Even though Metro Boomin is not a rapper, fans are still going to flock to his live shows whenever possible. That proves just how massive the St. Louis producer has become over time, especially in the last year and a half. His 2024 has been nothing short of incredible already, dropping two albums in a matter of less than a month. Even though that is a big deal, especially due to how much quality is on each offering, what is even more incredible is how it has created this civil war in rap. One of the ways Metro Boomin has done that is by making “Like That,” which he played at Coachella alongside NAV.
The Toronto born rapper and singer was an April 14 performer at the 2024 installment of the legendary music and arts festival. NAV certainly had the raucous crowd going even crazier after bringing Metro onto the stage with him. As most know, these two have a longstanding friendship which dates back to the late 2010s. NAV is one a handful of artists to have a full album with Metro, being Perfect Timing back in 2017.
The self-proclaimed Brown Boy made sure to ask the fans to give Metro his flowers after cutting “Like That” short. “Make some f***ing noise for the G.O.A.T., my brother for life Metro Boomin!” The producer extraordinaire made sure to show love right back, saying, “Y’all make some noise for my brother NAV, the motherf***in’ Brown Boy!” It seems that the Canadian is still against Drake, after unfollowing him on social media just days after “Like That” dropped.
What are your thoughts on Metro Boomin and NAV playing “Like That” together at Coachella? Does this just prove further that everyone is against Drake at this point? Is this song still in your rotation, why or why not? Do you think more collaborations with NAV are coming soon? How do you feel so far about WE STILL DON’T TRUST YOU? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Metro Boomin and NAV. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on around the music world.
Kesha’s music career got off to a scorching start with her 2009 debut single “Tik Tok,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was ultimately one of the defining songs of its era. The opening lyric, though, hasn’t aged particularly well: “Wake up in the morning feelin’ like P. Diddy.”
Diddy, of course, is currently facing multiple sexual harassment/assault lawsuits. Kesha isn’t going to let that stop her from performing her biggest hit, but a change is in order, and Kesha made one during a surprise appearance at Coachella this past weekend.
Reneé Rapp brought Kesha out during her set and the two launched into “Tik Tok,” tweaking the opening lyric to have a totally opposite stance on Diddy: “Wake up in the morning like, ‘F*ck P. Diddy!’”
KESHA JUST CHANGED THE LYRICS FOR TIK TOK TO “FUCK P DIDDY” AT COACHELLA WITH RENEÉ RAPP OH MY GODDD pic.twitter.com/RrDvsyPKmo
— maxx HAS A BEYONCÉ AUTOGRAPH !!!! (@ArnoldMaxx) April 15, 2024
Kesha, meanwhile, has a lot to celebrate. Last year, she released Gag Order, which fulfilled her contractual obligations with Dr. Luke’s label, Kemosabe. Shortly after, Kesha and Dr. Luke, after years of allegations of sexual assault and defamation, ended their legal battle. Last month, Kesha celebrated by teasing an unreleased song and writing, “First day I’ve owned my voice in 19 years. Welcome.” On Instagram Live later, Kesha was seen wiping away happy tears as she previewed new music.
Thank you for proving me right, Doja Cat. I said you deserved to be headlining Coachella two years ago. This year, you brought a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton to your headlining set. Bless you, you demented genius. You are the best.
The final day of Coachella 2024 was a bit thinner on must-see artists; while there was still plenty to do and see, there was also enough time to wander and explore between the priority sets. So, rather than rushing around from tent to tent and stage to stage, there was time to poke around, try new things, and make a few observations. For instance:
Philip Cosores
Call me biased, but there is no better backing band in music than a churchy-ass Black band. They have the power to uplift pop singers like Reneé Rapp, who we caught in the late afternoon, and to elevate R&B stars like Victoria Monét to transcendent performances. Monét – who also incorporated soul and R&B staples like The Supremes’ “Stop! In The Name Of Love” and Usher’s “There Goes My Baby” and rap breakouts like Sexyy Red’s “Get It Sexyy” into her early evening set – proved every bit to be a star worthy of even better placement upon her inevitable return to Coachella. And speaking of “Get It Sexyy,” while the St. Louis rapper wasn’t on the bill, her presence was felt at practically every DJ set and activation… Sexyy Red is out. Of. Here.
Philip Cosores
One place her impact was felt was GV Black’s Party In My Living Room activation. An initiative from Coachella promoters Goldenvoice, GV Black aims to promote equity and inclusion at the festival, living up to all those promises brands made back in 2020. It partnered with Inglewood rapper Thurz and his long-running party promotion to present DJ sets from both unexpected names like “Billie Eilish” rapper Armani Black and local LA mainstay DJ R-Tistic. One of the upsides of Sunday being a bit more laid back was getting to pull up on friends here and spend an hour two-stepping to club faves in a fun atmosphere out of the sun and wind.
