The Return of King Kendrick! Kendrick Spits a Crazy Freestyle on Hot97, Drops a New Single, and more.

Image Credit: allhiphop.com

The rap beast is back at it again and he’s coming strong and fast. Kendrick Lamar shook the game up with his verse on Big Sean’s "Control" back in August of last year. It heated things up as he proclaimed himself “the best” and almost begged for competition, calling out several of the game’s current top dogs, ie: J Cole, Wale, Meek Mill and Drake. Many rappers responded, but none of the ones he named.

In a nasty Hot 97.1 FM freestyle with Funk Master Flex on September 18, the "B---h Don’t Kill My Vibe" rapper went in. In one half of his freestyle, listeners re-visited the fire of the same undefeatable, hungry energy Kendrick gave us on "Control."

Kendrick rapped:

I’m sparring with a dragon, he tried to throw a flame but I ducked and then I stabbed him. Came out the battle laughing. That’s a metaphor for any rapper who want it, I smack ‘em til they nose running..

The Compton rapper has been fairly under the radar since the release of his controversial verse on Control, but I think we all knew he was cooking up his next pot of gold! Not much of Kendrick’s perspective has changed (as you can see from the lyrics above) concerning what spot he solidifies when it comes to rap—and that’s the top spot. He’s still welcoming or daring rather, any rap guy to try him. However in a recent interview with Big Boy, Kendrick says that hip-hop is a sport, it’s all love between him and the guys. He even mentioned and that he respects them all as people and creators.

Kendrick also dedicated some bars of his Hot 97 freestyle to story-telling in which he recalls some Compton tales, mentioning his dad’s disquiet of him staying out the streets and of course his Uncle Tony is referenced —“Comprehending well and could smell the soberness evaporating by itself he said Tony my biggest fear is to hear Kendrick disappeared in a fire out here and I didn’t help.”

Five days after the freestyle aired he dropped his first single since his debut album Good Kid m.A.A.d City. The track is titled “i” with a reoccurring line “I love Myself”. Leave it Kendrick to force us to address the real ish. He delves into the idea that it’s impossible to love outside if we don’t love ourselves. He does this with uncountable bars graced by a beat you wouldn’t automatically tie to a hip-hop tune. There is speed then there’s rest, drums and horns. It makes you want to dance and think at the same time. Tough tune. But what did we really expect. He’s Kendrick.

True to his Compton roots he finds a way to incorporate an uplifting message for his home town into his cover art for the single. He put a crip and a blood forming a heart sign together instead of a gang sign—another way to spark conversation and change.

Instagram: @KendrickLamar

You can expect his new project to be 100% K.Dot. In an interview with AMP Radio he revealed that he has been making it a point to minimize his musical influence while he’s creating. He wants to go in and organically lay down tracks that have not been impressed by the expectations of outsiders.

I guess we'll have to stay tune for more from King Kendrick!

By: Tina Louise (Twitter: @TinaLouiseMe)

Edited by: Brittany C. Jackson (@xPlatinumChanel)

The Captain Derek Jeter, "Walks Off" With His Final RBI Walkoff Win EVER at Yankee Stadium, Before Closing Out His Final Game EVER in Style, at Fenway Park.

by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

September 25th, 2014 was probably one of the most painful, heartbreaking days, any TRUE Yankee fan has come to experience. Watching our captain hang up the hat, at his last game EVER played at Yankee Stadium, just truly is so hard to put into words. We all knew for a while that this day was coming, but I didn't let it hit me in full force until Thursday night. 

The first set of tears ran down my face while John and Suzyn were talking during the pregame on WFAN; then watching Jeter walk out on the field in the first inning for the last time, is when it got me even more. But it hit me even harder in the 9th.....I broke down.

No one knew how the game would end. We didn't know if he was going to be pulled off the field in the 7th, 8th, or 9th. We didn't even know if he would be pulled at all. Predictions were being thrown all over the place by many fans, and even former Yankee great like Mariano Rivera. I myself thought he would be pulled off the field in the 9th, similar to Mo being taken out in the 8th inning last year, with a PROPER farewell to "The Sandman." But I don't think ANYONE could've predicted the game would end the way it did. 

