SIGT HIP HOP STOP W/ RON GRANT | SWISH Release Date, Hip Hop Remembers Bowie, 2Pac Biopic News, Grammys To Honor Run DMC, Wale Announces New Album

by Ron Grant • January 15, 2016

Hip Hop had another whirlwind week to kick start 2016. From ever-changing Hip Hop movie news to rappers honoring legendary rockers, there was no shortage of both mornful and encouraging news in the past seven days. Take a look at some of the most compelling story lines for this second week of January.

KANYE SETS A RELEASE DATE FOR SWISH

On again. Off again. On again. But alas…a release date for Yeezy’s new project has finally come to us. Swish is set to drop on February 11! And since ‘Ye has already released seven supposed tracks form the project ranging from “FourFiveSeconds” and “All Day” to last week’s “Real Friends” and “No More Parties In L.A.”, we truly may not know what to expect from his seventh go-round. Which might be a good thing. Just Kanye keeping us on our toes!

HIP HOP PAYS RESPECTS TO DAVID BOWIE

Music lost one of its most ambitious and classic voices with Bowie succumbing to cancer just days after his 69^th birthday. And Hip Hop artists weren’t shy about their admiration of Bowie’s legacy. Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco and more took to social media to offer condolences and express gratitude for his influence. Not to mention the interviews that resurfaced of Bowie praising Hip Hop in the early 90s and calling out racism on the part of MTV in 1983.

SEVERAL ROLES CAST FOR 2PAC BIOPIC

Pac’s larger-than-life story continues to receive the silver screen treatment. Several roles were cast this week for the biopic All Eyez On Me. Included are Jamie Hector of The Wire as 2Pac’s stepfather Mutulu Shakur, Danai Gurira of The Walking Dead as Pac’s mother Afeni Shakur and Kat Graham of The Vampire Diaries as Pac’s lifelong friend Jada Pinkett. A pretty pristine cast of characters so far!

WALE ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM, SHINE

The D.C. emcee recently performed with The Roots at a Pre-party for the final State of the Union Address by President Obama. He also announced his fifth album, Shine, will be released later this year. It’s good to see Wale finally in the news for some positive vibes and not the tantrums that we’re used to. Keep it up, Folarin.

RUN DMC TO RECEIVE GRAMMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Maybe this years’ class of Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients should be dubbed the “It’s about damn time” crew. Among legends like Celia Cruz and Earth, Wind And Fire, Run DMC are the first ever rap group to receive the honor. Maybe Biggie was right: we never thought that Hip Hop could take it this far.