Hip-Hop: Last News

Playboi Carti's new album, MUSIC, has debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. It sold 298,000 equivalent album units, Billboard reports.

Little Simz is set to play a one-off orchestral show at London’s Meltdown 2025, with the first wave of names revealed today for the Southbank Centre event.The British artist was previously revealed to be curating a boundary-breaking line-up for this year’s edition of the 11-day festival, and will be taking to the stage herself as one of the performers.She will be joined by the Southbank Centre Resident Orchestra Chineke! Orchestra for a unique performance in the Royal Festival Hall on June 22, featuring hits from across her catalogue as well as tracks from her upcoming sixth studio album ‘Lotus’, which is set for release on 9 May via AWAL Recordings.Scheduled between Thursday June 12 and Sunday June 22, the event will include a number of live performances from artists hand-selected by Little Simz, as well as two weekends of free participatory programming featuring grassroots collectives and local organisations.A post shared by simz (@littlesimz)The first wave of names set to take part in the 2025 edition of Meltdown Festival were shared today (March 24), and include The Streets, viral hit ‘Messy’ singer Lola Young, Ghetts, Jon Batiste, Sasha Keable with Flames Collective and Little Dragon’s Yukimi.“Little Simz’ first taste of what’s to come from her Meltdown hugely embodies the wealth of influences and inspirations across her work,” said Jane Beese, Head of Contemporary Music at Southbank.

DJ Khaled, City Girls, Trina and Trick Daddy with their own street names.Last Wednesday (March 19), it was revealed that streets along 18th Avenue in Liberty City will be named after songs from Miami’s most famous rappers. Commissioner Keon Hardemon proposed the decision in an attempt “to encourage economic development in our community”.“If you play this music to the people who are from this area, they are going to light up like it’s the Fourth of July,” Hardemon said (via NBC Miami).

TMZ report, rapper Sauce Walka has been confirmed was a victim who was transported to the hospital for the “non-critical condition”, adding that he was only shot in the leg.As for the other man who was shot dead, his identity has not been made public, but was a friend of Sauce Walka. The police have also shared that they believe the incident “was not a random act of violence” and that the victims and suspects likely knew each other.

Megan Thee Stallion has shared that she would love to collaborate with Doechii for her next album.The ‘Savage’ rapper brought up the topic of a potential collaboration during a recent TikTok live, where she gave an update on her upcoming album ‘Megan: Act III’.“Act III is being made,” she told fans on the live. “I’m really just trying to figure out who do I want to do features with at this point in life.

Markies Conway, the artist who performs under the name Yella Beezy, has been charged with felony capital murder in the death of fellow Dallas rapper Mo3, according to court documents viewed by The FADER. Mo3 (born Melvin A.

Jack Harlow has had his eyes on a Doja Cat collab for a long time now. Back in 2020 he admitted to having a crush on her while speaking to fans on IG Live (she later revealed the hilarious reason she "swerved" him) but now it seems Jack has got his girl. "Just Us" is a fun and flirty collaboration between the two artists and it comes with an equally sharp video.

Kanye West has now threatened to end Playboi Carti‘s career as he continues his recent tirade on X/Twitter.The controversial rapper has recently started another slew of misogynistic, anti-Semitic and other defamatory tweets, seemingly triggered by Carti’s new album ‘Music’ and Kendrick Lamar’s involvement in the record. Later, Ye revealed he was upset that Carti removed ‘Different Day’ – a promotional single released back in 2024 which he produced – from ‘Music’ and made it a bonus track on the online paid version of the album.West went on to share more irate tweets aimed at Carti, claiming he gave the Atlanta star his “biggest song and co-sign” (via E! News) – referring to the 2024 single ‘Carnival’ from ‘Vultures 1’, which became Carti’s first Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. He even said he and Carti “beat women” – citing the latter’s 2023 arrest for domestic violence, causing Carti to finally hit back with a succinct tweet: “Ye STFU”.Beneath one of Ye’s tweets, a fan wrote: “Kanye can end Carti career fr [sic] but he won’t do that” – to which West agreed, replying: “I will and I am going to.”Ye, fka Kanye West, says he will end Playboi Carti’s career “I will and I am going to” pic.twitter.com/l3EcYi01aL— Kurrco (@Kurrco) March 19, 2025Ye continued to berate Carti in a separate tweet: “Carti, you a child.

Drake‘s lawyers have claimed that “millions of people” believe Kendrick Lamar was literally calling him a pedophile.Last November, the ‘Hotline Bling’ hitmaker filed a dispute against Universal Music Group in New York, alleging that the publisher and label had “artificially inflated” streams for ‘Not Like Us’, among other allegations.In the filing – which can be viewed here – Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG and Spotify of “illegally” aiding and boosting ‘Not Like Us’ streams in favour of Lamar – who entered a viral rap feud with Drake last year.More recently, UMG filed a motion to dismiss the Canadian rapper’s suit, stating that he had sued the corporation because he “lost a rap battle”. They went on to say that “instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be”, Drake had “sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds”.UMG also cited a 2022 petition in their filing which noted that Drake, along with various other musicians, had urged prosecutors to stop citing rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials.

The Notorious B.I.G. has sold a stake in the late rapper’s music publishing and recordings and certain name, image, and likeness rights to Primary Wave Music.While terms of the deal were not disclosed, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (March 20) that Biggie Smalls’ mother, Voletta Wallace, had reached the deal with Primary Wave shortly before her death earlier this year, with sources saying she was involved in nearly every aspect of the negotiations.Wallace, who passed away in February, had been instrumental in carrying on her son’s legacy and overseeing his estate, following his murder at the age of 24 on March 9, 1997.

