Sometimes Hip Hop can move at a pace too frantic for even the most devoted fan to keep up with. Albums and mixtapes are released at breakneck speed, careers are made and broken with the swipe of a pen, and somewhere in between all the madness actual music (the quality of which vacillates between excellent and god awful) is being made. Twitter provides a nice summary of everything 140 characters at a time. And if you’re the type that would rather not be bothered with stepping into the Twitterverse to catch up on the latest in Hip Hop, we’ve filtered through the top rapper’s tweets and consolidated all the week’s events into one convenient feed.
This week, Diddy becomes a doctor, as XXL is challenged for their 2014 Freshman cover by 9th Wonder and (playfully) Riff Raff. Erykah Badu gets some critical responses over her new Google Glass, Kim Kardashian clears the air that she’s not married to Kanye West (yet), and The Game reacts to G. Count’s “ChiRaq” diss.
Rihanna Shouts Beyonce, Jay Z And Kanye West For 4-Way Ebony Covers
Rihanna proved she knew the words to Jay Z’s verse on “Clique” since she quoted the G.O.O.D. Music track appropriately for her Ebony cover story announcement. Ebony Magazine’s Summer Music Special will include four covers from Roc Nation figureheads including Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West, and of course Rihanna who took to Twitter to express her excitement. The nouns associated with each person include “The Diva” for Beyonce, “The Mogul” for Jay Z, “The Poet” for Kanye West, and “The Rebel” for Rihanna. Sounds about right.
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Rih celebrated with the “Clique” line: “Yea I’m talking Ye, Yea I’m talking Rih, Yeah I’m talking B, Nigga I’m talking me!” and closed it with a “Thank You.” How perfect was it that the covers reflected every name mentioned from Jay Z’s verse? Is that a conspiracy or just another case of the Illuminati making things happen? You decide for yourselves, but pick up all four issue of Ebony when they land on newsstands.
Erykah Badu Surrenders To Google Glass, Twitter Followers React
So much for her “Analog Girl In A Digital World” status. FatBellyBella herself, Erykah Badu, joined the select ranks of people who get to experience Google Glass. Not everyone was ’bout it though. It’s amazing how one little device can ignite an entire army of followers to have polarizing feelings. Miss Badu tweeted a photo of herself earlier looking color coordinated in a red tank top with none other than the elusive Google Glass attached to her eyes in red. Twitter trolls united to share some hate as always, but Badu barked back.
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One follower tweeted, “Google Glass…smfh. I thought you were one of the smart ones. I’m disappointed” to which Erykah replied “And who is yo pastor?” Welp. For the most part, though, people were anxious to have her review the device, one person even called it-slash-her “fashionable.” Comment of the year though goes to Erykah’s initial tweet: “Ok so so…this google glass ALSO allows my pimp hand to be free… Ok. Hmmm.” Keep that pimp hand strong, Erykah.
The Game Alludes To G Count Baby Beef With Career Ending Threats
The Game is never one to miss an opportunity to retort, but when it comes to the new jacks trying to floss, he can’t help but shrug them off at the checkout line. Earlier this week, Tyga and Game dropped off the cut “ChiRaq To LA (Lil Durk Diss)” where sizable shots were tossed at former GBE affiliate turned Coke Boy Lil Durk. Then, in the midst of that fiasco, G. Count of L.E.P. Bogus Boys comes through with his own version of “ChiRaq” dissing Game. Wait, what? After hearing the cut, Game took to Twitter to voice his opinion on the situation, referring to G. Count’s track as “subpar.”
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He sealed the mini-rant with a clever little threat, stating “Make me mad enough, I’ll end ur career & you’ll b baggin groceries by June!!!” Hey at least he’s suggesting G. Count will have a job somewhere, right? The market is hard out there. Regardless of what happens next, let’s hope all of these proverbial shots fired stay on wax and a real war doesn’t erupt within Hip Hop. History has taught us that those conflicts never end well.
Dr. Diddy Documents His Howard University Journey Via Revolt
If there’s one thing you can safely say about Diddy, it’s that he always wants his fan-mily present for each of his milestones. The Bad Boy spent his Saturday being the keynote speaker for his sort of alma mater Howard University. He received an honorary doctorate degree in the process. Yes, that makes him a Doctor now. He chose to invite everyone into the experience, as his latest multimedia business venture Revolt TV, hosted a live stream of the event as it happened. Diddy was giddy with excitement, inviting everyone to witness his happy day.
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“God is the greatest!!” he declared, hashatgging himself as #DrCombs. Now that Dr. Dre has become Hip Hop’s first billionaire, perhaps Dr. Combs can replace him as the new Doctor Of Hip Hop. Does that mean Diddy will bring us Detox instead? Let’s not hold our breath for that one. Either way, HipHopDX sends our warmest congratulations to Dr. Combs and the Revolt family.
