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Giveon Reveals The Most Important Part Of His Process And How He Feels About Criticism

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Giveon 2022 Apple Music interview
Apple Music

Giveon’s career took a huge turn for the better in 2020. That year, he opened and closed his heart with the world thanks to a standout collaboration with Drake and two EPs: Take Time and When It’s All Said And Done. The two EPs were later combined into one effort, with the addition of one song, for a body of work titled When It’s All Said And Done… Take Time. That project did not stand as Giveon’s official debut album, as that is set to arrive later this week with Give Or Take. During a recent interview on Apple Music, Giveon revealed what he believes is the most important part of his process towards creating music.

“So my process is I really think the story is the most important part,” he said during his conversation with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “Simply because I think that’s what’s going to make someone go back to it. That’s definitely what’s going to make me play it over and over again. So I like to have the story first. The thing about storytelling for me is you have to make sure it’s digestible as well.” Later on in the interview, Giveon also took a moment to share his feelings about criticism.

“I think I’m in a space where it’s like, as far as criticism, I don’t know, the world is interesting now because me personally, it’s like, if I’m shopping for clothing, if I don’t like this shirt, I don’t like the tailor and the cut, I’m not going to hold it up and be like, ‘Hey everyone in this store, I don’t like this shirt if you were wondering.’ I’m just not going to pick the shirt up,” Giveon said.

He later added, “As far as criticism, it’s art as well. You know? If I’m telling you a story about my heartbreak, it’s at my discretion. You can’t say, tell me how you got your heart broken in other ways. It’s like, no. Just go listen to something else. I don’t even think anything would be bad necessarily. It’s just either it’s for you or it’s not.”

You can watch the full sit-down in the video above.

Give Or Take is out 7/24 via Epic Records. You can pre-save it here.

Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ Already Broke Apple Music’s Dance Album Record For First-Day Streams

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Drake Onyx 2021
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With last night’s surprise release of Honestly, Nevermind, pop culture chameleon Drake showed that he was at his shape-shifting ways once again. Listeners were surprised to hear that the album was in fact, a dance music record. This wasn’t quite the party that people were expecting to turn up to on Thursday night, but they let it rip nonetheless. So much so that Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind smashed Apple Music’s record for first-day streams of a dance music album.

Not only did Drizzy stake hold to yet another streaming records crown, he did it within the first hour that the album was available for streaming. Whew… According to Apple Music, this is one more feather in the cap of the streaming king. In a release, the streaming service indicated that Drake also holds the following notable streaming records:

” – Drake currently holds the record for the biggest album in Apple Music history by first-day streams worldwide, with Certified Lover Boy.
– Scorpion is the second biggest album by first-day streams worldwide on Apple Music.
– Drake also holds the record for the biggest song in Apple Music history by first-day streams worldwide, with “Girls Want Girls.”

Just another day at the office, leaving DJs in the dust, but he could be coming for the indie rock crown next?

Honestly, Nevermind is out now via OVO Sound/Republic. Stream it here.

6LACK Covers Mos Def’s ‘Umi Says’ As Part Of Apple Music’s 2022 Freedom Songs

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6lack holds nothing back in his music or real life, especially when speaking on the plight of Black people in this country. For Apple Music’s Freedom Songs 2022 celebrating Juneteenth through covers and original music, the East Atlanta Love Letter artist covered Mos Def’s powerful 1999 record “Umi Says.” The low tempo beat loaded with instruments is right in 6lack’s pocket as he used his signature croak to speak about what he wants to see for his people. Though the fight extends well beyond music, he deems it important to use his platform for causes such as these.

Though 6lack has maintained his presence through a number of features over the years, listeners haven’t received a project since 2020’s 6 Pc Hot, let alone a full album since 2018’s East Atlanta Love Letter. The 29-year-old has been alluding to the third chapter of his career for quite some time, and gave fans a taste back in December with the 1-2 punch of “Rent Free” and “By Any Means.” His management team Love Renaissance always has a master plan prepared, and the addition of OVO’s dvsn just makes their next move with 6lack all the more intriguing. Until then, he will surely provide more to hold listeners over.

Listen to 6lack’s Apple Music exclusive “Umi Says ” above.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ Earned The Most First-Day Streams For A 2022 Album On Apple Music

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Kendrick Lamar Austin City Limits
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Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers arrived as expected on Friday, and to the surprise of no one, the album was one of the most-talked-about things within the first 24 hours of its availability. Topics ranged from Kodak Black’s surprise appearances on the album to Kendrick’s comments about Drake and Kanye’s past beef, as well as his support for the transgender community. Additionally, Kendrick announced The Big Steppers Tour with Baby Keem and Tanna Leone, a string of shows set to kick off later this year. All that together seemed to be enough to help Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers set a new record on Apple Music.

According to a post from the streaming platform, Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers earned the most first-day streams for a 2022 album on Apple Music. While the platform did not provide exact numbers for Kendrick’s new record, it still speaks to the anticipation and focused that was placed on the rapper’s long-awaited fifth album. With Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers headed for a probable debut at No. 1 on the charts, it’s expected that the project will set more records

You can view the announcement from Apple Music in the post above.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. You can stream it here.

Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Someone Put A Fake Version Of Kanye West’s ‘Donda 2’ On iTunes, Fooling Enough People To Chart

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https://uproxx.com/music/kanye-west-moneybagg-yo-texts-donda-2-on-the-way/
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Whether you think Kanye West’s decision to make access to his new album Donda 2 exclusive to his stem player is a genius idea or a massive grift, it looks like someone out there has found a way to (temporarily) capitalize on it with a scam of their own. A fake version of Donda 2 is reportedly charting on iTunes after being uploaded under the misleading — but not that misleading — name “Wanye Kest,” according to Complex.

The facts that the name is obviously wrong, the tracklist is too short, and that Kanye vowed not to release his album to DSPs haven’t deterred fans from streaming the fake album; according to Complex, Donda 2 by Wanye Kest has reached No. 40 on the Top Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Incidentally, this isn’t the first time someone uploaded a fake album purported to be a highly anticipated one from a big-name superstar to Apple Music. In 2018, fake albums made up of leaked material supposedly from Beyonce and SZA popped up, while in 2019, even Rihanna had to react after an “unofficial” version of her ninth album found its way online. Meanwhile, in 2020, Mario Judah used the hype around Playboi Carti’s forthcoming album Whole Lotta Red to release his own version and hijack some of its buzz — at least until Carti actually dropped his album.

All those fake albums — save for Mario Judah’s, because it actually had his name on it — were eventually taken down, so unfortunately for Wanye Kest, their ill-gotten gains likely won’t last. For now, the only way to get Donda 2 for real remains shelling out $200 for a stem player — or using the slightly shadier method some of his fans cooked up to avoid such a fee.