Saturday, December 6, 2014

What The Hell Just Happened In Music This Week?


Is the YMCMB empire in a fractured state? That appears to be the case following Lil Wayne's recent comments on Twitter, in which the rapper claimed Tha Carter V was being held hostage by Birdman and Cash Money. This is very troubling news given Wayne's close relationship with Birdman—he's referred to him as his "father" on many occasions. What's more, this gives credence to Tyga's own issues with the label not more than two months ago. 

Plus, Meek Mill is released from jail, tour news on Kanye West, Logic, Lana Del Rey, and PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Azealia Banks beefs with Iggy Azalea—again. Check out all that and more in What the Hell Just Happened in Music This Week?


Rihanna revealed upcoming plans for Kanye West to tour next year.



Date: December 12

Rihanna recently tweeted a link to the DiamondBall auction, which benefits the Clara Lionel Foundation that she founded in 2012. According to the site and as Spin points out, one of the packages that will be auctioned off is the Kanye West Tour Experience, which reads: Be Kanye West’s special front row VIP guest for his upcoming North American 2015 tour. Experience a rare opportunity meet & greet with the icon.

Only problem? Starting bids for the Kanye experience begin at $15,000. The CLF foundation was started in honor of Rihanna's grandparents, Clara and Lionel Brathwaite, and according to its mission statement, strives “to improve the quality of life for communities globally in the areas of health, education, arts, and culture."

So, thanks to Rihanna, we've got one more hint at what Kanye has planned for next year. 


Meek Mill was finally released from jail.


Date: December 2

Meek Mill has been released from jail after serving nearly five months for violating his parole this past July. Before he was locked up, Meek was gearing up to drop his long-awaited sophomore album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, which was ultimately delayed due to his jail sentence. A new date for the album has not been announced, but knowing Meek, he will get right to it soon.



PARTYNEXTDOOR dropped new music and announced a world tour.



Date: December 3

PARTYNEXTDOOR continues his impressive 2014 run as the budding Toronto singer takes a page out of Drake's “owl hours” pamphlet and drops four new songs in the middle of the night, properly packaged as “PNDCOLOURS.” Included in this surprise pack is “Let's Get Married,” “Girl From Oakland,” “Jus Know” featuring Travi$ Scott, and “Don't Worry” with Ca$h Out.

Along with new music, PARTYNEXTDOOR also shares full dates for his upcoming “PND LIVE” world tour, which begins Jan. 29 in Seattle. Other stops on the 40-plus date trek include Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, New York, and Detroit, as well as expected shows in cities like Paris and Berlin overseas. 


Lady Gaga opened up about being sexually assaulted as a teen.


Date: December 3

Lady Gaga revealed on The Howard Stern Show that she was raped by a man who was 20 years her senior when she was 19 years old. The subject came up when Stern asked Gaga about performing her song “Swine” earlier this year at South by Southwest and having British artist Millie Brown vomit paint on her while she rode a mechanical bull. Gaga explained that “Swine” is about—among other things—rape, demoralization, and rage.

“I had a lot of pain I wanted to release,” she said. “I said to myself, I want to sing this song while I'm ripping hard on a drum kit and then I want to get on a mechanical bull—which is probably one of the most demoralizing things you can put a female on, you know in her underwear—and I want this chick to throw up on me in front of the world, so that I can tell them, 'You know what? You could never, ever degrade me as much as I degrade myself, and look how beautiful it is when I do."

Afterward, Stern tried to press Gaga on the particulars of the incident, suggesting it was a music producer who raped her. Gaga did not reveal the name of her assaulter but according to Mark Geragos, who is Kesha's lawyer in her sexual assault case against superproducer Dr. Luke, it was Luke who raped Gaga. However, both Luke and Gaga's reps have denied Geragos claim.

Gaga went on to tell Stern that the incident didn't affect her immediately after as much as it did years later. However, she eventually overcame it after years of mental and physical therapy. “I saw him one time in a store and I was so paralyzed by fear,” said Gaga. “It wasn't until I was a little bit older that I went, 'Wow, that was really messed up.'"

Despite the heavy subject matter, Gaga was actually on the show to promote her new duet album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek. —Insanul Ahmed


Azealia Banks called out Iggy Azalea for cultural appropriation.


