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Ab-Soul made an appearance on DJ Hed and Gina Views’ SiriusXM show Effective Immediately, over the weekend to talk about his upcoming album Soul Burger when the subject of J. Cole came up.
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Gina Views asked him what the groupchat was like when J. Cole dropped his Kendrick diss song “7 Minute Drill” and then his Might Delete Later mixtape which included the song “Pi” featuring the Carson rapper and battle rapper Daylyt. Soulo admitted to being surprised by the track being on the mixtape and told a hilarious story about the day he found out.
“First of all, I was a little upset with Cole — not upset, but like… Cole was supposed to be on ‘Fuck Out My Face [FOMF],’ he revealed. “Cole is the homie, for real. That’s what I want to make very clear to the whole world. I just needed like a 12… I played him the album and he picked [FOMF] and I bugged him about it because I was trying to play the game at that point, and it just didn’t come to fruition.”
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He continued by saying, “But I did this joint — me and Lyt did the joint ‘Pi.’ I did it for Daylyt. I said like, ‘Let’s do a back and forth thing, it was kinda like a sparring [session] between me and him, and it’s called ‘Pi’ literally because me and Daylyt’s [version] ended on 3:14.”
Adding, “I wake up — I don’t know if it’s the next morning, but soon after — Lyt’s like, ‘Bro’ and sends me the song and Cole on there going crazy. I’m like, ‘Wait, what the f—k?’ I’m lowkey hot. I’m like, ‘Lyt, bro, this is one of the best rappers in the world. You gotta let me know before… I’m on his head like, ‘Bro, you have to let me know if you’re gonna send this shit off. He ate us up.’ Just off first listen, cuz got like 48 [bars] off.’ It wasn’t mixed yet and his vocals were louder than ours. I’m waking up to this, my ears are fresh. I called Cole immediately.”
He then mentions that Cole told him their verses inspired him. “Man, y’all was going so crazy, I just got in the spirit. My pen just started moving.” Ab added that he respected where the Carolina rapper was coming from. “Cole’s really an emcee emcee. I told him I was tryna play the game. Now it makes sense why he was more attracted to ‘Pi’ than ‘FOMF.’ That says a lot about him. All he needed to do was a 12. He had the upper hand. I gave him the whole thing.”
Not to be a rapper that enjoys being one-upped, Soul said he told Cole that they need to record a proper track where they go bar for bar.
Many assumed that Ab-Soul threw shots at Cole on his most recent song “Squeeze 1st 2” when he rapped, “Metasota warned me they wanna war/ But actually they forfeiting like their wardrobe for half of the week” and released the song after Cole dropped his song “Port Antonio” where he addresses bowing out of the “Big 3” beef. But those assumptions were debunked when TDE president Punch took to X to clear things up, tweeting, “I hate to clear up rumors, I usually let them fester and see how far they go, but ALL verses on Pi were recorded long before Like That,” in response to HipHopDX host Jeremy Hecht tweeting that Soul got at Cole for not telling him that “Pi” would be included on a project.
You can watch the full interview below:
With Sagittarius season around the corner, Nicki Minaj made some time to show love to her “Sag Queen” Taylor Swift on social media. The “Super Bass” rapper took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday (Oct. 22) reposting Taylor Swift’s recap celebrating The Eras Tour returning to the U.S. for a three-show run at Miami Gardens’ […]
Polo G was arrested over the weekend on felony weapon possession charges in Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail records.
The Chicago rapper — born Taurus Bartlett — was booked in Van Nuys Jail on Saturday afternoon after being initially detained around 2:20 p.m. PT. Billboard has reached out to Polo’s reps for comment.
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“I checked the L.A. County Sheriff’s website and do show a Taurus Bartlett being booked on 10/19/24 at 2:20 p.m. (booking #6903929),” a spokesperson for the LAPD said via email. “He was booked for 25400(A)(1) PC-Weapon in a Vehicle, a felony, at Plummer Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.”
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He was charged with felony possession of a concealed weapon in a vehicle. Per jail records, Polo eventually secured his release from jail on Monday (Oct. 21).
Polo G has faced a litany of legal issues in recent years. He was arrested in August 2023 alongside his brother Taurean Bartlett (a.k.a. Trench Baby). Police got a warrant to search Polo’s residence after Trench Baby was named a suspect in a robbery while he was living with Polo at the time.
