NEWS
Taylor Swift
Beth GarrabrantSeems Taylor Swift knows all too well how to give fans what they want for Record Store Day. On Wednesday (Feb. 9), Vans announced that the superstar will be included on Portraits of Her, a special charity benefit album for the annual event.
Set to be released in independent record stores on April 23, the 16-track album will raise money for We Are Moving the Needle, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and supporting female professionals in the recording industry. While it’s unclear whether Swift will be contributing a new song or a re-recorded track to the compilation, she’ll be joined by the likes of Julien Baker, Banks, Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, Girl in Red, K.Flay, Mariah the Scientist, Julia Michaels and Princess Nokia on the tracklist.
“This album celebrates generations of women who have overcome barriers to representation, recognition, and opportunity in the music industry,” said Tierney Stout, Vans’ director of global music marketing, in a statement. “Brands, record labels, musicians and other organizations, including Record Store Day and We Are Moving the Needle, are working together to give today and tomorrow’s female talent more visibility, support and opportunities.”
Emily Lazar, a mastering engineer and founder of We Are Moving the Needle, added, “Women are an incredible asset to the music industry, yet they are underrepresented across the board, but particularly in recording studios. To close the vast gender gap in this industry, we must all work together to empower women on and off stage, behind the music, in the studio, and everywhere else in this business.”
Swift was named Record Store Day global ambassador back in January, and the unnamed song for the charity album isn’t the only surprise she has up her sleeve. The icon also plans to drop an as-yet-unannounced title of her own to mark the 15th anniversary of the holiday for vinyl lovers the world over.
Meanwhile, her latest collaboration with pal Ed Sheeran — a remix of “The Joker and the Queen” off the latter’s new album = (Equals) — is set to be released this Friday (Feb. 11).
Get a look at the cover art for Portraits of Her below.
NEWS
There is no question that Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out made a serious impact and continues to hold weight. The project showed that hip hop is not limited by age and proved that a long-awaited return can still land in a major way regardless of the time away.
If you need a reminder, the Virginia duo’s fourth studio album debuted comfortably within the top five of the Hot 200. It secured the number four position and moved an impressive 118,000 units in its first week.
On top of that, it picked up a win at this year’s Grammys, earning Best Rap Performance for “Chains & Whips.” The album also received four additional nominations, including Best Music Video, Rap Album, and Album of the Year.
It is hard to believe the project will officially hit its one year mark this summer on July 11. Even so, Pusha T is making it clear that both supporters and critics should not be overlooking it anytime soon.
While performing at Coachella yesterday, King Push told the crowd that LGSEO still sits at the top, regardless of genre.
He said, “‘Let God Sort Em Out’ is still the album of the motherfckin year. Whole new year, still album of the year,” per Kurrco. “Album of the motherfcking year until we drop again. We don't care who dropping. It don't matter.”
That is a strong statement for obvious reasons, especially considering the recent claims surrounding Push himself.
Over the same weekend, hip hop social media lit up after several alleged reference tracks connected to Quentin Miller and Push began circulating. Three tracks surfaced in total, but one that drew the most attention was an alleged record titled “Real Gon’ Come.” It is said to come from the DAYTONA era, around 2017 to 2018.
The situation gained traction because fans remember the past tension between Drake and Pusha T before Drake’s clash with Kendrick Lamar. During that feud, Pusha accused Drake of using ghostwriters on tracks like “Infrared,” which appears on DAYTONA. On that song, he raps, “The bigger question is how the Russians did it /
It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin.”
Reactions have been mixed. Some people argue it is not a major issue since Miller’s alleged contributions were limited to hooks. Others point out that the songs were never officially released, so they see no real problem. Meanwhile, critics view it as clear hypocrisy on Pusha T’s part, a perspective that DJ Akademiks has also supported.
