In this episode 'Billboard Unfiltered,' Billboard staffers Trevor Anderson, Kyle Denis, Damien Scott, Carl Lamarre discuss LiAngelo Ball's rapid rise in the Hip-Hop world leading with his “Tweaker” track. They also break down Drake’s “Fighting Irish Freestyle,” his alleged fake DM’s with UMG, Lil Baby’s new album, ‘WHAM,’ and his career, and more!
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00:00So if you don't drop that by like, Valentine's Day, you gotta save it.
00:04I can't see Drake waiting that long to drop something that's going to be that.
00:08All you hear from every spot is the B.A.B. album.
00:12That's all you hear.
00:13The Young Thug track is here.
00:15The Glow song is over here.
00:17Numbers like freaking tweakers at three million on YouTube.
00:22And it was surpassing some tracks on Lil Baby's album.
00:26All right, let's relax.
00:26I mean, on YouTube, that's what they're doing.
00:29That's for life.
00:32Yo, yo, yo, what's going on, y'all?
00:34And welcome to a fresh episode of Billboard Unfiltered.
00:38Gentlemen.
00:39Happy New Year.
00:40Happy fucking New Year.
00:422025, folks.
00:43Somebody that decided to bring in the chaos from 2024 into 2025.
00:49Mr. Aubrey Graham.
00:50Yes.
00:51Drizzy Drake Rodgers kicked off 2025 with Conductor Williams freestyle.
00:58The Fighting Irish freestyle.
01:00Three minutes long.
01:02Had some bars in there, I'd like to say.
01:06Social media went into a tizzy over the freestyle.
01:09Had some choice words.
01:11A lot of people pointing the finger, saying he may be going after LeBron James.
01:16Clearly going after him.
01:16Yeah, he's going after LeBron James.
01:19Who else played for the Fighting Irish?
01:23There's a lot of guys.
01:25DeMar DeRozan possibly caught astray.
01:29And then also, obviously, the fake DM that came out yesterday.
01:34If you guys missed it, there was a DM going around.
01:38You know, Drake talking about the whole UMG situation.
01:42DJ Akademiks came out and said that Drake DM about NotLikeUsUMG was fake.
01:49And it was...
01:50AI is a scary thing, man.
01:51Very scary.
01:52It was AI generated.
01:53I will say it reads fake to me.
01:57That's a little butt comment.
01:58And I'm just...
01:59No, but it's just like, yeah, it doesn't look real.
02:02It doesn't sound real.
02:03It doesn't sound like how Drake talks either all the way.
02:06And also, I just don't believe that he'd be discussing stuff like this in Instagram DMs.
02:10That's just not believable.
02:11This guy's a multi, multi, multi, multi, multi, multi-millionaire who has been successful for
02:16over a decade.
02:18Has a staff of lawyers around him, a staff of business managers around him.
02:23There's no way in hell this guy...
02:25I mean, Drake's made some missteps.
02:27But there's no way in hell that he would just randomly tell somebody.
02:32Me and Universal is like if Nike was funding a campaign about LeBron shooting on his wife.
02:36Yeah, that sounds like Azalea Banks.
02:38It does not sound like that, right?
02:40Yeah, that's the part.
02:42He knows now if anything that he says puts in any writing.
02:46Right, yeah.
02:46Like the potential for leak and TMZ exclusion.
02:50I mean, people, anything you say, if you say,
02:53hi, somebody gonna sell that shit.
02:54Like, damn, Drake texted.
02:55He said, hey, you gotta be smarter than that.
02:58For a guy who raps about not trusting anybody, I believe he would not trust somebody with
03:02this information via text message.
03:06Also, it makes it seem as if the shit that Kendrick said was true.
03:11He's like, this is like if someone said this about this person.
03:13I'm not saying I did it, but it's like, bro, there's no way this is...
03:18There's absolutely no chance this was real.
03:20But it definitely made everybody start making up fan fiction for a good 24 hours.
03:28I do have a question for you guys, because this has been a thread right now on the internet
03:33regarding Drake.
03:34Do you guys feel like, yeah, he is taking on this victim role?
03:37And then just the overall thoughts on the freestyle.
03:39So if you sue your label, I know the story is that this lawsuit was in the works already.
03:49And it's not wholly based on the outcome of the beef, but the timing says otherwise
03:57or alludes to it being otherwise.
04:01I don't know, man, if you sue your label because you say that they helped your opponent beat
04:08you, that's kind of you taking the victim role.
04:14Yeah, I feel like it's less a question of if he's taking the victim role and whether
04:17or not we like it.
04:19I actually don't mind it.
04:20I feel like if you're going to do it, do it.
04:22And maybe you take it to really interesting places.
04:26I don't think an interesting place is LeBron James, though.
04:28And I think that's where my gripe with the freestyle was, because I thought it was some
04:31really great rapping, some of the best rapping we've heard from him in recent months.
04:36But I wouldn't waste this on LeBron James right now.
04:39I just feel like there are more important things that he needs to be addressing culturally
04:43within himself that he does talk about a little bit throughout the songs.