It also gave the Uproxx team more time to wander and try new food options. While the team typically has faves that we frequent year after year, there, there are still so many other options that it’s worth trying out something new. This year, it was Big Belly Burger, which offered an Impossible version of its signature smash burger. And hallelujah, we may have found a new favorite. With a unique, light sweetness to its spread, Big Belly may even have overthrown some of our usuals.
Philip Cosores
After a calm and cool set from psychedelic funk rockers Khruangbin, Colombian Latin artist J Balvin put on a stellar show at the main stage, complete with an early appearance by Tainy, a surprisingly on-theme surprise pop-in by Will Smith, and an alien invasion storyline straight out of a 1950s B-movie. (Between Balvin, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘70s thriller set up on Friday, and Tyler The Creator’s own flying saucer on Saturday, they’ve got one hell of a weekend matinee triple feature.)
Philip Cosores
Manwhile, Lil Yachty completely revamped his set from Camp Flog Gnaw in November, tapping into his career beginnings with a big reference to his nickname, Lil Boat, starting the show from the prow of a ship onstage. However, despite what might have been a throwback to his early days, his setlist stuck to the more recent, rock-focused Let’s Start Here and even tapped an indie reference point: multi-instrumentalist Mac DeMarco, who performed two songs, “On The Level” and “Chamber Of Reflection.” Still, Yachty was sure to hit maintstays like “Minnesota” and “Broccoli,” making his set one of the most sastisfying yet.
Now, remember what I said about bands? Doja Cat’s stunning headlining set not only incorporated that signature vamping but took things a step further with a five-part harmony from a South African vocal group, The Joy, paying homage to her roots. Once again, a set was enhanced by understated innovations like a spider cam swooping over the audience and a high-concept, post-apocalyptic sci-fi setup.
Philip Cosores
While Doja’s set did not incorporate a storyline per se, it did a great job of actualizing the things that have been on her mind lately. The eye-popping visuals addressed the public’s preoccupation with her hair, her tattoos, and her heritage; hence, backup dancers draped in Wookie-like wig costumes, South African vocal groups singing in Zulu, and yes, a massive T-Rex skeleton traipsing along her catwalk, aided by a team of puppeteers.
Doja Cat, like Lana Del Rey, Tyler The Creator, J Balvin, and a slew of other artists to rock the stage, showed the potential still remaining to be wrought from the platform provided by Coachella. What she – and they – demonstrated was that it doesn’t take flashy streaming numbers or worldwide name recognition, so much as the imagination to prove that they belong. There’s a whole generation of new stars waiting to be minted, and Coachella gives them the opportunity to make their case – which Doja Cat did with her signature wit and weirdness.
Grimes has shared a lengthy apology for her Coachella set from Saturday, which was riddled with technical difficulties. While things started off okay, she began explaining that things on her mixing desk weren’t working properly. In turn, she screamed into the mic several times and was visibly frustrated for the remainder of her time on stage while trying to troubleshoot the issue. Sunday morning, she spoke out about the incident in a lengthy tweet.
“I want to apologize for the technical issues with the show tonight,” she said. “I wanted to come back rly strong and usually I always handle every aspect of my show myself – to save time this was one of the first times I’ve outsourced essential things like rekordbox bpm’s and letting someone else organize the tracks on the sd card etc, I had a bad feeling beforehand not having run everything thru the cdjs myself and tho I flagged it I wasn’t insistent.” From there, she listed several lessons she learned from the incident.
INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Grimes performs at the Sahara Stage at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival – Weekend 1 – Day 2 at Empire Polo Club on April 13, 2024 in Indio, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella)
Grimes added that things will be better for the next performance. “I will personally organize all the files next week,” she promised. “I will not let such a thing happen again. I’ve spent months on this show, making music and visuals, and admittedly am not in the best mood atm. But, yeh – next week will be flawless, everything will run thru my hands. Some good lessons learned. Bless y’all. The cdjs were showing me bpms like 370 so I couldn’t even mix manually by ear and the front monitors were off so it was literally sonic chaos on my end trying to guess how stuff was sounding for u guys. Plz forgive me! Love, always.”
