This marks the first time the Air Jordan 3 gets a “Utility” makeover. Jordan Brand has done this before with the Air Jordan 1 and Air Jordan 12. Now the classic silhouette is finally getting its turn in the rotation. The style code is IX0198-001. It comes in an all-black leather build with fire red accents. Red hits the laces and a new pull tab at the heel.

That heel tab is a first for this model entirely. The traditional lace setup also gets swapped for a bungee-style cord system. A toggle lace lock finishes off the more functional, grab-and-go feel.

The elephant print overlays stick around at the toe and heel. This version reportedly gets a metallic treatment on those panels. A translucent outsole rounds out the whole updated look.

Utility drops tend to split opinion among purists every time. Still, Jordan Brand seems intent on pushing the model somewhere new. This one leans hard into that outdoor, ACG-style direction fans have seen before.

Read More: Air Jordan 16 “Ginger” Receives Confirmed Release Date

Air Jordan 3 “Utility”

Utility releases exist to modernize classic silhouettes for everyday wear. The idea started with the Air Jordan 1, adding a strapped zip pouch to the heel. The Air Jordan 12 followed with a stealthier, workwear-inspired build built for colder weather.

The Air Jordan 3 has mostly stayed untouched since Tinker Hatfield designed it back in 1988. Aside from the usual color updates, the shape has barely changed since then. That makes this Utility version a bigger swing than usual for the model.

Pull tabs and bungee laces aren’t small tweaks either. They shift the shoe further away from its basketball roots. For some collectors, that’s exactly the kind of experimentation worth paying attention to.

Jordan Brand hasn’t shied away from reworking the 3 before this. The budget-friendly Air Jordan Ultra proved that earlier this year already. This Utility drop just takes that same attitude even further.

Read More: Suge Knight Called Out By Lead Tupac Prosecutor: “Why Did You Have Biggie Killed?”

The post Air Jordan 3 “Utility” Confirmed For January 2027 Release appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The investigation found a broader problem than the endorsement deal that originally put the Clippers under scrutiny. According to Wachtell Lipton, team officials helped create endorsement opportunities for Leonard with companies that were doing business with the franchise. Investigators said the Clippers also used their own business relationships to encourage some of those companies to reach deals with Leonard. The report separately found that the team paid personal expenses on behalf of Leonard and people around him without properly accounting for them under league rules.

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Read More: NBA Blocks Kawhi Leonard Trade To The Toronto Raptors…For Now

More About The Investigation

The probe began after Pablo Torre reported in 2025 that Leonard had a four-year, $28 million agreement with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt sustainability company in which Ballmer had invested. Torre alleged Leonard was not required to perform meaningful work under the deal and that the arrangement was designed to get money to him outside his NBA contract. The independent investigation eventually expanded outside Aspiration and concluded that the Clippers had improperly facilitated multiple outside opportunities for Leonard.

Investigators also focused on Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and former business manager. The report says Robertson expected the Clippers to help generate roughly $10 million a year in off-court income for Leonard and repeatedly pressed team executives for better opportunities. Rather than report those requests to the league, as NBA rules required, investigators found that Clippers officials continued assisting him. Ballmer was specifically faulted for knowingly trying to help Leonard secure outside income and for approving a Clippers agreement with Aspiration after he knew the company had tied that business to Leonard’s endorsement deal.

Read More: Clippers Honor Kawhi Leonard Signing With Hilarious “We Got ‘Em” Meme

The lost draft capital makes the punishment especially painful for a franchise that already spent heavily to build around Leonard. When the Clippers acquired Paul George from Oklahoma City in 2019, they sent out five first-round picks as part of the blockbuster deal that helped secure Leonard’s commitment in free agency. Now another five first-round selections, covering one pick in each draft from 2029 through 2033, have been forfeited because of conduct tied to Leonard’s tenure.

Neither side is accepting the findings quietly. The Guardian reports that Leonard said he entered the agreements in good faith and denied knowing about any effort to evade the salary cap. The Clippers were more combative, accusing the investigation of being biased and saying they intend to challenge the findings through arbitration.

