J. Cole, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, & Ice Cube To Headline Pemberton 2016

Canada's Pemberton Music Festival just announced their lineup -- great hip hop acts this year. With festival season approaching, hip hop heads should consider traveling to Pemberton Music Festival in British Columbia, Canada this year. Pemberton just announced the full 2016 lineup and it looks very promising. Snoop Dogg, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, and Ice Cube are all headliners. Also of interest for hip hop enthusiasts: Tyler, the Creator, Tory Lanez, Anderson .Paak, Method Man and Redman, Rae Sremmurd, Joey Bada$$, Miguel, SZA, Mac Miller, Cypress Hill, FKA twigs, Dizzy Wright, Hudson Mohwake, & Pell. Pemberton goes down July 14th-17th. Head here for ticket info.

Official Vizion Signs Awesome2 Deal

We’ve been hearing a lot of chatter from Official Vizion camp in the early 2016! With summer coming we’ve been hearing a lot of waves from rapper/ceo Z aka Zeus! Were now hearing that they’ve signed another deal 4 months in the making with Awesome 2. Pair of djs that have a large amount of credentials in the hip hop community! With artist like, P diddy, Busta Rhymes, Styles P, and other major names on their resume; this deal promises to be lucrative for Z’s camp.

Cam'Ron & Reebok Planning To Release "Purple Haze" Sneaker On 4/20

Cam'Ron has teamed up with Reebok for a sneaker collab inspired by his classic 2004 LP. Reebok has built a few intriguing sneaker partnerships with hip-hop stars, namely with Kendrick Lamar but also with New York's French Montana. The company has now teamed up with another Uptowner in Cam'Ron. The Dipset boss announced the deal to the FADER and revealed that he and Reebok are working on a "Purple Haze" sneaker that is set to hit retailers on the convenient date of 4/20. The "Purple Haze" shoe is inspired by Cam'Ron's 2004 album of the same name, a classic in the eyes of many. Killa didn't reveal too many details regarding the appearance of the shoe, except that it will be purple with a pink insole. Earlier this year, Cam'Ron shared a new track and video off his upcoming album, the sequel to Purple Haze, which Cam has hinted will be his final musical project. Perhaps he'll go ahead and drop Purple Haze 2 on the same day as the new sneaker and give the world more purp than it can handle.

There Could Be A Version Of Kanye West's "Wolves" With Drake & Björk

There's yet another potential version of "Wolves" out there. If this one exists, it will certainly warrant a listen. The mystery of "Wolves" continues. Kanye first unveiled a version of the song during an iconic performance on SNL 40 in February of last year. The song featured Vic Mensa and Sia, who both joined him on stage. An official version of "Wolves" wouldn't be heard until a year later, when, on February 11, he played his new album, The Life of Pablo, to a sold-out crowd at MSG. The version of "Wolves" he played then, the one that would remain on the album upon its release a few days later, featured vocals by Frank Ocean and classical singer Caroline Shaw, and none from Mensa or Sia. On February 14, the day of the album's release, Kanye seemed overwhelmingly confident about the near-perfection of The Life of Pablo, though he sent out one tweet implying he wasn't totally satisfied with a particular song: "Ima fix wolves." A few days later, a relatively high quality recording of the original "Wolves" -- with Mensa and Sia -- surfaced online. Today, there has arisen the possibility of one more version of the song, which, for the most part, has been lauded in both of its current capacities. The rumors of the latest version, though -- well, let's just say: if true, it sounds like the most exciting "Wolves" yet. Or, at least it's the most star-studded. Complex was digging into the KTT forum tonight and noticed that someone had screen-shotted a Snapchat from Cashmere Cat, one of the producers of "Wolves," that showed he was listening to a recording of "Wolves" that featured Drake and Björk. As of now, all we have are the screenshots showing the track's collaborators (see above), and no recordings of any music. Drake was credited on two tracks on The Life of Pablo, though they haven't rapped (or sang) on a record together since the non-album version of Big Sean's "Blessings." Shortly after the SNL "Wolves" premiere, Kanye West revealed he and Drake had discussed doing a joint album using the title, so the case for an official version with Drake is convincing. As for Björk, who would've thought the legendary singer, actress, video artist, and all around leader of the avant-garde would appear on a Kanye West song? Well, the man who revealed the potential collab, Cashmere Cat, hails from Norway, the Scandinavian neighbor to Björk's native Iceland, so it does make some sense. Who wants to hear yet another "Wolves"?

