New Hip Hop News

Since he first began teasing his return to the game, the steady unveiling of Lloyd Banks’ first studio album, The Course Of The Inevitable, in over ten years has been an exciting development for hip-hop fans. Now, with the project having been confirmed to be arriving on Friday, June 4th — complete with features from Benny The Butcher, Roc Marci, Styles P, Ransom, and more — Banks has rounded things out with a complete reveal of the production credits.

“If you’ve been following the movement..you know I’ve always worked with new producers,” writes Banks on Twitter. “Gotta give the young and hungry the opportunity as well!” Appropriate, as Banks’ upcoming project features production from Encorenlious, Cartunebeatz, RXNNWAY, Nothin But M’s, The Olympicks, Motif Alumni, Alpha Betic, Illatracks, Shadow Magnetic, Dual Output, Chase N. Cashe, Phill Jvckson, 2wo 4our, Fruition Beats, Mr. Authentic, and Tha Jerm. 

Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images

Though some lamented the absence of longtime vets like Havoc and Alchemist, many appreciated Banks’ willingness to connect with up-and-comers and trust his vision and instinct. It will certainly be interesting to see what kind of sound Banks opts for on COTI; based entirely on the brief glimpse we’ve seen thus far, we’re looking at something at once raw, refined, and cinematic — look no further than the full trailer he released, which highlights a grimy piano-driven instrumental in its closing moments.

Check back this coming Friday when Lloyd Banks returns to the fold with The Course Of The Inevitable.

The Voice has spoken and according to him, not everybody is allowed to flex with their hard-earned money on the ‘Gram. If you’re getting your bands up, you may feel an urge to share your winnings with the world, participating in money-spreading challenges on social media, but Lil Durk has officially advised would-be stunters to slow their roll, offering guidelines on when it’s appropriate to flex with absurd amounts of cash.

Taking to Twitter, the Chicago rap icon posted a picture behind stacks of cash. Famously claiming to make $200,000 per show, Durkio has been swimming in money in his spare time and he came through with an important message, telling his followers that it’s not always the right time to be bragging about your earnings online.

“You can post your money if you take care your family and put your n***as in position to win,” wrote the rapper. “And def make sure your kids took good care of you gotta be a opp or somebody wit me hit ya hoe if you hate on me.”

His message comes following the release of his new collaborative single with Lil Baby, titled “The Voice of the Heroes.” The record was released on Monday, preceding their full-length album together, which drops at the end of the week. 

Do you agree that it’s not always appropriate to be stunting with your bands online?

Saweetie has been working hard on the rollout of her debut project Pretty B*tch Music. As fans await the album, she’s been vocal about working on her skills as an artist and performer, explaining back in April that she was attending an artist boot camp to work on some areas of her craft “where she struggles with.”

The hitmaker spent Memorial Day weekend in Houston, documenting her adventures in a blinged-out bralette on Instagram. She donned the same outfit in newly viral footage of the “Best Friend” artist compensating a fan for custom merch he made for her and attempted to gift to her for free. 

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According to accounts of the incident, a fan of the California native made custom apparel to give to her for free. Instead of accepting the custom merch for free, Saweetie pulled out cash from her stunning diamond-encrusted bralette to hand to the superfan. 

“How much is it? Ima buy it from you. Nah, Ima buy it from you,” Saweetie insists to the fan. “For you, this is from the heart,” he continues, refusing to accept compensation.  

She insists, “I know but nah, everything costs money,” as she goes over to her car to put her drink down and grab the cash. “God bless you I love you thank you so much,” says the smiling fan in response. The now-viral footage earned a round of applause from social media users for the selfless act. 

Older half of the sister duo Chloe x Halle Chloe Bailey wrote in response to a tweet sharing the video, “wow and i can honestly say [Saweetie] is one of the most genuine people I have ever met.” 

It seems like the hitmaker is often willing to go out on a limb for her fans, busking on a public beach for fans a few weeks ago after a few people saw and recognized her. 

On November 14th, it was reported that Boosie Badazz was shot in the leg in Dallas Texas, an incident that left the outspoken rapper confined to a wheelchair. A few weeks later, Boosie shared a graphic video showcasing his injuries, confirming that he had to undergo two surgeries. To this day, Badazz has yet to fully recover, having recently revealed to DJ Vlad that his leg still wasn’t operating at one hundred percent. 

Despite the devastating physical toll, Boosie remained adamant about not cooperating with the police. Thus, no arrests have been made, and the Dallas PD has since closed the investigation. Today, however, TMZ has come through to shine a light on some new details, sharing a collection of several early 911 calls made directly after the shooting. It should be noted that all calls were made by eyewitnesses, and not by Boosie nor his team.