The post Clippers Hit With Sweeping NBA Penalties Over Kawhi Leonard Scandal appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The latest exchange started after Jay addressed criticism over his partnership with Target during a July performance at Yankee Stadium. While defending himself, he referenced Kaepernick’s 2019 settlement with the NFL and suggested the former quarterback had taken a check that came with a non-disparagement agreement. Kaepernick disputed that claim in an interview with NBC News, saying he never signed one.

Kaepernick had even stronger words for why Jay mentioned him at all. “The backlash that [Jay-Z] received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026,” he said. Kaepernick argued that the continued need to defend the deal points to a “guilty conscience” and an attempt to “reposition or reframe the conversation.”

Read More: JAŸ-Z Targets The Haters And Mentions Colin Kaepernick In New Freestyle

They Were Once A United Front

That criticism cuts directly into the history between them. Jay was once one of Kaepernick’s most visible celebrity supporters. He dedicated a 2017 performance of “The Story of O.J.” to the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and later wore his jersey on Saturday Night Live. Their relationship changed after Roc Nation announced its 2019 partnership with the NFL, which gave the company a major role in the league’s entertainment strategy and connected it to social justice initiatives. Jay defended the agreement at the time, arguing that the protest had already drawn attention to injustice and that the next phase required action.

Kaepernick remembers that shift very differently. In his upcoming memoir, The Perilous Fight, he writes that Jay told him about the NFL partnership only after the deal had already been made. Kaepernick says he warned Jay that the league wanted a prominent Black figure attached to its response to the protests and told him, “You’re serving the culture up to a bunch of racists.” He also accused the NFL of viewing Jay as “the music guy” who could provide the Black face it needed.

Read More: Colin Kaepernick’s GF Denies Jay-Z Reached Out To Him Before NFL Deal

His latest NBC interview shows that resentment has not softened. Kaepernick called Jay “another player” in what he sees as repeated efforts to discredit him since Roc Nation aligned with the NFL. “He has built the alignment with the NFL, the NFL that has blackballed me,” Kaepernick said. The league has long denied that it blackballed him. He also accused Jay of doing “reputational recovery” rather than confronting why the partnership drew so much criticism in the first place.

Target has now created another point of contrast between them. Jay partnered with the retailer for an exclusive anniversary edition of Reasonable Doubt after the company drew backlash for rolling back some diversity initiatives. Kaepernick has chosen not to sell The Perilous Fight in Target stores and is instead working with the National Association of Black Bookstores for his tour.

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James, 63, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance. Chico, 60, was booked on the same allegation and on an outstanding warrant, though police have not publicly detailed what the warrant involved. Both SUVs were towed from the scene. It was not immediately clear whether either brother had entered a plea or retained an attorney.

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Read More: R&B Singer Chico DeBarge Impersonates Brother, Charged With Drug Possession & DUI

Similar Incident Happened 5 Years Ago

The Burbank setting carries some unusual history for Chico. In January 2021, police pulled him over in the same city after they said he was driving at night without headlights or license plates. Chico allegedly identified himself as James when officers asked for his name. Police later said they found methamphetamine and heroin during the stop, and he was charged with drug possession, DUI, and false impersonation, according to TMZ. He had also been arrested on a drug allegation in Burbank in 2019.

Substance abuse and legal trouble have been publicly documented for both brothers well beyond those incidents. Chico served prison time after a 1988 federal cocaine-trafficking conviction and later spoke openly about becoming dependent on prescription painkillers after being stabbed in 2003. That experience informed his 2009 album Addiction. James has faced his own drug-related cases. The Los Angeles Times reported after his 2014 narcotics arrest that court records showed a 2011 drug-possession conviction and 2012 convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and drug possession.

Their names remain closely tied to the DeBarge musical dynasty, although their careers followed different paths. James performed with DeBarge during the group’s Motown run, which produced classics including “All This Love,” “I Like It” and “Rhythm of the Night.” Chico pursued a solo career and scored R&B hits including “Talk to Me” and “Give You What You Want (Fa Sure).” James’ history also became intertwined with another famous musical family through his brief 1984 marriage to Janet Jackson. In her 2022 documentary Janet, Jackson spoke about the difficulty of that relationship and said James’ drug use contributed to its collapse.

Read More: Chico DeBarge Grieving Loss Of Son Following Stabbing Death: Report

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One of those assets was his life rights. Dame Dash is an important person in the history of hip-hop, and there is money to be made on his story. Whether that be through a documentary, a biopic, or even a book.

