Mackenzie Cummings-Grady

Drake has established himself as many things over the course of his career, including a connoisseur of the Instagram DM.Who Has Drake Messaged?Drizzy has relied on the IG chat to eviscerate his critics, call out his enemies and, most notably, chase girls—albeit with mixed results. Drake was most recently put on blast by a few fans for his slick behavior. On March 9, a fan who goes by @trillary_banks_ on X, formerly known as Twitter, screenshotted an alleged DM she received from The Boy.”DRAAAAAAKE?” the fan captioned the screenshot, which read: “Was it you I recognized tonight?”Fans then questioned why she would post a screenshot of the exchange and not just keep it to herself.”For what who cares,” the woman responded. “It’s funny and I’m not accepting the request ever.”A few days later, another fan who goes by @Jazzalinyyy on X noticed a similar behavior in her DM’s. This time around Drake compared his supporter to tea.”Your body is absolute tea,” Drake appeared to write.The same instance happened with this fan as well, in which people began trolling her for not accepting Drizzy’s advance.”All yall saying I fumbled need to stfu he would’ve flew me out f**ked me then Nvr talked to me again DO YALL NOT KNOW DRAKE ?!?” she responded.Read More: Bobbi Althoff Removed From Drake’s SXSW Party – ReportDrake’s History of Sliding Into DM’sThese are merely the most recent examples of Drake’s flattery. In 2015, Drake’s DM game was put on full blast in what may have been the first time publicly after adult film star Mia Khalifa revealed the 6 God had been sending unsolicited messages to her IG.”It was flattering, but his intentions were obviously clear,” Khalifa told CBS Miami at the time. “It was so cringeworthy. The whole thing was cringeworthy.”When the interviewer joked that Drizzy would likely be the type to send a shirtless photo of himself, Khalifa confirmed the description was “halfway there.”It’s unclear if Drake’s DMing frequency has increased in recent years, but from 2022 on, it’s felt like more and more women have exposed the 6 God’s antics on social media. In 2022 Drake weaponized his direct message and took aim at a troll’s wife after he randomly clowned Drizzy over ghostwriting allegations on Instagram.”I’m here for u ma,” Drake wrote in the woman’s DM. He then replied to the troll directly, saying, “I just followed your girl cause she’s prob miserable and needs some excitement in her life.”By 2023, it was back to business as usual. Drake messaged Switzerland soccer star Alisha Lehman asking for a jersey in October of that year, followed by reality TV star Chanel Everett in December. Drizzy’s DM actually sparked a dispute between Everett and her ex-husband Pedro Jimeno in an episode of The Family Everett.”I heard the rumor that Drake slipped into Chantel’s DM,” Pedro taunted in the episode. “Go with Drake, the famous rapper, you know? Go with him.”Then in April of 2023, NCAA Women’s Basketball star Angel Reese admitted to The Breakfast Club that both Drizzy and Future slid into her DMs after she led the LSU Tigers to their first national championship. However, Reese claimed it was “all congratulations.”Then in August of 2023, Drake slid into the DMs of Veronica Correia, the fan who went viral after throwing her 36G bra on stage during the rapper’s show in Brooklyn and catching his attention last year.”He slid up on a [Instagram] Story and laughed at one, simply sent a laughing face,” Correia told the Club Ambition podcast after the viral moment. “And I took a day or two to respond because I just didn’t know what to say. So I just liked it, and then I left him for like a day. Then I wrote out this paragraph, basically thanking him for the experience, an awesome show, and then I told him I own the coffee shop in Cumberland and asked if he liked coffee and how he likes it.”She continued by saying he laughed at the idea of her making a coffee for him.”So, I said, ‘Oh, do you think I’m funny?” Correia added. “And he said, ‘I think you’re really sought-after right now.'”As shown by all of the above, it doesn’t seem like Drake will be moving away from the DM slide anytime soon.Read More: Kanye West, Drake’s Feud Continues to Get More ConfusingSee Drake’s Best TV Show ReferencesDon’t watch him, watch TV.

