Ebro Darden has weighed in on the recent lawsuit against Jay-Z in which an alleged victim has amended a previous lawsuit against Diddy to now name the Roc Nation founder. She accuses the two of them of raping her at an afterparty for the 2000 MTV VMAs when she was just 13 years old. Speaking about the situation on Monday, Ebro complained about how excited users on social media have been to tear down Jay-Z.
“My biggest problem in all of this is the clown show that sexual assaults have become,” he said. “I don’t know why so many people want to see Jay-Z get torn down. It’s a nature of our culture that we aren’t wanting to examine. It’s disgusting. People love a tear-down of somebody successful. Maybe you don’t like all his business dealings. Some people are upset with their own lives and they see somebody else seemingly having a phenomenal run at life and they don’t wanna see it… I would say in all this it still takes me back to how upsetting it is that sexual assault is a game.”
Jay-Z Speaks With Diddy During Roc Nation’s Brunch
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Sean Combs and Jay-Z attend 2020 Roc Nation THE BRUNCH on January 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)
Ebro’s far from the first person to discuss the situation since the news broke on Sunday. On the latest episode of The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne Tha God suggested that the alleged victim is likely looking for a paycheck. “You hear the initial accusation but you don’t ever see when the case gets dropped,” he said. “You don’t see when the case actually gets dismissed. I’m telling you, all of this stuff is a grift. It’s complete foolishness.”
Ebro Darden Discusses The Recent Lawsuit Against Jay-Z
Meek Mill also came to Jay’s defense in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He complained about the social media algorithm circulating false accusations. Both Jay-Z and Diddy have denied the allegations. Check out Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg’s full comments on the latest lawsuit below.
Ebro reacts to the Jay-Z sexual assault lawsuit accusation with Diddy
“my biggest problem in all of this is the clown show that sexual assaults have become… I don’t know why so many people want to see Jay-Z get torn down… its a nature of our culture that we aren’t wanting to… pic.twitter.com/rzx9KgGNCU
Skepta says that Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s viral feud from earlier this year is bad for the business of hip-hop and casts a negative light on younger artists looking for opportunities. While speaking with Ebro Darden, Skepta argued that the two are closing the very doors they opened in the industry.
“When stuff like that gets said now, it’s more personal. There was one K. Dot diss track that came out and I was like, ‘This is over.’ Like this isn’t rap. This isn’t clashing anymore. This is over like they don’t like each other. It’s clear. I can hear it. I can hear it in his voice. He doesn’t like him,” he began. From there, Skepta brought up how both artists have major contracts with huge companies and that talking to each other like this “is looking crazy.” He explained: “It’s hurting what we’ve built. It’s hurting what we’ve all built this whole time. If you don’t like each other, just link up and talk to each other and sort it out.” He concluded by arguing that the whole beef is shutting doors that Drake and Lamar opened for younger artists.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 19: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during The Pop Out – Ken & Friends Presented by pgLang and Free Lunch at The Kia Forum on June 19, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon Music, & Free Lunch)
Lamar kicked off the feud by dissing both Drake and J. Cole during an appearance on Future and Metro Boomin’s song, “Like That,” earlier this year. Afterward, he and Drake traded several vicious diss tracks aimed at one another including the massive hit song, “Not Like Us.”
Skepta Breaks His Silence On Drake & Kendrick Lamar’s Beef
In other news, the NFL recently announced that Lamar will be headlining the upcoming Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. That news hasn’t sat well with Drake’s longtime collaborator, Lil Wayne, who wanted to perform at the event. Check out Skepta’s full thoughts on the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar below.
Lil Uzi Vert has clarified that they don’t have any problems with Ebro Darden, after the radio host downplayed the legitimacy of them having achieved rockstar status. Rumors of a feud between the two initially began when Uzi teased a tracklist to their new album, Eternal Atake 2, featuring a song titled, “Chill Ebro.” The song didn’t end up being released officially when the project dropped on Friday, but Uzi discussed their feelings about Ebro during an interview with Complex.
