Category: Hip Hop

Boosie BadAzz avoided prison Friday in a California federal courtroom after pleading guilty to a gun charge.

The ruling closed a long running federal case and delivered an outcome far lighter than prosecutors sought. The judge sentenced the Louisiana rapper born Torrence Hatch Jr. to time served along with three years of supervision and 300 hours of community service. The decision followed months of uncertainty and capped a legal saga that shifted from local authorities to federal court.

Boosie’s attorney Meghan Blanco confirmed the outcome in a statement provided to XXL.

“Mr. Hatch was sentenced to time served, in addition to three years of supervision and 300 hours of community service. The resolution brings a sense of relief, allowing him to finally put this chapter behind him. He can now focus on continuing his music career, dedicating time to his family, and being a positive and inspiring presence for his children and the wider community.”

Ahead of the hearing prosecutors had pushed for a tougher punishment. They recommended a 24 month sentence followed by three years of supervised release. The judge declined that request and instead allowed Boosie to walk free following the court appearance.

Before entering the courthouse Boosie shared videos on social media showing him preparing for the day. He appeared in a bright blue suit and flashed a high end Audemars Piguet watch.

The caption was brief and confident. “Let’s Get It!”

The case dates back to 2023 when Boosie was booked in San Diego after a traffic stop. Authorities said officers later found multiple firearms inside his vehicle. The situation escalated after police referenced a gun seen in his waistband during an Instagram Live session. Local officials initially dropped the case but federal prosecutors later stepped in.

In July a federal judge dismissed the charges only for prosecutors to refile them soon after. By August Boosie opted to accept a plea deal and waited months for sentencing while continuing to tour release music and post regularly online.

The ruling allows Boosie to resume his career without the shadow of incarceration. While supervision and community service remain part of the sentence the outcome marks another moment where the rapper once again sidestepped prison and returned to the spotlight with momentum intact.

​AllHipHop

Salt-N-Pepa lost a major legal fight against Universal Music Group in New York this week after a federal judge dismissed their lawsuit over ownership of their classic recordings.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled the Hip-Hop duo failed to prove they ever owned the master recordings they attempted to reclaim under copyright termination laws. The court found that Cheryl James and Sandra Denton, better known as Salt-N-Pepa, never held the rights to begin with due to the terms of their original 1986 agreements.

Salt-N-Pepa alleged that UMG retaliated against their efforts to regain control of their catalog by pulling hits like “Push It” and “Shoop” from streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

The pair filed suit in May 2025, citing federal law that allows artists to reclaim rights to their work after 35 years.

UMG rejected their termination notices, arguing that the duo lacked legal standing since they had never transferred ownership of the copyrights in the first place.

Judge Cote agreed, writing that copyright termination rights only apply to authors who originally granted those rights away. Because Salt-N-Pepa never held the copyrights, the court ruled they had no authority to reclaim them.

Despite the ruling, Salt-N-Pepa made it clear they’re not backing down. In a statement posted to social media, the trailblazing group thanked their supporters and promised to keep pushing forward.

“For over 40 years, you’ve been right there with us, from the first time you heard us on the radio to every show, every video, every moment,” they wrote. “We thank you for the love and support you’ve always given us. It means everything.”

“We started as two girls from Queens, NY, with a dream. That dream became our reality because of YOU. God blessed us with the most loyal fans in the world, and there would be NO Salt-N-Pepa without you.”

They added, “For the last few years, we’ve been fighting to regain ownership of the music we created. The songs we performed and poured our hearts into for 40 years. Yesterday, we received a setback in the process, but we believe that justice will prevail in the end.”

“The music and culture we built together changed lives. The legacy we created as women who refused to be silenced. We’re still here. We’re still Salt-N-Pepa. And we’re not done fighting. Not just for us, but for every artist who deserves to own what they create. We are Salt-N-Pepa, and nothing changes that!”

UMG, for its part, called the lawsuit “baseless” and said it had made repeated efforts to resolve the dispute privately.

The company stated that it had no legal obligation to renegotiate, but still attempted to improve Salt-N-Pepa’s compensation and maintain access to their music.

