Rap
Post Malone Forgets How to Lip-Sync During Billboard Music Awards: Watch
Post Malone led the 2020 Billboard Music Awards with 16 nominations across 15 categories. The Hollywood’s Bleeding rapper also performed during the telecast, appearing remotely from a Los Angeles refinery, where he was joined by Tyla Yaweh. Unsurprisingly given the location, the “performance” was clearly lip-synched — and not terribly well. Posty started from atop the industrial structure, barely keeping himself timed to the playback of “Circles”. As he walked down to join Yaweh, fireworks started shooting off around them… silently, because again, none of the audio was live. The pair “delivered” their collaborative single “Tommy Lee”, gamely trying to sing along but coming off more as a pantomime of a rap performance. Frankly, the entirety of the pandemic-era 2020 Billboard Music Awar...
Killer Mike Accepts First-Ever Change Maker Award at Billboard Music Awards: Watch
Killer Mike is one of the best rappers in the game — and perhaps the most socially active. His passion could be heard when he gave a speech to Atlanta protesters after the murder of George Floyd, or when he subsequently appeared on Colbert. His careful consideration and belief in Americans’ rights could be read in his op-ed supporting Black gun ownership. And he literally put his money where his mouth is earlier this week when he announced the launch of his Black-owned digital bank, Greenwood. Honestly, the Run the Jewels rapper’s credentials pretty much speak for themselves, but a little recognition never hurt anyone. At Wednesday night’s Billboard Music Awards, Killer Mike was honored with the first-ever Change Maker Award. “Killer Mike’s dedication to equality, social justice and financ...
Mysterious Woman from Black Sabbath’s Debut Album Gets Her Own Funko Pop! Figure
Funko’s popular line of collectible Pop! figures has expanded over the years to include a wide array of music, film, and television subjects. Even with the toy company’s vast roster, who would’ve thought that the mysterious woman from the cover of Black Sabbath’s debut album would get her own Funko Pop! figure? That’s the case with a new line of Funko Pop! figures based on classic albums. The first Funko “Pop! Albums” series features figures modeled after three iconic album covers. They include Sabbath’s self-titled debut, The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die, and AC/DC’s Back in Black. Upon its release in 1970, Sabbath’s debut album helped usher in what the world knows now as heavy metal. The woman on the ominous cover had remained a mystery until earlier this year, when she was locat...
Testament’s Alex Skolnick Unleashes New Rap Song “Wear a F**king Mask”: Stream
This year’s most unlikely political rap star, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick, has returned with a second pandemic anthem: “Wear a F**king Mask”. The thrash guitarist surprised everyone last month when he dropped the hilarious “Trump Sucks” rap — a homemade ditty with a clear and direct political message, given the impending November elections. Consider this new track the B-side to “Trump Sucks”. Tragically, the basic safety measure of wearing a face covering during the pandemic has become a divisive political issue, with President Trump remaining defiantly apathetic toward mask regulations despite contracting COVID-19 himself. Well, Skolnick is having none of that. He might not be the most gifted rapper, but that’s part of the satirical humor, as Skolnick himself admits. “My recent home...
Killer Mike Co-Founds Black-Owned Digital Bank Greenwood
Killer Mike is one of the founding members of the new Black-owned digital bank Greenwood. As CNN reports, the venture officially launches in January of 2021 but has already received “tens of thousands” of account requests. Greenwood is the brainchild of chairman Ryan Glover, the creator of Bounce TV. He co-founded the bank along with Killer Mike and Andrew Young, a Civil Rights icon who has served as a Georgia congressman, mayor of Atlanta, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The trio first announced the business in June, when they successfully raised $3 million of seed money. The platform was then officially unveiled on Thursday, October 8th, and has already been flooded with account applications. “I will say we’re in the tens of thousands,” Glover said. “That number is increasing ...
CupcakKe Drops Off New Single “Elephant”: Stream
Last year, CupcakKe announced her intention to quit the music industry. The Chicago MC has clearly scrapped those plans, however, as she’s spent 2020 releasing a new single every couple of months. Following this past spring’s “Discounts” and “Lemon Pepper”, she’s back today with “Elephant”. On this new cut, CupcakKe calls out all her various critics — from those that say she needs to jump on more collaborations to the folks who have a problem with the way she handles press. “They like, ‘cupcakKe you gotta do more, why the fuck you don’t do features?’” she raps, before putting these complainers in their place: “Want a verse? Gotta pay me/ Ain’t shit free, no JT.” (The latter line is a reference to the formerly jailed JT from City Girls.) Elsewhere, she seems visibly bothered that fell...
