Kenny Beats

Kenny Beats Ends “The Cave”: 7 Best Freestyles

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After 5 years of chopping samples and dropping unplanned bars with his closest friends, Kenny Beats ended his hit YouTube series The Cave. The Cave centered on one key phrase, which has become a spiritual mantra of Kenny’s studio: Don’t Over Think Sh**. Throughout 46 episodes of varying length, Kenny inspired rappers such as Freddie Gibbs, Danny Brown, Teezo Touchdown, and more to rap over hastily-made beats with uncleared samples, resulting in a myriad of delightful tracks that will never see life on any streaming service.

In an April 29 community post directly to his YouTube subscribers, Kenny Beats confirmed that he would be bringing The Cave to an end. “I spent 16 hours a day in that room, 7 days a week, telling any one I could reach to come make music,” the statement read. “After a while, we realized everyone who was coming by was going to be a legend, and the Cave started. This show changed my life, your support changed my life.” Let’s look back on a handful of the best freestyles to come out of the illustrious series.

Read More: Top 10 Hottest Freestyles Of 2021

7. ScHoolboy Q

ScHoolboy Q popped up for the series finale of The Cave and ended the show with a bang. As part of a victory lap from dropping his long-awaited album Blue Lips at the top of March, Q explained right from the start that he hadn’t had much material prepared. Ultimately, he managed to rap the “verse of the year” even though Kenny hadn’t finished chopping the beat.

It’s more than fitting that the final episode of The Cave saw Kenny Beats uttering his now-iconic refrain of “the show is not supposed to go like this,” as that became something of a motto throughout the series. If there’s one lesson to take away from Kenny’s show, it’s that rappers can be difficult to work with, incapable of following direction and flatly aggressive at times, but if you give them a hot enough beat, they’ll turn it into magic.

6. Isaiah Rashad

Like ScHoolboy Q, fellow TDE signee Isaiah Rashad also joined Kenny Beats on The Cave to promote a new album back in 2021. Rashad appeared on the show just before his album The House Is Burning hit streaming. Isaiah Rashad and Kenny clearly share a lot of camaraderie, and their chemistry shines on their quickly-constructed track.

Rashad was originally slated to appear on The Cave at an earlier date. The original episode never materialized online, for unknown reasons. Kenny Beats jokes about this at the beginning of the episode by labeling the song file “Zay Cave Take 2.” He also stated, “We have Isaiah Rashad in The Cave today, first time ever… Somebody leaked a photo a while ago, that was all Photoshop.”

Read More: 6lack Delivers Scintillating Bars On Kenny Beats’ “The Cave”

5. Thundercat

Unlike most guests on The Cave, Thundercat doesn’t specialize in writing bars. This made his episode extra special, as he joined Kenny in constructing the beat, dropping some slick grooves on his bass before entering the booth. Thundercat exudes purely chaotic energy in the studio, making him one of the most entertaining characters to grace the series. In his February 2020 episode, Thundercat correctly predicts that Coronavirus is about to become a serious problem, expresses concerns over the upcoming presidential election, and downs a staggering 4 Yerba Mates, totaling more than 300 mg of caffeine in less than an hour.

4. Earthgang

Earthgang deserves a spot on this list for Olu’s incredible world map pants alone. Still, their inclusion can truly be credited to the “crazy kung-fu freestyle action” promised by WowGr8 early in the episode. The Atlanta rap duo joined Kenny Beats on The Cave in the first season. They provided a freestyle so well-crafted it could seamlessly have been dropped on streaming if its samples were properly cleared. The pair of Dreamville signees exhibit tremendous chemistry here, making their long-awaited episode one of the most memorable in the show’s 5-year run.

3. Denzel Curry

Denzel Curry’s episode of The Cave was billed as the season 1 finale. It packs the second longest run time of any episode at 16 minutes and 12 seconds in length. Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats dropped a collaborative EP only 6 months after this episode premiered. The project, titled Unlocked, solidified the fact that the pair perfectly fed off of each other’s musical energy.