Just last month, the trustee behind Dame Dash’s bankruptcy presented a plan in which his life rights would be auctioned off. On Tuesday, Judge Roberta A. Colton agreed to the plan, putting the auction in motion.

According to Complex, the auction will last until September 23, and creditors will be receiving the final payout. The opening bid is $37,000, with Everlasting Films, LLC getting the party started. The winner of the auction will go home with “100 hours of video content, photographs, and memorabilia.” Additionally, they get  “an unreleased, in-development documentary/film project.”

Read More: A Guilty Verdict Still Doesn’t Bring Closure To Tupac’s Murder

Dame Dash Life Rights Bidding Begins

All of the bids must go up in increments of $10,000. Therefore, if you want to become the current highest bidder, you will need to bid $47K. At this time, it is unclear what the interest will be in the life rights, although $37K is doubtful to be the final closing price.

Charlamagne Tha God had previously expressed interest in buying the rights to Dame Dash’s story, although there was certainly a bit of trolling being done with those comments.

Ultimately, the Dame Dash situation is a sad one and a cautionary tale at that. The fact that he cannot profit from the story of his own life is tragic in many respects.

Read More: Kanye’s Katrina, George Bush Criticism Hits Differently 21 Years Later

The post Dame Dash’s Life Rights Are Officially Going To Auction appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

This marks the first-ever retro for this colorway. The “Ginger” colorway was originally released back in 2001. It’s never gotten a proper rerelease since then, despite steady demand from collectors. Now that the pair is finally making a return, hype is building.

The style code is IX7269-700. Jordan Brand is keeping the Light Ginger, Dark Charcoal, and white color scheme intact. That’s the same buttery suede look fans have wanted back for years.

Michael Jordan actually wore this pair on court. He laced them during his time with the Washington Wizards and it’s that connection has only made the colorway more desirable as the years passed. Adding history like this to a sneaker is going to excite fans for sure.

Rumors about a “Ginger” retro have circulated on and off for over a decade. A sample pair even surfaced back in 2012, sparking hope that never panned out. This time, the date looks locked in for real.

Read More: Suge Knight Called Out By Lead Tupac Prosecutor: “Why Did You Have Biggie Killed?”

Air Jordan 16 “Ginger”

The Air Jordan 16 stood out from the moment it dropped in 2001. It introduced a removable shroud that covered the laces entirely. No Jordan model before it had really tried anything like that.

The “Ginger” colorway leaned into that unique design with an all-leather build. Some fans have compared its look to premium Timberland boots. That’s a big part of why it still feels fresh today.

Despite that reputation, the Air Jordan 16 rarely gets retro attention. Its first-ever rerelease didn’t come until 2008, years after launch. Collaborations have been just as rare, with only a couple ever happening.

That scarcity is exactly why this “Ginger” return feels significant. A colorway this overlooked finally getting its due says something. For longtime Jordan 16 fans, this one’s been a long time coming.

Read More: JAŸ-Z Announces Virtual Listening Party, Speculation Ensues

The post Air Jordan 16 “Ginger” Receives Confirmed Release Date appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Marc DiGiacomo, the lead prosecutor in the Tupac murder case, put the former Death Row owner on blast during a press conference. When asked why Suge wasn’t forced to take the stand during the trial, DiGiacomo said he was uncooperative from the jump.

“Ultimately, we do get a statement from him when he’s in prison in San Diego,” he said. “Mr. Knight would’ve had the same rights as any other human being on Earth, and my first question to Mr. Knight would’ve been asked: why did you have Biggie killed?”

He added, “Ultimately, we made the decision; one, he’s not credible, and two, he has a Fifth Amendment privilege so we’re just not bringing him.”

Read More: Kanye’s Katrina, George Bush Criticism Hits Differently 21 Years Later

Why Didn’t Suge Knight Testify?

A reporter then asked what statement Suge Knight provided. “I don’t want to go into the specifics off just the top of my head, but certainly, he confirms Mr. Davis was involved in the homicide.”

Though he never took the stand, he was particularly vocal throughout the trial. He called out Mob James’ testimony. He also alleged Keefe D’s legal team offered him $1 million to testify that Keefe D wasn’t in the Cadillac used in the shooting.