“Ebro is a good guy, that’s my mans,” Uzi said. “I got a different respect for people that’s in hip-hop and anybody who’s my elder. So he has the right, and is entitled to his opinion because he’s definitely a staple in music no matter what…When I say rockstar, he’s looking at the fireworks, he looking at all that stuff. Not the lifestyle, and I understand that. And I wasn’t, especially me being younger, I wasn’t able to explain exactly what I meant.”
As for what exactly Ebro said about Uzi, he discussed the iconic rapper during a panel in 2022 that resurfaced ahead of Eternal Atake 2. “I love Uzi Vert,” he said. “I feel like he still hasn’t become the rockstar he said he would become, though. I’m still waiting. Maybe I took it literal, but the rockstars that I know, they were selling out MetLife Stadium. They could sell out Madison Square Garden eight, 10 times. They got hits on the radio, everywhere. Songs is everywhere.”
Lil Uzi Vert Discusses “Eternal Atake 2”
Check out Uzi’s interview with Complex below. Uzi’s new album is their first since 2023’s Pink Tape. It contains only one guest appearance with Big Time Rush collaborating on “The Rush.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Lil Uzi Vert on HotNewHipHop.
Weeks apart, rap’s dynamic duo Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla dropped new albums. For Megan Thee Stallion that body of work was Megan: Act II. While GloRilla released her long-awaited debut album, Glorious. Along the way the two emcees have racked up quite the busy with notable collaborations, from the tracks “How I Look,” “Wanna Be” and “Accent,” to a successful performance run on the Hot Girl Summer Tour.
Their musical chemistry (a far cry from their first impression of each other) has sparked demands for the rappers to drop more music together. Now, fans are demanding a full-out collaborative album. But will Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla actually give into supporters’ request? Today (October 29), GloRilla sat down with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1 and further fanned the flames of its possibility.
“Is there truth to the rumor of you and Megan Thee Stallion having a joint project,” asked Ebro. “Y’all got some heat, y’all recorded some things.”
GloRilla followed up, saying: “Yep.”
But that wasn’t the confirmation Ebro needed so he followed up with: “But you can’t confirm nor deny.”
Evasively, GloRilla answered: “Right.”
Well, in a Stationhead broadcast (captured by Inside The Industry podcast) Megan Thee Stallion shed light on what’s holding the potential project up. “We’re both so busy,” she said. “We said we were going to sit down in December and start working on it. So, y’all really need to spam Glo for real because we’re both bullsh*ters.”
Watch GloRilla’s full appearance on Apple Music 1 hosted by Ebro Darden above.
Ebro Darden doesn’t know how Drake’s career can recover from taking a loss in his feud with Kendrick Lamar. He discussed where the Toronto rapper can go from here during a show for Apple Music, explaining that he doesn’t feel Drake can act tough anymore.
“I don’t know how Drake comes back,” Ebro began. “I don’t know what his sound is gonna be. Everybody’s like, ‘What got taken from him?’ How does Drake ever talk greasy on a song like you about to do something tough after? Kendrick called you out for coopting the entire Atlanta thing, so what is your slang now? What are you saying now?”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 16: Jennifer Lopez joins Apple Music Radio host Ebro Darden on “This Is Me…Now” Radio on Apple Music 1 on February 16, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Tomas Herold/Getty Images for Apple Music)
From there, he described how the situation still presents an opportunity for Drake to put on for his hometown. Ebro continued: “But also, there’s an opportunity in that because now it is time. A lot of people in Toronto was like, ‘Toronto got a sound.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, in this battle if Drake would’ve said, ‘You know what, like the Avengers, it’s Toronto versus everybody.” What would that have sounded like? We know when we heard Mustard on the beat, we knew what that was. What is that for them? When it’s time to wage war. Not when it’s time to make a Diddy bop. Not when it’s time to fall in love. Not when it’s time to go on vacation.” Check out the full comments below.
Ebro Darden Questions Where Drake Goes From Here
Ebro questions, How does Drake ever talk greasy on a song like he’s going to do something tough after his rap battle with Kendrick Lamar.
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) June 26, 2024
The latest update in the beef comes from the side of Lamar, who spent last weekend in the streets of Los Angeles filming a music video for his diss track, “Not Like Us.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Ebro Darden as well as Drake and Kendrick Lamar on HotNewHipHop.
