Music

Rowdy Rebel Returns With A Chest-Beating Freestyle Over Lil Durk’s ‘Ah Haa’

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A few weeks ago, Lil Durk announced the delay of his upcoming album 7220, softening the blow with the menacing new single “Ah Haa.” Rumor has it, the threats and jibes in the song were directed at YoungBoy Never Broke Again, with whom Durk has had a longstanding feud (apparently due to a disagreement over a woman, as these things so often are). However, that didn’t stop Brooklyn rapper Rowdy Rebel, who isn’t associated with either and apparently has no dog in the fight from co-opting the “Ah Haa” beat for his first new music release of 2022, a chest-beating freestyle that asserts his own street credentials.

Part of the reason he probably wanted to make his comeback with the “Ah Haa” freestyle is its bruising, old-school drill beat, which features a driving, percussive motif backing a hypnotic piano loop. While Rowdy’s era of dominance preceded the modern wave of New York drill by some years, it very much coincided with Durk’s own rise to prominence. Rowdy has also shown the willingness to tread the waters of the new wave of music from his city since his release from prison, so getting started with “Ah Haa” makes a lot of sense. The freestyle is his first release since dropping “9 Bridge” with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie last year, and hopefully presages much more new music as he continues his long-awaited comeback alongside fellow GS9 member Bobby Shmurda.

Watch the video for “Ah Haa (Freestyle)” above.

Tory Lanez Is Being Sued For Foreclosure On His Miami Condo

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Tory Lanez Rolling Loud 2021
Getty Image / Rich Fury

Canadian singer and rapper Tory Lanez is being sued for foreclosure on his Miami condo. According to legal documents obtained by Radar Online, Lanez is being accused of defaulting on payments of a loan provided by BH 4908 LLC for $1.26 million.

Lanez first purchased the condo through a mortgage loan in 2018. According to the terms of the loan, Lanez was to pay $11,057.40 on a monthly basis, followed by one large balloon payment in December 2021. Lanez allegedly failed to make the balloon payment and now reportedly owes $1,237,456.06 that is due on the loan, plus interest.

According to BH 4908, Lanez still lives in the condo. BH 4908 is demanding the court allow them to foreclose on the home and sell it to the highest bidder. They also demand Lanez pay any difference between the amount the home is sold for and the amount owed.

Additionally, Lanez is set to appear in court in Los Angeles on April 5 for his alleged role in the Megan The Stallion shooting.

He also faces two separate suits in Florida for allegedly assaulting Love And Hip-Hop: Miami star Prince Michael Harty outside of a South Beach club, as well as one by a man who claimed to be disfigured as part of a car crash by a vehicle owned by Lanez. Lanez was not driving the vehicle at the time.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kanye West’s Stem Player Is A Fun But Overpriced Musical Toy

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Stem Player

For all the hand-wringing and hype it’s generated over the past month, Kanye West’s stem player is a relatively unassuming-looking device. Smooth, round, and weighing only a couple of ounces, it reminds me of countless other fidget toys that sparked monoculture crazes in my lifetime. It’s been compared a bunch to HitClips, those weird little memory card things Tiger Electronics put out in the early 2000s that played a minute-long clip of top 40 hits, but that’d be like comparing Zack Morris’ Motorola DynaTAC 8000x to an iPhone 13. The stem player does so much more than that — although, in the grand scheme of things, for what it does do at its price, you’d be better off with the phone and a mobile digital audio workstation.

Developed by Kano, a tech company specializing in gadgets like headphones and computer mice, the stem player is a palm-sized puck with only a handful of buttons ringing its exterior and four crisscrossed grooves atop its gently curved surface. These grooves are touch-sensitive controls allowing the user to adjust the volume of four audio tracks — or stems — parsing out roughly to bass, drums, synth, and vocals. The appeal of the device is in its simplicity; one need not have studied Cubase in college or tooled around with Pro Tools for 10,000 hours to feel relatively comfortable “remixing” music loaded into the device, with playback provided by a small speaker on the side or headphones that can be plugged in next to it.

