On April 12, West Coast rap star Merkules dropped his third official solo single of the year with the touching C-Lance-produced banger, “Give Me A Sign.” Following “No Favours” and the more recent “Lights, Camera, Action,” the “Give Me A Sign” single was released with video support shot and edited by DTG. So far, the video has racked up more than 160K views in less than a week while Merk’s previous video, “No Favours,” has been viewed over 286K times since premiering on January 19, 2024. “Give Me A Sign” features additional vocals by Jinting Zhao, and musical contributions from Aaron Hiltz (gu ..read more

A few days ago, Alabama rap star Yelawolf returned with his latest single, “New Me,” along with an accompanying music video. Directed by Patrick Tohill, the video for the WLPWR-produced “New Me” comes in support of Yelawolf’s War Story album, and follows the video for “Make You Love Me,” which was also powered by Tohill. That video has pulled in over 3.5 million views on YouTube since premiering on March 15, and “New Me” is already sitting at 1.1 million. As annotations on Genius explain, War Story will be “a dynamic double album that unfolds in two distinct chapters: “Michael Wayne” and “Trun ..read more

On the fast track towards a major breakthrough, genre-bending hip-hop phenomenon TiaCorine unleashes the slick and scorching new music video for “Shamone.” A two-minute burst of braggadocios bravado, “Shamone” spotlights TiaCorine’s bulletproof bars and fiery flow front-and-centre. 808s rattle through shaky synths, and she warns, “I’m still never gonna pick up.” In the accompanying Moshpxt-directed visual, she descends upon the desert. Letters spell out “The End of the World” in the sand, and this hip-hop femme fatale proceeds to body the beat with ..read more

What’s that sound you hear – a combination of down-tempo hip-hop, menacing bass, distorted drums and plucky synths? It’s phonk! Still have no idea what we’re talking about? You’ve probably heard it if you’re on TikTok, awkwardly played over a Peaky Blinders or Jordan Peterson clip that has snuck into your algorithm. TikTok user Shortbadger certainly cuts to the chase explaining the genre in one of their videos: “creators wanted people to not just hear their words, but feel their words”. Shortbadger also uses comedy to hint at phonk’s subversive (and sometimes troubling) nature. Actually, Phonk ..read more

In a blaze of anticipation, the documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told stormed into SXSW, submerging viewers in the vibrant history of Atlanta’s iconic street revelry. Guided by entertainment industry giants such as Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Jermaine Dupri, 21 Savage, Terry “TR” Ross, Melissa Cooper, Alex Avant, Tresa Sanders, Geraldine L. Porras, Jay Allen, the film, meticulously fashioned by Mass Appeal and Swirl Films, unraveled the intricate layers of Freaknik’s cultural impact. This celebratory tribute to Atlanta’s spirited past, unveiled during the March 12th screening at ..read more

In case you missed it, Drake’s new diss “Push Ups” was leaked and it takes aim at Kendrick Lamar, Future, Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, and Rick Ross, among others. Like pretty much every new release these days, YouTube is flooded with “Push Ups” reaction videos from channels of all sizes. Rick Ross responded to Drake several hours later with “Champagne Moments.” There’s now talk that Kendrick is gearing up to release a reply (possibly called “On The Dot,” but that remains to be seen). 5 Ways to Support HipHopCanada: Submit Your Music Follow Canadian Fresh (HipHopCanada’s Spotify Playl ..read more

The hip-hop community is experiencing a surge of intensity after Drake finally pushed the red button… or at least has his finger on the proverbial trigger. This could still just be a warning shot. Either way, the gloves are finally off and the leaked diss song “Push Ups” has given fans exactly what they’ve been waiting for. After Kendrick Lamar kicked things off with his verse on “Like That” from Future and Metro Boomin’s album, We Don’t Trust You, the world has been paitiently waiting for Drizzy to respond. Well, a response was unexpectedly leaked on Saturday, causing an immediate seismic shi ..read more

YouTuber CUFBOYS continues his in-depth coverage of the Young Thug / YSL RICO trial, with a deep look at some surprising events that unfolded on days 58 and 59 of the trial. Walter “DK” Murphy, considered to be a YSL co-founder, took the witness stand as a part of his plea agreement. He was questioned over prior gang affiliations, how YSL was founded and how he became affiliated with Thugger, the Lil Wayne shooting, Rich Homie Quan, his gang affiliations, and more. The RICO trial involving Young Thug and the alleged YSL street gang started in 2023 and its already considered the longest in Geor ..read more

Annual music award ceremonies — like the recent JUNO Awards of 2024 in Canada — afford opportunities to pay tribute to artists who have passed away and acknowledge the living art of creative musical and cultural interpretation. At the JUNOs 2024, memorial tributes were given to musical greats Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot. Yet another form of memorialization — and musical re-interpretation — was witnessed via hip-hop sampling when Maestro Fresh Wes performed in celebration of his induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as the “godfather of Canadian hip-hop.” Awards events carry ..read more

At a time when it often feels like the U.S. is teetering towards another internal conflict, the new film Civil War couldn’t come at a worse time to stoke the flames. Or perhaps, it’s the best time to convey the possible consequences of what this type of timeline could lead to for both democrats, republicans, and independents, alike. Yesterday, A24 released the final trailer for Civil War which was directed by Alex Garland, and stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny. It’s described as a dystopian future America, where a team of military-embedded journali ..read more