The younger relative was able to pull the trigger and subsequently land a shot on Thomas who was outside the vehicle playing. Thomas sadly passed away a little while after suffering her wounds.

With all of the horrible things going on in the world, this is the last bit of news that needed to surface. But NBA YoungBoy is stepping up in a big way for this grieving family.

The news outlet also shares that the hometown rapper is covering the funeral costs. Thomas’ mother was emotional but elated to find this out, spreading the word about YB’s amazing deed on her social media.

“I know Baton Rouge love to say all the bad things people do. But I want to be the first to say publicly thanks to NBA YoungBoy and whomever may be a part of his team tonight. As I type this with tears in my eyes my baby Kimani funeral is officially paid for!”

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NBA YoungBoy Drops Song With Coi Leray

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Making this development all the more heartwarming is that Thomas’ favorite rapper was indeed NBA YoungBoy. “I know she dancing her tail off full of joy!” the mom added.

Overall, this is just a great thing to hear right now, and we are sending our best to Kimani’s family. We hope that they can recover as fast as possible.

In other NBA YoungBoy news, the hitmaker recently connected with Massachusetts femcee Coi Leray for a new song. It belongs to Coi and it’s called “Better Than Yours” and it interpolates Kelis’ iconic hit, “Milkshake.” It marks their first collaboration as well.

Read More: Jack Harlow’s “Monica” Problem Isn’t Just The Music

The post NBA YoungBoy Covers Funeral Costs For Local 10-Year-Old Girl appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

In the new Instagram post, Rondo posed for three pictures, standing next to a fellow inmate in one of them. “Rico came I ain’t budged I was bunkys with the plug , I was just the only cuz doing burpees with the bloods !!” he wrote in the caption. Fans in the comments section have been sharing supportive messages. “Free my n***a Quando a real legend in this music sh** and real n***a,” one user wrote. Another added: “Free yo game free my game FREE DEM MEMBERS!!”

Read More: Afroman Beat The Case—So Where Are Free Speech Warriors When Hip-Hop’s On Trial?

Why Is Quando Rondo In Prison?

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Authorities originally indicted Quando Rondo on two counts of conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Controlled Substances Act, one count of participating in criminal street gang activity, and use of a communication facility in the commission of a felony involving controlled substances, back in 2023. He ended up pleading guilty to drug charges in August 2024. 

After entering his guilty plea, Quando Rondo spoke at a press conference outside the courthouse. “I really wanna give an apology to the city of Savannah, and I wanna give an apology to my family, friends, loved ones. Most of all, to my daughters for taking all my family and all my loved ones through this stressful point, you know?” he said at the time, according to WTOC.

In addition to his own case, Quando Rondo has been dragged into headlines as Lil Durk awaits trial in his own murder-for-hire case. Prosecutors have accused him of allegedly planning a shooting of Quando Rondo that led to the death of Lul Pabb. Durk has denied the allegations and maintains his innocence. That trial will begin later this year.

Read More: Jack Harlow’s “Monica” Problem Isn’t Just The Music

The post Quando Rondo Shares New Pictures From Behind Bars Ahead Of 2027 Release appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Connor added, “I may got back to sleep and may not wake up.” That’s about all the context we have but it seems this alleged infidelity still eats at the fashion designer.

Over the weekend, the 33-year-old reacted to Cobain getting his photo on the wall of fame at Starlet’s of New York. According to 2Cool2Blog, he spent an obscene amount of money and the photo they took of him made Connor even more upset.

“Look How His Stomach Take Up Half The Photo and This Who My B*tch Had The Nerve To Hunch On,” he replied.

Folks in his comments section are laughing at his expense, but also the willingness to admit this alleged truth. “Batman himself couldn’t of gotten this information out of me,” one X user jokes.

Another echoes that sentiment. “You could put a gun to my dome and you still wouldn’t force me to tweet some sh*t like this [laughing emojis].”

To our knowledge, Cobain hasn’t responded to Connor’s salty jabs. But overall, it seems the “problem” hitmaker really struck a nerve.

Read More: Afroman Beat The Case—So Where Are Free Speech Warriors When Hip-Hop’s On Trial?

