Rap
Lil Durk Performs “Stay Down” and “Still Trappin’” on Fallon: Watch
Lil Durk was the musical guest on Friday night’s episode of Jimmy Fallon, performing a medley of his hits “Stay Down” and “Still Trappin’”. Both songs appear on his latest album, December’s The Voice. Atlanta singer 6LACK joined the Chicago rapper for “Stay Down”. After first coming to prominence as part of Chicago’s drill scene in the 2010s, Durk has experienced a career resurgence over the past two years. Since 2019, the 28-year-old rapper-singer has landed three Top 5 albums on the Billboard 200. The Voice has been his most successful album to date, landing atop Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Durk has also earned multiple songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including “Stay Down” and “Still Trappin’”. The latter song is a posthumous collaboration with the...
The Streets Shares New Single “Who’s Got The Bag (21st June)”: Stream
Last year, the never-ending bleakness of the coronavirus pandemic prompted The Streets to release a mixtape with the ominous title of None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive. Now that things are actually looking up in the UK, the project’s mastermind Mike Skinner is ready to celebrate with a positive mood and a new single called “Who’s Got The Bag (21st June)”. Stream it below. “It’s been too long since I’ve been behind some decks, or on a stage, in a tour bus sleeping in a bunk,” said Skinner in a statement. “The moment we can do it we want to be the rave and we will. It’s also about hospitality, events and nightclubs not being able to take anymore. It’s a protest song, it’s saying, don’t change the date on us again! FIRST IN THE ROOM. 21 June.” It’s clear Skinner concocted “Who’s G...
Fijian Rapper Jesswar Releases Debut EP TROPIXX: Stream
Three years after she set out to write and record her own music, rising Fijian rapper Jesswar has just released her debut EP TROPIXX via Inertia Music/PIAS. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. TROPIXX is a six-track EP meant to introduce listeners to Jesswar’s range of skills. On the previously released singles “Medusa” and “Venom”, she shows off a verbal tenacity and community-driven storytelling that seeks to empower fellow marginalized people, and that remains true for the other tracks on the EP. The way she sees it, holistic independence doesn’t have to mean you’re estranged from kinship or unity. “When I first started writing TROPIXX, I was tired of being overlooked, and I knew I had a lot to say. It was really upsetting to wake up every day and see how women of color are con...
Tyler, the Creator Releases Coca-Cola Commercial Song “Tell Me How”: Stream
Life tastes good when you’re cashing that corporate check. Tyler, the Creator caught the wave when he had the opportunity to create music for a new Coca-Cola commercial. The ad dropped last month, and now the hip-hop artist has released its soundtrack as a standalone recording. Entitled “Tell Me How”, the track itself doesn’t have much lyrical content — “Tell me how it tastes/ Yeah, good good good” gets you through most of it — but it’s the manic energy that really makes it a Tyler original. The track jumps with electric arcs between different moments of impatient peace and wilin’ out. According to Tyler himself, that’s him playing flute on the intro. “Tell Me How” is definitely a frantically fun cut, which fits the Coke ad’s visuals perfectly. The clip sees people from various walks ...
Drake Releases Scary Hours 2 EP: Stream
Drake has released his second Scary Hours EP. It serves as a follow-up to his 2018 EP of the same name. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify. Like his last Scary Hours release, this new EP only includes a few songs — three to be exact. “What’s Next” opens the EP, followed by “Wants and Needs” featuring Lil Baby and “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross. Chances are Drake is hoping some of these tracks will blow up and can then be tacked onto Certified Lover Boy, his new album due out this year. After all, that plan worked surprisingly well with the last EP when “God’s Plan” became a smash hit and scored a proper spot on Scorpion. Speaking of, Certified Lover Boy was technically supposed to be out in January, but that month has since come and gone. Drake hasn’t updated fans on...
Chance the Rapper Drops New Song “The Heart and the Tongue”: Stream
Chance the Rapper is back with a new single. It’s called “The Heart and the Tongue” and it comes with an introspective music video filmed during quarantine. Stream it below. In his typical slick delivery over a trip-hop beat, “The Heart and the Tongue” sees Chance the Rapper ruminating on truth as a concept. “My heart and tongue are fighting/ My mind is undecided,” he raps. “It’s not like Trump and Biden/ It’s more like something private/ Like when yo’ cousins are fighting/ One of ’em gets excited/ You can’t just jump the gun and pick a side and jump inside it.” It’s funny hearing him bring up the election considering he supported Kanye West in his presidential run only to perform at a post-inauguration performance for Biden six months later. In the song’s accompanying music video, Ch...
