New Hip Hop News

In a matter of a few hours, Paul Pierce fumbled the bag in a major way. The Boston Celtics legend lost his job as an ESPN analyst, getting fired from the sports network after his Instagram Live went viral over the weekend. The 43-year-old retired basketball star went live from his house, getting twerked on by a handful of exotic dancers as he even made reference to his drunken shenanigans possibly being enough to get him fired.

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“I’m Paul Pierce, f*ck ESPN, n***a, sh*t,” said the legend during his live stream. “They’re gonna try to fire me, baby. I don’t give a f*ck. Look at this ass, baby. Looking like two Celtics championship trophies. Shake that sh*t.”

The NBA analyst was speaking to one of the bikini-clad women in his house, but his viral remarks were heard around the world. Kyle Kuzma called Pierce a “sicko”, Tory Lanez said he was trying to mimic his own behavior, and now 50 Cent is weighing in, laughing at his firing from ESPN with his own post on Instagram.

“Paul don’t give a f*ck, He said they gonna fire me LOL,” wrote Fiddy as his caption, sharing one of the much-discussed videos from Pierce’s live stream.

What do you think about Paul Pierce’s firing? You can’t say he didn’t predict it…

These days, public figures must be on high alert as to remain sensitive, as many celebrities in the hip-hop landscape are currently learning. Not long after YG found his My Krazy Life single “Meet The Flockers” was scrubbed from YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music (and subsequently reinstated as a censored version), fellow west coast rapper slash cannabis entrepreneur Xzibit also found one of his business endeavors under scrutiny. 

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According to a report from TMZ, Xzibit’s Napalm Cannabis brand was recently pulled from the Los Angeles-based Higher Path dispensary over its controversial name, which holds the same name as a devastating chemical weapon previously used in the Vietnam War. In addition to Napalm itself serving as problematic to some consumers, one of the products — “The Grenade” — also drew ire over its violent implications.

Xzibit himself shared a video responding to the situation, during which he calls attention to his vast recording catalog. “The word Napalm is definitely synonymous with war and being used as a weapon,” he explains. “If you know anything about me and my body of work, you know I got albums called Weapons Of Mass Destruction and Man Vs Machine.” He proceeds to pull up his seventh studio album Napalm, released in 2012. “This is where the branding of Napalm came from. As you can see, that’s the font we use, that’s the flame we use. It came from this album.”

“But that’s neither here nor there,” says X. “It’s by no means affiliated or nodding to the devastation in its past. I think the creative license I use for Napalm is purely based out of my body of work as an artist. My intention here is to let everyone know that as a black man, I understand discrimination and hated. I understand what that does to communities, and I’m not tone deaf to that.”

“Just to clarify the position we have at Napalm Cannabis,” he continues. “We by no means acknowledge, justify, or feels as though we are promoting violence toward the Asian community. We stand with the Asian community. We stand firmly in the belief that our intentions, directives, and initiatives are positive for the cannabis community, and for the enrichment of the community around us. We plan to do many things for our community at large.”

At this moment, it is uncertain as to whether or not Xzibit will pursue alternative names for Napalm Cannabis. Check out his video message addressing the controversy below.

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Akon is one of the most successful people to have established themselves within the music industry, but his business moves expand far beyond the entertainment world. The 47-year-old multi-millionaire has leveraged his connections to build his first-ever Akon City in Senegal, for which he has started construction. The ultra-futuristic city was revealed a couple of years ago, and it looks like Akon is already moving forward on building another Akon City– this time, in Uganda.

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During a press conference with NBS, Akon announced that he will build the second Akon City in Uganda before 2036. He reportedly dodged questions on how expensive the construction will be, but the Akon City being built in Senegal is around $6 billion. We can expect the one in Uganda to be around the same. 

The city will reportedly run on AKoin, the artist’s cryptocurrency. The government of Uganda has already allocated one square mile of land for Akon to build on. 

Akon was asked about whether the average Ugandan would be able to afford to live in Akon City, which prompted him to say that Africans are the reason why the rich get rich, urging them to invest in themselves because he believes cryptocurrency will elevate the continent to new levels.

Construction for Akon City in Senegal is expected to be completed within three years. Akon CIty in Uganda will be complete by 2036.

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The Weeknd refuses to stop altering the course of music charting history with his biggest song ever, “Blinding Lights”. Over the course of his decade-spanning career in entertainment, the Toronto native has enjoyed tremendous success with plenty of gigantic records. His most impactful song to date has been “Blinding Lights” though, staying in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10 for a full year. 

The former #1 record moved down to the #8 spot this week but the drop allowed The Weeknd to score yet another impressive record, officially passing LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” as the longest-reigning #1 record on the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10. 

“Blinding Lights” has officially become the fourth-longest overall stay on the influential music chart, spending a total of 69 weeks on the list. As the longest-reigning chart-topper ever on the Hot 100, “Blinding Lights” still has a way to go to become the longest-reigning overall song in the chart’s history. Imagine Dragons’ hit “Radioactive” spent 87 weeks in the Top 10 despite never reaching #1. AWOLNATION’s “Sail” also spent 79 weeks before peaking at #17. Jason Mraz spent 76 weeks on the Hot 100 with “I’m Yours”.

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Do you think The Weeknd will outlast them all to officially be crowned as the artist with the longest-reigning song ever on the Billboard Hot 100? With “Blinding Lights” still in the Top 10, a few extra months will earn him that honor.

Congratulations on such a tremendous accomplishment!

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In the wider hip-hop discussion that tends to go down on social media, it’s not uncommon to see “female rap” referred to as a subgenre of sorts — though such a mentality does seem to inherently position the women and men in different ballparks. Still, that hasn’t stopped a few notable rappers from offering their thoughts on the “female rap” landscape, with Dreezy and CupcakKe coming through with a pair of decidedly different takes on the topic. 

