Coi Leray On Why She Picked DaBaby For “TWINNEM” Remix & Justin Bieber Studio Session

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New Jersey-born rapper Coi Leray is having the biggest year of her career, and she’s only going to continue to elevate. With each new release, it seems Coi simply keeps growing, surpassing the goals she previously set for herself and moving on to bigger ones. With the release of her official debut studio album nearing, the 24-year-old rapper is filled to the brim with confidence, and she’s beaming with pride from her meteoric rise in the music business this year.

“No More Parties” was really only the start for Coi Leray, who has followed up her viral success with follow-up hits including “Big Purr” with Pooh Shiesty, “At The Top” with Kodak Black and Mustard, and “TWINNEM,” her most recent single that came attached with a fun dance on TikTok. In addition to her own releases, Coi has lent her vocals to some of rap’s quickest rising superstars, going on a strong feature spree with Sleepy Hallow, Bfb Da Packman, and others. And she just got off tour with Lil Baby and Lil Durk, opening up for them at twenty-three different shows. 


Coi Leray performing at Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s “Back Outside” tour – Image via HNHH/@timstype 

She’s closing out the year even stronger than she started it, performing on the main stage of Rolling Loud New York last weekend and arguably delivering the most fun performance of the weekend. She came out with her dancers on kick scooters, and every last part of her set was choreographed. Coi Leray was built for superstardom, and she’s coming for her spot at the top. 

We caught up with Coi following her performance and spoke about her upcoming debut album, why she chose to work with DaBaby on the “TWINNEM” remix, her recent studio session with Justin Bieber, and much more. 

Read the unabridged editorial copy of HNHH’s new interview with Coi Leray below, and stay tuned for her upcoming album, which is coming next year.


Coi Leray backstage at Rolling Loud NY, enjoying her slice of pizza – Image via HNHH/@iamzjb

HNHH: Hey, Coi. How are you? 

Coi Leray: I’m good, how are you?

I’m great. “TWINNEM” is going crazy right now on socials and streaming. How do you feel?

I feel good. It’s a blessing. All my hard work is just paying off. I just got nominated for an AMA award too!

Congrats! It’s such a fun record, what was it like making it in the studio?

I actually played a big part in producing the beat too, so shout out to Bankroll Got It, shout out to Jae Roc, who were all in the studio. We were cooking up the beat. I started recording on a loop, and then we added the beat. We added the drums. I was like, “Yo, we need chords.” [We] added the chords in.

How did you like stepping in on the production side? Did you enjoy that?

I don’t know how to do the buttons, but I know what to listen for, so they guided what I wanted. They still put their input, of course, in the drums and everything ‘cause they’re great, but such a great time.

How’d you come up with the dance for “TWINNEM?”

I didn’t come up with that dance. It was actually trending on TikTok, so I just hopped on the trend.

And now everybody’s doing it. You were just in the studio with Justin Bieber and you had him doing the dance! What was that experience like?

He’s a star. It’s amazing to even be in a room with him, in the studio with him. He believes in me so much. He said he loves my music, and I can’t wait to… wait on it.

Did you guys make any songs together?

Yeah, we made something together.

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I’m excited to hear that. You also just got off tour with Lil Baby and Lil Durk. Was that fun?

The experience was crazy. It was 47 days, 23 show dates, and I’m just glad to be able to build our relationship with Live Nation. Shout out to Lil Baby and Lil Durk— crazy, crazy superstars. It’s just a blessing.

Recently, you’ve been teasing a few new records, including one called “Anxiety.” When can we expect a release for that one?

That will be on my project. I will be dropping my project next year. I got so much going on— ‘bout to drop “TWINNEM” with DaBaby for the remix.

Why did you choose DaBaby for the remix?

I feel like he’s super talented. He’s a super talented person when it comes to music, when it comes to his videos. He’s super animated, brings a lot of energy, and I have a lot of energy, so I felt like he’s just perfect for the song automatically.

In previous interviews, you mentioned that you wouldn’t mind making more pop music. Do you have a preference between making pop and hip-hop?

I like what I like. I don’t even know how to answer that, because when I go in the studio, I pull a beat and put it on my mood and I record it based off my experiences. It all depends on what I’m going through. Whatever they label it as— if they think it’s popping, it’s popping.

What can we expect from you before the end of the year?

Like I said, “TWINNEM” remix with DaBaby dropping soon. Get ready for my album dropping next year. Debut album. Can’t wait. Going crazy.

