NPR Music - Hip-hop in 2024 was on a wild ride

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

Record-breaking mainstream hits. A new generation of artists rising to seize their moment. Rappers in and out of courts. A pair of the biggest names in the game transforming their careers by taking their rivalry to sometimes bitter new heights. In 2024, hip-hop brought us wave upon wave of massive, surprising, culture-shifting moments. NPR Music's Sheldon Pearce, Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael were watching and listening all year long, and they've gathered together to explain the most important stories of hip-hop's 51st year. There was the ascendance of new dominant voices in Southern rap, many of them female, along with the noticeable resonance, for many artists in the genre, with country music. The disconcerting trial of Young Thug left a void in Atlanta — the longtime hip-hop capital — for much of the year, before it ended suddenly and dramatically. And yes, there was the remarkable show put on by Kendrick Lamar in his sustained attack on Drake. Plus: Rodney, Sidney and Sheldon share their favorite hip-hop albums of the year. Hip-hop may have celebrated its landmark 50th anniversary in 2023 by looking back at its own history, but in 2024, it shot forward like a cannon blast.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

A little heads up, this podcast contains explicit language. Slime in you out, slime you out, slime you out, slime you out. If I could travel back in time to 2023 and tell you that Drake would be taking on his own label, after a dramatic fall from Grace, damage what felt like an indestructible brand, you likely would have accused me of listening to Too Much Push a Team. I wouldn't have believed it either. But that was 2024 in hip-hop, full of massive, unexpected, culture-shifting turns. When we celebrated Rapp's 50-year anniversary last year, amid claims of the genre's decline,

we knew we were in for a wild ride. But who would have imagined the first year of Rapp's second half-century would be this eventful. Sometimes you gotta pop out in show niggas, certified buggy man, I'm the one they're up to school with him. Walk him down whole time, I know he got some hoaring him. I'm NPR music editor Sheldon Pierce, here with host and reporter Sidney Madden, and correspondent and critic Rodney Carmichael. And we're breaking down the biggest stories in hip-hop this year. Yes, Kendrick is obviously among them. If you're like me, you're probably still spinning his new

album GNX. And we know, not like us, was the defining song of 2024. We also know that his name has been on everybody's lips since some of it, and that his run has been analyzed and over-analyzed. Even so, Kendrick is a cipher, and there's still so much more to unpack. They're not like us, they not like us, they're not like us. Like the Compton rapper using his takedown of Drake as a vehicle for regionalism, or the ways in which his expression of masculinity is rooted in vulnerability, or his hypocritical deployment of predatory allegations in the shadow of mounting charges against Sean Diddy Cohn? But before we get into all of that, we're breaking down other moments

and movements that defined hip-hop in 2024. Rodney, Sid, how are y'all feeling about rap right now? Ooh, I'm feeling like we have so much to unpack, and you just already gave us so many ideas in that intro, Sheldon. That was fire. Yeah, it's been an incredible year. It's been a, it's been a decade, I think. It feels like we've covered so much ground in such a short amount of time. We already know rap's demise was greatly exaggerated in recent years. But truthfully, it has remained at the center of popular culture in many different ways. Its influence has extended to one of the most unlikely places as well, country music, which made a big push on the charts this year.

But I want to start closer to home with the rapper Big X the plug. Big X had my mom stayed in them apartments, regardless. My daddy told me keep the hit even when I'm in Forrest. I'm hard. Big X had a big year this year releasing the record Take Care, which spawned great songs like Change Me, which you can find on NPR's list of best songs. Rodney, I know this was one of your favorites.

What about it resonates so deeply with you? You know what? Big X is just, um, he, Like you said, he feels so Texas. The drawl is there. The thing about this particular album that he put out, first off, it's a mixtape for me. It's like he made, he took hip-hop back to that mixtape era

because the samples are really big, recognizable. His producer didn't try to chop them up and hide them. You know, they're right out front. And it feels like they didn't have to pay for these samples. But it's fighting them libel. Never change. I'm the same as you see me. The only thing changes to pay for my deal.

Can't forget about the diamonds. It chains on my pendant with struggling. But now we each day for a living. But it's something about just like the twanginess. There's a lot of guitars. And there's a lot of it honestly, it almost borders on cheesy at certain points. But so does country music. You know what I mean?

So it just really fits to me. And I don't think there's an artist. that can claim to be more country than than Big X. They say, X, man, a fact, come to see how this rap, they help with me, nothing to me. Hey. They say X when the chance probably because I got rich, I ain't hurting my kids, they ain't wanted for shit.