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In the first one, a woman describes seeing a gunman in a red shirt running. A second caller tells the dispatcher that somebody had been shot. “They just put the person in the car and they driving to the hospital,” she says, identifying the car as a gray Acura. She also notes that an Audi SUV was following the Acura. The third and final caller speaks of a Black Audi SUV, with “four men inside, and one of them is hanging out of the window with a gun and pointing it at people.” 

Should such details be of interest to you, check out the newly surfaced witness calls below, courtesy of TMZ.

It’s the end of an era. After proudly showing off the $24 million diamond that he pierced to the middle of his forehead earlier this year, it appears as though Lil Uzi Vert has removed the extravagant piece of jewelry from his face. In his latest pictures and videos, the rapper goes diamond-less with his girlfriend, rapper JT of the City Girls.

Fans noticed the change in Lil Uzi’s look after the rapper was spotted on a double date this weekend with Future and Dess Dior in Miami, Florida. Alongside his boo JT, Uzi looked a little different and his followers were quick to spot that his $24 million was missing in the shot. On Monday evening, Uzi posted up with his love and displayed some major PDA. Once again, the piercing on his forehead was missing. Do you think he has removed it permanently? 

The hip-hop couple showed off their love by dancing together on Instagram, taking a quick break to swap spit in the middle of their clip. Uzi and JT look like they’re very much in love and you’ve got to be happy to see it. Hopefully, they work out in the long run.

Have a look below at some of Lil Uzi Vert’s latest diamond-less pictures and let us know if you prefer him with the massive jewel or without.

Wendy Williams has become synonymously known as The Queen of Gossip. Before switching to television, the media personality spent a great deal of time as a well-regarded on-air personality in New York City radio. In her position, she often became involved in minor on-air spats with celebrities, partially propelling her into stardom. 

She allegedly created some tension earlier this month at a comedy club by refusing to snap a picture with fellow NYC queens of radio Angela Yee and Miss Jones. A source revealed to Page Six that The Wendy Williams Show host dropped by Caroline’s Comedy Club in May with Miss Jones, and by coincidence, Yee was also at the Times Square venue. 

Considering the rare occurrence of all three NYC radio legends being together in the same space, both the Breakfast Club co-host and Miss Jones wanted to document the moment with a photo. The source explains that Miss Jones asked comic Donnell Rawlin to take a photo of the trio. 

“Come on, Donnell. I want to take a picture with the ladies of radio,” Miss Jones allegedly said to the comedian. Wendy seemed less interested than the other two women and allegedly refused to leave her seat to get in the photo. 

The insider then explained to Page Six that a crowd member yelled, “Wendy, get up and go onstage to take the picture.” The person continued, “What’s her problem? Why wouldn’t she get up?” Another person said, “If pity was a person.” Angela and Jones then proceeded to snap a photo without Wendy. 

This was the first time the comedy club was open since its doors were shut due to COVID. “This is the first night in 15 months that we are open,” owner Caroline Hirsch explained to Page Six. “It’s been a fabulous time… and the weekends are going to be even more marvelous.”

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JAY-Z’s catalog is lined with classics, with Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, The Black Album, and American Gangster being widely regarded as such. Yet with every passing year, his latest album 4:44, released in 2017 and largely centered around themes of infidelity and family, is steadily inching closer to classic status.

Case in point, Hov’s recent admission to LeBron James during a conversation of The Shop, where he revealed that “super gangsta rappers” thanked him for saving their relationships with the album. Not every project is capable of sparking such a powerful shift in perspective. It’s a testament to Hov’s penmanship (or lack thereof, to be fair), and 4:44 remains the most vulnerable and honest body of work he’s released thus far.

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/Getty Images 

During his talk with LeBron, JAY happened to share an interesting bit of insight about one of the album’s highlight tracks, “Smile.” Aside from featuring some of his slickest bars on the album — “My therapist said I relapsed / I said, “Pre-haps” / I Freudian slipped in European whips” — it also features a reflection on his mother Gloria Carter’s sexuality:

“Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian
Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian
Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate
Society shame and the pain was too much to take
Cried tears of joy when you fell in love
Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or her”

While certainly a powerful section, Hov admits that his mother was initially defensive upon hearing it. “It changed the dynamic of our relationship,” admits Hov. “When she first heard that song she got super defensive. She was like, absolutely not. What happened was, I was in L.A. She flew out to L.A, then she left and was like, ‘No.’ We talked through it and then, when she flew back to L.A., she had written a poem. She wrote that on the plane. It came with the American Airlines, like a little notepad. I was like, ‘You got bars, ma.’ Gloria got bars.“

The poem was later included in the “Smile” outro, performed by Gloria Carter — fun fact, Jay’s mother also contributed vocals to “December 4th” on The Black Album, another of Hov’s most personal tracks. Check out his reflections on “Smile” below.