“It’s a dangerous sport,” Paul said. “That’s why when people question my dedication to it, I’m showing up every single day, I’m putting my mental health on the line, my brain is on the line. I’ve gone and gotten brain scans and have early signs of CTE, but I love this sport and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. … I’m a fighter and people will see that. Whether it’s after Saturday night or a year from now. They will see that I’m a fighter.”
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Many were taken aback by these claims and now, Jake is coming through with an apology to those he may have offended. With some NFL players taking their own lives due to the disease, Paul realized he was a bit insensitive.
“I wanna retract my comments made about CTE as it relates to me and my medical history. It’s a very serious condition that I should not have misspoken about,” Paul said.
Now, Paul will be looking to leave these comments behind him as he faces the toughest test of his boxing career on Saturday night.
It seemed like it would be a tall task for Spinabenz to get sample clearance on the track, which heavily samples Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles.” However, after the singer co-signed the track on social media, she likely O-K’d the track’s addition to Apple Music and Spotify because, alas, it has finally been made more available on a wider scale.
The track gained viral recognition because of the comical video, directed by TeoShotThis. It shows Spinabenz on the golf course, smoking cigars with fellow Florida rappers Whoppa wit da Choppa, Yungeen Ace, and FastMoney Goon. Each of the four rappers takes turns dissing their opposition, taking aim at three deceased rappers from the Sunshine State. Bibby, Teki, and Lil Nine get called out in the song’s hook, which is ridiculously ill-mannered. Bibby was a 16-year-old Florida rapper who was killed in 2019. Teki was another rapper that got killed in the same year. Lil Nine was 18-years-old when he passed away, also the victim of a murder in 2020.
If you’ve been looking for this one on your streaming service of choice, check now because it should be there. Are you a fan of the song?
One of the most influential sneakers in the game right now is the Adidas Yeezy Boost 700. When the original “Wave Runner” colorway was revealed to the masses back in 2017, fans largely hated it. However, as is typically the case with Ye’s sneakers, sneakerheads began to come around immediately turned the shoe into a classic. Over the years, this model has received a ton of colorways although the “Wave Runner” offering remains the most iconic and most sought after.
If you’re a fan of this shoe, then you know there have been quite a few restocks over the years. Despite these restocks, the shoe always seems to sell out quickly and fans get upset over the fact that they missed their best chance, yet again. Now, it is being reported by Yeezy Mafia that this shoe is actually going to be making yet another triumphant return to the market. If you are hoping to get your hands on these, you will be able to do so in August to mark the 4-year anniversary of the model.
A concrete release date has not yet been revealed so keep it locked to HNHH as we will be sure to bring you all of the latest updates. In the meantime, give us your thoughts on these, in the comments below.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
Exactly a year and two days ago, Kenny Mason arrived on the music scene as part fiery lyricist, part rock star, and part rookie of the year contender. This all came with the release of his debut project, Angelic Hoodrat, which arrived in the midst of worldwide chaos and confusion as the coronavirus pandemic began its second month of existence in the United States. Despite this and a slight moment of reconsideration, the Atlanta native dropped the album in what proved to be a well-executed move.
The title that is Angelic Hoodrat carries a duality that is hard to miss in Mason’s music. His ability to move effortlessly between songs that are influenced by today’s hip-hop to that of which carry a heavy rock influence are just half of the recipe. This duality is also formed from Mason making the best of both worlds, one that represents the struggle that once was and another that is the current success he indulges in. For the rapper himself, this was all intentional and he’s happy to see that fans have continued to receive the project
“I think it translated almost exactly like how I wanted it to,” he said during a call with Uproxx. “People that like my stuff, they get it, they understand the duality of the title and within the music too and I’m really happy about that.” That duality gets to live again through a new edition of his debut project, Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut. The 12-track effort sees appearances from the likes of Freddie Gibbs, Denzel Curry, and more. Along with its arrival, Mason sat down with Uproxx for a conversation surrounding the project, standing out on the Atlanta rap scene, and what success means to him.
You just hit the one-year anniversary mark of Angelic Hoodrat. How has the last year been like for you?
Overall it’s been exciting. I know it’s a pandemic and that messed up a lot of plans that we had, but it also was cool, because I got to make more music. I may have not even had a Supercut if I didn’t just have time to sit down and make it. I be trying to find the good in everything and I feel like it was still some good that came out of having to be home. I’m blessed too, it was people that ain’t have jobs or lost their jobs and all type of crazy sh*t. I’m blessed, I ain’t got nothing to complain about and I’m really happy that we made some cool stuff during that time.
