Ludacris has been heavy in the news, thanks to a Verzuz Instagram Live battle that went down over the weekend between the ATL OG and fellow OG, Nelly. The IG Live brought in plenty of eyeballs, and ended up sparking some debate and criticism on Luda’s side when he previewed some lyrics referencing the infamous R. Kelly.

R. Kelly has gone from certified legend to certified disgrace, with the music industry finally waking up to his many sexual assault claims– they had no choice really, considering the mounting evidence that came to light during the release of the Lifetime documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, and beyond.

During the beginning of the IG Live battle, Luda took some time to preview an unreleased collaboration with Lil Wayne. He was heard rapping on the song, “the world screwed if n*ggas pouring drinks like Bill Huxtable.” And then, “I love R. Kelly but around my daughters, I’m not comfortable.”

Following the backlash, Luda spoke to Atlanta radio station V103 on the lyric in question. In a video clip from the interview captured below, Luda clarifies, “Sometimes when you speak on records, you speakin’ like it’s just me and you having a conversation. But you just speaking, and just being honest. I saw that a lot of people kind of misconstrued or just didn’t understand what I’m saying.”

He clarifies that as much as he enjoys R. Kelly’s music, he wouldn’t tolerate the man around his children given his past. It’s as simple as that. 

Check out the clip below. In the meantime, we’re waiting on his collaboration with Eminem to come to fruition.

“That violence, that poverty, that madness spawned a beautiful art form,” Mister Cartoon says in Netflix’s L.A. Originals. “Those guys sitting in cells that will never get out helped shape an art form. This rose out of the crack in the concrete.”

Estevan Oriol/Getty Images

Mister Cartoon and Estevan Oriol have captured the world of East Los Angeles and beyond for nearly 30 years. Cartoon’s stylistic choices merge the worlds of jail artwork and graffiti together while Estevan has captured still moments in some of the rawest and chaotic environments. Their work has influenced a generation of artists and photojournalists that followed but more importantly, it gave the world insight into East L.A. from their perspective. A world that balances the beauty and resilience of Chicano culture and the bleak reality of L.A.’s underworld.

The distinctive art style that comes from East L.A can be attributed to their work throughout the 90s and 2000s. Netflix’s L.A. Originals delivers a candid look into their illustrious careers with unreleased behind-the-scenes footage from their work with 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Eminem as well as glimpses from the S.A. Studios era in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area.

L.A. Originals has been in the making for a few years but its actual release arrived months after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and days after the one-year anniversary of Nipsey Hussle’s murder. Kobe, who was interviewed for the documentary months before his passing, was tattooed by Mister Cartoon. A notable photo of a young baby faced Nipsey Hussle in the streets of Crenshaw has inspired murals across the globe. Estevan took that photo. 

Tattoos get carried to the grave while photos immortalize moments. And as much as Estevan and Cartoon carry on the legacies of others through their work, it’s their subjects that allow their artwork to live beyond the grave. 

“I’ll do like a back piece for my friend and you know, one of my buddies, he OD’d and they take your artwork into the box, you know what I’m saying? It lasts longer. They might have some jewelry on, they might have some other things — clothes or something to ‘em. But it’s a trip that your actual artwork is going to go back into the earth,” Toon told HNHH. “And you know, sometimes, Estevan captures these guys so we have their picture. It’s a little bit of our way of, kind of, putting our flag into the ground, you know what I mean? Kind of just saying, ‘we were here.’ This is tribal for us. Kind of like an Aztec Warrior carving on the side of a pyramid, you know? It’s our way of leaving our mark.”

Following the release of L.A. Originals, Estevan Oriol and Mister Cartoon chopped it up with us about the making of the documentary, Chicano artwork in the Trump era, and working with Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle. 

This interview was lightly edited for clarity. 

HotNewHipHop: How’re you doing, man? How are you holding up in the midst of this craziness? 

Mister Cartoon: Well, I mean, I don’t wanna act like I’m having too much fun but if the government tells me to stay home and smoke weed again, I’m just gonna take orders from the government, you know? 

Bro, I feel that 100%. That’s exactly how I felt about this whole thing. 

MC: (Laughs) Nah I mean, what I do, my artwork, I’m in isolation. If I have my friends around, I can’t concentrate. They start telling stories. There’s time for that. And then there’s times for me to be in solitude and get work done. So, it’s actually a real positive thing in the midst of a lot of negatives for other people, you know. 

*Estevan Oriol joins call*

Hey, nice to talk to you, man. 

Estevan Oriol:Yeah, nice to talk to you too. 

Thank you guys so much. Estevan, how are you doing? 

EO: I’m doing pretty good. 

Excellent, so now that I have both of you here I just want to congratulate you guys on the documentary. It was really dope just to get an insight into the work you guys have done over the years. How’d you guys hook up with Netflix to bring this documentary to life? 

EO: We got signed to a production deal with Sebastian Ortega. He has a production company called Underground. He has one of the biggest running Netflix shows in Argentina. It’s called El Marginal, and he came up here to meet somebody and met with me along the way, and I took him over to meet Cartoon at this photoshoot we were doing. He has one of the only lowriders in Argentina. He might have the only lowrider in Argentina and he’s all sleeved down. He wears Dickies and a T-shirt and Chucks to work and he’s a film exec. I was like, “Man, this guy is perfect, he gets it.” There’s no pitch or anything like that. It’s more like he said, “Hey, whatever happened to that doc? You know, if you guys want, I’ll do it for you.” And he walked us into Netflix and you know, it got signed right then and there. 

That’s dope, especially since a lot of it is unreleased footage. How’d you guys, through all that 25 years of footage, skim through all that and decide what was going to be used and what wasn’t? 

EO: Well, that was probably the hardest part of making the film. To me, I think the hardest part of anything is the editing. And you know, because for me, I shoot so much, like, I don’t shoot a bunch of dead footage. I just shoot like selected good stuff. So, I had 25 years of good footage and you know, the same with the photos. Our original goal was to try to do something like The Defiant Ones. We wanted to do like a four-part docu-series cause we thought we had enough footage that big and that long. But, we got just the 90-minute deal, so we ran with that and we just had to pick the highlights of all the footage and all the photos throughout the years and that was one of the hardest parts. A lot of people didn’t make it and a lot of good footage didn’t make it, but you know that’s all we could do in those 90 minutes. 

Obviously this documentary goes through the highs and lows of your career, were there any scenes or footage that were particularly difficult to watch? 

EO: Hmm, not really. For me, I saw the movie about 20 times before it got to the point where it’s at, so I had seen that footage over and over and over again. Maybe, the first time watching something, you’re like, “Oh, whoa.” But after seeing it a bunch of times, you’re kind of numb to it. For me, we didn’t really put too much of the hardcore stuff in there. There was a lot of stuff we held back on for, you know, reasons of, like — if you put too much out there, then people are gonna be judging you and stuff like that. And we still have to work and we got families and all that so we didn’t want to just put it all out on the line and just be like, you know, “Here’s us, take it how you want.” There might be a repercussion of some kind of stuff like that if you’re planning to be out there in the workforce, getting work and stuff like that because might judge you and be like, “Oh you know, he’s the guy that was doing this or that.” So, there’s a lot of stuff, you know, [that] we just kept to ourselves. 

Fair enough. I guess my follow-up would be what was your favorite moment from the documentary that you were excited to have the world to see? 

MC: I think the type of footage backstage that, like, even my kids found out about me that they didn’t know. My friends probably thought they’d seen every picture of Estevan’s and they’d seen everything, [but] they hadn’t seen that footage. And one of the crazy parts to watch for me, too, was the part when Kobe came out. You know, it’s like fucking tragedy, you know. Tragedy in American royalty you know, in a way. It’s real personal to us and we’ve been sitting on that footage. It’s so hard with the days of social media where everybody just leaks everything, and you know what they ate and where they went on vacation, and that they bought a new house and all this s***. It’s important for us and that we drop this and didn’t tell anybody about Kobe, didn’t tell anyone about Em, like these newer interviews. We wanted to surprise people so it worked out good. 

When did the interview take place with Kobe? 

EO: That was about, I’d say, six months ago. What do you say, Toon?

MC: Yeah, around six months. It feels so recent, man, it goes by so fast. 

Damn. 

EO: Maybe it was eight months ago, cause he’s already passed away for a few months. 

Mr. Cartoon, you tattooed a Kobe Bryant piece and Estevan, you caught that iconic picture of Nipsey Hussle. Can you guys talk to me about what those respective pieces mean to you? What resonated with you the most about working with these individuals? 

EO: The fact that I even got to work with them is what resonates with me the most. The fact that I got to be in their presence and not only hear about them or read about ‘em but see them in person. Like, when you’re sitting there talking to Kobe, you’re kind of frozen. You’re kind of like, wow, you know. You feel the difference when you’re interviewing somebody that’s been interviewed thousands of times as opposed to someone who’s new at it. Every question, he hit us right on the head with the perfect answer and then he was just, you know, he was just dropping wisdom about success and everything else. And you’re like, man, this guy is like — you want to sit there for an hour and get like, a free motivational speech from Kobe. But you know, we got in there, we got our 20 minutes with him, and he said everything we wanted him to say. With Nipsey, I shot Nipsey in 2008. So, that was before he had come out with his first album when he had gotten his first record deal. I shot him for Rime Magazine, then I shot him for XXL, then I shot him for a foreign publication but the next thing was going to be his first album cover, and his deal didn’t go through. Something happened within him and the label, and we never got to do that but you know, I was fortunate to get a couple good early on photoshoots with him and hang out with him and see who he was. ‘Cause the way me and Toon think is pretty much right along the lines of the way he was thinking when he was doing his thing. It wasn’t about, you know, let’s get famous, let’s get rich, and buy a bunch of stuff for myself. It was like, let me use this platform to do something for my people, my community and my culture. And, to me he took that to the limit, you know. He went all out in the end. He signed a lot of people. He put a lot of people on. He bought property in his neighborhood. He opened his own business. He helped his homies open their own businesses within that property that he bought. To me, that’s like the ultimate good feeling to have. [When] you’re uplifting and empowering your community and then when that spreads out into the world the way it did. It can’t get no better than that. 

Definitely, is there anything you’d want to add to that Mr. Cartoon?

MC: These are guys, you know, we look up to. And you know, Nipsey’s younger but he had that old school soul. He grew up in a real hard neighborhood, so he had to grow up fast. But, just being able to talk to Kobe. Being around all those guys is just really inspiring. You just see that they’re human beings, but they just got that extra aura. They got some type of like — I guess any time you meet pro-athletes, man, they kind of look like they’re ready to spring up off the ground, you know? They’re like the closest to superheroes that we got. So, it’s an honor to work with those types of guys. 

Estevan, you were mentioning the parallels between what Nipsey did and what you guys do for the Chicano community. In these times of Trump, how important is it for Chicano artwork to be visible to the public eye?

MC: It’s really important for us. Like, Estevan and I, we did Anthony Bourdain’s [show] right before he passed away and he asked us a similar question. It was, you know, I was just able to say, well, you know, we had a great four years with Obama, you know what I mean? And even if he wasn’t a perfect man, he looked like it. He acted like it, you know what I’m saying? And now we have the orange racist in there. It sheds a big light on how a lot of people see us. Even some Latinos, family members I have, support this guy. I don’t know how anybody can look at him speak, step back, and be like, “yeah, that guy is the leader of our country.” I mean, he can’t even string a sentence together properly. You should have to take some type of high school entry history exam to become the president. Like, if you want to become a lawyer, you gotta do the Bar and it’s so hard. You can’t have the mouthpiece of a used car salesman, the best bullshitter in New York City, and be president. It’s disgusting. But, it’s important that we’re out there. When our president is calling our ancestors rapists. He’s calling our people rapists, right? It’s important that we stand up, like we’ve always done before this dude showed up as the president, and just help the community. We do free outreaches to the kids on how to become artists. We never charge for that shit. We never even post it. It’s just what we do. It balances out all that weirdo s*** and I’m not going to let that get into the way of what we do. 

EO: It’s very important. Because all he has to say is negative stuff, you know? So it’s important for somebody to have something positive out there for our community and our culture because this is something that’s happening on the ground on a daily basis, you know? The fact that we get to battle that with our artwork and using that as our voice. I’ve been out there when they’ve done those protests in the streets. I photograph all that. And it gets pretty heavy out there. There’s a lot of tension when you’re out there on both sides. And then, when the cops come, it gets pretty crazy. This is kind of like us doing that but without really going out there and getting maced by the cops and all that kind of s***. It’s kind of like a positive way to put our people and our community out there without getting zip-tied by the police and maced and shit like that. 

I wanted to bounce off of something Cartoon was saying earlier about hosting these workshops for kids in your neighborhoods. I know LA Originals starts off with your childhoods and how you guys developed your skills. How have your skills and talents have transcended generationally with your kids?

MC: Yeah, my kids grew up in an artistic household — classic soul music, classic rock, Mariachis, you know, my wife plays a lot of that. They’re all artistic in their own way. My son, little Estevan. He’s a carbon copy of me. He wants to do everything that I do. My girls, not so much. They like music, guitar. They can both draw but they don’t have the same fever my boy has but he’s a little bit older too. They’re all gonna shine in their own way, of course. I kind of make ‘em draw. I make ‘em sit there and do letters and s*** so that by the time they leave here, they’ll at least know how to write Script, Old English and they’ll know the basics. But hopefully, they carry this thing on. And you know, just seeing Estevan’s kids grow up, each one of them has their own thinI. It’s good to see these kids grow up in such a cool atmosphere and options to do whatever they want to do. 

Yeah definitely. Estevan, I know you mentioned in the documentary that you actually got introduced to photography through your father who is also a photographer. How have your kids carried on the legacy? 

EO: My son, he’s a sports type. He knows everything about sports that you could imagine. I could ask him about any player and how they do in their field and he knows. He’ll tell you the statistics, the games, and like, how many bats has he shot, how many touchdowns. He’s on it with that. So, to me, I look at that as kind of an art form. It’s in that same mindset. Like when you set goals and you go after them to achieve them. Depending on the level you take it to, that’s what I see as an art form. Like, you see a great athlete doing their sport, it looks like art. So for me, I feel like his art form is the whole sports world. I have one daughter she’s in school and the other one she just goes day by day on her daily life. I have another daughter who has kids and works in an office so they all do different things. They all took what we taught them and went in a different direction but nobody really sat down and is like you know, I’m gonna draw everyday or I’m gonna photograph every day.

For me, I didn’t even wanna do it either. I picked up the camera and was embarrassed to take pictures because I thought it was kind of goofy. The people that were taking pictures back then, if they weren’t all the way professional, it was like paparazzi and tourists. That’s what I thought were taking pictures — either the pros or the goofy tourists with the straw hats and glasses with the black socks or black penny loafers and plaid shorts out there. Or the paparazzi chasing people and running up in their face and being disrespectful of people’s lives to get a good picture so they can get a quick buck. That was kind of how I saw photography. For me, at first, I just was taking pictures here and there, little by little. And as people started responding to my pictures in a good way, that’s when I decided maybe I’m onto something and maybe I should take it more seriously and I did. I started doing magazines, art shows. Me and Cartoon did our first art show in Tokyo. A photo agent over there from a company called August organized an art show in Tokyo in an area called Roppongi. We had our first art show over there in 1997. For us, that was like crazy. Like, one, to do our first art show and to have it in Tokyo. That was mind boggling for us. And then we came home and did our second one at this place called George’s Gallery. That was co-owned by the Beastie Boys in East Hollywood. That was kind of how we started. It wasn’t in a traditional way but we felt like that was the direction to go into. Like, using our art to get into magazines and do art shows and go in that direction. Whereas a lot of people didn’t really go into that direction with photography back then like that. But we kind of thought we wanted to do it a little differently and do something that fit in our lane. 

Estevan Oriol/Getty Images

One thing that really stood out to me in the documentary was when you guys were talking about your friends who have passed away. In tattoo culture, a lot of people ink their friends or get portraits. But, Estevan for you, it’s like you’re immortalizing these moments when you go to these neighborhoods and photograph these people. Can you guys talk to me about that?

EO: Yeah, it’s kind of a given. They say in this lifestyle there’s kind of like three places you’ll end up — it’s jails, institutions or death. So, going into that environment and knowing that in the back of your head, you kind of are thinking like, yeah, I might take a picture of this guy and he might be in prison the next week or he might be in a rehab or killed. So it’s kind of like, you gotta go in there just thinking you’re just gonna take a picture. After that is when it’s when you start thinking, “Oh, that guy’s a hothead. Or he’s on a good one.” Or something like that. Or “he might not make it to next week.” And that’s what happens to some of the people. They end up passing away or getting life in prison or something like that. And you have photos of a time in their life that bring good memories to their families, which is a cool feeling. I always post people that have passed away and I put up, “RIP to my homie Trigs” or Spanky or these other guys. Their family and friends always comment and are in the DMs saying, “thank you man for never forgetting my loved one or my friend” or “thank you for keeping their name alive.” I think that’s one thing that’s important, they want to be remembered. A lot of people that I talk to, I’ve had friends that say, “Aye if something happens to me, just don’t let my daughter ever forget about me. Just keep me and my memory in my daughter’s life.” And you’re like, yeah, no problem. In the moment, you’re thinking, “Man, shut up Julio. You’re tripping nothing’s gonna happen to you.” Then when they pass away you’re like, “Damn, now I have that obligation because I gave my word.” Every time I talk to certain people’s kids, I’m like, “your dad was like this or your dad was like that.” Or tell them a good story about their family member or their friend to keep their legacy alive in their life. 

Cartoon, if you could elaborate on what Estevan said.

MC: I’ll do like a back piece for my friend and you know, one of my buddies, he OD’d and they take your artwork into the box, you know what I’m saying? It lasts longer. They might have some jewelry on, they might have some other things — clothes or something to ‘em. But it’s a trip that your actual artwork is going to go back into the earth. And you know, sometimes, Estevan captures these guys so we have their picture. It’s a little bit of our way of, kind of, putting our flag into the ground, you know what I mean? Kind of just saying “we were here.” This is tribal for us. Kind of like an Aztec Warrior carving on the side of a pyramid, you know? It’s our way of leaving our mark. We were a part of something. We added to our community. We love our community and we just draw this way and he shoots this culture and he shoots a certain way. So we’re not just that, cause we like other s*** like we like foreign movies. People would never picture me and Estevan in like a Bali, Indian restaurant ordering butter chicken. We might be in some crazy Thai restaurant in Thai town or we might be in East LA in a crazy taco spot. It’s having an open mind, it’s accepting all good things. All things that are quality in detail. To be able to go to other parts of the world, represent where you came from but also respect and take in people from other lands, other tattoo cultures, other car cultures, other people that are sickos like us you know what I mean? We’re everywhere. That’s one thing about being tattooed is your kinship with everyone else that has tattoos all over the world. We’re renegades in a way where we’re members of a society that is underground like for cars lowered. We used to be looked at as riff-raffs and low-lives and drug addicts. Now, it looks like NBA stars and professional artists that are in contemporary art museums. So it’s come a long way, you know? We did that art show in Tokyo that Estevan was talking about. We thought that was it. We made it. We got our lowrider art in a gallery in Harajuku. Can’t be better than that. And for that time, we maxed that time out. I don’t know anybody’s that’s done it since the way we’ve done it — out there at least. But we’re barely getting started, man. Me and E we’re fired up. We’re ready to take over the world, man. We’re ready to put our flag at the North Pole. We been to the South Pole now we’re going to the top so that’s it. We love to do it. 

That’s what’s up. Thank you guys so much, it has been an honor speaking to you legends. 

EO: Thank you, bro. 

MC: Appreciate you, man. 

Whether we like it or not, 6ix9ine’s comeback era has been breaking records left and right. The troublemaking rapper made his return to the music scene last Friday (May 8th) by releasing his first post-prison single, “GOOBA,” with some colourful accompanying visuals. The music video already beat Eminem’s previously set record for the hip hop video with the most views in 24 hours in Youtube history, and now, 6ix9ine has accomplished a similar view-related feat, beating out pop princesses Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande on the way.

On Wednesday (May 13th), it was announced that “GOOBA” had officially become the fastest video by an American artist to garner 100 million views on Youtube. “GOOBA” racked up the impressive amount of views in a mere 71 hours, destroying Ariana Grande’s “thank u next” and Taylor Swift’s “ME!” featuring Brendon Urie. Ari and Taylor’s videos were in a tight match having both obtained 100 million views by the middle of their fourth days, but neither hold the top spot any longer.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

The only artists who have ever managed to reach this milestone faster than 6ix9ine are all international acts from Korea. K-pop boyband BTS had the quickest video to hit this marker—taking less than two days—with their Halsey-featured “Boys With Luv” visuals. Fellow K-pop group BLACKPINK and solo K-Pop artist, Psy, hit 100 million early on in their third days, with their “KILL THIS LOVE” and “Gentleman” videos, respectively.

The saga of Tekashi 6ix9ine continues as he returned to social media and the rap game with “GOOBA.” The rapper’s return to Instagram Live hit a record 2M simultaneous viewers with “GOOBA” surpassing Eminem‘s “Rap Devil” for the largest 24-hour debut for a rap video. Needless to say, 6ix9ine’s making it abundantly clear that he’s a star in his own right, whether or not anyone agrees with that.

During his Instagram Live, he made sure to give Drake a shout out for reasons unbeknownst to the rest of the world. But he wasn’t done just there because he returned to the ‘Gram where he compared the numbers “GOOBA” has to Drake’s “Toosie Slide” while still acknowledging that Drake is the GOAT. “DONT LET THEM CHEAT US OUT THE NUMBER 1 LOOK AT THE NUMBERS ! WE BEATING EVERYONE AND THEY MOTHER ON EVERYTHING ! They hate to see this shoutout to drake he’s the goat but this has to be seen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rich The Kid fired back in their ongoing back-and-forth. After 6ix9ine’s location was revealed for the third time and his cars were seen being transported, Rich The Kid shared a video of his whip. “We ain’t ’bout to go back and forth,” he’s heard saying in the video. Though a fan later alleged that Rich The Kid was driving a rental after another picture was posted on the company’s IG Page of the rapper in the same car. However, Rich The Kid did compare net worths, at least according to Google Search, that revealed 6ix9ine’s net worth was $4M while his own was at $10M. “Speak up lil n***a,” he wrote in response. 

“Life Is Good,” they had said, all those months ago. And to be fair to both Future and Drake, at the time we might have believed them. Some might even argue that 2020 began on a reasonably high note, insofar as hip-hop was concerned. New music from the What A Time To Be Alive duo, an Eminem album, a Lil Wayne album, the list goes on. It’s no wonder that so many people decided to gravitate to their new single, quickly propelling the track to being one of the year’s biggest tunes.

Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

Despite life having taken a few unfortunate turns in the subsequent months, it would appear that many are still finding solace in Drizzy and Future’s duet. So much so that the single has moved over four million album-equivalent units, going quadruple platinum and no doubt ensuring that Future’s upcoming Life Is Good album will be an equally ble commercial success. 

At this point, it’s become abundantly clear that both rappers are among the game’s best-selling artists, boasting a sizable collection of plaques for their respective solo catalogs. It’s no wonder that when paired together, they’re a different sort of beast altogether. Congratulations to Drake and Future for their latest accomplishment, and sound off below — are you still enjoying “Life Is Good?”

Tekashi 6ix9ine is trying hard to make snitching cool. While it may not end up working out, a lot of attention has been on him since he got out of prison early. Releasing his return single and video last week, the track is expected to have a massive debut on the Billboard Hot 100. “Gooba” has broken records with its performance on YouTube, surpassing Eminem’s previous “Killshot” record. 

Despite his promise to stray away from trolling, 6ix9ine has gone right back to his normal behavior after his release. In fact, his entire online presence appears to be one major gag as the rapper has just unfollowed absolutely everybody except for one account: the NYPD.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

As reported by The Shade Room, Tekashi 6ix9ine is only following one account on his IG. It’s not his girlfriend or his record label. It’s not even his good friend DJ Akademiks. Nope. The rapper is solely following the New York Police Department. 

This falls in line with Tekashi’s recent attempt to make snitching cool, explaining to all of his fans why he told on his Nine Trey Bloods gang and asking his supporters if they would snitch or do the time if they were in the same position.

Do you think 69 is doing too much or is this all entertaining to you?

Tory Lanez was this close to throwing in the towel after he found out that 6ix9ine had beat his previously set record for most Instagram live viewers by a landslide. On Friday (May 8th), 6ix9ine made his return to the music scene by dropping his first post-prison single, “GOOBA,” along with some accompanying visuals. While the music video itself beat a Youtube record previously set by Eminem in 2018, 6ix9ine also conducted a record-breaking Instagram live session that same day. The controversial artist’s live racked up an impressive (albeit frustrating) 2 million viewers at one point, absolutely destroying the record Tory set last month with 300K during Drake’s appearance on an episode of Quarantine Radio.

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for BMI

Of course, Tory caught wind of his defeat, and unsurprisingly, he’s being a good sport about it. However, he did slip in a joke about ending Quarantine Radio for good after getting annihilated by a notorious snitch.

“I was looking at that 2 mil like …. WELP …. Ima head out,” Tory wrote on Instagram. However, he quickly followed up his comment by clarifying that he was only kidding. “Lolol we not actually stopping quarantine radio !” he promised. “But it was great holding the record when we had it …” If you ask us, Tory deserves that title, so make sure you tune into the next episode of QR and go for that 3 mil.

The Griselda crew has had an impeccable come up in the past year. Though TikTok-friendly singles and auto-tuned laden bangers have become the norm in hip-hop, Westside Gunn, Conway, and Benny The Butcher proved that there’s still a place for lyricism and bars to co-exist with everything else going on in music these days.

The rise of Griselda has aligned them with both Eminem and Jay-Z simultaneously while people like Virgil Abloh, Kanye West, and more have shared praise for the Upstate NY crew. Over the months, there’s been a snippet of a forthcoming Drake single along with Benny The Butcher floating around on the Internet. No, it wasn’t one of the songs previewed during Drake’s Instagram Live sessions, though fans are hoping it arrives on Benny’s next project.

In a recent interview with Cigar Talk, Benny explained the significance of linking up with Drake for a song. Even though Drake’s music teeters closer to the pop side of things, he’s carried his weight lyrically along with giants in the game. Now, Benny wants to prove that he can going bar-for-bar with Drake. 

“I’m going for bars Drake. That’s what I went for,” he explained. “People kill me when they act like that n***a pen game ain’t stupid, you know what I’m sayin’? That n***a pen game is stupid and as a fan, that’s what I wanted to hear… I wanted to like, be on a song with one of the most successful dopest n***as in the game, just rapping. I want to trade bars with n***as like that.”

In the same way that we might only be able to tell if we’ve flattened the curve in hindsight, we will also have to look back in retrospect to find out if Drake’s already reached the peak of his career. There are arguments to be made about when exactly he reached that point musically. Was it on 2016’s Views?Nothing Was The Same? IYRTITL? Because it certainly wasn’t Scorpion. In the minds of some, Drake will, if he isn’t already, become the cultural and musical archetype of what a rapper can be in the fabric of American culture. He reached pop stardom with hip-hop as the vehicle. That’s not a jab or even an insinuation that Drake’s a culture vulture because, frankly, Drake’s dictated popular culture for the better part of the last 10 years. Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Jay-Z laid down the foundation for Drake to reach the type of mainstream success that he’s been able to attain. But as Drake reaches a point in his career where he’s broken records, collected plaques, and has dozens of trophies to his name, we’re left wondering what Dark Lane Demo Tapes actually contributes to his illustrious career. 

Entering the 2020s, Drake already had the bragging rights of claiming he has more hits than the Beatles and soon enough, he’ll have either tied or exceeded Madonna for most top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. But what does that truly mean at the end of the day when the music that’s being released is, at best, mid? Drake’s set a bar for himself over the years as both an artist and a brand. A consistent one, at that. His most recent efforts have thrived off of nostalgia. Care Package was exactly that — arriving just days before OVO Fest, he took the year off to celebrate the Toronto Raptors first Championship trophy and to bank off of previously released singles that were only available on YouTube or Soundcloud. And the people ate it up. A compilation album of loose songs sold more records in its first week than the majority of rappers sell in a month. But in an opinion-based sport where album sales and Billboard charts carry more weight than the music itself, Care Package marked Drake’s ninth consecutive number one album on the Billboard 200.

For Drake, it’s effortless. He drops music, the people, including his haters, find something to appreciate about it. Dark Lane Demo Tapes surely has the same effect on people. The “surprise” factor though seems more tactful than the OVO team leads on. Not necessarily because of the three-hour notice we all received, but simply based on the fact that there isn’t another rapper in the game, aside from Jay-Z, who is as calculated as Drake. There’s intention behind every step, every move, every word he raps in his music. So when he mentions that Noel and Oliver put together the project in a matter of days, it feels a little hard to believe. 

“War” closed out an otherwise quiet year from Drake as he dove into a new buzzing sound that had yet to seep into mainstream hip-hop, marking a stylistic shift. Then, he delivered one of the “time-stamp” type joints with the double-hitter of “When To Say When/Chicago Freestyle” that showcased his lyrical weight with nods to both Jay-Z and Eminem. But the loose records and leaks that formed Dark Lane Demo Tapes were lackluster, especially for Drake’s standards. Sure, there are notable moments, but just how memorable are they when a large portion of the project was comprised of leaks? Drake immortalizes pivotal moments of his life with his pen while scoring the soundtrack to ours. But in the wake of a global pandemic that’s claiming thousands of lives, will we look back with glee that, at the very least, we got a new album from Drake? Probably not. In all actuality, it wouldn’t be shocking if “Toosie Slide” triggers PTSD after the global pandemic ends. 

That’s the problem with Dark Lane Demo Tapes, though. Even a song like “Toosie Slide,” that’s essentially been constructed to have the same type of success as “God’s Plan,” isn’t firmly propped up atop the Billboard Hot 100. It’s a hit, and not even French Montana can take that away from him but this week, “Toosie Slide” slid down to number 3 on the charts with Travis Scott and Kid Cudi’s “The Scotts” claiming the top spot and fellow Torontonian The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” sitting at #2. Despite everything that has haunted his career from physical confrontations to getting exposed for keeping a ghostwriter on deck, the one thing that truly no other artist could hold against him was his numbers. There isn’t a single one of Drake’s contemporaries — whether in hip-hop or not — who can compete in terms of his Billboard numbers or album sales. “Toosie Slide,” specifically, felt far more contrived than any other Drake song. He’s typically creating the waves, or if he is riding it, it’s before the rest of the world catches up. But Drake is a 33-year-old father — TikTok isn’t supposed to be his main audience unless he recently decided to cater his music to Adonis’ play group. 

If numbers are truly an indication of anything in the rap game, it reflects the public’s general curiosity rather than their approval. However, there’s been a dip in streaming in the past few weeks, in spite of the global pandemic. By the end of March, the U.S. music industry hit a new all-time low in album sales with 1.52M album-equivalent units sold in the week ending on March 19th. Tory Lanez even admitted his “low” sales for New Toronto 3 was due to the decline in music consumption. However, the Drake brand is meant to be pandemic-proof. Solid enough to weather any economic, social or political storm. Dark Lane Tape Demos is expected to move 230K to 255K, but it’s in a tight race for the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 against country star Kenny Chesney’s new album who’s expected to move 220K to 235K– with nearly the entirety of those numbers coming from pure album sales. A country star ending Drake’s streak with nine consecutive #1 wouldn’t be the most unimaginable thing to happen in 2020 but if it were to happen, would that be a sign that Drake’s status as a chart-topping behemoth is beginning to deteriorate? 

With a vault that’s guarded by the precious lives of OVO shooters and engineers, the string of leaks over the past year took part of Drake’s artistic and entrepreneurial control away from him. He had his B-Rabbit moment when he turned weaknesses into strengths by adding “(LEAK 2020)” to the titles of Soundcloud drops. The highly-anticipated release of “Pain 1993” with Playboi Carti, the song that forever found itself surfacing on the web through low-quality recordings and short snippets, fell short of expectations in its final outcome even though the demand was high. Drake gave the people what they wanted. Still, regardless of how Drake plans on identifying this project, collaborations with artists like Young Thug, Future and Chris Brown will still resonate in some fashion with the public, even if it’s based on Spotify algorithms.

The lion’s share of the album is familiar ground for Drake — reminiscing on old flings from Houston, grandiose flexes that only he can relate to etc. Even so, there are flashes where he foreshadows the next move. Songs like “Deep Pockets,” “Landed” and “From Florida With Love” dive into this muddy, foggy whirlwind of production that takes animated derivatives of Soundcloud, lo-fi production while refining it for radio play. Largely due to 40’s trusted ear and Turkish-Swiss producer Oz’s contributions, there’s clearly parts of Drake that’s yearning to tread new grounds. Even on a song like “Landed,” Drake’s flow seemingly takes note from some of the young boys, namely OVO affiliate and possible signee, Smiley, though he’d argue that it was because of his Cartier pen. 

This project ultimately marks a chess move on Drake’s part. Dark Lane Demo Tapes is, after all, an easy money grab. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you will but given Drake’s meticulous nature, Dark Lane Demo Tapes feels like a way to lower expectations ahead of his next album. I mean, even as television production halts and touring plans put on hold, Dark Lane Demo Tapes is likely a means of generating income with B-Sides that demonstrate just how easily he makes a hit record. Quotable bars for days and earworms for hooks that I’ve only grown more fond of as the days pass.

Let’s not forget that the last time he graced fans with a surprise body of work, it was If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Shifting the trajectory of Drake’s career and his sound as a whole, it further pushed him closer to the realms of the GOATs. And there’s an argument to be made that the initial response to Views didn’t meet expectations because of how If You’re Reading This was received. Dark Lane Demo Tapes seemingly plots on a reverse effect; delivering mediocrity to hold fans over while safely locking away the gems for his next album.

Pockets of growth are scattered throughout a project that can otherwise be compared to the hip-hop equivalent of NBA Playoff reruns in the COVID-19 era. Drake pushed the boundaries of hip-hop as far as he can and those he’s influenced are still trying to find their foot in the game. Can anyone knock Drake from the top? Maybe not, but that’s with all things considered — he’s taken hip-hop to new heights, for better or for worse. Dark Lane Demo Tapes has a purpose in his catalog, though not in the way that it’s been sold. It moved 100K units within its first four days of its release which is expected of Drake. At the end of the day, the real accomplishment doesn’t necessarily trickle down to numbers. The world evolves, as does the game, and to keep up, one has to adapt. Drake’s done that over the past few years more so than he’s birthed any new style. He’s relied on others to help him accomplish that. The follow-up to Scorpion will ultimately dictate whether Drake remains a musical and cultural powerhouse in the decade to come.

50 Cent and Wendy Williams have been at each other’s throats for years. The nature of their relationship has been questioned by many but, after the daytime talk show host showed up uninvited at Fiddy’s Tycoon Pool Party last year, the rapper allegedly had security throw her ass out. At least, that’s how it was initially believed to have went down.

During a recent appearance on the Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen after-show, 50 Cent was joined by Marie Osmond where they spoke about what actually happened at the pool party.

A fan asked if Fif was really responsible for Wendy Williams being rejected at the door, and he admitted that things didn’t actually go down like that.

Lars Niki/Getty Images

“No, she had stayed at the front and Snoop [Dogg] came over there to talk to her,” said the author. “She really came to see Snoop.”

Elsewhere in the interview, 50 Cent speaks about the recent home invasion at Eminem’s crib, revealing that he gave his friend a call after hearing the news. 

“I just spoke to him two days ago because someone broke into his house and got into the actual house,” says 50 Cent about Eminem. 

Watch the full video below, where Fif quickly brushes over both topics.

If there’s one format that never fails to elicit excitement, it’s the posse cut. With roots deriving from hip-hop’s inherently competitive elements, a trial-by-fire tradition associated with regionalist pride among other factors, the posse cut often finds emcees in an unspoken quest to emerge with the standout verse — much to the benefit of the song as a cohesive whole.

Alliances are built and strengthened; the old adage of strength in numbers holds true in the booth. Unfortunately, the posse cut has come to feel like a dwindling art. Where it once seemed to be one of the game’s preferred structures, an all-but-guaranteed album highlight, newer artists have tended to steer away from the beloved tradition. That’s not to say they have disappeared entirely, but it’s become a far cry from the glory days in which hip-hop’s best lyricists would unite on sprawling, multiple-verse, sometimes even six-minute-long epics.

In honor of the posse cut, we have compiled a list of the thirty best hip-hop hs to offer. As to what technically qualifies a posse cut, it should be noted that crews have been by and large excluded from the mix — lest the list turn into a rundown of Wu-Tang Clan’s greatest hits. Should a crew be present on a track having opened the door for a fellow emcee or two, however, that’s another story. Should you call yourself a hip-hop-head, it’s likely you’ve heard a few of these already. Maybe even all of them.

Should that be the case, be sure to hit the comments with your thoughts on the ranking – including any snubs you might feel were overlooked. Obviously, placing thirty classics in numerical order is not exactly a cut-and-dry process, and many of the selections below are, to be perfectly honest, interchangeable from their allotted spots. How far can one timeless anthem really differ from another? Perhaps it’s best to not overthink this one, and simply bask in a celebration of some of the greatest collaborative hip-hop songs of all time.

– Mitch Findlay

30.  Dreamville, J.I.D, Mez, Buddy, Jace, Reese LAFLARE, Ski Mask the Slump God, Smokepurpp & Guapdad 4000 – Costa Rica

While healthy competition can drive a posse cut to heightened levels of excellence, so too can the simple purity of camaraderie. Especially when substances are involved. The Revenge Of The Dreamers 3 sessions were legendary in that regard, bringing emcees of all walks of life into the studio for a two-weeks-long creative haven, culminating in no shortage of new music and friendships forged along the way. In many says, the bombastic “Costa Rica” feels like the heart of the Dreamers sessions, a gathering of like-minded emcees feeding off one another’s energy during an extensive night of recording.

Hearing the stories of “Costa Rica’s” creation is akin to hearing a longtime journeyman reflect on a particularly epic night. Those electric feelings bleed into the song itself, with each emcee simply happy to be there — nobody is vying for top billing, with the brief verses all possessing an endearing sort of spontaneity. There’s something undoubtedly pure about hearing the entire room echo Ski Mask The Slump God’s raucous cries of “going on a date with an AK!” A relatively new addition to the list, but one that captured a distinct moment in time, one that will likely follow each participant for the rest of their lives. 

– Mitch

29. Trae Tha Truth, T.I., Dave East, Tee Grizzley, Royce Da 5’9″, Curren$y, Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Rick Ross, Chamillionaire, G Eazy, Styles P, E-40, DRAM, Gary Clark, Jr. & Mark Morrison – I’m On 3.0

There are posse cuts, and then there are songs that boast more featured artists than most albums. It’s difficult to get more than 10 MCs to deliver dope verses that feel both fresh and different enough from one another, while ensuring that the track as a whole doesn’t drag on for so long that listeners start to check their watch. This balance is key, and that’s exactly what Trae Tha Truth and his assembly of artists successfully achieve on “I’m On 3.0.” Serving as the third installment of Trae’s “I’m On” series, this most recent incarnation takes what Trae and his previous collaborators did on both prior renditions and builds on it. While Mark Morrison’s vocals remained on the chorus, now accompanied by Gary Clark Jr. and D.R.A.M., Trae traded in the eight rappers from “2.0,” and recruited a whopping 12 replacements. Although a bold move, it ultimately paid off.

While some posse cuts require the song itself to somehow work around all the different contributing rappers’ individual styles in order to create a cohesive sound, in this case, the burden seems to lie on the artists themselves to ensure that their particular flow and lyrical flair fits the overall vibe of the track. Although there are certainly some undeniable standouts amongst this group, Chamillionaire’s verse has been widely regarded as the major highlight, the track serving as a platform on which the underappreciated MC was finally able to really show off his chops. In the case of this cut, the expression “third time’s the charm” certainly rings true.