04:47But LeBron, he's still tatted on it, bro.
04:52I mean, to that point.
04:53It's like, unless you have booked the appointment to remove that tattoo, I actually don't really
04:58give a fuck what you have to say about him on this track.
05:00But that's probably why he's hurt, to the point that, yo, we family, bro.
05:03Then call that nigga.
05:06Like, what?
05:06Yeah, people are trying to say, like, LeBron.
05:09My thing is, like, he's not a musician.
05:11This would be more interesting to me if LeBron would just hop on a track and respond, but
05:15that's not going to happen.
05:17I'm not interested in what he's offering right now.
05:19Like, if LeBron hopped on a song with Kendrick and was like, yo, fuck you, Drake.
05:25Sure.
05:26But to be upset that he's dancing to a record or he's enjoying a record.
05:33Come on, man.
05:34Who didn't like Not Like Us?
05:35Besides you.
05:36Oh, Man of the Garden is good.
05:38Not Like Us is good.
05:39Drop some heat.
05:40Like, the fuck?
05:41Yeah, I mean, there were talks that LeBron had allegedly tried to reach out to Drake,
05:47and Drake has just been getting every chance to talk to him.
05:51Which is like...
05:52That hurt was deep.
05:54I get it, you know?
05:55I don't get it.
05:56Apparently, you know, LeBron got to retire his summer traditions, and he's not going
06:00to be in Toronto for Carabana after like a decade and shit.
06:03But like, that's sad.
06:05That sucks.
06:06Y'all should call each other and figure this out.
06:09Girl, man shit.
06:10This is not a musical thing I think we need to be bringing into 2025.
06:16Yeah.
06:16Yeah.
06:17I think it'll be interesting to see where Drake goes from here.
06:20He teased that more records with Conductor are on the way.
06:25He does have his Australia tour gonna kick off February 9th, same day as Kendrick's
06:30performance at the Super Bowl.
06:32So let's see.
06:33Quick question for y'all.
06:34Yeah, hilarious.
06:35What do you guys think the potential impact of this P&D collab album would be now?
06:41I feel like it might have done something a bit more like in quarter four last year.
06:46I don't know how it lands, as in like, Drake is setting the tone for his year with this
06:51collab album, if this is the first full length release that we get from him.
06:54So you know what's interesting?
06:55I think he might push back this Party album, because I saw Party tweet P5.
07:01Oh.
07:02So maybe Party is going to start putting the focus to P5, and Drake's like, you know what?
07:08I mean, to be fair, P4, you know, it obviously, you know, debuted top 10, you know, some of
07:14the songs make it to the morning, you know, Resentment, some of the things are floating,
07:18probably better than like a Party single in a long, long time.
07:22So, you know, just from Party individually, Party is really having a moment.
07:26So that kind of makes sense to try to capitalize on it, whether it's something new, whether
07:30it's a deluxe, an extension or whatever.
07:32To the point about the Drake and Party tape, I mean, sonically, because he was talking
07:38about, we don't know what it sounds like, obviously, but it was supposed to have a fall
07:41vibe to it.
07:42So I assume something that's kind of slower, something a little more cozy.
07:45So if you don't drop that by like, Valentine's Day, you got to save it.
07:49Like, I mean, if you're gonna have a, you know, if you're gonna do like more of a, you
07:53know, sort of, I don't know, island inspired uptempo kind of spring or something, summer
07:57something.
07:58Okay, sure.
08:00But I also think like, I can't see Drake waiting that long to drop something that's going to
08:05be that.
08:05I mean, even with this Five Guys freestyle, every time we hear something from Drake, you
08:09know, it sort of waters down the impact, I think, of what that next major project is
08:13going to be.
08:14Because it's not like we haven't heard from him in a while.
08:16It's not like, you know, the anticipation is going to be, Drake's been quiet for six
08:19months.
08:20We know he's building up the arsenal.
08:21We know he's ready to strike.
08:22So if he doesn't drop this tape, and I think, you know, I think people kind of look at that
08:27as a little weird of a choice now.
08:29It feels like the new thing has to be a full response.
08:32That's whether it's revenge mode, whether it's, you know, back on my pop, you know,
08:37run the table shit, whatever the fuck it's gonna be.
08:39It probably needs to be Drake by himself and just set the tone that you the nigga again,
08:44and I run this game and I run these charts and I run these streams or whatever.
08:47And you had your little year.
08:49And that was cool.
08:50And that was fun.
08:50But like, nigga, I run the game.
08:55That's that's the approach that I'm looking at.
08:56I just, you know, and then, yeah, I just, I don't know, man.
09:01He is he.
09:03Like, if you got heat, drop the heat.
09:07But I think people want heat.
09:08Like, I don't think people like singing heat.
09:10Like, I think people want like bullet heat.
09:12I think people are just like desperate for good Drake music like this.
09:16The fighting Irish freestyle, like it was the best received Drake song in a long time.
09:22And, you know, I was surprised it got taken down because the response to it was so good.
09:29And I think people are just like thirsty for the Drake that they love.
