Music

Diddy Says Jay-Z ‘Filled The Shoes’ Of The Late Notorious B.I.G. And Tupac

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This past Saturday, Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G., would have turned 50 years old. Among the many, many celebrations of the Brooklyn rapper’s life and legacy over the weekend was a Twitter Spaces event hosted by Tidal. Thousands of listeners tuned in to hear B.I.G.’s contemporaries, friends, and peers share their stories and remember the giant-sized footprints he left on hip-hop despite his short reign.

One of those peers was Jay-Z, who said that a void was left behind by the deaths of Biggie and his friend-turned-rival Tupac. “That’s a big void,” he admitted, before allowing, “Others stepped in to fill it as well, not just myself.”

Jay received praise from Sean “Diddy” Combs, Biggie’s benefactor as the founder of Bad Boy Records, who told him, “You filled them shoes, though. You came in and we definitely give thanks. You definitely came, and I just know how much Big really looked up to Jay. They looked up to each other. That is crazy you had to step into the shoes of two people. That’s all it was was those two people. They had things on lock.”

He continued, pointing out how, before the two titans’ deaths, Jay was still something of a neophyte, having only released one album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. Unfortunately, by the time he’d released its follow-up, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, both Tupac and Big had been gunned down. “Hov was coming,” Diddy explained to the Spaces listeners, “but it was like these two cats was just so big… I think Hov kept the art of it going and took where they was at and took it even higher.”

In addition to the celebration on Twitter, Big’s birthday was honored by the city of New York with commemorative MetroCards, a series of murals throughout the city, and a crown atop the Empire State Building.

Gunna’s Trial Date In The YSL Racketeering Case Set As He’s Accused Of ‘Command’ Role In The Gang

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According to Billboard, Atlanta rapper Gunna is being accused of directing gang members to commit violent acts in the ongoing racketeering case against Gunna’s label, YSL Records. Prosecutors have called the label part of a hybrid street gang, blaming dozens of incidents of violence on the gang’s activity.

Billboard‘s Jewel Wicker reported on the case from the Fulton County court via Twitter, writing that a judge denied Gunna’s bond request as prosecutors described his alleged role in the suspected gang as a “command” role in which he’d “direct their troops” to commit violent acts. Wickers reports, “The judge said his biggest concern was witness tampering.”

In addition to denying Gunna’s bond request, the judge also set the rapper’s trial date: January 9, 2023.

Gunna, real name Sergio Kitchens, was one of 28 suspected gang members arrested, along with fellow rapper and YSL Records founder Young Thug. The 88-page indictment against YSL cites 56 counts of various offenses ranging from armed robbery to murder, with both big-name rappers accused of conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, explicitly using lyrics from their records to show their ties to the group.

The case has been criticized by YSL associates like Metro Boomin, who insisted that “YSL is not a gang and never been a gang.” The arrests came weeks before New York’s State Senate passed a bill that would limit the use of lyrics in criminal trials. The bill is currently awaiting approval of the State Assembly before going to the state’s Governor to be signed into law.

Billie Eilish, Chloe x Halle, Coldplay, And More Sign Global Citizen’s Letter To End Extreme Poverty

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Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Charlie Puth, Shawn Mendes, Chloe x Halle, and 5 Seconds Of Summer have signed Global Citizen’s new open letter to end extreme poverty, which is part of its 2022 campaign. It calls for “breaking systemic barriers that keep people in poverty” and “empowering young women and girls across the world,” demanding that global leaders focus on these urgent issues, especially climate change.

Other celebrities who signed the letter include Adam Lambert, Alessia Cara, Alok, Bill Nye, Billy Porter, Camilo, Cathy Freeman, Connie Britton, Criolo, Cyndi Lauper, DJ Cuppy, Duran Duran, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Femi Kuti, Finneas, Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Lali, Lang Lang, Made Kuti, Måneskin, Muzi, Nancy Isime, Nile Rodgers, Nomzamo Mbatha, Padma Lakshmi, Rachel Brosnahan, Ricky Martin, Sabrina Elba, and Tropkillaz.

Eilish in particular is known for her devotion to bringing awareness to climate issues. Next month, she’ll be hosting a climate change seminar in London that will span six days and include fellow musicians like Vivienne Westwood, Girl In Red, Glastonbury co-organizer Emily Eavis, and more. She also had an inspirational ad campaign that addressed how young people can use technology for good by connecting with each other, inspiring grassroots activism, and pressuring large corporations to be more sustainable. “We all have the potential to make a positive impact on our planet, and I’m hopeful our generation will use their platforms to collaborate and communicate and make a difference,” she said in a video.

Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan And Questlove Are Among The Musicians Selected For The 2022 Time 100 List

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Today, Time revealed the 2022 Time100 list made up of the 100 most influential people in the world and music was well represented. Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan, Questlove, Adele, Jon Batiste, Miranda Lambert, and Michelle Zauner have all been selected for this year’s grand recognition. For the list’s 19th iteration, each nominee has been paired with a guest contributor tapped to write about them, and that list also boasts some big names in James Corden (Adele), Quincy Jones (Jon Batiste), Nas (Mary J. Blige), Elle King (Miranda Lambert), Amber Riley (Jazmine Sullivan), Jimmy Fallon (Questlove), and Bowen Yang (Michelle Zauner).

Blige, the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” has been selected as one of the cover stars, joining Zendaya, Tim Cook, Mia Mottley, and Simu Liu. “Mary came up the way we all did. She was a voice for us, but she wasn’t like other R&B artists at the time. She became a household name early because she was a hip-hop artist who also sang. The industry needed someone like that,” Nas wrote of Blige. Jon Batiste is set to be one of the speakers at the Time100 Summit on June 7 in New York City. Oprah Winfrey, Quinta Brunson, Zoe Kravitz, and Ketanji Brown Jackson are among other notable names, as this year’s list features 49 women. Check out the full list here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Pete Davidson Mentioned Kanye West And Ariana Grande During The ‘Weekend Update’ On ‘SNL’

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Last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live was also the last ever for Pete Davidson. Before the episode aired, the comedian announced that he would not be returning for the show’s 48th season along with other cast members including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney. For his last appearance on SNL, Davidson went out with a bang. He conducted one last rap parody sketch, which was eventually interrupted by Eminem who asked demanded that he stop them. He also stopped by Weekend Update to deliver a sweet and self-deprecating farewell to SNL, but not without mentioning a couple of music names he’s been tied to.

Davidson sat with Weekend Update co-hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che and kicked things off by acknowledging the “millions of people only watching to see if I bring up Kanye.” This is of course in reference to his new relationship with Kim Kardashian following her divorce from Kanye West whom she was married to for seven years. Next, Davidson ran through some events that took place in his life during his time at SNL. One of them includes a phone call he made to SNL producer Lorne Michaels about his engagement to Ariana Grande.

“He always gives the best advice,” Davidson said. “I said, ‘Lorne, I just got engaged to Ariana Grande after dating for two weeks.’ He said, ‘Oh, hold on for dear life!’ It’s a true thing he said.”

You can watch Davidson’s appearance on Weekend Update in the video above.

Kendrick Lamar Earns The Biggest Week Of 2022 As ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ Goes No. 1

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Kendrick Lamar fans waited five long years to receive his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The project finally arrived earlier this month, and it’s safe to say that it was far from what fans expected from him. Similar to how To Pimp A Butterfly was a big change in direction from Good Kid M.A.A.D. City, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was quite the shift from Damn. Nonetheless, Lamar’s fifth album has still received favorable reviews from critics, and now, he can add another No. 1 album to his resume as Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers topped the Billboard 200 charts.

For the Billboard 200 dated May 28, 2022, Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers debuted at No. 1 thanks to 295,000 album units sold. That number is comprised of 258,500 streaming equivalent album units thanks to 343.02 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs. Elsewhere, Mr. Morale also posted 35,000 pure album sales. Altogether, this feat gives Lamar the fourth consecutive and overall chart-topping album of his career.

Lamar’s fifth album put up the largest overall week in 2022, breaking a record set last week by Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti. Bad Bunny’s album still had the biggest streaming week of 2022 with Mr. Morale coming in at a not too distant second place. Mr. Morale also had the largest sales
week for a digital album in 2022 and the biggest overall week since Adele’s 30 posted 839,000 units back in November.

You can revisit our review of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers here.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. You can stream it here.

Eminem Crashed Pete Davidson’s Latest ‘SNL’ Rap Parody On To Say ‘They All Suck’

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Last night’s Saturday Night Live episode was a unique one for multiple reasons. Japanese Breakfast made her debut on the show with performances of “Be Sweet” and “Paprika.” Additionally, it marked the finale episode for the show’s 47th season. However, the most notable aspect of the show was the notable goodbyes that were delivered on the episode. Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, and Kyle Mooney all announced that they would not return for the show’s 48th season. With that, they all tried to go out with a bang and Davidson achieved that thanks to his latest and final SNL rap parody.

