Drake still has yet to respond to the shade thrown at him by his “Poetic Justice” collaborator Kendrick Lamar with a diss track of his own. This is leaving some to wonder if he’ll ever have any bars to spit about what went down between them. Interestingly, the father of one is still very active on social media. Specifically, he wasn’t afraid to poke fun at another opp of his – Joe Budden. On Saturday (March 30), Drizzy’s Instagram Story lit up with a snapshot of the podcaster wearing some seriously baggy sweatpants.
To complete his fit, Budden added a black hoodie, a shiny puffer jacket in the same colour, crisp white sneakers and a hat that reads, “FREE.” The Canadian’s trolling comes after his most recent performance in New York City, where he got some frustrations off his chest during “Energy.” On the picture of JB, Drake wrote, “What’s the vibes NY?!?” suggesting he was on the hunt for a fun way to spend his Easter weekend.
While Drake continues to troll Budden, Nicki Minaj is surprisingly putting their differences aside to show him love. The Queen of Rap invited her fellow artist to perform during her concert in New Jersey recently, specifically requesting “Pump It Up.” When the 43-year-old shared the news on his internet show, co-hosts and fans were disappointed in Budden for turning down the incredible opportunity. “I ain’t hype no more,” he simply said.
“That was a real song?” one IG user asked in @theshaderoom’s comments. “I thought it was just for ‘You Got Served’ ,” they laughed. “I’m not gonna lie… If you’re a kid you won’t understand how fire this would have been!! My 34-year-old ass WOULD HAVE BEEN GEEKED!!! I’m mad he said no!” another person admitted. Would you like to see Joe Budden do “Pump It Up” live? Let us know in the comments, and check back later to see more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is learning the hard way these past few months that what’s done in the dark will always find a way to shine. Still, the Bad Boy mogul’s legal team continues to deny any rumoured wrongdoing on his behalf, even as all his alleged former skeletons fall out of the closet. Among them is a 1999 incident at a nightclub that led to the arrest of Jamal “Shyne” Barrow, Jennifer Lopez, and her then-beau Diddy, which the former ultimately served 10 years in prison for. As News Nation reports, the music executive was taken into custody on weapons charges at the time, and in 2008, victim Natania Reuben filed a $130M lawsuit for compensation against Combs. By summer 2011 they settled, though the survivor continues to insist it was Combs who shot her.
“I am the woman who he shot in the face in that Dec. 27, 1999, Club New York shooting. I have told everyone, ad nauseam, since then. I watched him fire the gun,” she shared on social media in February. More recently, she spoke with reporter Elizabeth Vargas about the situation. “I didn’t have any reason to believe that someone wouldn’t believe me. But as things unfolded, it was a very short period of time where I realized that’s what was happening,” the courageous woman shared.
Natania Reuben Speaks Her Truth Regarding Diddy Shyne Nightclub Shooting
Elsewhere, Reuben says she’s feeling “extremely emotional” amid the latest reports of Diddy’s homes being raided across the country. “It’s been basically a quarter of a century since this occurred, and I’ve had to re-live this over and over again,” the woman vented. “When I saw [the raids], it felt really cathartic because I finally feel like justice is being done.”
As authorities and internet sleuths continue to unravel the tangled web of Diddy’s many allegations, the latter is having a field day with the latest news about Yung Miami. According to the Lil Rod lawsuit, the City Girl was on her former Papi’s payroll as a sex worker, along with 50 Cent’s baby mama Daphne Joy. Read all about that at the link below, and let us know what you think is next for Sean Combs in the comments.
Being a rapper’s baby mama is something that many Instagram baddies aspire to, but these days, MCs are becoming increasingly protective of who they start families with. Sophie Brussaux and Drake’s co-parenting situation was tricky when Adonis was first born, but they’ve been able to navigate the muddy waters and get themselves to a good place. The same can’t be said for Rick Ross and Tia Kemp, who continue to trade shots online long after their issues began in the 2000s.
Earlier this week, throwback photos of the social media personality surfaced, dating back to her 2009 Smooth cover shoot. Not only does Rozay’s ex wear barely anything for the photos, but to add insult to injury she had 50 Cent pose alongside her. In the cover shot, Kemp confidently stands above the New Yorker in just black panties, a sparkly see-through cover-up, and vibrant red heels. From the ground, Curtis Jackson holds an old-school camera up at Kemp, seeking to capture more sexy photos of her. “Where’s the beef? Guest editor 50 Cent introduces Rock Ross’ baby mama Tia!” one of the subheadings on the magazine declares.
As the saucy pictures make rounds on Twitter/X and blogs, some are just now finding out that Fif and the Biggest Boss’ drama is nothing new. “Backstory: Rick Ross repossessed a Range Rover from Tia Kemp, leaving her and their son without a vehicle, until, you guessed it, 50 Cent stepped in.”
