GALLERY
Page: 6
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Azealia Banks has done more tweeting than releasing new tunes and while she possesses otherworldly musical talent, she has become known for her social media tirades. Unleashing yet another one of her verbal barrages, Azealia Banks turned her attention onto Lil Nas X, claiming the MONTERO artist is no longer relevant with some heavy dashes of homophobia.
On Sunday (October 27), Azealia Banks opened up the X app and began her dissection of Lil Nas X seemingly unprompted.
“Lil Nas X really fell off so hard. Lmfao that little c*ntrag swore she was the tea. B*tch has NO BARS. Hahahahaahahahaa,” Banks fired off.
In a now-deleted quote reply, LNX wrote, “I could never make a hit song again and you would still never in ur b*ssy soap selling chicken sacrificing botched body hating ass miserable life reach a 10th of my success. Love ur music btw.”
Banks then stepped on the gas, writing, “And f*git u almost didn’t have ONE hit if them crackers aint jump in and do charity work. U was out here with flies in the corner of your eyes eating a bowl of porridge with a swollen belly b*tch, saved you for 0.67cents a day head ass COME THE F*CK AGAIN HO @LilNasX i will really smack fire out u b*tch. Sit down.”
Quoting another X reply mentioning the deleted LNX tweet, Banks made what appeared to be a direct threat.
“Lmfao this f*cking over grown twink don’t make me release them gay ass photos of u mocking the LA crips with that white boy u hired on rent man. Ull get ur top blown off real quick b*tch. Don’t fuck with me n*gga,” Banks said.
LNX attempted to extend an olive branch on Instagram and shared a screenshot of Banks’ “Out Of Space” track from her Fantasea mixtape from 2012, giving the Harlem entertainer props.
“[S]ending u love azealia. wishing u nothing but guidance and clarity. i want u to chase ur dreams. get on ur sh*t. It’s the best time period in music for ur art to thrive. idc what f*ck sh*t u say about me. I wanna see u win and shine your light. u can drop this internet bully act at any time. Ur fans love u. we love u.”
That didn’t go over well as Banks just unloaded another clip.
“Where, are, your, bars… we are not going to use patronization to circumvent the topic here… the topic is that you cannot f*cking Rap son. @LilNasX. You’re a terrible lyricist with pedestrian musical sensibilities. We need to come to a consensus on where your talent is. Fine, we can agree that your a little piece of eye candy for these desperate old white homo’s in fashion… but where is your music b*tch?” Banks began in a thread that just got more toxic as it went on.
On X, the response to the back-and-forth between Azealia Banks and Lil Nas X has been heavy. We’ve got those comments below.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Tyler, The Creator teased his seventh studio album CHROMOKOPIA around two weeks ago via social media, stirring up excitement among his devoted fan base. Releasing early Monday morning (October 28), CHROMOKOPIA is currently a hot topic of discussion on the X platform with fans giving their early reviews.
The release of CHROMOKOPIA was unexpected by fans of Tyler, The Creator, and the unconventional but eye-catching rollout immediately grabbed their attention. After the release of the well-received first single “Noid,” along with a video for the track, fan anticipation was notably high across several channels.
With a Monday release, Tyler, The Creator is seeking to disrupt the usual Friday music drop schedule, intending to have fans sit with the project for ht entire week and not compete with the dozens of releases.
During our first listen to the album, Tyler’s layered production and his comfortability between R&B inflection and straight-up rapping showcase the entire scope of his artistry. There is a theme we detected early, which materializes in the aforementioned “Noid” single, which sees T wrestling with the trappings of fame and the paranoia it inspires in him.
Continuing his big bag money talk from CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, T delivers a few boasts highlighting his financial position but as he has demonstrated from his debut studio album, T’s production style has only evolved to a level where he has few peers, especially of his generation.
Another refreshing angle of the CHROMOKOPIA is Tyler’s mother appearing across the album encouraging her son to keep his wits about him, just as she did on T’s previous album on “MOMMA TALK.”
The album tackles several themes, including abortion on the track “Hey Jane” and the curse of false bravado that T examines on “Take Your Mask Off.”
