This brought an end to an unexpectedly complicated jury selection in Lil Durk’s trial in Los Angeles. One of around 80 prospective jurors said Durk and his codefendants looked guilty, and the process slowed down. Elsewhere, prospective jurors answered questions from lawyers about their thoughts on gangster rap and the drill music the Chicago rapper made a name for himself through.

One woman reportedly said the music is suggestive of “violence,” another woman said the genre could affect her impartiality, and a man admitted to having “negative connotations” associated to rap. Another prospective juror said he had no right “to judge whether rap is good or bad,” instead being there to determine criminal guilt.

In addition, a defense attorney reportedly asked potential jurors for their thoughts on music “that’s not Peter, Paul and Mary or Karen Carpenter” with lyrics that are hard to understand. More specifically, the lawyer asked if these thoughts would impact fairness. One potential juror said she would appreciate “subtitles or captions” for the music.

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

Lil Durk’s Music As Evidence

These conversations about the music Durk makes are important because it will be evidence in the Lil Durk trial. Judge Fitzgerald approved the prosecution’s presentation of various lyrics, music videos, and other material, including the 2021 “Pissed Me Off” visual. Also, there are other debates about evidence proposals regarding cell phones and other material, with the judge largely siding with the prosecution on some of these matters.

Lil Durk’s supporters also caught the court’s attention, but for negative reasons. The judge scolded a group of supporters for passing out “Free Durk” postcards in the courtroom. He warned of potential prosecution for contempt of court. Given how high-profile this case is and all the media debate surrounding it, the impartiality of the jury is key.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post Jury For Lil Durk’s Murder-For-Hire Trial Has Reportedly Been Seated appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The video begins with Fif smoking a cigar while wearing the new kicks. As for the audio in the background, it’s a clip from his Rap Life Review interview on Apple Music with Darden and Nadeska Alexis. In it, the G-Unit mogul speaks on the difference between the South and New York, arguing the numbers fall in the latter’s favor.

The clip also held 50 Cent’s jab at Ebro over New York hip-hop. The two had clashed over its decline, with 50 claiming the broadcaster has done a poor job supporting and influencing New York artists and Ebro claiming 50 divided the city too much.

Then, 50 Cent’s Rick Ross feud was the next item of business. “Sold out, fat boy,” Fif told the camera before laughing and showing off the new sneakers.

Elsewhere in the video, he also included other Rap Life Review highlights, such as him turning his back on Ebro and teasing Tyrese. Also, the video showed 50’s Verzuz appearance at the Joe and Donnell Jones matchup, which saw him link up with YG as well.

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

50 Cent’s G-Unit Sneakers

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The G-Unit x Reebok G6 launched this week, over 20 years after its original debut. It reportedly sold out within two hours, and the NYC MC spoke to Footwear News about this success.

“It was authentic,” he expressed about the sneaker. “I wasn’t just putting my name on somebody else’s shoe and calling it mine. I was involved. The design, the marketing, the way we presented it. It all felt like me and G-Unit. People can tell when something is real, and I think that’s why it connected the way it did… Look at the response now. We sold out within two hours, and our design held up. That tells you we got it right the first time.”

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post 50 Cent Trolls Rick Ross & Ebro With The G-Unit Reebok’s Sold-Out Launch appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

As caught by CY Chels, the 6ix God put up a screenshot of the song on Spotify and tagged Game, adding two smoke emojis. The page also caught DJ Akademiks asking Drizzy to do this shoutout on his livestream just hours before the IG Story post went up.

“You got to show some love to The Game’s album, I’m sorry,” Ak remarked. “Drake, respectfully, I know OVO fans gon’ be mad at this… The Game has stood by you… Don’t do that Kendrick Lamar s**t. Throw it up on the Story one time for my guy… You got to acknowledge the motherf***ers who rocking with you. I’m just kind of going off history and kind of watching how a lot of n***as turned on you. The Game is a solid n***a… Not saying that if you post his album, it’s going to do hella numbers now. I just think we live in a time when you got to appreciate loyalty.”