Ebro Darden is happy with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill taking the top spot on Apple Music’s viral list of the 100 best albums in history. In a post on X, Wednesday, he argued that no album has been as “lyrical” and “conscious” while having “reached as far” as the iconic 1998 did.
He wrote: “You may not think Miseducation of Lauryn Hill should have been #1 … But you have never heard a better lyrical AND conscious HipHop & RnB display that reached as far as this album did. NOTHING.” He then retweeted a fan who agreed with him. “I was 8 years old when that album dropped,” they wrote. “I remember very vividly that being the first time music had ever given me an emotional experience. Happy, sad, thoughtful, love. I have no problem with it being # 1.”
Ebro Darden Speaks With Jennifer Lopez On Apple Music Radio
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 16: Jennifer Lopez joins Apple Music Radio host Ebro Darden on “This Is Me…Now” Radio on Apple Music 1 on February 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Tomas Herold/Getty Images for Apple Music)
Apple Music has slowly been releasing it’s list of the 100 best albums in recent days. Scott Plagenhoef, Apple Music’s global head of music programming, explained the goals of the project to USA TODAY. He said: “Unlike other lists we wanted it to reflect albums that really had an impact on the music artists are making today and that these be hand-selected by the most passionate people on Earth.” Expectedly, the choices have resulted in plenty of debate on social media. Other inclusions in the top 10 include albums from Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and more.
Ebro Darden Discusses Lauryn Hill’s Placement
You may not think Miseducation of Lauryn Hill should have been #1 …
But you have never heard a better lyrical AND conscious HipHop & RnB display that reached as far as this album did.
Ebro Darden, a titan of music radio, was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth but with a golden ear for tunes. He was raised in California and Florida and had a multicultural upbringing. This likely shaped his appreciation for various music genres. That, combined with a relentless drive, has culminated in Darden amassing a net worth of $800,000 in 2024, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Sound Of Success: Darden’s Resounding Career Triumphs
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 03: Ebro Darden during The Hot 97 Summer Jam Announcement Party. At Headquarters on April 03, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
The essence of Darden’s illustrious career is his tenure at Hot 97. Here, he ascended the ranks from intern to Program Director and then to an on-air personality. Hot 97, a station renowned for breaking new artists and setting trends in hip-hop, blossomed under his stewardship. However, it’s at Beats 1, as Apple Music’s Global Editorial Head of Hip-Hop and R&B, where Darden truly resonates. From conducting insightful interviews to curating superlative playlists, he’s influential in the music streaming era. It’s a compelling testament to his keen understanding of the industry’s pulse.
Off The Airwaves: The Personal Symphony Of Ebro Darden
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 03: Ebro Darden speaks during Zedd Presents WELCOME! – Fundraising Concert Benefiting The ACLU – Show at Staples Center on April 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images)
Darden’s personal life reflects the warmth and charisma he exudes on air. The music host is a doting father to his daughter, Issa. He often shares snippets of their delightful father-daughter moments on his social media handles. A man of private disposition, Darden masterfully balances his on-air vivacity with a grounded personal life.
Beyond The Booth: Darden’s Ventures & Altruistic Actions
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 05: Media executive/ radio personality Ebro Darden attends ‘Up Close & Personal with Benny Blanco’ at Subculture NYC on October 5, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/WireImage for The Recording Academy)
Darden’s influence extends beyond the music industry. He has dabbled in television, hosting VH1’s This is Hot 97 reality show. This venture showcased his charismatic persona, gaining him more recognition and expanding his brand. In philanthropy, Darden often uses his platform to advocate for social issues. He is vocal about racial justice and equality, supporting initiatives like the Black Lives Matter movement. His philanthropic inclinations reinforce his standing as an influential and conscientious figure in the industry.
The Last Beat: Reflecting On Ebro Darden’s Profound Impact
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 10: Busta Rhymes (L) and Ebro Darden attend “The Wizrd” New York Screening at iPic Theater on January 10, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Ebro Darden’s journey is a vibrant symphony, resonating with success, influence, and purpose. From humble beginnings to becoming one of the most influential figures in music, his story embodies determination. His contributions to the music industry have been immense and varied. It paints a portrait of a man who can effortlessly don the roles of tastemaker, gatekeeper, and disruptor. Off the airwaves, his commitment to social justice further underscores his role as a conscious influencer, using his voice to effect change.