09:34Like, this was like a new Drake song, but it's still a Drake song that, you know,
09:39if it's so kind of we know who he's talking to, but it's still so kind of obtuse in the
09:45Drake way that it could have dropped like any year.
09:49You know, he's like, the themes are the same, which people are like,
09:53oh yeah, this is what I love about Drake.
09:54Like, this is the bag that I like him.
09:56I think if he has like a fire P&D album, like that should go.
10:01Like, bad music is not going to hurt you.
10:04If it's bad, you know, that's not the story.
10:08But it's hard for me to believe that him and P&D would make a bad album together.
10:13So I think we just got to wait and see.
10:16I think this bodes well for my 2024 or prediction.
10:20I made it 2024.
10:22Three Drake projects.
10:24Just need future to get it together.
10:26But we will wait and see.
10:27We're only a week and a half in.
10:29So we can get a Vibes Cartel joint mixtape.
10:33If Drake, if he gets a Vibes album, I might.
10:43That's all I can say.
10:46I mean, that's some spring summer shit that would go hard.
10:48Like, what?
10:51That's a money project right there.
10:52Quick shout out to Mr. Kyle Dennis.
10:55Cover story with Vibes Cartel.
10:56Make sure you guys check that out at billboard.com.
10:59We know which side he's on.
11:01Team the boy.
11:03Basically, I mean, I was a little shocked at.
11:06But not like super shocked because of, you know,
11:09Drake's affiliation with PopCon.
11:12But the fact that my man said, I don't even listen to Kendrick.
11:16So I wouldn't know.
11:17What does he rap?
11:19I don't know.
11:19It was funny to keep my face straight during that moment,
11:22because I was like, you have a song with Favio Foran.
11:25Yeah.
11:25You know who Kendrick Lamar is.
11:27What does he rap is hilarious to me.
11:30What does he rap?
11:31What does he rap?
11:33And then he proceeded to go ahead and rap God's Plan.
11:35So he really do be writing for Drake.
11:38Yeah.
11:38I mean, you know, I'm sure Drake saw that and was like.
11:41Yes, Drake is more in tune with Jamaican.
11:44The culture is a bigger and better artist.
11:46I said, damn, you just driving the knife into Kenny's back.
11:50I mean, he's from Toronto.
11:51Toronto is like, you know, like West Indy connection.
11:54It's like a second Brooklyn.
11:55And Drake and Vibes go back back.
11:57Like, I don't know if Vibes and Kendrick have any kind of overlap at all.
12:00That's the loyalty he wanted from LeBron.
12:03That's what he wanted.
12:05There we go.
12:08See LeBron take notes.
12:09Vibes Cartel knows what loyalty is.
12:11I will say this is interesting, though, before we go and pivot.
12:15Find Your Love shot in Jamaica.
12:17Movado was in the video.
12:19If you are in tune with the culture, Movado, Vibes.
12:25Not the best of friends.
12:26But they're besties now.
12:27We love it.
12:28Peace.
12:28They've made up at the time.
12:29He wanted him to come out.
12:31He wanted to come out at the show, but Movado was not in town.
12:34Which means LeBron and Drake could maybe reconcile.
12:36This is always a chance.
12:37I think LeBron and Drake are going to be fine.
12:40That really is the reason why I'm so over this before it really has begun.
12:44Y'all are going to be okay.
12:46I don't think there's actually a world in which there's a legitimate rift between them
12:50that lasts multiple years.
12:52You have a tattoo of a man on your body.
12:54Black Peace.
12:55That's your boy.
12:57One thing I am a fan of.
12:58I'm curious to hear y'all thoughts about this new Lil Baby album.
13:02Wham!
13:03Kicking off 2025.
13:06Lil Baby's back.
13:08Yo, he's back already.
13:09According to Mr. Damien Scott.
13:11Number one album.
13:13Potentially.
13:14We're looking at a potential.
13:15Potential.
13:17Look.
13:17Westy, let us know.
13:19Well, there's a lot of...
13:20Look, obviously the Bad Bunny album came out last week.
13:23It came out on Sunday.
13:23So that kind of messes up the tracking a little bit for him because he's not got all seven days.
13:29But the Bunny stuff has been streaming really strong.
13:32The Baby stuff, it seemed to start out the week pretty strong.
13:36But I think the streams for Dumb Dumb and Dumber and a couple other tracks
13:39haven't quite kept that same level over the course of the week.
13:41So it could be one of those things where, you know, you start off right.
13:45But maybe it catches up by the end.
13:46Don't forget SZA, SOS, you know, with a lot of deluxe.
13:49Number one the past couple of weeks.
13:51That's gonna be pretty steady as well.
13:53So all three of those things, you know, in the mix right now.
13:57So it's not really a runaway for anybody.
13:59So, you know.
14:02I mean, last two were number one.
14:03So obviously I'm sure, you know, the team would hope and look for that.
14:07But I know, I mean, SZA, Bad Bunny, that's some tough competition.
14:10So let's, yeah, let's get some context for Baby.
14:13You know, this album, 15 tracks, heavy hitters.
