R&B/Hip-Hop

11 Jul 2024

USA Basketball Plays Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ After Defeating Canada in Olympics Exhibition Game

It was just a minor victory over Canada for Team USA in Wednesday night’s (July 10) basketball exhibition in Las Vegas, but the U.S. Olympic team celebrated in style with Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” booming through the T-Mobile Arena speakers.

Following the 86-72 win in Sin City, footage showed “Not Like Us” playing while LeBron James gave a speech to the team at mid-court.

They fittingly broke the huddle and waved to the crowd while thanking them for coming out. The public address announcer then interrupted the Drake diss track to ask the audience to give the team a final ovation before heading home.

“Drake and the entire nation of Canada took an L tonight,” a fan wrote on X.

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Another deemed that “Not Like Us” will continue to be an anti-Canada troll for a long time. “This song will get played any time Canada loses in anything for the foreseeable future,” they said.

The victory over Canada marks the first of five total exhibition games coming up for Team USA before heading to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, where they’ll tip-off the group phase on July 28 against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

After facing an 11-1 deficit to start the game, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards and the bench lineup gained control, and Team USA ended up cruising to a double-digit win in the second half.

Edwards finished with a team-high 13 points, while Steph Curry added 12 of his own. Lakers big man Anthony Davis stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) and four blocks.

It was a good opening statement for the Americans with Kevin Durant not playing and Kawhi Leonard leaving the team, both due to injuries. (Leonard will be replaced by Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.)



USA Basketball isn’t the only team trolling Drake recently. The X account for Argentina’s soccer team jabbed at the 6 God following the team’s 2-0 Copa America semifinal win over Canada July 9 at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

“Not like us, not with us,” the team tweeted. The accompanying photo featured Argentina’s players huddled up, with “Not Like Us” written across the top of the image. It was more salt in the wound for Drake after he also bet $300,000 on Canada to pull off the upset against the heavily favored Argentinians. 

11 Jul 2024

Megan Thee Stallion’s Spicy ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ Answer Had a Shocked Steve Harvey Looking For a Lifeline

Comedian Steve Harvey has heard it all as the host of Family Feud and Celebrity Family Feud over the past 14 years. But the always quick-on-his-feet stand-up was caught dumbfounded on Tuesday night (July 9) when Megan Thee Stallion offered up a predictably body-ody-ody-positive answer to the query “name something that might be curvy.”

Wearing a body-hugging red leather outfit, the “Hiss” rapper quipped, “me, ooh… a body!” to cheers from the studio audience. Harvey, wearing a shiny bronze-colored suit, clapped up that answer enthusiastically, closing his eyes to take in the unexpected response. As Meg laughed it up behind him and did a half-turn to show off her assets, Harvey appeared to say a silent prayer, murmuring, “I’m sorry.”

Looking down and still talking to himself, Harvey said, “I’m so sorry… I don’t know what…” as Megan said, “right? Can I say that?” Squeezing out one of his signature hilariously exasperated expressions, Harvey assured her, “you might as well.”

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Before Tuesday’s episode aired, ABC shared a preview with Billboard, in which the Houston MC went up against Ne-Yo and his crew. Megan was asked to “name something you’ve done to your mate’s feet,” to which she responded “Massage!,” which was, technically, the answer as 50 out of 100 respondents suggesting “Rubbed ‘Em.”

Megan is in the midst of her Hot Girls Summer Tour, which will hit the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on Thursday night (July 11), before moving on to Dublin, Birmingham and London before returning to the U.S. for a July 27 spot at the Broccoli City Festival in Washington, D.C.

Watch the exchange below.

11 Jul 2024

Sexyy Red Shuts Down Low Ticket Sales Rumors: ‘We Not Canceling No Tour’

Sexyy Red is pushing back against rumors of low ticket sales for her upcoming Sexyy Red 4 President tour.

The “Pound Town” rapper took to X on Monday (July 8) to address reports about poor ticket sales. “My fans are buying tickets we’re doin just fine. We not cancelling no tour,” she wrote in response to a post suggesting her tour was in jeopardy.

Touring Data reported on July 3 that 37.11% of tickets for the 24-date trek had been sold, with 85,217 still available. However, the St. Louis native refuted the idea that these figures indicate trouble.

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“Dis how Dey try to do u wen u go wit an independent promoter n the bigger companies try to sabotage u,” she explained in another post, referencing her partnership with AG Entertainment. “We not cancelling sht.”

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The 26-year-old artist concluded by blaming certain social media pages for spreading misinformation: “I did my touring deal with a black promoter black owned company AG Entertainment and now Dey playin dirty paying pages spreading fake news to discourage my fans from buying tickets.”

