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J. Cole’s ‘The Off-Season’ Debuts At No. 1 While Tallying The Highest Streaming Week Of 2021

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For three years, fans of J. Cole patiently waited for a new solo album. In those years, the rapper delivered an impressive guest feature run, even spearheading Dreamville’s compilation album Revenge Of The Dreamers III. At long last, the wait ended earlier this month, when the North Carolina rapper shared his sixth album, The Off-Season, which saw Bas, Morray, Lil Baby, and 21 Savage contribute to Cole’s latest hip-hop chapter. Now, the album is Cole’s sixth chart-topper, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

The Off-Season achieved the feat thanks to a total of 282,000 album units, the most for a hip-hop release this year. This number is comprised of 243,000 streaming equivalent album units and 37,000 album sales. The former is a result of 325.05 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks, making for the most from any full-length effort that was released this year. The previous record holder was Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which posted 240.18 million streams in its first week.

With the debut of The Off-Season at No. 1, all six of J. Cole’s official albums have now held the top spot on the Billboard 200. The rapper’s 2013 release, Born Sinner was the only release that failed to debut at No. 1. The rapper’s only full-length project that failed to reach No. 1 at any point was 2016’s Forest Hills Drive: Live, which peaked at No. 71.

The Off-Season is out now via Dreamville/Roc Nation. Get it here.

Lil Nas X Accidentally Ripped His Pants Performing ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ On ‘SNL’

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Lil Nas X has done it all in the less than two years since his 2019 breakout moment. The singer has two Grammy awards to his name, the record for most consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart, and the most certified single in music history.

Despite the long list of achievements and milestones, prior to this weekend, one thing that Lil Nas hadn’t done yet was appear on Saturday Night Live. All of that changed last night when the singer stepped onto the Studio 8H stage to perform “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Sun Goes Down.”

The singer kicked off the night with a performance of the ever-so-controversial “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Sticking with the fiery theme of the song’s music video, Lil Nas danced and sang in front of a backdrop of hell that even featured a stripper pole for him to dance on.

Unfortunately, as he danced on the pole, Lil Nas accidentally ripped his pants in what proved to be a funny SNL moment. Afterward, he spoke about the wardrobe malfunction on Twitter. “I know i do a lot of planned sh*t but ripping my pants on live television is not one of them,” he wrote.

Lil Nas X would push past this potentially embarrassing TV moment and return to the SNL stage to end the night with a performance on “Sun Goes Down.”

You can watch the performances in the videos above.

Lil Mosey Was Reportedly Ordered To Stay Away From His Accuser Ahead Of His Rape Trial

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Back in April, Lil Mosey was charged with second-degree rape earlier this year after an incident with a woman at a Washington state cabin party in January. A warrant for his arrest was eventually issued after he failed to appear for a court date. Now, the rapper is reportedly being ordered to stay away from his rape accuser.

According to TMZ Mosey, who pleaded not guilty in the matter, was hit with a sexual assault pre-trial protection order and as a result of it, he cannot be within 500 feet of his accuser, must maintain absolute sobriety, and cannot possess a firearm. If the rapper owns any firearms, he must surrender them to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

As for the incident in question, the woman says she and a friend met Mosey for the party. While they initially gave consent for a sexual interaction, they both passed out due to alcohol consumption, nullifying that consent. The rapper and another accused individual, Francisco P. Prater, allegedly had intercourse with the women while they were passed out. In court documents, the woman says she received injuries to her arm, neck, and inner knee. She also claims another guest at the party told her the two men talked about “training two girls.”

If convicted, Mosey and Prater face up to life in prison and up to $50,000 in fines.

YG Handed Out More Than $20,000 Worth Of His Block Runner Sneakers To Ex-Inmates In Los Angeles

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The season of giving is still very much active in YG’s eyes. The rapper is just a few days removed from the release of his Block Runner shoes. The low snug sneakers are seated on a custom sole and feature red leather and a white-colored “The Flame” logo. The shoes were released at the price of $200, but a group of ex-inmates in Los Angeles received them for free thanks to the rapper as he handed out more than a hundred pairs on Friday. With the aforementioned price tag, this amounts to more than $20,000 worth of Block Runner sneakers.

According to TMZ, the rapper completed the deed with Mozzy on the date the two rappers released their joint album, Kommunity Service. The act occurred at LA’s Amity Foundation House and each person that received the pair of Block Runners is one that was entered the Foundation House in order to get back on their feet after being recently released from prison.

“Shoes is everything,” YG explained to TMZ. “Shoes is something you need. When you wake up, you going to leave the house, you gotta put on a pair of shoes and you know people love sneakers first of all. But for the homies that’s fresh out of prison from doing life sentences, they probably didn’t know they was gonna come home and they out and they tryna figure out life and do the right thing.” He added, So, I know for somebody with some status or celebrity [to] pull up and just gift them with anything, I know they appreciate it. It probably goes a long way. So, that’s all I wanted to do.”

