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Tommy Richman’s debut album is almost here. The “Million Dollar Baby” rapper-singer announced on Monday (Aug. 26) that Coyote will hit streaming services on Sept. 27.
Richman posted a trailer for Coyote on Monday (Aug. 26), in which he revealed the anticipated LP’s release date. “Welcome to the desert. Coyote, my debut album. 9/27,” he captioned the clip.
The trailer features an actual coyote walking on a Wile E. Coyote-themed desert set, and the camera pans to Richman, who is seated in front of a mirror wiping the clown makeup off his face, which plays off his 2022 Alligator project’s cover art.
Fans and Richman’s peers hopped into his comment section after learning about the announcement. “The World Ready Bro, Get’m,” DJ Paul wrote.
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A fan added: “This gunna be so special!”
Richman exploded onto the mainstream scene with his “Million Dollar Baby,” which became inescapable upon its arrival in April. The track is the longest running No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart to date.
“Baby” also topped the Pop Airplay chart dated Aug. 31, and spent time at the apex of the Hot R&B Songs chart — for 16 weeks through the Aug. 24 tally, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (three, May-June), Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart (three, May-June); the Billboard Global 200 (two, June); and Streaming Songs (one week, May).
“This is a big record, but this doesn’t define me,” the Virginia native told Billboard in June. “I’m using this as, ‘We’re here. We arrived.’ Not as, ‘We made it!’ This is the start of a run.”
“Million Dollar Baby” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has tallied 773 million spins in radio audience, 559 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 77,000 units sold from its release through Aug. 15, per Luminate.
He followed up “Baby” with “Devil Is a Lie” in June, which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Coyote is set to arrive on Sept. 27 via ISO Supremacy and PULSE Records.
Watch the trailer below.
As the first gusts of autumn begin, it’s time to accept that we are now closer to sweater weather than the peak of summer vacation.
Although summer is nearing its end — with Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” sitting comfortably in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 for a 15th consecutive week, no less — Drake seems to be alluding to a round two of their world-stopping feud. On Friday (Aug. 23), Drizzy self-leaked a second batch of unreleased content and music from his 100 Gigs franchise, this time featuring a collaboration with Playboi Carti. Notably, the 100 Gigs update also featured footage of Kanye “Ye” West giving Drake his flowers while onstage at OVO Fest 2013. It’s a smart play that complements Ye’s recent shoutout to Drake during a blockbuster Goyang Stadium Vultures II listening party in South Korea (Aug. 23).
Outside of the Kendrick-Drake beef and its supporting characters, Travis Scott‘s beloved breakthrough 2014 mixtape Days Before Rodeo finally hit streaming services in time for its 10th anniversary, Macklemore accidentally brought a fan onstage who was being looked for by the Slovak Republic Police (she is now in jail), and A$AP Rocky graced Billboard’s latest cover and talked everything from his forthcoming Don’t Be Dumb LP and the differences between his and Rihanna‘s parenting styles.
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Chxrry22’s new girls-night-out anthem to Luh Tyler’s swaggering new banger. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
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Freshest Find: Hamzaa, “25!”
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Heavy percussion and a buttery timbre that sneakily traverses the border between mezzo-soprano and contralto introduce “25,” the heartfelt closing track from Hamzaa’s EP of the same name. “Made it to 25 on my / Made it out alive on my / Now I’m on my A-game / We’re not on the same page, no,” she croons in the chorus, finding a hard-fought peace of mind in light of a pivotal birthday year. Countless songs explore the myriad fears, hopes and anxieties of different stages of your twenties, and Hamzaa stake a claim for herself in that conversation as it relates to the age of 25. Often the age that makes your thirties feel particularly real and near, 25 can get a bad rap because many people feel as if they have to have accomplished something major in their lives by that age. Those anxieties aren’t the primary concern of “25”; Hamzaa is more focused on the stability, growth and self-sufficiency that comes with finally trusting yourself after surviving the abyss that is your early twenties.
