There was once a meme about Drake taking on 20 artists at once, soon after Kendrick dissed him.
Kanye is doing kind of the opposite thing; taking shots at Playboi Carti, Jay-Z, Beyoncé and now Kendrick (again). According to Kanye, Kendrick doesn’t even deserve to be in a top 12 rapper slot. He does, however, put Drake in there. Now, is that provocation or facts? Only Ye knows.
Although Ye did go on the record stating he’s jealous (or was jealous) of Drake’s success. Could the same be true for Lamar? It’s a bit of a weird situation as even Kanye seems to have confused metrics for determining influence.
In fact, while he admits Kendrick can out rap most people, he does not deem him worthy of having memorable songs. Baiting-ly, Ye also name dropped Andre 3000, putting him in the same category as Kendrick. With one difference — Andre 3000 actually has songs Kanye can remember; bit of a backhanded compliment? Insult? We’ve lost track.
Aside from his antics though, it is good to get to peep inside Kanye’s brain and not forget the music pioneer he has been. His list, if it doesn’t change with time and convenience, is arguably a solid rap list. And well, if that isn’t entertaining, stay tuned — there will probably be more!
Yella Beezy has been arrested and charged in connection with murder of Dallas rapper Mo3 in 2020.
Markies Conway, known by his stage name Yella Beezy, is alleged to have paid for the killing of rapper Melvin Noble, known as Mo3, according to the indictment. Mo3 was driving northbound on Interstate 35 near Illinois Avenue when he was shot and killed in November 2020. Police said Noble was pursued on foot by a gunman after trying to flee from his vehicle, then shot multiple times. The shooting was captured on traffic cameras and widely circulated.
A Dallas County grand jury returned the indictment this week, alleging that Yella Beezy allegedly hired someone to carry out the shooting.
In relation to the case, two persons have already been charged. In February 2021, Kewon Dontrell White was indicted after initially being charged with murder. Devin Maurice Brown was also charged with aiding in the attack’s planning.
Yella Beezy rose to fame with his 2017 hit ‘That’s On Me’ which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100. As of Thursday evening, he remains in the Dallas County Jail with no bond being set yet.
Erykah Badu, a living legend among RnB and hip hop musicians, is back in the booth.
Her upcoming album will mark the neo-soul pioneer’s much welcome return to the music industry, with The Alchemist taking over the production duties for the entire project. The news broke recently, in an exclusive artist interview with Billboard, where Badu spoke about her history with music, her relationship with live performances, and her roots as a theatre artist.
Speaking to Billboard about her journey with music and rap, as well as having children who make music, Badu remarked how ,“rap is the people. Hip-hop is the people. It’s the folks. It’s the tribe. I have the luxury of experiencing having children who I watch grow up and love and encourage very much, and I cannot separate them when I see artists who are that age coming up. That’s how they feel. They are continuing the tradition.” This is not at all surprising, for Badu herself was once a young musician who broke the norms of studio work, pioneering some of the ways in which modern bedroom musicians work.
While Badu did not reveal much about the project with Alchemist, she did touch up on how the album is taking most of her time — that it is a project being worked upon diligently and excitedly. So far, no date has been announced.
The last time we had Badu excited resulted in classic projects like Baduismand New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) and the birth of the term neo-soul, which revolutionised fusion music so much so, that it continues to inspire modern popular music. Will the upcoming project do the same? Quite likely seeing as Alchemist is at the helm of sonic innovation with collaborators like Larry June, Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q.
Kanye West, who we saw going at everybody in the last few hours on twitter (including Kendrick Lamar now), may have done it as part of an odd release strategy. Because after the pandemonium and the madness he sparked online, he has now tweeted the links to his album, BULLY, as well as a film to go along with it.
In fact, Kanye has leaked links for different versions of the film — which, featuring his son Saint West, opens in a wrestling ring. In it, in a long monochromatic sequence, fans can see Ye’s son beating up wrestlers with a fake hammer in hand — “bullying” these professional fighters.
The film is soundtracked by songs from the album, which itself is a scattered amalgamation of iconic influences: from MF DOOM to Daft Punk. It even features Playboi Carti, who recently released his latest project, MUSIC. As expected, the Ye album itself doesn’t pay much heed to genre conventions and stands on its own sonic identity with confidence.
As such, the three versions of the film put out by Kanye are titled the ‘Screening Version,’ the ‘Post Hype Version’ and the ‘Post Post Hype Version’ — which aren’t on YouTube like you’d expect. Instead they’re on a website called frame.io, behind a password wall.
All you have to do is enter the relevant password for each file in order to be able to access the media. These files are also downloadable, for free at the moment. Here are the passwords for each link:
If you don’t live under a rock, you are probably up to date with Kanye’s antics online. At this point, it’s not just old news, it’s worse — it is regular. That said, this time, Kanye has found a rather odd target to be at the end of his hate tweeting: Tyler, The Creator.
Tyler has pushed boundaries time and again with his approach to genre defying production, unrestrained self expression, and finely crafted lyrics. In fact, not many people were in disagreement when Tyler called himself ‘the biggest out the city after Kenny (Kendrick Lamar)’ as a fact.