Benny the Butcher Announces New Album Burden of Proof, Drops Lil Wayne and Big Sean Collaboration “Timeless”: Stream
Benny the Butcher (photo by Setor TsiKudo), Lil Wayne (photo by Ben Kaye), and Big Sean (photo by Philip Cosores) Benny the Butcher has announced a new album called Burden of Proof, due out next week. As an early look, the Griselda rapper is sharing a collaboration with fellow rap veterans Lil Wayne and Big Sean that’s appropriately titled “Timeless”. Benny’s prolific label mates, Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn, have each already dropped three albums (!) in 2020 alone, but the New York-bred MC is slowly but surely catching up: Burden of Proof marks his second effort of the year following his joint record with DJ Drama from July. Clearly going for a quality over quantity approach, Benny enlisted renowned beatmaker Hit-Boy (Kanye West, Beyoncé) to produce the entire project. ...
Big Boi and Sleepy Brown Call on Killer Mike for Remix of “We the Ones”: Stream
Three years ago, Big Boi and frequent collaborator Sleepy Brown released the track “We the Ones” on the self-titled EP from Organized Noize. Featuring CeeLo Green and Big Rube, the song served as an uplifting rally to “stand up to oppression.” Three years later, the theme is more relevant than ever, so Big Boi and Sleepy have called on Killer Mike for a new remix of “We the Ones”. Much of the original cut remains intact, including CeeLo’s hook and the spoken word sections from Big Rube. Killer Mike comes in for the third verse, telling stories of individuals taking different paths towards betterment, especially when it comes to religion. He talks about “a cousin named Robert”, a “robber” who found “conviction through religion” while serving time: “Reformed, Robert told me, ‘We should only ...
Tank and The Bangas Announce Friend Goals EP, Share “Self Care”: Stream
Tank and The Bangas have announced a new EP called Friend Goals. Due out November 20th via Verve Forecast, the six-track, guest-heavy release is being previewed today with the track “Self Care”. The New Orleans-based group are known for their collaborative habits, having this year teamed with the likes of Jacob Collier and Fantastic Negrito. Friend Goals, as the title might suggest, brings together a number of artists Tank and The Bangas have befriended over their career. The follow-up to last year’s Green Balloon LP features guests like CHIKA (“Mr. Insta”), Duckwrth (“Fluff”), PJ Morton (“TSA”), and Pell on the title track. Lead single “Self Care” actually touts three collaborators: Jaime Woods, Orleans Big, and Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph. The track itself is exactly what we need i...
21 Savage and Metro Boomin Deliver a Grimy Sequel with the Masterful Savage Mode II: Review
The Lowdown: After the success of Savage Mode in 2016 and Without Warning in 2017, 21 Savage and Metro Boomin return to the scene with their latest collaborative album, Savage Mode II. Although some time has elapsed since they released their last project as a dynamic duo, both have kept plenty busy on their own, providing the streets and clubs with hit after hit. Savage dropped the highly acclaimed I Am > I Was in 2018 while Metro Boomin has crafted a plethora of hits with his signature trap sound. Featuring guest appearances from Drake, Young Thug, and Young Nudy, there’s plenty of reason why Savage Mode II became one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2020 the moment it was announced. The Good: The album begins in cinematic form with the masculine voice of God, none other than A...
Mac Miller’s Final Two Albums to Be Released as Swimming in Circles Vinyl Box Set
Mac Miller’s family has today announced a vinyl box set compiling the late rapper’s final two records, 2018’s Swimming and the posthumous Circles from earlier this year. Due out December 18th via Warner Records, Swimming in Circles brings together the two studio LPs for the first time in a limited edition package. Miller always intended the efforts to be companion releases with a continuous narrative arc. For the new box set, each album will be pressed on double-12-inch vinyl, with Swimming coming on dark blue and Circles on light blue. Housed inside a die-cut outer case, the box also includes a 12×12 booklet featuring archival photographs from the making of the albums, a 24×36 poster, and a six-panel lyric scroll. In conjunction with the announcement, Miller’s family has shared never-befo...
Jay Electronica Unveils Long-Lost Album Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn): Stream
Earlier this year, Jay Electronica finally released his full-length debut, A Written Testimony. Jay has now returned with another much-coveted project: long-lost album Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn). Stream it in full below. Act II follows up on Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) from 2007. The New Orleans-born rapper first announced the album way back in 2012, but years passed without it ever seeing the light of day. However, Jay decided to finally put it out on Monday after a leak began making the rounds online. “i actually tried to block this from coming out, but Allah is the best of planners,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet, according to BrooklynVegan. The long-lost album amazingly features many of the same guests promised in 2012, including JAY-Z and The-Dre...
