A conscious sense of self-importance is key for rappers who are attempting to stamp their place in the scene. In 2013, Kendrick Lamar displayed this on ‘Control’ with a verse that sent shockwaves through hip-hop as he declared, “I got love for you all but I’m tryna murder you niggas.” Of course, he had the respect of the entire community and a towering body of work to support his claims…but what happens when a rapper without the esteemed back-catalog attempts to make similar statements? Enter Hopsin, a fellow California artist whose fifth studio-album, Pound Syndrome, has a common thread of attempting to assert supremacy over groupies, struggle rappers, and hip-hop as a whole.
Janet Jackson is back, and this time she recruited one of the leaders of rap’s new movement, J. Cole. The new single and Cole collaboration is called ‘No Sleep’, and you won’t want to sleep on this unlikely collaboration. “I hope u enjoy watching this as much as we enjoyed making it,” Jackson told fans on Twitter. And if you enjoy the video and record, be sure to download the album version of ‘No Sleep’ oniTunes.
Watch the official music video for ‘No Sleep’ below.
Is Chance The Rapper going to be Chance The Father? It sure looks that way, as earlier today Chance and his manager shared a photo hinting that a little Chance is on the way. “Coming soon. 👪❤️,” wrote Chance on Instagram. “Congrats on your journey guys. I love you! @chancetherapper” added Chance’s manager Pat. Perhaps the two are having fun with fans on social media, or just maybe Chance’s first child is really on the way. Either way, we are sure Chance will make a great father and we wish his family the best of luck!
Check out the potential first photo of Chance Jr. below.
North Carolina may not be home to the biggest attractions in the music festival circuit, but it more than makes up for that fact with expertly curated gatherings such as Hopscotch Music Festival. Slated for September 10-12, this year’s edition of the artistic celebration will feature 160 acts spread throughout 12 venues in the state capital of Raleigh. Previous lineups have included various names such as Big Boi, Jamie xx, How To Dress Well, St. Vincent, Local Natives, Action Bronson, and a host of others, so it’s no surprise this year’s imprint is poised to be just as diverse. In order to give attendees a taste of what’s in store for Hopscotch 2015 (and if you don’t have your tickets yet to can get them here) we’ve listed five acts ranging from rap to post-rock that simply can’t be missed.
For those who have logged onto a computer within the past few days, the escalatingbeefbetween Meek Mill and Drake is likely not breaking news. Meek’s accusations of Drake employing ghostwriters set off a firestorm that went from bad to worse over a sprawling series of tweets, and as of now, it’s only spreading as other rappersattempt to insert their two cents. No one can truly confirm whether or not an individual in the shadows penned lyrics for the head of OVO, but fortunately, there are certain lines only Drake could have crafted. In order to help figure out where those lyrics reside, we’ve compiled 10 tracks that definitely came from the mind of Canada’s finest.
Eminem paid a visit to Shade 45‘s “Sway In The Morning” and blessed us all with a new freestyle. Spittin’ acapella on this one, Eminem proved he still has bars, and more bars, and more bars. With lyrics about Cindy Crawford, Jack Gyllenhaal’s new film Southpaw, Foxy Brown, Pam Grier’s tampons, his feud with Azealia Banks, Caitlyn Jenner (no offense though) and a thousand more entertaining and topical subjects, Em killed it (and all from the top of the dome)! “I’m what you’d get if Aaron Hernandez rhymed”, “And fuck Pop, I don’t even like refreshments”, “Fuck talking clear… I’d rather rap like an auctioneer”, it’s impossible to pick out just a few favorite lines. Rapping for 5-minutes straight, Eminem went crazy on this one! Em also added “it’s very rarely personal” and “I just say shit to say it,” so if he went at one of your favorite entertainers, don’t get upset.
Even Taylor Swift isn’t too big to show a little humility and apologize when she thinks she’s wrong. For a couple days, Taylor and Nicki Minaj had a little bit of bad blood when Taylor Swift was under the impression that Nicki’s anger over a MTV Video Music Award snub (for her ‘Anaconda’ video) was aimed at Swift’s way (who was nominated). Although the two both shared how big of a fan they were of the other, there was some clear tension. The Twitter war should be officially over now, as Swift took to Twitter to send an apology to Minaj. “I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I’m sorry, Nicki,” tweeted Swift. You can’t blame a girl for defending herself, right (especially when its Swift and the VMAs)?
Simon Rex (Dirt Nasty) just got everyone happy and sad, all in one Instagram post. Minutes ago, the Scary Movie 3 actor/rapper shared photo of Riff Raff and Kimbo Slice that was took behind the scenes from a pilot that Rex, Andy Milonakis and Jody Highroller (Riff) filmed for Cartoon Networks and Adult Swim. The TV pilot was for a Three Loco (Riff, Dirt & Andy’s rap group) show titled “Candy Ranch”, and it was directed by Eric Wareheim (“Tim and Eric”).
While this show, by its cast alone, seems epic, don’t get too excited. Adult Swim did not decide to pick it up for whatever reason. It probably wouldn’t have worked out however, as the hilarious rap triosince broke up. Last September, Milonakis shared a series of tweets aimed at Riff Raff, venting frustration about the Neon Icon pursuing his solo career over Three Loco’s. “Stop signing deals without reading them. Stop acting like ur Beyonce. Start treating people with respect or crash & burn,” Milonakis tweeted to Riff. He continued, tweeting “I don’t want you to do anything for me…it’s what you want us to do for you. @justinbieber has more humble demands.” While we will never get a full season, let’s hope the pilot is eventually released.
Check out a behind the scenes photo from the “Candy Ranch” pilot below.
It is no secret that actor/writer/photographer/director/and-a-hundred-other-things James Franco is a friend and fan of Ultraviolence singer Lana Del Rey. And to express that strong fandom, Franco has written a book about Lana, titled “Flip-Side: Real And Imaginary Conversations With Lana Del Rey”. The cover for the upcoming 100-page book, which was co-written by David Shields, shows James Franco, with Lana, her sister (Chuck Grant), and director Klaus Biesenbach, but you’ll have to wait awhile untill you can get one for yourself. The book hits shelves on March 15, 2016.
Last month, when asked about a record that took her the longest to write, Meg Myers told us about her upcoming track ‘Lemon Eyes’. “‘Lemon Eyes’ took a pretty long time to finish, but that’s because we wrote an idea for it and then kind of pushed it aside,” Myers told us. “We would go back to it every now and then maybe mess with it, but it was a process. I think because it is a little bit out there and a little different from what I do, but every time we would approach it was just like ‘what (will) we do with this?’, but we figured it out!”
Well after a many months of writing, Meg’s track from her forthcoming album Sorry (which comes out this September) is finally here. And you can definitely tell that the many hours in the studio paid off on this one!
Listen to ‘Lemon Eyes below and read our interview with Meg here!
The Early Registration 