Date: December 4

As hundreds of New Yorkers took to the streets to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict an NYPD officer for his role in Eric Garner's death, Azealia Banks went on Twitter to call out white artists who appropriate black culture but fall silent when civil rights issues are brought up. The “Chasing Times” rapper fired out a handful of tweets and then focused in on Iggy Azalea or “Igloo Australia” for her silence on “black issues” following the events of the past month. —


Lil Wayne revealed internal issues with Birdman and Cash Money.



Date: December 4

After countless delays, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V was set to hit stores on this month until Weezy took to Twitter to voice his frustrations with Cash Money Records and Birdman, and claims the label won't let him release his album.

Wayne has been associated with Cash Money Records since the early '90s, and has always maintained an extremely close relationship with Birdman over the years. His own label, Young Money Entertainment, is an imprint of Cash Money and back in April 2012, Wayne signed an additional four album deal with Cash Money, as well.

“Everybody knows I came into the game at 11 years old with Cash Money Records, before we even had a major deal,” Wayne told MTV News back in 2012. “We signed a deal in I don’t remember when, and I been with Cash Money ever since. So if you’re looking for integrity, I am the definition. If you’re looking for a person that’s gonna stay down, I am the definition. If you’re looking for loyalty, I am just that."

This is now the second Cash Money artist this year to publicly air out grievances with the label; in October, Tyga revealed that his album, The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty, was completed but the label was “holding him hostage.” 


Tyga hinted at his possible separation with Young Money/Cash Money.


Date: December 4

Lil Wayne recently set Twitter ablaze by detailing his frustrations with the label. Specifically, he called out Cash Money for holding back his upcoming album, Tha Carter V, which has suffered several delays over the last few months. It most recently received a firm release date, before Wayne explained the situation taking place behind closed doors.

Fellow Young Money/Cash Money artist Tyga voiced his support for Wayne following his Twitter remarks, which makes sense given Tyga's own issues with the record label, in which he threatened to leak his album, The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty.

Now, Tyga has stated his album will be released independently. This goes against information given to fans following Tyga's outburst, in which the 25-year-old Compton rapper announced his album would be released Dec. 23. If his latest update is in fact true, this would mean Tyga finally got his wish and severed ties with Young Money/Cash Money. 


André 3000 referred to OutKast's reunion touring as “selling out.”



One of the biggest stories of 2014 was the return of OutKast, as the duo reunited to do a number of festival dates in the summer. In an interview with Fader, André 3000 spoke candidly about his conflicted thoughts regarding the tour, saying that he felt like a “sell-out."

While explaining the purpose of the jumpsuits he wore during the performances, André explains that the messages were cathartic to him in getting through the performances. “I felt weird about going out on stage and doing it again,” he told interviewer Nicholas Jaar, adding that he felt that OutKast fans would see the tour as nothing but a money grab. He continues by saying that the jumpsuits, were his way of being “in on the joke."

André goes further by adding that he actually didn't want to do the reunion tour at all: 

“We hadn't performed in 10 years. It was old songs. I'm like, How am I gonna present these songs? I don't have nothing new to say. So I was like, maybe I can start saying new stuff while doing these old songs. It became a theme where I was more excited about this than the actual show. This is fun, running out in these."

Known for being reclusive since the group's hiatus after their critically acclaimed Speakerboxx/The Love Below album, André's comments have seemingly put an end to any more reunions between he and Big Boi. 


 Beanie Sigel was shot in Philadelphia.


Date: December 5

Beanie Sigel was shot in Pleasantville, N.J. NBC Philadelphia reports that Sigel, who was released from federal prison in August, is currently in surgery after suffering a gunshot wound to his back (Police originally said he was shot in the stomach). His attorney says that Sigel was returning home from dropping his kids off at school and that it appears Sigel was not the intended victim.

The shooter is currently in custody. The Philly Inquirer is reporting that Sigel was rushed to the hospital with “life-threatening” injuries after a bullet hit his abdomen and exited through his back. 



The 2015 Grammy Award nominees were announced.
Date: December 5


The 57th annual Grammy Awards are set to take place Feb. 8 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. To build up anticipation, nominees for the upcoming awards show were rolled out through the Grammy Twitter feed, with artists like Iggy Azalea, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Sam Smith, Pharrell, and Beyoncé receiving multiple nominations. 

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