J. Cole Fires Back at Kendrick Lamar on Surprise EP ‘Might Delete Later’

Condolences to every rapper who dropped music the last two Fridays. The rap civil war stole the spotlight again, and J. Cole officially issued a response to Kendrick. In other news today:

• We Don’t Trust You streaming revenue 💰️ 

• Unpacking J. Cole’s “7 Minute Drill” diss aimed at Kendrick Lamar 😮‍💨 

• Metro Boomin wouldn’t have blown up without this person 🕊️ 

• Trippie Redd reveals fatherhood status and new all-black mansion 🏠️ 

• New Music Friday releases 💿️ 

• Industry Insights 📈 

‘We Don’t Trust You’ Streaming Revenue

It’s a new week and a new song revenue chart. As reported by Hits Daily Double, which tracks streaming revenue week over week, the above chart reflects the streaming period from March 22 to 28.

We Don’t Trust You smashed the Billboard charts this week with a record-breaking debut, and now we have the sales numbers. “Like That,” the song that started the rap civil war, made over a quarter of a million from 56M streams. Overall, Metro Boomin & Future amassed $888K and 194M streams from the songs on the above chart.

J. Cole Rips Into Kendrick Lamar on Surprise EP ‘Might Delete Later’

Hip-hop is alive, and the beef is beefing. J. Cole ambushed Kendrick Lamar and New Music Friday with a surprise EP called Might Delete Later. Aside from the title, which sounds like something Drake would say, he did what Drake has yet to do—get in the booth and respond to “Like That.” 

Cole dedicated the entire closing song on the EP, “7 Minute Drill,” to Kendrick. The violence begins 0:18 seconds into the track, “I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissin / you want some attention, it come with extensions.”

“He still doin’ shows, but fell off like the Simpsons,” Cole raps, insinuating that Kendrick is still successful but the quality of his music has gone downhill.

The beat, produced by Conductor Williams and T-Minus, appears to sample Drake’s “Energy” on the back half of the song. Not quite the same fuck you energy as Metro producing “Like That” but fitting for Drake to somehow be involved in a sneak diss.

Translation:

• Good kid, m.A.A.d city = classic

• Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers = tragic

• To Pimp a Butterfly = bedtime lullabies 

• DAMN. = massive hit

Cole’s lyrics are reminiscent of Jay-Z’s 2001 diss track “Takeover,” which was aimed at Nas during their beef. It was a similar historic moment for 2000s rap, and Jay-Z took the approach of shaming Nas’ discography.

Cole later raps, “Four albums in twelve years, n***a? I can divide.” Compare that bar and the ones above to Jay-Z’s verse.

Cole closes out the first verse with, “He averaging one hard verse like every thirty months or somethin’ / If he wasn’t dissin’, then we wouldn’t be discussing ‘em / Lord, don’t make me have to smoke this n***a ‘cause I fuck with him / But push come to shove, on this mic, I will humble him.”

It’s the most Cole thing ever to call out that he doesn’t want to do this—but he will. Then he makes a punchline out of Kendrick’s hit single, “HUMBLE.” The disses continue in the second verse but are less climactic. Towards the end, Cole says, “This is merely a warnin’ shot to back n***as down.”

It would truly be iconic if K-Dot snuck a response onto Metro Boomin and Future’s We Still Don’t Trust You for next Friday. Meanwhile, we’re all waiting for Drake to issue something other than an IG caption.

Metro Boomin Wouldn’t Have Blown Up Without This Person

Before Metro Boomin, there was Leland Tyler Wayne—a kid with big dreams who became one of the biggest producers in hip-hop. The second installment of Metro and Future’s collaborative album, We Still Don’t Trust You, arrives April 12.

But there was one person who was instrumental in Metro’s career—his mother. When faced with decisions that were make or break, she always made the right choice. On X, Metro has a tweet pinned to his account that pays homage to her after she tragically passed away in 2022.

Below, find out the pivotal moments that made his career and the duo of Pluto x Metro possible, all thanks to his mother, Leslie Wayne.

The gift that started his production journey

At 13 years old, Metro decided he wanted to become a rapper—inspired by Nelly’s Country Grammar album. “It was my first explicit CD. Country Grammar came out, and it just made me want to rap. That simple,” Metro told High Snobiety in 2018.

