New Hip Hop News

The most wonderful time of year is quickly approaching, and this season, one lucky Elf fan will get to celebrate the holidays the right way – dressed in full, original Buddy the Elf regalia, right down to his silly little shoes. According to TMZ, the famous film costume just fetched nearly $300,000 at a Hollywood memorabilia auction.

The sale is being hosted by Prop Store, as they’re currently in the midst of selling some of the most iconic film and TV props that have ever graced the big (and small) screen. Ferrell’s outfit was expected to fetch an estimated $27,600 – $41,000, but wound up beating projections by a landslide. The winning bidder paid a whopping $296,702.66 to take home the prize.

If that number doesn’t have you gasping in horror, wait until you hear how much someone paid for the Wilson volleyball used in Castaway, starring Tom Hanks – $388,750. Talk about big spender!

Other amazing pieces listed include Freddy Kruger’s razor finger glove from A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Michael Myers’ mask from Halloween: Resurrection, Val Kilmer’s Batman Forever costume from 1995, a Gryffindor robe from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, as well as Toby Maguire’s production made Spider-Man 3 costume that dates back to 2007.

One thousand unique items are a part of Prop Store’s auction, which, rumour has it, could bring in an estimated $7,600,000. If everything included sells for higher than anticipated like Buddy’s costume did, it won’t take long for that goal to be reached.

Speaking of Elf, we recently shared a story explaining why Ferrell turned down a $29 million pay check to make a sequel, which you can read here.

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Playboi Carti’s fall tour just cannot seem to stop making headlines. Whether it be fans showing up with ankle monitors, cancelling due to an overzealous crowd, changing names from “Narcissist” to “King Vamp” tour or making unique safety announcements, Carti has been a news magnet.

Now, Rico Nasty, who is the opener for the “King Vamp” tour along with Ken Car$on, shed light on the tour once again after their most recent Los Angeles show at the forum, tweeting that the crowd was anti-black and did not appreciate her presence: “Anti black ass crowd . Weak ass little boys wit blonde pubes . Ugh . Get me out of here.”

This tweet came along with a barrage of others out of frustration, where she claimed Carti and Car$on would spit on their fans and that she would refrain from performing in protest.

While there haven’t been any videos to surface of the crowd’s reaction to Rico’s performance, or what could have provoked her rant, but appears that she did not get along with the concert-goers.

She is still scheduled to continue opening for Carti through the rest of his tour, which has more than 25 more dates left. She tweeted that regardless of how the crowd feels about her, that she will not forfeit the money she is owed for the shows: “Cause a real bitch getting paid regardless . Keep playing . Dickwheats”

Perhaps Playboi Carti and Rico Nasty fans do not have all that much in common, even though both artists aim to make energetic bangers within their individual music styles.

Check out Rico’s Twitter tirade below. 

Since a mass casualty incident occurred at Astroworld Festival on Friday night, thousands of attendees of the event have flocked to social media to tell their stories. Many have shared accounts of rampant drug use around them, an inadequate and negligent security team, and one video even shows a member of production ignoring a woman, screaming at him in distress to inform him of the dead people she saw in the crowd.

While some people have solely been recounting the events that have happened to them firsthand, others have been conspiring that Scott’s festival may have had demonic ties. In fact, several accounts have compared being stuck in the crowd at the height of the tragedy to “being in hell.”

“It just felt like, we was like, literally in f*cking hell bro,” one distressed attendee said in a video that’s been making rounds across the internet. “It felt like we was in a concert in hell. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t see. Just imagine all the people they gonna find tonight who was in that crowd, who nobody could see, who nobody could hear, who passed out, and everybody was just trampling across them the whole f*cking concert.”

As you’ve likely heard, eight people are confirmed dead, and several others are in the hospital healing from injuries sustained at the show. Scott is currently in the midst of dozens of lawsuits from those who were effected by the tragedy, and has offered to pay for funerals and mental health support.

As Complex points out, these “demonic” rumours are troublesome to some, who simply don’t see Scott in that light. Others, however, have fallen head first down the rabbit hole of endless conspiracy theories that have been popping up. Those who are putting the content out there are raising points about the heavy symbolism present in the show, like the apparent burning of a white dove, the use of objects that appear to be portals, strange sound waves, and heavy use of eyes in promotional materials.

A TikTok spokesperson has said that the company is working on taking appropriate action. “Such content is in violation of our Community Guidelines and is being removed,” they told Complex today.

What are your thoughts on the Astroworld theories circulating around?

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Ed Sheeran’s love for hip-hop has been well-documented over the years. Collaborating alongside artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, and The Game, he recently had the opportunity to express his fandom of Papoose personally at a Knicks game over the weekend. Sheeran described Pap as having “fantastic wordplay” while admitting that he was slightly starstruck.

Noam Galai/Getty Images 

How far does Sheeran’s love for rap go, though? Sheeran’s latest appearance on the Breakfast Club found him diving into his love for Gang Starr’s music, specifically Guru’s bars. The UK singer began rapping Gang Starr’s “Rite Where You Stand” ft. Jadakiss word for word, leaving the morning shows host floored by his knowledge of American hip-hop.

“It’s everywhere in England,” Sheeran explained of hip-hop’s influence in the UK. “What’s wonderful now is in the 90s, early 2000s, U.S. hip-hop culture was English hip-hop culture. And people would dress and make music and sometimes rap in the same accent. Now — and I think it’s because of streaming services — that our number one music genre in English now is British rap, British grime, British drill, British R&B.”

