In the ninth episode of 'Billboard Unfiltered,' Billboard staffers Carl Lamarre, Trevor Anderson, Damien Scott and Kyle Denis break down the Top 10 best rap albums of all time and elaborate why/how they earned their ranking. They also analyze Kendrick Lamar’s music video for “Not Like Us,” how Shaboozey was able to get his first No.1 on the Hot 100 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and more!
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00:00All these callbacks that, for someone who is reportedly so offline,
00:05he seems to know a lot about what people are doing online.
00:08It's just a fantastic freaking moment.
00:10A Nigerian-American country star with a number one single.
00:14We went through 100 to 11 the last few weeks.
00:18The top 10!
00:22There was some fireworks on the 4th of July,
00:257 o'clock Eastern Time, courtesy of Mr. Kendrick Lamar.
00:29Officially dropping the Not Like Us video.
00:32It has 41 million views in five days.
00:36That was like five days ago?
00:37Yep.
00:38Damn.
00:38Yeah.
00:39Those numbers are nuts for like 2022.
00:42Yeah.
00:42Yeah, I was trying to, I was literally trying to think what is-
00:452024?
00:47Even better, 2024.
00:49These videos don't get played on YouTube like that anymore.
00:51Yeah, I was trying to think of the last music video that really-
00:53I think Houdini, because Houdini had like 20 in a day.
00:56But I'm trying to think, I guess, like made an impact in a, you know-
00:58A cultural-
00:59I mean, even just like the, we're waiting for this video to drop kind of moment.
01:02Like when the stills dropped, people were excited.
01:04Yeah.
01:05And I've never seen, I haven't seen people that excited over music video stills.
01:10And I don't know how long.
01:12And that was crazy.
01:14Just seeing people being like, oh man,
01:16they were dissecting images of a video that they have no idea about.
01:19Yeah.
01:20And yeah, I mean-
01:21I mean-
01:22The only comparison I can make is like people waiting for the Renaissance visuals.
01:25Mm, which never came.
01:26Which are still coming.
01:29For me, it kind of gives like-
01:31They're still coming.
01:31Beyoncé and Kendrick being different foils of Prince.
01:36They both really take from him in that way.
01:38And it's really interesting to watch Kendrick sort of like
01:42get into this pop star mode again,
01:44but also deliver a video that's technically such a great piece of art.
01:48Yeah.
01:49Like just well shot, well fitted, just like-
01:52I compare it to like the Family Matters music video.
01:55It's almost like just two different levels that they're operating on,
01:57just visually and aesthetically.
01:58And obviously, you know,
01:59Dave Free being the co-director was already another nail in the coffin
02:03as to what Drake was talking about on his track.
02:05So that was a nice touch as well.
02:06Even not even getting into Whitney dancing and all the kids
02:09and everything like that.
02:10Yeah.
02:10But what did you think of the video?
02:12I mean, yeah, I was going to say, let's get to the nitty gritty.
02:14Six minute long video.
02:16A lot of dope choreography.
02:18A lot of fire guest cameos.
02:20DeMar DeRozan in the video.
02:22Miss Whitney and the kids make a nice cameo at the end of the video
02:27showing off their snazzy dance moves.
02:30I-
02:36Speak on it.
02:37Did you cry?
02:38No, I'm trying to-
02:40Let him use you.
02:45It was a fun but tough watch as a Drake fan.
02:50I can't believe you put this much stock into it.
02:52No, no, because that was like,
02:54that was pretty much the final dagger.
02:56Like I said, it was weighing heavy on my heart.
02:58Yo, on the 4th of July.
03:00He's a methodical, meticulous, calculator motherfucker.
03:03How about on Juneteenth video on July 4th?
03:06Yeah.
03:06He really like, you were colonizing as-
03:08Loser.
03:09That was the first time we've seen Drake out in the public eye.
03:13Oh yeah.
03:14With his peers.
03:14Because he was at the white party.
03:15At the white party.
03:16Right.
03:17And then Kendrick drops the video.
03:20We've all been to parties when shit like this drops.
03:22Everyone takes the phone out and watches it.
03:26I have to imagine, unless Ruben took everybody's phones,
03:32that the same thing happened.
03:33And I promise you that song did not get played at the party.
03:36Oh yeah, 100%.
03:38I feel like it must have been like a Gossip Girl moment.
03:40Like everyone like running to the bathroom to like watch the video on their phone.
03:43As Drake was just walking around looking haggard.
03:46I'm sure Drake watched it too.
03:48I'm sure he was like, let's see.
03:49You know, let's see what it is.
03:50I don't think like he runs from it.
03:52I think he's just like, fuck.
03:53Like, all right, this is what it is.
03:56Yeah.
03:57I mean, obviously, just to sum it all up, great video.
04:01I thought the choreography was on point.
04:03Yeah.
04:03There was a lot of subliminals people were talking.
04:05So we could dive into that.
04:07The rewatching capability of it, I think, is that's almost part of the genius of it.
04:10Because there's no way you caught everything the first time.
04:13I don't care who you are, what kind of scholar you think you are.
04:17I mean, obviously, there's so many threads.
04:18And just going through the comment section, going through Reddit.
04:22And some of it, it's almost crazy.
04:23Because some of it feels like a reach.
04:24Where some people are like, oh, you know, I saw someone like, oh, you know, he did 17
04:28push-ups in the cell.
04:29Because Drake doesn't do anything over 18.
04:31And it's like, it's crazy.
04:36But I guess it fit.
04:36You know, I get like, maybe, you know, this is some super English teacher kind of reading.
04:41But it makes you kind of go back and be like, damn, he did do 17.
04:46I wonder if, you know, it's.
04:47Like the scene in the cell where he's doing this.