As her online war with Rick Ross rages onward, Tia Kemp continues to spill tea about her co-parent online. Among her latest revelations are allegations about Rozay having a secret child who resembles Drake, causing hip-hop heads to raise their eyebrows. Read all about that at the link below, and check back later for more music/pop culture news updates.
Only a handful of albums in music history earn the pretentious acclaim that they garner, and who would’ve thought America’s two most blunted supervillains would be hip-hop’s best examples of this? Moreover, MF DOOM and Madlib’s legendary collaborative album Madvillainy turns 20 years old today (March 23). To this day, people still champion its lyrical density, its now-iconic and unique sampling, the seamless inclusion of featured guests, and the overall wealth of appeal within its 22 tracks and 46 minutes. In other words, it’s one of the most fun rap projects to listen to thanks to its sharp, witty bars and engaging production while also being fit for scholarly analysis. There are so many samples to unearth and discover, such rich wordplay laden with hip-hop history and double entendre references, and more soul than a sock with a hole.
Furthermore, we decided to take a look at 20 of the many obscure, surprising, under-discussed, or overlooked references on this album (one song at a time) from MF DOOM’s pen and mic, and from Madlib’s Boss SP-303 sampler, his turntable, and his tape deck. Of course, Madvillainy‘s 20-year history and universally celebrated acclaim means that you’ve probably already heard of these. But we found that these inclusions don’t come up as often as others. Some of these are samples you wouldn’t have expected to be samples, others are clever lyrical nods, a few are old entertainment callbacks, and all of them add to this LP’s mystique, character, and timelessness. Sounds dense, doesn’t it? Yet this complexity doesn’t dilute Madvillain’s creativity, fun-loving nature, immediacy, or frankly, their coolness. Such has been the case for the metal fellow and his maniacal liaison ever since New York plates was ghetto yellow.
Starting off with Madvillainy‘s opener, the musical backdrop is Morton Stevens’ “Beach Trip” off of the original TV soundtrack for Hawaii Five-O from 1968. What makes it ironic is that most of the other sampled clips in this song are from movie trailers but don’t highlight their music, and the music itself on this track comes from a TV show soundtrack rather than a film. This also marks Madlib’s first use of spoken word from James Gordon’s 1989 documentary, The Documented History Of The Fabulous Villains. He also uses clips from this movie in the songs “Rainbows,” “Money Folder,” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” later in the tracklist.
“Accordion”
One of the most iconic songs on this album once made a girl cry, and it was never the same since. MF DOOM’s last line on here is “Won’t take the one with no skinny legs like Joe Tex,” and there are a few reasons for its cleverness. Firstly is Joe Tex himself, a 1960s and 70s singer and songwriter who spoke over much of his material in a faster and less melodic way as a precursor to what rapping would become. He has a song called “Skinny Legs And All” in which he agrees with Metal Fingers’ sentiment -– or rather, the other way around.
However, the other notable background detail about this lyric is that MF DOOM originally had another version of this line: “Wolf likes the girls with the skinny legs.” This was in reference to Peanut Butter Wolf, the founder of Stones Throw Records, whose connection to DOOM and Madlib is well-documented at this point. But when Wolf’s thin girlfriend at the time heard the lyric before the album’s official release, it made her cry. Then, he told his masked friend about it, and without warning, the official version of the album released with the ending line we know today. “I guess he felt bad,” Wolf said of Dumile’s decision.
“Meat Grinder”
“Still back in the game like Jack LaLanne, think you know the name? Don’t rack your brain,” MF DOOM spits on another one of the most iconic moments on Madvillainy. Jack LaLanne was a fitness expert and bodybuilder who continued to sell fitness products, perform feats of strength, and advocate for proper nutrition until his death at age 96. Thus, he was still in the game for a while, but it’s been so long that DOOM doesn’t want you to “rack your brain” trying to remember his name or identify why it might sound familiar to you. To “rack” also means to put a set of weights back on the rack after weight-lifting, or bodybuilding. Not even the illest villain believes in having to know every reference in every bar… but he’ll be cheeky about teasing you to do so, and the temptation is hard to resist.
“Bistro”
You can hear the sample at 0:10 and throughout
Sample starts at 0:20
While this track is mostly just MF DOOM talking casually over a funky flip, Madlib chose to include some lines of dialogue right beneath his partner’s voice that, although barely audible, add some nice texture and context. The clips come from the show McMillan & Wife, specifically the third episode of its fifth season in 1975, “Very Private And Very Difficult Matter To Discuss.” Furthermore, in the dialogue, a character invites another to go get a drink, and the track’s title already points to the perfect destination to do so.
