Zeros

Who in the World Is Hasan Piker, and Why Is My Feed on Fire Again? Raise your hand if you woke up this week , opened your phone, and saw a name you'd never heard of trending like it was the second coming of the Drake-Kendrick beef . Put your hand down. You're among friends. The name is Hasan Piker . Go ahead, say it out loud. Feel nothing? Same . And yet, apparently, he is the guy right now — banned from England , subpoenaed by the Treasury , and heckled at a protest in New Jersey , all inside of one very dramatic week. So let's do this. Who is he? Hasan Piker is a prominent Twitch streamer and political commentator, with roughly 11 million followers across social media platforms . Born to Turkish parents in New Jersey and raised in Istanbul , he studied political science at Rutgers , then interned for The Young Turks — a political media brand co-founded by his uncle, broadcaster Cenk Uygur . [ Rolling Stone ] He eventually left to stream politics and gaming...

There's a Rap Beef Happening, and You Have Time to Decide Your Stance You may have heard rumblings. T.I. has a new album. A YouTube  fan channel called rCent has appeared, showcasing what is widely believed to be 50 Cent releasing diss tracks aimed directly at each song on T.I.'s new album ( one by one, like a litany of grievances). This is a rap beef. It is unfolding in real time. And if you got socially scorched by the Drake vs. Kendrick situation last year and are still nursing old wounds, please: sit down. Have some water. We'll take this slowly. First, some context: T.I. — Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., Atlanta legend, self-styled King of the South , star of Tip , King , Paper Trail , and approximately a dozen federal appearances — has been a major figure in hip-hop for over two decades. 50 Cent — Curtis James Jackson III, Queens icon, Get Rich or Die Tryin' era survivor, current TV mogul, and a man who has feuded with nearly everyone in the indust...

How to Start a Shouting Match With the Teens in Your Life (The Drake vs. Kendrick Survival Guide) So apparently, Drake tried to sue Kendrick Lamar over Not Like Us , and the court just tossed it out like yesterday’s fries. Which means two things: (1) rap beefs are now officially part of the American justice system, and (2) it’s Homecoming Weekend , so someone’s teenager is about to yell at you for having the wrong opinion about it. Let’s be honest : none of us are actually qualified to have opinions about Drake or Kendrick Lamar. We just remember when Hotline Bling came out and think it’s still kind of new. Meanwhile, teenagers are dissecting diss lyrics like they’re Shakespearean sonnets. “ Mom, you don’t get it—‘the Boogeyman’ line means something .” And you’re standing there holding a pumpkin spice latte thinking, I thought we were talking about music? Here’s a quick guide to surviving this generational shouting match: Step One : Pretend you’re neutral . S...