Rap
Rap Song of the Week: Freddie Gibbs Reconnects with Jadakiss on “Black Illuminati”
Our recurring new music feature Rap Song of the Week breaks down the hip-hop tracks you need to hear at the end of every week. Check out the full playlist here. This week, Freddie Gibbs reunites with Jadakiss on “Black Illuminati.” When Freddie Gibbs and Jadakiss last collaborated on Gibbs’ star-studded Baby Face Killa mixtape nine years ago, the Gary, Indiana rapper was about to exit his ill-fated deal with Young Jeezy’s CTE label. Given all the talent he’d displayed up to that point, it’s no surprise that Gibbs went on to become one of the most successful independent artists in the game, earning enough gravitas to ink his own partnership deals with major labels. After notching a Grammy nomination for Alfredo, Gibbs is mashing the gas pedal even harder for his follow-up, which h...
Drake Becomes First Artist to Have Two Albums Spend 400 Weeks Each on the Billboard 200
Because his cap doesn’t already have enough feathers, Drake has yet another world record to add to his plumage. According to Chart Data (via Twitter), the rapper has become the first artist in history to have multiple studio albums spend at least 400 weeks each on the Billboard 200. The two albums in question are his back-to-back gems, 2011’s Take Care and 2013’s Nothing Was the Same. The achievement comes as the latter album joined the 400 Club earlier this week. Take Care, meanwhile, just spent its 454th week on the charts, sitting just 18 weeks behind the current all-time hip-hop record holder, Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. And you thought Drake squashing his beef with Kanye was the biggest thing he’d do this week. As the RIAA’s highest-certified digital ...
Freddie Gibbs Reunites with Jadakiss on “Black Illuminati”: Stream
Freddie Gibbs and Jadakiss have shared “Black Illuminati,” their first song together in nearly a decade. The single is out now via Warner Records. “Black Illuminati” celebrates the rappers’ growing success with healthy skepticism — having money is great, but it’s become all the more clear these days that the hip-hop game comes with certain dangers. “They want to take me out this game like Sha’Carri/ Black Illuminati, touch big rabbits, streets need a body,” Gibbs spits in the minimal track. The duo rap in a lavish mansion in the song’s music video, further confirmation of their recent gains. Listen to the single below. Gibbs and Jadakiss last worked together on “Krazy,” a cut from Gibbs’ 2012 album Baby Face Killa. A lot has happened since then. Following the 2020 release of Alfredo, ...
Saba Sets Release Date for New Album, Drops “Stop That”: Stream
Saba has dropped his new single “Stop That” along with the track’s accompanying music video. Watch it below. The self-produced song is the second single off the Chicago-based MC’s upcoming third album Few Good Things, following Daoud-assisted lead-off “Fearmonger.” The LP is set to arrive in its entirety February 4th via The Orchard. “I feel like more often than not, we let our own judgement of ourselves knock our confidence off before anyone else even offers any feedback. Our own insecurities ring really loudly in our heads, to the point where we make ourselves smaller before giving anyone else the chance to,” the rapper said of the single in a statement. “This is something that I feel like I found myself beginning to do over the years. Hiding from the uncomfortable moment. And this song ...
New York Bill Seeks to Limit Rap Lyrics as Criminal Evidence
Two New York state senators have put forward a bill to protect rap and hip-hop artists’ use of creative expression in their lyrics. Referred to as the “Rap Music on Trial” bill, the proposed legislation would seek to limit the admissibility of song lyrics as criminal evidence “without clear and convincing proof that there is a literal, factual nexus between the creative expression and the facts of the case.” In a Rolling Stone interview, Senators Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and Jamaal Bailey (D-The Bronx) illustrated their point by citing classic lyrics by the likes of Johnny Cash (“But I shot a man in Reno/ Just to watch him die”) and David Byrne (“Don’t touch me, I’m a real live wire/ Psycho killer”) which are clearly understood to be artistic. Advertisement Related Video Meanwh...
Wyclef Jean Dropped Range Rover’s CEO on His Head During Corporate Party
In a scene straight out of Succession, Wyclef Jean was hired to play a corporate gig for Range Rover, only to then nearly paralyze the company’s CEO by dropping him on his head. TMZ has video of the incident (see below), which occurred at the Range Rover Leadership Summit on Monday night. At some point during the evening, Wyclef decided to hoist the company’s CEO and President, Joe Eberhardt, onto his shoulders. With The Outfield’s “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love Tonight” playing in the background, the two basked in the surreal moment — until it all came tumbling down. Wyclef eventually lost his balance and proceeded to drop the elder Eberhardt right on his head. Fortunately, Eberhardt escaped seriously injury, but he certainly appears dazed in the video, and ended up leaving the party early...
