Childish Gambino Debuts New Music With Ye & Kid Cudi

The rap beef updates are coming left, right, front, and back. Quavo and Chris Brown are in a G-league beef, and it’s everyone against Drake in the big league. Let us know what updates you’d like to receive in the poll below. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Childish Gambino debuts music with Ye & Kid Cudi 🔥 

• Unpacking Ye’s wild claims on the ‘Download’ podcast 🎤 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

“Like That” drops to #2 after three consecutive weeks at #1. “We Still Don’t Trust You” was the highest-charting track off Pluto x Metro’s second album, debuting at #22. GloRilla’s “Wanna Be” decreases six spots to #17 in its second week.

Future and Metro Boomin’s We Still Don’t Trust You debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200, making their collab albums 2/2 on the top of the charts.

Childish Gambino Debuts New Music With Ye & Kid Cudi

Donald Glover is back in Childish Gambino mode—delivering what might be the best Ye verse in years. After announcing he’d release two final albums under his musical moniker, he teased new music with Ye and Kid Cudi. 

On April 21, during the second episode of his new GILGA Radio show, Glover played a track seemingly titled “Say Less” with a futuristic beat that saw Ye rap about Hov and Rubi Rose.

Ye’s Verse

The “Say Less” title acts as a saying to the same effect as “Type Shit,” with Ye’s agent literally telling him to say less before he goes into his pop culture references bag. 

“N-ggas waiting on The Throne like Hov say yes/ I took my shoes out the store, they the new Payless/ That’s the New God Flow, but I don’t pray less.”

Ye’s second verse mentions Rubi Rose and proceeds to go on a wordplay run looping in Only Fans and Zion Williamson (who was haunted by a scandal with an OF model last year). Ye’s Keith Lee reference at the end suggests his verse is fairly new and he sounds in top form.

Childish Gambino’s verse

If you forget why Glover is still in conversations about rap—this new music is a good reminder. His ability to pen clever puns and outlandish one-liners, like “Got this rope ‘round my neck like I’m J. Smollett,” are on full display. 

He delivers his wtf wit with a nonchalant attitude that directly contrasts the serious nature of what he’s saying—like making light of Smollett’s failed attempt at setting up a racist attack on himself. 

He references the infamous Draymond vs. Gobert incident, “I’ma choke a n-gga for the team like Draymond,” and the internet’s recent obsession with digging up rappers’ GQ photoshoots from the 2010s (that didn’t age well).

“The aviators got me lookin’ like Five-0 / You ain’t even touched a GQ best dressed.”

What about Kid Cudi?

The Cudi track is called “Warlords” and was reportedly recorded some time ago (it first leaked in 2021). The timeline aligns as there’s been tension between the rappers recently and it’s unlikely they recorded new music together.

Last month, Cudi threw shade at Glover on X, saying he’d pass on working together again.  

Glover addressed the sneak diss on GILGA radio, saying, “Kid Cudi, if you got a problem, I’m not here for the beef. Just talk to me. Actually talk to people.”

The tension will need to be squashed offline for Cudi’s verse to be cleared, but here’s a preview of what they cooked up together.

Unpacking Ye’s “Like That” Diss & ‘Download’ Podcast Claims

Ye has entered the chat (again). After a few attempts to insert himself in the Big 3 beef, Ye came back with a better strategy—his very own “Like That” remix and a “tell all” podcast appearance. The remix has been removed from YouTube for copyright issues but can be heard here on yeezy.com. 

Find the highlights of Ye’s diss and unsubstantiated claims, below.

Pluto x Metro gave Ye the “Like That” green light

Future allegedly called Ye to hop on the remix, and it seems he had Metro Boomin’s support as well. The producer posted a photo of himself and Ye in the studio the day the remix dropped. 

On the Download podcast, Ye said everyone involved in the remix was very “energized about the elimination of Drake.”

Despite saying he wasn’t taking a side and he was the biggest rapper, Ye seems to back Kendrick with the line, “We gon’ take this p-ssy n-gga out. Yo Dot, I got you.”

Lucian is Drake’s “master / rich baby daddy”

“Where’s Lucian? Serve your master n-gga,” Ye spits on “Like That” referring to Drake’s lucrative deal with Universal Music Group and the company’s chairman Sir Lucian Grainge. 

Under Lucian’s leadership, Drake re-signed with UMG in 2022 for a deal that was “Lebron-sized,” according to insiders, with better publishing splits and profits than the industry average. 

Ye expanded, calling Lucian Drake’s “rich baby daddy” and insinuating that much of Drake’s omnipresent power in the industry is due to Lucian’s backing.

The alleged claim is not far off from Joe Budden’s hypothesis that Drake’s rap beef stems from industry stuff, like publishing splits and ownership, behind the scenes.

Ye also said Drake’s diss “don’t mean shit” because his career is artificial. It’s the same sentiment as above, Ye claims Drake is a superstar because Lucian and UMG control the market and decided Drake is their superstar. Therefore, when he drops, his success is predetermined, making his lyrics worthless.

‘Vultures Vol. 3’ is arriving May 3rd

Ye confirmed a May 3rd release date “forsure” on the Download podcast, which corroborates a date he accidentally revealed to a Baby Keem fan page last month over DMs.

J. Cole is a “p-ssy” for apologizing

On the “Like That” remix, Ye dissed J. Cole, saying his music was the opposite of a turn-on, and followed that up with an explicit meme.

He doubled down and called Cole’s apology “p-ssy shit,” saying Cole knew what he was getting himself into when he went on tour with Drake, aligning himself with one side, and it’s too late to backtrack.

• Future joins Jay-Z and Eminem in rare club thanks to ‘We Still Don’t Trust You.’ The new project marked Future’s 10th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

• Drake, Pharrell, Pusha T & The Weeknd tapped for ‘TopSpin 2k25’ soundtrack. 2K Sports also revealed the full game roster of tennis legends from different eras.

• Ken Carson announces ‘Chaos World Tour’ kicking off this summer. The news comes shortly after Playboi Carti’s Opium label tour was officially canceled. 

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