Because some of y'all don't deserve a opinion, because you haven't been doing this professionally consuming, playing and critiquing hip-hop as your life.
You're just a fan, you're just, and we love you.
You're just a consumer, you're a customer, as we call it.
That's why sometimes your opinion customer, doesn't fing count, because you don't fing do this for real.
When we're measuring classic albums.
And by the way, that was more him than me.
Fine, but I'm just, let me finish my thought because I lose them quickly.
I'm the biggest Drake fan in here.
Okay, cut.
No, but that's where we are where people are like, you know what, I'm tired of making records.
We're going to make documentary discs.
Meanwhile, you can't sing and have a classic hip hop album, but okay.
Yeah, you can't.
Who makes this shit up anyway?
Listen, ladies and gentlemen, it's Rap Life Review.
That's Eddie.
That's Nick.
That's Lowe.
That's Nadeska.
I'm Ebro.
So yes, last week, In passing, I don't even know.
We were just running through things that would never happen, or that you're waiting for an artist to become, or whatever.
I think it was even about Uzi Vert.
It was about Uzi Vert not being like that.
And him not wanting to bar it up and be that kind of artist.
So I'm not waiting for him.
And I likened it to Lo being like, Drake, where's the classic hip hop album?
I'm like, bro, that's not what he wants to do.
That's not going to happen.
But, very specifically, what you're saying is a Drake album.
That is all.
Rap is what you've been- Yeah, that's it.
Just for hindsight, because everyone's not listening every week you might not- And that's not our fucking fault either, because we've had this conversation plenty of times.
And he's just trying to help.
It's a new audience, so they just saw a clip.
What people don't realize is it's an old person that went and took a clip.
When I went and looked, this is somebody that be clipping our stuff all the time.
All the time.
And then they just wanted to run their likes or their engagement up with the Drake joint.
They knew exactly what they was doing.
They took that 10-second clip with no context, and they knew everybody was going to run it.
And Eddie, I'm going to let you finish.
I'm going to let you finish.
I'm going to let you finish um, but i just want to say i really love the promo, all the shenanigans yeah, whatever how active y'all want to get i, i personally really enjoyed it.
I i i'm a little frustrated by the idea that we'll have people coming in this week who aren't watching for all of the informative things that we attempt to do on a regular basis.
This isn't one of those shows where, every week, we're trolling yeah, and trying to do.
You know what I'm saying.
But continue, Eddie, go ahead.
So what it was.
It's a long-standing thing where Lo, and even E to a lesser degree, have wanted an all-rap album for Drake.
And I remember Will said, all the dogs, he released... For all the dogs.
He released like the... Scary Hours.
Yeah, Scary Hours.
It had like a few just straight up almost like boom bap songs, like it was all rap and you've been saying like you want a whole album of drake like that.
So in passing, he was joking about the little easy thing and what everyone ran with was drake doesn't have a classic album, which isn't what we were saying.
The joke was you want a drake album where he's rapping throughout it and not mixing it with the r b melodic drake.
Exactly That was the context for it.
That nobody cared about because clearly they weren't watching the 200 previous episodes, which I understand and get.
But they also edited in which way where it looked like we were saying Drake doesn't have a classic album, which no one was saying.
And everyone ran with it.
And they said, Ebro says Drake doesn't have a classic album.
And for days that became a conversation.
You probably confuse people a little bit sometimes, because just now it sounded like That all makes sense and it's fine.
But then we were talking about Uzi.
You said sometimes you still hold some of these rappers to that bar.
Yeah, because he can really rap.
Yeah.
No, because Uzi can really rap.
But I know that's not what he's trying to do in that interview.
I know that's when I met him, I knew he could do that.
He was basically that's why the interview went the way it went.
He's like, I'm not trying to do that in the game.
That's not why I'm here.
So I'm waiting for something that's never going to happen.
It's like low waiting for a classic Drake album.
It's never going to happen.
Oh, my God.
Damn, man.
Trying my hardest.
Damn, you slept like 12 hours last night.
What's up, bro?
I lost my train of thought.
I was literally about to chime in on that.
No, go ahead.
No, you didn't.
No, you didn't.
You don't even have to respond to that.
But sometimes we're waiting for artists to do things that that's not what their intent is.
Right.
Yeah, I'm also not waiting for him to become a rock star.
You're waiting for him to become a great lyricist.
No, in the context of the Uzi Vert convo that day I threw on Mass Appeal Gangstar a beat for like people who are really trying to MC.
It's still going today.
Well, but I think so.
And I think it's a healthy convo, right?
Because there is a quotient.
Let's call it a faction in hip hop that doesn't think Drake has a classic hip hop album.
Even though he is a rapper and he is an artist and he's a crossover artist and all those things are great.
His albums appeal to that ability most often, which I think is tremendous for his brand.
His fans will tell you their albums that they love.
I think Drake has classic albums.
But the conversation is like you're saying Eddie always around.
Does he have a classic hip hop album?
Now.
There are albums in hip hop throughout forever that we don't debate our classics.
Like the entire hip hop fandom, if you are a fan of the culture, not a fan of an artist A fan of the culture.
When you throw out certain titles, people don't debate it.
Like you say Nas, Illmatic, nobody's going to go.
It's not a classic.
Wu-Tang Clan, 36 Chambers.
Ready to Die.
Ready to Die.
Jay-Z, Blueprint.
We could keep going.
Eric B. and Rakim.
Good Kid, Mad City.
If you want to get more recent, Good Kid, Mad City.
If you want to go more recent.
And so this is not debated.
What's interesting, though, that I saw on social media, and this is for you Drake fans.
Y'all don't even agree on what the classic Drake album is or the classic hip-hop Drake album.
Right.
But isn't that an issue more of how we consume media and how, because of our job, we critique media?
It could be, but I think there should be a consensus among the hardcore Drake fans in hip-hop right.
A bona fide selection that we all agree on.
But even if we acknowledge Good Kid Mad City, we all say classic, there's not too many albums in the last 10 years.
We'll all be like classic.
Because honestly, there's always going to be a group of people that's going to hate on whatever it is.
