New Hip Hop News

50 Cent’s incredibly successful crime drama Power first aired on Starz seven years ago on Monday (June 7). An instant success, it eventually became one of Starz’s most highly-rated shows and became one of cable’s most-watched series as well. It concluded in February of 2020 after airing six seasons on the network, with four upcoming spin-offs announced thereafter. 

After previously sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming second season of Power‘s first spin-off series Power Book II: Ghost, the rapper turned TV executive reflected on the success of the saga seven years removed from when it first aired. 

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“I had this idea to make a TV show like 9 years ago,” explained Fif. “7 years ago it aired and it did pretty good. Shout out to Chris Albrecht. STARZ is official now i’m off and running,” he finished, giving a shout-out to the CEO of the network. 

Although Power concluded its run in February 2020, its sequel Power Book II: Ghost premiered later in the same year. The series follows Michael Rainey Jr. as Tariq St. Patrick, the son of James “Ghost” St. Patrick who is following in his father’s steps as a drug dealer. The cast and crew are currently working on its second season. 

Right now, there’s no word on when to expect the next season of Ghost. The crew filming together is a great first sign, though. 

One of Ari Fletcher’s bikini-clad IG posts is attracting conversation from fans and celebs alike. This past Sunday, Fletcher posted thirst traps in her blue-jean bikini, clearly kicking off her Hot Girl Summer– driving a boat and all. 

The post accumulated over half a million views and continues to garner attention from fellow public figures. One of Fletcher’s recent admirers includes no one other than R&B singer Summer Walker. The “Come Thru” singer reposted Fletcher’s photos to her story with the caption, “Moneybagg Yo is very lucky man.”

Moneybagg Yo and Ari Fletcher have been together for almost two years. Back in October 2020, the couple celebrated the one year anniversary of their relationship. Fletcher was in a relationship with rapper G Herbo prior to her much-talked about relationship with Moneybagg Yo. The former couple share one child together, while Moneybagg Yo was previously linked to Megan Thee Stallion. 

Walker is no stranger to shouting out fellow women in the game. She often uses her alternative IG account, @galactawhore, to do just that; share photos from fellow females in the game or different models she’s been eyeing on the ‘Gram, praising many different types of beauty.

Check out her post below.

Rich Homie Quan was expected to become one of modern rap’s street icons when he was coming up with Young Thug but somewhere along the way, he was left behind by mainstream rap fans. The Atlanta rapper rarely gets the attention that he deserves these days, despite a consistent flow of new music in 2021. He hasn’t completely fallen off though. RHQ still has millions of fans across the world that are keeping up with his every move, as evidenced by his 2+ million monthly listeners on Spotify.

As he continues to move up in the rap rankings this year, Rich Homie Quan has earned a vote of support from Florida rapper Kodak Black, who sent him a motivational message on Instagram after revisiting his 2013 mixtape I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In. 

“I Remember What I Was On Back When That Rich Homie Was Poppin @richhomiequan Get Yo Wave Back Boy [fire emoji] [triumph emoji],” wrote Kodak on his story.

Rich Homie hasn’t exactly quieted down but his influence has significantly decreased in recent years. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have the sauce to get right back in one of the top spots among Atlanta rappers. Do you think Rich Homie can get his wave back? After all, he’s still only 31-years-old. His best years are ahead of him.

Listen to some of his latest releases below.

As one of the biggest musical acts in the last decade, it’s no surprise Drake has been making moves to expand his empire. The OVO head honcho has teamed up with Nike to release his new NOCTA sub-label, founded his own record label, and become a global ambassador for the Toronto Raptors, just to name a few. 

Already estimated to be single-handedly responsible for 5% of Toronto’s annual total tourism income, his latest venture might boost that number even higher. Drake and Live Nation Canada announced Tuesday (June 8) that they will be opening a new live entertainment venue in the global sensation’s hometown named History later this year. 

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“Some of my most memorable shows were playing smaller rooms like History,” Drake said in a statement.  “I wanted to take those memories and what I learned to create an incredible experience for both the artists and the fans.”

The 2,500-capacity venue will “offer artists a versatile and intimate destination to perform and connect with fans in Toronto,” according to the announcement. They plan to host 200 concerts and events annually. 

“We saw an opportunity to bring Toronto a great new venue, and we have so much gratitude and respect for Drake teaming up with us to bring it to life in the best way possible,” said Michael Rapino, the President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment. 

History has been in development for more than three years now, with construction slated to conclude later this summer. The venue is located in the east end of the city, right in the heart of the Beaches neighborhood. Inside, it includes a convertible GA area and reserved seating set-up for all types of events, from concerts, live entertainment, galas, community programs, and more. Concerts and event information, as well as career opportunities, will begin to be announced in the coming weeks and months here on the website.

“History will offer guests up-close experiences with their favorite artists that are unrivaled in Toronto.  We take pride in and expect History to become an important part of the community,” said Riley O’Connor the Chairman of Live Nation Canada.

Drake showing out for his city once again. 

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You’ve likely read a whole lot about the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight this weekend, including the conspiracy theories that Mayweather actually did knock out Paul, but we have yet to dive into one of the most outrageous hip-hop adjacent stories from the event: Fat Joe’s beard.