04:49And then people found the video of Drake doing this with, like, I don't know whose kid that
04:53was in the video that he's doing it with.
04:55But it's like all these callbacks that for someone who is, you know, reportedly so offline
05:04to the point where his company released a phone that has no apps or, you know, very
05:09basic internet connection.
05:12He seems to know a lot about what people are doing online.
05:16And it's not like Jay, where we know Jay looks at, like, he looks at Instagram.
05:22He has friends who are on Instagram who show him things like Kendrick is off the impression
05:27that he doesn't do anything online.
05:29He doesn't even look at.
05:31But this video, I'm like, you clearly look like you are clearly tapped in to what everybody
05:36is saying.
05:36Mind you, you brought up the phone.
05:38I don't know if you caught Dave on the phone on the basic phone that they dropped last
05:44year.
05:45Yeah, I got to pose you guys this question.
05:48I know where I stand on this.
05:51Do you guys feel like in some cases Kendrick could be milking this?
05:56Not like us.
05:57Absolutely moment.
05:58Oh, you know, what's funny is I saw, you know, I'll be looking to see what the reaction
06:03always is online, all that kind of thing.
06:05And somebody I don't know who it was.
06:06Sorry, I can't give you credit.
06:08But somebody made a good point that they were like, people really people really think that
06:13Kendrick is milking this thing.
06:14And all he's done is put out the song performed.
06:18I mean, he performed it a hell of a lot of times.
06:19But, you know, performed it on one day.
06:21And as put on music video.
06:23This is not some, you know, forced rollout, no TikTok challenge, not on late night, not
06:27on SNL, not on, you know, not doing parodies with, you know, Joe and Kamala.
06:31I mean, they did it on their own.
06:32It's like we haven't seen Kendrick's thing is just he literally did the same traditional
06:36rollout he would have done with any other thing.
06:38But the fact that it's crazy because he is unlike most people who probably would have
06:42bombed it all all at one time.
06:43That is, you know, we're going to do the same weekend.
06:46We're going to drop the song and do the concert and put out the video.
06:48It's like the fact he's been able to ride these waves, like as soon as it kind of settles
06:52down, here's another thing and here's another thing.
06:54So the fact that he's got three distinct waves out of it, like out of one song, that's something
06:59that people don't do anymore.
07:01I think the whole milking conversation is a combination of people, one, sort of not understanding
07:08the fact that someone like Drake got on top of his pedestal for a little bit.
07:12And that's a bit discomforting to them.
07:14But also streaming in general has made us sort of forget how long songs used to last
07:20in the Zeitgeist.
07:20Like the song dropped by the top of May.
07:23It's July.
07:24Not even April.
07:25Like it's just not it's not even been half a year yet.
07:28Like it's still a very fresh current song.
07:31There's no way he's milking it.
07:33He hasn't really done much with it.
07:34Hasn't been that long.
07:35I think anyone saying that he's milking it like and saying that in good faith probably
07:40just feels upset.
07:42Drake couldn't milk Family Matters the same way or couldn't milk Push-Ups the same way.
07:46Like Drake is the first person to drop a music video in this whole beef.
07:50So it's like if we're talking about milking, is that not milking on its own?
07:54And you didn't even win when you did that.
07:56Like you thought you were going to.
07:58Drake was the one who for weeks was like drop, drop.
08:03Oh, what are you going to do?
08:05We're waiting for you to drop.
08:06You're not going to get out of this one.
08:07He had all these streaming niggas being like, you're not going to get out of this one.
08:11Kendrick's going to disappear.
08:13You know, we haven't, we still, the only time we've heard Kendrick speak is at the concert.
08:19He hasn't done any press.
08:20He hasn't posted online.
08:22He hasn't written.
08:23He hasn't posted a journal entry.
08:24He hasn't, you know, he hasn't done anything.
08:26We haven't seen this motherfucker outside of a musical institution yet.
08:32The most we saw was him getting his cheeks pinched in that little pass by.
08:36And that was at a music video.
08:37Yeah, it's like, yeah.
08:38That was at the music video.
08:39We haven't, he hasn't done anything.
08:41It's us who are milking it.
08:43We're the ones that are like, this is amazing.
08:45Like, we're all like everywhere I go.
08:48I have, you know, I spent a lot of time in upstate New York, a town called Rhinebeck.
08:54I went to go buy something from a store.
08:56And this white kid who was behind a counter was rapping Euphoria lyrics.
09:02Not even like, not like us.
09:04He was rapping.
09:05He's rapping.
09:06I get up there and he's like, let your core fan stomach that.
09:09And then tell them where you get your abs from.
09:11And I was like, are you rapping Euphoria?
09:15And this is like.
09:17And Rhinebeck, New York, baby.
09:22It's like, we're the ones who are milking it.
09:25And it's like, that's what happens to good music.
09:28Do we forget what happens to hit records?
09:30Like when Otis came out, you know, I remember going to lounges or bars or clubs.
09:36And, you know, niggas were playing Otis 10 times.
09:40You talk about Otis, niggas in Paris.
09:43You couldn't go anywhere without not hearing that song.
09:46They played that shit so much.
09:48I got tired of it.
09:49And I loved that song.
09:51You know, like you would hear niggas in Paris.
09:53You're like, please just play anything else.
09:56You pick any other song off the album.
09:58Just don't play this.
09:59And they go to the concert.
10:01They play it.
10:02That's, you know, that's the standard of playing it like 10 times.
10:05Because it's so fucking good.
10:08And these guys were like, having art shows and doing interviews.
10:12And like, is that milking it?
10:14Maybe.
10:16But this is not even close.
10:18Literally, Kendrick's done three things.
10:21What does it mean to milk?
10:22Is my question.
10:23It's like, you get a hit record, you work the hit record.
10:28Is that not what the business is?
