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When rap producer Ron Browz crafted the ominous beat that would ultimately become Nas’ legendary 2001 diss track, “Ether,” he initially had a much different MC in mind: Nas’ rival, Jay-Z, who was offered the instrumental first. But Jay’s then-A&R executive, Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua, passed on the track, with no idea that it would later become the backdrop to one of rap’s most iconic diss records.
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“I get a phone call: ‘Nas wants you to come to hear what he did to the beat,’ ” recalls Browz, who had handed his CD to Nas’ travel agent months prior. “I go to the studio. Nas is in there eating fruit. Calm and no entourage. Just him and the engineer, and he’s like, ‘Yo. Play it for Ron.’ Then I hear the intro: ‘Fuck Jay-Z.’ I was like, ‘Wait. I didn’t put that in there.’ ”
At the time, Browz was living at his mother’s house in Harlem and had only scored one other placement, for the late rapper Big L’s “Ebonics.” “I’m in shock, but the whole time, [I’m thinking], ‘Ron, this is your introduction,’ ” Browz says. “In my mind, I’m like, ‘Is this a good thing or bad thing?’ Because it was going at the No. 1 artist in the game. I just remember sitting there with the great Nas, who said, ‘I’m putting this out on Friday,’ which was Jay-Z’s birthday. Jay-Z’s birthday is Dec. 4, and my birthday is Dec. 6, so it was like a fly birthday present.”
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“Ether” proved to be the game-changer Browz’s career needed, swiftly propelling him into the spotlight upon its late-2001 release. And, 23 years later, his story still resonates with many producers, especially in today’s competitive hip-hop climate where feuds are more prevalent than they’ve been since the 1990s or early 2000s. This year alone, there have been clashes between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion, Latto and Ice Spice, Chris Brown and Quavo — and, of course, Drake and Kendrick Lamar, whose blockbuster beef yielded seven diss tracks in a month, including Lamar’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, “Not Like Us.”
Produced by Mustard, “Not Like Us” was the producer’s first-ever No. 1 on the chart — and arrived three years after his most recent top 20 Hot 100 song, Roddy Ricch’s “Late at Night.” “Mustard worked like a machine, sending beats daily because he was trying to get [Kendrick] on his album. This went on for months,” says Meko Yohannes, Mustard’s manager and co-founder of their record label, 10 Summers. “He was just overwhelming him with beats. As long as [Kendrick] said, ‘Keep them coming,’ we kept them coming.”
“Not Like Us” immediately became a pop culture phenomenon. Actress Taraji P. Henson used the song during her opening monologue at the 2024 BET Awards. Serena Williams crip-walked to the track while hosting this year’s ESPYs Awards. Multiple professional sporting leagues, most notably the NBA, used the song during their broadcasts. And at his Juneteenth Pop Out concert, livestreamed on Amazon Prime, Kendrick performed it five times. “I didn’t know what we were getting ready for,” Yohannes says. “I don’t think anybody did. Mustard always wanted to work with Dot. That was one of the things missing from his résumé. For the first time working together, not only is it Mustard’s biggest record, but it’s also Dot’s biggest record.”
Even if a diss record doesn’t become a “Not Like Us”-size hit, it can still significantly increase the profile of the producer involved. Though “Ether” failed to chart on the Hot 100 and only peaked at No. 50 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, it boosted Browz’s visibility in New York, where top-tier producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland reigned supreme at the time. “Ether” “was all you heard in the neighborhood, coming out of cars and anything with a radio,” Browz recalls. “Cars, stores, everything. It stopped the city.”
Browz, who had received $1,500 for Big L’s “Ebonics,” earned his “first big check” with “Ether,” for $10,000. But while he landed placements for DMX and 50 Cent following the song’s success, he also experienced some growing pains.