They say X when the chance probably came from a beach tried to hit now I'm up and they all on my deities. They say X when the chance while it came from a nigga, I'll fuck with my goodness, and I'm tear with the game. I come out of these folks get to say the ex charge. I'm the same man, I'm standing on Tim of my name. Hey. Yeah, there's definitely something almost like down home, like rural, like outside of city life about it,

almost rootsy to his music that feels like sort of deeply connected with Dallas, which is where he's from. I mean, Big X has also sort of talked about being connected to one of the biggest country music stars right now, Morgan Wallen and working on music with him. He has a collaboration with Shaboozy, who maybe you've heard had the biggest song in the country this year, a bar song, Tipsy. My baby, Bonner Berkey, she's been telling me all night long. And so he does feel connected to that world, both tangentially and, like, by proxy. But he is just sort of one. example of rap's influence in country music. We talked about Shibuzi just now,

who is a Virginia native, started in rap, has a sort of like sing-song thing going on in his sound. His big hit interpolates J-Quan's tipsy. Someone call me up a double shot of whiskey. They know me and Jay Dales got a downtown near a fish street. Everybody at the bar get to. And that's a little bit.

song is tied with another country rap hybrid for the longest running billboard number one in history. Little Nas X's Old Town Road, which reigned in 2019. And it feels like there should have been a line drawn in the sand from then about country and rap and its connections, but we are still seeing sort of a divide culturally between the two sounds, despite their relationship to each other. Yeah. I mean... Sig, can you talk a little bit about, like, Cowboy Carter's influence on Shibuzi,

and, you know, Shibuzi got invited to the country music awards, but then got shaded. Exactly. Yeah. I love how you said a line drawn in the sand, because that is exactly what Bees Cowboy Carter really calls out. There should be no line in the sand. There should be no subjugation and separation between these genres

and their roots and their lineage. And all lines in the sand are clearly just racial lines and proxies for garnering power and keeping power and the capital out of the hands of the people who created the genres. And I think that's why it's really important to signal boost, Shaboozy, and Big X in this moment because really the thesis,

And I mean, there's points, A, B, C, D, EFG all up and through Cowboy Carter. But it was so much about dismantling our preconceived notions of what genre is and who can occupy certain genres. And I feel like Shibuzi's triumph this year, connected to Lil Nas X, his previous rise with Old Town Road. And then Big X the plugs triumph, which again, like you see, said six degrees of separation. They've worked on songs together. They've clearly influenced each other. They draw on their, on their roots and their own family ties to being children of immigrants, to being first time fathers in some cases. It shows you exactly where all of these lines need to be dusted out and need to be erased. Even if you're a huge country listener,

you want to say, but you've never heard of Big X the plug and you never heard of this album, you're going to find something that fits your mood, fits your sentiments in it. And I think that's why it's such a standout this year. I see dead ends, but we're still going strong. We've been hitting down on one-way street, but it feel like it's wrong.

Both Shaboozy and Beyonce are southern artists, And it feels like there's a threshold that they cannot cross that white Southern artists in the same spaces are being allowed to cross. We know that Cowboy Carter was created in response to the Beyonce song Daddy Lessons being sort of shut out at a previous CMA's ceremony. and then here you have Shaboozy who broke out on Cowboy Carter and has had the biggest moment of anybody in country music being shut out at this year's CMAs. But on the other hand, there are country artists who are deeply influenced by rap, if not former rappers, who have moved into that space and been welcome. I'm thinking about Morgan Wallen, who we've already talked about, but also the rapper, turned country star jelly roll. I am not okay.

The rapper turned country star post Malone. Those guys made big inroads into Nashville, into the country music mainstream. Very quickly. Despite, yeah, despite having a deep connection to rap, that was at points talked about as being appropriative. And so we see there's a clear disconnect, despite all of these artists sort of existing in the same sort of sonic middle ground,

some artists are being accepted by the country establishment and some artists aren't. You know what? Can I throw a question out there? I'm curious, like, when we mention artists like Post, Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallin, were they more welcomed into hip-hop than, you know, artists like Shibuzi, And obviously, Beyonce have been into country? I would say they have been. I would say any pushback, especially to artists like Post Malone and Jelly Roll, who have donned, like, very specific rap signifiers early in their career.

We know Jelly Roll, you know, he's face-tatted like a SoundCloud rapper. And then Post Malone jumped into the game. Corn Rose, like old gross. Working with Kanye West before he even dropped his debut, remember? Right. Yeah. So these guys, any pushback to them in rap circles was specifically about ideas of appropriation. But we've seen that before in other genres too.

And I do feel like the critique of appropriation, as hip hop has become more and more of a cultural signifier of just like American. black culture, hip-hop culture, black culture is American culture. I mean, we see that with the A-A-A-A-V-E being considered TikTok speak in TikTok slang right now, right? It's a recurring cycle that we see in other spaces. We've seen it in pop. We've seen it in R&B. But I think the added layer of hypocrisy that comes into play when you're talking about country is country music has been appropriated from black people for so long. And it's been done so well and so systematically that there are many black Americans, black listeners and lovers of music who don't see themselves reflected in country and never like you heard the stories when Cowboy Carter was on a rollout.