Wyclef Jean Dropped Range Rover’s CEO on His Head During Corporate Party
In a scene straight out of Succession, Wyclef Jean was hired to play a corporate gig for Range Rover, only to then nearly paralyze the company’s CEO by dropping him on his head. TMZ has video of the incident (see below), which occurred at the Range Rover Leadership Summit on Monday night. At some point during the evening, Wyclef decided to hoist the company’s CEO and President, Joe Eberhardt, onto his shoulders. With The Outfield’s “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love Tonight” playing in the background, the two basked in the surreal moment — until it all came tumbling down. Wyclef eventually lost his balance and proceeded to drop the elder Eberhardt right on his head. Fortunately, Eberhardt escaped seriously injury, but he certainly appears dazed in the video, and ended up leaving the party early...
Our Long National Nightmare is Over as Kanye and Drake Reach Peace Accord
Kanye West and Drake’s long-running beef is apparently over. The rappers — who have had issues for a while, but escalated their drama with diss tracks and inflammatory social media posts in recent months — took to Instagram this evening to mark the end of their feud with photos and videos of themselves hanging out together. Ye posted a photo of himself posing with Drake and Rap-A-Lot Records CEO J Prince; he captioned the image with the emoji for the white dove of peace. Drake, meanwhile, posted a video of Dave Chappelle speaking at the Canadian rapper’s home about the pair’s reconciliation, followed with another clip of himself and Ye together. “You have reached your destination,” the post’s caption reads. The olive branch was actually extended last week when Ye invited Drake to perform a...
Our Long National Nightmare is Over as Kanye and Drake Reach Peace Accord
Kanye West and Drake’s long-running beef is apparently over. The rappers — who have had issues for a while, but escalated their drama with diss tracks and inflammatory social media posts in recent months — took to Instagram this evening to mark the end of their feud with photos and videos of themselves hanging out together. Ye posted a photo of himself posing with Drake and Rap-A-Lot Records CEO J Prince; he captioned the image with the emoji for the white dove of peace. Drake, meanwhile, posted a video of Dave Chappelle speaking at the Canadian rapper’s home about the pair’s reconciliation, followed with another clip of himself and Ye together. “You have reached your destination,” the post’s caption reads. The olive branch was actually extended last week when Ye invited Drake to perform a...
Day N Vegas 2021 Recap: Kendrick Lamar Returns, Doja Cat Reigns and More Highlights
The second edition of Goldenvoice’s hotly-anticipated Day N Vegas Festival brought a range of performances from hip-hop and R&B acts to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds for three nights over the November 12th-14th weekend. On the heels of the November 5th crowd surge and mass-casualty event at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, the hours leading into Day N Vegas took a cautionary tone. Earlier in the week, Scott pulled out of his night two headlining slot at DNV and was replaced by Post Malone; news outlets clamored to inform the public of the festival’s safety plan and organizers made additional checks and balances on crowd control. While the emphasis on fan safety struck a hyper-vigilant chord, the event was incident free and high on big moments, wrapping up a short but sweet ’21 fest...
Kanye West Releases Donda Deluxe, Featuring Six New Songs: Stream
Ye, a.k.a. the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has dropped a deluxe edition of his latest album, Donda. Listen below via Apple Music or Spotify. The expanded tracklist boasts six new songs, including the André 3000 collaboration “Life of the Party,” which was previously leaked by Drake. Notably, Kanye has also released the explicit version of “Life of the Party” as a standalone track (André previously refused to clear the track for Donda after learning that Kanye intended to censor it.) Other new additions include “Remote Control Pt. 2” featuring Young Thug and Kid Cudi; “Never Abandon Your Family”; “Keep My Spirit Alive Pt. 2” featuring Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, and KayCyy; and “Up From the Ashes”. Meanwhile, “Come to Life” has been updated to include backing vocals from Tyl...
Nine-Year-Old Boy Becomes 10th Person to Die from Injuries Sustained at Astroworld
A tenth person has died from injuries suffered at last weekend’s Astroworld Festival. Nine-year-old Ezra Blount passed away Sunday, according to a statement released by his family’s attorney. “The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,” the Blount family attorney Ben Crump said in a statement. “This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra’s death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But tonight we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer.” Blount was sitting on his father’s shoulders during Travis Scott’s headlining set on Friday night when the two suddenly found themselves trapped in...