Stream Kendrick Lamar's New Surprise Album "Untitled Unmastered"

Listen to Kendrick Lamar's new surprise album "Untitled Unmastered." Two days ago, TDE CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith revealed he'd be dropping a surprise project from someone in the TDE camp on an unspecified night this week, but no one ever thought it would be from King Kendrick! Right before midnight tonight, Top Dawg & the TDE camp decided to treat fans to a new project from K Dot called Untitled Unmastered. Laced with 8 songs, the untitled project contains dates instead of a typical tracklisting, presuming when each specific song was recorded and/or performed on his late night appearances. As for why the release? It looks like we can thank Lebron James for that. Following K Dot’s powerful performance at the Grammy a couple weeks back, Lebron tweeted at Top Dawg asking him to release these untitled tracks,"you have to release those untitled tracks asap." Top then replied to King James, “Dam my nigga u on my head 2...The fans been killing me. Y'all just backed me in a corner..Give me a few days 2 think.”

Stream Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz' "Collegrove" Project

Stream Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz' new project "Collegrove." As if Kendrick Lamar’s surprise untitled unmastered project wasn’t enough for you, Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz’ new joint effort, Collegrove, was also just made available for purchase on iTunes as well. First announced back in November, the 13–track project looks to feature mostly 2 Chainz with Lil Wayne assisting him on 8 of the records. Led by the previously heard single “Gotta Lotta,” & “Rolls Royce Weather Everyday,” which was debuted on Fallon a few weeks back, Collegrove can now be streamed in its entirety thanks to the good folks at Spotify. Suggest you roll something up and take a close listen. What track are you’re feeling’ the most? 1. "Dedication" 2. "Smell Like Money" f/ Lil Wayne 3. "Bounce" f/ Lil Wayne 4. "Gotta Lotta" f/ Lil Wayne 5. "MFN Right" 6. "Blue C-Note" f/ Lil Wayne 7. "Not Invited" 8. "Bentley Truck" f/ Lil Wayne 9. "100 Joints" 10. "Rolls Royce Weather Every Day" f/ Lil Wayne 11. "What Happened" f/ Lil Wayne 12. "Section" f/ Lil Wayne 13. "Watch Out"

Rihanna Covers British Vogue

Rihanna graces the front cover of British Vogue magazine. With her new album, Anti, out now, Rihanna continues her heavy promo run as she graces the latest cover of British Vogue. Serving as her second cover this year with the magazine, RiRi uses the platform to showcase her new high-end boot collaboration with designer Manolo Blahnik. In the cover story, Rihanna can be seen modeling the denim-themed collection, including a ridiculous pair of thigh-high boots (see pic in gallery). “The day I see a woman in the street wearing my shoes… I am sorry for that woman because I’m going to literally run after her, shouting, ‘Stop! Selfie! Who are you? Where did you get them?’ I’m going to have a moment!,” says Rihanna about her boots. Hitting stores on March 5, Rihanna’s collab with Manolo Blahnik will break the bank, costing anywhere from $895 to $3,995. Coming in six different styles, the boots will only be available in-store at Blahnik’s New York, London and Hong Kong flagship stores. Read the full Rihanna cover story when the magazine hits newsstands in UK on March 8 and worldwide two days later on March 10

Swizz Beatz' 5-Year Old Son Produced On Kendrick Lamar's "Untitled Unmastered" Project

Swizz Beatz' 5-year old son, Egypt, is responsible for some of the production on Kendrick Lamer's new album "untitled unmastered." Kendrick Lamar surprised fans late Thursday night when he dropped off those “untitled” tracks from the late night appearances in the form of an album via iTunes dubbed untitled unmastered. However, what might be more of a bigger surprise is the news that surfaced following the album drop of one the track’s producers…Swizz Beatz’ 5-year old son Egypt. Taking to Instagram, Swizz boldly announced that he was having a proud dad moment when his son’s production was responsible for track 7, “2014-2016,” on the album. His caption read, "This is the best Dad moment everrrrr!!! Congrats to my son Egypt for producing his 1st track on this amazing Kendrick Album […] he’s only 5yrs old wowwwwwww @aliciakeys look at our lil guy baby […] #blessingsonblessings thx #Kendrick for investing in the future !!! Track 7.” For further evidence, Swizz later posted a clip of Egypt playing the beat in the studio. He wrote, “Egypt making the beat for Kendrick !!!! Only 5yrs old🙏🏽 #Kendrick ⚡️⚡️ ⚡️⚡️⚡️ shout out to the youth !!!!!!#blessingsonblessings FYI no help on the beat!!!” For what its worth, the entire track wasn't completely done by Egypt. According to producer Cardo, Swizz is responsible for the second half of that beat. And let's be real, he maybe heavily involved in the first half too, but his son definitely had his hands on it.

