Back in 2003, you couldn’t help but crack a smile when Jay Z’s “99 Problems” off the Brooklyn boy’s beloved Black Album bumped through your spealers. Who would’ve ever thought that the mastermind behind the hook for the smash hit was none other than comedian, Chris Rock? In an interview with New York magazine, veteran producer Rick Rubin revealed that the Rock got the idea from an Ice-T song of the same name.

Chuck D has blasted veteran rap artists for their seeming lack of positivity and alleged negative impact on Hip-Hop culture. On Monday (June 3), the Public Enemy leader jumped on X to share his thoughts on the role that some elder statesmen have played in promoting “dark energy” and nihilsm in their music, despite being of middle age. “If you over 40, and spitting meaningless dark energy in rap, you have to really think about what matters in the hip-hop foundation that birthed your chance at it,” the esteemed emcee wrote.

We guess after being faced with some cringe-worthy interviews in the past, it would only be natural for Diplo to pull a Jay Z and use the internet to dish out #factsonly about his music and uh, interests. The platform: Reddit, where he used a verified account to answer any questions members may have for the “Express Yourself” producer and VIBE cover star. Here were some that we found most titalizing tantalizing.

In Hip-Hop, the epic rivalry between Jay-Z and Nas is the gift that keeps on giving as stories about the seeds that ultimately grew into an all-out war of words between the two titans continue to surface decades later. During a recent appearance on the My Expert Opinion podcast, DJ Clue, who worked with both artists during the course of their beef, gave his recollection of how the discord began, pointing to a freestyle by Nas on one of his mixtapes as the first shot fired.

The cause of death of legendary Hip-Hop DJ Mister Cee has officially been revealed. According to AllHipHop, on Monday (April 15), the New York Medical Examiner declared that Mister Cee, born Calvin LeBrun, passed away as a result of a diabetes-related coronary artery and kidney disease. Mister Cee was 57 at the time of his death and passed on April 10. Following his death, Mister Cee’s family released a statement expressing their appreciation for the public’s well-wishes in their time of mourning.