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This is J. Cole’s moment

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Just before midnight, a message landed on my phone.

“It’s late… and I’m sure you’re in dad mode, but I’m pretty sure Drake’s response will arrive in 10 (minutes),” it read. “(I do not know) if it’s that or Cole’s album. But I used to be told Drake recorded something the opposite day.

A moment later, J. Cole landed on streaming platforms and social media discourse went crazy.

To the industry insider’s credit, it was a diss. In the last song of the surprise album “7-minute exercise”, J. Cole took direct aim at Kendrick Lamar against a backdrop reminiscent of the Sega Genesis, returning the shots that Lamar sent to J. Cole and Drake in his fiery verse on “Like That” from Future and Metro Boomin. “Like That” became an instant cultural touchstone thanks to NBA legend LeBron James rapping (mostly) word for word during the pre-match warm-up and beyond not only by playing part of the verse on-air, but also referencing it during Thursday’s telecast. It was a record catapulted to #1, leading to an undeniable reality: at its core, hip-hop is a competitive sport. Claiming to be the perfect means proving it.

And J. Cole has spent much of the previous few years attempting to separate himself from the competition. He confirmed this on “7 Minute Drill,” claiming that Lamar’s time at the highest of rap’s Mount Everest was a protracted one, looking back. “,” J. Cole rapped, an interpolation of Jay-Z calling out Nas’ catalog in “Takeover.” “”

Calling Lamar Ambien music – when many critics of J. Cole’s work over time have said the identical about his music – is intentional. Whether he truly believes that is not the purpose or whether he’s completely missing the larger point. Lamar’s catalog is his quest for hip-hop immortality. As talented as J. Cole is, his body of labor still rivals Lamar’s. But J. Cole knows that specializing in Lamar’s discography while bringing up the same old topics of conversation about Compton, California, emcee boredom, and taking longer breaks between projects is a strategy to focus the conversation, regardless of how basic it could be .

J. Cole called this album a “warning shot,” and it was exactly that. Hours after the autumn, rapper Reason of Top Dawg Entertainment (Lamar’s former label) wrote on social media: writing“I hope you all understand this sport and don’t take it too seriously, at least from Dot and Cole. It’ll just be a friendly sparring session. I’m (excited) to hear that they’re both doing fine without any major issues. Just rap!”

As Reason noted, any tension between J. Cole and Lamar has yet to cross the road into something more personal. J. Cole confirmed last 12 months that he and Lamar had discussed a project together years ago but schedules didn’t allow it. These are two guys who, beyond that moment, showed one another cordiality and respect for one another’s talents, which dated back to the times after they recorded their first compilations. However, J. Cole stands to realize significant progress in his quest to be “the UN” – if he can play his cards right at this point.

“This year has always been a big year for Cole. “His ‘supposed’ last album, and now this barrel is falling in his lap,” said rap historian and documentarian Jeff Rosenthal. He and his brother Eric Rosenthal created the award-winning podcast, which focused on the period (roughly 2007-2012) when J. Cole, Lamar, Drake and the Legionnaires rose to music fame via the Internet. “If he really wants to achieve a good result and consolidate his status as number 1 in the generation, he has a way to do it. The momentum is on his side.”

In addition to the project’s latest song, there is also a well-rapped body of labor, featuring a wide selection of sounds and voices from artists resembling Cam’ron, Ab-Soul, Ari Lennox, Gucci Mane, Young Dro and others. As his annual Dreamville festival kicks off on Saturday and Sunday, all eyes are on J. Cole. And with big names like SZA, 50 Cent and the all the time controversial Nicki Minaj within the lineup, this is J. Cole’s stage.

“Cole has always been a champion of people. Drake has been topping all the charts for the last 15 years, and Kendrick has won the hearts of all critics and intellectuals. But Cole has built the most loyal and passionate fan base,” said Eric Rosenthal. “Critics may say his honesty makes him boring, but there’s no denying he attracts fans and collaborators, including Drake and Kendrick, who appreciate the very specific path Cole is on.”

