There’s no denying that the Drake and Kendrick Lamar rap feud of 2024 was the biggest in the rap game in decades. The feud included more than 8 diss tracks exchanged between the two within a month.
But at one point Drake and Kendrick were collaborators and even toured together. In fact, in 2011 Drake gave Kendrick Lamar an enormous recognition boost by featuring him on his wildly popular 2011 album, Take Care, which won Drake his first Grammy Award, winning Best Rap Album. In fact, it was Drake’s idea to have Kendrick Lamar on the ‘Buried Alive Interlude‘.
In a 2011 interview with XXLmag.com (The year Kendrick was featured on XXL‘s annual freshman list) Kendrick talks about his first meeting with Drake and how he became featured.
“I did a show in Toronto. My first show in Toronto. I think it was the same night, we was going back to the hotel, and he hit my phone. I guess he had got the word that I was in town. He was there for the night working for the album, and he just said he wanted to meet up. We met up, chilled out, got to vibe, see where each other was at and sh*t.“
Drake would reach out again after Kendrick dropped his debut studio album, Section.80 (which Kendrick reportedly emailed drake) and told him he loved what he did on the album and wanted Kendrick on his upcoming album. Drake followed by sending K-dot the 40 produced instrumental and told him to ‘”do whatever he wanted to do on it.”
On the song a very chill introspective Kendrick even speaks about the encounter of meeting a much more popular rapper in Drake and and his hope and suspicions that come with rising in the rap game. Listen to the song below.
Fast forward to 2024 amidst the Drake and Kendrick fued, Drake would release a “Buried Alive Interlude, Pt. 2”. Which was a remix of Kendrick Lamar’s interlude of the same title, borrowing Kendrick’s cadence, flow and tone from the track to mock the rapper over lines about how Drake boosted up Lamar’s career through bringing him on tour.
The track was first posted by Drake to his Instagram (now deleted) as part of the promo for his third diss track towards Kendrick titled, ‘FAMILY MATTERS‘. Listen to the track below.
If you want to catch up on all of the background and timeline of the Drake and Kendrick feud, this article by V101.9 is very in depth and accurate.
Former Grammy nominated rapper Travis Scott took to social media this afternoon to post a short video of Kanye West aka ‘Ye’ featuring unreleased music from the duo.
The caption for the post reads ‘YE & THE JACK’ while also tagging former collaborator Gabriel Moses. Gabriel is a renowned photographer and filmmaker and has worked with popular brands such as Dior, Apple, and Nike as well as directing the FE!N Music Video off of Travis Scott’s Utopia album. Could this be a hint of new music from Ye and Travis?
The teaser video was posted shortly after Travis unveiled his new signature Nike shoe the Cactus Jack T-Rexx. So there is a possibility of it being some sort of fashion drop (being how involved Travis and Ye have been in the fashion industry for a majority of their careers).
However there is some speculation that it could be promotion for merch AND a new music.
Long time music photographer and videographer Saint léon (who has been considered a Ye insider for many as he works closely with Kanye West, Yeezy and other music artists) posted on his Instagram story, “Can confirm it’s a new song + promotion for 🌵”.
This collaboration may add to the confusion of Ty Dolla $ign and Kanye’s second collab album Vultures 2 release, (that was supposedly set to drop May 3rd) with many wondering if Ty will be featured along with Travis and could possibly be the lead single for the second Vultures tape.
Time will tell, we will update you and this article as we receive updates!
Famous American UFC color commentator, podcaster, comedian, and former television host Joe Rogan briefly spoke on Kanye West during his podcast yesterday.
“We play this one song in the green room when we really wanna get things popping,” Rogan said as he played Kanye’s hit song, “Jail”. “The ‘I’m going to jail’ song… God damn that song rocks” Joe added, “He (Kanye) is a bad motherf*cker man. You gotta let a guy like this get out of line every now & again. That’s what makes him so brilliant. He’s got a tornado going on in his mind. There’s a tornado in there. At any given time.” Kanye was previously a guest on Joe’s podcast #1554, on October 2020, watch here.
“Jail” was one the biggest songs from Donda as it won the award for Best Rap Song at the 2022 Grammy Awards. It peaked at No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2022.
