Music

Ye Calls Himself ‘The Template’ For Drake And Travis Scott

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Ye (aka Kanye West) recently had a conversation with British-German artist Tino Sehgal for German culture magazine 032c, and he really said a lot of noteworthy things during the chat. He revealed that he plans to be “homeless in a year” because he’s turning his homes into churches. Ye also noted that he’s working on a performance piece called The Funeral Rehearsal Of Kanye West. Elsewhere during the interview, he also dropped some names and called himself the “template” for some major artists.

Ye said:

“Moses could do everything his army could do, but he couldn’t free his people without the army. And you know, all these leaders, all these people who created the templates — Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, George Lucas — were crazy as f*ck but influenced so many people. I’m just saying, I’m the template. Kanye West is the template for Drake and Travis and…”

He said something similar elsewhere in the conversation, noting, “At this point, every art piece I do is a window, an app, for human beings. 808s & Heartbreak was the app for Drake and The Weeknd, and The Funeral Rehearsal Of Kanye West will be the app for others.”

The interview is print-only and is included as “a special edition booklet” in Issue #40 of 032c, so grab a copy for yourself here.

Tierra Whack Shares The Reflective ‘Heaven’ Video From Her New EP ‘R&B?’

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Tierra Whack continues her comeback with the release of her third three-song-one-genre EP, R&B? — following her Rap? and Pop? EPs, which showed off the Philly artist’s impressive array of talents. The lead video from R&B? is the somber “Heaven,” which came with an equally low-key music video. In true Tierra Whack fashion, the video features a surrealistic twist: as she walks in the rain, it slowly dawns on you that the rain is coming from her umbrella rather than over it.

Lyrically, the song features a sobering but relatable theme for anyone who’s lost loved ones — especially over the past year. “Heaven has all of my favorite people,” she sings. “I wanna go there.” In addition to the melancholy of “Heaven,” R&B? features “Sorry,” a wistful address to a former flamed she wronged, and “Cutting Onions,” on which she processes the passing of her beloved grandmother. All three songs are more downtempo than Whack’s prior output in the series, and true to form, feature her putting all her skills on display despite what the project’s title might suggest.

Now that she’s released three EPs in the same mode, it’ll be interesting to see whether she keeps the theme going — there’s always dance music, rock, and a half-dozen other genres I’m sure fans would love to see her try out — or moves on, but one thing’s certain: It’ll be the thing she wants to do and she will do it her own way.

Watch Tierra Whack’s “Heaven” video above and listen to the R&B? EP here.

Killer Mike And Stephen Colbert Celebrate The 20-Year Anniversary Of The ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Films With A ‘Late Show’ Rap

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It’s pretty well known that Stephen Colbert is a huge nerd who absolutely loves the Lord Of The Rings film trilogy but not as well known is the apparent fact that so is renowned Atlanta rapper Killer Mike.

Wait, what?

Yep, that’s right. Killer Mike joined Stephen Colbert on last night’s episode of The Late Show to celebrate the film series’ 20th anniversary with an elf-laden rap video in which Colbert, dressed hilariously in an old-school hip-hop get-up that LL Cool J would have loved back in the ’80s, Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste, and Mike rampage through a Blockbuster-like video store set, putting down other film trilogies like Star Wars and The Godfather as vastly inferior.

Then the hobbits themselves show up. Yes, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, and Sean Astin show up as raptified versions of their mischievous film characters to continue the song along with Elijah Wood, who poses in front of a Benz with “Baggins” on the license plate. The music video even gets meta, as Wood disses the Pitch Perfect trilogy, prompting a quick interlude of that series’ star Anna Kendrick looking very confused and kind of disgusted.

Method Man shows up to replace Gandalf actor Ian McKellan, Killer Mike slates Back To The Future, Indiana Jones, The Mighty Ducks, Twilight (another Kendrick cameo!), and The Dark Knight trilogy. Andy Serkis — aka Gollum — plays the flute as Hugo Weaving raps in freaking Elvish. This video has everything. You should really check it out.

Jack Harlow Explains Why He Turned Down Crossover Pop Opportunities To ‘Remain Hip-Hop’

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In a new feature on Jack Harlow for Billboard, the Louisvillian rapper explained why he consistently turned down pop crossover bids until working with Lil Nas X on “Industry Baby.” In addition to not wanting to be seen as a “novelty act,” he also said that he feels a “certain responsibility” to respect rap as a genre and hip-hop as a culture.

“There is a certain reality that I am white, and I think there will always be something attached to that,” he said. “No matter how embraced I am, there will never be a day that I’m Black. With that being said, there’s a certain responsibility that comes with being a white man in a Black genre, and there’s certain things that have me regarded differently. But there is something exciting about skipping over any barriers that might be there and creating unity.”