“This time, in New York, the club scene is crazy. Once we started going to the club, I worked with DMX, Lil Kim, Fat Joe, Ludacris and 50 Cent. Artists would say, ‘I need that “Ether.” Send that.’ I remember doing that for a while. I was getting the placements, but they weren’t the singles,” he says. “Singles had to be bright and happy, so I had to switch the sound, and that’s how my hit ‘Pop Champagne’ ” — the 2008 single that hit No. 22 on the Hot 100 on the strength of a remix with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana — “came about.”
While producing a big diss track has advantages, it’s not always without consequences. Several producers contacted for this story — including The Alchemist, who produced Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams,” as well as Wyclef Jean, who co-produced Canibus’ 1998 track “Second Round K.O.” — declined to speak about their experiences, preferring to leave them in the past due to the significant political implications involved. Reopening an old wound, or potentially straining relationships further after the fact, isn’t ideal for producers looking to expand their networks.
For Mustard, though, it’s working out. As “Not Like Us” remained in the top 10 of the Hot 100 during the summer, Mustard used the momentum to propel the release of his first album in five years, Faith of a Mustard Seed. (Lamar doesn’t appear on the project, but plenty of other hip-hop stars do.) Its first single, “Parking Lot,” featuring Travis Scott, dropped about six weeks after “Not Like Us” and peaked at No. 57 on the Hot 100, becoming Mustard’s highest-charting song as a lead artist since 2020. The track also continues to boost Lamar, who was named the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show headliner in September.
“We held back on [releasing] ‘Parking Lot,’ ” Yohannes says. “We stopped it because we wanted to give room to see how high ‘Not Like Us’ would go. We sat back like everybody else, just watching. It’s something that you can’t just make happen; you got to be ready for it and do your best to build off the momentum.”
This article appears in the Oct. 5 issue of Billboard.
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It seems that Coachella is in need of a big name talent to headline their 2025 show. Word on the street is both Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna have both declined.
As spotted on Bloomberg News, the once popular music festival is apparently trying to reclaim their greatness for next year’s event. According to the report both the rapper and songstress have politely said no to the opportunity of closing out the show. It is assumed that Kendrick passed because he was booked to perform at the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show and apparently will follow that appearance with a stadium tour. Many speculate that Rihanna, on the other hand, is busy being a mother and an entrepreneur and has no urge to return to performing live. This apparently has put Coachella leadership in a tight spot as they have come to the realization that the festival is no longer what it once was.
Reporter Lucas Shaw says Coachella founder Paul Tollett has been feverishly “working the phones” in order to secure a high-profile artist to ensure that the concert series not only sells out but returns to its former cultural prominence. But as the article notes, it has become increasingly more difficult to book the biggest and brightest stars in music as these performers can pull those astronomical booking fees on their own.
Coachella 2025 will take place April 11-13 and April 18-20. You can find more information on the festival here.
Hidden up a wooded hill in the sprawling backyard of his suburban Los Angeles estate, Dijon “Mustard” McFarlane is on the tennis court, perfecting his forehand.
“I’m an extremist,” the 34-year-old producer explains as he warms up his top spin. “I play every day, sometimes two times a day.” The L.A.-born musician, who shot to prominence at 21 when he produced Tyga’s 2011 hit “Rack City,” beckons his coach to serve again. After some rallying, Mustard slices a ball that nearly hits the Billboard cameraman kneeling beneath him, trying to get a close-up shot. “Oh, sorry! Man, you’re brave for sitting there,” Mustard says.
“I play, too; it’s cool,” the photographer replies, unfazed.
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“Aight, you’re one of us,” Mustard says with a grin, pointing at the man with his racket. For a second, it feels like the sportier version of a knighting ceremony.
He may still be polishing his tennis game, but after more than a decade of making hip-hop hits, Mustard scored an indisputable ace this year, reaching his highest career peak to date as the beat-maker behind Kendrick Lamar’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Not Like Us” — the biggest hit in Lamar’s spring beef with Drake. On the track, which cemented Lamar’s victory in the court of public opinion, the Pulitzer Prize winner is at his most venomous, using Mustard’s pop earworm of an instrumental as a Trojan horse for accusing Drake of being an Atlanta “colonizer” who steals sounds from local rappers and to resurface the serious allegations of Drake’s supposed predilection for underage girls.
