In 2019, while still relatively early in her come-up to being the nationally recognized star she is today, Megan Thee Stallion noted that online stan wars appeared to be the source of much of the friction between female rappers. “A lot of beef between women gets started because of their fanbases,” she told Joe Budden on his podcast. She also provided her idea for a solution: “Let’s all get to know each other. Let’s be cool because when the fans see that girls are being nice to each other that makes them lessen that drama.”

Her perspective makes a lot of sense, considering she’s one of only a handful of newer rappers to have collaborated with both Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, who are usually the focal point of most of the toxic fan bickering on Twitter. This week, Megan appeared on another show — Yung Miami’s Caresha Please — and reiterated this viewpoint with her previous experience in mind. “Do you feel like y’all ever be in those type of predicaments, like you can’t work with somebody because you worked with somebody else?” she asked.

“I feel like, just friends in general when you know your friend might not feel so good about somebody, do you like, go out your way to be like, ‘Okay, bitch, I’m not f*cking with you. Period.’” While she acknowledged that loyalty is important, outside observers seem more interested in seeing artists throw away business opportunities in music. I feel like it be the fans more so than anybody,” she said. “They keep it up more than the actual artists and they got the world thinking something that’s not happening.”

Her words are especially poignant today after Cardi B was once again confronted with trolling from one of Nicki’s stans who accused her husband Offset of cheating on her with Saweetie. As Cardi pointed out, there was no evidence to support the claim, just attention-seeking behavior from a fan who hasn’t quite figured out that stars are people too. In 2020, Cardi also shared her view that fans try to instigate beef, saying, “When female artists are rising, you don’t have to put one down because the others are rising. Every single time a female rapper comes out, people wanna start fake beef.”

You can watch the full episode of Caresha Please above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Over the course of 2022, Anitta has quickly become Brazil’s biggest global pop music star. Singing in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, she presents unique accessibility to different types of audiences from around the world. It’s also helped Anitta — who will be performing at the 2022 MTV VMAs — to attract a diverse set of collaborators, which is on full display on the newly-released Deluxe edition of her breakout album, Versions of Me.

The Versions Of Me deluxe album features 20 tracks in total including five new tracks. Among them are “Lobby,” her springy collaboration with Missy Elliott, “El Que Espera,” with Colombian singer Maluma, and “Dançarina [Remix],” a Latin American cross-cultural explosion with reggaeton star Nicky Jam, Brazilian artists MC Pedrinho and Pedro Sampaio, and French singer Dadju. Even ASAP Ferg hops on alongside Harv on “Practice.”

Check out the full tracklist for Versions Of Me below along with the album artwork.

1. “Lobby” (featuring Missy Elliott)
2. “El Que Espera” (featuring Maluma)
3. “Yo No Se” (featuring L7NNON & Maffio)
4. “Practice” (featuring A$AP Ferg & HARV)
5. “DANÇARINA [remix]” (featuring Nicky Jam, MC Pedrinho, Pedro Sampaio, & Dadju
6. “Envolver”
7. “Gata” (featuring Chencho Corleone)
8. “I’d Rather Have Sex”
9. “Gimme Your Number”(featuring x Ty Dolla Sign)
10. “Maria Elegante” (featuring Afro B)
11. “Love You”
12. “Boys Don’t Cry”
13. “Versions of Me”
14. “Turn It Up”
15. “Ur Baby” (featuring Khalid)
16. “Girl From Rio”
17. “Faking Love” (featuring Saweetie)”
18. “Que Rabão” (featuring Mr. Catra, YG, Papatinho, MC Kevin o Chris)
19. “Me Gusta” (with Cardi B & Myke Towers)
20. “Love Me, Love Me”

Versions Of Me deluxe is out now via Warner Records. Listen to it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from DJ Khaled, JID, Nicki Minaj, and more.

You may not have believed you’d make it to the end of this week, but God did! As we close off August, it appears hip-hop wanted to barrel into September with a bang. Bars, bops, and baddies have us eating well this Friday. So, as always, enjoy this week’s slate.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending August 26, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

DJ Khaled — God Did

Nobody promotes quite like DJ Khaled. His 13th studio album God Did centers around the fact that there is a conglomerate of people who do not believe in him, but it doesn’t matter because God did. With appearances from Drake, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Future, Latto, Sza, Lil Durk, Lil Baby, and many more, Khaled assembled yet another star-studded cast and the album runs much better than everything he has dropped since 2016’s Major Key.

