New Hip Hop News

At long last, the music video for Lil Nas X’s new single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” has been released after nearly a full year of teasing. The song has gone viral on social media more than a few times already but, with the release of the music video, it’s sure to rile up the masses even more.

Much like “WAP” was used by conservatives to have a non-existent debate about culture and the influence of entertainers, it’s almost as though Lil Nas X is trying to frustrate that same crowd with his latest video. The queer anthem begins with Lil Nas X explaining that, in life, we often hide the parts of ourselves that we don’t want the world to see. It took almost twenty years for LNX to come to grips with his sexuality but, in “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”, he’s fully embracing himself as a gay man, trolling the world in the process.

The highly-stylized video begins with Lil Nas X exploring this new fantastical world before he starts his ascent to Heaven. Once he nearly reaches God though, he begins to slide down a pole, twirling around and stumbling into Hell. He walks up flirtatiously to the Devil and gives him a lapdance, which is sure to trigger homophobes and bigots across social media.

The video is currently trending at #2 on YouTube as it has already picked up over a million views in under twenty-four hours. This continues Lil Nas X’s tremendous string of high-budget music videos that perfectly unpack the world he’s created for himself, and people are seriously loving it so far. 

Check out some of the best reactions below.

Building upon the success of his early 2021 hit “Time Today,” MoneyBagg Yo just dropped the Future-assisted “Hard For The Next,” a smooth single that finds the   

In our latest Digital Cover with MoneyBagg Yo, we asked about the Memphis artist’s upcoming album, and he touched on the unique way in which he’s balancing the record as well as the type of features that he sought after when working with other artists.  In addition to wanting to give listeners a mix of music that reflects both his pain and his experience in the streets, MoneyBagg Yo also reveals he flat-out told Future, who he just dropped “Hard For The Next” with, that he wanted a HNDRXX-type feature for their collab.

Check out what the “Time Today” artist had to say below:

Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

On the upcoming album:

“I got 8 songs gangsta, 8 songs pain. Even if you don’t like the gangsta you’ll like the pain. If you don’t like the pain you’ll like the gangsta. So I still win all the way around. I’m finding myself within my craft. I’m finding myself more and more. Even with diving more into the melody side, I might do a whole album later on in my career, just full of that, because they’re taking a liking to it.”

On the new collab/working with Future:

“Right now, I told [Future], “We at the time, like, there’s so much going on in the world and it’s like, stuff is going off of feeling. The world is really in their feelings. It’s so much going on, to the point where — bro, we got to dig more into the melody side of this situation. And I want HNDRXX, you got to give me that.”

Even in the studio, when we was going through the songs and he was going through the gangsta music. It was all mixed up. He only had the chorus on [“Hard for the Next”] and it kept catching me. I finally just said somethin’, like, ‘Aye, bruh, go back to that one right there. You’re clearly dodging that one. Why is you dodgin’ it?’ He was like, ‘I aint tryna dodge it, bruh. You can get whatever you want. You can have whatever joints you want.’ So I picked it and got it, it was too crazy. I went right in the studio, I finessed it, and then we just put it together as a whole. We just work together as a team on the regular and it came out crazy.”

On collab with Polo G and Lil Durk:

“Me, Polo G and Durk. It’s a song called “Free Promo” on my album. It’s crazy, I tapped into the melody side on that one too. So that’s the pain side.”

With these new insights into Moneybagg Yo’s forthcoming album, it’s hard to not get excited about it. 

Check out the story in full here.

Photo by Cam Kirk

The last two years have been an incredibly successful and iconic time period for The Weeknd, who has notably experienced a drastic evolution in his artistry in tandem with a massive boost in celebrity. Bookended by the exciting single releases of “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” as well as a never-before-achieved feat on the Billboard Hot 100, The Weeknd’s After Hours era will likely live on as one of the most important stretches in the Canadian artist’s career, and even despite his highly debated Grammy snubs, the XO artist thinks so as well.

Simply captioned, “an era,” The Weeknd‘s latest Instagram post features a fan-made collage that perfectly captures the magic, reinvention, and iconography of his After Hours run. Some of the pictures that make up the college include the singer-songwriter with his face wrapped in bloody bandages, the unmistakable “new face” that he debuted for his “Save Your Tears” music video, and various shots of his most popular new hairstyles. 