Nas to Young Rappers: “There’s No One Keeping Me Up at Night”
Nas isn’t feeling threatened by the youngest generation of rappers. In a new interview with the Financial Times, the hip-hop veteran revealed that while he enjoys many of today’s rising stars, there’s “no one keeping me up at night.” Until relatively recently, hip-hop was considered a young person’s game. However, now that rappers such as the 47-year-old Nas have proven that they can carry out successful careers well into their middle-age, the competitive nature of the genre lends itself to playful generational warfare. During his interview with FT, which was mostly focused on his historic career and various business ventures, the Illmatic icon took a moment to share his thoughts on the rap titans of today — many of whom are more than half his age. “I appreciate what’s ...
Ready or Not, The Opus to Explore Fugees’ The Score
Consequence Podcast Network and Sony’s The Opus returns for an incredible Season 13. Beginning March 11th, host Jill Hopkins will begin exploring the stories and songs behind the Fugees’ second and final album, The Score. After their criminally underrated 1994 debut, Blunted on Reality, struggled to win over critics and fans, the Fugees needed to make a statement. The trio of Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, and Pras Michel were granted a second chance in 1995 by Ruffhouse Records head Chris Schwartz, who gave them a $135,000 advance and complete creative control. Their followup was 1996’s The Score, a diamond album that cemented Fugees’ place in hip-hop history. Led by hit singles “Killing Me Softly”, “Fu-Gee-La”, and “Ready or Not”, the LP went on to be certified six-times Platinum by the ...
10 Artists Worth Bringing Back VH1 Storytellers For
Kendrick Lamar photo by Amy Price; St. Vincent photo by David Brendan Hall; Janelle Monáe photo by Philip Cosores VH1 Storytellers was such a cool show. It borrowed the idea of MTV Unplugged — a hugely popular act performing a stripped-down set in front of an intimate audience — and took it one step further. Audiences could see and hear artists in a more relaxed setting, dishing on their careers and telling stories about creating the songs we know and love. Storytellers first aired 25 years ago in late February 1996; Kinks mastermind Ray Davies was the first performer. It ran for 97 more episodes, the last starring Ed Sheeran in 2015. In between, there was a veritable Who’s Who of talent, from classic rock gods like David Bowie and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to ‘90s stars like Pearl ...
Wesley Joseph Drops Thumping Track “Thrilla”: Stream
23-year-old UK rapper Wesley Joseph has released “Thrilla”, his first new song of 2021. The booming track is co-produced by Jai Paul collaborator Lexxx and Joseph himself. It arrives via a self-directed music video featuring one of the two working DeLoreans in the UK. Stream the clip below. “Thrilla” is propelled by a heavy 808, but the production is also layered with funk-inspired guitar licks and gothic strings. In an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac, Joseph said he freestyled the song’s lyrics while drunk “off the rum and orange juice.” Accordingly, most of the track features swaggering rhymes, but Joseph also gets introspective at times. “Visions in my dreams, who do you believe / They fear the change,” he raps. “Looking hollow tomorrow, dividing barricades / Thought I saw the fu...
Ghostface Killah and Raekwon to Go Head-to-Head in Verzuz Battle
Verzuz is a quarantine battle series that pits two similar artists against one another to determine who is the hit-for-hit champion. Over the past few months, the event’s organizers have gotten some of the biggest names in the music industry to join in on the fun, and the next battle might just be their most anticipated yet: Ghostface Killah vs. Raekwon. Swizz Beatz and Timbaland announced the news during an Instagram live story last week. In the clip, they hyped up the reveal, saying, “Who’re we talking about?” while playing various songs by the two Wu-Tang Clan members in the background. Unsurprisingly, fans were immediately stoked to realize this meant Ghostface Killah and Raekwon would be dueling it out over a livestream battle, with an excited Common even commenting, “WHOAH!!!!!” Curr...
Redman, Method Man, and H.E.R. Join D’Angelo’s Verzuz in a Celebration of Live Music: Review
For music lovers, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively put an end to live performances for the foreseeable future. Many venues across the country have temporally (or permanently) closed or now operate with capacity restrictions. Never again will we take for granted the sweet simplicity of being able to catch our favorite artist/band in concert. But one of the few positive things to happen for live music during all the insanity that has taken place over the last year and counting is the emergence of the Verzuz series. Curated by super producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, who dueled in the first battle last March, Verzuz gave fans a lifeline as we sat at home watching our favorite producers and singers reminisce about the creation of their classic songs, many of which have defined hip-hop and R...