JID — The Forever Story

Since 2018’s DiCaprio 2 and all of the talk about JID being J. Cole’s successor, there has been much anticipation for him to claim that throne. After teasing his three separate projects for years and contributing to compilation albums such as Revenge Of The Dreamers III and Spillage Village, JID has finally delivered his latest solo album The Forever Story. With a desire to flex both his rapping ability and melodic prowess, he enlists the help of Lil Durk, Ari Lennox, Lil Wayne, and Johnta Austin over 15 tracks.

Nicki Minaj — Queen Radio: Volume 1

Nicki Minaj has no shortage of praise from her fanbase and the hip-hop community at large; just check social media. Still, she has no problem celebrating herself and reminding people of what she has delivered over the course of her successful career. Queen Radio: Volume 1 doubles as a greatest hits album and victory lap, including records like “Beez In The Trap,” “Moment 4 Life,” “Itty Bitty Piggy,” “Super Bass,” and more.

Rapper Big Pooh — To Dream In Color

If you’re going to dream, dream big. Dream vibrantly. Dream in color. Rapper Big Pooh’s latest album, To Dream In Color, displays that phenomenon over 10 moving records featuring Jared Evan, Blakk Soul, BeMyFiasco, and Tre’mar.

Roc Marciano & The Alchemist — The Elephant Man’s Bones

In an era where the state of rap is regularly questioned, Roc Marciano and The Alchemist are names regularly thrown around for their lyrical and production work, respectively. The Elephant Man’s Bones is more evidence of “the feeling being restored” with appearances by Action Bronson, Boldy James, Ice-T, and Knowledge The Pirate.

Mach-Hommy — Dollar Menu 4

Mach-Hommy encouraged listeners to Pray For Haiti last year, but now it appears he wants them to pray for the rest of the rap game. Dollar Menu 4 is a short, but firm offering at nine feature-less records. Hommy is another person who people feel is keeping rap afloat, and this project certainly adds some credence to that notion.

Real Boston Richey — Public Housing

Real Boston Richey is a newer face in the rap game, but he has already made a big splash. Public Housing shows the potential to be a major star, backed by collaborations with Future, Moneybagg Yo, and Lil Durk. It’s just a matter of time.

Meechy Darko — Gothic Luxury

Meechy Darko’s Gothic Luxury brands a unique album title and an enjoyable slate of records. The rapper trades bars with Black Thought, A-Trak, Freddie Gibbs, and Busta Rhymes with ease.

Singles/Videos

Joey Badass — “Let It Breathe”

A soul sample, a request to “turn the vocals up,” and a downtempo rap beat are a rap fan’s paradise. Joey Badass floats with ease on “Let It Breathe,” a welcome breath of fresh air in a high-energy, trap rap era.

Wynne — “Look At You”

Wynne is showing no signs of falling off. “Look At You” shows off her charming rap voice, endless confidence, and willingness to tell the harsh truth to other rappers and men. “Look at me, look at you, then look back at me / That’s embarrassing.” The fact she can warn you not to have her send you back to therapy while eating Taco Bell in the car is equally endearing and horrifying. The Obi Toppin bar is hard too.

Radamiz — “Someguydez Freestyle”

Radamiz has bars that span from the East coast to the West. The New York rapper traveled to Los Angeles for the “Someguydez Freestyle” to spit fire in a different time zone simply because he can.

Fabolous — “Rich Hustle” ft. Jim Jones

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fabolous+rich+hustle

It goes without saying that Fabolous and Jim Jones represent New York to the fullest. “Rich Hustle” finds the two veterans traveling up to Dyckman Park to pop bottles and celebrate success with the summer basketball league’s attendees.

Young Crazy — “Suburban Kid”

Though the way certain men ride their ATVs in this video is a bit concerning, Young Crazy’s “Suburban Kid” is a very fun video. The Virginia artist gets money, gets bars off, and loves fans. Not sure if the “ugly hoes” he mentions will enjoy that bar in particular, but there are plenty of others here to latch on to.

Kool G Rap — “Fly Till I Die” ft. Big Daddy Kane

I say this a lot in this column, but it is always enjoyable to hear from our legends. Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane are clear elder statesmen in the rap game. “Fly Till I Die” shows that the two have not missed a step. They might even be better.

Fredo Bang — “Addy”

Fredo Bang skates over the video game-sounding beat backing “Addy.” He asserts that he’d probably cut his finger off before kissing a woman, which may need some deeper examination, but overall it is a solid record. It is intriguing that a lady wants him to f*ck her on his “finsta” being that those are private, but whatever works for them.

Lakeyah — “Real B*tch” ft. Gloss Up

Lakeyah and Gloss Up are empowered as ever on “Real B*tch.” They exchange bars with ferocity, affirming their status as both rappers and femme fatales.