On X, the reactions to CHROMOKOPIA are still pouring in and we’ve shared some of them below.
TYLER, THE CREATOR. CHROMAKOPIA. OUT NOW. pic.twitter.com/3kh0APtkAY
— Columbia Records (@ColumbiaRecords) October 28, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Click here to find the album at your preferred DSP.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Marcus Ingram / Getty
Charlamagne Tha God and Anderson Cooper engaged in a testy back and forth regarding CNN’s coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris concerning how the network has covered her opponent, Donald Trump. Charlamagne Tha God challenged Anderson Cooper on his colleagues making more about Harris’ race while seemingly ignoring Trump’s recent media gaffes and his former staffers framing him as a fascist.
On Thursday (October 24), Charlamagne Tha God was a panelist on Anderson Cooper’s nightly program, and the longtime The Breakfast Club co-host took a question regarding the news Trump will be joining the popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Cooper asked if Harris should follow suit, to which Charlamagne had plenty to say.
“I think that she should keep calling Donald Trump a fascist. And I think that Americans need to keep looking at the rhetoric of Donald Trump because I don’t know why we’re even thinking about electing somebody who’s talking about putting people in camps,” Charlamagne said.
He continued with, “I don’t know why we’re talking, why we want to elect somebody who’s talking about mass deportation. I don’t know why we’re having this conversation about somebody who wants to terminate the Constitution to overthrow the results of an election.”
Charlamagne ended his answer by saying, “Even me bringing it up now, you brought it back to Kamala and Joe Rogan. Anderson, who gives a damn?” which sparked Cooper to position the point that people who are watching the election might care to hear from her on the platform.
Charlamagne, responding to Cooper saying that how the network is reporting on some of Trump’s violent rhetoric, uttered a statement that has since gone viral.
“I feel like I heard more on this network about [if] Kamala Harris Black than I do about, you know, Donald Trump being a fascist,” he said.
This comment seemed to fluster Cooper, who said, “Honestly, that’s bullsh*t” and the conversation essentially derailed from there with Charlamagne flipping the statement back on Cooper saying that the idea that his network has done enough of dissecting Trump’s words as a comparison.
The clip, which was captured by @Acyn, can be viewed below. Keep scrolling to see comments from X.
Charlamagne: I feel like I heard more on this network about “is Kamala Harris Black” than I do about Trump being a fascist
Cooper: That’s bullshit
Charlamagne: That’s bullshit to say you don’t have those conversations pic.twitter.com/145q2vRMMJ
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 25, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Blade, the long-promised reboot of the popular film series with Mahershala Ali in the titular role, has seen several setbacks but was highly anticipated by fans of the franchise. Collectively, those same fans are decrying Marvel’s decision to remove Blade from its 2025 release slate and sparking a spirited discussion on X.
As reported by Deadline, Blade, which has seen a shuffle of names for directors, was reported for a November 2025 release. Instead, Predator: Badlands has the date slot. As the outlet adds, the reboot of the beloved Wesley Snipes vehicle was announced in 2019 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and the announcement of Mahershala Ali as the Daywalker was met with approval.
However, production on the film was halted after its first director, Bassam Tariq, vacated the project. Yann Demange was then brought in to helm the film but the French film director decided to move on earlier this year. Adding to all of this, production on Blade was beset with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of strikes in the film industry.
Given that Snipes appeared in the well-received Deadpool & Wolverine film in a reprise of the vampire hunter character, it appeared that it was still full speed ahead for the film to come to fruition.
Some MCU fans online, still reeling from the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa aka Black Panther, were hoping to have another Black character to rally around and show that Black moviegoers are eager to throw their support behind characters that look like them.
There is also a wider discussion happening on the X platform about scrapping the project altogether and reviving the King T’Challa character despite Marvel boss Kevin Feige saying he doesn’t intend to do so.