– Lynn

28. Sway & King Tech, Eminem, RZA, Xzibit, KRS-One, Tech N9ne, Chino XL, Pharoahe Monch, Kool G Rap, Jayo Felony, DJ Revolution – 1999 Wake Up Show Freestyle

As the new millennium was dawning on a generation of hip-hop fans, Sway and King Tech were using their position to assemble an absolutely insane collective. Capturing the raw energy of a cipher and channeling it onto a golden-era instrumental, the “1999” edition of the “Wake Up Show” freestyle kicked off with Bobby Digital on a mission, representing for the Wu-Tang movement and bringing a legendary pedigree from the jump. On that note, there’s plenty of notable wordsmiths on deck; Eminem landed his first collaboration with Xzibit and Tech N9ne, Chino XL proved why he stands among the underground’s most respected lyricists, and KRS-One imbued the track with the presence of a true “master of ceremonies.” 

– Mitch

27. Chris Brown, Kanye West, T.I., Fabolous, Rick Ross & Andre 3000 – Deuces (Remix)

Chris Brown has had his fair share of ups and downs. 2010 was essentially a peak “down” time in Brown’s long career, as a year prior, he left Rihanna with bruises on her face following an argument with her that escalated to physical blows. Thus, by the time 2010 rolled around, Chris Brown was essentially working his way back into our good graces, one song at a time. 

It was around this same time that the singer ended up collaborating with Tyga for their joint mixtape, Fan of a Fan. “Deuces” served as a single off it, also featuring R&B singer Kevin McCall. It’s the sort of catchy, easy beat that you can still bop your head to right now, which is exactly the type of record we needed from Breezy back then– something we didn’t have to analyze too closely but would be easily enjoyed by masses. 

As the song grew legs on the internet, Chris Brown recruited a ton of star power for the massive remix– which just goes to show the span of his reach and his clout, even amid domestic violence allegations. It doesn’t hurt to have Kanye West, T.I., Drake, Andre 300, Fabolous and Rick Ross in your corner when you’re in the process of a career comeback. Each artist drops off their personalized dose of female relationship fodder and what spurs them to leave a particular relationship, for a total of eight verses on this epic remix. Andre 3000 blesses us with the final farewell, in philosophical manner: “And here I am, all heavy with the words where / Somebody that’s a nerd, likely fast forward / But, shit, they asked for it / It’s hard to throw up them deuces / ‘Cause when you know it’s juicy / You start to sound like / Confucius when makin’ up excuses / Chase the Cabooses until the track gone / I gotta find me a new locomotive, stop makin’ sad songs.”

– Rose

26. Lil Kim, Left Eye, Da Brat, Angie Martinez, Missy Elliott – Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix) 

With so many classic posse cuts being testosterone-heavy affairs, you know the ladies had to come through and represent. “Not Tonight’s” official remix arrived in 1997 as part of the Nothing To Lose soundtrack, earning its “Ladies Night” moniker with appearances from Left Eye (RIP), Da Brat, Angie Martinez, and Missy Elliott. A pivotal moment for females in hip-hop, the accompanying clip was lined with legendary artists like Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, T-Boz, Xscape, and many more.

Oozing with a charismatic swagger, each rapper attacks the groove with their own distinctive flow: Angie with the newcomer’s wide-eyed energy, Brat with the aggression, Kim with the Junior M.A.F.I.A sauce, Left Eye with the playful sensuality, and Missy coming through as the exclamation point — “you ain’t gon’ use me to just be singin’ hooks.” 

– Mitch

25. DJ Khaled, Akon, T.I., Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Birdman, Fat Joe – We Takin Over

“We Takin Over” had the ultimate formula for a certified hit. The track, led by posse-cut-conductor-extraordinaire, DJ Khaled, boasts verses from five major hip-hop heavyweights—Lil Wayne, T.I., Rick Ross, Birdman, and Fat Joe—some in their prime, others proving with ease that they’ve still got it. Their verses were also punctuated by Akon’s signature high-pitched vocals delivering a criminally catchy hook on the chorus. Combine all of these elements with some stellar production from Danja, and you’re guaranteed to come out with a banger.

While practically every MC on this world-domination anthem manages to hold their own, there’s one clear star. As was often the case on a Weezy-featured posse cut in those days, Wayne blows everyone else out of the water, sliding in at the very end to close out the show only to upstage his preceding partners. His unhinged, bloodthirsty delivery paired with Danja’s looming production has the track ending on a high, followed only by one final declaration of the title from Akon. Based on the sheer number of remixes alone that this cut birthed, it’s clear that “We Takin Over” left an impression not just on fans, but on other artists, as well. Though certainly a product and reflection of it’s time sonically, it still manages to hold up all these years later.

– Lynn

24. The Game, Jim Jones, Snoop Dogg, Nas, T.I., Fat Joe, Lil’ Wayne, N.O.R.E., Jadakiss, Styles P, Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross, Twista, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, WC, E-40, Bun B, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Young Dro, The Clipse, Ja Rule – One Blood Remix

Junior Reid’s 1989 single “One Blood” has been flipped on countless occasions but perhaps, the most popular use of the sample is in The Game’s single, “One Blood.” Reid’s original single represents unifying the human race, regardless of race, class, or religion, in the face of division. The Game carried the theme in the megamix that brought together rappers from every coast in an attempt to unify gang bangers. Twenty-five rappers were included on the track such as Jim Jones, NORE, Nas, T.I., Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Jadakiss, Clipse, Styles P, and more, though some of the verse may have been reused from the regional remixes The Game also released. 

Running for nearly twelve minutes in length, the star power alone would be worth its placement on this list but its impact on the streets is forever as the game unified Crips and Bloods from the East and the West on one track. 

– Aron

23. Tech N9ne, Busta Rhymes, Yelawolf, Twista, Twisted Insane, D-Loc, U$O, JL B.Hood & Ceza – Worldwide Choppers

Fast rap isn’t for everyone. In fact, it has recently become synonymous with “corny,” a go-to move for rappers hoping to mask a lack of sauce with sheer technical prowess. Yet countless artists have proven that double-time delivery can be undisputably badass, including some of Tech N9ne’s handpicked “Worldwide Choppers.” Not only does this posse-cut feature nine contributing rappers from across the globe, it does so while operating under a strict conceit: all parties must gun for that god-forsaken Guinness World Record.

Arguably the quickest of the bunch, Tech sets the tone for fellow hyperspeed rappers Twista and Busta Rhymes to absolutely wreak havoc, with both parties sliding several interesting flow-schemes into their verses. Between Twista’s “stig-a-ma-tism” scheme and Bus-a-Bus’ “Get ’em, hit ’em and finish ’em” scheme, we’re looking at a masterclass in verbal dexterity. 

– Mitch

22. Jay-Z, Twista, Killer Mike, Big Boi – Poppin Tags

When hip-hop fans think of posse cuts, they think of all-time great rappers, multiple dope verses, and production that will keep your head nodding along throughout the entire song. Jay-Z’s “Poppin Tags” off of The Blueprint 2 is absolutely one of those posse cuts that ticks off every single box and then some. 

First off, let’s start with the soulful production by none other than Kanye West. By 2002, Kanye was an established producer and “Poppin Tags” was yet another highlight on his growing resume. As for the verses, those are what make this song truly stand out. Jay-Z begins the track with a fast yet steady flow that features bars about, as the title suggests, spending a lot of money. From there, Twista comes into the picture with blisteringly fast bars that create a nice contrast between him and Jay-Z’s skill sets.

The entire track is six minutes long and in the latter half, we get some southern influence with verses from Georgia natives, Killer Mike and Big Boi. Both of these MCs bring their signature flows and sounds to the track which helps spice things up a bit. Depending on where you live, one could argue Big Boi and Killer Mike actually outshine Twista and Jay-Z although that’s a debate we’re sure the commenters would love to engage in.

– Alex Cole

21. Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz – Mercy

Kanye West’s GOOD Fridays series recalls a simpler time in rap, when the market was less crowded and free download links were still the norm. Ye really shook things up with the series, drawing in more and more eyes every Friday when he came through with some sort of fire, GOOD Music cut, often featuring a crew of artists. “Mercy” was among them, and would go on to make the final tracklist of the underwhelming Cruel Summer compilation album. Nonetheless don’t let that take away from the strength of the collaboration which features a pre-controversial (well, pre-Trump) Kanye West, Sean Don, Pusha T and GOOD Music-affiliated 2 Chainz. 

The beat is one of the most iconic aspects of this record, with its dancehall sample and alternating keys kicking off the record. There’s really nothing else to say except that it was, and remains, a banger that will still get a party lit in a matter of seconds. 

– Rose

20. T.I, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, M.I.A – Swagga Like Us 

Where posse cuts of the nineties seemed to thrive off the spirit of lyrical competition, those creeping closer to modern times appeared more concerned with sheer spectacle. Despite enlisting three heavy-hitting lyricists for the occasion, T.I’s “Swagga Like Us” was hardly concerned with administering death-by-a-thousand-bars. The musical equivalent to a Basquiat hanging in one’s foyer, the Grammy-Award winning Paper Trail single was so confident in its mere existence that all it needed to do was show up.

That’s not to say the four emcees didn’t come correct, with the Troubleman asserting himself as the defining verse, but it’s clear they approached this one with the energy of a pickup game. A championship pickup game, to be sure. Impossible to ignore on the basis of sheer talent, “Swagga Like Us” remains a defining cultural moment, the ultimate flex on wax. 

– Mitch

19. Noreaga, Big Pun, Nature, Cam’Ron, Jadakiss, Styles P – Banned From T.V.

What is it about Jadakiss that seems to gravitate toward the posse cut format? Once again, Mr. Raspy slides onto this list as a key contributor to Noreaga’s absolutely stacked “Banned From TV.” On that note, fellow Ruff Ryder Swizz Beatz made New York history the day he wrapped this particular beat up — little did he know he’d be providing the soundtrack for a gathering of the the titans, including an appearance from the late Big Pun, the quitely scene-stealing Nature, and a classic back and forth from Kiss and Pinero.

Though many have come to know NORE as a lovable and perpetually inebriated storyteller on Drink Champs, long before that he was an integral member of the New York hip-hop landscape; one who commanded enough respect to bring such a  ridiculous lineup to the table in the first place. And the results speak for itself, with “Banned From TV” encapsulating everything a classic posse cut is all about. Leave the best verse debates for the philosophers.

– Mitch

18. Dr. Dre, Kurupt, RBX, Lady Of Rage, Snoop Dogg – Stranded On Death Row

Dr. Dre has been at the center of many epic collaborations, and narrowing down one in particular was no easy feat. For the longest time, 2001’s extensive west coast anthem “Some L.A. N***az” had all but secured the position — that is until “Stranded On Death Row” started to spread back into the picture, a relic of one of hip-hop’s darkest and dopest eras. Featuring contributions from Kurupt, RBX, The Lady of Rage, and a young Snoop Dogg, the Dr. Dre-produced banger features hard-hitting verses from all involved.

Kurupt spazzes out the gate, his tongue-twisted style and references to Jean Claude Van Damme instant reminders of simpler times. Yet it may very well be the Lady of Rage who leaves the deepest impression, he sneering cadence and violent vows solidifying her as the most feared inmate on the doomed cellblock. “I plead guilty on all counts, let the ball bounce where it may, it’s just another clip into my AK,” she raps. “Buck ’em down with my underground tactics. Facts and stacks of clips on my mattress.”

– Mitch

17. Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem – Forever

You can’t talk about modern-day rap posse cuts without mentioning “Forever,” the 2009 single from Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. When it was originally released as part of the More Than A Game soundtrack, the song was tremendously impactful. You’ve got to believe that if these four rappers linked up another time one decade later, the critical reception would be even wilder. And that’s saying a lot, considering “Forever” has gone 6x platinum since its release.

Each artist featured on the track is given ample time to shine through on “Forever.” Drake starts things off before Kanye West slides over the second verse. Lil Wayne takes over for the third verse before things close out with a remarkable appearance from Eminem. Drake, Kanye, Weezy, and Em are all iconic in their own right and they will each sit high on rap’s totem pole when this is all said and done. Drake sang that he wanted this to last his entire life and, eleven years later, he’s arrived at that stage. We may never see another star-studded posse cut like this.

– Alex Zidel

16. Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, John Legend, Lloyd Banks, Ryan – Christian Dior Denim Flow

“Christian Dior Denim Flow” counts another entry in the GOOD Fridays series helmed by Kanye West. It’s another example of the type of insane artist-gathered collaborations Ye was putting out at this time, alongside beats that were often “big” for lack of a better words– beats that were luxurious, over-the-top, lofty– perhaps recalling My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in the sense that they were highly arranged and layered, but a bit less refined.

“Christian Dior Denim Flow,” similar to “Mercy” also contains production that at one point breaks down, leading the way for Lloyd Banks’ raspy verse. Kid Cudi delivered the melodic hook with assistance from John Legend, but he also closes out the song with a verse– that was another hallmark of these GOOD Fridays collaborations, they were often songs spanning over 5 to 6 minutes in length– especially long if you consider these days’ 1-2 minute records. Yet this just ensured that every single artist featured on these posse cuts would have their own time to shine, ultimately making each one so exciting. 

– Rose

15. Bone Crusher, Cam’Ron, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes – Never Scared Takeover Remix

For those who came of age during the early millennium, Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared” likely holds a special place in your heart. Though the original lineup of Killer Mike and T.I. made for a strong baseline, Bone Crusher’s New York ambitions secured three of the East Coast’s most capable lyricists in the midst of their primes. With the hard-knocking and uniquely Southern instrumental from Avery Johnson and Jermaine Dupri intact, Cam, Jada, and Busta made themselves at home, seemingly moving to one-up each other with each new verse.

Narrowing down a clear standout might come down to personal preference, but there’s something about Jadakiss’ steely demeanor that makes his presence on the “Takeover Remix” uniquely formidable. “I ain’t neva scared, I got big hammers everywhere,” his flow methodical. “In places where you need yo passport at, I’m heavy there.” 

– Mitch

14. Fat Joe, Big Pun, Nas, Jadakiss, Raekwon – John Blaze

On the basis of reputation alone, “John Blaze” promises to be an onslaught of bars from a handful of dominant East Coast emcees. Many of whom would feel right at home in a top-ten lyricist conversation. As such, there’s an unspoken sense of healthy competition permeating the padded track — though Big Pun would swiftly go on to live up to his well-earned moniker of dream-shatterer.

While recognized by purists as elite, the effortless nature with which Pun would absolutely run laps around legendary emcees often goes unappreciated by the game at large. “The same n***a who known to blow out your brain mineral, I reign subliminal inside your visual,” he spits, his dexterity insane. “Try to supply your physical with my spiritual side of this lyrical / I’ll appear in your dreams, like Freddy do, no kidding you / Even if I stuttered, I would still sh-sh-shit on you.” Listen, there is no universe that would position me to speak ill of Nas, Jadakiss, Raekwon, and Fat Joe — but “John Blaze” really does feel like Big Pun’s showcase. 

– Mitch

13. Obie Trice, Lloyd Banks, Eminem, 50 Cent – We All Die One Day

Obie Trice was looking to make a big first impression with his debut project, Cheers, all the way back in 2003. When you’re backed by an artist like Eminem, there is always going to be pressure to deliver and that’s exactly what he did. Perhaps the biggest highlight on his debut effort is the posse cut “We All Die One Day” which features the likes of Eminem, 50 Cent, and Lloyd Banks.

This extremely gritty banger stands out thanks to some gritty production by Em – among other reasons – who also provides the longest and most technical verse of the song. The track starts with a smooth chorus from Lloyd Banks that eventually transitions to a visceral and violent verse from Obie Trice who is very open about shooting and killing those who get in his way. In the ensuing verse, Lloyd Banks flexes his money and accomplishments while letting people know that he still has an edge to him despite making it out of the hood. Following Em’s verse, 50 Cent helps wrap the song into a neatly tied bow as he provides some violent bars that run parallel to Obie Trice’s first verse.

As far as blood pumping posse cuts go, “We All Die One Day” is certainly up there.

– Alex Cole

12. B.G ft Big Tymers & The Hot Boys – Bling Bling

Say what you will about the mastermind behind it, but Birdman’s Cash Money dynasty has endured as one of hip-hop’s most legendary movements of all time. Featuring the talents of B.G, Juvenile, Turk, Lil Wayne, Mannie Fresh, and Baby himself, the New Orleans-based label helped forge a sound that continues to influence hip-hop as we know it today.

“Bling Bling,” originally released as the lead single on B.G.’s 1999 album Chopper City In The Ghetto, brought the entirety of Cash Money into the fold for a stacked celebration of lavish living. Driven by an iconic beat from Fresh, who also holds it down with a swaggy verse, “Bling Bling” encapsulates the collective’s sound at its most effective — playful, confident, and formidable if pressed. “N***s wear shades just to stand on side of me,” raps B.G., closing things out with a highlight verse. “Hoes say take that chain off boy ya blindin’ me.”

– Mitch

11. Ruff Ryders, Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg, Scarface, Yung Wun & Jadakiss – WW III

Regionalism is one of the most important tenets in hip-hop stylistic analysis. Throughout the years, different cities and states have developed distinctive sonic qualities, many of which are held dear by the artists who claim a given locale. On Ruff Ryder’s introductory banger “WW III,” location played an integral role. Bringing together the likes of Jadakiss, Snoop Dogg, Scarface, and Yung Wun, each rapper opened their verse by representing for the cause.

The conceit imbued “WW III” with a sense of gravitas, only enhanced by the bombastic — and instantly iconic– Swizz Beatz production. In one corner stands Snoop Dogg, representing the “west coast.” In another stands Yung Wun, triumphantly screaming “ATL Shawty!” Across is the imposing figure of Scarface, holding it down on behalf of the entire “muthafucking South.” And for the East Coast is none other than Jadakiss, who closes the anthem out with a nail in the coffin.

– Mitch

10. Danny Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Earl Sweatshirt – Really Doe

On paper, “Really Doe” stands among the most stacked gatherings of lyricists on this list. In reality, it was never meant to appear as such. When Danny Brown originally conceived the song, it was meant to be a duet between himself and Ab-Soul. Upon hearing the instrumental, Kendrick Lamar deted from the intended plan to contribute elsewhere on Atrocity Exhibition and made himself at home.

Last but not least came Earl Sweatshirt, whom Danny bestowed the coveted position of the final verse, an honor reserved for the most valuable player. Few can dispute that the former Odd Future poet absolutely bodied the track, lines like “I’m the type of ni**a it ain’t never been an honor to judge” deftly showcasing his clever mind at work. Throw in a creepy instrumental from Detroit legend Black Milk and you’re looking at the perfect posse cut for witching hour reflections. 

– Mitch

09. Puff Daddy, The Lox, Notorious B.I.G, & Lil Kim – All About The Benjamins Remix

With all this talk about a Verzuz battle between P. Diddy and Dr. Dre, many have been fondly reminiscing about the Bad Boy era. After all, such was the time when the Notorious B.I.G. was alive and well, bodying tracks at every opportunity. The classic remix to Diddy and The Lox’s “All About The Benjamins” is no exception, with Biggie and Lil Kim sliding through to represent for the Junior M.A.F.I.A. movement.

From the moment Diddy sets it off with a laid-back yet assertive opening verse, his flow seeped in the signature style of his label, “”All About The Benjamins” never lets up. Aside from boasting hard hitting salvos from a youthful Jadakiss and Sheek Louch, it’s the new additions that leave the deepest imprint. “German Ruger for yo’ ass, bitch, deep throat it,” raps Lil Kim. “Know you wanna feel the womb ’cause it’s platinum-coated / take your pick, got a firearm you shoulda toted.” You’d be hard-pressed to find a hip-hop head incapable of vibing to this timeless cut.

– Mitch

08. LL Cool J, Method Man, Redman, Canibus, DMX, & Master P – 4, 3, 2, 1 

Many hip-hop historians have come to remember “4,3,2,1” as the song on which LL Cool J and Canibus dissed each other in their respective verses. A darkly comedic turn of events to be sure, as the whole beef essentially kicked off after LL misinterpreted one of Canibus’ lines and decided to clap back accordingly. It’s hard to resist the scandalous allure of such a narrative (especially since it led to some great diss tracks from both parties), but we mustn’t forget one key factor.

This song assembled some of the best lyricists of the late nineties and engaged them in competitive sparring over Erick Sermon’s production. Given the pedigree of talent involved, it’s hard to deem a clear winner. Yet there’s something unmatchable about DMX’s menacing cautionary tale, which reveals the consequences of crossing his path at sundown. If you’re unfamiliar with the fact that LL Cool J was a murderous rhymer in his prime, look no further than “4,3,2,1.”

– Mitch

07. DMX, Jay-Z, Jadakiss, Styles P, Sheek Louch – Blackout

It doesn’t get more New York than DMX’s epic Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood gathering “Blackout.” Another instance of healthy yet borderline competitive sportsmanship, the Swizz Beatz produced classic finds DMX, Jadakiss, Styles P, Sheek Louch, and the Jigga Man sliding through to lay down verse after verse. In true posse-cut fashion, the chorus is forsaken in favor of straight bars and listeners are all the better for it.

Especially when it comes time for Jay-Z’s supremely confident verse. “The beeper done changed, you dead bitch, the Reaper done came,” he raps, his mafioso roots coming through strong. “I suggest ni***s stop speakin my name, cause trust me, y’all can still feel the heat in the rain.” A welcome collision of worlds between the Ruff Ryders and the R.O.C, “Blackout” is the perfect encapsulation of a structure we simply don’t see anymore. And yet, at the time of its release, music like this was still doing numbers. 

– Mitch

06. A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Big K.R.I.T – “1Train”

At the time of its release in 2013, all six rappers present on “1Train” were stars in their own right. Speaking with Complex, Rocky explained that he wanted to create a posse cut evocative of early nineties hip-hop, employing an array of his contemporaries boasting a variety of distinctive styles. Tethering the disparate time periods is Hit-Boy, who laces a symphony at once rugged and distinguished. There are honed flows and outlandish quotables, be it Danny Brown’s “worst enemy’s penis” bar or the imaginative Action Bronson implementing a “Chilean Horse” into his imagery.

It’s almost impossible to discern the standout performer, as each rapper comes together like some deadly coalition, but Big K.R.I.T’s murderous bars certainly conclude matters on an emphatic note. Despite its relative youth, it’s fair to deem “1Train” one of the most impactful tracks of the past ten years.

– Mitch

05. Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, & Nate Dogg – Bitch Please 2 

The Up In Smoke Tour remains one of hip-hop’s defining tours, with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Ice Cube, Nate Dogg, Eminem, and countless Aftermath affiliates embarking on a weed-fueled odyssey. In some ways, Marshall Mathers LP’s fifteenth track “Bitch Please II” encapsulates the spirit of Up In Smoke. Marking a milestone for Slim Shady, who secured his first collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, the eerie sequel emerged as a highlight on its unexpected home album.

Between Dre’s braggadocio, Snoop’s laid-back swagger, Xzibit’s imposing aggression, and Em’s scathing wit, there’s somehow enough common ground to make for a cohesive vibe. With stellar verses from each performer — including one hell of a chorus from Nate Dogg– it’s Eminem’s climactic “fuck you” that resonates the deepest. Although, X to the Z does make a compelling case, especially when he whips into his “ashes to ashes” rhyme scheme.

– Mitch

04. Bone Thugs & The Notorious B.I.G. – Notorious Thugs

The East Coast met the smokey Midwest on Biggie Smalls’ second studio album Life After Death when the Brooklyn legend linked up with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for “Notorious Thugs.” 

Gangsta rap was at its height while hip-hop suffered the loss of both Biggie and Tupac in a matter of months of each other. The hypnotizing piano keys, twangy guitar, and the choral harmonies of Bone Thugs turned into a haunting gospel of romanticized inner-city turmoil with violence and paranoia riddling each rapper’s verse. What might be most notable about the track, though, is that it became a further testament that Biggie had mastered the art of flow. Before even signing a deal, Biggie Smalls was highly revered for his technical prowess and viscous flow but “Notorious Thugs” took it to a new level. Without compromising his skillset, he leaned deeper into the double-time, melodic flow that Bone Thugs introduced to the game with a defining verse in his catalog.

– Aron

03. Three 6 Mafia ft UGK & Project Pat – Sippin’ On Some Syrup

To say Three 6 Mafia were ahead of their time is an understatement. To this day, many of their lyrical and sonic trends — from celebrations of hedonism to the dark southern banger — have become embedded within the very fabric of the contemporary soundscape. Nowhere is that more effectively encapsulated than on “Sippin On Some Syrup,” a posse cut extraordinaire that brought the Underground Kings and Project Pat into the fold for a rollicking good time.

The track, which arrived on the 2000 album When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1, featured a dangerously smooth instrumental produced by the two-headed monster Juicy J and DJ Paul. The perfect backdrop for an influx of excellent verses, with the late Pimp C, DJ Paul, Juicy J, and Bun B holding it down. With each mind married to the singular concept of giving into inebriation, it’s difficult to single out a standout verse — though it’s hard not to credit Pimp C for bringing the legendary term “simp” into the mainstream vernacular. 

– Mitch

02. International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You)

UGK’s biggest commercial record is also considered one of hip-hop’s finest collaborations, and a certified classic. Pimp C and Bun B teamed up with fellow hip-hop duo OutKast in 2007 for this ode to marriage, from the perspective of a player who may or may not have changed his ways. It’s equally important in UGK’s catalog, as the last single the duo put out before Pimp C’s passing.

The music video for the collaboration made the record even more exciting: it’s a full-out hip-hop wedding with Andre 3k playing the role of the lucky man, and other artists acting as invited guests to partake in the big day. 

It’s hard not to simply drop in Andre’s full verse here and call it a day. Apparently, Pimp C didn’t even like Andre’s verse when he first heard it (!!), taking issue with the fact that Andre had opted to remove the drums for his opening verse. Still, the song comes together in epic fashion. As soon as Andre’s verse ends, the drums pick up alongside Pimp C’s nasally verse. Willie Hutch’s “I Choose You” fills the record with soul and funk, thanks to the horn arrangement and vocal sample. It’s a record that marries soul with hip-hop with funk. In spite of this, it’s the type of record that doesn’t sound dated, the type of record someone could ostensibly drop today and we would consider it to be just as fire as it was over 10 years ago.

– Rose

01. Bone Thugs & 2Pac – Thug Luv

There aren’t any other groups in hip-hop that have the bragging rights that Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have. A Midwest group signed to Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records, they remain the only hip-hop group to ever work with Biggie and Tupac while the legendary rappers were still alive. Even for a group with five members, collaborations with artists like Big, Pac, Eazy-E, and more had Bone Thugs bringing their influential sound across the coasts. 

“We doin’ this shit from Cleveland to L.A,” 2Pac screams at the top of his collab with BTNH on “Thug Luv.” Riddled with sound effects of gunshots, Pac and Bone Thugs bring the world into a warzone. Between Pleads to the Lord for forgiveness, Pac and Bone Thugs’ united Thug across America for an anthem specifically geared for the streets. Though the only collaboration between the two entities, they hoisted Thug Life for the world to see. 

– Aron

It’s pretty hard to keep a secret, but Drake *almost* managed the feat yesterday with his surprise mixtape drop, Dark Lane Demo Tapes. A rumor that a Drake project was dropping only kicked off towards the end of the day, and several hours later, it was no longer a rumor, as the mixtape was across streaming services.

It seems like Drizzy’s been wanting to do a bit of file clean-up and fan-pleasing in the process, as this is the second project Drake has released that’s really a collection of loosies and leaked tracks. Care Package dropped last year, and featured another mixed bag of pre-album loosies that previous to then, weren’t available on DSPs.

The Playboi Carti-featured “No Pain 1993” in particular leaked over a year ago, and ever since, fans have been wondering if it would appear on the elusive Whole Lotta Red. Nope, it’s here.

Drake also included his recent “Chicago Freestyle” with Giveon, that found interpolating Eminem‘s “Superman” flow much to fans’ delight. 

Of course, a new Drake albums means first and foremost new captions for your IG page/tweets. Not that Drake would approve, as he raps on the “War” finale: “You niggas spend too much time on captions, not enough time on action”

We can help, at least, so you don’t spend as much time on your captions– we’ve rounded up the most quotable Drake-y lyrics for you in the list below. 

Thank us later.

BG027/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

“Deep Pockets”

• I can’t do that normal type of life, is it just me? / Niggas steady try to ride the wave, but it’s rough seas

• Pyramid schemes just like the Egyptians / Back when hotlines were still flipping

• Mindin’ my business, building a business, et cetera / Inspired by a few, but my mind really drives itself like Tesla

“When to Say When”

• Half the time, I question my consciousness in this shit / Other times, I question if compliments are legit / Full-time, I’m out here confident as a bitch

• Always move right so my watch is on the other hand

• I’ma tell you what you feel next like the weatherman  

• And I got your girl on the second floor, begging me to put it in / And it’s not because all of the money that you wouldn’t spend / And it’s not because I set it up to try and get revenge / It’s because you niggas insecure, you ain’t made men / It’s because even though you hate on me, we stay friends / It’s because you niggas never learn when to say when

“Chicago Freestyle”

• I done plenty sinning in the past / You don’t need to know, but you can ask

“Toosie Slide”

• Got so many opps, I be mistaking opps for other opps

“Desires”

• How the fuck you keep so many secrets? / How you goin’ vegan, but still beefin’ with me again? / How the fuck you’ve seen so many beaches?

• Nice guys always finish off where they started

“Time Flies”

• I could be your man but maybe down the road / Right now I would rather see my heart turn to chrome / Rather see my heart turn crystal / I can’t even front like I don’t miss ya

“Landed”

• Wrote this with a Cartier pen, do I sound different? 

• Gotta supermodel, wanna be a down missus / All my niggas, they be on them out-of-town missions
• I’ve been pop, whippin,’ wrist is on another rhythm

“D4L”

• I remember grade six, I was up in Payless tryna get some Asics / Now I’m Nike‘d down in a motherfuckin’ snake pit / Now I’m type of nigga give it out and I don’t take shit 

“Pain 1993”

• When I shoot my shot it’s the Kawhi way, it’s goin’ in

• Used to be an antisocial nigga, now I’m makin’ friends
  

“Losses”

• I’ve been fortunate enough to have it my way / I’m a fortune teller, listen to what I say

• How you feelin’ in your soul since you sold that?

• Like I’m tryna show the waves, this is no cap / You sold me up the river, but I rowed back / You put me on the road without a roadmap / I’m not tryna make no song, these are cold facts

• I do it for the fam, but still fuckin’ Uncle Sam / I tried to change for you, but that wasn’t who I am / Even when being real is out of fashion
  / Niggas keep stealin’ my style, now we out here matchin’

• I took you up under my wing and you just stayed there / You was supposed to grow some wings, get your own pair
  
• When I visit my last place is the only time I’m in last place / See me these days, I never got on a sad face
• You drove a nigga crazy, but I drove back / You wrote me off and then you never wrote back

“From Florida with Love”

• I let that shit slide, I got everything / I could lose it all if I’m reactin’ to the petty things / Know that if I see you, I’ma ask you if you said them things

• Moral of the story is the story finished us / Damn, and you know that lesson stuck / I would never leave, but I could, though

“Demons”

• Tell them again, loved her way back when / Drunk so I type “Je t’aime” but don’t hit send

• My TD Bank is on Kylie

“War”

• I don’t cop things for resale, don’t do iCloud, don’t do email

• You niggas spend too much time on captions, not enough time on action

It’s been 30 years since Raven-Symoné graced the small screen as the adorably sassy Oli Huxtable. Whether you know her as a child star, a teen icon, a Disney Channel psychic, a Cheetah Girl, or a talk show host, Raven-Symoné has maintained a lasting career that many hopefuls will only dream about.

While she’s dabbled in the music industry throughout the years and has sung in many of her shows or films, Raven isn’t commonly recognized as a music artist. Don’t get us wrong, Raven has four studio albums and a slew of soundtrack and compilation features under her belt. Yet, her talents on-screen have consistently overshadowed her work in the booth.

She recently released her nine-track EP Infrasounds, a project where she shows off her rapping skills and, for the first time, intimate details about her life. We were able to chat with Raven about her new album and she spoke with us about why, after all of these years of keeping her personal life private, she’s chosen to share parts of herself that she’s hidden from the world.

“I’m connecting with myself in a different stage of my life. I don’t know if anybody else goes through this, but I have to come to terms with who I am. I fight it sometimes like, ‘Am I really like this? This is not what people know me as. They know me as this,'” she said, adding a bit of emotion to her voice at the end, similar to those overly-excited Disney Channel commercials.

Raven-Symone recording. Photo by Brennen McMurray, provided by the artist

“They don’t know [that] when I close my door, it’s a totally different world and it’s really hard for me to…it was hard for me to communicate that in a melodic music type of genre or even acting or in interviews,” added Raven. “It was really hard for me to translate that and I think maybe that’s why, again, I keep my life private.”

Then, she connected with a team of creatives and began producing art for art’s sake. There weren’t well-laid plans for an album on the horizon; just jam sessions that turned into something much more than anyone expected. “I’ve been writing since I was young. My first album was with Missy Elliott on MCA Records and it was rap, there was singing. My second album had some rap [elements],” Raven shared.

When her team encouraged her to rap, she admitted to being a tad hesitant. “I listen to Left Eye, I listen to Lil Wayne back in the day and Eminem and Queen Latifah and MC Lyte. This is a different kind of rhythm.” Her collaborators weren’t concerned with mirroring what we hear in music’s mainstream circles. They just wanted to craft an organic project where Raven-Symoné had an outlet to share her truth.

“There’s all different kinds of music for every type of vibrational healing,” said Raven. “I want you to play my stuff when you’re mad, when you’re happy, when you’re in love, when you’re just in a good mood or in a bad mood. There’s moments in the songs for both.” And Infrasounds is just the beginning. “This is apart of a bigger roll-out, for sure,” she said. “There’s so much more to come. I already have five or six records ready now… Infrasounds means the soundwaves right before radio waves. You haven’t heard this before. I have so many more sections of radio waves to go through with everybody.”

On Friday (May 1), Raven shared the visual to one of her Infrasounds tracks, “Bu.” In the jazzy, funky-laden song, you’ll find Raven spitting bossy bars as she raps about her career longevity and how she was living like a rockstar before hitting her Sweet Sixteen. “’Bu’ was the first track I wrote with the fellas and I was like, ‘So, I can say anything?’ They were like, ‘Say anything.’” Initially, Raven was apprehensive, but it didn’t take long for her to let it all out on wax. “I got set free. The first verse I talk about my sexuality and then I go into The Cosby Show and what it took and what it was like and what actually happened and as the track continues, I get more confident.”

Raven-Symone recording. Photo by Brennen McMurray, provided by the artist

There have been plenty of people in Raven-Symoné’s life that have helped her build that confidence that she expressed in “Bu,” and we wanted to know what names in the hip hop arena were apart of that circle. So, she gave us three. “Queen,” Raven said of Queen Latifah. “She is a freaking masterpiece from top to bottom. Her lineage, her career, and who she is with her midframe.” Raven also added Kendrick Lamar “because of his pen.” She shared the story of first hearing K-Dot’s music while driving with her brother. She told him, “Don’t ever stop playing this.”

Raven’s third choice is one that won’t surprise most. “Jay,” she said. “Jay-Z was probably the one, when I was around 15 or 16, when I was definitely struggling with my sexuality, I was like, ‘I’mma be Jay tonight. This is my life!'” She also gives nods to Jay on her track “Bu,” mentioning Jigga in the chorus. A few names from her dream collaboration list aren’t anything to sneeze at, either, with artists like Frank Ocean and Tyler, The Creator (“I’d like to pick his brain”). Miley Cyrus is also on that list because, well, who wouldn’t want to see two Disney icons link up in the studio as adults?

Speaking with Raven, it’s obvious that there are many layers, and even dimensions, to this multifaceted entertainer. We were curious to know what she would want the public to understand about her as a woman and as a human being, stripped of the celebrity and of the industry. “That you can’t strip me of the industry,” she answered. “I started out in it when I was 16-months-old before I had a choice. So, if you strip me of the industry…that’s a deep strip.”

“It’s not like I started when I was 15. I didn’t start when I was 12. I got out of the womb, said hi, and then they put me on television.” Now, Raven is ready to release the burdens she’s carried because of her long-running attachment to her industry personas. “Know that everything that comes from my mouth is because I was raised in the industry that you supported me in. This is what I saw. These are the people I came in contact with. These are the lessons that I’ve learned. This is the business that I’ve known. Good, bad, weird, fumbles of words. That’s just who I am and I can’t apologize for it because I started when I was 16-months old.”

“Also know that I will always take care and not bombard you with who I am,” she added with a laugh. Watch Raven-Symone rap through her journey along with her collaborators as they perform “Bu” at their “treehouse” creative space below.

As a guest on Big Boy’s Neighborhood this week, 50 Cent answered five quarantine-specific questions in a rapid-fire manner, spilling the beans on who he would not let into his home during the lockdown and who he would risk his own health to save if he had one protective mask left.

Calling into the radio show, 50 Cent was asked if there was a rapper that he would lock the door on during this pandemic and his response may be surprising to some.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

“Probably Roddy Ricch,” said Fiddy after hesitating a touch. “He’s too popular. It’s too many kids around, too many germs.”

During the same interview, Fif was asked if he would break quarantine for anybody in particular, to which he responded that, at this point, he would leave the house for half of the “models” on Instagram.

Then, the toughest question came. Big Boy asked the star a hypothetical query that would reveal all there is to know about his bond with Eminem and Dr. Dre.

Leon Bennett/Getty Images

“There’s one mask. Quarantine is going down. There’s two people and you can only give one mask. You see Dr. Dre and you see Eminem. Who do you give that one mask to?” asked Big Boy.

“That’s a foul question,” complained Fif. “I’d give Em the mask and I’d give Dre my own mask. If I had a mask on, I would give him mine.”

That was the best possible answer he could have given. Absolutely no damage was done. 

Watch below.

Throughout his time as the head of the Aftermath Entertainment dynasty, Dr. Dre has amassed quite a roster. Not everyone stayed for very long. Rakim, Busta Rhymes, and Eve all enjoyed noteworthy yet ultimately brief tenures with the label. For the Ruff Ryders first lady, her time with Aftermath was only eight months, a period that yielded little in the way of actual music. That came later. First came the forging of an intense and creatively fruitful relationship. And to think, it all began with some good old fashioned duplicity.

So the story goes, Eve was a young Philadelphia emcee seeking a break. At the time, her managers were the “local drug dealers in town,” as per her own description. As it so often does, fate would rear her head with an opportunity. Dr. Dre, himself at the dawn of a new era of his career, had recently launched a brand new label — Aftermath. When Dre’s right-hand man came to Philly, he set out on a quest for marijuana, a quest that would place him directly in the path of Eve’s managers. It didn’t take long for a plan to be hatched, simple on paper. Eve would take on the role of the weed girl, and upon arriving to deliver said weed, her managers would win the right-hand man’s heart with an on-the-spot performance. “And that’s exactly what happened,” reflects Eve, during a conversation with Luc Belaire CEO Brett Berish.

“We got to this house. I stood up, they put on a tape, and I started rapping. And then he was like…what the fuck is happening?”

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Despite the awkward circumstances surrounding the initial showcase — presumably done without the benefit of weed — Dre’s consigliere was ultimately wooed by Eve’s rhyming ability. Before long, she had relocated to Los Angeles to record a demo for Dre, only to find herself dropped eight months later, with only one surviving song from her time with the label — “Eve Of Destruction,” a piano-driven banger off the Bulworth soundtrack. Despite a brief state of depression, it didn’t take long before she was presented with an opportunity: cyphering her way onto the Ruff Ryders roster, a team that would go on to embrace her as the “first lady.” In 1999, she dropped off her debut album Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, produced in its entirety by Swizz Beatz.

