In the months that followed, Rashad addressed the situation during performances and interviews, expressing gratitude for the support he received while acknowledging the emotional toll of having intimate moments exposed without his permission. While Rashad has spoken candidly about the experience, he has largely resisted allowing the leak to define either his identity or his music career. In a recent interview, he spoke candidly about not receiving the same treatment as Frank Ocean after coming out as sexually fluid.

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Isaiah Rashad Recalls Darker Days

The rapper-singer caught up with Dominic Fike for Pigeons and Planes, where they had an honest discussion about Rashad’s acceptance in the industry. “On the last rollout, sh*t, I was acting like I was past all my demons, and sh*t,” he said of his time in 2021. “I was f*cked up the week before. I’m not proud of that sh*t.” Rashad added that he felt as if he was the “poster child for recovery” after having to go through his journey publicly.

Later, Rashad also referred to himself as the “Black bi rapper,” adding that “it doesn’t come with any of the perks I thought it would come with. There are no Frank Ocean perks.” Back in 2012, Ocean penned an open letter he published to Tumblr, revealing that his first love had been a man. The post arrived just before the release of his critically acclaimed debut album, Channel Orange, and was widely viewed as a significant moment in Hip Hop.

Check out Isaiah Rashad below.

The post Isaiah Rashad Says He Doesn’t Get “Frank Ocean Perks” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

By the time Tha Carter III arrived, Wayne had already reshaped rap music in real time. Leaks became unofficial mixtapes, freestyles became catalog staples. He flooded the internet with music at a pace that felt impossible while somehow making his commercial appeal even stronger. With that in mind, No Ceilings felt less like a mixtape than a victory lap.

But not everything needs to continue for posterity’s sake. The Carter documented a defining moment in Wayne’s evolution as an artist. Tha Carter and Tha Carter II carried the hunger of someone trying to ascend into rap royalty. Tha Carter III confirmed he made it. Even Tha Carter IV worked as a welcome-back victory after prison. But everything afterward feels increasingly defined by lore rather than legacy. Tha Carter V became weighed down by years of anticipation while Tha Carter VI already feels like a forgotten installment in one of rap’s most important album series.

Unfortunately, it might be that time that Lil Wayne retires Tha Carter. During a recent interview with Barstool Sports, Wayne teased new music, including Tha Carter VII, but the most revealing part wasn’t the announcement itself. It was the fact that Wayne openly admitted he’s barely involved in shaping these albums at all.

“Tha Carter VII is coming soon. I’m not sure if we going to just name my next album Tha Carter VII,” he said. “What they do is, they grab a bunch of songs and they put a title on ‘em, like, ‘This is Carter VII.’”

And that’s the problem in a nutshell. What once felt like milestones in Wayne’s artistic progression now feels like branding applied to loose collections of songs. Tha Carter used to document evolution. Now it exists to preserve a legacy that already cemented itself over a decade ago.

And the disconnect becomes even more glaring when you revisit the original documentary. The Wayne captured there was obsessed with greatness. Every verse sounded like it carried stakes. He wanted to surpass his idols like Jay-Z, and by the time Hov appeared on “Mr. Carter,” Wayne had already accomplished it. That record felt like validation after years of proving he was the best rapper alive every single time he touched a beat.

That conviction no longer exists consistently in the music. If Wayne isn’t rapping with the same hunger he had on “Sky’s The Limit” or other classics–album or mixtape cuts–from that era, then what’s the point of continuing the series under the same umbrella? The technical skill is still there, but the purpose isn’t. And without purpose, Tha Carter stops feeling essential.

Still, the stagnancy surrounding Wayne’s music isn’t entirely his fault. The machine behind him changed. He’s no longer operating under Cash Money, the same system that helped turn his artistic chaos into cultural dominance and then brought his career to a halt. More importantly, he appears to have a whole new team behind him in his post-Cash Money era, one that doesn’t seem nearly as invested in the sequencing and creative structure as those who propped him up.  The difference between the first five Carter albums and the latest installment makes that painfully obvious.

