New Hip Hop News

Back on October 8, Seattle Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson suffered a gruesome finger injury on his throwing hand. Tests revealed that he had ruptured a tendon in his right middle finger, and Wilson was placed on injured reserve. 

However, just two days ago, Wilson posted a Succession-style hype video to announce his return to the gridiron.

Seahawks fans were understandably excited (especially considering recent reports that Odell Beckham Jr. is interested with signing with the team), but no fan was more excited that Wilson’s wife and number-one fan, Ciara. 

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In a tweet featuring multiple photos of her husband and children, Ciara revealed just how hard Wilson worked to get back on the field, and how inspired she was by his efforts.

“Watching you go on this journey these past weeks has been inspiring. Your hard work, drive, and dedication never ceases to amaze me!,” the “Body Party” singer wrote. “You’re the Best leader I know. The true definition of a Champion. Proud of you baby @DangeRussWilson #3 Let’s Go!’ 

And because of their status as one of the greatest, modern celebrity couples, Wilson responded to Ciara in an even more heartfelt manner. 

“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!,” Russ wrote in a quote tweet. “You are Heaven Sent! Thanks for always loving & supporting me. I love doing life with you. @Ciara.” 

This is just the most recent example of Seattle’s first couple putting their love on full display. Just a couple of weeks ago, Wilson penned a beautiful birthday message for Ciara’s 36th, and despite Future’s best attempts to poison their relationship, the pair always presents the most united front. 

What do you think of Russ and Ciara showing their love on Twitter? Let us know in the comments. 

R. Kelly will be behind bars for the foreseeable future but it seems that he’s made a few friends with some of his fellow inmates while he awaited trial. According to The Daily News, Brendan Hunt, who shared a cell with R. Kelly at Brooklyn’s federal jail, apparently penned a comic book that illustrated the unlikely friendship he had with the singer.

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37-year-old Brendan Hunt was charged for posting a video after the Capitol riots on Jan. 6th where he encouraged insurrectionists to return to Washington to “kill your senators.” Hunt’s spent the past 10 months in prison but his lawyers are trying to get him out on time served.

As part of his request to be released, the comic book was filed to court to showcase Hunt’s artistic talents, as well as the “lasting friendships” he created “with some of the most unlikely characters.” Hunt’s attorney explained that the two “found a lot of common ground between musicians and artists.”

The comic book opens up with Hunt claiming that he’s never heard singles like “I Believe I Can Fly” before Kelly replies, “I’m the greatest R&B star in human history! How can you not know of R. Kelly?” He continues, “I’m the greatest R&B star in human history! Millions of babies have been conceived to my records!”

The comic book also showcases the two doing yoga together in their cell, which gives them superhuman abilities, while discussing their preferred genres of music.

Hunt is expected to be sentenced on Nov. 22nd, though his family has attempted to convince the court he’s a changed man since the insurrection. 

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Ever since he surrendered himself to Atlanta authorities on murder and gang charges at the top of the year, 2021 has undoubtedly been a long and arduous experience for YFN Lucci. Over time, more details surrounding the “7.62” artist’s alleged role in the fatal December 2020 shooting were revealed, and although Lucci was released on bail in February, the Atlanta-bred rapper returned to jail just a few months later following additional gang racketeering charges. 

In June, YFN Lucci pleaded not guilty to the serious charges brought against him, and over the past several months, prominent Hip-Hop figures such as Boosie Badazz have spoken out in support of the incarcerated Atlanta rapper. Now, news has just surfaced that Lucci’s trial date has officially been set.

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According to The Shade Room, Lucci’s long-anticipated trial will commence on May 12, 2022, meaning that the “Everyday We Lit” artist will have to wait another six months before he gets the opportunity to fight for his freedom. 

His attorney Drew Findling, who has described Lucci’s indictment as “a little bit ridiculous,” has not publicly commented on the news of Lucci’s trial date, but he did previously argue that the charges brought against the Atlanta artists aren’t an accurate portrayal of who he really is. “He’s not a gang member,” Findling attested. “What he is is an internationally recognized musical artist that is a triple platinum winner, that has performed all over the United States and all over the world.”

Stay tuned for more details surrounding YFN Lucci’s murder and racketeering case in Atlanta.

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It is hard to imagine anybody has had a better, more fulfilling year than Bobby Shmurda. Since his February release from prison, he has hit the studio with rapper friends, made appearances at music festivals, dropped new songs and has enjoyed the freedom he missed out on for seven years.

Although the 27-year-old still has a lot of life to live, he has come a long way. It seems like a distant memory when Bobby was on top of the rap game with hits like “Hot N***a” and “Bobby B**ch” in 2014. But, Bobby let us know last night he could take us back even further.

Early Wednesday morning (Nov. 10), Bobby Shmurda posted a throwback of him from grade school, along with a few comparison photos of him now, saying: “Look ma I’m still smiling. Nd I got teeth nowwwwwww.”

In the adorable first picture, he is seen as a youth with most of his baby teeth gone, waiting for his permanent ones to come in. Hilariously, he is making the same pose in the current photos as he is in the childhood one, exemplifying how he has maintained his same personality.

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Also this year, Bobby has dropped three singles to usher in his new era.

His official return came in the form of “No Time For Sleep (Freestyle)” on Sept. 3, over half a year after his release from prison. The song is a long-winded cut that lasts over six minutes.

The last two weeks, Bobby has dropped consecutive singles “Cartier Lens” and “Splash,” attempting to present a fresh take on the unique energy he brings to hip-hop music.

As he continues to work back towards his prior status in the rap game, it is fascinating to see Bobby before it all started.

Check out his post below.

Over the past handful of years, Young Thug has slowly retreated from all social media platforms. Despite blessing us with some of the most iconic tweets and Instagram captions in recent history, the Slime Season rapper has made a clear effort to remove himself from the internet limelight. 

While he has been more active on both platforms as of late, much of his activity has related to promoting PUNK, his most recent album, and according to Jeffrey himself, social media is depressing. 

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In what looks like a screen recording of an IG story posted by The Shade Room, Thugger spills his feelings about what he sees on the internet.

“Bro I just noticed, like, when I look at the internet, when I look at Instagram and you know, Twitter and sh*t, I get depressed, bro,” he said. “This sh*t is like, burnt the f*ck out. This sh*t depressing.” 

Echoing the sentiments of many social media users and scholarly investigations, Thugger’s observations about what’s posted on Instagram and Twitter aren’t necessarily world-changing, but in a time when it feels like the internet is dominated by one bad thing after another, he definitely has a point. Certain memes and trends are funny and cool, but the majority of the internet is posturing and negative headlines.

And even for someone like Young Thug, despite his comments on the pessimistic and sometimes-harmful nature of social media, falling into the internet’s trap from time to time is inevitable. Where he might post a hilarious, Squid Game-themed meme poking fun at Lil Baby one day, he’ll be back in the trenches of an ongoing internet feud between Summer Walker and London On Da Track the next. 

What do you think about Thug’s comments on social media? Let us know down below. 

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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