Hip-Hop
Kanye West Apologizes to Wife Kim Kardashian for Publicly Discussing Private Matters: ‘Please Forgive Me’
Kanye West has tweeted a public apology to his wife, Kim Kardashian, after discussing personal family matters at a campaign rally and on social media over the past week. “I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter. I did not cover her like she has covered me. To Kim I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me,” West wrote on Twitter on Saturday (July 25). Last weekend, West broke down in tears at his first presidential campaign rally. The rapper and political hopeful, who recently announced his intentions to run for president in 2020, told a South Carolina crowd that his father had wanted his mother to abort him, and that he and Kardashian considered having an abortion w...
Lupe Fiasco and Kaelin Ellis Release Collaborative HOUSE EP: Stream
One of the most unexpected collaborations of the year might also just be one of its best. Today, Lupe Fiasco and Kaelin Ellis have released HOUSE, a joint EP they created during quarantine. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. HOUSE is a testament to the power of the internet. Back in May, the Orlando producer uploaded a video of himself churning out beats while stuck at home. One Twitter user decided to tag Lupe Fiasco in the comments, and the Chicago rapper almost immediately recorded a new version of the track featuring an original freestyle over it. That’s when Fiasco and Ellis decided to link up for real. The two artists wrote and recorded five songs for the HOUSE EP, all of which was created by passing material back and forth online. As for the cover art — which takes its insp...
Snoop Dogg & DMX’s ‘Verzuz’ Battle Reached the Highest Level Yet, Just Look at the Numbers
Snoop Dogg and DMX duked it out in the studio Wednesday night (July 22) for their latest Verzuz “battle of the dogs” while maintaining the highest amount of respect for one another. But the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop titans reached a whole new level on their Verzuz stats. The night received 1.75 billion impressions across the internet while breaking Apple Music’s all-time livestream record with more than 600,000 concurrent viewers and a total of more than 1.4 million fans tuning in. Just this week, Apple Music announced its exclusive partnership with Verzuz in simulcasting the battles on both Apple Music and Beats 1 while offering on-demand streaming. “THANK YOU to everyone who tuned in to watch @DMX and @SnoopDogg celebrate each other. We...
First Beat: New Music By J. Cole, Logic, Queen Naija and More
For this week’s edition of First Beat, we see the return of J. Cole, the farewell of Logic and more. Check out our picks below. J. Cole, Lewis Street The elusive J. Cole is in album-mode. On Wednesday night (July 22), The Dreamville captain unleashed a meaty two-pack titled Lewis Street, which will serve as the precursor to his forthcoming album The Fall Off. His first track titled “The Climb Back” Cole logs in a commanding performance. The five-minute exhibition showcases Cole’s lyrical mastery over a chilling sample, rapping; “You see how I flip like exclamation points.” On his second showing, “Lion King on Ice,” Cole seemingly ruminates about his past sit-down with Lil Pump and addresses the aftermath of their conversation, which includes the Gucci Gang rapper’s descent from stardom. &#...
Tame Impala Remix 070 Shake’s “Guilty Conscience”: Stream
Tame Impala have shared a remix of 070 Shake’s “Guilty Conscience”. Take a listen below. The track comes from our former Artist of the Month’s January debut, Mondus Vivendi, and is one of of our favorite songs of the year so far. The original single walks a bridge from alternative hip-hop to ’80s synthpop, a shimmering and hauntingly original that’s distinctly 070 Shake. The remix, however, is distinctly Kevin Parker. With a psychedelic spin, “Guilty Conscience” is suddenly a few vocal octaves away from a Currents cut. After touring behind Mondus Vivendi, 070 Shake has been taking quarantine easy. However, she recently announced on Instagram that it was “time to go make an album,” so it appears she’s ready to start on a follow-up. Editors’ Picks Tame Imp...
DJ Khaled Dishes About Preparing ‘Knockout’ Hits for Drake, Teases Megan Thee Stallion Collab
DJ Khaled FaceTimed Apple Music’s Zane Lowe for an interview while jet skiing and wearing his signature “We The Best” face mask because why not? But the 44-year-old megaproducer wouldn’t describe their conversation as an interview, per se. “This is definitely the first interview I ever did, or I would call this a celebration, on a FaceTime, on a jet ski…. Yes, yes we are definitely celebrating!” He’s currently preparing for the release of his 12th album Khaled Khaled, an eponymous autobiographical body of work as his real name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled. In typical DJ Khaled fashion, he didn’t just pack one major key, but two majors keys when he dropped a couplet of Drake-assisted singles “POPSTAR” and...