Cop Your XXL Merch NowDiddy’s Harlem charter school Capital Prep is severing ties with the embattled music mogul, and parents, students and former employees are calling the school a disaster.Diddy’s Harlem School Reportedly a DisasterOn Friday (March 15), The Cut published an extensive report detailing the disaster and dysfunction of Diddy’s Harlem charter school Capital Prep, which the mogul opened in 2016. Fourteen individuals, including students, parents and former employees, described the school, located in East Harlem, N.Y. one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, as having frequent violence and a high turnover rate. Not to mention, Diddy has allegedly barely been involved with the school aside from the occasional photo op.”He was supposed to be an inspiration to those children, coming from what you might consider the hood—and he was not,” a parent said.There reportedly hasn’t been a full teaching staff for the entirety of its tenure, with students sometimes not getting taught subjects for months. They are instead found loitering in the lunch room. Parents claim they weren’t informed about a bedbug outbreak, and said police were often called on students who broke the school’s uniform policy.Capital Prep currently serves 500 students in grades six through 12, the majority of them Black from low-income families.XXL has reached out to Diddy’s team for comment.Read More: 50 Cent Clowns Diddy for Showing Too Much LoveDiddy Spotted Out and About For First Time Since LawsuitsThe latest bit of bad press to befall the music mogul comes after Diddy and his sons Justin and Christian were spotted out in public on Sunday (March 6). Diddy was captured on video by paparazzi as he left a restaurant in Los Angeles. In the video, Puff is seen smiling as he leaves the restaurant with his sons in tow. The group get into an awaiting SUV as photogs get flash photos, but Diddy doesn’t speak.The Bad Boy Entertainment founder is currently facing multiple lawsuits alleging abuse and sexual assault.Read More: Fans Weigh In on Diddy Sexual Assault AllegationsCop Your XXL Merch NowSee 43 Photos of Impressively Unique Mansions Rappers Own

Cop Your XXL Merch NowLil Wayne and Post Malone are being accused of lying to federal authorities in order to obtain over $8 million in pandemic loans.Lil Wayne and Post Malone Allegedly Lie About Drug-Use to Get Pandemic AidOn Friday (March 15), Business Insider reported that they had filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Small Business Administration to investigate celebrities who had received millions in pandemic loans back in 2021. Among those celebs were Post Malone and Lil Wayne. The publication claims both artists had told the feds their touring companies were a “drug-free workplace,” a necessary step to receive pandemic-related grants.Business Insider then criticized Wayne’s open use of marijuana, as well as Posty’s admittance to using shrooms. The publication claims this meant the rappers boldly lied to the SBA in order to get grants for $8.9 million and $10 million, respectively.When reached for comment, the SBA wrote back to the outlet and said “personal actions” did not necessarily disqualify aid, but confirmed they were looking into certain loans they paid out.”The SBA’s process of monitoring and auditing of grant recipients is actively ongoing,” a statement read. “To date, about $40 million has been returned from SVOG grantees and additional files have been referred for ongoing criminal investigation or civil recovery. To date, none of the recoveries relate to the drug-free certification.”XXL has reached out to Lil Wayne and Post Malone’s team for further comment.Read More: Lil Wayne Finds André 3000’s Comment on Rap DepressingLil Wayne Settles Lawsuit With Personal ChefThe allegations come after Lil Wayne settled a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by his former personal chef. According to documents obtained by XXL, Lil Wayne’s former personal chef, Morghan Medlock, filed paperwork at Los Angeles County Superior Court on March 8. The paperwork told the court that she and Weezy had settled her wrongful termination lawsuit, though explicit terms of the settlement were not disclosed.Read More: Lil Wayne Reveals 2 Chainz Used to Be His Weed Dealer Before RapCop Your XXL Merch NowSee Which Rappers Are Touring in 2024

