Nike Basketball invited a group of creators and basketball figures to its Beaverton campus. Each guest got a chance to test the LeBron 24 before its launch. Some also took home a pair.

Overall, the look is simple. Black covers the entire shoe, which is common for weartest pairs. It does not preview any retail colorway. The details are still interesting. The upper uses a new material called KingKnit, made from three layers of Flyknit. Nike calls it the lightest LeBron yet.

The shoe also sits lower than recent LeBron models. Underneath, there is a ReactX midsole with Zoom Turbo and Zoom Air units. That is a big tech package for a shoe that is supposed to feel lighter. Of course, this pair will not come out. Samples like this are used for testing, and Nike keeps them small. The invite-only setup makes this one extra rare.

If one ever reaches the resale market, expect a very high price. Fans love anything tied to LeBron’s signature line.

Read More: Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals Jersey Sets New Record

Nike LeBron 24 “Black”

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The LeBron 24 is a big moment for LeBron and Nike. It is his 24th signature shoe, and it arrives as he starts a new chapter with the 76ers.

We have already seen retail pairs. LeBron debuted the Nike LeBron 24 “Greater China” at the Sixers’ open scrimmage earlier this month. It is a cream-colored pair with cloud embroidery and red laces.

That pair is much louder than this sample. Together, they show how wide the LeBron 24 lineup could be. Nike is balancing bold regional designs with simple performance looks.

Weartest samples also show how much feedback Nike gathers. Creators, athletes, and testers all play a role. By the time a retail pair hits shelves, it has been through a lot.

For now, the all-black sample remains a collector’s dream. Overall keep watching for more LeBron news.

Read More: Jay-Z Reflects On Feeling Betrayed By Irv Gotti

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Hunt Auctions announced the deal on Monday. It was a private sale, which means the buyer and seller negotiated the price directly.

The jersey is the red Bulls road uniform from Game 2 of the Finals against the Utah Jazz. Jordan wore it on June 5, 1998, in Salt Lake City. He also signed it.

That night also mattered and it was when the Bulls had lost Game 1, and Jordan scored 37 points to even the series. Chicago won the game 93 to 88.

The jersey was also photo-matched to the game by MeiGray and SIA PhotoMatch. That kind of proof is huge for collectors. The buyer is collector Ron Firman of Rye, New York. In a statement, he said he is very excited about the purchase.

The price sets a new record for basketball memorabilia. Among game-worn jerseys from any sport, it ranks second. Only Babe Ruth’s “called shot” jersey sold for more, at $24 million in 2024.

Overall, it is a huge number. Jordan jerseys from the 1998 Finals are considered some of the rarest pieces in the hobby.

Read More: Jay-Z Reflects On Feeling Betrayed By Irv Gotti

Michael Jordan’s Game-Worn Jersey

This is not the first time a 1998 Finals jersey has made headlines. A Game 1 jersey sold for $10.1 million at Sotheby’s in 2022. At the time, that was a record for any game-worn item in sports.

A Game 3 home jersey later pushed the basketball record to $12.26 million. Now Game 2 has topped them both.

The market for Jordan items keeps climbing. His earliest known game-worn sneakers sold for $1.5 million at Sotheby’s in 2021, which was a record for kicks at the time.

As for the shoes from that Finals, Jordan closed out the series in the Air Jordan 14. It became the last shoe he wore as a Bull. That is a big reason the model still has such a strong legacy. It is a sign of how much value this era carries. Fans still love The Last Dance, and collectors keep paying historic prices.

Read More: Summer Walker “Disappointed” By Interscope’s $50 Million Lawsuit

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“Irv, who was like my DJ in London, like, it was early, early days. I’ve done everything for Irv,” Jay recalled during Chapter 7 of the HBO series. According to his version of events, trouble started when one of Gotti’s artists began “talking crazy” about him, and Gotti let it happen. The situation worsened when the Murder Inc. founder entertained signing Nas while Jay and Nas were in the middle of their famous feud.

