Travis Scott Requested To Be Dismissed From The Astroworld Festival Lawsuit, Saying He Shouldn’t Be Responsible For Safety Or Security Concerns

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After being named as a defendant in the hundreds of combined lawsuits stemming from the 2021 Astroworld Festival disaster, Travis Scott has at last asked out of future proceedings. According to Billboard, Travis’ attorney Daniel Petrocelli filed a motion to dismiss him from the suit on Monday, asserting that ensuring safety and security at live events is “not the job of performing artists” — even ones whose album tiles grace said events.

The motion reads in part, “Like any other adrenaline-inducing diversion, music festivals must balance exhilaration with safety and security—but that balance is not the job of performing artists, even those involved in promoting and marketing performances. Which only makes sense: Performing artists, even those who engage in certain promotional activities, have no inherent expertise or specialized knowledge in concert safety measures, venue security protocols, or site-design.”

Even so, the defense writes, Travis did make concessions to alleviate crowding issues when they were brought to his attention during the planning phase. “When, during festival planning, concerns arose about the risk of a stampede occurring in the festival site, the Scott defendants supported festival organizers’ efforts to eliminate that risk by agreeing to remove certain rides and other attractions at the site,” Petrocelli wrote. “Then, when the Scott defendants were told to end the show after Mr. Scott’s guest performer finished performing, they did just that—ending the show as directed.”

Travis is, of course, only one of the named defendants, which included Drake (who has also since requested dismissal from liability), Apple Music, Live Nation Entertainment, and the venue and security companies involved. The nearly 300 cases were combined into a single case in January 2022, and proceedings have have gone relatively slowly since. Scott, after a year out of the spotlight, returned to performing in 2022 and released the follow-up to Astroworld, Utopia, in summer of 2023.

Kanye West Claims He Washed Drake And Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar sparked a major debate in the world of rap last week. He dropped a single where he called out the other members of a supposed “big three,” Drake and J. Cole. That got everyone debating over who really deserved to sit atop contemporary rap’s throne. It also got people debating over who would take which side in some kind of greater rap beef spawning from Kendrick’s gauntlet. So far, none of that has happened but Kanye West may have just poured gasoline on the fire with a new Instagram post.

Seemingly unprompted, West decided to speak his mind. “EVERYONE KNOWS I WASHED KENDRICK ON NO MORE PARTIES IN LA, EVERYONE KNOWS I WASHED DRAKE AT THE FREE HOOVER CONCERT. EVERYONE KNOWS I BROUGHT ADIDAS INTO THIS CULTURE AND I TOOK THEM OUT, EVERYONE KNOWS LOTTA DEMNA VIRGIL JERRY KIM ALL WORKED FOR ME. I MADE YEEZUS DARK FANTASY PABLO GRADUATION THRONE 808S, I MADE RUNAWAY DEVIL IN A NEW DRESS FATHER STRETCH. I AM THE ONLY PERSON TO COME BACK TO NUMBER ONE AFTER CANCELLATION. THERE IS ONLY ONE GOAT. I STAND BY ME. MY FRIENDS CALL ME YE :)” the full text of his Instagram post reads. Check out the fan reactions to the post below.

Read More: Freddie Gibbs Needs Kanye West As Much As Kanye West Needs Freddie Gibbs

Kanye West Calls Out Drake And Kendrick Lamar With New Instagram Post

Kanye West may have slyly avoided playing a larger role in the ongoing Diddy drama of this week. Reports now claim that he turned down a meeting with the rap mogul just a few weeks ago. That meeting would have been fresh in a lot of fans’ minds when two of his properties were raided by feds earlier this week.

What do you think of the claims Kanye made in his new Instagram post? Do you think he’s washed both Kendrick and Drake in the past? Do you think he has the right to call himself the GOAT? Let us know in the comment section below.

Read More: What Is Kanye West’s Best-Selling Album?

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Is Drake Featured On Bfb Da Packman’s ‘Olympic Sh*t Talkin?’

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While much of the world prepares for the arrival of Beyoncé’s long-awaited country album Cowboy Carter, stalwart fans of Flint rapper Bfb Da Packman have been hyping the impending release of his album, Forget Me Not. Rap fans were surprised and enthused when he shared the tracklist, which promised a Drake feature on the song “Olympic Sh*t Talkin” — especially with, well, circumstances. However, there appears to be a wrinkle: According to Complex on Twitter, Drake doesn’t appear on the song at all.

However, Packman responded to Complex’s post, calling it “Fake news” shortly after.

