Music

Nas Almost Changed His Verse On ‘Sorry Not Sorry,’ His Collaboration With DJ Khaled And Jay-Z

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This weekend DJ Khaled released his 12th album, Khaled Khaled. It boasted appearances from some of the music world’s biggest names. Two of them are Jay-Z and Nas, who joined forces for the track “Sorry Not Sorry.” Khaled recently shared a behind-the-scenes look at the song’s recording process, and it shows Nas considering changing his verse after hearing Jay-Z’s own.

“Alright, I’m just here tweaking lines and sh*t,” Nas says to Jay-Z over a FaceTime call. “I’m in here, curating, rewriting four bars here and there … oh no no no. I gotta come back [laughs].” He adds, “Yo bro, this is one. The queen at the end, the harmonies, that gave me chills … this is definitely one for the books.” Jay-Z, who was happy with Nas’ thoughts, replied, “Now that feels good. It feels great.”

Despite Nas’ comment, DJ Khaled made sure to clarify that neither verse on the song was altered. And he expressed his happiness with the song. “JAY and NAS on one record has been a lifelong dream! And I’m so glad it happened the way it did!TRUE brotherhood! Amazing energy! And love! God was in the booth, on set, and all over this ALBUM!” he wrote. “By the way no lines were changed it was PERFECT and BEAUTIFUL. I hope this inspires everyone to come together, celebrate each other and to be the LIGHT!”

Khaled Khaled is out now via Epic Records. Get it here.

Moneybagg Yo Earns His First No. 1 Album With ‘A Gangsta’s Pain’

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The year started with Morgan Wallen dominating the album charts, and it took weeks for other acts to take the top spot. Albums from Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift soon took over. Now it’s time for Moneybagg Yo to join august company: The rapper’s fourth album, A Gangsta’s Pain, went No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, making it the first chart-topper of his career.

The album, which boasts a total of 22 songs, tallied a total of 110,000 album units for its first week on the albums chart dated May 8 — a number comprised of 106,000 streaming equivalent album units and 4,000 pure album sales. A Gangsta’s Pain makes for Moneybagg’s fifth album overall and his fourth to enter the top-10 of the Billboard 200. The Memphis native can credit tracks like “Time Today” and “Hard For The Next,” featuring Future, for helping boost the album’s chart position.

Further down the latest Billboard 200, last week’s chart-topping release, Young Thug and YSL Records’ Slime Language 2, clocks in at No. 2. A trio of additional former No. 1s from this year also held on to Top 10 positions, namely Bieber’s Justice, Rod Wave’s Soulfly, and Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which can be found at No. 5, 6, and 9 respectively.

Check out our review of Moneybagg’s A Gangsta’s Pain here.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Wayne Recalled Being ‘Infatuated’ And ‘Impressed’ With DMX When They Toured Together

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The passing of DMX is something that’s still a painful thought for many. It was just last weekend that the late rapper’s family and friends came together for a pair of memorial services to honor his life, one of which took place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Despite being a week removed from these services, people are still finding ways to honor the hip-hop legend like Lil Wayne did during his performance at Miami’s Trillerfest on Saturday.

During his set, Wayne recalled a time during his career where he toured as much as “six months out the year.” He specifically used the moment to reflect on meeting DMX during the Cash Money Ruff Ryders tour which took place back in 2000.

“When we saw DMX, we all fell in love,” he said. “But when I got on tour with him, now you in the hotel lobby, you in the backstage, you run across the n**** and he actually say something to you. And when you see this n**** talk like how he rap and you see this n**** is what he is and you see this n**** got a zillion dogs with him, then a zillion dogs with him, it’s impossible not to be obsessed, infatuated, motherfucking impressed, whatever.”

His comments come after DMX previously confirmed that Wayne would appear on his upcoming album. The late rapper shared the news during an interview on the Drink Champs podcast where he revealed the project also includes features from Griselda Records, Usher, Pop Smoke and U2’s Bono.

You can watch Lil Wayne speak about DMX above.

A Rumored Dr. Dre, Eminem, And Kendrick Lamar Collab Has Fans Extremely Excited

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It’s about that time of the year where rumors surrounding Eminem are running rampant on social media. Sometimes they prove to be true, like last year when his fans correctly predicted a deluxe reissue for his Music To Be Murdered By album was on the way. More times than not though, the speculation leaves supporters with high hopes and empty results. This time around, rumors regarding Eminem also involve Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar as it may appear the trio are working on new music together.

