Hip-Hop: Last News

Bill Murray has addressed rumours that he was dating Kelis.Speculation about a relationship between the two stars began in 2023, after they were backstage together at London festival Mighty Hoopla and jazz and soul festival Cross The Tracks just a week apart.Kelis spoke out about the rumours at the time, saying that people “will believe anything” in response to a fan asking if they were true.Now, Murray has addressed the public interest in their unlikely pairing in a new interview on SiriusXM’s Sway In The Morning.“I met this girl named Kelis,” the actor told host Sway Calloway: “I got great press that I was dating her, which really raised my cred.”He went on to explain that he was first interested in the ‘Milkshake’ singer after seeing her in Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s music video for their 1999 hit ‘Got Your Money’.“I love that video,” Murray explained. “I watched that.

Kanye West has reportedly settled lawsuits he was facing from teachers at his Donda Academy, a month before they were scheduled to go to trial.The rapper, who has changed his name to Ye, has agreed to conditional settlements with the school’s former assistant principal Isaiah Meadows and teachers Cecilia Hailey, Chekarey Byers, and Timanii Meeks, who all sued West in 2023, per Rolling Stone.Cases were initially scheduled to go to trial in April, but West had failed to show up to proceedings and his attorney asked to withdraw from the cases in August 2024, claiming the rapper had fired him and refused to pay his fees.Since, West has reportedly been unable to find new legal representation due to a slew of highly controversial rants on social media.West will have to fulfill his end of the agreement within 45 days, and the teachers will submit a request for dismissal to the Los Angeles Superior Court.NME has contacted West’s representative for comment.West opened the tuition-based Christian school in 2022. Named after his late mother, the school aimed to “prepare students to become the next generation of leaders” with the website stating at the time that the daily schedule included “full school worship, core classes of language arts, math and science, lunch & recess, enrichment courses including World Language, Visual Art, Film, Choir and Parkour”.Fees were $15,000 (around £13,000) per year although, as stated on the admissions page of the website at the time, “Everyone is welcome to apply regardless of financial situation.

Suge Knight has responded to an Eminem diss track, saying “an honourable man doesn’t kick the defenceless”.In January, the track ‘Smack You’ was leaked online, having been recorded by Eminem in the mid-2000s and remaining unreleased ever since. It opens with a sample of 2Pac’s ‘Bomb First (My Second Reply)’ and includes verses in which he hints at Death Row co-founder Knight’s alleged involvement in 2Pac and Biggie Smalls’ murders.Knight is currently serving a 28-year sentence in California after he pleaded no contest in 2018 to a voluntary manslaughter charge after a 2015 hit-and-run incident.Now, Knight’s son Suge J.

Charli XCX and Doechii are due to clash at Glastonbury, as the first stage details have been revealed.In a special episode of Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw‘s podcast Sidetracked, exclusive details of some of the stage breakdowns were shared with listeners.Charli XCX will be headlining the Other Stage on the Saturday night, which is at the same time as when Doechii is headlining the West Holts Stage. “That’s quite a big clash there,” Grimshaw said on the show.“That’s good, though,” Mac replied.

Fatboy Slim has announced his forthcoming book It Ain’t Over ’til the Fatboy Sings. The highly illustrated coffee table book will give fans a glimpse into Fatboy Slim’s – real name Norman Cook – 40 years in showbiz, highlighting what it is like to work in music.

Kreayshawn’s music is waiting to be rediscovered. Just watch “Gucci Gucci,” her 2011 breakout single, and tell me it doesn’t still feel like a possible future.

Kendrick Lamar has shared photos of him in a 2022 lecture, describing the rapper as “incredibly kind and humble”.Unbeknownst to the world, Lamar took a Psychology course at UCLA in 2022. Last Wednesday (February 26), photos taken by a fellow classmate were posted online, showing the Compton star attentively writing down notes and using his phone while on a table by himself in the lecture hall.The classmate also commented (per Instagram fanpage Kendricklamarzz): “He was incredibly kind and humble.

Elton John has shared his praise for Kneecap, and said that he “loves everything about them”.The iconic singer-songwriter shared his fondness for the Irish hip-hop trio in a new episode of the BBC Radio 6 Music Breakfast Show (Listen in full here). Speaking with host Nick Grimshaw, Sir Elton recalled how seeing footage of them live caught his attention and made him notice what set them apart from other artists.“I saw a video of them and I just was so knocked out by the energy they had and the vitality they had,” he explained.

