GALLERY
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Future and Metro Boomin set off an explosive back-and-forth war via their recent collaborative album, WE DON’T TRUST YOU and he’s coming back this weekend with more heat. With the announcement of a new mixtape dropping on the same day, Gunna plans to drop an album some fans believe the Freebandz honcho dissed the former YSL affiliate.
Gunna, who is currently on his “Bittersweet” tour and prepping for the release of his new album, ONE OF WUN, slated to drop this Friday (May 10). The Young Stoner Life X account tweeted the news of the ew album, which the “pushin P” rapper reshared on his timeline.
Eagle-eyed fans took notice of Future tweeting about his upcoming untitled mixtape and some believe it’s an attempt to step on Wunna’s release date.
“F*ck yo album Sh*t ain’t slappin like my MIXTAPE, read the first of a series of tweets. He followed with replies that read “MAY TENTH” and “MIXTAPE PLUTO” before ending his salvo.
Gunna, perhaps in response to those lines, wrote, “F*c What These boys talkin bout” and left the cryptic message at that.
We haven’t been able to determine if a connection between the replies on X is inspired by beef but considering Hip-Hop’s current climate, fans are making up their theories. We’ve got reactions from all sides below.
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Russell Simmons has not made many public statements after being accused of sexual assault and other crimes during his time as a record company executive. Now residing in Bali, Indonesia, the former Def Jam Recordings mogul took to social media to defend Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is also facing a bevy of sexual assault charges, and urged fans to “see the good in things.”
Taking to Instagram, Russell Simmons, 66, opened up his video by mentioning that there have always been issues in rap but likened the skirmishes to pro wrestling. However, Simmons notes that the way that Kendrick Lamar and Drake are going after each other, while exciting, could eventually lead to gunplay.
“When you tear someone down or you watch someone tear someone down, try not to get so excited. I know it’s fun to watch for some people,” Simmons says, warning that the cycle isn’t healthy over time.
He added, “If I had a nickel for every nasty meme sent to me by people whose lives were enhanced and built by Sean Combs, it’s like, it seems a bit hypocritical since the only reason you have a life is because you worked for him, or he gave you a job or lifted you up somehow.”
The overarching message from Simmons is that the current state of beef and the tearing down of Diddy has created a situation where fans are more invested in the downfall of entertainers than in bettering themselves.
“You may think it’s, you know, entertaining. Some of the memes are funny, right? But, we gotta look up, train our minds to see the good in things and not the negative,” Simmons shared.
On X, fans are naturally blasting Russell Simmons for defending Diddy and for speaking on the beef when he has a mountain of legal issues to face himself, all of which the mogul vehemently denies. Check out the reactions below.
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Metro Boomin is currently in hot water after old tweets from the producer surfaced that some fans believe showcase signs of grooming young women. This comes amid the ongoing beef and allegations Kendrick Lamar aimed in the direction of Drake.
As most recall, Metro Boomin, 30, is seen as part of the genesis of the current iteration of the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar after the Compton star dropped his blistering “Like That” verse on the WE DON’T TRUST YOU album with Future and the producer. In. the weeks since the track’s release where shots were taken at Drake and J. Cole, several songs have been exchanged but none more explosive than “Euphoria.”
On “Euphoria,” K-Dot alleges that Drake has a propensity for dating younger women and doubles down on these claims on the following songs, the spooky “Meet The Grahams,” and the catchy “Not Like Us.”
Metro Boomin has been somewhat cheering for K-Dot (and Drizzy’s demise) from the sidelines, especially any bars taking digs at Drake’s character. However, tweets from the producer seem to put him in the same alleged boat with fans accusing him of grooming.
That was just one of several tweets that fans online found and in fairness of reporting, many of the users are in clear support of Drake. Still, a tweet from 2014 from Metro reads “She might be but she ready” so he would’ve been 20 years old at the time.
On a now-deleted tweet that Metro posted just today (May 7), he mistakenly said that he would have been 15 when he made one of those tweets and that was perhaps true but it seems like his team is going on a wild deleting spree to clean up his timeline.
As it stands, fans online are blown away by the tweets from Metro Boomin. Check out the reactions below.
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Vince Staples has always presented himself as a principled individual and remains one of the greatest minds in Hip-Hop, even if his observations rankle some. The Long Beach, Calif. native recently spoke at an event in his hometown and was asked about the ongoing Drake and Kendrick Lamar but his answer was directly aimed on critiquing the music industry.