Upon entering, law enforcement discovered “numerous firearms” at Polo G’s Burbank home and both brothers were arrested. Polo ended up being booked for possession of a short-barreled rifle. According to jail records, the 25-year-old posted $100,000 bond and was released a day later.
Earlier this year, Polo G ran into more legal trouble in April when he was arrested in New York City on charges of criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon. With the address listed by an NYPD spokesperson, it appears the arrest took place at The Dominick hotel in New York’s SoHo neighborhood.
According to TMZ, a Dominick hotel employee found a loaded Glock 23 in Polo’s room and alerted authorities. Police executed a search warrant of the room and discovered the weapon before arresting the “Pop Out” rapper. Polo allegedly had about $23,000 in cash on him at the time of the arrest.
On the music side, Polo returned with his Hood Poet album in August, which debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200.
Shyne (born Jamal Barrow) served eight years behind bars for his role in the 1999 NYC nightclub shooting involving Diddy. The former Bad Boy rapper is telling his story of evolving from rapper to politician in The Honorable Shyne documentary.
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Hulu released a trailer for the feature doc on Tuesday (Oct. 22) ahead of its arrival on the streaming giant on Nov. 18. At one point in the clip, Shyne alleges that he was “set up” to be the “fall guy” in the club shooting, which led to Diddy getting off scot-free.
“I was absolutely set up to be the fall guy,” Shyne claimed. “I spent 10 years in prison, but I was able to move on. There’s a time to pivot, there’s a time to transition.”
The scene pivots to a Diddy press conference following the club shooting, which the mogule attended with his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez. “I had nothing to do with a shooting in this club,” he emphatically stated.
Shyne’s heart turned cold while watching other artists thrive throughout the 2000s, while he himself lost out on his opportunity at stardom behind bars.
“One of the most difficult parts of it was watching everybody succeed. Watching 50 [Cent],” he said. “I spent 10 years in prison, but I was able to move on. There’s a time to pivot, there’s a time transition. And that’s how I got into politics.”
Following his sentencing in 2001, Shyne was released from prison in 2009 and immediately deported to Belize. He pivoted to a career in politics, and currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives.
Shyne commented on the nature of his currentrelationship with Diddy following the embattled Bad Boy mogul’s arrest on federal sex trafficking and RICO charges in September.
“I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me,” he recalled of the 1999 shooting. “He contributed … he pretty much sent me to prison. That is the context by which you must always describe that [relationship]. I forgave. I moved on. But let us not pretend as if I was in Miami for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Shyne added at the time: “So, let us not lose sight of what the cold, hard facts are. This is not someone who I vacationed with and who he and I enjoyed this great, intimate relationship of brotherhood. This is someone who destroyed my life and who I forgave and who I moved on and for the better interest of Belize”
The Honorable Shyne arrives on Nov. 18. Watch the trailer below.
Rod Wave’s Last Lap debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Streaming Albums chart (dated Oct. 26), launching with the third-biggest debut streaming week for a rap set in 2024.
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Also in the top 10 of the latest Top Streaming Albums, Charli XCX’s Brat flies 17-3 (a new peak) after its deluxe reissues were released in the week ending Oct. 17, GloRilla’s Glorious debuts at No. 4, BigXthaPlug’s Take Care enters at No. 5 and Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken bows at No. 7.
The 50-position Top Streaming Albums chart ranks the most-streamed albums of the week in the U.S., as compiled by Luminate. Titles are ranked by streaming equivalent album (SEA) units, where each SEA unit equals 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. If an artist has multiple albums containing the same song, SEA units for that song are generally assigned to whichever album sells the most by traditional album sales in a given week.
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Last Lap debuts at No. 1 with 125,000 SEA units earned. That sum equates to 173.35 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs, marking the third-biggest debut streaming week for a rap album in 2024. The two largest debut rap frames were logged by Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborative set We Don’t Trust You (324.31 million) and Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shade (Coup de Grâce) (220.08 million).
Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet falls a spot to No. 2 (70,000 SEA units; down 11%) after six nonconsecutive weeks atop the list.
Charli XCX’s Brat bounds 17-3, a new peak, with 57,000 SEA units (up 144%) after the album was reissued twice in during the week ending Oct. 17.
