Top Dawg Entertainment Teases Unreleased Tracks

Top Dawg Entertainment, the record label that blessed Hip Hop with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and SZA — just to name a few — has suggested they’ll be dropping some previously unreleased tracks soon.

Though they didn’t specify exactly when the unheard songs would arrive, they made an announcement of the upcoming music on their Twitter page.

TDE said fans who subscribe to their Spotify playlist will get “instant notifications” about their upcoming releases.

The latest release on TDE’s Spotify page is Jay Rock’s “Win,” with Kendrick Lamar providing a feature.

In a follow-up tweet, the label also said they’d be making some tracks available on Apple Music as well.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46904/title.top-dawg-entertainment-teases-unreleased-tracks

Anderson .Paak Thinks Meek Mill Should’ve Met With Donald Trump

New York, NY – Anderson .Paak believes Meek Mill should’ve followed through with his plan to attend the prison reform summit at the White House earlier this week.

Meek pulled out of the commitment after JAY-Z reportedly convinced him that aligning himself with Donald Trump in any way was a bad look.

But .Paak, whose own mother was incarcerated for over seven years, thinks Meek has the power to make a difference.

I think if Meek Mill had his mind set to go and do what he had to do, I think maybe he should have did that, the “Bubblin’” rapper told TMZ. “My mom was in prison for seven and a half years and I know that’s a big issue, that’s a major issue  — prison reform — that shit need to be rectified A.S.A.P.

“It’s so much cheap labor that goes into it. It really does need to be magnified and looked at. And Meek is the man for that.”

.Paak went on to say he thinks Meek missed an important opportunity.

“If they would have went in and did something, worked together, came out with something that actually helped the situation, that’s what you want,” he said. “Who gives a damn, if that’s what it is. We got how many more years with this dude? It’s like, ‘OK, this is what it is. Let me show you, this is what needs to happen.’ And they come together and make something happen. What? How can you hate on that?”

Meek issued a statement on Friday (May 18) explaining his reason for canceling his scheduled meeting at the White House.

“Unfortunately, the focus turned to the President and myself which concerned me that it might take away from creating a positive result from today’s discussions,” he said. “As a result, I decided not to attend, so that the focus would be solely on fixing our prison system. Most importantly, I remain fully committed to improving our criminal justice system.”

Whether Trump was going to attend the prison reform summit was never confirmed.

Meek was released from prison on April 24 after serving five months for probation violations. While in Chester State Prison, he inadvertently became the new face of criminal justice reform.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46911/title.anderson-paak-thinks-meek-mill-shouldve-met-with-donald-trump

Twitter Cries Cultural Appropriation Following Nicki Minaj’s "SNL" Performance

New York, NY – Nicki Minaj was the musical guest for the season finale of Saturday Night Live on Saturday (May 19).

During her performance, the Queens superstar did a live rendition of “Chun-Li” while wearing traditional Japanese garb.

Minaj, whose performance comes ahead of her forthcoming album Queen, also wore chopsticks in her hair, had several Asian backup dancers and used an Asian-style pavilion as part of the backdrop.

After the show aired, Twitter exploded with tweets accusing Minaj of cultural appropriation. Many people questioned why a white Utah teenager was recently accused of cultural appropriation for attending her high school senior prom in a Chinese-themed dress while Minaj seemed to get a pass.

Last September, Minaj spoke out against the cultural appropriation in the fashion industry while performing at Philipp Plein Spring/Summer ’18 runway show during New York Fashion Week.

“Thank you for including our culture,” she said. “Designers get really big, really rich off of our culture, and then you don’t see a motherfucker that look anything like us in the front row half the time.”

Nonetheless, multiple Twitter users were outraged Minaj wasn’t held accountable for Saturday’s appearance on SNL.

Check out the reactions below. 

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46914/title.twitter-cries-cultural-appropriation-following-nicki-minajs-snl-performance

Mike Jones Swears He’s Not Hating On Quavo

Houston, TX – After a fan recently told Mike Jones he sounded like Quavo, the veteran Houston rapper reminded them, “I was here 1st!”

On Friday (May 18), Jones took to Instagram to clarify that he’s not hating on the Migos rapper; he simply doesn’t understand the comparison.

“Got nothing but love for @QuavoStuntin,” Jones wrote. “I don’t kno why people keep coming to me, saying I sound like him, when I don’t! I’m not hating, and not trying to get publicity from this, the people keep hitting me, it’s enough money for everybody!”

@complex If u gone post it , Post the Truth! ???? @quavohuncho , All Love on this End , Do u Stay Grinding‼️ ?? Coming

A post shared by Mike Jones (@where_mikejones) on May 18, 2018 at 3:20pm PDT

The fan sent the private message to Jones earlier this week but evidently didn’t understand Jones was making his mark in Hip Hop long before the “MotorSport” rapper came along.

From 2005’s “Still Tippin’” featuring Paul Wall and Slim Thug to “Back Then,” Jones has been pumping out tracks for nearly 20 years.

“U sound jus like quavo in back then,” the fan wrote. “U gotta get bacc in the booth w that sauce get some Beats new wave shit.”

Jones replied, “Lol he sound like me!! I was here 1st! and my new single ‘Sauce’ is out everywhere!! google Mike Jones Sauce, Enjoy!!”