When it’s activated, each of the four touch grooves lights up with an appealing array of colors, and when users slide their fingers or thumbs across them, the response is instantaneous. It allows users to drop the vocal track to highlight the instrumental, turn tracks drumless, and even play parts of songs in reverse using the track skip buttons on the side. This gives a lot of options for the novice producer to experiment with the tunes they upload to the device, which automatically culls and separates the stems to the appropriate control via artificial intelligence. It’s an amusing toy that could conceivably offer hours of distraction and potentially even some truly creative remixes of existing songs or the creation of entirely new ones.

Unfortunately, at $200, that toy is egregiously overpriced for what it does offer. In the hours spent tooling around with it, I found myself both impressed by the innovation, and unimpressed by the execution. While it’s easy to learn to use — unlike Cubase or other full DAWs, which, yes, I did study in college — and even a pleasure to do so once you get used to its weird, sex toy skin (why does the thing need to feel like it belongs in the naughty drawer?), its limits are readily apparent after the novelty wears off. I was sent the device by Kano for review; I’d never pay full price for it, knowing that I could easily just download BandLab or FL Studio for a fraction of the price for a device I already spend most of my day staring at — which, ironically, also fits in the palm of my hand.

And while pulling the stems from existing songs is likely the primary draw for most folks, the biggest problem I saw with that was that the album that comes preloaded on it only too perfectly highlights the drawbacks of that technology. Donda 2 is seemingly designed to work with the stem player, yet there were multiple times during playback when I noticed the imprecise parsing of the tracks. Truth be told, very little music is so easily broken down into just four audio stems — something I learned tooling around on a four-track cassette recorder I won in a rap contest in high school. While the production on Donda 2 is nearly as stripped-down as it gets, there were multiple times I noticed that certain songs wound up with only three tracks or that upon isolating each track, certain sounds got grouped together — i.e. the drum track would have a subliminal buzz of bass, or that synths would vanish along with drums as I lowered the drum track. (Incidentally, this also highlighted how sparse, dry, and uninspired the production on Donda 2 actually is.)

The biggest drawback to the stem player is its price point. At $200, it’s hard to recommend a purchase when I know that devices like the Artiphon Orba do more for less, with nearly the same hook (a handheld audio controller), no less. Even if the stem player were a completely original product, it’s a little like HitClips in that it’ll likely end up back in the drawer after a couple of months when users go back to streaming music from their mobile devices, which have the added benefit of keeping them connected to the world. I’m not the only one put off by the price tag, either; within hours of Donda 2‘s exclusive release via the stem player, fans had bootlegged both the album and the tech that makes the device work. As a legitimately fun fidget toy, though, I like the stem player, but by pricing out its target demographic and linking itself to a controversial figure like Kanye, it may well have missed even the chance for the sort of fad that makes other gizmos like it such fond memories for so many.

King Von Settles Rap Beef With A Flamethrower In His New Video For ‘Too Real’

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In our final conversation with King Von, the late Chicago rapper who was killed mere days after, we asked who he makes music for. “Everybody who f*ck with the music, man,” he concluded. His music has reached many people, probably for this reason. It’s for anybody and it’s easy to enjoy. His posthumous album What It Means To Be King exemplifies this, and it was released last week after the rollout of singles like “Don’t Play That” with 21 Savage and “War.” It featured plenty of collaborations with other rappers, including Lil Durk, G Herbo, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Today, the video for the quick, scorching track “Too Real” was unleashed. It’s speculated to be a response to NBA YoungBoy who he had been feuding with: “Rap beef turn to homicide / You diss then we gon’ slide,” he spits. Of course, it helps that in the video he’s swinging around a massive flamethrower. That is one way to settle rap beef.

Though King Von had a knack for diss tracks and rap beef songs, he also wrestled with more serious topics like the shortcomings of the justice system on the 2020 single “How It Go.”

Watch the video for “Too Real” above.

Kanye West Ponders Mortality In His Maudlin ‘Dead’ Poem On Instagram

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Kanye West is trying out a new form of expression lately, sharing visual poems on his Instagram (after deleting all his other posts again) expressing his feelings on “DIVORCE” and on death with his latest, “DEAD.” Ye, who is legally separated from Kim Kardashian, reflected on the couple’s ongoing divorce with his last poem, which found him comparing the feeling to having “full-blown COVID” and rolling his ankle on the first play of the Super Bowl.