14:17First Young Thug, verse Post Jail on Dumb Dumb and Dumber,
14:21which also features Future, Redbone with Glorilla,
14:24record with Travis Scott, 21 Savage.
14:27He just put out the extended version of Wham!
14:29Four tracks, which is direct to customer.
14:32You could listen to it on the site, not on streaming yet.
14:34Four extra tracks, also features one with Future.
14:37Try to get them album sales.
14:39I ain't mad at it.
14:40So despite that all sounds good, the reviews online haven't been the best.
14:48The reviews online or the reaction from the fans?
14:51Reactions.
14:51The reactions, I should say.
14:52I mean, the reaction from people on social media.
14:54Right.
14:55The fan reaction hasn't been the best.
14:57But if you're Damien Scott, this is a fucking banger.
15:00Please tell us why.
15:02I think it's a good album.
15:08I don't think it's, you know, it's not my high watermark album for him.
15:15But I think, you know, coming off his last project, I think this is really strong.
15:23And I think he's like regaining his footing, you know, just in Atlanta with,
15:28you know, some billboard staffers for work.
15:32Get off the plane.
15:34My flight was well delayed.
15:35So I get in at like 1230.
15:38Airport's closed.
15:39Everyone's like fucking closing up and shutting down.
15:41So it's just like the workers there.
15:43You know, it's like all young people like closing up shit.
15:46All you hear from every spot is the baby.
15:51It's all you hear.
15:52I'm walking through the airport.
15:54I have my fucking headphones on.
15:58I take it off and I'm like, yo.
16:01The Young Thug track is here.
16:03The Glow song is over here.
16:05Like everyone that's working at the airport right now, because no one's around to tell
16:09them to turn it off.
16:10They're all like blasting this album.
16:12Like I wish I recorded it because I was like everyone on Twitter last week was like, man,
16:17this is whack.
16:18I'm like in this guy's city at the airport and people are blasting this shit.
16:23And that's a big indicator.
16:24So, you know, is it a classic?
16:27No.
16:27But I think it's a strong offering that, you know, I think will be looked back on as, you
16:37know, maybe top, the top half of his catalog, maybe.
16:42And you know, my turn is very, very high.
16:45Yeah.
16:45I mean, my turn is amazing.
16:47I told you it made me go back and listen to the album with him and Dirk, which I was like,
16:51I love that album so much.
16:52And the energy on that album is like missed.
16:55I think that's like one thing that we don't get on this album is just like even, you know,
16:59the verse he had on that Drake song that everyone was like, holy shit, this kid's next.
17:02Yeah.
17:03Like that kind of like wants and needs, you know, unbridled energy is just not there anymore.
17:10And I think that's what a lot of people loved about him was like, it just felt like he was
17:13so immediate.
17:14And, you know, so good project.
17:17Okay.
17:19Not the worst.
17:20That's fair.
17:20To the point of the album, like, okay, when I heard it, when I heard it through, yes.
17:25I wish there had been probably more variety.
17:28Like when I hear, like when I look back at some of the albums of 2024 that really, I
17:33guess, set the tone.
17:34If I'm thinking in particular off the top, Gorilla, Kendrick, Tyler, I think one of the
17:39things that made those albums so successful, you know, just really out of the gate is the
17:43variety of sounds and guest stars that they brought through.
17:47One of the things that I was looking at with this baby album, you know, in particular,
17:49I know he's dropped a couple of singles and things.
17:51I was trying to see like, okay, what's, what are the songs that sound like, okay, this
17:54was easy to get a pop.
17:56You probably, of course, go to the first ones that I have the features on them.
17:59I'm not even necessarily sure that like, like we'll take Glow, for example, because
18:03Glow's on a crazy ride.
18:04I'm not really sure that I think, oh, the Glow record is like the one to pull out.
18:07And, you know, oh, that's an instant radio.
18:09That was a disappointment.
18:10Redbone.
18:11I think, I mean, obviously the Thug and Future one will probably be, you know, I mean, like
18:15we ain't here Thug and I made it, we know Future does well.
18:17So I think that might be the case that was streaming the best.
18:19So I think what's interesting, and Kyle, maybe you could help me out here.
18:22Baby was somebody who we had put on that potential next generation of artists to lead
18:30the way for the 2020s.
18:32Where did that all change?
18:34I want to say the album immediately following my turn.
18:40Was that the one with Hay on it?
18:42Yeah.
18:43It's only me.
18:44I think it really was that where it was at that point.
18:47I was looking to Baby to see where he would push himself.
18:51Yeah.
18:52It didn't have to be like Baby links up with Conductor Williams and gives us,
18:56it didn't have to be anything that drastic.
18:58But where are you pushing yourself?
19:00Lyrically, like tonally, as you said before, maybe we get a couple new cooks in the kitchen.
19:05Yeah.
19:05And I didn't get that on It's Only Me.
19:07And I'm not getting that on this record.
19:08I listened to it again this morning, and I liked that lesson more than my first two times.
19:13But I think my biggest issue with the record was a lack of statement tracks.
