This past Friday, with Statik Selektah on the wheels of steel, Nas performed in the 50th state. He runs through “Hip Hop Is Dead”, “N.Y State of Mind” and “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”. Only thing better than that is getting lei’d!
50 Cent isn’t the only rapper cashing Vitamin Water checks. Coca-Cola’s cash cow used Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit Of Happiness (Steve Aoki mix)” in their “Strong Man” ad campaign. That’s tough. Woooha
You probably heard this as one of the snippets from Bun B’s No Mixtape, but now Yo Gotti lends a verse. Word is this is the first single off Bun’s Trill OG album and will also feature OJ Da Juiceman. Uh, okay? Keep It Trill UPDATE: Uncle Bun says this is NOT the first single. Plus he’s waiting on a Jeezy verse. OJ did reference vocal but he’s not on final version.
Drizzy and Dream slow it down here with their collaboration from Thank Me Later. Pardon the annoying ass sample clearance only drops, but this will have to do for now. Hopefully a tagless version surfaces soon. YK2 UPDATE: Someone named Travie did the honors. 2DB UPDATE #2: With more bars added, this is what you’ll hear June 15th splash
Robin gave a lil’ “Sex Therapy” last night at the 5th annual Jazz In The Gardens event in Miami. After his performance, he channels Lil Wayne with “A Milli”. Exclusive Access
Killer Mike recites his verse from Bonecrusher’s “Never Scared” this past week in Austin, TX. The remix to this is hands down one of the best of the last decade. Sermon via TSS
Congratulations are in order for Big Boi who recently signed a deal with Def Jam for his solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty. Obviously, the LP’s not dropping next Tuesday, but the deal marks the reunion with former boss, L.A. Reid.
Palm cut Mos Def a check to use his song “Quiet Dog Bite Hard” in their new ad campaign. Now, that’s ecstatic. SRD
Who can keep up with this guy? Waka phoned in to Baltimore’s 92Q and gave his first interview since getting released from jail. He was arrested on Wednesday stemming from a probation violation.
Yesterday, Max B’s manager Joli O’Shay told XXL that the rapper has hired a new lawyer and has been granted an appeal in his murder case. “He’s gonna try hopefully to go back to trial, or get it a mistrial or get it time served, whatever we can do,” she said. Max is serving a 75 year sentence for masterminding a 2006 robbery that left one man dead.
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This is a great reminder of how powerful and lasting Lauryn Hill’s influence has been in music. The fact that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill eventually reached diamond status after so many years shows that truly meaningful music can continue finding new listeners long after its original release. I also like how the article highlights the combination of hip hop, R&B, neo soul, and reggae that made the album so distinctive. Achieving more than 10 million sales is an incredible milestone, especially considering how much the music industry has changed since 1998. The album’s success feels less like a temporary trend and more like proof that strong songwriting and authentic artistic expression can remain relevant across generations. It is interesting to see how numbers can tell part of a story, whether we are looking at album sales or using a proportion calculator to understand relationships between different figures.