Rap and Hip-Hop

Subterms

    More stories

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      ASAP Rocky, Cleared in Legal Battle, Gets Right Back to Fashion

      by

      At a dinner in Milan the rapper spoke about beating his assault case, his maturing style and when a new album may finally arrive.ASAP Rocky is well aware that his life could be very different right now.“I feel so lucky to even be here talking to you,” Rocky said, speaking here late into the night on Thursday at a dinner celebrating his appointment as creative director for the Ray-Ban eyewear empire.After all, it was just last week that the rapper was found not guilty on charges of shooting a former collaborator, sparing him up to 24 years in jail.“I feel blessed, I feel lucky and fortunate,” Rocky said.And so, just after 10 p.m., and only a couple hours after landing in Italy, Rocky arrived at Trattoria del Ciumbia in an understandably triumphant mood.“I’m so happy to see y’all faces, this is crazy,” he called out to a room peppered with fashion designers, models and sundry celebrities like Romeo Beckham and Charli D’Amelio. For the remainder of the hour, Rocky worked the room like Frank Sinatra at the Copacabana.He shook hands and posed for endless photos with his eyes hidden behind blacked-out sunglasses. He autographed a box of his special-edition Ray-Bans printed with a reworked image of a $100 bill, with his face where Benjamin Franklin’s would normally appear. He poured shots of tequila for the table. If there were any lingering concerns about how the fashion world would receive post-trial Rocky, they were brushed away by hugs, clinked glasses and general good feelings pinging around the room.Clockwise from top left: Ice Spice, ASAP Rocky and Romeo Beckham, Charli D’Amelio, Amina Seck and Alioune Badara Fall.Photographs by Lucas PossiedeWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 88 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      7 New Songs You Should Hear Now

      by

      Hear new music from Doechii, Valerie June, Perfume Genius and others.Doechii performing at the Grammys.Mario Anzuoni/ReutersDear listeners,Did any musician have a better February than Doechii?* Going into this month, the Tampa, Fla., rapper and self-proclaimed Swamp Princess was a rising star but hardly a household name. Then on Feb. 2, she had a breakout night at the Grammys, giving an unforgettable (and impressively gymnastic) performance that showcased the full scope of her artistic vision, pulling off an upset win in the best rap album category for her razor-sharp “Alligator Bites Never Heal” and giving one of the night’s most memorable, emotional speeches. If you didn’t know her in January, you know her now.But as Doechii makes clear on “Nosebleeds,” an audacious one-off single she dropped just hours after her triumphant Grammy night, she was fully prepared to win that award. “Will she ever lose?” she ponders on the track with her signature cartoonish bite, before offering an answer straight out of another famous Grammy speech: “I guess we’ll never know.”Doechii’s bold, keyed-up victory lap kicks off this eclectic roundup of some of the most notable new songs released in February, though it eventually segues into some softer sounds from the indie-rock group Mamalarky, the alt-country staple Waxahatchee, and the ambient folk composer William Tyler, among others. What would happen if you didn’t have any new music to listen to this month? I guess we’ll never know.Cut my mic off ’cause I’m ’bout to misbehave,Lindsay*OK, maybe Kendrick Lamar, but that’s the only other acceptable answer!Listen along while you read.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      RZA Talks About Wu-Tang Clan’s Final Chamber Tour