If you’ve heard Chromakopia, you can probably attest to this sentiment as truth. The album was sonically ahead of its time, deeply rooted in history and culture, with bold expressions of Tyler’s sexuality and eccentricity all at once.
Apparently, that’s not something that impresses Ye. Taking to twitter (and just as easily to the Caps Lock On button), Ye proceeded to trash Tyler’s impact on hip hop, tarnishing his reputation as a copy of…well, Ye himself. He said that in the context of his last album.
Aside from the imitation allegations, Kanye also taunted Tyler as an artist that checks all boxes except the core requirement of having a memorable song or verse. Quite a brutal way of attributing everything to the personal brand and not the music itself. Well, what do you think?
Playboi Carti and Kanye West have a long history of working together, which shocked fans when the mogul did not appear on Carti’s eagerly awaited album, MUSIC.
Ye took to Twitter and revealed he did not feature on the album, claiming that “Jewish businesses” kept him from collaborating on the project. “Jewish business forced Carti to not put me on the album,” he tweeted. “Same thing happened with Trav.”
During a Las Vegas performance in November, Carti told the crowd that Kanye has been a big influence, saying “Shout out to my na Kanye… He over here making beats and sht. That album gonna be crazy, I can’t wait to show y’all n*as.”
Carti’s new album arrived on March 14, 2025, containing 30 tracks and featuring the likes of Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Skepta, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Ty Dolla Sign, and Young Thug.
A few hours ago, Kanye also revealed that he has a whole project with Carti in the works called “Carti Ye” which will now never come out. He shared a print of the artwork too which is a photo taken of the two in Miami in December, 2023 after a Vultures listening event.
In related news, Kanye also revealed the artwork for his new album Bully, which is a Swastika sign used by Nazis.
Will Smith has been teasing the release of his new album for a couple of months now. Today, we have all the details surrounding it.
The legendary rapper-actor has revealed that Based on a True Story will arrive on March 28th, marking his first full-length album in over 20 years. The 14-track album will feature a variety of artists including DJ Jazzy Jeff, Teyana Taylor, Big Sean & Jac Ross. Previously released singles “First Love,” “TANTRUM,” “Work of Art,” “You Can Make It” and “Beautiful Scars” with Big Sean will also make the cut.
Will Smith linked up with Doechii for a funny social video to her song “Anxiety” this week which leans into a current viral dance trend to the song, taken from a scene of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with Will Smith and Tatyana Ali.
Will Smith recently hit No.1 on the Billboard Gospel Airplay Chart with “You Can Make It” featuring Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir. Check out the complete tracklist below and pre-order album here.
UPDATE: The final numbers are in. The album has moved 248k copies in the first week for a number 1 debut. Drake reacted to the development on his IG stories.
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PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake released their collab album Some Sexy Songs 4 U this past Friday and as expected, its getting quite a mixed response from listeners.
The album, which released through a joint deal via Republic/OVO/Santa Anna, doesn’t have any big names as far as features are concerned. HDD reports that it is expected to move 250k in the first week with about 28k out of that coming from pure sales. That is quite a good number given the circumstances.
The album is expected to debut at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
A few days ago, it was announced that Drake will be headlining all three days of the Wireless Festival in the UK this summer.
The world isn’t a stranger to the success of Spotify’s Wrapped campaign — a yearly, personalised listening analysis experience for users of the platform. The campaign gave the streaming giant a way to interact and engage fans directly. Last fall, they took things a notch higher with a new feature that allows users to create their own cover art for playlists.
Now, taking it even further, the DSP has announced its first ever Digital Artist Sticker collection which would allow listeners to get even more creative with their playlist covers by integrating digital assets straight from the artists they love. To kick things off, Spotify has partnered up with rapper-producer Tyler, The Creator, with whom they’ve developed 10 exclusive stickers to have fans be more creative than ever before, borrowing Tyler’s style.
If that sounds something you’d be into, but don’t know where to start — fret not, we got you. Here are stepwise instructions that may be of help when working your creative magic with the stickers!
Select a user-generated playlist that you created – or click to create a new one: Tap the context menu (…); then tap ‘Create Cover Art’ within the menu options.
From there, listeners can access exclusive Tyler, The Creator stickers, along with a variety of creative elements, including backgrounds and text.
Once complete, the playlist will be updated with your listener’s brand new cover art and can be shared with friends.
So, what playlist cover are you coming up with next?
A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty on two counts of felony assault.
The rapper was facing 24 years in prison if convicted, so you can imagine his elation when the verdict was read. Rocky run straight to Rihanna and jumped in her arms. He was offered a deal of six months in prison along with probation if he pleaded guilty to just one count of assault, but he doubled down on his innocence and it paid off.
The jury deliberated for three hours before making the decison. Rocky thanked them for saving his life. Rihanna reacted to the decision on her Instagram account, giving the glory to God.
Now that this rough chapter is seemingly over, perhaps fans can finally expect Don’t Be Dumb soon.
Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR have revealed the official tracklist for their new album SOME SEXY SONGS 4 U.
