New Hip Hop News

When the stark reality of COVID-19 was only starting to kick in, many states, provinces, and cities mobilized to issue quarantine measures. And with many confined to their homes with nothing to do, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz stepped up to offer a solution. As it happens, that solution was the Verzuz series, a friendly competition designed to highlight the legacies and discographies of hip-hop and r&b’s most esteemed figures.

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Since launching on March 24th with an inaugural head-to-head match, Verzuz has since ascended into a household name. And despite how massive Swizzy and Tim’s brainchild has grown, boasting a grand total of twenty-four battles so far, the pair haven’t actually connected in real life since Verzuz launched. Timbo shared the interesting factoid on his Instagram page. “Fun fact me & @therealswizzz haven’t seen each other in person since Verzuz started,” he writes, alongside a FaceTime picture of the two production legends.

“Crazyyyyy,” marvels Swizzy, sliding into the comments to reflect on the surreality of the situation. Given that the pair are no strangers to linking up, at least in simpler times, it’s hard to believe that Swizz and Timbo were still able to launch a successful series and straight-up phenomenon entirely through webcam. Yet they did exactly that, and you have to believe that when they do ultimately connect, the reunion will be one for the ages. Check out Timbo’s post below. 

Megan Thee Stallion is still riding the high of her platinum debut album Good News, and in addition to her musical success, the H-Town Hottie appears to be in a great place, especially considering the chaos that surrounded her last summer. Artists such as Adam Levine and Idris Elba have been teasing collaborations with Thee Stallion, and the “Savage” rapper is also enjoying a romantic relationship with fellow artist Pardison Fontaine. Now, it appears that Megan is starring in the latest ad campaign for luxury fashion brand Coach. 

Apparently, Coach and Megan Thee Stallion, like many of us, are fans of Mean Girls, so they decided to give Coach’s latest promotional ad for its upcoming Fall 2021 collection the Regina George treatment. Akin to the scene in Mean Girls in which The Plastics are introduced, Coach’s new commercial finds Megan Thee Stallion assuming a role similar to Regina George’s.

Throughout the ad, football players, theatre enthusiasts, and everyone in between gawk at Megan Thee Stallion’s beauty and charm, and close-up confessionals show a variety of her “classmates” giving reasons why they are obsessed with the “Cry Baby” rapper. Responses range from simple admissions that they find her flawless to ridiculous anecdotes about Megan inspiring the works of Shakespeare. The one-minute ad is comical and a well-executed take on one of the cult classic’s most iconic scenes.

Check out Megan Thee Stallion’s full commercial for Coach below.

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Wiz Khalifa has officially widened the accessibility of his five-part docuseries Wiz Khalifa: Behind The Cam, bringing it over to both YouTube and Facebook. While die-hard Wiz fans have likely seen the documentary already, being that it was originally released on Apple Music in April of 2019, it’s likely that there are many yet to tune in. Spanning across the entirety of Wiz’s career, with archive footage and interviews with friends and family alike, Behind The Cam goes a long way in establishing the man behind the marijuana-fueled music.

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Produced by the collaborative talents of SMAC Entertainment, Taylor Gang, Dirty Robber, and Atlantic Records, Behind The Camera features incredible production value, not to mention a deftly woven and refreshingly candid narrative. With episode titles mirroring some of his key philosophies — “Try New Things,” “Always Give Back,” “Never Give Up,” “Put On For The Gang,” and “Family First” paints a vivid picture of what drives him as a man — the near-hour-long documentary is certainly essential viewing for those who admire what Wiz Khalifa brings to the table.

Should you be interested in watching the saga unfold, you can catch each episode for yourself below. In other Wiz Khalifa-related news, the Taylor Gang leader recently linked up with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to release some visuals for “Millions.” In addition, he also teased his upcoming mixtape Cereal Milk, going so far as to call it his best body of work thus far.

Pooh Shiesty’s hit record “Back In Blood” with Lil Durk is one of the biggest songs of the year so far, but not everyone is a fan. In a viral video that’s been making the rounds online, Floyd Mayweather’s daughter Yaya parties with friends and gets audibly angry when the song comes on. “Turn this weak ass song off,” she repeatedly told the DJ on Instagram Live.

The moment has been getting her flack across the internet as Lil Durk and Pooh Shiesty fans defend the song. People are also pointing out that nobody else at the party was seemingly bothered about the record, only her. While her reaction was definitely pretty extra, it’s caught the attention of one of the artists behind the track, who appears to have responded on Twitter.

“We don’t turn off @lildurk or @Pooh_shiesty over here,” wrote Chicago rapper Calboy on Twitter. The post was retweeted by none other than Lil Durk. Calboy isn’t exactly making reference to Yaya Mayweather’s whiny video but, at the end of the day, she’s one of the only people asking to turn off “Back In Blood” when it comes on. So this is very likely a reference to the clip.

The song has become Pooh Shiesty’s first big success, being certified gold this week and heading toward a platinum plaque every passing day. Yaya’s aversion to the song can easily be written off as her being loyal to Youngboy Never Broke Again, with whom she just had a baby. YB works closely with Quando Rondo, who has clear problems with Only The Family after what happened to King Von last year.

Read more about the reaction to Yaya’s video here.

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Although many of us first learned about Draya Michele through her past relationship with Chris Brown and her stint on Basketball Wives LA, the Pennsylvania-born beauty has been working hard for years to also show the world her entrepreneurial skills and acting talents.

