New Hip Hop News

Drake is no stranger to the strip club. He’s made that clear himself.

And a couple listens through his debut commercial mixtape, So Far Gone, and his most recent album, Certified Lover Boy, will tell you that he has a certain affinity for Houston strip clubs. 

From 2009’s “Houstatlantavegas” to this year’s “TSU,” The Six God has always paid homage to H-Town clubs, and according to a DJ Akademiks IG post, it looks like Drizzy recently threw close to a million dollars in one of them. 

The video, which Ak captioned, “They saying #drake went to the strip club in Houston and threw like a milly,” features a handful of dancers in a sea of cash, counting up the money Drake allegedly tossed on stage. All of the dancers call out, “Thanks, Drake!,” (a nod to the “Child’s Play” outro) and a couple of them can be seen wearing t-shirts boasting 21 Savage’s “I’m Mr. Bodycatcher, Slaughter Gang soul snatcher” line from CLB‘s “Knife Talk.” 

While there’s no way to confirm Drake actually threw a million dollars at Houston’s Area 29 strip club, the amount of money shown in the IG video is impressive, and knowing his aforementioned affinity for strip clubs and proclivity for flexing his preposterous bank account, it would not come as a surprise if The Boy was tossing six figures around. 

What do you think of Drake allegedly blowing a million dollars at the strip club? Let us know down in the comments. 

Don Lemon’s hypocrisy continues to haunt him. As a CNN anchor, Lemon ritualistically chastises those accused of sexual assault or assault of any kind, but he may have been throwing stones while living in a glass house.

On Monday (Nov. 8), Dustin Hice, the man who accused Don Lemon of sexual assault in 2019, spoke more in-depth on his encounter with Lemon and his pending lawsuit. In the interview with Megyn Kelly, he detailed Lemon’s actions towards him: “He has his hand in his pants rubbing himself aggressively, and he shoved his two fingers up underneath my mustache.”

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

In Hice’s accusation, he explained that the event took place in a dive bar named Murph’s in The Hamptons in July 2018, after Hice offered to buy Lemon a drink.

Hice went on to say that Lemon pursued a settlement with Hice multiple times to silence him, offering up to half a million dollars. However, Hice declined, saying money was not a priority of his: “Money is not what I’m after here. I just want to not live the rest of my life in regret, and to have a clear conscience, and to have closure from this situation. He’s made three separate attempts almost at a half a million dollars to try and get me to be quiet, but my silence can’t be bought. This isn’t about me trying to get money… At this point, I just want my life back. I don’t see any kind of settlement happening without an admission of guilt or an apology, but I seriously doubt with his ego and pride that’s going to happen.”

In late September of this year, a CNN spokesperson responded to the accusations on behalf of Lemon saying: “Don categorically denies these claims. The plaintiff in this lawsuit has previously displayed a pattern of contempt for CNN on his social media accounts. This claim follows his unsuccessful threats and demands for an exorbitant amount of money from Don Lemon.”

As Lemon refuses to admit any guilt, Hice will continue to pursue his lawsuit. 

Watch Hice’s entire interview below.

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Guyanese-American recording artist SAINt JHN is as captivating a speaker as he is a performer. Hearing him unpack some of the core ideas in his music is as magnetic as listening to the live renditions of his songs, which often end with deconstructed a capella versions of popular cuts including “Sucks To Be You” and “Roses,” where SAINt shows off his powerful vocals and leads a chorus of fans to chant along with him.

The Gødd Complexx founder is presently on his headlining In Case We Both Die Young tour, for which he recently announced new dates in Europe, Russia, and North America. On November 3, 2021, SAINt stopped by Rebel in Toronto, Canada, and we caught up with the artist following his performance to chat about his recent work with Kanye West on While The World Was Burning and DONDA, wanting to be as good a performer as Beyoncé, and some of the most unique steps he’s taking to ensure a positive fan experience at the tour.

