New Hip Hop News

For as long as we can remember, 50-year-old rapper Fat Joe, real name Joseph Antonio Cartagena, has been walking around with no hair on his head. His baldness has become part of his brand. The rapper is recognizable because of his size and his shiny dome. He’s been in the spotlight for decades but has anybody ever seen him with a full head of hair?

This could be the first time we’ve ever seen Fat Joe with a styled coif, sharing the ultimate throwback picture on Instagram. “The birth of JOEY CRACK,” wrote the “Sunshine” artist. The photo was seemingly taken while Joe was still a teenager, sporting some peach fuzz above his lip and posing with a curtain behind him. Of course, people are pointing out the complete set of hair atop Joe’s head, which seems abnormal given the fact that we’ve known him to be bald for the last twenty-plus years.

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While he’s still active in music, releasing his collaboration with DJ Khaled and Amorphous a few weeks ago, these days, Fat Joe has been establishing himself as a presence in hip-hop media as an interviewer. He’s been able to secure some of the biggest artists on his platform, speaking about all the hot topics on The Fat Joe Show.

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Is this the first time you’ve ever seen Fat Joe with hair?

With Bobby Shmurda officially free following a six-year prison stint, many have been quickly moving to connect with the rapper one way or another. With Quavo having already connected with Shmurda following the rapper’s release, YG recently took to Instagram to applaud the rapper’s character, specifically focusing on Shmurda’s discipline and handling of his incarceration — not to mention the positive vibes he’s been experiencing since touching down back home. 

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As anti-snitch sentiments continue to heat up, many rappers still admire those who serve their time without cooperating with the police. YG made sure to praise Shmurda for exactly that, tagging him in an Instagram story with some flattering words. “Bobby Shmurda how it pose to look when you kome home from jail,” writes YG. “Real n***a celebration. Thats how it pose to look.” 

Clearly, YG values the idea that a man can keep his integrity for the duration of an extended prison stint, and bounce back with a positive attitude and unfaltering ambition. As it stands, he’s not the only rapper to be singing Shmurda’s praises, nor will he be the last. It should certainly be interesting to see how many prominent names slide through to bless the inevitable Bobby Shmurda mixtape, as that will likely be arriving in the near future. Check out YG’s message below, and sound off if you admire how Bobby is bouncing back so far. 

One of the most outspoken players in the league, Kyrie Irving has just urged the NBA to start making moves toward a new logo, asking them to replace Jerry West with Kobe Bryant. 

There have been talks over the last few years to roll out a new logo for the NBA, and even before his passing, Kobe’s name was mentioned as a possible replacement from the current picture of sharpshooter Jerry West. According to Kyrie Irving, he’s the only person that should be replacing the current logo, sharing a mock-up of what Kobe’s logo could look like.

“Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says,” said the Brooklyn Nets superstar on Instagram. “BLACK KINGS BUILT THE LEAGUE.”

After his comment seemingly divided his audience, Irving clarified his statement, saying, “To: All the people who say it is not about color ‘BLACK’ or ‘BLACK KINGS’ That’s what we call ourselves. And that’s what oppressors refused to call MY ancestors. BLACK KINGS. Deal with it!”

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Some people are chiming in and saying that Michael Jordan should be the new logo man, given his widely-viewed status as the best player of all-time. Others are saying that Adam Silver and the NBA should wait for LeBron James to retire before choosing a new logo. 

Do you think that Kobe Bryant should become the new NBA logo?

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For the last two weeks, there has been a lot of talk surrounding a leaked lyric from Meek Mill referencing the tragic circumstances of Kobe’s passing. Vanessa, Kobe’s widow, fired back at Meek and called him “disrespectful” and “insensitive”. Read more about what happened here.

Jhené Aiko and Big Sean are one of Hip-Hop’s favorite couples, and anytime the two get together, things either get steamy, funny or somewhere in-between. Today, it looks like Jhené Aiko has initiated a more comical exchange with her boyfriend, trolling the Detroit 2 rapper while he was celebrating one of the biggest achievements of his career.

Yesterday marked the six-year anniversary of Big Sean’s third full-length album Dark Sky Paradise, and in honor of Sean’s first number one album, the “Body Language” rapper shared a commemorative post to his Instagram. In the caption of the post, he wrote, “6 years since Dark Sky Paradise…Seeing all these bring back so many memories! Thank you!!! Favorite song(s)?!”

While other artists like Kami, Jhené Aiko caught wind of the post, and she decided to take the opportunity to roast her boyfriend a bit.

