Tyler, The Creator says and does what he wants. He has undergone several phases, in terms of his subject matter and musicality, but the one constant is his irreverent sense of humor. If Tyler, The Creator has a problem with somebody, they are going to know it. Case in point, the rapper’s recent performance at ACL Fest. He performed a version of his classic 2017 song “911/Mr. Lonely,” but instead of referencing Elon Musk in a positive light, as he did on the recording, he flipped the lyrics to diss Musk.
Musk has become persona non grata in popular culture. He’s become one of the most memed and mocked celebrities in the world, and Tyler, The Creator has taken note. The original lyrics on “911/Mr. Lonely” are seemingly indifferent to Musk. The rapper works the Tesla founder into his verse because it worked with the rhyme scheme and the bar about not requiring gas. “Can’t see straight, these shades are Céline Dion,” he raps. “Sucks you can’t gas me up, shout out to Elon… Musk, yeah I got a sold out show. Crowd wild out but don’t matter ’cause you not front row.” Tyler didn’t want it to sound like he shouted out the controversial X (formerly Twitter) owner, though, and made an aggressive change.
“Man f*ck Elon,” Tyler, The Creator rapped to an ecstatic crowd. The rapper change of heart is not uncommon. Musk used to be a semi-popular figure to praise/reference. In 2016, Tyler even heaped praise on Musk for providing an electric alternative to gas powered vehicles. Ironically, the praise was through the app that Musk would eventually purchase, Twitter. “@elonmusk I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR CHANGING THE WORLD,” he wrote. “AND MAKING THE EVIL OIL MEN WHO RUN THE WORLD HATE YOU.” Tyler truly adored Musk during the mid-2010s, and would even have exchanges with the inventor on the platform.
Tyler also praised Musk during a 2015 appearance on Hot 97. The rapper was there to promote his album, Cherry Bomb, but he went off book and decided to shine a light on Musk’s achievements. He even compared the Tesla founder to rap moguls like JAY-Z, Master P and Diddy. The last one has not aged well, from any conceivable angle, but it’s hard to hold Tyler, The Creator accountable for that. He could not have known how the last decade was going to play out. A lot of people have seemingly fallen out of love with Musk, and Tyler is at the top of the list.
Drake and Chingy might be from pretty different hip-hop eras, but they also have a lot in common. They are both big fans of Sexyy Red, and they apparently feel the same way about playing basketball in front of girls. Moreover, the 6ix God randomly took to his Instagram Story on Sunday night (August 18) to troll the St. Louis native over his “One Call Away” lyrics from 2003. “The next day I’m with the fellas at the case playing ball / Here she come with her friends, they posted up on the wall / Now I’m showing off, trying to dunk, trying to dribble / Break fast threw the middle just to see her smile and giggle,” he rapped on the cut.
“Nah chingy I felt this,” Drake wrote to Chingy on his IG Story, paving the way for a back-handed compliment. “Like why do I play ball better when the tings aren’t watching? You really struck a chord with this one goated lyric. Also the fact you said tryna dribble like off that bar we know you were a** at ball. But your ting showed up and you started doing too much like this real af you are a guy for that bar.”
In other Drake Instagram news, a lot of folks are reading quite deeply into his Story posts and other activity as of late. Some recent snapshots, for example, made die-hards theorize as to what his next collaboration could be. Of course, the Toronto superstar knows exactly what he’s doing with these posts, and even if he’ll lay low for a while, he will still use social media to fuel excitement for his next move. It’s just the OVO way, although we doubt that he’s done for the year.
Meanwhile, a recent claim from DJ Akademiks made fans wonder what Drake will do concerning the press in the future. He apparently scrapped an idea for a press conference some time ago, and we all know of his contentious relationship with some media figures like Joe Budden and Elliott Wilson. Who knows whether we’ll see another OVO interview? All we know is that, with the ‘Gram, he can pretty much speak for himself whenever he wants.
Boosie Badazz and B.G. have established quite a strong bond since the latter’s prison release, building on their shared legacies as Louisiana rap legends. Unfortunately, some of their link-ups, concerts, and collaborative work resulted in some more legal trouble for the Cash Money rapper, as authorities attempt to regulate and monitor his post-jail activity. For example, law enforcement is keeping an eye on his lyrical content as part of his release, as he apparently can’t rap about snitches or criminal acts related to the streets. During his most recent VladTV interview with DJ Vlad, the Baton Rouge rapper spoke on his New Orleans colleague’s situation and this lyrical monitoring.