In addition, the features also reveals that Harlow was the one who approached Lil Nas X to work, according to Take A Daytrip’s Denzel Baptiste. “What impressed me the most about Jack’s verse was that before we did it, he reached out directly and let Nas know he wanted to work,” he said. “When we got the verse back, it was this super-long idea. It wouldn’t normally fit a pop-song structure, but there were so many amazing moments in it. We produced around it in a way that made it a huge focal point of the song.”

It was clearly a wise move for everyone involved. “Industry Baby” — one of Uproxx’s Best Songs of 2021 — reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 and achieved a level of pop-culture ubiquity that most artists can only dream of. For the “What’s Poppin” rapper and his collaborator, though, it was just one more step in their quest to be the biggest stars ever.

Megan Thee Stallion Signs A First-Look Production Deal With Netflix

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Megan Thee Stallion has signed an exclusive first-look production deal with streaming platform Netflix, according to Variety. The Houston rapper previously told Vogue that she was writing a horror movie (her favorite is Evil Dead) and later told Marie Claire that she wanted to bring Get Out director Jordan Peele in as a collaborator. Her new deal with Netflix just might help make that dream a reality as she creates and executive produces new content for the streamer, including possible a television series and other projects.

Netflix’s head of comedy, Tracey Pakosta, said, “Megan is a multi-talented creative force who has consistently made her mark on culture. She’s always growing and evolving as an artist, and we’re thrilled that she’s making a home at Netflix for this next chapter in her journey.” Megan herself seemed pretty amped about the announcement as well, saying, “I’ve always had a passion for telling creative and entertaining stories, so I’m thrilled about this partnership with Netflix. Venturing into production is the next step in my journey as an entrepreneur and I can’t wait to bring all my ideas to life and for my Hotties to watch.”

Considering Megan’s love for all things anime and nerdy, let’s hope she gets to do some animation as well, so we can potentially see this iconic moment brought to life for real. If I can’t have a Saweetie TV show — there’s still time, Netflix! — at least give me that much.

Danny Brown Covers Korn’s ‘Freak On A Leash’ At His Red Bull SoundClash With Rico Nasty

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On Wednesday night, Red Bull’s SoundClash returned in Chicago with Detroit rapper Danny Brown and DMV punk Rico Nasty, and the results were apparently quite entertaining, with both artists bringing surprises and nostalgic shenanigans to the stage during one of the event’s curveball rounds. The cover round found them challenged to cover other artists’ songs, with both going to a pair of the defining hits of their respective generations.

While Rico played Chief Keef’s seminal, floor-destroying hit “Faneto” — a Gen-Z fave that helped make Chief Keef one of his cohort’s anchor artists (I defy you to find a rapper under 25 who doesn’t have a least a little of Keef in their music) and an appropriate selection for the equally rage-ridden Rico — Danny Brown flipped the script with the millennial nu-metal headbanger “Freak On A Leash” by genre-mashing thrash band Korn. The scatting part at the end of the song is performed by someone who looks a lot like the band’s frontman Jonathan Davis, which turns the energy in the venue up to a whole new level.

The moment was a perfect example of Brown’s wide-ranging tastes and talents, which he previously showcased when he performed his first-ever standup comedy set opening for Hannibal Buress in September. Perhaps we’ll hear him do a little more singing on his upcoming album, 40, as well. Meanwhile, it was also great seeing Rico performing once again for appreciative crowds after she dealt with a negative response on the Playboi Carti tour.

Doja Cat Addresses Criticism For Dr. Luke Collaborations: ‘I Haven’t Worked With Him In A Very Long Time’

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Although Doja Cat has had a huge breakout in the last two years, her success has come with increased scrutiny — especially when it comes to the stratospheric single that launched her to her current level of fame, “Say So.” The disco-pop hit became Doja’s first No. 1, but some fans have criticized the rapper-singer for collaborating with formerly disgraced producer Dr. Luke on the song. In 2014, Luke was accused of sexual assault and abuse by his protege Kesha, and some fans viewed “Say So” helping to relaunch his popularity as a betrayal of another woman on Doja’s part — despite Doja signing with Luke’s Kemosabe label before the accusations were made public.

In a new profile in Rolling Stone, a reluctant Doja Cat addressed the criticism, saying, “I haven’t worked with him in a very long time. A lot of those songs were . . . There’s shit that he’s credited for, where I’m like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t know if you did anything on that.’ ” Although she declines to elaborate on which songs she means, she does offer insight into their future working relationship.

“The point is he’s gotten some credit for sh*t,” she says. “And, you know, it’s whatever. I don’t think I need to work with him again. I don’t think I need to work with him in the future. I know that. I think it was definitely nice of me to work with him.”

In a follow-up statement to Rolling Stone, Doja clarified that, “When asked about Luke I may have said something that someone could interpret as me saying that he had taken credit on things he didn’t deserve to. I just want to be clear that I have no firsthand knowledge of that being the case and I don’t want to participate in the rumor mill. The credits on my music are accurate, and I don’t want to imply anything else.” She attributes the earlier quote to defensiveness about men getting credit for women’s work. “As a young woman I think it is always important to fight for the credit that we are all due, and that was the point I was trying to make there,” she says.