Earlier today, Draya spread some positive affirmations to her Instagram story, in which she shared her thoughts on starring as Diamond (originally portrayed by LisaRaye McCoy) in a reboot for “The Player’s Club.” In her first story post, she wrote, “This could be me in a reboot but y’all playing,” alongside a throwback photo of the 1998 film’s original cast. She continued by comparing her likeness to Diamond in a series of story posts that show the Basketball Wives alumna wearing a short pink dress similar to the one that LisaRaye’s character wore in the original movie.

Although it was merely an expression of interest in picking up the role, several fans have fired back at Dray, ripping her for even considering that she could do the iconic role justice. In the comment section of The Shade Room’s post, one user wrote “No thank you” followed by a red heart emoji, and another one wrote, “There’s only one diamond sis.” Even Joseline Hernandez commented under The Shade Room’s post, saying “Except that she’s not #joselinescabaret everyone will agree that I’m the perfect girl to play that role @icecube.”

Of course, Draya caught wind of the backlash following her posts, and she responded by commenting, “Whew. My cousin said I could request to play myself in a movie and y’all would still say no. The hate be real but it’s def motivating.” In another comment, she wrote, “Also. These shady posts sometimes stop people from opportunities.. but hey. Do y’all.”

Considering fans’ reaction to Draya’s posts, it’s worth noting that LisaRaye and Draya have actually worked together in the past. As seen below Lisa Raye has even previously offered praise for Draya Michelle.

Although there is no confirmation that a reboot for “The Player’s Club” is even in the works, do you think that Draya would be a good match for the role of Diamond?

Tekashi 6ix9ine took a six-month hiatus from the world after his latest studio album TattleTales didn’t put up the numbers he became accustomed to pre-snitching. Much of the rapper’s ammo came from sales figures, dissing Lil Durk, Lil Tjay, and others on how many albums they could sell in the first week. When his own project failed to outshine Durkio’s, 6ix9ine decided that it was time to take a little break from all the games he loves to play online.

While his album flop likely had a lot to do with his decision to remain silent for such a long time, 6ix9ine is updating his fans with “the real reason” why he took a hiatus, revealing that he was at his highest weight in September 2020 before deciding to shed some pounds and focus on his health. 

“Hey guysss………. SO the real reason I LEFT Instagram and MUSIC for 6 months is because in September I was the biggest I ever got,” said 6ix9ine on Instagram, sharing a photo dump of pictures from before his weight loss. “I weighed 204 pounds and I was kinda going through a lot in life and I was just constantly eating and eating…… I told myself to put the music to the side and focus on myself and here I am today 60 pounds lighter at 140.”

Around that time, it was widely reported that the rapper had been hospitalized after overdosing on weight loss pills, so it’s possible that his results were not achieved in a healthy manner. 

“ALL THIS TO SAY… IN LIFE everyone needs a break,” continued the controversial “ZAZA” artist in his motivational speech. “In the chaos of everything that is going on in your life, tell yourself ‘I control what happens in my life’. Do NOT let anyone tell you that things you want it’s not possible, that’s FALSE! YOU WANT IT GO GET IT! OWN THAT SH*T! I AM AND FOREVER WILL BE THE KING OF NEW YORK CHECK THE F*CKING STATS !!!!!!”

It’s very much debatable that 6ix9ine is still the king of New York since, you know, most of the city hates his guts. What do you think of his weight loss pictures, though?

The Grand Theft Auto series might be controversial but perhaps that’s why it’s one of the best-selling video game series of all time. Since its introduction in the late 90s, it’s drawn much criticism from people who believe that it promoted crime and violence, influencing the youth to mimic some of the things they’re able to do in the game itself. 

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One Illinois lawmaker is now trying to make an example out of Grand Theft Auto along with other violent games in an attempt to ban them from being sold. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Rep. Marcus Evans Jr. is pushing to introduce a new bill that would ban certain games that showcase “psychological harm” such as “motor vehicle theft with a driver or passenger present.” 

The introduction of the bill arrives in the wake of a spike of carjackings happening across Illinois. Evans suggested it was these games that have promoted violence and crime in the community. “The bill would prohibit the sale of some of these games that promote the activities that we’re suffering from in our communities,” Evans said.

This arrived after Evans was reached out to by Early Walker who launched Operation Safe Pump, a company dedicated to preventing carjackings at gas stations and shopping centers. “I feel like this game has become a huge issue in this spectrum,” Walker said. “When you compare the two, you see harsh similarities as it relates to these carjackings.”

Do you think banning GTA and other video games will decrease carjackings? Sound off in the comments. 

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Andre 3000’s Instagram page remains bare, save for a lone hand-drawn sketch of an ant reading book, which the OutKast rapper only shared on Tuesday February 24. Fans were intrigued to find out why, seeing the rapper’s history of not-posting.

Andre explained that he was about to lose a trademark on this particular sketch if he didn’t do anything with it,  so he decided to use the sketch on a few different items that he is currently selling, including t-shirts, hoodies, and posters. 

“This is a sketch I did a while ago and I am told I have to use it now in the market place or it stops being mine,” he explained. “So I’ve made a few things with it. All the shirts are ethically-produced/made from recycled materials. Hope you enjoy. – 3.”

Along with the hand-drawn sketch, he also shared a handwritten note that’s posted to his website, and addressed to his customers. “Sooo … I have this trademark thing that I need to solve for,” Dre wrote. “According to the trademark people, in order to retain control of your trademarks, you have to actively use them. The trademark office also have deadlines and lots of rules to defend your IP. So here are a few things that I hope you enjoy and the good people at the trademark office will enjoy.”

The t-shirt runs for $45, the hoodie is $150, and the 4×6 poster is $25 All scheduled to ship in the 4-6 weeks. You can cop Andre 3000’s new line using the link in his Instagram bio. Let us know if you will be.

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