Overall, J. Cole’s response to Lamar is satisfactory. “7 Minute Drill” won’t ever be amongst the long-lasting battle records in rap history. But nevertheless, it was never meant to be. J. Cole will perform several of this weekend’s songs in front of hundreds of fans flocking to Raleigh, North Carolina for the festival, including the one everyone is talking about, “7 Minute Drill.” And debates about where the feud between the 2 heavyweight rappers will lead will only deepen.

However, the elephant within the room becomes increasingly inescapable. Going back to Reason’s tweet, he said the rap battle was just fun — “at least on Dot and Cole’s part.” This one phrase is the textbook definition of “weightlifting.” J. Cole’s response only increases the pressure on Drake – the fundamental goal of Lamar’s ire on “Like That” – to reply. Once friends – or dear collaborators, if anything – the strain between Drake and Lamar is personal in a way that the lyrical rift between Lamar and J. Cole is not. Drake and Lamar have been trading bullion for the past decade, and Lamar has been rather more confrontational. Since “Like That,” Drake has responded in the shape of Instagram captions, impromptu TED stage talks, and over-the-top antics like accurate shots to an enormous image of Travis Scott’s head during a recent stop on his and J. Cole’s tour.

Drake is as battle-tested as they arrive. He destroyed Common on “Stay Schemin'” in 2012 and publicly exposed Meek Mill in 2015 with the Grammy-nominated album “Back to Back.” His loss in 2018, nevertheless, was Drake himself He admitted — for Pusha, T represents an incurable scar. Drake’s attitude and musical tone modified under the influence of ‘Pusha T’Adidon’s story” The record not only revealed the identity of Drake’s son, but questioned Drake’s very existence as an artist and an idea. Now Drake finds himself at one other pivotal moment defined by deep-seated friction. The last half-decade has seen a rather more combative Drake, due to his clash with Pusha T. Now, the anticipation of him lyrically taking up Lamar is deafening.

If and when Drake responds, it’s going to be on an enormous stage because he has no other option. WITH “First-person shooter” further, everything that involved these three took place in front of the watching world. In a way, J. Cole didn’t do Drake any favors by releasing “7 Minute Drill” before Drake could get into the booth and issue his own criticism. But as J. Cole stated on the record, almost in agreement with Lamar:

Much like J. Cole’s other passion, basketball, his rap lead disappears in almost the blink of an eye fixed. J. Cole has been improving results for years. But very similar one other North Carolinian, a three-point dagger opportunity like he’s never seen before in his profession is right in front of him. Album-before-album. A loud disagreement. His own festival. And then probably the most anticipated rap project. 2024 is expected to be J. Cole’s MVP 12 months. Now every little thing will depend on his future.


This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Angelina Jolie’s disturbing performance in new interview sparks criticism Years after health problems caused her face to sag

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Angelina Jolie promotes her next film, “Maria”, in which she plays the role of the famous opera singer Maria Callas.

However, for some fans, the press was more about Jolie’s health and appearance than her work in film.

On November 21, Jolie sat down with Michael Strahan for an interview on “Good Morning America” ​​to discuss her fear of using her real voice to sing opera for the role and the enjoyment of motherhood. However, in the course of the chat, some fans claimed they noticed Jolie’s face looked different than usual.

In the newest interview, Angelina Jolie expresses concerns about her health. (Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

One person was cited by Express US for this story he said“It looks rough.”

Another commentator on Page Six he wrote“Ok, I just read that her face looks different because she stated that she developed hypertension and Bell’s palsy, a condition that she said caused her face to droop to one side. I assumed she looked like she had a stroke, in order that explains it.

Debates about Jolie’s sickly appearance erupted when fans noticed visibly large veins on her arms during separate red carpet appearances. Even those that knew her health were still shocked and anxious by her photos.

Jolie first revealed that she had the disease in 2017. In an interview with Vanity Fair she said he said she discovered she had hypertension and Bell’s palsy in 2016, the identical yr she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt.

So when she was diagnosed with the disease, she said she wasn’t sure what could have caused it. “I can’t tell if it’s menopause or if it’s just the year,” said Jolie, then 42. “Sometimes women in families put themselves last until it manifests itself in their own health.”

