Desiigner revealed his cover art for new single “Timmy Turner” Monday night. The artwork features a cartoon version of Desiigner standing in front of Timmy Turner’s house from the show The Fairly OddParents and in the top right corner is a watermark that reads KIDNERD.
KIDNERD’S real name is Jefte Castillo, a Bronx, New York native who currently attends the Fashion Institute of Technology and will be wrapping up his bachelor’s degree next May. Castillo told Complex he undertook the project on his own and getting it to Desiigner is evidence of how powerful the internet can be.
“It was a self-project that I sent it to him via Twitter and his Instagram account, but I was not hoping for him to even see it because he has a lot of followers,” Castillo told Complex. “A lot of people just kept re-posting and re-posting.”
“A lot of people kept tagging him on my page and then I sent it out to one of my cousins, Giran Ceballos, and said, ‘Listen, maybe see if he would respond to you, but I highly doubt that he will,’ but he direct messaged him as well with the art cover and a few hours later [Desiigner] posted it.”
Castillo is a fan of Desiigner, and hip-hop in general, and was inspired to create the artwork while listening to the New York-based rapper’s freestyle. “I was listening to the freestyle video that he posted on his Facebook page and I enjoy the beat because I’m a big beat fan,” he said. “And I was like, let me try to make a concept of his actual song and try to create a humorous artwork that relates to the ‘Timmy Turner’ freestyle.“
Lil Uzi Vert took to Twitter Tuesday afternoon to announce his new project, The Perfect Luv Tape. Even better, he previewed a track singing along to the lyrics, ripping away on the hook that sounds like he’s rapping, “Now I do what I want.” It’s quick and snaps and already leaves us turning up on the hook. It seems Lil Uzi might have hinted the track even before today because he shared that same line a week ago with his fans on Twitter.
Unfortunately, the rising rapper didn’t mention any timeline of when we can expect the new project to arrive, but it’s clear his tweet is meant to prepare us for it’s imminent release.
There is no stopping Lil Uzi who has been consistently dropping new material for us to sink our ears into from his Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World project he dropped just a couple months ago in April to his most recent visual for the track, “Money Longer,” featuring his ex-girlfriend Brittany Byrd. Although Byrd stars in the video as his damsel in distress, Lil Uzi revealed in late June that the two were no longer together. In fact, he seemed straight up heartbroken over the whole thing and poured it into another new track, “Stole Your Luv.”
It seems he didn’t sulk too long about the breakup if he already has a new project on the way. Of course, the breakup could also be the main inspiration behind the whole new project, which would explain the line, “Now I do what I want.” Either way, more Lil Uzi is definitely something that we can all look forward to.
Memph Bleek is, Memph Bleek is, Memph Bleek is … broke. And we can’t decide if that’s something to be shocked about. On one hand, it’s not too unexpected considering the man hasn’t released an album in over a decade. On the other hand, it is somewhat surprising, only because Jay Z famously vowed to never let Bleek go under. Well, Hova might’ve dropped the ball, as Bleek has reportedly filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
According to Bossip, the former Roc-a-Fella rapper filed the petition March 14 in U.S. Federal Court in New Jersey. His total assets—which include a Jersey Home, a Chevy Impala, clothing, and wedding rings—total $274,000; however, his liabilities total $350,000. He also claims he has only $100 in cash, as his Chase business account is empty, and his business “Get Low Touring” is worth nothing.
Bleek reportedly earns $5,911.94 a month—$571 in royalties and $5,340.94 from his business; however, his monthly expenses amount to $5,377, leaving him with $534.94 after bills.
According to Bossip, the bankruptcy is pending while Bleek formulates a plan to pay back his creditors. He currently owes $335,000 on his New Jersey house, $24,000 on his Chevy Impala, $9,000 to the IRS, and $13,000 to Monmouth County Superior Court.
It’s doubtful Bleek will be bailed out by Jay, as he doesn’t list any support from family or friends in the petition. But hopefully he solve his financial issues just as he did in 2007, when he was reportedly hit with a federal tax lien for $37,750.
Floyd Mayweather took part in a long sit-down interview with Hollywood Unlocked recently that’s being rolled out in five different parts over the course of this week. In Part 1 of the interview series, which was released on Monday, Mayweather scratched the surface by briefly discussing Nelly and his ex-girlfriend Miss Jackson (you remember all of their drama, right?) as well as his watches, his cars, and, of course, his money (we know, Mayweather talking about money—SHOCKING).
