Over the years, Fif has had a rivalry with the show Empire. The Power vs. Empire wars are largely over, with most agreeing that Power was the better show. However, with Empire star Jussie Smollett going viral for a recent stage performance, Fif had to get his licks in.

See, I told you POWER was the shit, but No you want to watch Empire,” Fif wrote. “Now, look this is all your fault. LOL”

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50 Cent Takes Issue With Jussie Smollett

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In the midst of 50 Cent rebooting his beef with Empire and its cast, the artist is catching some heat due to an upcoming MAGA club performance for Donald Trump Jr. Ahead of the United States’ 250th birthday on July 4, Fif is set to perform at a private gathering.

This is part of Don Jr’s members-only club. Despite Trump’s current regime being extremely controversial and oftentimes regressive, 50 Cent doesn’t seem to mind cozying up to the Trump family.

While 50 Cent doesn’t make political endorsements often, you can guess his views based on context clues. For instance, his hatred of Zohran Mamdani is an example of Fif skewing conservative.

Choosing to perform in front of a MAGA crowd in 2026 sends a message, and it does not resonate. Whether or not he will cancel, remains to be seen.

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As for her most recent award, it was well deserved. After all, Am I The Drama? was a big success, and the songs continue to hit. Her fanbase still loves her, and at this time, she is the biggest woman rapper in the world.

Following her big win at the BET Awards, Cardi B decided to have some fun on a live stream. This is the same live stream where she told her fans to ease up on BIA, who got dissed in one of the songs during her performance.

Below, you will see that Cardi B had some fun while singing the lyrics to Drake’s “Janice STFU.” Of course, this has become one of the biggest songs in the world, and Cardi amused herself with her rendition.

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Cardi B Has Some Fun

Don’t expect an official cover from the artist any time soon. However, this is just yet another example of how the song has exploded. Drake got himself a hit with this one, and once again, he has proven that he can still crank out some of the biggest hits in the hip-hop world.

As for Cardi B, it is going to be interesting to see what her next move is. She clearly has momentum on her side right now. However, there is no telling whether or not she will take advantage, or wait seven years between projects again.

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Release Date: June 26, 2026

Genre: Hip-Hop

Album: Resonance Frequency

Quotable Lyrics from TWENTYFOURSEVEN

I’m not lying,
Voices in my head that are not mine,
Voices of all kinds, hip-hop, TV, news,
All trying to see me duped, I cannot believe these dudes

The post TWENTYFOURSEVEN – Song by Homeboy Sandman & Jack Splash appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The birthday bash at the Paris-adjacent palace reportedly took place over the weekend, and photos hit the Internet of Kanye and his wife Censori’s outfits for the occasion. The Chicago artist donned all black, specifically a pearled jacket, leather pants, boots, gloves, and a face mask. Bianca wore a feathery headpiece that covered her face, as well as wedge heels, a tight satin bodysuit, and a matching, detachable, and layered skirt.

Reportedly, the group kept the party going at the Airelles luxury hotel after their time at the Château de Versailles ended. Ye and Censori already celebrated the birthday previously, specifically through the release of Kanye West’s “GEMINI SEASON.” Bianca directed its music video, which dropped on the birthday itself, and she also showered him with love on social media.

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Kanye West’s Next Concerts

Elsewhere, Kanye West is still performing in 2026, and he has more shows to look forward to. His next stop will be in San Antonio on July 4, a booking that is causing controversy due to opposition from the city’s mayor, Gina Ortiz Jones. But it seems like city officials plan to keep the show alive despite the antisemitism controversies and other bigotries.

After that, Ye will perform in Albania on July 11, Spain on July 30, Portugal on August 7, and his home city of Chicago for two nights at Soldier Field on September 3 and 4. Of course, this is assuming all of these live performances will move forward as planned.

It’s been a complicated year for Ye, but still a heartening one. This birthday bash is surely a highlight, and hopefully that playtime leads to even harder work in the future.

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Recently, Ray J found himself on the Red Carpet at the BET Awards, and as you can imagine, things got a bit awkward. During a Red Carpet interview with Bow Wow, the R&B star decided it would be appropriate to tell the folks at home that he is wearing nude underwear.

