New Hip Hop News

2021 will be a special year for the NBA as it will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in the fall. For decades, the league has given us some incredible moments and to this day, the NBA remains one of the most relevant sports leagues on a global level. To celebrate this massive birthday, the NBA is teaming up with Nike for some unique pairs of the Nike Dunk Low.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we saw that there would be a white, black, and orange pair of the 75th anniversary Nike Dunk Low, and just a few days ago, we got a fresh look at a Brooklyn Nets colorway. As you can see in the images below, there is now an official look at the aforementioned Nets colorway which is an homage to the classic aesthetics of the franchise, dating back to their days in New Jersey. The sneaker is mostly comprised of white, navy blue, and red leather, which creates a nice timeless look that will appease Nets fans. We also get the classic Nets shield logo on the back heel all while the NBA 75th anniversary insignia is on the tongue.

At this time, there is no release information concerning these, however, considering this shoe is meant to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NBA, you will most likely see these get released sometime closer to the Fall. In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comments below, and stay tuned to HNHH for all of the latest information from the sneaker world.

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

Image via Nike

While it wasn’t a wildly busy week for new music, there were definitely a few quality drops that you may have missed over the weekend. Last week, we were blessed with a new studio album from Vince Staples, a wonderfully produced album from Snoh Aalegra, a fresh full-length project from IDK, the Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack, and one-off singles from some of music’s biggest names, including Post Malone, J. Cole (who is featured on a new song with Bas and Lil Tjay), and more.

Many of the aforementioned artists managed to sneak onto the latest update of the HNHH Staff Picks playlist on SoundCloud and TIDAL (called TIDAL Wave over there). Each week, our editorial crew listens to the latest hip-hop and R&B music to curate a comprehensive playlist with all of our tastes. As you’ll notice on this week’s update, some of us were into more smooth listening with Snoh Aalegra and Zeina, others dove head-first into the Vince Staples album, and some took a varied approach. 

This week’s playlist is noticeably more mid and low-tempo than previous weeks, so if you’re looking for some chilled-out music for your afternoon with some high-powered rap songs sprinkled in, this is the one for you.

Who has your favorite picks this week? Be sure to follow us on SoundCloud and TIDAL.

Alex Zidel (Editorial)

Post Malone – Motley Crew
BIA & Nicki Minaj – WHOLE LOTTA MONEY (Remix)
Youngboy Never Broke Again – Nevada
Brent Faiyaz – Wasting Time (feat. Drake)
Doja Cat – Ain’t Shit

Alex Cole (Editorial)

Post Malone – Motley Crew
Snoh Aalegra – TANGERINE DREAM
Snoh Aalegra – LOST YOU
Vince Staples – SUNDOWN TOWN
Maluma – Sobrio

Joshua Robinson (Editorial)

Vince Staples – THE SHINING
Vince Staples – TAKE ME HOME (feat. Foushee)
Bas – The Jackie (feat. J. Cole & Lil Tjay)
Sarkodie – Vibration (feat. Vic Mensa)
Tkay Maidza – High Beams

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

Vince Staples – THE SHINING
Dave East & Harry Fraud – Diamonds
Styles P – Privilege
Styles P – Order In The Court
Femme It Forward & Rapsody – Iconic

Rose Lilah (Editorial)

Zeina – Talk Luv
Snoh Aalegra – TASTE
Bas – The Jackie (feat. J. Cole & Lil Tjay)
Vince Staples – THE SHINING

Erika Marie (Editorial)

Bas – The Jackie (feat. J. Cole & Lil Tjay)
Post Malone – Motley Crew
Brent Faiyaz – Wasting Time (feat. Drake)
BIA & Nicki Minaj – WHOLE LOTTA MONEY (Remix)
Vince Staples – THE SHINING

Aron A. (Editorial)

Dave – Clash (feat. Stormzy)
Vince Staples – TAKE ME HOME (feat. Foushee)
Vince Staples – TAKING TRIPS
Babyface Ray – What The Business Is
Fredo – Wandsworth to Bullingdon (feat. Headie One)

LeBron James has the ability to turn teams into contenders and that’s exactly what he did with the Los Angeles Lakers. When he signed with the team in 2018, the Lakers were in a bad place as they were filled to the brim with rookies who hadn’t figured it out yet. In his first season with the squad, they missed the playoffs due to injuries. The following season, LeBron and Anthony Davis led the team to its first title since 2010, and it left fans hoping that LeBron would retire in the purple and gold.