Vince Staples, 30, was a guest at the first annual Youth Day in the LBC event over the weekend which also featured a town hall with Long Beach Mayor Rex Richard alongside the rapper and actor. Fans in attendance were allowed to ask questions and the fan wanted Staples’ opinion regarding Hip-Hop’s hottest feud.
In his signature deadpan fashion, Staples harkened back to similar thoughts he shared on The Joe Budden Podcast where he tried to explain to the cast why the war between Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J. Cole was largely pointless and the only ones to benefit are the labels. Staples’ point was largely dismissed as he refused to engage in zeroing in on the beef and instead sticking to his morals that the industry is in literal shambles.
“That record label just folded all of its independent labels and subsidiaries into each other,” Staples shared of his current record label, Universal Music Group, which he’s been signed to since he was 17. Staples explained that the label hasn’t paid him since 2018.
Staples then explained that the dissolving of the independent labels and subsidiaries also meant that Black folks who have been invested in growing the Hip-Hop and R&B sectors of their labels are either without a job or moved into positions outside their wheelhouse.
“None of them [labels] exist no more. They fired all the heads of the labels and if they didn’t, they turn them into glorified A&Rs. They cut off 50 percent of the people who work in all these departments, most of those people is us, people of color, that come from hip-hop and R&B and these other things, right?” Staples continued.
In a somewhat somber fashion, Staples essentially said that a Hip-Hop beef is the least of his concerns while the industry he’s been a part of as a teenager is crumbling before his eyes.
“So then we getting priced out of our contracts, we getting priced out of our imprints. There are no labels, basically, that are incentivized to sign Black music and it’s happening in front of our eyes,” Staples shared. “While Taylor Swift is fighting for people to be able to have streaming money, n*ggas is on the internet arguing with each other about some rap sh*t. So that’s how I feel about it, honestly.”
Much like his comments on the JBP, Staples’ comments found their way online and fans have reacted to portions of his answer. Some fans also took aim at Staples for, in their view, evoking respectability politics. Staples also caught wind of those who didn’t enjoy his commentary.
We’ve got comments from all sides below.
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Drake has responded to Kendrick Lamar as some expected with “The Heart Part 6,” adding new fuel to their explosive feud. In the track, the Canadian superstar addresses the accusations of being romantically involved with minors and more and fans on Xitter are wondering if it’s enough.
I want to speak as myself for a minute and express that I have never cared less about a rap beef. I find nothing exciting, interesting, or enthralling about two Black titans of the culture fighting and exposing each other. What is the end goal? It does nothing for the greater good. And, as Vince Stapes said, this is only aiding a particular segment of the industry and certainly not the creators. Anyway, let’s get into this newest salvo from Drake.
Titling the response “The Heart Part 6” is clearly taking a page out of Kendrick Lamar and his “The Heart” series, and directly addresses some of the heinous acts that K-Dot accused Drizzy of.
From “The Heart Part 6”:
The Pulitzer Prize winner is definitely spiralin’I got your fucking lines tapped, I swear that I’m dialed inFirst, I was a rat, so where’s the proof of the trial then?Where’s the paperwork or the cabinet it’s filed in?1090 Jake would’ve took all the walls downThe streets would’ve had me hidin’ out in a small townMy Montreal connects stand up, not fall downThe ones that you’re gettin’ your stories from, they all clownsI am a war gеneral, seasoned in prеparationMy jacket is covered in medals, honor and decorationYou waited for this moment, overcome with the desperationWe plotted for a week and then we fed you the informationA daughter that’s eleven years old, I bet he takes itWe thought about giving a fake name or a destinationBut you so thirsty, you not concerned with investigationInstead you in Advantage Studio, it’s a celebration
Considering that Kendrick Lamar seemingly has a lot of contempt for Drake, most fans are expecting a response from that side very soon. As it stands, fans of the pair of siding with their faves while detractors are taking their positions as expected. We’ve got reactions from X, formerly Twitter, from all sides below along with the track in question.
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DJ Vlad has long been seen as an unsavory sort among certain Hip-Hop circles despite his mysterious ability to snag interviews with notable figures within the genre. After attacking a Black woman who checked him over his opinion on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, DJ Vlad attempted to weaponize his whiteness but the culture peeped game and is getting Vlad The Vulture out the paint.
Morgan Jenkins, a best-selling author and academic, caught wind of DJ Vlad speaking on Kendrick Lamar’s explosive “Not Like Us” track, stating that the song “needed a better mix.”