Journalist Philip Lewis couldn’t help but tell the BET Awards on X that security needed to be called on Ray J immediately.

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Ray J Had An Eventful BET Awards

During the actual ceremony, Ray J caught some jokes from Druski, who was doing a bit of crowd work. Druski decided to take aim at Ray J’s heart condition, which the singer previously said was a death sentence. He said he had just five months to live, and Druski played off that, asking why the man was still alive and in the flesh.

“Why’d you lie to us, man? I thought you was gon’ be dead…” Druski said. “Ray J, you know that’s wrong, man. You lied to all of us!”

It made for a humorous moment, although not everyone found it super amusing. Ultimately, Druski’s entire act was hit or miss throughout the evening, with some feeling as though he is better suited to skits than hosting.

As for Ray J, he continues to take all of this in stride, which is certainly honorable. He is someone who marches to the beat of his own drum, and that won’t change, anytime soon.

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“Please don’t pick on that girl,” she expressed, as caught by Livebitez on Instagram. “I am very big against Internet bullying. Unless my fans have to… But if somebody’s not bothering me, and I feel like she’s not bothering me, I don’t want to be the reason why somebody gets on the Internet and has a bad day or gets depressed or feels bad or feels like the world is against them. Because I really went through that before.”

“All these b***hes, blogs was against me…” the Bronx star continued. “I do like teaching b***hes a lesson… But after a while, I’ll kill you and then I feel bad that I killed you and buried you… You really f***ed with me, so I had to do that. But yes, I’m not going to stop performing the show… If somebody don’t f**k with me, I don’t want to keep f***ing with them, ’cause it gives bullying. And I’m really not a bully unless I have to… My fans gon’ be like ‘Cardi, stop.’ […] I don’t want to ever over-do it… I want to keep being blessed… If she ever see me, I know it’s gon’ be on sight. I know the b***h gon’ want to fight me… I’m with everything.”

Read More: BET Awards 2026: Full List Of Winners

Cardi B & BIA Beef

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For those unaware, Cardi B’s BIA beef began when fans compared their aesthetics and styles, which both artists did not take super kindly to online. Following subliminal shots, they openly engaged in social media warfare via diss tracks, relationship allegations, and a lot more drama.

As for BIA’s responses to Cardi B, she jumps in to defend herself whenever she feels slighted. For example, she called out Cardi’s partner Stefon Diggs’ other relationships after Cardi performed “Pretty & Petty” on tour.

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He took to Twitter to send a since-deleted message to the comedian for this occurrence. “This n***a Druski weird for that Sax stunt,” the Top Dawg Entertainment singer’s manager wrote, as caught by Kurrco on Twitter. A lot of folks responded critically, bringing up the previous warnings and, unsurprisingly, using matters like the Drake battle against him.

As for the “girl, get up” duo’s reaction to the saxophone, they mostly just joked about it and energetically toyed with the saxophone player from a distance. Maybe they didn’t hear that part about the speeches, as SZA thought he was just doing a saxophone solo.

Either way, it ended up being more of a controversy than it probably should’ve been after Punch’s comments. We’ll see if there’s another chapter here or if this is where things stop.

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TDE At The BET Awards

Elsewhere, TDE-adjacent artists won big at the BET Awards this year, but not to particularly lauded results. Former label signee Kendrick Lamar took home Best Male Hip-Hop Artist despite not dropping since 2024’s GNX, which many fans took issue with. His cultural impact post-Drizzy beef continues to linger, but fans felt other artists like the ICEMAN himself or AOTY winners Clipse deserved it more. K.Dot also took home Best Collaboration for “Chains & Whips” with Pusha T and Malice.

As for Druski’s hosting of the 2026 BET Awards, folks are talking about some other skits and gags. For example, he did a Jay-Z impression at one point of the show, although it hasn’t led to the same debate the saxophone cut-offs did.

Other 2026 BET Awards highlights include a wide-spanning Lauryn Hill tribute, a standing ovation for Yung Miami, big performances from Cardi B and more, and Janet Jackson giving Teyana Taylor the Icon Of The Year honor. We’ll see if Punch has anything else to say about the event.

