Hip-Hop
When You Stare Into the Abyss, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy Artwork Stares Back
Emojis were born in 1997 — a bit old for Drake’s tastes, though that hasn’t stopped the rapper from impregnating a dozen of them for the official cover artwork of his new album Certified Lover Boy. The horrifying image is not a figment of a nightmare, though we at Consequence have tried pinching ourselves in the hope that the dead-eyed avatars would disappear. Drizzy — nope, not gonna call him that, too easy to imagine him drizzling all over his phone keyboard — Drake shared the cursed artwork in an Instagram post on Monday, August 30th. Here it is, in all its stomach-roiling glory: Advertisement Related Video In the process, he tagged conceptual artist Damien Hirst, who is believed to be guilty responsible for the depiction. Hirst is a man after Drake’s own heart...
“DONDA” Is Finally Here: Listen to Gesaffelstein’s Production on Kanye West’s 10th Album
It was a rocky road to DONDA—speckled with last-minute delays and controversial performances—but Kanye West‘s most anticipated album has finally hit streaming platforms. In true Ye fashion, the record flaunts a staggering list of features, producers, and songwriters. Among them is Gesaffelstein, who is credited as a producer on three DONDA cuts. The electronic music luminary famously contributed production to two songs on West’s iconic 2013 album Yeezus, “Black Skinhead” and “Send It Up,” both of which also feature French compatriots Daft Punk. The robots weren’t included this time around, but Gesaffelstein held his own with some incredible work in the studio. At a length of nearly nine minutes, “Jesus Lord” is dark ...
Watch Offset Ring New York Stock Exchange Opening Bell to Celebrate Reservoir Media IPO
“This morning, Reservoir rang the @Nasdaq Opening Bell in celebration of our recent IPO. It is both exciting and humbling to take this next step in Reservoir’s journey,” the company wrote on Twitter while sharing photos from the ceremony. “We look forward to all the opportunities this creates, as we deepen our commitment to #investinginentertainment. Reservoir Media signed Offset and Takeoff to global publishing deals back in 2017, which represent their individual and collective catalogs. Reservoir Media’s EVP of A&R and Catalog Development Faith Newman was responsible for bringing the rappers to the roster. The company experienced its first day of trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on July 29, when its shares took a 4.9% dip after opening...
Drake Confirms Release Date For ‘Certified Lover Boy’
In July, Drake announced during his appearance on Fri Yiy Friday — a Sirius XM radio show spearheaded by his OVO Team — that he’d finished work on his follow-up to 2018’s Scorpion. “Album’s ready … Album’s cooked, looking forward to delivering it to you. Certified Lover Boy on the way, and that’s for anyone in the way,” he said at the time. While Drake, 34, and Kanye, 44, won’t really go head-to-head, the two superstars appeared to be setting up an epic chart clash withs some salty verses, with Drake firing first on Trippie Redd’s new song, “Betrayal.” “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know/ Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go/ Ye ain’t changin&...
Kanye West Claims Universal Music Group Released ‘Donda’ Without His Approval
Billboard has reached out to Def Jam for comment. The Donda track “Jail pt 2,” featuring DaBaby, was originally unavailable when the album first appeared on streaming services Sunday morning, but became available later in the afternoon. In a now-deleted Instagram post from early Sunday, West shared screenshots of text messages saying the track was being held up because of clearance issues from DaBaby. During Ye’s third large-scale listening event for Donda at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Aug. 26, it was revealed that Jay-Z’s verse on “Jail” had been replaced by a new one from DaBaby, who has been under fire for making homophobic and misogynistic comments at Rolling Loud Miami in July. Fans were pleased to learn Sunday that Jay’s verse had been ...
Fans Choose BTS & Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Butter’ Remix as This Week’s Favorite New Music
BTS, who recently graced the cover of Billboard, and Megan Thee Stallion’s remix arrived days after the rapper filed an emergency temporary restraining order against 1501 Certified Entertainment, alleging that her label was blocking her from appearing on a remix of BTS’ Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Butter.” On Tuesday (Aug. 24), a Texas judge ruled in favor of the Megan’s request to extend the TRO that permitted her to release the remix. The following day, both acts announced the remix. “Butter” has been sticking to the top of Billboard‘s Songs of the Summer chart, where it remains in the week dated Aug. 28. The song, which ruled the Hot 100 for nine weeks and became the longest-running No. 1 of 2021 (so far), ...