Ian Connor Beef With AWGE

This isn’t the only person Ian Connor has been targeting as of late. Even more recently, he’s been going at with AWGE’s social media page. That just so happens to be A$AP Rocky’s mysterious creative branch, adding another layer to his issues with his former A$AP Mob collaborators.

The back-and-forth was sparked after AWGE tweeted, “NAME AN UNDERGROUND ARTIST, I’LL TELL YOU HOW AWGE INFLUENCED THEM.” A fan quote tweeted that post writing back that Ian Connor was running that page.

AWGE then responded to the user telling them that he hasn’t been tied to them for years. That prompted a fiery clap back from Connor. “I Didn’t Resign Cus AWGE Is A Scam, Failure Of A Creative Company. TBH What Has AWGE Given Us Besides Myself , Carti and Some Updated Inspired Smack DVD Style Videos. I Got A Feeling Rocky Hired A Fan To Run This Page Who Hasn’t Gotten Out All His Questions Therefore You Have Mediocre Answers.”

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The post Ian Connor Tries To Roast Cash Cobain Amid Cheating Claims appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

“My bad B! – this apology is for you and ONLY YOU! – I was outta pocket. No spin, no extras. You’re my blood and I moved in a way that didn’t reflect your brand in a positive way!” Ray J wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram. “I apologize for real. I’m making sure my actions line up with respect moving forward.- I accept the repercussions of these actions!”

He continued: “I will always defend you and anybody in my family I truly love! – But I have to learn how to express myself in a respectful manner especially when you are involved! – I still don’t like none of those guys and what they did was janky AsF- but what I said was not ok – hopefully I can be apart of your world in the near future or 2027. And to my mom and dad I apologize too. Sincerely On tha dead homiez.”

Read More: Afroman Beat The Case—So Where Are Free Speech Warriors When Hip-Hop’s On Trial?

Shyne & Brandy’s Relationship

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The drama between Shyne and Brandy began during an episode of It Is What It Is, during which Cam’ron asked Shyne and Ma$e about the overlapping timeline for their relationships with the singer. When the clip began circulating online, Brandy shut down the story.

She wrote in a statement on Instagram. “In the late 90’s, I had a platonic friendship with rapper Shyne. In an unfortunate turn of events, that friendship is now being mischaracterized as ‘we dated.’ Unequivocally, we did not! I’m not sure why an untrue narrative about a scope of what was a friendship more than 20-years ago is being reshaped during his current media interviews.” Shyne fired back during an interview with TMZ, accusing her of lying.

Read More: Jack Harlow’s “Monica” Problem Isn’t Just The Music

The post Ray J Apologizes To Brandy For His Handling Of Shyne & Ma$e Drama appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Just moments ago, the Philadelphia rapper took to his X (Twitter) account to share that he’s working on one right now. However, what’s just as intriguing is the person he’s trying to holler at to get on it.

Caught by our social media page, he wrote, “I need j Cole on my project wassup bro let’s get it in the studio!!!!!” This would be a pretty cool song to listen to, although folks in his comments section are arguing otherwise.

“Why are you tweeting this? Just connect with him on LinkedIn,” one user half jokes after Meek Mill recently slammed X and hinted that he may exclusively use the job searching app instead.

Others are being much more malicious. “You don’t have the right to record with cole bro,” another replies. Another can’t help but continue the running joke revolving around Mill’s relationship with Diddy. “Its a diddy trap cole be cautious.”

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J. Cole The Fall-Off Tour

Mill’s career over the last few years has sadly been relegated to jokes mostly because of his posts online and aforementioned Diddy ties. But we hope the 38-year-old can make a great comeback and hopefully before the end of 2026 if all goes according to plan.

For those wondering, it’s been five years since his last solo effort, Expensive Pain. His most recent album was with Too Good To Be True with MMG boss, Rick Ross. However, his most recent collection of tracks in general was a four-song EP titled Indie Pack (Vol. 01).

Getting this J. Cole feature may be a tad tricky though as the Fayetteville native is and will be very busy. Right now, he’s in the midst of a press run for The Fall-Off, a month after releasing it. Then, from July until mid-December, he’ll be on his world tour, which spans 73 shows.

But it would be the best time to grab the Dreamville CEO for a collaboration as he’s currently the man in hip-hop.

