Drake has never been one to make his fans wait long periods of time between projects. The last time the rapper went a full year without a full-length effort was in 2014 and while the wait for his upcoming sixth album, Certified Lover Boy may be longer than fans expected, it hasn’t been nearly as grueling as the wait some of Drake’s peers have left their fans to endure. Following Dark Lane Demo Tapes and a number of “leaks,” and guest features, Drake is back with more music, this time in the form of a new EP.
The rapper touches down with Scary Hours 2, the sequel to his 2018 effort that featured “Diplomatic Immunity” and his smash-hit, “God’s Plan.” Switching things up this time around, Drake drops a trio of songs with help from Lil Baby and Rick Ross. The former appears on “Wants And Needs” for a blunt request to keep them away from drama while Drake rekindles his decade-long chemistry with Rick Ross for “Lemon Pepper Freestyle.” The final track is “What’s Next,” a braggadocious anthem that sees relishing in the superstar spotlight.
The road to Certified Lover Boy hasn’t been as smooth as Drake might have hoped. It began with the release of “Laugh Now Cry Later” with Lil Durk last August. He later confirmed the album would drop in January 2021, but as the release date approached, he returned to say it would unfortunately be delayed. “I was planning to release my album this month but between surgery and rehab my energy has been dedicated to recovery,” he said in a post to his Instagram story. “I’m blessed to be back on my feet feeling great and focused on the album, but CLB won’t be dropping in January. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all in 2021.”
A recent report from DJ Akademiks said the Certified Lover Boy would arrive within the next two months, but that remains to be seen.
In 2016 and 2017, Drake dropped his Views and More Life albums respectively and a big part of the projects’ rollout, as well as the debut of fellow OVO artists and different acts from across the music world, was thanks to the Toronto rapper’s OVO Sound Radio show on Apple Music.
From the show’s start in the summer of 2015 to its eventual end in 2018, a number of artists would debut new music on the platform including Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance.” Many even credit a 2016 set on the platform as the first time they heard Ella Mai’s music. Well, nearly three years after OVO Sound Radio stopped airing regular episodes, Drake announced that it would be making a return on Thursday night.
The rapper shared the news in a rare post on Twitter. “Going live tonight at 10:30pm EST with the return of OVO Sound Radio and the launch of our 24 hour station SOUND 42 a new experience on @SIRIUSXM” he said. A notable aspect of the announcement is that the radio show was moved from Apple Music to SiriusXM. It’s unclear why he opted to switch platforms but after nearly three years away from the radio show, Drake may have just felt like a change was in order.
The radio show’s launch arrives hours before the release of Scary Hours 2, his upcoming project that looks to hold fans over until the release of his sixth album, Certified Lover Boy.
Megan Thee Stallion is taking a moment to help her fellow Houston residents. The rapper’s hometown, along with many other cities in Texas, was slammed by a winter storm last month that results in power outages, boil water advisories and no hot water for many, as well as a senator who tried to skip out on helping for a trip to Cancun.
Hoping to speed up the road to recovery for many Houston residents, Megan has announced the Hotties Helping Houston fundraiser drive. Getting help from NACC Disaster Services and Texas Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, the drive will benefit single mothers and the elderly in the area.
Megan spoke about the drive in a post to her Instagram page. “It is always very important for me to help give back to the city that made me,” she said in the post’s caption. “I just want to say thank you to everyone who came together with me to help rebuild my hometown of Houston Texas.” Some of the names and brands that she mentioned included Maroon 5, Taraji P. Henson, Fashion Nova, her label 300 Entertainment, and Revlon. She also prompted fans to visit her website to find information on how they can help and to buy new merchandise that would see proceeds go directly to NACC’s rebuilding efforts.
You can read the announcement in the post above.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Right now, the biggest names in modern footwear are not the athletes that the sneakers are designed for. Don’t get us wrong, Jordan is still the biggest name in footwear, and considering how fire a fresh pair of Jordans still looks to this day, we don’t imagine another name is going to surpass it anytime soon. But big names are coming close, and none of them are known for their skills on a court — you’ve got people like Kanye West, who has now realized his dream of making a pivot from the hottest rapper in the game to the hottest sneaker and streetwear designer with his Yeezy Brand, Pharrel Williams, who has been toiling away at Adidas for a minute now with his Hu line, J Cole who seems to be constantly pumping out Pumas, and Beyonce who seems to be making tremendous leaps with each drop of her Ivy Park line.
