Love & Hip-Hop Premiere: Same Sh*t, Different Season

The King Kong of reality shows, Love & Hip-Hop (New York), is back and it’s bigger and badder than ever. With both new and familiar faces, this week’s season premiere brought the real and the ratchet on all fronts. Yandy is still holding her man down while he spends time behind bars, Joe Budden is back with his original main squeeze and New York’s own, Peter Gunz, joins the franchise to become an instant breakout cast member—just maybe not for the right reasons. In a nutshell, Ms. Mona Scott-Young seems to have another hot one on her hands (at least drama wise). Check out XXL’s recap of this week’s explosive premiere.

Second Chances - As if it’s any surprise, Joe Budden reunites with his ex-girlfriend, Tahiry, who was first introduced to the hip-hop community as Budden’s YouTube main squeeze. A few years and a lot of bumps in the road later, the two are finally an item again, and they look happier than ever. Joe even pulled out big stunts to woo Tahiry by wining and dining her now that his coin is a little longer than the last time they dated. Tahiry also put Joe’s love to test by holding out on smashing until they both got an STD test (both came out negative).

Ride or Die Chick - Yandy’s baby daddy, Mendeecees, is still in jail, leaving her to care for their 1-year-old son, as well as watching over his son from a previous relationship a few days out of the week. On top of that, she’s handling things with Mendeecees’s lawyer, all the while trying to keep her own feelings in check. If there was ever any doubt that Yandy wasn’t a ride or die chick, it’s officially been silenced.

Stevie J 2.0 - Peter Gunz must have been drinking from the same fountain of foolishness that LHH ATL’s Stevie J was sipping on, because he officially solidified himself as Stevie 2.0. Though Peter is living with his girlfriend and baby mama, Tara, it’s revealed that he’s having a side relationship with his artist, singer Amina Buddafly, only it turns out that she’s more than a side-piece—she’s his wife. On top of it, Amina is in talks to sign with Yandy and Rich’s new record label, making it a messy situation for business. You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out how this is going to end. Let’s hope Tara won’t be as dumb as Mimi Faust from Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta, and stick around much longer.

My Girl Gotta Girlfriend - Rich Dollaz’s old chick, Erica Mena, is back on the scene, and this time she’s batting for the other team and is dating a woman. Though thirsty Rich wasted no time trying to get that old thing back, Erica has clearly moved on to better things, including writing a “sex book.”

Script Please! - Something about this week’s premiere was off. It’s no secret that reality television isn’t so real, and it’s starting to show. Some scenes were obviously staged, causing the actors, I mean cast members, to look a little sketchy. It’s becoming so obvious, that they might as well read from a script. But hey, all is fair in love and hip-hop.—Gerren Keith Gaynor (@MRGERRENALIST)