Tag: Westside Boogie

Shady Records two albums made into Complex’s 50 Best Albums of 2022

Westside Boogie‘s “More Black Superheroes” album has made into Complex’s 50 Best Albums of 2022 list at No. 16.

“Maturation is impossible in an echo chamber. Westside Boogie breaks a cycle of trauma and repeated mistakes on More Black Superheroes, an album dedicated to Black mental health. Beyond repeatedly advocating for more Black people to go to therapy (!!), Compton-born Boogie uses his second studio album to tell the story of how he reached this point, against all odds. In beautiful fashion, Boogie strings together stories about his upbringing and dealings with love to prove that anyone can heal, no matter where they’re from.” — Jordan Rose (Complex)

“More Black Superheroes” album is a second release under Eminem’s Shady Records, a follow-up of Boogie’s 2019 project, Everythings For Sale. The 12 tracks-project features Storm Ford on an intro track “Killa Mode,” Mamii on “Nonchalant,” Soulja Boy on “Can’t Even Lie,” Shelley FKA DRAM on “Aight,” Smino and Teezo Touchdown on “Can’t Get Over You,” Kalan.FrFr. and Mamii on “Something Strange,” and Snoop Dogg on “Windows Down.”

Later this year, Boogie also dropped the deluxe version of the album, adding six additional tracks, three out of which was completely new records and three was the audio version of his live performances.

“Super proud of this ..another win because of YALL ..I know y’all tired of me saying I love u but damn ..Now my next s–t betta be number 1 or I’m tripping. thank u Complex.” wrote Boogie on his Instagram.

Former Shady Records artist Conway The Machine also made into the list. His first and only Shady Records release God Don’t Make Mistakes occupied No. 41 spot.

“With critically acclaimed albums like La Maquina and From King to a GOD under his belt, Conway had already reached the upper echelon of rap lyricists before making God Don’t Make Mistakes, and he could have coasted if he wanted to. But he’s not the kind of guy to take it easy. Instead, he pushed himself to go even harder and made the most introspective, well-rounded album of his career. Throughout the project, he peels back the curtain on his personal life, sharing stories about getting shot (“Guilty”) and grappling with the deaths of family members (“Stressed”). He mixes this in with the usual hard-edged grit we’ve come to expect from Griselda (“Bruiser Brody”) and even throws in some streaming-friendly gems (“Scatter Brain”). His Shady Records debut has it all. — Eric Skelton (Complex)

The critically acclaimed project was commercial success for Conway. The album debuted at No. 175 on US Billboard 200 charts and reached No. 30 on UK’s Official Chart.

For the full list of 50 Best Albums of 2022, visit Complex here.

Westside Boogie drops music video for “NONCHALANT”

Shady Records’ Westside Boogie is capitalizing on his momentum and dropped a LIMITED EDITION of MORE BLACK SUPERHEORES album with six new tracks, which includes three live recordings of previously recorded tracks.

The deluxe edition features live versions of album cuts “KILLA MODE,” “NONCHALANT,” and “CAN’T EVEN LIE.” Their inclusion makes sense, considering their popularity on the album with live instrumentation, but Westside Boogie doesn’t stop there. He also delivers a few new soulful, smooth, and intimate tracks that fit snugly in the tracklist.

There are two solo cuts “FLOAT” and “CONTRADICITONS,” And there’s the Rapsody and Alex Isley-assisted “HALFWAY RIGHT,” on which Boogie and Rhapsody spit from differing male and female perspectives on a failing relationship. Both try to understand why they feel so frustrated and point out hypocrisies in both parties’ behavior. Alex Isley provides the hook.

Boogie has also just released the music video of “NONCHALANT,” featuring Mamii. You can watch it below:

Westside Boogie drops limited edition of “More Black Superheroes”

It has been few months since Westside Boogie unleashed his sophomore LP under Eminem’s Shady Records, titled MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES, and he continues to keep his momentum going in a very creative ways.

Earlier this week, he decided to bless the masses with a performance visual for “CAN’T EVEN LIE,” a Dart and Keyel-produced cut that features Soulja Boy and sees the two artists keeping it real about a series of hood-related issues, followed by Mamii assisted “NONCHALANT” track.

In addition to his live performances, Westside Boogie also paid Funk Flex a visit for his iconic freestyle series, and you can rest assured that he did not disappoint.

It seems all these were the preparation for the deluxe edition of MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES, which has just been released on every streaming platform. The limited edition of the album includes six additional tracks, featuring Rapsody and Alex Isley. Three tracks are live versions of the original tracks.

You can stream album below!