The most exciting sneakers to drop right now are coming from hip-hop and no name is more exciting than La Flame — yes, we’re talking about Mr. Cactus Jack himself, Travis Scott. Together in partnership with Helmut Lang, Nike, and Jordan Brand, Scott has been dropping some of the most hyped sneaker releases of our modern era of streetwear, offering remixed designs of the aforementioned brand’s most popular silhouettes draped in Scott’s signature aesthetic and vibe.
Over the last three years, Scott has dropped 14 sneakers and today we’re here to rank every single one of them from worst to best. Let’s dive in.
14. Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive
GOAT
Amongst fans of Scott’s sneaker collaborations, these are absolutely hated. Some people feel that hate is overkill, arguing that these are slept on but they still deserve their spot at the bottom of this list. It’s not simply that they’re bad — this army olive mesh upper and brown suede heel panel is a pretty solid design for the XXXIIIs — but it’s just so boring in comparison to everything else Scott has done with Nike.
It feels mean to place any Scott shoe dead last, but it’s hard to argue that this is better than any of the other shoes on this list.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive at GOAT.
13. Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low
Nike
Originally, we ranked this one last. It’s a the threeway collaboration which coincided with the release of the Playstation 5, whuch just felt like tacky branded overkill. But the more we look at the design, which is actually kind of dope and borrows from the OG Playstation’s look for its colorway, the more it grows on us. We really don’t like the Sony branding on the heel (Playstation logo can stay) but we can’t sit here and pretend that the Jordan XXXIII is somehow better than this sail and light blue upper, with its charcoal grey reverse swoosh and embroidered branding.
Find the Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low at StockX.
12. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top
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Before Travis Scott started lending his aesthetic to classic Nike and Jordan silhouettes, he linked up with Italian designer Helmut Lang for a sleek all-black high-top and low-top sneaker. Featuring a nylon upper with leather and velcro straps across the heel and upper, the Travis Scott x Helmut Lang was made in Italy and features graphic bull imagery on the tongue and Helmut Lang branding on the heel tab.
It’s… okay, definitely a step up from the XXXIII and Playstation Dunk.
The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.
11. Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails
GOAT
You’ll notice that Scott has a definite preference for Nike’s more retro silhouettes, so the Air Max 270 Cactus Trails is unique in that this is one of the most futuristic-looking Cactus Jack sneakers released yet, thanks to the aerodynamic design of the 270. It’s ironic that it’s also the most aged, with a yellowed midsole and a messy mix of textile, nubuck, and TPU Overlays over a dirty cream colorway.
It really earns its moniker “Cactus Trails,” this is a grimy, dusty mess of a design.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails at GOAT.
10. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White
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Travis Scott’s long and fruitful collaboration with Nike begins with this take on the Air Force 1. Released in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the silhouette, this white canvas take on the AF-1 dropped at ComplexCon 2017 and featured interchangeable removable swooshes that were meant to evoke Scott’s trademark grill. The laces have a Cactus Jack logo covering them and the whole thing sits atop a contrasting gum sole.
It looks so different than the designs that would come to define Scott’s work with Nike.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White at StockX.
9. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top
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The High Top version of Scott’s Helmut Lang sneaker is a massive improvement over the low. Featuring the same nylon upper with leather paneling and straps, the Helmut Lang high tops are super sleek, militaristic, and represent a Travis Scott era that feels like a distant memory. Not much to say about these that we haven’t said already with the low tops, this is just all-around a better design.
The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.
8. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack
GOAT
The Cactus Jack Air Force 1 has always had a Sean Wotherspoon vibe to us. We know what you’re thinking, “WHY BECAUSE IT HAS CORDUROY” Yup, that’s exactly why. Do you really think this zipped corduroy lace shroud would exist without Wotherspoon’s Air Max 97, which dropped two years earlier? You’re tripping.