Jay admitted that his own response crossed the same line he felt Gotti had already crossed. At the height of Murder Inc.’s issues with 50 Cent, he appeared with Fif in a 2003 Reebok commercial promoting their respective sneaker lines. “That’s betrayal because that’s his rival,” he said. “But in my estimation, I’m justified in it, ’cause I put him in a certain box already.”

That justification did not stop him from recognizing the behavior for what it was. Jay explained that once he feels someone has changed the terms of a relationship, his loyalty to them changes with it. “You already showed your hand and you already done moves to take you out of the space of a person that I have to have loyalty and integrity to,” he said. “But it’s still betrayal.”

Read More: Jay-Z Sits Front Row As Ja Rule Delivers Emotional Speech At Irv Gotti’s Funeral

Irv Gotti Had Already Admitted The Nas Situation Hurt Their Friendship

Years before Jay revisited the fallout with Rubin, Gotti publicly acknowledged that trying to sign Nas was one of his biggest regrets. During a 2017 appearance on Drink Champs, he said his ambition got ahead of his loyalty to Jay, whom he had known since the late 1980s. “I should have thought of my brother Jay,” Gotti said, calling the move “one of the biggest regrets of my life”.

The two never completely severed ties. Jay told Rubin that he later stepped into a meeting to help Gotti secure a deal with BET, even after their friendship had changed. Now, in Hov’s telling, the relationship became one where affection remained, but access had limits.

Read More: Jay-Z Marvels At How Irv Gotti Brings Out The Best In His Artists

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“While we are disappointed that Interscope has chosen to pursue litigation, we are confident in Summer’s legal position and her right to challenge the continued enforceability of her recording contract with Interscope,” attorney Keith Moten told Billboard. He said Walker plans to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit while pursuing legal relief of her own.

The dispute traces back to August, when Walker notified Interscope that she was terminating the agreement under California’s seven-year rule. She originally signed with Interscope and LVRN in 2017, beginning a run that produced Over It, Still Over It and Finally Over It.

Interscope says those three albums satisfy only part of Walker’s contractual commitment. The label claims she agreed to deliver five studio albums and still owes two more, along with an EP. According to Rolling Stone, releases including Last Day of Summer and CLEAR were classified as pre-album projects rather than part of the five-album requirement.

Read More: Summer Walker Hit With $50 Million Lawsuit From Interscope & UMG

Summer Walker Is Still Open To A Deal

California law generally limits personal-services contracts to seven years, but recording agreements occupy a more complicated corner of that rule. A 1987 amendment allows record companies to seek damages when artists end agreements before delivering the number of recordings promised under contract.

That provision is central to Interscope’s case. Rather than simply asking a court to keep Walker signed indefinitely, the company is seeking damages tied to the albums and EP it says remain undelivered. Its complaint values those missing projects at more than $50 million. Meanwhile, Walker’s camp is preparing to challenge that calculation and the agreement’s continued enforceability. Moten also left room for the dispute to end somewhere other than trial. “The parties’ discussions have remained professional, and Summer remains open to a constructive resolution,” he said.

Interscope has offered a similar explanation for taking the disagreement to court, telling Billboard that it filed to preserve its legal rights before a statutory deadline while negotiations remained active. Her team has also indicated that a countersuit could follow, giving both sides another reason to keep talking before the disagreement gets any more expensive.

Read More: Summer Walker Secures Year’s Biggest Debut For A Female R&B Artist With ‘Finally Over It’

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The title fits easily within Gucci’s larger story, though he has spent the last several years looking at that history with more distance than his earlier records allowed. His 2025 album Episodes arrived alongside a memoir of the same name, with both projects digging into his experiences with mental illness and addiction. The 23-track album featured appearances from OJ da Juiceman and Sexyy Red, while Gucci used much of the project to revisit periods of his life that headlines or mythology had previously reduced.

