New Hip Hop News

Iconic producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, who launched Verzuz together last year, went live on Instagram, Saturday night, following D’Angelo’s appearance on the show and admitted that the R&B legend was originally scheduled to compete against Maxwell. The show would’ve been in the traditional Verzuz format, and taken place on Valentine’s Day, but the plans fell through. Instead, the event was touted as “D’Angelo & Friends” and featured appearances from Method Man, Redman, and H.E.R.

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“That didn’t work out…the fact that D’Angelo was still ready to go…and motivated, we had to celebrate him…no matter who was on stage with him,” Swizz said. “We had to celebrate that king because, as you can see, those songs that he played tonight, man, that’s real music and this is celebrational stage…and we couldn’t play around with him. We had to let him get his garden because he showed up and showed out.”

Check out D’Angelo’s unqiue Verzuz performance here.

Recently, Timbaland revealed that the two legendary producers have not seen each other in person since the series began: “Fun fact me & @therealswizzz haven’t seen each other in person since Verzuz started,” he wrote on Instagram, earlier this week.

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Infamous conservative political consultant Roger Stone was seen at the Conservative Political Action Committee in Orlando, Saturday, dancing with a pro-Donald Trump Florida rap artist known as “Forgiato Blow.” Video of the incident has gone viral on social media and features Blow rapping about the election being stolen, the siege on the Capitol on January 6th, and more.

“Trump 2021, yeah he had it in the bag. I just got a call from General Flynn, yeah he told me the facts. Democrats, you gonna tell me how you feelin’ about that,” Blow can be heard rapping on the track.

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He continues: “Fed did a sweep. Patriots be pulling up, knocking on the Capitol. Yeah, you know the feds did a sweep though,” the lyrics said. “Patriots pulling up knocking on the Capitol”.

The performance is met with cheers from a nearby crowd as Stone attempts to dance along to the song.

Former President Donald Trump later made an appearance during CPAC to speak about his ambitions of running again in the future and remaining with the Republican Party.

“It is far from being over. We will be victorious and America will be stronger and greater than ever before,” Trump said. “I may even decide to beat them for a third time.”

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Conway The Machine has fans on the edge of the seats after retweeting a rumor that he, Eminem, and The Alchemist have a collaborative project in the works. After retweeting the report, he followed up in the replies by adding “I’m just here for the comments.”

“POSSIBLE PROJECT IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN EMINEM, CONWAY AND ALCHEMIST CAN BE ON THE WAY, NOTHING CONFIRMED UNTIL THE MOMENT!!!,” the tweet reads.

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Conway, who signed with Eminem’s Shady Records in 2017, recently revealed that he’s no longer affiliated with the label. He disclosed the news in an interview on The Joe Budden Podcast in November 2020.

“I’m off Shady. I’m actually a free agent. It feels great,” he told Budden. “Who Made The Sunshine was it. I already spoke to Paul [Rosenberg]. Everything’s good. Like, everything’s signed, sealed and delivered I have my paperwork, like I’m off Shady.”

He also added that, despite rumors of animosity within Griselda, there are no hard feelings:

I’m one of those type of dudes I’m not no public talkin’ n-gga. That’s just how I move. It’s like sayin’ me and Benny or me and Conway or Conway and Benny or whoever, we might have a disagreement, but the world will never know. We still gonna be brothers and cousins. It’s the same way even with business, because at the end of the day, this a big world. Even if somebody else is a sucka, I’m never gonna play that sucka role.

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Former President Donald Trump spoke publically for the first time following his departure from the White House in January, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, Sunday. During his speech, the former President hinted that he is considering another run in 2024.

“It is far from being over. We will be victorious and America will be stronger and greater than ever before,” Trump said before teasing another Presidential campaign. “I may even decide to beat them for a third time.”

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Trump also shot down any rumors that he would be starting a third party in doing so: “We have the Republican Party. It’s going to unite and be stronger than ever before.”

Additionally, the former President was not shy about his disdain for the Biden administration. Trump labeled President Joe Biden’s first month in office as the worst in modern history:

Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history. Already the Biden administration has proven that they are anti-jobs, anti-family, anti-borders, anti-energy, anti-women and anti-science. In just one short month, we have gone from America First to America Last.

