Kanye West had a lot of people stressed out as it pertains to the rollout for The Life Of Pablo. Overall, this was an album that went through a lot of changes. Even after its release, the project was continuously being tinkered with. From fixing mixes to adding features, TLOP acted as some sort of free-flowing art project. Although the reviews for the album were mixed at first, it seems like the album has aged extremely well. Sure, there are some questionable bars on it, but some of the production here can be classified as Ye’s best.
During this era, Ye didn’t really care whom he offended. You can say the same of his current mentality. However, this was really true with The Life Of Pablo. Yesterday, the album turned eight years old, and with Taylor Swift-Kanye conspiracies running rampant, we figured it would be appropriate to revisit “Famous.” Fans know this as the song where Ye theorized about having sex with Taylor. This led to a huge firestorm that even involved a leaked phone call with Kim Kardashian. Whatever the case, this song remains memorable for both the lyrics, and the incredible Rihanna feature.
Like many of the tracks on The Life Of Pablo, this song is anthemic. It has phenomenal production while Ye sounds as confident as ever. On an album like Vultures, his lyrics have gone completely downhill. However, The Life Of Pablo and “Famous” in particular will have you yearning for a time when Ye still cared about having a personality. No matter what, you can’t help but feel like TLOP is a moment in time we will unfortunately never get back.
Let us know your favorite track off of The Life Of Pablo, in the comments section below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for more news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming releases.
Quotable Lyrics:
I be Puerto Rican day parade floatin’ That Benz Marina Del Rey coastin’ She in school to be a real estate agent Last month I helped her with the car payment
Swifties have gone after FKA Twigs over a perceived slight from the British artist’s end-of-year photo dump. One particular moment saw Twigs and her friends lying in bed as an overheard camera panned across them. However, Swifties have interpreted this as a recreation of Kanye West’s music video for “Famous”. In the video, Kanye is famously seen in a similar panning shot beside a naked Taylor Swift. While Twigs did feature alongside Kanye on Ty Dolla $ign’s “Ego Death”, there is no indication that her recent video was anything but coincidentally similar.
Regardless, the respective fan bases of Swift and Twigs are now waging way across social media. The Swifties have accused Twigs of taking unprovoked shots at Swift. Meanwhile, Twigs’ fans are arguing that the Swifties are overly sensitive and have decided to start beef where there isn’t any. At the time of writing, neither artist has addressed the situation.
There has been a lot of praise floating around for Swift in recent days. Nicki Minaj said she would work with her “in a heartbeat”. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes showed his teammate’s girlfriend a lot of love during a recent interview. The Chiefs QB called Swift “top tier” and said that Swift had quickly become part of the team after she began dating Travis Kelce. Furthermore, Mahomes said he’s enjoying seeing Swift bond with his wife Brittany. Swift and Kelce recently engaged in some pre-birthday shenanigans with the Mahomes. She and Kelce recently partied until 2am with the Mahomeses to celebrate Swift’s birthday early.
Last weekend, Swift was spotted getting a little foul-mouthed with the refs during the Chiefs’ game against the Patriots. The Chiefs ended a two-game skid with a 27-17 win over the hapless Patriots. However, there were so close calls and tight moments, leading to Swift’s animated reactions. Kansas City are next in action on Christmas Day when they host the Raiders. The Chiefs are 9-5 and have a two-game lead over the surging Denver Broncos, who are 7-7. The Chiefs have three games left on their schedule before the playoffs roll around.
Taylor Swift says that she “moved to a foreign country” after Kim Kardashian leaked her phone call with Kanye West back in 2016. Swift had been feuding with Ye over his song “Famous,” in which he raps, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.” Swift complained about the lyrics while Kanye claimed that she had given him consent to release the song with its inclusion. Afterward, Kardashian leaked an alleged phone call of Swift appearing to give them the green light. Swift reflected on the “career death” moment during a new interview with TIME.
“You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar,” Swift said. “That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard.”
Taylor Swift & Kanye West Meet Up During MTV Video Music Awards
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 30: Recording artists Kanye West (L) and Taylor Swift hug during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/MTV1415/Getty Images)
Elsewhere in her interview with TIME, Swift discussed her highly publicized relationship with Travis Kelce. She explained that the two were dating long before her first public appearance at a Chiefs game, earlier this year. “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell. We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other,” Swift said. “By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
Swift also addressed re-recording her albums, her Eras tour, and much more. Be on the lookout for further updates on Taylor Swift on HotNewHipHop.