Elsewhere in the rather comprehensive profile, she clears up why she looked bored performing her signature hit toward the end of its run, confirms her viral breakout hit “Mooo!” was an “obvious joke,” and addresses Nas’ throwaway criticism of her on “Ultra Black.”

Kid Cudi Clarifies How To Pronounce His Name: ‘This Has Been Bothering Me For 13 Years’

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Most of the world knows Kid Cudi as, well, Kid Cudi, but if you somehow got a hold of the rapper’s driver’s license, it would show his real name, Scott Mescudi. “Mescudi” isn’t exactly as common a last name as something like “Smith” or “Williams,” so it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the name has been mispronounced a lot over the years. Well, Cudi was on The Tonight Show yesterday, and while chatting with Jimmy Fallon, he took a minute to teach the world how to say his name.

After discussing the origin of his stage name, Fallon sought clarification about how to pronounce Cudi’s real last name, asking, “Is it… ‘mess-CUD-e,’” pronouncing the last two syllables like how one would say “Cudi.” With a smile, Cudi said, “We’re going to do this right now. I really want everybody to learn how to pronounce my last name. This has been bothering me for 13 years. I know I kind of confuse everybody with my rap name. It’s ‘MESS-cud-e.’”

That lesson was preceded by Cudi telling Fallon that he started his music career with the Lil Wayne-inspired rap name Lil Scott before shifting to Kid Mesc, which ended up causing confusion and people pronouncing it like “Kid Mess.” Eventually, he landed on Kid Cudi, which has clearly stuck.

Elsewhere during the conversation, Cudi spoke about his role in Don’t Look Up and the alter ego he made for himself when he used to work at Applebee’s, so watch the full chat above.

Ye Is Working On A Performance Piece Called ‘The Funeral Rehearsal Of Kanye West’

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2021 saw Ye (aka Kanye West) focused on his latest album, Donda. As for what he’s up to next, he says he’s working on a performance piece called The Funeral Rehearsal Of Kanye West.

Ye spoke about the endeavor in a new conversation with Tino Sehgal, for German culture magazine 032c. In the print-only interview, which is included as “a special edition booklet” in Issue #40 of the publication (photos of which were shared on Reddit but then deleted), the conversation started with the two exchanging pleasantries and Sehgal asking Ye about a project he was planning to do in Berlin. Ye responded:

“Yeah, but we want to give it some more time. The idea went from throwing a Halloween party to doing a performance piece called The Funeral Rehearsal Of Kanye West. I feel like every artist should design their own funeral rehearsal. And then, when they die, people can do it again. […] It’s also a new language. At this point, every art piece I do is a window, an app, for human beings. 808s & Heartbreak was the app for Drake and The Weeknd, and The Funeral Rehearsal Of Kanye West will be the app for others.”

At another point in the chat, Ye noted, “I was talking to [German designer and Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia] about the costumes for Funeral Rehearsal, and I told him they have to look like they came from a thousand years ago, now, or a thousand years from now. And then it can go other-dimensional. It can’t be overly contemporary.”

He also said:

“I can’t let nobody love me too much, because I’m gonna get into this trap of love. And then I owe it to everyone to be the person that they fell in love with. And I’ll never be that person. I have to always have the freedom of being disliked, so I can always be me. And so, this new piece is the death of Kanye West. It is the death of the ego that separates us — it’s the birth of humanity. Let me start by killing myself. The less you, the more room for God.”

It’s not clear when Ye intends to premiere Funeral Rehearsal, but as he noted, he wants “to give it some more time,” so it could end up being a while before the world sees it. As for the interview, Highsnobiety has some exclusive excerpts of it. The full interview has some more Ye quotes about Funeral Rehearsal and other topics, so find that here.

Ye Vows To ‘Be Homeless In A Year’ After Turning All His Homes Into Churches

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It was reported in October that Ye (formerly Kanye West) was looking to sell one of his Wyoming ranches. As far as what he plans to do with his remaining homes, he apparently intends to leave himself “homeless in a year” by turning them all into churches, according to a conversation between Ye and British-German artist Tino Sehgal for German culture magazine 032c.

In the print-only interview that’s included as “a special edition booklet” in Issue #40 of the publication (photos of which were shared on Reddit but have since been removed), Ye said:

“The ultimate good life is simpler. It’s for those who are willing to not have any possessions. Your baggage weighs you down.

I’m going to be homeless in a year. I’m going to turn all the homes I own into churches. We’re making this orphanage, and it will be a place where anyone can go. It should be like an artist commune. Food should always be available. The opportunity to make art and be around friends should always be available.”

Speaking of possessions, a bulletproof vest that Ye wore during one of his Donda listening parties was recently sold, alongside an NFT, for a whopping sum of $75,000.