FBI Urges Jay-Z To Delete Emails & Warns Of “Imminent Hack”

On 1997’s “Streets Is Watching,” Jay-Z raps, “When the streets is watching, blocks keep clocking // waiting for you to break, make your first mistake // can’t ignore it, that’s the fastest way to get extorted // but my time is money, at twenty-five, I can’t afford it.”

Twenty-four years later, the streets are still watching, but it looks a little different in 2021. 

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According to a report by Complex, Hov was recently “urged by federal officials to delete his emails over hacking concerns.” While it was not revealed who was trying to gain access to Jay-Z’s emails, the FBI warned of an “imminent hack,” and “advised the Roc-A-Fella co-founder to delete his emails.” 

This FBI warning comes on the heels of Hov’s recent testimony in Manhattan Supreme Court, in which The Blueprint rapper denied claims by Parlux Fragrances that he did not fulfill his contract with the company, and failed to properly promote his Gold Jay-Z cologne back in 2013. Jay, who reportedly hired an ex-police officer to investigate former Parlux CEO Donald Loftus after Loftus refused to testify in-person, noted that he “always had problems with the quality of the lazy work that was coming from Parlux,” and that he had problems with Parlux’s lead attorney, Anthony Viola, constantly playing “lawyer tricks,” during his cross-examination.

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Whether this reported “imminent hack” has anything to do with Hov’s recent legal proceedings is unclear. What is clear, however, is that the FBI believes someone is after his information. 

What do you think of the FBI encouraging Jay to wipe his email account clean? Let us know in the comments.

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Kanye West Squashes Beef With Soulja Boy: “Love You Bro”

Over the past few months, beef has been brewing between Kanye West and Soulja Boy for no reason other than an unused verse. In the weeks leading up to the release of DONDA, several rappers attempted to secure placements on the album, though it wasn’t underground names as you’d think. It was artists like Chris Brown and Soulja Boy. The latter has been on a near three-month-long tirade disrespecting Ye at any opportunity. 


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Soulja Boy had claimed that he submitted a verse for Kanye West’s “Remote Control” which Ye hyped up, only to disregard in the album’s final outcome. SB revealed text messages from Kanye West who offered approval but during last week’s episode of Drink Champs, Kanye insinuated that it was trash. This led Soulja Boy down a destructive path where he bashed Kanye West and his new haircut.

It seems that all is well between the two now. Ye went to his Instagram with a screenshot of a recent conversation he had with Soulja Boy where he admitted wrongdoing for the way he handle “Remote Control.”

“Yo it’s Ye. Love you bro. I should have told you I wasn’t gonna use the verse,” Kanye wrote Soulja Boy. 

“Love you too bro. That’s all I wanted,” Soulja replied. 

Soulja has yet to respond to Kanye’s post but it seems like it’s all water under the bridge.  

iLoveMakonnen Claims To Be First Gay Rapper: “I Started This Gay Shit”

Since Lil Nas X’s unexpected ascension in 2019 and subsequent reveal that he was gay, he has labeled himself as a pioneer for the LGBTQ+ rap community. However, iLoveMakonnen feels his impact may be overlooked.

On Monday (Nov. 8), iLoveMakonnen tweeted a litany of claims reminding fans that he introduced rap to homosexuality: “I started this gay shit.”

Along with this, he said he was the reason for the prevalence of gayness in the mainstream now, with tweets like “I’m the reason u gay” and “Ur timeline says otherwise sweetheart cus all I see is that gay shit” in response to somebody tweeting he did not do a good job introducing gayness to people.

iLoveMakonnen first announced to the world that he was gay in 2017, just three years removed from his breakout 2014 hit “Club Going Up on a Tuesday” and subsequent Drake remix “Tuesday.” That song helped give him a platform that eventually landed him a deal with Drake’s OVO.   

While he has not made much more noise in the rap game since then, even with two new albums and an EP in 2021, iLoveMakonnen feels that his impact is still felt to this day. 

