Boosie Badazz has had plenty of rap battles. He spent most of the 2000s beefing with the likes of T.I. and Plies, even if he retroactively said him and Plies were on good terms. One would assume that he would be a fan of the current battle going on between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, but the Louisiana hitmaker feels the exact opposite. He got on social media on May 6 to criticize the way both rappers have handled the battle. He also went out of his way to criticize both of their fanbases.
The rant took place on X (formerly Twitter). Boosie kicked off his statement by claiming that too many fans are rooting in the downfall of Drake and/or Lamar. "I never seen so many men excited to see men tearing each other down thru music," he wrote. "The men r more excited than the women lol." Boosie went on to claim that fans have repeatedly asked him about his thoughts on the battle. Evidently, he's getting tired of answering. He also said that he doesn't want to see either rapper damage their hugely successful career.
"Do y'all really want to see one of these great artist career done cause they lost a rap battle?," he asked his followers. "Do y'all want all what they have done for hip hop overshadowed by rap beef. They talking about children, baby mommas, dirt, fiances, molestation, pedophiles, etc." Boosie Badazz then widened the conversation and inferred the dangers that could potentially be awaiting Drake and Dot in the future.
He theorized that traveling to the other's home city may be dangerous for both rappers, which is not something that should be encouraged. "I hope y'all don't think these artist n crews snaking hands n smiling when they see each other," he added. "Nobody go be safe n the next artist city. Not to mention when other artist start picking sides n getting involved smh that's when sh*t get serious." Boosie isn't the only rapper who's expressed their disappointment over the battle. Chuck D felt that Drake and Dot should be presenting a united front to the rest of the music world. The Public Enemy rapper went as far as to say the two of them should go on tour with J. Cole.
While a truce may be possible in the future, the vitriol Drake and Kendrick Lamar have shown towards one another makes it difficult to see any peaceful resolution happening soon.
NEWS
Steve Albini‘s bands Shellac and Big Black now have their catalogues available for listening on Spotify.
Albini passed away aged 61 earlier this month due to a heart attack. He was well known for being the producer of major albums such as Nirvana’s ‘In Utero‘, Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’, PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid of Me’, Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’ and more.
Back in 2022, the late producer took his music off the streaming platform. He had previously criticised the company for platforming anti-vaxxers such as Joe Rogan, and tweeted later that they were a “terrible company”, adding: “I don’t want to be part of their business”.
He later told Attack Magazine that Spotify was “one of the few places outside of record stores where recorded music can earn anything at all, and for bands [with] more generous, honest relationships with independent labels not part of the ownership trust, then the payments from Spotify, though meager per-play, can add up to a viable income stream. Nobody’s getting rich, but it could pay for the groceries.”
Now, it appears that Albini’s work with his bands Shellac and Big Black are now available to stream on Spotify. This include’s Shellac’s final album ‘To All Trains’, which was announced shortly before Albini’s death and was released last Friday (May 17).
Tributes have poured in for the legendary producer since the announcement of his death. Our NME obituary hailed him as “a lone voice of anti-industry punk scene ethics, even as he worked with major labels on some of the biggest names in alternative rock.”
Meanwhile, Foo Fighters dedicated a rendition of ‘My Hero’ to the late producer in Charlotte, North Carolina last week.
“Tonight I’d like to dedicate this song to a friend that we lost the other day, who I’ve known a long, long time,” Foos frontman Dave Grohl told the crowd. “He left us much too soon. He’s touched all of your lives, I’m sure. I’m talking about Steve Albini. For those of you who know, you know. For those of you who don’t know, just remember that name: Steve Albini. Let’s sing this one for him.”
PJ Harvey also said he “changed the course of my life” during sessions for her 1993 LP ‘Rid Of Me’., and Joanna Newsom dedicated a version of her song ‘Cosmia’ to him, who engineered her 2006 album ‘Ys’. See further tributes here.
Elsewhere, Yourcodenameis:milo spoke to NME about how the 20th anniversary of their LP ‘All Roads To Fault’ was made all the more profound by the passing of Albini, who engineered the album.
Remembering their time with the punk and production legend, Lockey said: “We paid attention, saw everything he did, asked questions that he would gladly spend ages answering”.
“He once stopped the session and proceeded to give us a lecture on how the peanut built America. He schooled us in billiards, then showed us his favourite cooking shows that he’d recorded. It was all so natural and encouraging, we could do what the fuck we wanted and he’d capture it. That’s the deal, and we fucking loved it.”