Skepta has announced the first line-up for the 2025 edition of his Big Smoke Festival. Find all the details below.The event will return to Crystal Palace Park in south-east London on August 9 and 10 as part of South Facing Festival, following its inaugural outing last summer.Today (March 4), organisers have confirmed the initial wave of acts for the first date.

MF DOOM‘s handwritten notebooks have been returned to his widow, ending a dispute between his widow, Jasmine Dumile Thompson, and his former A&R, Eothen “Egon” Alapatt.In 2023, Thompson filed a lawsuit against the former A&R, alleging copyright infringement, fraud, intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. The complaint, which was written along with Gas Drawls – the LLC that controls the late rapper’s intellectual property- arose shortly after DOOM’s death in 2020 when Alapatt obtained a number of DOOM’s handwritten notebooks.Now, the dispute has been resolved and the notebooks have been returned to Thompson.

Doechii, Barry Can’t Swim, Ezra Collective, Jorja Smith, The Last Dinner Party and more have been announced as performers for Bristol’s FORWARDS festival 2025.The two-day event is due to take place at Clifton Downs in Bristol on Saturday August 23 and Sunday August 24.Now, the first wave of acts and headliners have been announced, with Barry Can’t Swim, Ezra Collective, Confidence Man, Orbital, Mount Kimbie, English Teacher, Happy Mondays, Katy J Pearson, Ishmael Ensemble and the Rituals Orchestra and Mermaid Chunky all set to take to the stage on the first day.The following day will see performances from Doechii, Jorja Smith, The Last Dinner Party, Olivia Dean, Fabio & Grooverider Orchestra and the Outlook Orchestra, Moonchild Sannelly, The Silhouettes Project, Almeda and Snapped Ankles.Described in a press release as a “future-thinking festival”, FORWARDS also features “major social initiatives” and “timely debate” alongside music acts from across the world.Pre-sale will begin at 10am GMT on Wednesday (March 5), followed by general sale on Thursday (March 6) at 10am. You can find all ticket details here.Tom Paine, Co-founder of Team Love said: “FORWARDS is back for its fourth year, and we couldn’t be prouder.

Drake attended WWE’s Elimination Chamber last night, shortly after cancelling his remaining Australian and New Zealand tour dates due to a “scheduling conflict”.Alongside Lil Yachty, the Canadian-born rapper was seen ringside for last night’s (March 1) event at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, with the appearance coming only days after he pushed back four remaining shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland due to a clash in his schedule.Having recently made his return to Australia and New Zealand last month for his first tour in eight years, Drake was due to perform in Brisbane on March 4, Sydney on 7 and a pair of shows in Auckland, New Zealand on March 15 and 16.According to a statement from Drake’s rep to Rolling Stone AU/NZ, the shows will be rescheduled, and additional shows are being planned.

Nicki Minaj has shared snippets of new music on Instagram.Earlier today (March 1), the singer took to her Instagram stories to tell fans: “I have a surprise,” and later followed up in a live video where she told her frequent collaborator Juice off camera to “play a little moment” of the new material.The audio features the ‘Starships’ artist rapping: “Plastic, instantly classic” over spacey vocals. Later on in the 30-second clip, a male rapper features on a beat that calls back to her Trinidadian roots, which fans are saying marks the return of “Trinicki”.It comes after her confirming that a new tour will be launched alongside the “next official album” back in November.“Well let me clarify,” she wrote on social media late last year, “you’ll be notified of a tour in 2025.

Lil Baby have responded to the Atlanta Police’s accusations that his music video is linked to the murder of two teenagers.On Wednesday (February 26) Major Ralph Woolfolk of the Atlanta Police Department (APD) hosted a press conference announcing the arrest of seven individuals tied to the July 2024 murders of 13-year-olds Jakody Davis and Lamon Freeman.During the conference, local news outlet Channel 2 Action News reported that Woolfolk made subliminal references to the rapper – real name Dominique Jones – claiming that a shooting that occurred during the filming of his music video in May 2024 led to a gang war and the later deaths of Davis and Freeman.“Gang violence that was orchestrated by adults. And the cowardly acts of an Atlanta-based rapper that decided to go into a rival gang stronghold in a place he knew he should not have been,” Woolfolk said, per Billboard.

