For the first couple years of her career, Rico Nasty worked to develop her “sugar trap” style — melodious, Lil Yachty-indebted sing-song flexes on top of beats that sounded like souped-up versions of the Barney theme song. Her career trajectory changed course one night in late 2017, during her first-ever …
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Following the arrest and detention of 21 Savage (real nameShe’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph), the rapper’s legal team has released a statement about his current situation. According to Charles H. Kuck, Abraham-Joseph’s immigration lawyer of the firm Kuck & Baxter, ICE refuses to release the rapper “on bond of any amount.” It’s …
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Meek Mill paints a bleak and vivid picture of the traumatic life experiences he’s traversed in the powerful new video for “Trauma.” The track is a highlight from the rapper’s recently released fourth studio album, Championships. In the clip, Meek is seen both as a child and as an adult. …
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Jay-Z told everyone not to pit black people against each other and, in classic fashion, what did hip-hop fans do? Decide to pit two famous black men against each other. No, Jay didn’t diss Kanye West on Meek Mill’s “What’s Free” featuring Rick Ross— despite what many online have speculated. …
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30 years later, 1988 still stands as rap’s greatest year. The lyrical molotovs of Nation of Millions and Straight Outta Compton, the post-modern (and pre-lawsuit) free-for-all of sampling, the national spotlight of a new show called Yo! MTV Raps and much more. To celebrate 30 years, Rolling Stone’s Best of …
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A$AP Nast has found his calling. In a world where ASAP Mob’s Rocky and Ferg are the group’s runaway successes, it’s nice to see one of their less regaled members shine solo. All Nast needed was someone to crank up the AutoTune, partner him with D33J, and let him croon. …
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There’s a moment near the beginning of Bodied, Joseph Kahn’s brittle battering ram of a battle-rap comedy, where a character explains the difference between using lines and bars. You get off a handful of good lines when you’re facing an opponent in a freestyle battle, just two people in a …
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Nicki Minaj debuted her new album Queen on Friday in an impressively unpredictable broadcast on Apple’s Beats 1 radio show. Though scheduled to begin an hour before Queenhit streaming services, the rapper started the program 23 minutes late, “exhausted and delusional” due to lack of sleep. Over the next two …
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Ali ShaheedMuhammadof A Tribe Called Quest and Adrian Younge, known for his collaborations with Ghostface Killah, among others, released a pretty, meditative soul instrumental titled “Black Beacon” on Friday. The track will appear on the pair’s upcoming joint album, The Midnight Hour. “Black Beacon” reaches back to the Seventies, when …
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R. Kelly is finally getting the #MeToo spotlight. After decades of stories and allegations, #MeToo leader Tarana Burke and others have made it a priority to bring about Kelly’s reckoning. Using the hashtag #MuteRKelly, they’re calling on companies like RCA Records, Spotify and Ticketmaster to stop doing business with him. …
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