On Oct. 11, the original album’s tracklist was joined by 16 remixes of its songs in a deluxe edition (dubbed Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat), and those remixes included such guests as The 1975 and Ariana Grande. Then, on Oct. 14, the deluxe was plussed-up with one more remix, a redux of “Spring Breakers” featuring Kesha. All versions of Brat, new and old, are combined for tracking and charting purposes. Brat’s 57,000 SEA units equate to 73.63 million on-demand official streams of its songs – the album’s best week yet, and Charli XCX’s biggest streaming week for any album.
GloRilla’s new Glorious debuts at No. 4 on Top Streaming Albums with 56,000 SEA units (equaling 77.98 million on-demand official streams of its songs). Both figures represent career-highs for the artist, and the biggest weeks for any rap album by a female artist in 2024. Glorious is also the highest charting rap album by a woman on Top Streaming Albums this year.
BigXthaPlug’s Take Care starts at No. 5 on Top Streaming Albums with 47,000 SEA units (equaling 62.77 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs). It’s the rapper’s biggest streaming week ever. Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time falls 2-6 with 46,000 SEA units (down 5%). Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken arrives at No. 7 with 44,000 SEA units (58.86 million on-demand official streams) – his biggest streaming week yet.
Rounding out the top 10 are Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft (3-8 with 42,000 SEA units; down 2%), Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (4-9 with 40,000; down 4%) and Taylor Swift’s former leader The Tortured Poets Department (5-10 with 39,000; down 3%).
Gunna was always going to get his flowers coming to Brooklyn, but this time, he brought his own, too. Clad in a studded vest and a black Korn tank top, the 31-year-old strode across the Paramount stage with royal blue blossoms in the foreground. The arrangement mirrored the fluorescent melodies that entranced the crowd in a night of faint weed smoke and some of the most indelible anthems of the late 2010s and early 2020s.
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It was just the latest stop in Gunna’s Wun of Dem Nights Tour on Monday night (Oct. 21), a trek promoting his One of Wun album, which he dropped this past May. For this one, Wunna oscillated between all areas of his catalog. One moment he’s performing “WhatsApp (Wassam).” The next he’s performing his portion of Travis Scott’s “Yosemite.” Then “Drip Too Hard” and “Pushin P.” All that and pretty much everything in between — basically, last night was a good time to be a Gunna fan.
Billboard breaks down the top five moments from the show. Check it out below.
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Gunna Gives the Crowd Their Flowers — Literally
Just before performing his underrated 2022 single “Banking on Me,” Wunna tapped into his inner loverboy and had his team bring out white roses for the crowd. It was a fitting prelude to the tender serenade that engrossed everyone in the crowd. It didn’t sound like he needed any effects either, so shouts to Gunna on flaunting those vocals.
Gunna Performs His New Age Classic “FukUMean”
Toward the very end of the show, Gunna had more fun with the fans, asking them to guess which track was next. He let them put forth their best guess, but they didn’t seem to get it right. Channeling the momentum from the speculation, he immediately dove into “Fukumean” for a seamless feat of curation and expert transitioning.
The Stage Arrangement Looks Otherworldly
Powered by mellifluous melodies and surrealistic soundscapes fit for video games, Gunna is all about immersion, and his stage set here only accentuated the effect. Featuring mini boulders, the aforementioned blue flowers, and a staff with metallic skulls, the scene had all the whimsy of a fantastical milieu. With flashes of gleaming red lights beaming down, it all felt like an opening scene from an interstellar pirate movie. Call it Gunna’s Escape From Trapper’s Island.
Gunna’s fit, along with his deliberate movements across the stage, all swirled together for a legitimate aesthetic joy ride. It would’ve been easy to opt for something more straightforward, but he’s clearly committed to ambiance — from his music all the way to the stage.
Crowd Raps “Drip Too Hard” With Gunna
Given the state of things, it doesn’t feel all that likely we’ll see Gunna and Lil Baby perform “Drip Too Hard” any time soon. It’s too bad, because it’s the best song they’ve ever done, solo or otherwise.
The crowd seemed to realize that, too, as they spit the track word-for-word when Wunna jumped into the song, which is now pretty much considered a classic. Pretty crazy how time passes: Six years ago, Gunna and Lil Baby were relative newcomers looking to cement their status as Atlanta’s next up. Turns out, they were both on deck.
