New Hip Hop News

Frank Gore was the epitome of longevity during his time in the NFL. In a league where running backs don’t last a very long time, Gore was able to stay in the league for years, and as a result, he became a fan favorite. Now, Gore is out of football but he is still keeping active when it comes to the sports world. For example, Gore is now going to face off against former NBA player Deron Williams in a boxing match as part of the Jake Paul-Tommy Fury undercard on December 18th.

In a report from TMZ Sports, it was revealed that Gore is already looking beyond his fight against Williams. For instance, should he win his match, he is already open to fighting against Jake Paul, albeit that’s not the fight Jake would probably want to take right now.

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“I’m with it,” Gore said. “I wanna win this Dec. 18 and if it’s time to go that me and Jake Paul can get in there, I’m with it.” Gore went on to say that he has been boxing since the mid-2000s and that he has always had an appreciation and respect for those who get into the ring. With that in mind, he should be in good shape for the fight.

Let us know who you think is going to take the fight between Gore and Williams, in the comments section below.

[Via]

Ashanti is in the process of re-recording all of her classic albums à la Taylor Swift because she’s apparently got her own Scooter Braun holding her back and pocketing millions off of her back. With Taylor Swift expected to nab the #1 spot on the charts with Red (Taylor’s Version), Ashanti seeks to make a similar impact when she begins dropping re-recorded versions of her old music, explaining that she’s doing this to teach people about the music business and why it’s so important to own your masters.

She spoke about her re-recording plans during a recent interview with Angie Martinez, during which she also spoke about a viral moment with Nelly in the middle of Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle, and Irv Gotti wanted to clear the record and reveal that he’s essentially the reason why she needs to do all of this.

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“@angiemartinez just for super clarity, I own all those great Ashanti Albums Angie,” commented Irv Gotti on Instagram. “I own the masters and I produced all those great Ashanti Albums. So I also own a good portion of the Publishing. What she is trying to do is re record all those great records and put them out on her label. She can do this under the COVER laws. But she is basically trying to fuck me out of my Masters. And make people decide which album to listen too or stream. Hoping her loyal fans will choose her version. But hey, I stand on the magic that was created. And I wanna see her duplicate that magic. It’s fucked up really. But such is life.”

Ashanti fans are flooding the comments to let Irv Gotti know that they’ll be listening to her re-recorded versions and deleting all of the old files. Will you be checking out Ashanti’s version, or are you sticking with the already released albums?

Wendy Williams has been absent from her daily talk show due to health issues. It wouldn’t be the first time that she’s had to take time off of the air and by now, the production team is well aware that the show must go on. They’ve enlisted various guest hosts to hold things over in her absence but it looks like two of Bronx’s finest — and no, we’re not talking about Desus & Mero.

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Fat Joe and Remy Ma will officially be serving as co-hosts on The Wendy Williams Show for a short time during her absence. On Nov. 23rd and Nov. 24th, the Terror Squad members will be taking the stage together. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, especially since Fat Joe has been doing his own talk show with The Fat Joe Showon REVOLT. This will certainly set the stage for a Joprah moment to occur on nationally syndicated television.

Other guest hosts for next week on The Wendy William Show include MTV The Challenge: Aftermath Devyn Simone, Variety chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, comedian Michal Yo, and author Bevy Smith will appear as hosts on Nov. 22nd.

With Remy Ma and Fat Joe expected to serve as co-hosts next week, it’ll be interesting to see how their chemistry translates as guest co-hosts on a talk show.

Kanye West’s debut 2004 album The College Dropout has one of the most recognizable and unique covers in hip-hop history. While the photo of Kanye wearing a bear costume, sitting solemnly on school bleachers, is a classic image, it has quite a bit of history too.

You may have never heard the name Eric Arginsky in your life, but he possesses the famed College Dropout Bear costume, and has had possession of it for years. He is open to selling the costume for around $1 million, and would prefer that the sale be to a collector or somebody that will take great care of it.

