In his 2018 collaboration with Meek Mill, “Going Bad,” Drake proclaims “I got more slaps than The Beatles.” While making this sort of comparison to one of the most beloved rock bands of all time is a bold statement, it wasn’t entirely inaccurate. Months before that song’s release, Drake had broken the record for the most singles in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, occupying 7 spaces during the week of the release of his sixth studio album, Scorpion, breaking The Beatles’ previously held record of five spaces.
Nearly four years after Drake’s statement, he continues to break records. But it still poses a question.
Does Drake actually have “more slaps than The Beatles?”
Well, it depends on how you define what a “slap” is, however, his ability to craft hits is undeniable. In his career, spanning more than a decade, Drake has broken several chart records, according to Billboard. With his latest collaboration, “Staying Alive” with DJ Khaled and Lil Baby, Drake has earned the most top-five hits on the Hot 100 chart, with 30, breaking the record previously held by The Beatles.
Additionally, Drake also holds the record for the most top 20 hits on the Hot 100 with 100, and Top 40 hits, with 158.
Drake, however, only has 11 No. 1 hits to his credit, which practically pales in comparison to The Beatles’ 20. Also, Drake has held the top of the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 spots for eight cumulative weeks at various points in his career, which is four weeks short of The Beatles and Whitney Houston’s 12-week records.
But given how the chart rules and the way we consume music have evolved over time, we may see Drake catch up to all of The Beatles’ accomplishments. Or perhaps, we’ll see The Beatles make a comeback, considering how many songs have received a second life by way of TikTok and viral memes.
It has been a while since we’ve gotten some new music from Solange, but it looks like that may change in the near future. There’s a catch, though: To indulge in Solange’s latest work, you’ll have to be in New York on September 28 for the New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala.
According to The New York Times, while Beyonce is busy bringing ball culture to the mainstream, Solange will be bringing her unique sensibilities to the ballet, composing the score for an original work by choreographer Gianna Reisen. It’ll be performed by a chamber ensemble made up of City Ballet orchestra members as well as some of Solange’s own musicians.
To be fair, it won’t be much of a jeté (that’s “leap” in ballet) for Solange to move into this new field. After all, she’s worked with museums like the Guggenheim and Getty, where she’s curated collections of fine arts from music to film. She also, according to The Times, dreamed of attending the prestigious Julliard School in New York, inspired by Houston Ballet’s own Lauren Anderson.
Meanwhile, Solange’s collaborator Reisen has already choreographed two prior shows for City Ballet. The upcoming Fall Fashion Gala will feature dances paired with designers such as Giles Deacon and Raf Simons.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
In the lead-up to her second album Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion repeatedly noted that it had more emotionally-charged themes and greater vulnerability than her debut, Good News. In a June interview with Rolling Stone, she said, “I want to take you through so many different emotions. At first you was twerking, now you might be crying.”
She reiterated the sentiment in an August Q&A session on Twitter. “I wrote this album for myself,” she admitted. “I wanted to start writing in a journal but I said f*ck it I’ll put it in a song.” She also confessed that “saying certain things you’ve never said out loud before is hard.” Fans understandably presumed that this meant the Houston rapper would address the various public misfortunes that had befallen her since her Tina Snow EP rocketed her to stardom.
Traumazine delivers on Megan’s promises, but it doesn’t stray too far from her established formula. Production-wise, it runs the gamut from Thee Stallion’s preferred speaker knocking Texas trap to a very on-trend detour into Miami Bass and house, while lyrically, Megan returns to the rapid-fire freestyle form that first impressed her fans, peers, and early mentor Q-Tip. The newer, more confessional attitude peppers her hard-hitting, boastful verses with lines that hide the hurt behind defiant bluster.
On songs like “Not Nice,” Megan’s gift for storytelling comes to the fore. “I kept your bills paid. You were sick, I paid for surgery,” she reminds a disloyal acquaintance. “But I pray you boo-hoo, do me wrong, where they deserve to be.” The specificity of her examples lends weight to her jabs – for every verbal right cross, someone has crossed her. Meg’s also unafraid to drop the facade of the tough-girl rapper and bluntly state a long-standing issue. On “Anxiety,” she wishes she could “write a letter to Heaven” so she can “tell my mama that I shoulda been listenin’.” I just wan’ talk to somebody that get me,” she accepts.
But even with the more vulnerable material here, Meg shines brightest when she sticks to the brash, explicit material that defines breakout hits like “Big Ole Freak” and “WAP.” “Ms. Nasty,” which pairs a thumping bass kick with an ‘80s R&B melody, offers another worthwhile inclusion to this tradition, opening with the straightforward come-on “I want you to dog this cat out, whip it like a trap house / Stand up in that pussy, stomp the yard like a frat house.” “Pressurelicious” with Future and “Budgets” with Latto match this energy, the latter pairing working best. We need more songs with these two together.