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Chris Rock Name-Drops Kyrie Irving In Anti-Vax Joke

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Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated has caused issues for the Brooklyn Nets since the NBA season started in October.

While in Kyrie’s hometown Brooklyn last night (Nov. 3), Chris Rock slighted Irving for this stance while hosting an NFT event. After hearing cheers when he asked if there were any anti-vaxxers at the venue, Rock responded humorously: “You f**kin’ dumb Kyrie motherf**kers!”

The event Rock was helping to host was Ape Fest hosted by the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a members only event in New York for NFT enthusiasts. The fest hosted marque performers last night at Brooklyn Steel including The Strokes, Quest Love, Beck and headliner Lil Baby.

Rock is not the first celebrity to rip Irving on his anti-vaxx stance. Stars like Shaq, Howard Stern and Magic Johnson have publicly criticized Kyrie, while Chris Brown actually praised him for his resilience.

Irving’s decision to refuse a COVID vaccination is so impactful because people employed in New York City are not allowed to work indoors in any capacity without being vaccinated, according to local mandates. This includes athletes, so Irving will be sidelined from playing basketball until he receives a vaccine or the mandate is lifted.

Irving is a key piece to the Brooklyn Nets’ big three including Kevin Durant and James Harden. Without him, their pursuit for a championship is certainly made much more difficult, but he has remained firm in his stance.

While Rock was acting in jest, he still revealed how he feels about Irving and others who have refrained from being vaccinated against COVID-19.

Check out Chris Rock’s Kyrie Irving joke below.

[Via]

Jay Williams Pulls Out Receipts On Stephen A. Smith During Heated Debate About Kyrie & Aaron Rodgers

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Yesterday, it was revealed that Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs as a result. And while Rodgers testing positive for COVID would undoubtedly make waves under any circumstance, this specific instance was made much worse when it was revealed the NFL’s reigning MVP had lied about his vaccination status. 

Back in August, Rodgers was asked if he was vaccinated. He said yes, and included that he had been “immunized.” Three months later, and it was revealed that his use of the word “immunized” was a clever way to dance around the league’s COVID protocols. As Ian Rapoport reported, Rodgers is not vaccinated. He reportedly received treatment from a doctor to increase his antibodies, but he is not vaccinated. 

Naturally, this revelation drew the attention of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, and frequent First Take guest, Jay Williams.

Smith has been a long time supporter of Rodgers. But even he had to acknowledge that Rodgers is a “liar” for fabricating the narrative that he is vaccinated. 

“Aaron Rodgers looks very bad today, for all the wrong reasons,” Smith said. “Aaron Rodgers is a liar. Period. He lied through his teeth, with a smirk on his face, regarding a matter that is very, very serious.” 

Despite Smith turning on his favorite quarterback in the NFL, Williams didn’t think his condemnation of Rodgers was strong enough. 

Williams has been public in his defense of Kyrie Irving, who is missing the NBA season because he refuses to get the COVID vaccine, and has said he received death threats for defending him. Smith, on the other hand, has been extremely critical of Irving’s choice to remain unvaccinated and miss games, and has gone out of his way to tear him apart seemingly every day. 

On today’s (November 4) episode of First Take, Smith and Williams met face-to-face to debate the difference between the Rodgers and Irving situations, and J-Will pulled out some receipts on Stephen A. Smith. 

“They are drastically different,” Williams said of the two situations. “Aaron Rodgers is exponentially worse. There was not only a lie, there was an intent to lie.” 

Williams continued on to address some of the discrepancies he found between Smith’s reaction to Irving, and Smith’s reaction to Rodgers. 

“You said, ‘it amounts to betrayal for Kyrie,’ you said, flat out, ‘stupid’ as it relates to what he’s doing. Quote, ‘bad teammate.’ Quote, ‘selfish.’ On October 16 CNN, ‘to hell with you.’ You say all these things about Kyrie Irving, and Kyrie Irving was very up front, and honest about what his situation was. He wasn’t jeopardizing anybody else. He didn’t put anybody else on the Brooklyn Nets and their team at risk … but he was subject to mass criticism by you, animated criticism by you,” Williams said, acknowledging that Smith had ripped Rodgers, but not in the same way. “I didn’t feel the same venom. I didn’t feel the same energy that was associated with Kyrie Irving. And a part of me wonders, why?”

Smith answered by saying that his vitriol towards Irving was a result of arguments he had with Williams, and in the final segment of the day, he took one final shot at the former Duke star. 

