New Hip Hop News

Trae Young and the Hawks have agreed to a designated rookie maximum extension worth up to $207 million that will keep the star point guard in Atlanta for five more years. Young’s agent, Omar Wilkes of Klutch Sports, detailed the contract to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Monday.

The contract has a base of $172 million but includes a 30% escalator clause should Young hit on one of the three All-NBA teams during his tenure. The deal will begin in the 2022-23 season and run through 2026-27.

Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images

After he landed the new deal, Young tweeted “Never let ANYBODY tell you, you can’t do something,” and “Another Day, Another Opportunity.”

Young solidified his warranting of a max extension after the 2021 NBA Playoffs, during which he averaged 28.8 points and 9.5 assists per game while leading Atlanta on an impressive run that took them to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Young is the latest to pick up a huge deal this offseason. Mavs star Luka Doncic is expected to sign a similar deal as he is eligible for a massive 4-year, $202 million contract. Marc Stein reports that his deal likely won’t be solidified until after he is done competing in the Olympics.

Check out Young’s first comments after agreeing on the deal below.

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Not long after taking home the Grammy for Best Rap Album, the legendary Nas shocked fans with the spontaneous announcement of King’s Disease II. With the project due out for release this coming Friday, executive-producer Hit-Boy has come through to share a glimpse at the project’s stacked tracklist, which happens to feature a few unexpected surprises. 

Clocking in at fifteen tracks — with production assumed to be handled once again by Hit-Boy — King’s Disease II features a few intriguing guest appearances. Though the bulk of the album finds Nas flying solo, the album also features guest appearances from Eminem, Lauryn Hill, EPMD, Blxst, Charlie Wilson, Hit-Boy, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and YG. 

Ross Gilmore/Redferns via Getty Images 

Off the bat, many were drawn to “EPMD 2,” featuring Eminem and EPMD. The track marks the first time Nas and Em have collaborated on wax as emcees, having previously connected on God’s Son highlight “The Cross.” The album also brings a welcome reunion between Nas and Ms. Lauryn Hill, who previously crafted a classic together with “If I Ruled The World” — it should be interesting to see if they pick up where they left off.

Ever the hype-man, Hit-Boy slid into his own comment section with unapologetic excitement. “Wow Eminem and NAS first time rapping on a song together!” he notes. “Lauryn hill!! Death Row East!” Let it be known that his enthusiasm for the unexpected Nas sequel mirrors our own, and we look forward to hearing King’s Disease II in full when it drops in full this coming Friday, August 6th. 

Check out the full tracklist below, courtesy of Hit-Boy.

Lizzo is making her return to the music world next week, after about a two year hiatus following the release of her third studio album Cuz I Love You. On August 13th, she will release a new single called “Rumors,” teasing the beginning of a new era of music for the 33-year-old artist. Fans last heard from Lizzo in 2019, when she released a collaboration with close friend and artist Charli XCX titled “Blame It On Your Love.” She has taken home Grammy awards in 2020 for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for her hit song “Truth Hurts.”

At the 2020 Grammy Awards, she was the most nominated artist with eight nods in multiple categories. Cuz I Love You had a shot at Album of the Year, which highlights the reach of the commercial success she has received in recent years. Lizzo has been active on social media despite the musical silence, teasing her hard work in the studio. She began with a cryptic post on Sunday before announcing the single on Monday.

Using a simple caption and the “shush” emoji, Lizzo hinted at big things to come before the full announcement was made. In the follow-up post revealing the single title, her caption reads: “NEW ERA B*TCH. ‘RUMORS’. 8/13.”

The caption is followed by multiple “shush” emojis, while the glam photo of Lizzo, shot by photographer Jora Frantzis, shows the singer and rapper doing the matching “shush” pose. It’s clear what direction the theme and content of the single will be given the song title and the use of the “shush” motif.

Check out the single cover below. What are you expecting from Lizzo’s newest single? Let us know in the comments below.

After being announced last month, the day is finally here. The LOX’s Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch will face off against Dipset’s Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Freekey Zekey, and Juelz Santana for their highly anticipated Verzuz matchup. Over the past several weeks, Jim Jones and Styles P have been getting fans even more excited for the song-for-song battle by going back and forth over social media.

Now, hours ahead of their imminent Verzuz battle, The LOX has come forward with some exciting news for fans of New York rap.

According to HipHop-N-More, Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch recently did an interview with Angie Martinez on Power 105, and during their conversation with the veteran radio host, The LOX revealed that they will be embarking on a full joint tour with Dipset, starting in September. Furthermore, they discussed that their upcoming tour, as well as their long-awaited Verzuz battle, came to fruition following a show that The LOX and Dipset held in Norfolk, Virginia on July 3rd.

Full tour dates have not yet been revealed, but stay tuned because there will likely be a bigger announcement following the Dipset vs. The LOX Verzuz battle later tonight. Will you be copping tickets once they go on sale?

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It seemed like it was gonna be the Summer of bromances for James Harden, who has found himself in the close entourages of Meek Mill and Lil Baby. Now, it seems the summer has become a bit more complicated, as the Brooklyn Nets star is looking to recoup a hefty sum of lost money, as evidenced by a string of legal letters sent by Harden to Austin McBroom’s Simply Greatness Productions.