19:18There weren't many songs where I was like, oh, this is an incident.
19:21I want to run this one back.
19:22Or I'm going to remember to pull this one out and put it on a playlist afterwards.
19:26Everything was fine, good, listenable.
19:29But I wasn't really getting the urge to go back and press replay on these tracks,
19:34which made me kind of sad.
19:35Because this is the guy who gave me Emotionally Scarred.
19:37It's the guy who gave me We Paid.
19:39He has some stone cold, incredible records that he's capable of making.
19:43And I wasn't seeing that all the way on this one.
19:46And for someone who we were putting on that new class, new jam pantheon,
19:51he needs to be doing that for me to keep him in those conversations.
19:54And I want to see him doing that.
19:56So it's not even like a, you know, a fuck baby.
19:58But it's more just like, I think you can go a little bit harder than where you're at right now.
20:03And maybe that just means you lock in with a new EP, a new executive producer on the next record.
20:09Someone who can steer you in a more streamlined direction.
20:12Because I think he's in the right direction.
20:14You know, this wasn't a long album with 41 minutes, something like that.
20:1715 tracks.
20:18I thought the first half was much stronger than the first half of It's Only Me.
20:23So he's making progress in terms of sequencing and stuff like that.
20:26So like Dame said, it's almost there, but it's not quite all the way there yet with this one.
20:31I think it'll be interesting to see,
20:33especially if he's en route to get his fourth number one album.
20:37So, you know, if you get another number one album,
20:40you're kind of like, well, I must have did something right.
20:43But I think he had to have seen...
20:45Oh, yeah.
20:46It's kind of like a microcosm of how people have been talking about Drake recently also,
20:50where it's like the numbers say one thing,
20:51but then the reception seems to be a bit muted on the ground level.
20:55How do you square those two things?
20:56And what's the long tail of, you know, obviously you get the instant,
21:00you know, sort of prize out there.
21:01But does it hang on for weeks, months?
21:04Especially coming out in January.
21:05Is it in conversation at the end of the year?
21:07You know, top albums of the year or Grammys or whatever,
21:10you know, milestone you're looking at.
21:11Like those things in the long run, too.
21:14Yeah.
21:14I think, you know, as we continue to charge forward,
21:18somebody that's leading the conversation right now,
21:21hottest rapper of 2020.
21:22Bye!
21:23Hey, hey, hey!
21:24Mr. LiAngelo Ball!
21:27Woo, woo, woo!
21:28I've been swerving on the corner, man.
21:31Come on!
21:32It's been seven days.
21:33We ready to...
21:33We are talking about...
21:35Hottest rapper of the week.
21:36OK.
21:37Brother, one half of the Ball brothers,
21:39in case you guys have not...
21:40One third.
21:41Don't do that!
21:42Oh, I was thinking about him and Lonzo
21:44in terms of collaboration.
21:45Shout out to LaMelo.
21:46Shout out to LaMelo, you know,
21:48all-star season he's having there.
21:497 to 25, but shit.
21:50He's still hooping.
21:52LiAngelo put out Tweaker.
21:55And if you guys haven't seen it,
21:57I want to say it's a little bit of nostalgic.
22:00Nelly meets Cash Money.
22:02A little sprinkle of Boozy in there.
22:05And it's everywhere on social media.
22:10The writers include LiAngelo and his brother,
22:13Lonzo Ball.
22:14Point guard for the Chicago Bulls.
22:16What did the brother say?
22:16I thought he said he didn't.
22:18He said all he...
22:20All you can credit me with is the cover art,
22:22is what he says.
22:23It's interesting to say that because Lonzo,
22:26when he first got drafted,
22:27was rapping and putting out tracks.
22:29So...
22:30Yeah.
22:31It's interesting.
22:32He was the rapper.
22:33He was the rapper.
22:33I'm not even going to walk back this fact.
22:39He said he wasn't, but wasn't.
22:41I mean, but either way,
22:42numbers like freaking...
22:44Tweaker's at 3 million on YouTube.
22:47And it was surpassing some tracks
22:50on Lil Baby's album.
22:51All right, let's relax.
22:52I mean, on YouTube.
22:53I mean, I don't know what they're doing.
22:54Let's relax.
22:55I don't know what they're doing on YouTube.
22:56So I am curious to hear you guys' thoughts.
22:59You know, you have...
23:00He's getting co-signed from the Detroit Lions.
23:03The Brooklyn Nets.
23:05You have Moneybagg Yo and Boosie
23:07offering their services to get on the track.
23:10Is this song truly a banger?
23:13Or are we blowing it out of proportions?
23:15Both?
23:17Like, both of them?
23:18Both options?
23:20It's a banger.
23:20Like, it sounds great.
23:21It sounds...
23:22It's a very fun song.
23:23Like, I don't know what the verses are.
23:25I don't really listen to the verses,
23:27but it's a very catchy song.
23:30And it's...
23:31Yeah, it sounds like some shit
23:32that came out when I was in college.
23:34I love it for that.
23:36But people are wiling, bro.
23:39People are wiling.
