In this episode of 'Billboard Unfiltered,' Billboard staffers Kyle Denis, Trevor Anderson, and Damien Scott explore the impact of Kendrick Lamar being selected to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, why other artists believe Lil Wayne was snubbed, why Beyoncé should have received a CMA nomination, whether she's being snubbed, and more!
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00:00That's exciting, to have the number one rapper, when he's the number one rapper, headline a Super Bowl, halftime show, is incredible.
00:06This was not an album made to be embraced by a country. If that was the case, it would sound very, very different.
00:15Alright, what's up fellas?
00:16What's crackin'?
00:17You know, it's been a busy set of weeks for us in particular here at Billboard.
00:21If you haven't checked it out, make sure you check out all across our socials, our website.
00:25We had our R&B Hip Hop Power Players event coming through last weekend, multi-day event.
00:29We had Power Players itself honoring the biggest executives and movers and shakers in the R&B and Hip Hop world.
00:36We had a concert on Friday with Big X The Plug, Boss Man D-Lo, T-Zo Touchdown out there.
00:42Who killed it? I just gotta say, I thought T-Zo was gonna do well, but when he came out with the LL Cool J fit, I was like, this motherfucker's on some other shit.
00:52T-Zo was ready to, you know, be that sort of performing rock star.
00:58You can tell it's definitely part of the DNA.
01:00It's always funny when people are like, realize that he's like 31.
01:04But I'm like, just look at the references that he pulls from.
01:07You can tell that he's like, not a kid.
01:10But it's great. I love it.
01:12That LL Cool J fit was amazing.
01:16So we had T-Zo come through on Friday.
01:18We had an R&B specific event on Sunday, which had Usher Entertainer of the Year.
01:25We had Tyla out there. We had Victoria Monet.
01:28We had Lucky Day getting the Thank You to Torchbearer award, an icon salute for Luther Vandross.
01:33So really a range of, you know, different cats in different generations.
01:37That was great to see. And Kyle out there at the VMAs last night.
01:41So there was just like this has just been sort of a nonstop parade.
01:45So again, check out this stuff on Billboard.com, all our socials.
01:49And that was just like the tip of the iceberg because there was so much happening outside the Billboard space.
01:54We got, of course, run it down. Let's talk about the biggest news over the weekend.
01:58Really? Probably the most controversial Super Bowl announcement we've seen in a long time.
02:04For no reason whatsoever. Yeah, which is funny because it's, of course, not about who was selected.
02:09Now that there was really no problem with that.
02:11A lot of the time, to some people, there's some problem with that.
02:14Well, it sort of ties in. So let's just jump right into it.
02:17Of course, first topic is the Super Bowl halftime show, which will be next February in New Orleans.
02:23Over the weekend, it was announced that Kendrick Lamar is going to be headlining the halftime show,
02:28which, you know, obviously has been on the wish list for a long time.
02:32People are really excited about that. So we'll start there.
02:35When you guys, you know, how do you feel about Kendrick being selected?
02:37It's one of those things that obviously is on the short list.
02:40People always kind of think that, you know, it just may never happen.
02:43He may never be interested in it.
02:45So when the news dropped, Kendrick is going to be the one. What did y'all think?
02:49I was on the way to brunch when I got a notification on my phone.
02:53I almost dropped my phone on the sidewalk. I was so freaking excited.
02:57I've always wanted Kendrick to do the Super Bowl.
02:59And then after he made that guest appearance at the Dr. Dre curated one,
03:05I was like, I would love to see his full vision for an entire, you know, 13, 15 minute set.
03:10And now he has the momentum to go and just make this another career defining performance for himself.
03:17He's one of our greatest performers, and I'm just excited to see him on the stage.
03:21We can get into the controversy afterwards.
03:24But for me, there was absolutely no controversy.
03:27You know, I feel like even without the string of records this year, I would have loved to see him at the stage.
03:32He has the catalog. He has the ability.
03:34And if there was someone that I trust to be our first solo rap headliner, it's absolutely Kendrick Lamar.
03:41Dang.
03:42Yeah, straight up.
03:43I mean, it's amazing and fun to have an artist who is in the midst of their peak headline the Super Bowl.
03:53From a rap perspective, we've never had that.
03:56We never had a rapper who is, you know, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were great.
04:01And Eminem and 50 Cent.
04:03It was great to have them on stage and Mary J. Blige.
04:06But their peaks were like 25 years ago, at least.
04:12Kendrick had a number one song this year.
04:14He's had one of the most exciting years of his career this year.