But for such a hate-fueled anthem, “Not Like Us” also proved to be a uniting force for the world of West Coast hip-hop — unity by way of a common enemy. “When I was growing up, I watched 2Pac, ‘California Love,’ Dr. Dre, Snoop, the Death Row days,” says Mustard, who was born and raised in L.A.’s Crenshaw neighborhood. “It’s like being a part of that again, but in this day and age.”
The release of “Not Like Us” did plenty to galvanize the West Coast scene on its own, but Lamar further cemented its place in hip-hop history when he hosted The Pop Out — Ken & Friends, a Juneteenth concert at the L.A.-area Kia Forum. It was a show that was so sacred to L.A. natives that rival gangsters danced and sang to “Not Like Us” practically hand in hand onstage. To warm everyone up, Lamar enlisted Mustard to DJ a bevy of hits. But before literally popping out from under the stage, Mustard, a lifelong DJ typically confident in front of crowds, found himself on the verge of a panic attack. “I was nervous as s–t,” he confesses. “It just didn’t feel real.”
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It was a full-circle moment for the producer, whose wide-ranging résumé — encompassing rap, R&B, EDM and pop — also includes hits like 2 Chainz’ “I’m Different,” Jeremih and YG’s “Don’t Tell ’Em,” Tinashe’s “2 On,” Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up,” Lil Dicky and Chris Brown’s “Freaky Friday” and Rihanna’s “Needed Me.” “When I was a teenager, I’d write with YG in Inglewood [Calif.]. He used to live right across the street [from The Forum]. I made ‘Rack City’ across the street from there,” says Mustard, shaking his head in disbelief.
To start his set, Mustard walked up to his turntables, appearing calm and collected, even though he secretly wasn’t. After he fiddled with the knobs, the audio of a viral TikTok began: “The real takeaway from the Drake and Kendrick beef,” the voice of TikToker @lolaokola said, “is that it’s time for a DJ Mustard renaissance.” The crowd began to roar as the audio continued: “When every song on the radio was on a Mustard beat, we were a proper country. It was happier times. The closest we have ever been to true unity.”
After “Rack City” became a smash in 2012, the artist-producer then known as DJ Mustard seemed unstoppable. There was something about his simple formula of “a bassline, clap and it’s over… maybe an 808,” as he puts it, plus that catchy producer tag “Mustard on the beat, hoe!” that attracted pop purists and hip-hop heads alike, making his work go off both at the club and on the radio.
“Being a DJ, being in front of people and parties, I know what makes people move,” Mustard tells me between volleys with his coach. Every element of a Mustard track is done with clear intention to propel the song, not to clutter it. “I always used to tell Ty [Dolla $ign], ‘Man, you’re so musical, bro, but that s–t does not matter if they can’t hear what’s going on,’ ” Mustard recalls. “Simplicity is key for me and bridging the gap between that and the real musical s–t — but it still needs to be ratchet enough to be fun, too.”
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He learned to use turntables from one of the best: his uncle and father figure, Tyrei “DJ Tee” Lacy, an L.A. DJ who frequently soundtracked parties for Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and other local legends. Later in the day, I follow Mustard to Lacy’s restaurant, the District by GS on Crenshaw Boulevard. “This is where they got into it in Boyz n the Hood!” exclaims Mustard, gesturing to the street in front of the restaurant.
As he walks through the staff entrance and the kitchen, he daps up each person, his diamond-encrusted chain with a Jesus Christ pendant swinging as he moves. He sits down in a corner booth, and Lacy comes to join him. Mustard orders the usual: fried catfish. “Mustard as a child is the same as Mustard as an adult,” Lacy says. “He always cared about his craft — always.”
