Are people really surprised that Kanye West, the unofficial King of Mean, has made a record called Cruel Summer with a love song called “Perfect Bitch”? Let’s roll back some of the meanest lyrics uttered by the ruler of cruel himself, and effectively prepare ourselves for an album that’s chock full o’ hate.

We’re proud to bring you the Pop Hunter Hip-Hop Decathlon. A ten-event rap battle royale, seeing fifty rappers from ten different crews face-off head-to-head. Who will win the Swagger Competition? Does anyone stand a chance at beating Lil’ B in the Originality Contest? Read and find out!

SAMPLED is a column that examines the skeletal production of a contemporary Rap/R&B/Hip-Hop or Pop song. From what song did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone for a new interpretation originate? This week, the sample is taken from Justin Timberlake’s 2002 Neptunes-produced hit “Like I Love You.”

SAMPLED is a recurring column that examines the skeletal production of a contemporary Rap/R&B/Hip-Hop or Pop song. From what song did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone for a new interpretation originate? This week, the sample is taken from Melvin Bliss’ 1973 song “Synthetic Substitution.”

The Pop Hunter Podcast is a live performance mix of Top 40, Hip-Hop, and Pop, with original remixes, mash-ups, and original beats – as much a party soundtrack as a portal for new music discovery. Stream our June mix, and subscribe on iTunes!

At the end of each week, #Top40Tweets lists a cross-section of artists on the current pop charts and puts their tweets on display (along with their current chart number) for your enjoyment/scrutiny. This week, we look at 5 artists on the Billboard Music Charts.

Perhaps inspired by his recent of Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like,” Kanye West went on another one of his trademark Twitter rants (a.k.a. DONDA-ing) on Saturday, simply listing fashion trends that he finds unacceptable. It could be that these are just outtakes from Kanye’s “I don’t like” verses, because I’m sure that Kanye is not above rapping about cargo shorts and “big ass striped scarves.”

The Pop Hunter Podcast is a live performance mix of Top 40, Hip-Hop, and Pop, with original remixes, mash-ups, and original beats – as much a party soundtrack as a portal for new music discovery. Check out our May mix, and subscribe on iTunes!

Hit-Boy, born Chauncey Hollis, jump-started his music career after receiving a Myspace message from his soon-to-be friend and mentor Polow Da Don in 2007. The message was only one sentence long: “Let’s get that paper.” Shortly after, Hit-Boy was at Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles playing his beats for Polow Da Don. Polow liked what he heard, and he signed Hit-Boy (and Surf Club) to a deal with Zone 4, Polow Da Don’s publishing company. In less than a year’s time, Hit-Boy would be making records with Flo Rida, Jennifer Lopez, and Snoop Dogg.

SAMPLED is a recurring column that examines the skeletal production of a contemporary Rap/R&B/Hip-Hop or Pop song. From what song did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone for a new interpretation originate? This week, the sample in question is from Super Beagle’s “Dust A Sound Boy.”