This week in Hip Hop, A$AP Rocky was taken into custody following a brawl in Sweden. Also, a vehicle registered to YG was involved in a deadly shootout with police. Lastly, J. Cole’s Dreamville label released the highly-anticipated album Revenge of the Dreamers III.
A$AP Rocky Locked Up In Sweden
A$AP Rocky and some friends were leaving a Stockholm restaurant when two men began following him while allegedly slapping random women’s butts. After Rocky and his crew confronted the two men, a brawl ensued that was captured on camera.
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The A$AP Mob member was arrested and currently remains in Swedish custody as prosecutors determine whether to charge him with aggravated assault.
It’s possible Rocky may remain behind bars for at least two weeks. Normally, Swedish authorities only keep suspects for three days but a judge ruled the Harlem-bred rapper could be held for longer while prosecutors decide if they’ll pursue charges.
A$AP Ferg has revealed his longtime collaborator is currently being held with “no visit or phone call privileges” and has launched a #FreeRocky” online campaign.
Read more about A$AP Rocky’s arrest in Sweden here.
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YG Caught Up In Police Shootout Case
A Cadillac Escalade registered to YG, whose government name is Keenon Jackson, was allegedly involved in a deadly shooting Wednesday night (July 3).
An innocent bystander was reportedly killed in the police shootout and one deputy suffered minor injuries. One suspect was detained while another remains free.
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Upon this revelation, YG quickly denied any involvement via Twitter.
“I was nowhere near the scene of this incident,” YG tweeted Friday (July 5). “I was in Hollywood recording in the studio all day. I was there until after midnight on the 4th of July and didn’t learn of these events until after they happened!”
It’s been a tough year for the 4Hunnid boss. His close friend Slim 400 was shot nine times last month, and he’s still wrestling with the loss of “Last Time That I Checc’d” collaborator Nipsey Hussle.
Read more about YG’s car being involved in a deadly shooting here.
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J. Cole & Dreamville Drop Revenge Of The Dreamers III
Dreamville’s highly-anticipated compilation Revenge Of The Dreamers III finally dropped Friday (July 5).
The project includes 18 tracks with major features hailing from Young Nudy, DaBaby, T.I. and Ty Dolla $ign, among others.
On the project’s final track “Sacrifices,” Cole revealed he and his wife Melissa Heholt are having their second child.
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Stream Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers IIIhere.
DX Reviews
– Chris Brown — Indigo
– Freddie Gibbs & Madlib — Bandana
– Tyga — Legendary
– Mozzy — Internal Affairs
– K Camp — Wayy 2 Kritical
– Your Old Droog — Transportation
– Twista — Summer 96
– Domani — Time Will Tell
– Jim Jones — El Capo
– B.o.B — Southmatic
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#DXCLUSIVES: Ayo N Keyz, YFN Lucci, Kodie Shane, dead prez & DMC
Producers Ayo N Keyz Talk Working With Jaden Smith, Chris Brown & More
In an interview with HipHopDX, Grammy Award-winning producers Ayo N Keyz opened up about their music industry beginnings.
“Our first placement was back in 2012 with Omarion,” Ayo revealed. “It was a single titled ‘Let’s Talk’ featuring Rick Ross. We felt the momentum start to pick up at the end of 2015. We had a song on Bryson Tiller’s debut album, another one on Chris Brown’s Royalty album, also songs with Monica, Fabolous and Diddy. So since then, we’ve just been trying to stay consistent in this industry.”
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Read the full interview with Ayo N Keyz here.
Marlon Craft Talks “Funhouse Mirror” Album, Cultural Appropriation & “Gang Shit” Video
DX’s Justin Ivey spoke to Marlon Craft about the Sony Music artist’s new album Funhouse Mirror. During the conversation, the New York-bred MC touched on the subject of cultural appropriation in Hip Hop.
“I think when we talk about this idea of cultural appropriation, you talk about taking from a culture and not giving back,” he noted. “I think I have privilege in the space of the world and America and particularly in Hip Hop where I’m a guest. It’s not my space and I’m looking to make a living here.
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“So, I think it’s a responsibility of me to contribute my attention and my voice to be abreast on these type of issues that affect the communities that Hip Hop belongs to. But also, I’m capable of making something like a “Gang Shit” and see it through and do it the right way.”
Check out the entire interview with Marlon Craft here.
Kodie Shane Talks Acceptance & Being A “Generation-Defining Artist”
DX caught up with Kodie Shane for the launch of Sprite’s “Thirst For Yours” campaign, and she explained what it means to be a “generation-defining artist.”
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“I’m the artist that defines the generation, especially when it comes to girls,” she said. “I am the foundation for almost every girl artist right now. I am who they were and then they add more and they try to make it different. I define all of this.”
Read the full Kodie Shane interview here.
dead prez Continues To Spread Their “Be Healthy” Message
DX’s Kyle Eustice talked to stic.man and M-1 of dead prez, providing an update on what the tenured Hip Hop duo is up to. Most recently, they teamed up with J. Period for the video “See The Light” featuring Andra Day. During the video, several people are seen meditating, a rarity in Hip Hop videos.
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“I want to be true to my experience and give you the best wisdom I can give you today and not just kind of tell you the idea of actions, Hollywood, revolutions from the synagogue, you know what I mean?” stic said. “If you can harness that energy and that righteous rage in a way that doesn’t become toxic to you, then you can actually focus as a group to get things done with compassion, clarity and wisdom. That’s going to be more powerful than burning anything.”
Read the full dead prez interview here.
Darryl “DMC” McDaniels Looks Back On “Walk This Way” For This Week’s #ThrowbackThursday
In a brief interview with DX, DMC looked back on the impact Run-DMC’s groundbreaking single “Walk This Way” featuring Aerosmith had on music culture.
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“It’s amazing how a beat I knew only as ‘number 4 from the album with the toys on the cover’ would become a remake of a song that would bring two generations of people and music together and damn near create a new genre of music,” McDaniels said of the song.
Read his full comment here.
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