Music

Memphis Bleek Explains Why He Thinks A Jay-Z And Nas Verzuz Is Out Of The Question

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In all of the furor over many of the Verzuz battles over the past year and a half, one potential matchup has been posed more than almost any other for obvious reasons: Jay-Z vs. Nas. However, it’s also the one that seems unlikeliest — both for, again, the obvious reasons (they are both incredibly busy with other things) and for some not-so-obvious ones. Longtime Jay-Z affiliate Memphis Bleek gave his own reason, however, and it’s got Twitter in a tizzy debating whether or not he might be right.

In an interview with Bally Sports Network’s Brandon “Scoop” Robinson, Bleek explained why he thinks a Jay-Z and Nas Verzuz is out of the question: Because, in his opinion, Nas doesn’t have enough hits for a hits battle. “It’s no comparison,” he started. “It’s just that Nas don’t have enough songs to compete. No disrespect to him, he just don’t. Jay can battle someone with just his B Sides Concert catalog and it’d still be better than people’s A sides.” While it’s understandable that Bleek would hold such reverence for his former mentor, some on Twitter were quick to try to rebut his claims, offering examples of Nas’ worthiness to compete with Jay. Some even went as far as impugning Bleek’s catalog.

Some, however, agreed with him, pointing out Nas’ suspect beat choices over the past 20 years, while others gave more measured responses allowing Nas to “compete” but not to “win” in a hypothetical Verzuz. For what it’s worth, in those battles where it truly seemed a win or a loss was at stake, many of the obvious picks wound up flustered by poor sequencing choices and their opponents’ willingness to outperform them — see: The LOX vs. Diplomats, just a few weeks ago. However, as mentioned, it’s probably not a likely matchup just because Jay and Nas seem to have no interest. Check out more replies below though, and feel free to weigh in on Twitter.

Britney Spears Reminisces About Performing With Iggy Azalea While Thanking Her For Her Support

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After Britney Spears spoke about her conservatorship in court this summer, many of her peers in music came forward with messages of support. That group includes Iggy Azalea, who collaborated with Spears on their 2015 single “Pretty Girls” and performed with her at at 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Now, in a new Instagram post, Spears reminisces about that performance and thanks Azalea for her support.

Sharing photos from the show, Spears wrote, “Me and Iggy on stage!!! It was so much fun working with such a strong, badass woman like her …. I haven’t met her new baby but if she’s reading this God bless you and thank you for all your kind words!!!! Pssss although the name of the song is Pretty Girls I think the concept is more like revenge of the NERDS !!!!”

In the comments, Azalea responded, “I absolutely adore you more than words (and I still have the barbies you gave me). Loving you always you brilliant, too-genius-for this-world-to-understand, kind hearted, gracious & beautifully ethereal being. We are definitely two big ole goofballs in the best way possible.”

Meanwhile, there has been a positive development on the #FreeBritney front: Spears’ father Jamie recently filed a petition to bring the years-long conservatorship to an end.

Big Daddy Kane Labels J. Cole As His ‘Favorite MC Out Here Right Now’ Ahead Of Their Upcoming Interview

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Legendary rapper Big Daddy Kane is continuing work on his upcoming Netflix documentary, Paragraphs I Manifest. The film places a spotlight on the art of emceeing and it will feature a number of notable rappers from the past and present to help tell Kane’s story. One of the artists involved in the film is J. Cole and his upcoming interview with Kane was teased in a recent video posted to Instagram.

“A lot of people out there right now are coming to people such as myself and many others, giving us our flowers and whatnot while we’re still here,” Kane says in the video as Cole stands beside him. “But listen – I wanna give this young brother right here his flowers like on the real.” Cole is taken aback by Kane’s comments and simply says, “Damn.” Kane adds, “I want this brother right here to know that he is my favorite MC out here right now. This is the brother right here that makes me feel like Hip Hop is still alive and it’s here to stay when I listen to this here brother spit and listen to his music. Love you, fam.” In response, Cole says, “Love, bro. Thank you, man. I appreciate that, bro. Legendary. Thank you. Sh*t.”

In the Instagram post’s caption, Kane confirmed that he added Cole to the growing list of guests for Paragraphs I Manifest. While speaking to HipHopDX, he also revealed another act he wants to include in the show. “I still gotta interview MC Lyte and turn it in for editing,” he said. “I swear, though, this J. Cole interview was the glue.” In addition to the aforementioned names, Kane has also interviewed JAY-Z, Common, Eminem, Doug E. Fresh, and KRS-One for the upcoming documentary, which has yet to receive an official release date.

