J. Cole Drops New Song "Middle Child", Threatens Pusha T?

In case you missed it, J. Cole returned to Twitter to make waves with the release of a new song that is perking up a lot of conspiracy theorist's ears; and for good reason.

In the new song, titled "Middle Child" which is also produced by T-Minus, it's a little murky to decide exactly who Cole is aiming at, but the following lines lead you to believe that Cole is aiming for a certain somebody who was going for Drake's head last year; Pusha T. Hear the following lines, and you might understand why; "This watch came from Drizzy, he gave me a gift, back when the rap game was praying I'd diss, they act like two legends cannot coexist, but I'd never beef with a n***a for nothin, if I smoke a rapper it's gone be legit, It won't be for clout, it won't be for fame, it won't be cuz my shit ain't sellin the same, it won't be to sell my latest lil' sneakers, it won't be cuz some n***a slid in my lane", etc.

Now some lines in the song lead many to believe that Cole is threatening Pusha based off of those lines; most likely because after Pusha T and Drake's beef, (which resulted in 2 disses from each of the respective rappers) Pusha T went on a press run to promote his highly praised album released in May, Daytona, doing multiple interviews and podcasts after the fact discussing Drake and Kanye West, as well as the album, which included an appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast.

Cole's song also comes in weird timing, a mere day after Pusha T tweeted "You tried, you failed... I'm hearing you wanna try again, this time I'm not gonna play with you. Any of you." That tweet can be found here.

What do you guys think?  Is Cole taking Drake's side in a battle against Pusha T and the "losing his mind a little harder every day" Kanye West?  Cole has been known to take what were perceived as shots at Kanye before, the last time being on his 2016 song "False Prophets". If this rumor is true, it would be a huge move for Cole to take Drake's side in a battle that left a lot of feelings hurt, and a lot of people feeling betrayed last year. As Cole said in his newest song, "if I smoke a rapper it's gone be legit", and it's pretty hard not to believe him considering his past fearlessness of going at top tier rappers' heads. Stay tuned for more Cole & Drake vs. Pusha & Kanye beef, and check out the link below to hear Cole's new song, which is rumored to be the first offering off of Cole's highly anticipated 3rd Dreamville collaboration album, Revenge Of The Dreamers 3.


(*I do not own these photos, videos, or the rights to them*)   








       

Pusha T Responds To Drake With Scathing New Diss Track, "The Story Of Adidon"

Only a few hours ago (around 9 P.M. EST), Pusha T took to Twitter to release his newest Drake diss track, "The Story Of Adidon", and... Drake better be coming with the heat after this one.

One line in the song Pusha claims "if we all go to hell it'll be worth it", and with the information he drops in this new record, that just may very well be the case. Push brings what seems like EVERYTHING to light about Drake, including a LONG LOST CHILD that Drake supposedly had with former porn star Sophie Brussaux, Drake's mother, Drake's producer's (Noah "40" Shebib) battle with Multiple Sclerosis (and here's the kicker... tomorrow, 5/30 is MS DAY!!!!), and the cherry on top; you see that artwork above?  Oh yes... that's Drake in blackface... according to Pusha, the photo is from an unreleased photoshoot Drake did with photographer David Leyes for an old clothing brand; if there's anything that will turn the people on ANYONE, and for good reason; it's someone painted in black face.  Hey Drake, you got some splainin' to do.

How Drake counters a blow like this, I do not know. But I will keep you posted on how it plays out. Listen to Pusha's new diss record below, and check out Vulture's breakdown of the track and the disses included in that link.