Like, I'm pretty sure, like, Born Sinner, we can't agree that that's a classic.
We can't agree that Forest Hill Drive's a classic for the most, because there's always going to be the anti-J Cole fans or someone who's a fan of someone else.
But that's not who he's talking to.
But that's not who I'm talking to.
And I also will say this Eddie, and this is why, this is why call me old school, call me a hater and all that.
But that's why in hip hop, there has always been gatekeepers, because some of y'all don't deserve a fucking opinion, because you haven't been doing this professionally consuming, playing and critiquing hip hop as your life.
You're just a fan.
And we love you.
You're just a consumer.
You're a customer, as we call them.
That's why sometimes your opinion customer doesn't fucking count, because you don't fucking do this for real.
And that's why when people who do this for real get around and they start looking at the nuances of what an album actually is and what it should mean and what the person is saying through the album and the picture that it's painting and the lyrical breakdown and them being able to stay on topic, and who the producers are and what it means and what and what it serves in time, and all of these things, when you critique complete bodies of work, not just collections of great songs.
That's when you get into like what is a classic album in general and a classic hip hop album.
But some of y'all don't really do this.
You're just talking about your favorite, which is fine.
Your favorite, you and your friend's favorite, phenomenal, love it, keep going.
But that's why sometimes we don't fucking check for y'all.
We don't care what y'all think because you're not really a professional.
You haven't been doing the knowledge.
Okay, I understand what you're saying.
Some of it's kind of bullshit.
The reason why I say that is because Nick, you're a big movie guy, right?
And there used to be time in movies where all we had was critics.
You had Cisco and Ebert and you had people like that.
Well, nowadays, what do we have?
Got Letterboxd, right?
You got Rotten Tomato.
And now we go see, all right, what's the average person, how do they consume it?
And a lot of times you see a big difference between the critics and the fans and how they consume art.
But by the way, that's always been a thing.
That's never been a thing.
Yo, mad people go to McDonald's, bro.
Nobody is debating whether or not McDonald's has the best hamburgers.
They're not in the convo at all.
No, that's not true.
No one will say McDonald's tastes great, unless they're one particular person that is very famous, as in the White House.
No one says McDonald's tastes so amazing.
They just go because it's quick. is good.
No, there's people who really like McDonald's, bro, and they say it tastes great.
But my point is is you're not debating whether or not McDonald's is in the convo for best hamburgers?
You're just not doing that.
What about even though it's the most popular?
Yes, it's best French fries.
I don't know, bro.
I don't know.
That's a good combo.
That's a great combo.
That's a good combo.
That is a great combo.
But what I'm saying is you said fans shouldn't like.
You basically said fans shouldn't be able to have their opinions or be able to rant.
No, I said, that's why we don't listen to y'all.
You can say whatever the fuck you want to say on social media.
Matter of fact, they do.
They get up and they comment on different things and they rate certain shit and they feel empowered.
And I think that's awesome.
But there's a certain time where people who really do certain things and have a real macro understanding of things get into certain convos.
And by the way, This is not disdain towards any artist.
It was legit.
Like, I think Drake has classic albums.
I do too.
The Convo was worth a classic hip hop album.
So in terms of a classic hip hop album.
So yeah, you guys had the conversation about wanting a pure rap album.
But when we're measuring classic albums.
And by the way, that was more him than me.
Fine, but I'm just, let me finish my thought because I lose them quickly.
I'm the biggest Drake fan in here.
Okay, cut the bullshit.
I'm fucking lying.
Yo, I'm a bigger Drake fan than y'all.
Anyway, can I finish my thought?
And then you can continue bullshitting after that.
One of the metrics that we use to measure a classic album is cultural impact, right?
When that project dropped, did it shift the landscape of music, the sound of music, the way people were making music differently?
And so I don't think it's fair to judge Drake for not having a fully rap album, when he did shift the landscape of music with his projects.
So it's not even a critique, though.
It's not a thing that we're mad at.
It's just that we've seen and heard him do things to the degree that it can be done.
That's my only biggest fight with this whole conversation that it can be done and he just chooses not to do it.
That's my only thing.
By the way, that's exactly why I threw it in Lowe's face last week.
Because, bro, let bro do what he want to do with his thing.
But that was the context of the whole little Uzi Vert thing.
And it transitioned over to me.
It ain't going to be the way that I rate a rock star or the way we look at it.
It ain't going to be like that.
He ain't going to do it.
He don't want to do it.
And boom, there it is.
This shit's so hypocritical because we don't do that with Lauryn Hill.
We literally named her the greatest album of fucking all time.
But people said that it's the greatest hip hop album.
No.
They haven't.
People call it a hip-hop album.
But it's not.
But people don't say it's a classic hip-hop album.
They say it's a great album.
They say it's a classic album.
They say it's a classic album.
Man, get the fuck out of here.
Now we're going to move the goalposts.
No, no, no.
No, no, no, he's not.
It's a valid point.
When she won those Grammys, the whole narrative was hip-hop has finally made it.
A hip-hop album won Grammy of the Year.
We can't remove that shit 20-something years later.
I don't recall that, sir.
I don't recall that, sir.
Fucking truth, i don't recall that.
I don't, i don't.
I'm just telling you.
I don't recall the lauren hill album being a classic hip-hop album.
No, it's not on the cover of time magazine and the whole conversation was about hip-hop.
It finally made it because hip-hop won a grammy.
Sir sir sir, That's their convo.
Once again, I'm talking about people in hip hop, bro.
People in hip hop do not debate Lauren, Miseducation or Lauryn Hill.
They say it's a great, Lauryn, they say it's a great album.
They say it's a phenomenal album.
But I think maybe, maybe.
And this goes for Drake to your point Eddie, because Drake is a rapper first right.
Like that's how we know him.
Right?
His albums should be considered classic hip hop albums to Eddie's point.
I don't disagree with that.
And I didn't say Drake didn't have a classic hip hop album.
I never said that.
I did.
He said that.
I did.
The debate, but I'm telling you, in hip hop, that is the debate.
Okay, so is that why you... I'm so confused.
I thought you did think he had a classic album.