10:30Absolutely.
10:31Like, did Drake not work his...
10:34Right.
10:34Did Drake not work his plethora of hit records?
10:37Like, because it's Kendrick, it's like, it's a thing now?
10:41Or because it's like, In the Beef is a thing now?
10:42I think it's because it's a diss record.
10:44So we've never seen a diss record get...
10:46Even back to back, it didn't get the video treatment.
10:49Yeah.
10:50Like, this is a whole new space.
10:51That's true.
10:52But I mean, those videos of Drake performing them on tour that entire year used to go viral
10:56all the time.
10:57The song landed Grammy noms.
10:58Like, it's probably going to be the same fate for Not Like Us.
11:03I just don't understand the argument that, at this point in time, he's milking it.
11:08If we're getting a second music video and a remix in November, okay, yeah, then maybe.
11:12But it's been two months.
11:13Let me pose you guys this question before we pivot.
11:17Do you guys foresee Kendrick potentially retiring the song from future setlists and concerts?
11:24How Drake retired back to back?
11:26Probably.
11:27I could see that happening.
11:29And how long would it take, you think?
11:31I mean, knowing Kendrick...
11:32Not knowing.
11:33I don't know Kendrick.
11:34But just seeing how he's moved in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if, whenever he drops
11:39this new album on that tour, he's like, all right, we're not doing that anymore.
11:42Yeah.
11:42Like, I'm done with this.
11:44I think if he does, it won't be like a thing.
11:47He just will stop playing.
11:49I don't think it'll be like, I'm no longer playing Not Like Us.
11:53I think if he does anything like that, that would require some sort of reconciliation
11:57with Drake, which I just don't see happening in the near future.
12:00Drake and Meek was a different situation.
12:02They dropped Going Bad right afterwards.
12:05Drake tends to reconcile because Drake likes to-
12:07He reconciles all his beefs.
12:08Like, yeah.
12:08I don't know.
12:09I don't think-
12:10This one's never dying.
12:11This one is-
12:11No, I don't think you can go backwards from this.
12:13I don't think you can.
12:14You got the whole world calling you a pedophile.
12:16Yeah.
12:16Freaky ass nigga.
12:1769 guys.
12:20I wouldn't want to reconcile with him.
12:22It's also when Kendrick played the song at the pop out, and the setlist he made for it,
12:31it fits so well together that, on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps playing it.
12:36Because listening to the songs at the pop out, and then you listen to Not Like Us,
12:41and you're like, euphoria, and you're like, oh, this nigga might have been dissing him for like-
12:47Ever.
12:47Years.
12:48You know, this might have been like a-
12:51The bell finally got rung, and this is it.
12:54This is what happens.
12:56There's like two things I could see happening.
12:58One, first of all, I got to make a correction that it did come out on May 4th.
13:03I was like, oh, late April.
13:04It was May 4th, so I should have known better than to challenge Kyle.
13:08But to the topic of, you know, at hand, I think this either-
13:13Yes, he does sort of retire it once this moment's over.
13:15There probably is no reconciliation.
13:16That would be the obvious reason to retire it.
13:19But I could see something where, you know, and this is something that does not happen nowadays,
13:23but it's like, you know, for him to do that one night at the pop out concert,
13:27and that be the time it was live.
13:29And, of course, everybody's seen it because we had, you know,
13:30it wasn't like it was you had to be in a room.
13:32But, you know, sort of amplify how important it was to do it that one time.
13:35And at one time only, I could see him sort of, you know, it's like, damn,
13:39the only time Kendrick Lamar has ever performed Not Like Us was, you know,
13:42at the pop out concert.
13:43And we are waiting 20, 30, 40 years, you know, for the next one.
13:47Yeah.
13:47Because I don't think he's going to do-
13:48Like, he's not going to do it at the Grammys.
13:50He's not going to do it, you know, on SNL or any of that kind of shit again.
13:53So there's that.
13:54I could also see maybe, you know, on the next tour that he does,
13:57it's sort of he doesn't perform it.
13:59But I don't know, maybe it's like the closing exit instrumental or something
14:02where it's like, you know, here it is, y'all can-
14:05I mean, you know, like, I could see a situation really where it's
14:08the closing instrumental, the crowd stays, and they probably rap every word.
14:12And it's just kind of like, OK, you had that moment,
14:14even though I necessarily don't have to always be the one out there leading it.
14:18So I could see something like that kind of, you know, a wink and a nod that,
14:21OK, there it was, but, you know, I don't have to do it.
14:24Yeah, I don't think he has to continue it.
14:27I think the concert and the music video did enough.
14:31I think it's good.
14:33The thing about the music video that I think is awesome before we
14:36leave is like the lyric to me that's been the crux of Kendrick's.
14:41We talked about this before on the show, like how difficult it is to have
14:46the real conversation that we believe Kendrick's trying to have.
14:49Yeah.
14:49It's difficult to have on a macro at a macro scale.
14:53But I think the the the lyric to me that a lot of this hinges on is
15:00on euphoria when he's like, you run to America to imitate heritage,
15:07but you can't imitate this violence.
15:10And I love that line so much because I don't think, you know,
15:15I don't think he means violence as in like literal violence.
15:17I just mean he thinks like this shit is real.
15:20And you can't you can't copy this.
15:23And what he shows in the video is like, shit, you can't replicate.
15:26Yeah.
15:26Like there are comments on Twitter or people being like, oh, like,
15:31you know, Drake can go to Houston and do this.
15:34And he could do that same thing.
15:37And it's like, it's not the fucking same one because you're not from there, too.
15:40Would the city in every facet and form come out and form for him, right?
15:46Like maybe in Canada, which is fine.
15:48But the idea in the circumstances of this beef is like
15:56more so cultural identity versus racial identity.
