Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Lil Wayne has no plans to attend the Super Bowl in his hometown of New Orleans this weekend after not being chosen as the halftime show act — but he does have something “special” in the works instead.
Taking to his Instagram Story, Tunechi teased a major announcement that he will unveil on Thursday (February 6) — the same day that Super Bowl performer Kendrick Lamar will sit down for a rare interview with Apple Music, only his second since his beef with Drake erupted last year.
“Y’all know I’m not gon’ be there this week,” he said, referring to the big game. “Which means, I guess there’s a seat to fill. Shout out to New Orleans, but I’ve been working on something very special.
“I got something exciting coming for you. Thursday, the 6th. ‘Til then, I’m just chillin.”
There’s been a bit of friction between Wayne and Kendrick leading up to Super Bowl LIX on Sunday (February 9).
After Kendrick was announced as the halftime show headliner last year, the Young Money legend expressed his disappointment at being passed over for the gig, which he had openly coveted, and did not congratulate his “Mona Lisa” collaborator.
The Compton rapper then addressed Weezy’s comments on his album GNX, rapping: “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down.”
That prompted a prickly response from Wayne, who wrote on social media: “Man wtf I do?! I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love.”
The New Orleans native later revealed that he spoke to Kendrick on the phone and “wished him all the best and told him he better kill it.”
He also bizarrely admitted that he had not heard K.Dot’s aforementioned lyrics about him, but shared his initial reaction to them.
“He didn’t let me down,” Wayne said in an interview with Skip Bayless. “There was no explanation that was needed for that. I think I understand those words. His hard work is the reason why he made it there, and obviously that part about letting me down is me just being upset and disappointed about not getting that spot.”
According to Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, Lil Wayne was actually in the running to perform at this year’s Super Bowl before Kendrick was chosen.
She also confirmed that JAY-Z is hands-on in selecting the halftime show performer and defended their decision to go with Kendrick.
“Kendrick is the right person for the show at this moment. He’s had an incredible year, very deserving of the attention,” Perez told NOLA.com.
“The Grammys also acknowledged that. That’s part of the consideration for the halftime show. Kendrick’s richness and culture is really a nod to New Orleans.”
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Kanye West has boldly admitted that he is not a fan of Kendrick Lamar‘s music and wishes he was not featured on Playboi Carti‘s new album Music.
The long-awaited project finally arrived on Friday morning (March 14), several hours after its scheduled midnight release, and contains multiple appearances from the Compton rap star.
Kendrick delivers a guest verse on “Good Credit,” on which he seemingly addresses Drake’s defamation lawsuit over his diss song “Not Like Us,” while he also has guest vocals on “Mojo Jojo” and “Backd00r.”
After its slightly delayed release, Kanye took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his intial reaction to Carti’s album — and he did not pull any punches regarding Kendrick’s contributions.
Despite the fact that he has worked and toured with the Pultizer Prize winner in the past and even co-produced “Backd00r,” Ye wrote: “I DONT LIKE KENDRICK LAMARS MUSIC. HE RAPS VERY GOOD BUT I DIDNT NEED TO HEAR HIM ON CARTI ALBUM.”
Yeezy is, however, a fan of the songs “Crank” and “I Seeeeee You Baby Boi,” posting a screenshot of him listening to both along with complimentary captions.
This is not the first time that Kanye West has been critical of Kendrick Lamar in recent weeks.
Ahead of his Super Bowl halftime show in February, the Chicago rap legend suggested that Kendrick was being “propped up” by an industry that is selective when it comes to supporting Black entertainers.
“DRAKE SAID KENDRICK HIT HIS GIRL. BUT THAT IS NOT RECORDED ON TAPE LIKE THE PUFF VIDEO. I AM IN LA RIGHT NOW AT THE 4 SEASONS. I AM RISKING MY LIFE TO TWEET THIS. SO WALK WITH ME. DRAKE SAYS KENDRICK HIT HIS QUEEN. THE WORLD SEES PUFF HIT CASSIE. KENDRICK IS AT THE SUPERBOWL. PUFF IN IN JAIL,” he tweeted during a lengthy and explosive rant.
He added: “THEY PICK WHICH N-GGAS THEY WANT TO PROP UP AND WHO THEY WANT TO PUT DOWN. AND WHEN THEY WANT TO. BUT ALL CELEBRITIES ARE SCARED AND SELFISH.”
Ye also called on his “No More Parties In LA” collaborator to publicly support Diddy, who is currently in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, during his Super Bowl performance (a request that went ignored).
“KENDRICK LAMAR NEEDS TO SCREAM FREE PUFF FROM THE SUPER BOWL. AND WE ALL KNOW WHY. AND IM GOING TO RESPECTFULLY LEAVE IT LIGHT JUST LIKE THAT,” he wrote in a separate post. “BUT THATS THE HYPOCRISY. ONE N-GGAS IN JAIL AND THE OTHER N-GGA IS AT THE SUPER BOWL.”
Despite his comments, Kanye later praised Kendrick’s halftime show as his “favorite” since Michael Jackson’s in 1993.
He also spoke highly of his performance in his feud with Drake last year, saying in an interview with Justin LaBoy: “If you rap against Kendrick, you will lose. This man does this. You know on Street Fighter, you get like a Chun-Li, you get a certain kick, and no matter what, you can’t beat that thing.
“Joe Budden said, ‘Never rap against Kendrick Lamar.’ If you rap against Kendrick Lamar, it’s a difficult task.”
Ye did, however, claim that only he could beat Kendrick in a rap battle, adding: “But perhaps there’s something — I’m a psycho genius so it could be… [Do not rap against Kendrick] unless you’re a psycho genius like me.”
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