New Hip Hop News

Days after teasing his appearance on Red Table Talk, Bobby Brown’s full conversation with the Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Jones has arrived. Within the last nine years, Bobby Brown has lost his ex-wife Whitney Houston, his daughter Bobbi Kristina, and most recently his son Bobby Brown Jr. to substance abuse-related deaths. Additionally, Bobbi Kristina’s boyfriend, Nick Gordon, died at the top of 2020 from a drug overdose.

Brown spoke openly about how he’s grieved these losses and told the ladies on Red Table Talk that he believes it’s his mission to “remind people that it can kill you.” The music legend knows firsthand the battles of addiction and tearfully discussed how he’s been processing losing two children in six years.

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Bobby Brown Jr. recently passed away from a reported mixture of cocaine, fentanyl, and alcohol, but the New Edition singer insisted that his son wasn’t a drug user. “He would experiment with different things,” said Brown. “It wasn’t like he was dependent on drugs like when I was in my situation. I depended, I needed it… He was a young man that tried the wrong stuff and it took him out of here.”

“Losing [my son] was very, very unexpected, just like losing my daughter,” said Brown. “We were just in the studio two nights before. It was something that hit me really, really hard. He was a musician, played piano, played drums, he was a great writer. He was a teacher and learner. He learned from everybody that he was around and he taught just as much as he learned… He was someone that I just admired him as a young man and how he grew up. He just wanted to be a part of something that was going to be special. His smile, when he smiled, he just brightened up a room.”

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Brown also had a few thoughts about Nick Gordon who he believes played a role in the deaths of Whitney and Bobbi Kristina. “He was the only one there with both situations, with my ex-wife and with my daughter, and they both died the same way.” Jada wanted to know if Brown believed Gordon “killed Whitney.”

“I believe so,” he replied. “This is my opinion of who I think this young man was… Being around my daughter and being around my ex-wife, I think he was more so a provider of, you know, party favors.” Watch Red Table Talk below.

We were overdue for a Meek Mill moment and he delivered earlier today (April 14). The Philly rapper often gives his takes on memes and pop culture, but it was his response to one of Justin LaBoy’s posts that made him a trending topic. LaBoy is known for his funny quotes that he posts to his uber-popular Instagram page, and Meek has, in the past, reposted and commented. This time, however, it caused the rapper to take a few hits online.

LaBoy shared an image that reads, “Watch your PH balance not my page.” In the caption, he added, “Happy Wednesday [!!] Have a blessed day [fingers peace sign][crying laughing emojis.” Meek hopped in the comments to share that he didn’t quite understand the message.

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“What is a ph balance … sounds like a excuse [nauseaus emoji] lol,” Meek replied. It didn’t take but a blink of an eye for screenshots to be shared and soon, Meek found himself being teased by a global audience. As always, the rapper took it all in stride but we’re sure he’s been informed on what a pH balance is. 

Check out a few reactions below.

The pressures of child stardom have been shared for decades. Celebrities who launched their careers as kids often find themselves struggling with money problems, expensive habits, alcoholism, and addictions, and in recent years, Justin Bieber has been opening up about the troublesome days of his youth. There was a time when Bieber was making headlines due to arrests and bad behaviors, and he caught up with GQ about his battle with substance abuse.

The Justice singer revealed that there are people in the industry who prey on young stars for a variety of reasons, causing these impressionable child celebrities to deal with issues they aren’t prepared to handle. “It was like I had all this success and it was still like: I’m still sad, and I’m still in pain. And I still have these unresolved issues,” said Bieber.

He called drugs his “numbing agent” that helped him get through day-to-day life, adding that exposure to the industry can make a young person jaded. “And then you wake up one day and your relationships are f*cked up and you’re unhappy and you have all this success in the world, but you’re just like: Well, what is this worth if I’m still feeling empty inside?”

Bieber recalled that his security guards would look in on him in the evenings as he slept, regularly checking his pulse to make sure he was alive. Now, the pop star claims he’s living a healthier lifestyle and credits his relationship with wife Hailey Bieber as a key component to helping him through his storm.