Future & The Weeknd Shoot Music Video For “Low Life”

Future & The Weeknd's hit collab, "Low Life," is getting the visual treatment. Well it looks like we’re going to get a music video for Future & The Weeknd’s hit collab “Low Life” soon. On Tuesday, the two superstars took to their respective snapchat stories to share some footage while on set. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any footage of the actual video itself, but sources are reporting that French Montana will be making a cameo (see pic in gallery). The song itself can be found on Future’s latest album EVOL, even though it originally first appeared on The Weeknd’s soundcloud page on Christmas Eve. While we wait for the official video to surface, check out a couple pics & snaps of the duo in the gallery above. Remember, Future is set to take the stage for his first time on SNL this weekend. Who knows, maybe he’ll even bring out Abel as a surprise guest and perform this song? (Wishful thinking)

A TDE Project Is Dropping One Random Night This Week

TDE's CEO refused to reveal what night, or which artist would debuting new music. Top Dawg Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith is really not playing. He’s been taking heat from impatient fans and label signees alike over the past few months, as people are itching to hear more from his label’s powerhouse of artists. Yesterday, the label head shared a photo of the status of each artists’ current project, adding “I told y’all I got y’all in 2016.” Apparently that wasn’t enough for Tiffith, who just shared another photo of himself on Instagram with the caption: “Just 2 show niggas I'm not playing. Ive decided 2 drop a project 1 day this week. I won't say wut day or who. It cud be 2nite So don't ask me jus stay close to the net. Is this Kool with y'all?” It’s definitely cool with us. We still aren’t quite sure what each stage of creative means from his original photo, so it’s hard to guess which artist we’ll be hearing music from. Either way, this is fantastic news, and we’ll definitely heed the TDE CEO’s advice and stay glued to the internet. Not that we’d be doing anything else.

Azealia Banks Reignites Feud With Iggy Azalea

Azealia Banks had some choice words for Iggy Azalea following comments made about her in a recent magazine. Well it looks like there’s a new chapter in the on-going feud between Azealia Banks & Iggy Azalea. On Tuesday, Azealia Banks took to twitter to call out Iggy for her comments made in a recent cover story for Elle Canada. It all started when Iggy confirmed her hatred for Azealia in Elle Canada, “I think the Azealia Banks thing is what really started it all. We don’t like each other on a personal level, and that has gone on for many years—before the Black Lives Matter incident happened. Even though I still hate Azealia Banks, I wish I had said it in a way that didn’t make people think I was oblivious to the movement.” Of course this statement quickly caught Azealia’a attention and caused quite the reaction out of her on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. Saying she was going to be “so fuckin petty,

Lil B Apologizes For Dissing The Weeknd

Lil B regrets saying "Fuck The Weeknd". Lil B confused pretty much everyone when he decided to take a shot at The Weeknd on his track, "4 The Record," very matter-of-factly stating "Fuck The Weeknd". While it seemed we'd never get an explanation for the seemingly random jab, the Based God has finally addressed it in an interview with ILY, and in true Based fashion, he's decided to apologize for the remark. "I want to give a shout out to The Weeknd, he said. "I want to apologize and take back saying, ‘Fuck The Weeknd.’ I said it for no reason and thought about why back when I said it. It’s because he un-followed me on Twitter and I felt weird about that, and I thought back to that moment and said, ‘Why’d I do that?’ That’s not right. The Weeknd is a good guy—I talked to him before everything really blew up, and he told me how he felt. I definitely want to apologize about what I said about The Weeknd, and I want him to know that." Good to know that there are no hard feelings on Lil B's side, and we're sure the unfollow wasn't meant as disrespect from Abel. Hopefully all of this could turn into something positive -- like a collaboration perhaps?