Jenkins, quoting Vlad’s comment, rightfully wrote, “You are WHITE. This is a BLACK FOLK AFFAIR,” prompting Vlad to respond and spiral like most Karens do.
“Wait, so a professor at @Princeton is telling me that a white person shouldn’t be allowed to voice their opinion about Hip-Hop? Is that how you interact with your students,” Vlad fired back.
Jenkins fired back with, “What I’m saying is that you put your opinion in a discussion that’s not needed. This conversation is and should center Black people, not you.”
Vlad then pulled the ultimate cornball move and threatened to contact Princeton University about Jenkins’ comments but found himself on the wrong side of history again after Jenkins laid down the law.
“Semester’s over and my contract has been completed. But thanks for trying to bully me out of a job for centering Black people because you got your feelings hurt. Very retaliatory, huh? Nice tactic,” Jenkins artfully countered.
Because Vlad has no shame, he attempted to throw his academic credentials around and referred to Jenkins as a bigot. He then foolishly demanded that Jenkins takes Princeton out of her X bio. This is when it gets even better.
“Sweetheart, before I was a professor at Princeton, I GRADUATED from Princeton. LOL So what is you REALLY saying,” Jenkins added.
Vlad, unable to take the L for what it was doubled down and the entirety of Black Xitter (yes, we’re calling it that) formed like the Avengers to shove Vlad The Vulture out the paint. Even typically neutral folks like comedian KevOnStage was smoking on the Vlad Pack and it is still continuing since the fracas began late Saturday night (May 4).
DJ Vlad has made a career of inviting pivotal figures in Hip-Hop culture to spill the beans about things that were both incriminating and largely damaging to the reputations of others. Further, Vlad’s propensity for digging into the affairs of Black people has never sat right with those who have had the misfortune of watching one of his interrogation videos, excuse us, interviews.
The saddest part in all of this are Black men are coming to the jiggin’ and booin’ (shoutout Vince Staples0 defense of Victim Vlad. But those dustballs are getting shots too, disrespectfully.
As it stands, Vlad The Vulture is getting baked, simmered, and sautéed and it’s an amazing thing to watch. Further, he deserves it because all he had to do was mind his business. Now, he’s upended his whole brand just because he couldn’t stand to be told he was out of pocket by an accomplished Black woman.
Check out the replies below.
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Kendrick Lamar and Drake have engaged in an explosive back-and-forth that took a dark turn according to some observers but the onslaught is far from over. Fresh from dropping the blistering “Meet The Grahams” track, Kendrick Lamar took aim Drake and doubled down on some serious allegations with “Not Like Us.”
Produced by DJ Mustard, “Not Like Us” delivers what some are considering the first of the series of Lamar’s diss tracks to take a sonic approach that might end up getting burn outside of content creator streaming channels and the headphones of dedicated fans.
Unlike the sinister “Meet The Grahams,” “Not Like Us” is a far more upbeat affair but still maintains the intensity from the previously released diss tracks with K-Dot not taking his foot up off the gas even in the slightest.
From “Not Like Us”:
Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em youngYou better not ever go to cell block oneTo any b*tch that talk to him and they in loveJust make sure you hide your lil’ sister from himThey tell me Chubbs the only one that get your hand-me-downsAnd Party at the party, playin’ with his nose nowAnd Baka got a weird case, why is he around?Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophilesWop, wop, wop, wop, wop, Dot, f*ck ’em upWop, wop, wop, wop, wop, I’ma do my stuffWhy you trollin’ like a b*tch? Ain’t you tired?Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-Minor
Honing in on the allegations that Drake has targeted younger women, K-Dot delivered the “A-Minor” in an extended sing-song fashion that was designed to cut deep. The bars above also take digs at the Canadian superstar’s head of security, Chubbs, PartyNextDoor, and Baka Not Nice, who reportedly forced a woman into prostitution and later plead guilty to assault and other charges back in 2015.
Although some fans thought Drizzy delivered a valiant effort with “Family Matters,” the pendulum is swinging in the direction of Kendrick Lamar, especially given the fact he took his time in responding to the earlier jabs but has unloaded the full clip.
On X, formerly Twitter, the debate of who is winning the battle rages on and we’ve got comments from all sides below.
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Kendrick Lamar has clearly had enough for the shots and subliminal messages from Drake, beginning his blitz earlier this week with the blistering “euphoria” track. With Drake still absorbing blows from that salvo, Kendrick Lamar once again fired back with the cleverly titled “6:16 in LA” track and the culture is in a frenzy.