The label continues to hold the rights to a catalog that has generated millions in revenue over the decades.

UMG said it remains “open and willing to find a resolution” and wants to “amplify Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy for future generations.”

​AllHipHop

Daniel Caesar recently returned to the NPR Tiny Desk to perform a set of five songs from his 2025 album, Son of Spergy. Caesar’s last appearance at the Tiny Desk was in 2018, following the release of his debut album, Freudian. That first performance remains in the top 15 most-viewed Tiny Desk concerts on YouTube, and his latest has already passed the one million view mark.

This time around, Caesar was accompanied by an upright piano, a guitar, and a 12-piece choir. While that may sound like a lot of people behind a famously small desk, the performance feels surprisingly intimate. In the words of NPR’s Bobby Carter: “From note number one, I, along with the audience of NPR staffers, was instantly stunned by the power of the choir and how Caesar effortlessly led them… There may have been others in the crowd who felt what I felt: This is one of the most transcendent moments at the Tiny Desk.”

Caesar opened the set with Son of Spergy’s opening track, “Rain Down.” He picked up his guitar to continue with “Emily’s Song,” “Moon,” and “Who Knows,” before taking to the piano himself for album closer “Sins of the Father.” Son of Spergy, released last October, is Caesar’s fourth album, following 2017’s Freudian, 2019’s Case Study 01, and 2023’s Never Enough. Spergy dives deep into Caesar’s relationships with his father and his faith. “It’s about religion,” he told Billboard, “but more importantly, it’s about my father. In your childhood, your father is a lot like God. He’s the person you fear the most on earth and also the person whose love and respect you desire more than anyone else on earth.”

The record features collaborations with Sampha, Bon Iver, and Blood Orange among others. Caesar’s father, nicknamed Spergy, also features on the album, adding vocals to the track “Baby Blue.”

Browse Daniel Caesar’s music on vinyl and CD here.

​Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music

The late D’Angelo released his celebrated neo-soul epic Voodoo album in January of 2000. An anniversary celebration will feature a new release of the 2LP, highlighted by a zoetrope design.

Each side of the double-vinyl set has a different design, incorporating elements from D’Angelo’s brilliant career like music videos, album design, and lyrical content.

Voodoo is widely hailed as one of the most important albums of the 21st century. After its release, Voodoo topped the Billboard albums chart just two weeks later, won two Grammys, achieved platinum status, and produced one of the sultriest hit singles of all time with “Untitled (How Does it Feel),” thanks in large part to its iconic video.

Last year, Rolling Stone unearthed audio from a D’Angelo conversation that took place in 2015. In the chat, the singer born Michael Eugene Archer discussed how Voodoo was inspired by the disappointment he felt after releasing his debut, Brown Sugar.

He explained, “Brown Sugar, in retrospect, it’s a great album, but I wasn’t that happy with it. I thought that a lot of the demos felt and sounded better to me that I had done in the crib on a four-track. We had to reproduce that in the studio. I felt like it was overproduced. So my main motivation with Voodoo was for it not to feel like that, for it to feel more like my demos had felt.” The raw immediacy of Voodoo is one of its most celebrated qualities.

He also spoke about expectations going into his third LP, the long-anticipated Black Messiah from 2014. He said, “Voodoo was and is what it was. It’s dishonest for me and unfair to me to think I’m gonna outdo that, so I won’t even attempt. I just wanted to make sure it was the next step in my progression. To break something down to its more essential core — that too can be evolution.”

Buy D’Angelo’s Voodoo on limited edition zoetrope vinyl.

​Discover more about the world’s greatest R&B artists | uDiscover Music

‌Lawyers for Dallas rapper Yella Beezy, accused in the 2020 highway killing of rival rapper Mo3, say prosecutors buried them under a mountain of digital files and are asking a judge to point out what the state actually plans to use in court.

Attorneys for Yella Beezy filed a motion saying they received about 16 terabytes of evidence in the capital murder case, plus another large batch in December 2025. They say much of it is random or repetitive material, including long videos where nothing happens, jail calls that don’t involve Yella Beezy and files labeled only with confusing numbers.