I love the Angelic Hoodrat title and how it’s an oxymoron that you relate to yourself. Why’d you pick that specific title and what meaning does it hold for you in your life?
Well, the title came from a bar I had in a song that’s not coming out. I thought it was just something cool to say, because I always liked stuff with a general religious tone, not heavenly or not specific, but just an aura of feeling angelic or ethereal, stuff like that. I’m also Zone 3, it just goes hand-in-hand, but it really did grow because that was like 3-4 years ago when I say that line and then my homeboy was like, “That should be the title of a song or a project.” So I always kept in mind and then the meaning just grew like “Yo, I’m really got a duality to myself.” I’m discovering that more and I’m discovering it more sonically too in my music and conceptually, so it grew into his own thing.
What is the key music-related moment or moments that took place in your life that’s also foundational towards the artist you are today?
I think like the area I grew up in, my sort of love-hate, ultimately love, relationship with my environments, the environments that I was in. I understand certain things that happened to me that seemed bad or just moments of adversity helped me grow and prepare me for life in general because life ain’t easy for nobody. I don’t think life gets easier, I think you just learn how to deal with it better. I have to be grateful for things that I’ve learned, but I also know why these areas are the way they are, historically too, and I know, psychologically, why people do things they do, or act the way they act, or make the decisions they make. I struggle with my sort of resentment with being a product of that and feeling like I didn’t have a choice, but also I feel extremely liberated because I know my destiny is up to me. Depending on my attitude or how I look at certain situations, I can grow from it and that’s real liberating, too.
You come from a city that thrives in the realm of trap rap (Young Thug, Future, Young Nudy, Gunna, etc.) and more traditional rappers (Deante Hitchcock, JID, etc.), but you stick out in this scene and your album is proof of that. How have you been able to find comfort in this space?
I think it might be, as far as what I’m into, it may be a generational thing of kids that grew up on the internet or having the access to explore stuff that I like outside of what’s going on in my neighborhood. I grew up in Westside Atlanta and in my teenage years, I came up in Zone 3, folks like [Young] Thug, they’re from Zone 3, but also, I was on YouTube listening to Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, and My Chemical Romance. I was listening to stuff that I can’t go outside and hear, but I’m on the internet and I can explore it as deep as I want to know. I’ve always been that way when I like something, I indulge in it all the way. I try to find every bit of it and anything close to it, I try to explore all that. It’s the most like that when it comes to music and different types of sounds and sonics. I’ll find an artist and then I’ll find every artist that had anything to do with that artist. That’s combined with me just being in the city and stuff that’s already right there.
So you really just found the best of both worlds.
Yeah, and it happened naturally. Even now, I’m not trying to make grunge music or whatever, I like the way that this sounds, the beat is going this way, and I got these words to say over it and then it comes out that way. I’m blessed enough to have the patience to make it cohesive. I gotta know myself to be able to make it make sense.
What are some attributes and messages for yourself that you require to be present in the music you create?
That sh*t just gotta hit bro, that sh*t just gotta hit me. It gotta be very honest and it is a little bit of premeditation as far as the overall outline conceptually, but I don’t put too much pressure on trying to make it a storyline per se or a narrative. I don’t want to force the listener into a narrative, I want everybody to have their own narrative to it cause that’s what great art is to me, or so I’ve been told. That’ll get better too, I’ll have more of an understanding on that as I go too. It just gotta connect bro, the connection comes in different forms, it may come in really intricate lyricist rapping and it may come in like me screaming over some metal sh*t. It may come with me singing over acoustic guitars, like whatever way it comes, as long as it connects and it’s honest, I’m gonna rock with it.
How do you define success and does failure or the possibility of it worry you?
I don’t really believe in failure. I just think that people just stop, that’s all. You know? I guess you only fail when you die without doing what you wanted to do. Even that, you gon’ want to do a lot of things and you probably won’t do everything. I think it’s knowing that you tried, knowing that you gave your all, that’s success. Personally, I want to make a real connection with my art to as many people as possible. When I say I want to be like the number one artist in the world, that’s what I mean. I want to connect to as many people as possible with my art and the true intention of my art and make things that last here beyond me. When I’m gone, the things that I created are still inspiring people way after. I would like to make some stuff that in 1000 years, kids are still interested in — in the most humble way possible. That’s something to keep in mind when I hit this mic, I want to live forever through it.
Who do you credit to helping you stay on the path you’re on now?
