DJ Khaled Teases Album Announcement & New Single

DJ Khaled is preparing to drop a major key this week. The Snapchat superstar alerted his social media followers to a special “Fan Luv Friday” happening on March 2 when he’ll drop a new single and announce his next album.

“#BEREADYALERT,” Khaled wrote “FAN LUV FRIDAY ! NEW SINGLE ALERT Feat ??? ALSO I WILL LET THE WORLD KNOW MY 11 studio ALBUM TITLE ! @wethebestmusic @rocnation @epicrecords GOD IS THE GREATEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

?#BEREADYALERT? FAN LUV FRIDAY ! NEW SINGLE ALERT ? Feat ??? ALSO I WILL LET THE WORLD KNOW MY 11 studio ALBUM TITLE ! @wethebestmusic @rocnation @epicrecords ????? GOD IS THE GREATEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A post shared by DJ KHALED (@djkhaled) on Feb 26, 2018 at 10:08am PST

Khaled’s upcoming album will be the follow-up to his wildly successful Grateful LP, which has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The project was highlighted by two smash hit singles, the star-studded “I’m The One” and the Rihanna-assisted “Wild Thoughts.”

Grateful featured Khaled’s son, Asahd, on its cover art and listed him as one of its executive producers. Asahd, who just landed a deal with the Jordan brand, is also involved in the rollout for his father’s next album — just check out his own announcement on Instagram.

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A post shared by Asahd Tuck Khaled (@asahdkhaled) on Feb 26, 2018 at 2:01pm PST

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46075/title.dj-khaled-teases-album-announcement-new-single

Changing His Story: 50 Cent Claims He Never Made Millions In Bitcoin

50 Cent is denying recent media claims of him having a fortune in Bitcoin, according to new bankruptcy documents obtained by The Blast. In the midst of the cryptocurrency boom, it was reported that 50 made $8 million by accepting Bitcoin as payment for his 2014 Animal Ambition album.

When the story initially broke, the G-Unit leader bragged about the news on social media. One since-deleted post said, “I know I make you sick but excuse me I’m getting to the bag #denofthieves,” while another stated, “Not bad for a kid from South Side, I’m so proud of me.”

Now, 50 is facing accusations of failing to reveal his cryptocurrency assets in bankruptcy court. In response, 50 claims he “never owned, and does not own, a bitcoin account or any bitcoins, and to the best of his knowledge, none of his companies had a bitcoin account from 2014 to the present” in a statement to the court.

When questioned why he previously allowed the fake story to run, he explains, “So long as a press story is not irreparably damaging to my image or brand, I usually do not feel the need to publicly deny the reporting.”

50 has been in a long legal battle since filing for bankruptcy in 2015.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46076/title.changing-his-story-50-cent-claims-he-never-made-millions-in-bitcoin

Hip Hop Album Sales: “Black Panther The Album” Continues To Dominate Chart

The cultural phenomenon that is Marvel’s Black Panther has left its mark on the Billboard charts. While the hit film is setting all types of box office records, its soundtrack has locked down the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 for the second week in a row.

Elsewhere, Nipsey Hussle proved the long wait for his debut album was worth it by cracking the Top 5 with Victory Lap. Also, Migos’ Culture II jumped from #4 to #2, and Moneybagg Yo entered the Top 20 after spending last week outside the Top 30.

Black Panther’s Success Extends Beyond The Box Office

Grabbed you guys some #BlackPanther swag (kimoyo beads, figures, t-shirts, signed posters, and more) to help say thanks for all the support. Post YOUR salute photo or video to Instagram with the hashtag #WakandaSalute for a chance to win. ??‍♀️??‍♂️ #WakandaForever

A post shared by Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) on Feb 23, 2018 at 8:55am PST

The Kendrick Lamar-curated Black Panther: The Album remained atop the Billboard 200 chart following its debut at #1 last week. The project’s ability to hold down the top spot should come as no surprise considering how popular the Black Panther movie has been since it premiered earlier this month.

The soundtrack also boasts a star-studded list of contributors — K. Dot, Future, 2 Chainz, SZA, Travis Scott and The Weeknd, just to name a few — that can entice listeners who haven’t rushed to theaters to see the film.

Read DX’s review of Black Panther: The Album here.

Nipsey Hussle Scores Top 5 Debut

#VictoryLap Available now!! ?

A post shared by Nipsey Hussle (@nipseyhussle) on Feb 25, 2018 at 12:59am PST

Years of grinding on the mixtape circuit have paid off for Nipsey Hussle. The West Coast MC’s debut album, Victory Lap, debuted at #4 this week’s thanks to a tremendous amount of pure album sales. Over 30,000 of his 52,000-plus total album equivalent units came in pure album sales.

Nipsey’s fans have always shown him gratitude with their wallets dating back to his Proud 2 Pay campaign. Even on a bigger scale, his supporters showed up to help him secure a Top 5 debut.

Read DX’s review of Victory Lap here.

Moneybagg Yo Vaults Up The Chart

Next Time U Bring Me Up Just Make Sure U State #BiggFactz ?

A post shared by BreadGangBagg (@moneybaggyo) on Feb 25, 2018 at 2:12pm PST

Outside of the limelight, Moneybagg Yo has quietly developed into an impact player on the Billboard charts. The Yo Gotti protégé’s 2 Heartless project experienced a significant increase in sales, jumping from #31 to #16 on the chart.

Yo’s latest release moved 21,736 units, a 53% increase from the previous week. If the trend continues, he won’t be making moves so quietly anymore.

Listen to 2 Heartless here.