04:18Yeah, it's dope.
04:19It's dope to like have it feel so current and like have us anticipate it in that way.
04:24Usually it's like, oh, you're going to have Prince do the Super Bowl.
04:27It's like, oh, that's dope.
04:28Can't wait to see what Prince does.
04:29I love Prince.
04:30But you know it's going to be a bunch of catwalk.
04:32It's like, oh, I hope he does these songs.
04:35Whereas Kendrick, it's like, oh, is he going to do, like, we don't know what he's going to do.
04:39He could do anything.
04:40He is literally in album mode.
04:45He is, I'll say, the number one rapper right now.
04:51I think he's proven that to be the truth.
04:54Yes.
04:56We should drop a record about you.
04:58100 gigs or 200 gigs.
04:59Ain't nobody doing that.
05:01So that's exciting to have the number one rapper.
05:04You know, when he's the number one rapper, headline the Super Bowl, halftime show is incredible.
05:09So shout out to the NFL.
05:14It's like Jay-Z, you know, I'm sure Roc Nation had a huge hand in this.
05:27The string of people they've had headline a Super Bowl over the past few years has been insane.
05:32I'm pretty sure next year it's going to be like straight country music.
05:37He said a backlash is coming.
05:39Don't you worry.
05:40It's not Shaboosie.
05:41It's going to be like straight Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan.
05:46I could do with a Zach Bryan show.
05:48You know, Miley.
05:49I could see that happening.
05:51He said, Miley going to get back the twang.
05:53I love me some Miley.
05:54But it's dope.
05:55It's dope to see.
05:56And it's like, you know, say what you want.
05:58We can say a lot of things about the NFL.
06:00A lot of them are true.
06:02But this is very surprising.
06:04And I'm glad they picked Kendrick.
06:09Yeah.
06:10One thing you mentioned, of course, is in album mode.
06:12We've heard a lot recently, you know, it's always bubbling up that a new album is supposed
06:16to be on the way.
06:17I mean, it's only sort of helps give credence to that theory, whether it's going to be.
06:21I don't know.
06:22Now the question is, like, when would he drop it?
06:24Because you don't really debut new stuff at the Super Bowl.
06:26Yeah.
06:27You know, it's supposed to be in theory.
06:29You hope it's a concert.
06:30Everybody kind of knows all the words.
06:31We're not really trying to stand there and be like assessing a song in real time.
06:36He did not do new music, but he dropped the album two days before or two days after.
06:40It was the Friday before the Super Bowl.
06:42And we've seen, you know, between like what Usher did and obviously that got him, you
06:44know, one of the biggest albums that he's had in a long time.
06:47But he didn't do any of the new songs.
06:49No.
06:50I mean, I think people, if anything, Good Good was already out.
06:52So maybe people thought he might throw that in, but just maybe the tempo, the vibe didn't
06:56find its way.
06:57Obviously, Beyonce, you know, dropping Texas Hold'em during the Super Bowl led to a huge
07:01debut there.
07:02She did debut Formation at a Super Bowl.
07:04It was, but it was also like two days.
07:05Yeah.
07:06She dropped it two days before that.
07:07That fake YouTube.
07:08Oh, yeah.
07:09That made everyone, which is kind of just proved how quickly everybody could learn a song in
07:1330 seconds.
07:14And choreography.
07:15That's a hell of a song to drop at the Super Bowl.
07:16So it's kind of like maybe Kendrick drops it.
07:18You know, does he drop it right around the Super Bowl time?
07:20Kind of capitalize on that audience like we saw would be an Usher and, you know, just.
07:24I mean, we haven't had a rap album sell a million in a week in a long time.
07:27I think this might be the one that does it.
07:29I think this is like.
07:30As good a shot as anybody's got.
07:32This is going to be the album that like might fuck around and break a record or some shit
07:36like.
07:37Everybody is anticipating this.
07:38This is going to be a huge album.
07:40If he drops it anywhere close to this, it's a rap, especially because like what the Grammys
07:45are like the week after.
07:46Yeah.
07:47Usually.
07:49Imagine that week.
07:50Oh, I'm going to be so.
07:52I mean, imagine a new Kendrick album, Super Bowl and a Grammy win.
07:57I was going to say Grammy suite.
07:59Most likely.
08:00There's a lot of stuff eligible.
08:01Like he got like that.
08:02He got euphoria.
08:03He got not like us.
08:04Those are all.
08:05I mean, you can't contend.
08:06Can you really sweep it out an album?
08:07But it's just one category.
