Music

T-Pain Said He Took Jay-Z’s ‘D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)’ Personally And Almost Wrote A Diss Track In Response

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T-Pain has faced his fair share of conflict in the music industry throughout his career. One big topic includes the negative reception toward auto-tune during the biggest points of his career. Many felt the singer’s use of the filter on his voice made it easier for singers who could not sing to find success in music, or as Usher allegedly put it, T-Pain “really f*cked up music for real singers.”

This resulted in another low moment for T-Pain with the release of Jay-Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” which many felt was targeted at the singer.

During a recent appearance on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s Drink Champs, T-Pain reflected on that song and explained whether he felt it was a targeted attack against him.

“Of course! A wise man once said, ‘You can’t knock the hustle,’” he said. “I’m the face of this. Just like Lil Yachty was the face of mumble rap—anytime somebody talk about mumble rap, Lil Yachty was the first person to come up. I was the face of Auto-Tune. Anytime somebody said, ‘Auto-Tune,’ I’m the face. So, when you say Auto-Tune is wack, I’m the face.”

He continued, “If I woulda said f*ckin’ blue Yankees are terrible, everybody woulda been like, ‘Oh you dissin’ Jay-Z now?’ … Anytime [Jay] says something is wack, it’s trash.”

T-Pain then revealed that he almost released a diss song in response to “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” but his team advised him not to.

“I was, like, really drunk. I was ready to go,” he admitted. “I went into the studio and started recording the record and my managers were like, ‘I think we just need to take a break.’ … We were supposed to take a break for four months, I ended up taking a break for four years.”

You can watch the full episode of Drink Champs above.

Meek Mill Details His Harsh ‘War Stories’ Through A Boastful New Video

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Meek Mill is slowly making progress toward the release of his long-awaited fifth album. In recent months, the Philly rapper has increased his public musical output and this weekend he returned with a brand new song and video.

Titled “War Stories,” Meek uses the track to detail harsh stories about his past and explain that danger still lurks around him even despite achieving both fame and success in his career. The track comes with a video that sees the rapper enjoying dinner with his team and hitting the club with the likes of Bobby Shmurda, Jim Jones, Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert, and more many.

“War Stories,” which samples The Isley Brothers’ 1983 song “Ballad for the Fallen Soldier,” comes after Meek shared a remix of Drake and Rick Ross’ “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” with a video that captured him flexing his lyrical abilities in the studio and a jewelry store. Later on, he delivered “Flamerz Flow,” which also arrived with a visual that featured cameos from Shmurda and Dave East.

Outside of the music that Meek has given to the world, the rapper recently bought a house for his grandmother which came shortly before he shared the first picture of his youngest son Czar on social media.

You can listen to “War Stories” in the video above.

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

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Has Been Postponed Until 2022 Due To COVID-19 Conditions

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2021 was supposed to be the year music lovers all around the world could enjoy live concerts and festivals alike after the coronavirus pandemic ripped that away from them for the better part of 15 months. While some festivals have been able to return with big showcases featuring some of music’s biggest names, others, like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival have yet to do so. Unfortunately for those who were hoping to attend Jazz Fest, fans will have to wait one more year before they indulge in what the showcase has to offer.

In an announcement on Sunday, the Jazz Fest revealed that this October’s two-weekend showcase will be postponed until 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. “As a result of the current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency, we must sadly announce that the 2021 edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, scheduled to take place October 8-17, 2021, will not occur as planned,” the announcement read. “We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the Festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates are April 29 – May 8, 2022.”

The 2021 festival was set to feature performances by Dead & Company, Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, The Black Crowes, HER, Brandi Carlile, Norah Jones, The Beach Boys, Ludacris, Jon Batiste, Wu-Tang Clan, Brittany Howard, and many more.

Ticket holders for both weekends of the festival will receive an email this week on refund and rollover procedures. Organizers added that all tickets for the October 13 showcase will automatically be refunded.

You can view the announcement in the tweet above.

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

Cardi B And Megan Thee Stallion Celebrate Their First ‘WAPiversary’ By Teasing Another Collaboration

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Last summer, on August 7, 2020 to be exact, Cardi B and Megan The Stallion shook the music world with their first collaboration, “WAP.” The track quickly became a favorite of both rappers’ fans mostly because of the sex-positive message the song delivered. It also became Cardi’s fourth No. 1 single while it was the second for Megan.

For as much praise as it garnered, “WAP” also received criticism, mostly from conservative politicians who took issue with the song’s explicit nature. Nonetheless, “WAP” was absolutely one of the biggest moments of 2020 and a year later, the two rappers took a moment to celebrate their chart-topping song while hinting at more to come in the future.