Kanye West Channels His Vulnerability on Donda, Delivering His Best Album in Years
Two of the most confounding words in music are “Kanye” and “West.” For the past few years, Kanye West has been less of an artist and more of a Rorschach test for a worldwide audience. To some, he’s a genius on par with John Lennon, Beethoven, Steve Jobs, and Leonardo Da Vinci. To others, he’s a drama king attracted to the spotlight like a moth to a flame. To a third group, he’s a fallen prophet who traded in his goodwill for a red cap and a White House hall pass. However you rate his flaws, Kanye admittedly never hid them, even all those moons ago when the world said he was hip hop’s Messiah in 2004. Seventeen years later, after dealing with the ups and downs that come from living one’s life in a fishbowl for the world to see, Ye is back with Donda, his tenth album. Named after his mother,...
Jay-Z Joined by Megan Thee Stallion, Swizz Beatz & More at 40/40 Club’s Anniversary Celebration
Swizz Beatz, fellow hip-hop staple and longtime close friend of Jay, arrived dressed for the occasion in a velvet suit. But before the red carpet photographers could fully snap their shots of his ensemble, the man of the hour Jay-Z arrived right behind Swizz with perfect timing and swiftly joined him on the carpet. Hov graciously thanked everyone for coming before smoothly walking into his club with Swizz, ready for the celebration to begin. Even if someone hasn’t been to 40/40, it is nearly impossible to not know of its allure in the music world, thanks to the surplus of references sprinkled throughout verses from Jay himself as well as plenty of other artists. For Benny the Butcher, this was exactly the case as he stepped into 40/40 physically for the first time last night but had ...
Every Song on Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Album, Ranked: Critic’s Pick
After sifting through the censored CDQ version of Donda on streaming services, check out our song rankings for the LP below. 26. “Tell the Vision” (feat. Pop Smoke) A different version of “Tell the Vision” originally landed on Pop Smoke’s posthumous Faith album. Here, Pusha T’s verse is cut out and Pop’s vocals are altered along with Kanye tweaking the beat. Yeezy gives a salute to Pop, which serves as more of an interlude or bridge than a legit track from the fallen Brooklyn drill soldier. 25. “No Child Left Behind” (feat. Vory) This is the proper album closer. Anyone that watched the stream or was on social media during the second Atlanta listening party will have to associate “No Child Left Behind” with the sight of Kanye...
Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Album Is Here: Stream It Now
Kanye West is back. The 22-time Grammy winner released his highly anticipated 10th studio album, Donda, to streaming services on Sunday morning (Aug. 29) — weeks after his original listening event in Atlanta. The album was first due on Friday, July 23, via G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam Recordings, but then the project experienced multiple delays. Donda, named after West’s mom who died in 2007 at age 58, comes nearly two years after West’s ninth studio album, Jesus Is King, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in October 2019. On Thursday night, he held a third album release event for Donda at Chicago’s Soldier’s Field, after holding his previous two events inside Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz...
Kanye West Releases New Album Donda: Stream
It’s finally here. Kanye West has released Donda, his 10th solo album to date. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Spanning 27 tracks in total, the star-studded album boasts appearances from The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Pusha-T, Young Thug, Jay Electronica, Lil Yachty, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch, Baby Keem, and Conway the Machine, as well as with Kanye’s former Watch the Throne collaborator JAY-Z and the late rapper Pop Smoke. The album also tragically includes contributions from Marilyn Manson (an accused sexual predator), DaBaby (a homophobe), and Chris Brown (a domestic abuser). Manson is listed as a co-writer on “Jail,” Brown contributed to “New Again,” and DaBaby is featured on “Jail Pt. 2.” (Editor’s note: “Jail Pt. 2” is not currently available to stream as of press ...
Kim Kardashian Shares Backstage Wedding Dress Photo from Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Listening Event in Chicago
In a second photo, Kardashian is seen from afar donning the gown as she dramatically recreates her nuptials in front of thousands at Soldier Field. The final image is a candid shot of West and Kardashian, both clad in black leather, hanging out in the venue’s locker room with their 5-year-old son, Saint. West’s Donda listening party in his hometown of Chicago was filled with other surprises and strange scenes, including bizarre onstage appearances by DaBaby and Marilyn Manson. The “Rockstar” rapper has been under fire for making homophobic and misogynistic comments at a Miami festival in July, while the shock-rocker has been accused of sexually assaulting and emotionally abusing multiple women. At one point in the show, West also set himself on fire. While Yeezy fan...