Moments like this one transport you back to a time before Young Thug and Gunna were put in jail while also making you reflect on what was, what is and what might never be again. It’s sad, yet kind of beautiful when you think about it in those terms. But for the night, it was just a bop everyone felt called to rap to.
Gunna Pays Homage to Young Thug With Vintage Performance of “Hot”
In one of the most electrifying moments of the night, Gunna turned back to 2019 to perform “Hot,” a Young Thug track where he handles hook duties. At the moment he jumped onto the track, the stage was engulfed by red lights, and the crowd started chanting pretty much every word. Next, he performed “Ski.” All the while, “Free Jeffery” flashed on the screen behind Gunna, solidifying a moment that was as genuine as it was electric.
Earlier this year, Ice Cube gave a positive update about the fourth installment of his Friday film series, telling Flavor Flav that he and Warner Bros. were “working on it” and that they “finally got some traction” during an appearance on the Public Enemy hypeman’s SiriusXM show. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news […]
Mike Will Made-It is gearing up to deliver his first album since 2017 with R3set, which doubles as the third installment of his Ransom series.
The Ear Drummers CEO chats with Billboard about his upcoming LP, losing his hard drives of music, and reflects on some of his biggest hits over the years, such as collaborations with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and more.
“It’s been a journey for real. It’s Ransom 3. Each Ransom is different phases. Ransom stands for Releasing All New Songs Orchestrated by Mike Will,” he says.
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Around the time Ransom 2 arrived (the project reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200 in 2017), the Atlanta producer had his hard drive and backup stolen, which led to him taking a step back from music and exploring other endeavors such as real estate.
“Around that time right there I had lost my hard drives. My hard drives had got stolen,” he shares. “I really eased back from the music. I started buying real estate. I bought my studio that I work at right now in Atlanta. When I first got there, there would be a couple TVs on the all and we’d just be gambling on 2K. I wasn’t even really tripping on the music.
Mike Will continues: “To lose your hard drives and your backup in one, that was like a wake-up call. I was just trying to figure out what that meant for me. I won a Grammy, I put multiple people on so it’s like maybe I needed to start doing other stuff. Like I need to start investing in other fields, but nothing was really working out. What works for me is music.”
Although R3set is currently without a release date, Mike’s recruited a star-studded cast of collaborators that includes SZA, Don Toliver, Young Thug, Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla, Yo Gotti, Muni Long and more.
The 35-year-old avid golfer tee’d up the rollout for the project with “High3r” featuring Lil Yachty and Lil Wayne over the summer.
Mike Will Made-It already carries a decorated resume that has seen him connect with some of the best music has to offer, including Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), Beyoncé, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and more. He served “Pour It Up” for RiRi as a single from her 2012 Unapologetic album; the intoxicating club banger cracked the Billboard Hot 100’s top 20.
“My home girl Karen Clark was working at Def Jam. She really put that together. Shout-out to Chris Brown,” Mike Will recalls. “He had came through the writing camp just checking out the different songs. He had heard ‘Pour It Up’ like, ‘This one gotta get to Ri.’ She had called the next day like, ‘What’s the song Chris talking about?’ She loved it, she laid it down.”
Watch the full interview with Mike Will Made-It above.
Eminem is set to make a rare public appearance on Tuesday evening (Oct. 22) at a Detroit rally supporting Democratic party candidate Kamala Harris.
According to CNN and the Wall Street Journal, Slim Shady is slated to introduce former president Barack Obama at the event supporting the VP and her running mate, Tim Walz.
Michigan is reportedly a tight race as a swing state in the upcoming presidential election — which is only two weeks away.
Rather than perform at the rally, Em is expected to speak and give his thoughts on the election before introducing Obama to the crowd.
Billboard has reached out to Eminem’s reps as well as the Harris-Walz campaign and Democratic National Committee for comment.
Eminem co-signed the Biden-Harris presidential ticket in 2020 when his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Lose Yourself” provide the soundtrack to an ad for Joe Biden just a day prior to the 2020 election. Obama also cited the 2002 8 Mile soundtrack anthem as an inspiration behind his presidential run in ’08.
