Rappers are Beefing: NBA YoungBoy, Lil Durk, Jack Harlow, and more

NBA YoungBoy and Lil Durk had the shortest cease-fire ever and now NBA’s dropping a mixtape the same day as Durk’s Almost Healed album. Aligned with today’s beef menu, here’s an Almost Beefed interaction from 21 Savage’s Twitter archives. In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 chart & streams 📈 

• MGK takes shots at Jack Harlow over Jay-Z beat 🔫 

• Drake’s incoming Afrobeats era 🌍️ 

• Desiigner raps about fighting demons on “Timmy Turner 2” 👿 

• NBA Twitter Fingers YoungBoy and Chris R&Beef Brown 🥩 

• Lil Yachty announces fall 2023 tour 🎤 

• Industry Insights

Hot 100 Chart & Streams

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking, as of today, and the corresponding song streams for the week of April 28th to May 4th 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.

Drake’s “Search & Rescue” remains the highest streamed hip-hop song but drops to #13 on the Hot 100 this week, likely due to less radio airplay. Toosii’s “Favorite Song” continues to rise in popularity to #11 achieving its highest Hot 100 spot to date.

MGK Takes Shots at Jack Harlow Over Jay-Z Beat

Machine Gun Kelly, better known as one of many tattoed punk-esque artists profiting from the surge in 2000s nostalgia, decided to throw his name in the white rap beef game by taking shots at Jack Harlow on the recent “Renegade Freestyle”.

“I see why they call you Jackman, you jacked man’s whole swag / Give Drake his flow back, man, I eat rappers like Pac-Man,” MGK raps referencing Harlow’s new album Jackman.

It could be a response to Harlow’s recent claim that he’s the “hardest white boy” to pick up a mic since Eminem. Although, it’s a weird flex call out Harlow for copying Drake, disputing his superiority to Eminem—in a flow reminiscent of Eminem.

“And I’m stoned like Bam-Bam / Eyes red like Carti, I’m a curse like “Goddamn”’, MGK continues referencing Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red album in a double entendre for having red eyes from smoking weed. The freestyle is over Jay-Z’s 2001 song “Renegade” feat. Eminem and if you don’t remember MGK had a feud with Slim Shady back in 2018.

It’s also why the “Floor 13” logo appears at the end of the freestyle, given it was the last song where MGK dissed Eminem. Cue the white boy rapper jokes—caucasian altercation, white-on-white beef, and MGKaren. The tweet below is even funnier when you realize MGK is in the background.

Reactions to the freestyle have been mixed. MGK’s reportedly working on a rap album, his first since 2019’s Hotel Diablo, but his recent fumble of Central Cee’s “Doja” in another backyard cypher has me less than excited for the album.

Drake’s Finally “A Naija Man” Thanks to Dad’s Ancestry Results

Drake’s coming for Afrobeats next as he found out his dad, Dennis Graham, is 30% Nigerian. On Sunday, May 7th, Drake posted the results from Dennis’ DNA journey with Ancestry questioning if the 15% Nigerian lineage from his father finally makes him “a Naija man”. He’s just missing the jollof rice and beef suya IG stories.

His father’s ethnicity also consists of 28% Cameroonian and Congolese and 11% Ivorian and Ghanaian. The Nigerian call-out was clearly a joke but I wouldn’t put it past Drake to hop on a song with Burna Boy telling his exes to go chop breakfast while wearing his 42 engagement rings necklace. Naturally, there’s already an AI-generated version of Afrobeats Drake on the internet—Igbo era incoming.

@itsedashman

Replying to @Taykay #aidrake #aicover #afrobeats #onthelowburnaboy #burnaboy #funnyvideos #nigerianmemes #fyp #viral #blowthisup

Desiigner Raps About Fighting His Demons on “Timmy Turner 2”

Despite being on a break to prioritize his mental health, after being charged with indecent exposure on a flight from Japan back to the States in April, Desiigner decided to drop the follow-up to his 2016 viral hit “Timmy Turner”.

Taking to Instagram, Desiigner wrote, “I turned 26 today and I want to thank ya’ll for holding me down. I admitted myself into a facility last week to focus on my mental health. But before that, I had planned to release Timmy Turner 2 this week as a surprise to my fans. I recorded this joint a while ago and it reflects on where I’ve been mentally over the past year.”

What’s the song like?

The song samples the original “Timmy Turner” and the haunting chorus, sung in the style of an eerie nursery rhyme, sheds light on the mental state Desiigner has been struggling with.