You can watch Big Daddy Kane’s video with J. Cole above.

T-Pain Claims Kanye West Called One Of His Lines ‘Corny’ And Proceeded To Steal It For His Own Song

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A lot of ink has been spilled about Kanye West recently, and with good reason: He finally, after multiple false starts, released Donda, producing yet another, very Kanye avalanche of news stories. So here’s another: T-Pain has a story about the artist doing something eccentric (surprise surprise).

“Let me talk about a time that one of my corny lines got stolen,” T-Pain said during the livestream. “I’m so prepared for this, and I love this. Bro, Kanye stole one of my corny lines. I couldn’t believe it. Kanye stole one of my corny lines after he told me it was corny. I don’t think he said it better. I don’t think anything happened that his was better than mine.” He added, “It was either Prevolver — it was one of the Pre mixtapes before I released it. And on one of the songs I said, ‘I got beef like two burgers, you n****s win slow and I’m smarter than Steve Urkel.’ Now, keep in mind the Winslow family, right. Corny as f*ck. I knew it was corny when I said it.”

T-Pain went on to say that Kanye’s feelings about the Urkel line were similar to his own. “Kanye confirmed it,” he said. “He was like, ‘Don’t ever say anything like that.’ Then after that, one of his bars was, ‘Too many Urkels on your team, that’s why your wins low.’ The singer, shocked at what he heard in Kanye’s song (“Dark Fantasy” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) added, “I was like, ‘Did this n**** try to get me to not say my sh*t so he could say it?’ … I was like, ‘Bro, that’s my bar.’ He looked at me and he was literally bobbing his head, grabbing his chin, and when I said that line he looked at me and said, ‘Don’t say that.’”

All in all, the incident served as a lesson for T-Pain to be confident in his work, no matter how “corny” it may sound. “So this is why I say corny lines ’cause in my heart, I know they’re corny,” he said. But if the right person says it, it’s not corny anymore apparently. When a n**** getting lifted to the f*cking ceiling like a God with a light shining down on him, and y’all n****s is paying $50 for f*cking chicken fingers to listen to a f*cking unfinished album. Twice.”

You can watch T-pain detail the full story in the video above.

Kylie Jenner Confirms She And Travis Scott Are Expecting A Second Child Together

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Towards the end of last month, rumors swirled that Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner were expecting their second child together. The news was shared by TMZ, who cited a source with “direct knowledge” to the claims. A couple of weeks later, Jenner and Scott confirmed the news with a touching video.

In it, Jenner captures the moment she informs Travis that she’s pregnant for a second time. She later shares the news with her mother Kris Jenner. The video also shows Kylie visiting the obstetrician for a check-up. Viewers can even see Stormi, the couple’s first child, excited about the news of a sibling on the way.

Kylie previously spoke about wanting to give Stormi, who is three years old, another sibling during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. She also spoke about her and Travis’ co-parenting skills. “We have such a great relationship,” she said. “We’re like best friends. We both love Stormi and want what’s best for her. We stay connected and coordinated. I think about [my parents] in situations with Stormi, what they would do. They were very hands-on with me, and I want the same for Stormi.”

The news comes after Kylie and Travis took a year off from their relationship and got back together this past spring and what was initially reported as an open relationship. However, she denied the rumors shortly later in a post to Twitter. “I’m not discrediting anyone who is in an open relationship,” she wrote. “But it’s just careless and disrespectful to throw this narrative out there without knowing what’s true.”

You can watch Kylie’s video above.

Polo G Was Reportedly Arrested For Carrying A Concealed Weapon In Los Angeles

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Polo G has once again found himself in trouble with the law.According to TMZ, the rapper was recently arrested in Los Angeles for carrying a concealed weapon after police officers pulled the Chicago native over for a reason that has not yet been revealed. Law enforcement sources told the publication that Polo G was in the passenger seat at the time of the traffic stop. Officers then conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered the weapon. Both parties were arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

This makes for the rapper’s second arrest on a gun charge in 2021. His first came back in June, just days after he released his third album, Hall Of Fame. According to The Miami Herald, an altercation between the rapper and an officer broke as they attempted to put Polo G in handcuffs after he was pulled over for suspected gun possession. The officer was allegedly hit in the head, chin, forehead, and cheek, according to an arrest report. After he was booked on a number of charges and released on bond, Polo G hopped on Twitter to speak out about the arrest.

“1 of the officers told us they was on us since we got Off our Jet,” he tweeted, adding, “They playin foul in Miami & dat sh*t been like that for a minute.”

