Can Lil Uzi Vert's 'Pink Tape' Save Rap From a 2023 Chart Slump?

Pharrell unveiled his first collection for Louis Vuitton menswear today and previewed a new CLIPSE song while Pusha T and Malice walked down the runway 🔥 In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 & album chart 📈 

• YNW Melly denied mistrial as Spotify numbers soar 😳 

• Can Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape save rap from a 2023 chart slump? 🧨 

• The meaning behind Kendrick Lamar’s “jojoruski” finsta 🥸 

• Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵 

Hot 100 Chart & Streams

Due to the Juneteenth holiday yesterday, Billboard has delayed its Hot 100 ranking and only revealed the Top 10 songs for the week. The above chart reflects the Top 10 and the corresponding song streams for the week of June 9th to 15th, as reported by Hits Double Daily. Hot 100 ranks songs based on a combination of streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

Lil Durk’s “All My Life” holds its #5 spot for the 2nd week in a row. Meanwhile, Toosii’s “Favorite Song” and Metro Boomin’s “Creepin’” each climb to #1 spot higher in the Top 10.

YNW Melly Denied Mistrial As His Spotify Numbers Soar

This morning Judge John Murphy announced his decision on YNW Melly’s lawyers' request for a mistrial and denied the motion. The trial will proceed as usual, but witness testimony was halted due to a juror being hospitalized for dehydration.

Last Thursday, the testimony of Melly’s ex-girlfriend’s mother, Felicia Holmes, led to high tension in the courtroom as she became more agitated with the prosecution’s questions. Melly’s lawyer, David Howard, deemed the testimony a “prejudicial fiasco” and accused the prosecution of purposely using a hostile witness to taint the jurors' perception of Melly.

Holmes' daughter and Melly’s ex-girlfriend, Mariah Hamilton, hasn’t testified, although she was originally scheduled to take the stand before her mother last week. It remains to be seen if the prosecution calls on her to testify as the trial continues.

“This jury sat there and watched this fiasco unfold with at least 10, maybe 15 sidebars, after every two questions,” Howard said. If Melly is found not guilty at the end of the trial, defense attorney Howard will undoubtedly be the most sought-after hip-hop lawyer for criminal trials.

If Melly walks free, he’ll also become the second rapper in hip-hop history to beat a death penalty case, with the first being Boosie Badazz—who attended court in support of Melly last week.

Since the start of Melly’s trial last Monday, he’s gained 794K new monthly listeners on Spotify in the US. His hit song, “Murder On My Mind,” was streamed 654,191 times in the 24 hours following the start of the trial on Spotify, according to streaming numbers site kworb.

Meanwhile, Melly’s mother shared on her IG stories earlier this week that the trial and online commentary has been so stress-inducing that she’s already suffered a heart attack.

Context for those of you out touching grass

In an eventful first week of trial, the judge ruled that Melly’s “Murder On My Mind” music video and select Snapchat footage showing Melly with firearms and cash would not be allowed as evidence. Both were deemed “prejudicial,” which can be explained in simple terms as evidence that carries the risk of unfairly influencing the jury and compromising the fairness of the trial.

Expert testimony revealed that while the prosecution has plenty of forensic evidence that the murders occurred, they don’t have a murder weapon or any concrete evidence linking Melly as the shooter who fired the deadly shots.

Why this matters

Melly could have walked away a free man today, but the judge ultimately decided that the jury remains impartial and capable of delivering a fair verdict. It’s one of the most highly publicized criminal trials involving a rapper in recent years, including Tory Lanez and Young Thug’s impending trial. As it unfolds, it will set a precedent for future rap-on-trial cases.

In a legal context, precedent refers to a legal decision or ruling that serves as an authoritative example for similar cases. When the court faces a new case, judges can consider principles and reasoning used in precedent decisions to ensure consistency and fairness.

There’s been an influx of rap lyrics, social media content, and music videos used in criminal trials. Melly’s defense will be carefully watched as his lawyers continue to navigate evidence related to his career being used in court. The trial is expected to last another 3 to 4 weeks.

Can Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape Save Rap From a 2023 Chart Slump?

Lil Uzi Vert hopped on IG live over the weekend and teased more details about their highly anticipated new album Pink Tape.

The tracklist will have 25 songs and 2 bonus tracks. This includes the previously teased Ken Carson-produced track, “Just Wanna Rock”, and a Travis Scott feature produced by BNYX (who recently produced Drake’s “Search & Rescue”).

They didn’t confirm or deny rumors that the elusive Playboi Carti will appear on the album but said, “Not that many features but the features that everybody thinks I should have.” They also posted a photo of Carti to their IG story over the weekend further fueling the speculation.

The drought of new music from Carti has led to his 15-second snippet on The Weeknd’s new song “Popular” going viral on TikTok, and it arguably sounds harder alone.

Uzi also said the cover art and tracklist are dropping this week, but who knows if that will actually happen. The album is “less than 2 weeks away,” and in a private group chat, Uzi wrote that June 30th is the release date which coincidentally falls on a Friday.