Recently, LeBron was on the “Smartless” podcast hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes. During the conversation, LeBron spoke about a whole host of topics, including his career with the Lakers and what his plans are moving forward. As the four-time champion explained, his contract is set to expire in 2023, however, he fully intends on retiring with the franchise.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“I truly hope that I can finish my career with the Lakers. However many years that is, if it’s four, five, six, whatever, seven, I hope I can continue to play the game,” LeBron said. “I love being in L.A., my family loves being in L.A. Being with a historical franchise like the Lakers is something… It’s like me being in “Space Jam” — I never thought it would be possible. You think about Kareem, and Magic, and Wilt, and Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, Kobe, Shaq and all of them, the whole list goes on.”

This should be music to the ears of Lakers fans as this means LeBron won’t be going anywhere, even when things get tough. LeBron will be turning 37 in the middle of next season although, despite this, he still looks like he can be the best player in the league. His longevity is impressive and it will be interesting to see if he can win more titles with the team.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

[Via]

Shohei Ohtani has been nothing short of incredible for the Los Angeles Angels this season. The man is a starting pitcher and he is also the best slugger in baseball right now. He leads the entire league with 33 home runs and when it comes to his ERA, he is posting a respectable 3.49 in his 13 starts on the mound. Needless to say, Ohtani is the type of superstar that baseball has been sorely lacking for a very long time. For years, it’s been said that the demographics for the sport have been shifting, however, with Ohtani’s current run in mind, the league is seeing its best ratings in years.

With the All-Star Game going down tomorrow, Ohtani is currently in the news because he is going to be a starting pitcher and the leading batter for the American League. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to escape the criticism of Stephen A. Smith, who went on First Take today and said that it was bad for Major League Baseball that Ohtani needed an interpreter to answer questions from the press. Ohtani is from Japan and since English isn’t his first language, he hasn’t been able to communicate as other players would.

This rant immediately caught people’s attention as they noted his comments were rooted in xenophobia and that Ohtani is simply too good of a player to receive such criticism. Fans even harkened back to a segment Smith did just a few days ago in which he claimed the MLB wasn’t doing a good enough job marketing Ohtani. The hypocrisy was on full display, and just moments ago, Smith took to Twitter with a clarification of what he meant.

As Smith explains, he simply meant that the language barrier is making it difficult for the league to promote him to a United States audience. Considering Ohtani’s games are eliciting the biggest ratings across Major League Baseball, it’s clear that Smith’s comments aren’t based around any concrete facts, and are simply feelings based. 

In the tweets below, you can see that there was a large amount of outrage when it comes to Smith’s comments, as some fans felt like they were racist in nature. Let us know what you thought of Smith’s segment, in the comments below.

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Going on a $10,000 date with Johanna Leia may have been the best album promotion for Drake as he prepares to release Certified Lover Boy, but the internet has not been kind to the model. Leia was spotted on a date with Drake at Dodger Stadium this week, renting out the entire building to have a private dinner. They were photographed by an overhead helicopter, who captured shots of them looking up at the camera. Ever since, lots of people have been rudely commenting about Leia’s look, body-shaming her on social media.

Despite people like Coi Leray and Lizzo constantly speaking about the way fans speak about their bodies, it appears the public has not learned that body-shaming isn’t appropriate in the slightest after people made rude remarks about Johanna Leia over the weekend. Some of the most popular tweets mentioning her have to do with the fact that Drake often dates women who look similar, drawing comparisons between Leia, his baby mama Sophie Brussaux, and Bria Myles. 

While a bunch of Leia’s photos have gone viral with people adding insensitive captions, one particular picture of her standing in profile and showing off her backside in a tight dress is picking up the most attention. From the looks of it, Leia may have surgically enhanced her butt — or at least people are convinced that she has. That much has led to people making fun of Drake’s type of women, with males and females speaking ill on people who get plastic surgery.

Take a look below to see some of the disturbing comments people are making. Check out more pictures of Johanna Leia here.

[via]