Ain’t this Funny! Some shit just make me Laugh! Check the History , and u will see who was here 1st , and who came after that ‼️ #AllUHave2DoIsGoogle www.whomikejones.com ?????

A post shared by Mike Jones (@where_mikejones) on May 18, 2018 at 6:20am PDT

Check out “Sauce” below.

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46912/title.mike-jones-swears-hes-not-hating-on-quavo

Kid Koala On New Deltron 3030 & "Floor Kids" Video Game Hitting STEAM

Montreal, Canada – In terms of legendary turntablists, Kid Koala is among the elite. From his work with the Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School and Deltron 3030 to touring with Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow on The Hardsell Tour, his career is continuously fruitful.

Kid Koala’s most recent venture, the Floor Kids: Original Video Game Soundtrack, finds the Montreal-based DJ curating the music for Floor Kids video game, which allows players to battle in breakdancing competitions. On May 16, the game was added to the PC game platform STEAM, so anyone with a computer now has the ability to play it.

RELEASE DAY!!! WORLDWIDE on #STEAM !! here’s a mini tutorial on hidden “strobe” spins in the game! #BringYourSkills #BuildYourCreq #FloorKids @floorkidsuniverse @jonjonanimation @realkidkoala

A post shared by kid koala (@realkidkoala) on May 16, 2018 at 3:04pm PDT

“It’s gonna be available to so many more people,” Kid Koala tells HipHopDX. “I’m very excited about that. We’re proud of what we made and we’ve been working on it for five years. We’re happy as hell it’s out at all no matter what platform it’s on, but the fact it’s on STEAM, we’re very excited. It’s like our baby.”

Co-created by B-Boy/animator Jon Jon, Floor Kids has multiple levels set to Kid Koala’s music. Each character has 16 different break moves and pop settings, including top rocks, down rocks, power moves and freezes. The player must create certain combos to rack up more points.

“The game is more based on self expression,” Kid Koala explains. “During the verses, you’re actually free to do whatever you want in whatever order you want, and create your own choreography like a B-Boy or B-Girl would in a cypher.”

My get down last night at the #KidKoala show in #Brooklyn. Celebrating the #FloorKids launch on Steam! Still on the front page of Steam after Day 3! ? Video courtesy of @uxjade sister from another mister ??

A post shared by JonJon (@jonjonanimation) on May 18, 2018 at 10:08pm PDT

Del The Funky Homosapien — Kid Koala’s Deltron 3030 cohort — is also a part of the Floor Kids vision.

“I’m actually gonna get Del on some Floor Kids tracks,” he says. “We’re gonna build him his own level that you can unlock in the game and there will be three tracks you can battle on featuring Del, amongst some other MCs.”

Ladybugg Mecca of Digable Planets and Black Sheep’s Dres are expected to participate in the game as well. Although he couldn’t reveal the timeline for those additions, Kid Koala did provide an update on new Deltron 3030 material, and what he, Del and Dan The Automator have cooking.

“With the Deltron records, Del does a lot of research,” he says. “He does a lot of reading and absorbing of all kinds of art, sci-fi novels, stuff like that. I think with Event 2, we had all these beats ready and all these tracks ready but he just wanted to keep reading more about it and figure out what he was gonna say. We were kind of in a holding pattern until he was ready.”

“When Del is ready to do it, I know Dan and I are absolutely ready to go,” he adds. “I have heard a couple of the beats already for the new one. I wouldn’t say there’s a full album but Dan’s definitely started some stuff. I’ve done some turntable layers on a couple things already but when Del is ready, he can write very quickly. He’s very deliberate with the lyrics on the Deltron records for whatever reason.”

In a recent interview with Red Bull Radio, Dan The Automator confirmed another Deltron 3030 record was in the cards but for now, it’s just a matter of timing.

“The three of us have every intention to do more Deltron material,” Kid Koala says. “As far as it even synchronizing into a period of time where we’re all gonna get together in a session or even a potential release date or tour dates, none of that is confirmed yet.”

party at @nintendo HQ! #FloorKids #Nindies SEATTLE, see you tonight at @neumos_ DOORS AT 7:30!

A post shared by kid koala (@realkidkoala) on May 3, 2018 at 12:47pm PDT

Until then, Kid Koala will be busy promoting Floor Kids and working on its next stages. He sometimes finds himself in disbelief that music has taken him so far.

“There’s always gonna be the people who tried [scratching] out but it wasn’t really for them,” he says. “Then there’s gonna be those people who get that bug for it and weirdly it becomes part of their DNA. For me, the first time I scratched a record I knew immediately this is it. It’s like my brain cracked open and I could all of a sudden see all these possibilities, all these paths.

“Even now, I’m doing scratching and it’s in a Nintendo game. When I was starting to DJ, if you’d said, ‘Oh yeah, you’re gonna be on Nintendo someday because of scratching,’ I’d be like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Looking back, I can connect the dots, and see the universe and the stuff I was into just colliding. You’re just hoping you find an audience for it.”

Floor Kids is currently available on STEAM and Nintendo Switch, and will hit Playstation and XBOX soon. 

Article source: http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.46913/title.kid-koala-on-new-deltron-3030-floor-kids-video-game-hitting-steam