Image provided to HNHH by SAINt JHN’s publicist

A line wrapped for several blocks around the concert venue before twin duo Angel + Dren entertained early-bird fans with a DJ set. As they hyped the crowd up by playing some favorites by Toronto-based artists like Drake and Pressa, they set the stage for Post Malone protégé Tyla Yaweh to rock out with the audience. The certified rager boy was a highlight of SAINt JHN’s stop in Toronto, bringing the hall’s energy to a high as he performed atop his bodyguard’s shoulders in the crowd. He asked fans not to go easy on him, asking them to “fuck [him] up” in various moshpits as he performed his biggest songs, including “Tommy Lee,” “High Right Now,” and “Stuntin’ On You,” as well as his latest single “Hands Up” with Morray. 

SAINt JHN took the stage afterward, and it’s clear that he strives to put on an incomparable live show for his fans, heading out every night with the intention of organizing an unforgettable experience. With a custom motorcycle installed on the stage and a sideways cross on the other side (which SAINt uses as a platform to perform for his fans on the VIP balcony), the artist also communicated a “no professional photographer” policy prior to the show, and his reasoning showcases how important it is for SAINt to have his art consumed as it was designed.

“The thousands of people that are showing up when I say I’m going to be in a city and I’m going to perform the songs that they love, I want it to be from their lens and my lens. Not anybody else who’s dictating it,” said SAINt about his tour photography. On the In Case We Both Die Young tour, members of his team have been handing out iPhones to fans, asking them to capture photos and videos of the performance instead of hiring professional photographers. “I want you to see it the way you live. So I wanted to take it out of the hands of the people that control the things that we see and put it in the hands of the people that control the things that we use,” explained the artist.

As he unwinds following his performance in the green room, SAINt JHN radiates confidence, despite being exhausted from a full day of press assignments, a sold-out performance, meet-and-greets with dozens of fans directly following the show, and to cap it all off, our interview. 

Read the unabridged editorial copy below of our exclusive interview with SAINt JHN, where he speaks about his work with Kanye West, updating older songs for WTWWB, and much more. Buy tickets to his stunning In Case We Both Die Young world tour here.

HNHH: Congratulations on the world tour announcement! Tonight, you touched down in Toronto, Canada. What’s your favorite thing about the city so far?

SAINt JHN: I don’t know, let’s just say food, let’s say food. Let’s keep it real PG.

What are you gonna remember from this specific show?

Well, it depends on what my guys tell me when we get back to the bus. I had a show, everybody who came with me had their own show. We’ll review the show together later. But tonight was really remarkable. I thought it was my second time in Toronto, but apparently, it was my third. So maybe the first time was a bust, and the second time I remembered, and the third time became the second time. I had a really good time though, especially being a sold-out venue and watching it grow year after year. I think the venue was three times smaller [last time].

And like you said, the next time is gonna be even bigger.

It’s gonna be even bigger, where we’re going is better than we been for sure.

How have things been different since the pandemic, performance-wise?

I don’t know how to answer that. I’m at the beginning of my tour. And I’m working through things that I haven’t worked through before for the first time. Difference with me or difference in the world?

With you, specifically.

With me specifically, I’m more attentive to detail. I’m a Virgo, So I’ve always been attentive to detail, but I’ve learned things that I didn’t know during the pandemic. Just personal deliveries and personal eloquences, things that I want to display. And I’m really serious about them. So my shows this time around, they have that, ‘I want to be better than Beyonce’ sentiment. Don’t misquote me… I’m saying my shows have that sentiment because I want to be that good so I have that degree of impassioned vulnerability, I want to keep going and I want to make it great.

For the rest of the tour, you don’t have any professional photographers capturing the performances. Instead, you’re handing out cell phones to your superfans to take pictures and videos. What was your reasoning behind that?

Well, when I look back and I want to think of my memories and the things we did while we had the planet in a headlock, I want it to be for our vision. When I say us, I’m talking about me and the people that believe in the things that I believe in. The people that are willing to stand behind our art are the people that are brave enough to follow their dreams. The people that are showing up, the thousands of people that are showing up when I say I’m going to be in a city and I’m going to perform the songs that they love. I want it to be from their lens and my lens. Not anybody else who’s dictating it. I don’t want it to be from a television producer with a DSLR with a heightened sense of self and more self-worth than the audience that they’re serving. I just want it to be from the kids with the phones who are talking and consuming the environment, and they got their favorite apps on their phones. I want you to see it the way you live. So I wanted to take it out of the hands of the people that control the things that we see and put it in the hands of the people that control the things that we use.