16:00Yeah.
16:01I feel like to that point, the question of whether or not Kendrick retires
16:06this song is really more of a question of can people understand it?
16:09Can people understand that this song exists within the beat,
16:13but it's also already transcended the beef in a sense that it's like
16:17people have adopted it as an anthem for different reasons already.
16:19So it's like if this next album, for example, is super West Coast and sound,
16:24I see a scenario where he does keep it on the setlist because it's probably
16:27the most recent song we've gotten from him in that pocket that'll help bridge,
16:32you know, the morale era to what he's putting out now.
16:36But I think that's also part of the just the bigger question of the people
16:38talking about milking it.
16:39It's like we're in that specific moment where the song is no longer just only
16:44about the beef, but also it's like only about the beef at the same time.
16:49And that's a weird space for a song to exist in when you just have like
16:53regular pop hits and like statement tracks.
16:57But this is like squarely in both realms.
17:00Yeah.
17:02Great points all across the board.
17:04I'm curious to see how NotLikeUs shakes up the Hot 100 next week.
17:11But currently, speaking of the Hot 100, we have a new person running the show,
17:19running the table, Mr. Shaboozie.
17:21Big Boozie.
17:22A bar song, number one.
17:24Big Boozie.
17:24Big Boozie.
17:26Topping the Hot 100.
17:27Boozie.
17:28Boozie.
17:30Boozie.
17:31Boozie.
17:32Topping the Hot 100.
17:33Topping the Hot Country Songs chart.
17:35He becomes the first male to pull that feat.
17:41I'm sorry.
17:41First black male to pull that feat.
17:44I know I got Mr. Trevor Anderson right there.
17:45He was going to clock me.
17:46No, you were doing me.
17:47It was Morgan Wallace.
17:48I thought this was going to hit you.
17:49My apologies.
17:50Morgan.
17:51It's all love, baby.
17:54But Shaboozie becomes the second black artist to do so,
18:00following Beyonce earlier this year with Texas Hold'em.
18:02That topped the Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs chart.
18:05What does this mean?
18:07For not just Big Boozie, but, you know.
18:11I'll say for me, it means everything.
18:13As someone who has a lifelong love of country music
18:16and has always wanted to see black artists succeed in that space
18:19in a really verifiable mainstream way,
18:22this has been an incredible year just as a watcher and as a listener.
18:26I also do think it shifts the Grammy race a little bit
18:31for both Shaboozie and Beyonce.
18:33Shaboozie, obviously, now this being an official chart-topping hit,
18:38I think his Best New Artist chances have just skyrocketed.
18:41Country song, country performance, record song of the year.
18:44He could walk away with five or six nominations at max.
18:47I think at one point in the season,
18:50because Beyonce has been so silent
18:53and not really present throughout the Cowboy Carter era,
18:56it was like, can she pull off a nom of the year win with this one?
19:00But I think, I won't call it a win at all
19:02because I don't think it's going to happen personally,
19:04but I do think her chances do skyrocket a little bit
19:07because we have verifiable impact of what this album has done.
19:12This album drops, I want to say,
19:15maybe two or three weeks before Bar's song drops.
19:18Obviously, Shaboozie's on two tracks on that album
19:21and he already had his own momentum
19:23going into a Bar song in his new album.
19:25But having a second historic chart-topping country song
19:28by a Black artist in this year,
19:30immediately after Texas Hold'em,
19:32it's like you are doing something real with this thing.
19:36We're coming off the BET Awards.
19:38Tana Riddell performed two original songs at the BET Awards.
19:41Shaboozie came out and did his song at the BET Awards.
19:44I don't remember, I mean, the last time the BET Awards
19:46had a country performance was Cain Brown
19:47and that was one of those weird 2020 performances
19:51where it was talking about racism to the music
19:54but not really talking about it.
19:55But these are your records, these are actual hit records,
19:58and here's some space for that.
20:00You really have seen the conversation
20:02around Black artists and country music
20:04significantly shift this year because of that album.
20:07Will that translate into votes?
20:09Probably not, but I think it does make her chances
20:12go up a little bit more than where they were,
20:14say, four weeks ago
20:15when there wasn't really a single moving anything
20:18from the record because Texas Hold'em kind of died down
20:20and Too Much Wanted didn't really take off.
20:22But this does shake up the race a little bit,
20:24but overall, it's just a fantastic freaking moment.
20:29A Nigerian-American country star with the number one single.
20:34That's fucking dope.
20:35Absolutely.
20:36Trevor.
20:38That's like school we get called on.
20:41Yeah, I mean, of course, I think I had a lot of the key points.
20:44I was kind of surprised because I thought
20:45this song's moment had passed.
20:46It really felt like it was obviously in the conversation
20:49for a couple of weeks there, but between Not Like Us,
20:52the Post Malone and Morgan Wall and I had some help
20:54that was up there, Sabrina Carpenter coming through.
20:57It just felt like, OK, maybe it's just not going to work out.
20:59It'll be a top five hit.
21:00Obviously, it'll be a lasting top five hit,
21:02but it's found its way, obviously, to number one.
21:05So it's, I think, an extra win because of that
21:08because it almost felt like people accounted it out
21:10and thought, OK, the ceiling has been there.
21:13So we'll see, especially how long it keeps going.
21:15Of course, it doesn't really matter
21:16because it's always going to be in the books.
21:18And I do think that, kind of to Kyle's point,
21:21the conversation post-Cowboy Carter,
21:24partially because of those same artists coming through,
21:26Post Malone sort of back in a major way,
21:28Sabrina Carpenter exploding as the new face of pop music,
21:32Taylor dominating the album chart,
21:33that it felt like the Cowboy Carter
21:36and Black Country question had sort of not really
21:40translated into Q2 as much as it was a big thing
21:42around the Super Bowl when the album dropped
21:43and things like that.
