New Hip Hop News

Rachel Nichols found herself in some hot water this past weekend as the New York Times did a piece on a tape that was leaked in which Nichols claims Maria Taylor was only hired to do “NBA Countdown” because she fulfils a diversity quota. Many employees within ESPN were outraged by the news although Nichols has seen support from the likes of Stephen Jackson and Kendrick Perkins.

With Nichols’ show “The Jump” airing today, many have been curious as to whether or not she would address the controversy. In the end, Nichols did just that although she made sure to keep it brief. Nichols didn’t want to take away from the NBA Finals, so she apologized to Taylor in the first 30 seconds, and allowed Perkins to speak next, who praised Nichols for owning up to her error.

“So the first thing they teach you in journalism school is don’t be the story, and I don’t plan to break that rule today or distract from a fantastic Finals,” Nichols said. “But I also don’t want to let this moment pass without saying how much I respect, how much I value our colleagues here at ESPN. How deeply, deeply sorry I am for disappointing those I hurt, particularly Maria Taylor, and how grateful I am to be part of this outstanding team.”

At this point, it remains to be seen how Taylor is feeling behind the scenes, especially as she recently turned down a large contract to return to the network. There is no denying that ESPN is a toxic place right now, and it will be interesting to see how things play out.

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Bill Cosby was released from prison last week, but the response to the news is what’s been making even bigger headlines. His on-air wife on The Cosby Show, Phylicia Rashad, celebrated his release after the news emerged. “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected,” the incoming dean of Howard University last Wednesday. It was immediately followed by a public apology but Howard University still reprimanded her.

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Cosby has since issued a response directly to Howard University in defense of Phylicia Rashad. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, the comedian urged Howard to support Rashad’s freedom of speech. “Howard University you must support ones Freedom of Speech (Ms. Rashad), which is taught or suppose to be taught everyday at that renowned law school, which resides on your campus,” the statement reads before comparing journalists to the insurrectionists on Jan. 6th.

“This mainstream media has become the Insurrectionists, who stormed the Capitol,” he continued. “Those same Media Insurrectionists are trying to demolish the Constitution of these United State of America on this Independence Day.”

Cosby ended his note with all caps, writing, “WE THE PEOPLE STAND IN SUPPORT OF MS. PHYLICIA RASHAD.”

Somehow, Bill Cosby’s statement seems like it could only make matters worse for Phylicia Rashad’s tenure at Howard University.

[Via]

Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe is easily one of the most successful franchises in history, it’s not entirely without haters. In fact, certain actors and directors have been openly critical about the MCU, which has spawned such films as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Ragnarok, and Dr. Strange. 

The legendary Martin Scorcese previously claimed that Marvel flicks are “not cinema” in his eyes, a claim that prompted the director to elaborate in a New York Times response. Now, Blade actor Stephen Dorff, who most recently starred on HBO’s True Detective, has joined the ranks of Marvel haters. In a recent interview with The Independent, Dorff expressed serious disdain for the upcoming Black Widow, which hits theatres and Disney+ on July 9th. 

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“I still hunt out the good shit because I don’t want to be in Black Widow,” he says. “It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I’m embarrassed for those people. I’m embarrassed for Scarlett! I’m sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I’m embarrassed for her. I don’t want to be in those movies. I really don’t. I’ll find that kid director that’s gonna be the next Kubrick and I’ll act for him instead.”

Given how protective Marvel aficionados tend to be, it didn’t take long before Dorff found himself facing the wrath of a fanbase scorned. The True Detective actor quickly found himself trending on Twitter, fielding countless attacks from those who didn’t take kindly to his dismissive critique.

At this time, Johansson has yet to respond to Dorff’s criticism of her upcoming movie, which marks the first time Black Widow has received a solo film. She has, however, appeared in several MCU titles, having made her debut in Iron Man 2 back in 2010. Though Dorff might not be lining up to see the upcoming Marvel drop, don’t be surprised to see the film rise to the top of the box office when it releases at the end of the week.

Will you be tuning into the newest chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? 

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Saweetie kicked off this past weekend with her birthday and capped it with the Fourth of July on Sunday. Coming off turning 28 on July 2nd, the “Risky” star was posted up in all Louis before showing off a brand new Rolls Royce gifted to her by friends, with an orange interior to boot.

This is coming off an onslaught of headlines regarding her breakup with Quavo. This past April, the Migos rapper ultimately repoed a car that he purchased for her. Then, just a couple of weeks prior to this, Saweetie even bought herself a Phantom. One’s got to assume spending the day with friends who appreciate you enough to buy a Cullinan as a birthday gift will help shed a bit of that stress. 

