Music

Kanye West And Beach House Were Spotted In The Studio Together

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Well here’s one that nobody had on their 2022 bingo card: Kanye West and Beach House appear to be in the studio together. Or maybe we could have seen this coming? Does anything surprise us with Kanye anymore these days? On the heels of releasing 16 tracks from Donda 2 directly onto his stem player this week, Ye posted a series of photos on Instagram from a studio session with two people who are very clearly Beach House’s Alex Scally and Victoria Legrande.

Beach House, who just released their double album Once Twice Melody last week, had a tour stop at The Sylvee in Madison, WI last night, and tonight, they’re performing at The Palace Theatre in St. Paul, MN. So assuming the series of photos aren’t from an old shoot, then it’s a good bet that these were taken in or near Madison or St. Paul.

West was in Miami this past Tuesday for the Donda 2 listening party and could be back in Chicago at this point. It’s also plausible that Beach House made a two and a half hour drive to Chicago after the Madison show to link with West and then took an hour and a half flight to St. Paul before tonight’s show.

Donda 2 co-producer John Cunningham took to Twitter to confirm the validity of the photo:

Regardless, even though you didn’t ask for it, we have proof that Kanye and Beach House linked in the studio. And for what it’s worth, this wouldn’t be the first time a prominent rapper has taken an interested in the dream-pop duo. The Weeknd famously sampled “Master Of None” for “The Party & The After Party” on his 2011 debut, House of Balloons, while Kendrick Lamar sampled “Silver Soul” on “Money Trees” off of his 2012 breakthrough, Good Kid m.A.A.d City.

Rick Ross Didn’t Want To Pay $10,000 To Have Ten Trees Cut Down, So He Put On A Cowboy Hat And Did It Himself

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If you want something done right, you got to do it yourself, right? Rick Ross seems to live by that mantra, as he made clear with a hilarious string of Instagram Story posts on Saturday morning. Ross, who is fresh off a deluxe release of his eleventh album, Richer Than I Ever Been, and videos for “Wiggle” and “Little Havana,” revealed a dilemma he faced: He wanted ten oak trees in his backyard cut down and the price to do so was $1,000 each. That amounts to a grand total of $10,000.

You might think that’s chump change to a successful artist like Rick Ross, but he decided there was a cheaper way to get it done. Ross sent a friend to purchase two chainsaws, which he says cost about $2,000. Then he put on a cowboy hat to cut down the trees himself. “They must’ve forgot who the f*ck I am,” Ross proclaimed after he put on his cowboy hat. “I’m hands-on, I’ll cut down my own motherf*cking trees. You can’t charge The Boss $1,000 a tree to cut it down, I’ll cut down my own motherf*cking trees. I gotta make room for my animals! I’m the biggest boss, y’all ready to go cut these trees down?”

True enough, the next few videos on his Instagram Story captured Ross taking the chainsaw to one of the oak trees. While it wasn’t the smoothest chop, Ross eventually cuts down the first of ten trees. After it falls down, Ross briefly celebrates before jokingly chasing down the person behind the camera.

Lucky Daye Unveils The Release Date And Cover Art For His Upcoming Album, ‘Candy Drip’

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It only took a few years for Lucky Daye to become one of the prominent voices of modern R&B. In 2019, Daye released his debut album, Painted, which became one of the best R&B releases of that year and scored multiple Grammy nominations. He’s also landed collaborations with the likes of Babyface, Ari Lennox, Wale, Ty Dolla Sign, and more. After dropping his EP Table For Two in 2021, Daye is ready to grace the world with his sophomore album, which he spoke about recently.

Daye previously announced that his sophomore album would be titled Candy Drip after he released its title track back in December. Now, he’s confirmed it will arrive on March 10. He also unveiled the cover art, which displays a close-up picture of Daye, who’s covered in some sticky liquid that looks a lot like honey. The announcement arrives after Daye shared “NWA” with Lil Durk, which is the second single from the forthcoming album.

Shortly after Candy Drip arrives, Daye will head out on a North American tour with singer Joyce Wrice. It kicks off March 18 in Portland, Oregon, and continues for a little over a month before coming to an end in New York City on April 25.