Of course, David Robertson blew the save as the Yanks were up 5-2. Adam Jones hit a two-run homer off Robertson, and Steve Pearce hit a bases-empty shot to tie the score. I have seen on Twitter and other social media networks, a few (dumb) Yankee fans saying that Robertson did this on purpose. He purposely BLEW the save to give Jeter one last at-bat. So my question is, what would've happened if he DIDN'T get a hit? Did anyone think about what would've happened in the top of the 9th IF Baltimore didn't fire back to tie up the game? What would've happened after the 3rd out, if the Yankees WON the game? It would've been just a regular win that meant nothing. Their playoff spot is gone and the Orioles have already clinched. Did anyone stop to think what would've happened if Jeter did NOT get that RBI to win the game? What was going to happen if we went into extra innings? How would it have ended properly with respect to the FINAL game ever at Yankee Stadium, for The Captain? 

You cannot plan these things. Maybe in football, or even basketball. But baseball? It doesn't work that way. For any Yankee fan to say that Robertson purposely blew the game is absolutely ubserd. 

A story book ending? Sure. For most. Not for me. This isn't how I wanted to see the game end, as crazy as that sounds. I feel it wasn't appropriate and something else might've been planned if Robertson didn't give up those hits. What was planned, IF there was something planned, we may never know. Whether the game resulted in a win or not, Robertson still ruined the game in my eyes. 

To me it looked like Joe (Girardi) was pondering, and possibly READY to do "something else" before Jones knocked out that 2 run homer. 

Derek Jeter was more known for being the shortstop of the New York Yankees, rather then being their power hitter. Coming thru clutch? Absolutely. He came thru ALL the time for us. But being on that field at shortstop is where his heart was set. Exiting the game with a winning WALKOFF RBI was definelty a way to leave in fashion, how ever I would've preferred to see him leave the game, by leaving shortstop.

(Derek Jeters nephew tipping his hat to his Uncle DJ.)

Derek made it quite clear that Yankee Stadium was the last place he wanted to play shortstop. Girardi put him in the lineup as the DH on Saturday and Sunday for the series in Boston, but requested for a day off on Friday. The guy who nearly blew Jeters final game at Yankee Stadium spoke of Jeter on Friday. 

According to ESPN.go.com

"It doesn't surprise me," said David Robertson, who earned his 39th save. "There's a lot of Yankee fans in the seats tonight and I know that the Red Sox fans love and respect him."

"I don't know if they love him," he said with a grin, "but they respect him."

Jeter left Yankee Stadium with an RBI win, and left BASEBALL with another RBI in Boston, on Sunday. 

The Core Four is gone, and baseball will never be the same again. 

Night Of Champions and Monday Night Raw Recap

Image Credit: www.wwe.com

Brock Lesnar sucks and when he wrestles Cena again at next months PPV he's still going to suck. I'm glad he got curb stomped. It makes me like Seth Rollins so much more. Seeing he's everywhere, that's not a bad thing. Lesnar's lack of passion really bothers me. Even when Punk hated WWE he was still passionate about wrestling. I don't get Brock. SEND HIM BACK! Sunday night also marked the start of the Dust Bros. reign. Deserving of the tag team title, they wear heel well. 

As for Raw, any night i get to see the Miz's ass crack is a good night. While we're on the subject of ass, Seth Rollins butt in those leather pants. Omg, swoon. The athlete's clothes have been catching my attention a lot lately. Any one notice that Kane wears dress slacks?

Lunatic Dean Ambrose makes for exciting wrestling. He's bat shit crazy and I like it. Coming out of the box during the main event was hysterical . Who came up with that! The weirdos earned the spotlight. Let them shine! John Cena/Dean Ambrose vs. Rollins/Orton/Kane is just what I needed. Milk it for as long as you can, WWE. Long time rivalries all the way around will create some good story lines. Let's see what happens next week. 

PS. I did not like that jab at Dusty Rhodes the announcers made. Oldust is not funny.

-Loveblump

Joell Ortiz Takes Over SOBs New York, with Special Guests Joe Budden, and Royce Da 5'9

Last Tuesday we had the honor and great pleasure of covering the release of Joell Ortiz album, House Slippers at SOBs, in New York City. 

It was a SOLD OUT, packed house, which even included a few "special guests." Joell took the stage to perform hits from House Slippers, as well as a few throwbacks. The crowd was LIVE, with a few diehard fans, singing some of best bars word for word. 

After performing his solo joints, Joell brought Joe Budden and Royce Da 5'9 to the stage, as 3/4 of Slaughterhouse went on to perform some of their songs as a group! 