Luh Tyler, “Mr. Skii”
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The Tallahassee wunderkind dropped his debut album last week (Aug. 23), as the Bossman Dlow-assisted “2 Slippery” continues to explode across socials — but that’s not the only song from the project worth adding to your playlists. The title track, “Mr. Skii,” finds Tyler employing a laid-back flow through which he effortlessly skates across OhYeaCris’s trap-indebted beat, which smartly plays on the sweet melody of Earl Klugh’s “Living Inside Your Love.” The song’s lone verse is typical braggadocio rap fare, but Tyler’s cavalier delivery and humorous punchlines make it all feel fresh. As he says himself, “P—y capping, that’s a cat in a hat, yeah/ Real shit, ain’t no cap in my rap.”
Ye Ali & Ant Clemons, “All Summer”
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To put it plainly, “We f–king all summer,” even if summer is basically over. R&B maestros Ye Ali and Ant Clemons join forces on this slinky ode to steamy summer nights. Sultry saxophone, sparse 808s, and subtle harmonies all coalesce for a particularly immersive soundscape that conjures up just the allure and mystique the duo’s X-rated lyrics forgo. At just under two minutes, this is more of an overgrown interlude than a full-bodied song, but “All Summer” sources its charm from its brevity. Not only do they get straight to business, but they also stand on it without coming off as aggressive or overly eager; their joint suaveness is the song’s superpower.
Kanii, “Same Stories (Come and Go)”
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Kanii is tired of running in circles for a toxic relationship, but he’s not ready to completely cut her off and close the book on things possibly turning around. The D.C.-bred singer leans into his pop&B bag for the brooding “Same Stories (Come and Go),” with pulsating synths pacing the dance-leaning track as he falls in and out of lust. “I’m tired of the same stories, the same games, the same lies / The tricks that you playing think I won’t realize / The same outcome again I waste my damn time,” he laments. Watch Kanii clear his head and explore what NYC has to offer in the track’s grainy visual.
Chxrry22, “Poppin Out (Mistakes)”
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Kendrick Lamar said something about needing to pop out and show the haters what’s good. The perfect pre-game playlist for girls night, Chxrry22 crafted an awfully fun bop to reverse a heartbreak. And rule No. 1 for Chxrry: there’s no crying over any boys inside her nightclub. But for the guys looking to win her attention, it’s going to be pricey – starting with sending her over six figures because someone has to pay for her mistakes. The best part might be the First Lady of XO living out her raps, as she enjoyed a not-so-demure girls’ night out last week turning up and celebrating “Poppin Out”’s arrival with her friends.
Free Party, “Eyespy”
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Free Party returned on Friday (Aug. 23) to drop off their anticipated Cut Your Teeth EP. It’s an appetizing sprint clocking in at 10 minutes, with “Eyespy” finding the DMV-bred duo showing off their rapping versatility and seamless chemistry in the booth. Jay Veno comes out of the gates blazing with a speedy flow as Free Party looks to make a leap. “They better never let us see a crevice/ Better keep it zealous or we looting the s–t,” he raps. MoCo takes the baton and the plug gets pulled before the AUX cord melts, leaving listeners wanting more. When is that full-length LP coming again?
The War and Treaty’s Tanya Blount was once a Bad Boys Records artist, and is expressing her thoughts about the allegations about the label’s founder, Sean “Diddy” Combs, that have risen in the years since.
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Blount was signed to the label in the 1990s, though her album with the company was never released. “Puffy was interesting because being with him was like — we didn’t see this Puffy that people are talking about now,” she recalled during a new episode of Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast. “We never saw him drink, we never saw him smoke. I never saw that guy. Being around him was like school because you were literally learning while training.”
She added, “Everything has good and bad. I’m really appalled with the stuff I’m hearing about now. I had protection too. I was young but I had a manager who told me, ‘No you’re not going to that party.’ […] I also had God protecting me from whatever was happening. The people who experienced it, I really feel bad for them.”