21:44So for Shaboosie to have a, you know,
21:47not just a sort of talking point song,
21:50but an actual hit song on Metrix,
21:52streams are there, radio is there, sales are there.
21:55I think that that really goes to show that, yeah,
21:57this thing has more life than just Beyonce.
22:00Of course, Beyonce would have always wanted it
22:01probably to be more than just her.
22:03But the fact that we see somebody else carrying it on
22:06and hopefully that can inspire, you know,
22:07I mean, success begets success, right?
22:09I'm sure there's probably executives
22:11and people out there searching for
22:13the next kind of Shaboosie track
22:14and the next artist to help come up.
22:16And now that it's Kyle's point,
22:18not just sort of, you know, trendy to,
22:22oh, okay, well, you know, we need to go find Black artists
22:25because that's what, you know, people say they want
22:27or that's what, you know, is the moral thing to do.
22:30If you're moved by business and numbers and money,
22:33then hey, Shaboosie's bringing in money.
22:35That album is actually staying very consistent as well.
22:38It's not just that this song is carrying
22:40every single thing.
22:41So I think that there hopefully will be, you know,
22:44it might take a minute to find the next one,
22:46but hopefully that there will be,
22:48this won't be to be a one year wonder kind of thing
22:50to use my phrase from last week,
22:52but that hopefully we can really see
22:54some tangible results on the ground
22:55and that it keeps continuing
22:57for the next couple of years at least.
22:59Let me pose you this
23:01because we had a discussion last week
23:03about the Drake effect.
23:04And now we're kind of seeing the Beyonce effect.
23:07Is that a thing that we're seeing right now
23:11as far as like these Black artists,
23:12especially in country getting these kinds of looks
23:14from a mainstream standpoint?
23:15Yeah, it's hard to,
23:18it would be ignorant of us to say no
23:20because it's, she's so,
23:22Beyonce is such a massive force
23:25that of course it's going to be,
23:29her movements are influential.
23:33So yeah, I don't want to give all the credit to Beyonce
23:36because as Kyle mentioned,
23:38Shaboosie's been working so hard to do this.
23:41He's been making music for like 10 years.
23:43This song, it's not like Beyonce,
23:46Beyonce happened, this song blew up.
23:48Right.
23:48And then that was that,
23:50like this song did spike,
23:53but then he kept working it,
23:55kept working it and now it's back.
23:58Would this moment happen without Beyonce?
24:02Probably, but maybe not right now.
24:07I would agree with that.
24:08I feel like this moment would have happened
24:09maybe to a bit of a smaller extent.
24:11Yeah.
24:11Because I think we've been leaning towards
24:13a country moment for some years now.
24:15And I've been-
24:16There's a lot of false gods of Black country.
24:18Yeah.
24:20And I feel like this was the big push for it over the years,
24:23but he had Annabelle going viral top of this year.
24:26He had Vegas going viral top of this year
24:28on the Spotify viral charts.
24:31He did have his own sort of steam.
24:34It just helped that someone that big came along
24:37and highlighted him on two separate tracks
24:39on the record alongside the plethora
24:42of other Black country artists on there as well.
24:44I also think it's really cool
24:46that he did it completely solo with this track.
24:49Like we still got time for him to drop
24:50like an official JQuan remix.
24:52And like-
24:53Listen, I was going to say nobody brought up the JQuan stimmy.
24:58The JQuan stimmy.
25:00Look at that BET award performance.
25:01Is it really the JQuan effect that we've seen?
25:04That BET award performance.
25:04The theater went up when he came out.
25:07That was nuts.
25:08Like people really thought of him when he came on stage.
25:10I was like, if he were to drop a real remix
25:13that we could stream,
25:15it could stay number one for a little bit longer.
25:18Yeah.
25:19That was a moment, man.
25:21Because I think I told y'all when I spoke to him on the carpet,
25:23I was like, yo, the JQuan,
25:26how do you feel about clearing it?
25:28Was there a conversation?
25:28He said, yo, I ain't got nothing to say.
25:31Played a real coy.
25:33So none of us saw this coming.
25:35And just to see JQuan get his flowers,
25:37cause God knows.
25:38My brother, we don't know where you been.
25:41But to see you outside in 2024.
25:46And that kind of stage, I thought that was so fire.
25:47I can't believe that shit is 20 years old.
25:49That was the part that really-
25:51That's a perfect full circle moment.
25:53Yeah.
25:53Now I really hope he does drop a remix
25:56and like it gets enough points to get him a credit.
25:57Cause like the original tips, he didn't go number one.
25:59But this one did.
26:00It went number two.
26:01This is really cool.
26:02I hope that we're able to like gain that.
26:04Like that's really cool.
26:05That's fun.
26:06I'm happy for my guy, man.
26:07Shout out for him.
26:08Shout out to JQuan, man.
26:09Shout out to JQuan.
26:10But no, shout out to Big Boozy, man.
26:12That's a huge, huge win for him.
26:15We're going to pivot over to...
26:20I don't know if you guys have been paying attention.
26:22I thought you were going to do the tip CB.
26:23I was about to-
26:23Oh, man.
26:26I heard you going freestyle a little bit.
26:27I heard the...
26:28Hey, don't get me back outside.
26:30Get my pencils out.
26:32Listen, I don't know if you guys saw.
26:36Last month, we dropped the 100 greatest rap albums of all time.
26:41We went through 100 to 11 the last few weeks.
26:45The top 10 is finally here.
26:52I'll go down 10 through one.
26:53That's right.
26:54And let y'all know what it is.
26:56Number 10, Slick Rick.
26:57The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.
26:59Number nine, Jay-Z, The Blueprint.
