Music
The Beauty of Hate: A Literary Analysis of Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria.”

On Tuesday, rapper Kendrick Lamar caused an Internet storm with the words “Euphoria,” the newest clip in Lamar’s ongoing rap battle with Aubrey “Drake” Graham.
One of essentially the most remarkable things about this argument is that it will not be about an idea. Unlike Tupac vs. Biggie or Gucci Mane vs. Young Jeezy, this conflict didn’t start with an act of violence. There is not any breakup within the history of its founding just like the spat between NWA and Ice Cube or Lauryn Hill and Wyclef. In some ways, the argument between K-Dot and Drizzy over who must be considered the second best rapper alive (Black Thought remains to be alive and rapping, right?) is definitely about Black excellence, which is a component of the rationale all of them fell into state …
You know.
First of all, let’s get this out of the way in which. While anyone can have an opinion about any art form, not every opinion is valid. Just as anyone has the suitable to consider that the Earth is flat or that systemic racism doesn’t exist, I actually have the suitable to say to white people and non-astronomers, “I don’t value your opinion on this.” And since Drake fans place his lyrical depth somewhere between the Declaration of Independence and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, there’s nothing mistaken with disagreeing with my colleague Touré’s opinion that “Euphoria” is “one “one of the perfect diss songs in hip-hop history.”
As a poet, I actually have all the time believed that hip-hop practitioners are undoubtedly the best wordsmiths and musicians of all time. They combined music and poetry to create a brand new art form, construct instruments, invent language and construct business models. In my opinion “Lupe Fiasco”Newsstand” is than Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be.” The highschool band can play every little thing Beethoven ever composed, and I can count on one hand the number of Earthlings who can replicate what DJ Jazzy Jeff does on stage every night. If Edgar Allen Poe was so great at rhyming, why is not there a single 10-minute freestyle?
However, there may be a difference between opinion and opinion. The former is just a worth judgment based on an individual’s individual preferences. Conversely, criticism is conscious evaluation using a set of commonly accepted objective standards. This doesn’t necessarily require an evaluative judgment or conclusion as as to if it is sweet. And relating to Clapback Kenny’s latest beef, whether you are black or white, Drakeonian or KenFolkEveryone who has listened to “Euphoria” can objectively agree with one indisputable fact:
Kendrick Lamar Drake.
Of all the varied chemical reactions that the human brain produces, perhaps hate is the purest and most human emotion of all. A wildebeest could also be afraid of a lion and even a puppy may love its owner, but hatred is barely human. While its byproducts are sometimes toxic and unhealthy, hate may also be useful. Hating an opponent – and even the thought of losing – can motivate an athlete to boost their game. It can poison the minds of a lynch mob, but it might also encourage others to fight oppression.
Most importantly, this universally identified passion can be the premise of essentially the most beautiful art. If it weren’t for the hatred of the Montagues and Capulets, “Romeo and Juliet” could be an enthralling play about teenage crush. Without the simmering anger that hate generated, Killmonger would have been just one other second-generation African immigrant who grew up in a fatherless home. Kobra Kai hates Daniel-san as much as Obi-Wan Kenobi despises Darth Vader. Shirley vs. Barbara is similar as Tom vs. Jerry or Jason Whitlock vs. his Blackness.
Hate .
While it’s okay to hearken to rap for the sake of the wordplay or to get you dancing, if you happen to’re the sort of one that doesn’t like diss songs, I do not respect your opinion on the matter. Beef is a staple of hip-hop. This is why people love battle rappers and why breakdancing is an Olympic sport. And in a genre and culture that’s partly based on competition, “Euphoria” must be discussed as one of the best artistic expressions of hate we’ve got ever seen.
The song’s title refers to Drake’s role as executive producer within the HBO series “Euphoria”, which tells the story of the exploits of a bunch of California teenagers involved in drugs, sex and… well, sex. This could also be a bull’s-eye on the baseless rumors circulating around 6ix God’s friendships With teenage white girls. Before the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet begins to sing, the song opens with Richard Pryor’s climactic scene from the 1978 musical “The Wiz,” during which the nice and powerful Oz is revealed to be a fraud. But as a substitute of hearing Pryor scream, “Everything you say about me is true!” Lamar plays the clip backwards.
Kung Fu Kenny opens the discussion by painting Drake as a fraud who creates soulless, uninspired music – a criticism often leveled on the Toronto rapper. Over Teddy Pendergrass’s sample1 Lamar explains his neutralization plan “Degrassi” actor. “superpowers”,2 noting that Drake only began talking about his personal life after listening to Kendrick’s famous, highly personal album “Mr. Morale and big steppers.” King Kunta not only paints Drake as ‘degenerate’3 a culture vulture with money and power but no respect, but throughout the song he equates Drake with Satan.4 But that quadruple slogan is nothing compared to the line: “I got Benjamin and Jackson at home like I used to be Joe, APPROX