I said he has a hip hop album.
I said hip hop album.
A rap album.
He doesn't have a... So you think that Drake has a classic album, but not a classic hip hop album?
No.
It was legit.
Like, I think Drake has classic albums.
I do too.
He doesn't have a classic rap album.
He does not have a classic rap album.
Okay, so yes, that's what you were saying.
This is not new information.
For some people it is.
Y'all yell so much, I'm confused sometimes.
It's okay.
And it's a new audience.
Everyone hadn't heard your conversation previously about this.
How long ago was that?
That I've been saying this?
We were really talking about it.
I think it was like a year and a half ago.
Hello, hello.
When I was saying that a classic album shifts the landscape, so it doesn't have to be like a purely rap album.
Didn't you agree with that point?
But then you still don't think he has a classic hip hop album?
Right.
Well, no, I don't think that's what he's agreeing with.
I don't think that's what he's agreeing with.
Shifting the landscape or shifting how people do things in rap Right.
Doesn't necessarily mean that you're not rapping anymore.
You're singing.
Right.
It could mean a lot of things.
It could mean how you're rapping, the production you're choosing, what you're rapping about.
It could mean a lot of things.
But some people and I'm not one of them, but some people will say if it's singing and not rapping, for them it's not a classic hip hop album.
That's what some people are on.
This is my theory.
I'm not one of them.
Don't we got the original clip of what you were talking about?
Let's look at it.
Let me tell you also why you full of shit.
I'm not full of shit.
You full of shit.
No.
Because Drake has never delivered what you're asking for.
We know.
It's never happened.
Ebro.
How many times have I sat up here, me and you have sat up here and we know he's not going to make a bonafide rap album?
And we would love him to.
We've come clear to that.
And we would love him to.
I understand that.
We've come clear to that.
But if you're going to do it, if you're not going to do it, come close to do it.
Act like you want to do it.
Why?
But what if he doesn't want to?
Based on what?
What is that based on?
All right, so then why we can't criticize him for it then?
You can.
Nobody's saying you can't.
OK, so then how are we full of shit?
Because you're full of shit, because you're criticizing somebody that's just been doing what they always do.
The same thing over and over and over.
And now the tide has turned.
And now the wall has broken.
So then the whole take should be, For an individual like yourself, which I think you said.
And you.
And you.
No, no, no.
Because I've accepted Drake for who he is.
But you want a bonafide rap album from him as well.
No, I would love that.
OK.
So we're in the same boat.
But I already told you years ago, I don't think we're going to get it.
OK.
And you years ago said, I've moved on.
You gave up.
But you haven't.
Because he's good.
And you're still here listening.
So that's why.
And waiting.
All right.
So then that's why I'm upset.
I hear 20%.
Because he got you.
Yeah, of course.
He owns you.
Bro, you came in here off the gate and went straight to the one album.
We ain't talking about shit else.
That's it.
That's the album.
He got you.
No, for sure.
I'm in.
He dominates.
1,000.
Drake put out an album.
We're listening.
Did that clarify anything, watching this clip?
I don't think so.
But but but, but once again, and to my and to what we were debating earlier about some people having an opinion and some people not having an opinion,
Right.
In hip hop, this has always been a thing about singing.
It's why KRS-Dix PM Don.
It's why I'm trying to think of some other people who were there.
Their presence in hip hop was negated because they were singing or to my life.
Even going at Ja Rule.
I mean, it's always been a thing.
So for us to act brand new like this is a new convo, it's not a new convo.
Not that it's a new convo.
You're talking about things that are now 10, 15, 20 years ago.
I'm talking about now.
Do we still feel that strongly about it now?
I've never felt that strongly about it.
But I also understand that, you know, Drake is held to a high standard also because of his success.
Yeah.
Which Drake albums are classics that are not the hip-hop classics?
Like, which albums are those?
So, Take Care is a classic.
Okay, so you said... But Take Care could be a hip-hop classic to me, though.
It could, but it's not.
Nothing was the same as a classic for me.
Nothing was the same.
Nothing was the same as another one for me.
How do you feel about if you're reading this is too late?
I think if you're reading this is the third class.
So we're getting three potential classics.
But that one we can't.
It's singing too.
It gets into a little bit more drama with if you're reading this is too late.
Although I do love that.
Stop you, bro.
With Meek and all them?
Huh?
With Meek and everything?
Or the ghostwriting?
Yeah, the ghostwriting, yeah.
This is controversial.
I'm sorry, for real.
Because even on the... I had conversations with rappers during the evening.
When you're reading this, it's too late.
When the internet was running around with the Quentin Miller shit rappers who rap very well and do this for a living were like that's bullshit.
Oh, great.
Because I love that project.
I mean people.
That was kind of the impetus of like the Drake blowback, where it's like yo nah, real rappers write all that shit.
Bro, real rappers get influenced from hooks.
They get different ideas, samples.
They quote other rappers and use those lyrics in their lyrics to forward the whole shit.
So that whole shit and, by the way, the records on that project that Quentin Miller did I think it was two of them right.
It was like three, maybe, I think three.
And he did the hooks.
And he just did hooks.
Like a bunch of them.
So I don't even know if that's...
Great.
Whatever you're avoiding and not talking about it.
Excellent.
Because I don't know with Drake, it's so hard to find the metrics that we can judge him by.
I am often confused here on this couch.
Low key, do you feel like nothing was the same as a classic?
No.
It's a great album.
You are so immovable sometimes.
But why does Lowe's opinion fucking matter?
Why does my opinion come out the sky and everybody was like, well, Lowe, what is it that you think?
Why do you hate?
I'm like, yo, brother, that's just my opinion on Homeboy.
Somebody in the comments said, does Lowkey look forward to any album?
I'm looking forward to if we get a Jay-Z album, like a Pusha T solo album, like maybe that might come this year, or Fab's new album.
Whatever the case is,
Yes, I look forward to shit, but he is a person that's always in the crux of the conversation, no matter what is going on.
To be fair, if you guys aggregate this, this is a very pro-Drake conversation.
For sure.
But they're not going to edit this out.