That same year, his mom got him a laptop for Christmas, and he downloaded the production software FL Studios. He began making beats to rap over and discovered he liked production more. 

In high school, he made about five beats per day and sent them to rising Atlanta rappers via social media, email, and any other form of communication he could find.

The 17-hour drive for his first big break

When OJ Da Juiceman found Metro in his inbox, he reached out and invited him to Atlanta. But Metro knew he needed permission from his mom to go to the meeting—he was underage at the time.

“I came home from work, and he was waiting for me, ready for a business meeting,” Metro’s mom told The Fader in 2016.  “He had a green folder with information on all the people he wanted to work with. He’d printed it out from the internet, and he left me with the folder overnight so I could go through it. He was so prepared!”

Metro’s mom not only agreed to let him go but also drove the 17-hour round trip from St. Louis to Atlanta.

It turned into a weekend ritual, and in an interview with No Jumper, OJ recalled Metro’s mom being pregnant during those trips—a testament to how much she supported his dreams.

The start of Future & Metro

Metro’s first hit was in 2013 when Future released “Karate Chop.” He was in his freshman year of college, something his mom was really proud of, but the success of his song with Future made him realize he needed to drop out. 

Once again, his mother supported his decision, even if she didn’t like it. Over the next three years, Metro and Future went on a legendary run that solidified their status as the most trusted duo in trap.

Monster, DS2, What A Time To Be Alive, Purple Reign, and EVOL all came from that era, creating such a strong fan base that almost a decade later, their collab album is one of the most in-demand releases of the year.

Trippie Redd Is Not the Father, Revealed in His $13M All-Black Mansion

Trippie Redd dropped two bombshells this week. He is not a father, despite canceling tour dates in November 2023 because of the birth of his son, and he gave his Florida mansion a Despicable Me makeover. Both were revealed DDG’s vlog, touring the all-black mansion. 

“You want an explanation, so boom. I’m dropping a project named Saint Michael right? What if I was to tell you that’s my son’s name, and I canceled the tour because I had to deliver my son?” Trippie told fans in a video last year, announcing the news of his child.

In DDG’s latest vlog, he tells Trippie, “I feel like we had a kid around the same time.” Cue The Maury Show, “You’re not the father!” moment. “Bruh, I got a DNA test. I don’t even got a kid,” Trippie revealed. 

He didn’t get a DNA test before the child’s birth, but at the urging of his mother, he got one post-birth and found out the child wasn’t his. Watch the full moment here.

Despicable Me or Trippie Redd’s mansion?

Trippie celebrated the reveal of his custom-painted all-black mansion in the same vlog. Everything from the driveway to the fixtures is black for a Dru’s house type beat from Despicable Me. Jokes about the AC bill for a black mansion in Florida kept the comments section busy along with Dark Knight comparisons.   

The 19,000-square-foot home has nine bedrooms, a basketball court, a piano room, and a custom $30K bed—the things Mansion Musik can buy.

New Music Friday

Bryson Tiller released his comeback album, but like Big Sean last week, he was outshined by a diss track. Here’s all the music you can listen to now—categorized by 💿️ for albums and 🎶 for singles:

• 💿️ Might Delete Later by J. Cole

• 💿️ Bryson Tiller by Bryson Tiller

• 💿️ It’s Us Vol. 1 by Concrete Boys (Lil Yachty, Karrahbooo & more)

• 💿️ Scarlet 2 CLAUDE by Doja Cat

• 💿️ Ehhthang Ehhthang by GloRilla

• 💿️ Mack 2 by Fourfive

• 🎶 “Potato Loaded” by Quavo, Destroy Lonely

• 🎶 “Bless” by Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Wheezy

• 🎶 “Madonna & Rihanna” by Rich Amiri

• Joyner Lucas calls out Atlantic Records for scamming him. He claims the label promised him things like a Cardi B collab during the signing process that they never delivered on.

• Spotify’s price is reportedly going up again. The increase is allegedly rolling out in international markets by the end of this month and in the US later this year.

• Nicki Minaj, Metro Boomin, and 200+ artists sign open letter demanding responsible use of AI in music. “This assault on human creativity must be stopped,” the letter reads.

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