“Up all night, dusk ‘til dawn / Don’t go to sleep until I see the sun / Fighting my demons, but they’re never really gone / Paranoid thoughts, I can’t trust anyone”

Originally announced during an Instagram live in February 2019, the song was likely made during the 2020-2022 covid era when many people struggled with isolation and mental health issues. It’s more ominous than 2016’s “Timmy Turner” and showcases Desiigner’s melodic flow which compliments the beat produced by Mike Dean, Bobby Raps, and others (listen on Spotify & Apple Music).

What prompted the mental health break?

In April, Desiigner was accused of “exposing himself” multiple times on the Japan flight, allegedly masturbating at one point, and was moved to the rear of the plane to be monitored by travel companions. He was handed a Federal Aviation Administration violation card and detained by the FBI upon landing.

In a statement to TMZ, the rapper said his prescription medication had caused him to act out of character but he’s been struggling with mental health issues for quite some time and realized he needed to seek help.

NBA YoungBoy Rekindles Rap Beef and Chris Brown Takes R&Beefing to Vegas

Is rap beef played out? A question worth asking as headlines from the weekend shared a common theme of fighting amongst male rap and R&B stars. It’s human nature to enjoy watching a good conflict unfold (you’re lying if you say otherwise) and the publicity generated from rap beef can be beneficial or detrimental to the artists involved. Let’s evaluate the match-ups like a sporting event, lightheartedly, to determine the merit of each beef.

NBA YoungBoy vs Lil Durk

Merely days after reports that NBA YoungBoy and Lil Durk had buried the hatchet, YoungBoy fired shots on Twitter directly at Durk in what may be the shortest social media cease-fire by a rapper.

It started with subtweet, Durk’s specialty, typing “Humble — I don’t get played with just YouTube” in what seems to be a dig at NBA’s popularity on YouTube compared to other online platforms. NBA fired back, calling Durk a “bitch” and saying he only gets publicity when one of his friends dies.

He brought Durk’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, India Royale, into the chat and finished his firing with the announcement that he’ll be dropping a mixtape, Riches Opp, on the same day as Durk’s new album—May 12th.

Almost Healed is Durk’s forthcoming album about personal growth and healing which feels comical in the context of this everlasting beef but he seemingly took the high road with a simple tweet saying, “Idk nun I ain’t seen nun,” which translates to “hear no evil see no evil.”

🏆️ Ruling: 7/10 still relevant

The potential of a Durk vs NBA album faceoff is the most exciting thing to come out of this whole exchange and could positively impact album sales and streams for both as it allows their fans to be involved and play an active role in the rap battle. For this reason alone, their beef is not played out yet—but it’s losing its appeal.

Chris R&Beef Brown vs Usher

I’m desensitized to the news of Chris Brown being involved in a physical altercation given his long history of R&Beef but the rumors of a fight with Usher caught me by surprise. Hours before both artists were scheduled to perform at the Lovers & Friends festival in Vegas (this is already terrible PR given the festival’s name) a fight went down at a nearby roller rink.

Usher and Teyana Taylor were in attendance to celebrate Brown’s birthday at the rink when Brown allegedly tried talking to Taylor, who was ignoring him. Usher stepped in to calm Brown down (the two are good friends or at least were) but the situation allegedly continued to escalate outside and Brown’s crew jumped Usher leaving him with a bloody nose.

TMZ obtained footage of Usher and Brown arguing, skates and all, at the roller rink before the outside scuffle but footage from their performances at Haters & Enemies showed no signs of injury. Still, Brown wasn’t feeling the love or friendship and got into another altercation backstage with security.

🥉 Ruling: 5/10 irrelevant

There’s not much that came out of this for any artist involved. Usher’s reputation for being an R&B lover, not a fighter, remains intact but his Lovers & Friends festival didn’t need the negative PR and Brown didn’t need 2 other entries on his rap sheet.

Lil Yachty Announces Dates for Fall 2023 Tour

Purple Floyd has revealed his global tour in support of his psychedelic album, Let’s Start Here. Titled The Field Trip, the tour will be kicking off in Washington on Sept 21st and travel across North America until Nov 5th before embarking on a European run.

Openers and supporting artists haven’t been named yet but the tour will reportedly feature a variety of fellow Quality Control artists. Presales start today and the general sale begins on Friday, May 12th. Full dates and ticket information can be found on the tour’s website here.

• Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly is released in a $2500 limited edition vinyl. Only 100 copies are available with a cover by contemporary artist Lauren Halsey and packaging designed by Gucci.

• Kaytranada & Aminé reveal Kaytraminé tracklist ft. Snoop Dogg, Big Sean, and Freddie Gibbs. The collab album is set to arrive next Friday, May 19th.

• LL Cool J says owning his masters and licensing his songs has been one of his largest income generators. In a recent interview with Million Dollaz Worth of Game.

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