They're not sending none of these clips out.
They're not going to clip this up.
They're not going to send none of these clips out.
They're going to blow right over this shit.
Oh, it's too positive.
They're giving actual thoughtful.
It just doesn't fit the narrative.
It doesn't get the algorithm going.
It doesn't fit the narrative.
Fuck the algorithm.
Fuck them and the algorithm.
But also, too, look.
Throughout history I've watched people who were negative towards an album come around later also right.
Like, that's a thing.
Like, you know, I remember people, like, not being happy about B.I.G.'
's Life After Death.
And I remember at the time, I was like, no, every song on here is banging.
People was like, nah, it sucks, it's trash.
Yo, fast forward to now, people are like, nah, this shit is 99%, no skip.
It's the best double hip-hop album ever.
Of all time.
Of all time.
You know what I'm saying?
And also, there's ebbs and flows in the kind of like... Stop, stop, stop, stop.
It's not... This is what people say.
All eyes on me, brother.
See, here we go with this shit.
Just like, just let it land.
All eyes on me, brother.
All we're talking about is about what Biggie said.
Okay.
That's all we're talking about is what they said about Biggie.
All eyes on me versus life after death.
Mm-hmm.
And by the way, we're remembering B.I.G. this week, so have a little bit of respect.
You know what I'm saying?
March 9th.
And so...
And I've actually done it as somebody who grew up on the West Coast and have spent a lot of time on the East Coast.
I've gone song for song like a DJ.
The amount of songs that you play off Life After Death versus All Eyes On Me.
Life After Death wins by a few tracks.
That's all it comes down to.
I agree.
I'm not playing favorites.
When you go song for song and you listen to each one.
That's what it is.
That's all it is.
He lowers his tone.
You know, he's really singing.
Eddie start throwing up W's.
Eddie's taking issue with this a lot.
Soon Flags was going to start coming out.
People was going to do dances and all that.
I didn't want none of that.
I was just saying, soft song.
But no, but these things, these are great healthy combos, man.
And people care.
And honestly for the Drake fans out there, do you care about hip hop as much as you care about Drake?
That's my challenge to you.
No, they don't.
Do you actually care about rap music and all of it as much as you care about this individual?
Because sometimes that's also a problem in this current day and age.
The bias.
The obvious bias.
The level of popularity of artists In general, Taylor's got him, a lot of artists got him, right?
But that's why sometimes, when we talk about Drake, we talk about him in the context of a pop star, right?
Because his fan base sometimes is dishonest about their love for hip hop.
They're just Drake fans.
Yeah.
I mean, and also that's not new to hip hop.
And it's ironic that the specific fan bases I'm thinking of, there's a racial element to it.
Eminem's fan base was like this.
They weren't necessarily rap fans.
We just didn't have online... They were just Eminem fans.
I love hip-hop.
Who's your favorite rapper?
Eminem.
Eminem.
And you're like, oh, you look like him, my boy.
And before that, I was younger, but...
Beastie Boys, like Beastie Boys was a lot of people's entry point to rap.
And they like, I love rap.
And it was always Beastie Boys.
And it was a certain racial dynamic to that.
So it's just weird that Drake also has a fairly similar thing going on with that.
But it's a thing that's as old as hip hop.
Cause even Pac fans, rap fans, Biggie fans, rap fans, Jay-Z fans, rap fans.
Eminem fans weren't always rap fans.
And that's not to discredit Eminem.
That ain't Eminem's fault.
That's just his fan base did that.
Well, Kanye has the same problem, too.
Kanye's similar.
Yeah.
Kanye, but that happened later for Kanye.
That started out.
His fans were rap fans from the jump.
Well, you know what?
Nah.
Oh, no.
Yeah.
No, you know what though?
You know what though?
It's not that odd in this new era, because Playboi Carti fans I don't know if they're always rap fans.
They're hypebeast kind of fans, a lot of them.
So it's not even just a Drake thing necessarily.
So it goes back to- Maybe it's a modern era thing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
There it is.
I think that's a part of it.
Yeah, so I discredit my own argument.
How to talk it out.
At least you can own up to it.
I like it.
Now, Nadeska, speaking of fans, people were very excited about your J. Cole segment last week.
Last week was Baby Keem.
Baby Keem.
Yeah.
I know.
We're in a time warp.
We're in a time warp.
They were very excited about your Baby Keem segment last week.
Yeah.
Thank you, guys.
I'm glad you like it.
You know, for a long time I felt like I didn't belong on the show, but I feel like I'm finally starting to find my place.
Why would you think that?
Why would you not belong?
Why would you think that?
Oh, I love you guys.
You are a journalist.
I love you guys, but you guys are very loud and opinionated people.
Me, not so much.
So yeah yeah, I'm trying to get a little bit more into my journalism bag, so I'm glad you guys like it.
Hopefully you stop yelling over you.
Yeah, that we like, like... Audience, I'm talking to the audience.
Oh, okay.
I appreciate y'all.
Thank you.
Because every time I tried to highlight you as a journalist on the show... Low-key tries to jump in.
But I didn't...
There's two of us.
That's all.
I mean, we ain't seen them.
All your segments is just hating.
That's all we see.
It's bringing in some views, though, I'll tell you that much.
I mean, listen, is that journalism, though?
No, it's not.
But I'm a journalist.
We need a segment.
All right, give me one.
So we have to now give you the work to do?
The nigga just said, Lo, we need a segment from you.
Okay, give me one.
Why don't you just say, hey, I'm a journalist, so I want to cover this.
Isn't that what journalists, isn't that what like Anderson Cooper and them other journalists do?
I'm not going to step on her toes and do the same similar shit.
I need to get out there and cover this.
I have a passion to cover this, the goings on.
My passion is online.
You see my passion online.
You see my passion online.
Tell us about the new Fab album.
See, now you're trying to be funny.
You're not going to step on my toes, okay?
We have some overlap, but there's a range.
See, now you're trying to be funny telling me about a new Fab album.
Like, you're being a dick.
Because you know you don't give a fuck about Fab.
He said that.
He'd be excited about a new Fab album.
I'm just referring to what you said.