Like black people quote unquote discovering country that they liked country for the first time or people even in the south like southern hip-hop writers saying they never felt welcome at a country music concert, even though that is the genre that really runs their town and runs their beat more so than others. So I think that's why this huge like breakthrough of country in 2024 feels a little bit more laughable because it's all underpinned with black music and hip-hop music specifically. There has been a bit of a self-sabotaging element within hip hop from purists who are sort of not willing to accept genre fusion, folks looking to build a firewall between rap as like what they see as a formalist form

and separating it from anything beyond that. There's this idea that a certain type of rap is the real rap, and then everything that deviates from that is not true to that history. Outsiders are sort of co-opting rap history for their own gains, and in that transaction sort of like minimizing the efforts of artists of color who are doing that same work, but on the other hand, there's also artists inside the genre who are themselves pushing back against any possible fusionist future.

The lines between country. The lines between country and rap continue to blur, but country isn't the only sound dominating southern rap. There have been several artists that have set a pace for the region in hip-hop itself. The star, Megan the Stallion, continued her run, and we've seen breakthroughs for several artists who seem to come into their own on new albums. The Atlanta rapper Lotto with Sugar Honey Ice Tea, the Memphis rapper Glorilla with glorious, and the Florida rapper Dochi with her TDE debut Alligator Bites Never Heal. Sid, it feels like these artists sort of had a big coming into their own moment this year, but they've all been sort of steadily churning out music over the years.

Like, how do you situate their rises? I situate their rises as being moments of metamorphosis that are grounded in vindication and grounded in actually being able to have space to find their voice for the first time. And, I mean, to me, women have been dropping the most exciting, challenging, illuminating projects all year. You know, like we can talk about Ray Khalil, we can talk about Rhapsody, Samara Sin, who's a newcomer, Monalio, who just dropped a really funny, really comical project. But to zero in on Lado, glow, Dochi, and Megan, they're the ones who are setting the pace for the southern rap canon in an exciting way that I think has never been seen and felt before. And it's refreshing because all of these women have dropped,

you know, we can call it the negative annotation of women in hip-hop, women in hip-hop music calling it pussy rap, right? But all the projects you just really pinpointed, there Sheldon is, yeah, there's pussy rap within those bars, but there's also so much more. And let me just say as an aside, if someone, if a rapper wants to rap about their pussy all day, they absolutely should because what do men rap about all day? They're, they're glau. Okay. It's not, it's not any different. Exactly, exactly. So let's have some parody there. But I think on all of these four projects that you just named, yeah, Lotto having a big breakthrough moment, Lado is three albums.

and on her major label deal. But Sugar Honey Ice Tea feels like she's found her balance between pop sentiments and just this rough, rugged, kinetic, like, bars and switchups. Bitch, you tried to play me on the one, acting tough on stage and in a run. Put the belt of ass like your mom. Got you looking like your daddy son.

Out of fake tension, gotta stop. Check a home in person like the dog. Rolly rich or AP watch. Different flavor flakes with the clock. She just has, I don't know, her finger on the pulse of bad bitchery, and she's just given us so much one-liners in ways that have honestly kept what's on necks, even since 2003, we put it on the floor, and then the remix, and all the remixes that she's been dropping.

Glorilla, another one who's been able to shape the lexicon of what being a fully-faceted, flawed woman in 2024 feels like, in what it means to be overthinking and getting in your head and how you can get over, how you can get over imposter syndrome, how you can get over listening to, listening to internet trolls or even how to get out of abusive relationship. She has two cuts on this album that talk about domestic violence and how she's trying to get her friend out of it and how she'll never put up with it herself in a relationship. And she grounds all that in her own choir girl, gospel roots too.

I think Dochi's, dochi really just shot out of a cannon in the second half of the year. She's someone who's been signed to TDE for a while now and she's always exuded this theater kid, chaotic, bouncing off the walls, eccentricity. But I feel like it's been channeled into real star power with this mixtape. And yeah, we do have to land that it's a mixtape. It's not her first release on TDE, but it's absolutely the standout of her career. And it earned her four Grammy nominations.

So I could just came back and sit my line in peace. Easy, breezy, beautiful, erratic. Scatter-minded manic, borderline attic. I try to take this sober route and end up on a dead it. Now everything I joke about just ends up on a Reddit. Gator skin coat, Florida heat, no joke. Feel like the Tiger King's remote joke. Leo the Sunstein, I'm sipping the Cosmo, make money like Pronto and Gucci my poncho.