When Mustard was growing up, Lacy would often bring him along to his DJ gigs. One time, when he brought his nephew to a party in the Pacific Palisades, he had an ulterior motive. “I actually had [intentionally] double-booked myself,” Lacy says. “ ‘Don’t leave me,’ Mustard said. But I was like, ‘Oh, you’ll be all right. Just play that and play this, and you got it.’ ” Three hours later, he got a call from Mustard: “Come get me! The party was so cracking, they busted all the windows!”
From then on, music always paid the bills for Mustard, and he became the hottest DJ at Dorsey High School in Crenshaw. Within a few years, he would be one of the hottest producers in the world.
Amid the height of his early success, Mustard remembers a conversation he had with another radio-defining producer: Timbaland. “We were talking about the music industry,” he recalls. “He’s just like, ‘I want you to know, man, you’re not going to always be hot.’ ” Even though Mustard says he never let his ego get out of hand during those first years of success — his mother made sure of that — the caveat felt unfathomable at the time.
By the end of 2014, just two years after the peak of “Rack City,” Mustard seemingly had it all: 23 Hot 100 producer credits already, a new mansion on a hill outside the city, beautiful jewelry, even his own line of DJ Mustard mustard bottles. (Actually, he regrets that last one: “That was not an ‘I made it’ moment; that was a dumbass moment.”) Still, Timbaland warned him, “There’s going to be a time when nobody picks up your [calls] — soak this all in, and when that time comes, save your money… don’t panic,’ ” Mustard recalls. “And then it became a thing. And I was just like, ‘Ah, this is what [Tim] was talking about,’ and thank God I was ready for it.”
Mustard photographed September 16, 2024 at Johnnie’s Pastrami in Culver City, Calif.
Aaron Sinclair
As the decade wore on, his number of Hot 100-charting songs each year declined, from notching 14 in 2014 alone to between one and five each subsequent year. Still, a colder period for Mustard was better than what most musicians can ever dream of. And as time wore on, Mustard made the conscious choice to evolve. He focused on developing himself as not just a producer, but an artist in his own right. He started his own record label, 10 Summers, which launched the career of Grammy-winning R&B singer Ella Mai.
“I think with any producer, the ultimate goal is to break an artist. I believe that’s the hardest thing for a producer to do… I’m always for the challenge,” he says. It’s certainly something he has proved an aptitude for time and again, producing career-breakthrough tracks for artists like Mai, Tinashe, YG, Tyga and Roddy Ricch.
“You can’t be hot forever,” Mustard explains. “Even the best in the game… You have to reinvent yourself. And that’s what I did.”
Every hip-hop fan remembers where they were when “Not Like Us” dropped. Released the day after two other Lamar dis tracks, “6:16 in LA” and “Meet the Grahams,” no one saw it coming — not even the beat’s producers.
Mustard, for his part, was “on [my] way to a baby shower. Somebody sent me a message, and I was just like, ‘Oh, s–t,’ and then I hung up in their face, and I was just playing it over and over.” When he arrived at the baby shower, he could already hear the neighbors blasting it from over the fence.
Fellow “Not Like Us” beat-maker Sean Momberger was getting his car towed by AAA after a flat tire. “My friend texted me that Kendrick had dropped again,” he says. “I clicked on the link and heard our beat, and I was just shocked. I FaceTimed Mustard, and we were yelling and laughing.”
Mustard and Momberger were never in the studio with Lamar (or Sounwave, the song’s third credited producer and a longtime collaborator of the rapper) to make “Not Like Us.” The song started with Momberger sending Mustard some sample ideas and Mustard doing what he does best — “infectious” and “catchy” production with “a simplistic beauty driven by bouncy drums and West Coast undertone,” as Momberger describes it. But while the track stays true to the Mustard sound everyone knows, it also embodies how he has iterated it over the years to be fuller and more sample-driven.