I would, yes.
When I get new information, I'll put a package together and we'll play it right here on Rap Life okay.
We're looking forward to it.
It's also International excuse me, Women's History Month and International Women's Day just went past.
Did you celebrate?
Yeah, I was hanging out with my wife and my kids.
There you go.
Who are both women.
There you go.
Young women.
Perfect celebration.
That's how you celebrate it?
That's how you celebrate it?
Celebrate right in my own house every day.
But for International Women's History Month, we did want to spotlight women rappers who are expanding beyond just the music.
Some examples for you guys, we got Dochi.
So she's a global brand ambassador for Levi's.
She has a Nike partnership.
She has an MLS partnership.
Make the Stallion, collaborations with Airbnb, True Religion, Planet Fitness, and Dunkin', right?
Is it the Dunkin' commercial I just seen her in?
She's got a Popeyes too, right?
Yeah.
Did she buy the franchise? i think she owns a couple of them or something like that yeah guys huh nico figure it out keep going on the case yeah cardi b she has partnerships with balenciaga fashion over uh uber eats pepsi like there's a bobby baby formula i love that one um sweetie with aloe with mac uh crocs mcdonald's and we have a few more um glorella is the first ever ambassador for all four fenty products that's that's tough And if y'all remember, obviously, what was it?
You said Lotto?
Apple Bottoms and Burger King?
We didn't, but you said it.
Oh, sorry.
There you go.
Sorry.
Queen Latifah.
This is a great question, though.
Right.
And shout to Missy, who had brand partnerships back in the day with Adidas and other things.
Queen Latifah, who was a cover girl for 20 years.
That's a long running partnership.
And also, I think Eve had Eve did some makeup stuff.
Little Kim back in the day had some things.
But a great question was put here by the producers of the show said why are women rappers particularly effective at turning music success into lifestyle influence?
I think it's because of just their life in general, like their lifestyle, like what they do, like the makeup, just the clothes, you know, just every product.
Yeah, they can turn all that.
I think they rap about it, they sing about it, so they can easily turn it into a household name or even like a new company or whatever the case is.
It's a way easier answer than that.
Okay, so please tell me.
Look around at our society.
Women have to try harder in every aspect of life.
It's just the reality of it.
So men don't have to be marketable Rappers can come and decide not to do interviews and be too cool.
Women do not have that luxury in life and specifically in a male dominated field like hip hop.
So guess what the women have to do?
They have to do the hair.
They have to do makeup.
They have to do choreography.
They have to do interviews.
They have to show up and they have to smile, like women have to do in men dominated spaces and other places in society for varying different reasons.
A lot of them can be because of their own particular safety.
So when these companies are looking for people to be marketable, it's very easy to look at women in the hip-hop space, because they are the ones putting in all the work.
It is very simple.
And that's the reason why.
And it's their lifestyle.
And it's literally their lifestyle.
Not always.
A majority of it is.
A majority of it is.
Sometimes they got to work to Eddie's point.
No, I agree with that.
I agree.
But it's part of their lifestyle.
Right?
Huh?
Like what, like the business, like.
If you look at everything we just named off, a lot of that stuff is part of their lifestyle, so it's easier for them to jump into it.
Yeah, but, like, men could be endorsing, well, there's another caveat I would throw in there.
McDonald's, Burger King, fuck are we talking about?
I mean, okay, not the fast food.
I mean some of the guy rappers have the McDonald's little collab that they've been doing recently.
But I agree with Eddie like I'm not saying he's wrong.
They have to do more to market themselves.
They have to do more to cut through.
They have to do more to become a household name many times than the dudes do.
I don't even know if that's correct, whatever I just said.
More than the dudes do.
I'll also add this in also, Eddie.
I've always seen women in hip hop be more creative than the men, right?
Like they are more interesting musically, more interesting the way they look in their videos.
They're willing to do more art things, be more expressive than the dudes, and i don't know if they to your point.
I don't know if they feel like they have to or do they want to, because a lot of the biggest rappers that are women in hip-hop have been some of the most talented individuals that we've ever had in hip-hop, right like?
They are true artists.
They just choose to rap.
But, like you know, we were talking about lauren earlier.
She didn't.
She didn't have to rap.
She wanted to rap.
You know what i'm saying don't?
You can sing too, she didn't.
She doesn't have to rap.
She wants to express and use what the the magic of hip-hop to, to show all of her creativity and all of her abilities.
So I will say that even Queen Latifah, for that matter, she's singing acting rapping, doing all this talented stuff.
Because I think also to your point, there's a pressure to always excel and to do way more.
That's what I was taught growing up.
No matter what you do, it's never going to be good enough.
So I always taught you just try to outwork everybody.
That's where you're going to win.
That's it.
You got to make sure your education is on point, do your research, work harder, work harder.
There was never anything good enough.
This is a bit of a tangent, but I don't know if anybody saw the Martha Stewart documentary.
How they basically tried to take down her empire.
I think you might like it, Eddie.
It's a very interesting watch.
I've seen clips.
Oh, so you would absolutely really like it.
And so we're highlighting all of these brand partnerships and in deals.
And I would love to see women in hip hop continue to build to the point where they're like Oprah and own their own empires.
But I think it's especially challenging for women.
In my experience, I think being very successful in business, a lot of men are assholes.
I don't know if there's a better way to put that.
No, there are, just have to be firm.
Sometimes you got to run people over to make the money and, as a woman, as you mentioned, there's like the likability factor right.
When people don't like you, they will come to destroy, and that's what i learned from the martha stewart doc.
So like, these are all amazing uh partnerships, but i would love to see these women get to a point where they can own all of their own businesses like a rihanna.
Of course, that takes some work But yeah, check out that documentary.
It's very cool.
I mean, Rihanna's right there.
You know what I mean?
I was thinking of other women who have brand partnerships and have been able to leverage their brand into other spaces.
I mean, I'm wearing one right now.
I was wondering, what is that?
I can't see it.
It's Beyonce.
Of course it's Beyonce.
Yes, we know.
But yeah, Beyonce, Rihanna, they would be, you know, obviously on that path of empire dominance.
