Ice Cube Labels His Departure From N.W.A. As The Biggest Risk Of His Career

Ice Cube’s began his rap career as a member of N.W.A., the Compton-based group famous for records like “F*ck The Police” and “Straight Outta Compton.” The group, which featured other notable names like Eazy E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, first got its start in 1987. However, things fell apart in the following years, with Arabian Prince leaving the group in 1988 and Cube doing the same in 1989. During a recent interview with HipHopDX, Cube reflected on his departure as well as the weight of his decision.

“I think leaving N.W.A, that was a big risk,” Cube told Big 3 basketball league founder, who asked about the biggest risk he took in his rap career. “It could have went all bad from there after reaching the mountain top and you just kind of throw yourself off,” he added. “So that could have went bad, but it taught me how to trust myself, trust what I see and what I believe. And I was dedicated to not letting this business change who I am.”

After leaving N.W.A. in December 1989, Cube released his solo debut album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, the following year, followed by 1991’s Death Certificate, 1992’s The Predator, and 1993’s Lethal Injection.

You can read Ice Cube’s full interview with HipHopDX here.

Joyner Lucas Blasts Karen Civil For Allegedly Stealing $60K

Over the last decade, Karen Civil has become one of the biggest marketing strategists in the hip-hop and entertainment world. Many know her for her work with Nicki Minaj and a whole host of other artists who has sung her praises in the past. Recently, however, Civil has found herself at the forefront of various controversies, including one involving comedian Jessie Woo. Woo claimed that Civil had booked her with a fake company with the intention of acquiring personal info. From there, Civil allegedly hit Woo with an extortion case and a defamation lawsuit that claimed that Woo was harassing her.

Eventually, Woo filed a motion to have the lawsuit get dismissed, and this past week, Woo came out victorious thanks to a judgment from the Los Angeles Superior Court. Following the victory, Woo took to Instagram where she explained the situation in detail, all while calling Civil a “loser.”

Today, Joyner Lucas decided to add his voice to the discussion surrounding Civil as he brought up a situation from when he first got into the rap game. Lucas had sounded these alarms all the way back in 2016 around the same time that Cam’ron was beefing with Civil over an article about Dipset. At the time, Lucas was not as big as he is now, and his comments weren’t widely circulated. Now, however, many are taking notice of the very serious allegations he is leveling against the marketing wiz.

In essence, Lucas is claiming that he paid Civil $60,000 all the way back in 2015 as he wanted a consultant that could help him get his name out there. He only had around 5,000 Twitter followers and he was looking for a way to promote his now-infamous story-driven song “Ross Capicchioni.” As Lucas explains, Civil reportedly told him that no one would care about the song and that on numerous occasions, she ducked his phone calls and even vacationed with his money. Lucas then went on to say that she never performed the tasks she was paid to do and that to this day, he feels as though his money was stolen from him.

My son was on the way and you stole 60k from me before I got in the game @KarenCivil. I hired you as a consultant and below attached was the memo you sent me. I was desperate for help and you knew that. After you was paid you went ghost and didn’t expect me to pop,” he wrote. “After you got the money paid up front, you stopped answering my calls & every time I hit you, you answered the phone with a attitude like I was messing up your day. I sent you hella messages pleading with you to do your job becuz my back was againts the wall. You took advantage.”

Lucas continued with his social media rant noting that he has been waiting a long time to bring forth these allegations. He knows that he is more popular than he has ever been, and as he continues to get more fans, he says he wants to keep the pressure on Civil. 

Joyner revealed that Civil has since blocked him, however, in the midst of all of this, Civil has since released a statement to The Shade Room where she offered her side of the story. As you can see in the post below, Civil says that work was done in relation to the $60K contract with Joyner and that the rapper is simply being unreasonable. She also alleged that she and Joyner each spoke with Charlamagne today and that they would get in touch for a conversation that would rectify the situation. Civil says Joyner ultimately chose to bring it to Twitter instead, which has led us to this exact moment.

