NEWS
Diddy has seemingly hit the pause button on his friendly rivalry with fellow iconic producer Jermaine Dupri after the So So Def founder dropped a brand new freestyle.
On Wednesday (June 6), JD shared an impromptu freestyle on social media just to make sure fans know that he’s still got it — and Diddy was thrilled to cheer on his fellow mogul.
Judging from JD’s bars, the 50-year-old rapper and producer hasn’t lost a step as he bounced over the wavy, bouncy beat: “I’m having at your shit/ Knowing I’m a short n-gga/ Big check, high-tech, I ain’t gotta force shit/ Cappin’, bring me that ass and watch you lose it, abuse it, and I ain’t gone stop you/ The illest, I kill this/ This summer you feel this…”
The comment section immediately went off, with fans handing down their praises, as well as Diddy, who wrote: “Act Bad!!! Let’s go!” which is also a nod to his recent single of the same name featuring the City Girls and Fabolous.
The pair finally confirmed their long-awaited Verzuz battle last month, as well as dropping the date and venue.
In a video posted to Busta Rhymes‘ social media back in May, Puff revealed he’ll finally be going up against Dupri on September 8 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. “We’re gon’ have you out the rafters flying out the sky,” Diddy told Busta as Fabolous stood alongside them.
Despite Diddy’s comments, Verzuz co-founders Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have yet to formally announce the event. The two previously agreed to put their catalogs to the test last August.
Diddy went on Instagram Live and invited Dupri into the session; feeling confident about his chances in a head-to-head, Diddy said: “JD, if you want that smoke, you can get that smoke anytime.”
Jermaine Dupri told Diddy to “relax” before agreeing to set up an event in his hometown of Atlanta. Instead of a traditional battle, though, they agreed to showcase the history of Bad Boy Records and So So Def Recordings by playing their respective labels’ hits with no drama.
NEWS
Taylor Swift is encouraging rising artists to stay away from reading social media comments too closely.
During a conversation with The New York Times about songwriting, the “Shake It Off” singer explained that although criticism can sometimes become a “creative writing prompt,” constantly checking comments online can leave artists overwhelmed by negativity.
“My favourite thing when I sit down with new artists or songwriters, I'm like, ‘Why are you reading your comments?’ Like, that's too much of it,” she said. “You're inundating yourself with too much criticism that doesn't really have a focus. But a little bit of it, you've got to just be like, this is part of (the job). Like, don't make this make you stop writing or make you edit yourself or whatever.”
Swift, 36, also shared that she often tells other musicians to channel criticism into music instead of firing back at people online or posting long responses in the Notes app.
“If it's an interesting point to you to kind of respond to, then that's a gift for you to be able to write something. Maybe you wouldn't have written something that day,” she continued. “But don't go to the Notes app and post it, like write (a song) about it. Make art about this. Don't respond to trolls in your comments. That's not what we want from you. We want your art.”
The global superstar went on to say that criticism has inspired some of the biggest songs throughout her career. She pointed to her 2014 hit “Blank Space,” saying it likely would not have happened without people constantly focusing on her dating life and creating “slideshow” style narratives about her relationships.
Speaking about her 2022 track “Anti-Hero,” Swift added, “That song doesn't exist if I don't get criticised for every aspect of my personality that people have a problem with or whatever.”
