It was an Instagram takeover for Red Bull Music after Teyana Taylor held the reigns on their account for a bit. Following the online screening of Red Bull’s Assembly Required: Teyana Taylor’s House of Petunia documentary, Teyana engaged in a Q&A with fans over on Red Bull Music’s IG page. There, the multihyphenated entertainer touched on a variety of topics, from her marriage to her music career to her childhood crush on Shia LaBeouf.

Roy Rochlin / Stringer / Getty Images

For those who have been impatiently waiting on Teyana Taylor to release her new album, there’s good news. “We’ve been working on the album. The album is done – that’s why I look crazy right now,” she said. “Before I got on with y’all, we literally just did the listening of the album. Y’all gonna be so happy.” Teyana also gave a hint as to what listeners can expect from the forthcoming project. “This album is definitely more of a vibe. I don’t really do fast songs like that. There are some head-boppers. It’s not super-fast—you can dance and you can cry and you can ride—what’s the age group tuning in here?”

She also shared that there isn’t much excitement happening at home under quarantine with husband Iman Shumpert as both of them are spending time in their recording studios. When asked what she’s been up to, Teyana said, “Surviving, that’s the only answer. I’m alive, locking in to get the album done, designing the merch. Sleeping and eating.”

“Iman in studio B, I’m in studio A,” she added. “We both have our little caves. He got his man cave, I got my Auntie cave. We both locking in on albums. I ain’t gonna front though before we finished the studio, I was like, ‘Child, what’s going on?’ He was like, ‘I know you don’t feel good, but you look good.’ Before the studio was built, I wanted all the attention.” Are you looking forward to new music from Teyana Taylor?

Before the XXXTENTACIONs (RIP), Smokepurpps, and Lil Pumps of the world emerged there was the Raider Klan — one of the most pivotal hip-hop collective in the last decade. The South Florida movement became defined by the DIY approach and punk-rock spirit with odes to Memphis and Houston. Cloud rap became the stepping stone for what would later be known as SoundCloud rap. As Raider Klan disbanded, it was the young buck of the group, Denzel Curry, who continued to fulfill his potential. With the abrasiveness of metal and punk rock combined and his high-level technical abilities launched a small, dedicated following which, over the years, has expanded to a global scale.

Denzel stands on his own two feet these days. The success of TA13OO and it’s follow-up Zuu marked his official grand entrance into the game, although he’s been in it for years. His recent success, however, has helped him push his own creative boundaries. For example, the recent release of UNLOCKED with Kenny Beats provided more than just a project, arriving alongside an accompanying short film with anime-style animations. 

 Ian Witlen/Red Bull Content Pool

Denzel’s affinity for wrestling, dancehall soundclashes, and appreciationfor grime’s Lord Of The Mic series all come together for Red Bull Music’s Zeltron Worldwide series where he goes head-to-head against another high-caliber rapper of his choosing. With Flatbush Zombies as the inaugural challengers, followed by Joey Bada$$, Denzel Curry returned back to his hometown of Miami for the latest installment against J.I.D, who he describes as “one of the best lyricists of all time, honestly.” The significance behind Zeltron Worldwide, however, goes deeper than pushing his own creative boundaries. It’s about creating a space for rappers — one where bars preside over bullshit and hopefully beyond his own battles, an event that can unify rappers at a time where it feels like we’re losing members of the community at a rapid pace. 

“I’m creating a place where we might — there’s a community of us. We may not like each other but let’s take it to our advantage, man,” Denzel explained about the bigger picture of Zeltron Worldwide. “I just feel like we need to be unified and together on some real sh*t because it’s only us as artists, we share each other’s struggles, you know?” 

Hours before his homecoming performance in Miami against J.I.D for Red Bull Music’s Zeltron Worldwide, he jumped on a quick call with HNHH to discuss the series, his complicated relationship with Miami these days, and why he feels like he’s gone from underrated to underappreciated.

TK Akatora/Red Bull Content Pool

Bringing Zeltron back to your hometown, in Miami, what’s your relationship with the city like these days in comparison to when you dropped Zuu? I know you were recording in L.A. around then.

