New Hip Hop News

Fans already know that Detroit rapper Sada Baby has been dropping off quality for the streets, but now the unapologetic lyricist has officially hit a major mainstream milestone. Today, the rapper’s infectious single “Whole Lotta Choppas,” which ultimately went viral on TikTok while securing a Nicki Minaj remix, has officially been certified gold by the RIAA. It is Sada Baby’s first certification. 

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In celebration of the occasion, Sada took to Instagram to share a lengthy reflection on his journey, making sure to thank some of the key contributors in his corner. “Im in nis shit for my legacy to be as strong as it kan, ain’t #No ni*ga from my way walkin around wit one of these OFF HIS OWN MUSCLE,” writes Sada. “My boss ain’t give me a gold plaque, I ain’t buy my verse from the goat @nickiminaj. @derrickmilano showed me love he ain’t have to and I appreciate all of my ppl on my team that helped me get here.”

“I’m gettin high as hell in LA today!” he declares, as several of his hip-hop peers slid through to offer congratulatory praise. “Well deserved,” writes Lil Yachty, with whom Sada collaborated on “SB5.” “Yes!” cheers Royce Da 5’9″, who has been quick to praise his fellow Detroit emcee whenever given the opportunity. Wayno, former Everyday Struggle host and longtime member of Sada’s team, took a moment to celebrate the accomplishment on his own page. “Stay low & keep firing , we caught a plaque during the Pandemic,” he captions.

Check out Sada’s reflections on securing his first gold plaque below. 

Famous Dex hasn’t had a great go at things over the last few years. The Rich Forever rapper checked into a rehabilitation center for substance abuse problems late last year. He received support from many of his peers within the music industry, including his label boss Rich The Kid, before returning home a month later. While it appeared as though he was implementing healthy habits into his everyday life, people believe that Famous Dex may already be spiraling out of control again after he posted a video of himself slurring his words and looking out of it.

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Following a terrible week for the “Japan” rapper, who was robbed at gunpoint and arrested several days afterward for possession of a firearm, Dexter is sparking even more concern for a video in which he asks his followers to come through and braid his hair. His request isn’t the issue– it’s the manner in which he asks for help.

In the video, which has been reposted by outlets including DJ Akademiks, Famous Dex slurred through his sentences and asked someone to come and braid his hair. “If you in LA and you know how to do hair, box braids, I got a thousand dollars for you, DM me now, ladies only,” said the rapper in the video. He holds up some cash in his hand but people are noticing that he looks unhealthy and is having trouble pronouncing his words.

“Bro on crack,” said one commenter on the video. “Yo I thought he went to rehab bro,” said another person.

Hopefully, people are just overreacting. However, if Famous Dex is back on drugs, we hope that he gets the professional help that he needs to overcome addiction. Pray for him in the comments.

DJ Khaled is officially in album mode. Ever since announcing his 12th studio album Khaled Khaled last summer, the iconic DJ and record producer has been working on creating an impressive follow-up to 2019’s Father Of Asahd. So far, fans have been treated to two songs that many expect to make the final cut for Khaled Khaled — the Drake-assisted singles “GREECE” and “POPSTAR.” As of late, DJ Khaled has ramped up the anticipation for his 12th studio album even more by teasing fans with a behind-the-scenes look at his upcoming collaboration with Atlanta rap trio Migos.

The sneak peeks didn’t stop there, however. DJ Khaled has also just shared gave fans two major “vocals are in” alerts, with one revealing that Post Malone will be on Khaled Khaled and another teasing a contribution from R&B standout and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter H.E.R. 

In one Instagram post, the Grateful artist is seen conversing with H.E.R.’s manager Walter Jones, who gives DJ Khaled a text-based countdown before dropping an audio file in their conversation. While Khaled doesn’t tease the audio itself, his response to Jones is simply a head-blown memoji, so one can only assume that whatever H.E.R. vocals that he received were spectacular. In another post, DJ Khaled shares a screenshot of a facetime call with Post Malone, and for the caption, he writes, “VOCALS IN ALERT ! Bless [up emoji] @postmalone KHALED KHALED ALBUM MODE ! Everyting a hit !”

So far, we know that Drake, Migos, Post Malone, and H.E.R. will all likely be on Khaled Khaled, so what are your thoughts on how DJ Khaled’s long-awaited 12th studio album is shaping up?

At the height of Sunday Service, Kanye West was seen utilizing a portable audio engineering device to control musical levels, sparking curiosity from fans and the audio engineering community alike. As it turns out, the device was the Yeezy Stem Player, as designed by Kanye West and Teenage Engineering. Now, thanks to a few close-up photos, we can catch a closer look at the upcoming device. 

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At its core, the Yeezy Stem Player is designed to give users individual control of a song’s various stems, which roughly translates into a song’s individual elements; think “vocals,” “bass,” “drums,” “synth,” and so on. With a final mix being comprised of several balanced stem tracks, the Yeezy Stem Player will theoretically provide users with the ability to remix the levels of songs in real-time. 

As details surrounding the functionality are scarce at the moment, it’s as of yet unclear whether or not the Yeezy Stem Player will be able to effectively work with an existing piece of pre-recorded music. For audio engineers and live-music professionals, however, it’s easy to imagine several different purposes for the Stem Player. For one, it could allow even the most casual DJ to experiment with various mixes, all without having to commit to a massive setup, as one of the key benefits of the Yeezy Stem Player is its portability. 

Though it’s as of yet unconfirmed as to when the Yeezy Stem Player will hit the market, it should be interesting to see how Kanye’s foray into the realm of audio technology ultimately fares. Given how user-friendly the device appears to be, don’t be surprised to see this one attract demographics only peripherally involved in sound engineering — inevitable, given Yeezy’s prestige branding.