The Weekend and Playboi Carti Premiere New Heat in Brazil

Juice WRLD dropped a two-song pack with Young Thug as The Pre-Party to his new album, The Party Never Ends, scheduled for November 22nd. In other news:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈

• Kendrick’s Super Bowl show is already causing controversy 🔥

• The Weeknd and Playboi Carti performed their new song in Brazil 👀

• 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.

Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” dropped down a single spot this week while “Million Dollar Baby” has maintained its spot from the week before. “Like That,” “TGIF,” and “Wanna Be” are making a comeback while “Houdini” continues to drop.

Kendrick Lamar is “as Big as The Super Bowl”

Performing at the Super Bowl is one of the biggest flexes an artist can have. Arguably one of the largest stages in the world, icons like Michael Jackson and Beyonce have graced the football field for the performance of a lifetime. 

After releasing “First Person Shooter” with J. Cole, Champagne Papi made it clear that he was “as big as the Super Bowl.” However, with a commercial lasting about a minute, K. Dot proved that out of the “Big Three,” only he has the star power to back up those lyrics. 

There’s no round twos with Kendrick

K. Dot was officially announced on September 8 as next year’s Super Bowl headline performer. In his commercial, he is helping an unseen receiver catch some practice passes before revealing the big news. 

“My name’s Kendrick Lamar and I’ll be performing at Super Bowl LIX … Will you be pulling up? I hope so! You know it’s only one opportunity to win a championship; no round twos,” he said, referencing the “game two” Finsta post Drake shared (and deleted) back in August, deepening the knife.  

In an official statement, Jay-Z, who co-produces the halftime show, supported Kendrick, calling him a “once-in-a-generation artist and performer.” Nevertheless, the announcement caused drama in the rap community. 

Team Lil Wayne or Team Kendrick?

The Super Bowl taking place in New Orleans, Lil Wayne’s hometown, led many to believe that he would be the obvious and rightful choice for the halftime show. Lil Wayne’s longtime engineer, Fabian Marasciullo, posted on IG stories his thoughts on the Kendrick announcement. 

Meanwhile, Cam’ron and Mase shared similar disappointment, saying that for “Lil Wayne not to be performing in New Orleans for the Super Bowl is egregious” and the snub is “payback” from HOV. 

Nicki Minaj crashed out online in her rant on X, calling out Jay-Z and stating that he was “Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!!”

Lil Wayne & Jay-Z’s past beef 

The above reactions hint at the past beef between Jay-Z and Lil Wayne as the catalyst for the snub. Their beef dates back to 2006 when Wayne almost signed to Jay Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records but ultimately decided to stick with Birdman and Cash Money.

Then, in 2009, weeks after Jay-Z was named MTV’s “Hottest MC in the Game,” Birdman threw shots in an interview, saying he thought Wayne was more deserving of that title than Hov.

Jay-Z responded with shots in his song “H.A.M.” ft. Ye and Lil Wayne fired back with “It’s Good.” The sneak disses continued until 2014 but the artists appeared to bury the hatchet—until now. 

Can Kendrick perform “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl?

DJ Akademiks as usual came to help Drake like Dobby for Harry Potter. He said on X that Drake’s “game two” post has nothing to do with his Kendrick beef, therefore making his shot in the Super Bowl commercial irrelevant. 

However, Charlemagne tha God thinks Drake is doing everything he legally can to prevent Kendrick from further embarrassing him on the Super Bowl stage.

Charlemagne did make a solid point that should unite hip-hop fans regardless of their position on the rap beefs at play.

“All of y'all upset, just remember one thing that we all can be collectively happy about as a culture. Just be happy we didn't get Taylor Swift. Thank you Roc Nation for blocking Taylor Swift,” he said on The Breakfast Club.

The Weeknd Shares New Playboi Carti Song From Upcoming Album

September has already been a busy month for The Weeknd. He announced the album title and cover for his upcoming project, HURRY UP TOMORROW. He dropped an interview with Billboard Brazil talking not just about his creative process, but his mental health journey for his fans to learn more about him. 

In addition, he performed a live-streamed one-night-only show in São Paulo to celebrate the new album and brought out a surprise guest.

The Weeknd and Playboi Carti take over Brazil

His setlist at the Estádio MorumBIS included eight new songs from the upcoming project for the 75,000 fans in attendance and thousands watching from home. One of the songs premiered, allegedly called “Timeless,” set social media ablaze with a feature from Carti. 

The surprise appearance was teased online with Carti posting a screenshot of him talking to the Weeknd via Facetime and the Weeknd tagging Carti in a video of an XO chain. 

Carti fans know all too well that a song being performed doesn’t guarantee it’ll be released, but Carti’s in-person support and XO co-sign are a positive sign. Don’t forget that The Weeknd’s “Popular” was one of the only songs in 2023 officially released with a Carti feature. 

The Weekend is continuing his After Hours Till Dawn tour in Australia. However, fans are now focused on what he has up his sleeve for the rest of the HURRY UP TOMORROW rollout. 

• Eminem’s publishing company is taking a major L. Eight Mile Style lost a $40 million battle against Spotify over streaming royalties. 

• RapCaviar Live is coming back to ATL. Veeze, Baby Drill, and BossMan Dlow are confirmed to be a part of the September 25th lineup. 

• Diddy’s mansion is on the market. The Beverly Hills property has officially been listed for $61 million after this year’s federal raid. 

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