While Denzel is less outwardly antagonistic to Kenny than his usual guests, he manages to keep the energy incredibly high. Kenny even remarks “Denzel here by himself is like more energy than ten people.” If we’re measuring by pure bars, this might actually be the best freestyle on this list, as Denzel effortlessly traverses multiple beat switches in real-time with memorable lyrics such as “Flames all on my body like I’m Charmander.”

2. Zack Fox

While Denzel Curry may have had the best jaw-dropping bars in The Cave‘s history, nobody made the show synonymous with their name quite like Zack Fox. The Cave is largely responsible for launching Zack Fox’s music career in the first place. Though Fox had dropped a few comedic tracks online before his Cave appearance, he was mostly known for his comedy writing and hilarious social media rants which once got him banned from Twitter (now X.)

While Thundercat may have exhibited some loopy energy on The Cave, Zack Fox appears on the series as the final boss of chaos. Fox raps hilarious bars about freeing Palestine and preemptively offering condolences for the impending death of Betty White. His freestyle was later developed into a “real” song titled “Jesus Is the One (I Got Depression)” that went mega-viral. When people think back to Kenny Beats’ series The Cave, there’s a 90 percent chance that this is the episode that got them into the show.

1. Vince Staples

Just two weeks after the explosive Zack Fox episode made The Cave a viral sensation, Vince Staples joined the show and launched the insanity to the stratosphere. Denzel Curry may have offered the best rapping, and Zack Fox may have provided the most comedy, but Vince Staples perfectly smashes these two worlds together with a freestyle that is equal parts off-the-walls and loaded with powerful rhymes.

From the top of the show, Vince Staples pesters Kenny Beats with the voracity of Bugs Bunny, demanding a beat with “808’s no heartbreak, at all” and “Black on everything crime, even animals.” Elsewhere in the episode, Vince throws up gang signs, accuses Kenny of engaging in the slave trade for locking his studio door, and raps the now iconic phrase “Kenny Beats is the police.” Kenny Beats cop memes flooded the internet for years after this landmark episode, causing the producer to jest in multiple episodes that “Vince Staples ruined my life.”

The post Kenny Beats Ends “The Cave”: 7 Best Freestyles appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Joji Is Bringing ‘Pandemonium’ (And Kenny Beats) Across North America With A 2023 Tour

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Joji kept his strong run going last year with Smithereens, his third album and third to reach at least the top five on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also features “Glimpse Of Us,” his first top-10 single that’s currently approaching a billion plays on Spotify, with about 931 million at the moment. So, there’s a lot for Joji fans to be excited about, and now there’s something else: He’s going on tour this fall and he’s taking some special guests with him.

He made the announcement with a comedic video featuring elderly people at a speed dating event.

The run starts with a trio of Texas shows in late September/early October before wrapping up about a month later in Orlando. Lil Toe (Ammo) and Savage Realm will join Joji on all dates, while Kenny Beats will also be on board for all but the first two.

Check out the tour dates below and find information about getting tickets here.

09/29 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center #
09/30 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena #
10/03 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center #*
10/05 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center #*
10/06 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena #*
10/07 — Las Vegas, NV @ Michelob Ultra Arena #*
10/09 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena #*
10/11 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena #*
10/13 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena #*
10/14 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center #*
10/17 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena #*
10/20 — Chicago, IL @ United Center #*
10/21 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center #*
10/24 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena #*
10/25 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center #*
10/27 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center #*
10/29 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden #*
10/31 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center #*
11/01 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena #*
11/04 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center #*
11/06 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena #*
11/08 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center #*

# with Lil Toe (Ammo) and Savage Realm
* with Kenny Beats

Kenny Beats Steps Into The Spotlight In His Soulful Tiny Desk Concert

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Usually, when you think of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts, you tend to think of rappers, singers, and other vocalists. Although it’s a live band music series, the focus is usually on the frontmen, women, and people, rather than on the musicians that make up the band or the producers who create the music.

