In the second episode of 'Billboard Unfiltered,' Billboard staffers Damien Scott, Carl Lamarre and Trevor Anderson discuss the chart success of both Kendrick Lamar and Drake's diss tracks, "Not Like Us," "euphoria," "Like That" and "Family Matters" all reaching the top 10, whether Cardi B needs to produce another hit record to keep her rap legacy afloat and more.
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00:00 These diss records are just swallowing the whole culture.
00:03 Bro, you're gonna go to these parties,
00:05 two-step in with a drink in your hand,
00:07 and then you're gonna hear, "Wap, wap, wap, wap."
00:09 Cardi, we right there for you, baby.
00:10 Take your time, baby. Go to Turks and Caicos.
00:13 Hey, guys, welcome to a fresh episode of Billboard Unfiltered.
00:17 ♪♪
00:19 And we gotta get right into it.
00:22 The aftermath... -Oh, yeah.
00:24 -...of the greatest hip-hop battle of all time.
00:28 -We're declaring it the greatest already, but...
00:29 -I mean, I think so. -Wow.
00:31 -We've never seen anything like this before.
00:33 -I know. You know, sometimes you got to, like, let, you know,
00:35 let it kind of like a little tailwind or something.
00:37 -I agree. I agree.
00:38 -Before we start putting out, you know.
00:41 -This was crazy. -This was nuts.
00:42 This was nuts. I mean, obviously, last week,
00:44 we spoke about just -- we chattered about
00:48 the craziness of the disses.
00:49 Now we actually have numbers to back these disses up.
00:54 We have a new number one on the Hot 100, Mr. Trevor Anderson.
00:58 -It's not me.
01:01 It's not me for the record as number one on the Hot 100.
01:03 But, yeah, obviously, Kendrick, you know, I mean,
01:05 it was just teared up. -Obviously,
01:06 'cause it was an obvious win.
01:09 -What? -It's still...
01:11 -How does it feel? Go on. Let us know.
01:13 Let us know.
01:15 All right. Well, we'll let you guys get your words together.
01:18 -I'm still hurting, man. -I know. We can tell.
01:20 -Yeah. I'm still grieving. -But, yeah, I mean,
01:22 obviously, Kendrick was tearing up the streaming charts.
01:24 So I think everybody saw kind of day after day,
01:26 a lot of posts about different records it was breaking,
01:28 worldwide, Spotify for hip-hop.
01:30 So, you know, even though it didn't even have
01:32 a full week on the charts,
01:33 it was far and away number one this week.
01:36 So, yeah, not like us, of course,
01:37 debuting at number one on the chart.
01:40 I mean, this is Kendrick's fourth number one.
01:41 You know, it's one of those things where,
01:43 when we talk about diss tracks a lot of times,
01:44 you look at something like "Back to Back"
01:46 that was obviously so big and so massive,
01:48 and we were still streaming and all that kind of thing.
01:50 That was still only a top 40 record.
01:51 It didn't crack the top 20. -Wow.
01:53 Grammy-nominated, though. -It was Grammy-nominated.
01:55 But it's just to say... -That is a flex.
01:57 Just to say how far we've come in terms of, you know,
01:59 like, "Back to Back" was on everybody's mind,
02:00 and still it was a top 25 kind of record.
02:03 This song, on everybody's mind,
02:05 clearly can be a number one record.
02:06 And this is the third time we've seen a number one this year.
02:08 We had "Hiss," we had "Like That," now we got this.
02:10 So, the fact that these diss records
02:12 are just swallowing the whole culture,
02:14 that's what everybody's talking about,
02:15 everybody's streaming about.
02:16 -It's past the culture before,
02:18 'cause it's like when "Ether" and "Takeover" were out,
02:21 or, you know, those were -- those dominated the culture.
02:24 But I can't believe that people who didn't care about rap
02:28 in the same way that we all cared about rap
02:30 was clocking every back and forth.
02:32 And that was a much slower battle
02:34 in terms of the pace of releases.
02:37 This is like -- everybody cares about this.
02:40 Like, everybody is listening to these songs.
02:42 -It transcended the pop culture.
02:43 -Well, I'm saying -- when I said the culture,
02:45 I really meant pop culture.
02:46 "Decourse" was like, you know, it was the mushroom cloud
02:50 all over hip-hop culture.
02:51 But the fact that you have, you know, Joe Biden in them
02:53 doing these parodies to it,
02:54 like, the fact that it really reached that level,
02:56 and you know how safe everybody is,
02:58 where, "Should we touch it? Should we not?"
02:59 Like, everybody was in on this.
03:02 So the fact that it was able to do all that
03:04 and just dominate in this kind of way that quickly,
03:06 wasting it on my set. -The President of the United States
03:08 co-opting a song where a guy talks about another pop star
03:11 being a pedophile is a crazy, crazy thing.
03:15 -Yeah, you would have never thought, like,
03:17 that Joe Biden is dunking on you like that.
03:20 -Absolutely not.
03:22 I'm sure somebody probably played it,
03:23 and, you know, he, like, as long as --
03:24 he, like, kind of rocked with the beat.
03:26 -I think someone described it to him.
03:27 -Right, I don't think he, you know,
03:28 got the genius lyrics and sort of --
03:30 -Yeah, like, you know Kendrick. He's on Obama's list.
03:31 -Yeah, right, right, right, right.
03:33 -He's like, "Oh, perfect." -Kamala Harris, you know,
03:34 I can see her bumping it. -You know, Kamala's from --
03:36 She's from Cali. She's from Cali.
03:37 She was probably, you know --
03:39 -I'm pretty sure if Kamala was in a room for this,
03:41 she would have been like, "No, no, no, no."
03:43 I think she would have been like, "You know, we need -- Come on."
03:46 Look, they trying to get the youth vote out here.