It all began when Grammy-winning producer and frequent Dr. Dre collaborator Fredwreck shared a picture of him, Dre, Eminem, and Kendrick on Twitter. He captioned the photo “Beats n Rhymes (microphone emoji)” and a couple of days later, rapper and good friend of Eminem, Kxng Crooked, shared a similar tweet and this was enough to begin the speculation about what music could be on the way.

Some believed the photos were about a Dr. Dre album that would feature Kendrick and Eminem on the same song. Others thought the upcoming release would be something led by Kendrick Lamar as it could be tied to a recent post from the rapper’s label, Top Dawg Entertainment, that declared “THE WAIT IS OVAH!!!!”

Just like past rumors, we’ll just have to see what it all amounts to. Until then, you can scroll down to see what fans think of the rumors.

Billie Eilish Doesn’t Care If She’s A ‘Hypocrite’ For Wanting To Show Her Skin In A Revealing Cover

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Interscope

We’re well into the new era that Billie Eilish is presenting with her new album. It comes with the singer ditching her trademark black and green hair for a more delicate blonde look. She’s also given us new music for it as she dropped “Your Power,” the first single from her next project, last week.

This forthcoming full-length effort, titled Happier Than Ever, is set to arrive on July 30 and while that’s still more than two months away, Eilish is already displaying her content outlook on life through a new profile with British Vogue for their June 2021 issue.

One of the many talking points during her conversation with the magazine was an emphasis on being happy in your skin and how much you of it you choose to show regardless of society’s opinion.

“Suddenly you’re a hypocrite if you want to show your skin, and you’re easy and you’re a slut and you’re a whore,” Eilish said. “If I am, then I’m proud. Me and all the girls are hoes, and f**k it, y’know? Let’s turn it around and be empowered in that. Showing your body and showing your skin – or not – should not take any respect away from you.” This follows another point she makes during the sit-down in which she says, “Don’t make me not a role model because you’re turned on by me.”

The profile also featured a photoshoot that sees the singer rocking a “classic, old-timey pin-up” look that includes a corset, a piece of clothing Eilish felt would she would be criticized for wearing.

“If you’re about body positivity, why would you wear a corset? Why wouldn’t you show your actual body?” she predicted some would say to which she responded, “My thing is that I can do whatever I want.”

While the upcoming issue won’t hit newsstands until May 7, you can read her full profile with British Vogue here.

Justin Bieber Delivered A Stripped-Down Performance Of His No. 1 Song ‘Peaches’

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A little over a year after he made his return with Changes, Justin Bieber began a new album cycle with his sixth effort, Justice. The project, which boasted 16 tracks and features from Khalid, Chance The Rapper, Burna Boy, Giveon and Daniel Caesar, helped Bieber return to the top of the album charts. It also made the singer the first male solo artist to debut a song and album at No. 1 in the same week after “Peaches” made its debut atop the singles chart. This is also the song that Bieber recently gave a stripped-down performance of, much to the delight of fans.

Bieber pulled a seat by a piano as he rocked bright pink sunglasses and dreads — the latter which caused a bit of controversy last week — to deliver the somber take on “Peaches.” While the track originally features Giveon and Daniel Caesar, this version was an entirely solo effort that gave Bieber the opportunity to show off his vocals.

The rendition was the third take of “Peaches” that Bieber has delivered over the past couple of months. He first premiered the track during his NPR Tiny Desk concert from back and March and recently joined Jimmy Fallon and The Roots for a classroom instrumental version of the song.

You can watch Bieber’s stripped-down performance of “Peaches” above.

Burna Boy is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Chloe Bailey’s Excellent ‘Be Careful’ Cover Left Cardi B ‘Smiling From Ear To Ear’

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It’s been a few months since R&B duo Chloe x Halle created separate social media accounts where they both show off their individual personalities and styles. They made the accounts after Halle Bailey flew over to the United Kingdom in order to film her role in Disney’s live-action rendition of The Little Mermaid.

In the meantime, Chloe Bailey has taken advantage of her individual account to showcase her singing talents. The latest example of this came Saturday night when she posted a cover of Cardi B’s “Be Careful” from the rapper’s 2018 album, Invasion Of Privacy.