- This could also be a reference to Ghostface Killer Supported by Teddy Pendergrass tirade against Caucasian rapper Action Bronson. Pendergrass, like Drake’s character on Degrassi, used a wheelchair.
- In the song “For free”, Drake borrowed an old too-short phrase to elucidate: “I must have superpowers…”
- In geometry A degenerate shape is basically a straight line. However, Kendrick claims that he can predict Drake’s angles because Drizzy, like a degenerate, has no weight or mass.
- He says Drake’s homies sold their souls to turn into “demons” for “Hellcat,” who can be a model Dodge Challenger which is accessible in a more powerful version, Avoid the Demon. “DeMun” can be the center name of Future, who produced Kendrick’s first shot at Drake, “Like That.”
- “Benjamins” refers to Benjamin Franklin, slang for $100 bills, and Michael Jackson’s 1972 song from the film “Ben” which is about a rabid rat (look, those were simpler times). “Jackson” doesn’t just refer to Drake, to whom he repeatedly compares himself Michael Jackson, but also refers to President Andrew Jackson and the $20 bill. By calling himself “Joe”, he is essentially calling Drake his son while invoking the name of another powerful man from Benzoin ia Jackson in his home – Joe Biden.
If you are keeping count, this single measure comprises a six-fold sentence.
Typically, Kendrick’s music is a patchwork of metaphors and multi-layered allegories, and at this point, “Euphoria” is just that – a densely packed, pointed rebuke from a talented rapper. But these complicated lines are only the precursor from which Lamar goes from making a straightforward diss record to turning hate into art. In the song that began this whole beef: “First-person shooter“, Drake portrayed himself as a fake gangster, boasting that he “pulled the trigger on the (gun) stick like high beams.” In his next “Taylor created freestyle“, Champagne Papi (as AI Snoop Dogg) stated that Kendrick “has never been to prison… He’s never shot anyone, he’s never stabbed anyone, he’s never done anything to anyone…”
This is what Kendrick hates.
In addition to rapping about growing up in a poor neighborhood riddled with gang violence, Kendrick often talks about trauma witness to a murder in age of 5. IN “A blacker berry“, “Hol’ Up“And”city“, “good kid” even seems to check with an incident during his teenage years when he could even kill someone, which explains why he prefers to stay “low” and refuses fear the reaper” Here, K-Dot invokes his hostility by rapping:
– Kendrick Lamar, “Euphoria”
Music
From there, Kendrick pulls out a flamethrower. He calls out Drake for the way in which he’s raising his son. He recalls how Drake repeatedly tricked himself theses in Black women Megan Thee Stallion, Rihanna AND Serena Williams. She tells him that he makes songs that “calm down” his white fans. Kendrick even accepts beef on Pharrell Williams’ behalf (truthfully, the Compton emcee admits he prefers Drake’s singing discography). When it involves high-level insulting, it’s all normal. Most people accuse themselves of being worse than an anti-black, culturally appropriating fraud. I used to be called the N-word thrice every week and I used to be sucker punched once (which is far worse than a sucker punch). But out of all of the hostility, contempt, and hostility I experienced, the one thing I never saw was what Cornrow Kenny did in “Euphoria.”
He just said, “I hate you.”
Kendrick’s list of things he hates about Drake includes:
- Drake’s Canadianness
- I’m buying a Tupac ring.
- How Drake appropriates the language, accents and culture of Black Americans
- How he treats black women
- His cosmetic surgery
- The way Drake walks
- The way he talks
- The way he dresses
- The way he sneaks disses
- The way he says the word “nigger”
Publishing an in depth list of why you hate is essentially the most brutal piece of poetry in recent memory – wished young Maya Angelou “that Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner killed all the white people in their beds, and that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before signing the Emancipation Proclamation, that Harriet Tubman died from a blow to the head, and that Christopher Columbus drowned in the Saint Mary’s Water.”
Imagine how much hatred and resentment a talented wordsmith and Pulitzer Prize winner should have in his heart to place aside his entire vocabulary and distill his hatred into its most concentrated form. “I Hate You” is amazing in its simplicity. It’s more offensive than “yo mom” and more despicable than “That’s why I fucked your bitch, you fat…”. It’s a technique to express essentially the most human emotions.
And yes, it’s
After all, what’s art?
The accurate portrayal of someone’s pain is usually as charming as their joy and humor. Some songs should make you cry. A well-written tragedy is as charming as a well-crafted satire. In fact, all black art, including blues, jazz and stand-up comedy, has a component of pain and suffering.
But not like this.
It was essentially the most brutal version of hip-hop as an art form. It was the alternative of a love song; a psalm of hatred in its purest form. He didn’t even attempt to denigrate the rapper we all know as Drake; he attacked Aubrey Graham and who he’s as “Euphoria” proves why King Kendrick deserves to wear the crown Drizzy tried to assert. But as an adversary and rival, Lamar was cruel, ruthless, merciless, cold-blooded, vile and full of rage. He didn’t just record a diss track concerning the person; he created a creative act of terror, an excellent murder.
And was it beautiful?
Music
SALT-N-PEPA SUE WEPTER