The track is currently back on the Hip-Hop iTunes chart at #15 after Joe Rogan mentioned it on his podcast yesterday.
Joe Rogan also said, in regards to Kanye’s new collab album Vultures with Ty Dolla $ign, “he says a lot of wild sh*t, but I bet his new album is going to be a f*cking banger, you push that dude in a corner I bet he’s going to come out swinging.”
Watch the clips of Joe Rogan speaking on Kanye here & here.
Juice WRLD and Eminem have reunited over a Benny Blanco produced song titled ‘Lace It’. The single was officially released on streaming platforms on December 16th, 2023.
On the track, Juice WRLD reflects heavily on substance abuse. Eminem then touches on the deaths of many rappers due to drug overdose, including Lil Peep, Shock G, Pimp C, Prince, and Michael Jackson.
This collab marks the second collaboration between Juice WRLD and Eminem after Eminem’s ‘Godzilla’ track on his ‘Music to be Murdered By‘ album in 2020, which also served as Juice WRLD’s first posthumous release since his passing. Juice WRLD previously listed Eminem as one of his biggest influences and has frequently referenced him and his music.
According to Juice WRLD’s co-manager, Lil Bibby, ‘Lace It’ seems to serve as the lead single for Juice WRLD’s final posthumous album ‘The Party Never Ends‘. On December 15, 2023 Lil Bibby took to Instagram with the song’s official cover art and teasing the release.
“The Party Never Ends coming soon!! Big Thank you to Eminem and Benny on this one!! Let the Party Start 🎊🎉🎈” the caption to the post read.
DailyRapFacts will provide updates on any ‘The Party Never Ends‘ announcements.
All-time rapper, producer, fashion leader, icon, and leader of controversy Kanye ‘Ye’ West and fellow rapper Ty Dolla $ign have shared the location and time for a listening party for their new album supposedly titled, ‘Vultures’. The duo group calls themselves ‘¥$’.
Shared on yeezy.com is the time and location for the LP as well as tickets to purchase.
According to the Yeezy site, the LP will take place tonight (Monday December 12th, 2023) at the Wynwood Marketplace in Miami at 12am ET.
This is to be believed, following yesterday (Sunday December 12th, 2023) Ye and Ty Dolla $ign were spotted at a Miami bar playing snippets of their new collab album.
Features heard on the album were (unofficially) Lil Durk, Quavo, Playboi Carti, Young Thug, Future, Charlie Wilson, Chris Brown, Nicki Manaj, Ant Clemons, and more! See below
2 chainz shouts out producer Mike Dean on the 2016 hit single, ‘Good Drank‘ featuring Gucci Mane and Quavo
I felt very inclined to write this article to shine light on arguably the most underrated, undervalued, unknown person in hiphop/rap in the last 2 decades.
Mike Dean
The man who was trusted to produce and master music for monumental artists such as 2pac, Madonna, Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Uzi Vert, The Weeknd, Travis Scott and many more.
The man behind some of your favorite albums such as Astroworld, Blonde, After hours, Dawn FM, 808s and heartbreak, Watch the Throne, Graduation, Yeezus, and many many more.
Mike Dean setting up a Dawn FM tour for the Weeknd, which Dean helped produceMike Dean with Kanye West at a Donda Listening PartyMike Dean and Wiz Khalifa enjoying a smoke in the studio
So, who is this Mike Dean?
Michael George Dean was born in 1965 in Houston, Texas. He would become a collaborator, facilitator, an all-purpose engineer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is most known, trusted, and praised for his work on the final mixing and mastering of an album before it is released.
-Mixing is the stage after recording which blends individual tracks together, while mastering is the the final stage of audio production where polishing the entire mix is prepared for distribution, which is a more important job than most think. As mastering ensures that the music will sound its best on different streaming platforms, media formats and devices.
The Life and Journey of Mike Dean
Mike Dean grew up in Houston, Texas loving music and playing many instruments. In his teenage years he would often visit Emancipation Park, just north of Houston where many local artists and bands would perform. Dean became so involved in the music in this park that he would become apart of many soul and funk cover bands that played there, and additionally performed blues and country material in the area. Around the same time, still merely a teenager, he joined Selena y los Dinos and became the group’s musical director, which would eventually breed future Tejano superstar, Selena.