Keefe D is facing a life sentence for his involvement in the murder of Tupac Shakur. We’ll keep you posted on any further updates. 

Read More: A Guilty Verdict Still Doesn’t Bring Closure To Tupac’s Murder

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Just a couple of days ago, Roc Nation teased a special announcement on Instagram. Yesterday, it appeared as though the announcement was simply a pop-up that had already been established weeks in advance. However, it proved to be a special pop-up for Hov fans as the rapper made a surprise appearance and met with his supporters.

Today, another announcement was made, and this time, it’s one that is sparking tons of speculation. As you can see from the tweet below, JAŸ-Z will be hosting a virtual listening party on his website tomorrow at 2 PM EST.

Read More: A Guilty Verdict Still Doesn’t Bring Closure To Tupac’s Murder

JAŸ-Z To Host Virtual Listening Party On Thursday

The official date and time for the listening party is Thursday, September 3 at 2 PM EST/11 AM PST. There is also going to be a Vinyl Test Pressing Giveaway. All of this will go down over at the JAŸ-Z 30 website.

At this time, there is no information about what will be played during the listening party. As you can imagine, this has led to all sorts of rumblings about what it could be. Most fans are hoping for a new album.

Whatever this is, JAŸ-Z has fans intrigued. It goes without saying that we will be tuning in for the livestream. Therefore, stay tuned to HNHH as we bring you all of the latest news and updates from around the hip-hop world.

Read More: Kanye’s Katrina, George Bush Criticism Hits Differently 21 Years Later

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In order to maintain some sort of relevancy, Pump has found himself latching on to the big stories of the day. Right now, that story is Lil Durk’s murder for hire trial. The rapper is facing life in prison as he stands accused of orchestrating a hit on Quando Rondo, leading to the killing of Lul Pab.

If you remember, Durk has actually dissed Lil Pump a couple of times on songs like “All These N****s” and “Hanging With Wolves.” Durk clearly does not take Pump’s art seriously.

With that in mind, Pump has decided to clap back while Durk is unable to respond. In a string of posts and videos, Pump called Durk a snitch, among other bad names.

Read More: A Guilty Verdict Still Doesn’t Bring Closure To Tupac’s Murder

Lil Pump Disses Lil Durk Out Of Nowhere

DJ Akademiks reacted to Lil Pump’s diss on his stream, and as you can imagine, he was pretty stunned that Pump was being this brazen. Additionally, he didn’t even know that these two were at war with one another.

You really can’t blame Ak for not knowing that. Quite frankly, this is one of those feuds that most probably memory-holed, as it never really made an impact beyond a bar here and there.

What is more consequential, however, is this current trial. Lil Durk is facing life in prison if convicted. The trial is supposed to wrap up at some point this week, which means a verdict could be coming in just a matter of days.

Read More: How Hip-Hop Media Is Dividing Over The Lil Durk Trial

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According to TMZ, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson revealed that Diddy could potentially face charges related to Tupac’s death if they uncover new evidence. However, Wolfson also made it abundantly clear that they don’t have enough evidence to proceed with charging him.

“At this point, we don’t believe we have sufficient evidence to charge anyone else with the death of Tupac Shakur,” Wolfson said. “But, like any other case, if we come into more information, more evidence, we can always consider filing additional charges.”

Read More: A Guilty Verdict Still Doesn’t Bring Closure To Tupac’s Murder

Prosecutors Don’t Rule Out Going After Diddy

The theories about Diddy’s supposed involvement in the case popped up during the trial as well, when jurors heard police interview recordings where Keefe D claimed Diddy put up $1M for Tupac and Suge Knight’s murder. Keefe said that Diddy told him to “get rid of those dudes.”

But before the trial began, these allegations gained more prominence in Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which explored the claims of Diddy’s involvement. More recently, 50 Cent said he would put $1M bet on Keefe D testifying against Diddy in the future.

Sources close to Diddy have already shut down these allegations. “Diddy had absolutely nothing to do with the Tupac murder. He did not pull the trigger or set it up,” they told TMZ. 

Keefe D faces a possible life sentence and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 13th. He has already announced plans to appeal his conviction. 

Read More: How Hip-Hop Media Is Dividing Over The Lil Durk Trial

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