New Hip Hop News

When majority of female emcees come into the game, one thing is for certain: they’ll either praise Nicki Minaj in order to be embraced, compared to Nicki Minaj unrightfully or for some reason or another end up beefing with Nicki Minaj. Notice how the common factor here is, well, Nicki Minaj? That’s because many people consider her to be the current queen of hip-hop, both for her decade-spanning domination of the music game and ability to branch off into television, film, podcasting and other forms of lucrative media outside of rap realms.

It’s very understandable that an aspiring femcee like Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta star Akbar V would look to Nicki as the ultimate inspo, especially after said Queen co-signed your rap career via social media.

Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue 

“This Alone let me know my talent don’t go unnoticed,” Akbar wrote as a lengthy caption on a recent IG post, which showed off a mention she received not too long ago from Nicki Minaj in reference to her skills. The caption continued with a boastful affirmation that “All that other shit you haters talking don’t be bothering me,” in addition to prompts to go stream her latest single “Right Now.”  Adding onto the braggadocio even more, Akbar continued her praise of Minaj by stating, “She never told y’all favs this though.” The Nicki Love Train kept pushing forward from there, with the reality star even writing, “She’s the only person matters when it comes to female rap she’s the #QueenOfRap this was wrote a minute ago to me and everytime i get discouraged i go look at this.” 

“Right Now,” which currently sits at just over 35,000 views on YouTube since it dropped a few weeks ago on Mar 26, isn’t a bad song overall. Also, she looks pretty stunning in the official music video. We say, keep grinding! Let us know down in the comments what you think of “Right Now” by Akbar V though, and whether or not you could see her dropping a collab with Nicki Minaj sometime in the hopeful future:

One has to wonder whether or not Lil Nas X knew exactly what he was sitting on prior to the release of “MONTERO’s” controversial video. There stand many who appreciate what Lil Nas X brought to the table with “MONTERO,” rewarding the pop sensation with yet another number one record on the Billboard Hot 100. On the other hand, the song has reached undeniable levels of infamy, with Lil Nas X’s Satanic lapdance and subsequent tie-in shoe release having drawn the ire of public figures and rappers alike.

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Following the height of “MONTERO’s” release, as well as the alarming hospitalization of DMX, Detroit rapper Sada Baby responded by sparking a controversy of his own. “Lord we said Lil Nas X, not DMX,” wrote the rapper, an Instagram post that ultimately earned Sada no shortage of backlash and accusations of homophobia. Lil Nas X himself actually responded to a report on Sada’s post, writing “this is so fucked up omg” before encouraging fans to keep “MONTERO’s” momentum strong. 

Now, Sada has come forward to clear the air, taking to Instagram to address the backlash he’s been receiving since his initial post. “I said what I said in that post because of the shoes,” he begins, alluding to Lil Nas X’s MSCHF collaboration. “That’s it. The Devil shoes, the Devil in the video. Giving the Devil a lapdance. Wild, that shit crazy. That will never be no shit I sympathize with or empathize with or agree with. But I wasn’t wishing death on blood for real, nobody want a n***a dead.”

“His main audience is kids,” continues Sada. “What you showing to kids is you giving the Devil a lapdance. I don’t want to walk in a room anywhere with any of my family and see my kids imitating what they see in that video in any way. That’s not something I agree with. But yeah, I apologize to Lil Buddy if he feel I wanted him dead.”

Check out Sada Baby’s message regarding Lil Nas X below. 

We’ve all been missing the live show experience but hopefully, we’ll soon be able to connect with some of our favorite artists soon. With the vaccine rollout taking place across the country, more artists are taking the leap and announcing tour dates for this fall. The latest being Lil Tjay who is fresh off of the release of his latest project, Destined 2 Win,and plans on hitting the road this fall on his tour of the same name.