Cop Your XXL Merch NowYoung Thug’s YSL trial continues to get crazier by the day, as arguments between attorneys get so heated the bailiff has to step in today.YSL Trial Lawyers Argue, Judge YellsOn Thursday (March 14), the YSL trial continued after beginning back in November of 2023. Prosecutor Adriane Love was speaking to Judge Ural Glanville, who ruled the prosecution could not include a detective’s testimony as evidence, as shown on the daily Law & Crime livestream of the trial. One of Thugger’s defense attorneys, Doug Weinstein, stepped in to try and move things along.”Your honor, at some point your ruling needs to be,” Weinstein began.”Your honor, I’m sorry, I’m talking about I don’t know why I am being interrupted. I did not stop,” Love continued.At that moment, the bailiff steps in to calm things down.”Ms. Love, both y’all can’t talk at the same time,” the bailiff said, which Judge Glanville agreed with.”You need to just take it down a notch,” Judge Glanville said. “You continually engage in this pattern of behavior Ms. Love. You don’t wanna accept my ruling, and I know you’re being an advocate, but at some point stop. Just stop, I’ve made my ruling! Good, bad or indifferent to ya. You’re gonna win some, you’re gonna lose some.”Love continued to argue that the court was not allowing her to present the evidence needed, but Judge Glanville would not budge.Read More: Young Thug Tries to Evade Traffic Ticket in Old Police VideoYoung Thug’s YSL Trial Continues to Drag OnYoung Thug’s ongoing and bizarre YSL trial entered its 42nd day on Thursday and comes after the prosecution played a recorded 911 call from Sept. 11, 2013, in February. In the call, a woman calls 911 and names Thug as the person responsible for shooting a mutual friend. The woman clarifies in the clip below that this information was passed on to her by someone else, and that the shooting victim is no longer in danger, but she wants to get Thug’s identity on the record.It was also reported in February that a YSL defense attorney, Nicole Fegan, had been arrested in Atlanta and hit with gang-related charges. The Atlanta Police Department confirmed with XXL that Fegan was taken into custody and transported to Fulton County Jail on charges of participation in criminal street gang activity and criminal solicitation to commit tampering with evidence. Her charges had nothing to do with the YSL trial.Read More: Dame Dash Says Lyor Cohen Still Profits Off Young Thug’s MusicWatch the tense argument below.Watch the Young Thug YSL Trial Lawyers ArgueCop Your XXL Merch NowSee 24 Bizarre Moments in the YSL RICO Trial

Kanye West has fired influencer YesJulz from his team and is reportedly suing her for allegedly violating her NDA.Who Is YezJulz and Why Was She Fired?YesJulz is a popular social media personality and talent manager who has been working closely with Ye on the rollout for his new album Vultures 1. The confusing debacle began to unfold on Tuesday (March 12) on Ye’s Instagram Stories, where he unexpectedly wrote, “We have decided to no longer have YesJulz involved in the roll out of Vultures. All the activity on her page and with our fans in the past few days has been unauthorized.”The firing was surprising considering how closely the influencer documented Ye’s lengthy rollout of Vultures 1, capturing the entirety of his notorious Las Vegas listening party on Instagram Live, where Ye went on a lengthy rant targeting Jay-Z, Drake and numerous others.Shortly after Ye’s announcement on his Instagram, an e-mail presumably written by Yeezy chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos leaked on X, formerly known as Twitter. The e-mail appeared to be sent to YesJulz, whose real name is Julieanna Goddard.”Dear Ms. Goddard, enclosed please find a letter and statement of account from your time with Yeezy. Fines incurred to date as a result of your NDA violations come to $7.7m,” it read. “While you were a contractor, I suspended enforcement of this debt. It now falls due. Hassan from the compliance team will reach out with information about payment. Please note that any further violations will accrue more