Business moves quick, and that's no exception for the rap world. From the hottest new signings, to movie deals, to album pushbacks, the industry is constantly in motion. It can be hard to keep up with at times, so we've consolidated all of the must-hear information from the past month, all in one place. Be on the look out for this monthly recap of news-worthy items you may have missed to stay afloat with the industry.
Lupe Fiasco has had plenty of issues with Atlantic, especially when it comes to putting music out without compromises. Things started getting shaky with LASERS, an album Lupe has since expressed was "the label's record" and not his own.
The NY veteran announced that he's inked a management deal with Roc Nation, whose roster has been steadily growing all year long.
It appears as though Kanye West is planning a North American tour for 2015, this, according to the Diamond Ball auction.
Most people choose an exotic location for their honeymoon -- The Caribbean, Hawaii, Europe -- but for Xzibit, (at least part of) his first night as a married man was spent behind bars.
While Meek Mill was ready to release his highly anticipated sophomore album in September, his release schedule was interrupted when he was arrested for a parole violation in July.
King Louie Has New Tattoos Of OVO Owl & 6 God, Possibly Signed
Well, this is interesting. Chicago rapper King Louie may be quietly signed to Drake's OVO imprint, at least, that would be a good explanation for his latest tattoos. Otherwise he's campaigning to get signed really hard.
Following the recent decision of a grand jury in Ferguson not to indict police officer Darren Wilson after he killed unarmed teen Michael Brown, another verdict has been passed that's got many Americans' heads spinning.
In his lengthy career, Lil Wayne has rarely (if ever) publicly said anything about Birdman, the man he often calls "daddy," so with that in mind, the tweets he just sent out are shocking.
Although we haven't received an update on the long-awaited/long-delayed Victory Lap album from Nipsey Hussle, it is supposed to arrive in 2015. Whatever the case may be with that album, Nipsey is prepping another album to drop before Victory Lap, called Mailbox Money. The rapper is dropping the free mixtape (or pay $1000 for a hard copy) today.
It's that time of year again. With the 57th Grammy Awards scheduled to take place on February 8th, the organization is rolling out the list of nominees over the course of today.
Drake's OVO imprint has become a brand in and of itself, as most crew/labels are warrant to do these days. OVO has done several capsule collections in the past, most recently, OVO teamed up with Capcom for a street fighter inspired line of clothing.
Tragedy strikes the Pro Era camp today, with news that Junior B, a member of Joey Bada$$' crew has passed away.
Yesterday came the tragic news that Joey Bada$$' cousin and tour manager, Junior B, had passed away. Joey has subsequently cancelled his European tour midway through, but it seems his album will be released as planned.
Neither Diddy nor Drake seem like the physical-confrontation-type, but according to a few reports circulating the web this morning, things got physical between the two rappers last night in Miami, at club LIV.
Last week, Spotify announced, among other year-end lists, that Pharrell Williams' "Happy" was their most-streamed song of the year. Now, iTunes is saying it's their top-selling song of the year. Damn.
The Atlanta group Migos and Chicago crew GBE have been beefing over the past month, where the beef stemmed from has never been clear, but its resulted in death threats from Fredo Santana and Quavo getting his chain snatched.
Ink keeps driving in theme with his follow up to My Own Lane, Full Speed, set to drop February 3rd 2015.
Here's a random story for your Tuesday morning. Apparently comedian/actor Seth Rogen counts himself as one of the few that have heard Kanye West's new material.
Atlanta producer Mike WiLL Made It has more than just his Ransom mixtape in the pipeline. The producer recently spoke with XXL, and revealed he's got something in the stash with Future.
It appears Kendrick Lamar is the latest rapper to cash in on an endorsement deal. Tonight, it was revealed that K. Dot is the newest member of the Reebok Classics squad.
Dr. Dre hasn't come out with any new music in quite a while (although he did co-produce Kendrick Lamar's 2013 Good Kid m.A.A.d. City and had a verse on the hit-song, "The Recipe") but that hasn't stopped him from swimming in cash.
Gunplay has been a member of the MMG camp for a years, but yet he’s still one of the remaining few to not release his solo album. He will switch his name to Don Logan come January 1st.
Killa Cam took to Instagram to claim his last album, Purple Haze 2, would arrive this summer.
It's been a while since we got an update on the gun possession case that Jeezy plead "not guilty" to back in September, but now, the CTE rapper case breathe easy once again.
Migos and Bobby Shmurda both had pretty big years, with Bobby earning his big breakthrough, while Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset polished their formula, and strengthened their healthy fanbase.
There have been some rumors floating around that Rihanna was set to release a collaborative line with Puma, but it seems her relationship with the brand is a little more official than we thought, as today she's been named the company's creative director.
Not that 50 really needs another business venture on his plate, but the rapper just locked down a deal with underbrand Frigo RevolutionWear for a reported $78 million.
Bobby Shmurda & Members Of GS9 Reportedly Arrested At Quad Studios
Add another gun-related news story to Quad Studios' already-infamous history.
We all know that Tyga's a huge fan of Ancient Egyptian culture. Maybe it's the fact that he once dropped $20,000 on an Egyptian tomb, or his pharaoh-inspired Last Kings hats, but suffice it to say that T-Raww's an Egyptophile.
Snoop Dogg is no stranger to reality television. After a couple years on Fatherhood & other various appearances on random shows, Uncle Snoop is getting back to the small screen.
And it did not disappoint.
How long does it take for a music genre to get its own museum? About 40 years, apparently. It's been a long time coming, but the Hip Hop Hall Of Fame will finally open its doors to the public in the year 2017.
World, brace yourselves. We may get not one, but two more albums from RiFF RAFF in 2015. Taking to Instagram, the cornrowed white rapper detailed plans for two projects, Peach Panther and Purple Panther, both dropping on June 1st.
Azealia Banks' recent appearance on Hot 97 set off a bout of internet sparring that involved Iggy Azalea, Q-Tip, Action Bronson, Tyler, The Creator, T.I. and Solange Knowles, so much of the actual interview became overshadowed by those surrounding stories.
With the "Lunch Money" video dropping the other week, anticipation for Pusha T's King Push is building as we head into the new year. Luckily, we could get King Push as early as the spring.
It's been a crazy week for Action Bronson. Bringing the focus back to his music, Bronson took to Twitter this morning to speak on leaked tracklists for his upcoming album, Mr. Wonderful.
Tity Boi plans to put on for Atlanta up and comers with his new mixtape, arriving in 2015.
March 31, 2015.
J. Cole's "2014 Forest Hills Drive" Goes Gold Already, Nicki Minaj's "The Pinkprint" Debuts At #2
After debuting at #1 earlier in the month, Cole quickly went gold. Congrats! It's definitely a Cole Winter. On a related note, Nicki Minaj landed a #2 with The Pinkprint after moving 244,000 units.
After faking his retirement from rap, Hop used the promo to announce a new LP for 2015.
In a rather surprising turn of events, frequent collaborators and apparent friends YG and Mustard got into some IG beef earlier this week, centered around Mustard allegedly not getting paid for My Krazy Life. The month wouldn't be complete without some social media beef, right?
January 6th
Rae Sremmurd SremmLife
January 13th
Joe Ness Ellipsis
DMX Redemption Of The Beast
Jake Miller Lion Heart
Mark Ronson Uptown Special
January 18th
Game The Documentary 2
January 20th
Lupe Fiasco Tetsuo And Youth
Wu-Block Hidden Gems
J Dawg & Lil C Connected & Respected 1
Joey Bada$$ B4.Da.$$
Z-Ro Melting The Crowd