Author: hhns

Rappin’ 4-Tay sent a tweet Monday (December 30) dissingDrake over his verse on YG’s “Who Do You Love.” “New Song w/ @YG Feat @Drake In This Song Drake Copys My Lyrics & Lines From My PlayazClub Song & Pays No Homage! ???” the San Francisco rapper says on his tweet.

On “Playaz Club,” Rappin’ 4-Tay starts his first verse with the following lyrics: “I got a ho named reel-to-reel / She got a buddy named SP 12, now you know the deal / We gets freaky in the studio late night / That’s why the beats that you hear are coming real tight.”

Rappin’ 4-Tay        ✔ @rappin_4tay

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Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle recently shed some light on what it’s like to be a member of the Rollin 60s, a faction of the Crip gang, during a newly-released interview with Vlad TV. Nipsey, who is a member of the Rollin 60s, even detailed the jumping in process for new members of the street gang.

The West Coast wordsmith didn’t share the details of how he was jumped in, but revealed that the experience can vary depending on the person who orchestrated the jumping in.

“Shout out to Jay Z for buying 100 copies of #‎Crenshaw!,” Nipsey said via a Facebook status update.

With Jay Z’s purchase and purchases from fans, the Los Angeles emcee reportedly made $100,000 in sales.

The man shot and killed over the weekend in a New Jersey salon has been identified as up-and-coming rapper Eric “E-9″ Andrews Jr, reports NJ.com. Authorities received a 911 call about a reported shooting on Saturday (December 28) afternoon at the Nu Trendz hair salon in Franklin Township. Upon arrival, police found Andrews suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to a friend of the rapper, Andrews was shot after an argument with another individual at Nu Trendz.

E-9 was a part of the duo, 6FO, with George Opoku. As a group, the two had previously worked with the likes of Waka Flocka Flame for the track, “M.O.N.E.Y.” and were reportedly scheduled to play SOB’s in New York on New Year’s Eve.

Despite a tour bus accident, cancelled shows, and almost daily headlines about one of his rants, Kanye West first solo tour in five years came in at number two on Billboard‘s Hot Tours ranking. The Yeezus Tour ticket sales brought in $25.2 million, placing Ye behind only Paul McCartney’s $40,699,470 haul for his Out There! Tour.

Kanye’s North American trek sold 283,241 tickets during its run. The top money-making stop was Madison Square Garden. The Yeezus Tour made over $3 million from its two dates at the New York City venue. Kanye recently ended the tour in Toronto where he brought out Drake to perform two songs for his hometown crowd.

“I’m a basketball player. That’s what I do and what I love but that’s just not all who I am,” Durant told the Washington Post last year. “I’m talented in a lot of different areas. Rapping is one of those things I just enjoy doing.”

Listen to “Whole Life” below.

A suspect has been arrested in the death of 22-year-old rapper Doe B.

The Grand Hustle rapper was slain in his native Montgomery, Alabama early morning Saturday but a gunman.

That gunman has been arrested.

Jason McWilliams of Montgomery has been charged with capital murder and voluntarily turned himself into local police detectives Sunday. Many in the area had already indicated that they knew that the 25-year-old killed Doe B.

Hip Hop mogul-turned-Ciroc vodka magnate Diddy will soon venture even further into the spirits market if reports of yet another partnership for Diddy are true. According to the New York Post’s Page Six, Diddy has partnered with DeLeon Tequila, a spirit launched by Brent Hocking.

Diddy will reportedly serve the high-end tequila at his upcoming New Year’s Eve soiree in Miami, which will also double as a celebration for his latest entrepreneurial feat.

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In 2007, Diddy partnered with the Diageo-owned Ciroc and has since played a vital role in the brand’s development. Thanks to his partnership with the brand, Diddy could possibly make around $100 million if Ciroc is ever sold.

Additionally, Diddy’s involvement with Ciroc has helped the Bad Boy Records founder top a handful of Forbes lists this year, including “World’s Highest-Paid Musicians 2013” and “Cash Kings 2013.”

Diddy spoke briefly on his work with Ciroc during an interview with Arsenio Hall this month and also encouraged those watching to drink responsibly.

“You have to drink responsibly, especially during the holidays and we want to do it in a classy way,” Diddy said. “And that’s why we’ve done the commercials that way. It’s not about overdoing it. It’s about being right in that pocket.”

With a retail price that begins at around $140 per bottle, DeLeon Tequila is described as “a premium luxury brand of 100% Puro de Agave Tequila” and is made in Guanajuato, Mexico.

