By Daniel Burton
Hall Of Fame
The 11th?
After this years Induction Ceremony that took place on November 5th and airing in November, there are now 5 solo rappers and 5 rap groups in the Rock & Rock Roll Hall of Game Fame.
One of the most prestigious honors a rapper can achieve, a true testament of transcendending their own genre and affecting music as a whole.
Let’s look at the current Hip Hop Inductees:
🏆 2007 - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (presented by Jay Z) * 1st Ballot
🏆 2009 - Run DMC (presented by Eminem) * 1st Ballot
🏆 2012 - Beastie Boys (presented by Chuck D and LL Cool J)
🏆 2013 - Public Enemy (presented by Spike Lee and Henry Belefonte) * 1st ballot
🏆 2016 - NWA (presented by Kendrick Lamar)
🏆 2017 - 2pac (presented by Snoop Dogg) * 1st ballot
🏆 2020 - Biggie (presented by P Diddy) * 1st Ballot
🏆 2021 - LL Cool J (presented by Dr Dre)
🏆 2021 - Jay Z (presented by Dave Chapelle) * 1st ballot
🏆 2022 - Eminem (presented by Dr Dre) *1st Ballot
39 years of the establishment, 365 total inductees and only 9 Hip Hop inductees. Quite impressive right?! Extremely difficult to get in even for some Rock & Roll favorites.
The HOFs only formal requirement is that the artist is eligible 25 years after there debut. The nominations and voting then goes to over 1000 artists, historians and people connected to the music industry. Factors that they take into account are musical influence on music as whole and on other artists, depth of career, innovation and superiority of style and technique. Surprisingly sells, popularity and accolades aren’t a factor.
With that being said, we want to look at who could possibly be the 11th solo rapper or group to be enshrined.
Past Nominees
🎤 Africa Bambaataa - Eligible since 2006, nominated in 2008
🎤 Eric B & Rakim - Eligible and nominated in 2012
🎤 A Tribe Called Quest - Elgible since 2015, nominated 2022
Already Elgible
🎤 DJ Kool Herc - Eligible since 2001
🎤 Sugarhill Gang - Elgible since 2005
🎤 MC Hammer - Elgible since 2013
🎤 De La Soul - Elgible since 2014
🎤 Cypress Hill - Elgible since 2015
🎤 Queen Latifah - Elgible since 2015
🎤 Salt N Peppa - Elgible since 2012
🎤 Mobb Deep - Elgible since 2018
🎤 Nas - Elgible since 2018
🎤 Wu Tang Clan - Elgible since 2018
🎤 Fugees - Elgible since 2019
🎤 Outkast - Elgible since 2019
🎤 The Roots - Elgible since 2019
🎤 Snoop Dogg - Elgible since 2019
🎤 Lil Kim - 2022
Strong Future Candidates
🎤 Missy Elliott - 2023
🎤 Lauryn Hill - 2024
🎤 50 Cent - 2025
🎤 Lil Wayne - 2025
🎤 Ludacris - 2025
🎤 Ye - 2029
🎤 J Cole - 2033
🎤 Drake - 2035
🎤 Kendrick Lamar - 2035
🎤 Tyler, The Creator - 2035
🎤 Nicki Minaj - 2036
Who do you think it’ll be?
By Manny
Meek Mill Dreams and Nightmares 10 year Anniversary
Ten years since his debut, no one can deny how important Meek Mill has been for the city of Philly and the culture!!!!
Meek has definitely been such an inspiration to myself as he been on a roller coaster ride through life from the drop of this debut till now. The whole hip hop world stopped when THE INTRO dropped and is still impacting the vide of clubs parties till this day and is unanimously greatest intro of all time!
The album, now 10 years old, definitely feels like a reflection of a young man dealing with newfound fame and fortune that is still just removed from a life of extreme hardships. Songs like “Amen” featuring Drake and “Maybach Curtains” with Nas and John Legend are celebrations of his new success, while songs like “Tony Story Pt. 2” are more stories reported from what Meek had recently been able to leave behind. While there are a lot of Dreams and Nightmares still in Meek’s music, the evolution to him now is evident, the core of his being is visible on this record still. I still hear some cadence from this debut till this present day but meek evolution has definitely been beyond expectations and he has definitely made a stamp and a name in this game and continues to be relevant in this new climate of hip hop. I think as time has went by hip hop fans will continue to appreciate what meek has brought to the table and I hope he continues to keep bringing us that excitement that hip hop needed when he first dropped! Future is still looking bright 10 years after! If you don’t grind you don’t shine!
