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Cardi B Worries About Donald Trump ‘Dictatorship’ After Ex-Prez Promises Followers ‘You Won’t Have to Vote Anymore’

In a campaign his new rival has taken to calling “weird,” former President Donald Trump raised eyebrows — and some alarm — over the weekend when he promised a group of conservative Christian followers that if he’s elected to a second term they will never have to go to the polls again.

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That seeming nod to a desire to unwind traditional democratic norms in the U.S. caused some concern among political pundits, as well as Cardi B, who has been very vocal lately about her thoughts on the upcoming election. “Whistle blowing a dictatorship? [concerned face emoji],” Cardi tweeted on Saturday along with the clip of Trump telling the crowd at Turning Point Action’s “Believers Summit” in West Palm Beach, FL to turn out to the polls just this one last time.

Convicted felon Trump — who is still facing a potential sanction in Georgia for alleged election interference from the 2020 election in one of his three major remaining cases tied to his single term in office — encouraged the audience to vote for him in November in what he deemed the “most important” election ever. “Get out and vote just this time,” Trump said. “You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years it will be fixed. It’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”

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The comment, which appeared to suggest that after Trump is elected he might do away with the popular vote, or even elections entirely, was followed by a double-down. “You’ve got to get out and vote,” twice impeached Trump said. “In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.” Trump has continued to erroneously insist that he won the 2020 presidential election, despite experts finding no evidence to support his claims and election monitors saying the previous vote was among the most secure in the nation’s history.

Frequent Trump critic Bette Midler also weighed in on the former reality TV host’s concerning stance, tweeting, “He’s telegraphing his authoritarian intentions in plain sight. He means it’s over for democracy. You won’t have to vote because he’s taking your vote away from you. If he wins, he’s there for life, and there will be nothing you can do.”

Trump also said in an interview earlier this year that he would be a “dictator” just for one day if he were elected to a s second term.

Cardi has seemingly been energized by the news surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to take on Trump and run for the democratic nomination. She’s also been ticked off by the rampant misogyny and disrespect some pundits and politicians have heaped on the nation’s potentially first female, as well as Black and South Asian, president. “I always knew how people are when it comes to women, but the disrespect? Listen, if you don’t like her as a politician, that’s you. But if you disrespect her because she’s a woman? It’s very disgusting,” Cardi said on X last week.

“It’s crazy because four, five days ago, I was like, ‘Yo, I feel like I’m not a feminist.’ I’ve been feeling like a lot of these women are your worst enemies,” she added. “The toughest critics are women. […] But then, the natural self of me is like, ‘Damn, maybe I am a feminist. Men are always gonna blame your success on her p—-. People are blaming her success on her p—-. What? She f—ed Joe Biden? She f—ed the whole Democratic Party that the whole Democratic Party decided she should be Vice President? I hate that narrative because I feel like women work harder than men.”

At the end of the day, Cardi said, “The way that y’all disrespect her, makes me like her.”

Since Harris entered the race unexpectedly following President Biden decision to drop out, the veep has raised more than $200 million in one week and signed up more than 170,000 volunteers. Given Trump’s recent conviction on more than 30 felony charges in his New York hush money case, an earlier conviction in a sexual abuse and defamation case by writer E. Jean Carroll in which he was ordered to pay nearly $90 million and the other potential sanctions he faces in his three other pending trials, former prosecutor Harris has landed on a law-and-order approach to her campaign.

“I know Donald Trump’s type,” Harris said in one of her first campaign appearances last week to cheers of “lock him up!” from a crowd. She continued, “As attorney general of California, I took on one of our country’s largest for-profit colleges that was scamming students. Donald Trump ran a for-profit college that scammed students. As a prosecutor, I specialized in cases involving sexual abuse. Well, Trump was found liable for committing sexual abuse. As attorney general in California, I took on the big Wall Street banks and held them accountable for fraud. Donald Trump was just found guilty of fraud on 34 counts.”

See Cardi B and Midler’s tweets below.

Lady Gaga Surprises French Fans By Blasting Snippets of Two New LG7 Songs on Street

Surely you didn’t think Lady Gaga would fly all the way over to Paris for just one Summer Olympics performance? After the singer lit up the Sienne on Friday night when she wowed the rain-drenched crowd along the banks of the river and all those watching from the dry comfort of their homes around the globe, Mother Monster thanked her Parisian fans later in the weekend with a sneak preview of two songs intended for her upcoming seventh studio album.