The rapper is charged with arranging the murder of Mo3 in November 2020, by allegedly paying a guy named Kewon White to carry out the shooting on a Dallas highway.

Dallas police and federal agents investigated the case for more than five years before a grand jury indicted Yella Beezy in March 2025.

The defense says the sheer size of the file dump makes it almost impossible to prepare for the trial. They argue that, with so much unrelated material mixed in, it is not realistic for them to find key evidence that could help Beezy or respond to the state’s case.

The deadly feud between Yella Beezy and Mo3 had been brewing for years before it turned violent on Interstate 35E.

Both Dallas rappers publicly downplayed their beef in interviews, with Mo3 telling VladTV, “it was nothing” when asked about tensions with Yella Beezy.

Yella Beezy also tried to minimize the conflict, claiming he didn’t even know Mo3 when reporters asked about their relationship.

Despite their public denials, the rivalry between the two rappers ran deep in Dallas Hip-Hop circles, escalating through social media exchanges and diss tracks that fans and locals knew were aimed at each other.

On November 11, 2020, Mo3 was driving northbound on Interstate 35E near the Dallas Zoo around midday when an armed man approached his vehicle after both cars had stopped in traffic.

The 28-year-old rapper got out of his car and tried to run away on foot, but was chased down and shot multiple times in broad daylight with other drivers and witnesses around.

Mo3 was rushed to a local hospital but died from his injuries, leaving behind three children and a growing music career that had earned him recognition beyond Dallas.

Kewon Dontrell White was arrested about a month after the shooting and charged with Mo3’s murder. White is currently serving a nearly nine-year federal prison sentence on separate gun charges while awaiting trial for the murder case.

A second man, Devin Maurice Brown, 32, was also indicted in April 2021 on murder charges connected to Mo3’s death.

Prosecutors allege Brown helped coordinate the killing and contacted witnesses multiple times, trying to influence their testimony, according to court documents.

Brown is expected to stand trial in November 2026, while Yella Beezy’s trial date is slated for February 2.

​AllHipHop

Young Buck has avoided prison time after entering a plea deal in Tennessee that will keep the former G-Unit rapper out of jail despite receiving an eight-year sentence.

The Nashville-born rapper pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon after being convicted of a felony in Tennessee court this week. Buck received an eight-year sentence with 30 percent suspended, meaning he will serve 2.4 years through community corrections rather than behind bars.

The community corrections sentence means Young Buck will serve his time through supervised probation, community service, and other court-ordered programs rather than in a traditional prison setting.

This type of sentence allows offenders to remain in the community while completing their punishment under strict supervision.

The charges stem from a 2020 incident involving his then-girlfriend that resulted in multiple criminal counts. Young Buck was originally charged with domestic assault, vandalism over $10,000 and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon following the altercation at his residence.

Court records show that Young Buck’s former girlfriend allegedly shot at him during the incident and was also charged with reckless endangerment. The case has dragged on for nearly six years, with Young Buck’s trial delayed multiple times before the plea agreement was reached.

The year 2025 was a little rough for Young Buck.

In April 2025, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail for violating his bond conditions at least six times, according to the Sumner County District Attorney’s Office.

The violations included missing court-ordered check-ins and failing to comply with other bond requirements. The rapper’s incarceration sparked protests from his supporters, who gathered outside the Sumner County Courthouse in April 2025.

Dozens of fans and community members held signs and chanted in support of Young Buck, arguing that the charges against him were unjust and that he was being treated unfairly by the legal system.

Sheriff’s deputies monitored the peaceful protest, which lasted several hours as supporters called for Buck’s release and questioned the handling of his case.

​AllHipHop

Here’s some genuinely hopeful energy to kick off the year. After weeks of chaos, nonstop beef, cultural fatigue, and the heavy backdrop of real-world tension, there are at least a few promising rumors floating around the music world. And for once, they actually feel like the kind of rumors worth leaning into.