In a 2016 phone call heard ’round the world, Taylor Swift seemingly permitted Kanye West to use her name in his song “Famous” from his album The Life Of Pablo. When the song was officially released, Swift noted that she had not permitted West to refer to her as “that b*tch,” a lyric that also was not mentioned in the phone call.
When Kim Kardashian first leaked footage of the 2016 phone call via her Snapchat Story, Swift and West fans were left divided, with some saying that West was transparent and Swift was purposely trying to play the victim in the situation. Others deemed West a misogynist and called Kardashian out for bullying Swift.
Following the leak of the phone call in 2016, Swift went into hiding for the remainder of the year, and for much of 2017, until the rollout for her sixth studio album Reputation began. In her interview for her Time Person Of The Year 2023 profile, Swift revealed what she was doing during that time. But in Swift nature, she remained fairly secretive about her exact whereabouts.
“You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar,” Swift said. “That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard.”
Elsewhere in the interview she teased Reputation (Taylor’s Version) — specifically its vault tracks, which she said will be “fire.” She also described her album re-recording process as a mythic quest, similar to that in fantasy and superhero franchises.
“I’m collecting horcruxes,” Swift said. “I’m collecting infinity stones. Gandalf’s voice is in my head every time I put out a new one. For me, it is a movie now.”
You can learn how to buy Swift’s Time Person Of The Year 2023 issue here.
Kim Kardashian had a witty observation about the heights the famous family had risen to as Season 4 of The Kardashians wound down. “Guys, we scammed the system. We did it! Whatever it is, we figured it out and did it! We put in some hard work,” Kim joked as part of her toast to Scott Disick on his 40th birthday. Elsewhere, Kris Jenner also joked that that Disick had been around since “Season 1, Episode 1”.
Of course, the secret to the Kardashian’s success is not as mysterious as Kim makes it out to be. The young family was attached to two of the biggest faces of the 1980s and 90s (Robert Kardashian and Caitlyn Jenner). As the 90s became the 2000s, Kim firmly enshrined herself in the contemporary It Girl culture, being seen alongside Paris Hilton at the height of Hilton’s own fame. Then the WGA went on strike in 2007. And as networks scrambled to produce unscripted content with the writers on strike, there was Kim. Who better to focus a reality show around than the It Girl daughter of OJ’s lawyer who recently just starred in a sex tape, one of the first viral videos of the “new internet”? The rest is history – reality TV stuck around and once the foot is in the door, it’s very easy to keep it there.
Kim’s main character status has really fallen off throughout this latest season of The Kardashians. While early episodes were dedicated to the fallout of her divorce from Kanye West, later episodes elevated Kourtney’s beef with Tristan Thompson to the show’s “A Plot”. However, that isn’t to say that the season has been entirely Kim-less. In an early November episode of the show, Kim gave a crucial update on her dating intentions. Across the episode, Kim reiterated her desire to remain single for at least two years, noting that she was about halfway through that goal after breaking up with Pete Davidson. “I’ve got a year to go. I think that will be really good for me. [I’m] not looking, they seem to find me, but I’m not looking!” Kim declared.
Elsewhere, Kim also revealed a secret tattoo that she has kept hidden from everyone but her family. Kim pulled down her lower lip to reveal a small infinity symbol. According to Kim, she got the tattoo during an impromptu 4:30am inking session after hosting SNL for the first time. Furthermore, the tattoo goes against Kim’s famous opposition to tattoos, at least for herself. “You wouldn’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley,” the SKIMS founder once famously declared.
Dominican rapstress Ice Spice has been on a viral spree within the past half year. She’s had heavy-hitting numbers like “Munch (Feelin’ U)” and the recent “In Ha Mood”. But how exactly did the New York native rise to prominence in such a short amount of time?
The rapper first went viral on Tik Tok
Dating back to 2021, Ice Spice (birth name Isis Gaston) first gained traction on the popular video-sharing site TikTok. She partook in the social media “Buss It” challenge. In her video, Spice drastically transitions from her generic monotone homebody attire to a stylish curve-flaunting outfit. The video played to the beat of Texan rapper Erica Banks’ “Buss It” single. The clip went viral with millions of impressions.