                   (*I do not own this song, or the rights to it*)
















         

Observations From Pusha T's Daytona

When Kanye so carelessly started spewing away every little "dinner talk" thought that came to his mind on Twitter a mere month ago, the rest of the world got excited about what he was saying (mostly the music talk), but there was a little voice in the back of everyone's minds that was keeping them from getting their hopes up. So many genre shifting releases in a matter of a couple months is enough to get people excited, and possibly even shift the tide back in the favor of the emcees who favor crafting albums over carelessly throwing out music to appease fan's music quota. Pusha T is one of those exceptions to hip hop. Though the Bronx emcee's history of spitting lyrical game (and by game I mean "drug money" game) has far outweighed his hit making (or let me rephrase, "pop" hit making) abilities, Push has always found a way into relevance in hip hop, and with Kanye behind the boards of your album (no matter how much hip hop hates him right now), nothing but good can come from it in terms of the sound of the actual music. So does Pusha push a ton of weight on his newest release Daytona?  Or does he hit the bricks and fall tiresome?  Let's discuss a few observations from Pusha's newest release.


Blunt Honesty That Hip Hop Is Missing



A good portion of Pusha T's time on Daytona is spent boasting the money earning ways, whether legal or illegal, to listeners. Push returns with an eagerness to provide what hip hop has been missing without him over gritty tracks like "If You Know You Know", an attention demanding sample that somehow gives all the attention to Pusha, his patterns and his flow style taking center stage with lines like "where were you when Big Meech brought the Tigers in?, 'cause I was busy earnin' stripes like a Tiger's skin."  Pusha's full persona is put on display throughout the album, with talks of past lessons of drug deals, changing personalities and jealousy of the evils of money, all to play in the car to scare off the kids horsing around on the street, and at the same time, earn the respect of the scary dudes that hang out on your local corner. 'The Games We Play" sounds like the soundtrack to an episode of smuggling some 100% pure Colombian Bam Bam on Narcos, giving that hard, yet, groovy feel that spreads awareness that it can be fun to dance to songs about drug dealing... but we should all be aware that it's out there, and it's much scarier than a sample that Kanye chopped up.


Is There A Lesson?  No, But It's Damn Fun To Get Lost In The Sauce



Pusha is unique in not only his skills, but his entire persona as a rapper/past drug dealer. On "Come Back Baby", Push plays the teacher to the students, but without entirely forcing the "game" onto his listeners. All throughout Daytona, Push aims for a sound that sounds like that of a poor man's Jay Z (which is definitely a compliment); he preaches to you the horrors and the harsh realities of the street life, while making it a fun listen to bump in the whip or the system.  On the second part of "Santeria", the samples bleeds through the speakers like the blood of lost cartel casualties and fatalities; the fruits of the hard earned labor are appreciated, but the lessons of the haunting aftermath stay with us like the ghosts of project's past. In other words; it's cool to know about the details of drug dealings and murderers, but it's even cooler to know that there are repercussions of what those drug dealings bring, and if the rumors are true of the cover art being Whitney Houston's bathroom during her drug addiction (seriously, look it up if you can find out the meaning behind the cover art), then it seems Push is really pushing that narrative home with these evils that drugs bring.


Hard Rap Brought Back To It's Roots


(*I do not own these songs, or the right to them*)

Push has never been looked at as a gatekeeper of hip hop, but most of the time people pay attention to what he has to say. He uses Daytona as a means to get some things off his chest, whether it be Birdman and Wayne's troubles, dissing Drake (refer to the last post for more details on that), or rap's current state overall. The frustration of the current state of hip hop burns throughout Daytona, and some of that pent up frustration could probably be heard throughout a line or 2 in every song on the album.  Though a short album, Push does a good job of keeping it poignant and precise in the 7 tracks given, which is commendable and frustrating in itself; commendable for not using album filler, yet  frustrating for not being able to hear more of what Push has to say about things. Push uses the opening lines of the scathing "Infrared" to share his thoughts on the current state; "the game's fucked up niggas beats is bangin, nigga ya hooks did it, the lyric pennin' equal to Trump's winnin', The bigger question is how the Russian's did it, It was written like Nas but it came from Quentin, at the mercy of a game where the culture's missin', when the CEO's blinded by the glow it's different, believe in myself and the Cole's and Kendrick's, let the sock puppets play in their roles and gimmicks", which lead to much more, including lines on Birdman, Wayne and Drake.  Some people may look at Push's honesty in these lines as hate towards the current stars as a now so-called "old head" of hip hop, but how could it be hate if he's fighting for Wayne's case, just as his label boss Rick Ross did on his 2017 track "Idols Become Rivals?  No, Push is not looking for attention on the entirety of "Infrared" (though most of the Drake disses could be seen as such), he's merely using hip hop what it has been meant to be used for since it's inception; speaking from his heart, and saying what he believes needs to be said at the end of the day, whether people like it or not.                                   






