New Hip Hop News

It’s always exciting when rappers with badass aliases connect, as it tends to sound like an epic comic-book crossover event. In this instance, we’re looking at a newly forged alliance between The Butcher and The Voice, as Griselda’s Benny and OTF’s Lil Durk linked up in Phoenix Arizona over the weekend. 

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While it’s unclear as to what the purpose of their meeting-of-the bosses was — the optimists among us will forever pray for studio endeavors, even without the slightest sign of recording equipment to be found — it’s still promising to see two of the game’s most exciting artists coming together. Though stylistically different in a variety of ways, with The Butcher calling back to grimy golden era rap while The Voice favors the melodic and sorrowful contemporary street sound, there’s a shared sense of authenticity that serves as a uniting factor.

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Given that Benny only recently delivered his new album The Plugs I Met 2, and Durk isn’t exactly far removed from dropping off his best-selling album The Voice, it’s unlikely that the pair are planning any new music just yet. Still, it’s not entirely uncommon to see link-ups of this nature ultimately lead to a collaboration in the near future, so don’t be surprised to see some new music from Benny and Durk in the near future. After all, the latter still has the Metro Boomin-produced No Auto Durk in the pipeline, so perhaps he’ll find some space for one of the best emcees in the game right now.

Check out The Butcher and The Voice together as allies below.

Jake Paul is a figure that many on the internet love to hate. As a YouTube star, Paul was a personality that was hard to like although it was obvious that what he was doing was all an act. These days, Paul is a boxer who has fought against some big names like Nate Robinson and Ben Askren. While none of these guys are actually boxers, Paul has proven that he knows how to fight and that he has the power to knock people out when he needs to.

There are many athletes who are actually impressed with Paul, including Metta World Peace who was recently asked what he thinks of Paul, by TMZ. As you can see in the clip below, Metta actually likes Paul and thinks he is doing something truly inspirational.

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“I like Jake Paul, because I think anybody who has a dream should go after that dream,” the former NBA star stated. “I think what’s incredible about it is he’s doing it! That’s what’s incredible about it, action!”

Metta was also asked whether or not he would ever do boxing and as one can imagine, the answer was “no.” However, plenty of promoters are trying to get him into the fight game, but for now, it’s simply not going to happen.

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Kanye West is reportedly searching for “an artist” as his next romantic partner. Sources close to the legendary artist have reportedly explained that he wants to be able to “speak the same language” with his next love interest. Right on cue, Azealia Banks jumped into the conversation and told Kanye that she’s open to accepting the role, effectively shooting her shot.

“It’s me guys,” said Azealia on Instagram, sharing the report that Kanye wants to date an artist. “The powerful black demon entity awaiting in my ovaries and kanyes testicle is finally about to be unleashed upon the world. All of you n***as are going to JAIL.”

Although it seemed as though the “212” rapper was interested in moving on from her ex-fiancé Ryder Ripps with one of the most prolific artists of all time, her fans questioned her motive, bringing back all of her hateful comments about Kanye in recent years. Once media outlets began reporting that Azealia was angling herself to move into Ye’s vast Wyoming ranch, she claimed that it was all an elaborate joke.

“You guys really took that Kanye joke and ran with it huh?” asked the 29-year-old on Instagram Stories.

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So, Azealia might not actually want to date Kanye West, and that’s probably best for the entire world. That would have been one wildly chaotic pairing. Who do you think Kanye should date once his divorce is finalized?

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Over the past few months, numerous politicians have been doing vaccine campaigns to educate people about the COVID-19 breakthroughs and why people should go out and get their shots. There are still some folks out there who think the vaccine was made too quickly and that it’s a form of population control. Meanwhile, those who have gotten their vaccines have been protected from the virus and the death tolls have quickly lowered as a result.

Former President Barack Obama is among those doing these campaigns and recently, he spoke to Charles Barkley and Shaq about why people need to get the vaccine. “We don’t know the kinds of long terms effects that were having. There’s some folks who get it and 6 months later and they’re still not feeling quite right,” Obama said.

The former President also hit Barkley with some fat jokes during the interview as he spoke about Barkley’s daughter’s wedding and how Chuck lost weight for the event.

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“You also felt like you need to get in shape because The Hora (the traditional Jewish dance) when you’re lifting the chair, nobody could do that at your current weight,” Obama said. Barkley immediately laughed the whole thing off which is typical for Chuck as he typically takes these kinds of things like a champ.

As for the vaccine, millions of doses continue to be given across the United States and it’s looking likely that everyone who wants to be vaccinated will get their shots by the Summer.

In a world where snitches have been striving for infamy, clinging to relevance by a thin thread, loyalty wins once again. New York rapper Bobby Shmurda is finally a free man, being released from prison earlier this year. He has not released new music since getting out but he’s been enjoying time with his friends, reuniting with his family and the GS9 collective, including Rowdy Rebel, Fetty Luciano, and others. 

