New Hip Hop News

Bruno Mars is back and, oh man, did we miss him. The multi-platinum soulful singer has returned with two brand new songs as part of his latest musical endeavor, making a band called Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak. The two will be releasing a full album together and, given their personal discographies, music fans couldn’t be any more excited to hear what they come up with. On Thursday night, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak released the first Silk Sonic single called “Leave The Door Open”, which has been getting immediate praise online. They also released the introductory track to their upcoming album, which features the legendary Bootsy Collins.

Throughout Bruno Mars’ career, there have been times where the artist faced accusations of being a cultural appropriator. As a person of color, the accusations seemed a little strange, but they still gained traction on social media. During Silk Sonic’s recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne Tha God asked about his response to the critics that have dragged Bruno over the years, and his response was perfect.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam)

“You can’t find an interview where I’m not talking about the entertainers that have come before me. The only reason why I’m here is because of James Brown, Prince, Michael, that’s the only reason why I’m here,” said Bruno Mars. “I’m growing up as a kid, watching Bobby Brown and saying, ‘well, if that’s what it takes to make it, then I’ve got to learn how to do the Running Man. I’ve got to learn how to do the Moon Walk.’ That’s it. And this music comes from love. If you can’t hear that, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

Bruno elaborated, saying that he wears his inspiration on his sleeve, hoping that a band takes Silk Sonic’s album down the road and putting their own spin on it. “Then what was the point of us doing this?” he asked before explaining that, if a basketball player isn’t inspired by Michael Jordan and trying to mimic what he accomplished, then they’re missing an opportunity because “he showed you how to do it”. 

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

He goes on to say that the criticism doesn’t anger him, writing it off as a part of his job and saying, “I understand, it’s just Twitter, man.”

Listen to the new Silk Sonic song above and watch the full episode of The Breakfast Club below.

Jordan Brand consistently comes out with some incredible sneakers on a yearly basis and in 2021, that trend is sure to stay true. For those who don’t know, Jumpman particularly likes to save their best shoes for the end of the year, when they come out with either a new Air Jordan 11 colorway or a retro of an already-classic model. Two years ago we got the return of the “Bred” 11 while in 2020 we were blessed with the 25th anniversary “Jubilee.”

In 2021, it has been rumored for a while now that the Air Jordan 11 “Cool Grey” would be returning to the market. Thanks to the post below via @zsneakerheadz, we now know that the all-grey shoe will be constructed using nubuck and patent leather, which means many of the materials here are of premium quality. The colorway represented below stays true to the original and at this point, it’s safe to say that long-time sneakerheads will be eager to get their hands on a pair.

As for the rumored release date, these are expected to drop on December 11th of this year which certainly lines up with the release date of past Air Jordan 11s. In the meantime, stay tuned to HNHH for further updates on this new shoe.

If you’re a fan of all of Drake and Rick Ross’ recent collaborations, including the bars-heavy “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” that released last night, then you might be in for a treat. According to Chad Ochocinco, the two prolific rappers are currently working on a collaborative album.

After years of limiting their work together because of industry politics, Drake and Rick Ross are on a tear, releasing some crazy collaborations over the course of the last few years. They may have been stifled during Drake’s feud with Meek Mill, which understandably pushed Rozay to take a back seat, but they’re making up for lost time on the 6-minute “Lemon Pepper Freestyle”, which many are saying features one of Drake’s best-ever verses. When the popular RapCaviar account asked fans for the best collaboration that they’ve ever released, Chad Ochocinco came through with a pretty telling reply, seemingly confirming that Drake and Ross are gearing up to release a full project together.

“The joint album they’re doing together with unseat all projects they’ve done to date,” said the former football star, ramping up speculation that the couple of rappers could be dropping a tape before Certified Lover Boy. Music journalist Elliott Wilson also chimed in on the matter, saying that he’s totally fine getting CLB in the fall if it means we get a Drake x Rozay tape before then.

Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

What are your thoughts on this? Would you be okay with waiting even longer for Certified Lover Boy to drop if we got a full album from Drake and Rick Ross? Let us know in the comments.

Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were seemingly disrespected during the NBA All-Star Game draft on Thursday night as they were the last two picks in the entire deal. LeBron James later explained that guys never played as the Jazz in video games and that’s why he and Kevin Durant didn’t think to take Gobert and Mitchell. All of this aside, the two are All-Stars and will get to showcase their first place talents on Sunday in Atlanta.

Recently, Gobert and Mitchell had strong words for NBA officiating as they lost a game to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. The two Jazz stars claimed the league doesn’t respect the Jazz franchise and that they never get good calls. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, these outbursts have cost both players some money, as Mitchell and Gobert were fined $25K and $20K, respectively.