I don’t know, I haven’t performed here in a long time, so I don’t know what my relationship is with the city at this point. Last time I came here and performed at Rolling Loud, that sh*t was sh*tty. Not my performance but the crowd was wack as f*ck. 

Do you find performances are different since you moved away from Miami?

Yeah. I don’t know how to describe it. I was gone for such a long time. When I do stuff in the city, it’s fine.

That’s dope. I know you’re performing with JID tonight, I was wondering what the importance of bringing J.I.D to Miami was as opposed to having him at the Atlanta show?

It’s cool. Originally I wanted J.I.D to defend his home turf. I wanted him to defend Atlanta. We was on tour at the time and Joey Bada$$ was willing to be a participant in the Zeltron Worldwide, so we ended up battling — me and Joey — and I was gonna catch J.I.D on the rebound. He was like, “I promise I got you on the next round.” I was like “alright cool” and it ended up happening.

That’s dope. As you guys step into the ring, what aspect of JID’s artistry do you find yourself appreciating more when you’re in a ring with him as opposed to being in the studio or something?

First of all, we’re both from the South. Secondly, we’re both technical. Third, we can both get with each other on every level, you know? Only difference is our age. He’s older than me. J.I.D is one of the best lyricists of all time, honestly.

For yourself, you’re kind of like a young OG in your own right, you’ve been at it for a while. In my opinion, you’ve had a larger influence on this generation of music than a lot of people give you credit for — 

I don’t get no credit. They’ll bypass my sh*t in an instant. If you want the real Denzel talkin’, this is him. So, nobody give me f*ckin credit. Every time I put out some sh*t, I bust my ass for it. For years dropping nothing but quality and mothafuckas keep going and saying, “oh you’re so underrated.” Like now it’s getting from underrated to underappreciated. Now, It’s getting to the point where it’s like, ‘bruh, I don’t want to do this sh*t no more if It’s just going to fall on deaf ears.’ I don’t get the credit I deserve, for real. I rather do creative shit like more of this Zeltron stuff than just being a rapper.

Definitely. Going into these events, I remember watching your RapGenius with Flatbush Zombies and you mentioned it’s important for you to unify the game so at a point right now where it feels like we’re losing a lot of members of the community, can you tell me why it’s significant for you to have these opportunities to create a unique experience for your fans and for the rap game as a whole?

I’m creating a place where we might — there’s a community of us. We may not like each other but let’s take it to our advantage, man. It’s like, white people are just throwing money at us [laughs] you know what I’m sayin’? And we f*ck ourselves up by trying each other and doing stupid sh*t just for the Gram, flexin’, whatever the case may be. I’m just like, ‘they’re throwing money at us, they’re giving away money to us,’ and we — how we use it? We’re going to jail, we’re doing all types of dumb sh*t. I just feel like we need to be unified and together on some real sh*t because it’s only us as artists, we share each other’s struggles, you know?

Stephanie Estrada/Red Bull Content Pool

Is that the type of conversation you have with the artists you invite to do these events with you?

Yeah, I talk to a lot of artists about it. There’s a lack of realness. If I tell somebody like, “Hey bro, I wanna battle you” and we do this sh*t for fun. It’s a friendly competition. It’s fun, it’s not judgemental. We don’t let nobody be like, “oh the winner is this or that” or let politics get into play, we just do it because we like to. I just want to end conflict. Say, for instance, Rich the Kid and Lil Uzi Vert have had problems with each other, right? If this was a factor in that, if this was playing a role in that, right? They’ll both be getting money and they won’t have to deal with each other. And they get to showcase who’s better than who, for real, for real. Instead of like, pulling up, and all this shit over some words. If you gon’ go over it over words, you can battle over words. If a n***a ain’t said, ‘go suck yuh mudda’ or some shit like that, then, n***a, let that shit go, bruh. And if it is, put your money where mic is, you know what I’m sayin’?

Nah, for sure. Do you feel like as a fan of the game, that aspect of battle rap has been missing, like it’s been misconstrued with like personal sh*t?

