Chance the Rapper attempted to grapple with this in his essay, “What To The 4th Of July Is Juneteenth?” This is an ode to Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”

In his open letter to the country, Chance spoke about his love for America and the potential the country has.

“I love you for what you could be, and what you mean to so many onlookers in the margins,” Chance wrote. “You represent an abundance of possibility, an overflow of opportunity and a wealth of unrivaled power. To many you are a Land of Oz, somewhere over a rainbow and down a golden road, you are paved and safe. To those who never met the wizard, these castle walls seem warm. But to us who know you, ones who’ve known you, you are cold and shadowy in many corners. These years have worn your copper green and distilled your hypocritical oaths to the lies they truly are. I still love you. A lie is beautiful when it dreams some fantastical reality.”

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Chance The Rapper Speaks

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Throughout the letter, Chance The Rapper acknowledged the pain so many people have gone through in this country. From slavery to Jim Crow to the actions of ICE and police officers, there is so much to fix about America. However, Chance sees this 250th birthday as the time for healing. A time to start working towards a better America that is equitable for all.

“Today marks the dawn of a new chapter in our love. This part, which shall be titled atonement, will serve as the commencement of freedom and conservation of relationship,” he concluded. “Your museums shall be filled with the artifacts of fact. The evidence of life and death will be observed by the masses of new citizens of its kingdom. The laws will carry the weight of righting wrongs, the schools will prepare their pupils for repair work. The nation is reborn on this day in a firestorm of love, the love felt in the responsibilities placed on new matriarchs and patriarchs when our predecessors die. We learn from mistakes and take up the grail with great honor for a spot freshly filled. We know there is much work to do and thusly, fireworks are revolution and songs are marching cadences. 

It is a beautifully written message that has the potential to resonate with so many.

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The post Chance The Rapper Issues Open Letter To America On Its 250th Birthday appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Now, Antetokounmpo will get to play with Bam Adebayo, where he will attempt to win his second NBA Championship. Meanwhile, there is now speculation that LeBron James might return to Miami. This would create a viable superteam that could take the NBA’s Eastern Conference by storm.

Recently, the Greek Freak was seen streaming with N3on. During this stream, a conversation was had about Drake and Kendrick Lamar. It was here that Giannis revealed how he feels about their beef. While he acknowledges Lamar won initially, he believes Drake has delivered a comeback for the ages. In Giannis’ mind, ICEMAN, MAID OF HONOUR, and HABIBTI are the catalysts for said comeback

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Sides With Drake

“I believe in the beginning you say Kendrick, but this three albums that he released if you listen to them, oh my goodness,” Giannis explained. Antetokounmpo probably isn’t the only person who feels this way. After all, Drake’s three new albums became a cultural moment, with all three charting in the top three spots on the Billboard 200.

For many others, three albums are simply not enough to take away everything Kendrick did to Drake back in 2024. If you remove GNX and ICEMAN from the equation and keep things completely confined to the battle, then it is pretty clear Lamar won. After all, Drake started suing, and for many in hip-hop, that is an automatic dealbreaker.

Regardless, Giannis is certainly entitled to his opinion. If there is one thing for certain, it is that he will be hearing plenty of ICEMAN songs down in Miami this summer.

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According to TMZ, the 21-year-old influencer was leaving a party when the vehicle she was in was shot. Police said that she was in a Lamborghini on Sunday morning, around 5:30 a.m., when gunfire erupted, and the car crashed a block away from the shooting. Three people who were in the car were struck by gunfire after a car pulled up to the driver’s side and began shooting. The three victims were reportedly taken to a hospital, where DreamDollBri was pronounced dead. It should be noted that police have not ID’d DreamDollBri as a victim, though the tributes and posts on social media from close friends and associates confirmed her passing.

“Certainly they targeted this particular car for some reason,” said Miramar Police Chief Delrish Moss. “We’re trying to figure out why.” At this point, police haven’t revealed who the suspect is, though TMZ suggests that authorities have an idea of who it might be.

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Who Is DreamDollBri?

DreamDollBri, born Brianna Johnson, was a content creator with an extensive following whose branding surrounded fashion, beauty, and traveling. She built a following on TikTok of 370,000 followers, and on Instagram, she had 85,000 followers. However, she garnered even more attention with the song “Bend Ova” which went viral on TikTok.

We will keep you posted on any further updates surrounding the investigation into DreamDollBri’s death.