Troy Ave Calls Capital STEEZ "Dickhead" & "Bozo"

Troy Ave explains his rationale behind badmouthing the deceased Pro Era emcee to Sway. Brooklyn emcee Troy Ave didn’t take too kindly to Joey Bada$$’ line in “Ready” that threw shade at his record sales, and he responded with a vicious diss track last night titled “Bad Ass.” It’s a pretty solid diss record, but Troy Ave has caught a ton of flack within the media for one line in particular: “STEEZ burning in Hell, my burner’s in my belt / I’m really killing shit, you niggas killing yourself / Fucking weirdos, off the roof, “Steer clear yo!” The line leverages deceased Pro Era member Capital Steez, who committed suicide in late 2012. Troy Ave called into Sway in the Morning to discuss the diss track, and unapologetically stood behind every line in the song. “He opened Pandora’s Box by bringing his other boy Kirk Knight into this,” Troy Ave elaborated about why he targeted people outside of just Joey Bada$$ himself. Sway didn’t have to work very hard to get Troy Ave talking about the Capital STEEZ line. As soon as Sway brought it up, he could hardly get a word in while Troy Ave declared, "He didn’t pass away. He killed himself. There’s a difference. God gave you life, it ain’t your right to take that. That’s a fact. I got niggas in jail who got life sentences, they might as well be dead. They could’ve traded their life for his…your friends speak to your character.” He goes on to call Capital STEEZ a “bozo” and a “d*ckhead." Very strong words for someone who claims to be guided strongly by his faith.

Drake's New Instagram Photos Suggest He's In The "Home Stretch" Of Recording "Views"

Are Drake and 40 sleeping in the studio? We know that Drake's 4th studio album, Views From The 6, is scheduled to drop in April (most likely Saturday, April 2nd on OVO Radio by the looks of the ads), and it appears that the rapper is putting the finishing touches on the project right now. Drizzy shared two new photos on Instagram today, titling each with the phrase "Home Stretch". If that wasn't enough to suggest the rapper is almost done with his new project, the second photo shows the rapper's in-house producer, 40, with a shopping cart full of makeshift bed accessories and a Tim Horton's cup in hand. As far as we can tell, Drake and 40 are getting ready to set up camp in the lab until they're done.

Kevin Durant's Signature Sneaker Gets An Upgrade

Nike adds a huge sock liner to the KD8. Kevin Durant is quietly having a fantastic season for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but is being overshadowed by the shot-making machine that is Stephen Curry. Never was this more apparent than Saturday night, when Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry traded baskets until Durant fouled out of the game in overtime. The loss KD suffered last night should only fuel him to step it up further, and Nike is here to help the gangly scorer in that regard. Cue the Nike KD8 Elite. Continuing Nike’s recent tradition of evolving their signature sneakers mid-season, Nike has evolved Durant’s eighth signature sneaker for a significantly different silhouette. The base of the shoe remains the same, with its Nike Zoom Air cushioning and Flywire technology. Where the basketball sneaker really gets its lift is the calf-length sock that extends through and past the ankle of the shoe. Where the basic KD8 is almost a low top shoe, the KD8 Elite is completely the opposite. The added support will undoubtedly allow Durant to go harder in the paint without fear of an ankle injury. The specific model above also features a clean, icy blue outsole. Does the addition of the sock make you want to pick a pair up to play ball in? Casual wear of these would also make a … significant fashion statement.

Stream Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' New Album "This Unruly Mess I've Made"

Stream Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' long awaited sophomore album, "This Unruly Mess I've Made." Four years removed from their Grammy Award-winning album The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ have finally released its long awaited follow up, This Unruly Mess I've Made. Laced with 13 tracks in total, This Unruly Mess I've Made features guest appearances from the likes of Chance The Rapper, YG, Idris Elba, Ed Sheeran, KRS-One, Anderson.Paak, DJ Premier, and many more. Led by the previously heard single “Downtown,” fans can now stream the rest of the sophomore album for free thanks to the good folks at Spotify.

