New Hip Hop News

There might finally be an ending to the long-standing feud between Ye and Drake. On Monday, J. Prince shared a video of himself alongside the artist formerly known as Kanye West where the Chicago artist extended a peace offering to Drake. In the video, Kanye West called on Drake to pull up to a show he’s hosting on Dec. 7th in Los Angeles to publicly end their beef and join forces to free Larry Hoover.

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Larry Hoover Jr., who recently appeared on Kanye West’s DONDA, hopped on TMZ this week where he followed up on Ye’s call to Drake to make peace. Hoover Jr. explained reiterated Ye’s mission to help free his father. 

“Drake, you’re a leader and leaders make decisions that people follow,” Hoover Jr. said. “Man, this would be big. This is like Michael Jackson and Prince, the one we never seen. And it’s gonna be a ripple effect. We need togetherness and peace in this hip-hop community. We need togetherness and peace in our community all throughout the United States. Be the leader and lead by example.”

Hoover Jr. acknowledged the fact that lines were crossed in the feud which makes for fragile egos in the Drake-Ye back-and-forth. “Put whatever y’all differences are down,” he continued. “I know it’s hard. I’m a man. I have an ego and what have you but you know, egos cause problems.” Hoover Jr. added that both he and his father would appreciate the gesture. 

As for Drake’s response to Kanye’s concert request, Hoover Jr. said that there’s a good chance that Drake will accept the olive branch and show face at the Dec. 7th concert. Drake reached out to both Hoover Jr. and his mother and said he was “willing to extend a hand” and help out in the fight to free Larry Hoover.

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“The concert thing, we’re still working on that,” said Hoover Jr. “Mr. Prince is dealing with Drake and speaking with him directly. So he would pretty much have to pass the information on for that as far as him coming all the way in. Hopefully, in a few days, it’s looking good.”

Drake has yet to publicly respond to Kanye West’s peace offering. The Canadian rapper recently broke his silence after the deadly Astroworld Festival tragedy, which he’s being sued for. 

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With multiple star athletes receiving portions of their salaries in Bitcoin, it was only a matter of time before the trend reached the music industry.

Like with NFTs, which are built on the same blockchain technology as many cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has slowly infiltrated hip-hop and recently, EMPIRE and Money Man linked up to make tech and music history.

In a press release from EMPIRE, the independent label, distributor and publisher announced their “first cryptocurrency artist payment,” a $1 million advance to Atlanta rapper Money Man, paid entirely in Bitcoin. 

Image via EMPIRE

Back in 2018, Money Man bought himself out of his previous record label contract with earnings from his early investments in Bitcoin. Three years later, his new label is set to pay him exclusively with the cryptocurrency. Currently, a single Bitcoin is valued at nearly $67,000. $1 million in Bitcoin divides out to roughly 15 coins. This means that, despite receiving a flat $1 million from EMPIRE, Money Man could ultimately make much more money than he was initially given in his advance. If Bitcoin’s price surges, that $1 million advance could transform into a much bigger chunk of change. 

To go along with his Bitcoin advance, Money Man also announced that his new album, Blockchain, is set to release tomorrow, November 12. Having previously released “Blockchain,” his new record’s lead single and title track, it is abundantly clear that Money Man is all-in on everything having to do with Bitcoin, the blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. 

Check out the video of Money Man receiving $1 million it Bitcoin below, and let us know if you think more artists will opt for cryptocurrency payments in the future.

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Fans have been metabolizing all of the revelations Will Smith shared in his new memoir, and some have noted that there was almost a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air romance on set. The rapper-turned-actor’s television career was in its infancy when the now-classic series premiered in 1990 and it didn’t take long for audiences to fall in love with the Banks family.

It was near the end of the show’s run that Smith would begin dating wife Jada Pinkett Smith, but in his memoir Will, the actor reportedly stated that there was a time when he had a bit of a crush on his Fresh Prince co-star, Karyn Parsons.

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Parsons portrayed Smith’s snooty, bougie cousin Hilary Banks on the series but off-screen, he wanted there to be more between them.

“She was smart enough to tell me ‘hell no’ when I tried to explain we were not really cousins, so it would be fine if we dated,” Smith reportedly wrote. “[I said], ‘I swear it won’t mess up our working relationship.’ She knew better than that – good call, K.P.“

Smith has been on his press tour for his memoir and much like his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law’s Red Table Talk, these news secrets of the Smith family are now coming from the actor, himself. 

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The conclusion of 2021 is upon us so it’s about that time for PEOPLE magazine to name its Sexiest Man Alive for 2021. Last year, Michael B. Jordan took home the crown, following in the footsteps of entertainers like Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Nick Nolte, Idris Elba, Blake Shelton, John Legend, and over two dozen others. This year, none other than comedic actor Paul Rudd has been named the Sexiest Man Alive, and it’s an honor that surprised even him.

“I do have an awareness, enough to know that when people hear that I’d be picked for this, they would say, ‘What?’” said the Clueless icon. “This is not false humility. There are so many people that should get this before me.”

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Rudd joked that he hoped the honor came with first-pick invitations to exclusive dinners with other previous winners including Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

“I figure I’ll be on a lot more yachts,” said the 52-year-old Ant-Man star. “I’m excited to expand my yachting life. And I’ll probably try to get better at brooding in really soft light. I like to ponder. I think this is going to help me become more inward and mysterious. And I’m looking forward to that.”