Westside Boogie announces deluxe edition of “More Back Superheroes”

It has been few months since Westside Boogie unleashed his sophomore LP under Eminem’s Shady Records, titled MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES, and he continues to keep his momentum going in a very creative ways.

Earlier this week, he decided to bless the masses with a performance visual for “CAN’T EVEN LIE,” a Dart and Keyel-produced cut that features Soulja Boy and sees the two artists keeping it real about a series of hood-related issues, followed by Mamii assisted “NONCHALANT” track.

In addition to his live performances, Boogie also paid Funk Flex a visit for his iconic freestyle series, and you can rest assured that he did not disappoint.

It seems all these were the preparation for the deluxe edition of MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES, which is set to be released this Friday, November 18, 2022. “Aight y’all bullied me into dropping…More Black Superheroes Deluxe dropping Friday ..go to my bio and pre save then come back and tell me you love me.” said Westside Boogie on his social media accounts.

Check the announcement below:

Westside Boogie delivers his first ever Funk Flex freestyle & performs “Can’t Even Lie” live

For the first time ever, Shady Records’ Westside Boogie and Funkmaster Flex connected to create another chapter of the legendary DJ’s freestyle series. Spitting over P Killer Trackz’s “How’s It Goin’ Down” production, the Compton rapper showcased the introspective lyricism that has made him a fan favorite from coast to coast.

“Wearing all my feelings/Ni–as say I’m overdressed/At least I won’t explode over feelings I suppressed,” /  “Foot up on they necks/What’s the odor? Oh, that’s death/The fact that I even made it through the funk should be a flex/Ni–as get possessed as soon as the b—hes come around/Your character don’t show until you ain’t in front of the crowd.” he raps.

Westside Boogie is wrapping up one of his strongest years yet. Back inn June, he delivered his sophomore LP, More Black Superheroes, under Eminem’s record label, Shady Records. Shortly thereafter, he headed out on a nationwide tour with another Shady signee, GRIP. He also freestyled alongside Iman Shumpert at Shade 45 and collaborated with the likes of Deante Hitchcock and Big K.R.I.T.

Check out the new freestyle below:

Boogie has also recently performed “Can’t Even Lie,” featuring Soulja Boy and produced by Dart and Keyel from More Black Superheroes album live on stage. You can watch it below:

Westside Boogie reacts to pop music outperforming rap music & what he did on Eminem’s 50th birthday

Image: Westside Boogie & Eminem

According to Billboard, back in 2018, Nielsen Soundscan’s year-end music industry report confirmed that R&B/Hip-Hop was the most popular genre in the United States of America. Nine of the ten most consumed songs in the country were R&B/Hip-Hop songs, and as streaming became the dominant way to consume music, eight of the ten most streamed artists were rappers.

That report focused on 2017, but the period between 2015-2018 was a crescendo for the genre. Established artists like Eminem, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne still had more in the tank; younger stars like Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Nicki Minaj put their mark on the culture; and rising stars like Pop Smoke, Juice WRLD, XXXTENTACION and Cardi B were already scoring RIAA plaques. Everything was pointing up.

Looking at the hip-hop landscape today, you might get a different feeling. Rap is still enormously popular, but its growth is slowing. Luminate’s mid-year report revealed that Hip-Hop/R&B/ still has the largest overall market share of any genre in America with 27.6% — but that is a decline from last year’s 28.4%, even though it widened its lead at the top in terms of overall equivalent album units. The genre’s total on-demand streaming growth is up 6.2% in 2022, but that’s lower than the rate of the market overall, which is up 11.6%.

TMZ got Westside Boogie at LAX over the weekend, and asked his thoughts on the ongoing conversation about rap losing its dominance. The Shady Records rapper says he can actually relate to Billboard’s article. He says he has been listening to pop music closely and thinks those artists are putting more attention to detail in their music than rappers these days, especially Taylor Swift, whose new album is set to sell around 1.5 million copies in its first week of release.

“I was just talking with somebody yesterday, I was listening to a pop song and I told my manager how white people feel like they are paying more attention to the details of the songs right now. And I don’t think rappers understand that details still matter in that. People notice that they, subconsciously, they probably don’t even notice that they notice it, but that lazy music, we are losing because of it. So, rappers! Get it together! Stop being lazy.” said Westside Boogie.

Then he continues: “Its not only about lyrics. It’s beat selection. It’s telling your story. Because we are in a space where everybody rap good now. How you going to deliver your message, how you going to make it sound authentic. How you gonna make it sound different. If you tell your story, it automatically be unique. As far as sonically, it’s just about pushing yourself and pushing different limits. Don’t be complacent. Because when you are complacent, that’s when you get trashed.”