Ain't no rain up pain on me. Wetting up the Bapidna stain on me. Label always up my ass like beef. Why can't all these label, just let me be? And then you have Megan. Megan is absolutely a pathbreaker and a page turner when it comes to women's trajectory in hip-hop, but I think this album specifically, it just oozes. with redemption and vindication because it's the first thing she's been able to put out after

the dust has more settled in the case of the shooting where Tori Lanes was convicted of shooting her in both of her feet and we're just hearing we're hearing her have fun again we're hearing the reemergence of her alter ego Tina Snow we're hearing some of the work that she created when she was traveling in Japan and South Korea which you know anyone who's a fan of her knows she had a ball and she had a real homecoming of sorts there with her love of anime, really illuminating her creative juices. What I love about these four albums all the fuck stuck in the teal, what I love about these four albums all placed next to each other is they show the variety and the dexterity

of what women, not only women in hip-hop, but women in the Southern canon really have to offer for now, and that's why they're setting the pace. There's been a lot of great albums that came out of the South this year. I mean, we just talked about Big X, right? I think Rod Wave is another one. Yeah. Boss Mandilo, huge breakout moment. Denzel Curry.

But to me, things like Lotto headlining birthday bash and selling it out and bringing out Usher and Mariah the scientists and just bridging gaps and bridging generations. Things like Megan the Stallion hosting the Crunchyroll Awards, halfway around the world and showing how much hip, how, literally how far hip hop can go in in propelling star power. These are the moments to me that feel like triumphs in the midst of so much adversity that hip hop went through in year 51. And that's why, I mean, they're the ones to watch and they're the ones setting that pace. I think that this year more than any other year in a long time. The line between mixtape and album has been blurred beyond recognition. Like,

people calling their project a mixtape when it really seems to be masquerading as an album and vice versa. A lot of that this year. I mean, Doche's, I refuse to call Doche's project of mixtape. That's the most album sounding mixtape I've heard. Yeah, I've had a lot of arguments with people about it. I mean, I wrote a piece on the site about it. Like, if that's not an album, I don't know what an album is. I think she really wanted to call it an album because of how fast and frantic she made it and how she was trying to flex a lot of different ideas at once and coming to terms with

her artistry and not wanting to cater to TikTok and battling with her label and da-da-da. I feel like it was a great appetizer of what she could give us with a full conceptualized album. But yeah, it's absolutely album quality. At this point, the difference between a mixtape and an album is really just sales, because before, a mixtape would not be an official label release. Remember that? Remember that kids? We used to go to find that. Or even before that, we used to go to somebody's trunk. I had to get it out the trunk. Exactly. And people were doing things like not having to clear samples and, you know, calling people out. And it was a foreground and it was setting for to do exactly what Doji did, like work through a lot of ideas, but also have the freedom from the label machine.

And now it's much more about, you know, getting that exposure out, also flexing ideas and working through ideas. But it's all for the capital still. Distinctions about what is or isn't an album or a mixtape aside. I think what really grabs me about all four artists is how distinct they are, how distinctly regional their music sounds, and how their voices and flows often seem to channel their hometowns specifically. I mean, that kind of regionalism, that kind of individuality was much needed in a time when rap has dealt with a lot of controversy and scandal and spent a lot of time. in the courtroom, but we'll talk about that after this short break. We've talked a lot about Southern rap, the amount of fun that was produced by the women who have had breakthroughs over the past few months, and how that was desperately needed. We've faced

tragic deaths that included seminal figures like Rico Wade and would-be stars like Rich Homi Kwan. And then we've also experienced the fallout from the greatest gut punch to that community, the suppression of young thug throughout the years-long YSL RICO case, which felt like it created a vacuum in the culture, but finally came to an end this year. Rodney, you're an Atlanta native. Can you unpack that case? Yeah, I mean, it definitely created a vacuum in Atlanta, you know. I mean, you could feel it. And not just a vacuum, but I think a lot of questions, a lot of unanswered questions have been just hanging in the air. First off, it's just really ironic to be in this place. We're talking about because I think we're talking about

Young Thug, but we're also talking about Little Dirk. Yeah. You know, we're talking about a lot of really big, really big cases that are kind of happening simultaneously, which can make it feel like all of hip hop is experiencing this. to a certain extent. But the irony to me is, you know, like when you think about how many years, you know, rappers liking themselves to mafia dons, you know, but I think nobody ever saw a day coming when high-profile rappers like these would be facing actual recall charges, you know, which was once reserved for mafia dons. You know, in the same week last month, Little Dirk got arrested on federal RICO charges at the same time that young thug got released after entering a guilty plea in, as you said, the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.

