Music

Jay-Z Told EST Gee To Leave His Rumored Ghostwriter At Home During A Recent Studio Meeting

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Over the course of a long and impressive career, one of Jay-Z’s most impressive feats has been remaining aware of and relevant to hip-hop’s youth movements. While others who started around the same time have fallen out of favor over the years, today’s rising stars still look up to Jay, even now, nearly 30 years later. A Jay co-sign is often the first sign that it’s a new artist’s time to shine, and most recently he bestowed that blessing on Louisville rapper EST Gee, who he not only invited to the studio but also gave some blunt but useful advice.

Normally, being told to not bring a ghostwriter to the studio might be considered an insult, but EST Gee seemingly took it in stride, seeing it as a sign that Jay is cooler than the average old head. He told Complex about the phone call Jay made just before bringing EST Gee to the Super Bowl and to the studio.

“Jay-Z kinda old,” he recalled. “He been in rap for a long time and he ain’t weird. He’s a regular n****. He gon’ shoot a joke at you and everything. He told me, ‘Let me bring you down to the Super Bowl with me so we can kick it, man.’ He’s like, ‘We get in the studio, make sure you don’t bring your ghostwriter with you.’ I’m like, ‘Damn.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah man, they told me you have somebody write that shit for you.’ He was dead serious about it. That’s how I know he’s a street n**** who made it down to the big level.”

Jay is far from the only rap veteran to put his stamp of approval on the Kentuckian rapper. EST Gee is also signed to Yo Gotti’s label, CMG, along with Moneybagg Yo and 42 Dugg, where he just released his new mixtape, Bigger Than Life Or Death, this week.

Watch EST Gee recount his phone call with Jay-Z above.

Belly, Young Thug, And The Weeknd Are Indestructible In The Explosive ‘Better Believe’ Video

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Toronto rapper Belly is on the comeback trail, with a new album, See You Next Wednesday, he’s promoting with a string of strong singles and revitalized videos including “IYKYK,” “Money On The Table,” and “Zero Love” featuring Moneybagg Yo. Today, he keeps the rollout rolling with the explosive video for his latest single, “Better Believe,” which features his XO Records leader The Weeknd and Atlanta trap mad scientist Young Thug.

The video seems to take a lot of inspiration from The Terminator, with Belly rapping in an auto factory while The Weeknd blows up an oil refinery and Thugger takes a direct hit from an 18-wheeler and walks it off (all references to scenes from the 1984 sci-fi thriller).

And while Belly gears up to release See You Next Wednesday, his first new album since 2018’s Immigrant, his collaborators also have a few things in the works. The Weeknd has hinted that he has a full body of work on the way, while Thug is set to produce and star in a musical dance dramedy, Throw It Back, with Tiffany Haddish and Us star Shahadi Wright Joseph.

Watch Belly’s “Better Believe” video featuring The Weeknd and Young Thug above.

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

Kanye West Will Reportedly Make A Surprise Appearance At Rolling Loud Miami This Weekend

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In the world of Kanye West, things tend to go from 0 to 100 quickly. Last weekend, with no warning, there was a listening event for Donda, and now the album is set to come out tomorrow. Now, there are two major live events on the horizon: West is hosting a listening event at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium tonight, and it looks like he’ll be performing at Rolling Loud Miami this weekend.

Rumors of this performance have been circulating for a few days. On July 20, West’s longtime collaborator Consequence shared notepad drawings of a pyramid, seemingly in reference to West’s stage design, and noted that West will be performing at the festival on Sunday. Now, we have something closer to official confirmation of West’s appearance, as Billboard reports (citing “a source close to the situation”) that it’s happening.

Meanwhile, West shared what appears to be the tracklist for the album via an Instagram post last night, which shows song titles written on a whiteboard. As NME notes, there are some differences between this tracklist and the one West shared a year ago. While there are a number of songs that have stuck around, tracks like “Pure Souls” and “We Made It” are new to the album.

Diddy Is Dropping A New Project For The First Time In Nearly Six Years

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While Diddy has kept much of his focus on the business and entrepreneurial side of things for the past half-decade or so, he’s also made infrequent appearances on a wide array of songs. He served as an executive director for Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall, and he appeared on a number of skits throughout the album. He also appeared on Big Sean’s “Full Circle” from Detroit 2 and DJ Khaled’s “Full Circle” from Khaled Khaled. Now it’s time for him to share a project of his own.