ScHoolboy Q Loves His European Fans
They say music is a universal language and that proved to be true for TDE rhymesmith and Black Hippy, ScHoolboy Q. The artist went overseas on his Oxymoron world tour and was impressed by his fans at one of his tour stops. Q’s young bucket hat-wearing fans apparently knew all the words to every song and didn’t even know English, according to his tweet. Much to Q’s surprise, he couldn’t believe how the crowd turned up to every song he performed.
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He referred to them as “the tightest lil ScHoolboy Q fans ever,” tweeting a pic from the experience. The fans had a chance to throw up the Westside and take a picture with their favorite rapper, fresh off the stage. It pays to know all the words to your favorite songs, people.
Kim Kardashian Confirms That She Is “Not Yet” Married To Kanye West
Last week, reports started flying about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s secret civil wedding but after the rumors got too out of hand, Kim took to Twitter to clear a few things up and used a numbered list to keep her tweets on track. 1. They’re not married yet. 2. Their wedding will not be on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. 3. No guest list (sorry). She did add a tweet saying that she didn’t want to pimp out her wedding to reality TV and “decided to keep this close to our heart & share thru photos.” 4. No one has seen her dress. 5. Stop me from continuing.
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It’s crazy to think that anything involving the Kardashians would be kept private, but considering Kanye West’s current stance on privacy it makes sense — baby North not being allowed before the E! cameras on KUWK being the greatest indicator of that. What we’re wondering, though, is will French Montana be at the wedding since he and Khloe Kardashian are now an item? Will Lamar Odom be there too? So many questions.
TDE’s Ab-Soul Announces Upcoming Album Title
Twitter is the new press release. Ab-Soul has revealed the official title of his upcoming album, These Days… For a while, fans and everyone else unofficially named Soulo’s work, Black Lip Pastor, because it was used often as a hashtag in his tweets.Earlier this month, Ab-Soul was itching to release his work tweeting that he was “close” to leaking his album, “like it’s a mixtape.”
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Of course, it didn’t sit well with TDE’s Top Dawg . He replied in a tweet, “I DARE A NIGGA ON MY TEAM LEAK HIS ALBUM….. #TDE.” These Days… will be the next in line of the six albums that TDE is planning to release in 2014.
If The 2014 XXL Freshman Class Cover Was Up To RiFF RAFF…
Somewhere in 2013, before the 2013 XXL Freshman cover was revealed RiFF RAFF expressed interest in wanting to be in the coveted group of emcees, tweeting that it was of “CENTiMENTAL VALUE” to him. Chance The Rapper, who’s actually in the new 2014 XXL Freshman class, posed with JODY HiGHROLLER and JODY HUSKY for a “new” Freshman cover starring the trio. “BEiNG ON THE FRESHMAN COVER OF XXL iS SOMETHiNG i ALWAYS WANTED TO DO,” RiFF RAFF said in his previous tweet. Semi wish come true?
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Early on, Riff Raff mentioned that he was being considered for a spot on the Freshman 2014 cover. That didn’t materialize, but there’s always next year right? Can you be semi-nominated for something twice in a row? Probably not. This isn’t American Idol.
9th Wonder Rants On The 2014 XXL Freshman Cover
When 9th Wonder says “Jamla is the squad,” he means it. Talk about a leader riding for his team. When XXL revealed who would be gracing the cover of their Freshman 2014 issue, there was a certain someone missing. Jamla First Lady Rapsody — who was being touted as the leading lady on the cover (by fans) — was not included on the list. Hip Hop fans and industry constituents alike felt a way about this, considering Rapsody has been at the forefront of not only ladies in Rap but burgeoning prolific lyricists.
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The de-facto leader of Jamla, super producer 9th Wonder, had several things to say about it. He challenged XXL over Twitter, questioning their authority, and circling back when XXL Editor-In-Chief Vanessa Satten suggested that 9th had known the whole time Rapsody was not being included. The kicker? Rap somehow landed on XXL’s Top Female Rappers list yet couldn’t jump from the website to the cover for when it mattered most. C’est la vie.
TDE Freshman Class Roll Call
Top Dawg Entertainment has reason to celebrate. Beyond having a solid roster, they’re also consistent in a terribly inconsistent environment within Hip Hop. Case in point: the 2014 XXL Freshman roster. Punch, President of TDE, tweeted the 2014 XXL Freshman cover, which featured the newest member of TDE, Isaiah Rashad., along with Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Ty Dolla $ign and Troy Ave.
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That means every rapper on TDE’s roster has graced the Freshman cover. Punch also included the years the past members have been on the cover: Jay Rock in 2010, Kendrick Lamar in 2011, ScHoolboy Q and Ab-Soul in 2013. It’s a clear indicator that 2014 is Isaiah Rashad’s year for the independent West Coast label.
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