The album contains 21 songs and is expected to release at midnight (Valentine’s Day) but there are reports that they may stick to a download only release for a few days. The tracklist clearly tells the run time too – 74 minutes so it’s definitely not a brief listen.
The title of track #9 is interesting — it seems to be named after Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel.
Wu Tang Clan fans will be delighted to find out that the rap crew is returning after eight years, with a full length album project.
The album, which features all nine members of the Wu Tang Clan, is produced by Mathematics and is all set to drop on Record Store Day (April 12, 2025). In addition to the clan, fans will also be enticed with features by Benny the Butcher, Kool G. Rap, Nicole Bus, and probably a few more!
For the uninitiated, Mathematics is the legendary multidisciplinary artist responsible for coming up with the Wu Tang Clan logo — which when flipped completely, also forms Mathematics’ own logo as well. Now, speaking of cool illustrations, it is important to note that the album will come out physically first as a limited edition 2LP Vinyl set — with each cover being one of one. With 5000 unique designs, the limited release will cater to the Clan’s core fans and have collectors drooling over the record. But if you’re more of a digital music consumer, fret not, for the album will also be available for digital purchase the same month.
To really understand the gravity of the situation, we urge you to consider this — the last Wu Tang album that came out was in 2017 in the form of Wu-Tang The Saga Continues. Although it really was 10+ years back in 2014 when you last heard all nine members together. “The release of this album is a landmark event in the collectibles space. The Mixprint variant cover art developed by the Macroverse Media team is the very first time in the Vinyl Record industry an album has been released with no two covers alike,” said Chris Schwartz, CEO of Ruffnation Entertainment. So, all angles considered, the release will mark a landmark day in lives of vinyl and art collectors alike — an exciting precedent for more such releases in the future.
Speaking about the Wu Tang Clan, its legacy, and the upcoming project, Mathematics says that, “Wu-Tang has always been about pushing boundaries—musically, artistically, and culturally. With ‘Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman,’ I’m giving fans not just an album, but a piece of history—something truly one of a kind. This is more than music; it’s innovation, storytelling, and legacy all in one. I am excited for everyone to hear the music and see the artwork around this album.”
Now, without further ado, it is time we reveal the track list for you! Here are the tracks you can expect to have in your rotation, come April.
Tracklist: Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman
1. “Sucker Free City” (Intro) feat. Kurupt and Ralph McDaniels
None of us are new to Ye’s social media antics, and least of all his tweets. Becoming pop culture artifacts over time on the internet, Kanye is undisputedly the king of unpredictable thoughts voiced out in public. Now, while a set of tweets is always quick to float around from the ‘old Kanye,’ the man himself has decided to bring back the online Kanye experience for 2025.
Yep, you guessed it — Kanye West has gone on a twitter (or X, as he insists) rant to kickstart the year. While a lot of it is hilarious to say the least, certain tweets are bluntly not in good taste. One example would be the now deleted tweet, where Kanye makes sexually explicit and inappropriate remarks about US presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.
And in case you missed out on the barrage of tweets beyond this, do not worry. We have compiled them all below for your convenience.
It actually all started off very calm — with just the promotion of Bully related merch.
The road to Hurry Up Tomorrow has been a long one that The Weeknd has been working on since Dawn FM came out. back in the spring of 2023, he made headlines when he said that this album would be his “last hurrah” as The Weeknd, which some took as a retirement announcement, but was just him alluding to him wanting to drop the persona.
Tonight, the trilogy that began with 2020’s After Hours will finally be complete. Before that though, the singer has unveiled the official track list for the new LP. It’s 22 tracks long and there are no credited features as of now.
1. Wake Me Up 2. Cry For Me 3. I Can’t F****** Sing 4. São Paulo 5. Until We’re Skin & Bones 6. Baptized In Fear 7. Open Hearts 8. Opening Night 9. Reflections Laughing 10. Enjoy The Show 11. Given Up On Me 12. I Can’t Wait To Get There 13. Timeless 14. Niagara Falls 15. Take Me Back To LA 16. Big Sleep 17. Give Me Mercy 18. Drive 19. The Abyss 20. Red Terror 21. Without A Warning 22. Hurry Up Tomorrow
Rod Wave has announced that he’s leaving music and the industry, at least for now.
The rapper-singer announced the step following huge backlash from a cancelation of his show in Nashville on Jan. 29th. He was set to perform at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for the Last Lap Tour performance but it was called off just about an hour before scheduled time, leaving fans angry and frustrated.
“Unfortunately, Rod Wave is unable to perform tonight,” Bridgestone Arena shared on social media. “The show is being postponed to a later date. More details to follow.”
Fans, who had traveled from all over, obviously did not appreciate the last minute decision as the show was already dealing with initial postponement from December 9.
A fan said Rod Wave “definitely owes nashville an explanation. cancel okay that’s cool but an hour before? at least give 10 hour notice people drove hours to get there.”
taking to Instagram, Rod Wave did not offer an explanation for the canceled show but called out people who sit on internet and drag names all day. He said he was leaving for now, without revealing whether he will be back to the scene.
“This ain’t goodbye it’s simply see u later,” Wave wrote. “Keep your head up and remember long as you got music your not alone … Till we meet again.” Swipe below to see his words.