Sheeran added that it’s similar to other parts of Europe, like France and Germany, who’ve adapted the sounds of hip-hop and made it something of their own. “U.S. hip-hop influences to a point of like, sometimes stylistically and blah blah blah and also now, European culture can also influence U.S. culture. It’s quite a nice full circle.”

Check out the full interview below. 

There are many questions surrounding the tragic events that took place on Friday at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston. Eight people have been confirmed dead and many others injured, including a 9-year-old who is currently fighting for his life. As more lawsuits are filed against Scott and the festival organizers, federal authorities are stepping in to investigate the incident.

Image via HNHH. Photo shot by @frankievergara

According to the Independent, the FBI will now be joining the Houston PD’s investigation into Astroworld Festival. FBI Director Christopher Wray told reporters that the federal agency will be providing “technical assistance” to Houston’s Police Department on the matter. Wray didn’t elaborate much beyond that.

The news of the FBI’s involvement in the case arrives as fans demand accountability from Travis Scott. The Astroworld rapper’s history of creating chaotic live shows that have led to injury has been brought up quite a few times. Most recently, a fan who became paralyzed after getting pushed off of a balcony at a Travis Scott show expressed his devastation to the news.

“He was extremely upset and sad for the devastation to these people and to their families–the people who were killed and the people who were horribly injured,” Howard Hershenhorn, the lawyer for Kyle Green, told TODAY. “At the same time, he was really angry at Travis and at Travis’ team, including his security, etc., because Travis clearly hasn’t learned from what has previously transpired or what previously occurred.”

Meanwhile, the rapper has pledged to cover funeral costs for the victims and mental health resources to those affected. He also pulled out of his show at Day N Vegas this weekend while promising to give full refunds to everyone who attended his festival. 

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Scottie Pippen has always felt he got the cold shoulder from the media for his contributions to the Bulls 1990 dynasty. While he has flipped stances numerous times on topics like Phil Jackson and LeBron vs. MJ, Pippen has always vouched for his worth.

On Tuesday (Nov. 9), Scottie visited New York sports reporter Frank Isola’s SiriusXM NBA radio show to discuss his new memoir Unguarded, which hit shelves today. When discussing the Bulls’ last championship run, he mentioned that his back injury in the 1998 Finals series vs. the Utah Jazz would have sidelined him if the series went to a game 7. He claims a back injury is a vastly tougher ailment to endure than the flu, which Michael Jordan endured in the Finals the year prior: “I wouldn’t have played in a game 7, I just wasn’t able to go. I knew on Saturday (Game 6) that I probably had one game left in me…I’m gonna ask you this. Is it easier to play with a herniated disc or to play with the flu? I don’t see many bad-back games, but I do see flu games. Flu. Come on.”

Tom Berg/WireImage/Getty Images

While Pippen is probably correct in asserting that a herniated disc is more of a hinderance than having the flu (or food poisoning as MJ cleared up in The Last Dance), his main objective here is to discredit Jordan. He also says he has a portion in his book that addresses this topic.

While basketball fans have always praised Jordan for playing through his sickness, the main point they make is how he had a remarkable performance in a game of such high stakes, while being ill. That is the entire essence of the “Flu Game.”

In that game, which was Game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals vs. the Utah Jazz, MJ recorded 38 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 44 minutes of action. In a game that gave Chicago a 3-2 lead in the series, MJ shot an incredibly efficient 48% from the field and 40% from three, while visibly battling his sickness.

Pippen on the other hand, in is “bad-back game” in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, tallied eight points, three rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes of play. That’s not to say he was not useful in the game, as he was a critical part of the team’s success. However, it seems that Scottie is willfully ignorant to the reason why the “Flu Game” garnered so much praise.

Regardless, Scottie Pippen’s voice is a powerful promotion tool for his new memoir.

Watch Scottie’s “bad-back game” argument below.

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In a troubling report coming from CNN, it has been revealed that Astroworld Festival staff was asked not to use the words “dead” or “deceased” over the radio. Instead, they were reportedly asked to refer to dead audience members as “Smurfs.”

A 56-page security and emergency medical response document was obtained by CNN following the tragedy at last weekend’s festival. As you’ve surely heard, there was a crowd surge during Travis Scott’s set, which led to hundreds of people being trampled in the audience. Eight fatalities have been reported, and over three hundred people were injured. The document outlined by CNN details instructions on how to deal with different medical emergencies, also noting the “potential for multiple alcohol/drug related incidents, possible evacuation needs, and the ever-present threat of a mass casualty situation.”

Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images

One section in the document asks staff to never use the words “dead” or “deceased” over their radio systems, suggesting a code word instead. Potential fatalities were to be identified by using the code “Smurfs.” Security was instructed to notify Event Control of “a suspected deceased victim utilizing the code ‘Smurf,'” borrowing from the blue animated children’s characters. 

“Based on the site’s layout and numerous past experiences, a Security Plan has been established to help mitigate potential negative issues within the scope of the festival,” it says in the document, referring to a stampede of fans who rushed through the gates of Astroworld Festival in 2019.

It is presently unconfirmed if any staff members actually communicated the eight fatalities to their peers using the “Smurfs” codeword at the festival. On Tuesday, it was announced that the FBI was contributing to a criminal investigation surrounding the festival. We will keep you posted on any updates in this developing situation. 

Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images

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