Ebro is much more than a radio host or music executive. He is also an institution, a tour de force whose legacy reverberates through the corridors of the music industry. His tale is an inspiration, a powerful refrain reminding us that with passion, one can orchestrate their own symphony of success.
Def Jam knew what it was doing back in 2021 when they signed Benny The Butcher. The Buffalo icon had already been dominating in Rap arenas, often alongside his Griselda brothers, for nearly two decades. His transition to the legendary Hip Hop label was fueled by its creative consultant Snoop Dogg and ushered in a new era for Benny. Finally, the rapper delivered EVERYBODY CAN’T GO on Friday (January 26), and to add insight into his latest, Benny chopped it up with Ebro Darden on Rap Life Radio for Apple Music 1.
“I realized that in my life, which is the reason I made it the album title, is just realizing that I’m at a different level. To make it from here to where I’m at right now, had to lose a lot of people,” Benny The Butcher told Ebro when explaining why gave his project its title. He added, “I came from the bullsh*t. You know what I’m saying?… I don’t ever want to go back. So, everybody can’t go. There’s some habits that I got that can’t go. Seeing that that was happening in my real life in real-time, it was only right that I named the album after that.”
Read through a few highlights from the expansive conversation between Benny and Ebro as the rapper discusses getting signed to Def Jam, delaying EVERYBODY CAN’T GO‘s arrival, rejecting a rapper’s feature for a surprising reason, and mapping out another album release this year.
On Why EVERYBODY CAN’T GO Wasn’t Released On August 28 As First Announced
I want to explain this to people. This my first go-around on a major label, and I’m just excited. I heard the label talking about August 28th. And next interview, I just said that sh*t. They let me know like, “Nah, you can’t do that type of sh*t.” You know what I mean? I’m like, from that point to this one, I see like, ain’t no way we was going to drop that date. We wasn’t ready. I ain’t had no videos done, I ain’t have sh*t done. I was just happy to announce a date…I don’t know how they do it, but I think in my case, samples wasn’t clear. You know what I’m saying? I ain’t have no video shot. I’m used to doing independent sh*t. We throw that out there as soon as it get done.
On Rejecting A Feature Because The Rapper Didn’t Show Up Over Their Outfit
I was going to do a feature with this artist. This artist, honestly, I see them doing their thing, but they could have never came and stepped to me and got a feature on their own. Some other people stepped to me and said, “We got the paper. We want to pay you for this, do this.” I’m like, “Okay, set it up for the next day.” And when the time came, they was calling me like, man, this person didn’t have their, I’m saying, their outfit wasn’t right. So, they couldn’t do it. Man, I closed the book on that. I ain’t want to do this anyway. Your outfit wasn’t right? Because all they wanted to do was come and take pictures next to me. You know what I’m saying? And I thought we was about to get in the booth. I thought we was about to do what we do. But it’s over. I closed the door on that.
On The Meaning Behind The Title, EVERYBODY CAN’T GO
I realized that in my life, which is the reason I made it the album title, is just realizing that I’m at a different level. To make it from here to where I’m at right now, had to lose a lot of people. I had to turn my back on a lot of people. And when I say turn my back, I ain’t like, forget about nobody. Nothing like that. But I had to do what’s best for me. It’s okay to be selfish. You know what I’m saying? We grown-ass men.
So, to take another leap, I got to do the same thing. And at this point of life, whoever don’t agree with your decisions to make life easier and more peaceful for yourself, they don’t love you. I want to be in this game for a minute. I want to be at peace with myself for a minute, I came from the bullsh*t. You know what I’m saying? I’m not 10 years in the game. So, I don’t ever want to go back. So, everybody can’t go. There’s some habits that I got that can’t go. Seeing that that was happening in my real life in real-time, it was only right that I named the album after that.