In an Instagram Story on Sunday, Gaga teased a first listen to her follow-up to 2020’s Chromatica. “I’m so deeply touched by my French fans this week outside the hotel,” she wrote before coming outside to play the new music. “I’m gonna come out and say goodbye tonight with a few seconds of #LG7.”

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Gaga then, as promised, queued up some music as camera flashes lit up the night and she pumped her fist while playing songs on a laptop from the sunroof of a limo. The two songs had thumping beats and bass-heavy keyboards, as well as lyrics that were hard to decipher over the shouting of her amped-up French fans, though it did appear at one point that Gaga mouthed the words “I’ve become what was holding me.”

The as-yet-untitled album will be Gaga’s first new studio album since Chromatica, with no release date yet announced.

The streetside surprise came after Gaga spent time taking in swimming and gymnastics events following her Parisian cabaret-style performance ahead of the official kick-off of this summer’s games. Gaga sang the French-language “Mon Truc en Plume” (“My Thing With Feathers”) in a highly choreographed, playful, routine in which she flitted up and down a grand staircase surrounded by dancers carrying huge pink pom-poms.

Gaga also seemed to break some news over the weekend when she referred to longtime boyfriend Michael Polansky as “my fiancé” when being introduced to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

Check out fan footage of the #LG7 preview below.

Martin Phillips, Co-Founder of Seminal New Zealand Group The Chills, Dies at 61

Martin Phillips, frontman of the Chills, one of the outstanding acts signed to the Flying Nun Records roster, died on the weekend at the age of 61.

The singer, songwriter and guitarist passed at his home in Dunedin, on New Zealand’s south island, confirms a statement issued by Flying Nun Records.

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Phillips was “an integral part” of the university town’s scene in the 1980s, and of Roger Shepherd‘s Flying Nun Records family, whose roster would include the Clean, the D4, Headless Chickens and Tall Dwarfs, Chris Knox, Straitjacket Fits and the Verlaines.

The late artist was a “single-minded talent who took all components of a musical career seriously,” reads the statement, which lists off his top-shelf songwriting, performance and studio talents.

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A separate message posted on the band’s official page confirms that Phillipps “has died unexpectedly.”

The cause of death was not disclosed.

The musician was “demanding of perfection in others and himself,” the Flying Nun tribute continues, penning such songs as “Rolling Moon,” “Pink Frost,” “I Love My Leather Jacket” and “Heavenly Pop Hit” which enjoyed commercially success and “helped define the best of New Zealand music” during that era. “Heavenly Pop Hit” and its parent album Submarine Bells, almost launched the band to international success.

After a hiatus, Phillips relaunched the Chills in the mid-2010s, and the group would go on to release a string of new albums, supporting the works with domestic and international tours.

Their most recent LP, 2021’s Scatterbrain, cracked the top 10 on the New Zealand Albums Chart.

As news of Phillips’ passing spread online, the music community paid tribute. “Oh my goodness, I’m so terribly sorry, what a wonderful and sweet person and incredible artist. So much love and sympathy to his family and friends,” wrote Nada Surf singer Matthew Caws.

“Martin Phillipps RIP,” wrote Lindy Morrison, drummer with beloved Australian indie group the Go-Betweens.

The Phillipps family requests privacy at this time, and funeral arrangements will be advised in due course.

BTS’ Jimin Grabs Highest New Entry on U.K. Singles Chart With ‘Who’

BTS singer Jimin is flying high on the U.K. singles chart with “Who” (via BigHit Entertainment), which debuts at No. 4.

That’s the top debut on the latest frame and a new solo career best for the K-pop star (born Park Jimin), besting the No. 8 peak for his 2023 release “Like Crazy.”

The focus track from his sophomore studio album MUSE, “Who” becomes Jimin’s third top 40 appearance in the U.K. after 2023’s “Set Me Free Pt.2,” which reached No. 30.

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As a collective, BTS has snagged nine U.K. top 40 singles, including four U.K. top 10s appearances 2020’s “Dynamite” (No. 3) and “Life Goes On” (No. 10), 2021’s “Butter” (No. 3) and Coldplay collaboration “My Universe” (No. 3).

At the top of the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Friday, July 26, is “Please Please Please” (Island) by Sabrina Carpenter, which enters its fourth non-consecutive weeks at No. 1. The U.S. actor and singer replaces herself at the top of the leaderboard, as “Espresso” slides 1-9. Carpenter has now occupied top spot for a total of 11 weeks in 2024, the Official Charts Company reports.