In a devastating video, obtained by CNN earlier this year and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove his longtime former partner, Cassie Ventura, to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway. The contents of the video mirror an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against Diddy in November.
Shortly after, on May 19, Diddy took to social media to share a video of himself taking responsibility and apologizing for his actions in the disturbing clip. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy says in his Instagram video. “I was f—ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”
He continued, “I went out and sought professional help. Had to go into therapy, into rehab. Had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to being a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”
Ventura was the first to accuse Diddy of sexual assault, filing a lawsuit in November in which attorneys for Cassie claimed she “endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” including repeated physical attacks and forcing her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers” while he masturbated. According to the complaint, after she attempted to separate from him in 2018 after an on-and-off public relationship for 11 years, Combs allegedly “forced her into her home and raped her while she repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away.” The case was soon settled, but Combs was then sued by multiple other women who claimed they were sexually abused by the hip-hop mogul.
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” Diddy wrote on Instagram in December. “For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
The final nominations for the 58th annual CMA Awards will be revealed on Monday, Sept. 9, at 7 a.m. CT, with the complete list also being posted on the CMA Awards’ website. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news This year’s CMA Awards will be held Wednesday, Nov. 20, […]
Charli XCX accidentally on purpose drew herself into the current heated American presidential race with what she thought was an innocuous tribute to Vice President Kamala Harris’ ineffable, no f’s given qualities. And while her “Kamala IS Brat” tweet last month helped boost the enthusiasm about what was then the very-new White House campaign by the current VP-turned-Democratic-candidate, Charli told Vulture that the tweet fired off while hanging around her pool in L.A. was meant to be something “positive and lighthearted” rather than a strict political endorsement.
Just days after Harris announced her intention to run for the Democratic nomination following President Joe Biden’s historic decision to give up his second run for the nation’s top job, Charli made noise by announcing “Kamala IS brat.”
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The reference was to the title of XCX’s new album and a messy-on-purpose lifestyle Charli has described as someone who can be high lux at times, or who has a “pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra” at others. Very aware of what she was doing and how it might land, Charli watched as the Harris campaign immediately seized on what seemed like a cool girl nod to their insurgent effort, by instantly rebranding the Kamala HQ‘s X page with the same font and lime green logo style as the singer’s album title.
“To be on the right side of democracy, the right side of women’s rights, is hugely important to me,” said Charlie, who as a British citizen cannot vote in the U.S. election, but whose tweet became a cringe-worthy talking point on cable and broadcast news programs where confused anchors tried to figure out what the kids were talking about.
“I’m happy to help prevent democracy form failing forever,” she added, appearing to nod to the existential threat to the American political system that President Biden and Harris have said former President and third-time White House aspirant Donald Trump represents. “I obviously knew what I was doing.”
That said, she had no inkling the tweet would be seem more than 55 million times and turned into its own meta meme. “Did I think me talking about being a mess b–ch and, like partying and needing a Bic lighter and a pack of Marlboro Lights would end up on CNN? No,” she said, noting that she is not, and has never aspired to be, “a political artist… I’m not Bob Dylan and I’ve never pretended to be… My music is not political. Everything I do in my life feeds back into my art. Everything I say, wear, think, enjoy — it all funnels back into my art. Politics doesn’t feed my art.”
In the same interview, Charli revealed that she is already working on another “full-length other project” that will definitely be “in the bratosphere, so to speak.” At press time no additional information was available on that project.
Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” nests atop both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for a third week. Two weeks earlier, the song became her first leader on each list.
Plus, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars bound in at No. 2 on each tally with “Die With a Smile” and LISA’s “New Woman,” featuring Rosalía, debuts at No. 6 on Global Excl. U.S.
