Along with the fire album, there’s no doubt that it came with a fire album cover right ? Right! According to MTV News,  the bursting colors amongst the cover was actually the artwork of a  Sanja Tošić (a Slovenian artist) who sold the image for less than $80  on Shutterstock. Although the Slovenian artist is aware that the Georgia rapper used her artwork, she claims that she is not about it but then again why would she? Considering the amount of love and attention that the cover is getting on social media, I think it’s safe to say that Sanja will probably be receiving a boost in sales soon if not already thanks to Future.

If you’ve heard the album, you may have noticed that there’s a song called. “Thought It Was A Drought” that holds a golden line. The line that you may have already heard while riding in your car or at the intro of a concert simply goes: ” I just fu**ed yo bi** in some Gucci flip flops!”. If you haven’t taken full advantage of this song yet, it might be essential for you to listen as soon as possible. Although it’s possibly one of those lines that will get tweeted repetitively for the next two weeks, it is nevertheless one of the catchiest and most memorable lines off the album.

Last but not least, you have Future’s single “Freak Hoe” that’s practically on everyone’s  playlist . Not only do the words and the hype beat go hand in hand, but I think we can all agree that this song has already landed at our nearest strip club. Although I’m not sure if it’s ever gonna take the spot of Too $horts’ Shake That Monkey at the club being that it’s only been out for 3 days, there’s no doubt that there’s going to be space cleared for the booty-bouncing single . This goes to say,get ready for new twitter videos, insta videos, and vines because this song is definitely here to stay , for now anyway.

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Kendrick Lamar‘s epic performance on Saturday Night Live still has the public talking a week later. One who’s caught wind of K. Dot’s stage presence was none other than the Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA. The founder recently sat down with MTV News and praised the TDE rapper during the interview, stating “It made me nod my head, nah mean?” Check out the short clip above.

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The first series kicked off this past Saturday, August 3rd at Baruch College in NYC. A sold-out crowd awaited to hear from a panel of industry greats that included Kevin Storey (Brand Manager at Epic Records), Rob Markman (Senior Writer at MTV News), and Margeaux Rawson (SVP of Operations at Vested in Culture). The panelists offered inspirational stories about how they got started in the industry, and the trials and tribulations they have overcome throughout the years. Kevin Storey and Margeaux Rawson both grinded during college, completing internship after internship while Rob Markman worked a 9-5 in a mailroom, simultaneously cranking out freelance work.

The panelists discussed topics such as branding, social media, and the ongoing debate of print vs. digital media. They offered advice to the audience during a Q&A segment, followed by a mixer that allowed you to personally pick the brains of the three guest speakers. If you have a passion for the entertainment industry and are trying to get your foot in the door, then this is a series you don’t want to miss. Check out http://mindsbehindthemusic.org for more information.

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Joining Slaughterhouse, more artists have come forward with their perspectives on the tragic Trayvon Martin case.

The post Video: Young Jeezy, Game, 50 Cent, Prodigy, Killer Mike, Bun B and Nas Speak About Trayvon Martin Case appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Courtesy of MTV News, here is some behind-the-scenes footage of Big Sean in action. The rapper starts out by taking MTV through all the clothes set out for the shoot for “Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay,” a song off of the recently released Finally Famous album.

He also talks about working with Hype Williams, the director of the music video. It also features Kanye West and Roscoe Dash.

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Today, Thursday, June 16th, and what would have been Tupac‘s 40th birthday, we remember the authenticity of the influential artist, and learn that he rejected his “role model” label in a 1992 interview with MTV News:

Had he lived, Tupac Shakur would have turned 40 years old on Thursday (June 16). The sometimes enigmatic, always fiery rapper would have been a grizzled veteran looking back with nostalgia at the exploits that made him the model of hip-hop machismo and passion. But in an interview with MTV News in 1992, the late rapper expressed eloquently why he wanted no part of the “role model” title he was destined to be tagged with.

“I say I don’t want to be a role model in the song, because if I let somebody put the role model label on me, that limits me,” Tupac explained, referring to his song “Ghetto Gospel”. “Because look at those words, ‘role’ and ‘model.’ Both of those are fake words, to play a role and to model, that’s fake. I’m real. Being real, I drink, I hang out, I party — I do things that a 21-year-old does. And even worse, because I didn’t have a childhood, I’m reliving my childhood. I live life to its fullest, I make mistakes, but I do some stuff that some college kids wouldn’t do, because I live from my heart. I have fun. I don’t want to be a role model, I just want to be real.”

If Tupac was anything, it was real. He openly admitted his flaws in interviews and his rhymes, and was known for being fiercely loyal, almost to a fault. The “California Love” rapper never wanted his success to prevent him from being relatable to his friends in the “outer city.” (“It’s the outer city because we’re always left out,” he said.)

Never forgetting where he came from was a theme heard throughout ‘Pac’s music and was a trait inherent in people he saw as heroes. ” ‘Role model,’ that’s the word that they make. In the outer city, we don’t have it,” Tupac said. “We had [Mike] Tyson, Tyson was the perfect outer-city hero because he was always on the edge, they always wanted to make him a different type of person. But he would never be that, he would always be on the edge, and they hated him for that. They punished him because he never legitimized himself. He hung in clubs. He was the only person I knew that had millions that hung around with rappers. The only black person I know that made it to that millionaire status and then treated rappers with dignity.”

‘Pac continued, “Every entertainment person who has money looks at rappers as ignorant people with mics, holding our jocks, wearing Kangols and big gold chains. Mike Tyson was the only person I can remember being a millionaire and a real brother. And he was my hero, and I want to be like that. And I want more people like that.”

Tragically and ironically, Tupac would be shot multiple times on September 7, 1996, after attending the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Although one of hip-hop’s most recognizable stars would succumb to his injuries about a week later, his legend has only risen since his sudden death nearly 15 years ago.

Photo and Story via MTV News

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