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

The Game & Drake’s Relationship

For those unaware, The Game recently addressed his Drake and Kendrick Lamar relationships amid a lot of speculation about The Documentary III. Some fans think Game dissed K.Dot on the album, whereas others found his references to be more homages, shoutouts, or simple allusions and name-drops.

During an event, the Compton MC explained why he is still loyal to the Toronto superstar, but also said he has no static with the pgLang creative. He also spoke on not being able to get on the phone with Kendrick.

Amid all this, the main takeaway is about The Game still riding with Drake. While diss and beef speculation seems complicated at best and contradictory at worst, that’s the part of the story everyone is clear on.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post Drake Shows Love To The Game For Their “The Documentary III” Collab appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Smith shared side by side comparisons on social media, showing his old pitch deck next to Bieber’s shoe. His original design, referred to internally as the Ghost Runner, was built as a Yeezy 500 v2 prototype. It never got shown publicly during his time at the brand.

The similarities are honestly pretty hard to miss. Both pairs share a chunky, textured build with rounded panels across the upper. The layered, sculpted look on the sole also lines up closely between the two designs.

Smith worked on the original alongside a small team of Yeezy designers during his run with the brand. Bieber has not responded publicly to the claim, and SKYLRK hasn’t addressed it either.

Smith’s comments came through a short post posted to his page, where he confirmed the comparison directly. He didn’t go into detail about how the resemblance came about, only confirming that the design was his.

Read More: The Roots Announce New Album “Endgame,” Their First In Over A Decade

Steven Smith Claims SKYLRK Copied Yeezy

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This isn’t the first time people have pointed out Yeezy’s fingerprints on SKYLRK. The brand’s oversized silhouettes and stripped down branding have drawn comparisons since it first launched.

Bieber’s connection to Ye goes back years, long before SKYLRK ever existed. That relationship has made side by side comparisons like this one almost expected whenever a new SKYLRK sneaker drops.

Design overlap is common across streetwear and sneakers, and inspiration doesn’t always mean direct copying. Still, a former Yeezy designer like Smith naming a specific unreleased shoe adds more weight than a typical online comparison.

For now, the claim remains unconfirmed by either side. But it’s added a new layer of conversation around a shoe that was already getting plenty of attention before this surfaced.

Read More: Diddy’s Ex-Bodyguard Says Prosecutors Want Him To Testify In Tupac Trial

The post Former Yeezy Designer Says Bieber’s SKYLRK Shoe Copied His Work appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Reportedly, this process has been under Live Nation Urban president and longtime manager Shawn Gee, and returns to the “free-flowing jam sessions” the collective is so celebrated for. While we don’t have any release date information or other details about Endgame, this seems much more surefire than The Roots’ previous comeback teases.

Fans can’t wait to see how this turns out, especially after such a long time away from the group and their hardships. The same year they dropped their last album, 2014’s …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, their longtime co-manager and producer Richard Nichols passed away.

With that in mind, the band has a lot to dive into, and it’s been a long journey to get to this renewed place of inspired creativity. It’s been a very busy year for them so far, and things could get even more hectic.

This interview with Billboard celebrates The Roots’ induction into the publication’s Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame.

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

The Roots’ Endgame

Elsewhere during this interview, Black Thought and Questlove also spoke on their Roots Picnic festival, which caused a lot of commotion this year. Jay-Z headlined the festival and had more than a few disses to let off against his opposition via an a cappella freestyle. The band performed with him, and they killed it.

Meanwhile, they had other successes this year, such as Questlove’s Earth, Wind & Fire documentary and the band performing at the Obama Presidential Center’s opening in Chicago. Black Thought has more music on the way, whether it’s with Danger Mouse or with Mach-Hommy. So fans will be eating good in the future.

Hopefully we find out soon when The Roots’ Endgame is coming out, as well as features and the like. Whether it drops this year or the next, it will likely be a stellar LP once it arrives.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post The Roots Announce New Album “Endgame,” Their First In Over A Decade appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

In it, he claimed he’s facing pressure to testify in the Keefe D trial and speak on Diddy’s alleged involvement in Tupac’s murder. Furthermore, Deal alleged prosecutors want him to take the stand and speak on Eric “Von Zip” Martin being the alleged middleman between Keefe and Sean Combs.

