Most importantly, however, he just seems like a solid person. You never hear negative things about him in the media. In fact, most of the criticism surrounding Cole is that he is too nice. Just look at the backlash to his Kendrick Lamar apology to see exactly what we mean.

A while back, Cole went on a media tour of sorts, and it was here that Cole revealed the truth about a recent incident involving LeBron James. LeBron had been carrying a vinyl record for The Fall-Off, and some felt as though it was performative. The truth of the matter was that LeBron was bringing the album to his game so that Cole could sign it.

Former NFL star Ryan Clark saw this story and spoke about it on The Pivot podcast. As you will hear, Clark felt as though Cole’s admission restored his faith in people. LeBron is a hated individual in certain corners of the internet, but Cole came to his defense, which Clark loved to see.

Read More: Vince Staples, “Cry Baby,” & The Expectations We Place On Rappers

Ryan Clark Respects J. Cole

“J. Cole has been talking recently & I couldn’t be more of a fan… He didn’t have to clarify the Bron story cause people love to hate Bron period,” Clark explained. “Watching [The way] Cole moves gives me faith in who people can be.”

It’s an interesting perspective, and one that some fans can resonate with. Ultimately, it is just further proof that Cole doesn’t care for the internet narratives. All he cares about is the truth.

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The post J. Cole Receives Major Props From Former NFL Star Ryan Clark appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Per court filings submitted on Friday, Mystikal, born Michael Lawrence Tyler, made a request to rescind his plea agreement from March. In the agreement, he admitted guilt to a reduced charge of third-degree rape after prosecutors presented more serious charges that included first-degree rape and false imprisonment. Those charges were dropped as part of a negotiated deal, and the agreement included a 20-year prison sentence cap.

Mystikal’s attorneys argue that the plea was entered without sufficient time to consider its consequences. The filing states he was under significant emotional strain at the time and did not fully understand the long-term implications of accepting the agreement. The defense is asking the court to find that these circumstances affected his ability to make a fully informed decision.

Read More: Vince Staples, “Cry Baby,” & The Expectations We Place On Rappers

The 2022 Allegations Against Mystikal

The underlying case stems from allegations made in 2022 involving an incident at Mystikal’s residence in Prairieville, Louisiana. According to statements referenced in an arrest warrant and reported by local outlet WBRZ, the woman involved told investigators she was accused by Tyler of taking money before being assaulted.

Authorities allege the woman reported being punched, choked, and having portions of her braided hair pulled out during the encounter. She also said her phone and keys were taken and prevented her from leaving the property.

We will keep you posted on any further updates surrounding the case.

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The post Mystikal Tries To Withdraw Guilty Plea In Rape Case appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The lack of hip-hop representation has certainly been a problem since the inception of the rap categories. Fans have been upset with past winners, exclusions, and even some of the nominees. Having said that, it does appear as though the GRAMMYs are improving their reputation, little by little.

Meanwhile, going into 2027, it would appear as though the GRAMMYs are interested in expanding the number of categories. In fact, according to Pop Base, The GRAMMYs will have five new categories next year. These categories will encompass genres like pop, Asian pop, Latin music, R&B, and even Folk.

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The GRAMMYs Make Some Additions

The New Categories:

• Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
• Best Latin Song
• Best Asian Pop Music Performance
• Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance
• Best Traditional Folk Album

These five categories are certainly interesting, especially when you consider how three of them are in the performance category. Meanwhile, the folk crowd will be happy to get a category dedicated to traditional Folk albums, which is a genre we imagine oftentimes gets overlooked.

If you were hoping for new categories centered around hip-hop, you are going to be disappointed with these latest updates. Having said that, this is still a good foundation to build off of for future years.

Whether or not the GRAMMYs continue to introduce new categories in 2028 and beyond, still very much remains to be seen.

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The post The GRAMMYs Unveil Five New Categories For 2027 appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Co-owner Chef Alex Retodo said that the thieves broke in twice on Sunday morning. The culprits reportedly stole a laptop and a kitchen blender, along with other items intended to help screen the games.

Retodo shared security footage of the culprits breaking into the restaurant on Instagram, where he asked followers for help identifying them.

“We won’t lie—this one hurts,” Retodo wrote. “Incidents like this make us think twice. When people steal from a small business, they’re not just taking equipment—they’re taking from the employees, the customers, the community events, and the dreams behind it all.” 

