R&B/Hip-Hop

After delivering an appetizer of a single with his record “Space,” Mario is ready to unveil the entree with his forthcoming album Glad You Came. Releasing Dec. 13 via New Citizen/Epic Records, Mario enlisted songwriter extraordinaire James Fauntleroy as the project’s executive producer. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]

Juvenile clarified his comments about Lil Wayne not being tapped to headline this season’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.
He and Mannie Fresh made appearance on Los Angeles-area radio show, Power 106’s Brown Bag Morning Show where they both addressed Kendrick Lamar being picked instead after being asked if they would perform if the Compton rapper extended an invite. “Oh, we there,” Juvie answered with no hesitation. “Kendrick is one of the best performers we’ve ever seen. He’s top notch, especially in hip-hop. In the hip-hop world, and he raises the bar. So it’s something that everybody want to see, and if he calls, I’m there. No problem.”

Mannie then interjected that social media has a habit of mucking things up. “The thing is, the internet always makes something that it’s not,” he said. “Because people felt like we took a side ’cause we said that it would be cool if Wayne was in it. Of course we going to say that — that’s from our team, but respectfully, Kendrick is that dude. He’s a good dude.”

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Juvie added: “Never throwing shade on Kendrick not one time because I don’t live my life like that anyway. I don’t like to tear somebody else down to put somebody else in a position, right? But I felt like Wayne was campaigning for that spot, he came out months ahead of time and I’m like, well, if he’s asking for it, at least consider him — give him a call or something.”

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The New Orleans rapper continued by reemphasizing that his beef was always with the NFL and never with Lamar or the person ultimately responsible for the pick in Jay-Z. “My quarrel was never with Jay-Z or Kendrick or anything like that,” he reiterated. “My quarrel was with the NFL and the other 11 Super Bowls they had in my city and they never gave us a chance to put anybody from the city on. How they come to our city and they throw this big major event and they rent all the buildings and they don’t let the people from the city… we don’t see those benefits. My cause is totally different.”

Back in September, a day after Kendrick announced that he was headlining Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, Juvie took to social media to give his two cents. “So everybody wants me to speak on this Super Bowl situation,” he began visibly upset while sitting in a car. “Look, I’m mad about the situation just like y’all, but my hatred is towards the NFL — not really the people that booked the halftime show. I’m mad at the people that hired the muthaf—as that booked the halftime show. I feel like y’all should step in. Y’all done had 11 Super Bowls in New Orleans, man. Y’all have yet to put a hip-hop artist from New Orleans on the damn Super Bowl!”

He continued: “I feel like every time y’all come here, y’all should have somebody from our city on the sh—t. But this time it really hits hard when you don’t have Lil Wayne on the show. I don’t see how the f—k y’all don’t have Lil Wayne doing the halftime show. Somebody that has a whole bunch of f—ing hits and somebody that really deserves it and somebody that can bring out multiple artists of all genres. Think about it.”

The N.O. legend then aimed his anger towards NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, saying, “So this goes to you, Roger Goodell, you need to get it right, man. You coming to our city, sucking up our culture and making all this money and putting all this bread in your pocket and other people’s pockets and hanging us dry. It gotta stop.”

He wasn’t the only rapper upset. Nicki Minaj, Cam’ron, Mase, Master P, and Boosie all felt like Weezy was snubbed. Wayne even admitted to feeling broken over the situation.

You can watch the full convo below:

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg recently sat down with Stephen A. Smith, and the topic of modern hip-hop came up. Snoop first compared his mentor to retired college football coach Nick Saban, who, like Dre, is considered the best in his field and coached up his fair share of stars over the years.
Smith then asked what advice the legendary duo would offer aspiring artists today, and while Snoop answered to “be original,” Dre advised to “find your collaborator.” Adding, “I don’t like the fact that there are, like, nine different producers on one album. I like the idea of one producer on one album. Continuity is everything.” After Smith asked when the trend of having multiple producers contribute on a track begin, the West Coast legend answered, “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. If you a producer, you should be able to produce the entire album. That’s what I thought it was supposed to be. That’s what I was doing at the beginning.”