      by

      Few groups have had more impact on the shape and evolution of hip-hop than Wu-Tang Clan, the Staten Island supergroup that helped define the sound of 1990s New York rap and transform the industry.And yet seeing Wu-Tang Clan perform a full-length concert in the flesh — all of the members onstage together — is a privilege not many have experienced. Even in its golden era, the Wu-Tang Clan was never a reliable touring unit. Its smaller shows were often unruly, and by the time the group graduated to bigger stages, performances were often undone by competing egos and unreliable artist attendance, to say nothing of the limits on the opportunities available to rough-edged rap stars in the 1990s and 2000s.“There’s so many places we really haven’t been,” RZA, the chief architect of the Wu-Tang Clan, said in an interview on Popcast, The New York Times’s music podcast. “We had some successful touring, right? But not at the level of what the brand is.”He’s aiming to fix that with Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber, billed as the group’s last tour, and the biggest road show it has undertaken as the headlining act, which will begin in June. All of the surviving original members — RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa — are slated to participate, as well as Cappadonna and Young Dirty Bastard, who will perform in place of his father, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who died in 2004.“Jay-Z was like, Yo, I got the blueprint from you,” RZA recalled.Andre D. Wagner for The New York TimesThe tour, RZA told Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, is the culmination of a five-plus-year plan of legacy-building for the Clan, including a multipart documentary series, a dramatized mini-series, several individual biographies and a Las Vegas residency, the first for a hip-hop act.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      ASAP Rocky Found Not Guilty of Shooting Former Friend in Assault Trial

      by

      The rapper had faced two felony counts of assault with a firearm in connection with a 2021 altercation in Los Angeles.The courtroom broke out into cheers after the jury found the rapper Rakim Mayers, known as ASAP Rocky, not guilty of shooting a former collaborator.Daniel Cole/ReutersASAP Rocky, the Grammy nominated hip-hop artist, was found not guilty on Tuesday of shooting a former collaborator. The jury deliberated for nearly three hours in a case that threatened to derail his career.Rocky, 36, born Rakim Mayers, faced two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from an altercation with his one-time friend, Terell Ephron, known as ASAP Relli, near a Hollywood hotel in 2021.Rocky dived into the gallery to hug family including Rihanna, the singer, businesswoman, and mother of his two young sons, and embraced his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, after the verdict was read.“Thank y’all for saving my life,” he told jurors.The trial hinged on jurors’ assessment of the gun used in the incident, which prosecutors said was a semiautomatic firearm and witnesses for the defense testified was instead a prop gun acquired at the filming of a music video. No gun was presented as evidence in the trial and Rocky did not take the stand in his defense. He faced up to 24 years in prison if convicted of both counts.Rocky faced trial at a time when he had several notable projects in the works. He is scheduled to be one of the headliners of the Los Angeles stop of the Rolling Loud festival in March, and was announced as one of the celebrity chairs for the Met Gala, to be held in May. He also stars alongside Denzel Washington in a Spike Lee-directed movie scheduled to open in summer.John Lewin, a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, had asked the jury not to be swayed by the court appearances of Rihanna, who was a frequent presence during the 13-day trial and attended the start of closing arguments last week with the pair’s two young sons.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Drake’s New Valentine’s Day Album Pivots From Kendrick Lamar Beef

      by

      The Valentine’s Day release, a collaboration with PartyNextDoor, tries on different styles (acoustic pop, traditional Mexican) while only alluding to Kendrick Lamar.Following a Grammy Awards and a Super Bowl halftime show in which he featured heavily in absentia — at least as a punchline — life goes on for Drake, who released his first new album on Friday since his much-publicized beef with Kendrick Lamar.The album, “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” a collaboration with PartyNextDoor, a longtime Drake associate with success as an enigmatic R&B singer, pop songwriter and producer, was released via multiple record companies at a fraught moment: Drake is currently suing his own label, Universal Music Group, or UMG, for defamation and harassment.In a lawsuit filed last month, lawyers for the Toronto rapper, born Aubrey Graham, said that UMG’s release and promotion of Lamar’s diss track and No. 1 smash “Not Like Us,” which accuses Drake of pedophilia, was an example of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”Still, the release of “Some Sexy Songs 4 U” seemed to be business as usual, as UMG (and its Republic flagship) are credited with the release. The album is also credited to OVO Sound, Drake’s boutique label and the home of PartyNextDoor. OVO Sound is distributed by the Santa Anna Label Group, a subsidiary of UMG’s corporate rival, Sony Music.Representatives for Drake, who is on tour in Australia, and UMG did not respond to requests for comment.“Not Like Us” won five Grammys this month, including song and record of the year. A week later, it was the centerpiece of Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, in which Lamar rapped “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young” but stopped short of performing the line calling Drake and his crew “certified pedophiles,” replacing the controversial designation with a prerecorded scream.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Irv Gotti: Key Milestones in the Life of the Rap Mogul