Around the same time he was inspired by future collaborator Rick Rubin, to try his hand at beat-making with a sampler and subsequently a drum machine, which lead to Dean breaking into hip-hop.
Hip Hop and Rap
Over the 90s, Dean’s skill set expanded to a point where he could record, mix, master, produce, and write, as well as play numerous instruments, including bass and guitar. All of this, combined with a strong work ethic, enabled Dean to become crucial in the development of Texas hip hop and rap. During this time he collaborated with artists such as Scarface, Nate Dogg, Outlawz, and 2pac.
Dean then scaled new heights during the 2000s. He opened Dean’s List House of Hits, a studio in New York where he worked on albums by many of his previous collaborators. Meanwhile, the Dean’s List label was established for developing artists, and Dean clocked sessions with an assortment of underground legends from up and down the West Coast, such as C-Bo, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, and E-40.
During the making of Scarface’s 2002 album, The Fix, Dean crossed paths with upcoming producer Kanye West and forged another long-term partnership. This monumental musical partnership became integral to West’s ascent as a solo artist and producer, as Dean helped contribute to West’s albums, The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation, all of which were Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year.
Mike Dean and Kanye West in the studio in the early 2000sKanye West and Mike Dean at Staples Center for the listening party of West’s The Life of Pablo, which Dean helped produce
In the 2010s, Dean would contribute to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch The Throne. He also became heavily involved in the G.O.O.D. Music: Cruel Summer, the Rick Rubin-assisted Yeezus and The Life of Pablo.
Other artists soon began to take notice of the award winning work Dean was doing with Kanye and G.O.O.D Music. He was then asked to collaborate on The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness, Justin Bieber’s Purpose, Beyoncé’s Lemonade, and Travis Scott’s Rodeo, He was particularly key to the emergence of Scott, and as he did with West, he made time to tour with the young Houstonian as a backing musician.
Mike Dean and a young Travis $cott in the studio
Today
From the 2010s to now, Dean has worked from instrumentation to mastering and many roles between, with artists such as Kid Cudi, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, Lil Uzi Vert, 2 Chainz, John Legend, Coldplay, Rick Ross, Frank Ocean, Lana Del Rey, Desiigner, Madonna, Wiz Khalifa, Freddie Gibbs, Young Thug, Kendrick Lamar, Christina Aguilera, Migos, Don Toliver and many more!
Present day Dean continues to work and even tour with artists he remains close with (Dean toured with The Weeknd for his Dawn FM American tour). He even owns his own label and has signed and is actively working with the up and coming artists.
Now anytime you see a Mike Dean credit, you will know how legendary and monumental this man has meant to many of the best musical contributions of our lifetimes!
Long live Mike Dean.
Here is an ongoing updated list of the albums and songs Mike Dean has helped contribute to. Which seems almost impossible for one man to contribute to so many monumental bodies of work.
American comedic actor, Jim Carrey, known for hit movies such as Liar Liar, Dumb and Dumber, The Grinch, The Mask, and many more, was featured as the voice of ‘103.5 Dawn FM’ on The Weeknd’s 2022 album ‘Dawn FM‘.
So how did this seemingly random collaboration happen?
Turns out, Jim Carrey and Abel Tesfaye (now known as The Weeknd) both grew up in the town of Scarborough, Ontario. While growing up Abel was a big fan of Jim Carreys movies. In an interview with Variety in 2020, he recalls the first movie he ever saw in theaters was Jim Carreys, The Mask. “My mom took me when I was 4, and his perfomance blew me away”, The Weeknd stated. Abel then goes onto explain how that movie inspired him to want to be a performer/in show business.
Jim Carrey as The Mask, (1994)
Ironically, Jim Carrey made an appearance in The Weeknd’s ‘Out of Time‘ music video. Posing as a strange doctor who puts a ‘mask’ on The Weeknd.
But how did Jim Carrey and The Weeknd link up and become so close that Abel asked him to be a part of the album?