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Meanwhile, her highly publicized relationship with Diddy was placed under scrutiny following the charges that were brought against him. Following his conviction on transportation charges, the scrutiny continued to follow Yung Miami. This led to doubts about whether or not she could truly make a musical comeback.

Clearly, Miami has proven the naysayers wrong. Her new song “Spend Dat” continues to climb the Billboard charts, and it has fans clamoring for more. In fact, Yung Miami’s peers are cheering for her the hardest, as evidenced by her recent appearance at the BET Awards.

Yung Miami was presenting the BET HER Award, which eventually went to Doechii and SZA. As soon as Miami walked out onto the stage, the crowd began chanting the lyrics to “Spend Dat,” all while giving the artist a standing ovation.

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Yung Miami Completes Her Comeback

It was a special moment for an artist who some were counting out. Overall, it just goes to show that one big song can change the narrative, regardless of what has happened in the past.

Yung Miami seemed to appreciate the ovation and soaked in the moment. It was certainly nice to see, and we’re sure this will put a battery in her back to continue making new music.

Fans are waiting for that next single, and it’s likely coming soon. Although for now, “Spend Dat” remains a song of the summer contender.

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Lupe hopped on KoalaTea Reacts’ livestream on YouTube on Saturday (June 27) to debate with the content creator about how Koala is always talking about him. When Koala compared that dynamic to Fiasco speaking on Lamar, the Chicago rapper said he isn’t talking about Kendrick, as he wasn’t present during the livestream. But the two continued to debate, which led to more conversation about the Compton lyricist.

In a clip caught by mumu1626364656 on Twitter, Lupe Fiasco acknowledged how many fans today just want to hear him talk about Kendrick Lamar given his past comments about him. “This is beyond your control,” he told Koala, and Lupe feels like it’s beyond his own control at this point. “They’re not going to give a f**k about anything else that we said.”

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Lupe Fiasco’s Kendrick Lamar Comments

“I find it crazy that you can’t even say that you think that you are a better rapper than Kendrick Lamar,” Fiasco expressed. He tried to make his main point over the years concerning K.Dot clear: Lupe thinks Kendrick is a better artist, album-maker, song-maker, has a better team, and better production… But “when it comes down to lyricism, when it comes down to these lyrics and bar for bar for bar, no. Everything else? For sure,” Lupe remarked.

StanademiksTV on Twitter shared another clip of the conversation with KoalaTea Reacts in which Fiasco says there are “hundreds” of unsigned rappers that are better lyricists than Kendrick.

Fans Debate

Lupe Fiasco’s “critical” comments about Kendrick Lamar are mostly just a competitive and earnest defense of Lupe’s lyrical abilities in comparison to Kendrick. It’s as much of a media-led endeavor as it is on Lupe’s own behalf, as folks keep asking about it, bringing it up, and trying to get him in more hot water. They claim he might be jealous of Lamar’s success and the praise he receives, but it seems like his issue is more with the overzealous defenses of Kendrick in lyricism conversations more than anything.

Some folks want to see a battle, and we’ll see if that ever happens. But for the most part, as fans continue to debate this topic, it’s more of a self-eating snake than Fiasco actively instigating for the sake of hating. At the end of the day, it’s all about the bars for him.

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In addition to this award, Taylor won for Best Actress, Best Video Director, and the Fashion Vanguard Award. However, it was the Icon of the Year award that certainly got the vast majority of the attention, and for good reason.

It was an award that showcased just how much she has accomplished over the past year. From a new album to her work on One Battle After Another, Taylor has made it clear that she is one of the best artists of this generation.

That said, the BET Awards decided to surprise her with an introduction from none other than Janet Jackson. Taylor was taken by surprise and immediately started tearing up as Jackson introduced the award.

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Janet Jackson shows Up For Teyana Taylor

Janet Jackson doesn’t just pop out for no reason. It takes a very special artist or person to get her to show up to an event. That said, Teyana Taylor has left a lasting impression on the legendary pop singer.

While some on social media were quick to debate whether or not Teyana Taylor is an icon, others were also quick to give her her flowers. Ultimately, Taylor has been everywhere over the past year. She was nominated at the Oscars and even won a Golden Globe.

With this Icon award and three extra BET Awards to her name, no one can say that Taylor hasn’t achieved greatness over these last 365 days.

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