However, she also said that she is trying to pay more attention to her health. “I actually feel more like a woman because I make wise choices, I put my family first and I am responsible for my life and health. I think that’s what makes a woman complete.”

Last yr, the “Maleficent” star opened up again about her condition, revealing that it was caused by the stress of ending her relationship with Pitt.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, she said he said“My body reacts very strongly to stress. My blood sugar levels go up and down. Six months before the divorce, I suddenly developed Bell’s palsy.

According to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke“Bell’s palsy is a neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face. It occurs when one in every of the nerves that control the facial muscles becomes damaged or stops working properly, which may cause the facial muscles to droop or sag.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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“The Honorable Shyne” is a hit. This is why I wanted to tell this story. — Andlandscape

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One of the primary reasons Andscape culture author Justin Tinsley and I were tapped to co-executive produce was our backgrounds as music journalists. The documentary chronicling Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s rise to fame, imprisonment, and re-emergence as a political leader suits firmly into our wheelhouse, as his best rap years got here within the early 2000s – right at the center of our hip-hop fandom. I donated my time helping with the documentary, which was a top ten show in its debut week on Huluas a likelihood to help tell the story of hip-hop. I got here away from the project with an understanding of a man in conflict, at odds with himself and his past, and wanting to forge a path forward.

Shyne’s story illustrates the American dream: a poor black immigrant comes to America and from nowhere becomes one in all the largest rap stars. It is also a story about how the American criminal justice system and music industry chew up and spit out so many young Black people. To carelessly follow Shyne’s story is to consider him as just one other young black man who fell into a bad situation and never recovered. After all, his rap profession was effectively derailed when in 2001 he was sentenced to ten years in prison for the 1999 shooting at Club New York in Manhattan. But what inspired me about Shyne’s story was his refusal to let this devastation define him.

In 2021, I hung out in New Orleans with former No Limit rapper McKinley “Mac” Phipps, who had just been released from prison after spending 21 years in prison for a murder he denied committing. As I listened to Shyne’s story, I considered Mac. Both were avatars of a system that tested rap as much because it tested individual men. Mac’s story was about how hip-hop lyrics may be used to accuse someone within the face of overwhelming evidence of their innocence. Similarly, Shyne’s trial created a sensation about hip-hop’s relationship to violence in a city hungry for head on a plate.

Both Shyne and Mac emerged from prison as completely different people than once they entered. In Mac’s case, it was the period of time he spent at home, during which he transformed from a teenage rapper into a man after 20 years spent in confinement. For Shyne, his transformation got here from faith when he converted to Orthodox Judaism in prison. When I have a look at people like Shyne and Mac, I wonder how they’ll survive being locked in a cage, and their answers are inspiring.

While Shyne’s rap stories are what drew me to this project, it’s his journey as a man that makes me proud to help tell his story. And we actually get to see that journey after he raps the ultimate bars of his rap profession.

Shyne got here to the film wanting to discuss his lowest moments – the time after his release from prison in 2009, when he lashed out, frustrated at seeing a latest crop of rap stars emerge within the void left by his absence. He was rudderless. As rudderless as anyone may be who has lost a decade to a prison system that wanted to destroy him. And much more, since it was closed when the superstar’s fame was on the tip of his fingers.

The raspy-voiced rapper could have let these mishaps define him, but that is where Shyne’s story resonates with everyone, whether or not they’re a rap fan or not. Shyne’s second act, the one through which he finds purpose in community and family, where he uses his innate charisma and true genius to turn out to be a political leader and motivational speaker.

I cannot discuss Shyne’s reappearance without mentioning Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs, the disgraced hip-hop mogul who signed Shyne to his label Bad Boy Records and helped launch his profession, is the elephant within the room throughout the documentary and in Shyne’s life. So lots of the artists who emerged under Diddy – from G Depp and Mase to The Notorious BIG – suffered terrible consequences. Shyne’s name was all the time on the list because he spent ten years in prison. And yet, Shyne’s approach to healing and moving forward is as inspiring as his ability to overcome what he sees because the sabotage of his life and profession.

These are lessons I didn’t expect to learn from the stories in regards to the hip-hop star from my childhood. These are inspiring moments that can be of interest to those that haven’t yet turn out to be inquisitive about the Brooklyn, or somewhat Belizean, rapper featured within the documentary. These are the points that make me proud to be a a part of telling Shyne’s story.

