New Hip Hop News

Toronto’s got it on lock right now. Outside of the immediate OVO and XO circles, there’s been a flurry of rappers who’ve been breaking out and making noise in America and across the globe. Some of the credit is due to The Weeknd and Drake but the talent itself is undeniable.

Drake took to Instagram today where he paid his respect to the city’s talent with a throwback photo including Pressa and the late Smoke Dawg. “I’ve taken some special kids on road and seen a different Toronto,” wrote Drake on his Instagram Story. The picture appears to be from the Boy Meets World tour in the UK where Pressa and Smoke Dawg served as opening acts. Drake later shared the photo to his IG feed where he asked his friends from Toronto to show some love to the city. 

Pressa, who has been making waves with singles like “Attachments,” later shared the post to his Story and expressed his gratitude to Drake for bringing him on the road and giving him an opportunity of a lifetime. 

Smoke Dawg was one of the most promising young stars to emerge from Toronto before his untimely passing in 2018. Singles like “Trap House” and his appearance on Mo-G’s “Still” helped him breakout into international markets including the UK where he collaborated alongside artists like Giggs and Skepta. 

Read our Rise & Grind interview with Pressa here. 

Eminem turned 49-years-old this weekend, and his biggest fans helped him celebrate with thoughtful messages on social media. The reclusive rapper did not break his silence on his birthday, but some of the people closest to him made sure to send their regards as he turned one year older. Among the group of people celebrating Em’s forty-ninth birthday was 50 Cent, who dedicated a post to his friend on Instagram.

Posting a picture of Marshall from the recent opening of his Detroit restaurant Mom’s Spaghetti, 50 Cent wrote, “Happy B day to my guy @eminem wishing him many more God bless.”

Of course, Fiddy also left hashtags for his two liquor partnerships, as he always does. In the comments, some other hip-hop icons sent their love to Eminem, including Fat Joe, who sent a myriad of praying hands emojis.

Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Despite being in this later stage of his career, Eminem is still significantly active in the rap game. This month, he released a surprise remix to “Venom,” in addition to his new verse on “Last One Standing” with Skylar Grey, Mozzy, and Polo G. He also dropped a merch collection to support the latter release.

Join us in wishing Eminem a happy (belated) birthday and check out 50 Cent’s post below.

Royce Da 5’9″, who has opened up about his struggles with alcoholism in the past, says he was sentenced to one year in jail after getting a DUI in the 2000s. The Bad Meets Evil rapper recalled the story on the Breaking Anonymity podcast, last week.

“I made everything more difficult,” he admitted in the interview. “I turned everything into the long way. It just got to a point where I got DUIs, like a lot of drinking and driving, so I end up going to jail for a year. I was leaving the house, like I think I gave my son a high-five, thinking I’m going to another day in court. My lawyer told me I’d be fine, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be right back.’ I came back a year later.”

Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

He explained that the judge was not satisfied with simply probation: “The prosecuting attorney recommended probation, but the judge was like, ‘No, I’m going to do that.’”

Apparently, she said that alcohol and drugs are staples of his “business.”

He continued: “‘I’m sure alcohol and drugs are free-flowing in your business and you can’t seem to control yourself so I gotta shut you down, so I’m going to give you the maximum amount of time, and that’s 365 days in jail. Step up to the bailiff.’ And my lawyer started stuttering, ‘Your honor, do you think we can talk about work release?’ She was like, ‘Not at this time.’”

Check out the podcast below.

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Coi Leray is presently on tour with Lil Baby and Lil Durk, opening up for them as she continues to make a big name for herself in the music industry. Coming through with hit after hit, it seems as though Coi Leray could be a problem for years to come, and she’s solidifying her relationships with some of rap’s biggest heavy hitters, including Baby, by bonding with him backstage at the tour.

Over the weekend, Coi and Baby caught up backstage, and the “TWINNEM” singer made sure to bring the Atlanta rapper over to her world. As you likely know, for the last year and a bit, Coi has had TikTok (and other social media platforms) in a stronghold with each new song that she releases. Her new single “TWINNEM” is her latest viral success, and it comes with a dance that’s easy enough for anybody to do it. Maybe you won’t be able to get it perfect on the first try, though.

Posting a couple of videos on TikTok with her crew, the first shows Coi doing the dance with Lil Baby, squatting deeper every time Coi gets to a new bar in the song. Baby looked a little lost in the first clip, giving up after two tries. However, when Coi’s entire team joined them for a second video, his spirit was lifted and he completed this effortlessly, laughing along the way. Who knew Lil Baby could do a little TikTok dance if he wanted?

Check out the two videos below and let us know what you think about the Coi Leray x Lil Baby link-up.

@coileray

 

♬ TWINNEM – Coi Leray

@coileray

 

♬ TWINNEM – Coi Leray

In the last couple of months, DaBaby has become one of the most polarizing figures in hip-hop.

Despite a handful of past transgressions, the “Suge” rapper’s homophobic at this year’s Rolling Loud festival in Miami was the figurative nail in the coffin. The latest case of someone getting “cancelled” for their words or actions, DaBaby’s rant and subsequent fallout has remained at the forefront of the rap game’s attention, due to multiple concert cancellations, and most recently, Dave Chappelle’s defense of the rapper in his Netflix special The Closer. 

Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

Along with Fat Joe’s conjecture that DaBaby is the 2021 version of Tupac Shakur, the Charlotte rapper has not been able to escape the spotlight and this past weekend, made a move to literally jump right in it. 

After escorting Rashid “Money Kicks” Belhasa to the ring ahead of Friday night’s (October 15) Social Knockout 2 boxing event at the city’s Coca Cola Arena, DaBaby made his presence known.