Benny The Butcher On How He Got Signed To Def Jam By Snoop Dogg
Well, on my side, I was already kicking it with Def Jam, trying to get the contract and work. But what I didn’t know, when he came over there, he asked them like, “Yo, who y’all trying to get, who y’all ain’t been able to get?” And they said my name, I guess. You know what I’m saying? They had him call me, we met up. We chopped it, and we kicked it. Energy was all love. You know what I’m saying? He gave me some information and some game that I needed to hear. He just kicked it with me, he was transparent with me. We exchanged phone numbers, and he sought the rest of the deal out. He made sure it happened.
On Dropping A Second Album This Year
Ebro Darden: This album got a lot of heat on it, man. And you kept it tight. Only 12 records.
Benny The Butcher: I wanted to put a lot on there, but some records ain’t get cleared. You know what I mean?
Benny: Yo, y’all smart, man. You’re the second person that said that. It’s like, “Yo, is that your plan?” And that’s exactly my plan. I’m trying to drop twice this year. I’m coming back.
Listen to Benny The Butcher and Ebro Darden’s full conversation on Rap Life Radio for Apple Music 1 at https://apple.co/_RapLife.
Nicki Minaj, the reigning monarch of Gag City, recently sat down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden in a live, in-studio interview in New York City. The candid conversation delves into the intricacies of Pink Friday 2.
During the discussion, Minaj fearlessly opens up about the moment she received the news of her father’s passing, offering insights into how this deeply personal experience shaped the first track of PF2, titled “Are You Gone Already.” The interview captures the essence of Minaj’s no-holds-barred approach, providing fans with an intimate glimpse into the artist’s emotional journey and the profound impact it had on her latest musical endeavor.
During the conversation, Minaj revealed how she heard about the death of her father and how it influenced her album:
The first verse. The thing why it’s confusing a little bit is because my documentary was originally going to be out with the music, but because the music wasn’t out, I didn’t want to put the documentary out. It’s a great documentary. But anyway, because [it wasn’t out], people are a little bit lost, because they don’t have any context. So I’m going to make it quick. The first verse was me talking to… “You never got to meet Papa.” Okay, it’s me speaking to my father.
My father had just passed. So right after I had the baby, and it was during Corona, and nobody knew what was going on, so, one day, I was rocking the baby and I don’t normally have the phone on me when I’m rocking him. Because at that time, I was mad strict like, “Oh, that [radiation] is going to get in my child, don’t put the phone by my child.” So normally, I wouldn’t have it.
But that day, as I’m rocking him, the phone rings, and I see it’s my father. I normally would not have picked up, because I don’t like to be on the phone with the baby there. I would’ve called him back. Something said, “Pick up the phone.” I picked up, he was very happy, and he was like, “Baby, I could come on Monday” Because he had been waiting to be able to come to Cali to help me. I kept on saying, “Come on out.” He wasn’t really happy, but I knew that, when he came be with us, we were going to be happy.
He is this amazing, great person, who livens up the whole house. I was like, “Yes, we were going to get help.” And then, we went to bed, and sometime late, while we were all asleep, the phone rang. And it was my mother, telling me that my father was in an accident and that she didn’t know what was going to happen, and she would call me back. And then, everything started spinning, literally, because now, also, I just had my baby. After I had my baby was the first time in my life that I ever fainted. I never knew what it felt like to faint, but I’m already hypersensitive with everything. So to get that call, and it’s the exact replica of a call, I had in about four or five dreams, but it was the exact replica of one particular dream I had about this.
[In the dream] the person was saying, “Such and such, your mom, we’re going to call you back and let you know how it went.” But this call now is with my father. And I’m like, “Wait a minute. I dreamt this.” But I remembered, in the dream, I didn’t get the call back. I didn’t remember how it ended. So I called my pastor and we started praying. But two nights before that, I had already texted three, four people, because it was including my mother. And I said, “Something bad is happening, and everybody needs to pray.”
But anyway, because I knew the two days before, I saw all this blood coming out of someone’s head laying on the floor, but the person was conscious, they were scared, but it was just pouring out in the hair. And I’m like thinking, “Whatever, whatever.” I sent that text to everybody like, “This is crazy.”