Mustard texted it, along with about six other beats, to Lamar — who said nothing but reacted with a “heart.” Though he wasn’t in the room with Lamar this time, he had been in the studio with him before, years ago. Once, he says, Terrace Martin, a core musician on Lamar’s 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly, took him to one of that project’s sessions. “I remember seeing that s–t and being like, ‘Whoa, that’s a lot going on.’ With me and YG [Mustard’s most frequent collaborator], we didn’t have that many musicians around. That was my first time seeing s–t like that. Thundercat was there, Sounwave was there. Terrace was there… I knew [that album] was going to be some crazy s–t, but I didn’t know it would be like that.”
Though he couldn’t have predicted the impact To Pimp a Butterfly would have on culture, Mustard says he has a good intuition for hit records. “I don’t want to say I’m always right, but I’m pretty much on the money,” he notes. Mai agrees: “Mustard’s greatest strength is his ear.”
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For all his success producing radio-ready singles, however, one-off collaborations don’t move Mustard like they used to. “I can do stuff like ‘Not Like Us’ every day,” he says. “I can do that with my eyes closed… In my next phase, I’m not doing singles,” he insists, though he does admit he would do “Not Like Us” again “100,000 times” without hesitation. “I’ll do [a single for an artist] if I can have the whole album or the majority of the album, but other than that, I don’t get anything out of that.”
It’s why he dropped his own album, Faith of a Mustard Seed, this summer, which features Ricch, Travis Scott (whose “Parking Lot” with Mustard went to No. 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart), Ty Dolla $ign, Future, Young Thug and more hip-hop heavyweights. Mustard reckons the album (named after a suggestion by his late friend Nipsey Hussle) took him five years to perfect — the equivalent of a lifetime in popular music, especially hip-hop. During that time, rap went from being constantly atop the Hot 100 to weeks, months and even a whole year passing without a rap No. 1. Top players like Thug and Gunna went to jail; Nipsey, Young Dolph and Takeoff died; Ye went rogue. New faces like Yeat and 4batz popularized new styles; Afrobeats and reggaetón seeped into the American rap mainstream.
Still, Mustard believes Faith of a Mustard Seed warranted the wait. “There’s nothing on that album that I feel like in 10 years I’ll say, ‘Damn, I wish I did that better,’ ” he says. “I hope it teaches kids that you can take your time and do the right thing. You don’t have to rush it out. I think [the industry] today is just so fast-paced.”
Mustard hopes the perfectionism that drove both Faith of a Mustard Seed and “Not Like Us,” including Lamar’s own multifaceted bars, will encourage artists to “really rap now… I think now it’s opened the door for … the real rappers that love rap music and lyrics and the double, triple, quadruple entendres and all that s–t cool again.”
Aaron Sinclair
And he’s hoping — or rather, manifesting, sometime between waking up and hitting the tennis court — that this dedication to his craft will yield a Grammy next year. “I definitely speak it into existence every morning,” he says with a laugh. “The highest reward we can get as musicians is a Grammy. I know that people talk like it’s not a thing, but it actually is. It’s like Jayson Tatum right now saying, ‘I don’t want to win the NBA Finals.’ Like, if that’s the case, then go play at Venice Beach.”
Regardless of whether he takes home a trophy on Feb. 2, he knows he has something monumental to look forward to precisely a week later, when Lamar headlines the Super Bowl halftime show — where “Not Like Us” will no doubt get its biggest showcase yet. “Of course I’m going,” he says. “I’m going to go and be in a box and watch… I just can’t wait… I might shed a tear!”
Yet despite surreal moments like that, Mustard says his life is “still the same” as it always was. “I don’t take no for an answer. I’m persistent. Every day, I’m doing something that has to do with the journey of trying to get to where I’m trying to go. At this point, I don’t know how far I can go. I don’t think there’s a limit. I’ve always been like that. That’s how I got ‘Rack City’ — just waking up every day, making beats… and hoping.”
This story also appears in the Oct. 5, 2024, issue of Billboard.
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The Drake and Kendrick Lamar storyline refuses to die down. Champagne Papi’s camp has denied trying to block K Dot from performing “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl.