08:08You can get like three.
08:09He could.
08:10Yeah.
08:11Maybe five.
08:12Depending on record and song.
08:13I think.
08:14Yo.
08:15He can fight on a record of the year.
08:16Listen, we need another hip hop song.
08:17That's not fucking.
08:18This is America to have a record of the year.
08:20I mean, so please let it be one of those.
08:22Sorry, Donald.
08:23I ain't sorry.
08:24If not, if not, if not like us wins, I would.
08:27Man, man.
08:29Just what do you think?
08:30This story couldn't get any like imagine that open.
08:32You know, I don't know.
08:33Barbra Streisand opens that envelope.
08:35Whoever.
08:36It's like not like, you know, go.
08:39Toronto will just fall into the sea, man.
08:42It'd be so beautiful.
08:43I can't wait for it.
08:44Hurry up.
08:45That's gonna be a crazy week.
08:46Yeah.
08:47If he does.
08:48I think I think he's going to.
08:49I think it just makes too much sense.
08:50I know.
08:51I know Kendrick and PG like to be very subversive.
08:54And, you know, they like to like be surprising.
08:57But how can you not take advantage of this?
09:00I will say this sounds kind of similar to what we were saying around the pop out.
09:04And then that didn't come.
09:06Yeah.
09:07Music either.
09:08I think the video might have come around that time.
09:11Two weeks later.
09:12So it's like obviously a pop out versus Super Bowl to massively different scales.
09:17But Kendrick isn't afraid to just kind of bask in a moment and not necessarily attach it to new stuff.
09:23We saw clearly with Rihanna a couple of years ago.
09:25Everybody thought that meant something's coming.
09:27Gotta come.
09:28It's got to come.
09:29And she promoted Fenty Beauty during the performance.
09:31That's right.
09:32That's what you got, you know.
09:33I think the difference here is that we like know that like.
09:36Kendrick's cooking.
09:37Yeah.
09:38We don't expect Rihanna to be finished with this album, although we would love for it to be finished.
09:44But like Kendrick is like very clearly like he's still in the throes of his dominance in rap.
09:51He's still the guy.
09:53He very clearly still like relishes being on top or he wouldn't care about any doing any of the shit he just did.
10:01So I have to imagine that he's working on something.
10:07If the rumor is true that his albums work on sort of a TikTok thing where like the last album was very introspective and not commercial.
10:17That this album is going to be the one that's like boom and is more like damn.
10:22Then what better time to just fuck shit up.
10:26When you got a mass audience ready to digest that shit.
10:30Yeah.
10:31What about tour?
10:32I feel like you could announce a tour.
10:34People do that also.
10:35I mean, you could do the whole gambit, you know, sort of album tour here.
10:39I want a rap album to sell a million.
10:41And I think this would be the thing that does it.
10:43I think it might do well whenever he drops it.
10:45But man, it would be incredible to see the reaction.
10:50If it would just feel good to be excited and to just see all that happen and just be like, oh, this is incredible.
10:58I just like long for that feeling as a rap fan.
11:02I long for the feeling of watching the Drake fan scramble.
11:05If it does sell a million first week since, you know, sales are their big, you know, anchor for their arguments for their guy.
11:12If Kendrick ends up selling, you know, on a Drake love.
11:15I think Drake was the last one to do a million with a rap album.
11:18So yeah.
11:19Very poetic.
11:20Yeah.
11:21Yeah.
11:22Okay.
11:23Quick flash poll.
11:24Does he do not like us?
11:25People are nice.
11:26Yeah.
11:27Okay.
11:28I just don't think he does it in the way people are expecting.
11:29Like, I don't think he's going to do the whole like certified lover boy bit like that, obviously.
11:34But if we go the entire set without even a hint of the instrumental, like, I would bet like my house on that.
11:40I just like I just don't see that happening.
11:43He might not do like the whole song, but he definitely will do like the intro, like the intro, like whatever, the strings or whatever.
11:50And then might like allude to it and then go into something else, like tease everybody, get everybody super excited and then go into another song.
11:57You're going to hear the whole the whole crowd.
11:58Oh, yeah.
11:59Yeah.
12:00He just hit that pause.
12:01I'm like, got you.
12:02Whatever.
12:03I remember when Michael Jackson came out and he just stood there for like ever.
12:05Like a statue.
12:06Yeah.
12:07I think Kendrick might do that.
12:08If you did that today, that'd be like half the set.
12:10It's like, come on.
12:12Like, imagine Kendrick plays like the first part of the instrumental and just like stands there.