That lack of direction has bled into the rest of his recent output, too. Nobody really asked for a collaborative album with Rich The Kid, and the final product confirmed why. Even Welcome 2 Collegrove felt less like inspired chemistry and more like Wayne playing mentor to 2 Chainz’s younger artist arc. These projects sound assembled rather than envisioned, consisting of random songs and verses packaged together without cohesion. Tha Carter VI suffered from the same issue, except this time there wasn’t enough anticipation left to disguise it.

What once added to Wayne’s mythology has now become part of the problem. The endless recording, the mountains of unused verses, and the nonstop output no longer feel superhuman. Unfortunately, it feels more mechanical than anything else.

His 2024 feature run sparked inevitable comparisons to the run he had throughout the 2000s, but that era can’t be recreated because the quantity lacked the hunger. Even moments that should’ve felt monumental, like his appearance on “God Did,” landed more as acknowledgements of his influence than reminders of his greatness as a rapper right now.

And yet flashes still appear. His collaborations with Tyler, The Creator feel like some of the few moments where Wayne sounds genuinely challenged again. “Hot Wind Blows” tapped directly into the spirit of Tha Carter II-era Wayne without sounding like cosplay. Tyler gave Wayne direction, structure, and a world to exist inside of. The same thing happens whenever Mannie Fresh fully locks back in with him. “Mahogany” felt alive in a way much of Wayne’s recent material doesn’t.

That’s why another Carter album only makes sense if it actually demands something new from him. Can Wayne make an album that reflects who he is now rather than endlessly recreating who he used to be? Not necessarily a 4:44-style confessional record, but something with actual intimacy and maturity behind it. Because at this stage, technical ability alone won’t save the music. Eventually, the content has to evolve, too.

But it also explains why Wayne’s constant frustrations with institutions like the Grammys, Coachella or the Super Bowl feel increasingly hollow. It’s hard to demand validation for music that often sounds creatively disengaged. There’s a reason every major televised Wayne performance still leans on “A Milli.” That record represents a vivid moment where his larger-than-life persona and artistic hunger fully aligned.

The reality is that Wayne’s next truly compelling album probably won’t fit inside the Carter universe at all. And if it somehow does, it won’t be because the old formula still works. Wayne doesn’t need TikTok gimmicks or viral challenges to stay relevant. He needs a body of work worthy of hip-hop’s favorite martian. More than anything, he needs to stop letting an institution that already immortalized his legacy slowly dilute itself in real time.

The post It’s About Time Lil Wayne Retires “Tha Carter” Series appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

According to DJ Mag, Screw’s mixtapes will go up on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music every week starting this week up through the end of June. Today (Friday, May 29), we got the DJ Screw Originals (Volume 1) tape on digital streaming platforms.

“This is for the fans who’ve always known and for those discovering him now,” Robert Earl Davis Jr.’s estate reportedly stated. “From a local legend to a global icon, his catalogue will now be accessible everywhere, keeping his legacy alive one stream at a time.”

Before this, fans of the Houston pioneer could only access most of his iconic work through YouTube rips and other unofficial uploads. Sure, we got some releases on streaming here and there, but this return of old material is very exciting. Also, not everyone has physical media from back in the day to spin again and again.

We’re sure purists will have a lot to say about this move. But at least new generations can discover Screw’s influence and his amazing work via contemporary methods. Then, they can do their homework, learn deeper, and expand their search for even more amazing material.

Read More: The Villains Of Hip Hop: Power, Chaos, Scandal, & Survival

RIP DJ Screw

DJ Screw established his “chopped-and-screwed” style as a hip-hop foundation, innovating with his slowed-down and chopped remixes and production style in the 1990s. Of course, Big Hawk, Big Moe, Lil’ Flip, and the rest of Houston’s Screwed Up Click are a part of this legacy as well.

Even if you’re not super familiar with Screw’s work, you have most likely heard of landmark releases like “3 ‘N the Mornin’ (Part Two),” the “June 27th” freestyle, and the Screw Tapes mixtape series. He tragically passed away in 2000 at the age of 29 due to a codeine overdose.

This is just the latest way in which DJ Screw’s legacy continues to live on. We can’t wait to take it slow and enjoy these mixtapes as they come out.