So, which is it? Is Drake featured on ‘Olympic Sh*t Talkin’” or not?

According to Packman, the discrepancy is due to timezones and a recent change to the album’s tracklist with his distribution service, TuneCore. It looks like Drake’s verse came through after the album was uploaded to the distribution service, so an update was made that hasn’t taken effect yet in timezones where the album is already out. The version of the song with Drake’s verse should appear when the album goes live on streamers at midnight ET / 9pm PT tonight.

Packman had one more thing to say on the matter, though. He’s convinced that “someone” (he doesn’t specify who) is trying to sabotage his release. However, it’s more likely that because updates were made at the last minute, they had yet to take effect, and fans commenting on the discrepancy naturally warranting reporting since the song was so heavily anticipated. In all likelihood, Packman may want to view this as a good thing, because it means people are definitely going to be checking for his album, even with a new Beyoncé album on the same day. Pretty impressive for an independent artist.

Drake Seemingly Responds To Kendrick Lamar’s Diss On ‘Like That’ With A Simple Declaration

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Drake found himself in the crosshairs last week on Future and Metro Boomin’s new album, We Don’t Trust You: Kendrick Lamar took an apparent dig at him on “Like That,” rapping, “Motherf*ck the big three, n****, it’s just big me.” The line is seemingly a reference to a J. Cole lyric from his and Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” in which he refers to himself, Drake, and Lamar is rap’s “big three.”

Since then, fans have been waiting to see how Drake would respond, and now it looks like he may have.

Sharing a photo gallery of various shots on Instagram late last night/early this morning (March 28), Drake captioned the post, “They rather go to war with me than admit they are their own worst enemy [crying laughing emoji].”

He got support from notable folks in the comments: Birdman wrote, “Fukem @champagnepapi”; Odell Beckham Jr. chimed in with “Game time” and some laughing emojis; and Kevin Durant added, “Real sh*t.”

Drake’s dad Dennis Graham previously came to his defense with a sarcastic message, writing, “Yo, I am about to drop some new music. And I am not sure if it’s going to sell, but I am going to call some of my homies and get them to start a beef with Drake and get them to unfollow him, and that’s going make my sh*t shoot up to number 1. I’m sure this is going to work, so let me get some people on board for this and watch what kind of attention this gets!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL BE NUMBER ONE 1Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Drake on IG to Whom It May Concern: ‘They Are Their Own Worst Enemy’

Drake Becomes First Rapper to Earn $5 Million in a Single Arena Concert

Drake hit Instagram to deliver a message to everyone looking to beef with him: “They rather go to war with me than admit they are their own worst enemy.”

Kendrick Lamar’s bars toward Drake were definitely heard. While on stage over the weekend in Sunrise, FL, Drake spoke about the diss that arrived on “Like That” from the We Don’t Trust You album.

“A lot of people ask me how I’m feeling. I’ma let you know I’m feeling. Listen, the same way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out this building tonight,” Drake said. “I got my f–king head up high, my back straight, I’m 10 f–king toes down in Florida and anywhere else I go. And I know that no matter what, it’s not a n—a on this earth that could ever f–k with me in my life!”

In case you haven’t heard the song it is available below.

But, when is Drake going to get in the booth?

The post Drake on IG to Whom It May Concern: ‘They Are Their Own Worst Enemy’ first appeared on The Source.

The post Drake on IG to Whom It May Concern: ‘They Are Their Own Worst Enemy’ appeared first on The Source.

Drake Revealed He Got His Tooth Diamond Changed Because He Was Fed Up With A Common Confusion It Caused

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Drake wound up watching a clip from comedian Mo Gilligan on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he discussed meeting the Toronto rapper at the Wireless Festival in London. While there, Gilligan recounted the fact that things got a little awkward.

“My friend, Javan, was like, ‘Drake, you’ve got something in your tooth, a little red thing in your tooth,’” Gilligan explained. “And Drake’s like, ‘Is it gone?’”

“I’m looking at [Javan] like, ‘Bruv, you’re really messing up this interaction right now! And then Drake’s like, ‘Is it a pepper?’” he continued. “This is how I knew this was Drake. He goes, ‘Oh yeah, that’s my diamond. I got a diamond in my tooth.’”

After Drake saw the clip on social media, he pointed out that it wasn’t the first time he’s been mistaken for someone with food in their teeth.

“I actually got that diamond changed after this interaction cause this was the 10th time someone said it was food,” he commented on an Instagram post.