BlueBucksClan — “I Guess”

BlueBucksClan is a dynamic duo, and there isn’t any room to doubt it. “I Guess” combines their smooth, downtoned vocals over an upbeat canvas. “Your baby mama trash, she was in the mood I guess.”

Headie One — “Illegal”

The tongue is powerful, and Headie One’s rapping ability may just be a lethal weapon. Thus, the title of his new record, “Illegal,” is accurate. He weaves in and out of the drill beat with ease like shoelaces on your favorite kicks.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Wayne’s hometown festival in New Orleans, Lil Weezyana, was set to go down this Saturday, August 27th. It would have marked the one-day festival’s first edition since 2019. Lil Weezyana serves as not only a celebration of hip-hop and New Orleans, but also a benefit that supports educational initiatives for young people in the city. Unfortunately, it’s going to have to wait, as Lil Wayne himself made the announcement on Instagram yesterday that the festival — featuring performances from Moneybagg Yo, Coi Leray, Babyface Ray, and Rob 49 — is being postponed until later this year due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

“It is with my sincerest apologies that I must announce…due to unforeseen circumstances, Lil Weezyana Fest will be postponed until Oct 29,” Wayne wrote. “To my fans, you know I always want to deliver the best show possible and we hope this has not inconvenienced you in anyway. The festival was sold out thanks to you. Please hold on you to your tickets and I will see you in October. I promise to make it up to you and to my city. Love.”

For Wayne, who just appeared on DJ Khaled’s track “God Did,” alongside Jay-Z, Rick Ross, John Legend, and Fridayy, it’s not entirely bad news, since there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for Lil Weezyana in 2022. The new date is set for October 29th at the same venue, Champions Square.

Two superstars are believed to have been available in trades over the last month or so. One, Kevin Durant, has since decided to return to the Brooklyn Nets after previously wanting to suit up elsewhere — Brooklyn’s ultra-high asking price meant that no one was able to send them a suitable deal for the former NBA Finals MVP, and as a result, the team is going to run it back.

And then there’s Donovan Mitchell. In the aftermath of the Utah Jazz’s decision to trade Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team decided to embrace a full rebuild and make Mitchell available. They likewise are asking for a whole heck of a lot, but unlike the Nets, which never wanted to move Durant, Utah understands that moving Mitchell is a crucial step as it prioritizes its long-term future.

As for when Mitchell will possibly be on the move, the latest edition of ESPN’s The Hoop Collective hinted that something could be coming down the pipeline sooner rather than later.

“The Jazz are beginning their business,” said Brian Windhorst on the podcast. “They made their first post-Gobert move earlier this week when they traded Patrick Beverley to the Lakers.”

Windhorst mentioned that his co-host, Tim MacMahon, said that the plan in Utah was to move Mitchell before the team’s regular season opener, but then brought up that he heard the team doesn’t want to wait until October to get something back for Mitchell.

“It sounds to me, in talking to people around the league, that the Jazz want to try to go even sooner than that,” Windhorst said. “They want to go before training camp.”

The Jazz play their first preseason game on Oct. 2, 2022.

MGMT haven’t released an album since 2018’s Little Dark Age. Things got a little weird during lockdown, when lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden dropped the coronavirus, err… anthem, entitled “On No Corona.” The band got exploratory on the hazy, ambient “As You Move Through This World,” but as a famous internet philosopher once asked, “But what does it all mean??” Well, according to VanWyngarden, this experimental phase was just an incubator for an upcoming new album and MGMT will begin releasing new music in 2022.

On Reddit’s MGMT subreddit, a user was taking a stab at guessing a title for an as-yet-to-be announced “LP5,” when VanWyngarden, seemingly out of the blue, popped in to reply: “We have a working title!,” he said, adding, “There are irons in the fire and we have been busy. I had forgotten my login info, the mgmt drought ends this year.”

Fans were stoked that VanWyngarden popped in to give an answer straight from the horse’s mouth. One superfan said, “thx 4 the blessing, popes vandrewgarden & golbenwasser.” And then in a strange MGMT universe full circle moment, the fan who originally started the thread said, “Oh thats cool I didnt even realize this was commented on my post but I saw it was trending. Anyways im sick with covid so this makes me feel astronomically better. Have a wonderful day.”

They’ll have to listen to “Oh No Corona” on repeat in the meantime, but apparently, not for much longer.

Top Dawg Entertainment’s talented roster is back with a bark as Ray Vaughn and Isaiah Rashad team up for the slow burner “Dawg House.” Vaughn adds a slight pinch of melody into his verse, rapping with a strained voice. Isaiah Rashad joins later, picking up the pace with his animated vocal tone. It is a short offering, but in a world where TDE takes extensive breaks, it is more than welcome; not to mention the fun callback to Baha Men’s 2000s classic “Who Let The Dogs Out.”

