This week in Hip Hop, Young Dolph was shot multiple times on Tuesday (September 26) in Hollywood, leaving him in critical but stable condition. Also, Cardi B hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bodak Yellow” and J. Cole shared an idea on how to handle boycotting the NFL in response to President Donald Trump calling any NFL player who kneels a “son of a bitch.”
Young Dolph Shot In Hollywood
Memphis recording artist Young Dolph was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday (September 26) after being shot multiple times in Hollywood near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland, a busy tourist area. The shooting reportedly occurred after Dolph got into an altercation with three men outside the Loews Hollywood Hotel.
Corey McClendon, an individual from Yo Gotti’s camp, was arrested in connection to the shooting but was later released without charges. Police are still searching for two other men.
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For more updates on Young Dolph’s condition read here.
Cardi B Makes History With “Bodak Yellow”
Congratulations are in order for Cardi B, who has managed to continuously make waves with her single “Bodak Yellow.”
“Bodak Yellow” is now #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, making her the first female rapper to top the chart as a solo act since Lauryn Hill did so in 1998 with “Doo Wop (That Thing).” She has since received tons of praise from her peers, including Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, Missy Elliot, Lil Kim and of course Kodak Black. Pop icon Janet Jackson even included the song in her State Of The World Tour set and was captured dancing to catchy hit.
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It wasn’t all love for “Bodak Yellow” though. Azealia Banks made her presence known with several negative comments aimed at Cardi. Banks claimed Cardi has sex for tracks and said she knows the person who actually wrote the lyrics to “Bodak Yellow.”
Cardi fired back by uploading a video of Banks rapping along to the hit single.
Read more about Cardi B and the success of “Bodak Yellow” here.
NFL Boycott & Hip Hop’s Reaction
President Donald Trump recently took aim at the NFL and the players who chose to exercise their right to protest by kneeling during the National Anthem. In a speech that took place in Huntsville, Alabama, he referred to anyone who protested — such as Colin Kaepernick — as a “son of a bitch.” He also said NFL owners should fire players who kneel.
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“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘get that son of a bitch off the field right now?,’” Trump said. “‘Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’”
Trump’s words have understandably caused an uproar. Many in the Hip Hop community have come to the defense of Kaepernick and every NFL player who kneels during the National Anthem, saying it’s their right.
J. Cole took it a step further, sharing the most effective ways to boycott the NFL in response to the league’s suspected blackballing of Kaepernick and general reaction to the protests.
Read more on J. Cole’s suggested NFL boycott here.
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DX Reviews
– Kevin Gates — By Any Means 2 — 3.5
– Lecrae — All Things Work Together — 4.1
– G Herbo — Humble Beast — 3.6
– Rapsody — Lailas Wisdom — 4.5
#DXclusives: Mathematics, Damon Albarn, MadeinTYO & Underground Rap Report
Mathematics Plans To Give Wu-Tang Fans Exactly What They Want
Wu-Tang Clan producer Mathematics spoke with HipHopDX’s Shirley Ju about the iconic Hip Hop group’s upcoming compilation album, Wu-Tang: The Saga Continues. It’s already been dubbed a masterpiece by RZA himself.
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“I put a lot of hard work into it,” Mathematics says. “Definitely worked hard to make it a masterpiece. When I was putting this album together, I was basically trying to put together an album that when I listen to it … I’m real critical of myself. I’ve done other projects in the past and as I did those albums, I always listen back like, “Aw, I wish I would have did this, I wish I would have did that.” Plus learning so much now and being able to put it into effect, I just try to put together a complete album, beginning to end.”
Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn Deems Vince Staples “Anti-Hip Hop” (In A Good Way)
Gorillaz’s recent studio album, Humanz, features Pusha T, De La Soul, Danny Brown and Vince Staples. Speaking with DX’s Kyle Eustice, Gorillaz co-founder/frontman Daman Albarn shares his thoughts on Vince Staples and being featured on the rapper’s album Big Fish Theory.
“He’s great,” Albarn tells HipHopDX. “He’s doing something different. He’s kind of anti-Hip Hop, isn’t he? I like that style. I like that not buying into more of the distractive aspects of the culture.”
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He adds, “I was delighted to be on his album. It made me happy. We got along great. He’s a real character. I’m looking forward to hanging out with him for the next seven weeks.”
MadeinTYO Says Meeting Pharrell Exceeded His Expectations
DX’s Kyle Eustice also caught up with MadeinTYO and found out what it was like for him to meet Pharrell Williams. After all, his gold-selling single “Skateboard P” was named after the Grammy Award-winning producer.
“Pharrell is dope and people know that,” TYO tells HipHopDX. “So it’s like, meeting him, he didn’t do bad. It was definitely one of those, ‘Thank god you’re not the opposite of what I thought you were’ moments. Like Pharrell is definitely a real one. We had good conversation.”
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Underground Report: 5 Overlooked Projects From 2017
DX staff writer Justin Ivey took the time to produce a report of 2017’s overlooked projects from underground artists. Among them include Binary Star’s Water World 3, Down 2 Earth’s Fair Share, G Yamazawa’s Shouts To Durham, Starlito and Don Trip’s Step Brothers THREE and Tiurakh$ushii’s Etienne The EP.
Listen to and read about these overlooked projects of 2017 here.
