In this episode of 'Billboard Unfiltered,' Billboard staffers Carl Lamarre, Trevor Anderson, and Damien Scott discuss whether Ice Spice’s debut album is worth the hype. They also discuss Charlamagne and Elliott Wilson's feud over the Complex Hip-Hop Media Power Ranking List, Will Smith’s future in music and more!
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00:00If you think Ice Spice is going to jump out and switch on a lyricism in a way that's going
00:04to be a lot more introspective or a lot more, you know, more than what it is, it's not,
00:09it's not going to be for you.
00:10Now we're at this point where we're just shitting on people directly instead of being like,
00:16let's focus on the work, let's make sure the work is better, let's make sure we're all
00:19doing good work.
00:20Whether it's going to be about the slap, the entanglements and all that shit, like, there
00:26was a lot of material.
00:30Hey guys, what's going on?
00:31Welcome to a fresh episode of Billboard Unfiltered.
00:34What it do?
00:35What it do?
00:36What it do?
00:37We are back again.
00:38Gentlemen.
00:39Yo.
00:40How y'all feeling?
00:41Feel great.
00:42Doing all right, you know.
00:43Shout out to our good brother Kyle, couldn't be here.
00:45He's off listening to Big Mama's album.
00:48That's right.
00:49Big Mama.
00:50Sugar Honey, Iced Tea.
00:51My Baby Mama.
00:52Hopefully it's not that.
00:53Don't let 21 hear you say that.
00:56How many, one day we're going to do a ranking all these, not a ranking, just even a list
00:59to all these Baby Mamas, because you, you got a couple on deck.
01:02A good seven.
01:03Sweetie.
01:04Her.
01:05Who else?
01:06Big Mama.
01:07Nah, I think that's a three right now.
01:10I think I'm happy with that.
01:11The three right now.
01:12Wow.
01:13Okay.
01:14That's a good three, right?
01:15That's a good three.
01:16That's a good three.
01:17I can live with that.
01:18I should throw a couple names out, but I ain't going to get nobody in trouble.
01:19Somebody potentially creeping in the top five, Miss Ice Spice, who just released her debut
01:23album on Friday, Y2K, 10-track album that features four previously released singles.
01:29They're the first with Central Sea, Fat Butt, Give Me The Light, Thank You To Shit, Give
01:39Me The Light.
01:40She also has features from Travis Scott, Gunna.
01:44Big release for Miss Spice.
01:47How we feeling about the album?
01:48Yeah, Trevor.
01:49How we feeling about the album?
01:51Yeah, Trevor.
01:52How we feeling about the album?
01:53Yeah, Trevor.
01:54How we feeling about the album?
01:55Yeah, let's switch it up this week.
01:56Let Trevor go first.
01:57All right.
01:58Look, what I was going through, I go through a couple times, and there's sort of two minds
02:03I had to be about.
02:04One was what it is, and one was what you wanted it to be.
02:10And so I think-
02:11That's a good way to assess an album.
02:14You know, it's like, because obviously this was really one of the most anticipated rap
02:17debuts of the year, ever since maybe last February with the Princess Diana, Barbie kind
02:23of run in the summer.
02:24We've been waiting and talking and hoping and wanting, but it's like one of those things
02:27where I think ultimately it goes down to one of those albums that I think the EP, the tapes,
02:34the singles beforehand are going to be the thing we remember more than the actual debut
02:38album.
02:39Kind of like the thing people have with Megan for a little bit, the thing people maybe have
02:42with Jack Harlow, where for whatever reason when that word album comes on it, I don't
02:46know if it's the pressure that ramps up or whatever, but it just, it feels, I mean, obviously
02:52shout out to Ice making a short album.
02:53I always will appreciate that.
02:54It was-
02:5520 minutes.
02:56It was easy to digest.
02:57It was easy to sort of sit with.
02:58Obviously, four of the tracks had been out already, so that made it even sort of, half
03:01of it was already familiar.
03:03But yeah, it's like if you think Ice Spice is going to jump out and switch on the lyricism
03:08in a way that's going to be a lot more introspective or a lot more than what it is, it's not going
03:14to be for you.
03:15I was kind of surprised.
03:16I think one of the things, and especially a lot of reviews people pointed out, was like
03:20the poopy diaper on the shit.
03:22I was surprised that, I get you're the shit, and that's kind of where you jump off with
03:27the wordplay, but I was kind of like, damn, we'd have done this about every single song.
03:32You know?
03:33She had some other bars.
03:34Yes, but yes, there were other lyrics on there for sure, but I was surprised that like, it's
03:39just like, I mean, I guess like, you know, the Miss Poopy thing, it's like, is that going
03:42to be-
03:43It's like he's beating up the cat called Peter, you know?
03:49Is that your, you're going to be finna get a shirt?
03:51You finna get a shirt?
03:52She had some baby bars on there.
03:54I mean, yeah.
03:55There were plenty of things.
03:56I thought the rock, paper, scissors thing.
03:58I thought that was clever.
03:59I did, because it took me, I heard it, and I took a second, I was like, what?
04:03I was like, okay, okay, I'll give a little Wayne clap to that.
04:08But ultimately, I don't think it really showcased anything brand new.
04:12I mean, I thought the beats were, a lot of them kind of similar, interchangeable.
04:17I was hoping there'd be a little more diversity in the flow, like-
04:21Beats were my favorite part of the whole album.
04:24I thought Riot did his thing.
04:26Okay.