These are rappers that were indicted on charges alleging that the record labels that they started are actually criminal street gangs with charges running the gamut from murder to racketeering, drug dealing. and in some cases more. Now there's a lot of detail that I think we could parse out about these cases, you know, the similarities, the differences, but I really wanna, I really wanna hone in on one specific element that I think ties both of these specific cases together and that's the use of lyrics as evidence

of the alleged crimes that are prosecutors say, were committed. Something that's been going on for decades, but it really feels like it's hit a tipping point in terms of how it might be impacting the art form. Now, before the judge in the YSL trial sentenced young thug to 15 years probation on Halloween of this year, which for some reason seemed eerily fitting. she has something to say about street-oriented rap in particular. I want us to listen to this because it's being referenced a lot as a harsher judgment

than the one that young thug received, which is saying a lot, considering he got 15 years probation. And I have a kind of a different opinion on that, but I'm curious what y'all think, too. So let's hear what she had to say first. Having come up from where you came up from and living in and around that, you know that gangs are damaging to our community. And it may be that a whole lot of rap music and the rap industry is, I mean, honestly, it sounds like a modern day version of kind of WWE wrestling that used to be on. television where people would just get up in posture and act like they hated each other. And it may be that that's a lot of what is going on in the music industry with rap. But whether it is fake or not, it has tremendous impact on kids and young people who think

this is cool, this is what I want to do. Look at him. He's a millionaire. I can do that by being, you know, a gangster in the streets. So I'm curious, first off, what are y'all's thoughts on what she had to say? I think she definitely has a point. If you, if you listen to a lot of rap, hip-hop right now, it is, it's pageantry, it's escapism, it's machismo, it's, but it's, you know, and a lot of times meant to be empowering, it's meant to be a boost. Because, you know, we live in a, we live in a very fast food type of social economy right now, right? So if you, all you see is the end result of somebody getting a million dollar deal or getting however many diamonds or whatever it may be off of their wraps. Like, you don't think about the messaging that's being propelled in those

wraps and you don't think about the lived experience or even the fantasy that's being used to fuel those bars, yeah, like it's in your, let's say, an impressionable young mind, yeah, you're going to think A, B, C. You're not going to think about any of the tripwires or the consequences. I do think there's a weird sort of divide happening there. On the one hand, she's saying it's like W.W.E. Wrestling, which we know for a fact is not real. And then on the other hand, she's saying that its impact is real because people believe it. So I'm like, nobody would accuse WWE wrestling of being a bad impact on kids. That's the part of hip hop that is so entangled and gets really hard to unspool because if you talk to a lot of managers, label people, PR, even the

artists themselves, like, there is a lot of admission that, yeah, a lot of rap is cap right now. It's a selling of a dream, it's escapism, it's confidence boosting, it's living out a fantasy that the vast majority of us would not be able to experience in our daily lives, right? Like that has become the message of rap as a conglomerate, let's say. But the roots of hip-hop being so much about liberation and authentic lived experience and authentic storytelling, I think it all gets really intertwined and that's where it gets a little messy. And in that milieu, that's where the space comes in to criminalize rap lyrics. This idea of authenticity is one that's pretty unique to hip-hop or certain sub-genres of hip-hop, right? I think we can all make the opposite argument that

realism has been a very important element of rap for a long time. I mean, when Jay-Z, you know, is laying out his narrative about who he was before he was a rapper. He wants us to believe that, you know, and he is documenting his history and giving himself the street cred that comes along with that. And it authenticated him in a way that makes his story and his persona more believable. I think we've always understood that there's a line, but, you know, when you talk about drill rap today, people are expected to believe, at least fans, are encouraged to believe that there's less of a line. The funny thing about that wrestling analogy, I heard the same exact analogy when I talked to

the book Rap on Trial and co-author Eric Nielsen, who's also been an expert witness in cases like this. He used the same wrestling analogy to talk about why prosecutors should not be allowed to argue for or literal interpretations of rap lyrics, right? Which is the same thing you say and say, rap is cap. But even that defense that you hear now in the art, at least Eric is arguing is a relatively new thing. And it's part of how this legal tactic is changing the art form, you know. And that part of it is another thing that's only happening to this art form

that he says is part of the real impact that we're feeling from it. and you hear it. A song Drake O'Darula put out a song a few years ago called fictional, where he literally addressed all of this, saying, you know, everything I'm saying is fictional. Of course, he was just getting off a bid and a trial himself in which his lyrics were being used in court to, you know, prove that, to tie him to crimes

that he was being alleged to have committed. Little Dirk, who we're also talking about right now, And his indictment And his superseding indictment They've added lyrics to songs He has a song AHA where he literally puts a disclaimer on the front of the song

Saying, you know Something to that effect That you know what you're about to hear is not real Everything I'm saying This is motherfuckers all props This shit is not real Just a case the police listen I know

How speed you Smur Slide Slide Man don't respond to shit Eric had this really funny kind of analogy to that, too. Using the wrestling metaphor again, he kind of likened what's happening in rap now to, if you went to a wrestling match and you saw two wrestlers, you know, announced to the audience before they started battling, the wrestlers say, hey, my real name is Dave, this is Jim, we're actually really good friends. and what you're about to see here is totally made up.