Timbaland, a legendary and influential producer in his own right, agreed enough to post the clip on his Instagram along with the caption: “Preach!!!! @drdre.” And he wasn’t the only major producer to co-sign Dre’s statement. Metro Boomin, who’s repping for the younger generation, was on the same page as well, commenting, “All facts!”

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Snoop interjected by saying, “There’s a lot of beatmakers, though, Doc. That’s the difference between your era and this era, is that there aren’t too many producers as there are beatmakers. It’s so easy to make beats. They giving you all these computer packets that has the drum loop, has this… Y’all had to make the loop, change the sample.” Dre then answered back that he feels there’s a “change that’s happening from all this mumble rap thing and everything that’s happening right now.”

He continued by saying, “There’s somebody in somebody’s garage that’s happening right now that’s going to be the next Snoop and Dre, or next Prince and Michael Jackson that’s coming up with something that’s gonna change the game. It’s gotta happen right now and it’s wide open because everything that’s happening right now in the music game — especially hip-hop — is weird as f—.”

While this practice has become rare in mainstream rap, producers in the indie scene like The Alchemist, Daringer and V Don have made a habit of working with rappers like Boldy James, Rome Streetz, Larry June and others in crafting full projects together. And to Metro’s credit, he fully produced two albums with Future this year that both went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

You can watch the full interview here and check out the clip below:

Cardi B suffered a recent “medical emergency” which has forced her to cancel her performance at 2024 ONE MusicFest this weekend. Cardi released a statement on Wednesday (Oct. 23) revealing she’s pulling out of the Atlanta festival after being hospitalized over the weekend for an undisclosed reason. “I am so sad to share this news, […]

Megan Thee Stallion has revealed the track list for her upcoming Megan: Act II deluxe album, which will be released on Friday (Oct. 25) via Hot Girl Productions. Megan shared the track list written out in purple marker over a vintage CD surrounded by butterflies, which is oozing with 2000s vibes. All that’s missing is […]

The late J Dilla is going to have a street named after him. The Detroit News is reporting that the legendary producer is one of five native sons to get the honor in the Motor City. Dilla; his mentor Joseph Anthony “Amp” Fiddler, who gave him his first drum machine; Vincent Chin, whose racially motivated […]

Yeezy season has returned for a third time in 2024. Following a pair of Vultures installments with Ty Dolla $ign, Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has turned his attention from the joint projects to his forthcoming solo album titled Bully.

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The rapper revealed the cover art for Bully on Instagram Wednesday (Oct. 23). Shot by Daidō Moriyama, the artwork features a black-and-white photo of someone grinning ear to ear, possibly showcasing Ye’s titanium grill.

Outpump speculates that the cover relates to “ohaguro,” which is an ancient Japanese tradition involving dyeing one’s teeth black as a symbol before exploring adulthood, as well as after marriage and for beauty.

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It’s been a busy year for Ye fans, and they’re welcoming the idea of more music to close out the year. “This album is about to be insane,” one person wrote in the post’s comment section. Another chimed in, “Three albums in one year. Amazing.”

According to journalist Touré, Kanye relocated to Tokyo and has repeatedly been spotted in Japan over the course of the last month. He even stepped out with wife Bianca Censori earlier this week to shut down rumors of their split. “Kanye is now living in Tokyo and living in a hotel hard at work on his next album Bully,” said Touré in an Oct. 11 IG post. “He’s recording the album in the hotel room. Like, all the machines are set up in the hotel room.”

He added: “It’s a concept album and he plans to be the only producer on it. Traditionally, Kanye is the product of a team, there are producers helping him, there are writers helping him, he comes with the big ideas but there’s others in. Not this time. This time, Kanye is gonna make this pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo he can be who he wants to be.”

Yeezy debuted “Beauty and the Beast” during his China shows, and that appears to be what he’s tapped as a lead single heading into Bully. The 47-year-old released a dreamy visual for the track on his Yeezy website last week.

Vultures 1 arrived in February and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Ye earned another No. 1 hit with “Carnival” featuring Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid topping the Billboard Hot 100 in March. Vultures 2 was released in August, and the project hit No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

There still isn’t a release date attached to Bully. Find the cover art below.