Grimes Apologizes For Technical Difficulties
I want to apologize for the technical issues with the show tonight. I wanted to come back rly strong and usually I always handle every aspect of my show myself – to save time this was one of the first times I’ve outsourced essential things like rekordbox bpm’s and letting…
I love Grimes’s music, and the pressure must be crazy to do a show like this – but her show at Coachella is the musician’s version of nightmares where your teeth fall out and everyone laughs pic.twitter.com/RHvlwOoFE1
Check out Grimes’ full statement above. She’ll be performing at the festival again next weekend. Be on the lookout for further updates on Grimes and Coachella on HotNewHipHop.
While it is adorable to know that his mother and father firmly stand behind Drake, others such as NAV, Rick Ross, The Weeknd, Asap Rocky, and Ja Morant have all taken shots at him. Hell, following J. Cole’s apology to Lamar, supporters feel that he has even turned his back on Drake.
Following his set at Coachella 2024, fans believe Tyler The Creator has also picked a side. Yesterday (April 13), Tyler opened with an explosive stunt during his set. Viewers at home took to X (formerly Twitter) to rave about the stunt. After the clip went viral, others speculated that Tyler pulled inspiration from Metro Boomin’s 2018 album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, cover.
Hip-hop editor Aaron Williams stressed the grandiose production in his review. “He shocked fans right at the outset with a high-flying stunt that saw him enter the stage like a human rocket blasting through the side of a camper van,” he wrote. “The move immediately set a tone that he somehow maintained through a procession of guests and a three-act set structure that demonstrated the thought and care he puts into all of his works.”
With Tyler The Recreator trending across the platform, others pointed out that he might have shaded Drake later in the set.
While performing alongside special guests Asap Rocky and Childish Gambino, users online claimed to have heard him say: “You know what’s sick? I used to hate that n****. I don’t know why; I gotta go to therapy to figure it out.”
However, it is unclear who Tyler was referring to. For now, Drake and Tyler’s friendship seems steady.
However the flip side of that is you will occasionally be forced to make choices. I had to contend with this obstacle more than once on Saturday, choosing between acts of both similar genres (future-of-R&B girls RAYE and Thuy, booked against each other in adjacent, overflowing tents) and ones that ostensibly have little in common (rap&B vanguard Blxst on the Outdoor Theatre stage vs. Sublime’s main stage Coachella debut with Jakob Nowell, the late founder Bradley Nowell’s son). The imperfection solution? To only catch a fraction of each, missing out on the signature hits in some cases.
Philip Cosores
There were also sets that had to be foregone entirely, like T-Pain’s slammed set at the redesigned Heineken House activation or Billie Eilish’s Billie & Friends set at DoLab. These minor stresses were more frustrating because they were absolutely avoidable. These are the sorts of moments you reserve for the big stages, with counter-programming of equally desirable acts all across the festival to prevent overcrowding, but as third-party activations responsible for their own bookings, they apparently underestimated the response either would have
Philip Cosores
T-Pain is as hot as he’s ever been, bouncing back from a career nadir that saw him become little more than a novelty act. And Billie Eilish JUST headlined the fest two years ago. Just because she wasn’t technically performing doesn’t mean any mention of her appearing wouldn’t equal a stampede (there is probably a conversation to be had about the very weird need to just share space with celebs, even when they are not doing the things for which they’re best known, but I’m not going to have it here. At least Billie let her fans listen to some brand new material, which hopefully made the intense situation worth it).
But ultimately, these really were minor problems in the grand scheme of things – and decent ones to have, insomuch as that can be true. You WANT excitement at the biggest festivals, and these were certainly moments that generated plenty of it. Likewise, every act my editor and I caught on day two brought exactly the right sort of energy to what will be the brightest spotlight for many of them.
Philip Cosores
From RAYE employing a 19-piece band to Blxst blowing out his late afternoon set, it seemed everyone was crystal clear that Coachella still constitutes a huge opportunity for any artist’s career, no matter what snarky commentators on Twitter may pretend for the amusement of their followers. Even the Billie & Friends and T-Pain sets, as cramped as they got once the word spread, created the sort of moments Coachella is famous for – and will continue to be famous for, apparently.
Here’s another prediction: Ice Spice will almost certainly headline Coachella in the near future if her trajectory continues. Phil, my editor, joked that going to the Sahara tent from other side of the polo grounds might as well be an actual trek to the Sahara (“pack a bag,” he said), but many braved the journey for Ice’s 8 o’clock set, looking for all the world like a human sandstorm stirred by the blustery desert winds on its way to take in the TikTok phenom. Again, this was despite social chatter that’d suggest that she shouldn’t even have been booked for the tiny Sonora tent (someone should do a study on the sheer bitterness of the remaining denizens of Elon Musk’s latest money suck).
