Eminem has recently narrated the Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike” commercial which featured his 2010 song “Won’t Back Down,” with P!nk from Recovery album.
In the first 30 seconds ad, Eminem says: “You wanna be like greats? First, believe yo are. Greatness requires drip. Not like that, like this! The Greats are not afraid to fail. They fuel by it. Trophies require greatness but greatness does not require trophies because greatness is not about what you have done, it’s about what you do next!”
Two more Gatorade TV Spots have recently been published, narrated by Eminem again. “Being great means turning failure into fuel.” says Eminem in the first TV spot.
“Being great, means the only expectations that matter are your own.” says Em in the second TV spot.
“Being great, means learning from the legends, so you can write your own legacy.” says Eminem in the third TV spot which also features living legend, Lionel Messi, who is going to join Inter Miami next season.
To celebrate the 50-year anniversary of hip-hop and demonstrate the genre’s impact over the music industry, Spotify shared the list of top 50 most streamed rap albums of all-time.
The metrics show that Drake, Eminem, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar have utterly dominated the platform. Atop the list is the late XXXTentacion’s 2018 album ?. Drake (Scorpion at No. 2 and Views at No. 3), the late Juice Wrld (Goodbye & Good Riddance), and Travis Scott (Astroworld) round out the top five slots.
Drake makes the most appearances on the list with his albums Scorpion, Views, More Life (No. 9), Take Care (No. 19), Certified Lover Boy (No. 22), Nothing Was The Same (No. 26), If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (No. 35), and Dark Lane Demo Tapes (No. 48), all finding a home in the top 50.
Eminem is the second most placed rapper on the list thanks to his albums The Eminem Show (No. 11), Recovery (No. 24), The Marshall Mathers LP (No. 28), The Marshall Mathers LP2 (No. 29), Music To Be Murdered By (No. 30), Kamikaze (No. 36.) landing on the list.
Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West tied for the third most-placed rappers, with three albums each making the list. Lamar’s DAMN. (No. 8), Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (No. 17) and Black Panther: The Album (No. 23) were listed. While Ye’s The Life Of Pablo (No. 18), Graduation (No. 20), and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (No. 34) were credited.
Dr. Dre‘s 2001 album also made the list at No. 25. Check out the full list of top 50 most streamed rap albums of all time below:
? – XXXTENTACION
Scorpion – Drake
Views – Drake
Goodbye & Good Riddance – Juice WRLD
ASTROWORLD – Travis Scott
17 – XXXTENTACION
Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon – Pop Smoke
DAMN. – Kendrick Lamar
More Life – Drake
Legends Never Die – Juice WRLD
The Eminem Show – Eminem
Luv is Rage 2 – Lil Uzi Vert
Death Race for Love – Juice WRLD
2014 Forest Hills Drive – J. Cole
Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight – Travis Scott
Invasion of Privacy – Cardi B
good kid, m.A.A.d. city – Kendrick Lamar
The Life of Pablo – Kanye West
Take Care – Drake
Graduation – Kanye West
The Heist – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Certified Lover Boy – Drake
Black Panther The Album: Music From and Inspired By – Kendrick Lamar
Recovery – Eminem
2001 – Dr. Dre
Nothing Was the Same – Drake
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ – 50 Cent
The Marshall Mathers LP – Tour Edition – Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP2 – Eminem
Music to be Murdered By – Side B (Deluxe Edition) – Eminem
Eternal Atake (Deluxe) – LUV vs. The World 2 – Lil Uzi Vert
Culture II – Migos
Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial – Roddy Ricch
Mr. Porter, Focus… and Dem Jointz have come together to form a brand new supergroup by the name of “Read The PDF.” The group’s name may sound odd, but it is made up of their initials and is descriptive of their informative music. Music with substance like Run The Jewels.
The group recently released their first single called “By” earlier this week on June 26th , along with a music video on YouTube.
The track opens up with an angelic vocal sample accompanied by a fittingly church choir-esque production. There’s even some subtle grand piano keys being mixed into the instrumental, but not as to bury the lead. Dem Jointz steps up first with a gritty intro and a verse. Heavy drums and hi-hats arrive moments later to help introduce Dem as well as remind the listener that they’re listening to a hip-hop track. His verse is designed to throw some shade towards posers who fake their way into fame. The verse also directs the same message to women who’ve been unfaithful to him through various situations and relationships. To put it simply, Dem is saying “Don’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk.”
After Dem’s verse, we take a little break via an interlude sung by Focus…. We dip back into that similar gospel sound we heard, just for a moment. We go straight back to laid back, bass-clap, boom-bap when Focus… brings out the bars. With 3 producers on the track, it’s not surprising how often the beat switches during and between verses. Focus…’s verse stays tight to the theme set by Dem’s verse. Focus… talks about the strong relationships he’s built with his closest friends. I get the impression that he’s been burned many times before, but he’s always able to brush it off as long as he maintains a small, trusted circle. The secondary message in his verse is about staying true to yourself. “I ain’t gotta hide the ME on me/ fortified cuz’ I ain’t ready to D-I-E… I do not benchwarm/ I am not J.V./ we will not stand by/ we the MVPs”“
Once again, the beat switches as Denaun Porter opens up his own verse with harmonic intro. For some reason, the first bar is sung in reverse, then repeated the correct way 4 times. “T’nac tsuj I ,t’nac tsuj I ,t’nac tsuj I”. Porter jumps in headfirst as the beat switches to a powerfully electrical buzzing instrumental. These are the sounds you’d hear if Thor, The God Of Thunder, needed a beat for a diss track. I love Denaun’s super confident flow that snaps every time the beat pauses. The production fits the vocals like a glove the way the bars seemingly control the music. Making sure to stay cohesive with the rest of the track, Denaun pays tribute to a few trusted allies as well. “My big brother Em, my little brother Royce / Product of the Doc s–t, I ain’t got a choice”
I love the way he calls out other, lesser producers for sounding the same and still wind up stealing from each other. He even claims he has to rap on beats he created himself so artists he produces for know how to rap on them. Denaun sounds frustrated, but through a smile, so as not to sound too cynical. There’s some obvious exaggerations here, but I think he’s coming mostly from a place of truth. Man, it’s just so nice to hear Porter in this semi-serious, cheeky mood. It almost brings me back to the days of D12 when they’d bring their A-Game to the booth and still have fun doing it.
Overall, this is a really cool track. With the constantly changing but consistent sound, it’s anything but boring. Every artist tells their perspective on the main theme of the track well maintaining cohesiveness front to back. It comes off as a very braggadocious lead single for the group without sounding cocky or unlikable. In a rap game that’s arguably dying from lack of creativity, Read The PDF has formed a sonically pleasing supergroup to put a dent in quenching that craving.
It has been a decade since the iconic rapper LL Cool J dropped his last full-length project, titled “Authentic” back in 2013, and for the past few years, the Bay Shore, New York-born legend has been teasing the release of a new material.
Couple of months ago, LL vented his frustrations on Twitter, writing that his next project is not “worthy of being released.” As it turns out, it was a marketing trick. In the deleted tweets, Cool J said he was “really trying” to figure it out but he’s “not feeling like this album is worthy of being released.” He did leave one tweet up where he simply states he’s “not dropping it.” But later he posted a video on Instagram, explaining how he trick the hip-hop world: “Everybody’s been asking me about the new record and my decision. And, I was considering putting this record out because IT’S TOO F–KING GOOD! Q-Tip, you are genius baby. Yo, that’s my favorite album I ever made. I can’t wat for you all to hear this. Date and tracklist coming soon!”
Earlier this month, during an interview with E! News, LL spoke highly about his new album: “I know all the tricks. I got this covered. I think honestly and sincerely that Q-Tip as a producer is unbelievable and what he did on this record for me, I think is amazing. So the world will decide. The album, I think, is really, really special. I think it’s something it’s modern without chasing. It’s a whole new thing. I can’t wait for the people to see it.”
Eminem has named LL as his biggest influence numerous times. The two have recently performed at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony. LL and Slim Shady also have a song in vault that has never seen the light of the day. In 2014, LL spoke highly about the track: “Me and Em, we have a song, he just recently let me listen to his verse and it is just crazy, he is chainsaw and s**t. It is good! I think people will be pleasantly surprised when they hear me and him rapping together. It is the first time we did something together and shout out to Em and Rosenberg and to his whole crew, staff, everybody… This is a record that I think people gonna be excited… What I did with Em is super HOT!”
In May, 2023 93.5 KDay radio scheduled an interview on their official YouTube channel but it was not aired for some reasons. In the description of the video, we read that Eminem is featured on LL’s upcoming album.
Today a snippet of Eminem and LL Cool J song has surfaced online. You can listen to it below:
Iconic hip-hop artist Eminem shares his private reflections, drawings, handwritten lyrics, and photographs in his New York Times bestseller titled “The Way I Am.”
Fiercely intelligent, relentlessly provocative, and prodigiously gifted, Eminem is known as much for his enigmatic persona as for being the fastest-selling rap artist and the first rapper to ever win an Oscar. Everyone wants to know what Eminem is really like-after the curtains go down. In The Way I Am, Eminem writes candidly, about how he sees the world. About family and friends; about hip-hop and rap battles and his searing rhymes; about the conflicts and challenges that have made him who he is today.
Illustrated with more than 200 full-color and black-and-white photographs-including family snapshots and personal Polaroids, it is a visual self-portrait that spans the rapper’s entire life and career, from his early childhood in Missouri to the basement home studio he records in today, from Detroit’s famous Hip Hop Shop to sold-out arenas around the globe. Readers who have wondered at Em’s intricate, eye- opening rhyme patterns can also see, first-hand, the way his mind works in dozens of reproductions of his original lyric sheets, written in pen, on hotel stationary, on whatever scrap of paper was at hand. These lyric sheets, published for the first time here, show uncut genius at work. Taking readers deep inside his creative process, Eminem reckons with the way that chaos and controversy have fueled his music and helped to give birth to some of his most famous songs (including “Stan,” “Without Me,” and “Lose Yourself”).
Providing a personal tour of Eminem’s creative process, The Way I Am has been hailed as “fascinating,” “compelling,” and “candid.” You can shop the book below:
The Game wishes he had handled a not-so-nice remarks he made about Dr. Dre in a 2022 interview differently, but he still stands by what he said.
The initial comment arrived during an appearance on Drink Champs while discussing Kanye West, who at the time had just teamed up with The Game for his single titled “Eazy” – which netted the latter his highest-charting Billboard Hot 100 song in nearly 15 years. “It’s crazy that Ye did more for me in the last two weeks than Dr. Dre did for me my whole career,” he told N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN.
During a recent interview with Amazon Music, The Game admitted he was a bit drunk when he said that and that he should have been more grateful that Dre did anything for him at all.
“So basically I was hollering at N.O.R.E. and them a little inebriated and I said some things that I meant. I’m not gon’ take it back – I ain’t no sucker. But having Dre do anything for your project, anything in your career, touch any part of anything you’re doing in life is such a blessing that I shall not ever s–t on that again.” said The Game
Then he continued: “And I haven’t talked to Dre since. And it don’t really matter if we talk again in life. Like, I’m a standup Compton, L.A. ni–a and it is what it is. I said what I said, I’m not going back on it. It’s just that I should have actually gave him more grace for what he did do and that was actually mentoring me and doing things that nobody could have done for me in my career.”
“When I was talking on there, I was speaking in terms of what Ye was doing right at that moment which was life-changing for me in that moment last year. And then I based it on Dre’s lack thereof because I took the business part personal and I should have left it business. But Dre is Dre, bro. We all know what Dr. Dre do.” The Game added.
From there The Game talks about his beef with 50 Cent and G-Unit: “What was the center of frustration? I felt like… Dre found Eminem and let him flourish to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Eminem found 50 and brought him to Dre and let that ni–a go ten times platinum and be the greatest ni–a that he could be. When it came to G-Unit, I felt like 50 was trying to suppress us and keep us like soldiers when I was never a soldier. I didn’t put myself in the group. I did not ask to be in a group. I’m thankful for the opportunity. Jimmy Iovine would always say some s–t like ‘Why’d you guys have to go and break up The Beatles, you are the Black Beatles!’ At 24-25 years old I was not thinking about that. I was just thinking I wanted that ni–a to die. Because what he was trying to do to me, we had just did to Murder Inc. So I was like ‘I’m not about to get Ja Rule.’ At that time, we were just young.”
Then he continues: “I hollered at 50 in LA one time in the club. We were on my side and we exchanged few words, nothing violent or anything like that. We both could not figure out where the young us went wrong. 50 is a real d–khead. He get back to New York, a little time passed and for some reason he want to bring me up and say some s–t. You know 50, he’s a troll. At the end of the day, the older 50 and 50 now, he’s like a teddy bear. He cool. We good. Ain’t no drama. I ain’t gonna see 50 and whoop his a– at 40 years old. Ni–a got a star on Hollywood Walk Of Fame. I ain’t gonna blood walk on it or nothing like that. That’s not bad idea [laughs]. But we ain’t trying to go viral for that. We were just young and disconnected. A lot of money involved. A lot of ego and just youth. Biggie and Pac didn’t make out of that. They didn’t get to have another sit down. They both died in that. Me and 50 had shootouts and it could have ended the same way but by the grace of god he’s alive and I’m alive. And we are here today.”
Billboard magazine has released the final top 10 in their ranking of the 50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time.
The magazine reports: In determining these rankings, the Billboard editorial team again took the following criteria into account, not in any specific order: body of work/achievements (charted singles/albums, gold/platinum certifications, other awards), cultural impact/influence (how the group’s work fostered the genre’s evolution), longevity (years at the mic), lyrics (storytelling skills) and flow (vocal prowess). Our definition of groups includes duos, proper groups and more nebulous collectives. Most notably, Inclusion on this list is based on the accomplishments of the group as a unit — not what the individuals may have separately accomplished. We tried to walk the line between what constitutes a group versus a collective or a crew, though at times that was not entirely clear.
50 Cent’s G-Unit was ranked at No. 19 but the list does not include Griselda, Slaughterhouse, D12 or Bad Meets Evil. You can check the entire list below:
1) OutKast
2) Wu-Tang Clan
3) N.W.A.
4) A Tribe Called Quest
5) Run-D.M.C.
6) Public Enemy
7) Eric B. & Rakim
8) Salt-N-Pepa
9) De La Soul
10) The Roots
11) Migos
12) Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
13) Mobb Deep
14) Fugees
15) Naughty By Nature
16) Beastie Boys
17) Cypress Hill
18) Three 6 Mafia
19) G-Unit
20) UGK
21) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
22) The LOX
23) Sugarhill Gang
24) The Diplomats
25) Hot Boys
26) EPMD
27) DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
28) Geto Boys
29) Gang Starr
30) Clipse
31) Boogie Down Productions
32) 2 Live Crew
33) Goodie Mob
34) Brand Nubian
35) Pharcyde
36) Heiroglyphics
37) 8Ball & MJG
38) Big Tymers
39) Slum Village
40) Onyx
41) Little Brother
42) Heavy D & The Boys
43) Kid N Play
44) Kriss Kross
45) Pete Rock & CL Smooth
46) Yin Yang Twins
47) Rae Sremmurd
48) City Girls
49) Black Star
50) MOP
There are total of 419 songs in Spotify history that managed to cross the 1 Billion streams and 50 Cent’s 2003 mega hit song “In Da Club,” produced by Dr. Dre from Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ album is one of them. The song now has over 400 million more streams than his second biggest hit on the platform, “Candy Shop,” from The Massacre album.
To celebrate, Spotify sent 50 Cent a plaque sporting a silver plated version of their logo. Fiddy shared the photo on Instagram with the caption: “Take your time, make it a classic then it won’t go away.”
In the comments section, Method Man and Bobby Shmurda commented fire emojis. Nick Cannon also replied: “Biggest Song in HipHop History!!” adding fire emojis.
Nick Cannon’s shout out came shortly after he threw shots at 50 Cent over his weight. Cannon made the comments about Fiddy while discussing Vivica Fox during one of the episodes of his “The Daily Cannon” podcast show. “You can like, fantasize about Fif from 15 years ago. That’s a different Fif than this fat ni**a that’s walking around now. He is fat! He look like he got a pack of hot dogs on the back of his neck. You looking at them pictures from ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’,’ now it’s get thick or die fryin’.”
50 Cent seemingly responded on Instagram, saying: “If your marketing campaign is say something about 50. Your not going to make it, have a nice day.”
Checking a song’s streaming statistics is one of the best ways to demonstrate its popularity today. Several of the biggest blockbusters in recent years have amassed countless billions of streams.
“Rockstar” and “Sunflower” by Post Malone have amassed more than 2.7 Billion streams each. With over 3.6 billion streams, “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd is the most popular song.
There are 419 songs in Spotify history that managed to cross the 1 Billion streams and 50 Cent’s 2003 mega hit song “In Da Club,” produced by Dr. Dre from Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ album is one of them. The song now has over 400 million more streams than his second biggest hit on the platform, “Candy Shop,” from The Massacre album.
To celebrate, Spotify sent 50 Cent a plaque sporting a silver plated version of their logo. Fiddy shared the photo on Instagram with the caption: “Take your time, make it a classic then it won’t go away.”
You can check out 50 Cent’s post and revisit the classic below:
Russ was recently spotted having a “dream come true” studio session with one of his biggest influences as a producer Dr. Dre and his long-time friend and collaborator Snoop Dogg.
Russ shared some pictures of him and Dre in the studio on Monday, June 26, 2023. The collage post also shows the rapper going to the gym and Larry Jackson’s wedding, where Timberland and Swizz Beatz put on a fantastic live performance. Larry Jackson is a former Apple creative director and a record producer.
Jackson was also present at the iconic studio session, along with Death Row co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris and Snoop Doggy Dogg.
“When I was 7 and writing raps in a notebook it was because of the music and artists this guy cultivated. Recording with Dr. Dre at his house and having him coach me on the mic was insane. Can’t even believe it. Dream come true shoutout to Larry Jackson for making the introduction and capturing this moment.” – wrote Secaucus, New Jersey-born rapper on Instagram.
Larry responded in the comment section: “Soooo much more to do! Only the beginning.”
Bow Wow was caught by HipHopDX’s Jeremy Hecht at BET Awards 2023 red carpet where he talked about Eminem inspiring him, his friendship with Chris Brown, dealing with fame and more.
Interviewer: You’ve got some underrated bars. Even in your mixtape era, is there a verse that stands out in your mind where you are like ‘nah, this the hardest s–t I’ve written.’?
Bow Wow: The new s–t that’s coming. When I drop it, it’s gonna be a lot of blogging, a lot of talking about the lyrics. It’s very Eminem-ish.
Interviewer: Do you have a favorite Eminem verse growing up?
Bow Wow: Eminem is hard! I don’t even have a favorite in particular. Every verse is hard for me. He’s so diverse. So talented. I can’t lie, I’m influenced by him in a lot of ways when it comes to rapping, taking me time like how I dissect my bars, wordplay, changing the pitches in my voices. That’s why I can’t wait to drop this record.
Ed Sheeran has recently sat down with Arte TRACKS where he talked about his favorite record of all time: Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP.”
“The Marshall Mathers LP is one of my favorite records, if not my favorite record. This is what helped cure my stutter. I’ll get it to the actual verse that cured my stutter: “Windows tinted on my ride when I drive in it / So when I rob a bank, run out and just dive in it / So I’ll be disguised in it / And if anybody identifies the guy in it / I’ll hide for five minutes / Come back, shoot the eyewitness / Fire at the private eye hired to pry in my business…” rapped Ed Sheean.
Then he continued: “So that is what cured my stutter, learning that rap there, just because its so wordy. It was actually my uncle, Jim, I call him Jim Shady and he bought me the cassette of this record and my dad supported it cause my uncle said ‘this guy is the new Bob Dylan.’ I don’t think my dad actually listened to what was on the record. And I went over and played the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame recently with Eminem where we sang Stan.”
“And my dad recently listened to this record, he’d never heard it before and he listened to it recently and he was like…One of the first lines is ‘oh, now he’s raping his own mother, Abusing a w-ore, snorting coke, and we gave him the Rolling Stone cover?’ and my dad was like ‘oh, you were listening to this when you were nine?!'” he added.
![Item of the day: Eminem – “The Way I Am” [Book]](https://southpawers.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/eminem-the-way-i-am-book-amazon.jpg)