Things tend to come full circle. See, Ruff Ryders was housed on Interscope, run under the watchful eye of Jimmy Iovine. The same man who happened to be one of Dre’s closest confidantes, and at the time, one of his lone supporters. With that in mind, Eve wasn’t entirely removed from the Good Doctor’s vicinity, and it’s likely he kept his eye on his former protege. When the time came for Eve to deliver her sophomore album, Dre returned to the fold once more. Of Scorpion’s sixteen tracks, two instrumentals were laced by the tandem of Dr. Dre and Scott Storch, who was actually introduced to Dre by Eve during her Aftermath tenure.

The first happens to be one of Eve’s biggest hits to date, the Gwen Stefani-assisted “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.” Dre’s drums are the first giveaway, as they often are: clean, massive, and never doing too much. Coming off the release of both his own 2001 and Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP, his first Eve beat felt like a departure from his traditional sound. For one, it wasn’t dark or menacing in the slightest, but rather sensual, classy, and assertive. His bag of tricks does eventually open once more as the bassline slinks in, another telltale sign. Eve proved more than up to the task of blessing the instrumental, though doing so would once again find her facing an interesting challenge. One that many emcees have openly reflected on with equal parts fondness and frustration — the art of crafting a song with Dre. A notorious perfectionist, Dre would accept nothing less than his vision exactly as intended, sometimes leading to Stanley Kubrick-esque repetitions of single lines. In an interview with Live Nation, Eve likened their collaborative process to shadowboxing, recognizing that Dre’s studio methods ultimately led her to pen some of “the best records of her life.”

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Alas, the pair’s partnership only managed to yield a handful of tracks. Scorpion housed the aforementioned “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” as well as the Styles P-assisted “That’s What It Is.” A darker counterpart to the Gwen Stefani duet, Eve and Pinero’s deep cut finds the Ruff Ryders navigating a simple yet hard-hitting instrumental, imbued with the Doc’s signature menace by way of a melancholic synth-string. “Heads boppin’ never fails once the Doc’s around,” raps Eve, as the piano arpeggio ascends and descends. “That’s What It Is” also gains additional credibility for being the lone collaboration between The Lox and Dre, and while it’s not a full collaboration, it’s a welcome crossover all the same.

Two years later, Dr. Dre and Eve would reunite once again on Eve-OLution, the Ruff Ryders’ rapper’s third studio album. As was the case with its predecessor, the album featured a pair of Dr. Dre beats, a near-mirror image to their last go-around. This time, Eve would set things off with “What,” a stylistic successor to “That’s What It Is” in sonic direction. Once again, Dre opts for an imposing minor-key piano over a one-two drum-arrangement, occasionally emphasizing a moment with a ghostly synthesizer. The track is easily one of the album’s hardest bangers, with Eve flexing her flow as she declares her newfound coldhearted temperament.

While it might have been tempting for Eve and Dre to continue along this warpath, it appeared they had grander designs in mind. “Satisfaction” is to Eve-OLution what “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” was to Scorpion; once more, Eve’s biggest hit arrived courtesy of Aftermath’s surgeon general. This time, Dre steered away from his bag of tricks, opting for a rare indulgence — working in the major key. With Mike Elizondo holding it down on the bass, Dre laces Eve with a low-end groove with an old-school feel, sliding in a few slick guitar riffs to keep momentum. It’s arguably one of the most out-of-character beats of Dre’s career, not quite triumphant but certainly feel-good. Those unfamiliar with his sound might not even recognize “Satisfaction” to be his handiwork, his identity revealed by a typically clean mix, and the presence of an orchestral string section.

Unfortunately, Eve-OLution marked an end to their partnership, though they would indeed ride again on Gwen Stefani’s classic “Rich Girl,” a standout single off 2004’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. The track marked another interesting direction for Dr. Dre, who showcased his adaptability while working with a more pop-focused artist, allowing Eve to part ways with the Doc on a high note, which is to say setting the radio ablaze. Though their collaborative union only elicited five tracks, including two major singles, it’s evident that Eve and Dr. Dre found harmony in the studio, a pair of unlikely collaborators that bridged the gap between two of hip-hop’s powerhouse movements — Ruff Ryders and Aftermath Entertainment. 

Though Young Dolph recently contemplated retirement from the game, it would appear an unfinished bucket list has kept from making the commitment. As it happens, Dolph has been actively seeking a collaboration with the legendary Dr. Dre, who has remained one of the game’s most selective producers, opting to work almost exclusively with Aftermath artists like Eminem and Anderson .Paak. Yet Dolph is not one to be deterred from his efforts, going so far as to dip into the reserves and present the good Doctor with a sizeable offer.
 

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“Everybody go over to @drdre page rite now and tell him I said I got 100k for him for one of those hard-ass beats,” writes Dolph, taking to Instagram to issue a call-to-action. And while the support was indeed heavy, as was the appreciation for Dolph’s musical taste, so too was the skepticism; as many were quick to point out, the notorious perfectionist isn’t exactly firing off new beats on a willy-nilly basis, and a one-hundred thousand dollar offer might not be enough to pull the near-billionaire into the studio.

On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that Dre respect’s Dolph enough to acquiesce. Should that be the case, the potential for an incredible song is certainly high — Dre is no stranger to hard-hitting gangsta-rap bangers, and seeing him take it back to those days for a Dolph duet would be a welcome turn of events. What do you think — do these two need to link up ASAP?

Westside Gunn’s vision as a curator has been widely regarded as second-to-none. It’s part of the reason why Griselda has somehow managed to blur the lines between midnight street violence and high-fashion luxury. Few have built such an impeccable brand. Simply put, it’s become increasingly easy for a wide variety of demographics to like the idea of Westside Gunn. An underdog story manifested with tangible results, the most recent milestone being an inspirational front-row seat at Paris Fashion Week.

Even though his brand of rap has become relatively niche in the contemporary soundscape, Gunn has managed to make it feel particularly wavy — though it often seems like the music itself is seldom thoroughly analyzed, given how appealing he is as an orchestrator. While it doesn’t ultimately matter why one might gravitate toward Westside Gunn, examining Pray For Paris on the basis of its musical merit alone reveals an artist at the height of his craft, exuding confidence, character, and creativity. And that’s not even shining a spotlight on the ad-libs, arguably Gunn’s most recognizable vocalistic component.

Pray For Paris features Westside Gunn’s most inspired rhyming to date. He’s previously suggested that Conway and Benny’s pedigree outweighs his own, though it would be unwise to underestimate Westside’s ability on the mic. His biggest strength lies in his ability to bring his world to life through use of slang and strategic non-sequiturs. His lyrics often rattle off in stream-of-consciousness fashion, tethering the layman to his reality through one or two recognizable images. “Rest in peace Vino, rest in peace Kino, the Spiegel, the seagulls, April fresh ego,” he raps on the DJ Muggs-produced “No Vacancy.” “Slam you on your neck like Bruno Sammartino.” The themes of luxurious violence unfold like red wine slowly seeping through a white carpet. “Welcome home Tito, you proud and sippin’ pinot,” he concludes. “My shooter shot five n****s in a row, we yell ‘bingo.’”

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Though he laments the idea of being pigeonholed as a rapper, it would be a shame to overlook Gunn’s effortless dominance as an emcee. Moreso than ever before he’s taking stylistic risks, exhibiting a newfound dexterity in his delivery. On “George Bondo,” produced by the in-house tandem of Beat Butcha and Daringer, Westside rhymes ably alongside Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher, two rappers who easily tower over the average modern-day lyricist. Even amidst such company Gunn never falters, as he effortlessly weaves violent short stories into his stanzas. “You ever sold a hundred then spent it all in the same weekend?” he asks, firing off syllables in one of the album’s quicker schemes. “Razors leave your face leakin’ / Chill, let the Wraith creep, and the brick broke in eight pieces.” A writer with less imagination might have pulled back on the specificity; we can almost hear the skull cracking as the clay scatters atop the pavement. 

At this point, it almost feels redundant to praise Gunn’s curatorial abilities. He’s been murderous in that department for years — only now, following a slew of widely-publicized co-signs from Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Virgil Abloh (signer of bricks), the volume of curious eyes has multiplied. But Pray For Paris would not be the success that it is on the strength of vision alone. Only a gifted emcee possesses the potential to maximize the masterful production from Alchemist, Daringer, DJ Premier, Beat Butcha, and DJ Muggs. If the instrumentals are the paint itself, Gunn’s is the practiced hand guiding the paintbrush. His ability to go bar for bar with elite emcees is all too often treated as an afterthought. Yet he does so time and time again, whether alongside his own Griselda compatriots on two standout cuts, the Freddie Gibbs and Roc Marciano assisted “$500 Ounces,” and the smooth posse cut “327” with Tyler, The Creator and Joey Bada$$.

Stylistically cut from the same cloth as Ghostface Killah and Raekwon The Chef, Gunn’s approach to cocaine rap and violent retribution is seldom pretty, a stark juxtaposition against his affinity for haute couture and high-priced memorabilia. His ability to simultaneously — and credibly — operate within two seemingly disparate planes of existence makes him a unique sort of narrator. One that enjoys the nature of the opulent flex but never allows it to tarnish his dedication to crafting raw hip-hop. Pray For Paris is very much a love letter to the craft, penned and signed entirely on a brick. The rare sort of art that a sincere knowledge of history can only enhance. 

An artist cannot control their creative impulses. Nor should they. We’ve long seen comfort zones left behind in favor of newer, but not necessarily greener pastures.

It is, after all, part of the artist’s eternal curse. The fans want change almost as much as they inevitably come to long for the glory days. The “old” insert artist’s name here. In favorable situations, the change might elicit criticism at first, only to be damn near revered years later; consider Radiohead’s transition to Kid A, or Kanye West’s to 808s & Heartbreak. For those who aren’t so lucky, the detions are shoved into the closet to collect dust, aberrations better left forgotten. Alas, such was indeed the case for Lil Wayne’s foray into the mire that is rock-rap, his seventh studio album Rebirth. At least, at first glance. Ten years later, is it really as bad as the initial reviews would have you believe?

There’s a case to be made that Rebirth wouldn’t exist without “Lollipop,” Lil Wayne’s wildly popular Carter III single. Despite having previously established himself as one of the game’s deadliest lyricists — by a wide margin at that — Weezy opted for simplicity in both bars and arrangement. The end result was a seductive club banger strangely appropriate for stadium play, a combination that helped “Lollipop” clinch the position of being the most popular song of Wayne’s career. It’s no wonder he was, at minimum, enticed at the prospect of further exploring this potentially lucrative road. And thus, Lil Wayne’s first “rock album” was born — a flight of fancy perhaps, but one well-earned. Even now, if there’s anything to be said about the project, it’s that there remains a clear sense of artistic freedom throughout.

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Seeing as rock and roll music is a historic and expansive genre that has spawned countless subgenres, simply slapping a “rock” label onto an album does little in revealing a clear sonic direction. A rough translation might be better served as follows: there are guitars and loud drums. Guitars played by Weezy himself, if that’s worth anything on your scorecard. As such, he should be judged as a guitarist, from technique to tone. For the most part, Wayne tends to soak his chords in distortion, heavy on the sustain. Sometimes his riffs are shrill and piercing, closer in spirit to heavy metal than a typical rock band might employ. Other times they’re surprisingly whimsical, seeped in the fairy-tale romance of the pop-punk radio playbook.

Such is indeed the case on the Nicki Minaj-assisted “Knockout,” which feels directly plucked from a late-nineties summer camp comedy. The strange thing is, Weezy’s ear for melody is surprisingly solid; his vocals never lack sincerity, which in turn helps him swerve the pitfalls of parody. It’s clear he genuinely enjoys this style of music, having previously developed friendships with the likes of Pete Wentz, Green Day, and Gym Class Heroes. Unfortunately for Wayne, the direction was so left field that many of his longtime listeners were simply incapable of making the jump — to appreciate Rebirth not only required a stalwart dedication to the man behind it, but to the music he was attempting to explore. Otherwise, enjoyment for Rebirth was wholly dependent on one’s threshold to suffer through a genre they don’t even like out of sheer loyalty.

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At times, it seems as if Weezy was driven by caffeine, unchecked energy, and pent up sexual frustration, all but shrieking out his words on songs like the frantic “Price Is Wrong.” Lyrically, Weezy seems to have taken the schoolyard romance concept and run with it, pitting himself as the leading man in a John Hughes-esque adventure — albeit one slapped with an NC-17 rating. The pattern is arguably at its most obvious on the infamous “Prom Queen,” the lead single and first taste of Wayne’s vastly different energy. For many, the song became an easy target, if only because of how different it was. On the surface, there’s little on Rebirth that jumps out as being overtly hip-hop. But one look at the liner note credits might prove surprising. Production is handled by a laundry list of familiar names, with heavy involvement from Cool & Dre, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, and Streetrunner. Eminem contributes a Recovery-era verse on “Drop The World,” a largely rapped duet picking up where “No Love” left off. Wayne does come through with a few bars here and there, but for the most part remains fully dedicated to the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

Upon its release, critics and fans alike weren’t exactly kind to Rebirth. It quickly became the butt of many-a-joke, painted as a musical midlife crisis — one largely made up of underdeveloped songwriting from an underqualified source. But did those negative sentiments withstand the test of time, or did they melt away in favor of a newfound rosy-tinted perspective? In hindsight, many songs on the album seem to have garnered appreciation, if not exactly acclaim — especially given the clear influence Rebirth had on many of the new generation’s younger artists. Especially the likes of Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion, and Trippie Redd, all of whom included elements of rock and metal in their own catalogs, though never quite with Weezy’s headlong dedication.

Even if it wasn’t the music itself that proved particularly inspiring, the willingness to boldly attempt a complete reinvention in the name of fun is undeniably admirable. As such, it further solidified Lil Wayne as a fearless artist, willing to follow a creative impulse straight off the cliff, provided that’s where it took him. It may not be your cup of tea, but there’s an argument to be made that Rebirth deserves respect, not ridicule. So many rappers fancy likening themselves to rockstars, but few are willing to commit to the cause so thoroughly. 

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The eternal shelving of Slaughterhouse‘s sophomoric Shady album Glass House remains one of hip-hop’s great tragedies, especially given that it doesn’t appear likely we’ll ever get our hands on it. Especially not after the way Joe Budden and Eminemwent from collaborators to rivals, exchanging shots on records and podcasts alike. Yet, perhaps foolishly to be sure, fans have decided to remain hopeful that Slaughterhouse will rise again — even if it is by way of a years-old release.

Speaking on the My Expert Opinion podcast, Royce opened up about the status of the lost project, and what might need to occur before it stands a chance at releasing. As expected, Joe Budden plays a pivotal role in the saga, though Royce is clear to absolve him of all the blame. “There wasn’t always an issue between Joe and Shady,” he explains. “The issue with Joe and Shady now is just the way he voiced his opinion about Marshall’s album. Marshall didn’t like that. It wasn’t because he had an opinion about Marshall’s album, it was the way he publicly voiced it. I actually had a problem with that too. But me and Joe spoke about it.” 

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Though Budden did apologize to Royce for putting him in an awkward position, Em has yet to receive the same treatment — a point that Royce is quick to point out. Even prior to the whole Revival-Gate incident, however, the Glass House album was facing a fair number of challenges. “There were things behind the scenes going on that brought certain vibes into the studio as well,” continues Royce. “Two people had some disagreements and some business dealings separate. I’m not gonna say who those two people were. And that caused a little something and then everybody in the group decided to go do separate albums.”

As for now, the group remains signed to Shady Records, inactive though they may be. “[Jpe] wants to get it released from Shady because he doesn’t want to release it through them,” says Royce. “But he’s basically saying he’ll still play ball. You know, ownership is a big thing to Joe right now. He’s evolving. Just in terms of understanding the importance of equity. He looks at the brand as something we built, which we did, you know.” As to whether Slaughterhouse will ever be able to come together on the same page, Royce isn’t entirely ruling it out – provided everybody is fully on board to commit.

“If we are not gonna do the album then I don’t even want to have conversations unless I know that everybody’s down to rap,” he clarifies. “I don’t want to force anybody to rap, man. Joe’s having a good time doing what he’s doing, Crook is super successful. Joell Ortiz just got married. I mean, I’m just happy where everybody is, where we are as men. I’m happy about that.”

When assigning attributes to Lil Uzi Vert, master tactician likely isn’t one of the first that springs to mind. Adored the world over for his potent mix of fashion-laden flashiness and romantic misadventure, it’s easy for a generation of jaded hip-hop fans to write the Philadelphia native off as just another SoundCloud rap alumni from the conveyor belt. Or at least they could until he entered the pantheon of hip-hop’s top selling artists with his new record.

Earlier this month, Uzi’s sophomore major label project Eternal Atake arrived with such a colossal thud that it siphoned the shine off of other new releases in the process. An interstellar trip rendered in his own distinctive image, the project and its deluxe expansion pack acted as a cultural diversion that implored everyone—lover, hater and floating voter alike—to listen. However, the sense of occasion that surrounded its release was birthed by the fact that we, the listeners, had endured such a long and winding journey with him. Over this agonizing two-year stint in the wilderness, Uzi and his fanbase have contended with extensive label drama, Roc Nation intervention, premature cries of retirement and a near-endless array of leaks.

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After enduring this firestorm of adverse circumstances, the hype around Lil Uzi’s first project in three years was enough to elevate him far beyond any sales projections that he’d obtained in the past. To put it into perspective, the project’s 288,000 worth of first week sales allowed Uzi to surpass the initial numbers of another blockbuster surprise release in Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By.

Doubling the 135,000 worth of first week sales that 2017’s Luv Is Rage 2 accrued, it’s here that we see Uzi’s masterclass in brand management. By making Eternal Atake into a near-otherworldly commodity, the audience’s eagerness meant that they fiendishly devoured every last second of it to the tune of over 300 million streams. At a time where omnipresence is seen as a sure-fire business strategy, “Baby Pluto” reasserted the power of keeping the audience yearning for more.

Now, as the dust begins to settle, attention turns to where Uzi goes from here. After pulling off a promotional coup with EA, it seems implausible that he’s going to slink back into the shadows. After all, a magician’s sleight-of-hand is a lot less astounding when you know how the illusion is accomplished.

Entering a period of enhanced visibility that’s been compounded with his feature on The Weeknd’s “vaporwave remix” of “Heartless,” it remains to be seen whether the success of his new project will inspire him to embark on a feature spree. Nonetheless, Uzi’s remarks would imply that those who yearn to see Uzi in the flesh will have the opportunity to do so.

Although the world has been thrown into a state of dysfunction by the pandemic, the inability to congregate en masse doesn’t mean that shows aren’t being pencilled in behind-the scenes. In tow with comments on Instagram live about shows that’ll feature “fireworks and spaceships”, the emergence of his new project prompted an excitable Uzi to announce that “This is a Performance Album. #ETERNALATAKE TOUR!”

If and when a run of dates arrives, it’ll mark his first major live jaunt since his 2018 co-headline shows with G-Eazy and– when you consider the thematic scope of the record– all signs suggest that it’ll be his most visually impressive undertaking to date.

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In releasing Eternal Atake, Lil Uzi Vert delivered one of the hip-hop internet sphere’s biggest holy grails and quelled the endless memes, theorising and forum discussion over what it’d sound like. However, there’s still one elusive project that’s out there in the ether and it’s one that it appears Lil Uzi is waiting on for different reasons.

Cryptic in the most thinly veiled sense, a recent tweet from Uzi simply read “Soon as HE drop imma drop again.” Almost immediately, many concluded that there was only one contemporary he’d be talking about. Subject to even more leaks than Uzi, Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red has become a record of almost mythical proportions due to the setbacks and delays it’s faced.

At one stage, Uzi and the Atlantan artists were firm friends, collaborating with one another on tracks such as Die Lit’s “Shootas,” “Of Course We Ghetto Flowers” and ASAP Mob’s “RAF” among others. Then in November 2019, Uzi claimed that the pair were no longer on good terms before walking back his claims in the wake of EA’s release. Amid retweeting a fan’s plea for an unreleased track to be released, it appears that Uzi is looking to test his mettle against the groundswell of hype that surrounds Carti’s first project since May of 2018.

As for other tracks that remain in the vault for now, Uzi informed fans that “I got different plans wit the lil baby song and the a boogie song they hit different” while “Don’t Want It,” his frequently teased team-up with Lil Nas X, continues to take on a life of its own as an elusive property.

At the moment, Lil Uzi’s current formula is transfixing audiences the world over. Cruising in the trap-infused hip-hop lane that became his staple, Uzi’s persistence with the sound casts an uncertain fate over one sonic shift that he’s alluded to at regular intervals.

Over the years, Lil Uzi has been forthcoming about his disdainful relationship with the categorization of rapper. Seeing himself as more of a “rockstar” than an MC by traditional metrics, his love of the nihilistic punk of GG Allin and the horror-based work of Rob Zombie has been discussed at length but it’s yet to result in any specific genre-melding work. That said, it’s not as if he hasn’t vocalized his ambition to create a rock album in the past and even outlined what the project would entail during a lengthy chat with Zane Lowe.

Speaking in 2017, Uzi’s rough schematics for the project included an “all chicks” band. In terms of who the ensemble would include, Uzi had his sights on his idol in Paramore’s Hayley Williams, claiming “It’s hard to top that. She’s like the best, just of my generation… There’s nobody bro.”

Although it may have been three years ago, it seems as if this was a pressing concern for Uzi at the time. In fact, his plans had even met the approval of one of his biggest inspirations—and a man who he has the likeness of on a $200,000 chain— Marilyn Manson.

“He wants to do a rock album next, and I would love to see that happen because I think that he could make a new thing,” Manson informed CoS. “Not some rock/rap type of thing, something special and new that I think needs to be created just to fuck the world up more…. I think that if I had to pick what Lil Uzi Vert should be, if he’s involved in rock, it’s an early Bad Brains or Faith No More, but with a catchier element.”

The rampant success of Eternal Atake could provide him with the necessary creative free rein to bring these plans to life and, if the daily social media enquiries from fans about its status are an indication, the appetite is very much there for a crossover project.  

While Uzi is willing to propagate the idea that he’s got another album waiting in the wrings, it’s important to remember that this could be hubris when you consider what went into making Eternal Atake. Comments from his long-time engineer about EA’s structure go some way to lifting the lid on the painstaking process of refinement that took place behind-the-scenes.

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“I thought it would be cool if there was a whole storyline with it,” Kesha Lee informed Rolling Stone. “So, I went ahead and started working on one. That version of it took me a year. There were some changes as far as some of the skits. When I only had two weeks to finish up everything, I had to cut it down to a couple seconds.”

Coupled with Supah Mario’s claims that he sent him over “300 beats” and TM88 spending “multiple hours” on the phone with him every day, it’s evident that Lil Uzi Vert, beyond all of the hype and misdirection that dogged the project, is a perfectionist that’ll only release music that he feels is up to his preordained standards.

Only time will tell exactly what the next stage of Lil Uzi’s career will look like. Yet in light of Eternal Atake’s success and the levelling up that it’s came to represent, all signs suggest that we won’t be going back into hibernation for a long, long time.

The nerve, the audacity, thought Ja Rule, upon witnessing the music video to 50 Cent’s latest Get Rich Or Die Tryin single “21 Questions.” After giving me such a hard time. A fair takeaway from our fictitious imagining of Rule, who previously found himself on the receiving end of some scathing “Back Down” bars. “I’m back in the game shawty, to rule and conquer you sing for hoes and sound like the cookie monster,” rapped 50 Cent, his ire magnified by Dr. Dre’s blood-chilling production. A narrative that was quickly seized by many of Fif’s battle-ready comrades — which is to say the entire Shady Records roster — determined to rewrite Ja’s personal history.

And like that, Ja Rule’s transition from the murderous mind behind Veni Vedi Vici, who once seemed at home spitting bars alongside DMX and Jay-Z, to the “singing rapper” was complete. At least in the eyes of the public, who were becoming increasingly enamored with 50 Cent’s unapologetic reputation as hip-hop’s most talented villain. Despite Ja having recently set the charts ablaze with “Livin’ It Up,” Fifty’s “Back Down” was simply too brutal a blow for Ja’s image to withstand. Yet 50 didn’t merely kill Ja Rule on wax; it’s likely he absorbed part of his soul in the process, imbuing the stone-cold rapper with a never-before-seen sensitivity. Though melodies were often implemented in Fif’s early music, his singsong delivery closer to taunting than crooning, never were they so overtly present — and uncharacteristically saccharine– than in “21 Questions.”

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In a 2007 interview, 50 Cent reflected on Dr. Dre’s first impressions of “21 Question,” imploring the rapper to leave the track on the cutting room floor. “Dre was, like, ‘How you goin’ to be gangsta this and that and then put this sappy love song on?’” reflects Fif, who kindly countered Dre’s counsel with his own desire to express his full character. Evidently, there was a hopeless romantic buried beneath the violent bravado. One that seemed like a far cry from the looming presence that stalked the “Corner Bodega.” That oozed arrogance over Dr. Dre’s thunderous organ-gunfire tandem on “Heat.” That managed to bridge the vastly different worlds of the streets and the suburbs by giving them a vicious and charismatic figure to champion. Yet here he was, declaring his love to be equivalent to that of a glutton’s for cake.

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In lesser hands “21 Questions” might have been an aberration. It’s vastly different from its fellow Get Rich brethren, both thematically and musically; where both Dre and Eminem tend to operate within the minor key, producer Dirty Swift blessed Fif with the instrumental equivalent to an uplifting daydream. And though he originally protested its inclusion on the album, Dr. Dre’s capable hands perfected the mix, ensuring a sense of sonic cohesion would be retained — why else do you think those drums hit like that? Effectively boom-bap at its core, albeit a slightly more romanticized take, 50 manages to feel at ease over the lush string pads and trebly guitars. Even though he’s essentially baring his deepest insecurities, he does so with the affable charm of a surprisingly relatable leading man. Throw in an immediately catchy chorus from the King Of Hooks himself, the legendary Nate Dogg, and it’s no surprise that Fif caught himself basking in the afterglow of another hit.

Once the initial shock of hearing 50 Cent’s first love song wore off, the many merits of “21 Questions” quickly became evident. For one, it provided the versatility that 50 Cent initially desired to reveal, his vulnerable performance coming off as surprisingly sincere. True, he likely understood the commercial benefits of widening his demographical reach, crafty businessman that he is, but his attempts at diversifying his sound appeared to stem from a genuine place. Given that many of his subsequent singles seemed designed with the female market in mind, it’s entirely likely that Fif developed a framework with “21 Questions,” albeit a more sexually-charged variant. On Get Rich, however, 50 Cent seemed content with building a genuine connection beyond the physical, channeling the spirit of rappers like Fabolous, LL Cool J, and yes — Ja Rule.

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard some new music from the legendary Black Thought, with his most recent verse arriving alongside Eminem, Q-Tip, and Royce Da 5’9″ on “Yah Yah.” Today, Thought has come through with a stay-at-home variation of the NPR Tiny Desk Concert, which finds him revisiting songs from his recent Streams Of Thought volumes, as well as premiering some three new songs in the process.

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The new tracks “Thought Vs. Everybody,” “Yellow,” and “Nature Of The Beast,” which features contributions from Portugal, The Man, are set to arrive on his upcoming Streams of Thought Vol. 3 EP, though we have yet to receive an official date. In the meantime, Thought’s seventeen-minute set provides plenty of material to unpack, his sharpened delivery never missing a step. Though he appears completely relaxed in stance, almost wizardly with that graying beard, his lyrics are no less deadly than they’ve ever been. 

Not to mention the quiet flex of a wall lined with platinum plaques and an actual Grammy overlooking the scene, propped up by a stack of Thought’s favorite book club selections. Clearly, few can match wits with the intellectual mastermind — with or without the socks and sandals combination. Check out Black Thought’s official contribution to the Tiny Desk cause, and keep an eye out for that Streams Of Thought Vol. 3. 

By the time “Die Young” came out, it was essentially confirmed that Roddy Ricch was the next rapper out of Compton to carry the baton. He lived up to the expectations on his debut album, Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial that produced the mega-hit “The Box.” Largely due to TikTok and the accompanying social media challenge, Roddy Ricch’s single has had a near Lil Nas X-type run on the Billboard Hot 100 since its release. 

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It’s clearly transcending generations at this point, especially within hip-hop. Though the song’s received co-signs from Kylie Jenner and more, the latest co-sign comes from a groundbreaking figure in the rap game: Flavor Flav. That’s right, at 61-years-old, the (ex?) Public Enemy member joined TikTok and his first matter of business was getting in on #TheBoxChallenge. Though he didn’t seem to know all of the words, he did flex the iconic chain with the clock on it and we gotta applaud him for that.

“The Box” recently put Roddy Ricch side-by-side with Eminem and Drake in his latest Billboard accomplishment. “The Box” is now the third solo rap song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to spend over 10 weeks at number one, joining “God’s Plan” and “Lose Yourself.” Though it was knocked off from #1 for The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights,” maybe it’ll regain its position in the coming weeks. 

In 1993, Death Row records signed a young man by the name of Nathaniel Hale to their notorious roster. Only a few years removed from serving three years in the United States Marines in Okinawa Japan, tasked with helping provide ammunition to soldiers stationed in the Pacific Ocean, Nate Dogg’s artistic development might never have come to pass under different circumstances. As fate would have it, Nate Dogg’s return to Los Angeles would find him reunited with his longtime friend Warren G and his cousin Snoop Dogg, both of whom happened to be aspiring rappers. Together as “213”, the trio’s demo would eventually find itself in the possession of Warren G’s step-brother Dr. Dre.

In the early nineties, Death Row was a haven for young creatives, a place where house parties would ring off in a perpetual state and studio sessions would make stars of the undiscovered. Deep in the throes of The Chronic, Dr. Dre’s first studio album since N.W.A broke up in 1991, Nate Dogg earned his first major label placement with a contribution to the iconic “Deeez Nuuuts,” closing the track with a lengthy outro. “I heard you want to fuck with Dre,” he sings, slipping into falsetto. “You picked the wrong muthafuckin’ day.” You can almost picture the vibe in the studio as he was laying it down, the dawning realization that the Death Row roster had a weapon on their hands.

Though Nate Dogg would only feature a single time on Snoop Dogg’s debut Doggystyle, the sexually-charged “Ain’t No Fun,” the following year would prove to be a turning point in his young career. Despite struggling with the remnants of his criminal past, with two robbery charges in 1991 and 1994, Nate Dogg would soon experience his first taste of commercial glory thanks to “Regulate,” his legendary collaboration with Warren G. Not only did the narrative-fueled duet serve as a revealing introduction to Nate Dogg’s melodic capabilities, it also provided a deeper insight into his character. People weren’t used to singers being so dangerous; the juxtaposition of his soulful voice vowing to “make some bodies turn cold” was as chilling as it was soothing. There’s a reason “Regulate” continues to withstand the test of time as a classic, and much like in the song itself, it’s Nate Dogg heroic presence that stands triumphant.

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While 2Pac Shakur went on to join Death Row in 1995, one year prior he released his first and only album with his group Thug Life, which featured Nate Dogg’s vocals on the highlight “How Long Will They Mourn Me,” a tribute to the late Kato. Co-produced by Warren G, who made sure to slide the track over to his fellow Regulator for a chorus, the song became the first of several collaborations between Nate and Pac. He would go on to appear on 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me, singing the hooks on both “Scandalouz” and the posse cut “All Bout U.” Unfortunately, heightened tensions both within and beyond the Death Row camp reached a climax with the murder of 2Pac Shakur on September 13th, 1996. Not to mention the fact that Snoop Dogg had been facing a murder charge of his own, all while stirring the brewing tension with Bad Boy during the volatile 1995 Source Awards. Though Snoop was ultimately acquitted of all charges, the dark cloud looming over Suge Knight’s Death Row Records would go on to send the Doggfather packing for greener pastures.

Though Nate Dogg decided to stick with Death Row to release his debut album, the double-disc and heavily Daz Dillinger-produced G-Funk Classics, the ambitious project was unceremoniously shelved despite its intended release date of 1996. It eventually hit stores two years later in 1998, but it’s unclear as to whether Nate had actively been recording new music for the album’s updated release date. Though he may very well have remained loyal to Death Row in the fallout of Pac’s murder, it soon became evident that the legal storm ravaging the once-prosperous label was proving detrimental to his music career. He was eventually able to part ways with Death Row, a process no doubt aided by Suge’s incarceration.

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As expected, Nate quickly gravitated toward his longtime collaborator Snoop Dogg, blessing his No Limit Top Dogg album with the iconic “Bitch Please” chorus. His Death Row ties likely played a role in earning him a pair of placements on Dr. Dre’s sophomoric 2001, the success of which helped build the foundation of the legendary Up In Smoke Tour. Featuring Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Dr. Dre as the headlining acts, Nate joined a stacked lineup including Xzibit, Kurupt, D12, Westside Connection, and many more. Unfortunately, Nate’s involvement was nearly jeopardized by his arrest on June 20th, 2000, which found him taken in by a SWAT team on alleged charges of kidnapping, domestic violence, making terrorist threats and arson. With Nate’s involvement in the tour no longer a ble option, Xzibit remembers how they desperately sought to find a last-minute replacement before settling on Tyrese. Unfortunately, the actor simply wasn’t cutting it, nor was he particularly willing to learn Nate’s lyrics — not even “smoke weed every day.” 

“Long story short, man, Dre bailed [Nate Dogg] out,” recalls Xzibit. “And he bailed him out just in time for the fucking show. He paid a million dollars to get that n***a out of jail. And so [Nate] came into the arena at the last minute, right before that song. The show had just started. When he walked out, everybody knew he was in jail, and they knew how much the bail was. When he walked out on that stage, dude, that motherfucking arena just blew up. It just blew up. It was like sounds of people screaming for Nate. And he stood there for a long time without saying nothing. And so when he put that mic up and started singing, dude, it was over.”

Following the release of Dr. Dre’s 2001 and the subsequent Up In Smoke Tour, Nate Dogg found himself experiencing a second wind, a heightened state of popularity fueled by his stellar contributions to “Xxplosive” and “The Next Episode.” It’s become common knowledge that Nate Dogg is regarded as the King Of Hooks, and this era is largely the time during which the field was sown. Bonds forged during the legendary tour were honored in the years that followed. Nate became a frequent collaborator to Xzibit and Eminem, blessing the former with hooks for “Been A Long Time” and “Say My Name,” and the latter with “Bitch Please 2” and “Till I Collapse.”

In 2001, he dropped off his stacked sophomore album Music & Me, and two years later came his final eponymous drop, complete with guest appearances from every corner of the rap game. Never one to forget his roots, Nate Dogg became a stalwart presence to his fellow west coast artists, many of whom he regarded as friends. In the early millennium, he lent his voice to Bad Azz, Shade Sheist, Knoc-Turn’al, WC, DJ Quik, and many more — not to mention his former Death Row collaborators Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger, and Kurupt Young Gotti. 

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Despite his hometown loyalty to the west coast, Nate Dogg’s reach extended far beyond his stomping grounds. The early millennium proved an especially fruitful time for Nate, who lent his voice to some of hip-hop’s iconic anthems, collaborating with artists from the East Coast to the Dirty South. When Jadakiss delivered his Kiss Of Death single “Time’s Up,” Nate Dogg was there with the hook. When Ludacris engaged in some interstate pimpery on “Area Codes,” Nate Dogg held it down as the quintessential wingman. When Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch, two of the game’s deadliest underground-adjacent lyricists, united on “Oh No,” Nate Dogg slid onto the Rocwilder-produced instrumental and elevated the classic to a higher plane of existence. Not to mention keeping the Aftermath ties thriving with a standout chorus on 50 Cent’s “21 Questions.”

Fueled by a love of music and celebrating the many friends he made throughout his storied career, Nate’s inimitable talents continued to be sought until his health issues began to pile up in 2007 when a stroke left him partially paralyzed. After suffering another stroke the following year, Nate’s conditioned worsened, though his manager Rod McGrew believed the rapper would eventually make a recovery. Sadly, Nate Dogg passed away on March 15th, 2011, due to complications from his previous strokes. He was 41 years old. Yet even today, nine years removed from his tragic death, Nate Dogg’s shoes have yet to be filled. His status as the King Of Hooks remains uncontested, as it likely shall for as long as hip-hop thrives. Rest in peace to the Regulator, who forever altered the fabric of west coast rap and spurred a generation to form a new daily habit. 

Though it’s highly unlikely Dr. Dre and Machine Gun Kelly ever link up to collaborate, what with the whole Eminem beef and all, that doesn’t mean the Gunner has any ill will toward the good Doctor. In fact, as any self-respecting hip-hop fan should, Machine Gun Kelly has nothing but respect for Dre’s epic catalog of classics. At least that’s what we’re choosing to infer following his latest quarantine lockdown jam session, which finds him queuing up some “Still Dre” for a quick warm-up. 

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Channeling the spirit of Cypress Hill with a pre-game hit from the bong, Gunner kicks things off with Scott Storch’s iconic piano riff,  a riff that helped close out the legendary producer’s recent beat battle with Mannie Fresh. Next up comes the drums, which he lays down while flashing a few moves picked up during his time playing Tommie Lee in The Dirt.

Unfortunately, the jam session is cut short, though its not exactly the most dynamic arrangement to begin with, not that it needs to be. Should he consider laying down a longer variant of his “Still Dre” cover, let’s not forget that damn near every jam session can always benefit from a little bass. Check out MGK’s take on Dr. Dre’s classic 2001 single below.  

No matter how you might feel about Nick Cannon, and rest assured that there are plenty of Eminem Stans with no love lost for the multi-hyphenate, you can’t deny the man has secured a fair number of bags throughout his career. Now, it would appear he’s set to land another major deal, with his upcoming daytime talk show Nick Cannon officially landing a premiere date of September 21st, 2020 — barring any coronavirus-related production delays, of course.

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The upcoming comedic talk-show, which arrives as a partnership between Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury and Cannon’s own Ncredible Entertainment, appears to be eying a summer production period, which might prove difficult considering the uncertainty caused by the ongoing pandemic.

Either way, Cannon has already shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming series, as revealed in a statement to Page Six. “It’s been thrilling going through this process, and to see the widespread support that the show has received and the milestones we’ve achieved is mind-blowing,” he gushes. “We’re gearing up to deliver a must-see show and I’m looking forward to coming to you on your TV this fall.”

With Nick Cannon having already been picked up by networks like Fox, CBS, Sinclair, Nexstar, Hearst, and more, one has to wonder if the Wild N Out host is positioning himself to become the next face of daytime television. It’s certainly not a bad fit for the affable mogul, who has won over fans throughout his various television endeavors for years. As long as he leaves the rapping to a minimum, it stands to reason that Cannon will be just fine. 

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The pantheon of great producers has led to some fantastic discussions, with many prominent names being tossed into the hat. Every so often, a case for Scott Storch will be made, though his inclusion in top-five discussions is surprisingly uncommon. A curious development, given his vast discography of hits and more importantly, his unparalleled musical aptitude. Lest we forget, Scott Storch is the piano man, a title he has taken to wearing like a badge of honor.

Though many producers have become capable keyboard players in their own right, Storch is a virtuoso by comparison. Originally dipping his toes in hip-hop as a piano player in The Roots, Storch honed his skills as a band member creating and reacting in real-time. No computers, simply instinct and technical prowess. Such skills are the type to ultimately prove invaluable, and before long Storch had developed a signature sound that would soon win over the legendary Dr. Dre.

When speaking to Storch about his work on Dr. Dre’s 2001, he explained those sessions ultimately paved the way for the early millennium Aftermath sound to develop. “I came in and had this weird ominous piano-driven sound. It was something I crafted living in the East Coast, and I brought it to the West Coast,” explains Storch. “Dr. Dre harnessed it He understood what to do with that and turned it into a new generation of West Coast music. It went from being Funkadelic, but still cool and dark, to a new orchestral type of thing.”

