New Hip Hop News

Aaliyah’s uncle, Barry Hankerson, who also managers her catalog, says it would have been “more honorable” if Normani asked permission to sample his niece, but that he is still supportive of the track, “Wild Side.”

Speaking with TMZ, Tuesday, he explained that Aaliyah “always encouraged young women pursuing their musical and entertainment careers, to achieve their dreams.”

“I believe that Aaliyah would be very supportive of a young Black woman that chose to emulate her music and style,” he added.

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Though it has not been explicitly confirmed by Normani herself, many believe the song contains a sample of Aaliyah’s “One in a Million.” Normani did respond to a video of Timbaland, who produced “One in a Million,” singing along to the track, and didn’t deny the use of an Aaliyah sample.

Normani’s team, on the other hand, has told TMZ that it is not a direct sample of Aaliyah’s iconic track.

“I will not stand in the way of something that brings to light the incredible staying power of Aaliyah,” Hankerson added. “So in that light, wishing Normani well with the song and overall career. God bless. I think Aaliyah would be pleased.”

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It would appear as if the long-awaited release of Kanye West’s tenth studio album DONDA is arriving as early as this week. Expectations point to Friday, though Ye has never been the most traditional in his approach. Yet perhaps we’re seeing some semblance of a normal rollout from the polarizing hip-hop titan, who has been lining up listening events in the days before the drop.

This Thursday, Ye is set to stage a listening event at Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium; interested parties can secure tickets right here. Yet fear not if you can’t make it, as it would appear that Kanye may very well be looking to tour this album long term.

According to a since-deleted post from longtime Kanye collaborator Consequence, the Donda Experience is slated to go down at Rolling Loud Miami this weekend, on Sunday, July 25th.

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To be fair, Consequence has deleted all traces of the announcement, which is hardly concrete. Still, it’s clear that Kanye’s upcoming album is on the way, and early reports seem to point to a return to form of sorts. Those who actually heard the album have teased guest appearances from Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Westside Gunn, Playboi Carti, and more. A recent report claims that Kanye also rapped about “escaping from Calabasas,” a place he willingly lived for years.

At this point, it’s evident that DONDA is coming, and Yeezy will be bringing his new material to the stage. At least to an extent; it’s unclear as to whether or not the megastar has any intention of staging a lengthy tour at this stage. We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, check out a preserved copy of Consequences’ initial announcement below. 

Safaree Samuels has been accused by his estranged wife Erica Mena of neglecting her and their newborn baby, leaving town to go party in Miami as their child stayed in the NICU for the first days of their life. Judging from Safaree’s reaction upon hearing that he was having another baby with his wife, which aired during last night’s episode of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the reality star has been paying little attention to his newborn. 

On Monday’s episode of the show, Safaree learned that Erica Mena was twenty-three weeks pregnant with their child. Erica showed her husband an ultrasound on her phone before he looked up with a blank expression, asking her straight-up if she was pregnant. “We’re pregnant,” she corrected him before Safaree looked to be visibly distraught over the news. It took him a while to say anything meaningful before he opened up and complained that he didn’t want to have another baby.

Erica has been bouncing back from her pregnancy after giving birth, but she appears to be entering a new stage in her life, filing for divorce from Safaree (can you blame her after watching this video?) and becoming a single co-parent to their two children.

Hopefully, Safaree takes care of his babies. Watch the clip below.

Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and when all is said and done, there is no denying that he will be headed to the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, the last couple of years have been disappointing for Rodgers as he has failed to reach the Super Bowl despite coming extremely close. With a lack of weapons at his disposal, Rodgers has grown tired of the Packers front office and this has been exacerbated even more by the fact that the Packers took quarterback Jordan Love with their first-round pick in 2020.

Rodgers has yet to attend Packers training camp and his holdout has been one of the biggest stories in the NFL. The quarterback hasn’t given a timeline on his return and for the most part, he has been extremely cryptic about everything that has been going on.

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According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Packers tried to fix the Rodgers situation by throwing some money at the problem. The NFL insider claims Rodgers was offered a two-year extension and that it was worth so much money that the QB would be paid more than Patrick Mahomes, who currently makes upwards of $50 million per year. Needless to say, the Packers want to keep Rodgers on the roster.

As Schefter noted, Rodgers ended up declining this money as his grievances go well beyond what he is being paid. For now, it seems like it is all a respect thing, and only time will tell what happens with the QB, moving forward.

Keep it locked to HNHH and let us know in the poll below whether or not you think Rodgers will start for the Packers this season.

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Tory Lanez shouted out DaBaby during a recent freestyle on Hot 97 and also claimed that he was framed in the alleged shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. Megan has previously said that Lanez shot her in the feet after a party in the Hollywood Hills on July 12th, 2020.