It’s also worth considering that The XO artist’s post seems to have a nostalgic vibe, almost as if he is reminiscing on the After Hours era instead of still enjoying it. The Weeknd has been known to separate his career into “chapters,” so perhaps his latest post is his way of acknowledging that he is onto something new. In a rather mysterious Instagram story post that was shared in tandem with the aforementioned post, The Weeknd posted a shot from what could be an outtake from his acclaimed “Save Your Tears,” and in the picture, he’s seen holding a gun to his neck, potentially signaling the end of the After Hours era. 

Instagram

Do you think that The Weeknd is hinting at what’s next to come or is he just still enjoying his victory lap following the insanely successful After Hours?

Every single year, the NBA trade deadline provides us with some amazing storylines that always get the fans riled up. This year, there were some big trades although nothing that involved massive superstars. Regardless, there were some deals that had fans engaging in some hefty debates, including the Lou Williams deal which had the Clippers sending him to Atlanta in exchange for the likes of Rajon Rondo.

It was a trade that also saw the Clippers give the Hawks two second-round draft picks, for good measure. Now, the Clippers get their point guard, and the Hawks get some depth that will help out the younger stars.

Following the trade, most fans were focused on Williams, who made headlines last summer after making a stop at Magic City in Atlanta prior to going to the NBA Bubble. It is that story that gave him the “Lemon Pepper Lou” nickname and now that he is a full-time Atlanta resident, fans made sure to remind him of his love for the establishment.

Twitter seemed to be flooded with jokes about the ordeal and overall, it was pretty hilarious. NBA Twitter has always been undefeated and this was yet another example of their creativity in action.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Yesterday was the NBA trade deadline and it felt like every single NBA fan was looking at the Toronto Raptors and whether or not Kyle Lowry would be traded. Lowry rumors had been circulating for quite some time and many believed that the Raptors would look to make a move given the fact that Lowry is a free agent in the offseason and would most likely sign somewhere else. 

Teams like the Lakers and the Heat had some offers for the Raptors but in the end, the team decided to hold onto their franchise point guard. The trade deadline was also Lowry’s birthday, and following the mess, he took to Instagram with some thank yous for all of the fans who wished him well on his special day. He also noted that his experience yesterday was a crazy one, but he appreciates all of the support.

“Today was a crazy day but the love I got from everyone has been amazing thank you all for making it known I’m loved and for all the birthday wishes,” Lowry wrote.

Raptors fans were rejoicing yesterday when news broke that Lowry was going to stay and it’s easy to see why. He is easily the most important player in the history of that franchise, and when all is said and done, his jersey will be hung in the rafters in Toronto.

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DJ Khaled’s album mode for Khaled Khaled has been one of the most engaging album rollouts in recent memory. Starting with the release of the double Drake singles “POPSTAR” and “GREECE” last summer, the road to DJ Khaled’s forthcoming sixth studio album has been full of surprises and teasers courtesy of the iconic DJ and record producer himself. Over the past week alone, Khaled has teased collaborations with Migos, revealed that he had received vocals from H.E.R. and Post Malone, and shared behind the scenes pictures of Nas and Roddy Ricch in the studio with him. With that said, DJ Khaled isn’t taking his foot off the gas anytime soon.

In a slew of recent Instagram posts, DJ Khaled has now revealed that Lil Baby, Meek Mill, Tay Keith, among other artists have also stopped by his studio to lay down their contributions for Khaled Khaled. One picture shows Meek Mill leaning in front of a computer monitor while another shows Tay Keith posing with Khaled as he holds up a massive Ciroc bottle. The post that’s likely to really get fans excited, however, is the dramatic video that he posted that shows Lil Baby rapping in the booth, complete with dramatic music.

If the high-profile collaborations that DJ Khaled has been teasing over the past weeks are any indication of the magnitude of his forthcoming studio album Khaled Khaled, then it’s looking like the We The Best record producer’s sixth studio album will definitely be one for the books.

Are you excited for DJ Khaled to drop Khaled Khaled or are you tired of all of these teasers without any new music to go along with it?