The rapper has made an impact on the Billboard Hot 100 with several hit singles of late. Sexyy Red’s latest single “Get It Sexyy” marked her highest solo entry, debuting at No. 23 and peaking at No. 20 on the Hot 100, while also charting on the Global 200.

Her breakout track “Pound Town” reached No. 66. Following this, “SkeeYee” peaked at No. 62. Additionally, her collaboration with Nicki Minaj on the remix of “Pound Town 2” achieved considerable success, also peaking at No. 66 and gaining heavy rotation on radio and streaming platforms.

Sexyy Red’s tour is slated to begin on August 15 in Miami and conclude on Oct. 10 in Los Angeles. You can find tickets here.

10 Jul 2024

Kendrick Helps Burger Joint Featured in ‘Not Like Us’ Video Boost Sales

The Kendrick stimmy pack is the gift that keeps on giving.

Tam’s Burgers No. 21 — located on Rosecrans Ave. in his hometown of Compton — has seen a major uptick in business after being prominently featured in his video for “Not Like Us,” according to TMZ. We called and confirmed that they’ve seen around a 40 percent increase in sales with most customers ordering Kendrick’s go-to bacon cheeseburger. They also told us they’re thinking about naming a menu item after the Compton rapper.

In the video, Dot and Mustard pull up to the local burger joint in a black 2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale for a quick break during the song’s second verse. Lamar has been going to Tam’s for years, telling Complex during a 2012 interview that sometimes he prefers their burgers over In-N-Out. “Everybody loves In-N-Out, but it’s a very clean-cut burger. Tam’s is street-sloppy, burgers and shakes. It’s a chain, but it’s still hood,” he said.

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This isn’t the first time, Kendrick helped a local spot get some more customers. He mentioned Toronto Chinese restaurant New Ho King in his other Drake diss song “Euphoria,” rapping, “I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and a blammy, crodie” which also brought in more traffic. They even went so far as to add the “Kendrick Lamar Special” to their menu consisting of four dishes that include fried rice with dip sauce, fried shrimp, spicy chicken wings, and beef and broccoli.

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We can’t give Kendrick all the credit here, though. New Ho King was featured prominently in the video of Drake’s response “Family Matters.” The restaurant’s owner can be seen wearing Pharrell’s jewelry that the Toronto rapper notoriously bought in auction.

Tam’s was also featured on the set of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s Super Bowl 56 Halftime Show.

10 Jul 2024

Cardi B Wants to Stop Time as Daughter Kulture Celebrates 6th Birthday: ‘Like How?’

Cardi B can’t believe her and Offset’s first-born daughter, Kulture, is six years old already. Following a family outing earlier this week, Cardi posted a pair of photos of Kulture to X on Wednesday (July 10) to celebrate her child’s sixth birthday.

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“My baby really six…..Like how?” she wrote in disbelief while seemingly wishing she could press pause on life and stop time. The cute post featured a pair of heartwarming photos of Kulture growing up. One being her first Christmas grinning in a Santa hat and pajamas while the other finds her a few years older in a white dress making a heart sign with her hands.

“Time flies fr. happy birthday kk so beautiful,” one fan replied. Another wished Kulture a happy birthday, “Aww happy bday kulture!!! your kid really your clone!”

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Cardi B, Offset and their kids enjoyed a family day at Disneyland Paris earlier this week to kick off the celebrations for Kulture’s birthday.

The Grammy-winning rapper sported a massive silver Chanel bag that could fit just about everything her family could ever need at The Happiest Place on Earth.

The adventures continued on Wednesday with Cardi B giving fans a look into their eventful day via her Instagram Story at the zoo. Kulture and brother Wave had the chance to pet and feed giraffes. Kulture looked like a princess with a pink bedazzled dress, a pearl necklace and bow in her hair.

Earlier in the day, what appeared to be hotel staff presented her with a birthday cake as everyone joined in on singing “Happy Birthday” while momma Cardi captured some footage.

Last year, for Kulture’s fifth birthday, Cardi and Offset treated their daughter to a fun-filled day at Nickelodeon Universe in New Jersey.

With Cardi doing it big for Kulture’s sixth, the bar is high for their son Wave’s third birthday coming up in September.

Following the birthday festivities, it remains to be seen if Cardi will get back to music and her long-awaited sophomore album. She teased a Janet Jackson-sampling track earlier in July and appears determined to overcome her detractors praying on her downfall.

“I have everything planned, locked, and ready to go. Every thing I said I would do this year, I’m going to do it. Nothing is going to stop me. I proved myself before and I’m going to do it again… now rest,” she wrote on June 29.