In his latest, he imagines being dead without knowing it — a la the ghosts from The Sixth Sense, I suppose — and the world going on without him, despite his best efforts to continue participating in life. He also spells “prayed” as “pread,” so it’s a pretty typical Kanye work in that sense (remember when he had us all going along with “apologin’?”). He also, apparently begrudgingly, offered the following by way of explanation of the poem/rap, lest it be taken out of context. Still, I don’t think any of us would complain if he took a break and reached out to a therapist. You can read the poem in full below.

“I feel already compromised that I have to justify my expression after over 20 years of art that I’ve contributed to the planet but I also see the need to make sure we as a species are allowed to still feel anything Men not allowed to cry celebrities not allowed to cry I will not explain this new piece for the explanation destroys the mystery and magic of true love and puts it in a box that can be counted Art is subjective Art only works when it is the artist absolute truth Someone’s truth can be another persons lie We don’t all have to feel the same because we are not the same With out further ado I present to you my latest creation it is called DEAD”

“No one wanted to tell me I was DEAD / And only people that would talk to me were in my head / No one wanted to tell me I was DEAD / Only people who loved me would visit in their dreams instead / They would come to my grave and sprinkle some bread / So on my tombstone the birds would be fed / I would give new requests but nothing was said / Cause no one wanted to tell me that I was DEAD / They ran through my account like the sign said free bread / But no one wanted to tell me I was DEAD / My kids would dance for me in a home I once led / But kids see ghosts and didn’t know I was DEAD / Every thing was wrong in the press that I read / Cause nobody would tell me that I was DEAD / I realized when people spoke to me was only when they pread / Cause nobody would just tell me / Bro you been DEAD / Won’t anyone listen to one word I said / Of course not sir / You know how long you been DEAD / Funny it’s been a long time since I bled / You think someone who prides being smart as me would have known that he’s DEAD / So now every idea only exists in my head / I guess that’s how people treat people who are DEAD / I found out one day at the newsstand in purgatory, there was a front page article of my murderers story / I was so surprised at what it said / This info is for the living/ And surprise … You’re DEAD.”

Kanye West And Teyana Taylor Rework A ‘K.T.S.E.’ Cut In A ‘Jeen-Yuhs’ Outtake

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In director Coodie’s comprehensive Kanye West-centered documentary, Jeen-Yuhs, viewers get an intimate look at Ye’s creative process. Through over 20 years of footage, fans see the work that went into his iconic albums, including The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation. In the Netflix documentary’s third and final part, titled “Act III: Awakening,” we see parts of the Wyoming sessions, which took place between 2017 and 2018, which resulted in the albums Ye, the Kid Cudi-collaborative Kids See Ghosts, and Teyana Taylor’s K.T.S.E.

In an outtake shared by Time, Ye and Taylor work on a song called “Cold Blooded,” which ultimately didn’t make the final tracklist of K.T.S.E. Unsatisfied with the sound of the song, Ye strips “Cold Blooded” of its original beat, then creates a new instrumental track in real-time.

Before making a name for himself as a rapper, Ye climbed the industry ladder producing tracks for Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Alicia Keys. In recent years, he’s worked behind the boards for artists like Christina Aguilera, Lil Nas X, and Pusha T.

With Jeen-Yuhs, we get a look at how some of Ye’s biggest songs and albums, both of his own and ones he produced for other artists, came to be.

Check out the outtake above.

Lil Wayne Can ‘Take Seven Weeks On Two Lines’ When Writing A Song

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Prodigious rapper Lil Wayne recently went on the I Am Athlete podcast featuring Brandon Marshall, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, and Omar Kelly to talk about what he’s been up to. He just released a collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly on the new single “Ay,” and about a month ago he unveiled the music video for his track “Cameras” from his aptly-titled mixtape Sorry 4 The Wait. On this podcast, though, he was asked more about his process, including how long it takes him to write song lyrics since he’s practically known for his clever quips. “It depends on what it is,” he said. “When it’s my sh*t, on god, man, I could take seven weeks on two lines.”

Explaining why he has such an arduous process, he said, “I’ve said so much that I don’t ever wanna say the same thing. Also, you have to understand your audience. There were certain things I could have said to my audience in 95 that you’re not trying to hear right now. But you know I mean I could figure it out and that’s the beauty of it.”

Listen to the podcast above, where he also discusses Young Dolph, Drake, and where the state of rap is headed.