04:27And I thought, from a flow perspective, I know I said it in the group chat, I felt like
04:30there were times where she had that little whisper flow that was different, where kind
04:34of like, she kind of was emulating Playboi Carti a little bit here and there.
04:37Yeah.
04:38I think she's-
04:39She was trying.
04:40She has a different number of flows.
04:41Something new.
04:42Yeah, look-
04:43She got an A for effort.
04:44Look, I'm definitely not going to sit here and say, it was trash, throw it away, pack
04:50it up, she's done.
04:51I don't think anybody ever, I don't ever want to see anybody, because I know the criticism
04:55is raining pretty hard on it.
04:56I know Pitchfork even-
04:57Is it?
04:58I think so.
04:59I was going to say, Pitchfork gave it a 7.6.
05:00I know Pitchfork gave it a 7.6, but the response to that has been crazy.
05:03People are like, what's going on?
05:05And even not even hip hop or rap people, pop people are up in here like, y'all call this
05:10better than Charlie or Billy, and obviously a lot of hip hop albums, too, that people
05:13threw out.
05:14So I hope she don't-
05:16I don't know how she's going to take it.
05:17One thing, too, with this, I'm not sure how it's going to last in terms of I didn't hear
05:20any really obvious singles that are going to come out.
05:22I think the Central Sea, probably to me, was the best one.
05:24I know it's obviously the single right now, and that kind of gave it a lift in the middle,
05:28but I'm not sure what the long tail is going to be, just because I didn't hear anything
05:32else that really stood out.
05:34As a whole package, I hope it's fine.
05:37Hopefully she can continue to grow and evolve, but for me, probably the singles that are
05:42out, the best part of it, I didn't hear anything on the new tracks that I hadn't heard before
05:46that really got me thinking, okay, this is where we're going.
05:50Which kind of sucks, knowing that she was sitting on a Travis Scott and Gunna feature
05:53on that album, and those didn't really move the needle.
05:55Yeah, I thought the three features, I think Central Sea was definitely the cleanest one.
06:00I agree.
06:01I agree.
06:02Dame?
06:03Yeah, man.
06:04I thought it was very decent.
06:07I thought Riot did his thing.
06:09It's tough.
06:15I didn't really have high expectations for this album.
06:16There you go.
06:17There you go.
06:18It's tough for me to be like, this was trash.
06:22I see a lot of people being like, I can't believe this is the album she made.
06:29My response to that would be, why not?
06:32What about Ice Spice made you think she was going to drop like, you know, a hard core
06:38or anything that's like, you know, she has a very distinct POV, which she's managed to
06:46stick with throughout all the songs that she's made.
06:51We joke about the poopy lines, but this is like, clearly a motif that she likes.
06:55She has done it multiple times.
07:00We never thought she was like an incredible rapper.
07:03We thought she was like, very clever and, you know, she said a lot of clever things
07:07and she was able to flow really well on the production.
07:10She's able to like, marry the production that she was given or the production that she chose
07:19with the songs that she made, which is a talent in and of itself.
07:23People, there are a lot of rappers who don't know what they sound good on, which we can
07:28list a number of rappers who, you know, for I won't say any names, but there are a lot
07:35of rappers who, for a long time, could not pick beats to save their life that they sound
07:39good on.
07:40I think Ice is great at picking beats that she sounds good on.
07:43Riot, I think, did this thing, gave her ten beats that are like, yeah, these are all drill
07:53or drill adjacent beats that, you know, you can continue making the same kind of type
07:57of song on.
07:58As we talked about, she tried to change her flow a few times.
08:03Was it successful?
08:04Yeah, I don't know.
08:05But she tried and the features are good.
08:09Central C did his thing.
08:10Travis Scott did his Travis Scott thing.
08:16I think so.
08:18I want to go back to your point because that's how I kind of felt, you know, going into this
08:23album.
08:24When I think of Ice Spice, I just think of her as a singles artist, an artist that thrives
08:29off making singles, an artist that could thrive off her features.
08:33I don't think of somebody that can put together like a cohesive body of work, you know, or
08:39something that's going to be like mind blowing to the from a from a, you know, body standpoint,
08:45from a project standpoint.
08:46It's interesting to hear that because then it's like, wouldn't you then expect this to
08:51just be 10?
08:5210 singles stuck together?
08:53But I think but I think I'm sure if you ask her in her mind, these are probably 10 hits.
08:59You know, even when you look at the Like EP, that was maybe what, 12, 15 minutes, it was
09:05only six songs.
09:06Yeah, yeah.
09:07You know, so I do think to your point, she was able to play to her strengths as far as
09:13this being a real drill, adjacent album.
09:17You know, she's always been open about not being a lyricist, you know, she she has said
09:22like her thing is not to be a lyrical miracle rapper, she just wants to make fun records.
09:26I think what I'm curious about now is knowing that we have a lot of album coming this week,
09:33I think it's no, it's next week, it's the ninth.
09:36Knowing that, you know, Megan just dropped, knowing the year Glorilla has, I wonder where
09:43she's gonna fall in that rank, you know, yeah, is this enough, you know, to keep her I know
09:49we had her on our in the top five for our females MC list, if that's going to keep her
09:54in the top five, when you look at it towards the end of the year.
09:57Like, how would you compare this to JT's album?
10:01I mean, I would probably, I'd give JT the edge, more so JT came with that hunger.
10:08You know what I'm saying?
10:09She she's proven to be like, she's more capable of being an MC, she takes it seriously.
10:14She implemented some different shifts for like having New York, a New York sound in
10:18there, having a Miami sound in there, she was willing to experiment and not just experiment,
10:23but also thrive on that kind of production.