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Before long, Storch’s minor-key piano vibe became an integral component of Dr. Dre’s production. Between the years of 1999 and 2004, Storch was essentially the Doc’s right-hand man, anchoring his instrumentals with orchestral flair. It’s no secret that Storch laid down the now-iconic “Still D.R.E.” piano riff. But the contributions only continued. He co-produced and played on Eve’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind.” He helped introduce G-Unit’s debut album Beg For Mercy with a co-production credit on “Poppin Them Thangs.” He helped compose the spooky trifecta of “Truck Volume,” “Break Ya Neck” and “Holla” off Busta Rhymes’ excellent Genesis project. Together with Dr. Dre, Storch helped bring a hard-hitting and unprecedented darkness to mainstream music, culminating in an era many still revere as Aftermath’s creative pinnacle.

While the nature of Dre and Storch’s in-studio dynamic isn’t exactly common knowledge, the collaborative nature of their relationship has been a sticking point for some critics. Despite the fact that Storch’s creativity and musical ability helped bring a new weapon into the Doc’s arsenal, some have argued that his co-production work isn’t as impressive as one handling lone responsibility. Nevermind that a frequently touted Top-5 contender, Kanye West, has been collaborating on instrumentals for years now. To those people, I would recommend factoring in a producer’s mind and vision for a more specific analysis. Where do they tend to go on a sonic level — which scales and soundscapes do they favor? Coming to such a conclusion is one of the most rewarding journeys a hip-hop head can take.

Storch’s work with Dre made his preference for the minor key very clear; after all, the man himself described his early musical stylings as “ominous.” Yet such a preference was clearly shared by Dre himself, albeit both tended to express it slightly differently. Storch seldom gravitated toward hopelessness like Dre, who exhibited such qualities across Eminem’s Relapseand haunting instrumentals like Busta Rhymes’ “Legend Of The Fall Off.” Instead, Storch seemed to gravitate toward a more anthemic direction, perhaps a testament to his growing repertoire of melodic collaborators. Where the Aftermath days found him working almost exclusively with rappers, some of his biggest solo hits came by way of Chris Brown’s “Run It,” Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River” with Timbaland, and Beyonce’s Sean Paul-assisted “Baby Boy.” The aforementioned songs found Storch experimenting with new sounds, with the latter introducing Middle Eastern-inspired harmonies into his repertoire.

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In fact, that stylistic choice would go on to inform a few of his subsequent hip-hop hits, from Fat Joe’s “Lean Back” to Jadakiss’ “U Make Me Wanna” to 50 Cent’s back to back smut bangers “Candy Shop” and “Just A Lil Bit.” Even his percussion seemed to reflect this harmonic shift, with Storch seeming to favor more rhythmic drum arrangements than his former mentor. Having benefitted from a newfound mastery of the harmonic minor scale and an increasingly vast collection of synthesizers, there soon became a lush quality to Storch’s increasingly versatile production. One that helped him acquaint himself quite nicely with the R&B scene, with Mario’s timeless “Let Me Love You” serving as a prime example.

If last night’s beat battle against the equally legendary Mannie Fresh proved anything, it’s that Storch is easily one of the game’s most versatile hitmakers. Between the years of 2004 and 2006, his run was among the most successful hip-hop has ever seen. It was certainly enough to yield him a substantial fortune, which went on to fuel a lavish lifestyle that would ultimately leave his friend collaborator Fat Joe awestruck at the sheer hedonism. And while reckless habits might have spelled his end under different circumstances, Storch is in the midst of a career renaissance, having recently worked with young stars like Russ, Post Malone, Trippie Redd, and Roddy Ricch. Few can say he isn’t adaptive, showing a willingness to meet an artist on their playing field, no matter their musical background — all while dazzling his fellow stoners with the blinding speed of his piano fingers. 

Despite how crazy things have been, music has kept us sane for the last few weeks. We've got vibes for every mood. When things get tough, Lil Uzi Vert's Eternal Atake will bring us right back up. If we're just trying to vibe, we've got new albums from The Weeknd and PARTYNEXTDOOR. If we want to pretend as though we're still running the streets, we've got 42 Dugg, Conway, and Blacc Zacc to keep us entertained. The great thing about music is that there is no expiry date. Each week, there's something new for us to consume, which is why we compile our favorites in a concise manner for you to enjoy the TIDAL Wave playlist.

Every week, we go through each new release as a staff, picking out the gems and leaving the dirt behind. This time around, The Weeknd has remained in steady rotation, keeping his spot on the playlist as the artist with the highest number of entries. Elsewhere, we've included new cuts from PARTYNEXTDOOR, Conway, 42 Dugg, Wiz Khalifa, and, of course, that new joint from NAV, Gunna, and Travis Scott.

If you're not yet signed up with TIDAL, try it out with a free 30-day trial here. Let us know whose list is your favorite!

Alex Zidel (Editorial)

42 Dugg - Not A Rapper (feat. Lil Baby & Yo Gotti)
42 Dugg - Hard Times
NAV & Gunna - Turks (feat. Travis Scott)
Wiz Khalifa - Contact (feat. Tyga)
The Kid LAROI - Addison Rae

Alex Cole (Editorial)

The Weeknd - Save Your Tears
The Weeknd - Scared To Live
The Weeknd - Final Lullaby
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

Aron A (Editorial)

G4 Boyz - 419
Skepta, Chip, & Young Adz - St Tropez
Geko - Repeat (Remix) [feat. Lotto Boyzz]
Lotto Boyzz - +44 (feat. Dappy)
Kari Faux - While God Was Sleepin...

Paul Pirotta (Sales)

JAY-Z & The Dream - Holy Grail (Unreleased)
Boosie Badazz - Pussy Lips on Live
Wiz Khalifa - Contact (feat. Tyga)
24 Hrs & Ty Dolla $ign - Superstar

Mitch Findlay (Editorial)

Run the Jewels - Yankee and The Brave (ep. 4)
NAV & Gunna - Turks (feat. Travis Scott)
Conway & The Alchemist - They Got Sonny (feat. Cormega)
Mick Jenkins - Snakes (feat. Kojey Radical)

Erika Marie (Editorial)

Jessie Reyez - COFFIN (feat. Eminem)
PARTYNEXTDOOR - Believe It (with Rihanna)
The Weeknd - In Your Eyes
Joyner Lucas - 10 Bands (feat. Timbaland)
Jeezy - Buy A Bank

Rose Lilah (Editorial)

Ari Lennox - BMO (Remix) [feat. Doja Cat]
Trouble - Popped (feat. Quavo)
Lil Uzi Vert - Myron
Blacc Zacc - Bang (feat. DaBaby)

Cole Blake (Editorial)

Run the Jewels - Yankee and The Brave (ep. 4)
JPEGMAFIA - COVERED IN MONEY!
Skepta, Chip, & Young Adz - St Tropez
NAV & Gunna - Turks (feat. Travis Scott)
Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sacred Safe

Lynn S (Editorial)

The Weeknd - Faith
The Weeknd - Snowchild
The Weeknd - Too Late
PARTYNEXTDOOR - Believe It (with Rihanna)
PARTYNEXTDOOR - Savage Anthem

It’s impossible to discuss Joyner Lucas’ studio debut ADHD without mentioning the elephant in the room. The infamous rollout. A rollout that has been ongoing since October 2018 when “I Love” first landed. And while Joyner kept a steady influx of new songs in the interim, it became clear that the conceptual nature of his staggered release was running the risk of derailing ADHD’s cohesion. Given the title and thematic subject matter, it could be argued that the choice held artistic merit. Be that as it may, one might counter that a concept should only be pushed so far.

Now that the album has arrived in full, dwelling on the rollout feels like a moot point. Years down the line people will have forgotten all about it, left to contend with the music as presented. Whether or not Joyner wanted listeners to enjoy his album as a linear body of work is difficult to discern, a commentary that in itself incites an interesting discussion on authorial intent. Perhaps that’s a topic best saved for another day.

It was a choice and a brave one to commit to. In honor of Joyner’s piecemeal build-an-album approach, perhaps it’s time to try a similar approach in this review. Breaking things down on a song by song basis.

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Given the introductory skit “Screening Process,” a disturbing tone-setter evocative of Eminem’s “Dr. West,” it feels as if Joyner did attempt to map out a voyage. Themes of ADHD and mental health are well established in what feels like an origin story. In keeping with Joyner’s cinematic flair, the nightmarish qualities are rendered effectively through a creepy script and committed voice acting. A promising start.

In keeping with the “origin story” narrative, “I Lied” certainly signals the darkened state of Joyner’s morality meter. Celebrations of duplicity are rendered triumphantly over an eerie instrumental, a curious juxtaposition against Lucas’ flex-laden bars. An antihero’s anthem. As the official “intro” of the project, “I Lied” serves to immediately capture attention, the perfect marriage of strong production, effortless technical prowess, and thematic integrity. 

“Isis” feels like foot placed firmly on neck. Yet another up-tempo instrumental continues the album’s momentum as both Joyner and Logic seem to engage in an unspoken competition of showmanship. An anthem fueled by competitive spirit between two former foes–that and a harpsichord–Joyner’s clever touch for pacing shines thanks to these back-to-back bangers.

On paper, a Young Thug and Joyner Lucas feels bizarre. “The War” detes from its predecessors with a sharp left turn into new stylistic territory. It’s a risk that pays off thanks to some soothing guitar-driven production, the likes of which has become commonplace in today’s landscape. Joyner’s versatility becomes evident for the first time so far, his melodies well-balanced with Thug’s lush cadence.

Words from “Chris” Tucker speak volumes. What a co-sign. “Smoke a little weed, get your mind right,” advises the Rush Hour star. “You been, you been milkin’ the fuck out that album cover, man, way too long. So I hope this music’s good because if it’s not, I’ma be highly upset.” True.

Track six, “I Love,” is the song that started the journey in the first place. A pivot from Joyner’s more conceptual fare, on the surface the song feels like a typical braggadocious cut by insert rapper here. Luckily Joyner is talented enough to get by on the strength of his charisma, his prioritization of lyricism boding well in his favor. Joyner’s crossover appeal might be subtle, given some of his prior (admittedly heavier) material proved slightly alienating, but his ear for contemporary production always helped him fit in.

Speaking of Joyner’s heavier tracks, “Devil’s Work” is a callback to the likes of “I’m Not Racist” and “Frozen,” designed to evoke emotional responses. Whether songs of this nature resonate is a matter of personal preference. Given that we’re already seven songs deep and this is the first of its kind it does feel like a welcome detion from the banger-heavy onslaught. Lucas’ message hits all the harder thanks to some unapologetic intensity. It’s impactful and one could likely write an entire essay about this track alone. I suppose that speaks to the depth of his pen game, brought to life by a willingness to bleed emotion into a performance.

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“It’s my birthday I’m bout to get lit-lit,” warns Joyner, on the opening lines of “Lotto.” It didn’t take long before he got back on his BS, hitting cruise control for the first time. Lyrically, Joyner falls short of his typical bar and finds himself –not quite lost–but disoriented in the sauce. Luckily, ISM and Mally Mall keep him blessed with an infectious orchestral bop, one that requires little effort on Joyner’s part to keep things rolling.

“Lotto” isn’t enough to sate a “Kevin” Hart scorned, who does his best Fofty impression on his titular skit. “You think ’cause I’m five foot two I can’t box?” he warns. “I’m 5’4″, I’ll whoop your ass, swear to God. Get your ass whipped by a munchkin.” Two for two with the comedian co-signs.

Circling back to the melodic sensibilities of “The War,” Joyner Lucas channels the dulcet tones of Ty Dolla $ign on the delicate “Gold Mine.” Though understated, the track’s strengths are numerous thanks to a confident performance from Joyner, who rides the instrumental with a malleable flow. He’s having fun on this one and we’re all the better for it. The same can’t be said as confidently on the Chris Brown-assisted “Finally,” however, which finds the “Stranger Things” duet aligning for the most unconventional track thus far. Though both parties are too talented to fall flat on their faces, the synth-heavy track feels like an outlier, a leftover from the long-lost Angels & Demons project included for the sake of posterity.

“10 Bands” was released back in July of 2019, riding the high of a post-ScripturesTimbaland’s creative momentum. Like its predecessor, the track feels a little out of place, rocketing along on the strength of nostalgia. It works, given that Joyner is clearly thrilled to be connecting with a hip-hop legend, but an interesting conundrum is beginning to unfold. On one hand, the album’s concept gives it carte blanche to venture across the stylistic spectrum however Joyner sees fit. On the other, its lack of a greater thematic throughline leads to an influx in aimless, if still aurally enjoyable, tracks. Sometimes it feels as if he’s simply showing off, which can grow tiresome in the context of a greater whole.

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There’s a reason many will likely name “Revenge” to be the album’s crowning achievement. For the first time, all of Joyner’s most prominent strengths coalesce, from bars to flows to storytelling, leading to a song that’s appealing on a variety of different levels. It’s challenging for one, and seems loosely connected to the introductory tandem of “Screening Evaluation” and “I Lied,” a trifecta of darker ADHD cuts. It’s clear that he isn’t merely flexing over an instrumental, but rather weaving a message of great importance. An album highlight and the project’s arguable centerpiece.

It’s no coincidence that Joyner is back in the doctor’s office immediately after for some “Comprehensive Evaluation,” a powerful segue into the eponymous track. Unlike some of the album’s previous singles, “ADHD” thrives in the context of the album, imbuing it with the themes it clearly desires to explore. Though some might be put off by Joyner’s emo-tinged vocal delivery, it’s much more interesting to hear him write about the subjects that drive him. It’s strange — he’s skilled enough to out-rap the majority of flex-rappers, but when he spends too much time covering such ground it only winds up to his detriment. In a strangely thematic turn, Joyner is at his most authentic when he’s at his most alienating.

As the Fabolous & King OSF-assisted “Still Can’t Love” queues up, it feels as if a boat has been missed. “ADHD” would have been a fantastic closer, the natural climax in a strong three-track run. Yet Joyner chooses to meander with a strangely positioned melodic love song, albeit one that certainly has merit on its own. The same can be said of “Will,” which works as a wholesome homage to a legend, but ultimately feels aimless in its placement. A case can certainly be made for it being a victory lap, a heaping of crow for those that once looked down on him. Yet whatever merit it has in that regard is quickly overshadowed by the Smithiness of it all.

Luckily, “Broke & Stupid” course-corrects the thematic trajectory with a welcome dose of mature reflection. “I just bought a Lamborghini and painted the ceiling, I ain’t bragging, I’m just happy I made me a million,” he marvels, over soulful production evocative of the name he goes to namedrop. “ADHD, I was slow, now they label me brilliant, I’m proud of n***s like Hov, he made him a billion.”

As the closer rides out, Joyner’s ADHD lingers in a peculiar fashion. Never is it unlistenable or unenjoyable, thanks in large part to Joyner’s confidence and skillset. As a whole, however, it feels mired down by moments of inconsistency. Tracks that actually worked better as standalone singles, instead repurposed as roadblocks on this long-form journey. But in this age of instant gratification, it’s easy to forget that songs are more than capable of growing into their roles — let’s circle back in a year or so and see how ADHD holds up. In the meantime, it’s yours to enjoy however you see fit. 

Wendy Day is an entrepreneur, author, and artist career builder with nearly three decades of experience in the music industry. As Founder of Rap Coalition, she has helped pull countless hip-hop artists out of unfair deals while educating them on the music industry. Day also runs the for-profit music consulting company PowerMoves, music incubator Artist-Centric, and is the author of the book How to Get a Record Deal: The Knowledge to Succeed, which was updated and re-published in March 2016 with audiobook narration from Slick Rick. She will launch a new music business education website in 2020. Throughout the 1990s, Day made her name by brokering several landmark deals in hip-hop: Master P and No Limit Records’ 85/15 distribution deal with Priority Records, Twista’s 50/50 joint venture with Atlantic Records, and Cash Money Records’ $30 million deal with Universal Music Group. She also was instrumental in securing Eminem’s first contract with Aftermath/Interscope, David Banner’s multi-million dollar deal with Universal Records, and a few other leveraged deals. In addition, Day has played a role in the careers of Lil Wayne, B.G., Juvenile, Hot Boys, C-Murder, Fiend, Do or Die, Boosie, Webbie, Lil Donald, Ras Kass, Trouble, Young Buck, and many others. Her clients have collectively sold over 1 billion sound recordings thanks to her guidance.

Wendy Day has been kind enough to give HNHH a full list of resources and tips to help any up-and-coming artists right now. Read Wendy’s exclusive tips and recommendations in full below. This piece was written by Wendy.

Feel free to comment with additional resources or tips for artists who might be struggling right now! Listen to our up-and-coming Soundcloud artists playlist here.

– Rose Lilah

In these unprecedented times, artists are unable to make a living from performing, the #1 way most of them make money. Thanks to the necessity of preventing or at least reducing the spread of the Coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, life as we know it has been canceled for the foreseeable future with no solid end date in sight. We have watched festivals cancel, tours cancel, performances cancel — any event where more than 10 people can gather has been canceled. 

The ramifications from social distancing and self-quarantine will most likely be felt for quite some time, including tremendous financial fallout. Many, many artists depend on money from live performances to support themselves. Additionally, club owners, restaurants, performance spaces, and venue owners depend on the revenue from ticket sales and food and drink purchases from music fans to keep their doors open. If we don’t find a way to support the musicians and venues we love now, they may not be there when this pandemic is over.

To that end, I’d like to share some tips and resources to help artists make some sense of all this, get through it, and emerge stronger than ever.

Release New Music

Since so many fans and potential fans are also stuck in their houses, this is a good time to reach them with new music and content. I have noticed that my distributors, Stem and DistroKid, are understandably taking a bit longer than usual to get music onto DSPs such as Spotify and Apple Music, so please allow at least a week, possibly 10 days, for your music to release commercially. But even with the delays, this is an ideal time to reach a captive audience. Remember, continuity is a main tenet of marketing. 

Create and Sell New Merch

This is a great time to bump up your merchandising efforts. Through Shopify ($30 a month), you can set up a merch store if you don’t already have one. They also feature an app for a company called Merchly that will print and ship your merchandise for you. Basically, you use their template to design your merchandise for a basic wholesale price. After you set your retail price (make sure it’s above the wholesale price), Merchly will then print and ship your promotional items on demand. You keep the difference between the wholesale price and the retail price. It’s a great way to offer merchandise without having to spend money out of pocket, build a merch website from scratch, or stand in line at the post office to ship the merch to customers. 

Livestream a Performance

Cherie Hu has created a Google Drive doc of events that have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus, as well as places to tune in to streamed concerts/events. Be sure to get on this list if you’re performing online. Most importantly, there’s a list of resources for those of you who want to stream shows live and don’t know where to turn.

In addition, if you’re looking to create live VR content or pre-recorded shows that can work on any device, webLinkVR is a great resource. After creating an account, you can do a concert or series of shows with them. And if you’re wondering about their bona fides, they were responsible for Conan O’Brien’s CONAN360 shows. Here is a PowerPoint and a White Paper from webLinkVR that explains how to upload 4K, 8K, and VR content.

Ask Your Fans for Support

If you have a large fanbase, consider adding yourself to Cameo to generate revenue by sending your fans personalized video messages. You can also offer this yourself through your social media using CashApp, Zelle, or Venmo for payments. Be careful using PayPal though, as fans could reverse their payments if they aren’t trustworthy.

You may also want to spend this time researching Kickstarter so that you can create a campaign to release new music, more content, or something even more creative. And of course, Patreon exists for those of you looking for a virtual tip jar or a way to rally fans who love you to support you on a monthly basis.

Set Yourself Up for Sync Licensing Success

Have you joined an online sync community yet? These sites give musicians guidance on how to write and pitch music for use in films, TV shows, commercials, and more, a great revenue source that every artist should take advantage of if possible. Currently, The Sync Community is offering a free 30 day trial so you can test them to see if they’re helpful for you. After you click on “Become a Member,” just use the code SYNC30DAYSFREE.

Stay Informed

Keep an eye on organizations like A2IM, which is offering financial support to indies, and consider whether you need the assistance. Although I’m NOT a fan of royalty advances due to their similarities to payday advances, Sound Royalties is offering no fee advances for artists who have some income from royalties. If you qualify and find yourself in a pinch, you can receive up to $25,000 with no fee or interest rate provided you pay back the advance within a year.

The good folks at NPR have put together a list of resources for musicians and people working in the music business, and The Washington Post offers an example from the past relating to live music. Also, be sure to balance the doom and gloom, like this article from Rolling Stone, with an upside, like this article from Afropunk. Billboard also released a helpful list of resources; be sure to check it out!

In addition, Microsoft is providing a Covid-19 tracker through Bing so you can see for yourself where the virus is spreading instead of believing what you read on social media. Forbes is also keeping track of all known Covid-19 scams. Finally, take the time to learn from pre-outbreak contractual mistakes, particularly as it relates to “force majeure” clauses. Many companies simply didn’t anticipate a pandemic (and who can blame them), so it will be imperative to know exactly what is covered in contracts and insurance agreements going forward. Here’s a great article from Chris Castle at Music Tech Solutions that runs through it in detail.

These are just some basic ideas available to artists who are being crunched by the inability to perform live or do paid shows. Hope you find this helpful, and hope we are back to normal, or as close to normal as we can get, relatively soon and with as little damage as possible. Stay safe and healthy — now go wash your hands again.

– Wendy Day

Cleveland-born recording artist Kid Cudi is one of the most iconic voices of his generation. A unique storyteller, the man on the moon has allowed us into his mind countless times, dropping gems and delivering some true classics over the years. With everything going on in the world today, it can be difficult to focus in on the remaining musical releases for this year. We've already been lucky enough to hear new albums from The Weeknd, Eminem, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and a few other regularly-absent characters. If you didn't remember that Kid Cudi was also scheduled to drop in 2020, here's your wake-up call.

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The creative recently took to Instagram to share a brand new snippet of some music he's been working on, uploading a video to his story. Cudder zooms in and out of a photo of himself performing, playing the unreleased song in the background.

While he has not specified a release date for Entergalactic, Kid Cudi did announce that his new album would be released this year. The multi-media presentation will also include an anthology series on Netflix, which carries the following description:

"Based on Kid Cudi's upcoming concept album of the same name, this adult animated anthology follows a young man on his journey to discover love."

Listen to the new preview below. We will continue to keep you updated on anything Kid Cudi in the coming months.

The loss of Juice WRLD still weighs heavy on the hip-hop community. He was a star that bolted into the stardom and was merely getting his feet wet. Though he became the face of emo-rap and the Soundcloud rap scene, he was undoubtedly capable of doing so much more as we've seen from his work with Trippie Redd to Eminem.

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

Kid Cudi was one artist that Juice WRLD was longing to work with. Though there were discussions of it happening, it didn't come into fruition in time. Cudi hit Twitter yesterday where he dug up a 2018 tweet from Juice WRLD requesting a collab before recounting their first interaction at Coachella.

"It hurts we never got to work together. When we met at Coachella I was surprised u were even a fan. I didnt feel so old after all haha I got something just for u I hope u love. All for you brother. Tell my dad I said hey. Love u man," Cudi wrote. Afterward, he shared a text exchange between him and Juice. "Dude! So awesome finally meeting u. Lets stay in touch, im runnin around a bit but hopefully, we can get up," Cudi wrote to Juice.

In late January, it was revealed that he had an unreleased album that he was readying to release with over 2,000 songs in the vault. Perhaps we'll hear Kid Cudi vocals on it. Check the tweets below. 

A few days removed from Swizz Beatz and Timbaland squaring off in an epic producer duel rematch, Boi-1da and Hit-Boy are gearing up for a bonafide battle of the beats this very evening. In other words, it’s Boi vs. Boy and only one will prevail.

Put together by Timbaland and Swizzy for the shared benefit of hip-hop culture, the incendiary event has already caught the eye of many prominent hip-hop names — some of whom might have even tossed a couple of dollars on their chosen competitor. “I’ve heard about bets from 100$ to 10,000$ So Far. Who Tuning in?” asks Hit-Boy, who would likely bet on himself in this situation. After all, he’s packing a catalog that includes The Throne’s “N***as In Paris,” Kendrick Lamar‘s “Backseat Freestyle,” A$AP Rocky’s “Goldie,” and many more.

Yet the North has never been known to shy away from a fight. Taking to Instagram for the proverbial weigh-in, Toronto’s Boi-1da slid through with some words for his opponent. Considering his ridiculous catalog of bangers, including but not exclusive to Drake‘s “God’s Plan,” Eminem‘s “Seduction,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Blacker The Berry,” the Canadian appears to be a formidable contender.

It’s honestly difficult to foresee a decisive victory from either party, but one thing is clear — this will be a duel for the ages. Will you be tuning in?

A few days ago, The Weeknd took to Instagram to flaunt some truly gargantuan Spotify streaming numbers, with the same mischievous pride reserved for kittens leaving bird carcasses on the stoop. Truly on his Dr. Evil, Weeknd had cause for celebration thanks to one billion streams on the digital streaming platform, the road to a platinum plaque all but cleared off traffic. Throw in some glowing critical acclaim and we’re looking at a massive opening week for his brand new album After Hours. 

 Raphael Dias/Getty Images

In fact, it’s one of the year’s best so far, beating out competition from Lil Wayne, Eminem, and Lil Uzi Vert. A report from Billboard cites Weeknd’s first week numbers looking like a total of up to 425,000 album-equivalent units, which would ultimately make After Hours the biggest release of his career. An impressive feat, and a testament to his enduring place in the modern musical landscape. Look for the final round-up to be unveiled on Billboard this Sunday, but don’t be surprised to see Weeknd sitting pretty come the release of the April 4th charts. 

This tally puts The Weeknd at the top of the pile, beating out both Lil Uzi Vert‘s Eternal Atake (288,000) and Eminem’s surprise album Music To Be Murdered By (282,000). A grand look for the Canadian singer, who continues to prove that artistry and originality can and will make it to the top. Have you been keeping that After Hours on rotation?

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When 2020 first arrived, music listeners were eager to see what the new decade had in store, nothing but promise on the horizon. Though things started strong with new albums from heavy hitters like Lil Wayne and Eminem and rumored drops from J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake, the situation quickly took a turn for the worse when the coronavirus reared its ugly head. Now, with the entire rap game in self-imposed quarantine, the entire masterplan has been swiftly and decisively derailed.

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images 

Yet The-Dream has never been one to follow a script. Today, the singer –who probably wrote one or two of your favorites on the low– took to Instagram to reveal the tracklist to his upcoming album Sextape 4. The release is set to mark his first since the ambitious and erotically-charged triple album Ménage A Trois, which landed back in December of 2018. Now, he’s gearing up to unleash a thirteen-track endeavor upon us, though he neglects to provide a date. 

From the sound of some of these song titles, it would appear we’re looking at another sexually-charged dose of R&B from one of the game’s sharpest songwriters. Check out the tracklist below and sound off — are you looking forward to a new album from The-Dream?

1. Passion
2. Nothing Will Feel The Same
3. Sang
4. Hard 4 Me
5. Notice
6. Spiritual
7. Ecstacy
8. Wee Hours
9. Body Work
10. Fuck My Brains Out
11. Say Something
12. Take Care
13. Coltrane

As Ebro Darden tells it during the onset of their Beats 1 conversation, Conway The Machine is looking “dapper even at the crib.” Clearly, the Griselda lyricist has been reaping the spoils of his prolific and triumphant musical run, which is set to continue this Friday with the release of Lulu; you can check out the Alchemist-produced, ScHoolboy Q-assisted “Shoot Sideways” right here. As he tells it, the hard work is only getting started, as his goals remain the primary focus. 

“Keeping my sword sharp, keeping my pen game right, and trying to make my best song,” he reflects. “Every song I want to get better, every album, every EP…I want to be the best ever one day.” He proceeds to break down his dynamic with ScHoolboy, going so far as to tease the potential of a collaborative project one day. “I would love to,” he says. “I don’t object to that. Hopefully we get to that point. I be doing so much, he be doing so much, we ain’t get the chance to lock in the studio for a couple of days. But we see each other in passing, like at Alchemist’s house. We just vibe like that.”

Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images

He also takes a moment to provide an update on his upcoming musical plans. “God Don’t Make Mistakes is the project we doing for Shady, we’re dropping on Shady,” he explains. “My solo. In the meantime, we still gotta keep mashing the gas. I can’t let up. After Lulu I’m giving you that From A King To A God, then [me and Westside Gunn] going to give you Hall & Nash 2.”

“I want people to respect my pen like Eminem pen, or Hov pen,” he continues. “Or Kool G’s pen, or LL’s pen. The top tier elite dudes…I want to be remembered forever in the history books, on that Mount Rushmore of rappers. Having that embrace from Jay and Em, and some of my producer big homies like Premier and Alchemist and Pete Rock, guys like that who really paved the way for the sound people say I’m bringing back, that’s what meaning the most to me.”

When Ebro asks whether Eminem will appear on God Don’t Make Mistakes, Conway breaks it down. “Yeah man, he definitely going to be on there,” confirms The Machine. “Actually, ‘Bang’ was a record off God Don’t Make Mistakes. It got leaked somehow on the internet. It got on Instagram somehow, so we decided to drop it now to put that single out there…That was actually a record for my Shady project.” 

Sometimes, a change in circumstance can be the shot in the arm that an artist needs to revitalize their career. Whether it’s jumping ship to a new label, embracing independence or breaking away from a relationship that’d turned sour, starting fresh has been a source of inspiration for many MCs.

From The Game leaving G-Unit and carving out his own legacy to Busta Rhymes and Birdman brokering “a golden moment” for hip-hop when he signed to Cash Money, it’s often been the case that change shouldn’t be averted, but embraced. On other occasions, what’s seemed like a brightly-lit path to greener pastures morphs into something barren and desolate. Here, we find the tragic tale of Rakim’s short-lived affiliation with Aftermath and Dr Dre.

Widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s true pioneers, it speaks volumes that in a genre that’s so steeped in conflict, no one takes umbrage with the fact that one of Rakim’s popular aliases is “The God MC”. As one half of a duo that revolutionized hip-hop in the late 80s with Eric B, the mouthpiece behind Paid In Full, Follow The Leader and Don’t Sweat The Technique was about as impeccable a rapper as there was during his rise to worldwide acclaim.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Still, there was a time where the New York native was languishing in the commercial doldrums. The reverence for his skills hadn’t depleted, but he’d reached something of a crossroads when it came to shifting units. His sophomore solo album, 1999’s The Master was an accomplished body of work that featured phenomenal production from the likes of DJ Premier and Clark Kent while displaying his lyrical prowess in all its glory. Even with its noteworthy attributes and an immense, Primo-crafted lead single “When I B On Tha Mic,” the album peaked at number 72 on the Billboard charts. To put this sharp decline into perspective, his 1997 comeback album The 18th Letter secured the number four spot with ease. Now, he was falling short of the top 50.

In his time of need, a West Coast icon parachuted into his orbit with an outstretched hand. Just as his controversy-courting protégé Eminem had helped rescue him from a time where his position seemed precarious, Dre looked to pay it forward to one of the genre’s true innovators. Announced while the Compton mastermind was on location at the video shoot for “Stan” in October 2000, Dre made the acquisition public in a brash fashion that captured the mood of his Interscope-backed imprint at the time.

“We just signed Rakim to our label, straight up,” he said, “Rakim is on Aftermath, and the name of his album is going to be Oh My God. This is going to be the biggest hip-hop record ever, straight up and coming at you from Aftermath, baby, so fuck all of y’all.”

An emphatic statement if ever there was one, it’s easy to see why the producer had high hopes for helming a new Rakim album. After all, Dre had regained the Midas touch, striking gold with not only Eminem but his own return to the fray on 2001. After admiring one another from afar, Rakim had first mentioned that “Dre‘s been putting the word out that he wants to do some beats for me” way back in 1995. A few years later, the stars had aligned at a time where Ra had found himself out on a limb.

Chris Weeks/Liaison/Getty Images

Left stationary within an ever-changing landscape, Dre’s guidance and awareness of the modern marketplace seemed like all it’d take for The God MC to reassume the throne. Yet by 2003, the ties between the two were severed without this potentially seminal album ever seeing the light of day. The pair “mutually decided to go their separate ways,” declared Ra’s manager Zach Katz in a statement. “There are reasons, but I really can’t get into them, just basically creative differences. And he’s already talking to other [labels].”

Now, there remains very little as evidence that the two ever even had a partnership. Save for the bhangra-infused hit “Addictive” with former Aftermath signee Truth Hurts and his formidable contribution to Eminem’s 8 Mile OST, all that remains is a smattering of leaked tracks including the gripping “After You Die” and “The Watcher Pt 2” from Jay Z’s The Blueprint: The Gift & The Curse. 

“I’m glad Jay did it… I needed that at that time,” Rakim told The Breakfast Club in September 2019. “It lit a fire for me. I’ve been out since ‘86. Everyone was categorizing rappers, “old school” or this. To be able to be on a joint with Dre and Jay let people know that yeah, I’ve been around for a while, but I know what I’m doing.”

As for what exactly went wrong, the dialogue has been one-way. Upon relocating to California and setting up shop, an ideological divide began to open up between the Dre and Rakim, that they clearly hadn’t anticipated. During a lengthy interview with Toure on Vlad TV, Ra laid it all bare.

“I guess listening to certain songs that I did– listening to stories– I guess he wanted me to do that…a gangsta rap album, I guess,” Rakim revealed. “That’s his formula, but I thought at that point I should be doing something different. I was maturing at the time. I had grown up a little bit, trying to elevate with [my] music, as well. I’m looking at it like ‘Yeah, get with Dre.’ I wanted to make a mega project that wasn’t…of course it’s hip-hop, but I wanted everybody to be able to listen to it, get this opportunity. I wanted to make the best of it. But, like I said, we would sit in the studio, and he’d put on a beat, and he would sit next to me and be like ‘yo, I want you to talk that sh*t on this one.’ I’m like ‘Dre, that’s what you say on every track you play, bruh. When you gonna let me rhyme on something?? Why I gotta beef with everybody?'”

These squabbles aside, Rakim didn’t want to imbue his music with the more exclusionary lyrical content that Dre and his entourage had become renowned for across both The Chronic and 2001, stating, “I was looking to try and do a dope album and make sure that your daughter could listen to it, my grandmother can listen to it, and it was no bars or anything. We had a different view. We tried some things. Did a couple dope joints, but once we realized…after him trying to push me to talk crap on every song, and me being rebellious, I guess he realized yo, this ain’t gon’ work. Actually, I’m the one that told Dre, ‘I appreciate the opportunity and everything, but I’m going back to New York, bruh.’ I stayed out there another month but after that, it was like listen, I appreciate the opportunity.”

Not confined purely to interviews, the scenario was also referenced in “It’s Nothing” from his 2007 compilation tape The Archive: Live, Lost and Found as he revealed:  “I went to LA to get with Dre, we tried to bridge the gap in. Take night, mix it with day, I guess it wasn’t meant to happen.”

Positioned at two different ends of the spectrum, Ra neatly summarized the parallel outlooks that both men were coming from during a conversation with HardKnockTV in 2009. “If Dre say ‘yo Ra, I want you to talk about killing somebody on this one. I’d say ‘nah, I want to talk about bringing somebody to life on this one.'” Later in that same interview, Ra leaves the door slightly ajar for them to try again: “It didn’t work out but hopefully we can hook up in the future, do a little joint together. No bridges burnt.”

Although most of his remarks focused on a lack of middle ground, one interview with Red Bull Music Academy inferred that Rakim was unwilling to relinquish the autonomy over the rhymes themselves. As we know from the thousands of dispatches from his studio, Dre is a perfectionist and once he has his vision, it becomes unwavering. This proved too much of an unassailable hurdle and, despite their somewhat uneasy truce in recent years, it made The God MC pine for the days with his old partner-in-crime.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

“He wanted me to set it off and brag about who I was and what I did. I’m glad he had a vision for me, we just couldn’t find a medium where he was happy and I was happy with either the direction, topic or whatever it was. Eric B was more that I’d say ‘yo I’m doing this on that’ and he’d be like ‘go ahead.’ That was one thing that was cool about Eric B, he never tried to detour my thought or tell me what I should be saying on a record. He left that up to me.”

For all that, despite it sounding like pure magic on paper, their visions were simply incompatible.

For most of the world overcome by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not really “business as usual.” Lives have been disrupted across the map, and there is a general air of uncertainty. Prior to this worldwide crisis, our writers were meeting weekly to debate, discuss and rank the best hip-hop debut albums of the 21st century – from January 1, 2001 til present day. This is our latest team effort, following our ranking of the Best Rapper Flows of All Time.

We’re excited to share the final results with you this afternoon, hoping to spark some discussion on our site that is NON-Coronavirus related, for everyone who might need some relief from the 24/7 COVID news cycle (and the thoughts that go along with it). That all being said, this was no easy feat. A few caveats before we dive right in, we did consider certain albums that may soon be considered classics in the not-so-distant future, but that, ultimately we felt were still too fresh to our ears to evaluate properly — such as Roddy Ricch‘s debut album, Please Excuse Me for Being Anti-Social. Thus, do not be surprised that you will find zero 2019 debut albums and 2020 debut albums on the below list. We do, however, have a few albums from 2018.

Check out the ranking and arguments for each album below, let us know what we’re missing, what we got wrong, and what we got right in the comment section!

This was a group editorial effort, with contributions coming from:

Aron A

Alexander Cole

Noah C

Mitch Findlay

Rose Lilah

Alex Zidel

Lynn S

25. Playboi Carti – Die Lit (2018)

The road to Playboi Carti’s debut album was so long and winding that by the time it arrived, people forgot it was his debut album. For those who are still confused, Die Lit qualifies as Carti’s first proper LP. The eponymous project that he released a year earlier falls in the category of commercial mixtape. Being one of the first great offspring of the “mumble rap” era, Carti was popularized through loosies dropped on SoundCloud. He acclimated us to this method of distribution, encouraging us to eschew our expectation that a full-length project be needed to properly evaluate an artist’s talent. Playboi Carti didn’t have to further prove his potential, but Playboi Carti did. It was a grab bag of screwy anthems and entrancing mantras. We discovered that Carti could repeat any bizarre phrase over any Pi’erre Bourne beat as many times as he wished and we would rage or melt. That’s why when Die Lit emerged like a surprise from space, we took no issue with Carti cashing in on his flawless formula. If I wrote anything else about this album, I would inevitably end up paraphrasing what Slowthai said about it when asked by Pitchfork to name his favorite album of the 2010s: “[Carti] took mumble rap and made a cohesive body of work, and not many other artists in his lane have managed to do the same. He has bangers but also has a sonic narrative from start to end. This is our generation’s hardcore music.”

– Noah

24. Rae Sremmurd – Sremmlife (2015)

Perhaps it’s nostalgia talking but 2015 was a simpler time. It was only five years ago now that some of today’s biggest artists were beginning to make a name for themselves. Rae Sremmurd is a perfect example. Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi burst onto the scene in 2015 with their debut album Sremmlife which was packed with hits. “No Flex Zone,” “My X,” and “No Flex Zone” were some of the biggest songs of that year and resonated with those looking for new energetic artists who brought a youthful exuberance to the game. Swae’s ear for melodies was perfectly contrasted with Slim Jxmmi’s abrasive yet lively vocal delivery. This album was inescapable when it dropped and if you were at a party in 2015, you definitely heard some tracks blasting from the closest sound system. While Rae Sremmurd have evolved quite a bit since this album, there is no denying the impact Sremmlife had on the now melody-heavy party culture.