Also, MF DOOM’s final line on here is a very deep reference to the Stones Throw Records crew. “I’d like to dedicate this next joint to my mans, you know, Big Hookie and Baba from the laundromat.” DOOM refers to Hookie & Baba, a comic series created by the label’s art director Jeff Jank. He told Undercover Magazine during an interview that it was a “lewd” project “sold exclusively in [the] San Francisco Bay Area laundromats to local winos.” Given that “Bistro” is a celebration of Madvillain’s entourage, this nod to their partners is quite colorful and, dare we say, wholesome… even if it sounds like a troublesome team.
“Raid” ft. MED
You can hear the sample at 0:59 and throughout
Sample starts at 6:29
For the “chorus” portion of this vibrant and fun head-bobber, Madlib seems to manipulate an existing sound and repeat it to make it sound like “Day, day-day-day”… or maybe that’s just how we’re hearing it. Either way, it’s surprisingly not a manipulation at all, but rather a direct pull from George Clinton’s title track off his 1982 album Computer Games. As for MF DOOM, this contains one of his most multi-layered sets of references on the album. “The doctor told a patient ‘It’s all in your imagination, n***o’ / Ahh, what do he know? / About the buttery flow, he need to cut the ego / Trippin’, to date the metal fellow / Been ripping flows since New York plates was ghetto yellow.” The first part of the line is a reference to the 1949 film Home of the Brave.
In it, a Black soldier is ironically convinced that racism in the military is in his imagination after a doctor calls him a racial slur. But MF DOOM rejects the doctor’s words and thinks he needs to focus on his flow, a metaphor for other rappers needing to cut their bragging and hone their skill. Then, by stretching out the space between “ego” and how the doctor is “trippin’” in the next line, he references the concept of an ego trip, or thinking too highly of yourself. “Tripping” on psychedelics can also provoke “ego death,” an out-of-body experience that can provide another realm of self-consciousness and awareness, thus “cutting” the human ego of an MC. Finally, this references Ultramagnetic MCs’ and De La Soul’s tracks titled “Ego Trippin’” (De La’s version being a “sequel” to Ultramagnetic MCs’ rendition), and DOOM mentions his “flows” again.
“America’s Most Blunted” ft. Quasimoto
You can hear the sample at 0:53
Sample starts at 0:22
With a whopping 19 samples, it was impossible not to include “America’s Most Blunted” on this list. We could’ve picked any of these references and samples, especially the pro-marijuana comedy album A Child’s Garden Of Grass, released in 1971 by writer Jack Margolis, Jere Alan Brian, and producer Ron Jacobs. Fun fact: that also appears on the track “Rhinestone Cowboy” later on Madvillainy. Nevertheless, Madlib’s most curious inclusion here is from Disneyland Records and Walt Disney Records Studio Group’s “Acting Out The ABC’s” from 1962. The song is exactly what it sounds like: a children’s song to get kids to learn the alphabet and dance, act, or move along to it depending on the letter. “If you all gather around the phonograph” (as the sample says), you’ll understand why the dope-smoking anthem has such a bizarrely and contrastingly whimsical or wondrous feel.
“Do Not Fire!”
You can hear the sample at 0:33
Sample starts at 3:30
“Do Not Fire!” is another sample-heavy joint, with nine of them to look at which range from Street Fighter II sound effects and clips to 1970s Indian music and the laughing evil voice from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Regardless, Madlib’s most ingenious and underground inclusion on this Madvillainy cut is a cheering crowd featured in “Back Door Daddy,” a song from a raunchy 1972 comedy album of the same name from Skillet, Leroy & LaWanda. LaWanda Page was a comedian and entertainer dubbed “The Black Queen Of Comedy” who collaborated on this album with Skillet, Leroy & Co., the duo comprised of Sanford and Son co-stars Leroy Daniels and Ernest “Skillet” Mayhand.
“Money Folder”
You can hear the sample at 2:46
Sample starts at 9:35
MF DOOM albums obviously come with many comic book references and media samples, plus a particular love for Dr. Victor Von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom. On “Money Folder,” the song’s ending samples the aforementioned Fabulous Villains documentary, which is suddenly interrupted by a clip of the word “DOOM.” This comes from the Spider-Man TV show, specifically its first season’s second episode “Dr. Doom, Master Of The World” from 1981. This is just one of the many instances of “DOOM” clips that Madlib and the London-born lyricist himself use to interconnect with other spoken word samples, and it comes across quite seamlessly. Now for bars: “Egads, he got enough styles to start three fads / True that, she bad, I wonder do she come with kneepads,” MF DOOM raps on the song.