He said it couldn’t have come at a “worse time.” Moreover, the equipment that was robbed could also impact their future events. 

“My partner called me on his jet and said, ‘Hey, what happened?’ He’s like, ‘I saw the news.’ I said, ‘E-40, we are going to be OK,’” Retodo told KRON. “We wanted to open with a bang today, playing the [World Cup] games, but we had to turn customers away. We had a party outside; made it happen, but it wasn’t the same.”

Read More: Vince Staples, “Cry Baby,” & The Expectations We Place On Rappers

Restaurant Robbery Comes Before FIFA’s Arrival To Bay Area

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As one of the locations for the World Cup 2026, Retodo said that their restaurant will host watch parties in the future, though they’re still figuring out logistics after the robbery occurred. We’ll keep you posted on any further updates.

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The post E-40’s Restaurant Burglarized Twice In One Day Ahead Of Bay Area World Cup Matches appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Part of this Conservative rebranding includes a spiritual shift. During an episode of The Bryce Crawford Podcast, Minaj spoke at length about what she went through in the music industry and the content in her old songs.

Nicki believes her music was responsible for leading young people down the wrong path. Whether that be through materialism or hypersexuality. Furthermore, Minaj says rap music isn’t leading people down a path of God. In her view, the music is oftentimes demonic. If she were allowed to go back and change her old lyrics, she would do so in a heartbeat.

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Nicki Minaj Speaks Out Against Her Old Lyrics

It’s certainly jarring to hear Nicki Minaj talk like this. Ultimately, it feels as though her opinions on rap music have come straight from Fox News. This is the kind of thing you would hear in some sort of PSA or moral panic essay.

Artistic expression has been debated across all genres for decades. To suggest that lyrics are leading the youth down the wrong path is akin to saying video games are doing the same thing. At the end of the day, this kind of rhetoric serves a Conservative agenda that has railed against hip-hop for decades. Nicki’s foray into this discourse will disappoint a lot of people.

That said, now that Nicki is out here wishing Trump a Happy Birthday, none of this is particularly surprising. It’s just not something anyone would have expected 10 years ago.

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The post Nicki Minaj Admits She Regrets Some Of Her Old Lyrics appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The rapper explained how she wasn’t entirely sure if it was an entire organization trying to bring her down, claiming that it’s largely come from individuals, not collective entities belonging to a much larger group. “I never looked at it as if it was like an entire secret society against me. But who knows, you know? It could be,” Minaj added. “Now, what they call themselves and what they proclaim to be? Only they could tell you that. But has it been a spiritual warfare? Absolutely.”

The conversation eventually drifted toward her perception of the music industry and some of the more cut-throat approaches behind the scenes. 

“I started realizing that if you don’t get money with one person or a specific people, they don’t want you to get money at all. And that’s when I started realizing like, ‘Oh my gosh. What did I sign up for?’ because I didn’t know that these people would be so territorial over people that they don’t even know [and] that they don’t have any claims to,” she added.

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Nicki Minaj Describes Spiritual Warfare

The Pink Friday MC elaborated on the spiritual warfare aspect, claiming that the lack of knowledge was weaponized against her. 

“​​It was like constant spiritual warfare,” she said. “I wish I would have known sooner that this music industry was such a spiritual experience because I felt like I bought a knife to a gunfight without having that information. I feel like I was ill-equipped for what was ahead and no one had given me a heads up, and I had to figure it out when I got there.”

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The post Nicki Minaj Doesn’t Deny That The Illuminati Exists appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

There have been a few clues that suggested new music is on the way. But when one Instagram page teased the possibility of a “new era,” one that would involve Tyler leaning deeper into the jazz influences, the rapper quickly shut down that idea. “not at all lol and do not get stuck on this idea please,” he wrote.

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Part of the reason people thought that a new album could be on the way surrounds the minor change in his Instagram bio. As Complex pointed out, his bio now reads, “Satchmo, Sag Harbor,” which seemingly references the nickname for Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) and Sag Harbor in New York, a village that became a sanctuary during the Jim Crow era. 

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Tyler The Creator Gears Up For Camp Flog Gnaw

Although it’s unclear if new music will drop this year, fans should be excited that Camp Flog Gnaw will make its return this year. On November 14th and 15th, Tyler’s annual festival will take place in Los Angeles. As usual, the line-up hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but considering how much care he typically puts into the whole festival, it shouldn’t disappoint.