Check out the replies below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Barack Obama demonstrated several times that he is aligned with Hip-Hop culture in several aspects, and a recent appearance at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris adds to that assessment. During the rally in Detroit, Mich., with Eminem bringing out the former president, Barack Obama rapped the opening bars of the Motor City rapper’s smash hit “Lose Yourself” to uproarious applause.
Barack Obama was in Detroit on Tuesday (October 22) to rally voters in support of Vice President Harris, with several thousand in attendance. Ahead of Obama taking the stage, native son Eminem took to the podium to bring the popular former president out in proper fashion.
With Obama taking his place, his typical charm was on display and elevated when he talked through the lines of “Lose Yourself” with the crowd backing him up which only seemed to energize the moment further.
From there, Obama launched into his talking points and took digs at Harris’ opponent, Donald Trump, including reports of his dwindling crowd sizes, attacks on legal immigrants in Ohio, and generally painting the Republican presidential hopeful as a man lacking the traits to lead the country to better pastures.
“Any election is about more than policies, it’s about values and it’s about character,’ Obama said, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
“Whether this election is making you feel excited or scared or hopeful or frustrated, or anything in between, do not sit back and hope for the best,” Obama said. “Don’t just hope, get off your couch and vote. Vote for Kamala Harris.”
On X, reactions to Barack Obama, including his rapping of Eminem’s bars, have been positive. We’ve got some of them listed below. We have the video clip in question below as well, courtesy of MSNBC.
Obama raps Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” after being introduced by the rapper at a rally for Harris in Detroit, MI. pic.twitter.com/MqXJzplZPY
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 23, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Donald Trump has often touted his ability to campaign nonstop while claiming that despite his age, his energy is at an optimal level. However, that didn’t seem to be the case when Donald Trump reportedly backed out of an interview with The Shade Room platform with his aides citing exhaustion as the reason.
With Vice President Kamala Harris wading into hostile waters by appearing on Fox News and employing a strategy of visiting non-traditional media platforms, including The Shade Room, Donald Trump has played it relatively safe.
Trump did have some interesting showings this week on the campaign trail, most especially a discussion with John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, which devolved into testy exchanges and avoided answers on tough subjects. That followed a Monday town hall event that took a bizarre turn after it morphed into an all-out dance party after two attendees had a medical emergency.
According to POLITICO, Trump’s appearance on The Shade Room would’ve placed the former president squarely in the sights of a largely young Black audience, a demographic both camps are framing as important to winning the election in November. Vice President Harris, as part of her ongoing media blitz, has appeared on the platform along with podcasts and meeting with media figures such as Charlamagne Tha God among others.
From POLITICO:
The Trump campaign had been in conversations for weeks with The Shade Room about a sit-down interview. The site, which draws an audience that is largely young and Black, hosted an interview with Harris just last week.
But as no interview materialized, Shade Room staff began feeling that feet were being dragged inside Trump’s campaign. No date was ever set, we’re told, but the intention was to try and work toward a sit-down.
In a conversation earlier this week, when describing why an interview hadn’t come together just yet, a Trump adviser told The Shade Room producers that Trump was “exhausted and refusing [some] interviews but that could change” at any time, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
As the outlet notes, this shows a pattern of Trump backing out of scheduled interviews but also shared a statement from Trump’s spokesperson that the news of him being exhausted stating that the news is false.
On X, formerly Twitter, people are sharing their thoughts about Donald Trump and his current campaign media appearance schedules.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
Lupe Fiasco has one of the more storied journeys in Hip-Hop, starting off in Chicago as an upstart MC to becoming one of the genre’s most respected lyricists. In a new interview, Lupe Fiasco shared why the Child Rebel Soldier, or CRS, supergroup with Kanye West and Pharrell Williams never took off.
Sitting down with Donwill of Tanya Morgan fame for his The Almanac of Rap series with Okayplayer, Lupe Fiasco shared details of his early days in Chicago, his travels in the music industry, and who he is as an artist today.
The CRS supergroup was one of many announced groups that caught the attention of Hip-Hop fans considering the acts involved. At the time of their forming in 2010, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams were buzzing acts and Lupe was still signed to Atlantic Records at the time.