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With tax filing season set to begin on January 31, 2014, Compton rapper Game took some time to share a few tax tips while speaking with TMZ. When asked to reveal the craziest thing a rapper can write off on their taxes, Game went on to list Jordans, medical marijuana, and “making it rain” at the strip club as alleged write offs.

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“I be writing off—you can damn near write off anything, man,” Game said. “You can write off strip club, making it rain. You can write that off. That’s number one…Number two, you can write off J’s. Buying Jordans. Number three, you can write off buying medical marijuana…It’s a write off. I’m trying to keep myself alive out here.”

Shortly following Game’s remarks on tax write offs, Forbes published a news story discrediting Game’s rapper write-off claims.

According to Forbes’ writer Kelly Phillips Erb, “To claim a deduction for business expenses, the Internal Revenue Service requires, at Section 162 of the Tax Code, that it be ‘ordinary and necessary.’” The writer later states that while a strip club visit may be considered “ordinary” for Game due to his career, it’s unclear if such a visit falls under the “necessary” category.

Additionally, Jordans can only be considered a write off if they’re for business purposes and as far as medical marijuana is concerned, Forbes reports that “you generally can’t deduct expenses which are illegal.”

While Game’s list of items rappers can write off on their taxes may not be completely accurate, the rapper does stand a chance of possibly writing off his charitable contributions when tax season does begin. Game has donated his money to a number of people and organizations this year including the family of a six-year-old girl killed in Los Angeles, and Anna Angel, a woman whose family perished in a house fire earlier this year.

In addition to his various charitable contributions this year, Game may possibly end the year as an artist signed to Cash Money Records. The rapper spoke on a possible deal with the label during an interview with KarenCivil.com this month.

“It definitely could work,” he said, “I got a relationship with Wayne, Drizzy, and Stunna. It’s just trying to figure out what’s the best for Cash Money and what’s the best for Game at this point in his career. That’s pretty much family and that’s where I’m at at this point. Of course, nothing is written in stone, but that’s where I’m leaning, so, we’ll see.”

where I’m leaning, so, we’ll see.”

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Brand Nubian emcee Lord Jamar recently offered fellow rapper Yelawolf an ultimatum during his latest interview with Vlad TV. Jamar offered Yelawolf, who informed the rapper to “shut the fuck up” following his comments about white rappers, the chance to either publicly apologize for his remarks or risk the chance of scrapping with the New York lyricist if they were to ever cross paths.

“I’m gonna give you a chance to publicly apologize,” Lord Jamar said. “And if you can do that I’ll leave you alone. If you don’t, if I ever see you it’s on on sight. I don’t have nothing to talk about. I’m running at you at a hundred miles an hour. On sight. That’s how I grew up. You know what I mean? So, that’s all I can say really. I’m not even emotional about it really. It’s nothing to me.”

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Joined by former Power 105.1 personality Star, Lord Jamar expressed his belief that he should be respected due to his contributions to Hip Hop. During his discussion on respect, he referenced Hip Hop pioneers Grandmaster Caz and Afrika Bambaataa and revealed that he would never consider disrespecting those two artists regardless of what their opinions may be.

“If Grandmaster Caz—and I’m not trying to say I’m Grandmaster Caz or Bambaataa or any fucking legendary person who started this shit,” said Jamar. “But what I’m saying is those are people who came before me that I respect. And I know my Hip Hop history. So, if someone like Grandmaster Caz or Bambaataa, anybody said something that I didn’t agree with, never in a million years would I tell them to ‘shut the fuck up.’ Because I have respect for those that came before me. Whether I agree with what they saying or not. I have respect…Bitch ass faggots like you have to understand that you can’t just talk any kind of way to me. Like, I will beat the shit out of you.”

Star also offered his two cents in the matter, threatening to “slap the shit” out of Yelawolf for what he feels is a lack of respect for someone who served as a pioneer in Hip Hop.

“Yelawolf I will slap the shit out of you,” Star said. “Real talk. This is Lord Jamar from Brand Nubian. He came up and pioneered a plethora of things [in regards to] Hip Hop culture and rap music. There’s certain people you just have to be mindful of. I don’t ride nobody’s dick and I have hated on this man. But just watch your fucking mouth. That’s all, man.”

The feud between Lord Jamar and Yelawolf first began when Jamar stated that white rappers “are guests in the house of Hip Hop.”

Upon hearing Jamar’s comments, Yelawolf responded to the white rapper statements during his own interview with Vlad TV. While the Alabama rapper did at one point side with Jamar’s remarks, he did tell the rapper to “shut the fuck up.”