Kanye West Will Soon Reveal "The Life Of Pablo" Tour Dates

It looks like Kanye West is already planning a tour in support of "The Life of Pablo." The unveiling of Kanye West's new album, The Life of Pablo -- which coincided with a Yeezy Season 3 fashion show -- at Madison Square Garden has been one of the most talked about hip-hop spectacles in recent memory. I had -- rather stupidly, in retrospect -- thought that, for the album's official debut, Kanye would perform each and every song off The Life of Pablo. Instead, he just hooked his laptop up to an AUX cord and let the album play out. And while it must've been thrilling to be among the first to hear The Life of Pablo in such a grand setting, Kanye is indeed in the process of gearing up a proper live show to go along with his seventh album. A source close to Kanye has alerted Entertainment Weekly that a "Life of Pablo" tour is currently being planned and that dates could be revealed as soon as next month. Kanye has one official performance already scheduled this summer, as he'll headline the Governors Ball Music Festival on June 5 in NYC, so perhaps his new tour will be situated around that time. He also recently announced his plans to drop another album this summer, so it looks like his schedule will be totally swamped, though that's nothing new for Pablo. These tix will likely be gone in minutes. Who's excited to see a live performance of Kanye's new album?

Professional Boxers May Finally Be Able To Fight In Olympics

Can professional boxers put together a "Dream Team?" Boxing has been a staple of the Olympic Games for over a century, but over the past few decades the sport has been relegated to day-time status because of its low profile. While the overall decline of boxing as a spectator sport has been undeniable for some time, the Olympics have further hamstrung themselves by forcing Olympic hopefuls to retain “amateur” status. However, this year the Olympics may seem some more noteworthy competitors. The amateur requirement basically means that anyone who reaches a level where they’re talented enough to be paid to fight is barred from competing in the Olympics. This has allowed younger competitors to wet their feet in the fighting circuit on a big stage before going on to fight the best in the world. However, this has led to an inferior product for the Olympics, and Press Association, International Box Association (AIBA) president Ching-Kuo Wu has vowed to change that. “It is an IOC policy to have the best athletes in the Game, and of the international federations, AIBA is probably the only one without professional athletes in the Olympics,” explained Wu. Having the most talented boxers in the world is obviously a plus, but could lead to some unbalanced fights in the early rounds. However, the US Basketball team had the same policy until the Dream Team in 1992, and we all know what happened there. While an inexperienced fighter getting his bell rung by a world-class boxer like Floyd Mayweather may be scary to some, we’re sure the savages on this site would enjoy the hell out of it. Besides, anything that could drag Mayweather out of retirement for another go at Manny Pacquiao is a plus in our book. We’ll have to see what the AIBA and IOC decide to do first..

Young Thug Responds To Plies Calling Him A "Lower Tier" Artist

The beef between Plies and Young Thug is back on. A couple of days ago, the beef between Young Thug and The Game was reignited. Today, Thug is back to sparring with another rapper he had issues with last year: Plies. Strangely enough, both of Thug's current beefs involve his young daughter. Thug and Game got back into it by posting pictures of each other's daughters on their Instagram pages, and back in September, his beef with Plies started when the Florida rapper (unknowingly) posted a video clip of Thug's daughter using profanity to his Instagram. Yesterday, Plies was the one to incite Young Thug, when he appeared on Complex's web show "Well Rounded" and called Thugger a "lower tier artist." "I don't play with a certain tier of artists, like you trying to get poppin' and shit," said Plies when asked about the comments Thug made about him last month on Sway (that he might "slap the shit" out of him next time he sees him). "I don't fuck with lower tier artists," concluded the "Ritz Carlton" rapper. When asked why Plies considers Thug to be "lower tier," he referenced Thug's first-week sales, presumably those of his latest project, I'm Up: "Um, you sold, what? Shit, 10-14,000 records the first week. I don't know, you tell me what tier it is."

Chance The Rapper Gets Quizzed On Saran Wrap On NPR

Listen to Chance the Rapper's entertaining appearance on popular NPR quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" Last August, days before the release of Free Based Freestyles, Chance the Rapper joined popular NPR quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" for an outdoor taping at Chicago's Millennium Park. Chance was in rare form as he charmed the hosts and audience with his understated wit. When asked how he composes his raps, Chance replied, "That's a great question. I think there's a lot of premeditation, if you will, to making a rap, you know? You got to sit down, focus on your breathing, you know, you want to do a good workout, push-ups, maybe sit-ups, play cards, think about your taxes, think about all the people that you've met, you know, in this life and possibly a past life, if you believe in that. And then, you know, you take off your socks and shoes, put a pencil between your toes and you start writing. And you've got a masterpiece."