Other guests include Rico Nasty, with whom Meg displays incredible chemistry on “Scary,” Key Glock, who gifts her a suitably spiteful verse on “Ungrateful,” and Pooh Shiesty, who makes fans feel his absence from the spotlight (he’s currently locked up on a gun charge, facing a eight-year sentence) on “Who Me.” There are also contributions from R&B singers Jhene Aiko and Lucky Daye, which have the unfortunate side effect of highlighting the weaknesses of Meg’s own singing voice. She’s at her best spitting bruising bars with her gruff Texas twang as she does alongside her Lone Star compatriots on “Southside Royalty Freestyle”; when she tries to croon her own choruses, the effect feels raw and unpolished — and not in a good way.
The pop swings are also hit-and-miss. While “Her” fits in among the Beyonce-inspired post-Renaissance wave of future ball favorites, “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa sounds like Meg chasing the success of peers like Doja Cat. This misunderstands what listeners want from the two artists. Meg wins because of tracks like “Gift & Curse,” “Who Me,” and “Scary.” Give her a lush, groovy soul sample and an 808 to vent her frustrations over, you get the verses on “Flip Flop.” These are the kinds of songs at which Meg excels. The added emotional depth is a bonus, adding relatability to her aspirational boldness. This will be the formula for Meg’s future success.
Traumazine is out now on 1501 Certified/300 Entertainment. Get it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre are three of the most legendary rappers ever, and now it looks like they might be up to something together: Yesterday (August 15), Eminem shared a photo of him with Dre and Snoop in the studio and wrote, “just a few bros.. hangin out.”
Fans were excited to see this: In the 19 hours since the photo was posted, it has racked up over 1.5 million likes, which is well above Eminem’s recent average (his last post to top a million likes is from July, 21 posts ago). Fans also took to Twitter to offer reactions.
The three rappers have a storied history of working together, so a new collaboration certainly wouldn’t be their first. The trio appears on Dre’s 1999 album 2001, with Eminem featuring on “What’s The Difference” and “Forgot About Dre,” while Snoop was on “B*tch N****z,” “F*ck You,” “Still D.R.E.,” and “The Next Episode.” Of course, all three also performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this year, alongside Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent.
Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg is fresh off a collaboration that has proven to be a part of history: His, Benny Blanco, and BTS’ “Bad Decisions” just debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Snoop one of just three artists to have a top-10 hit in each of the past four decades (’90s, ’00s, ’10s, and ’20s).
Deadline has confirmed that both hip-hop sensation SZA and Euphoria star Chloe Cherry will be in a film entitled Tuna Melt, alongside Boogie‘s Eddie Huang, who wrote and will direct it. The publication calls it an “off-beat dramedy” that has been “likened to an updated Pulp Fiction meets High Fidelity.”
In the film, Huang plays a hitman enduring a breakup when he “unexpectedly meets the love of his life soon after he completes a job,” with SZA playing the role of the love interest. More details are yet to be revealed.
Meanwhile, fans of SZA are less interested in her acting career and more invested in when her next album is coming out. The long-awaited LP has been delayed, with the president of her label Punch making a statement about it last month. “SZA and myself initially spoke about a summertime album,” he wrote.” Which is why she mentioned summer in a post-Grammys interview. Shortly after discussing everything with RCA and Top, we decided it was best to do it a little bit later to set everything up correctly, giving it its proper space and lead time. There is a lot that goes into putting out a album and especially one with this much anticipation. We thank you for your continued patience and understanding. An announcement will be coming sooner than you think.”
Following ASAP Rocky’s arrest in April at LAX in connection with a shooting on November 6 last year, the rapper was formally charged with assault with a firearm on Monday, August 15, according to Rolling Stone. The news was announced by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. Rocky’s arraignment is Wednesday and he could face up to nine years in prison if found guilty.
In a statement, Gascón said, “Discharging a gun in a public place is a serious offense that could have ended with tragic consequences not only for the person targeted but also for innocent bystanders visiting Hollywood. My office conducted a thorough review of the evidence in this case and determined that the addition of a special firearm allegation was warranted.”
This follows ASAP Relli — a talent manager, producer, and a member of the hip-hop collective ASAP Mob — stepping forward as a victim of the shooting last week. His attorneys Jamal Tooson and Brian Hurwitz claimed that Rocky lured Relli to central Hollywood and showed up with semi-automatic handgun. “After arriving at the location, a conversation ensued whereby without provocation, warning, or any justification, ASAP Rocky produced the handgun and intentionally fired multiple shots at Mr. Ephron,” they told Rolling Stone.
It’s been obvious since Drake surprise-dropped Honestly, Nevermind that he’s in grind mode. Immediately after the release, the musician began discussing a poetry book and a Scary Hours pack. Now, on the first episode of Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio on Amp, he confirmed that he’s not looking to stop any time soon and hasn’t considered retirement.