The AF1 Cactus Jack features a graphic canvas upper, a brown swoosh on the outer, a black swoosh on the inner, and sits atop a gum outsole. It’s a dope design, but it’s just a little too busy. A comfortable mid-tier release by Scott.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack at GOAT.
7. Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha
StockX
This low-top version of the Jordan I borrows the design of the more iconic high-top version with a mocha and black nubuck leather upper and that polarizing backward swoosh on the lateral side. The backward swoosh actually looks bigger here (it’s not) making the sneaker look unlike a Jordan I, that’s kind of cool. The medial side panel features Cactus Jack lining in university red, making another appearance on the tongue, with the Air Jordan Wings on the heel tab.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha at GOAT.
6. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail
GOAT
This Sail colorway of the Air Force 1 was Scott’s second release with Nike and built upon the all-white colorway that preceded it. The canvas upper and removable shiny swoosh is still here, but this Sail colorway just works so much better with the gum outsole and canvas construction. It feels like a true transitional sneaker between Scott’s first Nike drop to the more earthy and worn designs that would come to define the Cactus Jack aesthetic.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail at GOAT.
5. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple (Friends and Family Release)
StockX
We considered not even including this sneaker, as it’s a close friend and family-only release and never had a retail release, but it’s just too clean to ignore. It’s also currently available at StockX, which means someone isn’t being a good friend (we wouldn’t have done you like that, Travis!). This moody Jordan IV features a suede upper in a deep purple with black accents and a grey lace cage.
It’s easily one of the best colorways we’ve ever seen of the Jordan IV period, it’s almost cruel this wasn’t released to the public. Scott has a few more friends and family colorways, but none reach this level of perfection.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple Suede at StockX.
4. Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack
GOAT
This is a totally personal take, but this pair brings up a lot of nostalgia for me. The bandana-inspired paisley overlays capture so much of the imagery of growing up in and around East LA. This sneaker looks like my childhood, filtered down into a shoe. The SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack is significant because it’s Scott’s first skate sneaker, utilizing Nike’s ridiculously popular silhouette, dressing it in a tan leather base with plaid quarter panels, paisley overlays, and canvas that tears away to reveal an earthy camo pattern that kind of resembles Nike’s elephant print (but isn’t quite that).
The design is rounded out by thick rope laces, the whole thing really captures Scott’s Cactus Jack aesthetic — muted, yet psychedelic.
Find the Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Premium QS at GOAT.
3. Travis Scott Jordan 6 Retro
StockX
Released fairly recently at the end of 2019, the Jordan VI features an almost militaristic olive green nubuck and suede upper with a little stash snap pocket on the outer collar. At the time of release, it felt like this was the perfect music festival sneaker to hide your stash in. Now the idea of going to a concert seems novel. Scott rocked this colorway at the Super Bowl 53 halftime show, leading to its coveted status amongst sneakerheads and Travis Scott fans alike.
The design is rounded out by a glow-in-the-dark translucent outsole with sail and university red accent work. Scott has yet to drop something that tops this design since its debut release.
There were several times I came close to ranking this as the number one pick, and while ultimately I contend that it’s probably (probably!) not the best Travis Scott sneaker out there, it is my personal favorite. This use of Nike’s university red and blue here is just beautiful, with its blue Durabuck leather upper and a red collar and insole. Inspired by the Houston Oilers, Scott’s hometown team, the Cactus Jack Jordan IV’s are rounded out by a core black lace cage and heel panel with university blue speckles, and feature Cactus Jack and Jumpman branding on the left and right heel respectively.
I’m already regretting not giving it the number one slot.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack at GOAT.
1. Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High Mocha
GOAT
It feels almost cliche to rank the Mocha Jordan I Retro High as Scott’s best, but this sneaker release has managed to become emblematic of Cactus Jack as a fashion entity now three years after its original release. The large over-sized backward swoosh looks very gimmicky by today’s standards (though we don’t know that it didn’t always) but that mix of mocha suede paneling again a sail leather upper with university red accents is still one of the silhouette’s best colorways.