“What a call, what a real butterball / Either I get a strike or strike out, gutterball,” he continues, mixing animal references, food companies, bowling, and baseball. Butterball is a brand specializing in turkey products, and a “turkey” is three strikes (knocking down all ten pins with one move) in a row in bowling, hence “three fads.” “What a call” is a term for successfully calling or predicting a strike (swinging and missing the ball) in baseball. Baseball players also wear knee pads to slide on the field and DOOM wants them for this lady, presumably so she can kneel down and perform oral sex on him. He’ll either enamor her and get a strike in bowling terms, or fail and strike out (three straight strikes) in baseball terms. “Gutterball” is when your bowling ball goes in the gutters on the side of the lane, resulting in no points.
“Operation Lifesaver AKA Mint Test”
You can hear one of the samples at 1:13
This sample starts at 4:37
“Operation Lifesaver” has a couple of samples, but it’s one of the Madvillainy cuts that gets the most mileage out of a single source. For example, Madlib uses many different clips of dialogue and sounds effects from the story album Songs And Stories About The Justice League Of America from 1966 by Tifton Records, namely from the tracks “The Theme Of The Justice League Of America,” “Aquaman – Defeat Of The Dehydrator,” and “Metamorpho: Fumo The Fire Giant.” In addition, he also takes from a similar story album: The Official Adventures Of Flash Gordon (1966) by Jackson Beck. Specifically, it’s from the track “The Decoys Of Ming The Merciless.”
Speaking of story, the narrative behind this song is that MF DOOM is on a date with a woman with bad breath. “Wow, it caught me off guard / I went to breathe out but then she made me cough hard / Contact the God and let him know to slip two in,” he spits over the beat. “Contact the God” is apparently supposed to be a reference to the Nation of Islam, and the number two means wisdom in their numerology. As such, DOOM suggests that he thought about telling her directly that her breath stinks, but opts for more underhanded and less confrontational ways to potentially improve his night out as the song goes on.
“Figaro”
This is a pretty simple one all things considered, but just one of many examples of MF DOOM paying homage to the rappers and microphone fiends before him on Madvillainy. Also, “Figaro” is laden with some of the most discussed, cryptic, clever, and relentless lyrical onslaughts on the whole album, so we had to give it a shoutout and look for less traveled paths down its runtime. “O’s beats and my rhymes attack,” he raps at one point, which might be a direct reference to Marley Marl and MC Shan’s “Scratch.” “All these beats with my rhymes attached,” Shan rapped over Marl’s beat, a rapper/DJ duo akin to Madvillain. The lines rhyme, and “O” is Otis Jackson Jr., better known as The Loop Digga, DJ Rels, Beat Konducta, Quasimoto, Yesterday’s New Quintet, or simply Madlib.
“Strange Ways”
You can hear the sample at 1:25 and throughout
The ending of “Strange Ways” narrates a downtrodden man after his former partner starts seeing another, more rich suitor. The clip itself uses phrases such as “feeling blue,” “an old flame,” “raining cats and dogs,” etc. Madlib took this audio clip from a 1951 cartoon short film titled Symphony In Slang directed by Tex Avery and written by Rich Hogan. In it, God is trying to understand a man telling his life story in heaven, but interprets his slang sayings literally, as depicted by the animation. Narratively, it also perfectly ties into the story of the very next song on Madvillainy‘s tracklist, “Fancy Clown,” which is about two of Daniel Dumile’s alter egos, MF DOOM and Viktor Vaughn, and how the latter’s girl cheated on him with the former. It’s a seamless inclusion that also points to DOOM’s obsession with language.
Speaking of the late legend’s obsession with language, there’s a line on here that isn’t solely included just to set up a rhyme scheme. “They pray four times a day, they pray five / Who ways is strange when it’s time to survive,” MF DOOM raps on “Strange Ways.” “Five” seems to just set up the “survive” rhyme, but the record’s message centers around authorities taking advantage of their subjects for personal gain, whether it’s police abusing their power or religions and governments waging war on their colleagues. Jewish people pray four times a day on the Sabbath or Shabbat, whereas Muslims pray five times daily. DOOM points out that each religion has its own customs and culture that others will wrongfully try to eliminate or oppress. We shouldn’t be focusing on what makes us different, but rather the common struggles we can help each other with.
“Fancy Clown” ft. Viktor Vaughn
You can hear the sample at 0:08
Sample starts at 0:13
One of the more unnoticeable and obfuscated samples on Madvillainy appears in the first few seconds of the aforementioned “Fancy Clown.” While the actual beat and melody samples something else entirely, Madlib chose to include a song on here that sounds soulful enough to warrant a track of its own, but opted to only use a small part of it. It’s the 1972 song “Walkin’ In The Rain With The One I Love” by Love Unlimited. The part that the West Coast producer uses is buried beneath the already sampled vocals, melodic elements, and drums; it’s of a group of folks scattering as rain falls. You can hear one voice yell out, “See you tomorrow!” and there’s a pretty good chance that many of Madvillain’s most ardent fans never noticed it in the mix. Or at least, enough to identify it as a wholly different sample.
