New Hip Hop News

Following the death of legendary rapper DMX, his longtime collaborator and close friend Swizz Beatz released a lengthy video on Instagram reflecting on X’s life and the impact he had on those around him. Beatz had produced some of X’s biggest hits including “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” from his 1998 debut studio album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot.

“My brother was a different type of brother—a different type of artist, a different type of creative, different type of spirit, different type of zone, different type of soul,” Swizz says in the video. “Since the day that I met him, he lived his for everyone else … You ain’t never seen DMX with a Lamborghini, you ain’t never seen my brother with a Rolls-Royce, you ain’t never seen him iced out with no jewelry. He did not care about any of that. He was the biggest … He was the biggest because he prayed for everybody else more than himself. He’d get on the stage and pray for 15,000 people, knowing that he needed more prayers than anybody that he was praying for.”

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X was hospitalized for a heart attack, which was reportedly brought on by a drug overdose, earlier this week. His family confirmed that he died on Friday. 

“My brother would take care of everybody before he would take care of himself. I never seen a human like him. The closest I’ve ever seen to a prophet …” Swizz continued. “Know why he was suffering? ’Cause he took everyone’s pain and made it his. His humanitarian work should be celebrated.”

Check out more reactions from the hip-hop community to X’s death here.

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The death of DMX has triggered a tidal wave of reflections and tributes from friends and fans of the late legend. His contributions to the rap landscape have proven to be nothing short of influential, most illuminated in forthcoming projects in his home state planned to recognize these achievements. Fellow artists have also reflected on his recent passing, with Timbaland being the most recent to chime in on how painful hearing the news was. 

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In a conversation on Instagram live with Fat Joe, the two hip-hop monarchs discussed in detail DMX’s spirituality. “He was writing this Book of Eli for us, right in front of our face,” began Timbaland. Fat Joe adds that DMX’s bold and public spirituality and belief in God was threatening and powerful to those unsuspecting of it. 

Continuing, Timbaland then opened up about how X’s death was affecting him emotionally. “This one hit differently. This one hit different. It made me think about like Aaliyah, it just hit different bro. I can’t even explain. I know you can hear it in my voice, it just hit different,” admitted Timbaland, appearing visibly shaken. 

“We all f*cked up, hip hop f*cked up,” ended Joe.

Timbaland and Aaliyah were frequent collaborators through the span of her career. She also had a close relationship with the late rapper, which is part of the reason her mother, Diane Haughton, penned an uplifting tribute for the late rapper. 

“Earl you had and still have a heart of gold,” Haughton said in the statement. “You and Baby Girl will meet again with all the beautiful people we have lost. Will never forget your kindness. NEVER! Blessing to your family! Eternally!” 

Our prayers continue to go out to DMX’s loved ones. 

Paul Pierce was fired from ESPN in epic fashion this past week following an incident that was well within his control. As many of you know already, Pierce took to Instagram Live where he could be seen drinking and smoking around a plethora of strippers and escorts. While Pierce seemed to be having a good time, ESPN didn’t approve and they promptly fired him, which was to be expected considering they are owned by Disney. In fact, the whole incident prompted Kyle Kuzma to call Pierce a sicko.

Recently, TMZ was able to catch up to Pierce, where they asked him about what his plans are moving forward. For now, Pierce won’t divulge what he has going on although he is confident he will come back stronger than ever.

“Truth gonna bounce back like never before that’s all you gotta know,” Pierce said. It’s been reported that places like Barstool could end up landing Pierce although, at this point, there is no guarantee such a thing will happen. Regardless, Pierce has a ton of prospects and we’re sure he will find a new job sometime soon.

As for his IG Lives, we’re sure he will be seeking an employer that allows him to be himself.

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In his 20+ years career, DMX left us with anthems for any occasion. Some would make you want to fight, others would make you want to cry but his power was evoking emotion. Unfortunately, he won’t be here with us when his next studio album is released but close friends of DMX confirmed that new music is on the way which reportedly includes a new album, per AllHipHop. 

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Darrin “Dee” Dean of Ruff Ryders Inc. and Craig Brodhead, X’s manager, spoke to Lisa Evers shortly after news of X’s passing where they revealed that X had been cooking up new music throughout the pandemic. They explained that they went down to Nashville for four months where they locked in the studio. “It’s sad that he’s not gonna be here, but the music…This album right here is special,” said Dean. “Like you probably never heard no music like you heard on this one that we did right now. This is probably one of his great albums. One of the best. It’s a classic, for sure.”

“He was excited about it, he couldn’t wait to promote it and get out there with the music,” Broadhead added. Additionally, there was a TV show with X in the works documenting the rapper mending his relationship with his children.

X was hyping up the album, which would’ve marked his return to Def Jam, last year during his appearance on Drink Champs with N.O.R.E. X revealed that he was going to have more features on this project than he ever had in the past. Pop Smoke, Griselda, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, and Usher were among those he said he had songs with.

Check out the interview below. 

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When Hollywood power couples are being discussed, for more than a decade now, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s names come up in the discussion. While the couple was more low-key with their romance during the first half of the millennium as their romance was budding, the two now proudly often make appearances as a duo. They even released a joint project as the musical pair The Carters, showing off their chemistry in the studio.  

Their relationship has not been without its own fair share of scandals, but they were able to mend their marriage and stay together for a strong 13 years, as of last weekend. 

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The couple celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary on the weekend of April 4th, 13 years after the couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in 2008. Notoriously private, it was not until this weekend when the Grammy record-holder shared snaps from their anniversary celebration on her website. 

Fans of the songstress have come to recognize that her website houses more exclusive, intimate shots of the singer and her life than any of her social media. The 39-year-old songstress shared photos on her website of their time together in “Sin City.” In the shots, Bey rocks a form-fitting plaid-printed Alessandra Rich set showing off her voluptuous curves. 

In addition to the outfit snaps, she also shared adorable new couple photos with her hubby. They posed for a goofy selfie-style snap and then again for a more serious one. Check out the photos below. 

The couple is one of Hollywood’s wealthiest couples, with an estimated combined net worth of close to $2 billion. With their numerous business endeavors, they’re showing no sign of slowing down their accumulation of wealth either. 

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Congrats to the couple on reaching this major relationship milestone!

Devin Booker and Kendall Jenner are the latest NBA couple and over the past few months, they have been going strong. Ever since making things official during Valentine’s Day, the two haven’t been afraid to post about each other and these days, they have been spending a ton of time together. In fact, Kendall has been bringing Booker around the family a lot more as of late which is a pretty good sign for their relationship.

For instance, Kendall took to her Instagram story last night with a video of her sister Kylie playing against Booker in a game of Super Shot. Of course, this is the infamous basketball-based arcade game, and as you can imagine, Booker won with ease. As you can see from the full clip below, Booker absolutely dominated the game and even hit a high score at the end.

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While Kendall was trying to pull for her sister, it’s clear that she was no match for Booker who is among some of the best players in the entire NBA. Had he lost, he probably would have been clowned by all of NBA Twitter, which is motivation in and of itself.

Perhaps Kylie will get in the gym and give Booker a run for his money, the next time.

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