“On the flip side, yeah, we’re guests, if you look at the roots of everything, but that’s like saying here’s a house that we built as a people,” Yelawolf said in his November interview with Vlad TV. “We built this house, Black people. And then a few generations ago, it’s been rented out. It’s been renovated. It’s been changed. Black people, White people, Asian people, people all over the world has been to this house, lived in it, used it, abused it, fixed it up. It is now a different home. It doesn’t matter who laid the first brick. Now you have to just embrace the fact that this house is better now that different ideas have come in to put a different window in there, a different roof on it to change this, to change that, to make it more livable.”

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Capts. Jonathan and Vickie Harvey readily admitted it. They didn’t know E-40 from I-80. “I’m a little too English maybe,” grinned Jonathan Harvey of his London roots. The Harveys know now. And the Salvation Army and the Vallejo people the faith-based nonprofit serves will benefit.

E-40, the 46-year-old rap artist born Earl Stevens, living in the East Bay, returned home Tuesday to donate a much-needed $10,000 to the agency that he and his family once needed years ago. “When I found out, I was speechless,” Harvey said. “When I got the news, my daughter said, ‘Dad, it’s a Christmas miracle.

Khalil Floyd, 5, gets ready to pedal off on his new bicycle Tuesday, care of the Salvation Army and Capt. Jonathan Harvey, left. Vallejo’s Earl Stevens, recording artist E-40, was on hand to distribute the bikes before donating $10,000 to the organization. ((Jessica A. York/Times-Herald)) ‘”With red kettle collections down 40 percent, Harvey was tempted to check E-40 for angel wings. “It is a Christmas miracle,” Harvey said. “This is going to help make a difference.” E-40, a national rap pioneer some 25 years ago, said the holiday was “the perfect moment” to help the cause. “My mother and father divorced when I was 8 1/2. They did what they could do. When times got heavy, me and mom had to come over here” to the Salvation Army, E-40 said.”I understand the struggle.”

Arriving as a back-seat passenger in a white Suburban, E-40 emerged to a handful of fans, dignitaries and media in an appearance kept quiet to avoid mayhem from his significant fan base.

Though he’s donated locally before, “I don’t talk about everything I do,” E-40 said, realizing the desperate local need was there this year.”I knew I had to come out to my soil,” he said of his native Vallejo. “I’m trying to give back.”Mayor Osby Davis praised E-40 for always claiming Vallejo as his home. “He has a recognition, and an appreciation and a pride in our city,” Davis said.

Vallejo’s Earl Stevens, recording artist E-40, stopped to give autographs to onlookers outside the Tuolumne Street Salvation Army Tuesday. E-40 was also on hand to help give away children’s bikes before donating $10,000 of his own to the organization. ((Jessica A. York/Times-Herald))

Before posing with a giant promotional check, the 6-foot-2 rapper, producer and entrepreneur smiled for cameras as about a dozen kids received bikes compliments of the Salvation Army.

“I almost cried,” E-40 said. “A bike for a kid is big.” E-40, standing on what was a former chapel-turned-mini warehouse stage, encouraged the young people to “stay strong, stay in school, stay out of trouble, listen to your parents and believe in God.”

Jonathan Harvey acknowledged that some rap lyrics may be inappropriate in a faith setting. Nonetheless, “he has the intent to do something good and I appreciate that. This is proof that anybody can be used by God to do good in their community.”

“We’ve had this shortfall with our kettles and I’ve been praying that something was going to come through,” Vickie Harvey said.”I’m no better than anyone else. I’m just playing my part,” E-40 said. “I can’t save the world, but I do what I can to save my community.”

With the North American leg of his Yeezus tour coming to a close, the King of Controversy Kanye West claims he is giving up his throne for at least six months. During one of his stream of consciousness speeches at his Toronto concert, the G.O.O.D. Music leader said he will stop making controversial statements for the first half of 2014.

Google’s making it easy to catch up on some of the best music of the year. As part of what it’s calling Play Picks 2013, it’s offering Kanye West’s Yeezus free for a limited time.

During a recent interview Memphis rapper Yo Gotti expressed his feelings about being in the music industry. According to the “Act Right” performer, he is one of the few people in the business who really represents what he raps about.

“I tell my n***as, we real n***as living in a fake world,” Gotti shared with The Dope Academy’s DJ Quinn Raynor and DJ El Plaga. “You may have two n***as who suppose to be on some street s**t. You do something to me, and I do something back. Then you may press charges on me. That ain’t keeping it ‘G’.”