And then, two nights later, this happened. So I opened the album with saying, “You never got to meet papa. He sweet proper, he keep Mama on my toes.” What else I said? “You never got to meet Papa.” So I call my son Papa Bear. So I’m telling my father, “You never got to meet Papa.” And then, I begin to explain the time from my mother first calling me, telling me he was in an accident, to her calling me, telling me that he didn’t make it. So I’m like, “The waiting, the pacing, the raving.” And at the end, “I just believed you’d awaken, a memory in the making. Call me. Won’t you call me? Are you gone already?” Because I couldn’t believe so fast from accident on.
A few hours earlier. He was the happiest that I had heard him in a long time. But anyway, but what was interesting, why I said, ” Are you gone already?” is because I knew he was gone already. Because while we were praying, the prayer changed to not like being “Help him or duh, duh, duh.” The way the pastor just started speaking him was like calling him back.
It feels as if we’ve been drowning in all things Barbie lately. The Margot Robbie-led film was a global blockbuster hit, and prolonging the pink-themed celebrations is Nicki Minaj. We’re approaching exactly one month since the Queen Barb dropped her anticipated Pink Friday 2, and fans have made sure to run the rapper’s latest up the charts.
As we wade through another season of Nicki stacking one accolade after another, the Rap icon sat down with Ebro Darden for Apple Music 1. The two chatted about the evolution of Nicki’s career as a femcee legend and, of course, touched on the rapper’s fiercely guarded private life. This includes the tragic death of Minaj’s father, Robert Maraj, in 2021 after he was hit by a car. She reflected on her final conversation with him.
“I picked up [the phone], he was very happy, and he was like, ‘Baby, I could come on Monday,’ because he had been waiting to be able to come to Cali to help me. I kept on saying, ‘Come on out.’ He wasn’t really happy, but I knew that when he came to be with us, we were going to be happy.”
The “Barbie World” hitmaker also spoke on reuniting with Drake—and named which one of her Pink Friday 2 tracks was initially intended to be on For All the Dogs. Watch the candid interview above and read through a few standout soundbites from Nicki Minaj below.
On If She Feels Loved By The Hip Hop Community
Ebro: But you know you’re loved, right? You know you’re appreciated and loved. Do you know that?
Nicki Minaj: By my fans, abso-f*cking-lutely, yeah.
Ebro: But just by hip hop in general, do you think that?
Nicki Minaj: I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.
Ebro: I have never met a person who has fixed their lips to say, “Nicki’s not dope.” People might be like, I don’t personally listen to her albums, but they know skill-wise. And is that for you, as someone who came up in this game and fought to have respect right next to the dudes, the only woman that’s ever been on a record with Hov and Ye and Em and F*cking Carey, right? I think that’s what has always mattered to you the most.
Nicki Minaj: Always. Always has. Always has mattered to me that, whether you knew how I look, whether you knew where I was from, whether you knew if I was a male, female, whatever, all that mattered to me was that, “Are they liking my raps?” And somewhere along the line, that shifted, and it’s everyone’s fault, as a whole, as our culture. It’s insane to go backwards. And I’m keeping it a thousand, because when I think about the people who inspired me, I can still pull from them right now. That’s why Biggie, rest in peace, he seems to always make his way on my projects. And I didn’t even realize that.
You know what I’m saying? So thank God I had those kinds of people that, right now, I can still pull inspiration from them, when I don’t have anything to pull from, whether it’s Biggie, whether it’s Jay, whether it’s Foxy, whether it’s Wayne, whether it’s Lauryn Hill, because they were so great, that I don’t care about any of Biggie Smalls’ videos or Lauryn Hill’s videos. I care about the music. When I was riding on the trains to school, I had my CD player and my headphones. I didn’t give a sh*t about what any of them looked like. And it kind of has become a little whatever.
On Drake Sending Her “Seeing Green”
I was having so much writer’s block and dealing with being a mom and losing my father and losing a couple other people that were really close to me. But when Drake sent me “Seeing Green,” even though I went down in my studio three different times, I got it done. I pushed myself to be better. I was mad at myself for being… I’m like, “Am I late? What is wrong? What’s happening?” But I know one thing, I knew I was going to send him back a mother*cking verse he was going to mother*cking love. That’s what it is, sacrifice too about, it’s your passion. The f*cking best basketball player in the world, the best boxer in the world, they sacrifice. Why? Because they want to be the best. So why is it, in music, there’s no trade anymore?