THE HARDEST WORKING LABEL IN HIP-HOP: INSIDE THE RISE OF YO GOTTI AND COLLECTIVE MUSIC GROUP
Yo Gotti can’t sleep. “When I lay down at night, my mind can’t stop running,” says the 41-year-old rapper-executive, sitting in his pristine, tan-toned trailer in the parking lot of a photography studio as the sweltering Miami sun descends outside.
Discussing something as personal as his life-long battle with insomnia is out of character for the fiercely private rap mogul. In most interviews, Gotti remains strictly hustle-centric, doling out advice on investments, ownership, and artist marketing techniques, imparting gems of wisdom picked up from billionaire friends Jay-Z and Michael Rubin. But as the sky transitions from baby-blue daytime to a twilight gradient, Gotti digs a little deeper. “I damn near feel like it’s a sickness or some sh-t,” he says, “because even at this point, my hunger and eagerness to win is something scary.”
Kept awake by an incessant stream of plans and questions — where he will be in 2023, the offices he still needs to build, purchases to be made — Gotti typically lies awake until 5 a.m., catching five hours of sleep until around 10 a.m. Even as a teenager, Gotti (born Mario Sentell Giden Mims) pulled all-nighters — but instead of being kept awake by lucrative deals, he was in the streets of North Memphis, hustling alongside friends from dusk until dawn and releasing raw, mile-a-minute rhymes under the name Lil Yo. A 15-year-old pushing his body to the limit, Gotti would lay his head to rest when most of the block’s alarm clocks began buzzing, almost never making it to school in time for homeroom.
“It just became a lifestyle — I’d be like, ‘I ain’t going to sleep. I’ma be getting to the money all night.’ ” Gotti adds with a smile, “So, I guess it’s the same now.”
Leaning back in his leather seat, Gotti unleashes a jaw-cracking yawn. He is inching towards the end of a nine-hour shoot day spent wrangling his latest class of label signees amidst 50-plus entourage members — and a couple of AR-15-toting security guards. Nevertheless, spirits were celebratory all day: Boisterous Memphis standout Blac Youngsta paraded around with a British accent and dished out real estate advice, while Louisville rapper EST Gee, surrounded by a handful of concerned onlookers, was caught in a struggle between a stain removal pen and the smeared lunch leftovers on his pristine white pants. (He eventually prevailed.)
Bay Area newcomer Mozzy coolly strolled around with a grateful smile after being surprised by Gotti with his own diamond-encrusted chain, interacting with a just-high-enough Moneybagg Yo, draped in Prada and Michael Kors, as recent R&B signee Lehla Samia quietly soaked in her moment. Gotti got almost everyone to Miami, save for Detroit star 42 Dugg — stranded 660 miles away at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after missing his flight. (“I tried everything in the world to get there,” he said in a mid-interview FaceTime call to Gotti.)
Surrounded by his chosen family, Yo Gotti has every reason to be satisfied. He has painstakingly built an enviable career as a rapper — five top 10 albums in the past 10 years alone — but that’s only half of his story. Through his record label, Collective Music Group (CMG), the hip-hop mogul has achieved what most household-name rappers with imprints have not: breaking prominent underground names into a mainstream audience while continually shattering his own personal records. With his 10 signees, Gotti has established CMG as a formidable brand in the streets and on the charts, one with 50 Hot 100 hits and 12 top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, with the label scoring its highest-charting projects within the past year to help kick off a new partnership with Interscope Records.
“It’s rare to find somebody who’s an amazing creative but also a great businessperson,” says Interscope CEO John Janick of Gotti. “I think he’s a needle in a haystack, [because] he has mastered both of those things.”
When he’s not calling the shots at CMG, Gotti finds other ways to build wealth and influence, expanding his entrepreneurial portfolio into uncharted territories. The former college business major has investments across industries including food and beverage, gaming, restaurants and cryptocurrency. He owns “too many” properties spanning across the United States and recently entered the sports world, becoming a part owner of the D.C. United soccer club — one of only three people of color among fifteen club owners.