Overall, Vlad and Boosie talked a lot about B.G.’s artistry, remarking on how the grittiness and authenticity behind his street raps add to folks’ love for him as a musical artist and the streets’ respect for him as someone who made it out. While the latter didn’t have too much to say about these legal circumstances, he did indicate that the two have a lot of collaborative material ready to drop, perhaps as a full-length collab with his friend. Sadly, it looks like law enforcement also got in the way of this process, but Badazz seemed to suggest that he’s glad to be over it now. As such, maybe they drop some heat soon.
Boosie Badazz Speaks On B.G. Needing Approval For His Lyrics
“I need all my supporters, all rap supporters to get behind and try to stop what’s going on with B.G.,” Boosie remarked to his social media followers after authorities arrested B.G. for performing with him. “These people trying to lock B.G. up for rapping, bro. This gotta stop. We gotta fight for our people. This man has passed every drug test, community service. Wrong is wrong. You can’t be self-employed and put out music? This man been doing this since 13 years old.
“He is an artist,” Boosie continued concerning B.G. “He not somebody who’s trying to be a rapper. I gotta speak up for this ’cause they trying to lock somebody up for rapping, for doing his job, saying he can’t put out music, saying he gonna get locked up if he do another video rapping in his car. I don’t know what’s going on in New Orleans court room, bro, but wrong is wrong. You can’t do this.”
Jay-Z has a lot of history to look back on, whether it’s his still-contentious alleged beefs or the wealth of great bars that he’s given the culture. Still, not every Hov bar is easy to research or break down, and one particular line off of his smash 2003 hit “Public Service Announcement” has always left fans scratching their heads. “My homie Strick told me, ‘Dude, finish your breakfast!’” he raps at one point, and it turns out that no one figured this bar out because it was such a specific anecdote. Moreover, former NBA player Smush Parker recently explained the context behind this line during a conversation with the legendary Rucker Park’s Streetball collective.
Apparently, this Jay-Z line refers to a failed dunk attempt from Parker to Strick during a game at the Rucker, to which Strick told his opponent: “Yo, young fella, you gotta finish your breakfast” with a side-eye. The Brooklyn MC witnessed this moment and chose to christen it on one of his biggest songs, which is quite the flex. Frequent Jay collaboratorJust Blaze made this “PSA” beat off of The Black Album, and he previously spoke on how they already finished the project by the time he cooked this song up.
“The Black Album was done, it was handed in,” Just Blaze told REVOLT of the Jay-Z collab all the way back in 2013. “My two contributions were ‘December 4th’ and the intro [‘Interlude’], which I was fine with. And we’re at Battery [Studios] mixing something. One of my best friends by the name Big Jack comes in the studio, ‘I got something you gotta hear.’ I put the headphones on and he puts this record on and all you heard was ‘doom-doom-doom-doom-doom’ and I’m just sitting there like ‘What is about to happen?’
“So, I made the ‘PSA’ beat in the headphones while the engineer was mixing one of the records we was working on,” Just Blaze continued concerning Jay-Z. “I made the beat in like 10 minutes and I ran over to the studio… So, the next day Jay’s doing listening sessions for the press for The Black Album… I’m like ‘Nah, you gotta come in here.’ And I play it and at first his reaction was just like… and I’m like ‘Do you not hear what we’re all hearing?’ As he’s doing the press, he’s thinking about this beat in the back of his mind. Coming up with the song… So, he comes in the next day. Spits the whole thing over in one take…Two or three weeks later we’re at the Garden and the entire arena knows the words.”
JT’s new mixtape City Cinderella is a pretty explosive affair, due not just to the bombastic nature of the instrumentals, but also to her lyrical content. Moreover, many rap fans caught some possible shots at some of her perceived hip-hop rivals, and although there’s nothing direct, it’s combative enough for some understandable assumptions. For example, there’s the former City Girl’s intro, which many thought was a reference to Cardi B and her alleged NSFW treatment of a bottle onstage, which she denied was her. “Non-rapping b***h, who the f**k you talking to? / I was off in Saks, Gucci alligator bags / While you were laying on your back and stuffing bottles up your a**,” she rapped on the cut.