Salt-n-Pępa They say that their label doesn’t push, fighting for the rights to their music.
A groundbreaking duo behind hip-hop classics, including “Shoop” from 1993 and “Push It” from 1987, say within the lawsuit that the Universal Music Group violates copyright law, refusing to consent to transfer rights to its predominant recordings.
Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton filed a lawsuit on Monday on the Federal Court in New York, stating that the Copyright Act of 1976, which says that after several many years, artists can terminate previous agreements and regain the property of their recordings, apparently now it concerns them.
The fight, which led to the extraction of Salt-N-Pepa music from streaming services, comes because many artists with their beloved legacy are lucratively selling their catalogs, while others got stuck in classic battles with discs on old contracts.
“UMG pointed out that it would be a hostage of plaintiffs, even if it means refueling the value of the musical catalog of plaintiffs and depriving fans of access to their work,” says the lawsuit.
Representatives of UMG didn’t immediately reply to the e -mail with a comment.
The claim suggests that situations comparable to Salt-N-Pepa are the rationale why the Copyright Act exists. It allows artists who made transactions “at the beginning of their careers” once they were relatively powerless to make use of the cultural and musical heritage, which they later determined.
In the lawsuit, James and Denton submitted a request to terminate the agreement under the Act in 2022, “wanting to regain the full property of art and heritage,” but “inexplicable, UMG refused to honor his rights.
James and Denton say that, in accordance with the law, they need to now have the option to have early recordings, including from the debut album from 1986, “Hot, Cool & Vicious” and “Push It” from 1987, page B, which the remix caught and have become their breakthrough hit.
They say that other recordings must be legally later, in 2026, including the album “Very necessary” from 1993, which incorporates “Shoop” and “Whatta Man”.
The duo is searching for each actual damage for lost money and criminal compensation within the amounts that must be determined for the activities of UMG. The claim claims that actual damage can “significantly exceed $ 1 million”. They also need a everlasting order confirming their rights to recordings.
They said, pulling out songs from streaming and other industrial platforms, the label “maliciously punished” Salt-N-Pępa “too brave to confirm their rights.”
Lawyers of the label said in letters contained as exhibits within the lawsuit that they encouraged mediation and need to realize a “mutually acceptable solution”.
But the lawyers of UMG said in letters that James and Denton weren’t even personally parties within the 1986 contract, which included their initial albums, and there isn’t a evidence that they gave Copyright labels that may now get well.
UMG maintains that the recordings were “works of the rental”, which might not allow the rights to be recovered. Salt-N-Pępa’s lawsuit says that ladies’s agreements with label explain that they weren’t.
Queens, New York, the James duo and Denton became Salt-N-Pepa in 1985. Later he joined them DJ Spinderellawhich was not a part of the early contracts within the dispute and will not be involved within the lawsuit.
“Salt-n-entpa boldly changed the appearance of rap and hip-hop,” says the lawsuit. “They were not afraid to talk about sex and share their thoughts about men. Their solid recordings” let’s speak about sex “and” lack of your interests “, for example they were huge hits. They honestly talked about women’s sexuality and strengthening when such topics were frowned, heavily criticized and called taboos. “
In 1995 they became the primary rap woman who won Grammy, and in 2021 they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Later this yr they’ll grow to be members of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame once they receive the organization of the organization.