12:16I mean, the crowd.
12:17Well, we talked about the crowd in Philadelphia, you know, all the way to the A minor.
12:20He just like turns the mic over to the crowd.
12:21Yo, it would be too good.
12:23That'd be great.
12:26OK, well, of course, we'll we'll stay tuned to see if Kyle is homeless.
12:29We'll bet this house on that.
12:31Obviously a long way to go to Super Bowl.
12:32So any updates, any things we hear?
12:34Of course, we'll keep everybody attuned to that.
12:37So Kendrick, obviously the lead story there going about who is going to be at the Super Bowl.
12:42Very swiftly.
12:44A lot of conversation about who is not going to be at the Super Bowl, of course, is being hosted in New Orleans.
12:49So a lot of people expected little Wayne to get the call, hoping that he would be able to put the city on.
12:55The Internet has really blown up over that.
12:57We see not only, of course, plenty of fans, plenty of wheezy, wheezy stands, New Orleans advocates, but artists, too.
13:04Nicki Minaj has been out there.
13:06We saw Birdman tweet about it.
13:07We saw some engineers and folks that have worked with Wayne over the years.
13:11So not just, you know, everybody.
13:14Post was like so weird.
13:16It was like it was so like the response was confusing to me for a number of reasons.
13:21But that engineer's post was like, this is the last time we will let other people decide our fate.
13:27And it's like, bro, this guy is like a 35-year veteran of rap.
13:33He was the most popular rapper in the world, artist in the world for like a five-year stretch.
13:39He's sold a million in a week twice.
13:42He's one of the most famous people ever.
13:45They're acting like he's this rising artist that got snubbed out.
13:49And it's like, bro, this is Lil Wayne.
13:51There's no world in which Lil Wayne is like.
13:56I just didn't believe that they were acting as if we were harming Lil Wayne's career.
14:00We're not giving him his flowers.
14:02It's like, Lil Wayne?
14:04The argument just felt so disingenuous from the jump.
14:08No one has explained to me at this point where the expectation came from that it had to be a hometown star.
14:16That just happened once.
14:18And also the idea was like, it was Dr. Dre curating the thing.
14:23Like Mary J. Blige is not from LA.
14:26Neither is 50 Cent.
14:28That's three out of five.
14:29That's the majority of the set.
14:3150 Cent, Eminem, Mary J. Blige.
14:33Literally all in the West East Coast.
14:35You can think back to all of the most memorable ones over the past 15 years.
14:38They almost have never stinked up at the artist's hometown being where the Super Bowl was hosted.
14:43Mostly because of where the Super Bowl is normally hosted.
14:45You don't be having Super Bowls in North Dakota or shit like that.
14:49There's a set number of stadiums that we rotate between.
14:52We say Sexy Red never getting to St. Louis.
14:54What are we talking about?
14:56And just treating Wayne like he's some Make-A-Wish kid.
14:59This is somebody who's...
15:01I was just on our Greatest Popstars podcast for him.
15:05This is somebody who is one of the most legendary and iconic artists across popular music.
15:13Yes, he goes to the Super Bowl set.
15:15He will likely get one.
15:17I don't understand why...
15:19I wonder if Kendrick wasn't a non-sensitive pick.
15:22Is there that much groundswell support for it to be Wayne?
15:25This whole shit felt coordinated.
15:27Coordinated as hell.
15:29Why can we be happy that we have a solo rap headliner after all these years?
15:33Period.
15:34Nikki being like...
15:36I forgot the exact words.
15:38She said something to the effect of...
15:40How could you do this to a young man?
15:43Mind you, she only ever brings up race when it's other black people also getting their flowers.
15:49Kendrick changed races or something?
15:51Did I miss that?
15:52Is he not a younger black man than Wayne is?
15:57Worry about figuring out a new day for that Pink Friday 2 Deluxe, Gag City, whatever the hell it is.
16:02Because the Ransom stuff...
16:04Let me sit over here real quick.
16:08It was so ridiculous.
16:09It felt so disingenuous and coordinated that it was laughable to a point.
16:15I think the larger outrage was just a domino effect.
16:22I think people were just outraged because other people were outraged.
16:24Then it got to the point where people were like,
16:26Little Wayne can't even do a Super Bowl set.
16:29I was like, it was 15 fucking minutes.
16:30Of course Little Wayne can do a Super Bowl set.
16:32The motherfucker has days, months of music.
16:36But it wasn't the hits they were talking about.
16:37They were worried about the performance quality.