“They want to put an association with Keefe D and Diddy,” he alleged. “What they wanted Diddy at that time for is, Diddy would be the scapegoat of why there was such a thing called the East Coast and West Coast war. If he had Tupac killed, if he put up the money for Tupac to be killed, then it’s easier for them to say the gangbangers and somebody associated with Death Row killed Biggie. So now, we got to keep this going. We got to use Keefe D and his association with Diddy.

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

Diddy’s Tupac Allegations

“We got to keep their association going along with each other,” Gene Deal continued. “So that’s why he was saying that they wanted Diddy. [Biggie Smalls’ mother] had that $400 million lawsuit against the LAPD. So they wanted to implicate Diddy in that whole stuff with Keefe D so they can get out of that whole situation of that lawsuit. They want me to show that Keefe D and Diddy had a relationship [and] establish what I know about Keefe D and Puff with each other, when they’re around each other, gambling, laughing, drinking… The whole nine yards… The lawyers’ job is to get up there and make his client as innocent as he possibly can… Keefe D wasn’t never no crip. Keefe D stopped cripping when he was 17 years old.”

Gene Deal has criticized Diddy’s misconduct before. But these comments suggest he doesn’t think Combs had anything to do with ‘Pac’s murder, and it seems like he has an issue with how this trial has been going so far. We will see how arguments on both sides continue to evolve.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post Diddy’s Ex-Bodyguard Says Prosecutors Want Him To Testify In Tupac Trial appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

“Tit forever one of my idols my mentors wouldn’t be the same without Chainz,” he wrote in an Instagram comment under a post featuring the podcast clip, as caught by Night Owls on Twitter. As for what the artist formerly known as Tity Boi said about The Boy, he recalled how “No Lie” came together.

“I seen Drake at the [NBA] All-Star Game.” he remarked. “This, like, 2012… I see the boy… I got the tour bus with the studio on it… I’d be riding down the street, I’d be recording. So I see him, I tell him, ‘Boy, I got a song for you.’ But I’m really capping. I don’t have a song for him. I’m really just lying. *laughs* So I go to the bus… The first beat I pick is this “No Lie” beat… In my mind, I’m thinking, ‘That boy Drake gon’ be able to do something melodic right there.’ […] I record a verse right there on the bus. I send it to him… He said, ‘Oh, this hard.’ But he don’t sent it right back. He had me anxious for three weeks… But when he sent it back, man, I only had to hear it twice and I knew. That was one of my first plaques.”

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

2 Chainz & Drake Collabs

Mike said “No Lie” was also one of his first plaques. Since then, they have gotten plenty more.

Drake and 2 Chainz have various collabs, including “Sacrifices,” “All Me,” “Big Amount,” and “Bigger Than You.” They also have an ironic one in “F**kin’ Problems” with Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky, which has aged quite interestingly due to Drizzy’s feuds with K.Dot and Rocky.

Speaking of which, 2 Chainz spoke on the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef back in February of last year. He said he didn’t feel a way about Kendrick name-dropping him on “Not Like Us,” suggesting it was just some wordplay.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post Drake Shouts Out His “Mentor” 2 Chainz For Praising Their “No Lie” Collab appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

In a video caught by No Jumper on Instagram, a Smurk supporter approached Ross while recording him and his colleagues, one of which seemed to be a security guard. “Can I ask you a question? When are you going to stop doing the police’s job?” the fan expressed.

The content creator laughed and pointed to the Los Angeles courthouse behind him. “Nah, bro, you be doing the police’s job,” the fan continued. “Hell no, bro. That n***a be doing police work. You got to stop talking about people’s murder trials like that. That s**t f***ed up. Free Smurk. Aye, you say that, at least? […] I’m not committing no crime, I’m just saying. Taking a picture, you know what he be on. Just say Free Smurk, bro.”

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

Why Is Lil Durk On Trial?

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Trap Lore Ross has caught controversy before for his coverage of hip-hop crime stories. Many fans are interested in his breakdowns, but many others find them exploitative, insensitive, or detached from these artists’ realities. In any case, Ross has made a name for himself, and he has covered other stories on the ground like the Celeste Rivas and D4vd case.

