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GRAMMYs

YG 

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Watch: YG Releases New Video "Hard Bottoms & White watch-yg-releases-new-video-hard-bottoms-white-socks

Watch: YG Releases New Video "Hard Bottoms & White Socks"

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The video premiered at the BET Awards on Sunday, June 23, where the rapper also paid tribute to Nipsey Hussle along with DJ Khaled, John Legend and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jun 24, 2019 - 12:34 pm

Los Angeles rapper YG has released a video for "Hard Bottoms & White Socks," the first track off his recently released album 4REAL 4 REAL.  

The Hollywood Golden Age-inspired, black-and-white clip features cameos from Machine Gun Kelly, India Love, L.A. radio personality Big Boy and more. The video also honors the late GRAMMY-nominated rapper Nipsey Hussle, who died earlier this year. 

The video premiered at the BET Awards on Sunday, June 23, where the rapper also paid tribute to Hussle with a performance alongside DJ Khaled, John Legend and more. 

"Hard Bottoms & White Socks" follows the release of "Go Loko," a Latino culture-inspired video featuring Tyga and Jon Z. Watch the brand-new video above. 

Nipsey Hussle Launches The Recording Academy's #NoCover

GRAMMYs

Meek Mill and Future

Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images

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Meek Mill & Future Announce Co-Headlining Tour meek-mill-future-announce-co-headlining-us-legendary-nights-tour

Meek Mill & Future Announce Co-Headlining U.S. "Legendary Nights" Tour

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The joint trek will feature YG and Mustard, and Megan Thee Stallion on some dates
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jun 19, 2019 - 11:36 am

Rappers Meek Mill and Future are teaming up for the Legendary Nights U.S. tour, featuring YG, Mustard and Megan Thee Stallion. 

The tour will kick off in St. Louis, Mo. on Aug. 28 and head to Chicago, Boston, Washington, Buffalo, N.Y. and other cities before closing off in Las Vegas on Oct. 5. YG and Megan Thee Stallion will not be present at all shows. 

https://twitter.com/MeekMill/status/1141060206245371904

Get your tickets to the #LegendaryNights Tour now on @TIDAL: https://t.co/m5IP3VdkdE pic.twitter.com/UFhgExTBgy

— Meek Mill (@MeekMill) June 18, 2019

"We about to tear sh** down on the #LEGENDARYNIGHTS tour with @1future @YG @mustard Megan @theestallion," Mill tweeted. While Future let out his own excitement with a tweet that said, "Legendary Nights. TOUR ready."

Purchase pre-sale tickets at the Tidal website. General tickets are on sale June 21. 

"Say My Name" 20 Years Later: Why The Destiny's Child Staple Is Still On Everyone's Lips

GRAMMYs

Nipsey Hussle

Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images

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Nipsey Hussle Lived As A Patron To His Community nipsey-hussle-beloved-la-rapper-and-activist-lived-patron-his-community

Nipsey Hussle, Beloved L.A. Rapper And Activist, Lived As A Patron To His Community

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The GRAMMY-nominated rapper was fatally shot outside of his clothing store, the Marathon Clothing, in Los Angeles, on Sunday
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Apr 1, 2019 - 12:06 pm

GRAMMY-nominated rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot outside of his clothing store, the Marathon Clothing, in Los Angeles on Sunday (March 31), police confirmed. He was 33.

Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, highlighted life in South Los Angeles and the socio-economic struggles people in the community faced, from single mothers working to feed their families to his own rise from financial struggle, through his poignant lyrics. He released his much-awaited official debut album, Victory Lap, in February 2018 after years of releasing several mixtapes, including The Marathon mixtape. For Hussle, creating the album was a weaving of his experiences and represented a coming full circle on his own terms.

Remembering Nipsey Hussle

"We want to just hear great lyrics, great music, great flow and great storytelling and so I just wanted to really be intentional that that was the goal with the album," he told the Recording Academy. "You know, I even had a conversation with the label people and it was just like, you know, the heads of the label, but what do you all expect from me on this one? Because for me, but my goal, my big picture goal to move forward and to make a step toward what my goal is as an artist, I need to make something really authentic and really organic on this first one."

The debut album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st GRAMMY Awards and was a project that Hussle made with fans in mind.

"When I went into recording this album I [had] a ton of mixed tapes ... So I just went back through all of my projects and I listened and I put myself in the mindset of a fan. And I was like what made me a fan in it, you know? And each project had two or three moments that people really held onto," he said. "Some have more than others and I wanted the album to be a collection of those moments. I didn't want to be nostalgic, but I wanted to be aware of why they're connected.

Hussle, a native of the Crenshaw district in South Los Angeles, was also an entrepreneur and activist who was heavily invested in his community. A day before the launch of his album, he opened a co-working STEM Center in the area called Vector90 Too Big To Fail. He owned a clothing store on Slauson called The Marathon Clothing.

Beyond being a businessman and an artist, Hussle was also a loving father of two. Fatherhood served as an inspiration for his music:

"Fatherhood has affected and inspired me deeply ... when I went about doing music, I was really in the studio, spending the night, you know, sacrificing my personal time. Just really putting all my energy and time into the studio and I thought that was the most effective way to do it, he said. "But then having a kid, my daughter years back and then my son recently, it made me understand a balance and you might even get more inspired leaving the studio some time, going out and living and just taking her, your daughter, your kids somewhere and you might come back and what you've been trying to do sitting in this room wasn't going to get done sitting in this room.You had to go out and breathe a little bit and come back in and you refresh and you ready to go. "

Hussle saw life as a metaphor for a marathon that included not only his resiliency, but also his community's. "Make sure that you stick to what you believe in," he said. "The story that I'm telling on this album made the moment that I'm in even more special and important because it shows you the distance and the ground we covered."