Candy Drip is out 3/10 via Keep Cool and RCA. You can pre-save it here.

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

Rick Ross Says Nipsey Hussle And Young Dolph’s Deaths Are ‘Equivalent Or Greater’ To That Of Biggie And Tupac’s

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Last fall marked the 25th anniversary of Tupac’s death. Meanwhile, next month will mark the 25th anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.’s death. Since their deaths, hip-hop has experienced the loss of other major rappers. Some examples include Nipsey Hussle and Young Dolph, who were shot and killed in 2019 and 2021, respectively.During a recent interview with HotNewHipHop, Rick Ross spoke about how impactful their deaths were to this generation.

“Losing Nipsey and Dolph for this generation, I’m sure, was just as equivalent or greater to what [Notorious] B.I.G. or ‘Pac was for my generation,” he said. Nipsey was shot and killed outside of his Marathon Clothing store in South Los Angeles back in 2019 and Young Dolph was murdered inside of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies in Memphis last fall. Rick Ross collaborated with Nipsey and Dolph throughout their careers and he even tried to sign Nipsey to his label, Maybach Music Group, at one point.

Rick Ross’ comments come after dropped a video for “Little Havana” with The-Dream — a track from his recently-released eleventh album RIcher Than I Ever Been.

You can read Ross’ interview on HotNewHipHop here.

Nipsey Hussle is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kanye West Reportedly Wants His Social Media Posts Kept Out Of His Upcoming Court Hearing With Kim Kardashian

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It’s been more than a year since Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kanye West, but the two are still fighting. Earlier this week, Kardashian requested to have the divorce expedited by the court while Kanye himself is still putting up a fight to win her back. Now Kanye has reportedly filed legal documents to have his social media posts kept out of their upcoming hearing. According to TMZ, the rapper has argued that Kim does not know that he wrote the posts despite the fact that they’ve been shared on social media accounts like Instagram.

“Kim claims she read something online allegedly by Kanye and characterizes the posts in her declaration as misinformation,” Kanye’s lawyer says according to TMZ. “Kim needed to offer the social media posts into evidence, and show that the posts were written by Kanye.” For what it’s worth, Kanye’s team did not deny that he’s behind the posts in the documents. Their argument instead is that Kim hasn’t done enough to prove that Kanye wrote them.

On top of that, Kanye’s lawyer reportedly says that the prenup between Kanye and Kim can no longer be viewed as valid, claiming there’s a presumption in California that prenups signed after 2001 are invalid, and that the only way that they can be validated is through a trial or if both parties agree to uphold its terms. It seems that Kanye will not agree to the terms, which means that a full-blown trial will be required, thus stifling Kim’s attempts to expedite the divorce.

Cardi B Said She’s ‘Always Got Love’ For Joe Budden After He Called Her A ‘Superstar’

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Joe Budden had some high praise for Cardi B, and she decided to show some love right back. The notoriously critical hip-hop personality, who runs his own show, The Joe Budden Podcast, was discussing her rise to fame and nothing but love for the New York rapper. “Cardi B is a superstar,” he said. “And you can’t argue that she is not.”

Well, as she does with most things — good or bad — Cardi B caught wind of the clip, which had been circulating on Twitter, and decided to respond. Of course, the high praise meant more to her because she has a long history with Budden, who also came up in New York as a rapper.

“I told y’all he always believed in me……that’s why I always got love for him even when he gets me mad …That’s my mean uncle,” she wrote on Twitter, sharing a very old photo of the two together, way back before Cardi is where she is now. Considering how many people try to come after Cardi due to her success, it’s nice to see someone in the game — and a man, no less — give her the credit she’s due. Now, superstar, can we get a new album?

Snoop Dogg Now Owns Death Row’s Music Catalog — With Some Exceptions

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Earlier this month, it was reported that Snoop Dogg had acquired Death Row Records’ brand, but was still hammering out negotiations for the accompanying catalog. Today, Billboard reports that he’s officially completed those negotiations and now owns the masters for both of his albums under the label, Doggystyle and The Doggfather, as well as those for his 213 associates Daz Dillinger and Kurupt, along with Lady of Rage and the compilations and soundtracks Death Row released throughout the ’90s. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

However, that impressive collection of music does not include a few of the most well-known Death Row releases. Dr. Dre’s The Chronic is set to be returned to Snoop’s longtime collaborator sometime next year (August at the latest), while Tupac Shakur’s seminal classic All Eyez On Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (as Makavelli) have already reverted to Amaru Entertainment and the Tupac estate.