In the chat, Lupe said that the idea for CRS started with him rapping over samples of songs made by the Radiohead band and recording a song with Skateboard P. Ye happened to hear the work and added that he wanted in on the track, prompting Williams to suggest they get together as a group.
Lupe says that Pharrell named him the “Child” of the group while Ye was the “Rebel” with the Virginia producer giving himself the “Soldier” tag. The trio did record the track “Don’t! Stop!” and the remix to N.E.R.D.’s “Everybody Nose” but that would be the end of it.
As the interview went on, Lupe, without naming names, said that one of the members, presumably Ye, “got rich and crazy” before trailing off into laughter.
The clip in question with Lupe Fiasco can be viewed below. Also, we’ve got the full The Almanac of Rap video as well.
—
Photo: ANGELA WEISS / Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Malcolm X might be the last historical figure to come to mind as it relates to the politics of Republican Party presidential hopeful, Donald Trump. However, a Black conservative evoked one of Malcolm X’s most famous quotes regarding “House Negroes” and “Field Negroes,” saying that those in the field are “going for Trump.”
Shelly Wynter, who refers to himself as a Traditionalist conservative, was a guest on CNN this week with anchor Sara Sidner and were having a discussion about the upcoming election race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Wynter referenced Malcolm X’s famous 1963 speech in which the civil rights leader presented a comparison of two types of so-called Negroes, a widely used term at the time to describe Black people in America. In the speech, X lays out that the house Negro was partial to the slave owner and wanted his favor, while the field Negro held the slave owner in contempt.
Wynter, perhaps misunderstanding or misrepresenting X’s quotes, shocked the CNN panel by saying that the “field African American” to use his words would pull the lever for Trump.
“Let’s be honest here, and let’s really be clear what’s being said,” Wynter began in the now viral c. “If you’re an African American man, look, let me boil this election down in the African American community to a very simple [way]. I’ll reference the great Malcolm X. This race is between house African Americans and field African Americans, and a field African Americans going for Trump.”
Wynter added, “I’m talking about your men who build, your men who put things together, your men who work with their hands, your men who do things, not the men who push paper or the men are connected to power and want to continue to be connected to power, I’m talking about the men in our community who are doing the work.”
Sidner was taken aback by Wynter’s analysis and attempted to offer some pushback but was met with overtalking with Wynter deftly evading her question asking if he was putting down Black men with white-collar professions. Michael Blake, the former DNC Vice Chair and an aide to President Barack Obama, didn’t allow Wynter to own the moment and challenged his assertions.
“Is Shelley the house one or the field one?” Blake said. “I’m just trying to understand that part, I’m just trying to understand the one that’s spitting talking points right now. Are you the house Negro and the field Negro that you’re referring to? I’m just trying to make sure. Your question was about denigrating Black people, that literally was your question. You have a Republican fool who was talking right now. You literally just said Black men, this is an election about house or field. This is the nonsense that we are listening to right now by those that are supporting Donald Trump.”
The clip is still making its rounds across social media with many sharing their thoughts on why Shelly Wynter used Malcolm X’s speech to hammer his point him. We’ve got the clip in question and responses from the X platform below.
This CNN discussion goes completely off the rails when radio host Shelley Wynter says: “This race is between house African-Americans and field African-Americans, and the field African-Americans are going for Donald Trump.”
Needless to say, things broke down after that. pic.twitter.com/e1Gyh8IZX4
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 16, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
—
Photo: Screengrab/CNN/X/Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Young Dro went viral earlier this week after a clip of his surfaced online and almost led to a violent and unnecessary altercation with a friend. During his interview alongside T.I. on The Breakfast Club, Young Dro threatened to lay hands on comedian Kelly KDubb for laughing in the background as he shared his sobriety journey.
T.I. and Young Dro were guests on The Breakfast Club in an episode that aired Monday (October 14) and early on in the conservation, Dro shared some details on where he’s been after slowing down his active mixtape run.
With Dro sharing that he suffered a drug overdose, you can hear Kelly KDubb in the back giggling in the background, which caused others in the room to also snicker. Dro gamely tried to continue his story and even shared that his daughter battled drug addiction, which caused KDubb to laugh again but at this point, Dro had enough.