Image provided to HNHH by SAINt JHN’s publicist

I love that. Tyla Yaweh is opening up for you on this tour. What made him the perfect choice for you?

Tyla’s family and his energy is incredible. Tyla’s a rager boy for sure, and he’s been like that from the jump, his energy is unbeatable, so to have anybody set the crowd up, build up the expectation and line them up for whatever is about to come, I think he’s the most suited person for the show.

With the announcement of your world tour also came the release of the promotional song “In Case We Both Die Young.” What can you say about the record?

I wouldn’t say anything. I was just letting you know I got a tour coming. My delivery system for how I release music and how I communicate with the audience that’s listening is a strange and deliberate and a micromanaged one. I do it myself. That’s me on the back of a tour bus in the middle of the night uploading a song that I talked to nobody about, with the video that we made, that I didn’t talk to anyone else about, on an iPhone. I like the peer-to-peer usability. I like that. I want to remember my life like a direct message. It was just me, it was just you, we were just talking about something that we all cared about. That’s how I’m going to think of it.

At the end of last year, you started working a lot with Kanye West. On DONDA, you have a writing credit on “Lord I Need You”. Ye also has some feature credits on your album as well. What was the difference like, working on his project and working on yours?

Oh, man, I feel like it might have been the same. He did what the fuck he wanted and I did what the fuck I wanted. And because I did whatever the fuck I wanted, I really really respected his approach. For DONDA, when we did the song, I was initially on the song doing a lot of the vocals, and when I heard this song, I heard the song when it came out just like everybody else. I had no heads up [that my vocals were removed]. And it’s his record. It’s his vision. It’s his directorial display from his curation. And on my collection, it’s my record, my vision, my directorial display. On “Pray 4 Me” on my collection, on While The World Was Burning, it was a completely different beat than he and Rick Rubin did. And I completely changed it. That’s not the direction I wanted for my project.

“For DONDA, when we did the song, I was initially on the song doing a lot of the vocals, and when I heard this song, I heard the song when it came out just like everybody else. I had no heads up [that my vocals were removed]. And it’s his record. It’s his vision. It’s his directorial display from his curation.”

You changed a Rick Rubin beat?

Look it’s my art, my canvas. I’m painting the way I want the world to see it. So if I don’t have the latitude to do that, who the fuck should. So the difference, Kanye got to be Kanye, SAINt JHN got to be SAINt JHN and it was cool.

[Me and Ye], we can say we got a couple of records together. That’s crazy. It’s just real life and I’m just doing it but when you say it, I don’t think of it until I hear it back like, he really got some records on my collection. That’s Kanye West. Man, it’s probably… I’mma really think about this when I get back to the bus. I’m a little too excited right now. This show is killing me.

On WTWWB, you include updated versions of popular songs including “Monica Lewinsky” and “High School Reunion.” What was the reasoning for updating those songs with new features and new ideas?

I think it’s not always an easy task to re-imagine something that you’ve already painted. And I think the imagination is broad enough that if you could re-imagine without bastardizing, then you might be better than you think you are. It’s me against me, it’s one on one and the world is watching, no matter what sport you see me playing. So when I re-approached “Roses” production-wise, or I re-approach “Monica Lewinsky” vocally and lyrically and flow-wise, and I re-approach “High School Reunion” production, flow, lyrics-wise. If I can re-imagine it, I’m really just testing myself, it’s really just me versus me. And I’m doing that for the public to see in ways that most artists wouldn’t even allow. I could just take a remix and put somebody else on it. But to re-approach it myself means that I still have the same excitement for it. And I see other possibilities, and I want to do that. Some people got that message and some people didn’t but all in all, all the people that heard it thought it was really good.

You just announced your world tour, which will keep you busy for a few months. What’s the plan for after that though? Is there a new collection coming next year?

I don’t want to make false promises about time because one thing I learned from the pandemic is time is something you surrender to, not something you can necessarily control. You navigate it, you serve it, you don’t fucking try to dictate where it goes. So if we don’t die young, we have a collection. Not saying this year, I’m not saying what year, I’m saying we gonna have a collection and even in case we do die young, we gon’ have a fucking collection because the world needs to hear my art. 