And they're the top of the top.
You know, some of the artists that we're talking about are still fairly early in their careers.
Ownership over collaborations, too, is kind of the difference.
But no, you absolutely have to be a shrewd business person.
True, that's a nicer word, thank you.
I couldn't figure it out.
Like, you can be a nice person and be a billionaire, can you?
Not all the time, anyway.
Well, but there's nice in life, and then there's business.
And I think sometimes people don't know.
You know until you're experienced in doing that where you're like, we're conducting business right now and I need this to be a certain way, because this is business.
This isn't about... our friendship or our, you know.
Yeah.
I feel like I should rephrase that.
You're right.
You need to be shrewd in business, but yet people always want women to be likable.
They don't hold men to the same standards.
Sorry.
That's what I was trying to articulate.
Like you can just completely be an asshole if you're a man in business and it's totally fine.
Women have to move differently.
So shout out to all the ladies out there building the things.
There it is.
International Women's History Month.
And we just had International Women's Day.
If you are into sound and engineering and hip hop specifically or just in general.
A legend passed away last week by the name of Bob Power.
And I had the honor of having an interview with him.
It's only audio.
I think maybe we'll try to post it somewhere.
I'll post it on my socials or something.
But he did some of the most legendary hip hop albums, most notably like Midnight Marauders and Tribe Called Quest albums, De La albums. you know, the roots, like some of the real, you know, that have a specific sound and a bounce and what was known at the time of making things be loud without distortion, but also having things very cleanly separated where you could hear everything going on while also using samples.
So taking old records and mixing them with new sounds, but still maintaining this kind of space and loudness.
But rest in peace to Bob Power.
I saw that on the notes today.
I wanted to shout that out.
And also, speaking of classics, De La Soul honored True Goy.
That's right, Dave from De La Soul on the Tiny Desk, which just dropped.
And so that was great to see with their new album, Cabin in the Sky.
I think somebody was in here talking about Pasta News being on tour with the Gorillaz and that was just moving around.
Yeah.
Was that you, Nick, talking about that?
Well, we talked about Dave being on the new Gorillaz album.
Album, yeah.
Yeah, and then I think, and then Gorillaz performed on Saturday Night Live and I'm not sure if he popped out with them, but I've seen a lot of people talking about like Dale the Funky Homie, Sabian popped out and stuff like that.
So it's Tribe Called Quest.
They're kind of like in the stratosphere right now or the atmosphere, the ether.
People talking about De La Soul.
What did I say?
Tribe.
I'm tripping.
Don't worry about it.
Our brains are cooked.
There's a lot of debating going on.
It's beef in the streets, too.
T.I. and 50 still going at it.
50 dropped some new records over the weekend.
What are y'all thoughts?
That's the record with P.S.C.
He got one with, well, no, 50.
Oh, I'm sorry.
50 dropped two records over the weekend.
The joint with Max B. The Leon Thomas intro to the new Power joint, which I believe is fire.
And then he dropped the Max B joint also.
Yeah, I think the Max B record is old, right?
Yeah, I think it's old.
It's cool.
He took a little jab at T.I.
I can see why he doesn't want to really respond because the music isn't that great.
It's still just at a 50 level.
Just like, all right, cool.
This is a nice record.
I mean, different.
I wasn't blown away, but it's trash, like how a lot of people were thinking about it.
But I'm just like, all right, that's cool.
50, drop the record, boom.
But then 50 said he's going to do a documentary on TI and the allegations against him and his family.
And T.I. said, I'm going to do a documentary on you. and all of the goings-on that you have.
So if you want to go doc for doc, song for song, show for show, I'm here for whatever.
Doc for doc is nuts.
No, that's what T.I. said.
He was like, we can go doc for doc.
No, but that's where we are, where people are like, you know what?
I'm tired of making rap discs.
We're going to make documentary discs.
Meanwhile, you can't sing and have a classic hip-hop album, but OK.
It's like, who makes this shit up anyway?
I don't think Fifth was ready for the petty that Clifford had for him, bro.
I think Fifth, to a certain point over the last few years, is just kind of steamrolling people in his little mean beef.
And them Harris boys, they wasn't going for it.
Mind you, they're still going.
They're still going.
It was definitely knocking off his door.
Come outside.
We ain't going to jump you.
It was a whole bunch of them pulling up.
It was whatever way you want to do it.
We want to talk about moms.
All right, your mom's dead.
We smoking under ashes.
I'm going to release.
He's going to release a pack.
Not even funny.
King has a weed line with 50's mom on the bag.
The level in which they were.
I've said the same before, man.
Be careful when you wrestle with pigs because you'll both get muddy, but the pig likes it.
T.I. was the pig, bro.
He was ready to get muddy, and I don't think my boy was ready.
He used to just, all right, cool, I'm going to go at podcasters, and I'm going to do all this.
Hey, man, be careful.
The pigs like it.
T.I. came by the show, the Ebro show last week, and we had a quick chat about it.
You have expressed wanting to do verses, though, regardless of that.
I haven't expressed it.
You haven't.
It's not me expressing it.
And that's another misconception that I really have a disdain for.
I'm not out here soliciting myself for verses.
I don't give a fuck about verses.
People want to see me in it.
But you got to have some love for that.
That's a celebration of the music, right?
I appreciate it.
Of course.
It's only goofy ass shit like this that make a nigga like man.
Why y'all ain't come talking about this shit to me in the first place.
I'm fine on my own, bro.
I'm good.
I don't need none of this shit, bro.
I'm straight.
Without the success of Let Em Know, without an album dropping, I could have still had my hair and doing comedy, and I'm living in the same house, driving the same cars.
Ain't none, motherfuckers, stopped my motion or created none for me.
Man, I just, you know, this shit just, man, enough is enough.
It's irritating.
Man, quit the cap, Jack.
I don't give a fuck, bro.
You know what I mean?
It ain't even worth the trouble at this point, dawg.
You know what I'm saying?
Whatever positivity could've came from it.
It's been poisoned.
It was busy on the Ebro show last week, too.
I don't know if you guys saw Stove God Cook's pop album.