– Alex Cole

23. Azealia Banks – Broke with Expensive Taste (2014)

Before Azealia Banks breaks through with a subtly lethal verse on “Desperado,” a soundbite of radio personality Peter Rosenberg saying “I’ve been waiting for Azealia Banks” echoes into the distance. It has been six years since the release of her debut, Broke With Expensive Taste, and it can still feel like we’re waiting for her moment. Then we remember how generously monumental that album was and how it still holds up as a masterpiece. BWET still sounds like the future, like the true mish-mash of genres and cultures that was predicted to arise out of the unrestricted access to the history of recorded music. While Banks proved she could rap circles around anyone with her dizzying dialect of onomatopoeic gibberish, BWET also doubles as an electronic album. The cutting-edge production is given space to blister and rumble at the tailend of most tracks. However, Banks’ rapidfire rhymes remain the centrepiece and something at which to marvel to this day. 

– Noah

22. Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels (2013)

It’s hard to believe that El-P and Killer Mike were once seen as an archetypical “Odd Couple” pairing. Yet prior to their blissful union on Mike’s creative reinvention that was 2012’s R.A.P. Music, the pair stood worlds apart. At least musically speaking. While Mike was coming up as an Atlanta-bred Outkast protege lacing localized cult favorites like solo debut Monster, El-P was blazing trails in the Brooklyn underground, a science-fiction inspired concoctor of spastic beats; in other words, a CHUD. But now that they’ve come together so harmoniously it’s hard to imagine them apart, a true moment of hip-hop serendipity. Retaining many of El’s inherent inclinations toward dystopian fiction and Mike’s larger than life rambunctious swagger,the first installment of RTJ hits like a supercharged laser beam to the face. Clocking in at a respectable ten songs, the project fires banger after banger with highlights like “Banana Clipper,” “Sea Legs,” and instant holiday classic “A Christmas Fucking Miracle” bringing no shortage of imagination and character into the fold. “Producer gave me a beat, said it’s the beat of the year,” raps Mike, in “Banana Clipper.” “I said El-P didn’t do it, so get the fuck out of here.” Sounds about right.

– Mitch

21. Rapsody – Laila’s Wisdom (2017)

By the time she dropped Laila’s Wisdom in 2017, Rapsody had already established herself as a force to be reckoned with, but it became increasingly clear that an artist of her caliber needed an extensive body of work to fully flourish. With her debut, she was finally able to show off her incredible lyrical prowess to its fullest. Tapping some of the most notable wordsmiths in hip hop to accompany her—including her mentor, Kendrick Lamar, on the project’s highlight, “Power”—the practice of storytelling and offering social commentary are at the forefront of the self-identified “lyrical rapper”’s collection of textual genius.

In addition, Laila’s Wisdom was a cultural trailblazer, paving the way for the presence of an alternative type of “Femcee.” “I’m just another representation and another option of what you can be,” she said at the time. With Laila’s Wisdom, Rapsody successfully carved out her own lane as a woman in hip hop, allowing other ladies to follow in her footsteps and no longer be limited to one look, one sound, one category.

– Lynn

20. Lloyd Banks – Hunger for More (2004)

Though 50 Cent quickly established himself as the defacto G-Unit capo, many were drawn to his consigliere: Lloyd Banks, the punchline King. Playing an integral role on G-Unit’s iconic mixtape run and various Shady-related features, Banks soon found himself building genuine momentum as a solo artist, culminating in the release of his classic debut The Hunger For More. Written and recorded while on the road, Banks’ first album proved his bility as a leading man with commercially successful singles like the Eminem-produced “On Fire” and the Timbaland-laced “I’m So Fly.” While many had come for the punchlines, The Hunger For More provided a closer look into the man behind them. The somber “When The Chips Are Down” brought listeners into the darkest recesses of his memory bank, while the beautiful “Till The End” spoke to the futility of his optimism. “Warrior” found Banks back on his mixtape BS, while “Part 2” symbolized his ascent to rap-royalty. It’s no surprise that Lloyd Banks secured his first platinum plaque only a few months after the album’s release, a testament to his position as a fan-favorite. Even now, over fifteen years later, The Hunger For More remains an essential part of the Platinum Era’s canon.

– Mitch

19. Tierra Whack – Whack World (2018)

It’s difficult to put Tierra Whack’s debut into any kind of definitive box, as the very structure of and innovation behind Whack World essentially rejects this practice. Each of the 15 tracks roughly a minute long, Whack World’s brevity is pivotal to its genius, a bold choice serving only to amplify Tierra’s unique artistry rather than hindering it. Constantly shifting moods in both sound and subject matter from track to track, Whack World functions as a culmination of dramatically different moments, each of them ending before they’ve even really begun. For the duration of the 15-minute experience, Whack World never takes itself too seriously, all the while without sacrificing the quality of its contents. By disrupting seemingly unavoidable conventions of hip hop and establishing Ms. Whack as an innovative artist unlike any we’ve seen before, Whack World proves that some risks really do pay off.

– Lynn

18. Meek Mill – Dreams & Nightmares (2012)

Meek Mill is among a rarity in the battle rap scene. Old YouTube clips show the rapper bodying his adversaries in the streets of Philly. Those videos are often used as a reference point for how far he’s come, but Dreams & Nightmares was the rapper’s official foray into the mainstream. A street rapper by trade, he painted an image of a young man from Philly on the brink of watching the so-called American dream come into fruition. His skill set as an MC wasn’t watered down by any means but he found a pocket that simultaneously met the needs of radio and hip-hop heads. “Intro” stands as one of the great hip-hop intros of all time while “Maybach Curtains” with John Legend, Nas, and Rick Ross extends itself as a cousin to Rozay’s “Maybach Music” series. But more than anything, the idea that an album is an artist’s full life work sums up Meek’s debut. He might have been able to enjoy the fruits of his labor on songs like “Amen” but moments before, he discusses the death of his father on “Traumatized.” Meek Mill’s debut album may have not “shifted the game” in terms of long-term influence but it was an important project that gave glimpses of what one of the greatest rappers of the 2010s was capable of.

– Aron

17. Waka Flocka Flame – Flockaveli (2010)

Waka Flocka Flame’s debut has come to be appreciated and regarded as a trap darling largely in hindsight, despite its undeniable impact following its release. Without Flockaveli, we would not, arguably, have been introduced to the likes of Chief Keef, for example. A collection of unfaltering, high-energy bangers, the album most notably features the incomparably influential “Hard In Da Paint,” an emblem of Waka’s ever-demanding presence and aggressive demeanor. However, “Hard In Da Paint,” and Flockaveli as a whole, still maintains a certain focus and simplicity, achieving the intimidation and evoking the violence intended without becoming too uninhibited. The entire project is punctuated by ad-libs—forceful “BOW”s, verbalizations of gunshot sounds, and exclamations of the Gucci Mane-headed “Brick Squad”—delivered with equal conviction each and every time. With Lex Luger’s consistently threatening yet somewhat understated production, Flockaveli hits you like a ton of bricks, still eliciting an unwavering hype in its listeners a decade later.

– Lynn

16. Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty (2010)

When Big Boi dropped his official debut album Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty in the summer of 2010, he was already a distinguished artist with classics under his belt. Having already developed and honed his style through his time in Outkast, Big Boi’s first showing as a solo artist arrived when he was thirty-five years old. With that came a refreshing sort of artistic freedom, a place for Big Boi to pay homage to his Southern influences while continuing to chart out his intergalactic jaunt. It’s no wonder Sir Luscious feels simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic, the byproduct of our hero’s madcap vision. Nowhere is the sonic pairing more evident than on the Scott Storch-produced lead-single “Shutterbug,” a song that might have sounded right at home in the eighties — provided it didn’t scare the shit out of unsuspecting disco acolytes. Followed immediately by the incendiary “General Patton ” and the Andre 3000-laced “You Ain’t No DJ,” Sir Luscious delivers an unrelenting back-to-back-to-back assault bedazzling in its versatility. Songs like “Shine Blockas” manage to permeate even the thickest clouds, save for those smoked by George Clinton on that dope on dope incarnate, “Fo Yo Sorrows.” As brilliant a summer soundtrack as one man can possibly concoct, Outkast fans should take solace in the comfort that one member blessed them with a bonafide (and still criminally underrated) solo classic.

– Mitch

15. Travis Scott – Rodeo (2015)

Travis Scott’s debut album had a lot riding on it. After two groundbreaking mixtapes in Owl Pharoah and Days Before Rodeo, fans were expecting an evolution of La Flame’s sound. With Rodeo, Scott exceeded expectations with a progressive trap masterpiece that still resonates with fans to this day. From T.I’s hovering narrations to Travis’ dark moody sound, the whole album feels like a movie being played out in Scott’s head. The album starts with a slow build on the track “Pornography” and then morphs into the dramatic introspective track “Oh My Dis Side” which sees Travis and Quavo exchanging melodies. Singles like “Antidote” and “90210” helped bring this album into the mainstream and helped set the tone for what eventually became Travis’ biggest moment in Astroworld. Fans still regard Rodeo as Travis’ best work and when you look at the tracklist, it’s easy to see why.

– Alex Cole

14. Rick Ross – Port Of Miami (2006)

The art of Coke rap has been mastered by very few over the years. Although rappers have detailed the drug trade over the years, the kingpin status that’s strived for and often mimicked in music was hardly carried in the way that Rick Ross managed on Port Of Miami. His baritone voice and larger-than-life persona told stories of cocaine transactions and the luxurious life that came with it. But at the same time, his debut album painted the underbelly of Miami and surely, it wasn’t entirely sunny in Florida. From a first-person perspective, Ross was a plug turned rap superstar that proved that his charisma and penmanship can take him further than the success of “Hustlin’. Although his credibility would be questioned down the line, Port Of Miami shifted hip-hop and the streets inevitably as Rozay began his ascent to rap royalty.

– Aron

13. Jadakiss – Kiss the Game Goodbye (2001)

A Top 5 Dead Or Alive candidate oughta have at least one classic record under their belt. Though it may not be widely recognized as such (for better or worse), Jadakiss’ 2001 debut Kiss Tha Game Goodbye checks off all the right boxes. Arriving at the height of the Ruff Ryders movement, in which The Lox played a pivotal role, Jada’s first solo outing found him taking risks in his exploration of new sounds and thematic directions. Tethering him to his signature style were street classics like the back-and-forth “We Gon Make It” and the DJ Premier-laced “Ain’t None Of Y’all Better” (which features Primo’s spookiest beat of all time). Duets with fellow elite lyricists like the Nas-assisted “Show Discipline” and fellow Double R affiliate DMX “Un-Hunh” kept his pen sharp. Geographical boundaries were blurred on the heavy Southern banger “What You Ride For” and the west-coast flavored Snoop Dogg collaboration “Cruisin’.” No matter the vibe, Jadakiss remains an inspired leading man, credible in both his street savoir-faire and his undeniable authorial qualities, exhibited on the Alchemist-produced autobiography “Feel Me.” It’s time we see Kiss Tha Game Goodbye sitting comfortably within the canon where it belongs. 

– Mitch

12. Pusha T – My Name is My Name (2013)

It’s hard to not draw comparisons between Pusha T’s My Name Is My Name and Kanye West’s Yeezus. The most obvious reason for this association is that they both dropped in 2013, four months apart. Kanye serving as the executive producer of Push’s debut album also creates a tangible link between the two. But perhaps most importantly, both of these projects find brute power in brevity. There’s nothing superfluous in either of them and that could be attributed to the fact that Ye and Push were decorated veterans at this point in their careers. The minimalist covers mirrored the artistic restraint contained within the packaging. While the songs were often brash, the G.O.O.D Music masterminds sounded more in control than ever. Push especially honed his incisive lyricism, taking what he contributed to Clipse and letting it expand to encompass an entire stage. Since MNIMN, Pusha T has continued the trend of succinct projects, even reducing the tracklist length from twelve to seven on his latest. His pen has only gotten sharper and the coke raps have only gotten more potent.  

– Noah

11. Nipsey Hussle – Victory Lap (2018)

Los Angeles legend Nipsey Hussle may have made his name before the release of his debut studio album but Victory Lap is what opened him up to some much-deserved critical acclaim. Earning the late star his first-ever Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album, Hussle’s 2018 body of work was a decade in the making. 

For years, Nipsey Hussle had toyed with the Victory Lap title, carefully plotting on when was the right time to unleash his life’s work on us. Much like a debut album is supposed to do, eyes were opened to Nip’s story through Victory Lap as the rapper described his entire being to newcomers and veteran listeners alike. Hussle calculated things perfectly with this release, which picked up in popularity in the months following its initial drop. With features from Kendrick Lamar, Puff Daddy, YG, and more, the LA native definitely had the right help to deliver an instant classic.

– Alex Zidel

10. Chief Keef – Finally Rich (2012)

Chief Keef was the face of the Chicago drill movement in the early 2010s and immediately made his mark with his debut album, Finally Rich. In the early stages of 2012, Chief Keef linked up with Lil Reese for the album’s lead single, “I Don’t Like.” The song was an immediate viral success and it got both fans and executives in the industry talking. Eventually, he followed up the success of this track with “Love Sosa” which was yet another huge hit that embedded itself in pop culture. With pressure mounting in regards to his debut album, Chief Keef delivered a classic that is revered by his contemporaries to this day. This body of work is credited for inspiring a whole new generation of artists. For years, artists that sounded like Chief Keef were referred to as his “child” as rap fans recognized that he was one of a kind at the time. Say what you will about his career since this album, there is no doubt that Chief Keef changed the game with Finally Rich.

– Alex Cole

9. YG – My Krazy Life (2014)

In 2014, after immeasurable success with his single “My N****” featuring Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan, YG dropped his debut studio album My Krazy Life. The rapper had been introducing us to his modern West Coast sound thanks to a series of mixtapes, which helped him bubble locally and then, across the globe. However My Krazy Life was YG’s most refined display of that West Coast bop. Working closely with producer DJ Mustard, YG took us along for a singular day in his (krazy) life. This is a day in his hood, and it starts brazenly with YG’s mom yelling at him: “I hope you not outside hanging with them gang banger,” she screeches at him before we hear the penetrating synth line. The song, which opens the album, also contains a nod to YG’s predecessor: Dr. Dre (“The Watcher”). “BPT” is simply setting the scene; much like in a movie, consider it the opening credits that pan an eerie and dark neighborhood. From there, we get into YG’s local antics. The storyline is continued through short interludes, which YG pulls off fantastically, in an era when skits were increasingly becoming a thing of the past (because, the internet/attention spans). DJ Mustard’s imitable bounce pervades many of the songs, a true homage to their coast, from “My N****” to “Bicken Back Being Bool” to “Who Do You Love?” with Drake– the synth-y wobble is undeniable.

YG delivered an extremely special album with My Krazy Life. It did all the right things: introduced us properly to YG and his way of life; gave us catchy anthem after catchy anthem (look at that tracklist and recall just how many of those songs you were hearing in the club and on the radio, regardless of their status as an official single); it was a cohesive and well-curated body of work; it payed homage. Even the features were perfect– each one more covet-able than the next, yet YG is still the main character in his music and his life.

– Rose 

8. Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor (2006)

Of all the included rappers to make this list, Lupe Fiasco stands proudly as one of the most esteemed lyricists. Though much has been made of his sophomore album The Cool, it was 2006’s Food & Liquor that laid the foundation. Boarded with a stacked production roster including Kanye West, The Neptunes, and the stalwart presence of Soundtrakk, Lu’s conceptual debut was put together under the watchful eye of Jay-Z himself. Not only was Fiasco’s technical ability at once elite and effortless, but there was something refreshing about his idealism. Songs like “Kick Push” steered a new cultural movement into hip-hop, while the Grammy-Winning single “Daydreamin” served up candy-coated critiques with a subtle sense of satire. Not only did the album come together as one cohesive voyage through Lupe’s complex mind, but it did so while firing on a variety of cylinders. Thematic density did not come at the cost of hard-hitting punchlines; sometimes they arrived hand in hand.  

– Mitch

7. Clipse – Lord Willin’ (2002)

Pusha T has since become a household name, a widely respected rap titan prone to airing out secrets with a devilish grin. Long before the days of Daytona, however, Pusha T and his brother No Malice were sparking a new wave of post-mafioso coke rap. Where predecessors like Ghostface and Raekwon forged their path over golden-era production, The Clipse opted to look to the future, enlisting The Neptunes to score the entirety of their 2002 debut album Lord Willin. Off the bat, Skateboard P and Chad Hugo’s unique brand of production elevated Clipse to a different plane altogether, pairing booming percussion with ice cold synth minimalism. The perfect backdrops for Push and Malice’s brand of lyrical content, which found them effectively reviving a movement many wrote off as deceased. Songs like “Intro,” the Fabulous-assisted banger “Comedy Central,” and the timeless “Grindin” still entice to this day. When The Neptunes are in their bag, there is nothing quite like it; few producers can sound both playful and menacing in the same ten second loop. Throw in some unapologetic and downright murderous bars from a young King Push and No Malice, and we’re looking at a classic hip-hop debut worthy of revisitation. 

– Mitch

6. Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (2009)

If you’ve wondered what it’s like to travel to another universe through music, Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon is the album for you. Released in 2009, MOTM is still considered almost unanimously to be Scott Mescudi’s best album of all-time. Without the use of psychedelic drugs, Cudder transports listeners to a new dimension, experiencing sounds we’ve never heard before while simultaneously delivering his life story in a clear, concise manner.

Considering the fact that an artist has their entire life to create their debut album, the end result should encapsulate your entire being by the time it’s out. Your debut should represent your soul. Man On The Moon perfectly describes who Kid Cudi is, marking it as one of the most impactful starting points ever. With “Soundtrack 2 My Life,” “Day ‘N’ Nite,” “Enter Galactic,” and “Pursuit of Happiness” all on the tracklist, there are enough bops to keep the casual listener entertained while Cudi dives deep into his background to appeal to the experienced fan who was seeking more after his initial mixtape releases.

– Alex Zidel

5. Young Jeezy – Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (2005)

Where would we be in rap music today if it wasn’t for Young Jeezy? Thug Motivation 101 marked a shift in hip-hop as the South affirmed Trap Music as the future of the genre. T.I. and Gucci Mane will likely continue to argue about the origins of the genre but there’s no doubt that Thug Motivation 101 was a milestone release in the history of Atlanta hip-hop. Jeezy’s portrayal of the trap was so vivid, you can smell wafts of cocaine bubbling in a pot.

Jeezy’s mixtape run prior to this album is what made the term “trapper turned rapper” official but TM101 was his welcoming party to the music industry. “Standing Ovation,” for example, perfectly summed up that this was all deeper than rap. “These are more than words/ This is more than rap/ This is the streets/ And I am the trap,” he declared. More than anything, Thug Motivation further solidified the South’s place in hip-hop, especially at a time when New York City’s platinum era began to fade out. It was gritty but still had enough commercial appeal. “My Hood” and the Akon-assisted, “Soul Survivor” were examples of how he took the gruff sound of the South and spread it across the United States, and eventually, the world.

– Aron

4. The Game – The Documentary (2005)

Every decade, the West Coast has one or two artists that define it. And typically, it’s the approval of Dr. Dre that assures longevity. In the 80s, it was Ice-T and N.W.A while the 90s birthed the solo career of Ice Cube and brought us Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. The 2000s had a few rappers from the West Coast emerge but there was arguably no one bigger than The Game. He brought the West Coast back into the fold when there weren’t many rappers from the West actually doing it at such a magnitude. With the penmanship that was on par, and often exceeded his East Coast counterparts in G-Unit, The Documentary blended slick wordplay, gang banging, and the West Coast lifestyle all into one. A product of the greats that came before him, the rapper conveyed the weight that was on his shoulders as Compton’s prodigal son of the 2000s. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent oversaw the project, bringing hip-hop’s elite producers and artists into the fold. Just Blaze, Timbaland, Kanye West, Cool & Dre and more held down production while heavyweights like Eminem, Busta Rhymes, and of course, 50 Cent appeared throughout the tracklist. Mixed with the emotional vulnerability, the rapper delivered a tour of the Compton streets that raised him referencing landmarks that played a pivotal role in his life, in his ascent to national stardom.

– Aron

3. Kanye West – The College Dropout (2004)

When people say they miss the old Kanye, this is the Kanye they’re talking about. These days, it’s become a farce to the revolutionary artist when someone reminisces over the good ‘ole days when the Chicago native was chopping soul samples, pulling hilarious skits on his albums, and spitting some real rap. The College Dropout, Kanye West’s debut studio album released in 2004, contains all of that and more.

The overall theme of The College Dropout is to make your own decisions and not allow society to dictate your life for you, which is something that West has preached to this day. It all begins with a skit introducing us to a fraternity-era West being influenced to create something “for the kids.” He goes right into “We Don’t Care,” which he describes as “the perfect song for the kids to sing.” The entire song and its carefree nature stands as the beginning of Ye’s never-ending journey to becoming a free-thinker, uncensored by social norms.

Much of Mr. West’s production is highlighted on College Dropout, which is still viewed by many hip-hop heads as the best body of work in West’s extensive discography. With songs like “Jesus Walks,” “All Falls Down,” “Through The Wire,” and more included on the tracklist, those fans have a strong point. In theory, people came for the outstanding production and stuck around for the phenomenal story-telling that was laid out by the man they now call Yeezus. This is where it all started.

– Alex Zidel

2. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)

Kendrick Lamar had the entirety of hip-hop waiting on the edge of their seats when he released good kid, m.A.A.d city. In 2011, he released Section.80 underneath Top Dawg Entertainment, a then-budding independent label to a few up-and-coming West Coast artists. The project was our first real glimpse into Kendrick Lamar, the artist, as he teetered somewhere between social activism and socializing. Section.80 gave both Kendrick and TDE enough momentum to ink a deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath and Interscope Records, through which Kendrick would release, one year later, his major label debut: good kid, m.A.A.d city. 

Good kid, m.A.A.d city followed in the footsteps of Section.80. Section.80 was an album conceptualized around 1980s-era children, where GKMC was rooted in Kendrick’s own era. And while both albums are great, perhaps what makes GKMC even more impactful is that same fact; that Kendrick was able to double his luck with back-to-back “debuts,” the former laying  formidable groundwork while the latter improved upon it, and added details to it. 

GKMC is full of these little intricacies that make it so thrilling to listen to initially (but then again, and again), while its originality ensures it’s something unlike anything you’ve heard before, thus helping Kendrick earn his #2 spot on our list. Kendrick is the type of artist who appeases all fans, which is indeed why the entirety of hip-hop was waiting for this project. We were not disappointed either: going back to the idea that he balances social activism with socializing, Kendrick laces us with life lessons and hard-hitting facts, masked in banger format. A spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, so to speak.

GKMC is also full of songs. Like real, fleshed out, multi-dimensional and complex songs, with hooks, bridges, skits and more. The songs average 4-6 minutes in length, a far cry from the 1-2 minute songs that make up a lot of our current releases. This added to the nostalgic punch that also pervaded GKMC, the fact that it really did feel like a more traditional hip-hop album/listening experience. And at just 13 songs, the album has quite literally a perfect tracklist. We’ll leave it at that.

– Rose

1. 50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003)

Get Rich or Die Tryin is one of those albums that has remained ageless, which is often the determining factor in a “classic” — is it still just as good as it was when it first dropped, perhaps even better? Get Rich or Die Tryin was hot when it first dropped, clearly, debuting at #1 and selling close to 1 million copies in its first week out. However, if you play it right now, it’s still hot. To be clear, though, the album definitely sounds like it belongs in the early to mid 2000s (because it does)– but even if you look at the album through that lens, through the context of the era in which it was released, it is not to the detriment of the album nor the music. It simply offers a fantastic sound-time-capsule into the Millenium era of music– isn’t that what most classic albums are supposed to do, to some extent? If we’re talking about a classic Beatles record, to give an arbitrary and generally-agreed upon example, you expect it to offer a unique insight into the sounds that the Beatles were championing and revolutionizing/evolving at the time that particular album was released. Which is very much what 50 Cent has managed with Get Rich or Die Tryin. The music remains steadfastly unique, and it remains a true testament to the persona of 50 Cent and his musical impact on the rap game. 

There are plenty of reasons why Get Rich or Die Tryin is the #1 best rapper debut of the century, beyond the simple conclusion offered above. The replay value and consistency are among them, and lending to that idea are the hooks: is there one bad hook on the album? Even if the song didn’t become a proper single, every song was blessed with a catchy, sing-along hook to juxtapose the hardened tracklist. Fif maintained a balance of his gritty, close-mouthed rhymes with his ability to hold a melody, before it became a given that every rapper should also be a singer. Fif’s pitched-up hook for “What Up Gangster” definitely has a melodic sensibility to it, an approach Fif employs again on the chorus for “Poor Lil Rich.” Elsewhere, “Many Men” gives us a more somber sing-song hook, while “Blood Hound”’s version of the melodic hook is much more aggressive, whereas “Back Down” is pure bark. We can talk about the beats too: banger after banger, with one soft spot for “21 Questions,” makes the adrenaline-fueled tracklist literally unskippable. While not yet in our current playlist-obsessed era, 50 managed to put out an album that still has a distinct playlist-esque flow; certain elements such as the piano keys and the drums recurring again and again throughout the album to create a cohesive body of work. The Shady-approved crew of producers, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mr. Porter, Luis Resto and Mike Elizondo, ensured that no Coast would feel left out. There’s enough bounce to appease any West Coast dwelling fan, and there’s enough grit to satisfy the whole of New York. Thus it becomes quite clear how the album managed to make, not only the initial impact that it did, but a lasting impact. It was ahead of its time in certain ways, it remained grounded in its era in other ways; and in the process, we were given the most exciting debut album of the century. 

– Rose

It’s alarming how little people tend to acknowledge Ludacris’ presence in hip-hop’s pantheon of greats. Modern-day discourse surrounding Luda’s overall contributions to the game is all but non-existent. Though it has been approximately five years since he dropped off his last studio project in Ludaversal, prior to that he was responsible for eight studio albums — many of which have gone multi-platinum. A case could even be made that projects like 2002’s Word Of Mouf and 2003’s Chicken-n-Beer are classics, with the latter going on to spawn a delicious Atlanta-based restaurant; speaking from first-hand experience, the titular dish is delicious.

Tempting though it may be to wax poetic about Luda’s artistic accomplishments, it would require a far deeper stroll down memory lane to do such a process justice. Instead the aim is to focus on the impact of his influence, most recently channeled by a recent breakout star: North Carolina’s own DaBaby, the charismatic and mischievous mind behind Baby On Baby and Kirk. During Baby’s seemingly overnight rise, it wasn’t uncommon to hear the rapper draw comparisons to Ludacris, which in itself was enough to pique an old head’s interest. For many, the comparison seemed to derive from a similar approach to music videos, in which comedy was given ample space to flourish. Yet if given a second glance, there are a few more stylistic parallels that go beyond that of visual aesthetic. 

Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images

Hilarious though Ludacris may be, both through his unparalleled punchlines and his eye for cartoonishly grotesque visuals, his debut album Back For The First Time highlighted a more formidable side of his persona. That of a man prone to violence, ready and willing to throw his elbows if provoked. Songs like the threatening “Stick Em Up” found Luda flexing his menacing bravado, spitting bars like “it’s mighty strange how your peephole is my fuckin gauge, catch you in concert and then wipe you off the fuckin stage.” On his sophomore drop Word Of Mouf, “Get The Fuck Back” painted a picture of a man on the edge, one who enjoyed disturbing the peace through gunfire and a deftly-swung Louisville slugger. Never once was it forced, the idle talk of a funnyman. There was credibility there, much in the same way DaBaby’s similarly-issued threats have come to resonate. 

In Baby’s case, his actions have served as a megaphone for his words. Whether he’s defending himself from a gunman or administering knockout blows in a jewelry store, DaBaby has proven he’s willing to take it there if need be; some have even forewarned that his explosive temper might ultimately prove to be his undoing, if only from a legal standpoint. From a musical standpoint, his past has proven beneficial in injecting his more violent bars with gravitas; after all, one does not simply become “Suge” through paperwork alone. “You disrespect me and I’ll beat your ass up, all in front of your partner and children,” he warns, juxtaposed against the video’s playful aesthetic.

Like Ludacris, Baby found a way to inject genuine comedy into his music without making it the focal point of. That’s not to say they’re alone in that accomplishment — artists like Redman, DJ Quik, Busta Rhymes, and Eminem were but a few hilarious pre-millennium emcees– but Luda and DaBaby both managed the feat with their charisma maxed out at all times. Not to mention their shared ability to craft simple yet effective hip-hop hits. Unlike some of the more notable hitmakers of his era, Ludacris never quite dabbled in chasing crossover success. From “What’s Your Fantasy” to “Area Codes,” “Saturday” to “Stand Up,” Luda’s lyrically-heavy formula remained unchanged, his bars never falling by the wayside. Though he did switch the style up as the years progressed, Luda’s first four years found him winning fans without lowering his personal bar. Consider that a song like “Saturday,” arguably one of his defining singles, kept pace on the charts without the slightest whiff of a melodic structure. Even “Area Codes,” which featured a massive hook from the late great Nate Dogg, largely flourished through Luda’s lyricism and confident presence. 

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The same can be said of DaBaby’s own key singles like the aforementioned “Suge,” which managed to stand out as something wholly original. Why? Because he just rapped. No trap-drums or autotune, only personality-fueled bars. Though some have taken to criticizing his flow as repetitive, the fact that he made a name for himself off the strength of his bars should be commended. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Baby verse where he’s not commanding the same presence, whether it’s the Lil Baby-assisted “Baby,” the Chance The Rapper locker room anthem “Hot Shower,” or his dexterous duet with Offset “Baby Sitter.” If that wasn’t enough, DaBaby’s flow even earned him high praise from the “Rap God” himself, Eminem, who shouted him out on Crook’s Corner. “I never know where his rhymes are gonna land,” praised Em. “That shit is so interesting to me cause he does it so well.”

Though both men largely thrive while delivering exuberant and intense punchline-heavy raps, that’s not to say they don’t share a willingness to get personal. For DaBaby, Kirk’s “Intro” opened eyes to the man behind the moniker, earning him respect for switching up his style without selling out his sound. Though Ludacris has covered similar thematic ground on songs like “Cold Outside,” which elicited emotion without veering too far into autobiographical territory, he seldom spends too much time perusing his own life story. One quality the pair do share, however, is an insatiable appetite for lusty females. Had they both come out in the same era, you can all but guarantee the pair would have concocted a hedonistic smut banger. DaBaby might not be as dexterous with the double-time as Luda on “Freaky Thangs,” but he’s never been washed on a track thus far. Though the timing might be a few years too late, perhaps we’ll see such a union manifest on Luda’s upcoming tenth studio album. Think of the pandemonium that might ensue. 

Coronavirus is impacting every aspect of our lives at the moment – yes, that even includes the carnal act of “getting it in.” Thankfully, we have Machine Gun Kelly to break down the dos and don’ts when it comes to hooking up during this worldwide quarantine going down at the moment.

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TMZ caught up with Eminem’s enemy while in Studio City recently, and they were able to get him to reveal one of his core tips to the “baby boom” that’s expected to result from everyone having nothing to do while isolated in their homes. In short, MGK simply agreed that we should all just avoid kissing — swapping spit seems to be one of the key ways of spreading the disease — and strictly stick to, well, sticking it! All jokes aside though, we’d highly recommend you guys (and girls!) avoid hooking up with randos overall and just try to limit your list of partners to no more than you can count on one hand. Or, if you want to be all the way safe, just use your hand.

Peep Machine Gun Kelly’s “tool rules” talk with TMZ below, and by all means stay all the way safe out here folks:

Drake is a bonafide hitmaker and that’s a fact you can not dispute now. Whether or not you enjoy Drake, the rapper has officially surpassed every single artist or group on the Billboard Hot 100 for most entries ever. This arrives a week after Drake joined Lil Yachty on “Oprah’s Bank Account” that debuted at 89 on the Hot 100. Drake officially has more hits than the cast of Glee who he tied after the release of Future’s “Life Is Good.” With 208 official entries to his name, the Canadian rapper will continue to rack up the hits in the months to follow.

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Although the last few entries from Drake have been off the strength of his features, The Boy is readying a new project that may or may not drop this year. Last week, he hopped on Instagram Live with Dabbing Granny where he revealed that he had been locked in the studio overnight working on his new album. After asking when it might see the light of day, Drake revealed that he would drop it whenever it’s ready. However, given the release of his latest “leaks” including “Chicago Freestyle” and “When To Say When,” as well as late December’s “War”, it seems like he has already begun the rollout.

Peep the list of most Hot 100 entries below. 

Most Hot 100 Entries All-Time
208, Drake
207, Glee Cast
168, Lil Wayne
109, Elvis Presley
108, Nicki Minaj
107, Kanye West
100, Jay-Z
99, Chris Brown
97, Taylor Swift
93, Future
91, James Brown
88, Eminem
80, Justin Bieber
75, Ray Charles
73, Aretha Franklin
71, The Beatles

Few sins sting as deeply as a DJ who cuts “The Next Episode” before Nate Dogg gets a chance to belt out his immortal wisdom: “smoke weed every day.” That’s only the tip of the iceberg of Nate’s unique style of musical genius. A baritone singer who first caught the ear of Dr. Dre and went on to lay vocals on The Chronic’s infamous “Deeez Nuuuts,” the late Nathaniel Dwayne Hale went on to collaborate with damn near every legendary rapper who comes to mind.

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That’s no exaggeration. Before passing away due to stroke-related complications, Nate had amassed a repertoire of collabs with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Ludacris, 2Pac, The Game, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Warren G, DJ Quik, and many more. Few can think of “The West Coast” as a general presence without hearing a Nate Dogg hook. It’s no surprise that the beloved maestro remains mourned to this day, as evidenced by those who took to Instagram to pay respects on his death anniversary yesterday.

Xzibit, a frequent collaborator of Nate on songs like “Been A Long Time,” “Bitch Please,” and “Multiply,” offered up some kind words in his honor. Likewise did his cousin Snoop Dogg, who shared a picture of them sitting courtside. Daz Dillinger also held it down for his DPGC soldier, making it clear that the fallen will not soon be forgotten. And naturally, fellow “Regulator” Warren G lamented the loss and what might have been under different circumstances.  In an era sorely lacking a presence like big Nate Dogg, it feels fair to say that hooks have never quite been the same. Rest in peace to a hip-hop legend. 

This week’s “Fire Emoji” Spotify playlist is not to be slept on. This week has been one of the most historic weeks in hip-hop history in quite some time. Lil Uzi Vert released a total of two chart-topping projects in Eternal Atake (2020) and LUV Vs. The World 2 (2020) after years of battling with DJ Drama’s Generation One imprint. Jay Electronica finally released his debut album, A Written Testimony (2020), after a decade-plus long wait for his devoted fellowship. And YNW Melly delivered on a Juice WRLD “Suicidal (Remix)” from the discomfort of his jail cell.  Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Lil Uzi Vert currently has the opportunity to surpass Eminem’s record for total album sales this new year with both of his highly-anticipated releases. While Rich The Kid, Curren$y, and more have all dropped listen-worthy projects for their loyal fanbases. Also, what have become hip-hop mainstays in Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion made appearances of this week’s “Fire Emoji” playlist. 

Highly coveted hip-hop staples including Gunna, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Keed, Jhene Aiko, Ab-Soul, and more make their way onto the playlist as well. Check out this week’s “Fire Emoji” playlist in the Spotify streaming link below. 

Lil Uzi Vert has plenty of music in the cut, even as he aims to have the number one album in the country next week and possibly outselling Eminem's Music To Be Murdered By first-week debut. Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World 2 was announced in 2017 following the release of LUV Is Rage 2 but along with Eternal Atake, fans have been waiting for this project. Thankfully, it'll be dropping "sooner than you think."

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As we await the 14-song addition to the Eternal Atake for the deluxe edition, it appears the "bonus tracks" will actually come in the form of LUV Vs. The World 2. "I put 2 albums in one second-half of EA is LUV vs The World 2," he wrote on Twitter after sharing the cover art for the project.

Uzi's teased information surrounding the "bonus tracks" over the past few days. He recently revealed that we'll get two songs with Young Thug on the project. While the deluxe edition of EA was initially announced as having eight songs, he clearly expanded past that. The rapper also teased that the project would include guest appearances from Lil Baby, Future, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

With LUV Vs. The World 2 serving as the deluxe edition of Eternal Atake, Uzi fans are EATING in 2020. Maybe once this whole Coronavirus pandemic simmers down, we can expect a tour from him as well. Peep the tweets below. 

Since the arrival of Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ in February 2003, 50 Cent has been entrenched in the hip-hop mainstream. Working as both an active participant and the proprietor of his own G-Unit stable, the South Jamaica, Queens native has never strayed far from the audience’s mind even after twenty years in the game. In the era of alleged “industry plants”, it’d be assumed that anyone shifting 872,000 copies of their debut album in first week sales had been groomed for the spotlight. 50, on the other hand, wasn’t chaperoned to that point. A quadrilogy of iconic mixtapes mapped out his path to superstardom. Tearing through the game like a cyclone, 50’s mixtape success left the perfect blueprint for others to follow as technology evolved from physical distribution into an online marketplace.

Based on the accessibility that the internet now affords both artist and consumer, the concept of getting “rich off a mixtape” a la Drake is no longer a noteworthy occasion. What maps 50 out as special is that when it comes down to it, he was the originator. Prior to his arrival, the term “mixtape” held a very different connotation. Usually helmed by a DJ, these compilations would provide an overview of what was hot at the time with the plaudits and financial rewards all going to the name on the marquee.

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When 50’s career was at its lowest ebb, Jackson realized that he had to do something drastic to stay afloat. Dropped by Columbia and “blackballed” from the industry amid the fallout from the revelatory, Supreme Team-chronicling “Ghetto Qu’ran”, the former Jam Master Jay protégé was stripped of his foundations. As his unreleased debut album, The Power Of The Dollar gathered dust on the shelf, 50 refused to be dissuaded. 

Linking up with fellow JMJ mentee Sha Money XL, 50 decamped to the engineer and producer’s home in Westbury, Long Island and set upon the journey that’d take him from the fringes of history to becoming the focal point of a revolution. In the wake of getting shot nine times, 50’s momentum had halted. Under the guidance of Sha, much of the music that’d been laid down prior to that life-altering incident was repurposed for his first groundbreaking mixtape, January 2002’s Guess Who’s Back. “All those records were recorded 18 days, 2 records a day”, Sha told XXL. “Motherfuckers were there for 18 days and had 2 songs. This n***a 50 had 38. He said ‘There’s no way I’m going to leave this place without a record deal. If I don’t have a record deal, I’m going to have 38 Trackmasters’ tracks.’ That’s what I remember him telling me. I said, “This n***a smart.” 

As we’d soon learn, that’s a drastic understatement when talking about 50 and his raw business savvy. Holding the rare distinction of getting dissed by Hov before he’d even pushed a Soundscan unit, his rise to cultural dominance may have seemed meticulously planned out. In truth, the decision to upend the way in which mixtapes were used came from everyday interaction.

“A lot of people don’t even know how different marketing and non-traditional marketing impacts the actual culture”, 50 reminisced. “Before 50 Cent Is The Future was released, what they call a mixtape now didn’t exist. A mixtape prior to that was me sending 16 bars to you for your tape. 16 bars to Clue, Ron G, Doowop, Kid Capri and to the different DJ’s that were around. What happened with 50 Cent Is The Future was I was going across the street to the bootlegger and ‘I said you got anything new?’ And he said ‘yeah, look new 50 Cent, see?’ He was selling to me based on me but I didn’t have any photograph or anything. So, I was like, I’m going to make my own tape.”

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The follow-up to Guess Who’s Back, 50 Cent Is The Future wasn’t just a promotional vehicle for its primary artist, but gave the rest of G-Unit a chance to exhibit their skills. Featuring Tony Yayo, the would-be “punchline king” Lloyd Banks and his inaugural collab with the then-UTP member Young Buck, the second installment of the pre-Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ tapes was the moment that he truly began to pick up momentum. Loaded with interpolations and reworks of The Wu-Tang Clan, Raphael Saadiq, Tweet and Ruff Ryders, the project—which was largely recorded in Canada due to 50’s reputation as an industry pariah—was “physically duplicated” by Sha Money in June 2002. As for distribution, long-time G-Unit affiliate DJ Whoo Kid remembers the grassroots approach to A&R that they employed.