Still, this backlash continues to follow Trap Lore Ross around wherever he goes. We doubt he will have anything to say about the confrontation, as he has more important things to report on.

Speaking of which, Lil Durk’s trial is starting unexpectedly slow, as both sides hoped to be through with jury selection very quickly. But some clear bias from a prospective juror threw a wrench into things. As such, we will have to wait for next week to see what the next updates and developments will be. Prosecutors accused him of arranging a hit on Quando Rondo that caused Rondo’s cousin’s death, allegations which he and his codefendants deny.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post Trap Lore Ross Gets Confronted Outside Lil Durk Trial: “Stop Doing The Police’s Job” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Allen Police Department’s actions led to him missing his scheduled slot at the Country Rising festival that day. Via social media, the festival announced the cancelation of BigX’s set and called its context a “personal emergency.”

According to Fox 4, the exact circumstances of his arrest and what led to it remains unclear. We will see if any more information about that emerges.

Elsewhere, KCCI reported that, according to fair officials, the Dallas MC is still slated to perform at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand show today (Saturday, August 22). “We are aware of reports regarding BigXthaPlug. We are in communication with his agent and at this time, we have been told he will still be performing,” they reportedly stated.

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

BigXthaPlug Arrest

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This follows BigXthaPlug’s previous legal trouble. This recent arrest was while he was out on bond for an arrest almost exactly a year ago on similar charges. BigX also faced an arrest in February of last year, but a court reportedly dismissed those charges. It’s unclear how this most recent arrest will play into the active 2025 case, if at all.

He spoke out about the legal scrutiny he faced, claiming prosecutors tried to stick other charges to him. BigXthaPlug’s other reflections on this situation indicate he and his legal team are confident they will emerge victorious in court.

However, this new arrest might complicate things moving forward. But there is still a lot of information fans don’t have about its circumstances. Hopefully that changes in the near future.

In the meantime, folks will just have to wait and see if the Iowa State Fair Grandstand performance pulls through. If not, BigX might be in deeper trouble.

Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post BigXthaPlug No-Shows Festival Slot Due To Arrest On Gun & Drug Charges appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

“I’m already with another b***h making a whole ‘nother family,” Blue expressed on his livestream, as caught by The Shade Room Teens on Instagram. “I can go find me another b***h and another kid. You stuck with them kids and you gon’ have to find a n***a that gon’ have to be stuck with you with them kids.

“That’s the problem with me and my first baby mama right now,” he continued. “She wants to control how I hang out with my kids. Me and her have always had an understanding. Don’t have your significant other around my kids, and I won’t have my significant other around your kids. Once you break that rule, now you got to bring the kids to me… If the b***h don’t want to do that, I guess your kids won’t have a father.”

Read More: What Happened To Ailea Brown? Inside The Missing Case & New Legal Developments

Jaidyn Alexis Blasts Blueface

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“I’m pissed, my blood is boiling,” Alexis responded. “Who should I start with first? The two prostitutes or the baby daddy? […] He needs to get that thong out of his f***ing a**crack that he be getting busted open by all these b***hes talking about me. Did this motherf***er go on this Internet and say my kids are replaceable? […] You better hope on your last day that you’re not talking about Javaughn and Journey… My kids will never be replaceable.

“You tried to replace them with that last baby. Look how that turned out…” she went on. “You’re a s**tty-a** person, you’re a disgusting-a** person. No n***a that’s getting knocked out on Hollywood Boulevard can talk to me… You’re a bum, you’re a loser, I don’t talk to n***as like you. What’s your issue? […] I’ll never be stuck with my kids… I don’t move like you. They’re not just something I do on the weekends… My life revolves around my kids. You’re not a good dad… You’re a s**tty-a** everything.”

The California MC already seems to have a new potential partner, as caught by The Neighborhood Talk on IG. Amid some other drama relating to Blueface’s other relationships, including his dynamic with Chrisean Rock, this saga is not getting any easier to navigate.

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Read More: Rapsody’s Growth As An Emcee, Told Through 10 Songs

The post Jaidyn Alexis Goes Off On Blueface For Disrespecting Their Kids After Newborn appeared first on HotNewHipHop.