“thank god you grew that beard,” Jhené playfully started her caption. “lol jusssssst playing love u…and my fave song is research and i know.” When Dark Sky Paradise was released, Big Sean wasn’t yet rocking his signature beard, so it’s funny to see Jhené making fun of the “I Don’t F*** With You” rapper’s former lack of facial hair.

Interestingly, her favorite songs from the album are “I Know,” which features none other than Aiko herself, and “Research,” which features Ariana Grande. Perhaps the alleged tension Jhené and Sean’s former flame is purely just fan speculation.

In honor of the double-platinum album’s six-year anniversary, what are your favorite songs from Dark Sky Paradise?

Though Pop Smoke is no longer with us, the late New York rapper’s team continues to keep his legacy alive with new posthumous content. Following the release of his 2020 album Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon and its subsequent Deluxe Edition, some feared that the well would dry up. Thankfully, Pop Smoke still has a few unreleased bangers and verses tucked away, including the upcoming single “AP,” which is due for release this Friday at midnight.

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Set to be included on the soundtrack for Boogie, the film that marks Pop Smoke’s acting debut (see footage of his performance here), a new snippet for the track seems to provide an indication of what’s to come. As expected, the instrumental is a hard-hitting drill banger, ominous in nature and driven by up-tempo and hectic percussion; at this point, fans have come to know what to expect when Pop steps to a beat like this. Curious parties can check out a brief snippet below, though it doesn’t feature any vocals from the rapper.

For those curious in catching Pop Smoke in Boogie, look for the Eddie Huang-directed film to be released on March 5th. In addition to Pop Smoke making his acting debut, it also stars Taylor Takahashi, Taylour Paige, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Are you excited to hear some new music from Pop Smoke? If so, check back tomorrow at midnight for the release of “AP.”

If music doesn’t end up working for Bobby Shmurda, there’s always OnlyFans.

The New York rap star was released from prison this week, getting let out ten months early on Tuesday morning. As the world waits for new music from the “Hot N***a” rapper, who was awarded four new certifications this week, including a 5-time platinum plaque for the aforementioned record, Bobby is getting acclimated to the new world that he’s been locked away from for six years. He’s learning about how to sustain himself as a pop culture phenomenon and he knows that, with the ladies, it helps to have some sex appeal. The GS9 rapper showed off that he can be a sex symbol if he wants to be, sharing a new thirst trap photo on Instagram.

“Hem woke up like this,” wrote Bobby, standing inside his high-rise apartment in New York City and rocking sunglasses, gold jewelry, black boxer-briefs, and no shirt. “Chocolate city n***a go get a tan.”

In the comments, people are waking up with some thirsty remarks for the 26-year-old artist, also flooding his mentions and telling the star to release a song with vocals from the late Pop Smoke. On Wednesday night, Bobby posted videos listening to the “Hello” artist, which prompted a barrage of people clamoring for a collaboration between the two. Unfortunately, the logistics behind that would be pretty tricky, but it would be a huge look for Bobby to come back with a posthumous feature from Pop Smoke.

Since his release from prison, Bobby has been going crazy on Instagram, seeing his follower count jump by over 3 million. Before he got out, he was stuck at 900,000 followers but, just a few days later, he’s sitting at 4 million.

Are you liking the new Sex Symbol Bobby Shmurda?

Freddie Gibbs may not be pressed to follow the various Hip-Hop trends that come and go, but he has made a spot for himself within the culture nevertheless. Over the years, Gibbs has dropped acclaimed projects such as Piñata, You Only Live 2wice, Bandana, and most recently Alfredo. His latest album has even garnered him a Grammy nomination for “Best Rap Album” in the upcoming Grammy ceremony.

In addition to the music, Freddie Gibbs is known for his comedic antics as well, from roasting fans (and DJ Akademiks) to providing funny commentary on rap-related news like Lil Uzi’s new forehead diamond. In a move that some fans may have never seen coming, Gangsta Gibbs recently made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience and discussed a myriad of topics, from crack to R. Kelly.

One clip that has really gone viral from their entire episode is the bit in which Gibbs reveals that he once shot a crackhead nine times, but the crackhead kept running.

In the clip, Freddie Gibbs nonchalantly states, “You know, this is some real shit because there’s a crackhead back in the day. I shot him that n**** nine times with a TEC-9, and he kept running down the alley.” Joe Rogan and Brian Moses looked momentarily flabbergasted by the Alfredo rapper’s admission, but they ultimately just smoothed by that part and continued to discuss the differences between crack and cocaine.

Checking out a longer clip of the exchange definitely provides more context, so you can watch that moment from Freddie Gibbs’ Joe Rogan appearance in the clip below. Hopefully, Gibbs’ comments won’t result in any legal action taken against him.