He's got a Swizz Beatz produced album.
I listened to that live.
That was good.
What, the interview?
Yeah, I listened to that live.
Yeah, no, he doesn't talk a lot.
And even in the interview, I could tell he's not a fan of interviews.
But it was good.
It was good.
You got some information.
You got some good shit out of him.
Did he answer the questions?
Yeah.
You got, like, two words?
Yeah.
You know how those interviews go.
Yeah, yeah, I've done a couple of those.
He's a great dude, but he's also just like, yo, I don't really do all this talking.
I'm here to do the rap.
I respect that.
You know what I mean?
Andy's newish in the game.
What'd you say to Andy?
The ladies can't do that.
The ladies can't do that.
They got to show up to the interview and interview.
Gotta talk.
And they can't even just interview.
They gotta be engaging.
They gotta be like, huh?
What did you say?
And they gotta smile for you and all that.
And then you know what happens?
And then they say we talk too much.
You can't win, bro.
You can't win.
You stay hanging on to that.
End up on a Yachty album.
Yeah.
You stay hanging on to that.
I'm just saying.
That's how it is.
I don't talk that much.
Like, literally.
OK.
It's all good.
I'm trying to give you the space.
I gotta raise my hand and make sure I give her the space.
That's a women's history, motherfucker.
How you doing that?
She deserves the space.
Sorry, I apologize.
Damn, dawg.
But anyway, Stove Got Cooks on the Ebro Show.
If you feel like you in control of the business that we doing music business, I just won't give you no music.
We would do no music business.
And that's how we got here with five years of nothing.
Because if you feel like you are in control of the business, then that mean I'm in control of the music.
I just won't give you no music.
If we can't come to terms.
That's it.
And we just sit here.
I just sit here signing to you.
I got other shit I can do.
You know, Jay?
Nah, y'all never talked.
Oh yeah, i'm saying i spoke to him, got it.
Yeah, i ain't.
You know, we don't know each other right right, right.
Yeah, had he given you any advice?
You know a little, here or there, sprinkle a couple of gems.
You know, What did we miss this week, Nick?
Let's go back to Women's History Month.
We celebrated International Women's Day this past weekend.
Name all your favorite women.
Go.
Well yeah, there's tracks from some up-and-coming women, who don't necessarily have their collab deals yet, that I want to shout out.
Okay.
Monoleo pops up on the mic.
Will made it.
Upcoming release with Travis Porter, Santa No.
K-Carbon has a song.
Just drop what they like.
Shout out to K-Carbon.
Brie dropped her song, Any Day.
Caribou is back.
Caribou is back.
Caribou back outside.
With a song called No.
No hook.
So I just wanted to shout them out for Women's Day.
And you know, women on their way coming up.
You know, Someone called you an ally.
Yeah, maybe some some I can't cuz I'm a dude I can't say that but some would I would accept that.
All right, I will call you both allies.
Love you.
Hey, I take that We just like women.
I'm sorry.
She's sexy.
Oh, you're a sweet ass.
Niggas can't joke.
People are like, damn, when did we get so fucking sensitive?
People who don't like women don't like Drake albums.
Dudes that don't like hanging out with women don't like Drake albums.
No, I like the Dave East albums.
I like my women that smoke Newports.
To Eddie's observation.
Shout out to them, too.
Yeah, exactly.
I love the one this morning.
What else, Nick?
Do you guys want to get into this roundup of albums we didn't go deeper on?
Or do y'all want to?
No, we can.
We can.
I moved over.
There was a few projects that dropped this week.
The Denzel Curry, Strictly for the Scythe.
Oh, yes.
Listen, that one?
Strictly for the Scythe.
Listen.
Nah, they all came by the show, man.
It was a great, great thing on the Ebro show.
And this project is fire, too.
Yeah, pass the car test for sure.
Man.
So just, you know, we know Denzel Curry to have that 3-6 Mafia influence right down South.
Juicy J is on the project, but there's a couple of tracks on there that are like, Singles?
You know what I'm saying?
Like things that should play outside, like in the club.
Like what's the song on there with Ferg, Rich the Kid?
It's like the last song or something.
There's a song on there, man.
That sounds crazy.
I would love to hear that outside.
You Ain't Gotta Lie is another one with 454 and Lil Tyler that I would love to hear outside.
And the rest of those just sound great in the car or wherever else you're at.
Let me throw something else out here.
The LaRussell produced by Lil Jon.
Yeah.
Condolences to Lil Jon.
Keep Lil Jon in prayers.
He just recently lost his son.
Yeah.
But it reminds me that Lil Jon ain't lost it, bro.
Like the beats on there absolutely slap.
So check out that LaRussell, Lil Jon project.
Something's in the water.
And that Ty Dolla $ign EP, Girl Music Volume 1.
We also put out an album.
Brandi, Ronald Isley, and Leon Thomas on that joint.
It's fire, too.
That shit is tough, yeah.
Take a listen to that.
That shit is tough.
I swear Vezo got a good album.
He's flipping a whole bunch of like love type songs, like old R&B songs.
It's like a quick EP, but that joint's fire.
Like if you want to listen to rap but also want to have something that's friendly for international history.
Women's month thing.
Yeah, you butchered the fuck out of that.
Yeah, do that again.
Hey man, they know where my heart's at.
Yo, leave my man alone.
That title is way too long.
Oh yeah, like I was saying, Wiz Khalifa dropped the album Girls Love Horses last week, so check that out.
Before we wrap today, Saha the Prince.
Everybody got quiet.
Nigga, where you landing this thing?
We had the convo about, didn't we have the convo about the J. Cole record?
Did you hear this newest record that he dropped this week about good music and the whole good music breaking up?
And what are your thoughts?
I liked how it was laid out.
I think it was articulated well.
I think he's a great person to have that perspective of why that whole camp blew up and from what different lenses.
So yeah, I fucked with it heavy.
And you have Gene of Views in there asking the questions to set up the verses.
So I think it was well put together.
So yeah.
No, it's a fire record.
Have you heard it, Nick or Eddie?
No, I haven't had a chance to hear it.
Can y'all fill this in?