fine. Because you are being terminated for cause but also because you forgot to sign your contract your termination is effective immediately.”A follow-up e-mail from Yiannopoulos said, “Obviously, you are fired.”Read More: Kanye West, Drake’s Feud Continues to Get More ConfusingHow Did YesJulz Allegedly Violate Her NDA?YesJulz’s NDA violation appears to have occurred during a Twitter Spaces conversation Julz had with numerous Ye’s fan accounts. The influencer attempted to get fans interested in working with her in developing a “Yeezy Universe” app for free, saying she’d reward them with virtual money. Julz then admitted none of these ideas had been approved by Ye, but said the Vultures 1 creator, “sees and hears everything. He knows how active you’ve been. I know sometimes it might feel like you might be working all day, every day, and you’re work is not being seen or recognized.”While Julz wrote on X after the broadcast that she felt “inspired,” the reaction among Ye’s fan base was divided, with some claiming the influencer was trying to convince Kanye’s supporters to work as part of a “pyramid scheme.”YesJulz then pushed back on her firing on X writing, “F**k an NDA. Sue Me,” before sharing an alleged text conversation between her and Milo Yiannopoulos that showed the far-right commentator referring to Ye’s biggest fans as having “developmental disorders” such as Down syndrome.YesJulzYesJulz/Xloading…However, some of Ye’s fans have appeared to be in support of the influencer’s exile, with some trolls apparently sending her a fake e-mail posing as Yiannopoulos. The e-mail read, “Ye and I have been listening to your current twitter spaces. We are willing to meet and reconsider next steps and with your future with YZY and as a contractor.””Call me Ye,” Julz wrote on X alongside a screenshot of the fake e-mail. “Always here for YOU.”XXL has reached out to YesJulz and Milo Yiannopoulos for further comment.Goodassjobsub tweet.goodassjobsub/Xloading…Read More: Meek Mill Gives Honest Opinion About Meek Mill’s Polarizing MindSee 43 Photos of Impressively Unique Mansions Rappers Own

Cop Your XXL Merch NowLast September, TikTok announced it had collaborated with Billboard to launch its first-ever Top 50 Chart, and Sexyy Red had debuted at No. 1. The announcement confirmed what many saw as inevitable: TikTok was taking over the music industry. Prior to the Billboard TikTok 50 chart, songs from rappers were blowing up on the app, leading to chart domination. Now, as the U.S. House of Representatives gives the Chinese-based app six months to find a U.S. buyer or face stateside exile, it remains to be seen what impact this will have on the music industry as a whole. The conversation around whether or not it will affect hip-hop is ongoing, especially rappers who rely on the platform to share their music. Will hip-hop survive without TikTok if it gets banned? Of course it will.When Billboard debuted its TikTok Billboard Top 50 in 2023, rap was having far from a stellar year on the more traditional Billboard charts. The first rap-related entry on the Billboard 200 was Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape last July, followed by Jungkook’s song “Seven” featuring Latto that hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in the same month. Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” emerged as the first solo No. 1 rap track of the year, but didn’t hit that spot until September. Meanwhile, on the app, the genre was actually thriving.Rappers Take Over Billboard TikTok ChartSexyy Redd claimed the first-ever No. 1 spot on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart with her smash hit “SkeeYee.” Doja followed close behind at No. 2 with “Paint The Town Red.” Sexyy also appeared two more times in the top 50, with her songs “Looking For The H*es (Ain’t My Fault)” and “Mad At Me” debuting at No. 19 and No. 50, respectively.Elsewhere, Ice Spice’s “Deli” and NLE Choppa’s “It’s Getting Hot” also debuted in the chart’s top 10 and No. 6 and No. 8. While Charlie Wilson’s “I’m Blessed” featuring T.I. additionally debuted at No. 9, Young Thug and Drake’s “Oh U Went” debuted at No. 14 and Young Nudy’s “Peaches & Eggplant” featuring 21 Savage debuted at No. 16. Gunna, Tee Grizzley, Kaliiii, Toosii, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj and J. Cole also debuted within the top 50.That trend has so far continued into March of 2024. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” comfortably sits at No. 1, 21 Savage’s “Redrum” is at No. 8, Bossman Dlow’s “Get In With Me” is at No. 10. Elsewhere, Jack Harlow, Flo Milli, Rich Amiri, Dej Loaf, G-Eazy and 4Batz are just a few of the rappers scattered throughout the top 50.Read More: Sexyy Red Admits She’s Shocked By Her SuccessTikTok’s Relationship With Hip-HopIt’s impossible to ignore TikTok’s star-making power, as the app has kickstarted the careers of dozens of rappers such as Sexyy Red, Lil Nas X and Armani White. There are a few reasons for this, one of which is that a 2021 study by MRC Data showed 64 percent of the reported app’s user base were teenagers, who historically have always been more hungry for new trendy music than adults. Additionally, a behavioral poll conducted by Midia Research in 2021 showed that 40 percent of active TikTok users had a monthly paid subscription service for music, compared to just 25 percent of the general population. This means it was much more likely for a TikTok fan to switch to their streaming platform of choice and stream a new track discovered on the app.But as time has gone on, artists have criticized major labels for funneling TikTok’s star power to their clients and choking off indie success.”If a song is going viral on TikTok, and the artist is unsigned, and as a result, it’s getting a million streams on Spotify, the labels are scrambling to sign that song or that artist,” Tatiana Cirisano, a music industry analyst and consultant at Midia Research, told CNBC in 2022. “They’re obsessed with expanding their market share and making sure they don’t lose any market share to independent artists.”TikTok is also showing that it may not know how to compensate artists reliant on their platform. Universal Music Group pulled the plug on TikTok in January, and said it would remove its signees’ music from the app entirely in part because of “how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters.” The label’s roster includes Drake, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd and many other of the biggest artists in the world. In an open letter, UMG said, “Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”Would a TikTok Ban Hurt Hip-Hop?So, would a TikTok cancelation be detrimental to rap? Considering the messy stumbles mentioned above, all signs at this moment point to no. Not to mention the correlation between rap’s dominance on TikTok versus its tepid presence on the Billboard charts is in line with the genre’s history. Trendsetting is in hip-hop’s blood, dating back to when New York’s word-of-mouth “block parties” of the 1970s kickstarted the genre. So, it makes sense that in 2024, the place to find the hottest hip-hop records isn’t always on the charts or TikTok. It’s on streaming platforms, many other apps, internet message boards, YouTube, in the streets, on the radio and by good old word of mouth.While sifting through TikTok can’t remotely be compared to crate-digging through a pile of records, the point is that rap will always be whereever the kids are. Regardless of where that is, even without TikTok, wherever the kids go next, rap will be sure to follow.Not to mention, the artists don’t appear to be stressing that much, since there are so many avenues for them to get their music out. Coi Leray, whose song “No More Parties” earned a big surge in popularity in 2022 thanks to TikTok, knows the benefits of the platform. It’s benefitted her career significantly. However, it doesn’t make or break her as a artist.”Tiktok is not a streaming platform,” Coi tweeted on March 13. “And I never looked at it as one. I’m not worried. As long as you don’t take away Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Tidal, Audio Mac, YouTube music, Amazon music, I’m good. Music and the love I have for it, is forever.”Can’t argue with that.Read More: Drake’s Serious Devotion to Sexyy Red Is Costing Him Big BucksCop Your XXL Merch NowSee How Much It Costs for a Verse From Your Favorite RapperAny guesses on dollar amounts before you look?

