Rap

Looks like we can add financial planner to Cardi B’s résumé. Earlier this week, the superstar schooled a fan who criticized her wealth on social media.

The exchange started when Cardi tweeted, “We going through a recession…..Merry Christmas,” along with a festive Christmas tree emoji. The statement then prompted a follower to clap back, “Says the rapper worth 40 million,” using a GIF of an irritated man nodding his head and rolling his eyes.

Well, naturally, the “Hot Sh–” rapper wasn’t going to take that shade lying down. “I’m worth more [than] that and guess what? If I don’t save, work and budget I could lose it too!” she replied. “What makes you think that no matter how much money you got you can’t lose it all if you don’t manage your money correctly. I too have bills, responsibilities and people I have to help.”

Whatever the number above 40 million, Cardi’s net worth was certainly helped this year by her savvy career moves and various successes — from collaborating with GloRilla on their smash hit “Tomorrow 2” and Rosalía on the new “Despecha” remix to banking a cool million-dollar payday to perform a 35-minute set at a private backyard party during Art Basel in Miami.

Meanwhile, she recently teased that her long-in-the-works sophomore album should be arriving sometime in 2023, and even dropped a snippet of an unreleased song as an early Christmas gift to her fans.

Cardi and her family also experienced tragedy this year, mourning the brutal murder of her brother-in-law Takeoff after the Migos rapper was gunned down in the early morning hours of Nov. 1 at a Houston bowling alley.

Check out Cardi’s sound financial advice below.

We going through a recession…..Merry Christmas 🎄— Cardi B (@iamcardib) December 20, 2022

I’m worth more then that and guess what ? If I don’t save ,work and budget I could lose it too! What makes you think that no matter how much money you got you can’t lose it all if you don’t manage your money correctly.I too have bills,responsibilities and people I have to help. https://t.co/QWIaj5Lpma— Cardi B (@iamcardib) December 20, 2022

On Wednesday (Dec. 21), Kid Cudi shut down the idea of a collaborative album with Travis Scott.

A fan posed the question directly to the rapper on Twitter, asking, “Is The Scotts album still on the cards?” after Cudi tweeted that he was “workin on something special” for his fans and promised he’d have “more news next year!”

“Naw I’m not doin that,” Cudi said in reference to The Scotts album, adding, “The moment has passed.”

The super-duo first dropped their single “The Scotts” back in spring 2020. With the track debuting atop the Hot 100 upon its release, Cudi earned his first-ever No. 1 on the chart, while Scott notched his third after “Sicko Mode” and “Highest in the Room.”

More than a year later, Cudi confirmed via Twitter that he and Scott were planning to record a full album under their new moniker, claiming it would happen eventually though he wasn’t sure when.

Of course, since then the “Day N Nite” rapper has released his long-awaited album Entergalactic, embarked on his career-best To the Moon Tour across North America, and hinted that he’s nearing the end of his music career — though not before recording one final album for his fans.

Scott, meanwhile, has remained embroiled in the legal fallout from the deadly crowd crush at his 2021 Astroworld Festival, which left 10 attendees dead and hundreds more injured. He also recently dropped a new Nike collaboration and directed Future’s “712PM” music video.

Read Cudi’s tweet putting The Scotts’ album to pasture below.

The Game used social media to preemptively shut down critics of his 12-year-old daughter’s choice of outfit on Monday (Dec. 19).

Sharing a current snap of Calilynn Dream next to one of her as a toddler, the rapper wrote, “Somebody please tell the LORD to help…. She was just 2 years old like a week ago…. Now my baby is 12 years old, growing up & it won’t stop.”

In the first photo, the preteen crouches on the ground, staring down the camera in a strappy silver dress and furry white coat, and The Game made sure to put any trolls in their place before they even started. “[DISCLAIMER: before the internet get to INTERNET’n, me & her mother both agreed to let her do her make up for the young & beautiful @the_combs_twinssweet 16 birthday party],” he wrote, explaining that the grown-up party dress was for a special occasion celebrating Diddy’s daughters Jessie and D’Lila Combs. (He also added the hilariously protective hashtag “#YesIWillDieOrDoLifeInPrisonOverHerWithoutThinkinOrBlinkin” just to really drive his point home.)

While his daughter keeps getting older, The Game also continues advancing his storied career. In August, he released Drillmatic — Heart vs. Mind, which included the 10-minute Eminem diss track “The Black Slim Shady” as well as collabs with Kanye West (controversial single “Eazy”), Fivio Foreign (“Burnin’ Checks”), Chlöe Bailey, Chris Brown and Cassie (“Universal Love”) and more.

At the time, he and executive producer Hit-Boy sat down with Billboard for an exclusive interview, discussing how Nas’ classic Illmatic inspired the album title and revealing Amy Winehouse as his dream collaborator.

Read The Game’s parental word of warning below.

SZA shared her thoughts about Drake in a new interview on Friday (Dec. 9) after the rapper’s womanizing ways were lampooned on Saturday Night Live.

The skit, which aired last Saturday (Dec. 3), depicted host Keke Palmer and numerous female SNL cast members launching “United Tingz of Aubrey,” a class-action lawsuit of Drake’s exes, former flings and random women he’s used as inspiration for his music. Of course, the irony is that SZA, who served as the episode’s musical guest, actually is one of the Honestly, Nevermind rapper’s exes.

“In a strange way, I was like, ‘Did they know?’” she said in a sit-down with Audacy. “But they didn’t ask me to be in it. Nobody said anything. … I feel like Drake has a Regina George quality to him where it’s just kind of like, ‘Have you or anyone you know been personally victimized?’ He’s like a cool kid, you know. When you’re the popular kid in school, it’s entertaining. It’s entertaining, but you sometimes are taking losses in the midst of that entertainment. The honesty, I respect that. But I definitely laughed real hard…I cackled.”

SZA first confirmed she and Drake had briefly been an item in the late 2000s after he dropped her name in “Mr. Right Now,” his 2020 collab with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. And despite finding humor in the SNL sketch, the R&B star insisted there’s nothing but peace with her superstar ex these days.

“We’re cool. And we’ve always been cool,” she continued. “It’s never been weird. It didn’t come completely out of the blue when he let me know. I didn’t know it was a song with 21 [Savage] or anything like that. But anytime he’s ever mentioned me, it’s always been positive. He’s never said anything negative about me. I’m grateful for that. I think highly of him…He’s King Drake.”

The same day the interview aired, SZA finally dropped her long-awaited sophomore album, SOS, more than five years after releasing her 2017 debut Ctrl.

Listen to SZA’s full interview on Audacy below.