If they do come together, it would be their first song as a duo.

Read More: Jack Harlow’s “Monica” Problem Isn’t Just The Music

The post Meek Mill Has A Request For J. Cole After Announcing New Album appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Jay-Z is hosting the concerts in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint. He released Reasonable Doubt as his debut studio album back on June 25, 1996, and dropped The Blueprint as his sixth studio album on September 11, 2001. Tickets for the events went on sale on Monday morning, with the queues reaching upwards of 800,000 fans.

They won’t be Jay-Z’s only live performances this summer, either. Last week, Roots Picnic announced that he will be a headliner at this year’s event. In doing so, he’ll be joining Erykah Badu, Brandy, T.I., Wale, De La Soul, Mariah the Scientist, and many more notable artists on the lineup.

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Is Jay-Z Working On New Music?

The announcement of Jay-Z’s concerts at Yankee Stadium, as well as his headlining set at Roots Picnic, has reignited speculation that he’s finally working on a new album. The rumors began in September, when Cash Cobain told Billboard Unfiltered Live that he’s heard the legendary rapper was working on new music. “I heard Jay-Z about to drop some s—t. That’s what I heard,” he told the outlet. “That’s about to shake the world.”

When the comments went viral, Cash issued a clarification about the situation on X (formerly Twitter). “When I was on the phone with Hov he said that he is absolutely not dropping an album,” Cash wrote at the time.

A new project from Jay-Z would mark his first solo release since dropping 4:44 as his thirteenth studio album in 2017. He also worked with his wife, Beyoncé, on the collaborative album, Everything Is Love, in 2018.

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The post Jay-Z’s Yankee Stadium Tickets Are Already Reselling For Thousands appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

However, it’s going to be interesting to see how Yeat handles that focus on his upcoming double album, ADL. More times than not, Yeat has kept the features to a minimum. But that is going to be far from the case on this impending project.

Per a press release, we have a majority of the feature list revealed and it’s quite impressive on multiple fronts. With the confirmed names, it’s clear that Yeat wanted to challenge himself. There’s a wide range of genres and subgenres represented here.

Moreover, it’s simply an illustrious list. Kid Cudi, frequent collaborator Don Toliver, NBA YoungBoy, Swizz Beatz, BNYX, Joji, are making appearances. But of course, the name that sticks out the most is nonother than legendary pop singer, songwriter, and pianist Elton John.

No matter what his level of involvement is, it’s bound to be the most talked-about song on the record. We don’t have a confirmation on how many songs will land on it, but it will be split into two discs.

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When Is Yeat Dropping A Dangerous Lyfe?

Side one will be A Dangerous Lyfe whereas the second will be A Dangerous Love. So, not only is Yeat taking some risks with the collaborators he’s selected, but he’s also pushing himself thematically as well.

As for when the album will release, you can circle your calendars for March 27, which is this Friday.

It will most likely include previously released tracks such as “Let King Tonka Talk” which featured King Kylie, aka Kylie Jenner, and “Made It On Our Own” with EsDeeKid. That song just so happens to have production from BNYX, making us believe it will make its way onto the first side potentially.

With ADL, he will be trying to replicate the success of his last full-length LYFESTYLE, which went number one in 2024 with 89,000 equivalent units.

Read More: Jack Harlow’s “Monica” Problem Isn’t Just The Music

The post Yeat Unveils Stacked Features List For “ADL” Including Elton John appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

“I don’t know what is wrong with her,” Shyne told the outlet. “I spoke from a place of admiration and a place of reminiscing on my experience with her, which I didn’t care to highlight the negatives, it was only positive.”

He continued: “She lied to Oprah about being married and had to go on Oprah and apologize because she said she did that to protect her image… I can’t get in her mind. I’m just saying that she has lied to the public before to protect her image, and maybe the fact that she was seeing both Mase and I at the same time, she feels it’s not good for her image.”

“Mase has different opinions. He’s very hard-lined. He’s very extreme. I’m a bit more compassionate, a bit middle ground,” Shyne concluded. “So, Mase and I weren’t agreeing on everything. But we agreed on [both dating her]. So, if I was capping, he would have said, ‘Nah, Shyne. I don’t remember it like that.’ He and I remember it the same way. Clark Kent remembers it the same way. So, but you know what? Happy Women’s Month.”