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

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Via Twitter, a fan asked Cenat what his favorite song from that chart-topping tracklist was, and he gave a few answers. Per FearBuck on the social media platform, he named “Dust,” “Janice STFU,” “National Treasures,” and “B’s On The Table” with 21 Savage as his contenders. Kai also threw an “etc” in there to indicate he’s liking much more material.

Of these picks, the least surprising is “Janice STFU,” which went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “National Treasures” was a beloved leak in the ICEMAN lead-up, whereas “Dust” is one of the more aggressive cuts on there. As for “B’s On The Table,” it’s a pretty straightforward cut, so maybe the Twitch giant is just a big fan of the Her Loss duo’s work.

Read More: The Villains Of Hip Hop: Power, Chaos, Scandal, & Survival

Drake Trolls Kai Cenat

What’s funny is that Drake and Kai Cenat recently trolled each other online over ICEMAN. It was more about the livestreams during the rollout itself than the music. But it’s still an ironic thing to look back on now that we know Kai enjoyed the final product.

For those unaware, Cenat did not like the ICEMAN “Episode Three” stream at all, which led Drizzy to troll him on social media and during the streamer’s “Mafiathon 3” event by posting his forehead on Instagram and spamming donation messages. Drake also trolled Kai Cenat’s fashion pivot with his Vivet brand, which was a little more out of the blue.

In response, Kai Cenat demanded that the 6ix God drop ICEMAN, and that was in February of this year. It came a little late, but at least he got some bangers out of it.

We’ll see if these two celebrities ever link up again in a more collaborative or casual setting. It seems like they are still fans of each other’s work despite their trolling efforts.

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

The post Kai Cenat Reveals His Favorite Song From Drake’s “ICEMAN” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

According to a Reggionline report, officials axed Ye’s show on July 18 and La Flame’s show on July 17 at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia for the Hellwatt (Pulse Of Gaia) Festival. Prefect Salvatore Angieri reportedly cited “reasons of public order and safety” as an explanation. This followed hearings and requests from the Jewish Community of Modena and Reggio, among other groups and individuals.

In addition, the Prefect reportedly came to this decision based on the back-to-back dates, capacity and crowd size concerns, Kanye West’s previous concert cancelations over his antisemitism and more, and the risk of counter-protests. We will see if either artist or their teams respond to this shut-down.

Read More: The Villains Of Hip Hop: Power, Chaos, Scandal, & Survival

Kanye West & Travis Scott In Istanbul

But Kanye West and Travis Scott have more to look forward to. Some fans believe the latter will pop out to perform at the former’s concert in Istanbul. Scott has a club appearance on the schedule the very same weekend Ye will perform, so it could make for a big splash. Sadly for fans who hoped to make the Italy shows, it will also potentially be a way to make up for these cancelations.

Kanye West and Travis Scott also performed together recently, as the latter was one of the former’s special guests at his SoFi Stadium shows in Los Angeles last month. Despite some beef rumors in recent years, it’s clear they are still tight.

But these concert cancelations will likely continue to be a problem for Ye. The Cactus Jack artist is just feeling the backlash from proximity. So we’ll see if any further actions, statements, or developments change this situation or provide a better outlook for the Yeezy mogul. For now, fans in Italy will have to wait.

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

The post Kanye West & Travis Scott’s Italy Concerts Have Been Canceled appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, these rumors emerged due to an evidence exhibit in a court case from publicist Stephanie Jones. That lawsuit is over Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle over the film It Ends With Us and its production.

The exhibit reportedly shows Travis Scott’s manager in a redacted 2024 group chat with crisis adviser Melissa Nathan and digital fixer Jed Wallace. In the group chat, David Stromberg allegedly coordinated with these industry peers to seek out and post disparaging information about an enemy onto a “ghost platform.”

In addition, these are the same individuals who allegedly coordinated smear campaigns against opposition to Rebel Wilson, Scooter Braun, and wellness influencer Andrew Huberman. Wilson denied these accusations, whereas the other two reportedly haven’t addressed them at press time.