Since this insanely popular drop, Nike has since borrowed this same exact color scheme for a stock Air Jordan I, which we actually prefer, since it doesn’t have the backward swoosh. But hey, that’s just us.
Find the at Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High at GOAT.
“This you?” are two of social media’s most dangerous words. Often deployed when their recipient makes a statement contradicting earlier foul behavior, they can be especially devastating when their subject is a known troll who likes to post outrageous provocations for engagement. Today, Lil Nas X won the gold medal in their use (or he would have if such a thing existed) when he flipped the script on rainbow-haired agitator Tekashi 69 via Twitter.
After 69’s running buddy Akademiks posted a New York headline about China’s new supposed COVID-19 protocols, Tekashi chose to use the moment to disparage Lil Nas with a tasteless, homophobic joke. Tekashi responded to the headline — which reads “China Makes COVID-19 Anal Swabs Mandatory For Foreigners” in a fairly typical attention grab — by commenting “Lil Nas X has entered the chat.”
However, Nas, who plays the social media trolling game as well as Tekashi does — arguably better, considering the outcomes of their respective last two years — had the perfect response. Posting a video of himself dancing to his song “Call Me By Your Name” — titled after the Timothy Chalamet coming-of-age romance about a boy falling in love with his male tutor — Nas superimposed a screenshot of Tekashi’s comment over the video, followed by another screenshot of 69 sliding into his DMs on Instagram.
“Yo,” reads the direct message. “Gonna be in your city soon what you doing lol?” The question is followed by a heart emoji and an upside-down smiley face. We’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but it’s clear that Lil Nas is implying that perhaps this is a case of the pot calling the kettle a certain color. Check out Lil Nas’ reversal of Tekashi’s insult below.
When BRS Kash released his debut project Kash Only at the top of the year, one of the standout joints turned out to be the Mulatto-featuring, Cash Money Records-aping “Kash App.” The track was so popular that fans of the “Throat Baby” rapper wondered why he didn’t put the controversial XXL Freshman on the remix of his biggest hit to date.
Judging from the video for “Kash App” that BRS Kash put out today, it was so his and Mulatto’s collaboration could get its proper due. Rather than simply remixing an existing hit, this gives him a chance to promote his second potential hit, and given the video’s replay value, he’s off to a great start.
The video’s plot, such as it is, is simple and familiar: Kash is in town to promote a wild house party and offers to pay a few fans’ bills in the interim — which he does, naturally, via that instantly recognizable green screen (which displays some frankly unrealistic totals). It all culminates in a homebound twerk-fest that cops show up to shut down before being inevitably pulled in by the gratuitous booty on display.
Meanwhile, this may well be one of the last times Mulatto is listed as a guest feature on another rapper’s record. The Atlanta star isn’t going anywhere, she’s just been hard at work changing her stage name after drawing fire for promoting colorism with her controversial moniker.
Despite working with a more modern crop of collaborators recently, it seems Nas hasn’t completely shaken his old-head views. Nas recently collaborated with some of today’s rappers, including Big Sean, Don Toliver, and Lil Durk, on his 2020 album King’s Disease, but that didn’t stop him from sharing his frankly unsurprising opinion with Financial Times during an interview discussing his impressive investment portfolio.
“I appreciate what’s out there, but there’s no one keeping me up at night,” he told the magazine. “I hear a new rap record and think it’s great, but I don’t listen to it the next week.” I guess Hit-Boy was the one making sure Nas stayed up-to-date on his new album.
Hip-hop’s generation gap is a well-worn topic for the Queensbridge veteran. While his outlook today is a far cry from “hip-hop is dead,” the sentiment after which he titled his eighth album in 2016, it seems that this attitude is born more of low awareness than an actual problem with hip-hop. For instance, it seems his attention seems pretty focused on New York — he name-checks Pop Smoke as one rapper who impressed him.
“We were happy to see that young king come up,” he says of the slain Brooklyn rapper, who will make his posthumous acting debut this Friday in Eddie Huang’s basketball movie Boogie. “He was a breath of fresh air.”
You can read the full interview here and learn more about modern hip-hop — of which there is plenty of great, memorable stuff being done — here.
