New Hip Hop News

Following the removal of “secret voting committees,” The Recording Academy has officially unveiled and implemented the new rules and guidelines for the Grammy Awards. As per a report from Business Wire, the majority will be effective immediately, which means they’ll have an impact on next year’s ceremony taking place in January of 2022. It should be noted that one of the rules impacting album eligibility will only go into effect in 2023.

Among the rules that are to be implemented moving forward — the Best Dance Recording category has been changed to Best Dance/Electronic Recording, which ultimately widens the scope of possible inclusion. The Album Of The Year award amendments now ensures that in order to be considered, a project must include 75% worth of “newly recorded material,” though the window extends to a generous five years. In addition, all credited artists and contributors on a given album will now be eligible to be included as nominees. 

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Adjustments for eligibility pertaining to film music categories were also made, which allows film soundtrack composers to decide whether to go for the Grammy when the soundtrack releases or actively waiting until the film comes out. 

Speaking on the changes, Harvey Mason jr., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy, had this to say:

Our peer-driven awards process is all about engagement, and nothing is more invigorating than seeing our members take part in submitting proposals to move the Academy forward. We’re proud to work alongside today’s music creators to ensure their vision for the music industry is reflected in all that we do, and to continue our commitment to transparency by making these updates readily available to anyone that wishes to submit their art for Grammy recognition.”

It is unclear as to whether or not these adjustments and alterations will be enough to lull The Weeknd back into the fold, as the Canadian superstar appears unwavering in his conviction to boycott the Grammy Awards moving forward. Only time will tell as to whether his absence can make a difference. 

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Kids are some of the most brutally honest people on this earth, and Kim Kardashian recently learned that the hard way. 

In honor of the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour, several celebrities — including Joe Jonas, Nick Platter, and Kim Kardashian — received care packages that included Sour Patch Kids, sweethearts, composition books, and other cutesy merchandise decorated to coincide with the album artwork for Sour. Naturally, Kim Kardashian took to Instagram to share her excitement about receiving hers, but her and Kanye West’s eldest child North West hilariously called her out mid-video.

“How cute is Olivia Rodrigo, you guys?” Kim Kardashian said in the now-deleted video posted to her Instagram story. “I can’t wait for her album. You guys know I love ‘drivers license.'”

Before she could fully break into describing the special care package sent by Olivia Rodrigo’s team, North West calls cap on her mother, and viewers can hear her saying, “You never listen to it.”

Kim immediately chuckles at North’s interruption, and then she calls on her son Saint West to back her up and refute North’s claims.

“Yes I do. I listen to it all the time. Stop North,” Kim replies. “Saint, don’t we listen to it in the car all the time? Yes. Can you say that louder for the people to hear? Don’t I listen to it all the time, Saint?”

Eventually, Saint replies with an unconvincing “Yes,” but North’s shocking interruption appears to have shocked Kim just as much as it shocked viewers. From the look of it, North is definitely growing up to be just as outspoken as her father. Check out The Shade Room‘s screengrab of Kim Kardashian’s post below.

J. Cole has officially left the Rwanda Patriots basketball club, citing “family obligations.” The news was announced on Wednesday after it was revealed that the rapper/professional baller had fulfilled his contractual obligation to the team after playing in three games.

The North Carolina native’s overseas stint in Africa brought tons of media attention to the Basketball Africa League, with social media going crazy every time the rapper hit the court. His highlights have been the subject of a media circus, and so have his not-so-shiny moments on the floor. J. Cole finished his contract with five points, three assists, and five rebounds.

His career with the Rwanda Patriots wrapped up with the rapper providing all kinds of new equipment to the team’s staff and players in a moment of generosity that was captured by the cameras. The “family obligation” that Cole left the team for has not been revealed but it can’t have been easy for the superstar to be away from his kids for the last few weeks.

Do you think J. Cole will continue his basketball career elsewhere? Has he earned a role in the NBA or the G-League next year?

Cole is fresh off the release of his latest studio album The Off-Season, which is the current #1 album in the United States. The album moved 282,000 copies in its first week out, making for one of the strongest debuts of the entire year.