“I would go to the bodega and be like “I’m gonna leave like 20 tapes here”. Cause’ the whole drug culture is connected with 50 Cent”, Whoo Kid told Mass Appeal. “They love his music. So, I’m like “If these guys are coming here to buy drugs, buying weed, getting their nickel bags and shit, there’s a tape on the window right there. Hey, and you get a tape too. I’ll get a bag of chips, a turkey sandwich, and a G-Unit tape.” Using word of mouth as the steam engine to power his eventual come-up, this unsanctioned approach to releasing music changed the world as we know it. And, despite how low-rent its recording and packaging may have been, 50 is aware of the shift that he’d instigated.

Across the remainder of 2002, 50 stuck to the formula and released No Mercy, No Fear and God’s Plan, the latter of which featured the first airing of 50’s “Work It” remix with Missy Elliott. Providing the industry with a lesson about the power of non-conformity, DJ Drama—who ushered in a new era for the mixtape in his own right with Gangsta Grillz—is forthcoming about the impact that this had on an artist’s playbook. “From the 50 era, that’s pretty much when it became a street album. Mixtapes destroyed the demo tape; nobody cared about your demo tape anymore,” he informed Billboard. “It was like, “What are you doing with your mixtape, and how are the streets selling it? I definitely can say that they helped inspire what I went on to do with Gangsta Grillz and the artists that I came up with.”

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From Drake, T.I, and Wiz to Kendrick, Cole and Big Sean, 50’s entrepreneurship paved the way for the next generation of stars that’d make their name on the independent circuit before being beckoned to the comforting arms of the labels. For the most part, 50 is seen as one of two case studies that epitomize the catalytic power of the mixtape. The other, more often than not, is Lil Wayne. Yet while Weezy used these tapes to reconfigure his sound and prove his credentials as an elite-level MC, 50 rebuffs the notion that they should share the distinction as pioneers.

“He wouldn’t even be making a mixtape because I invented that,” 50 snarled at SOHH. “There’s no significance in that. When he freestyles on a mixtape, it’s in song format because he’s following my format but they ask me about him like we’re the same?” No longer bound by the conventional process that other artists had to adhere to, the wealth of material that 50 had at hand was instrumental in forging a connection that’d change his life. In turn, setting the scene for countless other future legends to get signed off the strength of an ad-hoc project in the decade to come.

“Theo, my attorney, and Paul Rosenberg work close together,” he recalled. “Like they know each other, they came up together so, I had a CD called Guess Who’s Back. Em got a copy of it and he was in the middle of completing The Eminem Show, so he didn’t get a chance to properly listen to it, but after he got that done he heard it and he was like “Ya’ll need to come out here now!” so they flew me out on like Friday night, I fly to Los Angeles the next day and I met with him and Dre and then after we met it was kinda all alright.”

Despite admitting that “the word had reverberated around the industry that this guy was pretty much a wrap,” Shady Records’ Paul Rosenberg couldn’t help but take notice of what 50 had accomplished and made Em aware of this exciting upstart. Discussed during a promotional roundtable for Shady XV, Mathers reflected on the moment that 50, embroiled in his underground hustle, stopped the multi-platinum selling artist in his tracks.

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“We were somewhere doing a show and our old DJ, DJ Head had the “Your Life’s On The Line” record”, Em told Shade 45. “That was the first record that I remember hearing and being like “holy shit, this dude is fuckin’ dangerous. He was on some MC shit and it’s like yo, he’s a fuckin’ threat. The way he was saying this shit, he just made you believe it. Fif has always been like that but it wasn’t something I’d heard before. He sounds like he’s going to fuck you up… he believes in what he’s saying right now. It was the passion behind it and the lyrics… I was riding around bumpin’ that shit more than anything I was recording myself.”

“They crushed the mixtapes”, Rosenberg chimed in. “No one’s ever going to do mixtapes like that again. This guy made so much money off selling mixtapes that he pulled up outside BET in a fuckin’ Lamborghini. People were fiending for those things, fiending.” Just as he’d withstood 9 shots, 50 Cent circumvented the barriers to the game that’d leave others immobile and kept moving. Left in a sink-or-swim scenario, Curtis Jackson opted to bet on himself and in doing so, forever altered the infrastructure of hip-hop by prising power away from its traditional brokers and emboldening the artists to go it alone. 

Cactus Jack is ramping up to claim their stake in the rap game. Travis Scott‘s the head honcho of the program but the release of Jackboys put an even bigger spotlight on the talent that he’s been grooming. Under the wing of Travis Scott, Don Toliver’s been bubbling heavily as the dedicated Travis Scott fans await the arrival of his debut album. The wait won’t be much longer. Toliver hit the ‘Gram earlier today to announce the release of his forthcoming project, Heaven Or Hell, his official debut album.

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In the last few years, Don Toliver’s become one of the hottest young artists to emerge with many banking on his promising future. The rapper’s single, “No Idea” became a viral hit before the release of his debut major label tape Donny Womack. In the midst of that, he delivered a stand-out performance on Travis Scott’s Astroworld, “Can’t Say.” More recently, he appeared on Eminem‘s Music To Be Murdered By.

The announcement of his new project comes a few weeks after The Weeknd announced the Cactus Jack artist would be appearing on The After Hours North American dates with Sabrina Claudia. 

Check the album art for Don Toliver’s forthcoming project, Heaven Or Hell due out this Friday.

The wait for Eternal Atake ended on Friday, or did it? Lil Uzi Vert dropped off his sophomore album on Friday morning without much warning but it appears that was only the first half of the project. The Philadelphia rapper hit Twitter earlier today where he revealed that a part two was on the way. "Dude I drop the first half of EA second half of Album ON THE WAY," he wrote on Twitter.

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It's unclear what exactly he means by the "second half" of the project since he's been teasing the deluxe version of EA including eight new songs. "Bro when deluxe drop the real order of album is insane," he said on Twitter yesterday. Uzi has been putting in work heavily in recent times so it wouldn't be surprising if he had an arsenal of music he's waiting to unload now that EA is out.

Eternal Atake has easily been one of the most anticipated albums of the year and the sales projection clearly reflect that. The rapper is on pace to have 275-325k in his first week and expected to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. What's more impressive is that Eternal Atake might end up outperforming Eminem's Music To Be Murdered By which stands as the second-biggest debut of the week following BTS's new album.

Tensions recently flared between rising rapper Tee Grizzley and Bad Meets Evil, after Royce Da 5’9″ revealed that Grizzley’s shot at Eminem “burned a bridge” between the two Detroit artists. While not quite a full-fledged beef, it was clear that both Royce and Em weren’t entirely pleased with Grizzley’s disrespectful attitude; Em even took a subtle jab at the Scriptures rapper on the Royce-assisted “You Gon Learn.”

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Luckily, it appears that cooler heads have prevailed, as evidenced by TMZ’s recent conversation with Grizzley. Off the bat, Tee makes it known where his loyalties lie. “Shout out Eminem,” he begins. “Shout out to Royce. I talked to Royce the other day. It was really a big misunderstanding. We definitely going to come with 8 Mile 2. Feel me. We definitely have some music coming through. Royce got a project on the way, I got a project on the way. Em like the big dog in the city.”

While he has spoken to Royce, Tee Grizzley confirms he has yet to touch in with Eminem directly — yet. “He’s not the type of guy you can just say anything to him,” reflects Tee Grizzley, as the cameraman remarks that Em is a “battle rapper at heart.” “At the end of the day, coming from Detroit, they can’t say anything to us. Everything just be cool.”

He closes by confirming that even if he never gets a chance to sit down with Em and collaborate, it’s “all love” just the same. “Way I came out, I don’t need nobody,” says Tee Grizzley. “But when you get to a certain level you do kind of need people to shoot up even higher. I hope [a collaboration] can get done, but if not, it’s still all love though.” We can only hope that Em and Grizzley link up on wax — Tee worked wonders with hip-hop veteran Timbaland, and it’s likely he’d do the same with the legendary Slim Shady.

Though some have struggled to move past the pale-eyes and occasionally self-deprecating subject matter, few can deny that Hopsin can spit bars at an elite level. It’s no wonder Eminem took a moment to shout him out on “Fall,” a gesture that did not go unappreciated by a gleeful Hop. Now, with rumors of an eventual collaboration gaining traction, Hop took a moment to pay homage to one of the great moments in Shady/Aftermath history.

During a recent livestream, Hopsin came through with a flawless rendition of Dr. Dre and Eminem’s 2001 collaboration “Forgot About Dre.” As the menacing strings kicked into gear, he took things back to a simpler time. “This is one of my favorite songs of all time,” he prefaces. “This is like when I found out about Eminem.” He proceeds to lower his cadence and dive into Dre’s opening verse with the confidence of a man well-practiced. Before long, the song is over and the nostalgia levels verge on critical mass.

“I love that song,” he gushes, upon completion. “When that song came out, that was better than Michael Jackson ‘Thriller.’ I don’t know how many of you guys remember, but when that song came out — oh my God. Come on man. That was the hottest song in the world. The hottest fucking rap song I’ve ever heard in my life. I had to learn every fuckin lyric of that song. That is one of the best songs of all time.” 

Nelly appears to be bringing his iconic Apple Bottoms brand back for the modern times, after hinting at a comeback on his Instagram account. The Southern hip hop heavyweight posted an image of the brand’s signature logo on Saturday. “It’s bout that time…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he wrote in the caption. “Don’t call it a come back..!!!!!”

Nelly originally launched Apple Bottoms back in 2003 as a denim brand, but it went on to expand to clothing, accessories, and perfume. Nelly even conducted a search for a model to represent the label as part of the launch, in an episode of VH1’s Inside Out titled “Nelly: The Search for Miss Applebottom.”

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Apple Bottoms has been famously referenced in countless songs, including Twista’s “Overnight Celebrity,” Flo Rida and T-Pain’s “Low,” Eminem’s “Shake That,” and, of course, T-Pain’s “Applebottom Jeans.” The brand’s last ad campaign was in 2010, so it will be interesting to see how Nelly plans ton revamp the Apple Bottoms look in order to fit into the style of the 2020s. While we wait for the return of Apple Bottoms, catch Nelly performing at the Lovers & Friends festival taking place on May 8th and 9th in Los Angeles.

Jay-Z was shown keeping those office vibes correct over at the L.A. location of Roc Nation by bumping some music on vinyl. Before there was streaming, downloading, CDs, and even cassettes, there were vinyl records. The practice of playing albums on a record player died out in the late 90s and early-mid 2000s, but has made somewhat of a comeback as a vintage novelty.

Erik Voake/Getty Images for Roc Nation

As an OG in hip-hop, Jay has a deeper appreciation for the old school way of playing music, and shows that he’s committed to keeping it alive in a shot captured by Roc Nation executive, Lenny S. In the photo posted to Lenny’s Instagram account, @kodaklens, Jay can be seen hunched over a sleek, silver turntable putting the needle in place. “Make sure ya office vibes are right,” Lenny wrote in the caption. “That Vinyl hits different.”

One of the major ways that the art of vinyl records is being kept alive is through the annual Record Store Day, which takes place on April 18th this year. Eminem is one of countless artists putting out some of their finest work on wax in honour of the event. Em announced on Thursday that his 1999 hits, “Hi My Name Is” and the Dr. Dre-featured “Bad Guys Always Die” will be released on a 7″ vinyl pressing for Record Store Day. Long live vinyl!

Following a last-minute delay, Jadakiss has officially released the fifth studio album of his legendary career, Ignatius. A recurring placement on top ten lists from the barbershop to the booth, Jada’s prolific catalog and deadly bars have earned him respect in a game where steel sharpens steel. Many might even call him the blacksmith — an inspiration to the likes of Pusha T, a collaborator to legends like Nas, Eminem, Jay-Z, DMX, Ghostface Killah, and countless more. You can hear his laugh the moment you read about it. Jason Voorhees during hunting season.

Being a longtime fan of Jadakiss, I jumped at the chance to interview the LOX lyricist following his “Fuck Cancer” event at the end of November last year. A second conversation was then scheduled in February, once the album’s initial release date was inching closer. As such, today’s feature arrives in two parts, both of which span topics ranging from Ignatius, the man behind the album’s title, and Jada’s own wide-ranging career.

Check it out now, and show some love to one of hip-hop’s most formidable lyricists of all time. This conversation has been edited for clarity. 

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PART ONE

Originally recorded on November 27th, 2019. 

Hey Jada, how are you?

How you doing?

How’s your day going so far?

It’s alright, I just got to Detroit.

You and Fuck Cancer just put together an event honoring your friend Icepick. How’d that go?

It was cool. It was dope. Nice turnout.

How did you end up linking with Fuck Cancer?

Swizz and my man Rob Walker. They plugged us in, we did a little piece a few months back on Icepick.

Looking back on Icepick and everything he helped build –I’ve been seeing his name for years, since I was buying Ruff Ryders albums– how did you guys first meet and develop such a close friendship?

We met when he was doing jewelry. He’s also a jeweler, that’s why his name is Icepick. He was doing jewelry on 125th and Harlem. Ruff Ryders hired him. We had a close relationship working on all those compilations, group albums, and solo albums. When Ruff Ryders kind of went down, I hired him to work with me.

What was his dynamic like in such a big group like the Double R? He’s clearly impacted so many people within the Ruff Ryders camp, working with you, Eve, DMX.

He’d just get things done. He was the person who’d go get the features, go get the producers, go get everything you wanted. He’d make it happen.

Was he ever giving creative input?

A little bit. He was more of my A&R slash partner. He’d go get me production, get me different sounds. He’d do all the running around, the fieldwork. Sample clearances. He’d do everything.

Was there ever a feature you didn’t think would come through, only for Icepick to make it happen? Was there ever a feature he wanted you to do?

On the Kiss Of Death album, we were trying to wrap the album and we needed Snoop. Snoop was in New York at the time, at a party. Pick actually went to the party, came back and brought Snoop back to the Sony studio and got him to lay the verse. He got him to leave the party and lay the verse on a song called “Shine.” That was the beginning of his dopeness. He’s been doing that kind of thing ever since. He’d always drag me to the studio if I didn’t want to go. He always had good insight on things.

Looking toward your upcoming album Ignatius—

That’s his real name. That’s his government name. Ignatius “Icepick” Jay Jackson.

Were you working on that album before his passing?

I was working on a project. We were just gathering production, getting beats together. It wasn’t going to be the Ignatius project, that came after his passing.

Did the direction of the music change in light of it?

Definitely. It all went around him. Going back to the last question, he always wanted me to do a feature with Pusha. Just me and him. Me and Styles have a song on the Clipse album, but he wanted me and Pusha to work just me and him. He always wanted me to do a song with John Legend, I got that on this project. Production from Pitchshifters, they did “One More Mile To Go” on the Top 5 DOA project.

There’s a lot of things inspired by him. That’s why I named it after him, to give myself some closure from his untimely demise. He’ll still be with me in spirit, but I can move on and do other stuff.

My condolences. I can’t imagine losing such a close friend. Was the writing process ever particularly difficult on this album?

The intro, the outro, the song with John Legend. Even some regular songs. Just thinking about him will put you in a somber place, a dark place. But I didn’t want the album to be all somber. That’s why the first single is “Me.” Soulful, not sad or nothing. The album’s not sad, it’s just in his name. A couple of sad moments there.

When you guys used to talk about music, was there a particular style he liked to see from you? A favorite verse or track?

Nah, he was always trying to find that next big hit. He always wanted me to be bigger and better every project, every opportunity.

I recently say you make an analogy to hip-hop being a Ferris wheel, with the goal being to get as many go-arounds as possible. To sustain that longevity. Looking at your own career — platinum records, unanimous respect from your peers– is there anything you’re still looking for?

Just to give the fans good music. I was able to buy my mom a house off hip-hop. Put my oldest son through college. My second oldest kid is about to go to college in a year or two. I’m pretty much happy with my achievements and accolades as far as financially and respect from my peers. Those that passed before me, the Bigs, the Puns. I’m pretty much cool. I just do it cause of the passion. It’s still a lucrative way to take care of my family and enjoy life, but for the most part it’s the passion still.

How’s The Lox’s documentary coming?

Dope, it’s going to shock everybody. You gonna see a bunch of different sides of me, Styles, and Sheek that’s never been really seen by the public. There’s some sad moments on there also. That’s how life is, there’s going to be ups and downs in life. A lot of people keep those things private, which they should, but it’s a documentary about us. We had to share some things with the people.

When’s that dropping?

It’ll probably come out at the beginning of the year. February, March. After my album comes out. It’s going to come out with the new Lox album.

Anything you’d like to share about Ignatius moving forward?

Make sure you absorb it. For all the fans, I appreciate the D Block support, the Jadakiss support. Check out that new Styles album that’s out now, Present. Look out for the new Lox album coming out after my solo album. As far as the Ignatius project, if you know me, if you knew Icepick and his history working with Ruff Ryders and The Lox, you know the significance and importance of this album. You’ll appreciate it if you really sit down and listen to it.

Looking back, how do you feel about the Ruff Ryders movement?

The Ruff Ryder movement was very therapeutic for my career. Those my big brothers. They took us somewhere we wanted to go in hip-hop. A world tour, making big records. Making a lot of money young. Doing things like that. It’s beautiful to be a part of that. It’s like being a part of the Lakers, the Bulls, the Dallas Cowboys. One of them teams that’s America’s favorite, for a nice amount of years. Especially to be a part of that so young.

The Ruff Ryders movement was legendary.

The Ruff Ryder movement was very therapeutic for my career. Those are my big brothers. My managers. They took us somewhere we wanted to go in hip-hop. As far as seeing the world, making big records, making a lot of money young. Doing things like that. It’s beautiful to be a part of that. It’s like being a part of the Lakers or the Bulls or the Dallas Cowboys. One of those teams that’s America’s favorite for a nice amount of years. Especially to be involved in that so young.

Man, I got Volume 3: In The R We Trust for Christmas one year. I listened to that so many times.

[Hearty Laugh]

That actually put me onto your music in the first place. Kiss Tha Game Goodbye dropped, and then Gangster And A Gentleman dropped. Both those albums are classics to me. Just wanted to say that. I’m a big supporter of everything you’ve done.

I appreciate it, definitely.

PART TWO

Two days before the initial release date of Ignatius on February 26th.

Hey, how are you doing?

How you doin’ brutha?

I’m doing pretty well. Can’t complain. You in the studio?

Yes.

Nice. What are you working on?

Just tightening up some last little things on the album I had to lay on top of the masters. Couple words, couple tweaks.

Are you excited for the big release?

Hell yeah, always excited. Always thankful. Always honored to still be in this position twenty-plus years later.

Could you walk me through what it’s like to put out a big release into the world? You’ve been working on this for a long time and it’s got a lot of emotional weight as well.

The recording process is always the easiest process, the least stressful. It’s when it gets to the end, where we at now — closing out of an album with the samples and the payments and the producer splits, who did this and that. That’s when it becomes a headache. That’s when you just want to throw in the towel. But for the most part, it was one of the easier albums to make. I think that’s because of the aura. The energy of Icepick was with me, making it.

And you got the Pusha T collaboration! I know he really wanted you guys to link up and drop something, and the track is crazy.

Appreciate it.

How did you come up with the concept of “Hunting Season?”

That’s just how I felt when I got the track. My in-house producer, he actually picked the track from another in-house we got. He was like ‘yo unk, this track right here is one of the most knocking-est tracks I heard in a minute. I’m bringing it to you.’ As soon as he threw it on, I was like damn.

“Hunting Season” just came to me. I recorded my part and sent it to Push. We actually recorded it months ago. He was on me to put it out, like ‘when are you going to put it out?!’ I was like dawg, I gotta finish the whole album first! He had a relationship with Icepick as well. Pick used to work at Star Track for a minute. Double families.

I like how you’re warning people you have a crossbow and bear traps in your arsenal. You really are Jason.

I tried to keep the comparisons of really hunting. Talk some real talk on hunting.

You even have all the good strategies. I’d be scared at that point. The bear trap line in particular.

[Laughs]

Theo Wargo/Getty Images

With this being a brand new album, I want to take it back to the beginning. When did you first realize you had a skill for rapping, for putting words together? What was the scene like when you were a kid?

Coming from Yonkers, it’s north of the boroughs. We always had a chip on our shoulders cause they always called it upstate. We never got the recognition that The Bronx, or Brooklyn, or Manhattan or Queens or Staten Island got. They always overlooked us. One of the gripes we always had was: ‘we going to show them how nice we are.’ Make them know about this demographic where we from.

I started off just snapping on my friends. Around seven, eight years old. Maybe nine, ten. Maybe even eleven, twelve. That’s how I started with it. One of my bigger homies used to make me rhyme. We used to rock with one turn-table. He would come with all sorts of makeshift beat machines and ways to provide the production. I would just be doing what I could do.

As I got to junior high school I got better. In high school, me, Sheek, and Styles were making tapes. We started hustling to pay for the studio. And then once we were able to make good enough songs for a demo, we gave it to one of the dudes that was in our everyday entourage, my manager Marco. He’s actually Mary J. Blige’s first cousin. The rest is history. He passed it to her while she was on tour with Jodeci and Puff. That caused Puff to set up the meeting. The rest is history.

Was there something specific about the Yonkers sound that was setting it apart from the other boroughs?

The way that we was spitting! You hear the young Lox. You hear the young DMX. That took the world by storm! Whatever’s going on in Yonkers. Mary on top of that — we busted the door down.

Getting into the industry, it must have been a major change from what you were used to. Did you ever feel overwhelmed?

We was definitely overwhelmed. But we was hungry, thirsty to get in the game. We didn’t learn as much as we should, which caused us to sign the contract we signed. It was all a learning experience. But we was more eager to just rap. We didn’t care about the business. We didn’t know none of that stuff, publishing, splits. We was just trying to rhyme. Hit hard and as fierce as we could. Any time we could.

Look back at that whole era, it feels like there’s this notable sense of healthy competition. There were song structures you don’t quite see anymore. Posse cuts! You, Styles, Sheek, DMX, Jay-Z on the same track, killing verses — was that competitive spirit always there? That chip on your shoulder?

It’s still always there, due to the politics of game. The stuff the people want to see and hear. There’s always a sense of hunger and fierceness in it. You gotta look at it like that, cause you know — somebody always trying to steal your spot. Steel sharper steel. Sometimes you have to sharpen your own steel.

On that note — I wanted to ask about your relationship with Biggie. What brought you guys together? Was it an artistic thing, a genuine friendship?

It was both. Artistic and friendship. We were like his little brothers! He was happy we was on the label. He had big plans to work with us and do big shit with us in the future. As far as music and touring and things of that nature. The sky was going to be the limit for us. He welcomed us on Bad Boy with open arms.

He was a master at his craft. A great storyteller. It’s cool to know he saw something in you guys. I can see how you forged that bond. Moving away from the Bad Boy era, how did you end up connecting with Ruff Ryders?

Ruff Ryders was our managers when we were on Bad Boy. After we got on, and DMX got on, they got their own label. The object for us was to get back home and make the music we wanted to make. Which would be on Ruff Ryders label. And that’s what we were able to do.

Was a solo album always part of the plan?

Nah. They presented that after. The solo album wasn’t in the plans for nobody until it was presented.

Were you looking forward to that at the time? Especially when Kiss The Game Goodbye started taking shape…

Yeah, I was cool with it. The people wanted it. You gotta give the people what they want. It wasn’t forced, they asked me for it.

Do you still look back at that album today?

I loved it. I loved making it. I loved the times, the budgets they gave. I loved everything that had to do with it. Those were the golden eras. The great years.

One of my favorite songs of yours was on that album — Show “Discipline” with Nas. Did you record that together?

Yeah, we recorded that together in L.A. In the Interscope studios. It was dope.

A song that has come to be representative of your story is “Feel Me” off that album. What was it like opening up to an audience that might not have known that story?

It was exciting for me. The fans want you to open up to them, and I was giving them me. Feel me?

Moving through the early millennium, when everything was so big — album budgets, CDs were selling, music videos were the most popular way to discover new music — how do you look back on the Kiss Of Death era?

It was beautiful. There was even more money being spent. It was royalty. Those were the royal days. The money they were spending, they wasn’t saying no to nothing. We were making so much money and they were spending the same.

Streaming really changed the game. Do you ever miss the CD days?

Yeah, and no. I like this new digital shit. But I liked the CD era, it was the best era for me. In the same token, there’s still a lot of money on the table.

Plus the convenience. It’s mostly good, but sometimes the deeper cuts don’t always get enough shine. When you own the CD, it’s easy to live with the whole album. Now, I can listen to songs from Kiss Tha Game Goodbye and songs from Ignatius in the same five-minute span.

Yeah.

Back to Ignatius — did you have a specific writing process in mind, given the importance of the subject matter?

It depends. But this project was very meticulous. Usually I’m meticulous but if it’s an on-the-go type of situation, if that’s what the beat is saying, we make it happen. But for the most part, I like to sit down and be particular.

When you’re piecing together a project like this, do you have the structure in your mind already?

I build it piece by piece. Throw a storyboard up and start to build around it. Make sure all the songs fit.

In terms of collaborations, you’ve recorded with every hip-hop legend in the game. Is there still someone on your bucket list?

My all-time bucket list track is with Andre 3000 and Stevie Wonder.

That would be monumental.

Correct.

It sounds pretty specific. I assume you’ve thought it through.

Stevie Wonder on the hook. Me and Andre 3000 have the same birthday so we base the song around there somehow.

I have one last question for you, and it’s about you and Styles’ juice bar.

Juices For Life, baby.

Who is the bigger juice connoisseur — you or Styles?

Styles is definitely the bigger juice connoisseur. I’m actually learning from him. He damn near a doctor right now. He knows so much about the remedies and tonics. Blac seed oil and things like that. I learn from him as we go.

Juice of choice?

They switch up. Yesterday I had a banana shake with a bit of peanut butter in it. Tasted awesome so I’ma be on that for the next two or three days.

Anything else you’d like to share before the album drops?

Look out for the tour — they’re routing that now. Look out for the merch. I appreciate everybody who supports Jadakiss, D Block, LOX, So Raspy. Anything affiliated.

Stream Ignatius right here.

The sophomore slump is a well-known trope. The idea that an artist can come out of the gate swinging and succumb to the pressures surrounding a follow-up release. Many different factors can come into play. An increased budget might lead to stylistic detions. A lack of preparation can result in haphazard songwriting. The list goes on, and many rappers have stood in the shadow cast by the legacy of their own debut.

On February 6th, 2003, 50 Cent released his first album Get Rich Or Die Tryin under the watchful eye of Eminem’s Shady Records and Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment. The project earned instant acclaim and sold over twelve million copies in a single year. The rare combination of quality music and universal appeal, a phenomenon not often seen witnessed in the mainstream music scene. Yet such lofty gains undoubtedly heightens the pressure. How does one improve on what may truly be a flawless album? For 50 Cent, The Massacre was his valiant attempt.

Released fifteen years ago to this day, Fif’s second album was met with much of its predecessor’s commercial success — yet not nearly as much of its critical acclaim. Looking back, it’s easy to understand why the media was taking a stricter stance against hip-hop’s seemingly unstoppable villain. Where Get Rich’s hits felt organic in their delivery — particularly the dark dancefloor banger “In Da Club” — The Massacre seemed like a factory for scientifically rendered singles. “Disco Inferno,” “Candy Shop,” and “Just A Lil Bit” were the project’s first three releases, leaving many wondering whether Fif was gearing up for a full-blown crossover. Remember that this was a man who made a name for himself through his blistering mixtape output – a rapper who all but obliterated Ja Rule over his sing-rap formula. Given that Get Rich was largely hailed a (then) modern-day gangsta-rap masterpiece, the slightest detion was enough to raise an eyebrow or two.

Chris Polk/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Released in full a few weeks after “Candy Shop” dropped, The Massacre brought a slew of new producers and trusted collaborators into the fold. Dr. Dre contributed a pair of instrumentals (two down for his four on Get Rich). Eminem laced five. Scott Storch had three. Hi-Tek, J.R. Rotem, Sha Money XL, Needlz, and Buckwild rounded out the effort. The expanded roster led to a more eclectic sound, both a blessing and a curse with regards to cohesion. It seemed as if 50 Cent intended for everything to scale up to match his stardom. There’s an undeniable polish to The Massacre, a tonal shift from the minor-key heavy Get Rich. Understandable given his own meteoric rise, though songs like the brooding “I’m Supposed To Die Tonight” serve as welcome reminders of his bleaker urges.

And yet despite pulling onto the scene with a glossier paint job, the same villain sat behind the wheel. “Piggy Bank” has since become immortalized as a 50 Cent classic, one of the cockiest, arrogant, and delightfully obnoxious diss tracks of all time. Not only was he firing shots at his old pal Ja Rule, but he opened the floodgates to include Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Shyne, Lil Kim, Kelis, and Nas. No longer was this an up-and-comer with dreams of world domination, but a full-blown madman slamming his fist down on the big red button. It’s hard not to throw on “Piggy Bank” and be swept away in the narrative of a simpler time, an era in which confrontation transpired on wax rather than social media stories and subtweets.
 

Peter Kramer/Getty Images

Let the record state that despite its bloat, there are phenomenal songs littered across The Massacre. Introductory banger “In My Hood” picked up directly where Get Rich left off, capturing the depth of Fif’s appeal without straying too far from his roots. Though not quite “Patiently Waiting,” Em and 50’s reunion special “GATman & Robbin” made for a compelling theme song, boasting a hypnotic flow scheme and one of the hardest Batman flips rap has ever seen. “Get In My Car” might be one of the smoothest instrumentals on the project, Fif’s unflinching bars reminding the masses that he’s not to be tried under any circumstances. The album’s last quarter tends to fly under the radar, but there’s plenty to unpack on songs like “God Gave Me Style” and the vintage-sounding “I Don’t Need Em.” And let’s not overlook Dr. Dre’s cartoonishly badass banger “Gunz Come Out,” which rolls in like a tank over a kingdom of Playdoh castles.

Even an excellent effort can succumb to the sophomore slump. The shadow of Get Rich is simply that powerful. Yet fifteen years removed from those damnable trappings of expectation, it feels absolutely safe to call The Massacre a classic. Perhaps there’s nostalgia attached to that label; what of it? There’s quality across the board, and Fif puts on a masterclass in hitting two major demographics without sacrificing artistic integrity in the process. It’s a testament to his songwriting longevity that “Candy Shop” and “Just A Lil Bit” are still welcome in rotation to this day. Not to mention the fact that it’s currently sitting at 6X platinum, its ascent to diamond status all but inevitable. Considering there are many young fans who likely know 50 as a television mogul first and rapper second, that’s a pretty incredible accomplishment. Not only did Curtis Jackson change the game back in 2005 — he massacred it with a smile on his face. 

When longtime hip-hop fans get together and the topic of the “King Of Hooks” arises, it doesn’t take long before the legendary Nate Dogg‘s name is mentioned. Responsible for adding no shortage of melody and sauce to the G-funk movement, Nate Dogg’s repertoire includes such classics as Dr. Dre‘s “The Next Episode,” Snoop Dogg’s “Ain’t No Fun,” Mos Def’s “Oh No,” Warren G‘s “Regulate,” 50 Cent’s “21 Questions,” Eminem’s “Till I Collapse,” Jadakiss‘ “Time’s Up,” and Fabolous‘ “Can’t Deny It” — among countless others.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images 

Given all that he contributed to game, be it on his native west coast or during the away games, it’s totally fair to deem the late great Nate as the bonafide “King Of Hooks.” Now, the honorary title has been literally etched in stone. This weekend, Nate’s headstone in a Forest Lawn, Long Beach cemetery was redone with a highly detailed and intricate update reflecting his royal status. The design was done by Cemetary Tim, who shared images of his handiwork on Instagram. The headstone cites lyrics from the title track of Music And Me, which dropped in 2001. It reads:

“Time does change, but the music it remains the same
I hit em with the music from the slaves
Oh my goodness, what my ancestors gave
I don’t want you to think I don’t know
They taught me how to reach deep down and touch the soul
Without my music, where would I be
You thought me how to cry and still remain a G
You keep alot of soldiers at ease
And together the next level proceed”

Closing out with the wisdom “it ain’t a hit till Nate Dogg spit,” the headstone also draws attention to Nate’s time served with the U.S Marines. Sad though the passing of a legend may be, it’s always bittersweet to see the celebrations of life to follow. Check out the beautiful headstone below, as well as an image from the unveiling ceremony — longtime friend and collaborator Daz Dillinger was in attendance, as well as Nate’s brother Samuel Hale.

Nate Dogg passed away on March 15, 2011, after suffering complications from several strokes. What is your favorite hook from the King?

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has made his way back to the late-night performance stage this time alongside H.E.R. to perform “Me & My Guitar” on TheTonight Show Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Coming off of the release his third studio album, Artist 2.0 (2020), which debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart and number one of the Billboard R&B/Hi-Hop Albums chart, A Boogie is quickly becoming a world-renowned musical act that supersedes the genre borders of traditional hip-hop. 

Jerod Harris/Getty Images

Artist 2.0 did extremely well upon its initial release racking up over 141 million streams in its first week alone. The only other album to amass more streams this decade was Eminem‘s Music to be Murdered By (2020). With so much commercial success, it was only right for the Bronx-bred hip-hop artist to take the stage alongside Grammy Award-winning songstress/instrumentalist H.E.R. to perform a song A Boogie intended the late Juice Wrld to be a part of. 

The 24-year-old, born Artist Julius Dubose, took the stage in his finest rock-inspired garments standing in front of a full live band alongside H.E.R. as he began to croon the “Me & My Guitar” lyrics into an auto-tuned mixed microphone. The crowd was responsive and the young emcee flawlessly delivered a late-night musical television experience that is going to continue to propel his career into the forefront of mainstream music. 

Check out A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s live performance of “Me & My Guitar” featuring H.E.R. on the guitar on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the video provided below. 

For years, Detox became something of a running punchline in hip-hop circles. The album has cropped up as both interview fodder and a lyrical reference for everyone from Eminem to ScHoolboy Q, the latter of whom once claimed the record to be “like a mix away” on “There He Go.” Over a decade in the making, the concluding entry in the trilogy that began all the way back in 1992 took on a near-mythical condition of elusiveness. Halted by Dre’s unquenchable perfectionism, the ticking of the clock plays no role in the Aftermath mastermind’s creative process and his former protégé Snoop Dogg infamously dropped “five albums from the day that Detox was supposed to come out, till the day it didn’t.”

Pursued by a dissatisfaction that he just couldn’t quell, Dre eventually downed tools on this potentially world-altering record and put it behind him. When he did re-emerge in 2016, he did so on Compton, a sprawling love letter to his past that was inspired by cinematically revisiting it through the NWA biopic. Released just 6 days after it was announced, it’s comparatively painless road to completion speaks to one of the eternal truths of the industry. Sometimes, what the public are anticipating and what you want to deliver just doesn’t sync up.

Anything but an isolated incident, Dre relinquishing an album to the ether puts the legendary producer in elite company. So, without further ado, here’s ten more sought-after records that may exist in the archives or as a batch of rough mixes, but have never— and likely will never— see the light of day.

Kanye’s gallery of shelved work

Kanye West attends an event in NYC, 2019 – Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Aside from Dre himself, no one has become more of a byword for the interchangeability of creative focus and taste than Mr. Kanye West. Seemingly working with the aforementioned Compton icon on the follow-up to Jesus Is Kingas we speak, those familiar with Kanye’s tendency to make sweeping declarations will only permit themselves to feel a shred of excitement at most. As much phenomenal, paradigm-shifting music as Ye has delivered up to this point, there’s a similar amount of music that’s been resigned to a theoretical discography.

Between two separate iterations of Good Ass Job including one that was meant to be a straightforward sequel to Graduation, his decision to embrace his “super nerd vibe” with the proposed TLOPfollow-up TurboGrafx16, announcing So Help Me God/Swish in 2015 and getting its artwork inked on his skin all the way to a confirming a proposed collab record with Drake, Ye is the master of the misdirect at this stage.

Whether he’s purposefully throwing fans off the scent or he’s simply refining projects from initial concepts to something more robust, Kanye’s eagerness to pledge that something is coming, only for the pipeline to remain barren, has forever altered how we view his words.

Lil Wayne and Drake’s collaborative album

The master and the heir apparent of Young Money, Drizzy and Tunechi have never failed to deliver across the course of 17 cuts as a duo. Last teaming up on 2017’s Dedication 6 for a “Family Feud” remix, hearing the two reconvene after several years of musical estrangement was like catching up with an old friend. The signature sound of YMCMB’s golden era, the two trading bars is always a recipe for greatness and as such, conversation abounded about “young angel & young lion” finally harnessing that chemistry they established way back on So Far Gone’s “Ignant Shit” into a full project.

Yet as he revealed to XXL in 2011, the arrival of Watch The Throne compelled the duo to put the plans on the backburner for the foreseeable.

“Me and Wayne scrapped the idea of a collaboration album. We just agreed that it would be looked upon as… this competition,” he conceded.  “I feel like it would get caught in this whirlwind of hype. [Wayne] agreed. We just said, ‘If we do it, we’ll do it down the line. But right now is not the time.’”

Nine years on, we’re no further ahead on getting it on the docket in any official capacity but Weezy insists that “We still text and send songs here and there, change a verse because he killed me or change a verse ‘cuz I killed him.”

D’angelo – James River

By the time that Voodoo dropped in 2000, Richmond, Virginia’s very own R&B pioneer D’Angelo had the world on tenterhooks for his next move. Yet for all that there was five years between Brown Sugar and the platinum-selling sophomore project, no one would’ve expected that there’d be so many bumps in the road on the way to an eventual follow-up. Although we’d get The Vanguard-assisted Black Messiah 14 agonizing years later, there is a missing link in the chain that’s still shrouded in a cloud of internal turmoil and darkness to this day. Taking on numerous shapes over the years, updates on an album entitled James River were kept all but non-existent from D’Angelo himself, leaving collaborator and The Roots’ stalwart Questlove to occasionally chime in with a snippet of information. After he’d leaked an acoustic version of what’d eventually become “Really Love” to Australia’s Triple J in 2004 and damaged their relationship in the process, Quest then proclaimed that James River was “97% done” in 2011.

Although his eventual return was seminal in itself, there’s always going to be part of us that wants to hear some other excerpts from the reported “five albums worth” of material that he’d recorded in that time.

Outkast – 10 The Hard Way

OutKast, 2000 – Scott Gries/ImageDirect/Getty Images

Said to be helmed in its entirety by their trusted advisors Organized Noize, 10 The Hard Way is known among Outkast fans as the grand send-off that never was. Reportedly constructed alongside Idlewild and its subsequent soundtrack, this record was meant to escort 3 Stacks and Big Boi back from the prohibition-era realm of their cinematic endeavours and into the heat of the Player’s Ball. In what makes for truly dismaying reading now that we know how history has panned out, a 2006 interview with Sleepy Brown saw him outline exactly where the record was headed.

“That’s supposed to be the last OutKast album”, he asserted. “Hard tracks, rap tracks. They was all for it, we’ve made plenty of beats for it, then, all of a sudden, he [Benjamin] don’t wanna do it no more. I just wish he’d make the decision,” he sighs. “Just say it! Are you done, or are you done? Nobody’s gonna be mad, but they’ll be mad if you keep doin’ this to ’em!”

Eminem – The Funeral

Although “it’s your funeral” may have been the gripping tagline of this year’s Music To Be Murdered By, the graveside ceremony we’re referring to dates all the way back to 2006. Becoming the stuff of forum legend, The Funeral was the proposed next entry in Em’s catalogue after Encore and came with a fleshed-out premise to boot. Slated to be a double disc project, the album’s proposed title wasn’t a throwaway remark, it spoke to the concept of laying his previous aliases to rest.