Hussle is survived by his girlfriend, actress Lauren London, and his two children.

One Take: Nipsey Hussle On L.A., Ice Cream, Kendrick Lamar & More

Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2018 GRAMMYs

Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2018 GRAMMYs

Photo: Theo Wargo/WireImage

News
Streams For Kendrick Lamar, 2Pac & More Soar black-pride-anthems-kendrick-lamar-childish-gambino-2pac-james-brown-more-see-big

Black Pride Anthems From Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, 2Pac, James Brown & More See Big Streaming Spikes

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Poignant songs from Beyoncé, YG, Killer Mike and N.W.A also saw major streaming increases, in part due to a new Spotify playlist
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 6, 2020 - 6:46 am

On Tuesday (June 2), the music industry observed Black Out Tuesday to stand in solidarity with the Black community and protestors across the nation calling for racial equality and an end to police brutality. In response, Spotify launched its Black Lives Matter playlist, featuring powerful anthems from Black artists across the years, including James Brown's 1968 "Say It Loud – I'm Black And I'm Proud," 2Pac's 1993 "Keep Ya Head Up" and Childish Gambino's 2018 GRAMMY-winning hit "This Is America."

On Friday (June 5), Billboard reported huge spikes in the streaming numbers on June 2 for many of the poignant songs featured in the playlist. The opener, Brown's aforementioned empowering bop, saw the biggest increase at 15,740 percent. The numbers, calculated by Nielsen Music, count streams from across major music and video platforms and were compared to those for the prior Tuesday (May 26). For example, "Say It Loud" had just over 2,000 listens last Tuesday compared to 375,000 this Tuesday.

Read: Minnesota Artist Dua Saleh Demands Justice With Powerful "Body Cast"

The 58-song playlist continues with Kendrick Lamar's GRAMMY-winning 2015 popular protest anthem "Alright" and Childish Gambino's "This Is America." Both tracks saw over a million streams on Tuesday alone, due in part to their high placement on the playlist as well as their still timely critiques of racial injustice in America. The former song hit 1.16 million streams, for a 787 percent increase, and the latter earned 1.82 million streams, for a 570 percent increase.

Kendrick Lamar: "Alright" Put Faith In People's Hearts

Other songs on the playlist that also saw significant bumps in digital listenership include Killer Mike's "Don't Die" (2012), YG and Nipsey Hussle's "FDT" (2016), Beyoncé and Lamar's "Freedom" (2016) and Solange and Lil Wayne's "Mad" (2016).

Soul classics like "Wake Up Everybody" from Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes (1975) and "O-o-h Child" by The Five Stairsteps (1970) also saw increases, albeit somewhat smaller. Pivotal golden-age rap anthems "F**k tha Police" by N.W.A (1988) and "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy (1989) also had more streams this Tuesday compared to last week.

Back in 2016, ahead of the track's two GRAMMY wins, Lamar predicted the power of "Alright" in the moving GRAMMY.com interview (watch above).

"'Alright' did exactly what I would want it to do, and that's put so many people's hearts where they can actually live by and stand for, you know, put faith back in people's hearts … And not only them, but myself. I'm still saying to myself, 'Everything's going to be alright.'"

 
Songs Of Support: 11 Musicians Reveal The Music That Heals Them
GRAMMYs

YG, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, DJ Khaled, Meek Mill and Roddy Ricch perform

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

News
2020 GRAMMYs: Nipsey Hussle Tribute dj-khaled-john-legend-meek-mill-pay-tribute-nipsey-hussle-2020-grammys

DJ Khaled, John Legend & Meek Mill Pay Tribute To Nipsey Hussle At The 2020 GRAMMYs

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The performance featured some of Hussle’s collaborators and some of the most respected figures in hip-hop, R&B and gospel: DJ Khaled, John Legend, Meek Mill, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and YG
J'na Jefferson
GRAMMYs
Jan 26, 2020 - 7:48 pm

In light of the passing of another California-based legend just hours before the 62nd Annual GRAMMYs Awards, Sunday's (Jan. 26) tribute to rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle took on an even more retrospective and powerful resonance.

The performance featured some of Hussle’s collaborators and some of the most respected figures in hip-hop, R&B and gospel: DJ Khaled, John Legend, Meek Mill, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and YG.

Meek and Ricch kicked off the performance with what is believed to be a new tribute song to the slain rapper. Afterward, DJ Khaled, Kirk Franklin, YG and John Legend on the piano brought the crowd to their feet with a spirited rendition of "Higher." The performance featured dancers clad in white, with garments paying tribute to Hussle's Eritrean heritage. The end of the performance illuminated a photo of both Hussle and Kobe Bryant.

Hussle, who was tragically killed in March 2019 at the age of 33, posthumously received one GRAMMY Award during the Premiere Ceremony, Best Rap Performance for "Racks In The Middle" featuring Ricch and Hit-Boy.

10 Unforgettable Moments From The 2020 GRAMMY Awards

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.