The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
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Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” holds atop the Global 200 with 86.4 million streams (up 1%) and 10,000 sold (down 35%) worldwide Aug. 16-22. (A week earlier, its sales were boosted after she performed the song at the 2024 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony on Aug. 11.)
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Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” soars onto the Global 200 at No. 2 with 75.1 million streams and 31,000 sold worldwide following its release Aug. 16. The former adds his third top 10 since the chart began, while the latter lands her first.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” slips 2-3 on the Global 200, following three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in June; Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, jumps 12-4, following a week at No. 1 upon its debut in May — as parent album F-1 Trillion debuts at No. 1 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200; and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” tumbles to No. 5 from its No. 3 high.
“Birds of a Feather” concurrently leads Global Excl. U.S. with 64.1 million streams (up 2%) and 5,000 sold (down 30%) outside the U.S. Aug. 16-22.
“Die With a Smile” starts at No. 2 on Global Excl. U.S. with 48.2 million streams and 13,000 sold outside the U.S. It’s Bruno Mars’ second top 10 and Lady Gaga’s first on the chart.
Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” retreats to No. 3 from its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. best; Carpenter’s “Espresso” falls 3-4, following eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in May; and Jimin’s “Who” backtracks 4-5 after logging two weeks at No. 1 earlier in August.
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Plus, LISA’s “New Woman,” featuring Rosalía, launches at No. 6 on Global Excl. U.S. with 54.5 million streams and 10,000 sold outside the U.S. Aug. 16-22, following its Aug. 15 release. LISA earns her fourth top 10 on the chart – the most among BLACKPINK members; Jennie boasts three, and Jisoo and Rosé have one each. Meanwhile, LISA matches the four top 10s that BLACKPINK has achieved as a group. Rosalía adds her fifth top 10 on the chart.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Aug. 31, 2024) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Aug. 27. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” adds a seventh nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, which became the singer-songwriter’s first leader on the list in July, claims outright 2024’s longest reign, surpassing the six nonconsecutive weeks on top for Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen. The latter, […]
When Rauw Alejandro performed at the Governors Ball music festival in New York in June, he wore a burnt yellow and beige pinstripe suit with skinny pants, reminiscent of 1970s hipster New York — and previewing what to expect from his next studio album, due out on Sony Music US Latin.
“My dad is from Brooklyn and I have lots of family in New York, and obviously, there’s a lot of Puerto Rican culture there,” Alejandro says, speaking from Rosarito Beach, Mexico, where he headlined the Baja Beach Fest in August. “It’s a little inspired in the ’70s, the Fania All-Stars, all that. It’s a whole character, and I call it a ‘character’ because I see it as an overall concept. Music goes hand in hand with the visuals, the videos, the photos.”
Alejandro, whose six albums have all reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, is no stranger to chameleonic shows of artistry. His aesthetic has changed from album to album, notably with 2021’s Vice Versa (which debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200), along with its disco-tinged hit single “Todo de Tí,” plus his most recent album, 2023’s Playa Saturno.
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The upcoming Cosa Nuestra — a title inspired by the genre-defining 1969 Fania All-Stars salsa album by Willie Colón with Héctor Lavoe on vocals — includes the already-released “Touching the Sky” and “Déjame Entrar,” slick blends of funk, disco and R&B. (The latter track is bolstered by a video featuring a cameo by actor Adrien Brody). Producers include Alejandro stalwarts like Mag, Tainy and Mr. NaisGai, as well as veteran salsa producers like Nino Segarra.
Alejandro is approaching his new music with a new agency (UTA) and, instead of new management, is working with “a collective, a family, where we all bring ideas to the table,” he says. The core group consists of veteran manager Jorge “Pepo” Ferradas (who also manages Camilo and Rels B and spent a decade with Shakira), Alejandro’s longtime associate Matías Solari and business manager/attorney José Juan Torres. Ahead of Cosa Nuestra’s late-fall release, Alejandro will perform at the Global Citizen Festival in New York in September and at two arenas in Japan in October as part of Coke STUDIO Live 2024 alongside NewJeans and Rita Ora.