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Yo Gotti also addresses rappers who use “fake beef” for publicity. For him, that’s not a tactic he participates in even though he has been involved in public spats. Gotti was one of the artists Gucci Mane mentioned in his infamous Twitter rant earlier this year. The two southern rappers also had issues over their mixtapes being released around the same time.

Gotti released his sixth studio album I Am last month. The Dope Academy Q&A session eventually led to some of the things the 32-year-old claims he is not.

“I ain’t no sucka. I ain’t no fraud. I damn sure ain’t broke. I ain’t no clown like a lot of these n***as. Money can’t make me move, so I ain’t gonna do sh*t for money,” said Gotti.

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After the lyric website Rap Genius was accused of uses link schemes to get unnatural hits, Google has apparently penalized the site. A link to “rapgenius.com” is no longer available on the first page for a Google search of “rap genius.”

Rap Genius was recently exposed as using an “affiliate program” to garnered traffic to the site. The “growth hacking” plan offered bloggers a tweet mentioning their post in exchange for back links to Rap Genius. This would help Rap Genius increase their Google search engine ranking position which is a violation of Google’s linking policy.

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The founders of Rap Genius did issue a statement on the matter. Writing in part:

We’re going to be requesting that site owners take down links to Rap Genius that don’t fit well with their editorial content. Going forward, we do believe a track list widget that bloggers can embed has value, but we’ll develop one in JS rather than HTML.

Rap Genius is the product of many passionate communities collaborating to create a massive, living knowledge base for the world to enjoy. We do not want to break Google’s rules, and will do whatever it takes to learn them inside out and comply with them. Thank you very much!

Earlier this year Rap Genius was sent a take down notice by the National Music Publishers Association for publishing licensed lyrics without permission. RG later announced a licensing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing allowing them to keep up lyrics from Sony/ATV artists.

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2 Chainz can not seem to shake his August arrest in Oklahoma City. Today (December 24th), after four months, 2 Chainz has been formally charged with a misdemeanor for obstructing of justice.

Following Lil Wayne’s America’s Most Wanted tour stop in Chesapeake Energy Aren on August 21st, 2 Chainz and members of his entourage refused to exit their tour bus after police noticed smoke by the door and a faulty taillight. Interstingly enough, the police report states that the bus’ driver, Abdullah Qawi Mujahid placed a small copy of the U.S. Constitution to the door window.

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2 Chainz will not be charged with any marijuana-related offense even though the police report states that the officers smelled  “an overwhelming odor of marijuana” from the bus. He does face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

2 Chainz addressed the arrest on MTV RapFix in September and claims he does no illegal activity during touring:

You’re not gonna find a kilo on my bus. You’re not gonna find an unregistered reason. I went to work all last year. I paid taxes. I did everything I was supposed to do. So maybe people need to start aiming at some criminals. For me, I’m cold turkey on all criminal activities. I don’t wanna do anything criminal. It’s just about wasting your time, my time and taxpayers’ money.

Check out 2 Chainz addressing the arrest below:

In 2008, Game and Bow Wow played a highly-publicized game of Madden 2009. The much-hyped match ended with Game winning handily, and winning $100,000 from Bow Wow, a debt he would go on to pay over a year later.

In a recent interview on VladTV, Game recalled his victory. “I definitely did,” said Game. “Took him a year to pay me… in installments, like I was Best Buy or something.”

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Game continued, giving a play-by-play of the victory. “I think this was Madden 2009,” he said. “He used Bengals, because that was when [Bengals wide receiver Chad] Ochocinco was like a 98 in the game, with 98 speed, and he had this cheap play he tried to do where as soon as you hike the ball, it go to the receiver, but I was already on that ’cause, you know, I’m a gamer. I had my safety all the way up on Ochocinco. As soon as he hiked the ball, it went to Ochocinco, it didn’t even go to the quarterback. I hit sticked him, fumble, then ran it back for a touchdown. That was seven.”

Game continued his demolition of Bow Wow, winning via the mercy rule. “I kicked the ball again, and he threw an interception on the first play,” he said. “I ran that back, that was fourteen. Then, after that, he went four-and-out on defense, punted it to me, I threw a pass to Randy Moss, and it was 21 skunk, first quarter.”

Not to single Bow Wow out, Game recalled a slew of other celebrities he defeated in Madden. “Ochocinco, Bow Wow, Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Nelly, a few others that i can’t remember, but none of them mattered. …I don’t really lose at Madden,” he said.

Watch the interview below:

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