And, okay, we're going to get in the character now and let's go. He's like, you know, that would ruin the experience. This is why rappers keep up this image and portray this image. You know, you see them portraying it in social media, which a lot of times is being used in court against them. You see them portraying it, obviously, in their music and videos, in their lyrics. And he says it's all part of an act that they're not. allowed to take the mask off of because it would in a lot of ways make them seem like disingenuous

artists. Obviously in 2024 we can't talk about authenticity without talking about one of the big biggest rap beefs. I mean I think we can say the biggest rap battle in the history of hip-hop. It's Kendrick Lamar and Drake and we're going to talk about it some more right after the break. So let's finish where we started with the biggest conversation in rap this year. Hendrik Lamar, his feud with Drake, and the months-long build-up to his performance at next year's Super Bowl. Few rappers have ever had a better run. He took a diss to number one on the Billboard charts, scored Grammy nominations for record

and song of the year, held a coast gathering one of the first. off event in Los Angeles, the pop-out. And that was all before he surprised released one of the most successful albums of the year a few weeks ago. Let's start with Beef producing the song of the summer. Sid, how did this happen? I mean, clearly it happened because there was long, festering hatred that Kendrick as a petty Gemini couldn't wait to pop off. For sure. I think this battle really moved in so many unprecedented ways. It moved at the the speed of the internet and it got really ugly, really, really fast. So obviously not like us was that, I don't know if I can't even call it nail in the coffin

because Kendrick keeps doing more and more to bury him. But the back and forth between Kendrick and Drake in early 2024, it really ended. He put his foot down when not like us. And the beauty of it is he not only took crazy shock. but it was on an undeniable beat, so it ended up becoming the song of the summer. It's a real nigger challenge. You call a future when you didn't see the club.

Hey, what, little baby help you get your lingo of? What, 21, get your far street cred. Thug made you feel like you're a slime in your head. Hey, what, Crable said you can be from North Side. What, two chains say you good, but he lied. You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars. No, you're not a colleague, you're a fucking colonizer. The family matter and the truth for the matter.

Here's guys plan to show y'all the liar. I've seen it played at graduations. I've heard it played at baby showers. There's been TikToks of it being used as the walk-up music in people's weddings, stuff like that. I heard it during Thanksgiving. I heard it during Thanksgiving. I said, we're giving thanks for hatred this year. Truly, truly.

Everybody is revealing that they're a hater in new ways. Like everyone's taking a mask off if you want to talk about like that. It's funny, Rodney, you know. mentioned so much about the cultural capital of authenticity that hip hop has because this is exactly what not like us is about. Kendrick is calling out every time he's literally making a timeline of every time Drake, you know, went to Atlanta when he needed a check balance or pulling up old receipts of him calling people slaves. There's so many moments that are just like, blow after their blow after blow. And then when you zoom out and you think about the Juneteenth event in

LA or you think about the Super Bowl announcement, you see how Kendrick has been able to parlay that division of like, this guy who everybody thinks is the biggest rapper in the world is actually just a culture vulture and literally not like us. I mean, the Grammy nomination for Not Like Us is really wild to me. If you look at just the history of the Grammys and and discracks being honored at the Grammys. The last time a disc track was nominated for a Grammy in the rap category was when Drake dropped back to back in 2016 when he was dissing Meek Mill.

And the only reason that lost out for the Grammy was because I think it was Kendrick's all right that won the Grammy that year. So you see this little back and forth and this bubbling, this brewing between them for such a long time. But what really stood out to me that I feel like not enough people were honing in on or underlining or wanting to grapple with was how women women and children

became the bystanders and the hardest punchlines in this battle. So if you look at Drake's track, he's his biggest shot against Kendrick, and there are many in there, is that he's abusive to his longtime fiancé Whitney and that he refuses to marry her even though he's had many children with her. And then on the other hand, Kendrick's biggest shot at Drake is that he and other people and his crew have spent years grooming young women in their own personal circles and inner circles. And this moment, the fact that this is the moment that culturally kind of takes Drake off this untouchable pedestal, but at the same time, there's been no answer and no retribution for, it just really rings, it rings kind of hollow.

considering this supposed reckoning that we're supposed to be having with all of the Shanzi-Combs cases that are coming out, the myriad of civil cases, and the federal sex trafficking charges that he's facing. And the idea that Kendrick is about to make this huge play on one of the biggest stages in America with the Super Bowl, it also is undoubtedly a flex. Like, let's say, it's a huge power move. And he took that from the school of Beyonce Gisanoz Carter. we all know that. But it's also kind of antithetical to the message of this song

because he's benefiting from Jayzie's relationship with the NFL, right? And if we look back at the history of that, that was timely because it was kind of like a thinly veil PR move to distract people from the way that the NFL never addressed racial inequality that Colin Kaepernick pointed out. So, I mean, there's a lot of great points made in this battle, right? and there's a lot of ambidextrous entertaining lyricism at play. And like I said, it moved like no other battle ever in the history of hip hop.

