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Blackalicious Rapper Gift Of Gab Has Died At 50 After A Long Battle With Kidney Failure
Rap veteran Timothy J. Parker, better known as Gift Of Gab of the Bay Area rap duo Blackalicious, has died at the age of 50, according to his label and crew, Quannum Projects in a press release.
Gab, perhaps still best known for the tongue-twisting Blackalicious single “Alphabet Aerobics” and the duo’s Blazing Arrow standout “Feel That Way,” was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2014. He underwent successful surgery in January of last year on the last night of the most recent Blackalicious tour. Despite working hard to recover, he passed away last week on Friday, June 18. He is survived by two brothers, one sister, and many nieces and nephews.
Gab’s manager Brian Ross said in a statement, “He was one of the most positive human beings I have ever known and always looking toward the future. He was endlessly brimming with new ideas, philosophical perspectives, and thoughts about the future. He was always ready to learn, grow and engage in a deep conversation about things he was less familiar with. A simple conversation with him about nearly anything could take you places you would never have expected.”
DJ Xcel, the other half of Blackalicious, wrote, “Our brother was an MCs’ MC who dedicated his life to his craft. One of the greatest to ever do it. He’s the most prolific person I’ve ever known. He was all about pushing the boundaries of his art form in the most authentic way possible. He truly believed in the healing power of music. He viewed himself as a vessel used by a higher power whose purpose was to give positive contributions to humanity through Rhyme.”
Quannum is planning future releases for “years to come” as Gab left behind nearly 100 tracks for upcoming and planned Blackalicious releases. Meanwhile, the hip-hop world will mourn the physical loss of one of its brightest, most dextrous, and most inspiring presences. Thanks for everything, Gab.
Russ Promises To ‘Satisfy’ A Lover On A Tongue-In-Cheek Ballad
Indie rap stalwart Russ’s new single “Satisfy” sounds like it should be a love song, with its tender guitar chords and downtempo crooning. In reality, though, it’s more of a sex anthem, featuring explicit lyrics right out of an adult video description. The contrast more amusingly cheeky than it is sensuous, but with Russ, the distinction between the two moods has always been more of a suggestion than a hard line in the sand. The video accompanying the single throws soft lighting across the outspoken artist as he performs in what looks like a cave.
Russ’s raunchy descriptions of his sexual activities may read more like a sext than a hit single, but as he’s been on an emotional roll lately, his shift into slightly porn-y subject matter might come as a welcome turn. Prior New Music Friday releases have included much more serious material like the hopeful “Lucky,” the romantic duet “Private” with Rexx Life Raj, and the melancholy “Bankrupt,” so it’s nice to hear him nodding to the more — ahem — enjoyable aspects of relationships. Still, another boastful track like “Ugly” with Lil Baby or “Status” probably wouldn’t go amiss in future weeks. With Russ, all possibilities are on the table, a testament to his versatility and willingness to push himself.
Watch Russ’s “Satisfy” video above.
Rexx Life Raj Ruminates On Keeping It Real In His ‘Lockheed Martin’ Video
Rexx Life Raj recently said he hadn’t been able to make much new music during the pandemic, but what music he has released since then has been stellar. Of course, there were songs like “Tesla In A Pandemic,” celebrating his recent financial come-ups, and the California Poppy 2 EP that doubled down on the success of its predecessor, and more recently, the Untitled EP, which held meditative songs that helped give him peace in tumultuous times. But today, he’s back to boasting, releasing the swaggering yet contemplative “Lockheed Martin.”
Complete with an accompanying video of Raj rapping at the port, “Lockheed Martin” positions the burgeoning Bay Area star as both a grizzled sage and a hedonistic money-making machine, switching from bars about turning “a square b*tch into something off of Pornhub” to mocking “grown men infatuated with gangsta rappers.” He flexes but also advocates fiscal responsibility, rhyming, “If I can’t cop it three times, then I am not coppin’.” Then he lays out his plays for the future, involving investments, farming, and therapy, as well as continuing to keep it real and make sure his friends and family stay paid and all his dreams get accomplished, “shootin’ for the stars like I’m Lockheed Martin.”
Watch Rexx Life Raj’s “Lockheed Martin” video above.