We will keep you posted on any more updates surrounding Tyler, The Creator. Hopefully, we’ll get some new music in the future that follows up on his last two albums, Chromakopia and Don’t Tap The Glass. Check out his comments above and let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

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The post Tyler The Creator Denies Plans To Release A Jazz Album appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

KD and Drake have been good friends for years, so it should come as no surprise that the two would link up. In the clip below, you will see that Drake is promoting the latest Nike KD 19 colorway. This shoe is called “Purple Candies” thanks to its monochromatic purple color scheme.

At one point in the advertisement, Drake takes a hilarious swipe at Anthony Edwards and Adidas. The Canadian megastar suggests Edwards’ all-purple shoe pales in comparison. He also jokes that only kids in Minnesota care about the Adidas Anthony Edwards signature.

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Drake x Kevin Durant

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Drake’s entire demeanor throughout the video is hilarious. Meanwhile, KD acts bewildered by Drake’s presence in his home. It makes for a lighthearted and funny promotional video that showcases Nike’s willingness to take a few risks.

With Drizzy backing this new shoe, there is a very good chance it becomes an even bigger success. Although there is no denying that the Nike KD 19 is already one of the biggest and best signature shoes of the year.

Where To Cop The Nike KD 19 “Purple Candies”

If you are interested in copping a pair of Nike KD 19 “Purple Candies,” you can do so as of Wednesday, June 17th. The shoe will be available over at Nike.com as well as the Nike SNKRS App.

Be sure to let us know how you feel about these kicks, in the comments below.

Read More: Vince Staples, “Cry Baby,” & The Expectations We Place On Rappers

The post Drake Clowns Anthony Edwards In Hilarious Promo Video For The Nike KD 19 “Purple Candies” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Now, Staples is looking to take this new album on the road. Just moments ago, he announced the Cry Baby tour, which will take him across the United States between October 19th and November 15th.

During this month-long tour, Staples will make stops in places like Atlanta, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Toronto, as well as various other big cities that can be found below.

Read More: Vince Staples, “Cry Baby,” & The Expectations We Place On Rappers

Vince Staples Goes On Tour

Tour Dates:

• Oct. 19, 2026 – Atlanta, GA -Tabernacle
• Oct. 21, 2026 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
• Oct. 22, 2026 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
• Oct. 23, 2026 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
• Oct. 25, 2026 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
• Oct. 27, 2026 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
• Oct. 29, 2026 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
• Oct. 30, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
• Nov. 1, 2026 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
• Nov. 4, 2026 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
• Nov. 6, 2026 – McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre Presented by Citizens
• Nov. 7, 2026 – Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre
• Nov. 8, 2026 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
• Nov. 11, 2026 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
• Nov. 13, 2026 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
• Nov. 15, 2026 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield

How To Cop Tickets

Pre-sale for Cry Baby tour tickets will take place starting Wednesday, June 17, at 10 AM EST, according to bandsintown.com. The general ticket sale will begin on Friday, June 19, at 10 AM EST. You can check out Vince Staples’ website for updates.

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The post Vince Staples Announces “Cry Baby” Tour: How To Cop Tickets appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

While Skies still drops music from time to time, there is no denying that his popularity isn’t where it once was. This issue is not unique to Lil Skies. In fact, the vast majority of his contemporaries from this time period are going through the same thing.

During an interview with Basement Talk, Skies admitted that times were tough just a couple of years ago. So much so that he decided to apply for a job at Dollar General. He felt zero shame doing so, although in the end, he was able to continue his career without having to take on a retail job.

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Lil Skies Admits It Hasn’t Been Easy

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What ultimately saved him was his back catalog, which is still enjoyed to this day. As Skies explains, there is a high demand for him to perform. Fans in Florida have been begging him to perform, and he has plans to head over there soon.

While the festival circuit doesn’t pay as much as it used to, Skies notes that he has good connections in the industry. These connections can help him sell out a show on a whim. It just goes to show that good music lasts forever.

More than ever before, fans are using nostalgia as a form of escapism from the horrors of contemporary life. That said, it should come as no surprise that Skies’ success from 2017 would translate over to today.

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The post Lil Skies Reveals He Applied To Dollar General Amid Career Struggles appeared first on HotNewHipHop.