Joey Bada$$ Reveals How He Helped Post Malone Make “Rockstar”

Joey Bada$$ recently revealed how he landed a songwriting credit on Post Malone’s massively successful single, “Rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage. Bada$$ says he helped come up with the melody while freestyling with Malone in the studio.

“See let me clear that up, because me and T-Pain didn’t make that song,” Bada$$ told HipHopDX at Rolling Loud NYC. “Me and Post made the song together one night. We were actually, it was me, Post and Tankgod, we were actually just freestyling and fucking around in the studio. And its like, I kind of came up with this melody, and then it was like it was really just a freestyle — Post recorded it on his phone or whatever.”

Joey Bada$$, Rockstar
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He explained that he later collaborated with T-Pain for verses on the song after running into him at Yams Day in 2018. Bada$$ says that despite loving the track, he wasn’t confident enough in his own performance to keep the verse. 

“Shout out to Post that’s my man he’s such sweetheart, he’s a cool dude,” he said. “I didn’t really want to be on the song, I thought my verse was trash. At that time I didn’t experiment enough to be confident to approach a song like that. So I was kind of just cool with having a part of it or being a part of it or whatever. So that’s kind of how it happened and then that version came out and people thought that me and T-Pain originally did the song — which is not the case.”

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Kids Aged 14 & 16 Were Among Those Killed At Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival: Report

A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were reportedly among those killed at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival, Friday night, after a crowd surge resulted in the deaths of eight attendees. At a press conference, Saturday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also revealed that the ages of the remaining victims to be between 21 and 27.

Another 10-year-old is injured and currently in critical condition.

Astroworld, Travis Scott
Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Turner says that the incident is currently under investigation: “This incident is being thoroughly investigated and reviewed. It is important for us to ascertain, from last night, what took place, what happened, where missteps may have occurred.”

“And so perhaps the plans were inadequate,” she continued. “Perhaps the plans were good but they weren’t followed. Perhaps it was something else entirely.”

Twenty-three people were arrested for trespassing at the event.

“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Scott said in a statement posted to his social media accounts. “My prayers go out to the families and all of those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”

The second day of Astroworld has been canceled.

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Hit-Boy Claims Ye Tried To Blackball Him From The Music Industry After They Had A Fallout

It’s been years since Ye and producer Hit-Boy have worked together, and it’s all because the two had a falling out some years back. Hit-Boy previously spoke about the separation, saying it occurred after Ye found out he was working with Beyonce. During a recent interview on the Rory & Mal podcast, Hit-Boy further discussed the incident and how it almost affected his career. “I thugged through a lot of f*cked up sh*t, falling out with Kanye f*cked me up for a minute bro,” Hit-Boy said. “I was damn n****, am I still gonna be able to do this sh*t?”

He continued, “Just being a thousand, it’s n****s that done came to me that was like Ye said to this n****, ‘Don’t use Hit-Boy on your album.’ Like I really lived through that, n****. How many motherf*ckers could get through Kanye tryna derail their sh*t bro? So now you see why I’m at the Nas party like, “N**** I did a harder album than for Nas than you did, that’s just real.”

The Nas party that Hit-Boy is referring to is the album release celebration the two artists had for King’s Disease II, the Nas album that Hit-Boy executive produced. It was there that Hit-Boy said to the audience, “It’s not a hundred n****s producing the beat. 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 added, “There don’t be n****s in the studio. It’s just me and 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’!”

Kanye West Calls Out Jay-Z For Being “Selfish” While Making “Watch The Throne”

Kanye West says that Jay-Z was “selfish” while the two were making Watch The Throneduring his recent appearance on the Drink Champs podcast with N.O.R.E and DJ EFN.

West says that Jay refused to put his track, “Holy Grail,” on Watch the Throne, despite West already putting forth multiple of his own songs for the project. Jay went on to use “Holy Grail” on his following album, Magna Carta Holy Grail.

West begins: “I took a track off of what was gonna be my album, the follow-up to [My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy], that I heard when we all was at dinner, and it was the ‘Otis’ sample. And I chopped it up and I was gonna go to Milan to do something in fashion and I was about to be late for the flight … ‘Cause I was like, ‘Yo, we not gonna lose this game. We not gonna lose this game no matter what. I’m gonna give you all this.’

Kanye West, Jay-Z
Scott Gries / Getty Images

“I took ‘New Day’ off of my next album, I took ‘Otis’ off of my next album,” he continues. “And we got into this big argument because he had this song called ‘Holy Grail’ that he had Justin Timberlake singing on. And I was like, ‘We need to put this on this album.’ And then he was like, ‘Nah.’ Everybody knows Jay is very selfish … We all love him but, you know, he’s very selfish. He’ll say like, ‘Man, I’m selfish.’ So he wouldn’t give that song. I’m like, ‘Man, how I’m giving all of this?’”

West also called out Just Blaze, something Jay recently said was uncalled for.

Check out West’s Drink Champs appearance below.

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Kid Cudi Comments On Astroworld Tragedy After 8 Die At Travis Scott’s Festival

Kid Cudi recently expressed his condolences for the families who lost loved ones at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival, where eight people were killed, Friday night, during a crowd surge.