27:01Classic.
27:02Number eight, Rod Kemp and Eric B, Paid in Full.
27:05Classic.
27:06Number seven, Snoop Dogg, Doggy Style.
27:08Another classic.
27:09Six, Tupac, All Eyes on Me.
27:10Another classic.
27:11Five, Notorious B.I.G., Life After Death.
27:14Is that a classic?
27:15I believe it's a classic.
27:15I'm pretty sure it is.
27:16Number four, OutKast, Equimidon.
27:18What do all these albums have in common?
27:20Number three, Lord Hill, The Miseducation of Lord Hill.
27:24Number two, Dr. Dre, The Chronic.
27:26Pretty sure that's a classic.
27:27And number one, Mr. Nasir Jones, Illmatic.
27:35Yes, sir.
27:36You know, like the little FaceTime, like, you know,
27:38the balloons that come up when you accidentally do the thing.
27:43You know.
27:44I feel like, you know, as we normally do with our list,
27:48we're going to cause some chatter and conversation.
27:52One, obviously, we made the list.
27:54So obviously, we feel good about it.
27:55Took a lot to get to a place where we all felt good about it.
27:58Yeah, it took a lot.
28:00I mean, we had to kill some sacred cows to get there.
28:03And I'll be the first to say one of them sacred cows,
28:06Mr. Curtis, Interscope Jackson.
28:09You should have been in the top ten.
28:10I mean, we don't even have Harlem World on the list.
28:12Ah, fuck Mase.
28:15Respectfully, I love Mase.
28:17I love Mase.
28:19Like you do.
28:26We couldn't even get Harlem World on the 100.
28:28Yeah, that was kind of crazy.
28:29That's crazy.
28:30That's crazy.
28:34Let me just say this about Curtis,
28:36because I think the biggest knock on him, we had him on the tip.
28:42He was like number 11.
28:44And not making the top 10, Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
28:47Phenomenal album.
28:48I feel like Slick Rick, respectfully.
28:58I'm mature enough to say, I think it's the generational aspect.
29:03Because when I think of Get Rich or Die Tryin', I think of 03.
29:06And that was just a whole movement, especially in New York City.
29:12I had the G-Unit headband, had the G-Unit sneakers.
29:15I was, yeah, I thought I'd go crazy for Drake.
29:17I went crazy for 50.
29:18We need the photos, sir.
29:23So I'm curious to hear y'all, were there any glaring omissions,
29:27like personal omissions for y'all that you feel like should have been in on?
29:32Mase and Betha.
29:33Mase and Betha, Harlem World.
29:34Harlem World, my favorite rap album.
29:36Shout out to Mase.
29:37Feel So Good was on there, right?
29:39You know it's democracy, because-
29:40Feel So Good, What You Want, 24 Hours to Live.
29:4624 Hours to Live is a classic.
29:48He had everybody.
29:48Just incredible rapping.
29:52It wasn't what people wanted Mase to drop at the time,
29:56but it was a phenomenally successful record.
30:01The way you talk about 50, it came out at a time in my life where I was running around
30:08and I took it everywhere with me.
30:10It was when Bad Boy was at the peak of its powers and no one knew what was going to happen,
30:17and then this guy was just carrying everything on his back.
30:21He was everywhere.
30:22He was on every remix.
30:23He was killing it.
30:24He was beefing with Hov.
30:25Is it 25 this year?
30:27It came out in 99, right?
30:28It came out in 98.
30:2998?
30:29Okay, so 26.
30:31And this was Post Big, too.
30:32So this is him kind of taking on the baton.
30:34Yeah, it's, you know-
30:35The baton, yeah.
30:36Amazing album.
30:38But we all can't win.
30:41We all can't get what we want.
30:42So, you know, I'll let it go.
30:46You know what?
30:47And we call that maturity.
30:49We call that maturity.
30:49I know, Kyle, you were looking at the top 10 and you-
30:52I actually really have more qualms with the top 100.
30:57Okay, and that's the whole thing.
30:59We're diplomatic here.
31:00That was supposed to be the whole thing.
31:03Not even.
31:04I just, you know, I would have loved to see
31:06Voxy Brown, Broken Silence in the top 100.
31:08That's one of my favorite female rap albums.
31:11And that wasn't there.
31:12Made me kind of sad.
31:13Okay.
31:14And considering the other-
31:18I know where he's going with this, too.
31:19The other albums that were included from the 2010s and 2020s,
31:23I think No Shoot for the Stars and For the Moon was kind of wild also.
31:27Pop.
31:27Shot the pop, yeah.
31:28And that might just be me being like a
31:30Borden Brown Brooklyn boy going hard for my guy, but-
31:33I think the argument was the tape was the one that we would-
31:38I think it was Meet the Woo, too.
31:40I think Cats were trying to say they had it higher.
31:42I mean, we could have done either of them.
31:45None of them made it.
31:48I would have been down with any collection of them.
31:49That is fair.
31:51I mean, no, I thought the Posthumous album,
31:55you know, shout out to the whole team, Stephen Victor.
31:57The first one.
31:58Yeah.
31:58Yeah.
32:0050 did, you know, stringing that whole thing together, orchestrating the features.
32:04An actual feat that still made it sound like
32:07Pop would have wanted probably something close to this to come out.
32:10Absolutely.
32:10Can not say that about Faith, but-
32:13That one should have just never dropped.
32:16Never, never been dropped.
32:17If you were looking-
32:18When they dropped that Dua Lipa song-
32:20Oh, no, try it.
32:20That was crazy.
32:21I forgot about that record.
32:23I can't forget about that record.
32:24I'm haunted by that record.
32:25I wish I could, but I can't.
32:26Yeah, when you look at that album, you freaking got it on me.