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You spoke about creating a character for this album. Who is he?
I give them nicknames. This is Raúl, Raúl Alejandro, which has more of a telenovela vibe. It’s a bit more like Raúl Alejandro and His Orquestra, which is more serious. My dad’s name is Raúl, so everyone calls me Raulito. I was Raulito on Saturno, a younger character, more active in the street, in the neighborhood. But now I’m Raúl, a more adult guy living in New York and re-creating the era when Puerto Ricans immigrated to the city. My grandmother came in the 1930s, 1940s when there was a big economic depression in Puerto Rico. Many genres — hip-hop, jazz, salsa — came from that time. I love to really study the world I’m going into and try to live it in the present with my touch.
How did you decide on the direction of Cosa Nuestra?
I like to visualize my plans long term. I’ll sit in my house, read a book, smoke a joint with a little cafecito, look at the sky and try to make a mental map of what’s coming up. I don’t like to repeat projects, so planning helps me achieve that. Saturno is an album inspired by the ’90s with more uptempo, electronic music, so don’t expect my next project to be more of the same. Obviously, my essence comes from R&B, and that can fit in any kind of rhythm. It’s not just about the music, but the eras overall.
Your album title is inspired by a classic salsa album. Will there be salsa on yours?
Salsa is not my essence, but it’s something that’s in my blood and in my culture, and it’s something I love. I come from urban music, but I can do other genres. The Colón-Lavoe Cosa Nuestra had the elegance and the musicality and the instruments, which you will hear on this album. It’s the first time I use my band and live music on almost an entire project. I usually write with my keyboard and my computer, but on this project I’m going to the roots.
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You had a hit with “Santa” alongside Jamaican producer Rvssian and Nigerian singer Ayra Starr. Are you planning any Afrobeats or African-inspired music on this album?
Afro is mixed in everything because for me, African music is the mothership. We inherited so much African music in Puerto Rico; our cultural mix is so rich and flavorful, and African music is in our blood. I’ve worked a lot with Rvssian, he’s a good friend, and all our collabs are Afrobeats and dancehall mixed with reggaetón. But everything comes from Africa. I’d love to tour Africa.
Dance has been front and center in the music videos for this album’s singles. What inspired that?
I’ve been studying my ancestors and all the richness of Puerto Rico, so there’s a lot of typical dance and dance that the world may not know. I’ve already used those elements, but I haven’t explained them. Those movements are inspired by something cultural … They’re inspired in salsa, in bomba, in plena, in dances from my island, obviously mixed with jazz, contemporary dance and hip-hop. It’s another aspect of my career.
This story appears in the Aug. 24, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Coldplay closed out their four-night run at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Sunday (August 15) with yet another tribute to Taylor Swift. Performing in the same venue that Swift had to abandon earlier this month after local police uncovered an alleged terror plot to attack Swifites, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and opening act Maggie Rogers paid homage to Swift with a meditative song from the singer’s 2020 pandemic album Folklore.
Again posted up on the smaller satellite b-stage in the midst of the audience on the stadium floor, Martin played piano on the “beautiful song” co-written by Swift and producer Aaron Dessner. “I’m doing good, I’m on some new s–t/ Been saying yes instead of no/ I think I saw you at the bus stop, I didn’t though,” Martin sang in a fan video of the performance.
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The 65,000-plus fans were remarkably hushed during the quiet, keyboard-and-voice cover, with Rogers coming in to sing the refrain, “I guess you never know, never know/ And if you wanted me, you really should’ve showed,” before the two singers joined voices for the wistful chorus, “But it would’ve been fun/ If you would’ve been the one.” As usual, Martin brought a pair of fans up on stage for the tribute, one of whom was rocking a Coldplay concert tee along with a colorful sign that read: “Dear Chris, Swifties Will Remember You. Thank you!”