              











          

Pusha T Disses Drake On New Album Daytona, Drake Immediately Responds (Song & Instagram Post)

Pusha T has caused quite a stir in the last 24 hours with his latest album release Daytona, which released last night at midnight (technically, May 25th). The new 7 song album from Push is entirely produced by Kanye West (who we won't get into with his ridiculous comments as of the last few months, hip hop has disowned you Kanye), and features a slew of classic coke-rhymes, but the most noticeable lines from the album are what people are speculating to be Drake diss lines.

In the final song of the album "Infrared", Push essentially dedicates an entire song to Drake, targeting things such as his label boss's issues with his own label ("oh now it's okay to kill Baby, niggas looked at me crazy like I really killed a baby, salute Ross 'cause the message was pure, he see what I see when you see Wayne on tour, flash without the fire, another multi-platinum rapper trapped and can't retire, niggas get exposed, I see the cracks and I'm the liar?, shit I been exposed I took the crack and built the wire, now who do you admire?" etc.) what Push refers to as "inflated rap sales" ("your rap songs is all trying my patience, them prices ain't real without inflation") and past ghostwriting rumors ("how could you ever write these wrongs, when you don't even write your songs").

Drake then responded a mere hours later with an Instagram post, appearing to be a invoice directed at Pusha, titled "For Professional Services Rendered, for Promotional assistance and career reviving."
Which, makes sense if you listen to the track Drake's OVO Sound Twitter account posted at around 6 PM tonight (May 25th), titled "Duppy Freestyle", which is an immediate response to Pusha, and where in the finals lines of the song Drake raps "tell 'Ye we got an invoice coming to you, considering we just sold another 20 for you." You can call Drake anything you want, but dammit is the man prepared for battle when it comes back around to him.

So what do you guys think?  The hip hop world has seemed to speculate some Pusha-Drake beef for quite some time, considering many believed Drake to fire shots at Pusha on his loosie track released pre-More Life, "Two Birds One Stone".  Drake seemed a little TOO prepared for the smoke Pusha had coming for him, responding less than 24 hours later on Instagram, AND in audio form in the new song, "Duppy Freestyle" (which by the way, what the actual FUCK does that mean?).  Does Push go back at Drake?  Does Drake respond back after Push comes with more smoke?  Keep your eyes glued to social media over the next few days and we'll probably all get to find out.  Drake is as calculated as anybody in rap now when it comes to diss tracks and responses (if not more calculated), but Drake is not messing with another Meek Mill in proven emcee Pusha T. We'll see what happens, as both rappers have albums to promote (with Drake's coming in June), so who knows how crazy things could get. In the mean time, check out the invoice from Drake to Pusha above, and check out Drake's response record below.


(*I do not own any of the songs, images, or the rights to them*)








              

Kanye Announces He's Producing Nas' Next Album, Dropping In June

About an hour and a half ago, Kanye took to Twitter again to announce some more news about what is sounding to be like an amazing year for him and his G.O.O.D Music crew.

Kanye announced around 7:30 EST all of the album he would be helming this coming June; the previously announced Kids See Ghosts joint album with Kid Cudi, as well as Teyana Taylor and Pusha T's next solo albums, but he then announced the next album that he would be executive producing; the long awaited Nas album. Nas' last album of course was 2012's Life Is Good, which dropped over 6 years ago. Nas has yet to comment on Kanye's claims, so we will see if Kanye's claims hold true. If true, it's looking to be a huge year for G.O.O.D Music.