However, that doesn’t mean there’s no place for producers at the forefront. Kenny Beats, who is best known for providing pounding hip-hop bangers to rappers like Denzel Curry, Rico Nasty, and Vince Staples (who he previously played a Tiny Desk with), sits on the backline for his Tiny Desk performance, but there’s no doubt that he and the soulful production from his debut solo album Louie are the stars of the show.

In a pretty cool flip of the usual dynamic, Kenny plays the backbeat on drums while his backup singers soulfully reproduce the samples that populate the album. Kenny also brings in a few guest performers, including Jpegmafia, who raps on “Still” and Remi Wolf, who sings on “Last Words.” Nami closes out the set with “Rotten.”

Kenny’s album is dedicated to his dad, and he addresses the complexity of making music for your family. “This is an album about family I made with my friends,” he explains. “Usually, music about familly is about how much you love them, how much you care about them… everybody knows family is a much more difficult thing to explain in 2-3 minutes.”

Watch Kenny’s Tiny Desk performance above.

TiaCorine Take Us Back With ‘Chaka Khan’ For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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You may know North Carolina’s TiaCorine from her single “Lotto,” which caught the attention of SZA, A$AP Rocky, and fellow female rapper Rico Nasty. If not, get to know today’s UPROXX Sessions talent with over a million streams on SoundCloud and millions more on Spotify. She dropped, I Can’t Wait this past month, her first offering since releasing her 34Corine EP. The album features UnoTheActivist, Tony Shhnow, and Kenny Beats.

She joins UPROXX Sessions to perform her latest single, “Chaka Khan,” a collaboration between Kenny and herself from I Can’t Wait. Her performance is sweet and childlike, emphasized by her high-pitched rap-singing and barrettes. Yet, with lyrics highlighting her sexual prowess (like the legend the song borrows its name from) and Kenny’s signature production, TiaCorine flexes her range and delivers a lively performance.

Watch TiaCorine perform “Chaka Khan” for UPROXX Sessions 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 Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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The Best New Music This Week: Lil Baby, Yeat, Ari Lennox, and More

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Image via Complex Original

  • Lil Baby, “Detox” 


  • Yeat, “Talk”


  • Ari Lennox & Summer Walker, “Queen Space”


  • Pi’erre Bourne f/ Young Nudy, “Moving Too Fast” 


  • Freddie Gibbs f/ Moneybagg Yo, “Too Much”


  • EST Gee, “Hell”


  • DJ Drama & Jeezy, “I Ain’t Gone Hold Ya”


  • Smino, “24-8”


  • Quando Rondo & NBA YoungBoy, “Give Me A Sign”


  • Kenny Beats f/ slowthai, “Family Tree” 

Kenny Beats Shares The Tracklist For His Debut Album, ‘Louie’

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kenny beats album
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Kenny Beats, who has spent a decade producing for the likes of 03 Greedo, Denzel Curry, Freddie Gibbs, Rico Nasty, Vince Staples, and many, many more, has never put out an album of his own, incredible as it may seem. Despite hosting a popular YouTube series based on his experiences with making beats for his rapper friends in his studio, “The Cave,” all of Kenny’s full-length projects to date have been collaborations with those rappers like FM!, Anger Management, Netflix And Deal, or Unlocked.

However, next week, that changes as Kenny drops his debut album, Louie, which he first began teasing on Twitter and Instagram earlier this month. Today, he made the official announcement, revealing the mysterious “Louie” caption with which he accompanied teasers of new beats is the title of his first-ever solo project, which is due August 31 via XL Recordings. In addition, he shared the cover art and tracklist for the album, which does not appear to contain any features — although he could just be keeping those a surprise for his longtime fans.

You can watch the teasers and check out the Louie tracklist below, and pre-order Louie here.

1. “Leonard”
2. “Parenthesis”
3. “Hold My Head”
4. “So They Say”
5. “Family Tree”
6. “Hooper”
7. “Still”
8. “Moire”
9. “Get Around”
10. “Eternal”
11. “Last Words”
12. “Drop 10”
13. “The Perch”
14. “Really Really”
15. “That Third Thing”
16. “Rotten”
17. “Hot Hand.”