“Wow I can’t believe wappity WAP turned one today,” Cardi wrote on Twitter. “It don’t even feel like it. What a record! @theestallion we should do it again sometime.” Shortly, Megan responded to Cardi’s tweet with her own celebratory message. “Happy WAPIVERSARY,” the rapper replied. “Thank you for having me. I think the people deserve another collab.”

A future collaboration between Cardi and Megan could come on the latter’s next project which the Houston rapper said is slowly coming together.

“I am keeping my next project pretty quiet but it will be a complete shock and complete surprise,” she said during an interview with People. “I am just creating things that feel good to me right now.”

You can view the rappers’ tweets above.

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

Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Could Have Been Delayed Because Of An Apparent Mixing Mistake

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For the second time this year, the world gathered together to watch a livestream listening session for Kanye West’s upcoming tenth album Donda this past Thursday. Whether it was from home with conversations on social media or inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, fans watched the rapper share promising music from the unreleased album with the hope that it would arrive on August 6 as it was widely reported. Yet, once again, Friday came and went without Donda and fans were left to wonder what caused the delay this time around and when they could get their hands on the album.

While a new release date hasn’t been confirmed, we may have learned one reason Donda didn’t come out as scheduled.

On Saturday, a fan posted a screenshot from the August 5 livestream that shows Kanye speaking on the phone as the music blares from the stadium. The image was captioned, “Make Sure Mike Dean locked up in that room. We not finished yet,” and soon enough, Mike Dean himself caught wind of the tweet and offered a response.

“He was actually calling me from [sic] a mix mistake! Lol,” the producer replied.

For what it’s worth, the mixing error may not be the lone issue with the current album that is Donda, but it’s clear that it won’t be released until Kanye deems it ready for the world. For now, fans could expect the project to arrive on August 13 as the pre-save page for Donda on Apple Music revealed this weekend.

You can read the fan’s and Mike Dean’s tweets above.

Megan Thee Stallion Believes ‘It’s About Time’ Hip-Hop Takes A Stand Against Homophobia

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Back in 2019, Megan Thee Stallion saw homophobic tweets from 2011 and 2012 resurface on Twitter. In response, the rapper pointed out that she already apologized for the posts as they no longer reflect her views, nearly a decade later.

“You going this far over a tweet from 2012 ? that obviously meant no harm coming from me in high school, you mfs are sick,” she wrote. “I’ve already apologized for tweets that obviously do not represent my views now. I don’t do nothing but show love to everyone so just stop.” Two years later, her sentiments are the same as she was asked about homophobia in hip-hop during a recent interview.

“It is about time,” she told People when she was asked about hip-hop’s stance against homophobia in the genre. “Representation is important, and it is really crucial for us all to have compassion and acceptance of every human.”

Her comments come after DaBaby was reprimanded for his homophobic comments during his set at Miami’s Rolling Loud festival last month. While he apologized for his words a week later, the rapper would lose out on opportunities to perform at several festivals this year including Lollapalooza, Day N Vegas, and Austin City Limits.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tyler The Creator Admits He Enjoyed Beating DJ Khaled For A No. 1 Album In 2019

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Earlier this year, Tyler The Creator earned the second No. 1 album of his career with Call Me If You Get Lost. The chart-topper came two years after he obtained his first No.1 with Igor back in 2019. That accomplishment didn’t come without controversy as DJ Khaled slammed Billboard for miscommunication about what type of sales would count towards Father Of Ashad. That apparently led to it clocking in at No. 2 on the albums charts, behind Tyler’s Igor. During a recent interview on HOT 97’s Ebro In The Morning, Tyler spoke about that moment and the feelings he had as a result of the comments Khaled made which included labeling his music as “mysterious sh*t.”

“Bro that Khaled thing was like, it was fun, it was just watching a man die inside,” Tyler said. “The weirdo was winning, I was moonwalking in a wig. This n**** had everyone on his album. Everyone. That n**** ego was deflated, he’ll probably never admit [it]. I didn’t say nothing, I just let that No. 1 speak. N****’s ego had to deal with that because his whole identity is being No. 1. And when he didn’t get that, that sat with him longer in real-life time than that moment.”

He later added, “For some guy like that to kinda indirectly be like, ‘That ain’t real rap, that ain’t real Black music,’ that’s what it felt like,” before noting that he still has some respect for Khaled’s rise to stardom as he’s someone the rapper listened since he was young.

