New Hip Hop News

After reportedly being spotted together, Johanna Leia has become the talk of the town. Fans have been impatiently awaiting the arrival of Drizzy’s Certified Lover Boy, and while the album is reportedly in the mixing stage, Drake has apparently been living up to the project’s title. By now, many of you have seen the helicopter view images of Drake and Johanna enjoying a nice, private meal at Dodger stadium. Johanna is the mother of Amari Bailey, a high school basketball star who has committed to the University of California, Los Angeles.

Following her highly-publicized rendevous with Drake, Johanna found herself being inundated with reports and gossip about their alleged relationship. Us Weekly claims their “sources” revealed the pair have been dating for months, but neither the rapper nor the Bringing Up Ballers reality star have spoken publicly about the rumors.

However, Johanna Leia is making the most of the attention and the model mom recently took to her Instagram Story to share a few thoughts about motherhood. “We need less bad b*tches and more dope moms…” she wrote. “You guys are killing off the population [goofy face emoji].” It seems that she wants women to be known for more than just their looks.

Expect to see much more from Johanna Leia, her son Amari, and Amari’s report mentor Drake in the months to come. Check out her post below.

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There is a “doll” movement happening in Hip Hop and not everyone is here for it. It’s not difficult to find artists with similar Rap monikers, and with the rise of women in Rap hoping to be the next big name to take over the charts, we’re seeing an influx of “dolls” on the scene. The conversation about this particular term has returned to social media after Asian Doll shared that her “Nunnadat Sh*t (Remix)” would arrive soon with guest verses from Dreezy, Rubi Rose, DreamDoll, and Ivorian Doll.

Fans quickly pointed out how many “dolls” there are on the track as well as in the industry, including Kash Doll and Cuban Doll, and soon, social media was taken over by memes making fun of the “doll” movement. However, DreamDoll pointed out that when men do the same thing, people aren’t as quick to criticize.

“There’s mad male artist with ‘Lil” on they name but y’all so pressed about ‘doll’ on females names,” she tweeted. “Ion get it support female unity or choke on a Glizzy [hot dog emoji].” DreamDoll’s comments come on the heels of T-Pain ranting about artists in the industry sounding just alike, and some fans asked for him to make a video about all of the “Lil” rappers that exist.

Check out a few posts below.

In the Fall of 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was at the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, Ohio, playing with a toy gun. Someone called the police on the young boy, reportedly telling dispatch that the firearm they saw Tamir with was “probably fake,” but when 26-year-old officer Timothy Loehmann arrived at the scene, within seconds he opened fire on Tamir, killing him instantly. The shooting was deemed justifiable by the FBI and the officer was cleared of any wrongdoing.

A new report about a Utah company, Culper Precision, producing Glock 9, named “Block 9,” that comes with a case that can be built out of Legos has once again reignited conversations about Tamir Rice and his tragic death. While this $600 Lego gun kit is colorful enough for people to recognize as being toy-like, 50 Cent chimed in to say that he doesn’t believe this should be distributed.

“[Eyeball emoji] This looks like they are trying to market guns to the kids,” Fif wrote in the caption to a deleted post. “This is not ok cops will start shooting little kids playing in the park.” People took to social media with concerns, including those who questioned what would happen if the lego case was being used as a toy by children who didn’t know an actual gun was inside.

People weren’t happy with guns being marketed to children, especially in the wake of continuous mass and school shootings in America. Culper Precision reportedly unveiled the design last month and described the toy gun as “one of those childhood dreams coming to life, the Block 19 prototype, yes you can actually build Legos onto it.” 

According to NPR, the backlash has caused the company to halt sales of the gun kit following conversations with Lego. However, the company used the controversy to call out their “haters” as they addressed the “millions of angry freedom hating people out there who wish to exercise their first amendment rights.” They added, “Here at Culper we believe this makes a clear statements out the state of the gun debate and the sad reality of communication issues that run deep in this country.”

Check it out below.

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After receiving backlash on social media, cupcakKe has returned to clarify her statements. Recently, the rapper faced off with her fellow artists’ fanbases and one Twitter user jumped in with insults. The person shamed cupcakKe about her weight and added, “Nobody finna beef with your flop ass.” CupcakKe responded to the tirade: “A Megan Stan calling me ‘BIG’ Interesting.”

