Details on Kanye's New Album Leaked

You can now add Donald Trump facing RICO charges at the same time as Young Thug from the same Georgia DA, to the list of things you didn’t have on your 2023 Bingo Card 🎯 In other news today:

• Billboard Hot 100 📈 

• Discover new music with The Rap Index 🎵 

• Details on Kanye’s new album leaked 👀 

• Donald Trump was indicted on RICO charges alongside Young Thug in the state of Georgia 🇺🇸 🐍 

• Drake teases collabs with Bad Bunny & Travis Scott 🐰 

• Industry Insights 🔎 

The Billboard Hot 100

The above chart shows Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for this week. The Hot 100 ranks songs based on a combination of streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales data—all measured by Luminate.

It looks like Travis Scott and Drake aren’t headed for another #1 song like “Sicko Mode,” at least not this week, as “Meltdown” drops from #3 to #12. Travis’ dominance of the Hot 100 diminishes with “I Know ?” dropping from #11 to #22 this week. However, Utopia holds the #1 album spot on the 200 chart with 148K in second-week sales, according to Hits Double Daily.

Gunna returns to the top of the chart with “Fukumean” at #5 for the highest charting rap song, and Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” debuts at #15.

The Rap Index ft. Yeat, Rob49, EST Gee, Trippie Redd & More

The Rap Index is a way to follow and discover new music. Divided into 4 categories describing rap subgenres, 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. “A Moment With Gotti” by EST Gee, Yo Gotti (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

2. “Viral” by Rob49, Lil Durk (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

3. “Bigger Thën Everything” by Yeat (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

4. “Warriors” by Lil Yachty, 1017 ALYX 9SM (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

5. “Good Summer” by French Montana (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

6. “Supposed To Be Loved” by DJ Khaled, Lil Baby, Future, Lil Uzi Vert (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

7. “Trip Mcknight” by Trippie Redd (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

8. “Now It’s Real” by Gucci Mane (Listen to Spotify & Apple Music)

This Is What Kanye’s New Album Reportedly Sounds Like

Not long after Kanye’s Twitter account was reactivated, news leaked that he’s been back in the studio and is working on a new album. Prominent Ye leaker, Insurge, shared information about the album with moderators of the r/GoodAssSub forum on Reddit. It reportedly sounds like a combination of Ye’s debut album, The College Dropout, and 2016’s The Life of Pablo.

The description couldn’t be more thrilling to longtime Ye fans, as both albums were revered more than 2021’s Donda or 2019’s Jesus Is King. Ye and Ty Dolla $ign allegedly had a studio session recently with Playboi Carti’s Opium collective in Italy. Considering Carti worked on Donda and is a longtime Ye collaborator, it’s safe to say that’s a realistic scenario.

In the past, Ye’s favored dispersing news via fan accounts rather than media outlets, but the following should still be taken with a grain of salt. Here’s everything else revealed about the album:

• ‘Change’ is a working title for the project

• A large amount of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy level” tracks have been finished

• Many songs from the album are taken from older eras, and none are from 2022 projects Ye worked on

• There are controversial but no antisemitic mentions on the album

• Ye’s verses are high energy, and the album has “insane” features

• The music is heartfelt, like “Runaway”

• Ye’s moved on from the “listening party” idea but is still into showcasing stuff live

• Tentatively slated for an October release

If you’re a Ye fan, then you know it’s standard for him to change the tracklist multiple times before he releases an album. Variations of the tracklist for the new album have included notorious Ye leaks like “Alien” (2019 leak), “Heartbreaker” (originally from MBDTF), and “Where is The Love.” I wouldn’t count on any of these songs making the album, as the final tracklist will likely be influenced by Ye’s headspace if and when he decides to release it.

You may remember Travis Scott’s Utopia featured three repurposed Ye songs that originally appeared on a variation of the 2020 Donda tracklist—”Thank God” is from Ye’s “Thank God I Breathe,” “God’s Country” kept the same name, and “Telekinesis” is from Ye’s “Future Sounds.”

Context for those of you out touching grass

Ye was brought out as the only special guest during Travis Scott’s Utopia performance at Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy. Travis introduced him, saying there would be no Utopia or Travis Scott without Kanye West. This was Ye’s first return to the stage since he made antisemitic remarks in October 2022 that led to the cancellation of multiple brand deals and backlash from the public.

Adidas has begun selling its massive inventory of Yeezy stock, but not everyone is on board. Foot Locker refused to stock Yeezys, citing difficulties integrating a charitable element into sales and affirming their no-tolerance policy for antisemitism or hate speech.