Eminem hasn’t been one to mince words about Donald Trump. He’s been critical of the former president on different occasions in the past, dating back to his “Campaign Speech” prior to the 2016 election and his “The Storm” freestyle at the 2017 BET Awards.
“I get almost flustered thinking about him — that’s how angry he makes me,” he told Vulture in 2017. “The people that support him are the people he cares about the least and they don’t even realize it.”
Em continued: “At what point do you — a working-class citizen, someone who’s trying to make s–t better for you and your family — think this guy who’s never known struggle his entire f–king life, who avoided the military because of bone spurs, who says he’s a billionaire, is really looking out for you? He’s got people brainwashed.”
The rally is slated to run from 5 p.m. ET to 9 p.m. ET. Harris ramped up efforts in Michigan while hosting an early voting event over the weekend that featured appearances from Lizzo and Usher.
“They say if Kamala Harris wins, the whole country will be like Detroit,” Lizzo said. “Proud like Detroit. Resilient like Detroit. The same Detroit that innovated the auto industry and the music industry. Put some respect on Detroit’s name!”
50 Cent made history with his 2023 Final Lap Tour when he joined Kendrick Lamar to become the second rapper ever to gross over $100 million ($103.6 million to be exact across 83 shows in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia) with his global trek, according to Billboard Boxscore. (Drake, Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott have since joined the $100 million club with their own lucrative hip-hop tours)
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Even with a discography largely built off a dominant 2000s run, filled with inescapable street records and a trio of titanic studio albums, 50’s voice has stood the test of time.
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The Queens native has remained a fixture in the hip-hop world while transitioning to elder-statesman status. His polarizing and hilarious cultural commentary has racked him up over 34 million Instagram followers, with no topic seemingly off limits or person safe from being roasted.
The 49-year-old continues to run laps around peers who have long moved out of the spotlight, and 50’s shrewdly been able to evolve within the digital space and social media era with sharp-wittedness. His relentless work ethic hasn’t wanted in the slightest either: His “Hustler’s Ambition” still burns like he’s back in the Southside of Jamaica, Queens.
He took home Hustler of the Year at the BET Hip Hop Awards last week, an honor he locked up in my opinion after headlining Dreamville Fest in April, and then flying 500 miles to make his Atlantic City club appearance at Harrah’s the same night. Only 50.
And the grind doesn’t stop for 50 Cent: Next up, the film and television mogul will be heading to Las Vegas for his first-ever residency to ring in the New Year. Announced earlier in October, 50’s slated to perform at Ph Live at Planet Hollywood for six different shows coming up on Dec. 27, Dec. 28, Dec. 30, Dec. 31, Jan. 3 and Jan. 4. Tickets are currently on sale.
“I get to take it up a notch [with] the production value of the show and put on a special show,” 50 promises in conversation with Billboard, regarding the concerts at the 7,000-capacity venue in Vegas. “The show itself is a dream. We gotta turn it up a notch. I’m gonna be there for New Year’s [Eve]. That’s the real turn up.”
Give the rest of our interview with 50 Cent a read as he goes long on his Las Vegas plans, the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud, his 2007 battle with Kanye West and what he texted Eminem on his birthday.
The 50 Cent: In Da Club
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We gotta talk about the Vegas residency, congrats on that. Why now?
Yeah, it’s super cool, man. I could do things in the show I couldn’t do if it was a moving show. And I’ll change the setlist and do different things. Some that I wanted to do that I didn’t actually perform on the last run, I’ll be integrating those things and creating things to connect to them.
I can actually expand it. Don’t think there’s not a part of this that got me into the film production. I’m able to add that into it. The technology’s so different. Remember Limitless, like the opening sequence? It was crazy when you saw it for the first time. It’s easier to create things like that [in a residency], and I can do different s–t. I want to use a dream sequence thing.
It’s dope to see rappers getting residencies now. Even legacy acts like Wu-Tang Clan and Nas have them.
It’s super cool. These guys are alive. Those groups are a lot older, like Wu-Tang and Nas. It’s something they want to catch. I may not have them expose what the show is. I’m building everything into the set. How to transition from one song into the next into the room.
What do you think about having this discography that’s been able transcend generations? For me, I was 10 years old when Get Rich or Die Tryin’ came out, and that’s like the soundtrack to our lives. To now we got careers, jobs, money to spend. You did a $100 million on your world tour last year.