As the video generated viral attention, Spice then took the initiative to dabble into music to expand her brand. In between video-making and music-recording, Spice had been an attendee at the NY-based SUNY University. However, due to growing disinterest in her honed skill as the college’s star volleyball athlete, she decided to drop out to pursue entertainment endeavors.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 06: Ice Spice visits SiriusXM Studios on October 06, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
Ice Spice Initially Planned To Be An Actress
In the beginning, Spice shared in previous interviews that her main intent was to move forward with acting opportunities following her viral “Buss It” video; however, plans never took off as promised. She then readied a Soundcloud account to curate drill-stylized content with fellow New Yorker and up-and-coming producer RIOTUSA. Among the results included her debut feature “Bully (Freestyle)” alongside its follow-up “No Clarity” – the former released in April of 2021 while the latter seeing a release circa November ‘21.
While “Bully” secured a listening count of 88,000 listens on the app, “No Clarity” was able to accumulate well over 750,000 listeners, taking Spice to critical acclaim with online users praising her “fire” delivery. As the streams kept piling on, Spice would unveil another remarkable record that would take her to more rounds of viral notoriety.
That track would be “Name of Love”, which followed similar success as “Clarity” regarding listening count, only acquiring more impressions via social media sites like Instagram where the song became a hit sensation among users and their crafted reels.
Ice Spice was suspected of being an industry plant
But with popularity comes criticism. Shortly after the single blew up, Spice faced online rumors that she was an industry plant due to her close connection with her father being a rapper.
Making it clear by way of a 2022 interview with AudioMack, the 23-year-old femcee relayed to the press that her parental connection had nothing to do with the hype and anticipation that she had garnered on both TikTok and Soundcloud. In fact, Spice confirmed that her father was not necessarily a renowned mainstream musician, but rather an underground one that has been hashing out bits of advice to her on how to stay positive amid the scrutiny that comes with being famous. Spice added, “I also feel like when they say stuff like [you’re an industry plant], they don’t really mean it. I truly feel like they know I’m not a plant. I think they just say stuff like that ‘cause they’re mad that I’m going up faster than their fave… If anything I would say stream your fave more.”
Spice eventually shut critics up for good when she went on to immerse herself in another viral hysteria. The 2022 summer drill anthem “Munch (Feelin’ U)” grasped attention from all sorts of media outlets, even snagging a co-sign and a private DM praise from five-time Grammy Award winner Drake.
“Munch” generated over 30 million views on YouTube since its upload this past August. It was regarded by Pitchfork to be the New York summer rap hit “that the public [had] been [anticipating]”. The title term “Munch” is dissected as a common insult to describe someone who is either a recluse, a loser or a pushover, hence the catchy lyrics “You thought I was feelin’ you?/That nigga a munch”.
Ice Spice’s Music Starting Taking Off On The Charts
With its unapologetic, in-your-face rhyme scheme by the Dominican rap starlet and its addictive drill-themed production made courtesy of close collaborator RIOTUSA, Spice’s “Munch” was able to chart moderately on Billboard due to its heavy demand of streaming by way of Spotify among other music-playing outlets. “Munch” became the first song out of her discography to chart, with it peaking at number 105 on the Billboard Hot 100, alongside numbers 34 and 28 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40, respectively.
Ice Spice’s major exposure into the mainstream music scene soon led to a contract deal with Capitol Records who decided to handpick “Munch” as the lead single for her debut extended play (EP) entitled Like…? (2023).
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 30: Ice Spice attends the BET Hip Hop Awards 2022 on September 30, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Among the choices included the double entendre SpongeBob referenced “Bikini Bottom” and the recent club-ready New Year’s groove “In Ha Mood”. Like “Munch”, both records received ice-cold visual treatment and were able to make rounds on the web, securing well over tens of millions of impressions both via Twitter and YouTube.
Chart-wise, while “Bikini Bottom” became a minor hit in outer-North American regions like New Zealand, its follow-up “In Ha Mood” became a bonafide hit in the states, surpassing both “Bikini” and “Munch” on the U.S. Billboard charts (managing to score a peak position of number 70 on the Hot 100).
Ice Spice Recently Released Her First EP
Finally, on January 20, 2023, Ice Spice unleashed her debut EP Like…? to the world, where it began charting successfully and impacting the Billboard charts successfully. The EP has since gone on to produce another hit, which insiders have hinted that the Lil Tjay-assisted “Gangsta Boo” music video is queued for an upcoming release.
With a majority of her content going viral and keeping her name afloat, alongside the latest addition of scoring a top five nationwide hit single with PinkPantheress per “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2”, it is clear that Ice Spice has established herself much more than a rebutted industry plant.
