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A Posthumous Gift Of Gab Verse Appears On Mugs + Pockets' Debut Album

Mugs + Pockets—a Hip Hop duo comprised of Scarlet Monk (Mugs) and Swamburger (Pockets)—released their debut album, the aptly titled "The Adventures of Mugs + Pockets," via Alpha Pup earlier this month. Boasting 17 tracks, the project features a posthumous verse from Blackalicious MC Gift Of Gab, who passed away in June 2021. Additional contributions come from Jurassic 5's unforgettable baritone Chali2na on the songs "Welcome To The MAP Universe (Intro)," "MAP (Outro)" and "Green Meadows" featuring Abstract Rude (produced by Monk and DiViNCi).  

"'The Adventures Of Mugs and Pockets' is a journey of dynamic song, quantum chemistry, and uncurbed beats with strong replay value," Swamburger tells RAPstation. "It covers a lot of ground for music lovers. I can almost feel t

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Bow Wow Wow Yippy Yo Yippy Yay: Snoop Dogg Biopic Is In The Works

Universal has enlisted "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" co-writer Joe Robert Cole and "Menace II Society" director Allen Hughes for a biopic about the inimitable Snoop Dogg, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Snoop Dogg is intimately involved in the project. As he explained in a statement, "I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray on screen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind. It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.” 

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Hip Hop Mourns Tame One Of The Artifacts + Hurricane G

More sad news out of the Hip Hop community. Tame One, tenured graffiti artist and MC, passed away earlier this week. Initially, no cause of death was known, but his mother Darlene Brown Harris eventually broke her silence in a Facebook post and revealed the 52-year-old died of drug toxicity. 

"I can‘t express this any other way,” Brown Harris said in the post. “My son, Rahem Brown, Tamer Dizzle, is dead. The medical examiner says the six pharmaceutical drugs that Trinitas hospital prescribed to him last Friday, combined with the weed he smoked over this weekend...his heart simply gave out. I will not be responding to all the posts for a bit, but the hardest words I will ever post or say is, my son, my heart, is dead.”

A graduate of Newark’s Vailsburg High Scho

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Dr. Dre Inducts Eminem Into Rock + Roll Hall Of Fame — And Shady Lists His Influences (All Of Them)

Dr. Dre was among the sea of famous faces at the 2022 Rock + Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night (November 5). Held at The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Eminem, Duran Duran, Jimmy Iovine, Lionel Richie, Eurythmics, Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, Dolly Parton, Elizabeth Cotten, Judas Priest, Harry Belafonte, Sylvia Robinson, Carly Simon, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo and attorney Allen Grubman were all ushered into the famed Rock Hall during the nearly five-hour affair. 

Shortly after U2's The Edge welcomed Annie Lennox and Dave Steward into the esteemed class, Dr. Dre took the podium to induct his longtime friend and protégé Slim Shady. He shared the story of how they were first introduced and admitted he was "fucked up" after he realized Eminem was a white rap

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Quality Control + Motown Announce Takeoff's Celebration Of Life

Migos member Takeoff was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley on November 2, adding yet another name to the ever-expanding list of rappers lost to gun violence. As the rap community continues to grieve, Quality Control and Motown Records has announced his celebration of life will take place at The State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Friday (November 11) at 12 p.m. ET. 

Fans can secure a maximum of two free tickets via Ticketmaster but only Georgia residents are eligible. Tickets are non-transferrable and parties must enter the venue together. Takeoff's family asks that in lieu of flowers or gifts, donations should be made to the recently established Rocket Foundation, which aims to support community-based initiatives attempting to prevent gun violence. 

The 28-year-ol

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"Hip Hop Homicides" Explores String Of Violent Deaths In Rap Community

50 Cent and Mona Scott-Young's new series "Hip Hop Homicides" premiered via WEtv on Thursday (November 3). As the title suggests, the show—hosted by Van Lathan—explores the recent string of senseless murders in the rap community. The inaugural episode begins with Brooklyn drill rapper Pop Smoke, who was shot and killed in 2019 during a botched robbery at a Hollywood Hills home. 

The deaths of King Von and Magnolia Shorty will be the focus of episodes two and three, respectively, and XXXTENTACION, Soulja Slim and others will follow. In an interview with Scott-Young, she revealed the show was 50 Cent's idea. 

"He said, 'We should really do a show about dead rappers,'" she said. "'We need to figure out how to tell their stories. We need to go out there. If nobody els

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