Check out the full speech below.

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Soulja Boy expressed his frustration with the music industry on Twitter, Saturday, calling the rap game “faker than WWE.” 

“These rappers pussy,” he began a series of tweets. “Opps dropping left and right. Rap game faker than WWE. I don’t think none of these n****z popped shit to keep it a stack. If it come down to it I’m a pop me a n***a. That’s a fact.”

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It’s unclear what prompted the harsh posts, nor who specifically they’re directed at. Back in December, Soulja took a jab at the media side of the music industry, calling out XXL, No Jumper, and even HotNewHipHop in particular. 

“Motherfcking HotNewHipHop, XXL, and No Jumper is motherf*cking fake media,” said Soulja Boy on Instagram Live. “It’s false media. I have elevated past the level of certain media platforms. So, if y’all see these media platforms putting my name in they blogs, do not read the sh*t because they trolling. Anything that you wanna hear, come hear it direct from the source. I’ll tell you directly what it is.

“It’s false media. They’re fake media. They’re not real media. The sh*t that they post is not credible, it’s not facts. I’m putting an end to that sh*t. That sh*t dead, n***a.”

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Saturday Night Live has announced that Jack Harlow will be featured as the musical guest for the series’ upcoming episode on March 27th. Harlow expressed his excitement on Twitter, following the news, saying that he grew up watching the series.

“I grew up watching SNL with my family every weekend,” Harlow wrote, Sunday afternoon. “I vividly remember seeing Kanye perform Love Lockdown and Heartless in 2008. Thank you for making this happen. Another dream come true.”

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Harlow’s major-label debut, That’s What They All Say, released in 2020 and the “What’s Poppin” artist has been on a roll since, performing at Bud Light Seltzer Sessions’ New Year’s Eve 2021 and earning impressive album sales.

“There are some times when it’s your duty to spit, but I already showed you that I can rap,” he told Billboard in March of last year. “So guess what else I’m going to show you? I can make some ear candy that you’re going to want to hear 100 times. I can’t let anybody condition the type of music I’m making — I know what I’m going to do in the long run.”

The March 27th episode of SNL will be hosted by former cast member Maya Rudolph.

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Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé’s father, and a renowned record executive in his own right, says that he is retiring from the music industry. Knowles says he will instead be focusing on his new podcast, Mathew Knowles Impact on iHeartRadio, and continuing to work in academia. The man who played a pivotal role in launching the careers of both Beyoncé and Solange spoke with Page Six about his upcoming plans.

“In the next two years, I will have transitioned completely out of the music industry… my plan is to be completely dedicated to mentoring, academia,” he told the outlet. “There’s nothing negative about [the decision]. I’m personally ready to move on. I’ll continue to teach about the music business.”

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He also expanded on his plans for the aforementioned podcast, which will feature “a familiar family member on as a guest,” as well as a diverse selection of other individuals Knowles hopes to sit down with.

“I want to talk to Nancy Brown, who is the [CEO] of the American Heart Association. Vice President Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Wendy Williams, Oprah… I want diversity. I’m always looking to how to diversify my guests,” Knowles said of his podcast.

You can listen to Knowles’ podcast on iHeartRadio.

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Nets star James Harden had massive praise Luka Doncic of the Mavericks, following Dallas’ 115-98 road win in Brooklyn, Saturday night. The upset victory snapped the Nets’ eight-game winning streak.

“There are some similarities,” Harden said, comparing Doncic to himself. “He never lets anyone speed him up, and he gets what he wants. That’s rare for a guy at a young age. I think he’s 21 years old. And to be able to dictate the game and control the game like he does, we all know he has a very, very bright future.

“The Mavs got a special one.”

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While Dallas’ win was impressive, the Nets were missing two of the best players in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. This was no excuse to Harden, who said he should’ve picked up the slack: “Whoever is in the lineup and suited up has to be better, and that starts with me.”

Doncic, who was recently selected to the All-Star team, finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.

“It’s something you can’t even describe if somebody like that says something about you,” Doncic admitted when informed of Harden’s praise. “It’s just amazing. I really appreciate it. I watch him. He’s an unbelievable player and just really special.”

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