Music

J. Cole’s Manager Elaborates On The Diddy Fight: ‘It’s Not What People Say’

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One of the biggest storylines to emerge with the release of J. Cole’s highly anticipated sixth studio album The Off-Season was the North Carolina rapper’s admission that his last fight was with Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2013. Until he confirmed it on “Let Go My Hand,” the fight was one of rap’s most mysterious rumors, growing out of murky reports of a heated exchange between Cole, Diddy, and Kendrick Lamar during an MTV VMA party in 2013. Cole’s manager and co-founder of Dreamville, Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, further elaborated on the scuffle during a recent appearance on the Say Less podcast with Hennypalooza founders Kazeem “Kaz” Famuyide and Nile “Lowkey” Ivey.

“I just remember hearing about it and laughing,” Ib says of the speculative reporting surrounding the event that emerged in its aftermath. “‘Cause I was there. I’m not gonna go into detail, but it’s definitely not what people are saying.” While the widely circulated rumor has it that a piqued Puff tried to throw a drink on Kendrick Lamar in the wake of his saber-rattling “Control” verse (in which he declares himself “King of New York” despite originally hailing from California — a lyrical homage to hometown favorite Kurupt) and Cole intervened, Ib insists things happened differently.

“It was definitely not like he was defending Kendrick or something,” he claims. “It wasn’t like, ‘Don’t talk to Kendrick like that!’ Kendrick was there, Top was there, Jay was there, Beyoncé was there. Me and Cole. Grown men got a little heated. All I remember is, me and Jay looking at each other like, ‘Oh, these n****s ‘bout to fight.’ And then just being like, ‘Oh no, this is ‘bout to happen.’ I’ll leave it at that.” He also made sure to clarify that everyone talked it out later and settled matters relatively quickly.

If nothing else, it provided good content: J. Cole was able to incorporate the story — sans details, naturally — on his album. Cole verse on “Let Go My Hand” recalls, “My last scrap was with Puff Daddy, who would’ve thought it? / I bought that n**** album in seventh grade and played it so much / You would’ve thought my favorite rapper was Puff.”

You can check out the story at around 12:00 in the video above.

Songs From J. Cole’s ‘The Off-Season’ Dominate All But One Of The Top Five Streaming Spots

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J. Cole’s new album The Off-Season may have had an unconventional rollout, but it looks to have had some pretty results for the North Carolina rapper-turned-ballplayer on this week’s Billboard charts. Not only did the album land at No. 1 on the album chart with the biggest streaming week yet in 2021, but songs from the new album also dominated all but one of the top five on the streaming chart, while the Hot 100’s top 10 contains all four of those entries from the new album.

The four songs that made both charts are “My Life” featuring 21 Savage and Morray (who sings Pharoahe Monch’s chorus from Styles P’s 2002 single “The Life”), “Amari,” the only song to be released with its own video, “Pride Is The Devil” which features streaming favorite du jour Lil Baby, and album intro “95 South,” which contains uncredited appearances from turn-of-the-millennium pioneers Cam’ron and Lil Jon. While these songs occupy spots 2-5 on the streaming chart — with Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” taking the top spot — they came in at Nos. 2, 5, 7, and 8 on the Hot 100, respectively.

During the album’s eccentric launch, J. Cole released the album’s “Interlude” as a standalone single, shared a documentary detailing its creation, covered Slam magazine, and joined the newly formed Basketball Africa League, playing his first game for the Rwanda Patriots against the Nigeria Rivers Hoopers just one day after the album’s release. Also, some fun facts:

Check out the Billboard tweets above and listen to The Off-Season here.

Smino Gives A Spacey, Laid-Back Performance Of ‘Rice & Gravy’ In His Return To ‘A Colors Show’

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One surefire sign of a rising artist’s impending success is an appearance on ColorsxStudios YouTube performance show COLORS. Artists who previously appeared on the show before big breakouts include Billie Eilish, Daniel Caesar, Doja Cat, Jorja Smith, and Kali Uchis, while rappers like Black Thought, Earthgang, Gunna, Little Simz, and Rexx Life Raj have all made fan-favorite appearances over the years as well.

Today, St. Louis rapperSmino achieved the rare accomplishment of appearing on the show twice as he performs his new song “Rice & Gravy.” As he previously called the song the beginning of a “new journey,” and said he felt “like a brand new artist” upon its release, it’s possible he’s using the performance as a career reset, getting back to basics before he makes a push to return to the buzzy, blog-approved stature he reached with his prior projects Blkswn and Noir.