03:47 They trying to get the black vote out here.
03:49 I'm not going to say it's pandering, but --
03:50 -She lost me when she thought Tupac was still alive.
03:53 You know, she lost me a long time.
03:54 I'm just saying.
03:59 But Drake, in the midst of all this,
04:01 he still got a rare win, I guess, family-matter.
04:05 -Is it rare for Drake to get a win?
04:06 -In this battle, I should say.
04:08 -I don't think you put "rare" and "win"
04:09 in the same sentence for Drake.
04:11 -In this battle, at least. -He's the most successful rapper ever.
04:13 -This is very true. But in the battle,
04:15 since y'all are trying to obliterate my guy --
04:17 -Oh, my God, yes. He has one bad stretch of his career.
04:21 -Family Matter debuted in the top 10.
04:23 -It did. Before we get to that, though,
04:25 we're going to have to, you know,
04:26 do the scorecard in the right way.
04:28 -Oh, go ahead. -I know cats are going to sit there
04:30 and say, "Give Kendrick a smile."
04:31 -That's right. -Let's get meticulous with it.
04:32 -We got to, yeah. Of course, not like us.
04:34 Like we said, number one, boom, bam.
04:37 Number three, "Euphoria."
04:38 So it was actually number 11 last week,
04:40 which it had the same sort of half-week problem
04:42 going on with the streams.
04:44 -So that's interesting.
04:45 So that means people had a renewed interest in it.
04:48 -Yeah, I mean, it had its first full week,
04:50 so, of course, like, you know, people who were still --
04:52 It was only like four, five days old by the time
04:54 it really hit the charts last week.
04:55 Gets the full seven days.
04:57 But, of course, I mean, a lot of people who, you know, are --
04:59 I know a lot of cats who were just catching up to it.
05:01 There was all -- You know, there was so much music
05:02 going on during that week that I know people
05:04 who's heard one or two songs, and they were like,
05:07 "Dog, I got to -- You know, I'll come back to it later."
05:09 And then they're like, "Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
05:11 What's going on? What's going on?"
05:12 So I think, obviously, just --
05:14 -I've had people hit me, like, "Can you send me an article
05:16 that just has all the songs in them?
05:18 'Cause I'm trying to catch up on this."
05:20 -You know, and then, you know, you had stuff on IG,
05:22 and you had stuff only on social media,
05:23 and this got taken down, and what's going on.
05:25 But, yeah, obviously, with its full first week,
05:27 "Euphoria" goes from 11 to 3.
05:29 So there's -- You know, it's not --
05:31 People have very much the ability
05:33 to listen to two, three, four songs at a time.
05:34 It's not like "Not Like Us" just came
05:36 and took over the whole conversation
05:37 from all the other songs.
05:39 So two songs in the top three.
05:41 Then we'll actually get to "Like That,"
05:43 which is at number six this week.
05:44 So even though that song clearly --
05:46 You know, the song that kind of kicked off
05:48 this whole World War II era is out there.
05:50 -Still fire. Still an amazing song.
05:52 -A lot of people going back probably saying, like,
05:54 "How the hell did this all start?"
05:55 -Are you guys surprised that it still has, like,
05:57 this kind of leg to it?
05:59 -I think that's probably the best song
06:02 out of the entire thing in terms of just, like, songs.
06:05 Like, that song is probably -- -Who wrote "Not Like Us"?
06:07 You think, like -- -Yeah, I love "Not Like Us."
06:09 -Yeah. -But I think --
06:11 The moment you heard the beat on "Like That,"
06:15 you were like, "What is this?"
06:18 And then you heard, like, the little easy E samples
06:20 start kicking in, and then Kendrick comes on,
06:23 and you're like, "Oh, what?" -Oh, yeah.
06:24 -Yeah, especially, like, I think out of nowhere,
06:26 when, you know, when we dropped the tape,
06:27 nobody thought Kendrick was really gonna be on it.
06:29 -Right. Incredible. Incredible song.
06:30 -And then that verse just shows up, and it's like --
06:32 And then not only does that verse show up,
06:33 then it just shakes the shit in a different way.
06:36 -The surprise to me is "Euphoria,"
06:38 because I like "Euphoria."
06:41 "Not Like Us" is a clear shot at the club,
06:46 a clear shot at a summer song, barbecues, drop tops.
06:50 On the song, he says, you know, "This is for the city.
06:52 We're back outside."
06:54 "Euphoria" is like his --
06:57 It was, for all intents and purposes,
06:59 Kendrick's direct diss track to Drake.
07:04 It was like, this is only meant to satisfy one motivation,
07:10 and it's to diss this person.
07:12 I'm surprised people listened to it enough.
07:14 -And six minutes long, you know?
07:15 -Yeah, it's, like, long.
07:16 He changes voices, like, five times.
07:19 It's very layered.
07:21 There's a lot of coded language
07:23 that if you're not really, like, a rap fan,
07:24 it's tough to figure out what he's talking about.
07:28 So I'm shocked that people listened to it enough
07:30 for it to be number three. That's the surprise to me.
07:32 I thought that was gonna be, like, way lower.
07:34 That's incredible.
07:36 -But I think, yeah, I think that goes to the point, though,
07:37 that, you know, even, of course, "Not Like Us,"
07:40 like you said, is more of a bop.
07:41 Like, the fact that people are diving in that far
07:43 into "Euphoria," like, whether they're playing it,
07:45 replaying it, really, like, trying to get
07:47 the lyricism out of it, like, it's not --
07:48 You know, people aren't just listening to this
07:50 for a good song, good production.
07:52 Like, people are really sitting here,
07:54 like, they want to know, "What'd he say about Drake?
07:56 And what is this allegation?"