Jadakiss Reveals How The LOX Landed On Kanye West’s ‘Donda’

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Last month was quite eventful for The LOX. The group, which consists of Yonkers rappers Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch, began their run with an amazing performance during a Verzuz matchup against Dipset. The appearance inspired people to praise the group, specifically Jadakiss, with many calling him the star of the show. Shortly after, during Kanye West’s second listening party for Donda, The LOX made a surprise appearance on a track we now know as “Jesus Lord Pt. 2.” During a recent interview with HipHopDX, Jadakiss explained how that song came together.

“Someone from ‘Ye’s camp actually reached out to my older son,” the rapper said. “Then ‘Ye called us the next day after Verzuz, he hit me the next morning. We flew straight there (Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium) and went straight to the studio and knocked the song out. Then went and rested and came back the next day and went to the event and flew back.”

Shortly after The LOX dazzled at their Verzuz against Dipset, the group was gifted the key to their hometown of Yonkers by the city’s mayor, Mike Spano. “We recognize LOX,” Spano said during a ceremony for the key. “We’re gonna give this to you. He doesn’t need it. He could go anywhere he wants but this will confirm it all.”

You can watch the rapper’s full interview with HipHopDX in the video above.

Drake Signs On To Curate Music For ESPN’s Monday Night Football

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After going a little over a year without a new full-length project, Drake finally delivered his sixth album, Certified Lover Boy, But it seems he has more music on the way. The Toronto native just signed on to curate music for ESPN’s Monday Night Football for 10 games during the NFL’s upcoming season. The music includes tracks from Certified Lover Boy, albums the rapper previously released, plus work from other artists that Drake will personally select.

“Now we are here, the kickoff of the football season and who better to curate music for Monday Night Football than Drake who sits firmly at the intersection of music and sports?” Emeka Ofodile, Vice President Of Sports Marketing at ESPN, said in a statement according to Billboard. “We couldn’t be more excited for this upcoming collaboration. The music curator role has been a big hit with our fans with Diplo and DJ Khaled in previous years and this season, we will be living inside the moment with Drake as our NFL on ESPN soundtrack.”

The announcement comes after Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, which features appearances from Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Travis Scott, Young Thug, Future, Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla Sign, and more, set first-day records on both Apple Music and Spotify.

Certified Lover Boy is out now via OVO Sound/Republic. Get it here.

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

Kanye West Adjusted ‘Donda’ Based In Part On Online Reviews Of His Listening Events, Mike Dean Says

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Kanye West finally released Donda recently (whether he wanted to or not, it seemed). The creative process of the record was a public affair, as West held three listening parties and made changes to the album between them. Mike Dean, who worked on the album with West, says that after the listening parties, he took reactions to the songs into consideration when making alterations to the album, including online reviews.

Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Dean said (as HotNewHipHop notes):

“It was interesting. It was grueling, lots of hours, lots of changes. Came out great, though. […] Kanye had three listening parties, so each listening party was like a test, kind of. And after each one, I think he wanted… I can’t talk too much about his process. He took all the information he got from everyone — including online reviews, personal friends’ reviews — and he just kind of digested it all and adjusted the album the way he wants.

He also noted that during the events, he was attuned to how the audiences were feeling about the songs, saying, “I definitely looked at how the crowd moved to different songs. I was up at the top of the stadium, DJ-ing.”

As unconventional as the process was, the results speak for themselves: Donda topped the charts and two of the album’s songs debuted in the top 10 of the Hot 100 this week.

Lil Nas X Takes His Fake Pregnancy To The Next Level By Sharing A Baby Registry

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Lil Nas X always commits to a concept. When his viral track “Old Town Road” took off, the musician was always seen sporting a cowboy hat. Now, Lil Nas X is gearing up for the release of his debut album Montero by faking a pregnancy and is never without his massive baby bump. Further leaning into his pregnancy cosplay, Lil Nas X has officially opened a “baby registry.”

Much like everything else he does, Lil Nas X’s baby registry isn’t typical. Instead of linking to items like onesies or cribs, Lil Nas X is using the baby registry as a way for fans to donate to important charities.

Lil Nas X made the announcement on social media alongside a few photos of him chilling with is faux-pregnant stomach. “Me and my team have set up a ‘baby registry’ for many charities if you guys would like to donate,” he wrote.

The registry is set up to mimic his Montero album’s tracklist, with each song linking to a different charity. Some of the organizations include the Transinclusive Group, which aims to create a safe space for transgender and gender non-conforming people of color to be their authentic selves, and The Bail Project, a national nonprofit organization on a mission to end cash bail, one of the key drivers of mass incarceration and structural racism in the US criminal legal system.

Montero is out 9/17 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.