Gotti embraced the learning moment. Soon after, he officially tweaked the name to ‘Collective Music Group’ — a natural tweak, considering Gotti’s dedication to strength in numbers and the success of those around him. “He always got good game and [advice],” says Mozzy. “I try to soak up everything I can every time I encounter him.”
Gotti was keeping tabs on Mozzy, a widely respected MC whom rappers like YG have revered as a modern-day Tupac, for five years before officially signing him in 2022. “He sat me down and told me, ‘It’s a plate at the table, whenever you ready,’ ” Mozzy explains. The formerly independent rapper says he hesitated to sign with other labels, whom he didn’t trust when it came to his lifestyle and vision, but that Gotti was unequivocally genuine from the jump. Like Moneybagg and Youngsta, Mozzy aspires to transcend music, planning to try his hand at filmmaking and screenwriting. “One thing that stuck was when Gotti said, ‘One movie check could change your life,’ ” he adds.
Meanwhile, Gotti caught wind of 42 Dugg in 2019: “He saw me perform at The Big Show in Detroit and offered me a deal the next day,” Dugg told Billboard in 2021. Gotti visited Detroit frequently during the courting process and eventually signed him in a joint venture with Lil Baby’s 4PF Records. The acquisition of Dugg was momentous for CMG, expanding the label’s roster beyond the borders of the south.
“You know how many times I heard, ‘42 Dugg, he sounds different than Memphis rap, you think that’s going to work?’ Of course I [thought] it’s going to work,” Gotti says triumphantly. Dugg has scored eight Hot 100 hits since the signing, attracted huge festival crowds and collaborated with artists such as Marshmello, Meek Mill, Big Sean and Latto. In April, Dugg and fellow CMG rapper EST Gee’s collaborative project, Last Ones Left, debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, a new chart high for Dugg. (Whether his recent arrest due to failure to report for a six-month sentence quells the burgeoning rapper’s momentum remains to be seen.)
Scarface Named Best "Southern Emcee [Of] All-Time" In Viral Top 25 List
By Erika Marie
July 20, 2022 02:41
If you didn't already have something to argue about this evening, the internet has submitted an offering. Another "Top" list has been making the rounds online, and at this point, people are used to Hip Hop creating a stir when posts like these go viral. We know all too well the debates that are sparked by someone's opinion regarding the best artists in the game, and this time, we're taking a look at the "Top 25 Southern Emcees [of] All-time" courtesy of According to Hip Hop.
To begin, some social media users took issue with the word "emcee" being used, as not every rapper is an emcee. However, that was a minor topic of discussion as the list itself created an uproar.
We'll start at the bottom and work our way up, and that shows Pastor Troy as #25. He took that spot, it seems, as an afterthought, because Jeezy initially held the position until he was crossed off of the list altogether. Making our way up, next comes Killer Mike at #24, Quavo at #23, 2 Chainz at #22, Big KRIT at #21, and closing out the 20s is Curren$y.
Mystikal was able to snag #17, Project Pat at #10, Bun B landed at #14, Andre 3000 was at #9 just below his Outkast groupmate Big Boi who made #7, and just above him at #6 was Rick Ross.
We'll let you take a look at the list in its entirety below, including the #1 spot which sparked the most conversations.
- Scarface
- Lil Wayne
- T.I.
- Pusha T
- J. Cole
- Rick Ross
- Big Boi
- Future
- André 3000
- Project Pat
- Pimp C
- MJG
- Eightball
- Bun B
- Cee-Lo Green
- Juvenile
- Mystikal
- Ludacris
- Gucci Mane
- Curren$y
- Big KRIT
- 2 Chainz
- Quavo
- Killer Mike
- Pastor Troy (crossed out Jeezy)
Let us know what you think of this one and check out the viral post below.
Scarface Named Best "Southern Emcee [Of] All-Time" In Viral Top 25 List (hotnewhiphop.com)
MA$E LABELS HIMSELF 'DIDDY 2.0' AFTER FIVIO FOREIGN’S SHADY BUSINESS CLAIMS
Published on: Jul 30, 2022, 9:56 AM by ill Will 1
Ma$e appears to have thrown more shade at Diddy while responding to claims made by Fivio Foreign that he signed the New York drill rapper to a shady business deal.