Why this matters

Before this news leaked, Ye’s recent behavior was indicative of a calculated return to the spotlight. Hints included his Twitter reinstatement (he’s utilized social media for every album release), the live performance, and his omnipresent influence on Travis Scott’s Utopia. Notice that Travis, although less impulsive, moved very similarly when he came back into the public eye post-Astroworld tragedy.

It’s comparable to a soft relationship launch on IG—you’re not going to abruptly announce your retirement from the streets with a PDA-filled carousel. You’ll slowly transition from the streets to the sidewalk before you eventually walk into the house of monogamy. The hard launch is symbolic of an album release after public condemnation.

RICO Trio: Kanye’s Former Publicist, Donald Trump, and Young Thug Face Charges in Georgia

Donald Trump is officially RICO buddies with Young Thug as he’s being indicted by the same District Attorney, Fani Willis, that put Thug behind bars last year. The crossover between politics and rap sounds like a Starz series produced by 50 Cent in the making. But it gets wilder—Kanye’s former publicist is one of Trump’s co-defendants in the RICO.

Trump is facing a 41-count indictment for election interference in Georgia in 2020. This marks the fourth criminal case Trump has been indicted on. He has until August 25th to turn himself in and will have his mugshot taken when he does. He’s being charged with 13 felonies in total, including RICO, conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, and more.

Kanye’s former publicist, Trevian Kutti, is one of 18 co-defendants in Trump’s RICO. She’s facing two counts of conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings and influencing witnesses.

Kutti was allegedly Ye’s publicist in 2018 until a spokesperson for the rapper said that she was no longer a part of his team in 2021. In great company, Kutti was briefly the publicist for R. Kelly before she worked for Ye.

Context for those of you out touching grass

Last week, Trump tried to discredit DA Willis by accusing her of having an affair with Thug’s YSL co-founder, Fremondo “Mondo” Crenshaw. It was the first bizarre connection between Thug and Trump’s legal troubles before the official RICO. Trump’s allegations stemmed from a 2023 Rolling Stone interview with Mondo that did not mention a sexual relationship but spoke to the past when Willis was still a lawyer and represented Mondo in a 2019 case.

Why this matters

Coverage of Trump’s indictment is insightful for Thug’s case due to the similarities in charges. Defense Attorney, Kenneth White, told CNN that a federal RICO is usually hard to prove and therefore used sparingly. However, “Georgia RICO is a different animal. It’s easier to prove. The point is it’s used very aggressively there.” Thug’s residence in the state of Georgia likely worked against him, making it easier for DA Willis to hit him with a RICO than if he lived in another state.

A key difference between Georgia’s law and other states is prosecutors are allowed to pull activity that took place outside Georgia and use it in their indictments if it may be part of a broader conspiracy. Legal experts told CNN there’s a strategic advantage of the Georgia RICO at trial to be able to tie alleged conduct into a case without having an evidentiary hearing.

Drake Teases Collabs With Bad Bunny & Travis Scott

Now that Utopia has dropped, the next anticipated rap release is Drake’s For All The Dogs. During his recent tour stop in LA, Drake took a moment to shout out Bad Bunny and announce that they have a zesty collaboration on the way. The last time Benito and Champagne Papi linked up was in 2018 for Bunny’s song “MIA.”

News of their collab was overshadowed by another zesty moment from the show featuring Bad Bunny and rumored girlfriend Kendall Jenner, showing PDA for the first time in public. Kim Kardashian was also spotted reciting the words to her cameo in Drake’s “Search & Rescue.”

Elsewhere on social media, fans read into Drake’s recent IG story of Travis Scott screaming into a mic with the text “dialed in” as a hint that the duo has another song on the way. Even without a hint, it’s a safe bet that Travis will appear on For All The Dogs, giving the duo another opportunity at a #1 single.

Chief Keef also commented, “Don’t forget them vocals crody,” on Drake’s recent IG post, hinting the pair have something cooking.

• YouTube Music is adding a TikTok-style short-form video feed called “Samples.” The feed is designed to promote music discovery, showing glimpses of the artist, music video, or song that’s being recommended.

• Don Toliver, G Herbo, Joey Bada$$, and Yung Miami are headlining Diddy’s 2023 Revolt World Summit. The three-day event will feature keynote speakers, panels, and performances on Sept 22-24.

• Travis Scott shares his Circus Maximus film on YouTube, making it available for free. There are also four music videos from the movie for “Hyaena,” “Sirens,” “Modern Jam,” and “Delresto.”

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