Philip Cosores
The people danced. They rapped. Every word. Her mic was ON. She had immaculate breath control. Her set design, consisting of inflatable subway trains and a giant Ice Spice head, built a world. She is what hip-hop has needed all this time. Stop hating.
Philip Cosores
Speaking of mics being on, Gwen Stefani ‘s mic certainly was during her reunion with No Doubt, a moment she divulged she thought would “never happen.” Whether or not they actually thought that their reunion was truly an impossibility, they showed no signs of rust, providing the near-universal draw that brought the same (presumed) Sublime millennials together with the (presumed) Billie Eilish zoomers in an astonishing assemblage that didn’t have any competition for either – unless you count Coi Leray, who proved more than up to the challenge as she played the Mojave tent opposite the genre-bending Gen X rockers.
Philip Cosores
Another rapper I was surprised to discover in that time slot was multicultural lyricist Saint Levant. Hailing from Jerusalem, the Palestinian-Algerian rapper came correct with a set that drew from his multiple heritages (he’s also French and Serbian) and included a timely call for peace in Gaza. It’s actually a shame that such an important moment was confined to one of the smaller tents, Gobi, and played against the splashier appearance of No Doubt. There are several poignant metaphors there.
Again, I dipped out on an engaging and fascinating performance full of cultural set pieces and thoughtful statements to check out another artist. While Coi’s set was less politically timely, its energy was impressive. Coi’s choreo was on point, her conditioning was honestly jaw-dropping, and despite the obvious differences between them, she could have given Ice Spice a run for her money when she showed the crowd her twerking skills.
Philip Cosores
As Saturday’s headliner, Tyler The Creator didn’t really have any other acts to contend with, but if he had, he made sure that he would have stolen the show. He shocked fans right at the outset with a high-flying stunt that saw him enter the stage like a human rocket blasting through the side of a camper van. The move immediately set a tone that he somehow maintained through a procession of guests (ASAP Rocky, Charlie Wilson, Donald Glover, and Kali Uchis all joined him onstage to perform their collaborations with him) and a three-act set structure that demonstrated the thought and care he puts into all of his works. From playing the hits to reminding the nostalgic zoomers of his wild Odd Future days with a mini-set of classics in the middle, Tyler showed what a headliner is supposed to be. I hope the whole world takes notes — and that anyone who puts that much care into their Coachella set actually gets the room to be seen.
Halle Bailey and DDG just welcomed their first child Halo a few months ago, but fans speculate that there may be some trouble in paradise. Last week, social media sleuths noticed that the pair appeared to unfollow one another on Instagram, which prompted rumors to circulate that they had gone their separate ways. This was only compounded when the Little Mermaid star was spotted at Coachella this weekend, and DDG was nowhere in sight.
Halle attended her sister Chloe’s set, sharing various posts on social media in support of the songstress. #Chlochella was so amazing,” she captioned a photo of the two of them together. “I’m so proud of you @ChloeBailey.” She also posted a sweet clip of her cheering Chloe on from the crowd. Of course, the solo festival appearance alone wouldn’t seem too significant, if the duo hadn’t also removed all traces of each other from their respective accounts.
The breakup rumors come after DDG reflected on some of the rough patches he and Halle have experienced throughout their relationship in an interview with VladTV. He chatted about DMing Rubi Rose back in 2023, claiming it was done purely out of pettiness when he and the “Angel” singer weren’t on the best terms. “I did it in front of her. I had no intention of actually linking with Rubi Rose,” he explained. “She seen it. Imagine you’re arguing with your girl and you get mad at her for something. ‘I’m finna do this. Watch this,’ type sh*t.”
What do you think of rumors that Halle Bailey and DDG have gone their separate ways? What about her attending Coachella without him? Do you think this means anything, or are social media users overreacting? Share your thoughts in the comment section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
This year’s Weekend One of Coachella was a pretty interesting one: a great Tyler, The Creatorperformance, some notable celebrity cameos, and another excuse for casual homophobia to run rampant online. Moreover, this last phenomenon is due to a clip of Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith embracing at the festival. In the video below, you can see the former hug the latter from behind and sway around dancing, and then the Canadian superstar lands a kiss on his friend’s cheek. Of course, this led to a lot of pause-core reactions from users in the comments section below, many of which simply made fun of an innocuous public display of affection.
For example, here are some standouts: “That white n***a in front them looking like he can’t believe his own 2 eyes,” “i don’t care what anybody says i don’t just kiss my boys on the cheek every time i leave,” and “Why everyone moving gay now? Is it the new trend???” Sure, it’s a pretty suggestive and odd interaction, but more so because of the public TMI nature of it, not the act itself. However, others commenting on Jaden Smith’s hug drew a connection to Justin Bieber’s ties to Diddy amid his sex trafficking scandal, which has also elicited a lot of sexuality discussions. “Look what diddy done did to him lmfaooo,” one user wrote.