As for MF DOOM, he gives out a pretty simple reference here, but one that each new year, generation, and fashion trend cycle threatens to bury deeper in the ground. “Matter fact, gimme back my bracelet and my Shearling,” Viktor Vaughn demands of his girlfriend. A Shearling is a wool coat that really took hold of b-boy and b-girl fashion in the 1980s, but nowadays it just sounds like some nondescript clothing item or brand. The idea certainly gets across, but it’s one of the moments on this album that is the most at risk of losing its cultural specificity over time. Clearly, DOOM meant it under a different context than the people who wear Shearlings today.
“Rhinestone Cowboy”
You can hear the sample at 0:08
Sample starts at the very beginning
Finally, Madvillainy‘s closing track “Rhinestone Cowboy” provides a discographic history for a Brazilian singer-songwriter and comically self-aware admissions of MF DOOM’s unabashed passion for references, wordplay, language, and humor. Starting with the sample, Madlib actually uses the same artist for the track’s musical sample (beat and melody) and the applause throughout: Santo Amaro’s own Maria Bethânia. The actual beat elements are from 1971’s “Mariana Mariana” off of the album A Tua Presença, whereas the applause is from her song “Molambo” off her record Recital Na Boite Barroco from three years earlier. Looks like Otis was a particularly big fan of Bethânia herself or Brazilian music at large when he was cooking this one up, and that connection across her discography for entirely different elements is a creative homage to the 77-year-old’s catalog.
Then, MF DOOM delivers one of the funniest and most characteristic lines on the LP. “Goony goo-goo, loony cuckoo / Like Gary Gnu off New Zoo Revue, but who knew the mask had a loose screw?” With “loony cuckoo,” we know he’s delusional, and “goony goo-goo” is gibberish from Eddie Murphy’s 1983 stand-up special Delirious. New Zoo Revue was a 1970s kids’ TV show, but Gary Gnu is from a 1980s children’s show called The Great Space Coaster. DOOM’s mix-up proves his “loose screw”: he’s as “cuckoo” as a character being from the wrong TV show. The villains love to make fun of their own jokes, as it’s just another excuse to string more words and sounds together in masterfully creative and fun ways. This humility makes Madvillainy an infinite source of hip-hop craft, sonic wizardry, linguistic transformation, and immersive, curiosity-rewarding knowledge.
Ja Rule might not be able to perform his shows in the U.K. as planned, but that’s not stopping the East Coast icon from talking to some of their most prominent media figures. On Tuesday (March 5), Ja appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored, at which time the controversial had plenty of burning questions about another popular New Yorker, 50 Cent. When asked who would win in a fight between him and Fif, the “Always On Time” artist reminded us that he allegedly already knows the answer to that.
“That’s happened already too, Piers. You gotta do your research,” Ja called out Morgan. “I did, Piers,” the rhymer added when asked who came out on top. Afterward, JR referred to his drama with 50 as “one-sided.” He said, “You never see me say anything about him. I just mind my business, do my business… I don’t do the back and forth.” Instead of taking the British interviewer up on his opportunity to send a message out to Curtis Jackson, Ja simply said that he wishes him well. As HipHopDX notes, the Fyre Festival founder’s comments take place around the 12:20 mark of the video below.
In his 2014 book, Ja says he once beat Fif up with a bat during the peak of their 2000 feud. “50 tried to swing on me, but I dipped, then I hit him with the baby Louisville Slugger. Bam! I dropped the bat, I pulled the shirt over his head. I started catching him left, right, uppercut,” he claimed.
In other news, 50 Cent has some legal drama with Young Buck to deal with as winter comes to a close. The former G-Unit rapper is attempting to evade the $250K that Fif claims he’s owed with help from his attorneys, but we’re not sure who will come out on top when all is said and done. Read more about that at the link below, and check back in with HNHH later for all your music/pop culture updates.
Young Buck has been facing financial struggles head-on for over a decade now, but he and his legal team are putting up a fight when it comes to paying Curtis Jackson back an alleged $250K advance from G-Unit. According to documents exclusively obtained by AllHipHop, this conflict between 50 Cent and Buck goes back to July 2014, with the former alleging that the latter’s failure to complete his contract with the East Coast label means he owes hundreds of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, the Nashville native claims the money was never classified as a loan, and therefore, he’s not worried about returning it.
