NEWS
RJMrLA says he was hesitant to appear to Kendrick Lamar's music video for his GNX song, "Squabble Up," because the rapper's team wouldn't tell him which artist and which song the video was for. He explained how he was offered a role in the project during a recent livestream, which is circulating on social media.
When The Neighborhood Talk shared a clip of the stream on Instagram, fans in the comments section struggled to understand why it was done that way. "I need more context like how could he not know?" one user wrote. Others tried to break it down. "The majority of the people in that video didn’t know who they were doing the video for. They either had to say yes or no. Kendrick was not there when the scenes were shot," one user wrote. Another added: "A lot of videos and movies are made by editing and mixing filmed scenes together. So I can understand how he didn’t know."
RJMrLA previously told TMZ that he only learned it was a Kendrick Lamar music video when it released publicly on November 25, 2024. RJ previously worked with Lamar by performing his song "Get Rich," during The Pop Out: Ken & Friends concert in Inglewood, last year.
RJMrLA's comments on working on the "Squabble Up" music video come as he prepares for the release of his new album, OMMIO 4. The project is dropping on Friday, June 20th. He already released the singles "Baby," and "Ramen."
As for Kendrick Lamar, he's been traveling on the Grand National Tour alongside SZA in recent months. The two made headlines for performing in Drake's hometown of Toronto, Canada, last week. Drake addressed the concerts by calling out the former leader of the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, for attending one of the shows. "You're a goof," he wrote in a direct message to him on social media.
Singh ended up putting out a statement to apologize for the move. "I went for SZA, not Kendrick," he wrote. "I was born in this city, I love this city. But real talk, I get it. I shouldn't have gone at all. OVO and Drake have lifted up this city and Canada. For me it'll always be Drake over Kendrick."
NEWS
Zayn Malik said he truly enjoyed returning to a “pop” sound for his collaboration with BLACKPINK member Jisoo on their track “Eyes Closed.”
The former One Direction singer recently joined her on the ballad and called it a major “honour” to work with someone he considers one of the leading voices “owning that genre” right now.
Speaking while hosting a special hour on BBC Radio 1, he said, “I have drifted away from the pop sound for a bit, so coming back to it with the people who are basically owning that genre at the minute was an honour.”
He added, “If I can say thanks to Jisoo, I am really happy with the way it turned out.”
Zayn also shared that his “cool collaborator” helped him score some serious dad points with his five year old daughter Khai, whom he shares with his former partner, Gigi Hadid.
He wrote on Instagram while posting promo photos from the release, “@sooyaaa__ Jisoo.. you’re an absolute legend, loved every part of this collaboration, thank you for making me the coolest dad around.”
Jisoo replied, “You already are.”
Although he stepped back into pop for “Eyes Closed,” Zayn recently revealed that his next album incorporates influences from Indian music.
The “Pillowtalk” singer confirmed that his fifth studio album will arrive next year and hinted that it will carry a similar spirit to his chart topping 2016 solo debut Mind of Mine.
Zayn was quoted by The Sun’s Bizarre column during a livestream saying, “The next album is soon.”
“I have been working on some cool s*** in South Asian music and bringing those influences into my music as well.”
“It is like pop, R+B, and a lot of Indian influences. The record is like a continuation of Mind of Mine in that sense. I might have some songs coming out in Urdu, too.”