Last week, music executive Wack 100 made a wild claim that Drake was attempting to limit what songs the Compton, California, rapper could perform during his halftime set. “He’s trying to get the NFL to restrict Kendrick,” Wack explained. When pressed further on whether he thinks the request would be honored by the league he replied, “No, if Jay-Z got something to do with it, it ain’t.” As with most of his claims Wack’s statement soon went viral. Page Six has now exclusively reported that Drake’s camp has refuted the rumor with one of his representatives simply saying it’s “not true.” Another unnamed source tells the celebrity gossip site “There was never any intention or plan to send a cease and desist to anyone.”
Last month, the National Football League revealed Kendrick Lamar as the Super Bowl LIX halftime show performer. Given the game is taking place in New Orleans the announcement was met with a lot criticism, with many crying foul that Lil Wayne should have been given that slot. Since then, show producer Jesse Collins confirmed that Jay-Z chooses the headliner, which further added to the speculation that there was a conspiracy against Weezy. Days later, Lil Wayne revealed that he was hurt by the snub but was humbled by all the support he received from his fans and peers.
Super Bowl LIX takes place on Feb., 9 2025 at Caesars Superdome. You hear Wack 100 discuss Drake and the Super Bowl below.
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When it was announced that Kendrick Lamar would be headlining the next Super Bowl Halftime show in New Orleans, much of the Hip-Hop community was up in arms over the snub of Lil Wayne as many felt that the rap icon deserved to provide the entertainment segment of the big game in his hometown.
Interestingly enough, many of those screaming bloody murder turned out to be Drake fans who were still salty that the 6 Gawd took the massive L in his classic rap battle with Kung Fu Kenny and felt that Jay-Z was hating on Young Money artists in general with his choice. As it turns out it seems like Drake was actually given the opportunity to perform at a couple of Super Bowls over the years but turned the offer down each time.
In a recent interview on The Pivot Podcast, Steve Stoute touched on the topic of the artists chosen to perform at the Super Bowl during Jay-Z’s tenure with the NFL and revealed that though Hova and Drizzy have a small rivalry going on, Jay did offer the King of the North the opportunity to headline the big game not once, but twice, but Drake didn’t have any interest in taking on the task.
“I will confirm Drake was offered the Super Bowl twice. Drake did turn down the Super Bowl twice. And I’m sure if Drake would have said yes, he would have brought Lil Wayne out at some point,” Stoute said. “He probably would have brought out Nicki. Which is probably why she’s upset ’cause she’s not onstage. But Drake turned it down twice… He turned it down twice, which is fine. He didn’t want to do it. But nobody’s going to say, ‘Damn, why’d you turn it down? You could’ve got Lil Wayne on.’ Nobody’s going to connect that dot.”
Well, so much for that.
Drake headlining the Super Bowl would’ve been huge especially before the entire Kendrick Lamar rap battle that left him licking his wounds North of the border. Still, we’re sure he had his reasons as to why he didn’t want to accept the gig, and that’s his business.
As for people trying to slander Jay-Z for the acts he’s chosen over the years such as Rihanna and Usher, Steve Stoute isn’t here for the criticism Jay has to put up with as he feels that the rap legend is doing what someone in his position is supposed to do when having that much say-so in a board room.
“As far as I’m concerned, these artists are getting their flowers, and are getting their chance to perform on this stage — these Black artists, Hip-Hop and R&B artists — if it wasn’t for [Jay-Z], this wouldn’t be happening. So how could you come down and criticize this man like that?”
In the age of social media, nothing is ever good enough for everyone anymore. Just sayin’.
Check out Steve Stoute talk about the Super Bowl situation below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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After much speculation, we now know who chose Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The show’s producer confirmed it was Jay-Z’s decision.
