It's The Boombap

Jelly Roll received a full pardon Thursday from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, clearing the chart-topping artist's decades-old robbery and drug convictions after a year-long review.

Tim Burchett boasted about his twerking skills in a bizarre social media exchange with Nicki Minaj that highlights how MAGA politics keep getting stranger.

Charlamagne Tha God locked down a multi-year contract extension with iHeartMedia just days after rival radio host Ebro Darden's abrupt departure from Hot 97.

Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty

Top Dawg Entertainment recently held its 12th annual Christmas event, continuing a tradition rooted in community and culture.

As part of its annual giveback, the label hosted a free concert and toy drive, encouraging fans to bring an unwrapped toy for entry. With a stacked lineup featuring Ab-Soul, Doechii, Isiah Rashad, and more, the event was already shaping up to be a memorable night. TDE still had one more surprise in store for the attendees when Kendrick Lamar pulled up.




He kicked off the moment performing "Squabble Up, " before delivering the knockout punch by bringing out SZA. The two joined forces to perform their fan-favorite collab, "30 For 30," adding to the holiday spirit.




The annual Christmas event has become a staple on the West Coast over the years, with TDE keeping things in-house by showcasing its own roster. Jay Rock has previously spoken about the importance of the toy drive and giving back to the community:

"I grew up here, and for people to see us come back and give back, it's a blessing. I was one of these kids out here, too. If there's a kid out there trying to strive for something great, it's motivation that no matter where you come from, you can make it out if you stay dedicated."

Despite Kendrick Lamar no longer being part of TDE, he continues to show up for his community. It's been a big month for the Compton rapper, as he also recently learned that "Not Like Us" became the most-streamed rap song on Apple Music in 2025, while his op, Drake, was named the platform's most-streamed artist.

via: https://hiphopwired.com/2962961/tde-christmas-concert-2025

Mustard is asking a Los Angeles court for sole legal custody of his three children and $30,000 in sanctions against his ex-wife, Chanel Thierry, over what he says are repeated violations of their custody agreement through social media.

Barack Obama put Hip-Hop front and center on December 18 when he unveiled his 2025 playlist on Instagram featuring chart-toppers like Kendrick Lamar and Drake, alongside rising voices including Gunna and Chance the Rapper.

Handout / Donald Trump

The New York Times dropped new audio clips featuring Donald Trump to instruct Republicans on how to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election.


The main denier of the 2020 Presidential election, Donald Trump, was caught in 4K trying to convince Georgia Republicans to overturn the results that saw him lose the traditionally red state to then President-elect Joe Biden.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that it had obtained audio clips as part of a trove of documents from the now-dismissed Fulton County, Georgia, criminal case against Trump and over a dozen of his fellow election deniers.

Donald Trump Begged For A Special Legislative Session

One of the clips features Trump speaking with late former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R), who died in 2023, in a 12-minute phone call begging him to call a special legislative session to address "fraud" in the 2020 election.

"Who's gonna stop you for that?" Trump is heard on the recording saying.

"A federal judge, possibly," Ralston said while laughing.

But wait, there's more.

Per Raw Story:

Later in the call, Trump is heard giving direction on how Ralston would conduct the special session, and baselessly alleged that he had won Georgia by hundreds of thousands of votes (he in fact lost by roughly 12,000 votes statewide). Trump repeated debunked conspiracy theories about ballot boxes being stuffed at Atlanta's State Farm arena, as former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani frequently argued.

"If we had a special session, we will present, and you will say, 'Here, it's been massive fraud. We're going to turn over the state,'" Trump said.

Even though Ralston never committed to doing what Orange Mussolini instructed, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis used it as evidence in her Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) prosecution of Trump and his associates.

Willis claimed Trump illegally tried to push Ralston to violate his oath of office by calling for a special election "for the purpose of unlawfully appointing presidential electors from the State of Georgia."

Judge Scott McAfee threw out those charges because he claims Willis was not specific enough in naming what statutes Trump violated.


Trump should be in jail, but unfortunately, he's back in the White House, ruining our lives.

via: https://hiphopwired.com/2961856/donald-trump-overturn-2020-presidential-election-audio-details

Source: Prince Williams / Getty

21 Savage and Young Thug's father might be playing a major role in bringing Atlanta Hip-Hop back together.

Over the past few years, division within the city has reached an all-time high. Fallouts stemming from snitching allegations, family ties, and money have driven wedges between some of Atlanta's biggest stars of the last decade. Behind the scenes, Mr.Big 4L has publicly encouraged Quavo and Offset to reconcile following their very public fallout. 

Most notably, 21 has made it clear he's been attempting to squash the ongoing tension between Young Thug and Gunna. In a series of tweets directed at both rappers, Savage urged them to settle their differences:

"Y'all n*ggas fix that sh*t y'all love each other n*gga you knew Gunna wasn't no gangster when he told the first time, and we swept it under the rug for you you know he wasn't tryna leave you to hang n*gga f*ck the streets we ain't get sh*t but trauma from that sh*t." Also adding Lil Baby for backing, "@whamcbfw4 (Lil Baby) you one of the realest young n*ggas out this sh*t admit slime (Young Thug) was moving the goal post, and we was standing behind him cuz we love him my brother."