“I’m not really on any of the tracks named The Funeral”, he told BET. “Those tracks just signify the death of each persona.” The Eminem fansite states that the album was intended to contain three sections, each divided by one The Funeral track. Bizarre was set to rap about the Slim Shady persona, Dr. Dre was going to handle the Marshall Mathers persona, while Obie Trice was going to rap about the Eminem persona. The final track which was reportedly title “Where I’m Standing” was meant to showcase Eminem’s “rebirth.”

Enticing as that sounds, it looks like it’ll never see the light of day, unless he chooses to revive the structure for one grand swansong somewhere along the line.

J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar’s collaborative album

J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar performing during Cole’s tour, 2014 – Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Every generation has one of those great “what if’s” that arise from contemplating what would happen if two or more legendary artists teamed up for one full-length project together. The previous era had the “Murder Inc” supergroup of Jay Z, DMX and Ja Rule that failed to materialize and we have the Cole and K. Dot album that’s been hinted at for nearly five years now.

Regularly stoked by their teams either to keep interest alive or, in some cases, seemingly for their own amusement, they first encountered one another on Born Sinner’s “Forbidden Fruit” before later remixing one another’s tracks on “Black Friday” of 2015.

With Kendrick and Cole both claiming that they’d love to do it on numerous occasions and Lamar even cropping up in an uncredited capacity on ROTD3, the last real correspondence we had on the matter saw Dreamville’s leader state that “We just did a few songs. Like, we did a bunch of ideas. Put it like that. It was nothing like, you wouldn’t call it an album… Not because it’s never gonna happen. Just because, like… it’s not right now. I don’t like teasing or playing the game ’cause this has been going on for a minute.”

Whatever the case, it’s hard to imagine any record stopping hip-hop in its tracks quite like Kendrick crossing over to Cole World.

Slaughterhouse – Glass House

Despite having all the lyrical talent in the world, there was something about the dynamic at the heart of Slaughterhouse that never enabled them to live up to their potential. Across their 2009 independent debut to the Shady-backed Welcome To Our House, clashing egos, beat selection and apparent management interference prevented Royce, King Crooked, Joell and Joe Budden from creating the sacred text of rhyming that they, by all rights, should’ve delivered. Said to feature an equivalent “Slaughterhouse of producers” that included Just Blaze, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, Illmind and others, Royce may be adamant that they didn’t finish their last album Glass House but to Crook’s mind, they’re “robbing the culture” by not releasing it.

“It came out incredible,” he told Talib Kweli’s The People’s Party podcast. “I wanted it to see the light of day. For Budden’s part, he’s happy to leak the album but who knows whether that’ll ever occur.

Black Thought & Danger Mouse – Dangerous Thoughts

Sometimes, a producer and MC combo is enough to set your imagination ablaze. Danger Mouse’s hip-hop pedigree is well established, from Gnarls Barkley to DANGERDOOM. Two years after he’d meticulously spliced Jay-Z and The Beatles together for The Grey Album, Danger was granted the opportunity to work with another one of hip-hop’s most astounding pens, The Roots’ Black Thought. Said to be “midway” to completion back in 2006, the Philly icon said later in the year that he “would call it a meeting of the minds. It would not be like me, Black Thought from the Roots, and Danger Mouse the producer — it’s us taking on two personas.”

With Black finally releasing solo material with Streams Of Thought Vol 1 & 2, let’s hope that they can finally build on all that chemistry they’d exhibited during the rapper’s appearance on Dangerdoom’s previously unreleased jam “Mad Nice.”

Zack De La Rocha’s solo album

Throughout his career, Rage Against The Machine’s Zach De La Rocha has resembled less of an artist and more of a force of nature. Initially leaving the rap-rock group that’d made his name in 2000 as he felt that it had “undermined our artistic and political ideal,” the rumour mill about a solo project from Zack essentially started there and then. Amid collaborating with DJ Shadow, KRS-ONE and others, it only seemed like a matter of time until a fiery album of political vitriol that embraced his hip-hop roots would arrive. Over the next decade and a half, Zach would be pictured in the studio with Nas, undertake some sessions with Questlove and even deliver an incendiary verse on Run The Jewels’ “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck.)”  

Then, in 2017, EL-P incited chaos on social media when he declared that  “The Zack de la Rocha album is happening in 2017. And yes this is new material made this year and yes there is more where that came from. And that’s all the info I’m authorized to give out. Been keeping my mouth shut about my work with Zack since January when we did it. It hurt. Now I’ll commence keeping my mouth shut about the rest.” To date, all that’s emerged is the phenomenal El-P produced “Digging For Windows” but we’d be eager to hear more.

Nas & AZ – The Essence/The Firm Sequel

Nas & AZ out in NYC, 2019 – Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images

Since Nasir Jones came to the fore on the all-time great debut Illmatic, no one has been able to meld so neatly with his style in the vein that AZ can. Delivering one of the showstopping verses of the album— and in this writer’s opinion, all-time— on “Life’s A Bitch,” the pair have kept that shared rhythm alive over the years on tracks such as “Serious,” “The Flyest” and “The Essence” not to mention during their time in Dr. Dre’s The Firm supergroup. Speaking of that last track from Aziatic, its title bears the same name as the proposed collaborative album between the two that, for one reason or another, has never emerged. Once again consigned to the stuff of forum speculation, what AZ has been more forthcoming about is the prospect of another record alongside Dre, Foxy Brown and Nature under the mafioso-rap banner of The Firm. Speaking to The Boombox in 2012, the eternally underrated New York MC claimed that the only thing holding them back is scheduling.

“I just spoke to Foxy like two to three months ago. Everybody’s cool. We all reach out, there’s no bad blood. We all grown and what not, so it’s cool. Nas’ album [Life Is Good], just came out and he’s doing him. I’m trying to wrap up my Doe or Die 2 album, so I’m working. So hopefully, we can make it happen again — one more time. But if not, it was a great experience.”

Although they may be at vastly different ends of the industry at this stage, the prospect of hearing Nas & AZ hook up for a full-length project will never lose its lustre.

Which of these albums would you love to hear? 

News struck this week that Frank Ocean is planning on releasing a brand new single to the world, cancelling pre-orders for the "Little Demon" vinyl and replacing it with an unreleased track. Perhaps the reclusive star is also working on contributing to the first posthumous album released by Juice WRLD. Or, at least that's what Lil Bibby is hoping for.

The head of Juice WRLD's label Grade A Productions, Lil Bibby, just sent out a public call for Frank Ocean to sing on the upcoming posthumous album by late 21-year-old Juice WRLD. The Chicago star passed away in December 2019 of a drug overdose and, since then, his team has announced that unreleased music will eventually find its way onto streaming services. While there remains no release date for Juice WRLD's first posthumous project, Bibby is not making it a secret that he wants the sweet, soothing tones of Frank Ocean's voice on there.

If there was ever any doubt that 50 Cent‘s Get Rich Or Die Tryin was anything other than timeless, look no further than its ninth platinum certification. Originally released on February 6th, 2003, executive produced by both Dr. Dre and Eminem at the height of Shady/Aftermath’s reign, Fif’s debut featured smash hip-hop hits like “In Da Club,” “21 Questions,” and “P.I.M.P.” Singles that still go off today, with “In Da Club” remaining one of the most widely-recognized mainstream rap singles of all time. 

Get Rich sold 872,000 copies in its first week — remember that this was an era where people actually went out and bought albums. By the end of the year, the project had moved a staggering 12 million copies, with six million stemming from the United States; as such, Fif’s debut was certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA in 2003, an accomplishment that has only now been updated.

Leon Bennett/Getty Images

A quick perusal of the RIAA’s “Gold And Platinum” section finds updated statistics devised as of February 24th. As of now, 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin has upgraded to nine-times platinum, a number his fans have come to develop a strong association. Following this latest milestone, Fif is only one million short of the coveted diamond status, an accomplishment that only a handful of fellow rappers have achieved.

As it happens, his friend and former labelmate Eminem has a few Diamond certifications under his belt, earned  The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show.. OutKast‘s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, also released in 2003, holds the prestigious honor. Nelly‘s Country Grammar has it locked, as does 2Pac‘s classic All Eyez On Me and Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death. Should he find himself moving one million album-equivalent units, 50 Cent seems all but destined to join the ranks. And let’s be honest — the accomplishment would be well-deserved.

Bleta Rexha, better known by her stage name, Bebe Rexha is sparking conversation about mental illness and her personal struggles with being bipolar. While she has been one of the most aesthetically pleasing and talented artists of the past decade, writing music for the likes of Selena Gomez and working closely with artists like Rihanna and Eminem, she’s struggled with mental health issues since she was a child. Now, in a candid interview with Self Magazine, the “Steady” singer is ready to discuss her experience as a bipolar woman in the music industry.  

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In April 2019, the 30-year old songstress took to Twitter to reveal that she was struggling with the mental disorder, writing:

“For the longest time, I didn’t understand why I felt so sick. Why I felt lows that made me not want to leave my house or be around people and why I felt highs that wouldn’t let me sleep, wouldn’t let me stop working or creating music. Now I know why.”

While talking to Self Mag, the fusion singer went into detail about her experience stating:

“I was very fearful. I didn’t want to think there was something wrong with me… Growing up, when I had anxiety and depression, they’d be like, just get over it. It’s all in your head. Take a walk… For my parents, it was hard because they felt like it was a sense of failure. But it’s not their failure at all; it’s just an illness.”

Throughout her life, the former The Voice coach experienced symptoms of bipolar disorder such as mood swings, anxiousness, and overwhelming depression. In the midst of her mental health issues, she was also diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a condition that transpires a week or two before a woman’s menstrual cycle, which can cause severe irritability, depression, or anxiety. As a child of Albanian immigrant parents, Rexha didn’t have access to professional help for quite some time. During the interview, she expressed her experience stating:

“My mom would call it code red. A day before (my period started), I would feel like my world was ending … I would get into these funks and be really depressed and not want to leave my house.”

Eventually, with the support of her friends and her family, Bebe Rexha found a therapist and began taking medication under the guidance of a psychiatrist, despite her fears of the meds affecting her creativity as an artist. She continued:

“I waited a very long time until I took meds. I was really scared that it was going to flatten me out. (Medication has) maybe helped me be a little bit more insightful and learn things about the world and also allowed me to be a little bit more centered so that I can actually write about my feelings.”

Lastly, Rexha opened up about how her experience could possibly help her fans stating:

“I felt like me opening up to my fans was me finally saying, ‘I’m not going to be imprisoned by this,’ And maybe it’ll make somebody not feel imprisoned, in that moment, if they feel like they’re going through a rough time. That’s why I decided to really open up and to free myself from that.”

Check out Bebe Rexha’s full interview with Self Magazine, here, and also watch the luscious singer/songwriter do some squats with her pup in the video provided below. 

This week on the charts, Justin Bieber has topped the Billboard 200 as his Changes album clocks in at No. 1. The effort originally arrived on Valentine’s Day and since then, Bieber has collected 231,000 equivalent album units in the US with 126,000 units accounting for pure album sales. The total tally marks the third-largest week of 2020, trailing Eminem‘s Music To Be Murdered By (279,000) and Halsey’s Manic (239,000).

Most of all, at 25 years old, Justin Bieber is the youngest artist to ever earn seven No. 1 albums. The record previously went to Elvis Presley who earned his seventh No. 1 album by the age of 26. 

The next notable debut of the week goes to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie‘s Artist 2.0 which starts out with 111,000 equivalent album units mostly from streaming to the tune of 106,000 units coming from streaming activity. It makes his album the most-streamed outing of the week. It marks A Boogie‘s sixth album on the chart and his third top 10 project. Last year, his Hoodie SZN album topped out at No. 1 while The Bigger Artist peaked at No. 4 in 2017.

Following closely behind is Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush which debuts at No. 3, marking the act’s highest-charting album of all time with 110,000 equivalent units in its first week. A great portion of that is accounted for album sales with 80,000.

Roddy Ricch‘s Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial slips down from No. 1 to No. 4 with 70,000 units this week. South Korean group Monsta X makes its debut at No. 5 this week for its first all-English album, All About Luv, with 52,000 units.

The last half of this week’s top 10 is dominated by familiar names as Post Malone’s Hollywood’s Bleeding slips to No. 6 with 50,000 units. Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is at No. 7 with 44,000 units. 

Despite an 11% increase in total units following news of his tragic shooting death, Pop Smoke’s Meet The Woo V.2 slips from its debut position of No. 7 to No. 8 with 40,000 earned in its second week. 

Eminem’s Music To Be Murdered By is at No. 9 with 39,000 units and Halsey’s Manic closes things out at No. 10 with 31,000 units.

Paul Rosenberg — known by many as manager to Eminem, Danny Brown, Alchemist, Action Bronson, and more — is officially stepping down from his position as Def Jam’s CEO. As Billboard reports, Rosenberg was finding himself unable to focus on both his Goliath Management duties and his position as co-owner of Shady Records, and thus decided to bow out gracefully. The decision is said to be amicable, though Rosenberg himself has yet to make an official statement on ending his two-year tenure with the legendary label.

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You may recall that Rosenberg originally secured the position in August of 2017 and enjoyed a successful run during his time as CEO. Yet those familiar with Paul’s career understand that his connection with Eminem runs deep, and it’s not entirely surprising to see him looking to dedicate more time to the Shady family. Especially given that Boogie, Griselda, and Em himself are all enjoying strong runs that would likely benefit from Paul’s increased attention. 

Billboard notes that Def Jam will make the announcement next week. It should be noted that during Rosenberg’s time in charge, many prominent rappers released new albums, including Jadakiss, Fabolous, Jeezy, Kanye West, Logic, and YG. While he had a good run, it should be interesting to see Rosenberg spending the majority of his time where it all began; one has to wonder what that spells for the future. 

During the 2019 Holiday Season, Drake spoke rather highly of the Griselda movement during his interview with Rap Radar. “In a mainstream space I feel like the art of bars and that traditional long verse is kind of going extinct,” he reflected, chopping it up with Elliot Wilson and B. Dot Miller. “Then you got guys like Griselda making it wavy again to be on your gutter, straight rap shit. The interesting structures — that gutter shit.” When Miller asked if a Drake and Benny The Butcher collaboration was a possibility, Drizzy took a sip of his wine. “I’m down. Benny showed me love one time in an interview. He did show me love.”

Though Westside Gunn, Conway, and Benny are used to high-profile co-signs — they’ve already been endorsed by Eminem, J. Cole, Jay-Z, Raekwon, Royce Da 5’9″, and Ghostface — many were excited to see Drake showing love to such a bar-centric collective. Especially those who value Drake getting back on his BS, spazzing on lyrical slow burners like “Omerta.” While there’s certainly a strategic benefit of securing the Drake feature, as seen for Lil Baby, Blocboy JB, and even Migos, the Griselda trifecta have already established themselves as key players in the game without Aubrey’s blessing. Be that as it may, the idea of these particular worlds colliding is enticing on a purely stylistic level. 

Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images, Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

As luck would have it, what started as a what-if fantasy has become a reality. Seizing the opportunity presented by Drake’s Rap Radar interview, Benny The Butcher stepped up and slid an instrumental to Drizzy’s camp, the confirmation of a full-scale collaboration all but locked in. Taking to social media to fan the flames of hype, The Butcher made is known that the wheels are in motion. “Sent Drake a record and I kno imma wanna drop it as soon as he send it back,” he wrote, in a screencap captured by Elliot Wilson (the man who may have inadvertently helped spark this unexpected friendship in the first place).

To make things even more exciting, Drake slid into the comments with a simple Typewriter emoji, roughly translated to “I’m writing as we speak.” Of course, going toe to toe on wax with Benny The Butcher is no easy feat — one must bring their best bars to the table, and in no small dose. Benny is used to lyrically trading with the likes of Conway The Machine, another formidable wordsmith. While Drake is certainly competitive, a collaboration with Benny might be the biggest challenge he’s faced in a minute. On the other hand, it might be exactly what the game needs right now — a reminder that when inspired to do so, the 6ix God can spit at elite levels. No matter how things turn out, it’ll be exciting to see whether he’s capable of keeping strides with The Butcher on Benny’s home turf.

Concrete details surrounding the track are scarce. We can speculate that it will be produced by Daringer or Alchemist, but that’s about it. All we know is that, much like The Butcher himself, it’s coming. 

Nick Cannon‘s new interview with VLAD TV has been filled with tons of headline-worthy content, from his opinion on Eminem being the pioneer of pill-popping rap to his upcoming book on Suge Knight being comparable to The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The latest clip shared by Vlad now sees him speaking on the many issues currently surrounding former (?) NFL star Antonio Brown. 

Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for MAXIM 

Not everything has been going downhill for Antonio lately, seen above looking crispy clean with all smiles while flicking it up with rapper Russ earlier this month at the 2020 MAXIM Big Game Experience during Super Bowl weekend. However, having to make a handful of public apologies to everyone from the Hollywood Police Department to his former Pittsburgh Steelers family, in addition to a still opened investigation into his sexual assault case from last year, proves that Brown still has a long way back to normal. Nick, who was quick to call out the fact that he knows Brown from his stint on season one of The Masked Singer, spoke to the fact that he sees the situation as “a brother crying out for help.”

It’s worth hearing Nick Cannon explain his thoughts on the Antonio Brown ordeal in his own words, so watch the clip below and let us know if you think he has a point:

Yesterday marked Dr. Dre‘s 55th birthday, an occasion that elicited well-wishes from many of his former collaborators and friends like 50 Cent, Eminem, and Xzibit. Not only that, but legendary radio host Big Boy made sure to show the Doc some love on yesterday’s show; you may recall that Dre and Big Boy go way back, with Dre having actually given the host a sneak preview of Eminem’s Music To Be Murdered By months before its release. In response to Big Boy’s shout-out, Dre actually called in to touch base. 

Mark Davis/Getty Images

“You know you gotta be special to get me up this early,” laughs Dre. “Usually I’m going to sleep at this time. I was in the studio last night and actually decided to go to bed early. One, to do this with you, and two, to make sure I had energy for what my wife has planned.” Big Boy even invites him to a low-key evening of DiGiorno pizza dining before asking what a Dr. Dre birthday generally looks like. “I decided to keep it lowkey this time,” responds Dre. “My wife is going to do a crab boil for me. We’re just going to kick it in my backyard.” 

From the look of it, Dre did exactly that, reuniting with his old pal Xzibit and kicking back at the mansion. We can only hope that Dre had a night to remember; he certainly deserves it after giving us so much amazing music throughout his extensive career. Once again, happy belated to the Good Doctor, who continues to endure as hip-hop’s “Watcher.” 

Fresh off the drop of his recent Lifetime EP, Twista slid through for a conversation at the Hot 97 studios with Ebro and Laura Stylez. The discussion eventually shifts to Eminem‘s “Godzilla,” which currently holds the Guinness World Record for Fastest Rap Verse — a record originally held by Twista for a solid decade. “Mine was the most syllables in a minute,” reflects Twista. “I stopped my record on purpose because I thought people came right behind me to break my record. Nobody ever tried it for over ten years. So by the time somebody broke it, I was already making my joints and my hits. I didn’t really care about it.”

Around the ten minute mark, Twista reflects on the game’s current state, particularly with regards to the perceived death of lyricism in commercial hip-hop. “A lot of young cats don’t really care about intelligence in rap no more,” he says. “Some do, but we saw the decline of intelligent input. Right now you got a lot of people more into the vibe.” 

Circling to his own experience collaborating on his recent Red Bull collaboration project, Twista also reflects on how artists like Drake and Kanye West occasionally use writing teams in the studio. “At this stage in my career, I wrote so many records, when I got presented with the opportunity to express myself than be the lyricist, I wanted to see how the feels like. Let me get in the room with a collective mind, see how I work with other artists. It was a fun project to do with that many different writers who understood my rap style.”

Ebro raises the classic topic of Drake’s ghostwriting controversy, prompting Twista to offer what his solution might have been. “He should have told them I’ll bust your head,” says Twist. “Yeah somebody wrote for me, but if you try me I’ll bust your head with something I wrote…To me, you should be scared of an artist who can make his own records and also chooses to use other people to write. That’s the artist to be scared about. That means his ceiling is high – it’s way over where you thinking. He’s achieving a perfection and he wants a position in music you may not even understand. He knows he can do it, but he knows with these collective minds, he can get it.”

“I told you what he should have told them,” says Twista, with a smile. “I’ll bust your head with my rhymes. I do this to take what I’m doing further.” He reasons that sometimes an artist simply can’t keep up with the pace of their vision, and bringing in a trusted team of collaborators is simply part of the process.   

Roddy Ricch has returned to what’s been proving to be his rightful place atop the charts lately. 

This week, the Compton rapper’s Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial debut album is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the fourth nonconsecutive week after earning 79,000 equivalent album units. The project first debuted at No. 1 on December 21st. taking a leave of absence fromthe top spot a few times to make room for a few other debuts, only to return to No. 1 three more times. In its 10 weeks on the chart, the lowest the album has gone has been to No. 4.

At No. 2, Post Malone‘s Hollywood’s Bleeding climbs from No. 5 with 52,000 equivalent album units followed by Eminem‘s Music To Be Murdered By at No. 3 with 51,000 total. Debuting at No.4 this week is Green Day, who collect their 11th top 10 album with Father of All… earning 48,000 equivalent album units with 42,000 being pure album sales, boosted by a merchandise/album bundle sale from the band.

Rounding out the top 5 of the chart is Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? which clocks 45,000 equivalent album units while Lil Wayne‘s Funeral make a large jump from No. 1 to No. 6 in its second week with 44,000 units.

The next debut of the week is awarded to Pop Smoke whose Meet The Woo V.2 marks his first visit to the top 10 on the chart as the project earns 36,000 equivalent album units with streaming accounting heavily toward the tally with 31,000 SEA units taking up the number.

The remainder of the top is hosted by Halsey’s Manic at No. 8 with 34,000 unis, Dabby’s KIRK at No.9 with 32,000 units and Taylor Swift‘s Lover at No. 10 with 31,000 total units.

The court case against two members of Machine Gun Kelly‘s crew is heating up as it’s being reported that indictments have been issued against them. Back in 2018, a physical altercation was captured on surveillance footage that allegedly shows a man named Gabriel “G-Rod” Rodriguez getting beaten by two men affiliated with MGK. Both parties were at an Atlanta restaurant when G-Rod decided to yell at MGK, calling him a “p*ssy” over his ongoing verbal spat with Eminem.

Charley Gallay / Stringer / Getty Images

Later, the parties just happened to reconnect at a Hampton Inn where two people in Machine Gun Kelly’s entourage reportedly unleashed a beatdown onto G-Rod. The victim was battered and bruised, so he decided to sue the rapper. Because MGK wasn’t involved in the fight personally and witnesses reportedly backed up his story, the rapper doesn’t believe he’s at fault. In his lawsuit, G-Rod stated that MGK told his crew members to attack him so he should be held responsible.

In October 2019, Brandon Allen and John Cappelletty were arrested on two counts of felony aggravated battery causing substantial physical harm. They quickly made bail and according to TMZ, they’ve now been indicted by a grand jury. They’re not expected to receive the maximum sentence, but the outlet states they’re facing 20 years in prison.

He’s one of the fastest rhyme spitters in the game, making Twista an icon in hip hop. The Chicago native has a decades-long career filled with hits that are fan favorites, and today he released his latest project Lifetime. The five-pack EP was reportedly created in collaboration with Red Bull, and to help promote the project, Twista visited Hot 97 and chatted with Ebro in the Morning.

During the discussion, Twista talked about his relationship with Kanye West. He said that they met each other in the Chicago music scene while frequenting hip hop clubs. Eventually, the pair worked together on classics like “Slow Jamz” and “Overnight Celebrity,” but in recent years they haven’t stayed in contact. “I haven’t talked to him as much,” Twista admitted. “I talked to Rhymefest recently, I know he goes down there with him. We still cool, we just haven’t talked.”

Twista also shared how he thinks the rap game has changed throughout generations. “A lotta young cats don’t really care about intelligence in rap no more,” said Twista. “Some do, but we been in it for so long we saw the decline of intelligent input. So I think right now you got a lotta people that do music or they listen to music, they all into the vibe.”

Watch Twista’s full interview with Ebro in the Morning below and see what else he had to say about Eminem, quick-rhyming rappers, working with Red Bull, and more.

Machine Gun Kelly has sold some very unique merchandise in his day but this may take the cake. It’s unclear who the Ohio-born rapper will be spending his Valentine’s Day with after being spotted out with Noah Cyrus and Demi Lovato in recent weeks, but all of his single lady fans are getting a special gift in their merch boxes with a Hotel Diablo-based “Little Devil” toy being included in their packages.

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MGK released his album Hotel Diablo last year and, after hawking “Rap Devil” horns post-Eminem feud, he’s now getting on-brand for a new kind of devilish toy. Unveiling the packaging for his special Valentine’s Day gift to the fans, Kelly showed the hoodie and custom box being included with each purchase. His favorite part of the gift, however, was cheekily added to the side, and Machine Gun Kelly says it’s just “a little naughty.”

The item in question is a vibrator, which has the phrase, “Cum on, open me” written on the bottom of the box. He showed everybody how to activate it, failing to keep a straight face during the entire video. We’ve got to hand it to MGK… this is insanely clever. 

Are you buying one of Machine Gun Kelly’s merch boxes? We won’t tell.

Love has been one of, if not the, most inspirational themes in art history. Painters have spent painstaking hours rendering the details of their muses. Authors have penned tales and tomes on the great mysteries of romance. Musicians have spilled their emotions on wax, sometimes melodramatic but often sincere. It’s a force that drives creativity — even if said creativity stems from the absence of love. Hip-hop is no exception. Countless rappers allowed themselves to get sensitive about a special someone, even if it meant breaking a pre-established character.

Shaolin lyricist Method Man channeled Romeo energy on “I’ll Be There For You.” 50 Cent deted from the gangsta-rap playbook on “21 Questions.” Drake and his ability to find love in a one night stand formed the basis of many classic tracks. Ja Rule set the early millennium ablaze with his declaration that every thug needs a lady. Fabolous removed his punchline crown and placed it ever so gently on the floor. LL Cool J went from asking mama to knock you out to asking mama for her daughter’s hand in marriage. Eminem took a step back from murdering his ex-wife to reflecting on their complicated relationship. It’s almost fair to say that every rapper has explored the love song in one way or another — not to be confused with the lust song, a far more popular topic.

Though getting romantic might be unfamiliar territory, it’s not uncommon to see a given rapper staying within their stylistic comfort zone when doing so. That’s not to say the act of rapping is inherently less romantic than that of singing — it’s simply an observation that many emcees prefer to stick to the script, keeping their flow and cadence relatively familiar. Still, it’s hard to deny that some approaches can be more effective than others. Double-time flow over a hard-hitting drill beat might send the wrong message. In that sense, the music is as important as the lyrics. For Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. standout “LOVE,” arguably one of the greatest modern love songs in recent memory, the instrumental plays a pivotal role in setting the table.

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Off the top, Sounwave and Teddy Walton’s production choice brings a distinct quality. The song alternates between the chords of F major and B flat major, a I to IV transition not often seen in hip-hop songwriting. For some context, a musical key is reliant on the relationship between seven chords, made up of tonal chord qualities. Often depicted in Roman numerals, the I, IV, and V are generally major; conversely, ii, iii, and vi are minor. In the most basic form, major is HAPPY and minor is SAD. While a I-vi progression might begin on a high note only to plummet into melancholy, a I-IV sits comfortably in positive territory. Though it doesn’t necessarily come to a decisive resolution, the wandering quality of the progression serves to enhance Kendrick’s detached whimsy. Enhancing the soundscape is the chosen synthesizer, atmospheric bordering on cloud-rap; the whole package is reminiscent of a high-school dance in the mid-eighties.

As he tends to do, Kendrick uses his voice as an additional instrument to build on the existing harmony. Contrasted against Zacari’s soaring falsetto, Kendrick’s unconventional cadence is endearing in its sincerity. He’s not looking to impress but rather to express. Many have correctly deduced that “LOVE” is a dedication to his wife, who he once described as his best friend. Rather than turning their story into an elaborately penned story, Kendrick instead relies on the narrative tools of ambiguity and inference. The end result is not entirely different from an inside joke, in which the meaning will hold a different meaning to the intended recipient. For the rest of us, it might be tempting to write his lyrics off as simple. Yet here the simplicity works in the song’s favor on a deeper thematic level. Where Kendrick is generally a layered writer, packing his bars with meaning and subtext, “LOVE” finds him reverting to the childhood stages. Anchoring his wistful verse around the recurring line “I’m on the way,” Kendrick lays out a series of personal snapshots in a fragmented stream of consciousness style. There are no larger than life declarations but rather small slices of life. “Remember Gardena, I took the studio camera, I know Top will be mad at me,” he raps, directly drawing on his partner’s nostalgia while indirectly sparking our own — those who have experienced similar moments will likely make their own connections accordingly.

So on this day ostensibly designed to celebrate romance, why not throw on Kendrick Lamar’s “LOVE” and see where it takes you? And if you still find yourself unmoved, there’s always plan B.

50 Cent addressed Nick Cannon and Eminem‘s beef and Nick’s diss track toward him on The Breakfast Club, where he proclaimed that Nick has “been corny forever.” In the interview, Fif was asked if he really did tell Em not to go after Nick after his Nick’s diss track saga, which he confirms is true. “I was like, ain’t nothing there,” he said. “Cause Em, he’ll get hype and go ‘what?'” Like you challenging him in that way. Cause he comes from that format, the battle format. They actually put him in a space where he’s the most comfortable when they attack at him.”

Fif has become more and more involved in the never-ending Em/Nick beef as of late, especially since Nick revealed that his track, “Used to Look Up to You,” is actually about Fif rather than Em, contrary to popular belief. “I would never respond to that,” Fif declared. “He is legendary corny. He’s been corny forever, from the very beginning.”

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for VEVO

Charlamagne gave Nick a bit of credit by noting that he is “a great businessman” and that “the only thing that makes him look corny is his rapping.” Fif agrees, questioning why Nick is “so passionate” about rapping, considering he “sucks” at it.  “I’ma just tell you the truth,” Fif says, addressing Nick. “There’s never a moment when you said something and we was like, ‘Ooo, bars.’” While he may not be impressed with Nick’s skills on the mic, Fif does think he’s an okay actor. He claims that he would even consider casting him in a Power Book series if he did a good job, which we’re now dying to see happen.

Dr. Dre has been increasingly active of late, much to the delight of hip-hop fans worldwide. Not only did the Good Doctor reunite with his Relapse team to bless Eminem with four Music To Be Murdered By bangers, but he also linked up with Kanye Westto play a role on Jesus Is King 2. Prior to that, Dre served as a watchful guardian over Anderson .Paak‘s two-part epic Oxnard and Ventura. It would appear that inspiration has taken control once again, as Dre recently connected with Xzibit and Ice T for another studio session.

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Xzibit, who worked closely with Dre on 2001, as well as his solo albums Restless and Man Vs. Machine, shared pictures of the sessions on his Instagram page. “You have no idea wtf we about to drop like a atom bomb on you.com,” he captions, alongside an image of himself, Dre, and Focus at the boards. Another image depicts X, Dre, Ice T, Focus, Fred Wreck, and Hen Gee mean-mugging the camera.

Given the link-up’s legendary pedigree, it’s no wonder the legendary Ice T also documented the moment. “We started this gangsta shit!” he declares, alongside a badass image of himself and Dre by the recording console. It’s unclear as to whether Ice is working on new music with the Aftermath mogul, but it’s still cool to see him involved in the process. Check out the pictures below, and sound off if you’re looking to hearing another collaboration from Xzibit and Dre. We’ll not soon forget “U Know,” “Best Of Things,” “X,” and “Losin Your Mind.”

When Lil Wayne dropped Funeral a week-and-a-half-ago, he reminded everyone how he has managed to make such a lasting impression on hip-hop. Now, his musical longevity has been proven even further with his latest Billboard feat: Weezy has officially surpassed Elvis Presley’s number of Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hits, with a total of 82. This officially makes Lil Wayne the artist with the second highest number of Top 40 hits in history, next only to his former fellow Young Money man, Drake, who has exactly 100.

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With his 13th studio album, Funeral, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard, Wayne managed to nab himself four Billboard Hot 100 hits. According to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, the album’s title track sits at No. 88, followed by “Mamma Mia” at No. 87, and Mahogany at No. 61. With the Big Sean and Lil Baby-featured song, “I Do It,” is sitting at No. 33, however, Weezy has secured his 82nd Top 40 hit of his career, allowing him to surpass Elvis Presley’s record as having the second highest number of Top 40 hits in the chart’s history. In total, Wayne has 167 career entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the third-highest number of hits besides Drake and the Glee cast, who are tied at 207 each.

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Funeral managed to debut at No. 1 after moving an impressive 139,000 equivalent album units during its first week on streaming services. This includes 38,000 traditional album sales, the equivalent of 134 million on-demand streams. Check out full list of artists with the most Top 40 hits in history below:

Most Top 40 Hot 100 Hits
100 – Drake
82 – Lil Wayne
81 – Elvis Presley
63 – Taylor Swift
57 – Elton John
56 – Kanye West
54 – Nicki Minaj
51 – Eminem
51 – Glee Cast
50 – The Beatles
50 – Jay-Z
50 – Rihanna

Brad Pitt and Regina King may not be dating but fans want that to happen after seeing how close they got at the Academy Awards this weekend. Among many other special moments, including Parasite's total domination, Eminem's surprise performance of "Lose Yourself," and more, one of the most heartwarming Oscars 2020 bits came as Brad Pitt and Regina King were making their way off the stage and into the press room. Pitt won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood and as they made their way to the backstage area, they appeared to be very chummy. At the time, a ton of affection could be seen on camera but even after, they seemed to be feeling each other, holding hands and even planting some kisses on each other's cheeks. It's got fans of both actors hoping that they continue their bond outside of the awards ceremony.

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Social media was abuzz when King and Pitt had their moment on stage, reacting even further when press room photos of the two surfaced. Posing for joint images, they undeniably look great together, which is a sentiment felt by many reacting online.

What did you think of the 2020 Oscars (if you watched... this was the least-viewed ceremony ever, after all.)

The modern hip-hop landscape feels like fertile ground for lone wanderers. Though it wasn’t always. There was once an era in which rap crews reigned supreme, gangs roving the game waving their own respective flags. Especially at the turn of the century. Every superstar seemed to have their own loyal band. Interesting dynamics and standout members proved inevitable — all part of the fun. Any hip-hop head in their late twenties can likely rattle off names like D12, G-Unit, State Property, The Lox, Bravehearts, Disturbing Tha Peace, Tha Eastsidaz, and the St. Lunatics. Some have delivered hip-hop classics; others have faded from memory.

The rap crew has been a mainstay in the game since the late eighties, since Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella united to form NWA. Years later came Wu-Tang Clan, arguably the greatest band to ever bless the culture. The product of ten emcees, disparate in styles though united in vision, the Shaolin warriors achieved commercial and critical dominance. Likewise did legendary groups like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia have untold impact on the culture, their influence on production trends and flow-schemes evident now more than ever. Cam’ron, Mase, and Big L fought record label attention as Children Of The Corn, their movement shattered by Big L’s untimely murder. The Hot Boys, a New Orleans based collective helmed by the notorious Birdman, brought a new bounce to the table. Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Nature joined Dr. Dre for The Firm, a mafioso clique that ultimately floundered under the weight of expectation.

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The list goes on. To shine a spotlight on all deserving parties would require far more than a single article. But there is one interesting pattern worthy of exploration, one that really came to manifest in the early millennium. The idea that a commercially successful rapper had a band of little homies waiting in the wings, ready to be put on. Was it a label-fuelled movement? Perhaps; you can bet the Interscope powers that be were salivating at the thought of a D12 album, especially if it didn’t impact Em’s contract as a solo artist. Business aside, the arrival of a crew often introduced new dynamics, undoubtedly fueled by a good-natured sense of healthy competition. Upon listening to D12’s Devil’s Night and St Lunatics’ Free City, there’s a certain edge to both Eminem and Nelly, culminating in some of their rawest and most effortlessly confident work.

Such results wouldn’t be possible without capable colleagues and standout members. For D12, it was Proof, the architect behind the Dirty Dozen’s vision; and of course the gruesome Bizarre, but he’s a standout for reasons beyond technical prowess. For St-Lunatics it was the original schoolboy, Murphy Lee, the high-school prodigy who had a decent solo career in his own right. Those familiar with the group might be quick to vouch for Ali’s prowess, but Murph’s marketability gave him leverage once the crew hype faded. And in most cases, such a fate is not a matter of if, but when. Sadly, rap crews often benefit most from one illustrious centerpiece; if one of the supporting players can find solo success, it’s akin to a late-game Hail Mary catch. Sometimes the buzz is so ridiculous it impacts everyone in the vicinity. It happened to Lloyd Banks, who carved his way from G-Unit’s punchline king to a respectable solo artist with a classic to his name. Young Buck found similar success in his own right, with Straight Outta Cashville serving as a respectable look for the Nashville emcee. 

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Circumstances matter. When a group arises on equal footing, as was the case when Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek formed The Lox in the mid-nineties, the established dynamic allowed for a smooth transition into solo waters. Especially for Kiss and Styles, who explored new artistic depths on their debut albums Kiss Tha Game Goodbye and A Gangster And A Gentleman. Such cases skew closer to the Wu-Tang model, in which no discernible skill-based leader is selected by default. It’s the reason The Lox has been able to thrive for as long as they have, despite boasting only three crew albums to their name. Same goes for the Diplomats, who formed in 1997 after the dismantling of Cam’ron’s Children Of The Corn. With Cam, Jim Jones, Freekey Zeekey and later addition Juelz Santana operating on more or less equal footing, the healthy competition from within allowed each member to forge solo careers on their own merit. Sadly, tension ultimately destroyed the group from within, an inherent risk when four capable emcees move forward with no authoritative leader calling the shots. 

The rise and fall of the Diplomats echoes that of a newer group, the lyrical powerhouse that is Slaughterhouse. At the time of their formation, Royce Da 5’9”, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I were all accomplished lyricists, despite having never sustained long term success in the mainstream. Benefitting from the combined attention of their already established solo fanbases, the group was all but unburdened by the pressure of breaking an artist into the mainstream. The raison d’etre was simple: strive for lyrical excellence in the spirit of hip-hop tradition. Pure in theory, albeit naive: rather than pursuing the mixtape route, the group signed with Shady Records and attempted to reinvent themselves as commercially ble. In this case, it could be said that a case of “too many cooks” brought upon their downfall; others might argue that ego and creative differences played a role. As of this moment, their lost sophomore album Glass House remains an urban myth, forgotten until that one fateful day it leaks from the bluest ether.

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Such sharp demises are the risk when no clear group hierarchy exists. In some ways, the “little homie” model is the more sustainable option, though the ceiling is significantly lower. Look no further than Ludacris’ short-lived Disturbing Tha Peace family, though it ultimately gave us Tity Boi. Or Nas’ Bravehearts, whose main contribution to the game was “Oochie Wally” — do with that what thou wilt. In hindsight, it’s rare for a group (not to be confused with a duo) to sustain a lengthy and creatively fulfilling career. Even a modern-day quartet like Black Hippy, comparable in many ways to Slaughterhouse, never found the time nor motivation to link up for an album. Heavyweight stars seldom do — does anybody remember the short-lived promise of CRS, the Thom Yorke sampling trifecta of Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams?

Yet today’s era has brought several exciting movements into the fold. Borne of vision-chasing principles previously seen in the likes of Wu-Tang Clan and The Diplomats yet instilled with a contemporary desire to shift culture, SpaceGhostPurpp’s Raider Klan was among the most impactful early movements to benefit from the internet. In 2008, the hazy and eclectic producer united with artists like Kadafi, Dough Dough Da Don, the late Jitt, and eventually Denzel Curry and Yung Simmie. Drawing influence from their environment of Carol City, Raider Klan’s impact went on to stretch beyond music, encompassing the community and providing like-minded artists with a means of expression. Though with massive collectives of this nature comes another risk, that varying degrees of both talent and motivation will lead to varying degrees of success and sustainability. 