“They argue that any money Buck received would have been before the contract’s signing and should be considered an advance rather than a debt,” the outlet says of the 42-year-old’s lawyers. Attorney Jonathan Augusta also notes that “the contract lacks any provision requiring Buck to repay these funds, thereby challenging the basis of G-Unit Records’ claim.” Overall, Buck’s legal team is seeking to have the case dismissed.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t Buck’s first time filing bankruptcy. That was back in 2010 when his debts to Fif, the IRS, his co-parent, and other poor spending habits caught up to him. The second instance was a decade later, focusing on “restructuring his debts under Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection” following a bumpy 2019 with jail time and more money struggles arising. In part, this strategic move has been an attempt to challenge Jackson, and we’re eager to see what happens for both creatives when all is said and done.
Even when he has numerous legal battles and a hectic work schedule to stay on top of, 50 Cent knows how to keep us laughing. As he continues to work on his exposé documentary about Sean “Diddy” Combs, the New York native isn’t tiptoeing as he loudly taunts the accused assailant and his alleged past transgressions. Read the latest on that at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
2023 was a strong year for female rap in terms of lyricism, but so far, 2024 has been mostly about the drama. As for the men in the music industry, they’re not entirely innocent either. In particular, Eminem and Benzino’s decades-old beef is rearing its ugly head in the media again. The former threw shots at the latter on “Doomsday Pt. 2” a few weeks ago, suggesting that the former head of The Source magazine is a member of the LGBTQ+ community while insulting his appearance.
After taking time to write his “Vulturius” response (with some admitted help), and arguing with Joe Budden, we saw Benzino get in his feeling on Drink Champs. More recently, he spoke with The Art of Dialogue about more of Eminem’s work – the 2004 posthumous Tupac LP, Loyal to the Game, layering the late MC’s raps over the Detroit native’s beats. “I think the s**t that he did with ‘Pac was horrible,” Benzino declared of the album.
Benzino Continues Eminem Hate Train on The Art of Dialogue
“I think he should have never had ‘Pac’s lyrics to do it. I understand at the time, Afeni [Shakur], maybe it was a money thing. He probably paid for that, because that there was the closest that he would be to ‘Pac,” the 58-year-old speculated. But that was another insult on our culture and community, what he did with that album. That was trash… He should have never got the okay to play with ‘Pac’s voice like that, and his legacy.”
Besides Loyal to the Game, another Eminem throwback has been running through Benzino’s mind over the past few days. Amid the rappers’ resurfaced feud, the latter pulled out an old image of Slim Shady in cosplay as Britney Spears, which certainly has hip-hop heads talking this week. Read all about that at the link below, and let us know what you think of the posthumous Tupac LP all these years later in the comments.
Bow Wow has been in the spotlight since childhood, and like many of his contemporaries, the recording artist faced serious turmoil in early adulthood, perhaps as a result of all the pressure he was under from a young age. In a new sitdown with The Art of Dialogue, Shad Moss speaks candidly about how sipping lean led to extra drama in his personal life, not to mention the L’s he took in his career as a result. “I was sipping so much syrup, I said this after Mac Miller died. I spoke on this s**t, I was drinking that s**t [all the time],” he recalled.
“If you go back and watch The Road to Platinum series on BET, you’ll see so many white Styrofoam cups. I was losing my f**king mind. That lean s**t had me f**ked up. I was just always irritated,” Bow Wow vented to the outlet. Things became so bad, as HipHopDX reports, that Lil Wayne once gave the Like Mike star a “baby bottle” full of lean to soothe him. As he was heading out on tour with Chris Brown in 2007, things for the 36-year-old became particularly dangerous, leading to a much-needed wake-up call.
Bow Wow Recalls Dropping Out of Chris Brown Tour in 2007
“The opening night was in Cincinnati and when I got off stage, I collapsed. I went straight to Cincinnati University Hospital. My stomach was so f**ked up I ended up going back home to Atlanta after the first show,” Bow Wow looked back on the scary moment. “I’m sitting in the hospital not knowing what the f**k going on, and I get back home and the s**t gets worse. I’m throwing up, I’m shivering in the bed, I’m sweating, I’m going through it. I didn’t know I was having withdrawals. That’s how much lean I was consuming.” Moss made sure to thank his former publicist, Pattie Webster, for protecting his image by telling the world that her client dropped out of the joint tour with Breezy to recover from dehydration.
“That’s just good PR. We didn’t want the world to know that 18, 19-year-old Bow was heavy on the drank,” he said before urging anyone watching to consider giving up their drug habits. The impact that lean and other substances have far beyond the music industry is disappointing to see, but as people continue to share their negative experiences with using, it becomes easier for others to resist walking the same path. Just a few months ago, Lucki and Lil Yachty discussed their expensive lean addictions on the latter’s podcast, even claiming that Young Thug once had to pay $5K in “tax” from dealers to get his supply. Read more about that at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Hip-hop heads often debate who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of various categories throughout the genre, but it turns out the same conversations come up between artists working in the industry too. Lil Wayne is one MC that’s widely recognized as a GOAT thanks to his tireless run from 1995 on, but when the Young Money leader sat down with West Coast star YG on his 4Hunnid podcast recently, it was time for Weezy to choose between two of the most famous rappers of all time.