It’s cool. You don’t usually have artists that sustain themselves this long in our culture. Hip-hop has a low attention span, and it’s out with the old and in with the new repeatedly. There’s even a point they’ll create a resistance for you. You have so much consistency, even when there’s not a break in the material, they’ll ask about your record and say, “That’s good, but it’s not like his first one.” And you don’t get a second chance at a first impression. That’s what the artist community does to the artist that are already in pocket. They wanna see you go up, but they want to see you come down — because if you don’t, how am I gonna have my chance to go up?
Drake is in that position right now. They trying to resist the music, because he put out some things that are dope. I say a lot of things on social and they get upset because they look and go, “Ahh, I’m automatically supposed to be on Kendrick’s side because of my association with Dre.” And I love Kendrick, but I’ll say it to you — I didn’t see where what [Drake] did was wack at any point. They giving [Drake] the, “Oh you wack, you finished.” I’m like, “Nah, come on.” That’s the system trying to make some sort of resistance and it’s from the consistency. When you win consecutively, that part of the hip-hop demographic wants you out of there. I started to feel the resistance for the Curtis album.
I was going to touch on that, with you and Kanye [West] facing off in 2007. What do you remember about that time? Because it represented to two different sectors of rap.
We made the highest sales week for hip-hop culture, doing that and being competitive. People that were participating as fans were buying more than one copy of it, because of the competitive side of it. When you look at it… we had to stand together to face off, but we never had an issue. That was his “break” album that broke him in. If I was trying to combat that, I would’ve went on tour with him. I would’ve had all of the material with the albums that worked ahead of [Graduation] to draw from, while he had that one record.
That’s some Art of War s–t right there, 50. It represented two sides of rap back in 2007, with 50 being the street dude making hit records and Kanye’s representing the high-fashion with a different production looking for stadium status.
Anything that was less aggressive. Look at The College Dropout, or the themes of his records versus Get Rich or Die Tryin’, The Massacre and Curtis. Those albums were a lot more aggressive, but they gave him all the trophies. They would rather hip-hop be what he was at that point… He was like, “F–k that! Beyoncé’s supposed to have that.” I’m like, “Yo, they be tweaking.” But I don’t think anybody’s been through more or have more reasons to fall apart than Kanye. The success of his project comes, and his mom passes away. So what you been praying for — the gift is a curse. You lose that, and he had real reasons to f–king be out of it. He did the right thing. He went to work.
When you linked up with Drake, did you have advice for him as far as his next move?
I was telling him, it’s not him. I’m listening on the outskirts, it’s not you. Don’t let yourself think that for a second. On some real s–t, I said, “They said you lost, okay. Well what did you lose?” What exactly did he lose, if he got $300 something million on his last tour? You didn’t lose a motherf–king thing, man. If that’s the moment, you keep your creative energy in the right place, and keep creating. If you slow down because you feel, “What the f–k?” The resistance will make you feel like your material isn’t good. Then you gotta figure out how to keep pushing, how to keep creating — because that’s what it feels like to you at the moment. That s–t was good for hip-hop. It made both of them create quality material faster.
I feel like people cared about lyrics again.
It was about the lyrics, but that s–t was on a different level. The f–king [good kid, m.A.A.d city] car in the video. That s–t was a mystery. Everything was tied to something. I was like what the f–k? That wasn’t in hip-hop before that. Before that battle, I do not remember this was the car from this and that was this. Everything that was a part of it was some other s–t. It was almost encrypted.
Then they’re making some crazy allegations against each other. Do you think you lose once you get on the defensive? I thought Drake lost his footing a little bit there.
When you say something that isn’t true, and the person wants to defend themselves, they encourage — the public likes that you’re vulnerable. Because it matters to you that it wasn’t true and they jump on you. That’s like Meek Mill. When they say Meek is fruity or gay with Puff in the situation now. It’s how he responds to it that makes people talk about it more. It gets bigger and bigger and it turns into a thing going on out there. You don’t hear one thing about French Montana. And French was in that circle and around that a lot. Not one thing, and Meek’s s–t is all over the place. It’s the way they respond to what people say about them publicly. They feel like, “That bothers you?” If you say anything, then they start harping on that harder. They want the fight to continue.