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In Dreezy’s eyes, the game has been perpetually sleeping on a slew of talented bar-spitters, and she took it upon herself to spread some love to some notable names worthy of praise. “Lyrical Female Rappers appreciation tweet, just cus the ppl sleep,” she writes, placing the pen game at the top of the priority list. “Rapsody. Chika. Lady London. Omeretta. Tierra Whack. No Name. Young MA. Snow Da Product. Dreezy. Add to the list, put somebody on today. Cupcakke, Lakeyah, B.I.A. Tokyo Jetz, Melii. Y’all know wassup.” 

On the other hand, CupcakKe seemed unimpressed with the “female rap” of today, taking to Twitter to voice her own position. “If I’m being honest with y’all,” she prefaces. “Female rap is really boring to me right now.” Unfortunately, she neglected to elaborate, leaving many to speculate on the specifics. In contrast with Dreezy’s point, which highlights several impressive emcees currently putting in work, some were left assuming that CupcakKe was simply not moved by those occupying a more lyrically driven space. It’s also possible that her comments were aimed at the mainstream side, given how powerful a foothold artists like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion currently have at the present moment.  

Either way, it’s interesting to reflect on Dreezy and CupcakKe’s differing takes — which side of the coin do you fall on? 

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Kodak Black has seemingly taken issue with Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty, who has quickly risen to become one of the most exciting rising stars in hip-hop. One mere week after claiming that Kodak was one of his biggest inspirations in music, Pooh Shiesty started a short-lived feud with the Project Baby over the origins of the money-spreading trend on Instagram. Kodak claimed that he started the fad, but Pooh told the rapper that he’s been spreading for years before Kodak was even relevant.

While it appears as though they squashed their beef, a timely comment made by Pooh Shiesty on Monday on social media caught fans off-guard. The “Back In Blood” rapper said the following on Instagram on the same day that the news circuit focused on the targeted shooting of Kodak Black’s entourage: “Anybody That Got Smoke With Me Got Shot At Or They Tried To Fix It.” Considering the timing of the post, many believed that Pooh might have been dry-snitching on himself. However, Kodak commented on the post, saying, “I Can Relate Lil Bra I Can Relate.”

The exchange has left people wondering what the status of their relationship truly is. Are Pooh Shiesty and Kodak Black at war or are they friends? According to Pooh, it’s the latter. When somebody asked if Kodak was trolling him, Pooh said that he doubts that’s the case. “No that’s bro,” wrote the Shiesty Season star in response.

Instagram

Instagram

Kodak Black was uninjured in the shooting, but his security guard was hit in the leg and rushed to the hospital. Kodak reportedly went to a McDonald’s in Tallahassee following a festival performance at 3 AM when his team was followed and shot at. We will keep you posted as more information is released regarding the shooting.

What do you think of the exchange between Pooh Shiesty and Kodak Black?

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Those of you that have been snickering about Kim Kardashian’s pocketbooks after she filed for divorce from multi-billionaire Kanye West won’t be happy to hear that the social media savvy businesswoman has officially reached the billion-dollar mark herself, according to the latest report by Forbes.

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With the success of her KKW Beauty and SKIMS shapewear brands, Kim Kardashian has seen her net worth multiply in recent years. While her soon-to-be-ex-husband swooned over her finances last year, prematurely welcoming his wife to the billionaire’s team, Forbes was quick to specify that the reality television star was not yet an official member of the club. Some months have gone by and the publication has re-evaluated her net worth, revealing that she has finally passed that point, becoming a billionaire at 40-years-old.

Forbes estimates that Kim is up from $780 million in October, with much of her new billionaire status owed to her KKW Beauty and SKIMS brands. 

Back when she made the cover of Forbes in 2016, Kim said, “Not bad for a girl with no talent.” She has been criticized for years because of a supposed lack of talent, but she’s been able to prove all of her haters wrong by out-performing all of the expectations. 

Congratulations to Kim Kardashian on becoming a billionaire!

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It can be a cutthroat environment whenever the Billboard Hot 100 updates come around. With everybody vying for that number one spot, a position decisively occupied by Lil Nas X and his controversial single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” Anderson .Paak has recently come forward to campaign for his and Bruno Mars’ hit single “Leave The Door Open,” which currently sits comfortably in third place.

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Being that Bruno Mars is no stranger to the top, having boasted no shortage of number-one singles in his day, Anderson .Paak implored fans to think of his friend and Silk Sonic partner’s well-being. “If you could find it in your heart to stream our single a bit more that would be sick!” writes .Paak, in an Instagram post celebrating “Leave The Door Open” cracking 100 million views on YouTube. “[Bruno Mars] is having a hard time coping with 3rd place. He said he’s not used to that shit. So let’s rally for number 1 y’all! #WhatYouDoin #PrayForBruno.”

Of course, it’s clear that .Paak is merely poking fun at Mars’ hitmaking pedigree, a testament to their camaraderie both inside and outside of the booth. Yet there’s likely truth to his desire in seeing “Leave The Door Open” regain the position it once held at the top, before Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” and Lil Nas X’s “Montero” came through to shake things up. Though Lil Nas X’s “MONTERO” may feel like an unstoppable juggernaut at the moment, there’s something undeniably universal about the simple notion of musicians doing what they do best, and the old-school charm of “Leave The Door Open” may very well translate into longevity down the road. 

Check out Anderson .Paak’s playful call to action below, and should your disposition be a generous one, consider running those “Leave The Door Open” numbers up whenever you get the chance.