New Hip Hop News

When LaMelo Ball was drafted into the NBA just a few months ago, some were worried about how he would fit in with the rest of the league. After spending time overseas, there were no guarantees that Ball would be an immediate star but so far, he has proved his doubters wrong. Melo is easily one of the most dynamic players in the NBA right now and if the season were to end today, he would be a lock for the Rookie of the Year trophy.

Of course, LaMelo’s boss is none other than Michael Jordan who owns the Charlotte Hornets. While speaking to reporters recently, Jordan offered up some high praise for Ball stating that the young star has exceeded expectations and that he’s been a key reason for the Hornets’ development on the court.

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“I think Melo has adjusted to the NBA game better than any of us ever thought this early in his career,” Jordan said. “He has exceeded our expectations so far this season.

It’s rare that Jordan gives out praise like this, so it’s great to see Ball be the recipient given all of the doubters he had early on. His career is looking extremely promising and with MJ’s guidance, LaMelo has superstar potential.

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It’s NBA All-Star Weekend out in Atlanta which many would argue isn’t the greatest idea. We are in a pandemic, after all. However, rappers and celebrities who haven’t been able to pick up the backend in the past year are likely to cash out this weekend. Everyone is currently in town, hoping to dodge the ‘rona and collect a bag.

Bobby Shmurda’s release from prison came just in time for the All-Star weekend festivities. The rapper was booked for a few events last night including an appearance at Compound ATL that BallerAlert reported was canceled. Still, Bobby Shmurda and his crew found a way to enjoy the evening. He was welcomed by Gucci Mane who shared photos this morning of himself and Bobby Shmurda at the club, writing, “Real N***s Back in Style!! Welcome Home @realbobbyshmurdags9.” 

Later on in the evening, Bobby Shmurda was spotted turning up in the club alongside Rowdy Rebel and it appears that he’s really into Pooh Shiesty right now. Rowdy and Bobby caught a major vibe as they turned up to Pooh Shiesty and Lil Durk’s “Back In Blood.”

Bobby’s making some big bucks this weekend during the All-Star festivities. It was recently reported that the rapper is expected to upwards of $300K for his appearances this weekend.

Read, “Why Did Bobby Shmurda Opt Out Of “First Day Out” Freestyle Tradition?”

On Friday night, the Hollywood Critics Association held their annual film awards show, which began in 2016. Despite coronavirus taking over cinemas across the country and halting production on many new releases, many films garnered national attention or streaming success. Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman swept the ceremony, earning several awards that included best picture, best actress, best original screenplay, and best first picture. Other winners included Minari, Da 5 Bloods, Nomadland, and The Invisible Man. 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was given the trailblazer award, recording his acceptance speech in real time after watching the HCA’s video. He says he’s honored to be accepting the award and thankful for his friends and family who he has been able to grow alongside. He also called himself “privileged” to be in his position in Hollywood, noting that he constantly has the opportunity to make people feel good. 

“I’m gonna dedicate this trailblazer award to my dad,” Johnson says. “Man, that guy was a trailblazer. As complicated as our relationship was, our father-son relationship, complicated. Tough love. But he was a real trailblazer because what trailblazers do is they change behavior.” Rocky Johnson, Dwayne’s father, passed away in January 2020. 

Watch the actor’s acceptance speech below. 

Skin bleaching in the Black community is a hotly debated topic. While altering your skin color to appear lighter is objectively an act of self-hate and slightly problematic, this has not stopped many people from undergoing the process of bleaching their skin. Some new photos of former Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta star Atasha “Tommie Lee” Jefferson has people questioning whether or not she’s the latest to get rid of some of her melanin. 

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV

The 36-year-old reality TV star sparked speculation about whether or not she’s bleaching her skin after she shared a photo of herself on Instagram appearing a little washed Thursday (March 4). In the since-deleted post, she dons sunglasses but much of her face and skin from her legs and hands are fully visible. Fans in the comments ignored the caption of the post to instead comment on her lighter appearance. One fan commented, “Damn u look different.”

