NEWS
Anthony Fantano the music critic behind the YouTube channel, The Needle Drop. The channel has amassed over 3 million subscribers and each review of a popular artist sparks plenty of online discourse.
In the mid-2010s, Fantano ran a side channel called thatistheplan. There, he made surrealist, meme humor videos in a similar vein to other popular creators of the time. Those videos became the subject of an article by The Fader. In 2018, they published an article attempting to paint Fantano as a member of the alt-right in a defamatory manner, leading to Fantano pursuing legal action against the publication.
After, the two parties reached a settlement, and The Fader deleted the article. Now, clips from that era of Anthony Fantano's career are once again resurfacing. He addressed them in a new video uploaded to his self-titled second channel and X.
In the new video, Anthony Fantano mainly addresses two clips. The first is of him using the N-word and the F-slur. Fantano stated that he did not use the phrase to be offensive, and that he was quoting a different creator.
"Early on in my YouTube career, I had some pretty lax views when it came to quoting the language of others," he said in the video. "My point of view was 'what does it matter? It's not me saying it. I'm relaying a lyric or sentiment or point of view expressed by someone else.'" He admitted that quoting the other creator was "in bad form and unnecessary."
"All I can do is take ownership of having quoted these words in this way. And obviously say that I'm sorry. Which, I am, in fact, sorry about this," he said
The second clip circulating was one that caused people to suggest that he was laughing at the death of Trayvon Martin, the Black teenager who George Zimmerman fatally in 2012.
"The way this clip has been presented is a lie," he said. He also conceded that the clip did look bad. "It's been heavily edited, too. In this clip that you saw, I am reading a super chat that was sent by a viewer, and the reason I'm jumping into reading it, is partially it is a dig at me. It's not exactly a secret that I'm an openly liberal vegan." He then presented the clip without alterations, where Fantano calls one of the hosts a moron for mixing up Trayvon Martin with YouTuber Tre Melvin.
To conclude the video, he took a shot at DJ Akademiks. His AkademiksTV page (which fans operate but still falls under his umbrella) helped spread the clips. He said that he would not appear on platforms that present ideas he does not agree with.
"People might understandably think I endorse the idea of sexual conversations with underage boys, and I don't," he said, presenting a clip of the controversial personality verbally sexually harassing a young boy. "I'm gonna continue to do my best to make sure that I'm not sending across the wrong idea. Especially considering a lot of the music I review and endorse on a regular basis deals in some heavy and serious topics. Topics I would be completely in opposition to were I a bigoted weirdo."
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.