Snoop might not miss those exceptions much in the long run, as Billboard notes both of his albums are Death Row’s best sellers. Meanwhile, his newly released BODR (Bacc On Death Row) — his first release for the album in 25 years — is already generating revenue to the tune of 10,000 units, while Doggystyle alone was worth 169,000 units just in 2021. Billboard puts the total revenue for the catalog at around $6 million last year. Combined with the branding — which handles merch and licensing of the Death Row logo — Snoop’s adding about $50 million of value to his name. Billboard notes, however, that Snoop may not have paid that much to MNRK, which previously held the rights to Death Row, due to it no longer having an interest in the brand and having a tendency to return rights to artists, as it did with Dre and Pac.

Snoop says he wants to turn Death Row into an “NFT label,” which holds interesting prospects for the future, while his former protege Bow Wow revealed plans to release his own final album under the imprint earlier today.

Conway The Machine Releases His Long-Awaited Shady Records Debut, ‘God Don’t Make Mistakes’

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After nearly two years of false starts and a few strong mixtapes to hold fans over, Conway The Machine‘s long-awaited Shady Records debut, God Don’t Make Mistakes, has arrived. Made up of 12 tracks with guest features from Annette Price, Beanie Siegel, Jill Scott, Keisha Plum, Novel, T.I., and more, God Don’t Make Mistakes is the culmination of the Buffalo rapper’s career to date, which saw him and his Griselda Records cohorts Benny The Butcher and Westside Gunn (also featured on the album on the lead single “John Woo Flick,” naturally) sign to Shady Records in 2019.

So far, though, the standouts of the album appear to be a pair of tracks that, on the surface, couldn’t be more different, but are in reality vintage Grisela presentations. One, “Stressed,” features a relative newcomer, Wallo627, who contributes a spoken-word outro giving a passionate pep talk to Conway, reminding him “you’re back, now you’re back at one hundred.”

The other, which you can check out up top, has a much splashier guest list. “Tear Gas,” which features a smooth beat courtesy of G Koop, Cosmo Beats, and Vidal Garcia, has guest verses from rap game veterans Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, who come through to match their host’s complex delivery with punchline-laden raps of their own. However, it’s still Conway’s show, and longtime fans needn’t worry — the Griselda capo’s Shady debut fits right in amongst the rest of his extensive catalog with haunting beats and hardbody rhymes.

God Don’t Make Mistakes is out now via Shady Records. Get it here.

Rexx Life Raj’s ‘Balance’ Video Is A Powerful Meditation On Loss

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Nobody should have to deal with this much loss. In the past year, Bay Area rapper Rexx Life Raj lost both his mother and his father and as he’s picking up the pieces of what the future holds, he’s navigating his grief and emotions in song. “Balance” is the first offering from his upcoming album and it’s an ode to his late mother and a powerful overall meditation on loss.

“We are battling obstacles in life and I know it comes with it’s challenges. But to me what separates the good from great is just the way you choose to handle it,” the rapper says on the hook over an affecting guitar and crisp snare drums. It’s an intense reminder of how music can help heal and find yourself amid insurmountable loss.

“Balance was a concept I’d had in my mind for a while because it was something I had been dealing with,” Raj said in a statement. “Trying to juggle being a caretaker, music, businesses, and relationships were weighing heavy on me. I wrote it as an affirmation to myself and hopefully the listener.”

The video plays out like a memory of spending time with his mother. She reads the boy a story, then he accompanies her to the doctor where she gets bad news. The next cut is outside of her funeral and it’s all spliced with footage of a grieving Raj leaned up against a hillside tree, delivering the song’s lyrics in a somber moment. The end of the clip is a cellphone video of Raj in the car with his parents, smiling together and enjoying life.

This is no doubt an impassioned introduction to the next chapter for Rexx Life Raj.

Watch the video for “Balance” above.