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The post JT Mourns The Death Of DreamDollBri appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Most recently, SZA took to social media where she disclosed her autism diagnosis. “Finally took the time n got formally diagnosed .. Asperger’s / high functioning autism / smarter than u n****s so stop playing in my face cause pattern recognition told me and I WILL get to the bottom if it thanks,” she wrote. “Pretty sure this is why I’m taking Ai so personally btw lol. And also why I’m in every comment section.”

Accompanying the disclosure was the paperwork from her evaluation that detailed how she “presents with a history, patterning of scores, and behaviors on examination that are quite consistent with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

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“Solana has a qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interaction, as both self-reported and observed by this examiner. Her mother also noted these traits when Solana was a child, although they were not as evident,” the paperwork continues. “Solana also has marked sensory defensiveness. She is sensitive to feel of clothing, sound, taste, and touch. She has developed numerous admirable coping strategies for ‘passing’ when in social situations. This takes an enormous amount of energy for her and leaves her feeling quite anxious.”

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SZA Calls Out AI

One of the more recent examples of SZA calling out AI occurred in June when she slammed Suno and Diplo for having equity in the company. She already expressed disgust with how her music is being fed to AI software but this particular post detailed how Black creatives are getting exploited by AI. “We make up 13% of the American population yet influence the world w our sound and perspective. I AINT HEARD A WHITE AI SONG YET…We have no protection in legislature medical or creative. The easiest to steal from,” she wrote.

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This was around the same time that Powell was becoming a mainstay on DJ Akademiks’ live streams. Powell would go on the stream and talk about her exploits with various rappers and pop culture icons. At times, it was difficult to understand what was truthful and what was a lie. Ultimately, the fake pregnancy ruined her credibility.

Throughout the years, Powell has been able to maintain her relevance. A decade later, she is up to the same tricks. However, the participants are a bit more willing, as they know what kind of timing she is on.

Over the weekend, Powell went viral all over again, this time thanks to a video she posted online of comedian JackFunny. As you can see, the comedian is sleeping next to her, snoring up a storm.

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Celina Powell Strikes Again

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These are the kinds of videos that Celina Powell used to go viral for back in the day. Even to this day, this publicity tactic seems to be working in her favor.

Although given JackFunny’s status as an online comedian, we can’t help but feel as though he is probably in on the whole thing. After all, this makes for a pretty hilarious sketch. Not to mention, only a comedian would snore so loudly around someone like Celina Powell.

If there is ever an example of how pop culture is stuck in a perpetual state of “2016,” then look no further than Powell’s sustained popularity.

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The post Celina Powell Secretly Records JackFunny Sleeping And Posts It Online appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Most recently, Drake jumped on TikTok Live to surprise some of his die-hard supporters. While he’s clearly been rewarding those who never turned against him during hip-hop’s great civil war in 2024 with attention, his post-ICEMAN promo has seen him connecting with fans directly. In one clip spreading across social media, Drake expressed his appreciation for a fan named Abi who constantly shows him love online. “I just want to tell you thank you for always riding,” he told her. 

However, his online appearances didn’t end on TikTok. Somehow, someway, The Boy ended up in a Looksmaxxing showdown against someone on the Omoggle app, a video chat described as a “1v1 face-rating arena.” And while his opponent was clearly someone who was ecstatic to come face-to-face with one of his favorite artists, it turned out to be a tie. Drake, however, tried to spin it as a win for him.

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Drake Links Up With Ronaldo

It has been quite an active weekend for Drake outside of his online shenanigans. The rapper appeared at the Portugal vs. Croatia game and later met up with Cristiano Ronaldo. “@champagnepapi Nice to host us in your country bro,” Ronaldo shared on Instagram alongside a photo of the two together. Meanwhile, Drake shared a photo of them on his page, insisting that they’re the same height while revealing that he got a signed Ronaldo jersey for Adonis. 

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The post Drake Draws A Tie In Looksmaxxing Competition On “Omoggle” App appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Wack has always been one to dangle confidential information in front of the internet. When it comes to Charlamagne, Wack has been teasing a “bomb” of sorts. Presumably, information that could ruin Charlamagne and some of his business relationships.

During a recent appearance on No Jumper, Wack 100 began disseminating some of that alleged information. However, the source on these allegations is dubious at best.