23:40I think it's a banger, right?
23:43I think it's a banger.
23:44But I also do think probably our reaction
23:46is being colored by who LiAngelo Ball is.
23:49I'm not sure if this song
23:50makes this kind of impact
23:51if any random nigga drops it.
23:54It's still a banger regardless for me.
23:58I don't know.
23:58I think it's kind of crazy
23:59that he launched an actual viral hit
24:02three days into the new year
24:03and just hit the ground running.
24:05But I think what's cool
24:06is that it's giving younger audiences
24:10a legitimate hip-hop moment.
24:12This chick came up on WorldStarHipHop
24:14on YouTube first
24:15before it went to streaming.
24:16That's dope.
24:17I haven't thought of WorldStarHipHop
24:19in so many years.
24:19That's really cool
24:20that that's where he went first
24:21before it went to DSPs.
24:23There's a whole class of hip-hop listeners
24:25that don't have those experiences
24:27and can only talk about those experiences
24:29based on what they've read.
24:30So for them to have one of those of their own,
24:31that's really dope.
24:32You know, one of those locker room moments.
24:34Everyone's going crazy over this new banger.
24:36I think that's really cool.
24:37A nice, light-hearted way to enter the year.
24:39Would love to hear Boozy on it.
24:41Don't really want to hear Moneybagg on it.
24:43I don't really care to hear that at all.
24:45No shade, Moneybagg.
24:46I love to hear Moneybagg on it.
24:47You keep doing you.
24:49But yeah, also just like-
24:50We're being enemies all day on this shit.
24:52And I'm really excited to see
24:53what this means for the further melding
24:57of sports and music in 2025.
24:59Obviously, we got the Super Bowl coming up
25:01and we got Angel Reese on this Vogue cover.
25:03Like, it's shaping up to be a massive year on that front.
25:05So, LeAngelo is just, you know, a couple steps ahead.
25:09Yeah, I think it's interesting with Jello
25:11that he is already being courted by major labels.
25:14And we're only a week and a half into this.
25:16He just got asked to do Rolling Loud LA,
25:19which he accepted.
25:21I heard, you know, sources saying
25:22he's going to have a busy All-Star weekend as well.
25:25So, I just feel for my brother Dame Lillard.
25:29Brother Dame.
25:30Because you got cats out here
25:31that have been doing it for years.
25:33But as I said, if Dame was not so good at basketball,
25:37people would take his rapping more seriously.
25:40Is there also a barrier track that's as clear-cut as a banger?
25:44I mean, there's that question.
25:45Yeah.
25:46Talented rapper.
25:47Which is a huge question.
25:48No comment.
25:50No comment.
25:50Yeah, no.
25:51I think realistically, I mean, Trevor,
25:52like when you look at the track
25:54and can this actually sustain and become something?
25:58I mean, that's like the hardest question to answer.
26:01Just because we know how stuff can blow up so quick.
26:04And then a week late.
26:06Like, I think I've mentioned this to you before.
26:08Like, I guess it was last year.
26:10I remember like when Lil Yachty's Poland came out.
26:12And that was like a crazy thing for a week.
26:15You know, I thought like the little, you know, I'm like, what?
26:16The cultural hit.
26:17And I was like, okay, wait a minute.
26:18Yachty's really starting to come through.
26:21Like, you know, it's coming through on the right places,
26:22on TikTok, all that kind of stuff.
26:24And it was huge for like a week and a half.
26:26And then it kind of just stopped.
26:28So just, I mean, I'm not saying
26:30this is going to be the track for this,
26:31but you know, it's hard to tell five days in
26:34how much, you know, long tail this has.
26:38Right now, of course, it's getting hotter and hotter.
26:39And, you know, you sign on with the label.
26:41I don't know if they'll try to push this to radio
26:43or try to, you know, amplify this even bigger.
26:46Sometimes that can work against it.
26:47You know, when you get the machine,
26:48some people want to feel like it's organic
26:50and really want to, are invested in that language.
26:52So when you get a little too commercial,
26:54sometimes people kind of, all right, you know,
26:56sold out, got a big check.
26:58So, you know, we'll see what the options are.
27:00I do think something like Rolling Loud,
27:03those kinds of bookings are actually really good
27:05because, you know, part of me is like, okay,
27:08to what Dane was kind of saying,
27:09maybe are we doing too much too quick with this?
27:11But at the same time-
27:12Yes, yes, we are.
27:14Okay, well, but at the same time, you know,
27:18we like to criticize some of the institutions
27:19for not jumping on things.
27:21You see, this is moving.
27:22You see, it has numbers.
27:23You see, it has impact.
27:23You see, you know, Angel Reese
27:25and everybody out there making TikToks
27:26and, you know, within two, three days,
27:29everybody's talking about it.
27:30So why wouldn't you jump on this thing
27:32that you know clearly people are interested in?
27:34I'm not mad at people jumping on it,
27:35but it's like when people start saying shit like,
27:37oh, he's like outstreaming Baby.
27:39I'm like, what are we, like, why?