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Read More: Gucci Mane Reveals Drake Has Forgiven Him For Calling Him A “Sissy”

Gucci Mane Has Kept His Release Schedule Moving

Against All Odds also extends a productive stretch that has kept Gucci from settling into legacy-act territory. Before Episodes, he reunited with DJ Drama for 2024’s Greatest Of All Trappers (Gangsta Grillz Edition), returning to the mixtape format that helped establish both men during Atlanta’s mid-2000s run.

That pace has always been part of Gucci’s identity, but his more recent releases have carried a different relationship with his past. Episodes was deliberately reflective, pairing new music with a book that gave context to moments fans had known mostly through court cases and tabloid coverage. Against All Odds arrives without that elaborate framework, at least so far, putting the focus back on a new body of music and whatever version of Gucci shows up when it lands Friday.

The timing also keeps him close to a date that has become part of his personal branding. Gucci released Episodes on Oct. 17, 2025, continuing his longtime attachment to 10/17 through his label and catalog.

Read More: Pooh Shiesty & GloRilla’s Upcoming Song Leads To Gucci Mane Debate

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“New album called THank Que coming out next year,” Q told the crowd. “I promise you that.” He followed up with another commitment. “Ten-year anniversary, and I’mma be around for the 20th, too. I promise that. I will never retire.”

The 2027 window gives fans more than they had when Q first revealed the project over the summer. In July, he said he was finishing the 12-song album after working on it “for a minute,” but did not attach a release year. THank Que will follow 2024’s Blue Lips, which ended a five-year gap between his studio albums.

Read More: ScHoolboy Q Announces New Album

ScHoolboy Q Is Giving ‘Blank Face LP’ Its Victory Lap

Before the next era begins, Q is spending October with one of the records that helped define his catalog. Blank Face LP arrived in 2016 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, later earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. “THat Part,” featuring Ye, was also nominated for Best Rap Performance.

The 10-city anniversary tour began Oct. 1 in Atlanta and included a second Los Angeles show after the first sold out. Q performs at The Novo on Oct. 12 before continuing to Phoenix and Oakland, with the run closing Oct. 17 in Las Vegas.

That anniversary appears to have put Q in a reflective mood without turning THank Que into some kind of farewell statement. If anything, his comments suggest the opposite. A decade after Blank Face LP, he is already talking about being there when the album turns 20.

Read More: ScHoolboy Q Breaks His Silence Amid Ozempic Rumors

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“In the interest of fairness, accuracy and decency,” Smith said as he opened his correction. Earlier, he claimed Taylor walked away from the divorce with $25 million in cash, plus roughly $10 million in property and luxury assets, while Shumpert was left with about $2 million and nowhere to live. Smith now says those figures were inaccurate after speaking directly with Taylor. “Those statements were inaccurate, and I want to sincerely apologize to both Iman Shumpert and Teyana Taylor.”

The correction did not stop with the finances. Smith also acknowledged that statements presented during the episode as direct quotes from Shumpert were not actually his words. He said the material had circulated through media reports and social posts before reaching his program, but accepted responsibility for repeating it without properly verifying what was true.

Read More: Iman Shumpert Breaks His Silence On How He Really Feels About Teyana Taylor Following Their Divorce

The Problem Was Bigger Than A Bad Settlement Number

Taylor and Shumpert finalized their divorce in 2024 after she filed privately the previous year. Much of the case remained sealed, but purported settlement details have still circulated online. Taylor has challenged some of those reports before, including claims about what she received in the divorce. People previously reported that the court determined the final judgment and that the settlement details remained private.

Smith’s correction comes after the disputed figures had already spread far beyond his show. Removing the episode addresses where the claims were amplified, but his apology also puts something else on record that Taylor has been saying for some time. The public version of her divorce settlement was never necessarily the real one.