“I think the magic happens when artists do what he is supposed to do on a song and a producer doing what he’s supposed to do on a song. Cohesive moment creates the magic. When it’s lopsided, you just never know.” Boogie added.

Then the interviewer asked what he did on Eminem‘s 50th birthday and what Eminem’s legacy looks line in the eyes of young generation, on which Boogie replied: “I was just on tour. All I did was say happy birthday while I was on stage and I texted him, told him happy birthday and he said thank you. Shout out to Em. He turned 50. That s**t tripped me out. He really 50 years old… I got 13 years old son and my 13 year olds don’t necessary feel the impact the Eminem had on the world. I feel like that’s why newer artists not to let their legacy die. Especially if we take something from Eminem, life if other artists take a certain cases from Eminem, give him his credit! Because it’s EMINEM, S**T!”

You can watch the interview below:

Westside Boogie & GRIP perform hits in Detroit, show love to Eminem during the show

Photos by @CameraJesus

SHADY RECORDS TAKEOVER. Westside Boogie kicked off his “More Black Superheroes” in Detroit on September 17, 2022 and he brought GRIP with him!

During the performance of ‘Rainy Days,” which features Eminem from Boogie’s debut album Everythings For Sale, the Compton rapper showed love to Slim Shady: “Yo, make the noise for Eminem just to sign me and change a ni**a life. Actually, my favorite Eminem song is ‘The Way I Am.” And then he starts rapping the hook of the song with crowd chanting along, before kicking the Joey Bada$$ assisted “Outside” verse where he interpolates the lyrics and flow of the legendary song from The Marshall Mathers LP with the following lines:

“Funny that I’m standin’ with the dude who made Stan / But never treat me like a fan, ’cause what I am, what I am / Whatever you say I am, s**t, if I was interesting / Why would I say I am? S**t, and the the radio don’t even play my jam / I give no damn, I’m in Bompton with the fam’.”

You can watch some videos of Westside Boogie and GRIP performing in Detroit below:

Westside Boogie talks ‘More Black Superheroes’ album, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar & more

Westside Boogie has recently sat down with Charlamagne Tha God and Angela Yee on Power 105.1 FM’s Breakfast Club where he talked about his latest album More Black Superheroes, his past relationships, therapy sessions, linking up with Eminem, relationship with Kendrick Lamar and much more.

About ‘More Black Superheroes’ album

The process of making this album was tough because the accountability factor that came with therapy. By that time I had a healthy relationship and when I lost her I was still happy because I was like ‘I’m gonna make a fire album, I can make a heart-break album.’ Then I’m at therapy and my therapist make me address the stuff and make me hold myself accountable so I felt like I could not approach music the same. It was hard to make certain songs and it took awhile to figure out what I wanted to talk about.

About linking up with Eminem

I was sitting in church in Compton. I was doing gospel raps at first and there were a little kids who were going to church and were already a gang members and I thought they were the coolest ni**as in the world so I became a follower. I started going in church with them and gospel rap was not a thing anymore. Just started rapping around the city. Got my baby mama pregnant at 19. I was recording in my mama’s room for about 4 years. This white man hit me on Twitter. In a hood we think that any white man hit us means we made it. That’s what I thought at that time. He became my manager. He came from Indian background. He was working with the likes of Skrillex.

Interscope ended up calling me. But they put me on the shelf. Then LVRN came around and two weeks before that my new manager had called me and said ‘hey man I don’t know hw Paul Rosenberg found your music but he f**king with you and he wanna fly you to Detroit.’ I had new management and Eminem took over my contract out of nowhere. I don’t know how he found me. They said Rihanna’s post about me was a thing. Eminem told me the songs that he liked was like my album cuts and he was explaining me those lyrics and that’s what made me trust a judgement because he was not talking to me about the viral songs. We had that conversation, I went home and he just gave me the freedom to create, that’s why I appreciate him. Because he gave me advice when I needed it but he does not overstepping my creative process.

About relationship with Kendrick Lamar 

That’s my favorite rapper. He’s from my neighborhood and I just appreciate the doors he opened with just about being himself. I never expect Kendrick to do nothing for me. He did gave me opportunities because just let me come around and to see certain stuff being in the studio with him. So yeah, shout out to him. I do have a relationship. It’s not like he’s my best friend but somebody from my neighborhood who was accessible to everyone from my neighborhood.

You can watch the full interview below:

Westside Boogie & GRIP show love to J.I.D’s new album

Four years after his last full-length project, DiCaprio 2, J.I.D has returned with his much-anticipated new album, titled The Forever Story.