32:30I remember listening to that and I was like, yo, if you're looking for like the new age 50s,
32:34like he just had that whole charisma and how he flipped that whole song too.
32:40Yeah.
32:40He had the Lil Tjay record.
32:43Mood Swings.
32:43Yeah, Mood Swings.
32:44That was hard.
32:45The What You Don't Know About Love.
32:47Well, yeah, that was-
32:48Yeah.
32:50Shout out to Pop.
32:50R.I.P.
32:51You know, you know Mood Mood?
32:52He was like, that was cute.
32:54I didn't say anything.
32:55I didn't say anything.
32:57I didn't say anything.
32:59I fucked with Pop.
33:00But those were the top 100.
33:02The top 10 is solid.
33:04Like, I just-
33:06There's one album on there.
33:08Well, yeah, we had a little pre-check.
33:11I love me some Lauren.
33:13I love me some Miss Hill.
33:14I love me some Miss Education.
33:17I think an album that has that much singing on it,
33:21I don't know about a number three slot for top rap albums of all time.
33:27That is very fair.
33:29It's a solid amount of singing on that one.
33:31That is very fair.
33:32And some of the most beloved tracks on them are almost completely sung through.
33:36So it's like, I have some questions about that one.
33:40I believe-
33:41Not saying anything that the album itself is terrible or trash.
33:44No, it's great.
33:44It's a classic album.
33:45Love the record.
33:46Top rap albums of all time.
33:48I think the rapping that she does on there is pretty incredible rapping.
33:51But front to back, I would put some more rappity rap albums up there over it.
33:58Like, I would put a Damn.
33:59I would put a T-Pap.
34:00Like, I would put a Good Kid.
34:02All Kendrick.
34:04I mean, can you blame me?
34:07I noticed you didn't say Mr. Morale.
34:08Let me pose you guys-
34:09I ain't got there yet.
34:10Not too much.
34:11But I'm telling my master.
34:12How about that?
34:13Okay, okay.
34:14No, I wouldn't.
34:16I told you guys that speaking of Lauren,
34:18because I've always thought it was hard to kind of categorize her,
34:21especially when we did our MCs list last year.
34:23Is she a full-blown singer?
34:25Is she a rapper?
34:27How do you categorize Ms. Lauryn Hill, especially for this being a rap-
34:31Like, what do you call Drake?
34:33Drake's a rapper.
34:34She started off rapping.
34:35That was her-
34:36I would say she's both.
34:37There's videos of-
34:38Absolutely both.
34:39To me, I mean, the Grammys put it in R&B.
34:43But, you know, that's the Grammys.
34:44What can we really do with that?
34:46But, like, I guess for me, like, the album kind of defines, like,
34:52hip-hop in terms of just, like, a combination of different things.
34:56And that's my argument, I would say, is that there is a-
35:00not to, like, you know, try to more defy, like, a one-drop rule, but-
35:07One-drop rule for Jonner's is actually one-drop rule.
35:09That's crazy.
35:11If I hear one bar, that's a rapper.
35:15But, you know, I will say, in terms of, like, hip-hop, the totality of hip-hop and, like,
35:19what hip-hop can be and what hip-hop can produce, Lauryn, to me, is someone who is able to conjure
35:28all of it into one place.
35:30And moving where the spirit moves her to create whatever, you know, the spirit moves her to
35:36create, it's like, have that freedom to do that.
35:40To me, it's a hip-hop album.
35:41And the rapping on there, yeah, it's- to me, it's top-notch.
35:46There is very few people at the time that are rapping better than her.
35:50I think the totality of the album is worthy of mentioning, just because, one, I would
35:58say, like, we talk about influence.
36:03We didn't see the influence of this for a long time, mainly because no one was able
36:08to do what she did.
36:09And I believe if, you know, all- I think all the other albums in the top 10 here, you can
36:14listen to them and clearly see what came after them, you know, like The Chronic and Equem
36:20and I, Biggie, you know, you can see very clearly what came after them.
36:25Biggie, you know, you can see very clearly, like, oh, this begat that and this begat that.
36:31No one could do what Lauren did for a long time.
36:34That's why when everyone starts arguing about Drake, they're like, Lauren Hill was doing
36:37this in the 90s.
36:39And I think that's the- to me, it's like, there was a time not too long ago when the
36:46best rapper in a New Jersey rap group made a solo album that was so unlike anything else.
36:55It transcended everything.
36:57And so it could be anywhere.
36:59It could be on any list to me.
37:00If you made it on an R&B list, a pop list, it could be on a soul list.
37:04It doesn't matter where you put it.
37:06But I thought it was- we would be remiss to not have it on this list.
37:10And then once we start grading it qualitatively, just as an album, yeah, it's better than
37:17damn near everything on this list.
37:19Then I guess my problem is with the title then versus like the list itself, because
37:24like, had it been Best Hip Hop Albums of All Time, I probably wouldn't have a problem at
37:28all.
37:29But having, say, you know, just Best Rap and not including the title, now my brain is
37:34like switching onto a different mode.
37:37I would still argue the rapping is better than most things on here.
37:40Which I would agree with.
37:41It's just how much of said record.
37:43Right.
37:44That's what it is.
37:44But, you know, it's Lauren.
37:47I would say 30 type of thing.
37:49Probably 70% was singing.
37:50Yeah, 70% singing.
37:51I feel like 30% rapping.
37:54Maybe like 40.
37:56Maybe in between those two.
37:57Yeah, between 60, 40, 70, 30.
38:00And I feel like if we're not at least at 50, 50, that's where I personally am like,
38:05Oh, yeah, I don't I don't have that.
38:06But then it's like, that's a personal thing.
38:09Like what other albums would that?
38:11That's my thing, too.
38:12Exactly.