Cop Your XXL Merch NowKanye West and Ty Dolla $ign appear to be leaning towards no longer putting their upcoming Vultures 2 album on streaming services. Ye announced they were instead considering selling it directly on his Yeezy.com website for $20 a copy. In their reasoning, the duo noted how DSPs often financially exploit artists, but it’s unclear if it’ll actually work.The conversation kicked off on Sunday (March 10), with Ye saying in a DM conversation with the Kanye West fansite YeFanatics that he may not put his Vultures 1 sequel on DSPs such as Spotify or Apple Music.”We sell albums on Yeezy.com. I got 20 million instagram followers,” Ye wrote. “When 5% of my followers buy an album [t]hat’s 1 million albums sold[.] That’s 300k more than the biggest album last year.”West then went on to ask his YeFanatics supporters whether they’d buy a million copies of the album if he merely made physical copies available.“When we do that we won’t have the streaming companies in control of the artist anymore,” Ye added.Ty Dolla $ign also argued this point after a fan sent the rapper a direct message. Ty said merely selling physical copies of the project would just lead to “piracy.””That’s what these streaming services want u to believe so they can stay on top,” Ty replied, arguing that he and Ye are merely making a “fraction” of a profit off Vultures 1.”It’s time to figure out the unlock on how to bring the music straight to our audience and cut the middle man out,” Ty added. “Artists are getting raped and that has to stop.”Ye and Ty are correct in saying they’d make a significantly larger amount of money if they sold the album right on their website. The $20 price tag in particular harkens back to the days of physical CD sales, which Forbes noted in 2019 still makes artists significantly more money than streaming. The publication claimed streaming merely accounted for 38.4 percent of the industry’s total revenue that year, with physical product sales declining by a mere 5.4 percent. This shows that physical music still sells quite well even when up against the convenience of DSP’s.This is why artists often still rely on—and sometimes exploit—merch bundles and physical vinyl sales. When Travis Scott released his Utopia album in July of 2023, the highly anticipated release still sold 185,000 album-equivalent units in its third week—93,000 of which were from vinyl sales.Read More: Kanye West Disses Drake While Celebrating No. 1 SongHow Much Do Artists Make From Streaming?Artists have advocated for a change in streaming policies for years. Artists often makes $0.003 per stream, according to Spotify. The DSP then announced in November of 2023 that it’d be updating its streaming policy in the new year to allegedly support emerging artists “most dependent on streaming revenues as part of their livelihood.”As part of this change, tracks must now reach at least 1,000 streams before they can generate recorded royalties. The hope is that this change will move $40 million that would have previously been given to songs with less than 1,000 streams to those with more than 1,000 streams.While Spotify in particular notes this change is meant to combat AI-created music, a lot of rookie musicians don’t see this new change paying off in their favor. Across social media, musicians noted the difficulty of achieving 1,000 streams in general and said this policy would further hurt emerging artists.Kanye has also remained one of the most vocal critics of streaming services, but other rappers like Snoop Dogg, Russ, French Montana and Jay-Z also previously condemned streaming practices.Back in 2022, Ye had taken another stab at trying to direct all the profits to him by releasing Donda 2 strictly on his STEM Player. The move was controversial, in turn because a single STEM Player cost around $200, and led to mass pirating of the album instead.“Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes,” Ye said of the move on Instagram at the time. “It’s time to free music from the oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own.”Donda 2 also didn’t see the Billboard success Vultures 1 or Donda did. Despite Kanye claiming he made $2.2 million off Stem Player purchases alone, Billboard announced Donda 2 wouldn’t be eligible for Billboard placement because the player “can be used for other means besides the playing of the album.” This ruling qualified the STEM Player as merch, and Billboard said the album would never be considered for chart placement. Back in 2016, Ye also said he’d “never” release his album The Life of Pablo on Apple, instead initially opting to just put it on Tidal—Jay-Z’s streaming service that advocates for better artist royalties. However, Ye soon after backtracked and released the project everywhere, with rumors that he lost money by limiting its release.So, while Ty and Ye’s attempt to change the way artists profit off music is admirable, there remain a lot of potholes to navigate. As they plan to sell the upcoming Vultures 2 album on Yeezy.com, Vultures 1 remains one of the top-selling albums in the country, sitting comfortably at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart this week after debuting at No. 1 in February.The single “Carnival” also just debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Monday (March 11), making it even harder to unsee the benefits of streaming success as a major artist. With that being said, every revolution comes with sacrifices, but as Ye struggles to put together a world tour to promote Vultures due to his anti-Semitic tirades last year, it will be interesting to see how much he’s willing to sacrifice.Read More: North West Announces New Album Elementary School Dropout Cop Your XXL Merch NowSee Rappers’ Other Streams of Income