Top 10 Billboard 200 Rap RB Albums For The Week Ending 02/22/2018

Note: The first number below is this week’s “total album equivalent units” count, an intersection of album sales, single sales, and streams implemented by Billboard’s new rating system. A pure album sales figure is available in bold in parenthesis and information about each album’s streaming count is available in brackets.

1. Various Artists — Black Panther: The Album — #1 — 131,236 (40,354) [119,531,649]
2. Migos — Culture II — #2 — 63,928 (6,933) [79,595,877]
3. Nipsey Hussle — Victory Lap — #4 — 52,299 (30,102) [30,984,409]
4. Kendrick Lamar — DAMN. — #8 — 32,617 (9,742) [30,744,643]
5. Post Malone — Stoney — #9 — 31,562 (2,387) [39,466,496]
6. Bruno Mars — 24K Magic — #11 — 27,378 (8,849) [20,927,018]
7. Khalid — American Teen — #14 — 22,893 (2,633) [27,299,064]
8. Lil Uzi Vert — Luv Is Rage 2 — #15 — 22,685 (585) [31,907,343]
9. Moneybagg Yo — 2 Heartless — #16 — 21,736 (3,955) [25,345,374]
10. G-Eazy — The Beautiful Damned — #17 — 19,177 (1,656) [22,505,907]

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46077/title.hip-hop-album-sales-black-panther-the-album-continues-to-dominate-chart

Sage Francis & B. Dolan Announce New EP With SoundCloud Rapper-Fighting Video Game

Providence, RI – Underground Hip Hop just got a little hairier. Strange Famous Records mastermind Sage Francis and his trusted collaborator B. Dolan — collectively known as Epic Beard Men — have unveiled the title of their first EP, Season 1, and subsequently shared the first single from the project, “Five Hearts.”

The Rhode Island-based duo announced the EBM project last December with “War On Christmas,” which — in true EBM form — took jabs at Donald Trump, Mariah Carey and other pop culture staples. To celebrate the occasion, the bearded rappers have come up with a custom video game to accompany the release of “Five Hearts.”

“Sage originated this concept and told me about it when we first started working on Epic Beard Men material two years ago,” Dolan tells HipHopDX. “My contribution to this song started as an attempt to answer the questions Francis was asking in his verse about, ‘How the hell do I replenish my health meter, this far into the quest?’

“From there, I started thinking about how much time I spent playing video games as a kid and how those games prepared me mentally for life. Our parents were so sure those games would rot our minds, when in fact I think they were doing the opposite. They turned us into problem solving machines with mutant hand-eye capabilities. They taught mental discipline, trial and error, the feeling of achievement, while telling dope stories and challenging your physical skill.”

Screen Shot 2018-02-26 at 3.47.10 AMScreen Shot 2018-02-26 at 3.47.10 AM

Designed by Michael Miriti with art by Wayne Peters, the Five Hearts video game is web friendly but can also be played on consoles with controllers in one or two player mode.

“You can play as either of us or both at the same time, and feel the satisfaction of going full ‘Streets of Rage’ on SoundCloud rappers, sample-sniffing copybots, and Tiki-Torch Nazis,” Dolan says. “I’ve been beta testing this with my 4-year-old nephew for the past month and he strongly approves. He also says it needs more levels. I told him, ‘It’s got levels kid.’”

The “Five Hearts” single pairs up perfectly with the video game’s concept. Produced by Le Parasite and crafted by engineer Adam Schneider, the song led to the video game idea. After six months and “10,000 emails,” they pulled it off.

“I’m not up on all the new video games, but the original Nintendo Entertainment System owned a bulk of my childhood and it’s still the only system I use,” Uncle Sage tells DX. “The whole ‘Five Hearts’ thing is in relation to Zelda and how Link has five hearts to represent his life force. Every time he takes a hit, a portion of a heart is removed. But there’s the magical lake that will replenish all of his hearts if you can find it.

“I often think about that when I’m feeling run down by tour or just the everyday grind. And then you start fantasizing about retiring on a lake or what you’re going to have to do in order get the five hearts back.”

Epic Beard Men’s Season 1 is expected to arrive on March 2.

Check out the cover art below and play the video game here.

Epic Beard Men %22Season 1%22 EPEpic Beard Men %22Season 1%22 EP

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46071/title.sage-francis-b-dolan-announce-new-ep-with-soundcloud-rapper-fighting-video-game

Drake’s “10 Mack Commandments” Lyrics For Sale In Old Notebook

A rare Drake artifact that landed on the Moments In Time memorabilia site could bring in $54,000.

The item, an old notebook, consists of about 12 pages of lyrics from Drizzy. A portion of those lyrics is titled “10 Mack Commandments,” a nod to Biggie’s Life After Death track, “10 Crack Commandments.”

“Number 1/ Show up for your date kinda late/ If she say be there 6/ Then be there 8/ The last thing u wanna do is say u need her/ Come early a brother looking way too eager,” the verse starts.

Splashers

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jan 9, 2018 at 2:44pm PST

According to TMZ, the notebook also includes various signatures of Drake’s real name (Aubrey Graham), a handful of notes, phone numbers, and credit card numbers.

The exact date of the lyrics isn’t clear, but the notebook features a copyright on the front cover dating back to 2002. It was reportedly discovered in Drake’s grandfather’s furniture factory in Toronto by a member of a cleanup crew about 10 years ago.

The resourceful crew member saw potential value in the notebook and is now selling it on MomentsInTime.com.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46072/title.drakes-10-mack-commandments-lyrics-for-sale-in-old-notebook