We celebrate a real one’s birthday this week as Yo Gotti, one of the voices of Memphis rap, turns thirty-nine in style.

The head of CMG has been developing the sound of his city for years, expanding into more of an executive role in recent years. Don’t let that fool you though — he can still hang with the best of them. This week, he brought in another year of life, choosing to provide all of the gifts that he really wanted himself.

While we’re sure family and friends were busy getting Yo Gotti the stuff he asked for, it’s pretty difficult to shop for a man with million-dollar taste. On his birthday, he decided to spoil himself, spending racks on three new exotic vehicles to add to his collection. In fact, he admitted that he spent over $1 million on his new purchases.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Showing an affinity for Tiffany blue, the Memphis star got himself all that he wanted this year, showing off his new Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini Urus, and Ferrari F8. All three of the whips are decked out in a custom wrap, suiting Yo Gotti’s favorite color.

“Shout out to the streets for always supporting me, shout out to all the fans,” he said, sitting in front of his new Rolls.

Check out the rapper’s new million-dollar fleet of vehicles.

All YFN Lucci wanted to do was give a shoutout to Boosie Badazz for looking out for him. The Atlanta rapper shared a photo of himself with Boosie to his Instagram, and Webbie decided to leave a comment under the picture. “N*GGAZ DID THAT AND DOING ALL THIS SH*T FOR THE BOSS NOW ..BUT WHERE THE F*CK ALL U N*GGAZ WAS,WHEN I SACRIFICED ALL MY SH*T..N TOOK CARE OF FAMILIES WHEN YOU WAS IN JAIL..JUST WONDERING.” He made it clear exactly who he was speaking to by tagging Boosie Badazz at the end of his message.

Things then escalated quickly, and Boosie wrote a lengthy reply. Earlier this year, Boosie told VladTV that he and Webbie weren’t beefing, so this random bit of tension caught everyone off guard. “U coulda call me n*gga smh truth is you NEVER sent my mother a ‘dollar’ n y’all had FREE BOOSIE concerts all over SHE NEVA GOT A DIME SMH you lyin bra,” Boosie wrote.

He stated that Waka Flocka, Yo Gotti, and Jeezy made sure that his mother was taken care of while he was locked up, but he claimed Webbie was nowhere to be found. “Everybody know I’ve tried to help you millions of times. Every time we’ve tried to get you n the studio u leave. Trill even tried gettin writers for you out bra,” Boosie continued.

“Ive tried to get you features u refuse 7500 over n over again n that’s more than your show price,” he wrote. “U want me to be like n have hate for all the artist n da game n that’s fake. The rap industry that u think hate u actually have respect for u n*gga. U THE ONE TO BLAME FOR YOUR DOWNFALL. I CANT MAKE U RAP N I CANT MAKE U HUSTLE. IT GOTA BE BORN N YA.” 

Boosie Badazz reiterated once again that Webbie didn’t help his family, calling Webbie’s claims a “bold face lie [100 percent].” Not long after this comment was made, Boosie shut down his Instagram. However, he’s back in action, ready to defend his name. Read his message in full below

The murder of Ahmaud Arbery has sparked outrage across the nation and beyond. Arbery was murdered in broad daylight by a father and son duo who claimed to have shot the 25-year-old man out of suspicion that he had burgled a house in the predominantly white neighborhood. 

Jay-Z and Roc Nation artists Meek Mill, Yo Gotti, and Alicia Keys have signed off on an open letter calling for a fair but quick trial so felony convictions can be placed against Gregory and Travis McMichaels. Additionally, they’re demanding the man who filmed the incident, William Bryan, is arrested and faces trial as an accomplice. The letter was addressed to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, GA AG Christopher Darr, and D.A. Tom Durden.

“By now, we’ve all seen the crime’s disturbing video, so the facts here are not in doubt: He was unarmed and innocent and the victim of a hate crime. Which is why we call upon you today, as official leaders of the Great State of Georgia, and with the entire world watching, to ensure that a fair trial is conducted, as that can only lead to the appropriate felony convictions of both McMichaels. We also implore you to charge William Bryan as an armed accomplice to the crime.”

The letter also addresses the conflict of interest in the case since Gregory Michaels, a former cop in the area, previously worked with D.A. Durden. Team Roc demands that Durden is recused from the case.

Read the full letter below. 