Seemingly ticked off by the commenter, the reality TV star clapped back at the user. She penned, “don’t you with blonde hair idk anybody who looks the same with a whole white wig on, y’all say the same shot everytime I change my hair color it’s getting old this post is about credit but I guess my looks more important to some smh slow a** mf’s.”

Tommie claims the wig is what is giving her an unsaturated appearance, but fans seem to think otherwise. For comparison, here is a photo shared by Tommie just yesterday versus one from back in December.

What do you make of the situation? Sound off in the comments. 

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Coi Leray is completely unafraid to show who she really is online, showing skin and goofing off to her over 2.5 million Instagram followers. Coi first began to generate buzz in 2017 when she released her singles “G.A.N” and “Pac Girl,” which went viral online. Having Benzino as a father certainly didn’t hinder her success either, releasing her debut album Everythingcoz in 2018. Trippie Redd appeared on her 2019 project EC2, a rapper who Coi gained notoriety for dating at the time. 

Most recently, Coi has done several other collaborations that have skyrocketed her fame, including songs with Gunna, Fetty Wap, Lil Durk, and Maliibu Miitch. Over the past few weeks, an unreleased track with Coi and Pooh Shiesty has gone viral on video-sharing app TikTok in a challenge where girls dance to Coi’s lyrics, “He call me big prrd / Come make this p***y purr.” The sound has more than 200,000 videos made to it. 

If you aren’t familiar with Coi Leray yet, you’re certainly missing out, and this gallery should help you get on the bandwagon. We’ve compiled some of Coi’s funniest and most viral-worthy Instagram posts over the last few weeks to help you get a sense of who the 23-year-old singer really is. 

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Upcoming Collab With Pooh Shiesty

Coi and Pooh Shiesty are hanging in the studio in this post from late February, teasing their unreleased track, which has been dubbed “Big Purr.”

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Trending On TikTok

Coi posted her viral TikTok on Instagram featuring her unreleased track, where it received nearly 2 million views. 

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Lacy Lingerie 

Showing some skin in an orange lace bodysuit, Coi shares that she’s an ambassador for Rihanna’s lingerie line Savage X Fenty. 

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All Work, No Play

It seems as though Coi is always working, teasing yet another collab with rapper PnB Rock. 

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Broke A Fingernail And Then Some 

Coi posted this slightly-NSFW video of her and her team attempting to pull up her tight pants, which were made of some kind of latex material.

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Bobby B*tch

On the day of Bobby Shmurda’s return home from prison, Coi posted this funny TikTok she had made to celebrate his release.

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Rollie On My Wrist

Coi has become a bit of a big spender in the wake of her recent success, posting this insane custom Rolex to her Instagram at the end of February.

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Got That Gas

Surrounded by a ridiculous amount of weed and hundreds of blue bills, Coi shows off her recent earnings. 

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Lil Uzi’s Pink Diamond 

Poking fun at Lil Uzi Vert’s recent implantation of a pink diamond into his forehead, Coi posted a photo of her with a filter on making it look like she had done the same.

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Showing Skin

Coi flexes her modelesque physique in this Instagram video, which was assumedly for a photo or video shoot.

Perhaps the most devilish entity in the entire sneaker world is the Nike SNKRS App. Yes, that’s right, the App that constantly gives you Ls is probably the worst thing to happen to the world of shoes in a very long time. Every single Saturday, this app becomes a trending topic as sneakerheads are unable to cop the sneakers that they truly wanted. Overall, it’s a pretty big travesty and it doesn’t seem like any of this is going to change anytime soon.

Today, the sneaker world was looking to cop the brand new Air Jordan 1 “University Blue” and, of course, it was extremely difficult to cop. Despite not even being that limited, numerous fans were unable to purchase them, and it led to a lot of frustration online.