The 3 spit bars for a good amount time before rapping up the show. Joey saw me on stage, and on his way out he said hello to me with a big hug and kiss on the cheek :) 

Check out the video I took of this historic show I was so lucky to have been apart of!!!

Dana Pellotta

Owner/Editor In Chief 

Jumping Into The Action At The Source360's Weekend Festival Events

The anticipation surrounding the Source360 was sure worth the wait! Although the main event was the Source360 concert in honor of The Source Magazine's 25th anniversary, the publication also put together a weekend full of festival events that were just as exciting as the main event at the Barclay's Center. From Thursday, September 18 to Sunday, September 20th, The Source hosted various festival events out in Brooklyn, NY which included a series of celebrities talk panels, artist showcases, fashion shows and day parties. 

HipHopShortStop.com dove head in to the festival events on Saturday and had an absolute field day. The vibe of the atmosphere was so dope. It was so many events scheduled for the day our only regret is that we didn't get to attend them all! We also got the opportunity to sit in on the "Reality TV- Pros & Cons" panel featuring Tahiry Jose (Love & Hip Hop New York), Melyssa Ford (Blood, Sweat, & Heels), Po Johnson (Lala's Full Court Life) and Karen Gravano (Mob Wives). The panel of sophisticated ladies opened up about pros and cons of pursuing a career in the entertainment industry and especially reality television. The reality stars revealed some of their personal struggles in this field of work and how they have pushed to over come them.

After revealing a couple of details on each of their upcoming projects, we got a chance to chat briefly with the ladies which led to this mini photo op.

[Pictured Above — Top Left: Tahiry Jose, Top Right: Po Johnson, Bottom Left: Karen Gravano and Bottom Right: Melyssa Ford ]

After the reality television talk panel, we headed over to Woodland to grab a bite to eat at the Thank You Brunch sponsored by Coors Light. While surrounded by good music and good people, we sat and ate some delicious chicken and waffles as we geared up to watch the artist showcases later on that day.

We headed back uptown to check out the Soul + R&B  Showcase in Albee Square Plaza and to our surprise we came a across some shocking talent. While checking out the showcase, we came across actress Antonique Smith who is well known for her role as Faith Evans in the 2009 Biggie Small's biopic Notorious. Not only can this lovely lady play the hell out of a role on stage but she can also rock the mic too! Antonique let her voice ring out amongst the streets of Brooklyn as she sang her hit single "Hold Up Wait A Minute." HipHopShortStop Editor in Chief Dana Pelotta and I even got to snap a few flicks with the artist after her performance. You can check out a video of Antonique giving the audience LIFE here.

All in all, attending the Source360 Saturday festival events turned out to be a damn good day. But it wasn't quite over for us yet because we still had to make our way into the main event — the first annual Source360 concert. Stay tuned . . .

— Brittany Chanel Jackson

Twitter: @xPlatinumChanel

Fabolous & friends LIVE at BB Kings New York City September 27th 2014

Image Credit: Instagram @HybridMusicEntertainment

Next Saturday September 27th, LIVE from New York at BB Kings, Fabolous will be taking over as he performs songs from his latest album, The Soul Tape 3, as well as some of his other smash hits! We will be in the building covering this event, so come say hi! 

Show starts at midnight. On the one's and two's will be none other then my favorite DJ, "The Prince of New York," Power105's own DJ Self! Tickets can be purchased at 

http://m.ticketmaster.com/event/00004CFCFD5121FF?brand=bbkingblues&camefrom=cfc_bbking_website or by calling the venue at 212-997-4144. 

Go get those tickets NOW, as this is going to be a SOLD OUT event! 

Dana Pellotta

Owner/Editor in Chief

Women In Sports; Why They Are One Of The Best Assets To Sports.

Image Credit: The Queen of Baseball

Sometimes in sports, it seems that negativity on a certain topic is so overwhelming that as sports fans we in the general public lose sight of all the amazing reasons why we love sports. Sports are fun, they’re entertaining, they’re a magical release from the rigmarole that is our every day lives. We all enjoy sports, we meaning men and women. And this week with all the extra curricular shenanigans that has been brewing in the sports world, I think that sometimes the sporting public forgets how amazing and important women are to the sporting landscape on so may different levels. Women rock, and sports has proven that women are just as spectacular and important to the landscape of sports as men are. And it’s time we sit back and appreciate why women in sports is such a phenomenal thing. Because it’s not applauded enough, and it should be.