Turns out, they were introduced to one another in a group chat by the Sadfie brothers, a brotherly duo of filmmakers who knew both of them admired each others work. In an an interview with USAtoday, The Weeknd explains he invited Carrey to hear some of his new music. “I texted him the address of my condo in L.A., Jim replied, ‘I can literally see your place from my balcony,’ and we got out telescopes and were waving to each other, and he picked me up and we went to breakfast and showed him some of my new music, it was surreal.”
While the two begun to get closer as friends, The Weeknd came up with the idea to put one of his childhood icons into his new body of work.
The Weeknd explained how he wanted Carrey to be the voice of the radio station in purgatory, DAWN FM, to which Carrey replied, “I love you, but I don’t want to do any work.”
After some time, Jim, who described the Weeknd as “an incredible artist and a lovely person,” was unable to resist the opportunity to appear on what became one of the biggest albums of 2022.
Just before Dawn FM’s January arrival, Carrey shared that he and his “good friend Abel” listened to the record together before its release and that he was “thrilled to play a part in his symphony.” The Weeknd replied, “Thank you for being a part of this. It’s kismet. Full circle.”
Virgil Abloh, mostly known as the visionary creator of the Off-White brand and the head of Louis Vuitton men’s wear, tragically passed away in November 2021 at the age of 41 after a private two-year fight with a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Virgil’s influence on the world of music and hip-hop culture cannot be overlooked. Over the past decade Virgil DJ’d events, helped big time artists design album covers and album roll-outs, and also directed many music videos.
Famous Music Videos Directed by Virgil Abloh
“Fashion Killa” – A$AP Rocky
In late 2013, ASAP Rocky dropped the music video for Fashion Killa. The video, which was co-produced by Rocky and Abloh, featured a special appearance by Rihanna as the female lead and a cameo from ASAP Ferg. The video represented Virgil’s first major music video directing opportunities.
“XO Tour Llif3” – Lil Uzi Vert
Virgil actually helped design the cover art for Uzi’s 2017 ‘Luv is Rage 2‘ which featured the single XO Tour Llif3, which is undoubtedly Uzi’s most popular song/music video with over 500 million views on Youtube.
This was Virgil’s second major music video he shot, and his signature deconstructed style is on full flex in the video. With goth homages, vampires, and also included cameos from The Weeknd and Nav (which adds to the XO Tour life narrative). The hotel where part of the video was shot in actually fined Virgil and Uzi 3k for the blood in a bathtub sequence.
In an in depth interview with TheFader which highlights Virgil and Uzi’s creative professional relationship, Virgil says the video was shot in three countries, over three months.
“Runaway” – Kanye West
The creative relationship of Kanye West and Virgil Abloh has always been one of Popularity. Both being Chicago natives, Virgil started working with West at the age of 22 in 2002 as a creative consultant. Since then Virgil’s work with Kanye ranged from designing merch to album art to set designs. In fact, Virgil has worked in Kanye’s creative output since before The College Dropout. Kanye has described Virgil as “one of the smartest, fastest, most innovative people I’ve created with.”
Kanye and Virgil seen hugging after a Louis Vuitton Fashion show in Paris, showing just how close they were
It’s no secret that the 2010 song Runaway is very personal to Kanye so him asking Virgil to work on it with him was considered a great honor. Virgil helped design many artistic pieces behind Kanye’s 2010 ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘ album, including the album cover.
Fun fact: Kanye actually expanded on the Runaway video and created a 30 min compilation musical short film with songs from the album.
This 2020 music video was filmed during Paris Fashion Week by fashion designer and artistic director Virgil Abloh’s Off-White International Rap Video Production Studio, which prefaces the video with “This video is real life footage. This is barely a ‘video shoot.’”
Shake the Room shows Pop Smoke and Quavo dining at a fancy restaurant, drinking wine with Parisians and driving along the city’s streets, just one month before Pop Smoke would be shot and killed during a home invasion in Los Angeles. “In loving memory Pop Smoke forever,” the title card reads for the video’s closing minute.
Virgil’s influence on the world of music and hip-hop culture cannot be overlooked.
Rest in Peace Virgil Abloh.
You can read the article of famous hip-hip covers designed by Virgil below