For his latest rap parody, Davidson — who was dressed as Lorne Michaels — took on Dr. Dre and Eminem’s “Forgot About Dre,” making it the third time that he’s rapped over an Eminem song. While the comedian might have had a smooth plan for his latest take on the 1999 track, Eminem himself arrived on set to cut things short. Towards the end of the video, Eminem appeared and essentially pulled the plug on everything. “I would just stop. They all suck,” Eminem said about the rap parodies. “Stop. It’s really bad.” Davidson tried to explain that he was just paying homage to the rapper, but Eminem refused to entertain him. “Pete, don’t f*cking do it again!”

Davidson heeds Eminem’s request, but not without taking his anger out on the real Lorne Michaels. Referencing Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, Davidson yells, “Well Lorne, you blew it!”

You can watch Davidson’s latest rap parody in the video above.

Lupe Fiasco Will Be Teaching A Rap Course At MIT Later This Year

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This is year is lining up to be a great one for Lupe Fiasco. He’s preparing to release his eighth album Drill Music In Zion and it’s a project that he’s already calling the best of his career. His engineer Craig Bauer called it the “Rap Album of the year” before correcting himself and saying “Nah. Decade. If you don’t feel something after listening to this…. You may want to check your pulse.” Drill Music In Zion is set to arrive on June 24, but it’s not the only big thing Lupe has in store for 2022. Later this year, the Grammy-winning rapper will teach a rap course at the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT).

The university announced that Lupe will be a part of their MLK Visiting Professor Program for the 2022-2023 academic year. Lupe shared the news in a tweet of his own. “I been holding this for a while,” he wrote. “I’ll put together something more sophisticated later that really captures the nuance and gravity but for now I’ll just say it straight and raw: I’m going to teach Rap at @MIT.”

Lupe’s upcoming course comes after he served as a visiting artist at MIT from 2020 to 2021. As for Drill Music In Zion, the upcoming project will be his first full-length release since 2018’s Drogas Wave.

You can view Lupe’s tweet about his upcoming rap course at MIT above.

Pusha T Wants To Prove His Rap Immortality: ‘They Need To Understand That I Can Do This Forever’

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This year has been a great one for Pusha-T. He kicked things with his impressive “Diet Coke” record which featured production from Kanye West and 88-Keys. He followed that up with “Neck & Wrist” alongside Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z. Both songs later appeared on his fourth studio album It’s Almost Dry which became Pusha’s first No. 1 album of his career and an early favorite for rap album of the year in 2022. The project was his first since 2018’s Daytona, but as Pusha tells it, it will be far from his last album. That’s because he seeks one major thing in his career going forward: rap immortality.

During a recent profile with NME, Pusha T shared his desire to prove that he is indeed an immortal rap figure. “A lot of our forefathers, the greats, they didn’t stand the test of time,” he said. “As great as they were, I don’t know how much they are [still] appreciated. [I want] to show that rap doesn’t have to age out. When people look at me, they need to understand that I can do this forever.”

It’s a tall task for anyone to accomplish, even those as talented as Pusha, but with his steady improvement over the years, Pusha might achieve his goal.

You can read Pusha’s full profile with NME here.

It’s Almost Dry is out now via GOOD Music and Def Jam. You can stream it here.

Lil Wayne And Mark Cuban Appeared To Squash Their Beef Courtside At The Mavericks’ Game 2 Playoff Game

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Last night’s Western Conference finals Game 2 was mostly memorable for the Warriors coming back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Mavericks and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series as it heads back to Dallas. But while Kevon Looney was having the game of his life and Steph Curry and company were surgically picking apart the Mavs in the second half, Dallas owner Mark Cuban and Lil Wayne were settling a score themselves courtside.

Ahead of Game 1, a very messy Twitter beef between Cuban and Lil Wayne bubbled over with Weezy telling Cuban, “Mark Cuban don’t make me get u smacked boy U playin w me?? I will piss in ya fkn mouth ho.” Gross, right? This all stemmed from Cuban coming to Luka Doncic’s defense eight days after Weezy tweeted “Luka a ho.” At any rate, it seemed as though things were patched up between the pair last night at Game 2 in San Francisco. Lil Wayne and his son were sitting courtside and Cuban came up to fraternize with the pair, even giving err… lil Lil Wayne a high five.

And according to unofficial Lil Wayne beat reporter Skip Bayless (I know, this doesn’t make sense to anyone), Cuban was the one who invited Tunechi and his boy (whose name is actually Kam) to the game.

So it seems as though this short-lived beef has ended with nobody peeing in anyone else’s mouth. Thank God. But the chances of the pair celebrating a Championship together again took a big hit.