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The podium is respectively completed by Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” (up 5-2 via Interscope) and Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck Babe” (up 6-3 vis Island), both notching new peak positions. Roan’s hot streak can be seen further down the tally as “Hot To Go!” spikes 27-19, and “Red Wine Supernova” blows up 48-39, for new peaks.

Little Mix artist JADE (real name: Jade Thirlwall) flies into the top 10 with her debut single “Angel Of My Dreams” (RCA), new at No. 7. With that start, JADE has bragging rights over her bandmates Leigh-Anne, whose 2023 solo debut “Don’t Say Love” hit No. 11, and Perrie, whose “Forget About Us” reached No. 10.

Charli XCX’s BRAT summer continues to heat up. BRAT album tracks “360” (Atlantic) powers 29-18 and viral number “Apple” climbs 42-19, for the British artist and producer’s 18th U.K. top 40 track. BRAT was last week shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, celebrating the best British and Irish albums of the year.

Following their headline spot at London’s BST Hyde Park festival, K-pop favorites Stray Kids bag their first U.K. top 40 appearance with “Chk Chk Boom” (Republic Records). It’s new at No. 30.

Eminem Holds at No. 1 In U.K. With ‘The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)’

Eminem reigns again on the U.K. chart with The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) (via Interscope).

The Rap God’s latest LP enters a second week atop the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Friday, July 26, holding off Olivia Rodrigo’s resurgent Guts.

The Death of Slim Shady is Em’s 12th studio album, and his 11th leader in the U.K.

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Meanwhile, Rodrigo’s sophomore album Guts (Geffen) flies 22-2 following the release of the deluxe “spilled” edition on vinyl. Guts logged a single week at No. 1 following its release last year. Rodrigo’s record-setting debut album Sour, from 2021, also enjoys a lift on the latest frame. It’s up 24-23 in its 166th week on the chart.

The top new entry on the latest tally is Heavy Jelly (BMG), the fourth studio album from Soft Play, the punk act formerly known as Slaves. It’s new at No. 3. As Slaves, the rockers (Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent) landed top 10s with Are You Satisfied? (No. 8), Take Control (No. 6) and Acts of Fear and Love (No. 8).

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Also new to the top 10 is Glass Animals I Love You So F***ing Much (Polydor), new at No. 5. It’s the second top tier effort from the Oxford, England-formed pop-rock act following 2020’s Dreamland, which peaked at No. 2 and housed the global hit “Heat Waves.”

Further down the list, British heavy metal icons Deep Purple dig out a 26th U.K. top 40 with =1 (Ear Music), their 23rd studio album. It’s new at No. 12.

And finally, Cardiff, Wales seven-piece Los Campesinos! makes a long overdue appearance in the U.K. top 40 with All Hell (Heart Swells), its seventh studio release. All Hell is new at No. 14. Until now, the group’s best on the national survey was No. 72 for 2008’s How On Now Youngster.

Fans Choose XG’s ‘Something Ain’t Right’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

XG’s “Something Ain’t Right” tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (July 26) on Billboard, choosing the Japanese girl group’s catchy dance track as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Something ain’t right” in the relationship that has XG ranting in their new single, but fans stepped up to make sure everything’s going right for the septet, at least on this week’s new music release poll.

XG’s fresh track brought in more than 60% of the vote. Voters this week chose “Something Ain’t Right” over new music releases from Fuerza Regida, MGK with Jelly Roll, Halsey, Post Malone with Luke Combs, Ice Spice and more.

“You’ve been acting funny lately/ You ain’t gotta lie/ Got me out here looking crazy/ What you tryna hide?/ Baby, I can’t take it, you can’t fake it/ Something ain’t right/ I know something ain’t right,” XG’s Chisa and Hanata sing on the first verse of the group’s latest, a dance-ready number with a ’90s flavor.

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The song is a taste of XG’s forthcoming second mini-album, which is due out Nov. 8; a pre-order is expected to start in early August.

A vibrant music video was unveiled with the track that has Chisa, Cocona, Harvey, Hinata, Juria, Jurin and Maya flawlessly showing off sleek choreography and cool, confident style.