10 Jul 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Turns ‘Sailor Moon’ Into ‘Sailor Hottie’ for Viral TikTok Dance: Watch

Megan Thee Stallion loves her some anime. The Houston rapper transformed Sailor Moon into Sailor Hottie while cosplaying one of her favorite anime series.

Meg posted a TikTok on Tuesday (July 9) that’s gone viral and has over six million views as of press time. In the 12-second clip, Thee Stallion rocks a blue skirt and white gloves to go with her blonde wig to nail the Sailor Moon cosplay. Megan Thee Sailor trades in her twerking expertise to show off a few dance moves while gyrating to her Megan album standout “Mamushi” featuring Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba.

TikTok’s official account hopped into the comments with a nod to her lyrics: “Watashi wa thee sailor hottie.” Another fan gushed: “OKAY SAILOR MOON Megan eats the cosplays up!”

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“Mamushi” was one of three tracks to hit the Billboard Hot 100 from the Houston Hottie’s Megan album, as it debuted at No. 68 just a lot behind “Otaku Hot Girl” on the chart.

It’s not the first time Megan has rocked the Usagi Tsukino-inspired outfit. During her first trip to Japan in 2022, the “WAP” rapper donned the schoolgirl wardrobe while performing on stage. “No like you have no ideaaaa how happy I am in Japan,” she wrote at the time on X.

Megan completed her “rebirth” with the arrival of her Megan album on June 28, which featured UGK, Victoria Monet, GloRilla, Big K.R.I.T. and more. The LP debuted atop Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart after moving 64,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. for the tracking week of June 28 – July 4, according to Luminate.

Watch Megan’s TikTok below.

10 Jul 2024

Ye & Jay-Z’s ‘No Church in the Wild’ Soundtracks ‘Gladiator II’ Trailer: See How Fans Are Reacting

The long-awaited Gladiator sequel is finally on the way, and the Ridley Scott-directed film released the first trailer for the Roman Empire blockbuster on Tuesday (July 9) featuring Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Jay-Z’s “No Church in the Wild.”

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Ye’s bars didn’t make the cut, but vocals from Jay and Frank Ocean’s soothing chorus are heard at various points of the bloodthirsty teaser. Some viewers were confused by the Watch the Throne reference, but a deeper look into the lyrics used make more sense as a fit for the film’s themes.

“Tears on the mausoleum floor/ Bloodstains the Colosseum doors,” Hov raps while seemingly referencing the varying reactions to deaths from opposite sectors of society. Colosseum battles are also part of the Gladiator lore. Ocean sings about the different levels of social hierarchy: “Human beings in a mob/ What’s a mob to a king/ What’s a king to a God.”

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Ye and Jay have sampled Gladiator with their music in the past. Vultures cut “Burn” finds West using the classic “Are you not entertained?” line. Hov sampled the same on The Black Album‘s “What More Can I Say.”

Still, there were mixed reactions from fans hearing the Frank Ocean-assisted Watch the Throne track used in the sequel’s trailer.

“This reminded me: 1. Gladiator is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen and we need more 2. Watch The Throne is one of the most important rap albums of all time and has real staying power 3. I really shouldn’t watch dope movie trailers this close to bed time,” one fan wrote to X.

On the other side of the fence, one person blasted the decision: “The marketing team slapping Jay-Z & Kanye West’s No Church In The Wild on the trailer are so f—ing out of their element or the movie really is gonna be just that bad.”

Gladiator II hits theaters Nov. 22. The sequel to the 2000 classic stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal, Connie Nielson and more.

“No Church in the Wild” served as a standout on the Billboard 200-topping Watch the Throne, which arrived in 2011. The platinum track reached No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Find more reactions to “No Church in the Wild” soundtracking the Gladiator II trailer below.

10 Jul 2024

DeMar DeRozan Speaks on ‘Not Like Us’ Cameo: Kendrick Lamar Is ‘D–n Near Family’

DeMar DeRozan addressed his controversial “Not Like Us” cameo. During an interview with Sacramento’s Fox affiliate Fox40’s Sean Cunningham, the new Sacramento Kings player talked about how he ended up in Kendrick Lamar‘s video and whether or not the Kings are still allowed to play Drake inside their home arena the Golden 1 Center.

“We love Drake, we always can play him,” the former Toronto Raptor said. “Kendrick been a friend of mine, family. D–n near family, for a long time, for a while. We’re from the same city, we grew up d–n near in the same neighborhood. … It’s always been there. It hasn’t always been publicized, but, you know, that’s basically family.”

