Getting a co-sign from Jay-Z probably feels surreal for an artist that has been hustling to make it for years. Known globally as one of the best rappers of all time, the Roc Nation head honcho is respected as one of the premier faces in the music industry. His ideas surpass music though, heading over into all aspects of sports and entertainment.
As we near the midway point of the year (already!?). Jay-Z gathered together a list of his personal favorite songs of 2020 so far, showing love to some of the usual characters, and also taking notice of some younger talents.
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The list starts off with Lil Baby and "Emotionally Scarred," before the Atlanta rapper appears again with "Sum 2 Prove" and "Grace" with 42 Dugg. Jay-Z is also clearly a big fan of what Polo G has been bringing to the table, shouting out the rising star for "Heartless" with Mustard. At #3, his wife makes an appearance on the remix of Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage." Elsewhere on the 20-song gathering, Jay Electronica makes several appearances, which makes total sense given Hov's involvement in the release of his debut album.
Jay-Z was also busy listening to some of the newer releases, including Future's High Off Life, of which he included "Hard To Choose One." Drake and The Weeknd earn their spots before Westside Gunn, Boldy James, Benny The Butcher, and Conway of Griselda impress the legend.
Check out the full playlist below.
Eminem’s "Music To Be Quarantined" Playlist Is Full Of Classics
Over the weekend, Eminem premiered his “Music To Be Quarantined By” playlist, lined with classics from 2Pac, Biggie, Wu-Tang, and more.
In case it wasn’t evident from songs like “Yah Yah” and “I Will,” Eminem is well versed in hip-hop history, with boundless respect for his predecessors in the game. On the former track off Music To Be Murdered By, Em dedicated a chunk of his lengthy verse to shout-out some of his formative influences, naming Biggie, Del The Funkee Homosapien, Treach, Kool G Rap, Rakim, King T, Ice-T, LL Cool J among other legendary emcees. It’s no wonder he opted to pay further homage with his recent Music To Be Quarantined By playlist, a concentrated dose of rap classics.
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Created by Slim Shady himself and premiered on Shade 45 this weekend, Eminem’s official playlist has since been revealed in full across the internet. As expected, there are plenty of callbacks to his “Yah Yah” namedrops, and many of the tracks notably derive from his younger days in the thrones of discovering hip-hop music. As the tracks themselves played a major role in his stylistic development, Em took a moment to provide some commentary on their impact, braking down bars like the true craftsman he is.
Should you be interested in checking out the playlist Em ended up amassing, you can check out a list of songs below. Music To Be Quarantined By features songs by Mobb Deep, The Beastie Boys (who clearly inspired “Berzerk”), 2Pac, NWA, Wu-Tang Clan, Redman and more:
Keep Ya Head Up – 2Pac
Droppin’ Em – LL Cool J
Yoke The Joker – Naughty By Nature
Rock Dis Funky Joint – Poor Righteous Teachers
Lean On Me – Big Daddy Kane
Last Dayz – Onyx
Streets Of New York – Kool G Rap
The Devil Made Me Do It – Paris
Young Gifted and Black – Big Daddy Kane
Music Man – Masta Ace
Mind Blowin’ – D.O.C
Bring It On – Organized Konfusion
My Melody – Eric B. & Rakim
Top Biiiin’ – Audio Two
Taxing – Special Ed
Check Tha Resume – Grand Puba
93′ Till Infinity – Souls Of Mischief
Live At The Barbeque – Main Source/Nas
Machine Gun Funk – Biggie
Shook Ones Pt. II – Mobb Deep
No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
You Gots to Chill – EPMD
Wack M.C.’s – Del The Funky Homosapien
Boom Bashin’ – Masta Ace
Rhymin’ & Stealin – Beastie Boys
Baby, You Nasty – DJ Mike Smooth
Gangsta Gangsta – NWA
If I Die 2nite – 2Pac
Sophisticated Bitch – Public Enemy
New York State Of Mind – Nas
Wordz Of Wizdom – 3rd Bass
They Reminisce Over You – Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
Tougher Than Leather – Run-DMC
Jive Talk – Kool G Rap & Dj Polo
Paper Thin – MC Lyte
Do It Baby – Def Jef, N’Dea Davenport
Bring Da Ruckus – Wu-Tang Clan
Rated “R” – Redman
Amanda Bynes Shows Love To Drake Again In More Appropriate Manner
Seven years after Amanda Bynes' public plea for Drake to have sex with her, she is praising his music on Instagram.
Somehow, it has been a whole seven years since Amanda Bynes sent out that iconic tweet: "I want @Drake to murder my vagina." She may not have intentionally wished to celebrate this anniversary, but a recent post of hers on Instagram is calling back the memory.
Bynes shared a screenshot of one of Drake's IG posts and, in her caption, highlighted how two of his songs are currently among her favorites. She listed his collaboration with Rick Ross, "Money In The Grave", and his collaboration with Lil Baby, "Yes Indeed". The She's The Man actress also showed love to two Roddy Ricch tracks, "Ballin" and "High Fashion".
The 33-year-old, who recently acquired some new face tats, has since deleted this post, likely due to all the attention it was attracting. While this Drake-shoutout is definitely more tame and innocent than her last, some people thought it was a bold move to bring up his name again. “Oh no not this again,” one fan commented. "After all that I would never mention Drake again!," wrote another.
Despite whatever disturbance may have been caused by Bynes' "murder my vagina" request, it was later excused as a result of drug use. She told Hollyscoop in 2017, "I was serious, but I was also on drugs, so that was my way of saying like, 'Let’s do it man.' But I was on drugs and trying to be hilarious." In her latest IG post, she shared that she has now been sober for a year and two months. She also recently got engaged to Paul Michael, who she reportedly met in AA.
Usher Is "Knocking Down Decades" In His Career, Is Excited About New Album
What’s your favorite Usher track from 2009 to 2019?
Aside from his A collaborative record with Zaytoven in 2018, we haven’t received a studio album from Usher since Hard II Love back in 2016. The multi-faceted entertainer is a favorite in pop, R&B, and hip hop circles, so fans are ready for some new tunes. Back in March 2019, the Grammy Award-winning singer shared a photo of himself at the So So Def studio, hinting that he and Jermaine Dupri may have some heat brewing. Usher has confirmed that new music is on the way and just prior to the ball dropping on New Year’s Eve, the acclaimed vocalist spoke about the evolution of his career.
“This decade has represented growth for me. For the most part, the design of [the past two] decades have continued to really work for me to expand my reach through music,” he told Billboard. “Also, too, just as a human being that wants to make music that connects the world, and expand R&B, and all of the rhythm and blues that has come through my own personal experiences that I chose to write about. Or the places that I’ve gone that kind of introduced other genres — and even though they were other genres of music, I still had the soul in it. Just really happy to continue to knock down these decades and start a new one.”
Usher was asked which song from his discography is his favorite from 2009 to 2019. He could have chosen from singles like “There Goes My Baby,” “Papers,” “Lemme See” with Rick Ross, “No Limit” featuring Young Thug, or a handful of others—however, Usher couldn’t seem to peg down just one favorite.
“Of course, I love all of the songs that I’ve created and things that I’ve made, videos I’ve made,” he said. “Having a favorite song is like picking a favorite child. Every one of them represents something special that happened in my life. I don’t know if I have one that’s special from the past more than the ones that are coming, but I can tell you this much: I’m really enjoying the new music that I’ve worked on, and really excited for you guys to hear it.”
He did say that everyone should keep a lookout for his forthcoming album but in the meantime, if you had to choose an Usher favorite from any decade, which track would be at the top of your list?