Among the new music trailing behind “Something Ain’t Right” on this week’s poll is Fuerza Regida’s new album Pero No Te Enamores, with 14% of the vote, and MGK and Jelly Roll’s collab “Lonely Road,” with 10% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

Lady Gaga Appears to Be Engaged to Michael Polansky, Calling Him ‘My Fiancé’ at 2024 Olympics in Paris

Lady Gaga called Michael Polansky her fiancé, seemingly revealing the couple is engaged, while introducing him to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

“My fiancé, Michael,” Gaga is heard casually saying in a clip the prime minister posted on TikTok Sunday night (July 28). The short video shows Attal briefly hugging the singer and shaking hands with Polansky, Lady Gaga’s partner of more than four years, at an Olympic event.

Billboard reached out to a representative for Lady Gaga for comment.

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Gaga and Polansky have been publicly dating since early 2020; she made their relationship Instagram official with a post that February. In an interview a couple months later, she referred to Polansky as “the love of my life.”

Prime Minister Attal didn’t mention the pair’s apparent engagement on TikTok, instead focusing on the pop star’s show-stopping Friday night performance in Paris: “Thank you Lady Gaga for your stunning performance at the opening ceremony,” he wrote in a caption. “It was breathtaking.”

The multi-talented superstar — who will take over the big screen as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux alongside Joaquin Phoenix when the movie hits theaters Oct. 4 — was the first artist to take the stage during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, providing her version of Parisian cabaret-style entertainment ahead of this summer’s games. Lady Gaga performed the French-language “Mon Truc en Plume” (“My Thing With Feathers”) in a highly choreographed, but playful, routine that led her from a long staircase to a piano.

While in France, Lady Gaga surprised Parisian fans on Sunday with the smallest teaser of music from her forthcoming, much-anticipated seventh studio album.

A thumping, dance-ready snippet off of LG7, and another teaser leaning more rock — both heard in the clip below — was played on the street from a vehicle’s rooftop while Gaga pumped her fist and spectators screamed.

“I’m so deeply touched by my French fans this week outside the hotel,” she wrote in an Instagram Story just before coming outside to play the song. “I’m gonna come out and say goodbye tonight with a few seconds of #LG7.”

The as-yet-untitled LG7 will be the follow-up to 2020’s Billboard 200 chart-topping album Chromatica, which was Gaga’s sixth set to debut at No. 1.

Stray Kids Become First Group to Debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With First Five Chart Entries

As Stray Kids’ new album ATE opens at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Aug. 3), they become the first group ever to debut at No. 1 with their first five charting albums.

Stray Kids previously debuted atop the chart with ODDINARY, MAXIDENT (both in 2022), ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR (both in 2023).

The only other act to debut at No. 1 with its first five chart entries was rapper DMX in 1998-2003 with It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood (1999), …And Then There Was X (2000), The Great Depression (2001) and Grand Champ (2003).

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The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Aug. 3, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on July 30. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

ATE arrives with 232,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 25, according to Luminate. That’s the largest week of 2024 for any K-pop album, and the sixth-biggest debut for any album this year.

The Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956. For context, today it’s common for albums to debut at No. 1. However, before 1991, when the Billboard 200 began utilizing Luminate’s electronically monitored tracking information, only six albums debuted at No. 1.

‘Twisters: The Album’ Blows in at No. 7 on Billboard 200: How Does That Compare to 1996 ‘Twister’ Soundtrack?

Twisters: The Album enters the Billboard 200 (dated Aug. 3) at No. 7. It’s the first country-dominated soundtrack to a theatrically-released film to make the top 10 on the all-genre chart since Country Strong, which reached No. 6 in January 2011.

“Twisters” is only the second country soundtrack from a theatrically-released film to debut in the top 10, after Hannah Montana: The Movie, which opened at No. 2 in April 2009. The album, which reached No. 1 three weeks later, featured star Miley Cyrus’ pop/country crossover hit “The Climb.”

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Other country-dominated film soundtracks to reach the top 10 include Urban Cowboy (No. 3 in 1980), George Strait’s Pure Country (No. 6 in 1992), Hope Floats (No. 4 in 1998), Coyote Ugly (No. 10 in 2000), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (No. 1 in 2002) and Walk the Line, from the Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic (No. 9 in 2006).

Twisters has already climbed higher than the soundtrack to the original Twister, which peaked at No. 28 in 1996. That Warner release was mostly rock and featured such artists as Tori Amos, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham.