It’s a community of people, everybody in their own way keeps me motivated. Even people that get mad at me and sh*t, that keeps me motivated too like, okay, I gotta prove them wrong timesheet. My homeboy Detail, who’s also my manager, he always gives me really good advice. He always refers me to sources that he gets advice from or things that keep him in a good mindset. My mama, telling me she’s proud of me, that means a whole lot, probably more than she knows, that’ll light up my day. My partners, cause a lot of stuff I talk about my music, they went through it with me and imma always know my perspective, but it’s interesting hearing their perspective on stuff that we went through, but also their perspective or revisiting through my music. It’s a cycle of life, it’s like a hyper experience. We become more self-aware the more that we do that and that’s inspiring. I get to have a shared experience and it’ll deepen what I learned from it.
For the past few years now, there’s been an increased rock presence in the hip-hop scene, whether it be on the light side or the heavy metal end. How do you feel about some of your influences and others having a spot in hip-hop?
I think that sh*t hard. It inspires me too cause I think I’ve focused more so on the sonics of stuff like the actual sounds and tones. Some people like more so the look or the vibe or the swag. I wouldn’t say I got like a rock star swag, that aint’ really my swag, but I love the sounds and textures of that music and I think that the sonics is what I’m most interested in. But rap music has always been the most diverse genre and it never really got its credit because of whatever. I think that it’s always been influenced by other genres, I always think it’s been a culmination of the other genres. It’s the youngest genre so it’s the little brother to everything. I think that it being recognized is something that is gonna progress rap to be whatever it want to be. These artists that are running rap, they’re gonna be whatever they want to be and I think that’s great.
So with Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut, I see you have a feature from Freddie Gibbs. How did that come about?
Well the thing about it is, I put the song out, it was on YouTube, it wasn’t on other streaming services. I just put it out because I thought it was a cool freestyle, just a vibe type sh*t. Then, my folks was like “Freddie Gibbs hopped on that sh*t,” and I was like oh what the f*ck?. He’s one of my favorite rappers of this time and just period, like buddy’s fire as f*ck lyrically and mood-wise, you already know I love that sh*t. So it was like, damn, this man got on this sh*t and he didn’t have to. I’m a new artist bro, he didn’t have to do that, but he did, so I got unlimited respect for him and I’m dumb excited about it. But yeah, he just hopped on one of mine sh*ts and I was just like, bro, we gon’ but this sh*t on the project.
You’re someone that comes off as very grounded, not too extra or one that will wild out. What excites Kenny Mason? What gets him out of that shell even if it’s for 5 or 10 minutes?
I be rowdy bro, like not rowdy, but I be turning up. It’s just that if I’m talking to somebody or trying to answer the questions, I really want to just think about what I say because a lot of people gon’ hear this and I want to make sure that whatever I intend to say, I say. I be walking around the house talking sh*t. Probably at the shows, I think people really see I be turning up for real. Like on Instagram, I’ve watched people take selfies or be on Live or just be in their phone and it’s real natural and just easy as cake to them, but I be thinking too much about that sh*t, I don’t be knowing if the sh*t look right. I think it’s cool because everybody that follows me, pretty much just follows me for music, which I like. I like that don’t nobody follow me for no extra sh*t because then I would have to keep doing extra sh*t.
What do you look forward to the most next? What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned with your debut that you’ll apply to chapter 2 of your artistry?
Number one is shows, I’m really just trying to be really optimistic about when we’ll be able to do it and for how long I’ll be able to do them. I really would like to be on some kind of tour for a long time and letting people experience the project live because going into Angelic, that’s how I envisioned it. I figured people would like it but I think people will have a deeper level of love for it if they experience it live. I’m looking and I’m also looking forward to dropping more music. After Supercut, I’m still gonna be dropping music, imma just keep dropping, but it’ll be a minute before the next project. I want to just still put out music to build up for them. I think, as far as learning, I definitely learned the run of being an artist and putting out a project, I wasn’t familiar with that. Even these interview parts, these are all still new. I know going into the next one how to premeditated more on everything because with Angelic Hoodrat, I’m really glad people love it and connect with it. People tell me every day that it’s changing their life and I love that, that’s my true intention, but it really was an experiment for me. It really was me trying stuff and I know my next project will be way more intentional, premeditated, and planned. I look forward to that being shown.
Angelic Hoodrat: Supercut is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.
Brooklyn drill star Fivio Foreign has been quiet to start the year, but today he broke his silence with the video for “Self Made.” Over a video game-y loop with monstrous bass, Fivio details his accomplishments and stills his haters, challenging them to “make another one” and sneering “I hope a lot of n****s get sanctioned.” The simple video follows Fivio as he parties and records flanked by women and goons.