Angela Simmons gave the world quite a view when she showcased her body for a healthy dose of body positivity. The bikini post came with a message, one about loving the skin you’re in. “She’s not perfect , her weight fluctuates, she has her days when she’s not sure … she doesn’t have a 6 pack …. Throughout this all she’s learned to love herself unconditionally… because if she didn’t who would ? She is me . And I am her …,” Angela Simmons wrote on the post that quickly racked up over 200,000 Likes on Instagram.

Now you know Yo Gotti had to come through with his two cents. The CMG rapper never misses a chance to shoot a shot Angela’s way, as history has shown time and time again. It’s also kinda of funny that on this particular post, Angela did sort of use Gotti’s “I AM” lingo, in a way.

The photo has caught the eyes of many filling up her comment section, but it was Gotti’s reply that caught the most attention, as noticed by TheShadeRoom. The rapper assured her, “I think u perfect,” with a heart emoji to cap it all off. Peep his comment below.

Will these two ever really collide into a meaningful relationship though? 

42 Dugg is ready for his spotlight.

For much of his life, things have been uncertain. The rapper has had difficulty staying out of trouble, getting locked up for six years early in his life and being forced to grow up in the hole. Beginning to take rap seriously when he was in solitary confinement, 42 Dugg realized that he could make a career out of this, which would prevent him from needing to hustle to come up with money.

Signing a combination deal with Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group and Lil Baby’s 4PF, 42 Dugg is easily one of the highest touted rappers in the country right now. He is in high demand and, after hearing his music, you’ll know exactly why.

Dugg brings a certain vulnerability to his sound that hasn’t been heard since Lil Baby came up. There’s a pain in his voice after having had to endure so much in his early days. When he gets in the studio, he taps in with his struggle to deliver some of the rawest and most emotive tracks in modern hip-hop.

Following the recent release of Young And Turnt 2, we hopped on a video call with 42 Dugg to speak about his newfound success.

Read our interview below, edited for clarity and length.

Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

HotNewHipHop: What’s up, Dugg? How’s it going?

42 Dugg: What’s good, my G. What you got going on?

Not much, man. I wanted to start off by congratulating you on the success of Young And Turnt 2.

Appreciate you.

What does it mean to be young and turnt? 

To me, it just means having fun and living your life how it’s supposed to be lived. Turnt, going crazy in yo bag.

A lot of your music pertains to your experience in prison. You spent 6 years in jail. What for?

Carjacking. 

And you started rapping when you were in solitary confinement?

Yeah.

What was that like? Right now we’re all in quarantine and, just recently, Ellen DeGeneres got in trouble for saying that quarantine is like jail. What would you say to something like that?

Ain’t too far from it. We still get to do whatever we want, they ain’t on our ass. You get to move freely but you still got rules. You still gotta be somewhere at a certain time. In a sense, it is.

What are you doing to stay busy right now?

I’m doing everything. I ain’t tryna hear it.

Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

It’s a really distinctive sound coming out of Detroit right now. Who do you think is running the city?

Me.

Is there anybody in the city that you’re trying to work with on the next project?

I wanna work with Baby Money, my youngin’. We fuckin’ with him on my next tape. I fuck with Big Sean, I really fuck with everybody. If I don’t fuck with you then you know, but other than that, I fuck with you.

Speaking of Big Sean, he’s working on the new Detroit project right now. Is that something you’d be down to get on?

He hit me up, hell yeah I’d get on that bitch. I’m Detroit. He hit me on DM and said we could kick it. He posted my project.

You’re signed to 4PF and to CMG, Lil Baby and Yo Gotti. What are the differences in working with them and what came together from that partnership?

It came together two different ways but it’s real organic. I met Baby kicking it on some other shit. We formed a little close relationship. He asked to listen to my music and everything was history from there. With Gotti, somebody put Gotti on my music. He was like, “sh*t, what do we gotta do to make it happen?”

Somebody like Lil Baby, he’s only 25 himself. Do you consider him a mentor?

I consider him like a brother.

Do you have anything in the works with Baby as well?

You know he’s about to put the deluxe out, I might be on there. I don’t know. Gotta wait and see but I’m telling you, we going crazy.

What happened after your feature on “Grace?”

Wait till you hear this new shit. We vibe in the studio. I already know how he gon’ come, he already know how I’m gon’ come. Ain’t nobody slacking when they get on that. I know when the beat go on, me and him know you gotta come with that shit or you’ll get fucked over on this muhfucka.