Musicians React To Comedian Jak Knight’s Untimely Death

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Jak Knight, a comedian known for co-creating and acting on Peacock original series, Bust Down, has died at 28. In addition to Bust Down, Knight was a writer on shows like Blackish and Big Mouth, on the latter of which, he voiced DeVon. Although he proved to be a promising comedian, Knight was very much known and loved within the realm of music.

In 2018, Knight appeared in a live version of Zach Fox’s Bruh podcast, alongside rapper Amine. In one of his most iconic stand-ups, he hilariously detailed Chance The Rapper‘s career evolution and recounts a time when he saw the rapper perform at a music festival while on shrooms.

“I thought I was in The DaVinci Code, directed by Jordan Peele. This sh*t was crazy as hell,” he said in a Comedy Central special.

Following the news of his death, several musicians have taken to social media to mourn the loss of Knight.

“RIP to Jak Knight,” said Flying Lotus, “honestly was my fav comedian these days. Unapologetically bold and hilarious.”

Producer Kenny Beats also expressed sadness over Knight’s death, tweeting “Rip Jak I’m heartbroken.”

Television personality and rapper Steelo Brim, who once had Knight as a guest on his Wine And Weed podcast, said “Truly don’t know what to say but Jak Knight was & is the man. He will be forever missed and loved, lit up every room and was as pure as they come. F*ck this one hurts.

A cause of death has not yet been confirmed for Knight.

The Weeknd Praises Ariana Grande’s Production Skills: ‘That Woman Is A Beast On Pro Tools’

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The Weeknd has been riding a wave of momentum since the January release of Dawn FM, but took a moment this weekend to reach further back into his past and offer praise to longtime collaborator Ariana Grande. “I’ve seen Ariana work in real time. That woman is a BEAST on pro tools,” he tweeted, piggybacking on talented producer Kenny Beats’ call for more discussion of women producers just several hours prior.

Weeknd and Grande have previously joined forces on the “Save Your Tears” remix, “Off The Table,” and “Love Me Harder,” so his familiarity with her abilities should come as no shock. The Positions artist is often just acknowledged for her vocal talent and acting career, thus learning she knows her way around Pro Tools as well only adds to her repertoire.

Beats’ original tweet highlighted Grande’s knack at comping vocals with 100 stacks, Rosalía’s engineering, King Princess’ versatility with instruments, and Doja Cat’s production. King Princess expressed her appreciation for the recognition from someone of his stature, echoing the sentiment that women along with LGBTQ+ and POC artists are regularly overlooked when it comes to production.

As women demand a larger presence in the music industry, it is important now more than ever to not box them in.

Freddie Gibbs And Rick Ross Get Busy On The Kenny Beats-Produced ‘Ice Cream’

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Freddie Gibbs has tapped Rick Ross for a guest appearance on his latest single, “Ice Cream.” In and out like a flash in two minutes, Gibbs and Ross don’t hold back on the track, and especially not in the video, where Gibbs rides in the back of an ice cream truck, booty slapping twerking ladies and smoking a blunt like it’s going out of style. Ross is decked out in all red with layers of gold chains, rapping in a white room that’s snowing. What a drip.

Produced by Kenny Beats, the beat is a trippy flip of Raekwon’s classic 1995 cut of the same name off of the seminal album, Only Built For Cuban Linx. Back then, the RZA sampled and twisted Earl Klugh’s 1980 joint, “A Time For Love,” and wove it into one of the most iconic beats in the Wu-Tang canon for Raekwon, Method Man, and Cappadonna to flow over. Kenny Beats’ homage is subtle, but once you hear it, it’s a worthy nod to the classic. And as the track comes to a close, the melody is more noticeable.

Meanwhile, Gibbs is set to perform at Coachella in two weeks. That hasn’t stopped him from beefing with Benny The Butcher on Twitter lately over a joint album that’s probably never going to happen. As for Ross, the budding lumberjack was recently seen bragging about how he saved ten grand by cutting down his own trees.

Watch the video for “Ice Cream” above.

Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.