Furthermore, JT’s alleged Cardi B disses continued on “Lemon Pepper” with Stunna Girl, calling back to when Cardi mocked her jail stint and called her “prison pants.” “JT a convicted felon and I’m still on they a** / These Rick Owens, boo, these ain’t prison pants,” she rapped. However, Bardi isn’t the only alleged target, as GloRilla also seemed to catch some strays given their previous beef. “Now I’m hated by a b***h with a man voice,” the Florida femcee spits on “Swang.”
JT’s City Cinderella Mixtape: Hear The Alleged Cardi B & GloRilla Shots On “Intro (Hope)” & “Swang”
Glo beef aside, JT opened up about why she made City Cinderella a mixtape in her Paper cover story. “People work on their albums for a year, albums are just different. So City Cinderella is not my first album, being that I made this project so damn fast,” she elaborated. “I had to create this project throughout the tour and moving around, so I didn’t have time to really nurture and doctor it. This is just something that I’m putting out with my pure instincts.”
Meanwhile, JT will go on tour soon to celebrate and roll out the release of City Cinderella, so grab your tickets if you want in a good time. We’re sure that some other bars on this mixtape might aim at other rappers, but these are just the big suspects on initial listens. Whether they’re intentional or not, the message is pretty clear, and we don’t know if the targets will respond. Hopefully folks can stop sneak dissing each other and focus more on their own musical story… if they’re not going to go direct, that is.
The debate as to whether rap lyrics should be admissible in criminal trials has gone on for decades. There have been strong points made for both sides. The problem is, the specificity of each case has made it difficult for the legal system to hammer down an exact definition on when or when it isn’t ok to use them. Papoose is the latest rapper to weight in on this topic. He hit some of the same points that his predecessors did, but he also made some excellent observations of his own.
Papoose attended a meeting with New York politicians on May 7. The rapper lobbied for the AB127 bill, which limits the “admissibility of evidence of a defendant’s creative or artistic expression against such defendant in a criminal proceeding.” Papoose made an impassioned case for the bill in front of these politicians. The most compelling point was that the rapper wanted to shift the burden of proof to the prosecutor, rather than the defendant to deny. He detailed his perspective in an Instagram post.
“[We seek] to establish a systematic framework for the handling of lyrics in legal proceedings,” he wrote in the caption. “It does not ban the usage of creative work in criminal proceedings; instead, it shifts the burden to the prosecutor who must prove the work is relevant and admissible.” Papoose went on to say that the practice of using lyrics as evidence applies primarily to hip-hop. He makes note of this in his post, citing legal scholars.
“Researchers and legal scholars have seen this practice apply, almost exclusively, to hip hop and rap,” the rapper added. “While the legislation is not genre specific, it is impossible to ignore the detrimental impact the existing practice has had on certain Black and Brown artists practicing their craft.” Papoose’s passion for a fair trial makes sense given his own legal experience.
The rapper was in a relationship with Terror Squad member Remy Ma while she was serving time in prison. The two exchanged wedding vows over the phone in 2008. Remy was found guilty of a shooting she claimed was an accident, and was eventually released in 2014. Papoose and Remy Ma currently live in New York with their four children.
Yung Miami isn’t having any of Dajsha Doll’s allegations that she stole the lyrics for her new single, “CFWM.” Doll took to Instagram, earlier this week, to argue that the City Girls rapper stole the line, “I’ll go live right now without a f*cking filter,” from one of her songs.
“Yung Miami you might as well come to the hood and come catch this fade b*tch…” she wrote in one post. “I want my fade, b*tch. Either you come and get your *ss beat or you cuttin’ me a check. B*tches career so far down the drain b*tches need inspiration.” She also shared a clip of the track on Twitter to further argue her point.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 01: Yung Miami attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
When The Neighborhood Talk shared the drama on Instagram, Miami hopped in the comments section to call out Doll. “I’m from the hood to been in the hood my whole life just recently got out the hood,” she wrote. “I look good without fillers/filters. I never heard of you or your song b4 this situation & you could’ve reached out to me or handle this differently. & if you inspire ppl that should inspire you to keep going and not want to fight be blessed and let me enjoy my release day uggghhhhhh!!!!” Check out the full comments below.