Considering both of these guys are in $100 million contracts, the fine won’t really make too much of a dent in their pockets, although it is worthy to point out that the NBA does not mess around when it comes to criticism that is sent in the direction of the officials.

For now, however, both of these players will be focused on Sunday, where they will play against each other during the All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

As we’ve seen over the past years, partnerships between brands and Hip-Hop artists have been absolutely insane. Travis Scott made major waves throughout 2020 with his McDonald’s and PlayStation brand partnerships, and artists like Tay Keith have followed in La Flame’s footsteps and established great relationships with corporations. One of the more low-key and creative sponshorships of 2020, however, was Lil Yachty‘s collaboration with beloved cereal brand Reese’s Puffs.

Following the deluxe reissue of his fourth studio album Lil Boat 3, Yachty took to Instagram late last year to share with his followers the exciting news that he had gotten his own Reese’s Puffs cereal box. Months later, Lil Yachty has now revealed that his partnership with Reese’s Puffs is even more special than fans may have previously thought. 

In the picture, four varying Reese’s Puffs boxes are shown, each with its own split picture of the “Flex Up” rapper. Yachty touches on this unique aspect, stating, “I wanted my collab with @reesespuffs to be ultra-collectible. Only the most dedicated are gonna be able find all the boxes to put this poster together.”

The reveal that Yachty’s cereal boxes were designed to be permanently collected is interesting, and his recent Instagram post is bound to inspire fans of the Quality Control artist to hit their local grocery stores to see if they can collect all four of the Reese’s Puffs cereal boxes.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the entire NBA and as a result of his efforts, the Bucks superstar has won two-straight NBA MVP awards. As you can imagine, Giannis is heading right back to the NBA All-Star Game this season, and last night, he was drafted to Team LeBron. In fact, LeBron decided to make Giannis the first-overall pick in the entire draft, which is a pretty special place to be in.

Last night, Giannis was notified by the media about his predicament and as one could guess, he was very excited. “Do I get a hat? Do I have to wear a suit now?” Giannis joked.

After finding out that the starting five were him, LeBron, Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic, Giannis was close to shock, as he couldn’t believe those five players would wind up amongst each other. Giannis went on to say that the game is over before it’s even started and that this starting five should theoretically run away with it.

Giannis shouldn’t get too ahead of himself as Team Durant is also loaded with a ton of great talent. The best players in the NBA will be present for this tilt, and it’s already gearing up to be a great All-Star Game.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Polo G understands the value of a sound investment. Not long after the young rapper purchased his first home at the age of twenty-one, already showing a shrewd grasp on the importance of ownership, Polo took to Twitter to flex another one of his clever money moves. Though many rappers indulge in luxurious jewelry purely for status, Polo appears to have a different approach, as indicated by a recent flex on Twitter.

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

“I bought a Plain Ap for my Bday worth about 90k @ the time I paid 85k for it…in a span of 2months that watch is worth 140k now,” writes Polo G, taking a page out of Jay-Z’s “Story Of O.J.” philosophy book. “Great investment.” Of course, one has to wonder if he’ll ever sell his prized possession, or simply let it accumulate value from the safety of his wrist. Either way, it’s a win for the Chicago rapper, who already seems destined for a big year in 2021.

On a more music-centric note, Polo G is already off to a promising start. Following the release of the official Boogie soundtrack, Polo G and Pop Smoke linked up for another collaboration in “Fashion,” which you can check out right here. Be sure to keep an eye out on Polo G’s next move, be it financial expansion or otherwise. Do you think he has the potential to be one of hip-hop’s top earners in the coming years?

If you are someone who collects sports trading cards, then you could very well be sitting on a gold mine right now. This is because the trading card business is booming and it’s been in a massive uptrend ever since the pandemic started. People have gone back to their hobbies and people with a lot of money to spend have been going out and purchasing these rare trading cards that have some sort of history attached to them.

One of those trading cards just sold for over $1 million recently. According to Darren Rovell, the card in question is a Tom Brady rookie card from the year 2000. It has an 8/10 condition and was bought for exactly $1.32 million. It’s an exorbitant price to pay and it just goes to show how overextended the market is right now.

Various other pieces of memorabilia have been selling for $1 million including cards from the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Everyone seemingly wants a piece of the trading card game and with NFTs exploding right now, the game could be changed forever.

Many have been treating these cards as long-term investments and for now, that seems like the best course of action. These are hard assets to keep in pristine condition but if you figure out how to do it, you will be rewarded handsomely later on down the line.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images