You can watch a video of the rapper at the event here.

Soulja Boy Says A ‘Verzuz’ Battle With Bow Wow Is ‘Official’

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In late March, shortly after they announced a new deal with Triller, Verzuz shared plans for several upcoming battles. The first two were matchups between Earth, Wind, & Fire and The Isley Brothers and Method Man and Redman. A third battle between SWV and Xscape was later announced, but since then the group has gone quiet on updates with future battles. A scheduled Mother’s Day Verzuz came and went without an actual battle while potential participants and dates for the remaining three matchups were never revealed. Now, it looks like one of those battles could finally be set.

Soulja Boy took to Twitter to announce that a Verzuz between himself and Bow Wow is “official.” The rappers hopped on Instagram Live to speak about the upcoming matchup as fans watched in excitement.

“This sh*t gonna be bigger than life bro,” Bow Wow proclaimed during the livestream. “I’m happy to celebrate with you. They was throwing O in there, I saw a lot of Omarion, I’m like that’s my bro too, but O an R&B singer.” He added, “Me and you [Soulja] make so much sense. We’ve toured together, me and you got a whole motherf*cking mixtape together. We on tour right now and on top of that sh*t, n**** you got a hot new record out. The day before we do Verzuz, my movie come out… Fast & Furious 9 drop the day before.”

The end of Bow Wow’s quote of course reveals that he and Soulja’s Verzuz will take place on June 26 as Fast & Furious 9 will premiere in theaters on June 25.

The Verzuz announcement also comes after Soulja Boy was sued by his ex-girlfriend for sexual battery and domestic violence. As for Bow Wow, he was hit assault charges in 2019 after he was involved in a physical altercation with a woman who was also arrested in the matter.

You can watch a clip from their Instagram live session above.

Ariana Grande Remembers Victims Of The Manchester Bombing Tragedy On Its Fourth Anniversary

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One of, if not the most heartwrenching, moment in Ariana Grande’s career is one most artists will not have to go through. Four years ago on Saturday, the pop sensation’s concert in Manchester was tragically used as the venue for a terrorist attack. A normal overseas show quickly turned for the worst as a bomb at Manchester Arena was detonated as attendees left the area. In the end, 22 people were killed and it was an incident that left the singer forever scarred. Four years later, Grande took to her Instagram story to remember the victims.

Ariana Grande

“Although grief is ever-present and our relationship to it is constantly evolving and expressing itself in different ways every day, year round,” she wrote on her Instagram Story above a list of the victims from the bombing. “I know that this anniversary will never be an easy one. Please know that I am thinking of you today.” She concluded her message and added, “Manchester, my heart is with you today and always.”

The singer’s message comes after she married her fiance Dalton Gomez last weekend. The pair were engaged since December and had been dating since early 2020. According to TMZ which cited “sources with direct knowledge” about the situation, the wedding occurred at Grande’s home in Montecito, California with “no real ceremony and few guests.”

You can view a screenshot of Grande’s post above.

New York Mayoral Candidate Andrew Yang Apparently Struggled To Name A Jay-Z Song During His ‘Ziwe’ Interview

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@zwie on Twitter

Ziwe Fumudoh sat down with former presidential and current New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang this week, and those who assumed the result would be bad news for Yang were apparently very correct according to the first clips from Ziwe.

Ziwe, whose Showtime series has garnered a reputation for putting celebrities on the hot seat and asking some very leading questions, asked Yang on Twitter earlier in the week he would appear on the show. “You would be an iconic guest,” she wrote on Twitter.

Those who knew her work pretty plainly thought this would be a tough interview for Yang, who has stumbled in his mayoral campaign in recent weeks. By Thursday night, however, Wall Street Journal reporter Katie Honan had reported Yang would indeed appear. And on Saturday, Ziwe posted a clip from the episode that involved New York legend Jay-Z. The clip, which cuts off after about 30 seconds of awkwardness, includes Ziwe asking Yang what his favorite Jay-Z song is with him unable to name a single one.

“I listened to a lot of hip-hop during like the 90s and 2000s,” Yang said when asked what he’s “vibing to” lately after a question about listening to rap music. She presses him, saying “I gotta know” what artists he likes, and he mentions Nas and Jay-Z after some hesitation.

“What’s your favorite Jay-Z song?” she asks. “I mean, he’s a New Yorker.”

Yang only says “yes” initially, and then there’s a long pause as he seems to think it over. “What is my favorite Jay-Z song?” he asks, as if to himself as well as anyone willing to give him the name of one to rescue him from the situation. Ziwe’s expression really says it all here.