Thugger responded back to the series of tweets telling 21 Savage, "I love u my brada, u always been with me." Gunna has not responded to the British-born, Atlanta-raised rapper's tweets.




Online, fans believe the a lot rapper was referencing a resurfaced clip of Gunna allegedly appearing on an episode of Crime Stoppers, where he stated that he would contact police if a crime were committed against a loved one.

Adding more fuel to the reconciliation talk, Young Thug's father, Jeffery Williams Sr., was recently spotted attending a Gunna concert in support.




The appearance has many fans believing that an end to the long-standing rift between Thug and Wunna may not be far-fetched after all.

via: https://hiphopwired.com/2961724/wunna-have-peace-21-savage-tells-young-thug-to-squash-his-beef-with-gunna-expeditiously

Source: FrankRamspott / Getty

The stunning win by Zohran Mamdani to become New York City's next mayor has reignited some Republican politicians on Staten Island to call for the borough to secede from the rest of the city. And they're tapping into decades of feeling slighted by the rest of the city as fuel for their movement.

"It's only going to get louder," says Staten Island Borough President of the growing sentiment. He points to the majority of the borough not voting for Mamdani, who is a Democratic Socialist. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, won 55% of the vote in Staten Island as opposed to Mamdani, who got 23% of the vote. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa won 21%.

State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo held a rally last month where attendees signed a "Staten Island Independence Declaration." In his view, Mamdani's win means the borough's importance could be limited. "We are at war because the city seems to have values that we disagree with," he said. "Some of the policies that fit in Manhattan don't fit in Staten Island, and what they do in Queens and Brooklyn are what we don't want to have here."

Secession has been discussed in Staten Island before. The borough is predominately white, and is New York City's least populous borough while having the second-highest median income behind Manhattan. The watershed moment was in 1993, when 63% of residents voted to leave in a non-binding referendum. The shock led then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani to make the Staten Island Ferry free, and to shut down the Fresh Kills Landfill to appease residents.

But economic questions, as well as proper political representation, could tamper the drive to secede. Experts point out that Staten Island doesn't have a strong economic base to be independent. City Council member Frank Morano is pushing for a full economic study before any referendum is created. "I'm all for democracy, but what I'd like is democracy with data," he said.

via: https://hiphopwired.com/2954149/staten-island-plots-to-secede-when-mamdani-becomes-mayor

Source: Ilya S. Savenok / Getty

After almost 20 years of providing New York City with one of its most popular and best-sounding venues, Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg will be closing its doors in just under a year.

According to Variety, the famous destination opened its doors in 2007 will be losing its lease at the tail-end of 2026. It will be forced to find a new venue or simply shut down the whole operation as America and its businesses continue to crumble under this disastrous Trump regime (allegedly - might as well blame him for this one, too). In its nearly two-decade run, the popular music venue has hosted the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd, Tyler, The Creator and many other timeless artists.

In an internal memo obtained by Variety, from the Bowery Presents co-partners Jim Glancy and John Moore broke the news to the venue's staff of the unfortunate circumstances.

Variety reports:

After nearly two decades, The Bowery Presents has been notified by the owners of 66 North 6th Street that our lease for Music Hall of Williamsburg will not be renewed, and our time in the building will come to an end at the conclusion of 2026. We will continue to produce shows at Music Hall throughout next year, making each moment count for rising talent and returning stars, ensuring the legacy of this venue and its impact on both the neighborhood and music overall is secured in history.

Music Hall quickly established itself as a foundational venue for both artists and our staff alike. We opened the venue and hosted countless artists at the very beginning of their careers, including Mumford and Sons, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, Ed Sheeran, Tyler, The Creator, Brandi Carlile, The xx, The Weeknd, Robyn, Disclosure, The War on Drugs, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES, Maggie Rogers, Fred again.., Geese, and Audrey Hobert, to name just a few. Several of these artists grew their careers and audiences with Bowery through our larger clubs and on to arenas and stadiums. Music Hall has also made headlines with underplays featuring the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Harry Styles, Deftones, and dozens of other legendary artists. In addition, we saw some of Bowery's own staff begin their careers at Music Hall and make the move to larger stages and productions.

Now that the venue will be shuttering its doors in a year, we wonder if they'll go out with a bang and have some of the music game's biggest names perform at their music hall for their swan song season.

No word on why their lease will not be renewed going forward but if history has taught us anything it always boils down to one thing: money.

Will the building be sold to the highest bidder or will the venue be replaced with something that generates that much more income? Guess we'll have to wait and see what the owners have planned for the Brooklyn property.

via: https://hiphopwired.com/2961365/brooklyns-music-hall-of-williamsburg-to-close-its-doors-in-2026