The new album, released on Atlantic, features such established country artists as Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Shania Twain and Jelly Roll, as well as such rising stars as Bailey Zimmerman, Breland and Tanner Adell. (Notably, both albums came from the Warner Music Group family of labels.)

Twain also had a track (“No One Needs to Know”) on the Twister soundtrack. She was one of the few non-rock artists on board for that album, along with k.d. lang and Alison Krauss & Union Station. On the new album, she teams with Breland to perform “Boots Don’t.” She is the only artist to appear on both albums.

The arrival of Twisters ends a notable drought in recent months for soundtracks. Three weeks ago, the highest-ranking soundtrack on the Billboard 200 (Barbie: The Album) was way down at No. 172. That marked the first time that the highest-ranking soundtrack on the Billboard 200 had ranked that low in the more than seven years that the Billboard 200 and the Top Soundtracks chart have adhered to the same chart formula.

Since Feb. 11, 2017, both charts have ranked the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Twisters is the first soundtrack from any genre to appear in the top 10 since Barbie: The Album (which, like Twisters: The Album, was released on Atlantic) ended its top 10 run in September.

This marks the first time that no soundtracks appeared in the top 10 in the first six months of a calendar year since 1987. The first soundtrack to make the top 10 that year (Beverly Hills Cop II) did so in the issue dated Aug. 1.

There are only two other years since 1956 – when the Billboard 200 bowed as a regular, weekly feature – where no soundtracks appeared in the top 10 in the first six months of the year. In 1972, the first soundtrack to make the top 10 that year (Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly) did so in the issue dated Oct. 7.  In 1976, the first soundtrack to make the top 10 that year (Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same) did so in the issue dated Nov. 6.

Soundtracks have been a big part of the album market since the introduction of the Billboard 200. On the first chart – March 24, 1956 – soundtracks to Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals held two of the top three spots. Oklahoma! and Carousel were No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. (A non-soundtrack, Harry Belafonte’s Belafonte, was No. 1.)

At least one soundtrack appeared in the top 10 every week from that first chart on March 24, 1956 through Dec. 22, 1958. In the mid-1960s, there was an even longer winning streak. At least one soundtrack appeared in the top 10 every week from July 25, 1964 through June 10, 1967.

Twisters ranked No. 1 at the boxoffice last weekend, but falls to No. 2 this weekend behind the new Deadpool & Wolverine. The original Twister was No. 1 for two weekends in May 1996. Isaac Chung directed Twisters, which stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Jan de Bont directed the original Twister, which starred Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton.

Drake Quotes Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ While Reacting to ‘Hotline Bling’ Impersonator

Drake is poking fun at his beef with Kendrick Lamar now that their feud has seemingly died down.

On Sunday (July 28), Drizzy took to social media to repost a viral clip of a lookalike performing his hit song “Hotline Bling” at a boxing gym in New York.

“Sometimes you gotta pop out,” Drake captioned the Instagram Story post, quoting a line from Lamar’s smash hit “Not Like Us.”

This isn’t the first time the Toronto MC has referenced K. Dot’s diss track, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Last month, Drake comically named himself “69 God” during a bowling match, quoting another famous line from the Compton rapper’s infectious song.

The fallout from Drake’s feud with Lamar apparently hasn’t put a damper on the 6 God’s summer. Drizzy’s Honestly, Nevermind collaborator Gordo recently said he hasn’t seen Drake happier.

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“Ever since all this has happened … I’ve seen him happier. It’s really weird. He’s pretty jolly,” the Grammy-nominated producer told People in late July. “The internet makes it seem like, ‘Oh, that photo, he’s all sad and s—.’ That’s just a bad photo from a bad camera. But because it’s him, it’s put under a magnifying glass like, ‘Oh, look at his eyes. He’s looking a little droopy. He hasn’t slept.’ But the guy’s been happy as s—, to be honest. He’s chilling.”

Gordo, formerly known as Carnage, claims Drake has moved on from the battle with K. Dot and is ready to focus on himself again. “He’s been past it,” the producer added. “The thing is that he was just on the longest tour ever. He literally did a tour for like a year. I think he’s just chilling.”

During their feud, the Canadian superstar dropped numerous disses against Lamar, including “Euphoria,” “Family Matters” and “The Heart Pt. 6.” While Lamar didn’t formally respond to “The Heart Part 6,” he performed multiple diss songs at his Juneteenth Pop Out concert and released a music video for “Not Like Us” that features him beating down an owl piñata and ends with an owl in a cage in reference to Drake’s OVO logo.