Before taking a break in Q1, Fivio dominated much of 2020, garnering a spot on the XXL Freshman cover and popping up as a coveted guest feature with all sorts of collaborators — mainly New Yorkers. He assisted Lil Tjay in 2020 on “Zoo York” with the late Pop Smoke — a feat he followed up this year on Tjay’s “Headshot” featuring Polo G — then lent his co-sign to Young M.A and DreamDoll on “Move Like A Boss” and “Ah Ah Ah,” respectively. He stepped outside the confines of the Big Apple to work with Polo G on “Bop It,” helping to form the foundation of their chemistry on “Headshot” later on.
Fivio also worked with more Midwestern artists throughout the year, including Big Sean on Hit-Boy’s “Salute” and King Von on “Trust.” Now that he’s cracked the seal on 2021, we can likely expect him to provide updates on his upcoming debut album B.I.B.L.E (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) any day now.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has undergone successful surgery after experiencing recent issues with his heart. His office said in a statement that his heart rate had been slowing, which prompted Pence to seek medical attention. He had surgery this week to have a pacemaker implanted to help combat his weakened heart rate.
“Over the past two weeks, former Vice President Pence experienced symptoms associated with a slow heart rate and, upon consultation with his doctors, underwent a procedure yesterday at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in Falls Church, Virginia, to implant a pacemaker,” said his office. “The routine surgery was successful, and he is expected to fully recover and return to normal activity in the coming days.”
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Pence was previously diagnosed with an asymptomatic left bundle branch block. In the same statement, Pence added that he’s “grateful for the swift professionalism and care of the outstanding doctors, nurses, and staff.”
The former Vice President and his wife have reportedly been couch-surfing since their departure from the White House. Multiple reports stated that they were presently homeless, staying at other people’s houses as they look to lock down their next place.
After countless delays, Slime Language 2, the highly anticipated compilation album from Young Thug’s record label YSL, finally arrived today. With mind-blowing features from stars like Drake, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, Big Sean, and Lil Baby, the entire Hip-Hop community seems to be enjoying Slime Language 2 on this New Music Friday. Apparently, Diddy is among those that are feeling the album and, more specifically, Young Thug and Gunna’s standout track “Ski.”
In a video reposted to Young Thug’s Instagram account, Diddy is seen slowly creeping into the camera with Junebug Challenge-esque moves as the music to “Ski” blares in the background. As Young Thug’s energetic vocals start sounding off, Diddy immediately busts out into his dance moves, mimicking a skiing motion.
In tandem with the infectious “Ski!” lyric, the Bad Boy Records founder launches forward as his son catches him by his shirt. Sadly, the camera that Diddy and his sons are recording on falls, prompting them to execute the dance once more. Luckily, they’re able to successfully execute the dance during their second take.
Vocalizing what we’re all likely thinking after seeing Diddy’s enthusiastic dance moves, Young Thug offered the simple caption, “@diddy did it…” Immediately after typing that, the YSL head honcho also challenged another prominent artist to follow in Diddy’s footsteps, writing, “@future your turn brada.”
With Diddy absolutely killing his “Ski” dance moves, do you think that Future will actually give the dance a shot?
West Coast rapper Game has some major backup. A slew of hip-hop stars have come forward to co-sign the “My Life” hitmaker’s messages about supporting a woman and taking over the bills. Yung Miami, Lil Mama + Alexis Skyy Support Game After going to Twitter with some more thoughts on covering his bae’s finances, a […]
Slime Language 2 includes twenty-three songs and features from some of the rap world’s biggest names, including Drake, Big Sean, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. Of course, Thugger’s frequent collaborator Future also clocked in some studio time for the album, contributing vocals to “Superstar.” While fans were excited to hear the new record, upon pressing play, those same people were instantly disappointed about the outcome.
“Future baby your lungs not made for all that singing on Superstar,” said one fan on Twitter about the track. “Future for real auditioning for the Backyardigans on Superstar,” joked another. Sifting through the comments, it’s clear that there are not many fans of the song– or at least, not many of the people who like the record are being vocal about it. The top comments are all negative, clowning Future for thinking he could extend his range this far.
The daughter of hip-hop icon Eazy-E wants the whole story told. Vixen and musician Ebie Wright is calling out ex-NWA member Ice Cube over not appearing in an upcoming documentary. Eazy-E’s Daughter Publicly Blasts Ice Cube Ebie Wright says the “It Was A Good Day” rap star is “ducking and dodging” speaking on her father, […]