As Belhasa celebrated his victory over fellow social media influencer Ajmal Khan, DaBaby comes flying over the ropes and stalks right over to the winning boxer. In a confusing-looking, way-to-go type move, DaBaby gives Belhasa a little slap on the ribs and disappears off-screen.

Decked out in a couple of huge chains, the controversial rapper was impossible to miss and in the video footage of his insane ring entrance, the Instagram user who posted the incident can be heard dying of laughter. 

Whether or not this was a planned move to get DaBaby at center-stage during a social media influencer boxing event is unknown. What is known, however, is that DaBaby flying over the top rope and sprinting across the mat during a boxing match in Dubai is not a headline anybody expected and is much different than hitting the stage at Rolling Loud.

What do you think of DaBaby’s boxing ring entrance? Let us know in the comments. 

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Summer Walker responded to fans’ criticism of her new song, “Ex For A Reason,” on Instagram, over the weekend. She says that she originally wanted to release a song called “Toxic,” but its too late to change her mind now.

“Stop @-ing me, ” she wrote on her Instagram story, over a selfie. “The first song I wanted to release was called Toxic but we here now. I had no say in making this decision. So let’s just move past it now. We’re here now, so leave me alone.”

Randy Shropshire / Getty Images

The new song features City Girls rapper JT and boasts a more upbeat attitude than Walker’s usual work. Many fans were disappointed, hoping for a more slowed-down R&B track.

“That b*** our ex (Your ex), for a reason though (Reason though),” the two girls sing on the hook. “Try me, trespass, Guaranteed to beat yo a** (Oh, oh) That b*** your ex (Your ex), for a reason though (Reason though). It’s too much for her heart to take, I give no f***s ’bout what she gotta say (No, woah)”

One fan online complained about how many song writing credits were given on the song, just for it to be a disappointment: “8 people got song writing credits on Ex For A Reason & I been playing OVER IT for almost 2 years waiting on you to push another album for this to be the result,” they wrote.

Check out Walker’s explanation and more responses below.

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When artists announce a world tour, they often don’t actually travel the globe. They may only have a few stops in Canada or a couple of shows in London and Paris, calling it a proper “world tour” when they’re really still only visiting two continents. The Weeknd recently announced that his upcoming After Hours tour was being postponed until next summer, but he’s doing so to expand on his original idea for the tour, actually hitting each continent (except for Antarctica, which kind of explains itself) on his upcoming After Hours Til Dawn tour, which kicks off next year.

The tour has officially been renamed, and The Weeknd has changed it from an arena tour to a stadium tour, up-sizing things. He also notes that he will be making stops across most continents, including North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East. 

“The tour dates are moving and will commence in the summer of 2022,” wrote the superstar performer in his announcement. “Due to constraints of arenas and the demand for more shows I want to do something bigger and special for you which requires stadiums. Current tickets will be refunded automatically and all ticket holders will be given priority to buy tickets for the stadium shows when they go on sale. New dates forthcoming.”

This seems like it has the potential to be huge. I, for one, cannot wait to see the videos of The Weeknd performing for a crowd of over 75,000 people in Saudi Arabia. 

What are you expecting from The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn tour, and will you be buying tickets to his stadium show?

All throughout the United States, cities and companies are implementing their very own vaccine mandates. This means that in order to have certain privileges, they must get the shot against COVID-19. ESPN is one of the corporations implementing such a mandate as they have noted that any full-time employee who refuses to get the vaccine, will ultimately lose their job.

One of their college football and basketball reporters Allison Williams is now taking a stand against this mandate. In a video posted to Instagram, the reporter claims she is now leaving ESPN as she can not morally support a mandate. She also said she is trying to get pregnant which has her wary of getting the shot, despite the fact that the vaccine has, indeed, been deemed safe for those trying to have children.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images fro Unbridled Eve

“I am also so morally and ethically not aligned with this and I’ve had to really dig deep and analyze my values and my morals, and ultimately I have to put them first,” Williams said. “I cannot put a paycheck over principle. I will not sacrifice something that I believe and hold so strongly to maintain a career. I weighed that and I thought about implications. We all want to be good neighbors. We all want to end this pandemic. But ultimately, an injection that does not stop transmission and spread, for me, did not weigh in morally.”

This is a trend we are likely to see more of over the coming weeks, especially as it pertains to professional sports. Guys like Kyrie Irving are currently ineligible to play due to vaccine hesitancy, and it’s something that could progress even more as an increasing number of mandates are implemented across the country.

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A post shared by Allison Williams (@allisonw_espn)

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Federal prosecutors say Tacarlos “Los” Offerd, a suspect in the murder of FBG Duck, purchased the car which was used as the lead vehicle in the shooting, in his own name. During a detention hearing on Friday, the prosecution added that Offerd returned the car just hours after the shooting.

US prosecutor Jason Julien says Offerd lied about his employment on the paperwork.

Offred’s legal defense argued that buying the car does not guarantee he was involved in the killing.

The indictment lists several alleged members of Chicago’s O-Block Gang including Charles ” C Murda” Liggins, Kenneth “Kenny Mac” Roberson, Christopher “C Thang” Thomas, and Marcus “Muwop” Smart.

The hearing comes days after law enforcement blamed the Chicago Drill rap scene for violence in the city.

“What’s happening on social media and what’s happening in music videos that are on YouTube, particularly in the drill rap genre, it shows you what’s happening in the city,” an agent said in a press conference. “It shows you exactly what’s happening in the city, which are people are flooding the streets to commit acts of violence and then either bragging about acts of violence or talking about how they’re going to retaliate through other acts of violence, and it’s happening on a regular basis.”

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