07:57 So the fact that people are really --
07:59 -There's a hilarious Desi Banks skit
08:00 where he's, like, pretending how --
08:04 he's, like, pretending how niggas are listening to the song,
08:06 and he, like, has it, like, a laptop open,
08:09 and he plays one line, and he's like, "Yo, yo, yo, yo."
08:10 He's like, "This nigga said..."
08:12 He's, like, trying to, like, break it down.
08:13 -"Piece by piece." -Yeah, and it's like --
08:15 Yeah, I think that probably has a lot to do with it.
08:17 People are like, "What? Like, what is this?"
08:19 -You know, like, the Internet, all these social media sleuths,
08:21 like, people are on their detective out here
08:23 a lot of times. They'll sit there on Twitter
08:25 and dissect this. -The real winner is genius.
08:27 -Absolutely. -Yeah, I wonder --
08:28 I mean, the page views must have been, like...
08:30 -Must have been nuts right now. -Yeah, blowing up this week.
08:32 -And I know you're gonna get into it.
08:34 -Yeah, yeah, don't worry. -Listen.
08:35 'Cause I'm like, "Y'all, I can catch it right now."
08:37 -Hey, hey, wow, wow. -I'm waiting to do --
08:40 -I was just about to say, of course,
08:42 next up after "Like That" at number six, we got Drake.
08:45 -Yeah!
08:49 -How can -- -Let's go!
08:51 -How can you -- All right, y'all.
08:53 Well, y'all know where he stands.
08:54 Drake, number seven, "Family Matters" this week.
08:56 Debut.
08:58 -Can I pose this question to you guys?
09:00 -Sure. -Uh-huh.
09:01 -Knowing that the dust is settling a bit, I think,
09:05 do you think people will now look at "Family Matters"
09:09 and appreciate the song for what it is,
09:13 for actually being a very catchy tune,
09:16 and it could maybe have some sustainability?
09:20 -I think so. I think the --
09:22 Like, we've talked about this before.
09:24 The failing there was combining all of these songs,
09:29 which could have been individual moments.
09:32 The third part of the song, the last part of the song,
09:36 to me, is the best and the catchiest.
09:38 And that by itself would have been, to me, an amazing moment.
09:42 Just the way he comes on the song,
09:44 the flow he's using is extremely catchy.
09:47 It's the most incisive and scathing record
09:53 he's made against Kendrick.
09:55 To me, that's the one that would have been a clear winner
09:59 if he were to release it on its own.
10:01 I don't know.
10:02 It's a lot to get through to get to that,
10:04 and not to say that the first parts are not good,
10:07 but I think that's such a clear winner
10:09 that I see people now on Twitter and on Instagram
10:13 being like, "This is the one."
10:15 I see people, like, making skits around it
10:17 and using the sound and the song.
10:20 So I think so.
10:22 I think he should have released it as its own song.
10:27 I feel split.
10:28 I mean, I think, kind of to Dave's point, maybe --
10:31 and the further that we get away from it,
10:33 maybe around, I don't know, year-end time or something,
10:35 where people are kind of doing reviews
10:36 of what happened this year,
10:37 that could give it a real fresh look where people say,
10:40 "Okay, let's look at this song kind of removed
10:43 from the context of what it was, where it came out."
10:45 And, yeah, they'll probably figure out, like,
10:47 "Okay, that actually was a really great song."
10:49 The problem is, it's going to be so hard
10:51 to remove it from the context for a lot of people.
10:53 That is -- You know, it's going to be --
10:54 It's going to be, "Family Matters."
10:56 "Oh, was that the record that Drake dropped
10:57 during the Kendrick shit?"
10:58 -Right, is that the one that he dropped and then --
10:59 -And then not like -- -And then Kendrick dropped
11:00 right on top of him? -Yeah.
11:02 -Right, I mean, so, you know, and I think --
11:04 I mean, at least on, you know, the people's initial vote,
11:06 "Not Like Us" is, you know, the bigger song,
11:08 the song they like more. So it's always going to be hard,
11:10 I think, to separate it from that moment
11:12 that cats are going to say, "Yeah, 'Family Matters,'
11:14 but, you know, Kendrick did drop 'Not Like Us,'"
11:17 like, right, you know, and so I hope there's probably a room
11:21 for some appreciation for it, but I don't know.
11:22 I think, especially, you know, now people are so quick
11:24 to -- Anytime you say anything,
11:26 they love to dunk right on it,
11:27 so a lot of people are going to do that thing,
11:29 whereas I like "Family Matters."
11:31 "Yeah, but you know it wasn't 'Not Like Us.'
11:32 Like, you know it wasn't 'Not Like Us.'
11:34 Like, you know, they're going to pull out the chart.
11:35 They're going to pull out the streams.
11:37 They're going to pull out, like --
11:38 -It's a good song. -It's going to be tough.
11:39 -It's a good song.
11:41 So let me -- -Where does it go, like,
11:42 like, all time for Drake?
11:43 Is this, like, up there for you,
11:45 or is it still kind of up? -I think in the last few years.
11:47 -Okay, so starting from, like -- -What do you do?
11:50 -Post-Scorpion, 2020s.
11:52 -I'm going to say -- -Is this post-CLB?
11:55 -Post-CLB. -Okay, wow.
11:58 -Well, that's, like, two albums.
12:00 That's, like, "Her Loss" and "Autodogs."
12:03 -Yeah. -Okay.
12:04 -I think it's up there. -Okay.
12:06 -We got to go further back than that.
12:07 -We're going to go further back.
12:09 It's the best Drake song versus what?
12:11 -So I'll say post -- -10 years.
12:12 Let's go 10 years. -Wow!
12:14 -What? -Wow!
12:16 -Wait, so you think "The Views" is more like Scorpion?
12:18 -No, I'm asking to put it in context of 10 years.
12:21 -I'm going to say, like, in the last four years.