Feuding with Dajsha Doll isn’t the only drama Miami has been involved in on social media this week. She also went back and forth with her City Girls partner, JT, although the two have since made amends. Be on the lookout for further updates on Yung Miami on HotNewHipHop.
Two weeks after Kendrick Lamar challenged J Cole and Drake on “Like That,” the “MIDDLE CHILD” offered a fitting response. On “7 Minute Drill,” the final track on his surprise mixtape Might Delete Later, he clapped back at Kendrick’s shots with non-subliminal force. Cole questioned his artistic output, called out his frequent absence from the rap game, and claimed that he’s craving attention.
However, “7 Minute Drill” also contains admissions of this not being a real hip-hop “beef” per se, but rather a creative and art-centric battle. Kendrick Lamar adopted a similar philosophy with his feature on Metro Boomin and Future’s album WE DON’T TRUST YOU, so this is truly tat-for-tat. But how do the actual bars on this brand-new J. Cole diss stack up?
J Cole’s Direct Responses To Kendrick Lamar’s “Like That” Bars
While Kendrick Lamar is never explicitly called out by name on “7 Minute Drill,” J. Cole makes his subject very clear, thanks in part to some direct responses to “Like That.” “Light work, like it’s PWC,” Cole raps at the very beginning, possibly alluding to Kendrick saying that his “best work is a light pack.” In addition, “I told him chill out, how I look having henchmen? / If shots get to popping, I’m the one doing the clenching” seems to be a response to Mr. Morale mentioning his bodyguard on “Like That,” suggesting that he’s not really being upfront by hiding behind a security guard. As such, the “Neighbors” spitter is challenging his “Savior” counterpart to make this a purely one-on-one clash, and telling up to step up to the plate and back his words up.
Not only that, but J. Cole also comments on Kendrick Lamar’s “best work” being a “light pack” as well, another direct rebuttal. He called good kid, m.A.A.d. city a “classic,” Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers “tragic,” said that To Pimp A Butterfly “put n***as to sleep,” and that DAMN. was “massive” and his “prime.” Cole additionally uses classic rap beef history to question the worth, significance, shelf life, and release-related inconsistency of Kendrick’s artistic output, taking a play out of Jay-Z and Nas’ infamous feud. “Four albums in twelve years, n***a, I can divide” Cole raps, referencing Jay-Z’s “Takeover.” Nevertheless, the apparent exclusion of Section.80, instead naming GKMC as “the first s**t,” is a curious choice that many fans will likely invalidate.
J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar perform at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2014. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Rather than sticking to albums, J. Cole claims Kendrick Lamar is not as strong or relevant as he used to be, whether due to his actual moves or, perhaps most importantly, a lack of them. Bars like “He still doing shows, but fell off like The Simpsons” and “He averaging one hard verse like every thirty months or something” point to Kendrick Lamar keeping quiet and losing his skill. Still, others like “Lord, don’t make me have to smoke this n***a ’cause I f**k with him / But push come to shove, on this mic, I will humble him” establish this as an artistic competition about who the best MC is out of the Big 3. They both collaborated on the “Black Friday” singles, which saw Cole ironically spit over the beat to Kendrick’s “Alright” off of TPAB.
With this in mind, neither MC wants to hinge on their past successes. But J. Cole thinks his claim to the throne is more pure in rap than Kendrick Lamar’s explosive moments and claims of greatness. “Boy, I got here off of bars, not no controversy / Funny thing about it, b***h, I don’t even want the prestige / F**k the Grammys ’cause them crackers ain’t never done nothing for me,” he spits against a frequent Grammy winner. Through this exchange, the Dreamville boss insinuates the former TDE MC is more concerned with accolades, grandiose acclaim, and worship than with proving his worth through verses. It’s an underdog narrative that uses Cole’s constant output and participation as proof of his lyrical and artistic superiority.
