Drake and 40 have proven themselves to be one of hip-hop’s trusted musical partnerships, with the pair having shaped the signature OVO sound as we’ve come to know it. And while many have attempted to downplay the extent of their creativity, what with ghostwriting accusations frequently lingering over the 6ix God’s head, 40 has done his part to quell those unfortunate narratives. In an extensive interview with Rolling Stone, 40 opened up about one in particular, clarifying the extent of The Weeknd‘s involvement on Take Care. 

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 “There’s, like, 22 songs on Take Care. He contributed on four of them,” confirms 40, alluding to Weeknd’s writing credits on “Crew Love,”  “Shot For Me,” “Cameras / Good Ones Go Interlude,” “Practice,” and “The Ride. “There are 18 other songs on there where that guy was nowhere to be found, right?” he continues. “So it’s like, ‘Yeah, cool and you contribute to a few records on Take Care. Significant records, sure, but it was a few. It wasn’t a lot.’ It’s a common misconception. I made that whole album. I saw Abel maybe two days. I was in there for like a year.” 

Clearly, 40 isn’t down for those attempting to downplay his camps’ creativity and vision. Especially seeing how deep the whole Weeknd rumor seemed to cut, sowing discord between the once-cordial collaborators. In any case, it’s water under the bridge, and while it’s unlikely that the pair will ever work together like they once did, it can be understood that Take Care is Drake’s album regardless of those who aim to diminish its value. For more from 40, including his response to Pusha T‘s MS bar, check out the full interview at Rolling Stone.

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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.   

There's a stigma surrounding ghostwriting that has plagued many prominent rappers. Yet those who operate in the spiritual realm often remain unsung heroes. For Royce Da 5'9", who spent time in his early career writing for artists like Diddy and Dr. Dre, the act of ghostwriting proved immensely beneficial to both his career and creative process alike. Now, with his confidence at an all-time high, Royce Da 5'9" has taken an Instagram trip down memory lane to shake one of the stigmas surrounding ghostwriting. 

"I wrote this," declares Royce, sharing a stream of Diddy and Christina Aguilera's nostalgic single "Tell Me." "I’m not bragging just not being private tonight. Don’t categorize me, I’m special ... I like to do things just because I’m not supposed to." As of now, the track has amassed over sixteen million streams on YouTube; if you listen back, you can actually hear some Royce-isms in Diddy's flow.

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I’m not bragging just not being private tonight ? Don’t categorize me, I’m special ... I like to do things just because I’m not supposed to.. ?

A post shared by ??Nickle?? (@royceda59) on Jan 29, 2020 at 6:02pm PST

Royce also highlighted another one of his notable writing credits, Dr. Dre's 2001 closer "The Message." Revealing that he was only 19 when he penned the emotional tribute, Royce actually opened up in-depth about his process working for Dre in our exclusive retrospective on the making of 2001: "When I’m laying it, Dre is just staring at me through the glass of the booth. I’m like, he must not like this one. When I’m done doing the verses, he went quiet for a minute. That’s when he told me about his brother.” 

Look for Royce to lay waste to the game on February 21st, when he fires off The Allegory for all to hear. Where does he rank among your list of greats? 

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I was 19 ? Aight I’m done. Love y’all ✍?✌?

A post shared by ??Nickle?? (@royceda59) on Jan 29, 2020 at 6:08pm PST