The spacey, soulful crooner/rapper pulls up with a signature, boundary-breaking look that’ll certainly call to mind a fusion of both members of Outkast in this performance, the last of ColorsxStudios’ collaboration with British fashion house Burberry which included alt-R&B stars like Maria Isabel and Serpentwithfeet. Burberry outfitted each of the artists for their appearances; here, Smino appears in a vibrant, two-toned blue jacket, which truly pops against the warm caramel background for his performance.

Watch Smino’s COLORS return above.

9th Wonder Will Teach Music History At The Roc Nation School Of Music, Sports & Entertainment

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Last August, Roc Nation announced the launch of its School Of Music, Sports & Entertainment in partnership with Long Island University. Today, Roc Nation made another big announcement regarding the school: The appointment of producer 9th Wonder to the school’s faculty as a visiting professor and artist in residence teaching music history for the upcoming fall 2021 semester.

9th, who has previously taught at Duke University and Harvard, has plenty of experience as a lecturer already, making him perfectly suited to teach at the Roc Nation school, which aims to “prepare students for a wide range of careers in performance, entrepreneurship, all aspects of music, and sports business management.” 9th will also teach classes on the making of an album, a subject with which he’s garnered extensive experience as the main producer for Little Brother‘s first two albums, as well as projects from Drake, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and his Jamla Records proteges like GQ and Rapsody.

In a press release, 9th said of the appointment, “Music changed my life and opened doors for me in ways that I never could have imagined, so it’s only right that we impart our knowledge to help the next generation of ambitious leaders. I’m truly honored to teach at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment and look forward to equipping these students with the tools to break barriers in their own lives and careers.”

Lil Gotit And Gunna ‘Work Out’ Some Smooth Chemistry On A High-Velocity New Single

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Although rising Atlanta star Lil Gotit isn’t a member of YSL Records proper, he is closely affiliated through his brother Lil Keed, as well as a lyrical style that fits right in alongside the likes of Young Thug and Gunna. The latter strengthens the bond with the younger affiliate on Gotit’s new song “Work Out.” While Gotit leads things off with a high-pitched, high-velocity verse, Gunna mellows things out in his sparse additions, giving Gotit a near-perfect foil against which to reflect.

“Work Out” is the fourth single from his upcoming album Top Chef Gotit, which arrives June 10 on Alamo Records. The project will feature many of the aforementioned YSL standouts (Gunna, Lil Keed, Yak Gotti, and Young Thug) as well as Nav, who previously featured on Gotit’s single “Burnt N Turnt.” Prior to that, Gotit released the singles “Wok” and “Toosie.” Top Chef Gotit follows 2020’s Hood Baby 2 and Superstar Creature, as well as his collaborative goup project A-Team, released in conjunction with Keed, Lil Yachty, and Zaytoven.

For more slatt-centric rhymes and slippery, Thugger-inspired rap voices, check out YSL Records’ Slime Language 2.

Watch Lil Gotit Gunna Work Out

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

Kanye West’s Gap Collection Is Reportedly On Track For A June Launch

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Gap Inc. is due to release its quarterly report in a few days and the brand says its heavily anticipated Yeezy line is on track to launch by the end of June, according to Business Of Fashion. BOF notes that Gap is relying on the nearly $1 billion partnership with Kanye West to lift its sales, hoping that ravenous Yeezy fans will pull the brand out of a decades-long slump which has led to store closures and cost-cutting across its holdings. The company expects over $150 million in revenue in 2022, according to Bloomberg. Details about the line remain sparse, but let’s be real: A sellout is almost guaranteed.

Although Business Of Fashion notes that the “basics category grows more crowded by the day,” other brands which have collaborated with big music stars, such as Fashion Nova, PrettyLittleThing, and Boohoo, have seen those collections sell out in a matter of hours, while over the course of the last year of lockdowns and working from home, eBay flippers and their trusty armies of bots have become more sophisticated than ever in clearing both digital and physical shelves to drive up demand and turn the secondary market into a de facto monopoly (when people are getting mugged for Pokemon cards at Target, things would seem to be way out of hand). Unfortunately for Gap Inc., there’s no guarantee that those Yeezy fans — who will almost certainly fill stores and create campout lines at what Gap stores remain — will buy anything else from the beleaguered brand, which it’ll need to reverse course after 20 years of declining relevance.

Machine Gun Kelly Painted His Tongue Black And Packed On The PDA With Megan Fox At The Billboard Awards

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Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox have been dating for a while now and they seem to be having a delightful time with each other. Their relationship has been one to behold for outside observers as well. The things the pair say and do have certainly gotten eyeballs focused on them as a couple, and they added to their eyebrow-raising story this weekend at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards.