27:43To be fair, to be fair,
27:44you brought up Baby's album
27:46getting played in Atlanta airport.
27:47I feel like that should be expected.
27:50Like, I would be shocked if they weren't playing
27:51the Baby album in Atlanta airport.
27:53I said that because people on Twitter were saying,
27:55like, no one's playing this album.
27:56It's not, it's not getting any burn.
27:58This album sucks.
27:59But you go to Hartsfield Jackson.
28:00Yeah.
28:02That would move me more.
28:03You go to Terminal D.
28:04Like, I wouldn't be impressed by watching
28:06to Bodega and the Bronx
28:07that you're playing the new A Boogie joint.
28:08Like, I'm expecting that.
28:09That would be fire.
28:09But Springfield, y'all bumping the new A Boogie.
28:12Okay, like, maybe it is moving.
28:14And so the question is,
28:15are people in Chino Hills, LA
28:18playing, playing Swerve?
28:20Swerving them corners, hell yeah!
28:23Like, yo, if a random rapper we didn't know
28:26came out of Chino Hills, LA
28:27and made this song, what would we say?
28:28We would laugh and be like,
28:29why the fuck are you trying to do New Orleans cosplay?
28:32But hey, that's not what happened.
28:34I will say this.
28:35If I was a hater
28:37and I look at that Rolling Loud lineup
28:39and I see Jello, he is very high up.
28:42Very high up.
28:43On that bill.
28:44I'm fucking sick.
28:45And I'm an LA rapper.
28:46I'm fucking sick.
28:47Who's been putting in work for 10 years.
28:48I am sick.
28:49Yeah.
28:50Maybe it's rising tides.
28:52Look, he's hot.
28:54The marketing's out there.
28:55Cats gonna come.
28:56And maybe they stick around.
28:58See your set, you get some fans off it too.
29:00I don't want to hear shit about Ian ever again.
29:02Look, to Dame's point,
29:05if I'm a nigga that's been out here,
29:06grinded, trying to make a Rolling Loud bill.
29:10Make the festival.
29:10And I see Jello on there.
29:12Well, you need to link up with G Poozy and whoever.
29:15Who produced it?
29:17I don't know.
29:18Who produced it?
29:19G Poozy.
29:20Shout out to G Poozy.
29:21I do not know.
29:22You know what?
29:23Let me find it.
29:23Shout out to G Poozy.
29:25Don't do my man dirty like that.
29:26Glocky.
29:28Cause listen, yo.
29:29They about to be hot 100.
29:31You know what I'm saying?
29:31Snams.
29:32Y'all about to get their name right.
29:33Maybe, maybe.
29:34Kunica and Glocky.
29:35You need to hook up with Kunica and Glocky.
29:38Kunica sound like Monica Cousin or something.
29:41Like Kunica, Kunica, Kunica.
29:43They finna get the biggest royalty check of they life though.
29:45I guarantee you that.
29:46I do wonder if like,
29:48this not having a super big snippet lead time,
29:51because I feel like quite a few songs kind of got kneecapped
29:54by being snippets circulating for like several months.
29:56And then when they hit streaming,
29:58the moment had passed.
29:59But this only was circulating for like four or five days
30:01before it hit YouTube.
30:02So that might help it.
30:04I, I don't, I can't think of another like single
30:07that had such a quick lead time in such recent months.
30:10Yeah.
30:11I want everything to be dropping those teasers forever.
30:13But like this was like real touch and go.
30:15And I mean, look, being a, being a lead ball helps.
30:18Yeah.
30:19And who's, who's, who's Ian's manager?
30:21Boo.
30:22Is it?
30:23Isn't Boo Ian's manager?
30:26You talking about Akon's brother Boo?
30:28Yeah.
30:28Really?
30:29Am I bugging?
30:30I didn't know that.
30:30That's kind of nuts.
30:32I have no idea.
30:32Oh, I thought, I thought that was like,
30:34I thought that was done.
30:35I was like, no, I already was crashed at that.
30:36I mean, it was like defending him heavy
30:39when everyone was shitting on him.
30:40So I thought that was like, I thought.
30:42I just wanted to see the young brother win, man.
30:44I'm just saying.
30:44Which, which one?
30:45Ian.
30:46Oh, oh.
30:49I've been rude for young talent.
30:53I think like the next time, you know,
30:55a random rapper pops up who is, is, is seemingly,
31:00you know, pulling from, from references.
31:02They have no idea about, you know,
31:04everyone should just remember this moment and be like,
31:06we, we allowed this to happen.
31:08We did.
31:09We allowed this to happen.
31:11I turned this nigga rapping like Nelly.
31:12He's from fucking.
31:13Cause he's black.
31:14Sheen oils.
31:16Got honest truth.
31:17We are rooting for you.
31:18Jello.
31:19Um, great song.
31:20New record comes out Friday.
31:21Hell yeah.
31:22Yeah.
31:22I mean, that's, that's a quick turnaround.
31:25And it sounds like a banger too.
31:26If he goes two for two in two weeks.
31:28It's smart though.
31:28If you have the opportunity.