(Tagstotranslate) Entertainment
Music
The Weeknd’s Return: New Music, Grammys and its next era

The artist currently often called Weeknd spent the last 15 years, constructing his popularity “Dark Prince of Pop”. Starting as an enigmatic artist who released his songs anonymously, The Weeknd became a worldwide superstar and a house brand. But now-a few albums from the list Nickname Weeknd In favor of his real name Abel Tesfaye.
This is just one other step within the evolution of Tesfaye as an artist. To understand its influence on contemporary music, let’s take a have a look at the modest beginnings of Mixtape Weeknd, his meteoric known and what next for a person standing behind the nickname.
Musical Evolution Weeknd: from Mixtapes to Supergowy
Early dark mixtape
After spending most teenage years to party and problems with the law, Tesfaye began to release music anonymously in 2009. His first effort was a group of leaked demonstrations entitled “Noise”. Songs comparable to “Love Through Her” and “Material Girl” aroused the interest of online listeners, establishing a dark sound R&B and hedonistic topics from which he could be known.
Transition to the mainstream pop
In 2011, Tesfaye used the noise generated by his first editions, spending a variety of additional mixtapes – “House of Balloons”, “Thursday” and “Echo of Silence” – which might later switch to the platinum album of the “Trilogy” compilation.
But this was his contribution to the soundtrack within the dirty film “Fifty Shades of Gray” from 2015, which might really drive The Weeknd music from the bedrooms and basements to the national pop radio. Combining the sexy delivery of Tesfaye with a skillful pop approach, “Zarach IT” not only reached the number three on the Billboard Hot 100 list, but was nominated for the ACADEMY ASCADEM Award for the perfect original song and his first Grammy Award for the perfect R&B performance.
Albums and Weeknd era

“Kiss Land” and “Beauty for madness”
Before Tesfaye released his official debut album “Kiss Land” in 2013, he was already a recognized R&B trailblazer. The Canadian artist prepared for the album, traveling to Tokyo and beginning to handle more experimental and film styles that may turn into central for later Tesfaye works.
While his second album from 2015, “Beauty Behind the Madness”, nodded to his dark R&B roots on songs comparable to “Shameless”, he also leaned in POP with hits comparable to “Can’t Feel My Face”.
“Starboy”, “My dear melancholy” and “After hours”
The seeds he planted on “Kiss Land” and “Beauty Behind the Madness” would bloom the next project The Weeknd, “Starboy” from 2016. With the assistance of the electronic duo Daft Punk, Tesfaye successfully combined his experimental tendencies and fresh production in several primary pop hit, including “I Feel It Come” and the title song.
Later, the older work of Wieknd fans was treated with a brief return to the shape for the EP “My Melncholy” from 2018, which studied his breakup with the singer Selena Gomez and the model Bella Hadid. But EP was not an indication that The Weeknd abandoned his latest path. Two years later, he published “After Hours” inspired by the Nineteen Eighties, which began the second trilogy.
“Dawn FM” and “Hurry up tomorrow”
Thanks to the “Dawn FM” from 2022, Tesfaye selected a nostalgic radio program as a crap device to make sure moody meditations on fame, life and death. The album was a critical and industrial success, setting a brand new Billboard Global 200 list record and pushing Weeknd to #1 for the perfect Spotify listeners.
His latest project “hurry up tomorrow”, limited the trilogy with even darker treatment of those topics, while pointing to the artist’s next evolution. While melancholy, as all the time, Tesfaye sings a couple of sense of readiness to vary his ways, especially on the title track.
Innovation and Strategy: The Weeknd’s Vision in music and film

Weeknd joins “Idol”
Until 2023, Tesfaye proved his power as a pop star and began to look for brand new artistic efforts. HBO series “Idol“-who co-founded with the director of” Euphoria “, Sam Levinson-he offered him many latest challenges, including delays, prescribing and hasty changes.
Critical party and fans
Working along with Lily Rose-Depp and sharing writing inscriptions with Levinson, The Weeknd was largely chargeable for what led to an enormous critical and industrial failure. The charged sexual nature of the narrative of the series didn’t resonate with the audience, who recognized “Idol” each disturbing and it’s difficult to follow. The result was the primary real Tesfaye brush with failure as a mainstream artist.
Grammy return: change of perspective

The failure of “Idol” could change the attitude of Tesfaye to greater than just television as a tool for telling stories. When “After Hours” was neglected by the Grammy 2021 awards without nomination – even for the hit hit “Olinding Lights” – the artist criticized the Recording Academy and began a boycott of annual ceremonies.
Over the next 4 years, Tesfaye refused to submit his music to contemplate Grammy. But this boycott would end the surprising end in 2025, when he returned to the Grammys stage to make just a few songs from his album “Has hurry up tomorrow”.
Was it a tip on the next change within the profession of the controversial singer?
Rebranding as Abel Tesfaye: Why did The Weeknd change his name?
Tesfaye’s experience working on “The Idol” had one other significant impact on the artist: the sport within the series reminded him of the artificiality of his character, The Weeknd.
After removing within the series, Tesfaye said within the WW magazine: “This reaches the place and time when I prepare to close the Weeknd chapter.”
The artist quickly explained that he didn’t intend to completely withdraw from the music: “I will continue to create music, maybe like Abel, maybe like The Weeknd,” he thought. “But I still want to kill Weeknd. And I will do it. Finally. I definitely try to lose this skin and reborn.”
Live trips and performances Weeknd

