Image via Complex Original
50 Cent kicked it all off when he visited Hot 97 and called former G-Unit members Tony Yayoand Lloyd Banks hypemen for Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave. He argued it wasn't a shot, but if it wasn't then we don't want to know what is. Childish Gambinotook to Twitter this week to air out his grievances with his record label after the video for his song "Sweatpants" dropped and wasn't what he expected.
Wu-Tang Clan had the biggest issues this week. News broke that Raekwon is "on strike" from the group because he's not happy with their new single, "Keep Watch." And Clan associate Andre Johnson (also known as Christ Bearer) attempted to commit suicide by castrating himself and jumping off a balcony.
It wasn't all bad this week though. Pharrell had an amazing interview with Oprah Winfrey where he spoke about his humble beginnings, the love he has for his wife, and he shed a couple tears after seeing the impact his hit "Happy" has made. Check out all that and more on What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Week?.
Pharrell cried tears of joy on "Oprah Prime" last weekend after watching a montage of "Happy" videos from around the world.
Date: April 13
The year of Pharrell continues. He sat down with Oprah on her show, Oprah Prime, last Sunday and during the in-depth conversation, they spoke about his chart-topping song "Happy," his family life and recent marriage to Helen Lasichanh. Additionally, the two chatted about G.I.R.L. and being nominated for an Oscar for Despicable Me 2. However, the most moving part of the interview came when Pharrell was brought to tears by all of the videos of "Happy" from people around the world.—Zach Frydenlund
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Lana Del Rey premiered her latest single "West Coast" while performing at Coachella last weekend.
Date: April 14
Lana Del Rey released a new song called "West Coast" tonight after premiering the song last night during her Coachella set on Sunday. This is the first single off her upcoming sophomore album, Ultraviolence, which is slated for release on May 1. She premiered it over on Fearne Cotton's show on BBCRadio 1 officially as a first listen earlier this morning, and it pulls from previous Lana material as its yet another ode to the old Hollywood starlets she adores. —Lauren Nostro
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After releasing the "Sweatpants" video and his "The Deep Web Tour" diary, Childish Gambino took to Twitter to air out some grievances with his label situation.
Date: April 14
Because the Internet is more than just an album title for Childish Gambino. He's attributed some of his success to the digital realm, and has stated (more than once) its importance and that he has a better grasp on it than most. Including his record label, Glassnote.
Gambino claims that they botched the release of his newest video "Sweatpants" as well as his Deep Web Tour Blog. And then lied to he and his team about it all. As a result of his frustrations with them, he took to his Twitter account to speak his peace about what he is saying are big mishaps.—Brandon Jenkins
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50 Cent is on a promo run for Animal Ambition and after dropping the single "Hustler" and its accompanying video, he took shots at everyone from Diddy to Tony Yayo, Young Buck, and even Troy Ave.
Date: April 14, 15, and 17
50 Cent’s upcoming album Animal Ambition is set to drop June 3 and the Queens native is starting a buzz by stirring up a little controversy. The rapper dropped a new song called ”Hustler” this week on DJ Euff’s Hot 97 show, which you can check out below. The following day, 50 stopped by The Hot 97 Morning Show to talk about Summer Jam, his new album, and his take on New York hip-hop. 50 admitted to being a Troy Ave fan, but simply said he likes "the idea of Troy Ave."
What set people off, however, was when 50 Cent commented on his former G-Unit members Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks by calling them Troy Ave’s hypemen. This didn’t sit well with Yayo who took to Twitter to announce his hate for the brand in a now deleted tweet. As if that wasn’t enough, 50 Cent hit up another radio station and blatantly called Diddy’s newest song “Big Homie” garbage. With his album over a month away it’ll be interesting to see how 50 continues to stir the pot. —Zach Frydenlund
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This week marked the 20th anniversary of Nas' Illmatic.
Date: April 15
Nas celebrated the 20th anniversary of his debut album Illmatic this week by dropping Illmatic XX, a remastered version of its original that also includes a rare freestyle as well as remixes to songs such as “Life’s A Bitch” and “It Ain’t Hard To Tell.” To further interact with his fans, Nas also stopped by the Reddit offices to participate in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session where he revealed he didn’t ghost write Will Smith’s ”Gettin’ Jiggy With It, he loves Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara, and that he’s also a fan of Bishop Neru and Fashawn. You can catch our recap of the AMA session here and stream Illmatic XX below.— Insanul Ahmed
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Future streamed his Honest album a week early, and dropped the Kim K and Ciara-less video for "I Won" featuring Kanye West.