It’s like a competition every time?

Yeah. Fasho. It’s like a friendly competition. Ain’t even gotta be nothing said. He know what it is, I know what it is. Let’s get it soon as the beat come on. Come with that shit. That’s the only way the song gon’ be right.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

In almost every song, you shout out your homies Nell, Reese, and others. What do they mean to you?

Them my uncles, you know? Nell got life, Reese died. They brothers. Nell, he still listen to the music. He still get to listen in jail. I just wanna let him know, I ain’t forgot about you bro. If there’s anything I can do, I’ma do it.

What was it like spending such a long time in jail? What’s your mentality in a situation like that?

Being safe. Getting home. That’s all you thinking about in that bitch. Just making it out how you came in that muhfucka. Muhfuckas will fuck you over in that bitch if you moving the wrong way, that’s why I just mind my business and get home.

After you got signed, once you got all that money, what was your first big purchase? 

Man, I been turnt. That shit just joined what I had. I already had my deal money, I was just gambling and losing that shit. I bought a few watches. I had cash before that shit though. I just bought a few watches and kept it going really.

Who’s been the most surprising co-sign in this last year?

Tyler, the Creator. I was a little surprised when he hit me. But I’m hard, can’t nobody fuck with me. 

On a song like “Been Turnt,” you’re communicating the prison experience with such anger and vulnerability. You can hear the emotion in your voice. How do you get back to that zone when you’re in the studio?

I really just trying to be very energetic. I was just tryna let you know, “bitch, I been on that shit. My n***as in jail still on this shit.” That’s the message I was tryna get across. 

When you’re able to perform again after the quarantine, how crazy do you think that’s gonna be?

It’s gonna be crazy. I can’t wait for the reaction. Obviously, my Detroit show got rescheduled to May, so hopefully it’s that one. You know we ’bout to go crazy.

Do you have any dream collaborations?

I ain’t gonna say no dream collaborations because I ain’t really dreaming about no shit like that. I fuck with everybody, you know? Thug, Roddy [Ricch], but these muhfuckas I done kicked it with before. Thug is who I’m looking forward to, I ain’t gonna say I dreamed about that shit though.

What do you have coming next this year?

I’ma try to go deluxe. I just wanna keep this shit going. Gotta keep the wave up. I know summertime we gon’ come with something crazy. We gon’ pipe this bitch up.

Absolutely, man. Thanks for taking the time to talk, Dugg.

I appreciate you having me.

The past few months have seen Team ROC, spearheaded by rapper Yo Gotti, go up against the Mississippi Department of Corrections for the absolutely detrimental conditions within their prison system. The call for action is getting even louder now that the spread of coronavirus is threatening to make matters even worse.

Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS

Based off a press release shared by AP News earlier today (March 13), the philanthropic arm of Roc Nation is officially demanding for the Mississippi DOC to develop a plan that will prevent coronavirus from spreading to inmates over at Parchman where they previously filed lawsuits on behalf of 152 prisoners. The press release went on to state the following: “Inmates at Parchman have been forced to live in deadly environments that lack clean water, adequate food, electricity, heat, access to healthcare and clothing, among many other basic human necessities. While visitors are restricted from accessing the prison and visiting loved ones inside, the recent classification of COVID-19 as a pandemic and the rising death toll are cause for alarm in a penitentiary already low on resources.”

The “Rake It Up” rapper added his own words, saying, “These inmates have been subjected to inhumane health and safety risks, and now have to deal with the uncertainty and potential devastation of the coronavirus, too.”

Read the full press release over at AP, and we pray that everyone stays safe out here and is doing their best to maintain healthy habits for the sake of yourselves and others.

Imagine a tour with Rick Ross, T.I., Lil’ Kim, Jeezy, Boosie Badazz, Yo Gotti, 2 Chainz, and more… It seems too good to be too but that’s legitimately happening very soon. All of your favourite Southern drug rap kingpins are teaming up for the Feed The Streetz tour, hitting the road for some star-studded shows across the country this Spring.

Pegged as the “Living Legends” leg of the tour, each one of these artists is still very much active in the game today. Kicking off in Atlanta, the billing will include the following rappers: Rick Ross, Jeezy, T.I, Yo Gotti, Lil’ Kim, and Boosie Badazz. DJ Drama is being touted as a special guest and, on select dates, 2 Chainz will also be hitting the stage. I don’t know about y’all but, with that line-up, any price of admission is worth it.