What’s more is that this alleged group chat exchange reportedly had redacted messages that allegedly obfuscated references to Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, at which a crowd crush killed multiple concert-goers in 2021. The redacted messages also allegedly referred to an unspecified group dropping unspecified charges.

Read More: The Villains Of Hip Hop: Power, Chaos, Scandal, & Survival

David Stromberg’s Alleged Group Chat

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Stromberg allegedly referred to his group chat peers as “the dream team” and his “favorite” one, whereas Jed Wallace reportedly said he had an “infrastructure” plan but “needed the most absolute secure process.” The manager reportedly requested a statement of work for “him,” and it’s unclear if that “him” is the Odyssey actor. He also allegedly referenced Bryan Freedman, a Hollywood litigator who’s facing a defamation lawsuit over these alleged smear campaigns against celebrities’ enemies.

None of the folks involved here responded to THR‘s requests for comments. Freedman, however, had reportedly denied any misconduct in the past. Melissa Nathan has reportedly represented Travis Scott for years, and she allegedly detailed a “multipart strategy” for “Legal/Crisis PR/Media/Digital” to fight against alleged extortion schemes.

The plan allegedly included stipulations for forensics team to gather evidence, build an external anonymous campaign to undercut the opposition’s credibility, and “point friendly reporters towards this ghost platform we create.”

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

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As caught by CY Chels on Twitter, Akademiks was reacting to a list of streaming numbers in the United States for rappers for the week ending on May 28. OVO Sound president Mr. Morgan shared the breakdown. It had OVO’s Drake at the very top with almost a billion streams, over six times as much as the next MC (NBA YoungBoy with 154.8 million). The names that followed in descending order include Future, Lil Baby, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Don Toliver, Post Malone, LUCKI, Rod Wave, Eminem, and then the Dreamville boss.

Read More: The Villains Of Hip Hop: Power, Chaos, Scandal, & Survival

DJ Akademiks Clowns J. Cole

“For all the J. Cole d**k-sucking, I don’t hear people having these legit conversations,” DJ Akademiks expressed regarding J. Cole. “J. Cole does a good first week. He does have a good audience. But J. Cole’s audience don’t consistently stream his music. […] J. Cole just dropped an album after Gunna dropped, and after Baby, and after Kendrick, and after Future, and after Rod Wave… J. Cole’s not even in the Big Three. Numbers-wise, he ain’t in no f***ing Big Three. Get his a** on out of here. He’s not even the top three most streamed rapper that last put out an album.”

“That’s why I see why Kendrick [and Drake] said ‘F**k the Big Three,’” Akademiks continued. “Somebody said maybe he don’t bot. Have you heard anybody talk about one J. Cole song since his drop? J. Cole’s album is the album that sold the most that nobody talks about. They talk more about the Civic than they talk about the album. What the f**k is J. Cole rapping about, then?”

More folks might have issues with J. Cole. After a series of deleted tweets criticizing his bar about him and BET, many Dreamville fans think JID has a bone to pick with his label boss. We’ll see if that situation gets any clarity.

Elsewhere, DJ Akademiks’ criticisms of J. Cole should come as no surprise. He hasn’t really responded to any of them, and we doubt he will. But we doubt Ak will let up anytime soon whenever Cole’s name comes up.

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

The post DJ Akademiks Mocks J. Cole’s Streaming Numbers After “The Fall-Off” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

This is not about artists like MF DOOM, whose masked supervillain persona became part of Hip Hop mythology through creativity and performance. This is about the figures whose real-life behavior, scandals, legal troubles, public feuds, manipulation, inflammatory remarks, violence, or nonstop chaos fundamentally altered how they were viewed within Hip Hop itself. These artists’ stories became cautionary tales, even as they evolved into symbols of power, fear, exploitation, or destruction.

Read More: Kanye West Wears Black KKK Outfit During Wild DJ Akademiks Interview

Moreover, the list we’ve created here is not exhaustive. Hip Hop history is crowded with divisive and deeply controversial figures who could easily earn a place in this conversation depending on the generation being discussed. These names stand out because their reputations became inseparable from conflict itself. In many ways, the scandals became as culturally recognizable as the music. Either way, their impact on Hip Hop’s public mythology is impossible to ignore.