The cover was met with immediate praise and fans from all over who showed love to the singer for the excellent vocal performance. Chloe’s rendition of “Be Careful” eventually made its way to Cardi B’s eyes, who also had nothing but good words for the singer.

“This is soo beautiful got me smiling from ear to ear and blushing maa hard,” Cardi wrote on Twitter. “You see this how I thought I sounded on the track.”

Chloe’s rendition of “Be Careful” adds to the growing list of covers she’s shared over the past couple of months. She’s tried her hand at Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open,” The Weeknd’s “Earned It,” Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary,” and Yung Bleu’s “You’re Mine Still.”

You can listen to Chloe Bailey’s cover in the video above.

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

J. Cole Is ‘Too Excited’ About His Upcoming Release, ‘The Off-Season’

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J. Cole // Philip Cosores

Since the end of last year, J. Cole has been teasing a new release titled “The Off-Season“, an effort that will precede his upcoming album, The Fall Off. While he did not specify if “The Off-Season” would be a single or project, the Dreamville rapper can’t wait to share it with the world as he revealed in a post to his Instagram Story. “Just rode through the city to The Off-Season,” he wrote. “Dawg (face palm emoji)… Too excited.”

The post comes just a couple of days after Bas revealed “The Off-Season” is something fans can expect their hands on soon. “The Off-Season,” he wrote under a photo of Cole in the studio. “pack your bags. [rocket emoji] in two weeks.” Its title holds a sports theme which falls in line with Cole’s early mixtapes, 2007’s The Come Up, 2009’s The Warm Up, and 2010’s Friday Night Lights, so it’s very much possible that “The Off-Season” could be a new mixtape rather a new single.

If that proves to be true, The Off-Season would be Cole’s first full-length solo project since his 2018 album, KOD. Since then, he’s gone on an impressive guest feature run, teamed up with his Dreamville labelmates for Revenge Of The Dreamers III, and dropped three singles: “Lion King On Ice,” “The Climb Back,” and the controversial “Snow On Tha Bluff.”

You can check out a screenshot of Cole’s post above.

Jack Harlow Was Just Feet Away From A Deadly Louisville Nightclub Shooting

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While coronavirus remains a top issue in the United States, the threat of deadly gun violence has been another problem the country faces amid a number of deadly shootings over the past couple of months, especially at public events. A recent example of this came on Friday at a Lousiville nightclub that rapper Jack Harlow was attending. Harlow was just feet away from a deadly shooting at the venue, an incident that was captured through a video provided by TMZ.

Harlow, who is from the Louisville area, stopped by the city’s Ultra Lounge to attend a party in honor of the Kentucky Derby. In the video, the rapper can be seen near the stage seemingly enjoying the night when a fight breaks out not too far from him. What started as a vocal dispute quickly turned physical and a short moment later, a gunshot could be heard which sparks immediate chaos as attendees — including Harlow — make a run for safety. Luckily for the Louisville rapper, he made it out of the venue untouched but the incident unfortunately left one woman dead and sent another man to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

This happened a week after a shooting occurred at Lil Durk’s Smurkchella concert in Pheonix, AZ. This incident left one woman injured after a bullet grazed her leg. To watch TMZ’s video of the Louisville shooting, click here.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Coi Leray Takes Down Pooh Shiesty And Other Enemies In Their Video For ‘Big Purr (Prrdd)’

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Coi Leray’s 2021 is off to a fantastic start. Her year began with “No More Parties,” a track that caught fire on TikTok and was further elevated thanks to a remix with Lil Durk. What followed was a second successful single in “Big Purr (Prrd)” with Pooh Shiesty. Just like “No More Parties,” Leray’s latest single received a nice boost from social media.

Now, more than a month after the song’s release, the duo returns with a new video for the track. In it, Leray is seemingly tasked with recovering a diamond that Shiesty holds in his possession, a mission that required her to take down a number of Shiesty’s associates before she reaches him to retrieve the jewel.

The new release comes after Leray made her television debut with a performance of “No More Parties” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. It’s a moment that arrived after a string of solid projects the 23-year-old New Jersey rapper has shared over the years. Between her Everythingcoz and EC2 mixtapes as well as her Now Or Never EP, all of which influenced her selection in Uproxx’s “Rappers To Watch Out For In 2021,” Leray’s moment in the spotlight is well-deserved to say at the very least.

You can press play on the new video above.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.