Date: April 15 and 17
With Future's album, Honest, out on April 22, his team wasted no time in putting out the video for his new single, "I Won," which, of course, features Kanye West. Hype Williams directed the visuals for the Metro Boomin-produced track, with Kanye and Future walking along the beach.
However, Kim K and Ciara—who are both the obvious "trophies" that the song refers to—are nowhere to be found in the video.
Pre-order Honest on iTunes right here and watch the video below. Also, make sure to check out Complex's in-depth review of Future's Honest album here. —Zach Frydenlund
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August Alsina dropped his new album Testimony and got a little heated on BET's "106 & Park" after being asked about his R&Beef with Trey Songz.
Date: April 15
Apparently, there are some things you just don't ask August Alsina on the day his album comes out. The number one thing seems to be asking about Trey Songz, who August has been beefing with since an incident a few months back.
But of course, they're going to ask about it because R&Beef is always entertaining—and his answer is priceless. —Zach Frydenlund
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Rumors swirled surrounding a possible Jay Z and Beyoncé tour this summer but only one thing is for sure: the "Made in America" festival will take place over Labor Day weekend in both Los Angeles and Philly.
Date: April 15 & 16
Jay Z is officially bringing his "Made In America" festival to Los Angeles this year. It will be held at Grand Park on August 30 and 31. But don't worry, it will still take place in Philadelphia as well on the same weekend at Ben Franklin Parkway. Obviously the two shows will have entirely different lineups, which have yet to be announced.
Tickets are available for pre-sale on Ticketmaster.
This news comes right on the heels of a reported Jay Z and Beyoncé joint tour, which is apparently going down this summer, but more details are not available at the moment. —Zach Frydenlund
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Forbes dropped their annual "Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artists" list, and Diddy is obviously making more money than everyone else.
Date: April 16
Forbes released their annual "Hip Hop's Wealthiest Artists of 2014" list today, which runs in the May 5th issue of the magazine. Diddy tops the list with an estimated fortune of $700 million, which means his net worth has increased $120 million over the last year thanks to his Revolt TV venture. Dr. Dre, Jay Z, Birdman and 50 Cent all make the top five with the following estimated fortunes:
Diddy - $700 million
Dr. Dre - $550 million
Jay Z - $520 million
Birdman -$160 million
50 Cent - $140 million
Forbes calculates the lists by "looking at past earnings, valuing current holdings, leafing through financial documents and talking to analysts, attorneys, managers, other industry players as well as some of the moguls themselves." —Lauren Nostro
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Drake is being sued over the opening monologue sample on "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2" that most people thought was his dad.
Date: April 16
According to TMZ, Drake is being sued over the opening monologue on his Jay Z-assisted track "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2" off Nothing Was The Same.The liner notes on the album credit the opening 35 second monologue to a 1982 song "Jimmy Smith Rap" by jazz musician Jimmy Smith.
Now, the estate of James Oscar "Jimmy" Smith-who passed away in February 2005-claims that no one asked for permission, and therefore no permission was given. However, in the liner notes for the Boi-1da produced track, it states "Speech sample provided by Christian Rich and Utters."—Lauren Nostro
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There's been a lot of drama with Wu-Tang Clan this week: Raekwon is currently on a "strike" and someone cut off their penis in a suicide attempt.
Date: April 16 & 17
It hasn't been a great week for Wu-Tang Clan, who's upcoming one-of-a-kind album The Wu-Once Upon a Time In Shaolin is already being sought after for $5 million and even has fans scrambling to launch a Kickstarter to get their hands on it. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Raekwon spoke out against RZA, the creative direction of the album, and how he's "'on strike" from the group.
"I hate it. I hate it. I don't hate shit, but I hate that fuckin' record. It ain't the gunpowder that my brother is spitting; it's the production. And I ain't shitting on the producer because he's one of our soldiers," Raekwon said in the interview. "But if it ain't where it need to be... It's 20 years later."
To make matters worse Wu-Tang affiliate Andre Johnson, also known as Christ Bearer of Northstar, severed his penis and jumped off a second story balcony this week during a failed suicide attempt. Doctors could not reattach his severed penis.—Lauren Nostro
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