It’s Eminem’s birthday. Do you hit him up? What’s that message like? Did you hit him up about being a grandpa?
I texted him, “Happy birthday.” Not about the baby. He’s gonna be a granddad. It’s crazy because a lot of times when we were going on tours, they would offer Em ridiculous amounts of money for us to tour and him go out on a run. He would just be like, “Nah, I just don’t wanna go out and then come back and Hailie’s grown.” I didn’t know what the f–k he was saying. I’m looking at him like, “What are you talking about? Did you not hear how much money they gonna give us?”
I had a moment where I told him at the wedding — because I went to Hailie’s wedding — I told him I understand now. That s–t happened really fast. The time went by really fast, and she’s grown. I’m like, “What the…?” She was right there with us the whole time. It’s ill. The time goes by. He’ll be working on a project and be working on the next record. Simple but complex at the same time, because he’s putting intricate things inside the records. I had to listen to it for three or four days before I understood it. I kept finding new s–t on the records.
What did you think about Power Book II: Ghost coming to an end?
I feel good about it. Every time we have an ending, something good happens. This was when the first original Power went six and a half seasons. I was betting seven, because of the success of The Sopranos that went seven seasons. They didn’t want to pay for the other half of the seventh season. It’s a continuation, so you felt the effects of Power and it went to a whole new space. When we get to the development like Raising Kanan, Kanan will go on, while the next one matures. Then the next couple of seasons will go into the origin story. So you’ll see the original Tommy and Ghost. We just needed a little time to get Kanan to be the driving force of what was going on. He got another season.
I remember reading your Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter book about Omari Hardwick not doing too well in the original Power Ghost audition, and you went and got him after and told him to lock in.
Yeah, you know what it was? He was reading the material low. He was internalizing the material while he was reading it. Joseph Sikora was already performing as Tommy. He already read everything. It was a little lopsided — but I had a communication with Chris Albrecht at the time, and he was like, “Are you sure this is the guy?” All it takes is for you to be betting on the wrong guy. I’m like, “Nah, he’s the right guy.” I seen him in Next Day Air with Mos Def and Wood Harris and I knew he could play the character. When I called him, I was like, “They questioning if you’re the right guy.”
He goes, “If they want to give it to somebody else, then they can give it to somebody else.” I’m like, “N—a, you got another plan?” What you talking about, “Give it to somebody else?” I’m telling you that to get you pumped up so you could get focused and be ready. Not for you to say, “Give it to somebody else.” I’m like, “God d–n, man.” We spent about an hour and a half on the phone and before we got off, he was in the right space. Thinking about it the right way. We took off and it worked out.
Yeah, he was perfect for that role. It’s crazy we’re here 10 years later and even after him getting killed off, the show was still so popular and kept going. What were some early memories of Las Vegas for you?
A lot of good times in Drai’s Nightclub. I don’t understand what they just did with BET [Hip- Hop Awards] though.
They had the award show in the nightclub. I’m like, “What the heck is this?”
I’m done with them. God d–n it! Is there anything else that’s gonna indicate we’re running out of money? What the f–k is going on at BET, bro? An award show in a nightclub? I can’t wait to see where they’re doing the Country Music Awards. It’s not gonna be at club Drai’s.
Would you ever stop doing club appearances?
When I go to the nightclub, this is when I’m kinda hearing everyone’s work, too. For me, I didn’t go to the nightclubs in the beginning of my career. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ took off so fast I had already sold 1.6 million copies by the second week. I was in arenas — I didn’t go to nightclubs. Only reason why I go to nightclubs is [because of] my spirits brand.
With you being a mentor, how big of an artist do you think Pop Smoke would’ve been?
I think he would’ve been the biggest one out here by now. He would’ve had a run that allowed him to be that. He was doing different kinds of music. He was singing and doing all these different things on these records. That’s why it was important for me to make sure the album went the right way. I stepped in and made sure it got executive produced. The second one wasn’t as good. Of course, it was because I wasn’t involved at that point.
There was records on the first album with young artists. I’m like, “I don’t give a f–k about rapping with these guys.” They’re not my peer group, where I’m excited to be on the song with them. I knew Roddy Ricch was in pocket all the way. That’s why I reached out to him and told him, “I need you to be on this record “The Woo.” That’s what really catapulted the album.