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When that does end up happening it need not tear a crew apart. Even as clear standout members begin to thrive as solo artists, some groups remain tethered by a sense of familial loyalty and mutual artistic respect. The A$AP Mob comes to mind, as brought to life by visionary creative Yams in 2006.  Inspired by a shared desire to push several facets of artistic culture ranging from music to fashion, the Mob united several like-minded New Yorkers under one banner. Though A$APs Rocky, Ferg, Twelvvy, Nast, Ant, and producer Ty Beats have all experienced different career trajectories, the Mob and by extension Yams’ memory represents a shared ideology above any well-defined creative goals. A similar vibe was felt during the rise of Odd Future, the primary creative outlet for a young Tyler, The Creator. Originally formed in 2007, Odd Future’s formative lineup consisted of Tyler, Hodgy Beats, Jasper, and Left Brain, who quickly found their music gaining steam. As the band of outcasts gained notoriety, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, and Frank Ocean added their minds to the creative brain trust. Unlike the Mob, however, Odd Future is more or less inactive, fondly remembered for the spirit they once represented. 

And so it goes. Though the rap crew all too often meets an untimely and unamicable end, few go out without leaving a profound impact on the fans. Sometimes, if luck would have it, the dust might even settle to reveal a classic album or two. It’s hard not to look back on all the movements come and gone and not feel a pang of nostalgia. Past, present, or future, what’s your favorite hip-hop crew? 

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While the general public is still trying to figure out whether he’s dating Noah Cyrus or Demi Lovato at the moment, Machine Gun Kelly appears to be more concerned with anime cosplay based off his most recent post on Instagram.

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MGK decided to don a Dragon Ball Z-inspired hairstyle while messing around on the ‘Gram yesterday, choosing Teen Gohan as his character selection of choice. The oftentimes rival of Eminem certainly looked to be going “Super Saiyan” while sharing the stage with G-Eazy last year in Vegas (seen above), but we highly doubt he plans on hitting up Comic Con anytime soon while rocking the new look. A few people did join in on the laugh, including fellow emcee Young Thug who commented with a skull emoji in addition to countless others who just couldn’t resist posting laughing emojis and flames to signify their approval of the comparison. We’re sure Goku and Chichi would be very proud of the flex.

Peep Machine Gun Kelly’s hilarious Teen Gohan cosplay moment below, and let us know if he in fact “nailed it” by sounding off with your opinions down in the comment section: 

After Suge Knight revealed from prison that Nick Cannon would be penning a book on his life back in October, many have been eager to figure out when and how the publication would ultimately come to fruition. Now, it’s looking like Nick is taking a short break from his beef with Eminem to give more details on the project, and he’s even comparing to the autobiography of an iconic civil rights leader.

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Ironically sharing the news during Black History Month, Cannon spoke on his Suge book during a recent interview with VLAD TV where he compared his work with Knight to what Alex Haley, the legendary journalist who penned Roots, was able to accomplish with The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Haley’s book was published using in-depth interviews he conducted with Malcolm X (seen above) between 1963 up until his assassination in February 1965. Cannon explained his wild comparison of Suge and Malcolm X by stating, “There’s no bigger villain in our culture, specifically in hip-hop, than Suge Knight. I’m gonna use this as an assignment to go in and tell the real story and allow him to tell his story.” Nick further explained that he wasn’t coming in “as a reporter” but more in the fashion of how Haley was influential in bringing The Autobiography Of Malcolm X to life. “I’m doing the same thing with Suge,” he concluded, to which Vlad was a bit confused like the rest of us. Cannon then cleared up his statement by adding, “If we met Malcolm X in his earlier years, or if you stopped that book at page 200something — Malcolm X was a cold motherfucker!”

Watch the full interview below, and let us know if you agree with Nick Cannon‘s comparison of Suge Knight to Malcolm X:

There were a lot of memorable moments from the 92nd Annual Academy Awards last night (February 9), however none were enough to get many cinephiles to actually tune in. In short, the 2020 Oscars ceremony ended up being the biggest ratings dud in the show’s 91-year history.

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Even with Parasite achieving a historic “Best Picture” win, an unexpected performance of “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, Brad Pitt finally getting his roses in the “Best Supporting Actor” category, Spike Lee paying homage to Kobe Bryant with his red carpet look (seen above) and a very, very surprising appearance from Blac Chyna, the 2020 Oscars still bowed out with record-low ratings tallied at about 23.6 million viewers and a 5.3 rating among adults 18-49. Compared to the 2019 ceremony, which garnered 29.56 million and a 7.7 rating, the 6 million deficit unfortunately continued a ratings slide that has been occurring for years now. Some blame it on the timing, as the show aired for over three hours, ending at 11:32 PM ET, and was broadcasted weeks earlier than past ceremonies. This also marks the second year in a row that the Academy Awards went without a host, and it was also filled with music monologues that had many (i.e. Billie Eilish) frowning in disappointment. 

What do you think was the reason the 2020 Oscars failed in terms of ratings? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments.

The Academy Awards took place last night and brought about a number of newsworthy headlines. From Parasite's history-making moves, the memorial section of the show that left out some important names, Eminem's standing ovation performance, the best and worst dressed as well as subtle Kobe Bryant tributes and more. Considering that the show was hostless, the acts that graced the stage to present awards did it right and two of the latter were Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig. 

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The duo, who both starred in Bridesmaids, came through with some laughable jokes and at one point even performed a little song. "We can't just skip right to the award," Maya said. "Well, maybe we don't say it—"

"Maybe we sing it," Kirsten suggested. From there, they sang a tune that included Sisqo's "Thong Song," Madonna's "Vogue" and many other hits giving the audience a good laugh. When they were performing their tune, the camera panned to Billie Eilish in the audience and her facial expression has produced a number of memes for the internet. 

Peep some reactions and renditions below. 

The Fyre Festival fiasco continues to haunt Ja Rule. His involvement, and optimism to properly reproduce the failed festival, has made him a target on Twitter for trolls and jokes. Add to that the residual effects of the 50 Cent and Eminem feuds, Ja Rule's immuned to take a few blows from trolls... or is he?

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It appears that the trolls have finally crawled their way underneath Ja Rule's skin. Although he's managed to brush off them off over past few years since the festival went viral, the Twittersphere's harmless puns have made him put out a PSA halting to any future jokes. Ja went to the XFL launch this past weekend, later showing his support on Twitter, but all he was met with was more trolling about his venture with Billy McFarland.

"Let me let all you fucking clowns know something it’s all cool wit the Fyre jokes but there ain’t no fucking sucker over here... BE CLEAR!!! FOH," Ja Rule tweeted at sports reporter, Benjamin Allbright.

TJ Carpenter's small jab also prompted a pretty forward response from Ja Rule. "Watch your mouth before you get parked punk... keep playing with me I’m a get to slapping earth wind and FYRE out you clowns!!!" Ja wrote on Twitter.

Despite the jokes, Ja Rule was officially dismissed from the Fyre Festival debacle in 2019. 

The trajectory of legendary rapper and Juice Crew member Kool G Rap’s career will be explored in an upcoming documentary titled Priceless. The project will be helmed by Toronto-based production company, Reel Wolf Productions, with Tom Vujcic as director. Vujcic has directed music videos for various hip-hop heavyweights like Mobb Deep, Tech N9ne and Jedi Mind Tricks over the course of his career, but Priceless will mark his first documentary as well as his first feature film. Vujcic  announced the exciting project on Reel Wolf’s official Facebook page on Thursday.

“I will be directing the FIRST EVER, never-before seen or told official documentary about #KoolGRap,” he wrote. “Kool G is one of the most iconic emcees of all time. He is been the biggest influence on most of the greatest rappers in history including #Biggie #Nas #JayZ #BigPun #Eminem and many more. This movie will tell his story like no other, and document his life and career.” He also reveals that the documentary will include interviews from fellow Juice Crew rapper Big Daddy Kane, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Alicia Keys, Onyx, Smif-N-Wessun, as well as many others. “I am excited to keep building on this project,” Vujcic wrote on the post. “By 2021 we will make history.”

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Lil Wayne earned his fifth number 1 overall album on the Billboard 200 chart this week with Funeral.

In this series, we’ll be making the case for specific rappers to be included in “greatest of all-time” discussions. The more obvious choices (such as André 3000, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie, 2Pac) will be ignored in favor of artists who tend to get overlooked these days, for one reason or another. Previously, our writers have made cases for Pusha T, Ice Cube, DJ Quik, Big Boi, DMX, Ghostface Killah and Busta Rhymes. Today, we’re bringing back the series to pay homage to Slug.

Atmosphere is a rare commodity in hip-hop. Even in our current era when there is generally more of everything. Even with the oversaturation of hip-hop artists, we’re somehow pretty slim on duos — especially when it comes to duo such as Slug and Ant, where truly, each one plays a distinct role. Slug raps. Ant produces. And that’s it. It’s not to say that this is what makes them avant garde, it’s simply a discernable feature.

For the purpose of this argument we will focus solely on Slug. Slug, born Sean Michael Daley in Minneapolis, Minnesota has done more for hip-hop than your average pop-leaning rap fan might have you believe. Slug managed to put Minneapolis on the Rap Map way before it was a thing you could do “at your fingertips”– before the Internet at large could break down geographical borders and spread music instantly. His was the type of grassroots push that goes unseen in modern times. 

Slug debuted alongside his then-group-collaborator Spawn with the album Overcast! in 1997. While it’s an album he’s gone on to criticize in later years, it’s important nonetheless. By Slug’s own estimation he was trying too hard– but really, what’s wrong with that? For all intents and purposes, Slug is mostly trying to be lyrical, trying to paint a picture, create a scene in the mind’s eye. In the process he was getting more cerebral than many of his mainstream contemporaries.

That is one of the ways that Slug exhibits his GOAT status. It’s the details he puts into his rhymes and his mastery of the English language– he creates allegories and metaphors on a wider scale than the context of two bars (think: “Lucy Ford”), which offer a constant throughline in much of his music. There are certain metaphors or elements that recur in Atmosphere’s music, and each time, Slug offers the listener another piece of the puzzle. 

On a song like “Sound Is Vibration” from the debut, the poetic and introspective touch that many of his songs are known for is on full display. The song begins with fairytale-esque chimes while Slug’s lyrics add to the feeling: “I’m sparked, waiting for the dark to hit / Cause once the moon gets above my apartment / I catch fits for starting shit”— his own intonation rising with each bar as the beat picks up fervor. 

On his underground hit off the same album, “Scapegoat,” Slug details the ails of society in a templated manner with a minimal piano-key-driven beat backing his effort. The concept doesn’t make the song any less impactful, yet Slug has been particularly critical of his songwriting: “While it did get us booked on mix shows across the country, I felt it was almost a ‘cheating’ style of writing. I use the word ‘It’s’ over 50 times. That’s the hook. It’s cheating.” Though slightly masochistic in nature, his constant self-critique and analysis has ultimately allowed for his artistic growth and improvement in the creation of songs that offer more depth and variation than “Scapegoat.” 

Slug takes the road less travelled when it comes to creating rap music. He’s been able to connect with his fanbase so deeply because he truly reveals himself and his person in a way that a lot of rappers simply don’t. He’s also distanced himself from some of the rather superficial yet all-too-common tropes, including those centered around materialism. These factors have not only set him apart and created a cult-like following for the underground artist, but they’ve been instrumental in building his independent label, Rhymesayers– and again, let’s be clear that Rhymesayers was founded as an independent label way before (the year was 1995) it became the trend du-jour. It’s also a feat that comes without the major label distribution too, a sort of loop-hole we seem to find many “indie” labels doing these days. 

As far as the depth instilled in Slug’s pen, one of the prevalent metaphors in Slug’s music was this idea of Lucy Ford, or Lucifer— sometimes thought to be referring to hip-hop itself, other times his vices such as alcohol, or else, the mother of Slug’s child. This theme was woven through out the duo’s discography, from EPs to Atmosphere’s second studio album, God Loves Ugly, with the song “F’@k You Lucy”:

Most of this garbage I write that these people seem to like 

Is about you and how I let you infect my life 

And if they got to know you, I doubt that they would see it 

They’d wonder what I showed you, how you could leave it 

A friend in Chicago said that I should stay persistent 

If I stay around I’m bound to break resistance 

Fuck you, Lucy, for defining my existence 

Fuck you and your differences 

Ever since I was a young lad with a part-time dad 

It was hard to find happiness inside of what I had 

I studied my mother, I digested her pain 

And vowed no women on my path would have to walk the same

Whereas someone like Eminem might be a wizard with internal rhyming and lyrical acrobatics, one of Slug’s best writing qualities is the artful and purposeful nature behind his lyrics. Slug doesn’t just put two bars together and move on to the next two, with ideas unrelated (and this comes back to his own self-affirmed idea that, at the time, he was not just rapping “to string words together.”). Each bar helps to bring a larger picture and a personal affectation into view. His penchant for constant self-reflection (as well as self-deprecation) inevitably leads to growth, too, with the development of his family life coming to affect how he viewed his lyrics in retrospect. Slug was about that Dad Rap life before Kanye West did it. If we’re tracing the lineage, it may go back to just around/after When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (2008). The album that followed would be Family Sign (2011), the album that began to clearly mark a new era in Atmosphere’s music.

Before Slug became the Family Man he is today, he was battling demons like the rest of us– and they’re the usual suspects too– alcohol, depression, cigarettes, weed, himself, women. All of these vices fueled his early music and created some of the darkest, yet most relatable, music he’s released. On a song like “Bird Sings Why Caged I Know” the rapper adopts themes from Maya Angelou (who else??), over a haunting and impactful soul-riddled beat from Ant. It’s here we can really see Slug’s unique writing style — it’s conceptual and rife with interpretation.

It’s the bird, it must have been the bird

Disgusting critter, it must

We should have known better than to trust

This disease-infested ball of lust and carnage

Piece of garbage with wings and she has the guts to sing

Get the bird, catch her, shoot her, I don’t care

Get the bird, bring her down to the ground from out the air

Got to tear her apart, let me at her first

Sink her to the level of the rest of us that inhabit the earth

We can’t end a piece like this without highlighting the fan-favourite and perhaps Atmosphere “piece de resistance”, the album namesake “God Loves Ugly.” On the title track of the album, the rapper singles out his failings as a man and as an artist, and he offers them to the listener shame-free.

I wear my scars like the rings on a pimp

I live life like the captain of a sinking ship

The one thing that I can guarantee

I’m like a stepping razor, I suggest you stay fair with me

Been paying dues for a decade plus

Before that I was just another face on the bus

Tappin’ my foot, to the beat on the radio

Dreaming ’bout the mic and the money and the ladies

Oh mom, I promise I’m gonna be large

Some day I’ma stop trying to borrow your car

Gonna go far, with charisma and skill

Until they put my face on a million dollar bill

Atmosphere, it’s just a ten letter word

Discretion is the name of my cement-feathered bird

And if you didn’t hear, then fuck what others heard

Bars like “Discretion is the name of my cement-feathered bird” are among Slug’s defining lyrical features, in the sense that they sound cool as fuck on surface level, but they also require some unpacking. It’s the perfect example of how Slug’s lyrics are often the intersection between art and personal life and the crises therein. It’s lofty for the average rapper, yet for Slug, it might be a throw-away bar. It’s exactly this type of writing, though, that has proven Slug’s GOAT status as an MC constantly throughout his career, and why his flowers are due.

Ever since Relapse, Dawaun Parker has been one of Dr. Dre‘s trusted collaborators. No stranger to exploring darker melodies and eerie soundscapes, Parker has contributed to no shortage of dark bangers, ranging from “Same Song And Dance,” “Stay Wide Awake,” and “Hello.” Now, Lord forgive him he’s back to his old ways on the recent Music To Be Murdered By, reuniting with the Good Doctor on four of the album’s standout cuts. The folks over at HipHopNMore recently chopped it up with Parker, who went on to open up about his first-hand experience working with Dr. Dre. 

Citing his experience working with Dem Jointz, Trevor Lawrence Jr, and Dre, Parker likens the process to that of a band. “We were like a band that already knows how to make beats as well so it just makes kind of like, a unique experience and Dre’s the coach of that,” he reveals. “When we lock in on something that everyone seems to like, we push the button on it and then go to the next idea, really. It’s not really anything more complicated than that.”

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He also clarifies a little bit about Dr. Dre’s involvement in the beat-making process, as the role of a producer has undergone a few changes in modern times. “A producer is a person who helps bring the artist’s vision into fruition and there are different methods of achieving that,” he prefaces. He proceeds to explain that a producer doesn’t necessarily make the beat, but plays an integral role in bringing the existing components together. “They might have said ‘these strings need to be over here and we’re going to get this singer and we’re going to get this person to write it’, bringing all of that together and making the in-studio decisions and helping to get everyone’s best performance for the particular record.”

“Now we have a lot of beatmakers who say they’ve produced, but they only make beats,” continues Parker. “And that’s not to diminish them or belittle them, but the difference is, I can say it like this and Dre has said this before so I learned this from him, “once you make the beat, you’ve still got to produce the record’.” 

For more wisdom from one of Dre’s most trusted collaborators, check out the full interview over at HipHopNMore. His words echo what Scott Storch told us about his own experience working on Dr. Dre’s 2001, citing a band-like mentality in laying down jam sessions. 

Power solidified 50 Cent‘s reputation as an executive producer in Hollywood for naysayers who questioned his expansion into television. Now, the media mogul is back with another series, For Life, that’s set to premiere on ABC on February 11. The Queens rapper caught up with Complex News to talk about his latest series, but that wasn’t the only highlight of their brief conversation.

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He spoke on his good friend Eminem and called the Music To Be Murdered By emcee a “lab rat” who stays in the studio. “Even when they’re not paying attention he’s recording a new record,” Fif said. “Making a new album and [another]. It’s always been that way. It’s not like there’s an interest in—if there’s an interest in film and television, I don’t really see it.” Fif revealed that he approached Em and told him that there was eight million dollars on the table for a film about the two of them being rival gang members, but he turned it down. “He’s not one of those people who’s gonna move on money.”

At the conclusion of the interview, things became awkward when Fif was asked about his ongoing internet beef with French Montana. “I don’t really have interest in it,” he said calmly. “There’s not much going on.” Fif was then asked if there was any truth to the internet rumors that he recently assaulted Montana in Miami.

“No, there’s no truth to that,” the rapper said. “Would I do a thing like that?” When the interviewer said that he “would put it past” him, it gave Fif room to shut down the interview in a playful-yet-serious manner. “Why would you think that way? Would you think that Will Smith would do that?” he asked as he took his microphone off.

“I can’t believe you would say these things about me,” Fif continued. “Peace my brother. Do not allow my inner peace to disturb your inner demon.” Check out what 50 Cent had to say about his new show, being a fan of Roddy Ricch, his legacy, and more below.

It’s been said that hip-hop is a young player’s game. Though what constitutes “young” is certainly debatable the sentiment remains relatively clear-cut. There are certainly several pitfalls older artists must contend with. With experience comes success and with success comes a satiated appetite. That hunger of the come-up might not be what it once was. Not to mention that increased success often has a direct impact on an artist’s subject matter. Purchases that might not have been available are now adorning the living room. That one goes both ways, opening the door for all matter of exuberant new flexes. But flexing is comfortable. Comfort can be an ailment to creativity. 

Likewise is longevity a double-edged sword. While stacked discographies should be applauded some casual listeners might eventually feel the devious hints of fatigue setting in, especially if a particular rapper does little to adjust to the changing climate. Consider an artist with ten albums — is number nine or ten ever seen in higher regard than number one or two? That’s not to say it never happens. But by that point it’s usually the core fans sticking around. The younger listeners have likely moved onto something new, something that speaks to a) their sonic preferences or b) the tastes of their desired social status. One viral single can hold more weight than a completed project, which can sometimes feel tacked on as a mere receptacle for said single. The breakneck pace of consumption mirrors that of the creation process, especially with today’s climate for the surprise album. 

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One can wax poetic about the impact of the modern music industry on creativity for paragraphs on end. In this case, I’d like to pull back and attempt to discern whether an average “creative prime” can be concluded. One in which an artist’s creative output is at its most refined, culminating in what can unanimously be concluded to be his or her best work. In an era in which rappers remain productive well into their forties, the question does seem more topical than ever. To simplify the process, categories shall be broken down as follows: Late Teens, Early Twenties, Late Twenties, Early Thirties, or “The Beyond.” As the recording process itself might differ from a given release date, for the sake of clarity, the focus will remain on the time of an album’s release. 

Let’s begin with the game’s active Big Three.  Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J. Cole.

Kendrick is 32, Drake is 34, and J. Cole only recently turned 35. Though Kendrick’s catalog is in itself a hotly contested affair, it’s safe to conclude that many deem Good Kid maad city and To Pimp A Butterfly to be his strongest albums. During the former’s release in 2012, Kendrick was 24 years old. When To Pimp dropped in 2015, Kendrick was twenty-seven. Depending on where you which camp you occupy, Kendrick’s magnum opus occurred during his early twenties or late twenties. However, he’s set to drop another album this year, and should it be even remotely close to classics, he’ll be putting on for a new category altogether. It should, however, be considered that Kendrick was twenty-five — the midpoint– when he dropped “Control.” Should you be inclined to factor Section Eighty into the fold, the answer becomes all the more clear.

J. Cole is slightly more difficult to pinpoint. Someone who counts KOD as his arguable best might point to the early thirties as his prime. Not to mention the showstopping slew of feature verses throughout the past two years. For the many who count 2014 Forest Hills Drive to be Cole’s classic, consider that he was roughly twenty-nine when that released. Some might argue that his early mixtape run was his prime, but Cole appears to have developed a more self-assured vision over time. He also ironed out a few technical kinks to the point where he effectively bodied elite emcees with ease. Even on Revenge Of The Dreamers 3, released last year, Cole’s presence is that of a self-assured and wizened leader — qualities reflected in his contributions to the project. 

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When Drake came into the game with So Far Gone, the 6ix God was twenty-three years old. With the favored narrative speaking to Take Care as his best body of work, the 2011 release speaks to a twenty-five-year-old man simply looking to find his way. With Nothing Was The Same being recorded at twenty-six and If You’re Reading This arriving at twenty-nine, it’s safe to call the late twenties the most creatively prosperous era of Drizzy’s career. To be fair, while Scorpion was hardly his most acclaimed effort, it did bring an interesting new swagger into the fold. Whether the success of his next album is enough to turn the tides has yet to be seen, but what happens if he comes through with an undeniable classic?

Next up are another trifecta of GOAT contenders: Jay-Z, Eminem, and Nas.

While many conclude that Jay-Z has three and sometimes four classics to his name, it should be noted that two of them came one after another: The Blueprint (2001) and The Black Album (2003). When the former dropped, Jay was thirty-one. When his so-called retirement hit, Jay was thirty-three. Given that these are two back-to-back classics in a two-year stretch, it seems fair to call his early thirties Jay’s creative prime. True, his late twenties were staggering on the basis of pure productivity, but the early millennium found Jay at his lyrical peak, his artistic sensibilities at an all-time high. 

When Eminem broke out with his major-label debut The Slim Shady LP in 1999, Eminem was twenty-six years old. Immediately after came The Marshall Mathers LP in 2000, D12’s Devil’s Night in 2001, and The Eminem Show in 2002. On “Soldier,” Em even alluded to the possibility of waning with age, rapping “when the fire inside dies and expires at thirty.” Whether that proved to be foreshadowing is certainly debatable (though many still enjoy Slim’s recent output), but it’s absolutely indisputable that Eminem’s creative prime occurred during his late twenties. Unlike some fellow veterans of his age range, Slim has proven that he can still put in work in his late forties with both Kamikaze and Music To Be Murdered By arriving with a renewed sense of hunger.  

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It’s become a part of hip-hop lore that Nas was twenty years old when he dropped Illmatic in 1994. And while it’s widely regarded as his prime, the early twenties run to follow….less so. On average, it’s much easier to examine the run between 2001 and 2003, which found Nas dropping Stillmatic, God’s Son, and Streets Disciple. The sequel to his classic debut arrived when Nas was twenty-seven, with God’s Son landing at twenty-nine. Depending on whether you hold Illmatic and I Am over Stillmatic and God’s Son, Nas’ creative prime can be argued as either his early or late twenties. Much like Kendrick Lamar, the argument for Nas is based almost entirely on personal preference. 

Kanye West is a curious case, as time also happened to bring upon a vast stylistic departure for the creative megastar. While some remain loyal to his formative sample-based work like College Dropout and Late Registration, released when Yeezy was twenty-five and twenty-seven respectively. With Graduation rounding things out at twenty-nine, it’s evident that his late twenties coincided with one of the most acclaimed runs of his career. And yet his early thirties has its own fans, largely in part to 808s And Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, an album widely considered to be his magnum opus. For some context, the latter was released when Kanye was thirty-two years old, mirroring the late-career artistic surge of his Watch The Throne collaborator Jay-Z. Speaking of which, that very album came when Kanye was thirty-year, standing at the arguable height of his fame and reverence. With Yeezus signaling his thirty-fifth birthday with a bang, is it fair to declare Kanye’s artistic prime to be the onset of his third decade?

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I recently mused on who might be called out in a hypothetical “Control 2,” a piece that led me to reflect on the game’s current climate. Among the artists named were Denzel Curry (24), Joey Bada$$ (25), Gunna (26), Lil Baby (25), DaBaby (28), Roddy Ricch (21), Lil Uzi (25), Playboi Carti (23), Cardi B (27), Megan Thee Stallion (24), Young M.A. (27), J.I.D. (29), Mick Jenkins (28), Rapsody (37), and Maxo Kream (29). Personally, I would say the best of the aforementioned are those currently within their late-twenties, though some of the younger artists certainly have promising careers ahead of them. In truth drawing any semblance of a conclusion is impossible, as creativity seldom has an age limit. Yet there remains a misconception, likely fueled in part by the record label mentality of everything now, that rap is a young man’s game. It goes without saying that youth is relative, but hip-hop tends to look at thirty as a damn near boomer. 

What those lamenting “old head energy” fail to realize is that experience can open the door to wisdom. Truly analyzing one’s situation tends to benefit from hindsight and with that comes the passage of time. For an artist boasting an extensive career, it’s likely that the fans have already come to appreciate them on a deeper level. Their story, the milestones they’ve witnessed from afar. After the dust has settled and the reflections have long been pored over. For artists like Royce Da 5’9″ and 2 Chainz, both 42, one might argue that the last few years have been the most artistically fruitful of their career. Much of that came from an increasing level of openness and vulnerability, two qualities with an immediate impact on their storytelling. Songs like Royce’s “Power” and Tity’s “Burglar Bars” would not have come from an artist looking to get their foothold in the game; case in point, contrast their later work with their earlier albums like Rock City and Based On A T.R.U. Story. 

Remember, this isn’t an exact science here. Simply a reflection on aging gracefully in hip-hop. Upon checking out some statistics, do you feel like the notion of rap as a young player’s game to be accurate? Or are wisdom and experience the pillars of true brilliance? 

He may have recently called for Eminem to stop dissing him on his tracks, but years ago Joe Budden had no problem taking to his platforms to criticize his former friend. The podcast host has spoken out against Eminem quite a few times, including on his podcast back in 2018 where he goes off about the Shady Records founder for over an hour and a half.

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Budden’s relationship with both Shady and Eminem has been a strained one, and D12’s Bizarre recently sat down with RealLyfe Productions to discuss what he calls the facts behind the tension. “I just felt like, it’s his job to give his opinion, but I really analyzed it and I’m like, damn bro, this is assassination,” Bizarre recalled of Budden’s critiques of Em’s Revival. “He just one of them n*ggas that got diarrhea of the mouth and he just went too far. It wasn’t like he was like ‘I ain’t feelin’ this.’ That n*gga was like, ‘This is that—I will not stand around and let this man talk to black people and make a mimick…’ I’m like, n*gga, this n*gga paying your f*ckin’ rent. What the f*ck is you talkin’ ’bout?”

“Like, n*gga you disloyal, b*tch ass. What the [f*ck]? You know what I’m sayin’?” Bizarre continued. “You act like you ain’t even know this man just because you got another opportunity that’s in front of you. Loyalty’s a big thing with us in our crew. That’s how we got on. We made a pact that whoever get on first comes back and get everybody else. Em pulled me from Dallas. My life was over.”

Then, Bizarre broke down the beef a bit more. “So, Joe Budden was supposed to get a job with Diddy on Revolt. What happened? Do you think if he got a job on Revolt he can say Puffy album was wack? Think he’ll be able to say he ain’t feelin’ French Montana new sh*t?” Bizarre added that he’s not saying that Eminem or anyone else is above criticism, but you should tell someone, especially a friend and label head, “off-camera.”

Bizarre also said he felt bad because it was D12 who vouched for Budden and let him in the circle. They needed someone to hop on their tour and Royce Da 5’9″ recommended Budden. At first, D12 was against it because Budden dissed them on a track. On a conference call, Budden reportedly apologized. They all ended up making amends, and it was on that tour that Slaughterhouse was allegedly developed.

“Everybody helped the process, so it’s like, bro—and before that, n*gga, you was still [the] ‘Pump, pump, pump it up’ man,” Bizarre added. Check out his full clip below to hear more of why Budden’s beef with the Shady crew runs deep.

Commonly believed to be the greatest rapper alive, Lil Wayne is about to enjoy another successful album release with Funeral. At the end of last week, the rapper delivered his first non-Carter project in years, delivering the fun-filled Funeral, which contains a total of twenty-four songs. With features from Big Sean, Lil Baby, XXXTentacion, Adam Levine, and more, a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, and plenty of love for his reported fiancée La’Tecia Thomas, Wayne’s world is about to be on top yet again as the body of work is projected to enjoy its first week at the pole position on the Billboard 200.

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Roddy Ricch just reclaimed the top spot on the chart, beating out Eminem’s Music To Be Murdered By and getting yet another gold medal for Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial. The way things are looking though, the Compton native is set to give up that spot for Lil Wayne this week, with Funeral expected to move up to 125K album units. In terms of debuts, Russ will be the runner-up in the battle with his new studio album netting approximately 75K units moved. Pop artists Kesha and Louis Tomlinson follow them up.

In comparison to Tha Carter V‘s first-week sales numbers, this is a massive decline for Lil Wayne. However, the novelty surrounding that project could be what boosted it to enjoy such a tremendous debut. Still, 125K is nothing to scoff at. Have you been messing with the new albums from Wayne and Russ?

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Roddy Ricch has returned to the top slot on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial. It marks the third nonconsecutive week that the Compton-bred emcee has claimed the crown, earning just under 95,000 equivalent album units.  The project first debuted at No. 1 in December, departing for two weeks, before returning to its glory on January 18th. This past week it made way for Eminem‘s latest outing, and now reclaims the title. The majority of its sales stem from 92,000 streaming units.

The last artist to accomplish three nonconsecutive visits to No. 1 was Billie Eilish for her When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?  That effort also returns toward the top this week, sitting the top three at No. 3 with 62,000 equivalent units. She concedes to Roddy and Em’s Music to be Murdered By which clocks 89,000 equivalent album units in its second week. Eilish’s jump can be attributed to a strong showing at the Grammy’s last Sunday that found her making history as the second artist to ever win in the top four categories in one ceremony: album of the year, record fo the year, song of the year, and best new artist.

Elsewhere on the chart, we find while Post Malone‘s Hollywood’s Bleeding hold on to the No. 5 spot with 54,000 units while Mac Miller‘s Circles dip from No. 3 to No. 6 in its second week with 56,000 units.

Dababy’s KIRK follows closely behind at No. 7 with 36,000 units while Monwybagg’s Yo’s Time Served checks in at No. 9 with 31,000 units. Closing things out is the JACKBOYS compilation project which returns to the top 10 with 30,000 units.

J Hus has earned his very first No. 1 album in the U.K. with his sophomore Big Conspiracy album at 23,536 units in its first week. It’s a few notches up from the No. 6 position held by 2017’s Common Sense effort. The project triumphs over Eminem‘s Music To Be Murdered By which entered at No. 1 last week, slipping down to the No. 2 slot this week.

Notably, Big Conspiracy features appearances from Koffee, and Burna Boy, opening up to executive producer JAE5 who continues to capture the essence of Hus’ sound for a cohesive body of work.

It marks a solid return for the 23-year-old who saw his freedom last April after being sentenced to eight months for carrying a six-inch blade knife. It was an early release that was announced an opportune appearance at Drake‘s tour stop in London at the O2 Arena.

“These are the type of things in my career that I’m just blessed to even be a part of,” Drake said before introducing J Hus. “This is something I’ve wanted to make happen…I’m just glad I could make it happen.”

Elsewhere, drill rapper M Huncho debuts at No. 5 with his Huncholini release with Island/Universal. It marks the Brit’s first crack at the top 10. Following a favorable Grammys sweep, Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? switches from No. 10 to No. 7  

The past week has been huge for Roddy Ricch. The rapper's continued to maintain the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with "The Box" for three consecutive weeks, and also took home his first Grammy for Best Rap Performance for "Racks In The Middle." To keep the momentum going, he made his way over to Jimmy Fallon the other night where he performed his hit single, "The Box." But just a few days later, he joined Mustard for a performance of the anthem of summer 2019.

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so y’all know i had to drip check jimmy ????

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Roddy Ricch and Mustard's "Ballin'" was undoubtedly one of the biggest hip-hop records last summer. As Mustard continues to promote Perfect Ten, he enlisted Roddy to return to the Jimmy Fallon stage where they performed "Ballin'." The producer and rapper performed in a similar set up to Roddy's earlier set on Fallon this week. Of course, the two Los Angeles natives made sure to pay homage to Kobe Bryant during their set. "Rest in peace to the legend, Kobe Bryant," Mustard said towards the end of the performance. Earlier this week, Roddy rocked a Kobe jersey for his performance of "The Box."

Roddy is currently having a crazy run. With the release of Please Don't Mind Me For Being Antisocial in December, the rapper's made major strides on the Billboard charts. This week, the rapper is expected to overthrow Eminem for the number one spot. There aren't many rappers who can do that, especially at this stage of their career. Roddy is bound to do some great things in the future. Peep their performance below. 

50 Cent was honoured by the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday when he received his own star on the famous boulevard. Along with Fifty’s longtime friend, Eminem, who made a speech at the induction ceremony praising the recipient, comedian Michael Blackson also attended the exciting event in order to support Fifty and pay off his debt to him. Back in August, Michael borrowed some bills from Fif at the strip club, and failed to pay him back until now. Michael took to Instagram to reminisce on how the two friends met, and insisted that he would be bringing the money he owes Fif to the induction ceremony.

On a separate post, Michael shared a snippet of Fifty’s speech, in which Fif confessed that something “must have happened” to his speech, since the pages were all conveniently blank. He then spots the comedian in the crowd and calls him out. 

Michael took the opportunity to clown Fif for this move, pointing out that he “came with a blank speech then mentioned my name for no damn reason.” He congratulates Fifty and tells him that he is “welcome to my village anytime.” He followed this up with a video of himself staying true to his word and officially paying Fif back, in which he can be seen actually waving the bills in the air.

Fifty also confirmed on Instagram following the ceremony that Michael had paid off his debt and that the two were on good terms again. Fif’s quick forgiveness might have something to do with his recent vow not to start arguments with anyone anymore.

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We’re starting this year off with some major fire. If you ask me, this is how we should begin each annual campaign: with new albums from Eminem and Lil Wayne. As a surprise to his fans, Eminem released Music To Be Murdered By out of absolutely nowhere and, taking notice of the drop, Lil Wayne might just have been a little envious of the attention he was getting. Recognizing that the Detroit icon can spare to share some of the spotlight, he came through and announced that his highly-anticipated C5 follow-up, Funeral, would be released at the end of January. We’ve officially arrived at that mark and, albeit a little later than usual, Wayne delivered.

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Last night, fans were surprised to see Funeral hit streaming services at 3 AM EST, as opposed to the traditional drop zone three hours prior. Still, we stayed up and made sure to consume the hell out of it upon its inception. With features from Big Sean, Lil Baby, Jay Rock, The-Dream, and more, there are more than enough voices to keep us entertained throughout the entire 20+ song tracklist. This also marks the continuation of Weezy’s love affair with the late XXXTentacion, marking another posthumous collaboration between the two on “Get Outta My Head.”

Spanning over an hour, Lil Tunechi is giving us more than enough material to begin the year with some flames. Are you feeling the project so far?

50 Cent is a scary man to owe money to. Back in August, Michael Blackson made the mistake of borrowing money from Fifty to fund their strip club escapades and woke up with threats looming over his head. For weeks, the debt drama unfolded on social media, as Fifty tried to recover his money and Blackson tried to dodge Fifty’s henchmen. 

It appears the comedian no longer has to live in fear because Fifty just confirmed that the debt has been settled. Today, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Blackson attended the ceremony, rocking a neon pink suit with no shirt underneath. While he may have partially been there to celebrate Fifty’s achievement, he also took the opportunity to pay off his long-standing debt. Photos show Blackson waving hundred-dollar bills in the air, proving that there’s no longer any reason for him to be targeted by Fif or his goons. 

Fifty posted photos of him and Blackson having a laugh-filled moment of reconciliation. “me and @michaelblackson chilling he finally gave me my Money Back. Now we all Good for Tycoon in Dallas it lit,” he wrote in the caption, referring to his upcoming pool party that Blackson is now welcome to attend. 

Watch Eminem praise 50 Cent during his speech at today’s ceremony. 

Westside Gunn might very well be the most connected man in hip-hop. The Griselda icon has crossed paths with everyone from Jay-Z to J. Cole, Eminem to A$AP Rocky. Despite a relatively brief tenure in the game, Gunn and his rhyming partners Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher have asserted themselves as cultural innovators. True movers and shakes. It’s no wonder they have become lightning rods for A-list company. Most recently, Gunn and Conway found themselves connecting with recent Grammy winner Tyler, The Creator.

“Fresh from winning that Grammy “Best Rap Album” I hit the homie to congratulate him and he was in the studio making me a beat,” writes Gunn, alongside the stacked picture. “Nothing but respect for The Homie @feliciathegoat he came and fucked wit me and got some of these “Pray for Paris” vibes this is what the culture looks like.”

We can only hope that Westside produced by Tyler ultimately manifests into a reality, as it’s always nice to see the Odd Future pioneer reconnecting with his grimier musical roots. Check out the picture below, and show some love to two of the game’s influential figures. Both men came through and started movements that went on to impact the game in major ways. Much respect!

Wiz Khalifa doesn’t attend the function if he’s not allowed to be rolling with a joint in his mouth at all times. Everywhere he goes, the sweet smell of marijuana follows him. Red carpet events, movie premieres, label meetings, you name it… You’ll be damned if you don’t catch the Pittsburgh native puffing on a hand-rolled weed cigarette. With the Dolly Parton Challenge taking over social media, people across the nation have been showing their different profile picture tendencies across professional mediums, dating sites, and more. Wiz Khalifa prefers to keep things constant, flexing his one true love (aside from his son Bash) and ensuring that everyone knows what he’s about.

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“SAME OL’ G,” captioned Khalifa, sharing a four-cornered image with the same photo in each section. For Linkedin, he’s got a photo of him blowing out weed smoke. The cannabis connoisseur has been lucky enough to land himself a career path where he can gloat about his smoking habit without fear of repercussion. The same photo graces his Instagram and Facebook profiles, while he keeps things 100 on Tinder too, informing any potential matches of his stoner status from the onset of their bond. Could this be the simplest (and best) addition to the Dolly Parton Challenge yet?

Other stars, like Mariah Carey and Eminem, have also submitted their entries to the growing trend. Who has uploaded the greatest one so far?