everyone checking on her,” he tweeted. 

How exactly things will unfold from here is unclear, but after Lennox tweeted “I just want to go home. I’ll never leave my house again,” yesterday, it seems unlikely these proceedings will be handled very publicly. 

What do you think of LaMotte’s update on the Ari Lennox arrest situation? Let us know down in the comments.

Kanye West has accomplished much in his storied career. Through his influence and status, he’s been able to open up doors and shift the culture in a way that has never been seen before. However, the multi-billion dollar artist and designer is using his resources to create societal change, including helping the homeless.

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According to TMZ, Kanye West has met with L.A. leaders and charitable organizations to help eradicate homelessness in the city. Last week, Ye met up with the CEO of L.A. Mission Reverend Troy Vaughn after dropping off 1,000 meals for the Thanksgiving holiday. Ye reportedly broke down four different ways that he believes he could help ease the growing homeless population.

Ye’s first matter of business is helping provide food. The artist intends on teaming up with different organizations throughout the city to bring meals for those in need while using his own companies to provide resources for housing, education, and job opportunities. Additionally, Kanye also wants to use Sunday Service as a way to help “inspire and uplift” the homeless community.

Ultimately, Kanye wants to eradicate homelessness entirely. The final part of his plan is to combine his resources with other groups in Los Angeles to create an innovative plan to end the homeless crisis.

The homeless population has grown during the pandemic. Kanye West’s combined efforts with lawmakers and citizens will hopefully help ease the crisis. 

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Fans of Fetty Wap likely know by now that a huge turning point in his life this year was the death of his 4-year-old daughter Lauren Maxwell. While in the healing process, he released his supposed comeback album The Butterfly Effect in late October.

Fetty Wap asserted that the butterfly themes of the album were a tribute to Lauren, because of her fondness for butterflies. But, his baby mother Turquoise Miami decided to clear that air and explain how this was untrue, and that he was using his late daughter’s name for marketing purposes: “She likes butterflies just like she likes all animals but she was always a mermaid princess like the little mermaid and that was her thing! She had the mermaid doll, the matching clothes, she made me buy her best friend a mermaid doll too and we had to watch The Little Mermaid every day and sing along to the soundtrack every morning. I’m not throwing no f**king butterflies knowing it was a marketing scheme for a N***a to use.”

This comes shortly after Turquoise had gone on a rant explaining that Fetty only took time to see his daughter once or twice a year, and that he kept using media opportunities to gain sympathy for his daughter’s death, even though he never really cared for her: “You’re grieving for the time that you didn’t take advantage of. You’re not actually grieving because you miss this little girl because you have a connection with her. You didn’t call her every day, you didn’t call her every week, you didn’t call her every month. This n***a probably called her about one to two times a f*cking year. You’re not grieving for what you actually lost because when you had the ability to have it, you were not interested.”

Fetty Wap seemingly responded to these allegations with an Instagram post last night (Nov. 29), dismissing any internet drama: “I’m Fighting real life shit … I don’t respect the internet shit .. Much love for the ones who bring peace in my life at this point.”

Check out the entire back-and-forth below.

He’s repeatedly praised NBA YoungBoy and the rapper’s superstardom and it seems that this week, Birdman has a surprise for fans. Lousiana icons like Master P and Birdman have taken YoungBoy under their wings and often, they have spoken about his talents in interviews. YoungBoy has been declared to be the next huge artist to hit the industry, however, there does seem to be an ongoing controversy with YouTube and recently, YoungBoy’s videos were removed from the platform.

In an interview with Big Facts Podcast months ago, Birdman declared that YoungBoy might be “the biggest rapper” to ever exist. It’s a sentiment that he has stood ten toes down on for some time. “Ain’t no n*gga gone be bigger than NBA YoungBoy, numbers don’t lie, he’s the biggest YouTube artist and he behind the wall,” said Birdman.

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“When that lil’ boy get his mind right and he comes from under this bullsh*t and understands who he is, you know, [Young] Thug and all them, they’re up in age, they’re 30, this n*gga 20. And you put a n*gga behind the wall, they become smart.” Hours ago, Birdman surprised Hip Hop fans with an announcement on his Instagram page where he wiped everything clean aside from one image of an album cover.

The photo shows Birdman and YoungBoy’s likenesses merged together and it looks as if we’re getting a new mixtape by the two this week. “FROM THA BAYOU #STUNNA and TOP this FRIDAY 12/3 NEVA BROKE AGAIN #RICHGANG,” Birdman penned in the caption. Fans have already begun weighing in on what to expect with From Tha Bayou and responses have been fairly mixed.

Meanwhile, there were talks of Birdman and YoungBoy dropping this precise record back in 2018. It’s unclear if this has been updated, but we previously wrote about that announcement. Check out Birdman’s post below and let us know if you’re excited about this one.