Tyler, The Creator Drops The “Juggernaut” Video
Tyler, the Creator is fresh off the heels of unleashing his sixth studio album Call Me If You Get Lost. Featuring guest appearances from NBA YoungBoy, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Wayne, 42 Dugg, DJ Drama, and more, the Grammy-winning artist continued to build from the greatness of his fifth studio album Igor.
The project was preceded by the singles “Wusyaname” and “Lumberjack,” which each received a complementing visual. The next track to receive music video treatment from the new album is “Juggernaut” with Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell. Directed by Wolf Haley, the visual is entirely a one-man show, with Tyler performing both his own verses and Uzi’s brief but mighty verse as well. The visual follows a similar aesthetic set in the previous visuals for the project.
Shortly after releasing the project, the California-bred rapper took to Twitter to clarify rumors about “Juggernaut’s” origin story after Genius allegedly disclosed the track was meant to appear on a scrapped Uzi x Pharrell project. “idk who starts narratives but it is not from a scrapped p and uzi album, idk where you got that info from,” wrote Tyler.
“man genius just be saying anything lmfao, even the lyric meanings be way off im like ??? “might be referencing the umbrella that comes with the rolls royce, maybe” ARE U DUMB IM CLEARLY TALKING ABOUT THAT. “ no he mean in 2016 when he met earl on wednesday” and lyric is “ cat”,” he added.
Check out the visual for “Juggernaut” above and let us know what you think of Tyler’s performance down in the comments.
DaBaby Wants To Collaborate With Jay Z: “Who I Gotta Talk To?”
It looks like DaBaby is trying to get himself a Jay Z feature. Early Friday morning, the Kirk rapper took to Twitter to ask fans who he needs to talk to to get HOV on a song.
“Who I gotta talk to to get Jay-Z on a song?” asked DaBaby to his 4.1 million followers.
While he tries to land a JAY-Z feature, which I’m sure he can eventually do, DaBaby’s prolific outfit continues. After dropping “Ball If I Want To” last week, he released his latest single “Red Light, Green Light” along with an accompanying video inspired by the 1991 film Boyz in the Hood, which you can watch for yourself right here. Other recent releases include “Skat” with Tory Lanez & “Drop” with Yo Gotti.
Look for DaBaby to perform at Sunday’s BET Awards where he has seven nominations including Best Male Hip Hop Artist and Album of the Year. Who else would you like to see DaBaby work with in the future?
Craig Barritt / Getty Images
Scottie Pippen Believes LeBron James Won His Rings Without Help
Scottie Pippen has been coming through with some truly bizarre hot takes as of late and many NBA fans are taking notice. In a recent GQ interview, he sounded off on Doc Rivers while also making some bold claims about Phil Jackson. While these takes have come with criticism, it doesn’t look like Pippen is going to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, Pippen took to Twitter today where he shocked fans with his opinion on LeBron James’ titles.
After having made some unique comments about Kevin Durant, Stephen A. Smith took to First Take where he noted that LeBron had help on his way to his titles. Pippen heard this and went on Twitter where he claimed that LeBron never had help. This prompted a quick response from Smith and fans who said this was preposterous. Once again, Pippen disagreed and went so far as to say that there wasn’t a second star on the Cavs in 2016.
Smith and NBA fans were quick to remind Pippen of Kyrie Irving’s inclusion on the team, especially since he hit the clutch shot that won the Cavs the championship. Regardless, Pippen didn’t want to back down from his take, which was ridiculous from the jump.
With Pippen’s latest hot takes in mind, it seems like he has some sort of agenda to push, and it will be fun to see what he decided to say next.
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Lil 1 DTE & Playboi Carti Finally Share Their Long-Awaited Collab “Homixide”
Rising Atlanta artist and Epic Records signee Lil 1 DTE made a splash last fall with his debut single “12,” and since then, he has been aiming to stay consistent by dropping songs such as “Tweakin,” “No Friends,” and most recently, “Choppa.”
Today, Lil 1 DTE looks to make an even bigger splash with his self-titled debut project, a nine-track effort that features the previously released singles, as well as four never-before-heard cuts. One of Lil 1 DTE’s brand new songs is “Homixide,” a highly anticipated Playboi Carti-assisted single that the up-and-coming Atlanta native has been teasing since last summer.