10:25So I would put JT over Ice right now.
10:29But I'm curious to see what Ice's stage show looks like as she's going to be in New York
10:32next week.
10:33Pier 17, two nights with Kash Cobain, the tour starting.
10:37So let's see what happens.
10:39How is this looking sales wise?
10:43This is where we go over to Statman.
10:47Statman.
10:48I hope I'm getting on the Avengers with Statman.
10:55Yeah, so obviously, we're still midweek.
10:58So you know, numbers are still flexible, moving around.
11:02Right now, it's not necessarily trending top 10 debut on the 200.
11:06I don't know what the expectations necessarily were, kind of given that we know four of the
11:10singles are out, and they haven't quite hit the same way the singles last year hit.
11:13And there doesn't seem to be a breakout song that people may have waited on with the album
11:18and that kind of just exploded that, oh, she was holding this.
11:20So midweek, it's looking maybe in the top 20-ish.
11:24But I want to put a huge caveat that things are still moving around.
11:28Everything's not in for the week.
11:29So it could end up higher, could end up lower.
11:32Those, I guess, are the two options, really.
11:35But if people thought this was going to be, you know, a number one debut, Challenge Meg,
11:39any of those kind of things, it doesn't seem like that's in the picture.
11:41Yeah, no, I would be, if I'm Ice, Team Ice, I'd be happy with like 40 to 50K opening week.
11:48I think that's really good for, yeah.
11:52Anything more than that, I'd be very surprised, hey, kudos to you.
11:57Anything lower than that, I'd be a little concerned.
11:58So we'll see.
12:00Yeah, I mean, like, again, I think the big thing, too, will be to see where this goes
12:04from here.
12:05I mean, the Central Sea record is obviously the one that they're working now.
12:08We'll see.
12:09It's picking up on radio.
12:10The streams are doing pretty well, and it's not necessarily exploding out of the gate.
12:14There's no, you know, TikTok sort of momentum behind it or anything that's shooting it up
12:17and streaming.
12:18But when that single, you know, wherever that ends up, I'm curious what they'll have next.
12:22I mean, I would be surprised maybe if Deluxe comes out.
12:24Like I said, it's only 23 minutes, so you can easily slap a couple more tracks on there,
12:28get some something in the fall.
12:30So yeah, I'm just, the long tail for this album will be really interesting for me to
12:34see, to assess really the full picture of, you know, what this debut era looks like.
12:39That fake relationship didn't work?
12:41No?
12:42That didn't sell a couple records?
12:46No.
12:47Central wasn't really selling it like that, that's the sad part.
12:50He'd be posting videos, he'd run away, like, oh no, no, hide my face.
12:55Also crazy and random about this album, Mike Dean engineered it, which I was like, maybe
13:03it wasn't all Riot.
13:04Maybe it was part Mike, because I was like, you listen to it and it sounds great.
13:11You know, it does sound, it sounds big, it sounds textured in a way that Riot hasn't
13:20always maybe sounded, but I was like, oh, maybe he stepped it up because it's an album.
13:23But when I saw that it was Mike, I was like, oh, this makes a lot of sense.
13:27Yeah, they called it the heavyweight for that.
13:28Yeah, it sounds great.
13:29It really, really does sound amazing.
13:31So shout out to Mike Dean.
13:33Shout out to Mike Dean, the God.
13:36Let's switch over real quick.
13:382024 has been like a super contentious year.
13:42It feels like everybody's just like, beefing, even in the journalism space, in the hip hop
13:48journalism space.
13:49The new thing that we're seeing now, the new rivalry is between Charlamagne, the God, and
13:55Elliott Wilson.
13:57So this whole thing started when Complex released their top 25 hip hop personalities, media personalities.
14:05Charlamagne was on his Brilliant Idiot podcast, running through the list, saw that Mr. Elliott
14:11Wilson was number five on that list.
14:14And of course, that did not sit well with Mr. Charlamagne, the God.
14:18Called out Elliott, said he essentially was not doing anything this year.
14:21He's been very quiet.
14:22All he's been doing is antagonizing artists.
14:25He's really been putting out content in rapid-fire pace, as he used to with the Rap Radar podcast,
14:32which calls Elliott.
14:34So of course, go back at Charlamagne.
14:37It's been like a week-long thing, and I'm curious to just, one, not only get your thoughts
14:41on that particular few, but also just hip hop journalism and media.
14:47How are we looking at it right now in the space?
14:49Because it's so different from when we first came in to the game.
14:54I mean, I find this whole thing very corny.
14:57I'm always happy when a list can make people talk and make people, you know, argue and
15:07bring about this kind of open arena where people can discuss ideas and exchange thoughts.
15:12And, you know, I love when lists do that.
15:17But this doesn't feel like that.
15:18This feels like, very clearly, one person had a problem with another person and used
15:22this as an opportunity to get some grievances off their chest, and it, you know, it kind
15:32of derailed from there.
15:34I think it's a bad look for the industry.
15:37I think if you're like a young journalist right now, and your hope is to be, if your
15:43hope is to work in hip hop media, and you're looking at this, it would be very discouraging
15:49to me to see.
15:52I think, you know, we need to be better at how we represent the industry and the form
15:59and ourselves, you know, like take that shit offline.
16:04Go talk amongst, go grab a drink or a coffee and talk it out.
16:08Like, why are we acting like rappers?
16:11Like, why are we acting like we're the...
16:13I mean, a lot of personalities in the hip hop space feel like they are.