Yes cause me and Daylyt, we’re homies. We talk about this sh*t all the time. He loves the Zeltron stuff and what we do with the Zeltron sh*t. He wanted to come, he was like, “I like how you bring the battle aspect but on your terms.” Where it’s like music against music because that’s how soundclashes go, you know? Like my manager is Jamaican and I’m very familiar with soundclashes just by living down here in South Florida, so you gotta make that sh*t be known. And I’m a big fan of Lord Of The Mics and stuff. So all that stuff serves as inspiration. Battle culture is good. Like, even Skepta used to clash, you know?

I know you’ve done joints with AJ Tracey in the past. Having that connection with the UK, what’re the chances of you taking the Zeltron Worldwide to the UK and doing clashes on their turf or having artists back on your turf?

You know, me and JME just talked about that. We need to get that sh*t crackin’ ‘cause he likes what I’m doing with it. He likes how it’s going down. They seen the first one, me vs. the Flatbush Zombies and they were like, “yo, damn, we be doing this sh*t too.” You know, they like the originators of that, you know what I’m saying? And he was just like, ‘Damn, if we came over there and battled them like how A$AP Mob did or Taylor Gang’ — it would actually, like, it’ll be worth it. 

Teyana Taylor might not actually get as much credit as she deserves for just how much creative control goes behind her music. The G.O.O.D Music singer teamed up with Red Bull last year for the House Of Petunia show which they described as her “most ambitious show to date.” Bringing her vision to life, Teyana Taylor was leading every aspect of the performance which ultimately took place at Red Bull Music Festival New York. 

Taylor brought Red Bull cameras into her world as she plotted out the show as they capture a glimpse into her world. Balancing her family and professional life all at once, Assembly Required: Teyana Taylor’s House Of Petunia give fans an up-close look at her life leading up to her big performance. 

“I’m starting my own house. It’s gonna be called House of Petunia. It’s all my visions brought to life,” Teyana explains in the film. “The House of Petunia will be my most ambitious show to date. I’m extremely nervous because the show means a lot to me.”

The documentary runs for over an hour in length with appearances and cameos from Nikki Taylor — Teyana’s mom and manager — Iman Shumpert, the band director Carrington, and lead choreographer, Coco Gilbert. Usher, Fabolous and Method Man also make appearances in the doc.

Peep the documentary in full below. 

Denzel Curry has been enjoying the fruits of his labor over the past few years but he has more in his pockets in 2020. The rapper already unleashed 13OOD IN + 13OOD Out mix including new tracks with Zillakami, Xavier Wulf, Ghostmane and more. The rapper waited a few weeks before launching a fake beef with Kenny Beats only to release a joint project titled, UNLOCKED later on.

In the midst of his current prolific run, the rapper’s also plotting out the Zeltron Worldwide events with Red Bull Music. The Zeltron Worldwide is a wrestling-influenced live music show where Denzel Curry goes blow-for-blow with another artist, metaphorically speaking of course. Later this month, the rescheduled Miami date with Denzel Curry and J.I.D will take place but in March, the rapper will be going head-to-head with Rico Nasty for the San Francisco edition of the show. Needless to say, we’ll definitely hear cuts from Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats UNLOCKED as we gear up for Rico’s official debut album Nightmare.

The San Francisco edition will take place at Fort Mason on March 20th. If you’re interested in checking it out, make sure you head over to Red Bull’s website for more information. Denzel Curry has previously dueled Joey Bada$$ in Atlanta in November 2019. Keep your eyes peeled for more information including the final dd

Raekwon The Chef is one of hip-hop’s most vivid lyricists of all time. Few can rival his ability to bring his environment to life, his stories alive with sensory detail and beautifully rendered violence. A veteran of the Wu-Tang movement with two solo classics under his belt, Rae has consistently moved with integrity to his craft. His path ultimately led him to Red Bull Music, who have proven themselves a friend to creators and their visions. Together, they linked up to concoct The Appetition, the product of a seventy-two-hour studio marathon at Red Bull Music’s New York studio. 