After hours, until performance and location at dawn
If you hope you will notice the weekly live, before you get to the nickname, you may still catch him in his record place after the hours of the Dawn route, which has turn into strong since 2022. The route-which will stop within the United States and Canada this summer, including cities comparable to Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Seattle and Vancouver-Union in September.
What to expect
The route program leads fans through a guide journey of the Weeknd era, made a characteristic artist’s style for moody glasses. According to reviewers of Tesfaye live shows, he organizes a stunning program, together with spare dancers, pyrotechnics and thrilling interpretations of hits comparable to “victim”, “can Feel My Face” and “often”.
Cultural influence and heritage: redefining R&B and Pop

Redefination of recent R&B and Pop
Music Weeknd has all the time been a refreshing contrast with the industry dominated by squeaking pop stars and conventional forward R&B. Thanks to the polarizing theme and daring aesthetic election, Tesfaye isn’t applying to create music that provokes.
Influence on emerging artists
Unfilted Weeknd texts and experimental sound landscapes inspired many more moderen artists to understand authenticity and innovation of their music. Young artists, comparable to 6lack and Partenextdoor, take obvious recommendations on Tesfaye music and even peers, comparable to Drake, Usher and Miguel, turned on some Weeknd sounds in their very own music.
Expanding in film and business
Despite the error from “Idol”, Tesfaye still imprints its trail on television and film. He made his debut within the film in “Uncut Gems” in 2019, he expressed the primary character within the upcoming animated film “Ari The Bat” and is working on a brand new film with director Trey Edward Shults.
In addition to the movie and TV, Tesfaye also borrowed his creative eye of cooperation with Puma, H&M clothing corporations and a washing monkey.
New music chapter and identity
Is this an actual revival for Abla Tesfaye or simply a brief change on his creative path? Regardless of its name, nothing can erase the massive influence he had on R&B and pop music. He influenced various artists – even a number of the biggest pop stars within the industry – to wear latest genres and tell their most intimate stories through music. Regardless of what’s going to occur next, Tesfaye has already strengthened his heritage – in music and more.
Still interesting Canadian star? Check our archives for more information The Weeknd.
(Tagstranslate) The Weeknd
Music
Chris Brown arrested in Great Britain in connection with the incident at the Night Club in London in London

Chris Brown was arrested on Thursday at Lowry Hotel in Manchester in England, in connection with the incident at the London Night Club in 2023, in keeping with American edition Sun. On May 14, he flew to Manchester, where the authorities were notified of his presence.
The arrest results from a quarrel on February 19, 2023, between the bronze and the music producer, Abe Diaw, who claims that Brown attacked him with a bottle, after which hit him and kicked him at the nightclub in London. Diaw was taken to the hospital, where he had to make use of KUL after discharge. London Metropolitan Police are holding Brown in terms of “suspicion of causing severe damage to the body.”
DAW also made a civil claim against Brown for $ 16 million (12 million kilos) compensation related to the incident.
This isn’t Brown’s first brush with the right to attack at the nightclub. In 2012, Brown was involved in the Night Club in New York, which included the NBA star All-Star Tony Parker and Rapper and the pop star, Drake. As early as 2024, Brown was accused of assaulting 4 live shows behind the scenes at the TEXASA concert bus stop; Brown is the defendant for $ 50 million in connection with the alleged incident.
Over the years Brown had a litany of runs with the authorities for allegations and accusations of varied arguments, fighting and assault and was accused of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Brown is He planned to make a limited series of live programs in Manchester from June 15 and is preparing for his stadium “Breezy Bowl XX”, which he made available In the Instagram post On the occasion of his 20 years in the music industry. The program includes Summer Walker at the American stage of the trip and Bryson Walker for the European leg, which is able to start on June 8 in Amsterdam.
“Celebrating 20 years of cb. So excited that I can share this moment with the world and my amazing fans. I can’t wait to see all the beautiful faces. Taking you these eras, but most importantly, give you my heart and soul,” reads the signature.
The brown song “Remains” is currently 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and spent 35 weeks on the chart and it arrived No. 1 on the adult R&B AirPlay taber.

(Tagstranslate) Chris Brown (T) Chris Brown Assault (T) London (T) Manchester
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