The Mastermind Villains

Sean “Diddy” Combs

For years, Sean “Diddy” Combs represented the polished face of Hip Hop success. All luxury wrapped in billionaire ambitions. There were the infamous white parties and lucrative Cîroc deals. He moved through the music industry like someone untouchable, a mogul who survived every era by reinventing himself before the culture could move on without him. Behind that image, though, rumors followed him for decades. Stories about intimidation, violence, manipulation, and abuse lingered around his name long before federal prosecutors ever stepped into the picture.

Then, the world witnessed one of the most dramatic public collapses Hip Hop has ever witnessed. Allegations involving sexual assault, coercion, trafficking, physical violence, and abuse fundamentally changed how many people viewed the Bad Boy founder. Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit cracked open years of speculation surrounding Combs’ private behavior, and the release of hotel surveillance footage showing him assaulting her destroyed whatever distance remained between rumor and public reality. Federal criminal proceedings transformed Diddy from Rap royalty into something much darker in the public imagination.

Read More: Jim Jones, Fabolous, Maino & Dave East Downplay 50 Cent & New York Beef

Suge Knight

Prior to Hip Hop having internet trolls and livestream antagonists, it had Suge Knight. The former Death Row Records executive built one of the most feared reputations the music industry had ever seen. He turned intimidation into part of the label’s mythology during the 1990s. There were stories about threats and violence that followed Knight for decades, helping create an atmosphere around Death Row that felt as dangerous as it was musically dominant. At the height of the label’s success, Suge became less of a music executive and more of a looming figure inside Hip Hop itself, someone whose name carried equal parts power and fear.

His public image only grew darker after the deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. Over the years, the controversies continued piling up, including in 2018, when Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter after a fatal hit-and-run incident connected to the production of Straight Outta Compton. He is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence.

The Chaos Agents

Kanye West

No artist in modern Hip Hop has blurred the line between genius and self-destruction quite like Kanye West. For nearly two decades, Kanye positioned himself as Rap’s most fearless disruptor. He was someone willing to publicly challenge fashion houses, music executives, award shows, politicians, corporations, and even his own peers. It produced groundbreaking art and chaos that swallowed everything around it. Interrupting Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards became one of pop culture’s defining controversy moments. Yet, it was only the beginning of a long pattern of public outbursts, inflammatory remarks, erratic interviews, and increasingly disturbing rhetoric.

In recent years, Kanye’s controversies moved beyond unpredictability into something far darker. There have been wild antisemitic comments, conspiracy-laced interviews, praise for Adolf Hitler during livestream appearances, and repeated inflammatory statements, triggering widespread backlash. Major companies, including Adidas, severed ties with him, costing him his billionaire status almost overnight. Even longtime supporters within Hip Hop struggled publicly with whether they could continue to defend him. Kanye weaponized attention and outrage became part of the mess.

50 Cent

50 Cent could probably hold the title of Hip Hop’s internet supervillain. Long before Rap beef became optimized for Instagram algorithms and podcast clips, 50 understood that humiliation could be entertainment. His career was built on conflict as much as music. From Ja Rule and Fat Joe to Rick Ross, Floyd Mayweather, Diddy, Jim Jones, Daphne Joy, Teairra Marie, and nearly anyone else who crossed him publicly, 50 treated feuds like performance art, often deeply personal. He rarely lets conflict die quietly. It gets stretched out, mocking people publicly and making social media trolling part of his brand before most artists understood its power.

What separates 50 from other controversial artists is how often the chaos feels strategic. Even his harshest moments carry a sense of timing. Nothing is off the table: bankruptcy jokes, funeral memes, public callouts, posting private information, and taunting rivals during vulnerable moments. He mastered the art of turning cruelty into virality while still maintaining enough charisma to keep audiences laughing along with him. That balance made him both entertaining and deeply polarizing, depending on who was on the receiving end. And no one wants the smoke with Fif.