In the clip below, Wack says he knows someone who knows Charlamagne. They claim that, in the past, Charlamagne attempted to sabotage DJ Envy during contract negotiations. The source alleges Charlamagne didn’t like how much Envy was making and was doing everything he could to make more.

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Wack 100 Talks The Breakfast Club

Wack 100 then says the source told him that he tried to get Envy and Angela Yee replaced. He subsequently went on to say that Envy was only rich because of a lawsuit, and that Charlamagne had been making more than him from the jump.

All of this information comes from a source that Wack refuses to name. In the clip, Wack also accuses Charlamagne of infringing upon his former bodyguard Wax, who tried to open a Butcher’s shop, but couldn’t.

These allegations are completely unverified, and in the comments section to the tweet above, most fans are calling this out as an alleged smear campaign. “Wack got called in for the Charlamagne slander campaign.. About to be a lot more of this for a few weeks,” one person wrote. “This is horse poop. DJ Envy bought Mary J Blige house. Because she owed back taxes and was going to/or lost it due to the tax issue and Envy came up and got it cheap,” said another.

Only time will tell whether or not Charlamagne responds.

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The post Wack 100 Accuses Charlamagne Tha God Of Trying To Sabotage DJ Envy appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

During the episode, the two spoke about LeBron James’ decision to leave Los Angeles. The NBA legend will not be retiring with the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, he will be going somewhere else, presumably for one or two more seasons.

While some Lakers fans are upset, Adam22 is taking a different approach. He wants James out of the city as fast as possible. Why? Because the NBA star dared to show up at the “Pop Out” to support Kendrick Lamar back on Juneteenth in 2024.

For Adam, this is a problem because it came at the expense of LeBron’s former friend, Drake. He thinks LeBron is a snake and that Los Angeles as a whole is better without him.

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Adam22 Is Happy LeBron Is Gone

Wack 100 attempted to defend LeBron here, but Adam kept going, as he even used the R-word against LeBron. Subsequently, he said that the NBA star was “shucking and jiving” for Kendrick. Ultimately, this can easily be construed as offensive language, and perhaps an example of Adam getting just a bit too comfortable with his words.

Drake hasn’t exactly forgiven LeBron for his 2024 exploits. While LeBron has tried to give Drake his flowers, there has been little to no reciprocation on social media.

As for Adam22, we doubt he was going to watch the Los Angeles Lakers, regardless of whether or not LeBron was on the team. In July, everyone becomes a sports pundit.

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Rivera had remained rather quiet about the situation since the performance, but on the weekend, he finally broke his silence. In an open letter shared on Instagram, he expressed praise for Jay-Z’s evolution, his contributions to the culture, and the inspiration that he gave many across America. The letter also cited that Jay showed the possibilities of healing, learning, ownership, and self-awareness.

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The letter largely centered around Jay’s positive contributions and emphasizing his positive contributions. However, in a later interview with The Art Of Dialogue, he expressed the frustration that he had with the freestyle.

“I thought it was not one of the best bars that he’s had,” Rivera said. “I think what people need to understand is that most of Jay-Z’s intentions are purely based on marketing rollouts. I was part of the rollout for the products that are going out right now in the streets. So, I fell victim to that.”

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Lance “Un” Rivera Doesn’t Want To Be Part Of A Rollout

The main grievances that Lance “Un” Rivera had centered around how he’s constantly mentioned when Jay’s either trying to push a new product or trying to reinforce his reputation. That, in particular, became even more upsetting in contrast to Jay’s message about healing from trauma.

“If you want to send the message to your brand and your partnerships that you’re dangerous… using me as an example of how dangerous you are just to sell products, then that’s up to him,” Rivera said. “I’m not against him making money… find another way to make you a tough guy, a bad guy. Stop using me to do it. Unless you’re going to pay me, send me a check. I’ll be a part of your marketing strategy.”

Check the clip above and sound off with your thoughts in the comments below. 

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The post Lance “Un” Rivera Issues Open Letter Response To Jay-Z’s Roots Picnic Freestyle appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Release Date: July 6, 2026

Genre: Hip-Hop

Tracklist for HARD TO REACH

1. VM1
2. Back Where I Started
3. Back Where I Started VM
4. God Work
5. Where Lute At Skit
6. Where’s Da Music
7. VM4
8. Journey of Me
9. Hard Work VM
10. Authentic
11. VM6
12. Ballad of Westside Scoop

The post HARD TO REACH – Album by Lute appeared first on HotNewHipHop.