You can watch the entire HOT 97 interview with Tyler in the video above.

Hit-Boy Seemingly Takes A Shot At Kanye West While Celebrating The Release Of ‘King’s Disease II’

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A year after sharing King’s Disease, Nas and Hit-Boy reconnected for a sequel to the project, which they shared on Friday. The new album, called, simply, King’s Disease II, boasts 15 songs and guest appearances from Lauryn Hill, Eminem, EMPD, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YG, Blxst, and Charlie Wilson. But a new clip from Nas and Hit-Boy’s album release party has emerged and it appears that the latter had some choice words for a certain rapper, which many believe is Kanye West.

“It’s not a hundred n****s producing the beat,” Hit-Boy said about the sequel to their 2020 Grammy-winning album. “It’s not a hundred n****s writing the rhymes, n****. It’s two n****s in the studio. I hear this shit right now, homie. It’s going down. King’s Disease II. Stream that sh*t, buy that sh*t.”

He continued, “There be n****s in the studio. It’s just me and bro, bro. Do y’all hear this sh*t? It’s just me and this n**** in the studio. He’s barred up, I’m making beats. No hoopla. We not on f*ckin’ Twitter botherin’ y’all. We not on IG Live putting a weird-ass stream up, n****. We doin’ this sh*t for real though, n****! Stop playin’!”

The “weird-ass stream” could be a reference to Kanye’s “Countdown To Donda” livestream that captured the rapper sleeping, working out, and hanging out with fellow rappers like Chance The Rapper and Fivio Foreign.

You can watch a video of Hit-Boy’s comments above.

King’s Disease II is out now via Mass Appeal. Get it here.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Frank Ocean’s New Luxury Brand ‘Homer’ Unveils A Lavish Collection Of Jewelry

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Frank Ocean and Rihanna have at least one thing in common: Over the last five years they haven’t released new music. But he’s clearly itching to do something. Now he’s back with a new project — but it’s not new music. It’s called Homer, and it’s a luxury brand, selling mainly jewelry. The singer spoke about it in an interview with The Financial Times.

“My mother was into jewelry, but in a low-key Princess Diana kind of way,” he revealed. “My godfather was into guns, but he was also into cars, and he bought luxury-lifestyle magazines, which I became obsessed with. They became a form of play for me as a child. It was the furthest thing from my actual life at the time, and I began plotting ideas and a life in that universe. I’d look at yachts and want one. But I don’t have one because I get super-seasick.”

Frank also revealed that he picked the name Homer “mostly because it’s five letters and the dotcom was available.” He said the name is also based on the fact that “Homer is considered the father of history and history is meant to endure — the same as diamonds and gold — and I know Homer used papyrus, but I’ve always liked the idea of carving history into stone.”

Screenshot from Complex

Ocean also discussed Homer in a post to his Instagram Story. In it, he wrote:

Hand on my heart, this project has kept my mind moving and my imagination turning throughout it all. All of my work now is dedicated to my family. Everything. My hope is to make things that last, that are hard to destroy, set it in stone. I’m so fucking happy for everyone involved and I admire you and am proud of you … This is three years in the making and there is so, so much I’m excited to share with all you strangers.

The “independent American luxury brand,” which will soon open a storefront on NYC’s Lower East Side, shared its first collection of jewelry, which ranges from a $435 pendant to a $1.9M necklace. A catalog and in-store appointments can be requested on the brand’s website here.

You can view Frank Ocean’s Instagram Story post abvoe and read his full interview with Financial Times here.

Elton John Covered BTS’ ‘Permission To Dance’ While Showing Love To The Band

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Weeks after releasing their summer song “Butter,” BTS returned with their third single of the year, “Permission To Dance.” The song is co-written by Ed Sheeran and Snow Patrol and it’s been a favorite of many. One of them is Elton John, who hopped on Twitter to share a cover of the track.

In the video, Elton John takes on the song’s chorus, singing, “When the nights get colder, and the rhythms got you falling behind,” before adding, “Thanks BTS, and Love to the ARMY.” His cover also seems to be a response to a video of BTS’ RM singing the part on “Permission To Dance” that says, “When it all seems like it’s wrong, just sing along to Elton John.” After RM completes the line, he swipes the camera away as if Elton John was beside him to continue the song. Only hours after uploading the video, John uploaded his.

The cover arrives after BTS earned the longest-running No. 1 song of the year with “Butter,” which it continued to do just last week. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” previously held the title for the longest-running chart-topper of this year.

You can watch the videos from BTS’ RM and Elton John above.