The thanks came after Coldplay opened their run last Wednesday with a cover of Swift’s “Love Story,” and then performed “Shake It Off” twice, once with the band on Thursday and a second time with two fans on Saturday.
Swift wrapped up her five-show run at London’s Wembley Stadium last week, bringing a close to the European leg of her Eras Tour. The triumphant final run came after officials in Vienna said they’d arrested three suspects in the alleged plot to attack the stadium during what was planned to be a three-show run by Swift in an effort to “kill as many people as possible.”
The main 19-year-old suspect, reportedly radicalized online, had allegedly pledged fealty to the Islamic State, while a another suspect, an 18-year-old man, had also allegedly pledged allegiance to the terror group ISIS. A 17-year-old young man who has been detained was reportedly hired by a company providing services to the venue for the shows just a week prior. None of the men have been formally charged yet.
Watch video of Martin and Rogers performing “The 1” below.
Drake is back for round two with another drop for his 100 Gigs content website. Drizzy went back into the archives and dug through the Nothing Was The Same-era archives circa 2013 to give fans a peek into his creative genius at the time.
100 Gigs received an update on Sunday (Aug. 25), which also includes the three-pack of tracks he leaked on his burner Instagram on Friday (Aug. 23).
There are highlights scattered throughout the content dump, with one featuring Drizzy talking to YG and Mustard following their “Who Do You Love” collaboration in 2014, which peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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“I’m bout to send you a verse I did on this beat that Mustard sent me for you … I’m just about to record the s–t and I’ma send it to you,” Drake told YG and Mustard on the phone. “Just get Future to email it and I’ll send you the verse in 30 minutes … I’ma send you the s–t and let’s turn up the summer, I’m ready.”
It’s an interesting chess move by Drake to showcase his once fruitful relationship with YG and Mustard, considering the pair of West Coast natives aligned themselves with Kendrick Lamar during Drizzy’s feud. YG danced on stage with Kendrick at the Pop Out concert and Mustard produced “Not Like Us.”
Mustard also recently took things a step further regarding his relationship with Drake when he nixed the idea of ever doing another song with the 6 God and referred to him as a “strange guy” in an interview with The Los Angeles Times published Aug. 21.
“I don’t think I want to make a song with that dude,” he told the paper. “He’s a strange guy.”
There were also some run-ins with his on-and-off-again enemy Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — as they shared the OVO Fest stage while Yeezy gave Drake his flowers. West even admitted that Drake’s explosion entering the rap game inspired him and Hov to make Watch the Throne.
“Me and Hov wouldn’t have made Watch the Throne if this n—a wasn’t putting pressure on us like that,” he said before performing “Can’t Tell Me Nothin.” “So I just want to pay my respect.”
New footage of Drake & Kanye at OVO Fest 2013, shared by Drake via his 100 GIGS site”Me and Hov would’ve never made Watch The Throne if [Drake] wasn’t putting pressure on us” pic.twitter.com/QZWtkgnVqo— Kurrco (@Kurrco) August 25, 2024
Drake talks about meeting Kanye at OVO Fest (2013)”I’m the biggest Ye fan. Period. Sometimes I feel like I can’t like it because I gotta go against it. But that sh*t tonight was almost therapeutic.” pic.twitter.com/VbGPCW19hk— Kurrco (@Kurrco) August 26, 2024
The love fest continued backstage when Drake gushed about being a Ye fan and hearing West show his appreciation for his artistry since he grew up idolizing him.
“I’m the biggest Ye fan, period. Sometimes I feel like I can’t like it because I gotta go against it,” Drake admitted. “But that s–t tonight was almost therapeutic.”
There was plenty of other footage in the latest drop, including a time when Drake and The Weeknd were on good terms, as well as footage recording NWTS tracks such as the Jay-Z-assisted “Pound Cake” and “Furthest Thing.”
Nothing Was the Same arrived in September 2013 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 658,000 copies sold in the first week.