Drake has been open about having a pink diamond in his tooth, including after one fan remarked back in 2018 about how even with all his money, “your teeth don’t look clean.” He fired back about how he brushes his teeth with “activated charcoal” before heading to the club.

It seems Drake learned his lesson about only keeping his diamonds in jewelry pieces — and not in his teeth.

Check out the clip of Gilligan talking about Drake’s tooth diamond below.

Drake Unbothered by Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” Diss: ‘Head Up High, My Back Straight’

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Kendrick Lamar’s bars toward Drake were definitely heard. While on stage over the weekend in Sunrise, FL, Drake spoke about the diss that arrived on “Like That” from the We Don’t Trust You album.

“A lot of people ask me how I’m feeling. I’ma let you know I’m feeling. Listen, the same way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out this building tonight,” Drake said. “I got my f–king head up high, my back straight, I’m 10 f–king toes down in Florida and anywhere else I go. And I know that no matter what, it’s not a n—a on this earth that could ever f–k with me in my life!”

In case you haven’t heard the song it is available below.

Kendrick Lamar can boast a significant number of hits, each of which has gathered over 1 billion streams on music platforms. For example, on Spotify, the track “HUMBLE.” has collected 2,137,799,132 streams, followed by “All The Stars” (with SZA) with 1,570,370,644 streams, and closing the top three is “Money Trees” with 1,380,074,334 streams. According to DKcasinospot analytics, the musician had 53,678,322 listeners per month, and in terms of monetization, this would amount to approximately $214,713.29.

The post Drake Unbothered by Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” Diss: ‘Head Up High, My Back Straight’ first appeared on The Source.

The post Drake Unbothered by Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” Diss: ‘Head Up High, My Back Straight’ appeared first on The Source.

Kendrick Lamar Disses Drake & J. Cole: Unpacking Future & Metro Boomin’s “Like That”

Future and Metro Boomin finally released their long-awaited collab album We Don’t Trust You last week. It arrived to a flurry of positive reviews from critics and fans alike. One stand-out moment on the record was a surprise, with an uncredited Kendrick Lamar feature on the track “Like That.” Much to the shock of listeners, Kendrick brought some incredibly competitive energy to the song. Notably, he explicitly took shots at Drake and J. Cole. Fans have already begun spreading jokes and memes about the explosive verse online. Some argued that the shots mark the first blood in a hip hop world war. With artists already taking sides and fans anticipating a fiery response from J. Cole and Drake, let’s dive into Kendrick’s lyrics on “Like That” and dissect the bars.

Kendrick Has Had Smoke For Drake For Years

Long before Kendrick Lamar made his feelings clear on “Like That,” he and Drake have taken numerous subliminal shots at one another on tracks such as The Game’s “100,” Dr. Dre’s “Deep Water,” and Big Sean’s “Control.” Kendrick’s “Control” verse famously called out a wide array of his musical contemporaries, with some taking the mention of their name as a compliment, while others considered it a call to arms. When the song first premiered in 2013, Drake responded in an interview with Billboard, stating, “I know good and well that [Kendrick Lamar]‘s not murdering me, at all, in any platform. So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.”

While the subliminal shots over the years have been minor enough for some fans to ignore the Cold War feud, Kendrick’s “Like That” verse is the most overt diss yet, specifically responding to lyrics by J. Cole and Drake on their recent collab track “First Person Shooter.” On “First Person Shooter,” Drake raps, “First-person shooter mode, we turnin’ your song to a funeral.” The opening lyrics to Kendrick’s “Like That” feature respond to this lyric directly, stating, “These n****s talkin’ out of they necks, don’t pull no coffin out of your mouth, I’m way too paranoid for a threat.” Elsewhere on the track, Kendrick raps, “Say it’s a lot of goodies with a check I mean, ah / I hope them sentiments symbolic / Ah, my temperature bipolar I choose violence.” These bars reference Drake’s ongoing deal with Nike while likening his rap rival to that of an ineffective Twitter troll.

Kendrick Specifically Aims At J. Cole For The First Time

Despite Kendrick’s years-long under-the-radar beef with Drake, he and Cole have had a positive relationship with one another in the past. The duo have worked together on numerous tracks, toured worldwide, and even teased a collaborative album, which never ultimately materialized. However, it appears as though J. Cole’s lyrics on “First Person Shooter,” referring to himself, Drake, and Kendrick as the Big 3 artists leading the rap game, sparked this fiery response from Kendrick Lamar in the first place.