DMX vs. Snoop Dogg in ‘Verzuz’ Battle of the Dawgs: See Our Scorecard & Winner
It was the battle of the Dogs on Wednesday night (July 22), as Snoop Dogg and DMX faced off as part of the latest heavyweight bout on Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz platform. There was no East Coast-West Coast beef here, as the rap titans’ mutual respect for one another couldn’t have been any higher. With things taking just a bit longer than expected to get going, X and Snoop moseyed into the studio together around 8:15 pm ET. After a quick prayer along with some chicken strips and Kool-Aid, we were off. More than 500,000 fans filled the virtual arena at its peak on the Verzuz IG Live. The pair didn’t leave much on the table when running through a range of street classics and bi-coastal anthems from their decorated discographies — plus some leftovers for o...
Snoop Dogg and DMX to Go Head-to-Head in Verzuz Battle Tonight
Snoop Dogg and DMX, two of hip-hop’s biggest heavyweights, will go head-to-head in a Verzuz battle on Wednesday. It’s scheduled to go down tonight at at 8:00 p.m. ET via Verzuz’s Instagram. For the uninitiated, Verzuz is an Instagram TV show of sorts that pits two producers, rappers, or songwriters side-by-side to revisit their career highs and lows, with the ultimate goal of determining who has the best catalog. As Vulture writer Craig Jenkins notes, each battle consists of 20 rounds, sees contestants play a hit and then hear a rebuttal, and revolves around rules that come together “on the fly.” Past battles have featured Nelly vs. Ludacris, Timbaland vs. Swizz Beatz, and Teddy Riley vs. Babyface, among others. It’s a dog eat dog world, and tonight, one pup will come out on top....
J. Cole Drops Two New Songs “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice”: Stream
J. Cole, photo by Ben Kaye J. Cole is back with new music. The North Carolina rapper has just released a pair of singles, “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice”, both of which can be streamed below. “The Climb Back” was produced solely by J. Cole, whereas “Lion King on Ice” features additional production credits from jetsonmade and T-Minus. Apparently both songs are from The Fall Off, the long-hinted-at follow-up album to 2018’s KOD, which means yes, the album is actually real. But according to J. Cole, there’s no set release date scheduled. “Taking my time, still finishing,” he wrote on Instagram. Editors’ Picks Just last month, J. Cole dropped a surprise single called “Snow on tha Bluff” after marching in the streets with protestors. On the track, he appeared to take aim at Chicag...
Kyle Dishes on His Duty to Make ‘Happy’ Music, Favorite Games & More During Billboard Reddit AMA
Sure, Kyle admitted in his hit “iSpy,” that “when you text me, girl, I don’t always reply.” But regardless of his texting habits, the rapper did reply to a lot of fan questions during Billboard’s Reddit AMA on Wednesday (July 22). He kicked things off by answering a super important question: “Least favorite cereal?” Kyle quickly replied that “with out [sic] a doubt,” he does not love Frosted Flakes. Kyle then got a bit deep with his fans, responding to a question about the pros and cons about having a “huge smash hit like iSpy a while into your career?” “This is a good question,” he replied. “Def felt like I needed to match that level of a mega hit.. what it also did is take my very small bu...
Smino Teams with J.I.D and Kenny Beats on New Song “Baguetti”: Stream
J.I.D. (photo via artist’s Instagram/@jidsv), Smino (photo by Heather Kaplan), and Kenny Beats (photo by Aris Chatman) Three months after dropping his surprise mixtape She Already Decided, Smino is back with a new single called “Baguetti”. And this time around, the Chicago MC is joined by rising Atlanta rapper J.I.D and social media star/producer extraordinaire Kenny Beats. “Baguetti” is the sound of three artists working together with ease — not just because they so smoothly align with each other, but because the whole thing has a breezy, laid-back feel. While barely seeming to struggle for speed, the two vocalists layer lines atop of lines over Kenny Beats’ bluesy, sparse production. Speaker-vibrating bass pounds on the chorus like another vocalist, emphasizing lines likes, “I...
Rituals of Mine Announces New Album Hype Nostalgia, Shares Futuristic Single “Free Throw”: Stream
Rituals of Mine, the solo project from experimental R&B musician and activist Terra Lopez, has announced her second full-length album: Hype Nostalgia is due out September 25th on Carpark Records. It’s the newest offering from the Los Angeles-based act since 2019’s Sleeper Hold EP, which was given the remix treatment in February 2020. As a title, Hype Nostalgia places a futuristic radiance on its difficult subject matter. Lopez recently dealt with the deaths of her father and her best friend, and poured those emotions into her songwriting, choosing instead to focus mainly on their lives. “[I wanted to] create an album that was not centered solely on grief but that carried the duality in which grief and joy could co-exist,” said Lopez on Instagram. She doesn’t shy away from playing with ...
