New Hip Hop News

As the world awaits SZA’s highly anticipated and long-awaited sophomore album, the TDE singer-songwriter has taken a moment to sit back and reflect on her accomplishments. In a photo dump-meets-self appreciation post, SZA has shared a slew of stunning photos as well as several reposts from Chart Data that reveal impressive statistics about her music.

Over the course of ten slides, the “Hit Different” artist shows off a new green hairstyle as well as a bevy of her latest streaming and chart statistics. In the caption, she writes, “Quick dump thanking God . All things are possible .”

Green hair pictures aside, SZA‘s latest photo dump definitely proves that she has plenty of accomplishments to celebrate at the moment. For starters, her debut album CTRL has now spent 200 weeks straight on the Billboard 200, meaning that it’s nearing a full four years straight on the top albums chart. The singer-songwriter‘s recent singles “Good Days” and “Kiss Me More,” which she shares with Doja Cat, have also plenty of incredible statistics backing them as well.

According to Chart Data, “Good Days” is the second most-streamed song of 2021, and “Kiss Me More” has earned the biggest streaming debut for an all-female collaboration on Spotify this year and reached #5 on the global Spotify chart with 3.443 million streams. With such impressive numbers for her sophomore album’s single “Good Days,” hopefully this means that SZA’s as-of-yet untitled follow-up to CTRL will arrive sooner than later. 

Congratulations to SZA on all of her accomplishments!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the mob that raided the Capitol on January 6, 2021 is lucky that they didn’t actually run into her because, in her words, she’s a “street fighter” and she would have fought back.

While she’s not best known for her fighting skills, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims that she would have been ready to brawl against the group of Trump supporters who rushed the Capitol earlier this year. She told USA Today that she’s pretty proficient with her hands, warding off any potential threats in the future.

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“That’s what they were setting out to do,” said Pelosi about the mob breaking in to assassinate her. She says that if her security hadn’t evacuated her in time, she might not have been so lucky to still be alive. “Well, I’m pretty tough. I’m a street fighter. They would have had a battle on their hands,” she added. 

She also joked that she would have used her four-inch stiletto heels as a weapon if she needed to.

Pelosi is presently serving as the fifty-second Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She was re-elected to her fourth term at the beginning of this year.

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Read her full statement at the link below. Do you think that she could have taken the mob?

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It’s long been concluded that Dr. Dre, the brilliant producer and overall musical visionary that is he, does not write his own bars. Having previously rapped verses written by Jay-Z (who wrote “Still D.R.E” in its entirety), Eminem, Royce Da 5’9″, and presumably more, many have opted to believe that Dre simply outsources the writing process on a consistent basis. Though seldom held to the same scrutiny as other ghostwriter-using rappers, Dre has been left out of many “best rapper” conversations as a direct result.

Yet as KXNG Crooked tells it, the truth of the situation might not be so clear-cut. In fact, Crook actually witnessed Dr. Dre writing and reciting his own bars. The conversation kicked off during a discussion on Dre’s 2001, which evolved into a discourse on Dre’s penmanship history. After one user mentioned that Eminem wrote bars for Dre in the past, Crook noted that while true, Dre doesn’t always sit out the writing process. 

Image via Artist  

“Dre writes too but yea he has writers I mean Em has written him some fire,” states Crook. When asked for direct examples, Crook looked to their latest session in the studio. “Last time I was in the lab with him he wrote his own verse,” remarked the heavyweight lyricist. “Different cadences, punchlines etc..” 

For those who can appreciate the craft on a deeper level, it may very well be interesting to deep dive into some of Dre’s recent verses in an attempt to glean distinct patterns. Perhaps a good starting point is one of Dre and Crook’s recent, albeit unreleased collaborations. In it, the Doc spits scathing bars aimed at his ex-wife Nicole Young, a topic that would certainly benefit from his own first-hand account. 

It’s not entirely surprising that Dre writes some of his own verses, given the extent of his experience in the rap game. Perhaps this development will lead to a new perspective on Dre’s rapping, though it remains uncertain how much writing he’s done. Let the deep dives begin. 

If there’s an artist that you need to keep a lookout for in 2021, it’s Pooh Shiesty. Over the last few months, Gucci Mane’s protégé has truly been making a name for himself with the unyielding success of his breakout single “Back in Blood” as well as his debut mixtape Shiesty Season. Add in an onslaught of fiery features with artists such as Coi Leray and Big Scarr, and it’s obvious that Pooh Shiesty is making the right moves.

Earlier this month, the 1017 artist even earned the first platinum plaque of his career thanks to the success of “Back in Blood.” The single was officially certified platinum at the tail-end of March, but it finally arrived while Shiesty was recording a new music video with his mentor Gucci Mane.