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The 27-date tour is set to kick off in Salt Lake City on June 4th before performing in Phoenix, AZ the next day. However, the remainder of the tour dates will be taking place towards the end of September when he touches down in Nashville, TN. Clearly, the rapper is expanding the tour to touch across pockets of the globe that hasn’t been able to see him live due to the pandemic. Along with one Canadian date in Montreal, the rapper is hitting Europe for shows in Germany, Hungary, Belgium, and the UK.

Check the tour dates below. 

‘DESTINED 2 WIN’ OFFICIAL ­­­TOUR DATES
6/4 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
6/5 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater
9/28 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
9/30 – Norfolk, VA @ NorVA
10/1 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
10/2 – Philadelphia, PA @ Fillmore
10/3 – Stroudsburg, PA @ Sherman Theater
10/6 – Montreal, CA @ MTELUS
10/8 – Buffalo, NY @ Venu
10/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora
10/13 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater
10/14 – St. Louis, MO @ Pop’s
10/15 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Piere’s Entertainment
10/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Skyway Theatre
10/28 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
11/2 – Budapest, Hungary @ Akvarium
11/3 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxley
11/4 – Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Viktoria
11/7 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Fållan
11/8 – Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene
11/9 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Amager Bio
11/10 – Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
11/12 – London, UK @ O2 Brixton
11/14 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham
11/16 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
11/23 – Providence, RI @ Strand Ballroom
11/24 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theater

It’s been a few years since the infamous Fyre Festival nearly took place. Truthfully, it seems like it would’ve been a page out of 2020’s book but somehow, it predates what has been defined as one the worst year in modern times. Of course, Ja Rule’s involvement in this sham event made it all the more hilarious, even as he’s attempted to distance himself.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

With the rise of NFTs in the world of art, it seems that one person could purchase the notorious photo of that repulsive cheese sandwich that sent the Internet ablaze.  Photographer Trevor DeHaas is selling his photo of the sandwich as an NFT beginning Tuesday at noon. The buyer of DeHaas’ photo will be able to own the “cultural touchstone” as well as the copyright ownership in order to monetize the IP. DeHaas explained that the proceeds from the NFT will go towards his kidney transplant and daily dialysis. The funny thing about the newly launched NFT is that it’s actually being sold on Ja Rule’s Flipkick platform 

“Initially the viral tweet came with a lot of negative connotations and assumptions about me; rich-spoiled-clout chasing-millennial-brat,” DeHaas told Complex via email.

“People assumed I paid $12,000 for a ticket and that I cared about going to the festival. The reality is that I went for free and I originally turned down the $500 ticket from my friend, Matt, who bought a group package. 8 people [for] $4,000. Matt wasn’t able to get rid of his remaining ticket and offered me the ticket for free. In exchange I would film a music video for his band, Hypothetical, at the festival. I remember thinking, ‘3 days in the Bahamas, what’s the worst that could happen?’ LOL.”

[Via]

Atlanta rapper Gunna should be thanking his lucky stars after he was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run car accident this week. According to multiple reports, the Drip Season rapper was driving in his beige-colored Lamborghini Urus truck when an armored bank vehicle struck him and drove away.

“Aye Brinks truck hit me and kept going. But I’m good tho,” wrote Gunna on social media following the accident. He also shared a video, in which the car’s damages are clear to the eye. The front driver’s side door is dented pretty badly and the backdoor doesn’t close properly anymore. Throughout the video, Gunna moans in a frustrated manner, knowing that his insurance is probably about to go up because of the crash.

Thankfully, Gunna does not appear to have sustained any injuries in the accident. It’s unclear what led to the crash, as well as which party was in the wrong.

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Gunna has a number of different expensive cars, flexing an alternate color of the Lamborghini Urus last year with Lil Durk. While he may have to pay for repairs on the beige whip, he’s still got a few other colors that he can ride around in for the time being. 

A few days ago, Gunna was spotted filming a music video with Don Toliver and Lil Uzi Vert, directed by Cole Bennett. Read more about that here.