Carti’s collaboration with Lil 1 DTE marks the latest song in an unexpected guest feature run, starting with Trippie Redd’s Trip At Knight single “Miss The Rage” and continuing on with Pi’erre Bourne’s recently released track “Switching Lanes.” Decide for yourself if Carti’s input on Lil 1 DTE’s “Homixide” holds its own against the two aforementioned songs by giving the bubbly new track a listen below.
Quotable Lyrics
Palm Angels my drip so I ride with the K
You tweak with my boys, you get hit in the face
I’m poppin’ that molly, got X in my place (Got it)
My shotta be rockin’ that sh*t on his waist
I called up my lawyer, done cleared up the case (Okay)
I put up a bag, he gon’ do what I say, yeah (Yeah)
Tyler, The Creator Clarifies Pharrell & Lil Uzi Vert Feature Rumors, Calls Out “Genius”
Tyler, the Creator released his highly-anticipated sixth studio album Call Me If You Get Lost on Friday (June 25), packed with guest appearances from the likes of 42 Dugg, Ty Dolla Sign, NBA YoungBoy, Lil Wayne, Brent Faiyaz, Lil Uzi Vert, Pharrell, and more. Already being met with favorable reviews, the album follows the success of his fifth album Igor.
The California-native preceded Call Me If You Get Lost’s release with the singles “Lumberjack” and “WusYaName” on June 16th and June 22, respectively. Less than 24 hours removed from its arrival, the project has already generated substantial Album of the Year buzz along with Doja Cat’s Planet Her. The Grammy-winning rapper recently took to Twitter to correct some misconceptions about the project, namely about the fan-favorite Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell collab “Juggernaut.”
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
In response to a tweet that suggested “Juggernaut” off of Call Me If You Get Lost was originally meant to be included on a scrapped joint project between Pharrell and Uzi, Tyler penned on Friday morning, “idk who starts narratives but it is not from a scrapped p and uzi album, idk where you got that info from.”
The fan then clarified he got the information from Genius, which prompted Tyler to then call out the digital media company for their consistent misinformation. “man genius just be saying anything lmfao,” wrote Tyler.
He added, “Even the lyric meanings be way off im like ??? “might be referencing the umbrella that comes with the rolls royce, maybe” ARE U DUMB IM CLEARLY TALKING ABOUT THAT. “ no he mean in 2016 when he met earl on wednesday” and lyric is “ cat.'”
He added in another tweet, “ima post lyrics like monday for genius apple all dat so its all correct and stuff.” He then went on to share correct lyrics for “Lemonhead.” “if you want smoke he the cool aunt / theyre catching dust, wont even start, earlobe with lemonheads looking like bart – lemon head lyrics i seen some were incorrect so yeah,” he wrote.
Elsewhere, he recently debuted the video for the contested song in question “Juggernaut.” Check it out below and let us know what you think down in the comments.
Stephen A. Smith Claims Warriors To Make Big Push For Ben Simmons
Over the last few days, there has been a ton of talk surrounding Ben Simmons and whether or not he will find himself on a new team next season. After a horrendous playoff campaign with the Philadelphia 76ers, there are some real questions being asked right now and most pundits believe Simmons will be on a new team. Yesterday, a report came out saying that the 76ers would not be trading Simmons and that they would prefer to help him work on his game.
Today on First Take, Stephen A. Smith had a bit of a different story as he spoke about this supposed meeting between Simmons, Rich Paul, and the Sixers. Smith notes that if a team offers a solid package, they will most certainly consider it and that as of right now, the Golden State Warriors are looking to make a big push for Simmons.
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Simmons on the Warriors would be an interesting proposition when you consider how Steph Curry and Klay Thompson would cancel out Simmons’ inability to shoot. However, the Warriors would need to give up a lot to get him, and it remains to be seen what that potential trade package would look like.
There is still a lot that needs to happen before Simmons is traded, so it’s important to take Smith’s report lightly, at least for now. With that being said, stay tuned to HNHH as we will bring you all of the latest updates from the NBA world.