On Collaborating With Drake For All The Dogs But Adding The Track To PF2
Well, he told the fans at his tour that I was going to be able on his album. And actually, the song he was talking about was “Needle.” But he ended up feeling like sonically it didn’t match For All The Dogs. And I, from day one felt like it matched Pink Friday 2. But even before that, so long ago, I remember joking with Juice and I think my homeboys, I was like, yo, maybe, you know what? You never know. Maybe something happens and it’ll get to be on my album. And this was probably almost a year ago.
I first heard that song in Trinidad when I was in Trinidad for Carnival, so that was in February. And as soon as I heard it, I played it like Glam. We were there doing everything, so they heard it, too. Everybody loved it, and I wanted it for my album. So it was just God’s timing. He said, he asked me did I want it for my album. I was like, absolutely. So the fans were mad thinking that, but he didn’t tell them that there was a change.
And I didn’t either. But yeah, I mean, you know what? It worked out for the best. He did also send me another song, but I wanted our next song to be just Dricki, me and him. And that is what “Needle” is. And it just makes “Needle” the perfect Drake and Nicki song.
My father had just passed. So, right after I had the baby, and it was during Corona, and nobody knew what was going on. So, one day, I was rocking the baby, and I don’t normally have the phone on me when I’m rocking him. Because at that time, I was mad strict, like, “Oh, that [radiation] is going to get in my child, don’t put the phone by my child.” So, normally, I wouldn’t have it.
But that day, as I’m rocking him, the phone rings, and I see it’s my father. I normally would not have picked up, because I don’t like to be on the phone with the baby there. I would’ve called him back. Something said, “Pick up the phone.” I picked up, he was very happy, and he was like, “Baby, I could come on Monday,” because he had been waiting to be able to come to Cali to help me. I kept on saying, “Come on out.” He wasn’t really happy, but I knew that when he came to be with us, we were going to be happy.
He is this amazing, great person who livens up the whole house. I was like, “Yes, we were going to get help.” We went to bed, and sometime late, while we were all asleep, the phone rang. It was my mother telling me that my father was in an accident and that she didn’t know what was going to happen, and she would call me back. And then, everything started spinning, literally, because now, also, I just had my baby. After I had my baby was the first time in my life that I ever fainted. I never knew what it felt like to faint, but I’m already hypersensitive with everything. So, to get that call, and it’s the exact replica of a call I had in about four or five dreams, but it was the exact replica of one particular dream I had about this.
[In the dream] the person was saying, “Such and such, your mom, we’re going to call you back and let you know how it went.” But this call now is with my father. And I’m like, “Wait a minute. I dreamt this.” But I remembered, in the dream, I didn’t get the call back. I didn’t remember how it ended. So, I called my pastor, and we started praying. But two nights before that, I had already texted three, four people, because it was including my mother. And I said, “Something bad is happening, and everybody needs to pray.”
But anyway, because I knew the two days before, I saw all this blood coming out of someone’s head laying on the floor, but the person was conscious. They were scared, but it was just pouring out in the hair. And I’m like thinking, “Whatever, whatever.” I sent that text to everybody like, “This is crazy.”
And then, two nights later, this happened. So, I opened the album with saying, “You never got to meet papa. He sweet proper, he keep Mama on my toes.” What else I said? “You never got to meet Papa.” So, I call my son Papa Bear. So I’m telling my father, “You never got to meet Papa.” And then, I begin to explain the time from my mother first calling me, telling me he was in an accident, to her calling me, telling me that he didn’t make it. So I’m like, “The waiting, the pacing, the raving.” And at the end, “I just believed you’d awaken, a memory in the making. Call me. Won’t you call me? Are you gone already?” Because I couldn’t believe it so fast from accident on.
A few hours earlier, he was the happiest that I had heard him in a long time. But what was interesting—why I said, “Are you gone already?” is because I knew he was gone already. Because while we were praying, the prayer changed to not like being, “Help him or duh, duh, duh.” The way the pastor just started speaking to him was like calling him back.