On Wednesday, the hip-hop mogul announced his return with a brand new project titled Off The Grid, Vol. 1. He revealed the album would arrive on September 24 and that it would launch the “Love Era.” Back in May, Diddy announced that he legally changed his name to Sean Love Combs and even showed off his new driver’s license to prove it. The new names joins the many monikers, including Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

When the new project comes it will be Diddy’s first full-length effort since 2015’s MMM (Money Making Mitch). That project was only listed as a mixtape, so to find Diddy’s last album, you’ll have to go back to 2006’s Press Play.

Young Nudy Unveils The Release Date For ‘Rich Shooter,’ His Second Project Of 2021

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Young Nudy jumpstarted his rap career back in 2016 with the release of Slimeball and quickly found success by frequently dropping work. The next year he garnered more attention with Slimeball 2 and Nudy Land, and he soon found himself one of hip-hop’s hottest acts. He’s maintained his level of consistency, dropping a total of five projects since 2018, his latest being May’s Dr. Ev4l. And he’s already dropping another one.

The rapper took to his social media pages to reveal that his upcoming full-length effort, Rich Shooter, is locked in for an August 4 release date. It marks the third time in Nudy’s career that he’s dropped multiple projects in a year. Potential features for the project have yet to be revealed, but he’s already announced his Dr. Ev4l Vs. Rich Shooter Tour, during which he’ll visit ten cities, beginning with Houston, Texas on August 6 and ending with Boston, Massachusetts on August 21.

All of this comes after an impressive 2020, which boasted singles like “All White,” “Never,” and “Vice City,” all which helped bring the rapper more attention. On a more recent note, Nudy has shared videos for tracks off Dr. Ev4l that include“2Face” with G Herbo and its title track.

You can view Nudy’s tweet announcing Rich Shooter above.

Conway The Machine’s ‘God Don’t Make Mistakes’ Tracklist Features Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, And More

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Last summer, Conway The Machine dropped his official debut album From King To A God — one of many efforts from he and fellow Griselda members dropped in 2020, including Benny The Butcher’s Burden Of Proof and Westside Gunn’s Who Made The Sunshine. Conway already has one 2021 project under his belt with La Maquina, but the Buffalo rapper is far from done. His sophomore album and official Shady Records debut, God Don’t Make Mistakes, is set to arrive in the near future.

Ahead of its arrival, Conway shared a tentative tracklist in a post to Instagram, featuring the songs, guest features, and producers scribbled onto a notepad. Across the 12 songs, listeners will (for now) hear Conway rap beside Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I., Jill Scott, Benny The Butcher, Westside Gunn, Jae Skeese, 7xve, Novel, Keisha Plum, and Annette Price. Production for the album will be handled by The Alchemist, Daringer, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Hit-Boy, Bink! and Cosmo.

Prior to revealing the tracklist for God Don’t Make Mistakes, Conway teamed up with JID and Ludacris in a video for their collaboration “Scatter Brain,” which arrived before he joined Method Man and others for a gritty DMX tribute at the 2021 BET Awards.

You can check out the tracklist for God Don’t Make Mistakes below.

1. “Lock Load”
2. “Tear Gas” Feat. Lil Wayne & Rick Ross
3. “Piano Love”
4. “Drumwork” Feat. Jae Skeese & 7xve
5. “Wild Chapters” Feat. T.I. & Novel
6. “Guilty”
7. “John Woo Flickv Feat. Benny the Butcher & Westside Gunn
8. “Stress ft. Wallo”
9. “So Much More”
10. “Chanel Pearls” Feat. Jill Scott
11. “Babas” Feat. Keisha Plum
12. “GDMM Feat. Annette Price

Yasiin Bey Will Play Jazz Legend Thelonious Monk In An Upcoming Biopic

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On top of his very successful career in hip-hop, Yasiin Bey, who previously went by Mos Def, has also had a thriving acting career. He appeared in movies, sitcoms, and Broadway shows as a child, and his acting career continued through his hip-hop days and after retirement from the music industry. For his latest role, Bey will play jazz legend Thelonious Monk in an upcoming biopic. The film is simply titled Thelonious and it will start shooting next summer.

Bey — who will be doing his first movie since the 2016 French drama Tour De France — shared a statement about the film to Rolling Stone, and it seemed to find him already in character. “A leader.A Lord.A shape in space.A man from a community of devotion who lives a simple life distant from society,” he said in an email to the publication. “The adjectives.can never be nouns.Love.is a verb.The Future has already happened.And Forever.is a current event.Jupiter and team.”