Roughly a week after getting his platinum plaque, Pooh Shiesty has no plans on stopping, and he still continues to push “Back in Blood” whenever he gets the chance. His latest move is one of the biggest career moves that he has made yet, as the 1017 artist has officially made his television debut by appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Naturally, Pooh Shiesty took the opportunity to perform “Back in Blood,” and he also brought out “The Voice” himself, Lil Durk. Interestingly, their menacing Jimmy Fallon performance marks the first time that they’ve both officially performed the track together, making Pooh Shiesty’s TV debut even more special.

Watch Pooh Shiesty and Lil Durk knock out their performance of “Back in Blood” below.

The cryptocurrency business is proving incredibly lucrative, and a new report from Yahoo Sports confirmed that Kevin Durant is the latest investor to score big on the crypto front. On Wednesday, April 14th, the digital currency exchange Coinbase went public, with stock prices reaching heights of $328 — a number that led to a valuation of $86 billion.

Given that Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures investment company previously invested in Coinbase, with his projected contribution estimated to be between $250,000 and $1 million range, with Yahoo basing the estimate on his previous investment patterns. Either way, Durant’s early faith in Coinbase is looking to be quite well-founded, and the basketball star is currently reaping the benefits of his foresight. Though the exact number of his takeaway remains unclear, Yahoo notes that were he to have invested $250,000 in 2017, his stake would currently be worth $13.5 million.

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It didn’t take long for word of KD’s latest money move to spread, and 50 Cent took a moment to celebrate Durant’s accomplishment. Though generally using his platform to engage in mischief and villainy, Fif found himself moved by Kevin Durant’s business acumen, taking to Instagram to offer a few words of encouragement. 

“86 what! BILLION, KD up like a mother fucker,” captions Fif. “I love to see my people win!” It should be noted that Coinbase’s valuation was projected as eighty-six billion, not specific to Durant’s piece of the pie. Either way, the sentiment remains the same.  

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As it happens, Durant isn’t the only public figure to win big investing in Coinbase. Nas and his Queensbridge Venture Partners company also invested in Coinbase, with their contribution being an approximated twenty-five million dollars; now, experts project that Nas could be seeing anywhere between $34.76 million and $173.8 million in profits. Congratulations to both him and Kevin Durant for showcasing sharp business acumen, leading by example as they invest in rising developments. 

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Rappers Saweetie and Quavo officially broke up a few weeks ago, taking their dirty laundry to social media in a messy split. Saweetie called out her ex-boyfriend, accusing Quavo of cheating on her with multiple women. That commenced a back-and-forth duel on Twitter with both sides getting equally petty. In recent weeks, Quavo has been throwing some major shade at Saweetie with a few different new music previews, subliminally dissing the Icy Grl. There was also a video released showing a physical altercation between the two rappers in an elevator, which was reportedly taken during their relationship. Saweetie seems to have finally taken her latest shot in response to all the drama.

Posting a brand new promotional video for her sunglasses collaboration with Quay Australia, the rapper corrected her fans on the pronunciation of the brand’s name. While many have incorrectly pronounced Quay over time, Saweetie issued a public service announcement to ensure that she isn’t constantly reminded of her ex.

Throwing on her Quay sunglasses, Saweetie interacted with a high-tech futuristic mirror that spoke to her. “Hello, I love those Quay glasses on you, Saweetie,” said the robot mirror, mispronouncing the brand as “Kway,” which is the same way Quavo’s name sounds. “Kway? Girl, this is Quay,” said the rapper, correcting the mirror and using the correct pronunciation as “Key.” 

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Many have caught onto the shade being thrown here, commenting that the 27-year-old artist isn’t that slick. People seem to appreciate that she can take shade and throw it right back though.

Watch the video below.

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Early last month, sources close to Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez had speculated that the fan-favorite couple was calling it quits and walking away from both their four-year relationship and two-year engagement. At the time, a reason for their split had not been revealed, and neither J-Lo nor A-Rod had publicly commented on the allegedly dour status of their relationship. 

A few days later, the two quelled the breakup rumors through Instagram posts and interviews with TMZ, leading many to believe that they were still together. As time progressed, however, J-Lo was spotted vibing out to Drake music in the Dominican Republic without A-Rod’s company, and she was also seen not wearing her engagement ring, leading many to believe that there may still be trouble in paradise for Jennifer and Alex. Now, TMZ reports that fans may have been right to speculate.

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According to TMZ, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have decided to publicly comment on the state of their relationship. In a joint statement given to People, the couple has confirmed that they have officially called it quits.

“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” their joint statement reads. “We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and one another’s children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support”

With the arrival of their new statement, it appears that Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez’s four-year relationship and two-year engagement are now things of the past. Stay tuned to see what both stars will do next.