Eminem Becomes The Most Certified Artist (For Singles) In RIAA History

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Did you know that artists who perform the Super Bowl halftime show do so basically for free? While the NFL covers the production costs for the performance, it does not pay the artists directly for agreeing to perform on the most-watched event of the year. However, that doesn’t mean artists don’t get anything out of the arrangement. The visibility that the performers receive often results in increased catalog sales in the … ahem … aftermath of the show, with a ton of future opportunities waiting as brands scramble to work with them and take advantage of the publicity.

Case in point, after performing this year’s halftime show, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Still D.R.E.” video became their first to reach a billion views on YouTube, while all of Dre’s co-stars — Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop — all saw an increase in streams overall. However, it turns out the biggest beneficiary — at least in terms of accolades — might well be Eminem, who saw his catalog spawn 73.5 million new units, making him The Recording Industry Association of America’s most-certified singles artist in history. The RIAA tweeted about the achievement today, congratulating Eminem on the awards, which include “Lose Yourself” (naturally), “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, “Not Afraid,” and nearly 50 other Platinum records, as well over 30 Gold ones.

Even before performing at the Super Bowl, Eminem reached streaming distinctions that almost no other artist can boast. In December, every Eminem album crossed the one billion streams threshold on Spotify,
lending weight to his comment earlier this year that “no one ever really gets canceled.” Eminem is living proof after spending his whole career setting people off — even doing so by kneeling during the halftime show (at least this time it was the right people getting rankled) — and if nothing else, you can say it paid off big for him.

Drake Is Selling Three Of His Houses In California For A $20 Million Total

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Drake is unloading some of his property and looks to make a tidy sum, according to a new report from TMZ. He recently listed his Hidden Hills mansion — which he affectionately calls the “YOLO Estate” — for $14.8 million. For that amount, the buyer will be getting full-sized basketball and tennis courts, a swimming pool (complete with a spa grotto and water slide), a theater that seats 25, a horse stable, and 12,500 square feet of space. He’s also selling two adjacent properties for a grand total of $22.2 million.

Complex notes that the impetus for Drake’s home sale is likely his recent purchase of a new home in Los Angeles’ Beverly Crest neighborhood, which was reported in Architectural Digest. Apparently, Drake is buying English singer Robbie Williams’ home, which despite going unlisted is estimated at $50 million. It’s a good 7,000 square feet larger than the YOLO Estate, although according to Complex, it’s still much smaller than his mansion in Toronto, which is a whopping 50,000 square feet.

Although it wasn’t reported as an official reason for his move, it’ll likely also be nice to possibly throw off Drake’s stalker, who showed up at the Hidden Hills house multiple times looking for him, even going so far as to sneak in and steal some of his drinks. He’s since filed a restraining order — after she tried to have one filed against him first — but perhaps moving house will provide an added layer of security along with all that extra space.

Leon Bridges Made A Surprise Appearance At Justin Bieber’s LA Show

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Leon Bridges 2022 Homecoming Big Game Weekend
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During the LA stop at his Justice World Tour last night, Justin Bieber brought out Leon Bridges for a surprise performance. The Fort Worth, Texas-native then proceeded to perform “River” from his 2015 debut album, Coming Home.

Bridges released his most recent album, Gold-Diggers Sound, last July, which featured prominent production by Ricky Reed. Last month, he teamed up with fellow Texas musical trio Khruangbin for a collaborative EP called Texas Moon.

“Being under ‘the machine,’ you kind of have to adhere to whatever the label’s ideas are or whatever producer you’re working with,“ Bridges said of the EP in our cover story last month. “And whenever I’m doing that it’s more polished, but it’s still a vibe. Although I think my collaboration with Khruangbin is really where my heart is. I love how raw our sound is.”

Last night’s LA show was the first of two shows Bieber has planned at Crypto.com Arena on his Justice World Tour, which will take the Grammy-nominated “Peaches” singer across North America through June. Bridges is set to kick off a tour next month in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before making apperances at Hangout Festival and Glastonbury this summer.

Bieber announced last month that he would partner with Propeller and Live Free to local and national social justice organizations, including the REFORM Alliance, National Resources Defense Council, Fund For Guaranteed Income, and Last Prisoner Project.