As spotted on Rap-Up, the culture now has better clarity on how the Compton, California, talent became the Super Bowl LIX headliner. This week, Variety spoke to event producer Jesse Collins, and the entertainment executive provided more context regarding the decision and why was Lil Wayne not chosen to perform in his hometown. “We love Wayne,” he said. “There’s always Vegas odds on who’s going to get to perform it. But I think we’re going to do an amazing show with Kendrick, and I think everybody’s going to love the halftime show. I know Kendrick is going to work exceptionally hard to deliver an amazing show.”
Collins went on to say that HOV ultimately gave the greenlight to book K. Dot. “It’s a decision that Jay makes. Since we’ve been on board with that show, he’s made it every year, and it’s been amazing. He’s always picked right,” he added. Soon after the announcement confirming that the “Not Like Us” MC would take the slot there was an outcry questioning why Lil Wayne was not chosen to perform. Days later, Weezy released a video revealing that he was hurt by the snub, but the outcry of support was humbling.
“It broke me, and I’m just trying to put me back together,” he explained. “But my God, have you all helped me. Thanks to all of my peers, my friends, my family, my homies on the sports television and everybody repping me. I really appreciate that, I really do. I feel like I let all of y’all down by not getting that opportunity, but I’m working on me and I’m working.”
Super Bowl LIX will be taking place Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Lil Wayne saw his name crop up in the news this week after it was announced that Kendrick Lamar would be the featured performer for next year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. With the likes of Jay Electronica, Birdman, Nicki Minaj, and more speaking on Lil Wayne’s behalf, Tunechi took to Instagram to express his emotions surrounding the news and the snub.
With Super Bowl LIX taking place in February 2025 in New Orleans, La., it was expected at least by some observers that Weezy F. Baby would be considered to rock in front of his hometown crowd for the big game. Kendrick Lamar announced his appearance in his unique way, which sparked a flurry of comments from supporters of Lil Wayne along with his detractors coming out of the woodwork to discredit his musical legacy.
Opening up in his video on Instagram, Wayne got straight to the point.
“First of all, I wanna say forgive me for the delay. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking. I’m say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all the love and support out there. Your words turned to arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”
Wayne said of the assumed snub that, “It hurt a lot. I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. For just automatically mentally putting myself in that position like someone told me that was my position.”
In what would’ve been a dream come true for Lil Wayne, it appears that being passed over for the Halftime Show in favor of Kendrick Lamar left a sting.
Check out the clip below.
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Photo: Bennett Raglin / Getty
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Jay Electronica isn’t one to be chronically online so when he pops out, it’s usually to call out an issue in his typically colorful way. Via a string of replies on X, the New Orleans lyricist took time to defend Jay-Z from criticism over the recent announcement that Kendrick Lamar will be the featured act during next year’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
Jay Electronica opened his X rant on Wednesday (September 11) with a video then launched into a tirade that went all over the place.
“I don’t respect no gangsta that’s scared of the white man. Periodt,” Electronica begins.
He added, “N*ggas got all this smoke for Hov but they ain’t got no smoke for David Geffen and jimmy iovine and lucían grange and lyor cohen etcetera etcetera. I DO NOT RESPECT YOUR GANGSTER. You p*ssy.”
It appeared that Electronica had some issues with Birdman and the Cash Money Records collective over some assumed poor treatment of Turk of the Hot Boyz.
“And how you n*ggas did Turk was dirty and lame. ESPECIALLY since he REALLY MAGNOLIA and yall not. Get it how you live. I’m sawry potnaaaaa, he said, referencing the infamous Magnolia Projects where Electronica too hails from.
“And how yall so quick to let yall gun bust at your brother over nothing. If yall would put 10 percent of this negative energy over a FOOTBALL game into unifying for one common cause, our ppl would be free overnight. Salaaam Alaikum,” he continued.
The verbal portion of the rant ended with, “And finally, I will die in the war with the common enemy on the spot for Birdman and BG and Wayne and whoever else the same way I would Hov. We all we got. But who is man enough to say enough is enough.”