K.Dot Is Seeking Attention & Can’t Keep Up, Jermaine Thinks
Furthermore, many lines in “7 Minute Drill” highlight this contrast in consistency, presence, and earnestly earned attention rather than provocative proclamations, albeit with an admission of K.Dot’s previous reign. “I was trailing right behind and I just now hit [my prime] / Now I’m front of the line with a comfortable lead / How ironic, soon as I got it, now he want something with me.” This particular bar sees J. Cole calling Kendrick Lamar a clout chaser. “If he wasn’t dissing, then we wouldn’t be discussing him” and “Your arms might be too short to box with the god / Who live his life without the pressures of a constant facade” are killer standouts claiming Kendrick is faking the funk, as well as joking about their height difference. Long story short, Cole thinks the pgLang creative is not that guy anymore.
Overall, this all contributes to J. Cole looking at his war of words against Kendrick Lamar right now as “swatting a fly” despite his love for him as a fellow rapper. He also dismisses that this beef is important compared to what they really go through, which Kendrick is accused of not really wanting to engage in. “The rap beef ain’t realer than the s**t I seen in Cumberland” suggests that K. Dot lost sight of not just the futility of rap beef, but also their history as individuals and peers. As a final nail, Cole calls the 36-year-old out for switching sides “like the tassel on the cap and the gown,” as he helped Kendrick link with Dr. Dre. With the promise of “dropping two classics right now” and with The Fall Off on the way, Jermaine is decidedly unafraid on “7 Minute Drill.”
Last year, the judge in Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial controversially ruled that lyrics would be admissible as evidence. It re-sparked a major debate about whether lyrics should be allowed in court with rappers like Killer Mike speaking out against the decision. Subsequently, Thug’s defense has filed a new motion to try and get those lyrics and some music videos removed from the pool of evidence in the trial. They cited a recent unrelated court decision by the Georgia Supreme Court and are hoping precedent can help out the rapper’s case.
Earlier this week, the state’s Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a 2019 murder. They ruled that a music video used as evidence was “highly prejudicial” and the conviction was struck down. “It allowed the State to introduce impermissible propensity evidence by portraying Baker as a threatening gunman, and the prosecutor severely exacerbated the video’s prejudicial impact by emphasizing that it showed Baker’s predisposition to gun violence,” they said in their ruling. Thug’s defense is hoping that the ruling could help play a role in getting similar evidence removed from their trial.
The story that has dominated Young Thug’s trial so far this year didn’t even happen in court. Audio and video leaked from a jail phone call between him and his girlfriend Mariah The Scientist. It hit the internet back in January and part of their interaction went viral online. Despite the break in privacy, Mariah seems relatively okay with the virality of the video. During a recent concert she seemed to embrace the video, even while joking that fans “weren’t supposed to see it.”
What do you think of Young Thug’s defense trying to get evidence removed from his YSL RICO trial once again? Do you think they’ll succeed in getting some of the lyrics and music videos removed? Do you think Thug has a good chance at beating the case? Let us know in the comment section below.
Rubi Rose says that Drake saying “ruby-rose two-tone” on “7am On Bridle Path” is her favorite time being shouted out on a song. The admission comes despite Drake not actually intending to reference her with the lyric. She explained her take on the song during an interview with Complex.
“My favorite time somebody name-dropped me in their song,” Rose pondered. “It’s two different ones because some people say he wasn’t talking about me. But, he was clearly talking about me. When Drake was saying ‘the Rubi Rose two-tone.’ That one because it’s f*cking Drake.” When Complex shared the interview on Instagram, fans shared several laughs at Rose’s expense. “Smh pretty girls never beating them stupid allegations,” one fan joked. Another added: “Not her celebrating like she just won the lottery or something.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 01: Rapper Rubi Rose attends the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards at State Farm Arena on November 01, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Rose also recalled Rob49 mentioning her in a song. “Rob49 saying ‘I ain’t gonna lie, I had a lotta hoes, but I want a Rubi Rose.’ It’s cute. It’s funny. I’m flattered. Typically, people will text me and be like, ‘Yo, so-and-so said your name.’” She added that she hadn’t heard the Playboi Carti leak where the rapper mentions her. Check out Rose’s interview with Complex below.
Rose initially went viral after Drake dropped the Certified Lover Boy track, “7am On Bridle Path,” for mistakingly celebrating when she heard the lyric. In actuality, he raps, “See the watch collection and assume I got time / ‘Cause of the ruby rose two-tone.” “Lmfao damn y’all are haters,” she wrote on Twitter in response to fans trolling her for the mistake. “Let me be happy sheesh.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Rubi Rose on HotNewHipHop.