For Ray Vaughn, “Dawg House” follows his 2022 singles “Mannequin” and “Picking Cherries.” The 25-year-old has gained a lot of steam since it was announced that he signed to TDE last year. With such a strong system in place, it is safe to assume his debut album is imminent and will impress.

As for Isaiah Rashad, he linked up with labelmate Zacari for “Bliss” back in June. The Chattanooga rapper has been riding the high of his comeback album The House Is Burning that came out in July 2021. The album featured SZA, Lil Uzi Vert, 6lack, Smino, and Jay Rock. He later shared a deluxe version in November with four new tracks, namely a remix to “RIP Young” featuring Project Pat and Juicy J.

Listen to “Dawg House” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

If the FBI needs to return to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve more classified material, they might want to head underground. In what is largely a matter of pure coincidence, a new book reveals info that has been staring the world in the face for nearly a century: Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home and golf club has underground tunnels connecting its buildings, with one leading directly to the sea.

As The Week reports, this little nugget of news is mentioned in Andrew Kirtzman’s upcoming book, Giuliani: The Rise and Tragic Fall of America’s Mayor. Earlier this week, The Guardian revealed that the book tells the story of how Rudy Giuliani’s failed presidential run in 2008 hit the former New York City mayor pretty hard. So much so that Rudy fell into a deep depression and began drinking to excess, according to his then-wife Judith. It was Trump, of all people, who helped Giuliani heal. “We moved into Mar-a-Lago and Donald kept our secret,” Judith told Kirtzman. But it was a tiny detail noted in the story that has sparked a lot of people’s imagination. As Martin Pengelly wrote in The Guardian:

The former mayor and his wife, Kirtzman writes, moved into a bungalow across the street from Mar-a-Lago but connected by a tunnel underneath South Ocean Boulevard, one of many little known passages and rooms beneath the expansive resort. The secret route allowed the couple to come and go from Trump’s home without the media knowing.

Underground tunnel? While the floor plans for the sprawling estate have been available through the Library of Congress for years, this is the first many had heard about the passageways. And Twitter, as always, had some thoughts…

(Via The Week)

Wherever the phrase “you can’t argue with crazy” appears, Laura Loomer’s photo should be next to it. The MAGA-fied conspiracy theorist does not know when to quit — literally. Though she was hot to steal incumbent Florida congressman Daniel Webster’s seat from right out under him, and came frighteningly close to doing just that, she ultimately lost Tuesday’s primary by six points. But don’t try telling her that.

In the wake of her defeat, Loomer took a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook and stated that she would not concede as there was obviously voter fraud (funny how that always happens when MAGA diehards lose, but never when they win). Now, as Raw Story reports, Loomer is taking her fight one step further — and one giant leap toward anarchy — by just simply declaring herself the winner, the same way that Michael Scott would declare bankruptcy.

On Thursday, Right Wing Watch shared a Telegram post from Loomer in which she stated: “The Congressional seat in Florida’s 11th District is mine for the taking. And I will be the Congresswoman from Florida’s 11th District.”

But somewhere in between that sentence and the next she somehow decided that she already had taken the seat, despite losing the primary:

I actually am the Congresswoman in Florida’s 11th District, and everyone knows it.

“Everyone?” Loomer might want to try telling the Republican voters who chose Webster as their candidate that.

(Via Raw Story)

Coldplay recently capped off a run of concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium and the shows were eventful. During the Wembley stint, Coldplay covered the viral “Jiggle Jiggle” song,” Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” and Grease standout “Summer Nights” in honor of Olivia Newton-John. The shows were surely memorable for all who had the pleasure of attending, but there’s one fan who perhaps had the strongest takeaway of all.

At the August 20 show, a fan named Mattie Jolley brought a sign that read, “Chris design my tattoo please.” Jolley told LadBible that Martin had noticed him “throughout the show.” He continued, “After four more songs the band started ‘Fix You.’ Chris was kneeling on the stage, he looked for me and made a gesture to say get your pen ready. At the point I was in shock, I was shaking so much trying to get my pen and pad out. Then he came down the stairs of the stage, looked at me while he continued to sing ‘Fix You,’ as if it was being sung to me.”

A video of the moment shows Martin drawing the tattoo as he kept singing the song.

“As soon as it happened, I burst into tears realizing what had just happened and I was more in shock,” Jolley said.

He also noted of the design, “He drew a really cool love heart, which has a cool-looking infinity sign around it. I haven’t finalized exactly what I’m going to get, but I would like to get the drawing with the words ‘Never Give Up’ and the Love Button [nonprofit organization supported by Martin] logo.”

Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.