Making the Band contestant Sara Rivers has filed a $60 million lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging the disgraced rap mogul sexually harassed her and stroked her breasts during filming of the reality show.In a complaint filed on Friday (February 28), R&B singer Rivers claimed that after she refused Combs’ alleged sexual advances, he blackballed her from the music industry.She joined more than a dozen other plaintiffs who filed separate claims against the rapper yesterday, ahead of the two-year lookback window closing for good on otherwise expired claims under the New York City statute known as the Gender Motivated Violence Act.Per Rolling Stone, Da Band singer Rivers, who went by Sara Stokes on the show, alleged Combs controlled her sleep, belittled her eating disorder, yelled at her and forced her to do manual labour, including an incident where he allegedly forced Rivers and her bandmates to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn – a distance of roughly eight miles on foot – and back to bring him cheesecake.Aside from the “inhumane” working conditions the suit mentioned, Rivers also alleged she was sexually harassed by Combs, citing a humiliating moment where the music exec was said to have inspected her backside and told her “everything needed to get firmed up.”Another alleged encounter the suit named as battery sees Rivers claim that Diddy had cornered her in his recording studio, blocked her with his right arm and asked if she needed anything “in a low, sensual voice”. She goes on to allege Combs “ran his left hand across her breasts while repeating the phrase if she needs anything to let him know”.

A$AP Rocky has shared an update on the development of his long anticipated fourth album, following his recent legal battle.‘Don’t Be Dumb’, Rocky’s first since record since 2018’s ‘Testing’, was due for release last August, but was then delayed until autumn 2024 and has still not come to fruition.Yesterday (February 28), the ‘LVL’ rapper shared an update with GQ, saying he was “in the mixing and mastering realm of it”.“I think quite frankly, people are tired of hearing about updates about the album,” he said. “They’re just ready to get this shit, you know what I’m saying? I don’t think anybody wants to hear where I’m at with it, how far is it along and all that.“They just want to hear some shit just to see where I’m at, and I promise I got some new shit in store.

Kanye West has asked jewellers to design a swastika chain for him.On Thursday (February 27) the rapper took to Twitter/X to write: “For all jewelers, I’m looking for swastika chain designs,” alongside an animated video of a bedazzled swastika.It was followed yesterday (February 28) by further posts doubling down on the recent backlash he’s faced for attempting to sell merchandise featuring the symbol.In one now-deleted post, he said that some rappers write music about how many people they’ve killed, but are “SCARED TO WEAR A SWASTIKA T SHIRT”, as reported by Billboard.

Universal Music Group and Def Jam Records.According to the filing (via Rolling Stone), Doe was hired in 1999 and allegedly faced numerous instances of sexual harassment from Liles between the period of 2000 and 2002 – the time when he was acting as her superior.Alongside claims of groping, the woman also accuses Liles of making “sexually inappropriate comments and advances” in 2002, as well as “physically forc[ing] himself on top of [Jane Doe] where he began to sexually assault and ultimately rape her despite her continued protests.”Liles has since shared a statement, denying the allegations and calling them “outrageous”. UMG has not yet publicly responded to the accusations.“I absolutely deny the outrageous claims reported in the press this evening,” he told Rolling Stone and Variety.

Drake gave a shoutout to his past collaborators who “didn’t turn pussy” on him.The rap superstar recently concluded his ‘Anita Max Wynn’ tour in Australia, which had meant to continue in other cities in the country this week – along with two shows in New Zealand – before being postponed due to a “scheduling conflict”. This tour was his first in the region in eight years.On the last show of the tour he performed – in Brisbane last Monday (February 24) – Drake spoke to the audience in a clip that was recently shared on social media.In it, he spoke a few thank-yous, especially to his past collaborators.

Diddy” Combs – has been sued by Bad Boy co-founding partner Kirk Burrowes.In a lawsuit filed today (February 27) in a Manhattan court, Burrowes claimed he was forced to sign over his 25 per cent ownership stake in the record label during a violent confrontation back in 1996 which allegedly saw the disgraced hip-hop mogul threaten Burrowes with a baseball bat (per Daily Mail). Allegedly, Diddy would go on to transfer the shares over to his mother Janice Small-Combes.The suit states that the alleged harassment took place in Burrowes’ office in New York City and that Diddy was allegedly accompanied by Bad Boy Entertainment lawyer Kenneth Meiselas.

In his 2004 memoir Chronicles Vol. 1, Bob Dylan described his love of rap music circa 1989, and his predictions for its future.