HotNewHipHop is doing livestreams every Friday on hip-hop's buzzing topics, and Aron and I had a lot to discuss this week. Drake caused debate via his Kick stream for Stake's ninth anniversary, Kanye West is still garnering discussion for his concerts, Megan Thee Stallion and NBA YoungBoy gave us some surprising interviews, and we celebrated the 53rd birthday of hip-hop.
But we kicked things off with a New Music Friday roundup. Aron highlighted the new Nipsey Hussle album Prolific with Bino Rideaux, Quavo and Pharrell's song "Trance," and Busta Rhymes and J Dilla's song "Talk Ya S**t" featuring Lil Wayne, which is from Busta and Dilla's upcoming album. All great picks, along with Open Mike Eagle's DOOMED! album with Kenny Segal, Denzel Curry and Kenneth Blume coming back with the Yebba-assisted "DIFFERENCE" single for UNLOCKED II, and Erykah Badu and The Alchemist previewing their album with "Witch Doctor."
Then, Aron and I discussed Kanye West's recent concerts, highlighting the nostalgic tracklist and how measured and collected Ye seems to be. Even without onstage rants and other bigotries, though, we predicted he will have to be more proactive and intentional with righting his controversial wrongs rather than just letting them mull over in silence.
Next, we debated about Drake's recent livestream and whether or not it's a bad look for his legacy. The short answer? Nope. He's one of the few artists who can do this without missing a beat, and Aron and I compared it to other streamers in hip-hop. All in all, Drizzy represents the attention-driven streaming game better than most, and we found it to be a fun display that shows why many rappers might look at streaming as a better alternative income-wise.
HNHH Live
In addition, Aron and I told our hip-hop origin stories for the art form's 53rd birthday. How we got into the genres represents not just how interconnected the history is, but how different origin stories can look for all fans. We emphasized the importance of building community in hip-hop, supporting local scenes, and taking bits from all eras to highlight how special the album is.
Also, Aron and I looked at some new or updated Complex lists for this anniversary, namely, their 100 Hottest Rappers and 100 Best Beats Of All Time. The lists were unsurprising, although we were disappointed in the lack of more varied production and eras on the latter list. As for the rapper ranking, we didn't expect folks like A$AP Rocky and Ye to rank relatively low.
Later on, we spoke about the new Megan Thee Stallion interview on Michelle Obama's podcast, as well as NBA YoungBoy's recent revelations with Funny Marco. Aron highlighted YB's surprising pivot away from music, praising his commitment to his health and his ability to cater to a specific fanbase. As for Megan, I found her reflections on personal passion turning into scrutinized fame very compelling, and we are very excited for whatever ACT III holds.
Finally, we covered some hip-hop anniversaries this week, such as Nicki Minaj's Queen album and her collab with Megan Thee Stallion and Ty Dolla $ign, "Hot Girl Summer." Other favorites of ours included Rae Sremmurd's SremmLife 2 and, of course, Biggie Smalls' iconic "Juicy."
Check back in with us next week for another HNHH livestream and make sure to rate songs and albums on the website.