16:16Well, I think it's because we've seen artists move into the space because of basically a
16:28lack of opportunities and money in music move over to media.
16:39And I'm using media as very lightly.
16:43And so now we're in this space where they're all competing with one another.
16:48You have traditional journalists competing with former rappers.
16:53And so one of them is going to move either up or down to match the level of the other.
17:00And it seems like the journalists have moved to match the level of the rapper.
17:08And so you see people speaking like rappers in terms of their journalistic skill and
17:13their history and their prospects, which I don't think is the way to go.
17:23I agree with Young Guru, man, I think we got to stop this.
17:27This is ridiculous.
17:29This is ridiculous.
17:32Yeah, I mean, I think it's unfortunate.
17:34I do want to say this from some of the things that I saw.
17:37Charlamagne was calling for that sort of, you know, let's get together and talk it out.
17:42He was saying, I guess, Elliot wasn't responding.
17:44Offered him to be on the podcast, yeah.
17:46Yeah, so I want to put that out there.
17:48And Charlamagne was number four on the list, I believe.
17:50So it was kind of like, you know.
17:52Why shit on him in the first place?
17:54I just don't get it.
17:56Yeah.
17:56I mean, clearly he thought, as he said, it was going around on past glories.
18:04It's the career sort of summation that...
18:07And I get that it's sort of tough when it's like, you know, like a Jay-Z is
18:12always going to have a Jay-Z stature or catalog behind him, you know, even if he
18:15doesn't put out something this year or whatever.
18:18How do you discredit his ability or when he does?
18:20Kendrick is always one that we always like, if Kendrick drops, we know it's
18:24going instant number one, not in terms of just charts, but like in terms of it's
18:27going to be the best release of the year.
18:28We know like it's already sort of set up for him.
18:32In terms of what I think this does like for hip hop journalism, I mean, it's, I
18:38think a part of a weird space that we're in just in media in general, but
18:41especially in hip hop media where one of the other aspects of it is the jockeying.
18:45I mean, and it's sort of unfortunate, you know, artists don't do press
18:48runs like they used to, so they're not going to be on everybody's platform.
18:51So one of the big, you know, things is the gotcha, you know, that I, you know,
18:55I got Drake, I got Jay, I got, you know, Kendrick, and he's only doing one
18:59and he sat down with me.
19:00And so that, you know, that, that's almost like I'm, I'm on the roster.
19:04Like, you know, I'm OVO, I'm TDE.
19:06Like rings, like, oh, I got this championship ring.
19:09You don't.
19:09Exactly.
19:10That kind of thing.
19:10Yeah.
19:11And so I-
19:11Which is how rappers speak about themselves.
19:13Yeah.
19:14Yeah.
19:14And so I think that that's really unfortunate that we've kind of moved
19:18into that, that influencer, that, uh, you know, team collaboration space.
19:25I don't, I mean, I don't know how we get out of it.
19:26I don't know if we get out of it, you know, I mean, it only seems like it's
19:30only going to become that much more fragmented and segmented and, you know,
19:33especially as artists continue to get a lot of power in terms of where they go,
19:36who they go to, what's being said, what's not being said.
19:40Um, you know, we'll see how, we'll see who bends and who doesn't and, and,
19:44and who stands their ground.
19:45And hopefully, you know, we get to a place where it's a little more equal
19:49in parody, but as far as this particular, you know, concern goes, I mean, I would
19:53say, I think it's, I think it's hella discouraging, you know, to see cats,
19:59especially jockeying, I guess, over essentially like a one or two spots to
20:02Elliot's point, I know he was like in one of the interviews, he was like, okay,
20:05so you, he never said why I shouldn't really be there.
20:08He was just saying like things that he didn't like.
20:10I was like, should I, should I be nine?
20:11Would you be good with that?
20:12Should I be eight?
20:13Should I be above, below this person?
20:14Like stick to the merit of the list.
20:17But to Complex's credit, they got everybody talking about it.
20:21I mean, from, from there, from their outset, they achieve what they want to achieve.
20:24I just hope we don't take this too seriously.
20:27And, you know, it's nice to be in the conversation.
20:30I think I'll go back to what Miley Cyrus said at the Grammys, like the numbers
20:34excite me, but they don't define me.
20:36And I hope people can take, I'm serious, yo, low key when Miley dropped that, I
20:40was like, that's, I know, but honestly, I think that's, that's the kind of, you
20:45know, the kind of lane I hope this comes out of this.
20:47Yeah.
20:48Um, I, I, so I was going to say, uh, you know, specifically about
20:53Elliot and Charlamagne, I've said this before.
20:56Unfortunately, I feel like we're the only culture to like put somebody down from a
21:03journalistic perspective, because I look at fucking, I brought up Larry King before,
21:08you know, who was well into his eighties, still interviewing cats, like a Mac Miller,
21:12a DJ Khaled, and nobody had an issue with it.
21:16You know, Elliot's 53 and we're, you know, as a black and brown culture, so quick to
21:21shit on him for doing running gun style interviews or for still trying to compete
21:26with other journalists.
21:28And I look at it like, yo, if the brother still wants to put out work, you know, to
21:33the highest degrees and let them, why are we so quick to shit on them, you know, and
21:37just say, oh, he's the old man in the room trying to hang with the young cats.
21:41Nah, brother's free to do what he wants.
21:44That's, that's the only thing I have, you know, in regards to that, if he wants to
21:50shoot, yo, brother, I'll do what you do.
21:52You know what I'm saying? As far as like just hip hop journalism itself, man, we are
21:58in a shitty place.
22:00That's, that's the bigger thing.