But along the way, I think there's just so many moments within it and so many details and layers that if you really peel them back, it's going to rub you the wrong way. Yeah, I mean, it feels representative of where rap is for a lot of reasons that we've actually talked about. I mean, the role that regionalism is now playing, Kendrick essentially made this Compton against the world. Drake as an outsider, as not an American, as not from one of the sort of seminal rap cities being not just a culture vulture, but somebody who was not distinctly of the culture in the same way that he was. But also, it was a result of like how raps are clearly not evident.

I mean, Sid, you broke down very clearly how he has made claims about Drake and Drake made claims about him that were never interrogated and held up under scrutiny and used to sort of make cases against either of these rappers. It's also proof of how rap misogyny still needs addressing how we need to have long conversations about the way that women are treated in the way. these songs, the way they are victimized, the way they are scapegoated. And it also is evidence of how rap is still a super commercial property that in the wake of this, in the wake of these allegations, in the wake of everything that is being said, it is being put on the biggest stage that we have in America in the Super Bowl. One sort of unprecedented development is that in recent weeks, Drake has filed legal documents against his label, UMG, who also distributed Not Like Us, and the streaming company Spotify, saying that they boosted the song illegally in an effort to

sort of make the song more popular and as a result, like his reputation was greatly damaged. We've never seen beef go to court, essentially. We've seen a lot of different outcomes, but the idea that you would use legal action as a means to undercut your opponent and rat beef, that's a first. We've never experienced anything like that. Drake ain't like us.

I mean, clearly, he's kind of proven the point that Kendra was making. I think the most interesting thing about his legal action is if I'm not mistaken, after he filed this paperwork and it came to the light of day and the internet had a field day with it, a lot of people were wondering, well, wow, he's more concerned with the streams and that part of it than all of the negative things that, all the character assassination that, you know, Kendrick attempted on him. And then the next day, he added defamation to these legal filings, which is so interesting, so unprecedented, and so hard to

predict where it all might end up. Well, one thing we do know about where it's going to end up is not like us is Grammy nominated. He's performing at the Super Bowl, so he's about to have a really big February, and then he's heading out on a tour with Siza in early 2025. Kendrick, Siza, maybe Dochi, if we're lucky. I'm praying for D'UZZE. I'm praying for Doji, I would love that for Doji. Before we get off of this Kendrick Drake situation, obviously GNX is the exclamation point that comes out of this. We started off talking about Southern Rapp in 2024.

As the resident Southerner, I just want to say like the West Coast, which is, you know, the horse that Kendrick rides in on and doubles down on with GNX. like West Coast has had an incredible year. California specifically has had an incredible year when you think about, we can start with TDE, you know, school boy Q put out what I think arguably his best album. You got Ab Sol who put out a great project. And then you have artists like Vince Staples. You got to mention Tyler the Creator who just continues to evolve.

and raise the bar in terms of hip-hop in terms of production. I think this regionalism thing that's happening, which is part of Kendrick's bigger point, right, basically saying to Drake, you have no culture to speak of, which is a really hard statement to make. Which, like, hey, let's not disrespect Toronto on this podcast. Toronto does have a rap history.

I just want to say that. Right, no, very much so. That's what. That's not that. Right, right, right, right. Yeah, no, no, I'm just putting a disclaimer. We hear, we don't want beef with Toronto. Like, we respect Toronto rap culture.

That's what, that's all I love. But to his point, right, Drake has not always leaned into that other than, you know, his accents on occasion. Right, right, right, right. Drake himself is not connected to that culture either. Like, he has presented himself as, like, this universal, like, omnipresent being at the top of the streaming apparatus, just like sucking in everything from all directions. Like, he's not a Toronto rapper. in that same way that Kendrick is clearly a competent rapper. This ends up underlining to me what I love about 2024,

which is the return of regionalism in a really strong way. We talked about country and rap really making a mark there. These West Coast sounds that unless you've been a deep listener to like Draco the Ruler and a bunch of other people who haven't gotten that mainstream recognition, probably sounds like nothing you've heard of out of the West Coast. Coast before, not to mention all these other West Coast artists that did incredible stuff this year, is doing what I think Kendrick's ultimate thesis and an argument is, which is about steeping rap back into the culture from when it came in a way that has nothing to do with

charts and Grammys and industry stuff, but really a sense. is about the music and the culture. We did a full feature series last year for hip hop 50 called All Rap is Local. I still think it's true. I mean, you can look at New York, the drill scene up there, what Cash Cobain has done this year. I mean, you look at Detroit. It's all over the country. It's never going to stop.