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We haven’t even laid him to rest yet and there are already conversations about who would portray DMX in a biopic. The world was dealt a devastating blow when DMX succumbed to a heart attack, and since that time, there has been an outpouring of love in honor of the late star. DMX was a beloved figure who balanced faith and his internal battles, but his vulnerability made him an artist, and a man, unlike any other.

Don’t be surprised to hear talks of DMX biopics in the days to come because the captivating story of Earl Simmons’s life reads much like a storyline plucked out of a movie. Mehcad Brooks toyed with the idea of portraying X while visiting The Clay Cane Show on SiriusXM. The Mortal Kombat star was asked if he would tackle such a role and it’s something that Brooks welcomed with open arms.

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“So everybody talks about like, DMX is not the greatest rapper alive. I understand that. Everybody talks about Tupac, everybody talks about Biggie, everybody talks about Jay-Z, Andre 3000, Eminem, Kendrick. Got it. But DMX spoke to me in a way that no other rapper did,” Brooks said. “DMX was our heavy metal. He was our heavy metal.”

“And I liked Metallica, I liked Mötley Crüe, I liked that kind of stuff. I grew up with a varied taste in music,” he added. “So, when I heard DMX, I was like, this is our rockstar. This is our heavy metal rockstar. So I grew up just like this [shows fingers crossed] with DMX in my ears the whole time.”

After being told that he would fit well in a DMX biopic, Brooks said, “Listen, I would be blessed. I would honor his memory in such a way, and I would be honored and humbled. From your lips to God’s ears. We’ll see.” Watch Mehcad Brooks’s interview in its entirety below.

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Updates regarding the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol may not be clogging headlines as it once was months ago, but investigators are still diligently working on dozens of cases related to the incident. The FBI regularly shares faint images of suspects who stormed their way to the Capitol building and wreaked havoc, and there are several participants who face serious charges.

During the riot that occurred following former President Donald Trump’s “Stop The Steal” rally, 35-year-old Air Force Veteran Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed, and it’s being reported that the officer responsible won’t face charges. Babbitt, along with hundreds of others, believed that the November 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump in a grand conspiracy to keep him from his second term as president. She was shot in the shoulder as she attempted to crawl through a broken door.

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According to NPR, the Justice Department completed its investigation into the shooting death of Babbitt and concluded that the Capitol police officer responsible didn’t make any moves that were unconstitutional. “In order to establish a violation of this statute, prosecutors must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officer acted willfully to deprive Ms. Babbitt of a right protected by the Constitution or other law, here the Fourth Amendment right not to be subjected to an unreasonable seizure,” stated the Department of Justice.

“Prosecutors would have to prove not only that the officer used force that was constitutionally unreasonable, but that the officer did so ‘willfully,’ which the Supreme Court has interpreted to mean that the officer acted with a bad purpose to disregard the law.” NPR further reported that just prior to closing the investigation into Babbitt’s death, “the  U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Department of Justice offered their condolences” to Babbitt’s loved ones.

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It was just about a month ago when Charlamagne Tha God incurred the wrath of the BeyHive after saying that he believed Rihanna could best Beyoncé in a Verzuz match. The radio personality added that he loves Bey, but he thinks Rihanna would reign victorious. “It’ll be a great one though, that’s a dream Verzuz, that’s PayPerView,” said Charlamagne. “If Rihanna and Beyoncé did a Verzuz on PayPerView, I would pay fight prices.”

However, it seems that Charlamagne has changed his tune because while on The Breakfast Club, he admitted that he didn’t factor in songs that may send Beyoncé over the top. “I said Rihanna at first, I didn’t say it with much confidence, but yeah, you can’t bet against Queen Bey,” he stated.

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“When you start playing the ‘Drunk in Love’ and the ‘Loves On Top’—Rihanna’s got fourteen number ones. Got the fourth most number ones ever,” he added. “But Beyoncé got a lot of cultural smashes. So does Ri though.” DJ Envy wondered if Beyoncé would use Destiny’s Child’s catalog. “She probably would,” Charlamagne replied.

This is a hypothetical Verzuz that two massive fanbases would break the internet to see, but we’re not sure that either camp would participate in the famed virtual music battleground. Check out Charlamagne and DJ Envy chatting about Rihanna and Beyoncé below.