12:23 -In the last four years. -This is the best --
12:25 -So, like, of the 2020s. -Yeah, the 2020s.
12:27 -You're saying this is his best song of the past four years.
12:29 -Really? -Yeah.
12:30 From a lyrical standpoint --
12:32 -Wait, wait, wait, wait.
12:33 You're saying this is Drake's best song
12:35 of the last four years. -From a catchy standpoint, yeah.
12:37 -When else did Drake release this?
12:39 -Well, it was -- Well, we have, like --
12:41 -"Honestly, Nevermind." -Oh, yeah.
12:43 "Honestly, Nevermind" came out.
12:44 "Her Love Was Without." -Her Love Was Without.
12:46 -CLB with CL21. -CLB and Jimmy Crooks?
12:48 -Jimmy Cooks. -Solo Drake?
12:50 -Oh, solo Drake. -Yeah.
12:53 -That checks every box?
12:57 -Not a lot of solo Drake.
12:59 -I mean, what we got? "Tussie Slide," "What You Came."
13:01 -Yo. -Yo!
13:02 -So... -What You Came.
13:04 -You had mentioned it earlier.
13:06 Let's pivot out here.
13:07 We talking about "Tussie Slide."
13:08 I love you, Drake.
13:09 You had mentioned... -Tussie Slide.
13:11 -..."Not Like Us" being played at barbecues.
13:14 And we got to bring up potential early, like,
13:17 song of the summer candidates and contenders.
13:20 "Is Not Like Us" a clear front-runner for you?
13:23 -Right now, yeah. I think that this is the song that --
13:27 This is a song that people are waiting
13:29 for all the summer parties to start so they can hear it out,
13:32 which is crazy considering the subject matter of the song.
13:36 -Yeah. -Right.
13:37 Like, all those, like, outdoor parties,
13:40 like, everyday people, like, you're gonna go out --
13:43 I did see everyday people already, like, started --
13:45 -Yeah. -Bro, you're gonna go to these parties
13:47 two-step in with, like, a drink in your hand,
13:50 and then you're gonna hear, "Wop, wop, wop, wop."
13:53 So this is gonna come after the electric slide.
13:54 Like, it's gonna be part of -- It's gonna be, like, a --
13:56 -It's gonna be crazy. -It's gonna be crazy.
13:58 -I have -- Like, that's the thing, too.
13:59 I've seen -- Like, obviously, for, like, our, you know,
14:02 generation, it's gonna be a thing.
14:03 But I've seen clips where people talk, you know,
14:05 they aunties like it, you know, grandma kind of grooves with it.
14:07 -I've seen kids dancing, too. -It's like, you know --
14:09 -Like, babies. -Like, the fact that --
14:11 We even had one of those songs in a minute where, you know,
14:13 just everybody can kind of groove with --
14:15 You know, don't listen to the lyrics, grandma,
14:16 but just kind of rise to the beat.
14:18 'Cause, you know, I mean, there's so much, like, you know --
14:20 -Grandma -- -You know, grandma's be like,
14:21 "Oh, there's so much trap, I --" -What's a 69 guy say?
14:23 -Yo. -"O-V-H-O."
14:25 Like, that's not -- Come on.
14:26 -Did he say -- No, he didn't say that.
14:27 I thought -- He didn't say that, grandma.
14:29 -That's what "Back to Back" was like.
14:30 "Back to Back" -- I remember the summer "Back to Back" dropped.
14:32 It was, like, everywhere.
14:33 I remember going to eat with my friends at a restaurant,
14:36 and we were, like, waiting for the waiter
14:38 to come and take our orders.
14:40 And then, all of a sudden, you just hear the song start
14:43 playing, and you're like, "Is --"
14:44 I think you're like, "Back to Back?"
14:46 And that was when I knew that it was a rap for me
14:49 in that battle because you would go literal places
14:53 that don't play a lot of rap music.
14:55 If they do play rap music, it's, like, Biggie.
14:57 It's, like, you know, things that are --
14:59 that have enough distance between now
15:01 and then to be considered safe.
15:04 And they're playing "Back to Back."
15:05 And I was like, "Yeah, this is a rap.
15:07 It's a rap for that man." -Wow.
15:09 -I see this the same way.
15:10 I think you're going to hear it in, like, taxi cabs.
15:12 I think you're going to hear it in, like, bodegas.
15:14 You're going to hear it at --
15:16 You already hear it at, like, on TNT, sports games.
15:21 I think you're going to hear it in the park.
15:24 I hear people playing it driving by already.
15:27 Yeah, it's -- Right now, I don't know
15:29 what is even in contention with it
15:32 besides the "Million Dollar Baby."
15:34 -Yeah. I was going to say -- This is going to sound crazy.
15:37 Like, you don't think, like, a Don is, like, her, not like us?
15:41 -Wow.
15:43 -Karl, you going in some deep dive.
15:45 That's what I'm saying. -I'm saying.
15:47 Probably. -I don't know. I mean...
15:49 -How did he know? -Because think of kids --
15:50 -He's, like, 8? -Yeah.
15:52 I'm thinking of, like, kids in, like, school.
15:53 -I mean, yeah. -I've definitely --
15:55 I mean, I've definitely seen kids on Instagram,
15:59 like, the parents posting the kids dancing to it.
16:02 If you're in middle school or, like, high elementary school,
16:07 like, higher grade in elementary school,
16:10 you're definitely listening to this song, I think.
16:13 You definitely heard it. -Stay strong, my brother.
16:15 We're going to push through this.
16:16 -Well, hopefully, you know. -Yeah.
16:18 -I mean, knowing that he probably can't avoid it,
16:20 I mean, I would hope maybe Drake has talked to him about it
16:22 and kind of -- -Sounds like that.