“Ay you finna get slapped, I mean we cool, but I’ll slap the sh*t out of you,” Dro says to KDubb, who didn’t back down and looked to be ready for action. But before things went incredibly left, T.I. showed exemplary leadership skills and got his crew to settle down and the air was cleared.
Later in the chat, Dro apologized to KDubb, The Breakfast Club, and all involved, proving that he truly is a changed man despite very much being from Bankhead as he reminded his friend. Dro went on to share that he is currently approaching four years of sobriety and seems to be focused on staying on that path.
Despite cooler heads prevailing, some fans online felt that Kelly KDubb’s open disrespect of Young Dro was out of bounds and had some thoughts to share on X. We’ve got those reactions below.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Kaseem “KA” Ryan began his Hip-Hop career in relative obscurity in the 1990s but later emerged as one of the most important writers within the genre. With the news of KA passing away over the weekend going wide, Hip-Hop fans and artists alike are mourning the loss of the talented Brooklyn wordsmith.
pic.twitter.com/I6Vf5a5z3r
— Ka (@BrownsvilleKa) October 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
KA was born Kaseem Ryan on August 11, 1972, and was a proud son of the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. His musical career began as a member of the underground group Natural Elements but he would vacate his role, focusing on other endeavors.
After the Natural Elements stint, Ryan joined forces with his friend Kev to form the Nightbreed crew but, just as he did with his former group, Ryan felt that his abilities were lacking in comparison to his rhyming partners.
Ryan speaks about his background during a stellar 2016 interview with the Red Bull Music Academy, which you can find here.
KA would begin his long transformation as an artist via his debut album, Iron Works, which also was the name of his imprint and further a calling to his signature sound. The project caught the ears of fellow Brooklynite GZA, who invited Ryan to join the Wu-Tang Clan swordsman on the chilling track “Firehouse,” produced by Roc Marciano, another artist who transcended his earlier sound and took his art to a stripped-down but still potent level.
In 2012, KA would release Grief’s Pedigree, leaning further into his minimalist, sparse yet lyrically dense style. Blessed already with a distinct, gravelly voice, Ryan used his tone but also his shockingly vulnerable lyrics to great effect. It was not music designed for the day party. Instead, it was meant to be absorbed, dissected, studied, and overall, respected.
The Night’s Gambit. Honor Killed The Samurai. Descendants Of Cain. A Martyr’s Reward. Languish Arts. Woeful Studies. The Thief Next To Jesus. Each of these albums carries its own sonic identity and there is no recommended starting point. Each release is so dense that one will be unpacking the meanings over several dozen listens and still not catch everything.
One of Ryan’s greatest gifts was his commitment to a concept. His will to use every bit of his ability and how he managed to refine his writing on each outing became his calling card but it didn’t capture every measure of the man.
Outside of Hip-Hop, KA was a husband, homeowner, and a New York City firefighter. While he didn’t speak at great lengths about his job in his music, he would share some details of that part of his life in profiles and interviews. Another striking aspect of Ryan is that he didn’t define himself by measuring his success in music. He treated it as a natural extension of himself and perhaps a way to process the things he saw growing up and doing his part to add to the legacy of the culture by willing himself to greatness.
Throughout nine solo projects that he largely produced and two collaborative projects, he also oversaw shooting videos, managing merchandise, and conducting meet-and-greet events with his adoring fans, KA remained humble and grateful.
A quick scan of his social media accounts showcased his everpresent humility, and he engaged his fans when he found the time to do so. Every story that will surely emerge in the coming days was how gracious he was and made himself tangible despite his legendary status in Hip-Hop.
If you ever cared about the quality of songwriting in Hip-Hop and want to discover a shining example of the heights it can reach in the genre, we suggest giving KA a bit of your ear.
As Hip-Hop fans the world over mourn one of the mighty titans of the culture, the jewels KA left us will live on forever.
May he rest powerfully in peace.
—
Photo: @brownsvilleka/Instagram