22:02It's like we're to see the, you know, Charlemagne sniping at Elliot and Elliot sniping
22:07at Charlemagne, it's like.
22:10To what end are we are we doing this, there's.
22:14There are bigger problems to solve, we're better together and.
22:20I've told you this multiple times, like there's a generation that's coming up after
22:24this that. Has like don't even consider themselves journalists that are about to
22:31usurp that generation completely, and that's that to me is going to be even even worse
22:39than what we're seeing now.
22:42We should be concerned about that.
22:43We should be concerned about us all preserving this thing that we all love and that we
22:47all want to see continue instead of, you know.
22:52Complaining and shitting on somebody because they got a place on a list that you don't
22:56like. Right.
22:57It's like. You should be happy that it's even possible for someone like Elliot to
23:03continue working at that, you know, at that time, you know, like we see hip hop
23:08publications. When I started working in this industry, I'm older than both of you.
23:12There were not as many as there were when I was growing up, but there was still a lot.
23:17And now there's like so few that it's alarming and it's it's it's it's concerning.
23:25And it's even more concerning when you see the few people who are at the top going at
23:31one another and then I haven't going at one another on some like my product is better
23:35than yours, because, you know, I grew up I grew up reading, you know, double Excel when
23:40Elliot was there and he would do all that shit in his cover in his in his in his.
23:46Oh, the editor, the letter to the editor type in the editor note, you know, yeah, this
23:50issue is better. Our magazine is better to get the vibe source and the source would do
23:54the same thing, you know, like our I remember working at Complex and Noah's editor's
23:57letters would be like, we have the best magazine.
23:59It wasn't personal towards anyone.
24:02It was just like we make the best product.
24:05And now we're at this point where we're just shitting on people directly instead of
24:09being like, let's focus on the work, let's make sure the work is better, let's make
24:14sure we're all doing good work.
24:16And I think I don't know how we get back to that.
24:19But, you know, and I think it's important to highlight, too, you know, I feel like
24:23everybody can coexist in this ecosystem, you know, like whether you're a personality, a
24:29podcaster, shit, a traditional journalist like us here who still write, you know,
24:34traditional, traditional, yeah, that's like a dying breed.
24:38People still write guys, because as you say, with the new generation, they're not
24:41thinking about putting pen to paper.
24:43They're like, how can I get in front of a camera?
24:45Real fast to grab a mic real fast.
24:48Yeah. You know, so just know writing is still an option.
24:51Guys, people still read as we sit here with cameras and mics.
24:54Right now. Hey, but writing, but you can see our byline, you know, the most important
25:00thing. And I know we have to wrap this up, but it's like more than anything else.
25:04It's this is a culture that we all believe in.
25:07It's a culture that we all love.
25:08It's a culture that made it possible for us to make money.
25:11I wouldn't be able to pay my bills without hip hop.
25:14And. The idea that we are not working together to make sure that this thing is
25:21preserved for future generations in the best way possible is insane.
25:25The fact that we're not all coming together, concerned to be like, hey, what
25:31happens? If everybody on this list just disappears, what happens if we're not here,
25:38what happens, like what happens if for whatever reason, shit falls apart, what
25:42happens in 15 years when someone wants to look back and say, what was going on in
25:46twenty twenty four? And yeah, and just imagine if to that point, everybody is going
25:52to do it. If everybody on that list actually came together to make this thing even
25:57better. I'm not trying to be on some kumbaya shit, but like, come on, guys.
26:01Come on. Let's be better for the children.
26:07Yeah, I mean, yes, yes, we can always be better for the children.
26:12I almost want to I almost want to get like to flip it and go from like just ask about
26:16Charlamagne's point of view, because like is is that is the critique that he launched
26:20fair? Like.
26:22In regards to just saying, you know, if it's a what have you done for me lately game
26:26because it's kind of reminds me of the hip hop list, you know, because, you know, it's
26:30not that it's not comparing.
26:33Total catalog, total volume, total impact moment, but it's at the moment, you know,
26:37I think his thing is that he's got a platform that he works off of.
26:40That's that's true. We confuse platform personality.
26:42That was a that's a big that's a big no, no.
26:45But he was saying it's like, you know, we're all everybody on that.
26:48Most people on that list are working off of platforms owned by tech companies.
26:52You don't own that platform.
26:54It's not like you own you because you're coming game shot to gay pee.
26:59Yeah, whatever. Yeah.
27:00But even that it's like you distribute that with you take away the distribution and
27:06then what do you have? No one's going to like the website for these for these things.
27:10Right. Yeah. So like, OK, Elliot is mostly on I.G.
27:13right now. So what?
27:15There's some people who are only on YouTube on that list.
27:18Great point. Like, what are we arguing about here?
27:20Anthony Fontaine, we should be arguing more so about how do we make it so we have
27:24something that can last into the future, because you know what can happen?
27:27YouTube can erase things.
27:28I.G. can erase things.
27:30MTV News is, you know, the latest example of how that goes.
27:34It's just all very corny and silly to me.
27:36I'll leave it there.
27:37I was going to say Elliot Charlemagne, hopefully I could piece it up.
27:40We couldn't. We'll invite you out here to piece it up.
27:42That's right. Come on.
27:45I'll be like Farrakhan at the black at the black table, you know, at the black table.
27:51I want to see all brothers together, man.
27:54One brother that's out here, Shani, Mr.
27:57Will Smith, Will Smith, he's coming on.
28:00Black table talking.
28:01You know what, you may be on to something with that.
28:03You see the vision. You see how the chess move, you know.
28:06Yeah, man. But no, Mr.
28:07Will Smith, he's having a phenomenal 2024 number one
28:13movie, Bad Boys 4 with Martin Lawrence.
28:15And now it looks like he's really coming back in the music space.
28:19He performed at the BET Awards with the single he put out, his first single, You Can Make
28:23It, featuring Friday at Maverick City.
28:26And then he just put out a new single on Friday with Russ and his son, Jaden,
28:32titled Work of Art.
28:34So this is the first batch of Will Smith music.
28:38And God knows, I'm going to say like maybe what, 12 to 14.
28:42When did Switch come out?
28:43Switch was, I was, if it is Switch, Switch was out in 05.
28:45What?
28:46Switch came out in 05.
28:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:48Switch is almost 20 years.
28:52Switch was 05.
28:53I thought it was in the 2010s.
28:54I love when they go.
28:55I thought it was.
28:56Trevor, stop it.
28:57Stop it.
28:58Trevor said, yo.
28:59I mean, Trevor knows his stuff.
29:00It was 05.
29:0105, bro.
29:02Wait, say it again.
29:03Trevor knows his stuff.
29:04Oh, you want me to say 05?
29:0505.
29:0605.
29:07So with that being said, this is almost.
29:08This is the 20th, and also, this is crazy technical.
29:09I love Black Folks, because Black Folks is like, you know, it's like, it's like, it's
29:10like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
29:11like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
29:35like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:03like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:04like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:05like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:06like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:07like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:08like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:09like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:10like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:11like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:12like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:13like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:14like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:15like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:22like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:27like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:31like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:34like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:35like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:36like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:37like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:38like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:39like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:40like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:41like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:42like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:49like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:53like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
30:57like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
31:00like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
31:03like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's
31:07and then they, you know, at some point in their career jumped over Will Smith, clearly
31:11was, you know, number one box office for all this time. But like going back to oh five
31:15I remember that was the year that hitch came out. And then you just jump from like hitch
31:19to I am legend I robot like, you know, Will Smith was Hitchcock Tom Cruise. Hitchcock
31:25Yeah, shout out to shout out to hitchcock. But yeah, I mean, I'm curious to see what
31:33what it'll be like, because as we talked about, we're so quick to say, you know, we're
31:37good. We're good. We're all right. But I guess in a weird way, because we almost probably
31:41never thought we were going to get Will Smith music again, again, to a 20 year gap, like
31:45there was no, you know, he had never really talked about it. No indication. He done a
31:49couple random, you know, Jazzy Jeff kind of like throwbacky things on some talk shows
31:55and stuff like that. But I'm curious to see like, what what Will has to say. And I think
32:00I think, I mean, obviously, given, you know, whether it's gonna be about the slap, the
32:06entanglements and all that shit, like, yeah, there was a lot of material that I think people
32:11kind of want to like, you know, because it's like this was Will Smith really is, you know,
32:15happy go lucky as he puts on there might be something that's really gonna come out. And
32:18like a little will shady kind of, you know, virus run for bad boys for was probably the
32:24most entertaining Will Smith press run, I can remember, because he came home. You know,
32:30that's my theory. Like, my theory is that after the slap, there were there were reports
32:36in our sister publications, like Deadline and Hollywood Reporter that the backers of
32:40Westbrook Entertainment were considering pulling out or trying to sell because they were
32:46concerned that Will's star had faded. And that, you know, he wouldn't be able to reach
32:51the same heights that he had before. Mind you, he had just won an Oscar for Best Actor.
32:59Like, just remember that he won an Oscar for Best Actor. And the backers of his production
33:06company were like, this nigga's career might be over.
33:09And remember what he's been doing, you know, quietly on the TV side, you know, as far as
33:14doing Bel Air executive producer. Yeah. The Karate Kid joint, mostly called Cobra Kai.
33:21So all of that, all of that was, was, you know, being threatened to come down. His movies
33:26were being stopped. He had a movie at Apple TV that was...
33:31Did that come out?
33:32It did.
33:33It did?
33:34I feel like it did. And it just, it made no noise.
33:36But there was another movie of his, I forget the name of it, that got stopped. And, you know,
33:43if it did come out, like that movie got no promotion. Everyone was just very afraid to
33:48touch Will Smith at that point, even though he's Will Smith. And I think, you know, I
33:54don't, I'm not gonna speak for him. I haven't read this anywhere. But my, my, my guess is
34:00because we've seen this happen to black celebrities before, is that he realized that certain people
34:06weren't fucking with him anymore. And he was like, you know, who's gonna fuck with me?
34:10My people. And he went and did this press run for Bad Boys 4 that was like, podcasts
34:16and shows that you would never think Will Smith would do. And each episode was amazing.
34:25Yeah.
34:26Like the Mellow episode with him on the Mellow podcast was incredible. The stories he told
34:33were incredible. Shout out to that whole crew, Merrim and Pierce. You guys did a great job
34:41with that. But that, that episode was amazing. So I'm excited to see this new Will who is
34:46out here. He was like cursing. He was saying nigga. He was like, violent.
34:50That's the guy. He came from West Philly, man.
34:53This is a Will that we haven't seen in a long time, if ever. And I'm excited now to see
35:00that guy make a wrap up.
35:03To that point, I'll say this. The one thing that I'm more excited or most excited about,
35:08I just want to go to a Will Smith show.
35:11Yeah.
35:12Because he has one of the best breath control to this day when it comes to performing live.
35:17Like I remember, I think it was J Balvin's set at Coachella. He came out and did Men
35:21in Black.