31:34Go for it.
31:36Why not?
31:37Shout out to Jello ball.
31:38We'll be, you know, shout out to the dad too.
31:41Shout out to LaVar.
31:42Three for three.
31:42Three for three.
31:43LaVar saw it through.
31:44Yeah, he saw it through man.
31:45Black dads for the win.
31:47Um, before we go, we gotta give a special shout out to miss
31:50Beyonce knows who had an incredible halftime performance.
31:54Shut it down.
31:55Yeah.
31:57Um, left us with some, you know, potential, you know, news.
32:02January 14th.
32:04What is happening that day?
32:05We do not know, but we're gonna do our best for this lightning
32:09round to give y'all some predictions.
32:11We will kick it off with brother Kyle.
32:13What do you think is happening?
32:14This is the thing where she said, look at that horse.
32:16Yeah, that horse January 14th.
32:18Well, y'all can head over to billboard.com to look at a list.
32:21I just put out of 10 possible things she could be announcing
32:24next week, but I'm putting my money behind act three.
32:28I think we'll move on to the next act of this three act trilogy
32:32project.
32:33I think that the blood red kind of like Gothic font at the
32:37teaser was a signal that we're moving away from the Western
32:40aesthetics and into something a bit more rocket Jason.
32:43I'm taking those Halloween costumes of Prince and Betty
32:47Davis as hints towards a more rock funk music on the way and
32:50less cowboy stuff.
32:52It did feel kind of like a celebratory cap that Beyonce
32:55ball also.
32:55So, and I feel like if there was something cowboy Carter related
32:58to coming, she would have just announced it instead of
33:00announcing a date for something else, but my money's on act
33:04three.
33:04So I hope that is where we're headed next week.
33:07I like that.
33:09Trump, I have no analysis on that kind of level.
33:13I know Kyle didn't then dissected all the clues and that's
33:16what you kind of got to do with Beyonce.
33:18I'm going to just say what I hope is I would like to see a
33:23residency announced.
33:24I think in particular, if we're going with the cowboy continuing
33:27cowboy Carter theme, because I can't imagine she's just going
33:30to do one performance and not even all the songs and kind of,
33:33you know, say that's the end of that era, given how much time
33:36and effort and years it got into it.
33:38But I think if, you know, particular the rodeo motif that's
33:41going on, you know, rodeo in some ways can be a traveling
33:45circus, but like if, you know, the Houston rodeo or something,
33:47that is a very, you know, integral part of the early culture
33:52in the town.
33:52It's something that happens in February, March.
33:54So not too far off from something that would have a January
33:57announcement, I think, you know, because it's such an American
34:01sort of Southern tradition, having people travel to come see
34:05it and probably just doing more with the spectacle and
34:07enjoyment of it in a place rather than making it a traveling
34:10show where that kind of limits to some degree what you can do
34:13with it.
34:14I just think that, you know, she's got to plant somewhere,
34:17bring everybody to whether it's Houston, whether it's Vegas,
34:19you know, wherever, but center that on being her town for the
34:23year, get that rodeo Western theme, ride it all the way
34:26through.
34:26And I just think, especially because we haven't seen her do
34:29a residency before, you know, she's always looking to do
34:31something different, change it up, switch it up.
34:33I think that is the perfect play for 2025.
34:36Wow.
34:37Those are great ones, Dan.
34:39I mean, those are.
34:40Yeah, that's what I was going to say.
34:42I'm leaning on y'all.
34:43I don't know.
34:44Because they already said it.
34:46I don't know.
34:47I'll say tweaker remix.
34:50Hell yeah.
34:52With tweaker remix featuring Beyonce, Shamoozie and Linda
34:54Martel.
34:55Let's fucking go.
35:00And the corners on that horse.
35:01Hey, yo, I'm not mad at that.
35:05Yeah, I if it wasn't a residency, I was going to say
35:07a tour.
35:08But I think I mean, love you, Dame.
35:10I don't know about the tweaker, but I like where y'all are
35:13going.
35:14Yeah, I think it's one of those.
35:17Wow.
35:17Act three.
35:18And I think after act three, it's probably put a bow on it.
35:20Damn, she going to say we're not going to see her for a
35:22decade.
35:24I mean, would it be safe to say after act three, she's
35:28call it a career for a while.
35:30I think she'll probably pump the brakes a bit and wait for
35:33the kids to get to the end of high school, college-ish.
35:36But she loves this shit.
35:38I think the next time we see her, it's going to be a
35:40completely different idea of Beyonce.
35:42Right.
35:42And even if the six years of the next Beyonce solo album,
35:46last time she had a gap that long, we still got the Lion
35:48King album and everything is love.
35:49And before I let go and homecoming, she be busy.
35:52Yeah, true.
35:54Well, thank you, Miss Beyonce knows we love you.
35:57Shout out to the queen.
35:58And we will see what happens.
35:59January 14th.
36:02So we appreciate y'all for riding with us.
36:04First episode of 2025.
36:06All right.
36:07Feels real good.
36:08And we will see y'all next week.
36:11Later, y'all.