Image via Nike

Twitter was full of people who were unable to cop, and it led to some entertaining memes that can be found below. As always, some are wondering why they even still bother with the SNKRS App at all, considering there is a very low chance of them ever getting a triumph with the platform.

With this latest release well and done, let us know in the comments below whether or not you were able to beat the system and get your hands on a pair.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian officially called it quits on their relationship a few weeks ago after rumors swirled for months that the couple was heading towards Splitsville. Previously one of the most recognizable couples in Hollywood, their union was not without its own share of scandals, one of the most memorable being Kanye’s claim that Drake had slept with Kim. While Drake never confirmed or denied this was true, his silence alone was enough to convince the masses. In his new track “Wants and Needs” from his Scary Hours 2 EP, the 34-year-old Toronto native seemingly threw shade at Kanye and his upcoming divorce.

John Phillips/Getty Images

In a line that seems to be referencing Kanye, he states, “Yeah, I probably should go link with Yeezy, I need me some Jesus / But soon as I started confessin’ my sins, he wouldn’t believe us.” As you might remember, Ye and Drizzy have been butting heads since 2018, and it appears the self-proclaimed 6 God has taken the beef a step further in the new cryptic bars.

While he doesn’t name-drop Kim K in the song, fans instantly speculated the line was in reference to his rumored ‘affair’ with the reality TV star across social media. One fan joked that following their divorce announcement, “Drake probably texting Kim kardashian right now like “hey u ok?”

This bar comes after fans speculated he referenced his relationship with Kardashian in the past, namely on his 2018 track “In My Feelings” where he repeatedly asks “Kiki, do you love me?” referring to the reality mogul as her Kiki nickname. 

Kanye fired back with an Instagram video at the time. He said to Drake: “The fact that there’s people making rumors or thinking you f**ked my wife and you’re not saying nothing and you’re carrying it like that, that don’t sit well with my spirit.”

Lars Niki/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards

He’s yet to speak out this time around.  

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Devin Booker was to take part in the All-Star Game on Sunday although recently, he suffered a knee injury that will keep him out of the game. With Booker injured, the NBA needed to find someone to replace him, and they needed to get someone from the Western Conference. Booker was on Team Durant, and now, his spot will be filled by 14-year NBA veteran Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz.

What makes this inclusion so special is the fact that Conley has never been to the All-Star Game before. He is the oldest player to go to the All-Star Game for the very first time, and he has already been getting some congratulatory messages from his teammates, including Donovan Mitchell, who is also on Team Durant.

Conley has been having himself a solid season in Utah as the Jazz continue to be one of the best teams in the league. With an average of 16.1 points and 5.7 assists per game, Conley has cemented himself as one of the more effective point guards out there and his place in the All-Star Game is most certainly deserved.

With three Utah Jazz players in the All-Star Game, it’s clear that the team is well-represented, even if they do get disrespected at times.

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

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22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman gained widespread recognition earlier this year when she spoke at President Joe Biden’s Inauguration. She was the youngest inaugural poet in American history, and is an extremely accomplished Harvard graduate who primarily focuses on issues of feminism, race, oppression, and the African diaspora. On Friday, however, her safety was put at risk when a security guard followed her on her walk home, doubting that she lived in her own building. 

She shared the story on Twitter, writing, “He demanded if I lived there because ‘you look suspicious.’ I showed my keys & buzzed myself into my building. He left, no apology. This is the reality of black girls: One day you’re called an icon, the next day, a threat.” 

In another Tweet, Gorman pens, “In a sense, he was right. I AM A THREAT: a threat to injustice, to inequality, to ignorance. Anyone who speaks the truth and walks with hope is an obvious and fatal danger to the powers that be.” 

In Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb,” which she wrote following the attacks on the US Capitol on January 6th, she discusses themes of race and racial justice in America. The battle for equality is far from over, but Amanda seems to be a voice of hope among the darkness. She writes, “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”