16:24 -Let him know, like -- Just let him know that, like,
16:27 you know, people are going to say a bunch of stuff.
16:28 You know, they're probably going to say things to you
16:30 and this and that, and you got to be, you know,
16:32 ignore it or don't worry about it or whatever.
16:34 But hopefully, you know, he didn't just --
16:37 somebody in math class didn't just, like, you know,
16:39 point him and say, "Ooh, guess what?"
16:42 -I have a question.
16:43 Do you think Kendrick is going to say something
16:47 to the effect of what Jay said after "Super Ugly,"
16:51 where he's like, "I went too far.
16:55 I apologize"? -No. No.
16:57 Because he's always going to look back
16:59 and say Drake was the one who started it first
17:01 when he name-dropped Whitney on "Push-Ups."
17:04 -Right. -Drake's a --
17:05 He's a habitual line-stepper, man.
17:07 -It's also true. -You know, like,
17:09 he did the same thing when he was feuding with Pusha,
17:12 when he called out, yeah, Virginia.
17:14 -Yeah. -So this is --
17:16 In this case, Doc could just sit back and be like,
17:19 "Well, you --" 'Cause I just wonder, like,
17:22 to this conversation we're having,
17:23 you have kids and people at, you know,
17:28 at, like, restaurants now are going to be sitting down.
17:30 I hope they don't play us at restaurants.
17:32 But people are going to be out,
17:33 and they're going to be hearing this song.
17:34 -Dude, they're playing it on TNT.
17:36 -Yeah, they're going to hear it.
17:38 Certified pedophile is like, "Maybe I went too far."
17:42 -But when you hear it in a restaurant, you know,
17:43 it's going to be like -- It's, like, just removed enough.
17:45 It's kind of quiet enough where, like, you're going to hear the beat.
17:47 -You're going to definitely hear it, like, at Chili's.
17:49 -But, yeah. -Or, like, at a restaurant.
17:51 -I don't know if you're definitely going to, like, hear the lyrics.
17:53 -You're definitely going to hear it.
17:55 -You'll just kind of hear the beat and kind of, you know,
17:56 like, you know, you'll be in the bathroom or whatever.
17:58 Like, you can kind of -- But I'll be -- You know.
17:59 Like, it's going to be -- It's, like, just on that line,
18:02 whereas I think that's part of the genius of it, right?
18:04 It's like, the beat is friendly enough that you know where it is,
18:06 but you ain't got to sit there and, like,
18:08 be, like, hit over the head with the lyrics
18:09 while you're trying to eat a blooming onion or whatever.
18:12 -Yeah. I mean, people are going to be, like, eating wings, like,
18:15 "A minor." -Oh, yeah.
18:17 -Yeah, that's the -- -That'll -- Yeah.
18:19 Everybody going to stop for that. -It's going to be rad.
18:21 -So it's going to be interesting if, like, yeah,
18:23 if that record pushes through without a video.
18:26 -Well, if he drops a video, it's a wrap.
18:29 -Yeah, for the summer. -I've seen a lot of, you know,
18:30 like, people thinking that they're kind of
18:32 already filming one or whatever,
18:34 and then there's a video of LeBron in the club and whatever.
18:37 -I think it's drug. If he was shooting a video,
18:39 we would know about it. I think people would be so excited.
18:41 -But I think you all -- But that's, like,
18:43 probably one of the, you know, the surprise thing
18:45 that I don't think anybody's really thinking about it
18:47 while the song's kind of quiet. -Yeah.
18:49 -Like, you know, maybe give it a couple weeks,
18:50 and then when people think it's --
18:52 -Oh, wait for it to die down, and then be like, "Boom."
18:53 -You know, people kind of think, like, "Oh, it's over."
18:55 It's like, "No, it's not over." Like, you know.
18:56 -Someone's on a diss record really about to own the summer.
18:58 That's crazy. That would be crazy.
18:59 -Well, especially, like, you know, if it's, like,
19:01 one of them -- I don't know what kind of --
19:02 You know, it could be, like, a parody diss or something,
19:04 kind of like -- I'm thinking, like, maybe, like,
19:05 Mariah Obsessed, where she dressed up like Eminem.
19:07 That's still kind of -- Like, I don't know.
19:08 Maybe Kendrick's out there sort of --
19:10 From that kind of route, like, have a fake Drake
19:12 and all these sort of things you're alleged to like.
19:13 -According to Billboard, "Hollaback Girl" was a diss track,
19:15 and that definitely had a run as the summer song.
19:18 -Yeah, I mean, that was -- -So that was one.
19:21 -And that was kind of -- -You know, and Tommy, man,
19:23 listen, I'm proud of you, man.
19:25 You know, "Million Dollar Baby" still hanging on strong.
19:27 -It is this number, yeah.
19:29 -I still think it has the potential to be a song
19:31 and a summer candidate, but this Kendrick record is just --
19:34 -Well, I mean, the Kendrick thing, too, is gonna be a shit.
19:36 -Where is Tommy right now? -It's number two.
19:38 But they also did send this Kendrick song out to radio, so.
19:41 -Oh, they -- -So, you know, it is being,
19:44 like, worked as an official radio song single.
19:46 -No apology coming. -I mean, it did get on
19:49 some of the radio charts this week,
19:50 so you know, like, that avenue coming in.
19:52 You know they're gonna be --
19:53 They're gonna be so eager to pick this up.
19:55 -I've seen the video already, man.
19:56 You're gonna see uncles playing backgammon.
19:58 -Yeah. -I wonder how they're gonna --
20:01 I wonder how they're gonna edit the --
20:05 the freaky-ass nigga part.
20:07 -I mean, they'll probably just, you know,
20:08 freaky-ass, you know, pause, and then --
20:10 -Probably gonna have T-shirts. -Yeah.
