New Hip Hop News

Despite the ongoing drama regarding his tumultuous relationship with Ella Bands, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is embodying the energy from his Artist 2.0 standout cut with Roddy Ricch, Gunna, and London on da Track by running up his numbers. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, the New York artist has a new platinum certification to be proud of.

On March 16, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s second studio album Hoodie SZN was certified by the RIAA as a two-times platinum-selling album, making A Boogie’s sophomore record his first full-length project to achieve such a feat. Prior to Hoodie SZN‘s new accomplishment, A Boogie’s past projects had not surpassed the platinum threshold, with both his mixtape Artist and his debut album The Bigger Artist both sitting at platinum status years after their release.

To celebrate his new plaque, A Boogie took to Instagram to show love to his fans and once again tease his upcoming project, A-Boogie Vs. Artist.

“Hoodie Szn is 2x Platinum now,” the rapper says at the start of his caption before throwing two silver CD emojis in for good measure. “My fans are the best thanks guyzaaas I really owe ya this next one…A-BOOGIE VS ARTIST COMING RIGHT UP STAY READY.”

As fans patiently await the release of A-Boogie Vs. Artist, this post definitely serves as a promising update for the forthcoming project. Congratulations to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie for the success of Hoodie SZN.

Winning a Grammy is one of the most sought-after accomplishments in the music industry. With the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards wrapping up this past Sunday, several Hip-Hop artists left the awards show with new Grammys to their names, despite the genre’s perceived lack of trust or respect for the Recording Academy. Megan Thee Stallion won the award for Best New Artist as well as most of the Rap category awards, Kanye West got his first win since 2013 thanks to Jesus Is King, and Beyoncé became the most decorated Grammy-winning singer of all time. Yet, Blue Ivy Carter was perhaps the most surprising Grammy winner of the night.

By winning a Grammy for “Brown Skin Girl,” Blue Ivy became the second-youngest Grammy winner in music history, and many people have deemed her early win to be a sign of the success that she is sure to achieve throughout the rest of her life. To prove that she is an icon in the making, Blue cemented herself amongst the ranks of Jay-Z and Drake by turning her Grammy award into a drinking cup. 

While her father and the Certified Love Boy artist notably took shots of liquor from their Grammys, Blue opted for a more classy, child-friendly aesthetic, complete with a blue and white striped straw. In a quick post-and-delete, Beyoncé shared flicks of Blue Ivy posing with her new trophy, and as The Shade Room points out, the shot of Blue sipping from her Grammy perfectly aligns from one of Jay-Z’s past Grammy acceptance speeches in which he said, “Daddy got a gold sippy cup for you.”

In an amazing turn of events, Blue Ivy was able to earn that gold sippy cup all on her own.

For years, there has been a running joke about how similar Lil Mama and Bow Wow look. The two have been in the same room on more than one occasion, so we know that they’re not actually the same person, but they look as though they could definitely be brother and sister. 

Lil Mama has been under fire for the last week because of comments that critics have picked apart as being transphobic. The rapper suggested that by allowing children to change their assigned genders, there’s a larger scheme in place to depopulate the world. “So children are too young to smoke cigarettes, too young to drink alcohol, too young to get a drivers license, too young to go to a club, too young to gamble, too young to rent a car, but old enough to cut off their genitals and/or ‘change’ their gender?” asked Lil Mama on Twitter. 

A few days after her comments gained media attention, she doubled down on them, saying, “We have to be very sensitive and mindful when we’re dealing with our children. We are not talking about grown people who can make the choice to do and be whatever they choose to do and be.”

The LBGTQIA2+ community has been commenting on Lil Mama’s remarks, and the rapper clearly does not understand how hurtful her words were. She returned on Wednesday with more thoughts on the matter, joking about how she can possibly be transphobic if she’s also Bow Wow.

“I have a question. How can I be transphobic if I’m Bow Wow?” she joked on Instagram Stories.

Instagram

This has been a hot topic since Zaya Wade’s latest talk with Michelle Obama, in which the 13-year-old was praised for the strength to be herself.

This is probably something that Lil Mama will want to educate herself on before she makes any further jokes. What do you think of this?

Famous Dex has been having a tough week, having recently been robbed of his fifty-thousand dollar watch and several thousand dollars in cash. Now, TMZ has reported that the rapper’s circumstances have worsened, as Dexter was recently arrested for possession of a loaded gun. 

According to the report, police pulled over Dex’s vehicle upon noticing that it did not have a rear license plate. Though he allegedly tried to pull a casual getaway, police managed to stop him from walking away before he could slip off. Upon searching the vehicle, police discovered that there was a loaded gun beneath Dex’s seat. As such, they attributed him to be the owner and arrested him for gun possession, a concealed firearm at that. 

 Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

From the sound of it, the police appear to be making an example of the rapper. For one, he was hit with a felony charge and currently sits behind bars, as per the publication. It should be noted that this is not Dexter’s first brush with law enforcement. In 2018, he was arrested on an outstanding warrant in New York City, which stemmed from a previous public drinking charge. In November of 2020, Dex was named as a suspect in a domestic violence investigation, during which a SWAT team surrounded the rapper’s home; ahead of the incident, Dex allegedly took to Instagram with a Tec 9 and visible boxes of ammo. 

Insofar as this latest charge is concerned, it’s as of yet unclear as to whether or not Famous Dex will face jail time. Stay tuned for further updates on the situation as it unfolds.

Fans of Hip-Hop can all relate to wanting to see two of their favorite artists link up and release new music together. Whether you’re still waiting out for the fabled Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole joint project or are becoming increasingly excited for whatever Lil Baby and Lil Durk have on the way, there’s simply nothing better than an amazing collaboration between two rappers that you admire. That appeared to be the thought process, at least, for one fan who suggested that Rico Nasty work with Coi Leray, but the artist behind the recently released Nightmare Vacation quickly shut that down.

According to The Neighborhood Talk, a fan reportedly took to social media to comment under one of Rico Nasty’s posts, writing, “we need a coi leray collab.” Once Rico caught wind of the comment, she matter-of-factly replied to the comment with a simple, yet firm “No.” Fans of both artists are likely disappointed with the eccentric Maryland rapper’s disinterest in working with Coi Leray, but their past beef will probably hinder any fruitful work relationship from developing in the near future.

Late last spring, Rico Nasty and the “No More Parties” rapper got into a heated exchange on Twitter, with ruthless shots and harsh critiques of each other’s music flying back and forth over a slew of tweets.  

Coi Leray got a major jab in at Rico, when she tweeted, “@Rico_nastyy when you see me Just make sure you keep that same energy… I showed you love but you just can’t deal with that fact that I MAKE BETTER MUSIC THAN YOU , I LOOK BETTER THAN YOU, I DRESS BETTER THAN YOU , and never in my life have I JOCKED your style.”

However, Rico Nasty hit back even harder, saying, “Make better music .. lemme see ya streams and YouTube views . Have u went gold or platinum THEEFUCK U ARE FAMOUS BC YOU SUCK A MEAN DICK WITH THEM BIG ASS TEETH . Don’t come over here making this shit about me . I was minding my business . Tryna get shit RITE with MY FRIEND.”

Needless to say, their beef was never truly settled, so fans probably shouldn’t expect the two rappers to collaborate anytime soon.

By now, you’ve surely heard about the NFT craze happening as people rush to educate themselves on the latest trend to emerge from the crypto-art space. Artists have taken advantage of the latest boom in NFT (non-fungible token) blockchain offerings, including Grimes and Tory Lanez, who both made millions from selling unreleased music and other art as NFTs. 

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Companies have been trying to gain a quick understanding of the trend, predicting that it could be a big thing for years to come. With the way everyone has flocked to the digital files in recent weeks, it’s no surprise that larger entities are beginning to try their luck in the space, including famed fashion house Gucci, which is officially selling a virtual pair of sneakers for $12, which you’ll never actually be able to physically wear, as an NFT.

While most Gucci sneakers will cost you hundreds of dollars to procure, the latest kicks offered by the Italian design brand come for only $11.99 USD. Launching a series of augmented reality sneakers as NFTs, Gucci attempts to remain a pioneer in the tech fashion space, staying on top of the latest trends. The NFTs are a collaboration with Belarus-based company Wanna, according to Hypebeast, and they will remain at the low price of $11.99. They’re currently available on Gucci’s app and are unlimited.

Robert Alexander/Getty Images

Will you be picking up a pair of digitized sneakers from Gucci?

[via]

Since being released from prison following a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, Kodak Black has been steadily biding his time and putting in work on new music. The last album released by the Floridian rapper arrived at the end of 2018, when he dropped off Dying To Live right in time for the holiday season; aside from a few misguided attempts for mainstream attention, the project was easily one of Kodak’s strongest projects to date.

 Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

The young rapper’s momentum was derailed by his lengthy prison stint, though his loyal fans have remained patient throughout the uncertain process. Now, it would appear that Kodak is gearing up to reclaim lost territory, taking to Instagram to preview a new snippet. From the sound of it, his next release will be a posse cut with WizDaWizard, WamSpinThaBin, and Syko Bob. “2021 To The Death We Applying Pressure Accordingly,” captions Kodak, suggesting his intentions to make this year his own.

Furthering that notion is the fact that Kodak appears to be taking extra measures to assert his dominance. Over the past week or so, the Sniper Gang rapper has been issuing reminders about the scope of his influence, referencing among other things his “let me drive the boat” quote that went on to spark a Megan Thee Stallion viral trend. 

While his confidence may rub some the wrong way, others are satisfied to see Kodak gunning for the credit he deserves. Either way, he appears particularly inspired this year, so look out for this coming posse cut and whatever else he’s got cooking up.