35:22Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:23Yo, Panda fucking Monium. His breath control still is A1. When he performed at the BET
35:29Awards, he still has the juice as a performer.
35:32He's in great shape.
35:33I'm hoping he could squeeze out a good 12 to 15 city tour date. I don't know if he's
35:39capable of doing arenas at this juncture of his career.
35:42You don't think so?
35:43I don't know, man.
35:45I think there's enough of us that would get excited to go see Will Smith.
35:51There'll be 20,000 of us.
35:54I mean, white people love Will Smith though. Like getting jiggy with it.
35:58Fire, Men in Black, just the two of us.
36:01Yeah, Miami.
36:02Yeah, so they're going to pull up.
36:04Fire, on fire.
36:05You know, maybe they will. I know a lot of cats who still hold the slap against them.
36:10They might be off team Will for a minute.
36:13I spoke to a known publicist yesterday, and we were talking about Will, and I asked him
36:18and I said, yo, because he hadn't forgave Will. And I asked him like, yo.
36:23He did not forgive him.
36:24He did not. He did not forgive initially.
36:27Until you changed his mind?
36:29No, no, no, no, no. I met like for a while.
36:31Well, you said, oh, okay.
36:32Post slap.
36:33Well, you said yesterday, I was like.
36:34Post slap.
36:35Post slap.
36:36I know some cults that can use you.
36:38And listen, Westbrook High Labby.
36:40No, post slap, he was like, yeah, I'm off. Well, fuck him.
36:43He made us as a people look bad.
36:46I mean, come on.
36:47And then I asked him, I was like, but when did the switch happen?
36:49And he said it was when he went on the press run and he was being super apologetic.
36:55And, you know, it seemed like he really was affected by this and was willing to change and, you know, do better.
37:01Yeah, because they almost took his career away from him.
37:03Yeah.
37:04Which is insane. The guy made one mistake and his whole shit almost came down.
37:09It's crazy.
37:11Like, it's Will Smith.
37:14Like it's Will Smith.
37:15There's like only three black people that have ever reached the heights that he's reached.
37:21I'm curious.
37:22I was gonna say Will.
37:23I would say Will, Jay-Z, Oprah.
37:26Damn, that's horrible.
37:29That's it?
37:30I know Michael.
37:31We're talking about entertainers, I guess.
37:32I know Michael Jordan and nobody in that mix.
37:34Michael Jackson, you know.
37:36Talk about like.
37:37Just all around.
37:38I would.
37:39Michael Jackson was incredible.
37:41Incredible musician.
37:43You know, he's a little stained.
37:44No, I'm not.
37:45I mean, I'm not even talking about that.
37:46I'm just talking about like, just look at like the empire that these people have built.
37:50That's like continuing into the future.
37:52Like Mike's businesses were valuable because of like the music that he made.
37:57And he owned a lot of music.
37:59That's fair.
38:00A lot of people.
38:01That's fair.
38:02I guess Oprah's got more.
38:03You know, she got a network.
38:04She got a-
38:05They built empires.
38:06Jay-
38:07I'm sure there's more in there that I'm forgetting, but those are the three that come to mind.
38:08Sure.
38:09That's fair.
38:10But my point is like, they tried to take this guy away from us.
38:12Can we get like a Chris Rock interlude on the album or something?
38:15That would be incredible.
38:16You know, just a little-
38:17I don't think he's over it yet.
38:18He doesn't.
38:19I mean, I guess he hasn't quite talked about it in a minute, but it'd be kind of nice.
38:23No.
38:24Oh, I don't know.
38:25I wouldn't be over it if I was him, but you slapped me on live TV, motherfucker.
38:30That's craziness.
38:31But still, still.
38:34Well, there's no release date on Will's upcoming album, if there is one.
38:40But, you know, if something does happen, hopefully we're all at the show together.
38:45I think it'd be a vibe.
38:48Yeah.
38:49I will.
38:50Will 2K25.
38:53Come on.
38:55You know, the dance and everything?
38:56Nah, I don't.
38:57We're working on that.
38:59We'll get Coco out there to do the hook again.
39:01I don't even listen.
39:02Ooh.
39:03That could be a little reunion show with, you know.
39:05So yeah, before we wrap up, guys, we want to do something new.
39:09Each of us want to dish out what we bumping on the phones, the laptops, you know.
39:15New or old, don't matter.
39:17You know, famous or not.
39:18Could be your homie from across the street.
39:20Don't do your homie from across the street.
39:23I mean, hey, all love to the homies across the street.
39:26I was going to show love to my dude Papo.
39:27All right.
39:28So who wants to go first?
39:30I'll go first, actually.
39:31Okay, kick us off.
39:32You know, I was actually, I want to give flowers to my man.
39:36Y'all not ready for this.
39:38I'm not ready for this.
39:39My man, K Camp.
39:42What?
39:43K Camp.
39:44Shout out to my brother, K Camp.
39:48Y'all did not know.
39:49K Camp out here.
39:51Money, baby.
39:52I was playing money, baby.
39:54Wow.
39:55What a fucking job.
39:56K Camp from Atlanta.
39:58Yo, so randomly, I interviewed K Camp like 10 years ago.
40:03And I just saw that he randomly like a couple of photos on my Instagram.
40:08I was like, yo, I need to go bump his shit again.
40:11And I just went on like a little three track run, you know.
40:14Money, baby.
40:15Yeah.
40:16Comfortable.
40:17Comfortable was a little hit, you know.
40:19Cut her off.