20:12 -Did you know somebody up there in Harlem
20:13 probably got, you know, fresh printed on 125 right now?
20:16 -Hey, man.
20:18 -Well, the good news is, though --
20:19 -Wearing a freaky-ass nigga shirt is crazy.
20:21 -The good news is -- -It's a crazy thing to do.
20:22 -You know -- You know what it is,
20:24 and then I feel like some people just,
20:26 you know, they'll own it, like --
20:27 -What's funny -- I was talking to Karl about this.
20:29 What's funny to me is that literally a year ago,
20:32 or even less, maybe -- I don't know how to say this
20:36 without sounding crazy --
20:38 being a freaky-ass nigga was not a bad thing.
20:41 Like, you can see Lil Wayne making a song,
20:43 being like, "I'm a freaky-ass nigga.
20:44 I'm a '69 guy."
20:46 That is a Lil Wayne chorus. -Well, it's like, when you take --
20:48 Well, that's true. -But when you combine it
20:51 with the pedophilia, sure.
20:53 And after, like, the Diddy freak-offs,
20:54 there's a whole 'nother thing. -Yeah.
20:56 -But just on its face, it's crazy that Kendrick
20:59 has a country of people saying that it's bad to be that.
21:02 When, like, Lil Wayne made a career off of that very thing.
21:07 -You know what? -Yeah.
21:08 -Good news is we're gonna have
21:10 some more Drake bops this summer.
21:12 He said he's gonna have some summer tunes coming, so...
21:16 -Who said -- Oh, Drake said it. -Where'd he say that?
21:18 -He said it in the stories. -Oh, I didn't say -- Okay.
21:20 -Oh, yeah. -So, song of the summer,
21:22 Drake is gonna make his way through.
21:23 -Okay. -If Drake manages to get
21:25 a song of the summer, then that'd be incredible.
21:27 -Gob's playing for 2.0, so... -That would be incredible.
21:28 It would need to be something like Gob's playing.
21:30 -That would be one of the biggest, like,
21:31 quickest comebacks of all time. -Yeah, that would be a crazy coup.
21:35 -If anybody can do it, you know.
21:36 -Somebody who's not unfamiliar with making songs
21:40 for the summer, Miss Cardi B.
21:42 -Your favorite. -Except I don't know
21:44 if she's gonna have any songs for the summer
21:46 because she just said she's not dropping an album this year.
21:50 She said it yesterday on Twitter
21:52 that she's gonna go on vacation,
21:54 enjoy time with her kids, her family,
21:56 and no album this year.
21:59 -So, break this down. -Yeah.
22:02 -What happened? Like, what caused this?
22:04 What caused her to -- -I just know she responded
22:06 to a fan on Twitter.
22:07 I think it was -- the fan was saying, like,
22:09 how her fan base in particular, they're just ungrateful.
22:13 And, you know, they'd be demanding a lot of Cardi,
22:15 and Cardi just came back and was like,
22:16 "Yeah, you know what? I'm tired of this shit.
22:19 Fuck y'all. I'm gonna spend time with my family,
22:22 go on vacation, no album this year."
22:24 -So, her fans were like -- -Like, "Where's the music?"
22:27 -"We want --" -They were badgering her like --
22:28 -You would love to be consumers of your product.
22:31 And she was like, "You know what? Fuck you."
22:34 -Absolutely. -But, you know --
22:35 -Pride her. -Look, in Cardi's defense --
22:38 -Imagine Apple was like, "You know what?
22:39 I know you have another iPhone, but fuck you."
22:42 -No, it's because, like, yo --
22:44 -"I'll knock out my 14-year-old."
22:45 -"You know, you look on anything with any stans,
22:49 it's like, they'll post something, you know --
22:51 I mean, Rihanna, best example.
22:53 Of course, it's like, "Hey, we're launching
22:54 this new thing at Fenty.
22:56 Sis, we don't care. Where's the album?
22:57 We don't care. Where's the album?
22:58 Where's the -- And the album?"
22:59 And so, you know -- -She's like, "I'm pregnant."
23:01 They're like, "Where's the album?"
23:02 -Yeah, it's just like, you walk around like --
23:04 It's like one of them, like, horror movies,
23:05 where it's just like, "Album, album, album.
23:06 Where's the album? We need the album.
23:07 Where's the album?" It's like, you can't do anything
23:09 without everybody wondering. -It's tough with Cardi,
23:11 because at least Rih, where she has, like, eight albums.
23:14 -Yeah, yeah. -Versus Cardi, who won
23:15 in six years. -Yeah, it's tough.
23:17 -You know, yeah, so, as a Cardi --
23:20 As a fan of Cardi, I'm speaking on their behalf.
23:23 You're not gonna understand why, you know, you're like,
23:26 "I need more."
23:27 I think I was proven right.
23:29 You know, Cardi, take all the time you want.
23:33 We don't need another album. You're solidified.
23:35 -Boy, that voice crack really just, you know --
23:36 -It did. -Stealed the deal.
23:38 -But I'm standing on business. -He's standing confident.
23:40 -I'm standing on business. We don't need another album.
23:43 As I said before, I told you guys,
23:44 she just needs to continue to do one-off singles,
23:47 continue to rely on the big-time features.
23:52 I think it depends on what she wants her career to be.
23:54 -Dude, you wanted to -- Like I said,
23:55 you wanted to sell a Buck 10.
23:57 -I don't want her to sell a Buck 10, but I would like her --
24:00 -The critics come and skewer her.
24:02 -A Buck 10 is not bad. You know?
24:04 -Talk to her. -For Cardi, that's a flop.
24:07 That's a flop. That's a flop.
24:09 -Cardi, Trevor says a Buck 10 is fine.
24:11 -For Cardi B, a Buck 10 is good.