Who's excited for new Nas?  Fingers crossed for this one!    

So... It's Kind Of Been A CRAZY Week In Hip Hop So Far (News, Thoughts, Speculation, And More)

In case you've some how been living under a rock for the last 3 or 4 days, this week has been absolutely crazy concerning hip hop, and some of the biggest names involved in it today. And because there is so much to tackle in so little time, I'll save y'all the introduction and get right to the good stuff. First thing's first (rest in peace Uncle Phil... just kidding, but we'll get to that guy in a sec)...

Kendrick Lamar Wins Hip Hop's First Ever Pulitzer

                             (Photo credited via The Pulitzer Prizes Twitter [@PulitzerPrizes])

Where's a Ron Burgundy meme when you need one?  Because this is kind of a big fucking deal. This last Monday (April 16th), Kendrick Lamar was announced as the first EVER hip hop act to win the acclaimed and highly coveted Pulitzer Prize Award, which if you don't know, Huffington Post describes/defines as an award "for distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year."  Kendrick is recognized as the first "non-classical or jazz artist" to win the award, but lets not beat around the bush here; Kendrick is the first HIP HOP artist to win the prestigious award EVER. Period. Although some would argue that TPAB is far more deserving of the award (like me) because of it's outstanding concept as an overall body of work and the important reoccurring themes, some (like me as well) are exuberant in the fact that Kendrick Lamar is the first ever hip hop artist to win an award of such importance. When Kendrick wins, hip hop wins.

Kyle Supposedly Dropping "Debut" Album?

                         (The supposed cover for Kyle's debut album, titled Light Of Mine)

In more exciting hip hop news, goofy Ventura, California rapper Kyle announced that his debut album, Light Of Mine, will be dropping on his 25th birthday, May 18th of this year. The first two singles ('To The Moon" and "Playinwitme" featuring the wonderful Kehlani) have been pretty well received from fans so far, but knowing Kyle and his ever-changing style, the first 2 singles give no inclination or evidence as to what the album will sound like as a whole. It's too hard to tell what the album's title could mean, and based on Kyle's ability to out bar your favorite rapper on one song then sing them to sleep on the next, it's too early to tell what kind of sound we'll be receiving from him.

Drake Dropping New Album Scorpion In June

After the release of the Scary Hours EP which included the wildly successful hit "God's Plan", Drake followed it up with an even bigger smash hit anthem for the ladies, "Nice For What", which many have said is Drake's best song in years (it was me... I said it). "God's Plan" spent a staggering record 11 weeks atop Billboard's number 1 spot, but that's not even the craziest part; with the number 1 debut of 'Nice For What" on Billboard, Drake actually became the first hip hop artist in history to REPLACE HIMSELF for the number 1 spot with another song. So leads us into the anticipation for Drake's new album, which in case you missed, is called Scorpion and will be arriving in June, though no official date has been given just yet. Knowing Drake's history of pre-released songs right before albums, "God's Plan", "Diplomatic Immunity", and "Nice For What" will give us absolutely no idea of what the album will sound like as a whole, so what are your expectations for Scorpion?  Do we think Drake keeps with his R&B roots and drops more ballads for the women?  Or do we think Drake attacks again with more aggressive bars aimed at everybody who even mentions his name?  Personally, I believe a name like Scorpion doesn't exactly call for cute filtered Snap Chats and Instagram captions, and am really hoping Drake is coming for people's throats in the rapping aspect again (how amazing would it be to get another "A.M" song added to the list?)  No, scorpion's do not take Snap Chat selfies or Instagram pictures of themselves for likes... They sting. It's in their nature.

J. Cole Drops KOD Out Of Nowhere And It's The Album Old Heads Have Been Waiting For

In case you somehow missed Twitter trending topics and the Internet absolutely blowing up over the last 18 hours or so, J. Cole released his surprise album KOD at midnight last night, and boy does it not disappoint. In case you have yet to listen to it, I won't give too many details away, although I have to say that this extra voice that Cole is adding certainly makes for an interesting concept, and almost makes for "hip hop parody" if you will (no Weird Al, not THAT kind of parody). Be sure to check that out if you haven't already, it's very good, but you guys already know I don't need to vouch for Cole. Also, regular viewers, expect an "Observations" review article coming from me with a week or so!