“I’m not at that point where I even consider that being an option,” he said. “One of the best feelings I have in my life is completing a song or project. And by the way those things are painful as well. A lot of nerves, a lot of confidence wavering. But I feel like I’m reaching a new level of fun. I’ve reached a new level of comfortability where I want to try things. Like this last album, I put out something I wanted to do to challenge myself.”
The “Headlines” performer is not only reaching new levels of fun; he’s reaching new levels of fame by continuously breaking records. Just today, claimed his 30th top five song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, surpassing The Beatles, who held the record for 64 years. Now he’s alone at the top, staking a claim one of the world’s greatest hitmakers of all time.
Lifetime‘s 2019 doc-series Surviving R. Kelly showed the extent of the abuse and harm the rapper caused, leading to a moral reckoning within the music world. Now as Kelly faces his second federal trial, he wants jurors who’ve seen the series to be banned from participating.
In documents obtained by TMZ, Kelly’s legal team wrote, “Any potential juror who has watched any portion of this docuseries must be disqualified for cause on whether they can be fair, too great a risk exists that such a juror would base their verdict on matters not introduced into evidence in the courtroom.”
They continued, “Any potential juror who has seen any portion of Surviving R. Kelly is prejudiced where there’s no scenario which an individual exposed to the contents of Surviving R. Kelly can be impartial.”
The trial has been hard to watch as it’s unfolded. Just last month, Kelly’s manager Donnell Russell pled guilty to stalking and harassing one of the singer’s sexual abuse victims. The 47-year-old was accused of harassing and intimidating a Jane Doe victim and her mother using emails, phone calls, and text messages to keep her from pursuing justice against Kelly. Russell was previously accused of making gun threats in an attempt to stop a screening of Surviving R. Kelly in New York City.
Back when Drake broke a more curious record by The Beatles of hit songs, the Toronto rapper tattooed the Fab Four on his arm. Well, he might have to hop on the phone and call his tattoo artist because he’s just done it again and might have just staked claim as the world’s greatest hitmaker in the process.
With the song “Staying Alive” by DJ Khaled and featuring both Drake and Lil Baby, Drake just claimed his 30th top five song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He was previously tied with The Beatles — who held the record for 64 years — at 29, and now he’s alone at the top. With this record, he can finally accurately claim that, “I got more slaps than The Beatles.”
Other artists who are in the running for most Top 5 singles of all time include Madonna with 28, Mariah Carey with 27, Janet Jackson at 26, Rihanna with 23, Elvis with 21 and then Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, and Stevie Wonder with 2o top five songs on the Hot 100. For what it’s worth, The Beatles still hold claim to the most number one singles of all time with 20. Mariah Carey has 19 Elvis has 18 and Drake is further down on the list with a modest 11 No. 1s.
Megan Thee Stallion is riding another high moment in her career. She is days removed from the release of her second album Traumazine, which delivered 18 songs and features from Future, Dua Lipa, Pooh Shiesty, Key Glock, Jhene Aiko, Lucky Daye, Sauce Walka, Big Pokey, and Lil Keke. She also released a video for “Her” which came after she performed a pair of the album’s songs in a performance at Central Park in New York. Traumazine, which has received plenty of love from fans, arrived after Megan debuted a new songand appeared on a recent episode of P-Valley. Thanks to a recent interview Megan had on Apple Music, we now know that she could’ve had a bigger role on the show.
“First of all, I love P-Valley,” Megan said during the conversation with Apple Music’s Ebro and Nadeska. “And when I was, I feel like I had to be like 23, 24. I read for Mercedes (played by Brandee Evans). Yeah, they had asked me to read for the part. So I was like, ‘Okay, cool.’” Megan continued, “I know I ain’t get the part because my girl Brandee tearing it up. I’m like, ‘Oh, sh*t,” I feel like I look like a little kid in my tape, in my little audition tape.” She then went on to share how it felt to watch Evans execute the role of Mercedes throughout P-Valley before she made her own appearance in the show.
“So getting to look at the show and remember those lines and see everything, how it played out. I was proud,” Megan said. “I was like, ‘this sh*t is hard,’ even without me in it. This is it.” She continued, “To have a full circle moment and get to come back to the show and now I’m established and I’m making a stay. Because I think ‘Big Ole Freak’ had just came out when I read for Mercedes. I wasn’t even this yet. And you know, my girl Katori, she seen it in me. She was like, ‘No, that girl, we like her. She going to be something.’ I feel like she just seen it early, but for her to come back and be like, ‘Okay, Meg, what we going to do? Bring Tina Snow to the…’ and I was like, ‘good.’”
You can watch Megan’s full interview with Apple Music in the video above.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