The 15-tracks album features gust appearances from 21 Savage, Baby Tate, Kenny Mason, Foushée, Lil Wayne, Yasiin Bey, Lil Durk, EarthGang, BADBADNOTGOOD, and Ravyn Lenae, and JID’s longtime collaborator Christo handles most of the production.

The Forever Story mostly works as a showcase for JID’s darting, energetic attack.

It seems the Dreamville’s artist has impressed Westside Boogie and GRIP with his new album. The Shady Records’ artists showed some love to J.I.D on Twitter. You can check their interactions below:

Westside Boogie is going on More Black Superheroes tour and he’s brining GRIP with him. So, make sure you got your tickets booked!

Westside Boogie performs “KILLA MODE” live on stage

Yesterday, Westside Boogie performed “KILLA MODE,” featuring Storm Ford from his More Black Superheroes album, live on VEVO stage.

Following the release of his sophomore Shady Records album, the Compton emcee has recently discussed how he learned to accept his own growth with Rolling Stone magazine.

“I’m so vulnerable in my music that it makes it hard to be vulnerable as a person. Even when people get around me, if they start showing too much emotion, I shut down. My mama tells me she loves me? I shut down. Someone get too touchy-feely? I shut down. That’s an anxiety I’m still working through.” said Boogie

“I think we’re way more self-aware when it comes to our emotions than our OGs was. I know I am — I got way more emotional intelligence than my big homies. I think it’s because we talk about it now.” he added.

Watch the new performance below:

Westside Boogie says he’s ready to go at The Game if Eminem tells him to do so

Westside Boogie has recently sat down on Cruz Show where he talked about his new album “More Black Superheroes,” how therapy has changed his life, he’s thoughts on the Eminem and The Game one-sided beef and much more.

At one point of the interview, J Cruz asked the Compton rapper to share his thoughts about his hometown ‘hero’ beefing with his boss, Eminem.

“I’m always conflicted with that because I’m from Compton. Before I was signed to Eminem, Game gave me a video feature. Amazing look that I needed at that time but I’m also signed to Eminem and he changed my life. There’s is in my corner one of the greatest rappers of all time so yeah, I’m conflicted… I’m pretty sure If Eminem asks me like ‘hey can you get on this song with me?’ to go at Game, I’m pretty sure my loyalty is gonna reside with him and I’m at it.” said Boogie.

“It’s rap. I would go in a rap beef. I’m black man at the end of the day. Game is a black man. I’m not into it, promoting that kind of activity but rap beef, yeah, I’m with it. I would join Eminem to go at The Game.” Boogie added.

Last year, on I-95 freestyle, Boogie reportedly took shots at Game with the following lines: “I’m rapping circles round the legends in my same city / keep it confidential tell that n***a don’t play games with me.”

You can watch the new interview below:

Westside Boogie’s “More Black Superheroes” album receives positive reviews from critics

About a week ago, Westside Boogie released “More Black Superheroes,” the follow-up to his Shady Records debut album “Everythings For Sale.” The new 12 buttery smooth tracks boast features from Snoop Dogg, Souja Boy, Smino and Storm Ford among others.

The album has received positive reviews from critics. Check out what they got to say about Boogie below.

Pitchfork – 7.3/10

As opposed to the straightforward way 2019’s Everything’s for Sale approached the transactional nature of love and death, there’s a tinge of irony to More Black Superheroes that gives weight to its darker moments. Honesty may be his superpower, but he’s no better at avoiding temptation or succumbing to emotional impulses. And yet, the dichotomy of trying versus succeeding to better yourself is the latent theme of the album. You can’t be a hero if you’re not willing to face your demons.

Beats Per Minute – 8.3/10

MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES is an album that finds Westside Boogie trapped between two poles. He’s reaching for the enlightenment and even grandeur that comes from speaking on the issues that he truly wishes to tackle, yet, he’s constantly dragged back down by his very humanity. Suffice to say: he’s no superhero, and none of us are. Yet, in the very aspiration, in the desire to reach for that unfathomable peace and perfection, he’s doing and saying more than most rappers bother – or even dare – to. He says it himself: “Ain’t nobody bigger than the program.”

RatingsGameMusic – 8/10

People automatically assume that street rappers aren’t allowed to create music that is well-structured and pure. Yes, Westside Boogie is a certified street ninja, but he’s also a great musician; both things can be true. In MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES, it’s amazing how he puts the guard that we assume he has down and makes everything from alternative hip-hop to soulful hip-hop tracks. Don’t get it wrong, you still get your gangsta music like “AIGHT,” but for the most part, you just get really good music with big messages in it.

Legends Will Never Die – 7/10

On More Black Superheroes, we have to admire the whole concept of embracing your powers as well as how much Westside Boogie has grown both creatively and personally since the last time we heard from him.

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