Kanye Tweets/Album Rumors?

Kanye has also been going H.A.M. on Twitter as of late. Over the last week or so, Kanye has been tweeting inspirational messages to his followers, but the inspirational messages are not what people are choosing to direct their attention at (though the tweets have hundreds of thousands of retweets and likes). The most noticeable tweets are the ones above; not only did Kanye announce that his album would be coming on June 1st, he also announced that a mere week later (June 8th) he would be dropping a collaborative project with Kid Cudi, titled after him and Cudi's supposed collaborative group name, Kids See Ghosts (everybody just STAY CALM!). But that's not even the last of it; Kanye also went on to tweet release dates for G.O.O.D. Music label mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor's albums!  Now it's too early to tell if Kanye is for real or if he's just blowing smoke, so until anything comes out, I wouldn't get your hopes up, 'Ye fans, although the tweeting is a start. If it continues, maybe it starts a huge promo run for G.O.O.D Music?


I shouldn't say that's ALL for this week (because holy overwhelming that's a lot to take in), but it's almost safe to say that this week in hip hop can't get much bigger... knock on wood.     








    



















        

Artist To Look Out For: Cyhi The Prynce

So how many people have heard of the gawd (don't judge me, I'm on this saying now, I feel hip saying it) Cyhi The Prynce?  Nobody?  A lot of people?  Well he is just so awesome sauce that you almost want to dip beats in him and let him flow like water. He's all natural baby. I know all of these food references are pretty corny but you get the picture. Anyways, if you haven't heard of Cyhi you're about to get a nice introduction. Cyhi The Prynce is the best emcee you've never given the light of day. Being signed to Kanye's GOOD Music label, it's pretty easy to get outshined by names like Kanye, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, and others to name, but if you're Cyhi the Prynce, you're going in the right direction for sure, and let me tell you why.

Cyhi The Prynce, born Cydel Young in Stone Mountain, Georgia, is a conscious rapping, thought provoking sleeper pick for one of the hottest up and comers in rap right now. If you haven't heard about him, he's certainly done good things with tracks on his mix tapes, such good things in fact that Kanye felt the need to sign him to his GOOD Music label, and he has featured on a multitude of GOOD Music artists' projects, such as Kanye's highly acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album and even made some appearances on GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer. I didn't know this until I did some research, but a funny story about Cyhi is that Beyoncé herself actually recommended Cyhi to Kanye to sign him to his label. That's quite a cosign and certainly puts pressure on Cyhi to be great, but if anyone can handle pressure (besides Logic, get it? Never mind) it's Cyhi.

Cyhi's solo projects have been practically albums, and his Ivy League mix tape series has proven to be some of his best work as an up and comer. Ivy League Club and Ivy League Kick Back are arguably Cyhi's best projects as a whole, with some exciting features like Big K.R.I.T, Big Sean, Chris Brown, Schoolboy Q, Yelawolf and more. His flow and lyricism is one of a kind, his clever bars are matched by very few in the game today, but his ability to make great songs of all kinds is what gets the people's attention the most. Check out his song "Bachelor" below.

Cyhi is certainly dope and he makes great music, but the most interesting thing about him is that he hasn't yet put out a debut album, and being under Kanye's GOOD Music label you'd expect him to get some creative control. Cyhi has a lot of fans that are dying for his next project, whether it be another mix tape or an album, though an album is what fans have been waiting for from him for quite some time. It's hard to think that people will get bored with him before he starts to really build a buzz (that is if he already hasn't), but his lack of putting out music as of late isn't helping the case. Check out Cyhi and his mix tapes if you get a chance, and you can find his latest release "Credit 'i' Deserve" below.

                                    (*I do not own any of these songs, or the rights to them*)