Word on the street is that J. Cole may finally be ready to release The Fall Off as early as this week. If true, that alone would feel like a moment of excellence to start the year. Cole has been unusually quiet after inserting himself into a situation that felt accidental, emotional, and ultimately unnecessary. Since then, he has stepped back, recalibrated, and let the noise die down. Now, with the dust settled, it appears his long-promised album may finally reach listeners.

And that is not the only rumor circulating.

There is also strong chatter that Drake could be dropping his anticipated new album titled The Iceman this same week. According to industry whispers, the project is finished and ready to go. He even recorded some in a strip club to get inspired. If that happens, it will instantly become one of the most scrutinized albums Hip-Hop has ever seen. Drake has created high expectations. Still, love him or critique him, he remains a phenomenon. Not an evil force, but a necessary one. His presence forces conversations and that carries value.

From a cultural standpoint, this could be exactly the reset Hip-Hop needs. J. Cole represents the balance we need. He is a lyricist who respects the core, yet he also knows how to connect beyond purists. He may not occupy pop space the same way Drake or Kendrick Lamar does, but he consistently satisfies dedicated Hip-Hop heads. AND reaches casual fans. That kind of synergy is rare.

Drake, meanwhile, brings an entirely different vibration. Ideally, that vibe is simply great music. Do not bring any diss records to 2026, bro! If the chapter involving Kendrick truly sits in the rearview mirror and Drake focuses on craft, sound, and creativity, that is more than enough. Anything extra is just bonus.

If both of these albums arrive as rumored, 2026 could start on a powerful note. And honestly, Hip-Hop deserves that.

What do you think about these rumors and what they could mean for the culture? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let the conversation begin.

​AllHipHop

Mike Jones just proved that some marketing strategies never go out of style, and his legendary phone number, 281-330-8004, continues to ring even on his brand-new iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The Houston rapper posted on Instagram showing his phone was already buzzing with calls before he even finished setting up his new device.

Twenty years after “Back Then_”_ made 281-330-8004 the most famous phone number in Hip-Hop history, Mike Jones still answers calls from fans around the world.

His recent iPhone upgrade shows how a simple marketing idea from 2005 became one of the most brilliant business moves in rap music.

The phone number strategy was pure genius because it created direct access between artist and fan long before social media existed.

While other rappers relied on record labels and radio stations to reach their audience, Mike Jones gave fans his phone number and told them to call him directly.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTO1VkdgD_j/?hl=en&img_index=1

“I kno it’s hard to believe but it’s true!!! The power of this phone is UNBELIEVABLE!!! From features to shows to people just wanna say what’s up !!! It’s been real and it’s still real!!,” Mike Jones said, noting that calls never stopped during his peak years.

The number became so popular that Sprint and Nextel took it away from him in 2008 because the call volume was crashing their network systems.

Mike Jones lost the number for 12 years but regained it in 2020, and fans immediately started calling again.

His Instagram posts show that the number still receives thousands of calls daily, proving the enduring impact of his marketing approach.

The strategy worked because it solved real problems for fans who wanted to verify if Mike Jones was actually performing at shows.

Fake promoters were booking fake Mike Jones performances, so the phone number became a way for fans to verify real shows and avoid scams.

Like AllHipHop’s legendary SMS messaging service, which launched in 1999, the direct-connection model anticipated how artists would later use Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to communicate directly with fans.

Today’s artists spend millions on social media marketing and influencer campaigns, but Mike Jones achieved the same results with a simple phone number that cost him $200 per month.

His iPhone 17 Pro Max upgrade demonstrates that he still believes in the power of direct fan engagement.

​AllHipHop

Emmanuel Lopez thought he had escaped the worst night of his life when masked gunmen opened fire at a child’s birthday party in Stockton on November 29.

The mass shooting killed four people and wounded thirteen others, including his nine-year-old daughter, who was shot in the head.

One month later, the thirty-three-year-old man was dead, gunned down at an apartment complex in his hometown on December 28 in what police are calling a possibly gang-related shooting.

Lopez watched his best friend, Susano Archuleta, die in his arms after the twenty-one-year-old was shot in the neck while trying to protect other partygoers from the barrage of gunfire that investigators say came from at least five different weapons.