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Expanding on these arguments, Makonnen also tweeted that it is hard to be understood as a gay artist, and that he supports the entire gay community in their struggles: “This gay shit is the hardest shit anyone could ever do. Like y’all don’t be understanding the days a gay be going thru. Shouts out to all my gays , I love u I see u and I am with u! Im always with u, I wouldn’t be who I am today without u. Know that trust and believe anything is possible! I am sending u love love love !”

He would then attribute his tweets to a mushrooms trip, hoping his fans enjoyed the discourse: “I love y’all I hope u all have fun laugh enjoy it and go to bed . Ok taking mushrooms and being on twitter might or might not be the wave . But I love u”

After news broke of this Twitter episode, iLoveMakonnen says he wishes to be would prefer to be part of the conversation when people talk about him: “They love talking around me but never wanna talk directly to me. If u want smoke with me just say that, u don’t have to be starting rumors with other peoples name. Whenever y’all ready to have a conversation please include me in it so I can speak for myself. Thank u.”

Overall, it seems that iLoveMakonnen just wants his recognition for the influence he left on gay artists in rap, which is much more prevalent than it was before his emergence.

Check out iLoveMakonnen’s tweets below.

When Ed Sheeran Makes Songs, He Asks Himself, ‘What Would Rihanna Do?’

Ed Sheeran has earned himself a lot of clout over the course of his career, as evidenced by the list of folks he’s worked with. While a lot of aspiring artists look up to him for inspiration, his musical role model is Rihanna, as he revealed on The Breakfast Club recently.

In fact, he says that when he’s in the studio, he thinks about what Rihanna would do. He said, “Rihanna is always the benchmark. Rihanna is always… when I go in, that’s how ‘Shape Of You’ was created, ‘Love Yourself’ with Justin Bieber was created. She’s got such great taste in songs that… you can’t say what Rihanna’s style is. It’s just good tunes. So when you go in the studio to create a song, always we go, ‘What would Rihanna do?’ So she’s be somebody I’d always love to work with and write with or for. The fact that she can do ‘Work’ and then she just does ‘FourFiveSeconds,’ and they’re both totally different but both f*cking incredible tunes.”

He also noted they hoped to link up on his No. 6 Collaborations Project album, but they didn’t have “the right tune.” He explained why that didn’t discourage him, saying, “I submitted songs to Beyoncé before and she hadn’t picked any, but then I did ‘Perfect’ and she wanted to sing on it. So I know people rate me, but sometimes the songs aren’t the right songs.”

It’s Nearly Christmas, So Of Course, Mariah Carey Is The Latest Star To Get Her Own McDonald’s Menu

Complain about Christmas creep all you want, but you know you can already hear those sleigh bells ringing — which means that it’s the perfect time for McDonald’s to announce its latest season-appropriate recording artist collaboration with Ms. “All I Want For Christmas” herself, Mariah Carey.

That’s right, this December, the Mariah Menu comes to McDonald’s from the 13th to Christmas Eve. The menu will include daily deals — advent calendar style — on one free menu item each day (so long as customers spend at least $1). For instance, when the special kicks off on the 13th, they’ll be able to get a free Big Mac. Later on in the month, the free item is an apple pie, and on the final day of the promotion, you can get free cookies.

In the press release for the new menu, Mariah gives the following quote: “Some of my favorite memories with my kids are our family trips to McDonald’s, and of course, each of us has our go-to order,” she explains. “Mine is the cheeseburger, and I get it with extra pickles.”

The celebrity-branded meals McDonald’s has been pushing over the past two years have been incredibly successful, with the Travis Scott deal lifting the company out of a pandemic-fueled sales slump. Most recently, the company partnered with Bay Area star Saweetie, and now, even competitors like Popeyes have begun their own promotions with collaborators like Megan Thee Stallion.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Clams Casino Drops Serene New Instrumental “Water Theme 2”

At the end of October, HNHH sat down with Clams Casino for a conversation about the 10th anniversary of A$AP Rocky’s full-length debut, Live.Love.A$AP and the sound he created on the 2011 mixtape. After speaking extensively about Live.Love.A$AP and the project’s legacy a decade later, the New Jersey producer revealed that he had just finished working on a new tape that is exclusively instrumentals. 