16:40And I think even with that argument,
16:42Super Bowl's in February, it's currently September.
16:45He locks in and just rehearses and gets relatively cleaned up for it.
16:49He can do it.
16:50This is a guy who lived on the road.
16:52He has the ability.
16:53He has the hits.
16:54He has everything.
16:55Yes.
16:56The paperwork is signed.
16:58The ads are airing.
17:00What is there to really argue about?
17:03Because at the end of the day, Kendrick is taking the stage.
17:05And it would be awesome if Kendrick put a hand out and was like,
17:10Hey, I want to have Wayne as a guest for my set.
17:12If that even happens, for me, that moment is already dampened
17:15because of all of the childishness that's been going on for the past two, three days.
17:19So you think it's going to be like a handout kind of look?
17:21I don't even think it would be a handout.
17:23I would just think I would be not as surprised.
17:26It wouldn't be as fun.
17:27It would make him look more like a charity case.
17:28Exactly.
17:29And it's just like, nah, he's Lil Wayne.
17:30Which I don't think like so.
17:32People are resurfacing that interview he did on YG's podcast a couple years ago
17:36where Wayne was very vocally like, I haven't gotten the call, but I would love to.
17:40It's about legacy, not necessarily who has the hit record right now.
17:44And then to another point about that, of course, it's New Orleans.
17:47A lot of people are pointing out there will be so many more Super Bowls in Los Angeles,
17:50I think even next year on the docket, that people feel like-
17:52San Francisco.
17:53Okay.
17:54California.
17:55But people are like, yo, you know, like Kendrick would have had his turn,
18:00I think, to the point, especially-
18:01Kendrick's not from San Francisco?
18:02Don't care.
18:03Well, but he's not from San Francisco.
18:04But he's from, you know, he-
18:05All of his motivation and hometown arguments got to go out the window.
18:09You know he's not from New Orleans.
18:10Those are not valid arguments.
18:11There's two things.
18:12One, it's never been a prerequisite for someone to get chosen from the city that they live in.
18:17Shakira did the Super Bowl.
18:18I mean-
18:19Rihanna did the Super Bowl.
18:20Yeah, but-
18:21These are not even American cities.
18:22Like, I mean, they're citizens, but they're not American.
18:24Like, what?
18:25But you don't think when, you know, the committee sat there and looked at it,
18:28and by the way, we should point out as well, a lot of people, you know,
18:31mad at whoever behind the scenes.
18:33The host city does have a considerable sway in it.
18:36But people are saying, like, there's no way you look at the Super Bowl being in New Orleans
18:39and not think, like, not think Wayne.
18:42Like, when you see New Orleans, who could headline a halftime show?
18:45I mean, it's also like Master P.
18:47Like, there's like a bunch of people who you can think of, like,
18:51Cash Money would be great.
18:53No one is saying that a Lil Wayne Super Bowl or a Cash Money Super Bowl halftime show would not be good.
18:59No one is saying that.
19:01The idea that we need to pick someone from New Orleans to headline the Super Bowl halftime show
19:08is just ridiculous.
19:09It's never happened before.
19:11It happened, I mean, it's happened once, but even that was, like,
19:15a thing where Dre had to bring five other, like, superstars to do it with him.
19:21Like, it wasn't like, oh, Dre, just go do the Chronic.
19:24It was like, nah, bro, you need to bring, like, other multi-platinum legendary artists with you.
19:30But y'all not gonna show no love to the thought that, you know,
19:32I guess back to Engineer's Post, you know,
19:34the South feels like still to this day doesn't get the respect of East and West.
19:38Kendrick has a whole West Coast show dedicated to West Coast showing him off.
19:42Pop Out was great.
19:43The South can't get his moment.
19:45Lil Wayne could throw his own show.
19:46Yeah, no one did the Pop Out for Kendrick.
19:49Kendrick threw the Pop Out for himself in Mississippi.
19:51Lil Wayne could throw a concert right now, and it would be great.
19:53Doesn't he not have, like, Louisiana Fest coming up?
19:55Yeah, like, what you know about the Super Bowl.
19:58That's the equivalent to a Pop Out, isn't it?
20:00Lil Wayne won't get the Super Bowl.
20:01Also, it's Lil Wayne.
20:02Like, we're acting as if, you know, I know he's a different artist now.
20:09He's a different person now.
20:10But, like, Lil Wayne is quite literally, listen to the music,
20:16not the safest brand to have on stage at the Super Bowl.
20:21Like, Snoop Dogg was on trial for murder in the 90s.
