NEWS
Today, AzChike dropped off his new track "Whatx2," and already, it's managed to get fans talking. At the end of the video, he appears to hit back at Joey Badass in what seems to be a new snippet. Some speculate that the New York MC went after Kendrick Lamar and the West Coast as a whole on his song "The Ruler's Back" last month. “Too much West Coast dick lickin' / I'm hearin' n***as throwin' rocks, really ain't sh*t stickin' / 'Cause if we talkin' bar-for-bar, really it's slim pickings / I rap like I draw pentagrams and kill chickens, n***a,” he spits.
From the sound of things, AzChike took this personally, and fired back on behalf of the Compton performer. "Keep the coast out your mouth/You ain't as unique as you think in this house," he raps in the snippet. "You gon' respect the Duckworth once I'm done with this hunt." Of course, the apparent jab has earned a variety of reactions from listeners online.
"Man cold as hell," on Twitter user writes. "Clout chasing lol," another claims. It looks like AzChike isn't the only artist to have fired back at Joey Badass, as just days after he released "The Ruler's Back," Ray Vaughn appeared appeared to issue his own response. He dropped a freestyle over Kendrick's “The Heart Pt. 6" called “Crashout Heritage," seemingly taking aim at Badass. “What's with the sneak dissin'? Takin' shots at us, then hide the Uzi / 'Cause the only badass the world was recognizin' is Boosie / Please don't get confused with shootin' the movies, we really shootin' / Was on Soul album, so if you ask me, you look like a goofy," he rhymes.
Earlier this month, Ray Vaughn also appeared to take yet another shot at Badass on his song "Impossible Patty." He even taunted the artist on Instagram when sharing the song on the platform. “We tired of the impossible patties. @joeybadass," he captioned the post.
Jade Thirlwall has been learning to lean into a softer approach with her voice as she steps into life as a solo performer.
The former Little Mix member shared that she’s been carving out her own sound since the British girl group decided to go on an indefinite break in 2022.
Speaking with ELLE, Jade opened up about discovering that not every track on her debut solo album, That's Showbiz Baby, needed a full vocal showcase.
“That’s what I’ve discovered with this project, especially after Little Mix, is that I don’t always need to give a big vocal moment,” she said. “It’s actually been really nice to understand that part of my voice.”
She pointed to the group’s 2016 single Power, which has at times faced online comments about being a little too intense vocally.
“I’ll scroll through TikTok and see people talk about Power like, ‘These girlies are out here like, AHHH,’” she told the outlet. “Everyone trying to top each other with the loudest note for three minutes straight.”
Although Jade still loves that kind of performance, she said she’s learned the value of holding back.
“I still adore that energy, but it’s been kind of freeing to realise, babe, it doesn’t always need to end with this massive ad-lib run,” she shared.
She also mentioned that her song Angel of My Dreams was first recorded with a much bigger vocal take before she decided to go back and do it in a more relaxed, softer tone.
Jade officially dropped That's Showbiz Baby on 12 September. The record includes 14 tracks, among them IT Girl, Plastic Box, and the lead single Angel of My Dreams.