I love it. Anything else I didn’t touch on that you want to talk about before we close out?

A lot of things, but it’s one o’clock in the morning.

For real. I appreciate you for taking the time, enjoy the rest of the tour, and get some rest!

Image provided to HNHH by SAINt JHN’s publicist

If you’ve been on TikTok at all over the past few weeks, you’ve likely gotten a preview of Dwayne Johnson’s verse on Tech N9ne’s track, “Face Off.” The song was a part of the latter’s ASIN9NE album, which dropped a month ago, on October 8th, and has since blown up all across the nation and beyond.

Seeing as “Face Off” was The Rock’s first rap verse, fans weren’t sure to expect, but the Red Notice actor came through, keeping up with Tech, as well as Joey Cool and King Iso, who are also featured on the song. As it turns out, we nearly didn’t get to hear Johnson’s MC skills at all as N9ne initially wanted him to provide a spoken word outro.

“He said, ‘I’d love for you to come in on the end and just do spoken word.’ I said, ‘In what way?’ He goes, ‘I don’t know. Maybe like a Rock promo, like if you were in WWE.’ And I said, ‘OK, cool. Let me hear it,’” he told Complex. Upon hearing what his friend had created, Johnson reportedly felt inspired.

“I called [Tech] and I said, ‘Look, brother, I have an idea,’” the 49-year-old said. “‘This might be a great idea or fucking trash.’ He laughed. He goes, ‘What is it?’ I said, ‘I want to try and rap this. Let me really try and attack some bars for you.’ He goes, ‘You want to do that?’ I said, ‘I would love to do that because if I just do a Rock promo at the end, I honestly feel like I’m not doing you and the boys the proper service. I really want to come in and help elevate in any way I can.’”

Johnson shared that he and Tech have been friends for years, the actor admires the way that his pal makes music “about the hunger and the drive and journey.” Once he had crafted up a rough draft of his verse, his rapper friend helped get it to where it needed to be, creating “Face Off” as we know and love it today.

“The fact that it went to number one on iTunes, number one on TikTok and YouTube, that’s such a blessing and it was so cool. I love all the heat that it’s getting, especially that verse, ‘It’s about drive, it’s about power / we stay hungry, we devour’—it’s good, man,” he said in the interview.

Check out “Face Off” below.

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A few days ahead of his headlining performance at Day N Vegas this weekend, it has been announced that rapper Kendrick Lamar has a new business manager. According to a report from HitsDailyDouble, the pgLang co-founder is working with Anthony Saleh, who is well-respected in the music industry as the manager of Future, Nas, YG, and others.

As he prepares his upcoming studio album, which he announced will be his final offering as part of his deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, Kendrick is making a change to his entourage, employing Anthony Saleh as his new manager. 

Craig Barritt/Getty Images — Co-founder of QueensBridge Venture Partners Anthony Saleh speaks onstage during The New Yorker TechFest 2016 on October 7, 2016

The low-key announcement was made as Kendrick’s upcoming festival appearance is being hyped, writing, “Kendrick’s new manager touts hip-hop superstar’s first U.S. live show in years with huge Vegas engagement. Bet everything on the K.Dot.”

TIDAL’s Chief Content Officer Elliott Wilson confirmed the news, writing, “Didn’t realize my guy Anthony Saleh @Dude_Br0 was managing Kendrick Lamar. Wow. Big moves. Congrats.”

With this news, it remains unclear of Dave Free’s role in Kendrick’s career. They work together as the co-founders of pgLang, but fans are wondering if Free will have any managerial duties as Saleh’s hiring becomes public knowledge.

Image via HNHH — Kendrick Lamar performing

Many believe that with this being Kendrick’s first US-based performance in years, the rapper may make an album announcement at Day N Vegas. Do you think we’ll be receiving some big news this weekend?

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Missy Elliott is one of the most important pioneers in hip-hop history. 

