If any day exists as a gift, it must certainly be Friday. Particularly when that Friday brings sweet, sweet new offerings from the world of hip-hop. Now, of course, we aren’t savages, and so then we come to wrap our gift and bedazzle it with all the joyousness of gift—giving. Like Christmas morning, but just six months earlier.
Featuring the talents of such artists as Ye Ali, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, wifisfuneral and Rich the Kid, embrace the wrap of rap we call — the ‘Rap Wrap’.
Ye Ali — Time
Singer/Rapper Ye Ali, who refers to himself as the ‘Trap House Jodeci’, tapped HotNewHipHop to drop this exclusive woozy, R&B/Trap hybrid on which he sings about the pains of not having enough time with a fling. A smooth introduction to Ali’s many talents, ‘Time’ is a brilliant way to ease in the day.
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Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons, Logic & Ty Dolla $ign — Sucker for Pain
The latest track unleashed from the huge lineup on the upcoming Suicide Squad: The Album, this trippy, organ-laced beat enlists a handful of major names for this drop, which hopes to set the scene for upcoming DC Comics film Suicide Squad. With solid efforts from all the names involved, it becomes a task to wonder who offers the best contribution to what is undoubtedly an enormous track.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSAENi3bVbs]
Fat Joe & Remy Ma (ft. French Montana, E-40, Game & Snoop Dogg) — All The Way Up (Westside Remix)
Fat Joe is somehow still riding high in 2016 with mega-hit All The Way Up, which received a brilliant guest verse from Jay-Z himself only recently. He’s looking to further that hit’s success with this Westside remix featuring the West Coast talents of E-40, The Game and Snoop Dogg, all of whom bring their A-games to this extraordinary beat.
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wifisfuneral — Born 2 Lose, Born 2 Win
A bit of a lesser known name than most of the artists on this list, wifisfuneral is an artist who copped a co-sign from Earl Sweatshirt, himself. Over a curiously dark, cinematic beat, wifisfuneral shouts back at Earl and raps about his success and potential, putting the world on notice.
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Mod Sun (ft. D.R.A.M. and Rich the Kid) — Smokin’ What I’m Smokin’ On
Rock-rapper Mod Sun combines forces with D.R.A.M. and Rich the Kid for this trap offering over a Don Cannon beat, big-upping and shouting out their lifestyles while swapping the spotlight.
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Clams Casino (ft. Vince Staples) — All Nite
This track taken from Clams Casino‘s upcoming debut album 32 Levels has only been out for a short time, but gets a further boost with this video release from Clams and Vince Staples, utilising mind-bending visual effects as Vince raps in an industrial setting. With the buzz built up around this track already, the video provides a perfect accompaniment.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zGVJaFwOyo]
PARTYNEXTDOOR (ft. Drake) — Come And See Me
Further fuelling the dating rumours surrounding the pair, Kylie Jenner appears in the video for this PARTYNEXTDOOR smash, presumably taken from PND’s upcoming P3 album. Featuring further video cameos from names like Jhene Aiko and Big Sean, the video finds PARTYNEXTDOOR finally coming to see Jenner for an awkward half-kiss.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ockhq8E2FrA]
Images via PARTYNEXTDOOR ‘Come and See Me’ and Zazzle.com.au
Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s All The Way Up signalled the return of two of New York’s finest. The track has fast become a bonafide hit, dominating the airwaves and heard throughout clubs across the States. It didn’t look like the track could get any bigger until today, when the rumoured Jay Z remix debuted on Tidal.
This is Jay’s first official verse of 2016, not counting his meagre input on the original version of Drake‘s Pop Style, and his first feature since appearing on DJ Khaled‘s 2015 track They Don’t Love You No More.
Jay’s output has been minimal of late, and his quality of bars questionable (Magna Carter Holy Grail is a mess), but thankfully Hov comes through with one of his best verses in years on this remix. In obvous, well-played response to all of Beyonce’s allegations on Lemonade, here he opens up about his marriage and apparent infidelity right from the get go. “You know you made it when the fact your marriage made it is worth millions,” before going on to say “Lemonade is a popular drink and still is.” Mic drop.