Read More: Teyana Taylor & Iman Shumpert Finally Agree To Multi-Million Divorce Settlement

The post Stephen A. Smith Walks Back False Teyana Taylor And Iman Shumpert Divorce Details appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

According to NFR Podcast, BULLY (DELUXE) was submitted for Best Rap Album and Album of the Year, along with Best Album Cover and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. “FATHER,” his collaboration with Travis Scott, received an even wider push with entries for Best Rap Song, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year.

The remaining submissions move outside a strictly Rap lineup. “I CAN’T WAIT,” featuring Ms. Lauryn Hill, was entered for Best Melodic Rap Performance, while “ALL THE LOVE” with André Troutman is up for consideration in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. “KING,” the opening track from BULLY, was submitted for Best Rap Performance.

Those entries do not automatically make Ye a nominee. The Recording Academy screens submissions for eligibility and category placement before voters determine the nominees. First-round voting runs from Oct. 12 through Oct. 22, with nominations scheduled to be announced Nov. 16.

Read More: Pharrell Seemingly Clowns Kanye West For Peeing On His Grammy

Ye Is Taking Another Shot At The Grammys’ Biggest Categories

Released in March and expanded into a deluxe edition in June, BULLY brought Ye back to a traditional album rollout after years of unconventional releases and shifting versions of his music. The deluxe edition includes Travis Scott on “FATHER,” Ms. Lauryn Hill on “I CAN’T WAIT,” and André Troutman on “ALL THE LOVE,” giving several of the project’s collaborations their own paths into Grammy consideration.

The Album of the Year submission carries a longer history. Ye has collected 24 Grammy wins from 76 nominations, but the general-field prize has remained out of reach. The College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, and Donda have all competed for Album of the Year without winning. This year’s ballot gives him another chance to move beyond the categories where he’s won most of his Grammy awards.

Read More: Hip Hop Snubs Have Always Been Grammy Culture

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Release Date: October 10, 2026

Genre: Hip-Hop

Tracklist Of Berner’s Sitting Bull

1. Stack
2. Cliental ft. Cozmo
3. Politicians ft. Mando
4. Still Standing
5. Go Phone ft. Brill 4 The Thrill
6. Night Shift ft. Chevy Woods
7. Bag ft. Messy Marv & Godholly
8. Keys ft. Brill 4 The Thrill
9. Boast ft. Stella Standingbear & Yung Chowder
10. Nothin’

The post Sitting Bull – Mixtape by Berner appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

That physical release gives No Ceilings another life after years of being complicated by the very thing that made it a quintessential mixtape. Wayne originally spent the 2009 project taking other artists’ records apart and rebuilding them around his own bars, rapping over songs by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Gucci Mane, among others. That format’s freedom helped make the tape beloved, but it also made bringing the entire project into the commercial streaming era difficult.

Read More: Lil Wayne Speaks On Whether He’ll Drop A “No Ceilings” Tape Again

“No Ceilings” Has Already Survived One Major Reissue

When No Ceilings finally hit streaming services in 2020, fans didn’t get the full mixtape they remembered. The original 21-track release was reduced to 12 songs, with several freestyles left behind. Clearing the music proved especially complicated because so much of the project relied on existing instrumentals. Wayne’s manager, Mack Maine, later described clearing the tape as a “frigging nightmare,” explaining that the cost and ownership negotiations made restoring Wayne’s mixtape catalog to streaming unusually difficult. Even so, the shortened No Ceilings release introduced the project to listeners who had missed the era when finding a Wayne tape meant heading somewhere other than Spotify.

Moreover, the title grew into its own franchise. Wayne followed with No Ceilings 2 in 2015, then revived the series in 2020 with No Ceilings 3. At the time, he told Complex that the mixtape format had played such an important role in his career that he wanted to help bring the art back.

For collectors, the real pressure point is scarcity. Record Store Day Black Friday releases ship through participating independent record stores, and with only 5,000 copies pressed, No Ceilings will likely be one of the harder Wayne releases to stumble across casually after Nov. 27.

Read More: It’s About Time Lil Wayne Retires “Tha Carter” Series

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