      by

      The producer, who died on Wednesday, built Murder Inc. into one of the most influential record labels of the early 2000s. His career was marred by a federal investigation and trial.Irv Gotti, who founded the record label Murder Inc. and helped shape the sound of hip-hop and R&B in the late 1990s and early 2000s when he shepherded the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, died on Wednesday at 54.Here is a brief look at how the rap entrepreneur and record executive worked his way from humble beginnings in Queens, N.Y., to the top of the charts before his momentum was marred by a federal investigation into the label in which he was charged with money laundering and acquitted.A Childhood in Queens, N.Y.Gotti was born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. in Queens, N.Y., in 1970. He was the youngest of eight children, according to “The Murder Inc Story,” a documentary about his life that aired on BET in 2022. His family, which he described as one that didn’t have much money but had plenty of love, recalled him as a “clown” who loved performing, dancing and entertaining, sometimes even for small change.His foray into music began as a preteen, when he played for hours with a turntable and a mixer that his siblings had purchased for him. By the age of 15, he had begun to make a name for himself as a D.J. at local parties.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Jay-Z, Accused in Suit of Raping Minor with Sean Combs, Calls It Blackmail

      by

      The entertainer said the suit, which accuses him of assaulting an unnamed 13-year-old girl in 2000, was an effort to gain settlement money by putting forward “idiotic” claims.Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean Combs in a lawsuit filed Sunday by an unnamed plaintiff. He vehemently denied the allegation and accused the lawyer who brought the suit of trying to blackmail him with false claims.The allegations against the billionaire rapper and hip-hop mogul came as part of the flurry of litigation against Mr. Combs, who is facing federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges and at least 30 lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct. One of those lawsuits, filed in October, accused Mr. Combs and an anonymous celebrity of raping the teen at an after-party following the MTV Video Music Awards in New York in 2000.On Sunday, the plaintiff amended the lawsuit to name Jay-Z as the other celebrity, asserting in court papers that he and Mr. Combs took turns raping her after she arrived at the party and drank part of a drink that made her feel “woozy and lightheaded.” Jay-Z called the claims “idiotic” and said that he came from a world where “we protect children.” Mr. Combs has denied all allegations of sexual assault and misconduct and has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.The lawsuit was filed by Tony Buzbee, a personal injury lawyer in Houston, who has filed at least 20 sex assault lawsuits against Mr. Combs and used a phone hotline, Instagram and a news conference to find clients.In an extensive response, Jay-Z, 55, said he had received a demand letter from Mr. Buzbee appearing to seek a settlement but that the letter had the opposite effect: “It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!,” the statement read.The statement went on to say: “My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit. You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same. I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 50 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      Kendrick Lamar’s Never-Ending Battles

      by

      Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicLast week, Kendrick Lamar released his sixth album, “GNX,” with no advance notice, unless you count the heavy anticipation that has been hovering around him since the apex of his battle with Drake earlier this year. A squabble over hip-hop ethics became a cultural touchstone, leaving Lamar with a No. 1 hit and Drake with spiritual and professional bruises.“GNX” extends the tension but doesn’t necessarily deepen it. Mostly, Lamar wants to get back to business as usual: making concept songs and albums that are musically complex and lyrically dense. The beef elevated him even higher into the stratosphere, but he doesn’t want it to define him or his career.On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about Lamar’s long wrestle with saviorhood, how his new album showcases both his loosest and stiffest tendencies, and the ways in which Drake is still grappling with the fallout of their battle.Guest:Joe Coscarelli, The New York Times’s pop music reporterConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. More