Two weeks later, and we have “Water Theme 2,” the first single from Clams Casino’s upcoming project, Winter Flower.

Image via HNHH

At just two minutes long, “Water Theme 2” is a preview of what to expect on Winter Flower. With echoing drums, heavy synths and chopped vocals providing depth and texture, the single is another example of Clams Casino’s perfected, ethereal sound. 

Winter Flower is set to release on November 17, and will feature eight, brand-new Clams Casino instrumentals. Keep an eye out for that when it drops next week and, in the meantime, check out “Water Theme 2” and let us know what you think in the comments.

Stalley & Apollo Brown Pull Up Anywhere On “We Outside”

Stalley and Apollo Brown’s joint project is almost here. The two have been teasing the release of Blacklight over the past few weeks, releasing a few singles to get fans prepared for the full body of work. This week, they came through with their latest offering, “We Outside.” Apollo Brown’s dreamy production is the foundation for Stalley to emphasize the importance of integrity and hustle over clout and fame. The hook ties together Stalley’s ambition for dollars with a sample of Kool G Rap and Nas’ “Fast Life” opening bar.

Stalley and Apollo Brown’s latest single marks the third offering from Blacklight. The two previously dropped, “Humble Wins” and “No Monsters.”

Check out the latest from Stalley and Apollo Brown below. Blacklight is due out on Nov. 19th.

Quotable Lyrics
Bein’ outside is a rush
Adrenaline rushin’ through veins
Ain’t always love on this side
We even hustle through pain
Whatever it takes to feed the family
Gotta put food on plates
Sometimes the prayers ran dry
We had to make our own faith

Freddie Gibbs Given DeMar DeRozan’s Game-Worn Jersey After Chicago Bulls’ Big Win

The Chicago Bulls have been on fire during this first stretch of the 2021-2022 NBA Season, and much of that can be attributed to the contributions of new Bulls players Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan. With their help, the Zach LaVine-led team has improved drastically, improving their record over the first ten games from last year’s 4-6 to 7-3. It’s clearly a great time to be a Bulls fans, and some of Chicago’s biggest supporters were in attendance at the team’s recent statement win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

In fact, Freddie Gibbs, who has been documented as a lifelong Chicago Bulls fan, pulled up to the game, and in addition to getting to see his team win, he also linked up with DeMar DeRozan and Chance the Rapper.

 Rapper Freddie Gibbs performs on stage during weekend two of the Austin City Limits Festival at Zilker Park on October 09, 2021 in Austin, Texas.
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Following DeRozan’s 28 point performance, he met up with the Alfredo artist and gifted him his game-worn jersey. After they shake hands and part ways, Freddie Gibbs can be seen gazing at the jersey, and it definitely looks like the gesture means a lot to him. In another clip, Gibbs is seen joking with Chance the Rapper, and the two artists go back and forth over an alleged ticketing mixup.

Scroll down to check out some of the clips from Freddie Gibbs’ eventful night out at the Chicago Bulls vs. Brooklyn Nets game earlier this week.

Houston’s HVN Turns Up On “ALL GIRLS GO TO HEAVEN”

The string of singles HVN delivered this year has formally culminated in the release of his new EP, ALL GIRLS GO TO HEAVEN. Laced up with a total of eight songs, the latest project from the Houston rapper showcases his versatility in full. One moment, he’s bringing high-energy bangers with punchy quotable for bars, like on the project’s intro, “HELLSCAT,” and the next, he’s diving into his melodic bag with songs like, “SIMPLE.” 

Things have been shaping up in 2021 for HVN to propel his career to the top. The rapper’s earned a string of co-signs from Virgil Abloh, Kevin Abstract, and more while also making an appearance alongside SoFaygo on Don Toliver’s Life Of A Don highlight, “Smoke.”

Peep the project and full tracklist below. 

1. HELLSCAT
2. MARINE
3. SIMPLE
4. EYES CLOSED
5. HISNEYLAND
6. RIGHT
7. 4AM
8. SOUTH