“First of all, what I would say to my brother Jay who I love is this,” he started. “You can stop being that damn sensitive when it comes to Kyrie Irving, because you got too much sympathy.” 

While Smith and Williams eventually came to a respectful compromise, the tension between the two was obvious, and it will be interesting to see how the narrative surrounding Rodgers situation continues to unfold. There will surely be consequences for lying about his vaccination status, but it is yet to be seen just how severe those consequences are. 

Keep it locked to HNHH for any further updates regarding Rodgers and Irving, and in meantime, let us know what you think about Smith and Williams’ heated debate on First Take down in the comments. 

Lil Durk Announces New Album “7220”

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Chicago rapper Lil Durk closed out 2020 by releasing his album The Voice, and it looks like he’s planning on dropping another solo project before the end of 2021. According to a recent social media post on the rapper’s Instagram account, he’s currently working on a new album, revealing its title this week.

Telling his followers that he’s in “album mode,” Lil Durk announced that his next album will be titled 7220. For those that are unaware of the title’s significance, 7220 is the address of Durk’s grandmother’s house, where he lived with fifteen of his family members for years, including his late older brother DThang. 


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Giving fans a glimpse of his process by sharing a picture of the whiteboard inside his studio room, Smurk teased that we’re in for a classic album. “Anthems and no skips,” he wrote on the board, influencing himself to continue coming through with fire.

There is also a tracklist and tally of guest features, which are written over to conceal the secret.

For now, it’s unclear when Durkio plans to release 7220. The Voice was released at the end of last year, and it was one of the biggest albums of the beginning of this year. He followed up with a collaborative album with Lil Baby called The Voice of the Heroes, and he also dropped an OTF compilation project this year. Clearly, with another album on the way, Durk has not been playing around in 2021.

What are you expecting from Lil Durk’s new album 7220?

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Is Set To Host A Job Fair In Madison Square Garden This Month

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Jay-Z may not be the best at using social media, but the billionaire is still a savvy businessman, and his Roc Nation company wants to help lift up others in the working world. That’s why they’re set to host a massive job fair in New York City’s Madison Square Garden later this month. There, job seekers can learn to leverage their skills and be interviewed for perspective roles on the spot.

The fair takes place November 18 in Madison Square Garden. Those in attendance will be able to speak with companies like Zara, Lowe’s, Madison Square Garden, Amazon, Foot Locker, Live Nation, Vice, and 40/40 Club and more. They’ll also have the opportunity to seek advice on resume building, professional attire, and receive styling and grooming services.

In a statement about the job fair, Team Roc’s managing director Dania Diaz talked about the opportunities that are created by the event:

“The Team Roc New York Job Fair is a real opportunity for socio-economic mobility for New Yorkers – those who want to work, yet have not had the exposure or connections to the right-fit jobs, or to the support services that can strengthen their prospects for employment. My hope is this event will not only stimulate New York’s economy but pair the state’s best and brightest employees with the country’s leading organizations. It is also a chance for us to work together – public, private, nonprofit sectors – to address the state’s labor shortages in a meaningful way.”

Sign up for Roc Nation’s job fair at Madison Square Garden here.

Chicago Has Influenced Ausar On All Levels

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Family is important, but for rising rapper Ausar (who you might remember from Netflix’s hip-hop competition series Rhythm + Flow), it represents the key to him becoming the budding star that he is today.

After laying down his musical foundation with the gospel sounds he learned in church with his mother, his brother got him into hip-hop.

“We would write and listen to instrumentals,” he says. “It went from me being competitive with my older brother over having to have the best verse to me really having a love for hip-hop.”

Ausar grew up in Chicago, a proud city known for its many beloved hip-hop icons. For him, the city was pivotal in his development.

“It [Chicago] has influenced my style. Chicago has influenced me on all levels,” he adds, giving a nod toward his music and his efforts to show up for the community as an advocate and example.

Besides hip-hop, Ausar has learned a lot of lessons from the game of basketball. Most importantly, discipline. “More than anything, knowing that it requires a regiment to get to where you’d like to go,” he says. “The results come directly from the work you’re willing to put in. On the other side is knowing your role within the team. Knowing when to step up and be a leader. Knowing when to fall back and rely on the people around you. You have a team for a reason: you can’t do everything on your own.”

That drive and positive mindset haven’t made Ausar immune to challenges in his career, though.

“Every step on the road, I’ve faced some form of rejection to get to the yeses,” he says. “I’ve had instances where I entered competitions and I felt like I was good enough, but didn’t end up winning. It killed my confidence. Then I came back around, did the work, was right back in those same positions, and succeeded in them.”

