Jay-Z Curved This NBA Player's Aspiring Rap Pitch

The Death of Slim Shady by Eminem is finally out, and he released a PSA that the conceptual album must be listened to in order or it won’t make sense. In other news today:

• Song streams & revenue 💰️

• Jay-Z curved this NBA player’s aspiring rap pitch 🏀 

• Young Thug’s kids throw snitch shots at Gunna 🐍 

• New Music Friday releases 💿️ 

• Industry Insights 📈 

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Songs Streams & 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 June 28 to July 4.

Tommy Richman has two songs charting with “Million Dollar Baby” and “Devil Is A Lie,” earning $115K and $52K, respectively. Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” is back to being the most profitable rap song from streaming by generating $155K from 34M streams.

Jay-Z Once Curved This NBA Player’s Aspiring Rap Pitch 

Former New Jersey Nets player Maurice Ager shot his shot and missed with Jay-Z. He talked about the unfortunate incident in a recent interview with “Scoop B.” During Hov’s time as the co-owner of the Nets in the late 2000s, Hov had a hands-on involvement with the team and its players and met Ager. 

The pair were introduced while on a preseason trip with the team to London. 

“I make beats and everything, that’s my passion…Jay-Z came to our practice, and I remember having a really good practice! This was my second season with the Nets. I went over to Jay. He was chilling. He had on all black, the leather coat and baggie jeans. I introduced myself … I was like ‘I make beats, fam. I would like for you to check out my beats.'”

However, Jay-Z was not as hyped about the potential pitch as Ager was. He responded with, “Oh, word? I need you to concentrate on that court, though.” Ager didn’t take the rapper’s advice, instead making 30 beats in his hotel room the same night and then balled out against the Miami Heat the next day. 

Despite Auger’s solid performance, Jay-Z emphasized his message of sticking to shooting hoops after the game. 

“He was like, ‘I see you did your thing tonight. No more beats, though. Concentrate on that court.’ I was like, ‘He double-backed!’ I was like, ‘Alright!’ But in my mind, I was like, ‘More beats,” Ager said. 

After retiring in 2010, Ager went all-in on hip-hop and even got signed to Akon’s music label, Konvict Music, as a producer. His production credits include creating the MSU (where he used to play basketball) football team’s theme song, “Forever I’m A Spartan,” and beats for rappers like E-40, Royce Da 5’9,” and Tobe Nwigwe.

Young Thug’s Kids Fire Shots at Gunna, Resurfacing Snitch Claims

Thugger’s kids had some fighting words for Gunna in a new unreleased track. In their makeshift music video, the kids hold up a stack of bands and throw gang signs while moving around their house and spitting questionable bars. 

While some of the lyrics are hard to fully understand, one thing is for certain—they call Gunna out by name. “And Bentley a rat, he keeps leaving stains … And Gunna get whacked if he leave L.A,” the kids rap on the song. 

Neither Young Thug nor Gunna have responded to the kids trying to make the next XXL Freshman Class. It is also unsure if the video could hurt Thug’s case, which is currently on pause as the defense moved to get Judge Glanville removed. 

Gunna’s snitch allegations have been a topic of debate since he accepted a plea deal in December 2022. Although they’ve quieted in recent months, thanks to words of support from Thug’s father and Gunna’s success on the music front, this will likely resurface them. 

Gunna still stands ten toes down on the statement that he didn’t snitch. Talking about his relationship with Young Thug in an April 2024 interview with XXL, Gunna said, “It’s the same. It’s love, always. Our relationship is our relationship.” 

He is also still a member of YSL, he revealed in a June interview with RapCaviar. 

"I’m still signed to YSL…I’m still providing. We still pushing. No paperwork has been changed. So it’s like, whatever’s been getting and how we’ve been pushing this shit, it’s still going.”

However, fans can’t pinpoint exactly how Thug feels about Gunna. Last month, he posted a tweet in support of Lil Baby, who is not shy about sharing his distaste for his former Drip Harder collaborator. 

Nothing has been fully confirmed about whether their relationship is on the rocks or if the song has had any negative impact. Nevertheless, Thugga’s kids seem inspired by his rap blueprint. 

New Music Friday

Here’s all the music you can listen to now—categorized by 💿️ for albums and 🎶 for singles:

• 💿️ The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) by Eminem

• 💿️ Viceroy by $NOT

• 💿️ Before I Disappear Again by NoCap ft. Quavo, Rylo Rodriguez & more

• 💿️ Bliss by Zacari ft. Isaiah Rashad, Ty Dolla $ign & more

• 💿️ Memphis Zoo by Juicy J, Xavier Wulf

• 💿️ Shylo by Russ Millions

• 🎶 “Precision” by SoFaygo, Don Toliver

• 🎶 “No Apologies” by Consequence and Ye

• 🎶 “F*cked a Fan” by Veeze, Rylo Rodriguez

• 🎶 “Pray For Me” by Mustard

• 🎶 “Recipe for Love” by Strick, Future

• 🎶 “Win” by Russ

• “Not Like Us” got another dub. The music video for the song has over 41 million views in counting, quickly beating Drake’s “Family Matters” music video view count. 

• Kid Cudi gives fans a double blessing. Along with dropping the newest issue of his Moon Man comic series, he dropped the new single “DREAMS I SEE.” 

• We might finally be getting VULTURES 2. Ye and Ty Dolla $ign are throwing a listening session for the album in South Korea on August 23. 

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