After a five-year break, VH1’s Hip Hop Honors returned on Monday night with a tribute to a handful of hip-hop’s most enduring female voices: Missy Elliott, Lil Kim, Queen Latifah, and Salt-N-Pepa.
This was a reminder, not that you should ever have needed it, of their unwavering greatness. Take, for instance, Missy.
Her last album was over a decade ago, with 2005’s The Cookbook, but she’s been steadily mounting her return over the last couple years. In early 2015, she lit up social media with a surprise performance with Katy Perry at the Super Bowl halftime show, and then rounded out the year with her Pharrell-assisted single, “WTF (Where They From).”
During the VH1 Hip Hop Honors on Monday night, honoree Lil Kim performed the classic Junior M.A.F.I.A. anthem “Get Money.” To rap Biggie’s verse, she brought out Rich Homie Quan.
The Atlanta rapper stepped out onstage, mumbled a few words, and then proceeded to awkwardly ad-lib his way through the rest of his stage time.
Another day, another musician gets his own sneaker endorsement. The latest to join the group—which includes Kanye West, A$AP Ferg, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, and Pusha T for adidas, Kendrick Lamar and Cam’ron for Reebok, and Rihanna for Puma—is Future and Reebok, which feels the most forced out of the bunch.
Don’t get me wrong, Future is one of the biggest rappers in the game right now. But when you see him—his love for high-fashion sneakers, rapping about “Jumpman,” and Gucci flip-flops—do you think, “Man, he’s the perfect candidate to represent Reebok”? Probably not.
Thought the Beast Mode sequel was going to be Future’s next mixtape? Well, it won’t be … at least according to him. On Sunday evening, the Atlanta rapper sent out a series of tweets announcing that his next tape will actually be FBG: Forever Or Never.
This news might come as a shock to some fans, who’ve been patiently awaiting Beast Mode 16, Future’s joint mixtape with Zaytoven, since it was announced last year. In a recent interview with HotNewHipHop, Zaytoven claimed he and Future had over 100 unreleased songs, and that they’ve recorded many times after releasing the original Beast Mode mixtape in early 2015.
“Every time we go in the studio, we’re gonna do five, 10 songs together,” Zaytoven told HotNewHipHop. “But we got, I know, at least 100 songs.”
But it appears fans will have to wait a little longer before they can hear some of those tunes. Beast Mode 16 doesn’t have a release date at this time, and neither does FBG: Forever Or Never; however, assuming everything goes according to Future’s plan, we can expect the latter to drop first.
Kim Kardashian Says a Video Was Shot for Kanye West’s “Highlights” During Their Iceland Trip
Back in April, Kanye West and several members of the Kardashian clan headed to Iceland for what appeared to be a standard family vacation; however, it turns out the trip was more for business than it was for pleasure.
During Sunday night’s episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kim revealed that the purpose of the visit was to film the video for a The Life of Pablo track. Since images from the trip emerged, rumors began circulating that Kanye did, in fact, shoot a video for either “Ultralight Beam” or for “Highlights,” but no one could confirm … until now. Though the show never mentions the name of the song that Kanye is filming for, Kourtney Kardashian says it’s for her “favorite song.” Not too long after the album dropped, Kourtney revealed that her favorite track from The Life of Pablo was “Highlights.” So, there we have it.
The video has a lot to live up to, considering all the buzz that surrounded the “Famous” visuals, as well as all the discussion that followed after its premiere at The Forum in Los Angeles last month. But, if we know Kanye, we’re sure he’s going to deliver something epic.
Throughout the episode, Kim would talk about how the video was filmed on top of an Iceland glacier that could only be accessed through helicopter, so it’s safe to assume we can expect some insane imagery on the way. All we have to do now is wait for the video to drop.
It looks like A$AP Ferg has more music on the way. During a trip to Cannes on Saturday, the Harlem rapper went to his Snapchat account (Devoni143) to announce a new project titled Still Striving. Though Ferg kept the project’s details to a minimum, he did say it will release in the near future.
“By the way, I’m dropping a new project very soon. It’s gonna to be called Still Striving,” he said in the Snapchat video. “Look out for it.”
So what can fans expect? Will this be another album, or will it be a mixtape? Considering Ferg released his second full length album, Always Strive and Prosper, only a few months ago, many assume this project will be the latter. But it’s anyone’s guess right now.
Critics praised Ferg for sharpening his lyricism on Always Strive and Prosper, which included big-name features such as ScHoolboy Q, Chuck D, Missy Elliott, Big Sean, and Future. So, it’s a safe bet that Still Striving will deliver more great guest artists and even more heat. After all, he’s evolved from the Trap Lord to the man of the people.