Ahead of the show, Kelly went for a surprising (or perhaps not) stylistic choice and decided to paint his tongue black, sharing clips of the process on his Instagram Story (as BuzzFeed notes). Later on, Kelly and Fox showed up on the red carpet and decided to really draw attention to Kelly’s look by packing on some tongue-heavy PDA.

When it came to the actual ceremony, Kelly did quite well. He was nominated in three categories and came away with two wins: Top Rock Artist and Top Rock Album (for Tickets To My Downfall). After getting the win, he took to his Instagram Story to celebrate by sharing a video of himself holding one of his trophies… in a bathroom, as Fox exited a stall behind him and was seemingly surprised to discover she was being filmed.

@machinegunkelly/Instagram

Check out the full list of 2021 Billboard Music Awards winners here.

Drake Celebrated His Artist Of The Decade Award By Accepting It With His Son In His Arms

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While coveted career-spanning awards can sometimes feel canned or phoned-in, there’s nothing that feels phony about calling Drake the artist of the decade. With over 200 entries into the Billboard Hot 100, a whopping nine No. 1 albums, and the kind of culture-defining force that few artists ever get to wield, he has undoubtedly changed the face of rap, pop, and R&B all at the same time. But to accept this monumental award, he didn’t enlist any celebrities or famous friends to present it to him, opting instead to have his friends and family lining the back of the stage while he accepted it.

And it wasn’t just his mother and father, other relatives and closest friends who were there with him. As he walked out onstage, Drake was holding the hand of his young son, Adonis, and even gave the trophy to the toddler to hold while he gave his heartfelt, off-the-cuff acceptance speech. For those who remember the accusations leveled against Drizzy during one of the lowest moments of his career — Pusha T’s venomous declaration “you are hiding a child” — tonight’s acceptance felt like a direct rebuttal to that attack. Putting it to bed once and for all, Drake dedicated one of the biggest awards of his career to Adonis, holding him up for a final celebration before heading offstage.

Congratulations Drake, artist of the decade… now can we please get Certified Lover Boy in time for summer? Watch his full speech above.

The Weeknd Leads A Fleet Of Cars While Performing ‘Save Your Tears’ At The 2021 Billboard Music Awards

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It’s only right that the 2021 Billboard Music Awards commences with a performance from The Weeknd. The singer displayed a heavy presence towards the top section of the platforms albums and singles chart since the late 2019 release of his “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” tracks, the debut singles from his 2020 album, After Hours. More than a year after releasing that album, one that was shockingly snubbed at this year’s Grammy award, The Weeknd conlcudes the After Hours era with a brand new performance of “Save Your Tears” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. He performed the track while leading a fleet of red and white-colored old-fashioned cars while sitting in one of his own.

The Weeknd’s set at the award show comes after he snagged yet another No. 1 single thanks to his remix of “Save Your Tears” with Ariana Grande. After winning the award for Top Hot 100 Song earlier in the show, The Weeknd took a moment to tease new music. “The After Hours are done and the dawn is coming,” he declared.

He previously hinted at new music in a string of tweets last month. “Made so much magic in the small quarantined room,” he wrote to begin a string of tweets. “Nothing’s ever random… now just piecing it all together… it’s so beautiful.”

As for the Billboard Music Awards itself, the singer snagged seven wins before the official show began. These wins include Top Male Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Male Artist, Top R&B Album, and Top R&B Song.

Check out a clip of The Weeknd’s 2021 Billboard Music Awards performance in the video above.

Lil Baby And Lil Durk’s Upcoming Project, ‘Voice Of The Heroes,’ Finally Has A New Release Date

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One of this year’s most anticipated projects is set to come from Lil Baby and Lil Durk. The two rappers are joining forces for their upcoming album, Voice Of The Heroes. Back in March, Baby spoke about the project in an interview with MTV News. “When it comes to that street sh*t, that ‘hood sh*t, we like the heroes. The kids look at us as heroes,” he said. “We got songs with bars, we got songs with vibes. It’s gonna be one of the craziest albums to ever come out… We got more than one album recorded. We been locked in with each other. That sh*t easy.”

The project was originally locked in for a May 28 release date, but the duo opted to push it back out of respect for the late DMX as his posthumous album Exodus is set to arrive on the same day. Now, Voice Of The Heroes will arrive just a week later on June 4. Lil Baby shared the news in a post on Twitter. “Album finish,” he wrote. “June 4 V.O.H.”

The new effort will hopefully continue the streak of impressive projects that the rappers have delivered over the last year. Lil Baby dropped one of 2020’s most-streamed albums with My Turn, a project that was boosted by six additional songs that were added through a deluxe re-issue. Lil Durk, on the other hand, reached a new level of popularity in his career thanks to his 2020 projects, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and The Voice, which both received deluxe re-issues as well.

You can read Lil Baby’s announcement above.