The USC grad took to Instagram to show off her car, with an orange bikini to match, captioning the photo, “i just really like expensive things.” The car starts at damn near $300,000, so that much is clear to us. 

As far as Quavo is concerned, he made some comments in regards to the repossessed Bentley in an episode of Verified for Genius, saying “Anything Quavo touch, anything I put my Huncho Hands on gone go up. Anything I touch so [it’s] self-explanatory on what I put on and who I put on and what I bought.” 

Now that she has two brand new cars to pull up in, the rapper is still staying icy.

Issa Rae’s looks are often brought up by the public at large, but this time Issa was the one to control the conversation. 

After clapping back at a troll who called her “unattractive”  in May, it is nice to see the award-winning actress deal with some commentary that (seemingly) had no foul motive.

On the Fourth of July, Issa Rae got mistaken for someone who she does not look like at all, aside from skin tone. Issa tweeted out “Man got out of his car to ask if I was in POWER. Apologies in advance to Naturi, because I’m running with this”, adding her signature humor to the situation. Naturi retweeted the post in response.

Naturi Naughton – Brad Barket/Getty Images 

Fans couldn’t get enough of the mix-up across social media. Even Power‘s creator got in on the fun, tweeting back at Issa, “If you wanna play Tasha’s sister just let me know. I bet she got a lotta questions she wants to ask Tariq….”

Issa Rae is beginning to move away from her HBO series Insecure and head onto new ventures. The show that launched her career wrapped up production for the final season in June.

The 36-year-old has many moves in the works from a series with City Girls, to starring as Spider-Woman in the upcoming sequel to the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

Check out some more fan reactions to Issa’s tweet below. 

Soulja Boy and Bow Wow’s back-and-forth continues to brighten up the timeline, even if Verzuz is all done. Last night, Soulja Boy’s episode of Million Dollaz Worth Of Game aired where he, Wallo, and Gillie Da King discussed the true victor of Verzuz. The tweets said Bow Wow won that evening but Soulja Boy said that he felt that was a small minority of viewers whose opinions were being highlighted. 

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“That’s cap. I ain’t never seen one person that said Bow Wow won,” Soulja Boy replied when Gillie asked about his feelings about fans and publications dubbing Bow Wow the winner. “I didn’t see it. I was looking at the whole Twitter. All I saw was my name. I saw blogs say that he won but you know, they got labels that’ll pay them. They will pay Billboard to put an article out,” he continued in reference to Billboard’s piece covering their Verzuz.

“If you see a blog that said he beat me, obviously it was paid,” he continued. “What the streets said? What the internet said? What the — stop playin’. I ain’t finna sit here and explain myself. That man paid Billboard to post that shit. Bow Wow — Pee Wee, sit your ass down. You know you lost, n***a.”

It didn’t take long for Bow Wow to retort Soulja Boy’s claim. He shared the snippet of the interview on his IG page where he wrote, “Verzuz been over….”

“I don’t know what they putting in that lemonade of yours but it got you a bit delusional. Love you little brother,” he continued with laughing emojis. However, Bow Wow did suggest that there’s a possibility of settling the score once-and-for-all in the second round of Verzuz. 

“Bro its ok to lose to your big bro. Thats whats suppose to happen. We can run it back if you want,” Bow Wow added.

Soulja Boy later responded but only through a slew of laughing emojis. Perhaps, they’ll end up going 10-for-10 on their tour? Check Bow Wow’s post below. 

Two years following Dave’s debut, Psychodrama, the U.K. rapper has finally spoken about its follow-up. He took to social media this morning and announced We’re All Alone In This Together, accompanied by its release date and cover art.

Back in March, the Brit Award winner did mention that he intends to start his new project after taking a vacation with Fredo.

Aside from hinting at new material with Stormzy dropping July 9 on his Instagram, Santan has been quiet since releasing a pair of surprise tracks, “Titanium” and “Mercury,” in mid-April. That same month, he was seen with Drake, Giggs, Not3s, as well as Snowfall actor Damson Idris getting dinner out in Beverly Hills. Aside from Drake, these U.K. artists are all constant collaborators, though the Canadian has definitely managed to have his hand in there as well. 

After Psychodrama‘s tremendous success and a mysterious wave of silence over the past few years, Santan Dave seems set to put forth a project well worth the wait, especially if those two recent singles have anything to say about it.

Listen to “Titanium” below and let us know if you’re looking forward to hearing We’re All Alone In This Together on July 9.