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Logan Paul continues to throw shots at boxing legend Floyd Mayweather just eleven days before their anticipated June 6th fight. In a short Instagram video posted Tuesday night, the YouTuber-turned-boxer poked fun at a picture Mayweather posted Tuesday afternoon. The post in question saw Mayweather showing blood on his gloves as he practices for next week’s event. Paul, who lost his only professional fight to YouTuber KSI, continues to equate himself with the undefeated Mayweather. While laughing in the video clip (below), he trolls:

“Floyd Mayweather is so excited that he made someone bleed in sparring, he posted the same picture from the same day. Ohhh, he’s so excited. Ay champ, you’re not the only person who makes people bleed in sparring. Besides your sparring partners are human blood sprinklers bro. Who you sparring bro, you sparring trash. You pipsqueak. June 6th gunna be the worst day of your life bro, literally I’m gunna make this shit so hard for you.”

These comments come after a long month of heckling at the hands of Logan and his brother Jake, as they employ their signature brand of trolling leading up to the fight. Earlier this month, at a press conference advertising the event, Jake Paul spurred a viral meme by grabbing Mayweather’s hat and running off with it, leaving Jake with a black eye.

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Mayweather has a history of not taking these jokes lightly. The famed boxer even threatened to kill Jake during the “Gotcha Hat” incident, apparently prompting the brothers to hire a 24/7 security team. Mayweather is set to fight the younger Paul brother this year as well, although a date has not been set. Jake himself is coming off of a knockout win against MMA fighter Ben Askren in April, though his actions have since banned him from attending the June 6th event. 

The trolling is sure to continue until the event next Sunday. Will you be tuning in?

Check out Logan Paul’s video and Mayweather’s original post which sparked the call-out, below.

The “Girls Need Love” singer and producer London On Da Track welcomed a baby girl back in March. Summer Walker’s opinionated personality immediately translated over to her approach to motherhood, as she would not show her daughter’s face on social media for safety and privacy reasons. Fans both supported and critiqued her for the decision to keep that part of her life private. Her first share of her baby girl, posted on May 15, garnered even more criticism, as some were saying the child’s legs gave the appearance of a malnourished baby, but many fans simultaneously came to her defense. 

However, there are reactions to another decision Summer seems to have made as a new parent, which is not as evenly divided. In the same IG post (below) where Summer revealed her baby (save for her face), Summer also showed off a smoothie prep routine, including a bag of organic hemp hearts, raw honey, lime, and what some speculated were shrooms from the packaging label “ultimate shrooms,” however, the product is actually an immune support mushroom powder. All of these ingredients, alongside an open baby bottle, seemed to indicate that the Summer is actually blending these ingredients for her child. 

Concern for the child immediately erupted on social media, despite it being unclear whether this smoothie prep was intended for the baby. Twitter users responded jokingly (and some not jokingly) about getting CPS to investigate Summer and the health of her child.

“Can Summer Walker just let me enjoy her music in peace” one fan said. 

The singer first shared her thoughts on feeding on her Instagram story back in August stating, “Yall weird for even giving babies that processed government shit. Throw some real fruits/veggies in a blender and give it to them.”

Twitter users are connecting this comment to her current actions, thinking now that the singer was serious about her views, and thus, she may be feeding her baby the aforementioned smoothie blend. Nonetheless, it’s not entirely clear from Summer’s IG post that this is the case, and she hasn’t responded to all the backlash she’s received (see below). 

What do you think about Summer’s feeding habits? We’ll keep you posted if she replies to the drama.

As the United State’s COVID-19 vaccination rate nears 40% and looks to keep growing over the coming months, it looks like a lot of people are going to be back outside this summer, and surprisingly, several music festivals will be ready to welcome them with open arms. Festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Jay-Z’s Made In America have confirmed that they will be returning this summer, and now, one of the most legendary east coast Hip-Hop festivals has joined that list.

It’s official — the long-running Hot 97 Summer Jam festival will return on Sunday, August 22, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Two full decades after Jay-Z put Prodigy on blast and brought out Michael Jackson during his Summer Jam set, Hot 97’s beloved festival is back. Over the years, Summer Jam has produced innumerable unforgettable moments, and it has hosted some of the biggest artists of all time, including Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, Mary J. Blige, Wu-Tang Clan, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Janet Jackson and countless others.

Hot 97 Summer Jam 2021 will reportedly mark the first music festival in the New York metro area in 2021, and tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. EST on June 25. Stay tuned to see which artists will be hitting the Summer Jam stage later this summer, and get pumped for Hot 97’s annual festival by watching the promotional trailer below.