“It just shows what they think of her,” she added. “Because once again read the tweet.” This gave cupcakKe a chance to get a few things off of her chest regarding her status and influence in the industry. “It’s real funny how you hoes come to me begging for verses , asking to borrow lyrics ,but never clear y’all lame ass fan bases when they harassing mfs EVERYDAY.”

Chelsea Guglielmino / Staff / Getty Images

“[And] then wonder why y’all friends be dropping like fly’s,” she added. “You hoes play cool with mfs behind the scenes to much for me.” Recently, cupcakKe has faced off with Sukihana on social media and sparked a discussion when she called the current state of women in Rap “boring.”

On Wednesday (July 14), following her recent controversy, cupcakKe planned on going on Livestream to address her critics but instead, delivered an audio message. She called her critics “pathetic” and “really sick” before addressing accusations that she “body-shamed Lizzo” in one of her songs. CupcakKe claimed Lizzo didn’t have an issue with the mention and they even DMed one another.

She also denied claims that she’s a “flop,” calling herself “the most successful Black independent female artist to ever do it.” CupcakKe challenged listeners to “name another one, independently, that does it like I does it. You can’t. I am the top of the top. I am the best of the best.” As far as her claims about other artists are concerned, she alleges that she has proof and opts to converse with people on Twitter because Instagram allows people to unsend their messages.

“Your favs are not who you think they are,” she said. “They askin’ for verses, they askin’ for—yes, to me, y’all love sayin’, ‘Little ol’ you? They askin’ for a verse from little ol’ you?’ Yes! They are. Best believe that. Screenshots waiting.” People responded by telling cupcakKe to pull the receipts. Check out her posts, audio, and a few reactions below.

There have been dozens of rappers who have been detained or arrested in recent years, with many of them facing or sentenced to significant time behind bars. Since the top of 2020, Florida artist 9lokkNine, real named Jacquavius Smith, has continued to battle through legal issues. In January of last year, we reported that the rapper was looking at upwards of five years behind bars in connection with a weapons charge. In July 2020, 9lokkNine was back in the headlines, this time after he was arrested on charges of firearm possession and attempted murder.

By October 2020, 9lokkNine was once again in police custody after reportedly being shot at, and in January 2021, we shared the news that he was reportedly charged with five counts of attempted murder.

If this seems like much for just a year and a half, it doesn’t end there. Last month, 9lokkNine was reportedly arrested on racketeering charges, and it is reported that he recently pleaded guilty in one of his cases.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, on Tuesday (July 13), the rapper pleaded guilty to charges of “possession of an unregistered firearm, aggravated identity theft and felon in possession of a firearm.” The identity theft charge stems from accusations that he fraudulently acquired $10,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program that was implemented to help struggling businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. He reportedly showed friends on Instagram his PPP Loan application and the exchange was later used by authorities.

The 20-year-old artist will reportedly return to court for sentencing on October 6.

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Just when you thought you’d heard the last of this scandal, Jussie Smollett returned to court. In January 2019, reports surfaced stating that the Empire actor was hospitalized following a hate crime attack in Chicago. What developed was a whirlwind of information and accusations, and soon, Smollett was accused of staging the encounter for publicity and an increase in pay from his show.

The polarizing case divided fans and even Smollett’s famous friends who either made fun of or chastised him over the “hoax,” or stood by him through the backlash. Later, Smollett was let go from Empire and his career has hung in the balance ever since, and while he’s remained relatively quiet about the case, on Wednesday (July 14), Smollett was back in court.

Nuccio DiNuzzo / Stringer / Getty Images

According to WGN TV, the closed hearing addressed the dealings of attorney Nenye Uche, Smollett’s lawyer. The Osundairo brothers, the two men who claim they were allegedly hired by Smollett to pull off the attack, say that they were previously approached by Uche for representation. Their attorney, Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez, stated that “the brothers both testified that they had extensive conversations early on” with Uche. The hearing was to determine whether or not a conflict of interest has been presented.

The Osundairo brothers, as well as their mother, reportedly testified. Smollett faces charges that he orchestrated the “hoax” and wasted time, resources, and finances of the Chicago Police Department. As he made his way to court, he reportedly spoke with Fox News briefly, doubling down on his innocence while calling the case a “dog and pony show.”

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