“That’s tricky,” the “How to Love” hitmaker said when picking between Jay-Z and the late Christopher Wallace (best known as Biggie Smalls). “I don’t… Hov’s still here,” Wayne remarked, weighing the two men’s accomplishments in his head, and seemingly placing the father of three on top. Afterward, the multi-talent revealed which of the Roc Nation head’s verses is his favourite, surprising many viewers with his underrated answer.
“My favourite verse from Hov is on the song ‘Lucky Me,’” Wayne said. “It was from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1,” the rap legend added, taking us back in time with a shoutout to Hov’s 1997 sophomore album which also includes titles like “I Know What Girls Like” with Diddy and Lil Kim, plus “Always Be My Sunshine” alongside Babyface and Foxy Brown.
The 2024 Super Bowl only just ended, but already, music lovers are casting their votes for who should grace the stage in 2025. Lil Wayne previously threw his hat in the ring, and the internet seems ready to witness the Louisana native do his thing – perhaps with some help from Young Money’s Drake and Nicki Minaj. Could you see the superstar trio headlining next year’s halftime show? Let us know in the comments, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
With every generation, there are a handful of artists whose talent, reach, and story mark themselves as timeless achievements and souls. Without question, Amy Winehouse is one of the 21st century’s most important exponents in this regard. Her influence ushered in revitalizations of vocal flair, vintage aesthetics, and raw, emotive storytelling and character portraits in popular music. The London singer encompassed so much: powerful songwriting, carefully crafted and intent-driven releases, production that is deeply appreciative of the wide-ranging musical canon, and a truly resonant voice in every way. So it’s no surprise that her love of hip-hop, and so many other genres, drove much of her artistry.
Furthermore, the culture certainly returned the favor, and continues to do so to this day. As recently as October 2023, U.K. rapper Skepta sampled Amy Winehouse’s vocals from her 2006 song “Tears Dry On Their Own” on his aptly titled house cut, “Can’t Play Myself (A Tribute To Amy).” So many rap subgenres and communities appreciated her work: classic boom-bap exponents, Atlanta trap pioneers, Long Beach genre-benders, and some of the biggest artists in the game in general. Across these six picks (in no particular order), the late legend’s legacy lives on through artists and art forms that she championed like few others.
“Tears Dry On Their Own” Dungeon Family Remix – Organized Noize (Released 2011)
Speaking of Skepta’s treatment of this Back To Black cut from 2006, frequent Outkast collaborators -– and some of the best producers out of the South -– also gave it a spin. Amy Winehouse’s vocals, instead of pairing with retro instrumentation with a peppier step, ride over heavy kicks, chopped-up piano melodies and background vocals, and sharp snares, crafting a DJ Screw-esque effect. Of course, this is exactly the type of beat that the Dungeon Family perfected back in the 1990s and 2000s. Despite the aesthetic change, the contralto vocalist’s croons and swells sound even more spotlit and passionate here.
Sure, the mixing quality of this version is a little off, probably because of how its distribution methods have aged. Big Boi originally posted this remix on a website after she passed, and YouTube re-releases of it hit your ears with a lot of fuzz. Bizarrely, though, it adds to the atmosphere of this Amy Winehouse reimagining in a contemporary context. Much like the soul and R&B that inspired so much of her greatness (and that she and frequent production collaborators Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi sampled), it sounds like an unearthed vinyl that becomes a gem for a crate-digger years later, crackling through the speakers with all the passion its performer holds.
“Kush Is My Cologne” – Gucci Mane ft. Bun B, E-40 & Devin The Dude (2009)
Moving over to one of the six-time Grammy Award winner’s most popular songs, Back To Black‘s opener, “Rehab,” is one of her most iconic hooks and instrumentals. Even Gucci Mane took a liking to it, and on his 2009 album The State vs. Radric Davis, he interpolated the chorus for one of his verse lines. “Kush, purp, strong dro, What I need cologne for? They tried to send me to rehab but I said ‘No, no I won’t go,’” he raps on the record. It’s certainly one of the most tonally conflictive but curious examples on this list.
However, we’d be remiss not to mention Jay-Z and Pharoahe Monch’s remixes of “Rehab,” each of which came out around 2008 and warrants a listen. Unfortunately, none of these tracks knew how Amy Winehouse’s career would tragically end. As such, it’s strong whiplash to listen to any version of this song today, yet it doesn’t take away from its potency, its resonance, and its quality as a composition and performance. Also, it’s a reminder that music can affect lives for many different reasons than why lives affected its creation, and few artists can ever transcend their context like this.