Kneecap have hit out at the Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin over his recent visit to the White House to meet US President Donald Trump.During a meeting at the Oval Office earlier this month, Martin offered warm praise for the Irish-American alliance and the historic ties between the two countries. He also touted Trump’s self-professed role as a peacemaker, according to Al Jazeera.Martin lauded Trump for his approach to Gaza and recent peace talks, despite Irish parties such as Sinn Fein recently announcing they would boycott St Patrick’s Day events in Washington DC this week.

Fatboy Slim played a DJ set at a fish and chip shop in Melbourne. Check out footage below.The DJ – real name Norman Cook – is currently on tour in Australia, where he made the unexpected detour to Northern Soul – a fish and chip shop located in St.

I was watching the moon bleed on Thursday as midnight EST became midnight PST became 2 am, 3 am, falling asleep with the lights on, waiting for MUSIC. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, or worse, glazing, Playboi Carti is among the few musicians big enough to make fans wait years between albums without losing relevance, and may be one of the only willing to practice the restraint this necessitates.

Eminem has been charged over the alleged theft of unreleased music.Joseph Strange – who worked for Eminem from around 2007 until 2021 – was charged on Wednesday (March 19) with criminal infringement of a copyright and interstate transportation of stolen goods in connection with the sale of unreleased music.It comes after the FBI was alerted on January 16 by employees of Eminem’s studio in Ferndale, Michigan who discovered that some of the rapper’s unreleased music had leaked online and was available for sale, per the criminal complaint.The ‘Lose Yourself’ rapper’s employees recognised that an image used in a list of unreleased music uploaded to the internet was one taken from a hard drive in the studio.The FBI identified multiple individuals who had purchased the unreleased music, who then identified Strange as the person selling the music. According to a press release, the music “was still in the process of being developed by” Eminem.“Protecting intellectual property from thieves is critical in safeguarding the exclusive rights of creators and protecting their original work from reproduction and distribution by individuals who seek to profit from the creative output of others,” said Acting United States Attorney Julie Beck, who announced the charges against Strange.Strange faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (£192,716) if convicted on the charge of criminal infringement of a copyright.

Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Tyler, The Creator are among the headline names confirmed for the 2025 edition of Lollapalooza. The festival will take place in Chicago’s Grant Park from July 31-August 3.

Stormzy is set to receive an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University.The grime pioneer was announced today (March 19) as being one of the eight distinguished individuals who will be awarded honorary doctorates by the university later this year.It comes as the eight chosen people were nominated for the honour by The University Council, and they are all expected to receive the doctorates while at a special Congregation in the Senate-House. It will be attended by alumni, staff and students, as well as a number of special guests, and takes place on June 25.For Stormzy, the honorary doctorate will be in the field of Law, and comes following the impact his philanthropic work has had across the community.His efforts have included the Stormzy Scholarship to Cambridge – an initiative that funds two Black British students to attend the university each year.

Kae Tempest has shared a striking new single called ‘Statue In The Square’. Check it out below.Shared this morning (March 19), the track was first previewed on Nick Grimshaw’s BBC 6 Music show. It sees the artist, lyricist, poet, playwright and author take on a raw, honest approach.‘Statue In The Square’ features an eye-catching emphasis on rhythm, as Tempest delivers hard-hitting lyrics in a fast flow, making a nod to their early days as an open mic MC.Produced by Fraser T Smith (Stormzy, Adele, Dave) this marks their first track released since 2022’s ‘I Saw Light’ – a single that featured Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C.

Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ former chief of staff has denied accusations against her after being named in multiple lawsuits associated with the disgraced rap mogul.Kristina Khorram – also known as KK – worked for the rapper for over a decade, joining Combs Enterprises in 2013 and eventually becoming his chief of staff in 2020. It’s not clear when she left Combs’ employment.Now, she has denied that she ever “aided and abetted the sexual assault of anyone” in a new statement to Rolling Stone.

Kanye West has dropped his new album ‘Bully’ as a short film.The controversial rapper took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the album today (March 19). The album is only available in the format of a short film that spans between 30 and 45 minutes.

Lil Durk is releasing a new album from prison.On Monday (March 17), the rapper’s team shared a trailer and artwork for the album, called ‘Deep Thoughts’, on his social media accounts. It’s scheduled for release on March 28.Accompanied by the caption “The streets still need me,” the trailer shows Durk’s producers in the studio working on music while talking to the rapper – who is currently incarcerated – on the phone.He can be heard saying he likes “the energy” of particular songs and thanks his team for “bigger and better changes” to the record.

Drake‘s lawsuit against them over Kendrick Lamar‘s ‘Not Like Us’.Last November, the ‘Hotline Bling’ hitmaker filed a dispute against Universal Music Group in New York, alleging that the publisher and label had “artificially inflated” streams for ‘Not Like Us’ among other allegations.In the filing – which can be viewed here – Drake’s Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG and Spotify of “illegally” aiding and boosting ‘Not Like Us’ streams in favour of Lamar – who entered a viral rap feud with Drake last year.Now, as reported by Variety, UMG has filed a motion to dismiss the Canadian rapper’s suit, stating that he sued the corporation because he “lost a rap battle” and used the legal action as a way to “salve his wounds.”A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)It also claimed that Drake had “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.