While this isn’t exactly being marketed as a nostalgic affair, it will certainly attract a specific group of rap fans.

Check out the tour dates below, Stereogum. Are you going to be buying a ticket to one of the upcoming shows?

4/24 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *
5/02 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum *
5/09 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
5/15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
5/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
5/24 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
5/30 – Chicago, IL @ Wintrust Arena

* with 2 Chainz

DaBaby is officially grill-less, as the rapper showed off his pearly whites alongside his buddies Blac Youngsta and Moneybagg Yo, the latter of which recently got his diamond fronts removed as well. DaBaby can almost always be seen smiling. The rapper’s wide grin has become a signature part of his silhouette, but now when Baby flashes a smile, it’ll look totally different. DaBaby shared a clip of himself surrounded by his friends Moneybagg Yo and Blac Youngsta, beaming from ear-to-ear to show off his recent dental work. “Pearly white sh*t,” DaBaby can be heard saying in the clip, before pointing out the obvious: “I took the grill out.”

“All smiles,” Moneybagg declares in the clip. He, himself, recently debuted a brand new smile, after taking a trip to Colombia to visit Dr. Mario Montoya. Specifying that he did not opt for “the big cheap teeth,” Moneybagg’s shiny white veneers are practically perfect.

DaBaby later shared another clip of himself, Moneybagg, and Youngsta joined by Yo Gotti and Stunna 4 Vegas. “Whole lotta rich ass country n*ggas in the building,” Baby says of the group.

While Moneybagg, Youngsta, and Yo Gotti all reside from Memphis, Tennessee, Baby and Stunna are both North Carolina natives, the former from Charlotte and the latter from Salisbury. Baby will be returning to his hometown later this month to assist Diddy and the rest of the Combs Cartel on the judging panel for the Making The Band reboot auditions in Charlotte, and there’s no doubt he’ll be flaunting his brand new smile the whole time. 

Just last month we saw Team ROC, the prison reform initiative backed by JAY-Z and Yo Gotti, share a video of the insanely gruesome conditions happening within the Mississippi prison system. It looks like they aren’t backing down anytime soon either, as the Roc Nation entity has filed a second civil lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Corrections on behalf of 152 inmates.

Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Roc Nation

Team ROC’s fight for change within the prison system isn’t a new one at all, with Yo Gotti seen in the photo above showing love for the “Free Meek Mill” movement back in 2017 at Jay-Z’s 4:44 Tour stop in Philadelphia. Given the serious conditions that prisoners are going through at Mississippi State Penitentiary, also sometimes referred to as Parchman Farm, it makes perfect sense why they’re doubling down on the suit. 18 inmates have already  reportedly died throughout Mississippi’s correctional system, mainly due to food contaminated with rat feces and cockroaches or not getting the proper medical care for health issues like cancer and serious heart defects, according to an official Team ROC press release.

Jay-Z originally filed the first suit back in January according to BBC News, with efforts to bring awareness to 29 prisoners forced to “live in squalor” and other life-threatening conditions. In this most recent follow-up, Hov, Gotti and Team ROC are requesting on behalf of a total of now 152 inmates to get the court to maintain jurisdiction of Parchman until the DOC can assure the environment is safe and stable overall.

Watch the new PSA that Team ROC released below, but we warn you that some images in the video may be hard to view:

Most people who are awarded the prestigious honor of having a day named after themselves usually, you know, hail from the city or state that is crowing them with the honor. That wasn't the case for rapper Yo Gotti, who just received his own day in St. Louis, Missouri although he was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for EA Sports Bowl at Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest

It's worth noting that Gotti apparently spends a lot of time in St. Louis, particularly when it comes to the prison reform initiative Team Roc that he spearheads alongside Jay-Z. Still, many were very confused as to how that meant he should get an entire day when actual St. Louis natives like Nelly, any of the St. Lunatics or even former hitmaker Chingy weren't awarded the same recognition during their rap peaks. What's even funnier is that Gotti already has a day named after himself in his own city, with Memphis honoring "Yo Gotti Day" as well on June 29. Whether you agree with the decision or not, make sure to celebrate "Yo Gotti Day" if you're ever in St. Louis on February 22 though.

Peep some of the most agreeable, wild and downright hilarious responses to Yo Gotti getting his own day in St. Louis below: