In today's episode of 'Billboard Unfiltered,' Billboard staffers Kyle Denis, Damien Scott, and Angel Diaz react to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, highlighting the best and controversial moments, discussing Ye’s X rants and more.
What did you think of Kendrick’s performance? What do you think of Ye’s X rants? Let us know in the comments!
What did you think of Kendrick’s performance? What do you think of Ye’s X rants? Let us know in the comments!
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MusicTranscript
00:00It's hard to rap that as like a fan.
00:02I can't imagine doing that in a leather jacket,
00:06on the field, under the lights.
00:08I don't know if I can sit through two years
00:10of the most ridiculous rants ever
00:12and cluttered albums for 30 seconds of one great verse
00:16that reminds me of Khalid's dropout.
00:18I can't do it anymore.
00:19♪♪
00:21Welcome back to a new episode of Billboard Unfiltered.
00:25We got to introduce our hip-hop editor, Angel Diaz.
00:28Welcome to the show. How you feeling?
00:29I'm good, man. Excited to be finally on here.
00:31It's your first time.
00:32Yeah, first time.
00:33First time caller, long-time listener.
00:36Well, this weekend we had the Super Bowl halftime show
00:39featuring Kendrick Lamar.
00:41The performance featured SZA, Samuel L. Jackson,
00:44Serena Williams, and Mustard.
00:46It was a very GNX-heavy set list.
00:47He started off with an extended teaser
00:50of the unreleased track from that album
00:52but then quickly went into Squabble Up,
00:54which then gave into Humble and DNA, some older classics.
00:57He brought out SZA for Luther and All the Stars,
01:00closed things off with Not Like Us,
01:02featuring a very funny, shit-eating grin, of course,
01:04and closing with TV Off.
01:06But we got to talk about the response of this show.
01:08It's officially broken the record
01:09for the most-watched halftime show of all time.
01:12133.5 million viewers.
01:15What are your thoughts, guys?
01:16I thought it was good.
01:18I thought, I mean, it was...
01:20The expectations were through the roof.
01:22You know, it's hard to gauge something like that
01:26because we've been expecting it since September.
01:28And there's been all these, you know, rumors
01:32and people just running off on tangents,
01:36trying to think about what he could do.
01:38The whole conversation, would he perform the song,
01:41would he not perform the song?
01:44But at the end of the day, it's like,
01:46you know, and I wrote a really quick piece
01:48about this during the show,
01:50is that what he delivered at the end of the day
01:53was a rap show.
01:55And I think at the end of the, you know,
01:56during his interview with Ebro and Nadeska,
02:01he was basically like, yo, like,
02:03all this whole year has been like a continuum for me.
02:06It just feels like this is where I'm supposed to be.
02:07This is like what I do.
02:10You know, he's like, I'm a rapper.
02:12And I think we've had rappers before.
02:14We've never had a rapper headline.
02:18And I think I'm glad it was Kendrick
02:20because what we got from Kendrick was a real hip hop show,
02:24like a real rap show.
02:25There was, he didn't lean into his like pop bag.
02:30He didn't have, you know, bad blood or, you know,
02:33he didn't, which I, you know, for a second,
02:34I was like, Taylor's going to come down from the rafters,
02:36like sting.
02:37Yeah, I thought, you know, for a second,
02:39I thought someone was going to come down, you know,
02:41and jump into the stadium like Gaga.
02:43But, you know, he didn't, he didn't dive into that.
02:46He kept his, he kept his set list, like, you know,
02:49outside of like the SZA collabs, it was super rap.
02:53Like, and these are like rap, rap song.
02:56He did DNA.
02:56You know how hard it is to rap DNA?
02:58Into euphoria while sprinting down the fucking field.
03:01It's hard.
03:02That's a hard song to rap.
03:03I've been to the shows and I've tried to rap along
03:06to the, to the shit.
03:07It's hard to rap that as like a fan.
03:09I can't imagine doing that in a leather jacket
03:13on this, on the field, under the lights.
03:15Getting from set to set, performing for the camera,
03:17performing for the audience.
03:19It's those burpees he be doing outside.
03:20Right, them six miles a day.
03:21And like remembering your, like all your cues.
03:24Cause it's all choreographed, right?
03:25So he has to be at a certain,
03:26certain spot at a certain time.
03:28He's doing all of this while rapping DNA.
03:30And self-censoring.
03:32Like that was the craziest part.
03:33Like I know that I would definitely forget
03:36where I was cussing in a song or what I changed.
03:38And he was just like,
03:39not making a single misstep the entire time.
03:41That's crazy.
03:42So I, you know, from that perspective,
03:44I thought it, I thought it was good.
03:44I thought it was like a very, very,
03:46very well-performed rap show.
03:48And we've never had a rap show at the Superbowl,
03:51which is this, the most American of American
03:56sporting events.
03:57You know, it's, it's Americana.
03:59It's like what people talk about when they talk about
04:02like middle America.
04:03This is, this is that.
04:05And so for him to perform like an unadulterated rap show
04:08where he had songs like performing fucking TV off
04:11at this shit is crazy.
04:12Not to mention the actual, not like us,
04:14but you know, I think that's why people were,
04:17you know, we're a little like, oh, what is this?
04:19Cause like, we've never seen that before.
04:21We were used to seeing pop stars and, and.
04:23And we're used to nostalgia too.
04:25I feel like that's a really big part where like,
04:27Superbowl halftime shows as we've come to understand them
04:30are built on mining through people's catalogs.
04:33Like we're looking for the signature songs.
04:35We're looking for the hit records.
04:37It's like an icon award.
04:38It is exactly.
04:39And this guy got up there and performed like half of his
04:41brand new album that dropped three months ago.
04:43We don't have an example comparable to that,
04:47to this level.
04:48And that's really cool because you're in your Imperial phase
04:51right now.
04:52Why would you want to spend time, you know,
04:53performing stuff from 10 years ago when you have a tour to
04:56promote that's coming out, you know, this year,
04:58you've gotten new material and you're at the top of your
05:01game right now.
05:02So as much as I wanted to hear the old stuff and I still do
05:05want to hear the old stuff.
05:06It's like, I, I really respect the risk that he took there.
05:09The oldest song was what the Black Panther song.
05:13Gosh,
05:15not, I came out after damn humble, humble, humble.
05:19That's 2017.
05:20Humble. Yeah.
05:20It's crazy.
05:22How about you?
05:22Yeah. So look, at first I was a little underwhelmed,
05:26but I think it was just a mix of the game being what it was.
05:30We also, I was like on, I had to cover it.
05:33So I was a little mad about that.
05:35And then like, I was at a party too.
05:37So it was like a lot going on.
05:38You was distracted.
05:39Yeah. And I didn't really catch like a lot of the,
05:42some of the things that Samuel L was saying.
05:44And some of like the,
05:47the stuff that he switched up or whatever in between.
05:50So when I got home afterwards, I was like,
05:52I got to sit down, watch this again.
05:55And I was like, yo, this is crazy.
05:57It was like impressive.
05:58Just like all the points you guys were touching,
06:01like his, the wind, his voice control.
06:04I don't know. I thought it was dope.
06:05The only thing I kind of wanted,
06:09like some of the features to pop out,
06:11you know what I'm saying?
06:12Like the, the, the mariachi singer,
06:14AZ, man, I was checking his name too.
06:17And I forgot how to say it.
06:19Shaik?
06:19Was she here?
06:20Shaik?
06:21JK?
06:22JK.
06:23I wanted to see him do peekaboo.
06:25So that was like, you know, just minor gripes.
06:28And when, when he, like I was telling Damien,
06:32when he announced SZA and people were like
06:34trashing him for it,
06:36I was like, dang, he shouldn't have did that.
06:38Cause I thought she was going to do more, honestly.
06:41I don't know.
06:42I just assumed,
06:43but it was cool that they just did Luther
06:45and all the stars or whatever.
06:46But overall, man.
06:47And then, you know, when Spike posted his thing,
06:51you know, you know, congratulating him
06:53and thanking him for referencing his movies,
06:56like that kind of like put a light bulb on.
06:58You know what I'm saying?
06:59I was like, nah, I got to go finally see
07:00Shyraq, unfortunately.
07:02I don't think you need to see Shyraq, bro.
07:04I'm going to watch it.
07:05I'm going to watch it one of these days,
07:07like on a Saturday.
07:08It's a movie.
07:09But just to catch,
07:10cause I liked the, you know,
07:13people were saying it's not, it wasn't revolutionary.
07:15He's getting criticized for it.
07:17But I don't know, man.
07:18I like using Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam
07:21on that stage with Trump there
07:23and just the whole thing with the NFL.
07:26I thought it was pretty cool.
07:27You know what I'm saying?
07:29When I sat down and, you know,
07:32finally got over the fact that he didn't do
07:33what I wanted him to do.
07:34When I got on board with what the vision was,
07:37I really did enjoy this show.
07:39I think from a production standpoint,
07:41at least on the telecast,
07:42the sound mixing was pretty shit.
07:44So like the first minute,
07:45I couldn't really hear what he was saying.
07:47And I also couldn't hear what Samuel was saying.
07:49That obviously got fixed with the uploads later on,
07:52but not a great moment when you're watching the show
07:56in real time.
07:57That was pretty unfortunate.
07:59I also thought it was interesting how contained
08:02to the ground the entire show was.
08:04I feel like we've gotten used to people really playing
08:07with every part of the stadium,
08:09whether it's the roof or hanging platforms or something,
08:11but everything was on the ground,
08:13which was an interesting choice considering how small
08:15Kendrick Hardy is as a dude.
08:17So maybe it would have been a little bit more dynamic
08:20if we got more scope of the stadium.
08:23People were saying it wasn't as grand as other shows.
08:26Part of it might just be, you know,
08:28the new Apple Music's taking over the halftime show.
08:31And I feel like the past three have all been
08:33pretty minimalist in comparison to previous shows.
08:37I'm thinking of the Katy Perry 30-foot lion
08:40versus the last three shows.
08:42There's nothing like that.
08:43Well, Lady Gaga jumped off the stage.
08:44Right, jumping off the roof.
08:45We don't get none of that recently.
08:47Yeah, Gaga jumping off the roof.
08:49Or even Prince just hanging in the rain.
08:50Diana Ross off the helicopter.
08:52With a big curtain.
08:53Exactly.
08:54There's a lack of grandiosity, I feel like,
08:57with the Apple Music halftime shows that I don't...
09:00I don't hate it.
09:02I've liked every show so far,
09:03but I do think it's a notable difference.
09:06And what's that with the Rihanna show?
09:08Yeah, really minimalist.
09:09She just stood in one place for the whole time.
09:11I know she was...
09:12Two primary colors.
09:14But it was like hers in one spot for the whole time
09:16with dancers just doing their thing.
09:18I also do think some pyro would have been helpful
09:22to really nail down and accent the cooler parts of the show.
09:27And that was another gripe that I had
09:29with the music arrangements of the show.
09:31Some of the songs that should have felt more epic
09:33didn't feel very epic in the moment.
09:36And I think if they were incorporating,
09:38I don't know, some more brass,
09:39some more live instrumentation into those tracks,
09:41it would have made for those moments.
09:43Humble should have felt like a bigger moment
09:45than it did in context.
09:46That entire stretch from Humble's DNA,
09:48like euphoria, he's doing crazy rapping
09:51and crazy performing,
09:52but the track felt flat in the background.
09:54Yeah.
09:55Well, it made me wonder.
09:56I was actually talking to Hannah about this.
09:57Hannah's our big boss.
10:00About the idea of Kendrick going on the stadium tour
10:06and not to derail our thing here,
10:09but it's like, I imagine he's gonna have
10:11to create new arrangements for some of the songs
10:14because, and I've talked about this
10:16with a bunch of people before,
10:18but there was a shift that happened
10:21when he dropped Graduation.
10:23On that album, he talks a lot about stadium status
10:26and how, in interviews at that time,
10:27he talks about how he wanted certain producers,
10:30like DJ Toomp, because his synths allowed the songs
10:35to have this large soundscape
10:37and he was able to, all the songs were able to breathe,
10:39and he minimized the number of words he was saying
10:42and how he rapped differently on those songs
10:45because he wanted them to be able to be performed
10:47on this huge stage.
10:51I see Travis Scott as the endpoint of that trail,
10:56and I think, for Kendrick,
11:00I'm curious, after this show, which I did like,
11:03I'm curious how it's gonna translate across the nation
11:06because, again, this is a guy who is very small
11:10in stature, but big presence,
11:14but is able to do incredible vocal gymnastics,
11:18is able to rap, really rap without the backing track,
11:21is able to do all these really incredible rap feats.
11:25Hop in and out of choreo while doing so.
11:27But the songs themselves are so tightly wound
11:30and are so, you know, they're like Swiss watches
11:35in the way that they're constructed,
11:36and I wonder how that will translate on a big stage.
11:40I wonder if we get more like,
11:43almost laid back, kinda jazzy arrangements,
11:45like we got the band at the Garden
11:46where he switched up the flow a little bit
11:48and it was a bit more relaxed than what it is on the record.
11:49Like the record title, All Masters.
11:51Yeah, I wonder if we get something like that,
11:53or if he just uses SZA as that kind of instrument
11:56because this tour will be more 50-50
11:58than what the Halftime Show was,
12:00so maybe she's the bridge
12:02in between those two different modes for him.
12:04But of course, there also was some controversy
12:06with the Halftime Show.
12:07This was a very black Americana forward Halftime Show.
12:13Kendrick really was using images of the American flag,
12:17performing the show in front of Donald Trump,
12:19making these kinds of subtle statements
12:21that some people thought were too subtle
12:23for the moment that we're in right now.
12:25I have an essay that's up on the site right now
12:28where I'm kind of talking about how feasible it is
12:31to use a stage like the NFL Halftime Show
12:34to make these kind of political statements
12:36because at the end of the day,
12:37we have this version of the Halftime Show
12:39because Roc Nation kind of threw Colin Kaepernick
12:42under the bus when he was trying to enact real change.
12:45Do the same stuff that Kendrick is alluding to
12:47when he's talking about, you know,
12:49televising or not televising a revolution,
12:51whatever that means to him.
12:52So go ahead and check that out.
12:54I really break down the argument there.
12:57But I think it's something for us to-
12:58Are you trying to say we're not past kneeling?
13:01I don't think we're past kneeling, you know?
13:03I don't know.
13:03I think if we can still see so many, you know,
13:07what do you call them?
13:08Parallels between the gridiron and the plantation.
13:11I don't know if we're past kneeling.
13:12I don't know if we can just sit down
13:15and clap for a show like this and move on.
13:17Maybe we need to demand something a little bit more
13:19from our artists.
13:20But then again, he and our savior.
13:22And he has really reminded us of that time and time again
13:25over the past year.
13:26Would a more powerful statement be boycotting?
13:28I mean, yeah.
13:29I mean, I think that Loki might've been
13:31the most hip hop decision of all, turning it down.
13:34But there's also something to be said
13:35about bringing hip hop to a stage like this.
13:37He also has that moment where they kind of all,
13:41the people dressed in the red, white, and blue,
13:44where they all laid on the ground,
13:45kind of like chalk bodies.
13:47People were trying to say they look like swastikas,
13:49so I think it's probably like a reach.
13:50I think it's probably, I think that-
13:52Maybe it was a male, I don't know.
13:53Probably a reach, probably like a combination.
13:55I think it's probably more chalk bodies
13:57because that is what the setting gave to me, more than that.
14:00But those people were the stars and the stripes of the flag
14:04and them turning their bodies into swastikas.
14:06That also is a statement that wouldn't be completely
14:09out of line with where the country is headed right now.
14:11So, I mean, that makes sense too,
14:13if we want to interpret it that way.
14:14But then that goes back to the question of,
14:17if we have so many different ways to interpret these images,
14:20are these images doing what he thinks they're doing?
14:22Right.
14:23And I think that is the question
14:24that we're going to have to wrestle with
14:25and that we've been wrestling with for a long time.
14:29Going back to Beyonce's Black Panther nodding 2016
14:32to a real performance,
14:33to her own Calvary Carter album cover last year.
14:35These are conversations that have really been rocking
14:39the Black American creative world
14:41as we try to figure out what this flag means to us.
14:42Man, it's just hard to be a revolutionary
14:45while also being capitalistic.
14:47Exactly, you can't be both.
14:48Yeah.
14:49At the end of the day,
14:50he's trying to sell out the stadium tour.
14:51He's trying to sell this album,
14:52sell these physical copies.
14:54It's a tough thing to do, man.
14:55Yeah, it's also, you know,
14:57I think that there is an expectation for Black artists,
15:01you know, to go into these spaces
15:03and to always bring with them, you know,
15:08the plight and the pain and, you know,
15:11all of the baggage that comes with being Black
15:16to that big stage.
15:18Because you're like, now's the time.
15:19Yeah.
15:20Now's your time to show people, you know,
15:22what it is that we're going through.
15:25And I think, you know,
15:27I think it may be futile to try to do that
15:29because it's, as we've seen from the response to the show,
15:32from people who, you know, aren't particularly rap fans,
15:37they're like, what the fuck is this?
15:38This is boring.
15:39Yeah.
15:40It's like, he could be up there, you know,
15:42saying the most like revolutionary shit
15:45and people would have been like, what the fuck is this?
15:48There are people who thought what he was doing
15:51was like Black power, you know, super radical.
15:57And they're like, this is not the time for that.
15:58Take that dead press shit somewhere else.
16:01And there were also some who thought
16:02that it was like a complete embrace
16:04of just classic Americana imagery.
16:06Which I don't even, I still can't wrap my head around that.
16:08And I don't know how you get to that end point,
16:09but it's like, that's the same thing.
16:10I still can't fucking wrap my head around that shit.
16:11It's like, yeah, people can look at this show
16:14and be like, yeah, he loves America
16:15versus no, he hates America.
16:17Yeah.
16:18But they were mad at him for loving America.
16:19They're like, now you love America.
16:20It's like, you're so far off base.
16:23It's like, where are you?
16:24It's kind of like a damned if you don't, damned if you do.
16:26But you know, I think you're right.
16:27I think there's like a,
16:30you're putting yourself in a tough spot
16:33if what you're trying to do is thread that needle.
16:35Right.
16:36And I think we do put that pressure
16:39and expectation on Black artists.
16:41And when you then take up the mantle,
16:44you then expose yourself to these kinds of criticisms
16:46and conversations because certain things
16:49just cannot co-exist.
16:50And no one knows that better than Kendrick Lamar.
16:51Exactly.
16:52This is something that he has wrestled with for years.
16:55And then his Apple Music interview,
16:59he was like, oh, I'm doing this for the culture.
17:01That's like his big thing.
17:02He's like ridding, you know, killing the party,
17:06as he was saying.
17:07Speaking of killing the party,
17:08I mean, he didn't also deliver another KO with Drake.
17:12This, did we expect him to rap that much of Not Like Us?
17:16I thought this whole time, I've said it to everybody.
17:18I've said it in group chats.
17:19I've said it in meetings.
17:20I thought what he was going to do was perhaps play,
17:23which is kind of what he did.
17:24I thought he was going to play like,
17:26A rendition.
17:27The beat, like play the intro to the beat
17:29and then go into TV Off
17:31and just like let people get excited and go into TV Off.
17:34But no, my man really just went out there.
17:36He's like, oh, you want to sue?
17:38Let's play this game.
17:39You want to play this game?
17:40Let's play it, you know what I mean?
17:41You want to take this as far as it can go?
17:44We can, all right.
17:45Like, I just.
17:46They sent the steamer as soon as that shit was over.
17:50I cannot like overstate just how iconic
17:53of a moment that was to sit through.
17:54Like he really got up on the Super Bowl halftime stage,
17:57rapped this diss track, called the man out by his name.
18:00Said his name, bro.
18:01He said his name.
18:02Say Drake with this ridiculous grin to the camera
18:04like that immediately went viral.
18:06Like he looking great in the jeans and the fricking jacket.
18:09Like, it's just like, wow.
18:12He bleeped out pedophile, but then had everybody say A minor.
18:17But it's like, you know.
18:18Like Angel and I are both older than you.
18:21I grew up at a time when the most popular thing
18:24for a rapper to say to another rapper was,
18:27if you got beef, say my name.
18:29You know, like when Jay-Z and Mase were beefing.
18:32It's like, you got beef with Jigga, nigga, say my name.
18:34Don't be shy.
18:35That was the era that I came from.
18:38And this motherfucker goes on the stage,
18:42133.5 million people, and says, hey, Drake.
18:49That was kicking everybody's eyes yesterday.
18:51The 200 million.
18:53Yeah, Super Bowl viewers versus halftime viewers, y'all.
18:55If y'all gonna try to share a graphic across somebody,
18:59read the graphic that you're sharing.
19:00Yeah, that was crazy.
19:01Different numbers.
19:02But saying his name is just insane, man.
19:05If this wasn't the best diss song of all time before this.
19:11Into like the choreo time to the lyrics.
19:13Did you hear the, you heard the button rant?
19:16Yeah.
19:17It's like, it's over.
19:20How does he come back from this?
19:22There's no, the only way, the only thing he has to,
19:25like you get off the mat, dust yourself off, try again.
19:29Don't ever mention his name again.
19:31Don't, just leave this alone.
19:33It's over, bro.
19:35Yeah, you can just stick to posting pictures
19:36with Serena's publicist or whomever the fuck.
19:39Go diss somebody else.
19:40I guess we'll figure out what Drake does this weekend
19:43when this Party Next Door album drops,
19:45but another rapper was all over the headlines this weekend
19:50thanks to his anti-Semitic spree on X.
19:55Ye, formerly known as Kanye West,
19:57went on a hate-filled tweet spree on Friday morning,
20:00February 7th, in which he once again praised Nazis
20:03and Adolf Hitler and insulted the LGBTQ community
20:06and people with disabilities.
20:07He was also reportedly selling a sweatshirt
20:10on his Yeezy website, similar to the one that Cassie
20:13was wearing in the Wiley Steen 2016 assault video
20:16that he was then calling the Love Hoodie,
20:18seemingly in reference to Diddy's nickname, Love.
20:23Other things that happened with Ye this weekend,
20:25he asked Donald Trump to, quote,
20:27please free my brother's cuff.
20:29It's crazy that that's not it.
20:30Canceled a planned stream with him after he saw the tweets.
20:34Ye then deleted his X account
20:37after an extremely misogynistic spree,
20:40and then thanked Elon Musk for, quote,
20:42allowing him to vent.
20:44He then crashed the Super Bowl with a commercial
20:46during the Super Bowl in general,
20:48where he sent people to his Yeezy website
20:51to sell one item, which was a swastika t-shirt.
20:56Shopify later said that the rapper violated their terms
20:59and took down the site.
21:00Ye was then dropped by his booking agent
21:02after the rant and that t-shirt sell.
21:05What the fuck do we do with Ye at this point, yo?
21:07Oh, shit, here we go again.
21:09Yeah, it's like, every year, this is-
21:12It's disappointing, man, it's sad, you know?
21:15I was asked-
21:16And how much do you blame,
21:19or not give him a pass, but it's like,
21:21clearly has mental health issues.
21:24So it's like, it's just, I don't know what to say, man.
21:30He has mental health issues,
21:30but he's still lucid enough to-
21:33Like, joke around.
21:33Do a bunch of things.
21:35He has some funny-
21:35Do some running around, you know?
21:36He's still funny, he's still funny.
21:40He launched a new website,
21:42had a whole bunch of product on there,
21:44had launched new shoes.
21:45Including an album that was up for pre-order.
21:47Yeah, was working on an album,
21:49had a rollout that included
21:52teaching his daughter how to produce,
21:54and he had Justin Laboe's podcast
21:59as an extension of that rollout.
22:01So it's like, yeah, he has mental health issues,
22:04but I don't know if we could still use that crutch
22:10when he goes and does these things,
22:12as he has-
22:13Is it possible that he has these moments
22:16where he flares up and he's unable,
22:19maybe doesn't take his medication.
22:20I'm not trying to diagnose him,
22:21but it happens so often now
22:25that it's tough for me to be like,
22:27yeah, he just needs to get some help.
22:29It's like, no, this guy is clearly doing this on purpose.
22:33There was someone who outlined
22:35he does this every Super Bowl.
22:37He's a shock jock.
22:38He doesn't like not being the center of attention,
22:40and this time, he wasn't just the Super Bowl.
22:43Because he should have been at the Super Bowl.
22:45Right, and now we have a rapper
22:46completely dominating the halftime show,
22:48and it's not Ye.
22:49He's never going to do it now.
22:50Oh, not yet.
22:51But that shit's over.
22:53I think it was around Ye.
22:54That album was when I was like,
22:55I think the writing's on the wall for me here.
22:57After Life of Pablo, I got off the train.
23:00I still check in and, you know.
23:02Yeah, I'll check in.
23:03I'll still check in for like the auditions.
23:04Like, you know, Daytona, the Pusha albums.
23:07He did great.
23:08I mean, look.
23:08That's just production.
23:09Like, he's not saying anything.
23:11He's one of the most talented artists of our generation.
23:14That's without question.
23:17Probably the most talented.
23:18Yeah, it's like.
23:19In terms of rap, anyway.
23:20The analogy I always think about is like,
23:26I remember being introduced to James Brown,
23:28and I've since gone back and listened
23:32and watched everything.
23:34I'm a huge James Brown fan.
23:37But when I was first introduced to James Brown,
23:40James Brown was wiling.
23:42Like, he was on the news, like clearly on drugs,
23:47saying ridiculous things to people.
23:50He was always in the news for something.
23:53That was my introduction to James Brown,
23:55was like this crazy old black guy
23:58that is completely untethered.
24:04But when I went back and like, you know,
24:06did the research and looked at all the stuff he did
24:08and listened to music.
24:08And, you know, I knew he was a legend,
24:10but by the time I got introduced to him, it was over.
24:15Going back to him, I'm like, damn, like,
24:16this guy was, you know, he's James Brown.
24:18You learn what James Brown is.
24:20Imagine hearing that stuff for the first time,
24:22some of that James Brown shit.
24:23But like, there are kids now being introduced to Ye
24:27as a person who seems completely unhinged.
24:34He's on X, calling himself a Nazi
24:37and saying that he is Hitler.
24:39He's being sued by a former employee who has text messages
24:43with him saying, you now work for Hitler.
24:48You know, welcome to, it was just some craziness.
24:52But their idea of Ye is completely different
24:55than our idea of Ye.
24:57And to a new generation, I think that power is,
25:01I don't think that power is there.
25:03And so each time he does one of these things,
25:05it gets diluted because the kids aren't gonna be like,
25:09oh, I know Ye has another
25:12My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in him.
25:14That's like classical music in their eyes.
25:17That's why I try to tell people that like,
25:18them younger rappers on this,
25:20when May Carnival, Carnival, Playboi Carti.
25:22And we gonna see that with these, exactly.
25:24These next couple of records where it's like,
25:27young people just aren't here for Ye.
25:29He immediately sabotaged, when I went number one,
25:32he went like on a rant about like,
25:34oh, I'm back at number one.
25:36Yeah, his whole thing has been like,
25:38oh, now that I'm back and rich, I can do anything I want.
25:41And it's like.
25:42Is it 2.77 and counting?
25:44I don't know where he's,
25:46where he's getting his money from anymore.
25:48That shit's all fake.
25:50I don't believe that shit for a second.
25:51But, I think going forward now,
25:56I don't know what happens next for Ye.
25:58But I do know that,
26:02as I said, the first time he did one of these things,
26:07when we were, all his fans were like,
26:09oh, I believe in him.
26:13I think he's going to,
26:15he's gonna clean himself up
26:16and he's gonna come back and make something good.
26:18That's not there anymore.
26:20So now I don't know what he does.
26:22I don't know how Ye gets back
26:24if you don't have a built-in base
26:30to bolster you when you need it.
26:35Because we're done.
26:35We're like, we're the ones that should be like,
26:37yeah, like, don't worry, man.
26:39Get some help and we'll be here for you.
26:43We're like, the fuck out of here, bro.
26:44He's definitely exhausted his chance.
26:46It's over.
26:47We're all like, nah, bro.
26:50Peace.
26:51There was an interesting question
26:52that I was mulling over in my head.
26:54Over just like, at what point do we, as media,
26:58kind of stop giving him so much expressed attention?
27:01Maybe not a complete, we're not covering you anymore,
27:05but do we need to give everything that he says?
27:08Yeah, it's like the Trump paradox.
27:09Exactly.
27:10It's like, at what point are we just aiding this?
27:12Because he knows that he's doing this
27:14because he wants it to be talked about, so.
27:17Are you guys excited for Bully?
27:19Oh, I mean, I don't even know if that's coming out anymore.
27:20That's a great question.
27:21Am I excited for Bully?
27:23Not presently.
27:24Yeah, I haven't been excited for anything.
27:26I'll probably check it out, you know,
27:28because I have to, off of pure curiosity.
27:34But, yeah, I don't know, man.
27:36He needs to just like, shut up.
27:39I don't trust him.
27:40Make beats and shut up.
27:41Like, I don't know.
27:42It's probably hard for him to do that.
27:44I think that's where I'm at with Ye.
27:45What's crazy, I thought this was supposed to be
27:47the time where he was like, oh, I'm-
27:51Going back to basics.
27:52Yeah, I'm just gonna like, be quiet.
27:53Like, I produce everything myself.
27:55I'm getting it.
27:56He's like, I'm chopping the samples by myself.
27:58I'm not, you know, I'm not doing anything with anybody.
28:01It's just gonna be me.
28:02Like, this makes me, he's like,
28:03my daughter made me fall back in love with music.
28:05I'm gonna get back to it.
28:06Everybody's talking about Kendrick and Drake.
28:08He can't take it.
28:08He could, he could not take it.
28:10Even in the Justin LeBoy interview, he was, you know,
28:12like, Justin was like, why do you think people have
28:15this view of you as like, this crazy person?
28:18And he's like, because I keep doing crazy shit.
28:22But he said it as like-
28:23He's like, aware.
28:25Yeah, he said it as like,
28:26I understand why people have this view of me
28:29because I kept doing these things.
28:32And he said it, you know, as if he was understanding
28:35like, yeah, I'm no longer going to act this way.
28:38And then literally a week later, it was like, I'm a Nazi.
28:44So Black Skinhead, man, he trying to tell us.
28:46Yeah, I think thinking on the bully question,
28:49just not presently excited for mostly because
28:52the small glimpses of genius that we get from Ye
28:54in recent years, they're not enough to keep me sticking
28:57around at this point.
28:58Like, I don't know if I can sit through two years
29:01of the most ridiculous rants ever and like,
29:05cluttered albums for 30 seconds of one great verse
29:08that reminds me of Khaled's dropout.
29:10I can't do it anymore.
29:11Especially if he's going to be using AI to like,
29:13make new flows for himself.
29:14That's an immediate no.
29:16That shit is crazy, bro.
29:18Shit is sad, bro.
29:19What are we doing?
29:20Real sad, real sad.
29:21But what are y'all listening to instead?
29:24What's the new rotations on y'all playlist?
29:28Well, I've been listening, I listen.
29:31Listen, you have mentioned, you know, him,
29:34Kendrick decided to do GNX.
29:37I mean, it worked for him because it boosted his sales
29:39and I started listening to it too, again.
29:42I've been listening to the Larry June,
29:43Alchemist, 2 Chainz joint.
29:452 Chainz went crazy on that one.
29:47Yeah, and the Bad Bunny, I'm still listening to.
29:49I wrote something about how GNX and Bad Bunny's albums,
29:53album is like, similar.
29:55Like, you know, super regional or whatever.
29:58So I've been listening to those two a lot lately.
30:01True.
30:02Dame?
30:03Yeah, I've been listening to the Larry June album.
30:05The Larry June, 2 Chainz joint.
30:06You gonna get a OOC?
30:10Some OOC raps.
30:11I was like, surprised that 2 Chainz fits so well into it.
30:17There's one beat on there that I was like,
30:18I know Benny is mad that they got this shit
30:21called Generation.
30:22I was like, I know Benny is mad that Al gave this away
30:25to someone else, but yeah, great album.
30:28I was surprised.
30:29Yeah.
30:30Alchemist is genius, man.
30:32Yeah, he's really just, I'm glad he's using drums again.
30:35I'm glad it's like real hip hop drums back in his beats.
30:40It also makes me wonder what Currency thinks
30:43about all of this.
30:44That's a, I actually have never even.
30:46Oh, cause what, like Larry June is like similar?
30:48I just feel like this is all like,
30:50the shit he's been on.
30:51A bag he started years ago.
30:53Yeah.
30:54And now like, smooth street raps over,
30:59about we need cars and making money.
31:02Yeah, rapping about like,
31:05the affectations of being a rich nigga is like.
31:08You got all your cars in your mother's name.
31:10Oh, bro.
31:11You know what I mean?
31:12Mm-hmm.
31:12Yeah.
31:13Somebody has to.
31:14This is like his lane.
31:16Like there's beats on here.
31:17I was like, damn, I know Currency would smash this.
31:21Yeah, great album.
31:23I guess the big, it's not even a new addition
31:25to my playlist.
31:26This song dropped back in December
31:28on the full blown rhythm,
31:29but The Greatest Bendover by Young Brudda
31:31is just such a freaking phenomenal song.
31:35Just so catchy.
31:37He sounds fantastic on it.
31:39I love it.
31:40I cannot get enough of this song.
31:41I can't wait to see how much it dominates
31:43Carnival season going forward.
31:45Really, really great breakout song for him right there.
31:47Are you going back out there?
31:48Hopefully.
31:49I need someone to freaking invite me out there.
31:51I need, I got unfinished business in the island, so.
31:53I gotta make my way out there.
31:55I haven't been in a minute.
31:56Hell yeah.
31:58Thank you all for joining us
31:59for another episode of Billboard Unfiltered.
32:01We'll catch you guys next week.