24:13 -It's not bad. I mean --
24:15 -Is it good? -What is good?
24:18 -For Cardi B, I would expect her to do $250-plus.
24:21 -$250-plus. -Absolutely.
24:23 -Yeah, I think that's fair. -Absolutely.
24:25 -That's fair. -Wow.
24:26 -I just find it -- She's one of the top rappers right now,
24:31 male or female, and her kind of abdicating the position
24:39 is weird to me, just essentially saying,
24:42 like, "I'm not gonna do this because the pressure
24:44 is too much" is weird to me.
24:48 There's an expectation, if you assume that role,
24:52 that, yeah, it's hard.
24:54 It's extremely hard.
24:56 People want to clown Nicki.
24:58 Nicki does it.
25:00 She delivers regardless of --
25:03 In her life, just from the outside, it seems insane.
25:07 Just there's always something happening with her fans
25:09 or with her personal life or with, you know, her business,
25:13 and she still manages to deliver a product.
25:17 To be fair, before Pink Friday, it was five years.
25:20 -I was just gonna say. -It was a five-year gap
25:22 between Queen and Pink Friday, too.
25:24 -When did Cardi's album come out?
25:26 -2018, six years.
25:28 -And that was what?
25:30 I'm just saying, like, it's tough for me
25:32 to hold her in the regard
25:34 that I know she wants to be held in.
25:36 -Who said she's not there right now?
25:39 -I'm saying it's tough for me to hold her in that regard.
25:42 She's there, but it's tough for me to hold her there
25:44 if she's going to not do the work to remain there.
25:48 I don't think you can not produce an album
25:51 and still be considered one of the top in the game.
25:55 -Lauren Hill.
25:57 -Lauren Hill's not one of the top in the game.
25:58 -No, no, I'm saying in general, in terms of, like --
26:00 -Lauren Hill's, like, a legendary artist, sure.
26:02 If that's what Cardi wants to be, then that's fine.
26:04 -She could do a Vegas residency.
26:06 -There's a difference between being a legacy great
26:09 and being hot, top of the game right now.
26:13 -I think she could do both. -Sure. I don't think so.
26:15 -I think if she continues --
26:16 'Cause look at it like this, right?
26:18 Before S.O.S. came out,
26:21 SZA was on the same type of time
26:22 where "Control" came out with 2017.
26:24 -You're naming people --
26:26 Every sentence you say is, like,
26:28 "Before they dropped this thing."
26:30 -But "Control" was already considered a classic for some.
26:34 -Yeah.
26:35 -And she was still gaining momentum without an album
26:39 to where she evolved into, you could argue, a pop superstar.
26:42 She got the Grammy with "Doja."
26:44 She was getting number ones left and right.
26:46 -Mm-hmm.
26:47 -The features that she was doing,
26:49 she was still considered acclaimed.
26:51 Now, S.O.S. obviously took her to a whole new level.
26:53 -That's the thing that shot her up.
26:55 -Who say number ones left and right?
26:58 -I'm not saying Hot 100 number ones.
27:00 -Oh, I'm sorry.
27:01 Let's talk about the other number ones.
27:03 -The R&B number ones, you know.
27:05 -But, I mean, what was there even between, like, "Control"
27:08 and "S.O.S."? -Oh, you don't consider
27:10 that part of the IHUs and the --
27:13 Okay, 'cause it kind of got added on on the back.
27:16 -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:17 So, I think we're thinking with a traditional mindset,
27:22 like, you got to release albums
27:24 in order to, like, reach a certain level.
27:27 Nah.
27:28 I think if you're just consistent
27:29 in releasing fire records,
27:30 if they happen to chart really well, too...
27:34 -Well, but do you think that's --
27:35 -No, bro, SZA is not where she is right now without S.O.S.
27:38 -I agree.
27:40 -She's right there.
27:41 -She's an anomaly, bro.
27:42 -She's not an anomaly. She's released an amazing album.
27:44 Cardi should be able to do that.
27:45 -And guess what? I think after --
27:47 What, SZA said she got one more album?
27:49 And then she's gone.
27:50 -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:51 Everyone said they retired. Doja was out the game.
27:53 -I believe SZA. I believe SZA.
27:56 -I don't think anyone that says they're gonna retire
27:58 any time they say before the age of 40.
28:00 -I could see SZA doing one more album
28:02 and, like, writing "Harry Potter"-type books.
28:04 -I don't believe any artist that's under the age of 40
28:06 that says they're gonna retire.
28:08 -I think SZA is gonna get a lot more off them books
28:09 than she's gonna make off these royalties and these streaming.
28:12 -Jesus Christ.
28:13 -But do you think the whole -- Like, to that point,
28:15 do you think that, you know, when it comes to singles and --
28:18 'Cause I think people say that makes sense,
28:21 but the rollout for this sort of Cardi era,
28:23 these singles have not impacted the same way,
28:26 you know, 100-watt, stream-wise, than they have --
28:29 -Like, is that the reason why she's not --
28:30 -Do we need a reset? -I think so.
28:32 I think so. I think she was looking for a scapegoat.
28:35 She used the whole "fans don't appreciate me."
28:37 -No, the music has not been good in comparison to the past.
28:41 I would rather her just come out and say,
28:43 "Guys, I'm not in the right frame of mind
28:48 to be putting out music." -'Cause I know a lot of cast
28:49 would have said, like, you know, I mean, WAP was number one.
28:51 Obviously, Massive Up was number one right after that.
28:53 I know a lot of people were thinking that was --
28:55 you know, that was a great moment to drop the album.
28:57 And then, you know, nothing materialized.
29:00 We've had a couple, you know, sort of --
29:02 She actually probably has done sort of more with the features
29:05 in the past couple years, you know, with --
29:07 -Yeah. -Put on "Floor Again,"
29:09 "Tomorrow Too," you know, some of these other tracks
29:11 that she's jumped on and helped jumpstart.