Arginsky disclosed all of this in an interview this morning (Nov. 16) with Andrew Barber of the Fake Shore Drive podcast, a show based on discussing Chicago hip-hop. 

Eric grew up in the Northeast, and was raised by a family who manufactured toys, most notably pogo sticks. As he grew up in the hip-hop dominant era of the 1990s, Eric was passionate about meshing his manufacturing background with hip-hop culture.

He eventually connected with representatives that managed artists like DMX and JAY-Z, and soon began working in positions with streetwear lines like Phat Farm, founded by Russell Simmons, and Rocawear, the associated clothing line for Roc-A-Fella Records owned by Dame Dash and JAY-Z.

This led to him being commissioned to create promotional teddy bear stuffed animals for Kanye West, who was signed by Roc-A-Fella, and his College Dropout album.

The bear costume used in the album’s cover was owned by the high school that Def Jam rented out for Kanye’s photoshoot, and the school declined the label’s offer to buy the suit. So, an entirely new bear suit was made for Kanye to wear to promote the album at events like TRL and The Grammy’s.

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So, while Arginsky he did not play a role in creating the original College Dropout bear suit, he was sent the new suit to help create renderings of the teddy bear collectibles. However, he was never able to reach a deal with Kanye for the production of the bears and the partnership fell through.

But, as Eric just discovered this year, he had kept the bear costume created for Kanye in his mother’s closet at her house. So, he now has big plans for the suit, including a potential sale for a great deal of cash.

Check out what Eric Arginsky had to say about the bear costume below.

When it was announced that Iman Shumpert would be joining the cast of Dancing With The Stars for the show’s 30th season, it effectively ruled out playing NBA basketball for at least the first half of the season. After bouncing around following his time in New York and Cleveland, Shumpert was a free agent heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, and decided to pursue something other than basketball instead. 

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After a slow start, Shumpert and his DWTS partner, professional dancer Daniella Karagach, hit their stride, receiving a rare perfect score just six weeks into the competition. Shumpert’s former teammate and Lakers’ great LeBron James showed his support for the hooper-turned-dancer and it became increasingly clear that the 2011 first-round pick might have a real shot at winning it all. 

Fast forward to now, and both Shumpert and Karagach are one step away from doing just that. After turning in a rousing routine set to Kanye West’s “Dark Fantasy” during last night’s DWTS episode, it was announced that the pair would advance to the show’s final round. 

In doing so, Shumpert became the first ex-NBA player to make it to the DWTS Finals. His wife, Teyana Taylor, tweeted that she was “so f*cking proud,” and in a recent interview with The Real, Shumpert compared the dancing advice he receives from Taylor, and from Karagach. 

“Daniella will give me structure tips. This is the form, this is the point system. This is how, this is why,” he said. “Teyana gives me, ‘All right, you got your steps? Now sell it.'” 

Shumpert also told The Real that he is absolutely trying to win the Dancing With The Stars championship, and the Mirrorball Trophy. 

“I didn’t come on the show to lose,” he assured. “I think that’s another reason it’s exciting for me, ’cause at the end of the day, it’s a competition.”

What do you think of Shump advacing to the final round of DWTS? Let us know down in the comments.

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Kanye West recently released the deluxe edition of his latest studio album DONDA, which includes new music including the song “Life Of The Party,” featuring André 3000. The song was originally leaked by Drake, who responded to Ye sharing his address on social media by premiering the song. Immediately after it launched, fans fell in love with the record, especially André’s verse about his family. 

In Ye’s verse, he mentions his favorite art teacher Mrs. Levy, and the professor has allegedly spoken out in a Facebook comment about the music legend’s work as a student, addressing his “cockiness” and more.

