HipHopDX is going to begin weekly recaps of the happenings of Hip Hop, posted each Saturday. We’ll give you a condensed version of what took place in the previous week, so you can get your weekend fix from your favorite one-stop.
This week was defined by shocking news, Nas collaborating with fellow respected early 1990s emcees, and a new Compton, California emcee that is shocking the system with powerful record sales.
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Man Comes Forward On Notorious B.I.G.’s Murder, Waka Flocka Flame Retires
On Tuesday (July 5), HipHopDX ran an exclusive interview with Illinois inmate Clayton Hill, who provided us with reports that he believes himself to be an accessory-after the fact in the 1997 murder of Notorious B.I.G. Speaking with HipHopDX throughout the month of June, Hill claims he transported the murder weapon from the trigger-man, who Hill all-but-confirmed with longtime suspect Amir Muhammad to officials within the Nation of Islam. DX has additional interview with Clayton Hill running this week, so stay tuned on this developing story.
Yesterday (July 8), Waka Flocka Flame said that he will retire from Rap, as he would prefer to work at a Walmart. The Warner Brothers/Brick Squad 1017 rapper has only released one album (with a second collaborative effort coming), but he’s fed up. While Waka previously penned “Fuck Dis Industry”
, now he really means in, as the Atlanta-based rapper’s mother and manager began telling sources her son was hanging it up, before Waka confirmed such reports on The Ryan Cameron Show. Lupe Fiasco, Game, Jay-Z, Master P and Too Short have all said this previously, and nobody actually followed-through. Will Waka?
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Kendrick Lamar Crushes The Charts With An iTunes Exclusive
The first nationally-recognized Compton, California emcee since Game, Top Dawg Entertainment’s Kendrick Lamarsold an impressive 5,300 units of his Section.80 iTunes-exclusive album. This joins Mac Miller, another developing artist in the ability to conquer the charts without physical units or traditional label-backing. K.Dot’s release featured appearances and contributions from J. Cole, RZA and GLC. To provide context, the release was within 100 units approximately, of Smif-n-Wessun & Pete Rock’s Monumentalrelease, put out by independent stalwart Duck Down Records from three 15-plus-year established artists.
Nas Returns To His Roots With Common & Raekwon
In the mid-1990s, three of the most respected voices in Hip Hop were Nas, Common and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon. Nasir, who arguably ascended to the highest plateau of the three commercially, is returning to his roots. The Queensbridge emcee released “Ghetto Dream” (DX’s most-played track of the last week) with Common, for the G.O.O.D./Warner Brothers Records artist’s upcoming release. Additionally, a video released for “Rich & Black.” The song is from the highly-slept-on Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang album, released by Rae this March.
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Oh yeah, and a video for “Ghetto Dream” is on the way, just check the trailer.
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Other items of note:
– Big Sean’s Finally Famous: The Album topped the Hip Hop charts.
– Pusha T provides Tyler, the Creator a major cosign, and actually releases the collabo.
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– Jay-Z & Kanye West’s Watch The Throne does exist, and is played for a small New York audience.
– Beanie Sigel Says Jay-Z Prevented Him From Signing With G-Unit Records.
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