Fat Joe has been making a move in the podcasting game, knocking out some impressive interviews with some of the industry’s finest in recent months. As he focuses on his latest hustle, the rap icon took a night off and enjoyed some live entertainment, catching the Logan Paul vs. Floyd Mayweather exhibition, which ended in a non-decision after lasting all eight rounds. As he enjoyed fight night from his seat, Joe was being roasted online by fans who have grown tired of his beard, which they claim he draws or paints on.

Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

This weekend, Fat Joe was called out on a major scale when people started to take notice that his facial hair looked unnatural. The alleged “spray paint” job was so poorly done that some people compared Joe’s look to NBA star Carlos Boozer’s infamous waxy hair. At the end of the night, Joe’s name was trending because of it.

“You cannot convince me fat joe’s beard isn’t drawn on,” wrote one commenter on Twitter. The feeling was mutual with dozens of people taking to the platform to share their opinions on the rapper’s facial hair.

Check out some of the comments below. Do you think Fat Joe looked silly with his beard?

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Polo G’s rise in the rap game has been quite extraordinary to watch. Beginning his commercial career in 2018, the rapper has since gone on to release two Billboard 200 Top 10 albums. His 2020 sophomore effort The Goat solidified his star-power even more, earning his first solo No.1 single with “Rapstar” after it debuted at the Billboard chart’s summit. 

As he readies the release of his third studio album Hall of Fame due this Friday that includes his highly-anticipated Nicki Minaj collab “For the Love of New York,” the hitmaker already preparing for his career to propel to even greater heights. He’s recently become the new owner of a beautiful (and massive) $5 million mansion right outside of Los Angeles boasting amenities like a 14-car garage, a tennis court, and more.

Brad Barket/Getty Images for 105.1

The home, which is truly a car collector’s dream estate, is located in the San Fernando Valley. In addition to the garage, it’s equipped with a nearly 1-acre lot with 36 parking spaces. Inside the almost 11,000 sq. ft. Mediterranean-style house, there’s a rotunda entry leading to a vintage-looking set of stairs. Elsewhere there’s a custom wine closet and bar, a formal dining room, and a billiard room on the first floor.

The kitchen and bedrooms all live up to their expected luxuriousness, while the outside of the mansion boasts a pool, spa, BBQ area, and a lighted tennis court all traced by stone terraces. 

TMZ reports that the Chicago rapper purchased the home for $4.885 million. With his third studio album arriving later this week, it’s obviously a big month for Polo. 

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Following his reconciliation with Westside Gunn, Mach Hommy delivered his new solo album Pray For Haiti, a project that not only earned critical acclaim for its brilliant lyricism, but for its charitable cause. Evidently, JAY-Z has been keeping a close eye on the Griselda movement, having connected on an individual level with Westside, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher. Clearly, he values what they’ve been bringing to the table, and he recently sat down with Gunn and Mach Hommy for a bit of dinner discourse.

The duo opened up about their meeting with HOV during an extensive interview on Complex. “Everything that’s been going on has been the sound that’s been building,” explains Gunn. “HOV been keeping his ear to the street. Hop is my manager, Hop is like a brother to HOV. HOV is just tapped into everything going on. He’s listening to us in the same way he’s listening to Mach. He just got a mutual relationship with both of us, he love what both of us is doing.”

“My man [HOV] communicates most heavily through subtlety,” explains Mach. “I hate to be like this, but you wasn’t there. It’s so loud, the silence be deafening. He communicates so many ways. At the end of the day, the main thing I’ve gotten from him is trust yourself. You can have more fun with your friends than with yourself, depending on what the mood is. I was having fun by myself. If you’re having a cookout and cooking food for yourself without considering the other guests, the menu’s going to be different…It’s moreso the difference between me cooking for myself and entertaining friends and family.”

In addition to discussing JAY, Mach also shows love to Drake for supporting Pray For Haiti and pushing hip-hop culture. “He’s doing what he’s supposed to,” says Hommy. “You can never get bigger than the culture.” For more from Gunn and Mach Hommy, be sure to check out the full Complex interview right here.

The first piece from Kanye West’s highly-anticipated YEEZY x GAP collaboration has officially released. After a long wait, the mysterious partnership between Kanye West and GAP, the shop where the world-renowned artist worked before becoming famous, is beginning to unravel. On Tuesday morning, Kanye’s takeover of the brand officially commenced — and no other date made more sense because today, the legend turns 44-years-old.

In recent weeks, Kanye has been spotted around Los Angeles in a big, blue puffer jacket. Fans that have been fiending over that piece were given a shock opportunity to purchase it after the GAP x YEEZY website launched at 3 AM on Tuesday morning. The unisex jacket is presently only offered as a pre-order for $200, shipping out in the fall. While some fashion lovers were able to scoop up the carefully constructed Round Jacket, many were met with a message that the product was sold out shortly after appearing for the first time on the GAP site.

This is the only item that was released as part of the brand’s initial debut. The surprise drop happened in the most Kanye fashion too. It was first noticed by fans who saw an image of the jacket being projected onto buildings in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York alongside a QR code, much like he did during the Yeezus era. GAP also archived every single post on their Instagram account, keeping only a rotating image of the jacket and updating their avatar to one of the YEEZY logo.

What do you think of the first launch from this collection? Did you manage to get your hands on the Round Jacket? Happy birthday, Kanye!