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“Art teacher Levy here… I just briefed through several of your caustic comments concerning Kanye’s years at and after PIE; I’m a bit surprised at the amount of vitriol expressed… so in his defense, some personal thoughts/observations,” said Mrs. Levy. “My perceptions of Kanye exist due to his gifts as a most-talented musician and visual artist, his long-standing commitment and devotion to both, and enough personal audacity to reach desired career goals in a very tough and unforgiving industry; as my art student for four years, yes, he was at times ‘cocky’ but that trait probably served him well later- I can’t imagine how ego-busting it is to succeed in the music industry; his artwork was exceptional for someone his age, not only with technical skill but conceptual problem-solving; we kept in touch for a while after he reached celebrity status, and found him to be most polite and kind; I spoke with him in my art room pre-concert at Eisenhower, (he gave me tickets to his concert that evening at Rosemont), and spoke with him again (and with his mom) backstage at the House of Blues…”

Mrs. Levy concluded that she gives Kanye the “benefit of the doubt” despite him showcasing “bad behavior” at times. Regardless of his behavior, Mrs. Levy is incredibly proud of Ye and all that he has accomplished in his career.

Check out her comment below, and listen to “Life Of The Party” underneath.

Patta is one of the most well-known sneaker boutiques in all of Amsterdam and over the years, they have become known for their incredible collaborations with Nike. They have a particular obsession with the Nike Air Max 1, and over the past year, they have delivered plenty of great colorways. Moving forward, Patta is continuing its work with Nike, and soon, they will be coming out with a Nike Air Max 1 that has been nicknamed “Rush Maroon.”

As you can see from the images below, the shoe has that same signature wavy Patta overlay near the midsole, all while the upper is covered in a gorgeous maroon tone. Throughout the shoe, we have some orange and grey highlights that help bring the whole thing together. Overall, it is a very nice colorway that will certainly appeal to fans who want to broaden their horizons when it comes to the color palets they keep in their wardrobe.

In terms of the release date, these are set to come out on Friday, November 19th for €170. For now, the only listed location for these is Nike.Patta.nl but that could change quite soon. Let us know what you think of these, in the comments section below. 

Image via Patta

Image via patta

Image via Patta

During last night’s MTV EMAs, held in Budapest, supermodel Winnie Harlow presented Nicki Minaj with the Best Hip Hop award. During her presentation, Harlow dubbed Minaj “the one and only queen of hip hop,” and was clearly excited for the Pink Print. 

Almost immediately, the internet twisted Harlow’s presentation of the award into something it wasn’t — shade at Cardi B. 

Following Harlow’s EMA presentation, Twitter account @FemaleRapGame shared their thoughts on the “one and only queen of hip hop” label, writing “Winnie was right on time! Last night Halle Berry tried to be shady and said Cardi B is the Queen of Hip Hop. While announcing Nicki Minaj as the #emas hip hop winner, WINNIE cleared Halle and said Nicki Minaj is the ONLY queen of hip hop! I agree.” 

Referencing Halley Berry’s recent comments at her Bruised film premiere, where she called Cardi B “the queen of hip hop” while thanking her for her work on the Bruised soundtrack, @FemaleRapGame got a little ahead of themselves in assuming that Harlow was shading Cardi B, and Winnie let them know. 

“I didnt see Halles speech at the time. I been a fan since middle school & have always felt that way,” Harlow wrote, in a quote tweet. “I didnt know Nicki won until they handed me the envelope backstage but I’m proud af. Cardi is a sweetheart to me. What shade? I’m a fan of both.” 

While Harlow was quick to dead the notion that she was taking a shot at Cardi B, this is just another example of fans jumping to the conclusion that she and Minaj have beef. Between the low-key jabs and seemingly endless flow of supposed subliminals, it seems like social media is constantly trying to manufacture a blood feud between two of the most successful women in hip-hop history. And the fact that Harlow had to address the notion that her EMA presentation was shade speaks to just how badly Cardi and Nicki fans want beef. 

What do you think of Winnie Harlow clarifying she wasn’t shading Cardi B? Let us know down in the comments.