20:27We all remember this.
20:29He's a chronic weed smoker.
20:30He brought two women on leashes to an award show once.
20:36He has so thoroughly washed his image that that is, like,
20:42he seems a completely new person now.
20:44I don't think Lil Wayne has, like, done that to that extent,
20:48but he's still, like, super close to that image.
20:50And I can see the NFL looking at that and being like, oh, I don't know.
20:55You're a little uncomfortable with it.
20:56Yeah, like, I don't know if this is the guy we want to trust
21:00with the Super Bowl halftime show.
21:02Not that I'm saying that's the right decision.
21:04I'm saying I can see the NFL looking at Lil Wayne and being like,
21:09I don't know if the guy who raps about eating pussy, taking drugs,
21:14and gangbanging is the guy we want to trust with this.
21:20Okay.
21:22All right.
21:23I feel the funniest part of the whole thing for me was, like,
21:26this forced Young Money, like, realignment that happens every four years.
21:34Yeah, like, where we go when Drake was getting murdered two months ago.
21:37Y'all literally forget that y'all kind of like each other,
21:39and then, like, you know, every four or five years it's like,
21:42here's the three of us on a song, or here's this, here's that.
21:45I mean, that's not true.
21:46Drake was fighting for his life two months ago.
21:47Drake was fighting for his life.
21:48Nick was fighting for her life just two months before that.
21:50Ain't nothing happened.
21:51Well, they sent out the bird call.
21:52I didn't hear a word.
21:53Lil Wayne will get his Super Bowl call.
21:55If y'all was a family, I would have told you to not put out Bigfoot.
21:57If y'all was a family, I would have told him to stop with the freaking gigs.
22:00But y'all's not a family.
22:01Like.
22:02Lil Wayne will get his Super Bowl call.
22:03It will happen.
22:04I will bet my house on that, that he will.
22:07Damn, everybody.
22:08Lil Wayne will headline a Super Bowl halftime show.
22:12He will.
22:13It's just he's too big of an artist not to get that call.
22:17But also, like, look at other people who are also having that call.
22:20Kanye's never done a Super Bowl halftime show.
22:22Yeah, that's ship of sale.
22:23But, like.
22:24And for the record, you can get the call and you do have to say yes.
22:27And you just have to align.
22:28And stuff like, we don't know what schedules we're looking like or anything like that.
22:32Sure.
22:33Has Wayne himself said anything since the announcement?
22:36No.
22:37No, everybody started talking for him.
22:38Like, for all we know, we really don't know anything.
22:40Like, the man could have been offered and maybe he couldn't make it happen this particular year.
22:43Like, we really don't know.
22:45Yeah, but I'm sure he would have.
22:46And, like.
22:47I imagine he would have said that to kind of quell the.
22:48I imagine he would have said anything.
22:49Yeah, something.
22:50Well.
22:51Especially everyone going at Jay-Z.
22:52Like.
22:53That's true.
22:54Like.
22:55We're about to have, like, a whole ass, like, Young Money versus Roc Nation, like, crash
22:58out right now.
22:59And he still hasn't said anything.
23:00So, it's like.
23:01Everyone's shitting on Jay-Z.
23:02He said Marvel versus Capcom.
23:03Jay-Z is the one, you know, who, as far as we know, publicly has a lot of love for Lil
23:09Wayne.
23:10You know, even Lil Wayne has gone out in public and said, this is the man who helped me with
23:12my taxes.
23:13The taxes, yeah.
23:14He helped me get out of my deal.
23:15Yeah.
23:16And he tried to sign me.
23:17And, you know.
23:18Birdman said.
23:19No.
23:20Birdman's out here being like.
23:21On Gladys.
23:22I'm gonna, you know.
23:23I'm gonna fix this.
23:24And it's like.
23:25Bro.
23:26You're the one who signed this guy to a predatory deal that Jay-Z had to get him out of.
23:29I mean.
23:30Talking about putting on Miss Gladys.
23:31That's facts.
23:32Leave Miss Gladys.
23:33Like.
23:34Leave Miss Gladys out of this, bro.
23:35She tired.
23:36Mama Gladys.
23:37Like.
23:38It's.
23:39It's just.
23:40The whole thing's ridiculous.
23:41Like.
23:42People blaming Jay-Z.
23:43And it's like.
23:44Bro.
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34:30I'm
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34:39I'm going to.
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34:42Like this is.
34:43Like almost as if this was like leading up to this, like, I'm going to make this amazing thing.
