New Hip Hop News

Since the late 1960s, PBS’ Sesame Street has been on the air, educating generation after generation of children through the use of beloved muppets like Elmo, Big Bird, and Oscar The Grouch. Over the years, the show has developed and addressed several pressing cultural events and phenome such as inclusivity, diversity, and homelessness. Now, the beloved educational children’s program is focusing on racial literacy in its new special The ABC’s of Racial Literacy, which features the debut of two new Black muppets.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sesame Street (@sesamestreet)

Named Elijah and Wes, the Black father-son duo is the latest addition to Sesame Street’s growing group of residents, and in the show’s latest special, they are tasked with teaching children about racial literacy. According to Complex, the episode features Elmo asking Wes and Elijah why their skin is brown, which prompts the two new Muppets to then explain what melanin is as well as the details of races.

In a statement, Sesame Workshop’s Senior Vice President Dr. Jeanette Betancourt reportedly says, “We look at every issue through the lens of a child. Children are not colorblind — not only do they first notice differences in race in infancy, but they also start forming their own sense of identity at a very young age.”

Dr. Betancourt continues, saying, “By encouraging these much-needed conversations through Coming Together, we can help children build a positive sense of identity and value the identities of others.” 

With such a popular children’s program addressing racial sensitivity, it will be interesting to see how future generations comprehend racial literacy. 

[via]

Sexual assault allegations are nothing to play about. We recently learned of accusations made by Raz B’s ex-girlfriend, and that situation perfectly illustrates how the effects of sexual assault can be long-lasting and utterly damaging to a person’s psyche. As previously reported, Kallee Brookes revealed all of the alleged instances of abuse that she endured throughout her relationship with the former B2K singer, from being strangled in a parking lot to being forcibly impregnated. Upon The Neighborhood Talk reporting on the allegations, however, Asian Doll took the time to leave an insensitive comment that practically belittles Kallee’s entire testimony.

As brought to our attention by The Neighborhood Talk, Asian Doll noticed the platform’s original report about Brookes’ allegations towards Raz B, and upon seeing it, she left the following comment: “She could’ve simply took a plan B afterwards.” The shocking comment left many users confused, as it seemingly negates Brookes’ alleged traumatic experiences.

One user wrote, “People have been so sympathetic of Asian & defending her grieving process, then she turns around & says this about another woman’s trauma.” Another user slammed Asian Doll’s train of thought, saying, “Or..OOOORRRR… HE COULD’VE NOT FORCED HER? Y’all scream protect black women until it’s time to protect black women.”

Another point to consider within this entire Asian Doll fiasco is that Kallee Brookes doesn’t have any children with Raz B, making the Atlanta-based rapper’s insensitive comments even more unnecessary as it is clear that Brookes already handled the situation on her own accord.

In her most recent Instagram post, Asian Doll shared a close-up video of her twerking to Gunna’s 2018 song “Mistress” alongside the comment, “Ion give a f*ck bout nunnnnnnnnadet Sh*t [laughing emoji].” Whether she was responding to the backlash that she is sure to receive for her insensitve comment or not, it’s clear that Asian Doll is not bothered in the least.

Stay tuned for updates.

Hip-hop legend Melle Mel is one of the more outspoken OGs in the rap game, showing no issue with sharing his two cents on topics that are central to the culture. For the last week, parts of his latest interview with VladTV have been trickling out, including portions where he explains why he thinks Jay-Z is “overrated”, why he would beat Eminem in a rap battle, and why The Notorious B.I.G. wouldn’t be successful in the earlier days of hip-hop. Clearly, Melle Mel isn’t concerned about rubbing people the wrong way.

Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

In the latest section from his talk with the publication, Melle Mel speaks about how hip-hop can’t be considered the music of the streets, explaining why he thinks so.

“I heard this being said the other day, which I don’t agree with, they said hip-hop is the music of the streets. It’s not. Hip-hop is the people’s music,” he said. “It’s not the music of the streets. It’s the music of the streets if you want it to be the music of the streets but that statement in itself, it doesn’t say a lot about hip-hop. Because you ain’t supposed to promote that. Everybody says, ‘that’s how we live’. You live how you wanted to live. That’s what you do. I’m 59-years-old. I’ve never shot or stabbed nobody. I walked away from way more fights than what I got into. And why? Because that’s the right thing to do. And anybody out there, you can make a choice. You can be 59 and accomplish something or you can go burn bright and get killed at the age of 25. And the lucky ones will be the ones that die. The unlucky ones will go to jail.”

What are your thoughts on Melle Mel’s recent comments? Do you think hip-hop is the music of the streets?

Ever since Victor Oladipo was traded to the Houston Rockets a few months ago, there have been rumblings that he would rather go somewhere else. Oladipo to the Miami Heat has been a rumor for a very long time and throughout his brief tenure with the Rockets, every analyst figured he would eventually get his wish at the trade deadline. Well, today, it finally happened as just a couple of minutes after 3 PM EST, Oladipo was sent to South Beach.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the deal is a very simple one as Oladipo will go to Miami in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley. Both teams will also engage in a pick-swap, which helps to sweeten the deal for both sides. 

The Heat are a team who have been steadily improving this season and getting Oladipo makes them viable contenders for when the playoffs roll around. As for the Rockets, they just came off of a 20-game losing streak, and during that time, Oladipo’s days were pretty numbered. Now, both sides get exactly what they want which is what the trade deadline is all about.

There have been plenty of deals today and more could be coming down the pipeline, so keep it locked to HNHH for updates.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Lonzo Ball is easily one of the more polarizing players in the league thanks to the position his father put him in coming into the NBA. LaVar Ball claimed that Lonzo could be better than Magic Johnson which made the expectations extraordinarily high. In the end, Lonzo has turned out to be a solid point guard who can play great defense and come through with some huge plays when it matters most. Throughout his career, he hasn’t been able to showcase that in the playoffs, and LaVar was ultimately calling for him to be traded.

With numerous reports circulating around Lonzo today, it was believed that a trade was imminent. However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Pelicans decided not to deal Lonzo. Instead, they sent JJ Redick to the Dallas Mavericks which was a move that came as a surprise to many.

Lonzo will become a free agent at the end of this season which means he will be free to leave the Pelicans if he so chooses. The Pelicans have made it evident that they want to build around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, so perhaps Zo will decide to head out East, where teams like the Knicks and Bulls have expressed interest.

Needless to say, the trade deadline has been a lot of fun, and there is sure to be more news trickling through.

Steph Chambers/Getty Images