The artist has seen Civil’s response and just moments ago, he took to Twitter refuting her side of the story, saying “what work was done!? What did u do? Show me. help me understand. You WENT ON VACATION!”

There is clearly a lot to unpack here, especially when you consider how this happened over five years ago. At this moment, Lucas and Civil’s comments are simply allegations, and nothing is completely confirmed.

Stay tuned to HNHH for updates on this story as we will be sure to bring you the latest updates.

Lil Nas X, NBA Youngboy & Drake Light Up This Week’s “Fire Emoji” Playlist

It’s been a hectic few weeks in the hip-hop world. Drake and Kanye’s respective releases seemingly put a hold on many artists from dropping their own projects but now that the smoke is clear, there is tons of new heat that we’ve had on steady rotation. As usual, we highlight the best of the week’s releases on our Fire Emoji playlist so here’s your breakdown:

It’s been a long time coming but Lil Nas X finally delivered his debut album Montero on Friday. Loaded with instant radio-friendly bangers, it was only right that we include “Dollar Sign Slime” ft. Megan Thee Stallion. A little fun fact about the song: Lil Nas X said that he tried to get Drake to hop on that very record.

NBA Youngboy might be locked up but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t putting in work. The rapper recently announced a global partnership deal with Motown Records and revealed a compilation project titled  Never Broke Again Volume 1 is on the way. This week, he unveiled the single “On My Side” which was a necessary inclusion for this week’s playlist update.

Finally, we have even more Drake because, no matter what, the man is inescapable. Drake maintained his hot-streak with intros on Certified Lover Boy with “Champagne Poetry” which Freddie Gibbs and IDK have both freestyled over this week.

Check the latest Fire Emoji playlist update below and be sure to subscribe to HNHH on Spotify for more playlists.  

Kanye West Shares “Donda Chant” Visual On Instagram

Kanye West’s DONDA is one of the most ambitious projects he has released in quite some time, and when it came out just three weeks ago, fans almost couldn’t believe their eyes. After three listening parties and not a single official release in sight, fans were starting to get worried that the album would never show up. However, on a fateful Sunday morning, Kanye blessed us and after three weeks, there is no doubt that this is one of the best projects of the year.

The entire album is a concept record that is meant to pay homage to his mother Donda West who tragically passed away 14 years ago. There are various references to her on the album, including on the project’s opener “Donda Chant” which sees her name being repeated in various different cadences. 

Kanye West

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Today, Kanye took to his Instagram page where he shared a visual for “Donda Chant” which features an overhead look at a projection in which hearses are driving around in a circle all while pictures of Donda West as a child are flashed on the screen. These images are placed atop Kanye’s childhood home which was featured during the infamous third listening party in Chicago.

This new visual comes just a couple of days after the release of Kanye’s video for the track “24,” which is one of the most heavenly songs on the project. 

Let us know your favorite song from DONDA, in the comments below.

Awkwafina Struggled To Answer A Question About Her Using A ‘Blaccent’ In Films

Awkwafina has one of the most unlikely success stories in Hollywood, and her representation in both music and the film world has been an important step forward. But that doesn’t necessarily mean she hasn’t made missteps of her own within the comedic and accent work she’s employed in the past. In particular, the rapper and actress has faced criticism in the past for using a “blaccent,” or the current cultural shorthand for when non-Black people adopted a Black voice.

In both of her biggest films, Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8, Awkwafina has, at times, used what could qualify as a “blaccent,” and alongside that, accusations of cultural appropriation have risen as well. Though Awkwafina hasn’t spoken on the subject in the past, In the press cycle for her new movie, Shang-Chi, she was asked point blank about the topic. In her answer, she seemed to struggle to actually address the question, or whether she considered her past work appropriation. “Um, you know, I’m open to the conversation,” she began. “I think it, you know, it’s really something that is a little bit multi-faceted and layered, and so yeah.”