34:45I know you guys aren't going to accept it.
34:46And when you don't accept it.
34:47I'm ready to like move on to the next part.
34:49at the Grammys and just puts all her eggs in the album of the year basket instead.
34:53I was just gonna say that that's sort of the next question.
34:56Not getting a country album nomination.
34:58People think maybe Americana, maybe a little bit of this and that.
35:00Americana is probably the best non-pop band, but it's like it's too country for me to put
35:06in an Urban Contemporary. Pop is just honestly where I might end up. They put The Gift in pop,
35:11so it's like maybe, but that's such a competitive year this year. And then Americana,
35:16she's never competed in that category before, but you don't give them a chance to reward you
35:20in the genre categories and your songs lose to a bar song. They're kind of forced to give you
35:25recognition in whatever's left, and that might be album of the year. So that could be a strategy
35:31that they're going for. But I wouldn't be surprised if by the time we get into the
35:34Grammy conversation in earnest, she's already into Act Three. Seems like she's just on her
35:39own timeline. It could be, yeah. And the CMAs and Grammys don't always necessarily line up
35:44by any means. So that's sort of one chapter of the story. And like I said, coming up,
35:50I mean, next February is going to be packed. We're talking Super Bowl and certainly where
35:53Beyonce is going to land in the Grammy nominations. And if this can be the one that takes it home for
35:58her, that's going to obviously be one of the biggest storylines to watch out for next year.
36:01So we'll see what the future holds for Cowboy Carter. And man, it's like I said,
36:06February is going to be crazy. It's going to be a back-to-back crazy week.
36:09Can't wait.
36:10Short month, but a big month.
36:12Big month. All right, before we wrap up, of course, we're going to do a quick lightning
36:15round just to give you a couple of pics of some things that we've been spending for the
36:19past couple of weeks, months that we, you know, hopefully get some more exposure to
36:23that we've been loving. So let's let Dame go first this week, if you want to shout out.
36:28Sure. So I don't know exactly how old this song is. I came across it when I was looking
36:33for something else and it popped up and I kind of fell into like a rabbit hole of his. I started
36:40listening to all his songs. I came across this, I guess you'd call it a song by Pusheisty,
36:46called CEO. He records it from jail. You know, as we know, he's serving a five-year sentence.
36:54He records it from jail and he records over the phone. It's not like a Tory Lanez.
37:01It's not like a Tory Lanez situation.
37:02Oh, he got the whole, you know, the operation.
37:05He's recording on the phone from jail. It sounds like it. It sounds like an old 90s
37:10skit in like the audio quality, but I haven't heard from this guy in a while. And I think I
37:18forgot how, how piercing his lyrics are and how like arresting he can be. And I think him
37:28being away and doing this time has made that even more so. And this little song that he
37:34made, it's really good. And it makes me really excited for what he has in store.
37:42If he gets out, I imagine he might get out with good behavior in the next few years.
37:47But the song's really good. He's talking about just like his day-to-day life in prison, which
37:54by most accounts could come off really bland or, you know, overly glamorizing of that life.
38:01This falls squarely in the middle. It's like stark realism. And he's like talking about things
38:08that I haven't heard a lot of people really talk about. It's what he does best. You know,
38:13I think Pusha Icy was great because he would say being in such a plain way, kind of cheesy-ish,
38:19cheesy-ish that were so powerful. And as I said, so arresting. And I think this is another example
38:25of it. It's called CEO. You probably find it on YouTube. I think it's on a mixtape of his as well.
38:31Yeah, really good. Yo, it's a lot of cats out here. Like the prison recording industry is nuts.
38:39Yes, it's a wild thing. Obviously, we don't, you know, that's never the goal for anybody to be
38:44recording behind bars. But what people have been able to, you know, put out in the past couple
38:47weeks, just that infrastructure is insane. And when I learned that Vibes recorded one of his
38:53biggest songs in prison, I was kind of blown away by that. That was like a big, big revelation for
38:58me. I don't know how he, I mean, he explained how he did it. He's like, he had a cell phone,
39:03an iPhone and an iPad. And he's listening to the beat off the iPad. He's recording his vocals into
39:10an iPhone. And then he sends both to an engineer. And they put it together.
39:16First, shout out to engineers. You are the unsung magicians of the whole industry,
39:21like really. Kyle, you want to walk us through yours?
39:25My pick for this week is Schmoke by Powers Pleasant, featuring A$AP Ferg and Armani Caesar.