For those unaware, Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber have a pretty public and tight relationship as friends, going on tour together and performing multiple times across their careers. They’ve never really done much beforehand to elicit this type of reactions from social media users, though. Regardless of the nature of their intimacy or how they view it, it’s also just impossible to make a judgement call on this without knowing these people. Don’t we all know of some weird physical bond between two of our friends that’s hard to explain to others? Maybe we’re just digging the grave further at this point…
Regardless, raising these eyebrows in a way that mostly puts homosexuality down is not the way to speak on what’s simply somewhat cringe-inducing PDA between two pals. Also, they’re both very much taken right now, so maybe that’s what should be at the forefront of reactors’ minds. But what do you think about this whole gossip train? Let us know in the comments and keep checking in with HNHH for more news and updates on Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber.
Fans have been anxiously awaiting the release of Ice Spice’s album Y2K for months now. While she’s yet to confirm an official release date for the project, she’s been dropping plenty of hints here and there. During her recent Hot Ones appearance, for example, she explained that the LP has finally passed the “car test.” She also noted that she’s taking her time on the album, as she wants to be sure that it lives up to her listeners’ expectations.
Fortunately, the Bronx-born MC decided to give her fans a taste of what’s to come during her recent set at Coachella. She performed an unnamed, unreleased track, which will presumably appear on Y2K. Of course, the crowd went wild. Elsewhere during her performance, Ice Spice also performed hits like “Deli,” “In Ha Mood,” “Munch,” and more.
Fans weren’t the only ones who came through to show love to Ice Spice, however. During her performance, the 24-year-old’s “Karma (Remix)” collaborator Taylor Swift was spotted in the audience, cheering her on. As expected, she also brought along her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce for the performance, which they attended after grabbing a bite to eat in LA earlier in the day.
The pop powerhouse was all smiles during the set, and Ice Spice was sure to make her presence known onstage. “Shoutout to Taylor motherf*cking Swift!,” she yelled. Other celebs like Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, and more were also seen enjoying the show.
Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Support Ice Spice At Coachella
— Justins Tour Updates (@JustinsTourNews) April 14, 2024
What did you think of Ice Spice’s Coachella set? What about her previewing an unreleased track from Y2K? Are you surprised that Taylor Swift and her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce came through to show her love? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
Tyler The Creator continues to show why he’s among the best live performers working today, as his Weekend One set at Coachella this Saturday (April 13) was nothing short of incredible. He’s wanted to headline the festival for a long time, with his first performance at the event dating back to the heights of his Odd Future era in 2011 and another one taking place amid his blossoming as a more nuanced and mature artist in 2018. We won’t spoil the setlist here (just a small performance clip below), but it spanned the entirety of the Hawthorne native’s catalog and included tracks that even the most optimistic Golf Wang die-hards could never have predicted they’d hear again. Not only that, but there were many other reasons for why this performance definitely kept fans’ attention away from their phones as he had hoped.
First of all, Tyler, The Creator brought out four special guests for the occasion including Charlie Wilson, with whom he played piano and, on top of their performance, additionally covered an old R&B/soul classic for a brief moment that T sampled on one of his biggest hits. A similarly wholesome and gorgeous performance saw Kali Uchis hit the stage, who’s been collaborating with him for a long time. Also, fans rejoiced at the sight of A$AP Rocky joining his friend for two of their killer collabs. However, the most surprising guest of the night was Childish Gambino, and to see them dancing together on stage amid a whole lot of rap beef going on elsewhere was a truly meaningful treat. This is especially true considering that Tyler admitted to “hating” Donald Glover back in the day.
Nevertheless, this was also an amazing night for anyone who appreciates that extra mile that performers go to in order to truly make the most out of their stage and audience. For example, Tyler, The Creator burst out of a trailer in an explosive intro, and was later whisked away by the wind for the final song. On top of his consistently rapped verses, invigorating energy, charisma, and overall captivating performance, these stage set-ups and wiring tricks really set it apart from other shows from not just the Louis Vuitton designer’s history, but across Coachella as a whole. Maybe the fandom’s coming on a little too strong here, but go check out some of what Twitter’s been sharing and try to call it cap.
Meanwhile, what did you think of this headlining set? Are you excited to see what Wolf Haley brings next weekend, and what else might be on the way? Let us know in the comments section down below. For more news and the latest updates on Tyler, The Creator, come back to HNHH.
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