“My brother died in my arms,” Lopez told the Los Angeles Times in the aftermath of the attack that left his daughter fighting for her life with a gunshot wound to her head.

Lopez was among more than one hundred guests at the birthday celebration for the two-year-old daughter of Stockton rapper NanoMB, when chaos erupted at the Monkey Space event center.

NanoMB, remains in custody on parole violations after a judge ruled in December that his gang affiliations and criminal history outweighed claims that he was a victim of the shooting.

The twenty-two-year-old rapper is connected to both the Asian Boyz and Muddy Boyz gangs, according to prosecutors, who argued that he knowingly allowed gang members like MBNel to attend his daughter’s birthday party despite being on parole.

San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow revealed that over fifty shots were fired during the targeted attack, which killed three children along with Archuleta and sent shockwaves through the Stockton community.

The mass shooting investigation remains unsolved with no arrests made, according to the most recent update from sheriff’s officials on January 1, 2026.

MBNel’s dad previously said that gunmen were targeting his son, who had gone into hiding in December.

“My deepest condolences to the families who had to bury their children, and to the innocent lives lost,” MBNel wrote on social media. “What happened in Stockton has left families carrying an unimaginable loss.”

Law enforcement officials say there is no indication that Lopez’s death is connected to the Stockton mass shooting, despite the timing and his presence at the November party.

“At this time, there is nothing to indicate that the two shootings are related,” sheriff’s spokesperson Brent told Stocktonia, while declining to confirm Lopez’s attendance at the birthday party.

Stockton has experienced at least ten additional shootings since the Thanksgiving weekend massacre, including a fatal incident at a convenience store that killed seventeen-year-old Noah Juan Auburn just days before Lopez’s death.

Governor Gavin Newsom deployed California Highway Patrol officers to Stockton as part of “crime suppression” teams targeting repeat offenders in high-crime areas.

​AllHipHop

A Georgia judge has ordered state authorities to return Young Thug’s luxury cars and more than $149,000 in cash that investigators seized during the YSL RICO investigation that ended in a major defeat for prosecutor Fani Willis.

Judge Paige Reese Whitaker ruled Wednesday that the state must return most items seized from the Atlanta rapper, including a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2022 Porsche 911, three Mercedes-Benzes, a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2018 Lamborghini, a Can-Am Spyder, jewelry, and $149,000 in cash by Friday at 5 p.m.

The ruling came after Young Thug’s attorney, Brian Steele, argued that Georgia failed to hold a civil forfeiture hearing within the required 60-day time limit following the rapper’s October 2024 plea deal, which ended the state’s longest-running criminal trial.

Judge Whitaker added that the state provided no legal authority to retain custody of the property after the forfeiture complaint was dismissed.

Young Thug was released from prison on October 31, 2024, after pleading guilty to one gang charge, three drug charges, and two gun charges while entering no-contest pleas to racketeering conspiracy and another gang charge.

The rapper received a 40-year sentence but was immediately released on time served after spending over two years in jail awaiting trial, with 15 years of probation and strict conditions including staying away from metro Atlanta except for specific family events.

The YSL case began in May 2022 when Willis announced indictments against Young Thug and 27 others, alleging they operated a violent street gang called Young Slime Life connected to the Bloods.

Prosecutors claimed the gang was responsible for multiple killings and that Young Thug’s record label, Young Stoner Life, was tied to criminal activities.

The trial became a disaster for Willis’s office, plagued by misconduct allegations, judicial recusals and prosecutorial missteps that led to the original judge stepping down after being accused of improper conduct.

Several co-defendants took plea deals before Young Thug’s surprise guilty plea, including rapper Gunna, who accepted an Alford plea in December 2022 that allowed him to maintain innocence while acknowledging prosecutors had sufficient evidence for conviction.

The case concluded in December 2024 with the final two defendants, Deamonte Kendrick (Yak Gotti) and Shannon Stillwell, being acquitted of nearly all charges, including murder, dealing Willis a crushing blow after Georgia’s longest criminal trial ended without securing any murder convictions.

​AllHipHop