Allegedly, Harden was a big fan and a strong believer in McBroom’s “Social Gloves: Battle of the Platforms” event, which found McBroom facing off with TikToker Bryce Hall, so much so, that he invited $2 million into it. He now joins another group of investors and contestants whose payouts are a fraction of what they were promised.

Simply Greatness Productions seems to be at fault here with grossly miscalculating the estimate of how many people would tune in to the event via Pay-Per-View. McBroom believed that over 10,000,000 fans would purchase the $50 Pay-Per-View livestream of the event. However, when the event finally came around, only 136,000 fans shelled out the $50. The event, reportedly lost over $10 million, promising Hall $5 million,  for his loss to Austin McBroom. 

Bryce Hall and Austin McBroom – Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images for LivexLive

Taylor Holder, the TikToker who fought British Youtuber Gib at the event, also recently filed a breach of contract against Simply Greatness Production. Holder has allegedly peen paid only $85,000 of his promised $2 million. In response to calls for returned losses, Simply Greatness Productions reached out to creditors with this statement: “In light of the apparent underperformance of the Event, our firm has been retained to represent SGP in connection with either a workout of the claims of all of its creditors or if a workout is not feasible a likely bankruptcy filing.”

Good luck to James Harden. 

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U.K. rapper Dizzee Rascal has been charged with assault after leaving a woman with minor injuries following a domestic argument in London, at a residential address in Streatham on June 8th. Rascal, real name Dylan Mills, is currently out on bail.

In a statement, the Metropolitan police said: “Dylan Mills, 36, of Sevenoaks, Kent, has been charged with assault after an incident at a residential address in Streatham on 8 June. Officers attended and a woman reported minor injuries. She did not require hospital treatment.”

Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

Rascal is considered a pioneer of grime music. His career began in 2003 after the release of his debut album Boy in da Corner. The project earned him a Mercury Prize and is considered a classic in the genre. His album, Tongue n’ Cheek went platinum and has sold 300,000 units in the U.K. He’s also notched a handful of number one singles including “Dance Wiv Me” and “Bonkers.” For his contributions to music, he was award Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2020. Rascal also owns his own record label, Dirtee Stank.

He released his latest album E3 AF, last year.

Rascal is set to appear at Croydon magistrates court on Friday, September 3rd.

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In a surprising turn of events, Tory Lanez found himself on the receiving end of a diss track from Cassidy, who fired shots at the Canadian rapper on “Perjury.” For those missing context, the situation started after Tory hit Funkmaster Flex for a freestyle, where he slyly slid in a few of Cassidy’s punchlines and bars. 

Though Tory argued that he was simply paying homage to one of his favorite rappers, Cassidy felt some type of way given the initial lack of credit. By his logic, Tory should have given him credit off the jump, as fans would have been left under the impression that the bars were Lanez originals. He decided that the only course of action was to fire off a diss record, delivering “Perjury” and forcefully tossing the ball into Tory’s court.

 Lorne Thomson/Redferns/Getty Images

Meanwhile, Royce Da 5’9″ has been steadily watching this one unfold from afar, his popcorn bag steadily dwindling. As of this morning, Nickel made his position on Tory vs Cassidy abundantly clear. Simply put, he wants more. Taking to Twitter, Royce encouraged Tory to clap back, complementing the way he handles himself in a battle. “You gon respond @toryLanez?” writes Royce. “I like when you in that bag. Pardon my lateness y’all my girl wouldn’t let me online.”

Royce is of course referring to Tory’s previous competitive feuds with Joyner Lucas and Don Q, which delivered tracks like “Litty Again” and the scathing “Don Queen.” In fact, Tory was seemingly interested in aiming something at Royce at one point, but the calculated Detroit veteran sternly advised him against it. Now, however, Royce is ready and willing to see Tory clap back at Cassidy — all while his many fans encourage him to take his own advice and reply to Lupe Fiasco and Mickey Factz.

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Check out Royce’s call to action below, and sound off if you agree that Tory Lanez should retaliate against Cassidy. Another day, another instance of idols becoming rivals. Funny how that works.

The Nets and Blake Griffin have agreed on a deal to keep the veteran power forward in Brooklyn through one more season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

After being having his contract was bought out by the Detroit Pistons, Griffin signed with the Nets on March 8, 2021. In his short time in Brooklyn last year, he averaged 10 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in just over 21 minutes per game. Griffin went on to start in all 12 of the team’s playoff games.

Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images

“We all saw the intangibles that he brought to us last year. Some on the court, some behind the scenes and what he did in the locker room: the veteran leadership, the presence that he had,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said, according to the New York Post. “He was absolutely terrific and found a niche with the team.”

The Nets suffered a disappointing playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, ending a season that certainly had championship aspirations.

As for their goals this offseason, Marks said: “We have a pretty good team and we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. We don’t want to screw it up too bad. We want to add depth at the big position. That’s going to be important from a defensive and rebounding standpoint.”

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