40:20It ain't nothing to cut that bit.
40:23And then that led me to say, you know, let me play his new EP.
40:26It's called Float Island.
40:27It came out in June.
40:28Very R&B infused, Afrobeats inspired.
40:31So, you know, I feel like K Camp had a little run years back.
40:36And, you know, he's still out here working.
40:37So shout out to my brother, K Camp, man.
40:40Yeah.
40:41I mean, yeah.
40:42I like K Camp.
40:43I'm going to give something.
40:44You know what I'm saying?
40:45We're going to laugh well.
40:46I just didn't know.
40:47I didn't expect a throwback.
40:48No, shout out to K Camp.
40:49Let's keep this movie.
40:50Taylor's like, wait, what?
40:51Let's keep this movie.
40:52OK.
40:55I guess look at me.
40:57I got a couple of joints that I was listening to over the past week or so.
41:02I want to give a shout out to that Cordae and Wayne track.
41:05Very good track.
41:06Saturday morning.
41:07Yeah, I didn't.
41:08Very good track.
41:10I like the freshness of it.
41:12I think, obviously, we haven't seen too, too much of Cordae in the past couple of months.
41:17But I just thought it was fresh.
41:18I thought it was good.
41:19But even when Wayne came through, I thought Wayne was just going to have a quick verse.
41:22But Wayne takes over the whole second half of the song.
41:24I thought, you know, I think we're still, what, there's a card of six rumors coming.
41:29I know Wayne's popped up here and there, but I thought this was one of his best in a minute.
41:33So I just like the freshness, the vibe of it.
41:35I really just was surprised.
41:37It's kind of mid-level on New Music Friday.
41:40So when it popped up, I was just kind of like, okay.
41:42And then, to me, that should be up there on the mix.
41:45So I checked that one out.
41:47Also, I do got to shout out this Gordo Drake, Sideway song.
41:51Because I'm personally an Honest and Nevermind fan.
41:54I think that album, obviously, is way left of anything Drake's done in his catalog.
42:00It kind of came out.
42:02I think people were obviously surprised with what it was.
42:04It was a surprise release.
42:05So I'm sure niggas was playing.
42:07They were like, the fuck is this?
42:09But, you know, songs like Sticky, Calling My Name were out there.
42:13So this is kind of in that same vein.
42:15I'm hoping, you know, maybe there's a way for an Honest and Nevermind 2 to kind of come in the mix.
42:21I think Drake actually really excels in that lane.
42:23Obviously, he knows how to do melodic stuff.
42:25And it really makes you wonder, you know, if all the shit hadn't gone down in the spring.
42:31Sort of with the hot uptown, now with this kind of vibe.
42:34What Drake's summer could have been like.
42:37I don't know if he would have put out an album or necessarily anything like that.
42:39But I think he could have floated along, you know, a lot smoother.
42:43Had some nice summer tracks out there.
42:45So, you know, shout out to Gordo and Drake.
42:48You know, hopefully this kind of moves into that next phase.
42:51Maybe next summer he comes back and just, you know, takes the airwaves again.
42:55Love that. Healing's a good record too.
42:57I have not checked that one out.
42:59Gordo and Drake, great record right there.
43:01Good choices.
43:03Same.
43:04Yeah, I only have one.
43:05It's an album.
43:08Casablanca by Marsha Ambrosius.
43:12It came out on June 28th.
43:16Late June.
43:17I believe.
43:18On Aftermath.
43:22Amazing album.
43:24Just, I've told everybody who I talk to to listen to it.
43:28If they haven't listened to it, I got texted Carl and I'm like,
43:30this shit's incredible.
43:32I was like blasting it in my crib while I was cleaning.
43:34And I was like, this is just, I was running errands with it.
43:40Produced by her and Dr. Dre and Dre's team.
43:43What's it called?
43:44ICU?
43:45Is Dre's team?
43:46Or whatever that production team's called.
43:50Incredible.
43:51It's one of the best albums I've heard this year.
43:53She sounds amazing.
43:55It's some of the best Dre production I've heard in years.
43:59He flips some classic rap samples in ways that are just beautiful.
44:05I would love to hear this album live with a full orchestra.
44:11Just on some like,
44:14tuxedo,
44:17night uptown shit.
44:18Some grown folk shit.
44:19It's beautiful.
44:20This album, shout out to her.
44:22I don't think I saw anyone talking about it, really,
44:27but it really deserves a full listen.
44:32It's amazing.
44:33It's an incredible album.
44:34Props to her.
44:35Great pick.
44:36Yeah, she had a live orchestra in the studio with her and Dre.
44:39It sounds like it.
44:40Yeah, world is yours.
44:41It was one of the joints she flipped, the nage joint.
44:43Fire.
44:44Incredible, man.
44:45This is seriously Dre at his best.
44:52Dre just in complete control.
44:54This is like what I imagine Dre wants to do.
44:57Like just command a live orchestra and have them fulfill his wishes
45:02and then go in and tinker and do his thing.
45:05It sounds incredible.
45:08Sounds expensive.
45:10She sounds, you know, she has an amazing voice.
45:12Songwriting is incredible.
45:14Yeah, I can't say enough good things about it.
45:16I hope it gets all the recognition at the Grammys because it's that good.
45:21Yeah, it's all one nice stand coming up on radio.
45:25So hopefully get some good looks for the next couple of weeks too.
45:28Yeah.
45:29We'll see.
45:30Fire picks, gentlemen.
45:31Appreciate you guys joining us for another episode of Billboard Unfiltered.
45:35We'll see you guys next week.