“Shoutout to DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, and Lil Baby/What I’m about to say is gonna sound a little crazy/But it’s true so don’t play me/Y’all all would’ve got your awards if they didn’t frame me,” he raps in the clip.

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Lanez’s shoutout of DaBaby comes as the “Suge” rapper has been beefing with Megan for his “SKAT” collaboration with Lanez. Megan and DaBaby traded blows on social media and eventually unfollowed each other. They had previously worked together on a number of hits including  “Cash Sh*t,” “Nasty,” “Cry Baby,” and more.

This isn’t the first time that Lanez has claimed he’s been framed for the shooting in his bars. On his 2020 album, Daystar, Lanez made the same accusation of Megan: “Megan people trying to frame me for a shooting/But them boys ain’t clean enough,” he rapped on the track “Money Over Fallouts.”

Check out Lanez’s new freestyle below.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has announced that he will be postponing a couple of scheduled performances, pushing back dates in North Carolina and Virginia for “personal” reasons and “court matters.”

The controversial Brooklyn rapper made the announcement on Instagram on Monday night, apologizing to his fans for the postponement. 

“I must postpone my North Carolina show & Virginia show due to personal family & court matters,” he wrote on Stories. “Update soon.”

The rainbow-haired recording artist didn’t explain why he was forced to postpone the dates, leaving it at that. However, there has been a lot of news surrounding his entourage, including reports that five of his team members, including an ex-cop, were indicted this week for criminal impersonations. It’s unclear if the two are connected, but the “court matters” that he needs to attend to could very well have to do with that case.

Ever since his release from prison last year, 6ix9ine has kept his aggressive approach on his fellow rappers, antagonizing Lil Durk and dozens of other peers about their sales figures and trauma in their personal lives. Last week, 6ix9ine laughed at Durk and his girlfriend India Royale after they were involved in a reported shoot-out at their home in Atlanta. 

Hopefully, 6ix9ine can still perform in the near future in Virginia and North Carolina. We’ll keep you posted as updates roll in.

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Damian Lillard is one of the best point guards in the NBA right now and he is also a very hot commodity, even if the Blazers have no intentions of trading him. Over the past few months, there have been conflicting reports about Lillard’s status with the Portland Trail Blazers and whether or not he wants out of the franchise. For years, Lillard has been carrying the team on his back and the front office has yet to give him a championship roster. As a result, there were rumors that Lillard was fed up and was demanding to leave.

These days, Lillard is gearing up to travel to Tokyo where he will compete for Team USA at the Olympic Games. During the pre-tournament games, Lillard was asked about the rumors and as you can imagine, he quickly shut them down. For now, all talks of a Lillard trade have been put to bed, however, there are still some teams out there who remain hopeful that they can secure his services.

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In a new report from Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, there are five teams that are taking a close look at Lillard, and a couple of these teams may surprise you. Of course, the usual suspects such as the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and New York Knicks remain in play, however, the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets are also reportedly interested.

If Lillard were to be dealt elsewhere, there is a good chance he would get to choose where he goes. Having said that, it seems unlikely that the Kings or Rockets will end up with the superstar once all is said and done.

Let us know which team you want to see Lillard end up with, in the poll below.

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Kobe Bryant’s legacy is one that is defined by his hard work, determination, and ability to score on a dime. For numerous players in the NBA right now, Kobe was an influential figure, and ever since his passing, those players have worked hard to make sure his legacy gets kept alive. The mamba mentality has been seen in various players and whenever someone speaks up about Kobe, it is always with a semblance of pride and admiration for what he did for basketball.

Recently, Kevin Durant got to host a Twitter Spaces live broadcast and at one point, the Nets superstar was asked to speak about Kobe and his impact on the game. That’s when Durant started to explain how Kobe had a very commanding presence and that whenever they played with or against each other, he had a god-like aura around him. Needless to say, Durant had a lot of good things to say about the legend.

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“Being in the same locker room with him, like I competed against him like that same playoffs, and the way he won the championship too. So we had a different connection compared to a lot of other guys. You know, I played against him on that journey,” Durant explained. “His aura was just like a god-like figure. Like you see someone in the flesh who scored 81 points in an NBA game. It is hard to even speak around him. But he’s open and he was always trying to teach and help the younger generation out.”

These days, Durant is one of if not the best player in the NBA and will be a first-ballot hall-of-famer when all is said and done. With this in mind, there is no one better than KD to speak on Kobe’s legacy and what he meant to the game’s current crop of players. 

You can listen to the spaces conversation, below.