From iconic records, and even more iconic music videos, to breaking down barriers and allowing other women to step into the male-dominated genre, Elliott’s impact on rap music and hip-hop as a whole is undeniable. And after receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday, Elliott’s impact is literally set in stone. 

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

With the help of Lizzo and Ciara, Elliott unveiled her star, the 2,708th in Hollywood Walk of Fame history, right in front of Amoeba Records. 

During Elliott’s start unveiling ceremony, the “Work It” rapper took some time to honor the “female MCs in hip-hop.” 

“To my sisters in hip-hop,” Elliott began. “I want to say I love each and every one of y’all — he ones that’s popping now, the one’s that’s about to be popping. But I want to give a big shoutout to the godmothers of this, and that is Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Sha-Rock, Angie Stone, Roxanne Shanté, Yo-Yo, MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa … Y’all are the backs that we stand on, y’all are the foundation. Y’all ran so we could walk. Y’all stood up for something so we could sit comfortably.” 

Ana Martinez, a Hollywood Walk of Fame producer, acknowledged Elliott’s perseverance as a woman in rap.

“Missy Elliott has broken through the barriers of the male-dominated Hip Hop world, and music industry as a whole, as she has led the way for many women who have followed in her footsteps,” Martinez said. “She continues to break barriers year after year and we’re thrilled to be able to honor her on the Walk of Fame.” 

Elliott, who was presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2019 VMAs, and enshrined into the Songwriters Hall of Fame the same year, has been recognized for her extensive work throughout multiple different eras of hip-hop, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is another notch in her belt.

Check out Elliott’s speech below and let us know what you think of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

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Many people recognize 46-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio as one of the greatest actors in the game today. Throughout his lengthy career, the Los Angeles native has played incredible roles like Jack Dawson in Titanic, Jordan Belford in The Wolf of Wall Street, and Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, just to name a few. Now, DiCaprio is getting closer and closer to playing the infamously dangerous cult leader, Jim Jones.

As Variety reports, the actor is in “final talks” to not only star in, but also produce the new film, which was written by Scott Rosenberg, who’s known for his work on projects like Venom, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Jumanji: Next Level.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

If you’re not familiar with Jones’ story, he was best known as the leader of the Peoples Temple religious group, and back in November of 1978 he was responsible for the mass suicide that took place at a jungle commune in Guyana. Jones and his closest confidants pulled off a scheme that saw them feeding cyanide-adulterated punch to a large group, resulting in their untimely deaths.

Complex notes that the cult leader’s body was found dead in the same year with a gunshot wound in the head. An autopsy would later reveal that Jones’ cause of death was suicide.

Elsewhere in the news, DiCaprio made headlines when he was seen chatting up billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, at an event over the weekend. The New Mexico native didn’t take long to troll his actor friend, posting a photo on Twitter joking that he may have to push the Hollywood icon off of a steep cliff. 

See the photo for yourself below.

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Roddy Ricch has been alluding to releasing his upcoming album quite some time. He has occasionally been dropping clues about the album’s details since mid-Sept., as fans have been starving for his second studio album.

On Monday (Nov. 8), Roddy took to Twitter to acknowledge his debut album Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial achieving 100 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. He responded to this impressive feat by praising his fans, and teasing his follow-up: “all my fans GOATs ! it’s time for another one.”

Released in December 2019, Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial cemented Roddy Ricch’s versatility and separated himself from the pack of run-of-the-mill melodic rappers. While he had a reputation for crafting high energy bangers beforehand, songs like “War Baby” and “High Fashion” added an introspective and sensual aspect to his artistry.

On Sept. 13, Roddy unveiled that his upcoming album is expected to be titled Live Life Fa$t, and will presumably last around 51 minutes with eighteen tracks, the most ever for any of his albums or mixtapes. 

As fans took this as a sign the album was coming in the immediate future, it did not turn out that way. Roddy Ricch addressed the patience he has exhibited in preparing his album on Oct. 10, saying he wanted no fluff on the record: “For us to drop the album we gotta have a NO skip policy.”

This certainly falls in line with previous projects, as filler is hard to find. Eventually though, fans’ enthusiasm may turn to bitterness. The rollout for Live Life Fa$t should be coming any day now.

Check out Roddy’s tweet below.