39:32I love it because it's kind of just like a generation bridging New York sounds,
39:38kind of. You get like the legacies of A$AP Mob and Griselda on the same track. And
39:42the track, like Powers takes lots of notes from like 90s hip hop and how booming the production
39:46is. But then there's these like echoes of drill with the snares. Then there's like a jersey
39:50breakdown. There's a gospel sample in the beginning. There's like everything happening
39:54in this song. There's a lot going on. But it's so much fun. And Ferg just has so much energy
39:59whenever he hops on a hook that it's just like you hear his voice and you just want to get up
40:04and get active. And that's exactly how I feel when I hear this song. And it just makes me hype. And
40:09I really like it. We need more Ferg music. We do need more Ferg music. That's my guy.
40:16I think of like hit makers. Ferg's a hit maker, like a rap hit maker. I miss the days when he
40:20was like dropping like new anthems like every every every six months.
40:27Shout out Ferg. I'm going to wrap, I guess, the conversation up with my pick, which is
40:34Active by Asake and Travis Scott. Came out about a month ago from Asake's new album Lungu Boy,
40:40which I mean, if you haven't heard the song, I think it's just obviously Travis brings any kind
40:45of energy to a track and just elevates it. I love this track. I think it's just hype. I think
40:51it's a lot of fun. In particular, I'm excited for this because Asake feels like, you know, if
40:57in the in the question of African music coming across the state side in the past couple of years,
41:00you know, we've seen obviously Wizkid breakthrough with Essence in a major way. We had CK. We had
41:05Fireboy. It feels like for a minute Asake has been like one of the next ones who could possibly jump.
41:11And obviously Travis on the track, that's only going to help, you know, bring the exposure
41:14coming through. Debut this week on one of our airplay charts on Rhythmic Airplay. So
41:19at number 40 right there on the anchor spot. So it's starting to creep its way up. So
41:22I think that this in particular could be a real breakthrough for Asake. And, you know, like I said,
41:27just sort of keep him in that conversation as maybe the next one who's able to jump from,
41:31you know, he's obviously so major in Africa that maybe this can really take him global as well in
41:37the UK as well. So I just think that track in particular just has a lot of hype, a lot of
41:43energy. It's good for whatever you want it to be. It's really a great club song. I think it's a good,
41:47you know, if you want to take the hook and just sort of, you know, I'm active. It's like a little
41:52TikTok kind of sound there for it as well. So I just think it plays smartly in multiple lanes
41:57if you're really trying to make a hit. And, you know, on the album as well, like Wizkid has a
42:01crazy joint with him as well. But seems like this is really going to be the one. And I'm
42:06hoping it does good things for him and just really elevates his star, because I think he really,
42:10you know, has what it takes to to make a big splash around the world. So yeah, shout out to
42:15Asake. And of course, as always, Travis Scott, keeping things interesting. So before we go,
42:21got to say rest in peace to the legend Frankie Beverly, who passed away age 77. Legendary
42:28singer, writer, producer from the legendary group Maze. He's just what a lot of us grew up listening
42:38to. He's like the sound of, I don't know, blackness. He's it. Well, it's just it's the
42:44jubilation, like so much of those records that, you know, it almost kind of feels like a lost
42:49time. You know, when this song's anchored communal experiences and communal moments,
42:54cookouts, graduations, anything. You think of Black Joy and like his voice comes right through.
42:59And yeah, like I was at the Usher show last night, you know, before I Let Go comes on. It's just
43:03they're almost like there really almost is no bad setting for that song. Like it just turns
43:09everyone's, you know, attention on in a moment. You're right. It's just communal. Everyone just
43:14has fun grooves. Obviously, Beyonce did the cover a couple of years ago for Homecoming that helped
43:19really introduce it to a new generation of fans. But still like that record in particular, you want
43:24to talk about just on the short list of like black greatest hits of all time. Yeah, that's like
43:31that's got to be top 10 easy. You know, go stream some Frankie Beverly and Mays today. This week,
43:36this weekend. Yeah, because Lord knows in these times we need it. So yeah, rest in peace, Frankie
43:42Beverly, 77. Also, if you want to read more about his life, I know Gail Mitchell wrote an excellent
43:49tribute and obituary on Billboard.com. So make sure you check that out. Really,
43:52you know, someone who didn't get all his flowers at the time, not a lot of crossover hits and all
43:57that kind of thing, but just so integral to to black music. So make sure y'all check that out.
44:02I think that'll wrap up this week's episode of Billboard Unfiltered. So
44:06thank y'all for tuning in. And of course, we'll be back next week. See you then.