29:13 -And you know what's crazy? I think, to your point,
29:14 her legacy -- and I get what Dame's gonna say
29:17 when I say this, why she needs another album.
29:20 Her legacy is gonna be looked at her being
29:23 this go-to features artist
29:26 and having just the one-off --
29:29 the successful one-off singles versus the success of "Invasion."
29:33 Now, I think -- -Now, you put the features thing first.
29:35 Is that what you -- -Yeah, I think so.
29:36 -You think that's gonna, like -- -I think Cardi B...
29:39 -Yeah. -...is a top-five features artist,
29:41 rap features artist of all time.
29:44 -Well, WAP is -- WAP's her own song, though.
29:46 -Yeah, WAP's her own song. But I'm saying, in terms of features,
29:48 I think in hip-hop, she'll go down to top five
29:50 easily when it comes to features.
29:52 -Oh.
29:54 Hmm.
29:56 Okay.
29:58 -I mean, 'cause Cardi -- Well, let's see.
30:00 In the past couple years, she's had "Wild Side."
30:02 "Wild Side" put on -- -You can rattle off some of these.
30:04 -I mean, well, okay, "Wild Side" put on "Floor Again,"
30:06 "Tomorrow Too," the "Finesse" remix.
30:09 -The "No Limit" joint. You remember the 2018 run she had?
30:12 -Oh, you going all the way back.
30:13 -Oh, this career, yeah. -Okay, yeah.
30:15 -I like that for Drake. He was like,
30:16 "I'm gonna go back to this album,"
30:17 for Cardi. He was like, "Let's go back to..."
30:19 -Yeah, well, I thought we were gonna, like, post it, bitch.
30:21 -But listen, and to that point,
30:23 the tweet that she said yesterday,
30:25 she said, "I have some features
30:26 that I still have to finish right now."
30:27 -Yeah, I saw that. I saw that.
30:28 -So she knows what her bag is right now.
30:30 -She's got some feature obligations that she has to do.
30:32 -Yeah, she knows what her bag is right now.
30:33 -Well, I mean, look... -Stick to what you know best.
30:36 -Hey, and the thing is, when she gets on those records,
30:38 she does elevate them to new levels.
30:40 I mean, just not artistically, but new streaming levels,
30:43 new success, so...
30:44 -"Tomorrow Too" is one of my favorite songs
30:47 of the past five years because of her.
30:48 -Yeah, that song is amazing.
30:50 -Put her on the floor, bodied it.
30:52 I still think she needs a solo, another solo album.
30:58 -And you're gonna be the first one to call it "Mid."
31:01 -Why would I do that?
31:02 -He's gonna slap me like, "Yo!"
31:04 -Why would I do that?
31:05 -This shit is not suda.
31:06 -That is not true. I will give it a fair shake.
31:09 I'm rooting for it to be good.
31:11 -But... -I don't want it to be bad.
31:13 I don't root for bad music. Who wants that?
31:14 -Yeah, that's sick. -But before we close,
31:15 I will say this. Can you guys acknowledge,
31:18 for any artist, it is hard to make a classic album...
31:22 -Impossible. -...off "Rip."
31:23 Off "Rip," your debut album's a classic album,
31:26 and then having to top that.
31:27 -Sure. -Oh, yeah, the pressure's massive.
31:29 -That's why, again, I bring up SZA
31:31 as a prime example, 'cause I think she's the only one
31:33 in the last 10 years, 15 years, to have done it successfully.
31:37 -15 years. -To make a sophomore
31:38 that was as good or better than...
31:40 -It's not better, yes.
31:42 -On "Kendrick." -I was gonna say,
31:43 for people... -Wait, wait.
31:45 Are you talking Section 80 to "Good Kid,"
31:46 or are you talking... -Good Kid to "Pimp."
31:49 I mean, that's...
31:51 Would it change?
31:54 'Cause some people, you know...
31:55 -But even then, you could... -Do you think "Pimp" is better
31:56 than "Good Kid," or do you think "Good Kid" is...
31:57 -So, there's two artists. -Okay.
32:00 -In the last 15 years. -Shit's crazy.
32:02 -Damn, late registration and dropout are...
32:04 That's outside the perimeter. -Yeah.
32:06 -This gotta be "Take Care" over "So Far Gone."
32:10 -No, no, no. -You doing...
32:11 -"Take Care." -"Thank Me Later."
32:13 -Oh, "Thank Me Later." I'm sorry.
32:14 -I'm sorry. "Take Care."
32:15 -Makarni, we right here for you, baby.
32:16 -"Take Care" over "Thank Me Later."
32:18 Are you taking "Thank Me Later" over...
32:20 -No, but "Thank Me Later" is not a classic.
32:21 -Yeah. -Oh.
32:23 -Let's get back to it.
32:25 -Imagine dropping two five-mile hours.
32:27 -I'm mixing, yeah.
32:29 That's what I'm saying. Like, Biggie.
32:32 We're talking 30 years now.
32:34 Ready to die life after death.
32:35 -I noticed somebody I'm not thinking of.
32:37 Just to be that contrarian, but I gotta get it later.
32:40 -Cardi, we right there for you, baby.
32:41 Take your time, baby. -Damn.
32:43 -Go to Turks and K-Cups.
32:44 -I'm gonna think this through. -Yeah, take your time.
32:47 -And next week, I'm gonna... -I'm gonna say, "Bah, bah!"
32:49 -Take your time. -I'm gonna open the show with it.
32:50 -Yeah, yeah. -Say less, say less.
32:53 And we appreciate you guys kicking it with us
32:55 for another episode of "Billboard Unfiltered."
32:57 Catch us next week.
32:58 ♪♪
33:01 you