The film’s writer-producer Peter Lord Moreland also explained why he thinks Bey is perfect for the role. “Yasiin lives his life with a vibe not easily found in Hollywood, because he’s not Hollywood, point blank,” he said. “His values and moral compass are intentional and focused on what really matters. Everyone who knows his body of work has seen him boldly transform himself from his music to the Broadway stage, the silver screen and beyond.” He added, “When he looked at me and said, ‘I am Thelonious,’ I knew we had found him.”

A director or other stars for Thelonious have not been revealed yet.

Tinashe Reveals The Title And Release Date For Her Upcoming Fifth Album

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It’s been a couple of years since a new project from Tinashe was released, but 2019’s Songs For You turned out to be one of the most well-received releases of her career. Now the singer has announced the title and release date of her forthcoming fifth album.

Tinashe revealed in a tweet it would be titled 333. She also attached a sci-fi trailer that captures the singer getting out of bed and finding out that a third eye has mysteriously appeared on her forehead. The post was captioned “08062021,” which means that the album will arrive early next month, on August 6. Tinashe previously shared a video, which was captioned “333,” and which showed her undergoing experimental tests conducted by a group of doctors.

The announcement comes after Tinashe shared two singles that will likely appear on 333. The first is “Pasadena” and the second is “Bouncin,” and both were supported by elegant videos. She will also hit the road later this year for her 333 Tour, which launches on September 16 in Houston, Texas, and lasts for a little over a month before concluding on October 24. It will also a worldwide experience curated by Moment House, a company that specializes in virtual performances.

You can watch the trailers for 333 above.

Migos Reign Over The Desert Highway In Their High-Speed ‘Roadrunner’ Video

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Roadrunners have been cropping up a lot in pop culture lately. There’s the Anthony Bourdain documentary on HBO Max, Brockhampton’s penultimate album, and, of course, the high-speed Looney Tunes character who constantly threatens the safety of Wile E. Coyote and appears in the LeBron James Space Jam reboot currently out in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Joining this menagerie of pavement pounders, Migos released the video for their latest single from Culture III today, and yep, that’s right, it’s “Roadrunner.”

In the video, the Atlanta trio naturally hits the desert, taking over an outdoor compound for a performance in which they deck themselves out in motocross gear and army surplus. A team of black-clad, female dancers runs through some choreography reminiscent of late-90s Aaliyah videos, and the boys pose atop various luxury motor vehicles in their solo shots.

Speaking of the desert, they’re set to return in autumn for Las Vegas Weekender Fest promoting Culture III, where they’ll host a variety of hedonistic events alongside big-name supporting acts like Duke Deuce, Gunna, Kash Doll, Lil Yachty, and 2021 XXL Freshman Rubi Rose. Meanwhile, singles like “Straightenin’,” “Modern Day,” “Avalanche,” and the Cardi B-featuring “Type Sh*t” continue to make waves.

Watch the video for “Roadrunner” above.

EST Gee Waves Off The Cost To Floss In His Hedonistic ‘Price Tag’ Video

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Louisville rapper EST Gee released his new mixtape Bigger Than Life Or Death today after teasing its release with the singles “Capitol 1” and “Bigger Than Life Or Death.” To celebrate the anticipated project coming out, EST Gee shared a new video for the mixtape’s standout track “Price Tag” which finds him enjoying the fruits of his labor and shrugging off the light cost of keeping his female companions happy.

With a hook that brags that “good box come with a price tag on it,” it’s probably no surprise to see the Kentucky native surrounded by women twerking in the skimpiest swimsuits they can find. CGI price tags adorn the women as they bend over and shake for Gee’s amusement (and the viewer’s, presumably), highlighting a devilish sense of sophomoric humor on the CMG rapper’s part.

In addition to the previously released singles, the new mixtape also boasts appearances from some big-name co-signers. Future and Young Thug both appear on “Lick Back Remix,” while Lil Durk assists on “In Town,” and Memphis upstart Pooh Shiesty claims a verse on “All I Know.” Fellow CMG-ers 42 Dugg and Yo Gotti make two appearances apiece, while Lil Baby, one of Gee’s first big benefactors shows up with his Quality Control Music compadre Rylo Rodriguez on “5500 Degrees.”

Watch EST Gee’s “Price Tag” video above.

Bigger Than Life Or Death is out now CMG/Interscope Records. Get it here.