The Internet Villains

Tekashi 6ix9ine

From the moment rainbow-colored hair, face tattoos, and screaming Instagram videos made him go viral, 6ix9ine built his entire image around confrontation. He insulted rivals openly, mocked gang culture while simultaneously embracing it publicly, taunted dead enemies online, and treated controversy like marketing fuel. Every feud became content, and threats became another livestream moment. At a time when Rap was becoming increasingly moved by social media performance, 6ix9ine pushed the formula to its loudest and most dangerous extreme. Then came the federal racketeering case.

After pleading guilty in a sweeping federal case tied to the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, 6ix9ine cooperated with prosecutors and testified against former associates. It has permanently branded him as a “snitch” in the eyes of much of Hip Hop. In another genre, cooperation with law enforcement might have simply been controversial. In Rap, it became cultural exile. Yet, somehow, even after federal testimony, prison, security concerns, and repeated public ridicule, 6ix9ine continued to chase attention online with the same antagonistic energy that made him famous in the first place.

Read More: 50 Cent Trolls Jim Jones For Allegedly Getting Evicted From Studio, Capo Responds

Blueface

This California rapper became famous during the social media era, but over time, the controversy surrounding Blueface began overshadowing the music itself. What started as internet virality quickly evolved into nonstop public dysfunction. Arrests, fights, livestream arguments, domestic violence allegations, and chaotic relationship drama became deeply tied to his public image, particularly through his volatile relationship with Chrisean Rock. Their conflicts frequently unfolded online in real time, blurring the line between entertainment and genuine instability. For many people watching from the outside, the chaos stopped feeling accidental years ago.

Unlike older Hip Hop villains who cultivated fear or industry power, Blueface represents a newer kind of celebrity antagonist. It’s one fueled by visibility at all costs. Arguments became content, and toxicity became branding. Even deeply personal moments often played out publicly before audiences conditioned to consume dysfunction as entertainment. Moreover, legal troubles only deepened that reputation. At times, it became difficult to separate the rapper from the spectacle surrounding him.

The Criminal & Scandal Villains

R. Kelly

Throughout his career, R. Kelly occupied one of the most uncomfortable spaces in Black music culture—both R&B and Hip Hop. He’s an artist whose influence remained enormous even as allegations surrounding him grew impossible to ignore. Before criminal convictions arrived, accusations involving underage girls, sexual abuse, manipulation, and predatory behavior had followed Kelly for decades. A leaked sex tape involving a minor became one of the most infamous scandals in music history. Yet, despite public outrage, his career largely continued uninterrupted for years. Hit records kept charting, and tours continued selling out. Industry relationships remained intact. The disconnect between the allegations and the protection surrounding his career became part of the larger story itself.

That changed as survivors began speaking publicly in greater numbers and documentaries like Surviving R. Kelly forced renewed scrutiny around the singer’s behavior and the systems that enabled him. The public conversation shifted dramatically from gossip and rumor to accountability, particularly among Black women who had spent years saying the warning signs were visible long before the criminal cases intensified. Eventually, federal convictions related to racketeering and sex trafficking permanently transformed Kelly from a controversial superstar into one of music’s most notorious disgraced figures.

Tory Lanez

His name became tied to controversy before the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case ended in a conviction. Tory Lanez had a reputation for volatility in the industry, whether through public feuds, social media confrontations, or conflicts with other artists that often escalated beyond music. However, the Megan case fundamentally changed how he was viewed within Hip Hop. It began as confusion surrounding the 2020 shooting, eventually becoming one of the culture’s most toxic and divisive public conversations. Discussions were fueled by misinformation, fan loyalty, internet conspiracy theories, and nonstop attacks directed at Megan herself.

Even after Tory was convicted and sentenced to prison, large sections of the internet continued treating him less like a man found guilty in court and more like someone being unfairly targeted. The media often centered speculation over facts while Megan faced relentless harassment online. His story stopped being just about one rapper years ago. It became a reflection of what Hip Hop, media culture, and internet fandom often reward.

Read More: 6ix9ine Trolls Boston Richey Over Ex-Girlfriend’s Allegations

Hip Hop has never fully separated controversy from celebrity. In some cases, conflict helped build careers. In others, it helped destroy them. The culture has long rewarded people willing to be louder, crueler, more reckless, more confrontational, or more shocking than everyone else in the room. That energy often stayed inside the music, but sometimes, it spilled into real lives with real consequences.

