HipHopDX – This week in Hip Hop, Nipsey Hussle‘s alleged killer Eric Holder was indicted by a grand jury. Also, Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh announced they will be reuniting as Little Brother and lastly, The Notorious B.I.G. will get a Brooklyn street named after him this summer.
Eric Holder Indicted By Grand Jury In Nipsey Hussle Murder
On Tuesday (May 21), Eric Holder — the man accused murdering Nipsey Hussle — was indicted by a grand jury.
Prosecutors originally charged him with premeditated murder, two counts attempted murder and possession a firearm by a felon. The indictment added two more charges.
Holder has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following the indictment, Big Sean had something to say to Holder and addressed him on Instagram.
“You know what I wanted to say was to the person who murdered Nipsey and to people like that who take somebody’s life out impulse or for revenge or whatever the case may be — you’re making a permanent solution to a temporary problem,” he captioned in a post.
Read more about Eric Holder getting indicted here.
Little Brother Returns
Little Brother is coming back. Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh announced their return in a statement to DJBooth. But, Phonte revealed the reunion will happen without their longtime producer 9th Wonder.
“I’m excited to announce that my brother Big Pooh and I are back at work,” Phonte wrote in an email. “New Little Brother music and a tour are coming soon. After conversations with 9th Wonder following our Art Cool reunion show in Durham last year, the three us mutually agreed it was best for LB to continue as a duo, as Pooh and I have ficially been Little Brother since 2007.”
To celebrate, DX put together a list the Top 10 Little Brother songs, including “Slow It Down” and “All For You.”
Read more about Little Brother’s reunion here.
Brooklyn Honors The Notorious B.I.G. With A Street
After some push back, The Notorious B.I.G. is on track to have a Brooklyn street named after him by June 10.
“Honoring Biggie symbolizes more than just one man,” initiative leader LeRoy McCarthy said. “It symbolizes a culture. It symbolizes a borough. It symbolizes a people, and Hip Hop is worldwide.”
St. James Place, between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street, is set to be named Christopher Wallace Way.
Read more on The Notorious B.I.G. getting a street in Brooklyn here.
DX Reviews
– Tyler, The Creator — IGOR
– DJ Khaled – Father Of Asahd
– Logic — Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
– Megan Thee Stallion — Fever
– Bun B & Statik Selektah — TrillStatik
– Diamond D — The Diam Piece 2
– Emotional Oranges — The Juice, Vol. 1
#DXCLUSIVES: Phife Dawg, Flying Lotus & Kurtis Blow
Phife Dawg’s Mother & Wife Speak On Life & Loss During UnderCover Presents’ Tribe Tribute
HipHopDX spoke with Phife’s Dawg mother Cheryl Boyce-Taylor when the city Oakland gave her son his own day, May 17. She opened up about her late son’s legacy and noted how she’s still dealing with his passing.
“I haven’t gotten through it,” she said. “It’s still a day-by-day process, but I know he would want me to continue my work. I am a pressional poet and writer, so I withdrew from a lot my performing and teaching and things like that. That was very helpful. I’ve been in therapy for the last two-and-a-half years and writing.”
Read the full conversation with Phife Dawg’s mom Cheryl here.
Flying Lotus Wants To Do A Whole Album With Tierra Whack
In an exclusive interview with DX, producer Flying Lotus discussed his new album Flamagra and his love for “Yellow Belly” collaborator Tierra Whack.
“I would like to do an entire album with Tierra Whack],” FlyLo told HipHopDX. “I don’t ever be sending beats to people, but I send her everything, the entire folder like ‘here. You can have whatever you want.’ I don’t know if she’s gonna ever do anything with it but she got the keys.”
Read the full interview with Flying Lotus here.
Kurtis Blow Gives The Oral History Of “Basketball” Amid Raising $20M For Universal Hip Hop Museum
DX caught up with Hip Hop pioneer Kurtis Blow to look back at his classic song “Basketball” and find out what names he would drop in the song if it were made in 2019.
“That would be an incredible list,” he said. “From the 90s to the 2000s, you have Kobe Bryant and Shaq and, course, LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Clyde Drexler, so many players. And even today, ‘The Greek Freak’ Giannis Antetokounmpo], Damian Lillard, James Harden — what an incredible player. Kevin Durant, that whole Golden State team’s starting five! laughs]. You can name all five them in the song — one verse about the Golden State Warriors — Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, so many players. And every team has a couple players who should be in there, for sure.”
Check out the whole convo with Kurtis Blow here.