When they were getting sentenced, Bobby Shmurda famously struck a deal with prosecutors where he agreed to spend extra time in prison if Rowdy Rebel got a lighter sentence. Rowdy was set to receive a twelve-year sentence, which was ultimately reduced to six years. That was because of Bobby’s actions. The “Hot N***a” rapper is officially speaking out about his decision to take on more time in a recent interview, explaining why he decided to do what he did.

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“They tried to play that against me ’cause they wanted me to cop-out,” said Bobby during the interview. “They tried to use Rowdy [Rebel] against me as leverage like, aight, we gone give Rowdy twelve [years], we gone give him the max if you don’t cop out with him. And I’m like, you gone do that to my side?”

Bobby says that he had an opportunity to come home much earlier than he did, saying that he could have been released three years ago. “I could have been home way earlier, 2018 or 2017,” he said.

Jim Jones recently praised Bobby Shmurda, saying that the rapper “paid his debt to society.” Read more about that here and check out the interview clip below.

It cannot be denied that the Griselda trifecta — Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, and Benny The Butcher — are easily among the most respected emcees in the game. With each one having mastered their craft behind the mic, it’s hard not to count the Buffalo emcees as the best rappers of today’s current era. 

Following the release of his brand new album La Maquina, which features standout turns from his Drumwork talent Jae Skeese and 7xvethegenius, as well as J.I.D, Ludacris, Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, 38 Spesh, and more, many were quick to celebrate everything Conway has been bringing to the table during his triumphant run. Clearly vying for immortality atop the fabled hip-hop Mount Rushmore, it would appear that Machine has already been accepted by many of the faces currently lining the monument. 

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On that note, Conway recently found himself connecting with the legendary Jay-Z, who has been a longtime supporter and fan of the Griselda movement. In fact, his recent 2020 year-end playlist featured a fair number of solo cuts from Gunn, Conway, and Benny, to the point where fans have begun clamoring for Hov to follow their musical lead and enlist production from Alchemist, Daringer, and Beat Butcher. And if we’re really fortunate, some collaborations on wax with the Griselda emcees. 

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Perhaps we’re closer to that reality than once thought. “Politics as usual,” captions Machine, alongside a few pictures of the pair posted up. While it’s not exactly an in-studio picture, it’s clear that conversations are being had, and it’s hard to believe that the prospect of uniting on wax isn’t entirely unrealistic. And let’s be honest — if anyone can stand a chance at outshining Jay-Z on a track, it’s The Machine. Best believe that lyrical battle would be among the year’s most memorable, were it to actually go down.

Check out the pictures below, and sound off if you’d welcome a collaboration from Jay-Z and Conway The Machine. 

Kevin Durant can be a controversial figure at times as some fans believe he is too sensitive for his own good. His constant Twitter use has led to some hilarious interactions and while some may feel like he is doing too much, there are others who appreciate his engagement. Throughout his career, KD has had well-publicized issues with some of his teammates, and sometimes, his comments give credence to the rumors. Such was the case recently as KD omitted Russell Westbrook from a list of his top 5 best teammates.

This omission led to a lot of debate on social media as fans reacted to what KD had to say. Even Damian Lillard opted to weigh in on the whole ordeal as he simply provided a thinking face emoji to show that KD’s take here was suspect, to say the least.

Eventually, Durant was asked about Westbrook, which led him to admit that he completely forgot about his former OKC teammate. Considering these two have a ton of history, some fans were not willing to give KD the benefit of the doubt, and it’s easy to see why.

As for Lillard, he has had his own run-ins with Westbrook although even he can see that Russ is one of the best players in the league right now.

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Kevin Durant has played with a lot of incredible athletes over the course of his career. On every single team, he has been on, there have been at least two other future Hall of Famers. For instance, in OKC, Durant played with Russell Westbrook and James Harden. In Golden State, he had Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, while in Brooklyn, he has Harden and Kyrie Irving.

During a sitdown interview with Gillie Da King, Durant was asked to name his top five teammates of all-time, and while some of the names aren’t surprising, there was certainly a shocking omission. For instance, Durant named Irving, Curry, Thompson, Harden, and even Serge Ibaka, which prompted the host to interrupt and ask about Westbrook.

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Eventually, Durant claimed that Westbrook had completely slipped his mind and that he was indeed a top-five teammate. Despite the correction, Durant refused to name who he would take out of the list, which seems to be an indication that he may have purposely left Westbrook off and was just hoping not to get called out on it.

Fans on social media ended up giving Durant a lot of grief for his take here, as some felt like Westbrook was being blatantly disrespected. Over the years, Westbrook has been dissed by fans due to his lack of playoff success but when it comes to talent and tenacity, he is one of the best in the league.

You can see the full extent of what Durant had to say, below.