He goes on to mention everything from his signature golden Ace of Spade champagne, to describing his daughter Blue in a bathtub filled with gold, aka the famous Tupac photo. The Jigga Man then takes shots at the haters and those who never give him credit for his business endeavours while bragging about Tidal, going so far as to mention that he’s got his hot hands safely tightened around Prince‘s master tapes. Ouch. Too soon. He ends on a line about elevators, a clever line with a double meaning; he referenced Prince’s death, claiming that it won’t tarnish his reputation or legacy, while also reminding us of the 2014 incident when Solange attacked Jay in an elevator.
Hearing Jay on track is one thing, but hearing him rap with such fire is exactly what you want to from one of the greatest. Rumours are circling he and wife Beyonce have finished their duet album, part of what’s looking to be a long-running and well-marketed moneymaking opus, and if he sounds half as invigorated as he does on this remix, we might just get the old Jay back and another classic release.
Image: RapDose
After 20 years, we finally have an answer to the identity of the New York Knicks’ player in Notorious B.I.G.’s I Got A Story To Tell.
In the song, Big describes a situation in which he was fooling around with a girl, who “get dick from a player off the New York Knicks,” and how he was “in his ass while he playing against the Utah Jazz.” Later in the song, Big describes how the unknown Knick comes home unexpectedly, “must have been rained out or something”, and how he ties up the girl and pulls his chrome out on the Knick, before demanding money.
The only clues that we had to who the player might be was that he was a New York Knick in the early 90s, 6 foot 5 inches, and potentially sat out the Jazz game, or forgot his sneakers.
When the internet became a thing, I remember doing some research into this song. Being an avid basketball fan, I was determined to find out whether the story was true and who it was about. The only extra info I found was the reference to the game being ‘rained out’ – a joke about a 1986 NBA game in Seattle between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns that was cancelled on account of rain leaking through the arena roof. Basketball fact through hip-hop – life was good, but I still had no answer about the story.
I was not the only one on the case. Bomani Jones and Dan Le Batard, hosts of the ESPN show Highly Questionable, have been trying to figure out who it was as well. In 2014, former Knick John Starks was a guest on the show. Starks said he knew who the player was, but wouldn’t give any more details except for confirming that it wasn’t him.
But yesterday, Fat Joe appeared on the show with a breakthrough. “What I heard was, it was about Anthony Mason,” Fat Joe said. “That was the rumour, that was a very strong possibility rumour, that it was about Anthony Mason.”
I’ll take strong possibility rumour, if that is the best we can do, as there is no one we can ask to confirm as Mason passed away last year. Mason has appeared in more than one hip-hop track, and he appeared in the music videos for Best Kept Secret by Diamond D and Root Down by Beastie Boys. The Beastie Boys also mentioned him in the song B-Boys Makin’ With The Freak Freak “I got my hair cut correct like Anthony Mason.”
Watch Fat Joe talk about the song below, starting at 2:10 into the video, and listen to the Life After Death track below that.
https://twitter.com/HQonESPN/status/732311338454679552
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6df0rha_Opw
Image: Fox Sports
When Fat Joe announced he and long time collaborator Remy Ma were back in the studio, I admit to being a little skeptical. After hearing their first single, All The Way Up, I’ve changed my tune and am totally on board. Joe’s also pretty confident he’s onto a winner, last night tweeting, “Many legends are saying that #AllTheWayUp saved Hip Hop,” as well as “It’s about having a goal and never giving until you reach it. Go #ALLTHEWAYUP.” While I’m not sure which legends he’s referring too, I do know one rapper who agrees.
