Tshepo Bareetseng

Jazz Cartier is finally getting the recognition he deserves. After dropping his highly-celebrated sophomore mixtape, Hotel Paranoia, last year, the 24-year-old spitta signed to Capitol Records this past April and just wrapped up headlining a nationwide tour that saw him perform in 18 cities across North America. The self-proclaimed “Prince of Toronto” was born Jaye Adams in The 6ix but lived all across the globe since his stepfather worked for the U.S. government. “I used to watch Catch Me If You Can a lot, so I started to make up identities for myself,” he recalls. “At every school I was something new.” Jazz found his home in hip-hop, becoming a fan of spittas like Lil Wayne and Z-Ro. He began identifying as a rapper in the eighth grade while in Kuwait. But, his childhood hobby and coping mechanism became real during a 2009 trip to his hometown. Jazz’s dad called in a favor that landed him in the studio with Canadian rapper JB. It was there Cartier would record his first song and m

Chester  Bennington’s death last month is still raw for the people who knew and loved him. JAY-Z recently honored the late Linkin Park frontman during a show at the 2017 V Festival. In footage from the show, Hov stands on a dark stage in front of what looks like an enormous gold balloon animal. “Can you guys light it up tonight. For Chester from Linkin Park, one time tonight,” Jigga urges the crowd. “Please make some noise so he can hear you all the way in heaven tonight,” he adds before rolling into a rendition of the Linkin Park and Jay mash up, “Numb/Encore.” JAY-Z seemed to have a closer relationship with Chester than most in the rap world. In 2004, Hov joined forces with Linkin Park on a collab project titled Collision Course, that spliced together songs from both Jay and LP’s catalogs. The six-song EP was commercially successful, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has obtained double platinum status. Chester’s suicide in July touched many people in hip-hop. Shortly after

Kodak Black doesn’t stop working; he made about three new songs in the studio the same night his new mixtape, Project Baby 2 , dropped. Now, he’s dropped yet another new song, along with a video. Watch “F*ck It,” directed by Yung Mike, Wavylord and Kodak himself The record, produced by Charlie Handsome and Rex Kudo, is actually a song that didn’t make Project Baby 2, yet it continues to show why Kodak is one of the most consistent MCs out right now. If you want to know who’s behind the beats on Project Baby 2 , read the full production credits for the tape to find out, and if you missed it, watch the video for “Transportin” that Kodak just dropped