HotNewHipHop is hosting livestreams to talk about the hottest hip-hop topics, and our features editor Aron and I wrapped up the summer yesterday (Friday, September 11) with some big developments. We discussed the controversies around Ye and Jay-Z plaguing both their concert runs, the 50 Cent and Mark Curry clash over the Diddy docuseries, the upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic, and made our picks for our 2026 songs of the summer in a new draft. Of course, our recurring and revamped On The Come Up, First Listen, and Hip-Hop History segments were in there, too.
First, Aron and I spoke about how Ye and Hov's legacies are unquestionable at this point. However, we lamented how these legends have used that goodwill to dismiss criticism against them, whether for Kanye's bigotries or Jay downplaying what many in hip-hop and the Black community see as corporate betrayals. In Ye's case in particular, we spoke about how he should be more proactive and open with his beef-squashing and apologies, arguing the Roc Nation mogul is already too well-entrenched into his mindset in ways Kanye risks falling into.
Later on, we discussed 50 Cent's trolling of Mark Curry after Curry called his Sean Combs: The Reckoning deal worse than a Bad Boy contract. Among all the sad and curious ironies in this situation, what Aron and I lament the most is how 50 made light of assault victims' experience to shrug off Curry's grievances.
HNHH Live
Also, Aron seems a bit more confident than I am in the Snoop Dogg biopic, although we both acknowledged hip-hop biopics' tendency to rewrite history in the favorable light of their subject. We're excited to check it out, especially if it's a focused look at the early parts of Snoop's career.
Then, we drafted our songs of the summer. You can find the full playlist of our picks below. Aron enlisted Drake, Isaiah Rashad, Mike Shabb, and others, whereas I picked Baby Keem, Yung Miami, FANTA ROSARIO, and more.
Finally, we wrapped things up by shouting out Teller Bank$ and Liim's excellent projects for our On The Come Up segment. Aron showed love to D-Block Europe and French Montana's new album for First Liste, whereas I had so-so feelings about the new Jhené Aiko LP and its divisive Kendrick Lamar feature. To look back on hip-hop history, we went full circle on Jay-Z and Kanye West to talk about the 25 and 19-year anniversaries of The Blueprint and Graduation, respectively.
Stay tuned into HNHH for our next stream or podcast discussion, and make sure to rate new songs and albums on the website. We hope to see you again soon for more compelling hip-hop conversations.