His experience on Rhythm + Flow ended in disappointment, but he knows how rare an opportunity it was and he’s using it as a building block.

“I was knocked out in the first round, but years later, we’re getting the results we were looking for,” he says. Ausar’s absolutely right on that. His recent single, “Homies,” has been gaining traction on streaming platforms and is racking up tens of thousands of plays.

As Ausar continues his journey, he hopes that other up-and-comers like himself can observe and take something away from it.

“I’m continuing to be myself and be a resource and an outlet for anybody who needs one,” he says. “I think a lot of people feel like you have to fit into a very particular box in order to be successful, but that’s not the case at all. As long as you stay true to you, you’ll find it.”

Steven Moses Delivers A Somber Performance Of ‘Reaper/Post Post Mort’ On ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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Lo-fi rapper Steven Moses doesn’t look how he sounds, but his somber UPROXX Sessions performance of the tortured, downtempo singles “Reaper” and “Post Post Mort” instantly eases the cognitive dissonance as he smoothly delivers his sinuous, tightly-wound rhymes. On “Reaper,” he details his struggles with addiction and depression, while on “Post Post Mort” he unreels his nihilistic worldview, somehow both bragging about and lamenting his hedonistic lifestyle with a swaggering, almost off-the-dome style delivery.

Hailing from Hollidaysburg in central Pennsylvania, Moses fell in love with hip-hop through Nas’ seminal debut Illmatic and it shows in his own wordy, borderline cerebral flows and beat choices. He’s also become something of a fashion plate thanks to his decisively left-of-center style, highlighted by dashes of designer offset by his grungy, post-punk posture. His Def Jam debut, 99, dropped in the summer of 2020, and he hasn’t slowed down yet.

Watch Steven Moses perform “Reaper/Post Post Mort” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

LeBron James Out With Abdominal Injury: Details

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LeBron James is currently in his 19th year in the NBA and as you would suspect, his body is breaking down a little bit. Just a couple of weeks ago, LeBron suffered a minor ankle injury that saw him miss a couple of games. He then made his way back to the lineup and was able to help the Lakers string a few wins together. 

Despite these wins, the Lakers haven’t looked amazing, and if it weren’t for LeBron, they would be in some big trouble. Unfortunately for the team, it looks as though LeBron is injured again, which could spell bad news for this upcoming stretch.

LeBron James

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According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, LeBron currently has an abdominal injury and is out indefinitely. The team is refusing to give a timeline on his return, and they have no intentions of rushing him back. They know that he needs all of the time he can get and that in the long run, being patient will pay off. Either way, this is not what the Lakers wanted to hear right now.

The Lakers play against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, and after losing to them last game, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook will need to pull it all together in James’ absence.

LeBron’s injury remains a developing story so stay tuned to HNHH as we will bring you all of the latest updates as soon as they become available.

Azealia Banks Reacts To Joe Budden Coming Out As Bisexual

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As people attempt to figure out whether Joe Budden was being sarcastic or not when he seemingly came out as bisexual during a recent episode of his podcast, Azealia Banks believes that the retired rapper made his announcement to try and “spite” her before the end of the year.

Over the years, Azealia Banks and Joe Budden have had a rocky relationship. Before celebrating the podcaster and saying that he “saved” her, Banks was at odds with Joe Budden for his comments about Nicki Minaj a few years ago. Azealia has also made many comments about Joe supposedly not being comfortable with his sexuality, which is something that he has rarely addressed. On Thursday, he seemingly told his open truth by informing listeners of his podcast that he likes men and women, coming out as bisexual.

“I’m bisexual,” he said on the show. “How do I spread this news? How do I spread the word? Yo, listen, I like guys and girls. Spread the word. I’m down.”


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As the news has been spreading on social media, Azealia reacted to his announcement and tried to force him back “into the closet,” claiming that Budden simply broke the news to “spite” her.

“Joe Budden only came out two months earlier than 2022 to try and spite me,” said Azealia on Instagram Stories. “He was supposed to stay in the closet until that ball dropped. Let’s put him back in the closet until Jan 5th. There will be no coming out until top of Q1. Not on my watch LMAO.”

She shared a second post a few minutes later, saying, “I TOLD Y’ALL JOE BUDDEN WAS MUNCHING BIRD.”

What do you think of Joe Budden coming out? Check out Azealia Banks’ posts below.

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