Dave East – signed to Nas’ Mass Appeal Records – has dropped an aggressive remix of All The Way Up today. His take on Miami-based Edsclusive‘s production follows on from remixes of Drake‘s Summer Sixteen and Desiigner‘s Panda. Although East’s been around the scene for a number of years, he looks set to finally transition into the mainstream after being shortlisted for XXL’s Freshman Class Of 2016 off the back of last year’s well received mixtape Hate Me Now.
Adding his own verse to the tracks beginning, East reminds us he’s “Harlem as fuck” while shouting out the Terror Squad and his association with Nas on the line, “Got with Esco off a mixtape, ain’t touched the budget.” His bars are tight and flow in synch with the thumping beat, making his addition to the track seamless.
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Image: HipHopDX
Fat Joe and Remy Ma have delivered All The Way Up, the first single from their upcoming Platas o Plamo album. The track features French Montana, and is produced by Edsclusive, a young Miami producer.
The timely release comes on the first day of American spring, and as many Americans hope for sunny days, this club banger will no doubt have them praying twice as hard. And for us Aussies, we have a windows down banger as early as tomorrow.
All The Way Up captures that early /00s New York spirit that Joe and Remy were known for with their Terror Squad work. The addition of French Montana keeps the track up-to-date, but still takes you back to 2004 when Remy Ma featured on Fat Joe’s Lean Back Remix.
Fat Joe appeared on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s Drink Champs podcast a few weeks ago to reveal the album title.
“The name of the album is Platas o Plomo,” Fat Joe told the hosts. “Money or Bullets. However you want it. We ain’t got a problem paying, but if you front, you know what’s coming… It ain’t Fat Joe featuring Remy or Remy featuring this. Brotherly love. It’s both our albums.”
“Remy’s husband doesn’t mind her spending all her time with Fat Joe, and neither do I,” Joe said during the podcast that Papoose spoke highly of their collaboration.
“He was like, ‘Yo I’ve been in here with you two days, the shit you bring out of her,’” Joe explained. “The shit y’all n—as get from each other, I get it. Y’all gotta be with each other. The chemistry’s crazy.”
There is no release date for the album yet, but you can listen to the new single below and purchase it on iTunes.
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Image: Instagram
One of hip hop’s longest-tenured stalwarts, having been in the game since way back when in 1992, South Bronx spitter Fat Joe has been to Australia previously as part of the lineup for 2011’s Supafest (RIP) but has inexplicably never been given the reins to his own headline tour.
Seemingly following in the footsteps of two of his most famous collaborators in Ashanti and Ja Rule, who themselves just wrapped up an Australian tour that had the nostalgia ramped up to 11, the CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment is embarking on a three-date debut headlining tour of Australia in just a few short weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajmI1P3r1w4
It would have been nothing short of jaw-droppingly awesome had Fat Joe been a part of the Ja Rule and Ashanti joint tour/historical reenactment of the early 00s but, alas, it was not to be. His own tour isn’t strictly a chance to grab bank on throwback vibes though, with Fat Joe reportedly gearing up to release his first new album since The Darkside Vol. 1 half a decade ago and set to play several new songs that haven’t seen a release yet.
Nonetheless, fans can still look forward to hearing him rip through 23 years of hip hop classics, including Make It Rain, Get It Poppin’, the aforementioned Lean Back and of course, the song everybody and their dog has at some point bumped and grinded to, whether at a high school disco (dear lord, the cringe) back when it was murdering its way up the charts in the turbulent summer of 2002 or at a present day dive bar drunk on nostalgia, the triple threat anthem What’s Luv. (ft. Shantaaaay)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpvyG2NrS1Y
If you want the chance to be able to say that you caught Fat Joe live and up close for his first ever headline tour of Australia then you’ll have to find yourself in one of these cities on one of these days:
ArenaEnt and Delta Bravo present: Fat Joe.
Thu, Oct 29th: HQ, Adelaide
Sun, Nov 1st: The Metro, Sydney
Mon, Nov 2nd: La Di Da, Melbourne