Boasting three songs, all of which find Rae deftly exploring new sonic territory, the project serves as an appetizer for the smorgasbord to come throughout 2020. If you haven’t already checked it out, do yourself a favor and listen closely to Rae’s latest drop; despite clocking in at under ten minutes, there remains plenty of lyrical gems to unpack.

Not long ago, I had the chance to catch up with Raekwon prior to The Appetition‘s release. Our conversation has been transcribed below.

Image Red Bull Music Content Pool

Hey Rae, what’s up? Thank you so much for taking the time.

You got it, happy New Year! 

You too. Hows your 2020 going so far?

Excellent. A little tired from all the festivities I’ve been dealing with the last week and half or so. I’m cool though.

So you recently connected with Red Bull Music for a new EP. How did that come to pass?

That was a 72-hour project. I got a chance to work with some super dope artists and producers. We came together and made a little grab-bag for people to check out a new sound from Rae. This is a teaser, an appetizer for what I’m about to give you guys in the future.

 You know I’m a big Red Bull head, I love what they’re doing and what they stand for in the culture. We just did a little couple of songs to get people’s mouths watering about what I’ve got going on. I thought it was a dope project to be involved with. I call it hitting the bag. It’s like practice. Jumping back into shit. 

Did the 72-hour time period impact your writing and creative process?

I mean, I’m pretty much an athlete with it. You gotta get in there and pass the ball. Communicate with the team and make a score. Make a win, you know? That’s what we did. We put our minds together in one spot and we came up with some quality shit. I’m proud of these guys for really stepping up to the bar and giving me something I can feel comfortable with. It was dope though. My process is I listen to something to love. My creative juices start flowing. We off to the races. I’ve been doing it like that for years. It’s all about hearing what you like. 

Christopher Polk/Getty Image

I consider you to be one of the best lyricists of all time, to be honest. The way you build a world around you, you’re such a keen observer. The way your storytelling mixes stream-of-consciousness, abstract imagery, slang. When you were coming up in Park Hill, were you an observant person? 

Oh, definitely. Definitely. That’s what the neighborhood is always about. Looking and watching. Seeing who’s winning, who’s losing, the gains and the setbacks. All that type of stuff, that’s what the neighborhood gives us. I’ve always been an analyst when it comes to pretty much anything. I’m looking out for me, trying to protect me, if I see villains around. 

They say a good listener is a good learner – able to understand more from seeing things how they really are. That’s always been me. Since I was a kid, from playing sports to music. You watch the best, you become the best. You learn from people’s mistakes and you learn from your mistakes. That’s what gives you the opportunity to be greater. 

When did you first start realizing you wanted to be a lyricist and putting these experiences to the page?

My shit goes back to hanging on the staircase with some of my homeboys from the Wu. We all came up from staircase rap, going out to a couple of clubs as we got older. Seeing some of the legendary artists of that time doing their thing. We’re talking about early eighties, mid-eighties cats. Rakim to KRS One, Kane, all these dudes were an inspiration to us. They pretty much wrote the bible of rap for us, and we just followed it. We followed what we seen them do and try to do it on the same magnitude.

When you think back to those early days, has anything stayed consistent in your rapping technique from then to now? 

Passion. I’m passionate about music. Good production, good energy, good people. I couldn’t do a lot of the things I do without having that instilled in me. Everything for me always been about a team effort. Paying attention to the talented ones. I think that’s why this is so dope for me to do a couple of records with the Red Bull team. 

I’m always looking at the future, the new kids coming up, new producers. Guys that can inspire me! I’ve been inspiring people for decades. It feels good to be inspired now. All of that plays a role in my passion. You got something that’s dope and it gets me in the mood, makes me feel good about wanting to be a part of it. That’s what I’m down for. That’s how we make history. With those vibes.
 

Christopher Polk/Getty Images 

When you were coming up in the New York golden era of production, you had so many great producers — the work RZA did was incredible. With the landscape having changed so much, what are some of the things you enjoy about this era of beat-making?

