HotNewHipHop‘s latest livestream had a lot to get into, and Aron A. and I had a blast breaking it all down. We’ll be doing these livestreamed discussions every Friday, and make sure to stay logged into HNHH to rate the latest songs and albums of the week.

First off, we spoke on our new review of Set In Stone, the latest album from Rick Ross. Aron talked about why the project feels underwhelming in the Rozay catalog, as his greatest strength of luxury and motivational hip-hop has become his greatest limitation. We had some highlights to go over, but two weeks after its release, it feels like the staying power is wearing off.

Then, we discussed the recent beef between two corners of New York hip-hop, as 38 Spesh has been going at Jadakiss, Jim Jones, Fat Joe, and DJ Khaled. We talked about the difference between competition and disrespect in the genre, wondering if we missed out on a competitive showdown by Spesh’s more low-blown shots at Capo. Most importantly, we also emphasized how taking on challengers is a sign of respect in the game, and how this could’ve been a different outcome under more cordial circumstances.

Next up, Aron and I broke down some of the new music that dropped this week. We had some praise for Tyga’s $TARFACE drop, we debated the hit potential of Cardi B’s “AH HA” single, gave flowers to Homeboy Sandman and Jack Splash’s Resonance Frequency LP, and glowingly spoke on Meek Mill’s flows and passionate performance on his new track “Nightmares To Dreams.”

Read More: 38 Spesh Chose Violence: Breaking Down His Beef With Jadakiss, Jim Jones & Fat Joe

HNHH Live

Speaking of new music, we also had love for the new Trippie Redd song “Swagger,” which is the lead single to his upcoming NDA album, dropping on August 14. While Aron is not as much of a Trippie fan, we still liked the more soulful and glistening rage take on the new track, hoping Redd can cut down his bloat and return to form on this upcoming tracklist.

On a less positive note, Aron and I spoke on AI prevalence in hip-hop, whether it’s Fenix Flexin’s “RUBBERZ” controversy or 38 Spesh’s “Fool’s Mate” video. We spoke on ethics and transparency being big factors here, acknowledging that hip-hop history has always had creative challenges from technology that it eventually mastered and made their own.

Tierra Whack gave us some room to discuss lyricism, expectations of femcees, and creative versatility thanks to her recent Breakfast Club comments. We lamented how her lyrical skill isn’t getting the shine it deserves, hoping she can find the recognition similarly versatile artists like Lauryn Hill found in the culture.

Finally, we went over some hip-hop anniversaries. The big one of note was Lil Uzi Vert’s The Perfect Luv Tape turning ten years old this week, a mind-blowing idea for us as folks following Uzi at that time. Other highlights include Drake’s “Back To Back” celebrating 11 years, DJ Khaled’s Major Key turning ten, and UGK’s classic Ridin’ Dirty turning 30.

Keep checking in with HNHH for our next livestream and to keep up with new music releases and features down the line.

Read More: Rick Ross’s Greatest Strength Becomes His Achilles Heel On “Set In Stone”

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