It's eternal. To your point about the West Coast, it does feel like some of the best rap of the year came out of Los Angeles this year. And I think that's a perfect opportunity for the three of us to talk about some of the best music that we heard. Sid, do you want to go first and talk about your favorite album and song of the year? I'm going to sound like I'm replaying it, but Glorilla has been one of my favorite artists of the last few years. It's 95 degrees. I ain't got no nigger and no nigger ain't got me.

I'm about to show my ass. And I think to drop not only one but two authentically viral songs this year, to drop a mixtape, go on tour with Megan the Stallion, have just as many people come in to see you as the opener as your headliner, who's already had many, many breakthroughs and mainstream successes. And then to top it off with this triumph of a debut album, I feel like she's, you know, She showed her dexterity in so many new ways. I feel like I have more sense of her as a person and her multitudes and her moods. And she's been able to link up with other amazingly powerful, hilarious, flawed women rappers.

Like, that sexy Red Song? You can't tell me nothing. First of all, wipe me down. I'm not even the biggest bluesy fan, but wipe me down will forever be one of my top played songs on any playlist, whether it's a pregame playlist, a workout playlist, a meditative playlist, yes, I said it. And to absolutely give so much new life to that song and to make it an anthem for the women, like, she'll always have my heart for that one. She's very honest and self-deprecating when it comes to how.

how she's been able to get out of her own way and stop overthinking and stop being a victim to analysis paralysis. Her collab was with T-Pain on there. Her collab with Megan, I can't wait for a full Megan and Glow Mix tape. We're hoping that for 2025. So, yeah, that's definitely my album with the year. My album pick is an artist called Dear Silas, which I think y'all are probably familiar with him. I hope y'all are. He's an independent artist, originally out of Mississippi, and I don't know what it is about this dude's viral game, but he was somehow just all over the place on my timelines.

Flow it, but I can't slip. If we don't leave right now, then something going to be real blue like a nigga bankrupt. So short and let's ride. Rim's still spinning. Let's glide. Now she asking me why I don't get high because I want to be in my right mind when I go to dig in them bars. Take a look in my eyes. He put out an album called Cadillac Leather in July.

Speaking of what we talked about earlier, I'm not totally sure if it was an album or a mixtape. It's an EP. Maybe that's the best way to say it, because it's under 30 minutes. It has some of the most infectious, like southern, very flow-oriented, almost sing-songy, rhythmic vibe.

Imagine if somebody like Pimsy were like your personal motivator or like your comedic, your comedic, alter ego, self-love. He has all of this kind of wrapped into this character. I would put him in sometimes and just start to feel so good that whatever I was feeling bad about, I would kind of forget about in the moment. So yeah, shouts out to that dude. His viral game, viral game is excellent. He puts out these little videos and clips of him just doing really funny stuff.

He's got a song about his dedicated to his dog. It's basically what the hook is, you know, that's my dog. He's really kind of marked out his own space for sure. For me, the best rap album in the year was JPEG Mafias. I lay down my life for you. Just an insane, furious, record that sort of brings his vision of the past few years into focus, but also reveals sort of a more introspective artist. But I've written about this record online. I've written about it

in our best of package. I just want to give quick shoutouts to some other records. The Rhapsi record, please don't cry, is awesome. We talked about Vince, but also Chief Keefe's Almighty So Too. Mac Hami, rich-ass Haitian, Mavi, Shadowbox, and the surprise of the year for me, and I think also for you, Rodney, L.O. Koojay's the Force. rap album is in the digital age. It's a truly exceptional record. I recommend all of those, but that's just a small drop in the bucket of what rap produced this year. It was an incredible year. And that's a rap for it and for us. To see our lists of the 124 best songs of 2024 and the 50 best albums of 2024, visit us at nprmusic.org. If you have feedback for us, please email all songs at npr.org.

If you like the show, tell your friends, and please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to our newsletter at mpr.org slash music newsletter. Please remember that if you want to listen to this show, sponsor-free, you can support our work by joining NPR Music Plus. Just go to plus.mpr.org. or search for MPR music on Apple Podcasts. This podcast was produced by Simon Retner. We had editorial support from Jacob Gams. I'm Sheldon Pierce with Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael.

Thanks for listening and have a good rest of your year.