Lastly, the Pink Tape world tour will commence right after the summer. Pink Tape and Travis Scott’s Utopia are rumored to release in June and are currently poised to be the biggest rap releases of the year. Like Scott’s Utopia briefcase, Uzi has been spotted rocking an iced-out USB on a chain containing the files for Pink Tape.

Context for those of you out touching grass

Uzi’s last album, Eternal Atake, was released in 2020 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 288,000 album-equivalent units. Their 2017 debut album, Luv Is Rage 2, also debuted at #1 with 135,000 AEU. Pink Tape will be Uzi’s third studio album, and the stakes are high. The only rappers to have their first three studio albums consecutively debut at #1 are Drake, DMX, and 50 Cent.

Why this matters

Carl Chery, Head of Urban Music at Spotify, recently tweeted, “Hip-Hop needs new leaders who are intentional about dictating where the music and culture are going. It feels like artists either don’t think about it or don’t want that responsibility.” Trippie Redd weighed in, saying hip-hop is divided, leading to genres like country and reggaeton taking over the charts. There’s yet to be a #1 album or song from a rapper in 2023.

By the numbers, hip-hop is slowly losing its dominance in market share as the most consumed genre in the US. R&B and hip-hop currently account for 26% of the market, down by 1.8% compared to last year. Meanwhile, Country music’s share has increased by 0.54%, and Latin music is up by 0.51%, according to Billboard. All eyes are on Uzi to see if they can nab the first big album debut for 2023 and put hip-hop back at the top of the charts.

Meet “jojoruski”: Kendrick Lamar’s Finsta Alter Ego Explained

K. Dot gave fans a glimpse into his otherwise private life by making his finsta account public—for the first time. Under the name jojoruski, Kendrick’s burner isn’t some culmination of philosophical and life-altering content (although his fans will still beg to differ) but normal throwaway posts that don’t make the cut for the main IG.

Meet jojoruski, he’s just like us—he goes on walks! He lights fireworks in the streets! He plays pick-up basketball! He buys fake Jordans! The content posted is overwhelmingly normal but newsworthy because Kendrick remains notoriously elusive and offline outside of album releases and performances.

Sprinkled throughout the sidequest posts are mood board-esque images of Michael Jackson, Tupac, and fashion references that have inspired some of his tour outfits. U/moeyachi made light of how intensely Kendrick’s fans read between the lines commenting, “kendrick reddit be so desperate, they prolly reading his lips for lyrics,” on a video Kendrick posted of himself sprinting towards the camera.

Context for those of you out touching grass

The first time Kendrick mentioned the name “jojo ruski” was in a cryptic 2022 tweet almost a month after the release of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Naturally, Kendrick fans stepped in to solve the meaning behind “oklama” and deducted that it’s from the language of the Choctaw indigenous people. “Oklama” means “my people” in the Choctaw translations of the Bible and is used when a prophet or poet addresses people on God’s behalf.

Why this matters

If you’re a Kendrick fan, you know he does everything with intention. Although he seems to be in a silly, carefree era—given the spontaneous release of “The Hillbillies” with Baby Keem and unveiling his finsta—it’s a new era nonetheless and probably part of a larger plan unaware to the public.

Unsurprisingly, there are subreddits dedicated to the discussion of “jojo ruski” and one Reddit reveals that a year ago, Kendrick posted an IG story referencing “Jesus, jojo, and Mary” multiple times. Jojo likely translates to Joseph from the Bible, as in the man who was married to Jesus’ mother, Mary, and became Jesus’ adopted father. The biblical context also ties into the meaning of “oklama” and why Kendrick would use both together.

Jojoruski unofficially joins the long list of Kendrick nicknames (Kungfu Kenny, King Kendrick, Conrow Kenny, K. Dot). Still, at least he seems to be more open than previous derivatives giving fans a peak behind the serious persona of Kendrick Lamar.

The Rap Index ft. Gunna, Trippie Redd, Hit-Boy, Gucci Mane & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories, describing subgenres of rap, songs are placed according to their style and sound—giving you a better idea of what songs will appeal to your musical taste. Only releases from the previous New Music Friday are included to help keep you up to date.

1. “Took My Breath Away” by Trippie Redd ft. Skye Morales (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

2. “DOWNFALL” by Portion (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify) + music video 

3. “YKWSF” by Hit-Boy, Big Hit & Big Sean (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

4. “PLATINUM” by YG & Tyga (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

5. “KISS N’ TELL” by Mike Dimes ft. Dro Kenji (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

6. “Bluffin” by Gucci Mane ft. Lil Baby (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

7. “Back In My Shell” by Fresco Trey (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

8. “back to the moon” by Gunna (Listen on Apple Music & Spotify)

• Gucci Mane announces new album Breath Of Fresh Air for October 13th release. Tired of the “drilling and killing” rap music, he’s leaning into a more vulnerable side for this next project.

• Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s bidet from their former house is on sale on eBay for $2400. Eric’s Architectural Salvage LA is in possession of multiple items that once belonged to the Carters.

• Microsoft is developing an AI rap generator called DeepRapper. The AI system generates rap with rhymes and rhythms by data mining the web to collect a large-scale rap dataset.

Like sports? 🏀 🏈 Get up-to-date analysis and unique insight that’s actually interesting to read with the Playmaker Newsletter.