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

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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.

Migos’ ‘Culture’ Disappears From Streaming On Its Fifth Anniversary

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While progressive Atlanta trap trio Migos had plenty of hits in their early career — the biggest being “Versace” thanks to its remix from Drake — it was their 2017 album Culture that turned them into a national phenomenon. It was the band’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and launched their chart-topping single “Bad And Boujee” with Lil Uzi Vert, making Migos a household name. Today is its fifth anniversary, but fans looking to give it a nostalgic spin the commemorate the occasion are out of luck as the album has mysteriously disappeared from streaming platforms.

Neither the band nor their label, Quality Control Music, have offered any explanations for the takedown. In fact, the social media for both only contain posts celebrating the Culture sequel, Culture II, on its fourth anniversary. Meanwhile, fans on Twitter have been posting screenshots of the greyed-out song titles in their playlists and saved albums folders, wondering where the album went — and whether there will be some sort of update in the near future.

So far, Culture appears to be the only album affected, with longtime favorites like Young Rich N*ggas, YRN 2, and both Culture follow-ups remaining intact. It also appears that whatever is happening here hasn’t affected the album on Tidal, so perhaps it’s just temporary. Meanwhile, Quavo’s promotional post for his own new single releasing tonight has been bombarded with requests from fans to bring back Culture. Whether or not Quavo has the pull to make it happen remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

SZA’s ‘I Hate U’ Breaks A Significant Apple Music R&B Streaming Record

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The road to SZA’s follow-up to 2017’s Ctrl has been anything but straightforward. But 2021 has seen her dropping new music consistently in a wave of singles that began at the tail end of 2020 with the release of “Hit Different” with Ty Dolla Sign and then “Good Days” in December. As soon as the new year turned, she said in an interview with Cosmopolitan that “This album is going to be the sh*t that made me feel something in my… here and in here. That’s what’s going to go on the album. I’m making all different types of sh*t every day from different places in my spirit.”

The groundwork has been laid, and SZA has been active this year, dropping tracks with Doja Cat, Kali Uchis and her latest single, “I Hate U.” “Honestly this started out as an exercise, she said on Instagram when the latter was released for streaming. “I jus wanted somewhere to dump my thoughts w out pressure..y’all made it a thing and I’m not mad lmao. ask and u shall receive. I HATE YOU OUT ON ALL PLATFORMS.”

“I Hate U” has clearly been on steady rotation for a lot of people since its release. Billboard just reported that it has broken the record for the most-streamed song by a female R&B artist in its first week. It debuted at No. 7 on the Hot 100 this week and still has a ways to go before it can topple Adele’s seven-week reign at the top with “Easy On Me.” But even that track didn’t reach No. 1 until it’s a third week out. Until then, here’s another feather in SZA’s cap.

The Weeknd Won Apple Music’s Global Artist Of The Year Award

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Despite not dropping an album this year and leaving fans waiting for his next release, The Weeknd took home a big award for his work in 2021. The singer was given Apple Music’s Global Artist Of The Year at the platform’s third annual ceremony. “I’m so grateful for this huge honour and want to thank Apple for all its support, not only for my work but also for great music by newer artists, where it matters so much for creators to be found and supported,” he said according to Complex.

The win comes after The Weeknd was recognized as an artist who had one of YouTube’s most trending videos thanks to his one for “Save Your Tears.” The runner-up for that honor is Pooh Shiesty and Lil Durk’s “Back In Blood.” The Weeknd was also honored for his 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show, which appeared in YouTube’s Top Five list of overall trending videos.

Elsewhere, The Weeknd had his 2019 single “Blinding Lights” named as the “No. 1 song of all time” by Billboard. Prior to that, the song became the longest-charting song of all time after it logged its 88th week on the Hot 100 in mid-August.

You can see an image of The Weeknd with his award in the post above.

Bruno Mars And Anderson .Paak Are Hosting Their Own Limited Silk Sonic Radio Series On Apple Music

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Now that Silk Sonic has released its debut album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are ready to give something else a try. In fact, they just announced their next endeavor: The duo is hosting a new limited Apple Music radio series, which shares its name with the new album. They also shared a trailer for the show today.

The series premieres today at 10 p.m. ET on Apple Music 1 and press materials note of the first episode, “On the debut episode, Bruno and Anderson, with the help of Bootsy Collins, invite listeners to join them on an after-hours journey with music from The Jackson 5, Con Funk Shun, Thundercat, The Isley Brothers, Partynextdoor, and much more.” Of the series as a whole, press materials also say, “Over the course of four one-hour episodes, the pair feature Silk Sonic-inspired sets of all of their favorite records, ranging from old-school hits to R&B jams, hip-hop, funk, disco, and everything in between. From surprise guests to even more surprising conversation, it’s your turn to be a fly on the wall and spend some time with the kings of smooth.”

Mars says of the show, “Apple Music asked us to host a radio show to talk about the album. We had so much fun that we’ve decided to retire from music and become full time radio personalities. We want to thank Apple Music for helping us find our new calling. Goodbye cruel world of music. Hello radio. See you at the top.”

.Paak added, “When we come together on those rare instances when the clouds open and the stars unite, we go as Silk Sonic. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s never too late to turn it around, and speaking of never too late, I think we right on time.”

Watch the teaser clip above.

An Evening With Silk Sonic is out now via Atlantic Records. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ Broke Apple Music And Spotify’s Record For Streams In A Single Day

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Drake’s Certified Lover Boy is already making history. The rapper’s sixth album just broke Apple Music and Spotify’s record for streams in a single day. He surpassed the Apple Music record first, breaking it on Friday evening EST. A few hours later, it was announced that the rapper also broke Spotify’s record. As reported by Complex who spoke to a representative from the platform, the new number is indeed an all-time global record. Official first-day streaming numbers for Cetified Lover Boy from Apple Music or Spotify have yet to be released.

To the surprise of no one, the previous record was held by Drake himself, as his fifth album Scoprion broke the record for streams in a single back in 2018. Scorpion earned more than 132 million streams on Spotify and more than 170 million on Apple Music.

Certified Lover Boy offers 21 tracks, with guest appearances from Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, Young Thug, Future, 21 Savage, Lil Baby, Giveon, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Durk, Yebba, Project Pat, Masego, Tems, and Kid Cudi.

The project also garnered attention for apparent disses towards Kanye West, a hilarious video for “Way 2 Sexy” with Future and Young Thug, and Drake’s rather odd “lesbian” line from “Girls Want Girls” with Lil Baby.

Certified Lover Boy is out now OVO Sound/Republic. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.