I haven't heard it either.
It's just Saha being a phenomenal rapper but being asked questions about the breakup of good music, but doing it in rap form.
And what did he learn?
It's storytelling.
I think pretty much we knew a lot of it.
I don't think we learned anything.
That's what I'm saying.
I think we knew a bunch of the stuff.
But it's just a dope hip hop record.
I don't feel like I heard anything that was revealing.
We'll check that out.
But it's still great.
I mean, I do respect him as a rapper, right?
Yeah, I just thought the Shane Cole thing was weird last week.
Yeah.
Well, the comments was breaking it down, and I'm not.
Thanks for telling us, y'all.
Good looking.
I read it.
I don't remember it.
I don't know why he would have taken any of that personally, right?
I think they're saying in False Prophets, Cole was talking about the Yes Men or the people around Kanye.
So Sy High took that personally.
That's what it sounds like.
I don't know that he was talking about Sy High specifically, but either way.
This one is better.
I'll just say this.
This record right here is better than that one.
Check that out.
Anything else we forgot, Nick, or missed?
Nah, I think that about wraps it.
I mean, Cash Cobain dropped his new song, Wish.
I don't know if you guys had a chance to hear that.
King of New York.
King of New York, Cash Comey.
Well, what I would say about this new song is that it's not Sexy Drill, so we are kind of hearing him in a new context on this one, so I think that was kind of interesting.
I think Eddie was trolling.
No, yeah, yeah.
He definitely was.
Yeah, that's still out of bounds.
What?
What happened?
Definitely trolling a little bit.
You got any bars for us this week now?
Oh, God.
I don't, actually.
But shout out to Fat Mac, though.
That interview is out now on Apple Music.
They was in our comments.
They was definitely in our comments.
They loved it.
They were heavy in the comments.
He was definitely in the comments.
What was the bar again?
I'm the first nigga getting high in my city.
I'm a pilgrim.
So, and I remember in our chat before we rap, because I think we got to rap pretty soon.
We were talking about bars, like things being a bar.
And I remember after watching you guys debate that line, I'm not quite sure if that's a bar.
I think we've lost the idea of what an actual bar is.
I'm sorry I said anything.
I was just kidding.
No, I think it's a great con.
I still think for hip hop fans and people who talk about bars and people who, yeah.
You talking about destruction of it?
Like, this is destruction?
Like, I think if you're really into bars and raps, that's just a line.
It's not necessarily a bar.
Because whatever happens after that is what can make it the bar.
Well, yeah, I think he was just saying... Or before, right?
Or before, for that matter.
It was a punchline.
Yeah, yeah, I think that he was just saying, like, what line stood out to you?
I don't think he was saying, like, what's your favorite bar?
I was just pointing out that I think that we needed a... A line is a bar, right?
I mean, I think the bar is like the whole... It's the count, right?
No.
A bar is a four count.
Yeah, a bar is a four count.
A bar is a four count, technically.
Okay.
Right?
Technically.
Technically.
But also a bar also has to have like it needs to lead to something.
Isn't that a punch line?
Right.
So you can have a clever line.
It's not necessarily a bar, though.
And I wanted this and I'm having this convo so that they could debate it in the comments.
Yeah, because people throw out that term so much they'll be like bars.
They'll be like, well, Did you get technical?
Did you actually want the count?
Like, you wanted... No, I just wanted... I don't even know what the next line is.
Like, what's the line?
How does this round up?
So it's a line.
It's just a clever line.
That's what it is.
But also, bar has evolved to mean a witty or clever line.
Yeah, it's the evolution of it.
I get it.
He's talking about structure and technical.
I don't know if bar, and I'm asking, has it evolved to that?
I really am asking.
Is that common for everyone?
That they go, one line is a bar.
One hotline is a bar.
Yeah, one hotline is a bar.
People do say that.
Like, that's a ball.
Even if when you're talking in conversation, you say something like, wait, but that's a ball.
It just evolved.
I know people do do that.
And that's why I wanted to reestablish are we now just so far out over our skis that we jumped the shark?
That now you can say I was the first to smoke weed, I'm a pilgrim and go bar.
He didn't say weed.
First of all, saying skis in 2026 is also wild, so shout out to you, Ebro.
Wow, people don't say skis anymore?
People ski all the time.
What kind of ski are you talking about?
You say skeet all the time?
What are you talking about, really skiing?
Yo.
Let's talk about the evolution of skiing and hip hop.
Wait, people don't ski anymore?
It's really popular.
I snowboard.
Yeah, all the time.
It's evolved.
It's bars.
But I also would want to know Ebro in your line and everybody on the show I would love to know what constitutes a bar.
What does it take for it to be like, damn, that was a good bar or that was a good line?
Are you guys looking for whatever, like, wordplay metaphor.
I'm looking for more than just I was the first to do a thing.
I'm a pilgrim.
We're not gonna let that go, are we?
No.
He did a pill, though.
But yeah, it was the pill.
He's the first.
He landed on Plymouth Rock with that pill.
You know what I'm saying?
We get the context.
He popped up like the Quaker Oats man and popped a pill.
Thank you for breaking it down.
He didn't even say all that, though.
He didn't.
He was on a Mayflower.
That would have been a bar if he did.
Popping pills.
If he would have added on to the Pilgrim metaphor, you think that would have constituted a bar?
That would have been bars.
Those would have been bars.
The Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria.
That would have been bars multiple.
With the pill.
Is this a history lesson?
No, I honestly would like to just get y'all's opinion because I think it's important.
I didn't really think about it until he brought it up and I really didn't care to really like shh.
I was just causing people to talk in the comments.
I wanted to know what they thought.
Showed up in Pennsylvania with a pill.
With one of them hats on.
Yeah, with a Quaker hotel.
That's what I'm saying.
Where's Fat Mac from?
High Sox.
Alabama, Mobile.
Yeah, Mobile.
So no pilgrims showed up to you?
No, not at all.
No, not at all.
Not at all.
I saw what you was trying to do.
Rap Life Review, that's Eddie and Nick.
I'm Ebro Lowe.
We'll see y'all next week.
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