More surprised about the title was Rudd’s wife who had a hilarious reaction. “But you know she was very sweet about it,” said Rudd. “After some giggling and shock, she said, ‘Oh, they got it right.’ And that was very sweet. She was probably not telling the truth, but what’s she going to say?” He expects his friends will give him a hard time, but Rudd is ready for it.

Check out Rudd’s cover feature below.

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More news is being shared about those who sustained injuries at Astroworld, including Bharti Shahani. Travis Scott, the festival, and its organizers are currently facing dozens of lawsuits from attendees and the loved ones of the eight victims who perished during the chaos. Travis has offered his condolences for what occurred, but the rapper has been faced with an onslaught of backlash from people who fault him for not stopping his performance while people were dying.

While Shahani survived the festival melee, the 22-year-old has sadly remained hospitalized since the event. According to reports, Shahani’s prognosis has changed and the Texas A&M University senior has been declared brain dead.

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Shahani’s family reportedly spoke with ABC 13 Houston and it was shared that she attended the festival with her sister, Namrata Shahani, and her cousin, Mohit Bellani. When the crowd surged and attendees were overwhelmed, the three relatives soon became separated and lost each other, and it was reported that matters became worse when both Namrata and Mohit lost their cellphones in the craze. They wouldn’t see Shahani again until they located her in the hospital.

Doctors told Shahani’s relatives that the young woman had suffered multiple heart attacks and was given CPR while in the ambulance.

“The doctors, they say the chances of survival are nothing, which I have not even spoken to my wife until now. We keep saying we’ll pray,” her father, Sunny Shahani, said. “I request all of Houston to pray for her. Maybe the prayers might work as a miracle for her.”

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Could Chris Brown really be coming up with his own breakfast food? According to the singer, the answer is yes. In recent years, we have seen a rise in musicians and artists jumping into the snack lane, particularly with the help of Master P. The No Limit icon has been building on his Rap Snacks brand for some time and other companies have witnessed his successes and followed suit.

Today (November 9), Chris Brown surprised fans and showed the design for what is reported to be his own breakfast cereal, courtesy of SoFlo Snacks.

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The snack brand is known for its novelty, one-of-a-kind items and specialty collaborations that include cereals with Lil Durk and Druski. It seems that the next artist on their radar has been Brown and fans will soon get a taste of “Breezy’s Cosmic Crunch.” By the look of the cereal box, fans will also get to play the puzzle adventure game, “Where’s Breezy?”

The singer made the official announcement about his cereal’s arrival on Instagram where he unveiled its release date. “11/11 pre order BREEZY’s COSMIC CRUNCH FINALLY DECIDED TO CREATE MY OWN CEREAL [heart emoji][praying hands emoji] @soflosnacks.” We can only imagine how long it will take for this to sell out. Check it out below.

It has been 10 years since the release of “Super Bass” and the megahit single has earned Nicki Minaj yet another accolade. The superstar rapper has long been declared a GOAT in the Rap game by both fans and peers, and now Minaj celebrates her Pink Friday (Deluxe) hit becoming RIAA certified Diamond.

“Super Bass” was the Pop-Rap crossover that peaked at the No. 3 position on the coveted Billboard Hot 100 chart and continues to be a fan favorite. On Instagram, Minaj showed off her new plaque and added a thankful message.

She wrote, ‘#SuperBassDiamond Thank you for over a decade of support. #Barbz (special thx to Ester Dean, Kane, Juice, Taylor Swift, Sofia Grace & Rosie, Ellen, Young Money/Cash Money & Republic.” Minaj reminded people that the release of “Super Bass” isn’t like it is today where artists can upload a track to DSPs and just count numbers.

“This one was released b4 the streaming era, so millions of fans actually purchased the song. [pink bow emoji] I’m so grateful for you guys. Sending love & blessings your way.” Thousands of Minaj’s fans have stormed social media to make the track a trending topic once again, so check out Nicki’s post and revisit “Super Bass” below.

He’s one of the most celebrated voices in the Pop sector but not many know of Ed Sheeran’s admiration of Rihanna. The Savage x Fenty mogul is an international superstar whose reach knows no bounds, and during his recent chat with The Breakfast Club, Sheeran shared that when he first attempts to write music, he keeps Rihanna in mind.

“So, Rihanna is always the benchmark,” said the singer. “Rihanna is always—when I go in, that’s how ‘Shape of You’ was created, ‘Love Yourself’ with Justin Bieber was created.”

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“Rihanna is such a, she’s got such great taste in songs that a certain—you can’t say what Rihanna’s style is,” he continued. “It’s just good tunes. So, when you go in the studio to create a song, always we go, what would Rihanna do? [She’s someone] I would always, always love to work with and write with or for.”

Sheeran also admitted that he has submitted work to Rihanna and they were supposed to collaborate in the past, but it just never came to fruition. “It wasn’t the right tune.” Charlamagne questioned the award-winning singer about how it feels to submit to Rihanna and not get a response. “I’ve submitted to Beyoncé before and she hadn’t picked any, but then I did ‘Perfect’ and she wanted to sing on it.”

“I know people rate me, but sometimes the songs aren’t the right songs.” Watch Ed Sheeran explain Rihanna’s style influencing how he approaches writing music below.