Whatever We Can Do, They Can Do…And Maybe Better…

Physically men have the edge over women and I don’t think that’s something that needs to be debated or is even important. Physicality is where the difference ends. Women are skilled at any and everything they put their mind to and sports is no different. The best example of this is in soccer. I know I know, America doesn’t really care about soccer. Well I do, and so do many other Americans; as well as the entire rest of the planet. Soccer is an amazing sport and it’s safe to say that the greatest American soccer player of all-time is Mia Hamm, a woman. Hamm was so good at her craft that she wowed men and women across the globe for years with her skills. Hamm and the US Women’s soccer team reached the peak of their dominance by winning the 1999 World-Cup with a this penalty kick by Brandi Chastain leading to her awesome shirt waving celebration. 

Image Credit: www.bleacherreport.com

Between Hamm, Chastain, and the rest of the USWNT, America and the world were fully aware of what women are capable…Greatness. But it’s not only in soccer. Basketball has always been where so many talented women flourish. If you get a chance, watch the YouTube videos of NBA legend Reggie Miller talking about his sister the legendary female basketball player Sheryl Miller. Miller was lights out during her days as a player and her, Sheryl Swoops, Cynthia Cooper, Tamika Catchings and Rebecca Lobo paved the way for the new generation of young stars like Britteny Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins. The WNBA may not get the respect or coverage it truly deserves, but that doesn’t make the athletes any less fantastic. From legendary Track & Field legends like Florence Griffith “Flo Jo” Joyner, and Jackie Joyner Kersee, to young softball phenom Mo’ne Davis, women can shine just as much as men. Even the greatest of all-time boxer Muhammad Ali has a daughter that was the greatest at her craft as well in Laila Ali. And let's not get started on the tennis greats from Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova to the Williams sisters because that's an entire article itself. 

Even on the sidelines Pat Summit has proven that women can do basically anything men can do; and maybe better.

Sports Need Women’s Points Of Views More Than Ever…

Image Credit: Gatoradebaths.blogspot.com

We all know what women can do on the field/court/track, etc. It’s some of the amazing work women have been doing off the field that makes women in sports so important. For too long there was only one point of view, the male point of view. Now, there are some incredible sports writers and analyst across the globe that are absolutely must reads. Women like Michelle Beadle and Jemele Hill and Josina Anderson have all paved the way for female journalist. But for me, the best one ever has to be Jackie McMullen from Boston. She is an absolute Rock Star in my eyes and she’s one of the best sports journalists on Earth, period. Whenever she writes a piece or appears on a program I make sure to tune in even though I despise Boston sports. But it’s not only McMullen that’s raising the bar for journalist of both genders. During the entire Donald Sterling fiasco it was Romana Shelburne of ESPN L.A. that was on top of the story every step of the way. Her reporting on Sterling was first-rate and she was the envy of sports journalist everywhere during that time. We need female point of views in sports and every woman I’ve mentioned, and all the ones who I didn’t mention, are helping with the process. Where a man will see something in black and white, a woman will show us all the gray area and give us a different perspective. Or, they’ll enhance the perspective we’ve already had. It’s awesome. Thank the heavens for women journalist in sports.

Women Just Make Sports More Fun…

Let me take you back to May 6^th 2014 on the day NBA MVP Kevin Durant gave his acceptance speech. Durant gave a great speech then capped it off at the end with talking about how amazing his mother was and how pivotal she was to all the success he’s had in his career. Durant was not only speaking of himself but for all the men on Earth that has had a mother, grandmother, sister, Aunt, friend, wife, fiancé, or girlfriend support them at every step of the journey. I know on a personal level my three brothers and I would never have accomplished anything without our goddess mother behind us. It wouldn’t have been possible. From sports to academics our mother was there. And from listening to Durant’s speech, to listening to other athletes in general talking about the strong women in their lives that encouraged them to do great things in sports, women have always been in the fabric of sports greatness. From the women who watch sports just because they love seeing their team win, to women who aren’t even into sports but are willing to learn because of their significant others, they’re are all great. Women make sports fun and insightful and all the other adjectives that you can think of.

So fellas, do yourselves a favor, embrace women in sports. They aren’t going anywhere and thank God for that. And ladies, keep breaking down barriers and smashing through glass ceilings and saving some idiot men from themselves. Women in sports are here to stay, and I couldn’t be happier about it. 

by Frantz Paul

Edited by: Dana Pellotta 

Owner/Editor in Cheif