This rant stems from the idea that Jay-Z had a hand in selecting Kendrick Lamar for the Super Bowl halftime show via the deal with Roc Nation to help produce certain events and push initiatives off the field.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: @kendricklamar / Instagram
Kendrick Lamar is crafty. On the night of the MTV VMA’s, the anniversary of 9/11, the day after Kamala Harris dogwalked Donald Trump during a debate and Taylor Swift dropped a political co-sign, Kendrick Lamar decided to release a new song.
As you should have expected, it didn’t get lost in the sauce and immediately started trending. Per 2024 Hip-Hop protocol this means that K-Dot is still the alpha rapper of the moment, as if getting tabbed to headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, and all the salty envy it sparked, wasn’t already an indicator.
As for the song, we don’t have a title. As for the artwork, it’s a well-worn pair of black Nike Air Force 1’s, long the indicator of someone who is about that action, a shooter or someone you definitively do not want the smoke with.
“Influencers talk down ’cause I’m not with the basic sh*t/But they don’t hate me, they hate the man that I represent,” spits the Compton rapper. “The type of man that never d*ck ride ’cause I want a favor/The man that resides in patience/So where the soldiers at?/The ones that lost it all and learned to learn from that/A thirst for life/Head inside a book ’cause he concerned with that/Information that’ll change his life because he yearns for that/Dedication, finding out what’s right ’cause he can earn from that.”
Of course, a jab at “influencers” means many are assuming DJ Akademiks is in the crosshairs. Uh oh.
lol dropping on 9/11 . Pop out concert on Juneteenth . Wait lemme guess. New diss song on Halloween/ thanks giving / drake birthday/ Christmas.
Bruh drop a single.. u just got announced as the headliner of superbowl .
No Round 2s. Just drop em hits.
— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) September 12, 2024
Also worth note, K-Dot big ups Lecrae on the refrain, and that’s just dope, period.
https://twitter.com/AndresWrites/status/1833545343897886762
The praise, and hate, is already off to a fiery start on the Internets. Peep some of the more volatile reactions that we assembled in the gallery.
We’ll get back to you on the name of the song, too.
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Source: YouTube / Youtube
DJ Akademiks got upset at the news of Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl, accusing Jay-Z of getting involved in the beef with Drake.
On Sunday (September 8), Kendrick Lamar announced that he would be the headline halftime performer at Super Bowl LIX. The news sent everyone into a frenzy and made DJ Akademiks highly upset. He then leveled accusations at Jay-Z for deliberately picking Lamar to stoke the beef between him and Drake further. The social media announcement came before kickoff began on the first full day of the NFL’s 2024-2025 season, with Lamar saying: “You know you only get one chance to win the championship, right? Ain’t no round twos.” Many saw it as a reference to Drake’s subliminal message in a recent post where he claimed, “He will win game two.”
DJ Akademiks wasn’t thrilled and began to issue a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter expressing his anger. “The NFL just gave Kendrick Lamar a global “Pop Out” show… Jay Z I see u n–guh… u ain’t low…”, he wrote, referencing the torrid beef between the Compton rapper and Drake that dominated the spring and summer culminating in several tracks including “Not Like Us”. He followed that up with another post directed at the Roc Nation founder: “Jay-Z and Roc Nation responsible for curating the Super Bowl halftime show… remember that.”
The podcast host continued to vent, writing in another post: “Drake and J.Cole rapped ‘Big As the What.. Big As the Super Bowl’ And Jay-Z just made Kendrick Lamar the headliner of the Super Bowl. Nah n—-a dis s—t is wild … this s—t crazy.”
DJ Akademiks also called Jay Z a “legendary hater” for the Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers rapper being chosen to headline over New Orleans native Lil Wayne. The controversial media personality also referenced the former beef between Jay Z and Drake in an Instagram post. “Jay-Z set up the play. Drake … Jay ain’t forget bout that “Charged Up” verse n—-a. He the higher-ups,” he wrote with a tears streaming emoji.
Super Bowl 59 will take place on February 9, 2025, with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins co-producing the show sponsored by Apple Music. “Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one,” Lamar said in the press release.