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Kendrick name-dropped DeRozan in the second verse of his massive Drake diss song “Not Like Us,” rapping, “I’m glad DeRoz’ came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither,” referencing the six-time All-Star getting traded from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard back in 2018.

Not only did DeMar make a cameo in the song’s video when he was mentioned, he was also in attendance at Kendrick’s Pop Out concert on June 19, and was one of the first people to hit the stage to dance to the song while K. Dot was performing it.

DeMar played his first nine seasons in the NBA with the league’s only Canadian team, and appeared on the June 2016 cover of Slam magazine alongside Drake and then teammate Kyle Lowry when he was a member of the Toronto Raptors.

Watch DeMar DeRozan’s interview with Fox40 below:

10 Jul 2024

Eminem Teases Slim Shady Revival in Frightening ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ Graveyard Trailer: Watch

Eminem making a “Hawk Tuah” joke probably wasn’t on many fans’ bingo cards for 2024, but here we are. The rapper’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) album is just a couple of days away, and Slim unleashed another trailer on Wednesday (July 10) teasing the LP centered around killing off his alter ego while tapping into the viral trend.

The ominous clip features Slim Shady’s tombstone on a rainy night. The gravestone is inscribed with “Beloved Antagonist Slim Shady 1997-2024 It Feels So Empty Without Him” in an homage to lyrics from his 2002 hit “Without Me.”

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A person walking by the tombstone hawks a loogie on the tombstone. Then seconds later, a battered and bruised arm emerges from the dirt, signaling a possible Slim Shady revival.

“It feels so empty without him” HAWK TUAH #TheDeathOfSlimShady 7/12,” Em captioned the graveyard trailer on social media.

Fans found it hilarious that the 51-year-old was plugged into the trending topic. “Eminem saying Hawk Tuah was not in my 2024 agenda,” one person tweeted. Another replied in shock, “EMINEM JUST SAID HAWK TUAH AINT NO WAY.”

For those unfamiliar, per The Cut, the now famous Hawk Tuah Girl is named Hailey Welch. She went viral in June when asked in a Nashville street0-side interview about moves that make guys “go crazy” in bed, and she replied with the sexual spitting noise. “You gotta give them that hawk tuah and spit on that thing,” Welch said. “Ya get me?”

Back to Eminem, the Detroit legend is gearing up to deliver his The Death of Slim Shady album on Friday (July 12). A tracklist popped up on Apple Music boasting 19 songs, including a sequel to 1999’s “Guilty Conscience” with Dr. Dre. However, the featured artists remain a secret.

Em heated up his 12th studio album’s rollout with a pair of singles, starting with “Houdini,” which gave him his highest charting Billboard Hot 100 entry of the decade at No. 2. “Tobey” featuring fellow Detroit natives Big Sean and BabyTron, followed as the second single.

Watch the new trailer for The Death of Slim Shady below.

10 Jul 2024

Sexyy Red & André 3000 Bond Over Haters

Sexyy Red and André 3000 bonded over haters during a recent appearance on the Uninterrupted’s The Shop.

In a clip posted on The Shop‘s Instagram page, the St. Louis rapper was speaking about doubters when André stepped in to tell her to let the hate motivate her.

“They still don’t believe in me, so I just be like, ‘I’ma show you who I am,’” she said. “And like he said, they don’t understand like we really came from nothin’ and then we be makin’ big achievements. Like, that’s something for us. And then they just be like, ‘You ain’t doing nothin’.’ But for us, it’s like, ain’t nobody doin’ this.”

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Stacks interjected to give her some advice, saying, “Fuel. Use it for fuel. Hater fuel, man, it’s the best shit. It’s free energy.”

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Sexyy Red then replied, “I like it when they talk about me, I ain’t gonna lie,” to which André then said, “That s–t free energy, that make me go, that make me go in. I love when somebody doubts you.” She then responded in agreement, saying, “‘Cause now I’m finna show you somethin’.”

One fan took 3000’s “hater fuel” quote as a challenge, telling the rapper-turned-flautist to “stick to that lil’ flute,” which started a hilarious thread of replies of things such as he wouldn’t be able to handle a Madlib beat or that Sexyy Red could out rap him.

On Tuesday (July 9), The Shop posted a clip of André 3000 telling a story about the time Pimp C got mad at him for taking the beat off his verse when they were making the classic love song “Int’l Players Anthem.”

This particular episode will also include fashion designer Jerry Lorenzo, BMX athlete Nigel Sylvester and comedian-actress Jiaoying Summers, and premieres Thursday, July 11, at 12 p.m. ET.