On “Like That,” Kendrick Lamar alludes to his foes clicking up before name-checking both “First Person Shooter” and Drake’s album For All The Dogs. Kendrick raps, “F*** sneak dissin’ / First person shooter, I hope they came with three switches,” and “For all your dogs gettin’ buried, that’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.” His most explicit jab at J. Cole responds directly to the Big 3 discussion, with the bar, “Think I won’t drop the location? I still got PTSD / Motherf*** the Big 3, n**** it’s just Big Me.” Clearly, Kendrick Lamar felt insulted by the mere notion that Drake and J. Cole are on his level, rebuking the notion of sharing the crown with two rappers he views to be beneath him artistically.

Drake & J. Cole Have Not Responded On Wax

While Drake had some choice words for his detractors at a recent concert stop, neither J. Cole nor Drake have responded to Kendrick’s “Like That” verse in the days since it was released. Fans anticipate a mellow rebuttal from Cole, possibly in the form of a “Might Delete Later” vlog entry or a freestyle verse. Fans are skeptical that Drake will directly respond to Kendrick Lamar on a record. Many claim that Drake can’t write a compelling diss to the Compton rapper. This is especially after receiving a scathing lyrical beating from Pusha T on the track “The Story of Adidon” several years ago.

Either way, “Like That” will surely not end this beef, as Future and Metro Boomin appear to have sided with Kendrick, along with other notable collaborators such as Rick Ross and The Weeknd. After J. Cole and Drake linked on For All The Dogs, many fans hoped to see a big 3 collaboration on Cole’s upcoming LP The Fall Off. Now, the idea of such a collaboration seems further from materializing than ever before.

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The post Kendrick Lamar Disses Drake & J. Cole: Unpacking Future & Metro Boomin’s “Like That” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Bfb Da Packman’s ‘Forget Me Not’ Tracklist Features Drake, DDG, Skilla Baby, And More

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Nate Guenther

Of all the co-signs a rising artist could receive, the most coveted is still Drake’s — just look at the response to his remix of 4Batz’s breakout song “Act II: Date @ 8.” Even Kendrick Lamar, who is apparently dead set on going at Drake’s neck lately, owes at least some of his popularity to appearing on the Canadian rapper’s second album.

However that particular situation turns out, Drake hasn’t stopped sharing his platform with up-and-coming artists. The latest to receive his coveted co-sign is Flint, Michigan’s Bfb Da Packman. Drake appears on the tracklist of Packman’s upcoming album Forget Me Not, which he shared via social media on Monday (March 25).

In addition to Drake, Forget Me Not will feature guest appearances from many of Bfb Da Packman’s fellow Michigan natives, includine DDG, Icewear Vezzo, Rio Da Yung OG, Skilla Baby, and Yhung T.O.. West Coast rap impressionist 03 Greedo also makes an appearance, further strengthening the longstanding bond between the Motor City and the Golden State.

Drake’s impending appearance on Packman’s album is already generating plenty of buzz online, as fans of the underground rapper anticipate a glowup of similar proportions to all those who have tapped the reigning star of hip-hop on past projects like Lil Baby, Migos, and more.

Forget Me Not is out on 3/29 via Sony.

Drake’s Dad Reportedly Clapped Back At Kendrick Lamar, Future, And Metro Boomin’s Diss Song ‘Like That’

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To borrow a line from Jay-Z, it’s no fun when the family feud. But it is quite interesting to watch when celebrities kinfolk get involved in public disputes.

According to Drake, Metro Boomin and Future’s diss song “Like That” featuring Kendrick Lamar (apparently a longtime foe) didn’t ruffle his feathers. However, the “Rich Baby Daddy” rapper’s father, Dennis Graham, seems far more bothered by the remarks made on wax. To air out his frustration, the Papa Bear reportedly clapped back at the trio and Drake’s former industry friend, who has unfollowed his son online since the track’s release.

On March 25, in a now-deleted post on Instagram, Graham supposedly delivered the heat Drake’s response lacked. “Yo, I am about to drop some new music,” he sarcastically wrote. “And I am not sure if it’s going to sell, but I am going to call some of my homies and get them to start a beef with Drake and get them to unfollow him, and that’s going make my shit shoot up to number 1. I’m sure this is going to work, so let me get some people on board for this and watch what kind of attention this gets!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL BE NUMBER ONE 1Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Folks online are divided on Graham’s involvement. Some consider it corny. Others declare that all is fair in love and rap beef. But hey: If Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, can thumb thug it out with trolls when it comes to her superstar daughter, Graham should be granted the same parental grace.