In a recent interview with Million Dollaz Worth of Game, Fivio claimed he was locked in a questionable contract with Ma$e’s RichFish Records which he signed for $5,000. He explained to hosts Gillie Da Kid and Wallo that his friend took him to Ma$e and pressured him into signing the deal.
“The n-gga that brought me to him, he was like, ‘Yo, man. Just sign that shit. You bugging,'” Fivio recalled. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, read it.’ He’s like, ‘Alright, just sign it. It’s good,’ so I just signed it. Advance was $5,000.”
He then accused the former Bad Boy Records rapper of trying to “fake explain” how the money would be divided but ultimately determined that he’s in a “better situation” now. “He gets what he gets, like, whatever he gets but I control all my money and shit like that,” Fivio explained.
Now, Ma$e looks set to respond to the claims as the next guest on Million Dollaz Worth of Game. In a teaser clip shared by Gillie ahead of Sunday’s (July 31) episode, he and Wallo appear to tease Ma$e about the $5,000 deal.
“$5,000, man,” Wallo says to Ma$e in the video while he sips on some water, before Gillie adds: “N-gga ain’t shit.”
The Harlem rapper then looks at the camera, smiles, and says: “Diddy 2.0,” before walking off-screen.
Ma$e Labels Himself 'Diddy 2.0' After Fivio Foreign’s $5K Deal Claim | HipHopDX
FASHION ICON VIRGIL ABLOH DEAD AT 41
Published on: Nov 28, 2021, 11:10 AMby Kyle Eustice 13
PARIS, FRANCE – Designer Virgil Abloh has died, much to the shock of the fashion and entertainment industries. According to a Twitter post from luxury goods company LVMH, the Off-White founder and artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton passed away on Sunday (November 28) following a private battle with cancer.
“LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years,” the post reads. “‘We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom.
“The LVHM family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones, after the passing of their husband, their father, the brother or their friend.'”
A trained architect, Abloh made his foray into international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009 alongside Kanye West. Their artistic collaboration ultimately led to founding Off-White. Just two years later, Abloh was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for his work on JAY-Z and Kanye West’s celebrated Watch The Throne album.
In 2018, he became the first person of African descent to be named artistic director at a French luxury fashion house when Louis Vuitton put him in charge of men’s wear. He then earned the unique distinction of being named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine that same year. In 2019, Abloh was appointed to the board of directors of The Council of Fashion Designers of America.
ut behind the scenes, he was apparently fighting a rare, aggressive form of cancer called cardiac angiosarcoma. Diagnosed in 2019, he chose to kept his health issues close to home, which his family explained in a separate Instagram post.
“We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend,” the caption read. “He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues. For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.
YOUNG THUG PREDICTS ATLANTA WILL CONTINUE TO RUN RAP FOR THE
Published on: Nov 22, 2021, 11:44 AM by Andy Bustard
ATLANTA, GA – There’s no denying Atlanta’s place at the top of Hip Hop’s regional power rankings. The culture may have been born in New York City in the 1970s, but since the turn of the millennium, it has found a vibrant adopted home in Atlanta — and there’s no sign of it being uprooted.
From Kilo Ali and Arrested Development to Outkast and Goodie Mob; Jermaine Dupri and Lil Jon to Ludacris, T.I., Jeezy and Gucci Mane; Future, 2 Chainz and Waka Flocka Flame to Young Thug, Migos, 21 Savage and Lil Baby, the ATL has pumped out seemingly endless generations of artists and producers who have remoulded rap music in their own image.
If you ask Young Thug, who appeared at the 2021 REVOLT Summit in his hometown over the weekend, Atlanta’s dominance is only set to continue for another decade.
“I don’t see no city taking over Atlanta,” he declared when asked what the next five to 10 years holds for the A. “Because we steady having new artists come from Atlanta, bruh, and we getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The biggest artists that are popping right now are from Atlanta.
“We gon’ keep going higher and higher. I don’t see no other city gaining the number one spot again. We got it.”
Young Thug Predicts Atlanta Will Run Hip Hop For The Next Decade | HipHopDX