@zwie on Twitter

The clip cuts off right as he says “it’s” after a full 10 seconds of contemplation or so. And while he may just have had a hard time coming up with his favorite, not simply struggling to come up with any songs at all, the awkward moment is the latest in a campaign that’s struggled to avoid them.

For Yang to have said yes to the interview means either no one on his staff knew what Ziwe’s deal was with these interviews, or he was simply not as prepared as he should be for the kind of questions she’d ask. But it’s also an own goal in several ways here: If Yang simply isn’t a Jay-Z fan, which is fine even for New York mayoral candidates, the easiest way to avoid falling into this trap is to not claim he spent a few decades listening to his music seconds before.

We’ll have to wait and see what he came up with when his interview on Ziwe airs on Sunday night.

The Alchemist And Earl Sweatshirt Have An Album Hidden On YouTube Under A Fake Name

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Producer The Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt came together at the end of last month for the collaboration “Nobles,” which appeared on the former’s album This Thing Of Ours. (Earl also appeared on a second track, entitled “Loose Change.”) The producer recently revealed there’s more where that came from. In fact, the two have already released a full-length album together, a while back. But there’s a catch: You’ll have to work hard to find it.

“We hid a whole album on youtube under a fake name and youtube page,” Alchemist wrote on Twitter. “Fake album cover, song titles, the whole 9. Nobody found it yet.” Naturally, this sent fans on a scramble to locate the project on streaming platforms.

Some shared their reactions — and frustrations — on Twitter about their search. “Looked for a hour can’t find sh*t ima just pretend it’s fake,” one person wrote, while another opted to wait for others to find it. “I give Reddit 3 hours before they find a Earl sweatshirt album lmao I’m not doing all this work,” they said.

This is not the first time that Alchemist spoke about the hidden album, which they released years ago. Back in January 2019, he shared a similar tweet writing, “We did one and dropped it under a fake name. Youtube. Go find it. You are the one.”

Earl Sweatshirt is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Logic And Madlib Return With ‘Raddest Dad,’ Their Second Single As MadGic

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Following a decade in which he released six albums and six mixtapes, Logic called it quits after releasing his 2020 album No Pressure, which was a sequel to his debut, Under Pressure. The rapper’s retirement led to interviews in which revealed why he stepped away from the game, a mostly one-sided spat with Joe Budden, a seven-figure deal with Twitch, and more. But last month he changed his mind, forming a new duo with legendary producer Madlib called MadGic. After dropping their first track, “Mars Only Pt. 3,” in April, the pair returns with “Raddest Dad.”

On the new effort, Logic raps over Roc Marciano’s 2013 Madlib-produced track “The Sacrifice.” At the end he speaks about his alleged retirement. “I mean I retired, but I’ve been making music every single day since I retired because I love it,” he says. “And then I think what I realized was that I don’t like the industry. So I think I want to retire from the industry. That’s why I wanna do this music for free.” He adds, “Sometimes I wanna come back, but I don’t know if I should come back. I mean if I did I’d want to be independent. That’d be pretty cool.”

They teased a potential MadGic full-length on “Mars Only Pt. 3,” with Logic rapping, “Made this whole album in a lockdown, hip hop is our town / Hairline like Doc Brown but I’m killin’ it.”

You can listen to “Raddest Dad” in the video above.

Lil Nas X Explained The Title Behind His Latest Single ‘Sun Goes Down’

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After setting the internet ablaze with this last single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” as well as its accompanying video and pair of Satan Shoes, Lil Nas X returned with his latest release, “Sun Goes Down.” The new track has proven to be far less controversial than the last one, but it was one of his most honest songs to date. Hours after he dropped the track, Lil Nas took to Twitter to explain its title.

“I named the song ‘sun goes down’ because i feel like at night is when those thoughts you try to avoid really start to hit and you can’t escape them,” he wrote in a post. The track finds the singer singing about depression and suicidal thoughts, his decision to come out as gay, and his current satisfaction with how everything in his life has panned out.

The song did spark a brief moment of controversy after fans of Nicki Minaj were not happy that it features Lil Nas namedropping her. He’s been well-documented as a big fan of Minaj, which he addressed in the song, singing, “I’d be by the phone / Stanning Nicki mornin’ into dawn / Only place I felt like I belonged / Strangers make you feel so loved, you know?” He explained the reference in a tweet and promised not to use the rapper’s name in any of his future songs.

“To the barbz who feel i’m using nicki’s name for attention, the song i released last night was recorded last year,” he wrote. “And it’s about my life which 6 of those years were dedicated to nicki. it’s no fake love. but i understand how it looks so i will no longer mention her.”