Despite everything, many of these artists remain influential. That tension has always existed inside Hip Hop, the uncomfortable space where talent, mythology, controversy, and harm often collide. Villains endure because the culture remembers them. Sometimes even longer than the heroes.

The post The Villains Of Hip Hop: Power, Chaos, Scandal, & Survival appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Alexis told the Atlanta-based femcee that she didn’t believe the retirement announcement for a second, pointing to her self-assessed ambition. The star laughed in response and said “That’s fine,” expanding on her thought process for the announcement and how her perspective has changed since that proclamation a few weeks ago.

“Remember when we was talking about postpartum depression, the good days and bad days?” she expressed. “That was definitely not one of the good days. Especially experiencing postpartum for the first time. You don’t know what to expect. I kind of underestimated it. Yeah, that was just one of those days where I was at home and overwhelmed with the album. I was overwhelmed. I’m experiencing motherhood for the first time. I’m dropping my album. My last album, at that, that I owed the label. So it’s just, like… I was going through it that day. Today’s a good day. I wouldn’t say I’m retiring today… Talk to me next week again, I might say, ‘Nah, that s**t was for real.’ So, I don’t know. I’m going through it. Listen, I crashed. It is what it is. I’m not trying to be perfect anymore. I’m not trying to uphold this… I crashed. It is what it is. I’ma try not to take it to Twitter next time. *laughs*”

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

When Did Latto Give Birth?

Interestingly enough, this revelation might give more insight into Latto’s pregnancy timeline. The retirement announcement arrived on May 8 via a tweet. It seems like she suggested she had already given birth to her baby by this point, as she was feeling postpartum depression. But the actual reveal of the baby’s arrival came almost two weeks later.

Elsewhere, Latto’s Big Mama is causing more online ruckus. That’s because of apparent shots she threw at Cardi B, seemingly challenging her to get in the booth after Cardi’s viral rant about her and subsequent apology.

Read More: Drake “HABIBTI” & “MAID OF HONOUR” Review

The post Latto Admits She’s Not Actually Retiring After Her New Album “Big Mama” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The podcaster, real name Daryl Campbell, reportedly orchestrated a contraband scheme at MDC Brooklyn. As for the contraband itself, the plan was reportedly to sneak in a rope made of paper covered in synthetic cannabinoid, over 100 strips of a synthetic opioid, about 27 bags of marijuana, more than 400 cigarettes, two lighters, a scalpel, a cellphone-charging cord, and its plug. Last September, Taxstone pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide and possess contraband in a prison facility.

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis reportedly scolded him for leaning back in his chair during the sentencing hearing and talking to his attorney and paralegal. The podcaster admitted to organizing the smuggling scheme, but claimed he shouldn’t even be in prison in the first place.

Read More: Who Is Lamb? The “Overkill” Artist With Co-Signs From Drake & SZA

Why Is Taxstone In Prison?

For those unaware, Taxstone is serving a manslaughter sentence in prison, receiving a 35-year jail sentence in 2023. He recently said he’s appealing this conviction. The sentence stems from the podcaster shooting one of Troy Ave’s affiliates during a fight backstage at a T.I. concert in New York City back in 2016.

This new 37-month sentence for contraband smuggling will begin after this 35-year jail sentence ends. He also has a 115-month sentence over federal gun charges from that NYC incident. But that sentence will run at the same time as the manslaughter sentence. During this recent sentencing hearing, Taxstone reportedly complained about the difficulty of fighting his case federally rather than through state law.

Many folks in hip-hop media are reacting to this Taxstone news, adding onto years of conflict and strife. We will see what the next legal update is. In the meantime, we will see what comes of this potential manslaughter appeal. The conviction came down years ago, but things sometimes move slowly in court.

Read More: Drake “HABIBTI” & “MAID OF HONOUR” Review

The post Taxstone Hit With 37-Month Prison Sentence For Contraband Smuggling appeared first on HotNewHipHop.