While the issues between Drizzy and K-Dot have long been rumored, nothing to the level of the recent flurry of disses fans have been treated to lately.
Dot took the most measurable shot on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” track earlier this year and it was clear who the target was. The Canadian superstar hit back with “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the latter of which has been served with a takedown notice from the estate of Tupac “2Pac” Shakur.
It was just this past Tuesday (April 30) when “euphoria” dropped and it wasn’t expected that another song was coming. Using Drake’s timestamp title formula, “6:16 in LA” (released Friday, May 3) digs even deeper into the persona of his rival.
From “6:16”:
Have you ever thought that OVO is workin’ for me?Fake bully, I hate bullies, you must be a terrible personEveryone inside your team is whispering that you deserve itCan’t toosie slide up outta this one, it’s just gon’ resurfaceEvery dog gotta have his day, now live in your purposeIt was fun until you started to put money in the streetsThen lost money ’cause they came back with no receiptsI’m sorry that I live a boring life, I love peaceBut war-ready if the world is ready to see you bleed
As it stands, most fans are saying the battle is leaning in favor of Kendrick Lamar, definitely since Drake egged him on to respond. Now, the timeline waits to see what the response will be or if the “Red Button” will be pushed.
Check the reactions below and the track below.
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Gucci Mane is an artist who will use moments in pop culture to inform the direction of his music, most recently seen with his “Woppenheimer” single in 2023. The rapper and author referenced a particular moment that’s rocking the culture regarding Diddy with the drop of his new “TakeDat (No Diddy)” track.
Gucci Mane, 44, dropped “TakeDat (No Diddy)” on Wednesday (April 24) with production from TP808 and TPerc. The song is largely Big Guwop chanting “No Diddy” at the end of his hook and bars.
More from “TakeDat”:
I got a young Miami b*tch from the cityI’m spendin’ money like a trick, no DiddyI rock pissy yellow diamonds, no DiddyBut she can’t be underage, no Diddy (Ugh)Extendo with a switch, no DiddyFolks passin’ pills around like frisbeesAnd booby trap goin’ up on a WednesdayI’m in a bag, it’s a Monica LewinskyI’m f*ckin’ rappers’ baby mommas, no Diddy (Take that)I got these n*ggas in they feelings like Drizzy (Take that)
The early returns on the track have been cropping up on X, formerly Twitter, with some fans noticing where Gucci is attempting to take the direction of the song. The results so far appear to be mixed but we’ve got reactions from all sides, along with the track, down below.
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Chris Brown and Quavo have a history of not being the best of friends and it appears that the pair are still on the path to war after this weekend. Chris Brown dropped a new track titled “Weakest Link” aimed at Quavo, with the late Takeoff having his name added to this feud.
From what we gathered, “Weakest Link” is a response to the track “Tender” and adds to the growing rift between the pair that has been ongoing for years according to reports.
On “Tender” Quavo rapped:
Wipin’ your nose with the tissue, not wipin’ no snot (Snot, whoo)Tell me, lil’ bro, what’s your issue? It’s over a thot (Thot)You said that it’s bigger than that (It’s big), but no, it is not (No, it is not)It’s ’cause I be diggin’ in that (Ya dig?), it got ’em hot (They got ’em hot)I’m givin’ respect (Sh*t), but I know you not (I know you not)Your b*tch on my neck (Your b*tch), your b*tch at the spot (Spot)
The streets are saying that the Migos artist is speaking about Brown’s ex, Karrueche Tran.
Brown, digging deep into his petty bag, fired back by suggesting he got familiar with Huncho’s ex, Saweetie:
Okay, let’s get down to the facts, p*ssy, I’m dripped in red (Okay)Don’t let this R&B sh*t fool you, n*ggas get ripped to shreds (Get back)Quavo talkin’ like he a thug, n*gga, you a bitch with dreads (You a b*tch)Can’t wait to see the day that you back up all of that sh*t you said (You on)What’s all that boss sh*t you talkin’? You ain’t no huncho, n*gga (You ain’t no huncho)You the weakest link out of your clique, let’s keep it a hundo, n*gga (One hundred)You f*cked my ex-ho, that’s cool, I don’t give no f*ck, lil’ n*gga (Still a b*tch)‘Cause I f*cked your ex when you were still with her, b*tch, I’m up, lil’ n*gga (I’m up)
We’ve got no opinion on who is winning this particular beef but fans observing are naturally calling out Brown’s violent past with women, while also adding that Quavo has similar stories of the same acts on his jacket.
Check out the reactions from X and the songs in question below.
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