While that isn’t really a conversation itself, being open to it is potentially a start. To learn more about issues like the use of a blaccent and cultural appropriation, read Lauren Michele Jackson’s 2018 piece “Who Really Owns the Blaccent” for Vulture right here.

Lil Baby’s Jeweler Issues An Apology After The Rapper Exposed Them For Selling Him Fake Jewelry

Anyone buying jewelry hopes they’re authentic. But sometimes they’re not. That’s what happened to Lil Baby wanted, who was forced to call out Rafaello and Co., a New York-based jewelry company after he discovered that they sold him fake goods.

The rapper recently discovered a Patek Phillippe watch, supposedly valued at $400,000, that he bought from the company was fake, along with some other goods.

“Now @rafaelloandco y’all Kno better then to sell ME of all people a FAKE Or anything that could be called a FAKE!” Lil Baby wrote on an Instagram video showing four rings and a diamond-flooded watch. “I stand on my name the same way y’all should! Ain’t no such thing as a mistake when that money involved ‍♂!! Don’t F*ccin Play Wit me Cause when I’m on that I’m on that #ansameforyoup*ssyn****s #dontplaywitbaby.”

Rafaello & Co.
Rafaello & Co.

Rafaello and Co. responded to Baby’s claims and accepted full responsibility. “We do stand on our name just like he does that’s why today he got those four rings for free and his money back because we didn’t do our homework on the watch and we take Full responsibility for that,” they wrote, adding, “But it didn’t happen intentionally and knows that for a fact.” In a second post to their Instagram Story, the company emphasized that the incident was merely a mistake that wouldn’t happen again.

Tyson Fury Claims He’s Been Killing His Sparring Partners

Tyson Fury was diagnosed with COVID-19 just a couple of months ago and it forced him to postpone his fight against Deontay Wilder. This is the highly-anticipated trilogy match between these two combatants that will help determined who gets to fight Anthony Joshua for the unification of the Heavyweight division. After defeating Wilder the last time, Fury is fully expected to win, although his recent COVID bout could cause problems when it comes to his conditioning over the course of 12 rounds.

In the eyes of his longtime promoter Bob Arum, Fury shouldn’t have any problems with Wilder as he has been working hard in the gym. As Arum told Boxing Scene, Fury is in some of the best shape of his life and when it comes to sparring, he has been decimating his partners, which is certainly a good sign.

Tyson Fury

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

“I talked to him [Tuesday]. He was shouting how great he’s doing, how he’s killing sparring partners,” Arum explained. “He arrives in Las Vegas on Saturday, this Saturday. He’ll take Sunday off and then he’ll resume training at the Top Rank Gym on Monday. He’s been training twice a day in England. And (trainer) ‘Sugar Hill’ is over there with him.”

The fight is set to go down on Saturday, October 9th, and the entire boxing world will be tuning in to see who comes away with the win. If Fury pulls off another victory, one would have to assume that the Wilder vs. Fury rivalry would be officially over.

Tyson Fury

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

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Headie One Slides Through With “Beggars Can’t Be Choosers”

Over the past few months, Headie One has been offering new singles in anticipation of his follow-up to 2020’s EDNA. His last release turned out to be the project that garnered international attraction, especially with names like Drake and Future attached to the tracklist. His recent singles have been a return to from of sorts. Bringing it back to the sounds of UK drill and road rap, he came through with a brand new single this week titled, “Beggars Can’t Be Choosers.” Though it lacks the sinister stylings that make up the UK sound, the more upbeat production allows Headie One to celebrate all of his accomplishments and wins over the years.

The latest from Headie One arrives a few months after dropping “2 Chains.” Peep his new single below.

Too Loyal… For My Own Good drops on October 1st.

Quotable Lyrics
Ever had the jakes pissed, they couldn’t find that nina?
Bad B wanna get rid of my clothes, I think she is a keeper
Got this ting from Uxbridge, one from Dulwich, I can phone up either
She love the AP, but I come with a chandelier like Sia