Read More: Afroman Beat The Case—So Where Are Free Speech Warriors When Hip-Hop’s On Trial?

Brandy’s Response To Shyne

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Cam’ron originally brought up Brandy when Shyne appeared on It Is What It Is, asking him and Ma$e about the timeline overlap in their relationships with the singer.

Brandy ended up responding to Shyne’s initial claim with a statement on Instagram. “In the late 90’s, I had a platonic friendship with rapper Shyne,” she wrote. “In an unfortunate turn of events, that friendship is now being mischaracterized as ‘we dated.’ Unequivocally, we did not! I’m not sure why an untrue narrative about a scope of what was a friendship more than 20-years ago is being reshaped during his current media interviews.”

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The post Shyne Accuses Brandy Of Lying And Doubles Down On Their Relationship History appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Despite the absurdity of the videos, they have been generating millions of views. The original AI Cinema account now has 3.1 million followers on TikTok. Meanwhile, each video is averaging about 15 million views, with the videos garnering hundreds of thousands of likes within just a few hours.

While there has been major backlash to AI-generated content as of late, it appears as though “Fruit Love Island” continues to thrive. Overall, the fruit-people have evolved, and are no longer just constrained to Love Island parodies.

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Fruit Love Island Is A New Viral Craze

For instance, some videos portray families in which there is some sort of infidelity. A lot of these videos could be psycho-analyzed until the cows come home. A lot of it is just straight up bizarre, and you can’t help but feel grossed out by the messages being conveyed.

What Is AI Slop?

AI slop is a catch-all term for AI content that is made to appeal to the lowest-common-demoninator. It is the kind of content that any self-respecting person would stay away from. If someone were to catch you watching it ironically, they would probably feel a deep sense of shame.

“Fruit Love Island” is the perfect example of AI slop. It is mass-produced to generate as many views as possible. Furthermore, it is of extremely low quality. From the scripts to the scenarios to the voice acting and to the words themselves, nothing is done particularly well. The fact that precious resources were wasted on this kind of content is, quite frankly, disgraceful.

If you have this kind of visceral negative reaction to a piece of AI content, it is safe to say that it is AI slop. The same can be said of those Italian brain rot characters that went viral in 2025.

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The post What Is Fruit Love Island? The AI Slop Taking The Internet By Storm appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

“If you don’t say my name out your stupid fat mouth, you got no motion. You don’t make nothing, you don’t do nothing, you don’t add nothing. You are a net negative to hip-hop culture, you’re a net negative to society,” Mero began his rant.

Mero then accused him of drinking alcohol in his mother’s basement and gossiping about people more important than him. “We make culture, we don’t just talk about it,” he remarked, referring to Hot 97. “You’re a gossiper. You are Page Six in the flesh, you’re a diabetic page out of the New York Post, you fat hamster.”

He continued: “When I sit down and talk to somebody, it’s Denzel Washington, it’s Barack Obama, it’s Matt Damon. It’s the names that mean something in the culture of entertainment. When you sit down, you sit down with a diabetic Tekashi and a guy called Wack 100 and a guy who hangs out in project courtyards yelling at windows.”

Mero concluded by threatening to get physical. “You don’t want no smoke with anybody, especially me. If it wasn’t for them strip club bouncers that form a forcefield around you, you’d be food. You’re a 20-piece chicken nugget with sweet and sour sauce,” he joked. “The last thing I’ll say about you, is that you are a one-trick pony. You know how to do one thing, and that’s exploit poverty, misery, and violence for your own monetary gain.”

Read More: Afroman Beat The Case—So Where Are Free Speech Warriors When Hip-Hop’s On Trial?

Why Are Mero & DJ Akademiks beefing?

Mero’s feud with DJ Akademiks began with a war of words on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend. Ak had previously criticised Mero and his Hot 97 predecessor, Ebro Darden, during one of his livestreams. He described Mero as a “DEl hire” for the radio station.

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The post Mero Unleashes On DJ Akademiks In Scathing Hot 97 Rant appeared first on HotNewHipHop.