The ones that’s super talented will come out when it’s time. You always gotta be prepared for talent when it comes in front of you. I’ve been around the world, I’ve seen so many dope dudes do their thing and not really get the shine they wanted at the time. I’m like ‘damn these dudes are talented but nobody knows them yet.’ I’ve always been a big advocate of wanting to see new guys do they thing — I listen to all kinds of music. Not just hardcore lyrics, but everything. From reggae to EDM. Dope is dope. You feel it, you hear it, it sounds like a winner, you sign off. 

That’s how I look at music in general. It’s an energy you feel when you hear talented muthafuckas do they thing. I just feed off of that. If I could give a guy some great advice or inspire him in any type of way, it feels good to know  I inspired people who are really into it. It makes me feel good to know that I’m giving them some life, and they’re giving me some life. That’s the same way we were inspired when we came up! From watching people be great at what they was great at. It’s about passing the torch. You gotta pass the torch and give them the opportunity to be great at what they do.

You’ve become The General now. I recently saw you pass the torch to the Griselda movement. How did you connect with them?

Yeah! Those are my good friends. They put something in me. They gave me that surge we had back in the day and I love it. That’s why I give them credit. I told them when I met them, 

‘Y’all get it in. Ya’ll doing what you’re supposed to do.’ That’s one style of hip-hop, but that particular style is one of my favorites. That’s what made us be great. 

It reminds me of you and Ghost. I’ve been listening to so much Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Wu-Tang music lately, revisiting my favorite Wu-Tang projects. I have to ask – how did the dynamic between you and Ghost evolve through music? 

It started from Wu-Tang Clan. The energy at home. We’re nine ill emcees and we all got something special that we bring to the table. I guess with me and Ghost, we vibed off each other cause we was linked by what me and him love personally, what was inspiring us. The crew started to see that, and they were like ‘ya’ll need to do a record together.’ Next thing you know, we started doing it, and all of us was like ‘this sounds right.’ That was a great thing. 

After The Appetition, what’s next for Raekwon in 2020? Are we going to get a full-length album?

We definitely got a big entree about to come out. Don’t worry, we going to score again and make another classic. I always keep it genuine to what kind of hip-hop I love and what I’ma give you guys. There’s a lot of things on board. I got a great wine out, it’s called Licata. We got a big documentary we still working on. We got a store in Toronto called The Purple Factory. There’s other endeavors I’m involved in, we’re going to incorporate everything to it. We’re going to bring a whole decade of new shit to the table.

When it was announced last month that Denzel Curry would be following up his November duel with Joey Bada$$ by going head to head with J.I.D. in the new year, the excitement could not be overstated. Denzel proved himself as the one to beat at the previous Red Bull Music’s Zeltron World Wide battle in Atlanta, and J.I.D. seemed like his perfect match. The two rappers were supposed to face off this Saturday, January 18th in Miami, but fans will unfortunately have to wait a little longer before they get to witness this epic rap battle, as J.I.D has just announced that he’s been advised to go on vocal rest. The Dreamville artist posted a video on Instagram from his doctor’s office, explaining that the situation resulted from his excessive touring in 2019.

On the post, the Grammy-nominated artist gave us a close-up look at his throat on the screen at his doctor’s office, as his doctor explained different parts of his anatomy. In the caption, he wrote, “On da big God ever since I got off tour I been in pain and nervous af about my voice, I toured 10 months of the 12 last year and I’ve essentially been touring every year since 2014(ab soul) and it took a toll, positively and negatively but all in all I should be fine.”  J.I.D then proceeded to inform fans that he must put his health first, and that the Denzel event will have to be moved back. “Im on vocal rest for 2 weeks(vow of silence) with meds and steroids and shit.also We have to reschedule the battle vs. Denzel that was this weekend but I promise we will make it up to u guys very soon,” he wrote, adding that “the video resembles alien Vagina.” According to Complex, the event has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 29th.

He also revealed in the comments of the post that he’d been “recording records with this crazy ass voice and like 2 of dem making da blum lol,” possibly referring to Dreamville’s soon-to-be-released deluxe edition of their Revenge Of The Dreamers III album, which will drop on Thursday evening at 9pm.