“Really messed up about the news at Astroworld,” Cudi wrote on Twitter, Saturday. “My heart goes out to the families who lost a loved one lastnight and everyone who was injured. Sad fuckin day man.”

Astroworld, Kid Cudi
Alex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images

After Scott took the stage, the densely packed crowd rushed toward the Houston rapper, resulting in eight deaths and many more injuries. Witnesses described being crushed by the weight of the crowd of 50,000 fans.

Scott released a statement offering his condolences to the families of those affected by the incident:

I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all of those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.

Check out Cudi’s post below.

Kylie Jenner Unharmed After Attending Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival: Report

Kylie Jenner, who is pregnant with her and Travis Scott’s second child, is reportedly unharmed after attending the Astroworld festival at which eight people were killed. Jenner shared posts on her Instagram story, Friday, from the event of herself and her three-year-old daughter, Stormi, watching Scott perform.

“Everyone is shocked and upset,” an insider told People, Saturday. “Kylie and Kendall were in the audience, but they are not injured.”

Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott
Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images

Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña confirmed after the performance that eight people had been killed as the crowd of 50,000 attendees rushed the stage to see the hometown rapper perform.

Scott has since canceled the remainder of the festival and released a statement expressing his condolences to the families of those affected by the incident:

I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all of those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.

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Jay-Z Called Dave Chappelle ‘Brave’ And ‘Genius’ During A Discussion About ‘The Closer’

Last month, Dave Chappelle stirred up some controversy with his Netflix special The Closer. Comments he made about the transgender community led to outrage, including from the streamer’s employees. Chappelle did get some support from the likes of 50 Cent and Caitlyn Jenner. 50 agreed with Chappelle about DaBaby’s homophobic comments, which Chappelle semi-defended, while Caitlyn Jenner said Chappelle’s words were “100% right.” Jay-Z also showed Chappelle some love during a recent conversation about the special on Twitter Spaces.

Jay spoke said “true art has to cause conversation.” He admitted that The Closer made him uncomfortable at multiple points but said, “Sometimes it’s going to be abrasive, sometimes it’s going to be off-putting to folks. But it opens up an opportunity to have a dialogue.” Jay later called Chappelle “super brave and super genius. If you spend time with him, he’s brilliant,” adding, “I think he pushed a lot of buttons.”

He continued. “These algorithms allow you to talk to people who agree with you,” he said, adding, “We have to speak to one another when we disagree… Anything that doesn’t have that tension, it’s not going to be real. We had fake conversations all this time before Trump was in office, then we got to see people for who they really were. And then we got to have real conversations.”

Jay also said, “I think great art is divisive. Some people like it, some people hate it. When you’re making great art, you have to be fearless and create something that you believe in. That’s what it’s about.”

Jay’s comments come after Chappelle, along with Barack Obama, inducted him into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

Jay-Z Defends Dave Chappelle, Labels Him “Super Brave & Super Genius”

Jay-Z recently commented on Dave Chappelle’s newest controversial special, Closer, remarking that the comedian is “super brave and super genius.” Jay also admitted that there were several moments that made him a bit uncomfortable.

“I think that Dave is super brave and super genius,” the legendary rapper said during a conversation on a Twitter Space. “If you spend time with him, he’s brilliant.”

Jay-Z, Dave Chappelle
Craig Barritt / Getty Images

While discussing the controversy surrounding Closer, Jay explained that “true art” prompts discussion: “But I think that what happens with true art is it has to cause conversation,” he said. “And, you know, sometimes it’s gonna be abrasive and sometimes it’s gonna be off-putting to folks. But it opens up an opportunity to have a dialogue about, you know, whatever the issue is.”

Jay admits that the special “pushed a lot of buttons,” which made him uncomfortable, but sometimes that’s what great art does.

“When you’re making great art, you have to be fearless and you have to create something that you believe in,” he said. “And that’s what it’s about.”

Jay recently invited Chappelle to perform as one of the keynote speakers at his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Lil Durk Flashes His Money, Jewelry, And Video Game Skills In His Tk Video For ‘Lion Eyes’

Lil Durk is preparing to drop a new album, and his latest single suggests it could be a good one. The Chicago rapper released his new song “Lion Eyes” on Friday, which came with a new music video as well. It captures Durk in his home while he shows off his collection of watches, jewelry, and hundred-dollar bills. He also flaunts his video game skills. The track is the second that Durk’s released in recent weeks after “Pissed Me Off,” dropped last month.

The new song also arrives after Durk announced his next album. He posted an image of a whiteboard to his Instagram Story where he wrote, “7220 coming soon,” adding, “The voice [is] in album mode.” Durk also made sure to let his followers know that the upcoming project will be filled with “anthems and no skips.”

“Lion Eyes” also arrives after a view guest features from Durk. He and EST Gee recently joined Moneybagg Yo’s “Switches & Dracs” and connected with G Herbo and 21 Savage for a remix of Nardo Wick’s “Who Want Smoke??.”

Durk also expressed his desire to go back to school. “I’m going to get my high school diploma,” he wrote on Twitter. “I want to challenge myself on my goals and real life situations.”

You can watch the video for “Lion Eyes” above.