DavidDennis Jr. is a senior author at Andscape and the creator of the award-winning book “The Movement Made Us: A Father, a Son, and the Legacy of a Freedom Ride.” David is a graduate of Davidson College.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Kendrick Lamar Releases Surprise Album ‘GNX’; group chats are going crazy

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Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar GNX, GNX, GNX album, K-Dot, K-Dot GNX, theGrio.com

There are few things more exciting than receiving an infinite barrage of text messages at the very same time in numerous group chats. This normally implies that something vital has happened in popular culture. Well, the exact same thing happened about noon on November 22, within the yr of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, higher often called Kendrick Lamar, released the album “GNX”, nod towards Buick Grand National Regal GNXa rare muscle automobile released in 1987 – which also happens to be the yr Kendrick was born.

“GNX” is coming to the tip of what has been a banner yr for Kendrick Lamar. From epic diss records geared toward Drake, to creating the largest song of his profession (and a Drake diss track) on “Not Like Us”, to the “Pop Out” concert streaming live to tell the tale Amazon Prime, Kendrick won this yr. He even received seven Grammy nominations, mostly for “Not Like Us.” And this victory will proceed in the brand new yr. In September, it was announced that Kendrick would stay Super Bowl 2025 headliner will happen in New Orleans. This announcement sparked some controversy and comments from several New Orleans legends similar to Juvenile and most notably Lil Wayne, who felt disrespected; Kendrick immediately refers to this topic within the opening song of the album (all stylized in lower case), “wacced out murals”.

The thing is, Kendrick didn’t sleep for many of 2024. And then, while the remaining of us were minding our own business, listening to other albums that had just dropped, like Ice Cube’s “Man Down,” I began receiving text after text… and I knew that would only mean that something vital happened.

At this point in my life (and possibly even yours), Kendrick Lamar releases are a drop-everything-and-listen event. I immediately went to the streaming service, launched “GNX” and pressed “Play”.

I need to admit that the primary time I heard the album I used to be a bit confused. Kendrick has probably never been more popular or famous; if there was ever a time to drag a Kanye West and release his own version of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” – an album largely produced as Kanye’s best and most representative of Kanye’s greatness – now could be the time. “GNX” has a far more modern West Coast vibe and is certainly more for his die-hard fans than anyone who just began gaining attention due to his beef with Drake. Maybe that was the purpose; possibly not.

Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar GNX, GNX, GNX album, K-Dot, K-Dot GNX, theGrio.com
Photo: Dave Free

Either way, I can imagine that folks whose favorite lines are “OV-Ho” won’t be immediately thrilled. I wasn’t immediately blown away (though very amused by how sensitive Kendrick is to what people say about him on social media, well, everyone), but as is all the time the case with Kendrick albums, repeated listens are likely to correct any immediate monotony that I even have about his projects. For example, now that I’ve listened to it just a few times, I can not wait to listen to black college bands playing “tv off” style, which seems like a cousin of “Not Like Us.” The Shoot, Bayou Classic, which also takes place yearly in New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day, stands out as the first time we hear a band playing “TV off.”

Since the album didn’t come out long enough to be reviewed, group chats and social media were abuzz with immediate reactions. This is the a part of music releases I really like, where everyone seems to be listening to the identical thing, offering premature takes that will not even delay the following day. I’m not different; I’m sure I’ll say something about this album that can sound silly by Monday. Shoot, I can have already done it. But that is what happens when great artists release music. We spend time with others after which we refer to them, analyze them, criticize them, praise them, destroy them and let all our prejudices fly free. Love it.

It’s value noting that certainly one of Drake’s diss tracks that did not appear during last summer’s fracas was titled “The Heart Part 6,” and was an apparent try to usurp Kendrick’s pre-album practice of removing a non-album song titled “The Heart.” Well, Kendrick has a song on his recent album called, you guessed it, “The Heart, Pt. 6,” which I feel will probably be released soon Drake. Good job, Kenny.

Argue.


Panama Jackson theGrio.com

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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