38:12In my head was just like, damn, that could pertain to a couple albums that I myself wrote
38:16blurbs for.
38:16So it's like, yeah, how far do I want to even go down this route?
38:20Yeah.
38:20But I think really, maybe this is just residual.
38:23Just like.
38:26I feel like.
38:27It feels like New Jersey.
38:28Just say that.
38:28No, Jersey's cool.
38:30I ain't got no problem with Jersey.
38:32I think my issue is when it comes to canonizing rap and particularly female rap albums, it
38:38feels like people flock to Lauren's record, not all the time out of good faith.
38:44I won't say that was like this particular list, but it feels like not that she's the
38:50safe pick, but that people like tend to go for her and don't really dig in terms of what
38:54else other female rappers have put out.
38:56Like I brought a broken silence.
38:58I brought like Ilnana, for example, or even, you know, Queen Latifah's albums, MC Live's
39:04They don't necessarily get the same level of consideration in these conversations that
39:14that's great.
39:15We always get miseducation like we just saw with the Apple Music list two months ago.
39:19And it's like great record.
39:21I'll never, never debate with the merits of the record.
39:24It's more like I wish that the rest of that subgenre also got.
39:29I feel like it's really just gets canonized down to like hardcore, miseducation, invasion
39:34of privacy, Pink Friday.
39:35And it's like, there's so much more.
39:38Damn, Pink Friday got into the conversation.
39:42I personally wouldn't be my Nicky Pink for it.
39:44We have Queen Latifah and MC Live on here.
39:46Missy's number 20.
39:47We have like three Missy albums on here.
39:50So maybe it's just me being a foxy stan.
39:54All the commercial ones get the look and the rest of them don't.
39:58Yeah, I think we have, I think Missy's one of the only people on here who have three
40:03albums or two albums on here.
40:06And she to me was, I think we had a great conversation about where she landed because
40:14her albums were all amazing.
40:16So you look at the context of when they dropped and what was going on at the time and how
40:20they've aged considering its peers at the time.
40:24But man, talk about somebody who was just in their own league doing completely their
40:30own shit that I'm surprised no one has tried to, I guess like maybe Tera Whack.
40:39Yeah, she's probably the closest.
40:40I think people try to emulate Missy's production stuff.
40:43Yeah.
40:43Like I don't think they're going to try to mirror like her rapping.
40:46And Siggins, she was another one that was like, I can do anything.
40:50Yeah.
40:53But yeah, those are great points, Kyle.
40:55Yeah, I think it's also very important to acknowledge the person who wet number one,
41:01give Nas his flowers, Illmatic, 30 years.
41:0630 years this year, you know, whose world is this?
41:10Life's a bitch, New York State of Mind, so many classics on that freaking library of
41:15Congress material right there.
41:16It's a boring pick, but to me, it's like if aliens came to Earth and they were like,
41:24what is rap?
41:25I'd be like, here, this is what rap is.
41:28It's our best offering.
41:29Yeah, this is the distillation of what we consider to be good.
41:37And it's like the idea of it is also something that was influential.
41:44Oh, I'm going to take the best producers out right now, and I'm going to make this album
41:51that is going to be unfuckwithable.
41:54Because before then, it was like, I'm a rapper.
41:57He's a producer.
41:58He's the DJ.
41:59And Nas and Large Pro were like, here's the best.
42:04There's the best people working right now.
42:06And hearing people who are older than me talk about albums like Illmatic or even
42:14Doggystyle, when it came out, it puts it into perspective.
42:20Because there's me who I hear albums, and I'm like, man, I never heard anything like
42:28that before.
42:29It changed my life.
42:30And yeah, that was Illmatic to me, but I was younger when it happened.
42:34Hearing somebody who was older, I remember I had a security guard at my high school.
42:39This was years ago.
42:41And he's like, man, when Illmatic came out, I didn't know people could rap like that.
42:50I didn't know you could put words together in the way that Nas did.
42:55It was just like, we thought Rakim was just-
42:58I was just going to say.
42:59We thought he was like, this is rap.
43:01It can't get better than this.
43:03And then Nas comes along, and it's just like insanity.
43:07And to live up to those expectations, too, because he was being dubbed like the next
43:11Rakim at 19.
43:13And to do it.
43:16Or to hear people talk about Doggystyle.
43:18You talking about Get Rich or Die Trying reminds me of Doggystyle, because when Doggystyle
43:22dropped, it was pandemonium.
43:25And people in New York were going crazy for an album made in California, which was kind
43:33of unheard of.
43:34But you would see people just playing it in vans and on stoops.
43:39And it was just a complete takeover.
43:43It was the Get Rich or Die Trying of its day.
43:46I was going to say, from a commercial standpoint, I remember it had that record for a while,
43:49like opening week.
43:51Oh, yeah.
43:51Yeah.
43:52Highest, like first week sales.
43:53I think that debut hip hop album.
43:55Yeah.
43:55It was the Get Rich or Die Trying of its time.
43:58It broke records.
43:59Everyone was listening.
44:00It was like a monoculture moment where everyone was just listening to it at the same time.
44:06And yeah, I think, you know, going back to Illmatic, I think it's just an incredible
44:12piece of work.
44:13I think, you know, I can't imagine rap without it.
44:20Which I think is probably, to me, the highest thing I can say.
44:24I'm sure Nas is somewhere like.
44:26I was going to say Nas.
44:28I was heartfelt.
44:29Touching, kind of.
44:30Yeah.
44:31Wow.
44:32Yeah.
44:33Now, well said.
44:34This was a fun, great episode.
44:36When you guys get the chance, please check out our 100 Greatest Rap Albums list in its
44:41entirety, done by our beautiful staff, and give us a shout.
44:44But until then, we'll see you guys next week for another episode of Billboard Unfiltered.