Here we have one of the most subtle instances of sampling on the list: a simple drum beat that’s distorted, echoed, and manipulated to make it a hazy, lo-fi driving force. Lil Ugly Mane doesn’t rap on “vpn,” as this is an album (2021’s volcanic bird enemy and the voiced concern) where he goes into more singing, trip-hop inspirations, and a lot of genre and timbre experimentation. So what’s the drum beat that he takes from? It’s from Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” (also off Back To Black), on which Homer Steinweiss is on the kit.
Perhaps the most important thing to remark about “vpn” as it relates to “You Know I’m No Good” is how it’s able to communicate the slightly despondent, melancholy, yet hopeful tone of the original. Lyrically, both artists play a lot with how their inner demons inform their relationships, and they make you feel that push-and-pull with their deliveries. Amy Winehouse’s contributions are as musical as they are personal, as many saw their own troubles reflected in her confidence and honesty. There’s also a great remix of the original featuring Ghostface Killah, which should be another gem for you to add to your queue.
“Half-Time” – Flatbush Zombies Ft. A$AP Twelvyy (2015)
Coming off the New York trio’s non-streaming 2015 EP expansion, Day Of The Dead, this track samples Amy Winehouse’s “Half Time” (with drums courtesy of none other than Questlove) released posthumously on the 2011 project Lioness: Hidden Treasures. With glistening keys, an easy-going but crisp drum beat, and dense staccato bass, this is a classic East Coast boom-bap treatment. Each MC on here flows incredibly well, and the dreamy instrumental evokes the original’s themes of a passion for music. We’re repeating ourselves here, but it’s the truth: few artists could represent this fervor more than the Frank superstar.
Not only that, but this is also one of the most musically complex examples on this list, albeit a simple technique in the grand scheme of things. “Half-Time” switches between loops of two different parts of “Half-Time” to build its progression. A slowdown towards the end makes the dream feel even woozier, and it makes us wonder what amazing collaborations could’ve come from Amy Winehouse and the contemporary lane of sample-based and genre-fusing hip-hop artists. Like everything that was ever great, it leaves us wanting a little more.
Now, for what might be the most unique sample choice here, we have Vince Staples’ excellent and experimental 2017 album, Big Fish Theory. On the frantically percussive but atmospherically calming cut “Alyssa Interlude,” the Long Beach MC -– rather, the track’s producer “Zack Sekoff” -– samples an Amy Winehouse interview with Tim Chipping from 2006. “That’s like a real drug, isn’t it?” she says of love. “So when it -– when it didn’t come together, I was just like… you know? It really hurt. But I needed enough distance from it so that it wasn’t, like, raw emotion anymore. But not enough -– enough distance that I’d forget. I’m quite a self-destructive person, so I guess… I guess I keep giving myself material.”
Emotionally, this is a powerful moment considering the English icon’s personal struggles with addiction and mental health. It also means a lot to Vince Staples, as she inspired his 2016 EP Prima Donna and uses this interview to complement his romantic feelings for someone who is no longer there. “A true artist can make you feel both their sorrow and their happiness,” he said of Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black, one of his favorite albums, during a TIDAL Magazine interview. “You feel all of these emotions back to back and transform them into these stories without noticing the shift. Definitely someone who was gone too soon. R.I.P.”
“Cherry Wine” – Nas Ft. Amy Winehouse (2012)
Yeah, we know this isn’t a sample, but we can’t talk about Amy Winehouse and hip-hop without bringing up her strong bond with Nas. He was her crush, as portrayed in her track “Me and Mr. Jones,” and they met up thanks to the producer of “Cherry Wine” and collaborator-in-common, Salaam Remi. This cut, released on Esco’s 2012 album Life Is Good, resulted from a lot of back-and-forth work together, of which they had a lot before she tragically passed. Eventually, the “Valerie” hitmaker’s demo vocals for the song surfaced (which technically makes it a sample), and the Queens legend could pay fitting tribute to his birthday twin. They were born on September 14 exactly a decade apart.
What’s more is that she had previously sampled his 2002 song “Made You Look” on her 2003 release “In My Bed,” both produced by Salaam Remi. Back to “Cherry Wine,” though, Amy Winehouse longs for her soulmate (whom many interpret to be the Illmatic lyricist), as he goes over what he wants in a woman. It’s tender, soulful, well-paced, sonically pristine, and an evocative display of chemistry and appreciation. “We’re just so thankful that her people were so understanding that, you know, this was our homie,” Nas told Power 106 in 2012. “They let us rock out with her music on the album. So, we got love for Amy forever. That’s our sister. Love her.” We’re forever thankful for what these artists did to honor Amy Jade, and even more thankful for what she saw in hip-hop.