Inglewood native Rucci sums up his relatable mission statement on this week’s installment of UPROXX Sessions, imploring listeners to “Believe In Me” with a performance of his M*dget track sans guest rapper Mozzy. Rucci, a mainstay of LA’s post-G-funk circuit for years now, experienced his first taste of national recognition with the confessional Tako’s Son in 2019, following up with two projects in 2020: an EP, I’m Still Me, and M*dget, a full-length featuring all sorts of California rappers from AllBlack to AzChike to White John.
Rucci joins AzChike, Drakeo The Ruler, and Almighty Suspect as the latest member of this bubbling underground fraternity to grace the UPROXX Sessions stage. He’s also in prime position to receive just as much — if not more — attention, thanks to recent collaborations with well-known West Coast standouts like Mozzy and Vince Staples. With his honest, heartfelt style and plainspoken witticisms, he’s the perfect rep for the latest wave of Los Angeles artists lining up to take the city’s hip-hop into the next decade.
Watch Rucci’s heartfelt performance of “Believe In Me” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross,UPROXX Sessionsis a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
It’s been nearly three decades since Wu-Tang Clan formed their iconic group in NYC. To celebrate the group’s legacy, Wu-Tang are releasing a photobook featuring never-before-scene pictures spanning their entire career. But it’s not just any photobook. Rather, the book comes enclosed in a specially-made, 400-pound chamber.
Titled Wu-Tang Clan: Legacy, the 300-page commemorative book is the “biggest and rarest book in the history of Hip Hop,” according to Wu-Tang’s website. Each copy is signed by Wu-Tang members, dated, numbered, and accompanied by certificates of authenticity.
It’s limited to only 36 copies, hence the “rarest book” description, and will arrive alongside a bronze chamber individually designed by sculptor Gethin Jones. For the chamber, Jones took inspiration from the bronze ritual bowls used in the Zhou Dynasty, whose first ruler was King Wu-Wang.
Speaking about the photobook in a statement, CEO of Wu-Tang Clan Management John ‘Mook’ Gibbons expressed his anticipation about the project. “From conception to the present day, this is the story of the undisputed greatest hip-hop group of all time being unveiled through rare and never before seen photos,” he said.
Watch a teaser video for the Wu-Tang Clan: Legacy book above and find out how to order it here.
In June, Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty is due to stand trial on federal charges of failing to register as a sex offender upon moving from New York to California in 2019. Now, the victim of his original sexual assault case says she’s being harassed by both the family and fans of Nicki Minaj as they attempt to bully her into recanting the 26-year-old charges. In a lengthy story in The Daily Beast, the victim speaks out.
The charges stem from a 1995 incident when Petty and his victim were both 16; Petty was convicted of one count of attempted rape in the first degree, assault in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon. He served out his sentence — which included a 2006 charge of murder in the second degree that he pleaded down to manslaughter — receiving his release in 2013 and marrying Nicki in 2019. However, he surrendered to US Marshals in LA after a warrant was issued for failing to update his sex offender status after moving.
According to The Daily Beast’s profile the victim — referred to as Jennifer — a campaign of ongoing harassment from people claiming to be associated with the Pettys, from offers of hush money to thinly-veiled threats, prompting her to move no less than three times since Petty’s arrest last year. She says she even received a phone call from Nicki Minaj herself to discuss a non-disclosure agreement, disconnecting the phone number later after Jennifer seemed reluctant to accept the offer.
A man connected to both parties — referred to in the report as “Barry” — continued to reach out to Jennifer to recant her original statements from 1995, offering a $20,000 bribe to sign a letter recanting. The story was mirrored in a post on Facebook from Jennifer’s adult daughter Kenya, who declined to comment for the story. US Marshals eventually reached out to Jennifer after being tipped off by an online acquaintance that she was allegedly being intimidated by the Pettys.
Jennifer moved again after Kenya was approached at a club by another man claiming to be an acquaintance of her mother and Petty’s, making her feel threatened and convincing Jennifer that her daughter was unsafe with her. Others connected with Petty are noted as also making threats on social media, mostly via gossip accounts, which have also been inundated with angry comments from Nicki Minaj fans.
